Chapter 26: Blessings are a gift for Humans

The red and blue sirens flashed brightly, even under the sun.

Takabi sat on the stairs of the school, watching the crowd of students as they gathered round.

Blake's body was picked up from the pavement, his eyes rolled into the back of his exploded skull. Brain and blood littered all over the pavement, his chest deflated from the ribs that must've punctured his organs and left arm bent behind his back, while his legs were limp as freshly boiled noodles.

Even though no one knew the cause of the fall, Takabi felt eyes on him. Unsure if it was just his mind or not, he kept his head low and eyes hidden from everyone and everything.

As the paramedics placed his body on a stretcher and covered it with a black tarp, Nana came down the stairs with a couple cans of soda and held one down for Takabi to take. When he didn't take it, she placed her own can down and popped the top to his, taking his hand and placing it in his grasp. "Here."

"I'm not thirsty." He muttered, hands gripping the can tightly.

"I know but… There isn't too much we can really do now." Her brown eyes watched the medics place the stretcher in the ambulance and shut the doors.

The police came into the crowd, careful to avoid the blood on the pavement and eyed everyone down. The one who spoke was a woman, and her voice sounded very familiar to Takabi. "Alright, everyone split into seperate lines. We're going to start interrogations and get to the bottom of this. Forgive us if this is difficult for some of you, but we wish to solve this incident as soon as possible."

"Looks like it's going to be difficult to slip you out of here, huh," Nana whispered to him as the students moved into different directions.

Takabi shook his head and finally raised it. "If I was the only one left who didn't speak to anyone, I'd be the prime suspect."

The officer who spoke approached the two. At first he couldn't recognize her face, but when he placed the voice to the look, it all came back to him. If it hadn't then, it would've when she stopped and craned her head aside, asking him, "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so," He replied quickly, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Don't mind him. He's just taking this really hard," Nana said, elbowing him in the arm. "Keep it cool, Takabi. Don't give anyone any reason to suspect you," Nana said to him through telepathy, an ability he wasn't even aware she had.

Strangely, once she did it, he managed to dissect the logic behind it and reply in the exact same method.

"No, that's not it. Remember the bank massacre? She was one of the cops that was there."

Nana kept a straight face, but he heard the metal gasp in her mind. "Are you going to interrogate us, Miss…"

"Ruben. Angelita Ruben." She said, the two shaking hands. Angelita looked at Takabi, but the boy kept his eyes averted from her. "Can either of you tell me what happened? From what I can tell so far, something caused him to fall from the roof."

"Couldn't it have just been an accident," Nana asked her, trying to play it dumb.

"I would like to think that, if it weren't from the fact that his ribs were smashed in. Granted, a fall like that may have caused it anyway, but it was way too violent from a simple glance. Maybe a small pool of blood and a split skull, but he looked like something forced him down like that. Any ideas?" She knelt in front of them both. "Possibly… A demon perhaps?"

"Funny," Takabi spoke up. "Why would a monster like that bother with him? He was a jock, plain and simple. Maybe he got into an argument and tripped over himself to his death."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Angelita asked. She studied his response to her, and spoke more sternly. "Look me in the eye please."

"No thanks."

"Do it. Now. Or I'll place you under arrest for obstruction of justice."

Nana bit her lip and kept her composure. Takabi sighed and slowly looked at Angelita.

At first, she didn't recognize him fully, but then memories of that day slowly began plaguing her mind. She placed a hand to her head in a sudden headache and spoke low. "You… were there on that day… The hostage kid."

"Yeah. That was me."

"How'd you get away?!" She yelled, drawing the attention of everyone around. "The second you vanished, that thing showed up and killed everyone!"

"Look, I have no idea what you're talking about." He stood suddenly, and Angelita instinctively drew her gun, aiming it at him. The other officers began to swarm her, but didn't dare get any closer for fear they would set her off. "Stop bullshitting, kid! You and that THING are somehow connected!"

"Ruben, what the hell are you doing?! He's just a kid!" One of the officers yelled.

The tension in the air grew even thicker, many of the students frozen in a cold sweat and fear that someone else may die, this time before their eyes.

In Takabi's mind, he really did deserve it. He hasn't been anything but trouble lately. For himself and others.

He killed an entire squad of cops, injured mercenaries severely, and now killed another student. His powers, now that he thought about it, were becoming more and more of a problem, and he was stuck between wanting to die to atone for the murders he caused, and wanting to live for Nana. Wanting to gain control over his strength and right the wrongs he caused that way.

Not that it would do much to fix the past, but he could attempt to better the future.

"You… You have to be linked to that thing," Angelita continued. "You.. Have to be.." She closed her eyes and suddenly dropped her gun, slowly falling to her knees and letting tears flow.

Takabi walked over to her and knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder and softly saying, "I'm sorry. About that day. I don't remember too much about it, but all I can really say is when I woke up, I was at home."

Angelita raised her head, eyeing him with fresh tears flowing. He could see the mental pain, the mental trauma in her eyes and felt guilt ridden.

He had done this. He caused her so much pain and PTSD. He probably did the same for most of the students who saw Blake's corpse, and possibly Blake's parents when they get wind of what happened to him.

"You're blessed to be alive after that day." He told her. "Make the most of it, and try not to hang onto the past." His grip on her shoulder tightened, his mind slowly turning back to his last day at the orphanage.

The looks he gained as he left. None saying they would miss him. None viewed him as a simple child who made a grave mistake.

He was a monster to them, and that was never going to change.

"If you ever see that thing again, don't hesitate to take it down." He said, standing and helping her to her feet.

To his surprise, the students breathed a sigh of relief and began clapping for him.

He looked around, confused as to why they were, but simply looked back at Nana who was smiling calmly at him as she stood and walked towards him.

"You must be exhausted. Are we free to go, Miss Ruben?"

"Yes. I apologize for my… Sudden outburst. It was extremely dangerous and unprofessional." She blinked. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"Takabi," He told her and her eyes widened in surprise.

"I.. Wow, that name doesn't fit your look." Stepping aside, she watched as the two walked away, not daring to look back at the school.

About ten minutes later, when they were halfway to Takabi's home, he stopped walking.

Nana walked ahead a bit before she stopped and looked at him. "What?"

"Don't you have anything to say," He asked, his voice shaky. "I did it again. I took a life because I couldn't control myself."

He placed a hand over his heart and squeezed tightly, his shirt balling up in his palm.

Nana tangled her fingers together behind her back and approached Takabi, circling around him and looking up at him with a blank gaze. "I know. I was there."

"I didn't mean to kill him though." He muttered, biting his lip before saying, "But I did want to hurt him… Just, in that exact moment, when my mind told me to defend, I did just that. Only I hit him like I would hit someone like me, like someone I knew who could take a powered up punch and live." He looked at her, his voice softening. "Aren't you afraid of me? Afraid I'm going to snap and turn on you?"

"Terrified," She said bluntly. His expression turned to shock. "Who wouldn't be, Takabi? If you turned on me, there wouldn't be a single thing I could do to defend myself. I may be strong, but compared to you I'd be an ant against a dinosaur." She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Although, despite that fear, I think it's our feelings that would keep you under control around me. That deep connection we have." She took his hand and placed it against her chest. Her heart was racing, and her skin felt warm under her shirt.

"You accepted me back in the Canyon because of how you felt for me. I believe, no matter how deep you may fall into darkness, I'm the hook that can bring you back out of it. So as long as I'm around, or in your mind, you can control yourself, and your power, right?" She craned her head aside.

He heard her words, but to them both they sounded like more of a hope, a wish than a fact.

Even so, he smiled at her and nodded. "I don't think I'm going to be able to face Jewel anymore after today."

"If she's really your friend, she won't put all the blame on you." She said, walking ahead. "Let's get you home so you can rest your head. You may not be sensitive to death at the moment, but the aftermath will have its mental toll if you feel guilty. I'll make you something to eat."

"But I'm not…" Before he could finish, his stomach roared in hunger. Nana gave him the side eye and arched her finger at him, gesturing him to come along like he was a pup.

"Keep it up, and we'll see which one of us is panting like a dog later," He thought.

"You realize I can hear you, right," She asked, and his face reddened in embarrassment.

She laughed at him and kept walking. He followed behind her, his mind going back to Blake's words a few minutes later.

A boy who looked just like him. He didn't completely dismiss the idea, but now that he thought on it it couldn't possibly be true. His family was torn apart and long gone. He saw in Nana's memories that his brother's body was the only one specifically confirmed, but his father and sister had been nowhere to be found after the explosion. Yet, when he thought of his look alike, his possibly alive twin brother, he felt a strong ache in his heart. A painful loneliness and a strong distant feeling.

"Probably should have said this earlier, but if you ever try to push someone with a gun, and they shoot you, I'm going to kill you myself." Nana glanced over her shoulder at him. "I lost you once, I can't go through that again. It's a blessing that she didn't connect two and two together. I couldn't save you if she somehow exposed what you were and people actually believed her."

"Please, Nana. Blessings are a gift for normal people. If the big guy in the clouds really looked at me and decided to save me, I wouldn't be so fucked in the head." He told her.

She didn't say anything, but he could feel that in a way she agreed. Humans did have it lucky in some cases, just not in this day and age. Not unless God himself is standing over their shoulder.