A/N Hey guys, it's been a while but I'm back so I hope you enjoy this chapter since Doug will meet Nina for the first time so, without further ado, enjoy.
I told the mayor everything I'd discovered so far, about how I woke up in the forest on the mainland with no memory of who I was and how I had killed six beastmen hunters easily as I described how it was like my body went on auto-pilot when it happened.
I kept talking about what Shirou and I had uncovered at the medical center, where my blood had some kind of anomaly and that my files were restricted by the department of defense while I had told the mayor that I theorized I might have a military background, possibly special forces if everything I've learned was right so far.
One thing I was still trying to wrap my head around was that I was stronger, faster, had advanced healing, enhanced reflexes, and can somehow survive things that would normally kill me as I told the mayor and Shirou about this, surprising the hell out of them if their expressions told me anything before I noticed them sharing a look between each other that I was unable to figure out so I filed away for now since it looked like they knew something and I had a feeling that they wouldn't tell me even if I asked.
I had asked how Shirou was still alive since he should've died from the fall, and they didn't give me a straight answer so it confirmed that they were hiding something but I decided not to push it for now, though I was going to get answers eventually.
Once I was done talking, the mayor looked thoughtful and told me that she would look into this but still congratulated me on a job well done for helping Shirou to take down Yaba and Mimura so she had offered me the job of a special investigator, which was similar to a detective but the difference is that I would have a little more freedom than the police does and I would only answer to her while Shirou would be my partner.
I thought about it and eventually agreed before I requested the necessary equipment for my new job and the mayor agreed, though she told me it would take a short time to get everything I needed and to notify the police about my new occupation, but I didn't mind since I assumed all of this would take time so the mayor left after that and I was free to get some rest after what happened yesterday.
After that, a couple of days had gone by with me getting to know the city a bit more and the mayor was true to her word as a gun holster, an ammo pouch with two ammo mags, holstered baton, badge, and handcuffs pouch was delivered to me with a note from the mayor saying that everything was official now so I proceeded to strap my equipment to my belt and holstered my gun while also slipping my new badge onto my belt.
Once that was over and done with, I decided to pay Yuki and the other kids a visit to see how they were doing so I made my way to the orphanage and while I was walking, I thought about buying a car to get around faster but that would require me to have a driver's license and I didn't so I was shit out of luck there, though I eventually arrived at a large building with a sign that told me I was in the right place and went inside.
I went to talk to the person at the front desk and introduced myself, asking if I could see Yuki after telling her I helped Shirou save Yuki and the other kids that were brought here, then I was guided to a room that had Yuki in it as she was busy drawing.
"Yuki, you have a visitor," the employee announced and Yuki looked up until she saw me and perked up.
"Doug, you're here," Yuki greeted, looking happier than when I last saw her.
"Hey Yuki, good to see that you're doing well and I have a surprise for you," I said as I knelt down next to her before I unclipped my badge from my belt, then I showed it to Yuki and she took it until examining it with widened eyes.
"Wow, you're a policeman?" Yuki asked and I chuckled.
"Sorta, you could say I'm now a special policeman who reports directly to the mayor," I replied before Yuki looked up at me with a surprised expression.
"Whoa...that sounds awesome," Yuki admitted in astonishment.
"Yeah, it is so how's it been here?" I asked when Yuki shrugged.
"Pretty good, not like that other place with those mean ladies looking after me and the others," Yuki told me and I chuckled.
"Yeah, they weren't very nice but at least the people here are much better than Gram Grandma and her gang," I pointed out before Yuki giggled at that, then I looked at my watch and saw that I needed to head back to Beast Co-op soon.
"Well, I'm gonna go so I'll visit you when I have the time, okay?" I offered as Yuki nodded.
"Okay, see you soon," Yuki replied before she handed back my badge and I clipped it onto my belt again.
I said goodbye to Yuki and left the building soon after, making my way back to Beast Co-op and was mostly lost in thought while I was glad that Yuki and the other kids were living in a much better environment now so I hoped that they would be adopted soon by nice people when I made it back to Beast Co-op and greeted Melissa, who told me that she had received a call from the mayor and that Michiru and I were to head to city hall, then we decided to go check on Michiru to let her know that the mayor wanted to see us when Melissa and I went up to Michiru's room and went inside.
I saw Michiru but was confused at the sight of her sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and having a leaf on her head before she suddenly jumped up and did a backflip until landing on her rear, causing me and Melissa to look at each other with puzzled expressions as Michiru let out a groan of dismay.
"It's no use!" Michiru shouted in frustration.
"Michiru, what are you doing?" I questioned, startling the female tanuki and she quickly looked back with a nervous smile.
"Uh, I was hoping this would revert me back to human form," Michiru answered sheepishly while Melissa stared at her strangely.
"You are as odd as they come, Michiru," Melissa stated when I remembered why she and I came up here in the first place.
"Oh yeah, Melissa here told me that the mayor wanted to see us so we should head over to city hall," I said and that caught Michiru's attention.
"The mayor wants to see us?" Michiru inquired before I shrugged.
"Don't know why she wants to see us but we probably shouldn't keep her waiting," I pointed out and Michiru nodded in agreement.
With that said, Michiru had me and Melissa step out so that she could get ready and we left her room with Melissa going off to do her own thing while I waited for Michiru to be done, then she left her room fully dressed and we proceeded to leave the building before we made our way to city hall.
We kept walking through the city streets as we chatted and I learned from Michiru that she wasn't the only one who wound up as a beastman since she apparently had a friend who she was close to and they were involved in an accident that was serious enough for them to go to the hospital, then Michiru and her friend Nazuna had recovered but Nazuna had become a fox beastman a couple of weeks after the accident.
Michiru told me that she saw who she thought was her friend being escorted into a van by people in dark suits a week later, then Nazuna was simply gone after that and Michiru was at basketball practice not long after when she turned into a tanuki beastman and had hidden in her room at home for a while out of fear of being targeted by beastman hunters when she decided to head to Anima city after that.
I expressed sympathy for her situation and told her that we would find a cure soon just as we arrived at city hall and went inside, making our way to the front desk and telling the person manning it that the mayor was expecting us.
The receptionist had us wait while he called the mayor on his desk phone and spoke for a little bit until he hung up, then he gave us directions to where the mayor's office was before Michiru and I went over to the elevator and got in, then we headed up to the top floor and walked down the hall when we came across the door to the mayor's office.
I knocked on it and heard the mayor telling us to come in, prompting me and Michiru to enter and I saw that the mayor's office was a large room with a bunch of windows that have a great view of the city as I also noticed a couple of sofas and a desk as the mayor was working there and she greeted us until she told us that she had something to give us and had her assistant hand us two brown folders.
"What are these?" I asked and the mayor's assistant cleared his throat.
"Those are proof of residence and insurance for the both of you, though we had to make do with what we had since we still don't have a lot of information on you, Mr. Jackson," Koichi told me stoically.
"It seems that they were still being processed so consider them an apology for the medical center bombing incident since you two went through quite a bit," the mayor said, prompting Michiru to bow humbly.
"Thank you," Michiru replied while I nodded.
"You two are now legal citizens of Anima city so welcome to the capital of the beastmen," the mayor said with a warm smile while Michiru looked sheepish.
"We can't thank you enough for this, really," I stated, then Michiru perked up.
"Oh, I forgot so I should return this now," Michiru piped up as she removed her phone from her pocket and placed it on the desk, the phone having a cracked screen and I remember how that happened as I recalled Michiru and me encountering two beastmen having an argument before they tried to attack us and I quickly took them down before personally arresting them, though Michiru's phone got damaged in the process during the incident.
"That's alright, you can hold onto it," the mayor reassured, taking Michiru by surprise if her expression told me anything.
"But I don't have any use for it because it doesn't connect to the outside world's internet so no matter what I do, it always brings up the site for the municipal office," Michiru pointed out and that got my attention.
"Now that you mention it, I'm having the same problem so maybe there's a reason for that," I chimed in and Koichi nodded.
"Yes, under the current laws of the beastman special ward, information from human society is restricted," Koichi explained and Michiru frowned at that.
"That's not fair," Michiru huffed and I sighed to express my annoyance at the knowledge that human information isn't allowed here.
"Michiru, this is a good opportunity and I also wanted Mr. Jackson to see this as well so pay attention," the mayor said just as I heard something behind me and Michiru before we looked back to see a large screen being lowered from the ceiling as the screen showed beastmen DNA profiles.
"Beastmen, or animalized human beings, are separate species from homo sapiens due to a special gene sequence of beast deoxyribonucleic acid, where we can make our bodies undergo transformations.
Throughout ancient times, beastmen imitated the forms of the animal gods that their tribes worshiped as if they wanted to draw closer to the gods, thus the animals we become are predetermined by our ancestors.
For example, a lion's child will be a lion but what happens in the case of interspecies mating will be a lion or a tiger, but never a liger. Furthermore, humans who do not possess the beast DNA will never become a beastman," the mayor explained and I hummed thoughtfully.
"Interesting, but Michiru quite clearly became a beastman and it should be impossible if what we've learned so far is correct," I pointed out logically when the mayor nodded in agreement.
"Yes, the unthinkable has actually happened when it comes to Miss Kagemori," the mayor said as she stood up from her seat and went over to the windows before staring out at the city.
"Beastmen have always lived in this world without coming into contact with homo sapiens, living in forests, mountains, islands, and deserts but with the recent expansion of humanity's domain, our discovery simply became a matter of time.
Once the existence of animalized humans became apparent, conflicts ensued and along the way, Anima city was established but now Miss Kagemori shows up with you, Mr. Jackson," the mayor added while Michiru looked surprised.
"I see..." Michiru trailed off as she seemed to be taking everything in when the screen showed her DNA profile.
"We've examined your genome and it's different than normal beast DNA since it's unstable, but when you transform, your cells undergo a very explosive cellular mitosis so we believe this is likely the reason you can change shape at will, though it's just a theory at this point," the mayor said as the screen showed photos of Michiru's cells doing what was being described.
"So, is it possible for her to be cured?" I asked and the mayor turned her attention towards me.
"Sadly, we haven't reached any solutions yet so we will need more time but we have news for you that concerns the results of your blood test, Mr. Jackson," the mayor told me and I perked up while it also caught Michiru's attention.
"What did you find out?" I inquired curiously.
"From what we've been able to determine, your genome holds similarities to Miss Kagemori but with a few differences," the mayor replied and my eyes widened while Michiru looked surprised as well.
"Wait, does that mean he'll be able to change shape like I can?" Michiru questioned before the mayor frowned thoughtfully.
"It's still too early to come to that kind of conclusion so we'll need to do a few more tests to be sure but it shouldn't be long now before we'll have more results in soon so, in the meantime, the two of you are welcome to rely on Beast Co-op for now," the mayor told us and I nodded.
"Okay, at least we have more information than before so it's a start," I replied and the conversation continued for a short time until Michiru and I said our goodbyes to the mayor and left city hall until we came to a stop in front of the building and Michiru sighed.
"You alright?" I inquired and Michiru turned to look at me while pulling out her phone.
"No...that just raised more questions than answers but it doesn't matter since this phone is useless," Michiru told me while my eyes softened, just before my phone started vibrating and I went to take it out when I saw that Shirou was calling me and answered it.
"It's me, I need you for something so meet me over at the city docks," Shirou said and hung up before I could get a word in, making me roll my eyes until I put my phone away and looked at Michiru.
"Hey, Shirou needs me for something so I'll meet up with you later, okay?" I offered before Michiru shrugged.
"Sure, see you later," Michiru replied, then I sent her a nod and proceeded to make my way over to the city docks.
I took a few shortcuts to get there faster while I wondered what Shirou needed me for but I soon arrived at the city docks and could see Shirou waiting for me at one of the piers while he was in his beast form, then he spotted me and sent a single nod as I approached him.
"Okay, I'm here so what do you need me for?" I inquired and Shirou motioned his head at one of the piers in a gesture for me to follow him.
"You remember that hyena beastman we encountered yesterday during the bombing investigation? His name is Masaru Kusakabe and he's wanted for questioning, though I've received word that Don Flip of The Family is not happy with him and wanted to speak to Kusakabe so chances are that he didn't come here willingly," Shirou explained as we kept walking when we arrived at our intended destination.
I could see Kusakabe in his human form, looking like an Asian male with brown brushed-back hair and wearing the same blue suit, only he was tied up to a chair and looking battered with his face appearing bloody and bruised while having a nasty burn on his forehead as his suit was slightly torn in some places and his hair was messy, the man looking like hell as a few people surrounded him with one of them looking like a large man in a black suit with a fedora until most of the men saw me and Shirou.
Nearly all of the men changed into their beast forms and pulled out guns before aiming at us, prompting me to change into my beast form as I quickly pulled out my gun and aimed at the men while my eyes turned cold and focused, just before the large man looked back at us and I could see that he had a cigar in his mouth.
"Hey Flip, we've got business with that man," Shirou stated gruffly as the guy next to Flip changed into his beast form and Flip turned around fully so that he could look at us while he took his cigar out of his mouth.
"Ogami, I see that you have a new partner but as for Kusakabe, not yet since we were just finishing some business of our own," Flip said as he dropped his cigar and snuffed it out with his foot, then he reached down to pick up part of the rope that had Kusakabe tied up and Shirou widened his eyes as I spotted a boat about to pass by the pier.
"No, don't!" Shirou shouted, just before Flip threw the end of the rope right where the boat's propeller was at.
The rock that the rope was tied to got snagged by the propeller and Kusakabe was about to be yanked away when I quickly aimed and fired my gun, shooting the rope and freeing Kusakabe when one of the men went to shoot me and I fired a single bullet into his leg until he went down like a sack of potatoes while screaming in pain.
"You bastard, you shot me!" the man yelled in pure agony while Kusakabe ran over to me and Shirou, then Flip looked surprised by the unexpected turn of events before he smirked.
"Well, Ogami, looks like your new partner is a pretty good shot so it's a shame that he's not working for me," Flip said in amusement while a couple of his men went to check on the guy I shot and I snapped out of it.
"Don Flip, is it? I know Kusakabe screwed up and you want to make an example out of him but I have an idea that won't result in his death," I spoke up and Shirou was sending me a tense look that told me he was going to rip me a new one later.
"Is that so? Tell me, why should I let Kusakable live when he couldn't even do one simple job I asked him to do?" Flip inquired with an expression of intrigue.
"It's true that he failed to do the one job you wanted him to do but killing someone for a single mistake won't set a good example so I propose an alternative, have him exiled from Anima city," I offered and some of the others were staring at me like I had two heads while Flip looked interested.
"I see, and what would convince me to go along with this?" Flip asked.
"Hear me out, not only would you be able to get rid of a problem without killing him but he would become someone else's problem altogether so it's a pretty big win in your book," I reasoned calmly and Flip looked thoughtful at that until he nodded.
"Very well, you make a pretty good point so I won't kill Kusakabe and I'm willing to forget that you shot one of my men, now make sure that he leaves Anima city but I won't always be so merciful next time because I will finish the job if he were to come back," Flip stated and I nodded.
"Thank you, that's all I wanted to hear," I said thankfully before Flip narrowed his eyes.
"Just get him out of here before I change my mind," Flip told me gruffly.
With that said, I holstered my gun and grabbed Kusakabe's arm before making him leave the pier while Shirou was right behind us and I felt so relieved that this didn't end in someone getting killed but I was still worried that I might've made an enemy out of the leader of a criminal organization so I would have to watch my ass from now on as we walked for a while until we arrived at the beach and I let go of Kusakabe's arm.
"Okay, I'm going to have Shirou contact Marie Itami so that she can take you to the mainland but once you make it there, you're on your own," I stated and Kusakabe stared at me in disbelief.
"So, what the hell do you expect me to do once I'm on the mainland? I don't know if you've noticed but our kind isn't exactly welcome in human society," Kusakabe pointed out and I shrugged.
"That's your problem, not mine," I stated before Kusakabe scowled.
"This is such bullshit because now I'm going to have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life since beastman hunters will be after my ass, so I didn't ask for you to save me," Kusakabe retorted and I glared at him.
"Hey, count your blessings that I was even there to save your worthless ass because if I hadn't shot the rope in time, then you wouldn't be standing here talking to me so quit being so fucking ungrateful because you're lucky that I even decided to save a scumbag like you," I snapped irritably and Kusakabe leaned back nervously just as Shirou walked over to me.
"Doug, I would like to have a word with you in private," Shirou said and that didn't sound like a request so I nodded as we both changed back to our human forms.
"Sure," I replied and looked at Kusakabe before gesturing for him to wait there until Shirou led me away and we stopped several feet from where Kusakabe was waiting.
"Doug, what the fuck were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?! You're beyond lucky that Don Flip was willing to hear you out or he might've had you killed for interfering in his business and shooting one of his men!" Shirou scolded and I held my hands up to placate him.
"I didn't have time to think about the consequences so I had to act fast or that boat propeller would've torn Kusakabe to shreds," I reasoned but Shirou still glared at me.
"Just don't ever do something so stupid again or you might not get out of it alive next time," Shirou growled and I sighed.
"Anyway, I need to check on Michiru to see how she's doing so are you okay with making sure Kusakabe leaves Anima city?" I inquired before Shirou frowned and gestured for me to go.
After that, I left the beach and made my way through the city while tracking Michiru's scent when I soon arrived at the park and looked around before I spotted a familiar tanuki and made my way to her as I noticed that Michiru was sitting on a bench and looking through her phone when I approached her and cleared my throat to get her attention.
"Mind if I sit with you?" I asked and Michiru nodded, then I sat down next to her while she moved the phone away so that I couldn't see what she was doing and that confused me when I caught a glimpse of the phone showing Facebook.
"Hey, is that Facebook? I thought your phone isn't able to connect to the outside world," I pointed out and Michiru froze at that.
"Um...well..." Michiru stuttered and I narrowed my eyes at how suspicious she was acting.
"Michiru, you didn't do anything illegal, did you?" I questioned and Michiru flinched.
"N-No, it's not what you think, really," Michiru assured and I sighed.
"You know what, I'm not sure I want to know how you did this but let me give you a piece of advice, make sure no one sees that because people will start asking questions if they do and I don't think you'll want that," I stated and Michiru nodded before I could see that she was looking at someone's profile and that whoever it was has posted a photo of a cake with a card that told Michiru happy birthday.
"That someone you know?" I inquired and Michiru looked at the Facebook post before sighing.
"Yeah...my mother and everybody else that I know back home," Michiru muttered as she looked solemn and I softened my eyes.
"Hey, we will find a cure, I swear," I vowed and Michiru smiled at that before looking through her phone again.
I gazed up at the sky and became lost in thought about everything I've learned so far, wondering why my blood's genome was similar's to Michiru's and how that happened but I couldn't remember and it was frustrating but I wasn't sure if I wanted to remember since the memories that were starting to come back weren't happy ones until I noticed that Michiru was watching a video before she stood up and lined up her phone with the wolf statue that was up ahead.
"Michiru, what is it?" I asked and she didn't say anything, just simply showed me the video that had a teenage girl on it.
The girl looked to be a few years younger than Michiru as she had a tan complexion, large turquoise eyes, and aqua blue hair that was tied up in a ponytail as she looked cheery but it was the statue she was standing in front of that looked familiar and I stood up as I saw that the statue in the video was the same as the one ahead of me and Michiru.
"You see it too, right?" Michiru asked and I nodded.
"Yeah, come on," I said as Michiru shut off the phone before we started jogging to the statue and going around it, then I saw the girl from the video as she was holding a selfie stick to keep her phone's camera aimed at her.
"There's a human living here?" Michiru wondered as we started to approach the girl, only I didn't respond since I suddenly had the feeling that we were being watched and I stopped before slowly looking around with my eyes narrowed while Michiru was approaching the girl to talk to her when pain exploded in the back of my head and I found myself going unconscious.
I didn't know how long I have been unconscious but I found myself stirring before I slowly opened my eyes and let out a groan, then something was yanked off my head and I slammed my eyes shut from the bright light until I slightly opened my eyes again and squinted when my eyes adjusted and I became highly alert at what's around me as I saw that I was in a living room of some kind, a sliding glass door on my left that showed some kind of beach so I noted that I was near the water as I looked to see if Michiru was nearby when I spotted her.
I could see that Michiru was tied up next to me with a bag over her head and I noted four or maybe five men that were glaring at me while I started studying them to come up with a plan to escape since I could tell they were armed and one of them was tall while also being well-built as he held a sack in his hand.
"You're awake, now let's talk and see if we can't get answers from you," the large man said as I noticed that I was covered from neck to ankles with rope so that probably explained why I felt restrained but Michiru only had her wrists and torso tied up so I was more restrained than her since I was probably seen as the bigger threat.
"So, you guys want to tell me what the hell this is about? Because I'm pretty sure this constitutes as kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment," I pointed out before the man scowled.
"Shut your fucking mouth, we ask the questions here so you are going to tell us what we want to know or things will get unpleasant for you and her," the man warned and I narrowed my eyes at the threat.
"Listen, this is some kind of misunderstanding so whatever answers you think I can give you, it's not going to happen because I don't have any answers to give you so just let us go since there's no point in holding us captive like this," I reasoned calmly when I was suddenly struck across the face, causing my head to snap to the right as I let out a pained grunt.
"Don't even think about lying because that will make things so much worse for you and the girl, now we know you're a cop so do you really think you can take down the boss by going after his daughter? That's pretty fucking stupid of you since the boss doesn't take kindly to those who go after his daughter just to get to him.
Now, how long have you had the boss' daughter under surveillance and who else is involved in your little operation? It's certainly not that girl since she's too young to be a cop so who else is involved? You better start talking or we'll start removing your teeth one at a time," the man threatened as he held up my badge in his hand and placed it on the nearby table so since he took my badge, then there's a good chance that my gun and baton have been taken as well.
"Look, I wasn't surveilling anyone so it doesn't need to go like this," I said just as I heard Michiru let out a groan and the man glared at me.
"Fine, if you don't want to talk, then let's see what your friend has to say," the man said as he went over to Michiru and yanked the bag off her head, causing her to flinch as she grimaced until her eyes widened when she saw that she was tied up and looked to see that I was tied up as well.
"Doug, what's going on?!" Michiru exclaimed in alarm while looking panicked.
"Easy kid, I'm going to get us out of this so try and stay calm," I reassured just as the man scowled at Michiru.
"Hey, no talking to him so who gave you orders to approach the boss' daughter? Let's hear it," the man snapped at Michiru, who was staring up at him with wide eyes.
"First off, where are we exactly? Second, who's the boss's daughter?" Michiru asked meekly and the man shoved his face into hers.
"I'll ask the questions, you little shit! You and that cop approached the boss's daughter, knowing full well that she was related to the don of The Family, didn't you?!" the man interrogated harshly and that's when I realized what he was talking about.
"The Family?" Michiru questioned while my eyes widened.
"Michiru, I think he's talking about the criminal organization that the hyena beastman was working for," I spoke up and Michiru started showing an expression of realization.
"Oh yeah, that gang from back then," Michiru said before the man narrowed his eyes at that.
"Seems I've jogged your memory, now start talking and tell me your motives for getting close to the boss's daughter!" the man shouted as he changed into his beast form, which was a pelican as he shoved his beak into Michiru's face.
"Hey, this is between you and me so leave her out of it!" I yelled as I started struggling and the man turned to glare at me.
"Ready to talk now? If you lie to me, things will end very unpleasantly for you and the girl," the man threatened and Michiru widened her eyes at that.
"Wait, if you're talking about that girl we saw earlier, then you've got it all wrong because we were just watching her on Facebook and wanted to talk to her about it!" Michiru reasoned frantically and the man still didn't look convinced as he was about to say something.
"Facebook? Are you two really on Facebook?" a female voice asked excitedly and I looked to see that it was the girl from earlier while she was on the floor above and looking down from a railing as everyone else went to stare up at her.
"Uh...I am but only because we're new here while my friend doesn't have an account," Michiru said quietly and the girl gasped.
"So, you two are from the mainland?! No way, that's so cool!" the girl squealed happily as she suddenly jumped from the second floor, seriously alarming me as I was worried that she would get hurt when she suddenly turned into a dolphin beastman and I was taken aback by that until she was suddenly in my face and Michiru's as the girl's eyes sparkled.
"Do you mean it? Tokyo? Shibuya? Where?" the girl questioned rapidly, making me sweatdrop at how hyper she was.
"Um, I live closer to the countryside but my friend is from the United States," Michiru answered and the girl widened her eyes.
"Really?! I've never been to America before so what's it like?" the girl asked me and I leaned back as she got in my face.
"Uh, I wouldn't know since I have memory loss so I can't really tell you," I replied hesitantly and the girl looked surprised to hear that.
"Oh, that sounds terrible so I hope you get your memories back," the girl told me and I chuckled.
"Well, it's coming back in bits and pieces so it probably won't take long until I do remember everything," I said and the girl grinned.
"Good to hear, my name is Nina so what's yours?" Nina asked us and Michiru stared at her weirdly because of how excited she was.
"M-Michiru and that's Doug...so, you're a beastman?" Michiru asked as she stared at Nina's beast form and the aquatic beastman beamed at her.
"Does that mean I look like a human to you and Doug?! Alright, I pretend to be a human online but I'm really a sparkling beastman in disguise," Nina explained and I blinked at that.
"I see...hey, if it's not too much trouble, could someone untie us please?" I questioned and Nina gasped.
"Oh, how rude of me so hold on one second," Nina replied as she looked at the men and gestured for them to untie me and Michiru, much to their reluctance as they went and untied us.
Once we were free, Michiru and I stood up before I checked my belt and noticed that most of my equipment was gone so I wasn't happy about that since I kinda needed my equipment and turned to look at the pelican beastman.
"Hey, can I have my equipment back?" I suggested and the man glared at me in response, only a firm look from Nina made him relent and he had one of the other men bring back my stuff.
"If you try anything to the boss's daughter, then you're a dead man," the man threatened as I put my equipment in its rightful places and didn't respond to his threat while I picked up my badge from the table and slipped it on my belt.
"Okay, you all can go," Nina said, prompting the men to leave as Michiru was rubbing her wrists.
"Hey, so is your dad a..." Michiru trailed off and Nina scowled as she shifted back into her human form and sat on the nearby sofa.
"I actually hate my dad so you two see that painting? That's my grandfather and my dad told me he was caught by a human and cooked in soy sauce a while before I was born," Nina explained and I grimaced since that did not sound like a pleasant way to die as I stared at the painting that depicted a dolphin sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
"Ugh, that doesn't sound like a way I want to go out, to be honest," I admitted and Nina huffed.
"Maybe, though I think he was lying about that since I got caught listening to human music recently and I got grounded, and he says it's indecent and disgusting listening to it...I know, let me show you two something," Nina said as she got up and walked away, then Michiru and I waited for a little bit until she came back with a small jewelry box and opened it up as all three of us sat on the sofa and I could see a few objects in the box with one of them being a cell phone that was broken.
"Here, these are my treasures so these are stuff that washed up on shore and some stuff I got as souvenirs so do they make you both miss it there?" Nina asked and I studied each object, though nothing came to me so it doesn't look like they'll help me remember.
"Um...it's not triggering any memories so that's a shame, but they do look like nice things," I replied but I noticed that Michiru was focused on one object that appeared to be an earpiece of some kind and Nina noticed that Michiru was staring at it intently.
"Do you like that one? It washed up on shore without its partner so they have cordless ones there, right?" Nina inquired but Michiru didn't reply as she held the earpiece up to her face and just closed her eyes.
Based on the micro-expressions on her face, she was reminiscing about something and it was making her sad as I felt concerned for her since she had her entire life thrown upside down and was completely alone in an unfamiliar environment without her friends and family so I wanted to support her throughout all of this as she opened her eyes and placed the earpiece back into the box while holding a solemn expression.
"Michiru, you and Doug are so different from everyone else since people who come here never want to talk about the mainland or the rest of the world, so do either of you want to go back?" Nina asked before Michiru stood up, placing the jewelry box on the table and heading over to the window while I sighed.
"Nina, even if I wanted to go back to the united states, I wouldn't know where to go once I make it back there because I can't remember my address or anything so I guess this is a fresh start for me if you want to put it that way," I spoke up after a few moments of silence until Nina and I looked at Michiru.
"Guys, it's just...I can't go back like this, but I want to go back," Michiru admitted as her voice cracked slightly and she balled her hands into fists while I stared at her with an expression of sympathy when I suddenly saw Michiru become human and I widened my eyes.
"M-Michiru, your appearance," I stuttered as I looked taken aback, seeing that Michiru was human again and she looked back up at her reflection in the window and let out a gasp of surprise as she clapped her hands against her cheeks.
"I'm back! I changed, but how?!" Michiru exclaimed in shock before she cheered and rambled on about how she wasn't in her beast form anymore and that she can do things she couldn't before now that she was in her human form again until she finished it off by saying, "It's me...I'm finally back to the real me."
"Good to hear since I imagine that must be a real relief for you," I spoke up with a smile, though I noticed that Nina was looking completely puzzled.
"Were you morphed this whole time?" Nina inquired in confusion, then I tensed up and Michiru flinched before she quickly turned around with a nervous smile.
"Yeah, I was and it's a little embarrassing, but I kinda forgot to change back into my human form," Michiru lied and I relaxed slightly.
'Nice save, kid,' I thought since nobody else is supposed to know that Michiru used to be human since it would cause a major panic as Nina started looking excited.
"So, now you can go back, which means that you can go to the mainland!" Nina cheered happily as I let out a sigh and stood up, heading over to the glass door and stepping out of the house before I gazed out at the mainland that was in the distance.
I just stared at the view while being lost in thought as I saw the sun starting to set, wondering where I lived in the united states or if I had friends or relatives that missed me but it was all the other stuff I had learned that was bothering me since the fact that my blood has an anomaly is unnerving me so something happened before I lost my memories and considering what Jacob told me about how I might've developed memory loss told me that I must've been through something very traumatic.
Either way, I decided to file it away for now and just enjoy the view when Nina suddenly ran out of the house and went down to the beach as Michiru went after her, calling after the cheery girl as they both went over near the water and talked for a bit when Michiru looked back at me and started waving me over until I walked over to the two girls.
"What is it?" I asked and Michiru cleared her throat.
"So, Nina's been invited to the mainland by someone on Facebook and she wants to go but she's also inviting us to come along with her," Michiru said, surprising me at first but then I started looking at Nina with an expression of concern.
"Nina, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, from what you told me and Michiru about your father, I doubt he'll be happy if he were to find out that you snuck out to the mainland since it sounds like he isn't very fond of humans," I pointed out and Nina sent me a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, we'll be back before anyone even notices we're gone," Nina assured me but I still wasn't sure about this since there's a good chance things might go wrong.
"I don't know...I just don't want you to get into trouble is all and humanity's not really all that fond of beastmen so I don't want to see you get hurt if I can help it," I admitted and Nina sent me a look of understanding.
"Thanks for being concerned but it should be fine and if you're that worried about me, then you can make sure that nothing goes wrong," Nina said and I crossed my arms while looking thoughtful, feeling hesitant about this since something might go wrong and there's the thought of her father coming back and discovering that Nina was gone so I didn't want to imagine how he might react to that but then I sighed.
"Okay, we'll go to the mainland but only for a little bit because I don't even want to think about how your father will react if he were to find out about this," I said reluctantly and Nina beamed at my response.
"Great, though you'll have to ride on my back since you look like you'll be too heavy for me to hold on to so I'll carry Michiru instead," Nina replied, then I sighed as I nodded and we all got ready to head to the mainland.
After we soon discovered that I was too big to ride on Nina's back, we instead headed to the docks and paid for someone to take us there by boat and it wasn't long until we arrived at the mainland and docked at the beach, just as it got dark and we thanked the boat driver as we got off the boat and started making our way up a bunch of stairs that would lead to a street.
"Huh, that was a lot further than I thought," Nina commented as we hopped down onto the sidewalk and I looked around before noticing a Japanese police officer on a bicycle to our left as he was approaching where we are when Michiru gasped once she saw him.
"Oh no, we have to hide," Michiru whispered in alarm.
"Huh? Why's that?" Nina questioned in confusion before Michiru sent her a nervous expression.
"Because some of the cops are in on hunting beastmen!" Michiru hissed frantically when I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention while also making sure that my gun and other equipment was hidden since getting arrested was the last thing I needed right now.
"Michiru, we're in our human forms so we'll be fine," I reassured and Michiru blinked at that just as the police officer was about to pedal past us when he saw us.
"(Hey there, this area isn't well-lit so be careful,)" the officer warned in Japanese as he passed us and Michiru started looking embarrassed for forgetting that we were in our human forms while Nina chuckled.
"Michiru, you worry too much so how were you able to live while you were here?" Nina wondered and Michiru didn't reply while she grimaced, then we started walking down the street and I looked at Nina.
"So, this person on Facebook you were talking about, where are they and what have they invited you to?" I asked as I thought about getting information from her just in case this unknown person had bad intentions.
"Oh, her name is Lisa and she's throwing this huge party at her place, which isn't far from here and it's pretty easy to spot so I'll let you know where it is once I see it," Nina told me as we continued walking towards whatever destination she's heading to.
I found myself keeping an eye on the alleys and streets we were passing by for some reason and I assumed that this was similar to how I would react whenever I was in danger while the three of us started walking across a bridge as cars passed us when Nina looked slightly to our right and she perked up.
"That's it over there," Nina informed me and Michiru as she pointed at a tall building that was seen in the distance before she started jogging, prompting me and Michiru to speed up so that we can keep up with her.
Pretty soon, we made it to the other side of the bridge and quickly arrived at the building Nina pointed out when we went inside, heading through the lobby and approaching the elevators until Nina pushed the button and we waited for a little bit.
The doors opened soon after and we entered the elevator, then Nina pushed the button that would take us to the penthouse and we waited for a while as the elevator was heading up to the penthouse, the three of us not saying anything and it was mostly quiet because of that.
It didn't take long for the elevator to come to a stop, the doors opening and techno music blared as I winced because of my sharp hearing but I was more than surprised to see many humans wearing animal masks as they either danced or mingled, everyone having fun while Nina gasped in amazement.
We all entered the penthouse and I found myself looking around for any exits as the three of us had a look around when Michiru and I headed over to a large tank that had fish in it while they swam around, then a new song started playing and I noticed Michiru pausing at it until her eyes glazed over and I knew that she was remembering something as she teared up before I gently nudged her and she snapped out of it.
"Hey, you okay?" I asked and Michiru quickly nodded just before I heard Nina calling out to us and we turned to look at her as she was eating what appeared to be a macaron.
"So, this is what macarons taste like," Nina commented when she looked directly at Michiru and started appearing concerned before asking, "Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Michiru assured her while starting to wipe her eyes and I was worried about her as Nina's eyes softened.
"So, should we not have come?" Nina asked as she started looking guilty and Michiru quickly shook her head with a smile.
"No, I'm glad to be home," Michiru reassured and Nina smiled slightly as I was staring at Michiru.
'Poor kid, you had so much thrown at you at a young age so I hope a cure will be found soon since you deserve to go home and be with your folks,' I thought just as I spotted a teenage girl with a rabbit mask approaching us.
("Excuse me, are you Nina?") the girl asked the dolphin beastman in Japanese, who turned around to look at her and the girl smiled as she said in English, "It is you so I'm glad you showed up?"
"Wait, are you Lisa?" Nina gasped and she cheered as she jumped up and suddenly turned into her beast form right in front of everyone, greatly alarming me.
'Oh fuck, not good,' I thought as I started widening my eyes and started planning an escape route, then Lisa lifted her mask to get a good look at Nina while everyone else openly stared at Nina when I was taken off guard by Lisa smiling at Nina's beastman appearance.
"No way, you were a beastman all along and you're a dolphin?! That's so cute!" Lisa squealed joyfully and I had no idea what the hell was going on since this wasn't the reaction I was expecting as a few people lifted Nina in the air and took her to some kind of stage until Lisa joined her, taking a microphone and starting some kind of speech.
'Okay, was not expecting this so I guess not all humans are assholes towards beastmen,' I thought as I was bewildered by what's happening right now when someone placed a headband with wolf ears on my head while another person did the same with Michiru, only hers had raccoon ears on it and that was ironic since she was a tanuki and complained about being a raccoon beastman.
Either way, I kept watching as Nina looked confused at first but once Lisa was finished with her speech and everyone cheered, Nina started smiling brightly and the party continued after that so I just simply stayed out of sight as I didn't know how to handle what's going on right now.
A short time had gone by after that and I had noticed that Nina and Michiru went out to where the swimming pool was while a few people had gone with them, then I followed after them and saw Nina entertaining the humans by doing a few tricks in the pool as they all cheered.
I let out a sigh as I went to undo the laces on my boots before pulling off the footwear and removing my socks, placing the down next to me as I rolled up my pant legs and sat next to Michiru at the edge of the pool, my feet resting in the water and it felt nice as I noticed that Michiru looked uncertain and uncomfortable.
"Hey, you don't look so good so are you doing okay?" I inquired with a look of concern and Michiru sighed.
"I don't know...it feels weird being back on the mainland and around people who aren't trying to kill me for being a beastman so I don't know if I like it," Michiru admitted uneasily and I sent her a nod of understanding just as Nina swam over to us and rested her arms on the edge of the pool.
"Did you guys see that last one?" Nina asked with a grin of anticipation but Michiru grimaced.
"Look, Nina, let's head home," Michiru said solemnly, causing Nina to look puzzled.
"Why?" Nina asked in confusion and I sighed.
"Well, your father might've already found out that you're gone and he's probably not taking it well, so I don't want to even think about how he'll react if he finds out that you're on the mainland," I pointed out and Nina frowned.
"But, you two are back on the mainland so aren't you and Michiru happy about it?" Nina questioned when Michiru looked down.
"That's just it, Doug doesn't remember who he is so he technically doesn't have a place to call home in human society anymore and as for me, something's weird about this and it doesn't feel right...this isn't the place I wanted to come home to," Michiru replied quietly.
"But why now? These are all good people so you two aren't jealous that I'm getting all the attention, are you?" Nina asked bitterly and I felt offended that she would even think that was what we were feeling right now.
"Nina, that has nothing to do with why we're not happy being here so don't go putting words in our mouths," I stated with narrowed eyes when Nina scowled.
"Save it, if being jealous is the reason why you both are acting like this, then why don't you two just tell them you're beastmen? Sorry, but I'm not going anywhere," Nina retorted before she swam away and I just glared down at the water while swearing under my breath.
I went and stood up before rolling my pant legs back down and putting my socks and boots on, heading back inside and making my way to the men's restroom when I went in and used one of the sinks to splash water on my face.
'Shit, the fuck are we even doing here?' I thought as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, feeling uncertain and stressed out while I went to gently rub my eyes to prevent a headache from happening when I felt my jacket pocket vibrating and went to take my phone out when I saw that Shirou was calling me and that lowered my mood even further as I went to answer.
"Hello?" I questioned tiredly.
"Doug, I don't know what the hell you were thinking by pulling this latest stunt but you are to bring Flip's daughter back home right now," Shirou snapped irritably and my eyes bugged out when I heard that.
"Wait, Nina is Don Flip's daughter?! Are you shitting me?!" I hissed in disbelief as I tried not to freak out at what I'd just learned.
"No, I'm not and he knows that she's on the mainland so you and Michiru need to bring Nina back to Anima city or all hell will break loose," Shirou told me and I ran my hand through my hair.
"Shit, how bad is it?" I questioned uneasily.
"I've managed to convince him not to invade the mainland and start a war with the humans but he told me that I have until midnight to bring his daughter back or he will launch an assault on the mainland," Shirou replied and I sighed.
"Great, that's all we fucking need...okay, I'll bring Nina back to Anima city but are you coming to pick us up?" I inquired.
"Yes, I'm currently on a boat and heading to the mainland so make your way to the harbor, I'll meet you there," Shirou instructed before he hung up and I pinched the bridge of my nose after putting my phone away.
I knew that Michiru and I needed to bring Nina back to Anima city or Flip will attack the mainland, which would give humanity all the reason they need to bomb Anima city from the face of the earth so this was stress I didn't need right now as I quickly left the restroom and looked around for Michiru and Nina.
At that moment, I spotted a middle-aged man in a black shirt and jeans as he was standing nearby while his black hair had gray in it and his face had wrinkles to show his age but it was the cold expression in his eyes that unsettled me as he looked very familiar somehow when my head started throbbing.
I started clutching my head and gritting my teeth in pain as a migraine flared up when distorted flashes of what seemed to be memories appeared suddenly as the man was in one of them and he was wearing some kind of black military uniform with a black beret and I was standing in front of him with several other people who are dressed in black uniforms with military equipment and ballistic helmets as we held different rifles of some kind.
The other distorted memories showed me and other soldiers going to different villages at night and the memory flashes ended before my migraine died down and I let out a groan as I gently massaged my temples.
'Jesus, the hell was that?' I thought as I wondered if I was remembering a few things very briefly, though I suspected that I knew that man from what I remembered so I started walking over to the man and he spotted me before his eyes widened in shock and I was about to get close when I heard Michiru calling out to me and she suddenly ran up to me before grabbing my wrist, making me take my eyes off the man.
"Michiru, what's wrong?" I questioned when I saw how frantic she was.
"Doug, Lisa had Nina put in that large tank and she can't breathe so I need your help!" Michiru yelled and my eyes widened in complete horror.
"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief, and as we started running to where the large tank is, I looked back and saw that the man was gone but that wasn't important right now since Nina was in serious danger right now.
Once we made it to the large tank, I was horrified to see Nina in there as she was banging her fists on the glass and because she was a dolphin beastman, she didn't have gills that could help her breathe underwater so I started panicking when I saw her about to pass out from a lack of oxygen.
"Fuck, stand back!" I shouted urgently as I shifted into my beast form and let out a snarl as I swung my fist and punched the glass, causing it to shatter and the floor got flooded by the rushing water as Nina was sent to the floor face-first when she started coughing and trying to breathe as Michiru went to check on her, then I sent a livid glare at Lisa and the other humans as they flinched at the expression of murder on my face.
"What the hell were you idiots thinking?! She almost died so what possessed all of you to think that putting her in that fish tank was a good idea?!" I shouted in complete outrage.
"U-Um, she's a dolphin, isn't she? Don't they live underwater or something?" Lisa asked tentatively and I couldn't believe that these people didn't even know the anatomy of a dolphin so I was rendered speechless by the stupidity that was being displayed right now until I let out a noise of disbelief.
"Dolphins are mammals, which means that they don't have gills so your lack of knowledge on dolphin anatomy nearly got Nina killed," I snapped as I looked to see that Michiru had helped Nina up, the dolphin beastman back in her human form as she looked shaken up, and while I saw the look of guilt appear on Lisa's face, I could care less since she almost got Nina killed so she should feel ashamed for what she did as we made our way to the elevator.
After that, we left the building and headed to the docks before meeting up with Shirou, who looked at me irritably and I knew that I was going to hear it from him later but I was too tired for that since I just wanted to go to bed after the day I just had as I was standing at the bow of the boat and staring out in the direction of Anima city as it sparkled in the distance when Michiru walked over and stood next to me.
"Doug, I don't know how long it will take to find a cure for my condition so I hate this, being so far away from my friends and my parents," Michiru admitted and I looked at her.
"I know it's hard but at least you can remember your friends and family since I have nothing, no past, no friends, no family, and no place to call home so you're lucky because we never know what we have until it's gone," I stated quietly as I was thinking about that man and walked to the back of the boat, passing Marie and Shirou along the way until I went to take a seat at the back of the boat.
I could see Shirou chatting with Michiru and just stared up at the night sky for a little bit after that, remaining quiet for a short while as I thought about the brief memory flashes and knew that I had one question answered about my past so I definitely used to be a soldier of some kind but what had me on edge was the intense hatred I recall feeling during those memory flashes so it unsettled me that I had felt like that so it made me wonder what kind of person I used to be before I lost my memories.
'Christ, for me to have that much hatred before I lost my memories...I have a bad feeling about this,' I thought as I heard someone approaching me but I was deep in thought until I was being tapped on the shoulder and looked to see that it was Shirou.
"Doug," Shirou greeted and I sighed.
"Look, I know you're going to be ripping me a new one after taking Nina to the mainland, but to be honest, I'm too tired to be dealing with that so I just want to get some sleep right now," I stated as I rubbed my eyes.
"I wasn't going to talk about that but you seemed to be deep in thought about something," Shirou said while he had his hands in his coat pockets, then I sighed as I stood up and just went to stare at the mainland that was getting further and further away.
"Something happened while we were on the mainland and I'm still trying to figure out what it means," I said and Shirou sent me a look.
"Such as?" Shirou questioned and I tensed up.
"I saw someone at the party, a middle-aged man and I don't know why but he looked very familiar to me, then I started remembering a few things but they were distorted and confused...though what was clear was that I remember knowing the man and that I used to be a soldier of some kind," I explained and Shirou frowned.
"So, you're starting to remember?" Shirou asked and I nodded before sending him an uneasy expression.
"Shirou, another thing I remember was holding a lot of hatred so having so much of that festering inside me, I'm scared of what kind of person I used to be before I lost my memories so I'm not sure if I want to remember who I am anymore since I have a feeling I won't like what I'll discover once I do remember," I admitted while looking unsettled.
"I see...we should talk to the mayor about it first thing tomorrow so I expect you to be up early," Shirou said and walked away, making me roll my eyes at his blunt response.
Still, I was on edge since it was starting to look like I wasn't a good person before I lost my memories so I was afraid of what kind of person I used to be and I was unsure if I wanted to remember who I am anymore since I had a feeling that I wouldn't like what I'll find as I stared out at the mainland with a look of unease.
A/N Hey guys, so it looks like there are more questions than answers for Doug the more he remembers who he is so it makes you wonder who he used to be before he lost his memories, and there's the man that he saw at the party that he appeared to have known before getting amnesia so who could that be, I wonder?
Well, let me know what you think and stay tuned.