He hadn't really realized just how... infamous Nate had been.
Alba'd hear the name every now and then in hushed whispers, and oftentimes, he never really liked the things he heard. The boy was misunderstood; shoved to the side more often than not and never taken seriously because he was just a kid. Granted, he tended to be a bit tactless, but Alba knew that the kid never meant any harm.
Was it pity? Empathy? Whatever it was, the hero knew that he had wanted to try and be the kid's friend, at least. It must be tough to have to go through all that alone. Perhaps it was that drive that brought him to the airport that day.
What he had arrived to, however, was something he didn't expect.
He stood there, frozen; the loud pounding returning to his ears as his eyes met the splotches of red all over the airport floor. He should've been used to it by now; desensitized to the deaths that kept on happening. Deaths that he couldn't do anything about.
But, no matter how hard he tried, when the corpse laying in front of him was someone he cared about, he can't help but grow sick to his stomach.
Bringing a hand to his mouth and squeezing his eyes shut, he held back tears. Was he too naive to think that after Ruki's trial, he'd be able to live on scott-free of that unbearable weight on his shoulders?
He wiped away what tears there were that began to well up in his eyes. He wasn't being that brave hero Nate had believed him to be; that epitome of courage and selflessness-- the one people looked up to. Worshiped, even. It was silly, he had taught Nate that those weren't the only things that made a hero, and yet here he was trying his best to live up to those expectations. If only for a little while.
Nonetheless, those attempts were in vain as tears came in one after the other. After all, once again he wasn't able to protect anyone.
... In the silence of the airport, Alba lamented over the death of another friend.
