Chapter 37: Earned Life (Part 3)

Nanashi was entirely unsure of how he should be feeling right now, of what the proper reaction to a situation he'd never even dreamed of being in should technically be.

After all, for most of his waking life he'd been more focused on simply surviving and making sure he didn't run out of the bare necessities, as well as struggling through his schoolwork with a listless efficiency.

"Nanashi, Nanashi~! Do you think this one looks good on me?"

Going swimsuit shopping with a bunch of girls who could put supermodels to shame - and who were constantly asking for his opinion, mind you - was as far outside the social norm as he could possibly imagine.

"Well? You have an opinion, right~?"

Abigail's words were naught but a playful purr as she modeled a cute, flattering one piece of bright orange with adorable frills attached to the hips, the homunculus swallowing around his dry throat and even dryer lips as he replied, "I like it. Obviously. Abigail, you would have to work to not look good."

Giggling in a manner that made the male wince in anticipation the blonde happily skipped towards him, innocently querying, "It's sweet of you to say so, Nanashi. But what do you like about this one specifically?"

Feeling blood suffuse his face - and having to exert no shortage of iron discipline in order to keep said blood from flowing downstairs - the homunculus flicked his eyes around the room, praying for an escape from the awkward and mortifying experience he was undergoing. Yes, it was enjoyable and incredible. He also felt extremely self-conscious so brazenly giving out his opinions and thoughts on the matter in a public setting.

And it was indeed a public setting. The store staff had gone from staring at him with blatant suspicion - no doubt wondering what some foreign and exotic man was doing with a group of girls of physically younger age in a swimsuit shop - to watching the drama like it was some kind of legendary theater production.

Their desire to call the cops had quickly fallen to the wayside as they watched the young man flounder and blush under the constant 'bullying', courtesy mostly of a teasing Abigail and unintentionally teasing Tiamat.

"W-well the orange really compliments your eyes, that shade of blue really matches."

"And?"

"And what?"

Abigail leaned in with nothing but pure delight swimming within her shining azure orbs, whispering, "Aaaaaaand~?"

"S-stop being so brazen with your asking! Changing rooms exist for a reason!"

Abigail childishly tilted her head as Manaka stomped over to her, pale skin blushing pink.

"Aren't you wearing a swimsuit as well?"

The magus paused, glancing down - coincidentally matching Nanashi's gaze - as she went from pink to red, realizing she'd marched out with her own swim apparel adorning her slim frame, a cute and decently modest bikini of pure white as the doll-like girl all but dragged Abigail back behind a changing curtain, scowling adorably the entire way.

"This, looks good?"

Switching his gaze to Tiamat - the goddess having hidden her draconic features and adorned a simple teal sundress for the occasion while her flowing hair was done up in a braid - the homunculus almost had a heart attack as she held up a pure black bit of material that was basically three elastic hoops that would leave essentially nothing to the imagination.

"Oh my god, yes but also no. Or maybe it's oh my goddess."

"Something a little less...revealing, Tiamat."

Ignoring his request for her to pick something that WOULDN'T leave him dropping steel the draconic woman merely tilted her head, inquiring, "Not look good?"

"No, it does, but I mean-"

Almost crying in relief as Ayaka swooped in to the rescue the Sajyou lead Tiamat to the changing rooms next to a still arguing Abigail and Manaka, reassuring her with, "He thinks it looks good on you, it's just that's usually worn in more...specific circumstances."

"...Parties?"

"Um, yes! Parties! And we're going on vacation, not a party."

The Sumerian deity nodded in sage understanding, Nanashi meeting Ayaka's amused gaze as he fervently thanked her without words, the curtain sliding closed as the homunculus weakly collapsed into a nearby chair.

"Having fun~?"

One of the clerks sent him a cheshire grin that the youth wearily met, grumbling, "I have no idea how something entertaining and wonderful can also be draining and soul-crushing."

The woman merely rolled her eyes, teasingly remarking, "Boys will be boys," before going to help another customer as the male slumped limply in his seat.

It really was a mystery why he felt so exhausted. You would think watching the girls ask for his attention and try on various skimpy designs for him would be amazing - and it was - but holy hell was his brain feeling sluggish for reasons beyond his limited understanding.

"Imagine that. A Magician feeling overwhelmed and worn out because his girlfriends took him shopping."

Shaking his head at himself Nanashi startled as he suddenly heard the quartet's voices become raised and frantic, Manaka squeaking, "What in the Root's name are you trying to do?! Put your clothing on before you walk outside, you buffoon!"

Tiamat's soft but inaudible response drew more scandalized cries as Abigail slipped past the curtain, giggling to herself as she sat next to Nanashi, clad in her day attire of tight jeans and white tanktop that really fit her in a way that transcended his powers of description.

"You seem to be able to walk around just fine these days."

Smiling as she tapped the center of her forehead - completely absent its third eye - the blonde cheerfully responded, "I've been able to conceal and mute my presence as an Outer God now that, erm...well whichever god it was I was contracted to is gone."

An annoyed expression crossed her pretty features.

"Naturally it was my previous contractor who ensured I was isolated and hated wherever I went, a ploy to keep me subservient and alone."

A surge of anger at the memory of what Abigail had gone through for so long didn't last as his companion abruptly kissed his cheek, commenting, "It's sweet that you care about me like that, Nanashi~! But you've been a good little boy today and I think you can take a break and explore on your own, I can tell you're getting tired."

Blinking at the unnervingly accurate assessment the homunculus couldn't help but snark, "Yeah, imagine that. Almost like someone is driving me crazy."

She giggled as he couldn't help but smile, asking, "You sure I shouldn't stick around, make sure the store doesn't burn down?"

"Don't be silly, Nanashi. We're not that destructive. Besides…"

Dramatically staring around the room Abigail leaned forward, pulling open her side bag to reveal a piece of swim attire that had Nanashi quickly averting his eyes, lest his imagination run too wild.

"Some things should be a surprise, don't you agree? You have a teaser but not the whole show..."

"Yeah, you are definitely an evil god, Abigail."

She hugged him, losing some of the predatory teasing as she replied, "Only because you saved me, Nanashi."

"Technically we saved each other, you know."

Another smooch on the cheek and she pulled him to his feet, affectionately stating, "Oh fine, be nice and responsible. Now go and relax, we'll find you once we're done here."

Nanashi jumped as a small, delicate hand squeezed his butt with surprising strength as the blonde skipped away, mind awhirl with all sorts of thoughts.

"Yeah, this is all pretty new to me. And holy crap Abigail both turns on and scares me sometimes."

"Wow. Is there an event or something going on?"

The arcade Nanashi had decided to visit was packed to the gills with people of all ages and inclination, excitedly swapping stories about some bigshot in town apparently having some kind of grand competition where she would take down any and all competitors in whatever game they chose.

It seemed a little quaint to the homunculus - the product of having dealt with some truly bizarre shit recently that was a bit above the pay grade of winning raffle tickets - but he was curious nonetheless, carefully muscling his way through the crowd and coming across quite the spectacle.

In the center of the room was a light-gun station, a young boy and girl wildly different in appearance laser-focused on the screen but extremely different in temperament. One wore glasses, had many freckles and was dressed plainly, features blank and hyper-focused on the task at hand as aforementioned hand spastically jerked and twitched the plastic weapon across the screen.

The other was cool and composure incarnate, shining blond hair catching the light while crimson orbs glittered with unfettered joy, stylish clothing of white shirt and cargo pants accompanying a brilliant grin and graceful dance of her wrist as the light gun traced a tapestry of high scores across the screen.

The end result wasn't even close.

Accepting the loss with a bare minimum of grace the more subdued boy backed out, the blonde whirling around before cheerfully proclaiming, "Any other takers? It's not even lunchtime and there's still plenty of games to be had! Racing? Dancing? I'm down for anything and everything~!"

Her voice was a bit deeper than one would expect from a girl but hardly enough to diminish its proud charisma or cheer, Nanashi feeling himself be caught up in the enthusiasm of the room.

"Oh hoh, how about you? You're quite the interesting competitor!"

And then the magic was gone as Nanashi realized he was being stared at by the unknown youth and most of the room, dumbly pointing to himself as the ruby-eyed girl eagerly nodded like a puppy, stating, "Yes, you! Surely someone with your strange looks holds some great mystery and intrigue, so come! Or do you not desire a friendly little competition?"

Before Nanashi could even begin to comprehend what was happening the rest of the crowd had already joined in, cheering or egging him on as the homunculus found his body abruptly pushed aside the blonde, staring down at her a bit with blinking eyes.

"Excellent! So, what is your name, stranger?"

"Umm, Nanashi."

A tilt of an unfairly attractive head.

"Your name is No Name? How curious."

The homunculus thought about it for a moment before shrugging.

"It fits. What about yours?"

"You can call me Gil, Nanashi! Now then…"

A competitive grin revealed blindingly white teeth.

"How about a friendly wager? Whoever loses buys the other lunch?"

"Err, kinda awkward to admit but I don't have any money-"

"Splendid, then let us begin!"

"Wait, what?"

The crowd whooped and cheered as the blonde slipped a few coins into the machine and booted it up, Nanashi dumbly accepting the proffered bit of plastic as a synthesized voice shouted, "TIME CRISIS!"

"Oh what the hell did I just get myself into?"

"The rules are simple, the one with less score at the end or who loses all their lives bows before the victor, now let's begin!"

Mind whirling at the speed of his kidnapping into fun the homunculus desperately tried to orient himself, the game beginning with less than zero preamble as he desperately tried to figure out how to do...anything, really.

Believe it or not he'd never really had time to visit an arcade before. Imagine that.

"And it's not like I can make use of my enhanced senses and reflexes, I already look weird and don't need to go drawing attention to the fact that I've got superhuman reflexes to boot."

Shuttering his speed and comprehension Nanashi resigned himself to losing badly, simulated bad guys getting mowed down by Gil as the homunculus watched his score remain as a big fat zero, eye twitching as he got to listen to the crowd laugh and jeer.

"Man, I guess the foreigner isn't as impressive as he looks!"

"Hah, of course he can't beat Gil!"

"Looks like he's going to be down some lunch money, huh?"

It unpleasantly reminded the youth of what he had used to experience back in school, lips pursing and temper flaring as he forced himself to keep a lid on it-

"You don't need to hold yourself back, you know."

-and blinked, a glance to the side revealing Gil watching him with a single ruby eye, arm still moving but a sympathetic smile upon her lips, as if she knew precisely what was bothering the youth so much.

...He decided to humor the girl, releasing a pent up breath, steadying his arm-

-and went wild, limb blurring back-and-forth as Gil unleashed a brief bark of delighted laughter, matching Nanashi's speed as the two superhumans began to lay waste to the game.

The homunculus found himself getting lost in the rush of mild exertion, focus and tension, background noise and conversation fading away into a blur as all that existed was the game and the desire to win, blood pounding and heart racing as an excitement not all that dissimilar to when he and Manaka had sparred coursed through his veins.

It was actually fun.

Losing not so much though, Nanashi blinking as rational thought resumed alongside the game coming to an end, ruby eyes flicking towards the top of the screen.

While he'd managed to close the distance between their scores a bit over the course of the competition the large difference at the beginning had just been too large, the onlookers cheering and hooting all the while.

"Man, guess the newbie was just figuring out how the game worked!"

"What's there to figure out about point and shoot?"

"Whatever, of course Gil won!"

Regretfully holstering his gun Nanashi almost jumped as a hand clapped itself over his back, Gil beaming as she knowingly asked, "Now doesn't that feel much better, to be as you truly are?"

Before the homunculus could reply he was being dragged out of the arcade by yet another exuberant blonde, the shorter female announcing, "I shall now depart to accept my winnings but rest assured, come next weekend I will return and the games can begin anew! Until next time, my loyal friends!"

A chorus of cheers rose up as Nanashi couldn't help but idly wonder if he was fated to meet as many strange people over the course of his life as was realistically - or unrealistically - possible.

"You may relax, I heard when you said you had no money. So instead feel free to order what you will, my treat~!"

Glancing at the menu of a deli that was a bit more expensive than he would have felt comfortable eating at given his old salary - which wasn't exactly saying much, granted - Nanashi carefully replied, "While I appreciate the offer I already owe a lot of people a lot of things and I'm not exactly eager to start adding money to the list. Although I probably owe a fair bit of that as well, now that I think about it…"

Sure, the Sajyous hadn't said so much as a peep in regards to him freeloading for so long - and he was sure they wouldn't - but a debt was a debt, especially when they had been so unconditionally kind and supportive of him.

"Hmm...true. To owe another soul is to foster a bond between them, which can be either for good or ill. A relationship of strife and inequality or one of brotherhood and trust. Sometimes both at the same time."

Sage wisdom swiftly turned into one of blatant honesty and enthusiasm.

"Luckily for you I have plenty of money~! Please, let there be no strife or uncertainty between us and merely consider this a whim or transaction, my money for your time and companionship!"

"Err, ok-"

"Excellent! Now, can you perhaps explain where and how you acquired such a form? While the creation of humanoid vessels was never my strong suit even a novice such as I can spot quality when she sees it."

Ruby eyes practically glittered in anticipation.

"So many Phantasmal materials and resources melded together so brilliantly, each and every part scarce beyond belief in the world as it currently is. Please, you must tell me! It must be a tale beyond wondrous!"

Idly setting down his menu as they drew closer to the counter the homunculus blandly commented, "So we're not even going to pretend we're both normal, are we?"

"Eh? We were supposed to? I thought it was a given we both knew who the other was?"

"I'm still new to the whole Moonlit world deal, certainly new enough that I sure as hell don't know the difference in social nuance or whatever it is we're supposed to go with."

"Ah, I see. Well then let there be no secret between us, my new friend! We are both outside of humanity and after all that you have seen today surely you can deduce who I am, yes?"

There was a pregnant pause, Nanashi not daring to say anything as a slowly wounded expression appeared on Gil's features.

"You...you do not know who I am?"

"Well I mean I've got clues. Red eyes aren't common among normal people, I'm fairly certain you aren't a Vampire so that leaves only divine heritage."

"All these clues as well as my name and you still cannot discern my identity?!"

"Hey my education has more holes in it than drive-by swiss cheese, give me a break here!"

Annoyed with the other youth's defensiveness Nanashi activated his mystic eyes to help him out-

-and stiffened in his seat as his perception gained an extra layer to it, understanding flooding his brain like a broken damn.

Gold. Lots and lots of gold, as if a river of shining metal had descended upon the world. Channels and creeks of connection branched out from the luminous form of the girl sitting at the table, caressing and encompassing everyone that passed by, as if she was the source or common starting point of humanity.

But it wasn't a parasitic or overbearing connection...it was almost symbiotic in nature, as if the effigy of brilliance that was a young woman fed and was sustained in turn by the masses she was intrinsically tied to. A mutually beneficial relationship, if he was to summarize.

Shutting off his eyes Nanashi took a shaky breath, praying that his slapdash learning was merely leading him to an incorrect conclusion before hesitantly asking, "Are...are you the Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh?"

A delighted smile adorned the youth's features as she replied, "Ah, recognition at last! Yes, my dear friend, it is I, soon-to-be King Gilgamesh!"

"..."

"..."

"Well fuck it. Not the strangest thing that's happened to date."