Their New Future | BOOK 2 OF THE ANOMALY SAGA

CHAPTER 13

[Location: Rented home in Greece, Athens. Time: 22:56.]

"Why are you late? I said not staying out past 9pm for your own safety."

Haruki stared at Ryū, who only gave a loose smile and shrug in return.

They had only just walked into the rented condo, and their sensitive ears were already being hounded with an upcoming lecture for 'being reckless and illegal racing'.

They removed their boots and put on the lone pair of slippers in the hallway, hanging their thick coat on the hanger next to a warm yellow puffer jacket and placed the several bags of groceries on the kitchen counter.

"They didn't have almond milk. I had to drive further out."

He continued to stare at his child, his daughter. They both knew the truth.

"How's the lessons coming along with Tetsurou? Is he doing okay?"

Tetsurou was mute. He only ever really talked when Ryū was around and nobody else, but even then he was a very quiet, yet happy child. Full of squeals and noises of joy, behind that was an incredibly smart brain that took in information almost as fast as Ryū. And so, Ryū had asked their dad to teach sign whenever they were out of his watchful eye.

They quietly made their way to the bedroom, placing the guitar case into the back of the closet and covering it with blankets and heavy objects. Ryū slid the hangers back and forth before removing an old band shirt and pyjama pants that were too short, grabbing one of the plastic carrier bags and retreating to the bathroom and locking it.

"...You look like shit."

"Thanks, Akira."

Ryū stared at their younger brother through the mirror, before adjusting the hologram projector on the counter to face them fully. He pulled a questionable look as Ryū started to pull out boxes of bleach and toner, as well as clippers from under the sink.  Both to cover their identity, and their growing vitiligo that was a huge identification. Their hair had grown from their shoulders to their waist in the span of 15 months, so the amount of boxes weren't cheap especially on the run.

"Why did you even buy bleach if you can just change your appearance?"

"It takes up too much energy long term, but also why not? And why are you out of bed? I thought you were supposed to be on bed rest, Akira." Their sibling instinct kicked in, and immediately the teen groaned and turned away.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop. How is um... how are the cats doing?" They tried to change the subject, their australian accent becoming softer as they seemed apologetic.

Akira's projection disappeared for a minute, before return with three cats hanging off his arms.

Iris was enjoying the affection, Mochi was trying to wiggle out of his arms to go back to her nap, and Larry was just happy to be there.

The two chatted for a bit longer while Ryū applied the bleach up until Akira had to leave for a medical checkup.

He wasn't completely out of the woods from the experimentation, but he was lucky that they were able to catch him before any true damage. He only was affected by stronger and faster regeneration and his mutation was stronger, but his mutation limiters were malfunctioning.

They looked in their reflection, proud of their work. Their small patch of white hair on the left side of their crown was  blended in with the rest of the hair, you could barely tell as their brows were also bleached to hide the white. Their white eyelashes wouldn't be a problem, since that's an easy skill to cover up.. Ryu had shaved off the sides and shortened their bangs, just above their eyebrows. But yet, they felt unsettled.

Like the damage made to Ryū, all because of Aiko. The selfish woman that only wanted a perfect child. The perfect experiment, but the urge for death was something that couldn't be removed.

Because they had started to get that uncomfortable itch again, that itch for death.