Page 22 of Fixation of the Mind

Rion hissed back, “Quiet. Just wait. It's all about timing.”

Roux’s deep rumble sounded after. “Sure, for us, but for her, it's trust.”

“Trust will only be built over time, and the seed has already been planted,” Rion replied. “We just need her to see, to prove to her, that we will never waver, never leave. We are bound together in this life no matter what it throws at us, and she will never be alone again.”

Resting my head against the door, hearing their whispers grow more faint, I knew he was right. He knew me, but did I know him?

Shaking my head, I opened my phone and called Cin. The first words out of her mouth were that she would rather burn the whole city down to find me than let Ambros keep us from being friends. I definitely didn’t want that, so I told her I wouldn't let him. We made plans to talk every night, to which she demanded visual confirmation since she wouldn't put it past Ambros to come up with a computerized voice to trick her.

And that was how my night ended, with Cin threatening to burn, torture, and murder people just to keep me in her life.

I hated to admit it, but… these crazy people were starting to grow on me.

After that first training session, Roux seemed to take a different approach. Sure, he still yelled at me like a drill sergeant, and I still raged at him like he was the thorn in my side, but the actual training wasn't as bone melting as the first day. We now had a schedule of what we were doing on each day, we had proper breaks, and he had me on a high-protein diet. The best part came about halfway through the month when he informed me that it was time for fight and defense training.

I was thrilled to be able to put these muscles I’d been building to actual use.

Ever since I got here, I’d been leaning on the guys and others for protection, and while it was a nice change to my overly cautious, always-looking-out-for-myself attitude, I had felt helpless when I found out the truth. Helpless that those I trusted and counted on couldn't be that shield anymore.

It was nice that the guys wanted to protect me, but I had this want, this urge, to be able to do it myself. Making sure that if I didn't have anyone by my side, I could do something on my own, rescue myself if the situation ever called for it. I knew it would take years and years to get to their level, but I still wanted to be able to defend myself in certain situations.

I also didn't know what kind of life I was going to lead after this “test,” but with how the boys acted and what they’d said… It sounded like I was really going to need to know these skills and handle myself.

We came up to the gym’s back door. When I spoke aloud my name, the first light on the door turned green, then I put my eye near the camera next. A second beep sounded as the next green light popped up. I placed my hand on the handle, bracing myself for the pinprick, then the third beep and green light came. The handle went down on its own, and as soon as the door opened, Roux issued his orders. “Sit in the center of the mat and start to stretch.”

The door slammed shut, forcing Roux to go through the same steps to get in. It was annoying, but I guessed that was the kind of high-tech, triple-checking systems that Foedus depended on. When I asked him what would happen if we went in at the same time, his eyes widened and he shook his head, saying it wasn't worth the extra ten minutes.

Throwing my bag in the corner, I noticed that all of the equipment had been moved to one side of the room and more padding had been added to the floor. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, making my limbs involuntarily shake as I thought about today. I was sure he was only going to teach me the basics, but I was ready.

Plopping myself down, I started to stretch. Not long after, I heard the door open then the familiar slamming of his bag next to mine. Over the course of these two weeks, Roux and I had gotten into a groove with each other.

The first few days were silent, other than him barking out orders and me resenting him with all of my being. Then he started barking less and instructing more. It was still in a stern, grumpy manner, but the bite to his words had disappeared. It made me listen more and ask questions when I had them.

The second week, we had nailed down our routine of waking up at the same time, eating the same things, with me complaining about it nonetheless, then heading off to the gym. I didn’t know when it truly started, but there was an ease between us now.

I learned that he knew a lot about the human body, like doctor level knowleage. If I told him something hurt, he could figure out if it was a muscle or a nerve. Just by looking at me, he could tell if something was about to go wrong or if I was using the wrong muscle. Somehow, he was able to figure out things about my body that I wasn't even voicing. It was amazing and impressive.

Our interactions used to always be on, ready to fight, but now they were more, dare I say, playful. The burning fire was still there, but it didn’t scorch the skin… or maybe I had gotten so used to the fire that it didn't hurt? Either way, working out and being around him wasn't the worst thing in the world. In fact, I kinda enjoyed it.

“Did the door take your soul this time?” I looked up at his normal frown as he came my way.

“Almost,” he grumbled, and I rolled my lips into my mouth to keep from smiling.

“Bend further.” He walked up behind me, his fingers surprisingly gentle when he pushed on the center of my back. “Keep your back straight but bring your chest down to the ground as close as you can.”

I went down a whole inch further, the stretch in my thighs burning just as much as the hands on my back scorched me. It took all of my might to stop wishing they would move up and under. Flashes of us in the stairwell crossed my mind, and I gasped.

“What's wrong?” He covered up his worried voice by following it up with a rough, meaner one. “Damn it, Rin. I told you to let me know if I was pushing you too far!”

He yanked his hands away, and I took a deep breath, trying to keep the panting out of my voice. “Nope. It wasn't too far. I just thought about…” Think, Layrin, think! An excuse, any excuse!

“The end-of-year project!” I winced, knowing it had come out a little too loud and fast. He eyed me like he didn't believe me, so I doubled down on my stupidity.

“How am I going to be able to work with Elio when we have all this training and the test to worry about?” That was apparently the wrong thing to bring up because he quickly came around and got in my face.

“Don’t fucking worry about that fucktard Irish-Italian. He is of no concern to you anymore. Got it?”

His whole face was red, his muscles bunched up like he wanted to punch something. What the hell? “What's wrong with Elio? I thought he and Cin were on our side?”

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