Swole City

[yinsukin]

Roman

"I don't care," Roman said, grabbing his shoulder as he stumbled back a few steps.  "I just want to be better than now and strong enough to kick your sorry ass."

The man chuckled, before returning his gaze to Sakura.  "I don't think he's listening to you ma'am."

"I am," Roman said, folding his arms and looking away from the trainer.  "That was my last one.  Maybe prefer one with mostly girls?  Guys at the gym piss me off and girls are nicer to look at."

Strange.  He was being oddly blunt.  Was it because of this girl standing up for him?

[SINIB]

Roman

"I don't care," Roman said, grabbing his shoulder as he stumbled back a few steps.  "I just want to be better than now and strong enough to kick your sorry ass."

The man chuckled, before returning his gaze to Sakura.  "I don't think he's listening to you ma'am."

"I am," Roman said, folding his arms and looking away from the trainer.  "That was my last one.  Maybe prefer one with mostly girls?  Guys at the gym piss me off and girls are nicer to look at."

Strange.  He was being oddly blunt.  Was it because of this girl standing up for him?

Sakura

"Keh! I know you do!" She exclaimed, turning to face him. "You've been checking me out for a while-taking peeks at my butt, my legs-even my midriff. You haven't even really tried to hide it!" She shook her head. "Regardless, you need to pick your battles better-he could crush your head pretty easily. Same as me. His advice is pretty valuable, even if he could have presented it more diplomatically." She glanced at him, red eyes shining with annoyance. "You're not going to find a better source of information than him-part of being strong is knowing how to network and use others to better yourself."

[yinsukin]

Roman

Shit

Roman looked away, his face flushing red as he realized he had been caught red handed.  Whatever was building inside of him was replaced with a uncomfortable amount of self-awareness.  He groaned and said, "Fine fine, then I'll ask you, whats the best way to get stronger?"

The man sighed and said, "Abuse a facility that has the famous swole city recovery rooms.  So long as you have the conviction, you can continue to workout, building and rebuilding your muscles until eventually, you break your human limits.  However, don't build anything you can't maintain or you'll hurt your body in the long term, or even short term."

"Alright," Roman said, finally looking back at Sakura with a glare, even with his face still red.  The second he formulated his next thought, it turned into a smug grin.  "You want a girl gym too right, one with hot strong blondes with phat asses?"

[SINIB]

Sakura Edelfeldt

"No, not really. I'm only interested in my sister. Anyone else is just a passing fantasy." Sakura replied without missing a single beat. She shook her head and seemed to be staring off into space, fantasizing about something. "Ehehe..." She chuckled before shaking her head and forcing herself back to reality.

"No, what I want is a place someone as strong as myself can go to have a casual workout where she can blow off stress."

She turned to face the man, staring him directly in the eye. "Do you need to test my strength or something, or do you have an eye for that?"

[yinsukin]

Roman/Trainer

Uh oh... he thought, his eyes widening at Sakura's on the nose response.  She wants to fuck her sister.

"How can you talk like that in public with no shame?" Roman asked, shaking his head.  "Does your sister even know about this?"

The personal trainer met Sakura's competitive glare with a smile.  "Of course," he said, looking her up and down.  "You look physically strong but you can never tell in this city.  I don't want to recommend you a place you can't handle.  Although if you can handle this gym, you can handle most gyms in this district."

Standing up, the man began to walk towards the door.  "We can give you some basic strength tests if you would like, free of charge."

[SINIB]

Sakura

Sakura took a step forward towards Roman. "Huh? What is there to be ashamed of in the first place? Is love something to hide? Should I be lying to myself instead, making myself miserable? Isn't pursuing my dreams more important than thinking about how society views me?"

She tapped her foot on the ground, eyes scrunched up at Roman in annoyance. "What right do you have to judge me, really?"

[yinsukin]

Roman

Oh shit she's pissed, he thought, instinctively raising his hands in surrender.  He hadn't seen her fight yet, but looking at her body, he knew she could snap him in half.

"Actually it was admiration!" he said, the shaking in his voice sound like he was begging.  However, he was actually being genuine.  "I don't talk about my inner thoughts like that, especially dark ones.  I mean does she know about it?"

Once again, he was being oddly bold.  He closed his eyes, awaiting death.

The trainer merely raised an eyebrow in the corner.

[SINIB]

Roman

Oh shit she's pissed, he thought, instinctively raising his hands in surrender.  He hadn't seen her fight yet, but looking at her body, he knew she could snap him in half.

"Actually it was admiration!" he said, the shaking in his voice sound like he was begging.  However, he was actually being genuine.  "I don't talk about my inner thoughts like that, especially dark ones.  I mean does she know about it?"

Once again, he was being oddly bold.  He closed his eyes, awaiting death.

The trainer merely raised an eyebrow in the corner.

Sakura

"Don't bullshit me like that, Roman." She flicked a stray hair out of her face and turned towards the trainer. "Of course she knows. We're in a loving and healthy relationship." She replied before clearing her throat. "Anyway, I'd be happy to take you up on your offer." She said to the trainer.

[yinsukin]

Roman

"I'm not bullshiting," he said, his voice settling down as she turned her attention to the trainer.  "I do admire you for saying it!"

Roman was shouting now, unwilling to let this go.  "Its hard to be that upfront with people you just meet."

Then again, maybe that was because she was strong.  Maybe that is just another privilege of strength.

[SINIB]

Roman

"I'm not bullshiting," he said, his voice settling down as she turned her attention to the trainer.  "I do admire you for saying it!"

Roman was shouting now, unwilling to let this go.  "Its hard to be that upfront with people you just meet."

Then again, maybe that was because she was strong.  Maybe that is just another privilege of strength.

Sakura

"If you meant the words you're saying, then you wouldn't have been covering your ass, as if you thought I would hurt you for judging me." She snorted, and continued talking with her back to him. "I thought you knew me well enough to know I'm not going to randomly attack someone. Apparently I was mistaken."

[yinsukin]

Roman

Roman's eyes widened, that last sentence stinging at his very core.  "Are you kidding me?  I just met you!  All I know is you have a body like a greek goddess and the ability to crush my head between your palms!  Its like walking around with someone who is constantly holding a gun and has a bad temper.  Oh wait, guns probably barely even hurt you."

The young man realized that he had actually raised his voice at her again.  Strange.  He said all that, but is yelling at her now.  Why is that?

[SINIB]

Sakura

Her dangerously red eyes glimmered with wet tears. She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and held herself tightly. She bit her lower lips, accidentally revealing her fangs in the process. "Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I'm not a decent human being." Sakura shook her head. "Nor does me being a mage, nor a vampire, at that. When did I ever give the impression I'm the sort to run around killing people? I grew up the same as you, and worked hard to get as strong as I did today-anybody could have done it, with enough work. In that regard, I wasn't special at all."

Even though she was shorter than him, it was as if she were looking down on him. Her body language, her tone, and even her disposition oozed disappointment and even a hint of sorrow. "I thought we could be friends. I guess you're just as much of a prick as anyone else-judging me by my body instead of for whom I am."

She turned her head back to the trainer and smiled. "Thanks for the help. I'd really appreciate a recommendation for a casual gym for women about as strong as me."

[yinsukin]

Roman

Roman's eyes widened and he stepped back when seeing the fangs.  "You didn't," he said.  "You don't have too.  Your strong, i'm not.  Not only are you strong, but hundreds of times stronger than me.  You could kill me by accident if you aren't careful."

Roman bit his lip.  He hated this feeling, this powerlessness.  How he wished he could switch places with her.  "I didn't.  People who are strong have strong friends.  People who are weak have weak friends.  I'm...  I'm not on your level, not yet."

That couldn't be true right?  After all Yusho didn't just see him as a worthless weakling.  He even... no that was a mentor relationship.  Well it didn't matter.  If she didn't understand the power she had, it wasn't safe to hang around her anyway.

"Whatever!" he finally said in a huff and walked towards the trainer.  "Just sign me up."

The trainer looked at Sakura, then at Roman.  "Your welcome and... sure."

[SINIB]

Sakura

Sakura's eyes seemed to stare into him. She looked closely at him, and she could tell he didn't really believe what he was saying. Reading people was a skill she was good at by necessity. If you couldn't see past people's bullshit, and didn't pay attention to their subtle cues, one would just get eaten up and used by the mages at the Clock Tower. Especially in the position she had there, as a foreigner, and as an Edelfeldt. So, when he stopped talking to her, she immediately shook her head and spoke up.

"That's bullshit, and you know it."

[yinsukin]

Roman

"Why are you acting like you know me all of the sudden?  So what, its ok if you do it?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.  "You know nothing about me!"