{Rin}

The nighttime had slowly rolled in and Xhez had yet to come back. As Rin wasn't too sure how long she should wait before she began to freak out, she decided she should do something to keep her mind occupied in the meantime.

So, she went over her options and soon decided on the one that felt the most logical. She went up to go train. Wearing some grey sweatpants and a cut-off shirt, she walked upstairs as the moon bathed the Academy's halls in its light. There was a comfy chill in the air that Rin appreciated as she arrived at the Meditation Center.

The door was unlocked, which Rin was thankful for. As she opened the door and walked through, she found that the room was empty.

[Nice,] she thought, letting out a deep breath as she began stretching.

She wasn't going to do anything too intense, as she mostly just wanted to pass the time. What she had in mind, specifically, was to go over the various techniques that she'd learned so far. She'd spent so much time getting used to fighting in general that she hadn't practiced specific moves too often.

In her thoughts, she came up with a list.

[There's the Empowered Straight Punch,] she said to herself as she went through the motions of it, without pushing Essence through her body. She pulled her fist back, lowered it, and then thrust it forward. [There's the Dancer's Fury,] she added, and then she performed a crescent kick, transitioned into a side-kick, and then she jumped up and performed two quick spinning kicks. When she tried this the first time, she'd tripped and fallen. Now, it felt much more natural.

[And, oh, right, the one she taught me last week,] Rin thought.

It was a move Maria had taught her after she and the others had come back from spectating the raid.

[Shield and Spear,] she recalled, as she then straightened her posture, and took a deep breath. [So, how did this work again? Oh, right.]

She put her wrists in an X, one behind the other. The move was a defensive technique that, as Maria had shown her, would take an enemy's damage and redirect it back at them, so long as that damage came in the form of Essence. It was simple. All she had to do was wait for something to strike her wrists, then, using Essence, redirect the opposing Essence by spinning and then landing a straight punch, aimed at her enemy. The problem was that the timing was what mattered the most.

She had to activate the Essence in her arms the instant the enemy's attack made contact. If she didn't, then nothing would happen.

[And, I've got my Spirit Flame too,] she thought to herself, as she looked out the open back wall of the room. [If I ever get into real trouble, then, yeah, I can rely on that.]

The door opened behind her, startling the adventurer. Rin snapped back, her hands up defensively, and she found Seth wandering in with his head low.

He didn't notice she was there until he was a few steps in, and then he looked up and his brows raised at her.

For a moment, neither of them said or did anything, as both were surprised to see the other here. Rin, however, quickly turned around, giving her back to her classmate.

[... This is a public place,] she thought with a sigh. [If he wants to train or something then... whatever.]

He didn't seem to have any intention of that, however. After a couple of seconds, he turned and moved to walk out of the room, as Rin saw out of the corner of her eye. However, just as he opened the door, he stopped.

Then, Rin heard him speak up.

"You know, taking your sister to a place where people are constantly beating the shit out of each other seems pretty fucking stupid. Just saying," he stated.

Rin turned to respond to that, but the adventurer walked out into the hall and closed the door before she could get a single word in.

"... Ugh," Rin shook her head. "As if Xhez can't take that."

Frustration continued to circle within her heart, but she turned away from the door and tried to focus on her training.

---

{Xhez}

June all but dragged the sprite back to the hotel. By this point, the sun had made its exit and the night had laid out a dark blanket over the city. The cold air kissed Xhez's skin, and yet her body mostly felt warm due to the presence of the woman she was with.

Even if June had gotten a little quieter, Xhez was still enjoying herself. As they arrived at the hotel and went through the front doors, June briefly said something to the worker at the front and then they went back up to her room.

On the way, Xhez asked:

"Are we heading to another-"

She was unable to get another word in, however, as June took her by the hand and pulled her in, tilting her head slightly and bringing their lips together. Xhez's eyes widened. She all but froze as June brought her hands up to Xhez's wrists, holding her gently.

For a moment, that memory she'd seen of Rin being in a similar position some time ago flickered in front of her eyes. She nearly felt the same way as she had at that time.

June separated, looking back at Xhez with half-lidded eyes and a sly smile.

"Heh, are you really still feeling nervous?" June asked as she looked down at Xhez's body.

"Hm?" Xhez shook her head. "No."

"Really? You're still... Never mind," she said, as they reached June's floor.

Soon, Xhez was being pulled into her room. Almost immediately, June strutted inside and threw her clothes off.

Xhez took a sharp breath as her eyes scanned June's body.

[Ahhh! It is finally happening!] She excitedly thought as her eyes gleamed at the sight.

"Well," June chuckled as she looked back at her, "are you taking your clothes off too, or are you only here to watch?"

"R-Right!"

Xhez tried for a moment to go through what she saw Rin do. If what she saw in that vision was considered "good sex", then Xhez wanted to do her best to mimic that. June's naked body was making it very difficult to focus on those memories, though.

"Come over here," June said softly, gesturing for Xhez to approach her. Once she was in front of her, June lightly took Xhez by her waist and all but instructed her to lay down on the bed. Then, she said, "I gave you some singing lessons last time. Let's see if I can make you sing again~"

[Hm?] Xhez tilted her head, as June spread her legs and looked down at her vagina. [I would gladly sing-]

Her mind was turned off when a cold tongue touched her, and it sent a jolt up Xhez's back. She gasped, quickly looking down to see what June was doing. June caught her reaction and smirked as she stretched that tongue out again and repeated what she'd just done.

Xhez couldn't even analyze this. It was at this moment that she realized that feeling this through Rin's memory was one thing, experiencing this herself was another.

Her entire body trembled as June moved her tongue up and down, a little smile on her face as she did so. As she looked down and beheld that beautiful image, Xhez let her head fall back as she closed her eyes and basked in the feelings dancing within her heart.

"This is amazing," she muttered to herself, but June heard her.

"I've only just started, sweetheart," June said with a chuckle. "You... Wow," she paused. "You taste so sweet."

[Is that not normal?] Xhez wondered for just a moment before June continued.

Xhez soon lost track of time. Seconds became minutes and June continued to work her tongue between Xhez's legs while Xhez took short, quick breaths as her body continued to take this in.

And, then, Xhez noticed that something was glowing. A bright rose-white color was reaching the ceiling, coming from below. June stopped what she was doing.

[Huh?]

Xhez looked down, as it seemed that the source of the light was probably near the bed. When she looked down, she saw that the glow was coming from herself.

And, that June was staring at her body, shocked.

[What?] Xhez blinked as she looked down at herself, confused. [Is... Is my Spirit running low? Why?]