The Arena was understandably upset as they demanded them to have a rematch. But a small few who were in love with Eon's existence, didn't mind the result.
Back in the Café, the people who didn't care about the match just kept enjoying their free time. Shinomiya didn't really care about the fight either, and so did Akira. But Lebanon was surprisingly still excited.
"Wow! Did you see that Akira!?? Eon is just too strong!"
Despite how the fight went, Lebanon especially was captivated by him.
After some time passed of just normal talking, someone annoying appeared in the Café. As he entered through the door, he immediately made his presence known, causing Akira to grow irritated almost immediately.
"
He then noticed Akira who was desperately trying to mask his presence from him. Although he played along with it. Lebanon then shouted,
"HEY AKIRA!? WHY'RE YOU ACTING LIKE THAT!? DON'T GET BEAT UP OVER IT MAN!"
Akira just looked at him with pain in his eyes as Germaine began to pirouette towards the three.
"
His eyes fell on Shinomiya who was cleaning one of the mugs. Such beautiful scarlet hair, such tender lips, such lustrous eyes. His heart was quaking just by looking at her.
Germaine suddenly got on one knew as he pulled a fresh red rose out of his blazer.
"
Shinomiya just chucked some cold water on him which caused him to jump up as he screamed in shock. Lebanon quickly handed him a cold towel to dry himself with. Taking this opportunity, Akira saw himself out.
"I'll see you guys later?"
Lebanon just waved goodbye while Shinomiya continued with her job. Once Germaine finished drying, he asked Lebanon a question.
"
Lebanon looked at him. Just seeing the expensive brands he was covered in, made it obvious he was financially secure.
"Let's look at your background for a bit... what's your home life like?"
Germaine gladly answered,
"My parents made their fortune from business overseas. They came to Babel city in search of more Business opportunities, and while we were here, I'd thought it be a good idea to come to college! or was it university again?? Education here is so confusing."
Lebanon just looked at him blankly. Although Akira told him not tell anyone, maybe if Germaine knew what happened to Akira before he came to Babel city, then perhaps it would be possible for the two to become friends?
"Don't tell Akira I told you this, understood?"
"
**
The routine was simple. Leave the Café at 4, take the train on time and get back home by 5. Since it was nearing winter, it was already getting dark so he had to be quick. As he walked past the bar though something unexpected happened.
A man in a long brown coat was sent flying through a window as he landed on the pavement on the other side of the road. His face had turned pink from the amount of Alcohol he drank, while salvia appeared to be watering from the other side of his mouth.
"Mr Moreau?"
Apparently he wasn't just an avid smoker, but an alcoholic too. He quickly noticed Akira, and started shouting something.
"aKiRa! I BeTtEr nOt cAtCh yOu iN ThE StReEtS LaTe aT NiGhT! tHeRe's bEeN A MuRdEr gOiNg aRoUnD KiLlInG OfF WhOlE FaMiLiEs. Do yOu hEaR Me? AkIrA!"
His drunken speech was hard to understand, but the message was trying to say was pretty clear. Akira quickly got out of there. As long as he stayed on schedule he would be safe.
Well that was the plan until he walked past a dark alleyway. He had walked past it before hundreds of times, so he knew it better than anyone. That there was something down there that shouldn't be there.
He was planning on ignoring it, but then he heard a gut wrenching scream. Checking the time on his phone, he saw there was still 50 minutes until the train arrived. Enough time to quickly sort this out.
"Are you stupid? Did you forget what happened the last time you went off script?"
Again, another memory he wanted to forget flashed in his mind. He was child(7), and was playing in park with other kids. He checked the time on his kiddy watch and saw that it was 3pm. It was time for him to head back home, but he was having so much fun that he wanted to stay a little longer. Before he knew it, 2 hours passed and the sun was starting to set.
Suddenly, another scream echoed down the alleyway, snapping him out of his trance. He was the only one around so he went down it anyway.
He slowly started dialling 911 and shouted,
"Anyone need help? If you don't say anything? I'm going to head back?"
No response. But he kept creeping down there anyways until he was at the very edge of the darkness. He tried flashing his phone down it, but there was nothing. Thinking that he was hearing things, he slowly started to head back.
Then a man who appeared to be in his 40's wearing a suit lunged at him from the darkness. Although he looked normal on the surface, there was something heavily wrong with his eyes. There was a certain madness in them that a human nor even a Borrower should've possessed. He jumped onto Akira's back making him shout.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? GET OFF ME!"
The man suddenly bit Akira in the neck, making him jolt as he fell onto his back. Since the man was behind him, he hit his head on the floor badly and was knocked out.
Quickly getting away, Akira ran straight home.
"I knew this was a bad idea. Why did I go down there??"
Without stopping he simply kept running. As he did, he suddenly tripped on the pavement, bruising his head but he quickly got back up and kept running. He even bumped into someone, but he didn't stop to apologise.
As he ran, an awful feeling began to stir in him. It was like he was inches away from vomiting, yet it never came out. He arrived at the train station but he was far too early. Again his routine had been disrupted.
"Keep calm... Keep calm..."
He slowly steadied his breathing as he tried to relax, but then he felt a sudden and intense pain, specifically around the bite mark he got.
A nearby citizen noticed him, and decided to approach him but he was cautious as he kept his distance.
"You okay dude? Should I call for some help?"
Akira didn't respond.
"Your head looks injured too? I'll call someone just in cas-"
Suddenly Akira jumped on him too, wrestling the phone out of his hand while slamming him into the floor. His mouth was foaming, the sclera of his left eye turned black as his pupils turned red. The man screamed as he struggled to push Akira off him, but the boy weighed an abnormal amount, making the task seemingly impossible.
There were several other people around them, so some dudes quickly tried to restrain him. A small girl in a blue trench coat wearing a yellow scarf, pulled out a camera and began to record it.
With superhuman strength, Akira threw all the men off him, and he quickly started to run away into the distance.
**
After running home for what felt like an eternity, Akira stopped in the middle of the street. He suddenly ran towards a nearby bin, and started to vomit. Once he finished, the horrible feeling which he had earlier began to dissipate.
The second he realised his routine had been ruined, he began to despair.
"Why... Should I go to the hospital now? But I need to salvage my routine.. with my best ability..."
He then recalled the conversation that he had with Lebanon about his dream. If Lebanon wanted to become a Hero of Justice, then Akira wanted to live out his life with perfect consistency. His routine was that consistency, and now that was gone.
"I don't care anymore!"
Taking the train was no longer an option, and instead he would run home. He wouldn't arrive for another 3 hours.
Once he finally got back, he checked the time.
8:00pm, he should've been home by 5.
With regret, he stumbled to his bathroom. Taking off his bag and throwing it onto the couch. Once inside, he started to wash his face at the sink. Making sure he covered every spot, he looked at the mirror in front of him.
Although it was for a split second, Akira saw it. His reflection in the mirror was not that of a humans, but something that could only be described as a demon. A strange black shadow outlined in red, was standing in the place he was, just as tall and wide as him. It opened several of it's red eyes which covered it's body, letting him get a hint of its true nature.
The only thing that reflected of them however, was death, carnage, and an indescribable thirst.
He jolted back and slipped onto the floor, where he then hit is head for the second time. He quickly got back up, but was surprised to see that the monster was now gone.
"Am I hallucinating?"
Before he left, he quickly noticed that the bruise on his forehead was gone. He then checked the bite marks on his shoulders, but they were gone too.
Akira was human. That was a fact he was certain about. Yet he had displayed abnormal strength, abnormal healing ability, and now he was feeling an abnormal hunger.
He quickly finished cleaning himself up before heading back to the living room. Immediately opening his fridge, he quickly began to devour everything in there. From random food he had stored, random ingredients like peppers and tomatoes., and even food that had gone out of date. He ate everything.
But it didn't satisfy him. He unconsciously went to his balcony, and looked outside. There he saw a woman walking down the street with who appeared to be his boyfriend. Caught in a another trance, his mouth began to water.
"Hungry."
He jolted once again. That voice was deep and masculine. Nothing at all like his own. He retreated back to his bedroom, before burying himself in his blankets. In an effort to distract himself, he began to check his phone.
2 Messages from Lebanon. They read:
"Hey bro, just checking on you quickly. Next to the place that you usually walk home, the police found a bunch of corpses. There was a whole trail of them which no one noticed somehow. They all led to the train station so I hope your okay, message me back."
His heart shook just reading that. It likely had something to do with that man who bit him in the neck earlier. The next message said,
"Apparently there was a fight near the station too. You safe bro?"
Realizing it was him, Akira quickly sent a text telling Lebanon he was ok. He then went to sleep, trying to forget about today. Just in case thought, he made plans to go to the hospital at 3.
[Body compatibility 100%]
[Performing final adjustments]