9: Consider Kidnapping?
The scene looked hopeful with Mitsuha working hard to save Itomori. Her friends were giving their best, even in the part where she stood against her father.
But there was another point that filled Gwen with anxiety.
Taki wasn’t the only one who had crossed the boundary. Mitsuha had done it too.
And almost as if on cue, Mitsuha started losing her memories.
‘The name on your hand!’ If she could, Gwen would’ve reached into the novel and shaken Mitsuha.
Thankfully, Mitsuha had remembered that part as well; she looked at the hand for an answer. And she got one, just not the one she had expected.
“I love you.”
Those three letters had Gwen looking at the ceiling as her eyes stung. Taki hadn’t written his name, because he knew Mitsuha had crossed the boundary. And that meant that she had also left behind something most precious to her.
So, instead of writing a name that she would get erased, he wrote what he felt, hoping it would stay in her heart and push her forward.
And right as Mitsuha gathered her courage and started the evacuation process, the comet passed by from above. It broke in two, one piece falling towards Mitsuha and the second passing over the younger version of Taki, who was still unaware and fully entranced by the beauty of it all.
The chapter ended with a dull report stating that the comet had struck the town of Itomori, where the people were celebrating their summer festival, as Taki, in the future, looked at the still destroyed town, a single line etched onto his palm before leaving for Tokyo. His memories completely gone.
Gwen was at a loss for words; she slumped in the chair and didn’t speak or move for a full ten minutes. The comment section was a mess of people threatening to kidnap the author yet again or crying over the confession moment.
‘It doesn’t sound so bad when you think about it.’ In that moment, even Gwen started to think the kidnapping, or in this case, relocation, wasn’t so bad.
***
‘EP, my sweet EP~!’ John almost broke into a shoulder dance as the EP crossed 300 the following afternoon.
The biggest contributor to that walked beside him as they exited the main building of the University after their morning lectures.
“That was a fun lecture,” Gwen said, words that didn’t belong together.
He would’ve followed up on her tangent, but there was something that made him keep his distance from her.
[Gwen Stacy is considering kidnapping you +50 EP]
That notification had kept him up all night. His first question was, why? Then he heard her talk about the reason the next morning, the double release of heartache and the cliff.
He understood her thoughts. Still, why?
“Hey, why are you spacing out?” Gwen tapped his shoulder, a small frown on her brow.
“Nothing, I was just imagining what you said.” He nodded along to a topic he had no memory of hearing.
“Right? If someone did that writing scene with me, I seriously won’t be able to take it.” Gwen was talking about the Taki and Mitsuha scene from the last chapter.
“Would you like the body-swapping part too?” John asked, stepping down the stairs.
“I’ll pass on that.” Just the thought of someone else in her body, feeling her up, was enough to make her shudder.
“You can’t just take the best part, you know? That’s not how life works.” He chuckled, turning to Peter. “Ain’t that right, Peter?”
“That would be correct; if something has advantages, disadvantages are sure to follow.” Peter, who had been listening to them so far, answered with a subtle nod.
“Look at you two getting along.” Gwen let out an exasperated sigh as they teamed up on her.
“All thanks to you,” John smirked.
“If you are that thankful, give my $20 back.” She demanded, faking a pained expression.
“Too late, already spent.”
“Unbelievable.” Gwen chuckled, thinking he was joking.
But John had given $10 to Peter, and spent the remaining on food. Thinking of food made him hungry again. Today, even if he had to break into the Bank, he’d have his money.
‘I am not a fan of wearing the same clothes three days in a row either.’ He looked at his clothes, same as yesterday. If he suddenly didn’t become a world-eating champion, he would’ve used the $10 from yesterday in a thrift shop.
Well, he couldn’t do anything about that now. Unless he made a mistake of buying clothes from the system shop. Which at this moment didn’t sound so bad.
“Anyway, about that musubi thin—” Gwen paused mid-sentence, clutching her light pink bag as she faked looking at her wristwatch. “I gotta go; I was supposed to meet Professor Henderson in the lab. See y’all tomorrow!”
Watching her storm off, John turned to Peter, who only shrugged. Seemed Gwen did this often, and he could guess the reason.
‘I swear I heard something beeping in her bag. Duty calls, I suppose.’ John didn’t dwell on it much and walked with Peter; their destination was the main gate of the University.
They were passing by the American football field, where the students who got in on sports scholarship worked up a sweat in the blazing heat. There was a small crowd in the stands too, probably their friends or others waiting about.
Since Gwen left, they hadn’t talked much. Peter wasn’t sure what he should talk about with John. It wasn’t that John had made fun of any of his topics, and hadn’t made any slighted remark even when he showed slight enthusiasm regarding Spiderwoman. He had been treated well, a bit too well considering how outgoing John was.
However, there was something that Peter felt; it was more of an instinct he had learned after being picked on for so long.
‘He isn’t a bully, but something about him scares me.’ There was a chill that took over his body whenever John’s expression went neutral since this morning.
When people’s expressions became like that, they usually relaxed, but that wasn’t the case for him. Peter noticed the small adjustments he made, the way his eyes looked around, keeping a clear picture of his surroundings with subtle head movements.
He made it look natural, almost. The only reason Peter could see it was that he was used to observing from behind. Right now, John was like a professional football player who scanned the field for any incoming aggressors. Keeping track of everyone and everything around him.
“Is something bothering you, Peter?” And his eyes happened to catch something.
‘Flash!’ Peter, who could see beyond John’s back, saw Flash charging at them in American football gear, minus the helmet. ‘He’s targeting John!’
Why would Flash do that? Peter had long learned not to use logic with him. At this moment, he had to push John, who was looking at him, out of the way.
However, humans were creatures that operated in steps. They took in information first; the brain processed that information and sent the response for the situation; only then the body followed based on its capabilities.
For someone like Peter, whose brain worked faster than his body, the disconnect was more pronounced. By the time he had even raised a hand, the collision had already happened.
There was a sickening crunch that echoed, making Peter close his eyes and cover his face with the palms of his hands. However, amidst the gasps and silence, he heard the voice of his friend.
“It’s ok, Peter.” John was still near him.
By the time Peter opened his eyes, John had already turned away from him.
Peter’s eyes looked at the unfazed John, blood coating his right elbow. Then his gaze lowered to see Flash, groaning on the floor. He clutched at his bleeding nose, scrambling on the running track while cursing his head off.
And if there was one thing worse than Flash messing with someone, it was Flash when someone fought back. Because then he wouldn’t attack alone.
Peter saw Flash’s teammates coming over; they were laughing just moments ago, but now their faces turned grave. But even when facing this all, John’s voice was as calm as ever.
“You okay, bud?” He said, extending a hand to Flash; his voice seemed much deeper too.
Flash’s eyes were bloodshot, and it looked like he might swing at any moment. However, the moment he looked up at John, he stopped.
The curses, the glare, the anger dripping off his face. It all vanished like smoke, replaced by a layer of cold sweat and fresh terror.
“You look a little pale; everything cool?”
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