-Chapter 34: Playing Them
I wrap the red jacket around me as I lean forward in my seat. I found the same kind of jacket that Kiriya would wear at some store and bought it. Then I ordered a bunch of shirts that are similar to his. Now if I could find out what he smells like, I would be happy.
"Do you miss him that much?"
I look up. "It isn't the same without him," I answer, getting up. "Is there something I need to attend to, Hiiro?"
"You should have the day off," Hiiro answers. "I see that you're still grieving. I should give you time to mourn your loss. I'll ask my father to let you miss the rest of the entire week."
"I will be fine."
"If you pass out suddenly you won't be fine. I know you're barely eating. You need to let someone help you so you can help yourself."
"Are you being kind to me right now?"
"I'm doing what is best for my co-worker," Hiiro answers. "Go and punch out."
"Hiiro, why should I even do that?"
"Just do it."
I nod my head. "Fine, I'll go."
"Kara."
"Yes?"
"Did you love him?"
I laugh. "Why would you think that? We weren't together at all," I answer.
"Just how you're being. You're acting like you lost the love of your life," Hiiro tells me. Is that how I'm acting right now? Is that why I feel so upset? "Or maybe he was just your soulmate. Not the romantic kind of soulmate. I believe some friends can be soulmates."
"What is up with you? Why are you acting so out of character today?"
"Maybe it is because I'm being sentimental right now." He looks away. "Well, go and have the day off."
"Okay."
"What's going on here?"
I look over at Miyuki as she steps over to us with Taiga at her side. "I see you brought your boyfriend with you."
"We're not together," Taiga states. "She just followed me here."
"Uh-huh, sure!" I roll my eyes. "I'm going to clock out now."
As I clock out, Miyuki slips behind the Nurse's desk. "Why are you getting the day off?" Miyuki looks at me innocently.
"Well, I'm going to be needing a few days off to deal with somethings."
"She is mourning the loss of that coroner still isn't she?" Taiga asks.
"She is," Hiiro answers.
"That coroner? How can you be so cold, Taiga?" I glare at him.
"Did I do something wrong?" He looks at Miyuki. "I don't get your friend. What else should I call him? We all know his name so why should we refer to him by it? Also, most people think he is still alive. I'm trying to keep that image up."
"I don't have time for this. I'm going to go now."
"Have fun."
~.~
I stare at Parad as he kicks the ground gently, probably bored out of his mind. "Why are you kicking the poor ground?" I ask.
He looks up, smiling. "Am I not allowed to kick the ground?" He teleports over to my side and wraps his arms around me, placing his head on mine. "I love you so much, Kara. You wouldn't hide anything from me, right?"
"Of course I wouldn't hide anything from you, Parad. What are you trying to get at right now?" I ask him curiously.
"Is it true about you? You know what the coroner found out about you, right?"
"You know about that, huh?"
"So, it must be true?"
I push him back a bit and look him in the eyes. "Of course it is true, Parad."
"What would your husband say about it if he found out? Should I tell him?" He looks at me with a serious expression. Is he being serious right now? If he does that, it ends everything for me. "Ha-ha! I knew that would upset you!"
"Parad!" I lift my hand up and smack him gently on the arm. "Why are you trying to freak me out? If you do that, I'm going to be in so much trouble!"
"How come you didn't want to share that with me? I honestly can careless what you're up to with him and the others. Just don't go around playing me or else it'll be your last move," he states.
"Would you kill me over it?"
"No, I would just break your heart for it."
I smile. "Do you doubt me right now?"
"I don't have any doubts about you right now. Everyone else will soon though. I know it'll come out eventually. The truth always does," he answers. He leans down a bit and captures my lips, kissing me a bit roughly.
I hook an arm around his neck, pulling him a bit closer, and kiss him back just as roughly. Being in a relationship with a Bugster is pretty darn nice. He can teleport and do stuff no one else can. But I do have to worry about what he intends to do with the world.
He pulls back a bit. "Is it against your job to be dating someone?"
"Not exactly. I was told to come here and hook up with the CEO of Genm Corp," I admit. "I had to get close to him as soon as I could. I actually knew a lot about him before I met him."
"Why did you play hard to get then? And act so clueless?"
"Because that was my cover story. I had to seem super innocent. And I also had to seem really clueless and dim. If I didn't do that, I would seem weird to people or suspicious with my actual personality."
"Ah, so no one would suspect you, right?"
I nod my head and get on my tippy toes, staring him in the eyes. "And no one did. Not even you."
"And your relationship with Hiiro? Did you already know about Saki?"
"I was told to be similar to her in order to attract Hiiro's attention. I copied her hairstyle and got into character as soon as I could so I could seduce him. It worked but I had my worries about seducing such a nice guy. Hiiro may be cold but he isn't that cold on the inside. He's just aching inside."
"You know him very well. Did you actually love him?"
"I grew to have feelings for him."
"Just who are you exactly, Kara?"
"I am who I am. You know that don't you?"
"Shall I get all the information out of you?"
"Huh?"
He smirks. "You know what I want to do, right?"
"You want to annoy the never ending crap out of me, right?"
"Pretty much." He hooks his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. "At least I know the truth about you. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your little secret. I have my own secrets too. I don't intend on sharing them with you at the moment. If I did, I wouldn't know what to do about it."
"I wouldn't even share them with Kuroto."
"Good."
"Parad..."
"Hm?"
"Don't you hate Humans?"
"In a way..." He moves a hand to the back of my head, touching my hair gently. "Don't have a misunderstanding about us. I love you, Kara. I don't care about you being a Human. If you treat me well, I'll treat you well. Besides, you're entertaining. Who knew you would be so evil?"
"I wouldn't say that I'm evil. I just don't have a good intentions," I reply, closing my eyes and placing my head on him. "What if you do take over the world?"
"We've been over this haven't we? I will let you live on and no one will be able to touch you. I need a Queen for my world after all."
"If you ever have your way, you won't kill me, right?"
"I wouldn't kill you unless you do something to make me have to."
"Good. I don't want to be on your bad side."
He keeps rubbing my head gently. "Even though you were hiding something from me, I can forgive you. I completely understand why you would hide that. It is something you should be sharing with the entire world. I just wonder why Kiriya Kujo didn't blackmail you."
"I wonder about that too."
Parad presses his lips against the top of my head. "I would have killed him if he would have done that," he states. He would have killed Kiriya?
"Why would you have done that?"
"Because no one is going to be blackmailing someone I really care about. Besides, you're the only Human I actually care about in this world."
"Parad..."
"So, what is your mission exactly?"
"That is classified."
"You can share it with me since I already know about why you're here."
"The Gashats."
"I see. That is what my mission is about too. I need one for myself."
"Do you want to be a Kamen Rider?" I look up at him and he kisses my forehead gently.
"I want to be able to play with you and the others. It'll be fun and very, very exciting for me."
I nod my head. "That would actually be exciting. Besides, you'll be the hottest Kamen Rider ever," I reply, smiling. "So, does Kuroto know what you want?"
"Of course he does. I've made it very clear to him that I want to play a game with that M kid."
"M? Emu?"
"Yeah, I want to play with him. I want to defeat him so I can show him who the true king of games is."
"You sound like a certain character from a TV show I used to watch."
"Do I?" He looks at me innocently. "I haven't seen any such shows before. Do they really exist?"
I nod. "Yeah, of course. I wouldn't lie to you about that. Sure, I was hiding something from you before but that was important to keep from people. I'm surprised that Kiriya Kujo found anything on it because I thought it was hidden away very well."
"You should really get a new job."
"I have a job. I'm a nurse."
"Do you actually enjoy that kind of job?"
"I'm happy whenever I help someone."
"Would you want me to keep that once I take over the world?"
"I doubt Bugsters are going to need a nurse to tend to them."
"Bugsters need things that you humans need. We're people too," Parad states. "We just don't die like you guys do. Also, we have powers."
"Do you love music?"
"Music?"
"Do you ever listen to it?"
"Why are you switching the subject?"
I shrug. "I guess I'll miss it when the other humans are gone," I answer. "Can Bugsters sing very well?"
"I guess."
"Anyways, if you help me I will help you," I tell him. "Keep this to yourself and you will be rewarded, Parad."
"Alright, I will."