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"Oh, overseers! What happened!?" Harper rushed forward upon entering the home. She assumed the worst. Did Westonian Officials find them? Did they take Yanpu?

It couldn't be because they would've killed Hyde to get to him, right?

But if that were the case, shouldn't they be preparing to hightail it off the island?

Hyde rolled his eyes at Harper and exhaled. He rested his head against the torn couch. Harper rushed over to his aid.

"Who did this? Westonian—"

"No," Hyde grumbled. "Not who you're thinking."

"Did you get into a fight at work!?"

"No,"

"On the way here?"

"Sort of," Hyde chortled.

"Hyde! Don't joke with me right now! Are we under attack? Oh, no! Yanpu! Where's Yanpu—"

Hyde grabbed Harper's arm to stop her before she ran into the bedroom. "He'll be fine, for now," Hyde huffed.

"What do you mean by that?"

"What's that in your hand?" Hyde changed the subject, not wanting to freak her out anymore by what was about to unfold when he told her the truth.

Harper blushed and eyed the clay bottle. "It's an energy drink." She lied. She wasn't ready to tell him that Akamau gave her a job and medicine for him. "Want some?"

"Another time,"

"Actually, you should drink it now..." Harper's eyes moved down to his scar. It was glowing bright, but Hyde looked like he was able to hold himself together. Was his portion of the medicine from the last time he took it helping him? "Here, open your mouth."

She raised the bottle to his lips and he turned his face away. "I don't want any—"

Harper pried his mouth open and poured a full swallow of the medicine into his mouth. Hyde gagged and shoved her off of him. Some of it spilled out. The red liquid ran down the corners of his mouth before he wiped his face.

"Is everyone trying to kill me today?" Hyde scoffed. "You're Crazy."

Harper felt reassured when his glowing scar faded. She wondered if he noticed, but from the looks of it Hyde hadn't noticed because he was still scolding her about her invasion of his personal space.

"Where'd you get that anyway?"

"Oh, this? Uh... it was given to me by one of the villagers. I was really tired and they noticed. It's supposed to help you feel refreshed."

It was an awful lie, one of the worst. It didn't seem believable at all, but Hyde decided not to focus on her words. Rather, his attention was still on the earlier event.

It seemed like Harper wanted to know too. "Where is Yanpu?"

"About that," Hyde sat up straight, taking his foot off the coffee table and fixing his posture. "He's lost it."

"Huh?"

"That kid is as wild as a banshee. So I restrained him."

"Restrained?" Harper's jaw dropped. "What did you do? Where is he!?"

"I humbled him. He had an attitude problem, and I fixed it."

Harper placed a hand on her hips and scowled at him. "Where is he?" She repeated, her voice more stern than ever.

Hyde pushed himself up and rolled his eyes. He was expecting her to act this way. But he did have a little bit of hope that she would allow him to explain.

Observing the glare on her face, all of his expectations went down the drain. He sauntered over to the bedroom door and pushed it open. Yanpu flopped into the hallway, with his arms, and legs tied in rope.

"Oh my gosh!" Harper's eyes met Yanpu's and she quickly threw herself next to him. "Hyde! Why would you—

"Ask him," Hyde interrupted, before looking directly at Yanpu. He gestured to Harper. "Tell her what happened."

When Harper sat Yanpu up and began untying his wrists, he avoided her glance.

"Don't wanna tell her what you did?" Hyde chuckled bitterly. "Fine, I'll tell her. The little brat tried to kill me."

"What!?"

"Came home from work and this little shite attacked me, without any explanation."

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure? The furniture and the kitchen are evidence. He's quiet because he's guilty." Hyde huffed and leaned against the door frame. "He may be small and has a baby face, but he's a menace. Besides DNA, that's one other thing we may have in common."

Harper set the rope down and placed a hand on Yanpu's shoulder. "Yani, is that true? Did you attack Hyde?"

No answer.

"Yani, why won't you say anything? Tell me the truth."

Yanpu raised his head to glare at Hyde. The same smug look was still plastered on his face. The two eyed each other for a moment before Yanpu finally decided that he had enough.

Would Harper just take Hyde's side if he told her the truth? As it seemed now, it was highly likely.

Yanpu shrugged Harper's arm away and darted out of the room. Not only did he feel humiliated by the man who caused him the most annoyance, but his caretaker, the only one he trusted was interrogating him as if he were the problem, and not Hyde.

"Yanpu!" Harper raced after him as Yanpu ran out of the shed. "Yanpu, come back!"

"Let him go." Hyde dragged Harper back.

"He's a child!"

"Exactly. He's having a tantrum. He'll come running back when he's done."

"Even if he comes running back, it doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous out there!"

"He almost killed me. If anything, he IS the danger that's out there." Hyde joked monotonously.

"He's nothing like a saint. Don't let those innocent eyes fool you. He may have been raised in a way that his abilities were delayed, but he and I aren't much different. We're both killing machines."

Harper hated to hear those words coming from him. She felt that if Hyde didn't do things to push Yanpu to the point when his abilities were forced, Yanpu would still be as innocent as the day before they were kidnapped.

She also considered Bomb's theory in detail. If Bomb hadn't injected both of them with organic Puron, both wouldn't have had their powers at all. Either way, Yanpu's abilities would have shown signs the moment Bomb's plan to use Yanpu's make to help the president began.

It didn't matter how she felt. Hyde wasn't wrong. She just hated to hear him compare Yanpu to himself, a man who had killed without a second thought. She didn't want Yanpu to be so brutal.

"You don't have to put it like that, Hyde."

Harper already had enough trouble comparing herself to Bomb after the incident in Itaria. She didn't need Hyde telling her that Yanpu had full capabilities to eliminate large-scale armies as he could.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Hyde circled around her, pointing at the door Yanpu just run out of. "Did you see the look on his face?"

Harper crossed her arms uncomfortably.

"He didn't look sorry. His eyes were void. He knows what he did, and I don't have a doubt that his intentions are the same. If I gave him the opportunity, he'd definitely try again."

It was the first time she had seen Yanpu look so angry. If Hyde held back, would Yanpu really have killed him? She didn't want to think about it. That thought made her shudder.

"Don't say that," Harper exhaled a breath she'd been holding in for the past 15 seconds.

"Don't say what? The truth?" Hyde chortled sharply. "You may not want to hear it, but I don't give two shites. I'm not going to sugarcoat when my life is at stake. Don't expect me to."

"I understand that he's having trouble—"

"A child with a murderous objective is more than a little trouble, don't you think?"

"We're all going through our issues right now. I think you can do a little better at not trying to scare me."

"Oh, you're scared now?" Hyde strolled back over to the couch and picked up one of his blades. He tilted it slightly, playing with the handle as he twisted it around. "Keep on dreaming that 'the precious little kid' isn't like me."

"When I say I'm scared, I don't mean it like that..."

"Then... what do you mean?"

"I'm saying that... um..."

"You're afraid that he's going to actually go through with hurting someone or worse, like I do on a regular basis, right?"

"He's your brother. I already know that he's going to have similarities with you. But rather than encouraging it and labeling him, why can't you help me teach him not to go the route that you've taken?"

"What?"

"You both deserve a chance at a normal life. I'm not saying one of you is worse than the other, right now, I'm worried about the both of you."

"You want me to help you teach him to be normal?" Hyde laughed.

"Not to be normal, but to think in a way that he understands his actions will affect other people."

"You're on Bullshite today. I don't even understand how to think like that. Yet, you're expecting me to help you teach him some morals?"

"I can't do it alone."

"You'd better learn how to." Hyde scowled. "I need a cigarette."

"Hyde, believe it or not, you also have a level of morals that you keep. The fact that I'm still alive and with you is proof of that. If you didn't have any, you would've killed me on the airship." Harper countered. "I think you're just scared of changing yourself."

Harper walked to the front door, but Hyde stopped her. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go and check on him..."

"He'll come back." Hyde's tone changed, just for a second coming across as reassuring. But then his blank stare turned into a glare. "I'm not going after you if you get lost. It's better if you stay put."

He placed his sword back into his belt and walked into the bedroom. "Food is on the counter. Or what's left of it anyway."

Harper watched him leave casually, as if their bickering never even happened. She wanted to pray to the overseers, but she was struggling with her hopes.

How would she ever help those two get to a point where they can get along, not as simple comrades, but as brothers?

~~~

The night went by but to Harper, it felt like many months. She couldn't sleep at all knowing that Yanpu was still out in the dark. But it gave her time to think.

The sun rose and there was a soft wind that swirled the drapery at the window. The soft fabric rubbed smacked against her skin, causing her to come back to reality.

Hyde walked out of the bedroom, not at all concerned by Harper's choice to stay on the couch. He didn't even glance her way.

He walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a piece of fruit. "We're gonna have to invest in getting these fixed." Hyde pointed to the cabinets with holes in them. "The couch too."

"Yeah," Harper mumbled.

"I'm off," Hyde took a large bite out of the fruit and began to start his journey on the way to his job. Harper clasped onto his wrist, stopping Hyde in his tracks.

"Wait, before you go," Harper sighed.

"Yes?" Hyde voiced impatiently.

"I don't want us to go through today angry with each other."

"I'm not angry. You might be, considering how you stayed out here all night."

"I'm not angry either. I'm just stressed out. I need you to understand that I've never done this before, and I won't always know which choices to make. Yanpu is very important to me, and it's hard for me to admit that you are right about certain things."

"It wouldn't be hard for you if you just accept things as they are."

"They may be as they are now, but people change."

"What guarantee do you have that they will stay changed? What will you do if they decide to revert back?"

"I don't have an answer for that, but I'm not here to argue." Harper huffed. "Just know that I'm thinking of enrolling Yanpu into the school here."

"Wow." Hyde whistled.

"What?"

"You're quick at changing your mind. Just the other day you weren't so sure."

Hyde poked his finger against her forehead. "Are all scientists this easily convinced? Or is it just you?"

"Hyde, I'm serious."

"I know you are, that's why it's funny," Hyde smirked. "It's like I've got you wrapped around my finger. I'm growing curious to see what other things I can convince you to do."

"You're going to be working a lot... and I'm still...searching for a job. I think it's best to put Yanpu through school and provide stability for him."

"If I asked you to give me a massage so I wouldn't kill the brat, would you?"

"Hyde!"

"What?"

"Pay attention! This isn't a time for your jokes."

"I'm paying attention. And that wasn't a joke." Hyde wiggled his eyebrows. "Or was it?"

"You know where the school is, right?" Harper ignored his teasing, getting straight to the point.

"Correct."

"Take me there."

"Hmm. No. I don't think I will, with that tone."

"Oh my gosh..." Harper huffed. "Please, take me there?"

Hyde smiled at her, genuinely. She was becoming more fun to mess with. He tested her more. "What's the magic word?"

"Didn't I already say please?"

"Try again."

"Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted Yanpu to stay out of your way."

"I hate when people beg, but it's more fun when you do it this way."

"Forget it, I'll just find it myself,"

"The magic words are 'Oh, great and powerful, handsome, Hyde," Hyde placed his arm over her head, casually leaning part of his weight on her. "Try it."

"You... are so..." Harper was holding back her tongue from swearing at him, calling him all names in the Westonian slur book. What made her despise his behavior more was the fact she knew he took sick pleasure in doing things like this.

He didn't care about helping her. He was only doing this as a way of putting her in her place. "Oh, powerful, great, and handsome Hyde, please take me to the school so I can enroll Yanpu there?"

She wanted to punch herself in the gut for spewing such nonsense.

"Let's go." Hyde agreed after a moment of thinking. "Let's make it quick. I wouldn't wanna be late on my second day."

"I thought you wouldn't care enough to show up on time,"

"Usually, yes. But you put me in this position. Making 500 talents in 2 weeks is difficult, so I can't mess around until after next month starts." Hyde opened the front door, and there Yanpu was, standing with his hand outstretched for the knob.

"Ah, look who decided to show back up," Hyde snickered. "You're coming with us. Keep up."

Hyde brushed by him harshly and jumped from the porch onto the grass effortlessly.

Harper and Yanpu did follow, but they stayed behind him on the trail. Yanpu didn't say anything the whole walk, and it was killing Harper inside not to ask him where he went and why he showed up at the shed so late.

She was trying her best to give him the space he needed to clear his mind, but it was taking all her effort not to scold him.

He was only 4 years old, but he was acting like a teen. She realized how tough it was going to be to discipline him.

He was a little kid but with the mind of someone much older. She couldn't exactly tap his hand or give him a timeout.

He was processing emotions that he never experienced before. She knew it would have lots of impact depending on the way she dealt with him.

"Why haven't you been able to find a job yet?" Hyde turned his head to glance at her, but he kept on walking.

"Um..."

"Are you still thinking about how overqualified or underqualified you are? You should just pick one and take the job. We can't be picky."

"It's not that easy."

"Of course, it is... just look at the paper, see which one is the easiest to do, and apply."

"Okay," Harper mumbled, wanting this topic to end.

"Don't make me help you find one. That takes time away from me helping contribute any income."

"You're really starting to sound like a parent," Harper rolled her eyes.

"I don't want you to think that I'll do all the work while you stay home doing whatever you like," Hyde stated upfront. "You aren't a housewife, heck you aren't even a wife."

"I'm trying my best, Hyde. I'll try my best to find a job at the end of the day."

"You'd better," Hyde mumbled to himself, but Yanpu heard it, and took it as a threat. "Here we are."

He stopped walking, and there was a large hut standing over a large pool of water. There was a sandy beach on the opposite side of where they were standing, and palm trees behind the building.

Harper could see the tip of Chief Aleki's shed sticking out over the trees. In order to get to the hut, they had to wade through the water. Harper carried Yanpu on her back, not wanting him to be drenched.

There was a flimsy ladder made of rope hanging from the edge of the shed. Hyde pulled onto it to make sure it was sturdy and began climbing it. It swayed to and fro until he pulled himself over the top with no struggle.

Harper repositioned Yanpu, helping him up the ladder at a place that didn't touch the water. Hyde guided him, by yanking him upward and tossing him to land at his side without much thought.

When Harper raised her foot, she felt the bottom of her heel scrape against something hard and sharp. A gasp escaped her lips when red liquid floated to the surface of the pool.

She looked down to examine what cut her foot and picked it up. The moment she pulled it out of the water, the red glow frightened her.

She recognized the crystal. She screeched, and it dropped back into the water. She slipped and sank under the surface.

Hyde quickly jumped back into the water after her. He grabbed her arm and hauled her above the water. "What happened?"

"Those stones!" Harper cried. "I touched it!"

"What?" Hyde glanced around to get a closer look. He sloshed the water around, revealing bits and pieces of glowing red crystals underneath. "Puron..." He voiced, extremely concerned.

Hyde scooped Harper up and guided her over to the school hut. He climbed up with her and set her down in a sitting position.

Yanpu rushed over to check what happened, and Hyde nudged him away slightly so Harper wouldn't become more frightened.

"Oh, no, how long do I have left?" Harper panicked. Touching organic Puron in its crystal and stone-like form was extremely fatal for the average person. Not only did she touch it, but her foot cut against one.

Would she end up like Hyde? She started to hyperventilate at the thought.

"Calm down," Hyde examined her injured foot.

"Am I going to die?"

"I don't know..." Hyde murmured, examining her hands to check to see if the crystal had already started turning her skin red or swelling. There were no signs of it, but that fact didn't calm his nerves.

The Puron could also enter the bloodstream. Since her foot had been cut, she was at huge risk for crystallization to begin.

"Do you feel any pain?"

"My foot!"

"Obviously, it's going to hurt in one area, but do you feel any vibrations or weird sensations elsewhere?" Hyde asked.

"No, it's just my foot."

"Stop breathing so heavily. You're not going to die."

"You don't know that!"

"Your skin is fine, you're able to breathe. And since you're not feeling any pain elsewhere, you're not in any physical danger, yet."

"Take me to Akamau's shed!!"

"I'm not taking you to that witch."

"You want me to die?"

"I didn't say..." Hyde brushed his hair back with a long sigh. He needed to figure out why the Puron hadn't started spreading all over her body.

Realistically, she would've collapsed in the water and died on the spot because of the Puron entering her wound. So why was she still alive and well? Was that even real Puron?

He touched it as well. He didn't realize it. But it had no effect on him.

"Oh! Visitors!" A woman with very long black wavy hair tied into a braid that reached right above her kneecaps approached them, coming from the entrance. "What brings you foreigners here?"

The woman glanced at Harper, whose foot was still bleeding, and her mouth dropped.

It was as if she knew exactly what happened.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Let me bandage that for you!"

~~~