Book 3: Chapter 9: Patch 2.0: Babies and Burgers

Dealing with Cassandra and Aiko fighting over his arms is easy once they all make it outside, but even more embarrassing as everybody on the street is interested at the sight of one boy and four girls. Most polyamorous relationships and harems in general usually only involve the rich or members of fringe religions that somehow managed to survive falling out of the public’s interest. While such relationships are legal, they are far from common and associated with important status. Relationships involving just a single member of one of the genders, such as a guy with multiple girls like with Ryouta's situation, are especially rare.

So, despite Ryouta being a fairly average guy who is a bit shorter than average, having a thin build with little muscle, and not exactly coming off as wealthy, successful, nor a sex god, most passersby look at him to try and determine if he’s somebody famous that they know of. After all, why else would he have four girls with him? The girls make it obvious that they’re not just friends, too. Between two of them clinging to his arms, the shortest of the bunch teasing him, and the girl in the wheelchair that he’s pushing taking loving looks back at him, it is beyond obvious there is more to friendship going on.

Most of the random people they walk by would never believe him if he said he met three of them through gaming and is just childhood friends with the fourth.

“Hey! Do I know you from somewhere? Oh! You’re uh, you’re from that one thing, right?” a random girl asks after running up to them and stopping in front of Alice, looking at Ryouta.

Ryouta just sort of looks at her with a confused expression, having no idea what she could be talking about.

Cassandra’s glare scares her away.

“S-sorry!” the girl says before running off.

A few minutes later and a man walks up to them. “Hey there bro, how about saving some for the rest of u—” he tries saying but stops when he sees Cassandra and Aiko glaring at him. Aiko’s glare is especially terrifying at the moment.

Needless to say, the man gets scared off even faster than the girl from earlier was.

“You seem rather popular, my hero,” Alice says. “I wonder why that is?” she asks with a giggle.

“I have no idea what was with that first girl, but I guess that guy was just jealous,” Ryouta answers.

“Of course he’s jealous!” Aiko declares. “Why wouldn’t he be? You’re perfect! You were way better looking than him, and you’re smarter and cooler than him, and he was just some pathetic little insect who would be better off getting crushed underneath your foot!”

Any nearby men who could hear Aiko’s words stop looking at the group, instead hurrying to walk past them.

“I don’t know about that, but uhh, thanks I guess,” Ryouta replies.

Cassandra’s competitive spirit gets triggered by Aiko once more. “Ye-yeah, you’re so much bet—…be-better than… other guys…” she says, each word quieter than the last with her head hanging lower and lower.

Ryouta rewards her attempt at complimenting him with a kiss on the top of her head, making her cheeks burn bright and half-squeak from surprise.

“Hey! Why don’t I get kisses for praising you?” Aiko pouts and whines, throwing a miniature temper tantrum by stomping her feet and shaking the arm of his that she’s holding onto. She even headbutts his arm to get his attention and then leans up on her toes so that the top of her head is right in front of him.

But alas, she does not get a kiss. What she does get is him playfully headbutting her back. “That’s for headbutting me,” he teases.

“That’s not what I want! Hmph! But, it is a headbutt from my Ryouta… okay, I’ll accept it, but next time I want a kiss!”

“We’ll see about that.”

He has to be careful with what he tells her. He knows that he was probably too romantic towards Alice back when they first met – before they were dating, and so he wants to avoid that. Even if he used to know Aiko as a kid, he can’t just treat her like she’s one of his girlfriends right after coming back into his life and when he already has three girlfriends.

Serra stops and points across the street.

A sign with a large man shouting and holding up burgers hangs above a building across the busy street.

Others are already waiting at the crosswalk to cross, and he knows that accidents involving vehicles are extremely rare in this city with maybe one happening every couple of months that is always caused by human error rather than the vehicles themselves, but having to cross a street still scares him.

It reminds him of running into the street to save Aiko.

He must not be the only one nervous of this as he feels Aiko hug his arm against her tighter than before. Her usual outgoing and playful attitude has been replaced by one of silence and nervousness.

Serra breaks them up. Forcing herself between them, she loops her arm around Ryouta’s and holds Aiko’s hand. The soft warmth that she provides them, giving support as Ryouta’s girlfriend and as Aiko’s best friend, is enough to relax them each.

The group waits for the crosswalk sign to signal that they can cross.

It turns green and shows a sign of people walking.

And so, they cross the road. While such a thing is of no big deal to everybody else around, it is something that has caused fear within Ryouta’s and Aiko’s minds since that dreaded day as children.

They make it across without any problems.

“Come on, I’m hungry,” Cassandra says, tugging a bit more on Ryouta’s arm as she speeds up.

“So impatient. It’s right here,” Ryouta teases now that he’s calmed down. It’s not that he’s never crossed a road ever since that day, but it still digs up bad memories. Having Aiko here with him makes those memories even stronger.

“Let’s just hope the big guy doesn’t talk to us.”

“Who?”

“Marco, the owner. He’s a scary guy and really loud. People always complain about how loud he is when he’s walking around and talking to tables.”

“Sounds annoying, but I guess I’ll experience it myself if he’s that loud.”

The group walks in and is immediately helped. It’s just late enough that the dinner rush is over, but the restaurant is still mostly full as people finish up. “Booth or table?” the worker asks.

“Uhh, what do you all like?” Ryouta asks them. This is the first time he’s been out to a restaurant with them, and while he personally prefers booths, he doesn’t have that strong of a preference for them.

Aiko and Cassandra answer with booth as well, but then Ryouta realizes that they have a problem. How is a wheelchair supposed to fit inside of a booth?

“Booth, please!” Alice answers.

Well, Ryouta doesn’t know how this is going to work, but Alice must know something that he doesn’t.

“Oh, hey! I almost didn’t see you there, Serra,” the worker says, waving at her.

Serra waves back and attempts signing to him.

“Sorry, I still don’t know any of that. Want your favorite spot?”

Serra nods while Aiko glares at the man.

Ryouta doesn’t know what Aiko’s deal is, but now that he’s seeing another man smiling and acting all nice toward Serra, even he feels a tiny bit jealous. But, he knows that there’s nothing going on and that the guy is just being friendly, so there’s no need to be jealous.

The group gets led to Serra’s favorite booth which ends up being right next to the kitchen’s entrance.

“Here are your menus, and a waiter will be over to help you in a moment. Enjoy!” the worker says.

Aiko waits until he’s gone before saying anything. “I hate him so much. Every time I’ve come here with Serra, he’s always smiling and trying to be nice and stuff to us.”

“Well, that is his job,” Ryouta says.

“I don’t care! I don’t want any guys but my Ryouta looking at me!” Aiko explains, earning odd looks from those at nearby tables and booths as they sit down in the booth.

He looks at Alice to see what she’s doing. Rather than try to fit into the booth, she just rolls up to the end of the table and stops there. “Is something the matter, my hero?” she asks Ryouta.

“Nothing. Just realizing that I overthink things,” Ryouta explains.

Everybody’s stomachs growl as their hunger quickly increases. Sitting right by the kitchen means that they can easily smell all of the delicious food being prepared in there, but there is a problem with this.

Between the cooks shouting at each other, servers asking for updates on food and delivering new orders, and music playing in the kitchen, this has to be the loudest and most annoying spot in the restaurant to sit at.

“Why do you like this spot so much?” Ryouta signs to Serra.

“It smells the best,” Serra signs back.

It takes him a few moments to realize that because she’s deaf, she’s immune to the constant noise coming from the kitchen.

Now it makes sense.