Tezuka opened the door and let the midget go in…fine…he let Ryoma go in.
They were still in the mansion, but on the first floor where there was a room that functioned as a gathering hall of sorts.
"This place is all grand."
"Of course, it's because Ore-sama is here with his great presence!" Atobe said in his glorious fashion. Ryoma sucked his teeth and rolled his eyes.
"Shut the hell up Monkey King."
Atobe opened his mouth and let out a squawk, "Why I never!?"
Ryoma sat on the arm of the chair that Tezuka was sitting in. Yukimura, Fuji, Atobe, Tezuka, Ryoma, and some unknown people to Ryoma were in the room.
"Echizen, this is Syuuichiro Oishi, Eiji Kikumaru, Takeshi Momoshiro, Yuushi Oshitari, Genichirou Sanada, and Akaya Kirihara."
Ryoma looked at Kirihara. "Are you half human and half spider?"
Yukimura, Oishi, Kikumaru, Momo, Fuji, and Atobe broke out in laughter. But they stopped when Kirihara's eyes turned red.
"Why? You got a problem with it?" He growled. His hair turned white and skin was red.
Ryoma, obviously he's not scared, turned to Tezuka. "Does he have some type of rash? His skin is all red."
Kirihara growled louder and lunged at Ryoma. The green haired boy grabbed Kirihara by the throat and used his own momentum to launch him into the wall behind him. Ryoma yawned and stretched his arms.
"Tezuka, I'm sleepy. Can I go back to bed?"
"Iie, we're about to leave know to get your test results."
Ryoma pouted and everyone, sans Tezuka and Sanada, let out a cute 'awww' at the scene.
Ryoma blushed and Tezuka stood up to look behind him at Kirihara. "Someone should pull him out of the wall."
The two left to go to the main complex after that.
"That boy is strong."
"Ah, we might have a second Tezuka on our hands."
--
"Aren't there more kids here?" Ryoma asked as they walked the half-mile or so to the main building.
"Yeah, there are over five hundred people here age nineteen and under."
"So, where are they?"
"When you went to the courtyard, you saw maybe thrity or so boys, correct?"
Ryoma nodded and pulled his jacket closer.
"They, along with us, are the strongest of everyone. That's why we live in a mansion over here, away from everyone else. The other boys, all three hundred or so, live within smaller buildings that are interconnected to the main building."
"Are there girls?"
Tezuka looked at him from the corner of his eyes and quirked a brow. "Don't tell me you're promiscuous?"
Ryoma blushed, "N-no! It's just that it's weird if there are only boys here."
"The girls are on the other side of the island."
Ryoma mouthed an 'oh' and they continued to walk. "So, how do they change bone to steel?"
"An injection in various parts of your body. But we have to get your test results. If it says that you can survive it, we'll go through with it."
Ryoma stumbled over air and fell on his face. He looked up with a petrified expression, "IF I SURVIVE IT?"
Tezuka nodded, "Before me, four other kids were injected with it as well. That's why I'm known as V."
"And if I can survive it?"
"You'll be VI."
"What happened to the other four?"
"When they were here," Tezuka lifted Ryoma off the ground and carried him, "they didn't have the test that I had to pass back then. They just injected them. They all died."
Ryoma stiffened. "I'm gonna die!?"
"No, at least I don't think so."
Ryoma blanched again, "You're really optimistic y'know."
Tezuka put Ryoma down and entered the building.
They went on an elevator…that had seats in them.
"What type of elevator has seats in them?"
Tezuka looked at him as if he was retarded, "This type."
Ryoma rolled his eyes. They went up to the top floor, like twenty something, and walked out of the elevator. The twenty fourth floor had pure marble floors with Roman styled columns that outlined a walk way. In between each column was a desk with people on phones and computers and some were doing paperwork. At the end of the long floor was a large door that led to Sakaki's office. Tezuka grabbed Ryoma's hand and Ryoma looked up.
Next thing he knew, they were in a lavishly decorated office.
"Did Monkey King design this space?"
"Yes, Atobe did actually," Sakaki said as he walked to the large black chair. In his hands was a folder with Ryoma's name on it. "Back to the reason we are here now. Echizen, you are here because your powers posses a potentially lethal flaw. Your retractable claws are made out of the bone from your own skeleton. As such, if those claws were to be broken off or fractured, your body would take too long to regenerate them. These test results will show whether or not you are capable of surviving the injection process to further enhance this power. Any power you have now, besides that, will remain as such and will not be affected.
Before I read you your results, I want to give you a taste of what you can expect if the results say you can survive." Sakaki looked towards Tezuka, "Tezuka, I'll be reading your stats from your injection since you were the last person to undergo this procedure." He opened a second folder that was on his desk and flipped to a marked page.
"During the procedure, his blood pressure was 260/180 and his heart rate was at a maximum of 330. Any heart rate or blood pressure that high in a regular person would have died instantly. Your heart must be able to take this exertion. Are you ready?"
Ryoma swallowed the lump that formed in his throat but nodded mutely.
"Good. I already looked at the results." Sakaki sat back and threw the folder on the table. "Tezuka, get him ready. He's going to get it today at 12 noon. Sharp."
"Hai," Tezuka grabbed the folder and guided Ryoma out of the office.
"Where are we going?"
"Prep room," Tezuka held Ryoma's hand and soon they were the same room that Hanamura died in.
Ryoma looked at the sharp surgical limbs and fainted. Tezuka rolled his eyes and picked the boy up. He looked at the time, 10:40. That should be more than enough time to prep him.
Tezuka mentally froze his mind; he didn't need any emotions interfering with this procedure. He laid Ryoma on the steel table and stripped him naked before securing him. He quickly injected him with a high dose of pain meds and put the oxygen mask over him.
People began to file into the room and take their positions. The set up echograms and every other machine they needed before checking the time.
Tezuka readjusted his glasses as he sat at the main computer. He checked the clock- 10:58. He pressed a silver button and the limbs entered the solution and the serum filled the vile of each needle. 10:59. Tezuka pressed the blue button and the needles buried themselves into Ryoma's body. His body jerked reflexively and a tone rang through the air.
"His vitals are within the range."
Tezuka nodded and looked at the clock, 11:00 AM. He pressed the blue button again and sat back. The green and purple serum emptied themselves into Ryoma's body and the boy jerked and bucked against the restraints.
"Tezuka, his heart rate is 290 and climbing."
"Continue."
After two minutes, Ryoma became still.
"Blood pressure is dropping."
"He's stable." A collected sigh of relief reverberated around the lab as everyone sat back.
Tezuka went up to Ryoma and tapped the tank twice.
Red eyes fluttered open and his teeth gnashed together. Tezuka pressed a button above him and Ryoma was lifted out of the water.
"Calm down," Tezuka kept his gaze cool and held a relaxed posture.
"NO."
Tezuka unbuckled Ryoma and Ryoma lunged at him. Everyone began to panic and scream. Tezuka thought that it was sooo overrated. He simply grabbed the boy who, he knew from experience, was withering in pain on the inside.
"Shh, Echizen."
Ryoma calmed down slightly, as his eyes became orange.
"So…sleepy," He yawned before falling into Tezuka's arms.
--
Later that day, everyone was talking about the new kid.
"I heard that got IT."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I heard that Tezuka did it himself."
"He should, he was the last one to ever get IT."
"Did anyone die?"
"Nah, Tezuka got to 'em first."
Yukimura frowned, "Echizen? He just got here."
Fuji's smile was gone as he looked at his food with his eye wide open. "IT happened to Tezuka right after he got here."
"Hn…" Atobe said as he sipped his iced raspberry tea, "I think it's better for him now. At least Echizen had Tezuka. Tezuka would be able to help him WAY more than those doctors helped Tezuka."
The other two agreed silently.
The cafeteria fell silent as an overwhelming power swept over everyone. Tezuka's hawk-like gaze swept over everyone before landing it on the three in the corner table.
"Yukimura, Fuji, and Atobe, Sakaki wants all of us- NOW." The three of them rose and threw their things away. "Where's Sanada?"
"At the training center," Yukimura said as they rushed out. They went to the training center and collected Sanada before rushing upstairs.
Sakaki met them as soon as the elevator opened and herded them back in.
"I need you to go to Tokyo, Japan for a little job. I need you to collect a certain person for me. It was reported that he has a 'gift'."
The five boys nodded before leaving the main complex. Sakaki handed them a packet with everything they needed.
--
Fuji rubbed Tezuka's back and looked at him in sympathy.
"What power does he have? Annoying brat," Tezuka spat as he looked at the annoying kid below them. They were in Seishun Gakuen Senior High School and were observing a freshman boy by the name of Satoshi Horio.
He was in the tennis courts while bragging about his 'awesome five years of tennis experience'.
Tezuka was about to rip his ears off. Damn him!
Sanada was popping pills like an addict. "Mm…," He swallowed his tenth pill and handed the bottle to Tezuka, "Take a dozen."
Tezuka downed the bottle like a shot of whiskey. "Thank you."
Yukimura and Fuji were cackling evilly and Atobe was going into ice mode.
The air around the school grew ice gold as the trees began to grow ice crystals.
"Maybe we should follow Atobe for once and do our job," Fuji suggested from their perch on the roof.
They watched the people on the courts as they began to shiver and look around in awe.
"Be awed by Ore-sama's great power," Atobe whispered and large ice stakes pinned Horio to the ground. Behind him, Atobe could feel a strong wind before it vanished. Sanada appeared from within a tornado. Ah, he chose to go down as Fuu.
He grabbed the boy before vanishing into darkness, In.
"Do you have to use Fuu Rin Ka In Zan Rai?" Yukimura asked once he returned.
"I want them to think that they're going crazy."
Horio opened his eyes and looked around.
"W-who are you!?" Tezuka punched a hole through the wall by him and gritted his teeth.
"Sa, I'm sorry, but please shut up. Tezuka here as sensitive ears. Your voice is annoying."
Yukimura chuckled and mended the wall to look perfectly new.
Atobe came over and flipped his hair. "Are you ready? Ore-sama has a very important meeting to attend to."
"I don't think getting a manicure counts as a very important meeting," Sanada said as he transported them all to their plane.
The plane took off as Fuji powered it.
"Well, to Ore-," Atobe was cut off as something collided with the flying plane. It knocked everyone back and Atobe turned around.
"Who the fuck interrupted Ore-sama!?" His eyes were completely white as he snarled at whoever interrupted his fabulousness.
They could see a world of ice and beyond it, something black.
Fuji lowered the plane and turned it off before Yukimura ripped open the side.
Sanada went out as In and everyone could see a slithering black shadow that was Sanada.
He came back seconds later as Fuu. "It's them."
Tezuka pushed Horio to the side, don't ask how he ended up holding the boy. He stepped out and his eyes began to glow green. Metal claws made themselves known and he slashed through one the ice mountains. Atobe quickly regenerated it, it was their only defense.
A loud bang echoed and Horio screamed. Yukimura tilted his head towards Horio, but still kept his eyes outside. Horio felt his mouth close by itself.
A huge explosion sounded and a large plume of fire erupted and shot up to the sky. Fuji groaned.
"Man, we never get to see how Tezuka fights!"
Atobe calmed down and let the ice melt away, "I know, all we see is the destruction he leaves behind." Tezuka walked back to the plane with not even a scratch.
"How was it?"
"Nothing much, just machine guns I guess."
"You guess?"
"And some bombs, but they were all duds I think."
Fuji rolled his eyes and waited until Yukimura patched up the side of the plane before zapping it awake again and they took off flying.
"A dud to you is a bomb that doesn't kill you."
Atobe snorted elegantly, because anything less from him would have been barbaric, "Then every bomb's a dud."
