Black Petals: Chapter 5 ~ Rome Took Forever.
#6 of Black Petals
The training continues, with Shadow giving Amy as little quarter as needed.
Take note that Amy's training is going to last a good deal of time. One can't expect to be stronger after just a few days or a few weeks. It takes time to learn a skill or grow in strength.
The Sonic Next reference was deliberate. For its faults, it had some amazing scenery.
Characters by SEGA.
"Training from Hell". The type of brutal, painful, near-inhumane training protagonists are often forced to go through in order to get strong(er). These usually last for an unrealistic amount of time (if they're shown at all). One would often find regimens such as this in media from Chun-Nan and neighboring countries. Unfortunately for one Amy Rose, she has found herself living such a scenario.
For the past 2 weeks, she has been forced to endure Shadow's merciless training. In the morning, she would eat breakfast (whatever Shadow was willing to get from the shops while Amy slept), do some light warm-ups and gather enough Rings to protect herself. Once she was ready, Shadow would begin the training for the day. He would relentlessly attack Amy in order to improve her defensive skills. This proved to be beneficial, as she learned to brace herself and not be too much of a sitting duck. Shadow still broke through her defenses and hurt her, of course, but she learned how to endure the pain, to a degree.
After a few hours of this, they would take a break, allowing Amy to tend to the worst of the injuries she'd sustained. Once the break was over, it was her turn to attack Shadow however she wished. This was to get her more used to hand-to-hand combat. She had yet to land a hit on the more experienced hedgehog, but Amy was beginning to get the hang of fighting without her hammer, something Shadow noticed. After more hours of attacking, they would eat lunch and look for replacement Rings, and then Amy would be on the defensive again until nightfall. "So?" Amy asked during one of their breaks, whilst nursing a few bruises on her left leg. "How am I doing, Shadow?" The black hedgehog curtly nodded. "Hm. Adequate. Looks like you've finally gotten the gist of my fighting technique. Now you just need a style of your own." Amy thought about that, when suddenly, it hit her. "Hey, what about my boxercise training with Emerl and Cream?"
"Ah, that. I've been seeing some of that in your 'fighting' lately. I imagine that training is all that is keeping you standing right now. I've seen worse, but you will need to be faster in order for it to work, though." Amy nodded and said, "In that case..." She then lifted up her shirt, revealing a weight on her waist. When she removed it, a sizable crater was made. Shadow's shock from this was amplified when Amy repeated this for the weights on her legs and wrists. 'S-She actually had those things on?!'
Amy took note of Shadow's surprise and giggled to herself while stretching. "After Emerl passed on, I stopped using them, but when you agreed to train me, I decided to go back to them. Now I think I'm ready for you." Covering his shock, he replied, "Hmph. Very well, let's see what all that 'boxercise' nonsense is really good for, if you can remember it all." Amy then rushed in, and Shadow noticed that her strikes, while still rudimentary, were much faster and, especially in the case of her legs, somewhat more powerful. He took note of this as she continued her attacks. After another hour or so had passed, Shadow ended the session with an elbow to Amy's midsection and an overhead throw.
"Well, well," Shadow said as he walked up to her rising form, "You almost got a halfway decent shot in." Amy smiled weakly as she began to stumble. Shadow quickly caught her with no small amount of distaste. "Please. Worn out already?" When Amy nodded in apology, he said, "Whatever. Now's as good a time as any for a break, I guess."
Shadow carried her through the woods to a stream with many trees alongside it. One tree that was across the stream was in bloom with many flowers on it. This spot was said to be a favorite of Soleanna's princess, for reasons not even she was aware of...
When Shadow warped to the tree, he sat Amy down underneath it and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face. Indulging himself a little, he watched her sleep, taking notice of just how pretty she was. He never got a chance to view her in this manner, since she was usually chasing after a certain rival of his. Now that she was calm, he saw that she did have some amount of beauty about her.
The moment was utterly broken when Amy muttered, "Sonic..." and Shadow excused himself to get some food. 'I shouldn't be surprised. It's only been a few weeks.'