A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol 5, page 11
She wasn’t feeling him up, after all.
“Tch. Damn. Didn’t realize this chick had a boyfriend,” a guy who was standing behind Ryoko said. That was when it clicked.
This guy is probably bugging her, and she’s pretending that I’m her boyfriend to get rid of him.
It made sense. Ryoko was… well, she was hot. He didn’t want to use the term because it was rude, but if Gabrielle was beautiful and Jasmine was cute, then Ryoko was hot. Everything from her outfit to her messy shoulder-length hair to her alluring eyes screamed, “I’m sexy and I know it.” The fact that she flaunted her appearance helped reinforce this idea.
As the guy walked away, Ryoko laughed and leaned into him. “Thanks for helping me like this. I didn’t think I would ever be able to convince that guy to leave me alone.”
“Um, you’re welcome,” Alex muttered. Ugh, her breasts were pressing into his arm. Did she even realize that?
“To thank you, how about you allow me to pay you back?” Ryoko suggested.
“Uh… I really don’t think…”
“Aw, it’ll be fine! Come on!”
“H-hey, wait! Where are you dragging me?!”
Alone with a girl he hadn’t spoken to much since graduating from primary school, Alex was dragged off by Ryoko, who took him deeper into Mars City.
7
“Ah! It’s Ryoko!” Gabrielle exclaimed. “I wonder what she’s doing here. I think she has school, doesn’t she?”
“Who’s Ryoko?” Michelle asked.
“One of my friends.”
“Hm…”
This new development was intriguing. It seemed like Alex was close to this Ryoko woman. Was this dark-skinned beauty also interested in Alex? The thought made her giggle.
Michelle wanted to learn more about her, this Ryoko, and what her relationship was with Alex.
Is she a threat?
If it was just a matter of her being interested in Alex, then that was fine. Ryoko could always become a second or third wife. However, if she wanted Alex for herself, that would be problematic.
With that thought in mind, she, Gabrielle, a grumbling Ariel, and a silent Nyx followed the two as they walked through the city.
8
Mars City had a surprising number of cafés. The reason was because most people didn’t care to stick around long while they ate. Perhaps it was a sign of the times, but eating wasn’t something that people did for the sheer enjoyment of it anymore—except for those few avid patrons who enjoyed being tended to by a host of gorgeous maids and handsome butlers.
With a café, meals could be quick or prolonged. Younger people liked to hang out in cafés when they were traversing the city in search of entertainment. Adults, due to the long hours they worked, tended to prefer quick grab and go meals. Cafés catered to both preferences.
What’s more, many cafés had a host of either maids, butlers, or both. People who went to cafés regularly often did so for the maids and butlers. Maid and butler cafés were exceedingly popular among teenagers and older nobles.
Alex and Ryoko sat down at one of the tables inside of a maid café, next to a window, which gave them a view of the pedestrians walking outside.
“Ah… I’m glad we found a Chichi’s so close to us,” Ryoko said, grinning at him.
Chichi’s was a popular chain of maid cafés that had sprouted around Mars City. There were probably thousands of them dotting the city. Alex had read on the holonet that they were currently the most popular café on Mars.
Frowning at the girl, he asked, “shouldn’t you be in school?”
“Yeah, I probably should.” Ryoko leaned over and gave him a no-nonsense look, as if she was about to tell him something important. “But I heard we were having a pop quiz today, so I decided to ditch.”
If Alex hadn’t been expecting that answer, he would have smacked his face against the table. “You’ve always ditched class during tests. You know that’s why your grades are so low, right?”
Ryoko waved him off. “Like I care about my grades. Once I graduate from primary, I’m going to be taking over the family’s workshop.”
It was commonplace for children to take over their parents’ business. Since Mars was a confined city with limited space, there wasn’t any room for entrepreneurs who wanted to start a new business.
The eldest child was most often the one who took over, but sometimes the youngest one did instead such as the case with Selene. Ryoko was an only child. That meant she was all but obligated to take over.
“Do you really want to work in a mechanic shop?” Alex asked. “No offense, but you don’t strike me as much of a grease monkey.”
Ryoko’s parents owned a small shop that repaired vehicles of all kinds, shuttles, hoverboards, hoverbikes, etc. Alex had never used them since he repaired his own equipment, but he knew they had quite a few loyal customers who kept them afloat.
“Not much choice.” Ryoko shrugged. “It isn’t like I can just go off and become a police officer like you. This is my family’s business, and if I don’t take it, then who will?”
There was truth to her words, and he even though he couldn’t understand them from her perspective, he did sympathize with her. There wasn’t much that someone could do against family obligations.
“Still, didn’t you want to become an actress?”
“I’m surprised you remembered that.”
“You’re a pretty memorable person.”
Alex didn’t realize that he’d made a mistake until he saw Ryoko’s grin. She leaned forward, offering him a tantalizing glimpse of her cleavage. Alex leaned back.
“You’ve always been something of a charmer, haven’t you?” Ryoko murmured. “I never noticed it much when we were younger, but you have this habit of saying really flattering compliments as if they were facts.”
“Uh…”
Chuckling, Ryoko patted his cheek in a condescending manner. “Don’t worry about it, Sweetie. I rather like that part about you.”
Alex wasn’t sure if she was complimenting him or insulting him, but he knew that this was just how Ryoko acted. She’d been like this for as long as he could remember. He tried not to let him bother him.
A maid came up and took their order. Alex ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, while Ryoko got a sundae delight. As the woman walked off, he shook his head.
“You and your sweets.”
“Your sister loves sweets more than me,” Ryoko rebutted.
“I can’t deny that.”
His sister had the biggest sweet tooth ever—no questions asked.
9
Michelle stood on the opposite side of the walkway as the café, crowding around a tree with Gabrielle, Ariel, and Nyx. She stared into the window. Alex was sitting at a table with Ryoko, and they appeared to be having a pleasant conversation.
“Sister, do you know if Alex and Ryoko are close?” she asked Gabrielle, who tilted her head and adopted the expression of someone who was thinking really hard.
“I don’t know. I know they both went to the same school before Alex graduated, and Ryoko does like to touch him a lot, but she touches everyone, so I thought that’s just how she is.” She wore a thoughtful frown. “Do you think Ryoko likes him, too?”
Michelle bit her thumbnail. “I don’t know…”
Gabrielle’s eyes lit up as if a thought had suddenly occurred to her. “If she did love Alex, it means we’d be able to love Alex together. She and I could get closer and become a family!”
The naivety in her sister’s words made Michelle smile, but it also made her think. There was nothing wrong with Gabrielle’s way of thinking. Provided Ryoko understood her place in the hierarchy, adding her into the relationship could work well. Of course, that depended on whether or not Ryoko even had feelings for Alex to begin with.
Alex and Ryoko continued to talk and eat. They eventually left the café. After exiting through the door, Michelle thought they would go their separate ways, but instead, Ryoko grabbed onto Alex’s arm and said something in his ear. Whatever it was caused a flustered Alex to let her tug him away.
“Let’s follow them,” Michelle suggested.
“Okay!” Gabrielle cheered.
Ariel sighed. “This is more trouble than it’s worth.”
As they walked off, passing by several people, including one really lanky man with mousy brown hair and bad body odor, Michelle realized they were missing someone. She turned around. Nyx was staring at something off in the distance.
“Nyx, are you coming?” she called.
Nyx remained silent for a moment longer. Then she turned to them and trotted over.
“I’m coming.”
Together, they moved off to follow Alex and Ryoko again.
10
Alex was walking Ryoko home at her suggestion. He’d heard about this before. It was something that teenagers did after school, where they walked the girl they liked home so they could stay together longer.
When he was younger, Alex had dreamed of doing this with Selene, but after she’d rejected him, his attention had turned toward his studies. He hadn’t thought about walking a girl home since then.
It seemed like he was finally getting his chance. That said, he was somewhat disappointed that he was walking Ryoko home. He’d have liked to walk Gabrielle or Jasmine home. Not only was he closer to them, but Gabrielle and Jasmine were two of the three girls who were featured most prominently in his dreams. Selene was the third.
Of course, he also didn’t want Ryoko getting caught up in something dangerous like getting kidnapped by slavers, so he was going to walk her home without complaint.
Unlike Alex, who lived in the Outer District, Ryoko lived in the Residential District. Her family lived on the 30th floor of a massive skyscraper, room 3,331.
“Well, it looks like we’re here,” Alex said as they stood in a large hallway with a carpeted floor and plasteel walls. “Since I’ve now walked you home, I think I’m going to—”
“Why don’t you come in?” Ryoko suggested. Before Alex could turn her down, Ryoko had pulled him inside. “I’ll give you a tour of my place. You’ve never been here before, right?”
“Uh, no,” Alex admitted. “But I really think I should be going.”
“It’ll be fine if you stay for a while.” Gripping his hand as she walked further inside, Ryoko looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. “My parents don’t get home until really late.”
Alex swallowed in an attempt to quench his dry throat. Perhaps it was her words, or maybe it was the images her words invoked, but he found himself unable to disobey her.
The apartment was… small, though Alex felt bad saying so out loud. It never really occurred to him how fortunate he was to live in a house, but seeing Ryoko’s place, which couldn’t have been more than 200 square meters, really drove that point home.
Despite its size, it still looked like a well-loved home. Pictures hung from the walls. A holovid sat in the corner of the living room/kitchenette. There was a short hallway that led to what he guessed were the bedrooms and the shower room.
Ryoko led him down the hall and into one of the rooms.
Alex knew from the moment he set foot inside that this was a girl’s room. The walls were a light pink, and the carpet seemed somehow softer than his own. Decorations were sparse, but the posters hanging on the wall all featured famous actors and boy bands. A desk, bed, and dresser made up the furniture. There was a window by the bed.
“And this is my room,” Ryoko said, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning forward as she grinned. “What do you think?”
Alex tried not to look at her cleavage.
“Wow! Check out those tits! They’re not as good as the angel bitch’s, but—”
He slammed on his mental shields and shut Voice Number One down before it could say anything else.
“It’s a nice room,” Alex said, glancing around, trying to find something that he could use to distract himself.
“You’ve never been in a girl’s room before, have you?”
“Not since Alice and I stopped living with Selene,” he said, and then paused. “Unless you want to include my sister’s room.”
Ryoko shrugged. “That’s your sister, so we won’t count her.”
Alex coughed into his hand. “A-anyway, thanks for showing me your place, but I really should get going.”
Alex wanted to get out of there quickly. His danger senses were screaming at him, telling him that if he didn’t run now, it would be too late. Though just what it would be too late for was something that he didn’t know.
“Oh, no you don’t!”
“Gya!”
Alex squawked when Ryoko grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him backwards, onto the bed.
11
“How bold!” Michelle gasped as she watched what was happening through the window.
She and the others had followed Alex and Ryoko all the way to the girl’s apartment, though they hadn’t been able to enter, for obvious reasons. Fortunately, all of them could fly thanks to their wings. They had flown around the building and eventually found a glassteel window that belonged to Ryoko’s house.
“What the hell is that beast doing?!”
Ariel darted forward. Michelle knew her sister, so she knew that the girl was looking to take a pound of Alex’s flesh. She grabbed her sister by the back of her shirt. She also ignored the gagging sounds Ariel made as the girl choked from the action.
“Let’s not be hasty, Sis,” Michelle said. “Anyone watching can clearly see that what happened was Ryoko’s doing, not Alexander’s.”
“So?” Ariel turned to glare at her. “That doesn’t mean anything. J-just look at what they’re doing!”
Upon seeing how red Ariel’s face was, Michelle understood the real reason that her sister wanted to beat up Alex. She smiled.
“Now, now, just because you’re a prude who’s too immature to understand what goes on between men and women, that doesn’t mean you can take it out on Alexander. That’s not fair to him.”
“W-what—are you saying I’m immature?!”
“Yes.”
“Why you—”
“I don’t really get it,” Gabrielle stated. She, too, was peering inside, though her expression was quizzical. “Are they going to sleep together?”
You are way too pure, sister.
“That’s certainly one way of putting it—and Nyx, don’t transmute your armbands into swords.”
The armband that Nyx was holding in her hand went from a sword, back into an armband. Frowning at the scene inside of the bedroom, Nyx silently huffed and turned her head.
12
This situation was getting really out of hand. Alex was on his hands and knees, on Ryoko’s bed, while Ryoko was lying underneath him. Her hands were wrapped around his neck. They kept him from leaving.
“You seem nervous,” Ryoko said. “Just relax.”
“Oh, there’s no way this prudish boy can relax after what you’re doing. Damn, I really like this girl.”
“I do not understand what Ryoko is trying to accomplish.”
The voices returned, and this time, Alex couldn’t stop them. His concentration was shot.
“You know, school has been really boring ever since you graduated,” Ryoko continued, pulling him ever closer. Alex stared into her half-lidded eyes. Had her eyelashes always been that thick? “None of the other boys respond to my teasing like you did, and the only girl who still jumps at me when I molest her is Selene.”
“I think our friend is suffering from some kind of affliction. No one talks about molesting people so easily.”
“You clearly have not been listening to me speak.”
“You’re a daemon. You don’t count.”
“Now that’s just discrimination.”
Why must you two continue to torment me?
“I… I am sorry that I ruined your fun,” Alex managed to choke out.
Ryoko grinned. “Oh, it’s fine. It’s fine. At least you’re here now, right? You know, I’ve always liked you. Back when we were younger, you always looked after Selene and I, protecting us despite being so weak.”
Alex had always had a protective streak. It hadn’t just extended to his friends and family. If someone was in trouble, he’d help them. If someone was being picked on by bullies, he’d defend them. That was how it had been ever since his parents had died.
Selene, and Ryoko in particular, used to get picked on a lot. Selene because she was a girl trying to do “boy stuff,” and Ryoko because she used to wear glasses and had an acne problem. The boys gave her nicknames like Volcano Face and Pepperoni.
Of course, Ryoko was a scrapper. While Selene never fought anyone despite having been really athletic, Ryoko could and would fight. However, it was impossible to win with five to one odds. Ryoko would always end up getting beaten.
That was why, back then, Alex had taken it upon himself to protect her and Selene. Any time he was around and saw Ryoko in a fight, he’d jump in and help. Sometimes they would win and sometimes they would lose, but Alex would always jump in to protect her regardless of the circumstances.
“Did you know that I used to think of you as my hero back then?” Ryoko asked.
Alex’s throat felt dry. “I… I didn’t…”
“Well, I did. I still do, in fact. You’ve always been like mine and Selene’s personal hero, coming to help us when we were in trouble. I never did thank you for those times, but I would like to do that now?”
“Damn, is this girl saying what I think she’s saying?”
“I certainly hope not.”
Alex ignored the voices, which was surprisingly easy, though that may have been because all of his attention was on Ryoko.
He wasn’t stupid. He knew what she was suggesting, and he couldn’t believe that she was suggesting it. Ryoko was a flirt, yes, but they hadn’t hung out together in years. After turning fourteen, she’d blossomed into a gorgeous young woman, and they had gone their separate ways.
