46 Massage Treatment (1)

Having gone their separate ways from Arrynn, Dan and Kate travel in silence as they continue to walk back deeper into the city of Luminous. Unlike its previous lively atmosphere during the morning and afternoon, the current streets of Luminous have been quieter than they have ever been before. Ever since the sudden appearance of a 'Space Rift' opening right in the middle of town, the public turned fearful because of it. Who is to say that another 'Space Rift' might not open in the city once more? As the fear of the unknown continues to pile up, most of the public, having been released from the shelters, quickly went home as soon as possible. None of them wanted anything to do with Luminous for the time being.

Having been cordoned by the OERF, Bright Square has been completely evacuated of any civilians. Only the scene of various important looking personnels with extremely advanced equipment could be seen traveling back and forth through the cordoned-off perimeter. The only ones brave enough to stay around to watch all of this take place are news crews hoping to get first dibs on the biggest scoop for the companies they work for.

While still carrying the injured Kate on his back, Dan trudges on while ignoring everything happening around him. While it's true that the number of people in the city now is lesser than normal, there are still many stores continuing to run their business as usual. With the sun setting in the background, Dan walks forth to the still illuminated portions of the city that gives Luminous its name.

"… Are you really going to bring me to a doctor like you told Arryn?" Having been silent for a while, Kate opens her mouth to ask Dan of his intentions.

"I don't think it's something you really need, do you? You understand, right? It's your favorite." Dan answers back as he turns his head to look at Kate with a meaningful expression.

Understanding what he meant, Kate's face becomes red from embarrassment. As if to hide it, Kate could be felt squirming around on Dan's back in protest. While it wasn't her intention, Kate's well-rounded breast pressed on Dan's back as a result. Dan decided to tactfully not point it out to her.

"What do you mean 'my favorite'? Is it fun to tease me like that?"

"Haha, sorry. I'm sorry."

"Geez!"

"Haha----!"

Dan continues to laugh at Kate's protest, seeing her actions as cute. Kate, seeing that she is being laughed at, pouts even more as a result. This continued for a while before Dan was able to finally calm down.

"Well, putting the 'favorite' part aside, we should really get you healed. It's inconvenient. isn't it? Not being able to walk."

"Eh? W-well, I wouldn't say it's that inconvenient… I mean it's pretty comfortable like this…"

"Hm? Sorry, what did you say in the last part?"

With Kate trailing off her words into a whisper, Dan had completely missed what she said. Feeling slightly apologetic, Dan asked Kate to repeat back what she said. Flustered from being asked, Kate tried to forcefully change the subject.

"N-nothing! Nothing at all! Now that I think about it, it is pretty inconvenient. I should probably get it healed quickly. Yep!"

"…Didn't you say it wasn't inconvenient before? Not that it matters…"

Dan was somewhat nonplussed by Kate's strange attitude change. Afterward, he thought it wasn't worth pursuing it so he dropped the subject.

Kate let out a small sigh of relief. It was then Kate decided to hesitantly asked, "… Um, well, so about that 'massage treatment'… are you planning on doing outside again?"

"You don't want to?"

"I mean… you know. Although there aren't many people around right now, I feel like its better to… avoid it? You know what happened before."

Kate was referring to the incident where Lexi had discovered both of them in the 'act'. Remembering that time, Dan nodded his head in understanding.

"That did happen, alright. Well, this whole thing probably would've ended much earlier we did it at the shelter. If you had just endured for a little bit, it would be all over sooner than you think."

"Nope. Not happening. That's impossible. I can't possibly hold in my voice in that situation. Don't play dumb with me. I know that you're just gonna get carried away and force to moan anyways."

"Hm, I can't deny that."

Remember the little 'prank' he did on Kate at the movie theater, Dan can't help but admit it was something he might do. Kate looked at Dan with a, 'You see?'-kind of face.

"Well, putting that aside, don't worry Kate. In the first place, I wasn't gonna do it outside at all. It's getting cold after all. It's dark too."

"? Then where were you planning on going?"

"Did you forget, Kate? We are still on a 'date', you know?"

"Ah…"

Kate truly did completely forget about the 'date'. It's understandable why she did. With all the things going on in that afternoon, other memories they made that day would have probably popped out of existence for most people. It wasn't until Dan reminded her that she would've remembered at all until she got back in her dorm.

"That is true… but what does that have to do----?"

"A pair of a young man and woman…in the day they had a nice atmosphere together… now walking together through the city streets at night… there is only one thing left they could possibly be doing."

"… You want to do… that?"

"You don't want to?"

In the same tone he used before, Dan asked Kate once again of her intentions. Hesitating, Kate looked lost as she is trying to find the right words to say. However, Kate never even once looked like she disliked the idea.

"… I want to do it."

"Then it's settled."

"But, where do you plan on going? If we go now, it's probably gonna cost a lot."

"Hehe~ I don't think you need to worry about that."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Now, now. Seeing is believing as I always say."

"… I haven't ever heard you say that phrase even once until now."

"Hey, it's one of those times you should ignore small details like that."

.

.

"Oho~ quite a nice room we got here."

"It's true…it looks kind of amazing."

Both Dan and Kate looked all around them in excitement as though they were children on their first field trip. Currently, both Dan and Kate are standing at the entrance of their hotel suite room they had ordered for a one-night stay. Having decided to stay at a hotel overnight, Dan randomly looked for one of the nearest nicest hotels he could find. Reading the name Bright Star Hotel, Dan immediately went inside without hesitation.

Checking in at the front desk, Dan talked to the receptionist to request a one-night stay at their hotel. According to the receptionist, due to a sudden influx of guests leaving the hotel, they currently have many open rooms available for both of them to choose from. That was not all. Due to the fact that the 'Space Rift' incident happened so near to where the hotel is, they are offering a limited time huge discount for all guests staying at their hotel for this night only. As a result, the couple was able to book a hotel room at a price so low they had to make sure that it was okay at first. While Dan did predict such a thing would probably happen when he chose to stay at a hotel tonight, he had expected the rates to be as low as this. Not wanting to miss this chance, Dan immediately asked the receptionist to book them for their nicest single bedroom suites they have available. As luck would have it, Dan was able to get his request pass through quite easily. As per usual, once both Dan and Kate paid their share of the price they took the keys for their room, and here they are in the present.

What Dan and Kate didn't know was that Bright Star Hotel was one of the most sought out hotels in all of Luminous. Despite its comparatively small size against other luxurious hotels, it makes up for its top-notch service, beautiful interior designs, and its wide variety of leisure facilities they offer to their guest. Throughout the entire year, rooms that have not been booked online yet are rare. Even rooms left for guests who first check-in at the front desk get filled in instantly if people aren't fast enough. Normally, it would have taken weeks if not months of prior reservation time before the two of them could've gotten the chance to even stay at this hotel. Had it not been for guests leaving the hotel in droves (probably due to feeling danger from having a 'Space Rift' open so near them) both of them wouldn't be here. However, fate does funny things sometimes.

"Here. I'm gonna drop you off."

After taking his shoes off at the entrance, Dan carried Kate near the bed before slowly lowering her down onto it.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Dan sat down on the nearest chair as he let out a deep sigh. Seeing how tired Dan looks, Kate began to feel apologetic.

"Sorry. Was I too heavy?"

"Hm… no that's not it. You are quite light. It's just... carrying you around for so long just makes me want to stretch out a bit. Don't worry I'm pretty tough."

As if to appeal he is okay, Dan lifted his right arm while patting his bicep with his left.

"I see. Then it's fine/"

"Seriously though, look at this room. This is the first time I have ever been in a suite room before."

"Me too."

Both Dan and Kate looked around the room once again, taking everything in. A large-sized room as expected of a suite room, a large King sized bed placed in the middle, a 65 inch flat-screen TV placed in front of the be, various couches and footstools, nice ambient lighting, and even a large window with a balcony. As they are in a room on the 6th floor, if it had been daytime they would've gotten a nice view of the city.

"… Okay, how about we get started."

"Eh. Now? Can't we relax for a little bit?"

"Well, that's fine. But wouldn't it be better after you get healed first? You can get all the time to relax afterward. Don't worry, I'm not in a hurry to start anything else."

"… Well, that's true."

Realizing the situation she is now in, Kate can't help but feel nervous just now. Although she feels that it's too late for her to feel this way, her feelings just don't stop. As for Dan, on the other hand, he too is not feeling any less nervous about the current situation as Kate is. In an effort to hide it, Dan decided to take control of the situation. Seeing Dan continuing to take charge, Kate meekly left all the decisions up to him.

"Ah, you still have your shoes one, I see."

"Well, it happened since someone brought me directly to the bed without helping me take them off."

"Sorry about that. How about I get to doing that now?"

"… I leave it to you."

Kate appealed to Dan with her feet raised. With gentle movements, Dan slowly removed Kate's shoes off her feet, carefully avoiding hurting her in the process. Once Dan was able to get both shoes off of Kate, he also got his hands on Kate's socks and took them off too.

After freeing both of Kate's feet of her shoes and shocks, Dan carefully placed them at the entrance where he placed his own shoes. Kate, with her bare feet in the air, looked at her swollen ankles along with the cuts and bruises she has all over her legs.

"Does it still hurt?"

"A little. As long as I don't move it, it doesn't' hurt as much."

"I see… well, here I go."

".... Yeah."