Leonel and Aina's gaze met, both clearly able to see the other's surprise. However, after a moment, they found it easier to accept.
When Leonel spoke with Sael, the overseer of the Brave City trial at the time, he learned that Valiant Heart Mountain would be teleporting all its candidates at once in order to save on costs.
Though Leonel didn't think much of it at the time, it was clear that Valiant Heart Mountain wasn't in the best of positions at the moment if they were penny pinching to that extent. But, Leonel didn't care much. He already had a great distrust of organizations. The only reason he was going was because of Aina. At least this way, he could make sure she wouldn't have to deal with any injustices.
Of course, Leonel also had no idea that Sael had already reported him to the higher ups of Valiant Heart Mountain, causing a fissure to appear in upper management. The details of this matter, though, would be left unknown to Leonel for a long while. But, it seemed that those of Valiant Heart Mountain saw this as an opportunity as well, not having any idea that the supposed Morales Clan Heir they were banking their futures on was completely ignorant to his status.
"I guess we should prepare." Leonel finally spoke.
Aina nodded. "I'm going to go change."
Aina stood up and hesitated seeing all the dishes that lay empty. She couldn't just leave them here.
Leonel grinned. "Let me watch you change and I'll wash the dishes."
Aina blushed furiously, glaring at Leonel.
"Pervert."
Leonel laughed as Aina ran away, picking up the dishes that were left.
"Is there a dishwasher?" Leonel asked the dictionary, hoping for the best.
Luckily, he wasn't disappointed. After rinsing the dishes a bit and stuffing the machine full, Leonel turned his attention to his own clothing change.
Stripping off the tatters that remained of his clothing, he slipped on the white hammer pants given to him by Sael and tightly wrapped the cloth belt around his waist.
Leonel couldn't help but grin. He felt like he was Aladdin, so where was his genie?
Shaking his head to get rid of his childish thoughts, Leonel adjusted the cloth belt so that its end dangle between his legs, revealing the hidden ancient patterns.
Finally, he pulled out the Egyptian like neckwear.
'Heavy...' Leonel thought as he had the almost solid piece of black steel in his hand. The neck piece alone was at least 50 pounds, it had quite the heft to it.
Aina walked in to find Leonel changing in the kitchen. Toward such a scene, she really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Didn't he have his own bedroom? What was he doing?
Then again, now that she thought about it, Leonel's room had become the place the two of them slept in. So, maybe it couldn't really be considered 'his room' anymore.
Aina blushed slightly, but quickly shook her head to tease Leonel for his ridiculous choice of location. Unfortunately, before she could, Leonel stood his full height, his backview enveloping her vision.
His tanned skin seemed to emit a slight sheen of bronze, the definition of his back and the way it flexed slightly with his every movement made Aina flashback to moments when her hands ran across those deep trenches. It was the kind of back she could rely on, the kind she had laid upon as Leonel stomped out her worst fears.
Aina blushed from something other than embarrassment, turning her head away and pretending as though she hadn't seen anything.
Why did Valiant Heart Mountain have such a provocative dress code?
What Aina didn't know was that as she looked away, Leonel sensed her presence and looked back only to have the same exact thought she had had.
The only difference between the male uniform and the female uniform was a second cloth band that wrapped around the chest. But, this one was white to match the pants rather than being the same black as the cloth belt.
However, this only served to leave Leonel short of breath. He had understood ever since that day in the bathhouse why Aina also wore that loose fitting military garb. But, seeing her wear such a thing practically stopped his heart.
The way her pants clung to her hips, the subtle but feminine definition of her abs after every breath, the way her chest cloth elegantly curved to display those two delicacies that Leonel could still faintly feel on his palms...
Leonel had seen his fair share of women who were even more scantily clad than this. But, only Aina could make his heart flutter.
"Hm?" Aina jumped, but she couldn't run away before Leonel's hands were already on her hips.
The blush on her face had still yet to vanish, making her all the more alluring.
"Wait! The teleportation is --."
Leonel's lips sealed her own.
Aina's eyes widened, but after a moment, she seemed to fall victim to Leonel's advances. Her hands found their way to that very back she was dreaming of tracing, her eyes closing as she lost herself in another world.
Leonel pulled back, grinning. Aina's eyes slowly opened, only to feel as though a devil was smiling down at her.
Aina looked away, trying to avoid his gaze. But what she saw in her surroundings made her want to dive back into his arms before finding a hole to crawl into.
What should have been the Segmented Cube's kitchen had suddenly become the midway point of a mountain larger than anything Aina had ever seen.
At the mountain pass, there were two pillars, each over a hundred meters tall and inscribed with the images of war and roaring beasts. Their presence alone, despite being so far away, made the Gates of Brave City seem like nothing more than child's play.
However, what had Aina wanting to hide away wasn't the mountain, nor the pillars, nor even the floating islands in the distance... it was the fact that there were suddenly thousands of youths around them, each at this very same mountain pass.
Leonel laughed at Aina's flustered reaction. Isn't this what she gets for teasing him all the time? He finally got a bit of revenge.
Ah, it tasted sweet. Now that he thought about it, she tasted quite sweet too. He almost wanted another taste.
However, his good mood didn't last very long.
"If I had a face like that, I'd be looking for a place to hide too."