Change of fate Chapter 8: Revenge, a gantz fanfic

A/N: Thank you all for your kind words and patience. Love to you all.

As promised, here is the next chapter.

Ps: Part of this was taken from the scenes in the manga, but just slightly different.

Enjoy!

Nishi breathed heavily as he scanned his surroundings through his dark bangs, now matted with the blood of those whose bodies surrounded him. Nishi's weapon was concealed within his bag, and his phone, which was loosely held in his hand, blood-stained; in fact, most of the room was covered in blood.

The phone slipped from Nishi's hand and clattered to the floor in a pool of blood.

Everything had gone quiet now.

Screams no longer filled the room.

They were all dead.

Nishi looked over at the far corner of the room; well, except for one. A somewhat curl of his lips appeared as he attempted to smile, though the girl he looked at could tell it was a sad smile, perhaps regretful.

There was no going back now.

Nothing could undo the damage he had caused in his need to get revenge caused by grief.

It was over.

Three hours ago.

Nishi opened his eyes to the ceiling of his motel room. The fact that he could even do that after the previous mission overwhelmed him for a moment and just simply laid there. Nishi raised a hand to his chest, just over his heart; he was alive. From this point onwards, everything was new, so to speak. Nishi wondered what had happened after his death the first time, had his mother found his letter the next morning? Probably. Nishi sat up, and his head thudded lightly against the headboard; he never believed in the afterlife, still didn't, never had been religious, and it never occurred to him before that any of this should have happened, especially regarding Gantz. Nishi wasn't questioning the Gantz room's realism because it would be simply idiotic to question the existence now, but Nishi started wondering about life without Gantz. If life truly were just blackness and nothingness; if aliens really didn't exist and were all alone in the universe, how could something like Gantz exist? Nishi was only alive because of Gantz, but in truth, he should have died over a year ago, just like so many others; technically, he shouldn't even be here now.

Did that mean Gantz was some kind of key to the afterlife even though it was possible Gantz simply picked people at random? Was Nishi really alive, or did he simply just exist. Nishi thought back to his theories he had told Kei and the other two before. Copies. Nishi never dwelled on those theories for long because Gantz had given him a new perspective, a reason to keep living, a change of mind. Coming back from the dead once was enough to screw anyone's mind up, except he had done so twice. His first death had been regretful, but his second death was full of anger. That fight with the alien would haunt Nishi for a long time despite the turn of events that lead to his survival. Now everything had changed again, his perspective had changed again, but Nishi wasn't sure he liked it this time. After their second death, a person could start to think they were immortal, that they simply couldn't die, but for Nishi, he saw it as a means that he might not ever escape, that Gantz would hold him forever.

Nishi let out an audible sigh. Three times Nishi had tried to get free. Once when he had been close to a hundred points and lost them, and twice when he had failed to survive the Suzuki alien mission and gain his last ten points. The third was similar, except he had survived but only gained five of the ten he needed. Nishi didn't know which one was worse because they all made him extremely frustrated.

Nishi mused over the most recent; he would never admit out loud that he had deep concerns about the upcoming mission. Nishi had barely survived the previous one, and he still had points to collect, and from how Kei spoke of the mission, Nishi could very likely die again. Nishi chewed his lip, anxiousness building in his chest for a moment.

Kurono frowned. "You're blaming me? And I thought I did tell you. How was I supposed to know you'd go after it so recklessly?"

Nishi scoffed. "Obviously you don't know me very well."

"You never were that reckless before, always hiding and waiting, isn't that right?"

Nishi hesitated before replying, "I used to be, reckless that is. But then my points were taken, and I had to start over."

Nishi frowned; he had faced stronger aliens in previous missions on account of head-on attacks; Nishi had used the stealth mode initially, but his strategy was more reckless back then. Then why did I die? A light gasp escaped his throat at the annoying discovery. Back then, he had people who watched his back no matter how he acted. Those people had accepted him regardless. Nishi became angry that he had forgotten during the Suzuki mission that he had relied on it happening again for some reason. Why? Why did I do that? Nishi clenched his fists.

"Somebody help me! Goddamn it help me! You useless fucks!"

Nishi was sure he heard Kei's voice asking him what was wrong. I'm in fucking trouble; that's what's wrong! "My suit! My suit is all fucked now!" Please, please help me!

Nishi breathed deeply to calm himself down. I'm alive. Nishi uncurled his fists and began to ponder over Kei's insistence on becoming a team, the whole reason for Nishi's frustration, the reason for his change of perspective again, no matter how much he denied it. Can I survive if I act as I did before? Either way, there is still a chance I could die, so what does it matter?

Nishi turned his attention to the nightstand beside him, at the letter written to his mother, and swung his legs over the bed. Nishi never wanted to see her until he was free, and now he wasn't so sure because what if he never escaped and was just doomed to replay the same patterns over and over. Nishi had left the letter before because he wanted to give his mother some closure, to let her know his reasons. Now, the stakes were even higher, and Nishi knew this might be the last time he ever got to see her, and even though it would kill him to leave her again, it was the least he could do for her; to allow her to see and speak to him one last time if it were.

Nishi stood up, a determined expression on his face, and headed for the bathroom.

Nishi looked at the small closet door; for the first time in a long while, Nishi had dressed without thinking to put on his suit. The decision to finally see his mother again had caused him to momentarily forget what came naturally to him now. Nishi didn't even know if he wanted to wear it; could he act as though Gantz didn't exist while in his mother's presence? After all, Kei and Kato attended school as normal, able to live somewhat normal lives even if they knew Gantz controlled part of it. Since going to the room, Nishi had done nothing but think about Gantz to the point of almost obsession because how could he not? Nishi had worn his suit every day since the convenience store incident. Not to mention how much trouble he got into when he and Yoko were together. Nishi was only going to his mother's, so would he really need it? And Kei could tell him when the next mission would be anyway. Nishi could always come back here and change when he truly needed to, like his meeting with Kei and the others at Ratetin temple or for work.

Nishi opened the closet door and opened a bag that contained his suit and x-gun. In all honesty, he felt naked without his suit, but even worse, without his gun; one of them had to stay behind. The suit might be easier to conceal, but Nishi wasn't sure he could control the strength the suit gave him. Nishi scoffed at the ridiculous thought that he could give his mother a hug and end up hurting her. "The gun it is." Nishi pulled out the x-gun with a sigh, zipped the bag back up, and shut the closet door.

While showering, Nishi had made up his mind to spend the time he had until the next mission with his mother. He couldn't risk not seeing her any longer. How much had Nishi put her through already by staying away? His reasons for staying away in the first place were to protect her from what he had become, but recent events had changed his mind.

Nishi tucked the gun inside another bag and looped the bag strap over his neck across his chest. The bag reminded him of the one he used for school. School; Nishi didn't exactly know how to explain his absence all this time, but his mother would probably try and convince him to go back to school. Nishi decided to deal with that part if and when it came; knowing his mother, she would probably be happy just to see him again.

Nishi chuckled lightly at what his mother would think about his job as he left the motel room and locked it.

Nishi thought about the meeting on the way to his house; where even was Ratetin temple anyway? Nishi had a strong feeling that Kei didn't know either and was probably relying on Nishi. "Idiot."

Nishi's heart thudded in his chest the moment he neared the turning of his street, overcome with sudden emotion. Emotion wasn't exactly something Nishi ever associated with himself, but he told himself it was okay given the circumstances. "Whatever."

Nishi lifted his head up when his peripheral vision caught flashing blue lights in the near distance as he stepped onto his house's street. Nishi instantly ran toward them, his heart thudding for an entirely different reason now as he realized that the blue lights were from an ambulance and they were outside his house. Even though the Gantz missions kept him in shape, Nishi couldn't help becoming breathless as he slowed upon nearing the house, barely giving a second thought whether or not it was because he wasn't wearing the suit.

When Nishi spotted his dad outside the house, his movements stopped completely as the ambulance drove away. Nishi's hands began to shake, and his mind started racing with possible outcomes; what had happened? Had his dad done this? Had his dad hurt his mom in some way? Did she have an accident?

"Joichiro? Is that you?"

Nishi's eyes widened when he heard his dad's voice speak because he wasn't looking at him. Nishi feared the response he'd receive, not because he was afraid of his dad, far from it, but because of the news he might receive if he asked what happened. When Nishi finally looked up into his dad's eyes, he gasped, the anger wasn't surprising, but the tears were.

Eiichiro took a few stumbling steps toward Nishi, and the teen was quick to discover it wasn't because he was drunk but most likely shocked. "Look what you've done…how could you…"

Nishi frowned in confusion at first, not quite understanding the allegations his father was trying to blame him for, though if he were to make a guess, it would probably be from 'running away.' But what did that have to do with the ambulance? Nishi wasn't stupid. If his dad was here and his mother wasn't, then it didn't take a genius to figure out something happened, and his mother was most likely in the ambulance that drove off a minute ago.

"It's all your fault. I thought that with you running away, she might forget about you, and we could start again…"

Nishi curled his hands into fists.

"I wanted to start everything over, and I even imposed the idea of having another child."

Nishi's eyes widened. Seriously? Did his dad hate him that much that he would try to convince his mother to replace him with another child? What the fuck! Even if his mother found out he had been dead all this time, he doubted she would have another child just to 'get over it.' But Nishi found himself questioning it just the slightest bit.

"But no."

Nishi almost breathed a sigh of relief, now feeling guilty for doubting her.

"She couldn't get you off her mind, couldn't face the fact that her precious son had abandoned her."

Nishi gritted his teeth. No, he hadn't abandoned her. It wasn't like that… at least, not after…

"When she came back inside after collecting the mail, she said she was going to take a long bath." Eiichiro began to shake the more he explained. "I could tell she was on the verge of giving up, but I never thought she would-"

Nishi's breath caught in his throat, and suddenly, his father's voice sounded distant.

"I went into check on her two hours later… I should have gone in sooner – I called the ambulance, but it was already too late."

Nishi couldn't breathe. His whole body felt numb; this couldn't be real. No way was any of this real. Mom…you – you can't leave me…you just can't… you're all I have left.

Suddenly, Nishi hit the ground, caused by a violent punch thrown by his dad.

"She's dead because of you! It's all your fault! You killed her you selfish fucking brat!"

Nishi immediately tasted blood, but he didn't care. His father's words were more painful than any blow ever could be. His mother, his kind and wonderful mother, was dead. Wait – coming back from retrieving the mail? Nishi's eyes widened. Did that mean – if he had posted the letter like he had done before, would she still be alive? The letter encouraged her to continue on without him, to be strong and think of him looking down, or up, on her, all the things he thought she would want to hear. But by not leaving the letter this time, had that caused her to give up entirely?

In the bathtub. Just like Kishimoto.

His mother committed suicide. Just like he did.

It's my fault. Nothing matters anymore. She's dead, and it's all my fault.

Nishi looked up through blurred vision. How did I end up here?

Nishi had left the scene in his numb state of shock and now stood outside of his school.

"This was when everything started to go wrong." Nishi's ability to carry on began to fade once he started middle school. His classmates became a big part of Nishi's problems, the other issues being his dad and the expectations of society; he couldn't keep up, he couldn't deal with everything anymore. Nishi's eyes bore darkly at the school's open gates, tears still visible, but anger starting to show; it seemed like school had only just started, so his class would just be settling in their seats. Most of the students in his class played a big role in his misery, all out of jealously because he was intelligent. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He tried so hard to keep to himself, but they just – kept – pushing. The teachers were equally as guilty, trying to force him to fail his entrance exams on purpose, so the other students didn't look bad!

Nishi glared at the building directly on the windows of his classroom. An image of his mother entered Nishi's mind, and suddenly, all sense of reason left him.

'If they hadn't pushed him so far, he wouldn't have jumped, and his mother would still be alive.' That was the only thought he had left when he entered the school.

…

Every student in the classroom looked to the doorway when Nishi opened it, eyes motionless. In a month, each one of these students would move to high school. Too bad.

"Oh, Nishi? You're returning to school? Have you filled out the form with the principal?"

Nishi ignored the teacher and made his way into the classroom, his eyes looking for two specific individuals.

"Nishi, it would be wise not to start your last month badly, please go and see the principal if you wish to return."

Again, Nishi ignored him as he approached the empty seat where he usually sat. Words like 'Creep,' 'Freak,' and 'Coward,' had been engraved into the wood.

"Well, you leave me no choice. I will fetch the principal myself."

Once the teacher had left the room, two students left their seats. Nishi glanced behind and turned to face them.

"Look whose finally returned! It's been a long time, creep, didn't think you'd show your face here again." Matari and Fuji grinned down at Nishi.

Nishi could hear mumbles of agreement from other students, but his focus was on the two in front, a dark expression on his face. "It's your fault," he said.

Matari leaned forward. "What's that, creep? You want us to teach you a lesson?"

Fuji and the other students laughed as two more stood up. "Yeah, lets make sure Nishi never comes to school again!"

Should have worn my suit, was the last thought Nishi had before several students started to attack him.

No amount of punches and kicks could quell the anger within the grief-stricken teen. The student's hits were driving Nishi closer to the open window, demanding shouts from others to kill him in the background.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" The loud shout drowned out all the rest, and for a moment, it all went quiet as the student's attention turned to the source. Nishi used the distraction to get to his feet, using the windowsill for leverage as he spat blood to the floor. "It's your fault," he repeated, glaring at the students in front of him, ignoring the throbbing pain their hits caused. Nishi's dark eyes misted over, and he blinked back the tears. "She was all I had left, and now she's gone, and it's all your fault!" Deep down, Nishi knew he had unintentionally been the main cause of his mother's death, but his grief wouldn't allow him to see reason, and before he could rethink his actions, Matari's head exploded. Blood splattered upward, and for a second, the students did nothing but gape at the horrifying sight, wondering what the hell happened, and then –

An uproar of screams began.

Nishi gritted his teeth and turned on his heel when Fuji approached, blaming Nishi entirely for Matari's death, even though he had no way of knowing it was actually him.

"Joichiro, I'm so proud of you."

Nishi's eyes filled with tears as grief and anger took him over. Masses of blood splattered desks and chairs as students' heads and limbs exploded without warning, leaving an eruption of screams to follow.

As the teacher and principal approached the door to the classroom, they immediately spotted the disturbing incident. "Oh god… what happened!" The teacher jumped back when blood quickly sprayed across the windows.

The principal shook on his feet, but he quickly fell into responsible duties and grabbed the teacher's shirt to get his attention. "Call for help! I will get the other students to safety."

"But – who do I call?"

The principal became angry. "I don't care who you call, get armed forces here, anyone!"

…

Kurono rested his chin on his hand with a bored expression, looking up every once in a while to his teacher to show he was trying to pay attention. It was still strange to him, knowing she'd end up in Gantz soon, that she would die, and there wasn't much he could really do about it. Just like with Mika, Furuta, Nozaki, and Saito. Then there were all those who would fight in the Buddha mission with him.

Kurono snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a vibration against his leg. Subtly, Kurono pulled out his phone from his pocket to check the caller and was surprised to see it was Kishimoto. What the fuck? Why is Kishimoto ringing me? Kurono suddenly stood up. "Uh, I have to use the bathroom," he quickly said and ran out of the classroom, giving the teacher barely enough time to call his name.

"I bet he's got a boner again!" a student shouted.

"Yeah! Gone to 'take care of it,'" another student laughed.

"Kishimoto?" Kurono answered his phone once he was out of earshot and outside the building. "Is everything okay?"

"Kurono, I didn't think you would pick up since you were at school and all."

Kurono grinned. "Hey, I'd always answer a call to you," he spoke flirtatiously. Kurono groaned inwardly. Why the hell did I just say that!

Kishimoto sighed with irritation. "Right."

Kurono laughed nervously. "Well, did you need something?"

"I was calling about the news I just saw."

"The news?" She calls me in the middle of class to talk about the news? "Uh-huh, what about it?"

"It's just – there's an incident at a middle school in Hinodedai that's got me a little worried."

Kurono leaned against the wall. "Why's that?"

"They're saying something is harming and killing students inside a classroom. They think it's most likely a student, some kind of school shooting, although some are saying it might be some kind of wild animal. It looks like they're planning to stop whoever or whatever it is, there's quite a few people outside with guns."

Kurono's eyes went wide, and he gulped. "So…what has you worried?" As if Kurono hadn't already thought about it.

"Well, you don't think it could be Nishi, do you? I mean, we know that he's killed before, but he wouldn't start shooting up a school, would he?"

Kurono curled his hand into a fist. "You're probably overthinking it, it's probably a coincidence or something, talk to you later."

"Wait, Kurono-"

Kurono quickly typed into the search bar on the news site and gasped at the headlines. "Shit." The teen looked up the middle school's name and searched their site until a familiar face popped up on one of the class pictures; the face was younger, but it was defiantly Nishi. "Okay, don't panic. There's no evidence that Nishi is the cause." Kurono frowned. Except for the wild animal references. Why would they say that if the deaths were caused by normal shooting? Kurono found Nishi's number in his contacts.

"Nishi!" Kurono shouted, surprised that the younger teen answered. "Nishi, the news, it's not you right? Tell me it's nothing to do with you."

"It doesn't matter," Nishi spoke quietly; he sounded out of breath. "What? What do you mean it doesn't matter! Nishi, what did you do?"

"Goodluck, Kei-Kun."

Kurono gasped when the phone went dead. "Nishi!"

The phone slipped from Nishi's hand and clattered to the floor in a pool of blood.

Everything had gone quiet now.

Screams no longer filled the room.

They were all dead.

There was no going back now.

Nothing could undo the damage he had caused in his need to get revenge caused by grief.

It was over.

"Nishi, what's going to happen now?"

Nishi looked at the girl carefully, the only one he had spared, the only one who had shown him kindness in all this mess. Nishi walked over to her, stepping over several bodies in the process. Although the girl looked freaked from the whole incident, she wasn't running away. "Thank you for your letter by the way, I don't think I ever told you that."

The girl looked surprised to hear those words. "Is – is that why you didn't kill me?"

Nishi looked at her with a deadpan expression. "I had no reason to. Besides, you hated them as much as I did."

…

Kurono ran across the platform and quickly jumped onto the train before its doors slid shut. I wonder if this is the same train that hit me? Wouldn't that be weird since I'm only on this train to get to Nishi. Dammit, what happened, Nishi? Why did you do it? Kurono didn't know Nishi all that well, but if there was one thing he did know, it was that Nishi never killed another person unless he had very good reason. Something really bad must have happened…

Kurono jumped off the train and quickly made his way up the stairs and onto the streets of Hinodedai. I hope I can reach him before those forces do; they're most likely to shoot first, ask questions later.

…

"Nishi," the girl spoke as she grabbed his hand. "I-"

"Don't move!"

Nishi whirled around, pushing the girl back with narrowed eyes. Here already, that didn't take long. I doubt I could shoot my way out. There are too many of them with guns. But what's the point in even trying?

"Hands above your head!"

Nishi slowly tried to reach for the inside of his bag because something inside him told him to keep fighting. Why am I still trying? Nishi's hand brushed against what felt like the controller he used for stealth mode.

"I said stop!"

Nishi's eyes widened when two men clad in armored clothing stepped forward and raised their weapons to shoot.

"No!" The girl lunged forward with a cry and stood in the way of their bullets just before they could hit Nishi.

"Seize your fire!"

Too late.

Nishi gasped when the girl fell back against him and had no choice but to catch her before lowering her to the floor. "Shit."

The girl choked blood, and even though she was in pain, she smiled. "Nishi."

"What did you do that for?" Nishi really wanted to know. Nishi had always felt undeserving of his own mother's love, let alone Yoko's in a romantic way, and now, now this girl… Was this what it felt like to have important people in your life torn away from you? Nishi wouldn't go as far as to say the girl lying before him meant something to him, but – her kindness and attention…

"You made me happy, Nishi. I'm glad you came back."

The girl fell limp, and her eyes closed.

Nishi curled his hands into fists once he let the girl go. "Careless fucks." Nishi stood up, hand slipping back inside his bag. "I guess it didn't matter to you as long as you killed the person who's responsible for what happened here. Am I right?" Nishi curled his hand around the handle of the x-gun inside and pulled the triggers. I won't let that happen. If I'm to die again, then it'll be my own way. Not yours, not Gantz.

For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then –

Bang!

A short cry of pain escaped Nishi's mouth when he felt a bullet pierce his side, falling back against the wall the moment the two men who shot the girls' head's exploded. Nishi tried to keep on his feet and aimed his bag toward the other men filing into the room, but another bullet pierced his arm. Nishi slid against the wall with a groan of pain, clutching his side. It didn't have to be this way… mom. I'm sorry.

Nishi looked up when he heard the rest of the forces gave screams of their own, but it wasn't due to his weapon. They just – collapsed? Even though his vision was blurry, Nishi kept watching the scene in front of him, watched the men try in vain to shoot at nothing.

Once the men were knocked to the ground, that's when Nishi saw the fuzz of static bring Kurono into view. "Kei?" Nishi sat in stunned silence.

Kurono turned to Nishi with an angry expression. "Spare me the details for now," he said, approaching his annoying teammate. It had been difficult to see if Nishi were injured from afar, but once Kurono knelt down to aid the boy to his feet, he could see blood seeping from two holes. "They shot you then."

Nishi managed to give Kurono a small grin. "Worse than that… I'm not wearing my suit…"

Kurono suddenly panicked. "What? Fuck. Nishi, why!"

Nishi's eyes drooped slightly. "It wasn't supposed to…be this way…"

Kurono gritted his teeth and shook Nishi's shoulder. "Don't you dare! You hear me? You're not dying on me this way!" Kurono grabbed hold of Nishi's wrist and turned so he could drape the boy over his back. "You're gonna help us survive the next mission, and then you're gonna go free with a hundred points dammit." Kurono felt Nishi twitch against him as he maneuvered through the bodies.

"Is that so," Nishi mumbled.

Kurono grinned despite his concern. "Damn straight, you're not getting out of it that easily."