The door slid open and let out a rumbling Lily, her words unintelligible but the meaning behind them clear enough: She was not satisfied, or at least not happy. She stumbled through the now open portal, leaning against the wall, and finally ceasing her grumbling only to start panting. "I swear that bitch is trying to kill me," she groaned, sliding down the wall until she sat on the floor. "Five hours. For five fucking hours she forced me to blast those damned dummies again and again and again." She leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes and savouring what little coolness the concrete wall offered her. She had just finished what she mockingly called Introduction Torture, though it was more of a way to see how they had improved over the past month of summer break. Needless to say, Lily had taken the time to go shopping and see what could be found in Longnan, whether they be useless baubles or pretty dresses. She'd found a rather lovely one of the latter a few days prior. It was a traditional Chinese dress with a cut by both of her thighs, allowing for free movement while still protecting her modesty. It was a pretty thing, she thought, sleeveless and with a primarily red colouration, black swirls and shapes decorating it, and lined with black sewn with an easily visible silver thread. Had she known that Ikari would throw her into the Dummy Room, as it was often called by the students, to strike down hard light holograms for five hours, she wouldn't have worn it. It would reek of sweat for days to come. [i]And here I was hoping to surprise Tsuki with it as well. First time I'm wearing it, too,[/i] she thought, opening her eyes and staring at the ceiling without really seeing it. "I wonder what Tsuki's doing? Not to mention that weird guy... Sindri, was it? Freaky as fuck, but... mildly interesting." She glanced around, fast for her in her tired state, but relatively slow otherwise. "I hope he didn't hear that." She sat there for another few minutes, recuperating some of the energy she had lost. She had been so tired that she had reverted to her human form once she was told that she was done, not at all feeling up to the task of dragging all those tails with her. Even with her enhanced strength and endurance, she was simply too tired at that point. With a groan she finally stood up, legs wobbly as she stumbled down the hallway, heading for one of the mini trains that would leave her to the living quarters where her room was. At least she could sit down in the few minutes it took for her to arrive. ----- About five minutes later she found herself in front of the door to her rooms. She opened it and entered, unceremoniously slamming the door behind her as she went for the bathroom, already working on taking off her dress. The next few minutes was spent undoing her braid, undoing the obscene lengths of hair. Sometimes she wondered why she kept it so long, but then she always reminded herself that she liked it. Either that, or Tsukiko would remind her that it was some sort of reminder of her time with Max, as she hadn't cut it since he died... or she would simply start brushing it for her, silencing any and all complaints in the meantime. [i]Yeah, not cutting it anytime soon,[/i] she thought, finally untangling the last bits and stepping into the shower, warm water washing over her and soothing both aching muscles and quickly removing the residue sweat. She sighed appreciatively, closing her eyes and lifting her head to the stream of water, smiling into it as her mind returned to the past month. More than one of those days had been spent with Tsukiko, both shopping and chatting. As well as training and sparring which the teachers had outright demanded that they do. She stepped out of the shower several minutes later, refreshed and with far more energy now than she had previously. The drying, however, was an arduous process, owed entirely to the fact that drying her hair took so long. Once done with that, she tied it back into its signature braid, letting the lingering moisture in it help hold the individual hairs together. She stepped out of the bathroom, stark naked, and threw her dirty clothes into the corner, and was about to head for the drawer to get something to wear when something yanked her braid behind her. She whirled around, ready to send whoever was pulling it flying, and shout at them at the same time. What she saw gave her pause, however. Behind her sat a small-ish, japanese girl with long, unkempt brown hair, a pair of green, slitted eyes and twin pair of cat tails. A pair of feline ears atop her head completed her look. Tsukiko sat there, playfully batting at Lily’s long braid with both her hands, sending it back and forth like some cat’s toy while chanting a constant, high pitched “Nya nya, nya ya, nya nya.” “Tsuki, you…” Lily chuckled, running a hand down her face as she beheld the painfully adorable thing that was her girlfriend. “When do you ever get tired of that whole ‘Nya’ thing?” At Lily’s voice, Tsukiko looked up, an innocent smile on her lips as she balled up her hands and held them in front of her in the imitation of paws. “Nya?” “You are impossible, you know that?” Lily asked, smiling as she turned away from Tsukiko and headed for the dresser. She withdrew a dress similar to the one she had worn earlier, but a bit shorter and plainer. [url=http://image.dhgate.com/albu_291235339_00/1.0x0.jpg]This one went to just above the knees, and was blue with several images of lotus blossoms.[/url] A pair of white socks and a strange sort of boots made of cloth, with ribbons attached to the shoe itself meant to tie around the shin of the wearer. A small illusion woven around the knot ensured that it looked like it was just a piece of uninterrupted ribbon. “I don’t understand why you go to such lengths for those shoes of yours. Not like you could just use a normal pair of ballerina shoes like I do,” Tsukiko interjected from behind, tails swishing back and forth behind her. “Because I like them,” Lily replied, turning around to the cat-girl. “And why do [i]you[/i] constantly walk around like some otaku’s wet dream?” “Because I—uuh—Like it?” She looked away from Lily, an embarrassed blush colouring her cheeks as she realised her earlier remark was rendered void. “Touché,” she muttered. “Anywho, wanna go for something to eat? I’m starving!” “You’re always starving,” Lily said, chuckling as she walked to the door. “I’m n-” Any further denials or retorts were silence as by Lily reaching up to scratch her behind the ears, earning a pleased purr instead. [i]Works every time.[/i] ---- The two of them made their way towards the cafeteria, the largest one in what was pretty much the centre of the Academy. It had everything—close to everything. Even two years down the line, Lily still found herself filling her plate to the point where it could hold no longer; just as she had the first day she arrived and saw just how much food was available. The first day she hadn’t been able to do much of anything for hours after eating, having stuffed herself to the point of getting sick. She had always lived on the bare minimum of food, scraping together what she could and when she could, occasionally getting a “proper” meal in some run-down cafe after she had “relieved” some random passerby of his, or her, wallet. Cash was still a thing, something which she found mildly surprising given how almost every other type of transaction was made via the internet. “So what’re you going to get?” Tsukiko asked, hungrily eyeing the various plates filled with sea-food: fish, shrimps, crabs and everything else from the sea, tails swishing erratically behind her in anticipation. She had always had a thing for seafood, having grown up in a coastal village in Japan, but things had only gotten worse after she became a Bakeneko Shifter. Whether it was actually that her preference of such foods had increased, or if it was just an act, was unknown to Lily, but she found it entertaining nevertheless. “Think I’m gonna go for a proper beef. Haven’t had one in ages.” Tsukiko snorted, lifting her nose into the air. “Suit yourself. You don’t know what you’re missing.” Her pretence of aloofness fell away, replaced by the previous look of hunger and anticipation. “I, for one, will stuff myself in some salmon and fried shrimps!” She didn’t have time to reply before Tsukiko had run off, already filling her plate with smoked salmon and fried shrimp, entirely foregoing any sort of vegetables. She shook her head and went about getting something to eat herself. ---- Nearly an hour had passed, and Lily was stuffed, as was Tsukiko. They had finished eating after the first half hour, then started chatting about everything and nothing. Twenty minutes had passed with that before Tsukiko announced that it was time for dessert, at which point she bought a couple of muffins for the both of them. That, coupled with the previous lunch, was almost too much for Lily’s stomach, and she wondered if she’d ever be able to eat again. [i]I wonder what that weirdo is doing,[/i] Lily thought, her mind turning to Sindri as Tsukiko was detailing a sparring fight she had had with one of the other Bakeneko. It was interesting, but not overly so, so she couldn’t quite help her mind from wonder. [i]For that matter, I wonder if anything’s going to happen, soon. Something interesting, perhaps?[/i]