The Last Dainv

Chapter 275

January 17, 2070. 3:13 pm, Friday. Shopping with Rachel. Apparently.

Gale sat in the back seat of Kyle and Clyde's SUV, parked somewhere near Yonge and Dundas. Close enough to be able to walk to the square in less than a couple of minutes, said the twins.

He had asked them why their licence plate was different from the plates that he saw other cars had. Kyle said something about intimidation factor, like 'when the twins come, everyone will know'. Whatever that meant, intimidation was a fair tactic in the wild.

His phone buzzed. Pulling it up, he saw the notification.

[Rachel: Are you here soon?]

His thumb hovered over the message. Clyde had specifically told him not to open it. Something about read receipts, and it was best to leave her on unread. Girls liked that, apparently.

Clyde pulled out a laptop from beneath the passenger seat and flipped it open. The screen glowed with multiple camera feeds arranged in a grid pattern.

"Stole this baby from Mateo," Clyde grinned. "It's connected to all the live feeds in downtown Toronto. Just leave everything to us. You got nothing to worry about."

Gale leaned forward between the seats. "What's there to worry about?"

Kyle looked him dead in the eye. "You're underestimating this mission, Gale. This is mission critical. Code red. Defcon 1. You need to be as manly as possible out there. Lead the way. Take charge. Show her the way."

"It's not a date though." Gale frowned. "She's just helping me shop. I literally have no other clothes other than this hoodie and jeans."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Kyle wagged his finger. "That's what all women want you to think. 'Oh, I'm just helping you shop.' Classic misdirection. Just follow and listen. Remember, Gale, Special Investigations Division numero uno number one duo."

Clyde turned from the laptop, meeting Gale's eyes. "You trust us, right? The sacred bond of the Twinkie."

Right. The Twinkie that he took from Clyde was a sacred oath that shall never be broken by anything. Gale nodded solemnly. "The bond forged by the Twinkie shall not bend."

"That's our guy." Kyle gestured to his own ear. "Tap it once to turn it on. Then do your thing to make it invisible. Can't have Rachel seeing it."

Gale tapped the earpiece. A small click sounded in his ear, followed by Kyle's voice coming through crystal clear: "Testing, testing. Can you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Perfect. Now invisibilize it."

Gale activated Distort on the earpiece. The light around the device bent, making it nigh invisible. Unless someone was specifically looking for it, they'd never ever notice.

"Beautiful," Clyde said, checking the laptop screen. "Now get out there. You can do this. We believe in you."

Gale nodded and opened the car door. The goal was clear: to sway Rachel. Lead the way, and don't mess this up... according to the twins.

Taking three steps forward away from the car, something physically blasted at him. Not an enemy, nor a threat. This was something far more dangerous than any foe that could come up behind him.

The smell physically assaulted his senses. Warmth, toasted, sugary cheese, and freshly baked dough wafted through the cold January air.

His legs moved as if enthralled, leading him directly to the storefront. As he arrived, he noticed the sign read 'Uncle Tetsu's' beside a cartoon of a bald man with a chef hat.

However, just as his hands reached for the door handle, Kyle shouted into his ears.

"GALE! What are you doing!"

His hands froze immediately before they could even touch the handle. He completely forgot he was being watched. Dammit.

"Focus on the mission! Dundas Square! Go meet Rachel!"

"But..."

"FORGET THE CHEESECAKE!"

Clyde's voice came through the earpiece. "You're already fifteen minutes late, which is exactly what women like in a guy. Shows you're chill. Relaxed. Not desperate. But any later and you cross into disrespectful territory. Move it, soldier."

Gale nodded. He could get the cheesecake later when Rachel and the twins were gone.

Tearing his eyes away from the shop, he jogged east towards Dundas Square. He passed by the sea of people, moving in between them, slipping through the cracks of the crowd just like how he was trained to move through a thick forest.

As he reached the square, the crowd parted slightly, and Rachel's form caught his eyes.

She wore a loose black skirt that flowed all the way to her ankles, swaying slightly in the winter breeze. Hexagonal earrings embedded with red gems caught his attention. Today, she wore heels, bringing her up to his height. And as expected, for such a cold winter's day, she only wore a thin white jacket that contoured her curves more than a puffy one would.

In other words, she looked... really pretty. Saying she was pretty to Mia's mom was right. It was the right choice of words

On the other hand, looking down at himself, he wore a simple baggy hoodie and jeans that fit. Almost. At least they weren't ripped jeans like his other pair.

But it couldn't be helped. Part of today's goals was to shop, and he was actually feeling happy that Rachel was helping him. But then again, he couldn't take it too casually. Clyde did say that if he was too relaxed around her, then she'd think he was cringe.

Gotta be serious. Lead the way. Like the general of an army that oozed with presence.

"Go, go, go," Clyde said through the earpiece.

Gale moved through the crowd until he reached Rachel. She spotted him approaching, and her expression shifted to a smile that spread warmth towards him (literally).

"Hi," Gale said.

"Hey." Rachel tilted her head slightly. "You okay? You were a bit late."

Before he opened his mouth, Kyle whispered into his ears.

"Just taking my time, relaxing, and enjoying the walk here," Gale said robotically, following Kyle's command to act cool and relaxed. He smiled at Rachel.

"Huh? You... walked here?"

Oh shoot. That wasn't in the script.

"I, uhh, I walked in four wheels," Gale said.

Rachel stared at him for a moment before saying, "Sure...? Anyways, what do you wanna..."

She paused mid-sentence. Her eyes looked him up and down from his face to his hoodie to his jeans, then to his shoes.

"How about pants?" Rachel said. "Wanna start there?"

"Let's start with tops first," Gale said, repeating Kyle's message. Something about not letting Rachel take the lead.

"Sure!" Rachel said enthusiastically. "I have a few shops I wanna visit. There's this brand called Vee and Hue. They have good stuff for men. Let's go there first?"

Gale nodded.

Kyle's voice crackled through his earpiece. "Remember, Gale. Whatever she picks out first, be chillax and cool like you don't even care. Say something like 'it's okay, it's coo. What else?' Got it?! And don't nod!"

Gale almost nodded. His head started to dip forward before he caught himself and froze it mid-motion. That probably looked weird. However, Rachel was in front of him, already leading the way to Eaton's entrance.

"Get in front of her and lead!" Kyle said.

Right! He should be the one leading. Gale walked up faster to meet her. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her back to walk beside him.

Rachel cleared her throat, face clearly flushed. "Sorry, I was too excited. Let's go."

Stolen novel; please report.

They entered through the glass revolving doors, but the warm air had already hit them before as Rachel's hand grew warmer. But, Gale was thinking that was probably just the mall being stuffy with a lot of people.

Walking through the crowd, they veered right and saw Vee and Hue. It was the front shop of Eaton's, a big shop that was connected to the entrance.

And the first thing Gale noticed was the scents that attacked his nose. All of them were harsh amberish floral scents that stung at his olfactory. But he couldn't get caught wrinkling his nose at a threat level minimal attack.

Never.

Rachel led the way into the store with a bright smile on her face as she took him to the men's section where the shirts, hoodies, and jackets were.

"Today, I think you can get a few more hoodies and shirts so you don't wear the same one everyday," she said, then paused again. "Do you think you can put the clothes in your space storage after we buy them?"

"Most definitely," Gale said, nodding.

"Idiot, why didn't you wait for my response?!" Kyle said.

Drats. This mission was definitely harder than Gale thought. It was most definitely Code Red, Defcon 1 levels of difficult.

"It's okay, Gale. Your score meter hasn't dropped below 90 out of 100 yet. Just chill. We got this as long as you follow," Clyde said.

Rachel looked at him weirdly again. She was probably thinking whether he was ok again. Always asking him that, which kind of was a fuzzy feeling that he liked. No one really asked him if he was ok in the orphanage. All of them just said 'you'll be ok'.

She turned toward a rack of shirts, her hand reaching out to browse through them. Then she stopped and turned back to face him.

"What kind of shirts do you like?" Rachel asked.

"You can choose. I like whatever," Gale said, following Kyle's voice perfectly this time.

"You sure?"

Gale nodded slowly. Very slowly like a relaxed person would.

Rachel smiled at him excitedly, like she was given a reward. "Okay, give me a minute to browse! Stay there!"

"Ok," Gale said.

She then moved through the store at lightning speed, browsing through the items one by one. At times, she'd pause to look at a specific shirt or rub her fingers on the material. Whenever she did that, there was a 50% chance she'd put them on the pile she was carrying.

"You see, Gale? Look at how much fun she's having," Clyde said.

The twins were completely right. Seeing Rachel so excited about shopping was actually quite fun. It was the first time she showed him this kind of focused excited look that he never quite saw in the rifts.

"Here." Rachel pushed the pile into his arms. "Try these on. Dressing room's over there."

Gale looked down at the shirts and then moved to the dressing room. A lady had told him to enter room #3. Putting down the clothes on the chair, he asked, "What was the point of trying them? I could literally just wear them regardless of how they looked. As long as they fit, I wear them."

"Tsk tsk. Don't you know?" Clyde asked.

"Women like dress up games. That's obvious. Of course they wanna see you wear what they choose. Just remember, Gale. Once you get out to let her see what you're wearing, act like you're not interested."

Gale sighed. Shopping for clothes was extremely tiring. He would've just picked out whatever stuff was in any bin at the Salvation Army place down the street.

Stepping out of the dressing room, the collared shirt that Rachel picked out hugged his frame tighter than any of the clothes he ever picked out. The fabric contoured around his arms and chest, and felt snug all around, making his muscles stand out.

Rachel's mouth fell open.

The lady working at the dressing room also stared.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Rachel's eyes traced from his shoulders down to his chest, then back up to his face.

She cleared her throat. "Do you... do you like it?"

"It's ok. It's good," Gale said nonchalantly, if anyone could even call robotic nonchalant. It's the effort that counts.

Rachel coughed again, constantly trying not to stare at him. "Okay. We'll keep that one then. Do you wanna keep trying on the rest of the pile?"

"Of course," Gale said. Returning to room #3, he tried on more clothes and exited after putting them on to let her have a quick look.

The next couple of hours became a dredging blur of horrifying trudgery of what adult women call 'shopping'. He put on literally every shirt she picked out. Every hoodie she picked out.

However, the hoodies were actually very comfortable and felt more stable than the ones from the donation bins. They had thicker material too, which Gale liked.

Each time he let Rachel have a look, she'd stare, evaluate, ask him if he liked it, nod, and then they both decided whether to keep it or not.

Gale didn't mind, though. This was one of the times he was completely relaxed since he didn't care whether they looked good or not. As long as it fit, he'd wear it. Somehow, it made Rachel happy whenever he said he was ok with it.

The next stop was Uniqlo. Rachel explained that since he was more of the athletic kind, pants were more important to be fitting and flexible enough. Apparently, that brand fit the bill.

The same pattern repeated. Rachel asked him if she could choose. Gale nodded slowly, acting coolio which made Rachel happy.

That was really all he cared about. As long as she was happy, he was fine with this, even if it was a horribly painful experience of constant trying on, letting her look, and saying ok.

After pants came shoes. A store called Foot Locker was blasting music that assaulted Gale's ears and Presence Between. Whoever made the music so loud needed a punch to the face. In total, he got 3 pairs of sneakers, a pair of hiking shoes, and two sets of boots.

In fact, this was probably the fastest stop. All she said was, "Trust me, it fits you." And of course, he trusted her. She knew better than him anyways.

Passing by the hallway of the mall, they encountered a small kiosk that had mirrors and sunglasses. Rachel took one off the rack and put it on him. She took one herself, and then they both looked at the mirror.

She was smiling, and Gale couldn't help but smile as well. She took selfies of both of them wearing sunglasses, trying on different types. Some were wonky, some looked cool.

Although Gale had no use for them, it was funny seeing him try on different sunglasses. Presence Between made wearing them useless, though.

And finally, the day was coming to an end as they sat by a fountain.

Rachel stretched her arms above her head, releasing an extended sigh. "That was fun. Wanna grab a drink?"

Gale nodded coolly. By the end of this day, he had already nodded so much that he perfected the cool nod movement.

Rachel smiled and reached for his hand. Her fingers intertwined with his naturally, warm as always. Then she paused.

"Hey," she said. "Do you wanna try something sweet and fruity? Or something more like your sweet coffee?"

Adrenaline surged through Gale's system. This was it. The moment of truth. The thing he'd been anticipating throughout this whole mind-numbing experience. Something sweet to put in his mouth!

As expected. Rachel knew him so well. She never let him down, and by the end of this shopping spree, he already had a hope that she'd take him to a sweet place.

The choice was: sweet and fruity, or liquid candy. Both options were tongue numbingly good. He hadn't tried sweet and fruity before though, and it was the obvious choice.

"Ask her what she wants," Kyle whispered into his ear.

A flash of cold ran through Gale's veins as he heard Kyle's voice through the earpiece. He wanted to try something sweet and fruity, and she was asking him what she wanted. Wasn't the obvious decision here to tell her he wanted sweet and fruity?

But alas. The bond of the twinkie shan't be broken. Kyle and Clyde were professional and they'd know better than him in this situation on what to do.

"What do you want?" he asked Rachel. Challantly, obviously...

"Ummm..." Rachel said. "I wanna know what you want, and I wanna go to what you want."

That was a weird way to say something. Why did she repeat the same thing twice? But that sounded like a cue to the twins to just tell her what she wants... right?

"Say the sweet coffee," Kyle said through the earpiece. "It's the lesser evil of the two."

What the hell does a lesser evil mean? Evil can only be evil. There is nothing in between.

"Code red," Clyde's voice joined in, more urgent. "She's probably going to bring you to a bubble tea place. Make sure you tell her you don't like it."

Why would tea have bubbles?

Right now, there were so many questions running through Gale's head. All these terminologies were confusing. If it weren't for Rachel's warmth seeping into him, he'd think that his brain was getting fried.

"How about the sweet coffee thing you said?" Gale asked slowly.

"Yes! Let's go!" Rachel shouted taking him by the hand, pulling him to a store with a big red and white sign. A cartoon snowman smiled as the front logo of the shop. The big letters said 'Mixue Ice Cream'.

"Why an ice cream place?" Gale asked.

"It's a milk tea place," Rachel said. "The ice cream is just part of the name. Do you see anything you like on the menu?"

Gale stared at the menu, not knowing what he was looking at. Pearl, brown sugar all mixed together with fruits like kiwi, strawberry, peach, or whatever. Mixing something with the taste of milk with fruits completely blew his mind. How would it even taste?

But looking at Rachel's face, it seemed she had already decided on what she wanted. He didn't know what the menu was, so it was better for her to choose for him.

Yes. That was the essence of challant.

"I'll get what you get," he said. "So we have the same thing."

Rachel's smile widened even further. "Okay!"

She stepped up to the counter and ordered two pearl milk teas. The cashier punched in the order and told them to wait by the pickup area.

A couple of minutes later, two plastic cups arrived. Creamy coffee-like brown liquid filled both of them, and at the bottom sat dark spherical objects that made no sense.

Why was there stuff in the liquid? He was about to find out.

Handing him his cup with a thick straw, she unwrapped hers and demonstrated the necessary action.

"You punch the straw through the seal like this," she said, positioning the pointed end against the plastic film covering the cup. "But be careful with your strength."

"Controlling my strength is my most prized skill," Gale said confidently, almost grinning.

Rachel snorted. "Except for the fact that you knocked out Mikael in one punch."

"That was a mistake. He was giving off killing intent."

"Sure," Rachel laughed. "Go ahead then."

Gale positioned his straw against the seal. Control was the exact skill he earned from Dainv Combat Arts. And that's what exactly he did as he perfectly pierced the straw through the seal. Not even a single drop of liquid splashed outside.

Now all he had to do was suck out the liquid candy from the cup.

Putting his mouth on the straw, the moment of truth for the liquid candy arrived.

He sucked hard.

Something shot up the straw and lodged itself in his throat.

Gale coughed violently. "What! What was."

And then he felt the ball in his mouth, making him immediately start chewing on it. It tasted sweet and chewy.

It was so good. What the hell...

Rachel laughed. "That's the bubble! The pearls! You're supposed to chew them! It's good, right?"

"Watch your words!" Kyle said.

Right. He was still on this code red mission... but this thing was too good. As painful as it was, he had to keep playing his part.

"I don't like it... but I like it," Gale said.

Rachel's laughter stopped.

Her shoulders drooped as her smile slightly faded while she looked into his eyes.

"Maybe it's not your flavour," she said slowly.

There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but also a tone of confusion that couldn't be hidden from him.

It was the first time today she looked kind of sad. Maybe even disappointed in his reaction. That wasn't the expected reaction he was supposed to get.

Gale didn't like that one bit, as if something was twisting in his stomach. Sipping the bubble tea once more, the sweetness spread into his mouth. Yet the twisting in his stomach didn't disappear.

"Let's go to the food court," Rachel said, forcing a small smile. "Is there anything you wanna try?"

Kyle's voice started up in his ear again. "Okay, Gale, this is your chance to—"

Gale reached up and pulled the earpiece out and put it into his left pocket. They'd understand later, probably anyways. Rachel's drooping shoulders were more important than acting cool or nonchalant.

"Is there lemon chicken here?" Gale asked.

Rachel chuckled, her sincere smile returning at the question. "There is. Wanna go?"

Gale nodded excitedly.