A D Tier's Breaking Point

Chapter 35

The group fell silent, everyone staring at Barnaby. Ohio was on his feet, one hand one Barnaby's arm and the other raised at Alex, moving to placate before the storm had a chance to hit, 'Alex-'

'What the fuck do you mean by that?' Alex asked, his voice low and filled with venom.

Barnaby should have flinched. Should have backed down, stepped away, given Alex a chance to cool off. But instead he stood, moving in front of Ohio and stared Alex down. He snarled, the noise echoing with two voices, as his eyes began to glow with a brilliant blue-white light. Kotetsu was glowing, stepping closer to Barnaby before melting into that same light that poured into Barnaby's body, so he stood taller and his arms strained against his hoodie. 'It's rather simple,' Baraby said, his normal stammer gone as the dual voice echoed through the room. 'Morgan and Ohio might think you care about them, but I know better. And I won't let them get hurt because of you again.'

Morgan was gone, vaulting over the couch and barrelling into their bedroom as Alex stood up to face Barnaby, eyes alight with power and rage. 'If anyone else said that to me Dog Boy they would be atomised. And you know that. So why would you do something so stupid?'

Ohio was standing between the two of them at this point, panicked as he tugged at Barnaby's arm, 'Barnaby love, please.'

'No,' Barnaby said, scooping Ohio to stand behind him. 'I'm not letting him scare me into being quiet. Someone needs to call him out for his bullshit. Because you,' he jabbed a finger in Alex's direction, 'were supposed to prove me wrong! You were supposed to prove that, despite being evil and doing unthinkable things, that you could actually be convinced to care about something other than your own boredom.'

'He does, love,' Ohio said.

Barnaby shook his head, 'No he doesn't. He doesn't care about us, and he doesn't care about Morgan.'

Before Alex had a chance to lift a hand in anger the two of them were both pushed back by a purple field of energy, sending Barnaby crashing into Ohio and Alex stumbling away from the sofa. Everyone looked up to see Morgan teleport in between them, bracers aglow, and they raised their hand, gathering more of the violet energy as they looked between Alex and Barnaby. 'If you want to yell at each other that's fine. But you're not coming to blows. And I will stop you if I have to.'

Alex sighed, looking put out but nodding at Morgan. Morgan nodded and turned to Barnaby, who was still snarling, 'If you try to take his side here-'

'I just said you could argue,' Morgan said. 'But I care about both of you and I won't watch you fight each other so don't expect me to. Now let go of Kotetsu.'

Barnaby opened his mouth to argue, faltering when Ohio took his hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the ring on his finger, 'You were just telling Morgan off for being reckless. Just, take a second. We have the time to talk now.'

Barnaby closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and squeezing Ohio's hand gently. The glow behind his eyes dimmed and Barnaby shrank, Kotetsu stepping out of his body, shaking off his body and giving a soft boof before sniffing at Morgan.

'Thanks buddy,' Morgan whispered, offering a hand with a smile, then turning back to Barnaby. 'Barnaby? What the hell are you talking about?'

Barnaby huffed, looking up at Morgan, 'Th-think about it. I'm j-j-just a host for a g-ghost dog he thinks is cool, O-O-Ohio has a funny name h-he can make fun of, and y-y-you have interesting adventures. Th-that's it. That's all h-h-he cares about because it m-makes his days more e-entertaining. He d-d-doesn't give a sh-shit about us.'

'Take that back,' Alex snarled.

Morgan raised a hand to Alex, still facing Barnaby, 'Where did you get that from?'