VIII - Why Me?

"Nerissa, what the hell are you?!"

"S-She... changed!"

"Oh god! What have they done to you?!"

"Stay away from us!"

"Nerissa. If only I saved you, this wouldn't ever happen."

Nerissa opens her eyes and rises from her sleep. Her breath is getting heavy, and she clenches her shirt on the chest. She put her palms on her face and ruffled her hair.

"The fuck was that?"

She raises her chin and notices her surroundings. A small table with glass and flowers, a window and its coverings, and light lines on the walls. Makes it look like a high-tech room.

In front of her, a covering hangs on the ceiling as if it hides something. Curious about what's inside, she stands on her feet. Felt her whole body numb. She felt light on her left cheek. It's a giant health status monitor right above her bed.

She checked her own status and noticed her picture on it.

"Really? Putting someone's face in it? Without a damn approval?" Nerissa thought.

She walks to another bed in front of her. As she opens the coverings, Kaizo is there. She remembers the battle with Ziorta. They both hurt pretty bad. And she remembered passing out in front of him after she saw his red eyes. Guess he passed out, too.

"Looks like I have to take care of you again." Nerissa mumbles.

She places her hands on his face. Closes her eyelashes and focuses on her hands as she heals him. She suddenly saw something. A kind of vision.

"Nerissa, watch out!"

"Oh no, they got her!"

"No! No! Nerissa! NERISSA!!"

She tries to ignore it and focus on healing him. She felt the pain in Kaizo. Just a normal pain. He needs a lot of rest. She bet he has been through much. Making sure of his brother's safety and such things.

She finished healing him. Suddenly she hears a knock and a few people coming in.

A boy with an orange cap notices her presence, "Eh? Nerissa?"

"Ah, Boboiboy. Good to see you." She responds to him.

Then, a small green alien with a formal military suit mentions, "So you are Nerissa Dezastaria. Captain Kaizo has mentioned so much about you."

"And you are Commander Koko Ci? Nerissa tilts her eyes to the tall tiger-man. And Laksamana Tarung?"

"Yes, I am. We want to thank you for helping us defeat Ziorta." Tarung expressed his gratitude.

Nerissa responds, Actually, you have to say those words to Kaizo. He's the one who asked for help.

Fang is very concerned about his brother. She knows it's normal for a little brother to feel this way. It reminds me of her old times with her older brother.

She smiles at the little guy and eases him, "Don't worry, Fang. I recently had a check on him. He's alright."

"...Thanks." Fang thanks her.

"Nerissa. How did you get to the station with Kaizo? Why did you help us?" Boboiboy asked.

"Well.."

***

Back then, Nerissa swings her Blood Sword on the field in front of her house. Boboiboy and his gang are away, and she also teleported Kaizo. All alone once again. Maybe a meditation could clear her boredom. Her Blood Sword disappeared, and she walked to the cliff's edge.

"Hey, Grandia." She calls her AI in earpiece shape.

"Yes, my lady."

"What do you think of that Captain Kaizo?" She asks.

"Captain Kaizo? Hmm... He seems very violent from the outside. That's his duty as a Captain. From my data, he trained his little brother quite harshly. It is for his safety, after all. Just like you and your brother, Neil." Grandia expressed.

"Yeah. That was a long time ago. I wonder how Kaizo is right now. Hopefully, he isn't dead."

All of a sudden, Grandia shouts in her ear. "My lady!"

She flinched at the sudden high-pitched sound and yelled a bit to her AI, "Fucking hell, Grandia! What's wrong?!"

"News came from the kingdom!"

Her eyes widen. This is the first time something like this has happened, "What?"

"The war...is over."

Nerissa halts her movement. She didn't believe what she had just heard. She thought something was not right.

"How?" She asked.

"Prince Neil defeated the Emperor. Causing the end of the war. Dezastaria is now free from the war."

She sighed in relief, "Thank gods. I knew he was the chosen one. Then, she ponders, Does this means I can go home now?"

"No official information for that, my lady."

She continues her movement to the cliff. There, she sat on the grass, legs crossed. The wind is average, and the ocean is calm. A perfect time to call her brother. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Attempting to call her brother and feel him. Again and again. Nerissa continued to call him. She saw her brother with his friends walking, and she could feel him.

"Neil." She calls her brother.

That name reached him. Her brother turned back. He couldn't see her, yet he could feel her.

"Nerry?"

She gasped, and her eyes were opened. She had a deep breath, but Nerissa was quiet.

"He's alive. He's still alive." She relieved.

A teleportation portal appeared on her back, and a man came out.

"Nerissa!" He calls her out.

She got surprised at the sudden voice. As she turned her head, it was Kaizo walking out of a portal. Something strange. The portal looks exactly like hers. Yet, she didn't summon it. How did that happen?

"Kaizo?! The fuck are you-"

Kaizo interrupted, "Did you summoned that?"

"I didn't! How was that-"

"You know what? That doesn't matter. I need your help." Kaizo cut her words.

"What's that now?" She asked.

"It's a long story. The TAPOPS Station is invaded, and the opponent is too powerful. I need your help to stop them." He said.

"Oh, really? Aren't you the Legendary Space Rebel, Captain Kaizo? Why do you even need my help? Scaredy-cat?" She teases him.

"Nerissa. Please, this is urgent. I really need your help. We couldn't hold them off." Kaizo said.

"Really? She turned her body to face the ocean. And how are you going to make me?"

"Join me, Nerissa. I know you're alone and bored here. Why not do something different? Help us keep the galaxy in peace. You could get your powers something useful." The captains offer his hand to her.

Nerissa had things going on in her head. If she joins him, she'll finally have something to do and use her powers more frequently. If Nerissa stays here, she'll be bored with nothing to do in her entire life. And she finally made her decision.

She turned her body to Kaizo and stood in front of him. She saw his hand offering her, and Kaizo was serious about this. She finally took his hand as a symbol that she had joined him.

"Fine. But if I regret this choice, I won't hesitate to rip that goddamn head of yours anytime I want. Are we understood, Captain Kaizo?" Nerissa accepts his offer.

"I assure you, Nerissa Dezastaria. You won't regret this."

"Alright. To TAPOPS Station."

She created a portal with her power. She tugged Kaizos arm and ran to the exit. They finally set foot at the station, and the situation was a disaster.

She looked around her, "Well, this is kinda messy."

"Ahem, Nerissa?"

He raised his hand. They were still holding hands.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She let go of him.

"No. Forgive me." He felt a slight blush on his face.

***

"...So, yeah. That's how it was."

"Hmm... I see... Nerissa, once again, we thank you for helping me. As a sign of gratitude, we would like to ask if you would join us with TAPOPS." Koko Ci said.

"Thank you. I really appreciate that. And, yes." Nerissa said.

"Welcome to TAPOPS, Nerissa," Boboiboy said.

"Yeah." She responds.

She tilts her head to Kaizo, sleeping. Nearly wanted to touch his face.

"Hope he's alright."

***

A day just passed, and he could finally open his eyelids. The first thing he feels is a bright light on his left. It is currently afternoon. The window curtain flows like a piece of paper. He turns his head to the right, and wide red eyes are suddenly in front of him. He unexpectedly rises up as he feels a slight panic attack. It appears that those shining red pupils are Nerissa.

"I suppose that's a good morning to you. Even though it's nearly sunset." She leans back on her chair, sipping her tea.

"Nerissa." Kaizo calms down.

Nerissa puts her teacup on the small table beside her. She crosses her legs and sits ladylike.

"How's your sleep? Good?" She asks.

"I'm fine. He looks around in some hospital room, Where are we now?"

"Tempur-A Headquarters. We both went unconscious for a few days. The others are fine, so don't worry." She said.

"That's a relief. Later, he questions. How long have you been up?"

"Since yesterday." She replies. "And that's the third time I took care of you."

"You're still counting on that?" He chuckled.

"Of course, I am. I wasted so much energy just to heal you. For once, don't break yourself, or I'll snap you to death instead of fixing you." She scolds him for a bit.

"This woman..." He could realize that's he a little pissed.

"Yeah, yeah. I thanked you...for the third time. For fixing me." He thanked her.

She admitted his gratitude with a nod.

A few minutes later, the room becomes very silent. The sound of the hanging clock on the wall is getting louder and louder. One has to break the silence of awkwardness. Nerissa already knew what she had to do with this quietness, and so did Kaizo. He knew what he was going to ask her. They are both waiting, waiting, and waiting.

They tilted their heads, ready to break the silence. They paused as their eyes met.

"Go on," Nerissa said.

"No, please," Kaizo said to let her ask first, reminding him that she's a lady.

"Alright." Nerissa takes a deep inhale. "Why me?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you choose me? Of all people? They are many people you can choose to join. Too many out there in the galaxy. Of all people, all aliens, all creatures. Why me?" Nerissa asks.

"Why, huh?" He smirks. "Because you're interesting."

They both could feel the silence of awkwardness filling the room again.

"Huh?! That's it?!" Nerissa stared at him with a disbelief look.

"Specifically, I am interested in you." He said with his eyes looking deep into hers.

"Why are you interested in me?" She asks again.

"Because," Kaizo thought back to where she showed up in his dream while unconscious. "Never mind."

He faces his head away from Nerissa, hiding a slight blush he felt on his cheeks. Nerissa is confused about his attitude. She suddenly realized the vision she saw in Kaizo's dream. Nerissa also felt a slight blush. She inhales, covers her mouth with her left hand, and faces away from Kaizo. Kaizo finally calmed down, and he could ask her his question.

He faces her, suddenly surprised to see her face blushed. He smirks again, "Well, I believe it is my turn to ask."

Flinched, she quickly calms herself down. "R-Right. What is it?"

"Can you tell me about yourself?" He asks her. He wanted to know her more.

She paused at the moment and put her chin on her hands. She felt pissed. She doesn't even want to tell him about herself, especially her past. She could possibly tell him simple things instead of detailed ones.

"Alright. I don't want to tell you everything, so I'll keep it simple. I'm from the other dimension, whether you believe it or not. My home...is a kingdom. The Dezastaria Kingdom. It is the 35th generation, and I'm one of them, along with my older brother. Which means I'm a princess. Well, I've told you before not to call me that. Currently 21 years old, July 21st." Nerissa explains.

I see.

They suddenly heard the door open, and a bunch of people stormed in. There are Admiral Tarung, Commander Koko Ci, and of course, Boboiboy and his friends.

"Captain Kaizo, you have awakened." Commander Koko Ci said.

Fang walks to his brother with a slight smile, "Captain, are you all right?"

Kaizo saw his dear brother smiling. It has been a while since he saw it. He relief that his brother is safe. He pats his head.

"I'm fine, Pang. Thank you." He said with a slight smile.

"Nerissa, thank you again for joining us and caring for Captain Kaizo." Commander Koko Ci thanks her.

"It is not a big deal, actually," Nerissa answers.

"Great, now that everyone has awakened. We can celebrate our victory against Ziorta tonight and welcome our new member, Nerissa Dezastaria." Admiral Tarung said.

"Yeay!! We can eat lots of food tonight!" Gopal excited.

"Ish, Gopal! You always eat a lot of food!" Yaya scolds him.

"Yeah! Could you at least care about your stomach?! Hit the gym or something beneficial." Ying also scolds him.

"Well, as long as my stomach is filled and my heart is happy, why not? Hahaha! E-eh?!"

Gopal suddenly feels his tummy tickles. Turns out Fang pokes Gopal's tummy.

"D-dey! Fang! Stop that, lah!" Gopal tried to push Fang away.

"As long as it is fun, why not?" Fang replies.

"Ish, ish, ish, Gopal. Why don't you flat this squishy tummy of yours, lah?" Papazola asked.

"Oi. You know you're also fat, right?" Gopal said.

"My belly may be huge. But I have Mama Zila. Hehehe! Haih, will you even have a wife if your stomach is this big, haha?!" Papazola shouts and continues to nag him.

"It's alright, Yaya. At least we can enjoy ourselves for once, right?" Boboiboy said.

"Yep, that's right!" Yaya and Ying reply.

Nerissa watches the joy among them and, to be honest, makes her smile. Kaizo's hand reached her wrist, and she tilted her head, in response, to face Kaizo.

"Thank you for answering my question, Princess." He said with a deep voice.

Hearing that word, Nerissa grabs his wrist and clenches his wrist hard. Kaizo grips her wrist as well. She draws her head a little bit close to Kaizo's face. They are both very pissed because they grasp each other's wrists.

"Oh, my pleasure, captain dearest."

"Now, everyone! Let's get out there and prepare things for tonight!" Papazola exclaims.

Kaizo and Nerissa released each other, leaving red marks on their wrists.

"I guess I have to go to my room." Nerissa excuses herself.

She walked to the door and paused.

"Oh, and Kaizo," Nerissa calls him.

"Hm?" Kaizo looks at Nerissa.

"Do dress properly for the night," Nerissa smiled and left the room.

Kaizo crosses his muscled arms to the back of his head. He remembered that dream again and those words he said to her.

"Why me?"

"I am interested in you."

"Interested, huh?" He ponders about it for a while.

"Well, this might be fun," Kaizo smirks in enthusiasm.