My Scumbag System

Chapter 578: Your Heartbeat Says Otherwise

Wonderful. Cosmic forces were now actively manipulating my story. As if I needed more complications.

Additionally, you have received seventeen thousand Schema Points from various achievement bonuses throughout the day. Your current total stands at twenty-eight thousand eight hundred and twenty SP.

That was a lot of points. Enough for multiple Gacha pulls. Enough to upgrade my team’s abilities significantly.

I recommend waiting until after your meeting with Veronica Cabana before making major purchases. The nature of that alliance may influence optimal upgrade paths.

Smart cat. Wait, Nel wasn’t a cat. Nel was a System interface. I was spending too much time with Maki.

Natalia’s head found my shoulder again. Her breathing slowed. Her body relaxed against mine.

"Tired?"

"Exhausted. Watching you almost die repeatedly is emotionally draining."

"I didn’t almost die."

"You absorbed void lightning."

"That’s not almost dying."

"You caught a bat to the face."

"Reyna’s bat, technically."

"You were crushed by a ceiling."

"Safety protocols activated. I was fine."

"The safety protocols activated with one inch of clearance. One inch, Satori."

"But they did activate."

She made a frustrated sound. Her hand found mine again. Her fingers squeezed hard enough to hurt.

"I hate you sometimes."

"No you don’t."

"I really do."

"Your heartbeat says otherwise."

She stiffened. The Covenant bond pulsed between us. She could feel that I could feel her emotions. Love and fear and anger and desire all tangled together.

"That’s cheating."

"I didn’t make the bond. You did."

"I saved your life."

"And now we’re cosmically connected. Seems fair."

She turned her face into my neck. Her lips brushed my skin. Her breath was warm against my pulse point.

"I’m going to freeze your shower water for a month."

"You already said a week."

"I changed my mind."

"That’s harsh."

"You deserve harsh."

Emi’s hand found my knee. Her touch was light. Comforting. Different from Natalia’s possessive grip.

"Should I give you two some privacy?"

"No." Natalia’s voice was muffled against my neck. "You’re part of this too."

Emi blinked. "I am?"

"He chose you. Made you part of whatever this is. That means you stay."

"What exactly is this?"

"Complicated."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only answer I have."

Skylar leaned down from the armrest. Her breath tickled my ear.

"This is the weirdest polycule I’ve ever seen."

"It’s not a polycule."

"You have three women pressed against you. Four if you count the cat."

"Maki doesn’t count."

"Maki counts." The cat’s voice emerged from my lap. "Maki counts more than anyone."

"Maki should stay out of human conversations."

"Maki is very involved in human activities. Especially the bedroom ones."

Natalia’s head lifted. Her purple eyes found the cat in my lap. Her gaze had that particular quality that promised severe consequences for small, fluffy creatures who didn’t know when to shut up.

"We discussed this."

"Natalia discussed. Maki listened." The cat’s tail swished lazily across my thigh. "Maki did not agree."

"There’s no agreement to reach. Certain activities are not group activities."

"Maki disagrees. Group activities are more fun. More warmth. More bodies. More—"

"Maki should stop talking."

The cat made a sound that might have been a laugh. Her little shoulders shook with amusement. Her hazel-gold eyes gleamed with malicious delight.

I would have intervened, but exhaustion had reduced my capacity for conflict mediation to approximately zero.

The celebration wound down around midnight. Team members drifted toward their rooms in various states of intoxication and exhaustion.

Marco had to carry both Juan and a passed-out Jaime. One over each shoulder. He made it look easy despite the fact that both were full-grown men who outweighed me by at least thirty pounds each. The benefits of having a kinetic Aspect and a body built like a brick wall.

Hikari finally descended from the chandelier. She landed with perfect grace. Did a little pose. Grinned at me with that bright, unwavering smile that suggested she’d had the best time of anyone present.

Jacob walked Monica back to her room with Ferdinand the fern tucked carefully under his arm. He’d been holding that plant for the entire evening. Protecting it from stray abilities and careless elbows. Monica had smiled at him when she noticed. That soft, gentle smile that made even Jacob’s anxiety fade for a moment.

The house emptied slowly. Voices faded. Doors closed. The ambient noise of a successful party gave way to the quiet creaks and groans of a building settling for the night.

I found myself alone in the common room.

The fire had burned low. Just embers now. The occasional pop and crackle as dying wood gave up its last heat. The lights had dimmed automatically. Some kind of enchantment keyed to occupancy or time of day.

The house settled around me with creaks and groans. Old wood adjusting to temperature changes. Pipes humming in the walls. The distant sound of running water as someone upstairs showered.

My body refused to move.

The couch had become my tomb. Every muscle screamed at the thought of standing. The soft cushions had molded to my shape. Gravity had increased to approximately three times normal Earth standard. Moving would require an act of divine intervention.

Or at least a very compelling reason.

Footsteps approached from the hallway.

I didn’t need to look. I knew that particular rhythm. The measured pace. The slight whisper of silk against skin. The way the floorboards responded to her weight.

Natalia appeared in the doorway.

She had changed into sleep clothes. A silk nightgown that barely reached mid-thigh. Lavender colored. The fabric caught the low light like liquid. Her hair was loose around her shoulders. The white streaks caught the firelight. Made her look ethereal. Dangerous. Beautiful in that particular way that made rational thought difficult.

She stood there for a moment. Just watching me. Her expression was unreadable in the dim light.

"You’re not coming to bed?"

"Can’t move."

"That’s pathetic."

"You keep using that word."

"It keeps being accurate." But there was no real heat in her voice. Just observation. Maybe a hint of concern buried beneath the snark.

She crossed the room. Her nightgown swayed with every step. The fabric clung to her curves. Rose and fell with her breathing. Her long legs caught my attention despite the exhaustion. Pale and perfect in the firelight. Each step deliberate. Calculated. She knew exactly what she was doing.

She stopped in front of the couch. Looked down at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Some mixture of exasperation and affection and that ever-present possessiveness.

"I’m still angry at you."

"I know."

"You made a dinner date with another woman. On national television."

"I know."

"You saved her life. In front of twenty million viewers. They’re already writing fanfiction about you." She crossed her arms under her breasts. "Do you know how many fanfiction sites have ’Satori x Reyna’ tags now? Do you?"

"I don’t."

"Seventeen. Seventeen different websites. Some of them had stories posted within an hour of the broadcast ending."

I blinked. "That’s... efficient."

"And Veronica Cabana wants an alliance. Which means more involvement with Reyna. Which means more opportunities for her to steal you away."

"She’s not going to steal me."

"You don’t know that."

"I do know that."

"How?" Her voice cracked slightly. Just a fraction. Enough to reveal the genuine fear beneath the anger.