(Mira Oka)
Lena and Laura nearly attacked me when I entered their house. I removed the ridiculous uniform and tossed it aside. They were shocked to see Ace with me and I explained to them what happened and that they should heal him. I gave him to them and let them work. While that was happening, I took some medicines and bandages off the shelf and stuffed them in my bag.
“I can’t believe we’re helping another wanted person.” Laura said.
“We’re after the same thing,” I told her. “So he’s not bad.” Flashes raced through my mind. That grotesque imagery of Ace biting that guard’s shoulder. And all of those features went away as soon as I knocked him out.
Ace seemed to wake up. He turned his head side to side, acknowledging the scene around him. Though, he looked afraid. He was about to jump at Laura who was in front of him but she held him by the arms. With Laura’s muscular body, there was no way he could’ve physically fought her without using abilities. Ace looked like a little kid compared to her. I probably did too.
She was still holding onto him. “Relax dude, we’re here to heal your wounds.”
He turned to me.
“They’re friends of mine,” I explained. “They’re good at making medicine and healing others.”
Laura let go of his arms and he clutched his stomach in pain.
Laura offered him a bottle of medicine.
He took it and gulped it down.
“Mira said you went bonkers under a sewer,” She started. “Is that true?”
He paused. Then his eyes suddenly widened. He got off the bed immediately.
“It’s okay if you did,” Laura said. “Don’t be afraid. You’re safe here-”
“Nothing fears me!” He yelled. “Nothing changes me or cherishes me either. I am an evil demon who wishes nothing but chaos!” And with that he swings his leg against a table with a vase. The vase tipped over and shattered on the floor. Ace stormed out without saying more.
Lena, with a concerned look, began to clean the floor. Laura’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Is he okay?”
“He went on some kind of rampage,” I replied. “He usually has an attitude, but this one seems more extreme. This situation concerned me too. It was something I have never seen before.. But at the same time, it explains things.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll explain it some other time.” I thought back to moments where we were in conflict. The hole with worms. He told me he climbed out. He lied. He flew. Saying we could’ve died. He could’ve flown. The quicksand. He could’ve flown. When he burned my ankle. It was part of his ability. He lied because he wanted to hide it. Could it be related to his issue? I need to talk to him. “I’ll go look for him.” I told Laura before leaving the house. He was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t behind the trees, in the bushes, behind the house, nothing. I walked further away and found a mini cave Right! I used to play here when I lived with them.Hopefully he’s here. I quietly walked in, worried of what he might do or say to me. Was he going to attack me? Yell at me perhaps? Tell me to go away? Lie again? Not let me in?109Please respect copyright.PENANAlkJ5A8sll9
I found him sitting in there, hugging his knees. I froze. He must’ve heard me walk in because he turned around. His face was wet with tears, yet he was glaring at me. I raised my eyebrows. He turned away with a shaky voice. “What do you want?”
I walked closer and sat next to him. “N-Nothing. I just wanted to know what happened back there.”
He was quiet for a moment before explaining. “It only happens when I’m really angry or I witness er…great violence. A guard was there and he tried me. Before I realized it, it happened. I was intrigued and attacked him. I wanted bloodshed. It’s something that attracts me in that state. Probably because it was his. And then I lost it. I lost control. Like always. I don’t know how to stop it. It just goes away on its own. I hate it..I hated using it. I hate it.”
“That’s why you lied about escaping that hole,” I started. “Because you had no other way of doing it, so you did it when I wasn’t looking.”
He didn’t reply.
“It must’ve been hard, huh?” I asked, softly. “I kept making you angry but you managed to keep it to a minimum.”
“I let it get ahead of me,” He replied. “And now you know.”
He then stopped. “Everyone is going to know,” He clutched his head. “If it goes any further, it’s going to happen again!” His body started trembling as he was sweating. His breath was quickening. “They’re going to know! They’re going to know!”
“Ace what’s wrong?” I asked, panicked. “Who’s going to know? What’s going to happen again?”
He didn’t reply. Instead, a fresh new batch of tears poured down his face, and he broke into a sob. I was stunned once more. What should I do? He was panicking for sure. But I’m afraid too. I don’t know what’s happening, but if we’re going to work together, then I have to be there for him. Although I don’t really know how since he’s not telling me anything… I have to try at least. I wrapped my arms around him. He stopped shaking for a moment. Probably caught off guard by my actions. “It’s okay,” I told him. “I don’t know what it is, but everything’s going to be okay.”
“I’m scared.” He said, his voice frail. He continued crying. I hugged him closer. His chin was resting against my right shoulder. I couldn’t blame him for hiding anything. I’m hiding stuff as well. But I at least wanted to carry a bit of the weight off his shoulders. Hopefully I can share some things with him. “Ace,” I started. “I’m never going to leave you, okay? I don’t exactly know what’s going on, but I won’t leave. If possible, I can try to help with what you’re dealing with.”
He didn’t say anything, but he shifted.
“Don’t try to pull away,” I told him, my grip now firm. “Everything’s okay.” He stopped. He let out a sigh and rested his head on my shoulder. I looked over at him. His eyes were closed. He was asleep. It felt good that he trusted me to sleep on me. He wasn’t so bad. He may be scary sometimes-especially with that attack. But he was just conflicted and confused. He was just afraid and may have doubts. I do too, so in a sense, we were on the same boat. I was glad to know a deeper part of him. It gave me a new perspective. I moved his head to my other shoulder so his neck wouldn’t be sore when he wakes up. His head reached right against my neck. I was fine with that. I looked down and raised my eyebrows in surprise. His hand was laying on the ground, facedown. Part of the bandage unravelled. Revealing a large deep red scar.
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