“Okay, so what exactly is going to happen here?” Romeo said, his head tilted to the side as he watched the masseuses set up their equipment. Beside him Banksy had an equally concerned expression on his face.

“A massage,” Cross said, his face creased into a frown.

“Yeah I get that….” Romeo lifted his hand and pointed. “But why do they have knives?”

It was Tomo that answered, appearing beside the trio. Banksy flinched at her sudden appearance, grabbing at his chest. “Human beings have natural pathways that energy flows along. Magic, especially when used incorrectly, has a tendency to block those pathways.”

“That doesn’t explain the knives,” said Banksy.

“Do not worry,” Tomo reached out and picked up one of the blades. She ran it along her palm. “These are dull. The blades are imbued with chi from the masseuse. Your skin will be fine, but the energy will pass through.”

“That’s sounds… Painful

“It is not,” Tomo said

“It is,” Cross said at the same time.

Tomo scowled at him. “It may leave some mild bruising at the worst.”

“Only two tables set up,” Romeo mused. “I guess one of us is the odd man out. Probably you, Banksy, you know, considering you’re odd. And short.”

“No, Cross will be receiving a different treatment.” Tomo gave Cross a pointed look and left the room. Cross stared after her for a long time.

“Different how?” Romeo asked.

“I’m technically a student of Tenchi.”

“Yeah?”

Cross gave him a pained look before he slouched after Tomo. “The knives will be sharp.”

xXx

“I have never seen pathways quite like yours,” the head masseuse, Sawan, said as she ran a palm along Makina’s back. “Not just the clarity, but the pathways themselves. They are very fine… and numerous.”

“Of course, for I am a divine being.” Makina kicked her feet happily as the masseuses circled around her, unsure of how to approach. “I am perfection incarnate.”

Beside her, Lexi let out a hiss of pain as her masseuses slammed her open palm against her lower back, sending a wave of energy through her body. Lexi’s fingers curled against the sheets as the woman repeated the action again and again. Vaguely she noted that it hurt a little bit less each time.

“Muddy. Overuse,” the masseuses said as she picked up a knife and began to trace along Lexi’s back. The blade was hot against her skin. “Young. Reckless.”

“I am try-ah” Lexi’s back arched as the tip of the blade was pushed directly between her shoulder blades.

“Weak breath,” the woman said as she put the knife down and took Lexi’s hand. With deft movements she popped each of Lexi’s fingers, realigning the bones, before placing her wrist in Lexi’s palm. “Squeeze.”

Lexi did as she was told, tightening her fingers around the woman’s wrist.

“Good. Strong. Turn.” She grabbed Lexi by the head, turning her on the table. In a single move, she jerked the wincing girl’s head to the left, then the right. Lexi let out a sound that was caught somewhere between a cry and a moan. Before she could fully process what was happening, the masseuse had Lexi on her back again, her elbow placed firmly on the base of her neck. “Pain.”

“Pain?”

“Pain.” The woman lifted her elbow up a few inches before slamming it back down and Lexi acutely understood. Her vision exploded into stars and her entire body went limp. She tried to move, but not a single muscle would budge. A feeling of panic welled up in her belly.

“Breath,” the masseuse ordered as she moved down to Lexi’s left leg, working out the many knots. “Only breath. Focus.”

Lexi nodded, or would have if she could have moved her head.

Breathe. All she had to do was breathe.

Little by little she managed to pull in the barest hint of a breath. She held it for a long time before letting it out with a soft hiss. Above her the woman let out a grunt of approval. Lexi repeated the action again and again until she was able to breath normally.

No, better than normal.

Lexi turned her head to look at the woman. “How did you…?”

“Good?”

“Much, thank you.”

“Weak Breath. Weak Girl.” She slapped Lexi hard on the ass. “Strong Breath. Strong Girl”

Lexi smiled. “Strong Breath.”

The smile was returned. “Strong breath!”

The moment was interrupted as Misa let out a noise that Lexi would have never believed had come from the elf had she not seen it with her own eyes.

Eyes wide, the elf glanced over toward Lexi. Her expression was one of horror and she started to say something but only a moan escaped her lips as the masseuse began to work a knot out of her neck.

“It has been a long time since we have had the pleasure of hosting an Elf,” Sawan said as she glanced up from her examination of Makina. “Unfortunately, the massage Miss. Hart is receiving would be impossible for one of your kind. The energy of a human is somewhat different than that of an Elf. It would likely block your pathways instead of clearing them. So, I have instructed Akama to focus on relieving any possible exhaustion in your muscles. I hope you will find her treatment to your liking.”

Misa’s finger curled against the sheet beneath her. “I have never… experienced… this.”

“Yes, it is quite pleasant, is it not?” Sawan nodded. “While your magic pathways are quite different than that of a human, your physiology is quite similar.”

Misa nodded, another small moan escaping her lips. Lexi looked on, somewhat jealous as her own masseuse let out a small chortle and jabbed her fingers against her quad, all but crushing the muscle beneath and drawing out a pained breath from Lexi.

It gave her a small sense of satisfaction knowing that the boys would be suffering through something similar.

xXx

“Is it really necessary?” Cross said, despite knowing the answer as Tomo picked up a blade and held it up to the light to check the edge.

“You haven’t had an alignment for far too long.”

“Maybe I don’t need one.”

Tomo glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Should we discuss it with Mother?”

Cross lifted a finger, opening his mouth to respond before reconsidering. With a glum sigh he shook his head and lowered himself onto the bed. Tomo moved over him and he heard her suck in a small, annoyed breath before the knife expertly cut through the back of his shirt.

“Hey!” Cross started to flip over, but Tomo’s hand caught him against the back of the head.

“Don’t move, idiot. You’ll get cut.”

“You just ruined my shirt.”

“You should have taken it off.”

“You could have asked.”

“My job is to realign your pathways. I have no responsibility to make sure you are prepared for the process. Don’t pin your failures on me.”

“Just… Whatever.” Cross settled back down.

“Hmph.” Tomo’s blade slashed across his back, shredding the rest of his shirt. With a deft movement she brushed away the scraps of fabric and let out a soft gasp.

“What now?” Cross tilted his back and was met with a wide-eyed stare from Tomo.

“By the Gods, Cross.” Tomo’s hand reached out and gently touched his back, right about where his heart was. “What did you do?”

“What? Oh…” Cross’s mouth moved from one side to the other as Tomo pressed the flat of her hand against his body.

“It’s impossible,” Tomo said softly as she traced her hand around his back. “For something like this, it’s impossible for anyone to have survived. What… what did you do?”

For the briefest of moments, Cross considered trying to explain his battle against Avril, how she had literally blown a hole through his chest, but that would then require explaining that Kosu had healed him, and then he would have to explain Kosu, amongst other things. That really didn’t seem to be a possibility so Cross settled on giving a non-committal grunt.

“Your pathways aren’t just damaged… some of them were completely destroyed.” Tomo traced her fingers across his skin.

“Oh…” Cross hasn’t actually been aware that was possible, but with the year he had been having, he was beyond thinking anything was impossible. Having a Goddess as at traveling companion could do that to a person. “That’s unfortunate.”

“This isn’t a joke!” Tomo took a step back and sucked in a deep breath. “I will have to carve them out again.”

“You’re going to do what now?” Cross has time to say before a pain more intense than anything he had ever felt before split through his back. The air in his lungs was forcibly expelled as Tomo slammed her other hand into his back, pushing an overwhelming amount of Chi into his body.

“Endure it.” Tomo hissed out as she dragged the knife across his flesh, leaving a thin red line in its wake.

If Cross had the ability, he would have told her that was easy for her to say, but as he didn’t, he settled for a slightly pathetic noise from somewhere in the back of his throat.

Seconds felt like hours as Tomo continued to carve out Cross’s pathways with precision that would have put the finest craftsmen to shame. With her other hand, she kept him in place with a steady stream of her own chi. It burned through his body, locking his limbs in place and leaving him with only the ability to take in the shallowest of breathes.

“Endure.” Tomo repeated as she dug particularly deep with the tip of the knife, this time actually breaking the skin. A small amount of blood welled up from the wound. Tomo wiped it away with her bare hand before twisting the knife.

Cross grit his teeth together against the pain, his muscles flexing involuntarily as his body fought to escape the torture, but it was a futile attempt. Tomo’s control of Chi far surpassed his own. Even if he had truly tried to force her away, he would have only been able to put up the barest of fights.

“To…mo.” Cross managed to gasp out her name as his vision wavered. There was a ringing in his ears so loud he couldn’t even hear his own voice. He was sure Tomo said something in response but he didn’t hear it as his face fell against the bedding.

The pain stopped.

He wasn’t sure when. It could have been seconds ago, or hours. His entire body was numb. He tried to lift his head, but his muscles refused to respond. He couldn’t even open his eyes. He almost felt like he might vomit, but his body couldn’t even manage that.

“Find your breath.”

Breath… Right, he should be breathing. How did he do that again?

“Ow.” The word came with a sharp inhale and Cross was abruptly back. He started to sit up, but Tomo’s hand kept him down.

“Take a moment.”

Cross did as he was told, rolling his neck and shoulders around. He felt some of the tension alleviate and a content sigh escaped his lips.

“That was awful, Tomo. We could have talked about it first, you know.”

“There was nothing to discuss. Mother was clear that I should treat you to the best of my abilities.”

Cross finally pushed himself up. His balance was off and he tilted to the side before managing to catch himself and push into a sitting position. For what he had just gone through, he felt surprisingly little residual pain.

Tomo was standing across the room, her back leaning lightly against the wall. The knife was still held tightly in her hand, a small amount of his blood on the blade. There was a slight sheen to her skin that she made no effort to wipe away. Her chest rose and fell at an even pace, but Cross could tell she was exhausted.

“So, what exactly did you just do to me?”

“Something…. Obliterated your natural pathways. An overload of magical energy, from the way it felt. You likely didn’t notice due to the unique… circumstance… of your magic. I carved them back out, lest they become a problem in the future.”

Cross blinked. “Didn’t think that it might have been a good idea to get a second opinion before doing something like that. Sounds kind of serious.”

“There is no second opinion to get. I am the only one who can do it.” Tomo pushed off the wall and made for the door. “My obligation is done. You may remain here as long as you wish, but do not bother me any further.”

“Tomo,” Cross called out. She paused, but did not turn to look at him. “Thanks.”

“I did not do it for your benefit. You may be a disgrace, but you are still a member of this temple. Your weakness is our weakness.”

“There’s that trademark sweetness.” Cross gave a half-smile. “Thanks all the same.”

“Hmph.” Tomo exited the room, slamming the door behind her.