"Mane! It's time to wake up!" a lovely voice informed the only male resident of the Tower of the Hundred that he had been in his room long enough.
"Okay," a young boy dressed only in a short pair of trunks and currently in a pushup hold was quick to reply. His voice wasn't particularly loud, yet it travelled all the way from the training room he was in and into the ears of the lovely maiden standing outside his door.
"Let's wrap this up shall we?" Mane mumbled to himself as he exhaled a small breath of air to lift his long hair off his face.
"976"
"977"
"978"
Suddenly, there was a small gust of wind in the still room, and Mane felt his someone appear.
"Not bad," Sunflower smiled and said. Mane smiled bitterly when he felt her presence right next to him. He had been here for about two weeks already. And that was enough time to understand a bit of her habits. And one of those habits was her lack of tolerance when it came to waiting. Sunflower hated waiting. So when he heard her call him, he knew that she was definitely going to come in.
"I'm almost done," Mane was slightly short of breath. Pushups were good body strengthening exercises. And to get the maximum effect, he wasn't depending on Edict. Even then, the remnants of outer energy that filled his bones and muscles remained, and that was why he was able to go this far.
"998"
"999"
"1000"
Mane fell onto the ground breathlessly when he was finally through. Sunflower didn't say anything, just choosing to silently watch over him with a smile.
"You should take a shower," Sunflower suggested once Mane's breathing had returned to normal.
"Huh? Why? We are going to duel, so is a shower truly necessary?" Mane wondered. If he was going to sweat some more, why was it necessary for him to take a bath first?
"It's proper hygiene," Sunflower argued.
"That doesn't make any sense," Mane shook his head as he repositioned himself so that he could face Sunflower. Staring into her beautiful eyes, Mane rattled on for about a minute about why it made no sense to take a shower now. He finally stopped when he saw her eyebrows twitching nonstop. That was a sure indication that she was about to lose her temper.
"You really are dumb, aren't you?" Hildegarde sighed. "What?" Mane lifted his eyebrows, slightly offended. How could she call him dumb? He was a very intelligent boy. Otherwise how would he have been able to become a Spiritualist and Scholar?
"Sure you are battle smart and book smart. But you are emotionally stupid." Hildegarde mercilessly stated. Mane wished he could grab her and toss her into a well. Alas, that could only be dreamt, not done.
"Just say yes and get on with it," Hildegarde advised before flying off into the bedroom, leaving only Mane and Sunflower in the training room.
"Okay, I'd take a shower. But if we are late you have to tell Rose that it wasn't my fault." Mane finally assented, and a Sunflower revealed a bright and charming smile.
"No problem!" she happily said.
"Now let's go," she said and dragged Mane towards the bathroom.
"Together?" Mane asked with a bit of hesitation.
"Yes, together. We have been showering together all this while. What are you suddenly hesitating for?" Sunflower asked with a slightly puzzled expression on her face. Yet within the depths of her eyes was a light of mischievousness that shone briefly before disappearing.
Of course she knew why Mane was hesitating. Mane had a healthy reading habit. Every day he tasked himself to read a few books. He read everything: history, social and biological sciences, and studied several different arts. To make sure that he was as unbiased in his reading options as possible, he didn't pick the books consciously. He picked different books from different sections of the library without necessarily knowing what he had picked. He only screened each book after returning to his room. And Sunflower had come to known this.
Just the day before, she had sneakily slotted some biology and anatomy books into Mane's reading pile. These books had to do with the male and female reproductive systems. As if that wasn't enough, she included a book about 'sexual maturity' that explained the workings of the two sexes and how they 'worked' together. She wanted to tease Mane since he had become so used to her presence that he didn't even flinch when they showered nowadays. And it seems she had succeeded.
"No reason. I just want to try taking a shower on my own." Mane hastily cooked up an excuse as his face slightly reddened upon remembering what he had read the day before.
"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Sunflower asked with tears in her eyes.
"No, that isn't it," Mane shook his head, panicked when he saw her reaction to his request.
"Why are you pushing me away then? Do you dislike me?"
"No, that isn't it. I like you very much. You're my friend."
"Then why can't I shower with you?"
"You can," Mane finally sighed bitterly and surrendered. Although he knew that she was not being sincere and that her tears were fake, he couldn't turn her down.
"Great!" Sunflower exclaimed and dragged the boy who was destined to one day lead the universe through a time of turmoil towards the bath.
"He is becoming kinder," Hildegarde who was supposed to be gone peeked her head out of the opened door and remarked. Although Mane had only been here a few days, his attitude was undergoing a change. Maybe being surrounded by women of vastly different temperaments was good for him. For he was learning to let a lot of things slide. And he was doing so willingly. Even the dense killing aura that engulfed the boy and hid his sensitive interior had thinned.
"Maybe being captured wasn't such a bad thing," Hildegarde sighed before flying out into the bedroom. This time, she really did leave.
"Was it a good idea to send Sunflower to call the boy?" Rose rubbed her temples in frustration as she eyed her little sister. Daisy smiled embarrassingly and turned her head away. After all, she was the one who sent Sunflower after Mane.
"You basically asked a cat to bring you a fish," Rose shook her head and sighed. She couldn't wrap her head around Daisy's decision.
"Well, you still for some reason do not like the boy. So obviously you cannot be the one to call him here." Daisy blew at her nails and said. One would think that after two weeks Rose would be over her first impression of Mane by now. But she was still unmoved. She still didn't like him.
"Why didn't you go and call him then?" Rose asked with furrowed brows. Although she had to admit that the boy had an okay personality, it was too early to say what she thought of him. Let him stay a few years and break her master's curse, then she will start to like him.
"Because I am not as close to him as Sunflower is. Although he has been treated quite well, he is still here against his will. We need him to slowly let go and accept us. To do that we have to send our best weapon."
"Sunflower," Rose interjected.
"Exactly. She would loosen him up before he gets here, making him more relaxed. If either of us went for him he would have his guard up. We don't want that. We need him to be willing to stay here. For only when he is willing, will he be qualified to take the trial."
"I must admit that you have thought much further than I have. Maybe my opinion of him has slightly blinded me." Rose smiled and said.
"Maybe," Daisy let out a cute chuckle.
"Besides, I had to go for them," Daisy added, her slender finger pointed at the two Magical Beasts playing at the end of the room. Well, playing wasn't exactly the word. Sasha was flying around Silver whilst pelting him with small wind bullets. She had slowly adapted to this form and was having a lot of fun with it. Silver on the other hand wasn't enjoying this so much. Yet he was weaker, so there was very little he could do about it.
"They are here," Rose suddenly said, and Daisy's mind which was shackled to the two Magical Beasts was set free. Turning to the entrance of the room, she saw Mane and Sunflower approaching. Both looked freshened and energized, and the sisters understood right away why they had taken so long. The two time wasters had taken a bath! Daisy merely chuckled, but Rose released a disapproving grunt.
"No wonder you took so long," Daisy laughed. "You-" Rose was about to tell Sunflower just what she thought about the duo's regular showering sessions. Yet she was stopped by Daisy whose eyes reminded her of their previous conversation. They didn't need the boy to be self-conscious. Rose sighed in resignation and let it go. She promised herself that she would speak to Sunflower alone after this.
"Sorry we are late," Mane bowed slightly in apology.
"It's fine," Rose replied, and Mane looked at her with a stunned expression on his face. This was the first time she had been so understanding towards him. Usually she would have him do a series of drills without relying on Edict as a punishment.
"What are you looking at?" Rose asked, her voice as cold as a thousand year old block of ice.
"Nothing," Mane scratched his cheek wryly. Even when she was nice to him it wasn't complete.
"Let's get started," Rose stated and moved away.
"Okay. Who am I facing today?" Mane wondered.
"Me!" Daisy smiled brightly and said.
"And him," she added whilst pointing at Sasha. As if feeling that she was needed, Sasha abandoned her torture session with the now much relieved Silver and flew towards Mane's side.
"Okay," Mane's hardened expression showed that he was taking this very seriously.
"I can only use water, fire and wind then," Mane thought silently to himself. Sasha was dual attributed, capable of using both fire and wind. Daisy was a Water Elemental. According to the rules, he was only able to use the elements they were able to use.
"Are you ready?" Daisy asked as her energy was fully released. Although she was not going to be moving, she was going to attack at full strength.
*Roar*
Sasha let out a loud roar as her huge frame began to shift into her battle physique. The cute kitty was swiftly transformed into the ferocious lion that Mane had seen on the day he was brought here. Her powerful aura was like a powerful vacuum that threatened to suck all the air around him away.
"I am," Mane took a deep breath and said. His aura was fully unveiled, and his energy which was now in the 2nd Stage of the Earth Realm surrounded him like a blanket.
"Then start"
*Boom*