Back at Hades mansion Suzuki went to continue his training after having a deliciously prepared meal from Mara.He was waiting for Pisces to return, when he saw the darkness moving.
"Pisces?"
"No.." A rusty voice answered.
Darkness swirled, and from it emerged a Lion with a marvelous mane that looked like the sun.
"I am Leo."
"Where is Pisces?"
"We are all part of the same entitiy. Our purpose was to govern the laws of nature, and keep balance in the natural world, but other gods wanted to change our world, and steal our power, so they trapped us here, subjecting us to suffering,but Hades gave us sanctuary."
"Oh.." Suzuki was at a loss for words.
Leo lowered his arms, digging his nails in the sand. He smirked.
"Enough with stories, let's begin."
Suzuki's eyes widened as he pounced forward. He ran,dodging the lions attacks.
"You can't keep running, your stamina won't last forever. You must turn, and fight!" He kept a steady pace next to Suzuki.
Suzuki couldn't speak, he could barely breathe. He needed to think of a plan. Surely he couldn't beat a lion with his bare hands. Can lions climb? Gaining momentum, he shot up a tree. Gasping for air. He stared at the lion below and let out a laugh of relief. The lion looked curiously at him, and then smirked. He pounced up on the lowest branch. Suzuki made haste and climbed higher, he began to feel panicked.
Ok, so lions can climb, but looking at him closer, he could see how he was struggling to keep his balance. His large body made it difficult to maneuver. At that time he thought of an idea. Suzuki moved down to some smaller branches. Keeping a tight grip on a branch above him. The lion made it's way up facing him head on. Moving slowly towards him testing his weight on the branch below. It seemed it would hold, he smirked and moved closer. When he got closer, Suzuki suddenly jumped up hitting the bottom branch as hard as he could, snapping it.
The lion fell, and as it hit the ground it evaporated. The cloud shifted across the garden forming back into a lion.
"That was good!" He said with, what you could call a smile.
"I thought I almost had you for a second! Well, that's our training for today. You can spend the rest of the afternoon as you like. I'll see you tomorrow."
Feeling relieved,he said goodbye. Suzuki was walking to the bath house, when he came across Hades. Hades looked at him curiously.
"Looks like your training went well.Why don't you use my bath instead? I was just about to heat it up."
Suzuki felt a bit uncomfortable using Hades personal bath, but he politely agreed.
He couldn't help but admire Hades quarters. They were fit for royalty,and the bath looked extremely inviting with the hot water overflowing.
Suzuki got undressed and stepped into the bath. At first the hot sting of the water on his skin made him tense, but as he eased in his hair stood up, and he felt a steady release.
Hades sat at the edge of the bath. He stared at Suzuki laying with his head back in a deep state of relaxation.
Suzuki knew he was close. His bare chest could feel the gentle swooshing going on just under the surface.
"You look pretty tired, I will call Mara and tell her to bring food to the room. Tonight may be a long night."
Suzuki lifted his head and agreed before letting out a long sigh at the thought of more training.
When Suzuki finished bathing he saw the coffee table was covered with loads of small plates full of delicious food cooked by Mara. Suzuki said thanks, and ate an enormous amount. Stuffing his face Hades couldn't help but realise humans all acted the same way towards Mara's food. He smiled, looking at Suzuki who was nearly done.
"Right, shall we go to bed then?"
"Oh sure." He finished up the last bit of food while Hades went ahead.
Suzuki brushed his teeth, and changed into his yukata. Standing in the doorway he looked at the massive bed. He figured it wouldn't be too bad, there should be enough space to keep them from touching.While he was in thought, Hades passed him, their skin brushing against eachother. He felt a small sharp pain, and clenched his chest. Hades laid down, and Suzuki stood there in the doorway nervously watching him.
"What's wrong? You can sleep on the right side.I always sleep on the left hand side."
Suzuki nodded as he walked over, getting into the bed. He turned his back to Hades, knowing he was quite far away, but not long after he felt the bed start to shake.He could feel Hades was closer to him,and his chest was dizzy with emotions, turning around he finds himself face to face with Hades.
"How does it feel?" He said looking at his chest.
"Overwhelming."