Chapter 20: Home Sweet Home
Morning came and I opened my eyes to a serene sight, the girls were already awake. They wrapped around me and giggled slightly in unison. I smiled as they stayed with me during that night. "Good morning sleepyhead…" Ringo said softly. "Good morning Ringo, Feli, and Draco… are you ready to go back home?" They paused for a few seconds before they said together one word. "Yeah…" We dressed up and fixed the room so that it was in the condition it was before this trip started. Me and Ringo grabbed our things, then we all left. Exiting the room, everybody was out of their rooms as well. However, they were suspicious of us as we exited. "Dave… what's going on…?" Arle questioned me. I, as well as my loved ones, became flustered. "Uuuuuuum… well…" I stumbled. "I see, so you four were doing "naughty" things in that room last night…" A familiar voice spoke. "HUH?!" The others exclaimed as we stood still. "M-M-Ms. Accord?!" I stuttered. "I'm afraid that's not going to bode well on my record, all thanks to your sexual activity…" She frowned slightly. "Um… sorry…?" I pleaded to her, pitifully. "You know that's not how it works, you can't expect me to simply forgive you. Not in this setting anyway, because I am your chaperone and teacher. It looks like I will give you all a punishment when we return to Primp Town…" She proposed. "WE'RE SORRY!" We exclaimed. Draco and Feli proceeded to fetch their own things quickly.
After that was taken care of, we went outside and waited for the special vehicle to come. It didn't take that long, only about fifteen minutes. I assumed that it moved itself over here ahead of time. "Alright everyone, let's go home." Accord said. Into the special vehicle, we traveled through a portal. Throughout the trip back, no one person said anything at all for a while… this was until Amitie spoke. "So, um… Dave?" "Y-yeah, Amitie? What is it?" "Did you really have… with more than one girl last night?" "*sigh* Yes, Amitie… that is the truth… The fact is, I love Ringo, Feli, and Draco equally for different reasons." I told her. "Dave, I'm even more jealous of you than I was before. How did you get THREE girls to fawn over you... when you aren't even that special…?!" Schezo questioned me. "What did you say?! Schezo, how am I not special? I saved one of the girls twice, and the other two fell in love with me because of how nice and awesome I am." "Tch, whatever… No matter how special you think you are, I'm NOT on that bandwagon." He said. "Schezo, why do you have to be so mean?" Arle asked him. "Arle, there's a fine line between criticizing someone, and just being mean to them. I am only giving him my honest and biased opinion." "Sure… believe in whatever analytical crap you want, I still don't think that it's right…" She gave up.
Things were quiet for a bit before someone else spoke up. "E-even though Dave did a dirty thing with those girls, including Big Sister, I don't hate him…" Lidelle spoke her mind. "L-Lidelle…" I stuttered. "What do you mean, Lidelle?" Raffina asked her. "W-well, if he truly does care for those three… th-then why should we scrutinize him when he does good things for them out of love?" She emphasized. Everybody for the most part seemed to agree with her words. "I say, if Dave is doing this because of love, then let him do so. Taking away that love will only make him upset, and that goes for the girls as well."Risukuma added. "Ris…" Ringo stared at her best friend with happiness in her eyes. "Ringo, Dave is my friend too... I want to support his well-being in any way I can, especially ever since that incident with Maguro…" He continued. "Yeah… thank you so much, Risukuma…. And Lidelle, you too." I bowed my head. "It's funny Dave, you remind me so much of Maguro, except you don't play video games, instead, you have a strong knack for justice… and protecting the weak." Risukuma told me. "Wait, Maguro played games? I played plenty back in my world… I wonder... if Maguro never did what made me loathe him, could we have been one-of-a-kind pair of friends?" I thought. "Yeah he did, I was personally never really into them myself, but I could tell that he had a passion for playing." Ringo reminisced. "I just wished that we would've continued to be childhood friends…" Ringo said, saddened. "Ringo, remember what I told you before, it's not good to keep indulging yourself to the past like this. No matter how tough it may be to let go of, you need to focus on the present and future. Life will always test your spirit, physically and emotionally. One thing that I learned after all this time being with you, and everyone else, is to never give up. Even when all hope seems lost, there's always a glimmer of light that'll shine deep within a dark abyss. You need to teach yourself that you must push onward, no matter what. You do this until you draw your very last breath… and take pride in the life that you DID live through. Do you understand me? Life comes and goes as it pleases, you must adapt and cope with it until death latches on. I know that it is a frightening thought, however, you have the power to control your OWN destiny… I can feel it. I don't have to be there to create one for you… That goes for the rest of you too, including you… Schezo."
Everyone became speechless from my words, even Schezo, where he dropped his sword. For a solid minute, this silence remained. "Dave… that was so poetic…" Feli spoke. "Look at 'chu man, bringin' in words of wisdom to us." Lemres smiled. "Hm… It looks like I'll have to rescind my punishment. I have never had such a charismatic pupil with such a way with words before…" Accord told us. "What? You mean it, Ms. Accord…?" I questioned. "Yes, anyone who can make up a monologue like that one, I give respect to. You sound like you are truly an adult who is mature." She replied. "Honestly, I don't know what to think… you're too kind." I said. "*giggle* Oh, you needn't to say something like that, especially when you are blushing like a girl." She pointed out. "Come on, I'm not feminine!" I covered my face. Everyone began to chuckle at the silliness. Before I knew it, I chuckled along with them. From then on, that trip back home was filled with conversations. Everything was back to normal, my friends and I enjoyed this time to the most. A hole opened up eventually and the special vehicle flew through it. We were finally back in Primp Town, at the stop that we started with before going to the Puyo Isles. I stretched out as we exited the vehicle. "Mmm… it's good to be back…" Accord exited last and told us an important tidbit. "All of you who normally would have school at this time, this is your day off, so you can all go home and prepare to come back tomorrow." We took that into face value and smiled at that news. "Looks like we can go back home in Suzuran right now if we wanted to, Ringo and Ris." I said. "Hey Dave... looks like we won't see each other for a little while…" Draco frowned. I realized that and I lost my smile. "Oh… well then… I'm sure we'll find a way to… to more easily be together…" I stopped my words. Draco squeezed me for that time, and I did the same. "Goodbye Dave, I promise that I'll be with you all the time in the future." She said, before flying off. "And there she goes…" Feli trailed. I sighed and waved to all my comrades who lived in Primp Town before leaving with Ringo and Risukuma through a portal.
Suzuran was in sight, out the portal, and we were back. Me and Ringo said goodbye to Risukuma, and left on our separate ways. "Dave, I'll never forget the time that we all had there…" "Me neither Ringo… however, for once... I kinda miss school. As much of a pain in the ass it can be, it'll break up the monotony for a while." We both smiled at each other and then she held my hand. I blushed in surprise at first, but then accepted it as we approached Ringo's home. "C'mon, let's go inside and see my family." I nod to her and she opens the door. I looked inside to see that Ms. Ando realized our presence and smiled. "Well, welcome back you two... how did you like being in the Puyo Isles?" She stood up from a chair. "It was great! Mom, you should've seen it for yourself… it was beautiful." Ringo replied. "I'm sure it was… So Dave, what about you?" She wondered. "I loved it, I got to be with all of my friends, doing activities together. We talked, laughed, and played throughout... I wouldn't have had it any other way." I said. "That's wonderful, I'm happy for you." She smiled on. "Hm? Hey Mom, where's Dad?" Ringo asked. "Oh… Well Ringo, your father is on a business trip right now." Ms. Ando explained. "Huh? You didn't tell me about anything of the sort…" "Sorry my child, it just came up so suddenly around the middle of your time in those isles…" Ms. Ando's smile faded. "You're not sad about that, are you?" She asked her. "N-no… I'm fine. Let's see if there's anything on TV..." Ringo insisted. She turned on the television where by default, it was on a news channel.
Ringo was about to change the channel when we noticed something. "This just in: About two days ago, a court trial was conducted inside a resort in the Puyo Isles. A murder happened in one of the hallways during a previous night, and the victim had been revealed as a member of INTERPUYO. The body was discovered early on the following morning. The defendant was a teenage dragon girl named Draco Centauros, believed to have been the one to kill the victim. But, since there was a lack of proper authority, the trial had to be presided by a retired judge named Ex. The defense, as well as prosecution, had to be ran by those who knew most about the court system. Also, it would seem that the defendant was wrongfully accused and the true culprit was discovered. She was a spy under espionage that intentionally shifted the blame to the defendant due to hatred. Her motive in all of this was revenge, this… "Spy Queen" hated INTERPUYO so much, the murder victim in particular. Although, she wasn't able to do this alone due to complicated circumstances, so she had an accomplice help out by posing as her incognito form. This in turn, allowed her to freely kill our victim in question and have a rock-solid alibi. She almost got away with her crime too, fortunately, the defense and prosecution of the case cracked down on the truth. We received word from the young, leading prosecutor in charge, for he wanted to say something." The screen transitioned to a recording of a short conversation.
I continued to watch as the screen changed. "So, you wanted to say something... young man?" "Yes, I may have brought these two criminals down, but I couldn't have done it without that attorney and his assistant. They helped me realize a possibility that made me rethink myself… somewhat. I began to doubt the very witness, who said that her alibi was an unshakable truth. And then… all of that evidence came in from the defense; they said it was all from her room. The witness' reaction to that had told me the real truth. It was such a shame to me… formerly, she was one of the people that I trusted the most. You see, I am the president of Suzuran High's student council. Kassandra, or rather, Spy Queen... she was Vice President. Incidentally, the victim was also part of it as well I knew her as Mari, she was the secretary." "So a lot of this thing was connected to the murder, Prosecutor?" "Yes, but it's just… too complex to explain in words. So I'll end things off by saying this, I take my priorities very seriously. I cannot afford to be… I guess you can say a "co-worker" with criminals like her. It's incidents like this that destroy the foundation of what I work so hard for, building and maintaining its stature." The screen shifts back to the news anchor. "And there you have it, our big story for today. We will resume later to cover a recently failed ocean-liner heist, performed by a small group of terrorists…" Commercials then cue in for the break.
Ringo turns the TV off after seeing her mother looking pale. "Are you alright? Mom, you don't look so good…" "Ringo, I think this is the first time that she has heard of the murder…" Ms. Ando looked at us, shocked and bewildered. "Why didn't you two tell me about this…? You could have been victims in that whole thing too. Ringo, you are my precious girl, imagine how I would feel if you didn't return… And you Dave, I thought of you as a son that I never had… I always wanted one, but never got one." "Ms. Ando… I would like to say for both me and your daughter… our apologies. Me at least, I didn't want to tell you, or your husband, about this… I knew that it would bring down the mood. I wasn't sure if Ringo was thinking about it at the time, but if she was, then I'm sure that she wouldn't have wanted to tell you either." I told her. "Dave…" Ringo stared blankly. "Y-you're not wrong about that, Dave. I don't blame you… child…" Ms. Ando said, sitting down. "It's all good though, because the attorney that was mentioned in the news, that was me… Ringo was my assistant, through and through. We performed the role of defense... to help the defendant, she was our friend." I explained. "You defended somebody…?" She questioned. "Yes, we did… we wouldn't have done this if the person accused was a random civilian. We only jump in for the benefit of others before ourselves." I continued. "Mom, there was no way that we would have left her alone with a lack of help…" Ringo added. Ms. Ando paused for a minute before saying anything more. "Alright, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm proud of you two… but still, PLEASE tell me the next time that you kids are in potential danger…" She told us. "Don't worry Ms. Ando, if anything comes up... I'll protect Ringo, and myself." "That's right Dave, I have complete faith in you." Ringo hugged me. "I don't know how that could be the case, but if my daughter says that she has faith in you… then so be it. Anyway, just keep living a good life here in Suzuran…" She pleaded to us. "Will do, speaking of which… Ringo, we have school tomorrow. Even though all the assignments that we would have had during the trip are now excused… We'll still be missing concepts from our classes. I'm sure that you'll catch up with anything relating to math, but the rest might be difficult for you. As for me, I can probably get caught up with every other subject…" I said. "Yeah you're right, that'll be something that we have to do starting tomorrow." She responded. We came into that agreement and Ms. Ando smiled at our effort to start catching up.
A few hours later, dinner was made, so me and Ringo came to eat with her mother. "Ms. Ando, I do have to say, this food is always great… all thanks to the family produce." I praised. "Well you should know, it's all organic." She emphasized. "Exactly, there's just a level of elevated quality in freshly made meals compared to pre-packaged stuff. I ate a lot of that in my lifetime, so I would know." I started talking with my mouth full, then took notice and swallowed. "Oh sorry, I couldn't help but keep the flow of talking going on." I stopped. "It's fine, that means you truly like this food, sweetie." She winked. "S-sweetie?" I boiled up from embarrassment. "C-come on, we established that I'm nothing more than your guest here, and it should be as such…" I reiterated in an embarrassed tone. "Alright, whatever you say… Dave." She winked at me again. I sighed and decided to just eat the rest of my meal. I bowed as a sign of appreciation for the food, then walked back to my room. "Good, just how I left it as… The resort rooms were nice, but I was never one who just lives life in luxury. This is more of my style anyway…" I said to myself out loud. I laid on the bed so that I could relax. "Huh… it's kinda boring without being able to play games…" After saying that, I thought about the games that I played from my world. RPGs, adventure games, puzzlers, card games, and even visual novels. "Aw man… now things are kind of shit." I said.
After saying that, I covered my face with a pillow. "Dave? I… heard you talking to yourself for a little bit. What's up?" She wondered. "It's… about my love of games, I haven't been able to experience that since I left my world." "I see… would it make you feel any better if I play games with you?" "Ringo, didn't you say while back on the special vehicle-?" "I described that in a past tense, I could start now if I wanted to…" "..." I paused for three solid minutes, as Ringo sat beside me the whole time. "Um… you there?" She clapped for my attention. "O-oh, sorry. I just needed my brain to think. I was never friends with a female gamer in the past. All the gamers that I knew personally were male, not that it was a bad thing… but it was stale. It's hard, trying to find a girl who is truly a die-hard gamer." "Dave, I love you, and I want you to be happy with… not only yourself, but me, Feli, Draco, and everyone else. I'll be willing to go the extra mile to have that wish of yours made." I laid there, flabbergasted. I wasn't sure what to say to her. "R-Ringo… do… you really mean it…?" "C'mon, you should know me by now… here, sit up." She hugged me.
She said something short after hugging me. "My feelings for you are genuine, please don't doubt that." I remained silent, only looking at her clinging to me like a little kid. "Say something, please…" She pleaded. "I-I… I see, I'm sorry for my doubt. It seemed a little irregular of you to take on a new thing. I figured that you would be the type who usually sticks to whatever is familiar." I spoke my thoughts. "It's because of you dummy, you changed me, ever so slightly. I might take in a love the games thanks to you." She had let go of me. "Ringo… Okay, but we can't exactly play any now at this time, and this house doesn't seem to have a console. Plus, I don't have the computer that I was using back in my world. It looks like I'll have to find some way to get money, enough to where I can by myself one." I winced. "That won't be an issue…" Ringo assured me. "Huh? What makes you so sure?" I asked. "Suzuran High, from what I remember, has a gaming club… Yeah… and there aren't that many members compared to the grand majority of other clubs." "There is? Well… this is the first time that I'm hearing something along those lines… Regardless, that's pretty cool… we'll have to check it out when we find the time." Ringo nods and we noticed the time. "Oh, looks like it's getting late Dave… let's go in the show-" I covered her lips and whispered. "No, your mother doesn't know that we've not only seen each other naked, but had sex with two other girls. Just do it like how things were before, go in after I'm finished." "Okay." I grabbed some clean clothes and entered in the bathroom.
I assumed that Ringo left my room at the time since I heard footsteps going away from it. I turned on the water, unclothed, and took in the cool shower water. "Ah… this feels refreshing." I enjoyed the water as is, but reminded myself that I couldn't just hang around. I cleaned myself reasonably fast, just enough time for the cool to have a lasting impact. I dry myself with a towel after shutting the water off, then jumped in my clean clothes. I left the bathroom, where Ringo stood nearby. "I'm going off to bed, see you in the morning." I told her. "O-oh, okay… good night." "Good night… Ringo." I smiled, closed the room door behind me, and laid down on my bed. I thought about what we potentially missed in school while being gone for a week. For a while, I remembered what we were doing we left. Nothing much. I thought. Either way, I wasn't really concerned about it. I had Ringo, and she had me. Me, Lemres, and Feli were all in a similar boat, so whatever we missed, we could work on together. I decided to calm myself and drifted into a deep sleep, where I lost consciousness.
Author's Notes: Dave and his friends are set to go back to school on the following day. They had know idea what they missed at the time, so there was no choice but to blindly push on ahead. What could be waiting for them to do? Next chapter, Chapter 21: Playing Catch-up.