| Предыдущая глава |
↓ Содержание ↓
↑ Свернуть ↑
| Следующая глава |
I don't think they know I can sense what they're saying. But then again, why would they? Who would ever assume I'm hearing with my feet.
"I heard about that, were they really as bad as everyone says?" The first one asks.
"That's right, you transferred in from Boston after that was settled." The second one says absently. "I'll show you the missive the Director sent out, that'll give you an idea of how bad it was."
"Can you two save the chatting for lunch?" Another man turns to them and asks.
I recall that missive. It was when I...
It was when Kitsu and the Dallons were staying here at the Rig. Just after Stormfront destroyed my... the Dallon's house. Kitsu caused a lot of problems out of sheer boredom. Trapped on the Rig, day in and day out with little to do. It was no wonder she started making her own entertainment.
"How come she hasn't done anything?" The first one speaks up again.
"What do you mean?" The second asks in return.
"Well, this is her clone, right? If so then why hasn't she started acting out?" They clarify.
Good question. And the answer is that I... I just don't have it in me. I'm bored, but not so bored that I'm about to start problems. Besides, not like there's anything around here to interest me. Or even anyone to really mess with.
Missy? I'd rather not, not with how she looked at me last time we saw each other. Lyra? Would she even recognize me? Dennis is an option, but that feels awkward given the history he has with Kitsu. Dean feels weird too.
I know too many people here, sneaking out and interacting with them as I am. It'd feel... it feel wrong. I'm not Kitsu, and everything I know about everyone is from Kitsu. And they all hate that.
'I hate this.' I think to myself as I hug my knees to my chest, wrapping my tail around me. 'Why couldn't I have just been made without her memories, why do I have to love people who hate for me for my existence?'
I can never have a normal relationship with them. Not as I am. They'll never accept me, both for what I am, and what I did.
This feeling of loss, it's worse than if they had died. Because at least then I wouldn't be... at least they... I don't even know!
I can't be bothered to think anymore. So I flood my brain with melatonin and knock myself out.
"Hold on, what's happening!?" The third researcher freaks out as I fall over.
At least in my dreams, I can pretend I'm me without any shame or remorse.
.
.
-Sunday, October 24th, 2010, 11am, Boardwalk-
.
.
Kitsu POV
.
"I am bored~" I hum out. "So I am up to no good~ Walking through the town~"
No school, no streams scheduled, don't feel like making a surprise stream, Vicky has a date, Amy is... somewhere. And the big events never happen when you want them to. So I made an executive decision. Left a note on the counter and took my fluffy tail to the town!
Missy's been too busy with her job and studies to hang out with me. And despite how social I am, I actually lack a lot of friends. I suppose it's mostly because it's hard to find someone to relate to me.
"Speaking of relations." I squint my eyes as I spot some bright green and red through the crowd.
Oh yeah, I'm illusion'd to keep people from recognizing me. Otherwise being out and about gets annoying. But that doesn't matter now.
"Hey, Vista!" I wave to her as I catch my girlfriend on patrol with Aegis. Because even with a fifth of the city under quarantine and partially destroyed, you still need people out and about making the PRT look good.
I'm almost insulted that they didn't think to call me for that.
Discarding my illusion, much to the shock of everyone around me. I begin to race over while waving my hand high above my head.
"Oh." Missy looks over to me and I hear her heart slow down a few beats when I get closer.
Which is... odd, given that it's normally the other way around.
"Weird." I mutter to myself and zoom over to the duo. "Hey, what's with the cold shoulder?" I ask and lean forward, peering up under her visor as my tail wags. That usually gets her heart thumping. "Not happy to see your adorable girlfriend?"
"Kitsu, I'm on patrol right now." Missy says curtly and looks away from me.
"And I'm an average citizen." I counter, clasping my hands over my chest. "I'm a defenseless, unsupervised teen girl, all on my lonesome in the dangerous streets of Brockton Bay. Whatever shall I do if some big brute tries to mug me or worse?"
"..." She crosses her arms and turns her head, staring down at me.
"... Won't a cute, blonde, green color themed hero escort me safely as I go about my day?" I bat my eyes, trying to get some sort of reaction. "And make sure I'm safe, secure, and protected?"
This usually works.
"Not now." Missy says sternly. "We can talk later."
"But I'm not free later." I whine and grab her arm, gently shaking it. "Come on~ talk to me."
"I can step away if you want some-" Carlos, being an absolute bro, starts to offer.
"No, we still have to check in at Pearl's Crossing." Missy dismisses, turning away from me and pulling her arm from my grasp.
'This isn't right.' Red alarms start blaring in my head as I start to panic.
"H-hey, is something wrong?" I say, feeling that something is way off. "Vista?"
"Not now." She nearly growls at me. "I'm on the job."
"Is it something I said?" I ask, fixating on what the issue could be.
"We can talk later." Missy says.
"Can you at least tell me what it's about?" I practically beg. "Vista please, don't ignore me!" She starts walking away, and I follow. "H-hey! That's not fair! Come on! I don't ghost you like this."
"Fine!" Missy snaps. "You want to do this now? Then let's do this."
"Woah, what is-" I start to say before a rooftop suddenly bends and warps in front of me. And Missy suddenly grabs my wrist, dragging me onto the roof before warping space back to normal. Putting us several blocks and stories away from the boardwalk. "Hey, this is a bit much for-"
"Shut up!" She turns around on me and yells, making me flinch and fold my ears back at her sudden, harsh tone. "Just... stop talking!"
I go to open my mouth and ask what's wrong. But some part of me manages to think better of it. And so I keep my mouth shut, waiting for her to compose herself as I glimpse what little of her face I can see under her helm grow red.
"Do you know what it's like?" She asks with barely restrained exasperation. "Dating you?"
"... I-I'd like to say it's awesome?" I offer with a weak smile. "B-but I'm guessing that's not-"
"It's a rollercoaster!" She yells, fists balled up at her sides. "And not a fun one! It's a damned emotional rollercoaster without any seatbelts or brakes. One moment you're sweet and considerate and the next it's like I'm a set piece to your life!"
"I-I don't understand." I choke out through my growing anxiety. "You know I love being with you and-"
"You don't respect me!" She stomps her foot. "You make decisions for me and against my wishes!"
"M-Missy, look, I get that I haven't exactly-"
"No!" She yells, pointing an angry finger at me. "You don't get to just bat your eyes, put on a cute pout and talk your way out of this!"
"So you think I'm cute~" I say before kicking myself for the horrible comment. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! I use humor to deal with stress."
"Do you?" She sneers, crossing her arms. "Then your life must be more stressful than I could ever imagine."
"What, I don't-" I fail to find the words.
"Because you never take anything seriously!" She shouts. "You invade my privacy, you speak for me when I can do so myself, you're constantly forcing me out of situations against my will. And because you're the only one who treats me like something close to my own person and not a mascot or obligation, I just keep letting you get away with it!"
"W-well, if you wanted to invade my privacy-" I let out a weak chuckle.
"That's not the point!" Her voice cracks. "You have absolutely zero respect for my boundaries!"
"I just want to protect and take care of you!" I defend.
"That's not what I want!" She shouts back. "... And if you can't see that... then you're not what I want either."
"H-hey, you don't mean that." I stutter, reaching out for my girlfriend. Only for her to shrug and turn her back on me. "Why, this, you could've said... Missy this can't be..."
My words fail me as my throat grows tight. Strangled by the overwhelming emotions of the situation.
"... I'm scared, you know that?" She mutters.
"What?" I scoff out in disbelief.
"I've been putting off this conversation for a while." She takes a breath; explaining what she means. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this, but I never did. Because I was scared of what you'd do."
"Missy, you don't think I'd-" I start to say.
"That's what I thought." She turns on me and removes her visor, looking me directly in the eye. "I kept excusing it because I always thought, oh she'd never do anything to ME... but then you did." She says softly, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "You snuck up on me, and knocked me out in the middle of a crisis situation."
"I was just-" I try to get a word in, but I can't seem to find my voice over hers.
"It doesn't matter what you were doing!" She yells back at me. "It wasn't your place to do it!"
"... I-I'm sorry." I utter out the only thing I can think to say.
"If you were sorry, you wouldn't need me being mad to say it." She says and puts her visor back on. Turning around, she steps over the roof's ledge onto the building twelve blocks away. In the blink of an eye, the distance snaps back. Leaving me here... alone.
"... So uh, can I get a ride down?" Carlos asks nervously. "... I-I'll just climb. It's fine."
.
.
-Monday, October 25th, 4pm, The Rig-
.
.
Melody POV
.
"Did you hear?" One of scientists recording my strength measurements asks.
"Hear what?" The second asks in return.
Why they need four scientists for a series of standard stress tests? I couldn't tell you-
... My head itches. Now it's gone. Must've been the wind.
"Apparently Kitsu and Vista broke up." The first scientist answers.
"Why on earth, would I care about two teenager's relationship?" I suddenly take a deep interest in their conversation.
"Well, it's literally-" I listen in on the middle aged woman's excuses for filling her loneliness by focusing on the lives of others.
'Missy broke up with Kitsu?' I think to myself, suddenly growing angry as I think about how that idiot could've fumbled the ball with Missy. 'I hope she's as miserable as I am upset at her.'
How the hell do you screw up so much and so badly, that the girl who confessed to you, breaks up with you. And I know it's Missy who broke up with Kitsu. Kitsu's self esteem when it comes to her looks is damn near rock bottom. She's cute, sure, but in the way a little sister or a puppy is cute. She correctly thinks the only people who'd ever be interested in her romantically are pedos and furries.
'Should've cherished her more.' I think bitterly towards the girl who has everything I want, and is somehow fucking it up.
'You don't deserve it.' I think to myself, picturing Kitsu in my head. 'You were handed everything, and worked for nothing. Even when it came to keeping what you have, you always did the bare minimum. You were always wanted, you don't know what it's like to not be wanted. To know that no one wants you because of what you are.'
"Could you separate your arm from yourself?" The head researcher asks over the intercom.
I turn my eyes over to him and give a flat stare as I let my left arm slowly die at the joint. Separating with a wet squelch as it detaches at the ligaments. The appendage drops to the floor, before moving itself around at my command and flipping off the observation deck.
"Excellent. Next I'd like you to try-" And thusly, life goes on.
.
.
-Tuesday, October 26th, 4pm, Secret Location under the Commercial District-
.
.
Ivan "Ebon" Evans POV
.
"This is all sorts of sketch." Talon says from behind me as we wait in a beige walled room, centered with two red leather couches and a dark coffee table between them.
"I mean, so long as he pays us." I can picture Shiv shrugging.
"Try an be profession you two." I glare back at my two idiots. "If nothing else, don't forget, we're in his house. No telling what kind of toys he's got."
"Rather pragmatic of you." I turn back around to see the man of the hour as he walks out of a door on the back wall. "A seat?" He says, gesturing to the couch.
"You first." I tell him, to which he actually obliges with a nod and sits down on the couch opposing me.
"Alright then, Mr. Coil, you got our attentions." I tell the figure cloaked in a skintight black suit across from me, here in his underground bunker as I take a seat after him.
"Yes, picking up from what we've discussed before." He says, crossing one leg over the other and clasping his hands together. "In your short tenure here in this little corner of hell we call home, you've seemed to have managed to run afoul of Brockton's most notorious cape. Rather bad luck I'd say."
"I thought that was Lung?" Talon brings up a good point. "Far as I've seen, all the runt really does is go to school and record herself playing video games."
"I mean, she's a tricky little brat." Shiv says, leaning on the back of the couch as he spins his butterfly knife. "But I wouldn't call her the most notorious."
"We've been out of the loop a few months." I add in. "But I don't see how that's enough time to change the status quo so drastically."
Coil nods empathetically. Humming as he contemplates his next words.
"Allow me to put it this way, Lung fears Kitsu." He says like it's the most casual thing ever. "He's not likely to ever admit it, but if Kitsu ever turned her sights on the dragon, he'd flee the town."
"Bullshit." I call his bluff. "Lung fought an Endbringer on even ground."
"And Kitsu singlehandedly drove one back." He counters. "While she's most famous for her illusions and the cutesy act she puts on, she's also a dynakinetic and nearly invulnerable to all forms of harm that she doesn't expressly allow to occur to herself."
"Why the hell would she let herself get hurt?" Talon asks.
"Maybe she likes it?" Shiv suggests.
"Bruh, she's like, ten." Talon scoffs. "Don't be raro."
"Not being gross." Shiv defends. And then keeps running his mouth. "But if that's where you're going then ten is when I started-"
"Could you two not?" I sigh, looking back to the pair of idiots. "... thank you."
"A rather... charming group you associate with." Coil comments.
| Предыдущая глава |
↓ Содержание ↓
↑ Свернуть ↑
| Следующая глава |
