Milo, never lose what makes you YOU, no matter what. Always help others. You're a good kid, so don't lose heart."

  ***

  "...What was that about?..." I groaned as I woke up in a dark bedroom. One I didn't recognize as my own, or even resembling any of the ones in my home. Though it was dark, I could barely make out the outline and furniture of the room. It seemed strangely plain. Empty. No posters, colored wallpapers, or anything else showing character or personality in the space. The walls seemed to be a pale tan color, with a barely occupied work desk in the corner to my right. Behind the head of the bed, one large window, with its thin curtains shut on both sides, which let some faint moonlight in.

  There were some books neatly stacked on the table, alongside a pen cup, a table lamp, and a standard computer monitor with its tower placed next to it.

  In the far front-right corner of the room, there was a tall open wardrobe, with very few clothes hanging inside it. On the wall to my left, a medium-sized mirror.

  I could smell hot food, and hear the clanging of metal downstairs. Where was I?...

  Suddenly, everything that had happened before I presumably fell asleep came back to me. I was getting jumped by some high school gang members. I remembered seeing a boy with spiky knuckle dusters about to strike me.

  ...I then remembered a scene straight out of some sort of fictional book was before my eyes — a familiar blonde girl sending those same dozens of teen boys flying into trees, with several large light-purple appendages growing out of her hip and the ends of her arms. The appendages had countless suction cups on them, as they moved about faster than I could see, almost like whips.

  "Ah!" I yelled out suddenly. My jaw wouldn't stop shivering, and my breath started getting short. Wiping the cold sweat off my forehead, I managed to calm down after a short while.

  ...Then, the picture of that same girl sobbing and yelling at me until her nose was red and her eyes puffy.

  ...Pela...

  "Pela!" I said to myself, rushing to get out of the bed I was in. Yet, a sharp pain resonating throughout my entire body made me reel abruptly and groan more. It seemed I wasn't wearing my shirt. The bandages I had wrapped across my torso earlier felt tighter than before, and they were stained red in some areas. Were they changed? I touched my face, to feel more aching pain on my right cheek. My left eye couldn't fully open, and it seemed lumpier than usual. I felt some cotton on my left eyebrow, held down by a bandaid.

  My pants were still on, though.

  I also noticed a small cold pack on the pillow, right next to my swollen cheek. Had it fallen off?

  Managing to stand on my feet, I staggered to walk out of the room.

  The metal clanging downstairs was still continuing, with sizzling accompanying it.

  What's cooking? It smells so good...

  Opening the door and heading out, I found myself standing at the far end of a long and empty corridor, with the lights on and the wooden floor glistening. So clean. At the other end of the hallway, there was a set of stairs that went down. On the walls, there were a total of three other doors, all closed. A small dresser stood out — the only piece of decor in the middle of the hallway against the left wall, with a vase full of white...Tulips? I didn't really know much about flowers.

  There wasn't a single photo or painting hanging on either of the walls.

  I made my way to the stairs and slowly descended, making sure to support myself on the handrail. Try as I might, it was simply impossible to ignore the pain shooting throughout my whole body. The sounds downstairs slowly got louder, and the pleasant savory aroma stronger.

  When I got to the lower floor, all I saw was a typical house. A large living room to my right: a family TV, with one sofa placed facing opposite to it, and a large white carpet in the middle. a large cupboard was on the TV's left side, and a bookshelf with some books to its right. Ahead of me, the front door of the house. Only two pairs of shoes were neatly placed against the wall: my sneakers, and some small familiar black flat shoes next to them. There was a singular coat hanger as well, with no coats or jackets on it. Did anybody live in this house? It seemed too big for having so little signs of life in it.

  And behind me, there was a dining room. A regular wooden table, with four empty chairs tucked in it. As I headed on over to the dining table, I saw the kitchen to my tee, with a certain girl with blonde chest-length wavy hair, standing near the stove. Short, slim, calm. As ever. She was wearing a plain white shirt, some grey pajama pants, and some slippers. With a wooden spatula in her right hand, she was shaking a large black pan on the stove. There was also a regular kitchen knife and a plastic cutting board on a quartzite countertop.

  "...Pela?" I called out to her.

  Immediately, she turned around to see me.

  "...Uh, am I at your home?" I asked her.

  "...How are you feeling? Is it difficult to walk on your own?" she ignored my question, asking me in a cold voice.

  "Uh, y-yeah. I'm doing alright. Kinda hurts a little bit though, hehe."

  "...Sit down, the food will be done soon," she said, having turned back around and focusing on the pan.

  "...Right. What's cooking?"

  "...Fried rice."

  "Wow! Fried rice is one of my favorites! Thanks, Pela! And, uh...Sorry to intrude."

  "...It's fine. I brought you here to begin with."

  Sitting down at the dining table on a chair facing the kitchen, I couldn't help but feel like I was out of place in my current surroundings. I surely was intruding, coming to her house like this. I clasped my hands below the table, and fiddled with my thumbs while waiting for breakfast. Actually, what time was it, anyway?

  I noticed a wall clock hung up high on the wall, next to the fridge.

  [06:03]

  What the?! How long was I out for?!

  ...Those couple of minutes before she finished felt like an eternity. The lack of talking between us was even more awkward, strangely enough. I couldn't stop thinking about the cringeworthy things I said to her at the park.

  This girl is too kind, bringing me to her place, patching me up, letting me sleep on one of the beds, AND making food for me first thing in the morning...I wonder what she's thinking right now...

  Finally, she brought me a plate with a beautiful looking fried rice. Scrambled eggs, diced spam, and chopped spring onions mixed with some good ole' white rice. I must've been really hungry, because I immediately started digging in. It tasted heavenly. Not too salty, perfectly seasoned.

  Pela sat down opposite to me and started to watch me gulf down the food, not saying anything.

  Suddenly, I remembered something. Making sure to swallow the rice first...

  "...Uh, I forgot to say — but, thank you for the meal! And sorry for my rudeness!"

  "...It's alright. You don't need to be so formal."

  I continued eating and eating.

  "...Do you want some green tea?"

  "Yeth, pleathe!" I said, my mouth filled with food.

  She got up and poured some hot water into a cup from the electric kettle, putting a tea bag in it.

  ***

  And so I was done — not to mention, thoroughly full.

  "...That was so good. Thank you, Pela. Truly!" I put my hands together and lowered my head.

  "...I'm not really a good cook. You were probably just really hungry. I didn't see you eat anything yesterday while we were out...But I'm glad you liked it."

  "Don't be so harsh on yourself, you're an amazing chef in my eyes!...Also, are you not gonna eat too? You didn't get any grub either."

  "I'm fine. I'm not really hungry right now."

  "...If it helps, I don't think you're fat at all, Pela. You look good just the way you are. So you don't need to be putting yourself on a die-" as I was saying that, I noticed her raise her eyebrow at me.

  "...Do you talk to all girls like that?" she asked.

  "...Uh, y-you're right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything bad by that just now..."

  She got up and grabbed my empty plate, before turning to face the kitchen.

  "...Well, thank you for the compliment," she said, without looking at me.

  She went up to the stove again.

  "...There's seconds, if you want."

  ...This girl is an angel...

  "Y-yes, please. Thank you very much!"

  ***

  The second plate was finished.

  Looking at me from the opposite chair, she asked:

  "Is your left eye alright? Your cheek's swollen too."

  "...It doesn't hurt as bad as it looks. I still can't really open it fully though. And my cheek's okay too. Some cold ice packs on it should fix the problem quickly!"

  "...And your chest? How is it? Any pain around your ribs when you try to breathe?" when she asked, I had to softly put my hands on my ribs to feel them, before taking in a deep breath.

  "Huh, it does feel slightly weird, but I'll probably be alright."

  "...Thank goodness," she said.

  "Did something happen?" I asked.

  "..." she didn't answer.

  "C'mon, Pela! Tell me, what is it?"

  "...Some of your lower ribs were fractured at the fountain, both on the left and the right. And the two lowest on your left were broken quite badly. I had to give you some...Medicine to remedy the issue. I gave you some painkillers as well, so that should help ease the hurting a little."

  "...Wow, broken, huh?...Those idiots really don't know when to stop with their violence. It makes sense, though — I was kicked a whole bunch of times right around my ribs by them, now that I think about it."

  "...Yes. After you passed out, I started to hear police sirens nearby. It seems somebody else was around when the fighting happened, and contacted the authorities. I figured staying around would cause a lot of trouble for both you and me, since the cops could take us in for questioning and keep us up all night. So I ended up carrying you to my house. You should go to the hospital later today, to get your ribs checked out more thoroughly."

  "...I guess so. But dang, I guess we got really unlucky...Well, at least nobody died, right? That's what matters. I saw one kid get his face really messed up by some dude with brass knuckles...It pisses me off how jerks like them can just hurt others like that, with no remorse or hesitation...But this city's always been known for its terrible street life, anyway — so I guess I shouldn't really be surprised."

  "..." Pela got quiet.

  Suddenly, I thought about something. Specifically, the elephant in the room.

  "...I think I already know the answer to this, but — you knowing if my ribs were broken or not, and exactly which ones were affected...And also the fact you carried me all the way from the park to your house — are they all because of your special powers?"

  I brought it up, slightly afraid of what would happen next. Pela took a long pause, looking down at the table for a while.

  "...Throughout the world, there exists a small population of people like me, who are born with very strange bodies and abilities...I'm not sure if our total numbers even make it to a million worldwide," she suddenly spoke.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  They're that rare?

  I listened attentively, not saying a single word.

  "...We aren't fully human. Each and every one of us possesses traits of some kind of animal. And we can do things normal people can't. Some of us can run faster than cars, some of us are many times stronger than professional powerlifters without even having to try, some of us have extraordinary senses — we can see, smell, feel, or hear things much better than humans," she explained to me.

  ...So that's why I've been seeing her do all sorts of crazy things ever since I first met her... I thought.

  "...We're called demi-humans. Because of our powers, many governments have been very cautious of us, ever since we first revealed ourselves to human civilization. I don't even exactly know where we originally come from, or how we came to be...People like me are heavily contained and monitored by certain organizations. The schools I've gone to have always been picked beforehand for me. This house I live in was given to me by them, too."

  "That's..." I couldn't really find anything to say at that moment.

  Pela took another pause again. Not sure if I should say something, I stayed quiet. Shortly after, she would continue.

  "...I'm a scylla — a half-human half-octopus," she said. Immediately after that, Pela raised her right arm to the side, and almost instantaneously morphed it from the elbow down — turning it into a slender pink tentacle with those same suction cups I saw at the fountain. It was shorter and smaller than the one from before. The limb was shiny, and seemed to be covered in its entirety by some sort of slimy sticky substance.

  "Whoa!" I instinctively said, jumping back a little.

  "...Like I told you earlier, both my parents died when I wasn't even in primary school yet. So I've had to live by myself for a long time. After my parents passed away, I was taken in by some men in black. And ever since then, they've supported me. I receive money from a certain organization every month, for daily expenses. My rent and bills are taken care of for me by them as well. In my legal documents, I'm listed as a human — when I'm really something else entirely."

  It seemed sunlight was starting to shine in through the closed curtains in the living room.

  "...S-so...I don't know if I should be asking this — but does that mean one of your parents was an octopus? O-of course, it's totally fine if you don't wanna answer!" I stuttered away.

  Pela didn't say anything for a moment.

  "...I got my octopus traits from my mother. She met my father in Mondaria."

  "Mondaria? So you ARE from the west after all! I knew you were a foreigne-...Oops, s-sorry," realizing I had interrupted her, I apologized.

  "...It's alright...My father was a fisherman, and was saved by my mother while he was out at sea. That's what my parents told me when I was a little girl," Pela continued.

  "Wow..."

  "When his ship sank, she got him out of the waters. Then they got together, and had me. We moved here to Nydon when I was still a baby."

  I wondered if Pela was comfortable telling me all this.

  "...My father apparently died from some sort of illness when I was three. My mother — the same, two years after my father. By five years old, I was taken by the men in black..." she said, looking down at her lap.

  "...I'm sorry to hear that, Pela. Believe me, I know how it feels to los-"

  "Every second of my life, I'm monitored by those people. They keep watch over me to make sure I don't go crazy and start attacking humans. And there's others out there, just like me."

  "...That's horrible..."

  "Their fear isn't unwarranteed, though. Some of us are very dangerous, and should be avoided at all times."

  I froze for a moment when she said that.

  "...I can make myself look human now. But, as a child, I didn't have perfect control over my disguise. I would often accidentally reveal my tentacles to those around me. My classmates, my friends, my teachers...And, whenever I lost control, I would always end up terrifying people. They would run away, calling me a monster. So, I've learned to not talk with anyone as I've grown older. Being by myself is better, anyway."

  "...Pela..."

  "And the ones who're afraid of me aren't wrong. I've hurt people before. Whether it was on accident or purpose doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is — I'm fundamentally different from normal humans. I'm different from you, Milo. Us demi-humans always seem to draw trouble to ourselves. You've personally experienced that for yourself in the short time you've known me. Twice, over the course of...What, a few weeks? Three weeks? And look how you've ended up thanks to those incidents."

  Once again, I really couldn't find any right words to say to her in response.

  "...Which is why I want to say to you, Milo—"

  "Huh?"

  "—You'd be better off not associating with me. There is no such thing as a friendship between a human and a demi-human. Sooner or later, you will get hurt. Far worse than you've been so far."

  "Don't say things like tha-" but she didn't let me speak.

  "You don't need to pretend, Milo. You flinched when I transformed my hand just now, didn't you? I know. I know I can't make a friend no matter how hard I try. Even if someone as nice and friendly as you tries to at least act like you want to be friends with me, I know that — deep down — humans will always be scared of me. Of my body."

  ...How can you say that with such a blank face, Pela?...

  "...And who can blame them? You saw how I instantly knocked out two whole gangs of guys by myself, didn't you? No regular sixteen year old girl can do something like that, you know?...You would always be thinking 'What if she hurts me next? What if she gets angry one day? What if she suddenly goes crazy? What if she snaps?'...Friendship is impossible when someone constantly has thoughts like that."

  Silence followed after that. I couldn't refute a single thing she had said.

  "...Pela, I-"

  *BZZZ*...*BZZZ*

  My flip phone started buzzing right as I was about say what I wanted to say to her. Slightly annoyed, I had no choice but to take it out.

  [Incoming Call From: Mom]

  Oh, shit. I forgot.

  "...H-hey, Mo-" I held my phone next to my ear.

  "Milo Nishina! Where in the world are you!? I've been calling you over and over! Why didn't you answer?!" immediately, she began yelling through the phone right into my ear.

  "...Sorry, Mom. I was, uh...Busy, studying at a friend's house. It took longer than we thought, and it was too late for me to get back home by the time we were done. So I had to...Uh, stay the night."

  "Study?! You?! On a Friday evening, no less?! Do you think I'm stupid?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! You could at least text me that you won't be home!" she continued her yelling...

  "Uh, I'm really sorry, Mom. I'm about to head over there now."

  "You better be, mister!" she said to me, before hanging up.

  I silently looked at Pela after the call was over. Needless to say, she heard all of it.

  "...You better get going. Don't worry your mother. You can get to downtown if you walk down the road to your right when you go outside. It's about a twenty minute walk...I'm sorry for everything I've put you through," she said.

  There was more silence. I really couldn't find anything to say to her. Not about the dangers I'd run into since I first met her. Not about the things she'd gone through.

  I quietly got up and went on over to the front entrance. Putting on my sneakers, I opened the door. Putting one foot through the door, I looked back at Pela, who was still sitting in the dining room. I couldn't help but feel like wanting to say...At least something. But I also couldn't help but doubt myself. What she said about me just before Mom called me — about me being scared of her...Was it a lie?

  Ultimately, I ended up leaving without a word.

  ***

  Like that, I went home. Needless to say, it was a rough task to walk so much with my injuries. But, somehow, I made it back eventually. Of course, Mom freaked out when she saw my face. On top of getting yelled at a bunch, I had her worrying sick and asking who hurt me.

  I had to use a pretty old excuse when asked about what had happened to me: 'I fell'.

  Not in the mood to talk with Mom any further after what Pela had just said to me, I went upstairs and practically fell limp onto my bed.

  Checking my phone, I think I was hoping to see a message from Pela. But I never did. Before I knew it, I was asleep...

  ***

  Pela sat silent at the table. Not having moved an inch for half an hour since Milo had left, she simply stared down, with both hands put on her head.

  Though, the silence was cut short when she heard someone appear in the kitchen behind her. In fact, she felt a presence suddenly pop out of thin air. Like it practically teleported into the house.

  "Mm, pwetty good rithe," a man wearing a clerical hat said, his mouth full with the fried rice Pela had made earlier, in his hand a spoon. He had eaten the leftovers straight from the pan. Swallowing the food, he continued:

  "...Just a teensy tiny little bit too salty, though," he said, smirking as he looked at Pela and leaned against the stove.

  Pela immediately turned around, as her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk. Without wasting a single moment, she got up from her chair and faced the man.

  "...What are you doing here?" she hissed at him, her tone completely different than how it was with Milo.

  "Whoa! Calm down, sweetie. I'm not here to give you any horrible news...But I do I have bad news! Not horrible news — bad news!" the man tipped his hat down a bit, getting off of the counter. He was wearing black leather gloves, round sunglasses, a dark-brown wool longcoat that reached past his knees, with a black turtleneck sweater underneath it, coupled with some dark-grey trousers. On his collar was a silver cross necklace. With his tall lace-up boots leaving dirty prints, he walked up closer to Pela.

  He stood quite a bit taller than her. Maybe a head and a half, maybe even a bit more. He had a goatee, a well-built frame, and — most notably — a mischievous smile on his face.

  "Your new friend seems to be quite a nice young man, eh, Pela?...Still, I can't believe you fed him that while he was unconscious. I get that his injuries were severe, but the doctor could've fixed him up just fine too."

  Not a second after he finished his sentence, Pela threw her hands back — as she sent a high kick with her right leg, aimed directly at the left side of the man's neck.

  "...Quite irritable today, aren't you? Even more than usual, in fact" he smiled, Pela's leg stopped by his right hand.

  Lowering her leg back down, Pela asked:

  "...So you saw me doing that...What do you want with him?"

  "Ohh, nothing. I'm just glad my favorite little ice queen has finally found someone who isn't immediately repulsed by her. That's pretty rare, don't you agree? And hey — there's nothing to be embarrassed about doing what you did! Love is in the air~" he sung his last sentence in the melody of a recognizable song.

  "You two are young, relax. Young people oughta be passionate!"

  Pelagia continued to frown more and more, as she grit her teeth.

  "You know, a sour face will give you wrinkles. Why don't you try smiling mor-"

  A huge tentacle sprang right at his face before he could finish.

  A loud bang resounded throughout the entire house. Pela saw as her tentacle was lodged into the kitchen tile wall, with pieces of the wall fallen onto the stovetop.

  "Seriously, I'm surprised you still let me get to you this easily, even after all these years..." the man said, standing behind her.

  "Did you just come here to insult me? Or do you actually have something you want to say, scumbag? What do you want?" she said, not turning around, her voice slightly raised. Her tentacle slowly retracted into her body out of the wall, before quickly returning to her human arm form.

  "I, in fact, do have something I must tell you...Pelagia Seid — I, Vanderman Helsing, must inform you that — your activities over the past few days have been closely monitored and recorded by the bureau; and that I, using my authority as your designated BDHRC agent, have deemed your recent physical assault of several young men in the Main Laawlon City Park — as a case of unprovoked violence on humans, as well as a misuse of your demi-human powers" he said, taking off his sunglasses and putting them in his coat's inner pocket.

  His right eye had a massive scar going straight through it, its pupil white.

  "As such, you will have to be placed in house arrest for a length two of weeks," he said, stroking his goatee with his fingers.

  She turned around, giving him another menacing look.

  "...Eh, I know, I know. Too bad for you, huh? Since you dealt the first strike to a boy who wasn't harming you or showing intentions of doing so in the slightest, I'm afraid that you must be given a suitable punishment."

  "...That's so typical of you. I bet you also saw how that same boy was about to hit another boy in the face while wearing brass knuckles on his fists, right? The other boy hadn't done anything to him, though," she said back.

  "Well, well, well! Let's not jump the gun here! You and I both know that neither us in the BDHRC, or you demi-humans have any right to intervene between human-on-human crime or conflict. What those two boys — or those two gangs, for that matter — were fighting over, is of no concern to us. Yet, you still attacked that boy with the brass knuckles, knocking him out instantly. Mind you, it turns out he's been diagnosed with an SCI, by the doctors who treated him after the gang fight was stopped by police."

  "...Good. He only got his just desserts — that boy had surely gravely injured several other boys with his weapons in that incident," Pela answered.

  "Hold on, there! The only ones capable of deciding what punishment he gets is court, wouldn't you say? What right would one little demi-human girl — like you — have, giving that boy his 'just desserts'?" he smiled.

  "And it wasn't just him, either. The 2nd City Public Hospital is currently treating twenty six other boys, all of whom have injuries both minor and severe. Talk about single-handedly ending a gang conflict, eh?" Vanderman joked, laughing.

  "...As always, you're an absolutely insufferable man. Fine, I'll accept your stupid house arrest. If you're done lecturing me, leave," Pela said to him.

  "...Well, that's everything as far as the bad news goes."

  "I'm surprised you didn't mention the six men in the alley a week ago who tried to rape me. Surely, by your little organization's twisted laws, that incident also counts as unprovoked violence on humans by me?"

  "C'mon, we're not THAT evil. Of course, that one is 100% ruled as self-defense."

  "Oh? How benevolent you lot are," Pela said, as she went over to the kitchen and began collecting the pieces of broken wall up.

  "...I also wanted to congratulate you on finding a new friend. Well — that was what I wanted to say, but it looks like you already cut him off before I could give you my blessings," Vanderman said, sitting backwards on one of the dining room's chairs. He put his arms on its wooden backrest and placed his chin on them.

  Pela stopped cleaning up when she heard those words.

  "...It's for the best. A good person like him deserves a better friend than me. He'll only continue getting hurt if he stays around me."

  "...I guess it's fair that you think like that. You've pushed several other people out of your life before. Or they ended up pushing you out of theirs. Either way, they never do come back, do they? I suppose this boy won't be much different."

  She stayed silent at his remark.

  "Oh, by the way — I'm surprised you, of all people, chose to reveal so much about your kind to unknowing humans like him. I'll overlook what you said to the boy this time, since it is you — the very secretive and quiet Pela...But you probably shouldn't say anymore in the future. Those annoying bosses of mine could get angry if you run your mouth," Vanderman added.

  "...In any case, I've said what I wanted to say to you. Your next allowance should be wired into your bank account by next week...Not that you can spend it on anything, since you're on house arrest. Hope your fridge is stocked! That's all," he said, getting up from the chair. Pela still didn't look at him.

  "...If that's all, get out. I don't want your filthy self dirtying my home any more than you already have. Your shoes are leaving dust everywhere you walk."

  "Fine, fine. But, Pela...Maybe — and this is just my opinion — maybe you should trust in others more. I know that's easier said than done, with what you've lived through. But — not everybody is terrible. There's a rare few out there who truly can 'be your friend'..." he said, putting his glasses back on.

  "...Just think about it, alright? Bye," with that, the man instantly disappeared out of the house.

  Pela stood still for a bit, before continuing to clean the kitchen up.

  [Chapter END]