Limit

Chapter 13 Unveiling Scars

I regained consciousness in the medical room. Apparently, I was only out for an hour; I missed the last few battles, and school was just about to be over. Luckily, due to my healing ability, I was in fairly good condition. It was only my mental fatigue that had landed me here. Cole was apparently still out cold, which was to be expected—the battle was rough. Honestly, I didn't know what to do. The battle was fair, but I felt like there was so much emotion built up for no reason. Damn. It's all because I couldn't control my nerves. As I racked my brain about it and covered my eyes with my hands, Dom, Ab, Scarlet, and Maddie entered the room. It seemed the school bell had rung, but I was so deep in thought I didn't hear it. They did the usual: congratulated me on my fight as we walked to the school exit. We then mostly went our own ways back home; however, Dom and I went the same way. My nerves started acting up again. Throughout the conversation we just had, Dom didn't utter a word, and the last thing I remembered was his frustrated face before I fell unconscious. I took a deep breath.

"Hey Dom, about th—" I muttered before I was interrupted.

"Did you really take it easy on him at the start just because he had no limit?" said Dom, his voice tight with frustration. His face relaxed, but his eyes shifted to the ground, and he looked utterly dejected.

"No, I didn't," I replied, feeling a pang of guilt.

"So why? Why did it take you so long to transform and fight him with your full ability? You know it's wrong to mock the weak," he muttered, his disappointment palpable.

"Okay, I'll tell you the whole story so that you won't think less of me and because I trust you. This might be a little long, so if you don't mind, can we take a seat?" I said, gesturing to a nearby tree.

We sat down, and I began, my voice trembling slightly with the weight of the memories. "You see, when I was younger, my father was killed by a monster in a gate while he was mining for stones. Apparently, the restrictors missed one of the creatures, and yeah, my dad paid the price for it. That really messed with me for a while. I hated the gates and even the restrictors for a bit, but it was worse for my mother. She lost the love of her life, and well, she despised the restrictors. In any other situation, this would have been the part where she spiraled into madness, but no, not her. She was strong. She recognized her position and the responsibility she had to fill, so she worked two jobs in order to support us."

I paused, feeling a lump form in my throat, the memories flooding back more vividly than ever. "But one day, a few weeks before Christmas, she went to take some savings out from the bank so that she could spend the money on a gift for me. On this day, around five men charged into the bank with ski masks, each using a unique ability. The police responded quickly, but they were no match for the robbers' limits. When the restrictors showed up, the villains got scared, and well, they took a few hostages. One of those was my mother."

I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white. "One of the restrictors had the ability to turn his hand into a pistol, and he had enhanced accuracy. The main culprit, the so-called leader of these robbers, had an explosive limit, which meant he was the biggest problem. As things intensified and an hour passed, the fear of this psycho just blowing up and killing everyone became clear, so the restrictor had to make a so-called hard decision. He turned his hand into a bullet and shot their leader dead. The only problem was that he had to shoot my mum in order to get to him. So my mum ended up dying to a restrictor."

My voice cracked, and I had to take a moment to compose myself. "I won't go into detail, but it's safe to say I was messed up, and I had so much hate in me that I just wanted to take it out on the world. But luckily for me, my grandfather, who was overseas, moved back to take care of me. He was really wise and helped me through the tough times. He explained to me that rather than getting revenge on the restrictors, why not become a restrictor and make sure that nothing like this happens again? So that's my main reason for becoming a restrictor."

I looked at Dom, my eyes pleading for understanding. "Anyway, despite all the help he gave me, I was still suffering. I can get nervous really easily. Even the thought of getting nervous starts my mini panic attacks. It sounds silly, but it's true. And during these mini panic attacks, it is incredibly hard for me to activate my limit."

Dom's eyes widened, and I could see the empathy and sorrow in them. He reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. "Is that why you couldn't transform at the start?" he asked, his tone gentle and understanding.

"Yep, pretty much. I was nervous to the point I felt like I was going to pass out. And the biggest problem is that I've only really trained my limit. What Cole said was right. My limit is strong, but I am weak. But I know what I've got to work on, and as each day passes, especially when I'm surrounded by you guys, my nerves settle," I replied, my voice softer now, feeling a bit lighter having shared my story.

Dom sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. "I see. I'm really sorry for being mad at you without knowing the full story. As you know, I also didn't have such a great past, and recently these conflicting thoughts have appeared in my head, and they're making me lose sight of myself. I'm really sorry," he said, gripping his hair and letting out a deep breath, his voice heavy with regret.

"It's alright. It was a tough day. Let's get some sleep, and starting tomorrow, we can help each other," I said, offering a small smile, hoping to reassure him.

"Yeah, sleep. Sleep sounds good," he muttered as we both got up, dusted ourselves off, and started to walk back towards our houses.

But this wasn't the end of the emotional rollercoaster; instead, it was just the start. As we turned a corner, I clashed heads with someone just in front of me. "Ouch," I exclaimed, rubbing my forehead. I looked up to see Cole standing there with his hand on his head, a confused and slightly pained expression on his face.