"Sir! Something has just entered Planet Vegeta's atmosphere!" A Saiyan shouted as an alarm went off in the Saiyan's spaceship port's flight control office.
"I can see that." Another Saiyan questioned. "Who is it? The ship appears to be round, meaning it's compact with only one rider."
"No clue, sir, but I believe the pod might be one of our infiltration units. The signal's id matches those found in our infiltration pods."
"An infiltration unit? We haven't had one of them return in a long time. What a rare opportunity." The second Saiyan then moved over to a radio transmitter and picked up the receiver. "Ground personnel, this is flight control. We have an infiltration unit on its way back. Prepare a landing pad for it."
That's exactly what they did. They quickly cleared the way for the pod to land safely, and then the ground personnel waited nearby for the pod to land. That's when they finally saw it. The pod shimmered with a blue aura as it soared through the air toward the landing pad. Within seconds, the pod crashed into the cushioned spot that was prepared for it, safely landing as it sank into the soft ground. After a few seconds of waiting, the pod door opened, and a gloved hand grasped the outside rim of the pod's entrance. The rider pulled himself out, and the ground personnel finally saw who this person was.
The rider was a child, and they immediately knew this person was someone they had never met, as he had distinct features that they had never seen on a Saiyan. Specifically, this person had black hair that was spiked upward with silver streaks on the edges of the hair spikes, though those spikes seemed to be curved messily to the boy's right side. And along with the silver in his hair, the boy's eyes had a silver color to match, unlike the typical pitch-black color. He was wearing a basic model of their Saiyan armor, though it seemed to be thoroughly torn, with the boy's wounds visible to the others.
With as many wounds as he had and how bad they seemed to be, they expected the Saiyan boy to show signs of pain, but this child, who looked to not be over the age of three, didn't even show any signs of discomfort. He had a completely blank expression, one that none of the other Saiyans could read what might lie beneath it. Aside from that, the boy also had a long green leaf around him like a cloak for some reason and a bag made from what looked like a spider's thread, both of which were very curious items to see.
"A year to and from Monmaasu. Go figure. That means I'm only three years old now, give or take the few months I was on Monmaasu." The boy mumbled to himself. He turned to the Saiyans, who were now staring at him and giving him an annoyed look. "What are you, my welcoming committee?"
"O-Oh. We're here to ask you who you are and confirm if you are an infiltration unit who has completed his mission." The boy gave a small scoff before replying.
"Orion. That's my name, I suppose." He then gave a scowl as he muttered something under his breath. "How you expected me to know that after you threw me out when I was a baby is beyond me."
A few of the other Saiyans were a little taken aback by that. Not only were they a little shocked by what the boy had said, but also by the tone he had used. It was cold, calculating, and above all, hiding a layer of anger and frustration. They were Saiyans, who were known to have cruel and twisted personalities, but they had never seen a child who was so young have a personality like the one this child appeared to have. Perhaps that was only because they had never seen an infiltration unit return alive. One of the older Saiyans, who didn't seem to care about the boy's cold attitude, looked the child up and down before raising an eyebrow.
"You are an infiltration unit, yet you are still just a toddler. If I had to guess, you are only three years old. How did you conquer the planet you were sent to in such a short amount of time?"
"Simple. I didn't." The child responded with a stern glare.
"Wh-What!? How dare you-!"
"But I still completed my mission." He cut the old Saiyan off before tossing the bag made of spider thread down to the Saiyans feet. As soon as it landed, it sent its contents spilled out onto the ground.
"What…is this stuff?" One of the Saiyans asked.
"How should I know? I've only been alive for three years and don't know every single ore or element in the universe off the top of my head." The boy sneered. "However, from my investigation into my pod's inner mechanisms, I would have to say that's probably the stuff that helps the thing fly."
"WHAT!? This is Graviton ore!? But this stuff is ten times bigger than normal Graviton ore!"
"Exactly. Did you not hear me? I just came from Monmaasu, a planet where everything, literally everything, is ten times bigger than normal. My mission was to either conquer the planet or discover if it was actually worthy of being conquered. So I found some resources and brought them back. Turns out the people who sent me there were correct in their assumption that even resources would be larger on that planet. In other words, I completed my infiltration mission. Go ahead and inform whoever you have to so you can send real warriors to the planet to actually conquer it." The boy then jumped out of the pod and walked past the stunned Saiyans.
"Wait. Where do you think you're going?" One of the Saiyans shouted to the boy in a stunned, confused voice.
"Somewhere that has a healing pod, obviously. I feel like I'm about to die." The boy said in the most casual voice the other Saiyan had ever heard.
The other Saiyans just watched in silence as the young boy walked away, small drops of blood trailing behind him, and he left as if he wasn't injured. After a few more seconds of silence, one of the Saiyans spoke.
"Wh-Who the hell is this kid…?"
"I don't know, but we should inform the higher-ups about this."
I groaned as I walked through the royal palace. It had been a few hours since I had landed back on Planet Vegeta, and the first thing I did was head toward the nearest medical center. As soon as I entered the facility, I apparently collapsed, and the doctors all scrambled to put me in a healing pod. After a few hours, I was as good as new, and I was let out of the pod. Having all my injuries healed in just a few hours was strange, but it was better than letting them heal naturally over the course of weeks, like what I had to deal with on Monmaasu. Freaking Monmaasu.
Those injuries, in particular, were worse than others, so I was glad to have access to the healing pod now.
After getting out of the pod, the doctors gave me a new set of armor, though it was the same model as before. I thanked them before leaving, but some Saiyan guards were waiting for me outside as soon as I left. They told me that the king of all people wanted to speak with me. So here I am, being guided to the throne room by those guards, a slightly annoyed expression now on my face.
I didn't know why the king would want to speak with me, but who was I to deny his request? He's still the king, although I can't help but feel animosity toward him. Not just him, but Saiyans entirely. It was a feeling I only noticed had started to form during my 4th month on Monmaasu after yet another life-and-death situation, which had become commonplace for me during my time there.
Every day on that forsaken planet was a fight for survival due to my weakness, and every day I suffered for being born into a weak body. I trained, fought, and did everything I could to live, but I barely made it back in one piece. The only explanation I could give was sheer luck, and that's not something I wanted to determine whether I lived or not. Everything, the suffering, the pain, the constant fear, all of it was because these Saiyans sent me away. These damned people threw me out just because numbers told them I wasn't worth keeping. Anger boiled inside me as I thought more about it. These might be my people now, but I couldn't care less about them.
"We're here." I looked at the guards and saw we were now in front of a pair of extremely tall doors that just shouted 'royalty'. I held back the desire to mutter 'tacky' as the guards pushed the doors opened and led me inside. I walked inside before another Saiyan who was near the entrance stopped me.
"That's far enough." He told me. I listened and stopped where I was before turning to look at the other end of the room. There, on his throne, was King Vegeta, with many of his accolades standing beside him. The king was an older man, perhaps in his 40s, and had a beard and more king-like clothes and armor. Just looking at the man told me he was just as arrogant as other Saiyans I had seen, if not more. Yet his face right now was cunning, calculating even. His eyes were on me as soon as I entered, almost like he was trying to decipher something about me.
"On your knees. Have some respect for your king." One of the guards growled at me. I glared back at him before sighing and kneeling down as he told me to. Not like there's anything I could do to defy any of them. The king kept looking at me for a little while before speaking.
"Do you know who I am, child?" He asked me. I held back a scoff as I answered respectfully, though only as much as I needed, and allowed myself to be.
"I only know you are the king of all Saiyans. Forgive me, but I have only just gotten back from another planet, and since I'm so young, I can't say I know much more than that."
"Then allow me to introduce myself. I am King Vegeta the Third, and indeed I am the king of the Saiyans." He told me. "Now, would you please introduce yourself?"
"...Orion. I believe that is the name I was given before I was sent away."
"Yes, that is your name. That's what the records state."
"The records?"
"Yes. You wouldn't know this, but we keep records on all the Saiyans we send out as infiltration units. That includes you." The king's unfeeling expression then changed to one of curiosity. "I'm surprised you could remember your name despite being sent out as a baby. In fact, I'm surprised you can have a conversation like this despite only being three years of age. Just from the few things you've said, I can tell you have more intellect than most Saiyan children."
That took me off guard a little. Why the hell does my intelligence matter to a warrior king like him? I'm still just a kid, at least as far as he knows. Why is he even wasting time talking to me?
"If you remember your name, then you must remember other things from your short time here on this planet, including what power level you had before you were sent out, correct?" I felt an uncomfortable chill when he said that. I felt my fists tighten before answering.
"...Yes. It was zero if I'm not mistaken."
That caused many of the other Saiyans in the room to gasp loudly. I heard them whisper and mutter to themselves about how much of an anomaly that was. How they had never heard of anyone having a power level of zero. However, the king himself didn't look too surprised.
"That is correct. The records state that the Saiyans who came to check your power level didn't get a reading on you. When they tried to get a reading, all it showed was '0'. The records state they believe that your latent abilities were so weak that the scanner couldn't even detect them. So I ask you, the boy in question, is this still true? You came back from the planet you were sent to. And though you didn't conquer the planet, you still managed to complete your mission of determining whether or not it was worthy of conquest. And in such a short amount of time, too. Does that mean you are now stronger than what the records state?"
I grimaced as I averted my eyes from the king in frustration.
"...No. I doubt anything has changed. It is without question…that I am utterly and pathetically weak. In my own opinion, I only managed to survive due to luck."
That got the other Saiyans talking again. I could hear them muttering about me, how a weak Saiyan like me shouldn't have been allowed to come back. That it didn't actually qualify as completing my infiltration mission since I didn't conquer the planet like I was supposed to. That I should be exiled due to my lack of talent. With each mummer against me that I heard, my boiling anger began to simmer more and more. But before it boiled over, the king said something that shocked everyone.
"I don't believe you."
My head spun around back to him when I heard those words. The other Saiyans became silent as they looked back at their king, who appeared to be unaffected by anything that had been spoken.
"Forgive me for asking, but why not?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.
The king then snapped, signaling a guard to come in. The guard was carrying the leaf cloak I had worn when I arrived and the spider thread bag I had made. They were laid out in front of everyone before the king began to speak again.
"Orion…that is your name, correct? Tell me, what are these, their purpose, and how you managed to acquire them."
I gave him a confused expression before I did as he said.
"As I'm sure you are aware, the planet I was sent to was Monmaasu, a planet where everything is ten times larger than normal. Because of this and the nature of my weak body, I had to find ways to make my life even slightly easier if I wanted to survive. I made the cloak out of a large leaf soon after I landed. Since I was the size of an insect on that planet, I figured that using the green, grassy terrain to my advantage was one of the only things I could do to help me survive. Using that cloak, I could camouflage myself from any danger I might encounter during travels I made on the planet. The bag is much the same. I made it after acquiring some spider silk from a spider's web. A spider's thread is durable, especially when it's of this size, so using it to make materials and tools like bags helped me immensely."
"And can I assume that you had made yourself other tools to survive the planet?" The king asked me.
"That is correct."
"What else then?"
"I had made weapons out of the large sticks and twigs that were around the massive forest I had landed in. Using them, I made some spears, a bow, and many arrows for self-defense and hunting, as well as basic tools for crafting and cooking. I also made a camp by clearing out an ant tunnel by engineering a flood through the tunnels using a rainstorm and some…let's call it creative thinking." I said as I did my best not to remember that day. I almost drowned multiple times and almost got eaten by ants. I had to somehow angle the leaves just right so the rain would funnel into the tunnel and drown the red bastards.
"One more question then. Your pod seemed to have sustained a good amount of damage, but it also showed signs of damage as if it had been rammed repeatedly into things. Not many things can damage an attack pod's armor. What caused that kind of damage?"
Why did he have to ask about that? That's the last thing I want to discuss, but if the king asks…
"...As I said, everything on Monmaasu is ten times larger than it would be on other planets. This includes creatures like beetles, worms, bees, deer, wolves, fish, and even people. Giants, more accurately. There was nothing I could ever hope to do to take them down, so I did my best to avoid creatures I stood no chance against; however, there were a few times when I was spotted and attacked by those creatures. In those situations, I only had one option if I wanted to survive. When I landed, I immediately found the hidden compartment in the attack pod, which had a scout scope and a remote for controlling the pod inside. I always made sure to have both items on me whenever I went out, and in those do-or-die moments, I would use the remote and…" I trailed off as a vivid memory came to mind. I shuttered as I remembered exactly what happened.
"...So you used your pod as a weapon." The king noted with a look that I might almost call impressed. "How clever. The Attack Pod is made from an incredibly durable armor that makes it impervious to almost any attack. Not even high-class warriors here can even put so much as a tiny scratch on it, but that also means that against larger foes, the pods are almost like bullets made from the strongest metal we have. However, under normal circumstances, the pod would only travel at low speeds when it's called by the remote to guarantee the safety of the one calling the pod to their location. To use it as a weapon, you would have to disengage the safety features with the remote and pod and risk being caught in the pod's impact. I suppose that explains why those safety features had been manually turned off for your pod." The king then smirked.
"With all of this in mind, I think it's quite easy to see that luck had little to do with your success in Monmaasu. Weak though you may be, you have something that is just as important as power: wit and intelligence, along with the drive needed to survive. Despite your age, everything you have said shows you might be smarter than many Saiyans, even those in the middle and high-ranking classes. The risks you took for the small chance of survival is something not many high-ranking Saiyans would do either. That alone proves your worth. Maybe not as a warrior, yes, but most certainly as a Saiyan."
"What?" I questioned with wide eyes.
"Answer me this, why did you not return here immediately upon landing? You said you found the hidden compartment in the Attack Pod soon after landing, and the compartment has a note detailing how to return here. So why did you decide to stay, risking your life in doing so, when you could have returned?" I hesitated in answering for a bit before I took a deep breath.
"...It was because I believed that whether I returned or not, the result would be the same. I was sent away because of my weakness, so I thought that returning right away would do me no good. At best, I thought I would just be sent back or to another planet, and at worst, I believed it was possible that I would be killed for disobedience and failure to complete my mission. So, I determined my best course of action for survival was to at least fulfill as much of my mission as possible before returning. I also had hopes that perhaps my stay there might help me get stronger, though that didn't end up happening at all."
"And that right there is proof of your worth. Of your Saiyan spirit." The king told me. "I might be the king of Saiyans, a race of warriors, but that doesn't mean I value only strength and power. Those are certainly important, but I didn't get this far because I only had power and strength. It was because I was the only one who was smart enough to rally the Saiyans against our Tuffle enemies and take control of the planet during the Saiyan-Tuffle war. Intellect is just as important as power, in my opinion. Though power and strength you lack, your wit and ingenuity are clearly evident. In fact, at your age, I might even call you a genius. With that in mind, the reward you will get for completing your infiltration mission will not be joining the Saiyan Army, like other infiltration units who manage to come back. Instead, you will use that mind in different areas like engineering, science, and strategy. You start tomorrow here at the castle. Do well in your new station, and you might become one of my head tacticians."
Everyone was stunned into silence, and my shock was much greater than the other Saiyans in the room. What just happened? Did I…just get praised by King Vegeta himself? Did the king of the ruthless, cold-blooded, absolutely horrible Saiyans say he saw worth in my potential, despite my physical abilities being non-existent? I was shell-shocked. No, I had nearly lost my voice from the stupefying surprise I had found myself feeling at that moment. The king then gave me an annoyed glance as he glared at me.
"Well, don't you have anything you want to say now?"
That snapped me out of my shocked trances as I immediately bowed to the king as I kept kneeling.
"Thank you, your Highness. I will not let the opportunity you're giving me go to waste." I told him in a more respectful and thankful tone than I had been speaking with prior.
"Good. You are now dismissed." King Vegeta told me while making a simple hand gesture, signaling the guards to lead me out.
With that, I stood to my feet, gathered my make-shift items that were brought in, and walked out of the throne room, still utterly confused about why King Vegeta did that. Either way, while I still can't say I like him, he just gave me a chance of a lifetime. For the first time since I was born, I started to smirk with excitement. This Saiyan life of mine might actually start becoming fun now that this new position is mine. I wonder what I'll be capable of in my new station.
After being led out of the palace, I asked one of the guards for directions so I didn't get lost on the planet. He was kind enough to point out everything for me before letting me on my way. I never got the chance to really take in the sights of Planet Vegeta, so I was a little glad I was able to now. Though it's home to one of the vilest races in this universe, the planet was still incredibly beautiful. I still find it hard to believe that this is my new life now sometimes, just from how different even little things were, both on this planet and on Monmaasu.
Obviously, everything on Monmaasu was much bigger, but I originally thought it was still a lot like Earth. But after living there for a year, I can definitely say that isn't the case. And Planet Vegeta is completely different. It's still a little hard to believe that I'm here on this completely different planet instead of Earth sometimes. The only thing that's the same still is the vast blue sky, though now there's a bit of light purple in the mix, and there are two giant planets nearby that are pretty cool to see. Mix that with the bright green grass and the rocks that have a shade of dark violet, and it makes for some nice scenery, though I doubt anything will ever beat Earth for me personally. Home is where the heart is.
I walked down to the marketplace and just took it all in. Though the Saiyans might be more technologically advanced, they still had a normal-looking bazaar like this using stone houses. It's strange to think that this advanced race of warriors had homes that don't even look as developed as the stuff in my world's Earth. Still, maybe that's because they don't care as much about comfort on their home planet, instead focusing their efforts on stealing and plundering everything that's on other planets.
And considering most of the warriors, the 'high-class' of this society not counting the king himself, tend to be off-world, it makes sense that the houses here for the lower class aren't as luxurious. Either way that doesn't stop the bazaar from selling everything you would expect to see at any other bazaar. And that means one thing to me: food. That was my one and only objective. For the entire year I spent on Monmaasu, I had to scavenge for food and ration it out since I never knew what might happen, and considering what I imagined was my new Saiyan appetite, which made me want to eat 20 times what a normal person would eat, it was very difficult for me to get by eating the bare minimum. Perhaps I can finally stuff myself silly.
After a bit of walking, I finally found the part of the bazaar with food stands. Even if it was all alien food, I didn't care as I felt my stomach start to ache in anticipation. I managed to stop myself from drooling at the smell emanating from the stalls as I entered the food stall closest to me. Of course, I didn't know if I needed any money to get any of this food as I entered.
I knew that there must be some kind of currency system in place here, but I had yet to learn about it, nor did I have a single scrape of it. However, if I did need some money to get some stuff, I wasn't gonna wait until I did get some. That was for certain. I bet the Saiyans would actually praise me if I managed to steal some food and get away with it, and I certainly didn't respect them enough to care if I did steal from them. But even with that thought in my mind, I'm still Human enough to at least try to be cordial about this at first.
"Excuse me? I'm here to get some food."
"One moment, please." A woman who was cutting a large piece of meat that was on a huge bone said. Hmm… On the meat bone, huh? Hehe, I miss my old world's memes. After the lady finished cutting the meat, she set her large knife down and took off her gloves.
"Alright. What can I get-" She turned around, and that's when she froze. She paled as if she just saw a ghost. I raised an eyebrow in confusion before she said something that clicked.
"You…You couldn't be…"
Upon hearing that, I noticed that the woman looked familiar to me too. Really familiar. And there are only two female Saiyans that I've ever met in this second life of mine, and she certainly wasn't that researcher who grabbed me by the tail back then. Which means that this lady was…
"...Gine? That's your name, isn't it?" I asked, a little caution in my tone as I was unsure how she would react to my return if she really were Gine. The moment I said that, though, it was as like an emotional dam had been cracked as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Orion…!" She nearly shouted before running at me.
Before I could react, she grabbed me and hugged me, nearly crushing me in her embrace as she spun me around in joy. At first, I was confused. This was Gine, my Saiyan mother, but why was she now openly showing affection for me? I thought Saiyans never did that. That's when it hit me that she was, in fact, my mother from this world, and she was crushing me in a motherly hug. Not being used to such a feeling, I felt my face heat up in embarrassment as I struggled for my freedom.
"L-Let…go of me. You're crushing…my spine…" I managed to say.
Gine made an 'eep' noise and quickly let go of me, letting me finally get some air. After letting air enter my lungs, I did my best to stifle the redness in my cheeks. I wasn't used to any physical contact back in my old life, aside from maybe a quick handshake (which still made me a little uncomfortable), let alone such a sweet embrace from a caring mother. I haven't had that in a long time, and with my time completely isolated on Monmaasu, I've only become more inept in receiving such normal comforts. Perhaps that's a good thing. I doubt expecting any sort of sweetness from Saiyans should be expected, nor would I be seen in a good light if I was like that. In fact, I was sure that this display was as much of an oddity to Saiyans as it was to me.
"I'm sorry, Orion. I was so happy to see you again after so long. I was so surprised that you came back."
"Yes… It's quite a coincidence, isn't it?" I mumbled as I put a hand on my chin. It's as they say. The universe has a 'wonderful' sense of humor. The trick is learning how to take a joke. And this certainly is…one of those moments where I must keep that last part in mind. "What are you even doing here?"
"Oh, this is where I'm assigned to work, dear." Gine told me, her term of endearment for me not quite feeling right on my ears yet. "I'm not a soldier, so I'm here preparing food for the Saiyans who come by. But what about you? How did you get back to the planet?"
"That? I just hit the big green button like the note in the pod told me to do." I mumbled. "It's not too impressive, really."
"Don't say that now. Few infiltration units come back from their destination, especially at your age. Your father is the only one I know who had managed it before you, and he came back well after becoming an adult."
"...You mean Bardock? He was an infiltration unit?" I asked.
"Well, he was born a low-class warrior, just like you. Hard to believe that with how strong he is now." Gine explained. "But if you're here, then does that mean you grew stronger too?"
"I'd rather not talk about it." I quickly shot her down while averting my gaze. "This is a nice chat, but I just got back, so I better get-"
Grumble…
"..." I didn't continue with my sentence as I felt my face heat up even more from hearing my stomach growl like a monster. Gine giggled at my embarrassment.
"It sounds like you're hungry. Why don't you follow me back home, and I can make you a proper meal."
"I-I don't know. I probably should-"
"Nonsense! You're my son, and I won't have you living by yourself when you're so young." Gine told me with a frown.
"I can take care of myself." I responded sternly, not caring for the pity she was giving me.
"That's not what I mean. It's a parent's job to care for their child, especially when they're so young. It doesn't matter if they're strong or weak." I raised an eyebrow at her statement, not fully believing a Saiyan's word on that matter. I then shrugged as I crossed my arms.
"Fine. But I won't stay for long." I told her without looking her in the eye. Gine beamed when I said that.
"I'm glad!" She then quickly grabbed my hand and started pulling me along before I could react. "Let's go then. I'll take you there!"
"H-Hey!" I yelled. "Let-" Gine then turned back to me with a kind smile that made me freeze. Something about it just…freaked me out. Those kind eyes, with that sickenly sweet smile, and how her grip on my hand was suddenly getting tighter. Painfully so.
"N-Nevermind." I muttered, which made Gine happy as she dragged me along. It's still true in this world, it seems. Women…are terrifying.
Since I don't have the option to say no, I let myself be dragged over to a little stone house in the village's residential area. After being guided inside, I looked around while Gine headed over to what might have been a kitchen.
"I'll go make something real quick." She told me as I looked around.
"Oh. Um…okay." I said absentmindedly as I wandered around. It was weird being in this place, even though I hardly remember being in this house for long. But it's weird. It still feels strangely familiar. As if it felt right for me to be here.
I continued to walk around until I saw a pod. It was the same incubation pod I was in but it wasn't empty now. There was a baby inside. Despite being a baby, this baby had stupidly long hair that was already incredibly spiky. I just stared at the baby until I heard Gine again.
"Okay, Orion. I've set the food on the table, so you can-" Gine then saw what I was looking at and gave a sweet smile. "Oh, right. You wouldn't know. Orion, meet your little brother Raditz."
Raditz… It sounds familiar, the same way Bardock looked familiar. It's that strange familiarity that made me pause for a moment. It never really clicked since I spent the few waking moments of this new life of mine just barely surviving. I really was in another world, one that was probably fictitious back in my old world. God, this is too weird for me. I think I'd rather be in hell than in this messed-up world.
"Orion?"
"I'm fine, don't worry about me." I replied. "I'm just a little surprised that you had another child while I was gone. Not that I blame you. I don't really care, either. It's just…weird."
That's when I felt Gine wrap her arms around me again but in a sweeter, gentler hug. My face began to flair up again in a deep red shade that went from ear to ear as my eyes widened.
"W-What are you doing!?"
"...You must have been really lonely when you were gone. I bet it was scary too." Gine said in a soft voice. "But you're back now, and I couldn't be happier. I won't let you go again like last time. Not this time. So don't think you have to hold back just because we're Saiyans. Just know that no matter what, I love you. Because I'm your mother."
It took a moment for me to absorb the words I had just heard, but after it sank in, I had to fight the urge to cry into Gine's shoulders. It had been so long since I had something like this, so it was almost too much for me. Fortunately, I was able to keep a straight head and managed to keep my composure.
"S-Sure. Whatever." I mumbled as I tried to hide my flustered face. "If that's the case…then…m-maybe…if it's okay…perhaps I could…stay?" I asked the question in a whisper that only got softer and quieter with each word I said. However, that seemed to make Gine really happy, and she rubbed my head gently as she hugged me.
"Of course. I would love it if you stayed." She told me. It was weird. I felt sort of uncomfortable, but at the same time…it was nice hearing her say that. The first thing that's happened to me in this world that I would describe in that way. It really was…nice.