Gionoci sat down at the dinner table, plopping down his bowl and mug, grinning wildly. They'd had their first few practice battles that day, and he'd beaten every opponent that had come up against him. There was, of course, the teeny fact that he'd had at least a month more training than most of them, but that didn't seem to faze him. He shook his head like a dog, trying to shake the honey-blonde bangs out of his eyes, still smiling as though he'd taken on a threesome of rabid titans.

"Look at that grin on your face!" Riou declared, unable to stop himself from smiling at the pride that radiated off the taller man. "You look like a jackal that got away with the Emperors dinner!" This comment only served to make him burst into laughter, slapping the table happily.

"I sure feel like it! I think right now I could take on the world!" Gionoci declared, not noticing the slightly devious grin that Riou's smile had become. The smaller of the two put his elbow down on the table, his expression erupting into an all-out smirk.

"How would you settle for an arm wrestle?" He asked coolly, rolling up his sleeve. Gionoci sniggered.

"You sure? I just took down three men twice the size o' you!"

"Aw, c'mon, it's just a little fun between friends. We've nothing else to do with Eugi off at a battle and Iami training the newest batch." Still, Gionoci missed the dangerous flash of Riou's dark chocolate eyes that indicated he had an ace up his sleeve. The Celt shrugged, laying his own elbow down with a loud bang.

"You're on, then!" A couple people turned around in their seats to watch, a few bets passing through the crowd of more experienced gladiators. The two men clasped hands and took a moment to stare each other down, the competition suddenly changing it from "a little fun between friends" to an all-out battle of might.

They nodded simultaneously, their grips tightening and their exposed biceps bulging with the sudden exertion of strength. Gionoci hadn't pushed himself at first, figuring he shouldn't go too hard on Riou, but when found his own arm was being quickly forced back, discarded that theory. He struggled to regain the advantage, pushing with all he had. Still, Riou's iron-strong grasp compelled Gionoci's strength to slowly wane. A bead of sweat rolled down the blonde's forehead, and he it struck him suddenly that Riou's muscles were far more built up than his own.

Deceived by Riou's frail stature, Gionoci cried out when he felt his knuckles meet with the rough surface of the table. His defeat came as a huge surprise to all but the gladiators who had glimpsed Riou training late into the night, and money changed hands regretfully. Gionoci gazed in awe at Riou, discovering newfound respect for him.

"Holy shit, Riou! You're… you're…" the man's mouth flapped wordlessly in an attempt to find the vocabulary he clearly lacked. After a moment, he considered something and frowned. "You should have been in the arena months ago! Nothing's holding you back."

"Except Bacura," he muttered darkly, taking a mouthful of food and glaring down at his plate as he chewed. Gionoci raised an eyebrow, suddenly remembering his own dinner and wolfing down as much as he could before making his next inquiry.

"Why's 'e 'oldin choo back, den?" He asked around a mouthful of meat, swallowing and washing it down it a hearty swig of wine. Gionoci wiped his mouth on the back of his arm, paying no attention to his complete lack of table manners. He looked eagerly at Riou, awaiting his reply while unconsciously shoving another morsel of food into his overactive gob. When at last the shorter gladiator looked up from his plate, his eyes seemed almost empty, as though he'd just given up on getting to the next level.

"I… I honestly don't know." He mumbled. His food now completely forgotten, he put his elbows on the table and put his face in his hands, his fingers rubbing his temples as he felt a headache coming on. "I don't know." Riou said again, louder this time. "Maybe Bacura's just being an asinus to spite me." Gionoci slammed his fist down on the tabletop out of nowhere, making the plates and cutlery jump up an inch into the air.

"That's just wrong! If he doesn't have a good reason, then he's just being stultus! I can't believe anyone can be that stuck-up and cruel!" He roared, his annoyance at the Schoolmaster increased tenfold by how much it was hurting his friend. It was obvious his self-esteem had never been the highest, but being kept back for no good reason was really destroying his confidence.

Gionoci told himself that he was going to confront Bacura about it that night; he refused to let even the "master" get away with such sheer malevolence. Gionoci could stand the general unkindness, but holding back Riou for no good reason was crossing the line. After dinner, he waved goodbye to Riou and went about asking people if they knew where Bacura was. Eventually he found out from an older gladiator that Bacura was last seen heading out to the training area. Gionoci found this rather odd, but followed the man's directions anyways and walked out to the field, determination in his stride.

Eventually he heard the sound of intermittent 'thunk's coming from the back of the light meadow. At first he wondered if Bacura was training or something, then glanced over at movement in the gloom by a tree a few feet ahead. The blonde squinted, suddenly recognising the shadow-lurker to be the man he'd been searching for. He frowned, confusion riddling his expression. If that was Bacura, then who was out training in the dead of night? His thoughts were interrupted as the schoolmaster turned around, intending to head back. Gionoci panicked, not wanting to be caught watching, and ducked into one of the buildings used for storing spare weapons.

He bit his lip and shuffled back into the darkness as far as he could. Bacura slowly passed by, and Gionoci backed right up into a loose spear. A muffled yelp escaped him, and he covered his mouth with both hands quickly, holding his breath. Bacura paused, glancing into the murk of the storage block, then dismissing the noise and continuing on. Gionoci held his breath for another few seconds before releasing it with a relieved sigh.

"Gionoci?"

The addressed man jumped out of his skin, just barely stopping the surprised shout that threatened to leap from his throat. A figure emerged through the doorway, and Gionoci relaxed visibly when he saw it was only Riou.

"Gods, Riou, you shared the crap outta me. What are you doing out here?" In response to this, Riou raised an eyebrow.

"I could ask the same of you. I was training." Riou said, as though it should have been obvious. Gionoci's jaw hung open slightly in surprise.

"That was YOU he was-" Gionoci suddenly caught himself, deciding Riou didn't need to know that Bacura had been watching him train. "I mean- that was you that was training?" Riou's eyebrow rose even higher, and he nodded.

"So… what were you doing standing in the equipment storage room in the middle of the night?" The white-haired man asked, a note of amusement carried in his voice.

"I uh… I uh…" He stuttered, glancing back and forth, then grinned sheepishly. "I was looking for something… uh… yeah, found it!" He laughed nervously and grabbed up a rusting old dagger, holding it above his head as though he'd discovered a chunk of solid gold. "Just came here to get…" he glanced at the item, withering a bit, "…this."

Riou laughed, smiling despite the fact that Gionoci was obviously hiding something.

"Alright then. We should get back." He didn't really mind that Gionoci was keeping something from him. The fact was that he was such a terrible liar, so it probably wouldn't stay a secret for very long.

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The next day, Gionoci awoke early. Thanks to his failure the previous night, he had become more determined than ever to confront Bacura about holding Riou back. He made his way right down the hallway, his face set and his fists clenched. He strode out of the main building to the front that backed onto the city streets, where Bacura's villa sat. Just as Gionoci approached the building, the owner of the household stepped out, fully clad in a long, elegant toga, his rings glittering in the light of the morning sun. Gionoci swallowed nervously, then made his way up to Bacura.

"Hey, uh, Bacura-"

"What?" The man asked sharply, narrowing his eyes. This had, apparently, been the wrong move. Gionoci narrowed his eyes with increasing annoyance, and crossed his arms.

"I'm here to talk to you about Riou. He's-"

"Weak! Pathetic! Useless!" Bacura interrupted again, waving his hand in dismissal. Gionoci's lower eyelid twitched, his hatred for this man growing.

"Now listen here, you cold-hearted bastard!" He hissed, earning himself Bacura's full attention. Although from the dark glare that was being directed his way, Gionoci wasn't sure that was such a great thing. "Riou's been training damn hard! Hell, he's stronger than I am!"

"Lies." Bacura scoffed, walking past Gionoci, having had enough of his rambling.

"It's true and you know it!" Gionoci shouted at his back, suddenly struck with an idea. "You see it with your own eyes every night! You watch him train; you know how strong he's become and how hard he's worked for it!" It was just a hunch, but apparently it was the right one as Bacura froze in his tracks, whirling around to face him.

"What did you say?" He snapped, although his crimson eyes revealed a flash of apprehension at having possibly been found out.

"You heard me," Gionoci replied, egged on by the reaction he'd gotten out of Bacura, "I know you watch him every night he goes out to train. You know that he could easily be incredible in the arena. Why are you keeping him back?" He demanded, firing the question quickly while Bacura was still in edge.

"That's none of your business! I'll keep him back if I damn well want to!"

"Oh?" Gionoci retorted, quick to use his discovery against Bacura. "Then I guess I'll just tell Riou that he's got a secret admirer." He'd only used the term to annoy his master, and was shocked when Bacura became flustered and his eyes widened.

"Fine! You little weaselling, sneaking, prick! I'll give him the chance to die for the glory of Rome! Oh wait!" He snarled sarcastically, "That's a soldier! He gets to die for the God-dammed entertainment of Rome!" Gionoci flinched visibly, taken aback. "Now get the HELL back to your room and keep your nose out of my business!" Gionoci didn't need to be told off, and scurried back to his quarters.

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asinus – ass, donkey

stultus – stupid

Hope you guys enjoyed it. Don't mind my potty-mouth. Ehehehe. Do any of you see where I'm taking this? Heehee. Well, sorry it always takes me so long to update, and I always have such short chapters. I'm trying to make them longer, but I always find places where I just want to end it. Sorry. Eheh. Please leave reviews, it makes me want to write. When I don't get any reviews, I get depressed and don't feel like writing for the longest time.