I Love, and It Hurts - Dynamis

Chapter 2: Of Bananas and Man Berries

WARNING: This chapter discusses the topic of sex pretty extensively. Sure, talking about sex is uncomfortable, but it's very important that everyone is informed on how to have safe sex. This is NOT a guide on how to have safe sex; if you have questions, please consult your doctor. I am not a medical professional, and please DO NOT use this fanfiction as medical advice. Just remember: YOUR HEALTH MATTERS! People are gonna have sex, so please be safe if you're going to "do it." There are plenty of scientific resources to those who are sexually active or are considering becoming sexually active, but again, usually, a good doctor is also good at keeping you safe in your journey of sexual activity and exploration.

ADDITIONAL WARNING: This story is rated T, but this chapter is probably for those 15 or even 16 and older, as there are quite a few sex jokes! I'm contemplating upgrading this story to rated M, but since this chapter is as bad as it gets, I'm not quite sure yet.

The three of them - Chris, King, and Dynamis - sat on the sofa.

Chris fidgeted awkwardly with his hangnail, unsure of how to start.

King lazed on a cushion, sweaty and out of breath from his run to the convenience store.

Dynamis held a bunch of bananas, his expression quizzical.

Chris swallowed in preparation to bite the bullet. He exhaled deeply, the dread in his stomach building. A biology textbook rested in his lap, not quite ready to be opened. Neither was the pack of condoms which sat on the coffee table. There was no getting out of this now.

"Okay, let's begin."

King looked pale as Chris uttered those words, but they had to do it.

Dynamis needed to know. This poor, confused man had absolutely no idea how to have safe sex, and he had spent the past several months being manhandled by someone who probably hadn't known any better, either.

"King, you know what to do," Chris told him.

Awkward silence.

More awkward silence.

King lunged forward, towards the coffee table, and snatched the not-so-innocent package of condoms. When he sat back down, next to Dynamis - who was currently sandwiched between King and Chris on the couch - he coughed, not out of need but out of the need to cut the tension. King, with jittery hands, peeled open the cardboard box, and out came the little foil square.

"This, Dynamis," King began, his volume uncharacteristically below that of a jet engine's, "is a condom. If someone's penis is going inside someone else's hole, you have to... suit up."

"And why is that?" Dynamis asked, seemingly still unaware of the gravity of the situation.

"Well, things like condoms keep - prevent I guess is a better word - you from getting pregnant -"

"King, you do realize that I cannot get pregnant, correct?"

"Okay, okay. Well, it protects you from sexually transmitted diseases, then."

"From sexually transmitted... what?"

More horror.

King nearly fell off the couch. Chris was barely keeping it together as the tension continued to mount within him like a pressure cooker. Just how little had Dynamis been taught about sex? They had to know. They had to know, as much as they didn't want to know.

"Okay," Chris started again. "Let's try this one more time. Dynamis, tell us everything you have been taught about sex." Chris held his hands together in a praying motion, and he touched his chin and his fingertips together in exasperation.

Dynamis was silent. In this situation, it was not the monster which was the horror, but the silence in between.

Dynamis appeared to be deep in thought. He closed his eyes, as if contemplating whether anyone had ever taught him anything about this sort of matter at all. His hands remained positioned over his waist. He began to hug himself, to hold himself. "Well, I was told," he said at last, "that sex was not to be performed until one married."

He went silent, and at last his hands moved so that he could bury his face in them. The tips of his ears went red. "That did not happen, obviously."

Chris gave Dynamis's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Nothing wrong with that."

"But, I. I should not have done that. I know I should have not done that." Dynamis eyed the cup of water Chris had given him earlier. Out of nowhere, he grabbed the cup from the table and soaked himself with a violent flick of his wrist. With the cup still in his grasp, water dripped from his hair and onto his robes, his form unmoving but his arm shaking. Water began collecting onto the floor in a puddle. He began to mumble, as if Chris and King were no longer there. "Gods, forgive me, for I am a virgin no longer. How could I -"

Chris had to interrupt before Dynamis sent himself spiraling into another panic.

"Remember, there's nothing wrong with you," Chris reminded the fellow blader. Dynamis exhaled. The breath he took shook alongside his hands. Chris dared to lean over and remove the cup from Dynamis's fingers, which proved difficult because Dynamis had a practical death grip on the glass. Chris made a mental note to get Dynamis a stress ball.

"Right!" King interjected. "Nothing's wrong with you! I'm pretty sure half the people in this building have screwed someone else before marriage, anyways! It's totally normal!"

Chris face-palmed as the silence gripped the room once again.

.

"If you don't mind, Dynamis, please continue. What else were you taught about sex?"

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"Well, I was taught that sex is the duty between a man and a woman." Dynamis began to fiddle with the thread of his fingerless glove once more. He looked down at the palms of his hands, as if they were the most interesting things in the world. He tugged on one of the loose fibers of his glove's cloth. He yanked, and the thread of fabric snapped. "I was taught that sex between two men was an abomination, but you two most likely already know that."

"Do you know how it works?" King asked. Chris could not help but sigh in relief. As dumb as King could be, leave it to him to take one for the team. Chris leaned further back into the sofa, his legs outstretched. In his own strange, emotionally-stunted way, he was trying to convince the Jade Jupiter blader to relax alongside him. Dynamis began to bite his lip.

More silence. More of that dreaded, horrific silence.

Dynamis shook his head, quickly, quietly, shyly, the only evidence of the action being the slight dent within the neck piece of his robes.

King recoiled slightly, his hair bouncing along with him. His face scrunched itself; his eyes narrowed in what Chris could only assume was concern, and perhaps slight mortification. "Wait, so if you don't know how it works, how did you... do it? With him?!"

Dynamis shrugged. His hands returned to his lap, then to his waist. "He just... did it. I didn't really look... I was too embarrassed, I suppose."

Chris decided that enough was enough. He signaled for King to give him a condom; King obliged. "Dynamis," Chris ordered, "banana." Dynamis broke a banana off the bunch and handed it to Chris.

Let the lecture begin.

Chris spoke again, "So Dynamis, and I can't believe that I'm saying this, but please pretend that this banana... is a dick."

Dynamis nodded awkwardly, but his facial features contorted, telling Chris that he'd rather not.

Chris solidered on. "Using this thing - a condom - really helps in preventing... other things. Diseases. Some diseases are spread through coughs, some through the air, others through water even. You're aware of that, yeah? Some diseases, though, are spread through sex, especially... unprotected sex. In your case, this is even more significant. You can't get pregnant, but you can contract certain diseases through sex. Especially if you're... you know... on the bottom."

Dynamis nodded, his expression still tense. Chris continued, trying his best to summon his inner sex ed teacher as he did so. He closed his eyes for a moment and pretended that he was the biology textbook which sat in his lap. Despite his attempt to remain impartial, Chris felt like a parent giving their kid "the talk." Just another reason in the books as to why Chris does not want children.

"There's also a disease called HIV as well, which can be deadly if you contract it and don't get treatment. It's incurable for the time being, but people can manage it with medication. Anyone can get it, but statistically, men who have sex with other men are among one of the higher-risk groups, especially if they're on the receiving end of things."

Chris paused for a moment, giving Dynamis some time to digest the information given to him. Dynamis gestured for him to go on, then continued to toy with his glove. At this point even his knuckles were flushed, red from embarrassment.

Chris cleared his throat just to give Dynamis a little more time. "There's loads of scientific and sociological reasons why it's the case, but we won't get into that now. Other sexually transmitted diseases can be harmful or even chronic, but HIV is feared in particular because if it's left to progress, it can develop into AIDS, which essentially weakens your immune system to such an extent that you could die." Chris looked at Dynamis to see how he was doing. As much as he cared for Dynamis, Chris could not bear to look him in the eye as he explained this. God, this was awkward. So, so awkward.

Dynamis look scared, horrified, even. His mouth was left agape slightly. His pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpricks. He was still playing with the loose thread of his fingerless glove. "Do you think... that I have..."

"Well, if Rago has been your only sexual partner up until this point, and you were his only sexual partner, then chances are, you don't have HIV. However, and I know it's awkward, but you should probably get yourself tested for various sexually transmitted infections. It's not that bad... even I've been tested before myself. Lots of people do it to protect their health. It's nothing to be ashamed of. But you should also know how to have sex safely, even if the only person you've been with was Rago... in case, other opportunities arise, so to speak."

"Okay," was the only thing Dynamis managed to spit out before the awful silence returned.

Chris sighed for the millionth time that day. "Now, let's teach you how to put a condom on a penis."

Dynamis eyed the banana suspiciously. "How, exactly, is this banana a representation of... the male phallus?"

"I mean, it's... kind of shaped like it, I guess? I mean, when you really think about it, the shape of a banana can't be that different from a dick, right?"

Dynamis broke off yet another banana from the bunch. He held it. He inspected it with what seemed to be suspicion. His eyes narrowed. "Then why is it so... curved? And... small? Compared to the real thing?"

"Are... are you sure?" King asked, face even paler than before, hand held in a weak pointing motion. "And whose thing are you even talking about?"

"Yes; I've seen it! Rago's... thing... In person!" Dynamis squeaked, red and embarrassed.

Even more horror. Chris and King looked at each other in pure and utter horror.

"How much bigger?" King managed to spit out. As his speech progressed, it grew softer and softer. Chris never thought he'd see the day when King would be reduced to such a pathetic silence. Chris never thought he'd see the day when he was reduced to such a pathetic silence.

Dynamis raised his hand to eye-level, pressed his pointer finger and thumb together, and then separated them. Chris nervously eyed the gap Dynamis had presented them with. Dynamis - his hands midair - then took his banana and lined up its length with the distance between his fingers. "And if this banana is intended as a stand-in for a penetrating male phallus, then why is it so narrow?"

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.

.

Dynamis had left the room after admitting to feeling overwhelmed, seemingly oblivious of the internal strife Chris and King shared. The two friends remained seated on the sofa, as far away from the other as possible. With their very recent revelations about their friend's sex life, they could not possibly stand to even look at each other. Not now. Not now.

Chris's face felt numb. It was the middle of the day, but he was exhausted. The biology textbook remained in Chris's lap, and he had planted his hand on it as if he were swearing over a bible.

"We never speak of this again," Chris said, the lack of emotion in his voice conveying complete and utter despair.

"I solemnly swear across my mother's grave," King replied, the skin around his eyes appearing to have turned blue like his hair. A cold chill ran through the room as Chris - and probably King as well - contemplated how on earth such a large... thing... could possibly fit inside Dynamis's small, frail, narrow body.

That poor, poor man. No wonder it'd hurt when he'd had sex. No wonder. The strange urge to strangle Rago entered Chris, not because the man had nearly destroyed the world, but because Chris felt like an over-protective dad. Chris felt unwell; he was disturbed.

Dynamis's sexuality was not the problem. No, that wasn't the problem.

The horror continued to bubble inside Chris as it sunk in how little his friend truly knew about being intimate.

God. Good god. This poor, poor man. And good god, Dynamis's body was so small. Just how, on god's green earth, had that thing fit in there?

"Ryo, may I ask you something?"

A familiar voice resonated through his office room. Ryo turned around in his revolving chair, and at the door stood a familiar face. Ryo could almost say that he felt relieved. Dynamis had caused the least trouble out of all the legendary bladers. No stadium-destroying bey battles. No getting kicked out of the supermarket because the fangirls were creating a fire hazard. No messy, convoluted arguments about who was the strongest - arguments that, inevitably, lead to a noticeable point within the city where a flock of birds would all of a sudden skedaddle to Canada in order to escape the wrath of a ticked-off Madoka.

Well, there was that one time when Dynamis had attempted to build what appeared to be a tandoor oven in his apartment, but if that was the worst it got, then Ryo counted himself lucky. Compared to the others, Dynamis was a dream to manage. When you told him not to do things, he didn't do them. When you asked him to be careful, he was. When he went to the coffee shop because a bunch of legendary bladers were grouchy before their morning coffee, he actually paid attention to everyone's orders.

Ryo, indeed, had to count himself lucky.

Ryo waved, then smiled. Dynamis nodded, but Ryo noticed that oddly, Dynamis's cheeks were red.

The guardian inched towards Ryo. Step by step he went, but he seemed to not be getting any closer. He seemed so... timid? Ryo had never seen the teenager this timid before. He'd never seen him so much as flinch. Ryo did his best to contain his concern.

Why did Dynamis appear so stressed? He looked unwell, as if he were about to vomit. His face appeared pale.

"Oh, sorry, what was it that you wanted to ask me, Dynamis?"

Dynamis hesitated. He was not making eye-contact, something Ryo had noticed in the past, but this time he could practically see the boy's eyes twitch. When Dynamis spoke, it came out as so soft. So meek. Dynamis's voice normally possessed a particular calmness, a particular detachment. Dynamis was loud, but not unruly, and he usually articulated his words well despite the fact that in the modern world, he could seldom speak his native tongue.

"I think... I think that I would need to see a doctor."

Was that it? That could not have possibly been it. Dynamis had gone in for a check-up quite recently, barely a month ago. But if he said that he needed a doctor, then at least give him that. He'd helped save the world mere months ago.

"Oh, that's not a problem. What for, then? Do you feel sick, or maybe your injuries from the final battle haven't healed up completely yet?"

Dynamis shook his head.

"Do you need a specialist, you think?"

As the seconds progressed, Dynamis's voice grew softer and softer, shyer and shyer. By the end of it, Ryo could barely hear him.

"Personal... things."

Ryo felt his brow quirk in mild confusion. "You'll have to be more specific than that."

Dynamis, out of nowhere, turned around on his heel, looking just about ready to leave. Ryo could no longer see his face, but he noticed how even the tips of Dynamis's ears had now turned red.

"Never mind, then. It's fine."

"Dynamis, are you embarrassed?"

Dynamis's body twitched visibly. Oh, so that kind of "personal thing." Well, Ryo wasn't here to judge.

"Listen, you don't need to be embarrassed about this sort of thing. It's your health, right? It's important."

"Yeah." It came out as a breathless squeak.

"You can talk about it with me, if you want?" Ryo insisted.

Dynamis shook his head. Immediately after, he left. He had left so quickly that the next time Ryo blinked, all he could see was the swishing of off-white robes.

Dynamis had invited them over for dinner. Aguma then realized that Dynamis almost never invited anyone over for anything. The fellow legendary blader sure as hell had never invited Aguma to his condo before, and according to Chris and King, the same pattern rang true for them.

Aguma found it odd that Dynamis never invited anyone over to his home, especially since many of the legendary bladers lived in the same apartment building. After the whole Nemesis debacle, the WBBA was more than happy to provide humanity's saviors with housing so that a bunch of children didn't have to wander the world by themselves. Well, Kyoya still liked to wander the world by himself, but that was Kyoya. Ryo had tried long ago to stop him; it did not work.

This was it, then. This was Dynamis's home. Chris looked uncharacteristically nervous. King's eyes were shifty. Aguma knocked on the door to Dynamis's apartment, but no reply came. He jiggled the doorknob, and to his shock, it was unlocked.

As soon as they entered the flat, a truly spectacular wave of heat greeted them at the doorway. Dear god, was Dynamis's apartment hot. Chris immediately started sweating. Aguma did not fare much better, but King seemed to at least tolerate the heat on account of his native Greece being quite warm for much of the year. After about thirty seconds, Aguma removed his cape from his body. Chris did the same with his sleeveless jacket.

Suddenly, perhaps thankfully, Dynamis approached them from what Aguma assumed was the kitchen. Aguma laid his eyes on the man, and he nearly jumped out of his own skin.

"Here, let me take these." Dynamis, without another word, rounded up Aguma's cape and Chris's jacket. "I shall hang them in the other room."

Dynamis left, and Chris, King, and Aguma all stared at each other. All their eyes had grown to the size of saucers. In fact, they could not even believe their own eyes. A vein had even appeared on Chris's neck, popping and pulsing and conveying complete and utter bewilderment.

The three of them stood in the sweltering heat of Dynamis's home, frozen in time. Aguma dared to speak.

"Is that Dynamis... not wearing his robe?"

Chris and King could only nod. They seemed to be on loop, only able to nod and repeat the phase, "Yup," over and over.

Dynamis returned, and Aguma stared. His eyes had not deceived him. Dynamis, truly, was not wearing his robe. He merely dressed in the black shirt and pants he wore underneath the robe. Aguma never realized how small Dynamis was. He was tall, but his frame was petite. Aguma looked confusedly at Chris and King as the two of them exchanged a glance of horror. If only Aguma knew.

"Yo, Dynamis, what the hell?!" King exclaimed. He was almost jumping. He leaned towards Dynamis, and by the looks of it, he was uncomfortably close. Dynamis's eyes shifted, his lips contorting into a mild frown. "Why is your apartment, like, as hot as the Sahara?"

"Pardon me? But it is hot outside," Dynamis tried to say before King interrupted.

"Yeah, but there's something called... air conditioning! Do you not know what that is?" Another look of horror spread itself across King's face. "Wait, you dummy, DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT CLIMATE CONTROL IS?"

Silence, then Dynamis, thankfully, spoke.

"Why would I need that? I have a window." Dynamis pointed to the open window in his living room. "Mist Mountain did not have climate control; I am perfectly fine without it."

Aguma, while he had the opportunity, needed to ask Dynamis the burning question - pun absolutely intended. "Dynamis, why was your door not locked? We could just... come in. By turning the door knob."

"What do you mean? Are people supposed to lock their doors, then?"

Chris, King, and Aguma looked at each other again. How had this man not been robbed, or worse, yet?

King piped up once more. His hair was almost white. By this point, sweat poured in buckets down even his face, which had turned blue. "YOU IDIOT! DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING DANGEROUS THAT IS?"

Dynamis tilted his head curiously. Chris just sighed, then shoved his hands into his pockets. His eyes were hollow. They looked like the void.

"I will finish preparing dinner. Please, sit down wherever it is most comfortable for you." Dynamis crept back into the kitchen. Aguma then looked up and saw the cellophane wrap on the fire alarm. He groaned. (Important author's note: I apologize for interrupting the flow of the story, but this is extremely important. Please DO NOT put cellophane wrap on your fire alarm, or block it in any way. Doing so is extremely DANGEROUS!)

The fumes coming from the kitchen were unbelievable. It smelled amazing, but Aguma could only concentrate on his fear. They were going to die. They were going to fucking die because Dynamis had wrapped his fire alarm in cellophane.

The trio finally decided to find a couch to sit on, only to discover that Dynamis's living room was devoid of a couch. Instead, a massive woven rug rested in the center of the room. A shelf which should have kept the TV was filled with potted plants. In lieu of of chairs, there were thin cushions, decorated in hand-woven ornate patterns. Had Dynamis brought his entire temple with him to Japan?

The table in the center of the rug contained a tea set. The tea pot was steaming, and Chris decided to awkwardly pour himself a cup. As he sipped, his face recoiled. He stuck his tongue out, saying that the tea tasted like pine needles in water.

Aguma's eyes darted around the room in the desperate search of a fan; there was no fan. Dynamis's home at least looked nice, if not a little outdated compared to even the secluded, mountainous dwellings of the Beylin Fist. Aguma felt like he was in a cave all over again.

Dynamis had in his possession quite the collection of artifacts, which was shocking yet not surprising. Of course Dynamis would be the one to own taro cards in a glass case, a series of terrifying wooden masks which hung off his westward wall, and a shelf dedicated to amulets from seemingly every culture to have ever existed. In particular, Aguma was creeped out by the turquoise scarab beetle which dangled precariously from a dream catcher; its golden pincers just seemed so real. Aguma felt compelled to wave at the stone elephant which stood on the mantle. Next to the elephant was a small, marble shrine, containing a bust of Zeus and some candles, as well as a plate of candies.

Aguma then realized that Dynamis's apartment was... dark. He blinked. It really was as if they were in a cave. The lights were not on. The opened window had been letting natural light inside, but the sun was on the verge of setting. Aguma looked behind him, and from the kitchen, he saw Dynamis lighting a series of candles and oil lamps.

"Holy guacamole, what in good god is THAT?"

Aguma looked at King, then followed his line of sight. Aguma could not help but wince. In the darkness, he had not noticed it before. In the the low light of Dynamis's crude kerosene lanterns, Aguma felt just about ready to piss himself in fear. In the far corner of the room sat a massive, old, painted skull. Aguma swore that he saw two glowing, yellow dots just stare at them. The skull looked so... real. Was it even human, though? It had the eye holes, the nose hole, the wide sneering grin, but the proportions were just so... wrong. The teeth were too pointed, the mouth too wide. The skull looked at Aguma, hungry. The elongation of the figure's forehead sent chills up Aguma's spine. His brain tingled.

"Oh, before I forget!" they heard Dynamis yell from the other room, "please do not touch the skull in the back corner!"

"And why's that?" King squeaked. His voice was so high. So scared. Aguma admired that he even possessed the courage to speak.

"It's cursed! Someone gave it to one of my ancestors, long ago; it is the skull of a slain Wendigo!" Dynamis said as if that were the most natural thing in the world. The chopping noises which emanated from the kitchen did little to reassure Aguma.

No explanation came from Dynamis. There was no reassurance that they'd be fine so long as they did not touch. Aguma swallowed the lump in his throat.

Dinner could not have been ready soon enough.

.

.

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"Oh man, this is delicious!" King was on his fifth pita bread. He grabbed a pickled pepper, shoving it into his mouth. His face was red. Steam poured from his ears. Despite it all, he proceeded, fearlessly, to plop yet another one into his mouth.

"Be careful, you're gonna choke," Chris warned. He looked over at King, his face conveying complete and utter exasperation. He tugged at the collar of his shirt, then wiped the sweat from his brow. He smiled at Dynamis. "He's right, though. This food is fantastic! We didn't know you were so good at cooking."

Dynamis shrugged, but even in the darkness, Aguma could see his face flushing at the compliment. The only thing Dynamis managed to sputter was an apology. "I apologize. I did not realize that it is now so uncommon for people to be vegetarian."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Chris reassured. He rolled his eyes, then flicked his wrist melodramatically. He popped a cube of curried paneer into his mouth. "I've been bored of the burgers lately. It's all Ginga seems to eat!"

The group shared a laugh. Leave it to Ginga to relieve the tension, even if he wasn't here in person.

"But seriously, does that dude have any idea that Madoka likes him? Or that he likes Madoka? He's denser than a block of marble!" King exclaimed. Aguma gagged; King was talking with his mouth open, revealing a half-chewed blob of bread and olive salad.

"I know, right?" Chris rolled his eyes. He rested his chin on his fist, thinking. He groaned. "Idiot," he muttered between bites.

"So, Dynamis," Aguma interrupted before King had the chance to talk the group to death, "what... is that?" He pointed at the terrace. Behind the opened sliding glass door was a large, hollow mound of dried clay, probably about as tall as King. Aguma noticed char marks on the inside the hallow, and a pile of wood had been stacked next to the clay hill.

"Oh, that?" Dynamis began. He looked a bit nervous. Did Aguma see embarrassment stretch across his face? Dynamis shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Promise... to not laugh."

Aguma nodded, and so did Chris. King, on the other hand, had occupied himself with another helping of curry. How on earth did this boy eat so much? Aguma thought to himself.

Dynamis breathed in through his nose, then out through his mouth. He pinched the bridge between his eyes and tilted his head towards the ceiling, turning away so that they could no longer see his face. "I had it... for cooking. It was fine for a while, but when Ryo discovered it, he said something about building codes and how I was not allowed to have a woodfire oven in the apartment complex." Dynamis crossed his legs, putting his left over his right, as his right leg repetitively vibrated up and down.

King burst out laughing, only to be elbowed by Chris, but he himself seemed to be on the verge of tears. Aguma did his best to bury the surfacing chuckle within the pit of his belly; he was amused. Dynamis, on the other hand, had buried his face into his hands, his ears once again red.

"Dude, like, how? Did you get that oven shipped in or something?!" King asked, his hunger as strong as ever as he took an aggressive bite out off his skewer of eggplant and peppers.

"Well," Dynamis started. He began holding his waist. He was quiet; as he continued, his voice grew softer, trailing off into nothing, "I just... built it. I had to build one back at Mist Mountain, years ago. When I arrived in Japan I did not... know about ovens... or stoves. So when the WBBA gave me this home, I assumed that I would have to build the oven myself. Turns out... modern homes come with gas burners and electric heat boxes. I don't even have to light a fire anymore. The modern world truly is... amazing."

Dynamis went silent, his eyes growing unfocused. He was still there, physically, but he seemed to be on the verge of leaving the conversation entirely. He hummed a bit, then began to play with his fingerless glove. The other three looked at him, amazed.

"You mean... you built it? By yourself?" Chris leaned into the table. He planted his knuckles onto the table cloth as he stared, wide-eyed, at the fellow legendary blader. With that, Dynamis seemed to have come back.

"Yes? It is normal where I am from. The clay oven, I mean. People typically build the oven themselves, or in some towns, there is a large communal oven."

"But how? Where did you even get the clay from?"

"Well... from the ground, obviously. I just dug a hole until I reached clay, then I spent some time refining it to keep the finished oven from cracking. It is not too terribly difficult, although, I must admit, I was never that good at lighting a fire. On days where I could not, I just did not eat."

"Wait, you've got to be shitting me! Is that why there's a giant hole in the garden?!" Chris looked to be on the verge of laughing his ass off. His eyes were filled with tears. His shoulders trembled. He had to practically suffocate himself by putting his hand over his quivering mouth, so that he would not start bellowing in hysterics.

"You said you would not laugh!" Dynamis stuttered. He turned away again, indignant.

"Sorry, I'm real sorry about that. I know I promised; it's just... wow. I'm amazed, actually. You know, I was always wondering how you survived up there by yourself. Even when I was travelling the world and stuff, beyblading for money, there was at least a convenience store or outpost every few hundred miles. I have to admit, though, I kind of wish I learned how to cook for myself like you did. The food I ate while I was on the road was hot garbage! I ate like garbage back then. I swear, back then, sometimes I went for weeks without eating even a single a vegetable." Chris took a bite of bell pepper just to prove his point. "I'm surprised that I didn't get stomach cancer or something from all the instant crap I ate."

Aguma was surprised at that. He was surprised that Chris, whose background seemed so different from his own, shared with Aguma that life experience. They were different, yet they were so alike at the same time. They were friends, Aguma realized. Not teammates or allies, but friends.

"You know, Chris is right. When we - the Beylin Fist - were travelling, we didn't eat well. We just ate whatever we could buy, find, or pack. Power bars, dried meat, stuff like that. Oh, god, too many instant noodles. So much of it. After moving here and eating properly, I don't think I could ever go back to that again. I -"

"Wait, Dynamis!"

Chris, Aguma, and Dynamis turned their attention to King. King's eyes twitched, his hands now on the table, similar to Chris. For once, he had stopped eating.

"Dynamis, you're telling me, that back then you wouldn't eat for the entire day?!"

Oh, gosh, Aguma realized. Dynamis had said that. Before Aguma could so much as think again, however, King started back up.

"What's up with this 'I couldn't light a fire, so I didn't eat,' sort of crap? That's not healthy! You have to eat at least something every day, even if it's just random stuff! Dude! Don't do that to yourself!"

"You're on, what, your sixth peta right now? Calm down; when you're on the road, sometimes you just don't eat," Chris interjected.

King appeared even more shocked than before, perhaps even a little shaken. "YOU DUMMIES!" King looked ready to slap Chris. "Don't encourage him, Chris! I'm not judging; I'm just plain old concerned! About you too! I don't care if I eat about four times my bodyweight in food a day! You guys shouldn't be skipping meals like that!"

Dynamis sat in the background. He was observant. He was still. For once, he took the initiative to speak, which surprised Aguma a great deal. What he said next sent jolts of concern down everyone's spines.

"King, you need not worry. I am accustomed to not eating every day."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" King was on the verge of screaming. He was practically sending shockwaves through the small dining room. The table shook as he stood, hands still planted on the table cloth.

Dynamis cowered back some. His eyes grew unfocused again. He hesitated, as if contemplating whether he should share. There was no way out, though. He'd opened Pandora's box, and he didn't even know it. "I mean... at times, I just feel sad, so I don't eat. The mood can last for days, so sometimes, I just do not... feel like eating, I suppose? When I feel myself to be in a foul mood, the hunger just does not come."

Even Chris was worried by this point. Chris stared at Dynamis, unblinking, like a fish. He started playing with his hangnail, a habit which Aguma had noticed ever since they met - even back in the olden days, when they worked for Nemesis, he had done that.

Aguma did not know much about mental health. He did not know much about symptoms, about any of that crap, but he knew this: what Dynamis had said, that was not normal. The fact that Dynamis was not more concerned about it shocked Aguma. He remembered, though. Dynamis had been even more isolated than Aguma. He did not know what "normal" was. There, in that wooden chair, Aguma did not see a legendary blader. He did not see a temple guardian. He saw a frightened, lonely teenager who never got the chance to see normal. For goodness' sake, he didn't even know what the word gay meant until last week!

Dynamis looked away. He bit his lip. Aguma started counting ceiling tiles. A few seconds passed, and he glanced back over at Dynamis. He tried to look him in the eyes. He tried to make eye contact; none came. There Dynamis sat, in distress but seemingly oblivious to his condition.

"Dynamis," Chris said, voice caring yet firm. He started gesturing with his hands, almost as if the concern he felt had wrung out of him some sort of crazed frenzy. Chris was desperate. They all were. "You. Need. Help. Like, professional help. Not eating for days because you're sad? That's not normal, man! It's doesn't make you bad, or anything like that. But it's... not good for you. How long has this been going on?"

Dynamis, cornered, just blurted it out.

"Years."

Dynamis was only seventeen, though.

"How many years?" King dared to ask. His eyes focused themselves directly onto Dynamis, even as Dynamis tried his best to avoid the suffocating eye contact. He made no attempt to brush away the hair which fell in front of his eyes.

"I... for... maybe, two or three?"

"And how, why, did it start?"

"Ever since, my desires started. Sometimes, they distressed me to such a degree that I forgot to eat. At times my stomach hurt because of it, so I could not eat. I just..." Dynamis stopped right there. He abruptly stood, pushed in his chair, and disappeared down the hall, into the other room, not to be seen again for the rest of the night.

The remaining trio looked at each other. They sat, sweating buckets in the sweltering heat of Dynamis's apartment, half-eaten food scattered on plates about the table. They all looked down at Dynamis's plate. They realized that it was clean, except for the small cucumber he had served himself out of host's obligation. The small cucumber contained a lone, solitary bite.

Well, I hoped that you enjoyed! I wasn't originally planning to end on a cliffhanger, but here we are! If you like the story, please favorite and review, but if you don't, that's fine too! Audience engagement just lets me know whether people are enjoying the fanfic or not, and if you have any constructive criticism, I invite it.

-Gocty