Dantega:Volume 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 23: Trust
(PART 1)
"Wow I can actually do it!" shouts Trojia.
She had just pointed out her hand and was able to move a rock and throw it more than fifteen feet without even touching it. This is definitely a form of psychokinesis that has been bestowed on her by the power of Messor.
Messor has thus so far given the entire group some form of ability in order for them to defend themselves.
"Very good, that's all I can do for you. The growth of this new ability of yours will be entirely up to your own efforts now." Messor says pleasurably.
Her help is duly appreciated and even Napoleon is quite excited; this has been a very easy transition into strength for them. All Messor had to do was put her index finger on their foreheads and they were instantly able to do inhuman things. What she did was open up a certain portion of their brains that was once inaccessible on Earth. Here in Purgatory, the human body is able to break its natural limits the laws of physics cursed them to be unable to do in their past lives.
Everyone has some kind of ability stored in their brains, it's just a matter of being able to realize it or not. In the case of Strauphius and Aria, once they became 'aware' they immediately obtained such powers, and after honing it for years they became the people they are now.
"Did you you see me Ubica!? Did you see!?" Trojia asks with an excited smile.
Ubica returns with a smile of his own and says, "Of course! Good job Trojia!"
Tsubiri frowns and latches on to his shoulder. "Well what about me you jerk!?"
Ubica blushes when he feels her chest rub against his arm and replies, "Y-You did good too."
The two girls compete for Ubica's attention whilst Napoleon and Niomyo sit on a rock and have their own conversation.
"This is amazing.." Niomyo says with her eyes stuck on her hands.
Napoleon steadily agrees and says, "Yeah, it will definitely help us get out of here."
Niomyo looks over at Ubica, who's being man handled by Trojia and Tsubiri and says, "Now that we have these abilities... Is it really necessary that we keep Ubica around?"
Napoleon's eyebrow twitches. "What do you mean?"
"Well I mean we don't have to rely on him anymore. Don't you think that it's more dangerous with him than it would be without him?"
He folds his arms and ponders for a moment, he takes a deep breath and replies, "I can see why you would think that way... But he is far stronger than all of us combined at the moment, and besides, if he left, the unity of the group would be completely shattered."
Niomyo frowns and raises her voice, "Our unity doesn't revolve around the feelings of the two princesses and that body guard! Once they realize how dangerous he is they will come around eventually."
Napoleon stays calm and states, "I must apologize, but I feel that no matter how dangerous he is... He is still my comrade, and I never abandon my comrades."
After saying that, he coldly turns to walk toward the group and leaves her behind.
Niomyo clicks her tongue and says to herself, "Since when did a man like you become so soft..? I will never allow an existence like him to become close to the Princess."
"Hey, you look kind of annoyed." says Daey. She is addressing Messor, who has a troubled look on her face.
"Do I?"
"Yeah, was doing this for us a strain on you?"
Messor looks to her and gently smiles, "Not at all, I'm happy to help."
Daey looks as if she is about to ask another question when she is stopped by Messor. "How about you? You don't look too pleased... Hmmm, is this jealousy I'm sensing?"
Daey blushes and shyly answers, "M-Maybe a little... I don't like it when they hang all over him like that."
She is complaining about the sight of Trojia and Tsubiri clinging to Ubica in an attempt to keep his attention, it would seem that Messor isn't too happy about this either, but she is trying very hard to hide it.
"Ubica is quite the attractive man isn't he? I can see why you all like him so much." Messor says with a hint of unnoticeable agitation in her voice.
Daey smiles and quickly replies, "He's perfect."
This catches Messor off guard, the way she said that without any hesitation has her a little surprised. "Is he now?.. What makes you say that?"
She is actually quite interested in what their opinions of him are and why they feel the way they do toward him, it's not like it's anything that holds any meaning, but rather, it gives her a selfish feeling of one upping them because she is the one who knows Ubica the best.
"Even though he's clumsy and oblivious, and he says so many embarrassing things without even noticing it, even though he can't ever seem to say no... He's so great that those little obscurities of his add to his charm."
Messor smiles and holds pleasure in her explanation of him as she continues.
"He is strong and reliable, kind and caring, and to top it off he is unbelievably cute... Any girl would fall for him if they spend any kind of time around him."
Messor can't help but find this funny, the Ubica she knows is pretty much the complete opposite of what kind of person Daey is describing. In her view, Ubica is rough and mean, sarcastic and cold, always composed and never says the wrong thing, he's extremely evil and couldn't care less for anyone other than himself. The only things similar between the two descriptions is that he has this innate ability to get all kinds of people to follow him, and that he has striking good looks.
"Does that mean you love him?" Messor asks.
Daey giggles a little and responds, "Not quite... But I'm certainly on my way."
After saying this, the sound of her two rivals pestering him becomes louder, a vein surfaces on her forehead and she runs toward the other two girls and Ubica and shouts, "GET YOUR ASSES OFF OF HIM!!"
Messor starts to laugh and says, "This is becoming quite cute... But the only one who will have Ubica is me."
The group is now in yet another town, and thanks to the jobs of the last town they were in, they have plenty of money so they can head to a hotel and make a reservation; and that's exactly where they are heading because the sun is close to setting. This town is very similar to the last, be it that there are statues of pagan gods the line the city streets here as well. But this time there is no festival and the aura from this place is that of a normal middle-ages' merchant town.
They reach a hotel and ready to check in when, "I'm sorry, but would you all mind if I borrow Ubica for a little?" asks Messor as she grabs Ubica's arm.
She doesn't give them a chance to answer when she takes off running with him in tow.
"Um... Where are we going?" Ubica asks, he is being helplessly dragged around and has no clue why.
"We're going out."
"Well duh I can see that, I want to know where!"
"It's a surprise for both me and you." Messor laughs and continues to pull him along until she finds somewhere interesting to stop.
"How about this place?" she asks, they have reached a restaurant atop of a hill that has a nice view of a nearby lake.
Ubica sighs and says, "It looks good..."
So with that they get a window seat and order some wine to start off the night. "Don't be so cautious around me Ubica, I'm not here to try anything funny."
"I'm not being cautious, I just want to know why you brought me out here."
Messor takes a sip of her wine and looks out the window. "Why do you think? I just want to spend some time with you... Isn't this view romantic?"
Ubica is still weary of her presence and actually is very cautious. He attempts to keep it obscure but he understands that Messor always seems to know how he is feeling, she knows him so well that his feelings are always out in the open when he's around her.
"It depends on who you are with..." he says, he has a smirk on his face, signifying that he is trying to poke fun at her.
She catches this and says, "Oh? So if you were with one of those other girls it would be better?"
Ubica was in the process of drinking his wine when she says this so he jolts in surprise and spills some on his shirt.
"Haha, you really are clumsy..." Messor says as she leans over the table and wipes his shirt with a napkin. With her face close to his she looks him in the eyes and has somewhat of a serious tone when she asks, "Am I right? I can see that they play a big role in the way you are now... I'm interested to see which one you like the most."
Ubica shifts his glare away from her and looks troubled, he reveals a strained smile and says, "What if I said it was you?"
Messor laughs and leans back in her chair. "Then I'd say you were lying." she gestures to a waiter that she wants a refill of her wine and she turns to finish, "I know how you feel towards those girls, and I also know how you feel towards me.. And that makes me come to the conclusion that it would be none of us if it were up to you."
Ubica squints his eyes and once once again looks away, he bitterly drinks his wine and says, "I can't ever hide anything from you Messor."
She smiles and responds, "That's my job."
The two have been at the restaurant for close to an hour now and the city lights that shine off the lake make the view all the more beautiful. Ubica has his head rested on the wooden table and Messor sits there with a wide smile on her face.
"I see you can't hold your liquor anymore huh?"
It is quite apparent that Ubica is flushed because the wine went to his head so fast that it felt like an anvil is pressing against the front side of his brain, making it very difficult to keep upright.
"How is it that whenever I'm around you, I end up doing the things that I want to avoid!?" he shouts into the table.
She starts to laugh and pokes at him, "Oh come on this is fun, we used to drink all the time back in the day."
"That was over a thousand years ago! I haven't even had a drink since then!!" he yells as he tries to lean up, he's wearing a pouting face like that of a little kid.
Messor shrugs her shoulders and says, "Hey hey I didn't shove it down your throat, you were the one who did the drinking."
Ubica huffs air out of his nose and flops his head back on the table. "I know."
Messor drinks the last of the wine in her cup and her tone turns mint when she asks, "Tell me something... If you have been trying to avoid this kind of thing, then why did you drink with me?"
He tilts his head up and uses his chin as a stool to his eyes and says, "I'm not drunk yet... So don't expect me to spill my guts any time soon."
She leans back in her chair and puts her legs on the table, making the back legs of her four footed chair to teeter dangerously against the ground, this causes many of the other costumers to stare because this is a sight that shouldn't belong in such a snazzy place.
"I'm not trying to get you confess anything special to me, I just want to know why."
He shuts his eyes and leans his head to the side, with a guilty tone in his voice he says, "Because... I owe you for time lost."
She immediately sits astute and looks surprised and has an unusually sloppy composure when she asks, "What does that mean??"
Ubica gives her a genuine, soft smile and says, "I left you in the pit knowing that one day, someone would come to take you out... I didn't know when that'd be, so all this time I've been waiting has been time I need to make up for." he stands to his feet and walks to her, putting his hand on her shoulder he finishes. "I'm sorry for leaving you behind, there hasn't been a day that's gone by where I didn't regret it... I've truly missed you Messor."
Messor stands up as well and puts her head into his chest, the normally strong, quick witted and sarcastic girl is hiding her face on him in order to hide the blush that has surfaced. She wraps her arms around him and with a cracked voice says, "I missed you too... I missed you so much."
The two left the restaurant and are now walking hand and hand down the lighted streets of the city, along the lake is a bridge and they spot a bench resting atop it that allows a perfect view. Ubica gestures to her to sit while he walks to the railing and smiles when he feels the cool breeze to flow through his hair.
"Hey... Can I tell you something?" Messor asks as she continues to hide the face that has never been shown before.
Ubica keeps his back facing her and his eyes stuck on the sight when he replies, "Sure."
As soon as he replies he feels her rub up against his back and her arms once again wrap around him, she does this quite often but this time he can feel her trembling and it has really caught him off guard.
Messor squeezes him really tight and she softly says, "I love you."
"Ahhh geez! What's up with that girl!?" shouts Tsubiri as she pulls her hair in frustration.
The group has booked their rooms in the hotel and the girls and guys have been split like usual, so Tsubiri, Trojia, Daey and Niomyo are all sitting on the two twin size beds they'll be sharing later on in the night.
"I'm sure they are just talking about all the abilities we have now or something, you don't have to make it such a big deal." Daey responds, she is laying comfortably on her back against the soft cushions of the bed.
Even Trojia isn't too worried about this because out of all them, she was the first to meet Messor and she has come to the conclusion that Messor is one of the kindest girls she had ever met. Trojia grabs a pillow and tosses it at Tsubiri, hitting her square in the face. "I hate to say it but Daey's right, they'll be back soon."
Tsubiri grabs to pillow and chucks it back to her. "You too!? How do you guys not find this suspicious!?"
Both Daey and Tsubiri throw another pillow at her and simultaneously shout, "Because it's not!"
Tsubiri pouts like a child and walks to the door. "Well I think it is! So I'm gonna go find them!" she sticks her tongue out and them and makes a funny sounding 'bleeeeeeeh!' noise, with that she exits the room and slams the door behind her.
The two Princesses sigh and lay back on their beds; Niomyo, who has been silent for this whole thing has a troubled frown on her face, she addresses the two like they are in a student teacher relationship and asks, "I still don't get it. How can you all be so infatuated with that boy?"
"Huh? Where did that come from?" asks Daey with her eyebrow raised.
"It comes from common sense! Do you not know what he is! That boy is a damn mon--"
"Shut up Niomyo!" shouts Trojia.
The two stare at each other violently, leaving Daey wondering just what in the world is going on. "Uh... Am I missing something?" asks Daey with a nervous smile on her face.
The tension could be cut with a butter knife but is quickly broken when Trojia smiles and turns to her and shruggs it off. "It's nothing, Niomyo is just overprotective."
"Umm, okay... Well then, I'll leave you two to your ways, I'm gonna go get some dinner at the hall."
Daey felt awkward so she decides to leave.
"What the hell are you doing!?" Trojia yells.
Niomyo frowns and tries to prove her point by shouting louder, "I'm trying to knock some damn sense into you!"
"At what cost!? Tsubiri and Daey don't know about him, you almost blabbed!"
"They should know, it's for their own good that they do know so they back off of him!"
Trojia grits her teeth and stomps her way to Niomyo, in a similar fashion to the way she slapped Ubica, she slams her open palm into her face and it make a tremendous noise.
"Remember who you are talking to!"
Niomyo rests her hand on her cheek and looks surprised, in somewhat of a shocked way she says, "B-But, I'm only doing this to protect you."
"I don't need protection, if I ever thought I was in real danger I would never get involved with him, you know I'm smarter than that."
Niomyo is left speechless, she has nothing to say because that slap put her back in her rightful place as an expendable bodyguard. She knows that Trojia doesn't think of her that way, but the truth is that's what she is worth. As far as she is concerned it shouldn't matter what her opinion is, her job is to protect whoever it is that she is assigned to and anything other than that should be considered a luxury.
Niomyo bows and says, "I must apologize, I was out of bounds and I deserve to be punished."
Trojia sighs and shakes her hand that stings from the slap. "Huuaahh, you always say that, you know I'll never punish you. It's okay, lets go join Daey for some dinner."
"R-Right..."
"Are you kidding?" Ubica says with a voice full of uncertainty.
"Do I sound kidding?" Messor replies bluntly, she squeezes him even harder as to show him she is serious.
"But isn't it im--"
"Impossible." Messor interrupts. "I thought it was too... Have you ever heard the saying 'you don't know how good water tastes until the well runs dry'? Well that is what happened to me when I found out that you left me in the pit, I never realized how much I needed you until you were away from me."
The tension in Ubica's body eases and his whole demeanor seems a little off when he says, "Then let me ask you, what is love?"
A swarm of different emotions are flowing through his head, and he is trying to make sense of it all by asking her such a difficult question.
"I don't think anybody knows exactly what it is, but for me it's the feeling of want.." She lets go of him and makes him turn to her so he is looking in her eyes as she speaks. "I always want be around you, I want you to hold me, I want to help you, I want you to be happy, I want you kiss me, I want... Well I'm sure you get the point in where I'm going so I'll finish it off with the most important..."
She puts her face close to his, so much so that their noses are touching, and with the gold of her eyes and the light green of his colliding under the lights of the city, she smiles and says,
"I want you, to want me."
"Ughh where are they!?" Tsubiri shouts, she is running through the city trying to find Ubica and Messor but she is having no luck, in fact, she is completely lost. "Damn, Ubica's definitely going to make fun of me for this."
She pouts and decides that if she keeps walking she'll only get more lost, so the nearest rest point she can find will be where she will rest for a few moments. Up ahead of her is a bridge that has a few benches on it, since there is a view of a lake she thinks it is perfect for her to relax on.
"I guess I'll hangout there for a little and then head back."
"Maybe one day I will." Ubica says.
"But for now you can't?"
He smiles and looks at her with saddened eyes, "Not yet. I'm not sure of the things I want right now. But I can honestly tell you that ever since I left the pit, I've wanted to see you. Maybe one day that feeling will translate into love, and in turn make me want you in the same way you want me."
Messor laughs a little and walks to the guard rail, Ubica joins her and walks to her side, the two stay silent until Messor grabs his arm and rests her head on his shoulder.
"Maybe one day..." she says with a smile.
"You know, back in the past I never cared about anyone but myself, but now it seems that I'm able to hold affection towards others." Ubica says.
"By affection you mean towards those three girls?"
"Not just them, naturally you are included, but even Napoleon, Strauphius and Niomyo. And believe it or not I've grown to become fond of Rage also. All of them, everyone in our group, they are very precious to me." He starts to smile wholeheartedly and gives off a warm aura, "That means that I am slowly becoming more human, so much so that my heart beats. I have friends for the first time in my life."
The tips of Messor's lips softly rise and in a teasing way she asks, "That's a good start I guess... But you never answered my question, so which one is your favorite?"
"Hah!?"
"There has to be one that you have the most feelings for. I won't ask you if I am, and if so, I don't want you to say it. What I want to know is who, out of this entire group is the one who is the most important to you."
Ubica tries to avoid answering this question by attempting to shoo Messor off his arm, she doesn't let go and the scene eventually gets hectic.
"I'm not letting go until you answer me!" she shouts with an angered smile.
"L-Let go!"
"No way, I can tell by your reaction that you have someone in mind."
Ubica blushes a little, "Uaahhh! Why do you wanna know so bad!?"
"Because it's important to me." she lets go of his arm and quickly constricts her arms around his waist like an anaconda so now he is completely stuck. "So tell me."
By now she is squeezing so hard he finds it difficult to breath, so fearing suffocation he says, "Fine! Now ease up a little!"
Messor loosens her grip but doesn't let him go, since there is no where else to put his hands Ubica throws his arms over her shoulders. Ignoring the intense glare that he is getting pelted with he looks away toward the bustling street at the bottom of the arched bridge and pauses for a moment, as if thinking.
"I guess if I had to choose..."
Zoning out on the people he finds it very difficult to tell her, everyone in their group are all so valuable to him that he feels guilty picking one over the other.
"It would be..."
He is about to say the name of the person when at the base of the bridge he spots the golden eyes of a teenage girl looking at him with a beautifully devastated face, she has magenta colored hair and a striking body figure.
After the two lock eyes for a moment he realizes that he knows exactly who it is, and in his surprise he shouts the name of the girl,
"Tsubiri!?"
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