Alex rolled his eyes. “Always with the jokes.”
“Oh ho ho ho ho!” Jasmine suddenly laughed as she stepped in front of her Ryoko. “I do not know what you think you’re doing, but please refrain from trying to inappropriately touch Alexander in front of me. As the Queen of Pureness, I’ll not have you tainting his purity.”
The sound of Alice smacking herself in the face made Gabrielle’s ears wiggle.
“Troublesome,” the girl muttered.
“Oh? Aren’t you that Jaz-girl?”
“Oh ho ho ho ho! My name is Jasmine. For someone not to know the name of the person who has been hailed as the Queen of School is unthinkable. You must not be very well informed.”
“I think the only one calling you that is you,” Ryoko said.
“You mean she’s really not called the Queen of School?” asked Gabrielle. Everyone turned to stare at her. “What?”
“You’re cute, Gabrielle,” Ryoko said with a wink.
“HEY!” Arthur suddenly shouted, and his voice was so loud that it reverberated across the entire campus, causing everyone who’d been around the gates to stop what they were doing and stare at him. “Don’t think you all can just ignore me! Alexander S. Ryker! I am challenging you to a duel!”
“No,” Alex said almost immediately.
Arthur ground his teeth together. “F-fine. Since you seem so set on refusing, I’ll not bother with you. You’re clearly not a true man if you aren’t willing to face me in honorable combat.”
“The only honor that comes from combat is when it lets me protect the people I love,” Alex countered. “Fighting without a just cause is nothing more than casuistry.”
Arthur paused, his cheeks turned red, and then he coughed into his hand. “W-whatever. It’s not important. Gabrielle!” Arthur focused on her instead. He walked up to her, knelt down, and took her hand. “Gabrielle, I apologize for being so hasty the previous day. I realize that you and I have not spoken for a long time, so it’s only natural that feelings and memories would fade. I would like for us to start over. Allow me to take you on a date tomorrow.”
Gabrielle shook her head. “I can’t. I have school tomorrow.”
Arthur twitched. “Then… the day after?”
“I have school then, too.”
“W-what days don’t you have school?”
“Um, Saturday and Sunday. That’s four days from now.”
“Then allow me to take you on a date four days from now,” Arthur said.
Gabrielle was about to deny him, to tell him that she had no intention of going on a date with him because she loved Alex, but then she paused. The conversation she’d had with Michelle the night before floated into her mind.
“Arthur will probably come back to ask you out at some point. When he does, tell him that you’ll go on a date with him.”
“But I don’t want to go on a date with him!”
“It doesn’t matter. Going on the date with him is necessary to make Alex confess to you.”
“How does that work?”
“Look, Honorable Sister, when you begin to show interest in other guys, Alex will realize that he needs to hurry up and admit his feelings for you before someone else steals you away. It will give him that sense of urgency that if he doesn’t do something, he’ll lose you.”
“I don’t know…”
“Please trust me on this, Honorable Sister. This is exactly like one of the scenarios in my games.”
Gabrielle fought with herself. She didn’t want to accept his offer of a date. She didn’t want to do anything with him. All Gabrielle wanted was to be with Alex.
But if I do this, Alex will realize that he should confess to me.
Michelle knew how this romance stuff worked better than her. Gabrielle had never thought about romance until Alex, so she didn’t know what to do. That was why she would listen to Michelle’s advice.
“Did you really just ask her on a date?” asked Alex. “You never learn, do you? Gabrielle clearly isn’t interested in—”
“I’ll do it,” Gabrielle said, having come to a decision. “I’ll go on a date with you.”
Her proclamation was met with stunned silence, though none looked more stunned than Alex. The expression he gave her almost made Gabrielle take her words back and say she was just kidding. She didn’t. Gabrielle sucked in the unpleasant roiling of her stomach. This was all so Alex would confess to her. To hear his confession, she would do anything…
Even if though she really didn’t like what she had to do.
4
Alex spent the next day mostly in a daze; it was as though a film had been thrown over his eyes, as though his mind was shrouded with fog. His thoughts were slow. Thinking at all required more effort than it should have. He couldn’t even work on his inventions, that was how difficult it was for his mental faculties to process information.
It was a school day. Everyone but Nyx was in class right then. Alex had made them breakfast and walked them to school as always, but he hadn’t spoken much, and he’d left soon after they reached Atreyu Academy. Now he was inside of his and Gabrielle’s laboratory, trying to work on the wings that they had been building. It was almost finished. There were only a few more feathers that he needed to add.
The problem was that he couldn’t concentrate.
“I cannot believe you are being such a pansy about this,” Voice Number One said. “Are you really just going to stand around here in a daze all day? If it bothers you that much, then go up to the angel bitch, push her against the wall, and shove your throbbing hot—doof!”
A loud crashing echoed through his mind. Alex imagined that the owner of the other voice had hit Voice Number One.
“I apologize for her words,” Voice Number Two began. “She is becoming more unruly by the day. You need to remain calm, Alexander. The more negativity you feel, the stronger Asmodeus becomes, and while I disagree with what actions she believes you should take; I do believe that you should communicate with Gabrielle and express how you feel.”
I can’t do that.
“Why can’t you? Expressing your feelings should be easy. You know that Gabrielle will accept them.”
I…
“Psh! You know why he won’t as well as I do. This kid’s a pussy! He’s afraid she’ll reject him because he’s horny all the time.”
“And who’s fault do you think that is?”
“Hehe.”
“This is no laughing matter, Daemon!”
Alex listened as the two began yelling at each other and tried not to sigh. This had been happening more and more often lately.
He had not told anyone about these voices because he didn’t want people to think he was insane, though he had asked Ēostre if Angelisians had a second personality, or perhaps an alter ego. She told him they didn’t. That meant these voices were unique to him.
He didn’t know what to think about that.
There were a few things that he had discovered on his own, namely that Voice Number One was somehow tied into the red power that he could unleash, while Voice Number Two was tied to the Aura of Creation.
It was entirely possible that the cause of the voices was thanks to the seal. While only a theory, Alex believed that it was because of the seal’s degradation. Gabrielle had mentioned that the seal on his core likely locked away his Angelisian genes. If that was indeed the case, then it stood to reason that these voices were because his powers weren’t fully unlocked. Perhaps the seal was holding strong enough that his powers, still separated from him, had created alter egos.
Then again, all this could be in his mind.
“Are you okay?” Nyx asked.
Alex blinked.
He was sitting at a work table in the lab. While most of their inventions were created using Mr. Welder, there were times when Alex and Gabrielle wanted to work directly with their hands. The worktable was just a sturdy slab of durasteel with a long bench surrounding it. The wings, nearly complete and shining with a metall
ic sheen, sat on the table.
Nyx was with him, seated to his immediate left as she watched him work with emotionless eyes. Her dark hair trailed along the seat before pooling on the floor. He wanted to ask if he could cut her hair, give it a trim, but he knew better. Nyx liked to transmute her hair into weapons using alchemy. Alex assumed that it was this length so she could have more materials to work with.
“I’m sorry. What?” Alex asked.
Nyx’s frown was almost imperceptible. “I asked if you were okay? You’ve just been sitting there in a daze. I thought something was wrong.”
“Oh…” Alex shook his head, relaxed, and then put on a smile. “I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m fine.”
“You are not,” Nyx stated with certainty.
“W-what?”
“You are not fine,” Nyx said again. “You didn’t even last ten seconds during our spar this morning, and now you aren’t even paying attention to your invention. You are not fine.”
Alex looked away, unsure of what to say.
“Is it because of Prince Arthur?” asked Nyx.
Alex swiveled his head back to her. “Do you know this Prince Arthur guy?”
“I do not know him, but I know of him.” Nyx continued to stare at him as her normally emotionless eyes narrowed. “Prince Arthur is the fourth prince of a solar system closer to the galaxy’s core. It’s a very busy solar system, since a lot of space lanes pass through there, which makes the solar system one of the wealthiest in our galaxy.”
Nyx paused. Alex assumed she was waiting to see if he’d absorbed her words, so he nodded for her to continue.
“There is a legend among their people about an ancient and powerful sword that was embedded into a stone. The sword is called Caliburn. The legend goes that whoever manages to pull Caliburn shall become the king that leads their solar system into an even greater era of prosperity. Ten years ago, Prince Arthur pulled Caliburn from the stone and became the crown prince.”
“So, basically, Prince Arthur went from being last in line for the throne to the one who will become king,” Alex summarized.
“Yes.”
“Huh… I see.” Alex smiled as he grabbed one of the feathers that had yet to be attached to the wing system and began toying with it. “I guess that explains why Gabrielle was willing to go on a date with him. Not only do they know each other, but he’s an actual prince, a true knight in shining armor.”
Alex remembered when Gabrielle had first started living with him, they had met Mrs. Metronome, Selene’s mother, and she had called Alex Gabrielle’s knight in shining armor. It seemed she was wrong. He wasn’t the true knight. He was no prince coming to the rescue. He was just the guy who Gabrielle had chosen to be her shield from unwanted marriage suitors. Now that Prince Arthur had come, she could be with him. He was sure she’d be happier with a real prince.
“ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!”
“Gya!”
Pain wracked Alex’s brain as the loud shout made him jerk backwards. He fell off the bench and slammed head first onto the durasteel floor, crying out again when the harsh crack of his head meeting metal echoed around the room.
What was that for?!
“That was because you’re a fucking idiot! What kind of pathetic loser are you? Boy, do you have even a modicum of common sense in that head of yours?!”
I have plenty of common sense.
“NOT FROM WHERE I’M STANDING!”
Alex winced again as the sound of Voice Number One’s shout bounced inside of his head. He felt as though the shout were reverberating inside of his very bones.
“I would normally never agree with Asmodeus,” Voice Number Two said. “However, you know as well as I do, as well as she does, that the person Gabrielle loves the most is you. I’m pretty sure she’s not interested in this Arthur. She’s more than likely trying to make you jealous so you’ll confess to her.”
“I bet this is that younger sister’s plan. She’s a cunning girl, that one.”
Alex knew they were correct, though he wanted to deny it. If he could just pretend that Gabrielle loved Prince Arthur, it would make things easier. He couldn’t give her the happiness she deserved, couldn’t treat her the way she deserved to be treated, couldn’t protect her, not even from himself.
Alex froze when his hand caressed her bare breasts. That noise, it hadn’t been a whimper of pain. It had been a moan. A soft, delicate sound breathed through slightly parted pink lips, which tenderly caressed the ear and caused his arousal to spike. He gulped, and then began moving his hand again.
Because Alex was a freak.
His pants became unbearably tight when he felt her nipple stiffen under his touch. He bit his lip, trying not to think about how undeniably sexy that sound was, about how nice her breast felt in his hand.
He had felt aroused when Nyx’s life had been in danger, when she’d been injured and her nanomachines overheating from overusing her alchemy to transmute her body. It was disgusting. He was disgusting, and that wasn’t even the only problem.
Alex was unfaithful.
He hadn’t been looking at just Gabrielle. Kazekiri, Jasmine, Nyx, Selene, even Ryoko had been subjected to his lust. They’d featured prominently in his dreams. He’d imagined them doing all kinds of erotic things with him, sometimes alone, sometimes together. What made it worse was that while he was awake, he’d catch himself staring at their breasts or their hips when they weren’t looking. Just thinking about the lustful stares he’d given these girls made him sick to his stomach.
“Damn… you really are a pussy.”
Shut up.
“I can’t believe you’re making such a big deal out of this.”
Be quiet…
“It’s not even that big of a deal. So you get aroused by hot women. Boo fucking hoo. You think you’re the only one who gets turned on by a hot chick? News flash. Every male is the exact same way. There are even some females like myself who find other females attractive. I’d definitely fuck any of the women you’re living with.”
I said shut up!
“Oooh! So scary. Listen, brat, trying to make me stop talking by telling me to shut up isn’t going to work. If you want to make me listen to you, then you’re gonna have to man up, get your ass in here, and make me submit to you. Until that time comes, I’m going to say whatever I fucking want. Got it?”
“I apologize for not being able to stop her, but with your current state of mind, my powers are waning. Alexander, I know this is hard for you. However, I think you should understand that what you feel is, well, I don’t want to agree with Asmodeus, but it’s natural.”
I got aroused by touching an unconscious girl. I can’t look at the women around me without feeling lust. I’ve had dreams of having orgies with them. How is that natural?
“Hmph. That’s completely natural. Even Angelisians have orgies. You’re just a pansy.”
“Asmodeus is at least partially correct, though I would hesitate to call what we do orgies. It is not as if we will have sex with anyone. Unlike Daemons, Angelisians only have sex with people they love.”
“Trying to make yourself sound noble by saying you only have orgies with loved ones? You Angelisians always have to find some manner of justification for what you do, don’t you? At least we Daemons don’t need to do that. We do what we want, when we want.”
“And that is why you and I will never get along.”
“Good, because I don’t want to get along with you.”
Alex gnashed his teeth together as he sat on the floor and covered his face with a hand, as though doing so would somehow block out the debate being waged inside of his mind. He didn’t know what to do. He was hopelessly lost, with no one who could possibly understand what he was going through or help him figure out what he should do. The two voices inside of his head weren’t helping either.
Why did he have to be this way? Why couldn’t he have been born normal? Why did he have to feel this lust, listen to these voices, deal with this intense
sexual desire? He hated it. He hated it hated it hated it hated it!
What should I do? Someone… tell me… what am I supposed to do?
He wished someone would tell him what path he should take. He wanted someone to hold him and tell him that everything was okay, that he wasn’t a freak, that he was just having a hard time and things would get better.
“It’s okay,” a voice said.
Alex froze like a block of ice when Nyx knelt before him. She stared at him with red eyes, and even though they still looked emotionless, Alex thought he could detect compassion in her gaze.
“Nyx, I…”
“Everything will be okay,” Nyx said. “I do not know what is wrong, but I know that everything will be okay.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because…” Nyx paused, her head tilting. “Because you are the person who gave me a new chance at life. Even though I tried to kill you, you forgave me and gave me something I never thought I would have. A home. I will never forget your incredible kindness. That is why… even if you can’t tell me what’s wrong, I would like you to rely on me. Even if I do not know what the problem is, I will make everything better.”
Alex didn’t know when he started crying, but tears stung his eyes. He tried to stop them. It was no use. They poured out, streaming from his eyes, running down his cheeks, and dripping off his chin.
“Nyx… I…”
Before Alex knew what he was doing, he had fallen forward and wrapped the pretty assassin before him in a hug. He felt her body stiffen. She was probably going to throw him. Even though she was now willing to hold his hand, she still threw him when he unexpectedly touched her. However, rather than judo toss him to the ground, Nyx reciprocated his gesture, wrapping her arms around him. This only made Alex cry that much harder.
Alex didn’t know what he should do, about Prince Arthur, about Gabrielle, about his own self-loathing and disgust. He had no idea. However, in that moment, Alex felt like maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.
“Your hair is surprisingly soft,” Nyx murmured as one of her hands caressed his head.
A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol 6 Page 9
