Chapter 127 - 2.8

The explosions have finally ceased, and I'm lucky to still be standing—having made it out the other side of Miko's wrath alive, and in one piece; opposite of what can be said of all her clones, with their pink fleshy bits and spare parts littering the stadium floor.

The stench...is horrible beyond measure. Incidentally, it is at this point I notice Miko and Miki are both wearing gas masks—my subsequent betrayed look evidently not going unnoticed:

"These rings can materialize other things, aside from weapons," Miko explained, muffled. "Sucks to be an F rank like you."

"You're the original...right?" I ask warily.

"Original…?" She gave a brief laugh. "Oh, I get it. You're thinking my clones are somehow lesser versions of me. So, you wanna make certain that you're talking to the 'right' Miko: the 'original.'"

"Is that not correct?" I glance around nervously, at the scene of carnage. "Otherwise, you're implying that—"

"That all of my...clones...have a mind and sentience of their own?" says a Miki clone splayed out on the floor nearby, struggling to speak through the pain of having had one of her legs grotesquely blown off. 

"Y-yes. We do," another croaks.

"We think...and feel...as individuals. Just as...the 'original' does," adds a third one, just before the light in her eyes fades.

I'm speechless, trying to wrap my head around what dark reality her words represent, exactly: that each and every one of her clones is no mere mindless blank copy; but a living, breathing, thinking individual.

Essentially, I am looking at the scene of a massacre.

"Miki...are you alright?"

She's been gently sobbing, leaning on the presumptive No. 1 Miko's shoulder this entire time, when she responds with a slow nod.

"I'm sorry." She sniffs. "I just don't want to see my two best friends fighting."

"It's my fault. I should have told you two about Ms. Alice much sooner."

"Did you honestly think you could keep this a secret from us forever?" Miko says crossly, moving Miki with her arm so that she's effectively barricaded behind her. "Or, is it because you're the only boy left in school: that you think it gives you a free license to sleep with as many girls as you please!?"

"N-no, Miko...not at all…!"

"Actually, I would say Alex has that right"—a new, fourth party to the discussion suddenly interjects, causing the hairs on the back of Alice's neck to stand up.

Just then, the last person I could have hoped to encounter here—in such a delicate moment; surrounded by the stinking, bloody and mangled corpses of one of my girlfriends, as it were—made her presence known as she emerged at the bottom of the steps leading down from the upper-level laboratory.

"Alice!" I blurt out, surprised, moving an inch toward her—inadvertently coming just within range of Miko's arm…

"OW!"

She swings it hard, into my gut. And though I can't see her face beneath the mask she's wearing, I can sense that she's staring daggers at me as I'm reeling, doubled over in pain.

"Geez! I thought you said I was cute."

Ignoring my plight, she stomps toward Alice until there is barely an inch apart from them.

"Ms. Alice—is it okay if I call you that?" she says in a feisty sort of way. Her words, venomously dripping with sarcasm. "Before you say anything, lemmie guess: you're here looking for your favorite star pupil—Alex Strangelove."

"Yep." Alice briefly casts me a slightly amused, slightly bewildered wide-eyed smirk. Then at everything else, as her pressed lips let out a long whistle.

"This'll be a fun cleanup job."

"Alice," I say to her softly. "She knows."

But then she just looks at me, wearing the same undaunted, blank smile.

"Knows what...? That we've had sex?"

"Eh…?!" Miko yells, and Miki is blushing madly.

Not to mention, even I'm blushing too.

My God…

I can't believe she said it so openly!

Isn't she fearful of having her reputation tarnished at all?!

She gives a small laugh, hiding her lips behind her hand. "Oh, you three. I had assumed you've all been intimate before, but I guess not."

"That depends on what you mean by 'intimate!'" Miko snapped.

Ms. Alice blinks, looking more dumbfounded than I'd ever seen her. "You mean to say you're all in a relationship together, but you still haven't even once…?"

Miko tore off her gas mask, in a fit of rage. "NO! What kind of girls do you take us for?!"

There's a palpable tension in the air.

Alice looks Miko up and down, grinning. "Well, with that tan and hair color, all that gaudy makeup…" She shrugged. "Never mind. I guess one can't always judge a book by its cover."

"Was that an insult?! How mature!"

"I'm not the one who chooses to look like a clown in public every day."

"Better a clown than a cougar slut!"

I watched the two go back and forth, at each other's throats; frankly too scared to intervene. Until I felt the presence of Miki at my side, our timid gazes meeting through the corners of our eyes.

"You okay?' she asks.

"Never better." I sigh. "Right now, I'm watching two women fight over me."

"Please try to understand, Alex: Miko is just...super cautious. She looks tough and serious on the outside; but deep down, she's a total softy."

I smile. "Yeah, I get that. Miko just wants to make sure neither of you get hurt, is all."

"Mhmm." A shy smile graced Miki's pretty features, as she gave a soft nod. "She's always been looking out for me, like that. Sometimes she can be a bit overbearing, but I've always been grateful to have such a kind, compassionate friend."

Aww!

She's saying such adorable things!

It just goes to show how strong the bond is that exists between these two for it to endure beyond a near-apocalypse like Tea Time, then followed by having to deal with the drama that comes out of sharing a shitty, no-good boyfriend like me…

I take her by the hand, and she looks at me sharply with those large, innocent eyes of hers, and a startled gasp.

"Are you really okay with this?" I ask, just to be sure. "Because if you're only pretending to be fine to avoid more arguments, there's no need: I'll stop seeing Alice if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"Majority rules, huh…" She said in a hushed voice, taking my hand. Pressing it firmly. "I don't mind."

At this point, since all the fighting is over, I revert to my "normal" self—Alex Strangelove—as she does likewise. So now we're standing roughly at eye level, staring intently into the warm depths of each other's eyes.

"What a strange world we live in."

I almost laugh but manage to hold it in.

She smiles. "Huge understatement, I know." She frowned—becoming serious again. "Everything's so...topsy-turvy now; no one can tell up from down, so we're all sort of just stumbling around blindly, trying to decide for ourselves."

She gave a precious, meek smile that totally melted my heart.

"You're the only guy left in school—maybe even for miles! So in the end, there's only one of you to go around but a few girls like us, still clinging to our humanities."

"Miki-chan…!" I manage to utter, frozen in disbelief at the words she's saying.

"Hm? What's with that look…?"

I shake my head, feeling my heart pounding as I start to grow flustered. 

I hang my head. "It's...nothing."

Even Miki-chan has such deep thoughts about this world…? As I thought about it further, it dawned on me that the fact there were more girls than boys meant I could afford to be picky, whereas they would need to settle for what they could get.

It was...a truly scary degree of power to know that I possessed, and a seemingly huge reversal to the way of things in the Old World.

Although, for Kiki to realize all this...

I guess it's true: you really can't judge a book by its cover!

I notice Jessa smiling to herself, leaning forward—absolutely riveted—while she's still observing all of this as it unfolds, from her tall perch in the bleachers: once white, and spotlessly clean, but now splattered with the blood and entrails of countless little girls.

There was something she said earlier…

All that strange stuff, about what she called 'the dawning of a new age of humanity'…

Was she.….right? 

Are changes like this simply inevitable?

"Hey, Alex," Alice says, pulling me from my thoughts. "Mind pulling this rabid girlfriend off me, so I can talk to you for a second? It's pretty damn important."

"Grrr!" Miko huffs. "I won't let you get away that easy, homewrecker!"

"The results are finally in."

"Huh!? Are you talking about the—"

"The ruling on your fight with Flarelissa." Her eyebrows curl, imparting her an apologetic look. "Although, it can't be much of a surprise now, considering they sent ME to deliver the news—rather than a whole security team."

Miki, Miko, and I all gasped.

"You're saying...they let me off the hook?"

"Sure have! Although...it did take a fair bit of" —she feigns a stretch, culminating it with a long-drawn-out yawn—convincing...on my part, as the referee on duty at the time."

Inwardly, I could hardly control my excitement; like a huge weight had just been lifted off my chest, so that I could breathe again. But also, because I was just plain happy! With Miki hugging my side, congratulating me, and the still-steamed Miko casting an approving nod. 

So, THIS is what it feels like…

My very first victory!

"I have something else to tell you," Ms. Alice says, drawing closer. "Another decision was made, on behalf of both mine and the commander's input."

I was shocked. "The commander put in a good word for me…?!