My Lost Soul

Chapter 40 - Two Sides to Every Coin

Omari stared into Enjō for a while, his hands on his shoulders, "I'm sorry I left you alone."

"Huh? You didn't get a choice, it's not your fault."

Omari laughed, "You're right, sorry about that. But," He pointed out the apartment complex, "How did you get here?" Weren't you still at home?"

"After the—uh..." He touched his neck, "The thing—Uyama found me knocked out and brought me with him. I thought you were killed so... I guess I thought I needed revenge."
Omari listened to him silently.

"I guess the search's done now." Enjō laughed awkwardly.
Then, does that mean I got nothing else keeping me here? I got what I wanted, but there's still a little somethin' that I can't describe inside me, somethin' missing.

"Okay, I understand the situation now. Thanks, Jojo. Now, who's your friend, "Omega", was it?"

"Oh, he's special. Apparently, Uyama found him at a dumpster after he destroyed an entire Nursery by himself. I believe it, cuz they're starting to add more security and stuff I think."

Omari covered his mouth with his hand and looked down, muttering some words before looking up at Enjō, "Does he know?"

Enjō furrowed his brow, "Know what?" Omari narrowed his eyes and bit his nail.

"So you don't know either." He paced around, "In my article that I was writing, I was exposing the treatment of Artificials, specifically Omega."

Enjō listened intently.

"There are times when...super machines don't have the necessary amount of fuel. The Nurseries—the Gila Liner, they expel a greenish smoke, unlike that of any known source of fuel." Omari paused for a moment and cleared his throat, "That smoke comes from Artificial soul energy. They use some machine that pumps and squeezes it out of Artificials like a sponge," He grimaced, "It's disgusting."

Enjō scrunched his face, "Wha? That can't be real, it sounds so...fantasy."

"But it is, and Omega are the main source of their fuel. I'm guessing that's either due to the fact that most of them die at an early age, or possibly because they have the most potential, like Omega here."

Enjō looked down and started to sweat. Sparks began crackling from his body, and he bit down on his lip.
"Enjō." Omari reached for him when he shook his head.

"No, I got this, " Enjō growled through his teeth. Sparks fell down to the ground and died with a sizzle. He finally relaxed and threw his head back in relief, "Phew, first time I've done it by myself. I'm fine now."

"I don't know if Omega is ready to hear that, though. He's already heard a lot today."

Omari frowned, "As I said before, we don't have much time before something happens. I don't mean to be pessimistic, but at that point, it might be too late."

"Okay...I'll tell him tomorrow, I guess. Good?"

"Great."

———

Machida sat in a chair outside of a hospital room with his head laid back against the wall.

"Hey, you." A woman called for his attention. He jumped up and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Is she alright, nurse? Can we see her?"

The nurse rolled her eyes, "The cut was really deep. Any deeper and she might've died by now. She's open for visitors, though." She was scrolling on her phone as she walked away from the room.

"What kind of..." Machida glared at her back as she left, "Where is Kitt?"

Kitt walked up to Machida with two drinks in his hand, "Hey, can we go in yet?"