Chapter 13
"He's not going to make it, is he?"
Naruchi heard voices in the distance. He had a hard time breathing. It was as if he was hearing everything through a tunnel… except they were right next to him.
"It's alright." One of the doctors patted him on the head. "You're going to sleep for awhile, alright?"
"Please… don't…" He could barely speak. Then darkness overwhelmed his body.
When he awoke an immeasurable amount of time later, he felt different. His chest felt heavy and so sore he almost wanted to cry in pain. He clutched it, and felt sticky blood coat his hands. He shrieked in fear.
That was when he noticed the Pokemon in a white cloak in the corner of the room. "How are you today, Naruchi?"
Naruchi clutched his chest. "My… they said…"
"You needed a new heart. I'm the one who led the operation." He stood up, and now Naruchi could recognize who he was. It was Komiji Rakachi; the head of the program.
"Why did I need a new heart?"
"Because we want to turn you into the ultimate weapon for the nation! If… if we succeed, you'll pave the way to ultimate strength!"
Ultimate strength…? That sounds cool. "Umm… okay. Tell me what I must do."
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Many years later, Naruchi remembered meeting the other two Model E users; Yusei, who would later become his best friend, and Minato, who would go into hiding like himself.
Yusei, the Eevee with an illness that had been forced to take the Model E.
Minato, the scarred Pikachu who had willingly taken the Model E.
All three of them had been operated on to receive a special aspect; Yusei had received perception, Minato had received strength and speed, and Naruchi had received intellect. All three of them had heightened abilities in all three, but they had all learned each of their strengths in particular.
"We'll escape one day," said Minato. "This isn't right." The Pikachu was roughly 3 years older than him. Naruchi remembered sitting around the table eating with his friends. They had been training. A lot had changed recently. All 3 of them had been honing their skills. Dr. Komiji had quit the position, and wanted to tear down the program, but no news of him had been heard for awhile.
Then it happened. That fateful day neither of them would forget.
Yusei's parents had picked him up a few months ago, but Naruchi had kept in touch with him through eMail.
"We've got a mission for you," was all they had said.
He remembered being in the van on the way to the mission.
"We're going to have you two destroy a car."
"Is there anyone in it?" asked Minato.
"No."
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November 28th, 2014
There had been a lot of questions. Naruchi, not technically a member of the school, had locked himself inside the boys' room to avoid all the media attention. When a national superstar is kidnapped, it's expected. He was tempted to shut down the communications and force them to get new devices, but they'd be back eventually, so he just looked through the government's database. Bored after only a few hours, he decided to try and locate Ryujin and Koyuki. It looked like they were heading up along a road. It looked like it was snowing.
He heard somebody knocking on the door. He frowned, then closed his laptop and opened the door. "Oh, it's you."
Yusei walked in looking tired. "Urf… those reporters sure are nosy."
"Hmph. At least I don't have to answer questions. Technically, I'm not even here. How are the others doing?"
He shrugged. "Keira and Kousei ran out the door a few minutes ago, and Saki and Rin are still answering questions. It's already 8:30… jeez, do they ever leave?" The Flareon yawned. "I wonder if Ryujin and Koyuki are okay… have you been tracking them?"
"A little bit. They've continued moving, so I think they're okay." Naruchi pulled off his eyepiece and set it next to the bed. "You go bathe. I'm going to try track my pursuers. It looks like they haven't found me yet, but I need to know where they are."
"Alright." He walked out of the bedroom again, closing the door behind him. Naruchi pulled open the scanner on his computer. He fanned through his files and looked for the different trackers he had. Minato… where are you? Your tracker has gone missing. He had implanted his friend with a tracker when they were younger, and Minato had kept it fresh, since Naruchi had wanted to keep in touch with him somehow. It had apparently died, and Naruchi felt guilty for not having checked earlier.
Then he felt it. Argh… not again… A sharp pain burned in his chest. He clutched it tightly. "Fuck… fuck…" he said with grit teeth. Stupid Model E… nngh… if I'd known about the side effects, I never would have taken it. He lay there, clutching his chest in agony for what felt like hours, and when it finally subsided, he felt so weak.
He struggled to his feet, and when he finally got up, Rin was right there, staring at him. "Oh my! A-are you okay Naruchi?!"
"Yeah." He braced himself with the wall. "I'm okay."
Then she gasped. "Y-your shirt! You're bleeding!"
"I'm alright… this is natural." He looked down. The stitches over his chest must have come undone.
"You're hurt! We have to get you to the hospit-"
"No. You take me there, and I'll be taken back to the lab." He pulled off his shirt and walked into the bath. "Go away. I don't need your pity."
"Please! I'll go get Saki! She co-"
He closed the door on her. "Leave me alone."
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He stitched his chest back together, which was as painful as it sounded. Luckily, the holes were still there, but it still hurt like hell. He fried the first thread by accident, and it took all his self-control not to flinch after. He washed the blood off his hands. It's always like this… every month or so, it starts to act up. But this is one of the first times it has bled… He stepped into the water and grimaced as the water stung the wound, but took a deep breath and calmed himself down. My time… it's slowly running out. It's leaking…
He reached for his phone and checked the numbers on the Model E.
Corrosion point until death: 54%
He paused. "So… a month maybe… I've got to fix it…"
Yusei's Model E had not been updated, making it a lot less dangerous. Minato's Model E was similar to Naruchi's though. It was important that he found a way to stop the corrosion.
He soaked for about 10 minutes, then stepped out of the bath. The model E was something he had been happy to have… but now, he just wanted to blend in and be normal. His dad had been his idol before, but now, he realized that his father wanted him to become a killer. Naruchi had thought it was cool before, but now… it was the last thing he wanted.
He walked down and sat on a couch to watch TV.
"Hello, this is Mikura. We are at the scene of…"
Naruchi recognized her as Yusei's cousin. Since Yusei's uncle would visit before, he recognized the young Typhlosion on the screen. He flipped off the television. He wanted something that wouldn't bring up a Model E one bit.
It was already late, and he felt himself slowly drifting to sleep. He heard the door slam shut and looked up. Kousei and Keira stepped through. Keira looked very distressed, and Kousei looked upset.
"What's wrong?"
"I need to find Ryujin… I… he has to come back." Keira looked down. "I was wrong to accuse him."
"Why?"
Kousei spoke up now. "Another student was murdered. The head of the math club. Stabbed in the neck. Akura-senpai."
"How?! Where?"
"He was found outside Kihiko hall. I don't know who it could be any more… is it even a student?"
"Who knows… we must tell the other three."
"I heard." Yusei stepped out from the corner to the kitchen. "I was cooking some noodles. Akura… why would they kill him?"
"N-no… not another one... who this time?" Saki and Rin walked down the stairs.
"Akura."
Saki flinched. "He's in a lot of my classes… this… the school might close now… this is huge."
"What?! But they can't!"
"This is 6 deaths now I think, plus Ryujin being shot and Mitsumi being kidnapped not too long ago. I don't see how they could keep the school open, honestly… it might be best."
"But where would Naruchi stay?" asked Yusei.
"Stop worrying," said Rin. "It's not closing yet…" She nudged the Flareon, who seemed mildly surprised.
Then Kousei held up a hand. "Let's stay calm. Two of our friends are on the run right now, and we probably are under question for what happened. We shouldn't worry about it more than necessary."
Keira shuffled her feet. "If we do happen to leave the school, you guys could stay with my aunt."
"Hopefully, it won't come to that," said Rin. "It's rather unusual though that all the student heads are being targeted. Why would they be targeted? Maybe they know something…"
They all thought about it in silence. Yusei spoke up. "I sure hope that Ryujin and Koyuki are fine…"
"It's cold out there. But Koyuki's an ice type, and Ryujin probably has some ninja magic or something to keep him warm," said Kousei.
"Uh, I thought he just did kendo. He's not a ninja…" began Keira.
"Yeah. He doesn't," said Saki. "It was just a joke I think. Let's make sure nobody else gets hurt. All of you, please be careful. Ryujin thinks of you all as family… and so do I."
Naruchi looked at them all. A family… are they really my friends? Can I trust them all? He had felt obligated to help out Ryujin and Koyuki when they were about to leave. A family… where are you, Minato?
Sorry for the delay. I was on a trip _ Please read and review!