Year : 771
A little more than 3 years after the Cell Game
" 11.13 PM... Well, it's non totally ruined, but it's not going well... Raaaaaaaaaaaaah 17 you are really a complete moron ! ".
Ruri knew that she had very little chance that 17 would agree to follow her. He had been quite adamant, and immediately after their conversation, he had flown away. No one in the village had seen him again, he had disappeared without telling anyone. None of the villagers was surprised. Ryo, the young boy she had met and who had told her about 17, had told her not to get her hopes up. He had kindly offered to repair her car for free. For three days now, Ruri had stayed in her hotel room and worked, but she had gone to the village every day to talk to him and try to learn everything she could about 17. Unfortunately, she had not been able to get much information, and nothing that could give her some hope.
Everyone agreed that 17 avoided the company of others, he hardly spoke at all, nothing seemed to interest him particularly.
"However, I am sure that he ... enjoyed taking care of the female and her cub. And then... he talked to me a bit anyway... I can't be that wrong... ".
The more the hour went on, the less she could concentrate on the class she had to finish. She had planned to leave at dawn the next day. Only a few hours left... The wait was unbearable, because she knew that if she left without him, he would never join her.
This idea was driving her crazy. Without 17, her expedition was becoming almost impossible. No reasonable human being would be willing to embark on something so dangerous. And even if she did find one, would he be really useful ? Whereas 17, with such strength and speed, was the only one who could really help her. To have met him was an extraordinary chance that she did not want to miss.
This expedition was the ultimate goal of her life, her only objective for years, nothing was more important to her. Seeing the minutes passing by and her dream becoming more and more impossible to achieve was starting to be really unbearable for her. To take her mind off it, she had tried everything: taking a shower, watching a movie, reading and rereading her course, which she could not even memorize. But she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Suddenly, she became very angry. She got up from her bed and shouted:
"Raaaaaaah, but he is really a poor fool in fact ! Refusing to come with a pretty girl like me THIS IS THE STUPIDEST THING EVER ! And I know has anything important to do ! If they weren't in danger of dying, TONS of guys would be fighting to go with me ! MORON ! "
Saying this, Ruri grabbed an empty can that was on her bedside table, and furiously threw it through the window that was left open. She immediately regretted her action, as it was not in her habit to pollute nature, and instinctively, she moved towards the window to see where the can had fallen.
"Who's a moron?".
Ruri froze in a second. That nonchalant voice, no doubt... To her surprise, 17 was on the other side of the window, the can in his right hand. "No ! You gotta be kidding me ! " she thought, completely unable to react, " it's been days that I wait for you and you arrive just at THAT moment you idioooooooooot ! ".
A few long seconds passed, during which both remained perfectly motionless, Ruri becoming simply more and more red. 17 couldn't help but find her very funny, this usually so talkative little human suddenly silent as a carp. Amused, he chose not to show it, and remained perfectly impassive.
- Can I come in? he finally asked.
- ...
- I take that as a yes (saying this, he entered the room. He approached Ruri, still immobile, and whose face had just crossed again a stage in its race towards the scarlet).
- ...
- So you throw cans in people's faces? Interesting.
- ... Well, if you had used the door, like everyone else, you wouldn't have had a problem. It's not common that people come to see you through a fourth floor window!
Suddenly her voice were back again, but 17 could see that it was only a sheepish attempt to keep up appearances. Her tone of voice was clearly not as assertive as it had been during their last conversation. She was trying to hide her embarrassment, that was obvious, and 17 found it very amusing. Deciding to take advantage of this situation to embarrass Ruri, he began to walk slowly around the young woman, and taking care not to let anything of his amusement show, he continued:
- Do you know how many people on earth have called me a moron, thrown a can at my face, and are still alive to talk about it?
- ... I would say ... one. Me.
- Exactly.
- And first of all, I didn't throw anything in your face, I didn't think you were there.
- But you called me a moron.
- Well, yes," Ruri replied.
She was distraught. Not that she feared a violent reaction from 17, but she was terrified that she had ruined her chance to have him accompany her. Because if he had finally come, it was to talk to her about her request, for sure. She did not have much time to think, but it seemed obvious to her that it was useless to try to deny. So she continued:
- After all... refusing to go with me would be really stupid of you. And it's been three days since you disappeared and I haven't heard from you. So I was upset. In fact, this is all your fault.
- ... my fault?
- Yes.
- Interesting.
- What's interesting?
- You.
Saying this, 17 moved closer to Ruri, as he had done before entering the giant deer's enclosure. So close, that their faces could almost touch.
"Waiiiiiiiiiiiit... Are you flirting with me ? "
This thought suddenly came to Ruri's mind. On the one hand, 17 was clearly establishing some sort of "physical" relationship between them, but on the other hand, his gaze was so... fixed... that she couldn't detect any particular expression in it. So she couldn't really figure out what his intentions were. But it was anything but unpleasant. She took advantage of his proximity to observe his face.
"It's crazy how beautiful you are ...raaaaaaaaaah these blue eyes, oh my god! " she thought then. It was only at this moment that she realized that she was dressed in her fetish pink pyjamas, decorated with unicorns and rainbow. A stupid gift from her college classmates. Comfortable, but definitely not attractive.
"Oh but you had to come JUST NOW THAT I AM WEARING THIS RIDICULOUS THING," she thought, hoping that 17 wouldn't pay too much attention on her outfit.
On his side, 17 remained motionless, as usual, staring straight at Ruri. He didn't really know why he had come so close. He wanted to talk to her, that was the purpose of his visit, but now that he was in her presence, he could not help but want to be... closer. She looked different than how he remembered her, when she was dressed "to fight monsters". Now, her hair was loose, and fell in long, slightly wavy strands to her waist. Her gaze, however, was always incredibly expressive, and the deep green of her eyes fascinated him. She also had her smile, a smile that almost never left her. "It is true that you are cute."
This thought surprised him. He had never paid any attention to a human before. But really... this one was special. So special that he forgot what he wanted to say to her.
- And... started saying Ruri, why am I interesting?
- Because ... you are not afraid of me.
- Really ? But why should I be afraid?
- ... I am powerful enough to kill you very easily.
- OKAY 17, to cool down the atmosphere, you're really good you know ! Hahahahaaaaaa!
17's question had surprised Ruri so much that she forgot her embarrassment, apprehension and worries. She laughed, for several minutes, before catching her breath. She then sat down on her bed and mockingly continued:
- Are you planning to kill me?
- No, I'm not.
- Then why should I be afraid? I don't want to offend you, but you're nothing special 17, anyone with a gun could kill me. You, no more than anyone else. What's important isn't not what you CAN do, it's what you WANT to do...
- ... ah.
- It's like monsters, you know. Everybody is afraid of them, because they are big, strong, powerful. But they are like all animals, they want a peaceful life, they kill for food but nothing more. A big monster that doesn't want to hurt you is sometimes less dangerous than an insect that will want to bite you and whose bite can kill you.
- ... ah.
- This is the big problem with monsters. As everybody thinks they are dangerous and strong, nobody cares about their protection. They are the forgotten ones of the animal protection.
- Is that why you study them?
- ... pretty much. I admit I have a weakness for very big and very dangerous animals hahaha! But, for me, every animal life is precious, nature is precious, and I want to dedicate my life to ... preserving it. It's stupid isn't it?
- ... no I've known ... someone like that before...
- A friend of yours?
- Not really...
- But he likes animals? Then he's a good person... You know, 17, if... you come with me... You will be able to show him great pictures of amazing animals, I'm sure he will love to see them!
Ruri wanted to know 17's answer. So she might as well ask the question. Or at least bring the conversation back on topic. She had become serious again, and 17 also realized that it was time to get to the real reason for her visit.
- Okay.
- Okay what?
- I'll come with you.
At these words, Ruri got up from her bed and threw herself at 17's neck, who, surprised, did not push her away. Anyway, as he was getting used to it, the young woman didn't really give him time to think, because immediately after she detached herself from him and started to shout:
- IT'S TRUE ? OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU 17, YOU WON'T REGRET IT I PROMISE YOU ! Stay here, I'll be back !
She then jumped to the other end of the room, and came back with two cans. She offered one to 17.
- Here, let's celebrate ! You can say that you made me wait sooooo long !... Fortunately, I have two beers left. Well they are not very fresh, but it's better than nothing !
- ... what is it, a beer ?
- ... oh my god.
- What?
- Nothing, don't worry, I was just thinking that... Anyway, forget it. It's drinkable. Cheers !
17 had never drunk "beer". He drank mostly water, the only thing he needed to survive. He also drank sodas, but rarely. He wasn't really thirsty, but Ruri seemed so happy that he didn't dare to refuse. So he tasted this strange drink.
- ... it's not bad, he said after a few sips.
- We drink it when we celebrate something, Ruri said.
- Ah.
- In fact, technically we should have champagne, but it's very expensive, and I'm on a tight budget so...
- Ah.
- You've never drunk champagne either, have you?
- No, I haven't.
- You don't know what you miss ! I'll make something about that, I promise!
- Why don't you tell me more about your expedition?
Ruri then gives him another big smile.
- As I told you, we're going to observe 5 very special animals.
- Which ones?
- Ahhhhhhhh that's a secret.
- Why?
- I promised you wouldn't be bored with me. So I'm keeping a few surprises in store for you. But I guarantee you won't believe your eyes. You've never seen such creatures, and you've never been where they are. Trust me!
- ... okay. So basically, what you want is that I protect you from them if you need it?
- Exactly. If you want to help me with the scientific observations too, I won't refuse your help!
- ... okay. And how long will this last?
- ... alooooooooooooooors, I would say... One year.
- ONE YEAR?
- Maximum.
- You didn't tell me it would be that long!
- You didn't ask me.
17 was stunned. A year was much longer than he had expected. He was beginning to wonder if he had done the right thing in agreeing to her request. But again, as if she could read his mind, Ruri intervened immediately:
- We're not going to go directly to the expedition. I need money to finance it. So I accept missions like the one with the deer. I have a lot of contacts with forest rangers and national parks. So we still need to do some small missions, and once I have enough money, we'll go.
- ...
- I know a year is a long time. But ... Why did you finally accept?
- ... I have ... nothing ...
- Nothing better to do right now, right? Ruri looked at him with a mischievous look, but without any malice. So, not having much of a choice anyway, 17 smiled back at her and answered:
- Indeed.
- So, one year doesn't change much, does it?
- ... one year. Not a day longer. Starting tomorrow.
- PERFECT !
Both of them drank a few sips of beer in silence. Ruri was so happy that all she wanted to do was to leave that hotel room immediately and go with 17, before he could change his mind. But it was late, and she needed to rest a little. Especially because...
- Oh boy! she exclaimed.
- What?
- With all this, I haven't finished reading my course.
- Your what?
- My lesson. I have to turn in my notes to my teacher tomorrow.
- A lesson on what?
- Heterotrophic single-celled eukaryotes.
- ...
- Yeah, I know...
- I'll let you work then.
- Wait. First, we need to set some rules together. Since we're going to be working together for a year, we might as well agree on them right away.
- I don't like rules very much," said 17, smiling.
- Haha me too! I hate following orders, I have a bad habit of doing the opposite of what I'm told. That's something we have in common, isn't it?
- Yes.
- But we have to set some rules. So I propose, rule n°1: we are partners in this expedition. That means that neither of us gives the orders. We decide together, both of us, on an equal footing.
- Ok.
- Great! Rule n°2 : we don't hurt animals, and we don't kill them. You are powerful, I suspect that you know how to measure your strength, but it is useless to use it most of the time. In case of danger, you run away. You only fight back if a human, and especially me, is in danger. Do you agree?
17 instantly thought of 16. After their first confrontation with Vegeta, the only thing he had said was that the sounds of the fighting had made the birds flee. At that time, 17 had paid absolutely no attention to them, he didn't care about the consequences of their fights on the surrounding nature. But he had changed, and he did not want to hurt any animal unnecessarily.
- I agree too.
- Great!
- My turn.
- Mmmmm?
- Rule n°3: we decide together, except if I think the situation is dangerous. If it is, I decide, and you do what I say, no questions asked, no arguments.
- ... seems fair to me. I'll go with that rule. There's one more point, and we're good.
- What's that?
- Who's driving the car?
- ... you want to drive?
- Yes, why?
- ... I can fly, we'll go much faster.
-... mmmmmmmm I know what you mean. Honestly, I'm not saying we won't ever use your "special ability" but the road trip is the best part of the expedition, it would be a shame to miss out on it, right? What's the hurry, we can take our time, right?
- ...What is ... A road trip?
- It's when you go on a road trip with friends. It's soooooooooo good, we drive, we eat in restaurants along the road, we sing songs... You've never done one?
- ... once.
- Ah well ? And it was good ?
17 paused for a moment. That trip he had taken with his sister and 16 was by far his most beautiful memory, maybe even the only one. No doubt 18 would not necessarily agree with him, but for him it had been a wonderful experience. After years of being locked up in Dr. Gero's laboratory, he was longing for just one thing: to enjoy his freedom. So, he had benefited enormously from these few days of escape and travel. At that time, he still thought he was the most powerful being in the universe, he felt invincible, totally free. Forever safe from any threat. Never again, he had thought, could someone lock him up and use him as a mere object. If only he had known... Four days later, he had paid dearly for his carelessness. Only four days...
So after all, why not go back on the road..." What's the hurry, huh? " he said to himself, amused at the idea that this time, he was the one who had proposed to fly instead of taking a car.
- 17 ?
- Yes, sorry. Yes, it was... right. Just... the end...
- Oh yes, often when we go with friends, after a few days, it ends badly. You see, once I went on vacation with some friends from the university. And everything was going SUPER WELL. But after a week, we all had a fight. Supposedly, I left my socks lying around and it was not normal, blah blah blah, you know what I mean. But that was completely faulse, they weren't MY socks. You too, it ended badly because of an argument like that ?
- ... not at all.
- Ah, then you were lucky, because I had that sort of problems many times hahaha!
17 could not suppress a slight burst of laughter. And it had been years since he had laughed. He raised his head and looked again into Ruri's eyes. This trip was finally going to be much more interesting than he thought at first. He was even impatient to finally leave.
It was getting late, and their conversation was coming to an end anyway. 17 went to the window. But as he passed through it, he turned around and said before flying out:
- I'll let you finish what you have to do. I'll be back tomorrow morning at dawn.
- That's fine.
- And by the way, rule n°4: I drive the car. See ya!
- Rooooooooooooooh that's so unfaiiiiiiiiiiir !