Chapter 2: 2: Alive… I Think

“Ugh… everything is sore.“ For Ryder, a battle-hardened criminal gang leader, regaining consciousness felt like being shot with a bullet. Sudden. Staggering. Overwhelming. An adrenaline rush. Thankfully, she felt all her limbs still attached, even gripping her trusty training sword by her side.

Yakuza oyabun turned summoned hero was currently laying in a comfortable bed - a hospital bed. On her, a white blanket tucked carefully to her sides, as not to allow any movement which might tear a stitch or two - a situation she found herself in somewhat often in her previous life.

Hopefully this is still the Demon Queen's castle, and not a field hospital for prisoners of war, she thought, finally opening her eyes.

This was hardly the first time Ryder woke up in an infirmary setting after a fight. Yet, a strongly nostalgic feeling of bitter-sweet victory was present this time - she was the last one standing, after all. The only drawback was the subsequent blackout due to catastrophic blood loss.

Enduring the uncomfortable restraint of multiple layers of linen bandages covering her yakuza tattoos and multiple injuries, the first deep breath she took was rather painful. What’s more, something very warm and heavy was situated on her abdomen, above the white hospital sheets.

It was moving as well. A person’s head, probably. Maybe a demon’s? I wonder if they are okay with being referred to as persons, she thought.

“You’ve been out for two days straight, you know. Little Alex here has been by your side almost all that time.“ A gentle almost singing-like voice from a ways away pointed out a limp demoness general peacefully sleeping on a stool with her head laying on Ryder’s abs. “I think she feels bad about injuring you before you barely saved her majesty.“ The voice carried on.

That beautiful voice belonged to a an equally beautiful woman in a nurse’s dress. Though still sore, Ryder made a conscious effort to turn her head to the side and look her over. Although, ‘check her out’ was probably a more apt description of the kind of look the owner of the voice received. The doctor was a dashing, mature woman in her thirties, with long, blonde flowing hair covering the top of her medical scrubs. Interestingly, there were no spherical shapes upon which that long hair rested. That was no slight against her, no, merely an observation Ryder made - noting the complete and total absence of boobs. Intriguing.

Her lower half, however, was that of a snake. A reptile’s scales covered every inch of a massive snow-white tail which could be seen under the nurse’s skirt. Ryder’s thoughts immediately veered off into imagining the anatomy that skirt covered. Ah, she’s probably not a mammal, that’s why there’s no boobs. Flat is justice for snake ladies I guess, she thought, no snitties for me.

“That habit of yours to think out loud is pretty disrespectful - although much charming in this instance,“ the snake woman said in a playful manner while slithering closer to her now conscious patient.

She took out a thermometer out of her lab coat’s pocket and placed it upon Ryder’s lower lip.

“Ah, my bad” - now talking with a glass tube in her mouth Ryder apologized - “tshe kindsh of shnakes I’ve dealt with in my previoush life were never… literal… shnakes, you know?“ The thermometer made it hard to speak, as did the sudden lack of personal space the reptilian doctor left between them.

“Can’t say I do, miss. My name is Bellatrix, her majesty’s court healer. And I must say, in the absence of a complete physical exam, your recovery is a puzzling medical miracle to me. You absorb external healing magic like a sponge.“

She gently placed her hand over the tattoos above the bandages.

“I was told you’re a formidable fighter, maybe that’s why.“

Bellatrix pointed to the sleeping beauty peacefully snoring mere inches away.

“Even Alessandra here needs at least a week of med-stasis to recover from injuries of the level you were brought here with.“ Approaching even closer to Ryder’s face, she brought out her long forked snake-like tongue, giving the confused patient a playful lick on the forehead.

“Hmm… Your fever is gone, but do check the thermometer just in case,” said Bellatrix, finally creating some space between the two.

Phew, even the hostesses at my establishments back on Earth don’t radiate this much sex appeal. She’s good, Ryder tried to hold on to her girl-boner management skills, unsuccessfully.

Removing the thermometer from her mouth, she asked, “Doc, or rather, Bellatrix, does that mean the castle is safe? Did the reinforcements arrive in time?“

“They did. General Aeiaei’s undead broke through and arrived in the nick of time, securing our position. I would call the last Human Kingdom attack a failure, if it wasn’t for how close they were to victory. Their offensive forces are crippled, but so is our defense- … I’m sure the war council can tell you more, though. I’m just a healer.“ Bellatrix stuck out her forked tongue by an inch, making the ‘I’m a clutz’ face, closing one of her snake eyes.

Without showing it, Ryder made a mental note that Bellatrix was clearly more than she was letting on. Perhaps this court healer position is a lot more involved than just patching people up. Thinking back to all the docs back on Earth, each of them had a certain understanding of what is going on in the business, as they could literally count the bullets their patients came to them with. A good yakuza doc also knew to keep their mouth shut, not only for doctor-patient confidentiality, but also to keep their well-paying job.

Snitches get stitches, after all… kinda like the stitches they make as doctors. “Heh,” Ryder giggled at her own silly rumination.

…

Suddenly, the bandage-and-sleeping-demoness-covered stomach let everyone in the room know that Ryder is ravenously hungry by producing a loud growl, like that of a lion.

“I’ve been out for two days you say…“ Ryder squinted apologetically. Bellatrix however was completely mesmerized at the occurrence.

“Fascinating. Usually the hunger and thirst are covered by med-stasis magic. But it would appear the calories your body gets from healing magic aren’t enough - your regeneration outpaced the spell’s capacity. Truly intriguing.“ Bellatrix was suddenly put in a very inquisitive state of mind, like that of a scientist.

Slithering around the room, looking around for something, the good healer finally announced, “I know! I’m going to go get you something to eat, something dense in calories and mana. In case you feel any sudden pains, General Alessandra here knows where to find me. Seems your girly growl woke her up.“

You are reading story Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen at novel35.com

With that, the doc rapidly left the infirmary, taking a full three seconds before her albino colored tail finally disappeared in the door frame. Ryder however wasn’t about to stop her, as the hunger actually was the biggest pain right now. That and the soreness from the knight demon general’s head laying on her abdomen for a good while.

Speaking of that demon - the blue horned devil was squinting a bit, finally waking up from a deep slumber. Now helmetless, the demon general’s red eyes having a completely black sclera, she blinked a couple of times, trying to take in her surroundings.

She definitely had demonic features on her - from almost perfectly symmetrical facial structure to dashing claw-like nails she rested on her knees. Not to mention the beastly yet slim tail, like that of a devil, adorned with an arrow-pointed tip.

“Good morning, you big sleepyhead.“ Ryder playfully placed a hand on General Alessandra’s head, shifting a few locks of her silver hair to see the unusually colored eyes opening up. “The good doctor was just telling me about how you were fawning over my abs in your sleep, mumbling sweet nothings into them. Didn’t know you swung that wa-”

“-not! I was not doing any of that, you lowly human!“ Immediately awoken by the fabricated accusation, Alessandra jumped up on her feet, quickly fixing up her ruffled hair. Now that she wasn’t wearing full plate, she really didn’t look that imposing - a mere one-fifty centimetre tall blue girl, lanky, with curved horns at about ten inches in length. She was dressed in a black blazer jacket, quite oversized for her build - most certainly the one ‘gifted’ to her by the ‘lowly human’ she just disagreed with.

“Not denying the swinging that way allegations, are you? Alex, was it?“ cheekily inferred Ryder.

“I’m not! I- I mean I am denyin-“ -she stumbled over her words- “you will not refer to me as Alex, I am General Alessandra - Demon Queen Lilith’s primary war council member. And you will address me as such.“ Demon general was clearly flustered by the familiarity with which the owner of the jacket she was wearing addressed her.

“Hey, that’s not fair. I protected your boss, didn’t I? That has to constitute a favor of sorts, a minor one at least. Can’t I cash it in for a permit to call you Alex or Al? Pretty please?“

The somewhat short but still imposing demon general now standing in front of the medical bed was red in the face from embarrassment and anger, yet visibly relieved that Ryder was okay. It was probably the guilt of injuring her eventual savior, or maybe a completely different feeling she might not yet understand herself. The utter nerve the woman was displaying completely derailed a courteous and distant Alessandra. Speaking of her savior, it was currently thinking of something else entirely. I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying making her blush, this is new even for me. It’s like she’s super insecure but very confident at the same time.

I wonder if she’s a total sub or a switch, Ryder nodded to herself, not noticing that once again her thoughts slipped out.

“I- … I will ignore that lecherous comment for now. Surely even plain humans like you know what sexual harassment is, unless it was commonplace in your world. Do make note that I was only present in your company because I was assigned to guard Bellatrix from you.” The blue-colored demoness crossed her arms, stiffening up, her black tail standing up straight like an arrow.

“Assigned by whom, Demon Queen Lilith?” Ryder decided to call out the bluff, making the demoness even more flustered. Surely she would be armed and not sleeping on the job if that were the case, that cute horned devil, she reasoned. There had to be others more fit for a simple guard job.

“I assigned myself to this job, knowing that you were a scheming lawbreaker back in your world,“ honestly retorted Alessandra, crossing her arms, “and now that I know you’re not pretending to be hurt, I will be taking my leave.”

Wait, what? Does she know of my past? How much? Ryder made another mental note.

The now fully awoken knight clutched the sides on her oversized blazer and adjusted it as if it was second nature to her, looking like a CEO before a big business meeting. She then turned around and walked to the door, planning on leaving.

“See you later, General Alessandra, Demon Queen Lilith’s primary war counsellor! Love you!“

…

“ᴬˡᵉˣ”

“What?“ -Ryder’s face turned into a grin- “Did you say something?“

The demoness was standing near the door, holding onto the doorknob. Her elf-like demonic ears were completely red from embarrassment.

“You… you can call me Alex, but only when we’re alone, deviant.” Alessandra stumbled, clutching the oversized blazer’s sleeve with her left hand. “You can have that privilege, as a reward for defending Lily- … her majesty.“

“Heh, right, I did do that, aren’t I cool.“

I wonder if instead I should’ve asked for a kis-

“Again! Keep these lustful thoughts to yourself, fiend!“ Slamming the door, the blue-skinned, flustered demonic general left the infirmary. Another thought unknowingly slipped out. This might become a problem, hopefully that’s the only lasting damage. Oh well.

I think I teased Alex too much, I should apologize to her later.

…

She’s still wearing my jacket though - how cute, Ryder concluded.

You can find story with these keywords: Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen, Read Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen, Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen novel, Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen book, Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen story, Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen full, Yakuza Boss Rebirth: From Criminal Mastermind To Demon Queen Latest Chapter