Zyma: Mission. Back in three days. You practice, don't be lazy.

He texted her before heading out on his mission, likely another one-shot. She smiled at his message, imagining that if he were here, he would say something along the line of "You should feel flattered. I don't share my schedule with just anyone," as if he were the center of the universe.

Despite his attempts to portray himself as self-centered, she didn't perceive him as such. There was something he was trying to conceal beneath the surface, and she was curious to uncover it. But wait, what was she thinking just now? She silently pleaded with herself not to let him occupy her thoughts all day.

"Don't be lazy."

Of course.

She grabbed her com device and texted her most trusted friend.

Acma: Simulation?

Timeth: 5.

Four days had passed. Acma checked his room and the training center, but he wasn't there.

He was never late for any appointment, always precise to the second. They technically didn't have an official appointment, but he obviously hadn't returned.

Something wrong?

Timeth: I'm stuck in class. Can you report to Miss Xu for me?

Acma: On it.

With newfound freedom due to Zyma being on dispatch, Acma had been working tirelessly with Timeth in the simulation room. While Timeth set up the hardware, Acma handled the software code to process monsters and students battle profiles.

Uploading monster profiles was straightforward, as monster stats stayed relatively constant. However, managing profiles for students, each with unique abilities that could change over time, was a huge challenge. To solve this problem, Acma defined a user-friendly software application interface. That way, anyone with a spreadsheet of their stats could upload their own battle profile. Through this task, Acma gained valuable information about her classmates. Some of them would likely become her opponents, or rather, comrades during her SeeD exam.

Acma entered the elevator, on the way to the headmaster's office with her head held high. She rarely felt this confident to deliver a report thanks to their significant progress in the past week.

Just when she stepped out of the elevator, a hand grabbed her shoulder, and another hand twisted her wrist forcefully.

"Zyma," Acma thought, involuntarily smiling. She swiftly retaliated with her best moves, proving that she had done her homework as he had instructed.

But soon, she realized it wasn't him.

"Good. I'm checking to ensure you two don't side with each other and trick me. Your Str and Dex stats match up. Keep up the good work," Xu said, straightening her pencil dress. "Now, what's the status of the simulation room? Quistis mentioned that you two have been working non stop."

Acma, slightly disappointed to see Xu, quickly regained her composure and provided her with some updates.

"Good job! Pass on my thanks to Timeth..." Xu waved her hand and returned her gaze to her desk, signaling that Acma was dismissed.

"Um... Is Zyma still on his mission? He said he would be back yesterday, but I haven't seen him," Acma inquired.

"He told you when he'd be back? Arrogant as always. I think this mission will take him longer than that," Xu replied. Seeing Acma's lack of response, she looked up. "I know you're worried about him. I am too, no matter how many SeeDs I've sent on missions. I always feel it when they don't return on time. Most of them don't, unfortunately, but some do after months and even years."

Xu glanced at a flickering dashboard behind her desk. It showed information about ongoing missions and their durations, along with the last known location of the dispatched SeeDs. Zyma's line simply had his name listed as 'Z' with all metadata labeled as 'classified'.

"Let's hope for the best, shall we?" Xu smiled, and upon seeing Acma nod, she returned to her paperwork.

"Yes. Thank you, Miss Xu."

Z. Please... Don't die. Acma thought.

Three days later. 2000.

Timeth: Infirmary, now!

Acma: What happened?

Upon receiving Timeth's reply, Acma immediately sprinted to Dr. Kadowaki's office.

"Doctor Kadowaki, where is he?" she asked the revered doctor, who pointed her to one of the post-care rooms.

"He just woke up from a concussion. He's alright," Dr. Kadowaki reassured her.

Acma breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said before stepping into the room to see the injured patient.

"Are you okay?" Acma asked her bulky friend, who struggled to keep his arm from falling to the floor. Even the biggest bed in the infirmary seemed too narrow for him.

"I'm fine! It's not a big deal!" Raddie flashed his usual kind and energetic smile upon seeing Acma.

"Can someone explain why you guys were in the work-in-progress simulation room at this hour?" Acma glanced at Timeth, who seemed to be shielding Shrewdya and Keannu behind his slender back.

"I'm sorry. I let them in to try out some simple stuff," Timeth explained.

Acma sighed. Timeth wasn't the type to frequently break the rules. But being the suite mate with Raddie and Keannu, plus hanging out with the hottest girl in Garden, he surely experienced peer pressure.

"How serious is your injury?" Acma asked Raddie. "Should I report this incident to Miss Xu?"

Raddie quickly replied with the only correct answer. "No! It's just a scratch. Don't tell her. I'll say it's on me if she finds out."

"Thank you," Acma nodded. "And what about Doctor Kadowaki?" she glanced at Shrewdya, who happened to be the doctor's favorite student.

"I'll talk to her, she won't say anything," Shrewdya immediately understood Acma's implication. "Don't worry about that."

Acma suddenly felt like a leader among her peers.

"Alright. Please get some rest. I'll trace the battle logs and fix the simulation bugs. Don't do this again until we release the beta version. And Raddie, here, Zyma's special ointment," Acma placed a bottle onto Raddie's hand. "On the house."

Zyma: Miss me?

Acma jumped out of her bed as she received Zyma's text. He had been gone for ten days. At times, Acma had feared the worst.

She consciously tried not to run, as a psychology trick to tell her body down that she wasn't overly happy to see him.

But Hyne! She knew that she was fooling herself. She also knew, in the light of science, that sometimes self-deception eventually worked. She wouldn't open her heart that easily, for she was no ordinary teenage girl.

"Come in. You know the code," Zyma's voice came from inside as she knocked on his door.

Upon entering the dimly lit room, she saw him resting shirtless on the sofa, revealing his abs and scarred broad chest. She blushed, but then grasped as she noticed a large bandage stained with blood over his abdomen.

"Are you injured? Should I take you to the infirmary?" she rushed to him, hoping she could help in some way.

"Nah... I'm good here," he declined in his typical curt voice, but Acma sensed a hint of unease. She had never seen him in this state.

"Are you sure? You're still bleeding..." she asked again, noticing that the wound looked fresh.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's a few days old. I ran to catch the last train as soon as I finished. That's why," he explained, then grinned, noticing her eyes tried to avoid his body. "It's rare to see you like this, without whining and snapping back. Now I've learned a good way to make you shut up," he teased. "Can you help?" he pointed to his dark green windbreaker on the table, slightly out of his reach.

She smiled. "It's rare to hear you asking for help, too. But… don't mind me. Do you want a blanket instead?"

"That's better. Thanks."

She found a clean throw from the shelf and helped cover his body, carefully not disturbing his wound.

"What happened?'' she asked.

"Nothing unusual. But I tried to keep my promise to come home early to see you, let down my defense and… yeah, totally your fault," he replied, smiling while looking into her eyes.

What?

His words freezed her for a few seconds.

Then she chuckled to break their eye contact. "Great to see you well enough to make jokes. Um… Miss Xu and I were very worried."

Xu didn't sound exactly worried, but Acma didn't want to be alone in this ship.

Zyma's eyebrows twitched slightly, then he broke his gaze. "Business. Did you go on another mission while I was away?"

Acma nodded and handed him her battle meter from her backpack. "It was an easy one. Instructor Nida assisted me. But he didn't interfere much. I used Quezacotl a few times.''

"Your battle meter doesn't have GF stats yet?" He frowned, then began to press on some combination of buttons. "Here…"

"Um… thank you."

"Don't mention it. You've built a solid foundation to start learning the next skill," he waved his fingers, signaling for her to come closer to him.

"Which is?" Acma hesitated.

"Uh-oh," Zyma shook his head lightly, an irresistible voice escaped his throat.

Right. His one and only rule: don't ask questions.

He reached out his hand, indicating he wanted hers.

Acma held her breath, and those three steps had never felt so far in her life. Her heart pounded uncontrollably as she looked into his black eyes filled with confidence that she would come to him.

Did she make it so obvious that she missed him?

"No, the other hand," he requested when her left arm got closer to him.

She was confused but promptly gave him her right arm. He held her hand. The moment their fingers touched, her heart skipped a beat. She finally understood what novelists meant by "a magical touch'' in their cheesy love novels.

But Zyma was no gentle lover.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

AHHHH...

"It's over. I swear," Zyma called out, guaranteeing that he wouldn't hurt her again. "Come out here, let me fix you."

There was no response, and she continued to hide behind the shelves.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm injured too. Don't make me come over there. At the very least, tell me if you're okay," Zyma asked again. "Acma, please."

Finally, she emerged from the darkness and approached the door. Her face was cold, and her red eyes glued on the floor. It was difficult for Zyma to tell if she had been crying due to her red eye color.

"Do you want me to fix your arm?" he asked.

"No. I can do it myself," she replied, her voice cold.

Zyma felt uneased at her unusual lack of communication. She seemed on the verge of collapsing out of distrust. "Are you alright?"

She nodded.

"I'm sorry, but it's part of the defense training, for your Def stat. Please tell me if I went too far. We can stop the training whenever you want," Zyma offered.

"No," she said firmly and looked at him, then forced a smile. "I'm not a porcelain doll. I need to be prepared for the upcoming SeeD exam. Tell me, what do we do next?"

Zyma had expected her to whine and curse at him. He would have preferred that because her coldness and painful acceptance scared him. She had transformed into a different person.

"Noon. Training Center," he replied.

"I'll be there. You take care," she said, dragging herself out of the dark room.

In the suite's kitchen.

"Oh, Hyne, what happened?" Trepie #23 gasped as she saw Acma with her arm in a cast.

"Zyma broke my arm, training," Acma explained.

"That's... "

"It's okay. It's a bit inconvenient since he broke my right arm. Intentionally, for sure. I suppose he wants me to rely on my non-dominant hand," Acma replied.

"But you're a magic caster. He seems to be training you in the offensive route."

"I can't cast magic if I die early," Acma shrugged.

"But are you feeling alright? You don't look okay at all."

"Do I?" Acma feigned a smile.

"What do we do now?" Acma entered the training center, and Zyma was already waiting.

"How's your arm?" he asked, looking at her arm hanging in a sling.

She laughed. "I'm alive. I can't die with a broken arm, can I? How about you?" She asked, her eyes fixed on his abdomen hidden under his windbreaker.

Relieved by her uplifting demeanor, he returned a casual smirk. "I'm fine. I'll take it easy today, but still good enough to finish you in an instant. Shall we?"

Zyma led the way into a spacious training room without any windows. He tossed a wooden sword at her.

"Defend yourself. Magic, lasso, sword—anything to survive. Up to ten attacks, break, and repeat," he instructed.

He turned off the lights, leaving the training room completely dark. Acma took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the wooden sword.

"Ready?"

"Do it," she said, swiftly swinging the sword to meet Zyma's first hit.

"A! A! Wake up! Please! Run! A! No!"

"E!" Acma woke up from her nightmare, her heart pounding in her chest. She attempted to wipe away the sweat, only to realize her right hand was in a cast.

She glanced at the clock. 2 am.

"Damn it, I passed out," she muttered.

She had asked Zyma to continue training after curfew, but exhaustion had overtaken her.

I need to train more.

Determined, she made her way to the simulation room. However, just before she opened the door, she heard a familiar voice that startled her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh! I just woke up. I passed out and couldn't make it," she explained to Zyma. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

He looked at her exhausted face. "That's not what bothers me. Why don't you rest? Wait… Are you working with your boyfriend now? At this hour?"

"No, I'm not working. I just want to practice the defense moves you showed me today. I can simulate some human enemies in this room."

Zyma was bewildered at her response.

"But since you're here... if you're not busy, do you want to make up for our practice now?" she continued.

"I don't think it's a good idea," he hesitated. "Don't you have morning classes as well?"

"I'll skip tomorrow. I've earned enough extra credits to ace all of my classes. Please," she pleaded with him, "this is more important for SeeD exam."

He sighed, giving in. "Acma... You're unbelievable."

Three hours later.

"Ten!" Acma dodged the final attack in the series. "Is that all?" she exclaimed happily with heavy breath.

Zyma turned on the lights and looked at his mentee, drenched in sweat. She still wore her uniform, but it was evident that there were numerous bruises underneath.

He quietly retrieved a wooden staff from the weapon rack. By the look on Acma's face, he knew she had realized what would come next.

"We can lower the difficulty and do this another day if you want," he offered her an escape.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them wide again.

"Do it."

Zyma averted his gaze, his hands gripping the wooden staff firmly.

"I'll carry you to the infirmary this time. I insist," he said.

Acma nodded, biting her lip as she braced herself for the incoming pain.

"Look away. It helps."

When what had to happen happened, Zyma placed her left arm over his neck, carried her on his back, and walked steadily to the infirmary. Acma grunted in pain. She was half-crying, trying to restrain herself.

"It's okay to cry. I won't judge. I cried like a baby when Xu broke my arm," he tried to lighten the mood.

Judging from the movement of her abdomen against his back, he knew she found it amusing.

"Did she carry you on her back after she broke your leg too?" Acma asked, her voice trembling with tears.

"Does blood stop flowing to your brain? She's short. If she had carried me, my broken leg would be dragging on the ground."

They both chuckled at the imaginary scene.

"What's next? Breaking my neck?" Acma asked, half-jokingly.

"Oh! You're worried about your dedicated neck. Why didn't I think of that earlier? Noted," he teased.

In response, she tightened her wrap around his neck with her left arm. "I'm the one with better position here."

"Very funny, pupil. Hold on tight."

He laughed, then stopped briefly to ensure her body securely held against his back before resuming their path.

Three days later.

"You WHAT?" Xu exclaimed as she looked at Zyma's mentorship report.

"What? It's our tradition," Zyma explained defensively.

"You could have chosen a different route,'' Xu took a few deep breaths to compose herself. "Did she pass?"

Zyma nodded. "Painfully, but yes."

"No whining?"

"Surprisingly, no."

Xu gasped at the answers. "I knew she's tough, but this exceeds my expectations. Good for the SeeD exam?"

"Better than average. But I'll continue training her. She's too young. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Thank you... You've surprised me too," Xu admitted.

Zyma shrugged, but he was also surprised at his own accomplishment. He understood why Xu had entrusted him with the responsibility of someone else's well-being. However, he couldn't take all the credit, as his mentee had shown incredible determination and self-motivation on her own.

"Get ready to be the mission leader of the SeeD exam. If things go well, I'll sign you off as an independent contractor," Xu said, then took out some bills. "Our bet."

Zyma sensed something was off.

"This is more than what we agreed upon," he separated the extra bills.

"My treat," Xu confirmed. "And be nice to her today. My order."