Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

At that point, I was ready to relive the rest of my time with the Yamamoto Family—which I was also a part of, obviously—because one, I really do miss them, and two, I still couldn't believe that "remembering" like this was possible. However, before a montage of me mining ores deep in the mountain and training like hell with Aoi-san, I heard several snaps which brought me awake.

"W-What? Huh?"

"Glad to see that you're awake now, dear…" Marisha trailed as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was just getting to the good— Huh?"

"You took your sweet time, you doofus…/ You are sooo~ in trouble, pfft…/ Woof!"

To my surprise, Kaley, Olivia, and Zeus were in the room, and not only that, it seemed like the rewind didn't flow by in an instant. Still, I was only in my head for a couple of hours but what surprised Marisha was my desire to stay in it and experience that particular part in my life.

And then it hit me.

I awkwardly looked at them, "Did I… umm… y-you know?"

Kaley answered, looking miffed, "Did you what? Say it or we won't know what you're thinking."

I tried to play it off with a joke, "So you weren't psychics…"

She wasn't even fazed, "Don't even try, haaa… So, you really like her too? Aoi-san— I mean, Aoi, you liked her too, right?"

I awkwardly chuckled as I waved her off, "Sure. For the record though, I'm at the lowest point in my life there and things just happened one after the other. You probably would've seen everything if I didn't wake up—"

Kaley shook her head with a faint smile, "Nah~ I'm okay. I'll admit I was a little~ jealous—"

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Riiight~"

"Oh, shut up! You were staring at his dick when he got hard and—"

"I GOT WHAT?!" I exclaimed before I turned to Marisha for confirmation.

She couldn't even look me in the eye as she answered, "It… It happens… One of the reasons I tried waking you up but, you know… you won't, so, I called Kaley here to be safe but Olivia and Zeus c-came too."

Kaley just had to say it, "And you came too— not as much as when we, you know, but yeah—"

Olivia cut in, beet-red, and couldn't look me in the eye as well, "Oh, sis! Shut up! And I wasn't staring at it! I came in here expecting a normal session but he's already that y-you know! I was just surprised!"

"You started it! Who's jealous, now?"

"You— Jealous?! I didn't start anything! I was just—"

Marisha cut in, "Alright, ladies, that's enough. Calm down…" then she turned to me, "Dear, it's embarrassing, sure, but it really does happen. I have clients who would avail this type of treatment to remember their loved ones either estranged or who passed and it was a pretty common occurrence, to be fair to you. And so that you won't feel awkward doing this thing in the future…"

At this moment, I really wanted to dig myself the same hole Aoi-san was in from my memories—but what made it worse was the few minutes of silence where each of us didn't know what to do because Kaley asked me to clean up my mess in the restroom. But yeah, I decided to continue where I left off with Kaley and it was to assure her that I wasn't in a relationship before I entered one with her.

"Y-You don't need to explain that much, I'm really okay! But yeah, it seemed to me that you two would've worked out pretty well…"

"I guess so too…"

"Then why?"

"Why what?"

"Why aren't you two together?"

"Are you a fucking idiot?"

"Wha— I was asking a legitimate—"

"IT'S BECAUSE I LIKE YOU MORE, DUMBASS!"

"T-That—"

"Ayieeee~" Olivia couldn't contain herself.

"..." Marisha didn't say anything but she was smiling with a slight blush from my statement towards her daughter.

"Happy?!" I stared Kaley down with a funny expression as she started to get redder and redder.

But she wouldn't stop prodding the issue, "BUT— It just doesn't make any sense to me!"

"What doesn't make sense? It makes perfect sense to me, ya know?"

"You— W-What does she do a-anyway?"

"You've seen the albums, right? I mean— at the rate she was going, she would've been in the Olympics while managing the family's business at the same time. Remember we make mochis and other stuff?"

"I— She's drop-dead gorgeous and on her way to be famous! Then why—"

I rolled my eyes, "Same answer as before, next insecure question please~"

Kaley huffed when I struck a nerve, "YOU— There should be a reason! W-What's her side of the story w-when you s-said what you said?!"

"Eh~ I did mention you, for starters."

"A-And then?"

"With my tachi out of the way, that incident wouldn't happen again but…"

"There's a but?!"

"I mean, she had her naginata with her so let's just say she tried to kill me again—"

"WHAT?!"

"She didn't succeed now, did she? Heh, I had my katana and my wakizashi at the time too—and my tanto as backup. Who would win with that arrangement? It would've been a different story if she had her war bow and her quiver of arrows and I was a hundred meters away but yeah, I won."

"That's… ridiculous…"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Still, we talked it out for hours on end and we did end up having more casual encounters—since we weren't technically in a relationship with each other or to anyone else—but not going further than that was my boundary I placed on us at the time. A little unfair towards her, sure, but she was okay with that arrangement."

"T-Then?"

"She came to respect it since she had some time to think to herself when I left after a few months but what she left me with was she'd be waiting if the one I hadn't even pursued at the time, you, already had someone in their life or if I fail in my attempt.

Of course, every time I'd visit she'd ask me about you but she'd just get more happy when I tell her that I haven't even tried yet and was just busy doing prepper shit."

Kaley cut in, "Hold up, I thought Oscar hooked you up with other girls as well? Did she know about that?"
Experience more tales on empire

"I mean~ She knows that too but it's different with you, alright? I did tell her about what happened with us in high school, about my bullies and shit, and she definitely respects you more than you think. She's definitely like you, in a way, if we're comparing how you'd get a 'little' jealous as you said earlier."

As soon as I said that, Kaley was fucking speechless the same with Olivia and Marisha but I dropped another bomb right after diffusing the other one.

"Right, before I forget, she'd challenge you to a life-or-death match once we get there so… Trust the process and eat enough protein and calories—"

"SHE WILL WHAT?!"

"Don't worry~ She won't actually kill you, per se~ It will hurt, sure, if you aren't up to date with your training—"

"YOU— Isn't that a little unfair?! You're gonna pit me with probably a female version of you who's also an upcoming Olympic medalist—and also in her own turf?! I'm just decent at hand-to-hand fighting but I don't even know how to use bows and guns are nerfed over there—"

"Relax, relaaax~ I said trust the process, didn't I?"

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Or you can just do your thing with her, just sayin'~"

"What thing?"

Marisha couldn't be more displeased, "Olivia—"

"Whaaat? He wouldn't go behind sis's back for anything so what's the problem? It's more of that Aoi lady's problem, if anything. What use if the challenge if the heart's already decided? Ayiieee~ Ahahah! This is gonna be so good, I would love to see what happens still!"

"Olivia, shut up!"

"You shut up, sis! Listen to me!" then Olivia glanced at me and saw me facepalming, "You— What gives?! Am I wrong?!"

I waved her off, "Not really, but… Aoi-san only had experience with me… We're not even sure if she's into girls too or if she's open to doing it with us…"

Olivia rolled her eyes again, "Oh, please~ Sis is a succubus incarnate, she'll just work her magic on her and done! Happily ever after!"

"..." Me.

"..." Kaley.

"..." Marisha.

"..." Zeus.

"Whaat?! Am I not making any sense?! It happened a ton of times already! How is his sister any different?!"

Hearing Olivia say that, while it wasn't technically far from the truth, it still felt weird hearing someone say it out loud. However, Kaley didn't look too sure—if I were to judge from her expression—but even if I was wrong, there was definitely something on her mind.

Truth be told, I was half-expecting what Olivia said to happen sooner or later but it seemed like this time with Aoi-san, she didn't look too confident for the first time.