A large clear barrier surrounded Wave and Leech. But Wave didn’t care. “I’ll ask again. What did you do to him!?”

Leech just tilted his head to the side and smiled. “I saved him.”

“Don’t you lie to me!” Wave’s body started to act on its own. With every word he said, his body inched a little bit closer to Leech.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself then?”

Wave then turned to Reo. Wave tried to clear his mind and feelings to not let his emotions take over. “What happened?”

Reo’s body trembled as he tried to cover his wounds where the blood was oozing out of him. “I-I-was jumped by some men. Then he saved me.” Reo pointed at Leech before passing out.

“See. I did nothing wrong. In fact, I helped you out. Maybe I should get into the superhero business.”

“I-I don’t believe him. You must have done something to him like whatever you did to me!”

Leech didn’t say a word back. Instead, he turned his body sideways and moved back to lean against the wall. Behind him were three men. Each one was wearing a leather jacket and pants. They were also carrying weapons. One of the weapons was a bat covered in barbed wire that was dripping blood.

“I knew there was only one way to bring you out. A cry for help.” Leech then cleared his throat before shouting, “Help! Help! Help!” It sounded just like the cry for help that got Wave’s attention. “It’s not that hard to change one’s voice. All you got to do is change the pitch a little. I actually stop a few other crimes but you never showed up. So, I thought I try my luck in a few neighborhoods and I guess it paid off.”

Wave continued to inch closer and closer. Each step had turned into a stomp. His fist was clenched like he was ready to fight any moment now. “How did you know I was here!?”

Leech simply held out his hand, signaling Wave to stop. “Because you ran into a Gift. I know more about Gifts than Flight. Gifts can actually sense when another Gift is nearby. It’s just the range is so small that you have to practically be standing next to them.”

“That’s bullcrap! I’ve been near other Gifts and never was able to sense anything.”

“Ah! But that is because you never took the time to pay attention. When you were with Flight, you were distracted by learning to use your powers. With Blight, you were focused on trying to survive. With me…” Leech then took a few steps closer to Wave until he was about six feet away. “You were to busy being in shock.”

Wave started to feel a cold and warm wave of air circling around him. Even his head started to feel tingly; just like that time at the bookstore.

“Sensing a Gift is such a subtle feeling that if you’re too distracted. You might never notice it. Only when someone is calm or is without distractions do you truly sense a Gift. That is why Flight’s trait was so special. It made it feasible to find other Gifts. After all, having to be six feet away from a person just to try a sense a Gift is way too cumbersome.”

“He’s right there. Right in front of me. I can. I can wipe that stupid grind off his face! I have to act now!” Where Wave’s thoughts as he pulled his arm back and threw it out towards Leech’s face. “Take this! Sound Shot!”

And nothing happened.

“What?” Wave looked at his fist for a few seconds before trying again to hit Leech. “Sound Shot!...Sound Shot!...Sound…Sh…ot”

Leech simply grinned and pointed up at the barrier. “As long as that is out. All Gift’s powers are turned off.”

Wave took a few steps back not sure what to do now. “You…have a Gift that can do that?”

“But of course! I am the strongest Gift alive,” Leech then pounded his chest, “For I am the Gift of the Guardian.”

Without realizing it. Wave charged at Leech. His mind wanted to run but his body wanted to fight. He rammed right into Leech’s body and started to throw punches wildly at Leech’s face; half of the strikes didn’t even land. “You’re not a guardian! You protect no one but yourself!” Tears rolled down Wave’s face as he continued to scream and yell “You’re not a guardian!”

Leech stood firm in his spot. Nothing Wave did even nudged him. But oddly enough, Leech did not strike back. He simply waited till Wave was done. “You know, the longer you try and beat me up. The less time you have to save that guy from dying of blood loss.”

Leech’s word snapped Wave back into reality. His anger then turned to fear. He had just tried fighting Leech. A Gift who kills and eats other Gift’s heart. He stumbled back, nearly falling over. His eyes were wide as images of Flight’s death and Leech on top of Flight flashed before his eyes. Wave felt like throwing up and started to dry heave from the idea that he was about to die.

“Relax. If I wanted to kill you. You would be dead already.”

“But I am….dead. Timekeeper knows about me now right? That’s…why…you’re here.” Wave stuttered.

“What Gift? I decided to check out a person that was believed to be a Gift. But alas he turned out to just be a normal person.”

“Why…are you protecting me?” Wave started to calm down and was able to stop his legs from trembling. Leech really isn’t there to kill Wave. Then why did he want to meet with him so badly?

“I have big plans for you, and you being caught now would ruin it. You’re nowhere near the level I want you to be at. I’ll give you one piece of advice. Learn to fight. I’ve been able to kill powerful Gifts because of my own power. Gifts rely far too much on their powers to fight. Take it away and now it’s like fighting a normal human. Even you can probably beat a Gift who is far more powerful than you if you learn to throw a punch.” Leech then walked over to the wall. With a quick strike, Leech had thrown a fist right through the concrete wall. “This is also something every Gift is capable of doing.” He then pulled his arm out of the wall to reveal his fist covered in blood. Two fingers were twisted, showing that they were probably broken. “But never forget that our bodies are still frail. Ironic no? To have powers of a god but still having the fragility of a human. Become stronger because the next time you’re found out. No one will be protecting you”

With that, Leech vanished with a snap of his fingers.

Wave rushed over to Reo and began calling for an ambulance.

The next morning Reo woke up in a hospital bed. He noticed an IV attached to his arm and bandages wrapped around his other arm. He tried to scratch his head but felt that it too was covered in bandages as well. He looks around to see Raito asleep on a mini couch in the hospital room.

“Raito?....Raito?.....RAITO!”

Raito shot up from the couch. “Huh. What!?”

“What happened?”

Raito rubbed his eyes before replying back. “It was late, and you weren’t home. I decided to look for you and found you on the floor bleeding.”

Reo started rubbing his head as he tried to remember. “That’s right. Some thugs jumped me and I was saved by some cosplayers. One was wearing a cat mask and another one was. Well, I don’t watch all the latest shows anymore. I have no idea what that other guy was supposed to be.”

Raito then kicked his hero costume underneath the couch with his foot. “They must have gone to go chase the thugs. No one else was nearby.” Wave said as he tried to avoid eye contact with Reo.

“I’m sorry about the way I’ve been treating you. It’s just. When I look at you. I see myself.”

“What do you mean?”

Reo put his hands together and looked down at them. “You looked sad. But the type of sadness that can’t magically go away. The type of sadness I still suffer from. Moving on from my dad’s death feels like it’s never going to happen. Seeing you with the same type of sadness was like looking in a mirror. I’m angry at myself that I can’t move on. I want to move on. I think I’m ready to move on. But I can’t.” Tears began to rain down Reo’s face. “I miss him so much. I wasn’t ready for him to leave. I feel like I’m not supposed to be happy without him. I just couldn’t stand seeing your face because of how angry I was at myself.”

Raito gently put his arm on Reo’s shoulder. Reo turned his head to face Raito’s. He could see Raito was crying with him as well. No more words were said. They just embraced each other and cried. Only Raito knew the pain Reo was suffering from and only Reo knew the pain Raito was suffering from. It’s okay to not be okay. But don’t be afraid to eventually be okay.