Motivation (Rewrite)

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

Woah, third week in a row?? Maybe I can actually do this updating regularly shit!

This chapter covers the old chapter four and five, with a weeeee bit of the timeline shuffled around and something silly mentioned. Also I'm not forgetting about the fire girl intern this time like I did last time, so y'all have acquired another OC to remember. Have fun! Also this chapter is 4413 words :D

With hair slightly crispy at the ends and tingling hands and forearms, Kazue collapsed in a heap in his desk chair with a heavy exhale. The fight and subsequent offer for assistance had gone pretty much as expected, and he was more than a little disappointed in both of Aerogale's interns. He was a bit doubtful that either of them would actually accept it, a definite change from the previous years before.

While the spar with Amano had been more difficult than with Daguchi due to the matchup, it was nothing special. She, like her fellow intern, was far from close to her full potential, and while Kazue wanted to nudge them in the right direction so they didn't become hazards to society on their first venture into the field, there was no guarantee they'd listen to his advice. He may have heightened the odds by leaving two sheets of paper detailing things they could improve on in Aerogale's office, but again, there was no guarantee they'd listen.

In the meantime, he had paperwork to do before passing it off to his father to sign. The agency didn't run itself, and Kazue was perfectly content to do zero preparation in the ten months before the high school entrance exams in favor of work.

He wasn't overly surprised when two days later rolled around and neither of them had sought him out for the help he'd offered. It was a change from what he was used to, but Kazue wouldn't willingly push the issue unless given a valid reason to do so. Three full days of their internship were nearly over, leaving them with only four left, and while he'd seen the two interns around the agency, not a single word had been exchanged.

That is, until Kazue had wrapped up his work for the day and headed down into the gym for his daily workout. Unlike most other things that he did both willingly and actively, his training schedule had been designed by his father rather than himself.

Now, when he'd initially descended the stairs to the basement, he'd been hoping that it wasn't occupied so he could finish as soon as possible and go back to not having a life in peace. Unfortunately for Kazue, his non-existent life evidently had it out for him. He wasn't alone when he swung open one of the doors at the bottom of the steps, the training level echoing with the sounds of fists on a punching bag accompanied by small noises of exertion.

Kazue didn't immediately enter the gym area, leaning momentarily against the door frame to observe Amano's solo workout. Well, at least he knew one of the interns was following some of his advice. He'd very explicitly outlined her weakness when it came to martial arts, having noted that she heavily relied on her inability to be touched by most people while on fire.

Although maybe Kazue also should have outlined the things she needed to work on in more detail, given that Amano was wincing with every punch. Maybe then she wouldn't be risking breaking her knuckles or splitting the skin between them as her bare fists pummeled the bag.

"You know, you should probably wrap your fists before using them," Kazue couldn't help but comment, noting how she seemed to jump at the suddenness of his voice. It almost reminded him of Iwata when they'd first met, although he'd never really used his 'I'm the son of Number Seven' voice on his father's sidekick. Quite frankly, he wasn't a big fan of how goddamned cocky he sounded, but it got results from cocky people. "Unless you want bloody knuckles, in which case, by all means continue."