OUT OF LUCK

The tale of Tsutana Kichirou

Chapter 5: Training

It was later that day, I had no idea what time it was, as I had spend the entire (rest of) the day inside the wooden labyrinth of corridors and rooms once again. At least I had found the dining hall in time. I had also met other "numbers" and my trainer. And I was not happy about it.

When I had finally found the right corridor, I first went to knock on Ni's door.

"Come in." Hearing her voice raised my spirits almost immediately. I opened the door and found her sitting on her bed, putting black bindings around her shins. She looked up once I had closed the door behind me. "Hey you."

"Hey," I replied a little tired.

"Sit down," she said encouragingly and pointed at the chair next to her bed. I did and continued watching her put on the bindings. For a moment the movement of her slender fingers mesmerized me.

"What are you doing?" I then asked, a little confused by what she was wearing.

"I'm preparing for a mission," she replied, knotting the loose ends of the bindings together and pushing them under the hem of her formfitting black pants. "This is our uniform, by the way. Once you get to go outside, you'll have something like this too."

She stood up for a moment and turned around to me. She was wearing the usual black sweater with its sleeves rolled up to her elbows, another set of black bindings on her forearms and black fingerless gloves. Her torso was covered in what looked like a dark grey flak jacket that sported a variation of smaller pockets on the front. She also wore a belt with another set of pockets on it. She looked like the perfect assassin, the way I would have always pictured a perfect assassin. And she looked extremely pretty at the same time.

"So how was your day?" she asked, when she sat down on the bed again and fixed the bindings on her other leg.

"I found the dining hall in time," I said, still watching her.

"Oh, that's great!" She laughed.

I threw her a playful pout. "I also met my team and my trainer."

"You don't sound too happy about it…" she remarked, looking over at me.

"I'm not. I… you know, I'm not the social type. And I really don't get along well with other boys…"

Ni raised her eyebrows at me. "Oh really?" Why was she smirking at me like that?

Never mind. "I didn't really talk to any of the other "numbers"… and the trainer, well he is a douche bag!"

"Who is your trainer?"

"#8."

"Oh, well, yes, he is some kind of douche bag," Ni replied, nodding. When I didn't really look comforted by that, she added: "Don't worry, this was just your first day. You'll get along with everyone in time. And you'll learn to ignore Hachi-kun's god complex."

I raised an eyebrow and sighed, while leaning back in the chair. "And when will I finally be able to go outside? All we did today was sit around in yet another room, talking about how we'll be sitting there every morning. And when #8 said we would do some training, we went into the basement. We didn't even train! He just made us do rounds! All afternoon!"

"You're in your first phase of training. I know, it's very theoretical and boring, but before you can learn the real combat techniques, you'll have to prepare your body and soul. You'll understand soon enough."

"But you know I'm not that patient!"

Ni exhaled loudly and stood up from the bed to walk over to me. Fixing her gloves, she looked down at me. "You have to work on yourself, Kichirou. Patience is very important for what we are doing here."

I sighed.

"Hey, cheer up, okay?" she then exclaimed, placing her hand on my shoulder. I looked at her. "It'll get better. And you can always come and talk to me about how much it annoys you." She smiled.

I then, out of a reflex, really, grabbed her waist and pulled her onto my lap.

"Oi!" she gasped, when I flung my arms tightly around her and pressed my face against her upper arm. I didn't care. I needed her now. Grabbing my shoulders, she pushed me back into the chair, making me look at her. Yet she remained sitting on my lap. "You have the weirdest puppy eyes, you know that?" she then remarked with a smirk.

I blinked, which caused her to laugh. Once she had caught herself, she stretched out a hand and pushed my hair out of my forehead. I only now noticed how long it had gotten. "Can you cut my hair?" I then asked, without having any idea why I addressed such a trivial matter. And I really didn't know why I felt so comfortable in her presence.

She looked at me a little weird. "You want me to cut your hair?" she asked bewildered. "Have you seen my hair?"

I raised a hand to touch her light brown, messy locks. Sure, it was shaggy and had different lengths, but she was a girl. Maybe this was the latest fashion or something. Still, she had to know how to use scissors without poking one's eye out. Or cutting into ears. Or getting rid of too much hair. I had no idea why I was thinking about such mundane things right now. "I like your hair…" I muttered instead.

I heard Ni sigh. "And what's wrong with your hair?"

"It's too long. It's always in my eyes," I whispered, sounding even for myself like a spoiled, unhappy child.

Ni laughed into my ears. Such a hearty sound. I looked at her. She threw me a smile and got off my lap. She then walked to the cupboard, opened a drawer, threw some stuff around, before she found what she had been looking for. I watched her in confusion. She then leaned over me, grabbed a bit of my hair and used the hair tie she had just found to put it into a short ponytail somewhere on top of my head. I blinked when she leaned back and watched me as if I was art on display.

"Hey, you have a forehead!" she remarked smirking.

I let my hand wander over my face – oh a forehead – to my hair, where I felt for the weird, protruding little ponytail-thingy. Raising my eyebrows, I then stood up. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Yes, because it's also yours, remember?"

I went into the bathroom and came to a halt in front of the mirror. My thick black hair was messy and unkempt and slightly too long at parts, but at least it was out of my eyes now. And the little ponytail didn't look as bad as I had thought. Ni appeared in the mirror behind me.

"You can keep the hair tie," she said quietly, watching my reflection. "Also I can't cut hair. I tried it once on myself and almost chopped my right ear off."

I turned around a little perplexed, but broke into a grin soon after, as I noticed that she was showing me her right ear. A little piece was indeed missing. Weird. A girl, who couldn't use scissors. Maybe I had to rethink my mental image of girls or I had to consider that Ni was raised by an Old Man, who probably didn't teach her any girl things.

"Thanks for the hair tie," I then said, once again playing with the little ponytail on my head.

She smiled and walked back into her room. I followed her slowly. When I saw her putting on black combat shoes, I sat down on the chair again. "What is your mission about?" I asked quietly.

"Kichirou, what's my favorite line again?"

""You'll find out soon"?"

"No, the other one."

"Um, oh: "I'm not allowed to tell you"."

"Exactly," she replied with a smile. "By the way, I have to go now, I'm sorry."

"When will you come back?" I asked, while getting up from the chair.

"I don't know yet. Depends on the success of the mission," she replied, grabbing a little backpack that had been lying under the bed. "But I don't think it will take too long."

She was adjusting her belt, when I hugged her from behind. "Don't go yet!" I muttered, and this time I didn't care how pathetic I behaved.

"Kichirou!" She sounded annoyed and amused at the same time.

"Please?"

"Are you throwing puppy eyes at me again?"

"No…" She turned around to look at me and frowned. I blinked. "Maybe…"

Laughing, she grabbed my hands and made me let her go. Turning around, she pulled me into a tight hug. I fell against her, with my arms hanging loosely by my sides. I could fall asleep like this, I thought tiredly. So warm and comfortable.

"Don't you have five more minutes?" I mumbled into her hair.

Ni sighed loudly and let go of me, before making me sit on the bed. "Fine. Five minutes. What's up?"

I looked up at her. Suddenly very confused.

"Kichirou?"

"Well, I… um… Stop pressuring me! I just…" I suddenly realized how stupid I acted in front of her. Way to annoy her, seriously! Exhaling loudly, I then stood up again and walked past her towards the door. She watched me thoughtfully. "Never mind, I'm sorry," I said quietly. "Have a save mission, okay?"

"Kichirou," she said, sounding a little disappointed.

I nodded, then grabbed the door handle. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her moving towards me. When she was close enough, I turned around and gently grabbed her face, before pressing my mouth against hers. She hesitated, almost jerked backwards, but then leaned into the kiss as well. It wasn't as desperate as our last kiss, but equally rough. As if we were fighting over who had the upper hand. Ni certainly was a weird girl, as she didn't just submit to me (at least that's how I imagined girls to behave), then again, I really liked that about her.

A knock on the door made both of us jump. Ni flinched so bad, she almost bit my lip. We jumped apart the moment the door was being opened. It took me two more seconds to run into the bathroom and close the door behind me as silently as possible. I had no idea why I was fleeing like that, it had just felt natural. Through the wooden door, I could hear a male voice.

"Ni-san, the Old Man said we should take Roku-chan along as well. He mentioned that there might be a few complications along the way. Just to be safe."

"Sure, does he know?"

"I've already told him. He's waiting in the hall. Are you coming?"

"I'll be right there, Yon-kun."

Footsteps, then the closing of a door, then more footsteps, then the bathroom door was being opened. I blinked, when I saw the look Ni was throwing me. It was amusement all over her pretty face.

"You are pretty fast, you know that?" she laughed, leaning against the door frame.

"Well… that's my only talent, I guess…" I scratched the back of my head and frowned. "So, was that your teammate?"

"One of them, yes, it's a team mission, so I obviously won't be going alone."

"And you're leaving with #4 and #6? Who are they? Are they nice? Will you be safe? Can they take care of you? Won't they be distracted?"

She watched me a little irritated. "Don't ask so many questions, Kichirou, that really is none of your business."

"But… yeah, sorry, I…" I shook my head. "I'm just concerned…"

Ni smiled a little, as she walked closer to me. "That's cute…" She came to a halt in front of me and raised a hand to trace my cheek with her index finger. I saw her biting her lip. "Listen, Kichirou. I'll be fine. Don't worry. And you'll be fine too. How's your schedule for tomorrow?"

It took me a while to realize that she had asked me a question. Her finger was very distracting. "Um, I have classes in the morning, then lunch break, then training in the afternoon until dinner."

She lowered her hand. "And you'll have a lot of fun there, okay?" she said with a smile. "Promise me."

I frowned. Fun? No, surely not. "Okay…"

"Promise me, Kichirou," she repeated, watching me closely. I could feel her breath on my chin. "Promise me you'll behave."

I sighed. "Fine, I promise I will behave…"

"Good boy," she teased and raised her arm to pat my hair. "Now, don't be too upset. Remember that you chose to be here."

I wanted to remark that I hadn't had any other choice but to agree to join, but decided to remain silent.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" she then said, holding my gaze.

I nodded. "Be careful," I added quietly.

Ni smiled and leaned in to kiss me shortly. I wanted to deepen the kiss, but she had already pulled away again. Waving at me, she then turned around and left. I remained standing in the bathroom, listening to her close the door of her room and how her footsteps subsided in the corridor. Then she was gone. And in retrospect, I could have kicked myself for being so clingy and annoying and just plain weird.

Seriously: What the hell was wrong with me?

I exhaled loudly and decided to take a long, hot shower, then go to bed and sleep till morning, hoping that Ni would be back by then. I slowly realized that I was depending on her way too much – especially after such a short time of knowing or actually meeting her. Maybe she was right, I had to get along with other people as well. Yeah, I'll work on that. Tomorrow. Before that: shower time!

I undressed in front of the mirror and suddenly remembered that I was still wearing bandages around my chest. I decided to get rid of them. My body didn't hurt very badly anymore, so they were probably unnecessary anyways. After doing just that, I stared at my naked reflection in shock. Very carefully, I raised a hand to touch my chest. Pressing too hard on my ribs was still hurting, yet when I hesitantly fingered the scars on my abdomen, there was no physical pain.

But slowly, the memory of how my body came to look like this flashed before my eyes again. Like lightning in a thunder storm. Quickly changing, bright images flickering in the darkness with the turmoil screaming so loud I had to actually cover my ears with both hands.

Seeing my tormented reflection made it even worse.

That's why I needed Ni.

She made me forget about what had happened to me. Without her, I was left alone with my mind and its sadistic urge to remind me of what I had to go through. Over and over… all over again. I felt cold. And it wasn't because I stood stark naked in the cold bathroom. The cold came from within. It numbed me so much, I had actually trouble keeping my balance.

And suddenly, it went dark.

I woke to the sound of a voice that was not just in my head.

"-irou! Kichirou! Wake up!"

Opening my eyes groggily, I immediately felt my head throbbing as if it was about to explode. I was lying on the cold bathroom floor. With my head hurting. And… Someone was crouching beside me. Ni! And I was…

"I'm naked!" I muttered hoarsely, trying to turn away from her.

"I know, silly, I can see that!" she replied, grabbing my arms to help me sit up.

"Don't look, then!" I murmured, holding my head between my hands.

"Relax. It's not as if I've never seen a naked boy before."

What was that supposed to mean? Why was she talking like that? Girls shouldn't talk like that. Really, what was she think– AHH! HEAD! HURTS! I cried out when the pain pulsed through my brain like a shockwave.

"Come on, get up!" I heard her say and I somehow managed to stand.

Ni moved me towards the wall, against which she leaned me like some inanimate object. I felt like one, so it was okay. She then grabbed a robe hanging from a hook and helped me get into it.

"What happened?" I heard her ask as she was guiding me towards my bed.

"I don't know… I… think I just fell…"

"And hit your head on the sink, apparently," she commented while making me sit on the edge of the bed. I finally looked up at her. She was still wearing her uniform.

"You're back," I then mumbled, trying to smile at her.

She threw me a sympathetic look. "Well spotted!"

"When did you come back?"

"Just now. Have you been lying on the floor all day long?" she asked while sitting down next to me, watching me closely, even raising a hand to examine my head. I winced slightly when she touched it.

"All day? I… the last thing I know is you leaving. Then I wanted to take a shower… and… yeah, that's it."

"You've been lying there since yesterday? My God, Kichirou!" She shook her head and kept gently touching my hair. "At least you didn't seem to hit your head too hard. Just a bump, I guess. Otherwise you could have bled to death before I even had the chance to find you."

I looked at her and felt even worse. And seemingly it showed.

"Hey, don't make a face like that, okay?" She put her arm around me and playfully nudged my side. "It's fine…"

"I missed one day of training…"

She leaned her cheek against mine. "Don't worry about that. I'll talk to Hachi-kun, he'll understand. And if he won't, then I'll kick his butt."

That cheered me up more than it should have. The mental image almost drove away the thumping pain. "Thanks," I muttered and leaned against her. "So how was your mission?"

"Successful," she replied quietly. "How's your head?"

"Getting better."

"That's good," she said. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really. You?"

"No."

I smiled at how we were able to talk like this after only a few days for knowing each other. It really surprised me how close the two of us had gotten over this short course of time. I had never been this close to anyone, not after years of knowing them. Ni was special, I could tell. She was something else. For the first time since it had happened, I was glad to have woken up in this weird, wooden place. If I hadn't, I would have never met this amazing girl.

And I would have never gotten this cheesy…

Ni inhaled deeply, as she loosened her grip around my shoulder. I turned my head towards her. We locked eyes. I had to admit: the silence hovering between us was too comfortable for my liking. What was going on? Why did I feel like this? Maybe having to go through hell made life look much more enjoyable? Was it that? Or was it Ni? Or were those two things connected? Now I was just confusing myself…

"Kichirou?" she just asked.

"Hmm?"

"How about I'll change into something more comfortable, get us a bit to eat and then we'll talk a little more?"

I watched her for a moment. "But… I thought you weren't hungry…"

"Maybe I'll be later," she replied, grinning. "And you should definitely eat something, also."

"Why? Am I too skinny?"

She laughed. "Yes, you are way too skinny! No, silly, you look extremely pale and weakened. You need food. Food is good for you, you know?"

I blinked.

She grinned wider, as she let go of me. "I'll be right back, okay? Try to rest till then. And don't fall over again!"

I nodded carefully and watched her leave. I then lay down on my back and stared at the ceiling. The pounding of my head subsided slowly. I felt tired. The bed was so comfortable. My eyelids got heavy. I blinked in slow-motion. Then closed my eyes.

When I opened them again, I saw Ni sitting at the foot of the bed, her legs crossed in front of her, her back leaning against the wall, a large plate on her lap. She just picked something up with her chopsticks when she turned her head towards me and smiled.

"Hey sleepyhead," she said quietly.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up slowly. Did I fall asleep or was she just very, very fast?

Ni held her chopsticks in front of my face. "Open up," she said and mimicked the motion I was supposed to do.

I stared a little cross-eyed at the thing between the thin wooden sticks. "What is that?"

"Just eat it already!"

"No, I'm not putting that in my mouth!"

Ni laughed hard at that and I just stared at her and the chopsticks in mild confusion. It took her way too long to recover. "Kichirou, you are hilarious," she then stated, shaking her head, still chuckling. "Now come on, it's just a piece of fish. It's good for you."

This time, when she held up the chopsticks, I leaned closer, opened my mouth and took the food from her grip. But I didn't intend to eat it just yet. Ni was watching me curiously. That was the moment I decided to move in and press my mouth onto hers. Her eyes widened and she was quick enough to push me away gently, before I could share my food with her. She then pressed her hand onto my lips and looked me hard in the eye.

"Swallow!" she commanded with a smirk.

I pulled my eyebrows together and threw her a what I thought miserable gaze, but she only laughed and waited until I did what she had told me. The fish had just doubled inside my mouth. Squeezing my eyes shut, I swallowed it.

"Now, was this so bad? Here, have another bite!" She was already shoving her chopsticks back into my face. I decided to get revenge.

First I took the plate off her lap and placed it on the ground. Then I grabbed the hand that was holding the chopsticks and pretended to eat the bite she had chosen. Yet before I closed my lips around the fish, I drifted off and met her mouth instead. She was too surprised to react in any way when I made her let go of the chopsticks, threw them along with the fish to the ground and proceeded to kiss her.

She somehow ended up lying beneath me. My hands were caught in her hair, my body practically pinning her to the bed, my lips glued to hers. She wasn't moving. When I leaned back a little to look at her, she simply stared back at me, a neutral, yet somehow curious expression on her face. That gaze was enough to make me lean in again. This time, she kissed me back, maneuvering her hands around my shoulders to grab onto my sweater. I repositioned myself on top of her, one knee between her legs, propped onto one arm, while my free hand wandered off on its own.

I only noticed that I was already beneath the hem of her sweater, when she grabbed my hand in mid-motion. "Don't," she muttered against my lips. But somehow I couldn't control myself anymore. I really wanted to feel what was beneath her sweater. So I pressed against her grip.

I should have remembered that she was strong…

Suddenly I was sitting on the floor, a sharp pain issuing from my wrist. I looked up in confusion, seeing Ni sitting up on the bed, rearranging her clothes. Her gaze was darker than expected. I immediately felt bad for what I had done and bowed my head in shame.

"I'm sorry, Ni," I whispered.

She didn't respond. I saw her standing up from the bed, picking up the plate and the chopsticks and the piece of fish I had wasted, then walking towards the cupboard, where she put everything down. I looked up very, very slowly. She stood, with her arms crossed in front of her chest, next to the cupboard and watched me.

"I think I know exactly what you need right now," she said thoughtfully while pursing her lips.

I frowned in bewilderment. "A… cold shower?"

She laughed. "No," she replied. "Well, maybe that too. But I was thinking about something else. Get up." She threw me some clothes. "And get dressed."

"Huh?" I was very confused by what she was thinking about.

"Get up and follow me!" she said again and didn't even wait for me to do so, she just walked to the door, opened it and vanished into the hallway.

"Ni! Wait!" I called after her, then quickly got to my feet, dressed in record time and ran outside as well.

"Hurry up!" I could hear her voice from the other end of the corridor. I was already running, but still couldn't catch up with her. She just turned around another corner, her voice echoing through the hallway. "And I thought you were fast…"

Way to push a man's ego, Ni! And then I ran, always seeing her in the distance, until she stepped onto a set of stairs and descended. I followed her and almost had her, if she hadn't opened a door and stepped inside a dark room all of a sudden. I stopped and looked hesitantly inside.

"By the way, I talked to Hachi-kun," I heard Ni's voice from somewhere in the darkness. Where was she? And why was it so dark in here? I waited by the door frame.

"And?"

"You're off the team, Kichirou."

"What?"

"I'm sorry," her voice came from somewhere close now. Yet I was a bit too agitated to really locate her. "They've decided to keep you off any team for a certain time. Until you get used to your new situation. It's actually better this way. You'll get your own personal trainer instead."

"Really? Pah, that will just be another douche bag with a god complex…" I was really pissed right now. First they made such a deal out of me joining and then I wasn't even allowed to train in a team and get to know other people?

"Maybe…" She sounded even closer now. Suddenly, she appeared in front of me. "If you think that I'm just another douche bag with a god complex."

I stared at her. Completely dumbstruck. My jaw even dropped.

She smiled at me and grabbed the front of my shirt to pull me inside the dark room. When she closed the door, I stood in complete darkness. Yet I could feel Ni's presence very close to me. Actually, I could feel her hands on my waist. I swallowed dryly. She then moved me through the darkness. I almost stumbled because of the way her fingers dug into my skin.

"Ni? What is this place?"

"You'll find out very soon," she replied, laughing softly into my ear.

She came to a halt, but kept her hands on my waist. I could feel her leaning against me.

"Kichirou, I want you to promise me something," she then whispered.

"Okay…"

"When we're in this room, I'll only be your trainer, understood? Nothing more. I don't want you to get distracted or anything…"

"Okay…" I didn't care if I was repeating myself. I had nothing else to say. I was in shock.

"Promise me." Her breath tickled on my skin. It was very hard for me to think right now.

"I… I promise… not to get distracted."

"Good boy," she murmured and then I felt her lips on my cheek. I wanted to kiss her back, but she was already gone.

Suddenly the lights went on. I flinched and had to shield my eyes for a moment, before I realized where I was. Then I blinked. Ni was standing in a very large room full of weird objects and obstacles, surrounded by trees and the sound of a nearby waterfall. Where was I? Outside?

"Welcome to the Playground," she said, spreading her arms wide to show the vastness of the room.

A playground.

That might actually keep my mind off the girl standing in the middle of it.