Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Breaking Strides Part 2
Chris could smell the skin outside of the trash. Despite the trash having a powerful scent. The smell of fresh, pumping blood was stronger. The smell of sweat tantalized him. The smell of fear galvanized him to new heights he's only ever felt when playing with his now deceased father.
He blitzed past the thought before it detangled his feelings, and mind….again.
"Okay are you sure about this, like really sure, the sun could evaporate us to nothing." Muzan elegantly extorted with some primal evil fear, his voice wavered but still held a piece of that sailor confidence as his hands wavered mockingly in front of him. Like a pair of car keys being dangled in front of his face. Teasingly. Annoyingly. Desperatly.
The idea was not lost on Chris, but he could tell the difference between night and day. In this case literally, or maybe he is just tired. Does he get tired now?
It was annoying differentiating what is real and what isn't at this point. Thankfully, it didn't seem as big of an issue now that he's more….stable to say the least.
He put his hand on the bottom part of the lid. He almost threw it open when a flashback of cracking Armsmaster like an egg flew into his mind….
He'll just do it very slowly...yeah because controling a power that isn't likely limited is a also a good idea. Or...he just does it very lightly.
Gliding it open, he could see a mildly aged light skin guy. Probably in his thirties. He wore a trench coat, had tattoos all over his body, and the look those possessed by drugs had. Black, heavy boots and lanky leather pants, alongside being completely bald.
He held onto the girl, small in comparison to the crackhead but taller than him pre-trigger. Ocean straight, brown hair, she wore a gray, worker drone jacket, going with gray jeans. The kind scene of office workers. He couldn't be bothered to remember exactly.
Hard to focus. It wasn't like that before, at least to what he could recall.
Another screech resounded out, the fact no one had come already had disgusted Chris. He was sure someone heard the squawks she was making. But in average spirits, people in Brockton Bay minded their own business. Sometimes to the extreme.
If no one else would help, then he would. He had the power to be better, and he would. His dad would want that…..Plus he didn't want unnecessary 3rd parties….yeah that was it….totally.
He threw his hand up, the lid swung alive with the motion. The sound of it slamming caught both their intentions. He was really hoping he didn't wake anyone up with that.
Chris tiredly pulled himself out of the trash and into the alley. The trash that collected on him falling off, flies buzzing around him. A downcast expression took hold of his features. His breath was nonexistent.
"Who the hell are you old man?" the bald man demanded.
Chris almost had a double take until he remembered he was supposed to be an old man.
Wait…..This is the timing. It would be glorious!
"...i'm sorry wha-"
He started slowly, dramatically, and methodically walking towards the dude. Making it seem as if he was a zombie.
The guy didn't seem to flinch, however he could smell the adrenaline kicking in. The heart pumping faster and faster! The urge to…..
'Wait…why is the deja-vu kicking in-actually I see it now….crap. I did this before...'
Abandoning his would-be joke, he got out of his fake zombie stance and began running at the assailant. He felt sluggish, in a way that he felt only when he lacked energy.
The bald man pulled out a pistol, Chris didn't recognize it, in fact this was the 2nd gun he'd ever seen in real life. Chris would be lying if he said he hadn't naturally cursed himself for running at a firearm. However, considering what he knew about himself now. The pistol should be useless against him, hell he might be able to outpace the bullet.
The guy pulled the trigger. In the movies, guns sounded cheap, something that could easily break. In real life however, there was a metallic kick that was hard to ignore. The bang sound jolted his senses and mildly pressured his ear to ring in annoyance.
His confidence remained unwavering. He beat Armsmaster!
He was a cape now!
He could probably outdo a mere bullet.
The bullet flew, Chris tried to dodge however despite seeing the bullet, he found himself too slow to dodge it. It caught his ribs as he lost momentum. It slew the skin and pierced into the bone.
His confidence spuddled to confusion. He knew he was faster than….that. Maybe it was the form?
He remained standing, the guy sprayed 3 more shots into him. Each bullet finding a mark somewhere to reside at. One caught his chest, one landed in his neck, and one in his upper left felt the kick each bullet provided, temporarily stunning his assault. If Chris wasn't riddled with bullets. He would've been blushing in pure embarrassment, he knew it. Then it hit him.
'Shit this isn't a game or a movie. This is real life.'
It took him till now to get the idea across his head that he got too overconfident, lost in his power, something that could cause anyone to lose their life. Or any civilian that was nearby.
He had to treat this seriously or that girl might get hurt.
Chris lost momentum and stopped only a few feet away from the assailant. He remained standing with an unreadable expression. The guy started laughing.
"Good riddance, one less homeless person to worry abou-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence, Chris quickly snatched his mouth and gripped it with unrivaled strength. He lifted the guy up. The guy made guttural noises. He was lifted off the ground from his mouth.
His old man 'costume' gave way to his true form, his orbs bulging a blood red that begged of pain. His skin grew paler than snow, and he grew bigger, taller, and the teeth came back with a vengeance. His long curls danced in the breeze as he finally returned to his true corporeal form. His spine cracked in pleasure as he stood to his full height. Eye to eye with the man.
The guy tried to pull the trigger. Chris however was faster and snatched the hand with the gun in it.
With pure force he crushed the gun, along with the bullets. A chilling crack sound studded through the city-styled alley, a crack that sounded like something had broken along with the gun. The guy's will to fight fled his eyes immediately, as he devolved into a covered scream. Tears of pain fell out of his eyes. The man muffled in hurt horror at what had become of his appendage.
A certain part of him took great pleasure in the showing of superiority and strength. He could feel the man's warm blood pumping, the urge came back in full force. Nearly dropping the man. His mind tracked into a chorus of voices.
His mind backtracked to a tunnel visioned haze. Hungered pain shot through him like a thunderbolt through the sky. He dropped the man.
He clutched his head as he struggled and struggled and struggled and struggled and struggled! The effort lasted longer than all of human history combined. When the red dust settled, he came to a sight of what had become of the guy.
He stared at the man on the ground. Bloody, mangled, and beaten.
'Deep breaths…'
Some bloody snot came out of the man's nose. Some out his ears. Blood flowed out his mouth. He heard the fractured bones in his finger clanking with skin unnaturally. His eyes were bloo-
'DEEP BREATHS.'
His breathing grew ragged and ragged. He smelt both heaven and hell. His feat touching the ground, he felt the excitement explode in anticipation. He could hear the struggle of breaths the man was heaving towards a hopeful survival. His sight bulged in darkened red towards his vict-meal. He could taste victory, he knew it! Everything was in place. Everything! He was perfect!...
Then why did it feel so wrong, yet so right! Why at the same time did he feel like….he was a monster, and a savior!
Chris stared at the man on the ground, curled up, hands over his head. Not even trying to run away.
The man had been so afraid he couldn't even move his legs.
It reminded him of the graveyard, the night guard, where he first lost it, not to even anger, but to hunger. He saw the man and the security guard as the same in this situation.
Soft, malleable, humans-okay where the hell did that come from?
He felt his body jolt in excitement yet settle down at the same time. It was like being struck by lightning yet being soothed by water at the same time.
The tunnel vision finally lifted, he finally saw past the…blood.
The man was turtling…he didn't know what to say about seeing a grown adult spiral to that level of being.
Clearly beaten, the man was on verge of unconsciousness, his brain seemed to be slowing down, his heart beat with it. His natural instincts took over as the adrenaline rush fell off.
Chris looked at his cold, dead hands. The wrinkles seemed nonexistent as he inquired questions in aid of his confusion.
His emotions strung clumsily to his mind. His thoughts still mangled by the onslaught of adrenaline and instinct that tried to invade them. It all served as a reminder of one thing.
'We are too strong.'
"Do you see? This world is a cruel place. A world where the strong take from the weak. One lacking love. Only hostility, suffering, and futility. If you want to be as heroic as your father, so be it. Just know this is what you will be up against." Muzan monologued wisely. It spoke more so of an experienced adult than an alternate him….or a brutal demon lord.
Just…where did that come from?
"With that being said, you should eat them. We're both starving so why not? Just take the broken finger. He won't feel a thing."
'...No i'm good. Way to take me out of it.'
"Fine, have it your way."
He regained his bearings and saw the girl still standing as still as a rock. Pure terror etched into her heart beat. Adrenaline spiking as she lost all color on her face. Sweat glistened as her heart began pumping! Her brain reeked of fear and adrenaline! It was reverently overwhelming….
'Control yourself.'
"Ma'm, I'm not going to do anything to you, can you please tell me where we're at right now?"
She stood still with fear. She was shaking like a leaf and it looked to be getting worse. She muttered out the words.
"A alley along B-b-brightmans, little ways from Winslow high school." She responded quickly, shivering while doing so.
"Thanks. Do you live far?" He asked with a torrented stare.
"N-no, only a block away…" she replied, fearful as ever.
"Okay, take care." He motioned to leave.
"Wait!"
Chris turned around in a controlled fury of emotions, although he didn't show it.
"C-c-can you-you take me ho-home? The stutter in her voice served to emphasize the terror he exhibited. At least that's what he thought it was. He seemed to subconsciously scare people now so he wasn't sure.
Chris stared at her with bold, dead eyes. He almost wanted to say no…..looking at it from a different perspective. If he said no, the worst case scenario says she gets chalk lines before she even reaches home. Or if she does she starts blabbering about him without proper consent. Making his clearly worse situation, worse. He was sure all the not so good individuals would be gunning for his involvement but he just couldn't afford to do that to himself.
It's not like he doesn't want to help other people, but it's also not like they would've cared about him beforehand, so why now? Because he has power-Bullshit!
They'd forget within a week. Tops. The news won't cover it as it would go against the general consensus of him and would twist a seemingly good act into malicious intent. That's just how people are, idiotic, stupid, and non negotiable. He wouldn't be surprised if they had already started dismantling his previous public image….
…If he did leave her to her own devices though….she'd die. The thought wasn't something he relished either…
If he took her home, he'd be helping someone out. Gain potential information. Prevent another needless death. Or even make a potential ally!...Or something….
He felt a primordial silence snickering in the back, almost hell-bat like sounds. It was so silent he normally wouldn't notice it. It's crescendo founded by the familial annoyance he felt towards the source and its timing.
"...those mental gymnastics were quite remarkable. You really do overthink things huh." Muzan laughed, sounding like a dead horse as he wheezed his sentence out.
"Shut the fuck up Muzan." Said without mercy, temporarily forgetting about the girl sitting right there.
The girl distressingly flinched at that.
"I'm sorry. That wasn't intended for you, let's go." Chris responded with guilt after his moment of thought and reflection. The girl seemed surprised at that answer for some reason. Was she that scared of his monstrous strength or something? He wished that he understood people more.
He really was losing it….
The girl nodded slowly and started off in the direction of her home, slowly.
"Are you really going to go out into the street looking like that?"
Chris was confused, until he realized too that he was exposed.
"Wait." He exclaimed loud enough for only her to hear.
Chris manifested a pitch black jacket from his skin, draping it over with a hoodie. His hair retracted to accommodate the hoodie over his head. The only thing that was a hint of him would be his glowing eyes. Of which were swiftly brittled to a soft blue. Once the transformation was finished, the jacket covered his entire body, feet included.
It was like the opposite of the sun coming over and swatting the bay in its rays.
The girl stood by and watched the transformation in silent awe.
"C-can I get one?"
Chris looked at her, he felt annoyed before just manifesting another jacket. It turned out to be alot easier than just morphing his body, plus it felt less weird. The best comparison he had for it would be like how lizards felt during shedding.
"Alright, let's go."
They turned onto the street. Familiarity collected into his mind as he stared. It wasn't that long ago that he and his dad drove down this very road.
All for some fucking pizza….that's what his dad died for….pizza…..
He clenched his fist so tight he could hear the skin tearing. He quickly regained control. However the girl was looking at him again. This time he couldn't determine the look. Then she motioned to speak but then stopped before she could utter the word.
Muzan walked next to him, walking forward ahead of them in his Michael Jackson-esque fit. Chris halfheartedly glanced over at the girl.
No reaction…wait! NO REACTION!
"Hey, do you see that in front of you?
She peered up, looked around with her brown orbs. She nodded in a negative turn that both dampened and quickened his heart rate.
'WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEA-actually Muzan said he was a figment of my psyche. Damn that checks out.'
"Checks out what?"
'The list of miscellaneous abilities we now have.'
"Well…from what I observed, there are people with powers here. What if one with hypersensitivity to sound hears you two talking. You would be fine. She would have a target on her back. It'd be better for her if she keeps her mouth shut. For the most part." Muzan uncomfortably switches the conversation towards another more immediate question.
'I see, but wouldn't that mean people know who I am.'
"Yes, people can record things, one may have caught you in action and you simply never noticed. That video spreads, news coverage comes. Now people see you dismantling a well known hero and fleeing the scene. What does that make you to them?"
'A…villain.'
"Yep. I'm surprised she asked you to take her home at all, though potentially knowing that, maybe she realized you weren't going to hurt her? Or perhaps it's a PRT agent leading you to a trap!"
'I think I'll take my chances. But then again.' The memory of the girl peering into the trash and seeing his hobo form jumped to the forefront of his mind. They didn't look the same to him. Different face, hair, eyes, overall body, scent, they just weren't the same being.
"Who's to say the PRT doesn't have a body shifter like you?"
'Then they'd have to assume that he was in the trash. Which is unlikely because there were no cameras in that alley. Not only that, but if they did record me, then they must know I can't be in the sun. And besides, how do i know this isn't just some illusion conjured up by someone.'
It's also very unrealistic to search and find one kid in a city as big and complex as Brockton Bay. Let alone him
"You underestimate your own worth."
With that in mind, he decided to just roll with it, if it came down to it he could just run away. If he could speed blitz Armsmaster of all people, then some regular street rats couldn't do anything to him.
Then again those same street rats avoided the Protectorate….
"Don't get too overconfident, Armsmaster was decently strong, and was more skilled than you. There may be others in the bay similar in scope to him. If not in strength, then in speed."
'Okay…' Chris almost seemed sad at that, although he wasn't sure why. More trigger nonsense to think on.
The 'trio' walked for a time until they arrived at the house. It was small, one story small, and no steps leading up to it. It barely popped.
"We're here…thank y-you." She shedded as she approached her door, fumbling the keys into the lock with a nostalgic jingle. An audible thunk sound was made and the door corked open.
The inside was really nice, more expensive than his, but it could still be considered roomy. A far cry from what the outside preached.
In fact it was...warm, and homey, and off. He couldnt put his finger on it. But something screamed this was off.
'You know what. Fuck it, questions for another day.'
With his objective completed, Chris was ready to leave. He could hear Muzan in the back behind him, clawing about something to eat. Something he was also going to have to figure out.
"Wait…" the low tone of the girl came around into his ears. Practically a whisper in comparison to the loud and sassy other half. She caught him before she hit the sidewalk in stride.
He turned to look at her, he didn't say anything.
"W-why did you save me?"
"Just because really…I had the ability to do something, soooooo I kinda just did it. Not much thought to it really."
The answer was completely honest, he heard her screaming and immediately jumped to action. In retrospect, it was probably the least brightest thing he's ever done.
"...Thank you. Stay there for a moment." She retreated into her house. He overheard some ruffling of what seemed to be papers and coins. After a few seconds, she rushed out.
"This isn't much but please t-take this." She held some crumpled up dollar bill's with some pennies and a dime. He stared for a good second, until he finally decided on a response.
"yeah I'm good, you need that a lot more than I need it."
"But-"
"I don't….need the money, In fact, normal things like hygiene and shelter don't matter to me. Your money would be wasted on me."
"But-"
"I appreciate the kind gesture, truly. Now take care ma'am." Chris had turned around and began walking away from the home.
"Wait!" the woman ran inside, with the money, she began shuffling for something else.
"She still isn't done?" Muzan seemed to be pacing back and forth behind him like a child. It served as a soft reminder of all the questions he still had.
Besides that however, Chris entirely ignored Muzan's childish outburst.
The woman came back, a newspaper in tow with her. All but shoving it into his view.
'Rampage in Brockton Bay! New Case 53 vs Armsmaster Showdown! Closer look into the origin of the new supervillain menace!'
"What did I say!"
He skimmed through it a little bit. They had pictures of the later part of the encounter and the sun. However it wasnt that, it was the fact those pieces of shit had the gaul to throw his name out like that!
'New information confirms the new villain is Chris Teel, who if you can recall, died 2 weeks ago in a tragic car accident with his dad. He was buried alongside his father and mother, however it seems he's defied death and returned to life.' is that even legal?! He's still a minor, or perhaps his new status of life warranted an exception. His eye twitched in anger at that, the girl noticed this.
'Dicks. And I took that personally.'
"Thank you so much for this ma'am. May I keep this?"
"Yes…take it as a thank you for saving me."
For some reason, the word that emphasized itself the most to him was save. It made him feel some type of way. Most in the bay tended to be cynical in a world where an endbringer or the slaughterhouse 9 can come around and run shit into the ground. It felt…nice. It helped jog him out of his anger.
Hundreds of years of history, ancestry, and land. Gone within a day. With severe ramifications following their presences….
Muzan in those myths considered himself a natural disaster as well. Didn't he?
When all this craziness settles down, he was going to major the fuck out of Japanese mythology.
Also if she held this newspaper. Then she must know who he is.
After a few seconds of caritative anticipation, Chris was finally ready to say his farewells. However he held one last question.
"Why didn't you run away from me if you knew who I was?"
"Well…I tried…but I just couldn't. My feet refused to move, I was paralyzed. I…don't really know why."
Chris stood in a momentary pause to process the newfound information.
"Take care ma'am, and uhh… don't walk at night by yourself anymore."
"W-will do, stay out of s-sight alrigh-"
The area around them shook with the sound of a belly whimpering in torment over having not even in 2 weeks.
Chris's cheeks lit in embarrassment. As much of a contrast as smoldering flames during a blizzard. He never was one to embarrass himself in this way. Never in school, only at the house did he let loose and fart and burp and sleep to his heart's content.
The girl looked up at him, and ran back inside. Within seconds she came out with a wrapped burger.
From Fugly Bob's….Why was she eating Fugly Bob's?
Even now, the smell of grease streaked to his nose like a musty street cat on a boat for Boston. His dad warned him to never eat from there. He heeded his warning normally, but now was different.
He took it, Fugly's may be absolutely foul to his dad, but he was hungry, and food was food after all.
"Thank you ma'am, I hope we can meet under better circumstances in the future. For now, be safe, and take care…..again."
"Will do, good luck out there."
He walked away from the front and down the street, away from the house, not having a clue where he would go. Just that he knew it was away from here, here where he can cause more harm.
He stayed silent, thinking about his current predicament. He unwrapped the Fugly Burger and proceeded to demolish it. Despite the lackluster taste, not eating in about 2 weeks really comes down on you. He could taste the greasy goodness as he inhaled the burger within seconds.
He still felt hungry, but at least he had some kind of fuel in the tank.
"Finally! That took forever!"
'It took literally 10 minutes…i think.'
"That's a long time! Time passes by slower to me than it does for you! Especially more so since I'm so mindfully starving!"
'I just ate something!'
The implications for what may keep him alive may be…..less than ideal. The Fugly Burger would need to be seen if it would work since his other drastic changes came to play. In fact he decided to remind himself to make sure he got it, the more his abilities showed themselves the less human he felt.
He died. Came back to life with fangs and claws. Immediately upon seeing a human, he went off the walls. Only subdued by intense emotions. Can regenerate. Gets burned by sunlight-ISN'T HE A FUCKING VAMPIRE AT THAT POINT! At that point it's crazy to think he isn't some demonic creature.
Not to mention….didn't in those myths, Muzan and his Kizuki club or whatever need blood to survive or something. Plus a weakness to sunlight?
Is that what he is? A demon? How in the liver to the seven seas of hell did he trigger into the equivalent of a mythological entity? His alter ego even named himself after a mythical demon lord supposedly capable of endbringer level destruction!
…..Didn't they have to drug him 4 times or something with mythical bullshit to even stand a snowball's chance against him?
Muzan Kibutsuji…..a name that would serve only to unnerve him. It still scared him that was the name he went with and not….anything else. Like maybe Randy, or Scion or….something. Perhaps his inner demons were showing themselves.
Or he was just superstitious as fuck. It was a cool sounding name after all….With some intense stories behind it.
And on the topic of intense stories….THOSE BITCH ASS PIECES OF SHIT! They outed him!
Not his day, but him. He wasn't that recognizable! How? And why? They weren't supposed to shit out names like that. Otherwise Lungs name would be well the fuck known, or Kaiser, or Hookwolf, or Armsmaster and the other heroes. The only group he could think of with public names was New Wave. Glory Girl was Amy something, and the rest had something to them. What was it they had they had he didn't? Was it teamwork? Connections?
Maybe it was what had served him previously, but now it was sorta annoying. He wondered if he had any medical or mental things before now. Because they feel massively boosted. It was harder to focus and control himself than before. And then it would go away just like that. Speaking of boosted.
He was starving. He set a mental goal for himself to try and not eat any living human. Maybe it can be circumvented with animals. Or bodies. Although without having eaten anything yet, it was hard to tell.
Animals that seemed to avoid him like the damn plague. The birds that sleep in trees or on top of the houses, fly away. Raccoons, stray dogs, cats, and even the rats try their best to avoid him. He can smell them, and they him.
Perhaps there are more to his newfound senses than thought to speak of. But right now…..
"There's people tailing us." Muzan interrupted seriously. His shift in tone obvious and very evident to him. Crazy thing was, he was on the ball about it, he noticed them as well.
Then there were 4 other guys. All rocking black jackets and converging from different sides. One from a nearby alley way, the others from different streets.
"Well as skeptical as you are, they've been tailing us since we left that alley with the girl."
'Then they might go after the girl!'
"...I'm sorry. What?"
Muzan nearly stopped, dead in his tracks, and looked straight at Chris. His skarlet eyes pierced through the scenery of the seemingly peaceful suburb.
Chris chose his next words very wisely.
'That and he was probably friends with the guy that got humbled. Maybe…shake the guys for info and to leave that girl alone?'
"Or we can just eat them and be done with it. I don't see why we can't. No one will care if trash dies."
'Because for one, it's not gonna get them off our backs. They are part of a bigger organization with resources. And three, we don't understand our abilities yet, leading into my last point. Four, were not murderers, especially cannibals. Dad and mom would hate that, we're better than that.'
"Do you really think they will do that? Make an example of one and the rest will follow."
'I'm not going to eat anyone.'
"Well why exactly not? Tell me, if we slammed one of those 'strong' superheroes, then what would these guys have that could harm us?"
'I don't know…but…just look, it would do us no good in the long run okay!'
"So that's what it is then!"
'What?'
"You're afraid."
Chris stopped moving, looked at the curb side, and sat aggressively down on it. Muzan sat next to him, on his left. Overlooking the street as little to no traffic cleared its wake under the moon. No people, at least in sight.
'You're damn right I'm afraid! No! Downright terrified!I have the strength to send one of the most powerful heroes in the city, maybe the country, flying like a goddamn football!'
"Right! You should be ecstatic to be that strong! Think of all the good you can do!"
'Good? Like eating someone by accident? We nearly did that four times! We need to be cautious. Wary even. If I-me, a bum. Can body-bag motherfucking Armsmaster, then think of the damage we can cause, think of how easily we can snuff out life. I'm a walking hunger bomb. And once that thing goes off, I don't know if I'll be able to hold myself back."
"Then have some food so that if you do come across some in…lesser times, you can actually respond and act accordingly to avoid further problems."
'That's… actually not that bad of an idea, however that requires me to actually drink someone, yeah that's a big no.'
"Well I should've expected that, you do have a hero complex after all."
'Hero complex? What are you on about?'
"You know exactly what I mean."
'I don't see how I'm hero-like, I just saved the girl, that doesn't make me a hero. Rogues and probably some villains don't actively hurt people either. So how am I like Armsmaster? In any sort of way.'
"Instead of using logic for any anterior motive, you acted without thinking. That's a trait of a legendary hero, then to even deny it, and ask nothing in return as well shows it even more so!"
'Okay, so what if I helped people, it's the right thing to do!'
"Okay then, smartass. What is the right thing to do, if it were not a hero?"
'By trying to not to be a hunger-bent monstrosity of nature!'
"So what! You can't just live! You need to survive, you think you can just do what makes others happy? You need to prioritize yourself! It's how we make it to the next day! It's what would make dad proud!"
'And what if dad wasn't happy with this? With what we'd become?'
"Then we keep moving, we endure! Can't you see it? Were so much more than any regular creature, especially humans, potentially more than even those endbringers. We-"
'Stronger than an endbringer?! C. Do you hear your own overconfidence? That is exactly what I'm afraid of! To become blind to others, without empathy I'd be a certified psycopath working only off of my need to survive. I'd be like those Case 53 things! Hell! I already am!'
"That's why you need to prioritize you! You used to do this!"
"Yeah! Because those kids were trashy and pieces of shit! Also let's neglect the fact that was back when I still had a fucking family! A home! A proper, normal life! That's all I ever wanted since mom died! And I'll never be able to get those things back!"
"You still have those things! This city is your home, this may be the new normal, and you still have a family….I just…want the best for you. I don't want you to be brought down by…fleeting emotions, especially for those who do not care the same for you."
"It's not fleeting. We have responsibilities, not only to ourselves, but to others. With this great power, I have to do something! It will weigh on me if I don't…I'd rather do something, than nothing at all." He followed up on it.
"Dad would have done something about it. So why not me?"
"...I see. Fine then, you've made your point…..hero."
'I'm not a hero!'
"Then prove me wrong."
'I'm not eating anyone. Period. End of discussion. Stop trying to get me to go cannibalistic. Despite what you say, I am still human. If not in mind, then definitely in spirit. And I'm not better than everyone. Now can you please be silent, I have to think on how we'll survive.'
Chris stood back up, and began walking away from Muzan.
Said being relented an annoyed sigh, knowing that he wasn't getting anywhere at this rate. It annoyed him that despite being the same, they were so….different. standing up he followed.
They walked for a time, perhaps an hour, but he couldn't tell he just knew that he wasn't tired still. Physically or mentally.
He couldn't be bothered to tell if he was in the docks, next to old trains, the boardwalk, or by Winslow still. He just kept moving and moving. He had a lot of time before sunrise after all.
It occurred to him that those 4 guys were no longer tailing him either, which was interesting. He didn't even smell them wander off, did they get taken out? No. He would've smelt blood. Or something at least. Maybe it was something else.
He wasn't concerned anymore about it, his brain had been moving at the speed of sound.
Yet he wasn't tired.
Yet he didn't feel like looking for stray cats and dogs, nor was he going to eat any person.
Yet he was supposed to live.
So where would a vampiric boy, such as himself, gain the nutrients to live?
"Why did you try and start off with a joke?" Muzan commented offhandedly. Chris compelled himself
"At this point, it might as well be my coping mechanism. After mom died, dad had to work more, so really all I had was me, my toys, and my imagination." His response was awkward, but still carried emotion through it.
"I always wondered where that urge came from, sorry for bothering you."
His brain finally stopped sprinting long enough to be coherent with his response. The silence stretched on for him to see where Muzan was coming from.
'I wonder if thats how dad felt whenever he came home. No, perhaps mom when she was in the hospital, or maybe...'
Chris inhaled triumphantly, his chest puffed out excitedly. Muzan looked over, confused.
'Hey. What's the chances that central hospital will have spare blood?'
"Pretty high, this is Brockton Bay after all, people get hurt all the time."
'Alright then, and…ummm…Muzan?'
Muzan turned around and looked directly at him, the red eyes of a predator bore into his, yet all he felt was slight relief and nirvana.
"I'm sorry for lashing out at y-"
"You don't have to apologize for being stressed out. That's completely normal, despite your way of thinking being absolutely out pacing and wild."
Chris giggled at that, he was always prone to overthink things, it was the reason he wasn't hitting straight A's in school. An issue that didn't seem remedied with his transformation into…whatever the hell he was. Even now h-
"You're ruining the moment, bum."
"Then how about this then. Thank you."
Muzan's hat tilted in a way that obscured his red orbs. He smiled pricelessly at his avatar.
"Anytime bro. That's why I'm here ."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
EndoSlayer
EndoSlayer And that is that, another chapter down and out. I wanted to attempt some world building but I haven't caught up with One Piece or finished Lord of the Rings so I'm not even going to attempt it.
It was also a bit longer than usual, but since I was supposed to have this way back when before life dabbed me and said 'we aint done with you.' and I had to step away for awhile. I wanted to make sure this was good….okay at least above average. Hope the wait was worth it.
Some more Muzan interaction, hopefully it's actually decent enough to convey the kinship between Chris and Muzan. With seeds of the future.
Also I'm gonna try and go back to the previous chapters to rewrite any spelling mishaps, or just to clean up the font.
Oh yeah that summary is getting changed too. Its too basic and too vague for my liking. Idk what it'll be but who knows, lord knows I ain't stressing over it.
Outside of that tho, thank yall again for reading this story. Will try to update more often.
Someone said if i wanted this story to gain traction i should update more often. Thing is i aint really cared, im doing this to have fun, so ima write the story at my own pace.
Besides most the story already done, i say most cuz i might change a few things here and there. But it dont matter really, thank god their are people who want me to update more often lol, im not going to promise anything.
Anyhow yall be safe and have a nice rest of ur day. lov yaaaall :-)
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