Chapter 9: Hydrokinetic Versus Pyrokinetic
I
The Boss made them promise to keep to their word. Kanna complained loudly about getting involved in turf wars and how it wasn’t right for the ANGeLS to be part of something so troublesome, though secretly Junshin found it fascinating how the underworld of SeRAPH life functioned. The many delinquents had their own subculture in the SeRAPH underground and constantly partied in a nightlife district that involved information mongering and secret exchanges and turf wars that honestly, sounded like fun in the student life, as long as the activities didn’t turn criminal. Junshin convinced himself that he would join only to monitor the activities and make sure they didn’t go too far, though sometimes he wondered if Kazuki would approve of such behavior and he shivered at the thought of his brother clouting his ear for thinking of falling in with a ‘bad crowd’. Currently, as it stood, though, the Boss seemed reasonable enough, though Kai seemed ever disapproving as he ushered them out and glared for good measure.

Shizuya put his hands behind his head before saying, “That went well, dontcha think?”

“Well? You think so?” Kanna said s she jabbed a finger toward Shizuya’s chest and launched a serious attack of jabs. “What a joke! You never take things seriously, Shizuya and it’s led to this! First thing you did was rope me into listening in on Reito-sensei, second of all, you make me part of a gang’s turf war thing, and what are you going to make me do next? Do something so illegal that my ancestors collective sins pale in comparison and they all turn over in their graves?”

“Don’t you worry about it,” Shizuya said with a grin, before he waved a hand. “Listen up and listen good, we gonna talk to people around the campus and see what else they know.”

“We’ve got a good network of people to rely on, including resources we wouldn’t otherwise have if it weren’t fo Shizuya,” Hina said with a smile.

“Ugh,” Kanna said. “Shizuya is not an upstanding citizen or role model to admire, Hina! Don’t you get it?”

Hina winked again.

“Make use of everyone, no matter who they are. Everyone has something to contribute.”

“Mmhm,” Rika mentioned, before she idly took out a book from her pocket dimension storage space and furrowed her brows a bit. “Funny. I was wondering about something.”

Junshin looked toward Rika. “What is it?”

“I think we should confirm something,” Rika said. “About the Telepath Master. There is something that is bothering me about him, though I don’t have enough evidence to support the truth of the matter.”

“We will help,” Junshin said with a nod, while the rest of the group fell in line to say their agreements.

“How are we going to do all this while getting caught up with hot blooded morons who think of nothing but fighting?” Kanna said while she complained.

"It’s very simple, actually,” Shizuya said with a grin. “The boss told me a tip that leads back to some interesting info.”

“Oh?” Rika said, folding her arms and looking subtly intrigued.

“Yeah,” Shizuya said. “It’s pretty good. “They said that they saw a suspicious vehicle carting around something. They saw something that looked like a container of gas and boarded it on the truck before transporting it somewhere. I think that’s the tip we need to check things out.”

“But how do we know this tip is reliable?” Kanna complained.

“Who cares, if it means we get to go out and kick some ass and chew bubblegum and we’re all outta bubblegum, then I’m all for it,” Shizuya said with a bloodthirsty grin on his face as he launched himself into the air using his Astrakinesis. “We’ll fly all over Tokyo to find this suspicious truck, got it? Meet up at the fountain in school if you’ve found anything.”

With that, Shizuya flew off without waiting to hear answers, while Rika put a hand to her cheek and shook her head.

“Mm. Reckless as ever, I see,” Rika said.

“Haa?” Kanna said, before she narrowed her eyes at Rika. “You need to put that boy on a tighter leash! You let him associate with delinquents for one, and second of all…”

“I know,” Rika said softly. “But Shizuya changed from who he once used to be.”

“But what if he falls into corruption again?” Kanna said while gesturing with her hands wide. “You just let him run wild like a loose canon and he’s probably going to cause the universe to implode or something with his gravity bending powers.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Rika said seriously.

“And I won’t either,” Hina said, stepping in to support her friends. “Kanna-chan, I know that your heart is in the right place, but you need to learn how to trust a little more, you know? Not everyone is a corrupt individual wishing to do evil by everyone.”

“I-I know that!” Kanna said with a flustered blush, before she blew some wispy strands off shaggy hair out of her cerulean blue eyes. “But don’t come crying to me if it comes biting you in the ass! I know that Rika is the Walking Calamity if the School, though if Shizuya were to take advantage of her mentorship and rend destruction on everyone and everything, it would be on your hands! You understand?”

“You’ve known Shizuya how long?” Rika said while raising a brow. “Of course, I do take some precautions, I’m not a complete fool, though Shizuya has earned his trust, don’t you believe so?”

“Bawh,” Kanna said as she frowned and turned away. “Nobody ever agrees with me! Just consider how I feel for once!”

Hina put a gentle hand on Kanna’s shoulder, who turned away with a huff. “Listen, Kanna. You’re a valuable member of our team as well. Your contributions are commendable. But we have to work together as a team and work as a cohesive unit to catch the real bad guys out there. Ne?”

“All right,” Kanna said with a groan. “Let’s go.”

They all scattered in various directions, scouring the Tokyo towertops from above with their soaring abilities. Junshin traveled further out, trying to note the description of the truck and the strange people smuggling contents in the vehicle.

Junshin noted a suspicious truck traveled among the highway to another location, wheel crunching against the concrete. He scanned the area with his Telepathy, reading the thoughts drifting from the user in the truck. He could feel the emotions and thoughts of his other teammates as they honed in on this particular detail much liked blood hounds scenting a quarry, realizing that there was something important about this vehicle. It swerved on the road as Junshin pursued it running at supernatural speeds, jumping from the tall towers of Tokyo and parkouring off the buildings to descend down on the truck. The driver immediately stopped, before opening fire on Junshin without warning.

He deflected the bullets away with his bare hand, using a certain angle to swipe them away from his body as he forcefully opened the door and held the driver in a head lock.

The rest of the ANGeLS caught up, and Shizuya whistled in approval.

“Nice moves, Fujimoto.”

Rika nodded as she casually made her way to the other side of the truck and told person inside, “We will be investigating what’s inside the truck. If you cooperate with us we will possibly lessen your sentence. You’re under arrest for suspicious transportation of an unknown material.”

“Think it’s poison gas?” Shizuya said as Hina opened up the back doors and saw a capsule within the back of the truck, silver and chrome with a fine tuned polish that wheezed frigid air.

“The people in the car don’t know what it is they’re even transporting,” Hina said. “Seems suspicious, all right, and worth investigating.”

“Ha!” Kanna said, before she grinned rather manicly. “I knew I could smell out a criminal when I see one. We’re onto something here.”

“Check this out,” Hina said, as the capsule eventually unlocked itself and revealed a perfect replica of a teenage girl resembling Kobayashi Rika, with black hair loosely fanning out with her arms crossed in a straight jacket. Hina frowned as the replica fell forward and lay awkwardly sprawled on the ground.

“This is…creepy,” Shizuya whispered as he looked at the Rika clone and then to Rika herself. “What is this?”

“I don’t know, but I think we have a certain pair of gentlemen that are up for an investigation,” Rika said grimly as she took the other man out from the car and had him by the arm to make sure that he didn’t escape. “Do you know what this is, Sir?”

“I don’t know!” the man said. “We don’t know nothing, see. We were simply driving along and don’t know anything about this! If we knew we were transporting contraband that the ANGeLS would come for us for, we wouldn’t have gone for such a job.”

“Lucky for you you could possibly provide us with information,” Rika said. “Who told you transport that person? And who are you working for?”

The man held up his hands, looking panicked.

“Look, if I talk, then…I can’t tell you.”

Rika looked to her other team members, who gathered around while Junshin still had the gun happy driver in a submission hold.

“You might have to go for the thought Corps to have your memories scoured,” Rika said, a sour expression on her face when the man wasn’t relenting. You’re in illegal possession of something and involved in human trafficking. Junshin, I will take these two men to SeRAPH and report to Reito. In the mean time, you stay with the rest of the team and scour the area for other clues. I think that we’re just one hint closer to finding our ‘x’ factor. Good eye, by the way, Fujimoto.”

Junshin flushed a bit. “Thanks.”

Before it seemed like things could be wrapped up conveniently, Junshin sensed a surge of energy ripple throughout Tokyo’s powergrid and cause a monstrous shake in the earth itself and the foundations of the housing and concrete. Junshin shivered, his hair standing on end as he saw an approaching Psion flying toward them at Mach speed, hurtling toward Junshin and colliding with him through several buildings, causing him to black out and see stars spiraling over his head.

The hell just happened? Junshin thought dazedly, before he heard a dark chuckle against his ear.

“This is only the beginning of your punishment,” the Psion criminal said with ominous promise. “Shouldn’t you SeRAPH do gooders be in school doing your homework?”

Junshin pushed the male off of him, who back flipped away and then floated above him as though he were looking down upon a pitiful mortal as an all seeing God. The redhead frowned, feeling his hands trembling at the sheer power of this criminal who spouted geysers from the Earth, calling down the rain from the clouds above and causing it to drizzle and cause a massive downpour that drenched Junshin’s locks and clothes soaking wet against his pale, clammy skin. A Level 5 Hyrdrokinetic? Seems like this would be rather troublesome to deal with.

Junshin ran a hand through his sopping wet hair, trying to think. Technically his pyrokinesis burned through everything—though a good Hydrokinetic would simply negate his Pyrokinesis just as he negated their abilities. Still…he didn’t want to rely on HIM. He would do anything but that. He made a promise to his brother, and he didn’t intend on breaking it. “What are you transporting in that capsule?”

“None of your business,” the Hydrokinetic said, spitting a projectile toward Junshin, to which he dodged neatly as the spittle hit a concrete building like a shattering explosive of water, causing spiderwebs of cracks and shrapnel to chip off the construction site. Junshin didn’t even flinch, though he dried himself off by heating his skin and body temperatures to dry off from the cold rain, looking up toward the iron-bound skies as he narrowed his eyes. “Be a good little boy and listen to your elders. Make sure that you clean up after yourself after you eat. But most importantly, remember to follow the rules: might makes right, kill those who serve no use, and fight till you have no breath in your body!”

“Ah,” Junshin said as he trembled, though it wasn’t in fear. No, it was in rage, a rage that he wished didn’t come nearly erupting out of him, criminal or no. It meant he would be weak again. It meant he wasn’t strong enough to hold back the monster that threatened to emerge out of him.

“Well?” the Hyrdrokinetic said, shooting out a few more spittle bullets that collided into the building behind Junshin as Junshin still quaked with barely restrained fury. The dynamite blasts of the spittle causing more explosive impacts against the building caused the building to crumble behind Junshin, dropping from it’s foundations and then down to the ground.

The Hydrokinetic postured aggressively, legs spreading wide in a stance like a tiger waiting to leap and maul his throat. Junshin swallowed, ignoring the pelting rain and cold and shards of ice mingling with the rain as his Pyrkinesis melted and sizzled the rain and ice shards from the sheer heat of his skin and Aura. His Aura blazed like a bonfire, glowing a bright brilliant red and shimmering orange like an ember in the night, before he clenched his hands into fists, biting his lip. He heard the relentless call of the Id within his own mind, who mocked and taunted him as surely as his opponent did in the physical world, though the Id disassociated him from the world of sights and sounds and smells and tastes and feeling and into a more cerebral world and reality that made him feel like nothing more like a ghost, a spectator of his own body. He knew that the thing inside of him wanted control. He knew that, if he weren’t vigilant enough, that the tragic incident that happened years ago could happen again.

“Don’t you realize that the unwanted child would eventually burn down the village to feel its warmth?” The Hydrokinetic said, smirking in self satisfaction as he saw Junshin suck in a breath and wince, pinching his eyes shut to try to maintain his meditative calm but failing. “Awh, did I pinch a nerve there? Maybe your father died in vain and failed you. He failed you while your brother is the golden child of the family, doing the things that you couldn’t, the one who had to shoulder the blame while you., like a coward, lived your sheltered little life underneath his protection and secrecy!”

“I’m sorry,” Junshin said through numb lips as the rain continued to pelt, sizzle, and disappear and melt away from his Aura. “I can’t apologize enough for what I did.”

“If you were really sorry,” the Hydrokinetic said, spitting another shot straight to Junshin’s face. Junshin made no move to deflect it, but his Aura sizzled and melted it away as the explosive after effect causined searing heat to flare up and rise like tendrils of coiling snakes around him. “You would tell the truth.”

“I’m not brave like my brother,” Junshin said. “I’m not a hero like my brother…that is true. Though you know, I’ve done my best to do right ever since that day.”

“You reap what you sow,” the Hydrokinetic quoted at him, no smiles now, just somber expression and narrowed eyes. “Do you remember? The Great Blaze of Tokyo? The Calamity that almost ended the world?”

Junshin looked at his upended trembling hands, saying nothing.

“The Naturals remember. They view us as monsters because of what YOU did. Leaving your brother to overwork himself to make up for your ill deed, that killed millions. For every life that you stole—for everything that you’ve destroyed—you must pay.”

Junshin said nothing, his fists still clenched and bowed his head. The rain sizzled around his aura and pattered on the concrete around the ruined jungle of skyscrapers and concrete structures of Tokyo, pounding and pelting like bullets and gunfire. He should’ve made that apology years ago, should’ve paid off for his sins sooner, though instead his brother sheltered him from all that knowledge and heartbreak and gave him a comfortable life while millions of other people who were affected by him and his mistake were left to suffer. In all good conscience, Junshin knew it was his fault, even if it wasn’t under his control and it was the Id that monitored his actions at the time, though Junshin knew, somewhere deep down, that some primal part of himself reveled in the destruction.

A child who is rejected by the village will eventually burn it down to feel its warmth.

He was no longer that small child, feeling alone in the world with his brother Kazuki after their father died. If it weren’t for Kazuki, then Junshin wouldn’t have the life that he would have now. He wouldn’t have the advantages and privileges that Kazuki’s constant heroisms allowed him to have.

“The Naturals may not be as long-lived as we Psions,” the Hydrokinetic said, spitting to the side, though it wasn’t a bullet empowered spit this time. “But they have history and records and digital information that will far outlive them. And suppose that information about you were to be leaked and encoded to the world in a live broadcast where there will be a manhunt for you and your brother? The hero will become the scorned tyrant, while you are a scapegoat for all the ills in the world. You are the world’s Calamity, Junshin. Therefore…that is why…you must die.”

Mother…Father… Junshin thought, trembling and feeling the battle lust urges of the Id thrumming through his veins like a taut violin string ready to be plucked. I’m sorry.

“You will stop me, right?” The Hydrokinetic said. “Defend these poor defenseless citizens of Tokyo. Even if they may secretly revile you, you still held an oath to protect them. But for what purpose? You hold unlimited power within you that is unnecessarily restrained by a morality that the ANGeLS preach like some do gooders crusading across Japan hoping that they will win the hearts of millions.”

The Hydrokinetic laughed, leaving Junshin to unclench his fists and stare dejectedly down at the ground as the laughing fit continued for about five minutes, before the Hydrokinetic tilted his head and said. “Alas. Things are not so simple, are they?”

“It was my fault, yes,” Junshin said softly, trying his hardest to repress his inner self that wanted to erupt forth from his body like a surging volcano of psionic energy and a maelstrom of torrential emotional outbursts and tempests that would batter and render the world asunder like the wrath of the proverbial God. “If there is anything that I can do to atone for what I did, I don’t know what it is. But there must be some reason that I was spared and allowed to live.”

“You’ve outlived your welcome, Junshin,” the Hydrokinetic said, his face become a nasty caricature of it’s former handsome visage. “I hope you remember…even if you take me down, there will be more like me coming out of the woodwork to infest your cushy home, the sanctuary of Tokyo. Such a peaceful and agreeable people, aren’t they? But you…no, you are something other, even among us Psions.”

Junshin trembled, still saying nothing though the Hydrokinetic’s words visibly got to him more to more while the Id continued to rage and incessantly call out with a thrill for bloodlust.

“So what are you going to do, Fujimoto?” the Hydrokinetic said, grinning manically and cocking his head to the side to peer into Junshin’s face up close. “Huh? What do you propose to do? Do you want another tragedy like the Great Blaze of Tokyo to happen again because you couldn’t ‘control’ yourself, or are you going to spare the lives of the innocent have your greatest secret and cowardice revealed to the world?”

Junshin clenched his hands into fists again, swallowing. He remembered full well what happened that day. The charred buildings, the melted faces, the smell of singed skin and hair cursing the air itself. Junshin wanted to will those images away, to keep them hidden in the deep dark attic of his mind where monsters dwelled, but just as the Proverbial Wrath of God cursed sinners, his proverbial demons lingered in the haunted spaces of his mind as he lay awake every night gasping for air, willing himself to sleep but only reawakening from a fresh nightmare of his trauma.

I’m running away again, aren’t I? Junshin thought, head bowed. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t let Kazuki handle everything on his own. Because even heroes need someone to hold them up, even if it’s someone like me. I’m his little brother.

“I’m committing to this fight,” Junshin said calmly, stopping his tremors and clenching his hands into fists. “To protect its people. Not for ego or valor or to run away, but because there are people in need. And I’m here to answer their call.”

“Oh, very good, very good!” the Hydrokinetic said as he clapped his hands, giving a round of applause to the ‘savior of Tokyo’ who would save the innocents from the monster that wrecked the landscape. “But if you don’t call upon the power within you that originally razed Tokyo to the ground, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to defeat me.”

“I don’t need that kind of power,” Junshin stated, before he launched forward at a high speed toward the Hydrokinetic, flame empowered burning fist aimed directly toward the Hydrokinetic’s face. The Hydrokinetic appeared to take the attack full on—before his entire body seemed to disintegrate and melt into a liquid form and pull into the drizzling rain. His water ‘construct’ slithered through the gaps and cracks in the upended concrete of destroyed rubble caused by him, before he rematieralized again as himself on the far end of the battlefield, gesturing with his arms open wide.

Junshin gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes toward the Hydrokinetic that spread geysers through the city scape, causing ruptures in the concrete and manholes where the water spewed forth. Junshin flew from his hovered position in the sky and hurtled toward the Hydrokinetic, blasting Pyrokinetic fire toward the Hydrokinetc at full blast to see if he could liquify again like he did. The Hydrokinetic grinned, before he warped out of the way with his telekinetic abilities enhancing his steps, before he called out, “Hey, hothead, you think you’re gonna rescue this city, these people? If you don’t have the guts to take me down, then I’m gonna kill you first!”

The Hydrokinetic hurtled toward Junshin again, launching himself against the redhead and blasting him into the ground and punching him multiple times, forming a crater in the ground and punching Junshin’s face, causing him to cough up spittle and blood. The more the Hydrokinetic launched a furious flurry of punches a gainst his face, the harder he punched, and Junshin swore he jarred a few teeth loose from the impact of the Hydrokinetic’s hateful punches.

Junshin gripped the Hydrokinetic during mid-punch with one arm, attempting to sear his Pyrokinetic fire into his skin and preventing the Hydrokinetic from making a damned water construct, to which the Hydrokinetic yelped in pain, launching a right hook to Junshin’s ear to jar himself loose before jumping away and rubbing his burned arm. Junshin saw stars spiraling behind his eyelids, a bright flowre of pain blossoming where his temple was, as though a gunshot exploded into his brain. Junshin lay limp for a few moments and the Hydrokinetic panted a few distances away, becoming more cautious now that Junshin figured out the trick behind his water construct. Junshin knew he had to get in close and make physical contact with a fiery punch of sear him with flames so he wouldn’t make a water construct, though honestly this would be a damned hard thing to do, especially since Psions, both ANGeLS and villains, weren’t one trick ponies.

Junshin sat up, steadying himself as he balanced himself on his spindly legs. The Hydrokinetic snarled at Junshin, saying, “You think you can get me with cheap tricks like that? And here I thought you do-gooders played by the rules.”

Junshin said nothing, though he put a hand to his right temple and tried to quell the pulsing and pounding there to ease the pain. His vision started to black out at the edges, though he knew he needed to do something to keep the citizens of Tokyo safe. That, and he couldn’t rely on the powre that caused the near Calamity of the world to defeat this criminal.

He couldn’t rely on anyone else to help him.

“Well?” The Hydrokinetic said, swirling water around him and creating a water globe around himself to heal the burned wound against his arm. Junshin watched as the burn mark disappeared, turning into smooth, clean flesh again. “Now I’m pissed.”

Junshin looked toward the Hydrokinetic, before saying, “You could help people with your power.”

“So?”

“So…why are you…”

“Why am I a criminal?” the Hydrokinetic said with a cocky smirk. “I hate self-righteous do-gooders like you. I hate the ANGeLS, the insufferable pricks. But most of all, I hate anyone who gets in the way of my Master’s Agenda.

Junshin remained silent for a moment, wondering what this person’s agenda was. It seemeed this person had a personal vendetta against him, and seemed to know his secret. Shame flushed over Junshin’s face as he recalled the memory of burned bodies and flesh, singed hair and molten buildings turning into ash. He started to tremble, his balled fists unloosening and eventually lifting his tremblings hands to his face while the Hydrokinetic smiled at this display.

“Do you remember? The fire, the burning, the endless red, the pillars of flesh?” the Hydrokinetic said, before letting out a raucous laugh as more water geysers gushed up from the manholes in the broken, derelict part of the city where the Hydrokinetic and Junshin duked it out. “It was a majestic sight, all right. Just watching the world burn. Seeing the Naturals die. And putting a dark stain on Kazuki’s legacy that he tried to make up for.”

“Who are you?” Junshin said, peering closely at the Hydrokinetic that stopped laughing for a moment, who cocked his head and eyed him with a wide eye glance.

“Me, I’m no one,” the Hydrokinetic said. “I’m no one and everyone. I’m the collective souls of the dead, come to reap them and ferry them off to the Underworld. But you, you can’t let that happen, can you?”

Junshin said nothing as he lowered his trembling fists to his sides, swallowing hard.

“Why are you doing this?” Junshin inquired.

“The only reason why I’m doing this is for prestige or honor in my organization,” the Hydrokinetic said seriously. “Defeating the brother of Kazuki is like striking at the Symbol of Peace himself. If if I take you hostage…Kazuki will definitely come in pursuit. Now be a good little boy and come with me or you might get hurt.”

Junshin struggled against the Hydrokinetic’s pinion hold, not wishing to unleash the power that caused so much destruction and hurt to innocents. This person was a villain, true, but Junshin wasn’t a sadist. Not like this person. Though some part of him, the Id, whispered in his ear the seductive lure of power and that everyone in the world was out to hurt him. That they rejected him. That he was no one to be loved, that no one would ever care for him like he did. Even if his brother was his only living relative and contact that helped him, spared him from the cruelty of others, the Id whispered seductive lulls in his mind that giving into the sweet sensation of power would make him grow so much stronger that no one would be able to hurt him ever again.

No one would be able to harm me, Junshin thought. No one would hurt me or my loved ones. I…I wish I could believe that. But Id…I don’t have to rely on you. I have my own power.

Give in, the Id whispered, seductively, almost lovingly. You are my beloved host and once I feast upon the corporeal senses and pleasures of this world, I will reign down destruction. You will become something other, you will be a God. The Hydrokinetic is right, Junshin—even among your kind, your destiny wasn’t aligned with the likes of the ordinary. It is tied together with me

You sound like a religious cult leader, Junshin thought sourly, before he looked toward the Hydrokinetic who started to strangle him with a telekinetic chokehold, pinioning his limbs and arms and body into place. Junshin struggled to breathe and couldn’t move, suspended into the air like a broken marionette as the Hydrokinetic laughed again.

“Look at you,” the Hydrokinetc said. “Looking absolutely dog water pathetic. Don’t you think that you should do something about this? Why won’t you fight? Why won’t you resist? Why don’t you put heart into your fight, Fujimoto?”

Junshin said nothing, attempting to twitch his fingers, though the telekinetic pinion held him in place.

See? The Id taunted him while the Hyrdokinetic held him into place. You are nothing without me. Give in. Rely on my power. I can break out of this as easily.

“What you don’t seem to understand…” Junshin said, wondering if this was to the Hydrokinetic, the Id, or himself. “Is that there is something called resilience and willpower. And even if I’m a coward, even if I did something horrible so many years I can’t possibly atone for, I have the will to live—and somehow, this will to live, this burning desire for survival, means that I will redeem myself and do good in the world.”

Junshin’s eyes flashed, before he broke out of the Hydrokinetic’s telekinetic stranglehold and floated in the air, rising above and looking down upon the Hydrokinetic now. “I won’t be going with you to your Master. I’m sorry for what I did in the past. Though you know…I’m not going to become someone’s puppet. Not your Master’s, not the monster inside of me, not even SeRAPH. It was my choice to stand by them—because of this, I wanted to do some good as a hero.”

“You want to play at being a hero now?” the Hydrokinetic said with crazed laughter. “Hahahaha! Oh my God, this is too rich! You’re nothing but a rampaging murderer, a walking time bomb that will bring about the Ruination of this world. Our Master foresaw this, you and those other Calamities you have in your school. Do you ever wonder why SeRAPH has such a tight monitor on students like you?”

Junshin said nothing, but bowed his head. “They’re training us restraint and control over our powers. How to use them for the benefit of others, rather than to harm.”

“Then you should also know,” the Hydrokinetic said. “That you’re a waste of talent. That you’re crippled by restraint. If you do nothing with all that power within you, why was it bestowed upon you? Why did something like the thing inside of you grace its powers to you?”

“I never wanted it,” Junshin said.

“Oh, but aren’t you relying on the Id, even now?” the Hydrokinetic said with a slasher smile on his face. “You believe that what you’re doing is of your own willpower, but if it weren’t for the Id graciously loaning you his power, you would’ve been stuck like a pinned fly by my telekinesis. So don’t pretend that it’s your own power that you’re using.”

Junshin said nothing, though sadly shook his head. “Maybe it’s not my own power that I’m using,” he said slowly. “Though, I made a promise to myself that I won’t rely on it. The thing inside of me…the Id…is something that is dangerous. Uncontrollable. There’s no way that we can work together or agree on anything, and having another voice and personality inside of my head drives me insane at times.”

Junshin bowed his head.

“But you know…the Id has always been there with me, since birth. Sometimes he says crazy insane things, sometimes he berates me, sometimes he says even nice or reasonable things. I don’t even know how to react to something like that that is ingrained into my own psyche and personality. But now that I’ve found a home, people who love me as I am, a place I can call home, I will do everything that I can to protect the peace.”

“That is your failure,” The Hydrokinetic said. “And it will be your greatest regret. To spurn a gift that will elevate you to Godhood itself…why would you reject something like this? Every man wants a taste of power—and once he’s acquired it, he will seek more and more of it, becoming drunk on its potency.”

“I won’t become that person,” Junshin said, looking up toward the sky. “I’m…I…I wont let my friends down. It doesn’t matter that I have a key to Godhood or whatever inside of me. What I want is a normal life…some friends…maybe a wife that I will marry one day…but other than that…I just want to understand this world in all its complexity, all its secrets and notions and beauty and truth. I wanted to seek out the truth of my past, the truth of the thing inside of me, though I won’t rely on your or your Master to acquire the answers.”