"GRRRRAAAK...aaaggghhh...!"
A flock of birds burst from the surrounding trees, startled into the air by the echoing scream-a combination of anger and pain-from the clearing below…
...where Yuya lay, pinned in the grip of three others...as he fought, writhing and thrashing madly, growling and snarling like a trapped beast. "Grrr….hrrgg….rrraaaggh!" And it was taking all they had to keep him down.
Gongenzaka gritted his teeth, shifting his hold as he struggled to keep Yuya's legs flat, which was proving a challenge as they were bucking violently under his hands...Michio wasn't faring much better, as Yuya kept twisting his right arm to and fro in the Cooking Duelist's grip.
Michio looked over at Gongenzaka as Yuya snarled at him yet again. "H-how did this happen?!"
Gongenzaka grunted as Yuya kicked him harshly in the stomach and quickly shifted positions to pin his friend's feet. As he did this, he answered Michio's question. "I don't know! It's like…" Yuya lifted his head and bared his teeth at him in an angry hiss, and Gongenzaka couldn't help but shiver at the sight of his friend's wild, glowing eyes. "...It's like he's possessed or something!"
Teppei, who was restraining Yuya's left arm, released a nervous chuckle. "P-possessed? Stop kidding aroun-!" He got no further as Yuya suddenly turned his head...and sank his teeth into the man's hand in a vicious bite.
Which proved strong enough to break skin, if the red staining Yuya's teeth showed anything.
"AHHHIIIEEEK!" Teppei recoiled, tearing his bleeding hand from Yuya's mouth, leaving a scrap of his glove between the boy's teeth that Yuya spat out with a disgusted growl. Unfortunately for Teppei, he'd also released the boy's arm in the movement…
And Yuya seized this opening, swiping at Teppei's throat with a snarl.
Luckily, Yuya's reach only went so far and his swipe only just grazed the man's neck, leaving nothing more than a small scratch. Quickly, Teppei caught Yuya's flailing arm and forced it back to the ground with an aggravated huff, flinching at the boy's snarls of displeasure. "Why am I even helping?! I don't even know this kid!"
He found himself quailing under the glares of Michio and Mieru-only spared from Gongenzaka's wrath as the man was dealing with Yuya's renewed struggling-and the two began to jointly berate Teppei for his whining.
...With everyone otherwise preoccupied, they all failed to notice the strange changes that were slowly overtaking Yuya's bloody teeth and nails…
"...so you're gonna help Darling whether you want to or not!" Mieru finished her angry tirade with an aggravated huff. She threw the now thoroughly chastened Teppei a final glare, then turned her attention elsewhere...and she raised her crystal apple. "I'm going to try and see what's wrong with Darling!"
Yuya snarled up at her, snapping helplessly at her hand above his head…
Michio somehow managed a surprised look in Mieru's direction despite his perpetually closed eyes. But it was Gongenzaka, glancing up at her from Yuya's kicking legs, who spoke first. "You can do that?"
Mieru sniffed and drew herself up with a proud smirk, pointably ignoring the low growls that Yuya seemed to be aiming at her as he squirmed under the others' hands. "Of course! You're looking at the finest Divination Duelist my Duel School has to offer!"
"Pfft...riiiight…eep!" Teppei promptly shut his mouth as Mieru shot him a dirty glare.
With a roll of her eyes, Mieru leaned forward, positioning her crystal apple above Yuya's head...whom had gone surprisingly quiet and still. The girl took a deep breath and focused on the apple...unseen to everyone but her, it began to glow, and it soon revealed a strange scene to her. Mieru gasped. "I see it!"
"Well? Tell us then!" Gongenzaka wasn't normally one for making demands, but in this situation…
"T-there are two souls within Darling!"
"T-two souls?!" Michio exchanged a disbelieving look with Teppei. "How can that be?!"
Mieru's gaze remained fixed on the apple as she answered. ""I-I'm not sure...but…" Suddenly, her eyes flew wide and she shivered. "...B-but…! Even deeper, t-there's a darkness…!"
Unnoticed, Yuya's growls resumed...and he began to scratch at the ground as he squirmed in response to some sudden discomfort…
Now Mieru's hand was shaking. "I-it's a terrifying existence…! And it's trying to overwhelm the two souls!"
"Terrifying existence?!" Gongenzaka stared at her.
"C-come on...I didn't sign up for this occult stu-" Teppei's grip on Yuya's arm faltered for just a moment…
...And a moment proved to be all Yuya needed.
As Yuya felt the grip on his arm weaken, he snarled triumphantly and ripped it free of Teppei's hands...just as the crystal apple in Mieru's hand cracked down the center. She went deathly pale and cried out... "Get away from Yuya! No-!"
-just as Yuya swiped at her with a beastly roar. "GrrrRRRAAAORRRrrr!"
Mieru tumbled back with a short scream, the broken apple falling from her numb hand as she clutched at her bleeding arm. Shocked, she stared at her sleeve-torn through by five gashes-as it was slowly soaked with red…
"W-what the hell?!"
Then her eyes snapped up at Teppei's terrified yell...and she found herself staring along with the others…
...At the bloody, wickedly sharp claws that now adorned Yuya's fingertips...and at the bloody fangs being bared at them all in a completely feral snarl...
Mieru swallowed, and repeated her warning as she crawled backward. "G-get away! Now! Get away from Yuya!"
At the urgent, terrified tone in her voice...no one hesitated to obey. As one, Gongenzaka and Michio released their holds on Yuya and scrambled to move back. Teppei had already bolted behind the nearest tree.
For a moment, Yuya laid perfectly still...then, he growled and rolled over, climbing to his hands and feet...but he rose no further. He stayed in a low crouch, growling…
Everyone held their breath, staring-
-Then suddenly, Yuya shuddered...and released a blood-curdling, inhuman shriek of pain that chilled the others to their core. "GRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHGGGH...RAAAHHHK...kkk…!"
Gongenzaka, Mieru, Mitcheo, and Teppei...they all watched as Yuya nearly collapsed from some unseen pain, barely catching himself…pressed low to the ground, Yuya arched his back, dug his claws deep into the dirt, bared his teeth in another snarling scream-
-And then the cause of his cries made itself known.
They all watched, mute with shock and horror, as Yuya's shirt was suddenly torn through by four massive, draconic wings, staring as the shredded mess of cloth on his back rapidly turned red. "GGGGGRRRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHAAA….AAAggg...ak!" Yuya roared in agony, wings flaring wide as he stumbled and fell to his right side, completely thrown off balance and stunned by pain all at once.
Fully spread as they now were, the others could easily see the black scales that lined the spines of the wings, and the near translucent greenish-white skin that was stretched taut as Yuya lay there, whimpering in pain and shock.
...Then the boy twitched, and the wings snapped close to Yuya's body as he curled into himself with a growl, snarling in agony once more… This time, the cause was a long, draconic black tail, whipping through the air in a near blur of motion behind Yuya as he writhed on the ground. "Grrrrk…rrrrrrggghh…!"
It wasn't long before the new appendage was also pulled close to the boy's now violently shaking body, where it curled over Yuya's legs. With it finally stilled, the others could make out the details of the tail, it was covered in sharp, bristling black scales, and tipped with a dangerously keen blade curved almost like that of a scythe's...and running partially up the tail from the base of this blade were several small spines...
As Yuya finally stopped moving and lay in silence for several tense moments, Gongenzaka twitched.
The man was struggling to move his frozen limbs, staring at Yuya, his face completely devoid of color after watching his friend's agony unfold before his eyes. 'I-Is it...o-over…?' Gongenzaka swallowed nervously, and lifted his head, about to call out to Yuya-
"...Gggg...rrrrrgggaAAAAAH!"
-only to recoil once more as Yuya screamed again, hands flying to his head as he twisted his fingers into his hair, pulling at it and clawing…
Twin horns poked from the bloodstained hair, nearly ripping Yuya's goggles from his head...blood trickled down the boy's cheeks in some mocking semblance of tears as he threw his head back in a low shriek of pain.
Then suddenly, he was hunched over again, drawing his legs in close and kicking weakly at the ground at the same time...the reason soon became clear as his shoes bulged briefly, then split along the seams. Yuya stared through half-lidded eyes at his now wholly dragon-like feet...he flexed the long claws with a growl of vague interest…
Then-as if ignorant of the pain he'd only just been suffering-Yuya uncurled his body and pushed himself into a sitting position, proceeding to stretch out his wings and turning his head to look upon them, tail twitching in a cat-like sense of wonder...
A minute passed, and everyone watched with bated breath as Yuya slowly examined himself…
Then Gongenzaka made as though to stand...and against his better judgement, he called out to Yuya as he rose to his feet. "...Y-Yuya…?"
...The boy's eyes snapped to him-
-And Gongenzaka instantly paled. Not even his friend's eyes had been spared from the changes that had overtaken him, it seemed. Yuya's right eye remained red, but the left...it had become a glittering emerald. Both pupils had shrank reptilian slits…
...And both eyes were still suffused with that same strange glow, warping the right to a bloody crimson, and the left to a venomous green...as well as wiping out any shred of humanity that may have remained therein.
There was no trace of Yuya in those eyes.
Yuya climbed to his hands and feet, remaining there in a low, four-legged crouch as he raised all four wings in clear threat, tail lashing from side to side as he snarled ferally at Gongenzaka…
Then, he was hissing at Mieru as well as the girl stumbled to Gongenzaka's side, soon followed by Michio, and even Teppei.
Mieru stared into Yuya's flashing eyes, tears flowing unheeded down her cheeks. "D-Darling…" The last thing her apple had showed her...she shuddered. Now...now she understood.
Teppei cowered behind Michio, who was just silently shaking his head. He was far too shocked to do anything else.
Yuya snarled at them all, crouching closer to the ground as he took a step back…
Gongenzaka tried one last time to reach his friend. "Y-Yuya...I...I know you're in there…! C'mon, f-fight it!" Yuya seemed to freeze in his movements, and Gongenzaka smiled. "You can fight i-!"
...Everyone was chilled to their core as Yuya threw his head back and gave breath to an utterly feral, beastly roar.
"GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAORRRRRHHHH!" His head came down-
-And The Dragon lunged.
…..*screaming into metaphorical pillow* I. AM. UNHAPPY. WITH. THIS! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!
…..DDDDDDDDDX This one was so hard! And it just doesn't feel like it turned out quite right no matter HOW I wrote it...so...yeah, I tried my best…XD Even the TF this time feels meh... I tried to focus mainly on Yuya at one point...and I just couldn't get it to work. :/ Soooooo...this is what I went with instead...I'm happy about that ending at least!l XDDDDD
….XD Please review! And I hope you enjoyed despite my own unhappiness with this one!