Blessed by Night

75  A Real Promise & New Gear

"He... died?" Sei asked in disbelief.

Chloe nodded apologetically and began to explain.

"It appears to have been a suicude. Neighbors reported the sound of a gunshot going off and we found him in the bathroom, already long gone."

Sei felt like she was being bombarded with more and more world shattering information.

First, the man who burned down the house where she and her daughter lived was her ex husband.

Next, it is revealed that not only did he burn her house down, but he killed himself afterwards as well.

"I-I don't understand... why did he do this?!" Sei asked as her tears finally began to fall.

Malachi immediately threw his arms around her and Sei held onto him for dear life, as if she was afraid that she might fall apart if he let her go.

Chloe could do nothing but slide the poor woman a box of tissues, and wait for her to become emotionally stable enough to hear more.

After a few more moments, the detective was able to explain that even though Minoru had left no suicide note behind, he had a staggering amount of gambling debt, and had even been unemployed for the past three months.

Chloe's theory was that this was his last act of revenge against Sei for rejecting his attempt to come back to their family, and that he was more than likely jealous over her relationship with Malachi.

Sei had mentally checked out long ago, and now her only thoughts were of the times where she was back in Japan and she and Minoru were still in a courtship.

How could a person who used to be so kind want to hurt her so much, and all because she had moved on with another man?

She didn't feel this betrayed even when he had walked out on her to be with another woman.

Sei and Malachi left the station not long after, hand in hand.

Needless to say she wasn't very talkative after that, but she absolutely refused to release Malachi for any reason.

As they walked back to the car, they could see Luna and Serana sitting closely on the hood of Malachi's car.

The young girl had somehow convinced the mature beauty to take some selfies for her instagram, and because Luna was supposed to be calming the young girl down she had no choice but to comply.

Serana seemed to be having the time of her life, but her costar was very clearly forcing smiles, and seemed as though this level of exposure was absolutely killing her.

Luna and Mal made eye contact from across the parking lot, and the look of undiluted misery in her eyes forced a small chuckle from his lips.

"Honey... Can you do me a favor and not tell Serana about Minoru...?" Sei suddenly asked.

Malachi wasn't going to interfere in the relationship between Sei and Serana since she wasn't his daughter, but she was just like another sister to him and he didn't want to keep things from her unless he had to.

"I don't mind, love but... can I know why you came to this decision?"

"I just... I worry that she might feel a little guilty, you know? I don't want my baby to feel like any of this is her fault." Sei said emotionally.

Once Mal heard that, he immediately understood and all of his hesitation disappeared. "I get it, love. She's very lucky to have such a good mother."

Suddenly, Sei stopped walking halfway through the parking lot, and she looked up at Mal with watery eyes.

"Can I... ask you for another selfish request?"

"You're silly. You can ask me for as many selfish requests as you like."

"Then... can you promise me that you will never hurt me...?"

Malachi cupped Sei's face in his hands and his bright orange eyes met her rich brown ones.

"Love, you have my word that I will never hurt you. You are the most important thing in this world to me."

Malachi pulled his girlfriend in for a kiss and a tear finally fell from her eye as she meted into his embrace.

Truthfully, when she asked Malachi to make that promise with her, she knew that she was being silly in the back of her mind.

It was just something that she needed to hear so that she did not fall apart right here in the parking lot.

But as always, Malachi's words were so gentle and genuine, that she could not help but feel like they were grounded in reality.

She had never been so thankful that she said yes to being with him.

"Hey! Would the two of you get off each other already?!" Serana roared." Why the hell does it feel like you two are always in the mood?!"

- The next morning.

Malachi was currently inside of immortal moon's training hall and was going through his usual routine of discussing the application of his powers with Rowan.

Suddenly, Bianca walked in wearing a huge giddy smile and carrying two silver briefcases, One was particularly large, and the other was a bit on the smaller scale.

"Handsome~ I have a gift for you!"

Malachi and Rowan both looked up, neither of them knowing which one she was talking to.

""Me?"" They asked as they pointed to themselves in unison.

'Jeez, sometimes it really does seem, like you two are related.' Bianca thought as she smiled wryly.

"I was talking to Mal, grandpa Rowan." She clarified.

The old man merely rolled his eyes in contempt, as he once again felt the weight of losing his youth.

"Hmph, what do you kids know... I was way more handsome than that brat in my twenties" He grumbled.

Rowan walked off to leave the two of them alone, and decided to check on the observer that had joined them today.

Anna was seated with her back against a nearby wall, with a simple notebook in her lap and her eyes glued to Malachi.

Around her neck hung a special visitor's pass that was sandwiched between her breasts, and when she saw Rowan approaching she quickly removed the earbuds from her ears.

20:42

"What are you listening to, kiddo?" Rowan asked politely.

"Motionless in white."

"Say again?"

Anna let out an amused chuckle as she tried to explain what her favorite band was.

Rowan tried to comprehend what she was saying to the best of his ability but... the poor man was having an awfully hard time keeping up.

"H-How's the surveillance going?" He asked as he tried to steer the conversation into a more understandable direction.

Anna looked down at her notebook that was already almost filled with notes on Malachi. "It's cool I guess... I didn't really realize how many preconceived notions I had about him until I actually started paying attention to him."

Rowan nodded as he leaned against the wall to watch Mal and Bianca. "Life is full of little lessons like that. At least you've learned something at 22 that most people never learn."

Anna had only heard half of his words, as she was too distracted by the scene of Bianca leading Mal to a nearby workbench.

"Are they... together by chance?"

"Hm? Ah, I don't believe so but everyone around here seems to think that it's only a matter of time."

"I see..."

Anna buried her head in her notebook as she tried to suppress the uncomfortable feeling in her chest.

She couldn't help but feel like all of the women around Malachi were not only effortlessly beautiful, but they all seemed to have fun and bright personalities as well.

Completely different from her.

'What's wrong with me... When did I start caring about nonsense like that.'

Anna quickly stuffed her earbuds back into her ears and turned her music up as loud as it would go without causing permanent damage, almost as if she was trying to drown out her own feelings with music.

-

"You really made all this for me??" Malachi asked in shock.

"I did, ain't I just the bestest?" Bianca asked with a childish smile.

Right now, Malachi couldn't help but agree.

Sitting inside the large brief case was a suit of black body armor that was made of a shock absorbent yet breathable material that would not only protect Malachi, but would also adjust with the size of his body if he were to use his blessing from Bastet.

It consisted of a sleeveless top, cargo pants, boots, fingerless gloves, and a half mask that would completely erase the sound of his breathing.

Sitting in the smaller briefcase were ten silver knives that were different from the ones that Malachi currently possessed.

These were larger, sharper, and could even be wielded by hand more easily than their thinner and shorter predecessors.

Without even being asked, Bianca had made Mal a full set of equipment, and even provided upgraded weapons without batting an eye.

Her blessing from Hephaestus seemed to be good for much more than just making fireballs.

"This is so hard!" Malachi excitedly wrapped Bianca up in the tightest hug he could muster as he spun her around in the air. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Bianca was elated that the man she liked was so happy with her gift, and it was easily worth all of the effort she'd put into it.

She couldn't wait to see him wearing it tomorrow, when herself, Malachi, and Aisha would be entering a gate together.

In real life, everyone is going to hurt you, be it big or small. Whether the hurt was intentional, or whether or not the person responsible is willing to apologize and change their actions, is what determines wheter or not a person is worthy of remaining by your side.

Also, my daughter shit on my lap as I was typing this... don't let that take away from the little nugget I just gave you.

AnathaShesha