AN: First of all, since the author of my favorite Haruto/Saki fic, xchrispx, reviewed I feel compelled to address it right away. As far as pairings go I am partial to Haruto/Saki, but pairings are not the main focus of this fic and it'll take a while for those two to reunite.
Like before, replies to reviews and stuff can be found on my live journal. The link can be found on my profile.
Disclaimer: I don't own Valvrave and all that.
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xXx
Focus.
564. 563. 562.
Standard emotional control training. Count back.
561. 560. 559.
Be calm. Be cold. A soldier is a machine.
558, 557, 556.
It did not matter if they had stolen Tokishima's body.
555554553552551.
It did not matter if they had stolen his friend!
L-Elf slammed his fist against the table, sending papers and pens all over the floor. The rest of his room was in a similar state with furniture thrown around and broken. L-Elf had taken his anger out on whatever was at hand. He had realized the hidden motive behind the attack far too late.
Tokishima's body had been stolen.
H-Neun had been a distraction. He understood that much now. There was no way his former teammate could have had the time to steal Tokishima's body. L-Elf had kept the place under careful surveillance. Only when the alarm had led him away had a window of opportunity opened.
Possibilities danced in L-Elf's mind. Dozens of them appeared in the blink of an eye only to be discarded with ruthless efficiency. L-Elf already had a rough idea of who to blame.
The list of people who would want a sample of the so-called Type 7 Lifeforms was not small. The list of people who would have known about Tokishima's death and could have access to the supposedly dead H-Neun began and ended with one word.
Magius.
He wanted to kill them.
For a single moment, L-Elf wanted to do nothing more than to find them and burn their entire civilization to ashes.
How much more did they intend to take away from him?
Methods of revenge appeared in his mind, each one crueler than the last. Only one thought stopped him from enacting any of them.
They would not have wanted that.
What Lieselotte wanted, what Tokishima… what Haruto wanted was not extermination.
L-Elf sighed, leaning back against a broken chair. He could feel the strength draining from his body.
A new country. That was what they wanted. That was the dream that they had left him. For their sake (and his, no matter how much he may want to deny it) he had to fulfill that goal.
L-Elf took a deep breath. Recent events had weakened the iron control he held over his emotions. He had managed to put a good front so far, but it was clear he was not at 100%. The security he had put around Haruto would not have failed so easily if he had been.
No, rather, he would not have fallen for H-Neun's diversion at all if he had been working at full capacity. He would have realized something was wrong. His temper was getting the better of him. He was being far too rash with his actions.
Like with the students.
He had not mentioned it and he was sure only a few had realized it, but they had taken too long in rescuing them. Many of the students could have died in that time. After re-taking the module, rescuing them should have been his first priority.
L-Elf just did not want to do it.
L-Elf could not bring himself to care about what happened to that cowardly lot; so he had taken care of other things first. He had reunited with Renbokoji's group, then searched for the remains of Unit III and V. The tasks had taken quite a bit of time, leaving the wounded, scared students alone.
In the end, the powerless students had been forced to accept their rule if they wanted to survive. Given the results, L-Elf could get away with saying it had all gone according to plan.
The truth was, he had been angry at them. He blamed them. If he had just a few more pieces to play with, the battle could have ended with no casualties on their side. If every student had been willing to offer up a minimum amount of Runes, the Valvraves would have been at their best. Tokishima would have fought the suggestion at the beginning, but L-Elf was confident he could have convinced him.
Their battle potential would have gone up considerably.
Tokishima would have survived.
So, maybe, just maybe, L-Elf had, for a moment, considered letting all those cowards die, drifting endlessly in space.
He sighed.
This was not helping.
They… they would not have wanted this. He had to keep reminding himself of the fact. In the end, it was the only thing that mattered. If he didn't hold onto this tiny thing, this last link…
He did not know what he would become.
xXx
Hours later, L-Elf was at the head of the conference table. On his face there were no signs of his previous emotional outburst. His arms rested on the sides of his chair as he surveyed the attendants. Otamaya and Ninomiya would be missing this meeting as well.
Someone had to keep the students under control. They were scared and wounded. The wrong stimulus could create chaos. In a way, it was a good thing the students were like that.
They might have noticed the attack otherwise.
"We all know why we have gathered here," L-Elf said, choosing to forgo the formalities. "A-Drei, report."
As the one who had spent most time with the intruder, he had placed this duty on A-Drei. At least, that was the official reason. The truth was L-Elf was not certain he would be able to keep calm while narrating the events.
A-Drei nodded and stood up. True to his character, the Dorssian youth had a neatly typed report in hand.
"At approximately fifteen hundred hours yesterday," A-Drei began, "an intruder sneaked into the Module aboard a Splicer. None of our radar systems managed to detect its presence. Subsequent analysis indicates the Splicer was likely equipped with some type of stealth system."
Kibukawa chose to speak up from his seat. "The Phantoms are the only other technology that we know of that offer a similar level of stealth. It is unlikely they are unrelated."
A silence settled over the room for a moment. Most of them had already arrived at a similar conclusion. Regardless, they needed to put all the clues on the table first.
"Some time later, the intruder took one of the students, one Ohta Nao, as a prisoner," A-Drei went on. "It is unknown if the intruder planned it or if he was forced to do so after being discovered."
Frowns filled the room at the mention of their kidnapped classmate. While none of the students in the room could say they knew the girl, she was still a student of Sakimori.
A-Drei did not say it but he was willing to bet his remaining eye H-Neun had planned to take a hostage from the beginning.
"Along with the hostage, the intruder made his way to the Valvrave Unit 1. A review of the cameras in the cockpit has revealed his actions to us. In there, he used a device of some type on the Unit, causing damage to the… lifeforms inhabiting the Valvrave."
"Rune extraction," Akira said, drawing a few looks.
"That's what Prue told us," Saki explained before sighing. "What he was willing to tell us at any rate. He doesn't like us much."
L-Elf frowned. While the entity known as Prue was currently living inside Unit 1, he was not quite an ally yet. Pino was the only reason he remained civil so far and with her unconscious, the blue haired entity was proving to be difficult.
"I was the first one to arrive at the scene," A-Drei said, a little annoyed at being interrupted twice.
This was not proper protocol.
"The culprit had already fled, but I managed to track him and caught up with him. No. Rather, it would be more accurate to say he was waiting for me."
A-Drei paused. Part of him did not wish to say his next words. Regardless, he went on.
"After seeing him… I can say beyond a shadow of doubt the culprit was a former comrade of mine, H-Neun."
"His body at least," L-El added, and that was the only cue A-Drei needed. The silver haired boy nodded and went back to his seat, letting L-Elf take the metaphorical stage.
"I was able to join A-Drei and we tried to apprehend the intruder. This proved difficult. A Splicer came to his aid, possibly piloted by someone else. This brings us to our primary concern."
Everyone on the room tensed. While seemingly calm, something dark lurked beneath L-Elf's voice.
"H-Neun was not alone," L-Elf said. "Between the time I left my quarters and the time H-Neun escaped, someone managed to take something from us. H-Neun was a distraction. While we were busy going after him, someone stole Tokishima Haruto's body."
Dark looks crossed the room. The knowledge had been passed around already, at least among the members of this room. It was impossible for it not to have done so after L-Elf's initial reaction. Nevertheless, most of them stayed quiet to let L-Elf speak.
Saki had no such compulsions.
She banged her fist against the table with surprising force.
"Bastards," she muttered under her breath, the look on her face just daring anyone to call her out on her actions.
L-Elf did not reprimand her. If anything, it was a relief seeing anger so clearly displayed. Her glowing violet eyes were almost frightening in their intensity.
Glowing eyes?
L-Elf blinked. Saki's eyes were now perfectly normal.
Anyone else would dismiss it as a trick of light, but L-Elf was certain of what he saw. His training would not allow anything less than perfection when taking in details.
Rukino Saki's eyes had been glowing.
His mind flashed back to the powers displayed by Cain and later Haruto.
Interesting.
The phenomenon required an investigation. However, now was not the time for it.
"By the time the Splicer retrieved H-Neun, Tokishima's body was no doubt already on it," L-Elf said, smoothly regaining the control of the room. "The Splicer broke through the dome and flew away. Tracking it proved impossible. We can assume it used its stealth system to accomplish this. This concludes the recollection of the events that transpired. Any questions?"
L-Elf was not merely asking for questions. He was asking for ideas. While he had already pieced everything together, spoon-feeding them would do no good. He needed Module 77 to get used to this type of meeting. He needed them to start thinking.
"Eh, I have a question," Satomi said, raising his hand before realizing he was not in a classroom anymore. Blushing a little, he put his hand down before continuing.
"The Dorssian that infiltrated… just what can you tell us about him?" The question was directed at L-Elf but it was A-drei who answered it.
"H-Neun was part of our squad," the noble said. "We have been together since our days at Karlstein. H-Neun…"
A-Drei paused for a moment, frowning.
"H-Neun had doubts about Colonel Cain. Looking back on it, I can see he never fully trusted the man. He started investigating him." A sad look crossed his face. "We never knew until he was reported dead and accused of treason. However, he made sure some of the information he had uncovered reached us."
A-Drei looked at L-Elf.
"It was the reason I knew to trust you that day."
"So," Saki said. "How did a dead guy get all the way here?"
She was not the least bit sorry about interrupting a possible bonding moment between A-Drei and L-Elf. Her concern for the current situation far outweighed any other considerations.
"Faking someone's death is not hard," Kibukawa said. "If he discovered something he shouldn't have, he could have been captured and held prisoner instead of been killed so they could find out what he had managed to learn about them."
"We are all thinking the same thing then?" Saki spoke and it was certainly not a question. Everyone on the room could think of the most likely culprits.
H-Neun had been investigating Cain before he died.
Cain was a Magius.
Most likely, H-Neun had been captured by Magius. The culprit could only be one.
The Council.
"Wait," Satomi said, "If that is the case, then how do we know he was who he appeared to be?"
He looked at A-Drei and L-Elf. His face had caution written all over it.
"Not that I am doubting you or saying you saw things, but if it was them who had him then…"
He did not finish. He could not finish.
How do you know it was not a Magius wearing you old friend's face?
It was too cruel for him to say it.
L-Elf had no such problems.
"It could have been a Magius possessing H-Neun's body," he said without emotion. "H-Neun was not the type to change his loyalties so easily."
"Nevertheless," A-Drei said, "I believe the man we met was the real H-Neun. His mannerisms were too perfect for him to be someone else."
For a moment he looked like he wanted to say something else, but a look from L-Elf stopped him.
"The possibility cannot be fully discarded," L-Elf admitted. "In any case, we can only speculate for now. There is a far more pressing matter that requires discussion. After all, H-Neun was not the only person involved during the events."
Everyone focused on L-Elf. That was right. There had been one more person. Someone had stolen Haruto's body while all eyes had been on H-Neun.
"There was a second person, someone who managed to get past the security I had put around Tokishima's body in a rather short amount of time," L-Elf reminded them, "yet that is not the most worrisome part."
While the students looked confused, Kibukawa's eyes widened in alarm. "You can't mean…?"
"That is right. It is normal to think H-Neun and another person infiltrated the Module and left, but what if that was not the case. What if that person was already here?"
L-Elf let the full weight of that statement hit before dropping the next bomb.
"What if that person is still on the Module?"
xXx
Utter chaos had broken out upon L-Elf's announcement. In the end, L-Elf had called for a thirty minute recess.
No trained force would have reacted like that.
Times like these, A-Drei missed the military.
Technically, he had never left it. Officially, he was performing the duty assigned to him by the Royalist faction. He was to lend his aid to their allies in Module 77.
And that was the problem.
This was no trained force. This was a group L-Elf had somehow managed to pull together. It spoke volumes of his teammate's capacity, but he wondered if it would be enough in the future. Still, he could not say he was not grateful for the lack of discipline this once. It gave him the opportunity to discuss something with L-Elf.
While the others talked among themselves and split into smaller groups, A-Drei discreetly followed L-Elf into another room.
"Did you need to talk to me about something?" L-Elf asked without turning back. He did not need to. He had known A-Drei was following him all along.
A-Drei did not expect anything less of him, which was precisely why they needed to have this conversation.
"Do you really not believe it was H-Neun?" He asked.
"There is no conclusive proof and the abilities of the Magius are not to be underestimated," L-Elf replied.
To that A-Drei only had three words.
"You are lying."
This time L-Elf did turn around and his gaze told A-Drei he wanted to choose his next words with great care.
"We have known each other for years," A-Drei said. "The bond between the five of us is not something so easily dismissed."
They had fought together. They had killed together. They had survived together. How many times had they saved each other's lives? How many enemies had they overcome? How many times had they faced death together?
"I know what I saw," A-Drei said. "I could never mistake H-Neun for anyone else and neither could you. The subtle gestures. The body language. The attitude. That was the real article, not someone wearing his skin; so why would you hide it?"
There was also one more clue, but it was not yet the time to bring it out.
L-Elf stared into A-Drei's eyes for a short eternity before speaking. "What would it have accomplished? What difference does it make if it was H-Neun that committed the crimes in person or if it was a Magius? What difference does it make to Module 77?"
This was not Dorssia.
This was Module 77.
In their old squad, the knowledge of H-Neun's survival would have compelled them to launch a rescue operation right away, but that was not the case here.
The students had never met H-Neun. Whether it was a Magius or H-Neun, for them it was the same. Their feelings would not change. Both were just names to put under the label of Enemy. In fact, it was better for Module 77 to place the blame on a Magius.
Even L-Elf's negotiation skills would be hard-pressed to convince the students to try to take H-Neun back alive.
"How odd," A-Drei finally said, leaning against one of the walls.
"What is?"
"I have never known you to place yourself in a situation where you have so little control? Do you trust this group that much?"
Unsaid went the question, "Are they worthy of such trust?" but both of them heard it just fine.
The students would be helpless without L-Elf. They acknowledged that much, yet L-Elf was not the sole authority. He could have grasped absolute control of the Module had he played his cards right. Instead, a large part of the decision-making power rested in a mix of influential students.
It was a risky move on L-Elf's part.
To A-Drei's surprise, L-Elf smiled, but there was neither happiness nor sadness to be found there.
"It is not them I trust," he simply said. A-Drei waited, but L-Elf did not volunteer more information.
"Is that why you hid it from them?" A-Drei asked. This was it. The real reason he had cornered L-Elf.
"We have been together for a long time," A-Drei went on before L-Elf had any chance to deflect the question. "We learned a number of codes and operational procedures together. What H-Neun did here was not just an operation. It was a message. You know it as well. You stopped me from talking about it during the meeting, but I shall not hold silence here."
"H-Neun went out of his way to be visible to us," A-Drei continued. "He called our attention. He forced his employer to reveal his hand. L-Elf, he was asking us to rescue him."
xXx
Miles away back on Earth, the topic of A-Drei's and L-Elf's discussion had his own circumstances to worry about; said worries mostly centered on the scientist in front of him, Tokishima Soichi.
The man barely paid any attention to the Dorssian youth as he went about his work. The lab the Council had given to the Doctor was relatively large. The walls were lined up with equipment H-Neun could loosely identify as high tech medical computers. There were no windows and the walls were without color. The floor was similarly boring. Outside the only entrance, H-Neun knew there were four guards at all times.
Part of him felt insulted that Tokishima merited such measures while he had free rein (within limits) of the place.
The guards, for the most part, never ventured into the lab, which left Dr. Tokishima and H-Neun with the place to themselves. As the lab was spacious and most of its floor unoccupied, this meant a lot of free space for the two.
Meant. Past tense.
Since day one, the good doctor had requested more and more equipment. As it was now, the lab had transformed into a labyrinthine room with walls and walls of high tech equipment, most of which H-Neun could not make heads or tails of. There were monitors, cameras, computers, tanks filled with bubbling liquids and weird sounds. There was barely room to walk!
Right now, the monitors occupied the lion's share of Dr. Tokishima's interest.
Some showed medical data. Others showed pulse, brain activity and other things. A few showed ever-changing numbers H-Neun did not understand, and a few were connected to the cameras on the cell of Tokishima's still-unconscious son.
Soichi had not taken his eyes off the screens for a second.
H-Neun knew working for the Magius was going to expose him to new things. Cain had been the first clue of that. It had taken him weeks to come to terms with what he had seen Cain do during the invasion of Module 77.
Even if he had witnessed it firsthand it had been hard to believe. People don't suddenly glow. They don't survive an assault from a Valvrave. They most certainly do not float away. What he had seen back then had been so foreign to his natural sensibilities his brain had a hard time wrapping itself around the idea.
However, H-Neun was nothing if not flexible. He had grown used to the idea of non-humans. He had accepted their existence.
He was prepared to be surprised by them.
H-Neun was not prepared for Tokishima Soichi.
Oh, he had known about the man. One of the head researchers behind the Valvrave project; he had investigated that much back when he was spying on Cain. Tokishima Soichi could not be called anything other than dangerous. Anyone who had a hand in creating the Valvrave deserved no less.
The Valvraves were monsters.
The IDEAL was supposed to be the pinnacle of Dorssian engineering. They were war engines of over a hundred meters in length. Despite their bulk, their speed was not to be underestimated. An IDEAL could ram into an enemy at several times the speed of sound. Their sheer size ensured they could be loaded with a multitude of weapons. All ranges and all purposes. That was the IDEAL.
The Valvrave made them utterly obsolete.
The Valvraves were too strong, too fast, and too powerful.
Even the Kirschbaum made by adapting the technology from the Valvrave Colonel Cain had captured did not match up to the original.
The Kirschbaums had power on their side. They were tough and strong. Their ability to switch between modes added to their versatility, and the Lowenglitzen had undeniable destructive power.
But they could not dance. The Kirschbaum did not even come close to the effortless grace that was in every movement of the Valvraves.
Certainly, the Kirschbaums could more than put up a fight against the Valvraves when backed by the full resources of the Dorssian army with Waffes ready to switch out the batteries allowing for multiple uses of the Lowenglitzen and other units providing cover.
A skilled pilot in a Kirschabaum may even be able to make up for the difference in machines if he got lucky.
However, as far as pure specs went, the Valvraves were superior. If only there were more than five, they would completely change the face of war.
Tokishima Soichi was dangerous. H-Neun had known that.
Even so…
Even so!
That!
H-Neun fought the urge to kill the man on the spot.
What he had seen went beyond brilliance and into madness. Haruto Tokishima was dead. H-Neun had to put up with the smell of his decomposing body for hours on the trip back. It was not something that had been fixed with the regeneration Magius possessed.
Haruto Tokishima had died.
Haruto Tokishima's body had been dissolved before his eyes.
Haruto Tokishima had been rebuilt piece by piece.
Disturbing did not even begin to cover it. H-Neun was not a religious person, but this made him reconsider on whether there were things man was not supposed to do. What Dr. Tokishima had done was wrong on so many levels he could not even begin to describe it.
H-Neun had underestimated the scientist. Tokishima Soichi was not just a dangerous person.
The man was a person who could not be allowed to live.
Soichi Tokishima would have to die. He could not do it now. As much as he hated to admit it, his continued survival depended on the man for now. He was a wild card and as long as the Council paid more attention to him, H-Neun could find a way to escape.
For now, the mad scientist would have to live.
"Lovely!" Cried out Soichi Tokishima while looking at his son's vital signs, either unaware or uncaring of H-Neun's dark thoughts.
"Oh, whatever are you doing back there, young man?" Soichi said without turning back. "My son is about to get up. Come closer. A front row seat for an event like this does not come often."
H-Neun looked at the man for a moment before sighing and walking up next to the doctor. As Haruto's vitals picked up, Dr. Tokishima soon started delivering messages to the soldiers through an intercom.
H-Neun raised an eyebrow when he heard the instructions.
"The girl is still alive?" He asked.
"Oh, I managed to persuade them," Soichi replied, eyes still glued to the screens. "It was a good thing you brought that girl. She will speed the process considerably."
Sure enough, Ohta Nao, the same girl H-Neun had kidnapped, appeared on the screen a few minutes later as she opened the door to Haruto's cell. She carried a tray of food with her.
H-Neun tilted his head to the side.
"Are you sure that's safe?" H-Neun asked.
He had no right to ask about the girl's safety. He was the one who brought her here in the first place. Still, H-Neun had no problem allowing himself this bit of hypocrisy. If at all possible, he wanted the girl to live.
"My son's condition is perfect. No harm will come to him," Dr. Tokishima replied without missing a beat.
"I meant the girl."
"Her?" Soichi shrugged. "She will die."
xXx
Dark.
Where?
Where. Space. Location. Place. Places. Earth. Moon. Asia. America. Africa. Europe. Dorssia. ARUS. JIOR. Module. Module 77. Sakimori. Home.
Who?
Who. Animal. Human. Kamitsuki. Magius. Male. Female. Adult. Teenager. Worker. Student. Soldier. Pilot.
A burst of pain shot through his brain. Too much. It was too much.
Who was he?
No. Where was he? What was he? Was he even a He?
No.
Don't panic. Think! Focus!
Breathe.
Huh? He could breathe. He could feel it. The air going in and out of his body. He could breathe. Lungs. He had them. He had lungs and a mouth. He could feel them. A body, he had a body. He had legs and a torso. He had arms and legs.
He could feel.
He could feel the air around him. He could feel a bed of some type against his back. He could feel the blood flowing through his body.
He could smell.
He could hear.
He could taste.
He could se… no, he still had his eyes closed. Why had he not noticed?
…
How did one open his eyes?
How did one move his body, for that matter?
Bones. Muscles. Nerves. Nervous system.
Move.
Move!
Open!
Slowly, almost painfully, his eyes opened for the first time. Immediately, he flinched them shut when the light hit. It took a few more tries until his eyes got used to it. An unfamiliar ceiling greeted him. Grey ceiling. Grey walls too, judging from what he could catch from the corner of his eye. The ceiling was not that large. A small room then? A cell?
There was only so much he could see without moving his head...
However, moving his neck proved a tough challenge. Moving hurt. It was uncomfortable, as if he had never moved a muscle before.
In a way, he hadn't.
He managed to turn to the side just in time to see the door of his cell open up.
He blinked. It hurt.
The person was a woman, a young one. About his age. He had no idea what age he was and he had never seen his body in a mirror, yet it felt right to say this girl was of similar age to him.
She had long, wavy pink hair and stepped in carrying a tray of food. Upon seeing him, her blue eyes went wide with shock. The tray hit the ground not a second later.
"Tokishima!" She said running towards him. "Is it really you?"
The girl knelt down next to his bed and looked closely at his face. "Just how… I saw your… You're alive!"
As Nao struggled to form coherent sentences, one word kept repeating itself in the young man's mind.
"Toki… shima?" He asked.
Pain stabbed into the side of his head and he managed to bring a hand to massage his forehead. This did not go unnoticed by Nao.
"Tokishima! Are you alright? Can I help?" She asked, trying to discern the cause of his discomfort.
That name…Tokishima…
The pain doubled.
"Tokishima… Haruto?" He said though gritted teeth.
"Yes… just…" The girl looked uncertainly at the youth. His body had started to sweat at an alarming rate. "Do you want me to call anyone? I am not sure if they have doctors in here, but…?"
"I… no…I'm just…"
Missing something.
What was he missing?
Tokishima Haruto.
His name. Was it?
"I… need…"
What was it? It was like there was a pit inside of him, an emptiness.
He was…
"Name it," Nao said. "I'm not sure if I can get it for you but I will at least try."
Hungry.
"I need..." He trailed off, staring at Nao.
He could feel it now. There it was. What he was missing.
"Toki… shima?" Nao said as Haruto took hold of her hand.
Nao barely had time to react as Haruto wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to his bed.
"Hold it! What do you think you are-"
Haruto's teeth sank into her neck.
That was it. He just needed to feed.
xXx
"What the hell?" H-Neun said.
"Oooh, upgrades!" Soichi Tokishima only had eyes for the numerous screens in front of him.
xXx
Nao was not quite sure what was going on.
She had been taken prisoner. She understood that much. They had not tried to interrogate her. Rather, once they had checked for weapons, her captors had thrown her in a cell. She had been scared. She was still scared. Just what were they going to do with her?
It had been a surprise when they had taken her out. The guards grunted out instructions and she had little choice but to follow them. It was even a simple job. Just take food to another prisoner.
Then she had seen him.
Tokishima Haruto. Alive and well.
She knew the news. How could she not? She had seen his dead body! She had stayed next to it for hours while on that accursed Splicer.
Yet the boy in the cell was Toksihima Haruto. The pilot of the Valvrave. The hero of JIOR. The youth who fought the world.
She needed to help him. It was the only thing she knew for sure. How could she not want to help him? Everyone on the Module owed a lot to the pilots.
But something was wrong.
Tokishima pulled Nao close, wrapping his arms around her.
What was he doing? Why had he been in pain? Why did he have trouble with his own name?
Nao gasped as bit her neck.
Why was he attacking her?
Bites became nibbles. His teeth lightly scraped against her skin as he started placing kisses along her neck.
Why?
His hands caressed her back. Her muscles relaxed in spite of her inner protests. Shivers ran down her spine when she felt his tongue touch a particularly sensitive zone.
Why did it feel so good?
He was attacking her. He had bitten her! So why was she leaning into him? Why was her face flushed with emotions other than anger?
Then he stopped. No more teeth on her neck. No tongue dancing on her skin. No delirious pleasure.
Nao whimpered and cursed herself for it
Pure red eyes peered into her and she found herself frozen on the spot. She couldn't move away. She did not want to look away.
A hand trailed up from her waist all the way to her chin. Nao did not fight as Haruto pulled her face close and claimed her lips for his own.
xXx
"…I was not expecting this," H-Neun said, suddenly feeling very awkward. He looked at Dr. Tokishima and found the man's happiness weird for an entirely different reason than usual.
Did the man plan to keep watching?
Creepy. That was way too creepy.
"Well, I must admit I expected him to be more forceful, but this works just as well," Soichi said.
H-Neun blinked. Several times.
"…I think I am going to ask for an explanation, because I am feeling really uncomfortable right now."
"I will assume you already know the basics of reproduction," Soichi said. "Despite appearances, I will tell you right now this is nothing of the sort."
H-Neun looked at the screen and raised an eyebrow.
"Not yet."
Soichi sighed. "Oh, H-Neun, you have much to learn. Would you engage in intercourse with a cow?"
"Of course you would not," Soichi said, preventing the Dorssian's indignant response. "Cows are food. We eat them. We take their milk and cut away their flesh. This is no different."
Soichi shrugged. "My son is just feeding. As you are surely aware of by now, Magius need to feed. Just as humans eat animals and plants, Magius feast on Runes."
"And humans are highest resource of Runes on the planet," H-Neun finished for him. The doctor had explained as much to him during one of their talks. It had put in perspective just what the Magius had done to him by placing the Rune Absorber on his back.
Bastards.
"Quite," Soichi replied. "My son has just returned to this world. It is only natural for him to want a first meal. Of course, there are other reasons."
The doctor grinned, delighting in knowledge only he fully understood.
"It is a good thing you brought that girl here. Anyone else would have done, but her memories would work far better as a reference point."
"Reference point?"
"Right now, my son's mind is in disarray. Knowledge and memories are in chaos. That is where the reference point comes in. Memories are interconnected through numerous links."
"For example," he said. "Seeing a car can make you remember an important event which happened in a car like a car crash. This, in turn, may lead to other memories linked to that event. The information in our minds is linked which makes it easy to summon, but that is not the case for my son who has been born again. There are no links or connections. He is full of unsorted information."
H-Neun crossed his arms. "And that's where the girl comes in?"
"Quite," Soichi replied. "Even as we speak he is taking her Runes and using them to form reference points with his own memories. Since they both lived in the same city and went to the same school, their memories have some degree of similarity which increases the efficiency of the process. Still, I must say my son has surprised me yet again. Fatherhood is truly something else."
Soichi Tokishima's definition of fatherhood was something H-Neun would not touch even with Kirschbaum.
"Does this have something to do with the upgrades you mentioned?" H-Neun asked instead.
"Quite," Soichi said while rubbing his hands together. "Oh, just look at this, H-Neun! Look at the readings! Are they not beautiful?"
The man pointed to one of the screens. The most H-Neun could tell was that the readings came from the girl he kidnapped. Still, if he stayed quiet long enough, he was certain the doctor would take care of the explanation.
Sure enough, he was right.
"Her pleasure centers are all being abnormally stimulated. The Runes in her mind are being manipulated in order to make sure all the information she receives is interpreted as pleasure! How wonderful!"
"He's… mind controlling her?"
"Her perception, at any rate, and the best part is I doubt he knows what he is doing," Soichi said, looking proud. "In this way he easily takes what he needs without causing her any discomfort. The phenomenon is likely caused by a subconscious desire to not do the girl harm even as his instincts guide him to feed on her."
He chuckled.
"Oh, my foolish son," Soichi said, "you care too much for the cattle."
xXx
The youth held Nao in his arms. He was not yet used to his body. As a result, his movements were slow and even clumsy at points.
To Nao, his grip might as well have been made of steel.
Every touch sent shivers down her spine. The way he lightly nibbled her earlobe took all the strength from her legs. Every single touch was electric. Cries of protest were replaced by approving moans as her mind was lost to pleasure.
The young man's thoughts were far more detached. The female body pressed against him did little to arouse his lust. In him, there was a need of a different type. With every passing moment, he could feel it. With every bite, he grew stronger. With every touch, he could see them.
Thoughts.
Memories.
Information.
Ohta Nao. Female. Second year high school student. Sakimori Academy.
The information echoed in his mind and brought forth something new.
Tokishima Haruto. Male. Second year high school student. Sakimori Academy.
Haruto. His name. That was his name. He had been a student. He had lived in Module 77 and gone to Sakimori Academy. He was… he was…
Pilot. Kagerou. Useful. L-Elf. Secret. War. Dorssia.
A pilot. He was the Valvrave's pilot. He was… a Kamitsuki. They had been fighting. They had been in a war against Dorssia. They had attacked the Module. Someone had helped them. L-Elf! He was… what was L-Elf to him?
Lonely. Comrade. Jin. Friend. Dead.
A friend. L-Elf was his friend. He had friends. Yamada. Aina. Inuzuka-sempai. They were gone now, but there were still people he needed to protect. He couldn't give up. He had promised.
He had promised Rukino-san.
Saki.
Haruto's eyes widened as a flood of memories hit him.
No.
Nao yelped as Haruto pushed her away from him. The teenager leaped out of the bed, breathing heavily.
Not again.
It took a few seconds for him to realize Nao wasn't moving. Concern for her well-being raged against the knowledge he was the most dangerous thing in the room by far.
He was still hungry.
In the end, concern won out. Besides, putting distance between himself and others had quite never worked out before. Why should it start now?
"Ohta-san?" He asked, kneeling by her side.
The girl groaned weakly as Haruto took her vitals. Her pulse was weak but steadily recovering. Good.
All her clothes were on, which meant he hadn't done that. He had just… eaten her.
The thought did little to raise his spirits.
"What… what happened?" Nao asked. The girl weakly opened her eyes and tried to sit. Tried to. Haruto had to help her to keep her from falling right back to the bed.
"I…" Haruto wavered for a second before answering. "I attacked you."
"Tokishima," the girl said. Her mind was still hazy. What had happened? She had been kidnapped and Tokishima was alive. They had told her to bring him food and…oh.
Oh!
Nao's face went bright red as multiple memories flashed through her mind. That had been…wow!
Misinterpreting her reaction for something else entirely, Haruto stepped back.
"I am really sorry!" Haruto said. He bent his body by a full ninety degrees while performing a deep bow.
"Huh?" Nao blinked, startled by the sudden action before waving her arms. "Ah no, it's okay really. It was…"
Kind of good actually.
"It is not okay!" Haruto said, and Nao was struck by the fierceness in his eyes.
"I was not in control of myself, but there is no denying what I did. I could have… I could have…"
Haruto looked away, unable to finish that sentence and it was only then Nao understood.
Oh.
The blush in Nao's face vanished. She would like to tell herself she would have never let things go that far, but it would be a lie. Tokishima could have done anything he wanted with her and there was not a thing she could have done about it.
The thought was sobering to an uncomfortable degree.
She did not hate Tokishima. Like much of the female population of Sakimori Academy (and some males) before that damned broadcast, she would not be averse to dating the pilot at least once, but that…
Something like that was entirely different.
"Just… what is going on here?" She finally asked him. At that moment she was not the pilot of the Kagerou or one of the most popular girls in school. She was just a lost child.
It was too much. Her home was gone. She had been kidnapped. Someone who was supposed to be dead wasn't.
Just what was going on?
"I don't know." It was all Haruto could say and he hated himself for it. He wished he had the answers to the question so clearly expressed in the girl's eyes, but that was not the case.
Just what had happened after the fight with Cain? Where was he now? Hadn't he… died?
"I don't know," Haruto repeated, "but I intend to find out."
Let's make a promise. Neither of us will ever give up!
That was all he could do for now. Even if he was lost, he just needed to keep walking until he found a path.
"If the two of us gather what we know, we might be able to find out something," he said, offering his hand to Nao. "After that, we can try to figure out just what this place is."
"That's the spirit!" A cheerful voice Haruto could not help but recognize echoed through the room. Both Haruto and Nao looked around but found no one. It seemed to be coming through speakers of some kind.
"An inquisitive mind is a wonderful quality to have. I am proud to see it in you," the voice went on.
"Father." The amount of casual disdain Haruto managed to put in the word was impressive.
"Father?" Nao softly echoed.
"Come now, if answers are what you seek, I will be more than glad to give them to you," Soichi said. A mechanical hiss signaled the doors of his cell opening; two armed guards were ready and waiting.
"If you will follow these nice men, they will take you to me. I daresay some quality parent-son bonding time is long overdue."
Haruto looked at the men. They wore nondescript uniforms, all grey with not a single type of identification in sight. They were large and had their guns trained on the two of them.
Haruto frowned.
He did not need to worry about bullets, if he could Jack one of them, they could escape.
But doing so would put Ohta-san at risk. He sighed. There was no other choice for now.
"What do we do?" Nao whispered to him.
"We don't have many options," Haruto replied, his voice just as low. "We both want answers and we are not going to find them if we stay here."
The two looked at each other and nodded.
Down the rabbit hole they went.
xXx
Tokishima Soichi was almost bouncing in place as he waited for his son to be escorted to his lab. The act drew more than one odd look from H-Neun, but Soichi was never one to care for such things.
The only thing that mattered was his son. He was just full of surprises.
Tokishima Soichi really liked surprises.
Surprises were unexpected happenings. Surprises meant there were still thing in this world he did not know. Surprises meant there was still so much to learn.
He had honestly thought the girl would die.
As he was now, Haruto did not need a huge quantity of Runes to survive, but Soichi knew the state of Haruto's mind would demand feeding the moment he regained consciousness. In a state where he could barely tell left from right, feeding until there was nothing left was only natural.
To think his son was able to control himself in that state!
Then again, maybe he should not be surprised. Only an inferior lifeform would fully surrender to instinct.
Which was not to say his son was perfect yet. Far from it. He still let sympathy for lower beings cloud his judgment. Perhaps he should have bought him a dog when he was a kid. His need for inferior companionship would have been sated at an early age. Oh well, now they would have ample time to work on that.
"Welcome, my son!" He said with open arms when the doors to his lab opened. In walked Tokishima Haruto and Ohta Nao, escorted by half a dozen guards.
Not that those guards could do anything if his son decided he wanted to escape, but there was no need to let them know that.
"Explain." In contrast to his father's jovial tones, Haruto's words might have been made out of ice.
"You!" Father and son turned to Nao whose finger was pointed at H-Neun. "You are the one who kidnapped me!"
"'Hey there," H-Neun said, raising his palm for a short wave.
The casual reply made Nao's cheeks red with anger. Only the knowledge they were surrounded by unfriendly soldiers kept her from doing more.
"Okay, that is enough of that." Soichi clapped to call for everyone's attention. "I believe you are looking for answers and I shall do my best to provide them."
Soichi motioned them to follow him through the maze of equipment that was his lab. They did, but not before trading reluctant glances with each other.
"My son," Soichi began while they walked, "as you remember now, thanks to your session with the lovely young girl next to you..."
Haruto flinched. He fought the urge to punch the man. Good as it might feel, it would do no good right now.
For her part, Nao refused to meet anyone's gaze, mortified by the knowledge they had been seen.
It had been her first kiss!
"You died," Soichi went on, always uncaring of the reactions of the people around him. "Unit 1 ate up all of your Runes."
"The battle with Cain," Haruto said. He could remember it clearly now.
"Hold it," Nao spoke up. "What do you mean died? You mean like… Rukino-san?"
"Homo sapiens novus," Soichi said. "All Valvrave pilots go through the ascension process; things such as being stabbed through the heart meant little to them. However, my son's condition went beyond that. Even his regenerative skills did not help him."
"Then how?" Haruto asked, looking at his father with hard eyes. "How am I alive?"
"I brought you back," his father said before finally stopping next to a large machine. H-Neun's eyes widened when he saw it.
So this was the doctor's game then?
"It was not easy," Dr. Tokishima said, seeing Haruto's incredulous look, "The theory, I had worked out a long time ago. I just needed to have H-Neun here bring your body to me, along with a collection of Runes from Unit 1."
"You are welcome," H-Neun said when Haruto turned his gaze to him.
"And though I did not ask him, bringing the young miss certainly helped," Soichi added, before addressing Nao. "I must say I expected you to die in that room. You are quite fortunate."
Nao decided she did not like this man at all.
"But… I used up all my Runes... what did you do?" Haruto asked, looking not at his father but at his own body. Something had happened. He was sure of it. He could feel it in his bones. In his entire body.
He was different now. He almost felt uncomfortable in his own skin in a way that had nothing to do with nervousness.
"I rebuilt you," Soichi said. "I reduced your body down to base materials. Your Runes were of great help towards that."
Haruto opened his mouth to object.
"Your Runes were not gone," his father said, anticipating Haruto's objection. "Runes fuel the Valvrave, but the relationship is not quite simple consumption."
The truth behind Runes was complicated, and if his theory was right even the Magius did not know everything. Only he, Soichi Tokishima, fully understood, and he was not about to share the secret with Haruto just yet or anyone else for the matter.
"Even when you gave all your Runes to the Valvrave, they were not gone forever," Soichi said. "The information needed was still there. Once I had the blueprints, reconstructing you was easy enough."
Haruto breathed. It was a deep breath. Any other action would have resulted in him lashing out at his father.
"Then this body…?"
Soichi smiled. "One hundred percent new!"
Haruto felt light-headed. He had died. For real this time.
He had died and been brought back.
What was he? Blueprints? What did that even mean? Was it that easy to make him?
Was he even Haruto anymore?
"Why?" He asked, his voice hoarse. It was the only thing he could do at the moment.
"As your father and creator, what else could I do? My son, you have not even begun to show your true potential," His father said, sounding like Haruto had just asked something ridiculous. "It took me a while to convince them of your value, but I suppose their intellect only goes so far."
"Them?" Haruto zeroed in on that word.
"You are working for the Council."
It was not a question. It was not even a theory. The moment the thought came to him, it instantly solidified into a fact.
Soichi nodded approvingly. "I always said you had a good brain. Well, I made it so of course it is good!"
Chuckling slightly at his own tactless joke, Soichi Tokishima continued. "Yes, we are currently inside a facility run by the Council. The working accommodations are quite suitable. I daresay you will grow to like them as well."
"Me?" Gears shifted inside Haruto's mind. He had died and been brought back to life by the combined efforts of his father and the Council. He could almost believe his father would do it just because he could, but the same could not be said for the Council.
If he had been brought back, then it had been for a reason.
"I am not a weapon," He said coldly.
"Of course you are not a weapon," Soichi said, insulted his son could even suggest such a thing. "Your value is far higher than a mere killing tool."
"But," H-Neun broke in, "The Council has different ideas about that. Welcome to the team… I guess."
Haruto glared at them. "I will not work with you."
"I assumed you would resist the idea," Soichi said, looking much like a father debating whether to indulge the whims of his child or not.
"Luckily I planned accordingly."
From his pocket, he produced a small remote. With the push of a button one of the many screens around them came to life. The three teenagers on the room found their gazes drawn to what was displayed there.
People. Men, women and children. Dozens of them, All locked behind bars and chained. A multitude of people with nothing but misery in their faces.
"You don't know these people," Soichi said, drawing the looks back to him. "They are not even from JIOR. Most of them are undesirables. Homeless people. Vagabonds. Petty thieves. Addicts. From a Darwinist perspective, society would be better without them."
Soichi paused, letting all the information sink in. Once the initial confusion narrowed into anger, he continued.
"They will be harvested for Runes," the doctor said.
"They will be killed!" Haruto snapped.
"Quite," Soichi said. "All of them will die… unless, someone could provide something more valuable than the Runes that could be gained by killing them."
Soichi Tokishima did not see the need to elaborate further. His son was smart enough to understand. The people were hostages. Haruto would do the bidding of the Council or else they would die.
It would be easy to walk away from an offer like that. The people were nameless faces. Not family. Not loved ones. There was no reason to for him to agree.
He could just let them die.
Tokishima Haruto would never forgive himself if he made such a choice.
"I will even throw in the young miss here," Soichi said, referring to Nao. "Unlike you, there is no reason to keep her alive."
Haruto fumed as Nao paled. His fist clenched tightly at his sides. His nails bit into his skin hard enough to almost draw blood.
Even if he had died. Even if this body was entirely new. Even if he was not entirely sure who he was anymore, Tokishima Haruto could not make that type of choice.
Human or Kamitsuki, it didn't matter. He would not give up and become a monster.
"What do you need me to do?" He said each word as if it was a curse.
"That's the spirit!" Soichi said. "For now, just step inside the machine."
As he said this, the large machine next to him opened up. In it, there was a seat surrounded by cables, needles, and tubes. However, what called Haruto's attention was the green glow he knew quite well by now.
"This machine can be used to inject Runes into other beings," his father said. "If you are going to be of use, it is necessary to keep you at 100%."
Haruto glared. "If I refuse, you will threaten them again, won't you?"
"If you understand that much there is no need for me to say more," Dr. Tokishima said.
The impotent rage in Haruto's eyes was almost frightening. He knew where those Runes came from. He remembered the Phantom.
These were Runes taken from innocent people. People had being killed in order to obtain them. The same fate awaited the hostages his father had threatened him with.
If he used them, he was taking advantage of the butchering of others.
If he did not use them, he would doom others to the same fate.
Soichi Tokishima and H-Neun made careful note of the crimson shining in Haruto's eyes.
With steps marked by anger, Haruto stepped into the machine and for the first time directly benefited from the sacrifice of another human being.
xXx
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AN: Well, this took a long time to update. The thing has been finished for half a month now, but I barely had time to edit it afterwards. Hence the long wait.
Also, I'll say right away this is not a Haruto/Nao fic. It could have been any female in that scene. I just wanted to hint at a few things there.
Besides, it's not a space vampire story without biting a beautiful female.
Next chapter, we'll see Shoko again as well as a look at other students plus the mystery of the possible intruder on the Module. Finally, Dr. Tokishima's team gets its first mission. It should be fun.