One Man Band System

When he got back to his apartment, Eric sat down in the gaming chair in his home office. He fell into a daze, sitting completely still without doing a thing, his eyes staring blankly at the dark monitor in front of him since his PC wasn’t turned on.

The scene of Ruby’s condition at the hospital kept replaying in his mind. Out of all the years they had grown up together, this was the first time he had ever seen Ruby in actual, grave danger, and everything would have been too late if the system hadn’t triggered a quest.

Just imagining what would have happened if he had been a few minutes late made him shiver slightly. He raised his hands and stared at them, and then he remembered the nasty things Ruby had said to him right before he was kicked out and when he was being framed.

He placed a hand over his chest; his heartbeat remained steady because his emotions were stable. He wasn’t angry, he wasn’t hurt, and he didn’t feel the opposite toward Ruby either. Finally, he understood.

"So that’s how it is, I’m not empty... I really did hate Ruby and I was furious with her... but at the same time, deep down, I still care about her as my little sister... that’s why it felt empty... maybe neutral is a better word for it... the same thing happened with Vanessa back then... I forgave her and settled my debt... so we don’t have any emotional ties left anymore... will it be the exact same way with Ruby... who knows, but it doesn’t feel like it," Eric said.

Then, his mind drifted back to how Ruby had been since they were kids. She had always been completely spoiled by their mom and dad because she was the youngest and the only girl. Ruby actually used to be really close with Eric, until one day everything shifted.

Suddenly, Ruby became totally dependent on Eric, but because their parents indulged her every whim, she stopped viewing Eric as her older brother and started treating him like some kind of servant. And the moment he actually needed her, she had easily brushed him off and shooed him away. But then Eric smiled.

"Hopefully, after what happened today... she changes. I hope she stops being so spoiled and assuming everyone has to cater to her demands... so I’ll just leave her be for now... I don’t want to see her just yet, not until she actually changes... I can’t let her think that I’ll always be there for her like I used to be. My gut feeling about telling Jade that was right, just let Jade handle talking to her," Eric thought to himself.

Eric then stood up and walked out of his home office. He noticed the living room was completely empty, and when he glanced toward the two bedrooms, there was absolutely no sign of life inside either. Suddenly, he remembered something.

"Oh, right. They went down to the gym downstairs... alright, time to hit the bathroom first," Eric thought to himself.

He casually walked to the guest bathroom and opened the door, but was instantly blasted by a wave of steam from a hot shower. Hearing the running water, he instinctively shut his eyes as he pulled the door closed, but the water suddenly stopped running. "Huh," he heard a girl’s voice. He opened his eyes, and they instantly went wide. His face flushed bright red, and he spun around immediately.

As it turned out, Heidi was inside taking a shower and was completely naked. But strangely, she didn’t scream at all; instead, she just stared at Eric with a blushing face.

"Um... sorry, I’m leaving," Eric said.

"Wait..."

Heidi rushed toward Eric, but because the floor was slick, "ah," she slipped. Acting on pure reflex, Eric turned back around and caught Heidi’s wet body, crashing back against the door with her in his arms. "Huh," their eyes locked instantly, both of their faces turning bright red. But suddenly, Heidi wrapped her arms around Eric’s neck, leaned her entire body into him, and "smoooch," she kissed him passionately. Snapping back to his senses, Eric broke off the kiss and gently pushed Heidi back.

"He... hey..."

Before Eric could even get a word out, Heidi placed her index finger over his lips and smiled. She leaned her face close to Eric’s ear, pressing her entire body flush against his.

"I know exactly what you’ve been doing with Chloe and Laura," Heidi whispered in a breathy voice.

"Huh," Eric’s face went completely pale in an instant. He glanced at Heidi, who pulled her face back to smirk at him.

"Relax, I’m not blaming you. If I’m going to blame anyone, it’s them, not you," Heidi said.

"B... but how could you possibly know?" Eric asked.

Heidi smiled, then leaned in to kiss Eric passionately again, and once more, Eric gently pushed her away to break the kiss. Heidi just smirked and whispered to him again.

"I’m not as innocent as the others... I know what goes on, I just keep quiet and observe," Heidi said with a smile.

"Huh... what... what do you mean?" Eric asked, completely bewildered and clearly feeling cornered.

"I saw a bunch of hickeys on Chloe and Laura’s bodies during gym class. They claimed it was from bugs... but I also noticed their bodies have filled out a bit and their vibe is definitely different than before... I figured it out instantly. And judging by your reaction... it means I was right, isn’t that true?" Heidi asked, flashing a slightly sly, teasing smile.

"My reaction?" Eric asked, confused.

"You just saw me naked, you looked at my entire body, and even right now while I’m hugging you, your heart isn’t racing. That means you’re already used to it and well-trained, obviously from being with them, because otherwise where else would they get those hickeys from," Heidi answered.

Eric stood frozen, completely speechless because everything Heidi said was entirely accurate. His brain was working overtime, but while Eric was busy processing it all, Heidi’s hand reached for the door lock and clicked it shut. She wrapped her arms around Eric again, kissing him once more as her hand reached down to open his pants.

"Hey... Heidi," Eric said.

"It’s fine, right... since they’re still downstairs anyway, hehe," Heidi said, her hands getting busy down below.

"W... wait, that time was an accident... otherwise, I wouldn’t have wanted to cross the line," Eric stammered, even though his eyes kept darting down to Heidi’s body, which was undeniably naked and sexy right in front of him.

Catching himself, Eric quickly shifted his attention to Heidi’s ears, which were lined with a bunch of piercings. But Heidi, noticing Eric checking her out, just kissed him passionately, causing Eric’s mind to go completely blank. Suddenly, Heidi broke off the kiss.

"Oh right... this is my first time, so... please be gentle. I might not be completely innocent, but I’ve only ever masturbated before," Heidi said with a smile.

"Huh... in that case... don’t..."

Before Eric could even finish his sentence, Heidi was already kissing him again. "Vwoooong," a holographic screen popped open right next to Eric’s face, asking whether he wanted to activate the population control skill or not. Eric simply closed his eyes and gave in. Finally, he muttered yes, and the kissing quickly progressed to something more. Now, he had officially crossed the line with Heidi too.

***

Meanwhile, over in the emergency room at the hospital, "ugh," Ruby slowly opened her eyes. She blinked several times as she stared up at the ceiling above her—a sterile white ceiling that looked completely unfamiliar.

"Where... am I?" she asked faintly.

"Mike... please go grab a nurse, she’s awake," Jade said.

"On it... heading out," Mike replied.

A moment later, the sound of the curtain snapping open cut through the room, and Jade leaned her head over Ruby so Ruby could see her face.

"Jade?" Ruby asked softly, trying to sit up.

"Sssh... don’t talk too much, and don’t try to get up yet. You just came to," Jade said, gently pressing Ruby back down onto the bed.

"W... what happened, Jade... earlier... I went back to the apartment... and then... we were partying... and someone handed me a drink... after that, I don’t remember a thing," Ruby said, turning pale.

"Just relax for now. Don’t overthink it, and don’t panic," Jade said.

As she lay there, Ruby felt something resting against her neck. Her hand drifted up to touch the necklace Eric had fastened around it. She lifted the pendant to look at it, an instant wave of confusion washing over her because she knew she had never owned a necklace like this before. She turned her head toward Jade and noticed that Jade was wearing the exact same one.

"This necklace... what is it?" Ruby asked, looking over at Jade.

Jade went quiet for a beat. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to Ruby, who kept her eyes locked on her. Jade took a deep breath and let it out, as if she were about to deliver some earth-shattering news. She looked down at her own necklace and gripped the pendant.

"The necklace around your neck... is from Eric. And mine is from him too," Jade answered in a calm, quiet voice.

Ruby kept staring at Jade, clearly trying to process the words she had just heard. Then she looked back down at the necklace and looked up at Jade again.

"Eric? He... gave me a necklace like this?" Ruby asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. I’ll fill you in on everything later, just rest up for now," Jade answered, looking down at her.

Ruby lay back down, once again lifting the diamond-encrusted treble clef pendant. "This... is from Eric?" she thought to herself, and finally, her eyes began to well up as tears flooded her vision.