EONS of NEOS

fit for the blind

XII. fit for the blind

Xavier froze as heavy footsteps closed in.

Luckily, he remembered he still had Isla's gun, but it was too late. When he went to grab it, the intruder made his appearance from his peripheral view.

A man bigger, taller, and capable of beating him to a pulp.

Xavier scrambled to aim the gun, ignoring the ache from his deformed hand.

"Don't shoot that!" His voice was as rough as he looked.

"D-don't hurt me. Please, I don't want any trouble."

"It's me, Xavier. Isla. I'll explain, just. Put it down."

He let out a breath saturated with confusion. Did that man think he was blind or-or deaf? Anyone could see and hear the difference between a middle-aged man and a teenage girl.

"My name is Isla. I was inside Fujiwara Keiko's body. When her body was destroyed in that gunfire, my soul found this man's body." He—er, she? gestured to the man's body which was. . .herself?

Xavier lowered the weapon. "How. . . How is that possible?"

"I told you before that souls cannot die. We are souls," Isla reminded. "And that is a Soul Reaper. It captures souls so they cannot reenter a body. I won't let you fire it."

Isla approached him and he held his breath.

She retook the gun and, noticing his lingering fear, let out a sigh. "If I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it after you told me this location."

He replayed her words. If it were true, then he knew nothing about the world.

She squatted her now-muscular frame before the open safe, and grinned. "I'm glad I didn't kill you. How'd you get the password?"

Quickly, Xavier shifted his leg over the beanie and refused meekly. "I can't tell you."

"Hm? Well, I guess I don't need to know." Opening the door fully, she pulled out two textbooks, both thick and aged and signed personally by—"Redbeard LeRouge. . . The one who was different from his family."

"Do you know him. . .?"

"Not really." She played with the gun as she spoke. "While his family was attacking mine, he chose to conceal his soul in a Reaper. We call it erasing. He said that someone in this world made his life complete, so he had no desire to live forever, anymore."

Xavier glanced over at the board at the message he came across earlier: Being your father was the best thing about my life. I love you always, Black.

"The rest of them are deranged. What's happening outside is happening because of them," Isla seethed, her anger more evident now that it matched her appearance.

She grabbed one of the two manuscripts and went to sit atop a desk. Xavier took the other. He curved his lip halfway, as he was reminded of whenever Kelsey would bring him books.

He exhaled before opening it.

~

Don't let them see each other!