Pitbabe S2, Chapter 24 pg 4

 Pitbabe S2, Chapter 24 pg 4

   “Still fighting, huh?”

   As expected, Kim walked out of the bedroom, ready for bed, the scent of shampoo and body wash wafting from him. It was so pleasant that I suddenly felt like a filthy mess.

   “It’s this guy’s big mouth,” Babe bared his teeth at me, unrelenting.

   “If you’re gonna keep fighting, just go your separate ways,” the apartment’s owner said, strolling into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, and poured it into a glass with a casual air, despite just scolding us. “Ken, go take a shower already.”

   He says that every day, like he’s been programmed.

   But I like it.

   “Mhm,” I acknowledged and stood up from the dining table immediately. But before heading to the bathroom, a thought struck me, so I turned back to Kim. “You don’t have to clear the table. I’ll do it when I’m done.”

   “Eh, forget it. I’ll make Babe do it.”

   “What?!”

   The guy in question yelped instantly, but hearing Kim’s response put me at ease. I’d been worried he’d volunteer to clean up himself, which would’ve made me feel guilty for sitting around debating nonsense with Babe instead of handling the dishes before Kim finished his shower.

   “You’re eating for free, so help clean up,” Kim said flatly, nodding and pointing at Babe to start clearing the table. The uninvited guest complied reluctantly, though his face scrunched up like a grumpy mackerel.

   “Phii Alan never made me clean,” Babe grumbled.

   “This isn’t Phii Alan’s house.”

   The long dinner ended with Kim’s muttering and Babe’s overly dramatic complaints. Overall, I’d rate this evening better than expected, but if I had a choice, next meal I’d prefer to eat with just Kim.

   

   CHARLIE:

   I had to spend over a full day with Jeff, practically glued to him like twins. If I’m not mistaken, this was probably the first time since leaving home that we siblings got to spend this much time together.

   After Jeff was discharged from the hospital, he had Phii Alan drop him off at my place right away, as we’d agreed on the day of his accident. I could sense the unease in Phii Alan’s eyes and the air around him. If I had to guess, it was likely due to accumulated stress—between my daily headaches with Babe and now Jeff’s situation, which was an even bigger issue.

   As the big brother to the group and as a partner, Phii Alan was carrying a heavy load right now. I’ve been swamped with my own messes to handle every day, but it’d be nice to have a free day to hang out at his place. Since I left the team, Phii Alan and I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and have a proper heart-to-heart like we used to.

   I spent a full day absorbing Jeff’s sense into myself, which was remarkably fast compared to before. Some senses took me a whole month to acquire (one of them being Babe’s special sense), and they required an intense level of closeness. But now, a single day felt long because my sense’s strength has grown significantly compared to a couple of years ago. For instance, when I took a sense from Jinny’s Phii, it only took a few seconds. It makes sense, though—each sense’s compatibility with my body varies. If it’s highly compatible, a few seconds is enough to transfer. That means Jeff’s foresight sense wasn’t particularly compatible with my body.

   Transferring Jeff’s sense to my body happened through hand-holding. We didn’t hold hands constantly—just spent time in the same space, holding hands occasionally, sitting close, or with Jeff resting his legs on my lap while we watched a movie. Each time our bodies made contact, we could both feel something shifting inside, a momentary disruption of balance.

   In truth, this happens almost every time we touch, intentionally or not. But because the frequency wasn’t high enough and I didn’t have the intent to take it, Jeff’s sense never transferred to me before. This time, we focused on increasing the frequency of contact while I concentrated on opening myself to accept a new, unfamiliar sense.

   Jeff let out a heavy sigh when we both realized the transfer was complete, before breaking into tears. Though I’ve never experienced it myself, I think I understand his feelings. It must be overwhelming, hard to put into words. For one, Jeff never agreed with this method from the start. Like Babe, he was terrified I’d be affected by this crazy sense, and it was even harder for him to accept because he kept thinking he was handing me his own ticking time bomb. Still, in the end, he agreed to do it because I begged him, promising that no matter what, I’d succeed in creating a sense-dissolving drug.

   The second difficulty is that no matter how much Jeff hated his sense, he couldn’t escape the fact that it was part of him. From the start of his life, through over twenty years, that sense had flowed through him, drawn out and used repeatedly until it grew stronger. At the same time, it sapped his life energy, slowly eating away at his mind and soul like a parasite embedded in his body. Jeff had lived with it longer than anyone, so when it was finally ripped out, it left an empty void inside him, a hollow, unsettling feeling. He didn’t miss it or regret its loss, but it was a sensation he couldn’t choose not to feel.

   Before I left the house, Jeff hugged me tightly, a quiet embrace that lasted about a minute, before he gave me his blessing.

   “Let’s go watch car races together lots more.”

   His blessing was short, almost not sounding like one, but it filled me with energy, like a shot of adrenaline. It might be a small goal, but I know I’ll have to pour every ounce of my strength into making it happen. And I believe it will, because my little brother wants it to.

   Jeff said he’d hang out at my place for a bit longer, and Phii Alan would pick him up in the evening. So I let him have some time to himself. As for me, I headed to the lab, where a hundred and eight things were waiting for me to sort out.

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