Well, something unthinkable would be performing a really dangerous act that may cause me to lose my v.vizard powers!
Dad once said that when a v.vizard loses his power, it should be easy to recognise because when that happens, the whole body would feel weak, and there would be evil, mysterious voices in the back of your head, chanting and cursing us repeatedly. So basically, whatever I'm doing, I have to feel this feeling in order for it to count as a success!
... I mean, yeah, it's been a recurring theme in some of those action novels and sequences, where the protagonist would reach the very edge of losing his powers, and rebound back like a rubber ball, with a lot more power than before. I'm not sure how well that would work in real life, but it ought to be worth a shot.
... But, what ever can I do? I mean, there's no actual danger I'm experiencing, like 'choosing between murdering a murderer or letting the victim die' kind of situation. How should I proceed with understanding more about my v.vizard powers? I've only been stuck in such a dilemma once. The odds of being robbed again by some random highwayman is really low, especially since I haven't received any temporary transfers to other scrap processing plants for so long now.
... Speaking of v.vizard powers in danger, there's still the issue of Homei and her desire to marry me. I'd have to shrug it off somehow, someday, so I guess getting that off my chest as early as possible's a good thing. But, if I just got direct with her, she would most probably get violent on me, and not have me say anymore than I had. It wouldn't be very nice to anger a 15 year old girl, but some things just have to be done.
I'd need to find a way to restrain her, to have her sit through my entire explanation. But how... ? If I bring rope to her house, rumours are going to spread, not to mention that she may end up tying me instead. I'm not THAT good of a v.vizard to restrain her movements, and so long as she stays under the age of 19, I can't even so much as touch her without being called a pedophile.
... A trap's possible, though. Like those kinds of hunters who put traps in the forest to bait the animals into some sort of net, or spring trap that will kill them, or catch them alive for selling, or something.
... A trap...
*** ***
And that's how I ended up in a date with Homei.
Don't get me wrong now - I brought her out to this specific amusement park with spinning teacups, a really huge viking ship, a really high turbo drop and a lot of exhilarating rides so that I could get her on the ones that would make her dizzy. If I can outlast her and stay clear-headed longer than she does, I can probably get her so exhausted that she can't even retaliate, and then tell it all to her when she's limp and weakened.
It's just a pity though - because she thinks that her feelings for me are being reciprocated or something. I feel kind of bad for using her feelings to achieve my own goals, but this is for the sake of my v.vizard powers!
"You ought to smile more, Homei, I'm sure you'd look prettier if you do."
"Forget me, shouldn't you be more worried? A thirty year old grown-up like yourself taking a 15 year old me on a date? I'm not sure whether you're stupid enough to make me feel disgusted, or you're on a new level of gallantry to defy all borders and I should be loving you even more than I already am."
To think that she actually managed to say all of that monotonously is actually a feat I don't think many can accomplish, let alone do naturally.
It's not going to work if she catches on my strategy, though. A more effective strategy would be having her ride her preferred choices, and pretend to be caught up in the hype. "I don't think it's... Actually, I can't decide that for you. Well, we don't have forever, so what would you like to ride on today?"
Homei eyed me a bit, as if trying to catch something odd in my behaviour. I'm glad my poker face is in the least decent enough to fool her. "Let's play the rollercoaster then."
I can never read her thoughts. Never. Not with her face staying consistent and frozen like that, and not with her unmoving eyes. The Han purple hair tied into ponytails made her look a bit more lively, and the beige summer shirt and mauve knee-length skirt combo makes her look slightly more vibrant, but that doesn't change the fact that she's... really tsun.
And so we waited 29 minutes for our turn at the roller coaster. It's a really hard start, because there was this kid in front of us wailing repeatedly and with Homei holding onto my hand and feeling my veins, the entire situation demanded my complete attention... Every second, every minute ticks away ever. So. SLOWLY. I just want it to be over quickly so she can stop touching and grabbing my hand like so. It felt like 2 hours by the time it was our turn.
Well, at least we got payback for the 29 minutes of ear torture, since we saw the kid's cap fly off in front of our eyes during the ride, and that was hilarious. It was so well-timed, I had a hard time holding back from laughing and being smacked by the kid's mom. I didn't think it could have been so fun coming to the amusement park- WAIT, HOLD ON, I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DISTRACTED! I can't enjoy myself and stray from my objective, my v.vizard powers are at stake!
Anyway, Homei didn't scream at all during the roller coaster ride. For all the wrong reasons.
She wasn't frozen in fear or afraid or anything - She was staring right at me the entire ride.
That is actually really creepy when I found out that she was staring right before the climax, and what she had been doing combined with the sensation of lifting off my seat and falling to my death easily made the ride scarier than any haunted houses I've been to.
"... Let's go to the haunted house next."
WAIT, HOLD ON!!! Don't say it so bluntly! If an exciting ride like a roller coaster turned out this awful, I dare not imagine what would have become of it if your creepiness combined with something of the horror genre!
"... Let's not..."
I turned my head away from the haunted house and shut my eyes tight with a frown, not wanting to so much as imagine what would happen if this monster standing next to me collaborated with the haunted house's jumpscares.
"Vance. You're so romantic. I get what you're playing at."
... ? Romantic? How is rejecting her offer romantic?
Homei then proceeded to pull my body in another direction - Specifically, to the direction my head was turned at, towards another attraction.
... Oh my lord. Whose idea was it to build the Tunnel of Love at where I'm facing now?!
This is bad. This might turn out really bad. I just encouraged the relationship by accident. At the rate things go, I would rather take another jab on my bollocks than add any more oil to the fire. I wished she had stood on my left, instead of my right, so she would have seen my face instead of the side I was facing. I wished she wouldn't have spoke in such a monotonous tone all the time, at least that would make me more comfortable to pull this plan off. Well, I have no choice in this matter now. It's now a make-or-break situation.
"Homei, please listen to me-"
? She's... standing still? She's dragged me for about 20 steps already, but now she's looking at a group of boys? Could there be acquaintances amongst them? ... ! Her face is frozen in fear! That definitely means there is something bad going on!
"... Homei?"
She's... not replying...
"Hey, it's that doll from school!" Somehow, hearing that irks me.
The group of boys approached us, looking at her and laughing amongst themselves. I felt Homei's grasp on my left hand strengthen.
"Look at this doll! She thinks she's all high and mighty at school with her 'Ice Queen' status and all! Now she's hanging out with this old geezer!"
I've been called an old geezer by a lot of the students that live near my workplace, so I'm already immune to it, but Homei doesn't seem to take that well... She's not showing it on her face, but the posture she's in definitely tells me she's not feeling comfortable being mocked like this.
"What a (loose around men) bitch! Hanging around old, rich geezers now that normal boys like us are boring?"
"She probably gets some royalty-high treatment at his house in exchange for giving him 'service'! Ahahahahahaha!!"
... These guys are just rude.
Homei's probably taken a lot of such criticism at school, since that's not the first time something like that's happened. Even in the past, when the six of us cousins were playing together, she was considered rather distant compared to the other cousins. Rwanda's teased her a lot in the past, even when I'm not looking, that much I can tell, since his teasing can go overboard without restraint.
Amongst the six cousins, she only talks to Butch and I for casual conversations, and opens up only to me. It's kind of sad, since only the older cousins, Butch and I, have the courtesy to talk to her without mentioning her looks nor mannerisms. It's heartbreaking to know that such a delicate ice flower is about to be crushed.
"... You boys are just rude."
"What'd you say, old geezer?" "You want a fight?" "Who are you to lecture us?"
... Well, boys can only truly mature into men when they have experienced a kind of irreparable pain at least once. They're too young to have opportunities to lose what's really important to them, and regret it, and finally mature into the men of society. I kind of envy them for being this naiive, and with the same intensity, pity them for being too naiive.
The boys are rather aggressive, though. I'd have to scare them off at this rate, since fools like these usually stalk people throughout the entire day.
... Remembering that trick I picked up this Monday, I concentrated on the air. The air present in that entire area of a medium-sized sphere, compressed into a small point.
Let the power swell up, form a bubble from the point... And wha-lah. Loosen my focus, and the air bomb will detonate.
"I'm her cousin, not her mint. I thought boys your age would have matured enough to stop picking on unrelated matters."
I held the bubble in my right hand, and chest pushed it forward. It's a rather cool pose to be doing in public, similar to when Darth Vader manipulated the force. I could sense the bubble travel towards them, and between two of their heads. It's decelerating, but not just enough... Just a little farther...
"You youngsters need to be taught a lesson."
Now! BAM!!! The bubble detonated right behind them, making them all jump in shock.
" "AHHHHHHH!!" "
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"
They had that smug face for an instant when I chest pushed the bubble out, like they saw Darth Vader, in real life. It's to be expected that they would be in absolute shock when something actually happened. That reaction was truly memorable, but I think I may have overdone the bomb a little - The ground caved in just a little bit where it exploded.
"THAT MAN'S A TERRORIST!!!"
"RUN AWAY, RUN AWAY!!!"
Priceless. It's a bit evil of me to be scaring children, but that was awesome. For the first time in my life, I had used my v.vizard powers on people! I'm so excited! All of a sudden, I can't wait to learn all kinds of magic and techniques and play around with them! It's like having my youth restored!
... Is what I'd like to have the luxury and time to think, but Homei's standing next to me, equally shocked. Her expression didn't change, but her hand is now icy cold, and was clutching onto my unmoving left hand, almost as if that left hand was from another creature she recognised and not from me, the monster.
*** ***
Hiding behind the janitor's storage, I briefly explained the world of v.vizards to her, and the real reason why I had called her out today. I figured since I have no reason to actually lie to her, might as well get the problem done with here and now before it snowballs.
"... You would prefer your v.vizard powers over me?"
It's kind of awkward to answer, as always, since Homei's such a direct and straight-forward type.
"I... I can't exactly say that I like you, but I can't say I don't like you either. I view you as my lovely little cousin whose greatest attribute is being painfully honest to everyone, but not to everything. That's... an admirable trait."
She looks sort of sad, yet happy at the same time. I don't know. Her face and tone is still unchanging, so usually one would read her body language to catch on her meanings. But this body posture... I'm not sure if it's happy, sad, or embarrassed.
"... So you're not hating me. That's good. Good. Very good."
... The way she says that monotonously is really freaky.
"Let me ask something - Your chastity would be ruined if we touch, right? Is it already broken?"
I think that's taking it a bit too literally.
"Uhm, not exactly. If it's not initiated by me, if I'm not the aggressor, then it won't be counted as an actual strike because I didn't do it intentionally."
She seemed to nod her head slightly, as if she understood something.
And she just ducked down and something hooked me on my heels and yanked hard, causing me to collide headfirst onto the ground.
*** ***
UNBELIEVABLE!!! SHE SAT ON MY FACE!!!
"My face is not a couch! I know I'm a couch potato, but please don't sit on my face like that!!!"
Now her body's in a shy position! Oh my lord, she's unbelievable! To do something that audacious, then show such a temperate side of herself? Hell if I'd believe that!
"... Take responsibility."
What!?
"What do you mean 'take responsibility'!? YOU sat on my FACE!!!"
"I think you're misunderstanding something here, Vance. I didn't sit on your face. You shoved your face into my private parts."
That's not possible! She just tripped me at one fell swoop, and- ... Wait, wait, the way she phrased that was a bit weird.
In a scenario like this, on rational terms... Everybody would believe Homei's argument, while nobody would have believed mine.
... She's a devil. A demon. She's probably more evil than Satan itself.
"..."
She stares at me, waiting patiently for a reply. This is REALLY a big pinch. There's only two outcomes that can occur in this.
Should I accede to her requests, she would drop the charges, and I would lose my v.vizard powers. But, should I decline, she would quite permanently tattoo a 'pedophile' on my very existence, and I will be ostracised by everyone who has received said news.
... There's only one, actual solution to this.
"... Homei, I would like to make a suggestion."
Homei looked at me intensely, lending all ears to me as usual.
"... When you stay a virgin until 30 years old, and become a v.vizard, uh, I mean, v.vitch, you try playing around with magic, and understand why I'm this troubled by what you're forcing me into now."
She definitely looked surprised, since her head jerked back a little bit, even if her face doesn't change.
"... Look, Homei. When we were young, you would often complain how people can't understand you. You have to understand, that this goes both ways. You need to see things the way they do, just as you want them to see things the way you do. Okay?"
Nodding silently, her eyes actually closed a bit from a 3/4 into half-closed eyes, like she's reflecting on something. Well, that's a relief. The message seemed to have gotten across.
"... In the end, you're the only one who really understands me."
? Her hands are put together now... ?
"Thank you, Vance. I love you."
... Whoa. I was not expecting that. In the least, my load seemed to have lightened a bit, updating Homei about my current status was great... Huh, has she always felt this relieved when she shared things with me?
"We came to this amusement park for you. Let's not ride on the romantic rides, and enjoy ourselves, Homei. Where do you want to go first?"
"... Vance is still a virgin... Hehehehehehe..."
That was the first time she smiled in front of me, albeit maliciously, and that dull-as-dishwater line and the unchanged face haunted me for the rest of the day.
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