Chapter 2: Servitude Denied

[Wailuku, Hawaii – July 25th 2013 02:13 a.m.]

"Well, I'm cool with taking her home. None of you seem to want her," offered Dakota with a twinkle in his eye.

"Denied," answered the rest of the boys. To better suit the amount of people, the conversation regarding what exactly to do with Noire had been taken out into the common room. They considered it less cramped and a little less troubling for their eyes.

Ren sighed and leaned into the common room's sofa. "Alright, seriously: what're we gonna do? We've been up all night trying to figure this out. At this rate, she'll wake up before we come up with something." The hazel-eyed man massaged his temples before greedily sipping on his grape soda.

Pedro nonchalantly flipped through a page of his H-manga. "Can a goddess even kill human beings? I mean, shouldn't there be like a code of ethics that forbids that?"

No one said anything for a moment.

Allen crossed his arms and leaned into one of the two smaller chairs. Sighing, the self-proclaimed-bed-lurker answered, "I personally think that you guys are all taking this too seriously."

Ren blinked. "Whaddya mean Allen?"

Pointing at the door to Kai's room, Allen explained, "Be reasonable for a moment, Ren. There must have been a hologram projector that created that portal and the girl. Did you unplug the flash drive yet?" Ren shook his head. "My point exactly," said Allen. "We should examine the flash drive and see if there's something like a projector in it."

The hazel-eyed college student leaped to his feet and sat his backpack on the sofa. "That'd a good idea if it weren't for the fact that we could physically touch her when we laid her out on the bed."

"Well, let's go check the realizer anyway and see what we can find out," suggested Pedro.

"Right," replied Ren. With that, the two boys immediately dove back into Kai's dorm room and quietly scurried over to Kai's PS3.

Pedro and Ren looked each other in the eye for a moment before looking back at Noire quietly resting on the room's second bed. Looking back at the flash drive, Pedro said, "I'm pretty sure that she's not a hologram, but why don't we try taking the flash drive out? Maybe taking it out of the PS3 will send her back."

Ren immediately obliged. The hazel-eyed boy looked at the PS3 and then back at Noire. Nothing seemed to be happening. "Nothing's happening," complained Ren.

"What were you expecting? Fireworks and a magical portal of doom that sucks us into her world?" deadpanned Pedro.

"Totally," joked Ren. Sauntering over to the bed, the dark-haired boy curiously peered at the sleeping CPU's body. "Still, this seems a bit weird. Why would anyone want to materialize video game characters into reality? I mean, I thought it'd be a funny hologram joke, but I didn't think it would really happen."

Pedro made his way over to Kai's desk and seated himself in Kai's gaming chair. "No idea. I mean, if she's a mindless puppet when she wakes up, I can kind of guess why someone would do it."

Ren's eyes flickered with interest. "You know, you've got a point there." The hazel-eyed man laughed a little as a thought crossed his mind. "But it said it would pull a character out at random. What if you got a guy?"

"Well then it sucks to be you," joked Pedro. The two shared a hardy laugh before hesitantly turning their attention back to Noire. Curiosity was overtaking their common sense. "Should we try waking her up?"

"Hmm." Ren hesitated- knowing full well that if Noire reacted violently, the five of them could be dead by sunrise. I'll admit I'm curious, but I just can't see a good reason for someone to actually want to materialize game characters, thought Ren. For some reason, I doubt it was for something as stupid as a good screw. Thinking harder on it, Ren's eyes brightened as he ran back into the common room. "Sorry, I need that," he said quickly as he pulled his backpack from the sofa. When he returned to Kai's dorm room, he immediately began to dig into his back pack.

Cocking an eyebrow, Pedro asked, "Forgot something?"

"Yeah. There was something else that came with that flash drive," answered Ren. After a moment of searching, Ren eventually revealed a pair of black gauntlets. "It says the owner of the realizer should put these on after materializing their character." Looking at the gauntlets more closely, he noticed a small window on the armored part of the armored gloves. "But I dunno, don't these things look dangerous?"

"Gee, I wonder," answered Pedro with dripping sarcasm. "They're black, look out of place for our era, and just scream outright suspicious from a mere gaze." Pedro paused to point at Ren's backpack. "I'm telling you man. You should probably put those back in your ba-."

"Ah, what the hell? You only live once, right?" interjected Ren as he slipped on two gloves onto his hands.

Pedro watched with rolled his eyes, laughing as Ren happily admired the gloves on his hands. "Dude, you're so screwed. You made the contract!"

Ren rolled his eyes with a playful chuckle. "Oh come on. It's not like the world's going to suddenly go to hell over me putting on a pair of gloves." To express his point, the hazel-eyed man decided to wave his hands around to prove that nothing was happening.

"If Kyubey shows up, you're on your own man," replied Pedro.

The two boys chuckled for a moment before a feminine groan ripped the two from their hardy laughter. Their breaths hitched as they turned around to see someone stirring in her sleep. As Noire lazily yawned and began to stretch, both boys began to panic as she slowly sat up. Rubbing her eyes, the CPU muttered, "Where the heck am I?" Looking around, Noire's eyes went wide with panic. "This isn't my room. And what's with all the creepy pictures? Gross!"

"Hey, is she up?" called Kai. "Ren? Pedro?"

Ren and Pedro blanched as Noire whirled around and glared into their eyes- hazel and dark-brown meeting deep-red. Materializing her rapier out of a flurry of data particles and pointing at the two petrified college students, the CPU yelled, "Where is this? And who are the two of you?"

Internally sweating bullets, Ren's mind immediately fell into panic. Not good. She can still call her weapon. Who knows what else she can do? Seeing the anxious and angered look on Noire's face, Ren thought to himself, Come on man, think! There has to be some way to reason with her. Squeezing his eyes shut to come up with a plan, Ren spent several moments trying to discover a means with which to calm Noire.

Moments later, the hazel-eyed teen nervously opened his eyes. Okay, here goes something, he thought to himself deviously. Taking a deep breath, the hazel-eyed boy finally answered, "To be honest, Lady Black Heart, I think that we should be the ones asking what you're doing here."

Noire raised an eyebrow. "And just what's that supposed to mean?"

Pedro immediately pulled Ren close to him. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed in as quiet a voice as possible.

"Don't run just yet, I've got an idea," whispered Ren. Looking up at Noire, he answered, "I don't know how, but," Ren paused for a moment to show Noire the flash drive. "This thing somehow brought you to our world." Seeing Noire look around, he added, "This isn't Gamindustri. It's a world called Earth. I'm Ren Shikimori and this is my friend Pedro Canul."

Waving, Pedro muttered, "Hi."

"Earth huh?" replied Noire. Not quite satisfied, the black-haired CPU took a moment to sit on Kai's bed and have herself a third look around the room. All the while, she made sure to keep her rapier out and ready for battle. "So? How do I get home? If this was an accident, you two shouldn't have a problem with telling me that much."

No reply. The two college students stared at her blankly.

Flushing with embarrassment, Noire yelled, "Wh-What? You must have some means of sending me home!"

No answer.

Ren shifted uncomfortably, slowly adjusting his backpack so that it sat more comfortably on his back. "That's actually what I'm getting at, milady." While the hazel-eyed college student internally lurched at having to call someone as condescending as Noire, "milady," he kept his thoughts to himself and continued to keep an awkward smile plastered onto his face. "Since we don't understand the nature of the technology that brought you here, we unfortunately have no way of sending you home. It's also possible that it may be impossible to send you home."

Noire sat in stunned silence, her heart sinking with each passing moment. "Y-You're kidding, right?"

No answer.

"Tch." The CPU's face went red with frustration as she snatched the flash drive from Ren's hands. "Why would someone create such a ridiculous device?" she yelled.

"I don't really have an answer for you," answered Ren while waving off Noire's anger. "We're just as confused as you are."

While Noire appeared to be incredibly vexed, her thoughts were currently a wreck. What should I do? she thought to herself. Blanc and Vert could easily take advantage of my absence. If I don't return soon, Lastation will- She couldn't even finish the thought. Looking down at the flash drive, she thought, Still, I have a hard time believing that this is all a little device's fault.

Ren internally sighed with relief. Okay, so far so good. At the very least, I think she gets it. One more push and we should be safe, for now, thought the hazel-eyed man. Adjusting himself into a proper kneel, Ren announced, "Due to these unusual circumstances, I have a proposition for you Lady Black Heart."

"Really?" asked Noire. Her eyes were filled with hope, but remembering her pride as a CPU, the black-haired CPU cleared her throat before replying, "V-Very well. What do you propose?"

A chilling silence fell upon the room. It was clear that Noire thought she had completely control of the situation. Seeing this, Ren thought to himself, I guess a little teasing wouldn't hurt. If anything, it might loosen her up a bit. Smirking, the hazel-eyed man answered, "Sorry, but I don't feel like telling you anymore."

"What?" Noire couldn't believe it. She was being defied by a mere boy- let alone one with such an impudent smirk on his face. I'm a CPU, a goddess! How dare he taunt me like this, she thought to herself.

Leaning over to Pedro, Ren whispered, "Go into the common room."

Pedro cocked an eyebrow. "And get stabbed? Are you high?"

"Call me crazy, but I highly doubt that she'll actually kill you. She might yell at you and threaten you, but I don't think she'll actually do it," answered Ren. "Leave the door a small smidge open and tell the guys to wait outside." Seeing Pedro's hesitation, the hazel-eyed man whispered, "While we're at it. Send Simba in here."

"Simba?" repeated Pedro. Finally, a metaphorical light bulb went off above Pedro's head. "Right, Simba," replied Pedro loudly. "I'll go and get him."

Noire watched with confusion as Pedro shakily stood up and slowly began to make his way out of the room and into the common room. "H-Hey, where are you going?" she yelled.

Pedro didn't answer- continuing to inch closer to the door until he was finally out, leaving the door to the common room open by a very tiny margin.

Looking down at Ren, Noire asked, "Where's he going? And just who's Simba?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," answered Ren playfully. "As far as who Simba is, well," the hazel-eyed man paused. "I'm sure you'll enjoy him when you see him."

Ren instinctively flinched as Noire pointed her rapier closer toward him. "Don't think that you're getting away with anything. You're the most suspicious one of all!" The hazel-eyed man watched with confusion as a strange blush stretched across Noire's face. "A-And tell me who Simba is! What do you mean by me enjoying him?"

An awkward silence passed over the two.

"Huh?" replied Ren. It took the hazel-eyed man to connect the dots, but as soon as he did he fell over howling with laughter. "O-Oh, that's all you wanted to know." Forcing himself to open his eyes despite his laughter, Ren added, "Unless you're into certain things, I don't think you'll be enjoying Simba that much. Still, I think you'll like him."

"L-Like?" replied Noire.

"Yeah, like," answered Ren. At last, a quiet meow entered the room. Looking at Noire's rapier, he asked, "Could you put that away? He'll probably get scared if you're pointing that thing at us."

The CPU stared down at Ren with distrusting eyes. "As if. You'll run away like your friend did!" This time, a louder meow entered the room. Noire raised an eyebrow while looking at a small mass of orange-yellow fur crawling toward Ren. "Th-That's-"

"Yup. This is Simba," answered Ren while scooping the small kitten into his arms and cradling it. Looking up at the rapier, Ren asked, "Could you put that away? You'll scare him."

Looking down at Simba, Noire thought to herself, I-It's so cute. The CPU stared at the small kitten in Ren's arms for several moments before finally sighing with frustration and defeat. "V-Very well, b-but it's not because I think it's cute or anything!"

Ren stared at Noire incredulously. Yeah right, he thought to himself while petting the purring kitten. Still, his plan had worked and for that he was grateful. Looking at Noire's rapier and the CPU's blushing face, he asked, "So, are you gonna put that away or what?"

"I-I'm getting to it," retorted Noire as her rapier disappeared in a flurry of data cubes. Holding out her hands expectantly, Noire stared down at the kitten with softened eyes. Looking back at the smirking Ren, she yelled, "Wh-What? It's the cat I'm looking at, not you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," teased Ren as he handed her the kitten. Watching as Noire slowly brought the kitten toward her, the hazel-eyed man said, "Be gentle with him, okay?"

"I-I know what I'm doing," replied Noire with a haughty-tone of voice. Her very heart was melting as she listened to the small kitten meow and purr. It snuggled against her affectionately, allowing the CPU to feel the warmth of the small creature's body.

Sighing, Ren cautiously stood up and looked at Kai's desk clock. It was already morning. "If it's cool with you, I'm gonna go and make breakfast. Would you prefer to wait here?"

Noire looked over at the now standing Ren with annoyance, but then back down at Simba with eyes of adoration. "I'm staying here," she answered. Pointing at Ren, she added, "But don't think that this changes anything. I still don't trust you."

"That's fine. I don't exactly trust you all that much either," replied Ren with an apathetic tone of voice. With that, he began to make his way toward the door.

Just as Ren had his hand on the door knob, Noire yelled, "W-Wait!"

Turning around, Ren answered, "Hmm?"

"While I'm in this world, I'll need proper vassals and retainers! S-So-"

"Mm, how about no?" interrupted Ren. "I'm not really into the whole servitude thing. Even if I was, you seem to be the type of girl who'd get on my nerves pretty quickly. I'm cool with being friends though."

"E-Excuse me?" Noire sat on the bed in shock. No one in Lastation had ever spoken to her this way before- let alone offered her friendship like it was a free sample at the local supermarket. Her frustrations became hesitant as she yelled, "But it's your stupid machine's fault that I'm stuck in this mess! As the guilty party, you should take responsibility and tend to me until I can return to Lastation."

Ren furrowed his eyebrows and rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, all hail your highness," deadpanned the hazel-eyed man. Pulling the door a smidge open, he said, "I'll be back with something for you to eat in a moment."

Noire reached out to say something, but Simba was keeping her from fully standing. The CPU could only watch as Ren calmly sauntered out of the room and shut the door behind him. Growling, she muttered, "To think that wouldn't want to serve me, Lady Black Heart." Remembering the hazel-eyed man's reply to her offer, she internally cursed while saying to herself, "What a detestable brat."

Author's Notes:

And so a bickering pair is born! Haha, not quite yet. I hope the lack of action isn't boring anyone. I hope to get there soon, but I felt it best to take the Madoka approach and develop things slowly before everything goes to hell. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter and look forward to the next one.