AT THE SAME TIME
XAVIER'S POINT OF VIEW:
I sat with my back against a half-cracked column, the ruins around us half-buried under time and moss. My chest heaved. My head still throbbed with the weight of memory. My memories. The ones I hadn't asked for. Footsteps approached, hesitant. I didn't look up. I didn't have to.
"Xavier…" My mother's voice was soft, fragile, like it might break if she said more.
"How long were you going to pretend?"I asked.
Kaori knelt next to me. I didn't look at her.
"You said I was just a normal kid." I said quietly. "You said I was safe. But I wasn't safe. You threw me into this game, this experiment like I was a test file."
Ikaru knelt on my other side, his eyes red.
"We didn't throw you, Xavier we were told it was the only way to protect you. They said-"He said.
