Chapter 280 ( Last leg )

A new day had arrived for Nangokuren and Cloud was getting up next to Kyōka.

"Hmm..." - Kyōka stretched so she could relax her body a bit after all the action she had last night - "Ok, I missed that special touch of yours."

Cloud didn't answer her, he just gave her a smile as he got dressed.

"Anyway, what are you planning to do today?" - Kyōka asked as she looked at the blond.

"Let's see..." - Cloud said as he started to think - "First, I have to give my answer to Ayane and Makoto, then I have to get your mother's answer, finally I have to talk some things with the girls in my group."

"I see..." - Kyōka nodded as she slowly nodded - "I understand... I guess it was to be expected."

"Ok, I think it's time for us to get up" - said Cloud calmly.

"Ok" - nodded Kyōka as she grabbed her clothes and started to get dressed as slowly as possible.

"Do it faster or I promise you won't leave this room" - Cloud answered seriously.

"That's what I was planning" - Kyōka replied as a sensual and wild smile appeared over her face.

Cloud rolled his eyes at her as he shook his head.

* * * * *

"I think today is the day..." - Chifuyu said as she looked at Shizuka, who was brushing her hair - "Right?"

"Hmm... I think..." - replied Shizuka while shaking her head - "Though if we're not sure, we can always check this pop-up screen."

"Right... I forgot that's a function of that thing" - nodded Chifuyu as she did as the blonde had said, only to notice how there were only a few hours left to enter 'Cooldown'.

"I wonder how things will turn out this time" - Shizuka said as she looked at her fellow recruit - "Because if I'm honest with you, I have a feeling it won't be like the other times."

"I feel the same..." - Chifuyu nodded as she shook her head.

"Let's see how everything develops, after all, our job is to support Cloud-kun" - replied Shizuka as a small smile appeared on her face - "That, and welcome our new sisters."

". . ." - Chifuyu just kept silent when she heard this.

* * * * *

". . ." - Ryōko was currently in complete silence as she continued to meditate on the words Cloud had said to her earlier, though she still couldn't understand the reason for the boy's negative responses - "Why could it be, is it because I'm not to his liking? No, that's impossible knowing that my daughter and I are practically the same, many people take us as sisters when they first meet us."

Ryōko continued to use all her concentration in order to come up with an answer, because she had been thinking about the reason all night, unable to sleep even for a second.

"Ugh, this is bad for my complexion" - Ryōko said while sighing regretfully - "Maybe I'm overthinking things and the answer is something simple..."

Ryōko slowly walked towards her bed so she could get some rest because she knew that if she didn't close her eyes for a few seconds, she would end up so exhausted that she wouldn't be able to do anything all day.

* * * * *

"Ugh... I couldn't sleep all night..." - Ayane muttered, who currently had huge dark circles under her eyes - ". . ."

"Whatever it was that happened yesterday, it left you so self-conscious that you couldn't even close your eyes" - said Keiko as she looked at her former leader. She may not be a member of their group anymore, but she was still their roommate next to Makoto.

". . ." - Makoto just kept silent as she shook her head because she understood the reason for the red-haired girl's current situation, and while she was going through something similar, it wasn't like her life would end if the boy gave her a negative answer. If Cloud refused, the situation would be a bit awkward, but nothing that a little time couldn't fix, this wasn't the case for Ayane, who, starting a relationship with the blond was something she wanted with all her heart.

"Anything I need to know?" - Keiko asked as she looked at her friends.

"Hmm..." - Makoto thought for a few seconds before nodding. Elle began to tell her everything that had happened, not hiding the slightest detail because Keiko was her friend for years, so they had no reason to lie to her or hide things from her.

"I see..." - Keiko nodded as she started to think - "Let's see, if I'm honest with you, I don't know what you see in Cloud Strife-san... although I'm not one to judge other people's tastes... but, anyway, what you have to do is fight tooth and claw."

". . ." - Ayane gave her friend a glance for a few seconds before waiting for her to continue.

"Ayane, you are a dragon, and as such you should be more daring and fierce with your desires" - Keiko continued - "It is at times like these that you have to show why you are a dragon, look at Kyōka's situation and you will notice the difference."

". . ." - Ayane was silent for a few seconds before opening her eyes in surprise - "Right..."

"As for you, Makoto... I'm surprised that you chose Cloud... although after thinking about it a bit, it doesn't sound that strange" - Keiko said while looking at her best friend - "Anyway, what you have to do is just insist, so at least he can give you a chance to be able to see how it all plays out.... That doesn't sound like a bad plan, does it?"

"Actually, it's something I could use" - Makoto nodded as she started to think - "Hmm.... I guess I'll have to put the plan into action."

". . ." - Ayane was silent as she frowned before calming down.

"Ok, I guess that's all I can do to help them, so I'd better leave them to figure out what they're going to do now" - Keiko said as she withdrew - "Then let me know how it went.... good luck, girls"

"Thank you, Keiko" - said - Makoto as she stood thinking for a few seconds before withdrawing.

"Where are you going, Makoto?" - Ayane asked as she looked at her friend.

"To look for Cloud Strife.... I'm going to put the plan Keiko told me about into action right away" - replied Makoto before leaving.

"Ugh... I'm going to go to Cloud's... after I take a little nap..." - Ayane muttered as she sighed regretfully. She was indeed tired, not physically, but mentally from thinking so much about her problems.

* * * * *

[Entering Final Stage, enabling the recruitment mode]

[Time before leaving the world.... 47 hours... 59 minutes... 59 seconds and counting...]

". . ." - Cloud's eyes widened in surprise that the recruitment time had doubled - "Why?"

[Recruitment time increases as worlds advance, that yes, you can withdraw after 24 hours if you wish, although it is recommended that you use as much time as possible because that extra time can help you find special items, increase the success rate in recruitment, or simply use this time as rest]

". . ." - Cloud pondered the possible uses then nodded as he realized how useful this was.

[Rewards will be given upon entering the Homeworld, good luck in your recruitment, User]

"Ok, I guess this is it" - Cloud said as he squinted his eyes. He knew that this time things wouldn't be as perfect as before.

"It's time for what?" - Kyōka, who was already fully dressed, asked.

"For you to know the truth... but it will be when we all meet" - answered Cloud as he walked towards where his headquarters was.

"Oh? You're finally going to tell us some of your secrets?" - Kyōka asked as her eyes widened in surprise because she wouldn't lie, she was extremely curious to know more about her boyfriend.

"Of course" - Cloud answered as the two Nangokuren Dragons walked towards the blond boy's team headquarters.

"Finally, there's so much I want to know that I can hardly contain my excitement" - Kyōka said as she released some of her Ki - "I just hope it's worth it or I'll find myself in the painful need to attack you, Cloud."

Cloud rolled his eyes at her in response as the two continued their walk towards [Metsuryū]'s base of operations.

* * * * *

"I guess it's time" - Chifuyu said as she narrowed her eyes - "Though I have to admit, it's a surprise that we have so much extra time..."

"Strange... we were only given 24 hours to think, and from what Cloud-chan said, you guys were also given the same amount of time..." - Shizuka replied in confusion - "Is there any change in the recruitment time? And if so... What is the reason for it?"

"I'm not sure why, but I have a theory that this recruitment time will increase as the worlds go by... it's even possible that this time is proportional to the difficulty of the world itself" - replied Chifuyu as she started to think, although it was difficult with the fact that she had almost no information - "We'd better meet with Cloud... it's possible that he knows more about it"

"Ok" - Shizuka nodded as the two girls silently retreated in search of their leader.

--

Read 16 chapters ahead of Marvel X DC and each chapter is more than 3k words so maybe a total of 42k + words ahead...

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