This can’t be happening…

  “Oh, this is definitely happening. Come on, boy, this is your chance to become a man! Plow your passenger shuttle into her docking bay! Shoot your photon torpedoes down her—”

  “Please do not finish that sentence, daemon.”

  A loud crash echoed in his mind, followed by a yelp. Silence came after that. Alex would have wondered what was happening inside of his own head, but Ryoko was right in his face.

  “So, Alex, how about it?” Ryoko asked. “Are you up for a night of passion with me?”

  “I…”

  Alex squeezed his eyes shut. He was hard—harder than even that time when he had been cleaning Nyx. It made him feel sick. He wanted to vomit.

  “I…”

  He needed to move. He needed to move, he needed to move, he needed to move NOW!

  “I can’t!”

  With what little strength he had left, Alex wrenched himself from her grip. Ryoko let out a startled squeak. Stumbling backwards across the bedroom, Alex slammed back first against the wall. He placed a hand to his mouth. He was so aroused that he felt sick.

  “Boo! What the hell was that? Get back in there and—Kya! My tail!”

  “I believe that is enough out of you. It is time for you to be silent.”

  Alex ignored the sound of struggling that echoed in his mind. The world felt like it was spinning, but he forced the bile back into his throat and struggled to regain his rationality.

  “L-look, Ryoko,” Alex said. “You’ve always been my friend, even when we were stopped spending time together, but I… I can’t do this. You’re beautiful, and you’re amazing… but I don’t… I mean I can’t… it’s not—”

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

  Alex stopped talking as Ryoko threw her head back and laughed. She laughed long and hard, holding a hand to her gut as she fell back onto the bed. Her feet kicked up in the air, tears sprung to her eyes, and her cheeks became bright red as she continued laughing like a madman on redline.

  Alex tried to regain his lost dignity. “What’s so funny?”

  “I… I’m sorry.” Ryoko snorted. “It’s just… that reaction… it was priceless! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

  Wait. Did that mean everything she’d just done had been for this moment? Had she played a prank on him? He scowled at the thought.

  “That… was low.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Ryoko sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. “It’s just been too long since I’ve played with you like that. You’re just too cute for your own good.”

  “W-whatever.”

  By now, Alex’s heartbeat had slowed down. He still felt queasy. He also felt ashamed of himself. Once again, he’d proven why he couldn’t commit to a relationship with anyone, be that Jasmine, Gabrielle, or Nyx.

  Wait. Nyx?

  “Anyway, let me walk you out,” Ryoko said.

  Alex thought about denying her by saying he could walk himself out, but he didn’t want to be rude. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks.”

  As Ryoko got up from the bed, Alex turned away and tried to get his heart rate back under control. It was beating way too fast.

  13

  “Quick!” Michelle shouted as she flew around the building. “Let’s get inside!”

  “We can use Mr. Jump,” Gabrielle said, holding up her teleportation wristband. “Everyone, grab onto me.”

  Michelle latched onto her sister. Ariel and Nyx did the same. Gabrielle shifted a bit. Ariel had accidentally grabbed her boob, and it kinda hurt.

  Pressing a button on Mr. Jump, she and the others instantly teleported to another spot. They were inside of a hallway with gray carpet and beige walls. It was brightly lit with a long string of lights that traveled along the ceiling like pipes. They were right next to the door with the room number 3,331. Gabrielle could hear Alex’s voice from the other side.

  “Let’s hide around that corner!” Michelle pointed to a corner not that far off.

  Gabrielle and the others hid around the corner. They were just in time to avoid being spotted, as the door opened seconds later, and Alex stepped out.

  14

  “Thanks for spending the day with me, and sorry about my little prank,” Ryoko said as she shut the door behind her.

  “I somehow get the feeling that you’re really not sorry at all,” Alex muttered.

  “Well… maybe not completely sorry,” Ryoko admitted.

  “Right. Well, I’ll see you later, Ryo.”

  “Heh, you haven’t called me that since we were twelve.”

  “I haven’t really spoken to you since we were twelve.”

  “That’s true.” Rocking back on her heels, Ryoko eyed Alex with a speculative gleam. “By the way, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

  Alex hesitated. Knowing her, that question could be anything from what color his underwear was to whether or not he was still a virgin. He was understandably wary.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Is the reason you won’t do anything with me because you like someone else?”

  Whatever question Alex had been expecting, it wasn’t that. He actually needed a second to think up an answer.

  “That… is part of the reason, yes,” he admitted. He couldn’t tell her the other reason. That he became ashamed of himself every time felt aroused, that he didn’t deserve to be with a woman because of how hard it was to control his own urges, that he was a disgusting freak who got off on washing a girl’s body while she was unconscious. That was something he planned on taking to the grave.

  “I see.” Ryoko hummed. “Is it Gabrielle?”

  He hesitated again, but since no one else was there, he decided to be honest—at least somewhat. There was no way he’d admit that there were several girls he found himself attracted to, but he could at least admit this much.

  “Yes, Gabrielle is the girl I like.”

  “Ah.” Ryoko smiled. “I should have figured that. It’s hard not to like that girl. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later—and be sure to give me a call. We’re not strangers, you know.”

  “You’re right. I’ll be sure to keep in touch. Have a good night.”

  Turning away from Ryoko, Alex began walking down the hall. It was later than he’d thought it would be. He needed to get home so he could get started on dinner, but first he needed to clear his head.

  15

  Gabrielle’s heart was pounding in her chest.

  They had made it back home before Alex did. Now, sitting on the floor in her room, she, her sisters, and Nyx discussed what they had seen.

  “That was perverted,” Nyx declared. “I should punish that girl for being such a pervert.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with being perverted. I don’t know why you see something wrong with it. Feeling lust for someone is perfectly natural.” Michelle twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. Nyx frowned at her. “In any case, I think today was very informative. We’ve learned a lot, including the fact that Alex likes Gabrielle.”

  “Yeah,” Gabrielle murmured, clutching a hand to her chest. Her heart felt fit to burst. She was so happy that she didn’t know how to contain it. The temptation to jump on Alex and hug him the moment he came home was so strong that it nearly overpowered her. She had never felt like this before.

  When Alex had first decided to protect her, she had thought that he would be a good friend. When he continued to protect her even after learning about her circumstances, her chest had beat a little faster whenever they were together. After Alex had confronted Azazel on her behalf and listening to his subsequent speech about how she should be free to make her own decisions, Gabrielle had been positive that she loved him.

  What she felt now was hundreds of times stronger than what she’d felt back then. Her heart felt like Mr. Doki-Doki was dancing around inside of it. It was beating so fast. She felt flustered for some reason, but she was also so incredibly happy.

  “Michelle… what should I do?”

  When Michelle looked at her, it was with a soft smile. “What you should do for now is let me come up with a plan. Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll be sure to come up with a plan that will have Alex confessing to you soon.”

  Gabrielle nodded, however, a plan had already begun to form in her mind. She would definitely let Michelle come up with something to help her, but Gabrielle wanted to try something first.

  16

  Ryoko walked back inside of her apartment. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it for a moment, regaining her composure before walking into her room.

  Instead of making for the bed, she wandered up to her desk, where several digital frames sat. Most of them were current pictures. They almost always featured her, Selene, and Serah. There were several where her hands were snaked underneath some unfortunate girl’s shirt, blatantly cupping her breasts, but most of them were normal pictures.

  She picked up one picture among the many. It was an older picture, of a time when she had been a fat, acne-faced, and bespectacled child. There were only two people in this picture. One was her, the other Alex.

  A smile crossed her face as she stared at the image, which featured her and Alex standing side by side. Alex wore the widest grin on his face. His left arm was around her shoulder, and she was doing her best not to blush.

  I had been so innocent back then…

  While she had always been an outgoing girl, even when she was younger, Alex had always made her embarrassed. It wasn’t because he was the only boy she had known, but because of how he had treated her.

  He had treated her like a friend, like a normal person. Alex hadn’t cared that she was overweight. He hadn’t cared that her face had been covered in zits. He’d thought nothing of her glasses. To him, Ryoko Kusanagi had merely been a good friend.

  It was strange, but even after she’d blossomed, transforming from an ugly child into the sex bomb that she was now, he’d never treated her any differently. That was why Ryoko would always consider him to be her hero. He never saw her for her appearance. He saw her for her personality.

  Thinking about the past made Ryoko remember how she’d overheard Alex’s confession to Selene.

  Selene was Ryoko’s best friend after Serah. However, when Selene had rejected Alex’s feelings, she had felt a moment of hatred for the girl. Her friend had been given what she wanted, Alex’s love handed to her on a silver platter, and Selene had stomped on those feelings.

  However, time passed, and life moved on. Ryoko didn’t want to hate Selene because her friend didn’t love Alex, and since Alex had graduated shortly after that, Selene had been one of only two people she could call real friends.

  If there was one thing she wished she could have changed, it was not containing her feelings for Alex back then. She had not said anything to him at the time because she didn’t want to be a rebound. Had she known that he would take an accelerated course and graduate early, she wouldn’t have hesitated to confess her feelings.

  It was almost funny. When they were younger, Ryoko’s feelings for Alex had been the same, but she hadn’t done anything because of her looks. Alex was nice, yes, but that didn’t mean he would’ve accepted her feelings—or so she’d told herself. Yet by the time she felt confident that her appearance would appeal to him, he’d already fallen for someone else.

  And now Gabrielle has her hands on his heart…

  She didn’t hate Gabrielle. She couldn’t. That girl was like a ray of sunshine spilling light wherever she walked. She was kinder than anyone Ryoko knew, barring perhaps Alex himself. In fact, looking at those two, they seemed perfect together. The compassionate princess and her equally kind knight.

  Setting the picture back down, Ryoko threw herself face first onto the bed. The laughter she released was hollow.

  “It looks like I was beaten to the punch once again.”

  Ryoko closed her eyes and lamented the actions she hadn’t taken in the past.

  She absently rubbed her neck as something stung it.

  17

  Alex arrived home much later that night. He would’ve gotten home sooner, but he’d needed some time to clear his head. This had been done by wandering around Mars City for the past two hours. By the time he arrived back home, it was already time to eat.

  Dinner had been surprisingly quiet. Alex wasn’t sure what was going on, but none of the people living with him would speak.

  He sort of expected this behavior from Nyx and Alice. Nyx rarely said anything and speaking while eating was too troublesome for Alice, but he had expected Gabrielle to jabber on about one thing or another. Instead, all she’d done was stare at him, and then write down something in a tablet that she’d brought to the dinner table.

  Is she taking notes or something?

  Ariel had also been silent, but since she had spent her every second glaring at him while she ate, hers was more of a “I’m gonna drill a hole through your head with my eyes” kind of silence. He wondered if he’d done something to offend her.

  Later that night, Alex was lying on his bed. He couldn’t get to sleep. His mind kept replaying the incident with Ryoko, kept remember the intoxicating scent of her hair, the alluring quality of her eyes, the feeling of her body against his.

  He hated it. He hated feeling this way. Did anyone else have this problem? He knew about puberty and hormones and all of that, but he couldn’t imagine other guys became this aroused from something so simple.

  Alex twitched when he heard a door slide open and closed. It could only be Gabrielle. She was the only one he knew who’d come into his room during the night.

  Sitting up in bed, Alex opened his mouth to tell her that he wasn’t in the mood to deal with her antics—when he froze.

  Gabrielle was wearing something that she’d never worn before. The pink nightgown rode high up on her thighs—high enough to reveal that she was wearing an equally pink G-string. The shoulder straps were frilly, and there was a dip in the front that showed off her creamy cleavage. His eyes automatically zeroed in on her breasts. Large and soft, they jiggled every time she moved. They were enticing in ways he couldn’t describe with words.

  Alex tried to speak, but he’d already been rendered breathless.

  “Alex,” Gabrielle said as she walked over to him. It might have been his overactive imagination, but he could’ve sworn that her hips held an alluring sway as she slowly drew closer to the bed.

  “G-Gabrielle,” Alex suddenly found his voice, “what are you—”

  “Alex, I…”

  Words left him as Gabrielle crawled onto the bed, moving until she was straddling his waist. The hands that she placed on his chest were like electric nodes sending several thousand volts through his body. Alex struggled against his overwhelming arousal. The fact that her crotch was bumping against his erection made fighting difficult.

  “Now this is a scenario I can get behind. Give this prude hell, angel bitch!”

  Alex struggled against Voice Number One, fought to lock her out, but it was no use. He couldn’t concentrate.

  Gabrielle leaned forward. Her breasts came into contact with his chest. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Her nipples rubbed against him through the fabric of her clothes.

  “Alex, I…”

  She was so close now. Her entire body lay against him, and he could feel everything. Her crotch had come into contact with his legs, her breasts were mashing against his chest, and her alluring face, so sweet and innocent and impossibly beautiful, was only a few centimeters from his own. He could’ve kissed her right then. He wanted to kiss her.

  “Alex, I…”

  Gabrielle leaned even closer. Was this it? Was she going to actually kiss him? S-should he allow her to? But he couldn’t, not now, not when he was like this, not when he felt so unfaithful. He needed to push her off, but all of his strength was failing him.

  And then, just as Alex’s control was about to slip, as he was about to listen to Voice Number One urging him on, as his desires were about to take over, Gabrielle stopped.

  A confused look spread across her face.

  “What am I supposed to do now?” she asked.

  Alex could do nothing but stare as Gabrielle leaned back, pulled a tablet from somewhere, and began reading whatever was on it.

  “Eh?” The only sound to escape his lips was one of confusion.

  18

  Nyx was like a rocket as she blasted forward. The ground exploded underneath her feet. Clods of dirt sprayed behind her. Meanwhile, her body had transformed into a blur.

  As she slammed into him, Alex tried to meet her attacks head on. He’d formed two energy whips out of his Aura of Creation, which he used to try and parry her attacks, but it was to no avail.

  Nyx was like a gale storm. Her swords came in at random angles, attacked at speeds that his eyes couldn’t follow, and cut through his whips like they were made of confetti. Despite that, no wounds appeared on his skin. She didn’t slice into him even once.

  Alex backpedaled as he realized his predicament, but Nyx doggedly followed him. He moved left. Her blade sliced through his shirt. He jerked backwards. The powerful swing of her blade cutting the air blasted his hair out of his face. Nyx stabbed her left sword at his chest. He moved left and twisted his torso, avoiding it, but he couldn’t avoid the black fist of hair that suddenly collided with his face.

  He was lifted off his feet. The world around him spun, a mixture of blurring colors. Then his vision went white as pain eroded his ability to see. When his sight returned, he was lying on his back, and a shadow was blocking out the sun.

  Except it wasn’t really a shadow.

  It was Nyx.

  She was descending toward him left foot first, except her boot had been transmuted into a large ball with spikes on it.

  Adrenaline rushed through Alex as he rolled left, coming to his feet and leaping away seconds before Nyx crashed into the ground. The earth was pulverized. Jagged cracks spread out from the point of impact. Large, broken pillars rose from the ground. It was like watching a canyon form from a seismic quake.

  A cloud of dust rose into the air. Alex’s vision was obscured. He could see nothing of Nyx—until she suddenly burst out from the cloud and ran at him with the speed a comet.