Overlord: The Supreme Lord

If you notice any errors, please feel free to give me constructive feedback. English is not my first language, so if you notice any mistakes, please mention them in the comment section at the end of the chapter. I do not own Overlord. All property rights belong to their respective creators. Let's begin the story!

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Chapter-27

High Hill Cafe,

Tokyo, Neo-Japan;

Earth – Year 2138,

Overlord Verse;

5 Months Before the End of Yggdrasil;

Sayuri sat staring at her friend, as she yet again got lost in her dreamland. To once again pinch her on her hand, with her wincing, she continued her story.

"And that's when it happened," Shouko whispered. "When I fell."

Sayuri stared. And remained silent.

"I didn't know what it meant at the time. But that was the moment." She muttered, hiding the last part to herself.

Sayuri let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"You've loved him since you were eight? And he was seven." she asked, stunned.

Shouko just looked away, her lips curling into a soft, pained smile.

"I suppose."

Sayuri leaned back slowly, trying to process it all. Her voice came out quiet.

"Don't you have a romantic tale, with a hero saving a princess from an evil dragon or a demon king. He is your Knight in shining armour." Sayuri muttered, for Shouko to get flustered yet again.

 ******

Shouko and Sayuri sat conversing, fully immersed in their talk that they failed to notice the time they had spent.

When, Shouko's phone buzzed quietly against the glass table. She instinctively glanced at it.

[Manabu: I need your help, ASAP. I and Kai got into a fight, come to this location fast.]

Her brows creased, thoughts racing. 'A fight' she wondered, if they were speaking about Yggdrasil, before checking the location, she was shocked.

Sayuri noticed instantly. "What's wrong?"

Shouko blinked, momentarily lost in her own thoughts.

Sayuri leaned closer, concern knitting her brows. "Shouko?"

"…It's nothing," Shouko lied, locking her phone. "Just something urgent. I'm sorry, but I need to leave early."

Sayuri didn't look convinced. "Wait, is it serious?"

"I said it's nothing," Shouko repeated, standing up. Her voice didn't rise, but the urgency bled through her calm tone. "I'll explain later."

Sayuri watched as her friend bowed slightly, turned, and walked off in a hurry.

 ******

Walking outside the café, Shouko looked over at her car to notice her bodyguard who also happened to be her driver, sitting inside the car. "Miss Hoshina," her driver called out, getting out from the car. "Shall I drive you—"

"Hand me the keys," Shouko interrupted.

He blinked. "Ma'am?"

"I'll drive back home." She muttered.

"Eh? But—"

"Also..." she said, turning her head with a sweet smile. "If you don't want Grandfather to find out about that antique statue you broke and 'repaired' with superglue, you'll stay silent."

"…What?" was all he could utter, before she drove off the car, without him.

 ******

15 Minutes Later;

Shouko pulled up near the location — a small, grimy street corner store with flickering sign board.

"…Seriously?" she muttered, stepping out.

Inside, the scent of alcohol, sweat, and blood hit her immediately. Broken glass crunched beneath her shoes. Tables overturned. Groaning from the corners. Her eyes scanned the room – until she found him.

Kai. As he was Draped over a wooden chair, and Manabu, standing next to a bleeding cashier and offering him a cheque.

"You came. Hoshina," he greeted, without looking back. "Great."

She approached, her tone sharp. "What happened?"

"Bit of a… situation," Manabu muttered, still talking to the store owner. "We had to take care of something."

"Take care?!" she looked around at the wreckage. "You call this taking care?!"

He shrugged. "One of the people we were looking for happened to be here."

Her eyes darted to the unconscious men on the ground. "Both of you started a bar fight…"

Manabu sighed. "Well. It was supposed to be a discreet questioning, but…"

"What about this is discreet and what happened to him?" She questioned, urgency laced in her tone.

"Someone gave him vodka instead of water. And in his adrenaline rush, he drank it straight without bothering to check."

"And …You let him drink?" Her voice rose. She and Kai had never consumed alcohol, with her following Kai's decision, as she remained oblivious to his reasons.

Manabu raised his hands. "I panicked. I thought water would come eventually, but… he went drunken master on us, before we could intervene. The only way to stop him was to make him black out."

"By giving him more alcohol?!" She muttered angrily.

For Manabu to sigh, "Alas, he turned even more aggressive after it. And in my defence, it wasn't me that came up with the idea." He muttered, looking around at the destruction.

Shouko sighed in exasperation, brushing her hair behind her ear, furious. "And you called me?"

"You were the only one, who we both know, whom he wouldn't punch," Manabu shrugged. "Since he hasn't raised a hand on any woman yet."

Kai groaned, shifting as she approached.

"Hey," she whispered, kneeling. "Kai?"

His eyes fluttered open — hazy, reddened. He blinked, focused… and sighed.

"…You again?"

She froze.

He looked at her, tired and bitter. "You appear wherever I go… Can't you just leave me alone now?"

Kai closed his eyes again, as if retreating back into sleep.

"Stubborn as ever," Manabu muttered, leaning against a shelf.

Shouko turned, face still pink. "And you look too satisfied. What's with that smirk?"

"Oh nothing," he said innocently. "Just noting that I've never seen Kai this docile around anyone. It's kind of cute, actually."

"Cute?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Relax. I'll clean this place up. I've already settled things with the owner. And... good luck," he added cryptically, helping her ease Kai up.

 ******

Inside a Mansion:

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Shouko spoke into the phone.

Sayuri replied through the speaker, "Anyway, I am going back home. So, I'll send you the unlock code. Just don't snoop around in my drawers."

"I'm not you," Shouko muttered and hung up.

Dragging Kai to the bedroom of the mansion, Sayuri owned, she half-dropped, half-placed him on the bed. He slumped over the mattress like a low-level undead zombie NPC from Yggdrasil. He was completely out cold.

Shouko had been a bit confused of her next action, after picking up Kai. Unsure and unwilling to either take him to his or her home. With Sayuri set to leave Tokyo today, she had requested her to use her house, that she had purchased for when she visited Tokyo.

Now, after laying him on the bed, she went back to the kitchen, thirsty after the manual labour, she had to perform. Arriving at the fridge, she opened the door.

"…Seriously?" she muttered.

It was stacked. Rows of alcohol cans. The fridge had more alcohol than water. Signing at the lifestyle, her friend carried, she drank water and closed the fridge. While, she messaged Azusa aka Immortal Witch to inform Kanami about Kai staying the night with his friends from school. As, she also messaged her bodyguard and her maid about her situation, though tailored to match Kai's.

And now that she looked around, it was just her and Kai in the house. And they were spending the night, though he was knocked out cold.

Flustered at her situation, she looked around, blush creping up her face, she picked up an alcohol can from the fridge to enter a similar condition as Kai to keep her emotions in check, and gulped it, and drank it in nervousness followed by coughing in between her sips. Unsure of her logic, as she followed his suit.

She had wished to fight against her nervousness, but the alcohol just made her even more aware about her situation, prompting her for another. And so, the situation continued with 8 cans, before she tip-toed to the bedroom and lunged on the bed Kai slept, and slipped under the blanket beside him. Before popping open a chocolate she found by the lantern, and ate it full.

The moonlight filtered through the windows. As Kai with barely any semblance of consciousness, felt weight on him.

 ******

Next day Morning;

Shouko's eyes fluttered open. Her head throbbed with pain, a reminder of the eight terrible decisions she made the night before. Her gaze wandered toward the ceiling above, an unfamiliar ceiling. Waking up in an unknown place with her head assaulted with pain, it was a first for her.

She slowly sat up, groaning as her temples throbbed harder in response. Her back ached faintly and she looked down. Her body draped with a blanket, and underneath it, she wore no clothes.

Her hands instinctively clutched the sheets closer to her chest, her face heating up as fragments of memory leaked back. Memories of last night flashed before her eyes, groaning as she sighed.

She flinched and shut her eyes, trying to will away the fuzz.

"Idiot..." she muttered to herself, rubbing her forehead. "Why'd I drink that much...?"

She looked around the room, her heart racing faster than she could calm it.

"...Kai?"

No response.

She blinked again, then shoved the blanket off and stood, wrapping herself in the loose bedsheet before scrambling across the room. A quick check in the bathroom. Which was empty.

Her breath caught.

He was gone.

"…He left?"

Her stomach dropped. A nauseous, hollow feeling.

She sat back down on the bed, ignoring the pulsing pain in her skull, ignoring the fog in her chest, her mind echoing with noise she couldn't make sense of. A tug of pain pulling at her heart, as she experienced her heart ache.

"He left…" she whispered bitterly, teeth clenched.

Tears threatened to leak from her eyes, she stood up, barely managing her mental state, holding back her feelings. As, she walked inside the bathroom and let the cold shower rinse her from the churring feeling she got from her stomach. Before she dressed back up, and got ready to leave the room, when she noticed a wrapper by the bedside. She picked it up, and remembered from her foggy memory.

She frowned, rotating it in her hands absently, intending to toss it, as she could still remember its bitter taste. But her eyes caught the fine print on the back.

Her expression froze.

Then—

"…Wha—"

Her fingers tightened over the wrapper, her cheeks glowing red.

"What. Was. This." She muttered under her breath, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her calm expression shattered. Her usual grace evaporated like mist under fire. She groaned, cursing her friend for keeping such things around her bed. Her head spun again. Not from the hangover — from sheer, burning embarrassment.

She groaned and pushed the thought deep, deep into her memory, slamming the door behind it.

"Forget it," she muttered. "Just forget everything." Pinning the entirety of the blame on the chocolate, alcohol and her friend. While, she tried battling the void, pain she felt from Kai's absence.

 ******

Shouko shook her head of the unnecessary thoughts and entered the kitchen of the house.

She walked to the kitchen for cold water, eyes still twitching from the recent discovery. She opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle, and drank a few long gulps. Her headache eased slightly – but not enough to mend her composure.

As she turned to head toward the front, but she stopped mid-step.

And there… On the sofa, sprawled out like a corpse was mister genius. Dressed and unconscious, without a care in the world. Oblivious to the inner turmoil and guilt she went through, as she blamed herself for everything.

She stared at him for a full five seconds. The water bottle in her hand felt heavier now.

She walked over to him, crouched slightly.

"Kai... wake up."

Upon receiving no response, her lips twitched.

"Then... suffer."

She tilted the bottle and splashed the water. The ice-cold water poured over his face, neck, and part of his chest.

"—GHAAH?!"

He jolted, slipping off the sofa in one unbalanced motion, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Now half-sitting, half-slumped against the base of the couch, Kai blinked furiously, his eyes bloodshot, hair soaked, shirt clinging to him.

Shouko stood above him, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

"You were asleep. Thought I'd help."

He slowly blinked, his brain still buffering from the alcohol.

"...Help?" he repeated dully.

"With your hangover," she replied coolly.

They sat in silence for a beat – with her standing, arms folded. As, Kai lived though his memory silently, turning silent the whole time. His face unreadable, as he cursed himself numerous times under his breath. And finally, "I am sorry…." He apologised getting up.

There was a lot of things they wished to speak, but couldn't, when Shouko caught his collar and tightened her grip on it. Surprising Kai, of her action.

She yanked him closer with barely any space separating in-between their faces, leaving his and her mind a mess.

Though, she did not understand herself, or the confidence that she mustered in the instance, but she had to say it. Maybe it was the alcohol, that was still remaining in her stream, as she chalked up to it.

Dragging his face close to hers, that was blushing, as he remained docile, unlike his usual self. Looking him up-close, he reminded her of their first meeting, when his mother dragged him and how he had let her, without protesting. While he had remained unmoving, unflinching against the stares of everyone before – He stood bravely, punishing the boy who had tried to hurt – someone he did not even know, under the gazes of all those adults, unmoving to their stern gazes.

A lot of things had happened, that had brought them to this point. He was her first love, and was still was her only love. And he unlike her had no lovers, and hadn't even acknowledged her existence, before. She still could remember his puzzled face, looking at her back in middle school, when she had approached him. He hadn't even bothered to remember her existence. There could have been nothing more offensive to her than his clueless face, and pure puzzlement to her name and face.

He unlike her had not loved anyone, at least from her observation. He had no lovers, with many girls chasing him, he hadn't bothered with anyone. Treating them as kids, he had chased them all away, as he remained unbothered with them. And she had made sure no girl could approach him henceforth, all throughout their school life, much to his joy. Despite the hardships she bore to gain his attention, he treated her as his fan, even offering her his autograph on one such occasion, during a tennis competition. Filling her with anger, motivating her to win the competition at any cost to only end up losing to him in the finals, much to her rage. Yet, she was happy, for him, for he only belonged to her.

Her love towards him, blinding her. As she crossed hurdles after hurdles to gain his attention. From her traumatic experience from VR, to try playing Yggdrasil. All of it to spend more time with him. She struggled many times to overcome her trauma, yet when she thought of the opportunity to play with him, spend more time with him, faced with his invitation. She forced herself, as her journey to playing Yggdrasil entailed her love for him, while many a devs, ended up in the crossfire between her love and her struggle against her trauma.

So, for her to find out about his terminal condition, she was reminded back to when she first met him, and his mother, who consoled her. To when she heard about her demise, later that year. She was heartbroken, and couldn't control herself. And the next thing, she knew, she was at his house.

So, to not find him, beside her when she needed him the most, she was crestfallen. And now, various emotions raged within her. As, she held his collar, his face an inch away from her. She did not know the future and neither did she give a damn about it, and nor did she wish to let him out of her grasp.

She threw the remaining of the rational part of her mind that warned her of the consequences of her action today, out of her mind.

And took a deep breath, before pulling him even closer, as she felt his breath on her neck. Inching closer to his ears, she spoke, with no regards to the sensible part of her mind that tried rationalising every situation. "You… my dear Kai, are mine, and I am yours…, for now and forever. Do not even think about running away, even in death… You belong to me and only me."

Her breath falling on his ears, Kai stood like an idiot, unable to comprehend his situation. He had wished to speak, but no words came out after looking at the sharp look she gave, paired with her serious face.

Her eyes, appeared darker than they usually appeared, as if trying to suck him in.

His gaze met hers as she pulled him in – closer than breath

Looking her in the eye, he lost his strength, as he felt the weight of her words, and the way she put more effort to some words. Time slowed. He could see the delicate tremble of her lashes, the glossy sheen riding her pupils, the way her stare never faltered—not for a heartbeat. It was as though he'd become her entire world, and her eyes… her eyes made sure he never forgot it.

Her grip was nothing compared to that look, that threatened to devour him whole.

He was reminded of their first meeting, when she saw him with those fearful eyes, albeit with a bit of hope and trust after he beat up the boy and protected her and her dignity in-front of those strangers. He was met with conflicted emotions, rationalising his behaviour to be unacceptable, though they were both in their late twenties, without counting his previous life's age, which was nearly twenty. Met with such an unprecedent event, his mind went haywire, when he felt the soft sensation of her lips against his.

He sighed, as he lost his strength. Letting fate dictate his life, and he would be lying if he didn't fell a bond with Shouko, after their close relation and with the time they spent together, including the twelve years inside Yggdrasil they remained close, though he would argue if it was love that he felt toward her, but the closeness he felt with Shouko was undeniable to him. In his previous life, it hadn't even been long before he had turned adult and joined college before he lost his life and the one, he loved to forsake him, despite the one-sided love he shared with her, he was heartbroken when she introduced him to her boyfriend.

Now, he wasn't sure of himself. He remained oblivious to the decisions he needed to make, with the end of Yggdrasil closing in. Yet, he was sure the bond they shared was special, though not fully love to be classified as love in his mind. He still, fought against the situation in his mind, remembering the night before, hearing her say, "A clap needs two hands."

And he was sure of it, he hadn't been forced into it, the previous night. With both of them, intoxicated with alcohol, with him consuming a suspicious looking chocolate, after laying down on the bed, all alone. Before Shouko had walked inside, and had consumed a similar looking chocolate, after him, he could recollect with his hazy memories.

Cursing his friends, Shining Knight and Wandering Soul, for their contribution to find himself in this situation.

Despite his agony, the countdown for Yggdrasil continued.

 ******

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 **The End**

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