~ Chapter 11 ~

“What is the Conscious?” My next-door-Uni stirred his coffee, even though there was nothing in it that needed blending. “That’s a complicated question, but I did say I would explain our situation.”

He paused, taking a seat back at the table before he continued, “They call themselves the ‘Conscious of Light’. Originally, they were an organization fighting for equality between Uni and Typpe—mostly for Uni to be able to hold jobs other than hero or villain, and to be able to live wherever they wished. It was a worthy cause. But somewhere along the line...they lost their way.”

He looked down, whetting his lips. “The Conscious turned to violence to try and get their point across. They became angry when change wasn’t happening as fast as they wished. One event triggered a lot of change within the organization. I asked how much you know about the Uni, but if you’ve had the same schooling as most Typpe, then you’re familiar with the deaths of fourteen years ago.”

Fourteen years ago.

My stomach turned, and I fought the urge to vomit as his words took me back to that horrible time—the Newscape showing footage of murdered Typpe hanging from trees in the gigantic shopping square down the street from my home. A tragedy none of us thought would happen, and none of us could forget for a long while.

I hadn’t forgotten it now; I just didn’t like to think about it. Seeing that horror—bodies dangling, twisted expressions, throats that had suffered strangulation—I had never felt so fearful. The Newscape had pinned the deaths on a villain who went insane, and the World Law had banished him to the wilderness after stripping away his powers. They had drilled into us and every Uni that this was wrong, that a continuation or repeat would be severely punished. They had shown footage of the perpetrator being tortured over and over again, and the incident had never happened a second time. Life had moved on, but that memory remained, staying buried somewhere deep inside of me—of all of us, probably.

I doubted any Typpe who was old enough to see that tragedy would ever really forget it, even if we didn’t like to talk about it. It stood as a reminder of the Greatest War—a reminder that once upon a time, the Uni had hated normal Typpe like us. A reminder of why The One had changed the world so we could all live in peace.

I looked at Satsuya’s grim expression and fought to push stumbling words from my lips. For once, talking wasn’t easy. “T—They said the Uni who strangled those Typpe was—was caught. Are you telling me...he was part of the Conscious?”

Satsuya’s lips formed a thin line. “I’m telling you he was only one of the perpetrators. I’m also going to tell you...that’s far from the only incident where Typpe were murdered and strung up. It was just the only one shown.”

The coffee I had drank threatened to rush back up my esophagus, and I could feel myself pale. I wanted to believe he was joking—some horrible, twisted joke to try and make me take this Conscious seriously—but the horrible, twisted truth obviously was: there was no need to joke in order to take the Conscious seriously. Joking would only pay a disrespect to the lives that had been lost, to the gravity of this situation.

I know he said the members of the Conscious hated Typpe—but I didn’t think it was this bad!

To murder people just because they’re different. I don’t understand.

But what about the Uni? When that incident had happened, I was wary of every Uni I came across; I had even wondered if the heroes were secretly harboring ill intent. I hadn’t wanted to be afraid, but the first vision in my mind every time I saw a Uni on the Update was of those hanging Typpe corpses.

That fear had lessened after time—but only because there were no more incidents.

Or, according to Satsuya, no more incidents that I saw.

Now the look in Wars’ eyes when he’d seen me earlier—when he’d assumed I was Satsuya’s girlfriend—made more sense. Satsuya, the powerful Uni the Conscious wanted to use to destroy The One, had linked himself with the enemy.

Is that what they had meant by betrayal?

“I know it’s terrifying, but I want you to understand, Ivy. These are the type of people I’m up against—the type of people who would come after you.” Satsuya’s coffee was all but forgotten. “If they find you alone, they won’t hesitate to act...and whatever the worst scenario you can imagine is, what they’ll do to you will be ten times more violent. Now, the organization exists solely to see the Uni rise above the Typpe. Any hope for coexistence is gone. It’s that burning hatred that makes me fear they’ll try something dirty, even if they’re vying for me to join them.” His jaw tightened, eyes burning white as the world came crashing down around me. “But I promise I’ll protect you—you, Mr. Alessi, and Yuuki. That’s the vow I’ve made to myself.” Those words were backed with steel, determination stringing them together, and despite my horror, I believed him.

Still, I pressed a hand to my mouth as I again fought off the urge to vomit. I didn’t want to picture the Conscious finding me, but I was doing just that—and Satsuya was right, the picture was violent, but I was certain the reality would be worse. “Thank you...I...” I somehow swallowed the lump in my throat. “I appreciate you...not sugar-coating it. But...”

Why did I end up in this situation?

I had decided to stay here. I had told myself I would be brave and accept what came, just like Mr. Alessi said. Meeting these near-strangers, I was even starting to feel at home amidst their warmth (even if I had half a fear Yuuki might try to knife me in the middle of the night). But this was too much. Being disowned by my family and friends seemed like a dream compared to being murdered or assaulted by a group of Typpe-hating Uni.

Will I appear on the Newscape one day, strung up in a tree?

Or will I die with no one but Satsuya and Yuuki and Mr. Alessi knowing what happened?

Satsuya had said he would protect me, but wasn’t it cruel of me to expect that of him? It was sort of his fault I was in this situation—but really it was mine; Yuuki had been right about that. If I had gotten up this morning and moved to another town and stopped wondering about my next-door-neighbor, I would probably be fine.

Probably.

Maybe.

But maybe not.

I didn’t know anymore.

But I did know one thing: I didn’t want Satsuya or Yuuki or Mr. Alessi to be hurt trying to protect me. These were kind people who were facing an endless slew of challenges already.

Maybe I should just go back to my crummy apartment, and allow the Conscious to come.

All the bravery I had gathered—all the bravery I wanted—seeped out of me the same way the life had to have seeped out of the Typpe who had been murdered fourteen years ago.

Maybe this is my fate.

Maybe I really was hopeless from the beginning.

Maybe that’s why nothing in life has ever seemed to turn out right.

Success was there, but hollow. I was always having to double-guess myself, always having to tailor my actions and words and stories. It was probably my parent’s reputation that had kept me afloat all these years, though it couldn’t protect me when I failed.

Everyone I had cared about was gone—and their lives were continuing on, just the same as they always had.

And here I was, feeling lost with no anchor. No way forward.

I was in the way.

I probably always had been.

“You should have more faith in yourself, Ivy.” A pair of warm hands took mine without hesitation, and I blinked through tears I hadn’t realized I was shedding to see Satsuya owning a new type of determination.

And suddenly I was reminded of my grandmother, who had often said the same thing.

“What’s the use in thinking lowly of yourself? If you never imagine your potential, you’ll never have a chance of reaching it. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself what you’re worth...even if you feel as though no one else believes it.”

But what was I worth in this instance? What good could a down-on-her-luck writer be against a gaggle of crazy Uni bent on upending society?

“I think you can look at this two ways.” Satsuya’s words skirted my thoughts, my hands still held in his. How he could make such a forward action seem so casual, I would never know. “Either you’re here by mistake, or you’re not—and I personally think you’re not. I don’t know you very well, but I talk to enough people to know when someone needs a place.” He looked away for a second, considering. “Sure, somewhere else would have been safer, but it seems like this place, with us, is where you needed to be.”

He said the words so easily, I couldn’t help but be swayed. Though I wasn’t sure whether or not I believed him.

One fact was clear, however: I did need a place.

And I did like him and Mr. Alessi (and even Yuuki).

Supposed to be here or not—hindrance or not—maybe I...want to be around these people?

Was that selfish? Should they really have been extending kindness and acceptance to a person like me?

Once again, I had a decision to make. Either I could accept Satsuya’s words, or I could reject them.

I debated, teetering—but in the end, the desire of my heart won out.

A place to belong, even if only for the moment, sounds nice after all.

“Okay.” I curled my fingers around Satsuya’s, his boldness giving me boldness. “Maybe I am supposed to be here, after all. What’s the probability all of this would happen otherwise? And even if it wasn’t chance or fate, I’d still want to believe you’re right. I do need a place. So I’ll find a way to be of help to you all.”

Satsuya laughed, breaking the tension. “Do me a favor, Ivy, and just be yourself. Oh—and sorry for grabbing onto your hands without asking. That was rude.” He released me, looking sheepish, and embarrassment rushed in as I hid my hands in my lap.

“It’s...fine.” I stared down at my cooling coffee, surprised to find those words were true.

If anyone was watching us, they would suspect Wars was right, that we were some sort of couple. But there wasn’t anyone around to watch. And the Conscious already had that assumption, so I supposed (occasionally) acting like it was true wouldn’t exactly hurt our situation.

As soon as the thought hit, I felt a stab of anger, and I hurriedly directed my thoughts elsewhere before Yuuki could pull out some unknown power to fry my brain.

The door to the coffee bar swung open, and Mr. Alessi appeared to save me from the possibility of my thoughts going back to where they weren’t supposed to be.

“The Red Bar is saved.” Mr. Alessi grinned, hands on hips “Not too much damage. None of tonight’s customers will know there was a skirmish.” He walked over to the table where I sat to adjust the lace tablecloth. “Miss Ivy, after we eat lunch, do you mind helping me with meal preparations?Opening time will be here before you know it. Mostly we serve alcohol—but food is the spice of life, no?”

“No.” I grinned and nodded—and then realized what I had said. “Wait, I mean yes. Yes, it is. Food is good. I like food! Though I can’t say whether I’m any good at preparing it.” I thought back to my days spent ordering takeout or borrowing my parent’s personal chef, and cringed. “I mean, I’ve always had someone prepare food for me...” It sounded so snobbish, I fought the urge to pull out my hair.

“Ah, I see.” Mercifully, Mr. Alessi did nothing but nod sagely, though I could have sworn I saw Satsuya cover the beginnings of a laugh, and in the back of my mind, I could sense Yuuki scoff. “Well, there is no better time to learn than the present, yes?” Mr. Alessi patted my shoulder, his smile knowing.

“Yes.” I said before I could think about it. “Wait, I mean—ugh...sure. I’ll do my best.” He had made me stumble yet again. “Honestly, I’ve always been curious to try at least one recipe. Maybe I’ll like it, making food.”

It seemed strange to think of preparing food and running the bar after the events of earlier, but life had to continue on. The Conscious had given Satsuya time to decide his fate, so surely he wanted to pretend, if only for a moment, that things were normal.

Besides, trying something new wouldn’t kill me (probably). If I was good at meal prep, it would be an easy way to aid my new friends.

Still, I can’t help but wonder what will come next...

I had a place here; both Mr. Alessi and Satsuya had made that clear. I was protected, though I didn’t plan on sitting around doing nothing. But this calm after the storm couldn’t last for long. The Conscious would return all too soon, wanting to know how Satsuya would answer them, and depending on what he said, my life would change even more than it already had—if it continued, even.

Were we all going to have a discussion regarding what to do? Did I really have any say in Satsuya’s answer? Though it seemed like he had little choice, agreeing to murder The One was not a decision to take lightly; I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to say yes. And yet his answer would effect my life too, so I should at least give my opinion.

Though...what is my opinion?

Even if it would mean my life or death, did I want Satsuya to go after our world leader? What would happen if The One was murdered? Surely someone would take their place, but how many people would suffer in the meantime? Was my life worth more than the millions who would be lost without The One?

But what about the Uni? Satsuya had said the Conscious originally only wanted equality. I had never thought about it before, but it seemed some Uni wanted to do more than be a hero or villain. Why they would want normal, mundane jobs when they could have jobs where they used their powers frequently, I didn’t know, but maybe they should be given the choice.

If I only had one of two options, would I have felt the same?

Still, did that justify murdering Tyype—and forcing one of your own to risk his life to end the person who had brought order to the world? Would The One’s murder satiate the Conscious’s anger? Or would it only give them reason to continue hurting Typpe—and maybe even Uni?

Most importantly: what would The One do to retaliate?

We may have been in a lower-level town, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think there weren’t eyes watching. If the Conscious knew about Satsuya, then surely the World Law did, too. He had pointedly strayed from mentioning them, but they had to be on his mind.

I had more questions than I wanted, but I needed time to sort through my thoughts. Now wasn’t the moment to discuss anything—not for me, and probably not for Satsuya, who was carrying the weight of today’s event on his shoulders.

For now, we would all prepare to open The Red Bar as if tonight were our last.