Decha went for Jax, who landed in the mud, but Jax flipped his legs over and wrapped them around Decha's torso. He used as must lower strength as he could and threw Decha into a tree, opposite of him.

Decha's body crashed into the bark and collapsed onto the ground, surprised by Jax's defense. "Not bad." He nodded in contentment and pushed himself up.

"Thanks," Jax say up quickly and wiped the dirt off his face.

Decha's tank top was ripped and torn, but he didn't mind. Jax had a few bruises forming on his skin, but was still focused on beating Decha. The two ran at each other and began fighting again.

The two continued for about 15 more minutes and Jax was starting to get tired. Both men had sweat kissing their skin. Both Jax's and Decha's hair were damp and sticking to their face.

Jax was thrown against another tree, but he remained alert and ducked when Decha punched where his head just was a millisecond before.

Jax spotted someone at the door of the training room while he was still crouched. A wide smile appeared on his lips. "Rory!"

Sure enough, Rory was at the door watching the two men fight. He looked up at Decha and began to tease him. "Your girlfriend is here."

"What?" Decha spat. Jax took the opportunity to impress her, and sucker-punched Decha in the stomach. He flew back just a foot and glared at Jax.

"I wonder what she'd say if she saw your arse getting whooped."

"N9899, keep your mind focused on the task." Decha shook his head. Decha kicked at Jax, who dodged it.

"You're going easy on me, so that means I have a bit of the upper hand." Jax wiggled his eyebrows and punched Decha in the face, knocking him into the mud. "I wonder who she's rooting for." Jax laughed.

Decha massaged his jaw, easing the pain of the hit, and stood back up. He understood that Rory was watching them, but that didn't give Jax any right to show off. He decided to use his full strength against Jax to teach him a lesson.

In a swift movement, Decha shot forward and used his hands to propel himself off the ground and into a flip. Then he kicked Jax hard enough to send him flying far back into the wall. The jungle quickly vanished, resetting the room back to its original position.

But Decha didn't stop there. He sprung at Jax and punched him 5 times at once, once in the jaw, twice in the shoulders, once in the torso, and once in the nuts.

Jax didn't even get a chance to cry out in pain. Decha kicked and flipped Jax aside into the other wall.

By the time Jax got a chance to process what was happening, his nose was bleeding. "Decha! What's the big idea!? What the—"

Decha flipped Jax over and put him into a chokehold. Jax's face became red and he began to tap out, but Decha refused to let go. "Nah uh. I don't show mercy. Set yourself free if you want to live." Decha seethed.

Jax struggled and his body began to shake as he tried to free himself of Decha's grip. "In 10 seconds your vision will cloud up," Decha stated monotonously, and tightened his hold.

Jax flailed his arms around, as Decha began to count down. "10... 9..."

"Mercy!" Jax coughed. "Mercy!!!"

"8... 7...6..."

Just as Decha predicted, Jax's vision was starting to fog. He feared that Decha would kill him, so he elbowed Decha in his ribcage. Eventually, it was enough for Decha to loosen his grip, allowing Jax to crawl away.

"You're Crazy! Completely out of your mind!" Jax choked. "You almost killed me! How is that going easy on me?"

"If you focused, you would've seen me coming." Decha wiped his sweat away. Jax began to argue but stopped when they heard Rory clapping excitedly and cheering at the door. She walked inside the room and observed it in amazement.

"You guys were awesome!" Rory ambled right up to Decha and gave him a thumbs up. "This entire room is so cool! Look at the material!" Rory skipped over to the walls where the screen was. "Wow! This tech is amazing. You can customize it to whatever setting you think of!"

"How long have you been watching us?" Decha frowned. The men had been fighting for about 45 minutes. He hoped that Rory didn't stand at the door the entire time when she could've been getting sleep.

"I don't know. I came in a while ago. I was entranced by your skills. Decha, you're amazing at fighting!"

"I know," Decha stated, before realizing his mistake. "Thank you." He corrected himself, understanding that it was more polite.

"And you... um... Mister...?" Rory giggled nervously, trying to remember his name. She didn't even think she knew his name, despite seeing him with Decha many times.

"Jax. Jax Strout." Jax grabbed onto Rory's hand and shook it gently.

"She will address you by your number, N9899." Decha grabbed onto Jax's hand and snatched it away from Rory's. The action confused Jax at first, but he decided to let it slide.

"Oh, is it disrespectful to call him by his name?" Rory whispered under her breath. "Sorry, N9899. I hope you don't mind, but I was observing the way you fight. You seem to have a talent with guns."

"I don't mind at all," Jax smirked. "You're looking at one of the best marksmen in Astell. Guns are my specialty."

"So cool." Rory grinned. "But I think you can be better. I can't construct a weapon without a license. But I noticed when fighting, you have a bad handle at gripping. What you need is a DNA-linked magnet for any weapon you hold. This way, if you lose your gun in battle, you can have it come right back for you, similar to a boomerang."

"Interesting..." Jax blinked at her in surprise. "You're very observant."

"She is. Too observant for her own good." Decha cut in. "What's your point, Rory?"

"I wanted to know if you'd be okay with me creating the magnet for you. I could have it done by next week. Then I can run a few tests and make sure it works well. Would you be okay with that?"

"Would I?!" Jax smiled. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her creations before. Decha had some cool gloves and new boots that helped him. Now Rory wanted to make a tool for him? He felt honored by her offer.

Before he could reject or accept, Decha stepped in abruptly. "No, you won't." He spat.

"What? I can. A magnet isn't that hard to make, Decha—"

"I said no."

"I wasn't asking you, I was asking him." Rory rebuked.

"It doesn't matter. Do you know how much energy your hobby takes out of you? Your health isn't at all stable. What you need to do is rest until we can find a donor. I don't mind minor projects that you tinker with, but creating a magnet that'll take you a week is not feasible. And frankly, I won't allow it."

"Decha!" Rory pouted.

"I'm responsible for your healthcare. My answer is final." Decha snapped.

"Okay, so what if I try and complete it within 2 days? Would you change your mind?"

"You're not getting the point." Decha huffed and brushed by her. Off a nearby rack, he grabbed a towel and began wiping his face and drying his hair.

Jax walked up to him with a devilish grin plastered on his face. He nudged Decha softly with his elbow. "If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you were jealous."

"You'd be assuming wrong."

"Admit you don't want her to invent tools for another man. And what was the whole thing about her only calling me by my number, earlier?"

"When a General meets with someone for the first time, formalities require people to speak to high ranks using their number."

"Yeah, but she called you by your real name and you didn't have a problem with it."

"Jax, stop trying to start something. I'm worried about her health, okay?"

"Are you sure that's all there is to it?"

"... Yes." Decha hesitated. There was some truth to his words, but he wasn't going to admit to Jax that when he saw them shaking hands, he wanted to smack Jax halfway to the Hanahas dessert.

He wasn't comfortable with Rory showing interest in someone else so quickly. But that wasn't jealousy, was it? That was just his want to protect her.

"Okay, so here's my idea. What if I finish the magnet by tonight?" Rory stepped in front of him and begged with her eyes. "Would it be okay?"

"No, Rory."

"You are being so unfair!" She whined.

"I'm being rational." Decha rolled his eyes and took his torn tank top off. He was going to have to order a new one from the Agency. Rory followed him, not even noticing his muscles being on full display because she was so angry.

"You know I love engineering, Decha. And I'm also really interested in the General's Combat System! I won't spend all of my energy on making a magnet, I promise. You can watch me! Why can't you just—" Rory stopped when Decha turned around suddenly and leaned close to her face.

He backed her into the wall and stated one last time his decision. "You want me to speak my mind more, so I'm going to. I said no. If you keep pressing about it, I'll get pissed. Am I clear?"

Rory hiccuped and blinked at him.

"Answer my question."

Rory hiccuped again.

"With words this time."

"Yup. All clear. 100 percent." Rory blushed and nodded in a panic.

"Great. Is there anything else?"

"Uh... well, I came up here to ask if I could have some ice cream." Rory squeaked.

Decha clenched his fists and sighed. "You know you're on a diet to prepare for surgery. Why would you even ask when you already know the answer?"

"Well, um... Avon had some ice cream. And I've been wanting something sweet. And I just... I—"

Rory's rambling continued for a few extra seconds before Decha finally gave in to her pleas. "You can have it, but I'll buy it for you. It can't be too sweet." Decha leaned away from her and nudged Rory out of the room. He waved her off and closed the door without saying anything more.

"What the heck was that about?" Jax gawked like he'd seen something horrific.

"What?" Decha shrugged.

"Something is going on between you guys. What base are you guys at?"

"Base?" Decha furrowed his eyebrows.

"Have you guys kissed or something?"

Decha put back on his original shirt, turning his back to hide his red face. "That's none of your business."

"You sly dog. You kissed her!" Jax felt his suspicions were confirmed. That was more than enough to prove that Decha wasn't into men. Not only that, but he felt it was odd that Decha got in Rory's face without caring about personal space, or without realizing he was in front of Jax.

"Would you shut up?" Decha hissed, not wanting Jessica to hear Jax's exclamation.

"Your face is red!"

"Whatever. Would you zip it already?" Decha's ears began to heat up.

"I thought you said you weren't interested in women, Decha." Jax teased. "This whole time you had me fooled. I never thought I'd ever come across a high-ranked Astellian General like yourself getting involved with a Bracket woman."

"Can we please talk about anything else?" Decha groaned. "And don't talk as if I'm in such a high position or greater than Rory. It's not respectful."

"But aren't you in a high position, War hero? Aren't you the dark-eyed warrior?"

"My rank, nor my skill isn't all there is to my identity."

"I'm curious. How did you go from being not interested in women to kissing a Bracket lady?"

"Jax," Decha crossed his arms, more than irritated. "Drop it, please. It doesn't matter."

"Of course, it matters! Are you crazy? If you tell a woman that, she'll feel worthless!" Jax scoffed. "Do you want Rory to think she's worthless to you?"

"How do you know this information?" Decha raised a brow inquisitively. He was curious, genuinely.

"I'm a bit of a romantic," Jax admitted, unashamed. "That's not the point. You've got the hots for Rory, and you're acting nonchalant about it."

"Who said anything about—" Decha felt a strain in his mind hearing Jax's words. In all honesty, he wasn't sure how he felt about Rory. "Don't spout nonsense. And I'm not acting any particular way." His expression was deadpan.

"I don't know what Rory is thinking at all. I know that she overthinks when she rambles, and she's always on edge. But I still can't tell what it all means." Decha voiced, his tone very despondent.

"Why did you kiss her in the first place?"

"I don't... know." The first time they kissed, Rory initiated and that was very unclear. But he never understood why he retaliated sometime later.

"What do you mean, "you don't know?" Jax spat.

"I was angry. She said some things. I said some things. I wanted her to shut up. After that, she started acting weird." Decha huffed in annoyance. "It doesn't matter. I'll figure it out."

"You're closing up again." Jax smiled.

"That's not important right now. We have to catch a mass murderer, and protect the council." Decha was about to walk out of the room, but Jax stopped him by grabbing onto his shoulder.

"Listen, if you want to tell what Rory is thinking just test her."

"Test her?" Decha snorted.

"Mhmm. It's easy. First, look into her eyes. If they move around, it either means she's nervous, or she's not focused. If she continues to look, that means she likes you."

"You're kidding, right?" Decha snickered.

"Not at all. A woman who never breaks eye contact with you wants you to move onto Phase 2."

"Phase 2?"

"Phase 2," Jax confirmed. "Touch."

"That won't work. Rory's an affectionate person. Hugging is in her nature." Decha shook his head.

"You have to do it as much as possible. Another sign a woman likes you is when they don't reject your touch."

"Again, how the heck do you know this?"

"Not important. So, whenever you're around Rory, the goal is to do it enough times to drive her insane. She'll either do two things. Confront you about it, or say nothing. If she confronts you about it, she may be feeling confused. If she doesn't, she wants you to do it more. Which means, she likes you."

"How does this benefit me?" Decha grumbled. "I'm not a fan of... physical affection."

"You get to know what she thinks of you, and how to respond." Jax cleared his throat. "Next Phase. Phase 3. Direct Discussion. It means you have to do a mixture of the first two phases and then ask her directly. If you got past the first two phases, she'll be more than ready to answer you."

"That sounds tedious."

"Most women are."

Decha rolled his eyes. "I'll think about your... advice." He mumbled, before exiting the training room completely.

~~~

Decha came back from a nearby Grocery store with a few small tubs of different flavors of sugar-free ice cream. He put one container on the kitchen counter and hid the rest away so Rory wouldn't overindulge.

The moment he did, Rory came in from the dining room with her eyes as wide as a puppy's. She was looking to see if Decha had gotten ice cream for her.

Decha grabbed the tub off of the counter and shook it for her to see, and she responded with a smile. "Thank you!" She happily skipped over and reached for it. Decha pulled it out of her grasp.

"Did you eat dinner?"

"Yeah, I just finished." Rory nodded. Rory reached for the ice cream, extending her arm up in a way where he could place the tub in her hand. She stayed in that position for a moment before noticing that Decha was staring at her.

Almost as if he were staring at her soul. Rory dropped her arm to her side and frowned. "Is there something on my face?" Rory brushed the edges of her mouth, wondering if any crumbs strayed away.

The staring continued and Rory began to feel awkward. She didn't break eye contact with him though, fearing that maybe he was upset about something. What exactly was he thinking? She didn't remember saying or doing anything that would make him act this way.

Was he expecting payment? The ice cream wasn't free? She did owe him lots of Tekels. "I'll repay you when I get the chance, I promise." She squeaked, but he did not react.

Was he expecting her to pay him with something else? What did he want? Why was he glaring at her? Rory's mind went wild with reasons why Decha was looking at her. "Decha, are you going to give me the ice cream or not?"

"After I'm done." Decha moved forward, causing Rory's back to smack against the counter.

"D-done w-with what?" Rory stuttered while her face lit up like a flame. She felt hot. Hotter than the sun. His obsidian eyes confronted hers so directly that she wanted to melt.

Rory began hiccuping, rapidly.

"Why do you do that every time I—"

"Did you know that ice cream is loaded with vitamins and minerals? It helps prevent blood clotting. It's also a great snack for cooling off, but I think most people eat it during the wintertime. I'm not sure why—" Rory was cut off when Decha pressed his hand to her mouth.

Decha placed the ice cream down on the counter and pushed himself away from her. He wasn't sure if she passed the first test or not. Rory happily went for the dessert, but the moment she reached for the lid to pop it off, she froze.

Decha's warm hand was placed on top of hers. Instead of moving it, he went behind her and helped open it. Rory almost dropped the entire thing back onto the counter when Decha solidified his stance.

He was pressed against her back while she was facing the counter.

She reached for a spoon in one of the drawers and began to start rambling again to ease the tension in the room. "What's your favorite ice cream flavor, Decha?" Rory stabbed the dessert in the middle with her spoon, frustrated by Decha's proximity.

"I don't eat ice cream."

"What? Why not?" Rory scooped a large spoonful and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Generals are on restrictive diets. The few like me who are stationed on the outside aren't permitted to eat a lot of things. Protein is essential, sugar is detrimental."

"Your job sounds like fun," Rory snickered sarcastically. "I don't think I could ever live without ice cream."

The flavor she was eating was fudge brownie ice cream. Although it was sugar-free, it was still sweet and very satisfying, as she had been wanting ice cream for a while. "This is so good." Rory hummed ecstatically.

Then it hit her. The brain freeze caught up to her. Rory groaned and backed into Decha, who was still very much so in personal space. However, she brushed her elbow against his torso and panicked before flinching forward.

Her stomach slammed into the countertop, and she slouched over. She swore and cursed her body for acting this way.

"Are you okay?" Decha inquired.

"Brain freeze!" Rory huffed and spun around. This time, she stubbed her toe on the stool sitting beside them and lowered her head. Her head smacked into Decha's chest, and she flew back. "Ow!"

Decha caught onto her arm before she fell and pulled her back up. "I don't know what's wrong with me today," Rory whined.

"All that because of a brain freeze?"

Rory grimaced. It was happening because Decha was so close to her. He was making her react this way. "I'm going to watch my show." Rory snatched her ice cream off the counter. "Thank you." She gestured with the tub and left.

Decha wondered if Phase 2 was working. He couldn't tell. It seemed like Jax's advice was completely utter bullcrap.

~~~