Hey guys, Seth here. Koren and Alaric are still out...but they should be up and about by the next chapter...technically anyway. Mei's sick so I'm taking over for a bit! Go me! Passing that, this chapter is filled with randomness (of course). Aidan gets put through the ropes as he's trained by Nat...and then he gets a little surprise from our female player who just loves watching him squirm. HAHA *stomach growls* geez, reading about the breakfast Aidan's cooking up is making me hungry. Well, I'll let you read while I go hunt out some food! Enjoy *attacks fridge*


Torture and Seduction

Natalia woke earlier than normal to the aroma of breakfast cooking. Her eyes snapped open as she dressed rapidly, falling over a bit in the process. Aidan looked up from the pan of frying egg, his right hand flipping it while his left stirred the sizzling mushrooms in the other smaller pan. He smiled at the thumps and swearing coming from the floor above him; it was nice to hear her up and about so early. She soon came downstairs, her hair a mess and a string of drool spearing from the corner of her mouth.

Aidan gave her a slow smile, pulling a cloth from the back pocket of his shorts and waving it at her. When she stayed in a daze like state he sighed and moved closer, intending to wipe the drool form her mouth. Natalia suddenly snapped out of her dazed state and moved back, away from his hand. He smiled and handed it to her saying

"You might want to wipe the drool form your mouth." He chuckled as she did that, lightly blushing. Then he pointed to the dining room and said

"Most of breakfast is out there already. Fruit platter, scrambled eggs, French toast, fresh orange juice, crepes and pancakes plus any toppings you may like on them…uh bacon is almost done, tomato needs to go out, and the omuraiso is almost done. I think I made enough for us both." Natalia simply turned and walked into the dining room, body still slumped and Aidan just laughed as he went back to finishing the meal…it was obvious she wasn't a responsive person until after breakfast.

He tossed the omelette once more before sliding it onto a plate. Next he grabbed the fried rice he'd previously done, mixed in the cooked mushrooms and sliced bacon, tossed in a bit of chicken and spices, and then placed in down the centre of the omelette. Satisfied he rolled it up and squiggled the top with tomato sauce. Nodding happily, he placed the multiple plates on his arms and carried them out to the dining room, setting them down in their spots before pouring a cup of coffee for Nat and sitting down. He smiled and said

"Enjoy!" Nat didn't say anything; she simply dug in with vigour. He watched her as he ate, always happy to see someone enjoy his food.

Once they were done, Aidan took the dishes to the kitchen and proceeded to clean up the mess he had made, leaving Nat to enjoy her coffee with the CD player on. Just as he finished putting away the last plate she came in, full of energy, and said

"Let's begin the training! You ready Aidan?" Aidan blinked at the sudden change before his grin returned and he nodded happily, racing outside after her after quickly grabbing his black tennis cap. He wasn't completely sure about what she had planned but it would be worthwhile nonetheless.

They started with simple stretching/warm-up exercises before Nat lead Aidan into the forest for a jog. As they ran, Nat explained a bit about what they were going to do.

"We're heading down to the waterfall. There we're going to practice on our arm strength. Got it?" Aidan just nodded as Nat added

"While we're here I'm in charge. What I say goes, no questions asked. I won't accept whining or complaining, I'll just kick you until you complete the task you were given. No sympathy will be shown here." She glanced at Aidan who sweat-dropped slightly at the mood change again and simply nodded back, swallowing nervously as Nat suddenly had an evil grin plastered to her face.

"But first, we're taking the long route to the waterfall…pick up the pace and follow me!" She spun and headed uphill all of a sudden, her pace speeding up. Aidan blinked and cried out

"Wait up!" He picked up his pace and raced after her. Every now and then, she would change directions; up, left, down, up, right, left, right, up, down, up, up and up. Soon enough Aidan was relying on her sense of direction because he was hopelessly lost. Nat then turned and raced straight up, following a thin dirt track beaten into the forest.

Aidan panted heavily as he followed her, his pace slowly down while Nat's stayed consistent. Nat glanced back at Aidan who was falling behind now. She smiled and whispered to herself

"Come on Aidan, not much further. Don't tell me you're quitting already…" Nat paused and added as an afterthought as she saw Aidan's shoulders stiffen,

"How useless…"

Aidan's head flew up; eyes narrowing and determination filling his bright blue eyes. Nat blinked as he suddenly sped up, racing up until he was right behind her.

"I'll never quit! And I'm not useless! You'll see!" Nat chuckled and kept running, still wondering how he had heard her from over twenty metres away. She knew his hearing was good but before now he would never have heard her. She turned a sharp left and leaped over a bush before stopping on the rocky cliff face, the raging rapids spraying water into her face. Aidan landed beside her and then sat down, head bowed as he breathed heavily. Nat let out one long breath and smiled, breathing regular still as she said

"Right, that's stage one done. Shall we begin the next stage?" Aidan nodded before standing and placing his legs slightly further apart to keep his balance. Nat pointed upstream where the water was calmer.

"We're going swimming. Come on."

They walked upstream about a hundred metres and Nat said

"Get in!" Aidan removed his shirt, shoes, socks and cap before walking through the water until he stood waist deep, feet digging into the rocks so he wouldn't be pushed by the current. He looked at her and she smirked.

"Swim." Aidan looked dead confused as he started swimming against the current, going strong for a good ten minutes before he started to float downstream despite still swimming. Nat followed him along the bank and, after he floated about fifty metres, said simply

"I'd keep swimming if I was you…if you stop, you'll end up over the waterfall." Aidan stopped swimming to look over his shoulder before he cried out, swimming faster but not going anywhere. He got dragged further and further back, Nat smirking the entire time. She even laughed as Aidan drew closer.

Aidan's eyes went wide as he felt the riverbed disappear, replaced by water and air. He screamed as he fell backwards off the cliff face, diving headfirst toward the water below him. Acting on instinct, he titled his body horizontally in order to slow his fall. Sadly, that only worked for sky diving…but it wasn't the smartest thing to do when you're about to land on water. Nat watched, hearing the resounding slap as water met the flesh on Aidan's back. Aidan's howl drifted up to her followed by a long string of very foul language before she watched as he simply floated there. She sighed, stripping to her swimmer top and board shorts. She then cheered as she jumped, diving straight down and entering the water like a professional.

She broke the surface as Aidan floated past, smiling at her saying

"Aidan's score: 2; Natalia's score: 10. We have a winner!" Nat chuckled, looking around the area briefly before looking back toward the spot where Aidan had been. She blinked in confusion and then yelped when something grabbed her ankles and pulled her under. She opened her eyes underwater and noticed the grinning Aidan waving at her as he swum back to the surface. Nat grinned as well, swimming up and taking a deep breath before swimming ashore followed by Aidan. He flopped there, back bright red from the earlier impact. Nat stood and said with an evil tone in her voice

"Since you have so much energy left, let's work on your strength some more." He looked at her blankly and then followed her hand as she pointed toward the waterfall.

"Let's go rock climbing."

Aidan's feet dragged in the dirt as Nat basically carried him back to the house. Nat smiled, one hand holding onto his arm while the other gripped his waist. He'd climbed the cliff, reached the top, and then fallen unconscious. She kicked open the front door and laid Aidan on the couch on his side. As she straightened, his hand caught in her shirt, keeping her in place.

She grumbled, trying to detangle his hand but the more she tried, the stronger his hand gripped. Suddenly he rolled onto his back, pulling her down as he did. Nat cried out, falling on top of Aidan and then her eyes flew open as their lips met. She stayed there, frozen in surprise before slowly pulling back, looking down at Aidan. As she watched, he slowly smiled in his unconscious state, his hand falling to his side before he muttered

"…Natalia…" Nat got off Aidan and went upstairs to take a cool shower before preparing lunch, her cheeks pinkening lightly.

Aidan's nose twitched, eyes opening as the smell of food reached his senses. The wonderful smell was suddenly replaced by the pounding headache. He sat up, stretching out the kinks in his back before making his way to the kitchen where Nat was preparing chicken, mushroom and garlic risotto. He sat at the bench as Nat turned to him asking

"Feeling better now?" He nodded and then blinked as she snapped out

"Good. Now go get a shower and then we'll eat. Then we'll start training again." Aidan nodded slowly, moving out of the kitchen at a sluggish pace until Nat threw a saucepan at him.

Nat sighed, serving up the food and placing it in the oven to keep it warm until Aidan returned; which was only about five minutes later. Aidan raced into the dining room, towel draped over his shoulders to keep his still dripping hair from wetting his blue shirt. He sat down as Nat brought out their lunch, sitting opposite him. He thanked her and dug in happily. Nat smirked as she took a bite of her own meal and thought good thing he's so energetic…he's gonna need all the energy he can get for the next part of today's training. Aidan looked up at her, swallowing as he asked slowly

"So, what are we doing next Nat?" Nat didn't reply, simply kept eating.

He had no clue what she was going to put him though.

Aidan stumbled upstairs and then simply collapsed on his bed, his legs shaking as his muscles screamed in pain. The session had been torturous and he could have sworn he had black bruises lining his body.

-Flashback-

Nat attached some light weights to Aidan's ankles and then stood, handing him a tennis ball.

"Now, don't let go of this ball. You let go, you fail; and if you fail, I'll make you run to the stream at the base of the mountain to collect water. Understood?" Aidan just nodded, taking the ball and holding it tightly in his hand. She pointed to the right and then explained further as the cries of crows suddenly encircled them.

"I want you to go that way and keep going until you reach the mansion again. Remember, don't drop the ball." He looked up at the crows and then nodded, walking off before ducking as a crow dived toward him. Nat chuckled before saying

"Oh and watch out for the crows. They're after the ball." Aidan blinked and then raced of, at least a dozen crows.

Aidan screamed, ducking as three more crows dived at his head.

"Stupid crows! Get lost would you? I'm trying to train here! Shoo!" They just kept after him. Aidan raced over the mountain, taking various turns in an attempt to lose the birds following him. He chucked a right and then sped up, running straight ahead and doing his best to ignore the burning in his legs and lungs.

"Damn it, it's like they're locked onto me…hold on…they only came after me after I got the ball…" He looked at the ball and then threw it into the air, watching as the crows chased after it. He leaped up, caught the ball and then ran off again yelling

"They want the ball! Why'd you give me a ball that attracts crows, Natalia?"

Aidan stumbled, sliding down the hill and then quickly getting back up, running again, the crows still on his tail. Finally, after four hours of running, the house came into view. He cheered, picking up the pace and racing inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He slid down the door and then picked himself back up, stumbling up the steps.

-End Flashback-

And that was how he ended up back in bed, legs aching and the ball still gripped tightly in his hand. Sighing loudly, he closed his eyes and fell asleep, unaware of Nat's eyes watching him.

Nat smiled, he had made it. His body was bruised and he had a few cuts and grazes on his arms and legs, but he had completed it without collapsing until he had got back inside. She closed the door and went downstairs, putting his dinner into the fridge. She cleaned up, showered, changed and then headed to bed after locking up, very pleased at how training had gone for day one.

Aidan groaned in agony as he sat up. He'd prefer to stay in bed but he knew Natalia wouldn't get up until the smell of food aroused her from her sleep. He stumbled out of bed to the shower, hissing as the hot water hit his cuts. Soon enough he was out and drying. He sighed, wrapping the towel around his waist before turning to the sound of footsteps. That turn found him lip locked with Nat who had her hand stretched out since she'd wanted to ruffle his hair. They quickly separated, Aidan retreating to his rooms with heated cheeks while Natalia headed to the lounge to read while Aidan cooked.

Straight after a large English style breakfast they headed down to Court D, a specially designed course. It was made on a slope, the ground uneven and littered with rocks. Aidan took his place on the lower half and was soon annoyed at how his balls didn't bounce the way he wanted. But it didn't take him long to adjust his style to match the courts angle and surface. They played several games and Natalia showed him no mercy which was why, by the end of the ninth game, she found herself carrying an exhausted Aidan back to camp.

As she was making lunch, she sighed; she knew she was pushing him too much and decided to let her mother hen side run rampart for a bit. Aidan groaned, eyes opening as he woke, hearing humming coming from the kitchen. He struggled to sit upright as the humming stopped. Natalia walked into the room and looked at him her head tilted,

"Are you alright or should I carry you to bed?" Aidan blinked in shock but went with the flow and replied in a childish voice,

"No thank you Mommy." Natalia smiled as she walked up to him, kissing him on the head and then went back into the kitchen, returning with a plate of food. She gave him the food before walking off. He blinked in surprise before eating.

As he ate he found his eyes drawn to the window, something outside gaining his attention. His sight was moderate for once and it was because of that his motion sensing kicked into gear. He dragged himself off the couch to the window seat before watching as Natalia training the life out of herself.

He watched in curiosity and was entertained by this side of his friend; although she probably should have knocked herself out by now. He watched her some more before frowning as she left his line of sight. He put his hand down and found a remote beside him. He blinked ad pointed it at the window before pressing 'play'. Nothing happened. Natalia didn't come back into his field of vision. He grumbled, pressing more buttons and muttering in annoyance

"Doesn't work *click*. Why doesn't it work? *click*. This is no fun!" He threw the remote onto the couch before jumping as the TV came on. He grinned before getting up and walking over to the TV. He grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels, deciding to enjoy the TV while he could still see.

"Boring…boring…dull…don't want to know…downright lame…AHH! MY EYES! WHY IS THERE A PORN CHANNEL?"

Natalia, who had walked in at that moment, smirked and asked

"You're a prude?" Aidan jumped up at the sound of her voice, turning around to face give her a confused look before freezing as her eyes travelled over his standing body.

"And you recover faster than I thought hmmm…" Aidan waited, knowing she would likely be mad at him for lying about his inability to stand before. Then he sighed in relief as she said

"I'm not going to do anything more today." He gave her a relived smile before she added

"But, I'm going to make the rest of this week hell for you simply because you lied to me." And with that she walked away as she began to prepare an early dinner while Aidan sat down on the carpet and whacked his head against the floor muttering

"I'm so dead…and stupid…" Then he sat up, rubbing his head before murmuring

"What's a prude?"

He shook his head and wandered upstairs to shower before dinner, determined to locate a dictionary to figure out what she had called him. He had no clue what Nat was plotting in her head as she cooked up devilled sausages with stewed apples and a green salad on the side.

She was going to make tomorrow a very interesting day for Aidan…

Aidan yawned, stretching as he sat up. He mentally cheered when he opened his eyes, his sight exceptionally clear for the first time in four months. He glanced at the clock, noting it was barely past six. He yawned again before mumbling

"Stupid early mornings. Why can't I sleep in?" He scratched his head as he swung his legs out from under the sheets only to have them tangle up and send him crashing face first to the floor. Aidan growled, getting up and cursing the sheets as he untangled himself. He heard the door open and said

"Morning Nat, you're up early." Nat chuckled from behind him, obviously amused by his predicament.

"Need some help Aidan?" He shook his head, turning to smile at her before his smile fell and his eyes flew wide, almost wishing his sight was black. Nat was leaning toward him, a smile on her face, but that wasn't what had him shocked.

Nat was dressed in a very thin, very short and very see-through steam white silk nightie. His face went from tan to white to red within seconds. He quickly turned around, facing the bed as he said

"Nah I'll be fine thanks Nat." He didn't see Nat's smirk as she stood and said

"Alright then, I'll meet you in the kitchen for breakfast. Are you cooking?" He nodded rapidly, waiting until he heard her leave and the door shut behind her. Then he sighed and flopped back on the floor.

Meanwhile Nat was sitting on the kitchen bench stool, laughing softly to herself. She had been right; Aidan was a prude…an extremely modest person. His reaction had said all she needed to know to make this day interesting and amusing. She heard Aidan coming downstairs and smiled, crossing her legs and settling into a comfortable pose that made her nightie slip off her shoulders, revealing more of her body. She didn't care what he saw, this was all in the name of entertainment.

Aidan entered the kitchen, pausing briefly as he took her in before he swallowed, cheeks flaming. He coughed and walked behind the bench asking

"What would you like for breakfast?" Nat looked thoughtful before saying

"Crepes would be nice…with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream; bananas and cream on another would be lovely." Aidan nodded, racing about the kitchen as he gathered the needed items and started cooking. Soon enough he had two plates of crepes prepared; one with ice-cream and chocolate sauce, the other with banana's and cream. He set them down and then placed a plate with a knife and fork in front of her saying

"Enjoy." She smiled and dug in as Aidan prepared the coffee.

Aidan glanced behind him as he grinded up the beans, watching as Nat ate. She was eating each mouthful slowly, savouring each taste before swallowing. Each time she moved, her night gown would slip more and show more skin…and breast. She also had an evil smirk hiding under that seductive smile. Aidan turned back, pouring the hot water into the cups along with sugar and ground beans. Nat was up to something. His cheeks heated up again as he remembered his eldest sister teaching him to be submissive and seductive; but she also told him how girls acted when they were trying to seduce a man. He still had no clue why she had been teaching him that stuff because that day had been embarrassing as hell. He gave a light shudder before shaking it off and turning around to give Nat her drink.

What he saw then almost made him drop the drinks. Nat was watching him, her nightgown around her waist only. He gaped, quickly placing the cups down and murmuring quietly

"Uh Nat, your nightgown…" She blinked at him and glanced down, as if only realising het gown had fallen down revealing her bare breast.

"Oh I didn't even notice. Would you mind fixing it for me?" Aidan's face was beet red as he nodded, sighing in resignation. He stepped behind her, pulling her gown up over her shoulders once again. Because he was behind her, he didn't see Nat blush lightly at the sensation of his fingers gliding over her arms, feather light. By the time he walked back around the counter, she had her small smile back on, the blush gone.

The two finished breakfast and Aidan cleaned up the dishes as Nat went upstairs to dress for training. He just hoped it was more solid and then he stopped, glancing over his shoulder toward the stair case.

"She's torturing me…getting back at me for lying to her." He turned back to the dishes as Nat came downstairs and said

"Not torturing, seducing. Similar…and yet…not at the same time. Hurry up, we're about to start training and it's going to be a blast." He nodded, finishing up quickly and running upstairs to change into his shorts and shirt. He skidded to a halt, staring once more before palming his face at her clothes. Nat was dressed in a short mini skirt and a tank top. She grinned at him and said

"Come on, we're going to the waterfall today. It's time to work more on your strength. Then we'll head to the courts and play a game of catch." He just nodded, following her and cursing her skirt. Every bump in the path made her skirt flip up, revealing her light blue underwear. And since the path was rocky and uneven, that was often. In the end Aidan closed his eyes, using his ears and memory to follow Nat through the forest to the base of the waterfall.

Nat and Aidan walked behind the waterfall and Nat pointed up saying

"You're going to climb up the cliff." He just nodded, putting his hands on the wall before starting to climb. Barely a metre up and he froze as a weight landed on his shoulders. He glanced up before back down immediately. Nat was doing a handstand on his shoulders, half her body in the water which added weight and pressure. Normally he'd be grumbling about her adding weight to the already draining task of climbing up the cliff. But this time, it was slightly different.

"Natalia, you know this is kinda awkward for me right?"

She blinked down at him, clearly feigning confusion. Aidan grit his teeth before looking up and getting a face full of Natalia's breast. If she'd been wearing a regular top it'd be fine, but the tank top was not helping his situation. No matter how modest a guy was, these actions still had the unwanted effect on his body. Natalia just smiled down and him.

"Climb." He sighed and then, keeping his eyes on the cliff wall, he started to climb, using his sense of touch rather than eyes. Natalia grumbled, hands gripping his shoulders tightly. She could feel his muscles moving under her fingers and was surprised at ow much strength he had gained already. Despite being skinny, he was well muscled. But by having Aidan making sure to keep his eyes off her, it kind of defeated the purpose of her seductive torture. She smiled wider before changing her position. Aidan halted as Nat slid in between his arms, her arms around his neck and legs around his waist. His hands gripped the rock and Natalia just smiled saying

"Keep going." As he kept climbing, her smile fell for a brief moment before rising again as she chuckled.

"Ah I see what you meant by been awkward for you. You have a little problem down low."

Aidan's face went red even as he kept his eyes up and kept climbing. His annoyance, embarrassment and slowly rising anger were building up…and it was all because of her seductive effect on him. His face set in a frown, his concentration locked on climbing the cliff. With that, he tuned out whatever Natalia did or said. Natalia sighed as they breached the cliff edge, mildly annoyed at been ignored but Aidan had made it up the cliff. And he was still standing; shaking, but standing. She slipped off him and smiled, stretching before saying

"Come on then, let's go the courts and then we'll go have lunch." He simply nodded, giving her a small smile before he followed her, both jogging lightly.

Aidan was quiet the whole time, his concentration solid throughout the entire training session. At the courts Nat hit tennis balls at Aidan at various speeds and angles. Aidan's job was to run and catch them with his bare hands. It increased speed, reach and accuracy. After two hours of catching the balls served at him, Aidan collapsed on the court, panting harshly. Nat smiled, putting away the racket and balls before pulling Aidan to his feet. Aidan limped along beside her, head bowed as he continued to breathe deeply. As they neared the house, Aidan asked in a muffled tone

"Natalia, why are you trying to seduce me? Is it just for payback for lying yesterday?" Natalia didn't answer for a bit before she suddenly laughed. Aidan's whole body stiffened at her laughter, his feet suddenly digging into the ground and halting their movement. He stood up, eyes snapping fire as he pushed himself off her and stormed into the house.


*burps softly* Yummy...ah right...*coughs* yep, Aidan's finally snapped, brief as it lasts he's mildly pissed off! And in the next chapter, he gets revenge that semi-works and semi-fails. Nope, not telling you what it is! *feels tap on shoulder, turns* on hey Mei, feeling any bette- *goes flying as Mei's fist connects with his jaw* OUCH! what the hell was that for? Mei: YOU ATE ALL THE DAMN FOOD WE HAD! Seth: whoops, my bad...I was hungry though! *laughs then runs off with Mei firing spells at him while chasing him around the house*

Seth: Please review for us and enjoy the next chapter that'll be posted up by Koren/Alaric in two days! Ja ne!