one of the purposes of publishing this one early is to announce that im changing my penname from OneShotMistress to strawnilla
the other is bc i really want people to (suffer) enjoy reading this
Tasuku is missing.
And he's left to worry. He doesn't think he should be but he is. His friends understand. Drum understands, Baku and Kuguru understands, even Tetsuya, Jin and basically everyone else understands. They tell him it's okay to worry over it. It's normal, because Tasuku's his rival.
It's been twelve weeks.
It didn't become just a case for the Buddy Police, it had to be extended to the actual police too—one where large search groups were funded, because Tasuku is still a kid. The media was in an uproar from day one and it still is. Nobody has caught sight of him. Nobody has seen a clue of him. Search parties came back empty-handed and disappointed. Not even tracking Tasuku's Star Pulsar proved to be of any help—it's like he disappeared from the world.
Everyone wants to know where the boy wonder, Tasuku Ryuenji, and his Buddy Jackknife Dragon are. Everybody asks the same questions, nobody has the same answer. Everything is varied and speculations run wild. Conspiracies float around like birds searching for a place to sleep. The pressure proved to be too much when the Buddy Police finally disclosed important information to the public.
Tasuku had gone missing before.
It was for a couple of hours, they said. He was on a mission before his signal disappeared entirely. When he came back by his own efforts, he claimed to have been sent to the Dragon World to battle another dragon. They decided the same thing happened… only this time, Tasuku hasn't come back.
More search parties were founded, consisting of volunteer Buddy monsters. Drum joined and the parties scavenged the multiple worlds high and low. And every time, they came back with no results; not even a lead.
Gao is restless.
Three months, it's been three months. The media updates have slowed down and Gao resorts to Drum and Asmodai for news. Each time he asks, he gets a shake of the head for an answer. It's killing him from the inside. It's been so long people are beginning to fear the worst. He doesn't want to buy it. Miracles can happen, when you need them the most and when you least expect them to.
He tries to not worry over it, he tries to eat and sleep but it's hard. It's hard when there's no final answer to an important question. The many 'what if's wrap him like a rough and hard blanket. He doesn't know how much longer he can take it before he drops into the scene himself, with or without permission from the higher-ups. He knows Drum will help him, and so will his many friends. He knows they'll be more than willing to help him.
So why isn't he?
Gao knows that in usual conditions, he would have gone after the missing boy at once. Drum must have noticed the unusual, and if Drum noticed then Kuguru and Baku must've noticed. Why isn't he doing something? The authority can't stop him and he's got his friends to support him, why isn't he out there, looking for Tasuku too?
He wishes he has an answer but as it is, answers are the hardest things to find right now. Nobody can find it, the solution to a complex puzzle created by fate. He's stuck here and the boy wonder is somewhere out there, God knows where.
Fate works in weird ways. It never tells you things directly, and more often than not fate reveals the truth to you when things are a little too late.
He is too late.
Gao had been walking, a casual walk from the convenience store back to his house. Drum isn't with him because the dragon is watching over the house with Hanako and Granny. And he thinks it might not be a good idea to have left his Buddy at home when he gets the feeling that he's being watched.
It's not paranoia, he hopes, because if it is he'd be really embarrassed with himself. But he also hopes it is paranoia because he doesn't think anybody following a kid in the dead of night has good intentions. He really should've brought Drum with him. Come on man, can't you sense when your Buddy's in danger?
He doesn't think he should be worried for himself because he's got moves of his own, he'd be more than glad to take down whoever's stalking him. But in the same time, what if it's not enough? What if there are more than three and all of them are grown strong men? He probably can handle it, no biggie, but like always, fate works in weird ways and you can never be certain of what's going to happen.
Like, the whisper of his name in the wind, maybe.
The redhead stops dead in his tracks. That wasn't his imagination, he supposes. But some factors bother him. The 'hearing his name in the wind' part? Yeah, he can handle that. The 'whoa, that sounded like Tasuku' thought he had? No.
He takes in his surroundings. He's not stupid enough to take a shortcut through an ominous alley and it's not like he's in a hurry in the first place so he's walking down the side of the road in the neighbourhood where the chances of a car running into him are drastically low. He can't shake the bad feeling though, and nothing's more accurate than your own gut feeling.
He decides to wait. He wants to get whatever this is over with; it's no good dragging himself home with something bad etching at the edge of his mind. He wouldn't want to worry Drum, Hanako and Grandma.
"Gao…"
His hands clench into fists. He turns around, glaring into the darkness that's not lit by a street lamp. He sees it—a pair of red eyes staring right back into his golden ones. His breath catches in his throat. He can feel his heartbeat increase and the energy leaving his body. Can the dark play illusions on him? He's not sure.
It's scary, he admits it. It's scary when two wide red eyes stare at him, not even blinking. He thinks about running but he's not sure to where. Away? Closer? He's not sure he can anyway, because his whole body feels paralyzed.
"Tasuku…?" he manages to get out, his voice cracking midway. He didn't expect it to but it did. Not like he cares in the first place when his attention is solely on the figure hiding in the shadows. Something curls in his stomach and he's not sure what to make of it. Fear? Excitement? Terror? Anticipation? This emotion he feels, it can be one out of a hundred.
A hand on the wall reaches out from behind the veil of black. The hand looks dirty and bruised and weakly it seems to be supporting the figure's weight as the figure makes way towards him. Instinct makes Gao take a step back.
But then he sees it. Blue hair peeks through and a Buddy Police uniform makes an appearance. There are holes here and there, torn fabric and dark dry splotches that Gao's not sure what to make of. There's dirt on his face and a fresh cut on his left ankle, not dripping with blood but with a liquid that's a far darker shade instead, almost pitch black.
The sight of Tasuku's condition sets his heart to break.
Gao runs towards him, catching the blue haired boy by the shoulders just as his knees buckle underneath his weight. "Tasuku! Hey Tasuku, can you hear me?!" his voice breaks, really breaks this time, and he can feel his eyes watering. The redhead sets Tasuku on the ground gently, who coughs. But his red eyes are still wide—as if he had seen the face of Lucifer himself. Gao shakes him lightly when he doesn't respond, the dread and worry growing by the second. The colour drains from his face but he reassures himself, or tries to, by rationalizing that he's still breathing. Tasuku's still breathing and alive, so he has to be okay. Tasuku is okay.
He finally gets some reaction from the blue haired boy, but it's not quite the reaction he expects to get. Tasuku's hand reaches up, cupping his face and he feels the rough fingers on his cheek, causing him to almost flinch away. "Tasuku…?" he tests slowly, and he sees a flicker of recognition in those red eyes. But the red disappears as Tasuku shuts his eyes tight and a painful groan escapes him.
Tasuku turns to the side a little, his mouth opening wide in another strangled scream and the hand that had been holding Gao's face moves towards his blue hair and pulling. He's pulling his hair so hard Gao fears he'd pull a handful off but it doesn't happen.
Gao watches worriedly, feeling completely useless at the fact that he can't help him. What can he do? What is there to do? How can he lessen the pain? There must be a way for him to help, damn it! Tasuku disappears for who knows how long and comes back to him like this? What kind of prank is this?! It's not funny, it's damned not funny.
"Tasuku, talk to me, man...!"
"G-Get away, Gao," Tasuku rasps weakly. "Get a-away from m-me…"
All the worry he has been feeling up until now melts into bewilderment. Somewhere deep inside him he can feel a tiny spark of anger flaring up too. Leave him? When he's like this?
"Forget it. You need help!"
"I don't!" Tasuku shouts. He pushes himself up on his elbows and attempts to crawl, but his body is too tired to even commit that. He stumbles back to the ground without much progress in his escape, moreover when Gao holds him back by his shoulders.
"Do you even realize the condition you're in?! Come on, I'm taking you home. We're fixing you up and you're not leaving until I have a say whether or not you're better!" Gao says and from the tone of his voice there's no arguing with him. His words are firm and absolute; he sees no reason for Tasuku to go against him.
Tonight has been one unexpected event after another. And apparently, the night still has much in store for him.
When Gao tries to get the other to stand, he's taken by surprise as Tasuku throws himself onto him with his hands curling around his neck. The tackle causes Gao to lose his balance and the both of them to crash to the ground with a loud thud. But Gao can barely process the pain in his head and back when he can hardly take a breath.
Tasuku is strangling him.
He tries to get words out, tries to pry away the hands trapping him just for the sake of air. But Tasuku, despite looking like he was going to die in seconds earlier, has him under a strong grip and he can't fight him. He's losing breath and the last thing he's going to see is Tasuku's grimace and wild insane eyes.
Just as he feels himself at his limit, the fingers around his neck loosen and Gao gasps for air, coughing midway. He turns his head when he feels Tasuku's weight leave his body, and the blue haired boy is staring at him with frightened eyes.
"G-Gao…" his voice shakes. He tries to reach out to Gao with one trembling hand but immediately retracts it. "I-I'm sorry, I'm really sorry but p-please, you need to leave me alone. I… I don't want you hurt."
Gao coughs again. He shakes his head. "Not an option," he says, though it sounds hoarse. He lets another cough through, trying to clear his throat. "I want to help you. And to damn if you won't let me. You were missing for three months man, and that's not exactly a short time!"
Tasuku gasps. "T-Three months…? Are you sure?"
Gao narrows his eyes. "What happened to you?" his face falls. He can feel the sting in his nose again. "You disappeared so suddenly and nothing anybody did could find a trace of you. People were… saying things. And I was beginning to believe them—until tonight."
Tasuku flinches. "J-Just pretend this never happened. Just p-pretend you never saw me."
"Saw you? You were the one who followed me, weren't you? You even called out to me!"
"P-Please Gao, just forget this. You'll end up h-hurt…"
"I told you, I want to hel—!"
Anger flashes by Tasuku's eyes. "You can't, Gao! You can't help me! No matter what you say or do, I can't be saved at all…" his voice takes a melancholic turn by the end of his sentence. He diverts his face away from Gao, breaking their eye contact, and says in a desperate plea, "I'm b-begging you Gao, run away from me while you still can…"
As the expected answer, Gao shakes his head. His hands clench into fists and he brings himself closer to Tasuku, promptly ignoring the fact that the other tried to scoot away. "Come on man, whatever's going on I'll see it to the end with you. We're friends, aren't we?"
"No, y-you don't understand…" Tasuku spares him a glance and there are tears in his red eyes. He dares to reach out again, gently leaving featherlike touches on Gao's skin. "T-There's so much you don't k-know."
Gao decides to hold Tasuku's hand, the one that's touching him. He has something on the tip of his tongue, words that are ready to scramble out, words of comfort and promises when Tasuku leans in close. He's taken aback by the sudden invasion of privacy but quickly recomposes himself. He really doesn't understand what's going on anymore.
"Tasuku…?"
"Gao…" he breathes, still coming in close. Their eyes are locked together, gold meeting red, and Tasuku has his eyes half-lidded. Gao's instincts are telling him to run but he's ignoring all the warning bells. Tasuku wouldn't harm him again, right?
That is, until he saw the fangs.
One pair of canines, sharp and long, is protruding from inside Tasuku's mouth. They, without a doubt, remind Gao of the creatures that are weak against the sunlight, the creatures that drink blood, the creatures that are a myth—the creatures that Tasuku has now become one of.
"Tasuku?!" he gasps, terror quaking through this body. He tries to scramble away but somehow Tasuku has secured a grip on him again without him realizing, this time on his wrists. His legs are rendered useless for the second time that night as Tasuku sits on top of them. With the one hand that's not holding his wrists up, Tasuku tilts his head to the side, earning him a much clearer access of Gao's neck as he licks his lips.
He squirms, pulls and pushes but all of the methods prove useless especially when Tasuku lays him down on his back. He sees Tasuku baring his fangs in a wide grin, the wild glint in his eyes from earlier returning. "I've longed to have a taste of your blood, Gao," he chuckles. "I've waited for so long…"
Panic sets in and his struggles for escape multiply. But the Tasuku on top of him, the Tasuku he doesn't recognize, doesn't even budge. Instead, he looks amused, like a cat playing with a dead bird.
The blue haired boy leans down, whispering into Gao's ear with a malicious smile, "You can't ever escape from me."