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• Kusora •
I think we spent the better most of five complete minutes where all we did was stare at each other. One of us was surprised and the other was shocked. And Koneko often had the temperament to never get spooked.
She feigned a monotone look afterwards as she tried to talk to me, but I had already caught her off guard.
"I'm sorry if I just barged in." I said. Silently moving to step out of the gym. Don't have any chocolates on me to keep Koneko from turning me into a pack for startling her in what looked like her private space.
I essentially fucked around and now I'm trying not to find out.
Koneko instantly gets out of her fighting stance. She doesn't assume any other giving away if she wants to throw hands, instead she walks over to a towel she hung by the ropes, ringside and starts wiping her brow.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
She seemed more curious than demanding, which made me calm down some. I forget that she's rather passive compared to Akeno and Grayfia. Often having a retort for everything makes her hard to piss off and somehow easy to annoy and get punched.
The only problem is that if she punches me, I'm sure as hell not getting up. "I was heading back home when I got a little curious and wandered around. Found this gym and I thought to check it out."
She sniffs and points at me. "What's that on your hair?"
Shit. I forgot that I was still posing as Silver. "I just came back from an event, had a couple of kids that wanted to be hairstylists….they aren't really good at it."
I was half a second away from saying comic-con but then I remembered that the event isn't even close to being here. "I was actually looking for a nearby Gym that I can go to during off days." I said.
Koneko gives me a strange look but says nothing, I assume that she is silently urging me to continue. "Well, my stamina is a bit lacking in some parts." I explained.
She eyes my body up and down. "You seem to be alright."
"You would think that, but running up to the chapel already has me wheezing." And let's not talk about other activities that leave me feeling winded.
"I see."
We both stayed silent and stared at each other again, I wasn't in much of a mood to be placed in an awkward staring contest with her right at 21:00 PM, so I opted to rush a few things forward.
"Do you know where the owner is? I'd like to sign up for this gym."
Koneko blinks and then points to herself. "I am the owner."
…what?
"This is your gym?" I asked.
She nodded. "Someone else manages it in the daytime but it's mine. I take over when I have free time to come back."
This is a pretty interesting development. In the anime, I didn't manage to gleam into as much about the characters as I could right now. I always assumed that they lived their whole lives at the ORC safe for Akeno and Issei. But no, they have whole entire lives beneath the screen, and honestly, Koneko owning a gym makes sense. She's practically running a strength build with her evil piece.
An idea comes to mind. "Can you train me?" I asked.
"A trainer?"
"You know more about exercise than I do, obviously." I said. "This isn't exactly the second time i'm entering a Gym, I don't know much of what i'm doing here."
Koneko hums as she stares at me and sways from side to side. She's thinking about it, but she needs that extra push. I feel an idea comes along, especially since the Gym is very close to Marakyuu. "I can offer pancakes, coffee and chocolate–"
"Deal." Koneko said. Pulling out a small smartphone then brandishing her arms towards me.
"Give me your phone while you set up near that machine over there." she motioned to what looked like a squat machine.
Ummm. "We're starting immediately?" I ask, hiding the app on my phone and handing it to Koneko.
"It's still too early to close down, I'm bored anyway." Koneko admits, handing back my phone. She left the tabs open on contacts, where her number had been added. Okay, apparently my first contact aside from the people I'm fucking is her.
Come to think of it, I even have the Fallen Trio's number here. Of course Koneko wont recognize them since Raynare was the only one who left her digits here as Ray with a heart.
Okay so that's a thing, apparently…
Koneko supposedly didn't mind the additional contacts, as she was already waiting for me by the machine and setting up the weights on the barbell. Thankfully she only added the one, as I approached it didn't look too bad or crazy like the ones I usually come across in anime and videogames.
"Alright." Koneko said. "Get under there, I want 2 sets of 10. Let's start easy."
It was a bit of a weird struggle, but eventually I managed to maneuver myself until the bar rested on my neck.
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The only problem was when I tried to lift it off, the bar didn't budge at all. It was only when I really tried, to the point where my neck and shoulders felt raw that it came off, and I felt like I would rather be decapitated with how much it took to keep it up.
"Good." Koneko said. "Now, start."