Hunger

Fucked

I think you like her.

"God damn it, X." Zero cursed as he sat up in his recharge station.

It has been several months since Zero started training Iris. In that time, she had improved at a steady pace and on her own time. He'd be lying if he didn't say he wasn't impressed. Despite this, X's words still hung around Zero's head like an obnoxious fly. At first, he would have even denied it with all his heart and soul. But now?

Letting out an exhausted groan, Zero got out of the charge station and wandered upstairs to the S Class training rooms. On the way, he passed by some Navigators and lower field agents who spent their time working the dead shift- none of them talked to him, but it could have been that he looked too bitter to even bother. The red Reploid made his way to the training room he and Iris had been using; it was his personal training room, mind you, and as such kept all the detailed records of whatever training transpired there. Zero continued to wander to the control station and settled himself in the ridiculously comfortable chair residing there. After booting up the control station, the red Reploid then started to review the last training sessions on Iris's progress.

In reality, Iris's combative abilities had reached a plateau. You could see the frustration growing in Iris as she kept missing attacks on certain enemies, and eventually lose to them. Zero had attempted a scan at her mind while training went on, finding that her learning processes just stopped at new enemies now. Unless the enemies displayed an attack pattern she had already memorized, Iris could not learn off of them to properly be the victor. He could still send her out on field missions, need it be, but the risk of her not learning off a bigger bad stopped him.

"I want to see what her limitations are." he had told X, and he had found them. "I want to push her to her limit." he insisted to his friend, and he now had all evidence to decide that this was certainly the case. Maybe she wasn't trying hard enough now? No... No that wasn't the case, brain scans affirmed that much. Maybe she didn't care anymore? No, that look of determination in her eyes was as undeniable as the sunrise. Maybe they had gotten too close- Zero was the one that wasn't letting Iris grow to her fullest potential.

I think you like her.

"Shut up X." Zero hissed under his breath, despite knowing his friend was sound asleep in his own room. The red Reploid then let out a disgusted growl as he went over the training routines. They involved the Ride Armor Iris was using, and since she was no longer showing improvement with the Ride Armor, perhaps it was time to take it off. Zero bit his lip as he worked through the details. Yes, getting Iris out of the Ride Armor had to work. He wasn't ready to let her finish training yet, she still had work to do.

He still had time to spend with her.

. . .

"Faster." Zero demanded as Iris fumbled her way through the course.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Iris huffed at him as she made a quick dodge under some lasers.

"Not fast enough!" her superior barked back.

Iris attempted to hold back a nasty grumble as she went through the training course. No Ride Armor- only her stripped wit and a good hack-slash to the side. If her memories held up, this was the first time he ever made her do this, and he sure as hell wasn't going easy on her. What happened to making sure she didn't get hurt so Colonel wasn't aware of what they were doing?

"Iris, pay attention!" Zero hollered after a Batton nearly crashed into her. She had seen it coming, she had registered that it was coming for her, but her systems couldn't find a way to get rid of it other than to duck at last minute. It was a stupid move, and at the way Zero was taking this session, it wasn't going to reflect well on her score.