21 XXIII

[Word Count: 1260]

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There's no such thing as too much gains.

Despite Leo's unwavering dedication, two weeks had passed, and he couldn't help but feel disheartened by the lack of noticeable growth. It seemed as though his hard work had yet to yield visible results. Doubts started to creep into his mind, wondering if he was making any progress at all. Seeking reassurance from Yuki felt futile, as he suspected her bias would cloud her judgment, potentially telling him what he wanted to hear rather than providing an objective assessment.

Leo was fully committed to his pursuit of gaining muscle, firmly believing that there was no such thing as too much progress. However, the process of building muscle after neglecting it for so long proved to be a painful endeavor. Every workout left his body achy and fatigued as if his muscles were being torn apart. Although he recovered by the end of the day, the lingering discomfort served as a reminder of the strenuous efforts he was putting in.

After two weeks of non-stop grinding, Leo hasn't noticed any growth. If there was any, he wasn't noticing it. Asking Yuki would be pointless since she's biased and would tell him whatever he wanted to hear.

For starters, creatine. How much can a ten-year-old take?

"Maybe dosing isn't the right way to go..." Leo thought.

Fast forward three weeks and Leo is no closer to seeing results, despite practically tearing and repairing his muscles. With everything piling up, it was enough to put a damper on his mood.

After another day of tearing through his muscle fibers, Leo sat slumped on the couch as his muscles recuperated. While his muscle mass didn't increase, his recovery time did. In another hour or so Leo would be good to go for another tearing before calling it a day and starting the process again tomorrow.

Yuki who brought the papers she was supposed to work on at the antique shop home so she could watch over Leo. While she did trust him like he was her blood, previous encounters have shown Leo was prone to getting into all sorts of mischief if left unsupervised for too long.

Ever since Leo was caught by devil hunters using his devil contract, Yuki had started working from home. She had Shouzou bring any papers she needed to sign off on to her apartment. This arrangement not only ensured the safety of her work but also served as a form of penance for Shouzou, who had accessed Leo's devil contract without her knowledge.

While watching Leo these past several weeks, she noted he had spent the majority of his time in his room doing who knows what and coming out during the evening to hang out in the living room all wobbly and sweaty. Leo had also started requesting a more meat-based diet. She couldn't help but speculate that he was going through a growth spurt, considering his increased appetite and the changes she noticed in his routine.

Speaking of routine, Yuki had recently noticed Leo waking up earlier than her. To her surprise, she would find him on the balcony, engaged in stretching exercises. While she couldn't decipher the purpose behind these stretching sessions, she admired Leo's dedication. Perhaps he had taken up yoga or some other form of exercise.

As Yuki sat at the kitchen table, sipping her coffee, she would occasionally hear Leo's joints crack audibly. Initially dismissing it as a common occurrence, she soon grew concerned by the intensity of the sounds, sometimes resembling a snap. Rushing to investigate, she found Leo unharmed, diligently engaged in his stretching routine.

Unbeknownst to Yuki, Leo was not merely stretching but engaging in a relentless pursuit of flexibility and strength. Understanding the malleability of his bones and his body's ongoing growth, he

subjected himself to a range of torturous stretching techniques. Sometimes, he unintentionally dislocated joints to achieve specific angles of stretch. It was a painful and self-inflicted ordeal, but one he believed would benefit him in the long run.

Leo suffered silently as he put up with his training, with a steely determination, he pressed on with Yuki being none the wiser.

After pondering the situation, Yuki believed she had finally grasped the reason behind Leo's newfound interest in stretching. Determined to address her concerns, she decided to bring it up during dinner.

"Hey, Leo," Yuki said calmly, taking a seat across from him.

Without lifting his gaze from his unfinished plate, Leo emitted a low hum in response. "Hm?"

Sensing something amiss, Yuki attempted to keep her tone neutral as she asked, "Is everything alright?"

Still fixated on his plate, Leo let out a tired sigh. "Yeah."

Yuki wasn't convinced. The profound changes Leo had been undergoing couldn't be dismissed so easily. Connecting the dots, she deduced that something must have transpired during his time with Kishibe. Considering the initial impression she had of Kishibe and the impact he seemed to have on Leo, she concluded that he must have said something that agitated Leo enough to push himself even further.

Gathering her courage, Yuki intended to coax the truth out of Leo so she could offer him the support he needed.

"Did something happen?" Yuki probed.

Before Leo could brush off the topic, Yuki persisted. "Is it about your height?"

This time, Leo's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Bingo," Yuki thought, feeling a momentary sense of accomplishment for getting closer to the heart of the matter.

However, her satisfaction was short-lived as she witnessed Leo's face scrunch up as if he had caught a whiff of something unpleasant. Meeting his gaze, Yuki saw the mix of offense and confusion in his eyes.

"What's wrong with my height?" Leo asked, his tone tinged with offense.

"Oh, no!" Yuki realized she had missed the mark entirely. Her attempt to address the issue had backfired, and she scrambled to rectify the situation.

"Nothing!" Yuki blurted out, her eyes darting away from Leo, exacerbating the offense he had taken.

Internally berating herself for the miscommunication, Yuki desperately searched for a way to salvage the conversation. Leo, on the other hand, remained silent, his expression guarded. He could infer why Yuki was suddenly concerned for him, given the drastic changes in his routine from lazy to rigorous stretching sessions after returning injured and dirty. However, he struggled to find the right approach now that Yuki had unintentionally offended him.

Choosing a more direct approach, Leo let out a sigh and spoke up. "It's Kishibe. I want to kick his ass."

Yuki heaved a sigh of relief that Leo had redirected the conversation toward her initial worries, though she cringed at his choice of words.

"Language," Yuki admonished gently. "But why?"

"He punted me across a grass field," Leo replied matter-of-factly, as if the reason should have been self-evident.

"Eh? You were serious about that?" Yuki asked, genuinely surprised.

"Of course," Leo retorted. "Why would I lie about that?"

"I... I don't know. I thought you were joking," Yuki defended, realizing her misunderstanding. "So, that's why you want to get big and strong."

"Am I not already big and strong," Leo playfully incited.

Yuki rolled her eyes with a slight smile, though she was glad she

now knew what had set Leo on his mission to improve his body. It also provided her with insight into the happenings in Leo's head. The smallest push was enough to trigger an avalanche inside Leo, even if in this instance getting kicked across a lovely grass field was what triggered the fall.