Titan Rumble Ch 15: Exercising Mayhem!

(Yuna) One hundred pushups. A good number to clear my head. To push past frustration. To remind myself that I was stronger than my failures.

(Yuna)

One hundred pushups. A good number to clear my head. To push past frustration. To remind myself that I was stronger than my failures.

And yet, no matter how many times my body lowered and lifted, my arms burning with the effort, my breath steady despite the sweat dripping down my skin—I couldn't shake the irritation gnawing at me.

I lost.

Again.

To him.

That little speck.

I grit my teeth, lowering myself slowly before pushing up with enough force that my palms briefly left the ground. My ponytail clung to my damp back, but I ignored it. I ignored everything except the sheer fact that after all my training, all my effort, it still wasn't enough.

It pissed me off.

I was strong. I trained harder than anyone I knew. My father had built this dojo with sweat and blood, and I was supposed to inherit it one day. But how could I do that if I kept losing?

I exhaled sharply and went into another rep.

Then—

Something touched my foot.

It was barely noticeable. A small sensation, almost like a brush of wind against my skin. But my senses were sharp—I knew my body, and I felt it.

"Hmm?" I turned my head slightly, my brow furrowing. Last time I checked, my room wasn't dirty enough to have bugs crawling around.

I focused my gaze downward—and then spotted the tiny figure standing by my foot.

Cain?

I stared for a second, my frustration momentarily replaced by curiosity.

What was he doing here? In my room? Uninvited?

I should have been annoyed. Should have demanded to know why he had the audacity to walk in like he owned the place.

Instead, a very different thought popped into my mind.

A mischievous thought.

A slow smirk spread across my face.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

I kept my face neutral and returned to my exercises, as if I hadn't noticed him at all.

I heard the faintest noise from him—maybe a grunt, maybe a complaint—but I ignored it. Instead, I sat up on my knees and stretched my arms above my head, cracking my neck.

"Alright," I muttered to myself, just loud enough for him to hear, "time for sit-ups."

I made sure to note exactly where Cain was standing.

And with a perfectly innocent expression, I sat down.

Right. On. Him.

Now, I knew he wouldn't get hurt. Probably. His power let him phase through stuff, so I figured he'd just slip through before I actually crushed him.

...Right?

Well, I hoped so.

Either way, the moment I felt that tiny little flicker of resistance beneath me disappear, I grinned.

Oh, this was going to be so entertaining.

I planted my feet, crossed my arms behind my head, and started my sit-ups.

***

(Cain)

I'd seen some terrifying things in my life. Giant monsters. Near-death experiences. Yuna's temper when she lost a sparring match.

But watching a meteor-sized ass come down straight toward me?

That was a new one.

"She's not serious..." I muttered, staring up at the massive shadow that had eclipsed the entire world around me.

But the second the sheer weight of Yuna's entire lower body plummeted down, I had my answer.

BOOM!

The force shook the ground like a natural disaster. Dust exploded in every direction. The sheer impact nearly blew me away, my ears ringing from the sheer power of it all.

And me?

Yeah, I was gone.

My body phased out of existence just in time, slipping through the very fabric of reality to avoid being pancaked under my sparring partner's colossal ass.

Still, even in my intangible state, it took me a while to get the hell out of there. Her sheer size left me surrounded on all sides—no matter where I phased, it was just more her. It was like being stuck in a cavern made of pure muscle.

I had to carefully maneuver through, slipping between gaps of space that shouldn't have even existed, until—

Finally! Finally!

I emerged from underneath her, landing on my hands and knees, gasping for breath.

"Fresh air," I wheezed. I had never been so happy to breathe in slightly sweat-tinged oxygen in my life.

But I didn't have time to celebrate.

BOOM!

The ground rumbled violently, nearly throwing me off my feet.

Then again. BOOM!

I turned my head just in time to see Yuna's massive upper body rising into the air—only to slam back down in a repeated rhythm.

Up. Down. Up. Down.

She was doing sit-ups.

I barely had time to react before another wave of wind pressure slammed into me, sending me rolling across the floor. Her sheer presence created powerful gusts that battered against my body, while every time her back hit the ground, it sent another earth-shaking shockwave through the dojo floor.

This wasn't just a workout.

This was torture.

"Damn it, Yuna!" I shouted over the deafening BOOM of her body slamming down again.

I pushed forward, trying to move toward her head—maybe yell at her to quit trying to kill me for five seconds—when suddenly, everything darkened.

A massive shadow fell over me.

Instinctively, I looked up.

And that's when I saw it.

Countless thick strands of black hair came cascading down toward me like a living avalanche.

"Oh, shit—"

I barely had time to react before the tidal wave of hair engulfed me.

For a brief moment, I thought I was done for. Crushed under a single strand. Buried beneath miles of thick, silky black ropes that would trap me forever in their grasp.

But... I wasn't.

Instead, I opened my eyes to find myself surrounded by what looked like a thick, dark forest.

Everywhere I turned, massive strands of hair stretched into the sky like enormous, swaying trees. The strands twisted and tangled, forming a chaotic maze of black silk.

I was in the middle of Yuna's damn hair.

But before I could even think about what to do next—

The forest moved.

Or rather—ascended.

"Wait, wait, WAIT—!"

The strands of hair began lifting upwards, fast, and I barely had time to grab onto one before I was yanked high into the air.

Wind rushed past me as I clung to the thick strand of hair, my knuckles turning white.

I made the mistake of looking down.

Big mistake.

The ground was already so far away, and we were still going higher.

"YUNA, YOU CRAZY PSYCHOPATH—!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

But of course, she didn't hear me.

Because I was nothing but a speck to her.

And now?

I was about to go on the most terrifying, unwanted amusement park ride of my life.