Her eyes slowly fluttered open. She blinked when bubbles floated past her vision. She blinked again when a buzzing sound filled her ears, and then took in her surroundings.
She was in a healing tank. She was completely submerged in gelatinous green liquid, a powerful healing chemical created by a semi-sentient plant found on several jungle planets located in a solar system several dozen light years from this one. Having been on the brink of death plenty of times before, she recognized this substance on sight.
“Oh! I see you’re finally up! (^_^)” someone said.
Did I just hear an emote in that voice?
Nyx looked down; a woman stood before her. She vaguely recognized this woman, but she couldn’t quite place her. Not one of her targets, then. She didn’t think this woman was a former employer either. She wouldn’t forget an employer so easily.
She opened her mouth to speak, but soon realized that there was a rebreather over her face, preventing her from talking.
“I bet you’re wondering where you are, am I right? XD” Nyx nodded, though the emote in the woman’s voice still threw her off. “You’re currently in my medical office. My name’s Ēostre, by the way (^_^). I’m the local black-market doctor for aliens who have arrived on Mars in order to live in secrecy.”
Nyx already knew that she was in a hospital, but it was good to have a frame of reference. She had not realized that this planet had a hospital dedicated to extraterrestrials.
“You’re surprised, right?” Ēostre wore a childish yet devious grin. “I know it must seem weird XP. Mars is a pretty backwater place. However, ever since the humans in this region gained space travel, the Unified Galactic Government under the reign of King Lucchi has taken an interest in learning more about them. They sent people like me to this solar system, which is so far removed from the rest of the galaxy that this group of humans hasn’t even expanded outside of it yet. One of my jobs is to help aliens seeking a new life on this planet. (*-*)”
After thinking on those words for a moment, Nyx nodded, causing Ēostre to beam at her.
“Humans are such a fascinating species X). They resemble many other species to some degree or another: arcadians, angelisians, proteans, nordians, grecians, and daemons. Genetically speaking, they are compatible with all of these races, though I would not want to see what comes from a human mating with a krilick. However, the fact remains that humanity is the most genetically compatible species in the galaxy, and also one of the most adaptable (P_P). It’s just another reason we’re so interested in them.”
Nyx knew all of this. It was common knowledge. Humans were weak, but perhaps because of their weakness, their genetic compatibility and adaptability was beyond that of any other species.
“By the way, just in case you’re curious, I figured I should tell you that Alexander S. Ryker was the one who brought you here. XP”
A jolt raced through her body.
Why? The question surged through her mind. Why had Alex brought her here? Why try to help her? She had tried to kill him! Why? Why? Why? Why?
“You should have seen him,” Ēostre giggled, snapping Nyx out of her thoughts. “He was so cute, getting all embarrassed when I had him strip your clothes off and help bring your fever down XP. He kept talking about how it was wrong to do something like that without your permission. Such a prude boy, that one, just like his father had been. Still, it was kind of cute, in its own way. (*_*)”
Nyx began blushing. Alex had seen her naked? She didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, he had seen her naked. On the other hand, he’d done it to save her life.
Nyx did not like perverted things. She didn’t like people who were perverted, and she didn’t like it when they tried doing perverted things to her. Anyone who attempted to do something lecherous to her ended up getting something broken—oftentimes, that something was their face—so the knowledge that he had seen her naked bothered her.
But he did it to save my life.
Could it really be considered perverted when he only did it to save her? And speaking of, he didn’t have to save her. She’d tried to kill him, so he would have been well within his rights to leave her to fend for herself, but he hadn’t. He had saved her like one of those superheroes from the stories that Rhea used to tell her.
I suppose I can forgive him this once.
“Do you want to go see him?” Ēostre asked. Nyx nodded. “Very well (^_^). I was going to call him up sometime tomorrow, but I suppose I could just let you out after you finish healing. You should be fully healed by tomorrow anyway, so it all works out in the end :-). I would suggest you be careful, however, as you’re still considered a wanted criminal by the Mars City police forces. They’ve even offered a bounty to anyone who brings information of your whereabouts. XD”
Nyx nodded. She wasn’t concerned about that. An assassin didn’t reach her level by not being able to blend into their surroundings and become invisible. Tomorrow after she was released, she would find Alex and speak with him.
Her course clear, Nyx closed her eyes and allowed sleep to take her. It was always easier for her body to heal when it was at rest.
3
The next day, Selene noticed that something was wrong with Gabrielle.
She and her friend had met up that morning to spend some time together. Ryoko and Sarah were going to come, too, but Ryoko had been called away to her part-time job and Sarah never showed up. That left just her and Gabrielle wandering Mars City.
“What’s your malfunction this morning?” Selene asked as she set a latté frappuccino on the table in front of her friend.
They had gone to a small café, ordered some drinks, and were now sitting at a round table located outside of the café. Many people surrounded them that morning. A hubbub of activity that made them all but invisible to the public eye. No one was paying attention to them... minus maybe handful of people who stared at Gabrielle.
“Huh?” Gabrielle looked up at Selene.
“Don’t ‘huh’ me.” Selene rolled her eyes as she sat down. “You’ve been unresponsive since the moment we met. Something’s clearly bothering you, so spill. What is it?”
“It’s Alex,” Gabrielle said, her frown turning into an awfully adorable pout. Selene took a sip of her drink to keep from squealing about how cute she was. “He wouldn’t let me sleep with him last night.”
Whatever Selene had been expecting, that had not been it. After spitting out all of the frappucino she’d just sipped, she gawked at Gabrielle like the girl had sprouted a second head.
“Y-you sleep with Alex?!” she shouted. Several people around them stopped what they were doing and stared, but she and her companion ignored the mutterings of random pedestrians. This was more important than whatever they had to say!
“Of course I do.” Gabrielle tilted her head, genuine confusion shining in her eyes. “Isn’t that what married couples do?”
“W-well, yes, it is,” Selene admitted before glaring at the other girl. “But you two aren’t married yet. You’ve already said it yourself. Right now, Alex thinks you’re using him to get out of marrying one of your father’s suitors.”
“So? I’ll get Alex to love me eventually. Then we’ll get married and it will all be good.”
Selene resisted the urge to smack herself in the face. Facepalming would not help her here.
“Besides,” Gabrielle continued, getting fired up, “I’ve read in a holomag that love is a battlefield, and that in order to get what you want, you have to be assertive.”
“You are taking that in the completely wrong context,” Selene snapped. “You don’t start off a relationship by sleeping with someone. You start it by letting them know that you love them and asking them on a date. That’s being assertive, not what you are doing.”
Gabrielle looked honestly confused. “Are you saying I shouldn’t sleep with him?”
“Um, well, I don’t think sleeping together is a very good idea for two people when they’re not dating.” Selene p
laced her hands between her thighs and tried not to squirm.
“Hmm.” Gabrielle looked incredibly thoughtful. She even crossed her arms, looked down at the table, and made a face. “But he always seems to enjoy it when I sleep with him.”
“… Huh?”
“He’s actually really cuddly.”
“Huh?!”
“Whenever I wake up before him, I always find him holding me so tenderly.”
“HUH?!”
Selene’s shout caused the entire district of Mars City to stand still.
4
Alex strode through the police department with a purpose.
He’d come to realize something from this latest incident. The police’s rules were too stringent, too constricting for him. While Alex knew that rules were put in place to keep people from getting hurt, there were times when all rules did was keep him from protecting the people who mattered.
If being in the police means letting someone like Nyx suffer on her own, then I’m glad they kicked me out when they did.
Alex ignored the people who were talking behind his back as his feet thumped against the tiled floor, reached Karen’s office, and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Karen called.
She was sitting behind her desk when he entered, working through a stack of papers with admirable alacrity. Alex was often the recipient of her complaints about how much paperwork she had before he became a cadet. Seeing how diligently she worked through it always impressed him.
“Ms. Karen.” Alex walked further into the room and stopped in front of her desk. Karen looked up at him, frowning.
“Alexander?” She sounded confused. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you that you were under house arrest. A police officer is already on his way to your house to check on you.”
“I’ll head back home in a bit. There was something I needed to discuss with you first.”
Karen sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Look, Alexander, I know what you want to speak to me about, but my answer won’t change. Nyx broke the law. I cannot make any exceptions.”
“You did for me before Gabrielle came into the picture,” he pointed out.
Karen looked away. “There is a difference between damaging property and damaging people. Even though you are reckless and have a tendency to blow things up, you have never actually hurt someone who was innocent. In the end, that is all that matters.”
“I thought you might say that, which is why I brought you this.” Alex held up a small disc-shaped device with bright, silver wings jutting from either side.
Karen raised an eyebrow. “And what is that?”
“It’s a recording device that was given to me by Azazel.” Alex set the device on her desk, then pressed a button, causing it to light up. “I knew that you wouldn’t call off your pursuit of Nyx just because I asked you to, so Gabrielle and I asked Azazel if he would speak to her father.”
“You did what?!” Karen stood from her seat, but her reaction was cut off when a voice emerged from the disc.
“You must be Karen Kanzaki,” the voice said in a deep, raspy growl that caused Karen and Alex to shudder. That voice didn’t sound human. “Greetings and salutations. I am Lucifer Angelise, the King of Angelisia and current ruler of the galaxy. It has come to my attention that a friend of my daughter’s has recently gotten herself into some trouble with your police forces, and that you are currently trying to kill her. The one known as Nyx has been placed under angelisian protective custody and any attack on her shall be seen as an attack on my daughter. If you don’t want to see your planet blown to smithereens, I urge you to cease your attempts at apprehending her. That is all.”
As the light died down and Alex pocketed the device once more, Karen Kanzaki glared at him with enough vitriol to fill an Olympic swimming pool. “I can’t believe you would do this.”
Alex shrugged. “It’s like I told you: I’m not going to let you hurt her.”
“She tried to kill you!”
“I know.”
Karen gritted her teeth as she slammed a fist onto her desk. “Damn it, Alex! You’re always doing this! Putting others before yourself, protecting people even after they’ve hurt you, putting yourself in harm’s way for strangers you’ve never met. Do you really want to die that badly? Because that’s exactly what’s going to happen if you keep doing this!”
“I have no intentions of dying,” Alex said, feeling strangely calm. “I just can’t stand by and do nothing when someone I know is being hunted down like a criminal.”
“She is a criminal! She’s an assassin, in case you’ve forgotten!”
“Assassination is only illegal in our part of the galaxy.” Alex’s shrug said more than words ever could. “As I understand it, the galaxy at large has a guild of assassins, which are legal assassins that people can hire. Nyx doesn’t belong to this group, but I’ve managed to do some research and learned that she only accepts hits on criminals.”
“Yet she tried to kill you, and you are clearly not a criminal, despite your pronation towards causing massive amounts of property damage.”
“That’s just because she didn’t have any information on me,” Alex defended. “Don’t forget that we’re not all that well-known to the galactic community. Gathering information on an individual person without breaking into the GDF’s personal database is pretty much impossible. That meant all she had to go off of was her client’s word, which she must have felt was trustworthy at the time.”
Karen pinched the bridge of her nose. “Arguing with you is like arguing with a durasteel wall. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Plenty of times.”
“Fine. I don’t care anymore.” Karen’s appearance turned haggard as she waved him off. “You go and do whatever the hell you want. Just try not to get yourself killed.”
“I’ll do my best. What about Nyx?”
“Nyx.” Karen sighed as she sat back down and leaned her head against the chair’s back. “There’s not much I can do anymore, is there? You’ve made sure of that. The pursuit will be called off. Happy?”
“Very. Thank you.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Guilt gnawed at his insides as he saw how exhausted Karen appeared to be, as if his underhanded method had zapped all of her strength, but he steeled himself. He’d dug his grave, and now, all he could do was lie in it.
Giving his former-superior one final nod, he left the room. His last sight was of Karen covering her face with her hands.
5
After getting over her initial shock caused by Gabrielle’s words, Selene was then subject to the alien princess explaining the events of last night in full detail. Upon hearing of everything that had taken place, she had to conclude that Gabrielle was correct. Something was definitely wrong with Alex.
“I’m surprised you were able to spot that so quickly,” she said to Gabrielle, absently stirring her straw around. “Then again, Alex has a pretty awful poker face. He couldn’t tell a lie to save his life.”
“Poker face?” Gabrielle questioned curiously.
“It’s a figure of speech.” Selene waved her friend’s questioning tone off. “Anyway, my point is that you’re right. The question we need to ask ourselves is: what does he feel guilty about? Has he done anything recently that he normally wouldn’t do?”
“Well…” Gabrielle scrunched her nose in thought. “I don’t think so. He hasn’t done anything while I’ve been around, at least.”
“Then maybe you should talk to him,” Selene suggested. “Ask him what’s wrong, and don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Talk to him?” The more Gabrielle thought about it, the better the idea sounded. “Right! I’ll talk to him tonight while we’re in bed together!”
“You’ll talk to him without getting in his bed at all!” Selene snapped.
6
“A-Alex! Alexander, wait!”
As a voice shouted his name, Alex turned around. Kazekiri stopped in front of h
im, hands on her knees, breathing deep and heavy. He almost made a comment about how she should exercise more often, but even he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea.
“Kiri-Kiri, is something the matter?” he asked.
“Is… is it true?” Kazekiri asked, staring into his eyes.
“Is what true?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.” Kazekiri scowled at him. “Is it true that you were… that you’re…”
He watched as Kazekiri tried asking him something. He had a fairly good idea of what she wanted to ask him, and he knew that she was likely trying to put it as delicately as possible. He also knew there was no way she could put this delicately.
“Yes, it’s true.” He decided to just get this over with. “I’ve been placed under house arrest.”
“B-but why?” She seemed startled. “I mean, I know you have a really bad tendency to cause trouble everywhere you go.”
“Owch.”
“And you have no shame.”
“Double ouch.”
“And you’re always destroying public property.”
“Does everyone always have to point out my biggest faults? Seriously, it’s not cool.”
“I’m sorry.” Kazekiri’s smile was not unkind. “I didn’t mean that as an insult or anything.”
Alex crossed his arms and pouted. “It sounded pretty insulting to me.”
“Sorry.”
Alex and Kazekiri stood there, staring at each other for several seconds. After a moment, Alex decided that things were getting really awkward. It would probably be a good idea to leave now before he embarrassed himself.
“Well, I’ll see you later, Kiri-Kiri.”
Smiling one last time, he turned around and tried to walk off. He didn’t get more than one step before someone grabbed his hand. Looking down in shock, he stared at the soft, delicate, yet strong hand that was grabbing his own. He followed the hand all the way to its owner, who seemed just as shocked as him.
“Kiri-kiri?”
“A-are you doing anything right now?”
A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol 4 Page 21