I actually could not hang with one. My ribs cried out in pain, my sore stomach growled in agony and my black eye made me half-blind. Even on the lowest setting, fighting a single Bevu, a construct of one! It was as if I was fighting two full grown adults simultaneously. Do you have any idea how hard it is to fight against something that can attack and defend at the same time?  

I wouldn’t recommend finding out. 

On the bright side, it was excellent practice for dodging and improving my footwork. I admit I was a little rusty, but good lord almighty it was a humbling experience. Carefully, I got out of bed and reached for my phone on the desk.  

Turning it on, I saw a couple of texts from Freyja from a few hours ago. 

“Ah geeze, it’s already noon?” I said stunned by how long I overslept, a jolt of pain surged through my midsection as I turned too sharply towards my bathroom. After using it and getting myself as decent as I could in spite of the pain and, well, the lack of vision. I gingerly eased myself down onto my bed and opened Freyja’s contact to see what she had written.  

Dean, I am sorry for messaging you so early in the morning. However, I am aware that we may not know what sort of date today will entail. This has put me into quite a predicament. As I do not know what to expect, I am woefully ill-informed on what it is that I should wear. Please, take a look at these select outfits to help me decide. 

Under this block of text, I saw three image links and tapped the most recent one.  

I sat straight up, completely ignoring the wails of my injured body when I saw her outfit. 

There she was, standing in front of her bathroom mirror, one hand in a piece sign, one holding the phone to slightly obscure her face, and the last two on her hips. She was wearing a pair of gym shorts that caused the lovely curves of hips and thighs to jut out perfectly. Complimenting her torso was a ribbed sports bra was filled out by her breasts to the point they overflowed. I could even see her perky nipples peeking through the decently see-through fabric. 

I don't think she noticed that bit. But I wasn’t going to complain. 

Funnily enough, however, her face was in stark contrast to her provocative pose and outfit. Her smile was crooked, uncertain, stuck somewhere between a smirk and a frown, her cheeks blushing a dark shade of blue under the yellow of her skin. And lastly, her eyes looked to the side, like she was too embarrassed to see what she had done.  

I chuckled and moved onto the second picture. This one was more modest than the last one, almost too modest frankly. If I had to guess, it was a traditional Bevusian dress that remarkably resembled a kosode and red hakama that a Japanese Miko would wear. It only differed in that the hakama like pants were gold instead. She was far more relaxed in this outfit, a loose smile on her lips showing her teeth. It was cute, but too much for a simple date. And it would definitely be simple given the state of my body. 

Last but certainly not least was a photo of Freyja wearing a pair of jean shorts, black thigh highs and a tube top under a letterman jacket with the school's mascot, Robbie the dragon on it. Honestly, all three options looked amazing on her. And as much as I would like to see option one in person, I texted back option three would be perfect for our date. After I sent it, I noticed another text from her. 

It has also come to my attention from Hilda that you were in a scuffle and suffered minor injuries. Shall we reschedule?  

I explained that I was fine and would tell her about it in person later and let her know she could come to my apartment at seven. Seconds later, she responded she was excited for our date and would wear the requested outfit. I returned her enthusiasm and sent her my address on Google Maps.   

“Date huh.” I put my phone down and looked up at the ceiling. Hadn’t I moved on too fast from Claire? I mean, she was my girlfriend since high school and here I was throwing it away so easily. But, after thinking it over for a few minutes, I got angry and realized something I hadn’t considered before. “Hmph, I could say the same thing about her though,” I said, irritated. As soon as I did something she perceived to be ‘evil’ she bailed on me. So, who cares if I was going to be seeing someone else so soon right? “Fuck. I wanted to work things out but she blamed me for things out of my control!” I hissed and patted my ribs in a useless attempt to ease the pain, my right eye leaking tears.  

Ha-ha, at least I’m crying for reasons beyond my control this time. 

Pushing those dreadful thoughts to the side, I had something to do before my date and I was hoping I wasn’t too late. 

***  

“Erik!” I shouted gleefully from across the courtyard. The short yet stout Bevu’s head snapped in my direction, frowning and then smiling when he saw that it was me. I speed walked over to him as fast as my body could allow given the circumstances and shook one of his hands. “I had a feeling you’d be next to the cafe around this time,” I said, trying not to laugh in fear of exasperating the pain of my bruised ribs yet again.  

“Dean, it’s great to see you. But...you look terrible. I don’t recall you being this injured from your fight yesterday. Did something happen when we left?” I shook my head.  

“Nah, this was self-inflicted in the training room, I’ll talk to you about it later. Anyway, what happened to the Three Stooges?” Erik cocked an eyebrow. “Right, you wouldn’t know. I mean the three jerks who jumped me last night. 

“They were summarily removed from the university and in lieu of prison were sent to become husbands to some of the military women in the city.” I crossed my arms at this.

“How in the heck is that a punishment?” I asked a bit upset. Erik’s eyes grew wide in wonder that I would even suggest it was anything but a punishment. 

“Dean, Bevusian warriors are an... uncouth bunch of savages. If you think the average Bevusian woman is aggressive, then you are in for a rude awakening my friend. To be used in such a vile manner, I won’t even entertain the thought.” Erik’s body shook as if to illustrate his point. 

“You guys really value romance, don’t you? Let me guess, you're a fan of love stories right?” I said half-jokingly, but Erik took it seriously.

“Oh yes!” Erik lit up like a kid on Christmas, “Bevausian writers don’t typically write romance stories for men. And there are even less from the other species in our empire.” His eyes gleamed, “But here on Earth! You have everything! I just finished The Notebook, and I am over the...” 

“Moon?” Erik nodded rapidly, “Well my friend, glad you’re enjoying what Earth has to offer in the literature department. And hey, I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out with me and one of my friends this weekend? We can go out to eat in a Bevusian-dominated area of the city if it makes you feel better?”  

“Are you asking me on a Kof-to?”   

“Uhh, yeah?” I said, not really sure what he meant. Erik bowed. 

“I would be delighted to go with you and your friend, it has been ages since I’ve gone out with the men for a night out without the women.” Feeling accomplished with what I set out to do, I asked for his contact information and let him know I’d do some research on a place we could go to on Saturday. He eagerly gave me his information before going on his way to respond to a call. With a wave goodbye, the gold trim of his armor glowed for a moment and the next thing I knew, he was a blur in the wind leaving me alone in the cold.  

“Strange fellow, good, but strange.” I smirked, “Time for brunch.”  

*** 

After lunch, I spent the day self-medicating with as much pain medication as my body could tolerate. It wouldn’t heal me, but I had things to do.  

First, find an outfit. I settled for a pair of black joggers and a white muscle shirt.  

Next, clean the place up. After my breakup and the horrible turn of events that transpired in the past week, I let my place go. As soon as my pain meds kicked in I did the dishes, got my laundry in order, and organized my desk. I even went as far as borrowing a vacuum from the guy in the dorm room next door. He wasn’t too happy having to lend it to me, but regardless of my beat-up appearance, he knew better than to threaten me. 

I don’t mean to brag, but I could be scary when I wanted to, as gross as it made me feel.  

Third, I had to figure out what to eat and drink. Ah damn, I should’ve asked Erik what Bevu’s eat. Now that I think about it, the only things Freyja had on hand at her apartment was only food fit for Bevu consumption.  

“Pizza should be fine right?” Worst comes to worst Freyja would tell me no and we’d figure something out. She might be a princess, but she was pretty reasonable. “Actually, I probably shouldn’t have been so quick to eat the food she gave me. I’m lucky that her food didn’t kill me.” Hmph, I think I’ll work on the food thing later.  

With those things settled, I did the most important thing I could with my time until Freyja was due to arrive. 

Rest. 

Popping a couple more painkillers into my mouth and swallowing them down with some water, I laid down on my bed and sprawled out on it. The human body was amazing in that it could handle a metric ton of abuse and keep it pushing. If only it could heal faster though, because the repeated physical and emotional beatdowns I’ve received in the past week kept prolonging the process. I doubt I’d be able to handle another brawl in my current state.  

Maybe I should ask Erik to train me or something or get some of that sick-ass armor he’s got. I’d love to whip around like a wind devil too. Eh, regardless, I should probably increase the amount of training that I do. As horrible as fighting a Bevu construct was, it provided me with some valuable insight into how they moved and fought.  

As animalistic as they were in combat, they followed the same pattern like some video game boss. Open with an attack and put up a guard to prevent getting hit on their exposed side and alternate their arms from offense to defense. Oddly enough, they never counterattacked. It was just an endless bombardment of attacks until their opponent was nothing but mulch.  

Why would they need to counter anyway? Who could hope to survive against a multi-armed entity that has enough punching power to crack concrete buildings with a single strike? And the speed to attack from multiple directions? 

None, or very few I guessed. So, how does one beat something like that? 

“Hell if know,” I joked. All I know is dodge, dodge, and dodge some more until you get an advantage. But, if they wore a suit like Erik, you wouldn’t stand a chance for sure. 

Looking at my phone, I saw that I had a few hours to kill until Freyja arrived. Taking the opportunity, I decided to take a much-needed nap.