"Hey, Talia. How did you sleep?"
"I slept well… I… sniff~ sniff~ Where is grandfather?"
Talia stopped here as tears began to gather in her eyes and she slowly started to sniffle as the memories of what happened yesterday came back to her! Her grandfather was dead! She will never get to see him again! He will never stand behind her for hours while trying to get her hair under control again!
Talia was slowly realizing that she was finally alone in the world!
Mark swung his legs over the bed and beckoned her over as he opened his arms, and Talia slowly walked up to him and allowed him to carry her onto his lap. Mark wiped her tears away and spoke softly.
"Don't cry, Talia. James protected a lot of people on that island. They all owe their lives to him, and he died protecting them."
"I need him… sniff~!"
"I'm sure he also wanted to be here, but… things don't always work how we want them to. Okay?"
Talia was still crying, and Mark racked his brain for something that would help her stop crying. He looked back at Arit for help, and Arit smiled at him softly as she crawled over to kneel on the bed beside him and she spoke to Talia.
"Hey, Talia. Do you want to get breakfast with us? We're having sweet dumplings and ice cream."
"Sniff~ Sniff~ I-Ice cream?"
Arit nodded as she stretched her hand out.
"Come on. Let's go get some ice cream."
Talia looked at the outstretched arm for a moment before she turned her head away and hugged Mark tighter! She frowned as she spoke.
"I want big brother Mark to carry me… sniff~"
Arit's smile only turned kinder.
"I'll give you an extra plate if you're a good girl."
"No! Stop trying to take Big brother away, you big-breasted bimbo!"
Arit felt her eye twitch!
'Kill her!'
Arit immediately shut the voice in her head up before it could get out of control. The voice has been quiet since this morning, and Arit almost forgot about it till this moment! Don't ruin this moment with your stupid suggestions!
Mark looked down at Talia with a frown.
"Hey, apologize to Arit. She was only trying to help."
"Eh… but…"
Mark's frown deepened and Talia's face fell as she quickly muttered a quiet apology. Mark smiled at her again, and Talia's face brightened once more as she saw it. Children were so easy to influence like this, and Mark easily tried to convince Talia to go with Arit.
"I have to go meet Salazar at the NSA this morning, but when I come back, I'll be starving. Can you help Arit in the kitchen while I'm not here? She's a little clumsy, so you can help me look after her."
Arit pouted in indignation as she heard Mark say this, and she promised to get him back for using her as a scapegoat in this situation. Talia looked from Mark to Arit with a guarded expression.
She wondered if she should refuse to go with Arit and instead follow Mark to the NSA since she also knew Salazar, but just thinking about the NSA made her sad, and she shook her head before she finally agreed to stay with Arit.
"But I won't give you my big brother! He's mine, and no one can have him! Go and find your own big brother!"
Talia huffed at Arit in indignation, and Mark chuckled low as he heard what she said. Arit couldn't help but smile either, and she pinched Talia on the cheek softly as Talia pouted and dragged her face back to avoid Arit.
"I've got to go to the NSA, but I'll be back as soon as possible. You girls have fun together, alright?"
Mark leaned back and kissed Arit softly after saying this, and Talia looked on in surprise as she saw them kiss! She couldn't believe it! Is her big brother married to the big-breasted bimbo!? Talia's grandfather told her that only married couples could kiss, and Talia believed him completely since she didn't even know the first thing about dating!
A small blush lit up Arit's face as she tried to laugh off the kiss as something normal, but she just couldn't do that because of how new everything was to her. She just got down from the bed with the bedsheet still around her and asked Talia if she wanted to take a bath with her first.
Talia looked at Mark, and Mark nodded to her as he grabbed the second bedsheet to cover himself. Talia finally agreed and followed Arit out of the room. Mark's eyes trailed down to Arit's huge ass that was still showing even through the bedsheet around her body, and he sighed as he fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. He's going to need a cold shower.
...
Murmurs echoed down the streets of city A as many people along the side street stopped to stare at the hooded person jogging down the road early that morning. The person was wearing a pair of black joggers and a white hoodie that he drew up properly with a black face mask with some red kanji drawn on it to cover his mouth and nose, but there was no way anyone who saw him wouldn't know who he was!
That was GHOST!
Mark was going on his usual morning jog, and he tried his best to ignore the crowds of people he could feel staring at him from both sides of his street. Even with this face mask on, there was an immediate reaction once anyone saw him. It was almost like they could feel his aura, and they didn't even need to see his face to know who he was.
Music was blasting in his ear, and the early morning chill made it a perfect day for jogging as Mark turned down the street corner.
Mark knew that the people on the street would not suddenly charge for him because they were both awed and surprised. Whenever a new superhuman comes out or if an old superhuman is seen on the street like this, the civilians are smart enough to give them some space because of the incidents that have happened between civilians and superhumans before.
Going up to a superhuman when they want to be left alone can lead to an unfortunate accident. But since superhumans are so strong a simple incident can become a call to meet their maker for a regular human.