14:04:23
Merry’s Green Garden, Cafe and Bistro.
Raising a glass filled with a weird, green-coloured bubbling liquid into the air, Fox exclaimed. “To our victory! Cheers!!”
“CHEERS!!” The rest of the team gathered around the table, clinked their glasses against hers and cheered. They then started gulping down the liquid.
Aether, who looked at this scene with a dumbfounded expression, hurriedly intervened. “No. That’s not… how… you…” Seeing everyone ignore him, he simply sighed. “Never mind.”
Everyone seemed like they were having fun. It wouldn’t be right of him to pour cold water on their celebrations simply because their way of saying cheers was a little bit odd.
Raising his glass, Aether took a sip of the bright-coloured bubbly liquid. His eyes suddenly widened as he thought to himself. ‘Whoa! This is good!’
“It’s good, right?” Vix, who had arrived next to Aether at some point, asked with a smile.
Aether nodded his head. “What is this drink?”
“It’s called a ‘Snazzy’,” explained Vix. “It’s a new drink that suddenly got popular around the city. Teens and young adults have nothing but praise for it.”
“No wonder, I like it,” Aether nodded his head in understanding.
Vix stared at him with a strange expression on his face. Noticing the look that he was getting, Aether turned toward him and asked, “What?”
“Nothing.” Vix shook his head. He understood that there were things that he could say and things that he definitely must not say. This was a case of the latter.
Unfortunately for him, Aether was a little too sharp. “Were you about to make fun of my age?” A smile that was not a smile hung on Aether’s face. The glint within his eyes sharpened.
“Did you say something, Big Bro Aether?” Vix ‘innocently’ blinked his eyes. He was as much of a worldly man as was Aether.
“Tch. You’re smart,” Aether clicked his tongue and returned to drinking his Snazzy. “I thought I could get you once.”
“Were you going to smack me on the back of the head like Fox?” Vix chuckled and asked.
“No. That will be letting you off too easily,” answered Aether. He then took another sip and nonchalantly said, “I was thinking more on the lines of letting Fox know that you have a crush on her.”
Pfft! Vix spat the drink inside his mouth. He then hurriedly raised his head and searched for Fox. Fortunately, she seemed to have gone somewhere with Midas and Cypher. Heaving a sigh of relief, Vix then immediately swung his head and glared at Aether.
The older boy calmly stared back with the teasing eyes of a cat. He did not even try to hide the look of amusement within his gaze. Vix’s bellyful of resentment and mouthful of curses quickly melted away after catching the intent within Aether’s eyes. Vix was now nothing but a mouse that had gotten trapped within the cat’s (Aether) paws.
And the cat wasn’t going to let go without teasing the mouse to the fullest.
“Sooo~” Aether immediately scooted near Vix and annoyingly asked, “Fox, huh?”
Overcome with embarrassment and shame, Vix lowered his reddening face. He did not want to meet Aether’s eyes and instead wanted to bury himself in the earth.
“Oh my!” Aether gasped exaggeratedly. “Is our Demon Strategist feeling shy? Should I do something about this?” Uncaring of Vix’s reactions, Aether continued with his ‘gossiping neighbourhood aunty’ method-acting. “Ah! But what do I do though? How can I help our vice-captain?”
Suddenly clapping his hands, Aether’s face had a look of enlightenment. “Oh! I know! I should go and ask our captain! Maybe she will know what’s happening to her dear, childhood friend. Kekekeke.” Unable to hold it in, Aether burst out laughing. His laughter was especially grating in Vix’s ears.
“ALRIGHT! FINE! YOU WIN!!” Vix exploded. The redness on his face had moved to cover the base of his neck. He then covered his face, crumpled into the sofa, and tried his best to calm his galloping heart. “Geez! You win, alright!”
“So, you do like her,” Aether also dropped his act. He looked at Vix with a proud smile.
“That’s right,” Vix replied. “I…” His voice suddenly quietened. Probably out of shyness.
Of course, Aether was the sadistic type that loved to push people and see them suffer. “‘I?’ I, what?”
“...I like her,” Vix folded and answered in the quietest voice he could muster.
Satisfied from having broken his prey, Aether took a large gulp of his drink. His face positively radiated satisfaction.
Seeing his reaction, Vix gritted his teeth and muttered innumerable curses inside his head. He then started planning petty revenge to get back at Aether for this humiliation.
Aether, however, was one step ahead. “You do something to get back at me and I’ll immediately tattle on you.” He then stared at Vix with the expression that said ‘go on. I dare you to do it.’
With a hateful expression on his face, Vix quietly abandoned his plans. He then snorted at Aether and turned around to continue drinking. Thankfully, or perhaps as intended by Aether, this small fuss calmed the raging emotions within his heart. Vix felt a whole lot calmer.
The blush on his face, however, did not seem keen on calming down.
“Anyways,” Aether moved on with the topic. “When are you telling her about it?”
“Telling what?” Vix intentionally played dumb.
“Your feelings, duh!” he exclaimed. Aether then adopted a serious expression and continued, “Word of advice, kid. Don’t hesitate and miss out on shooting your shot. These kinds of things must be done quickly and effectively.”
Vix sneered at his advice. “What’s this? Speaking from experience, perhaps?”
“Nope!” smiled Aether. He then calmly took a sip and shrugged. “I’ve never had to confess to anybody. I have received a lot, and I mean a LOT, of confessions, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never had to confess to someone else.”
Looking into the glass ceiling with a narcissistic expression, Aether arrogantly declared, “No human woman is worthy of this young hero’s heart!”
“Hah!” Vix scoffed at the sheer ridiculousness of his statement. “No human woman? Ridiculous! Then who are planning to settle down with? A PleasureBot?”
Aether suddenly choked on his drink. He then broke out coughing. Looking at his reaction, Vix was suddenly struck with a realisation. “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t tell me you…” Vix covered his mouth with his hands in horror.
He suddenly glanced at Aether with pitying eyes and said. “Look, Aether. This is not an intervention. I’m simply telling this to you as your friend and teammate.”
As he paused to gather his breath, the pity in his eyes grew even stronger. “Soliciting a relationship with a PleasureBot is not a healthy form of living. It’s unnatural and will lead you down the wrong–”
Hurriedly waving his hands, Aether screamed, “Oh my God! Stop! It’s not like what you’re thinking!”
However, Vix seemed to have no intention of trusting his words. If anything, his tone turned even more sympathetic. “I know that you’re feeling wronged. I know that it feels scary. But you have to trust me on this, Aether. I’m doing this for you. A person…”
And just like that, with one person sincerely advising his friend not to marry a toaster, and the friend vehemently denying such claims and convincing the former that he had no such thoughts in the first place, their scuffle continued.
After a painful ten minutes of verbally quarrelling, Aether slumped back into the sofa, tired and defeated. “Jeez. Even the final match wasn’t as exhausting as this.”
“This is all your fault in the first place,” Vix glared at his friend. “I mean, who the hell says ‘No human woman is worthy of this young hero’s heart!’ and with such gusto in the first place? Who does that?”
“Alright, fine! It was my fault, okay!?” Aether sighed. “Can we move on now?”
“I was just being sincere with my advice.”
“I know.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You didn’t have to get physical for it.”
“You make it sound like I’ve assaulted you! For the record, I did no such thing!”
“You’ve assaulted and hurt my sincere heart! And now, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to advise anyone else ever again.”
“What are we even arguing about, man?” Aether tiredly sighed. He then looked at Vix from the corner of his eyes and caught sight of the small smirk at the end of his lips. Instantly, he realised something.
‘This bastard!’ Aether laughed against the anger boiling within his heart. He then lunged at Vix while screaming. “You dare tease me!!”
“Argh! SAVE ME! FOX! MIDAS! ANYONE!!”
Unfortunately, no one came to save Vix. The two men –children really– tussled with each other until a worker at the restaurant came up to them and told them off. After being warned that they would be kicked out, should they continue to disturb the other customers, the two of them finally settled.
Of course, the ceasefire was not in peace.
“I’m going to tell Fox,” Aether whispered.
“And I’ll tell the world about your weird orientation!” replied Vix.
“Ha!” Aether snorted. “Go ahead! See if I care!” In a bid to inflict damage on his opponent, he unhesitantly abandoned his pride! The result of his risky endeavour…
…was super effective!
“Wait, what!?!” Feeling as if he had punched cotton, Vix panicked. He immediately grabbed onto Aether’s arms and begged, “Aether! My dear friend. My big brother. My guiding star in the darkened night! Please don’t do this to me.”
After revelling in his sincere pleas, Aether finally harrumphed in victory and let bygones be bygones. “Alright, fine. I won’t tattle on you.”
Vix finally released a sigh of relief.
“However!” He heard Aether declare, causing him to instantly fall into the pit of despair. “I want you to answer some of my questions.”
“Only questions?” Vix cautiously asked.
“Only questions,” repeated Aether.
“Do I get to pass on some questions?”
Unexpectedly, Aether nodded his head. “You may. I’m not going to force you if you’re uncomfortable answering.” Shrugging his shoulder, he continued, “This is just to sate my curiosity.”
Hearing his reason, Vix shed some of the distress within his heart. Nodding his head, he said, “Alright, then. Ask away.”
“Great. First question,” began Aether. “You are Mister Pound’s son, aren’t you?”
Vix’s face dropped at that question. He backed away and looked at Aether with a cold and wary expression. The friendly atmosphere between the duo, suddenly chilled.
Seeing Vix’s wariness towards him, Aether chuckled. “I guess the answer is yes. Looks like I guessed right.”
“Who are you?” Vix asked frigidly. “How do you know my father?”
Then, a thought suddenly struck Vix causing his emotions to further cool. With a borderline hostile tone, he asked, “Did my father send you to monitor me?”
Hidden beneath his frigid, hostile tone, Aether noticed the barely suppressed emotions of fear, betrayal, and disgust.
While he would have liked to keep teasing Vix further, he understood that he needed to reply in this instant to avoid an unmitigable misunderstanding from being formed.
“First of all,” Aether gently began. “I am not one of your father’s men and I’m certainly not here to monitor you. Think about it, if I was one, why would I ever ask you that question?”
Aether’s calm voice allowed the despairing Vix to gather his senses. He then pondered on his words.
It… made sense. If Aether was indeed a person sent by his father to monitor him, why would he bother asking this question and reveal himself? It was an action that made no sense.
That being said, Vix wasn’t the sort of person to trust the words of someone else too easily. Suppressing his doubts, he replied. “You would do so to gain my trust. Letting go before reeling it in.”
At his doubts, Aether simply smiled. “Then are you telling me that I did not have your trust before?”
Vix’s frigid eyes shook. Aether’s words rang true. Having interacted with this older friend of his, Vix has already started considering Aether as one of his closest friends within his heart.
No, it might be even closer. Vix was already treating Aether as his older brother within his heart. If not for this, a naturally suspicious person like Vix would never reveal his innermost emotions to an untrustworthy person. He would have never revealed his feelings for Fox!
Vix rapidly breathed to calm his emotions. His mind was in chaos and his emotions were in disarray. Just as he was in the middle of sorting through the chaos, Vix felt a warm touch land on his head.
Aether tousled his long, navy blue hair, and calmly spoke. “I’m sorry for hitting you with that question out of nowhere. It’s just that, I’ve been wondering about the answer for quite some time but never found an opportunity to ask you.”
“Seeing how it's only the two of us right now, I figured that I might as well ask,” Aether continued to roughly pat his head. “Rest assured, I have no intention of asking anything else about your family. I’m not a weirdo who likes poking his nose into other people’s businesses.”
He spoke no further and continued to pat Vix’s head. The youth kept his head lowered and his mouth closed. Neither man spoke any further.
“How did you know?” Vix suddenly asked.
“Hmm?” intoned Aether. “How did I know what? That you are Mister Pound’s son?”
Vix nodded his head.
“Well, let’s see,” Aether began listing his reasons. “Firstly, it was the colour of your hair. Dark navy blue isn’t a rare colour. However, it isn’t very common either. Additionally, yours seems to be born naturally, making it all the more uncommon.”
“Of all the people that I’ve known and seen in this city, there’s only one other person with the same hair shade as yours; and that’s Mister Pound.”
“You’ve seen my father before?” asked Vix. His tone betrayed his curiosity.
“I did some jobs for your father, some years ago,” Aether casually answered. “I know he’s the sort of person to not show himself in public. Still, I’ve met with him once.”
“What kinda jobs did you do for my father?” Vix looked up and asked Aether.
Wearing a polite smile on his face, Aether replied, “I can’t tell you that. Employer-Employee privilege.”
Vix looked dissatisfied at Aether’s answer. However, he did not poke further knowing he wouldn’t receive a reply.
“Secondly,” Aether continued with his explanation. “You’re rich! I mean, what sorta guy nonchalantly says ‘I’ll give you my share of 100,000 credits if you join our team and help us win the tournament.’ after meeting a stranger for the first time? That’s a lot of money, you know?”
Vix started laughing at his reasoning. It was true. For a wealthy heir like him, 100,000 credits, while sizable, wasn’t something worth pulling his hairs about. Plus, it wasn’t as if that money was coming out of his pocket!
“Did that resolve your questions?” asked Aether.
“Yeah,” replied Vix. He then started resolutely into Aether’s eyes and said. “Thank you.” He was truly grateful.
“You’re welcome,” Aether graciously accepted his thanks.
Vix then swatted Aether’s hand from his head and complained, “And stop tousling my hair. What am I, a dog?”
“Second question!” Aether exclaimed. “Do you own a dog? If yes, is it the real kind or the machine kind?”
“I don’t own a dog,” Vix shook his head. “I heard they are annoying to take care of.”
“That’s true. You’re better off with an Android Companion” Aether nodded his head. “Third question. Since how long have you known Fox?” The teasing smile returned to Aether’s lips.
“Ugh,” Vix groaned. He then sighed knowing that Aether wouldn’t let him go easily. He decided to save himself some trouble and replied, “...since I was 9. I met her in the Industrial District when I had gone to visit our family’s factory with my father. There, I saw her being roughed up by some boys and rushed in there to rescue her.”
“Ooh~” Aether immediately cheered. “A proper white knight, weren’t you?”
At his comment, Vix furiously blushed in shame. He then quietly continued, “It turned out that it was her that was roughing up the other kids. When I went in to rescue her, I got roughed up too.”
“Tch! Our captain seems to have had a temper since childhood.”
“Anyway, I was discontent from losing to a girl and continued to challenge her in the following days. Eventually, we stopped fighting and started being friends.” Vix finished with a warm smile on his face. Those days were the happiest days of his cold childhood.
“So, basically,” Aether summarised. “The two of you are the dictionary definition of childhood friends, huh? How enviable!”
While he spoke of envy, Aether’s heart was full of wholesome satisfaction. Naturally, he hoped for them to end up together and wished them well within his heart.
“Okay. Final question.” The playfulness disappeared from Aether’s face as he solemnly asked. “Why do you want to win this tournament?”
“Huh?” This was an unexpected question for Vix. “It’s because I–”
At first, Vix wanted to give a casual response to gloss over this question. However, the serious gaze within Aether’s eyes caused him to reconsider his decision. He could feel that Aether was truly being serious with his question. This was his first time seeing him being solemn, bereft of any playfulness.
Spending a few minutes to arrange his thoughts and gather his words, Vix replied, “At first, I agreed to participate in this tournament simply because Fox had asked me, and because I did not want her to look disappointed. In fact, until this latest game this was my reason for participation; to make Fox happy.”
“However,” he paused. “My thoughts have since changed. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to make Fox happy. But above that, I now have another reason.”
Vix’s tone deepened and his face unconsciously became stiff. “I want to win this tournament. I want to show my father that I do not need him to hold my f*cking hand at all times and dictate every single thing that I do! I want him to know that I’m not some f*cking puppet that he can control as he wishes!”
This was the first time that Aether had heard Vix vulgarly curse. The shock factor of this action was quite significant.
“I want to use my own hands, my own skills, to pave a path toward Eden! I want to achieve a feat that not even my father could achieve! An entry into Eden, the sanctuary blessed by God!!” Vix’s fists were tightly clenched and his knuckles had turned pale. “I just… want him to acknowledge that I am my own person.”
“And for this to happen… I must win!” Vix finished.
Aether sat stiffly. His mind was immersed in thought as he replayed Vix’s speech over and over again. Unlike Midas’ grand aspiration and Cypher’s meaningful escapism, Vix’s reason for participation was exceedingly simple.
He wanted to be acknowledged by his difficult father.
And it was this simplistic nature of his resolve that made his reason all the more impactful in Aether’s mind.
At some point, Fox and the others returned and the team continued to celebrate its victory. They conversed a little, decided that they would take a day off, and made plans to further their training. Having said that, Aether wasn’t very engaged in the conversations. His mind continued to spin with Vix’s words.
His final words, ‘I am my own person’, especially stuck with him. For reasons unknown, the sentence gnawed at Aether’s heart.
After finishing their celebration party and saying their goodbyes, the team split and each headed to their respective homes. As he exited the restaurant, Aether had a small bag in his hands. In this bag were the leftover confectioneries and drinks that the party did not manage to finish. He had asked to have it packed and decided to take it home for Mei.
Of course, after hearing his reason and learning that he had a little sister, the party members swarmed to buy him more snacks and pleaded with him to let them meet his sister. After barely managing to stop them from buying a truckload of snacks and promising to bring his sister to the shop someday, Aether managed to finally escape.
Seeing the densely packed sweets and drinks, Aether had a warm smile appear on his face. “Mei’s going to love these,” he quietly muttered.
Stepping into the monorail station, he headed home. There, another battle awaited him.