Chapter 65: Lesson

Interrupting Thomas's contemplative reverie, Ruby phased 'through' the wall separating the male and female cabins, musing, "Magical Ruby has appeared~!"

Without rising from his position on the sofa, Thomas asked, "What's up?" with slightly furrowed brows. In response, Ruby darted over and hovered above him, her voice apologetic as she expressed, "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have called you an idiot."

Surprised by Ruby's apology, Thomas's eyes briefly widened before he shook his head and replied, "It's fine. I know I can be a little cynical and obstinate at times. You don't have to apologize. Rather, now that you're here, there's something I want to ask you..."

Revealing his logbook, Thomas explained his hypothesis about using the Cards as a Summoning Catalyst, only for Ruby to quickly shut him down, explaining, "While it is certainly possible to manifest the Spirits associated with the Install Cards, those Graded seven and lower have had their Egos completely stripped away. Even if you were to summon them, they would be like puppets who act on instinct. Furthermore, their existence would be very unstable, similar to when Chloe first materialized from Illya's body. It would require power comparable to a Grail to stabilize them."

Exhaling a sigh, Thomas muttered, "Well, there goes that plan..." in a tired tone. Before he could grumble any further, however, Ruby gave a feathery shrug and replied, "That isn't necessarily the case. With sufficient Mana and adequate preparation, it is possible to manifest the missing Egos and bind them to their Cards. The problem is, without some kind of 'incentive,' there is no reason for the average Heroic Spirit to obey you."

Smiling wryly, Thomas admitted, "You make a fair point. Still, it's good to know the possibility exists."

With a twinkle in her gem-like eyes, Ruby mused, "Oh~? And why is that? Eager to 'sample' some Heroes and Goddesses, are we~?"

Instead of denying it, Thomas's smile became even wrier as he replied, "I won't lie. The thought has crossed my mind..."

Nodding her 'head,' Ruby supplied, "Well, if it's simply their bodies you're after, you could summon them in their egoless state and order them with a Command Spell. It isn't the most tasteful approach, but it should suffice to sate your curiosity."

"..."

Seeing Thomas's expression morph into a deadpan, Ruby asked, "What's wrong? Since they're egoless manifestations, it's not like you'll be harming anyone. Rather, once your curiosity is sated, you'll be able to put the head on your shoulders to proper use. Allowing your lower one to sway or outright dictate your actions is rarely a good idea."

Though he could understand Ruby's logic, Thomas couldn't help shaking his head. He wasn't the type that sought an emotional connection during sex, but the thought of fucking an emotionless 'puppet' felt sad and more than a little wrong...

"Yeah, I think I'll pass on that one..." said Thomas, adding, "I might be shameless, but if I crossed that line, I wouldn't be able to summon their corresponding Egos in the future. It would be way too awkward..."

Shrugging her 'shoulders,' Ruby replied, "Well, it was just a suggestion. We'll be traveling and working together for the foreseeable future, so I figured I would lend you a hand and offer you some advice. I can even prepare love and truth serums, though, with you being a good person and all, I can't imagine you accepting, much less using them."

With Thomas staring back at her with a silent deadpan, Ruby gave one final shrug, remarking, "Yeah, I thought so..." before flittering away from him as she mused, "Being selfish and perverted doesn't make you a bad person, Thomas. If that were the case, Illya might very well be the most wicked person aboard this ship. Ohohohoho~"

Without expanding upon her statement, Ruby phased through the wall separating the male and female cabins, leaving Thomas alone with his thoughts. Now that his plan to supplant Sanji with EMIYA had stalled at the starting line, he needed to think of another solution to keep Nami and Usopp safe once he separated from the crew. The former may not have treated him fairly the past few months, but he wouldn't condemn her to death or let her be taken advantage of by Absalom...

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After a fairly restless night, Thomas awoke to the sound of hammering, prompting him to check the time before dragging himself out of bed for his morning training. The Sun had risen hours ago, but he could still get in an hour or two before lunch. Afterward, he could explore the island, meet Dorry and Broggy, and fight a few large Dinosaurs to see if his Affinity and Mastery with the EMIYA Card changed.

Before Thomas could decide between doing weight training on the ship or cardio on the shore, Caenis abruptly shouted, "Oi, Tom! If you've nothing better to do, come and give me a hand!"

Though it wasn't how he planned to spend the morning, Thomas didn't hesitate to return a wave, answering, "Sure thing." before heading up to give Caenis a hand with the Merry's secondary mast. She was more than capable of getting the job done without assistance, but four hands were better than two. It was also a good opportunity to learn more about fixing and maintaining a ship, so Thomas spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon working alongside the bronze-skinned beauty, stopping only once Benienma arrived with a large picnic basket.

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With Caenis having chased off everyone that came to gawk at them while they worked, she and Thomas were relatively alone, eating in the shade of Nami's tangerine grove, when she softly muttered, "From now on, don't run off someplace I can't see you..."

Though he was more than a little surprised by Caenis's words, Thomas managed to appear calm, nodding his head in silence as he still had food in his mouth. Caenis's words weren't exactly a confession, but they gave a 'very' similar impression, causing Thomas's heart to begin pounding in his chest.

Noticing the increase in Thomas's tensions, Caenis narrowed her eyes and adopted a 'ridiculing' smile as she asked, "Is that all it takes to get your horned up? You dog..."

Contrasting her words, Caenis took a moment to spread her senses through the area, ensuring they weren't being spied on before freeing her breasts from her black bikini top and teasing, "Let's see how you react to these..."

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Since she was practically demanding he look, Thomas lowered his gaze to Caenis's breasts, his throat tightening when he noticed her nipples were already hard. When he invariably swallowed, the teasing smile on her face became wolfish as she narrowed her eyes and practically growled, "Lower your trousers..."

Though he was tempted to obey Caenis's instructions without question, Thomas retained enough sense to shake his head and say, "Not here. Not with other people around..."

Clicking her tongue, Caenis responded to Thomas's words by picking up a large piece of sausage and biting off the tip before saying, "Then meet me in the jungle in half an hour. Don't worry about looking for me in a specific location. Just take off running, and I'll come to you..."

Adopting a wry smile, Thomas replied, "The way you word it, it sounds like you'll be hunting me..."

Narrowing her eyes even further, Caenis adopted a 'malicious' grin before taking another large bite out of her sausage. Then, without another word, she took a moment to fix her top before leaping off the back of the Merry and darting into the jungle...

"..."

Seeing Caenis run off, Thomas felt equal parts excitement and trepidation. The thought of being 'hunted' made him uncomfortable, but there was no way he would refuse the bronze-skinned woman's invitation. Caenis was close to Vivi in terms of women Thomas had a deeply-rooted appreciation for, so even if she sometimes dragged him out of his comfort zone, he felt compelled to meet her expectations.

With such thoughts in mind, Thomas was about to leap off the Merry and give chase but nearly fell off when Chloe abruptly appeared behind him, teasing, "I knew you were a beast, but are you seriously about to do it in a dinosaur-infested jungle?"

Adopting a 'serious' expression, Thomas met Chloe's gaze as he stated, "There is a time and a place for everything. Intruding at a time like this is a good way to piss someone off..."

Undaunted by Thomas's words, Chloe narrowed her eyes and adopted one of her characteristically impish grins as she replied, "Don't worry. I'm not trying to get in the way of your fun. I just wanted to let you know that Illya and I will be exploring the island. It's not every day we get a chance to meet and even fight with dinosaurs."

Exhaling through his nose, Thomas answered, "Fine. Do whatever you want. Just stay out of trouble..."

Nodding her head, Chloe replied, "I'll keep that in mind..." before lowering her gaze and adopting a cheeky smile as she playfully mused, "I see that it isn't just your height that's big..."

Resisting the urge to grab the precocious brat and throw her overboard, Thomas just shook his head in exasperation, turned around, and leaped off the Merry. Before he ran off into the woods, however, he turned back and said, "You're treading on thin ice, Chloe. Don't make me regret letting you accompany us..."

Leaning over the edge of the railing, Chloe maintained her mischievous smile as she replied, "Don't worry. Once you set aside your meaningless inhibitions, I'll make sure you enjoy every moment of having me around. Now, run along. You don't want to keep your little friend waiting."

"..."

Though Chloe's words gave him the sudden urge to order her back to Amazon Lily, Thomas eventually turned around and departed without responding. He had far more important things to deal with right now, so he decided to simply ignore her as he made his way into the jungle to be hunted by Caenis. If she decided to 'surprise' him by appearing while he was in the middle of the act, however, her bronzed ass would be back at the Emiya residence before sunset...

Fortunately, as brazen as her behavior was, Chloe wasn't an idiot. She had a pretty good sense of when people were nearing the limits of their patience. More importantly, she could tell that Caenis wasn't the type of woman that would react kindly to being intruded upon, so, no matter how tempting the notion was, she had no intention of interrupting the duo's private rendezvous in the prehistoric jungle...

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After wandering around for nearly two hours, Thomas began entertaining the possibility that Caenis had pulled a prank on him. She wasn't exactly known for her patience, so he expected her to 'assault' him within minutes of him entering the jungle. Instead, he made it all the way to the opposite side of the island, defeating several dinosaurs without her appearing.

Just as Thomas exhaled a sigh and was prepared to turn back, Ceanis landed a few meters away from him, falling from the sky like a meteor before dusting herself off as she declared, "Now you know what it feels like having to wait for someone without knowing where they are or when they might show up. Sucks, doesn't it?"

Without waiting for Thomas's response, Caenis crossed her arms, adding, "This makes us even. Now, start removing your clothes before I decide to rip them away..."

Though he had several questions and felt as though they really needed to talk, Thomas responded to Caenis's threatening remark by yanking off his belt with a single tug. Just as he had conveyed to Chloe, there was a time and a place for everything. And now was a time for action, not words...

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(A/N: Caenis is surprisingly cute...)

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