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Oh, good! Zima, Leto, over here!

Quick! No lollygagging!

What, you need me to beat someone up?

A fight? I'm in, I'm in!

No, listen to me—

I don't know what dimwit decided to flash the snacks in front of Dobermann, but I've got that, plus a bunch of the Infected kids in for introductory fitness extracurriculars! You take care of them for me, pretty please—

Ooh, Snack Network stuff!

You want me... to take care of kids?

I wrote everything down for you here—!

Pretty pretty please—I'll promise I'll make it up to you with a nice meal—!

Wow, Instructor Dur-nar runs fast. Is she a Kuranta?

Why ask us to look after some kids?

Wait... yeah, why us? Do we look like babysitters?

And it's teaching a bunch of little ones who just got to Rhodes? Uhh...

Agh. Pain in my ass.

Pssh... it's just for a day. We'll grit our teeth and bear it. Let's go.

Haha... yeah, uh...

All praise to the indomitable General Zima, the only woman for the job...

Huh? Where are you going?

I'll leave you some honey! Not like I'm teaching a bunch of kids, they're all yours now! Yeah? Cool, we're cool? You've got this—

Hey!

Kakovo khuya!

(Just the thought of teaching a class gives me a headache.)

(Oh... sounds pretty chill?)

(Okay, lucky me.)

Hey, hey, hey, look over here, I'm giving the orders!

You thought you could act the big boy here? I beat you in one hit! But you're alright, you're goon #1 from today! And you're #2, and you're #3!

This is my turf now!

Hey, new girl! You came in last, so you're the last of the goons!

I'm the boss now, you hear? That's what you're calling me!

(Uh-huh? She beat all these kids into submission. She's pretty solid.)

(Wait, no, I've gotta turn that part of my brain off. This is my class to manage.)

Who died and made this scrawny brat king, huh?

(Maybe she'll behave if I beat her up?)

(Ugh, I can't do that. I'm an educator now.)

Hey, listen up, little punks! Your instructor's kind of tied up, so I'm filling in for today. Shape up!

Memo... here we go. Hey, you, with the mouth, get down from the bunker! I don't wanna hear you crying when you fall off, I'm no medic.

You don't talk to your boss like that, you goon! Cry, my butt! As if I'd ever fall off!

Yeah! Yeah!

(Argh. Hold it in. Don't hit her. Don't hit her.)

'Make sure they stay safe while you teach them the names of the machines and how to use them. You can also let them try training with them. But it's all about safety first!'

(Seriously, Dur-nar writes like her pen's trying to get away.)

Hey, get over here. Instructor Dur-nar left you some homework... Why are you standing around up there?

Pain in the... Listen to me, okay? Get down!

No! I'm the only one allowed up here, because I'm the boss!

Yeah, yeah!

(I'm this close to going up there and slamming her face onto the deck!)

The instructor asked me to help watch you guys. You can't be up there, it's dangerous! Get down, now!

Hmph, who cares?

I said, get down!

You're my goon, I don't listen to you! I'm your boss! You should be listening to me!

She's the boss! Do what she says!

Huh? You think I'm gonna do what you say? Do I seriously have to beat you up?

You can't beat me~ I'll use my Arts on you! I don't see any rocks on you, so you can't use Arts~

(Argh, this kid! How am I supposed to fight the urge to slug her?! Ugh, I oughta drag Leto back here and make her suffer—)

And I'm really strong! I don't need you to look after me! I want the Instructor!

Yeah, and your instructor told me to watch you!

You're my goon, I don't need you!

(The harder I push her, the more obnoxious she gets?)

(Wish Rosa was here. I can't do goody-two-shoes model student like she can. If that girl doesn't behave, the rest of these brats won't either...)

(This is never gonna end... I need to get her under control.)

You're strong, huh? I don't think so. If your instructor called me in, then I'm stronger than you, and that makes me the boss.

Don't try to lie to us! I'm the boss!

Not if I don't listen to you. What do you say we have a little contest?

Contest! Contest!

If you lose, you have to do whatever I say. If you win, I'll be your goon!

You're my goon anyway. I don't need to do any contests.

Oh, right, I'm already your goon, I... huh?

(Did I just get duped? Ugh! This sucks!)

If you don't accept my challenge, you're a coward, the lowest goon ever. You're just scared you'll lose. You're not fit to be the boss!

Huh?

I'm the boss, you're just a goon! Let's do it, we'll have a contest!

What are you good at?!

Knucklebones! I'm the super-duper-best at knucklebones!

I'll show you who's the boss!

Yeah, sure, we're on.

Fight! Fight!

I'm gonna show you what a real boss looks like, you're just a wannabe!

(I've played knucklebones a billion times. This punk's never gonna beat me...)

Alright, my turn!

(Grab, toss, catch... flip, then catch, then toss, one, two, three, one...)

Done.

Hmph! Anyone can do the first round.

Alright, second round then~

(Toss, catch two, toss, grab one catch one, toss, then catch...)

Drop, drop, drop!

(Like I would! Is this girl for real...? Oh?)

(One, two, three, one... cool, cool, round 2 done.)

Okay, round 3. Toss, grab, two, three, one...

Drop! Drop! C'mon, drop!!

Read 'em and weep~ Check it out, I'm going for the last round now.

Hmph, anyone could do that~ Like me!

(Phew—okay, stay cool.)

(Alright, go! Grab seven, toss! Catch, toss four, then grab, then toss, catch, three, two, one, done!)

Here goes the last move, kid~

(Eight, flip, catch!)

You dropped two you dropped two!

Two drops! Two drops!

Oh, man, lost it there. Pretty decent showing, though.

Your turn. C'mon, punk, show me how you knucklebone.

Hmph, I know, I know. Watch me.

And don't call me punk. You have to call me boss.

Sure, Boss. Show me!

(Ooooh, she's got skills... pretty slick movement, no wonder she's so sure of herself... definitely pretty up there. Almost done, here goes...)

Oh! You dropped three! You lose!

Alright, get over here and listen up. Also, don't ever climb on the bunker again.

Y—You cheated! That one didn't count!

What are you talking about? You're the one trying to cheat here! Sore loser!

I'm not a sore loser! I'm not!

I'm the boss, I can't be a sore loser!

She's not! She's not!

Hahahahaha! We can go again if you want!

One two three four five six seven... You grabbed seven. Progress, huh? But I got eight, so you lose again.

Alright, now it's time to shape up.

...Hmph.

Hm?

(What? I busted my ass coming up with this and she's not even gonna keep up her end of the deal?)

(Are all kids like this now?)

If you don't make good on your word, then your, uh... goons #1 and #2 won't respect you as a boss, right?

Fine. What do you want me to do?

Learn the names of the machines and how to use them, and if you want, you can try them out a bit.

Alright, fine. Let's go.

You got it, Boss!

(She looks beat. Is she depressed now? Yeah, okay, kids really are a pain in the ass!)

You, uh, you're actually pretty good at knucklebones. I've just been at it longer than you, that's all. I got more practice.

Shake your wrist on the last toss, and the stones turn out like this—makes a little forward-backward separation. Scatters less if you use the back of your hand to catch, lets you catch even more.

Give it a shot.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight...

Huh, it does.

Real handy, right? All cheered up now? Let's get going, then.

Learning time! Be good until Instructor Dur-nar gets back, and then I'll teach you the ultimate trick to knucklebones. You learn that, and you can beat anyone, anywhere.

Really?

Don't see why I'd lie to you.

Alright! You're the best, Miss!

She's the best! She's the best!

I'm not even teaching you, the hell are you chanting for? Listen up, class is in session!

(Hah. Now I'm getting some respect.)

Alright, here we go. Pay attention. This is a barbell, this rack over here's called a 'Smith machine.' You fix the barbell inside these rails here. Why do you think we do that?

So you can't take the barbell away?

Huh? No, the Smith machine restricts how the barbell slides, so it won't swing forwards or backwards while you train. That keeps your waist or knees from getting hurt.

This way, you can do squats... just hold it like this, then make sure your knees don't go over your feet, breathe out and crouch, breathe in and lift.

You can lie down here too, do presses, and buff up your arm strength. But you gotta watch out when you're training. Make your barbell too heavy and you can't lift it, and then if it crushes you, you're, uh. (Crosses throat and croaks)

So be careful as you can. Got it?

Got it! If we make the barbell too heavy, it's gonna snap us in half!

Huh? Uh...

I mean, yeah, it will if it's too heavy, so, real dangerous. Gotta watch out for that when you train.

Then this thing's a pull-up machine, horizontal and parallel bars. Back to the brace, both hands firm on the handles, then rest your arms on the beams, lift your body into the air, and do crunches like this. Works out your abs.

Uh... pretty hard to get injured on this. Anyone wanna try?

Yeah, I wanna try!

Little high for you. Lemme lift you up.

Hup!

I hold on here?

Yep, then elbows up, support your own body... You got it?

Yep!

Keep your upper body fixed, back and waist straight, put pressure into your abs. Okay, legs straight, then lift them up with just your abdominal strength, breathe in, out... good.

(Shaking heavily)

Oh, damn. You have Originium growing on your arms here. Don't chip it... does it hurt here?

Don't touch me!

Don't panic on the rack!

What are you gonna do if you hurt yourself?

You don't grow stones, right, Miss?

No... I don't. What's up?

Then you've gotta keep away from me.

C'mon, get down off the rack first.

Why do I have to keep away from you?

Because I'm sick, and people keep avoiding me, and hitting me with rocks. You're not growing stones, so why aren't you keeping away?

Forget that. There's a million people growing stones here, didn't Instructor Dur-nar tell you? Focus on your training!

When they hit you with rocks, did you fight back?

I did! Really hard!

Attagirl!

Uh... but fighting's bad, still, so don't get into dumb fights anymore.

Why?

Um... it's just bad. Listen, okay? No more random fighting from now on.

Okay.

Alright, that's enough training on this machine. Instructor Dur-nar's gonna teach you the standard stuff to do some other time, so lemme show you around the rest of the machines.

Miss, what's your name?

Huh? It's... Zima. My codename's, uh, Zima.

Codename?

Yeah, I'm called Zima now.

How about you?

I don't have a codename yet...

I'll tell you once I think of one!

Haha, sure.

Cool! Lessons over. You remember all that?

Obviously! I'm really smart!

We remember! We remember!

You can keep doing this course with Instructor Dur-nar, if you want. Not bad to learn how to train a little.

There's more than Instructor Dur-nar too. Other ops do some intro extracurriculars. You can go check them out, if you're into it.

Also, Rhodes Island has a bunch of other kids around your age. Go play with them, it's no sweat.

We're done. Just waiting for Instructor Dur-nar to come back now. Let me teach you that ultimate trick for knucklebones!

The ultimate trick!

Me too! Me too!

Sure, get over here, all of you. Watch this. But you gotta pay attention...

Heeey, I'm back! Got it all taken care of! No skin off my back!

Hi, Instructor.

Hi, Instructor.

Oh, Zima, thanks for your help. I'll take you out to dinner in a minute~... uh, where's Leto?

Hah. She bolted as soon as she heard anything about kids.

Hahaha, no dinner for her tonight then~ Talk to me, how did the classes go?

I taught them the names of all the machines and how to use them. They gave training a decent shot too. Great work all around.

Solid. I can take it from here, so you go unwind.

Sure, I'll put the machines away and stuff.

Kids, gather 'round. Let me check what you've learned, and then class is out for the day.

Umm... This is a barbell, you put it on this rack, and you fix it, so you can train your leg muscles. If you lie down here and do presses, you train your arms.

This is...

That one's...

Nice, you've learned a lot. Does anywhere hurt after training?

Nope!

Come here, let me just make sure now.

Mm-hm, no injuries. Good work~

That's it for today, then. Everyone, back to your dorms, get some proper rest. You can head to the cafeteria tonight for some of your favorites. Take a walk around, too.

Alrighty~, dismissed!

Bye, Instructor, bye, Miss Zima~

Bye~

Yeah, see you.

Is Miss Zima gonna leave now?

Yep~ Today was a little special. Zima's done her duty. I'll be the one teaching you from now on.

But... can Miss Zima come take the course with me?

Oh?

This kiddo's gotten surprisingly attached to you, hasn't she?

Sure... huh?

You're not coming back again, Miss Zima?

Uh. Yeah, I was just kinda helping out here today, this stuff's all too basic for me. So I guess I... um... I won't be back.

You listen to what your instructors tell you, get used to life at Rhodes. You'll have a good time.

Oh...

Haha, isn't that funny? I never expected this.

Kiddo, what did she do that got you liking her so much?

Miss Zima told me not to get into fights anymore, fighting is bad!

Mm-hm... oh-hoh... Zima says no fighting... pfff, okay, off you go, back to your dorm to rest~

Okay... bye, Instructor, bye, Miss Zima...

Miss Zima... I have class in this training room the day after tomorrow too.

Mmwuh?

Oh, there she goes.

If I had to guess, you have no idea what she was getting at?

She means she wants you to come see her, silly, hahaha! Just what did you do to make her fall in love with you like that?

Why don't I get that kind of treatment...? Am I too scary or something?

Ehhh? Someone's calling me... I'd better get going.

Here's my meal card. Go get yourself dinner. Just slip it under my door on your way back.

Treat yourself!

Sure. Thanks, Instructor! See you later!

Haha! Found you! I've been looking all over!

I got us a very special honey drink!

Gah! You've got some nerve, you know that?

Ah, knock it off! I've had this in my collection forever! Za nashu druzhba~

Hmph! You ran and left me with a pack of kids all day!

Hahahahahaha, that's our General Zima, friend to children everywhere~ Hahaha!

Yeah, if only I was as good as you at retreating, General Leto!

Okay, okay, no bickering in front of the honey... drink up, come on! If this isn't an apology, I don't know what is.

Good, right? I told you it was from my private reserve!

Mm... it's pretty good.

Come on! Tell me what babysitting capers you got up to today.

What are you expecting? I just ran their class.

But... the weird thing is, there was this little girl who kind of took to me, I think...

A little girl who approves of you? I don't suppose you beat up her friends and scared her into submission, did you?

Do YOU want a beating?!

Hey hey hey, no no, keep going keep going, I'm listening.

Thing is... she didn't want me to leave when class was over. Said she wanted me to go to the next one with her... I'm sure as hell not going, I already know all that stuff, but...

What's wrong? Swallow your tongue?

I can't figure out why.

Why what?

She actually seems to like me...? Why?

I thought I was real strict, plus I embarrassed her by beating her in a game. Dunno about hate, but I didn't think she'd like me all that much... but then she wanted me to go to class with her?

And I feel like I was sort of like, all, uh... you know. But she doesn't really seem to care, she just wants me to go again...

Glug, glug, glug... phaaah! Wanna know what I think? I think you're reading too much into it, and she thinks you're great and that's why she likes you, duh!

And besides, why would she not?

And that's why she likes you!!!!

We're in the cafeteria, keep it down!

Ulp! Quit shaking me! I'm drinking... I'm all d—d-d-dizzy, I'm gonna buy a water bottle and take my sweet time...

Y—Y—You wait here for me...

Gah, you honey drunk gopnitsa. I'll be looking the other way the day you fall off the landship.

Rrngh... specialty honey drink, seriously...

Ulk. Head kind of spinning...

Oh, yeah... why wouldn't she like me?

Honestly, not like I should care... those... those... that punk sure doesn't mind, so...

...I don't mind...

Heheh.

Two days later...

Alright, our course begins today~

Hi, Instructor.

Why so gloomy?

Um... no reason.

Guess who's here—!

Hahah! It's your big girl, Zima!!

—Yay!!!