Ai No Kusabi Alternative Ending

Chapter 14

A/N: Good Jupiter, two updates in a row? Well, I happened to get back home earlier than expected today. Instead of collapsing into a puddle and sliding under my bed, I took a look at this and rethought my plot. 

I originally wanted to move the story forward with every chapter. This was originally nothing but 20 short chapters or less of daily Ai no Kusabi drama, but we have well over 5000 views and close to 200 votes. I don't know whether or not my ideas ought to make a full new ending. 

Obviously I can't tell you all what happens; you'll need to wait and find out. For my most studious followers that read the newest chapters within minutes of it, do make a comment with your prediction of what you think will happen next down below. Feedback is appreciated. What do you think should happen? Is this story going too fast? 

Riki made his way out of the penthouse again. Iason has been going fairly gentle on him lately, and it hasn't even been a week before he felt like leaving the penthouse again. It just didn't feel normal there. Iason was never this nice for longer than a day. Was it the Dana Bahn incident that affected his view of Riki? Riki stared at a piece of wall in the elevator, immersed deeply in his thoughts. 

He didn't quite know how to feel about this. That very moment when he chose to go back into the base, knowing he would not leave it alive, had been his final conviction. In the end, when he believed there were no more paths to walk, he chose the one to Iason. It was to pay the debt of him saving Guy, he had lied to himself at first. However, Riki hadn't once missed guy in the last half year. He knew he had truly left Guy behind when he agreed to come back. A deal was a deal, and Riki never broke his word. Though he felt responsible, he didn't feel love for his old pairing partner anymore. And though he knows he had moved on from Guy, he still could not wrap his mind around his own decision. Why did he go back to die with Iason?

The face Iason wore was surprise and pure bliss - turned into concern. There was no denying he was extremely satisfied that Riki was beside him. It was meant to be over then. All the drama, the whole pet ordeal, their fucked up relationship, and everything they were supposed to be was meant to end. So why were they still here? Why was Iason doing his regular daily work like nothing happened? Why was Riki still in the system? They were supposed to be dead. Riki sighed. Something just felt wrong, as if this existence was false. It didn't feel like he was living it anymore. 

Usually he liked to read the books in Iason's study, but today he wanted to move around. He stepped off the elevator at floor 30. He made his way into the botanical garden, and pulled out his data tablet. He wasn't exactly scared of the trees, nor was he purposely avoiding them, but he just tended to veer away from that area ever since Orphe and Iason got into a pissing match over him falling asleep in one of them. The plants were technically not supposed to be touched, and they even had colorful red signs placed here and there to make sure the less intelligent pets understood. 

Riki took his time strolling around, and found himself near the flower beds. The botanical garden was always sort of his sanctuary, away from nosy pets and controlling masters. When he wasn't in bed or smoking on the balcony he liked to come here, and imagine that he could somehow connect to the vast array of colors and smells. Occasionally he would step in to smell them, but he would have to be sneaky. Security cameras have caught him crossing the tiny fences before. 

It was then that he was feeling a bit hungry. Since he was already on the same floor, he decided he might as well make his way to the salon and get something to eat. It didn't feel quite right to return to the penthouse just yet, even if he didn't particularly care much for the salon. It isn't as bad as it was before, Riki thought, nobody even recognizes me. 

With his hands in his pockets, he walked toward the salon in contemplation again. He couldn't help but remember some of the images and moments before the final explosion; the bruises and blood marring Guy's face, his arm twisted and torn, the creaking steel beams and distant sounds of bombs, the jutting bone shards of Iason's severed thighs, the fires alight everywhere...

"Riki!" Riki's eyes snapped open and focused on Gabe waving at him. The younger pet ran up to him. 

"I haven't seen you in a while. Where did you go?" Riki wondered what time-space plane Gabe came from, but soon remembered that for every pet in Tanagura, quite a few things can happen in a few days. 

"The gardens." Riki replied, and Gabe looked surprised.

"Really? But they're boring! What do you even do there?" Riki pulled out his data slate.

"I just look up stuff about the plants-" 

"Woah, cool! Your master let you have something like that? That's really great, but I really wished my master would give me something like that. He probably doesn't want me to break anything though." 

"Oh, well maybe you could ask him. You never know, right?" That seemed to cheer up Gabe. 

"Yeah, I'll ask him today! Thanks, Riki!" It was then that Riki noticed a blue-haired girl heading toward them. He turned his head and looked straight at her, recognizing her to definitely be the same girl he saw in the salon last time. He nearly sighed out loud. It was enough having to put up pretenses just being outside the penthouse. He really didn't feel like pretending to gossip at that moment. But the blue-haired girl made her way over anyway. 

"Hi Gabe!" She said merrily at Riki. Riki raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Hi, Rea." Gabe awkwardly said. 

"Who's your friend?" 

"This is Riki. His master gave him a data slate, and he likes the gardens." Rea stood next to Gabe, but has yet to blink or even look at him. Riki didn't move either. 

"Oh really? I find them kind of boring. What's the point? I can't touch or do anything there." 

"If you-" Riki stopped mid-sentence again turned his head, focusing his attention elsewhere. Both Rea's and Gabe's heads turned to where Riki was looking; at Cal. Cal approached their small trio with his head bowed. 

"Master Riki, it is nearly dinnertime." Riki tapped his data slate and looked at it. It wasn't nearly dinnertime; it was dinnertime. Iason may already be home, and this was Cal's way of telling him without garnering too much publicity. 

"How rude. We were just talking when you... you... butted in!" Rea exclaimed. 

"Thanks Cal," Riki nodded, "Later, Gabe." Rea narrowed her eyes. Who does he think he is, she huffed inwardly. The second Riki disappeared from view, she turned to Gabe.

"Did you ask who his master was?" 

"Oh, no. I just saw him when you got here." 

"Hm. Well, I guess it's okay. I'll see you later too." Rea said offhandedly and walked away. Cal, huh? She rolled her eyes. The furniture technically did nothing wrong, but didn't they all know her master was a Platina? She can't stand that Riki either. She was supposed to be beautiful and unique and the center of everybody's attention, not Riki. He was nothing but another copy of those new pets. Oh, she'll teach him a lesson, and then he'll have to respect her. And his furniture, how rude! 

She knows just about all of the pets around in Eos and she has yet to hear of a pet with a furniture named Cal. That must mean that both Riki and Cal are new! But she hasn't received information of any elite replacing all his pets and his furniture, or of any new elites living at Eos in the last month, when all of the new pets had their coming-out party. Increasingly annoyed, Rea stormed off in the direction of the Salon, startling other pets out of her way. At her history of two years in Eos, she had decent seniority among pets, and she decided she was not about to be one-upped in popularity by some new copy pet. It wouldn't be much longer until every pet and furniture knew who Rea was. Her list of requests would be endless, as well as her worth to her Master. He would keep her forever, and she would have nothing more to fear.