[HARU'S POINT OF VIEW]

"Thank you for accepting my invitation, 715." said Watanabe.

I sat down on the chair I had made using my barrier because I had been standing for a while now. "Well?" I started. "What is this about?"

She looked at me, her eyebrows narrowing in annoyance. "Quite rude of you to sit by yourself while I'm standing here."

"It's your fault for not bringing your own chair."

She scoffed at my statement. "Anyway, congratulations on receiving your first mission."

"I don't need you to roleplay as my mother. Why did you send us a request?" there was no problem with my patience but I really needed to hurry or my clubmates would find out about my bullshit.

She let out a chuckle as she walked to the side. "I've done a bit of research, you know? About you."

"Cool. What did you find out?"

Her hands were in the pockets of her blazer as she walked to the sides back and forth. Very relaxed— too relaxed even. At this point I didn't know whether her guard was down completely or she was laying a trap. "As your teacher, it is simply my obligation to know as much as possible about you." she stopped at the middle of the hallway and then faced me completely. "I heard that you're currently living alone in your apartment. And your relative is supporting you from abroad." after saying that, her lips curved upward even more.

I think I know where she's getting at.

I stood up casually as I erased the barrier I was sitting on. "You've done well, Watanabe."

She let out a devilish laugh. "What a cute little backstory you got there, huh? Ta..ka..ha..shi..-kun" she said mockingly. "Did you really think you could escape your past? It will stay with you forever, Takahashi-kun. No matter where you go. No matter how many times you restart. You will be nothing more than a failure of a tool. A defective product. You will never become a human like the rest of them." It was like she was dragging me down into a realm that I had been desperately trying to escape from. Unsure of what to do next, I decided to stay put and keep listening. I would compromise if I have to, but I really didn't know what I should do from this point on. After all, everything she just said was true. "You belong with us, 715. We are the ones who understand you. And we will be the only ones that you'll ever understand." she continued with a gentler tone, her grin was replaced with a smile. "Why are you doing all this? You're suffering unnecessarily, and you're getting innocent people caught up. Join us. We will handle everything. I just need your agreement, 715." All of me was screaming 'no'. I didn't want to go back. I like the way things are now and I have worked so hard to get here. The people who cared about me made sacrifices just so I could make my selfish wish come true. And more importantly, I made a promise. "Join us. For Tendou Mikari's sake, and yours as well."

Tendou Mikari. A worker from the organization's facility who had helped me escape and took care of everything for me when I moved to Kyoto. And even now, she's supporting me with my school expenses. It seemed that they'd found out about her and used her as leverage for negotiation.

A sigh escaped my lips as I looked her dead in the eyes. "Threaten or persuade me, pick one for fuck's sake."

Her smile quickly changed into a scowl. "It seems like there's no convincing you, 715." she said.

"Yeah, no. You almost made me tear up from your speech though, but as I thought, I really hate your guts."

Her eyes widened in anger and veins started to pop out on her face and neck. "Then you and your precious Tendou can die-"

Before the blade-shaped barrier could cut her in half, the giant shadow hand emerged from beneath our feet, destroying the second floor, and blocked it. She had her guard up the whole time after all. But my blade was unstoppable. No force in this universe could stop the motion of the barrier I created. She was sent flying through the glass window outside the building along with her ability, destroying the walls of the hallway in the process.

I laid a horizontal barrier to act as a bridge on the hole that she created and then crossed to the other side. I walked towards the shattered window where she fell but she wasn't on the ground below me. Had she ran away? Judging by her determination to skin me alive, not likely. The giant fist that came from above destroyed the ceiling and was only stopped when it hit the solid, glowing gold matter. The ground shook as the two entities collided, swaying the very building I was in.

I take it that she's no longer here.

The whole building had become a devastation. I summoned a horizontal barrier beneath my feet and used it to fly my way outside of the building. That was when I found Watanabe standing on the rooftop of the next building, gripping her wounded arm. She looked at me with unwavering rage and malice.

I descended where she was and landed on the rooftop with my feet, erasing the barrier. "Are you ready to die?" I asked.

She let out a chuckle. "You're gonna kill me, huh?" she said before bursting to laughter. "You.. you didn't change. You can't change."

I was annoyed so I decided to add some cuts to her body. Blood dripped from her arms and legs, tearing through her clothes as smaller variants of the blade barriers barely missed her skin. "I was trying, Watanabe." I walked closer to make myself clearer, and I also wanted to see her suffer up close. "Until you came along and destroyed everything."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Go ahead." she coldly replied with a blank stare. "Cut me to pieces like you did the people who raised you and taught you how to live." I wanted to end her right here. But after coming back to my senses, I figured that I needed to think carefully about my next move. If she dies here, I would be the only suspect. "What are you waiting for?"

Without taking my eyes of of her, I thought about all of our interactions together, from the night we met until now. If she was from the organization and all she wanted was to convince me to go with her, then the things she'd been doing and the way she talked to me contradicted it. She seemed to be so impatient about me and would be blinded by rage when things didn't go her way.

"Let me ask you some questions first." I said, she just gave me a sharp gaze. "How much of the organization managed to survive? Who is your new leader?"

She frowned at my words, but she looked more confused than angry. After letting out a sigh, she spoke. "Don't be cocky. Just finish me off while you have the chance."

Four spears made out of my ability appeared, hovering just above me and pointing directly at her heart. "You said it, Watanabe. I didn't change." I sent one spear towards her and as I expected, she blocked it with her ability. Turns out she still wants to live. It pierced through the shadow hand's palm, disappearing before it could hit her body. What surprised me though was her falling to her knees and screaming intensely while holding out her left hand as it bled. I had just discovered that any damage the shadow hand received would be reflected to her own left hand. "Why are you dragging me back to the organization?"

She panted heavily as beads of sweat trickled down her face that was contorted in pain. "W... What are you talking about?" she said with her remaining strength. Did I hear her right? I was pretty sure I did, but I stepped closer to clarify since she looked like she would no longer pose any threat. "Who said I was from that organization?"

I couldn't help but frown at her statement. "You're not? How come you know so much about my past?" I asked but she refused to reply, keeping her head down. "More importantly, who the hell sent you? Who are you working for?"

Only then did she lift her face to look at me. "We don't have time to pretend like normal people, 715." said Watanabe, out of breath.

I carelessly crouched down to her level and put a hand on her shoulder. "Is there a reason why you can't answer my questions?"

The light in her eyes faded before she could answer. It shut as her body collapsed to the floor. Well, it wasn't like she was going to say anything useful anyway. I let her fall to the ground unconscious as I stood up and looked around me.

The building next to us was half demolished, but at least it wasn't completely destroyed. The sun was setting and the place was getting darker, the chaos had suddenly been replaced by utter silence. It was a good thing that this place was abandoned and not a soul was present—or so I thought.

Footsteps followed by an unfamiliar sigh broke the silence.

"Gosh, how useless can she be?" a man came out of nowhere and walked over to Watanabe. At first glance, one would think that he was your everyday salary man with his formal attire and gentle demeanor. He looked at me before turning his eyes to Watanabe. "This sister of mine is a handful, isn't she?"

This building had at least ten floors and we were at the rooftop. I didn't see him coming through the rooftop door, did he climb all the way up? What was his ability? He mentioned Watanabe being his sister, did he have a similar ability as her? Blood-relation or DNA didn't have the slightest effect on what the ability of a person would be, so that was unlikely. I observed him as he crouched down to Watanabe's level and placed his hand on her forehead. "And who are you? Are you here for a fight as well?" I asked him.

Ignoring my question, his eyes remained looking at Watanabe's face. His defenseless stance was making it very easy for me to kill him on the spot too, but it seemed that he didn't care at all. "She passed out because of pain, didn't she?" he spoke softly, his hand still on her forehead. "That's very unacceptable, you know?" All of a sudden, Watanabe's eyes shot wide open, her back arched and she screamed like no one did before. She grabbed the man's wrist that was at her forehead but he refused to let go. She writhed in pain and agony but all she could do was scream and struggle in vain as tears and sweat soaked her face. And when he removed his hand from her head, she stopped screaming and fell to the floor like a vegetable, eyes wide open and catching her breath. "Hi! Are you finally awake now?"

She nodded desperately but was unable to speak.

"Great!" he responded before standing up and looking at me. "Now then... Takahashi-san, am I right?"

"Yes."

He cleared his throat and adjusted his necktie. "Nice to finally meet you in person, Takahashi-san. You see, I... don't have a name." he said, I felt that this person was even more dangerous than he was letting himself out to be. "I wish I could introduce myself to you, but it is truly unfortunate." he added with a static smile.

From what I saw, I still had absolutely no clue about what his ability was. On top of that, he said that he didn't have a name.

"Is Watanabe really your sister?" I asked as I looked at her trying her best to get up.

"Sadly, yes." he answered, not even throwing a glimpse at Watanabe. "But keep it a secret for now, please."

"I am more than willing to forget about you and her if you'll leave me alone." I said. This guy gave off a different vibe. I was sure there was something disgustingly sinister behind that smile of his and I would rather stay out of his business.

He chuckled at my words and scratched his head. "I'm afraid we can't do that."

I fought the urge to gulp. "Why not?"

My alertness was heightened when he suddenly raised his hand. The snap of his fingers reverberated in the air before rhythmic thuds filled the silence. It was coming from below the building we were on—or rather, within the building itself. "I sent my dear sister to..." he spoke again amidst the growing noise. "persuade you into joining our ranks. One of the worst mistakes I've made. You can't really trust her with anything after all." After a few seconds, I realized what the noise really was. Something huge was climbing this building. "We can't tell you the details unless you decide to join us, but I can tell you this much." Massive claws dug to the side of the rooftop and then the monster finally dragged its body up, revealing itself. That familiar demonic eyes, its gigantic body, deadly claws. There was no doubt. It was the same kind of monster that attacked our school. "We need your powers, Takahashi-san. And we will never stop until you become ours." After saying that, the giant monster grabbed Watanabe's body and bowed its head to the man, probably offering a ride.

"You sound awfully confident, sir."

He laughed at my statement. "It's one of my good traits, they say." he replied before standing on the monster's enormous shoulder. "Soon enough, we will succeed."

I looked at the monster he just summoned. "Was it you who sent those monsters to my school? Is it your ability to control them?"

The monster turned its body, ready to descend from the rooftop when the man looked at me one last time. "Maybe." he replied. "Anyway, how's the man you rescued earlier?" he asked before that familiar grin that Watanabe usually wore crossed his face. "I hope he's better now."

[END OF CHAPTER]