RaiXGear Chapter 13
[Nepgear's P.O.V]
Our journey back to Planeptune was indeed a long walk. IF and Compa escorted us on their bike, Raiken still holding on to me as I carried him by the arm during that long walk towards home in a safer path that IF found yesterday by bike.
Raiken fell silent as we walked our way back, I could notice his cheeks blushing, but I didn't want to stress him out about it. I just wanted to help him because I know he needs it most than any of us.
"Hey Nep, how was the hunt?" IF spoke up.
"It was difficult, Iffy. That Ancient Dragon was a different oddity other than the ones we have faced together before…" Neptune replied with a bit of doubt in her voice.
"Yeah…it has a really powerful grip and tail too…" I added silently.
"…I'd say that was an A-Class…near the most dangerous one." Raiken looked up at the sky as we walked.
"W-What's the most dangerous rank?" I asked.
"…S-Class." Raiken replied. "That dragon was a level lower. I'm going to report on that too when I return to the Basilicom."
"…Have you faced any S-Class foes before?" Neptune asked him curiously.
"…" Raiken fell silent. His silence already meant that he had faced a lot of foes stronger than him. Neptune stopped inquiring any further so as not to induce stress or tension.
"Sure, Raiken…but you need to rest your body…you're still recovering after all…" I smiled at him warmly.
"Yes…I understand, my Lady." Raiken smiled back.
I could feel the warmth of his body on my side, his arm around my neck, he really seemed like a sweet gentleman, taking his steps slowly to make it easier for me to assist him.
"Eheheh…" I chuckled. "I'm becoming a bit hungry…" I mumbled as I held my stomach with my other hand. It has been 2 hours of walking and I already became hungry.
"So am I, actually…I need something raunchy and stuff…" Raiken awkwardly smiled as he too felt the grumble in his stomach.
"Ahh…I would most love a cup of pudding right now…" Neptune commented. Despite her being in HDD form until this point, she still has her untransformed self's desires hidden within.
"Don't worry, guys. When we get back, we're going to have my special stir fry!" IF commented.
"Yay! Iffy's stir fry is one of my favorites!" Compa cutely commented.
"H-Hey, Compa. Seriously…" IF blushed.
"Oh geez…you guys…" Raiken mumbles under his breath.
After a few more miles, we finally reached the gates to the city. Finally…
"Whew…finally…just a few more blocks…" I spoke. "I just want to settle my legs for a while…"
"S-Sorry, my Lady… Am I too heavy for you?" Raiken asked in concern, wanting to let go of me.
"N-No, Raiken…it's okay…I'm fine with supporting you like this…" I replied, blushing a little bit as I continue to feel his warmth…and his weight at that.
"…I actually like it…" I silently mumbled.
"Hm? What did you say?" Raiken curiously blinked at me, forcing me to blush even more.
"A-Ahh! I-It's nothing…please don't dwell on it…" I awkwardly smiled again, my cheeks flushed with red.
[Raiken's P.O.V.]
A few more blocks and we finally reached Planeptune's Basilicom. I feel a bit guilty for letting Nepgear carry me all the way through, so I decided to let go of her, surprising her.
"R-Raiken? A-Are you okay?" Nepgear asked.
"I don't want to weigh you down any further than this…I can walk…" truthfully, I can't walk much, but the feeling of having a lady do this for me is just too much. I would never allow a lady to have any hardship. I often opt to take responsibility for them instead.
"B-But, I can't allow you to stress yourself…" she replied in worry. Neptune stepped in.
"Raiken, just let us help you…we're all friends here…" she softly added.
"…But…" I bowed my head.
Nepgear decided to try a different approach so as not to pressure me or herself.
She took my hand
Her warm palm squeezing against mine. My heart immediately beated a lot faster once again.
"L-Lady Nepgear…" I mumbled, blushing. She was blushing as well.
"C-Can I at least hold your hand?...I really want to help…so…" she bowed her head, squeezing my hand a little bit more.
"A-Ah…" was the only thing I could muster right now. My face went redder as I thought about it more.
"It's going to be okay, Raiken…I-I promise…" Nepgear reassured me as we began walking again.
Nepgear was being bashful the whole time ever since she held my hand. I could clearly feel the embarrassment she feels. Again, I felt a little guilt, but it ain't as much as earlier where she was giving her effort to carry me by the arm.
After a few more blocks, which quite frankly felt like a million miles more, we finally arrived at the Basilicom lobby. A few more steps, and we were at the Basilicom's elevator leading to their home.
"Lady Purple Heart, Lady Purple Sister, all of you. Welcome back" a guard greeted, then sees me walking weakly. "S-Sir! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, sir. No need for assistance." I replied back, waving my hand. "Excuse us…" we walked past him, the guard still wearing a worried expression on his face.
Planeptune's guards are the known to be the kindest guards in Gamindustri. They would help you openly like a normal person would. They are often enthusiastic, upbeat, yet also not forgetting their duties. Though, they can be airheads sometimes.
Leanbox and Lowee' s guards are pretty much average. They're cool, serious but can be quite approachable. They are pretty much the equivalent of the Americans back home on Earth.
Meanwhile, the harshest of the four nations in my opinion is Lastation. Their guards are so strict with the curfew times, regulations and things like that. Some of them can be either stubborn, or just like their Goddess, tsunderes…
Don't ever tell Lady Noire I said that. ("HEY!")
Histoire waited for us inside the sister's lobby. IF, Compa and Neptune walked ahead of us. I then saw the keychain that I gave her just dangling from it. She took notice of my face gazing at it.
"Hey…Raiken?" she spoke.
"Hm?"
"I really want to learn how you can make stuff like the keychain you gave me…" she replied, softening her grip on my hand.
"Really? T-That's just a side hobby that I do when I don't have any Gunpla or figure around me to mess around with. And I have a lot of collections back home, so…" I bowed.
"I-I see...if you have time, can you please show me?" she smiled.
"Sure. Would you like to see me make it at home or in your Basilicom?"
"I would love to see your place too…I-I'm sorry for suddenly asking…"
"It's okay. It's been long since I ever had friends come over to my place…" I mumbled.
"O-Oh…don't you have any friends here in Gamindustri? How about your subordinates?" she asked curiously, and worriedly at that.
"They're all on Earth…so…" I replied softly when we reached the open door.
"I-I see…W-We'll visit you…so you won't feel lonely…" she blushed a bit, smiling warmly at me.
"Thank you…I shall look forward to having you at my household then…" I returned the favor as Histoire greeted us warmly and in relief.
"Welcome back, Raiken. You three have done a great job in Nasuune. I have heard of what happened to you there. Are you alright?" the little fairy-sized girl asked.
"Mission was a success, Lady Histoire. I'll collect my pay tomorrow morning when I can walk again…" I replied. I then took a moment of silence when suddenly I heard a voice coming from the other side of the living room.
"Little brother!" someone came rushing to me, it was a familiar girl with brown hair. It was my big sister Naomi.
"O-Onee-chan…" I lifted my head up in calm surprise as she approached me.
"I'm so glad you're alright…geez, where have you all been? When you didn't come home, I was so worried I had to call the Basilicom…and…and…!" I could definitely tell she was panicking since last night.
"Relax…we're still alive, right? That's what's important to me right now…It's okay…" I gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, then she suddenly gave me (and Nepgear) a tight hug.
"I'm so glad…so glad…" she felt like our mother at that moment.
20 minutes later, we were all at the living room, seated on the sofas. Nepgear sat beside me after settling down cups of tea and various sweets. IF and Compa are in the kitchen cooking stir-fry tempura and vegetable stir fry with kikomai soy sauce. I narrated the whole story to Naomi and Histoire from our perspective as to what happened to us in Nasuune.
Needless to say, they were thoroughly impressed.
After that…
"Again, good work, both of you and Raiken…You deserve a good rest for tomorrow." Histoire told the three of us as we drink our tea, eating cookies.
"Thank you, Histy!" Neptune, finally reverted back to her human form, replied. "Man, it's been a long while since I stayed in HDD for a long period of time."
"Yeah, I noticed. You don't usually stay in HDD for that long…" Nepgear spoke.
"Yeah, well in this fic my HDD form shall take the limelight a lot…Writer-san sure loves my HDD form…" she went full meta on the writer for a second—oh…now I did it too.
"So, this is Lady Neptune in human form…" Naomi mumbled to herself. "She's so cute! Her Goddess form is very sexy and alluring, but this is pretty attractive too!"
"O-Onee-chan…" Nepgear mumbled under her breath.
"Anyways! Hey Raiken, wanna play some games with me?" Neptune grinned at me, pointing over to the TV.
"Uhh…sure…a bit later, alright?" I sheepishly replied, a bit nervous as I am not used to her human form that much.
"Neptune, Raiken needs to rest. You must consider his present condition, as he is still in a state of recovery." Histoire butted in.
"Raiken, are you gonna be alright?..." Naomi turned to me in concern.
"Yeah…I just don't wanna walk too much right now…" I replied with a smile.
"Goodness…if only I could drive, and have a license of my own, I could just drive you home easy…" she grumbled a bit.
"Hey…It's alright…" I calmed her.
"Well, I actually have a business trip in Lowee after 2 days. I'll be out for…2 weeks. So, I'm leaving the house to you when I leave." she narrated.
"Really? Wow…you'll be in Lady Blanc's nation…" I rubbed my chin a little.
"Since you can't walk, you're gonna have to stay with them for a while. I have asked Lady Histoire's permission. I'll have to pick you up in the morning, bring you back home and leave the place to you." she checked on her phone while she continued.
"And hey, you can bring the CPUs with you if you like. She also said it was okay. You all deserve a good break for defending a critical area like Nasuune." she said in a teasing way.
"A-Ah! D-Does that mean…?!"
"Yes." Histoire replied. "In fact, Commander in Chief Craig Dameron and I had discussed another idea for the CPUs to learn from Raiken's example." she added.
"W-What do you mean, Lady Histoire?" I asked,
"Well, we're all gonna work our butts off again anyway…" Neptune slouched over, not enthusiastic about what Histoire was about to say, for now.
"O-Onee-chan…" Nepgear once again mumbled under her breath.
"I have discussed about the current downward trend of Shares in all nations. The CPUs appear to have lost their enthusiasm for work slowly and slowly, they are becoming stagnant." she wears her glasses, showing us a graph that shows the slight downward curve of the results.
"W-Whoa…even the others too?..." Nepgear was surprised.
"Wow…we must do something about this…" I mumbled.
"Which is why we have decided…
that the CPUs shall work and learn under you, Raiken."
Everyone else looked at me in shock. "EEEEEEEEEEHHH!?"
Even I was surprised myself. Why me of all people? Why did they choose me? What have I accomplished to receive this responsibility? I was dumbfounded.
"This is also to integrate a very strong bond between Gamindustri and Earth. If the results of Raiken handling the CPUs are exemplary, all four nations will be able to receive more benefits from Earth, as we are a smaller planet than theirs." Histoire further explains.
"Wait…so basically, we're gonna stay with Raiken, have fun and train with him, do stuffs that he does and more?!" Neptune's eyes widen.
"Yep! You'll be staying at our place for the time being! And you all get a room to share. Raiken's room is separate though!" Naomi interjected.
"WOOOOOW! THAT'S WAY PAST COOL!" Neptune, did you just reference that blue hedgehog?
"Wow! I-I get to stay at Raiken's mansion?...That's great! Yay, I can finally check out how Raiken and Naomi live their lives together!" Nepgear was very excited to say the least, I could tell from the expression of her face.
"Mhmhmhmhm!" Naomi chuckled. "I'm also very excited because all the CPUs are going to be under our roof. Man, little brother. Our house is going to be quite lively…"
"I-I know, right…wow…" I was still pretty shocked. "T-This is going to be quite interesting."
IF and Compa come out of the kitchen, trays of food in their hands. "Dinner's ready!" Compa called out.
"Ah. Everyone, let us all proceed to the dining table." Histoire smiled and floated on her tome onward to the table.
During dinner…
"Man…this stuff is delicious!" I commented. "You're quite good at making this, IF." I added as I munched away gently on my food.
"T-T-T-Thanks! W-Wow…he complimented me!" she mumbled.
"Oh, Iffy. We both made this together for everyone, so I'm sure it will satisfy." Compa commented.
"Wow…this vegetable stir fry is quite raunchy. I like it!" Nepgear commented as she gets a bit of some Karachi mayonnaise on the side.
"MMMM! As expected of Iffy! Top chef quality that would even impress Gordon Nepsay!" Neptune raised her arms in the air with praise.
"Uhh, on Earth, its Gordon Ramsay, Lady Neptune." Naomi replied to her.
"O-Oh…" the upbeat CPU replied with a low tone.
"T-Thanks…Glad you like my cooking!" IF smiled proudly.
"It is quite a nice thing to have a taste of IF's cuisine every now and then." Histoire commented back.
"Yeah…I agree…" I said as I ate some of her tempura dipped in kikkomai sauce. "I want to return the favor to you if I have the chance…" I looked at her. She smiled.
"It's alright, Raiken. Anytime." IF said.
"Man…I just love the tempura…God…c-can anyone please pass me the Karachi mayonnaise?" I asked softly, as Compa hands it over to me with a cute bounce.
"Here you go!"
"Thank you."
"Hey, Raiken! Since you're commando and all, you do espionage missions too, right?!" Neptune suddenly asked out of the blue.
"H-Huh?" I was a bit surprised.
"You know, you do those spy missions, or like assassinations and stuff?" she asked again.
"Now that you mention it, you do work for higher-ranking missions, right?" Nepgear also joined in.
"Yes. I do espionage missions, assassinations and stealth missions. It's basically one of the more crucial jobs that I take." I replied.
Wow. I never thought Neptune could ask these serious questions…
Until she whispered this to my ear:
"Mind if you teach me your techniques?" my statements were immediately invalid. "I wanna learn how you get away with being caught by enemies and stuff…" she continued.
I can only shake my head slightly in disapproval, as I immediately knew what she would use the skills I would train her with for. And I fully expected her to learn a bit of my knowledge to good use. I was majorly wrong.
"N-Neptune? What did you ask him?" Nepgear asked her.
"Oh, it's nothing, my sweet lil' sis!" Neptune nudged me on the elbow as if she tells me not to tell anyone. Due to my code of honor to never spill secrets, I kept silent and continued on eating.
A bit later, again…
"Raiken, I left you some clothes and your laptop. Your cellphone is with you, yeah?" Naomi placed my knapsack beside the couch after she checked its contents. "I think I'll go home now. I have to finish up my papers." she stood up from the couch and went to the ladies to say goodbye. Unfortunately, IF and Compa had to go back to their homes too.
"I shall be going now, ladies. It has been nice meeting you all! Raiken, take good care of yourself, okay? Don't cause any trouble now." she winked. "Good night!" she waved at us as she left.
"Us too. Later, Raiken, Nep, Gear, Histoire! See you tomorrow!" IF shouted as Compa waves goodbye, closing the door.
"Thanks for coming!" we all responded. "Wow. She never ceases to keep me in check…" I mumbled.
"Well, it's what a sister is supposed to do for her younger siblings after all, Raiken. She has to take good care of you…" Nepgear tilts her head a bit cutely as she stares out the window.
"…I agree…sometimes she pushes herself, you know…it runs in the family sometimes." I replied.
"R-Really? Well, you shouldn't really push yourself…it would hurt you and sometimes others…" she responded back. Histoire joins in.
"I completely agree, Raiken. Had you not push yourself anymore than what happened, then you would have been in a more critical condition…" said the blonde fairy floating on her tome.
"…Heh." was my only response.
"Anyways, Histoire. Does Raiken have a room he can stay in?" Nepgear asked her.
"A-Ah…about that…" Histoire turned away a bit.
"I-I can just sleep on the couch…I do not want to ruin my reputation by sleeping in a girl's room…" I spoke up hesitantly
"But Raiken, it's not quite a good place to sleep in…" Histoire responded with a worried tone. She sounded like a mother to say the least, reminding me of my own mother.
"Then…why can't he stay in my room? I'll get a futon ready for him…" Nepgear replied, shocking the two of us, and Neptune, who just recently joined in.
"W-Wait, wait, are you nepping serious, Nep. Jr?!" Neptune shockingly asked.
"W-Wait…everyone, please calm down…" I tried to protest. "I-I won't do anything bad, I promise…!" I sighed. "Geez…" I scratched my head, sighing again when I remembered about the time I slept on a futon with my sister during a review for college work.
"A-A-Are you sure, Raiken? Are you sure we can trust you?" Histoire curiously inquired.
"…" I sighed, taking out a beam pistol, holding it by the barrel.
"W-Whoa!" Neptune gasped.
"…just so I can prove to you that you can trust me, I'll leave this gun to any of you two. If Nepgear tells you that I did something terrible…" I smiled. "…you can land a beam on my knee."
"H-Huh? W-W-Why would we do that to a cool male protagonist like you?!" Neptune proclaimed.
"Raiken…there is no need for such brash methods…in that case, we do believe you. You are a man of honor, as Craig has told me…just a tiny bit too much, I may add." Histoire replied.
"Alright then…Lady Nepgear…I'll…stay in your room then…" I bowed my head bashfully, Nepgear does the same thing before going to the room and preparing the futon for me to lie on.
"Well then, I shall do some more papers, and then head off to bed. Good night, Neptune, Raiken." Histoire bowed as well before leaving towards her room.
"…Well then…save the games for tomorrow, Lady Neptune. I'll be sure to play with you, okay?" I turned to the short-haired CPU with a smile.
"Sure…Hey, mind if I ask ya something?" Neptune smiled back.
"Do you like Nepgear?"
That question suddenly hits me like a bullet, shocking me a little bit.
I have never been asked about such a question ever since a few years ago, so it was a bit of a refresher for me. I never felt so nervous answering such a question ever since I layed my eyes on a girl during my college days.
It was part of a past I couldn't forget. And it was a good part of it, I may add.
"H-Huh?" I bashfully responded, Neptune showing off her suspicious smirk.
"Heheheh! I know you like my dear little sister. Hey, it says in the title of this fic!" God, did she just go meta again? And how was she accurate with that?!
Anyway…
"Uhh…why are you asking me this?..."
"Because…I notice you two are always going red and stuff whenever either you or Nep Jr. does something nice to each other." Neptune answered me seriously.
"I…I don't really…" I bowed my head, trying to avoid her curious gaze. Neptune chuckles.
"Aww, come on dude! It's fine! Share your thoughts with little ol' Nep-Nep! We're buddies, so you can open stuff up about anything!" she sat beside me on the couch.
"…You're her sister…what I think of her may affect the way you look at me…" I bowed a bit more as I said those words in a depressing tone.
"Nah, it won't! You're the protag! You have that plot armor on ya." she gave me a pat on the back. "Come on. Pleeeeeeease?" she begged, attempting to be cute, which did affect me a little.
I sighed. "Fine. But..." I lift my head up a little.
"But…" she tilted her head.
"I want you to keep this absolutely between ourselves…Promise me you'll keep it a secret. Okay?" I turned to her slowly as the fringe of my hair encompasses my eyes a little.
"You're mah buddy now, bro! I promise…I won't break the code of honor, or whatever…" she bowed cutely as she sat a bit closer.
Feeling reassured, a little due to her cuteness though, I finally opened up my mind.
"You see…Lady Nepgear to me is someone special. Someone I want to protect…Now I know, we only just met and stuff, but immediately I felt how sweet and caring she is. Remember the time after battle at the Nasuune Caves?" I lowered my gaze downward. "She was concerned…worried…she wanted to take care of us both…"
"Uh-huh, and you passed out and all, bleeding to death and stuff. But you recovered and all and yadda yadda…" she replied.
"Yeah…I actually felt her presence when I was half-conscious…when you two entered the room…and I felt her hand holding mine…"
"Oh! So…you knew that she held your hand? How can you be sure-o that it was lil' Jr.?" she asked.
"Yeah...I felt her kindness piercing through my heart. I can feel her sadness when she saw me in such a sorry state." I leaned on the couch a little bit.
Neptune's face slowly becomes more serious and inquisitive as she listened to me, I can feel her empathy as she nodded after every sentence I made.
"You see, I'm actually battling depression…" she lifted her head up as she heard me saying those words.
"D-Depression?..." her eyebrows turned up as her concern towards me suddenly heightened up.
"Yeah…in every battle that I partake in, be it in space or on the ground, there are people who survive, people who die…well…the latter, I feel that I could have done something for them. And, the weight of the losses of families everywhere just takes its toll on me." I sadly explained.
"So…the death of every soldier is a big thing to you?" she silently asked.
"Yes. The feeling of loss…You see…
I have lost loved ones in the war…"
"…Dude…" she bowed her head, her upbeat persona held back for a moment, feelings of sympathy begin to surface.
"My mother died protecting the three of us…me, my older sister and my older brother…My father sacrificed his life to protect our planet in a monumental scale…" I continued as memories flashed through my mind.
"I…I'm kinda shocked, dude…I-I'm sorry to hear that…It must've been quite a toughie for you." she patted me on the back again as she notices me slouching back down.
"Yeah. It is…you know that feeling of loneliness after friends have fallen? The feeling that you could have done something…to save them, to protect them…because you treasure them so much…Yeah…those feelings never left me until now…and I'm trying my best to avoid it by protecting those who I treat as great friends, like you guys for example." I smiled sadly.
"I just think…I'm not worthy to uphold my ideals as a Gundam Meister…" I mumbled as Neptune lifted her head up after a brief moment of silence.
"I see…well, the thing is, dude, you're a pretty cool guy. Your mommy and daddy are always gonna be proud of ya because look at the coolness you achieved! Look at the numerous accomplishments ya got! I know, we CPUs do not have parents and stuff, but I know they're happy for you…wherever they are…" it took me a bit to process those words, as they motivated me a little.
"Thank you…" I smiled again, this time with a more enthusiastic feel. "I'm glad I got to open up these feelings to you. I'm grateful." I continued.
"Yeah, you got us now! You can rely on me, ya know." she returned to her upbeat personality after she said so. "Sooooo yeah!"
I chuckled a little. "Wow, your cheerful persona is actually kinda helping here. Hey, thanks for helping a buddy out. I don't really feel alone anymore, so it's rather nostalgic for me to be surrounded with friends…"
"Yeah…well, your loneliness has a reason though. Your loneliness, well, it's different from Noire's loner nature and stubbornness, so…" she beamed a wide smile.
"R-Really? Wow…and I thought her tsundere nature was already quite a dilemma to begin with…" I awkwardly smiled.
[Noire's P.O.V.]
"A-Achoo!" I sneezed hard while was typing in some documents.
Uni approached me after she placed a pile of papers on the side table. "Are you okay, Noire? Do you have a cold or something?"
"I-I'm fine, Uni…though I feel like someone is talking about me…ah…and it ain't a good feeling…" I shook my head, rubbing the top with my head with my other hand. Uni just shrugs as she continued assisting me with my work.
Whoever it was that was talking about me…it felt ominous…disturbing…
[Nepgear's P.O.V.]
While I was preparing Raiken's futon, a lot of emotions suddenly race through my mind.
I could feel my heart racing, beating so much to the point I felt like I could explode at any moment.
Raiken will be sleeping in my room…it embarrasses me a lot because I have never slept in a room with anyone else other than Neptune or any of my friends.
It feels different, not only because that Raiken is a guy, but also because that I'm beginning to have feelings for him. His actions from the very start of our friendship, the things that we did together, our talks, even the keychain he gave me…I couldn't get him out of my head.
"Uuuu…Raiken is sleeping in my room…I'm so nervous…I feel like my heart is about to burst out…" I mumbled to myself as I finished placing a pillow on his futon.
I then sat down for a while, slapping myself to get a grip. "N-No, Nepgear…don't be scared…Raiken is trustworthy, right?...He's not 'that' kind of person, right?..." I asked myself, steeling myself with sheer obstinacy from these thoughts.
"Raiken is my friend…he's a great friend…I trust him…I want to trust him so much…I don't want him to feel guilty…" I told myself.
These emotions begin to conflict with me, as I tried to reach a conclusion to these feelings of doubt that I currently have. I can feel Raiken's kindness and willingness, but at the same time, I still feel insecure about this.
"M-Mou…why am I thinking too much? H-He's only going to sleep in this futon and nothing more!" I breathed deeply.
Suddenly, someone knocks on my door.
"A-Ah! C-Coming!" I ran to the door and opened it.
I see the blonde man before me, looking at me with a smile, blushing a bit.
"H-Hey…uhh…this is your room, right?" he looked away, a bit flustered, I may add.
"Y-Yes…P-P-Please…come in…" I replied, bowing my head, hiding my blushing cheeks from his view as he entered inside, carrying his bag. Immediately, I helped him with it "A-Ah! Let me help you with that…"
"T-Thank you…" Raiken replied as he took a look at my room. "W-Wow...a lot of pink just like the lobby, I see…"
"A-Ah…" I chuckled. "Yeah…sorry if it bugs you…"
"No, it's quite alright. No color discrimination for me…" he replied back softly as he stood before the futon.
Then, he suddenly pulled the entire futon to a place beside the glass window panes and curtains.
"R-Raiken? Why did you place the futon there?" I asked in curiosity.
"I like sleeping by the windows…the night light kinda comforts me…" he knelt down, looking for his cellphone in the bag.
"O-Oh…really? Doesn't it scare you?" I approached him.
"No…well, only on Halloween considering the nature of it because my sister and I would often watch horror movies on a marathon every October…" he smiled.
"W-Whoa…that's scary…don't you ever have nightmares of those movies?" I asked again.
"Yeah." he replied. "I do. And it's real scary stuff when you see the horrors for yourself." he finds his phone and opens it.
"I see…" I took notice of his phone. "Hey, what's that phone, Raiken?" I sat next to him, taking a closer look.
"Oh. This is just my Galaxy S7 Edge." he showed it to me as I gently took it from his palms, opening it.
I saw his lock screen protected with a pattern, but his wallpaper was what caught my eye. It was a selfie of him with shorter hair and a very beautiful girl with long brown, wavy hair. She looked so pretty, her smile very genuine.
"O-Oh, Raiken…who is this girl?" I asked curiously. Raiken fell silent for a bit before he answered.
"That's my girlfriend…her name is Kurumi." he replied in a sad tone.
"A-Ah…r-really? She's so pretty…" I gazed into the beauty of her smile.
"…Yeah. She was someone I can never forget…" I took notice of the word "was" in his sentence.
"W-Was?" I asked. "W-What happened between you two?..." I shouldn't have asked that question as Raiken fell in silence once again.
"…she's no longer here anymore." he mumbled in a tone that I can never get out from my head as I gasped in shock.
"…you mean…she's…?" I felt a twinge of concern as I tried to ask him.
"…Yeah. She died 2 years ago…" he looked away, out the window, trying to hold back the tears as he said it with a crack in his tone.
"I-I'm so sorry…" I sympathize with him, and I could feel his pain as he said those words. I felt that it was a tragedy he could never overcome.
Raiken shuddered a bit, I could feel he was about to cry.
"R-Raiken?" I looked at him closer. He just turned away a bit more.
The thing that worries me about Raiken is that he would always try to hide his tears. It is as if he is embarrassed to cry in front of others. He tries hard to be strong, when in truth, the pain he feels is too much to bear. He looks as if he would break down at any minute. He only hid it with a façade of little to no emotion. He's actually good at it.
I felt kind of sad. All this time, he had been smiling along with us, bonding with us, and we have been through a lot together despite our short time, but deep inside, I have never seen a man so empty, filled with only losses. I wish I could have done something to make him happy...
"I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" Raiken spoke, trying to fake his emotions with a smile.
I then sat closer to him. "L-Lady Nepgear…" Raiken mumbled, as I placed my hand on his shoulder.
"I'm right here…so…please don't think too much about it." I warmly told him.
"…" he stayed a bit quiet for a moment. "You're right. Heh…sorry for making you worry again…" he bowed, smiling sadly.
"It's okay. Friends help each other out…and you're a special friend to me…so…" I blushed a little as I uttered that. Raiken was a bit flustered, though he smiled back.
"Thank you…Oh, look at the time. Maybe you need some sleep. We had a long day, my Lady." he said.
"O-Oh, yes…we should be sleeping…" I thought as well while I stood up and went to my bed. "Good night, Raiken. Thank you for everything today." I said again in a warm tone.
Raiken said nothing more other than "Good night, Lady Nepgear…" before going to sleep, facing against the window.
-To be continued-
A/N: Hello again, everyone! Welcome back to RaiXGear. Well, I have come quite a long way. Thanks to all the readers out there who took the time to read through this all the way, and those who have just started, welcome! Though, go back to Chapter 1 then follow through before reaching this part of my milestone.
I would love to hear more comments and suggestions from all of you. It would really help me develop this story and improve on some flaws that I currently have, like repetitive words and stuff. As long as you're not being a total asshole about it, I'm okay with your comment.
Again, to those who would like to help me get more inspiration through roleplay on Facebook (which is the main place I go to), don't hesitate, cause you can hit me up on my inbox. Don't worry, there's only one rule I would like to emphasize: NO OVERPOWERED CHARACTERS please. That's it. Anyone who can RP good as Nepgear, it would be really nice if you help me out in getting some inspiration.
I would also like to announce that Chapter 14 is already underway, like 1000+ words as of this typing. It's coming along smoothly. I hope you're all looking forward to it. It'll be done in a couple of days...hopefully, if I'm not lazy.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter! Sayonara!