Chapter Text
“Now I found out through other means, none of your contacts outed you as Phaeton… it was easy to connect the dots once you learn about the famous Proxy that can guide you in a hollow using a bangboo in real time. If you want to avoid detection, then you should learn how to act more like a Bangboo.”
Wise recalled the words that Evelyn had told him when they went to go meet with Astra on that day. To better hide their identity, he had to embody the will and mannerism of a bangboo…
“I can’t imagine how embarrassing it is for my bro to make such movements when he is piloting Eous, I question if he had any shame at all.” His sister Belle’s words echoed in his mind, heat residing in his cheeks.
Certainly, his moves weren’t that outlandish, were they?
The male half of Phaeton closed his eyes, envisioning his previous behavior of wiggling his hips, waving his arms in joy as well as all the covert op moves that he employed in his guidance from hand waving to hand signals.
The same moves he used when working with Soldier 11, Miyabi, Zhu Yuan, and other military and police force individuals that might recognize that there is definitely more there than just a regular bangboo.
Okay… maybe I should employ a different set of behaviors and movement while I’m working…
But how should he go about learning how Bangboos act?
Would TreCarls work? Ooh how about Bangboo Knows? I should check out Small Body Big Crisis again.
Making his way downstairs he could hear the enthusiastic voice of Bangboo 18 hard at work advertising the video store. Today it was Belle’s turn to complete commissions, so she was already locked in with Fairy.
Was there anyone who could teach him the ways of the Bangboo? There was Qingyi, she was able to connect with Bangboos after all, even going so far as to inhabit a bangboo’s body. Enzo could teach him the limits of bangboos since he worked on them all the time, and if push comes to shove, he could always ask Grace.
“Eh na, neh na noo this movie is so sure to blast your socks off, why eh na na na eh na if you like thrillers then you have to check out this rendition of ports peak, it includes an extended special that adds the 10-minute directors cut that was edited out due to excessive bloodshed en ha.” A new voice entered his brain that yanked Wise out of his head.
His eyes drifted up, locating the source of the voice to see who could possibly be talking like a bangboo to see the person who kept on showing up to their store.
An orange haired girl with bows in her hair wearing a green shirt and an apron mimicked Bangboo 18 perfectly as both of them held out a video tape. “Eh this flick is sure to be the one for you eh na. If you’re more into the sweet words and a romance of a lifetime then Oh~ Sweetie will tickle that itch eh na. Na if you’re looking for a sadder romance then why not check Last Flight eh eh na.”
Wise watched as the girl perfectly mimicked the bangboo’s movements as if the two were one in the same. Evelyn’s words and the sight before him overlapped in his brain.
“Heddy, I need you!” he blurted out, the girl recoiled in shock at the sudden outburst, losing her footing and sending flying her to the floor, Bangboo 18 an unfortunate casualty in the resulting fall.
“Wh..wha..what do you mean by that? Is this a confession? Am I being confessed to by the hot manager?” Heddy shrieked.
Wise, worried for her safety, heard none of that as he ran over to help her up. “Sorry for my earlier outburst. I should have gotten your attention instead of yelling from across the store.” He apologized, rubbing the back of his head. When he came across the girl, she was unconscious on the floor of the store.
“Master, it seems that Ms. Heddy is unconscious, but all her vitals show no life-threatening changes, I recommend moving her upstairs to recover.” Fairy chimed from his phone.
“Fairy… I thought we talked about hacking people’s phones.” Wise sighed, before he reached down to pick up the orange-haired promotor to take to his room.
Heddy woke up feeling as if she was covered in clouds. “It's been a while since I had this feeling, it reminds me of that time I slept at Random Play when Belle and Wise went to the Outer Ring.”
Heddy got up from her bed and stretched, she got out of bed and reached for her dresser only to find a display case filled with a ton of W-Engines and Bangboos performing in a band.
“Huh? Since when did I redecorate? And is that the limited shark engine? Ooh that eastern tatami house shrine looks so cool! I wonder if Sjal got one.” Heddy thought.
Wait a minute… who replaced my dresser? She thought to herself. She looked around for where her dresser was moved to only to see that she was in an entirely different room altogether.
“Where am I?” The employee of Random Play looked around to see if she could see anything familiar, so far, the only things she recognized were the clothes she wore (thankfully they didn’t change her out of her clothes), a ton of posters from bands and movies she recognized, and the figure entering the door.
“Wise!” she exclaimed, running over to hug him. The sleep-deprived manager caught her in his arms as she held him close.
“When I woke up, I was so scared I was kidnapped, it was like I was in The Disappearing Elevator” she cried.
“Everything is fine Heddy; it was my fault that I caused you to fall. Sorry for causing you some distress,” She felt him squeeze her tighter in reassurance with his bear hug.
“Do you mean it?” the orange-haired promotor asked, pointer fingers bouncing off each other as she averted her gaze bashfully, she buried her face deeper into his chest to hide the fact that her cheeks were flushed red.
“Of course, I mean it with my sincerest apologies, I shouldn’t have startled you when I wanted to ask you something. By the way, as I was saying earlier. I want to ask–”
“Oh yes why, a thousand times yes!” Heddy exclaimed. Now that he mentioned it, she recalled him saying that he needed her. Today was the day, one step closer to being a permanent member of Random Play!
“So, you’ll help me learn how to act like a Bangboo? I’m surprised that you’re willing to teach me.”
“Oh…Yeah I’ll help.” Heddy finally registered his words, a wet blanket dampening all the shock and excitement from earlier.
“That’s great, what date would be a good time for you?” Wise asked
Heddy grasped her chest as she heard the word date.
“Please… why is he so dense, why did I fall in love with this idiot… “She lamented.
“Is there something wrong Heddy? If you are feeling unwell you can take the rest of the day off, you did take quite the fall.” Wise pulled away from her, she could feel his eyes roaming all over to check for any bruises.
“I’ll be glad to take over for you, if need be, you can continue to rest in my bed, I would offer Belle’s, but she probably hasn’t cleaned her room yet.”
His bed?
Heddy turned to look at the bed that she had slept in earlier, “ his bed” echoed in her mind. She… in his bed…
Her arms felt like jelly as she saw the room grow blurry… her body shivered as a tidal wave of emotions crashed into her. She could hear someone calling her name before she blacked out.