2 Die 4 You

cocktails without cake

Despite everything, X slept pretty well that night. It was waking up the next morning that took effort. Everything felt so foreign. Yet... this was his home now. A home where anyone could turn on the other without warning. A place where you simply couldn't relax.

'We don't have to hurt each other,' X reminded himself. 'We can work together and find a way out of here. I know it.'

X frowned. He could talk to himself all he wanted, but it wasn't going to take any sort of action. And the first course of action he needed to take for them to all live peacefully was to get out of bed. No immediate distrust either. He would get to know everyone on their own terms. No one was going to like each other right away. Especially not now when Lumine had already planted that seed of fear in them.

X's head was still swimming in thoughts as he got ready for the day. Not sure of where to go after, he decided to head to the cafeteria for something to eat. He found himself surprised that a few others had already beaten him there.

Sitting at a single table were Alia, Massimo, Zero, and Aero. Alia had a plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and four strips of bacon in front of her, paired with a glass of milk. Aero had a teacup filled with red tea that she took her time enjoying. There weren't any dishes in front of Zero or Massimo though. Either those two had already gotten something to eat, or hadn't done so yet.

"H-hey..." X awkwardly greeted.

"X!" Alia greeted back, happily waving to him. She patted a spot next to her as she said, "Come sit with us. We were trying to get to know each other better before everyone else got here."

"Okay..."

Feeling no less awkward than before, X took a seat between Alia and Zero. This placed him right across from Aero, with Massimo at her right. Aero quirked an eyebrow at him before taking a sip of her tea. X looked away, hoping it looked more like a respectful gesture than an intimidating one.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted what you were talking about before." he then said.

"Don't be." Alia assured him. "We were just talking about how Massimo got his name."

X looked to Massimo in confusion. "Your name?"

Massimo gave him a proud nod.

"It was given to me," he told X. "Back in my home city, there was a hero named Steel Massimo. He was brave, and kind to children. But he was hated by a lot of crime factions that lingered around. One of those deviants managed to get the upper hand on him, and took him for prisoner. They captured me too some time after -due to some debt that hadn't been paid that I was sure I wasn't a part of- but I was able to break out, and I found the room Steel Massimo was being kept.

"He knew he was dying at that point. Yet he looked at me as if I was there to save him. He told me 'I see a lot of strength in you. Take my mantle, my name and justice, and destroy those who threaten the peace.' and so I did. I've been following in his footsteps ever since. To the best I can, at least."

"Wow," was all X could say at first.

"It is pretty noble." Alia nodded in thought.

"A bit too altruistic for my tastes." Zero huffed.

"Not a fan of romanticism, Zero?" Aero teased. His only answer was a dark glare- one that Aero easily laughed off with another sip of tea.

"Romantic or not," Alia cut in, "It's nice to have a name that means something. Steel Massimo as a hero is a great title to inherit. All I know about my name was that I was almost named Aria, because I have music nerds in the family. I like Alia a bit more though."