“Your little accident led us to a tool needed for this hunt. They had a key that’s described in our quest log needed to open a sealed tomb.” She leaned in and pecked him on the lips, his heart skipping a beat. “And for that, you deserve a small reward.”
He smirked. “Looks like I need to make those kinds of accidents more often.”
Her eyes narrowed as an alluring smile appeared on those irresistible lips of hers and she turned away. “Maybe you do. We still have more of this hunt to go, and I can smell the rain coming, so we shouldn’t wait around too long.”
Takashi agreed. Getting caught up in the rainstorms in this region wasn’t fun. The pair continued on their way, based on the last clue they had been following before the battle. Unfortunately, no more than ten minutes in, the sky opened up on them. Even with the thick canopy above, they found this shower turning into a storm faster than they would have liked. Not even their cloaks saved them from this torrential downpour. They needed shelter.
Mercedes pointed up at some elevated ground, using her free hand to hold her quiver over her head to protect her some from the falling water. “Let’s go back to those ruins to get out of this rain. We can figure out what to do next from there.”
Takashi nodded and the two rushed to the ancient building. Once there, they shook off their soaked cloaks and shielded themselves when Lo’quena shook the water from her coat. She then went to grooming herself while Takashi and Mercedes tried to figure out what to do.
“These storms are pretty unpredictable,” Takashi said. “It’s hard to tell whether it’ll stop in five minutes or three hours. What would you rather do? I know it’s getting late, and you do have testing tomorrow.”
“Well, I sorta do,” Mercedes said, sitting down somewhere dry. The ruins weren’t the best place to stay dry, as the water leaked in many places, but it was better than taking shelter under some tree roots. “With the new testing Narissa is having me do, thanks to the shock theory the two of us figured out, she wants to do three full days of more casual testing. She believes this will reduce the body’s shock reaction to the change. I have to keep the neuro-mod active all the time, but I’m able to do whatever I want, even come in to the office late, or not at all. She just wants me to let her know if that’s my plan.”
“If you’re okay with waiting, I guess we could try.” Takashi looked out into the jungle, the rain making it hard to see far. “We could always do something else, too. Old raids, achievement runs, a stroll through a big city in the park while the enemy guards hurl spears at us…”
Mercedes burst with laughter, holding her sides. “I think you just described one of Shira’s PvP fantasies.”
“Yeah? I’m pretty sure that’s Jasper’s and Zach’s too.” Takashi grinned. “We also can’t forget Ajax. He’d be more than happy to take Narissa as loot from a boss.”
Mercedes continued to laugh. Takashi smiled, happy to hear the sound. He pulled out some tinder and wood he’d collected earlier, and started a fire to keep them both warm while they waited the storm out.
Just as he went to light the dry tinder with a spell, an unusual buzzing entered his ear, and then the scenery around them sputtered. Mercedes sat up straight and looked around, her fear evident. The area around them sputtered more, and before they knew it, their avatars glitched and disappeared, leaving their real selves.
The sound of gear clattered on the ground. Mercedes gasped and looked where her right arm should be, only for nothing to be there. Well, nothing isn’t correct. There was a three- or four-inch nub of what was left of an arm, all scarred up at the bottom where the skin had been forced together and healed. Her bracer and archer’s glove she’d worn on that arm lay at her feet where it’d fallen.
The pair looked at each other, their concern growing. These kind of glitches were rare, but never good.
“We need to leave,” Takashi said. “We’ll make up for the loss later.”
Mercedes swallowed and nodded, her panic barely held back in from the look in her eyes. Takashi activated his game menu and went to log off, to find the option gone. Mercedes’ eyes met his, and he could tell she was dealing with the same issue. He jumped into the guild chat channel. “Hey, is anyone else unable to log out?”
“It’s a game-wide deal,” Zach’s said. “Some people can’t even use abilities. Our match was just canceled because of it.”
Takashi watched Mercedes activate her menu with her only arm. “Where is Shira? I see she’s offline.”
“Yeah, she got off about thirty minutes ago,” Jasper said. “Said she wasn’t feeling good.”
Mercedes sighed with relief. “Oh, good.”
“Is there a reason yer so concerned?” he asked. “Besides this avatah issue?”
Mercedes chewed her lip and placed her good hand over the nub on her shoulder where her other arm should be. “These glitches are bad for those like us with prosthetics. The game isn’t able to simulate an artificial limb, so when we lose our avatars, we also lose the in-game limbs we’ve gained over our real bodies. Someone like Shira wouldn’t be able to stand or hold herself up well when sitting, since she lost so much of her body on one side.”
Sitting would be the least of her worries, with how many cybernetic components she has on that side. Takashi didn’t know the full extent to Shira’s cybernetics, but had heard enough to make a guess. He’d also heard about a number of the hospital visits Shira had gone through to have real bone and tissue created to reduce the cybernetic count in her body, but such measures took time, and it’d be many years before Shira would have more body than machine on that side.
“Wait, so you’re missing an arm right now?” Zach asked.
Mercedes nodded, even though they couldn’t see her. “Yeah…”
Takashi’s chest tightened. He could see the pain in her eyes. This was not a kind reminder of whatever caused her to lose that limb. With all this testing with that new prosthetic… how much of it is affecting her mental state? He never thought to question it. She’d been so adamant and excited to test, he never stopped to think about whether she was covering up her real feelings—ones she could easily forget if no one brought attention to her false limb.
“Mercedes, I didn’t upset you with my question, did I?” Zach asked.
“No, you’re fine,” she replied. Takashi couldn’t tell whether she was telling the truth or not. His question was a well-intended and seemingly harmless inquiry, but for someone in her situation, it may not be taken as such. Or it could just be the situation as a whole that was affecting her.
Takashi disconnected from guild chat as he came over to her, placing a hand over the one resting on the nub of her arm. She looked up at him, and he peered back with understanding eyes. Mercedes tried to smile, but it didn’t go very far up her face.
“Sorry.” She looked down. “I wasn’t expecting I’d have to subject you to my condition so soon into our relationship.”
His brow creased. “Subject me?” Takashi tucked his finger under her chin and made her look at him. “Subject me to what? All I see if the most perfect woman in front of me.”
A demure smile spread across her face as she tried to look away, but he wasn’t having it. Takashi leaned in and captured her lips with his. Startled, she placed her hand on his chest, but didn’t push him away, not that he expected her to.
Takashi pulled away and her eyes fluttered open. He grinned. “Now, let’s get this fire started. Your lips are turning blue and you’re starting to shiver.”
She nodded, and he went about getting the fire situated. Mercedes sat down nearby and searched her inventory. “It’d be nice if our gear glitched out, too, so I wouldn’t be wearing all this wet leather. Even my tunic underneath is soaked.”
Takashi nodded. “It is strange. In the past everything would vanish. Even our nerve connectors would go on the fritz.”
“They fixed that two years ago, remember?” Mercedes continued to search. “It was causing health concerns, so they made a failsafe. Actually, now that I think about it, I think the gear is another one.”
Takashi laughed and warmed his hands. “With how some people dress, or lack thereof, while they play, I could see why the game devs do that.”
He had to admit, thinking about the failsafe made him wonder what Mercedes was wearing in her hotel room. Was she still in that dress, or did she change into something more comfortable? Or maybe nothing at all… That thought excited him, though he suspected it was the least-case scenario.
Mercedes stopped her searching and looked at him. “You don’t have any spare clothes, do you? It looks like I removed all mine from my bag.”
Takashi’s brow creased as he thought. “I might have an extra robe. Give me a second to check.”
He searched his inventory for gear or common clothes that wouldn’t be bound to him specifically. His search resulted in one find, a robe tailored to fit a man of his figure.
Takashi removed it from his inventory, the item materializing in his hands. “I have this. It’s tailored to fit me, but it’s all I have.”
Mercedes finished taking her leather boots off and held her hand out. “It’s better than nothing.”
He handed it over and proceeded to also take out a bedroll. It’d make sitting a bit more comfortable. Mercedes fussed with the belts and buckles of her leather jerkin, managing quite well with one arm. Not wanting to offend her, Takashi resisted the urge to offer unsolicited help.
Her damp jerkin flopped on the ground, her leather bracer next after some work with her teeth and feet. Her ability to adapt impressed Takashi. He knew she didn’t want some arbitrary pat on the back for doing something most would struggle with unless they were forced to adapt, and he didn’t blame her, but it didn’t stop his admiration. She took a tough situation and made the most of it. He adored her tenacity. It was a quality he never wanted her to lose.
Mercedes wrung out her saturated tunic, substituting her body in as the other hand. The fabric pulled against her cold breasts and nipples. Takashi stopped mid-attempt to pull a blanket out of his inventory and stared. He knew he shouldn’t; it was rude, but the sight was too pleasing to look away.
She glanced his way when she finished, and chuckled. “Someone has no shame.”
Her words snapped him out of his daze and he looked away, going about retrieving the blanket. “Sorry.”
Mercedes chuckled again, and the sound of her tunic hitting the ground shot into his ears. Her boots tapped on the ground and she knelt down behind him, draping her arms over his shoulders and pressing her now-exposed breasts against his back.
She leaned in close to his ear. “What’s there to be sorry about? Unless you’re ashamed to look at me.”
“Of course not.” He reached around with one arm, aiming to lay his hand on her lower back, but instead his hand found purchase on her ass. It felt nicer than he imagined. “But I don’t know how well I’d be able to control myself if I were allowed to continue to stare.”
“Who said you had to behave?” She chuckled when he visibly swallowed, and then kissed him on the temple. “You’re a peach.”
He was so confused—and aroused. Not a fun combo right now. Was she teasing him or giving an invitation?
“Now…” Her fingers slipped into the collar of his robe, and in one swift and impressive motion, she pulled the robe off his shoulders, the cloth falling to his sides. “You need to get into dry clothes, too.”
He lifted his arms as he looked down at himself, the loose clothing bunching up around his hips and torso. What has gotten into her? Her giggling drew his attention—and eyes—to her. She’d moved away and pulled her borrowed robe over her body, but it rested loosely over her smaller frame. The neckline fell wide over her shoulders and plunged deep on her chest, drawing his eyes right to her perfectly-sized breasts.
Mercedes’ eyes danced as he stared at her. This side of her was new to him. She could be playful, but there had always been that “just friends” barrier.
With no signs of care about his leering gaze, she slipped her wet pants off in a way that didn’t open the robe and give him a view of her lower body, though his lower body begged for such a sight. She went about laying out her wet armor to dry by the fire. Takashi refocused his mind and used this moment to swap out his wet robe for a robe with lesser stats, but was most definitely dry.
He found the mechanics of wet and dry items strange for the game. As long as objects were in his inventory, they were fine, but the moment they came out, regular laws were applied to them. He’d never found an answer in any forums or game panels.
By the time he finished, Mercedes had settled down on the bed roll, her feet keeping warm near the fire. He sat down next to her and pulled a blanket over them. “This should help us keep warm.”
She smiled at him, her eyes still glowing. “Thanks. I hope you’re not mad about all the teasing.”
He chuckled. “No, it just surprised me is all.”
The two went to staring at the fire, a comfortable silence falling between them. He would have liked to have some sort of conversation, but nothing came to him—well, not one he thought appropriate to ask. He’d like to know the answer eventually, but right now didn’t feel like the right time.
Mercedes looked at him. “You know, you’re allowed to ask.”
Her forwardness took him for a second. “W–what do you mean?”
“I know when people stare at my missing arm.” She looked back at the fire. “It’s one of those things you become hyperaware of, and sensitive to. This is the first time anyone has seen me without my cybernetic in a very long time. It ain’t pretty, but it’s the truth of the life I live. I’d rather people ask questions than stare and stay silent, afraid of upsetting or offending me.”
Her honesty moved him. “Okay, then I will ask—how often do you have to remove your cybernetic? You’re currently testing out new ones with nerves, which would indicate not often, but I would think there are some health risks involved with prolonged use without removal.”
She rocked her head side to side. “That’s true for when you first get them, due to how the body needs to adjust and the healing process for the surgery site. But as time goes on, you don’t need to have it removed as often.” She looked at him with warm blue eyes. “Mine has to come off once a year. Narissa says after ten years, I can start going in five-year spans without having to remove it. Unless of course I feel something is off, then it most definitely needs to be removed to check for any health issues. I’ll be glad when that happens. I’d prefer the thing to just stay on.”
Takashi couldn’t help but chuckle. The fire burning in her frustration amused him a bit. When she shivered, a wide grin spread across his lips. He reached out and pulled her into his lap, Mercedes letting out an adorable squeak.
“Here, I’ll keep you warm.” He smiled near her ear. “This is okay, right?”
“Uh, y–yeah,” she managed. He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. The change in her demeanor was interesting.
The two sat there, staring at the fire. Takashi rested his chin on her shoulder and she didn’t refuse him. As he held her close, his hand found the shoulder of her amputated arm, and stroked her exposed skin. She glanced down at his hand, but then went back to watching the fire. He decided to finally ask his question. She did want him to be open with his curiosity.
“Mercedes, I’d like to ask you something personal. You’re welcome to say no.”
“I’m listening.” She didn’t look at him, but he caught her jaw tightening as if she knew the question coming up.
His fingers grazed her skin as he dragged them toward her amputation scars. She gasped, but didn’t stop him. “What happened?”
&
nbsp; Mercedes sucked in a tight breath and chewed her lip briefly. “Do you remember the terrorist attack five years ago at the convention center in Anaheim?”
“Of course.” Who didn’t remember that? Some religious extremist decided that people’s love for gaming deemed them unworthy of living, and he bombed the place. Thousands of people died, and even more were injured and had their lives irreparably altered. “I was supposed to go to the convention happening that day, but missed my flight because my family needed me to help them out with something.”
“Shira, my father, and I were there that day.”
Takashi’s blood ran cold.
“She was actually in the convention center, whereas my father and I were driving near it. I wanted to show him the area before we found a place to park and go inside to see all the cool things going on.” She frowned. “We’d just passed the main entrance of the convention center when everything happened. I… don’t remember much… just bits and pieces. A loud bang sound; and flash and smoke; things flying everywhere; a lot of pain on my right side; someone flashing a light in my eyes…”
Takashi pulled her in close, holding her tight. Every tiny piece of information he caught from various conversations now made sense. The fact both Mercedes and her father had cybernetic arms of the opposite side now made sense. She had to have been in the driver’s seat, showing him around.
“I remember my hospital visit the most, even with the heavy sedation. A few hours into my stay at the hospital, my arm was removed. There wasn’t much left of it. I was lucky that was the only thing I’d lost.”
She took an unsteady breath. “I met Narissa soon after. She gave my father and me the opportunity to have cybernetics at no cost. Her company wanted to help where they could, but they didn’t believe in forcing the cybernetics on people unless it was absolutely necessary… like with Shira. I met her three days later. The woman she’d shared a room with didn’t make it, and the hospital thought it best if I were moved in.”
Spellbinding His Ranger: A Sci-Fi Gamer Friends-to-Lovers Romance (Looking For Group Book 1) Page 19
