Sebastian tried to keep his grip on Simon's collar but lost it as the boy tore away from him. Through blurry red vision, he watched as the boy stumbled away, falling to his knees twice as he moved. His vision grew hazy and he closed his eyes, letting his head sag. He needed to remember to breathe. He couldn't feel anything below his waist and he was just. So. Tired.
"My god…"
Naoto rushed to Sebastian's side, holding his head against her shoulder.
"Sebastian! Sebastian, wake up!"
She grit her teeth, holding his head tightly in her arms
"Wake up. Please wake up!"
After a moment, he groaned and slowly opened his eyes, looking up to her, his eyelids heavy. He was having difficulty staying awake.
She felt her heart almost break in two as she observed the damage. The bloodied red claw was resting on the ground at his side. Blood flowed freely down his cheek and along his shoulder from the gash in his face where his left eye had been. The claw had pierced it, most likely having pierced through to the other side. It was gone now without means of saving it. If he survived, it would be something for him to learn to live with. With any luck, it wouldn't end his career.
She ran her hand down along his chest to the piece of rebar that was pierced through his stomach. She tried to grip onto it and pull it out, but he did his best to grip onto her wrist before she tried to make a second attempt
"Don't!"
His head felt heavy and he let it sag. She brought one of her hands up to lean it up for him so he could rest. He shook his head several times
"Don't. It's keeping the blood inside"
He moved her hand away from the metal. She rested it on his leg
"It's acting like the cork in a bottle. Leave it inside"
"But…it's through you"
"He missed my stomach. I'll be ok, but I can't have you pull it out"
He wrapped one of his hands around it, holding it tightly and trying to anchor himself from unconsciousness. He needed to focus on the pain. It would keep him awake for a little longer
"Why? Why did you take him on your own?"
He looked at her seriously through his one good eye
"We both couldn't have taken him on in such a tight area. An office corridor…is too small. I hoped I could have beaten him before you came back up. Kept you safe. The case will be resolved either way."
She grabbed onto either side of his head, pulling it to her to stare into him
"Then what was the training for?!"
She let his head go, standing up. She didn't want to be around him right now. His constant need to go at things alone and push her away was killing him. She walked to the other side of the hallway, staring out and down at the army of black still encircled around her friends.
"What was the point of these months of training if it was all useless?!"
He shook his head
"It will prove useful now. He's gone to the roof. You just missed him"
She turned back to him, her mind back on track
"He's still here?"
Sebastian nodded slowly, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall, not wanting to move his lower body. He winced and spoke from between his clenched teeth
"He's still here, and he's hurt. The claws came in handy"
Naoto glanced at the floor, looking at the trails and spatters of blood on the carpet and against the slabs of concrete. Slowly she began to reconstruct the fight, her mind watching how Simon threw Sebastian around and the struggles Sebastian had with Simon, the way he pinned him to the wall and the impalement of Sebastian's claws into Simon.
It was strange; she could almost see how it had taken place when she really looked at it.
"He's hurt badly, Sebastian"
He nodded and his breathing began to slow.
"Gods don't bleed. He's as mortal as you or I, he's just tough. He's damaged, he's desperate. If he escapes now, we will never find him again until he gets strong enough to find us himself."
Naoto walked back, kneeling down in the blood Sebastian was leaving.
"If I leave you alone…are you going to be ok?"
Sebastian slowly nodded, his breathing weak
"I'll be ok for a little longer. But you need to take him down quickly. Otherwise he will overpower you and we all die. Here. Today."
Naoto went to stand up but Sebastian grabbed for her, pulling her back down
"Stick to your training. Remember what you have learned and you will come out of this alive. Understand?"
Naoto was hesitant but she nodded eventually and leaned in, kissing him gently
"Come back to me in one piece, Naoto"
"When I get back, we are going to have a serious talk…"
Sebastian smiled slightly and fell limp against her, passing out finally. She needed to finish this quickly. The sooner this was over, the sooner Sebastian could get medical attention. Or better yet, he could receive a quick heal from Yukiko and then get taken to the hospital.
Taking a moment longer to look at him, she brushed a few strands of his hair out of his face before standing up, jogging down the hallway to the stairwell to the roof. Her boots thudded hard on the metal as she skipped stairs to get to the top. As she approached, she noticed spatters of blood along the stairs and wall. Sebastian had dug deep.
Simon leaned over the edge of the building, looking down at his shadow fighting Yamato as she dashed about and evaded his attacks. It was strange. Volf was nowhere to be seen. Where was he?
"Anansi! Quit playing around and kill them! Kill them now!"
"SIMON!"
Simon was slow on the response, turning his head slowly to look at her on the opposite end of the rooftop. He spat the blood in his mouth out and wiped his lips on the back of his sleeve.
"Oh right…the bitch…"
Naoto slowly drew her sword from her sheathe
"Matthew Demitri, you are under arrest for the deaths of Miles McDermott, Nathan McDermott, Alexia Tal, Jacob Crane, Donovan Alister, Sara Diegg, and Tohru Adachi. For the attempted murder of U.N representative and detective Sebastian Chastity of Reign-Beaux and Naoto Shirogane of the Inaba police Department. Surrender yourself and come quietly or I will be forced to take action against you. Comply!"
Simon snarled
"Fuck you!"
Naoto felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips and slowly approached the boy, sword at the ready
"Let the record show that Mr. Demitri refused to comply"
Naoto dashed at Simon who crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for the sword to come down before he threw his arms against it. The blade cut through his clothing, but could not cut through the skin and simply clanged against his arms as though they were blocks of wood. She swung again and the sword again knocked against him. When simon reached out to attack, she leaned back from the swing and spun, driving the back of her heel into Simon's face in a roundhouse kick.
The kick stunned Simon and he leapt back from her, one of his hands pressed tightly against his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers. Naoto took note of it and pressed her attack, swinging for his hand over his wound, the sword clanging hard against it, pushing the hand harder against the wound. Simon roared and felt himself fumble to his knee.
Naoto was quickly on top of him, driving her boot up into the boy's face and knocking him onto his back, both his hands pressed to his stomach tightly. Naoto pointed the tip of her sword against Simon's head
"Surrender, Simon."
"No"
Simon grabbed onto the sword and twisted it, the metal snapping halfway up the blade before he grabbed the fallen piece of sword and tried to swing at Naoto with it. She jumped back from the attack and checked how much sword she had left as Simon forced himself to his feet
"This is my world!"
Naoto reset her stance, taking a deep breath as Simon came at her with the blade.
Sebastian felt sick to his stomach as his eyes slowly opened, his vision fuzzy. Slowly, the world began to come into focus. The bare feet in front of him were covered in blood to the ankle. Blood was running freely from above them but the blood on the feet looked as though the person had been wading through it.
As his eyes traveled upward, he noticed the figure wasn't wearing any cloths, simply naked in front of him. The legs were lightly scared but tense with muscle. The hands and arms from the elbow down were also covered in blood. There was a large red bloodline seeping down along the left side of the figure's body, blood ran freely from the wound and down the left leg and down between his legs along his groin.
There were multiple fresh scars along the arms and chest and shoulder as he tried to focus on the face.
It was his.
Sebastian looked up into the bright yellow yes of his doppelganger. Although the left eye of the doppelganger glowed yellow, blood still seeped from around it like bloody tears that ran down the neck and behind the left shoulder. Sebastian smiled up at him before closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the cold concrete
"So…you finally decided to show up…"
The figure said nothing as it stood there, arms at his sides, simply watching the man lay there in his own blood, red dry turning brown along his left cheek. It itched but Sebastian dared not scratch it.
"I was wondering… when you would"
The copy reached forward and put the palm of his hand against the tip of the piece of rebar, pushing it a little deeper into his body. Sebastian clenched his teeth together and let out a long grunt, his hands coming up to grip onto the rebar and stop it from going any deeper or moving at all.
"Stop! You'll kill us both!"
The copy stopped and let his hand rest at his side again. Sebastian took several deep breaths trying to will the fire inside to die down.
"We...we need to work together. Just a little longer and then you can have me all to yourself. Ok?"
The man looked down at his impaled copy and wrapped his fingers around the piece of rebar, gripping it tightly. Their eyes locked and, hesitantly, Sebastian nodded and braced himself against the wall. He felt a scream try to escape his lips, but no sound would come. Sebastian felt strange with the event. It wasn't as though he had a piece of anything pass through his body on a daily basis. He both hated and found interest in this feeling.
Sebastian let his body fall to the side as he collapsed to the concrete. His legs ran against the ground, dragging against the red carpet as he squirmed and thrashed on the floor. What an experience. He took small quick breaths, trying to keep himself from crying, unable to hear the sound of the rebar hit the ground.
Keeping his hand tightly against it, he spoke to the copy, his voice cracking several times
"Get back into the fray. We…we can't falter now."
The figure nodded and turned from Sebastian, making his way to the section of the floor that had been blasted away by Yamato's attack earlier
"Volf!"
His naked copy stopped walking but did not turn around
"Find a way to take that shadow down. If we can't, we will never get the opportunity again. Naoto won't kill him. Bring her down!"
The double turned to look at Sebastian before opening its arms and falling backwards through the broken window, back outside, back to where Yamato was dealing with Anansi. It was on them now. Sebastian leaned up slowly, his hands trembling. Slowly, he began to crawl towards the stairwell, his progress slow, his legs wanting to give out from under him. One step at a time, one step at a time.
Naoto ducked under the blade and brought her sword up to block against another slash, the blades clanging loudly against one another and forced Naoto back. She lost her footing and fell to the ground onto her back. As Simon lunged on top of her, she leaned her head to the side to avoid the stab and kicked the boy off. He was stronger and faster, but not heavier. She rolled back onto her knees and crossed her broken sword over her chest, moving one leg to stand. She was ready for more.
"This world does not belong to you, Simon. It belongs to the monsters that inhabit it"
"And what about you, Shirogane?"
Simon threw his piece of her sword off of the building to let it fall to the street below
"What are you then? A jailor to keep the shadows in? The sheriff?"
Naoto stood back up, slowly approaching as Simon walked towards her. He swung at her and she did what she could to deflect the wild hooks and uppercuts, but missed and took a punch to her side. She yelled out as she felt one of her ribs snap under the strike and she stumbled away from him, hand on her side.
"Are you not trying to be some sort of governing force? With all that power inside of you, knowing what you know now, aren't you the least bit hungry for more? More power? More knowledge?"
Naoto took another shot to the side and fell backwards from the boy. She rolled onto her knees and vomited onto the ground, her hands shaking. Is this what it had been like for Sebastian?
"Of…course I am. But I cannot let myself be drowned by it. You are a shining example, Mr. Demitri."
She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and forced herself to her feet
"I experienced giving into what I possess once. I sent three men to the hospital with nothing more than a bruise on my cheek to show for it. I know what I am capable of. But if I crawl down to your level, I would be no different than the people I try to put away to keep the public safe"
Naoto felt a sting behind her eyes as Yamato spoke to her. She had a splitting headache
'Sweetheart, Volf and I are going to try and bring Anansi down. Keep him distracted a little longer'
Naoto stood at the ready, her sword in both hands in front of her. She took a step forward but stopped, glancing down at her broken blade before glancing up at Simon. She smiled at him and tossed her sword over the edge of the building.
"You claim to be a monster. However, you are nothing but a boy unable to get his way in real life. So you flaunt your power and influence in this world to bully your way to the top. You're a child. I'll show you a monster, Simon"
Naoto rushed at the boy, throwing her shoulder into of his strikes and driving her head up into his nose. It wasn't as though her headache could get any worse. The boy reeled back but she grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head down into her knee, throwing it up as hard as she could into his face. He reeled back with both hands on his nose before falling onto his back with a powerful running knee to the sternum. She was limping from the strike but persisted.
"Volf…"
The large wolf threw his hands out, striking Anansi in the eyes with a powerful bolt of lightning as Yamato slashed her sword along the upper carapace, the long thin arcs of white smashing and denting the steel like body of the spider. He threw his head up, his ears twitching to his wielders call.
Sebastian pulled himself up the first stair of the roof, his work slow, his knees refusing to work.
"Sacrifices must be made. You know how to break that carapace. Do it"
'But your body…'
"Do it, Volf! We don't have the time anymore!"
Volf tore away from the spider and towards the skyscraper. On all fours, the animal ran his way up the building. He needed to get high. He needed to get as high as he could. Yamato swiped at the spider's legs, the front two giving way and the spider collapsed for a moment, needing to rest, stunned from the onslaught. She looked up, watching the wolf run and her cape fluttered as she tore off after him
'Sweetheart. Sebastian and Volf have a plan. We're going to take her down'
"Do it!"
Simon caught one of her punches and twisted her arm, striking her in the shoulder and popping it out of place. She screamed and Simon threw her off of him. He scrambled to his feet and limped to the side of the building, his mouth hanging open when he saw Anansi on the ground, dazed and unable to focus
"Anansi! Leave her alone!"
Simon fell back onto the ground as Volf tore up into the sky in front of him, knocking him on his back. Volf had jumped and Yamato followed quickly behind him, grabbing the wolf by the arm and using his momentum to carrying him higher with her ability to fly
"No…NO! Leave her alone!"
Simon scrambled to get up but Naoto jumped onto his back and wrapped her legs around his, him falling back onto the ground again
"It's better this way, Simon"
Simon screamed, reaching out for the two. He couldn't find the strength to get her off of his back
"Anansi!"
Yamato carried Volf as high as she could but his weight was proving too difficult to deal with. She lifted him up with the last of her strength and his momentum and threw him over her shoulder. As the two arced in the air together and slowly began to fall back to earth, she caressed his mane and cupped his cheeks. Volf's mouth opened to speak and Sebastian's words came from his mouth.
Sebastian smiled as he climbed the last stair, his body resting on the platform
"I love you"
Yamato opened her mouth and Naoto's words came from her. Naoto smiled through Simon's thrashing as he threw his elbows back, striking her in the ribs and sides, breaking her bones.
"I love you too"
Yamato threw Volf back down to earth with all her strength, the animal now becoming a glowing electrified meteor as he fell and the wind screamed in his ears. Yamato drew her sword and concentrated as she wildly swiped her sword through the air, long arcs of white being cast in the air that hurled down to the spider, passing over and around Volf.
The white arcs slammed into Anansi as she tried to get to her feet and out of the way of the falling star, but the force of the attacks were keeping her down, unable to move. She screeched loudly into the air, Simons name almost audible in the scream. Simon began to cry and his struggling became more wild and clumsy. Naoto held tightly. They had him.
Kanji noticed the lull in the waves of shadows and looked up to the sky with the rest of them
"What the hell is that?!"
Yukiko held onto Chie tighter as she fought her way up to her feet
"The shadows are occupied. Get into the building"
Chie put Yukiko's arm around her neck while Yosuke took the other, helping carry her towards the building, Teddie and Kanji with their personas clearing the path through distracted shadows.
Volf reeled back his fist and with a mighty roar, struck Anansi along the top of her large head, the metal creaking inward before breaking and Volf struck through the metal. The attack did not come without a cost and Volf's arm snapped in three places, the bones of the wolf breaking through the skin. In the stairwell, Sebastian screamed as his arm broke in three places simultaneously and he began to cry as he screamed. Naoto had to hold tightly and not look to Sebastian although it cut her deep not to.
Volf roared through the pain and plunged his other fist into the broken carapace. Lightning erupted from his body, coursing through the spider's insides and causing the arachnid to spasm and flail, the lightning making her unable to shake or claw Volf off. Instead, all she could do was falter as she was electrified, her body beginning to go numb.
Simon screamed at first and tensed up, his body writhing in Naoto's grip as he was feeling the effects of the electricity coursing through his shadow. He wanted to scream but only gargling noises came from his mouth and his eyes rolled back in his head.
Volf continued to pour more into the spider, not satisfied when it stopped moving. He wanted the bug to suffer and just kept letting the lightning flow like water from his body into the beast. Simon eventually stopped moving on his own and just danced in her arms from the damage. He was unconscious. Volf was killing him. He couldn't die. It wasn't right.
"Volf! Stop it! You're killing him!"
Yamato tried to pry Volf away from the spider but he ignored, continuing his attack to bake the spider and burn it to death
"Volf! Please!"
Yamato wrapped her arms around Volf tightly, squeezing him and gently pulling him away. Slowly he began to ease off, the lightning coming to a stop and his large claws pulling from the hole he had made. The spider twitched under them, gentle noises that came from it showed that it was still alive. They hadn't killed it. Volf turned to her and wrapped his good arm around her, holding her tightly to him before they both disappeared into nothingness.
Naoto rolled over and let Simon go, the boy unconscious as he rested on his stomach. Naoto rolled over again onto her back and began to breathe quietly; eventually tears ran from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her chest, her body now registering the pain and the great relief that came with it.
It was over. They got him.
Naoto stayed on her back; looking up to the sky as the waves of red and black flowed over the ceiling of it. She couldn't believe that it was over.
"Seb!"
She had forgotten him. She turned her head to the side to look into the stairwell, her battered and broken friends surrounding the body of the detective. He reached out for one of them, Yukiko. Slowly, her friends lowered her so she could get close. She put her hands together in a quiet prayer and she brought both her hands to him, the magic of her persona healing him.
The magic would not heal his wounds entirely. It would close some of his wounds with a fresh layer of skin or tissue, but he needed medical attention desperately. Yosuke and Teddie slung his arms over their shoulders and helped him walk to Naoto who remained on her back, her hair a mess with blood and dirt and whatever was covering the roof.
Slowly she rolled onto her stomach and eventually sat on her heels, breathing a sigh of relief. Teddie's shoulder was dislocated, kanji's nose was broken, Yukiko was developing, what looked like, a large bruise in the middle of her chest, and Chie was covered in bruises and cuts along her legs. Her leg might have been fractured but the adrenaline in her blood was still pumping and preventing her from feeling anything yet. Yosuke seemed…fine.
Sebastian was let down slowly with Yukiko. Their eyes all traveled to the unconscious boy. His breathing was slow but apparent. He was alive. He would survive this ordeal. They all breathed a sigh of relief before Yosuke started laughing and wondered over to the edge of the building to look down at the destruction.
"The shadows are scattering. Jeez that's a massive bug…"
Sebastian kept an arm wrapped around his chest as he smiled
"Thank you. All of you. We couldn't have done it if you had not been there. I would like to give some sort of speech saying how you all did so well, but I think it would be best if we all sought medical attention"
There were a few chuckles and winces from about the group. Sebastian smiled at Naoto
"You did phenomenally well"
Naoto smiled and relaxed, laying back on the roof, breathing slowly to calm her racing heart. They needed to get to a hospital.
"Seb"
Sebastian leaned up when he heard the sound of the footsteps coming up the stairwell. They were soft but whatever was making them wanted to make apparent it was coming. Kanji sighed before taking a deep breath and grabbed onto the legs of his chair, Yosuke moved with him in front of the group to defend them. For the amount of action, they seemed to be alright for the most part; Yosuke especially.
When the naked copy of Sebastian walked through the doorway, the group was unsure what to say. The yellow glowing eyes made them shake to their bones as it growled at them. It was Volf's growl. Kanji ground his heel into the roof, ready to attack, but Sebastian's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
Sebastian walked past Kanji towards the shadow which seemed to have tears running down his face but made no noise or held any visual to indicate it was upset. It was a crying wolf.
"You…"
Sebastian swallowed and tried to speak again
"You never tried to kill me because you understood what that meant. Am I right? I mean, normally, a shadow would try and kill the person it came from"
Yukiko pressed her hand tightly to her chest
"Volf was Sebastian's shadow…"
Naoto nodded
"Not his persona"
Sebastian looked back to the ground for a moment and then back up to his shadow and along the blood on his body. Each was a mark represented of each time he had been hurt. He couldn't imagine what the scar on his back looked like but he could see the small scar on the underside of his throat where he had tried to kill himself.
"I have known you were my shadow for years, Volf. And I was always ok with it. Each fight we were in helped us grow and helped us develop and cure a little bit more of that anger we hold so dearly inside of us. I thank you for that…"
The shadow nodded with a smile and opened his arms as if to hug his wielder
"So what now, Volf? Is this the part where I say those magic words? Is this the part where I say that I accept you and who I am and then everything is ok?"
Kanji put his hand on Sebastian's shoulder but Sebastian threw it off. This was not ok
"Is this the part where I say that we are the same and things go back to normal?! Well fuck that!"
Yosuke turned to Sebastian
"What the hell are you doing?"
The shadow felt its fangs begin to expose themselves and his fists clenched. His eye began to twitch, the anger rising inside of him
"I defy you. I deny you as something in my life. You are not me and I am not you!"
The shadow smiled and felt his skin begin to stretch as he began to change. The wind picked up around them and the shadow began to laugh Volf's laugh
"But I used to be…"
Within the same instant, the wind died down and the laughing ceased. Sebastian had spoken so quietly only the Shadow would have been able to hear him inside his head. He said it louder
"I used to be you"
The shadow felt its expression fade and it simply stared at the ground, his fists relaxing.
"Volf…I remember the pain"
The shadow locked eyes with Sebastian and took several steps towards him. Sebastian moved as well, walking away from the group. Yosuke reached for him but Naoto pulled his arm back
"Let him do this, Yosuke"
Sebastian stopped a few feet from him, looking over the form in front of him.
"I remember the pain of losing them. The helplessness and anger of being alone. The fear of rejection and loss of loved ones. 'Never get close' remember? But I'm not that person anymore, Volf"
He indicated Naoto, speaking quietly, the conversation for the two of them alone.
"I found the love I was looking for, Volf. So did you. Do you want to lose that?"
When the shadow didn't respond, Sebastian backed up from him, back into the group to Naoto's side. He held her hand
"I found what I was looking for. And I intend to stay with it. But what about you?"
There was a pause that Sebastian felt went on forever, his shadow still saying nothing, just staring at the floor
"Volf…I will abandon you"
The shadow looked up, taking a step forward, its mouth agape to make a noise but only a whimper came out
Sebastian choked back a sob
"I don't want to, Volf. You have always been there for me. My best friend. But I'm not you. Not anymore. You have a choice. But I can't be with you on that path anymore. So this really isn't up to me. It's up to you…."
"…."
"What about Yamato? Don't you want to be with her?"
"…!"
"She wants to be with you, Volf. Are you going to abandon her?"
"…"
"I don't want to lose you. I'm begging you, Volf. Let it go. I don't want to be angry anymore. Let it go. Let them go."
"…"
"Say it…"
The shadow went to open its mouth again but no sound came out.
"Please say it…"
After a hard swallow, the shadow tried again
"I am you…"
Sebastian nodded.
"You are…"
"And you are me…"
The image of the naked form of Sebastian shattered like glass in all directions, replaced instead by Volf. He growled as the red light around him turned slowly to blue and his body began to glow brightly. Where some of the members of the group shielded their eyes, Sebastian stared deep into it to watch his friend change. His body's muscle thinned out and his thick powerful legs fell to their knees. Powerful hands turned to paws and his body grew and thickened out. His mane grew and stretched along his body and his maw stretched out, accommodating more teeth. As the light began to dim, the large grey wolf stood on all fours now, a majestic creature of pride and power and speed. Long strands of yellow and blue ran under the fur like wires to carry the currents of electricity that ran through his veins and came up along his jaw, folding into his maw to electrify his bites. No longer was he the vicious angry and violent beast he was previously.
Sebastian smiled slightly as his card materialized before him and floated down to his eye level. He took it gently in his one good hand and looked at it. With a chuckle he shook his head.
"The moon…how appropriate"
Sebastian dropped the card which disappeared before it hit the ground and approached the large beast. Sebastian put his hand out, the large beast sniffing it a few times before he approached and pressed his massive head against Sebastian who hugged him tightly
"Hello Volf"
Teddie smiled at the two.
"Doesn't he have a new name?"
Sebastian shook his head slowly
"It doesn't matter what form he takes. He will always be my Volf."
The wolf closed its large yellow eyes as Sebastian wrapped his arms around his large muzzle, careful with his broken arm.
"I'm sure you have secrets where your sword went, don't you, Volf"
He large beast snorted in acknowledgment before pulling its head away from his wielder. Sebastian felt relieved to have such a beast inside of him now. He felt lighter. More calm. Collected.
"We need to get to a hospital. Volf, mind giving us a way out?"
He beast scratched at the surface of the roof and gently blew the dust of the scratch away, the shiny screen of a plasma TV protruding and cut out along the roofs surface as though it had always been there just under the surface.
"You guys go through first. We need to secure Simon for transport. Call the hospital and have them send a few ambulances. "
The group took a moment to look around at the damage before climbing into the television back to the real world. All relieved that although broken and bruised, they were alive. Sebastian turned to Naoto and smiled at her as his wolf disappeared in a faint glint of blue light. She smiled back at him and approached, kissing him gently. They had to be gentle with one another, both broken pretty badly.
Simon coughed a few times and groaned, rolling over onto his back and holding his stomach. Naoto took a pair of handcuffs from Sebastian's belt and approached the boy, rolling him onto his stomach to handcuff him. She grabbed the boy and moved him to his knees. He sat quietly for a moment.
Naoto indicated Simon
"I need to sit for a moment. Watch him"
Sebastian nodded and stood behind the boy, staring down at him in disgust
"So…Sebastian…what now?"
Sebastian spat
"Now you will be taken back with me to Reign-Beaux. You will undergo a trial and will be dealt with accordingly."
Simon started to chuckle and the chuckle turned into a laugh. He coughed several times.
"God, laughing hurts"
He spat out the blood in his mouth and glanced over his shoulder at Sebastian
"Trial? What jury would convict me? What evidence do you have of anything? What's your proof? 'In a magic world behind a television this boy murdered several people?' Is that about right?"
Sebastian began to chew his tongue, listening intently
"I will be acquitted before a trial even takes place and set free. Anansi and I will recover and I will return to this world. You can't stop me, Sebastian"
Slowly, Sebastian began to nod his head.
"Naoto"
She looked up to him, sitting on the edge of the building, holding her dislocated arm in her other arm, gripping it tightly. He smiled at her
"Am I a good person?"
She didn't quite understand the question but nodded
"I believe so, yes"
Sebastian glanced down at the ground again, his left arm a little itchy
"I want to be a good person, Naoto. I want to always do the right thing. I want to be like you in that respect. Always do the right thing. The only problem is that I always do what needs to be done."
He smirked at her slightly
"The only difference between me and you is whatever we have agreed upon. I just don't always agree…"
Sebastian reached onto his belt and drew his pistol, cocking back the hammer. Naoto wasn't fast enough to get up before he put the barrel against the back of Simon's head and pulled the trigger.
Sebastian felt nothing as he watched the bullet pass through the boys head or when the blood spattered against the rooftop. He felt nothing when the body hit the ground or when it started to twitch as the brain tried to understand what had just happened to the boy. And he felt good when it stopped and life left the boys eyes.
The only thing Sebastian felt was guilt and shame when he looked into Naoto's eyes and saw her image of him shatter like the finest crystal wine glass and everything changed.
'Listen to your heart…'
He spat onto the body.
"Case 463, closed…"