"You are the principal guy, right?" Neto asked, his voice edged with impatience.
"Not the word per say,but yes." the man replied, his eyes scanning the battlefield. "I presume you know these four?"
"Yes," Neto answered, his gaze narrowing.
"And to you, ant-like creature, do you come with your allies?"
"Not necessarily," Neo replied coldly. "We intended to use this as a chance to escape that facility."
The principal studied them for a moment, then spoke again.
"Hm. Facility? Your answer seems truthful, but I require proof."
"Would taking care of the rest of the vakkari be enough?stupid name btw. "
"Not really, I'd have to get an interaction with an Athel head and propose this.
And this attack needs to be documented.
Considering you came with them ,how many of you do you think they gave?"
"We do not know."
"Hm,this needs immediate attention.
I would get back to you 5,I would provide a place of stay for you four ,stay with neto for the moment.
And cover up ,it would be odd for my students if their enemies were walking in their hallway.
And you will be supervised at all times."
Finishing his statement he turned and left.
Neto standing there with an annoyed look,turned.
"Follow me "
Getting to his apartment.
Unlocking the door he uttered "Don't touch anything ,or I'll kill you."
Neo seemingly in provocation,swung his hand at the table beside him.
Hitting some books and causing them to fall to the floor.
Neto turned, the provocation reaching him .
He uttered "Seems like someone wants to die early."
And Neo in return answered
"Seems like someone is eager to lose his head."
Both suddenly glaring at each other.
Aniyah being the one who had been quit since the interaction, mediated.
"Why in the actual fuck are you both acting like children."
"Fuck off" Neto said in a disrespectful and annoyed tone.
"Can you shut up and spend more than 10 seconds without trying to kill anything that breathes? " She said in annoyance.
"Tch "He responded.
"And you neo ,can you quit acting like a child?"
"Tch"Neo rolled his eyes to the side.
Aniyah took a step closer, arms crossed, her gaze flicking between them.
"You two seriously want to throw hands because a book fell off a table? Grow up"
Both of their hands loosened as they begrudgingly accepted her mediation. Though they were still annoyed, there was a reluctant understanding—neither wanted to escalate it any further.
Neto was merely annoyed that he didn't have a chance, nor any reason anymore to kill Neo. He was just... annoying him.
Neo, on the other hand, was pissed at Neto's drastic change in behavior. He hadn't wanted to fight, but now it felt like Neto was completely disregarding their past, ready to kill them just like that. It was the change, was bothering him.
"Thank you," Aniyah muttered.
"Thank you,let's spend the next 2hrs without the anyone trying to kill anything."
There was an awkward silence for a bit,zuri squeezing herself to the side contemplating something.
Then danso broke the silence .
"Neto how did you get your memories back."
A bit of silence then a response
"I used a rank 5 crystal to fix myself, after a month of escaping. "
A brief silence filled the air before Zuri finally spoke.
"Would you have actually tried to kill us if the principal didn't show up?"
Neto didn't hesitate. "Yes."
"Why?"
"Either because it was necessary… or because you four are annoying me."
His words were sharp, but even as he said them, something felt off. These four—Neo had already proven it—they were as strong as him. Taking one of them down wouldn't be easy,and he wasnt sure if he could. He'd lose a limb at minimum.
But that wasn't the real reason he hadn't attacked Neo the moment the overseer left.
Something gnawed at him. A feeling—unwelcome, persistent. Familiar.
It disgusted him.
Even now, standing here, their presence didn't feel foreign. Their voices didn't feel like those of strangers.
That amnesiac version of him, the one who had lived without the weight of his past—that fool had gotten attached.
He clicked his tongue, his fingers twitching with the impulse to lash out, to break something—to crush the remnants of whatever weakness had latched onto him.
But he couldn't.
Because no matter how much he told himself they were nothing to him, that he didn't care—
His body refused to move. His fists refused to clench.
And that pissed him off more than anything.
After a bit zuri then asked the question on everyone's mind.
"Why are you like this,what sort of memories did you have to make you this...different. "
Neto's gaze darkened, his expression unreadable. For a moment, he didn't answer,stared at zuri for a bit then looked to the ground ,simply staring, as if deciding whether she was even worth a response.
Then, in a voice devoid of emotion, he finally spoke.
"Do you know pain?"
"What do you mean?"
His fingers twitched slightly, and he exhaled sharply, as if forcing down something venomous.
"I watched my classmates die when i was 7." His voice was steady, but there was something hollow in it. "My mother being happy that I survived ,but also crying that not one of them survived."
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes cold but calm.
"I killed the people who took her from me,and was locked up for it."
A bitter sweet smile appeared on his face.
"In there ,death is natural. Kill or be killed."
His fingers flexed, as if recalling the sensation of blood on his hands.
"Being experimented on isnt one of the happiest moments either."
His jaw tightened.
"My blood being drained like i wasnt human."
Looking down,his voice uttered
"Have you ever had the feeling of every blood in your body drained out ,feeling every pain down to every cell?
No? I guess you guys had the fun of having anesthesia."
His voice dropped lower.
"And then…..... nothing.
Just emptiness.
Total darkness, with people I didn't know acting like I was one of them."
He finally looked back at Zuri, his eyes sharp.
"You tell me, Zuri.
If you had all that in your head constantly gnawing at your mind.
Would you be any different?"
His voice calm,collected but venomous.
Zuri held his gaze, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then she exhaled, crossing her arms.
"I don't know."
There was no hesitation, no forced sympathy—just honesty.
"My life may have not been good to me ,but urs....
I haven't lived your life neto.
I didn't watch my classmates die, or lose my mother like that. I wasn't locked up.
Being experimented on maybe, but on consent."
She studied him, her golden eyes steady. "But I do know this—pain like that doesn't define you.
Dweling in it wont make it go away."
She let the words settle before continuing, her tone calmer. "So maybe the question isn't 'would I be any different?'" She tilted her head slightly. "Rather ,would you let ur past craft your future for you?."
Neto's jaw tightened, his fingers twitching slightly at his side. He hated this.
The way she spoke like she understood—like she was peeling back layers he didn't even know were there ,it was different from her before hand playful attitude.
"Does it matter?" His voice was sharp, almost defensive. "What difference does it make? I am what I am. Whether I want to be different or not changes nothing."
He said standing up from the bed.
Zuri didn't react immediately. She just watched him, her tail flicking behind her in a slow, deliberate motion.
"It matters because you're not just some machine running on instinct. You hesitate. You think. You feel, whether you like it or not."
She took a step forward. "You feel it right now, don't you? That 'annoying' thing gnawing at you? That's proof that you're not as far gone as you want to believe."
Neto scoffed, looking away. "You're reading too much into it."
"Am I?" Her voice was quieter now, but it carried weight. "Then tell me, if it really doesn't matter… why didn't you fight Neo the second that man left?"
He didn't answer.
Not that he didn't answer because he didn't want to.
He just didn't know the answer.
The silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating. Neto's jaw clenched as he turned away, staring at nothing in particular. His body was tense, like a coiled spring waiting to snap.
Zuri didn't press further, but she didn't step back either. She just stood there, watching him, waiting. Her patience made it worse.
Finally, he exhaled sharply, his voice low and bitter.
"I...don't know."
Zuri tilted her head slightly. "Liar."
His eyes flicked to her, sharp and cold.
"I said I don't know okay."
"No, you do." Her tone wasn't mocking, but it wasn't soft either. "You just don't want to admit it."
His fingers twitched again, but he shoved his hands into his pockets. His mind was a mess—memories that weren't really his clawing at the edges of his thoughts. Fragments of emotions that should've died with the person he used to be.
It was frustrating. Infuriating.
And the worst part?
She was right.
He hadn't attacked Neo the moment the overseer left. He could've. He should've. That was the logical.
Direct ,like he always was.
But he didn't.
Because deep down, somewhere in the tangled mess of what was left of his mind, there was a part of him that recognized them.
That wanted to recognize them.
And that was dangerous.
He exhaled again, this time slower, forcing himself to push the thoughts away. "You're annoying."
Zuri smirked slightly. "So I've been told."
Neto clicked his tongue, turning away again. "This conversation is over."
He said as he left the living room part of his apartment to the bedroom,leaving them there.
But even as he said it, he knew—this wasn't something he could just ignore.