124 Vol. 2 pt. 61 Patch 11.0: The Not-So-Delusional Princess (1/2)
Once The Shoebill finds a safe and hidden cove off the coast to hide in, the crew goes to sleep one by one until the only ones left are Corwin and Oleander doing perverse things to each other by the ship's wheel.
Ryouta, now staring up at his ceiling fan, hopes that Rock covers her ears and doesn't go above deck while they're offline. He doesn't want her witnessing their lewd acts. Rock is pure and her innocence must be maintained!
He looks over at his computer screen. Nell said that she didn't have Fiscord, but that she would get it and add him on there before going to sleep. He's curious what kind of person she'll be on there given how Serra behaves so much more bubbly and hyper in text.
”Tournament won, asshole killed by fishing rod, Nell saved, discovery of Ull not being a super asshole – I mean, Nell did tell me that he donates to exotic animal shelters, so of course he couldn't be all that bad. Anyways, Fan, I think I've earned the right to catch up on all of the sleep I've missed over the past few days. Wait, am I actually calling you Fan now? I swear, I'm going to start naming my food and furniture if I keep this up,” Ryouta says.
Fan continues spinning its blades around.
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Ryouta closes his eyes and falls asleep no more than a minute later.
Once more, he has that dream – nightmare, of his childhood friend. Aiko.
His dream is full of vivid detail. Everything from the shapes of clouds that he memorized while staring up at them on the road to the sounds of chirping birds is just like it was on that day.
”Aiko! Wait!” Ryouta shouts, his body a mimicry of what it once was as a child.
”H-hero! Slow down!” Aiko shouts at his dog that she's walking, but it's more like the dog is walking her with how strong and fast he is. A girl as small as her should never be walking a dog as large and powerful as Hero is.
Ryouta knows what is going to happen. This has all happened before, yet despite knowing what comes next, he chases after her none the same.
His only regret from that day is not being able to save Hero. He has never once regretted being able to at least save Aiko, though.
Ryouta spots the autotruck destined to ruin his legs coming down the street. It may be obeying the speed limit, but it is on a road that parents have been telling the city to lower the limit on because of the children for years.
”Automated vehicles have never been the cause of an accident involving a loss of human life. One hundred percent of accidents where a human has died have been because of natural disasters impossible to predict and compensate for, or people not respecting the road and using their heads to avoid mistakes that should be common sense. Even then, pedestrian deaths have experienced a drastic drop since automated vehicles have been steadily replacing human-driven vehicles. The autotruck in this latest tragedy performed exactly as it should have, and no humans were even killed. Yes, one was hit, but where were the parents? Why did the parents allow a small child to walk a dog that she could not handle on her own, and why did the boy who got hit run out into the road when he clearly saw danger approaching? It is a misfortunate accident, but it could have been avoided had the parents done their job.”
That's what the local news reporter is going to say after what is about to happen. Ryouta remembers hearing all about it on the television that was in his hospital room. Hearing that it was his parents' fault always pissed him off, and Aiko's parents would be sure to use the reporter's logic for why their daughter was almost killed. Never once did they thank his parents nor himself for saving Aiko. Instead, Ryouta and his parents were blamed for it all happening and all contact between the families was cut off when Aiko's parents moved away to force her away from him.
”Aiko!” Ryouta shouts, rushing out onto the road.
He made the mistake of only pushing her before.
Aiko stands still in the center of the road, unaware of what is about to happen, and petting Hero now that she has finally got him to stop.
In real life, Ryouta pushed Aiko forward to knock her out of the vehicle's path and was too slow to save Hero. However, him not being able to save Hero is the only thing that prevented him from taking the full force of the hit.