Gifted | Sleepy Bois Inc

Chapter Fifteen

"It should be The Blade."

"Pfft, what? That guy? No way."

"We never even see him! What is he, a pig?"

"I was a pig once...."

I scowled down at the ground, staring at my worn boots. I always hated it when people started talking about the bounty hunter side of me while not knowing that I was actually among them. It just felt so awkward.

Usually I didn't arrive at the school campus and find chatter about "the great Technoblade," but today my name was floating around the air like a virus. People were holding up pictures of my masked face and pointed pens at the papers, getting black lines all over and shouting at each other.

"What's going on?" I asked Tommy as I reached his side.

Tommy gave me an excited look, his hands clasped together so tightly that his fingernails were digging into his skin. "You're a big man now, Techno! Everyone's talking about you! You're famous, man!"

"That's not a good thing, Tommy."

The boy punched my shoulder playfully. "It's great! People are saying that you're gonna be the next bounty hunter to go up against the big bad that they think is behind all the bounty hunter killings."

I raised an eyebrow. So, they've connected the bounty hunter deaths but not the deaths of the innocents. Not good.

"'The Blade?'" I repeated, zoning in on a conversation.

"It's better than them knowing your full name," Tommy said with a shrug. "I took the second part of your name since you don't use it at school and started the rumor."

It was smart, actually. Tommy was being a genius over here while I was moping about the fact that I needed to fight some OP dude.

"But The Blade is better than Storm! He can take Killer!" a student shouted.

My frown deepened. "'Killer?' Who's coming up with these names? They suck."

"Hey, people are unimaginative," Tommy defended. "Besides, it works, doesn't it? This guy's a killer, he kills people, therefore the name is great!"

"It sounds like you came up with the name."

"...No evidence."

That was evidence enough for me. I harrumphed and looked away, watching as people crowded together and exchanged blurry photographs of some guy in a red cloak, the lens of the camera soaked in rain. With a start, I realized that it was of me from the day I had been chasing Goggles.

I had stalker fans, apparently.

Amazing.

"Sometimes it amazes me how oblivious people are," Tommy said. "It's like... well, you're right here. The Blade has a pig mask; you have pig-like ears. Both of you guys have pink hair and the braid. Earring. Your name is literally Technoblade."

"It's the magic of human beings," I replied with a slight smile. "How did people never realize that Superman walked among them? Because they didn't believe that he could be an ordinary citizen."

"Oh, so you're a superhero, now."

"I'm a bounty hunter, there's a difference. I don't go out aimlessly saving people."

The boy scowled at me, punching my shoulder. "It's not aimless. You get to be cool! You get to help people! While I'm over here, failing my exams."

I scowled back at him. "And you're telling that to the person who is also failing their exams."

The halls were more crowded and full of people than ever before. Nobody paid any attention to me and Tommy, but then again, that was typical. We blended in perfectly with the typical student, even me with my pink hair.