I think you like her.

"God damn it, X." Zero cursed as he sat up in his recharge station.

It has been several months since Zero started training Iris. In that time, she had improved at a steady pace and on her own time. He'd be lying if he didn't say he wasn't impressed. Despite this, X's words still hung around Zero's head like an obnoxious fly. At first, he would have even denied it with all his heart and soul. But now?

Letting out an exhausted groan, Zero got out of the charge station and wandered upstairs to the S Class training rooms. On the way, he passed by some Navigators and lower field agents who spent their time working the dead shift- none of them talked to him, but it could have been that he looked too bitter to even bother. The red Reploid made his way to the training room he and Iris had been using; it was his personal training room, mind you, and as such kept all the detailed records of whatever training transpired there. Zero continued to wander to the control station and settled himself in the ridiculously comfortable chair residing there. After booting up the control station, the red Reploid then started to review the last training sessions on Iris's progress.

In reality, Iris's combative abilities had reached a plateau. You could see the frustration growing in Iris as she kept missing attacks on certain enemies, and eventually lose to them. Zero had attempted a scan at her mind while training went on, finding that her learning processes just stopped at new enemies now. Unless the enemies displayed an attack pattern she had already memorized, Iris could not learn off of them to properly be the victor. He could still send her out on field missions, need it be, but the risk of her not learning off a bigger bad stopped him.

"I want to see what her limitations are." he had told X, and he had found them. "I want to push her to her limit." he insisted to his friend, and he now had all evidence to decide that this was certainly the case. Maybe she wasn't trying hard enough now? No… No that wasn't the case, brain scans affirmed that much. Maybe she didn't care anymore? No, that look of determination in her eyes was as undeniable as the sunrise. Maybe they had gotten too close- Zero was the one that wasn't letting Iris grow to her fullest potential.

I think you like her.

"Shut up X." Zero hissed under his breath, despite knowing his friend was sound asleep in his own room. The red Reploid then let out a disgusted growl as he went over the training routines. They involved the Ride Armor Iris was using, and since she was no longer showing improvement with the Ride Armor, perhaps it was time to take it off. Zero bit his lip as he worked through the details. Yes, getting Iris out of the Ride Armor had to work. He wasn't ready to let her finish training yet, she still had work to do.

He still had time to spend with her.

. . .

"Faster." Zero demanded as Iris fumbled her way through the course.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Iris huffed at him as she made a quick dodge under some lasers.

"Not fast enough!" her superior barked back.

Iris attempted to hold back a nasty grumble as she went through the training course. No Ride Armor- only her stripped wit and a good hack-slash to the side. If her memories held up, this was the first time he ever made her do this, and he sure as hell wasn't going easy on her. What happened to making sure she didn't get hurt so Colonel wasn't aware of what they were doing?

"Iris, pay attention!" Zero hollered after a Batton nearly crashed into her. She had seen it coming, she had registered that it was coming for her, but her systems couldn't find a way to get rid of it other than to duck at last minute. It was a stupid move, and at the way Zero was taking this session, it wasn't going to reflect well on her score.

"Enough!" Zero eventually declared, turning off the current simulation and getting down to her level. "It's time for one on one."

"You're joking." Iris questioned with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Never." the other Reploid darkly replied before attacking. With a brief flash of fear in her eyes, Iris dashed out of the way and scrambled to get to some point of safety. Due to the active simulation ending, there was no where for Iris to run without Zero being on her tail.

"Fight me Iris!" Zero demanded, looking more deranged with each second, holding out his Z-saber as if he going to attack a much more powerful foe.

"But without weapons?!" Iris questioned in a fearful defense.

"In the field everything is a weapon."

"But the simulation isn't even running now, I don't have anything to defend myself with! I can't adapt!"

Saying this seemed to make Zero even more furious.

"Yes you can!" he hollered at her before attempting a jump-slash combo. Iris managed to dodge roll out of the way, then quickly maneuvered herself to the other end of the room with several desperate handsprings. This was not the best of ideas as she had backed herself into a corner.

Zero was quick to locate her again and as he came over, Iris just now realized how dangerous Zero could be if pushed enough. He looked so… Maverick, as if the mere behavior was natural to him. That was when her already overworked mind remembered that he was a Maverick -or had been, at least- and the mere idea of Mavericks started with Zero.

For the first time, Iris just now realized how truly fucked she was.

"Zero, I can't do this!"

"Yes! You! CAN!" the red Reploid screamed as he aimed right for her core. Iris let out a terrified scream of her own as she just barely dodged the attack; Iris hit the ground hard as Zero stood frozen in his attempted stab as the events that just transpired finally registered to him. Zero's saber clattered to the ground, just moments after he was beside Iris to assess the damage. The female Reploid had curled herself into a ball with her left hand holding the elbow of her right arm.

"Iris, let me see it." Zero instructed, trying to keep his voice still.

Muttering several colorful words at him (mostly consisting of the word 'fuck,' with one very precise 'fuck you'), Iris slowly moved so he could get a better look at the cut. Sucking air through his teeth, Zero found that the abrasion had been deep- if it had gone in any further, it would have broken a vital wire. As the guilt washed over him, Zero carefully slung Iris's good arm around his neck and gently picked her up to carry her to the infirmary.

On the way over, seething through the pain, Iris grumbled at him, "Colonel's gonna… fuck you over."

"I know." Zero agreed with a heavy, regretful sigh. "Oh hell, I know."

. . .

After dropping Iris off, and both of them swearing that the accident was surely just an accident, Zero quickly left the infirmary before getting caught by Colonel. It was a pretty smart idea as the two passed each other in the hallway: a shiver went down Zero's spine just in passing Colonel- you knew the Reploid was pissed and no one was going to sate him at this point.

"Where... IS... IRIS?!" Colonel demanded almost immediately after entering the infirmary.

The nurse who happened to be attending the manager station shrunk a little in her spot, and let out a soft "This way sir" before leading him to Iris's room. After letting him in, the nurse shut the door behind her to leave the two siblings alone. Colonel didn't waste time going over to Iris and inspected the damage for himself.

"It's not that bad..." Iris mumbled, still in an act of defiance toward her brother.

Colonel flashed his sister an extremely dark look.

"Who did this?" he fiercely questioned.

"No one." Iris insisted. "I fell while holding several stacks of paperwork; that polycarbonate stuff they use now can get pretty sharp in you turn it the wrong way."

"If this happened from paperwork, then our mother was a calculator."

"Colonel, please, it's not that bad. It doesn't even hurt anymore."

"You and I both know you are lying Iris. Who are you trying to defend? Who?!"

"No one!" Iris shouted at him, finally raising her voice. "And if I really wanted you to know, I would have told you already! It's not important, I'm going to live, so you can just forget about it! What I do with my body has nothing to do with you, brother."

Finally, Colonel moved back a little.

"Alright." he eventually agreed. "No one hurt you, I see now. But if that was not the case, I still have one question for you."

"Anything."

"What were you doing at Maverick Hunter HQ?" he asked, simply enough. "You could have just as well been doing paperwork at Repliforce."

Iris flinched. She had to think of something, anything, to keep Colonel from realizing what she had really been doing these past few months. How good at he was two truths and a lie again?

"I've been… seeing someone. Someone who's been helping me become more… independent. And… I guess I like him- he helped bring me here after the accident, after all."

"Who is he?"

Iris hesitated again before finally admitting, "Maverick Hunter Zero."