Project
-XENONIA SILVERSWIFT-
CHAPTER - 02: "The Anti-Hero PART 2"
...
I don't know what's going on. All I know is that my head is spinning.
I did just headbutt a man unconscious. Of course the aftermath wouldn't be so pleasant.
It's odd, however. Normally when I do an act of "justice", I don't go overboard like that. I don't know what is my deal today. This whole day is overwhelming. Even though the morning started off rough since I was on a rush, knowing mother is fine today had seemed to soothe it out a bit.
But then this whole thief chase had me upset again..
Now I honestly think that it just won't end very well.
Just a gut feeling.
I observe my surroundings after my head cleared up a bit and retrieve the items I came here for. The purse. I also dialed 911 to get this crook out of my sight. The police could take care of the rest.
Walking all the way back to the bus stop was just agonizing and painful. I also looked like I was a crook myself. I did have that injury on my shoulder.. and my forehead.. which reminds me..
Son of a- he wrecked my favorite work clothes!
What else can possibly go wrong? Well. I should relax. I didn't want to seem overly hostile around the innocent people around here.
I spot the hispanic woman up ahead and sprint up her direction, handing her, her items.
The purse as well as her change I picked up.. and the broken strap, too. I doubt that can be repaired. She should consider buying a new purse after all this.
"Here is your purse, ma'am. I apologize for the long wait. It.. was a hassle to get it back."
I can't tell since my head is still fuzzy from the headache, but I think I saw a smile come out of her kind face, as well as a proper thank you.
That... seemed to make me feel better. Like all of my pain instantly washed away from that "thank you".
I smile in return and let the woman go into the bus. It wasn't the route I had to go to, so I did not enter alongside her. I simply just waved farewell as the bus drifted away from my sight.
I think now would be a good time to relax. I still feel quite tense. Angry.
Frustrated.
Annoyed, really.
I should also clean myself up. My forehead has a bruise on it and my shirt.. well.. I have to deal with it. Hopefully no one at work gives me hell about it.
Since I missed my bus and have already reflected on being late for work for sure this time, I sit down in the bus stop seating area and dig in my briefcase that's still intact. Thank goodness for the sturdy material it's made out of. If it were any other kind of cheap brand briefcase, the knife would have sliced through it and ruin all of my important paperwork inside!
As well as my lunch. Let's not forget about my lunch! Ohhh man if he ruined my lunch, all hell would have broke loose!
Opening my case, I take out my bottle of water that I was going to reserve for lunch as well as the small plastic case beside my important papers. It's a simple, small first-aid kit.
I remove my blazer with my undershirt and then grimaced at how awful the sight of my work clothes looked. There was a slit where the knife sliced both tops in the same spot. A bit of dirt around it, too, when I fell onto the wall after getting punched in the face. How did I not bleed from that but did on my forehead? Logic, where are you?
Ah well.
At least I can just tuck the slit on the sleeves in to prevent other people from seeing my cut.
But hey. On the bright side, I decided to wear all black aside from my pants, too, so the dry blood isn't noticeable.
Lucky for me as well, the knife wound wasn't deep enough to need stitches. I just took out a few alcohol prep pads, cleared the blood up and then wiped that sucker clean, bandaging it up.
There we go. All clear of any infections!
Also put a bandage on my forehead. The bruise is almost invisible..! Not really. Geez.. I look like a movie protagonist after a big battle. I look like a disaster... really taking after my name.
12:45 P.M.
I'm so late... but at least my bus finally came through. I immediately step in and take my seat, clouded with disappointment as well as a hint of depression. I wonder what my boss will say? Maybe I should be honest and tell her why I was late to begin with?
Oh why bother.. I overslept. There's no excuse for that.
It's because I stood up later than I should have, watching my childhood classic, 'Orionis: Heroes of the Galaxy'.
I haven't seen that gem for over 10 years and it just happened to make a return back to television. Back when I was an innocent little guy, I watched that cartoon famously. ..Back before I realized how corrupt this world really is.
Those times... I miss them.
1:05 P.M.
I arrive at my stop; my workplace. It's late, but.. normally, I should be at work by 11:30 in the morning.
Every time I gaze up at the building, I realize how different this place is from where I live. The city is so fast-paced, bustling with many humans who go to and from their destinations. It feels like busy traffic in a way.
But no matter how many times I come here.. it still feels unfamiliar to me. I'm used to the simplicity of the farm life. The people who I live around are people who I've known almost my whole life. They're like an extended family, even though my mother is the only blood I truly have. However, it's a wonderful reminder that I'm never alone, no matter where I am. I'm home when I'm actually home.
I enter the building and am greeted by the usual person.
Stacie Robbins, who is always up front in the lobby. She's the one to go to for all communication needs for employees as well as providing information about this place to visitors. She has a pretty busy job, constantly on the phone, on the go or on the computer, typing down today's schedules and events.
She was also aware of my tardiness, scolding me as well as wondering on the side, what caused me being so late.
..I decided to not be completely honest with her.
I did tell her I overslept though, which was true but aside from my 'heroic' act I did earlier.. I don't tell anyone about that stuff.
No one knows me personally. Not even my mother. They don't know of me doing heroic deeds.
I prefer to keep that part of my life a secret.
Today also isn't the only time I've been handling people's problems and performing heroic deeds. I've done such things almost my whole life.
Why I do them is obvious. I admire super heroes.
I may not have any special powers or anything like they do, but something about saving a person or people in need, as well as handling crime or what little I feel like I'm capable of doing.. it benefits humanity. I only wish for the innocent people of the world to be safe. To be happy.
We may not have any super heroes in this world.. but I like to think that I can help somehow. Just me, a regular guy trying to make a difference... I don't consider myself to be anything greater than that.
I just like to help people.
I was getting weird faces by Stacie. She's probably curious of the bandage on my forehead. I simply just shrugged it off as if it wasn't anything serious.
"I was in a rush today so I hit my head against a door by accident. Should've looked where I was going I guess."
"Well whatever it is, Mr. Underwood, you look ridiculous. At least go see the nurse during your lunch break. I don't want to have to call the hospital because you had a concussion during work."
Hah. Very funny, Stacie.
Hospitals.. I don't particularly fond them. When I was very young, I spent most of my childhood in one. That was back when I had neuroblastoma. I overcame it. Since then, I.. refuse to go to any hospitals. Not even when it involves mother. Usually Marie helps her with that kind of stuff.
Then again, who even likes hospitals? It's such a depressing place to go to. So many injured and ill folks.. Just thinking about it makes me want to pummel whatever caused the injuries or illnesses of those poor unfortunate people!
I need to calm down. Today has me thinking far too much. I'm at work now. It's time to.. focus on my job.
I excuse myself from Stacie after checking in and go past the hallway, taking the elevator to floor #2, where my work room is.
It's your average office room, filled with various cubicles that are occupied by others and idle conversation from the workers who are in a call with a client. I was greeted by my fellow co-workers who are acquainted with me. I do the same albeit discreetly. I wasn't in much of a mood for conversation right now.
Though some have given me a scary, curious look from my bandage, I simply just hold my forehead to conceal it, making my way to my cubicle. How embarrassing.
Don't worry about it, guys. Just focus on your work for crying out loud!
Sitting in my seat, I get straight to work with no distractions. I'm late and it will most likely affect this week's paycheck. I have to atone for my tardiness somehow. ..Maybe I'll stick around work and do some overtime to accumulate enough work hours so my paycheck isn't affected by my delayed attendance.
Normally I'm a diligent worker. Perhaps my boss will cut me some slack since I am not usually this unprepared for work. Let's.. just hope so.
2:30 P.M.
Lunch time. As Stacie requested me to do so, I headed to the nurse's office.
Ugh.
Somehow, I had a sudden flashback of elementary school. Going to the nurse's office was very common for me. The thought didn't seem pleasing in my head right now. I just hope that my bruise wasn't serious enough to get prescribed with something or worse.. to go see a doctor.
Please.. no. Anything but that..
At least the nurse isn't a bad person. She was kind. It also turned out that my injury to the forehead wasn't severe. All she told me was to take it easy and not do too many mentally stressful tasks or my headache will get worse. She did remove my bandage and applied a better one. Gauze with some medical tape on the forehead stuck out a lot more than a perfectly sized, slim waterproof bandage that covered the bruise entirely and was much more comfortable.
I also didn't want her to, but she had decided to check up on my cut, too, after noticing there was a slit on my sleeve. Just like everyone else around here, she wanted to know what caused this. I don't want to say it.. but I can't lie to a nurse. It's just.. awful to lie in general. I'll admit that I lie. I hide my pain away to not worry others. My pain doesn't mean anything to all of the suffering people out there with much worse problems than mine. That's why I bring myself to not talk about these things.
How I'm feeling.
As well as what I'm feeling...
"..I got in a fight with a thief earlier, trying to retrieve a purse for a foreign woman in distress. He cut me with his knife. That's all."
The strict expression on the nurse's face faded once I had told her my reason for these injuries. I figured she would think I was making all that up.
I don't know...
It seemed unlikely for an average guy to be in the nurse's office because of that.
Didn't matter anyway. My injuries were properly bandaged up. I didn't think I did a crude job tending to them.. but I guess it's for the best that I went to someone in the medical field, to treat these. I wasn't sure if the knife could have caused some kind of infection. It didn't, though. Good.
"Is that all, then? Am I free to go, miss?"
The nurse had given me some aspirin to relieve my headache. I didn't mind taking that since it's not prescribed. My head was also killing me so I probably wouldn't have been able to focus on my work if it stood that way.
She seemed pleased with letting me go now, reminding me to take things easy, so I listen, take my belongings I brought with me there, then immediately depart the room as quickly as possible.
Finally, I'm out of that room.
I feared that staying in there much longer would have bore me to death.
...
Why am I behaving like such a child?
I guess habits never die. My stubborn behavior towards receiving help still irritates me.
Ah well. It's finally time to eat!
Oh lunch.. I am a simple man. I see food, I eat.
Food is definitely something I adore.. very much so. As a guy who constantly exercises, I need my fuel for the day. My breakfast was small, so I am in desperate need to recharge with a hearty delicious meal in such a critical time of day.
I make my way back to my cubicle to snag my lunch and then go to the lounge to eat up.
Let's see what I prepared today.
Ah.
How can I forget?
A big bowl of homemade goulash with some sour cream and toasty garlic bread. Ohh yeah.. Take me to food heaven!
I inhale my lunch as if I had not eaten for weeks. Hell.. with my metabolism, it sure does feel that way.
Honestly, I could die of happiness right now. I'm not often smitten like this but when food is involved, I obey my master.
Once I have devoured my lunch, I clean up and resume work. I managed to work hard enough to reach my deadline. I also checked in on my boss to do overtime.
I wasn't kidding when I said I would atone for my tardiness!
She seemed compliant, as well as dismissive. She wasn't upset with me at all, nor did she really care that I was late for the first time since I've been working here... but I like to think she might be. The thought makes me want to work harder.
9:00 P.M.
It's evening.
I look out the window beside me, staring at the crescent moon. I've been in the office for 9 hours. I would normally leave at 6:45PM, which is when I am supposed to leave, but I was two hours behind work anyway. I've finally made it up.
As I get up from my seat which my butt was glued to for oh so many hours, a rumbling sound came from my stomach.
I'm starving...
At least my work is complete here. I reach for the power button to turn off the computer and gather my things.
I can go straight home to eat dinner with mother.. but it's late, so I don't even have time to prepare it. I'll probably just buy something for us to eat instead. I wonder what she would like to eat.
I mean, It's not the first time I did overtime. I did a few times in the past when mother was hospitalized. When she got discharged, I decided to work my normal working hours though.
Back then, I'd go to that nice small diner across the street for a quick bite. I wonder how they've been doing lately.
...
The waitress there is kind of cute, too.
Ah.
Now my curiosity is killing me!
Alright, alright. I'll go there! You don't have to tell me twice, stomach.
I leave my workplace and head to the diner across the street; "Walter's Grubhouse".
Ahh, Walter's. They make some top quality burgers and steaks there. It's been a while..
The place looks about the same. There's not many people who go here, sadly. Normal city folk around here prefer going to fast food, or coffee joints like Garbbucks, Dank Donuts, or Tom Hilton's.
People nowadays are so glued to their technology and mobile devices that they lose touch with what's around them. I don't understand these people... I don't think I ever will to be honest.
I prefer some simple eating places that feel more like home. Small family businesses are the kinds of places I always go to.
There's no need for cellphones, laptops, or tablets there. We communicate through old-fashioned chitchat. Just the way I like it.
Now I'm not much of a talker, but going to wholesome places like Walter's where the workers actually check up on you.. I can't help but feel like I'm talking to my own family.
I enter Walter's Grubhouse, the glass door making a familiar almost nostalgic in a way, chime, as I walk in. Hearing such a sound again brought peace in my ears, as the sounds of the night time of the city began to slowly subside once the door behind me closed.
I was then greeted by none other than the oh so cute waitress I was curious about seeing.
Oh gracious lord, she still looks good.
I clear my throat so I don't seem as awkward staring at the lovely red head in front of me.
"Good evening, miss."
"Oh my. Is that really you, Mr. Underwood? It's been quite a while since you last came here!"
Wow. She remembered me? Sharp gal.
"Please.. call me Blight if you'd like. I know It's an unusual name for someone, but it really is my name."
"Ah.. very well then, Mr. Blight. What would you like today? Or would you prefer me to find a table for you if you planned on sticking around?"
There is no actual rush to go home.. but..
"The offer is tempting, but I'd like to take my food to go. I'll have the usual, but double, if that's fine."
"Sure thing! I'll get right on the order. Please, have a seat and enjoy the atmosphere while I check in your order to Walter, himself."
I nod and let the cute waitress go on ahead and do her job. Not once did she question my injuries, or my name!
She's a keeper.
I decided to sit in the corner of the whole counter, where the right-side window was.
Staring out the window, I'm reminded that I'm still in the city. This wasn't home... but it sure felt like it in here.
Time went by quickly. I was engulfed in the nostalgic feel of this place, forgetting that I was even waiting for an order. It took a gentle nudge against my shoulder to wake me up from the peaceful trance I was in.
"Mr. Blight.. are you alright? I called out for you three times. Here is your order."
"Ah. Yes, I'm fine. Thank you very much."
Was I really that out of it? Whoa.. I shouldn't get too comfortable like that.
After all.. crime is still happening in this world and this city. Who knows what can happen at this very moment?
I have to constantly tell myself to get it together. I shouldn't be so easily distracted by things, no matter how much it interests me. This also applies to the waitress in front of me.
She's very nice.
Sweet.
Beautiful..
But I must remain diligent. A hero's job is never finished.
That's what a super hero would say in this situation.. right?
Well... I tried.
Anyway. Maybe one day I can loosen up and approach a woman. I don't think that's likely, though.
I've never been in a relationship before.
I've always had difficulty making the approach. As a man, I should be the one to approach the woman.. but it's hard. I respect them far too much and don't want to seem.. pushy?
I'm a muscular man, rather bulky as well.
What if they were intimidated by my size?
Not THAT size.. you perverts.
I do look like I get into fights rather often which is true.
I don't think I'm on the ugly side. I think I look okay. I shave when I have to. I apply deodorant. I also take very good care of my oral hygiene as well as cut my own hair and shower daily.
So no.. I'm not self-conscious about the way I look.
These are questions I constantly ask myself that make me avoid relationships as a whole.
But then... What if they think I'm a bad guy? I do have some old scars here and there from crime fighting. There's also the ones I have currently.
..Whatever! Who cares about that kind of stuff anyway?!
Yeah. That's what I always tell myself when I'm offended by something so trivial. It didn't matter regardless. That stuff won't be happening to me any time soon.
I properly give the waitress a thank you and goodbye before departing.
9:25 P.M.
It's almost 9:30. I should now head on home before mother goes to bed. I like to at least arrive home on time before she does, so we could spend some quality time together before it's bed time for her.
Even though I don't particularly like the city, I do find all of these lights fascinating.
It feels like Christmas every night.
It is currently autumn.. but you get the idea.
Tonight in the city seems as silent as usual. After 9, all of the noise and people gradually tone down. There are people who do work night shifts and those who just left work like myself, heading back home.
I also enjoy walking for long periods of time during the night.
There's so many things to see and look at here. It'd be strictly pitch black and silent back in the farmland... so the city gets bonus points for being interesting even during the night time.
It's also an excuse to look around for any crooks who might be doing sinister things. The night time is the best time of day for crime to unleash. Something may happen to me as well. I have to keep an open mind for abnormal behavior.
I mean.. no one dared try to confront me at night time, but you never know.
Someone could be plotting some deeply corrupt, evil plans right now.
I only hope that I can react on time. I feel much better than earlier, even though I have not eaten dinner yet and am starving right now.. I've decided to wait until I go home, to eat dinner with mother.
As I cross the intersection to the bus stop, I hear some yelling in the background.
...
The yelling.. it sounds like it's coming from a man, and he's nearby.
Those screams did not sound pleasant, either. There weren't any actual people walking by right now. Only me. Only I can hear this yelling. I must make haste and act fast!
I immediately sprint to the direction the sounds are coming from. The screaming just sounded all the more painful the closer I got, that it even unsettled me a tad bit.
No... I must press forward. Maybe I can still save him in time before it's too late!
I force myself to run faster. I wasn't thinking rationally as I had hopped over obstacles in my way to gain more running speed until I came to an immediate halt.
...
...!
He's dead. The man who was screaming.. is dead.
I was too late.. but then..
Above him, I saw a silhouette of a person who had used an item to fly upwards towards the walls of the tall buildings above us, retreating.
Maybe they saw me.. maybe not. They seem to have retreated regardless.
"Stop!"
I fixate my direction towards the killer, making sure I knew where they went before focusing on the dead man ahead. I walk over to his corpse and examine his body.
His neck was sliced nearly in half. The sight was too gruesome to continue looking at, so I tried not to think too much about it. He was definitely sliced by a sharp blade of some kind by that assassin who escaped. The light trail of blood lead to the side of the building they launched themselves up at. It wasn't a large trail, due to them most likely slicing the neck almost instantly before escaping to reduce the amount of blood the trail would lead to.
However, I have a keen eye and decent sense of direction. Or I like to believe I do.
"..I'm sorry I didn't come to your aid sooner. May you rest in peace.."
I close the man's eyes for him and use my blazer to cover his body. It didn't cover his whole body, but at least covered over his injury. This is the first time I witnessed a dead body.
I'll have to call 911 soon.. but first..
I must find and confront the killer!
Yes.
I must avenge this innocent man!
His spirit could be whispering beside my ear to avenge him right now!
I doubt it, but it's a thought.
I wasted no time at all, rolling up my sleeves and setting my belongings down before darting out to find the killer.
They were heading north of here, from what the trail showed me and I kept an eye on the next building they had climbed up to.
It almost felt like they were heading to my workplace! I should run up to the intersection just in case.
Aha!
As I look up, I see the culprit hopping over the tall buildings leading to where I work. How can I tell? They're using that gadget to get across!
Well joke's on them. I know my workplace well. After working there for 7 years, I know exactly where everything in and out of there, is.
There's a ladder on the right side of the building that leads up to the top of the skyscraper. I have a feeling that they might be using that ladder to climb down. It is a tall building after all.
There's a wide gap to the building beside the one where I work at, so they can't hop over to it like they have been doing to the others. Not even their little gadget can take them away that far, so they HAVE to use that ladder to climb down and find better leverage to escape!
Yes.. this is my chance to get them!
I quickly cross the street and go back to my workplace building, where I spot the killer right above where I'm standing. I immediately freeze.
They spotted me.
Were they intentionally dragging me here because they knew I was following them?!
I walk through the gap of both buildings and stand firm against the floor.
That's when I saw, holding against the ladder midway.. that it was a she?! The first thing I see..
Those fine legs. Those are not male legs. They are most definitely a female's.
A woman.. Why would she- No. This can't be right.
Oh, but it is. There was an X-shaped weapon she had attached to her utility belt. Fresh blood was on it. That must be the weapon she used to kill that defenseless man!
The woman smiled, her smile looking genuinely... evil. That was not an innocent smile at all.
She had sinister, lethal eyes. Eyes that pierced through me and all it saw, was another inferior being in front of them to kill.
I-
I don't know what to say. All I can see beyond the fact that she is the killer, is that she had lovely long hair, too.. and gorgeous eyes.
Her hair is purely gray, however, and it looked natural.
Naturally beautiful.
She wore a mask to cover her true identity which is expected of a villain, but I can still see her striking, vibrant green eyes.
They're so captivating.. as if they could draw you under a spell. A not so pleasant spell. A painful one, probably...
Aside from her gorgeous features, she wore dark colored spandex throughout her body. The colors weren't visible enough to depict since it's so dark outside.
The spandex did show her slim yet athletic figure quite well. Oh so well...
I assure you, that my eyes were not wandering on certain parts of her body for too long. I had to focus!
I shook my head to remember why I chased her down for. I wanted to confront her.. I do. I must avenge that man!
I don't know why I should care about a complete stranger who I never even met but I just do!
All heroes care about their fellow people. Good or not, they are people. They deserve to be heard.
..But nothing is coming out of my mouth. I simply just stand there, like a complete idiot.
So the woman decided to speak for me.
"You told me to stop earlier did you not? What for, might I ask?"
Her voice is lovely, too...
The mysterious woman lowered herself down the ladder. What are her intentions towards me? I shouldn't stick around long enough to find out. She's armed and dangerous.
"You seem speechless at the moment... but oh~?"
Yet strangely.. I'm not afraid of her. She has killed someone in front of me. She is capable of killing me as easily as that man.. yet I'm not afraid.
I stand firmly, giving her a glare of a lifetime as I clench my fists.
My glare seemed to have piqued her interest. She lowered herself down the ladder and hopped off, finally reaching the ground.
She stood a few feet away from me. The killer was so dangerously close to me!
"You have pretty eyes.. for a guy."
The woman reached for the X-shaped weapon, detaching it from her utility belt. There was murderous intent in her eyes.
"But that's beside the point. You don't seem to want to talk. Does this mean you're not afraid to die? Even after you clearly witnessed me kill that weakling? What makes you think I won't do the same to you?"
I shook my head no. I wouldn't lie to her. I wasn't lying anyway. I really wasn't afraid to die.
Heck, the closer she approached me, the more relaxed I.. became? Even after she removed her weapon and definitely looked like she was going to kill me with that thing. She might have gotten away with it, too..
I think she could also see that in my eyes. She was staring into me for far too long.
I guess it's punishment for staring at her for too long.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
I need to respond! I took in a calm breath before speaking to her with a semi-calm voice, my eyes fixated with hers. I cannot let my guard down.
"What's your name? If you don't mind me asking, that is."
What..?
What kind of ridiculous response to a killer was that?
Okay. I admit it. I've lost my marbles.
Clearly I have.. Why would I ask this woman what her name is all of a sudden? Why would it matter? She's a villain!
A killer.
An assassin.
Her name isn't important. Stopping her is!
"Xenonia Silverswift."
The woman named Xenonia Silverswift smiled right back at me. This smile wasn't evil, though. How is that possible? It seemed softer somehow. Like she was legitimately trying to be "nice" to me.
"But you can call me Xenon. I grant you permission to. Only because you asked me nicely~"
What's with this woman? She's rather strange and I don't understand her at all. Yes she is a killer, but as she spoke to me and is standing in front of me like this, she comes off as a normal, friendly woman. It's actually kind of difficult for me to analyze her behavior. It's a mixture between pure malice and general kindness towards me. Which one is it?!
These thoughts upset me. Very much. Is she.. an enemy or an ally?
No.
No, no, no! She's an enemy. No doubt about it. An enemy!
So why do I feel so calm around her? Why?! I ask myself these things, but I have no answer to any of them. It's just the way I feel. Maybe it could be because...
Death.
Death is something I do not fear. I fear it happening to others but not myself.
I almost encountered death once. Since then, I don't fear dying at all. I could constantly be in the middle of dying in any given moment but the very thought doesn't faze me one bit. Maybe that's why i'm acting this way. Acting so calm. It's a scary feeling since a normal person would be afraid. I am supposed to be afraid in this situation.
Hero or not.. even they also have a fear of dying.. I'm sure they do!
"Mm. You're not much of a talker, are you? It's a pity, really. I was enjoying the brief conversation we had together."
No. I can't avoid the main reason why I followed her any longer. I have to confront her!
"..Why did you kill that defenseless man?"
My question set Xenonia off-guard once again. She showed a brief expression of confusion but returned back to her standard, sinister one from before.
"Oh no particular reason, really. I just felt like doing it. I had the thirst to kill and he happened to be nearby. He had no defenses on his side so killing him was easy."
So it could have been anyone. That makes things much worse!
"But you're a woman. Surely you have empathy for one's own well-being. I'm no misogynist.. but I always thought that even women had consideration for an innocent's life. You have the ability to give birth to new life, and have the choice to give them away to another. ..Why would you blindly end one's life for mere pleasure?"
Xenonia didn't seem so happy after my speech. I didn't expect her to. Really, i'm arguing with my potential future killer right now. I really am insane. But I think she's not all that mad. She came back to her neutral expression shortly after giving what I said some serious thought. At least she listened to what I had to say so I can't get mad at her.
"You'd be surprised to know that not all women are the same. There are good women in the world.. and then there are women like me who are not. I however enjoy being evil. A menace to society. Just like I assume you enjoy being a good boy to goes by the book. What's so difficult to understand about that?"
Well she's not wrong but it's.. still wrong! To kill people for mere amusement! That's just not right!
"The being bad part! What purpose is there to be evil? Why do you have to be?! You.. don't even look like a bad person! You're far.. too beautiful to be evil.. so why do you have to be?!"
Xenonia's brows arched through her mask. Or I like to think it did. I couldn't tell since I was still in the heat of the moment of setting her straight... and failing.
"Oh~ So you think i'm beautiful? Quite an odd thing to say in such a situation as this but thank you. I think you are pretty pleasant on the eyes as well, handsome."
That's... not the kind of reaction I hoped for.
"Listen. I've grown fond of you so I won't kill you tonight. Now that we are all good friends, why don't you tell me your name, hm? I've told you mine. It's only fair.. right?"
Oh.
Of course.
How can I forget to introduce myself?
"Blight Underwood. But you could just call me.. Blight."
I swore I heard a giggle. I'm not going crazy..
Yes.
It was coming from Xenonia.
Let me guess..
"'Blight'? Oh wow. Do your parents detest you or something? Hahahaha~!"
...
I knew it.
Women are all the same.
I don't believe what she said about them for a second.
I think Xenon had noticed it as well. I looked pretty flustered after she started mocking my name. I decided to retaliate.
"Oh? What makes your name any different than mine? I don't think i've ever heard anyone in the world called 'Xenonia', either."
Why am I arguing with her over something so trivial? ..I don't even know. At this point, questioning myself constantly only makes me even more confused and frustrated with myself. I give up on that.
Xenonia was silent. Not for long, but she didn't seem overly upset by what I said back to her, either. I'm convinced that she really doesn't want to kill me like she promised.
"You're right. That's the precise reason why I granted you permission to call me XENON instead. I don't want to hear you calling me anything else than that. Understood?"
Why did it matter? Xenonia isn't an awful name. It's different but not bad.
I actually think it sounds kind of pretty..
But it probably wouldn't be wise to argue with her about her name though, so I gave her a single nod and respected her wishes to just be called Xenon. Her tone also seemed a little more stern than her usual calm and collected one. That was a sign of anger to me.
Even if she didn't look angry, i'm sure Xenon wants me to do as she says. I can't promise to do them all. I still had a purpose here. I had to stop her!
Even if she had no purpose to kill me now, I must do what's right no matter what!
"Xenoni- Xenon. I'm sorry but I can't be your friend. You're a villain. I'm not a hero, but... I wish to do what's right. Please resist.. and hand yourself over to the police to atone for your crime. I don't wish to harm you since you promised you wouldn't do so to me.. so please, yield."
"And what if I don't yield? What will you do?"
...
I knew this wouldn't be so simple.. but I really, really wish it was.
I can't bring myself to.. fight a woman.
No matter how deadly she is.