by Aaron Oster
Aika released Roy’s head with a hiss of pain as it burned, scorching hot. She was then forced to stumble back altogether as Power Qi began pouring from his body, flooding into the area around him. She watched, shocked, as Roy’s body began to float, the Qi coalescing into a sphere and locking him in place.
The shredded remains of his robes were blasted from his body and Aika quickly looked away, though she was morbidly curious to see what would happen next. The golden light continued to flash around her, illuminating the entire safe zone and painting the water in a dazzling array of color.
The entire light show lasted perhaps a minute before fading. Aika heard a soft thump as Roy’s body hit the ground. Still not wanting to turn around, Aika backed up until his face became visible. His skin looked much healthier, almost glowing. She quickly reached out, snagging a robe from his bag and draping it over him, before looking down to his arm.
Just like the rest of his clothes, the makeshift bandage had been blasted from the arm. Aika let out a low sob when she saw it. Long, puckered scars twisted up around it, showing where the Beast had torn his skin and where she’d used the knife to burn them closed. But other than that, his arm looked perfectly healthy and intact.
She lifted it, just to be sure, flexing it at the elbow and feeling along his bicep and forearm for broken bones. Nothing felt out of place, and there were no fractures, no bumps, nothing.
“Aika?”
Aika looked up to see Roy blinking awake, looking at her through bleary eyes.
“You’re awake!” Aika exclaimed, lunging and wrapping her arms around him and squeezing as hard as she dared.
Roy seemed confused, but after just a few seconds, he hugged her back. She savored the feeling of his arms wrapping around her and the warmth of his skin.
He was alive.
“You’re alive,” she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder and fighting back tears. “You’re still alive.”
43
Roy was understandably very confused. One moment, he’d been fighting for his life against a monstrous fish, and the next, Aika was hugging him and crying.
“Did I almost die again?” Roy asked as he hugged her back.
“Yes,” Geon said, sounding quite tired. “Now leave me alone. I have a Core-ache.”
“Core-ache?” Roy asked, despite himself.
“Like your weird human brain-aches, but much more painful. Now stop talking to me.”
“Um…Aika. Why am I naked?” Roy asked, suddenly noticing that aside from the robe draped over his waist, there wasn’t a stitch of clothing on him.
Aika pulled back with a strangled half-laugh, half-sob.
“You idiot,” she said, swatting him on the shoulder. “You almost died!”
“Yeah,” Roy said, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Geon told me.”
He looked down to his arm, which, aside from an entire row of twisting scars, felt perfectly fine. Better than fine, actually. He felt stronger than ever!
“How am I still alive?” he asked, turning to Aika, who was wiping tears away.
She spoke haltingly, explaining what had happened after he’d lost consciousness. The longer he listened, the more he realized just what she’d done for him, the risk she’d had to take to save him, and the most shocking part of it all, that Geon had managed to speak with her.
Maybe that’s why he sounded so tired, Roy thought as Aika finished her story.
“I’m sorry about the clothing,” Aika said, her face coloring a bit as she realized she was half-sitting on him. “I promise I didn’t look.”
Without thinking, Roy reached out, grabbing her arm and stopping her from moving.
“You saved my life again,” Roy said, trying – and not really succeeding – in voicing what he was feeling.
“You would have done the same for me,” Aika said, her voice soft. “Hell, you have done the same for me, many times over.”
“I nearly died,” Roy said, licking his lips nervously and feeling his heart beginning to race.
Am I really ready to do this?
“I…I like you,” he said, having to work very hard to keep eye contact with her. “More than just as a friend. I mean…Damn…I’m so bad at this…” he groaned, finally breaking eye-contact.
“Me too.”
Roy looked up sharply at that, seeing Aika’s face now as red as he imagined his was. Her eyes were slightly wider than normal, and he could feel her pulse quickening through his grip on her arm.
“You do?” Roy asked, feeling his heart skip a beat.
Aika nodded. That was all Roy needed.
Leaning up, he closed the short distance between them and kissed her. He had no idea what he was doing, though, neither did she. But it was still amazing, everything he’d imagined and more. His entire body flushed with heat as he felt her lips pressed against his, her hand reaching out to cup his cheek and his having moved from her arm to the small of her back. It only lasted for a few seconds before Roy pulled back, feeling an incredible sense of joy, one that showed clearly in the big, dumb smile on his face.
“Wow,” Aika whispered, pressing her fingers to her lips and looking a bit dreamy.
Roy agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly.
***
Roy sat, facing the crashing waterfall, his mind restless and refusing to allow him to sleep. Just a few feet to his right, Aika’s back, facing him, rose and fell slowly, her breathing drowned out by the crashing waterfall.
After their kiss, the two of them had talked for nearly an hour, sharing one or two more. They were both inexperienced when it came to relationships, but they were both willing to try. Once the excitement had died down, Aika had said she needed sleep, but unlike her, Roy simply couldn’t.
He smiled again, not even realizing he’d done so, as he thought of Aika. It was as though a sort-of invisible barrier that had been standing between them for months had been ripped away, freeing the two of them to explore their feelings for one another. He honestly didn’t think Ferry would take it well and wasn’t sure how Hermit would react. But now that he’d finally acted on his feelings and pushed through his fear of rejection, Roy knew this was right.
After thinking about Aika for nearly an hour, his thoughts finally turned to the fact that he’d very nearly been killed, and the strange, rainbow-colored liquid inside the flask had restored him. His Belt was the exact same as it had been, though he felt quite a bit different. Geon was still sleeping, so he couldn’t ask him. Closing his eyes, Roy began examining his body from the inside.
Everything seemed to have been improved, not only his Core, but his skin, muscles, channels, bones, and internal organs. Whatever that liquid had been, it made him stronger, though for the life of him, he could not figure out how it functioned. What sort of liquid could close up wounds, replenish blood, and strengthen him in just a matter of seconds?
What if Aika drinks hers? Roy thought. Would it have a different effect on her?
Seeing as he hadn’t been killed by the Liquid Supplement and it may or may not have contained Reiki, he was pretty sure that it wouldn’t hurt her. And if they were going to try and get past that monster of a fish on the next floor down, they were both going have to be much stronger.
Roy stretched his arms overhead, then finally lay down, placing his hands behind his head and staring up at the large crystal hanging from the ceiling. In a single day, he’d both nearly died and was the happiest he’d ever been. It was strange how life worked sometimes.
***
Aika’s eyes flicked open as her mind roused her into wakefulness. She remained where she was, yawning widely and rubbing at her eyes. The area was dim, a dull light shining down from the crystal overhead. She turned, looking up, noting the time. The sun would rise in the next hour or so. Despite wanting to do nothing more than just go back to sleep, Aika forced herself to sit up.
She looked over and saw that Roy was still fast asleep. His mouth was hanging partially open, though any snoring was blo
cked out by the sound of the waterfall. She found herself grinning as she remembered the events of the previous night. It was a mix of incredible highs and lows, and had wrung her out both physically and emotionally. It had been the most terrifying experience she’d had in quite some time, followed by one of the most wonderful ones of her entire life.
Roy had finally made a move, and she couldn’t be happier! Even now, she imagined she could still feel it. She felt at her lips for a moment, then, realizing what she was doing, quickly dropped her hand. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt embarrassed.
Giving herself a shake, Aika rose to her feet and went over to the pool of water to wash her face. She was careful to remain as quiet as she could, as Roy had had a long night and needed his rest. As she rinsed her mouth, she wondered what Roy would do when he got up. Would he kiss her again?
She hoped so.
Aika rose to her feet, wiping her face as best she could and began doing her morning stretches. Just because she was nearly giddy with excitement didn’t mean she should skip her morning routine. Once she was nice and limbered up, she began a light jog around the perimeter of the safe zone.
As she ran, she realized that she’d never asked Roy about the contents of the flask. His Belt hadn’t changed, and she’d been too distracted to do much of anything. She wanted to berate herself, but she couldn’t place blame, not after what she’d been through.
Aika made her third lap, feeling that her body was now nice and warm. She stopped by the side of the pool and began a more rigorous series of stretches, pushing her limbs as far as they would go in preparation for more difficult exercises. Once, touching her toes had been hard, now, as she locked her knees, she was forced to reach back to either side, still pressing her palms flat to the ground to get a good stretch.
She held the pose for nearly a minute before moving both arms to one side then the other. She bent backward, stretching her abdomen, feeling the wonderful ache as they untensed. Her entire stretching routine took well over twenty minutes, and by the time she started her actual run, the safe zone was getting quite light.
Aika looked to Roy, noting that he was still asleep, before starting to exercise in earnest. She began doing sprints, forcing her Qi into patterns that would deliberately cause strain. When Martial Artists started reaching their level, basic exercise would cease to be all that challenging, so in order to push themselves, they would have to create resistance artificially to see results.
Her entire routine took well over two hours, by which time she was utterly drenched in sweat and ready to dive into the pool.
Roy was still asleep, which made bathing easy, but when Aika was fully dressed again, feeling refreshed and ready to eat, he was still sleeping. By this point, she had a choice. She could either just let him sleep the day away or wake him up.
“Roy,” she said, shaking his shoulder lightly. “It’s almost mid-morning. You need to get up.”
Roy groaned, trying to swat her hand away, which made her smile.
“Come on,” she said, shaking him harder. “You can’t laze around all day.”
“Just a few more minutes,” he muttered, his voice heavy with sleep.
“I gave you a couple more hours than I normally do,” Aika scolded. “Now come on.”
Roy finally cracked an eye open, and Aika had to stifle a gasp of surprise. His eye was a solid gold! She blinked, wondering if she’d imagined it, but when Roy focused his eye on her, she could see that it was indeed a solid shining gold. His pupils, cornea, and sclera, all the same color.
Roy blinked a few times and the color faded, his eyes returning to their normal gray.
“Why are you looking at me so funny?” Roy asked. “Do I have something on my face?”
“Um, no,” Aika said as he pushed himself to his hands and knees. “It was your…eyes…” she trailed off as Roy’s eyes suddenly went wide.
“Are you…?” she began to ask, but he suddenly disappeared, vanishing before her eyes.
She caught a small flicker of movement from the opposite side of the pool and looked up in time to see Roy – now on the other side of the room – vanish again. There was a splash as a body landed in the pool, then Roy was behind her, now dripping wet.
Her hand flashed out, snagging him before he could disappear again. She felt Roy’s body jerk a few times, trying to haul her along with him, but she flooded her body with Qi and kept herself firmly locked in place. After a few seconds, his body stopped twitching, and Roy relaxed.
“Thanks,” he said, looking down at his hands, which were still trembling.
“Care to explain what the hell is going on?” Aika asked a now soaking Roy.
“I think,” Roy said, finally looking up, “that that thing I drank last night has finally settled completely.”
44
Roy’s entire body buzzed with power, his muscles twitching every few seconds and feeling as though they wanted to make him run. He still felt exhausted, despite sleeping later than usual, and even with the feeling flooding him, he just wanted to go back to sleep. It was an odd mix of sensations, both wanting to run endlessly and go to sleep.
“Here,” Aika said, holding out a set of dry robes.
“Thanks,” he said, reaching out to take them.
His hand overshot the distance, though, dragging him forward and causing him to fall flat on his face.
“Here, let me,” Aika said, helping him out of his top and getting the dry one on. “Afraid you’re going to have to do the pants yourself,” she said, giving him a wry smile.
Roy returned it, memories of their kiss from the previous night finally coming back as she turned around to give him some privacy.
“So, what’s it feel like?” Aika asked, causing Roy’s fingers to twitch, missing the waistband of his pants entirely.
“What does what feel like?” he asked, feeling his heart beginning to pound.
“You,” Aika said. “What with all the running around and lack of bodily control. It’s gotta be tough.”
“Oh, yeah,” Roy said, feeling himself relax.
For some reason, he’d thought she’d been asking about the kiss. To be fair, that was what he’d been thinking about when she’d asked the question.
“So?” Aika asked as he finally managed to get the soaking pants off.
“Weird,” Roy replied, having to grab his wrist with his other hand to grab the dry pants. “It’s like every move I make is too much. Like, the energy it once took for me to take a single step will now carry me for over ten. I also feel really tired, like I just want to drop and sleep all day.”
He finally managed to get his pants on and let Aika know it was safe to turn around.
“Maybe I should let you then,” she said, looking a bit worried.
“I can stay up,” Roy said, trying to get to his feet and suddenly finding himself ten feet in the air.
He came down in a crouch, his legs buzzing and muscles vibrating.
“It seems like whatever you drank might still be settling in,” Aika said, moving over to support him so that he didn’t accidentally run into the water again when he tried to walk.
“That’s probably it,” Roy said, trying and failing to control the rapid movement of Qi inside his body.
Last night, he’d felt stronger, faster, and better in every way. Now he felt like it was too much.
“I really wish we could have gotten more information on this before I gave it to you,” Aika said, helping him back to the ground.
“You saved my life with it,” Roy said. “Whatever it’s doing now is only possible because I’m alive. Besides, if we’re going to beat that Beast and continue on, we’re going to need to be stronger.”
Aika cracked a half-smile and Roy felt his heart skip a beat. How could someone look so beautiful doing something so simple?
“Are you saying I should drink one of mine?” Aika asked.
“Yes,” Roy said. “It clearly isn’t dangerous. Well, for the most part,” he conc
eded. “But it won’t kill you. My Belt hasn’t changed and my Core refuses to grow larger. But I feel stronger than ever before. Who knows? Maybe it’ll give you the push you need.”
Aika looked down at her own 2nd Dan Blue-Belt.
“Do you really think a single flask of whatever that is will push me forward four more Dans?”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Roy replied. “You’ll never know if you don’t try.”
Aika seemed to think about it for a few seconds, then leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.
“I think I will,” she said, flashing him a grin before turning and running over to fetch one of the glowing white flasks.
Roy found himself grinning like an idiot again, but when he reached up to feel at the spot where she’d kissed him, ended up smacking himself in the face.
“Ow,” he groaned from his place on the ground.
Aika appeared above him a moment later, looking bemused.
“Maybe you should go back to sleep after all,” she said. “You know, until you stop hurting yourself unintentionally.”
Roy was about to nod his head but stopped the motion just in time, for fear of burying it in the dirt. Instead, he just let out a grunt, already feeling the creeping exhaustion fighting against the waking world.
The last thing he saw before he drifted off once more was Aika, standing over him and smiling.
***
When Roy woke again, it was still light out, the sun shining down through the crystal and bathing him in the early-morning rays. He blinked several times, his tired mind slowly putting the pieces together.
He’d been asleep for an entire day!
He shot upright, looking around for Aika, only to see her sprawled out just a couple of feet from him, fast asleep.