[Shatter Me] [Shu Kurenai]

Part 8

"So we've got him restrained, now what should we do?" Mizusawa asked, staring at the tied-up wonder boy who had an annoyed look on his face.

"Call backup," I suggested from the sofa, and I felt everyone's gaze on me. I looked up from my phone, confused. What am I missing?

"Are things really that bad?" I forget people can't read Valt like I can and it unsettles me how well I know him from time to time

"Everything turned to crap the moment he stepped into the house." I nodded at Valt, who was staying surprisingly quiet for someone who usually couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"And you didn't think to warn us? Did you forget you're a mutant freak?" I rolled my eyes at the comment. Well, it's not like I asked to be one.

"I thought you would have figured it out by yourself. Valt's not one to play by a hidden agenda." They both looked at Valt, who gave an innocent shrug and mum sighed, her eyes wandering back over to me.

"How far can you see?" She asked, her eyes intent.

I laughed, standing up. "Someone's desperate. What happened to never using my power." She scowled at me and I smirked. "24 hours, give or take. Sometimes, it can go to the extreme, but that usually causes me to collapse from the strain of it all. Even a prodigy has his limits." I looked at my mum, who looked down, her face full of shame.  "But, unlike a prodigy, it seems our little wonder boy does not have any limits to what he can do."

"I think you're exaggerating his abilities a bit mu-" Mizusawa started

"You can't hide the lengths you can go to for much longer, Valt. You never were a good liar, anyway." I said, and Valt's frown turned into a smile

"But I know how to put on a show, and at this stage, they're the same thing." He met my gaze and I frowned. "You can't see my past, can you? Only my future. I knew about your powers from the beginning. The quiet boy who was always so afraid and mature for his age was ahead of everyone else by miles. The small boy who had been abandoned by the world and was left with an ability he couldn't control - something that tore his very sanity apart. Something that will eventually kill him if the wonder boy isn't there to save him. And you hate it."

I refused to say anything, and, sensing the tension that was starting to build in the room, Mizusawa clapped his hands together. "So, where to go from now? We have a prodigy, a miracle boy, and an assassin. Where does that get us with this little predicament of ours?"

"All that's left is the scientist," I said, knowing Naoki was the only one who had sound enough thinking to tie this all together, as much as I disliked it.

"How many people are there?" Mizusawa asked, surprised we still have people in our arsenal that we could call upon. Yeah, my generation of bladers is incredible, I have to admit. "I thought miracle boy was who we were relying on."

"Yes, we are relying on miracle boy for anything to go right, but we need the scientist to help us with the facts and figures. Prodigy over here can't really pull numbers out of thin air." I smiled, realising quicker and quicker how little my prodigy title actually meant. I'm good for nothing at this stage. Some prodigy I am.

"You are more of a prodigy than the rest of them ever will be," Mizusawa said, and I looked at him, confused. "You know why?" I shook my head. Where is he going with this? "You're a prodigy who knows how and when to ask for help, and that's what's most important, y'know?" He smiled at me, a proud look in his eyes. An expression I had not seen for years from people other than my teachers. "You're the real thing, kid. Lead the way."