Being back with her was exactly what he had needed, she had managed to bring out a side of him that he didn't even know he had. Raised as a brutal and ruthless warrior, he didn't think he had it in him to care about anybody this much. Of course his own kids were an exception to the rule but Zerori? She was just something else and he knew it from the start. Though being back in the ship with her and in the gravity chamber, he knew that she was in for a struggle and this wouldn't be easy for her. Combine the additional gravity to her already wounded body? Yeah, she was in for a time but she needed to get stronger and they both knew it. He wasn't going to let himself wander to far from her until this little issue with the tournament was resolved and even then, he wanted her to come with him on his adventure but first, they had to train.

While the gravity had felt like nothing to him, to her it was quite the opposite and he saw it immediately. He stood there strong, observing her as her legs shook and her body tensed up to fight the gravity that was trying to hard to pull her to the floor. She was doing it, but not without the struggle. He couldn't help but admire her for this and her strength had absolutely nothing to do with the way he felt about her, it had been everything else about her. She could get stronger, that wasn't a doubt in his mind but the rest of her? She was already perfect. He couldn't help but smirk at her tease as he shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, if you only knew." He said, hinting that there was something more to him.

With a step back and a rush forward she pushed at him aggressively and exclaimed that she wasn't going to be wasting anytime. Her speed was hindered and it was painfully obvious but he simply just stood there waiting. Her fist was sent through the air towards him and he immediately placed his palm in the way and let it collide. As for the attack, he couldn't help but just tilt his body to the side to avoid it completely.

"Zerori, Transform and hit me." He didn't need to go on much about his request and this was a slightly different side of him that she might've not seen but he wanted her to get the best out of this, he wanted their training to be fun, engaging and challenging and he wanted her to push herself and push past her limits. "Don't hold back either, so let's skip the warm up." Maybe his attitude was a little more cocky than usual but it didn't come from a place of superiority, he wanted her to rise up to the occasion, he wanted to motivate her to put him in his place and in truth, he wanted to see if she could become a super saiyan.

---

WC: 513
Total Word Count: 1,016

Athren wasn't completely oblivious to her shade of embarrassment red that took over her cheeks nor the tone in her voice when she questioned his words. Even her little offended huff was a very audible indicator that he struck a nerve. The truth was, she was an amazing fighter in her own right and if she too had come to Yardrat, he could only assume she'd still be right on par with him but the truth was, he had an advantage and that's all it was. He didn't see her as lesser, he didn't see her any differently in this light. He almost felt bad upon hearing her reaction and his last intention was to make her upset or uncomfortable, or to make her doubt her own abilities but this wasn't supposed to be a playful spar, he wanted to push her.

The truth was that she could've very easily died by the hands of the majin and even if he was there, he could have to but he knew Zerori had untapped potential inside of her and it needed to come out, whether that be through this spar alone or a series of them, he wanted her to shine brighter than any star in the sky, he wanted her to be stronger than him, he wanted her to win and succeed in all aspects of life and if he could help her get there with a little push, he was damn well going to do it. He didn't reply to the comments that were emotionally triggered, though he would make a mental note for them later and maybe explain himself when this was all over. When he was giving the positives of the whole situation to her but for now, he had to keep pushing.

With her power level doubling right on the spot she was in the perfect place to meet him in a fair spar, and if his heart wasn't already racing by just the sight of her, it surely was now. He wasn't going to press his advantage just yet, he wasn't going to shut her down like that. He wanted her to feel the success of being able to hit him, to cause him damage, to make him bleed. Plus, the rougher it got here and now, the rougher and more eventful his night would be later. It really was a win-win scenario.

Now that the situation was more or less on equal footing, Athren had started to shift into his fighting stance though before he even managed to get his hands up he saw a quick wink and felt the pressure of her skull being smashed against his face, instinctively he tried to avoid it and tilted his head up and received most of the impact on his lip and chin. "UMPH!" He grunted as his head jolted back on the spot and his left foot took a tiny step back to support himself. "Fucker.." He mumbled rather playfully as she pressed her attack once more.

With her roundhouse kick coming in fast Athren had to rush to a defense and now with their speed nearly on par, he barely managed to meet it. He used both arms to catch the attack before it collided with his hip and held it tight against his body for all but a few seconds. His ocean blue eyes looked into hers as he couldn't help but smirk at his lover. "You want it to hurt?" He'd have to admit that this talk was working him up in ways beyond the spar but that was for later. "Gladly."

At his current state he knew he couldn't just dip around her with ease, they were on par so he had to be creative to get behind her or use a technique but he wanted to set her off right, if she wanted pain and blood, she'd get it and he'd leave his mark on her perfect body forever. With a quick release of her leg he'd quickly shove her leg away from him and immediately use his instant transmission technique to appear behind her. Swiftly his right hand came up as he extended his right hand and outreached his fingers. Out of each fingertip his Ki Claws formed and he used his Demonic Nova Slash technique and swiped at her back from the right shoulder down to about half way down her back to the left side.

This attack wouldn't be deep enough to cause any real damage but enough to force her to bleed, to feel the sting and heat of the wound every single second of the fight and it would be four cuts on her body permanently. If this attack landed, it would hurt like a bitch and hopefully drive her to fight even harder! If this attack landed, he couldn't help but smirk and open his mouth once more. "You like that?"

---

Word Count: 819
Total Word Count: 1,835

He couldn't help but love every single moment of this, from her sly little comments to the effort she put in. She really was something else entirely, a woman like he couldn't even dream of, yet here she was, standing tall in front of him and trying to lay a beat down. This moment was making his heart race for more than one reason, for reasons far beyond the simple little spar that was happening between them. Every touch, every breath, every sound she made had got through to him, driving his deepest desires of passion. Of course he comment about legs made him smirk lightly, even in the heat of the battle. She wasn't wrong and truthfully, he couldn't wait to have her smooth, elegant legs wrapping around him later on in the evening. He damn well would save it for the bedroom.

When his claws dug their way into her skin he couldn't help but smirk yet again, the mark it left, the agonized yell that echoed throughout the room, the success of landing such a hit. It may be likely that those marks would never fully heal and that they'd be with her for the rest of her life, it was almost a way to claim her in another way entirely. Though he didn't know if she'd see it that way, he very well may have. Though what Athren didn't expect was for her darker, twisted tone of a low, growing laughter and a crack of her neck. It wouldn't take an expert to realize that she was really into this, and she was about to try harder than ever before and given the minimal difference between their current power levels, Athren knew he was going to have to work in order to keep the lead. She wasn't going to make this easy and he had his feelings that it was going to be rather bloody.

Her tone was almost intimidating, ALMOST. The tone along with the extra arms forming set Athren on edge and it the look on his face would be consumed by nothing but pure focus. At their current level, he knew he'd strictly need to defend until he managed a way to get out of this. There wasn't any chance in hell that he'd be able to dish out blows while avoiding hits. That just wasn't something that was probable for him. He needed to do this smart and he needed to think his way through it. Her attitude also implied that she wasn't going to stop on her own accord, she wasn't going to let up.

When the attack FINALLY came, Athren was as ready for it as he could ever be. Her words registered but he didn't even have a moment to really respond to it. He found himself slowly stepping backwards as she overtook him with MASSIVE flurry. His arms would move rapidly but given he knew he couldn't block them all, he'd selectively let punches through in order to focus on stopping the slashes. He'd much rather be bruised than all cut up. As rapid as it was, he felt the hits hard. His head bobbling around back and forth as her fists collided with it, his forearms getting sliced up slightly from the slashes he could've redirect. She was literally pushing him back again the wall and it wouldn't take long before he had his back to it. "I'm.. glad.." The strain in his voice was obvious, a telltale sign that he was struggling. "THAT YOU'RE..." His tone got louder as he was just a few feet from being pressed again the wall. "ENJOYING YOURSELF!"

If it was anything like before, he knew that she would wear herself out soon. At least, he expected it. Every single time he witnessed her use this type of ability, it took a toll on her body that would give him the advantage. Though he couldn't exactly count on this. It was too much of a gamble. The options he had were rather limited, he couldn't damage his ship so certain techniques were out. That left him with instant transmission or a transformation.. But what would it be? He'd need to determine it with his next big opening.

---

Word Count: 706
Total Word Count: 2,541

The pressure she had been applying on him was rather intense and he couldn't help but love every minute of it, it was a sparring match he could only dream of, one he craved even when he was back on Yardrat. Without his transformations, they were perfectly matched in every single way and he couldn't dream of having this little spar any other way. He wanted it to be rough, dirty, aggressive and for it to continue just the way that it was. Though he was literally against the wall, it didn't discourage him and even as more pressure was applied and he could feel himself losing ground rapidly. He knew if he didn't get out of the corner, he was going to pay the price for it but he REFUSED to use his new found techniques any further, he thrived off this, lived by it, the up close and brutal brawling fighting style that pitted both fighters against one another with nothing more than their fists, he loved it.

He kept up as best as he could with his defensive movements but surely, her claws would get through. Cutting up parts of his body to a minor degree, the blood running out from his skin. "Uhmp!" He'd grunt when getting connected with as lightly deeper slice to the flesh! He quickly raised a brow as she spoke up, her tone of cockiness was a dead give away that she was going to go for something slick, she was very verbal like that. Maybe it wasn't the SMARTEST thing to do in a fight, as it was an indicator on what was coming next but in this case, Athren really didn't have many moves unless he relied on his techniques.

The Malicious red energy quickly collided with him, both fists hitting him forcefully in the chest and in an instant it felt like the air from his lungs was forced out. Along with that the shear pressure from the impact force him back into the walls of the gravity chamber. Though the force applied should've put him through the wall, the rooms shields protected that from happening but set him up for a recoil. He bounced off of it and back towards Zerori just in time to be caught by her claw tearing down into his cheek. "Fucker!" He exclaimed as the force from the impact twisted his body and forced him down to take a knee, though in his momentary defeat was an opportunity.

Just as fast as he went down and took the knee, he twisted himself back up and threw an Nova Punch uppercut directly for her chin. Whether it hit or not wasn't relevant to his next decision. Though he was aware he didn't have the extra limbs to attack with, he was going to apply some pressure of his own. The Nova Punch wasn't a full powered move either, he kept it well restrained. It was hopefully enough to catch her by surprise and make an opening. Whether or not the opening would come, he would begin to unleash a devastating combination of blows towards her, though he'd be sure to mix it up. He'd send some attacks to the body, some to the head. In his efforts, he was doing his best to keep an unpredictable variety of attacks and with the adrenaline pumping through him, his attacks were sharp, fast and very accurate. "Let's see how you handle THIS!"

---

Word Count: 576
Total Word Count: 3,117