Unlikely Request:
People have their own likes and dislikes. They may be extreme, or they may not. It can be something as simple as liking certain foods, or hobbies. Whether you're a human or a xenoform, we all have a sense of what we like and what we dislike. However, sometimes you may want to stop thinking about your favorite things for a moment. It's a logical choice, after all, we don't want to get tired of them, we want to treasure them as long as possible.
But there is one such case where someone who has an extreme liking for something, to the point where she takes people calling it out as a compliment most of the time. Which is what makes this a very surprising story. This was where such a story began, a few days after the Lifehold Core had been recovered.
Before I start the story, however, I would like to introduce myself. I am known as Cross, which is what I call myself due to the fact that I had forgotten my identity before I was discovered by my first friend, Elma. Elma was the first human I met after I reawakened from my LifePod. But thanks to the events at the Lifehold Core, I now know that she was a xenoform all along, though I still view her as my friend regardless of what she is.
Since I became part of Elma's crew, I got to meet two more team members. First, a 13-year old whose full name is Lin Lee Koo. She is many things here in New LA, such as the inventor of the Skell Flight Module, a skilled chef, and I also see her as like a surrogate sister. (Fortunately, the feeling is mutual on Lin's part.) She also gets along with a Nopon named Tatsu, whom we accidentally rescued from the Ganglion when we first met him. They get along, even when she directs food jokes at him.
And then there's Mia, who I first met when she was a BLADE washout. After a series of unusual events on Mira (it's a long story, to be honest), she finally became a BLADE, and I immediately saw to it that she'd be part of the same team as me, Elma, and Lin. She also calls me "Chief".
Now that introductions are over, I shall begin my latest story.
It began when I was going on an afternoon stroll down the Residential District after a mission-filled morning. I can't remember what it was about, but I needed to clear my mind. Along the way, I met another friend of mine.
"Good afternoon, Cross." greeted a voice with an accent similar to mine.
"Hello, there, Celica." I greeted her back.
Her name was Celica, a female member of a xenoform species called Qlurian. Based on what Celica herself looks like, Qlurians resemble humans, but have pointy and furry ears. She also has an upper-class British accent, but that might be coincidental. I have a British accent myself, which I forgot to mention.
"How are you today?" Celica asked me.
"Oh, pretty exhausting. I had one heck of a mission. I can't remember what it was about, though." I replied.
"Ohh... And so, you came here to...?" Celica wondered.
"I came here to relax and clear my mind." I nodded.
"I see. I came here for a long walk. I have nothing else to do while Rock works at construction, and I have a day off from Prospector missions."
"Really? Rock probably doesn't want you to get bored."
Rock is Celica's gigantic companion, his species called "Gaur". I first met the two while me, Elma, and Lin were hunting for two Ganglion commanders. We never found our real targets, but we did find Celica and Rock being hunted down by Marnucks, so we went and saved the two. He now works in construction, so that he and Celica can live in New LA.
"Yes, you guessed correctly. Nothing nicer than a good walk around the most peaceful area of the city." Celica replied to my question.
"Alrighty. Why don't we tour around the Cathedral?"
"Of course. I'll let you go first."
And so, Celica and I started walking together around the Cathedral. As we were approaching a parking zone nearby, we saw a familiar face nearby.
"Hmm? Is that Hope Alanzi over there?" Celica pointed out.
"Why, yes. It appears she's giving counseling here at the Cathedral." I nodded.
"Her skills as a Mediator are impressive. To be honest, there were times when I felt tempted to switch to the Mediators. But I still have work to do as a Prospector before I could do such a thing."
"Really? Well, Hope has been through a lot, but I helped her recover, and she's being more genuinely sincere than ever before. She's especially managed to recover from being betrayed by Ornella."
"I've heard about that. That's another thing humans and Qlurians have in common, actually."
"Oh?" I turned to her with curiosity.
"For every good person there is, there's always a bad person. What Ornella did was atrocious." Celica nodded.
"Yeah. Apparently, every xenoform here in New LA has admitted that there are bad members of their races."
Just then, someone else approached us. And she appeared to be in a hurry for something.
"I thought I'd recognize the both of you, one being a xenoform, and the other having blue skin. I'm glad to be correct." she panted.
"Alexa? What's the matter?" I asked Alexa out of confusion.
"I want to see Hope right now." Alexa frantically explained.
"Why? What's the matter? ...Let me guess, Tika wants you to get your mind off Skells for a while again?" I guessed.
"You're partially correct there, Cross. Tika's actually got nothing to do with this, surprisingly enough." Alexa replied.
"Oh? Who wants you to think of something besides Skells this time?" Celica asked.
"Believe it or not, you two are going to be surprised by the answer I'm going to give you." Alexa stated.
"I'm listening, Alexa." I reassured her.
"So am I. Who is it, Alexa?" Celica agreed.
"The truth is, the person who wants me to think of something besides Skells for a change... is actually me." Alexa said with her eyes closed.
"W-What?!" Celica and I were both startled at this idea. Alexa, the Skell Nut, wants to get her own mind off Skells for a while? That's very hard to believe.
"I know what you're thinking. And I'll admit, this is out-of-character for me, but I'm actually serious about this." Alexa insisted.
"This... is definitely unlike you, Alexa." I commented, to which Celica nods in agreement.
"Yeah. Anyways, I believe Hope can give me a solution. Also, this would be the second time I need to stop thinking about Skells. You recall when we met at that park, Cross?"
"I do. And rather than trick you into saying the word, I praised you for your efforts."
"And I am grateful. Otherwise, Tika would've sent me to the Maintenance Center to have my brain dissected."
"That would be most unpleasant, even with an artificial body." Celica winced at the thought.
"You're right about that, Celica. Anyways, I need to see Hope ASAP."
"You need my help with something, Alexa?" said another female voice.
It appeared Hope had overheard our conversation while waiting for clients.
"Yes! Yes, I could use your help with something, Hope." Alexa replied.
"Trying to get your mind off Skells on your own, I assume?" Hope asked, while looking at me and Celica.
We both replied to Hope by scratching the backs of our heads while nervously smiling.
"Yes. I am." Alexa nodded.
"Truth be told, I, too, am surprised based on what I overheard. Forgive me for eavesdropping on your conversation, I am very sorry." Hope said.
"Why apologize, Hope? I came to see you either way." Alexa shrugged as she asked.
"That's fine. Considering how you helped Celica bring the leftovers from our Girls' Night Out to Rock the next morning all without a Skell, I'll gladly help you out." Hope smiled.
"Thanks, Hope. I do appreciate it." Alexa smiled in return.
"Well, this should be interesting." I stated with a smile.
"Indeed, it will, Cross." Celica agreed.
"Maybe you two can help out here?" Hope asked me and Celica, to which we both replied by nodding in agreement.
"Alrighty, so... Hope? What idea do you have in case I ever decide to stop thinking about Skells by myself?" Alexa asked.
"Hmm... Well... Maybe... Maybe you can come to Deliverance Park, and, you know, look at nature itself or read a book." Hope suggested.
"Okay, then. I guess I'll have to, y'know, ignore those construction Skells, right?" Alexa pointed to her left towards the direction Deliverance Park is at.
"Correct, Alexa. That should be a perfect start." Hope stated.
"What about you, Cross? Do you have any ideas on not thinking about Skells?" Alexa asked me.
"Oh, me? Umm... Well, that new massage clinic had recently opened up, and I enjoyed my first trip there." I said as I recall my first visit there. I literally enjoyed every little moment of my time at the massage clinic. "Ahh, in my opinion, you can't get any better than that, Alexa."
"Wait... That massage clinic has opened already?" Alexa was surprised to hear me say that.
"Well, of course. They were apparently working on one since we recovered the Lifehold Core. And now it's complete." I smiled while nodding.
"I've got to give it a try sometime. That's two good ideas so far. What about you, Celica? Anything to help me not think of Skells... just for a while?" Alexa asked.
"Hmm... How about jogging whenever you need to clear your mind? It helps when I need to clear my mind of something." Celica suggested.
"Those all sound like good advice. How about we go to the park for starters?" Alexa smiled.
"Of course. Let's all go there together." Hope replied.
As Hope and Alexa began heading towards Deliverance Park, which is where I usually meet Hope ever since our first mission together, Celica and I decided to join them, interested to see how things go.
"Shall we join them, Cross?" Celica asked me, to which I replied with a nod.
"Of course." I said as I nodded.
Eventually, the four of us made it to Deliverance Park. The first thing we decided was to sit on a bench.
"Hmm... I'll need to sit on a bench that'll have me facing away from those construction Skells." Alexa began pondering.
"How about over there? It looks like it can handle four people." I suggested.
"Good thinking, Cross. Why don't we have a seat there?" Hope praised my thinking.
And thus, we began taking a seat together. We observed the calm, peaceful day; it was a beautiful sunny afternoon at the Residential District. Or, at least, it would be, if the Ma-non Ship's shadow didn't cover most of it, but that was beyond the Ma-non's control.
"Hopefully, when New LA expands, there'll be more natural sights. Can't have a good city without good greenery." Alexa said within our chat.
"That's right, Alexa. My homeworld was abundant with nature. My people lived in harmony with all of it, too." Celica agreed.
"That's very good to hear, Celica. Hopefully, we'll get to meet more of your kind one day." Hope smiled.
"Thank you, Hope."
"Anytime."
"And, of course, we'll get to see some kinds of flowers that haven't grown back yet. Flowers are a very lovely sight." I smiled as I spoke up.
"No kidding, Cross. I sometimes see you with a hibiscus." Alexa stated.
"Good eyes, Alexa."
"Thanks, Cross. ...Well, we've been here for about an hour, and not once have we brought up you-know-what."
"So what do you propose we do now?" Celica queried.
"Hmm... How about I follow your advice next, Celica?" Alexa replied.
"The jogging? Sure thing. I'll be right next to you. That way if we come across you-know-what, we'll just pass by it as though it was never even there." She replied. But after a brief pause, she continued by saying "Unless it was crossing the streets. In which case, we just let it pass by as though it were a car."
"Sounds good. I'll follow your lead, Celica." Alexa nodded.
Surely enough, Celica got up first, with Alexa following soon after; Hope and I were last.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Alexa as she gets better and better at this." I spoke with sincerity.
"So do I, Cross. Why don't we follow them across the Residential District?" Hope asked me.
"Sounds good, Hope. I'm always up for a good jog." I replied.
And so, we began jogging around the Residential District. Any Skells we happened to have come across, Alexa somehow was able to completely ignore. I'm guessing it's because she's trying to preserve her love of Skells.
After a while, we eventually returned to the Deliverance Park, and we were starting to feel exhausted.
"That was one heck of a jogging session. Even though I'm starting to get exhausted, it did a good job of keeping my mind clear." Alexa smiled.
"Anytime. Once you start to feel exhausted, the key is to relax when necessary." Celica nodded.
"So... I guess it's off to the massage clinic now?" I asked.
"Sure. But how are we going to get to the Commercial District without further exhausting ourselves? Especially since it's in Barista Court, or at least, close to it." Alexa pondered.
"I would suggest using... you-know-what, but that would defeat the purpose of what we're doing." Hope joked around a bit.
"Hmm... How about that Transporter Vehicle?" I pointed out. Since Skells are out of the question, we had to resort to hopping to a Transporter Vehicle.
"That could work. All we gotta do is tell the Transport Pilot where we need to go, right?" Alexa guessed.
"Precisely. Why don't the four of us go together? Maybe we could all have a massage together?" I offered.
"It's been a little over two years since I had my last massage. This'll be the first time I do it in my mimeosome, though. So, why not?" Hope accepted.
"A Tree Clan Prone told me that massages are popular with women. And I do know why, even though I've had my last massage recently, I'm willing to join you as well." Celica accepted as well.
"Then it's settled. Why don't we go and tell the Transport Pilot that we need to get to the Commercial District?" Alexa suggested.
"Let's do that right now. Follow me, girls." I led the way to the Transport Pilot.
Later on, we arrived near Barista Court, where the new massage clinic was at. And boy, was I looking forward to going there.
"Is that the place, Cross?" Alexa asked as she pointed at a fairly new building near Barista Court.
"Yes. That's the one. Well, then... Shall we all enter the massage clinic together?" I asked them, and they all replied by nodding.
Some time later, we were all lying on our frontsides. It was quite the relaxing moment, and the massagists weren't even there yet.
"That was quite the chaos earlier. I certainly didn't anticipate that we'd all have to be in the same changing room at the same time." I commented as I relaxed.
"Yeah. That said, I suppose it is fitting that we keep our modesties covered." Alexa noted.
"It does get a little uncomfortable when you're not wearing anything at first. But it's worth it to get a nice massage. Ahh... Just the thought is making me relax already." I sighed in pleasure and anticipation.
"That's good to hear. So... Will it begin shortly?" Celica asked.
"In a few minutes, Celica. I think we're the subjects of a massage lesson." Hope replied.
"And I believe I'll be the teacher's subject. Ahh... I look forward to it already." I sighed with a smile.
"You're really looking forward to it, Cross. I can't wait to see if it'll work." Alexa commented.
"Oh, it'll work, Alexa. Trust me on this one."
As a few minutes pass by, a man enters the room we're in, and accompanying him are two more humans, and one Nopon.
"So, my pupils, are you ready for your first massage lesson?" the man had asked, and his pupils had responded by nodding. "Today's massagees are... Cross, member of Team Elma; Alexa, the Skell Nut; Hope Alanzi, the kind Mediator; and Celica, currently the only Qlurian here in NLA. I'll be demonstrating massage techniques by applying them to Cross. Feel free to choose your client."
The man chose to massage Alexa; the woman chose to massage Hope; and the Nopon who was female, chose to massage Celica. The massage teacher, as he had said, will be demonstrating his massage techniques with me. I was certainly going to enjoy it.
"Before we start, I should inform you that the towel is meant to cover modesties. Because our clients wanted them covered, I must advise that you not remove the towel for any reason." The massage teacher told his pupils.
And so, begins the massage lesson, with the teacher giving me a very good massage, while his pupils were learning very quickly and efficiently, and thus, my female friends were getting an equally good massage. I didn't listen to what he was teaching his pupils, since I was so focused on having a good massage.
"Y'know, Cross?" Alexa sighed in pleasure from her back massage.
"Yes, Alexa?" I replied.
"I had actually forgotten... Ahh... how good a massage feels."
"It sure does... Ahh... If my past self has had massages before, I bet I enjoyed them back then, too."
"Ohh, I can imagine..."
Afterwards, we went back to just merely enjoying our massage.
"Celica, how's the massage...?" Hope asked while sighing in pleasure.
"It feels very good, Hope... Ahh... I can understand why humans enjoy massages..." Celica replied.
"Yeah... I've been wanting a massage... since we landed... Ahh... I should take care of myself more often..."
"Yes... Ahh... You can do that... By the way...? ...I can understand... Ahh... why massages are more popular with women."
"Absolutely, Celica... Absolutely..."
To say we all enjoyed our massages was an understatement. We literally sighed out of enjoyment every few moments whenever we spoke up.
Eventually, the massage lesson had finished. I believe the massage teacher said that if the pupils keep up the great work, they'll be hired as official masseurs.
Once they left the room, we went to the changing rooms to put our clothes back on. And then we thanked the massage clinic for a good time.
Eventually, we finally left the building. And when we looked up to the sky...
"Huh. It appears to be evening already." I commented.
"Yes, it does." Celica nodded in agreement.
"So... What do you think we should do now?" Alexa asked.
"Hmm..." I started pondering for a moment.
"What are you thinking of, Cross?" Hope asked me.
"Lin promised me she'll be making some dinner for me and my team. ...Do you three want to come along?" I asked the others.
"Of course. I'm always open to accompanying your team, Cross." Celica nodded in agreement.
"I don't think about food very often, but I'm always up for Lin's cooking. So count me in." Alexa smiled while giving a thumbs up.
"I see." I smiled, then turned to Hope and said "Hope? Would you like to come?"
"Of course. I miss the taste of Lin's cooking already. I wonder if Elma's working on that new tea blend?" Hope accepted.
"I think she is. Anyways, I'll contact Lin, let her know that I've got three invited guests, and then we can all head together by foot. By the time we get to the Barracks, dinner should be ready." I said as I grabbed my communication device.
After sending Lin the message, I got a reply from her, telling me that she's open to cooking for guests. And that she'll be cooking fish and chips, as they call it.
"Lin's going to be cooking some fish 'n chips. I wonder, why do they call it fish and chips?" I pondered.
"It hailed from England, where fries are known there as 'chips'." Hope explained to me.
"Ah, yeah. I always call them 'fries'... entirely by habit." I sheepishly said as I scratched my head.
"Anyways, gals? Thanks for your suggestions. If I need to stop thinking about you-know-what, whether by my own decision, or by Tika's request, I'll follow your respective advices, be it going to the park, to the massage clinic, or having a jog down the Residential District." Alexa smiled.
"Anytime." Celica, Hope, and I all said at the same time, before we looked at each other out of surprise.
"Anyways, let's get going. Lin's cooking those fish 'n chips for eight people. And we aim to be among them." I suggested.
"Right. Let's head to the Barracks ASAP." Alexa nodded in agreement.
And so, we went to the BLADE Barracks, where we were on time for dinner. We've been speaking about our day with my teammates, who were surprised to see that Alexa wants to not think about Skells for a while, by her own decision. And I know for a fact that Alexa is going to keep those words of advice in mind. I'm glad to help the Skell Nut herself appreciate other details about life. And this is where my story will end.
I would like to thank the Post-Miiverse Lifehold Discord user named CyanTH [alex] for serving as Editor for this story, similar to Evil Lucario serving as editor for "Goodwill".