The first few days were the hardest; although, the days that followed weren’t much easier. The closest things to interaction I had with my friends were me doing my job as the class representative and one partner warm-up in gym class. If not for Yui supporting me, I doubt I would have continued showing up. The ones that I nearly gave everything for found it all too easy to turn their backs on me. On the last day of one week, I sat alone during lunch — rice and some leftover meat from the night before. I found myself looking up and getting lost in thought.

  The plan wasn't perfect, I get that. What could I have done given the circumstances? It's not like my ability is all powerful. So why... why do I feel so guilty? Like I should have done more?

  "You know, one day, someone's going to put you in a lot of pain while you're lost in your own world."

  I snapped back to reality and looked around to see Denki and Kaori walking up.

  "Hey, guys," I said looking away.

  "How long do you and Chika plan on sulking around?" Denki asked as he stood in front of me.

  "Sulking? What do you mean? Aren't you all furious with me?"

  "I won't lie, Kazuma," Kaori responded. "After it happened, I didn't know what to feel. At first, I was scared and angry, but then everything started becoming clear. You brought us all together to keep us safe and to give us a network of friends that we could rely on. Even with everything that happened, none of us are shattered because of it thanks to what you helped us build." She gave a faint half-smile. "It was pretty cool once I thought about it that way."

  "Yeah," Denki added. "Something like what she said. It could have gone sideways really fast, and that's what had me rattled. That fear, though..." he looked at his hands. "That fear was something else, like a rush I'd never felt in my life. Once it was over, I had time to process it all. That's when it felt real; I didn't know how to react to it all, and I basically shut down."

  "What do you mean?" I asked without thinking.

  "What we did..." he started. "What we did was wrong — at least legally. Saving a couple of kids from drowning and helping the police find a guy they already had a warrant out for is one thing, but we got into a full-blown fight with armed men." He looked away and seemed to grit his teeth. "If anything had gone outside of your plan, people would have gotten hurt or died. Hell, the whole thing could've gotten pinned on us. I—"

  Denki paused; his words hung in the air for a moment. Then, he took a deep breath and let out a long sigh before looking at me once again.

  "I'm good in a match and apparently in a real fight, but I can't talk to people like you can. No one's really been the same since then. We've seen that we're stronger together, and the group isn't the same without you, buddy. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't think any of us can move forward without you." He held out his hand.

  I couldn't help but smile as I took his hand and stood up. He returned my smile with his own goofy laughing smile. As the leaves changed colors all around us, I felt like my own fate had changed. Before, I didn't have anyone to support me: there was only the mission every time until I died. In this life, however, I still had my precious family, and my dear friends. For a brief moment, I felt like I was on top of the world. The bell to announce the end of lunch rang, and the three of us walked back to our classroom.

  "The two of us aren't the only ones that realized what it would take to fix our group," Denki said as we walked. "Hiro was the first one to talk to me about it, believe it or not."

  "Given his hatred of conflict, that is surprising," I looked at him with wide eyes.

  "He knew good and well that he would have to fight whether he wanted to or not. At least that's what he told me. He misses his first real friend too, you know."

  I let out a soft chuckle. "You all welcomed him so quickly, I'm not sure I deserve the title of first friend."

  "Natsu is more conflicted than the others. He likes having someone around to antagonize when he gets tired of losing to me, but he knows that continuing to be around us will probably put a target on his and his sister's backs if things get out of hand."

  "I can't blame him for wanting to protect his sister," I said remembering my own promise to protect mine.

  "The biggest obstacles to bringing you back will be Rito, Nina, and Chika, probably in that order."

  "How do you figure that?"

  "Nina barely seemed to tolerate your existence to begin with," Kaori popped in. "And Chika, well... I'm sure she's pretty deeply hurt by you leaving her out, especially when it got so dangerous."

  "Rito feels like his ability killed both of them, and by extension he went from student to a double murderer in a single afternoon."

  That couldn’t be further from the truth. The only killer was Number 12, no, Angelica Grey who killed Kawasaki, but that's a problem for another day.

  "I see," I said looking off. "I guess I have a lot of explaining to do. I'll try to talk to Rito first, then."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Between classes, I caught up to Rito in the hall. He looked like he had barely slept since the brawl. His eyes met mine, and without argument, he accepted a conversation.

  "I guess you want to talk to me?" He sounded nearly dead to the world.

  "Yeah, if that's okay with you," I tried to smile to help him relax.

  "My issue with what happened isn't with you, Kazuma. It's—"

  "I know, buddy. Your ability." We were talking in low voices at this point since there were several people still in the halls. "I'm sure right now you hate it more than you've ever hated it."

  "You don't know the half of it. Your ability is something cool or useful. Mine? I either end up face-planting in girls' chests or between their legs, or I can end up killing people through some impossible chain of events. So yeah, hating it is putting it lightly."

  "My ability isn't some all powerful god mode, Rito, and yours didn't kill those two people. Your ability protected your life and the lives of those close to you. Before then, it had nowhere to direct itself, so I guess it just went a little crazy."

  He laughed. "Protected me? Went crazy? You realize how crazy all of it sounds still? When you told the three of us that we all had superpowers, I wanted to believe you. I guess I just got the shortest end of the stick there was — lucky."

  I grabbed him and pulled him in for a hug. "Your ability is the reason that none of us got hurt that day. I know you don't like it, but I want you to know that much. I can never express how thankful I am that you have your ability, Rito."

  He was too stunned to move, but he eventually returned my hug before pulling away. "I don't fully accept this ability, but I do feel slightly better now. I just wish I could have found a better way to tell Ino."

  "I understand, it's not easy telling those close to you," I smiled with my hand on his shoulder.

  "I feel bad for you, buddy. Girlfriends don’t like being left out, apparently. I had it easy telling Ino. You get to explain everything to Chika," he gave a timid smile.

  "I don't get why everyone is so adamant that we're a couple, but I'll figure out how to explain to her soon enough."

  The rest of the day went by quickly. Even though I tried a couple of times to get her attention, Chika still ignored me. The school day ended, and we all went to our clubs. The final meeting of the week was ultimately boring: random budgeting concerns and blueprints for the groundwork for the Hoenn City cross-high-school competition. I was barely able to catch Nina before she left the school.

  "Let me guess," she said in an uninterested voice. "You want to apologize about last week, ask for my forgiveness, and try to get our little group project back together."

  "Pretty much," I replied. "While I don't care to have your little attitude around, everyone in the group likes you, and we're still better off together."

  She spun around. "I'll show you my attitude. What the hell was all that about? Why didn't you just freeze and get everyone out, huh? Why did you point a gun at my brother's head? Don't lie to me and say you wouldn't have pulled the trigger. Did you just want to have the feeling of power? Or were you ready to throw it all away and go work for — "

  I slammed the wall by her head, and she stopped talking. I leaned in to where there was next to no space between our faces. "I'll tell you this, Hiasaka Nina. I am not a killer, nor would I ever lower myself to work for one. Even my own abilities have their limits. I am sorry that I had to terrify you and your brother, but like I said before, that's not who I am."

  "Those eyes of yours... They tell a different story. I want to disagree. Something in me tells me that you're a monster, or at the very least a feral beast." She was starting to shake, like she wanted to run but knew that she would never get away.

  I leaned and looked into her eyes. "Anyone can become an animal when cornered..." She tensed up and closed her eyes. I became aware of just how close her small face was to mine. I pulled away. "Just know that only those who pose a threat to me or the ones I hold dear will see what I'm really capable of. I hope that you can respect that."

  She nearly fell forward before catching herself. She looked up at me visibly flustered. "Fine, I'll come back to our little group project then. It'll be easier than getting my idiot brother to leave too." Before I could say anything else, she sped off.

  Well, that could have gone better, but seriously, what does she gain from trying to act tough like that?

  As I walked to the lockers to change my shoes, I saw Chika standing just outside the door, her gaze affixed to the sky. I quickly changed my shoes and went out to meet her. The sun was slowly falling and a cool breeze rushed by causing her hair to dance. She stood with her hands behind her back holding her little briefcase. She gave a quick glance over her shoulder as I walked up behind her. She seemed to give no protest to my joining her, and we set off together for the first time in what felt like forever.

  We walked in silence as the crimson sky hung overhead. The chilly autumn breeze flowed around us, and the smell of various hot brews being made filled the air. Something about the entire situation seemed almost magical. The only inhibitor was the fact that neither of us said a single word. When I would look at her, her gaze would be fixed on the ground in front of us; I was almost positive that she didn't look at me once. We got close to our homes when we passed by the park that we played in as children, where I saved Lucy's life, where she learned part of the truth about me.

  "Can we stop by the park?" I asked.

  "Okay," she responded quietly.

  We walked in and sat on the swings where we used to see who could go higher or jump further. They were lower than I had remembered, and the top of the swing set was closer to our heads than before. I didn't push much, instead allowing the natural movements of my legs to move me back and forth. Finally, I built up the courage to speak to her.

  "I know I have a lot to answer for.” I blurted out. “You deserve to know what's been going on, and I'm going to tell you even more... more than I've ever told anyone. If it backfires, I don't care. I want you to know everything." My words rushed out of my mouth like a broken dam.

  She looked at me half confused, but she nodded for me to continue. So I did... I told her the truth: how I had come from a dismal future, how I had been a monster that killed almost indiscriminately to serve a demon, how that demon turned on me. I told her how I came back from then, how everything that had been taken from me was in my arms again, how I had already changed the course of my life, and how those changes are bringing everything else about. I confessed my sins until dusk became night.

  "Kazu... I-I had no idea..." Her reaction was genuine, though reserved.

  "It's hard to believe, I know, but you're the first person I've told it to. I don't have any experience in making a dystopian hellscape seem less like fiction and more like a distant memory from the future." I stared at the ground, my mind replaying memory after memory that I had forced back up.

  "I forgive you," she said quietly.

  I turned to her in near disbelief. "Really?"

  "Mmhmm," she stood up and walked to me.

  I stood up and wrapped her small body in my arms. I felt her arms wrap around mine as well. Neither of us said a word. The street lights flickered on as the air got colder. After a few minutes of silent embrace, she pulled back.

  "The worst part of coming back, if I'm being honest, is having to see how cute you are and feeling so conflicted about being attracted to you."

  I looked up, and our eyes met. Her green eyes glistened in the evening light. Her face was red around the cheeks and nose. She quickly buried her face into my chest for another couple of minutes. At the end, however, she pulled back again with a certain smile on her face.

  "Now that I think about it, Kazu, isn't it kind of creepy for you to be in love with me? You're an old man inside that head of yours, after all."

  "Y—you little!"

  She started laughing to the point of tears, and I thought that I had made a mistake telling her the whole truth. It was only for an instant, though. She deserved to know, whatever it took to see her smile and to bring our group back together. A chilly breeze caressed my face, and we said our goodbyes before going home for the weekend.