"Sooooooooooooooooooooo." Fei drawled, sitting on the bench next to Aisha. "How's it been going?"
"Okay." Aisha said.
"...Aren't you going to pick out some clothes?" Fei asked.
.
Aisha looked at Celeste and Hana, giggling as always as they picked up and chose various little miniskirts and shorts. "They look like they have it covered."
.
"Don't you want to choose something you think looks good?" Fei asked. "That's the fun part of shopping!"
"It's okay." Aisha said, putting her face in her hands. "I don't really care about that."
"Mmmmm…" Fei grumbled unhappily. "Must be nice, looking cute in anything. I wish I had these adorable cheeks, and these fluffy ears, and oh my god, you smell so good…"
.
Fei wrapped her arms around Aisha's small body, taking a deep breath of the girl's scent, smelling like a mix of cotton candy and apple pie. Disgustingly sweet, but comforting, and absolutely intoxicating…
.
"Girl, I'm so jelly." Fei mumbled into Aisha's head. "I want your body. I want it."
"You want to be an empty husk?" Aisha sighed.
"I totally would." Fei said, completely serious. "If I could spend my entire life having sex and hugging sexy bombshells, and not do anything else, I totally would. No soul or otherwise."
"..."
.
"I don't think that's all she does." Two said, from the other side of Aisha.
"But she could!" Fei said, pointing at the young man. "Celeste makes a ton of money, and she's really into her!"
.
"Uh, well…" Two hung his head. "I guess I can't argue with that."
"Is Celeste not your type?" Fei asked. "What's your type? Is she too… uh."
.
Fei put her hands on her stomach, motioning outwards.
"I dunno, plump?"
.
Two looked around nervously.
.
"No." Aisha said. "I like squishy."
"Then what's your type? Who's your ideal girl?"
Aisha's face took on a dreamy expression, smiling slightly. "She's got brown eyes… Brown hair, slightly wavy, and really soft and silky… She's seven feet tall… She's warm, and amazingly cuddly, and playful… She's got big breasts, and a round butt… thin, but really curvy… perfect skin… and she has a big smile, and a smooth, soft, voice…"
"...Sounds like… uh. That's really specific."
.
"That's because... well, she does exist." Aisha whispered bashfully.
.
"Ooohh!" Fei said excitedly. "A love story! Tell me about her!"
"Um." Two said. "I'm sure we shouldn't pry."
"It's ok." Aisha smiled. "She was…"
.
.
.
[
"Aisha, come here." Lorian demanded.
"...But I'm already hugging you."
"..."
"..."
.
Lorian sucked her lips into her mouth, staring into Aisha's eyes as they cuddled together on the couch.
"Go over there." Lorian said, pointing at an armchair a few meters away from her.
"Huh? Why?" Aisha whimpered, snuggling closer to her mistress. "Did I do something bad?"
"No, of course not!" Lorian assured. "You're the goodest girl in the world."
Aisha's cheeks heat up a little, or rather, more than usual. She resisted the urge to smile goofily, although she doubted it would even matter. Mistress knew the effect she had on Aisha.
.
"I just want to try something, okay?" Lorian reassured, patting Aisha on the head. "Just go stand over there for a second."
.
Aisha obliged, reluctantly removing herself from the warmth to go stand at the foot of the armchair, feeling quite naked, just in her underwear, removed from the warmth of her mistress. She covered up her panties with both of her hands, clasped together, as Lorian ran her eyes up and down Aisha's small little form.
.
"S-so what now?" Aisha squeaked, growing embarrassed at the lingering gazes.
"Mmmm…" Lorian mused. "Just stay like that for a little longer."
"W-what are we doing?" Aisha asked, her cheeks going scarlet.
"Well…" Lorian said softly, sticking her tongue out of mouth. "I'm always hugging you, looking at your butt, and your ears… I just want to take in… my adorable little kitten."
"W-What?" Aisha whispered aggressively. "M-mistress! Wh-I… apssaplspsals-"
"Mmmm…" Lorian mumbled hungrily. "You're so adorable… your face is so adorable… your neck looks so smooth and kissable… Such tiny, adorable breasts… and your tummy looks so creamy and soft…"
.
"Mistresss!" Aisha wailed into her hands, covering her reddenning face. "Stooooop! Don't say things like that!"
"Well, you say things like this all the time!" Lorian said sternly. "Now I get to embarrass you!"
"It's differeeeeeent!" Aisha whined. "You're so beautiful, and soooofffft…"
"Aww…" Lorian cooed, smiling. "But so are you!"
"AAAAAHHH!" Aisha gasped. "P-pleeeeeeeasseee! Stoooooop! I… need. Hugs…"
Lorian giggled softly. "Then come here."
.
Aisha mewled pitifully as she leapt back into Lorian's arms, snuggling into her neck aggressively, and squeezing tight, trying to quell the heat in the face, and the burning in her chest.
.
Lorian giggled softly, wrapping her arms around Aisha's back, absentmindedly playing with the clasp of her bra.
"Mmmmyyyeeeaaaaa…" Aisha mewled. "It's going to come ooooofff!"
"Fine by me." Lorian giggled. "More of my good girl to see… to touch."
.
Lorian felt Aisha's face physically heat up against her chest, but could also feel the corners of her mouth curl up into a smile, making Lorian incredibly happy. She stopped playing with Aisha's sanity to put her palm on a fluffy ear, absolutely adoring the way it tickled her hand. Her ears were like velvet, so smooth, so soft… Speaking of which…
.
"Hey… what animal is this, anyways?" She asked.
Aisha shook her head blearily, pleasure still sending a buzz through her head. "Huh?"
"Your ears aren't kitten ears." Lorian said, pursing her lips. "But I've been calling you kitten this entire time!"
"Hhhhwhhhat?"
"Your ears!" Lorian demanded, tugging at the sensitive extremities. "They're too big to be kitten ears! But they're pointy! So what animal are they?"
"Uwwwhaa" Aisha babbled, her brain melted. "I-I don't know!"
.
Lorian made a displeased noise in her throat. "I'm not going to stop until I know!"
"O-okay mistress!" Aisha shivered. "P-please, just… mmmmnnn…"
"Okay, okay." Lorian laughed. "Enough teasing. What does my good girl want?"
.
Aisha thought a bit, her adorable little eyes shining, before-
"I-I'm not going to drain you!" Lorian said hastily.
"Aw." Aisha said, her ears drooping flat in disappointment. "Mmm… kisses?"
"That can be arranged!" Lorian said excitedly, giggling as she pulled Aisha up face to face. Aisha smiled as their mouths met, heat rushing in-
]
.
"And then we would kiss, and then I would-"
"Uh, what the hell?" Fei interrupted. "That's so adorable…"
"Mm…" Aisha mused, still staring off dreamily.
.
Two just stared blankly at Aisha.
.
"I'm going to go jump off a building." Two said. "See ya!"
.
He got off the bench and went outside.
.
"That sounds amazing!" Fei said. "Why aren't you still with her?"
Aisha's face instantly lost it's dreamy quality, and her expression went dark, depressed.
.
"She was too good for me." Aisha muttered. "I caused… a lot of trouble for her. She-"
.
Fei blew a raspberry, and Aisha's eyebrows furrowed.
"That's stupid."
"What." Aisha said darkly.
"Instead of trying to work through your problems, you just ran away?" Fei said incredulously, putting her hands on Aisha's forearm, shaking her lightly. "Come on! Haven't you ever dated someone before?"
"No."
"Oh my god." Fei rolled her eyes. "All you girls are a bunch of dating messes, you know."
Aisha tilted her head. "What?"
"Celeste, Vig, Kua, they've all never dated anyone before!" Fei laughed. "Come on. You're going to run into problems, you know! You always run into problems when you're dating someone. If you just run away, then how are you ever going to be in a relationship for more than a few months?"
"..." Aisha balled her hands into fists on her lap.
"You know, I was dating this guy once, and he seemed like a real nice guy, until he revealed he was a dentist, and he tried to-"
"Aisha!" Hana called. "Try this out!"
.
Aisha got off in a bench in a hurry, leaving Fei to smile and shake her head. She followed Aisha off the bench after a short pause, looking down over Aisha's shoulder to see what outfit Hana had picked up.
.
"I like it!" Fei said cheerfully, as Aless said, "Absolutely not."
.
It was a miniskirt and crop-top, barely any clothing at all. The hangers that they were hanging on were larger than the clothes themselves. Hana held them up with glee, practically drooling, but Aless slapped the hangers out of her hand before Aisha could take them.
.
"Ow!" Hana pouted. "What was that for?"
"She's not wearing that!" Aless hissed. "You probably know nothing about hume culture, but this is not okay!"
.
"I think it's cute!" Fei called out.
"You stay out of this!" Aless snapped, pointing a finger, crackling with electricity, at the short girl.
.
"Okay, ma'am."
.
"Okay, fine." Hana said, crossing her arms. "What did you pick out?"
.
Aless laid out a very boring white button-up shirt, and some black trousers. Hana blew a raspberry.
.
"Wait, I have something too." Celeste said, timidly. She laid out a silky blue dress, plain, simple, but also quite cute. She stepped aside to give Aisha a good look at all three outfits, laid out on the little couch.
.
Aisha's eyes scanned the three outfits, deciding which one she liked the best. Hana's was obviously not even a choice. Aisha always wanted to wear a dress, and it looked comfortable, and cute, but…
.
Her heart fluttered at the sight of Aless's outfit. It was the same one mistress had picked out for her…
.
"Aww!" Hana, Celeste and Fei all chorused, as Aisha held the shirt to her chest with nostalgia. It smelled just like it did when mistress first gave it to her, so long ago… minus the amazing scent, of course.
.
"We'll take this one!" Aless called..
.
.
As the group left the shop, each off to go their separate ways, Aisha tugged on Aless's sleeve.
.
"Huh?" The stern woman said, turning around. "Oh, goddammit."
"What?" Aisha asked indignantly.
"You know, most people, when they get someone's attention, they tap their shoulder or something." Aless explained.
"...Ok."
"What do you want?"
"Do you want to train?" Aisha asked, hefting her greatsword. "Or something?"
"Umm…" Aless raised an eyebrow. "Why me?"
"Out of everyone I know, you're the most skilled at fighting." Aisha said. "I… wanna train."
"Oh." Aless said, legitimately surprised. She scratched her head. "I guess… I could. But I think there would be someone better to train you."
"Who?"
.
.
.
Half an hour later, Aisha was sat on Mihyang's lap, the exotic girl fluffing her ears as she talked to Aless.
.
"Why are we here?" Aisha asked. "Am I going to train with the swordsman again?"
"Who?" Aless said, raising her eyebrow. "The guy Mimi works for? No. Uh… I was wondering if Mimi would train you."
"Why?"
"Because…" Mihyang started. "I was the one who trained her in the agent program. And then later, I got kicked out because I was dating her."
.
Aless blushed, and Aisha suddenly had a feeling of what it was like for Fen, when she had to watch her and mistress.
.
"Is that why you're always so passive-aggressive?" Aisha asked.
"I'm a maid." Mihyang said flatly. "Sin is a kind man for hiring me, after my disgrace… but I'm still a maid. Not the most exciting job."
"..."
Mihyang got up, dumping Aisha out of her lap. "Alright, let's go train."
.
.
"Okay." Mihyang said, now face-to-face with Aisha outdoors, in the neatly trimmed lawn that she had curated herself. "I'm just going to get a feel for your skill level. Come at me."
"Ugh." Aisha groaned. "Really?"
"What?" The maid said, raising an eyebrow.
"What's going to happen?" Aisha asked. "I'm going to come at you, and you're going to flip me, right?"
.
Mihyang raised both eyebrows, and a small, crazed grin appeared on the maid's face.
"You've had some real training before!" She exclaimed, laughing. "Okay then, I will come at you!"
.
Aisha was entirely unprepared when Mihyang broke out into a sprint, rushing directly at her with a crazed look. Aisha drew her sword and attempted to swing at the woman, but missed when Mihyang jumped over Aisha and wrapped her legs around her neck, twisting Aisha's entire body onto the ground, face-down.
.
Aisha choked out a gasp and rubbed her neck, attempting to get up, but Mihyang jumped on top of Aisha's back, straddling her waist, and began to smash her fists against the back of her head, also tugging at her ears painfully.
.
"Ow!" Aisha cried. "Ow! What-urk!-are you doing!?"
"She's going easy on you." Aless smiled. "Uh… the first time she did that to me, that was when I first started… uhh…" Aless blushed.
"Awww…" Mihyang laughed. "That's so sweet."
"T-thanks."
.
After a full five minutes of pain, Mihyang finally tired out, laughing as she un-stradded Aisha's waist.
.
"Ow…" Aisha groaned into the dirt.
Mihyang laughed. "That was great! That was a great sparring session!"
"Got a lot of pent-up anger, clearly." Aisha muttered. "OW!"
.
"Alright, get up." Mihyang commanded. "We're going to start training."
"What was that, then?" Aisha asked incredulously.
"..."
.
.
.
"Alright!" Mihyang said, clapping her hands together. "First lesson! Focus your spirit!"
"What does that mean?" Aisha asked.
"It means THIS!" Mihyang grunted, as she threw her fist at Aisha's head. The short girl recoiled in response, raising her hand to block-
.
Her forearms shook with the force of Mihyang's punch, a familiar sensation, and completely unexpected from such a slender woman. Her eyes widened.
.
(She's as strong as me!) Aisha realized, and suddenly, she began to panic. She didn't know how to fight without leveraging her massive strength- that was one of the only things that she had.
.
Aisha's brain shut down as she was forced onto the defensive, blows raining down on her face, arms and ribs like bullets. She didn't flinch- she was used to it, hardening her gaze.
.
(Calm down! This is just like fighting him!)
.
Aisha ducked beneath one of Mihyang's punches, getting a good look at the woman's surprised face, and leaned to the side to dodge another jab aimed at her chest. She threw a jab at Mihyang's face, but suddenly, her feet were swept out from under her, and she hit the ground hard.
.
"Ow."
.
Aisha attempted to get up, but received a punch to the face, before Mihyang backed up, motioning for Aisha to get up.
"Again." She demanded.
"Yeah, yeah." Aisha grumbled, used to it.
.
.
.
After the sixth time Aisha got up, bruises starting to pocket her body, and her stomach beginning to feel queasy from all the repeated blows. Mihyang showed visible surprise, her arms dropping to her side.
.
"Damn." She whistled. "Most of the agents started crying after the third beating. And there was that one kid who started crying after the first hit!"
"Oh yeah!" Aless laughed. "That was Two!"
"You're trying to break my spirit, right?" Aisha coughed out. "It's too late for that."
"What do you mean by that?" Mihyang asked. "Too late?"
"I've… done this before."
"...That's depressing." Mihyang sulked. "Breaking people is half of the fun of the job."
"What's the other half?" Aless asked.
"Spending time with you!" Mihyang smiled, with a happy expression.
.
Aisha threw up on the ground, and the maid grabbed Aisha's hand, helping the girl up.
.
"Okay, okay." She relented. "Maybe I shouldn't treat Aless's friends like this. Real training starts now, I promise."
"Ugh."
.
Mihyang rolled her eyes. "What do you know about spirit?" She asked.
'I don't have one." Aisha answered. "It has something to do with mana-"
Mihyang shook her head. "No, no. Not the soul. The spirit."
"...I don't…"
"Your spirit." Mihyang paused. "Is a network that flows through you, carrying your energy through your body."
"...What kind of energy?"
Mihyang shushed Aisha, poking at her mouth. "You don't need a soul to have a 'spirit.'"
"Okay."
"What matters is, your energy flows in a cycle through your body." Mihyang explained. "Your blood, breathing… Uh… Flows in a cycle."
.
Mihyang drew a circle on Aisha's body with a finger.
"So, how you have to think about this, is, uh…"
"...uh?"
"Shut your… mouth hole, okay?" Mihyang pursed her lips. "So how you have to think about this, is that you can't really… force your energy to one point in your body. Which is what you do."
"...Hey…"
"Think of flowing water." Mihyang said, scratching her head. "That's you."
.
Aisha nodded.
.
"So when a wave crashes onto the shore, it pulls back, afterwards, yes?" Mihyang said. "Don't answer that. And the farther you are from shore, the bigger the wave, because there is more water. So-"
"What's the point?" Aisha asked, boredly. "What is this supposed to mean? How am I supposed to use this?"
.
"Okay. Jeez." Mihyang said with displeasure. "It means, when you throw a punch, you use more than just the force in your arm. The weight of your body, the muscles in your legs and feet, all go into a single motion. That's what the crashing wave is. That's why-"
.
Mihyang raised her arm, and punched Aisha in the shoulder. It didn't hurt.
.
"When I just do this, I'm not nearly as strong as you." She explained. "But when I do tHIS!"
.
Aisha ducked under Mihyang's hand, as she tried to get in another cheap shot on Aisha's head.
.
Mihyang laughed at Aisha's cool, yet slightly annoyed look. It was clear that she was no stranger to her kind of toxic teaching, where she was forced to be focused at all times. Mihyang relished the challenge, though - it would be fun seeing Aisha break, if she could.
.
.
"Here's the first lesson." Mihyang said. "I have this old training dummy from when I was an instructor. You're going to break it, using this form."
.
Mihyang leaned the flimsy-looking training dummy against the side of Vigil's house, and then squared up, twisting her torso, and moving her entire body, to punch at the dummy, stopping right before she actually hit it.
.
"Got it?" She asked.
"Not-" Aisha started.
"Great!" Mihyang beamed a big, predatory smile. "Start!"
.
Aisha took the same stance that Mihyang did, and attempted the same movement-
.
"Ouch!" She grunted, holding up the knuckles on her hand, as Mihyang howled with laughter.
.
"Haha!" She screamed. "Never gets old! Hardened greatwood!"
.
Aisha glared daggers into Mihyang, but the woman didn't stop laughing, her eyes closed. The short girl just sighed, and went back to the form.
.
(Picture it in your mind. Copy it. She started… like this. No, for you… you're left handed. You have to reverse it.)
.
(Right foot forward. Step back a little. Twist your body, step forward, and extend your arm, all at the same time.)
.
Aisha grunted again as she slammed her fist into the wooden dummy again, reverberations traveling up her arm, but much fainter than before. The wood splintered under her fist, and a visible crack spread through the dummy.
.
"Hey, wait-" Mihyang started.
.
The second punch, Aisha smashed through the solid wood dummy, shards of wood flying everywhere. Mihyang grimaced as a few splinters bounced off her mana shield, reflexively shielding her eyes.
.
"Damn." She whistled. "You learned really fast! You're a natural!"
Aisha scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "I wouldn't say that. I just copied what you did."
Mihyang raised an eyebrow. "You copied my form almost perfectly, in just a couple tries. That's a gift, girl. It usually takes people… a few days, at least, to get that form right."
.
Suddenly, Aisha could no longer hear Mihyang, as a loud ringing sounded in her ears. She grimaced at the sound, looking to the Aless and the maid, but oddly enough, they didn't seem as if they heard anything, their mouths moving with no sound. She looked around, disoriented, before her eyes locked onto a figure she recognized all too well.
.
"You are gifted." Xelos whispered. "Isn't that interesting."
.
Suddenly, the ringing stopped.
"Where did he go!?" Aisha demanded. "Where…"
.
Aless gave Aisha a curious look, tilting her head slightly. "Did you see someone?"
"What?" Aisha muttered distractedly. "No… I…"
"You okay?"
"...Yeah."
Mihyang clapped her hands. "Back to training. You're going to keep practicing until your form is consistent. And after, we can move onto something more exciting!"
.
.
.
After a few more hours of training, Aisha was finally feeling the bruises on her body, looking remarkably like a panda with all the black spots on her arms, legs, and especially face. She winced as she slammed her shin into a tree trunk, collapsing and rubbing her leg to soothe the blunt pain.
.
"Okay, okay." Mihyang said, stepping between Aisha and the tree. "I admire the pain tolerance, but you're too hurt to train anymore."
"I…" Aisha muttered. "Yeah."
"You know, I've never said this before." Mihyang put a hand on Aisha's back, one of her only unharmed areas. "But you're a genius at this. I'm surprised."
"Y-yeah." Aisha whispered, suddenly interested in her feet, a cold feeling settling in her stomach. "Ugh…"
"Here, lie down." Mihyang sat down, crossing her legs and patting her lap. "You're going to get a massage."
"Uh… Really?" Aisha asked, sneaking a glance at Aless. Oddly enough, the tall woman didn't meet her gaze, putting a hand over her mouth. Aisha was instantly suspicious, but she couldn't see Aless's face to read her expression.
.
Carefully, she laid down in Mihyang's lap, face down. When she heard cackling, Aisha instantly tried to roll out of the crazy girl's grasp, but Mihyang forced her still, jabbing a finger into Aisha's neck.
.
"OW!" Aisha yelped. "AUGH! AH!"
.
Mihyang jabbed her finger into various pressure points on Aisha's body, laughing with glee as Aisha squirmed in pain at every single poke. Every nerve in Aisha's body shot up with pain, and even though Aisha was used to being cut, beaten, and whipped, she was utterly unprepared for the pain that shot deep inside her body, like electric shocks. Aisha looked at Aless, and saw a guilty expression.
.
(Traitor!)
.
After a few minutes of intense pain, Aisha laid limp on Mihyang's lap, her eyes dull, and mouth slightly agape, the remnants of Mihyang's 'massage' lingering through her back and arms.
.
"Why did you do that…" Aisha groaned, as Mihyang pulled the girl into a sitting position, wrapping her arms around her, cuddling into her ears.
"It's to improve energy flow through your body." Mihyang explained. "Your wounds will heal faster."
"I don't believe you…" The short girl muttered, although she did notice that her arms didn't throb as hard with pain, despite the pressure Mihyang's hug was putting on her.
.
Aless was feeling a little jealous, so she sat down next to her girlfriend, rubbing their arms together, silently pleading for some hugs as well. Mihyang obliged, removing an arm from around Aisha's bruised midsection to place around Aless's shoulders.
"Ah…" Mihyang sighed. "Training's fun, but this is okay too."
"There was nothing fun about that."
"On the contrary, my adorable little student." Mihyang grinned. "I had a lot of fun."
"Ugh."
"You know, she went easy on you." Aless muttered, shivering slightly. "When I was in the program…"
"Oh yeah!" Mihyang smiled. "Oh, you lasted so much longer than the other recruits! You had a better pain tolerance than Aisha! But when I finally broke you, and you started crying…"
.
A wide grin spread on Mihyang's face.
"Oh, you were so adorable!" She squealed. "I couldn't help but give you special treatment, you were so cute… Oh, it was worth getting kicked out of the program, to see such an adorable, crying face…"
"..." Aisha was hesitant to ask, but… "What do you mean by special treatment?"
"Oh, when we were training, I would always choose Aless to be my assistant! I would show off all the forms on her! And then, I moved her quarters to my room, and I would smother her with kisses and hugs before we went to bed…"
.
Aless blushed, and Aisha couldn't muster anything but an incredulous expression, at the crazy, sadist, combat instructor-turned-maid. But even crazier, was that her feelings were somehow, her feelings weren't unrequited…
.
Aisha shook her head. She shouldn't judge their relationship, as weird as it was…
.
"Ah… you smell nice." Mihyang murmured. "Is it a fey thing?"
"Uh. I think so." Aisha muttered.
"Hmm… you're cute, but not as cute as Aless. You didn't even cry." Mihyang observed with disappointment. "Did someone already beat the tears out of you?"
.
Aisha sighed, freezing briefly as her vision began to flicker, a shadowy visage flitting in her peripheral vision. She ignored it. "I guess it's more like… I never really had any tears in the first place. At least… nevermind."
"How melodramatic." Mihyang blew a raspberry. "Okay, it's getting late. You wanna stay over at the manor?"
.
"Uh, are you sure Sin would be okay with that?" Aless asked.
"He's fine with anything." Mihyang scoffed. "He just wants company. Besides, he owes me a few favors."
"...Favors?"
.
"Alright!" Mihyang stood up suddenly, surprising both Aisha and Aless. "Let's go inside! We have more training to do tomorrow!"