"Hmm?" said Machia, taking your phone out of your pocket. She leans down over you, hair brushing your cheek, as she uses it to scan your face. With a chime it opens and she sits back up, free hand still gripping your hair.

"Well, she [i]has [/i]asked for you. And you're telling me that if I untie you now you'll go right over there and let her do whatever she wants to this body I've worked so hard on? Some would call that ungrateful. Some would be jealous. All that for a coin flip. If you draw the wrong team after letting her work on you, you [i]will [/i]lose. If you don't - then do you think that her work will give you more of an edge than mine?"

She pats your head. "I'm going to enforce some thinking about it time. That means coffee will have to wait. Try to stay awake for me, okay?" She pinched a nerve on your shoulder, an electric little reminder.

She flicked through the next message. "Li Teng, Kias and Musashi are all training together and have asked you to join them," she said. "Low energy offer. That's Musashi sizing everyone up for her sword, she'll get more out of that than anyone else will. You can accept, if you'd like, even if that might make some people jealous. You can ask me nicely to untie you. Maybe I do, and you walk right out that door. Or... you could get comfortable and trust that I know what's best for you."