BEN 10: THE ONE WHO DEFIES GODS
CHAPTER 8: GIRLS' TALK
This is a minor chapter to finish the season (1) phase of the anime, but still canon to my story. A little short, but please put up with it. Thank you everyone for reading.
Love is the strangest concept people will ever experience.
Balancing good and bad, love can make you feel good or make you suffer.
Love is on another level for humans to comprehend.
It has been millions of years since humanity was born but they can't still figure out the deepest secrets of love.
Some people say love exists.
Some say it doesn't.
Some people display full of love for others whereas some lack this exact "emotion" in their hearts.
Should you have a void in your heart, fill it with love.
Love can overflow out of your brain and heart.
Love may make you drip nectar.
Or love may be overwhelmed by other emotions.
Say, what time is the best to love?
Ding Dong!
"You don't have a girlfriend, right?"
Kaori Shirasaki desperately asks me while her hands grab the collar of my coat.
"N-no… I don't."
"Then hear me out. I love you."
Well, fuck.
Why do I end up like this!?
Now let's scroll the film back to one hour ago.
"There's always another way.
In fact, sometimes to do something,
all you need to do is nothing."
- Professor Paradox -
It is after the battle in the labyrinth. I have successfully taken down the demon unconscious, thanks to Toepick's face, and spared her life.
To be honest, it's a good step forward. But I've got a problem.
How to deal with the demon lady...
Oh, save that for a later time. My classmates are gathering before me. Most of them have fully recovered, but some of them are still suffering from fatigue. I guess they resisted the demon's attacks for some time before I arrived.
"Hey, Endou... uh, where are you, Endou!?"
I call out to him. Kousuke Endou is the only one I know in the crowd.
But sadly, true to his nature, he blends into the crowd so I can't find him yet.
"I am here, you are making me cry."
Oh, there, Endou. He is standing in front of the crowd yet I couldn't find him.
"Uh, sorry, can I borrow you for a moment?"
I drag him from the crowd and whisper into his ears.
"Please keep my identities secret, okay?"
He nods at me, as a sign of understanding.
"That will help me a lot."
I drag him back to the crowd.
"Alrighty..." I wave a hand at them. "I am Tennyson Benjamin. I hope you remember me."
My classmates look at me with wide-opened eyes and jaws dropped.
Damn, it's awkward.
I lean toward Yaegashi and Shirasaki. "Hey, why are they acting like that?"
Yaegashi rolls her eyes and replies with a cold tone. "WE thought you were dead until you arrived. What do you expect?"
"Meld-san will be okay, right?" Shirasaki mutters to herself, staring at Meld Loggins who is having a conversation with Hero Amanogawa.
"Trust me, he is fine. His injuries are fully healed, and no scar is left behind," I proudly answer.
This is the time I should relieve Shirasaki's worries for me. I have to show her that I am strong enough.
"H-how did you heal him? We didn't see you move at all..."
A girl with glasses demands an answer.
"Haha... it's time."
"Time?"
"Yeah, stop the time, move around, and reverse the time of his body. And then hit the "resume" button. It's simple..." I answer excitedly.
"T-time! You manipulated time!?" The glasses girl exclaims in astonishment.
"Impossible," a smaller girl next to her commented.
"Believe what you want," I give her a confident thumbs-up. "It's better than bugging yourself with others' beliefs."
"S-so... so cool..."
Shirasaki pouts at me and turns away. Yaegashi strikes my shoulder with her sword sheath.
"Ouch, it hurts! I can still feel pain, you know, Yaegashi-san!"
"Now I remember, here's your sword," Yaegashi thrusts the sword back into my hands, smiling... and... blushing?
WTF, my samurai friend, what are you flustered for!?
No, I must remain composed.
"I said it's a gift for you, Yaegashi-san."
"Re-really?" Oh man, she is seriously blushing.
AHHHH! I DON'T WANNA GO THE SAMURAI GIRL ROUTE!
At such times, looking at Shirasaki-san's face is so peaceful–
AHH! She... she is... glaring at me and Yaegashi.
Don't tell me I have unlocked the Yandere's route, too.
"Oh, hey, I will take you both to the party tonight so... let's get back, ok?"
Shirasaki is finally snapped out of her jealous fantasies.
"Hmm, uh, yeah. Thanks.
"What's with her? Are you sure you didn't kill her?"
I suppose this guy is the hero. He wears golden/ silver shiny armor with a glorified sword.
So this is... Kouki Amanogawa, huh?
He doesn't look satisfied with this situation.
"No way I would kill a sentient being. She is just in an unconscious state."
"Your face must be so ugly you can knock out a demon without doing anything," he mutters under his breath.
This guy... I choose to ignore his words but… he's giving off a dangerous aura.
"Kid…"
It's Meld Loggins. "Thanks for saving me. And… forgive me for not fulfilling that one promise…"
Hmm… promise? If my memory doesn't fail me,... uh… right, he said he would save me…
"No worries, Mr. Commander. I am alive after all. In fact, it's my fault. I never showed you my superpowers."
"Superpowers?" Amanogawa raises an eyebrow at me.
I hastily shrug off the question and turn around, transforming into Deejay Emcee.
"Uh, guys, I will teleport you to the gate. Please keep my abilities secret, OK–"
"T-teleport?"
"Is that magic?"
"No, it must be a psychic power."
It's a pain to deal with these guys.
I facepalm and gesture at Yaegashi and Shirasaki who nod in understanding.
"Alright, guys, please gather here, OK. Tennyson-kun is going to send us all back."
I have teleported us to the spot behind the large gate of the labyrinth and transformed back to human form at once.
When we open the gate and exit the dungeon…
"Ah! Daddy! You're back!"
"Oh, Myu!"
My party members, and Myu carried by Tio, are waiting at the entrance.
"So you dealt with the demon alone?" Ruby asks curiously.
"Yeah, why?"
I feel uneasy about leaving my party behind, but I didn't know how powerful the demon would be. Therefore, I decided to go alone and clear the quest on behalf of the party.
"Nothing," the vampire girl mutters.
"But they helped me, too. So don't worry," I say, pointing behind at the group with my thumb.
Ruby silently nods at me and backs away. When I look back at my classmates, they are looking at me in awe.
"But it's harsh to leave us behind, Bennison," Shea complains.
"Haha… maybe I will take you guys next time…"
At the time, I feel a tight grip on my shoulders.
"Hmm, who is– Shirasaki-san?"
Shirasaki steps forward, swaying slightly. There is a smile on her face, but her expression is anything but happy.
"Tennyson-kun…"
Gulp… her tone is… somewhat terrifying.
"Explain yourself! Is she really your daughter!? Who did you get pregnant!? Blondie-san!? That bunny girl!? Or that beautiful lady over there!? Wait, are there even more girls I don't know about!? How many of them have you gotten pregnant!? Answer me, Tennyson-kun!"
"Look… I can explain–"
"Calm down, Kaori! There's no way that girl could actually be his kid!"
Yaegashi tries to pull Shirasaki off from me, but her efforts aren't working.
The people in the streets start whispering to each other.
"What's that? A lover's quarrel?"
"It looks like he went and got another girl pregnant even though he already has a lover?"
"More than just one girl, too."
"Did he get all five of them pregnant?"
"I've heard that he has a whole harem of girls, and got ten of them pregnant."
"I guess he was hiding it all from his wife."
"Yeah... And it looks like she just found out."
"A harem huh...? I'm jealous."
"What a guy... Lucky bastards like him should all go die."
No, more like I've got zero girls in my harem.
AHHH! Leave this gloomy kid alone!
Face bright red, Shirasaki buries herself in Yaegashi's arms. Wait, why are you blushing, Shirasaki-san!? Spare me the cliche!
When we walk in the streets of the market, the rumors have already spread enough to make me run away. "Scumbag" is one of the titles I got today. Some call me a man amongst men.
I carry Myu on my shoulders to erase my embarrassment as fast as I can.
At the restaurant, tonight…
Somehow, I ended up sitting between Yaegashi and Shirasaki.
At the table in the furthest corner of the restaurant sit our group. Yaegashi, me, and Shirasaki on one side — Tio, Ruby, and Shea on the opposite side. Myu is sleeping on Tio's thighs.
Now I notice that Tio has become like Myu's mother.
I am enjoying a night-special juice.
"Tennyson."
Yaegashi leans toward me.
"What is it, Yaegashi-san?"
She asks me with a serious face. "Tell me, which one is your girlfriend?"
I lean forward and whisper to her. "None of them."
"Really?"
"Of course. It's only four months, you know. I lived in Japan for three years and got no girlfriend."
This is where I accidentally pulled the trigger.
"I-is that true?" It is not Yaegashi but Shirasaki who stammers after hearing my confession.
"Kaori! Control yourself!" Yaegashi tries to stop Shirasaki who is approaching me.
She places her face close to mine.
"You don't have a girlfriend, right?"
Her hands grab onto the collar of my coat, pulling me even closer to her. Blushing is inevitable.
"N-no… I don't."
She casually says this:
"Then hear me out. I love you."
Well, fuck.
Seriously, how do I unlock this route and already win over a girl?
And she looks like someone who will stab me if I say no.
Gulp…
"Tennyson-kun…"
She looks up at me but my vision becomes blurred, and I can't respond to her call.
"First of all…" I suddenly hear my savior. My savior is a blonde-haired petite girl.
Ruby?
My vision becomes clear again.
Ah, I knew that my Ruby was reliable!
"... how about we hold a competition between us…"
Huh, what is she talking about?
Yaegashi starts shaking me as my consciousness begins to fade away. My vision has become a blur because of the emotional overload.
This is a story of a practical social outcast who had only 2 friends in his entire high school life, let alone having some girl that had a crush on me.
"Yeah, yeah! I'm interested, too, Kaori."
Hmm, Shea is also talking to her casually.
And… what competition are they talking about?
Jeez, my title "Bad Ben" has been washed away with only one "Love confession." What a shame…
"My Master prefers to reserve himself from others. He has never ever slept with us." (Tio)
"Is… is that so?" (Shirasaki)
OK, I am dead.
I lean against the backrest, closing my eyes, although their words are still overflowing into my ears.
"But Ruby crawls into his bed every night," Shea spills the beans.
Hey, don't say misunderstanding things like that.
"... Naked…" she adds.
I am doomed.
They all become awfully silent after hearing it.
"Don't lose it, Tennyson!" (Yaegashi)
"Tennyson-kun! Please don't let go of your consciousness!" (Shirasaki)
Haha… ha…
"I… I'm fine…" I weakly respond to their worried voices.
"Then he's ok," Shea says.
"Yeah, my Master will be fine. He can't die after all," Tio adds.
Guys, don't you worry about me?
"Maybe he's drunk," Ruby accuses me without hesitation.
I feel like I'm being shot with a machine gun.
"Then let's forget him and talk about the competition!" (Kaori)
Tsk, she just confessed to me a while ago, and now… she is throwing me away.
Top Ten reasons why Bad Ben doesn't get a girlfriend.
"Competition?" Yaegashi asks.
"Yeah," Ruby answers. "We will compete who loves Benny the most."
"Sounds great!" Shea now regains her enthusiasm for some reason. "Look forward to my turn, Miss Ruby. I will show I am the best and beat you."
"Shea, this isn't about the best of us," Tio corrects her. "It is about who loves Master Ben the most."
"Is that so? Hmm, do we have to show him our love?" Shea asks curiously.
"What about you, Shirasaki?" (Ruby)
"Yeah, yeah, Kaori! Are you in or not!?" (Shea)
Yaegashi seems shocked, griping my shoulder tightly.
"Um… o-ok, I'm in." (Shirasaki)
"Now then… let's share what we know about Master Ben," Tio proposes an "awesome" idea.
Wait, wait, I'm right here, and are they gonna talk about me?
Crap… it's gonna be a pain.
"Shall I close his ears?" Yaegashi asks.
"No, leave him be," Ruby coldly says.
Man… then I shall see where this is going.
"I… I've known him for the longest time!"
Oddly, Shirasaki is excited.
"He was the gloomiest boy in the class and he never had a friend. But he had this mysterious aura… that made me interested in him…" her voice fades away in embarrassment. "B-but… I knew about him before he transferred to Japan! He was… Uh, I mean, when he was young, he was a hero."
"A hero?" Shea would ask curiously.
Of course, Ruby and my gang know very little about me since I haven't told them much about myself. Hmm, better leave them alone. I mean, this way if Kaori Shirasaki tells them about me, then I don't have to explain them specifically.
"No one in the class didn't know about him because his identity was kept secret."
Now come to think of it, the existence of aliens and plumbers was also kept secret from earthlings. How did she come to call me "Uchuujin boy?"
"... And his hero name was Ben 10."
"Lame," Ruby bluntly comments.
Yamete kudasai!
AHHH! I'm really gonna die here.
"He lived in a different country than us until he was 15. I don't know why he stopped being a hero, though." (Shirasaki)
"Hmm, when I first met Bennison, he totally acted like a villain," Shea says.
"Ha, I don't know what changed him but… he came to like the heroes that kill their antagonists."
"He's so weird," says the SAMURAI otaku girl.
"Well, that aside, when he transferred to our class, he didn't even try to make friends. He only minded his own business. It makes him a totally boring person but… I found him mysterious… and I gathered my courage to talk to him."
"I should praise you for being able to talk to such a weirdo," Ruby comments.
Hey, your Benny is here. Don't make me depressed more than you have done.
"W-well… he isn't a weirdo. He was just introverted," Kaori defends me.
"And so, and so, what happened later on?" Shea would ask curiously.
"We became friends. And then I invited him to a restaurant one day… and introduced him to my friends – Shizuku, here, and a boy called Hajime Nagumo."
Now I remember it, how is Nagumo doing?
I was friends with him only shortly but… I kind of miss him, lol.
I mean, he was like… only one MALE friend of mine. On some evenings, he would visit my house and play games together to accompany me.
Although that guy gave off similar energy as me, I was intentionally staying away from my classmates because it would be a pain to explain myself to them.
"Then…" Shizuku Yaegashi steps in. "Shirasaki forced him to learn sword arts at our Yaegashi dojo. He defeated me in a challenge after one month of training."
"Wow…" Shea claps her palms.
"... He used his street-fighting skills. I didn't know he was a veteran street fighter and…" Yaegashi seems down.
I let out a sigh and finally open my eyes, my hand reaching her to pat her head.
"There, there…"
"It must be blissful to hear praises from your friends, Master Ben," Tio says with a teasing tone.
"Mmm," I look down at Yaegashi who is blushing for some reason. "I can't say I dislike this. Uh, please go on. Help yourself. Don't mind me since I am gonna sleep again…"
"Mou! You just love eavesdropping on the girls in love with you, right?"
I brush off Shirasaki's words and rest my head on the backrest, starting at the ceiling. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Their conversation has become silent again.
"Now…" Kaori Shirasaki speaks up to break the silence. "My turn is over. Tell me about your experience with Tennyson-kun, Ruby-san."
"Hmm, he's perverted yet he controls his desires to not let them take the better of him."
"Mou, Ruby-san, that's not what I want to know," Shirasaki says.
"I first met him at the bottom of the Great Orcus Labyrinth… where he destroyed the whole chamber with an attack…"
"Um, excuse me?" Yaegashi looks surprised.
"He used something called Atomix."
"Atomix… huh, interesting. I will ask him later," Yaegashi replies.
"When we reached the 100th floor, we lived there for days. When we got out of there, we met Shea…"
"It was a place where magic doesn't work. But Bennison suddenly changed into bizarre creatures and surprised me…" (Shea)
"Um, Shea was a scaredy-cat." (Ruby)
Shea pouts at Ruby.
"But Bennison is so cool. Teaching my Tribe to become… beasts…" her voice fades away. "Oh, but he also fought a verbergen guard for us!"
"Verbergen?" Shirasaki asks.
"A beastman nation," I suddenly steps into their conversation.
"Aw… please go on, Shea-san."
"Yeah! He was so cool when he transforms into a rabbitman and teaches us how to kick and jump."
Kaori Shirasaki raises an eyebrow at her praise and smiles awkwardly.
Perhaps… she has found out how useless the Haulia Tribe was until I arrived there.
"Is… is that so? How did you meet Tennyson-kun? Tio-san."
Kaori directs her attention to the dragon lady.
Tio opens her fan and covers her face.
"When he met me for the first time, he was so mean! So mean that I could feel his love in each strike!"
Tio begins to breathe heavily… for obvious reasons.
"Excuse me?"
"Stoooppp!" I yell at her. "I mean, let's call it a day. Myu is… sleeping, right?"
For no reason, Tio blushes and looks away from me.
Kaori Shirasaki pouts at me for stopping…
I let out a sigh.
"Tennyson-kun."
"What is it, Shirasaki-san?"
"Can I travel with you on your journey?"
CHAPTER (8) ENDS HERE.
Please also check out my "Ben 10 X Anime: Kamen Rider Omni-X." I haven't still get any review on that story.
I don't have enough time to write minor episodes these days, but I don't wanna waste the precious scenes in light novel.
Well, it can wait. For now, thanks for reading, everyone.
Christopher Paradox Chronos.