Chapter 23 "Logy Oib: Part II"

Chapter 23
Logy Oib
Part II

“I’m worried about you… You know, I can’t suppress your power any longer.”

Knapp, in his bed, is grinding his teeth at the pain coming from the back of his neck. He wants to take his scarf off, but he also does not want to risk destroying the entire spaceship, which is still flying through space.

“I’ve never seen it this bad before,” Kawaii says worriedly. “It won’t be long before you destroy yourself… and everyone close by.”

Knapp has broken a sweat. “Y-yeah…”

“Talk to Logy,” Kawaii says determinedly. “It’s not a request. I… I need you to.”

“Okay, please give me a minute.” The Universe Warrior sits up and closes his eyes, concentrating on suppressing his power fully.

“Ever since the new Light and Dark Gods were born, I… well… the universe energy has been getting insanely stronger. You see, Light and Dark Gods have limitless powers and are generously feeding me their light and dark energies which create universe energy even though they don’t know that they’re doing it,” Kawaii says. “But it’s both a good and bad thing. Good for the universe. Bad for you. Unless you open up your feelings to Logy.”

“I know, but he said…” Knapp mumbles. “He did say that this had to stop. You know I… I can’t take another rejection.”

“That was years ago. Before Sybil died. His feelings could change now.”

Everything was much easier back then. Knapp drops his head on his bent knees for a minute. “Fine. I’ll go to Logy.”

~*~

It is nearly six in the morning when Knapp checks the wall clock in the kitchen. He takes a quick sip of water before setting the glass in the sink.

He heads straight for the training room. Ever since he lost his powers on Earth back then, Logy started his routine of getting up really early and training every single day without fail. Often Knapp joined him so he could catch up with him but they stopped training together when Sybil died.

Perhaps I should do it again. Knapp thinks to himself.

When he stops at the door to the training room, he begins to feel painful stings on the area where the symbol of Universe Warrior is. He takes a few deep breaths trying to keep his emotions in check.

As he opens the door, Logy’s back is facing him so he does not notice him at first. Logy is doing pull-ups at the opposite of the training room. 

Knapp quietly closes the door and then locks it, his dark brown eyes not moving away from the deaf man. He does not want anyone else to interrupt them at all like the last time.

Logy lets go of the bar and then wipes his sweaty forehead. As he turns around to grab his towel, he finally notices the Universe Warrior at the corner of his left eye. He smiles brightly and asks in sign language, “Hey, finally coming to exercise this early?”

Knapp gives him a light chuckle with a little hint of nervousness in his body language. “I wouldn’t mind but a-actually not today. I fear the universe energy getting out of control.”

Logy begins to feel a very small vibration all around - the floor, walls, and even the training equipment. He wonders how he did not notice it the moment Knapp came in. It’s getting worse. Is he really ok?

“So, uh, w-what do you need from me?” He asks as he takes a quick glance at the surroundings only to notice that Kawaii is not here. The fact that the child form of the Fifth Universe is not here is making Logy even more nervous. Who else can stop Knapp’s destructive and raw power?

“A couple of months ago, you asked me if I thought about dating, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Aren’t you curious about who I wanted to date?” 

The vibrations are getting a little stronger every minute. Logy shakes his head. “It’s fine. That’s none of my business.”

Knapp pauses briefly as he takes in the reaction in Logy’s face. Both fear and anxiety are clearly shown. M-my power… I have to hurry up. He cringes at a sudden increase in his pain. “Well then, what about you?”

“Huh?” Fear and anxiety are replaced with confusion in Logy’s face.

“Do you have someone who you really like?” Knapp rephrases his question. “I mean… Someone who you really, really want to kiss?” 

I will go crazy if it’s not me. He thinks to himself.

Logy doesn’t answer right away as he looks away from him. He starts rubbing his arm nervously as he is debating with himself whether to tell him or not. It’s been 3 years since the death of Sybil. Has he gotten over it yet? 

Knapp waves his hand, getting the deaf warrior’s attention. “It’s ok if you don’t want to tell me. You don't have to. But I… um, I…” His hands are starting to get sloppy.

“What? Can you please repeat?” Logy asks.

“I like you.” Knapp can’t believe that he actually said it. He knows for sure he’s blushing due to warmth on his face. He is not the type of person who confesses their feelings first. He has always waited for someone to go first… but this time, he cannot wait any longer.

At this point, the vibrations are getting obvious now that everything is starting to rumble. Black and white lightning bolts are flickering around the Universe Warrior.

Logy is completely focused on him even though he may be in danger by just standing really close to Knapp. “Y-you like me?”

“Yes.” No hesitation from Knapp.

Now the deaf warrior is starting to feel bashful. “B-but you… S-Sybil… your k-kids…” He starts to stammer. “W-why me?”

Knapp’s face falls at Logy’s question. What? Is that what I got in return for liking him? Am I too late?

Realization begins to dawn on Logy as soon as he notices disappointment on Knapp’s face. Am I the cause of his universe energy getting out of control? Has he been holding back his feelings all those years? W-when… When did the pain start?

Knapp buries his face into his hands trying to hide not only his embarrassment but also increasing pain coming from the back of his neck. “I.. N-Never mind.” He turns away from him as soon as he starts feeling the mix of several emotions about to burst out. Rejection, hurt, embarrassment, loneliness, sadness, and many more.

“W-wait!” Logy yells using his voice, just as the increasing violent trembles are causing several equipment tools and devices to fall to the floor.

Knapp collapses to his knees, covering his ears. A single but repeated word flows into Logy’s head, Suppress! Suppress! Suppress… supsupsupsupressuspresspresspress.

Within mere seconds, the world begins to blur in Logy’s hazel eyes but that’s not what worries him the most. H-how am I reading Knapp’s thoughts now? Why?

~*~

The next thing Logy sees when he opens his eyes is a small child.

Just a sad child. Looking down at the floor with his hair bangs hiding his eyes.

Logy blinks in confusion. He reaches out his hand for the child only to have it go through his body. He takes a quick look at his hand which seems to be solid, not translucent. Am I dead?

Suddenly, all spoken words start flowing into Logy’s head.

“Your father will be back for Christmas, okay?” A female voice says.

Logy turns around until he finds a woman. He recognizes her right away. He remembers her from several months of watching and making sure to protect her and Ryu from Shishi’s subordinates back on Earth. Except this time she looks younger.

Then, this child must be--

“Yes, mom.” He says quietly. “But he’s going to war. What if he dies?”

“I have no doubt that he will not die. He’s strong, okay?”

Once again, Logy’s vision begins to change into a completely different scene.

The child seems to have grown up into one of his pre-teen years. He is sitting in the classroom with his classmates and teacher this time. They seem to be working on group projects.

“Hey, Knapp. Are you really sure that you were born in the United States of America?” One of the girls asks with a somewhat catty tone as three other kids silently snicker.

Knapp stops writing his notes in his notebook and then looks up at her with a look of annoyance. “Yes. My family has been here for generations.”

“How do we know if you’re not lying?” A boy asks bluntly. “What if your family has some spies from Japan?”

“Yeah, that can explain how your family is here! Bunch of liars, aren’t they?” A second boy shakes his head.

“Shut up,” Knapp says angrily.

“Hey, enough with chit-chat.” Their teacher snaps after approaching them. “You’re supposed to work on the project. It’s due tomorrow, so don’t forget it.”

That was one of his first experiences with bullying. It continues well into his high school years.

Knapp has stopped talking to anybody and stopped making friends. He becomes completely withdrawn from society. He has always worn his hooded sweatshirts, trying to hide his own face. 

Logy tries to put his hand on Knapp’s shoulder while he is taking books out of his locker but it goes through again.

“Hey, you’re Knapp, right?”

Knapp turns to a petite girl with the most beautiful long black hair he has ever seen. But he is not a fool. This girl is probably popular and has a lot of friends.

Logy recognizes her right away. So that’s Sybil… She’s so pretty.

Knapp shrugs his shoulders and walks away, hoping that she gets the message that he doesn’t want to talk at all.

“Hey, why are you ignoring me?!” She yells.

“Forget him. Don’t you think he’s creepy?” One of her friends scoffs. “Why are you trying to talk to him?”

Knapp has not heard Sybil's answer as soon as he gets into the classroom. He does not dare to know anyway. He sits at his desk, about ready to take a nap--

All of sudden, the door opens slamming against the wall, startling every student in the classroom.

“I am not finished talking with you, Knapp!” Sybil yells angrily.

Now every student is staring at Knapp. He is irritated with her at this point now. He gets up from his desk. “Get to the point. What do you want from me?”

“From you? It took me two years to build up my courage to talk to you!” Sybil furiously points a forefinger at him. “Did I commit any crime just for trying to talk to you?”

“Whaaaaat?” Every single student asks at the exact same time as they turn back to Knapp, eagerly waiting for his response.

“Can’t you just get the message that I don’t want to talk to you?! Or are you really that dim-witted?”

“Excuse me?!” Sybil stomps into the classroom, towards Knapp. “You know trying to insult me will not make me want to talk to you any less. Or perhaps… Do you really want to be alone for the rest of your life?”

“I do!” Knapp angrily sits back down, pulling his hood down to cover his entire head.

Logy glances at Sybil who has not said a word for a minute, but he can clearly see that she has sadness in her eyes. 

Sybil bends down a little bit so she pulls back Knapp’s sweatshirt hood, uncovering his face. They are staring at each other in their eyes.

“Then, I want to be alone with you for the rest of our lives,” She says firmly. “Is that ok with you?”

Doesn’t that sound like a marriage proposal? Logy sweatdrops.

“Fine,” Knapp grumbles after a long silence of thinking.

“Well, then! You will pick me up at 7 pm tonight. You’re taking me out to eat,” Sybil says cheerfully as she happily skips her way out of the classroom, pretending not to hear Knapp yell, “H-hey, what do you mean?!”

For the next several months, Sybil spends all her time with Knapp instead of being with her judgemental friends who hate Asians, even though she insists that Knapp was born in their country. They even gave her a solid ultimatum of choosing them or Knapp. Of course, she chose him.

Knapp eventually begins to warm up to Sybil and shares more stuff with her than anyone else in his life. But there are times when he cannot help but feel guilty that Sybil’s own friends ditched her because of him.

When he expresses his concerns to her, she tells him, “Oh, don’t worry! I’ve always known them as the biggest fakes I’ve ever met! I don’t know why I bothered to hang out with them!”

There are times when Sybil literally chases away the bullies who attempt to make mean remarks about Knapp. There are more incidents like it mainly because their relationship stands out compared to others. 

One Friday night when Sybil is spending time at Knapp’s house. Knapp slams the door closed after he kicks out his 12-year-old brother Ryu for bothering both of them.

“Your brother is so cute. He seemed to have fun with us.” Sybil giggles. “You both should do something together. Like play video games?”

Knapp sticks out his tongue. “No way. He’s even more annoying.”

“Isn’t that a baby brother’s job?” Sybil laughs out loud. Soon, she notices Knapp’s genuine smile. “What?”

“I like you.”

Huh, that was random. Sybil raises a confused eyebrow at him. “Of course, I like you too! Isn't that what friends are for?”

“I-I mean…” Knapp scratches the back of his head, furiously blushing. “I really, really like you.”

“...What?” Sybil gets up from sitting on the bed. “I’m well aware that you really like me. After all, I’m your best friend, duh!”

Logy lightly smacks himself in the face. I guess she was really oblivious just like I am… How did I not see how he felt in the first place ever since she died? But again, I guess Knapp isn’t exactly the type to make it really obvious…

Knapp takes Sybil’s hand and looks at her in the eyes intensely. “More than just friends.”

As if a bulb suddenly lights up above her head, Sybil widens her pink eyes as she quickly covers her mouth with her own hands. “Oh… Oh! How dumb can I really get?!”

Knapp laughs heartily. “No… It’s not your fault. I’m just bad at this.”

“Okay, this time for real… I really like you too. More than friends,” Sybil giggles as she emphasizes the last three words. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to say.”

“Really?” He blinks in surprise. “How long…”

“Since that freshman orientation.”

“What?”

“You probably don’t remember, but you grabbed my arm and told me to tie one of my shoes or I would’ve tripped. Since then, you’ve been my hero.” Sybil beams brightly. “I hoped one day you would approach me. Or at least remember me.”

“I’m sorry… I honestly didn’t--”

“No, that’s fine. I’m sure you’ve gone through so much. I don’t and will never blame you for it,” She strokes Knapp’s hand in a comforting way.

“Thank you.” Knapp’s face turns a little pink. He looks up at her. “Sybil… Can I kiss you?”

“Oh, of course yes! You didn’t have to ask.” She giggles. 

Knapp leans forward until their lips meet each other.

~*~

Now what? Logy thinks to himself as the whole scene begins to change into another completely different scenario. 

Knapp and another Logy are kissing each other. Unlike his first kiss with Sybil which was sweet and innocent, this one involved tongues. That was when they first met each other way back then. Back then when Logy could not read his mind.

But this time, Logy can clearly hear Knapp’s thoughts during the entire kiss.

I swear if we don’t stop soon, then it won’t be just kissing. Knapp wraps his arms around the past Logy’s shoulders. I am not letting him go. Never. Mind reading power or not.

Logy shivers and starts to feel really hot especially on his face as he makes a back step. His thoughts are pouring in. I can’t stop them.

Knapp’s thoughts continue. What will it be like having sex with him? Is it different from a woman? 

What kind of noises will he make? What positions does he like?

This kiss is completely different from all kisses I had experienced.

It’s the best of all.

 Am I… Is he…? Should I…?

Soon, his thoughts become more jammed.  

At this point, Logy’s head feels like it’s on fire. His heartbeats have risen so high, enough for him to feel the pounding against his chest.

Suddenly, everything makes so much sense. This explained Knapp’s possessive-like and jealous-like behaviors so much. But at the same time he loved Sybil so much that he tried so hard not to reveal his true feelings about Logy to anyone.

Logy had a feeling that Knapp might have liked him but he did not know for sure until he got caught kissing Jade before they recruited Sky. He decided to play along until he felt it was getting too serious so they needed to stop.

As the kiss ends, Knapp switches his position with the past Logy.

Both Logys shiver at Knapp’s dark eyes. That’s when Logy realizes what it is in those eyes.

Lust.

The past Logy did not notice it at all. He was more worried about getting caught by police than Knapp’s intention.

Suddenly a small hand grabs Logy’s own so he turns his head to find that it is Kawaii’s.

“Finally found you,” Kawaii says in sign language, completely relieved. “You’re like a needle in a haystack.”

“Wait, why are you here? I thought I was dead?”

“You’ve been stuck in Knapp’s memories. When his universe energy hit you, your mind energy somehow overtook it. But it really took a toll on you to the point you wouldn’t wake up at all.”

Logy glances back at the scene of the past self and Knapp talking at a cafe. “I didn’t know that Knapp experienced bullying and isolation. Why didn’t he talk about it? Why didn’t… Why didn’t he tell me that he liked me when his universe energy started getting out of control?”

Kawaii shrugs his shoulders. “You can ask him.”

~*~

Logy opens his hazel eyes slowly. His eyes feel very heavy for some reason, so he blinks several times. His vision is very blurry at first but it gets clear within a few minutes.

The very first person he sees after waking up is Knapp. What he does not expect is to see fresh tears streaming down his face. Knapp, the Universe Warrior who is supposed to be nearly on an equal level with Double God, is trembling so badly and crying out of his heart.

Logy is laying with his head on Knapp’s laps.

“Kn-Knapp…” He lifts his hand, which also feels pretty heavy until he places it on the side of Knapp’s face.

Even though Knapp is now aware that Logy is awake, he hasn’t stopped sobbing.

It’s like everything bottled up in his feelings for the last three years finally had blown up. Or perhaps even all the way from his childhood.

Logy slowly sits up after struggling for a little bit. His body is so heavy for some reason. He embraces Knapp into his arms, allowing him to cry as much as he can.

After a while, Knapp’s sobs have finally stopped. He pulls himself out of Logy’s hug. He says in shaky sign language, “You are alive… I thought you would never wake up again.”

Logy remembers what Kawaii said about how the universe energy hit him. “I’m okay now.” He says with a smile. “I just got caught up in the universe energy because I was too close to you. I know you would never intend to hurt anyone. But…”

He glances around to see that the whole spaceship is still intact. “How did you hold your power back? Nothing’s destroyed.”

As if Knapp suddenly realizes that as he follows Logy’s glance, he says, “You’re right… I honestly don’t know what happened. After my power burst out, I woke up and saw you laying. I thought you were dead.”

“I’m so sorry,” Logy says, to Knapp’s confusion. “I mean, for the last few years, I didn’t acknowledge your feelings.”

“No, don’t—“

“How could I be so blind?” Logy’s face is starting to turn red. “I like you too. I’ve been liking you since our first kiss.”

“…Huh?” This time, Knapp is completely dumbfounded.

Logy gives a light chuckle as he emphasizes, “More than just friends.”

Suddenly, he yelps as he gets pushed back to the floor with Knapp on the top. The Universe Warrior leans forward enough for their faces to be very close.

“Can I kiss you?” Knapp asks almost impatiently.

Logy wraps his arms around Knapp’s neck as he licks his lips. As if he is taking his sweet time to answer the question. “...Yes. You didn’t have to ask.”

The Universe Warrior doesn’t hesitate at all as he starts kissing him for the first time in a long time. He sticks his tongue into Logy’s mouth right away and shivers at how good it feels. For some reason, Logy tastes like strawberry. Did he eat some strawberries earlier this morning?

Logy begins to fight back with his tongue. He tightens his embrace, pulling Knapp to his body. 

They finally break the kiss, mostly because they need to breathe.

“Yes… I had some strawberries this morning,” Logy says breathlessly with his voice.

Knapp freezes. He briefly glances at the door and then looks back at Logy. “Are you… Can you read my thoughts now?” How much stronger this mind reader can get…?

“I’m not sure. It seems like there is a thought and then this one and that one…” Logy shrugs his shoulders. “I think it started when you hit me with the universe energy recently?”

“Damn…” Knapp mumbles as he bends back down for another kiss. Goddammit, won’t they quit banging that door?

Logy stops the kiss as he asks nearly breathlessly, “What’s going on at the door?”

“Oh,” Knapp says as he rolls over onto the floor. “Our entire team has been knocking on the door the entire time. I was ignoring them.”

Logy turns very red with embarrassment. “Why didn’t you say so?! What if they are worried? You should’ve known that I couldn’t hear them!”

Knapp laughs heartily as he folds his arms behind his head. “I’m glad you’re deaf. Actually… I love how it makes you who you are.”

The deaf warrior gets up only to stumble a little bit. He has forgotten that his body is pretty weak. “W-what exactly did the universe energy do to me?”

“Want me to carry you?” Knapp asks after stepping in front of Logy to make sure that he can see him using sign language.

“No way!”

“Fine… fine… I understand you’re a proud man.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Logy finally makes it to the door and opens it to find the entire team staring back.

“My goodness! Are you ok?! We thought you both were dead!” Clear cries as she throws her arms around Logy’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, I was about to burst through the door,” Johnny says drowsily as he vanishes a yellow orb hovering above his hand. 

“Yeah, we’re ok,” Logy says, trying to keep up the fast paced conversations among the Dark Team.

“Wait a minute. Why isn’t Knapp looking like he has an urge to kill Clear for touching Logy?” Jade asks in surprise. 

“You’re right!” Clear gasps loudly. “But does that mean…” She points at the Universe Warrior. “Did you finally confess your feelings?!”

“Hell yes!” Knapp exclaims excitedly.

“You guys knew this whole time?” Logy asks. How much more oblivious could I get?!

“Of course… it was between you both.” Jade shrugs his shoulders. “We, well…” We couldn’t do anything because Knapp already had someone else at that time. And we weren’t sure if he was ready to date after Sybil’s death.

“Yeah… I was late to the party, but I could tell the way Knapp talked about you when we first met. I was confused at first that he already had a gir--” Johnny gets interrupted by Clear loudly shushing him.

“It’s ok. I totally understand,” Logy says softly. He yawns. “I’m going to bed.”

“This early in the morning?” Clear blinks. “What happened in that room? Did you guys…?”

“No!” Logy yells embarrassedly both in voice and sign language, making Knapp laugh.

“Should we go to bed together?” Knapp asks jokingly.

“No.”

“Can we cuddle?”

“No!” Logy’s face is very red, making everyone laugh.