[FBI Alert: This story contains scenes that may traumatize and scare children. Sensitive individuals should refrain...]
Landon was lying in his bed, resting.
He had just returned to his hotel and was thinking about what had happened a few hours ago.
After apparently destroying one of the shadow entities, something strange occurred with one of the ninjas. His haki sensed the presence of a third person, not physically there but appearing through one of the two remaining assassins. His haki made him feel as if someone's consciousness had taken control of one of the shadow demons, possessing it.
He felt himself being watched, evaluated. He even sensed surprise and curiosity.
Landon realized that the person who had taken control in front of him was probably the true mastermind behind these ninjas, the one pulling the strings behind the scenes...
'The leader of an assassin organization from Japan, maybe...? He creates some sort of shadow soldiers, who knows how, assassins that follow his orders and do the dirty work for him, or them...' Landon felt this theory was plausible.
Landon sensed the "master" looking curiously at the flames on his hands.
'He's probably never seen this before. I don't even know if phoenixes exist here, if they're a supernatural race in this world, and even if they do exist, none are like me...' His power, after all, came from a legendary mythical fruit from another world.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Landon turned toward the shadow ninja, where he knew the master had taken control, and looked straight into his yellow-green eyes.
His haki suddenly sensed a jolt of surprise, perplexity, and even greater confusion...
'He didn't expect to be discovered...' Landon thought, a small arrogant smile forming at the corner of his lips.
'Haki really is a cheat...' Landon mused, realizing it was possible that, as he had seen with the ninja demons impervious to almost all damage, haki might be a natural counter to all supernaturals, just as it was to Devil Fruits in *One Piece*...
Landon sensed something was about to happen, the person behind this was going to respond, even though he felt the ninja couldn't speak. He knew there would be some form of communication...
Then, he felt the consciousness suddenly brought out surprise, even concern, a sense of urgency. Its attention was abruptly elsewhere...
Landon felt he was going to leave.
"Wait..."
But the consciousness vanished, and the ninjas dissolved into black smoke a few seconds later...
----------------------
'What a strange world...' Landon thought, his head resting on his pillow.
'Michael had explained the basics of the supernatural, but tonight's situation far exceeds what he told me...' Landon realized that this world was truly mystical and dark.
'I did well not to transform yet, keeping my trump cards hidden...' No matter who would want to harm him in the future or plot against him, they would never be able to withstand the true power of his Devil Fruit.
Landon had realized tonight that, even with the invulnerable ninja demons, his fire could hurt them, but it just wasn't enough to kill them.
But Landon knew that if he had transformed into his hybrid form, his flames would have multiplied in number, intensity, and destructiveness. He could have killed them, even without haki.
'Pfff... It's a shame, I was eager to fly through the sky. That won't happen anytime soon...'
Landon sighed in disappointment, closed his eyes, and began to fall asleep, but without lowering his observation haki around him. He wasn't sure how the ninja had found him or if the demons would return...
'The observation perimeter is about 11 meters, half of what it is when I'm fully awake, but it'll do...' With this last thought, Landon surrendered to sleep.
*******************************
Landon woke up four hours later. He hadn't slept much, but he didn't need sleep to function; he only slept for comfort.
He got out of bed and walked to the window, looking at the sky.
'It's a little after 6 am...' This was one of the strange but useful abilities Landon had inherited. Sailors could easily tell what time it was by looking at the sun, estimating distances traveled, and other things...
He stretched a little and started his haki training and combat style without wasting any time.
'My armament haki has improved...' he realized.
'Nothing beats real combat...' Landon could now cover his entire forearm in haki for about 4 seconds, and he could cover his entire fist for a little over 10 seconds.
He continued his training for another hour before taking a quick shower.
He dressed and left his room.
"How are you, Alfred? Did you sleep well?" Landon asked his friend as he arrived downstairs at the hotel.
"Wonderfully, sir. And you?" Alfred replied politely, with an odd sort of English accent that Landon was convinced he had never heard before, and probably fake.
'He really takes his role as Batman's butler seriously...'
Landon smiled in amusement at his friend's childish behavior.
"Like a baby. So, any news?" Landon sat at the counter.
"Well, first of all, the power outage has been fixed, and the electricity is back on."
"Well, not a moment too soon..." Landon said.
"And there's news regarding the Walcott case..." Alfred said, capturing the attention of the young man with gray-green eyes.
"The investigation was slowed due to the blackout, but they've discovered that the garden is basically a cemetery, filled with many of the Walcotts' victims. They say around twenty bodies have been found so far, but experts are certain there are many more, they estimate just under a hundred..." the butler continued.
Landon simply sighed. He had known from the start that this would be the case, but he had still hoped to be wrong.
"As for the father and the assailant, there's no news. There's not even a physical description of the attacker. The police are convinced the father is dead by now, but without a body, they're forced to issue a arrest warrant..." Alfred said calmly, speaking and standing in a refined and dignified manner.
Landon, however, was surprised by his words.
"Really? No criminal sketch? The victim didn't describe the attacker?" he asked.
"No, the police and FBI insisted, but it's said she refused to describe or help in the search for her hero, not wanting to betray the person who saved her," Alfred explained.
Landon's eyes widened.
'I didn't expect that...' he thought.
"Between that and her ramblings about what happened, it's unlikely the girl will be of any use to the investigation. It's possible that even if they capture the father and bring him to trial, she won't be called as a witness..." the older man continued.
"Well, it's a really surprising case..." Landon said, lost in thought.
"Surprising, bizarre, and grim..." Alfred concluded.
Landon sighed and continued chatting with his friend for a few more minutes.
He used half of his remaining dollars to extend his hotel room booking by two more days, in addition to the two he had left.
'The rest will be for gas. I need to get back to hunting, but the woods are under heavy surveillance right now...' Landon couldn't go there. It wouldn't be a problem to hunt discreetly, as long as he didn't use his most visible powers. The issue was that he didn't have a license.
You need a license to hunt and sell the hunt booty legally, and Landon didn't have one. He made arrangements with the butcher, Angus, who didn't ask questions or say anything.
Angus had told him about the license when he first came to sell his catch. He even mentioned an old client of his, a masked guy who went by the name "Carefree Shadow." It was soon discovered that his real name was Bob Dummar. No one knew why he insisted on that alias, but it didn't matter. He, too, didn't have a hunting license, but that didn't stop him from hunting. He was quite skilled, actually.
He managed to avoid the police and authorities for a while, but eventually, he got caught, and it caused him a lot of trouble. There were numerous charges against him, the first being that he had a firearm without a permit.
'I don't really have to worry about that, I can use a rock or any small projectile...' Landon thought.
But there was also the fact that the hunting license regulated biodiversity, ensuring animals weren't hunted to extinction. There are specific times and species to hunt during those periods. Plus, using a weapon in areas frequented by humans, like joggers, could be considered endangering the lives of others, even attempted murder.
Beacon Hills didn't take that lightly. The guy even spent some time in jail and had to pay a hefty fine, but they didn't trace it back to Angus.
'I need to find another source of income in the meantime,' the young man thought.
'But for now, I'm starving,' Landon thought as he headed to the hotel's cafeteria where breakfast was served.
Landon devoured several portions by himself, leaving the people around him horrified before heading to the hospital.
He arrived 20 minutes later, pulled up his hood, and entered the building.
'Hopefully, no one will notice me...' Landon thought. He began to consider finding a job at the hospital. He could easily be a nurse, given Marco's knowledge and a bit of extra learning, but that wouldn't be the right thing to do.
Landon didn't want something too front-facing, where they would need him. He had thought about it, and the best option was maintenance.
'I could go around the rooms, clean the operating rooms, maybe even while a patient is still inside, and I could possibly carry out the idea I've in mind...' Landon thought. He had been planning this for a while: coming to the hospital at night, going to one of the rooms, and healing with his flames throughout the night.
Landon had decided not to use his transformations, keeping them as trump cards, which greatly reduced his healing abilities. He estimated it would take about 3 hours of intense healing or around ten hours of continuous treatment.
The first option wasn't possible; he could only last a few minutes at best, not hours, which left the second option. It was exhausting and long, but entirely doable.
He came up with the idea after a chance encounter with a sick little girl. His haki told him her cells were deteriorating, that life was slowly leaving her, and that she had about a year to live.
It had been two days ago, just before the Barrow incident. She had stopped him in the hallway, looking for her stuffed animal.
Seeing her shaved head and pale complexion, Landon understood that she must be in the terminal stage of an especially aggressive cancer.
The little girl was in a white patient gown and had left her room. His haki sensed that someone, probably her father, was asleep in the chair next to her bed.
She weakly asked him if he had seen her "Flashy Cow," her plush toy that glowed in the dark. She had lost it when she had a crisis and the doctors rushed her to surgery, dropping it somewhere along the way.
Landon told her to wait and quickly scanned the floor with his haki, eventually finding it under one of the chairs in the west wing. He brought the plush back to her. The girl took it in her hands, hugging it tightly against her, before weakly thanking him and heading back to her room with difficulty.
Landon stood there for a few seconds, watching where she had gone, his fists clenched.
He shook his head, thinking back to that memory:
'I need to get a maintenance job here, with both day and night shifts or some free hours...' Landon thought with conviction.
*************************************
Lydia was in her bed. She wouldn't be going to school today, slowly recovering from yesterday's experience. Aiden was with her, keeping her company.
"Did you know that since I've gone back to school, I haven't attended a single math class, not even the exams, and yet I have no absences and excellent grades?" the blond boy said with a smile, sitting on her bed beside her.
"What? I doubt you hacked the school's system," the redhead, half-lying on her bed with her back propped up, replied.
"No, I didn't hack anything. I just made sure Ethan went in my place. No one suspected a thing..." the boy answered with a smug grin, proud of his trickery.
Lydia chuckled at Aiden's words.
"It's an advantage to have a twin, I guess. How did you get him to agree?" she asked curiously.
"I promised him I'd take his place in the different language classes," the boy replied.
"Foreign languages are only taught in the first years at Beacon Hills..." Lydia stated with certainty.
The blond werewolf smiled.
"Yeah, he was green with rage..."
The redhead burst out laughing at her former lover's words.
"You're really a bad boy." Lydia looked at him.
Aiden looked back at her.
"Yeah..., I am. But I'm not... at least not mean anymore..." he said, looking her straight in the eyes before continuing.
"What I did to Boyd, being involved in his death, I... I'm going to become a better person."
He looked her straight in the eyes and took her hand.
"I promise you, Lydia..." The redhead saw that he was sincere, she was softened by his promise. He had been the one who found her on the balcony yesterday, carrying her in his arms and comforting her, warming her up before the ninja demons reappeared a few minutes later.
She couldn't find the strength to resent him; she had feelings for him.
"Well, listen, I have to go to class now. Ethan and I are going to accompany Scott to school. Those weird black ninjas from yesterday were looking in his direction before they left. They're probably going to attack him today or tonight, so I need to protect him," the boy said, still holding her hand.
Lydia said nothing, just nodding.
'He's really making an effort to integrate into Scott's pack...' she thought.
"Will you be okay if I leave? If you want, I can stay by your side..." he said softly, gently caressing her hands.
"No, don't worry, go ahead. Go take care of Scott," Lydia replied.
"Are you sure? I can stay with you if you want..." the boy started.
"No... go on, don't worry," the redhead said, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Alright," Aiden replied. He leaned in, gave her a tender kiss on the lips, then stood up and left.
Lydia stayed lying down for a few more minutes after his departure, relaxing quietly before pulling herself together.
'Well, I have work to do too...' She got up, rummaged through her bag, and went to her desk, opened her laptop, and inserted the USB drive.
'Hope this helps me...' she thought.
She opened the folder and found a single document.
'It seems like Alison gathered everything into one document...' She opened it and saw it was about fifteen pages long.
The girl's green eyes noticed a short text at the beginning of the document, which seemed to be a note from Alison:
(I've compiled the most relevant and likely ones first, and the less related ones after... "Thanks Alison, you're the best." "It's my pleasure, darling...")
Lydia smiled at her best friend's words and started reading:
Hitodama/Onibi Will-o'-the-Wisps:
It is said that Hitodama (火魂 /人魂) are the souls of those who, at their death, did not find rest... These beings, for mysterious reasons – regrets, unforgiven sins, or broken loves – could not find the strength within themselves to leave this world. When their bodies perished, their souls, detached but trapped in this world, turned into a dark blue flame, floating aimlessly through forests and hills, homes, or villages.
Last mention or appearance: January 1923, Japan, the village of Inunaki was entirely emptied overnight, no villagers were ever found, not even their bodies. But several nearby villages reported that on the night in question, the sky was lit up by hundreds of blue lights rising into the air.
Consequence: About 300 people who were never found. The village became a mystery, a local legend, and many people visited it. Some rare visitors lived their lives with simple happiness and satisfaction, but most ended up hanged, poisoned, or stabbed, sharing one thing in common, they all did this to themselves, committing suicide... The place was eventually sealed off and declared a forbidden zone in 1972 by the government...
--
Even more terrifying were the Onibi (鬼火), the "demon fires." Unlike the Hitodama, which were lost souls, the Onibi were manifestations of malevolent spirits, a purple flame that induces madness... These violet flames danced in the air, accompanied by enticing laughter, calling to their observers, drawing them into the darkness of the night. Many travelers and children followed them into the night, never to be seen again.
Last mention or appearance: January 1988, Tokyo, Japan. A mother whose daughter had been raped and murdered by a young man, who was acquitted thanks to his wealthy family, made a pact with the Yonkai (evil spirits) driven by hatred. They carried out her revenge, and in exchange, she paid an unknown price. In one night, the entire family was wiped out, silently and without commotion. The next morning, the scene showed some family members dismembered, others eviscerated, with some intact bodies showing no wounds or damage, but they were empty inside...their organes had been removed... all organs found delicately arranged around the body of the victims.
Consequence: 17 dead, including all relatives up to the second degree. The mother was found a few days later in a state of extreme malnutrition. Authorities fed her, but she vomited everything immediately. She was taken to a care facility, where the same thing happened – no matter the food, she regurgitated it immediately. She spent the night there, and by the next day, her eye sockets were empty and bleeding, and her right arm was partially torn off. Both missing limbs appeared to have been consumed by the woman...
She died a week later in a psychiatric hospital, starving to death as she desperately tried to bite into her left hand... All attempts to feed her or inject nutrients directly into her bloodstream had no effect, only her own flesh could nourish her...
Hitodama/Onibi: a Flickering flames from the world of the dead, wandering through the night, reminding the living never to forget the respect owed to spirits and always to fear what cannot be clearly seen in the darkness, what lies hidden on the other side...
--
Xiuhtecuhtli-Xoxoauhqui, the Lord of the Turquoise Fire.
Legends say that in ancient times, long before the world as we know it took shape, the heavens and the earth were dominated by immensely powerful entities. Among them was one who ruled over fire, heat, and life itself, stemming from an Aztec belief: Xiuhtecuhtli-Xoxoauhqui, the lord of the blue fire.
It was said that Xiuhtecuhtli-Xoxoauhqui did not live like others but within the burning depths of the earth, at the bottom of roaring volcanoes, where no one dared venture. His body was adorned with turquoise stones, shining like dying stars, but his eyes were as black as the deepest night.
Last mention or appearance: 79 AD, Pompeii. From recent archaeological finds: secret documents and glyphs suggest that something else was happening in the city... events surrounding a man named Lucius Tiberius Callidus, an ambitious citizen of Pompeii, dreamed of power but was constantly rebuffed by the city's elite. Ridiculised, powerless, and frustrated, he turned to the supernatural.
Numerous documents show that he had traveled all over Rome, visiting dark, cursed places discreetly for years before returning to Pompeii. He brought with him occult objects and dark rituals, calling upon Xiuhtecuhtli-Xoxoauhqui. In exchange for his servitude, Lucius received powers and the ability to control turquoise flames. He charmed and manipulated citizens, rallying them to his cause, making promises, and they followed him in a revolt against the greedy rulers. His supernatural flames burned the magistrates and council, and he eventually achieved his goal and took control of the city.
However, his ambition didn't stop at Pompeii. Lucius wanted to conquer Rome and the entire Empire, he wanted the world itself to be at his feet. Gradually, his followers realized the destructive madness consuming him. Their new leader was worse than the previous ones. They tried to stop him, and despite his powers, they managed to weaken him after many losses. Lucius, driven to the edge and on the verge of defeat, decided that the ungrateful people didn't deserve him as their leader, king, and ruler. No documents explain how it ended. We don't know the rest, but the only thing we know is that this night was the night when Mount Vesuvius inexplicably awoke after thousands of years of slumber and engulfed the entire city...
Consequence: unknown, death toll unknown...
---
Lydia continued reading attentively, completely absorbed in the words written on the page...
Lydia began to browse through the entire document. Many things and supernatural beings were mentioned, some even originating from mythology. No one was sure of their actual existence, but there was no doubt that something supernatural was behind it.
'It's scary, all the things this world hides...' The red-haired girl got chills.
'But it's instructive...' Lydia had read everything, and with her own experience of the blue fire she had witnessed, she knew which description best matched the azure and golden flames.
'Let's first set aside the Will-o'-the-wisps, they don't share the living and gentle nature I felt in the flames...' Lydia put her hand on her chin and thought, sorting the true from the false.
'Same for the Aztec Turquoise Lord, it doesn't match at all except maybe the color of the flames...' She decided as well.
Lydia continued going through the document, distinguishing what might be related or not as she went along.
'The description of the salamander, I'm sure there's no connection, it's just a supernatural creature that controls fire...' She turned the page and arrived at the next one.
'Same for Amaterasu, the black fire that burns without being extinguished... it has absolutely nothing to do with it.' Lydia continued flipping through the pages, pondering.
'The alchemical fire used in alchemy... no...'
'Hellhounds and their destructive fire... no...'
She went through several pages until she arrived at one where the title caught her attention.
'Sacred fire of the Phoenix...' She read the information on it. The phoenix's fire is a bright red and golden flame, capable of destroying and creating, killing and healing, representing the cycle of existence: birth, death, and rebirth. The flame symbolized life.
The color didn't match, but everything else did.
'Phoenix fire...' she thought.
------------------------------------
Landon was in the hospital, in one of the rooms, with an elderly man who had failing lungs, something Landon had healed, though with difficulty. The hardest part had been waiting for him to fall asleep.
'Phew...' sighed the boy as he left the room.
'That one wasn't easy.' Landon continued down the hallway, changing direction and stopping briefly before resuming his walk.
The boy walked as if everything was fine, with no change in his expression.
'Another one...' Landon thought.
Since he had passed through the hospital entrance, he had felt uneasy, like a gaze, but not exactly—someone had their attention on him, throughout the entire hospital. His Haki had repeatedly tried to detect the source but no result.
Landon had since acted as though he didn't know he was being watched. Whatever was going on and whoever was behind it, he let them believe they still had the advantage of surprise.
'Hmmm I only feel their gaze inside the hospital. It's possible it's something supernatural, like someone with clairvoyant abilities or a magic crystal ball, but I feel it's not exactly that...' Landon thought.
He had been almost constantly watched since entering, almost. There were a few places, a short zone between two corridors, for example, or a corner, where he no longer felt observed, leading him to conclude:
'Surveillance cameras...' But Landon was a bit surprised. He suspected there were cameras. He had thought of destroying them but decided not to, not wanting to deprive the hospital of its minimal security and protective measures... and the Barrow case had proven him right.
'But generally, there's hardly anyone at the monitoring station... why now, and why me?' he thought. It made sense that with sudden recoveries and unexplained miraculous healings, the hospital would start drawing attention.
'But it's too early, far too early, this shouldn't happen for months...' thought the boy, his green-gray eyes reflecting his concern.
'Oh well, whatever...' Landon continued doing what he did every day, and if someone became too curious about him, they'd unknowingly enter Landon's line of sight too.
The morning passed like this, healing new patients who couldn't recover on their own, while avoiding the attention of those around him, all the while pretending to ignore the gaze from the cameras he felt on him.
He left the hospital around noon, heading to a nearby restaurant for lunch.
'As expected,' thought Landon, the moment he left the hospital, he no longer felt the constant gaze on him.
'Let's see what happens next...' Landon headed toward the restaurant, a small smile on his lips.
***************************************
Night had fallen over Beacon Hills. Landon was still at the hospital, sitting at reception, silently observing his surroundings.
He had healed all the critically injured patients he had found, but only the wounded ones...
Landon had been looking for a way to get hired at the hospital as a janitor. He could simply go to a manager and talk to them, but he wasn't sure he'd be hired, and he needed to be certain he got the job.
'I can't take no for an answer. The best way would be to have a recommendation or some help from the inside,' thought the boy.
'Or maybe, a plan or trick that would ensure the position is mine...' Landon had already noticed there was a team of 5-6 people responsible for maintenance.
'If the team is full, I'll have to find a way to make a spot open up and then get the job, but also have flexible hours, working both night and day shifts. Not easy...' Landon was thinking about how he could go about it.
'Maybe the hero move? One of the managers encounters a slight danger or an unexpected situation on their way home, and I step in to save them...' Landon honestly wasn't sure if this idea was brilliant or terrible.
'I could maybe use force in the worst-case scenario, but intelligently...' Landon thought about grabbing one of the managers and showing them his powers, making them believe he was a fire demon who could burn them alive.
'Burn them alive unless they hire me as a janitor at the hospital...' The boy grimaced slightly.
'That would probably be a weird threat.' Landon sighed and dismissed the thought.
'I'm really starting to get tired of hiding just to do the greatest good...'
Landon slouched in his chair, emotionally drained.
'What am I doing here...?' he thought.
'In a new world with powers I was given, why me...?' Landon wondered. He hadn't asked for anything, and now he found himself here, with his real identity stripped away.
They had taken his memories, his personal life. The only names he knew were Marco, the source of his powers, and Landon Kirby, the name of this body that didn't belong to him.
He didn't know his real name, his first one, the one that belonged to him. The truth was, he didn't know who he was...
'Who am I, really...?' Without knowing why, they had taken him and brought him here, leaving him with a fake name but no real identity.
Landon wasn't just only alone; he was lost...
An ambulance arrived, the sound of the sirens pulling him out of his thoughts.
'Maybe work awaits me...' he thought, hoping it did, not wanting to fall back into his thoughts.
By chance or misfortune, the person who had come in had a serious enough injury. He sensed through his Haki that some organs were cut and ribs were broken.
'Strange, it seems like he was stabbed with a large blade...' Landon wondered if someone had actually attacked the injured man with a sword...
"Rafael, it's going to be okay, stay with me." A brunette woman followed closely behind. Landon recognized her as the nurse he had operated with in the elevator.
Landon sensed the injury was serious, but with urgent care, he could recover without a problem. His attention was elsewhere, though, more interested in someone—rather, in someone.
Behind Melissa, her son Scott followed. Both of them accompanied Rafael to the elevator.
"Mom, how's it looking?" Scott asked, looking at the injured man, bloodied on the stretcher...
His father, who had decided to come back into his life, had been hurt because of him, and he felt worry and guilt...
"He hasn't lost too much blood. He's going to make it..." said the mother. There was a bit of worry in her eyes, but she didn't let herself panic.
Scott let out the breath he had been holding.
"Scott, what were those things..." his mother began. Scott looked around and led her to a secluded corner of the hallway.
He looked around again and saw no one paying attention to them, unaware that the boy in the hoodie leaning against the wall with his head lowered, standing relaxed with arms and feet crossed, was listening to them.
"Mom, the shadowy ninja things you saw are called Onis. They're not human but made of black smoke, and they can emerge from the shadows anywhere. We think they only appear at night..." Scott explained softly.
"Shadow ninjas? Really...? Whatever... why not at this point. Do you know what they want?" Melissa asked, beginning to believe this town was becoming crazier with each passing day.
"They're looking for something among the supernatural beings of Beacon Hills, or rather someone who might be possessed by some sort of evil spirit: the Nogitsune," the boy explained.
"A demon spirit that possesses people?" Melissa quietly repeated to herself.
After a few seconds, she looked at her son.
"Scott..." she said softly, her eyes almost pleading.
"Mum, don't worry, we'll be careful..." Scott looked at his mother, placing his arms on her shoulders, speaking softly, trying to reassure her.
"Scott, stay out of this, let Derek handle it, or the Argents..." Melissa said to her son, almost pleading.
"Mum, Derek is no longer an alpha... and Chris is no longer a hunter..., on my side, I have Stiles, Lydia, Allison, Isaac, and the twins..." the boy argued, but he quickly realized that none of his words had any convincing or reassuring effect on his mother.
"Mum..." Scott began seriously.
"I can't just stand by and do nothing, people will get hurt or killed... if it's not me, who else will do it..."
Melissa looked at her son and realized that he was now a man...
Everything he had gone through lately, all the conflicts and trials in which he had eventually come out victorious...
Melissa looked at her son, knowing full well that he was going to be right in the middle of the conflict, at the heart of the danger... she sighed.
"Just be careful..." Melissa finally said.
"Don't worry, mum..., I'm a true alpha and I'm not alone..."
Scott left his words, kissed his mother on the forehead, and headed for the elevator.
'Hmmm, Onis, and an evil spirit possessing people...' Landon was still in the same spot, arms crossed, back against the wall, lost in thought, meditating on the revelations he had just heard.
'I see now, it wasn't after me...' Landon thought that the person or people watching him behind the cameras were probably the same ones whose consciousness had appeared in one of the Onis before they vanished.
'But that's probably not the case...' Landon came to this conclusion; the one who was interested in him likely had nothing to do with those Onis. He thought for a moment before shaking his head.
'No matter, I'll be ready for any surprises.' Landon moved on.
'But still, that boy: Scott, is really something...' Among all the revelations, what interested him the most was the boy's behavior—selfless and noble, traits that are rare.
'If we were in the world of One Piece, Marco would have loved him and invited him into Whitebeard's crew...' The boy smiled at the thought.
'Even though he seems naive, he's not gullible or inexperienced...' Through his Haki, Scott exuded a mature aura, a strong confidence in his beliefs and determination.
'What a peculiar boy...'
Landon decided it was time to leave, he left the hospital and headed home.
---------------------------------------------------------
At the same time, a young boy was lying on a bed, his closed eyes trembling for a few seconds before opening, waking up from his sleep.
Stiles took a few seconds and looked around, remembering that he was in one of the hospital rooms.
"Hmpfhh..." he took a breath and got out of bed, put on his shoes, and left the room.
Stiles closed the door behind him and looked down the hallway, which was being used by a few patients and nurses.
"Melissa" the boy called out, but she wasn't there.
Stiles decided to go look for her, he was feeling better now and wanted to go home.
'She was right, all I needed was sleep,' the boy thought with some relief, as he had feared his condition was due to something else...
Stiles started walking through the hospital corridors.
'She's probably at reception...' he concluded as he headed there, knowing he needed to talk to her before leaving.
He walked, shielding his eyes; the lights were bright, and the surrounding noise was loud, his senses were being assaulted.
"Fouhh..." Stiles stopped and closed his eyelids, taking a deep breath to calm himself, repeating the exercise for a minute.
He opened his eyes and looked at his hands, which were still trembling. He looked at his reflection in the window beside him and saw his pale face and the dark circles under his eyes.
'I'm feeling a bit better…' he still felt irritable, though less than before.
'I should go back to the hospital room,' he thought, it had been 2-3 weeks since Stiles had slept so well.
'What's the point of going home...' He didn't want to return home only to suffer from insomnia again most of the time, and for the rare times he managed to sleep, he would be greeted by unpleasant nightmares that were hard to shake off, not to mention the anxiety attacks that could hit him at any hour, day or night, and the constant feeling of urgency, the sense that something terrible was about to happen...
Stiles hadn't been living the most pleasant part of his life for several weeks now, and today he finally had some respite, he wanted to stay as far from home as he could for now.
He made up his mind, turned around, and returned to his room.
Clearing his mind and focusing only on his breathing, letting his steps guide him.
"Fouh..." he exhaled.
"Ouhh..." and inhaled.
Little by little, he forgot about the environment around him and focused solely on his breathing, the minutes passed, and he felt relaxed, calm.
He no longer heard the disturbing noises around him or the blinding light...
the minutes passed like this, before he realized
'Hmmm, it really is peaceful.' Stiles came out of his thoughts and looked around him; he was in a large, dark room, with some stretchers and other tools around. It was one of the hospital's storage rooms, located in a secluded corner of the hallway.
"But what..., how did I get here?" the boy murmured, looking around.
He took a few steps back and turned toward the door, but stopped in his tracks.
In front of him, a masked ninja stood with his head lowered, black mist escaping from him. He lifted his head, and Stiles saw a mesmerizing yellow-green light emanating from the two holes in the mask.
A metallic wing-like sound rang to his right, and he turned to see another being on his right, and another on his left.
Without saying a word or wasting a moment, they grabbed him by the shoulders, preventing any escape.
"No, He..." Stiles began, but the Oni in front of him stepped forward, placing his hand on his cheek, holding his face as he gazed into the boy's eyes.
Any words Stiles wanted to say were stifled.
The Oni was about to inspect Stiles' mind.
But the Oni stopped dead in his tracks before even starting. He looked down at his chest, where an arm had pierced through him. He looked at the source and saw that the arm belonged to the frail young boy in front of him, whose eyes held nothing but calm indifference.
He withdrew his arm, opening the palm of his hand to reveal a brilliantly glowing yellow-green insect. "Stiles" looked at it for a few seconds before simply closing his hand, crushing it.
"Stiles" turned toward the two beings behind him...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scott walked through the corridors until he found Stiles in the storage room. He entered the room and saw his friend alone, standing still with his back turned.
"Stiles, man, everything okay?" the boy asked his best friend.
Stiles straightened up and turned around.
"Yeah..." the boy said calmly.
He was a little confused about how he'd ended up there, but he didn't pay much attention to it. At the moment, he felt good, relaxed, in control.
He walked over to his friend and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.
"So, what's new?" Stiles asked as they both left the room together.
Scott started telling him everything that had happened over the last two days.
Neither of them noticed the few small insect wings glowing on the floor, shining for a moment before finally fading away...
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