To Be One

Chapter 7: Heartless Decision

Third POV

“Here’s your change sir.” Noctis picked up the money on the counter and carried a medium size paper bag filled with who knows what. He reached for his wallet and placed his change inside. The man in mid-forties on the counter eyed him in silence. He noticed the boy’s gloomy expression, dejected from whatever the boy is dealing with at the moment. “Not so jolly as usual, huh? Something the matter kid?” The man couldn’t seem to hold himself from asking since this is the first time, he saw the ravenette showing such sad emotion.

‘Well, today must be such terrible day for him.’

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing to worry about, Jerry. Just having a bad morning. I’ll eventually get over it,” the ravenette replied with a faint smile for reassurance before taking out a lollipop from his bag and unwrap it to be eaten. Though, the depressive and scornful feelings started since yesterday at the school. He’s been cranky all day long and it made his mood worse when he couldn’t sleep last night. Asher’s words haunted him along with Pearl’s hurt expression.

The ravenette came back to reality when the cashier guy named Jerry snapped his fingers in front of the male’s face. “Look kid, reality is so harsh so it’s better we accept it than denying living in illusions. Here…” Jerry took a pack of strawberry-flavored ċȯndȯm and handed it to the young male which made the ravenette choke on his candy. “They say a blissful night can take all the worries away. So why don’t you hook up with someone for the night, eh? Uncle Jerry got your back kid.” The man gave Noctis a wink, making the male smile nervously. “T-this… I can’t take—”

“Oh shush. Keep it. I’ll pay for it.” Jerry insisted. “Now off you go. You’re holding off the line.”

Noctis was kicked out from the store with the ċȯndȯm on his hand. He started to sweat profusely as red painted his cheeks in heat. ‘That damn old man… Just what in the world got into his mind?’ His obsidian orbs gaze on the ċȯndȯm pack on his hand, crushing it out of annoyance and threw it in his bag. ‘Whatever! I’m throwing this once I see the next trash bin!’

The ravenette chewed on the candy in his mouth, savoring the sweet flavor of strawberry. It was a peaceful Saturday. It’s a little to see only few people passing by the streets heading to his dormitory. Tall infrastructures were everywhere, but it looked so empty; it’s not as if Noctis mind. Rather, he enjoyed it, this peaceful weather. The cool breeze ċȧrėsses his skin, making him close his eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

‘You always resort to violence. No wonder your b*tch died.’

His mood went sour as soon as Asher’s words came across his mind. Noctis felt that his punch wasn’t enough. He wanted to do more but, he also knew nothing comes good venting his anger towards the Albino. ‘What does he know anyway? All he knows is how to run his mouth as if he knew everything.’ Is what he thought. Yet, he can’t deny that what Asher said were facts.

Another series of unwanted images appeared in his mind. The image of the burning building in the background as the sky turned embers in the dead of night. The image of a young woman getting dragged away by men from the imperial palace and the helpless ravenette couldn’t do anything but scream as men separated him from the woman. Blood was spilt when he fought back, killing numerous knights to save his beloved. But… the worst image appeared. The image of a lifeless woman in his bloody hands, made his ċhėst ache so bad it felt as if it’s being squeezed so hard.

‘Noctis… It’s not your fault.’

‘No… No! All of it is my fault! It's because of me, she...’ He thought. Pain filled his ċhėst whilst he panted heavily. The ravenette broke into cold sweat as he dropped on his knees. Guilt and Regret devoured him slowly. He could feel his tears threatening to fall as the past haunted him. No one was there to help him. The streets were empty and he was hyperventilating. He was suffering alone like how he suffered back then after losing his parents. He had no one. His best friend who thought understood him the most betrayed him for blind loyalty. And he’d rather not bother his friends since they know nothing. ‘It’s fine like this…’ His mind spoke. He’d rather suffer alone than drag more people into his problems.

A familiar voice came across his mind. A joyful and annoyingly high pitched voice of a woman filled his mind. The image of Pearl flashed, smiling cheerfully at him. Somehow, that smile saved him. He reminisce the young maiden’s adorable reaction from time to time whenever he gazed at her. From her cute little glances to her adorable pout whenever no one sided her during her playful banters with Yujin… Is what pulled him out from the dark void of emptiness and eternal regret.

He let out a sigh, relaxing himself and finally stood up. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When Noctis opened his eyes, revealing his pair of obsidian orbs, he was determined to protect that smile no matter what, even if it means ending his life. The ravenette has finally had the strength to move forward, taking his steps to walk back to his dorm. The last thing he wanted to do is to deal with Asher at the moment. He was relieved that it was weekend today. He had enough time to calm himself… Until he received a text from an unknown number.

He pulled his phone out from his pocket and opened to check the message.

“We need to talk. Let’s meet.”

“Who the hell is this?” His perfectly shaped brows were knitted together while gazing on the message. The first thing in his mind would be Yujin changing his phone number but since he’s been receiving unwanted messages from strangers lately, he decided to ignore it and continued to walk back his dorm.

He chose to live in such tidy place, with his own space, not worrying of anything. He entered the rusty gate leading to the dorm, it was a house with a huge garden, the place seems like it was frozen in time, with white faded paint, vines crawling all over the walls, ivies blooming and dying. It looks like a deserted place at first but once entered, there welcomes the noises of all the boys staying in there.

Opening the door, a bang of loud rock music echoes throughout the hallway, he looks at old man Robert who’s in charge of the dorm sleeping in his desk at the corner. ‘How the hell he could sleep with this noise?’ the ravenette thought to himself. Then he picked up the keys of his room from the key holder and went straight to the narrow way.

Few juniors and dorm mates greeted him. He exchange few greetings with others and had a short talk. “We have a match with the East High later in the afternoon, care to join us Noctis?” A guy with a dark auburn hair wearing a number twenty-two jersey greeted him, executing some basketball moves and pretending to shoot in front of him. “Not today, Henry. I’m busy.”

“What a shame. The bet is enormous, and we know how great a player you are. Thought we could invite you to secure our victory.”

As he arrived at his room, he felt presence inside. He took a peek from the peeping hole built on his door. Shadows were moving inside of his room, which alarmed him. The shadow's movement were too vague and contorted, he could hardly make and image on how or who his perpetrators could be. He stood there thinking, ‘How did they manage to enter when the door is locked?’ He put down the paper bag he’s carrying and let out the fork from the food that he bought as it was the closest thing he could use as a weapon and to defend himself. “If these people entered from the window, then they’re probably competent enough to fight,” he whispered.

‘But of course, no human can climb to the third floor unless they’re parkour artist. Unless…’

He felt movement on the door which made Noctis tightened his grip in the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, the ravenette finally decided to slam open the door and lunge on the person standing in front of it. “You bastards! You snuck in the wrong—” The man swiftly dodged Noctis, surprising the ravenette with his quick sidestep and ended up losing his footing and knocking the next guy. He ġrȯȧnėd in pain, so did the other guy.

“F*ck! That hurts…” he complained. He felt the other guy beneath him groaning in pain as well which shocked him to see Edward.

“Edward?!”

“Haha… Hey Noctis. Can you please get off me?” The brown-haired male smiled in pain. The ravenette hurriedly got off the male and backed away. “What are you doing here?” He questioned as he tried to process the current happenings.

“You’re late.” A deep familiar voice spoke behind him, snapping his head to meet those golden pair of jewel-like eyes. Asher stood there with his arms crossed wearing a dark blue fitted shirt under the checkered polo shirt. Black fitted pants and ankle boots. His snowy white hair was tied to a high ponytail to finish his looks.

‘F*ck… Just my luck.’

“We need to talk,” Asher started, letting out a sigh while leaning against the wall.

“Come on now, Noctis. Stop being childish. I seriously don’t want to fight with you right now.”

“Then leave. I don’t want to deal with you today. Seeing you pisses me off,” he growled low, seething with anger.

Asher moved forward, sizing Noctis up while narrowing his eyes. “As much as your immature attitude ticks me off or my presence annoys you, we have no choice but to be stuck together. Daniel is out there. You’ll never know what move they’ll do next. It could in-danger those girls you call friends. Who knows, they’ll get abducted by them as well. So it’s either you deal with this or comeback crying like a pathetic person you are.”

Noctis was so close to lose all his wits and punch the albino but a hand grabbed his shoulder, distracting him for a bit. He turned his attention towards Edward who was staring at him seriously, shaking his head to indicate that he shouldn’t do it and control his temper this time. “It’s best if you listen to him first. I know it’s hard for you right now, but we got no choice, Noux. Just this once, listen to him and you decide whether you can trust him or not,” knowing Edward, he wouldn’t have done it if the man himself didn’t trust Asher. Edward has better judgement compared to the both of them. If Edward trusted Asher, then he’s worth listening to.

Noctis dropped his head and backed away, letting out a defeated sigh. “Alright… Fine. I’ll listen.”

“NOCTIS YOU BASTARD!! YOU BOUGHT A F*CKING CONDOM?! WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU PLANNING HUH?! YOU TRAITOR!” The tension created by the two broke when Yujin’s loud voice cut through. The red-head was fuming with anger, throwing the pack of strawberry ċȯndȯm towards Noctis. The ravenette paled at the sight of the ċȯndȯms he completely forgot to throw away. Asher giggled as he held his laughter while Edward was blushing at the sight of it, turning his gaze towards Noctis in disbelief while covering his face.

“H-Hold on. It’s not what you think—!”

“So you’re planning to get laid tonight, you sh*t. Huh?!” Like a gangster, Yujin approached Noctis and grabbed his collar. “Do you wanna fight?” Yujin threatened as the ravenette sweat profusely.

“Shut up vɨrġɨn.” Asher said bluntly.

“Hah! Stop calling out yourself, Yujin.”

“ARRGHHH!! SHUT UP!” Everyone laughed at Yujin and Asher’s playful banters. And for the first time in four years, they all felt whole again. Just like back then.

*****

“Alright, now that things have settled, I would like to discuss about your friend, Andrew.” The fun atmosphere has disappeared just like that as everyone sat on their respective places, forming a circle, all attention on Asher.

“As we all know, he disappeared the same day Daniel and Jinyoung arrived. The first suspect would be Daniel kidnapping him. But of course, it’s only a theory but it doesn’t mean it’s impossible.” Silence filled the room as the three listened attentively to Asher. Though as much as Noctis would like to pay attention to Asher, Yujin was getting on his nerves as the red head was blowing the ċȯndȯms like balloons.

“So what are you implying with that?” Edward questioned, popping the strawberry pocky in his mouth he found in Noctis’ bag.

“What I mean is that, if they indeed took Andrew with them, then that means their purpose is to lure us back to the planet.” Asher replied while drinking Noctis’ strawberry juice box he took from Noctis’ plastic bag. Noctis, was starting to get pissed when they took his food that was meant for himself.

‘These a**holes had the nerve to take my food.’ the ravenette was glaring at them but to no effect at all as they all continued to take the food from his bag. Only Yujin was busy enough to eat his food.

“But I thought it’s illegal to take an outsider within the kingdom? Wouldn’t they get in-trouble if the others found out they brought someone who isn’t from the kingdom? Not to mention, an Earthling.” Edward continued to question Asher while Noctis start to wonder.

“That’s right. It could be issued by the court itself. But I do wonder, why would they do this much just for four traitors…” He wondered, succumbing into his deep thoughts as to look for possible answers. “Well, whatever it is, there must be more deep reasons to it.”

Noctis leaned against his bed and looked down for a minute. He thought it’s too ridiculous for the imperial court to do this extent just for four traitors. He sighed in defeat as he found a solution to none. “Do you have any plans then?” Turning his gaze to the albino, the albino meeting his questioning eyes.

“I’ll be honest, I do have a plan in mind but, this could be something endangering us. It’s going to be something the court would want us to do.” The albino voiced his concern knowing that they got no choice but to do ‘that’.

All of them were aware what Asher meant and they felt worried by it. Yujin, who’s finally done tying up his ċȯndȯm balloon finally took his chance to speak. “So we have to go back. Huh?” He gazed at his ċȯndȯm balloon filled with worry and sadness as he held the slippery thing on his palm. “What about the girls? Do we have to leave them?”

“The answer is obvious, Yuu.” Noctis answered this time. “We can’t risk bringing them with us. Who knows what will happen if we are unable to keep them safe.”

“That’s right. I will be blunt, bringing those girls will only cause us more trouble. I don’t want us to responsible if we failed to protect them. They know nothing about us or what they will expect in the kingdom. If something happens to them, then you three will be wallowing with regret and despair.” Asher added bluntly. They were all aware of that which is why, even if it hurts, they have to leave the girls back here on Earth. But the fact that they are unable to see the future scares them; unable to go back to Earth or worse, death.

Yujin sighed, dropping his body and let it sink on the bed. “Alright we get it… But how are we supposed to tell them we’re leaving?”

“We’re not telling them. That’s the most logical choice.” Yujin sprung from the bed to stare at Asher in disbelief. Edward and Noctis did the same.

“Are you serious?! But what if—” Yujin’s words were unfinished when Asher cut him off.

“It’s either you let go of them or kill them off. Choose.”

The three were dead silent. Asher was spitting facts and they couldn’t say anything back. Edward was paling after hearing what Asher said. It’s true he couldn’t risk taking Janine with him, but he couldn’t just leave her without saying a word. Yujin and Noctis were thinking the same thing as Edward and they’re already regretting it because they had no choice but to do as what Asher said.

“I know this is hard for all of you. I am well aware that the bonds that you made with these people are strong and hard to forget but just as what the people of this planet say,” Asher with his arms folded over his ċhėst, said. “If you truly love someone, learn to let them go. I’m just being rational, this is better than to see those girls die because of you, when at the first place they don’t even need to be involved with any of this.”

Noctis stiffened, stepping backwards, his fist clenched and shaking in anger. His lips worked into a frown. “This is the best decision we can make huh?” he said bitterly.

“Unfortunately yes," Asher fixed his glasses. "Now that you know what I meant, that’s all what I have to say.” Asher stood up and fixed himself and turned his back from them. “I’ll leave you three to think. Call me when you finally thought it through… Well not like you had any choice.” As the albino was about to walk out, Edward received a text message from Janine.

“Guys..” He called, “Janine said that they found Glory at Andrew’s apartment and said that a weird metal badge that might be familiar to us was found in Andrew’s room.”