Takabi stepped from the portal first. Behind him came Kairas and Aqua together, then Syrreth and the Huntress.
Kairas stretched wide, as if he had just taken a long nap and yawned. "That was amazingly underwhelming."
"You wished for more," Syrreth asked him.
"Not exactly wished for it. Just was expecting it. A grand battle. In a setting like that, it's all you can really imagine." His green eyes fell on his twin's back.
Takabi had remained extremely quiet, almost eerily. Kairas acknowledged he might've still been shaken from Carlos' attempt to break him mentally, but to hold it in is very strange. He didn't sense any sort of magic from him either, light or dark.
"Excuse me," The Huntress began as the portal closed.
All eyes fell on her. She felt her fear building once more in her core at Takabi's violet eyes, and her voice softened. "I just.. I know it was unintentional, but I express my gratitude for my rescue."
"Don't sweat it," Takabi said. "We did what we had to."
"But I caused you harm. Don't you have any sort of anger at me, or any wish to hurt me back?" She seemed frantic, voice alternating between a breaking fear and strong curiosity.
Takabi was quiet for a while, but never took his eyes off of the Huntress. Kairas exchanged a glance with Aqua and Syrreth, and then the three looked between the two.
Closing his eyes, Takabi exhaled then looked towards the sky. His voice was calm, with a hint of darkness lurking inside that chilled the air. "I do. I won't lie, I really, really wanted to beat you senseless." His gaze returned to her frightened face.
"You're different now though. I can feel it in your heart. You're not the same person you were before. I saw that much at least." He began to approach her, and when he got close, placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you have an actual name?"
"Actual… Name… I… Do not believe so." She grew visibly tense. His touch was warm, yet his demeanor. His appearance and his eyes.
Takabi was a ticking time bomb. The only question was when was he going to explode.
He raised an eyebrow and touched his chin. "Well… I'll call you Saiya for now. Gotta have a name if you're gonna be under my care."
"Wait, what?" Kairas blinked. "You're just taking her in? Can you even trust her?"
"No, but I'm sure she's not going to do anything bad anymore." He sounded so confident when he turned. His steps were slow, his shoulders relaxed and eyes grew calm. His change in personality, his change in body language.
He had changed, even if it was only slightly.
Syrreth watched him cautiously. She knew of the boy's kind. Fallen Angels can change their morality and mindset at the drop of a dime. Sudden changes in any sort of way can be a warning sign to anyone, allies and enemies alike.
Mercy is no longer found in the boy's soul, Syrreth thought. She watched the group move away, and her mind lingered behind. Takabi. Are you truly alright with this?
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Night fell.
The moon shone brightly over WaterSlum. Cars bustled loudly, many people leaving their late jobs to head home. Each car that passed by the house, Takabi listened to closely. His fingers were curled, rolled into a fist, and the veins on his arm visibly bulged.
His eyes were glued to the ceiling, Takabi too afraid to close them. His muscles were tightened up, sweat dripping from his pores. Slowly, his head craned to the desk, and he read the clock.
It was only ten.
It felt so much later to him.
He rose, feet touching the rugged floor of his room as he made his way towards his bathroom, flicking on the light as his feet graced the cold floor. The shower started, and he stripped down, looking at himself in the mirror. His eyes looked devoid of light and dark. All that lurked was hurt and anger.
Hurt at what he had witnessed earlier that day.
Anger at Carlos.
Anger at the one who he called a friend for so many years. The one who he, even till now, wished he could save from his father's brainwashing. Takabi's knuckles turned white as he gripped the sides of the sink, watching the mirror image of himself slowly fog up from the hot steam in the air.
What had he done wrong?
He wasn't perfect. So far from it, but life still found some way to hit him hard. Hit him where it truly hurts. He hadn't talked to Nana when they came back, giving her the cold shoulder and ignoring anyone who tried to get in contact with him.
He longed for Nana, to hear her voice and listen to her words that eased his tension.
In only a few hours apart, it felt like eons. The longest few hours of his life, and he couldn't stand it. It came as no surprise to him that she couldn't either, because a knock came to his bathroom window. He looked at it, blinking, before approaching it and opening the window open. Nana was floating there, face devoid of makeup but eyes red from crying.
I made her cry, He thought.
"Takabi, talk to me." She said, grabbing his hands.
Her touch felt good, sending small shocks through him. The skin on her hands were soft and warm, comfort slowly oozing inside his chest.
The wind keeping her elevated slowly began to fade, until she was climbing into the bathroom. Her feet touched the floor, and she kicked off her shoes.
"What happened? Did I make you upset somehow? I don't know, just, I can't shake the feeling I did something wrong." Her words were quick and frantic.
His response was delayed. He looked all around the bathroom, trying to avoid looking at her as much as he could. Not from anger, but because if he looked he knew he'd begin crying as well.
He hurt her.
Not Carlos or anyone else.
He did. It was his fault, and he'd live with that guilt for as long as they lasted.
"Nana, no." His voice was quiet. "It wasn't you. I just… Shit happened… And I'm still shaken."
She moved towards him, and he tried harder to avoid looking at her. Instead, she grabbed his face and forced him to lock eyes with her. Tears were welling in her gaze, as were his own. They fell simultaneously, but he kept himself together as he began to go into detail with what happened as he quickly cut the shower off.
With each word, it was as if his mind had twisted the actual events into much worse. Carlos' hands on her body. Her speaking to Carlos the way she spoke to him, instead of the broken mess of a copy. Even worse, the lingering feeling of not being enough, of being heart broken.
Takabi finished speaking. He held Nana's hand tightly, slowly looking at her for some form of validation.
Her eyes had stopped the tears. Her face was expressionless for a long while, until she stood and moved towards the bathroom door, pacing around frantically. "I knew he had issues but… That asshole… Takabi, I can assure I would NEVER look at any other man the way I do you, especially not Carlos. No offense to Ariel, but he's a dirty, slimy fuck."
"He's still my…" He couldn't even bring himself to say the word friend. He knew in his heart, it wasn't so.
Carlos wasn't his friend anymore. That was the reality now.
"No friend would ever do something like that." She grabbed the shower nozzle and twisted it, running the water as she began to remove her own clothes. "It'll be alright. I promise you, I love you, Takabi, and that will never change."
He placed a hand over his heart. He couldn't stop the smile that formed, or the words that followed. "I love you, too, Nana." She smiled at him, taking his hand and leading him into the warm water.
His thoughts melted away at the heat and steam, and the blissy feeling of her soapy hands on his chest. His night went from a pained nightmare to a blissful dream in that one moment, and he felt the happiness bubble in his guts to have her and only her by his side.
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Carlos slammed his knuckles into the already shattered mirror, blood oozing from his hand, anger seething from his pores. "God damn it! Why didn't I win! Why couldn't I rip his head from his shoulders!" He yelled, tossing the desk across the warehouse.
Girston watched him from the second floor, the dim lights overhead swaying so slowly it was almost still.
While he had taken a great interest in Carlos, Girston knew his personality problems would be a wall when it came to the grand scheme. He couldn't take the Gems from Takabi, only wanted to torment and kill him. He saw no fault with that initially, but once he thought it over, he knew he had to teach Carlos some form of control over his own feelings if things were going to work out.
Evil was in every creature, it was just up to them if they would allow it to control them or not.
No matter. It's only a matter of time before we can cleanse.
Girston moved into the room behind him. It was large, illuminated by green lights. Pods were strung up from the ceiling, and within each one was a green ooze, holding multiple blank faced creatures. Humanoid bodies, built strong and muscular. Not Hunters, but similar, and more powerful.
One of these should be enough. Then we can move on to the next location.
One of the pods cracked, a palm pressing tightly against it. Girston felt a smile grow on his face, licking his lips and rubbing the burn scars on his face.