Chapter 2: The reveal

The rest of the class passed without incident. Except for Nymph leaving for the restroom a few minutes before class ended, and not returning for her things for ten minutes. By which time Tomoki had given up and gone back home. On his walk back to his bike he saw Ikaros walking alone. He waved to her and she saw him and waved back as he mounted his machine for the ride home. Her expression was blank still. But everything Nymph had said to him still rang in his mind. Especially the last part. She is physically incapable of feeling anything. What the hell was that all about? How could someone be like that? These and more swam through his mind as he maneuvered the bike through traffic. He had a small one room apartment on the edge of town. Not the best part of town mind you. But it was cheap. He pulled in the driveway and cut the engine off. Walking into his house he pulled off his jacket and helmet. Long day. Weird day. Made one friend. Maybe. And one enemy. Maybe. No idea. Guess I'll wait till the next time I see Ikaros. I liked talking to her.

…..

The next day he had only one class. Chemistry 112. He managed to get there somewhat early. Only a few people were there. He found a seat. Shortly after, Ikaros entered the room and immediately moved towards him. "Hello Tomoki," She said.

"Hey Ikaros! How ya doing today?"

"I am quite well. How are you today?"

"No complaints. Traffic wasn't too bad this morning."

"That is good to hear. Do you ride that motorcycle every day?

"Yeah that's all I've got. Can't afford a car."

"Yes motorcycles are cheaper than cars. However they are also more dangerous."

"Yeah that's for sure. One wrong move and boom." Interesting that the conversation is going this way.

"What does boom mean? Is your motorcycle going to explode?"

"Well no I hope not but ya know. One wrong move and I could be hurt pretty bad."

"Yes that is correct. You should be careful."

"Yeah, yeah everyone tells me that. But let me tell ya. It may be dangerous but its worth it. That feeling when you're riding….its like you're flying. And its amazing."

"It is like you are flying?"

"Yeah. Wind rushing past you, controlling the bike just by moving your body weight around. It really feels like you are flying. Like you have wings or something"

"I have always wanted to fly. Like the birds. It is the reason I am studying aerospace engineering. I want to design space craft and airplanes."

"Wow that sounds amazing. Change the world type stuff."

"I have always wanted to have wings." Ikaros stated. Shortly after, the class started.

….

"Well I am headed home now." Tomoki said as class came to a close.

"May I walk with you?"

"Yeah no problem. My pleasure."

"Thank you. I was thinking about what you said earlier. About your motorcycle. About it being like you were flying."

"Yeah what about it?"

"Would...it be ok with you….if I rode with you sometime? I want to feel what it is like to fly as you said." She asked slowly.

"Uh yeah, sure. No problem. Need to get you a helmet. But yeah. We can do that."

"In a crash the helmet would offer little protection to your head and no protection to the rest of your body."

"Yep and in studies of riders the helmet does not help at all past 40 mph. Dead instantly."

"And knowing that, you still choose to ride the motorcycle?"

"Yes. And I think it is worth the risk."

"I would like to try it sometime."

"Yeah. I can make that happen."

"Also, if the helmet does not help very much, why is it required?"

"Because its the law. We would get pulled over by the cops if they saw you without a helmet."

"Oh. Ok. Then I will acquire a helmet."

"Nah don't worry about it I can get one for ya."

"Ok. That sounds good. Ride safely. Thank you, Tomoki"

….

The next day Tomoki did not have a helmet for her. He couldn't afford one. He was expecting more weirdness. He would probably see Nymph and Ikaros in the same class. He got to his UNIV class and Ikaros was already there. Nymph was nowhere to be found. Ikaros looked at him and motioned for him to sit next to her. He did so with a smile. "Hey Ikaros. Hows it going."

"I am well today, Tomoki. I have acquired a helmet. Here." She pulled out a strange helmet. It was a typical half helmet, but instead of black it was painted like a watermelon. "I like watermelons. So I got a helmet that looked like one."

"Huh that's pretty cool. Where is Nymph? Isn't she in this class?"

"She told me that she was not going to attend class today."

"Huh the professor told us that attendance was mandatory."

"Nymph has always been the rebellious type. She did not do well in school. She never wanted to do her work and was always watching the birds."

"Huh. I think I understand. I spoke to her on Monday, and she was quite...interesting. She told me that you were not a nice person."

"That is very odd to me. She has always been very nice to me."

"Yeah she told me something about you not being able to feel anything."

"She was correct. I have a brain injury that prevents me from feeling any emotions."

"What? That's….really sad. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Do not be sad Tomoki. There is no reason. I have been like this my whole life. I do not know what I would be missing because I have never felt any emotions."

"I can't really imagine what that is like. Most people are constantly feeling some emotion in one form or another."

"Yes. I have tried to emulate it in the past, however it has never gone well. People think I am acting, and doing a poor job of it."

"That's crazy though. What kind of brain injury? Sorry for asking. But ive never heard of anything like this."

"I do not know. I believe it is the result of damage to the hypothalamus but I am unsure."

"Wow. That's crazy."

….

Ikaros and Tomoki went to their next class and lunch again. They ended up trading phone numbers. And Tomoki went on to his math class. As he approached the door, a petite blue haired girl greeted him with her classic smirk. "Sup dummy bug."

"Dummy bug? Who the hell are you talking to?"

"Who else is there?"

"What do you want?"

"I heard about your little escapade with my sister. She came home yesterday and the day before talking about you. Nothing but good things. 'He is very nice to me.' Don't make me laugh. I've seen your type before. Lots of sweet talk. Hell, she is pretty damn cute. You think you can get some of that. But I promise you. If you hurt her, I will personally kill you. And they will never find the body. They haven't found the other ones yet."

"Woah woah woah. Hold up. I don't understand why you think I'm gonna do something to her. I just want a friend. And she is nice to me. She told me she has a brain injury and I felt so sorry for her. She also told me she wanted to fly. So I'm gonna try to do what I can to make that dream come true."

"I hope for your sake you are telling me the truth. Because if you're not….I won't say." and she walked away. Skipping another class. Crazy chick. And now death threats. What the hell is with this family? Their parents are probably completely insane.

…..

Math passed fairly uneventfully. No big deal. And then on his way out the math building he met up with Ikaros again. "Are you ready to fly?"

"Yes I think I am. Let us go." They walked to the bike and got on. Waiting a few seconds for traffic to clear, Tomoki said, "Now just hang on to me."

"I will." She said and did so. He hit the gas and the bike rolled off slowly. He was going to start easy for sure. Didn't want to scare the poor girl. He had gotten her address from her over text and managed to remember where to go to get her home. He had to get on the highway, He knew that stretch of highway and knew he could open it up for her once she got used to the way it felt. As he maneuvered through the city she was holding him very tightly.

"Hey are you ok?"

"Yes I am. It is a bit scary. But I want to do this."

"Ok just to let you know, when we get on the highway I'm gonna be going pretty fast."

"Yes please do. I think I am enjoying this." Emboldened by her statement, he pulled onto the highway and pinned the throttle. They were pushing nearly 100mph in a few seconds. She was holding onto him for dear life.

….

They pulled up to her house a few minutes later. She let go of him and got off the bike. She was shaking a bit and sat down on the concrete. He jumped off the bike and moved over to her. "Hey are you ok? You're shaking."

"My heart is racing. I think I can feel an adrenaline rush. I was scared, horrified at first. Then I felt the wind and the bike and it was amazing. It really was like flying." She said with a small smile. Moments later her sister and another woman with blue hair come running out of the house.

"What the hell have you done to her!" Yells Nymph as she flies towards Tomoki in an attempt to put him in a headlock. Which works excellently. The blue haired woman goes to Ikaros as Ikaros tells Nymph to not hurt Tomoki.

"Please! Don't hurt him!"

Both Nymph and the other woman stood perfectly still at hearing that. That was more emotion than they had ever seen Ikaros exhibit. "Please! Leave him alone! He is my friend!" Nymph released her hold on Tomoki's neck.

Tomoki caught his breath and asked Ikaros if she was ok. She was still trying to catch her breath but she stood up and nodded. She began walking towards the house.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Daedalus. I am the girls mother. Nymph, please do not kill him. I think some explanations are in order."

"Yeah. My name is Tomoki. Nice to meet you." He said extending his hand to shake. She shook his hand and Nymph huffed and ran inside.

"Please forgive Nymph. She means well but she sometimes lets her emotions control her."

"Yeah she threatened to kill me today if I hurt Ikaros' feelings. And now I feel like she maybe would try."

"I promise you she only acts like that because she thinks Ikaros can't defend herself. I have not seen her react like that...in a very long time. Maybe you should come inside and talk."

….

Ikaros had gone to her room to lie down. Daedalus and Tomoki sat in the living room and Nymph brought them some tea.

"Thank you Nymph." Tomoki said with a smile.

"Yes thank you dear. Now tell me. What possessed you to make my daughter a nervous wreck on the back of your motorcycle?" She asked calmly.

"She told me that she was doing aerospace engineering because she wanted to be able to fly like the birds. She had always wanted wings. And she asked me why I rode even though its so dangerous. And I told her it was like I was flying. That was before she told me she wanted to fly. So I offered to let her ride with me."

"Interesting. In 16 years no one has been able to get that much emotional response from her. No one."

"What happened to her?"

"When she was 4, she was identified to be incredibly intelligent. Of course, she was like any other girl. Laughing and playing with her sisters. She didn't want to take tests or do math problems. She wanted to play. And unbeknownst to me, her father….that damn bastard. He took her emotions away. This….scientist….basically convinced him that she could be the brightest girl ever. And that was worth a lot of money. And that her emotions were just getting in the way. And then he proposed a surgery. To disconnect the Hypothalamus inside her brain and strip her of all her emotions. Turn her into a human supercomputer. He did it without discussing it with me. We were going through some tough times. He had lost his job. Three girls to raise. When he did it, he took half the money and ran. Haven't seen him since." She said as she started to cry.

"Hey hey. At least shes still here. And she is brilliant. Blows me away every time she speaks. Never seen her smile. Not till today though."

"What? She actually smiled?"

"Yeah just a bit before you came out. It was the most...sincere angelic smile I've ever seen."

"I think...I will let you continue to see my daughter. You seem….different than other boys. You seem...good."

"Well thank you. I would like to continue to see her. She is amazing."

"Yes she is. Truly incredible."

"I need to be going. Would you mind if I said bye to her real fast?"

"Not at all. Go ahead."

…

Knocking on the door, "Hey Ikaros? You ok?"

"Yes I believe I am. My heart has slowed down to normal levels."

"Good I'm glad to hear it. You know, you were actually smiling for a bit."

"I….do not understand what happened. When I saw Nymph jump you...my chest hurt. Badly. I cried out because it was all I could do."

"I read somewhere that when people get limbs cut off, if they get reattached then they can actually heal the nerves and regain control of their limbs. Takes a long time. But maybe that is whats going on with you."

"I...do not know. But thank you Tomoki. Today was enjoyable." she said.

"Yeah it was. But I have to go home now. I will see you tomorrow ok?"

"Yes we will see each other tomorrow." She said standing up, "Tomoki, I have a favor to ask. Could I have a hug? I enjoyed the feeling of holding on to you on the bike." He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her gently. She did the same, squeezing with surprising strength. He decided to squeeze back. "I think I like that. Thank you Tomoki."

"Yeah. No problem. Ill see you tomorrow ok?" he said walking out the door. And back to the living room.

"Well? That sure was a long good bye." asked Nymph.

"She asked me for a hug. And said that she liked it."

"Oh my god…" said Daedalus, "yes you can continue to see my daughter."

"Thank you ma'am. I'll be going now. See you soon." He said with a smile.

….End of chapter 2

So! She is not an angeloid! But still lots of problems. And Nymph wants to kill Tomoki. And in case anyone was wondering, their father is kinda modeled off the "Master of the Synapse" dickhead. Seems like the kind of thing he would do I think. We will see what happens next.