Everyone woke up, eager to resume their training. The leaps in stats they got from last time raised the morale to new heights. Welf and Mikoto were figuring out what to do for their amazing feat while Lili and Haruhime wanted to raise their stats as quickly as possible so they didn't fall behind. Bell was happy his friends would be able to keep up and he didn't feel like they were being treated unfairly. Alise came down with the twins to discuss the plan for the day.

Alise: Since my brother wants to spend more time with his girl, I'll be taking you four with me for training. The twins will be tagging along as well.

Albert: Thanks, Alise.

Alise: It's fine, I wanted to spend some time with them anyway.

Syrene: This is gonna be fun!

Riis: Yeah!

Lili: Let's all do our best today.

Everyone: Right!

Lili and Haruhime said their goodbyes to Bell.

Lili: Lili will do her best to catch up with you.

Bell: I know you will.

Haruhime: Keep that thing hard for me until I return.

Take 2

Haruhime: We'll be safe so there's no need to worry about us.

Bell: Still, be careful down there.

He gave them both a kiss and they felt their energy spike. The two squealed before dashing out to meet the dungeon head on.

Welf: We'd better catch up with them. See you later.

Bell: Bye everyone.

They left and there was only Bell and Ardi. Albert had left along with the others to spend the day with Wendy. Wallace went with Hephaestus to get work done with her for the familias. Two divine smiths would be able to pump out orders left and right. This now left Bell with a few options.

Bell: Wanna check in with your mom, Ardi?

Ardi: Sure, I'm think she'd like to see you too.

Bell: (I know I do.)

They made their way to the Hostess of Fertility and everyone was getting ready to open. Anya saw the two and let them inside.

Anya: Morning white hair, nya.

Bell: Hi Anya, is Ryuu around?

Anya: She's in the kitchen, nya.

Bell: Thank you.

Bell and Ardi went to the kitchen and found her helping May prepare for the afternoon. Ryuu nearly dropped the food she was carrying when she saw Bell through the doorway. She was still a bit nervous about their new relationship and her face flushed but she had a smile on her face when she saw him again.

Ryuu: Bell, hello.

Bell: Morning.

Ardi: Morning, mom.

She gave the elf a hug which Ryuu returned. The two smiled before Ryuu asked Bell about the visit.

Ryuu: What brings you here?

Bell: We just came to drop in and say hi. I wish could have come to visit sooner but training and familia business got in the way, sorry.

Ryuu: It's no problem, I'm glad you guys are getting a better grip as a high rank familia.

Bell: Well, Eina hasn't processed the kid's statuses yet so no one knows how strong they are. At least, not exactly.

Ryuu: Anything else you're here for? Syr is out for today so she couldn't make lunch for you.

Bell: Well, to be honest I just wanted to see you.

He gave her a soft smile before her face burst red. She smiled at the ground feeling happy that he wanted to see her.

Bell: I was planning on stopping by the Loki Familia mansion to train with them. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me but I don't know if Mama Mia would like one of her workers going missing.

Mia had overheard the conversation and jumped in at that.

Mama Mia: Go on, Ryuu.

Ryuu: Mama?

Mama Mia: We can hold out without you. Go spend some time with your man.

Ryuu: ...Thank you.

She smiled at her before Bell spoke up.

Bell: Alise and the others will be coming out of the deeper parts of the dungeon so we can pay you back by ordering a lot of food for dinner.

Mama Mia smiled at the boy's offer and took it. No need to turn down money.

Mama Mia: No you're speaking my language boy. Just down try anything funny with my girl.

Bell: You know I wouldn't do that.

Mama Mia: Haha, well if that's all then you can be on your way.

Ryuu went to change her clothes and came back down. She wore the outfit she used when Bell had needed an escort to Rivira when he was meeting with the xenos. With everything ready, they said their goodbyes.

Bell: Right, we'll see you at dinner.

Ryuu: Have fun girls.

They were a little jealous that she got to skip out but they were happy she found her special someone so they could pay her back with some teasing.

Ardi: Bye Grandma Mia!

The dwarf waved at them as they left. After they did, she and the others went back to work as the three made their way to Twilight Manor. They arrived at the gates and saw Aki there.

Aki: Ah, thank goodness you're here.

Bell: Something wrong?

Aki: Well, Ais has been in a bit of a slump waiting for you to visit her. I'd go say hi to her before anything.

Bell: Will do, we came here to train with the others anyway.

Aki: Come on inside then.

She opened the gate for them and the three went inside. They explored for a bit before an amazon. There herself on Bell.

Tiona: Mr Argonaut!

Bell: Gah, Tiona, your chest is pressing against me!

Ryuu: Enough of that, were here to see the Sword Princess. Is she here?

Ryuu pried Tiona off of Bell, though his comment made her feel happy for some reason.

Tiona: Oh yeah, Ais is in the library with Riveria. I'll take you guys to her.

Ardi: Lead the way.

They made their way to the library where they saw a blonde girl with her head on a desk and steam coming out of it. They sweat dropped before Bell went to see if she was ok.

Bell: Ais?

The instant her name left his mouth her head shot up and she turned to face the rabbit.

Ais: Bell? Bell!

She ran to him and gave him a hug. Bell's face turned red and Ryuu frowned a little.

Bell: Uh, hey Ais.

Ais: What took you so long to visit? I wanted to train with you.

Bell: Sorry, familia responsibilities got in the way for a while. I have some time now so I figured we could all train together.

Ais nodded fiercely at this. Riveria then came in to find all of them talking.

Riveria: Bell and you brought company.

Bell: Good morning, Miss Riveria.

Riveria smiled at his before turning to Ais.

Riveria: Ais, did you finish the work I assigned you? This will all be important for our expedition.

Ais started sweating at this. She had burned out at the first few questions and hadn't gotten to the others.

Ais: ...

Riveria: *Sigh* Get back to it.

Ais: But Bell's here now and I want to train with him.

Riveria: You can train after you've finished your paper work. This is no time to let your brain slack off. Back to work young lady.

Ais pouted at her. She had been waiting for days to spend time with Bell and now she was stuck inside.

Riveria: If you finish it, I will let you go. But only if you finish.

That signaled Ais to get to work and finish quickly.

Ais: (I can't afford to waste any time. I have to finish quickly.)

Riveria asked them to leave which left Tiona along with Bell and the two elves to go to the training fields themselves. They arrived to see Lefiya practicing.

Bell: Miss Lefiya?

She turned and saw them all.

Lefiya: What brings you all here?

She tried her hardest not to spew out a rude remark to Bell. Fortunately she succeeded today.

Bell: We came here to train with you guys. Want to join us?

Lefiya: I'm not opposed. I'm actually trying to practice my concurrent chanting but it's still too hard to concentrate.

Ryuu and Ardi stepped up.

Ryuu: I believe we can help with that.

Ardi: Yeah, mom's an expert at that and I think I'm pretty good too. Wanna join us?

Lefiya: Yes, that would be great.

Ryuu: Let's take our on space then. Bell, we'll be going for now.

Bell: Right, good luck everyone.

He waved them goodbye before turning back to Tiona.

Bell: I guess we should get started as well.

Tiona: Right, let's do some sparring. I'll be sure to hold myself back a bit. You're level 4 bow so I don't need to hold back as much.

Bell: Yeah.

They started fighting. Tiona went in with her urga while Bell had Hakugen and the Hestia Knife. Bell was trading blows decently with her but Tiona's superior strength and endurance was getting the better of Bell. It wasn't too long before Bell was on the ground exhausted.

Tiona: Let's take a break for now.

Bell: Yes, please...

Bell was catching his breath, he turned to look at Ryuu and the others. He saw Lefiya dodging attacks from Ryuu and she was doing fairly well. Looks like they're focusing on getting her used to moving her body. About five minutes later, Bell was ready for another round but Tiona stopped to ask him something.

Tiona: Hey, you doing alright?

Bell: Hmm?

Tiona: Well it's just, you seem bothered by something. Wanna talk about it?

Bell: Well, I'm just a little upset that I'm growing fater than my friends are. We're fighting the same things but I'm the only one growing fast. I just wish there was a way to help speed things up for them too.

Tiona: The only way I can think of is for them to just train harder than you. Unless you had a skill to help them, there isn't really much you can do about it.

Bell: I guess you're right. Shall we continue?

Tiona: Yeah!

They went back to fighting, while doing so Bell felt a burning sensation on his back but he passed it off as the sun beating down on him. The two took frequent breaks before they met up with Ryuu and the others for lunch.

Ardi: We can eat these, Momma Haruhime made them this morning before she left.

Bell: Sweet, let's dig in.

They had their lunch, some ate calmly expect for Tiona who ate like a starved animal.

Lefiya: Come on, don't embarrass us.

Tiona swallowed her food before answering.

Tiona: Hehe, sorry.

Things were peaceful until Loki showed up and groped Lefiya. She screamed and threw her of before Loki did her usual thing again.

Loki: My my, did you grow more?

Lefiya: No, you're just imagining things!

Lefiya was hiding her chest while Tiona frowned and looked at her own. There was hardly anything to show off. Her insecurities started to show up and began to walk away while Lefiya and Loki bantered on. Bell noticed this and asked her.

Bell: Something the matter Tiona?

Tiona: It's just... I can't help but feel inferior to everyone else.

Bell: What do you mean? You're amazing. You're brave, strong and you help lift others up. What's the red to feel inferior about?

Tiona: I mean about my chest. They're not as big as everyone else and I feel like others don't treat me like a woman.

Bell blushed at the topic of breast sizes. This was never something that mattered to him so he was nervous about coming up with a decent response.

Bell: ...Is-Is that supposed to matter?

Tiona: Why wouldn't it? Isn't that what most guys look at?

Bell: Well, I can't speak for most guys but I've noticed that it's a significant factor to how they value a girl.

Tiona: Well there, my value isn't up to par with the others!

Bell: You know it's not like that. There's more to a girl than her chest.

Tiona: Well, what do you say.

Bell: Well, I think that the person is more important. The chest can be a nice bonus, but at the end of the day it's the girl who should have the most attention.

Tiona: So, you don't mind my being small?

Bell: Am I supposed to?

Tiona: W-Well...

Bell: But don't you enjoy fighting and training?

Tiona: Yeah, but what does that have to do with this?

Bell: Excuse me for being rude, but wouldn't having a big chest just get in your way?

Tiona had to pause at that. He did have a point.

Tiona: I guess you're right, but how will I be attractive. It's already hard enough for me being level 6 and some people are scared of me.

Bell: I think you're beautiful and I'd never find you scary. Nothing but silence came between them before the two were red in the face. Bell was in awe as he realized what came from his mouth and Tiona was speechless at how the boy thought she was beautiful. Her? A mindless brute with a table for a chest. Her heart thundered before the noise of doors slamming got everyone's attention and fortunately, no one heard their conversation minus Ryuu and Ardi.

Ardi: (Nice one, dad!)

Ryuu: (How can he say that so boldly?)

They turned their attention to the doors and the ones who came out were Riveria and Ais. It had been around three hours since they left her and she looked to be finally finished. She rushed over to Bell and grabbed his arm.

Ais: I'm finished, now let's started training right away!

Bell: Right now?!

Ais: Yes, I'm done waiting. I want to train with you here and now!

Loki and Riveria were shocked at how forward the girl was. They never thought she would break out of her shell, much less like this.

Riveria: (How does he do it?)

Ais brought Bell to a field where they got into stances for their spar. Bell was confused at how they got here this fast but that would be for another time.

Ais: Are you ready?

Bell: Ready!

Then they began, Bell charged forward with his knives. Ais blocked his attacks with her sword. She knew being a level 4 that Bell could handle more. She blocked his attacks before breaking through his attack and turning the tables. Bell was forced to evade her attacks and search for some kind of opening. Fate would be cruel and give him no such window as a boot slammed across his face and knocked him unconscious. Many were concerned for the rabbit but Ais was all giddy. Many were confused about her reaction except for Ardi, Lefiya and Riviera who already knew what she had planned. She grabbed his head and placed it on her lap before stroking his hair. Bell looked relaxed while Ais just smiled. Ryuu was fuming for a bit before realizing something great.

Ryuu: (I see... this could be useful in the future.)

Many others had similar thoughts.

Loki: (HUUH?! I want her to give me one of those too!)

Lefiya: (Maybe I should try that too.)

Tiona: (That looks like it feels great for both people.)

Ten minutes passed before Bell woke up. When he did and he saw where he was, he jolted up and away from her causing her to pout again.

Ais: Why are you running?

Bell: S-Sorry, just caught me off guard is all.

Ais: Want to keep going?

Bell: Sure. Ryuu, want to join in.

Lefiya had left with Riveria to begin their lesson so her and Ardi had nothing better to do. Loki went to her room to try this new wine she got behind Riveria's back again.

Ryuu: If she's fine with it then I shall join as well.

Ais didn't like the idea of losing precious time with her bunny, but she wanted to help train him so having the extra person could have its benefits.

Ais: Go ahead.

With that, they got into their positions once more. This continued for the remainder of the afternoon and soon evening was coming but they showed little interest in stopping. They would spar and Ais would knock out Bell while she made sure to tire out Ryuu so she couldn't intervene. Everytime she left the elf on the ground panting while she played with Bell's hair on her lap. Ryuu looked on with annoyance but could do little to stop it. Ardi watched this happily while Tiona was trying to get a grip with this new feeling she had. Soon that day was coming to an end and Bell had to leave. Ais was sad but he promised to visit again soon. He said goodbye to them and took Ryuu and Ardi back home. They arrived and saw everyone there relaxing in the living room. Apparently the dive went well and everyone went up around 30 points in each stat. Haruka's magic was doing wonders for them but Bell wanted to help more. Little did he know, after his own status update he would get his wish.

Bell Cranel

Level 4

Str SS-1103

Vit SS-1146

Dex SSS-1209

Agl SSS-1285

Mag SS-1183

Skills

AN: I don't feel like copying and pasting people's skill so they will retain the ones they have from the original story. I will just add this if they happen to gain a new one. This goes for development abilities and magic spells too.

Skill Link - The user can grant the effects of one of their skills to others so long as they are part of the same party and/or familia.

AN: And that's a wrap. I just wanted to crank this one out so I could get to work on the others. I also wanted to use this to get Ais and Tiona more involved and set the stage for the future. One last thing is that once all of my first four stories reach a certain point I will be making a special story involving them so be on the look out for that in the future.

As some should be aware, my classes have started so the uploads will slow down a bit so I apologize for that inconvenience. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and I will see you in the next one.