The sobbing and apologies continued for a couple of minutes and even though Mako was trying to keep up the cold demeanor that he had kept throughout his high school life, it was getting difficult for him to keep his emotionless expression with the genuinely in Bill's comments.
It took some time for Bill to get his bearings back in order as he finally realized what he had done and although ashamed and embarrassed to see himself exposed to Mako in such a way, he didn't regret it one bit.
What followed was another awkward silence between the two as Mako had already finished his tea and it couldn't be used as an icebreaker any longer. Suddenly the sound of the doorbell ring echoed throughout the room as if by fate, the awkward moments had subsided.
Getting Mako left the room to check out who was at his front door while he left Bill in the living room, where he was told to help himself with as much food as would like.
Bill started at the delicious tray of delectable breakfast foods, ranging from croissants to a perfect folded cheese omelet while Mako left the room to answer the front door.
Mako had been very precise with the amount of money he spent on his abilities, skills, and extra things as he left himself with enough money so that Money won't be an issue for him for almost the next six months.
Mako continued to work at the bakery albeit not regularly, but still after witnessing the generosity and kind-hearted side of Sir Derek, Mako just didn't feel right abandoning that place as he promised to work there until he went away to military school.
Opening the door, revealing a man with a delivery uniform on and a small package in his hands.
"Delivery for Sir Mako Grey?" the delivery man asked politely.
"Yes, that's me!" Mako replied
"Great! sign here and here." the delivery man said as he brought a form out to fill out.
After filling out the form, Mako received the package and the delivery man left just as soon as he came.
Mako made his way back to the living room with the package in his hands, excited to open up another thing he had ordered from the public library computer two days ago.
"What you got there?" Bill asked as Mako sat back down on the same couch opposite Bill.
"Since I never owned a technological device, I was never up to date with the news so I decided to buy a small Holoscreen that would keep me up to date with what is going on in the world," Mako explained to Bill while he took a knife and started to unbox his first device.
Bill nodded as he resumed his eating. After being in captivity for two weeks and given the bare minimum to survive, it was a huge change of pace as Bill made sure to savor every moment of it.
After the unboxing was complete, Mako now had his hands on a mini Holoscreen as that was the only device that could be within his budget, but Mako didn't mind as he was just ecstatic about finally owning one of these things for real.
The holoscreen itself was just a piece of very well-polished glass with a metal frame surrounding it, that had a couple of buttons on it. The screen itself seemed fragile, but it was as strong as steel and could even survive a 100 ft drop without a scratch on its surface. Turning the screen on, Mako started to set up his account as well as tweak some settings while Bill finished his massive breakfast.
"Oh? That's interesting..." Mako said as he stared at the screen.
"What?" Bill asked as he finished his breakfast and wiped his messy face with a napkin.
Mako turned on projector mode as the screen projected a holographic image of the main screen upwards so that they could both see. The display currently was on one of the news channels where there were reports of a part of an abandoned warehouse exploding.
Bill's facial expressions changed the moment he laid his eyes on the screen as anger started to well up from him again, and unconsciously he started to leak his aura which didn't affect Mako one tiny bit anymore. Seeing Bill's reaction to the news feed as well as his sudden behavior change, it didn't take Mako much time to put two and two together and figure out that Bill was somehow related to it.
Closing the holographic display, Mako stared into Bill's eyes with a fierce expression as he asked him," Care to tell me, what's so special about this new that you would unconsciously release your aura?"
Staring back into Mako's eyes, Bill was reluctant at first but he soon caved as e let out a big, deep, and sad sigh.
For the next hour and a half, Mako sat in the living room with Bill, showing looks of horror and shock as Bill narrated the entire situation from him getting his ability to working with El-Diablo to then losing his fight against Mako, and being enslaved as punishment and finally escaping, but not without sacrifices as Bill rubbed his hand with the imprint of the key still there on him.
After a small moment of silence, Bill continued as he listed all of the names of the workers that helped him in his escape but were unfortunate enough to be killed as the memory of Albert was one of the stronger ones.
After listening to Bill's entire story, Mako stood up from the couch and instinctively Bill stood up as well. He started to walk toward Bill, and before he could even react Mako hugged Bill tightly. It looked a bit awkward, to say the least, but the two hugged each other for a few seconds before Mako broke from the hug and brought forth his right hand.
Bill was confused by this once again and wasn't exactly sure what Mako intended.
"I want you to accept my handshake as a token of friendship, as you have also faced the hardships and struggles that I have faced in my life. You have become a much more mature and understanding person as compared to the time when you used to bully me, and I acknowledge that fact. What do you say we forget about our past encounters and turn a new leaf with this first step?" Mako asked Bill with compassion and determination.
Knowing Mako's intentions, Bill understood the latter's intention as he shook his hand without a hint of hesitation. Bill wanted to start life anew after he learned the lessons that molded him into the person he was today, and Mako had given that to him.
"Okay, First order of business! You smell!" Mako teased Bill.
"WHAT?" Bill was confused at the sudden change of gesture but that made Mako just burst into laughter.
Seeing the cheeky move played by Mako, Bill did not get angry as he joined in with the laughter as it was both hilarious and true.
Mako explained to Bill what had happened at school during his absence, as Bill's father made it clear that Bill was not welcome back home wherever he was once he learned all of the misdeeds that his son committed daily.
It was heartbreaking for Bill to hear that, but it was expected of him because his father didn't want any mud on his name even if it meant disowning one of his sons to get it.
The reason why Bill's father was unaware of Bill's daily actions was that El-Diablo's people were always there to cover up his mess.
Mako had given Bill an offer to live together as roommates, but he said that there would be a few rules that he didn't mention straight up.
Bill was currently showering in the spare room within the house that Mako's grandmother used to call the guest room for some reason even though they never had a guest sleepover at their house; well, until now at least.
After freshening up a bit, Bill wore some of Mako's clothes that were already in a short supply, but they fit Bill perfectly as Mako always liked to wear oversized and baggy clothes.
At this point, Bill's injuries had been completely healed and seeing this Mako invited Bill to take a walk with him toward the forest that was right in his backyard.
Although it sounded really weird to Bill, in order to not hurt their friendship from the get-go, Bill decided to just obey Mako as he owed him a lot.
Taking a stroll, it was a warm and sunny afternoon, and Bill was enjoying the beautiful view that he had never paid any attention to and absorbing every single detail.
They walked for a bit until they arrived at an empty patch of grass within the forest, and Mako quickly created a distance between them by running a few feet.
Now, facing each other at a distance of approximately fifteen feet, Mako shouted," The reason why I brought you out here with me today is that from this day forth, this ground will be the place we come to train!"
Bill now understood what Mako was hinting at as he took his stance and activated his level 3 earth ability.
"Come at me however you like, I won't fall for those same tricks you pulled during our previous match!" Bill taunted Mako who actually started to grin.
Releasing his very own level 3 fire ability aura, Mako shouted back playfully," Oh, We'll just have to see about that!"