A/N: So, for anybody who's played Mass Effect 2… I present to you…
Silence… Silence is pure. Silence will always be just that, silent. It will never change, and it is always constant wherever it is. Like right now. I'm staring at the ceiling, just feeling the pain in my head. It feels like someone melted hot plastic and is currently pouring it all over my brain.
To say the least, it was six in the morning, and I was facing the music for a few hours prior.
Hangovers… hangovers… if there was one thing that the angels and gods should NOT have created, was hangovers. Though at least thankfully, my pride was intact, since I didn't let myself go crazy last night.
I ended sleeping on the couch, since I had given up my bed for the twins, who had rigorously 'purified' my bed from any demon residue. I'm not sure which angel trained those two, though it clearly wasn't a very street-smart one. Or smart at all in fact. But at least there was one decent thing about the aftermath. Or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Apparently Histoire contacted IF and Neptune at two in the morning, and told them that it would take around a few days to a few weeks to pinpoint her location. They weren't happy about the early call though.
I sit there for about another hour, before some people start to trickle into the living room.
"Morning…" I moan out.
"H-Hey everybody…? If everyone could just, talk quietly… walk quietly… and in fact breathe quietly, that'd be amazing." Ryouichi slumped down next to me, regretting it the next second.
There were various moans and groans coming back as responses, as the morning was pretty sluggish. I couldn't really blame anyone anyways.
IF might as well be dead, with Ryouichi following suit. Apparently Reiji was up early, and his body gleamed with sweat as he powered through some exercise routines.
Sparky nudged my leg, begging to be fed. I comply with his demands, walking over to the fridge, not letting my posture slump. I pull out what looks like three raw T-Bones, and I toss them on a plate for Sparky. He promptly starts to devour the meat. I pet him, getting slightly electrocuted. The sound was practically a sonic grenade detonating in the ears of everyone who partook in alcohol yesterday.
"AAAAHHH!" Everyone screamed.
After another hour, people started to recover, and I started whipping up some breakfast. Nothing fancy. Just Eggs and Bacon, though only the brave would even go near the bacon. I couldn't understand why, it's not like there was anything wrong with it. Or at least for me. Benefits of the damned.
I got down to washing the dishes, and I saw that some people were avoiding others. Compa was avoiding Neptune, and Nirito was practically constantly running away from Vert.
The silence was broken for me as Léon comes running into the kitchen, "Onii-chan! Onii-chan! What the hell?!" He comes in with a cute generic little brother start, though finishes awfully.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." I had a good idea on what is was about. Though, I'll show you why I'm playing dumb in a second.
Léon's face starts getting red. "You know what I'm talking about Onii-chan! Come on, answer me!"
I shrug, "Help me out here, I'm dense."
He starts jumping up and down, and stomping on the ground. "You. Know. What. I'm. Talking. About!"
I laugh, and a small sprout of pain shoots into my head. "Alright, alright. You're talking about Nitrous right?"
"If that's what his name is now. He's the meanie who fought you for four months straight! Collapsing dimensions on top of each other! So why is he here?!" Léon really was not liking this. It was rare he collapses back into his childish nature. The sadness of eternal youth was that it was extremely hard to get rid of old habits.
"Come on Léon, it isn't like you to get worked up this much. What's on your mind." I swap subjects.
He's steaming at this point, before he sighs. He holds up a feather, and my face pales. It wasn't just any feather, it was a summoning feather.
"...W-Who's that from?" I ask Léon. He shrugs, shaking from side to side, panicking. "Alright, alright. Calm down, we've got a month. Let me think of a plan." I'm not sure what Léon did to piss off an Angel, but this is an issue.
"Just try to relax for now." I tell Léon, before walking out into the living room, looking to relax. Sadly enough, rest is once again illusive before I'm once again stopped. This time, by the other demon in our party.
He stands there, holding the UTIG pass he had picked up yesterday. His hands were shaking. "Xiang I nee-" I stop him right there.
"I understand. Where is it? I'll go with you, just in case it's a trap." I offer. He sighs in relief, and tells me the location. Apparently it was far off into the barren forests of Lowee.
"Thanks for this, I mean it." He thanks me, I wave it off. Despite Titanis and us being former enemies, we felt like old friends. It was a strange feeling really. He walks off, to nurse his head as well as I walk over to the couch. I overhear two similar voices talking.
"Yeah, there are a lot of bad guys in there right?" Angel or Angelica whispered.
"Yeah, we are going tomorrow to kill them all." The other said. I wondered where they were going. I shrugged, it wasn't my issue right now. If they happened to die, whether it be a sword or a bullet to the head, they would just end back up at the Stairwell.
I close my eyes, and sigh as I take a small nap. That is, before another two people start talking… Right. In. Front. Of. Me. It was Nirito and Vert. It sounded like Vert was asking Nirito to do something for her. Nirito was complaining back in return.
"Aww… come on now my big and protective bodyguard. Why not?" Vert pleaded with Nirito.
"Because, I was hired to protect you, not to protect an idol alone." Nirito replied back flatly. A red mark started to grow on my forehead as my eyes twitched.
"Well, you are also being paid extra for being a butler. And a butler caters to his Master's needs! Plus, it's not like you'll be alone. Someone will go with you." Vert replied back with gusto.
"But I'm not getting paid extra…" Nirito moans. I cock my pistol, catching both of their attention. I point it directly under my chin and straight up.
"I'm getting my peace and quiet… One way or another." I said darkly. "So I'd suggest you two take this conversa-" I'm cut off by Vert.
"See Nirito? Xiang volunteered for us." Vert has a smug smile, knocking away my gun and tossing me into Nirito. We both land with a thud, and we land in a… less than appropriate position.
Namely the 'sixty-nine' position.
"Gah!" Nirito shoves me off scratching at his face. I mirror his actions, pulling out a random bottle of mouthwash, and I run off into the bathroom.
I pass by IF, who opened her mouth to ask something, but she doesn't get the chance as I spin her around with the speed that I was running at. She spins 1080, and falls to the ground. She had swirls for eyes, and she was about to hurl. But I didn't worry about that right now.
I open the bathroom door, and rinse out my mouth. Honestly, it didn't quite matter to me as much, what happened just now. I just don't happen to see Nirito in that way. I sighed. At least the bathroom was quiet. Just the toilet, the sink, the foggy mirror… the foggy mirror?
I notice it just now, but the shower was running, and the air was hot and damp. I hear someone humming a song, and the tone sounded familiar. It was Noire… God damnit, I need to get out. Unfortunately, I couldn't move. Remember when I said that old habits die really, really hard on ageless people like us? Yeah, that means I'm still a young man in the middle of his prime.
The shower stops, and Noire steps out. I still haven't moved from this spot. I catch a glimpse of the 'promised' land, before I turn around. A brilliant idea just passed through my head, as I keel over the sink like I was sick.
Noire dries her face with a towel, wiping away the water in her eyes when she spots me. "X-Xiang?!" She screeched. If I was looking she would hastily toss the towel over herself.
I weakly wave to her without turning around, "G-Good morning. Sorry, but you're going to have to wait for the sink." Hopefully this works.
She would hastily toss on all of her clothes before tossing her hair and sighed in thanks. Probably in thanks that I didn't see anything. "Hmph! I didn't need to use the sink anyways!" She stormed out of the bathroom, red head to toe.
I blink once or twice. "I can't believe that actually worked." I sighed to myself. Unfortunately, I had spoken too soon, since apparently Noire was standing right outside of the bathroom. She runs right back in, and drop kicks me. I fly head first into the ceramic wall, and my eyes roll to the back of my head.
Noire walks over, fidgeting while blushing. She looks around to make sure nobody is around, before pecking me on the cheek before leaving. It was unfortunate that I was unconscious for it.
I groaned to myself as I laid my head on a random desk. I have a few scribbled words on a few pieces of paper, written in Latin. Doing this always helped me sort out my options, and this time I had seven options.
Ryouichi/Sparky (Combat Training)
Léon ('Tenshi'?)
Nitrous (UTIG Base Assault)
Angel/Angelica (Demon Hive Cave)
IF (An Important Date)
Reiji ('Fine Tuning')
Nirito Haan (Bodyguard Duties)
I don't even know how I got myself into this mess. I pinned them on a random plot convenient board, and scratched the back of my head. I hold up my new musket, and point it at the board, hovering over each one like it was a hunting game menu.
I hover over Léon and I pull out a throwing knife, sticking it in the paper instead of shooting it. I bet more than a few people in the hideout approve of this decision to not blast their headaches.
Typically speaking, Léon's predicament is technically mine as well, and if something were to come out of it… I want to get out of here as fast as possible. They may be 'angels', but they still have the power to lift mountains together.
"It's settled then… off to the Staircase we go…" I mutter, as I leave to gather Léon, and head out.
