Chapter Three: Facts to Bear
Walking for about 10 minutes, for a grand total of a mile still doesn't make Renz feel any better.
" Duelo… what is her deal anyway? I mean she goes from hating you to loving you at the drop of a hat. Is she mentally sound? I mean… can you run a test or something?" Renz face contorts with any and all thoughts of her at the moment.
Duelo just laughs lightly as he places his friend on one of the hospital beds and looks at him with a bit of a smirk. " Renz… what I have gathered from Jura, is that she is a loose cannon if you will. What I mean by that is her actions are basically impossible to guess let alone control. And yes, I've tested her for a few things since I've been aboard the ship, and she's perfectly healthy. She just thinks with her emotions, not her head…" before Duelo finishes his sentence Renz cuts him off.
" And her emotions are as extreme as anything I've ever seen. That woman needs to calm down…" He sits up straight after saying that and looks at Duelo. " So what exactly is a kiss? That's what the green hair girl called it." He pauses and looks down then directly into Duelo's eyes and in a very stern and serious way he finishes what he was going to say. " Tell me straight… am I gonna die?"
Duelo's face lightens and his eye seems like it is almost smiling. " No my friend. You are nowhere near death. A kiss is a female tradition that displays affection. She basically just told you that she has chosen you to be the father of her child. That's all a kiss means. No more, no less." He places a hand on his friends shoulder and then hands him a small bottle.
" Here, these should help with the nausea and I recommend that you get used to kisses… because she'll probably smother you in them often." Renz nods as he takes the bottle of pills and slides off the bed slowly and grins at Duelo.
" Thanks man, I feel better already…" After that Duelo looks down and starts struggling for words as he then goes to a small cabinet and pulls out a book. After pulling it out, he holds it with both hands then turns to look at Renz.
" You'll be needing to read this Renz. This is a book that will explain what it is exactly that Jura wants you to do to her." After the brief explanation Duelo hands his friend the book with an oddly curious, yet nervous look on his face.
Renz slowly takes the book then notices Duelo's reaction. " Umm… what's wrong? Do I need to know something? Is it deadly? Tell me man…" Duelo sighs and opens the book to page 3 and points to the second paragraph. " Read that…"
Renz raises a brow unsure of what harm words could do as he then reads the paragraph to himself and almost drops the book.
" Nudity and insertion! What the hell! What on Earth is this act? I mean, is that even possible? Won't it hurt?" His eyes widen and a faint blush appears on his face as he throws the book onto the bed and grabs Duelo by his lab coat.
" Tell me! Will… it… umm, what happens? Does it fall off? By what means am I to do this mounting procedure. I mean… aren't there any pictures? Or a helpful direction booklet?" The conversation both odd and embarrassing leaves both men just staring at each other for a few moments as Duelo removes Renz's hands from his lab coat and pulls a magazine out of a hidden interior pocket.
" This book has many pictures and many helpful editorials on different ways to do it. I especially find the definition of a donkey punch both amusing and highly interesting." Renz gives Duelo a look as though he had 5 heads.
" What in the cosmos is a donkey punch? Do people attack animals during this act?" Duelo shakes his head and once again flips to the page and section in which it's at.
Renz reads it and smirks. " Violence? I thought it was a sensual act like the other book said… but if Jura continues her attitude I'd be more then happy to strike her." Renz and Duelo laugh a bit as Renz sees the pictures and the descriptions as he nods and looks at other pictures quizzically… but doesn't comment on it.
After about 15 minutes of Duelo pointing out interesting pages and Renz reading, Renz closes the magazine and places it inside of the first book as he nods to Duelo.
" Thank you my friend. I now kinda understand what is to be done… and I feel a little better knowing I'm not going to die because of that lip touching action, what did they call it again? A kiss? Women are odd creatures… but anyway… I must get to my residence to finish my packing. See you tomorrow Duelo." With that Renz exits the room they were in giving Duelo a slight wave as he tucks the books underneath one arm as he heads out the door.
Now unknown to Renz, and literally everyone else except for Hibiki and Dita, Meia was gradually making her way past the infirmary as her mind begins to contemplate why she felt the way she did, and why she watched Renz and Duelo head towards the infirmary from the hangar.
Due to her concentration on her thoughts Meia is unaware that she is walking towards the door to the infirmary just as Renz happened to be walking out and as the door swings open, it connects right with Meia's pretty face sending her plummeting to the ground, back first. After hitting the ground Meia lets out a groan of pain and agitation as she opens one eye to see who struck her.
Hearing the thud Meia's body made on the ground and the groan Renz looks behind the door to see a fallen Meia and he is quick to offer assistance in helping her up. He drops his books and hovers over Meia with a sweat drop upon the side of his face looking at her very apologetically.
" Umm…miss… Meia I think… are you ok? I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming." Her vision starts to focus as she notices who is standing above her and her eyes widen and a faint blush can be seen across her cheeks.
" Y-yes Renz, I'm fine, I just wasn't paying attention is all. It's not your fault." She then notices him extend his hand to her to help her up. In her mind she struggles with herself to accept or reject the help of a man. But his kind expression and genuine concern allows her to drop her guard momentarily just to allow him to help her up.
His hand grasps hers and he lifts her up into a standing position. Still a little shaken by the impact of her face to the door she stumbles a bit and winds up falling against his chest almost directly into his arms as his eyes widen and he looks down at her.
" M-m-Meia… umm, are you okay?" Unsure of what to do he gently places his hands on her shoulders and stands her up in front of him and he looks into her eyes. " You want me to take you to see Duelo?"
Meia still a little dazed stares into his eyes and shakes her head. " No, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. But, thank you for your assistance…" She slowly breaks out of his grasp on her shoulders and nods to him and he smirks and nods back.
" Alright then… I guess I'll see you tomorrow… well… umm… later." With that he quickly grabs the book that he placed on the ground. Yet, because of how fast he snatched it, the magazine fell out from inside of it and almost literally in front of Meia.
By the time she noticed that he dropped his magazine he was already too far away to notify without hollering. Something Meia usually did not do, and anyway it would make her feel awkward. Really, why on Earth would a woman ever need to holler a man's name?
So she decides to hold onto the magazine until tomorrow when she next saw him. So with that she bends down and picks up the magazine instantly getting an eyeful when she saw the cover.
" What in the world is this book? It looks like a relic yet the pictures are quite graphic… why would someone carry this? And what is its purpose?" Saying that in a low tone so only she could hear she slowly heads off to a quiet place so she may relax and contemplate the need for this book.
Shortly after Meia starts walking off Hibiki and Dita pop out from behind a small bush and start smiling.
" Mr. Alien, what do you think was in the book that Meia picked up?" Dita's cute little face and big blue eyes fixed onto Hibiki eagerly awaiting an answer.
" I don't know Dita… but what ever it is, it sure has Meia flustered. And what about the book Renz had… and their conversation together. Meia didn't seem like her usual calm precise self. She seemed like…" Dita was quick to cut him off and add her cute spin to his sentence.
" Like a star struck school girl! Aww it's so cute Mr. Alien, I think Meia feels for Renz like I feel for you!" Hibiki looks at Dita as to accuse her of drug use but her brightened features and imp-esque reaction forced him to do nothing more then grin and shake his head.
" You must be kidding me? Meia isn't the type to like guys… I mean she's always so uptight around us, and heck seems like she almost loathes us. So maybe it's something else. Maybe he reminds her of someone from her past?" Hibiki shrugs after that and brushes his thumb against his nose as his eyes widen and he grins at Dita.
" Now I know why Paiway likes doing this so much. Let's continue… you follow Meia and I'll go after Renz… I really want to see what's going on."
Dita frowns a bit and looks at Hibiki looking very sad and pitiful. " But Hibiki, I want to be with you. So can we just go home and I make you dinner? You know… I was feeling like making that yummy meat and extra cheese lasagna you like so much. But if we're out…" Hibiki's eyes get big and watery as he starts dreaming about eating the lasagna and places his index finger over Dita's lips.
" Out? Who said anything about out…I'm hungry, let's go back!" Dita smiles as Hibiki begins walking at a rather brisk pace back home as Dita follows behind euphorically.
Meanwhile, Meia reaches a nice quiet area and sits beneath a tall oak tree and looks at the magazine. Her curiosity nagging at the back of her mind, urging her to find out what is inside of this book.
" Well… I suppose as long as I return it, there's no harm in reading a few pages." Meia nods and opens the pages of the magazine to a rather graphic picture, and an interesting article.
Seeing this she almost wants to close the book and throw it away but she forces herself to read the article hoping that it gives and explanation on what the use of this book is. But instead, she finds herself highly intrigued at learning all the positions and maneuvers described in the book.
" So this is how to create a child with a man? Interesting… I wonder if Jura knows how many variants and styles there are…" She places her hand to her chin and begins to think momentarily and answers her own question.
"Yes, it's only fair to show Jura this book. I mean Renz must have gotten this book as learning material for what Jura wants him to do. So she should be aware of all of these predicaments." With that Meia continues reading, as furthering her own knowledge isn't a bad thing, not to mention, she never said when she would inform Jura.
During the time when Meia was reading the book elsewhere, Renz was just arriving back at his room to finish packing and everything.
" Today… has been a weird day, I sure hope it gets better as I learn to live with women." He lets out a deep sigh as he sits on his bed and opens the other book her got from Duelo.
" Hmm… that's weird… I could have sworn I put the magazine in the book… unless…" In his mind he starts replaying the events since he got the book and places his right hand against his forehead rather forcefully as he literally just smacked himself in the head.
" Great… Meia probably has it… oh boy. I think my days will just become more complex." After a short pause to indulge his misery he throws the first book onto his suitcase and shuts the lights off.
" Maybe tomorrow won't come. Here's to hoping for a perpetual time loop, or possibly Armageddon."
To Be Continued…