Chương 37: Shadow Glove

Earth - Dojo"Alright, Meteor Shower Sect," Yui announced with her usual sadistic grin, "time for flexibility training. I want to see those muscles stretched properly before we move on to the real torture." The group spread out across the mats, and Tim couldn't help but notice how much more confident Riku seemed lately. She moved with a fluid grace that hadn't been there when they'd first started training, and there was something different in her eyes—a boldness that kept catching him off guard.

"You've been practicing," he observed as they began their stretching routine.

"Maybe a little," Riku replied with a small smile, settling into a perfect split that would have been impossible for her just weeks ago.

"Or maybe I just have good motivation." The comment was innocent enough, but the way she looked at him while saying it made Tim's breath catch. He tried to focus on his own hamstring stretch, but found himself stealing glances at her form instead.

"Having trouble concentrating, Grand Elder?" Riku asked, noticing his distracted state.

"I'm focusing just fine," Tim replied, though his voice came out slightly strained.

"Uh-huh," Himari snorted from her own mat.

"That's why you've been stretching the same leg for five minutes without switching sides." Tim looked down to realize she was absolutely right—he'd been so caught up in watching Riku that he'd completely lost track of his own routine.

"See? I told you he was distracted," Riku said with obvious satisfaction. Yui cracked her whip in their direction.

"Less flirting, more stretching! Although I have to admit, the romantic tension is providing excellent entertainment value."

"There's no romantic tension," Tim protested weakly.

"Right," Himari laughed.

"And I'm secretly a ninja assassin." If only you knew, flashed through Himari's mind with deadly seriousness before her bubbly personality reasserted itself. The brief glimpse of Kira's cold analytical nature was there and gone so quickly she almost wondered if she'd imagined it. As they moved through their stretches, Riku found herself drawn closer to Tim.

The hormonal bleed-through from Varek was becoming harder to ignore—she could feel his confidence, his desire to be near Lia, and it was translating into an almost magnetic pull toward her teacher.

"You know," she said quietly, moving into a position that brought her within arm's reach of him, "you can touch me if Varek gets to touch Lia." The whispered comment hit Tim like a physical blow, causing him to lose his balance mid-stretch and topple sideways onto the mat with an undignified thump.

"Riku!" he hissed, his face burning red as he scrambled back to a sitting position.

"You can't just say things like that!"

"Why not?" she asked, though her own cheeks were flushed with embarrassment at her boldness.

"It's only fair. If Varek gets to—""Don't finish that sentence," Tim interrupted desperately, glancing around to make sure Yui and Himari weren't listening.

"We're in public!" But Riku was struggling with more than just mischievous teasing. The connection to Varek was flooding her with unfamiliar feelings—confidence, possessiveness, the urge to claim what she wanted. It was intoxicating and terrifying and completely at odds with her usually careful nature.

"I can't help it," she whispered, her voice smaller now, more vulnerable.

"Varek's thoughts are... intense. And they're all about Lia. Which means they're all about you." She bit her lip, fighting for control.

"Which makes me think about you and..." Tim's expression softened as he realized what she was dealing with.

"The hormonal bleed-through?"

"It's like being drunk on someone else's emotions," Riku admitted quietly.

"All I can think about is—" She stopped herself, shaking her head.

"This is so embarrassing."

"Hey, lovebirds!" Yui called out, having noticed their whispered conversation.

"If you're done having whatever incredibly inappropriate discussion you're having, we need to move on to partner stretches!"

"Partner stretches?" Tim repeated weakly.

"Oh yes," Yui grinned wickedly.

"Very hands-on. Very... intimate. I'm sure you'll both hate it." Himari bounced over to them, her usual cheerful energy barely masking the calculating way she observed their body language.

"This is going to be so much fun! Tim, you get to help Riku with her flexibility. And Riku, you get to make Tim question all his life choices."

"I already question all my life choices," Tim muttered.

"Good!" Himari clapped her hands together.

"Personal growth is important. Speaking of which, we should totally plan something fun for this weekend. Like a beach trip!"

"A beach trip?" Riku perked up, temporarily distracted from her internal chaos.

"Yeah! Saturday's supposed to be beautiful weather. We could hit up that nice beach about an hour south of here. Swimming, volleyball, maybe some grilling..." Himari's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Fresh air, sunshine, and absolutely no pressure whatsoever." The innocent way she said it made both Tim and Riku suspicious.

"That sounds nice, actually," Riku said carefully.

"I could use some time away from... everything." Tim glanced at her, noting the slight strain in her voice. The dual-body situation was clearly taking more of a toll on her than she let on.

"Yeah, that might be good for all of us." Yui nodded approvingly.

"Beach trip it is! Nothing like a change of scenery to help people figure out what they really want."

"You're all scheming something," Tim said with resignation.

"We're just concerned friends," Himari replied with exaggerated innocence.

"We want you both to be happy." As they moved into partner stretches, Tim found himself genuinely worried about Riku. The confident facade she'd been maintaining was showing cracks, and he could see the confusion and vulnerability underneath. When he helped her adjust her position, his touch was gentle and supportive rather than charged with tension. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"You okay?" he asked quietly. Riku looked up at him, surprised by the genuine concern in his voice. For a moment, the overwhelming influence of Varek's emotions receded, and she felt like herself again.

"I think so," she said softly.

"It's just... a lot to handle sometimes."

"We'll figure it out," Tim promised.

"Both worlds, all the complications. We'll figure it out together." The simple reassurance meant more to Riku than any teasing or flirtation could have. This was why she was drawn to Tim—not just the physical attraction or the strange connection between their other selves, but his fundamental kindness and steadiness.

"Saturday beach trip," Himari announced with finality.

"I'll text everyone the details. This is going to be exactly what you both need." Tim wasn't sure what that meant, but as Riku gave him a small, grateful smile, he realized he was looking forward to finding out. Earth - Riku's Mansion Riku made it through her front door with barely contained composure, nodding politely to the staff and making appropriate small talk with her parents about her day at college and the Dojo.

But the moment she reached her bedroom and locked the door behind her, she collapsed against it with a shaky exhale.

"What is wrong with me?" she whispered to herself, pressing her palms against her burning cheeks. The training session had been torture in the most literal sense. Every stretch, every accidental touch, every moment of being close to Tim had sent waves of unfamiliar heat through her body. But it wasn't just her own attraction driving her crazy—it was the constant bleed-through from Varek's masculine desires. Through their connection, she could feel his thoughts about Lia with crystal clarity.

The way he wanted to touch her, to claim her completely, to show her exactly how much power he held over her responses. The possessive satisfaction he felt when she blushed, the predatory pleasure when she got flustered. It was intoxicating and overwhelming and completely foreign to her usual gentle nature. Riku stumbled toward her bathroom, desperate for a cold shower to clear her head. But as she began to undress, she realized just how much Varek's desires had affected her. Her panties were completely soaked.

"Oh god," she breathed, staring down at the evidence of her body's response to the evening's events. She'd never experienced anything like this—the way her body had responded without her conscious control, the ache between her legs that had nothing to do with physical training. Unlike Tim, who struggled with the disconnect between his male consciousness and Lia's feminine responses, Riku found herself surprisingly comfortable with the cross-gender attraction.

When Varek looked at Lia and felt desire, Riku experienced it as natural and right. There was no revulsion, no mental resistance—just pure want that translated seamlessly between their different forms.

"This is what he feels," she murmured, touching herself experimentally through the wet fabric. The sensation sent jolts of pleasure through her.

"This is how much he wants her... how much I want him..." The realization hit her like lightning. She wasn't just channeling Varek's attraction to Lia—she was feeling her own attraction to Tim, amplified and intensified by the masculine confidence and desire bleeding through from her other body. Riku stripped off her clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water cascade over her flushed skin.

But instead of cooling her down, the sensation only reminded her of Tim's hands during their partner stretches—the way he'd touched her waist to help with her balance, the careful way he'd guided her into the more difficult positions.

"He wants me too," she whispered to the empty bathroom.

"I can see it in his eyes, feel it in the way he touches me. He's just too much of a gentleman to do anything about it." But Varek wasn't a gentleman. Varek was a warrior who took what he wanted, who claimed what was his without apology. And right now, that confidence was flowing through Riku like liquid fire, making her feel bolder and more powerful than she'd ever felt in her life. As the water ran over her body, Riku made a decision.

She was tired of dancing around their mutual attraction, tired of pretending that the connection between all four of their selves wasn't real and powerful and absolutely inevitable. Tim might be too cautious to make the next move, but Riku—influenced by Varek's masculine determination—certainly wasn't. Earth- Tim's Apartment Tim sat alone in his apartment, the playful atmosphere of the dojo replaced by a sobering silence.

He stared at his hands, remembering how close he'd come to death—twice—in just a matter of days.

"I can't keep relying on luck," he muttered to himself, settling into a cross-legged position on his living room floor. Meanwhile, in Bridgetown's medical pavilion, Lia was experiencing similar thoughts as she recovered from her injuries. The shadow leech pulsed gently on her chest, a constant reminder of how close she'd come to death. With Varek resting in the adjacent room and their escort arrangements still being finalized, she had time to properly study the soul cultivation manual.

"It's almost like an RPG skill tree," Lia murmured, studying the interconnected patterns. The manual showed how certain symbols could be combined for enhanced effects, with flowing diagrams that demonstrated the proper layering techniques.

"The soul is like a muscle," she read aloud.

"Through use and strain, it grows larger and more capable. But like any muscle, it requires rest between intensive exercises to avoid permanent damage." The grounding symbol served as the foundation—a stable platform that allowed the soul to take form within the mind's eye. From there, practitioners could layer additional symbols for various effects. Some enhanced perception, others provided protection against soul attacks, and a few even allowed manipulation of the physical world through pure soul force.

But Lia found something even more interesting buried deep in the manual's appendix. A symbol called "Soul Qi Bridge"—a complex pattern that looked like two interlocking spirals. The description made her breath catch:"Warning: The Soul Qi Bridge symbol converts soul energy directly into qi. The conversion rate is approximately 100: 1, making this technique highly inefficient and unsuitable for practical cultivation. No known practitioner has found viable applications for this method." Lia's purple eyes widened.

"One hundred to one," she whispered.

"No wonder no one uses it in the cultivation world." But on Earth, where qi was nearly nonexistent, this could be revolutionary. And considering the meteor fragments had given them souls that belonged to cultivators who had lived for centuries—possibly millennia—their soul reserves were likely enormous by normal standards. Meanwhile, in Bridgetown, Lia was working on her connection with the shadow leech. She placed her hand over the creature, feeling its alien consciousness pulse against her awareness.

"Can you understand me?" she whispered. The leech's response wasn't words, but rather a flood of sensations and images. Hunger. Protection. Growth. And underneath it all, a primitive intelligence that was learning, adapting, becoming something more than it had been. Lia focused on the concept of protection—but not passive armor. She needed something more versatile, more offensive. She visualized a weapon, a tool that could both defend and attack.

The leech seemed to grasp the idea, its form rippling as it began to flow down her arm like liquid shadow. The sensation was strange—not unpleasant, but alien, as if her skin was being painted with cool, living ink. Slowly, painfully slowly, the creature stretched along her forearm and over her hand, forming a thin layer of shadow-flesh that solidified into something resembling an organic glove.

The material was smooth and dark, almost like liquid obsidian, with subtle patterns that seemed to shift when she wasn't looking directly at them.

"Incredible," Lia whispered, flexing her fingers. The shadow-glove moved with perfect responsiveness, as natural as her own skin. But the real test came when she focused on the concept of cutting. The leech pulsed with understanding, and suddenly her fingertips extended into razor-sharp claws made of crystallized shadow. When she experimentally swiped at the air, the claws left visible tears—not in the physical world, but in the shadows themselves.

She watched in fascination as her shadow-hand could reach out and manipulate other shadows, cutting through them like they were solid material. A discarded robe on the chair cast a shadow on the floor—with concentration, she could slice through that shadow, and the corresponding part of the actual robe would develop a clean cut. But the effort was exhausting. The glove could only maintain its clawed form for a few seconds before the strain became too much.

The creature slowly contracted back along her arm, settling into its usual position on her chest as a writhing shadow tattoo. Back on Earth, Tim studied the Soul Qi Bridge symbol more carefully. The conversion rate was terrible, but if their souls were truly as enlarged as he suspected...

"Only one way to find out," he said, settling back into meditation. The interlocking spirals were incredibly complex, requiring precise mental geometry that made his head ache. But after an hour of careful work, he felt something shift. A tiny trickle of actual qi began flowing through his Earth body's meridians. It was barely a tiny trickle compared to Lia's massive reserves, but it was far more than the tiniest wisps he had been getting on earth. Tim's eyes snapped open, staring at his hands in amazement.

"It works," he breathed.

"It actually works." Both bodies were exhausted now, but they'd made genuine progress. Combined with the new techniques he was learning, Tim was becoming something more than just an ordinary human, and Lia was becoming far more dangerous than she had been.