"Is it too big on you?"
"N-no Master. I think it fits…"
I deadpan. From what I could tell, no Rei, it wasn't fitting.
She smiles awkwardly in my burnt-orange poncho. I don't know what overcame me, but I felt like she should wear it. It kept her body, and figure modest. So big, you couldn't tell anything. Practically a ghost.
A ghost against Flugel's eyes too.
It draped to the ground, and it would get dirty with each step she took, but I could care less. With the four-pointed star pinned on, she was the Ranchmaster now.
It didn't matter anymore, for me.
My face became too memorized. With, or without the Golden Insignia, my role was branded onto me ritually, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.
Everyone knew I was a Ranchmaster.
So, for once.
I think I knew why I gave her the poncho.
Just to see, just to test if the brand could be moved away from me.
"Cool." I say.
"You look very cool."
Rei's eyes widened, probably registering in her head she's been complimented. It didn't take her long to become shy, chuckle nervously. Move side to side. Even the poncho swallowed her arms.
All I had on me now was the fur-lined hoodie. More than enough for what I was going to do.
We continued to walk, on our way to the place that no other ranchmaster goes. Maybe out of ego, pride, disgust, discrimination. A lot of factors to play into there.
But, we are heading to the Oni Shacks. And if there's one thing that intrigued me, was Rei.
She was never really socially awkward. Despite her random stutters and stammers, which I think have gotten better lately.
She held her own in conversations with other adult Oni from time to time. With Jex, they would have all types of conversations. But then again, that's her tightest bond she's ever had.
Not to mention they knew each other well enough before I came into the picture.
But the way she answered, the way she hesitated, the way she spoke. My own assumption led me here.
For as long as I've known her. I never really investigated Rei. Never really…knew her, so to speak.
So, I ask a question. And to make up for the morning she so would've desired.
"Breakfast Roulette." I say it out of nowhere. Rei is slightly shocked, but hearing those two words seemed to uplift her attitude.
She went from pacing behind me to catching up, her footsteps mimicking mine. A small, curious smile on her face. Maybe…too curious, but the game has transformed and adapted into something for her.
That would cure her curiosity…or something.
"Y-yes Master…?"
"What ever happened to that left horn of yours."
Her hand, or moreso the poncho itself comes into contact with it. It was small, which told me it still needed to grow compared to everyone else's.
"I…I was playing. I got hurt, and that's what happened. Grandma told me it'll stay like that forever so I never forget my mistake."
I chuckle. Maybe a proverb your Grandmother told you Rei. Maybe etchings into their horns really do stay.
"M-my turn," She declares happily. Almost as if it's been canned for hours.
Wait.
It has.
"Why were you so tired this morning?" She comes into my view. I'm not sure if this was something she wanted to ask me earlier. If she did, she could've.
I scoff, "Too busy making sure you guys are safe. That's what."
She giggles. Laughs even. I do too. But not for the same reason that she is.
That through these lies, that I don't know if they carry a hint of truth anymore.
It's sickening.
But one thing I realized about Rei, or moreso about her overall, is that she's just 15. I was 15 slaving away in video games. Two different things. She's had a different upbringing.
And, I'll admit. My first mistake was about asking if she had friends. She got apprehensive, uncomfortable. Maybe because I'm asking her as a Master?
But as I've seen. When it comes time for Breakfast Roulette, all of that fades away. She's opened-up more. She doesn't mind saying anything…or asking anything really.
Is it because in this game…she sees us as equals?
Or that everything's a damn game to Rei?
I don't know. But if this game helps remove tension from anything, then I'm glad it helps her.
"My turn. Am I your favorite ranchmaster?" I ask. Don't want to dig into anything deeper just yet. Just slowly turning the knob. Gradually. She'll never realize it's hot.
She doesn't take long to answer, as if it was on the tip of her tongue.
"Ever."
I nod, "Nice."
"My turn, how was the trip? Before you left us, I mean."
I stay silent for a beat. That was unexpected.
Rei is asking stuff I never thought she would. I don't know why it intrigued her.
"I told you both before. Business trip. Not really fun. Boring."
Rei furrows a brow, "How boring?"
"Gardening-boring. I did see two fish swim up a current. I thought that was cool."
"Wha…? You should've brought it back Master!"
I look over towards her, "You eat fish?"
"If it's from you. I read something like that in a book once. It's a rare phe…phe…"
I laugh before completing her sentence.
"Phenomenon?"
She points at me as her face lights up.
"Yeah! That! You're so smart Master!"
I scoff. A smart man, huh?
We continued to walk the dirt path, the Oni Shacks just within view now.
I brew up another question in my head, "My turn, favorite flower?"
She actually takes some time to think about this one. Her face making that same expression when the multi-gear cogs in her head start turning violently. Eventually, she came up with one.
"...a cherry blossom flower!"
I almost halted in my steps. That sounded familiar. Too familiar. Cherry Blossom Flower? As in…like, a cherry blossom tree?
Maybe she's talking about something different, or she got it wrong.
"You mean a cherry blossom tree? Those are trees, not flowers Rei." I try to correct, but no, she seems pretty adamant.
"N-no…a cherry blossom flower. I read it in a book once."
Yeah, please state your sources Rei. Not like I would care to dive deeper into it though. I can barely read.
And weirdly.
Most of her knowledge comes from books. Not from experience. Is this where here curiosity began?
I shrug, and take that as an answer.
"My turn. What's your favorite thing about this place?"
Her face lights up, that same, curious look.
But mine is dulled. I try to force out a laugh, but even that comes out as half-baked, half nervous.
The whole game is based on honesty. That's what we value. That's what even led the game to evolve in the first place. Jex's honesty in the first. Rei was bold enough, even in the early days. Her own curiosity was the second factor to let the game changing.
And I played right into it of course.
As much as I lie, and how much I'm accustomed to doing it. I considered it right here, right now. What am I supposed to say? The slaves?
I don't have a single thing here that I cherish. That I favorite.
But I look towards Rei again. Her ember eyes, fiery, clashing. Reminded me of someone I met sometime ago. Or at least, Rei mimicked it horribly.
I sigh.
"Favorite thing? Would probably have to be you…" I trail off. For once, I believe my words. My body doesn't treat it like a lie. But I still feel as if it's wrong.
I said there was no favorite. That I don't have a favorite. But I can't forget the person who sent me into this journey in the first place. The first person I stuck out my hand for.
Rei.
It's not romantic, it's not affectionate, and I don't mean it in any other emotional way either.
If there was no curious bright red 15 year old tomato to keep my sanity in check. I wouldn't have made it this far.
And I won't pretend that I could.
"...me?"
Rei smiles softly, unsure at first. Then her voice brightens.
"T-then…you're my favorite Ranchmaster too. Ever. In every book."
I give her a nod, but it's tight. Her words don't sit nicely in my ears. She's already said it once, and I ignored it subconsciously. She's repeating it again, and it's being drilled into my head. I'm a horrible Ranchmaster, Rei.
Just because I treat you better than any other ranchmaster you've had in the past doesn't mean anything.
But she still goes on, oblivious. My words are laced in and out, it even went over her head.
"I-I don't know what my second favorite thing is. Maybe the kitchen when Jex makes those buns…" She continues, trailing off and then giggling after.
I shudder at the slight mention of Jex. Brushing it off as quickly as I could.
Her eyes dig deeper into mine, she's not satisfied, not yet. As if I'm some treasure hoard, and she's a pirate. I'm convinced if I was a living book, she wouldn't hesitate to examine all of the knowledge I contained.
And I know that look. That look she gives when she wants more answers.
And yet, every single time, I'm too late to stop here.
"My turn again–"
"Hey, I don't think that's how the game works—"
"What's the outside world like?"
I press my lips together. She's curious, and there's no other emotion that lingers. I spoke of experience, and that's how she practically lived through books.
But right now?
Her experience is me. I'm the outlet.
I choose my next words carefully. I can't lie. I respect it that much.
But what's a better answer? That the world is infinitely better than what she has lived through in this park? Or that there might be more places like this? Undiscovered under the Republic?
I don't answer. I refuse too, but Rei won't take that as an answer.
"Well Master? Is it?"
There's a beat of silence. The smile she had gradually goes down.
But, for some reason. I couldn't let myself stay quiet forever.
"I'll take you." I mutter out. Her pointed ears twitch, she heard me. Her face conveys a mixture of shock, and confusion.
"H-huh…?!" She's acting like I asked for her hand in marriage, or better, to run away and forget about this place.
That thought lingered more in my head than I anticipated.
But I repeat myself.
"I'll take you. You'll see the world that's not just Korioh Landings. You'll see it for yourself, not in a book."
Rei's smile slowly picks back up, and the sight of it makes me give out a half-hearted smile.
She doesn't know any better. But that doesn't mean I can't help her break away from this atmosphere.
Just as Jex said, every Oni had their own definition of freedom.
I'm glad Rei stuck with the traditional sense.