Fool's Gold | God Tamer x Tiso

Chapter 7 - In Which Tiso Prepares for a Rematch

"I had been too desperate to see. I guess... I still am desperate."

Tiso trains to recover all the strength he's lost to be able to challenge Tamer once again. Tamer has multiple chats with him about why she thinks he shouldn't do that.

—

It wasn't much longer until Tiso's injuries had healed. He wasn't back to perfect, he could still feel pains in his gut, and his arm was always sore, but he was healed.

Tamer was right about the scaring. He took off his bandages to find his shell wore the permanent reminders of the battle, the worst of which being the stab to his gut. The injury had turned into a jagged scar, large and nasty. Tiso grew nauseous at the sight of it.

He tried to begin wielding his weapon again, which was slow at first. Tiso had never been a patient bug, and he became frustrated with his lack of progress easily. He practiced in his room, away from Tamer, not wanting to listen to her snarky comments about his state. Many times a flash of pain would flare up his arm, causing him to drop his weapon and clutter on the ground. It took him many days of practice before he could get this to stop happening.

During this time, he stopped watching Tamer's fights. Now that he was well, he wanted all the time he could to train, to return to his former glory, and watching Tamer fight did nothing to help forward that goal. She seemed surprised the first time he declined her offer, but shrugged it off. She asked again the next day, and Tiso gave the same response, then again the day after that, Tiso still declined. He assumed that after a while of this she would take the hint and stop asking, but she never did. It had become so consistent that he used her as a clock. At the same time every day, she would ask, and at the same time every day, Tiso would say no.

Even so, he kept going to the hot spring with her, hoping that a few more trips would fix his arm for good. She made conversation with him like she always did, but Tiso didn't do much to engage in them. The only thing he could think about was the state of his own strength. In the hot springs, he planned what his training would be for the next day.

When he feels he's got his arm under control, he stops going to the hot spring with Tamer as well. He tells her he doesn't need it anymore, as his wounds are healed, and Tamer just nods in understanding. This didn't stop her from continuing to ask if he'd like to join her after her battles in the arena. Tiso always says no.

He spends all his time training in his room, trying to regain his strength. He's happy to be getting his blood pumping again, clearing his head and giving him energy. The room is small, so he doesn't have the space to do much, but as each day passes, he becomes comfortable again in his own shell. He can feel himself getting stronger, and eventually, he reaches a point where he can't recall the last time his arm froze up.

One night while Tiso was winding down his training for the day, there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find Tamer, looking... agitated? It's hard to tell what emotion she was feeling, her helmet was on, but he could see that she had been impatiently tapping her foot before he opened the door.

What could she want? She's already had her match for the day, and she had already asked him to join her in the hot spring as well. But before he could ask, she spoke, her voice blunt and accusatory.

"Are you avoiding me or something?" she asks him. Her eyes stare right through him, and he can't help the prick of fear that comes from it.

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking– You know what I'm talking about," her stare became fiercer. "You don't watch my fights, and you don't come to the hot springs with me either."