The True Endgame

Book 6: Chapter 9:

The train finally returns to the station, and aboard it is a sight that turns the stomachs of many waiting to board the ride. Those who are not disgusted are laughing.

Serra, wondering what everybody is laughing and disgusted at, finally turns around to look behind her.

Her eyes open wide as she discovers the destruction behind her.

The two men that sat directly behind them are both covered in their own vomit from their chests to their foreheads.

Every single row behind them is covered, too. The cars, the people in them – it is a disaster unsanitary enough that the staff will need to swap the train out for one of the backups so that they can clean and sanitize the train.

When Serra looks up at Ryouta, she sees a man with a smug, satisfied smile.

Suspicious. Very suspicious.

What is even more suspicious is that he signs to her telling her they need to leave immediately.

It is time to run before he gets reported.

And so, figuring that Cassandra and Alice will catch up and hopefully not kill him, Ryouta gets out of the train, holds Serra’s hand, and gets out of there before those recovering from the nightmare of a ride can report what happened.

Ryouta is not running away; he is tactically acquiring a safer position.

When he finally feels safe, he pulls out his phone to send a group text letting Alice and Cassandra know where they are hiding.

He doesn’t get an answer which does cause him to worry a bit.

They may potentially be very upset with him. He can’t blame them if they are, either.

Was it worth it?

Ryouta looks down at Serra.

Her hair has been blown back and it may now be the messiest he has ever seen it. Her cheeks are still flushed, too.

Most importantly, she is wearing a mighty grin.

“Have fun?” he asks her.

Serra nods, reaches up to grab his face, and kisses him.

“Fun,” she says. “Fery fun.”

It was worth it.

“See? Roller coasters aren’t that scary.”

She nods her head and looks over at the line.

She wants to go again.

Unfortunately, that would not be a good idea, and Ryouta finally explains to her what happened while switching out one part.

It is not that he wants to lie to her. It is that he doesn’t want to ruin her day.

So, he explains what happened and says that he did it because the guys behind them were mocking him with racial slurs. A simple lie, but a believable enough one.

Unfortunately for him…

Serra pouts and lightly smacks his arm.

“I guess I was too obvious. I just can’t bring myself to seriously try around any of you. Sorry for trying,” he says.

Serra signs, asking if they were making fun of her.

As much as he doesn’t want to confirm it, she is already suspicious and he is too bad of a liar when it comes to his girlfriends.

“Yeah,” he sighs.

Serra pouts more before sighing herself.

While sitting next to each other on a stone bench, she grabs his head and pulls him down so that she has his head against her chest.

“Hanks,” she whispers – or rather, tries to whisper. She is louder than she realizes.

Next, she pulls out her phone while holding his head against her chest still with her other hand.

A short wait later and she holds it in front of his face.

You’re a bad dog for trying to lie, but I know why you did and I appreciate it even if I don’t like it. Don’t ever try to lie to me again, no matter how small even if it’s super tiny for my own good, okay? Even if I ask you if my butt looks big in pants, if it does, I want you to say so. Cass Cass wouldn’t want you to, but I would. Never try it again. Also, I love you and thank you for trying. I know this is sending mixed messages. I don’t like that you tried to lie, but I understand why you did and I really do love you for trying because of why you lied, but I don’t need you to lie to protect me. All I need is for you to hold me and comfort me when I feel bad. And make people throw up. That also helps me.

Ryouta sighs, realizing that all of his girlfriends really are perfect.

“I have to try and be a better boyfriend for all of you,” he says, though she is not able to read his lips thanks to how she is holding him.

“You mean be a boyfriend who doesn’t almost make vomit rain all over his girlfriends?”

Ryouta looks up.

Cassandra and Alice are in front of them.

“A-ah. Hey. Uh… about that,” he says, not even wanting to look them over to see if they got vomit on them or not.

“You’re lucky,” Casandra says.

He finally looks them over.

Not a single speck of vomit is anywhere on them.

He breathes a sigh of relief.

“We realized what you were doing, and although we did not understand why, we ducked before anything could happen!” Alice explains. “The staff at the station were not happy with us. Ducking as low as we were is apparently not allowed and actually quite dangerous!”

“You’re saying that way too enthusiastically,” Cassandra says. “So, why did you decide to troll a whole ride and get vomit all over everybody?” she asks Ryouta.

“Well—”

“For me,” Serra says.

She quickly types what happened on her phone and hands it over to Alice so that she and Cassandra can read it.

“I see! My hero – ah, wait. You are not my hero for the day. I forgot. Serra’s hero, I must admit that I would never have expected such a plan! I suppose that this is the true power of the one who once led the Divine Brigade,” Alice says, handing the phone back to Serra.

“Seriously… we saw the faces you were making. How’d you get that good at pretending how to vomit?” Cassandra asks.

“To get out of school,” Ryouta answers. “Nurses were quick to call my parents when I’d pretend that I was sick, but I only did it a couple times a year. The burping thing – I learned that for no real reason. I think. If I had a reason for it, I forget.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t get us sick. I was starting to feel it myself, and hearing everybody in front of us didn’t help. You’re such a sadist.”

“I know, but you like it when I’m sadistic, Cass Cass.”

“Not when you’re that type of sadistic. Well, I mean… why you were sadistic is hot, but not how you were sadistic. That was just… gross.”

“I did what needed to be done. It was for the greater good. Getting back at those two punks for what they were doing was worth potentially getting you two caught up in the crossfire.”

“I don’t know how to feel about what I just heard. You just said that it would be worth it if you got vomit on us.”

“But it was for Serra.”

“I think you just wanted to be a dick, too.”

“I mean… I can’t deny that I didn’t want to get revenge just because. They were assholes.”

“I really shouldn’t find that as attractive as I do. Why do I have to like bad guys…”

“Are you saying I should be bad more often to make sure you stay in love with me?”

“No. Being bad once a year is enough for me. I’ll be mad if you’re bad any more than that.”

“Alright. I’ll make sure to come up with a super asshole plan for next year.”

“Just don’t include vomit next time.”

“What if I include vomit but make sure that none of you are at risk of getting it on you?”

“No vomit.”

“Alice?”

“I must take Cassandra’s side on this matter, Serra’s hero,” Alice answers.

“You can just call me by my name if you’re not going to call me your hero.”

“I could! However, if I call you Serra’s hero instead of Ryouta, I still get to call you a hero!”

“I’m pretty sure he’s a villain today,” Cassandra interjects. “Chaotic neutral at least.”

“Not chaotic good?” Ryouta asks.

“If you were chaotic good then you would have cared about getting a bunch of innocents caught up in your revenge.”

“Oh. All the others getting vomit on them took it from being revenge to being hilarious.”

“Never mind. You’re chaotic evil.”

“Wonderful!” Alice cheers. “Then I may call you my villain! Though, you have never done anything so villainous to me. My he—Serra’s hero! Do something villainous to me so that I may justify calling you my villain!”

“Like – like what?” Ryouta asks.

“Choke me.”

“I’m not choking you in public.”

“Smack me.”

“I’m not smacking you, either.”

“Toss me out of my wheelchair and push my head against the ground underneath your foot!”

“I’m not that evil!”

“Hmm. You are making this rather difficult. Ah! I know.”

“What?”

“Insult me!”

“I’d feel way too bad.”

“Hmm. Very well. Pinch me hard enough to make me bleed.”

“I – I mean… I could, but I’d probably still feel bad.”

“Ah, I see. I would have thought that the former leader of the fearsome Divine Brigade would be capable of pinching a girl, but I suppose that there are some things even the former leader could not do.”

“Come here.”

Alice wheels closer with an excited smile on her face.

Ryouta finally pulls his head away from Serra’s chest.

“Cover us,” he tells Cassandra and Serra.

Serra gives a thumbs-up while Cassandra sighs.

With Alice sitting in her wheelchair in front of him, Cassandra and Alice strategically covering them from passersby, Ryouta leans forward and presses his lips against her neck.

And bites.

He only bites her hard enough to draw blood, but…

In Alice Vision, the fangs of a vampire are sinking deep into the delicate flesh of her neck. In a dark castle atop a lonely hill, the only other living creatures around being bats and crows, Alice has been kidnapped from the small village that she calls home by a horrifying-but-oh-so-handsome lord of the night! He swept her away one night while she was walking through the fields too late at night regardless of how many times her parents warned her not to. After bringing her back to the castle, she has been kept alive as he has brought her food and water with his daily attempts at seducing her mind.

For the fearsome vampire Ryoutula wants not a forced servant but one who is willing to fall into the dark with him!

After weeks of developing Stockholm syndrome, the pure maiden Alice has finally given in to the desires implanted in her mind by Ryoutula.

She has submitted to him.

Laid down on his grand bed covered in crimson sheets, he has pinned her down and brought his lips to her neck.

And now he is turning her into a vampire just like he is.

The irreversible ritual will forever change her life, and her existence will be tied to his from now until the end of eternity!

By the time that the ritual is complete, she can only sigh in disappointment that his fangs have left her neck.

But at least he has left her with a gift.

Alice reaches up to her neck to touch where the two, deep holes have been left so that she can feel the proof of his action.

“Was it painful?” Ryoutula asks, his fangs dripping with her blood that he oh-so-seductively licks with his tongue.

Alice parts her lips to respond, but…

“There,” Cassandra says, putting a bandage on Alice’s neck. “We’ll get in trouble if people see you walking around with a fresh hickey.”

Alice lets out the longest, most disappointed sigh that any of them have ever heard come from her. In fact, they did not even know that she is capable of making such a noise of disappointment until now.

“Was it too painful?” Ryouta asks.

“Ryouta,” Alice says, looking into his eyes with the eyes of a puppy.

“Ye-yeah?”

“If I buy you a vampire costume, will you please pretend to be my Ryoutula?”

“Ryou… Ryoutula?”

Cassandra has to look away and cover her mouth to not laugh.

“Please, Ryouta? I need this. I know that a vampire and maiden play may be tame compared to most of my fantasies, but it is now the most desired fantasy I have ever had! Please, Ryouta? Please?”

She looks like she is genuinely about to cry.

“Alright, alright. I’ll – I’ll pretend to be a vampire for you.”

Alice instantly cheers up and claps her hands together. “Wonderful! Thank you very much, my villain. Ah, and do bite harder next time. I wish for you to bite into my carotid artery.”

“I – you’d have to go to the hospital if I did that.”

“And?” Alice asked, the expression on her face being one that truly does not understand why that would be an issue.

Her greedy desire for the vampiric fantasy is far too strong. It is so strong that it is overwhelming all common sense.

All that matters is that she continues the scene from her Alice Vision.

“You’re scary sometimes, Alice,” Ryouta says.

“That is no good! The maiden is supposed to be scared of the villain. Perhaps you should bite the other side of my neck to prove how fearsome you are?”

“I—”

Cassandra pulls out a few more bandages from her purse.

“Alright.”

After giving Alice several more reasons to wear bandages on her neck, there is no way that she does not look suspicious.

No girl would normally be rolling around in a wheelchair, in an amusement park, with five bandages spread out across the most biteable parts of her neck.

Then, of course, Cassandra and Serra were not going to be the only ones left without bandaged necks.

And then there was Ryouta.

Serra made sure that Ryouta has a reason to wear a bandage on his neck. She tried to convince Alice and Cassandra to give his neck reasons for bandages, too, but both prefer to be the bitees rather than the biters.

And so, with each party member having a bandaged neck, they finally resumed giving the amusement park itself some attention.

First came dinner.

Their stomachs were still mostly full from their earlier binging, but they managed to find enough room to get proper dinners at one of the “classy” restaurants inside of the amusement park.

While the food was not as high-class as a classy restaurant not based inside of an amusement park, and it was on the same tier as McFonalds to Alice, they still enjoyed the meals that they ordered.

It had been too long since Ryouta last ordered a steak. And, of course, he ordered it rare since any steak that is cooked beyond rare is a piece of rubber. Medium-rare is acceptable, but he knows that blue to rare is how steak is meant to be consumed.

This was dangerous for him.

Was it the fact that he was eating a rare steak cooked in an amusement park that was dangerous?

No.

What was dangerous was the fact that he ate a rare steak in front of Alice while she was already in the mood for vampires.

If she was not already addicted to the concept of Ryoutula, her addiction was cemented when she saw “blood” from the steak drip down his lips.

It was such a shame to her when he wiped it off with a napkin.

At the very least, he could have allowed her to lick it off! To share the blood of a victim between two vampires – what could be more romantic?

Cassandra was the only one to pick up on how obsessively Alice was watching Ryouta eat his steak. Ryouta was too busy enjoying his steak, and Serra was too busy eating her chicken fingers with mac and cheese. She also had a beer to go with it.

Drinking alcohol wasn’t allowed in the amusement park… except inside of a couple specifically marked zones, one of which was the restaurant.

What better to have in a classy restaurant than chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese, and a beer?

There was something that Cassandra noticed outside of the window they were sat next to.

A small boy walked by with a cone of spiraled ice cream far too tall for him.

Needless to say, they acquired ice cream after dinner.

Now, having experienced most of what the park has to offer in both rides and food, the streetlights have been turned on and the sun is no longer visible in the sky.

The group is now sitting on a blanket that they have rented and placed down over a grass field in front of a grand pond with a flowing fountain at its center. The Ferris wheel in the background is in the process of its final rotations, most of the rides have already closed for the night, and the screams and shouts that filled the park earlier have all but died out save for an occasional few.

It is mostly other couples and families sitting together on the grass. Fortunately, the food that some of them are eating is not enough to tempt Ryouta and his girlfriends to eat any more after how much they have already consumed. Though, the food does lend a delicious scent to the air.

There are even a few fireflies popping up with their glowing rears every now and then. Given how rare fireflies are, most people in attendance—Ryouta and his girlfriends included—have either never seen them before or have not seen them in many years. However, for an amusement park with money to spare, having a farm for them to release them on perfect nights such as these helps to provide an unforgettable night for the guests.

Ryouta and Alice may be on wanted lists now within the park, but they are still valued costumers. For now.

“Have fun?” Ryouta asks Cassandra and Alice.

“I hate myself for how much I ate, but yeah,” Cassandra answers. “Today was really nice. We should do this again sometime, but… maybe go to a place that doesn’t have so much junk food.”

“I agree! Though, I am fine with going to another place with such great selections of food. I am confident in my self-control,” Alice says.

“You didn’t have to throw that last part on there.”

“I know, my dear Cassandra, but it is not often that I join in on teasing you. Please forgive me.”

“Fine. You’re forgiven.”

“Thank you!”

“What about you?” Cassandra asks Ryouta. “You have fun?”

“Yeah. A lot. Got to ride the rides, eat the food, grief some assholes – I don’t think there’s any better way to spend a day at an amusement park,” he answers.

“You could spend it as a vampire!” Alice suggests.

“Maybe for Halloween.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Amusement parks usually have special Halloween events where they set up haunted houses, sometimes change the designs of rides to have special props and scares, and people like to dress up for it. I remember going to one with my mom when I was a kid for Halloween. While we were walking, a guy in a butcher’s costume with a hockey mask on snuck up behind us and revved a fake chainsaw. I jumped, but my mom screamed, let go of me, and ran away while screaming at the top of her lungs. She apologized to me for the next couple of weeks for abandoning me to a chainsaw killer.”

Serra might not have managed to read his lips for all of that, but that doesn’t stop her from joining Cassandra and Alice in smiling from his story.

“Hey, wasn’t that… like the first story you’ve ever told us from your childhood?” Cassandra asks.

“If it was not, it was certainly the first one featuring one of his parents!” Alice adds on.

“Seriously?” Ryouta asks. “I… guess I just never really thought of telling you stories about them before. Or me as a kid.”

“I would love to hear more of your childhood, my villain. I think your parents would like your memories of them to live on and be shared!”

Cassandra scratches the side of her head while looking away.

It isn’t that she doesn’t want to hear more stories of Ryouta’s youth and his parents as well, but given what happened…

“Sure,” Ryouta says. “I’ll have to dig out the old photo album I have. There are hundreds of pictures of me with my parents in it, and there’s probably a story to go with each one.”

All of his girlfriends are now much, much more interested than they were before.

“Hundreds… of pictures of you as a kid?” Cassandra asks.

The three girls lean in closer.

Even Serra is paying full attention now.

“That reminds me,” Ryouta says, pulling out his phone.

Sitting on the blanket that they rented, Ryouta lies down and pulls his girlfriends down with him so that they are shoulder-to-shoulder.

“My mom loved taking pictures, and she always told me to make sure to take pictures of everything and everybody important to me. She said that pictures are what keep memories fresh. We don’t take too many pictures together, so… let’s start,” he suggests, holding his phone above them.

He assumes that his girlfriends are smiling for the camera.

One picture later and Ryouta checks it to make sure that it came out alright.

“Can – can we redo that one?” Cassandra asks.

“Nope,” Ryouta answers. “My mom said that retakes aren’t as authentic. The first picture is the most real and genuine one.”

“But… alright. It’ll remind me that I really need to start losing weight.”

“What? Are you trying to say that you look overweight in the picture or something?”

Cassandra looks away, which results in her turning her head to face Serra, which results in Serra quickly taking a kiss from her with minimal effort needed.

Ryouta looks closer at the picture.

All he can see are his beautiful and flawless girlfriends.

Regardless, the picture is being kept.

Now, thinking back to what he said earlier about being a better boyfriend…

What time would be better than now to try and be just a little bit more smooth?

He knows that his attempts at being smooth usually result in the opposite… but he has a plan that would be extremely hard to mess up.

“Here,” he says, sliding his arms underneath his girlfriends.

With Alice on his right side, then Cassandra and Serra to his left, he has positioned his arms to serve as pillows for each of them.

“The fireworks will begin in one minute!” the announcer says over the speakers. “The park will be closing afterward. Please deposit all trash in the nearest trash bin once the show is over.”

Ryouta and his girlfriends snuggle up closer to each other as a gust of cool wind brushes by them.

His arms are already falling asleep.

But.

Having asleep arms in uncomfortable positions is one of the costs of being a good boyfriend.

The first firework flies into the sky, exploding into hundreds of burning streaks of various colors.

As nice as taking pictures can be for keeping memories, there is nothing like simply enjoying the present with those that he loves.

No picture could ever capture the joy and love that they all feel.

“I love all of you,” Ryouta says.

“I love you as well, my villain! And you, my dearest Cassandra. And, of course, my hero for the day,” Alice declares.

“I don’t know why, but hearing that right now… you’re getting me all emotional. What is this, a romance movie? A-anyways… I – I love you all, too,” Cassandra says.

Ryouta makes sure to poke Serra to grab her attention, and then he repeats what he said while she reads his lips.

Serra signs back with a huge smile on her face as the colorful fireworks above illuminate her.

Content and loved, the lovers enjoy the fireworks show.

It does not last forever, but the memory of it will.

Ryouta’s arms are finally freed when his girlfriends are forced to get up from a voice over the speaker reminding everybody to clean up and leave.

Together, they head out through the park’s main entrance while occasionally bumping into each other from how tired they all are. A cotton candy maker offers discounted cotton candy for the ride home, but Cassandra finally finds the self-control to refuse.

There is still so much that they have to worry about and prepare for in the world of Fantasy Tales Online, but none of that matters right now.

All that matters is the memory that they have spent all day creating together.

Finally, they reach the autocar they rented to bring them here earlier in the day.

Alice, despite moving the least out of all of them, is already asleep when Ryouta helps her out of her wheelchair into the backseat.

Serra joins her in the back as Ryouta and Cassandra sit in the front seats.

After inputting their destination, the autocar joins the traffic in leaving the park. It will handle everything on its own with zero user input, so they may rest easy until they arrive home.

Spotting Cassandra’s hand resting between their seats, Ryouta gently holds onto it and says, “We should go on more dates.”

“Yeah. I really enjoyed today, Ryouta.”

He looks in the rear-view mirror and sees that Serra has already joined Alice in being asleep, and she’s using Alice’s thighs as a pillow.

“I’d ask you if you want to make out until we’re home, but I’m too tired. Can we just hold hands until we’re back?” he asks Cassandra who looks just as tired as he is.

“Yeah. That sounds nice to me.”

Turning their heads to face each other, their hands gently holding the other’s, the two fall asleep just moments later.

And their hands stay together until they safely make it home.