Early the next morning, Loki, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth appeared in Ais's room. All four stared at the girl on the bed—Ais couldn't move an inch.
"Ais, what happened?"
Riveria zeroed in at once, fixing the shifty-eyed, evasive Ais with a look. She didn't need many words to know Ais had gotten up to something again.
"Muscles… sore."
"Mm. You didn't go to the Dungeon yesterday, and you didn't do any excessive training. So tell me—how did this muscle soreness show up?"
Riveria hadn't had time to shadow Ais all day yesterday. With the Familia's expedition prep ramping up, she couldn't keep constant watch. But Tiona and Tione had stayed with Ais from the start; Riveria recalled the girl being perfectly fine up until dinner.
What did this child do last night? Riveria was very curious how Ais had managed to work herself into full-body soreness overnight.
"…"
Ais kept her mouth shut, guilty. If she said it out loud, Riveria would simply answer with a "not allowed." Tsunayoshi had given her that tool, and Ais worried that telling the truth would drag him into trouble. So she decided not to talk.
There's something here. Riveria didn't need to press further to know something had happened—something very likely tied to Ais's pursuit of strength. But at night? How?
Loki, silent until now, let her gaze sweep over the two new things on Ais's wrists, and a small smile crept onto her face.
"Was it Tsuna?"
"!?"
A tiny flicker of panic rippled over Ais's blank face. Loki caught it, and her smile spread.
"So you went to Tsuna last night. Because Riveria forbade you from going to the Dungeon, and Finn told Tiona and Tione to keep an eye on you, you asked Tsuna for a way to train without leaving the room. Those two bracelets, right?"
Loki tipped her chin toward the bands on Ais's hands.
"Riveria, since Ais is 'just' sore, please treat her—and leave a strong impression while you're at it. Let her understand that not every tool is for casual use."
"I know what to do."
Riveria turned and flicked a look at Finn and Gareth. They understood immediately.
"Then Gareth and I will go ask Tiona and Tione about last night."
"Mm. I'll check on those two as well. They're not as reckless as Ais—at least they wouldn't use a tool at night until they were sore all over."
"!?"
Gareth! Ais widened her eyes and glared hard at him as he turned to leave with Finn.
"I'll head out too," Loki said, eyeing the nearly despondent Ais and fighting back a laugh.
"I need to talk with Tsuna as well. He can't just grant any request Ais makes. That silly girl never knows when to stop."
Then Loki halted mid-step.
"Riveria, take those devices off Ais first. That idiot had them running all night. If you go straight into teaching her a lesson, we might run into… complications."
"Understood."
"Good. Give her a proper lesson. Don't fret too much about her body—if she could abuse a tool all night long, she's plenty sturdy. I'm off to Tsuna. And I didn't hear a peep from elsewhere in the manor."
With that, Loki left Ais's room and politely shut the door. She had only gone a few steps when a piercing scream ripped through the air.
"Aaaahhhh! Riveria, I was wrong!!!!"
Riveria's truly angry this time. I can't help you there, Ais. Wearing a wry smile, Loki shook her head and paid the anguished cries no mind.
Tsuna, on the other hand, was moving fast. They'd only told him yesterday that he'd be joining the expedition, and this morning Ais was already so sore she couldn't get out of bed. In a sense, Tsuna might cause even more trouble than Ais could. Loki sighed silently.
With Ais's screams echoing through the annex, Loki strode lightheartedly to Tsunayoshi's door.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Tsuna, I—whoa, hold it!!!"
The moment the door opened, a white barrier was already enveloping Tsuna's left hand. For a split second Loki forgot to breathe. She shouted, lunged in, and disrupted the barrier's effect.
The formation faltered at Loki's sudden intrusion and stopped. Only then did Loki's knotted heart begin to ease.
"Hoo—"
Scared to death. Loki let out a slow breath. She'd been seconds from a heart attack. The moment she saw that barrier—the one that signified consigning things to another dimension—wrapped around Tsuna's left arm, her heart nearly stopped. Once she'd calmed, she lifted her head wearing a furious scowl.
"Are you trying to kill me? What were you about to do? If I hadn't stopped you, were you going to experiment on your own left hand?"
"Just a simple test. I actually had contingencies in place. I wouldn't let anything happen to my arm."
"If anything did happen to you, I'd bawl my eyes out."
Loki rolled her eyes at his confidence. He'd really scared her this time. With the expedition looming, she couldn't afford even the slightest mishap with Tsuna.
And before we even begin, this kid's going to take a blade to his own arm? Loki was speechless. Test or not, you don't start with yourself.
"I just came from Ais's room. That kid gave us a 'surprise' first thing in the morning, and I immediately thought of you. Then I come here and you give me my own morning shock. I nearly panicked my way back to the heavens!"
Ais alone was "surprising" enough this morning. Loki sighed inwardly. Looking back at Tsuna, she felt the stimulation he'd bring her in the future would definitely outstrip Ais's.
(End of Chapter)
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