Secret

"Is this kid trying to get himself killed?!?"

Shane and Nova both watched in shock as Akira continued to play with his life. He was too far into the Mechs' radius to go and save him now. Now, all they could do was pray he'd come back to his senses.

But that didn't seem like it was happening soon.

"Kahahaha--!!!"

Without hesitation, Akira launched himself forward, his movements a blur of motion as he closed the distance between himself and his opponents. The first robot swung its metal fist, but Akira danced effortlessly out of reach, his laughter echoing through the arena. With a roar of defiance, he struck out with his fists, the impact sending sparks flying as metal met flesh. Pain blossomed across his knuckles, but Akira welcomed it with open arms, his senses ablaze with a euphoria unlike any other. The robots fought back with a ferocity of their own, their blows raining down upon Akira like a storm of steel. But he cared not for the bruises that bloomed across his skin, nor the blood that dripped from his wounds. He was alive, truly alive, in a way that few could ever understand. As the battle raged on, Akira felt something primal stirring within him, a raw energy that pulsed with each beat of his heart. He was no longer a boy; he was a force of nature, a whirlwind of fury and pain that swept through the night with a relentless determination.

A particularly savage blow sent Akira crashing to the ground, his vision swimming as he struggled to rise. Blood dripped from his split lip, mingling with the dust of the deserted streets. Yet even in the face of defeat, Akira refused to surrender. With a defiant snarl, he pushed himself to his feet, his fists clenched tight with determination. He would not go down without a fight, not when there was still breath left in his body. With a primal scream, Akira launched himself back into the fray, his blows fuelled by a madness that knew no bounds. The robots faltered beneath his onslaught, their metal frames buckling beneath the force of his fury.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the wave was over. The robots lay broken and defeated across the battlefield, their once fearsome forms reduced to nothing more than scrap metal. He stood amidst the wreckage, his chest heaving with exertion, a triumphant grin spreading across his bloodied face. Nova was the first to confront the boy.

"Are you insane? You could hav-" But upon seeing Akira's expression, he couldn't form another word from his mouth.

Akira was giggling to himself like a little girl: smiling, repeating the same two words over and over again.

"Not...enough..."

After a short time had passed, the final wave began: the single Golden Mech that had caused trouble a significant amount of times now. Worried for the health of his apprentice, he sat the boy down on the pavement beside a fence and made sure the fight stayed away from him.

Surprisingly, the fight went well aside from some minor casualties, which had Nova in an elated mood. Checking back up on Akira, he noticed that the boy had already dozed off, so without hesitation, Nova hoisted him onto his back and took him home, where Shane attended to his wounds as best he could.

***

Around the same time, possibly sooner, probably later, in a prime and prestige household, Two entered an office, in which her master was awaiting her.

"Well?"

Two slowly made her way to the desk then sat in the chair across.

"Nova is...a homeless degenerate who has no hope of beating you, Sister."

"Is that so..." Ruthless responded with a pearly grin. She continued typing away at her computer before querying Two with another question. "At what of his relatives? Family?"

"None at all, Sister. Killing him won't be an issue."

"Good...But there's one more thing..."

"Yes, Sister?"

"When did you start lying to me?"

Two's blood ran cold and Ruthless' glare sent the sweats scurrying down her spine.

How did she know? When did she find out? Does she know of Akira? How much does she know? Will this get One involved? Does this mean my plan has failed? Was this my mistake?

A series of emotions circled her mind but one thought stood prominently.

What is going to happen to me?

***

Akira stirred awake. His head panged and he rubbed his temples over his bandages. Slowly regretting his performance out fighting the glitch, thoughts of Nova abandoning him took over and left him in remorse.

"Akira?" Nova entered the bedroom with a tray of cookies and milk in his hands.

[ Status Window

Name: Akira Emrys

Title: Gluttony

Status: Hungry ]

'As expected...'

"I figured you'd be hungry so I brought you something."

"Thanks."

The silence following was quite a deafening one.

"So, about yesterday..."

Akira swallowed. This wasn't something he could hide anymore.

"I-I can explain." After taking a deep breath, he proceeded to speak.

"I have some sort of disorder...like there's two forces inside of me. One is me, and the other is..." He pointed at his wounds. "...All of that. This is what caused the tension between me and Ruthia in the first place. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that-"

"That you're insane? Because that's what it sounds like."

Akira glanced away solemnly. This is how the world works, stand out and you get dropped. 

"I'm sorry, I'll leave first thing in the-"

"Huh? Are you crazy? Well, technically you are, but that's not the point- No, what I mean is that you're not going anywhere. You're my apprentice, right? Besides, who's gonna help me kick some big sister ass, am I right?"

The boy's eyes glowed with glee. Beings accepted was the highlight of his life at the moment and nothing could change that. 

"Are you crying?"

"Yeah."

Nova grinned upon hearing his reply. There were two in the same pack. Outcasts. Pushing them out of society brought them together, and that marked the beginning of an interesting union.