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Ikki stopped what he was doing, and it wasn't because Belo Betty was stronger than him. He simply froze, startled by the sheer softness his hand had found. Belo Betty's figure was, without question, impressive.
Ikki had always taken that in with his eyes before. Now that he'd confirmed it by touch, he understood the fact a great deal better, and that understanding was exactly what left him paused mid motion.
Seeing him hesitate, Belo Betty seized the moment and clamped both arms tighter around his hand, trapping it, along with the level five life potion, against her chest.
"Ahem. I thought you said you didn't need the S-grade life potion. Going back on your word already?" Ikki coughed and asked.
The surprise had thrown him off for a moment, sure, but that didn't change what still needed doing. As far as he was concerned, the question of who actually kept the level five life potion still needed settling.
"Ikki, I was wrong before. You can keep the life potion," Belo Betty said, doing her best to sound pitiful.
She'd seen exactly what those potions could do the day before. Viola, Kalifa, Ginrummy, and Perona had all taken one and come out of training with real, measurable strength gains.
Ginrummy's progress had been the most dramatic of all, since she'd had two bottles from Ikki to work with instead of one. Watching how easily that kind of power could be gained had left Belo Betty more than a little tempted, and now that a chance to get a potion out of Ikki had actually presented itself, she wasn't about to let it slip away.
If anything, she was already regretting having teased him in the first place. If she hadn't, she would have swallowed the thing by now.
"Alright, enough with the pitiful look. Relax, I'm not taking the potion back. You can let go of my hand now," Ikki said gently.
"Really?" Belo Betty's head snapped up in surprise.
"Of course it's true. I was only joking before. I don't take back what I've already given," Ikki said.
"But what if I let go and you snatch it right back? You're stronger than me. If you really wanted to take it, there'd be nothing I could do to stop you," Belo Betty said, still suspicious.
"You're overthinking this, Belo Betty. If I actually wanted the potion back, you wouldn't be able to stop me either way," Ikki said, shaking his head as he tucked the potion back into his item space.
The change registered on Belo Betty's chest immediately. The cool press of the bottle that had been resting there was simply gone, and all that remained was the warmth of Ikki's hand.
"Gone? It's gone!"
Startled, she let go of his hand entirely and, in the same motion, tore at the front of her workout suit with both hands. The fabric ripped with a sharp sound, and what had been hidden underneath was suddenly on full display.
Ikki raised an eyebrow and used the distraction to pull his hand free.
"Wait, it's not here! Where did it go?" Belo Betty pressed a hand to her face, panicked, eyes darting from her own chest to Ikki's now-empty hand. She found nothing either place.
"Alright, you can stop searching. It's my spatial ability. I sent it back into my storage space, that's all. Watch," Ikki said, and pulled the same bottle back out of his inventory before handing it to her a second time.
"Thank you, Ikki."
This time Belo Betty didn't waste a second. She popped the cap and drank the entire bottle down without a moment's hesitation.
"You know, you could slow down a little," Ikki said, lips twitching. It was the first time he'd ever seen her, usually so composed, act like this. The Belo Betty in front of him now bore almost no resemblance to the one he remembered.
"I have to hurry, or you might decide to take it back again," Belo Betty said, licking the last traces of the potion from her lips before heading straight for the fitness equipment to put herself through a proper workout.
She'd learned from yesterday that the potions came with a window of effectiveness, and she meant to make the most of hers while it lasted.
"Alright, train hard, then. I'll be heading out. Say hello to Robin and the others for me once they're up," Ikki said, giving her a wave as he turned to leave the gym and make his way back to Marine Headquarters.
The war at Marineford hadn't started yet, but the Shichibukai were still expected to show up regularly for meals at the restaurant Marine Headquarters kept reserved for them.
Missing one too many of those could bring someone knocking to check on him, and the last thing Ikki wanted was a Marine turning up at his door only to find him missing, or worse, spotting him here at the gym.
"Wait, Ikki, there's one more thing I wanted to ask," Belo Betty called out as she lifted a set of weights.
"What is it? Make it quick," Ikki said.
"Do you think if I merged with you after taking the potion, I'd end up even stronger?"
"What? Belo Betty, where's that coming from?" Ikki asked, genuinely caught off guard.
"I just think that kind of thing counts as training too, don't you?" she said, smiling.
"You really are something else, Belo Betty." He shook his head. "That might count as a kind of training, sure, but is it a legitimate one? That sort of exercise isn't going to push your body anywhere near its limits."
"Still, doing something like that for long enough would be pretty demanding on the body, wouldn't it?" she said, still smiling.
"Sure, but it also takes a lot of time. Is spending the potion's whole window of effectiveness on that really worth it to you?" Ikki said.
"What a shame. I was hoping we might take things a little further," Belo Betty said, looking at him without a trace of shyness, as if she genuinely meant to close the distance between them.
"Alright, get back to your training. I hope it does you some good," Ikki said, shaking his head and offering nothing more before turning and walking straight back through the gym door toward his room at Marine Headquarters.
"What a shame," Belo Betty murmured, watching the spot where he'd vanished, and shook her head with a small, regretful smile.