Reborn with my killer's looks-Chapter 35: A dangerous game

A million different thoughts passed through Calvin’s head all at once.

Underneath the mask was a face he recognized.

Those Blue eyes and that same annoying expression Calvin had seen a hundred times over across their dorm room.

"No," Calvin whispered. "No. No, no, no...."

Huey Cross; his roommate, the guy who woke up on the ceiling every morning, the Achusoi everyone either pitied or looked down on—stared back at him.

Calvin took a step back, then another.

"This isn’t real. This is....you’re not...."

"Huey."

The words hit like a physical blow.

Calvin just stared. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out.

Josephine’s knees gave out.

She dropped to the floor of the Zone, her hands pressed against the geometric patterns beneath her. She wasn’t crying nor was she speaking, all she did was stare at Huey. In that instant the world had stopped making sense.

Luna was the only one still standing properly, although you could see her pupils had dilated and she was just as dumbstruck as the rest.

"Huey Cross," Luna said slowly. "The Achusoi from the house Cross in our year."

Huey nodded.

Calvin found his voice, and it came out raw. "I shared a room with you. For months. Sure I did see you up on the ceiling a few times, but I thought you were maybe possessed or something."

"But this, this is a holy fucking air ball."

His hands clenched into fists.

"This whole time you were....." He couldn’t even finish.

"The blue reaper, one of the most wanted vigilantes in Vitalis who’s killed how many people...." Calvin’s laugh was hollow and broken. "Is my roommate."

Huey let him talk.

Calvin’s voice rose. "So that’s why you were always popping up at the room late at night. All those times I stood up for you when I thought you were getting oppressed, it was all just pretense."

"I wasn’t pretending." Huey’s tone was gentle.

"Bullshit!"

Josephine made a sound. Half sob, half laugh.

She still hadn’t stood up, and hadn’t looked away from him.

"I held you in such high regard Huey Cross," she whispered with a cracked voice. "You were so strong willed and kind despite how poorly the world treated you. But that was just cause...."

She couldn’t finish.

"You were never laughing at us, were you?" Her voice was so small.

Josephine’s breath hitched. She looked away, one hand pressed against her mouth.

Luna adjusted her scapular. "Where did your crest come from."

"Im not really sure" Huey said simply.

The three of them stared at him.

"You are not really sure?" Calvin’s voice was sharp. "That’s it?"

"Just woke up one day and discovered I could shoot fire out of my hands." Huey stood. "I’ve been trying to figure it out ever since."

"That sounds like—"

"I know it sounds like bullshit." Huey’s voice stayed calm. "But it’s the truth."

Calvin ran his hand through his hair. "You knew who we were before tonight."

"Yes."

"How long?"

"A while."

"And you said nothing." Calvin’s voice shook. "You let us threaten you and almost kill you."

"I’m not sure you could have if you wanted to but okay..." Huey rubbed the back of his head trying to play off his statement.

"Why?" The word came out strangled. "Why tell us now?"

Huey looked at each of them. "Because I need help. I’m sure you guys have seen that the situation is much bigger than just me, and I think you’re the only people I can trust."

Calvin laughed and it was bitter. "Trust. You want to talk about trust."

"You’re right to be angry." Huey’s voice went up a bit. "I kept this from you. From all of you. But..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "Are we really that different?"

Calvin’s head snapped up. "What?"

"You’re vigilantes too. The Trinity. You operate in secret, unofficially and make your own calls about who deserves justice."

"The only difference is you answer to the Golden Chalice and have their protection."

"That’s not the same thing!" Josephine’s voice cracked. "We don’t kill."

"You don’t kill because you have the luxury not to." Huey’s eyes met hers. "Aside having backup, resources and legal protection. We are definitely not in the same boat when it comes to circumstances. I’m not doing this cause I wanna be some hero."

Josephines expression went from surprise to anger in an instant.

"The things people without crests go through are real, and its either us or them. I’m forced to make a choice every single night."

"So you choose murder," Calvin said coldly.

"You say that like all those guards you fought that are gonna survive. " Huey’s voice carried weight.

The kind of weight that made Calvin avert his gaze.

"But somehow it’s okay cause you didn’t mean it, same way it’s okay to be a vigilante so long as you don’t kill."

"We Human beings bend the narrative of what’s good and bad solely to justify our own principles." His eyes scanned through the room now. "And criticize does that don’t conform with them"

He looked at each of them again.

"Before I got these abilities, I was someone you supposedly pitied." His voice softened. "And I’m trying to understand; are you angry cause I hid the truth? Or is your ego hurt because the lowly Achusoi everyone looked down ended up being the mysterious and powerful Blue Reaper."

The question hung in the air like a blade.

Josephine flinched, Calvin’s jaw clenched and Luna furrowed her brows.

"I’m not saying what I did was right," Huey continued. "And I’m not asking you to approve. But I need you to understand..."

He paused, held out his right hand clenched it.

"These powers gave me a chance to do something to actually help the people who need it instead of just sitting in the background." His voice dropped. "Considering the circumstances, I could’ve done a lot worse. But I didn’t."

"You’ve never been in my position, so you might never really understand that," he said quietly. "And I pray you never have to."

Josephine was crying quietly on the floor, her shoulders shaking.

Calvin looked like he wanted to hit something or maybe cry

Luna’s expression was unreadable behind the mask but her eyes said it all

They all felt guilty for some reason and yet if you asked them, they probably couldn’t give you an answer.as to why.

Everyone waited in silence for a moment, and finally Josephine spoke without looking up. "Get us out of here."

Huey raised his hand and three portals opened.

"Will you tell anyone?" he asked quietly.

Nobody answered.

"Well whatever it is you decide," Huey said, "I’ll respect it and face the consequences. "

Calvin walked toward his portal and Stopped

"I don’t know what I’m gonna do," he said. "I don’t know anything anymore."

He stepped through.

Luna followed without a word.

Josephine was the last. She waited for a moment, her back to Huey.

"Josephine" he called out to her. "I haven’t found the courage to tell anyone else about this. But you were here and I think that’s what made it so easy. yet, It wouldn’t sit well with me if I ended up losing you too because of that."

Her shoulders tensed and a faint flush crept up her neck.

She stepped through the portal and was gone.

Huey stood alone in the Zone.

"Sir," Jazz said. "That went poorly."

"It went exactly as expected."

"And what have you gained?"

Huey was quiet for a moment. "Their guard is down and they think I’m desperate. They won’t suspect a thing when I start investigating St. Helena."

He gestured toward the void.

Robert Azzuri’s body slipped out and hit the ground.

Huey knelt, rubbing his hands together.

Blue electricity sparked and he placed both hands on Azzuri’s chest.

The current jolted through. Once. Twice.

Azzuri’s eyes snapped open with a gasp.

Huey looked down at him.

"Glad you agreed to my plan," he said quietly.

Hours earlier, in Azzuri’s office.

Blood soaked the velvet carpet. Guards lay scattered across the floor, their bodies testament to the Blue Reaper’s handiwork

Azzuri stumbled backward, his expensive suit shredded and his face pale with terror.

"Please," he gasped. "Please, I have money, connections, whatever you want..."

The Blue Reaper stood over him, his katana still wet with blood.

"You were set up tonight," he said calmly. "Your partners used you and seems they wanted you dead for some reason too."

Azzuri’s eyes widened. "What"

"You know it’s true. The moment things went south, where were they? They left you to die."

The Blue Reaper crouched. "But I can help you foil their plans. Make them think they succeeded and give you a chance to disappear, start over, get revenge or whatever you want."

"What, what do you need from me?"

The Blue Reaper’s eyes glowed brighter.

"Play dead for me."

He walked toward Azzuri, katana raised.

Azzuri’s scream echoed through the office.

Back in the Zone, Azzuri coughed violently, his hand going to his chest where the wounds had been.

"You’re insane," he wheezed.

"Maybe, but the trinity are loyal dogs and were most likely going to tattle what her it was they learned from you and also about my suspicions of their Magister if I hadn’t taken these extra precautions." Huey crouched in front of him, his eyes blazing in the darkness.

"They never trusted the Blue Reaper," he said. "But you know who they do trust? Huey Cross."

Azzuri steadied his breathing, looking at the young man before him. "And what happens to now?"

"Help me take down every single obstacle standing in my way, and you get all your power status back without the noose of never knowing when you might get killed by your so called son and his partner of you neck."

Azzuri stared at the offered hand.

Then he took it.

"You’re playing a dangerous game, kid."

Huey pulled him to his feet.

"I’ve been playing it since I woke up in this body 8 months ago with memories I definitely knew weren’t mine."