Foreword: When you lived with strangers that you are to call family, what do you do? Here we see just how Chifuyu and Elliot interacted shortly after she adopted him into the Orimura family. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Trust is not given, it is earned.

Now she had done it.

Chifuyu wasn't in a good mood. Honestly, she was having a serious case of 'adoption' remorse as she massaged her temples, trying to not let her emotions get the best of her.

Just what was she thinking back then? She should've realized the boy's past and upbringing would've caused problems between them. He was a kid who raised himself in a volatile and violent world, who resorted to crime just to keep his belly full. She had thought it would be simple matter of asserting her position to ensure he would be obedient and tame, becoming a person where she could mold into someone respectable.

Except it didn't went that way. Which was why she was getting infuriated right now as she leered threateningly at her stepsibling, who sat on his haunches staring back at her tiredly. Defiant stubbornness oozed out of him as they continued their staring match, the boy undaunted by her threatening gaze.

"Don't make me repeat myself. I'm doing this for your own good."

Elliot's face fixed into a grimace as he scowled at her. His golden irises burned with annoyance as he panted.

"That's been the same thing you're repeating over half a dozen times already. I wanted answers, instead you give me this. This is getting old."

As to show his rebellion, the boy raised himself out of his seiza position. Sweat clung to him as his shirt was drenched with perspiration.

Both of them continued glaring at each other, both not budging from their position. This continued on for a while until Elliot huffed out exasperatedly, throwing his hands into the air.

"I quit. I'm not doing any more of this 'training' of yours, not when I don't know why I'm doing them for. It doesn't help that you expect too much out from me, forcing me to train until I drop. I'm a human being, not some robot. Even when I had one stuck inside me."

Chifuyu was getting impatient and irritated. She had done so much for this kid and still he had the gall to complain? He should've been thankful that she didn't left him under Tabane, or convince her to throw him out. Her face tightened with anger as she let loose her aura.

"You brat, listen here… I am doing this all for you. You should've been thankful that I didn't decide to let you rot or thrown back on the streets just waiting for someone to cut you open. Unless you want to go back to your old life and die, I suggest you do as I say."

His face tightened with anger as his body fixed and tensed for a fight. His eyes didn't show any fear as he glared her down.

"So, what's the difference? What's the difference between this life and my past? Every day I live back then was already a day where I could've died, except I was free back then. Now? All I did was to suffer under your 'training' without any good reason for it, I had to obey a lot of rules that didn't make much sense to me, and I had to live with the fact that I'm one system failure away from dying. So I ask, what's the difference between me dying back then and now?"

Shock crossed Chifuyu as she heard the boy's retort. Shouldn't he be intimidated by her?

"Besides, what makes you think your threats could do anything to me? I had lived far worse in my last life, so worse than yours that you didn't even have an idea how terrible it was. Whatever you could do to me, would've been infinitely a lot better that what I had to endure back then on the streets and the orphanages I've been in. If I had to go back out into the streets and live, I can do so. I got nothing holding me back except my gratitude to you."

The boy got up, standing straight as his eyes burned with determination.

"And right now, that gratitude is slowly worn away by your unreasonable demands. Push me as hard as you want, but give me a good reason not to up and quit. I don't want to deal with you acting all stiff and uppity, not giving me answers when I wanted them. If they are something personal to you, I won't pry. But when I wanted answers, I don't want people lying or hiding things from me."

Chifuyu was flabbergasted by his blatant insubordination. Never she had been treated so disrespectfully by someone and by a kid no less. It was time she put him in his place.

"You little…"
Before she raise her hand to hit him, his eyes narrowed into slits. A deep growl rumbled out of the kid as his glare turned icy.

"Don't you dare. Just because I am thankful for you getting me out from the streets, that doesn't mean I will stand abuses from anyone, not even you. You hit me, and that gratitude will turn into resentment very quickly. Don't make me hate you."

Chifuyu stilled, her had stayed midair as she withheld herself. Much as it was infuriating to admit it, the kid had a point.

If he had walked out the door and didn't look back, there was no telling where he would ended up or what his fate would be. There's no telling what would've happen if someone discovered his secret, much less what they'll do with that knowledge. Pandemonium would've ensued across the world, and the last thing she needed was a danger that could potentially threatened her little brother's safety.

Had she been anyone else, she would've thought him bluffing and called his out on it. But something told her that he was dead serious and had every intention of carrying out his idea if he was pushed to it. Chifuyu didn't know just where that line was before she crossed it too far and she didn't want to find out first hand. She wasn't reckless enough to find out what he may do if she pushed him too hard and she didn't want to learn just what his machine was really capable of if he was threatened.

Huffing out angrily Chifuyu took in deep breaths as she reined in her runaway emotions. Her arm came down beside her, her fist clenching tightly to restrain herself. She hated losing but it was much better than fighting him.

"So what? You'll get back to training like a good boy if you learned the truth why I wanted you to do so?"

The boy nodded. Elliot looked pensive to her sudden change but he wasn't jumpy as he was previously.

"I'll consider it. If you tell me why you drove me this hard, I'll at least know the why. I might not be happy about it, but at least I can put up with it if it's a good reason."

Chifuyu wasn't convinced by his request. Who's to say that he would kept his end after she told him what he wanted?

"You sure about this, kid? Truth can hurt, that's why nobody likes it."

Elliot only shrugged nonchalantly, not perturbed by her ominous words.

"I'd rather live with painful truth than a sweet lie that could be proven wrong anytime. I'm no stranger to pain, after all. Lies? They can kill, and I've seen my fair share of that happening."

Her single eyebrow arched up, surprise flooded her as she heard the very wise words from the kid. Just how did someone his age learned something like this?

It was decided then. She would have to take a different tack with him lest she lost him. Chifuyu knew that the kid was the distrustful type, someone who doesn't give his trust to anyone just because of some silly reason like age or seniority. This was bound to be difficult but she had to do it.

After all, trust was not given, it was earned. If this was what it was required to earn his trust and his loyalty, then she would oblige him. It was more preferable than the alternative.

She sighed, then she mentally prepared herself for what may came next.

"Alright then. Since you asked for it…."

Watching him pumping out reps after reps during his physical training, Chifuyu was amazed at his tenacity. It was sweltering hot right now, being the peak of the summer season. Yet the kid was undaunted by the weather, working out hard as he did exercises after exercises without pause. An average person would've gone down with the heat at this moment.

A twinge of suspicion crossed her mind as she watched him did pushups, dozens of reps in since he begun 30 minutes ago. This was a stark contrast to his demeanor a few months ago that Chifuyu didn't know what to made of this sudden change in him. It was slightly intimidating to her to not know what was going on in his mind at this moment.

Was he able to do this simply because his IS allowed him to do feats that were almost impossible for the average human or was this his true determination he kept hidden all this time ? She honestly couldn't tell which one had the most influence to his change.

She called a break. While she wasn't one doing the workouts, she was damned tired from watching him under the humid heat. Already she could felt her head pounding from the heat and she had been training in the morning before he came over for his instruction. She had barely enough time to catch her breath today.

It was also a good time to prod him about his change in attitude. Bottles of water in hand, she chucked one at him sitting tiredly on an old log while she cracked open hers, leaning against the tree opposite of him.

"Feeling tired yet? I told you that you didn't have to push yourself that hard since it's summer. Even I don't train this hard when its almost 38 degrees out."

Elliot panted, his exhaustion evident as he slumped over the log, resting his arms on top of his knees while he fixed his attention at her.

"If I don't push myself, how am I going to improve? As you said before, I have a long way to go if I'm going to secure my own freedom."

Chifuyu fully knew what he implied. Only that she didn't expect he would saw it that way. She had made no effort to obfuscate the truth when she came clean to him. He had taken it surprisingly well, without even freaking out or getting angry at her.

"Even so, that doesn't mean you had to work yourself to the grave. I would've gone down with heatstroke if I did what you did just now."

Elliot took a gulp of water, sighing deeply as he capped the bottle.

"Just like you've said, if I don't learn how to really fight, I'm going to die. Along with that, a lot of other people too once someone figured out how to use Hecate's power for themselves. Even if I'm an ex-criminal, I'm not a cold, psychopathic murderer. I have a conscience too, you know."

She couldn't hide her surprise at his admission. This was as close to him showing her a side of him, something she had trouble with over the past year.

This was a good development. If he had became relaxed enough to show this side of him, it meant that he was slowly beginning to trust her. With it, she hoped it would allowed her to convince him to develop along a path that was more respectable and decent.

Finishing her water, Chifuyu left her spot by the tree. She grabbed the Type 68 Katana leaning against the tree and walked towards the clearing in the trees. Stopping at the center, she craned her head towards the sitting boy.

"Breaktime's over. Time for an IS spar with swords. I want to see how long you can last while you're tired."

Elliot drained his bottle, chucking the empty container carelessly onto the ground. He got up tiredly, shuffling to meet her in the spot.

Her IS Kurezakura fitted around her. His black IS appeared and encased him head to toe. The Katana she held on to was chucked into his direction, which he caught clumsily. He really still had a long way to go before he was a decent fighter.

Bringing out Yukihira, She assumed a ready pose squaring off against the armored blonde. Like he was taught, he assumed the same pose. So far so good.

Silence settled between them, each studying the other for weaknesses. This contest of wills continued for a while, their minds steadily went blank as time passed.

The boy was still, unmoving. Then his IS propulsion whirred to life, sending him rocketing forwards like a black bullet. His sword was held horizontal, its tip aimed at her torso as he charged.

She sidestepped his sudden charge, their swords scraped against each other as he sped by, throwing sparks from the brief contact.

She had to admit, he had improved considerably from yesterday. But just like he said, he still had a long way to go before he became a decent fighter.

But Chifuyu didn't told him that he was well on his way there. If she considered his speed of improvement, his journey to become a deadly fighter was not going to be long. It was only a matter of time before he reached the top.

A day that she would be at ease to witness.

He had done it. As much as she had doubted it, it was nonetheless relieving to learn that she was wrong.

As she held onto Ichika in her arms, she wept in relief. The anxiety and fear that plagued her consciousness over the past hour was excised out of her as she buried her head into Ichika's shoulder and cried. He was here, safe and sound.

And all because of her stepbrother, whom stood in his IS caked in blood and bits of viscera standing feet away from them. The boy was surrounded by other pilots and armed soldiers, their gazes trained warily on him.

When the unexpected call came from Elliot that told her Ichika was kidnapped, sheer terror gripped her entire being. Then as that fear subsided into her consciousness, rage overtook her as she made up her mind to went and rescue Ichika personally.

But the maverick he was, Elliot had proposed a plan to save him. He was going to go in alone and save Ichika, while she would continue fighting in the Mondo Grosso. His rationale was that Ichika's kidnappers would be watching her performance in the arena. If they suspected she was heading their way, they wouldn't have hesitated to kill her little brother.

She had almost immediately shot his idea down. There was no guarantees he was going to be able to pull off a rescue mission alone, into an unfamiliar territory with who knows how many kidnappers there to stop him. If he had messed up, Ichika would've been killed. There was no way she could left this to someone else, even if they're family.

But he had convinced her not to. Call it a gut feeling, but Chifuyu felt somewhat reassured by his assurance. So, she reluctantly allowed him to do so, with the caveat that he had only a limited time to do so. 40 minutes, which was the remaining time she had before the next round would began.

If she hasn't heard anything within that time frame, she was going to forfeit the match and rushed after them herself. Even if she allowed him to mount a rescue, she wasn't going to risk his secrets from falling into someone's hands or Ichika getting killed. They were her family, and woe betide anyone who dared to mess with them.

But when the contingent of soldiers she had requested as backup returned, she found him covered head to toe in dried blood, scorch marks and bullet holes decorated every part of his IS. But Ichika was safe and sound.

Chifuyu was glad that her tutelage of the hybrid had paid off immeasurably. As she held onto Ichika, her heart swelled with relief and gratitude at having her own brother safe and sound.

All because Elliot had dared to rescue him. If it wasn't for him, she would've had to throw the match and save Ichika herself or risk getting him killed. Not only did she have him back safe and sound, she managed to win the second time around in the Mondo Grosso. This was far more than anyone had ever did for her in her 22 years of existence.

After that whole incident, they had a little talk before she left for Germany. They sat in the living room of their new home when Ichika was away at school, the blonde hybrid was resting at home due to his 'concussion'. Of course, it was all a farce to keep up with appearances.

When she questioned him as what compelled him to risk his life to save someone not of his own blood. His response greatly surprised her.

"I did this because I want to repay both you and Ichika. You two have become the family I've never had, given me a chance at a normal life. This is just my way of repaying that favor."

She was floored by his answer. Of all the things she expected, she didn't realized that he would do something like this out of gratitude. Far from just repaying her, he had bestowed upon her a favour which she could never repay him for.

When she was well situated in Germany for her job, she couldn't help wondered if she had treated him like family before. The soldiers she trained always went to bed far earlier than her, which gave her enough time to entertain such thoughts in the silence of the night.

As soon as he had recovered from his near death and subsequent 'resurrection', she had wasted no time in subjecting him into a grueling routine of physical training, combat instruction and IS instruction. For every mistake he made or standards he failed to achieve, she punished him mercilessly with more physical training, almost burning him out on multiple occasions.

But he didn't complain until he couldn't took it no more. After she cleared the air between them, he had never complained anymore on her methods nor her motives for training him harshly. If anything, he had put even more effort into his training. The hybrid was a picture of disciplined focus as she instructed him, every bit serious in learning from her as much as he could in the shortest time possible.

His dedication was astounding. Even when the weather turned terrible during their instruction, even when he had been thrashed severely from losing their spars, she would find him either working on his body or practicing a recently learned technique with full attention. Even she had to admit she didn't possessed such single minded focus as the hybrid. Elliot had trained as if his life depended on it, which she guessed it was how he regarded her training regimen as.

Guilt welled with her. Looking back, she realized she had treated him as an inexperienced disciple who was incompetent and rude. It wasn't until their spat that she realized he wasn't the average street orphan or even an average kid. He was a hardened individual, forged by the harsh environment he survived in that made him mature far earlier than kids his age. Treating him the way she treated Ichika was not going to work well, as evident by his rebellious attitude before their spat.

As she thought about it, she realized his presence within the family had changed her too. No longer was she prone to kept everything secret out of her inability to process her emotions well. Nor did she kept a stoic mask even at home, especially around Elliot and Ichika. She felt she had became more…. vulnerable and less straitlaced than before.

Smirking, she realized that it had all worked out after all. Her decision to adopt the hybrid was first out of obligation, to prevent a dangerous weapon from wreaking havoc or to fall into the wrong hands. She was his warden, his observer and eventual executioner.

But now, she was his caretaker, his mentor and more importantly, his sister. She had swore to herself that she would grant him his wish of a normal life, all within the confines of unknowns that his IS presented. She will find a way to do so, even if she had to get her hands dirty.

After all, trust was not given, it was earned. And he had earned far more than just her trust.

Author's note: This side story is part of the canon storyline, in which we get a glimpse into Chifuyu's mind and her perspective towards the complex, oftentimes misunderstood personality of Elliot. I hope that I had conveyed Chifuyu's personality and how it shifted from the original story due to Elliot's actions that night during the Second Mondo Grosso. I think this is a good exercise for me to write different characters and their personality, how they think and what they think. Let me know if you guys wanted more extra stories just like this and I'll gladly oblige you all. These extras give me a chance to practice while also a good place to experiment with different ideas in my canon storyline that either didn't make the cut or just different in general. With all that said, this is OtherJAckK, signing off!