The days pass quickly, and before she realizes it, several days have gone by since her last training session with Toji.

Helia has gone about her maid duties, tending to various tasks around the Zenin compound, and avoiding as many encounters as she could with her annoying and stubborn training partner.

Today is her day off and she decides to spend some time in town with Anna, her fellow maid and most trusted confidant. At least today she won't have to clean Toji's toilets.

The two of them walk through the bustling streets, enjoying the freedom and the change of scenery from the Zenin compound.

Anna and Helia chat and laugh, taking a break from the usual routine and duties, if only for a little while.

They both enter a jewelry shop, a quaint and cozy space filled with various glittering pieces on display.

Anna's eyes widen with excitement, and she immediately begins admiring a selection of earrings on display. She lets out a soft gasp of awe and turns to Helia.

"Just look at these! Aren't they absolutely gorgeous?"

Anna's enthusiasm is contagious, and Helia can't help but agree with her.

"They are." She says, examining the earrings more closely. The silver gleams under the light, the intricately designed patterns catching her eye.

As they move further into the shop, Helia notices some beautiful necklaces, pendants, and bracelets displayed in neat rows.

Anna is practically mesmerized, her eyes darting from one sparkling piece to the next.

Helia browses the various jewelry items, when a particular bracelet catches her eye. The bluish hue of the gemstones seems to shimmer and sparkle under the shop's lighting.

Anna, noticing her gaze, follows her line of sight and sees the bracelet Helia is looking at. "Ooh, that one's beautiful!" She exclaims, her eyes lingering on the bracelet.

Helia nods. "I think that I'm going to take it. It's really beautiful."

Anna's excitement is clear on her face as she hears Helia's decision.

"Oh, yes, you absolutely should get it!" She says, practically bubbling with excitement. "It's truly stunning. You'd look gorgeous wearing it."

Helia smile to Anna thanking her and turning to the shopkeeper. "Excuse me, how much is this one?" She points at the blue bracelet.

The shopkeeper quickly moves over to where she's standing, his eyes falling on the beautiful bracelet she has chosen.

"Ah, excellent choice. That one..." He carefully picks up the bracelet, examining it closely before answering her question.

"That particular bracelet is priced at 500,000 yen."

Helia's eyes widen. That's way above her budget as a maid. She can't afford it. "Oh, alright thank you sir."

She turns to Anna and forces a smile on her face. "I don't think that I'm going to take it actually."

Anna's expression falls slightly, disappointment clearly written on her face, but she quickly tries to mask it with a comforting smile.

"Oh, I understand. It is quite expensive." She says, sympathetic to her predicament. "Maybe another time, though?"

Helia smiles. "Yes."

Anna nods understandingly, trying to keep up the positive facade.

[...]

The day progresses, and their trip to town continues with a gastronomical feast. Ice cream, pancakes, waffles - the two of them seem to consume an endless amount of sweet treats, laughing and enjoying the delicious food.

As the day draws to a close, Helia and Anna make their way back to the Zenin compound, their stomachs full of all the delicious food they consumed throughout the day.

They're both feeling content and satisfied, enjoying the warmth of the late afternoon sun on their faces, ignoring the small ache in their stomach.

[...]

The night has settled in, casting a dark, serene blanket over the grounds. Helia had just finished making her report to Naobito.

This time again, she didn't have anything to provide him.

Even if she searches Toji's room every time he leaves her cleaning his toilets, she hasn't found anything since that letter. She was wondering if Naobito was growing impatient or not.

She's now on her way to the training grounds, her stomach is still feeling a bit sore from the excessive amount of food she consumed throughout the day.

However, she does her best to push the discomfort aside, focusing on the upcoming session with Toji.

When Helia arrives at the training grounds, she sees Toji already waiting, his arms crossed and leaning against a nearby tree.

He spots her approach and pushes himself off the tree, his eyes locking onto her with that same familiar intense gaze.

"Took you long enough." He remarks gruffly, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up at all."

Helia looks at the time before turning back to him. "I'm not even late!"

He huffs in response, the annoyance still evident in his expression. He's definitely not in a particularly friendly mood tonight. Not that he usually is.

"Doesn't matter. You're here now, let's get started." He says gruffly, gesturing towards the center of the training grounds.

As the training session begins, Helia is trying to ignore the growing pain in her stomach.

She's doing her best to focus on the task at hand, blocking and dodging Toji's attacks with a determined effort.

However, the discomfort she's experiencing does not go unnoticed by Toji, and he starts to pick up on the slight changes in her movements.

"You're moving even slower than usual." He remarks, the annoyance in his voice laced with a hint of accusation. "What's the deal? You sick or something?"

Helia doesn't really want to tell him that she ate too much because she knows he will make stupid comments. But she still answers.

"Today was my rest day, I went to town and ate a lot of food."

His irritated expression falters for a brief moment, replaced by a flicker of surprise.

"You went to town, ate too much, and now you're training with a full stomach? That's your excuse? You better not throw up on me, you hear?"

She replies in an annoyed tone. "Yes! I just wanted to taste a few things alright?! Don't worry I won't throw up on your 'beautiful' clothes."

He rolls his eyes at her sarcasm, his annoyance returning in full force. He crosses his arms over his chest and lets out a scoff.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't blame me if you end up regretting your food choices later. I'm not gonna waste my time cleaning up your mess if you puke all over the place."

"I'm not going to throw up!" She yells back.

[...]

The training session continues, and despite the discomfort in her stomach, Helia pushes through and continues to spar with Toji for another two hours.

His attacks are relentless and unforgiving, clearly not holding back despite her condition.

He finally calls it quits. His voice is gruff as he gives the command to stop.

"That's enough for today." He says, his eyes scanning her face, noticing the hints of pain and exhaustion even as she tries to hide it.

Helia sighs relieved. "Finally..."

Her sigh of relief does not go unnoticed by Toji. His eyes linger on her for a moment.

"Don't get too comfortable. You're lucky I'm not making you train longer for being so careless and stuffing yourself with food." He remarks gruffly, crossing his arms across his chest.

Helia shots him an angry glare. "You're heartless."

He returns her glare with his usual cool and somewhat mocking demeanor, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Am I now?" He retorts, a hint of mockery in his voice. "Maybe I should make you train for an extra hour just for that little glare you gave me. How does that sound?"

His eyebrows raise slightly in mild surprise that Helia didn't respond to his threat.

She was too focused on not throwing up to acknowledge his stupid remarks. He lets out a huff before continuing.

"I was wondering something."

She looks at him, still breathing deeply. "Yes?"

"Why did you got me locked up, a while ago?"

Toji's question catches her off guard. She would never forget when she got him locked up for weeks.

But she hesitates to answer, because she doesn't want to make him angry, she doesn't know how he could react.

His eyes bore into Helia, waiting for her to reply.

"Well, what?" He prompts, his voice impatient. "Don't hold back now. Spit it out."

"You're the one who asked me about this, don't get mad at me later."

His irritation is obvious now as he responds, his tone sharp and impatient.

"I won't get mad if you just answer the question. So, go on. Tell me why you decided to get me locked up."

She takes a deep breath before speaking.

"Well, you were kind of a jerk, and you did something really awful to me, but not only to me. You were also being an asshole to every maid. And that's why we decided to take revenge on you because everybody hated you very much and most of us still do."

She had spoken without stopping. She didn't mention the fact that she had to go through a whipping thanks to him, because the memory of it was still painful.

His eyes widen, he clearly hadn't expected such a detailed and honest response.

The mention of how much everyone in the compound seemed to dislike him seems to hit a nerve as a flicker of anger momentarily flashes in his eyes.

"You decided to get me locked up...just because I was a jerk to you and the other maids?" He repeats, his voice laced with a mix of disbelief and annoyance.

"Well yes, all the maids hate you and think you're a bastard because you treat us like shit. We were all very happy when you got locked up."

At this point, his anger is becoming more apparent. His usual cool demeanor falters as he lets out a scoff of annoyance.

"You're seriously telling me that you all were happy when I got locked up because I didn't treat you all like porcelain dolls?" He retorts, his voice dripping with sarcasm and irritation.

"Yes! Because you were treating us as if we were insignificant! You spent your time humiliating us and scaring us!"

He grumbles in frustration as Helia continues to recite his wrongs. He crosses his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing as he responds.

"So, what, you expected me to be nice and friendly with you all? I don't have time for that kind of bullshit."

Helia sighs. "It's exactly that mindset that led us to hate you. You could have at least treated us properly! The other members of the clan are very nice to us, you're the only one who's awful!"

His annoyance seems to intensify at her words, his jaw clenching as he responds.

"The other members of the clan are soft and weak." He snaps. "You're all servants, not guests. I don't have to treat you with kid gloves just because you can't handle a bit of toughness."

As she sees his anger flare up, Helia decides to calm the conversation a little. He's still a dangerous and unstable person, she wouldn't want him to hurt her.

"You told me you wouldn't get angry if I answered your question, remember?"

He scowls in annoyance, clearly not happy that she's pointing out his own words.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." He mutters begrudgingly. "But I didn't expect you to hit me with a laundry list of things you and the maids dislike about me. Not exactly something to be happy about, you know."

"It's only the truth, when you are mean to people, you can't expect them to show kindness in return."

His irritation softens slightly as he considers her words. Although he's not exactly thrilled to be criticized, there's a hint of reluctant agreement in his expression. But he doesn't answer.

She knows he's not going to change soon but at least he seems to understand her point. She looks at the time before speaking again.

"Well, it was nice talking but I should get going. Goodbye."

He grunts in response, giving her a dismissive wave. He watches as she turns to leave, his expression still bearing a hint of annoyance, but it's clear her words have softened him, slightly.

"See ya." He mutters as she walks away.

Now that he's alone, he can't help but reflect on their conversation. It's a rare occasion when someone has the nerve to speak to him like that.

He was used to people kissing his ass and being afraid of him, but she had stood up to him and called him out for his rude behavior.

That fact both annoyed him and piqued his interest at the same time.

Her directness and boldness are intriguing to him. It's a trait that he rarely encounters, especially from someone in her position.

"Cocky little..." He cuts off his own thought, realizing that he was almost about to compliment her indirectly.

He quickly shakes his head and pushes the thought away.

•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•=•

Hey! How are you doing?

So how was that chapter? Let me know your thoughts!

See you in the next chapter!

Sarah ☆