We reached Miss Charlotte's apartment soon after.
She unlocked the door and we went inside without any awkwardness — I'd been here enough times that it felt natural. I headed straight to the kitchen.
"What do you want for lunch?" I called out.
"I'm in the mood for pasta!" she called back from somewhere in the apartment.
"Okay."
Fair enough. I had enough experience with it that it wasn't a problem. I gathered what I needed and got to work — boiling the water, seasoning it properly, getting the sauce going while the pasta cooked. Nothing fancy, just done right.
When I finally set the table, Charlotte walked in wearing nothing but a bathrobe.
"Could you at least try to be a little modest?"
Not that I was complaining, but I had a reputation to uphold.
"I think I'm dressed perfectly fine for my own home," she said, raising an eyebrow. "You're the one who doesn't belong here."
I picked up the pasta and the cutlery and started walking back toward the kitchen.
"You're right. You probably shouldn't be eating food from strangers."
She scrambled to stop me.
"It would be a waste! Now put it back like a good boy."
I balanced the plate on top of my head and looked at her.
"Oh, so now I'm your student? Shouldn't you be dressed a little more appropriately then?"
She slumped her shoulders in defeat. Taking pity on her, I gestured for her to sit down. She perked right back up, and we both settled in to eat.
After a few bites I said casually, "So — that fire earlier. Never seen anything like that before."
Charlotte, still in a good mood, answered without thinking.
"Oh, that's just my natural fire, it's—"
She stopped. Her mind caught up with her mouth. She stared at me, completely dumbfounded.
I just kept eating, looking at her sideways with a smug expression.
Neither of us said anything. The silence was thick enough to choke on.
She finally let out a slow sigh.
"Fine." A pause. "Okay... I may have hidden some things from you."
"A few things? That's generous."
She took a moment then said, "Okay, maybe a little more than a few. But you've hidden things from me too."
"I haven't hidden anything."
She looked at me with clear doubt — then something shifted in her expression as she realized I was telling the truth.
"But you pretended to be knocked out."
"I was knocked unconscious. I just... resisted it somehow. I never pretended."
I knew I was stretching the truth, but I needed the upper hand if I was going to get anything real out of her.
"How much did you see?"
"Everything."
Her face went red.
"Even when I said—"
"Yes," I cut her off.
I got up from my chair and walked over to her, leaning down close to her ear.
"I didn't know I was your beloved," I said quietly. "Quite a surprise. What if it got out?"
I looked at her with all the composure I could manage — like I had her right where I wanted her. She looked up at me, almost pouting.
"Did you not like it?"
"I never said that." I straightened up slightly. "But I didn't like you hiding things from me."
Her expression lifted — and then, with zero warning, she pounced.
She kissed me before I could say another word, and I kissed her back without hesitation.
When we finally pulled apart she asked softly, "How did that feel?"
I thought for a second.
"Tasted like pasta..."
She pouted. I let the pause sit just long enough before finishing.
".....But felt like heaven."
Her face went completely red. I wasn't much better — I could feel the warmth creeping up my cheeks, though I was at least decent at hiding it.
After that, everything moved in a kind of quiet daze. We finished the rest of the pasta without much talking, both of us too shy to break whatever had just settled between us. I helped her with the dishes afterward, the two of us working in comfortable silence.
Eventually I said, "I should get going."
I stepped outside and started down the hallway. Then, out of nowhere, Charlotte appeared at the door, pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, and immediately shut the door behind her.
I stood there for a moment, blinking.
Then I shook my head, smiled to myself, and headed downstairs.
I was waiting at the nearest bus stop, still in a stupidly good mood, when I heard it — a girl screaming.
I was moving before I even made the decision to.
I followed the sound through a couple of streets until I reached a narrow alleyway. I hesitated for just a second at the entrance, then pushed through.
What I saw inside hit me like a wall.
A little girl was pressed against the far end, her back to the bricks, completely frozen. An apparition — a Spectre — was closing in on her slowly, like it was savoring it. On the ground nearby were two bodies. Her parents, most likely.
A cold wave of deja vu washed over me. The kind I didn't want to remember.
I didn't think. I rushed in and drove a full aura-coated kick into the Spectre, sending it crashing across the alley.
The girl was too far gone in shock to make a sound. I glanced her over quickly.
No injuries.
I felt something loosen in my chest. I moved her quickly to the side and turned my focus back to the alley — just in time to see the first Spectre pulling itself back up, and four more crawling out from the walls around us.
Then I heard her.
The girl, sobbing quietly, her eyes fixed on the two bodies on the ground.
Something in me went cold and then immediately hot.
I coated myself in aura — fifty percent, maybe more — and I moved.
I hit the nearest one off the wall with a flying kick so hard it simply came apart. I didn't slow down. The next one barely had time to react before I drove my hand through it and tore out whatever passed for its insides. The third one I drop-kicked hard enough that there wasn't much left of it afterward.
The last one was the first I'd sent flying. It didn't come at me. Its instincts were warning it.
I didn't give it the chance to listen to them.
I crossed the distance in an instant, shoved both hands into its jaw, and tear him apart .
Then it was quiet.
I stood there, blood on my hands, chest heaving. The girl had passed out at some point — the shock had been too much for her. Probably for the better.
I looked at what was left of the alley around me and exhaled slowly.
I.... lost..... control.