Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

Chapter 633: Rematch.

Glasses with colorful drinks were placed on the table one after the other. With a well practiced smile, the waitress left the VIP section. A metallic hand grabbed one of the glasses. Taking a sip, Dante looked at the orange-haired beauty beside him. He timed it just as she turned to steal a glance at him, and when their eyes met, her cheeks flushed as she quickly turned away.

Merry was the only one who seemed to be in a positive mood after meeting him. The short one clearly didn't appreciate the joke he made about her being too young to be in the club, and the guys seemed to be on guard, watching every move he made.

"You're old enough to drink, right?" Dante asked the petite woman.

"Do you need to see my ID?" She asked in return.

"No, I was just wondering why you haven't touched your glass." He looked at them one by one. "Don't worry, it's not poisonous."

"S-sorry about that, we didn't mean any offence." Merry quickly picked up her glass and was about to sip from it, but slowed down at the last moment, trying to be careful of any embarrassing accidents.

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting the drinks to be this good." The dark-haired guy said. "And the variety is quite decent, too."

"I'm not big on alcohol, but we do have experts on the matter." Dante looked beside him. "I truly meant it when I said I was happy to see you, but…"

Though it might not be for the reasons they expect, Dante did think of their presence as a happy surprise. Still, there was one question he had to ask.

"May I ask why you are here? This is hardly the place for rich kids to wander, let alone heroes like yourselves."

"We just came to check the place!" Merry quickly replied. "We had some time off and decided to come here."

"Really?" Dante said. "And here I thought you came to see me."

"Well, that might be part of it."

Though she might not have noticed, Merry's whisper didn't go unheard. Dante tried to keep his smile from faltering, taking a sip from his drink to control it better.

"If you're worried about us coming after you, then you don't have to worry," Beatrice said. "We aren't here on official BEO business."

"Come after me? And why would you do that?" Dante pretended to be hurt. "I'm just a regular civilian, you know?"

Dante was sure Caroline wasn't so stupid that she would be this open about the spies she sends. Just because he got along with them a little better didn't mean he wasn't ready to kill them at a moment's notice.

"A regular civilian?" At long last, Wolf finally decided to speak. "You sure don't smell like one."

"What? I took a shower barely thirty minutes ago!" Dante said.

"That's no good, Wolf," Merry said. "No matter how much you like someone, you shouldn't sniff them without permission."

"That's not what I…" realizing that he had dug his grave with his own hands, Wolf just hung his head and sighed.

"I don't smell, right?"

Asking the question, Dante pulled on his necktie and leaned toward Merry, causing the red on her face to spread to her ears. He was purposefully closing the distance between them, and the panic he caused her was strangely enjoyable.

"N-no, you're fine…" Merry whispered.

"Is that so?" Dante whispered back. "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"

Maybe he had pushed her too far, because her blushing face started to emit a faint glow, and so did her hair.

"Actually, there is a reason why we came here." Kafka jumped in to save her, but then he looked beside him.

Wolf still had his head down, and though it was still covered with a hood, they could still see his ears twitching. Everyone had their eyes on him by the time he looked up, and when he tried to speak, words seemed to betray him.

For the first time since they moved to the second floor, Beatrice allowed herself to smile, though the hint of mischief she showed didn't help with the accusations about her being too young.

"Wolf here couldn't stop thinking about you at all." She said. "Ever since your first meeting."

Kafka almost spat his drink, and Merry covered her mouth, pretending to be shocked. The subject of their discussion went paler than he already was, and his gaze jumped between his friends until it landed on Dante.

"Ah, sorry, man," Dante raised a hand as if to tell him to stop. "I already told you I'm not into guys."

"That's not-"

"Oh, so you already rejected him?" Merry asked.

"The first time we met." Dante sighed. "Guess it bothered him quite a bit, since he put me in handcuffs on the spot."

"Oh my…"

"That's because you had a bunch of kids at gunpoint!" Wolf shot back. "And you resisted arrest!"

"Really now…" Apparently, Dante wasn't the only one who enjoyed ragebaiting the white-haired hero.

After huffing and puffing, Wolf snatched his glass and downed its contents. That seemed to help him regain his composure. It granted him some courage as well.

"It's not wrong that I couldn't take you out of my mind since we first met."

"Oh my!"

Ignoring Merry's exclamation, the hero went on.

"It's not often that I meet someone so proficient in martial arts. Few could keep up with me these days, so I haven't had a decent match since that time." Clenching his fists, Wolf fixed Dante with a glare. "I want a rematch."

"A rematch, you say?" Dante's eyes narrowed.

"You have gone full cyborg, but I don't think you started relying on recorded matrices," Wolf said. "I know you're at least Level 4 now. You can't make the same excuse as before."

The first time they met, Dante was still mostly flesh and bone. If the hero had gone all out, he would have killed him easily, martial arts or not.

In truth, Dante would sometimes think back on that short clash they had. This couldn't have come at a better time. He was just starting to get tired of beating Riot to a pulp.

"Alright," He said, raising one corner of his mouth in a smirk. "If you're looking for a rematch, then you'll get a rematch."