"...Would you protect me?"
Jex asks fairly quickly, as if it's been lingering in her mind for the longest. Something she probably wouldn't say. She looks away, and I can see it. A slightest hint of blue blush on her face.
I take it that she's embarrassed…and I won't act like Rei hasn't had her fair share of embarrassing moments either.
But still. The question. I don't know whether to answer her, or ignore it. All that I've been doing here is trying my hardest. In a sense, I've protected Rei against Flugel.
But why would—
No.
No, it can't be.
No, no, no.
He wouldn't…Flugel wouldn't…
My eyes slowly widen in realization. I've made that mistake once. Ever dare so putting the words, no, and Flugel, in the same sentence.
As far as I know.
This is his place.
What wouldn't he do?
I nod my head sharply, "Yes. Anything…the matter?"
She slightly looks to me, her hands have stopped rubbing my back for some time, and there it goes pressed into her lap. Whatever Flugel has planned, I'm going to combat it. I have to.
I did it once with Rei. I protected her against Flugel.
I can do it again, I can be the hero with Jex. Whatever Flugel has planned with Jex, I will defeat it. I have to. This is the starting step, and maybe the catalyst I needed for change.
But it won't matter if I hold this same mentality of mine.
"I see your face, Master Lucien. The way you walk, and talk. You aren't truly harsh, you just…act the part."
She begins. I listen closely.
"Master Flugel…is different. Most of us had known him since we were little kids, maybe as early as babies. He's always been there, watching us, training us."
"Grooming us."
There was a long pause, and a needed one at that.
"I was quick to understand my role. I wasn't as strong as the others, and so I was placed within the house, as a maid. It was common rule that those who were different from the others were placed in the house."
I furrowed a brow, "Why?"
There was another long pause.
And the answer wasn't there, not in the air. Not from her lips.
All she did was look at me, really.
What made Jex different from the others?
Different, as in…Rei different?
Rei's case is different. I've never seen a Red Oni as bright as her. Everyone else came along like muted colors. Dark gray, dark red. Pale red, even in some variations of yellow.
But there was never really blue out there.
There was never really a blue Oni just like Jex out there. But that doesn't make sense. Rei is "different" as well. But she was working outside. So why…
…why Jex? Is there something I'm not clearly seeing here?
She looked away, maybe disappointed that I couldn't grasp onto it fast enough. It was something she clearly didn't want to say. Not to profess it with her own lips, that I knew for sure.
Jex moved on however, "The sense of freedom is not something everyone will earn and understand. Some of the Oni here are content by force. They've already accepted their fate."
"But…with you, Master Lucien. I've never felt freer in my life than now."
I froze.
Not out of fear. Not out of shock. Not out of suspense.
But because I didn't know whether to accept it, or deny it.
I…I didn't understand.
"I haven't done anything, Jex. What I do is masquerade as whatever they want me to be." I admit shortly. Looking away, moreso in deflection. Whatever praise she's giving me right now, I don't deserve it.
But then. I felt it.
A warm hand atop of mine.
My head snaps as fast as I turned it around.
And there, maybe for the first time that I've noticed. Jex had a smile.
A slow, warming smile.
"Your presence alone, felt like freedom enough. You've shown more care than you've spoken. Every Oni has a different meaning as to what true freedom is, Master Lucien."
And, with her hand squeezing mine a bit tighter, she speaks again.
"You're mine."
Her eyes looked into mine—locked. I couldn't look away, not now.
But.
It didn't feel right.
Her words, no.
It felt…
It felt too good to be true.
This didn't feel like genuine appreciation for what I was doing.
There's nothing free about me. I don't symbolize with freedom.
I'm no more than Jex. And yet, she only sees the mask. I could tell her, but she wouldn't understand.
I'm no different than a bird in a cage. The wings are attached to me only for the vanity of it.
I get that feeling in my chest, that sick feeling whenever I put on the mask and lie. I've lied more than enough times to know how deceive.
Jex is not deceiving me.
She's trying to deceive herself.
Deceiving herself that these words she's saying, are in genuine appreciation for what I do.
And not in a twisted attraction for me that she wants it to be.
Jex didn't fall in love with me.
She's using these words…to mask something greater. She chose this night specifically.
And there, I saw it.
The slight twitch of her fingers.
"Jex I—" I don't get much out, her hands jump from mine to my face. Warm, soothing, inviting. Our eyes lock into each other again. I'm forced to stare into hers.
"...please. Make me freer than ever before."
That line. That tone. That sound.
It was all there, and I was too late to notice it.
No wonder it felt inviting. No wonder I accepted it so fast.
She wasn't soothing me.
She's seducing me.
Whatever she gets from me, right here. Gives her a warped mentality of what being "free" is. My presence alone isn't enough. She wants more than that. Jex already made it clear, and now she knows that I know.
But…but this isn't something I can do. It's not in my power. I was prepared to fight against Flugel and whatever he has prepared.
Not against Jex. Am I in the wrong for thinking otherwise? For thinking that…Flugel was going to hunt her down?
A body is pressed against mine. It's Jex, warm, hot. I'm too tired to fight back against anything. Too tired to stop her.
Her hand trails from my cheek to my neck, her one finger and circling it. Almost like I can't breathe. Jex isn't just trying to seduce me.
She's sharing her trauma. All the Oni here have trauma.
But she's sharing hers directly.
I tried to push back, but Jex was on a mission. Her mind was already set. Her maid outfit was already loose, and it came undone easily. Her blue skin was revealed more, and the black bra she had over her chest.
I bite my lip.
This was all practiced.
This was all performed.
This was all rehearsed.
The way Jex spoke earlier, it didn't make sense at the time…but now?
This was something Jex had been planning for the longest.
And I feel for the bait.
She waited until I was physically tired. She waited until she knew what to do.
This is no different than acting, and she played the part.
Her face looks at mine, already well deep pressed onto my body. Her hands circling my stomach. My hand is on her lower back, and yet, she looks deep into my eyes.
Not the same ones I saw earlier.
But deep, with a goal. A mission in mind. A ideology. She thinks this will make her free. That I represent freedom, and that by doing this, would obtain something higher.
I'm no different than Flugel.
What Flugel trained her…raised her to be, runs on a core idea that she's been keeping inside her head for the longest.
Then.
That's when I realized it.
I wasn't fighting against Flugel yet. No, Flugel didn't need to make a move.
He already did, and behold, it was none other than his pawn.
Jex.
Flugel didn't have anything planned with her, no.
It was already in action, and I'm watching it in realtime.