RST Fic: Regimen

[zarahjoyce]

"You're late."

In response to the blunt statement, Mio just laughed. "Sorry, Hikari," she said, jogging closer to him. "I didn't get much sleep last night - Kagura keeps fussing." Being the last to recover from their collective illness, Kagura had to remain in bed for an extra day. Mio, being the second to recover after Hikari, was the one who looked after her.

Naturally.

He noted the dark circles under her eyes and said, not unkindly, "If you'd rather we not train today--"

"No, no." She adamantly shook her head. "We haven't trained for almost a full week now. Might as well take advantage of this morning, ne?"

Hikari nodded, relieved. Truth be told their bout of sickness left him lethargic and edgy, and rigorous exercise would surely do him good. Besides, morning with Mio were always eventful.

"All right. I have a move in mind we can use together. Here, give me your hand - I'll show you."

By the end of that morning, they were both breathing heavily, with beads of sweat lining their foreheads and soaking their backs.

But they were smiling.

"You have to admit, I'm getting the hang of it!" Mio said, grinning all the while.

Hikari blew out a breath, then straightened himself. "Good. We might be able to use it the next time we fight."

-

They used their new move the very next day, and it was able to successfully foil an attack aimed at Hikari's back - just like they intended. It felt natural; their actions synchronized, perfect together; in fact, when the next wave of monsters came, Hikari immediately positioned himself beside Mio, and reached for her hand.

She understood, and grabbed his to pull him closer.

Together, they fought so well, that the others' moves felt like an extension of their own. No one noticed.

...except, maybe, for one.

-

It had become a ritual for the group that after a successful fight against a Shadow Monster, Wagon would be welcoming them to a grandiose feast - or at least, as grandiose as could be purchased from a cart. Right and Kagura were ecstatic, of course, especially when the table was full of bento and sweets. Akira looked nonplussed, picking up and studying a plastic bottle as though he'd never seen one before. Mio trailed after Kagura, warning her about moving or eating too much, and telling Right not to play with his food. Hikari crossed his arms and sighed, contemplating on what to get, this time. And Tokatti...

...tapped Hikari on the shoulder, looking both nervous and embarrassed.

"Can I ask you something?" he said, in a low voice.

Hikari frowned. "What is it?"

Tokatti pushed his glasses up, grimaced, and after gathering his courage, asked, "W-Why are you and Mio..."

And he got no further than that.

After a few painful seconds of watching Tokatti fidget, Hikari asked, a touch of impatience coloring his tone, "What about me and Mio?"

"...er." Another nervous push at his glasses. Tokatti glanced behind Hikari, then turned his gaze back at him. "I-- I've noticed that, every morning, you two... well, the two of you often disappear." He paused, cleared his throat. "I'd like to know... what you are doing. With Mio. Or if... if you're doing something with her." Unconsciously, Tokatti stepped closer to Hikari. "Are you?"

Well now, this line of questioning was most certainly odd. The frown on Hikari's face intensified. "You're asking me what we're doing every morning?" he repeated, just to confirm that what he thought he heard was right. When Tokatti nodded earnestly, Hikari replied, "We were training."

"Training?" Tokatti repeated. "Just the two of you?"

"Yes." There was something in Tokatti's tone that Hikari couldn't decide if he disliked or not. "Why...?"

"Ah, nothing. Nothing." Tokatti shook his hands, smiling as he did so. Then, after seemingly making a silent decision, he asked, "I'd-- can I go, too? Train with you two, I mean."

Hikari stared at him. There was a reason why, out of all of them, he only invited Mio to train with him: Right couldn't be convinced to get up before sunrise. The same could be said with Kagura, though she could be quite sluggish and uncoordinated in the mornings, too. Tokatti's stamina was still... well, developing, and Hikari doubted he could withstand the harsh training he and Mio did together.

Still, there was an earnestness in Tokatti's face that could not be denied. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course." Tokatti nodded. "After all, how else could I become strong, right? Stronger than Mio, even." He glanced away, then muttered, "Stronger than you."

Stranger and stranger. Hikari shrugged. "I don't see why not. All right, then. We'll meet outside the train at five tomorrow morning."

"Yosh!" Tokatti said, grinning widely. "I'll definitely be there!"

Hikari was about to say something when--

"Hikari!" Mio's voice rang aloud. "Tokatti! Don't make the food wait!"

"Yes, Mio, we're coming!" Tokatti replied, with a burst of boundless energy that made Hikari's ears ring.

When they approached the table, Mio handed Hikari his favorite sandwich, smiled at him, then turned to sit beside Right, just in time to lecture him about how to eat slowly.

Hikari then sat beside Kagura, and fiddled with his sandwich.

He couldn't explain it, but he could most certainly feel Tokatti's frown from where he was, right then and there.

-

If Mio was surprised to see Tokatti with them the next day, she was able to hide it well.

She merely blinked at the bouncing Tokatti, then turned to Hikari, as if asking him silently to explain.

He shrugged, crossed his arms. "He asked to come with us."

"That's right!" Tokatti said, pushing his glasses up. "I'll be training with you guys from now on!"

Mio looked perplexed for a minute. "But, Tokatti, won't you find it hard to wake up this early every morning?"

"...er." For a second, Tokatti seemed like he was going to agree with her. Then, he shook his head and resolutely proclaimed, "Of course not! Getting strong... requires some sacrifices, right? And if training like this can make me strong like you two... then it's going to be worth it!"

Hikari rubbed the back of his neck. It was a beautiful morning, but somehow everything just felt so-- so wrong. "Let's not waste any more time talking and get started." He studied the grounds. "Three lapses around the train?"

Mio looked around her, too. "Sounds reasonable."

"...three?" Tokatti asked. "Three times... around the trains?"

"Yes," Mio said. "It'll probably take around fifteen minutes each without stopping, so--"

"Forty-five minutes of jogging," Hikari cut in.

Tokatti blanched. "...er, right..."

While Hikari and Mio easily found their rhythm, they both found that Tokatti... hadn't. At the end of the second lap, the sight that greeted Hikari when he turned the corner was Mio pulling a semi-conscious Tokatti to his feet, muttering worriedly as the bespectacled man tried to find his footing. Hikari sighed, then hurried over so Mio could transfer all of Tokatti's weight on him, instead of carrying it all herself.

"Mou, Tokatti! You really shouldn't push yourself so hard so fast! You're going to hurt yourself!"

"B-But Mio," Tokatti said, trying to catch his breath as Hikari half-carried, half-dragged him to the train, "y-you said fifteen minutes around each t-train, right?"

"Idiot," Hikari said, rolling his eyes. "She was just estimating. It'll really depend on how you can pace yourself."

"That's right," Mio said, opening the door and ushering them both in. "I suppose I should've said that-- be careful, Hikari!"

Unceremoniously, he dumped Tokatti on one of the couches, then stood. Tokatti moaned, but kept his eyes closed.

"--Tokatti?" Mio asked, moving closer to poke at his shoulder. "Tokatti?"

A soft snore made her straighten.

"He fell asleep?" Hikari couldn't believe it.

Mio laughed. "He burned out so quickly," she said. "Maybe we should've started with something a bit... I don't know, gentler?"

"Maybe," Hikari said. He glanced at his watch. "There's still a few minutes until sunrise. Are you still up for some training?"

Mio looked apologetic. "I-- I don't know. I feel bad about Tokatti." She bit her lip. "I think I'll just look after him for a bit, or just until someone else is awake." She placed a hand on Hikari's arm, gave him a little push. "I'll catch up to you if I can, all right?"

She never did.