Because it's you (Rei x Arlo)

29

It was quiet.

Luca and Arlo had both fallen asleep, his mom was out with their aunt taking care of her, his father had left on a business trip a few days ago without any notice. Rei blinked, his eyes having adjusted to the dark hours ago. The little clock next to his bed blinked showing that it was currently one in the morning. Rei sighed before pressing a soft kiss to the blondes head and quietly slipping out of the bed. 

Under his bed was a small drawstring bag that held his clothes for tonight. Swiftly, he grabbed the bag before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. 'Arlo is a pretty heavy sleeper, and Luca's had a hard time recently. I should be back before they even stir.' Rei slipped out of the house, shivering at the cold wind that whipped at his face. He decided to take the train, down to Grasshil, down to where his target was. He was going to take his car, but the reports said this man had blades that seemed to appear out of no where, and he couldn't risk someone identifying him because of scratches on his car. 

It was chilly though, his lose grey hoodie was doing very little to protect him from the wind. The wind was also a problem. According to the reports, this mans blades traveled through the air, and the increased wind could be dangerous. Rei shuddered and held his bag closer to him. He would change at the train station in Grasshil and then slip his hoodie on for the way back. He also brought two pouches in case he encountered those vials again. He needed to find someone to analyze them though.

He reached the train station around ten minutes later, fingers almost frozen, but he managed to swipe his train card and board the train where he finally got to sit down. 'The fact that it's this cold and it's not even winter.' He shivered before bringing his knees up to his chest. There was the small temptation to take a nap, but he had to stay alert, he had to stay on his game so he could take this person down quickly. Maybe get some info on EMBER and then get back home, to Arlo.

He blinked, finding himself in Grasshil and standing in shaky legs. Why was he nervous, he's done this several times, there was no need to be nervous. Rei took a deep breath, shaking a few of his limbs to wake them back up before he went to go change.

His eyes glowed a soft gold as he followed the electric current. The target was a teenage boy with black hair and bright blue highlights, who was currently leaned against a building on his phone. Rei frowned, he couldn't see what was in his other hand, as he had it buried in the pocket of his hoodie. It was obvious the boy was waiting on someone, his posture gave him away, and Rei's suspicion was confirmed when a middle aged woman came around the corner. 

She was shaking, not only because of the cold, but out of fear. In her hands she tightly held a purple pouch close to her chest. Her steps were slow as she reluctantly approached the boy who had a wild look on his face. Rei gulped, the boys eyes widened, shining a bright electric blue and his grin widened, showing sharp shark like teeth. A shaky breath escaped the hero and he edged a bit closer, so that he would be able to hear it.

"Do you have it?" The boy hissed out. He didn't even sound like a boy, his voice was low and scratchy, and he wheezed out a chuckle at the end. "Y-yes..." the woman stumbled forward, "it's just." She cut herself off with a screech when the boy suddenly had a hand on her throat. Rei flinched, he hadn't even seen the guy move. "Is there a problem, ma'am." The boy drew his other hand out of his pocket, revealing a small circle, no large than a coin squeezed between his two fingers. Slowly, he drug his hand over her cheek and she released a scream as a large gash made its way down her face.

Rei's heart stopped, and he shouted before he could even think about it, "stop!"

The boys head sharply turned to him, like an owl, and his bright eyes bored into his soul. Rei felt his teeth chattering, his knees threatening to give out beneath him, but he stayed put. "Leave her alone." The woman looked back and forth between the two, her eyes shining as tears began to spill. "Oh you've made a grave mistake hero." The boy swayed slightly as he let go of the woman and turned toward Rei. "I'm simply refilling her fix." Out of a pouch on his leg, he pulled out a bottle of a strange liquid.