I Can't Love The Shit Out Of You Without Getting Closer Vol. 1 *REMAKE*

Safe

*Kit's POV*

After defeating the Grimm that invaded our part of the subway system, I went to guard the entrance while the rest of the survivors went to work on repairing the barrier. Afterwards, I helped the survivors clean up and gather the corpses. I can tell who meant to who, and it pained me seeing families grieving for those that they lost. One, because my previous powerlessness had failed them, and two, because I realize that me and Alice never properly grieved our family.

Sure, Alice still believes that they'll come back and that they're out there somewhere... But one day, I'll have to make her face the facts. Not now though, not in this place.

After making sure everyone was at least physically well, I went over to Alice who's been sitting in a corner all this time.

"Hey."

She looks up at me, and conjures up a tired smile. "Hey."

I sit down next to her, contemplating on what I should ask her. This situation's already confusing enough, but now she just saw her brother summon a purple man and beat up Grimm after almost seeing him die. I can't imagine she's holding up well.

"Alice..."

She continues staring at the grieving families emotionlessly. She turns to me and tries to smile, despite tears pouring down her cheeks. "You don't have to tell me, Kit... All this time, I've tried believing that they'll come back... But they won't. I know."

Alice's words catch me off guard. I didn't expect her to come to terms with it on her own.

"What made you stop believing?" I try asking her, while caressing her shoulder to somehow comfort her.

She sniffles and wipes some snot pouring down her nose. "It was when I thought we were both going to die. I didn't think they were gonna save us. Instead, I immediately thought that we would at least reunite with them if we died here."

Her words were like a knife, twisting at my already wounded heart. All this time, she had been keeping her feelings to herself. Trying to guard whatever bit of innocence she had left. I fully embrace her as her tears stain my shirt. Just a few days ago, we were still living our normal lives. She was still just a kid... I was just a kid too.

'We've been thrust into a situation where the only people we can rely on is each other. No mom, no dad, no...'

I remove those thoughts from my head. This is not the time to reminisce on what was lost. I can do that after we get to safety. Not just Alice and I, but everyone here too. It's up to me to shoulder this burden.

I gently pull away from Alice and look at her in the eyes. "Let's get out of here, okay?"

"But how? You heard what the lady said, the city sealed the tunnels."

Just as Alice said that, the barrier began to shake again. The scared civilians run over to me as their only hope of survival at whatever monster may be breaking the barrier. I stand up and go over to the barrier, summoning Star Platinum in the process.

The barrier begins to crumble, as some sort of golden yellow energy emanates from it with each crash from the outside.

'Whatever this thing is, it's not your normal Grimm. Once this barrier breaks, I'm killing it instantly.'

I quickly activate my semblance and determine that with these level of strikes, it'll only take three more to completely destroy the barrier.

'One...'

*BAM!*

'Two...'

*BAM!*

'Three!'