A Most Unlikely Hero Vol 5 Read online

  “Please do not bother Alexander. Can you not see that he is conflicted?”

  “Oh. I’m so sorry. I hadn’t realized the spineless wimp was conflicted. Please forgive me, oh great angel.”

  “Your sarcasm is unwarranted.”

  “Correction: Sarcasm is always warranted.”

  Would you both shut up. I’m sick and tired of listening to you two bicker.

  Alex slammed his mind shut. The voices vanished. He breathed a sigh of relief.

  It had taken a while before Alex had realized that he could shut the voices out. However, while shutting them out was possible, it also took a lot of concentration. When his focus slipped, the voices could come back—and they did invariably return, no matter how many times he shut them out.

  “S-so anyway,” Gabrielle broke the silence, “I was thinking we could get started on these wings now… if you want.”

  “I’d like that,” Alex said, glad that the conversation had started again.

  “Great!” Gabrielle leapt from her seat. “Then let’s get to work!”

  “Right!” Alex also leapt to his feet.

  Maybe if they began working on one of their projects, things would go back to a semblance of normality…

  1

  This isn’t working, Gabrielle thought to herself.

  She had been doing her best to avoid Alex until Michelle arrived, just like her younger sister had told her to do, but she didn’t want to avoid him. Gabrielle wanted to sleep with him. She wanted to take baths with him. It was boring taking a bath on her own, and she really liked the warmth he gave off when they slept together.

  In truth, the only reason she had been holding out was because she wanted Michelle’s advice on how to proceed. What she was doing now wasn’t working. Michelle would know how to fix her approach.

  Michelle hadn’t come by yet, however, nor had she called. Gabrielle couldn’t wait for her sister to arrive. Every minute spent not fixing this was a minute that she could have used to have fun.

  She and Alex were currently working on building a pair of wings. Gabrielle was building the feathers, while Alex created the circuits that were embedded into the feathers. They were using Mr. Maker, a large contraption that looked like a bubble.

  The feathers were floating in the center of Mr. Maker, suspended within an anti-gravity field. Gabrielle would create a feather, and then send it to Alex, who did the circuitry. They made an excellent team, she and him. It was just another reason she couldn’t stand not doing anything.

  So, Gabrielle decided to take a more direct approach.

  “Hey, Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you love Kiri-Kiri?”

  BBBZZZZTT!

  Smoke exploded from the feather that Alex had been working on when the young man jerked his arms back. Fortunately, Mr. Maker had an excellent ventilation system. The vents opened, and the smoke cleared out quickly, allowing them to continue working.

  “W-where did that come from?” His face was red as he focused on the next feather she sent to him.

  “I saw you and Kiri-Kiri going on a date the other day,” Gabrielle said. Another feather exploded as Alex messed up his circuit work. “Don’t people who love each other go on dates?”

  “W-when did Kiri-Kiri and I go on a date?”

  Hearing the genuine confusion in Alex’s voice befuddled Gabrielle. “What do you mean? I saw you and Kiri-Kiri walk out of that restaurant together last week. That was when you two were on a date, right?”

  “Restaurant?” Alex stopped welding circuits. His face scrunched up as though trying to recall what she was talking about, and then it cleared a second later. “Oh! Do you mean the time Kiri-Kiri and I went to that small café?”

  “Yes, Selene and I saw you eating together. She said you two were going on a date.”

  Alex scratched his head. “Selene is good at jumping to conclusions. That wasn’t a date. Kiri-Kiri noticed that I was having some trouble with something and offered to give me some advice. We went to the café because it was easier to talk there than at the Police Station.”

  “So, you two didn’t go on a date?”

  Shaking his head, Alex said, “No, we didn’t, and I doubt she would consider it a date either.”

  Tilting her head, Gabrielle pondered what he told her; it sounded like Selene had been way off the mark. Alex and Kiri-Kiri hadn’t gone on a date. For some reason that she couldn’t fathom, the strange tightness in her chest, which had been a present ache ever since she saw Alex and Kiri-Kiri together, vanished.

  They continued working. When all of the feathers were made, and the circuits had been welded, they created the artificial bone and muscle system.

  Because Alex didn’t have wings of his own, they would need to attach the wings to his crisis suit. The circuits had been grafted into the feathers as a means of creating a nervous system like the ones found on the Angelisian crisis suits. Once the wings synced up with the suit, Alex should be able to control them as if they were part of his own body—theoretically, at least.

  Creating the muscles and bones was another laborious process. It involved using synthetic fibers to create a system that resembled the muscles unique to Angelisian wings. They were based on Azazel’s personal data, sized down to suit Alex’s height. Once they were finished, she and Alex took a step back and admired their handiwork. The wings still weren’t complete. However, they had made outstanding progress.

  “We did it!” Gabrielle cheered as she thrust her hand into the air.

  “Heck yeah, we did!”

  She and Alex clasped their hands together and jumped up and down. She always felt exhilarated when they finished inventing something, not just because creating stuff was fun, but because she and Alex had created it together. Building inventions with Alex really was the best.

  “I’m glad you guys are so excited,” a voice interrupted them, “but do you think you could put a hold on your troublesome enthusiasm and make some breakfast?”

  Alex and Gabrielle turned around. Alice stood in the doorway.

  Alice was Alex’s step-sister, which explained why she and Alex looked so different. A slender girl of 14 years, Alice had long brown hair that curled at the ends, doe-like brown eyes, and a face that many people would describe as cute. She had an adorably small nose and soft pink lips. Her eyes held a perpetually bored look, as though just being awake was a chore she could do without.

  Right then, she looked irritated, as if a couple of idiots had completely rained on her parade—or like her brother hadn’t cooked her breakfast yet.

  “Sorry, Alice.” Alex smiled. “I’ll get started on that right now.”

  “Finally. Stupid brother,” Alice grumbled as she wandered back upstairs.

  Alex and Gabrielle shared a sheepish grin before they, too, went upstairs.

  Breakfast wasn’t going to make itself, after all.

  2

  Nyx woke up that morning and wandered into the kitchen—only to discover chaos. It was like someone had opened a Pandora’s Box. Alex and Gabrielle were running around like headless andoliens. They were being chased by what appeared to be a bowl with hands attached to either side. Alice was sitting at the table, watching the scene with an irritated scowl.

  She sat next to Alice and greeted the girl, “Morning.”

  “Troublesome.”

  Alice didn’t like her very much. It was understandable. Nyx had almost killed her brother when Alex had shown her nothing but kindness. Expecting everyone to forgive her for having done something so wrong was foolish.

  She didn’t want to admit it, but being rejected like this kind of hurt. There was a stinging ache in her chest. Even so, Nyx planned to make up for what she’d done. It would likely be a long, arduous road, but she was going to walk that road to redemption regardless.

  “Is that another one of Alex and Gabrielle’s failed experiments?” Nyx asked, ducking as several stray globs of dough flew through the air.

  Alice put her
head on the table. While the act seemed like one done out of laziness, by lowering her head, she avoided having several globs of dough smack her in the face.

  “Yeah…” Alice muttered.

  “Quick, Gabby! Turn it off!”

  “I-I already tried! The switch isn’t working!”

  “What should we do?”

  “I don’t know!”

  Nyx sighed as the two continued to be chased by their own invention. Alex and Gabrielle were supposedly geniuses when it came to creating new technology, but looking at them right now, they seemed more like a couple of idiots who wouldn’t know a hydrospanner from a screwdriver.

  Deciding to deal with the issue herself, Nyx grabbed one of the many black bands wrapped around her arm and activated her alchemy. The band shifted into a liquid form. Then it lengthened, straightened, an edge formed on one side, and the once leather band became a long black sword.

  Without a moment’s hesitation, she sliced through the bowl that was chasing Gabrielle and Alex in a single stroke. The bowl fizzled as it was separated into twines. Poof! Smoke poured from it as circuits sparked.

  It was done for.

  “Ah… Mr. Mixer,” Gabrielle said sadly, staring at the bowl like it was a dead relative. “I was so sure we’d gotten the configuration down.”

  “Maybe it’s because we tried to add too many dishes into its programming,” Alex suggested. “Next time, let’s start with one dish, and then work our way up.”

  Gabrielle brightened immediately after his words. “Oh! That sounds like a good idea.”

  “He-he, of course. That’s because it was my idea!”

  “You’re so smart, Alex!”

  “Thanks!”

  “Excuse me.” Alice interrupted the pair. Her glare looked like it could have sliced through durasteel. “But could you two stop talking and start cooking? I’m hungry.”

  “Right.” Alex scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, Alice.”

  Alice sighed. “You’re so troublesome.”

  As she sat there, staring at the still sparking halves of Mr. Mixer, Nyx found that she couldn’t really disagree.

  3

  It turned out that their fridge was seriously lacking in ingredients. Thus they ended up eating breakfast at a family owned restaurant. After which, they tried to decide on what they should do for the day. Since it was Sunday, Alice didn’t have school, which meant they could all do something together.

  “We should call Selene and everyone else,” Gabrielle suggested. “Then we could all hang out together!”

  “Jasmine’s working at her café,” Alice said. “So, she won’t be able to make it.”

  It was only a few weeks ago that Alex had discovered Jasmine was actually the proprietor of a maid café, a popular type of café where people were served by maids. She didn’t work there often. However, every now and then, she liked going to the café and working as a maid herself. She said it helped her learn how to improve her business.

  Alex was kind of disappointed to hear that Jasmine was busy. Still, he was glad that she enjoyed her work. So long as she was having fun, he couldn’t complain much, even if he missed seeing her around.

  I’ll invite her over for dinner some time, he decided. Alice would be happy if he did that, too, which was always a plus.

  Thinking of Jasmine made Alex remember something else. “We should also call Kiri-Kiri to see if she’d like to spend time with us, too.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Gabrielle said.

  “In that case, I’ll give her a call,” Alex said as he typed on his IDband and dialed up Kiri-Kiri’s comlink.

  4

  Kazekiri didn’t work that day. While the police office remained open every day, she, as a student attending primary school, was only allowed to work Monday through Saturday. This did bother her, but she’d learned to accept it. Once she graduated from primary and went into the police academy, she’d become a full-fledged officer without being required to attend the Mars Police Academy, and this wouldn’t matter anyway.

  She was sitting on her bed, watching a holodrama as she snuggled with a stuffed cat. The show that she was watching was called Titan Girl. It was a surprisingly popular show, and she could see why. Well-choreographed, excellent plot, unforgettable characters…

  If only Titan Girl didn’t cause so much property damage. She reminds me of Alex.

  For reasons that she didn’t understand, thinking about Alex brought a smile to her face. It wasn’t like she liked him or anything. Of course, she didn’t think he was a bad person either. He was, in fact, a really good person.

  C-could this be l-l-l-lo—what am I saying?! There’s no way! Absolutely no way I could love a guy like that! Definitely not!

  “Hey, Sis.” Her brother suddenly barged into her room. “You’ve got a call from—buwa!”

  His words were cut off when she threw a pillow at his face. “Don’t you ever knock?!”

  “Knocking is for wimps,” Keiichi said. “Anyway, someone’s calling for you.”

  “What?” Kazekiri frowned. No one had ever called her before, so she couldn’t imagine why someone would be calling her now.

  “It’s Alex,” Keiichi added.

  “W-wh—Alex!” Squawking, Kazekiri leapt to her feet and snatched the commlink from Keiichi’s hand. Her brother’s grin didn’t please her, but she tried not to show how flustered she was and answered the commlink. “H-hello?”

  “Kiri-Kiri, you okay? You sound kinda breathless.”

  It was Alex. Kazekiri tried to ignore the way her heart slammed into her chest. Ever since they had gone on that date last week, she’d been unable to get him out of her mind. N-n-n-n-not that she had enjoyed that date. She had, but only a little bit!

  “I… am fine, and how many times have I told you not to address me so informally?”

  “I’ve lost count. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today?”

  Kazekiri’s breath caught in her throat. Was he asking her out on another date? She coughed into her hand. No, it was better not to be presumptuous. He could just be asking her out as a friend.

  Besides, it wasn’t like she liked him or anything.

  “S-sure, I don’t mind,” she said, trying to sound casual.

  “Great! In that case, meet us at Mars Square by the fountain at twelve hundred hours.”

  “Um, okay. I’ll be there.”

  She deactivated the commlink and held the small device to her chest, right over her heart, which was beating away inside of her at an accelerated pace. Why did she feel so happy about this? She was just going to spend time with a friend. It wasn’t like they were going on a date, or like she even wanted to go on a date. That’s right. He was just a friend. A friend… a… friend?

  Since when have I thought of Alex as my friend?

  Her own question startled her. Kazekiri had never had a friend before. At school, she was a member of the disciplinary squad, and at work, she was known to all as the hard ass primary student who lectured others on morality and obeying the rules. The other people thought she couldn’t hear them when they degraded her, but she was aware of what they said about her when they talked behind her back.

  Oddly enough, the only person who’d never said a single bad thing about her was Alex. To the best of her knowledge, he’d never belittled her, looked down on her, or tried to get fresh with her. How odd that she’d never noticed this before now.

  “So…” Keiichi grinned. “Going on a date with your boyfriend?”

  “B-b-b-boy—He’s not my boyfriend!” Kazekiri shouted, throwing another pillow. “And get out of here already! I need to get changed!”

  “Sure, sure. Have fun, Sis.”

  Keiichi left. She could hear the sound of his chuckling growing dimmer. Huffing, she decided to take a quick shower before getting dressed. It was only ten hundred hours, meaning she had two hours to get ready.

  While her shower was long, she spent most of her time digging through her closet, t
rying to pick out the clothes she wanted to wear. She was having a much harder time than usual.

  “Should I go with casual?” She questioned herself, holding up a simple pair of shorts, a shirt, and sandals. “But what if he plans on taking me somewhere nice? In which case, maybe it would be better if I wore something more formal?”

  She held up… her police cadet uniform. She didn’t have any formal wear.

  “Uh… maybe I should just wear something casual—wait. Why am I getting so worked up over this? It’s just Alex.” Yes, it was just Alex, who she would be spending time with today. The very thought made her heart beat faster. “U-ugh! You’re being stupid, Kazekiri! Don’t get so worked up over this!”

  Because she didn’t want to waste any more time with this, and she didn’t want Alex to think that spending time with him mattered to her, she selected the first outfit she could find. As she was on her way out the door, she replayed their conversation in her mind. Something about what he’d said bothered her. It wasn’t until she was already on a shuttle that she realized what that something was.

  “Did he say ‘us?’” she asked of no one in particular.

  She glanced at Mars City from the glassteel window as she sat in the shuttle. Other vehicles whizzed by on either side of her, some traveling in the same direction while others traveled in the opposite direction. Beyond the various shuttles were massive skyscrapers, steel plates that looked like giant pans, and thousands of walkways connecting everything together. It was a lot different from what little she could remember of her previous home on Earth.

  Kazekiri arrived at Mars Square at exactly twelve hundred hours. There, she met Alex… who wasn’t alone. Standing with him was Gabrielle, Alice, Selene, Ryoko, Serah, and a black-haired beauty with emotionless red eyes who she didn’t know.

  Her expression slowly went blank.

  “Kiri-Kiri!” Gabrielle greeted her first, waving a hand vigorously through the air. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

  “Alex,” she said, her voice emotionless. “What are all these people doing here?”

  “Didn’t Alex tell you?” the dark-skinned Ryoko asked with her infamous grin. “We’re all hanging out together. Though I am surprised to see you here. You never spent time with any of us before. I wonder if that means Alex is special to you?”