Chapter 5

None's POV:

Night time. About the time everyone's asleep. A mysterious figure hovered in the air. Wearing a black hood. It's entire body covered in black robe.

"It's.not.here." It muttered.

The figure stared at the peak of the totem, scanning around the area for his eggs. His head did not even turn.

"It's.not.here." It muttered, again.

This time, a second figure float by. The second figure was slightly shorter than the first.

"How long will ye take, Delta? Are ye not done, yet?" The second figure's speech was somewhat normal.

"The.egg.is.not.here."

"As always, ye have le weirdest hobbies."

"Yours.is.weird.er.than.mine. Tor.tur.ing.,.what.is.so.fun.with.that.?. Do.you.like.di.sect.ing.ants?

"Ye'll never know le true pleasure, Delta. Forget le eggs, we're in a hurry."

"They.are.sto.len. I.can't.leave.it. It.will.cause.pro.blems.and.un.ba.lance."

"Forget it, Delta. Ye can't find it, anyway. We'll ask Psi what to do so just hurry up. It's only 88 more days before our deadline. We still need ye to complete stage 15 and 16."

"Psi.,.yes.,.I'll.ask.her."

With that, the two hooded figures accelerated and was gone within a few seconds.

~~

Hajime's POV:

The bright sunlight shining on my face was the first cue I received telling me to wake up. I completely ignored it.

My second cue is...

"WAKE UPPP!" Kenji shouted at the top of his lungs, right to my ear.

"Not even my shout can wake this guy up?" Kenji method always worked.

"No, I think his soul's completely escaped his body. You overdone it, Kenji." Haruto pointed at my faceless expression.

"I'm awake." My ears were still echoing with Kenji's voice.

"I can't believe you actually got stuck on your first night." Kenji said.

"Didn't you guys die on the same day as I did?"

"We were provided with information the moment we got here. I was planning to explain all the details to everyone at the dormitory but you were missing."

"My bad. So what'd I miss?"

"You miss quite a lot." Haruto said, "Kenji assigned me to fill you in on the information. You were the only guy who wasn't there, afterall."

"For now, everyone gets 6 days worth of complete free time to explore around the lobby and do as they want. Death isn't something anyone just get over in a day. My teammates need time to heal."

Haruto filled me in on the rest of the details.

So Kenji's now in charge over our clan because Yamada isn't here. There is a massive training ground just behind the dormitory. We are to meet there after 6 days and prepare ourselves for the official launch.

Quite a number of people decided to quit our clan. Some have their own special circumstances, some are terrified for life, but most of them lost trust for Yamada. They couldn't be bothered to still follow him after dying.

Right now, anyone in the higher-ups with an assigned rank and all first-class hunters who have recovered from the trauma are to help with information gathering.

Since this place is the land of dead, there are all kinds of people around. Some from other clans and others from unknown backgrounds. We need all the new information we can have from anyone so we can better prepare ourselves.

Haruto is also assigned an extra task: search for information on the library. This task is just an extra. Afterall, the informations contained in the library aren't about Worlds at all.

Since we are already in the library, I showed him around the place. I got the hang of all the curves and sections in just one night. It was the only thing I could do, anyway.

For some reason, the fireplace is lit. I asked Haruto about it and he said it was lit before they came in. We settled down on a table, each of us with a book.

His was "The Bible" the thickest book I could find since he said "bring it on."

And mine is "My Small Shark Can't be This Cute." This is definitely a novel. It's not the reincarnation novels I remember but I can differentiate novels from those lesser books.

Now then, while me and Haruto enjoy our leisurely time. Sorry, while I enjoy my leisurely time, I'll update you on what happened last night.

After leaving the archives, the first thing I did was explore the entirety of the library. I was kind of interrupted halfway.

Next, I looked around for the book that would pique my interest. I ended up choosing over 437 of them piling up in one corner of the library that was surprisingly hidden.

To be honest, I don't even know what the books are. The titles just seem like something I would read.

I also picked books with any words relating to Worlds such as "fire, runes, goblins. etc." Haruto might want to check those out after he finishes his "The Bible."

For last night, I was able to learn what highschool is. Their system of teaching and knowledge distribution were effective. I planned on letting Kenji know, it could greatly increase our time management and output.

I also read a couple of novels. These novels were differentiated with "genres." If I were to have a genre for our situation right now, it would be fantasy or game.

Of course I didn't actually read the entire novel. One book could very well take up the whole night. I simply skipped and stopped whenever I feel like it. Spending not more than 30 minutes on a single book.

And from the information I gathered on these novels. Besides monsters like centaurs, lich, and hydras, there are also other races that's never heard of such as elves, vampires, and dwarves. This is really useful information as almost every fantasy novel I read have a majority if not all of these monsters.

I already knew plenty of monster types from the novels I read before being dragged into the beta-testing, but occasionally I would still find new species that I've never seen before. These species are most of the times exclusive to their stories and play a major role.

I also read about eggs. How to hatch eggs. I tried all the methods possible with my resources. Even though I learned the constant temperature and humidity required to hatch the egg, there's no way for me to control nor measure heat in the lobby. The person writing this book has some very interesting tools.

I also learned about candling. It's putting a light source underneath the egg to see it's embryo's growth progress. The blue flames are too hot to control so I scratched that idea.

One more thing I learned before I went to bed was runes. Simply put, runes are written alphabets of some kingdom based on the book. There is not much information on it other than it's history.

However, I also read a sci-fi version of runes. I never know whether these stories are real or not. A part of me tells me they are just fiction, but right now they are the closest information to reality that I can find.

In this story, runes are considered ancient magic stones each with their own supernatural powers and energy. It started with a group of "scientists" exploring a newly discovered cave and ended the story with their world ending after "countries" clashed together with rune-powered machineries.

These "scientists" were a stupid bunch. They made multiple grave mistakes throughout the story. Venturing into a cave without any experience. They weren't even prepared. Next, was creating the runic weapons, a spy among them stole it and caused destructions around the world. And lastly, it was creating more runic weapons to stop runic weapons. This was their only logical option left, but it ultimately led them and the entire world to it's doom.

What interested me, was the fact these runes are engraved in stones. They have weird symbols as described in the book, but none of them had runes engraved on their fingers. It was the same with another book I read. This led me to believe it's only exclusive to Worlds. Or there's just a book out there about it that I haven't found, yet.

Right now I just about finished reading "My Small Shark Can't be This Cute." There wasn't many useful information. I should've expected as much. How's Haruto coming along?

I lifted my head to check on him. He's actually absorbed into the world of "The Bible."

He looks silly holding a thousand pages with one hand and a few dozen thin pages on the other. At this pace, it's gonna take him an entire month to finish that thing.

I just remembered an important information I left out. That flat chest snuck into the library last night. She needed the bathroom, apparently. Watching her fidget as she cross over to my territory was pretty hilarious.

To begin with, the library is a public domain. Calling it my territory isn't really accurate. Besides, it's just a little game I decided to go along with.

Being the understanding and considerate person that I am, I decided to let her off the hook. Who knew she'd actually climb the stairs. We had a short one to one fight after and fulfilled her part of the promise.

For what I made her do, that remains a secret. It did make her mad, though. She just left, without even looking back at me.

Speaking of the Goddess of Flat, there she is. She climbed the stairs before I knew it and sat on the table adjacent to ours.

She didn't even look at us, as if we're nonexistent. Is she still mad about yesterday? She sat down and opened the book she brought. "Anatomy of the Human Heart," that's an interesting subject.

She covered her face with the book, as if trying to block me away from her vision. Did she saw me looking at her? She must be really mad.

The day went on, and before I knew it, the sun is about to set, once again. I read a good portion of books and Haruto...

"You're already done with half of that? Did you skip a huge chunk or something?"

"No," Haruto replied, "It took some time for me to adjust to the new words, but after that, it was easy to understand."

"You read through half the book without skipping and understood it all?"

He nodded.

"Are you a genius or something?"

"I feel like I've done it before. Reading."

"That's like a thousand pages, man. You finished half of it in a day? Seriously?"

He nodded.

In any case, it's late now. I don't really care about sleeping in the library but I want to scout around the dormitory. I stood up, Haruto had the same idea so he stood up, too.

Flat chest already left an hour ago. She wasn't able to head into the archives because Haruto was around.

"Let's go." Haruto said. With "The Bible" in his hand.

He's bringing that, huh?

"Did you find anything useful from that?" I asked him.

"No, it's about the creation of mankind and the history from there on."

"So why are you still reading it?"

"There might be important information hidden somewhere within the pages."

"At this point, you won't make any progress," is what I wanted to say. But with his reading speed, it's a better method than mine. The other books aren't even a tenth of that book, not to mention the letters in "The Bible" are twice as small as the others. He can completely finish reading 10 books everyday.

I brought a book, too. "What Games Look Like to Non-Gamers" I had already read other books about games prior to this one. The concept is exactly the same as the system.However, unlike the system...

"Profile," I swiped the air and looked at my profile.

>User:Hajime

>Title:Beta-Tester

>Class:Null

>Rune:Null

>Mastery:Null

>You have no Mail.

There are no statistics. All the games show stats like strength, magic, and stamina. These defines the areas you are strong at, leveling up lets you apply points to it. There is no such thing as leveling up in this system. Meaning you won't suddenly get a huge boost just because you killed some monsters.

Novel protagonists have it easy, don't they?

"Why are you staring at your profile all of a sudden?" Haruto asked.

"It's just it's so vague."

"No way, do you believe they'll just conveniently spell everything out for you? We're already lucky to be able to have any information at all."

True. Despite being inferior in information, it's already helped us by a huge margin when we first started out. The only way to see a title buff is to ask the system. The same applies for class.

Not the mention, we would occasionally receive mails that provide us with important information when we unlock something. Dying is one example. We all received a mail explaining our situation in the lobby.

"We're here." Haruto said.

It's the same as last time. A huge building that's more wide than tall. Haruto walked inside and I followed.

"Register here."

"I already did the last time I came here."

"Okay."

It's like any normal school dormitory if you forget about it's size. There are multiple dining halls, kitchens, living rooms, etc. All the things you need to live in luxury. The furnitures are from the modern books I read.

If the setting of Worlds is medieval, then the lobby is definitely modern.

"Do you remember your number?" Haruto asked.

"It was 5544."

Each floor is separated by at least 30 rooms from what I can see so far, and the floors are about 100. Haruto told me there's about 60 rooms on each floor and the total amount of rooms amounts to exactly 7020.

It was pretty easy to navigate. The numbers of each room are in order and there are multiple elevators on the center.

Each elevator can hold up to 50 people. It's really spacious and everyone clicks on their respective floors like ordering a meal. And since everyone's floors vary, the higher you are, the longer it takes to reach your room.

I am the last user to register. That means my room is at the highest among everyone else. Well, not really. Just yesterday, two more visitors were spotted on the spawnpoint fountain. I guess people all over other places are dying, too.

My room is on the 95th floor. Taking the elevator alone took almost 20 minutes with 31 stops. Yes, I counted it. The elevator room is completely blank. It was a good thing Haruto and I brought books with us.

"This is my stop." Haruto said as he walked out the elevator. His room is on the 94th floor.

It only took another 5 seconds for me to reach the 95th floor. And by this time, it's only me alone in the elevator. The elevator door open and I was welcomed by a nice looking red carpet.

It's basically just a simple, extensive hallway. Each door has their numbers labelled next to it and a screen under those numbers. It's basically a luxurious hotel.

5542. 5543. 5544.

Found it. The third room it seems. I'm just glad it's not too far from the elevator. There are elevators on the other end, too. That makes the middle room the farthest to reach for anyone.

"Profile"

I showed my profile to the scanner, a small light lit green next to it.

>Room No. 5544

>Access granted.

It was about this time I notice the door of 5545 open. I knew exactly who she is.

Sara. Her boobs are somewhere between C and D. You can't blame me for describing about her chest upon first seeing her. What do you even look at in a mannequin? Oh, for someone packing up there, she sure has a slender butt. I'm just glad there aren't guardians here.

Sara noticed me.

"Oh, you're Hajime, right? I remembered your number." She said.

"That's me."

"You weren't in the role-call, yesterday. Where were you?"

"I ran into a problem and had to sleep in the library on my first day."

She laughed. It was probably my first time seeing her laugh after coming to the lobby.

"I'm glad you're alright. Food for dinner will be distributed, soon. Everyday in the cafeteria at 8:00PM That's in about two hours. I suggest leaving early because the elevator won't come up if it's in use. That means you have to wait a long time and take even longer to get down.

"Thanks, I'll remember that as I explore my room." With that, she waved and waited in front of the elevator.

Seems like her shy and terrified vibe is already gone. That's the Sara I knew from Worlds. Caring and sister-like. I guess she managed to conquer her fears in just a day's time.

I opened the door. There were no door handles, it just moves on it's own and closes.

For a room meant for one person, it's really spacious. There are no designated rooms or anything, it's just one single large room.

The bed's in the middle, I'd say it's king size. There are a few chairs and a round table on one corner. Another corner dedicated for the kitchen. A sink and a fridge, how do they operate? Turn's out it's just a big cabinet I mistook for a fridge. The faucet works, though.

I was told by Haruto that we don't feel hunger in the lobby. If so, why do we have to go to the cafeteria at 8:00PM? I remember Haruto telling me to do that, too.

Next to the kitchen section is the bathroom. Just one toilet. No walls. I guess I was expecting a little too much for a bathroom. Then there's also a huge screen. I'm curious to see what it does.

?!

A game? There's a couple of controllers neatly hanged on the wall. The controllers and very unique. As for these games... they aren't games at all. Everything is from Worlds, but it's different. They are all simulations.

Every chapter has a scenario and it's own story. It's as if you're reading a novel but you're the main protagonist and you choose your own path.

How do I know this? I watched some recorded gameplays by other people with included commentary. The videos were fast and informative while some others are entertaining and funny.

I also gave one of the chapters a try. "Beyond the Cherry Blossoms." Something was definitely weird when the controllers weren't working. They are definitely connected.

Now that I think about it, the movements in the videos I watched were very precise. It's as if they are moving with their own body. Does it have to do with this gaming pad on the floor?

I stood on it. A bright green circle surrounded me and scanned my body. Huh, my body... there suddenly appeared digital nerves throughout my body.

"Connection Success." The screen showed.

The movements I make are imitate into the screen. I was finally moving.

The story was somewhat normal. You get thrown into a monster pit. Fight monsters, get fed, continue fighting. One day you met the princess of the Royal Colosseum and fall in love. You fight even stronger monsters and impress the King. You strived to be someone worthy of the princess. The King noticed your sincerity and gave you a challenge. You fulfilled your duty but the King never intended to keep his promise. It was a bittersweet love story where you end up dying.

That was a good experience. I probably played for about an hour. An hour? What time is it. Where's the clock? The screen. Time, time.

8:01PM

Ah, I went way overboard. It'll take about 20 minutes to get down, too. Let's check out the balcony.

Woah, it's pretty high, alright. The high altitude wind blew into my room and made my curtains flap. I closed the windows behind me since I didn't want to turn my room into a mess.

Now, guess I'll take the shortcut.

"Mister! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?!" A loud shout came from 5545 room's direction.

There stood a figure waving his hands frantically on the room next to Sara's. He was already standing on the handrail, and with a good balance.

"You're taking the the bullet train, too?!" I shouted to make sure he hears me over our distance.

"What's a bullet train?!" Came the reply.

"You'll know soon enough!" I raised my hand and stuck three fingers up.

Counting down, I closed one finger.

It seemed like he understood my cue since his face lit up with excitement.

Another finger down.

Oh boy, this will sting a bit.

He jumped just before I pulled my last finger.

I pressed my back against the handrail and let gravity do it's work as I push my feet off the ground.

Falling down, I could see him spreading his arms out. Completely having fun absorbed in the moment.

Now that I think about it, everyone has to be in the cafeteria, no? Won't the elevator only take a minute without anyone to interrupt on the way?

Crash!

~~

POV:

Where is he? That guy, did he forget? Knowing him, he probably forgot and just played games.

It's always the same outcome. He'll come rushing in late and laugh it off like it's nothing. It's like he doesn't even care about anything but himself! Leaving me to always clean up after his mess.

I swear, I swear, I swear, I swear. I definitely swear he's not just gonna get away with this. I'll give him an earful later!

Crash!

A loud crash interrupted everyone at the cafeteria. It was extremely loud, indicating it was nearby. All the tables shook on the impact and every looked around, muttering to themselves.

Crash!

Another one?! And it's even louder this time! What the hell is happening?

People around begun to show slight panick. Is this going to continue?

It came from outside. I was not the only person who caught on. Other people are heading out to see what that sound was. I squeezed through the crowd to see a group of people flocking around the scene.

I took advantage of my below average height to squeeze my body until I reached the front. What's this?

Two craters instantly caught my eye. Each impact caused a dent on the ground. Someone is inside each crater. What a horrible sight! One of the shorter blanker's face completely splattered, his arms looked as if it melted and is starting to regenerate. Huh? Is he heel sitting?

The other blanker, all his limbs are either broken or obliterated. Looks like this one will take longer to regenerate. Why does his area seem a little more damp than the other guy's? Was he actually scared crying? But he looks awfully relaxed sitting there with his head slightly lifted up to face someone.

A man with big build stood in the middle, his arms crossed as he looked at the two injured blankers.

"You two, care to explain?" The man spoke with a stern voice.

It was Kenji. I met him earlier in the morning so I still recognize his voice.

The guy with his head lifted nonchalantly spoke up, "I was late so I decided to take the fastest route. Not sure about him, though."

Huh?! Fastest route?! Doesn't that hurt a ton? Is he stupid or something? He's now reminding me of a certain someone who always give me headaches and pain wherever I go.

"I wanna do it, again!" The shorter guy exclaimed. His face already finished regenerating.

He's crazy, too?! Wait, his voice... I know that voice.

Kenji scolded them while waiting for their limbs to regenerate. After that, he took both of them to an administrator's room to what I imagine to only be more scolding.

I sat on one of the nearby benches, waiting for him. I'm acquainted with the shorter blanker.

The door creaked open and that guy finally came out.

"Oh, Mea! You can't believe what I just did!" He came running at me. He was able to recognize me instantly because of the red ribbon string on my wrist.

I smacked his head as hard as I could and yelled in frustration, "Huh?! What made you think jumping from the 95th floor was a great idea?! What if you never regenerated your body back?! I thought dying would at least calm your wild side down for at least a few days but you're just even more reckless! You're such an idiot, you know that?!"

The door behind him creaked, again.

"Mea! Meet my new buddy, uh... What's your name?" He turned to the guy behind him.

"Hajime." He said.

"Meet my buddy, Hajime!"

"Rye! I bet you to forced him to jump with you! What did I say about getting up on people's faces and making them do things they don't want?!" I scolded him.

"No! That's not it, Mea! We both had the exact same idea! We're bros for life!"

I placed my palm on my forehead and sighed. My head hurts. So he's just as stupid, too?

"I didn't even think about soaking my body in water to increase my weight! Hajime, you're Einstein! I'm trying that later!" Rye sounded so genuinely excited. I can't believe him.

"You noticed it?" Hajime guy seemed slightly surprised for once.

"Yup!" He exclaimed.

"Rye always have sharp senses and good awareness of his surroundings. That's how he was able to survive this long with his destructive mindset." I explained to him.

"We still both end up dying, though." He looked away and scratched his head.

My face turned red. It made me remember that kiss I forced on him before we both jumped off the cliff.

"I love you, Rye." I can't believe I said that! I want to die. I want to actually die for real! He hasn't said anything about it since that incident. But he would scratch his head whenever the topic of our death comes up, which make me want to kill myself even more!

Auduskshxkssbsl

~~

Hajime's POV:

I tagged along with the two back to the cafeteria. They were surprisingly quiet for a duo I thought would be full of energy when together.

I tapped Rye's shoulder and showed him a blue string between two of my fingers.

"Oh! I forgot about it. Dude, thanks! You're the man!" He took the string and went over to Mea to ask for her assistance.

So I was right. I found him on his area and grabbed it with me. I thought he must've dropped it when his arms melted.

We reached the cafeteria. It didn't take very long. The administration office is just about next to the dormitory entrance.

We get four choices to choose from. Not that choosing one really mattered. All four cafeterias are just the same and the only reason there's four is to fit everyone in.

"Let's go in this one!" Rye pointed, "I get a feeling we'll see a ton of beauties in there!"

"I, too, fancy myself some featureless boobs." Rye and I both walked right in without hesitation.

"These two might actually make for the dumbest duo." I could hear Mea say in the back.

The ceiling was high, and there were many tables scattered around the area. But other than that, it's just a normal cafeteria with "food" I do not expect.

Rye walked up to one of the people stationed there.

"Baby, do you work here? I would like to order two of those buns in exchange for a free pass to my room." Rye is showing off his expertise.

"Dude, I'm a guy. Also, this is not a restaurant. Good try, though." A deep voice came from the man as he hand Rye a bowl of "soup."

Mea couldn't contain her laughter. "Serves you right!" She said while still holding onto her stomach.

I went next. I've got a different card up my sleeves. "Can I have an empty bowl? Just your love is enough." I said it casually.

"I have a boyfriend." She said but still laughed.

"Understandable, have a good day." I took my bowl and left.

Mea is now rolling on the ground. She couldn't stop laughing.

"Dude, yours would've been good if she was single." Rye commented.

"Yours, too. If you used it on the proper place, that is." I said.

"Mea, you're next!" Rye shouted.

"No way!" Her laughing has already stopped.

"I won't talk to you for an entire day if you don't do it!" Rye threatened her.

"W-what?! That's unfair!"

"I'm serious and you know it, Mea!"

Mea walked up to another girl. She crossed her fingers and stared at the girl.

"If you give me a bowl of that, I might give you a kiss..."

The girl with the apron handed her two bowls of soup.

"Will giving my share increase my chances?" Is she brainwashed?

She took one of the bowls and slid a finger up her neck until it stops on her chin.

"A naughty girl like you doesn't deserve a kiss." Mea said and then left.

The girl swooned and then fainted.

"Just because she's a girl." Rye said.

"Just because she's a girl." I repeated after him.

She walked towards us displaying her success with a victory laugh.

"How was that? Aren't you two envious of my skills? If only you two had the same charisma as I do." She's rubbing salt on us.

"You say that but you can't even flirt with the opposite gender, can you?" Rye countered.

"I-"

I sat on a nearby vacant seat. I've been calling it soup, but it's just juice.

"I knew it. You can't."

"What do you mean? Of course I can!"

"Really? Prove it! Flirt with... that guy over there." He pointed at a nearby person sitting on the table next to mine.

"You're fine with that..?" Mea's tone was less nervous and more serious this time.

"Fine with what?" He seemed actually confused.

"Fine with me flirting with him?"

"Yup! Think you can do it?"

"Rye, you idiot! You're the stupidest person in the world!"

She splashed the contents of her bowl into Rye's face and ran off after that.

"Hey, what the flip?! Mea, where are you going?!"

Okay, so how do I drink this thing?

"Did I say something wrong?" Rye asked me with his face still dripping with red crystal clear liquid.

"Not sure." Okay, I don't have a mouth. How do I drink this? I see a few remaining people sticking their finger into their bowl for some reason.

"Damn, it's all over me now. It feels... not so icky?" Rye questioned.

"I think the liquid must've been absorbed into your body." Oh, so that's how you consume this.

"Mmm, it tastes sweet! Woah, what is this? This is sick!" Has he completely forgotten all about Mea?

I struck my finger into the bowl. I can taste it. It's got a beautiful fragrance of nature, with the taste of raspberry, and it's weirdly minty. We're all called here just to simply have this for recreational purposes?

"Aren't you gonna chase after her?" I asked Rye, still drinking the sweet syrup with my finger as the straw.

"Nah, she's always like that. She gets angry for random reasons and then act like nothing happens the next day." Rye scratched his head.

"I think this time might be different."

"You think so?" He walked over to grab his bowl and splashed the contents all over his face. "Anyways, I'll be heading back to my dorm first, Hajime. Talk to you tomorrow!"

"Alright." I raised my other hand to bid him goodbye.

That's not the way back to the elevator, you know? I guess they both can't be honest with each other. Oh, I finished it. I wonder if I could ask for more...

~~

Mea's POV:

I ran outside until I stopped. I pressed my forehead on a nearby tree, staring at the ground.

I did it. I got carried away by my emotions and splashed it all over him. Why did I do that? I know I always get mad at him without him ever realizing why. I know he'll forgive me nonetheless and continue being friendly with me the next day...

But why? Why do I feel so guilty, this time? So much more regrets, and... so sad? I shouldn't have done that. I can't forgive myself...

I feel like crying but tears won't come out. I wanted him to be a little protective over me. Am I expecting too much after that kiss on the cliff? Why am I like this? I wanted to apologize, but I don't know how to do it.

I just don't know. This pride of mine always get in the way. Before I know it, I always end up blaming things on him without explaining what angered me. I'm frustrated with myself...

Despite my dishonest and annoying personality, he continues to stay by me. Maybe that's why I like him so much... and yet I never show any signs of improvement for his sake. Am I taking his kindness for granted?

I'm scared. What if one day he's had enough of me? Will he leave me? I don't want it. I don't want to be alone... not after meeting him. I just...

"I don't want it... don't leave me..." my voice came out before I realize it.

"I knew you wouldn't run far with your little legs." A familiar voice. A voice so familiar I'll never mistake it for anyone else's.

I raised my head to look behind me. A below average height blanker with a blue ribbon tied to his wrist stood there in front of me. I lowered my head, I can't look at him.

"You forgot something." Huh? I raised my head to—

He's suddenly so close, and before I knew it, he pressed his face on me. We don't have lips, but I can somehow feel the sensation... the sensation of a foreign object pressing against my lips. It's sweet aroma and taste...

I didn't want it to end. His presence alone made me forget all my problems and insecurities. It's all been replaced with a sense of relief, but even more than that, a feeling of happiness. Rye is kissing me.

He pulled his face away from me. My face still burning red. But I wanted more... am I... am I naughty to want more of it?

"Raspberry flavor. How do you like it?"

I couldn't look at him. My face will completely turn into a tomato if I do.

"I don't like raspberry... but... but if it's you feeding me like that..."

"I don't mind having it everyday..."