Seraphim and Minerva

Minerva would have paid Seraphim for the training if it had crossed her mind but as much as Seraphim had thought she was helping Minerva, the mousey kawaii thought the same. She was going to turn the white haired wrestler from surly and distant to cheerful and self confident if it killed her. Minerva nodded at Seraphim's words. "Hai! Sensei-sama!" She took off after her new coach and got to her side. "I'm not soo bad at running." She said as soft pants escaped her. "After enough beatings you kinda get good at getting a good running start when some sempai gives you the evil eye." She tilted her head up at Seraphim and smiled, her cheeks a little rosy from embarrassment.

Oh good, so at least she could run well. Speed was one thing, but how long would she last? Truth be told, this wasn't about a certain distance, it was more along the lines of 'keep running until you drop', and Seraphim wanted to get a good measurement of where her limit was. That was really the main reasoning, Seraphim wanted to get some general ideas of what Minerva's capacity for certain things were, so she started off small. It was really adorable how she called her Sensei though, and Seraphim was half tempted to just say how cute that was, but the way she added the part about going through beatings was a bit disheartening, and Seraphim fell silent after that.

When they left the alleyway, heading through the streets of town, it was revealed that they were downtown, and actually pretty close to the poorer districts of the town. Truth be told, Seraphim's apartment was pretty close to here, but they wouldn't go there, Seraphim was just going to keep running through the maze of run down stores, five to ten story apartments, and dilapidated buildings until Minerva caved in. "So, Mine-chan?" Seraphim said as she ran, taking in longer, deep breaths, knowing it would help her maintain a good stamina by keeping a good air supply in her lungs. "Have you ever been here before?"

It was true that Minerva was better at sprinting than long distance running but with Seraphim at her side, especially with them talking, she felt she could at least run for a little bit. Though her technique lacked as she took tinier breaths. "I live down town!" She said. "But I don't come to these parts very often. Really only when I am trying to find Lethe-chan." She pointed upwards. "I live up there." She pointed over to where the skyscrapers were. She lived in one of the suites in the wealthier parts of the city. Her family was fairly well off but it wasn't something she spoke of. Despite being well off, she was someone who knew the value of money. She rarely used her parents money, living off her AFW earnings and other part time jobs.

Downtown? So then.. she wasn't very far then, was she? Maybe... maybe Seraphim could visit her some time? It was certainly something she thought about and a possibility. But when Seraphim glanced to see where she pointed, Seraphim's crimson eye widened a bit, surprised and a bit jealous of this. She lived in such a wealthy district! And yet.. she was as weak as a fly, just.. just why on earth was she fighting?? When that name was said again though, it was a reminder to Seraphim of just why Minerva fought, and as well, Seraphim found herself trying to remember, wondering where else she heard that name. Lethe... someone else said that name before once, but she couldn't remember, it was on the tip of Seraphim's mind and she couldn't recall.

"Damnit... you put my living space completely to shame." Seraphim said with a sigh as she kept running while they were venturing down the sidewalks through the darker parts of the town. It didn't seem terribly dangerous, just old and rundown. But during certain hours, this place was one of the worst, as there were often gang wars and crooked cops. Fortunately, Seraphim was smart enough to bring Minerva here during a much calmer time, and the two managed their run, nearly a half a mile now without any trouble. "You have got to let me visit some time." Seraphim said with a smirk as she ran beside Minerva, trying to slow her pace a bit so the girl could keep up.

Minerva blushed and turned her head when Speraphim complimented her living quarters. "Thank you Sera-San, but it's just a place to live. A home is wonderful no matter what it looks like if it's filled with love." Though she was smiling and her words were very optimistic, they subtely lacked the usual chirp to them. After about a mile Minerva was feeling fatigued but she had decided that she would at least make it three miles and so her determination hadn't waivered yet.

She seemed to get an extra burst of speed as Seraphim asked to come visit, her joy visible in her face and movements as she practically leaped forward and cheered. "Mine-chan would love that! She can show you Kuma-sama and and Mine-chan can cook Sera-San dinner!" She was talking so fast that she had forgotten she was running and stumbled and fell. She winced and tears tugged at the corner of her eyes but she shook her head.

She jogged in place and looked up at Sparaphim with determined eyes. "No bump will stop me Sensei-sama!" She said and continued with a huff. She then put on a smile. "The Kuma-sama approved Super Awesome Training Armor even kept my knee from scraping!" She said the last part to herself. When she got going again she looked over at Seraphim with a bright smile.

"Sera-San is welcome at Mine-chan's home anytime she wants to visit. My parents are never home so they won't mind."

Well, one thing was certainly for certain; Minerva truly had a lot of spirit today. She could only wish this cute, optimistic side of her was around all the time, rather than the wimpy little coward she had seen before who had no self confidence in herself. Minerva really was taking a change for the better today, and Seraphim couldn't help but notice it. Even when she briefly fell to the ground, it didn't stop her, as the two picked up the pace even.

Minerva's offer though and how pleased she was by the fact of having Seraphim over was really something though. It brought a soft grin to the one-eyed girl's lips, and she let out a soft laugh to herself, the look on her face almost a bit childish as she giggled. "Thanks Mine-chan, I'll certainly be sure to visit then. In most cases, Seraphim was a very stern individual with a rough exterior, but she could hardly keep up such an act around Minerva, instead just smiling at the idea like she was a school girl herself all over again.

After nearly the second mile though, Seraphim turned them in towards another alleyway, this one between two buildings that were about four stories high each, and when Seraphim came to the end of three brick walls that boxed them in, Seraphim turned around, taking a few moments to catch her breath before seeing how Minerva was doing. They were just warming up; now it was time for the next bit of practice.

Truth be told, Minerva was running mostly on adrenaline. The excitement at the thought of Seraphim wanting to visit her was enough to keep her going and she too had a bright smile on her face. When they stopped all she came crashing down from the high and sank to her knees panting heavily. The fall had taken more out of her that she thought and the bear ears drooped to emphasize the point. Her small tongue hung out cute and she tried to stand. She managed, though she was wobbly. "Not... gonna... quit... sensei... sama..." She huffed. She turned and clutched onto Seraphim and leaned her head against her. Though she was just catching her breath she seemed to also be giving Seraphim a small hug. "I want to make you proud... I want to be proud..."

Though Seraphim only needed a few moments to catch her breath, simply wiping a bit of sweat from her brow and feeling like she could run several miles more, the one-eyed fighter could see that Minerva was completely exhausted already, practically falling to the ground to prove it. Seraphim always thought of 'tough love' when it came to ust about everything, so she had just watched her quietly at first, adjusting her eyepatch briefly as she looked at Minerva. It wasn't bad really, a lot of people didn't even have the endurance to run one mile, but Minerva got about two before they finished, or rather, before they took a short break.

"H-Hey, knock it off." Seraphim said with a nervous smile when Minerva practically fell into her, grabbing in a sort of desperate hug as she panted heavily, her tongue even hanging out a little like she was completely tapped out. It was knd of cute actually, and it was hard to resist not taking her in and for ust a moment, embracing a brief hug. Heck, she even found herself giving a light peck with her lips upon Minerva's forehead, only to flick her nose a moment later to get her to straiten up. "You'll make me proud, but first, we need to move on to the next part of testing your abilities." Seraphim said with a rather casual turn, poking her finger against the girl's forehead with enough force to push her away as she constantly pushed back, hoping to get her to stop. She would then use her other hand to point towards a large metal piping that scaled the four story brick apartment complex, and as if it was the simplist thing in the world, Seraphim told Minerva what to do.

"Climb that pipe to the roof as quick as you can."

Minerva had forgotten for a moment about the serious business when Seraphim kissed her, Mine even nuzzling Sera. She was shocked back into attention by the poke and stood to attention, her bear ears perking up as well. "Hai sensei-sama! Serious business! Mine-chan is ready" She then looked up to where Seraphim pointed and her mouth fell agape. She swallowed hard and nervously walked to it. She grabbed the first pipe and tested it's stability. She then brought up a foot and climbed a little bit. She got a few inches off the ground and clung to the piping. "I-Is it safe?" She questioned nervously, all her previous bravado sapped from her. She shut her eyes and attempted one more shaky step and held fast to her new position.

There was something remarkably adorable to the way Minerva reacted to everything, and that hoodie she wore wasn't making it any easier to resist from smiling at or adoring. Seraphim knew she couldn't let it get to her head, but something in her wanted to give Minerva a bit of a.. presant later, only if she'd accept it. Of course, Seraphim did her best not to let her mind get in the gutter, nodding suddenly as she focused back on the task at hand.

"Yea-yea, it's fine, I do it all the time, I'll be down here to catch ya if you fall." Seraphim said casually, as if this was all just a simple test before she gave the girl a swift strike with her palm on Minerva's rear, ushering her to go. She was half tempted to say 'I dare you', but she promised herself not to really use that against the girl, it hardly seemed fair. After all, she wanted to see her for the normal girl that she was and make her learn, not just have her do it simply because of the dare. So, Serpahim crossed her arms, watching the girl with a calm look and tossing a confident grin to her student, watching her go.