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[orangehoodie]

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[orangehoodie]

[What]

[give him a moment]




... Are those real?

[lowres]

I know they are very strange. I did not realize until my mother asked about them.

Are they frightening? [She has to worry about that.]

[orangehoodie]

... Are they flowers?

[He blinks. He's taking a bit to realize that her eyes now look flowery, but.]

I don't know, they look like the hairclip I gave you.

[lowres]

Am I no longer human, Ken? Do we know what the numbered truly are?

I do not feel any different, but these are not truly human, are they?

[orangehoodie]

... [He's quiet. He moves his hand to his hip, to the holster he at least remembered to put on and the Evoker there. He wonders how nobody stopped him with this on him, running down the street.]

... We're human.

We're human, Nadia.

[lowres]

I have always thought that we are good people. I have not met a single soul who I thought was bad. But we are not necessarily people at all. My hair and my eyes have changed, and I have never met a human who looks like this.

I am still Nadia, aren't I? And I am not scared of the things that are happening to me. I am not going to hurt anyone, and you would not either.

[orangehoodie]

[He gets to his feet. The blanket drops.]

You're still you.

I have a friend whose hair turned blue. He's still the same guy.

[lowres]

[A deep breath.]

... [And she realizes her hands are shaking, but she refuses to cry.]

I will not let him do something to us. I will not let him retaliate. I will convince him, then, if there is no one else who can.

I can't let him act against everyone. This is all my fault.

[orangehoodie]

[He's silent. Then he's picking up the blanket and rolling it up so it doesn't get dirty, and he's silent still as he grabs her by the hand and starts walking, briskly, toward the street.]

[lowres]

Where are we going? [Ken where are we going, it's dangerous isn't it?]

[orangehoodie]

Far away enough your dad can't hear. Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you -- just come with me.

[lowres]

I don't understand... [Is she going to get yelled at?]

[orangehoodie]

[He doesn't answer. He just takes her to somewhere away from the nearest houses, like a park or something, standing her behind a playground structure to hide her in case someone comes by. He drops the blanket over her shoulders, then takes a few steps back. His Evoker is in his hand now, and it glints a little in the dim light from the setting sun.]

You tell me after you see this, if you can still call me Ken or you think I'm not human.

[He hasn't summoned Nemesis in weeks. He takes a slow breath as he raises his Evoker.]

[lowres]

[That's a gun. She takes a step forward to follow him.]

What are you doing?! That's dangerous, you shouldn't--

[Oh god what is he doing?!]

[orangehoodie]

Stay there. It won't hurt me.

[The Evoker is pointed at his now, and he doesn't hesitate long before he pulls the trigger, and there's the sound of an explosion and shattering glass, and his head jerks with the force of the shot but what appears isn't blood but blue light, and then there's Nemesis, towering over him silently.]

[lowres]

[She is shaking badly now. Not because of Nemesis. Because she just saw her friend shoot himself. She'd moved forward, regardless of what he said, when he'd pulled the trigger.

And now she's making the last few steps with just a glance at Nemesis, and flinging her arms around his neck how dare you that's terrifying she thought you were going to die?!]

[orangehoodie]

[Wait. What? He wasn't expecting that. He's a little dazed from summoning Nemesis and he stumbles when she latches onto him, tripping over his feet

and falling. He throws his arms around her though so she ends up falling but he'll be able to cushion her fall.]

Nadia?

[lowres]

I thought you were hurting yourself! [She's not letting go.]

[orangehoodie]

[He is stuck on the ground with a girl on top of him. Oy vey. He lets Nemesis disappear, pushing himself up so he's at least sitting up even with Nadia still on him.]

I told you it wasn't gonna...

[lowres]

You shot yourself! [Jesus, Ken, that's kind of freaky.]

[orangehoodie]

... [He puts a hand on her back, though really he's just kind of placing his hand over her hair.]

I said it wasn't gonna hurt me.

Nadia, can you listen to me?

[lowres]

[She nods but she's sniffling as she pulls away from him to let him up.]

[orangehoodie]

[He stays sitting, and he just looks at her quietly.]

Her name is Nemesis. Right now, with the Evoker and just a word or two, I can kill someone or save their life if they're hurt. I can kill the electricity of this entire city, if I hit the right place. If I use this wrong, and hurt anybody with it, I'm a monster.

I remember my old self trying to kill someone.

But I'm still... me. I've had Nemesis since before I talked to you, but I'm still me, aren't I? You're not gonna change, either. It'll be okay.

No matter what your dad thinks, or what anyone says, we're not... freaks. We're not.

[lowres]

[She doesn't think she's able to think of Ken as a freak. He's her friend and he has been so kind and helpful to her, to think of him as anything but Ken is impossible.]

My father is a powerful man. I did not tell him who you were, just that a classmate was also numbered. My father is powerful, and if he hears that you are numbered, I am afraid... I am afraid he might try to cause something bad for all of us. Because he thinks we are strange and we might not be human, and we might be contagious...

No matter what, no matter what echoes you have, or powers or memories, you are my friend. So please, always remember that you are not a monster.

[orangehoodie]

You're not, either.

You don't have to protect me -- I'll protect myself because I don't want to ruin my dad's life.

[He shakes his head. Even if he's not a monster, he still can't shake off the feeling that he's nothing good.]

If your dad tries to do something, tell me. We're friends, right? You don't have to do anything alone.