“S-sorry.”
“S’okay.” Alex blinked as he slurred his words. His ears must have been more damaged than he thought.
The clerk, who also seemed to be have had his hearing temporarily stolen, stumbled into the backroom. Alex led Kazekiri to the back where a large pen had been set up. There weren’t any animals inside yet, but, as he helped her step over the fence, the clerk came back carrying a tiny golden retriever.
Kazekiri’s face was usually quite stern. She didn’t smile often, or ever. Actually, thinking on it, the only time that Alex had ever seen her smile was a few seconds ago, when she’d been meowing at the cat in the front display. However, in that moment, Kazekiri’s face lit up in a way that he’d only seen on Gabrielle until now.
As the clerk set the puppy on the ground, Kazekiri knelt and held out her hands. The puppy wandered over to her, first sniffing her hands, and then licking them. It wasn’t long before the puppy was all over her. Kazekiri forgot all about Alex as she laughed and played with the small retriever.
“Thanks for doing this,” Alex said to the clerk.
The clerk shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. We don’t get too many people in here, so I figured it would be okay.”
Alex nodded noncommittally. While animals were popular, most people couldn’t afford to pay the yearly fees, or rather, they could, but they didn’t want to.
Efficiency was an important aspect in daily life on Mars. Using time wisely, not spending money on anything extraneous… the people of Mars City were almost like machines in a way. It was kind of sad when he thought about it. Perhaps that was why he took heart in the joyful expression on Kazekiri’s face.
So even she can look cute like this…
It was half an hour later that Alex and Kazekiri left the store. They walked along the metal path, their footsteps perfectly timed together. Alex wondered what the people around them thought. Given the way he and Kazekiri looked, they might have been mistaken for a couple.
“Alexander… th-thank you,” Kazekiri stuttered. “For taking me in there, I mean.”
Alex smiled. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you had fun.”
“Yeah… well, d-don’t get used to it,” she told him. “Something like this isn’t going to happen again! However, I… have decided to raise my opinion of you… just a little.”
“Thanks. I like you, too, Kirikiri.”
“Wha—idiot! I didn’t say I l-l-like you! I was just saying that I think a little better of you now! Don’t take my words the wrong way!” She paused, but only to take a breath before shouting some more. “And it’s Kazekiri! Get it right!”
“I know that. I just think you look cute when you’re angry,” Alex said honestly before he realized what he was saying.
“W-w-w-what?! Y-you—but that’s—” Kazekiri stopped talking as, seemingly overwhelmed by his words, her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she passed out.
“Oh, crap!” Alex caught Kazekiri before she could hit the ground. “K-Kazekiri! Wake up! Hey! Are you listening to me?! Hey!”
5
The place where Selene took Gabrielle to was a massive shopping center called Mars Square Mall. Larger than one of Papa’s saberships, it must have been at least a dozen kilometers in diameter.
People filled the empty spaces, taking clothing from racks and asking for their friends’ opinions. Despite having been to Mars City several times already, Gabrielle looked upon the sight as if everything was new.
“So cool,” she muttered.
Selene cast her a sidelong glance. “You’re really easy to please. Anyway, come on. Let’s find you some clothes to wear.”
Gabrielle followed Selene deeper into the store. She stared at everyone she passed, watching the mother trying to force her child into clothes that he didn’t want to wear, observing the girl holding a dress in front of herself as she asked her friend’s opinion, studying the young man standing in front of a mirror with his new outfit on.
There must have been hundreds of people in this store alone. To think that this was only one of several hundred stores inside of this mall, it was almost overwhelming.
Everyone looks like they’re having so much fun.
Gabrielle planned on having fun, too.
“Do you have a preference in clothes?” Selene asked.
Gabrielle didn’t know what she meant. “What? Preference?”
“Yeah. Do you prefer dresses, or pants and T-shirts, or would you like something else?”
“I don’t know. I’ve only been shopping once before.”
Selene stopped, turned, and stared. “Wait. What? What do you mean you’ve only gone shopping once?”
“Well, ever since I started living with Alex, he would take me with him to the convenience store sometimes, but I never went shopping back when I lived at home. Papa didn’t let me go out very often.”
“That father of yours must be really strict,” Selene said. “There’s no way I would’ve put up with my father not letting me go out.”
“Ah! Me neither. That’s why I ran away!”
Gabrielle had no idea why Selene suddenly tripped and fell on her face.
“S-Selene! Are you okay?!”
“Oh, yeah.” Selene rubbed her red nose as she stood up. “I’m fine. You just surprised me.”
Gabrielle didn’t know why her friend would be surprised by her. Had she said something weird? Maybe Selene was like Alex and didn’t believe that running away was the right answer.
“Never mind.” Selene waved her off. “Your circumstances are yours, and I don’t plan to pry. Anyway, since you don’t know what kind of clothing you’d like, I’ll pick out a bunch of outfits for you, and we’ll have you try each one on to see what you look good in. Sound good?”
“That sounds like a blast!” Gabrielle pumped a fist into the air. “Let’s do it.”
“At least you’re enthusiastic,” Selene muttered.
Gabrielle knew nothing of clothes shopping, or shopping in general. That being the case, she let Selene choose everything and simply followed her. There seemed to be a lot of different clothes to choose from. Everything was so bright and colorful, too. It was amazing!
“Do you know what your three sizes are?” Selene asked.
“My three what?”
After several seconds of staring at Gabrielle, Selene sighed and turned away. “Never mind. I can make a rough estimate based on your appearance.”
Selene chose three outfits to start with. She then directed Gabrielle to a changing room, told her to choose an outfit and get dressed, and then she closed the door, leaving Gabrielle alone.
Hm, I guess I should do as she says.
Shutting down her crisis suit, Gabrielle waited as the suit slackened and slowly peeled off her skin. She couldn’t feel it happening because the suit was synced to her, but she could see it all in the mirror. When the suit had pooled around her feet, she stepped out of it and looked at the clothes.
“Hum, what should I wear?”
There were only three options, but for her, someone who’d never had a choice before, there might as well have been a million. They all looked really cool, too. She wanted to try them all on at the same time.
“Ah! Maybe if I just close my eyes and grab one!”
Shutting her eyes, Gabrielle reached out and grabbed the first one that her hand came into contact with. She opened her eyes, and then slid the clothing on. It was a one-piece suit with a built-in blouse. Most of it was red, but it had black designs running along her arms, shoulders, back, and legs. It didn’t come with shoes. Gabrielle looked down and wiggled her toes.
It feels odd to wear clothing without shoes.
“Gabrielle?” Selene called out. “Are you done changing?”
“Yes! I’m coming out now!”
Gabrielle opened the door and stepped out. Beaming, she spread her arms. “What do you think?”
Selene didn’t say anything for the longest time. She merely stared. Gabrielle wond
ered if her new friend was going to speak at all, when…
“I don’t think I’ve seen anyone fill out clothing so well,” Selene confessed. “I’m really jealous.”
“Jealous?” Gabrielle tilted her head. “Why would you be jealous?”
Selene waved her off. “Never mind. You look good in those. What do you think about them? Do you like them?”
“Hmm… they’re okay, I guess. They feel a lot like my crisis suit—only not as comfortable.”
The crisis suit, when properly synced, acted a lot like a second skin. Since it was practically a second skin, it was the most comfortable outfit to wear. It regulated her body temperature, didn’t get in her way, and enhanced her physical capabilities. Of course, seeing how she had barely worn anything else, Gabrielle figured she was being biased.
“Well, why don’t we have you try on several more outfits?” Selene suggested. “Maybe one of those will be more to your taste.”
Gabrielle agreed. “Okay!”
At Selene’s suggestion, Gabrielle tried on nearly 50 more outfits. Selene would give her outfits to try on, offer her opinion, and then have her try on something else. It was a lot of fun. While she liked spending time in the lab with Alex more, shopping with Selene was still a blast.
By the time they had finished, she had 20 new outfits, which had been bought and paid for with the credits that Alex had given her.
“Ahn!” Sitting down at a small table, Gabrielle groaned as she stretched her hands above her head. “That was a lot of fun! We should do this again sometime.”
“It was pretty fun,” Selene said, smiling. “Next time, I’ll invite my friends Serah and Ryoko to come with us.”
“More friends!” Gabrielle looked wide-eyed at the girl. “Do you think they’ll become my friends, too?”
Selene laughed. “I don’t see why not.”
“Yay!” Gabrielle pumped her fist in the air.
“By the way, you sure bought a lot of outfits.” Selene looked at the bags by Gabrielle’s chair. There were ten of them, and each one was nearly overflowing with clothing.
“Well, I don’t have any other outfits aside from my crisis suit.” Gabrielle rubbed the back of her head. “Besides, I don’t know which ones Alex will like. That’s why I thought it would be best if I bought as many different kinds as I could.”
“You… really like Alex, don’t you?”
At the question that her friend asked, Gabrielle’s chest grew warm. She placed a hand over her chest, as if doing so would allow her to capture the warmth radiating from her heart. It seemed that just mentioning Alex by name caused a wellspring of emotions to surge from within her.
“I love Alex a lot,” Gabrielle told Selene. “Every time I think about him, my heart beats really fast and I feel really warm. I’ve never felt this way before.” She looked at Selene, whose eyes had widened to the size of draconic eggs, and smiled. “Love is such an amazing feeling, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Selene said softly, “I guess it is.”
Within the crowded shopping mall, amidst a myriad of different people, Gabrielle spoke with Selene late into the afternoon.
6
The next morning came much too soon for Alex, who had no desire to wake up. He was too comfortable. Artificial light filtered in through the window and shone in his eyes, but he decided to ignore it. Maybe if he did that, the light would do him a favor and leave.
As he became more aware of his surroundings, Alex realized that he was lying on his side. That was odd. He usually slept on his back. What’s more, there was something large and obtrusive in his face, hampering his breathing.
Grumbling, he placed a hand on the offending object to push it away. It was surprisingly round and squishy. There was a strange fleshy part, like a nub, that rose from the surface. What was this thing? It felt like… like…
“Ahn,” a delicate moan echoed in his ear.
Alex froze. He knew that moan. He’d heard it before.
He opened his eyes… and found a boob right next to his face. Beautiful porcelain skin filled his vision. Light pink nipples were hardened into points. Gabrielle’s scent, a refreshing fragrance that he couldn’t describe, overwhelmed him. The temptation to tilt his neck and suck her nipple into his mouth was so strong right then that his mouth was halfway to her breast before he stopped himself.
Stop it, Alex! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!
This was Gabrielle, a girl who walked around naked because she didn’t understand concepts like modesty, who was naive and cheerfully accepting of everything around her. He doubted she even knew what sex was. If he did this, he would be betraying the trust that she had placed in him. He would become just like those bastards who wanted to use her for their own purposes.
Alex took several deep breaths to calm down… and then he realized that there was no way he could be calm because there was a naked girl in his bed!
“UWA!”
Alex tried to leap out of bed. Unfortunately, he was on the side next to the window, which meant that he tripped over Gabrielle in his panic. Consequently, this caused him to fall off the bed and land face-first onto the floor.
Splat!
A loud crunch filled his ears as blood welled up inside of his nasal cavity. He released a pained groan. He rubbed his nose and tried to sniff the blood back in, but the free-flowing liquid continued to leak out and stain the floor.
“Ow…” he mumbled.
“Mmmnn!” Gabrielle moaned. The covers shifted against his legs, which were still on the bed. A second later, Gabrielle greeted him. “Good morning, Alex! What are you doing on the ground?”
“What are you doing in my bed?” Alex asked back. “I thought I told you to sleep on your own bed!”
“Eh? But I want to sleep with you,” Gabrielle complained.
Alex covered his face with his hands. This girl had no idea how her words affected him. He was so tempted to take her up on her offer that, had she been anyone else, he might have done it despite not having any experience.
But he couldn’t do that, not to her. Gabrielle didn’t understand matters of sex. The fact that she could so blatantly ask him to take a bath with her proved that she understood nothing. Alex didn’t doubt that her parents had never given her “the talk,” or maybe she just hadn’t listened when they had tried. He couldn’t do anything with someone who didn’t even know what sex was.
“Hey, Alex?”
“… What?”
“What’s that strange thing between your legs?”
Alex’s eyes bulged as Gabrielle leaned down and grabbed something that only he had ever touched before.
She’d forgotten to control her strength.
Alex’s loud, girlish squeals were heard across the entire outer district.
7
Wincing as he walked down the stairs, Alex tried to ignore the massive pain in his groin. Gabrielle really didn’t seem to understand her own strength. He felt like someone had taken a vice to his dick, clamped down until it had cut off all circulation, and then twisted it. That was how much pain he was in.
As he went into the kitchen to cook breakfast, his IDband began beeping. Looking down, he tapped on the screen and a holographic message suddenly appeared. Blinking his bleary eyes, he read the message: “Come to school. The principal would like to meet with you…?”
He stared at the screen for several moments longer.
“What the hell?” He asked no one in particular.
8
Alice stared at him as they walked along the street, her gaze bland as ever.
“Are you okay, Bro? You’re looking kinda pale.”
“M’fine.”
“You’re talking funny, too.”
“I said I’m fine!”
Alex, Alice, and Gabrielle were walking to school. Alex winced as he moved. Every time his penis brushed against his leg, it felt like an electric current was surging through it. It forced him to move much more slowly, lest he aggravate the i
njury even more.
They reached the front gate, eventually, where many students were already walking through. One student stood at the front. Her long, blonde twin tails made it easy to recognize her, as did her bright blue eyes, obviously female figure, and short stature. Jasmine was, as always, an aristocratic vision of loveliness.
“Jasmine, morning,” Alex greeted.
“Good morning, Jasmine!” Gabrielle said as well.
“Yo.” Alice just waved.
Jasmine turned toward them, her face enhanced by a dazzling smile. “Oh ho ho ho! Good morning, Alexander! I hope you had a… a… a…” she trailed off as he, Alice, and Gabrielle walked closer. Alex grew concerned when he noticed that her cheeks were glowing a faint red.
“Are you okay, Jasmine?” Alex asked.
“Don’t mind her,” Alice said. “She’s just acting weird because you’re wearing a suit.”
Indeed, Alex was wearing a suit. Charcoal in color, the suit was rather formfitting. He didn’t wear one often, but he felt like a meeting with the principal of Atreyu Academy called for him to be a bit more dressed up.
“I-I am not! Be quiet, Alice!” Jasmine shouted, her cheeks burning even more fiercely. She recovered quickly and, lifting a hand to her mouth, she laughed. “Oh ho ho ho! You look quite dashing, Alexander! Is there a special event that you’re attending?”
“Hm? Oh, no,” Alex said. “I’m dressed up like this because I received a message from the school’s principal. She asked me to come here.” He laughed. “Who knows, maybe she wants to offer me a job or something.”
“O-oh ho? A job, you say? Does that mean you, Alexander, might become a teacher here?”
When Alex saw the shine in Jasmine’s eyes, he realized that maybe he shouldn’t have made that joke. It had been a lame joke anyway. “Uh… no, I was just—”
“Oh! Oh!” Gabrielle raised her hand. “If you’re going to be a teacher, then can I be your assistant?”
“Like I said, I’m not—”
“Alexander as a teacher!” Jasmine squealed, clasping her hands together in front of her face. Her eyes were shining like a pair of bright nova-class stars. “Oh ho! Yes, you would make a marvelous teacher. Truly, a teacher full of splendor and integrity.”
A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol. 2 Page 9