Chapter 34: Exposure and Conflict

"You… You lied… It was you, it HAD to be you," She yelled.

Takabi, feeling too weak to run or evade her, simply raised his hands in a surrendering manner. He somehow survived getting pierced through the heart. He didn't think a bullet to the head would give him the same result.

"What the fuck was all of this?!" She walked around in front of him, his eyes not leaving hers. "Fucking, what, super powers?! Magic?! What the FUCK are you, you freak?!" She asked, yelling.

Takabi glanced behind her, spotting Nana, Garuga, Raia, Jewel and Rose, all rushing towards him. His eyes told them to stay where they were, and they slid to a halt.

Angelita looked back, spotting the group. "Stay the hell away, or I'll put a full clip into his skull!"

"Let him go! He saved all the people here!" Nana vouched for him. "He's innocent!"

"Nana, stop." He said calmly. "You and I both know that isn't true."

"But Takabi��" Nana began, but Garuga hushed the girl.

Angelita turned back to the boy. She was quiet for a moment, before she pulled her pistol back and struck his temple. The boy fell over, gritting his teeth more in irritation than pain.

"You and the bunch of them. Fucking freaks, the lot of you. You show up, and so many people die. Your kind…. You THINGS, don't deserve life, after all the life you've taken."

When Takabi didn't speak, she stomped on his head, then kicked his back. Takabi rolled over, listening close to the clicking of her gun. "I could kill you. Kill you and avenge all of the officers you murdered!"

"Would that make you feel any better," He asked, slowly raising his head.

None of the pain appeared until he began moving. His skull had a splitting headache, a small cut dripped with fresh blood from the side of his head. The people who had left previously slowly began to return, watching the two with nervousness. Whose side did they ally themselves with? The officer, or the being they know nothing about?

One saved them from a possible threat no one could've stopped.

The other was a human woman, yet in this instance, the human looked more like the monster.

"I won't act innocent. I took lives I wish I hadn't. Your partner, and that SWAT team. One of the kids from the orphanage further North." He looked back at Jewel and Rose. "My friend's boyfriend… I've caused so much death and hurt so many people… Why shouldn't you kill me?"

Thunder roared overhead as he picked himself up. He held his wrists out for her to cuff him, but she retaliated by placing the gun to his forehead. "If you feel this is the right thing to do… Pull the trigger. End my life and avenge your friends, and anyone else that I killed."

She wanted to.

She had every right.

She had the will, had the motivation. Ruben bit her lip, glaring angrily at him through the rain and tears. Behind her, multiple squad cars drove up, their red and blue lights flashing as officers filed out. The helicopters, news and police that had been in the air previously, landed in the park when the storm picked up. News broadcasters stood in silence, the cameras locked on and sending a live feed to everyone who tuned into their channel.

The officer had their hands on the guns in their holsters, unsure of what to make of the situation or even do.

"I'm too weak to fight you. My body doesn't even have enough strength to heal itself right now."

That was a lie. Despite being tired, he had enough strength to fend her off, but he didn't want to. He felt it in his heart. He didn't want to hurt this woman at all.

Her hands squeezed the gun tightly, but her finger refused to pull the trigger.

She screamed loudly in frustration, and dropped her gun, dropping to her knees in a puddle of blood and rain and crying her eyes out.

"I can't…. I want to, I want to kill you so damn much… But I can't bring myself to do it… You don't deserve any praise for today…. But death isn't a punishment that should be wished upon you. It changes nothing that happened." She wiped her eyes, sniffling hard. "You're a goddamn devil… Yet when I look into your eyes… When I look at you… I see my partner in you…"

"Don't stain his name like that," He said softly, picking up her gun and handing it to her.

As she took it, slow claps began to echo around them, until a sea of applause met them both.

For Angelita, because she didn't shoot Takabi.

For Takabi, because he saved so many lives that day. The reporters began to do their job as most of the officers began to close off the park. Takabi walked towards his friends, lowering his shoulders and smiling at them. Nana hugged him tightly, and Garuga started a pointless conversation, as if nothing really happened. Rose and Jewel remained quiet for the most part, but Raia's eyes glanced back.

They locked with Carlos' before the boy vanished in the crowd. She looked up, expecting to see Kairas but he had left as well. "I have a bad feeling about those two…" She muttered to herself. However, that wasn't her focus right now. She looked back at Takabi, and flashed a smile before joining the conversation allowing the night to carry on.

------------------------------------

Kairas slung his old cloak over his shoulders. His green eyes glared around the warehouse, and then outside to pools of blood. He began walking, burns healed and stomach rumbling in hunger.

"Wait!"

Kairas stopped, turning towards Ryan. He was still holding the Blood Bullet SMG with his left hand, face caked in dirt. His two front teeth were missing, and he was leaning on a box for support. Blood oozed from the cut on his forehead, and his right arm was limp. "Where… Are you going?"

"A journey," He said simply. "I found him, although things didn't go how I planned. I want to see the world, and confirm if my Brother's feelings are right."

"No. No you won't." Ryan raised the gun with a shaky grasp. His heartbeat was slower than it was supposed to be. "I'm killing you, then I'm dropping my flags. These last couple months have been nothing but crazy shit after crazy shit."

Kairas kept a stern face, fully facing Ryan. "You don't want to do this. You have a chance to leave. Take it. Get healed at the hospital. See your family and live a normal life."

"Fuck you, Kairas! I'm done taking orders from you!"

Ryan pulled the trigger. Bullets ripped through the air in a loud pop. Kairas ducked, speeding towards Ryan without so much as a sound. From under his cloak, he willed a sword of black ice into existence. Gripping the handle, he swung the blade around, watching it cut clean through Ryan's neck.

The shooting stopped, Kairas twirling the blade and slipping it back under his cloak. Walking ahead, he closed his eyes as Ryan's head slid off and hit the floor, blood spewing high in the air until his body crumbled in a pile of meat.

"I'm sorry," He said. "Truthfully, I thought of you as a friend, Ryan." Kairas raised his palm. Green lightning surged around overhead, then came crashing down through the warehouse building. It took no more than a few seconds for the building to ignite in a green explosion, and for Kairas to disappear into the shadows.