Beyond The Impossible

Null Tower, New York City

The storm continues to rage over the city, pouring rain and thunder. Not the best moment to take a walk on the rooftop of a skyscraper, but few people have ever accused Torn to have a good sense of timing. He doesn’t seem to mind the rain. His brown duster is waterproof enough to protect most of his clothes anyway; in fact, there’s a serene expression on his face. He’s enjoying the moment.

He isn’t alone, though. There’s a girl sitting in the rain, slouching.

<Null> he greets her, then he returns to enjoying staring at the distance in silence.

Torn being Torn, he doesn’t find the silence awkward. But slowly his attention turns to her: he doesn’t recall seeing her out in the rain like this.

<Most humans don’t like the rain. I see you appreciate it> he breaks the ice.

No response. She’s not even looking at him.

<Are you awake? I see you’re breathing. Do humans breathe when they sleep?>

<Go away> she answers. Her voice is barely above a gloomy whisper.

More silence. More rain.

<You should get inside. It’s not healthy to sleep in the rain.>

<Just leave me alone.>

Torn stares at her, without saying anything. A couple dozen red energy swords appear above her head, stacked near each other to create the world’s strangest umbrella.

<I said go away.>

Torn sits down, close enough to be under the same sword umbrella. She’s still not looking at him.

<I’m not going anywhere. What’s wrong?>

<Nothing.>

<I’m talking more than you are. There’s definitely something wrong here. Let me see your eyes.>

<No.>

<Null, let me see your eyes> he repeats, this time with a more stern voice.

She looks up. She looks like she’s been crying for hours, and more importantly her eyes are distinctly inhuman: two lava lamps of continuously changing spots of black and silver.

<You should get that checked out.>

<I have everything under control.>

<You clearly don’t. Should I call Dr. Kalama?>

<I have to do this alone.>

<Why?>

She tries dodging the question, but there’s no point expecting Torn to let this go. He could probably wait for days for her to continue. She works up enough energy to speak with her normal volume.

<I’m setting up mental barriers against Void and Abyss. Nobody else can do it.>

<It won’t work.>

<How would you know? You don’t have voices screaming in your head.>

Torn looks almost upset by her observation. He shakes his head, then he creates an energy dagger and holds it by the blade, pointing the handle towards her.

<Take this.>

<What for?>

<Just take it> he insists. He’s always been very careful to avoid anyone touching his weapons.

She takes the dagger. It weighs nothing, but it’s clearly solid. And warm to the touch.

<That’s a piece of my soul.>

Only Torn could manage to say something like that and make it sound completely normal.

<Uhm… okay? I don’t see what’s it got to do with anything> Noriko admits.

<In Demon society…> he starts explaining, then he pauses when he notices the shock on Noriko’s face. It took him months just to admit he wasn’t human! Now he feels like sharing!?

<In Demon society, nobody is ever really alone. We share a connection through the Blood, the energy that permeates all living creatures in this universe. We are bonded through it.>

<I heard you mention something like this when you trained Max> she recalls.

<He wouldn’t listen. Like humans say, he dresses his heart instead of his wrists.>

<I think you mean “he wears his heart on his sleeve”, Torn…>

<Demons are naturally aggressive, even among each other. We learn to channel our anger through the Blood, we give mass to our soul to turn it into a tool. Something we can use. Our souls don’t control us: they become our weapons.>

<I can’t decide if that’s a very deep or a very stupid philosophy, but most importantly I can’t see what this has to do with anything> Noriko admits.

<You’re trying to build walls against your own mind, Null. All you can accomplish with that is destroying yourself from within.>

<You have no idea what’s inside my mind, Torn. There are things I can never let out.>

Noriko tries to give back the dagger, but Torn put his hand around hers so that they’re both holding the same weapon. Suddenly she’s not feeling cold anymore: there’s a warm sensation flowing through her skin, and she can feel her heart beating much faster.

<Torn, what are you doing!?> she complains, trying to break free. His hold is too strong.

<Focus on my hearts. I promise it won’t hurt.>

She’s still creeped out but what he’s doing, but at the same time she wants to follow through.

Two of his hearts are still beating too fast for her, but the third one is matching hers. And she’s feeling the raging storm inside her brain slowly fading away.

<Torn… what the… how are you doing this!?>

<Our souls are in resonance.>

<That doesn’t even begin to make sense. Seriously, what are we doing?>

<We’re sharing the Blood. >

<I’m not sure I like where this is going.>

<I can’t say how the soul of a Demon compares to the power of seven billion minds. But I’ve been keeping the Demon inside me in check for much longer than you’ve been alive, and I can teach you.>

<I don’t want to turn Void and Abyss into weapons. I want to get rid of them> she objects.

<They are a part of you. The more you push against them, the more power you give them.>

<Then what should I do?>

<Embrace what you have inside, and you will find what you are meant to be.>

Torn’s hand open, leaving Noriko holding the dagger. The blade loses some definition, looking a little fainter than when they were both holding it.

<Focus on your weapon. Let your mind go> Torn instructs her.

She lets the dagger go, and it floats above the palm of her hand. She can’t explain how, but it’s making her very relaxed: she feels like she’s finally in control. Something she’s missed for months.

<This is amazing> she admits.

<You know I’m still holding the dagger, right?> Torn asks. He’s not touching it, but it rotates on itself without any action on Noriko’s part.

<Oh, yeah, o-of course> she blurts. Apparently she’s not as in control as she thought.

<Do you want to try it yourself? I can withdraw my soul and let you touch the Blood alone.>

<Can I, really?> she answers, trying not to sound too excited. The chance to study an energy field that permeates all living things and create weapons with her mind!

<Be careful> he warns her, and she can feel the warmth leaving her body.

Her mind is completely focused on the dagger. It starts to fade away, like Torn’s weapons usually do when he doesn’t need them anymore. She’s determined to do this, and she grabs the dagger.

Its texture is completely different: it feels like warm honey, oozing through her fingers until it fizzles out of existence. It didn’t stay solid for a second.

<That… wasn’t so bad for a first try, wasn’t it?> she asks, embarrassed by the failure.

<No. It was the worst attempt I’ve ever seen> Torn answers, brutally honest as always. As he stands up, Noriko realizes that he’s kept the sword umbrella above them the whole time…  and she finds a little more respect for his abilities than she already had.

Then Torn does the last thing Noriko expects from him: he musses up her hair like she was a little kid, and he smiles.

<Don’t worry about it. You’re only human.>

He puts his hands inside the pockets of his duster and walks away, making the swords disappear and pouring more rain on Noriko. That’s Torn: profound one second, in his own world the next.

<Torn, wait!> Noriko calls him. After he turns he finds himself under the assault of a very tight hug. He reacts slowly, patting Noriko on her back awkwardly.

<Thank you for being my friend> she says.

<We shared the Blood. We are more than friends now.>

<Let’s not get overboard> she says, ending the hug a little too quickly.

<You don’t have to worry. Although soul resonance can have sexual connotations, your genitals are not designed to survive mine.>

<Oookay, I think I like you better when you don’t talk…>

<You can be my blood sister. I would give my life for you, and you should agree to do the same.>

<Count on it. Just as long as you don’t mention genitals ever again.>

<There is a ritual for this, involving eating the heart of a نېوبۆڻ, but it’s better if we skip it.>

<Good call. Just a question, Torn… did you really just bump into me, or did you know you would find me on the rooftop?>

<Todd called me. He told me you could use a friend.>

Noriko doesn’t know what to think… after the way she treated him, he was still worried about her enough to get her some help?

<Which reminds me, I do have one last suggestion> Todd interrupts her thoughts.

<“Stop pushing away the people you care for”?> she suggests.

<“Don’t sleep in the rain without a sword on your head”. But that works too.>

 

Todd Slate is preparing his luggage. He knows it’s pointless to do it now: it’s not like he can leave right now. There’s no plane waiting for him and he doesn’t know where to stay, since he’s moved to the Tower only a few weeks earlier. But it gives him something to do, since he really doesn’t feel like talking to anyone. He will miss working for Null Technologies… with all the ups and downs, it was his dream job. But Noriko has changed too much since he’s met her. They both have.

Someone knows on the door. He could just ignore it, but it gives him something else to do.

Hoping to find something to take his mind off Noriko, instead he finds her on his doorstep. Completely drenched, like she’d been standing in the rain for hours.

<I have really bad issues from my mother abandoning me> is the first thing she says, coming inside uninvited. She speaks in a rush, more for fear of not being able to speak than of being interrupted.

<So as a defense mechanism, I don’t let myself become dependent on others, because I can’t stand the idea of being abandoned again. I can be selfish and arrogant and petty and vindictive and childish and I’m probably schizophrenic. To be honest, my mind is kind of a mess right now, and it will probably be for the rest of my life. I don’t know why anyone would want to be around me.>

<Noriko, you don’t have to do this> Todd says, but she interrupts him immediately.

<Yes I do. I acted like a jerk and I’m sorry, I should’ve considered how my decisions would affect you. If you don’t want to work for me anymore, that’s fine. But I can’t afford to lose you.>

<I… honestly, I don’t know what to say, I didn’t know you would react this way.>

<That makes two of us> she admits, coming closer. She rises on her tiptoes to kiss him.

He reciprocates. It’s a passionate kiss, longer than the one they shared before her departure.

Eventually, they separate. They look each other in the eye, still not entirely sure how they feel about each other, until Noriko sneezes. It’s such a weird way to break the mood that Todd can’t help but laugh, and she joins him after half a dozen sneezes.

<That’s not funny! I must’ve caught something in the rain!> she protests, but she’s laughing too.

<Then I can’t leave until you’re cured> he answers, kissing her on the nose.

Not the most conventional way to give birth to a romance, but it’s a start.