Chapter 43: Extra Training
Eiji was waking up slowly. His eyes were barely opening, and he was loosely taking in the surrounding conversations.
"You should Have killed her then." Said a woman.
Kuhn scoffed. "Well, it wasn't that simple! There were a loot more complications. Haven't I already explained it?"
She sighed. "Yes... You did. You should have restrained Kahn in a separate room, and stabbed the demon. Just a thought. Half of your group knew she was Lilith, and yet you followed her? And what of the woman with this 'glorious' intuition? She should have killed her! Did her own child running away not send a message saying 'Stab the demon'? What about the woman with infinite knowledge? She should have found you by now. You should have tied the lever down, Though I cannot argue your reasoning for not... Had you just stabbed Lilith to begin with, you and your friend, and let me not mention this family you go on about... None of you would be in this predicament."
"Well, when you put it that way..." Kuhn mumbled.
"What about Eiji's burns? How are they doing?" He asked.
"They're healing." She said. "Though it will take time. We have no magical healers, so this makes the process slower."
Eiji looked down at his arm.
It was gone.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Oh you're awake." Said the woman. "Good, I have some questions for you. As for the arm, well it's gone. And please... No complaining. Just be happy you aren't being digested or plunged into a pit of carnivorous parasites."
Eiji cringed. "Th-Thanks..." He said.
"Do you have anything for the pain?"
"No." She said flatly.
He sighed. "Okay then... Geeze. So, what do you want to ask?"
"Well to start." She said. "How did you get here?"
Eiji gave her a flat look. "I fell through your ceiling."
"That attitude will get you nowhere here." She said coldly.
"Nor will being daft, now answer my question. How did you end up wandering the lowest plain."
He sighed. "I ended up here because I had the best chance of survival in the last part of the trial. The ground had dropped and the door would open, the levers-"
She waved her hand. "Your friend explained the levers, skip that part. Why did you have the best chance of survival."
"The floor dropped." He repeated. "And no one else could have attempted a maneuver out of the trap."
He gave a demonstration with his left arm, shooting out his threads in a split second, then back in again.
"The threads allow me to reach ovber longer distances. I would have made it out, but the lever shook me off."
She nodded. "Okay, but you were going home yes?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I was..."
She sighed. "Was the portal leading somewhere indoors?"
He looked at her in confusion.
"Yeah? And?"
She grabbed the bridge of her nose.
"You had two able arms, both possessing these POWERFUL threads, and you didn't think to latch them to a wall!? And HOW did the lever 'Shake you off'? Your threads must be weak..."
He glared at her.
"No, I wasn't using my threads on the lever."
She scoffed. "I can't believe you didn't think of that!"
He laughed bitterly. "Well, I'm sorry. Next time I have an adrenaline rush, I'll make sure I have ALL of my priorities straight!"
She gave him a cold stare.
"Watch what you say, because I might hold you to it. In a place like this? Such actions are required as more than just a sarcastic remark. You are in hell itself, and it'd be be best if you got used to the concept."
"He's only thirteen." Said Kuhn. "Give him a break."
She paused, then laughed bitterly.
"No one gets a break here..."
She shrugged. "Besides, I was only five when I was sent here... I didn't get a break, and I'm the only reason you're getting this one now."
She looked back at Eiji. "Your arm will cause you a lot off pain. After you are more rested, I will start training you the way a blood master should be trained. And don't walk on your leg, or I'll hurt you."
Eiji blinked. "How can you train me, if I can't move?"
She grinned. "Your threads can move, and you have eyes. You can read, watch your surroundings, and practice your blood strings under my exact instruction. You may not do so without my say. Under my training, you will not so much as scratch your nose without me knowing about it, are we clear?"
"But, that's not-!"
"Are we CLEAR!?" She barked.
"Yes SIR... Uh... oh god. I mean, ma'am..."
She sighed. "I can already tell I'm going to regret this." She walked away.
Eiji nearly melted... But not literally. He now knew the difference... Unfortunately.
Kuhn shook his head. "Yeah... Good luck with that."
"What are you going to do!?" Eiji exclaimed.
He laughed. "Oh hell no! You're on your own with her... She scares the shit out of me."
Eiji rolled his eyes. "Oh joy..."
A girl sat next to him. "Yeah, she's kind of rough around the edges, right?"
He sighed. "Yeah she is... She's going to be my trainer... Dammit..."
She cringed. "That sucks... She's a tough trainer, almost draconian if you ask me. Good luck."
Eiji gulped. "That bad...? Oh shit."
She laughed. "It's been a while since a sense of humor showed up..."
She looked down. "I hope you don't lose that."
She looked at him. "What's your name?"
He smiled. "Eiji, and you?"
She smiled back. "I'm Tira, nice to meet you!"
He was pleasantly surprised with her. Another friendly face besides Kuhn.
She looked at Kuhn. "And you?"
He smiled. "I'm Kuhn, it's nice to meet you?"
Eiji looked at her. She looked at least a year older than him in body, but younger in the face. Could such a friendly person exist here?
"How old are you?" He asked.
She blushed. "Twelve..." She said softly.
"Y-You?"
He shrugged. "Thirteen. I'll be turning fourteen in a couple months."
"Well... I-I'm almost... Thirteen." She said.
Kuhn had to hold back a face palm.
He smiled. "Okay then... Hey, um... You were never... Out there were you?"
She looked up, and sighed.
"Well, I mean... We all were. That's why we're here."
She seemed to freeze for a moment, and then shook her head.
She smiled, but she was clearly disturbed.
"I'd better go check on-!"
"Wait." Said Eiji. "You're not okay... You can talk to me, honest."
She turned red. "I'd really better go!" She exclaimed.
She quickly walked away, and waited until they were out of earshot.
She looked down, fiddling with her hands.
"Well... I'm almost twelve."
