“Sorry for calling you, Bleed but I needed your help.” Ryuga stood firm as Bleed protected Ryuga from any danger. “No, no, I appreciate your help in telling me about my daughter.” Bleed pleaded in return. At that moment Ryuga thought, “He does realize that I was lying, right?” Even Ryuga didn’t predict that Mayumi would actually be here since he didn’t know anything that was going on because of his memory loss.

“Hey, why is your father all goody-goody two shoes with that Ryuga Aragi?” Chilli Ranger pointed out. “Yeah, they seem like...Close friends or something.” Even Ryan jumped in. Mayumi felt annoyed and frustrated by the fact that Bleed and Ryuga were talking like close friends since the last time those two met, there was a heated conversation between them. “What the hell did you do, Ryuga?!” Mayumi controlled herself whispering and clenching her fists angrily.

Ryuga looks at Mayumi and the others. He stares at them for a few seconds. “Serious question Bleed, can you take on all of them?” Ryuga asked Bleed. Ryuga realized that they were surrounded by a bunch of Ghosts. It wasn’t only the three of them but rather some other Ghosts and even Bleed realized something, “I don’t know. To be honest, I am an SS-rank true but there are a few A-ranks and S-ranks protecting this place as well. Even if I win against like 5 of them there will always be one who will destroy me in the end. We are at a total disadvantage here.” Bleed explained to Ryuga.

“It’s surprising to me though.” Bleed said to Ryuga. Ryuga was totally confused about what Bleed was talking about, “I am talking about how calm you are considering that this might be a situation where you and I both might lose face and our lives.” Bleed wasn’t wrong. Ryuga was actually calmer than Bleed. Even his breathing, his stance, his heartbeat, his way of talking without hesitation, it was almost as if he was a calm sea. It was almost as if, he was ready for this kind of situation where he is at a disadvantage.

“What do you mean? Do you mean why I am not afraid? If that’s the case what’s being afraid going to do? It’s just going to make me lose my calm and I will be defeated not only physically as well as mentally. That’s the reason, why I can’t lose my calm or be afraid.” Ryuga said but even as he spoke deep down he knew this was a pretty bad situation.

At this time, Bleed couldn’t help but admire Ryuga’s courage. He never thought that Ryuga was such a brave kid. He always thought of him as a nuisance for his daughter. He thought Ryuga was a normal person who hadn’t even broken through his first limiter and taking advantage of Mayumi. To see Ryuga stand bold without any fear put a smile on his face. After all, Bleed admires people who have a sense of justice and are bold to speak up for it and seeing Ryuga he saw that in him.

Bleed slaps Ryuga on his back, “Ouch! What the heck?!” There was a huge grin on his face. This shocked Mayumi since her own father rarely smiles.

Even Ryuga was shocked by the sudden grin on Bleed’s face, “You and your father, both of them have that same sense of courage, the same sense of justice. So, you better be sure that you get justice for that friend of yours.” The reason Bleed knows about this is that Ryuga told him about the situation before he got here.

“I will be sure to hold off anyone who comes to stop you. Even it costs me my life.” Bleed spoke with that grin. This sudden change in Bleed put Ryuga in shock. He thought that why would someone even throw away their lives for him?

“YOU HEAR THAT?! IF ANYONE EVEN TOUCHES THE KID, I WILL PROTECT HIM!” Bleed made sure that it was loud and clear that he is protecting Ryuga even if it costs him his life. In the shadows, a few Ghosts were sweating.

One of the male Ghosts asked another Ghost, “If he got serious...Do you think we would stand a chance?” The other Ghost who was a female answered, “Even at my full power, Bleed would be a challenge. We can surely defeat him but we might lose a good chunk of our people.”

Ryuga had a spiral of thoughts at this point. He just didn’t know what to make of this situation. There were so many things that were just so out of the syllabus. He just hadn’t prepared enough for Bleed to get so protective of him. It was almost as if a miracle had happened. The person who wanted to get rid of him was the person who decided that they will protect him with their own life on the line. Ryuga didn’t know what to make of it.

At the same, Ryuga knew that Bleed who was so keen on protecting him would definitely die with so many Ghosts surrounding him. He knew that Bleed would die if he tried to protect him and that is why he was conflicted about doing the right thing.

Even if, he exposed Ryan, Ryuga didn’t want someone else’s blood on his hands. He would surely expose Ryan if Bleed were to protect him but at what cost. Either way, if this was a visual novel where choices mattered, Ryuga would take the wrong path and get the bad ending where even Mayumi will be on his ass for killing off her own father.

There was another path though, a path where Ryuga became a villain. If he became a villain and turned himself into a despicable and hateful character, he would surely save everyone but would he really do that? Would he really turn himself into a villain to save a mere Ogre? Only time would tell.

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~

Ryuga finally came to a decision. He walked forward as both Chilli Ranger and Mayumi took their stances to fight Ryuga. “Go ahead boy and expose that bastard!” Bleed smiled at Ryuga behind him but he wasn’t ready for what Ryuga was about to do next.

“I would like to strike a deal.” That’s what Ryuga said to Ryan. “What?!” Everyone around was confused by the fact that something like that was said by Ryuga. “If you let Jau-Unfurn go, we will forget everything we saw. We won’t ever mention this meeting ever happened. We will even forget about Alicia and walk away like nothing ever happened. That’s my deal.” Ryuga put his terms on the table. That was the deal that Ryuga came up with.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING BOY?!!!!” The huge screaming question angrily merged from Bleed. He wasn’t expecting Ryuga to pull up a deal. “I am sorry Bleed this is the only way I got to deal with this situation.” Ryuga said with a smile. “I actually can’t do anything else since I acted rashly. I thought that Alicia was an A-rank Ogre but she was a member of the Illuminati. It was my mistake, I am sorry. I was blinded by the fact that I considered her as my friend.” Ryuga admitted to the fact that Alicia was with the Illuminati.

“BOY!!!! YOU ARE REALLY MAKING ME ANGRY!” Bleed screams again, “Do you not trust my abilities?!” Bleed questions Ryuga. Ryuga smiles again, “I trust your abilities but I don’t trust my own...” That answer surprised Bleed. “What are you plotting, boy?” Bleed realized the tone that Ryuga was speaking with. He realized that Ryuga is doing this not because he wants to but because this is his only choice.

“Nothing much, just a friendly reminder that you shouldn’t trust idiots like me.” Ryuga chuckled. “Boy?!” Bleed looked confused by Ryuga’s answer.

At the same time, Ryan had an evil grin popping on his face. It was as if he had already decided what to do. “I will accept the deal but first, you will have to lick my boot. Once you do that, I will let you and your Ogre friend go.” Ryan kept on grinning. He knew this was his chance to take control of the situation. So he puts his boot in front of a puddle so that Ryuga could even lick the puddle water along with the dirtied boot.

“What the fuck?! That’s messed up!” Mayumi steps in for Ryuga but Ryuga still walked past Mayumi. Bleed didn’t say anything, it’s not like he didn’t want to stop Ryuga but the things that Ryuga said earlier made Bleed think whether or not Ryuga knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold off those Ghosts. As for Mayumi, she was in utter shock since Ryuga totally ignored her stepping up for him and just walked past her like she was a stranger.

Ryuga knelt on his knees and looked at the boot in the puddle, “Go ahead. Lick it.” Ryan said to Ryuga with an evil grin. Ryuga slowly bought his face forward to lick Ryan’s boot. He licks Ryan’s boot from the puddle only to get kicked right in his face. “RYUGA!” Mayumi quickly reacts out of instinct and tries to protect him but Ryuga stops her by showing his hand in front of her.

Ryuga’s nose bleeds from the kick that Ryan delivers, “You haven’t even broken the first limiter and yet you speak all high and mighty about how you want justice for that stupid Ogre.” Ryan kicks Ryuga in his guts. “Guh!” Ryuga spits saliva out of his mouth. Ryuga gets kicked over and over by Ryan all over his body.

“Do you seriously think that you can stop me by just talks and bringing in a big shot?!” Bleed didn’t make a move since Ryuga didn’t want him to and Ryuga even stopped Mayumi. All other Ghosts who had gathered around also watched the scene and didn’t make a move. “I have even bigger shots than your own big shot!” Ryan’s power was never to be underestimated and Ryuga realized that.

Originally, Ryuga didn’t mind if Bleed sacrificed himself but the moment he smiled, Ryuga realized that it was a selfish thing to do. He didn’t want people sacrificing for himself. He didn’t want to make anyone suffer because of his own selfishness. Without realizing it Ryuga had already begun his journey to be a hero. No one would take note of that except for Bleed and another person who was watching him from someplace far away and that man looked at the heavens.

“Oh, heavens my lord,

Hear my prayers, for I am the Warrior Of Ogres,

From the Lightning and Thunders,

Help me, save the boy in danger,

I ask, Thrawn-Ousla-Pos, to help the boy!”

Such are the powers of an Ogre Mage and such are the powers of their god that the lightning strikes right between Ryuga and Ryan. If Ryan didn’t back out in time, he would have been fried to crisp. “What the fuck?!” Ryan was confused by the lightning. It protected Ryuga. More like it surrounded Ryuga. At this point, Ryuga had no strength to move or even open his eyes. His phone was ringing but he couldn’t answer it because he was slowly losing consciousness. He just couldn’t hold on to his consciousness and faded to black.

“Tsch! Whose handy work is that?!” Ryan frustrated by that lightning cage asked everyone. “None of us have lightning abilities, so we don’t know.” Everyone was so confused. Ryan was so frustrated that he just gave up on beating up Ryuga and left, “Just clean them up, I don’t care where you take them. Just take them away from my place.”

Ryan gritted his teeth as he spoke with Chilli Ranger. As soon as Ryan left, the lightning cage faded away. Chilli Ranger picked up both Ryuga and Jau-Unfurn, “This kid is something...To have changed the situation so suddenly.” Chilli Ranger sighs, “If not for him, we would have had to sacrifice another innocent life.” Chilli Ranger looked at Ryuga and inside his mask, there was a slight smile. “I wonder if you would ever work under me in the future, Ryuga Aragi.”

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~

Ryuga finally woke up and the sun was shining brightly as he woke up. “What is...” Suddenly, Jau-Unfurn’s face appears in front of Ryuga. “Jau-Unfurn...I am glad you are safe.” Ryuga said as he realized that he was lying on Jau-Unfurn’s lap. “You idiot...” Jau-Unfurn looked quite sad. “Who is the one calling me an idiot? Look at you, you were basically been dragged as a prisoner. I saved your ass.” Ryuga said as he kept his hand over his eyes.

“At what cost?” Jau-Unfurn asked Ryuga. Ryuga didn’t answer. “I heard everything you did to save me from that hero Bleed. He said that he was quite disappointed that he was not able to do anything. The other hero Chilli Ranger, he told me that you even licked that monster’s boots. How can you do that?! To do something like that, do you don’t have any shred of pride?!” Jau-Unfurn was basically crying. She didn’t want to hear that Ryuga protected her. In fact, she didn’t want to hear that Ryuga was humiliated protecting her.

Ryuga clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth. He realized that he wasn’t strong enough to handle the situation. He wanted to get strong and he wanted to get strong enough to protect the people he cares about without humiliating himself.

At the same time, Jau-Unfurn who was crying asked Ryuga, “Why? Why would you this all for me?! We just met like 2 days ago, so why did you go to such lengths to protect me?!” Jau-Unfurn asked Ryuga. “I...” Ryuga had just realized that he did all this to protect Bleed and Jau-Unfurn. Ryuga continued to not face Jau-Unfurn and said, “I did this to protect your smile. I did promise that I would protect it and if I couldn’t protect you, how would I protect your smile?”

Ryuga’s answer caused Jau-Unfurn’s feeling to go spiral. Her horns were illuminating different colors. Sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes black, sometimes pink, they were way too many colors. “I am sorry I had to protect you at the cost of giving up on your sister’s investigation.” Ryuga’s voice cracked. That was the first time Jau-Unfurn realized something. Ryuga wasn’t acting like he normally does.

Ryuga didn’t face her since the moment he woke up, he straight away covered his eyes with his arms and he didn’t talk like a wise, intelligent person. In fact, he didn’t talk much at all.

Soon, Jau-Unfurn saw tears pouring down from Ryuga’s right cheek. “Ryuga?!” Jau-Unfurn took Ryuga’s hand off of his eyes. Ryuga tried to look away, “You idiot! Stop crying!” Jau-Unfurn said as she held both of Ryuga’s hands since he was trying to cover his face. “It’s not easy to stop crying when you just got humiliated and lost!” Ryuga said as he looked away from Jau-Unfurn. Jau-Unfurn angrily pouts at Ryuga.

“Idiot...” Then suddenly, she pulls Ryuga and hugs him, “My mama used to this all the time when I cried and it always helped me calm down. So calm down, don’t worry. No one is watching us.” Jau-Unfurn smiled and Ryuga felt her warmth but Ryuga also realized something which made him stopped crying. He was between Jau-Unfurn’s breasts.

Jau-Unfurn intended to sooth Ryuga but instead, it just made Ryuga red and horny. “Jau-Unfurn, they are quite big.” Ryuga said. “What?” Jau-Unfurn asked Ryuga as she looked down her breasts where Ryuga’s head was sticking at. Jau-Unfurn’s face turns red from embarrassment, “IDIOT!” Ryuga gets one *SLAP* right to the face.

“So, are you alright now?” Jau-Unfurn asked Ryuga as she covered her breasts every time Ryuga looked at her. Ryuga shows thumbs up to Jau-Unfurn. Jau-Unfurn sighs and smiles, “Thank you for everything you have done for me so far Ryuga. So, if you ever need my help, just contact me.” Jau-Unfurn said to Ryuga with that smile of hers.

Ryuga asked Jau-Unfurn, “Are you still going to pursue Ryan and try to take him down?” Ryuga was quite serious about it. Jau-Unfurn sighed and looked away, “You know, I would have continued pursuing that bastard if it weren’t for that one idiot who tried to stop me every now and then. So I will first gather evidence against him and finally take him down when I get a chance.” Before Ryuga says anything Jau-Unfurn responds, “Yeah, yeah, I won’t do anything dangerous, you have my word. You stay away from danger too, alright Ryuga?” Jau-Unfurn looks the other way and blushes.

“Also, please, call me...Daily...So that...I know you are safe...Alright?” Jau-Unfurn keeps on avoiding eye contact with Ryuga. Her horn is turning deep pink in color.

Ryuga chuckles. “What’s so funny?!” Jau-Unfurn angrily asks Ryuga. “You are cute. That’s all.” Ryuga said with a smile. “Eh?! That’s not all. What is all?!” Jau-Unfurn kept on pushing Ryuga. “Jau-Unfurn, did you call my mother?!” “Yes I did, she was worried about you so I told her that you got into a fight and I bandaged you. Now you are staying at my place because of that.”

“Shit...Mother’s going to kill me...” “You are lucky, I didn’t kill you after I heard what you did.” “HUH?!” “Don’t huh me you idiot!”

From long away, the same man with a mask watches over Ryuga and Jau-Unfurn, “So, is sister Jau going to be alright?” A familiar figure that is Alicia appears next to the man. “You should have departed to the heavens while you had a chance. Why did you not do that?” The man asked Alicia. Alicia replied with a smile, “I have to protect my sister, father. I also wanted to be friends with Ryuga. He looks like a fun person.”

The man held his forehead with his palm, “What am I going to do with this girl? Even as a spirit, she is troublesome.” The man spoke with disappointment. “You are not going to do anything father, this girl is going to harass her friend Ryuga. Hihi~” Alicia said and left. The man with the mask just couldn’t do anything when Alicia disappear, “I will say one thing though, I am glad that you are the one protecting my daughter, the son of Hiro Aragi, Ryuga Aragi.” The man smiled behind his mask as Ryuga felt like someone was watching him.