*Note: sorry, I had problem with the AI. For some reason, the AI added things to the chapter I didn't write and I didn't know how to solve it. Luckily today I tried it again and... the problem solve by itself! Believe me or not, but is the true...
Well, I couldn't do it images too but luckily I fixed that too.
Have a good day :)
...
Time flowed steadily, and at last, Friday had finally arrived. It was the favorite day of the week for many, especially for students, because once the school day ended, they would have two full days of freedom to relax or, at the very least, lie down and sleep in late. This was precisely the case for our protagonist and his girls who, after classes finished, headed straight home to unwind.
Today was a strange day—cloudy, almost depressing. Because of the gloomy weather, we decided to stay indoors and enjoy a pleasant afternoon watching movies and eating popcorn. It was meant to be an ideal afternoon dedicated to resting, or it would have been, if not for the fact that we had completely run out of popcorn. You can guess whose turn it was to go out and buy it: exactly, mine, the only man in the entire house. I couldn't help it; I can't deny my girls anything, and Lala asked me with such a pitiful face that I couldn't avoid going myself. I wondered briefly, "Am I becoming soft?".
"Anyway, it's just some popcorn. I'll buy it and be back in a heartbeat," I sighed to myself while walking toward the supermarket.
Fortunately, my house was located relatively close to a 24/7 supermarket, so I expected the trip to be quick. I walked at a steady pace, watching the heavy clouds gather above.
"I just hope it doesn't rain; this day… is simply depressing…" I muttered under my breath while looking at the leaden sky.
Normally, I actually quite like rainy days. Rainy days are ideal for staying home and enjoying time with the family. There are exceptions, of course, but for me, that was how it felt. A rainy day doesn't hurt once in a while, but this specific day felt depriming, almost as if something was about to happen; my instinct was telling me that this simply wasn't normal.
"The truth is that you're right, it's a quite depriming day," someone said suddenly.
Upon hearing that voice, I quickly turned around and saw a very familiar figure. It was a small girl with dark skin and side pigtails, golden eyes, wearing a black one-piece dress. She was barefoot and had a smile on her face, but it didn't seem to be one of happiness, but rather one of arrogance or… interest.
"Who are you? From the aura you radiate, you are not someone normal," I said, as I manually returned the Omnitrix to its original state.
I couldn't tell for sure if Nemesis was a friend or an enemy. I didn't remember the manga perfectly, but I didn't recall her being an outright enemy. I mostly remembered that Rito caught her attention and they became friends or something like that. In reality, I didn't even know if their relationship was based on friendship or if Nemesis saw him more as a source of fun, a toy to play with for her own entertainment.
"My name? Everyone knows me as Nemesis, just Nemesis. As for what I am… I suppose I am the first on the list of assassins, the strongest assassin, Nemesis," she replied.
I immediately put myself on high alert, not knowing what her intentions were by revealing that. Did she want to provoke me? See how I was going to act? Play with me… or did she want to attack?.
"Did you come to kill me just like the others did?" I asked with a frown.
Every one of my senses was on maximum alert. In the manga, Nemesis was powerful—perhaps one of the most powerful beings, second only to Gid. But in this world, where things are only similar but not identical, Nemesis could be much stronger than her counterpart, just as it happened with Zastin. Against such a powerful being, I currently had no chance; the only thing I could do was flee if I wanted to live, and XLR8 was literally my salvation.
"Kill you? No, I don't accept jobs that don't interest me. In fact, they tried to hire me, but I rejected them all; some didn't even come out well... they are very insistent. Did you know that?" Nemesis said.
"What did you come for then?" I asked with curiosity.
For the moment, she didn't seem to have the intention of attacking me, but I couldn't let my guard down.
"You interest me; I have come to Earth because you have caught my attention, Akira Sato," Nemesis said.
I was surprised by her words. I had caught her attention? How was that possible if this was the first time I had ever seen her?.
"How can that be? It's the first time we've met. How can I have called your attention?" I asked.
"It's the first time you see me, but I have been investigating you for quite some time; I was even present in your combat against the prince of the galaxy… I think you humans call it Andromeda," Nemesis said.
"You watched my fight?" I asked.
"Yes, I was interested in you from the first moment I saw you and investigated you, but many things have caught my attention over the years only to disappoint me in a short time," Nemesis nodded.
"Then… why do you say I've caught your attention?" I asked again.
"It was all thanks to your combat against that prince. The abilities you showed, your transformations, your attitude… everything is impressive. You are the first person in decades who has caught my attention; not even Gid interested me as much in his time as you do," Nemesis explained.
"All right, you've been watching me and I've caught your interest, I understand that, but… what do you want to do now? Why have you come to Earth? I doubt it's just to inform me of all this," I said.
The truth was that I was curious. Okay, I called her attention and I interest her, but what happens next?.
"You're right, I didn't just come to tell you those words; my true intentions are to tell you that you are worthy of trying to pass my test," Nemesis said.
"Your test? What kind of test? With what goal?" I asked, somewhat surprised.
What was happening? This never occurred in the original story, although there are already too many things that have completely separated from the original plot, so perhaps I should stop comparing reality with fiction.
"My test aims to check if you are worthy of me. If you accept it and win, I will become part of your harem; if you lose… let's just say you won't be worthy of my interest and I'll leave the planet, it's that simple," Nemesis said.
I was stunned. A test to see if I am worthy of her? And as a reward, she offers herself? What kind of test is that?!.
"Why do you offer yourself to me?" I asked with curiosity.
"I hadn't planned to do it, but I know perfectly well that there is nothing that can interest you. Neither money nor power. I know the kind of person you are and I know you're not like the others, greedy for power and riches; however, I can't say the same about women," Nemesis said.
"Eh? It's not that I'm greedy for women…" I said, though my tone didn't sound very convincing.
(Note: My God, it's such a big lie that I almost ran out of hands and went blind while writing it).
"Princesses Lala, Momo, and Nana, Konjiki no Yami now known as Yami, those two girls, the girl named Dita, and according to what I've observed since the day I arrived, you also have another blue-haired girl and the daughter of the Jewelrias, Run. And you tell me you're not greedy for women? Nobody would lie so shamelessly as you," Nemesis said.
It seemed she had done her homework perfectly.
"Is that why you offered yourself as a reward?" I asked with curiosity.
"That's right, I am the only reward I can use to tempt you," Nemesis nodded.
"Let's say I'm interested. What would the test consist of?" I asked with curiosity.
Let's say? Akira hadn't stopped looking at her body since she presented herself to him. And he dares to play dumb? Her senses were very sharp and she had caught each and every one of Akira's glances directed at her body. Normally she would have felt disgust, as many nobles tried to make her their woman without success, but she knew that although Akira was undoubtedly a total womanizer, he loved his women and treated them equally. It only took her two days of observation to realize that all the girls were extremely happy at his side, behaved normally, and even all got along well. What harem didn't have arguments?. In all those she had seen, women competed to catch the noble's attention in the hope of winning a corner in his heart so he would fill them with riches and power; but despite Akira's current position and his future as king, the girls in his harem had no conflicts and all seemed to be sisters. How did Akira get his harem to be so… peaceful? She only offered herself as a reward for that reason; otherwise, she would have tried to find another way.
"My test is simple. Fight against me and if you beat me, I'll be yours. It's quite simple. Don't you think?" Nemesis said.
"Simple? You're number 1 on the list of assassins! Your power is definitely at another level! I don't know if I could give you a fight, let alone beat you!" I exclaimed indignantly.
Unless the Omnitrix gives me an alien capable of beating her, like Alien X, for example.
"Obviously you can't beat me in your current state; therefore, I won't use all my strength against you. My goal is not to humiliate you, but to check whether or not you are interesting enough," Nemesis said.
No, but… what kind of reason is that? Even if she wants to put me to the test or something like that, was there a need for her to be the reward?.
"Let's talk seriously. Why offer yourself as a reward? I mean, with your power, forcing me to accept the duel shouldn't be a problem for you. Why take so much trouble?" I asked.
"For a long time, longer than you think, I have been wandering the galaxy alone and even visited other galaxies. My goal? To look for something or someone interesting. As you will understand, with my power, finding something that truly catches my interest is almost impossible. I have visited many, many places and although I have found interesting things during my travels, that never lasted long because I lose interest too quickly; but with you it's different," Nemesis explained.
"In what sense?" I asked without understanding.
"I have investigated you; I know everything there is to know about you. Normally that would have been enough for my interest in you to vanish just as it happened to me hundreds of times, but… the more I see you, the more interesting I find you and for some reason, since that duel, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Do you have some kind of power of attraction similar to that of the Charms or something like that?" Nemesis said.
She wasn't lying about that; since that duel, Akira's image appeared very frequently in her mind, and Nemesis herself didn't know why. Love? She knew a lot about love, but she had never felt anything like that, because no man had ever caught her interest enough to fall in love. But when she saw Akira, she saw something special in him; it was as if Akira were a magnet, his face frequently haunted her thoughts and for some reason, she longed to be near him. That's why she presented herself to him so soon—because of that feeling of longing that flooded her entire being.
"I am entirely human," I said.
That's it; this is definitely the Omnitrix's fault. It's not to belittle myself, but I'm not as handsome as the girls see me. In my past life, I read a lot of stories, a lot of fics where they made the protagonist more handsome than the handsomest man on the planet, attracting women like bees to honey. But I am definitely not as handsome as them, so there is only one explanation: the Omnitrix. Somehow, the Omnitrix is improving my body so much that it is even affecting the girls in my environment, causing me to make a good impression from the start. Is it because the Omnitrix is creating the best version of myself according to my desires or something like that? Is that why I'm obtaining that capacity? Will its power increase in the future?.
(Note: In reality, the Omnitrix, just like in the series, is creating the best version of himself in all aspects, including this one. I will explain it more in detail in the future.).