A/N: Looking back over my previous chapter, I can see why Cypher may have appeared a little out of character. But that scene was a must-do in my opinion! I do pride myself on keeping characters as true to life as possible. Sorry if I slipped up a little then. By the way, this chapter rips of the Animatrix a bit....ok, heaps. But I really REALLY wanted to do this bit cause it's so cute! So yeah....just warning you that I am ripping off something else.
6
Because of his shoulder injury, Neo earned himself a week off his training. This was both to his benefit and to his disadvantage since he hated feeling useless, but also enjoyed the free time, which he spent sitting alone in his room mostly, running things through his head.
During this thinking period, he realized that he had only eaten one proper meal since his arrival in the real world, and that was when he had awoken to find some strange substance lying in a bowl beside his bed, along with a mug of water. He had only picked at the food, which meant he really hadn't eaten a proper meal at all. However, he scarcely had any appetite. Neo figured this must have something to do with only being unplugged a short time ago.
These and many other thoughts occurred to him as he sat alone in the darkness of his room, awaiting his shoulder to heal. He left his room to drink and use the bathroom only. He had always felt he was the sort of person who needed to spend quite some time alone, and savored this time while he had it. After a full week had past, and the wound on his shoulder had subsided into a minor bruise, he resumed his training again.
"Neo!" Tank cried, when Neo entered the core after a week of being absent from it. "Feeling better?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Neo smiled, nodding in greeting to both Tank and Dozer. "I'm ready to continue my training, if you are."
"Yeah, sure." Tank beamed. "What else is there to do?"
"Tank," said Dozer sternly. "I'm going to get Morpheus and ask him which programs he wants Neo to run through today."
"Whatever." Tank replied, hardly looking away from the screens as Dozer marched away. The moment his elder brother was gone, Tank turned to Neo once more, a wide grin spread across his face.
"So, care to tell me how you got that injury? Trinity hasn't said anything to anyone except Morpheus and Cypher seems to be following her lead. I know that you hurt your shoulder, what I want to know is how it happened."
"Oh...err," Neo mumbled, scratching the back of his head with his right hand: his own expression of nervousness. "Cypher dropped a wrench, that's all."
"Ouch." Tank cringed. "You gotta be more careful, man."
Neo peered over Tanks shoulder, becoming entranced by the neon raindrops of coding dripping down three separate screens in the operator's consol. "What's that?" He asked with interest.
"Don't worry about it yet, newbie." Tank said with a laugh, causing Neo to frown. Tank arched an eyebrow, leaning back in his char. "Hey, what's with the long face?"
"I-I'm just getting a little annoyed." Neo confessed. "I mean, I hate not knowing things. And there's so much I don't know about this world. It's almost as if everyone here is reluctant to tell me things about this world and what they're doing. It just bugs me, that's all."
"Neo, you're not the first newbie we've had on this ship." Tank said. "Everyone has had to explain the basic principals of this world so many times now, it just gets aggravating. People are reluctant to repeat what is common knowledge over and over again, even if they're telling it to the One."
"I suppose." Neo smiled feebly, trying to ignore the last comment Tank made about him being the One.
"Trust me, one day there'll be a new newbie, and you'll have to explain everything to them. Then you'll realize just how irritating it can be."
At that moment, Morpheus, Dozer and Trinity ascended onto the main deck and joined Tank and Neo in the core, gathering around the main consol. Morpheus placed a fatherly hand on Neo's shoulder, looking him squarely in the eye.
"Are you sure you're ok, Neo?" Morpheus questioned, continuing when Neo nodded in reply. "Excellent. I don't want to delay your training any longer than necessary. Now, you remember our fight in the dojo? Good. That sparring program is not a one-off training simulation, we use it whenever we need to practice combat training. Everyone on the ship has been assigned a specific sparring partner and the pair are aloud to spar whenever they feel they need to."
"Who's my sparring partner?" Asked Neo, glancing hopefully over Morpheus's shoulder to Trinity.
"Trinity has volunteered to do it." Morpheus said with a smile over his shoulder to his second-in-command.
"Good choice, sir." Tank said with a sly grin. "Trinity's probably the only one who'll be able to give Neo a run for his money on board this ship anyway. Just as long as she doesn't try to seduce him during a match-"
"Tank." Morpheus and Dozer warned in union. Although words were highly unnecessary to inform Tank that he had made the wrong decision in his choice of words. Trinity was gracing him with her iceberg-that-sunk-the-titanic look.
"Load them up." Morpheus instructed. "I'll be back to check on Neo's progress later."
After Morpheus had left, Neo and Trinity moved to their jack-in chairs and waited for Dozer to plug them in. Neo winced as the metal needle jammed into the back of his head, but found he was much more used to this than he had been before. Closing his eyes into darkness, Neo reopened them only to find himself standing in the dojo, dressed in the Japanese training outfit he'd been wearing last time he'd been in this program.
Almost instantly, Trinity appeared directly in front of him, dressed entirely in a rich shade of brilliant magenta. Her training outfit consisted of a short skirt that only came halfway down her thighs and a top cut in a similar style to Neo's, but with wider sleeves and lined with black. She stood with her legs together, one hand resting idly beside her and the other holding two silver swords, glinting in the artificial light.
"Tank took you through the dueling programs before your injury, didn't he?" Trinity asked, coaxing an eyebrow in question.
"Erm...I think so." Neo muttered, eyeing the swords nervously amongst dealing with intense feelings of passion brought on by the sight of Trinity in the clothes she wore.
Sighing, Trinity tossed one of the swords across the room. Instantly, Neo stretched out a hand and caught the handle by instinct. Gasping in shock as he flipped the sword around lightly in his hands several times, Neo marveled at his ability to handle such a weapon. It was like this each time a new program was loaded into his mind. The knowledge lay hidden in his mind, only to be unleashed when he was faced with a situation in which he would have to. And when that happened, he could scarcely believe he knew what to do almost instantly, as if his body was thinking for him, instead of his mind. As if his soul was commanding him, telling him what he needed to do....it was a strange feeling, but Neo managed to overcome it quickly and dropped into a fighting stance.
"I'll take that as a yes." Trinity stated, as she too, dropped into a graceful fighting stance. Neo compared her elegant movements to that of a eagle's. She moved swiftly, gracefully and with beauty interlocked with each stance. And yet her movements were powerful, fierce and deadly.
Beauty in strength. Neo thought to himself again, letting a smile creep onto his lips. He could have sworn he saw the corners of her lips flicker upwards briefly before she reclaimed her composure, but still leaving a playful nature hidden within her eyes.
I can't fight him like this. Trinity decided, admiring the man in front of her. For a newbie, her certainly new his stuff, and this was evident in each movement he made. But, as usual, it was his eyes that captivated her the most, and she simply couldn't tear herself from them. I can't fight him without looking at him, but I can't avoid looking at him either...unless...
Making up her mind, Trinity lifted her head to the virtual ceiling and called to seemingly an invisible presence. "Tank, we need blindfolds."
"Blindfolds?" Neo asked, rising from his fighting stance and looking to his opponent in confusion.
After a moments pause, two fragments of evenly cut cloth, one magenta and the other purest white, fluttered to the floor of the dojo and landed at the feet of the two in front of the correct person. Grinning, Trinity lifted hers from the floor and hurriedly tied it around her eyes, Neo choosing to follow her lead.
"I thought I'd make things a little more interesting." Trinity lied, dropping gracefully back into her fighting stance once she was certain the blindfold was secure around her eyes. "Are you ready?"
"Sure am." Neo smiled in reply, feeling confident without the use of his eyes. Like with other training programs loaded into his mind, he hardly felt the need to think about what he was doing and therefore felt he hardly needed his five senses. "Let's go."
As soon as the words had escaped his lips, Trinity lunged forwards and her sword flew towards him, clashing with his own in a terrifying pang. Praying she hadn't injured him, Trinity pulled back only to attack again, this time aiming for his left bicep but having her attack blocked by her opponent's blade.
Whoa, she's brilliant. Neo admired silently. Tank was right, it looks like she's going to give me a run for my money.
Neo leapt above her, flipping over her body and landing on the opposite side, jabbing the sword in the direction of her back. But Trinity was too quick for him, turning sharply to block this attack and following it with a stream of sweeping blows, causing him to back further and further towards the wall.
Why did I agree to this in the first place? Trinity asked herself, knowing perfectly well that she was holding back a little. I can't fight him with my full strength...but, why not? Because I love him? Because I don't want to hurt him? No, that can't be right. But if I'm wrong, than what's the explanation for this?
Ignoring oncoming ideas for the moment, Trinity swiped at his neck. Neo ducked seconds in advance, hearing Trinity's blade hack through the wooden column beside him. Sprinting back to the middle of the room, he heard her follow him and could almost see a mental projection of her in his mind, blocking the darkness that encircled him. The image was of her standing proudly, holding her swords aloft and with beads of sweat clinging to her worn face, wisps of ebony hair cascading down the sides of her cheeks.
Pushing these pleasant images aside, he continued to block her attacks, sneaking in several of his own when the opportunity arose. Eventually, he lunched such a swift blow that Trinity had no time to block it, and both heard the terrifying sound of ripping fabric, and garments spilled to the floor with a subtle plop.
Trinity let out a small gasp as her jacket slipped down her arms, trailing to the ground, All that covered her now was a strip of magenta cloth wrapped around her chest. Blushing at her own lack of clothing, and taking comfort in knowing that Neo was still blindfolded, Trinity kicked the ruined jacket aside and, acting as if nothing had happened, rose her sword once more.
However, wearing a blindfold was only making matters worse for Neo as he had no idea where he had cut. For all I know, she could be wearing nothing...bad thought, bad thought, bad thought. Concentrating all his energy into the fight, Neo not only attacked with his virtual body, but with his mind, soul and inner spirit, provoking Trinity into releasing all power she had held back and, blocking out all emotion, she attacked him with an equal sense of power and inner strength.
Swords clashed and sweat mingled as blades were brought dangerously close to skin. Meeting weapons in a final horrifying pang in front of their faces, both leaned forwards in order to put emphasis on their blows, but realized instantly that this had been a bad decision.
Trinity breathed in the musky sent issuing from the body in front of her, a scent she had taken delight in when she visited him in his room when he began his training. Not even the blindfold incasing her eyes could unconvince her that the man she fought so diligently was Neo. She could almost taste his sweat, hear the beating of his heart thudding in his chest, see his outline through the darkness of her blindfold, touch the clammy fingers wrapped around his own sword, and feel a shiver trace down her spine. All reason had long since drifted from her mind, leaving her with only one remaining variable as she leaned further towards him. All five of her senses were alert...and she liked it.
Neo was suffering from similar symptoms. Her body was pressing up against his as she moved her sword against his own. He listened to the sounds of her ragged breathing, followed the blissful noise and traced her unique scent until he found her lips and felt her breath tickle his face. He too had forgotten all that surrounded him, including the darkness that circled him. His lips were centimeters from hers now...all he had to do was lean forward a few inches and he would be kissing her. At this new knowledge, his hands tightened around his sword, still blocking her own attack just a few inches to his right.
Suddenly, he regained consciousness of all that was happening around him and remembered his location. No doubt Tank and Dozer were watching them. Tank was probably laughing his head off, and Neo felt his cheeks redden instantly. Dropping his sword, he pulled away from Trinity and tore the blindfold over his head, relieved to see that he hadn't cut off any clothing covering parts of her he definitely shouldn't see. Trinity wrenched her own blindfold off and blinked in confusion for a moment, before fixing Neo with a stony gaze and tossing her own sword aside.
I'm an idiot. Trinity thought bitterly to herself. Why would he want to kiss me? I should have seen that coming...now I've only damaged what little friendship we had. What's worse is that Tank will give me hell for the rest of my life about this...who am I kidding? One or not, Neo could never love me. Goddamit, I don't even love him...do I?
Neo's face was a brilliant shade of red, and Trinity supposed hers was even worse considering her severe lack of clothing. Raising her head to the ceiling, she commanded Tank jack them out and closed her eyes to feel her RSI lurch into darkness.
(o)
"I saw that." Tank whispered in Trinity's ear as he jacked her out, a satisfied grin spread across his face. "You were inches away from kissing him. You probably would have if he hadn't pulled away. Go on, admit it. You've fallen in lurve."
"Shut it, Tank." Trinity muttered angrily, pushing the operator away from her so she could get to her feet.
"It's destiny, Trinity." Tank joked, pulling a face. "Don't try to deny it, woman. I can tell. You're gone."
Unfortunately for Trinity, Tank had forgotten to keep his voice lowered and Neo looked up from the chair beside her with interest as Dozer pulled the needle from his head. Feeling her body fill with rage, he turned to Tank and gripped his over-shirt firmly in her fist, meeting his eyes directly.
"If you tell anyone about what happened today I'll have to murder you, got it?" Trinity muttered fiercely, causing the smile to fade completely from Tank's face.
"Easy, easy." Tank defended, holding up his hands in protest. "I won't utter a word. It's our little secret."
"It better be." Trinity frowned, releasing her hold on him and stalking away.
"What's wrong with Trinity?" Asked Neo, following Dozer towards the younger operator and watching Trinity leave with confusion.
"Don't worry about it, Neo." Tank smiled. "Morpheus has plenty more for you to do, anyway. We better get to it."
(o)
Cypher made his way to the bathroom, carrying a tattered towel over his shoulder. He'd had a hard day, working diligently and coping with the cold air. In his opinion, he thought he deserved a good few hours in the shower. In fact, he thought that he deserved a bubble bath and a large piece of steak.
Reality is fucked. Cypher thought bitterly to himself. Those three words had been spinning through his mind ever since he'd been jacked out. Frankly, he didn't see why Morpheus bothered to unplug anyone. People were happy in the Matrix. The machines were happy with the Matrix. This way, everyone wins.
A muffled voice broke his train of thought. Peering down the corridor to the bathrooms, he noticed Neo exiting a bathroom, humming to himself.Smiling cynically when he saw the fading bruise on the other man's shoulder, Cypher prepared to make is presence known when the door opposite Neo sprung open suddenly and Trinity emerged in the hall.
Neo's rhythmic humming stopped abruptly and he smiled kindly as Trinity closed the door and focused on her boots rather than meeting his eyes. Neo stood rigidly in the center of the hall, swallowing loudly.
"Hi." He managed to say, still smiling feebly.
"Hi." Trinity repeated, finally meeting his eyes. Moving aside, she nodded to Neo before hurrying down the corridor in the opposite direction to Cypher.
Right. Cypher decided, rolling up his sleeves. That's it. That's the last straw.
"Listen, pretty boy." Cypher scathed, advancing on the unsuspecting Neo in the corridor. "I think it's time you learnt something about Trinity."
"What?" Neo asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion as Cypher folded his arms across his waist.
"I can tell that you're interested in her." Cypher began. Neo opened his mouth to object but was cut off abruptly. "As more than just a friend. And don't try to cover it up. It's obvious, everyone sees it. But unfortunately for you, she's completely out of your reach."
"Huh?" Neo asked, baffled. He honestly had no idea what Cypher was on about.
"I'm sorry to be the one to brake this to you, Neo. But Trinity is very different to any other woman you'll ever meet."
That's for sure. Neo grinned.
"She's never had any sort of intimate relationship in this world or in the Matrix. You wanna know why?" Cypher didn't wait for a reply. "Trinity gives the meaning to the term 'Cold Hard Bitch'. She won't let anyone in easily. You're probably used to women swooning all over you in the Matrix, and it'll be the same when we take you to Zion. But don't expect Trinity to fall for you. She's cold, Neo. Real cold."
"Oh." Neo shrugged. He didn't see why Trinity's personal life should be his business.
"Sorry to tell you, man. But I would give up on her right now before things get out of hand and you end up broken hearted. If I were you, I'd find yourself another woman when we get to Zion. Leave Trinity to me." Neo raised an eyebrow in question, causing Cypher to smirk. "Yeah. Everyone knows that Trinity has the hots for me. She's just in denial. And it's very unlikely she'll ever come to reveal her feelings for me anyway, cause she's so cold. So do yourself a favor and forget about her, before you find yourself in an awkward situation."
"Um...ok." Neo shrugged again. After standing in awkward silence for a few minutes, he nodded curtly to Cypher and began the short walk back to his room.
For the first time in the real world, he'd been feeling in a good mood. But all happiness had flooded from his body after his meeting with Cypher.
Trinity likes Cypher? Well that's certainly hard to imagine...but then again, he could be right...do I really flirt with her? Is it really that obvious?...Certainly, I do have some feelings for her, but as Cypher said, she's so cold an unemotional. She'd never be interested in me anyway, whether she really does love Cypher or not.
It seemed as if there was an endless list of things he had to consider now, as he reached is room and lay down upon his bed. Pulling the covers up to his chin, Neo's mind filled with images of Trinity fighting him in the dojo today. Smiling to himself and keeping these comforting images in his mind, Neo drifted into a comfortable sleep.