A Recipe for disaster (Amélie and Phoenix)

[Amélie Tachibana]

A Recipe for Disaster

A crisp breeze danced through the slats in the recently polished windows, whistling their midday melodies as the sun shone its golden face onto Pilot Ridge. The forecast was sunny, only a few fluffy white clouds adorned the cerulean sky. They were like gigantic battleships made of marshmallows, gracefully soaring overhead and changing shapes from a gorilla to a unicorn to a bowl of noodles. Life was good, no actually, it was great. Hammel had once more opened the gates for a beloved old friend, a young woman who yearned for the familiar sights and sounds that the school had to offer. Old teachers embraced her with open arms and local food stores readied their stock as the most newest addition to Hammel staff made her wholesome entrance.

Amélie Tachibana had finally returned after three years of frolicking around back in Japan. Life there was a lot quicker, the busy city streets and the thrum of hectic marketplaces still reverberating in her ears. Home was where the heart was and the modelesque trainer must of possessed two hearts, one for America and the other for Japan. Settling back into the environment was a little less than a challenge, she was familiar with the environment and the people so moving in posed no real problem.

She had taken the role of student trainer, her specialities lying in clarity of mind and body as one, an interesting description considering she never really trained a student before. Head office had given her all she needed; a timetable, profiles on the possible students on offer and free space to the training room whenever she saw fit. A nice gesture actually, she had already placed two mats on the floor in the center of the room, tranquil music playing in the background.

"Watch out for this one...he's a bit of a handful", the secretaries had warned her she happily assigned herself to a particularly intriguing boy. A boy by the name of Phoenix. The name made her smile, so much so that she had already bought several boxes of donuts to share with her new and mysterious student once the training for the day had ended.

"I'll be fine!" She whispered to herself, echoing what she had told the secretaries. Her stomach growled and her fingers fiddled with the edges of her shirt. She was nervous and excited at the same time. Her first proper student! The donuts were an obvious hint to her own little congratulatory party but were also an easily accessible 'treat' if the tummy wanted something to eat. Amélie sat cross legged in the middle of the room on one of the mats, her shoes neatly placed at the edge of the room right next to a 4 litre bottle of water.

First rule of Yoga, don't wear shoes whilst doing it.

Amélie repeated her little Yoga mantra in her head, hoping that her scripted lines would come out as smoothly as she had planned them. In one hand was a jam donut, half eaten and covered in a thick layer of sugar. A snack before this Phoenix would arrive, something to settle to the jittery nerves.

"He'll be fine...", she whispered aloud, pursing her lips before shoving what remained of the donut into her mouth. Chewing it twice then swallowing it whole. What could possibly be so bad about him? Everyone was probably exaggerating when they warned her to watch out for this student. What could possibly go wrong today?

[Deleted]

Phoenix's last trainer had finally had enough of him. It wasn't surprising - the boy had been through several in his time at Hammel, and almost all of them got fed up eventually. It wasn't so much he was dangerous or hard to control as it was that he was just so apathetic and uncaring about his training. That, along with a sharp, mean tongue and a knack for coming to lessons already having consumed enough dust to make him hallucinate for hours, would be hard for anyone to take for an extended period of time.

And so, he had been assigned a new trainer. The teenager scowled at the name written down on his new lesson sheet - Amélie Tachibana, however the hell he was supposed to pronounce that. Already he was not looking forward to this meeting. With any luck, she'd be a pushover and he could get away with not doing much at all.

He shuffled his way towards the training room he had been given, his back hunched and a sneer already set in place. His black hair was its usual messy self, showing that he had only gotten out of bed recently. At least he had actually bothered to put on clean jeans and a t-shirt, even if both were somewhat wrinkled. As he reached the door, he paused at the entrance, letting out a heavy sigh before stepping inside.

Having taken in some dust a while before, he wasn't surprised to find himself looking into a room full of what appeared to be purple clouds floating around. His translucent wings fluttered a bit as he tried to focus on the single person in the room, a young, attractive woman sitting on a yoga mat, seemingly at ease with the world around her.

Phen hoped he could change that very quickly.

"Are you... Ehm-i-lee?" he mumbled monotonously, not caring if he was saying her name right or not. He twitched his head to flick a strand of hair out of his eyes before taking a few steps further into the room, passing through one of the violet-colored clouds in the process. Once he reached her, he stared at the empty mat as though it was a bed of spikes, totally foreign and unwelcoming.

"I've been through four trainers since I've been at Hammel," he told her slowly, his gaze flicking up from the floor briefly to meet her eyes before he looked back to the hallucinations around him. "What makes ya think you're goin' t' be any different?" His hands were shoved deep in his pockets, as though his words, slouch, and dead gaze weren't enough of a sign that he was very closed-off and unwelcoming of this new situation he found himself forced into.

[Amélie Tachibana]

After several minutes of waiting in silence, finishing a box of eight donuts and downing two litres of water Amélie had begun to grow fidgety, tapping the concrete flooring with her manicured nails. Her student was late. Maybe he was trying to find his way there or had stopped to help someone else. The scenario made the young woman smile, allowing her some peace of mind before the inevitable meeting between the two. Wiping her fingers on the edge of the recently purchased yoga mat, the slender trainer found the time to begin her breathing exercises. Focusing the air in her chest to move like a calm stream, in through her nose and out through her mouth.

One breath. Two breaths. Three -

"Are you... Ehm-i-lee?"

The voice broke her momentary trance, snapping her eyes open and eliciting a giddy grin to pass over her plush lips. Her student had arrived! It took a lot of self control to not jump up and give him a big hug, at least he had arrived. Phoenix, it seemed, wasn't the most well presented boys she has met, he didn't look homeless but he had definitely not ironed his outfit in a long time. Maybe he couldn't find any other clothes! She thought to herself, giving the boy a massive grin as she gracefully stood up with one elegant lift of her body.

"It's pronounced A-me-lee-a, but I didn't expect you to know that", she grinned, bringing her porcelain hand out to shake his own. He looked dazed, possibly drugged, who knows...maybe he was out partying the night before. Shaking the thought out of her mind Amélie strode over to her mat, lightly kicking the pieces of lint off with her bare foot. Her back was turned for a moment, her brow lightly furrowed in deep thought. He definitely sounded tired. Yoga was sure to reinvigorate him!

"Four trainers you say?" Amélie said aloud, perking a well sculpted brow as she turned back to the sullen looking boy. "Well I went through three different trainers when I was here. You just happened to beat my record!" She grinned, running her hand through her hair. "What makes me different? I'm going to treat you like a person and not as a test subject...oh and I have donuts if you're a good boy!" Her voice rose an octave higher at the mention of food and she spun back around on the balls of her feet, making her way back down to a cross legged position on her mat.

"Now! Before we start I want you to kindly remove your shoes and place them over there!" She chirped, pointing to where her own flats were located. "Oh and just for the sake of pleasantries I would like to formally introduce myself! I am Amélie Yuuka Tachibana and I am your new sensei!" She grinned cheekily, stretching her arms high above her head as she waited for Phoenix to move along. Good start so far!

[Deleted]

If Phen had been in a bit less of a haze and not quite so irritated at having yet another trainer, he might have been intrigued by the fluid movements of Amélie's body. She was definitely a pretty little thing, but the student blew off all thoughts of that immediately; he needed to hate this trainer as much as he had the others. And that grin... Sheesh. It was enough to give him nightmares for a week.

He rose a brow as she told him how to correctly say her name, letting out a small sound of disinterest. "Can I just call you Amy? 'Cause I'm never gonna remember that." He had a hard enough time remembering anyone's name, being unable to tell the difference between reality and imagination sometimes. He stared at her offered hand blankly, watching wisps of orange smoke twirl between her fingers that he was certain she didn't see. He glanced up at her and then back at the hand before looking away again, keeping his own hands shoved in his pockets. Why did she have to have so much damn energy? Phen was feeling sleepier just watching her go back over to her yoga mat.

He slowly shuffled over to where she was, paying half-attention to what she was saying, and the other half watching a small group of what appeared to be silver fish darting between the clouds around him. "Uh-huh," he replied distractedly, turning heavy-lidded eyes back to his new trainer. "So what was your problem?" He had a hard time believing this horribly bubbly woman had made her trainers despise her. He cocked his head a bit as she continued speaking, warily taking in her words. "Sounds like you have some sorta plan," he mumbled, prodding the empty yoga mat with a toe. At least she was going to feed him... If he behaved. Was that supposed to be some sort of incentive? Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't. But the boy hadn't eaten since he had rolled out of bed, and he was pretty hungry.

Remove his shoes? Phen stared down at his feet, furrowing his brow and giving the woman an uncertain look before slowly doing as she said, making no hurry to follow instructions. He had to admit, he was slightly curious to see what they would be doing, and so he decided to humor the trainer for now. He tossed his shoes half-hazardly to where she directed and flopped down onto the mat, wincing as a sharp pain laced his upper back where his wings protruded from. Flying always made him sore, especially since he didn't do it all that often, so a short burst yesterday had caused him quite a bit of grief. "Phoenix Joaquin Tang," he replied sullenly. "Fuckin' fairy, at your service." Sensei? Really? Now he felt he was in some stupid martial arts dojo about to be enlightened by a fucking proverb.

[Amélie Tachibana]

It seemed having a proper conversation with the boy was a bit more of a challenge then she thought, he was almost as talkative as her grandpa, and he was in a coma! Exhaling loudly, Amélie stared at the boy, taking in his posture, body language and the dreary look on his face. It was clear he hadn't had his breakfast, it was the most important meal of the day. It was so important in fact that the slender trainer herself had three of them earlier that morning. The very thought of those scrumptious meals made her mouth water and her body shiver with delight.

"I think Sensei will be easier to remember", she smirked, interlacing her fingers in front of her body as she resumed her breathing exercises. His sour attitude was little more than an unfortunate deterrent for the grinning glutton, something she internally vowed to replace with a zeal for life. If this boy was to be her only student then she was going to put in all of her energy and devotion into making him the greatest thing Hammel has ever seen.

"Ah my problem? I ate my trainers." Amélie uttered underneath a ragged breath, her eyes dark and her pursed lips hiding a cheeky giggle that threatened to burst right off her tongue. Soon enough her peachy lips split into a cheery laugh and she waved her hand in the air, disregarding the moment of black humour. "No, they just couldn't keep up I guess. I had a habit of breaking things back then", she sighed loudly, pouting a little bit at the thought of her teenage years. Oh how clumsy she was back then.

Shaking her head and resuming her composed posture on the floor Amélie placed both hands on her knees, palms upturned to the ceiling as she took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaling out through her mouth. "Okay Mr. Fairy, today all we are going to do is breathe." She smiled contently, eyes already closed as her chest rose and fell with every drawn out breath. "Imagine your lungs are a dam and your breath is water. Take in a swig of the air around you and expel the stress and tension within your body", she instructed calmly, her languid breaths cascading from her lips like a gentle gust of wind.

"Who knows, maybe your back won't hurt as much." Amélie breathed after several minutes of quiet, giving the boy a knowing smile. Even if her eyes were closed she could sense the tension in his muscles, poor thing probably needed to see a massage therapist.

[Deleted]

Sensei? Phen stared at Amélie blankly, wondering if she was being serious, before realizing that she was. "Whatever, Teach," he mumbled, his gaze dropping to the ground as he kicked his foot into a low-flying cloud. Like hell he was going to call her that. His stomach growled, though, loud enough for her to hear, and he was unable to keep from glancing at the donuts, as much as he wished he had the will not to. If he had had any idea of what Amélie was planning for him, he would have fled then and there.

As it was, he just kept his heavy-lidded gaze roaming throughout the room, occasionally looking at his trainer to show he was partially listening to what she was saying. His lips curled in confusion as she mentioned her 'problem'. "Ate them? What the hell..." He could only imagine what her power could be for such a statement. Her laugh made him wince, and he blinked as she gave a proper explanation. "You? Breaking things? I can't even imagine," he said with a touch of sarcasm. He could only imagine a slightly younger, bouncier Amélie destroying everything she came in contact with. The thought almost made him smile.

Phen watched as his trainer took another deep breath, her eyes closed. What the fuck was he supposed to do? He made to sit like she was, but his posture was slouched and he didn't bother putting his hands palms-up on his knees, because he would look stupid. "What kinda analogy is that?" he muttered. He rolled his eyes and took in a short, shallow breath, expelling it equally as quickly. This was dumb. He felt dumb.

Eventually he began to relax slightly, and his breathing deepened a bit, although still not enough for him to release all of the tension in his body. It was hard, too, to keep focused, when images of various things kept darting around him, distracting him from what he was supposed to be doing. His gaze landed on her as she mentioned his back, and he scowled. "My back is fine," he muttered, shifting slightly where he sat. His butt was starting to hurt. "How long do we have to do this?"

[Amélie Tachibana]

Amélie didn't bother hiding her chuffed grin, she was happy she had snagged his attention, regardless of how peculiar their conversation was. Giving the boy a warm smile whilst she took another deep breath, filling her lungs up before exhaling. The slender trainer thought it best to amuse him, for now at least. In actuality Amélie was adored by her trainers back during her time at Hammel, it's just that none of them could handle the challenge of her power. Constantly eating during sessions and making quite a mess whenever she activated her gluttony induced super strength always forced extra measures to be out up during her training. "Let's just say that I did not possess the Yoga skills back then unlike now", she chuckled, blowing a stream of air upwards to rid her brow of a stray strand of hair.

The boy was a sassy one indeed, sort of like Amélie when she hasn't had anything to eat in the space of half an hour. She actually empathised with Phoenix, growing up was hard and sometimes even harder when powers were involved, that's why their first lesson was simple. An hour of breathing. Creaking open one of her eyes Amélie glanced at the clearly troubled teenager with a scrutinising gaze. That posture. The very sight of it made her lightly squirm with discomfort, forcing her to purse her lips at the sorry sight. "If my analogies were as bad as your posture then I have all reason to be told off for them", the young woman smirked, exhaling loudly in the subtle attempt to remind the boy what he was supposed to be doing.

The momentary silence before his voice broke through her zen was pleasant, it actually have her some space minutes to work out just what she'd have planned for the fairy boy. Planning was a weak point of hers, so the mental task of organising sessions for Phoenix had her brows furrowed with minor frustration. Empty your mind! she internally shot back at herself, shuffling in her spot before letting out a content sigh. "We are going to do this until you have reached enlightenment", she smiled with a breezy voice, engulfing a flood of crisp oxygen. It was a half truth, a quick answer before she could actually come up with something proper. "...and by enlightenment I mean a clearer grasp on your powers", Amélie whispered, practically talking to herself as she made the heavily scripted commentary. It's what her own trainer once told her.

Once she had made sure he had actually closed his eyes, reminding him several times to do so, the giddy trainer quickly and quietly sprung upwards in one fluid and silent motion. Her bare feet barely made a sound as she slinked off the mat and near the window behind her. She had heard his stomach growl earlier, not that it worried her...he could wait until he reached enlightenment. The sounds of his hunger actually reminded her how hungry she was, it had been twenty whole minutes since those last six donuts! He wouldn't notice her temporary absence...hopefully. Slipping her hand into the box and clasping the sugary pastry with the tips of her fingers Amélie let out a silent squeal of delight.

Moving just as quickly as when she had hopped up from the mat, Amélie returned to the cross legged position, her body slinking through the air like a ghost. Ensuring the boy had his eyes closed, the slender trainer let out a deep sigh, just to enforce the fact that she was still there. Her hands had returned to their upturned position, only difference this time was the half eaten donut in the palm of her left hand. A snack to keep her going. "Once you feel the weight of your stress leave your body take a moment to congratulate yourself and start all over...in through the nose and out through the mouth", Amélie whispered with her slightly exaggerated zen-like voice, eyes still closed as she quickly stuffed the donut into her mouth. She was simply congratulating herself.

[Deleted]

Phen's brow furrowed, and he made a scathing sound as he rolled his eyes once more. "You're sayin' yoga's gonna fix all my 'problems'?" he asked, not understanding why so many people seemed to love the activity. All he saw was a bunch of people in weird or sexual positions breathing deeply and acting like they were at peace. It wasn't exactly something he had ever imagined himself doing, and he felt like an idiot for even half-assing what Amélie was asking him to do.

He let out another puff of air, hardly containing a bored sneer that darkened his face. He was starting to feel sleepy, and the hallucinations were beginning to fade, which always made him even more irritated and moody than he normally was. His eyes went from closed to squinted to wide open as the clouds around him faded and blinked, until they were nothing more than wisps in the air. His heart began to pound, but he took another shaky, harsh breath in, trying to keep from reacting to the loss of his visions. No need to give Amélie a sign that he was struggling. He was distracted when she spoke again, and scowled once more. "I feel like an idiot sittin' and breathin' like this," he told her. "What's the point?" So far, all he had managed to accomplish was to almost wish he had his old trainer back - at least they had been a little interesting. He was going to die of boredom at this rate.

He shifted where he sat, straightening his back for a moment before letting it sink in again. There was no way he was going to sit like he had a damn ruler up his spine. Phen closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again, giving Amélie a look like you've got to be kidding. "What kinda Buddha bullshit is that?" he asked scathingly. Enlightenment? Hell, no. Phen shook his head and closed his eyes, deciding to ignore her stupid philosophies, or whatever the hell they were. He was beginning to wish more and more that his visions would come back, and he unconsciously fluttered his wings, making a small cloud of pink dust appear... He inhaled it quickly, but wasn't sure if Amélie had noticed or not. He hadn't meant to do it, but his addiction demanded it.

He kept his eyes closed tightly as he waited for the dust to take effect, totally oblivious to Amélie's movements as he concentrated on letting the hallucinogen hit his system. He could practically feel it sinking into his blood, and his body relaxed as he let out a long, deep breath, and shivered with pleasure. Now he felt more at ease, but he refused to think the stupid breathing was helping at all. He cracked an eye open as she spoke, rolling his eyes once more and taking an exaggerated, long breath in, and letting it out in a huff. "Yeah, yeah, I feel all relaxed and shit. How much longer is this gonna go on?" He was happy to see the clouds had returned, only this time they were a bright neon green, and darted around the room much more rapidly. "I have more important things t' do besides pretendin' that I care about 'controlling my abilities'." He snorted and shook his head. He had plenty control over it. He knew it was his attitude more than anything else that he was still stuck at this damn school. He refused to think it had anything to do with his so-called addiction.

[Amélie Tachibana]

Although congratulating herself brought a myriad of warmth and sugary sweetness into the furnace that was her system, Amé could not help but grudgingly accept that this new student of hers was going to be a handful. He conveyed little joy, certainly no enthusiasm and actually looked like he was sick. Well that was probably because he hasn't had any breakfast. Running her tongue against the edges of her teeth, Evy sat frozen for a moment, calculating what it is she needed to do. Phoenix certainly did not possess the grand qualities of what his birth name would suggest, no fiery glory or majestic aura; just a gloomy looking teenager. Ignoring the vastly negative traits he was thrusting out onto her, the slender trainer took in a deep breath. 'Drink in clarity' she thought to herself, her chest rising with the deep engulf before slowly exhaling the air through her peachy lips, 'Exhale emotional pollution'. The exercise helped clear her mind, offering a content little smile to cross her lips before opening her eyes.

"I never said it was going to fix all of your problems", she tutted, lightly shaking her head at his posture, "you feel like an idiot because you cannot comprehend acting out on another path. There is no audience Phoenix. No need to be embarrassed", she gently smiled, wiggling her toes and fingers before resuming to her neutral pose. As calm as she sounded on the outside Amé was struggling as to how she was going to win this boy over. A whole year dealing with this sort of attitude wasn't going to be good for the soul and a lot less fun for both parties.

Don't panic! Maybe he's just nervous because he's alone in a room with a woman. Her brain stated, astute as ever.

There was a moment of tense silence before she closed her eyes again, furrowing her brow lightly as she attempted think over what to do. Giving up on this simple and clean exercise would make him the winner, and as much as Amé disliked exerting power over others she knew she had to display some discipline. "Phoenix, pretty please mind your language. I don't want to have to exert myself to make you focus in this class. You're going to breathe whether you like it or not, how will you succeed in life if you can't get such a simple exercise done?", she questioned, her voice calm and unwavering as she assumed the more mature role. In her head, Phoenix was a lucky boy for being her student, the other trainers would have massacred him with drills and horrid exercises that would leave him more bitter. Poor thing.

Amé could hear the boy shifting in his seat, like a toddler squirming in their place. Only twenty minutes had passed and there was still no chance of having him just sit there and breathe. What else was he going to do with his spare time? The young woman had a detailed assessment of his metahuman gift, knowing full well that it could pose a challenge if it entered her system. Hence the mats a safe distance away from one another. She was however, only given a vague description of what the power actually did to him. Did it make him sleepy? Or hungry? A whole slew of theories sprinted through her head and it was only until a moment of 'revelation' did her face light up and eyes pop open.

"If you can manage to sit there and breathe for five minutes without complaining I will allow a short recess!", Amé chirped happily, knowing the thought of food excited her as much as she hoped it excited him. Hopefully he listened, she didn't want this to be a failure.

[Deleted]

"Wonderful," Phoenix muttered, letting out another huff. If it wasn't going to help him, what was the point? "The path I've been on has worked for me so far..." he muttered, which was mostly a lie. Nothing in his life seemed to go right, between his relationship with his mother to losing Rue and being alone in general. It was his own fault, but he knew no other way at this point in his life. He had survived so far on his own, and that was how he was planning on keeping it. He wasn't going to let anyone get into his heart only to break it again, like in the past. He wanted to tell her there was an audience, because of the various creatures dancing in his vision, but he figured that wouldn't be the best thing to say. "Yeah yeah, alright. But I'm never gonna do this outside where people can see," he mumbled darkly, making a very small effort to sit a little straighter. A small amount of pressure lifted off of his back, relieving some of the pain, and his brow furrowed slightly. Dammit, he didn't want to prove Amélie right.

Pretty please mind your language. Phoenix couldn't suppress a small laugh at that, and he cracked open an eye, gazing at his seemingly calm trainer. "Only because you asked so nicely," he replied with just a touch of sarcasm. He hated the fact that she was so calm and collected; nothing he did seemed to irk her in the least, and it threw him. "No one's ever wanted t' see me succeed in life before," he told her darkly, closing his eye as his features tightened. He had no motivation, no sense of real self-worth, nothing that made anyone think he was going to go anywhere in life. He had seen that look, so many times on the staff here at Hammel. There goes Phoenix, the student addicted to his own ability. Sure, they said they wanted to help, but Phen didn't believe them. What did they get out of it? He shook his head, but took a more slow, real breath, making a point to show Amélie that he was at least sort of semi-trying. Not that he started to believe that this would really do anything for him.

Twenty minutes seemed like ages, though, and the twitchy, distracted boy was having just too much difficulty keeping still, especially with such little motivation to do so. He had wondered why the mats were some distance from each other, but had yet to realize why; he didn't think the small cloud of dust he had released earlier would reach his trainer, and she wasn't showing any usual signs of inhalation, so he assumed it hadn't. He held back a groan as his back started to ache again, and sat up a little straighter, clenching his teeth with irritation as it seemed to help again.

Stupid lesson. He didn't want it to actually help.

"Five minutes?" he croaked, as though she had said five hours. It seemed so long, especially after what they had already done. He sighed, grimacing. Maybe he could manage it. He didn't know what "recess" meant, but he figured it would be better than this shit. "Fine. But then I'm done." He was going to go crazy if he had to stay here any longer. He tried to relax as much as possible, which in his case was not much, as he focused on just breathing in and out. His fevered brow began to feel a bit cooler, and his chaotic thoughts slowed down a bit as he sat still for as long as he could possibly manage. Finally, after what seemed like ages, he cracked an eye open again. "Am I done?"

[Amélie Tachibana]

Amé thought long and hard about the boy in front of her, listening to his staggering breaths as her mind receded back to the moment he chose him. Just him. She was the new trainer, wide eyed and innocent, what could she possibly know about troublesome students? It was an unfortunate scene really, the office ladies begging the cheery young woman to reconsider, to not have her first year as a member of staff ruined by him. But it was that exact attitude that spurred Amélie forward, it seemed everyone had neglected the poor boy out of some misplaced sense of defeat. It didn't matter how bad he tried to be, he was still young and had a world of opportunities before him. Even if she fails Amé knew in her heart that she had out her 100% into making this first lesson count.

"I promise you, we won't be doing any of this stuff outside for a long long time", she smiled lightly, flexing her fingers before they were struck with pins and needles. Boy she was getting hungry again. Amé couldn't help but sniff in agreement at the boy's faint sarcasm, cocking her head to the side as she gave him a little peek. "Good boy! I was actually going to suggest a swear jar, but since you're so mature I won't. I trust you'll know when to time your words right", she delicately stated, the corners of her lips curling upwards at the thought of a swear jar.

There was a brief silence before the boy uttered something that took her off guard, words which tugged at the strings of her utmost sympathy.

"Hey, don't say that", she whispered gently, no need to overwhelm Phoenix unnecessarily. "You're a smart boy and we both know that. I know I just met you but I will make it my duty to see you succeed during the time we have, sensei's oath!", Amé grinned, nodding her head slightly in self agreement. She was not going to allow this boy to stumble and fail.

The silence that followed enveloped the duo in a cocoon of comfort, embracing them and siphoning the stress of their bodies outwards. Amélie loved the clarity of mind, the sound of her synchronised breathing with her troubled student. Here there was no judgement or prejudice on her part, she was viewing him with unclouded eyes. Amélie could tell that there was a long way to go, his breathing sounded shallow and drawn out. Was he a smoker? She had no idea but his airy rhythm sounded awfully a lot like aunty Oma. She was a chain smoker.

Soon enough, time caught up with Amélie and she was brought back to reality with the combined sound of Phoenix's voice and her own grumbling stomach. Her eyelids slowly rose like gateways into her soul, calm and serene. Exhaling one last breath she gave the boy a sincere simper, stretching her arms and lithely standing up by spiralling her body. Scratching the back of her knee with her toes she stood there on one foot, arms on hips as she stared at him. Long and hard.

"You know what? I think you deserve a treat!", she announced, clapping her hands giddily before spinning on the ball of her foot and prancing over to the selection of donuts. "Here you go! Today was twenty five minutes, tomorrow it will be thirty. Deal? Deal." She grinned, already with a donut in hand and a box in his face, offering the pastries as if it were Christmas. "After you've eaten and gone for a pee pee, I want you to come back. There we'll have the trial by sugar!", Amé smiled with a little giggle on the end.

Oh the trial by sugar was always a fun one. Hopefully the boy lasted more than a minute...

[Deleted]

Phoenix had no idea how lucky he was to have gotten a trainer like Amélie. All of his past experiences had been less than pleasant, of course, mostly because of his attitude of course, but terrible all the same. He was supposed to be here to learn to control his abilities, and all he saw were a bunch of old people trying to make him something he wasn't. He should have graduated this year - he had his abilities pretty much down. But he and everyone else knew the real reason he was still stuck here went much deeper than that. And he just did not want to dig himself out of that hole.

"Good," he mumbled, glad that that was at least something he wouldn't have to worry about. He grimaced at the term 'good boy', his fingers curling into fists and his brow darkening as he looked at Amélie, unamused. 'Good boy' was what you said to a dog. He wasn't a fucking dog. Still, he shook his head and had to ask,"What the hel- What's a swear jar?" Obviously his language was not something he usually thought too much about; he didn't really care if people were disturbed by his cursing, it was just a part of his character. He would only humor Amé for so long.

Still, something stirred in the pit of his chest as his trainer responded to his mumble; he hadn't really expected her to say anything. "I dunno how smart I am, or you are for trying to... 'Help' me." He shook his head, smiling very faintly. "Good luck, though." Would she break through with him? He didn't know. But what he did begin to realize is that she was already very unlike his past trainers, and that was enough for him to at least give her a shot, even if he thought he was a lost cause.

Phoenix had no impression that his own breathing was all that different from anyone else's, but then again, he never really paid much attention - he was convinced that his abilities didn't create the horrible side-effects that other addicting drugs did, so he saw no harm in it. He had never actually asked anyone if that was the case, so it wasn't unsurprising that his breath sounded harsh and shallow compared to Amélie's, or anyone else's. He hardly ever got any sort of physical exercise either, so it would be a wonder if he could take any sort of deep, cleansing breath at all.

He watched with heavy-lidded eyes as his trainer stood, unable to keep himself from giving her a once-over as she briefly turned away from him. She was hot, there was no doubt, but he bit his lip and looked back up at her face, hiding any sort of arousal he might have gotten from watching her move. "A treat?" he repeated blankly, raising an eyebrow. As if on cue, his stomach grumbled, and he slowly stood up, groaning as his joints complained from sitting for an extended period of time. He followed her over to the food; he wouldn't admit it, but he was dying to eat. "Longer tomorrow? No way," he mumbled dully, taking a plain-colored donut from the box with only a glance for a 'thank you'. He deserved this, he had put up with the stupid breathing for long enough. He couldn't imagine doing it again tomorrow. Still... He couldn't deny that his head felt clearer than it had in a long time, even with the hallucinations still going on around him. He nibbled the donut thoughtfully.

He snorted and shook his head as she spoke again. Pee pee? Seriously? He didn't get this woman. Still, he did need a break. "Yeah, sure," he replied, finishing off the treat and giving her an uncertain look before going outside to visit the restroom. Once there, he let out a long, harsh breath, trying to understand what he thought of his new trainer. There were parts of her he despised, and other parts.... He didn't necessarily like, but he didn't particularly dislike, either. Realizing it would be a while before he could decide how he felt, he went back to the training room and stood in front of her with his arms crossed, his expression blank. "Now what the fu- What the hel- Jesus, what is this so-called trial?" he asked, unable to keep his curiosity at bay.

[Amélie Tachibana]

Amé felt her lips form into a little 'o', genuine surprise washing over her face when he made mention of not knowing what the infamous swear jar was. Giving him a little grin the slender trainer stepped back a bit and explained. "A swear jar is this neat little invention. Well actually it's just an empty jar...but anyways! Whenever you happen to cuss or use that potty mouth you have to put a coin in the jar. It will accumulate over the year until you'll be dreading to swear in this dojo!" She smiled, a bit too cheerily for the subject matter. She wasn't a fan of swearing, it wasn't a graceful habit and it certainly messed up the zen in the atmosphere.

Phoenix was certainly someone that people would have to take some warming to, especially since he was so morose and as excitable as a log. Amélie had thought long and hard over just why the staff weren't so find of him and she couldn't believe it was simply because he had no drive. He was certainly keen to get into the box of donuts, so at least he held some semblance to normality. Giggling a little bit at his grumbling stomach, Amé treated herself to three more glazed donuts, savouring the sweet icing and moist dough of the pastries. She was so enraptured with the snack that she had not noticed the boy's departure into the bathroom.

It was only a silent minute into her passionate affair with her sixth donut did she notice his absence and feel a sense of pride flood her stomach. He was actually responding to her! If he could do half an hour of breathing then he could easily do half an hour of what she had planned for him next.

Licking the crumbs off her dainty fingers the woman carefully placed the now empty boxes off to the side, focusing her mind for a moment until it was as clear as a summer's sky. Focus your energies, she whispered to herself, allowing a sudden rush of adrenalin to burst into her muscles. It was a blistering rush of energy that forced a long sigh to escape her lips. It was time for the trial by sugar.

By the time Amélie had summoned her inner strength the boy had already returned, still as blank faced and scruffy as he had been when he first entered. Taking in a deep breath the young woman took a careful step forward, walking on the tips of her toes as she made her way over to a selection of weights. Without speaking and little more than a brief giggle she singlehandedly plucked up a large titanium dumbbell, the weight discs on either side having a combined weight of 250 kg. Too the casual viewer witnessing the skinny and gentle woman exert her strength to an impossible level must have been quite a shock, but to Amélie this was just skimming the surface of her power.

Still on her tip toes and with the dumbbell clutched in her grip she walked over to the boy, feeling the intense rush of sugar in her veins.

"The trial by Sugar will be a physical test that will train your reflexes, resistance and your willpower." Amélie grinned, cocking her head to the side to blow some hair out do her brow. "Now I can garuantee that you won't be noticing any changes during this first lesson but by the end of the semester you'll have the focus of a tiger!", she hopped giddily, ignoring the massive obstacle in her grip. Unscrewing one end of the dumbbell Amélie carefully shuffled out one of the large metal discs the size of a pizza, one which weighed 40 kilograms, and held it out in front of the boy.

"I want you to hold this. You can use both hands, but it must not touch the floor until five minutes have passed." She smiled, offering him the large disc whilst placing the dumbbell down behind her. It will be her seat whilst she witnesses this. "Phoenix, you must focus! Because you won't be only doing that!" Amélie winked, reaching into her pocket and procuring some extra bubbly grape flavoured bubble gum.

"You'll be blowing bubbles at the same time you keep it up. Three bubbles per minute. You must focus on your breathing, balance, strength and weight distribution", she pointed, lifting a finger with every focus area. Popping several cubes of bubble gum into her mouth, Amélie allowed the fruity taste to envelop her taste buds with its grapey goodness. "Gro on nrow! Bro some brubbles", she sputtered in between chewing on the mass of gum in her mouth. This was going to be fun!

[Deleted]

Phen's face fell as his trainer described the swear jar. He had hardly any money as it was; he couldn't afford to lose it for such a dumb reason. "That fu- That's terrible," he replied grumpily. "What happens with the money? Do you keep it? Isn't that, I dunno, stealing from your student?" Fuck the zen, cursing was just part of who Phoenix was. This really was going to be hell.

The break, however short, was a relief, and though Phoenix wanted this stupid training to be over already, he didn't want to have to deal with the consequences of leaving early. He eyed the empty donut boxes warily as he approached Amélie once again. "Jeeze, did ya eat alla those yourself?" he asked, shoving a stray clump of hair away from his face. "That can't be good for your health." Not that he cared; he just found it odd and a little bit gross. But then again, he had never been a huge eater anyways.

His heavy-lidded gaze followed her as she went to the weight, but his eyes widened as she seemed to lift the heavy thing with no discernible effort. "Holy shit," he whispered under his breath. Note to self - do NOT make the trainer angry. Who knew how hard she could hit? As she turned back to him, Phoenix deadened his features again, but he was standing a little straighter as a rush of nervous adrenaline shot through his veins.

He listened silently as she spoke, mentally shaking his head. Focus and reflexes, his ass; they were about as dead as they could be, and he had no intentions of trying to change them. That required effort, which he did not care to go through. He took a nervous step back as Amélie jumped with the huge weight, wondering if he should just flee then and there. She was crazy.

His mouth opened slightly as she offered the smaller weight; it was still ridiculously heavy, way more than he could lift for a moment, let alone five minutes. Couldn't she see how skinny and lacking in any sort of muscles he was? "You're kidding," he mumbled, brow darkening as she explained the 'lesson'. He stumbled slightly as she handed the weight over, barely managing to keep it from smashing his foot as it hit the ground.

"This is absurd," he stammered, jerking back as she spoke about the second part of the challenge and offered him the bubble gum. "I thought you were joking. There's no way I can fuc- I can't even pick this thing up, let alone do everythin' else." He released the weight and took another step back, glaring at the object as though it had personally offended him. "I'm not doing this. The breathing was enough; this is bullshit." He turned as though to make a beeline for the exit, ignoring the hallucinations swirling around him.