Chapter 150 - 149 - Time Trouble(Part 8)

"Wait, did he just admit it?" Spoke up Director Silva in surprise. 

"Yup, sure did...if you've figured out that much, then there's no point in playing dumb," He responded with a shrug, "So, go ahead, ask me your questions, I'll answer them." 

Gotta say, wasn't expecting this, I was preparing myself to have to torture him or something. But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth... 

"For starters, why'd you do it? I mean, I totally understand wanting everyone in your class dead, that's how I felt for most of my school life, but fantasizing about it and actually going through with it are very different things," I remarked with a frown. 

"Yeah, well...you were right, I don't have a good relationship with my classmates, but honestly, that's seriously understating it. See, my manifestations are pretty weak, so I use X-Weapons. And some of my classmates think pretty highly of their abilities, they weren't happy because according to them, I was cheating by using X-Weapons," He laughed, but I could see the raw bitterness and hatred behind his smile. 

"Well, most Prodigies are dicks, at least in my experience," I mused with a grimace. 

"Heh, you said it. Anyway, I'm not the most social guy, so before I knew it, the entire class was against me. And I could deal with it, ignoring them was easy enough...but then they started taking it too far," He remarked, his smile completely fading, replaced by a dark, murderous glare. 

"What did they do to you?" Inquired Director Silva hesitantly. 

"At first, it was just childish shit like tripping and pushing me. I ignored it at first, but it wasn't long before I snapped...I then challenged some of my classmates to Duels, without the use of my X-Weapons, and they accepted, of course, cockily laughing about how easy it was going to be to defeat me. But, then, I defeated them, their manifestations were powerful...but they were too unskilled to beat me. In hindsight, I guess it was pretty stupid of me to think that simply beating them at their own game would be enough to get them to leave me alone, huh?" He answered with a bitter smile. 

Damn it...the more he talks, the more I find myself empathizing with him, and more than that, relating to him. I lucked out, ending up in class with mostly decent people, who knows how different things would have been for me if I'd ended up with classmates that were all like Tairo.

"What happened next...I'm guessing that's what pushed you over the breaking point?" I surmised with a grimace. 

"...yeah," He replied in a harsh, grievous whisper, "The tripping and shoving stopped for a while, and I thought I had finally gotten some peace and quiet...but it turns out, they had far crueler plans in mind. See, I had a pet cat, one that I've raised for eight years, since he was a kitten. There was a day where I felt like I was being followed, but thought it was just my imagination..."

My chest tightened, as I could guess what might have happened next, flashbacks of the dog I played with back in middle school going through my head as he spoke... 

"The next day, when I returned from classes, I felt it again, the feeling of being followed...I was creeped out, but just told myself I must be tired or something. The apartment building I live in has a communal laundry room on the top floor, I went up there to put my dirty clothes in the wash...to this day, I'll always regret not locking the door...," He grimaced, his eyes glossing over a bit. 

Both Director Silva and I were silent, unsure of what to say...because we could both tell where this was going... 

"When I got back, I didn't notice anything for a few minutes...but then I noticed that something was wrong. My cat was missing, because he usually walks up to me and rubs against my legs whenever I come home. I started to panic, looking around desperately, when suddenly, I received a message on my I-Watch...it was from an anonymous social media account, so I don't know who sent it, but all the message contained was a set of coordinates."

His decision to kill his classmates...I can't fault him for making that decision. In fact...I think I might admire him from it... 

"I had no way to prove it, but somehow, I just knew that my cat was going to be there...I was terrified and felt like I was on the verge of a breakdown as I made my way there, I then found myself in a dumpster alley between a couple of buildings. The first thing I noticed were the large stray dogs...the second thing I noticed was the fresh blood all over their jaws and claws. And the third thing I noticed was my cat's body, mangled and torn apart, his fur soaked in blood...," He trailed off as his voice cracked, a slight shudder in his shoulders as a stifled sob escaped his lips. 

Director Silva had a grim, stunned look on her face, staring at the ground without saying a word. I stepped towards Grey and placed my hand on his shoulder, meeting his gaze...

"You did well...thanks to you, they got what they deserved," I stated firmly.

"That...was unexpected," He remarked in surprise, before letting out a weak laugh. 

"Kilzachs, I get where you're coming from, but please don't applaud mass murder," Sighed Director Silva, looking conflicted. 

"I don't think you do know where I'm coming from...I mean, you were probably really popular when you were in school," I countered with a shrug. 

"Huh? And what makes you say that?" She responded with a raised eyebrow. 

"Well, I mean...duh, you're hot and you have great social skills, it's only natural," I responded with a shrug. 

"Wha-...you think I'm h-...ahem, we're getting off topic," She cleared her throat, before turning to Grey, "Why didn't you report this when it happened? Animal cruelty is a serious crime, if convicted, the culprits could have faced upto-." 

"Exactly, IF convicted...but, then, what if there wasn't enough evidence to convict? What would they have done to me then? Honestly, I wasn't all that afraid of what they might do to me, but the idea of them going after my mom terrified me, so all I could do was keep quiet. But that didn't mean I was going to do nothing...that's when I began hatching this plan, about a month ago. I made sure that my mom never found out anything about what I was doing...that way, if and when I get caught, I wouldn't end up dragging her down with me."

"Then you understand that I can't just let this slide, don't you? Regardless of your reason, it doesn't change the fact that you killed fifteen people, and injured several others too," Remarked Director Silva with a frown. 

"Yeah, I know...but I don't care anymore. It's not like I want to go to prison or get executed or whatever it is that's going to happen to me next, but...I just couldn't go on knowing that those people were not only alive, but also enjoying their lives without a care in the world. Yeah, after everything they put me through...I found that unacceptable," He replied with a slight, defeated smile. 

"Well, of course you did, scum like that deserved to die. Hey, tell me...if you could have all of them dead, but with no evidence to link their deaths to you, would you do it?" I inquired, making up my mind. 

"Uh...what?" He responded uncertainly. 

"Kilzachs, what are you-?" Began Director Silva. 

"I'll just come out and say it...I can go back in time, the only catch is that anyone who dies will stay dead. So if I go back in time to the lunch break and stop you from triggering the explosion, your classmates will still be dead, but the explosion would never have happened. Which means that, as far as everyone else is concerned, your classmates just randomly dropped dead inexplicably," I surmised with a smirk. 

"Kilzachs, I don't think you should-," Began Director Silva with a frown. 

"Yeah, well, go ahead and stop me, if you can," I cut her off, before turning back to Grey, "I don't usually do this, but I'll leave it to you, it's your call...do you want to stick with this timeline, or do you want things to be done over?" 

"I...I don't know, I've never relied on anyone for anything, so-..." 

"So, what? People rely on other people all the time, people take advantage of other people all the time...you've had a tougher time of things than most, so why shouldn't you be able to rely on someone once in a while? Hm, actually, let me rephrase that...do you want me to save you?" I stated firmly. 

"I...I...," He started uncertainly, before trailing off silently as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, meeting my gaze as a tear ran down his face, "Yes...please save me!" 

"Alright, you got it. But to do that, there's one more thing I need to do...where were you exactly, when you triggered the bomb?" I inquired, gathering information before heading back. 

"Oh, I was in the first floor bathroom, in one of the stalls...originally, I was planning on leaving the Academy before triggering the bomb, but I decided against it, since I didn't want to risk getting caught, instead opting to leave after I triggered the bomb," He explained. 

Huh? Wait a second... 

"That's it! The first time around, I saw the guards taking someone away, after the lunch break, that must have been you, you must have decided to trigger it from outside that time and ended up getting caught...but the second time around, you-...alright, now I get it, that explains why nothing went wrong the first time," I realized, my eyes widening. 

"So, I failed once already, huh? Heh, guess I should thank you for the second opportunity," He replied with a wry smile. 

Director Silva perked up at that, a realization seeming to hit her... 

"Well, it wasn't intentional, but...you're welcome. Another question, where exactly in the classroom did you place the bomb?" I asked him. 

"In the bottom drawer of the instructor's desk at the front of the class."

"Alright, got it, thanks."

"Kilzachs...are you saying that you went through a version of today where this didn't happen?" Inquired Director Silva with a frown. 

"Among other things, yes."

"Then I think it's safe to say that-," She began with a grimace. 

"Yeah, me experimenting with my time travel powers is what caused all this. Lesson learned, I gotta be more careful with how I use it. Once I fix this, and anything else that might go wrong with today, I'll be shelving this power as an absolute last resort. Trust me, you have no idea how exhausting it is to keep going back and forth like this," I sighed wistfully. 

"Well, like you said, it's not like I can stop you," She responded after mulling it over, though she still looked displeased. 

"So, uh...what are you waiting for? Or have you, like, already left for the past and this is-?" Grey began curiously. 

"No, my time travel is linear, not the kind that causes parallel realities. My proof is the fact that the day stay dead, otherwise, when I go back in time, wouldn't I go to a reality where they're still alive?" I pointed out, before adding, "And I'll be leaving as soon as I've recovered a comfortable amount of XFE, don't want to risk being low on fuel, after all..."

Yeah, the way things have been going today, this could be a lot harder than expected, so I need to be fully prepared before I head back in time. I just hope that this bombing will be the last incident that I have to undo, I don't know how much more of this I can take... 

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