CHAPTER 4

There was too much. Too much colours, too much letters. There was just too much.

He wanted it to stop. He couldn't take it anymore. He tried, he really did, but it was too much. The voice in the microphone would tell him to stop his whining and to start focusing. (He was focusing alright, he couldn't stop.)

His eyes would see the pictures popping up even before they were visible on the black screen. They were overlapping each other, layers upon layers of pictures. Pictures of everything. The things he saw and people, objects, buildings, animals, plants, planets, and machines he never even heard of before. His eyes would follow the pictures and read the text that never ceased typing itself on the screen. The letters moved so fast they were just a blur of grey. Except they weren't.

He read every single one of them, understood them and stored them into his memory. There was too much of everything and he swallowed it all.

Tao never took drugs – Well, not until he got here, but he kind of had a feeling people on crack felt like this. He wanted to close his eyes and forget it all. His brain didn't let him. It's like it was starving for information. The worst of it all was that Tao wasn't able to think about anything else but the material on the screen when they would start their "muscle training".

He still remembered the first time they strapped him to the uncomfortable chair and put a helmet with special goggles on his head. It looked like one of those 3D ones that gamers use for experiencing virtual reality.

Just to think how thrilled he was when one of the stores in his town finally got them in stock. So much, in fact, that he immediately started saving money to get it. (How stupid.)

It was dark inside the helmet. And then it wasn't. His eyes were glued to the screen from the first picture. Out of the mute darkness jumped the photographs, numbers, letters and voices, music, film, recorded telephone and radio conversations, live CCTV broadcasts, police and military files… All of it came at Tao at once, hitting him repeatedly across his burning forehead like they were trying to slither through the crack that self-proclaimed doctor made in his skull.

Tao also remembered the scientists had to stop with the flashing because his brain overheated.

Tao went into shock and almost died. His head hurt so much no sedative helped him to calm down and sleep.

The doctors had to comatose him for a week. That was no rest; he was as tired as he was before, but they didn't listen. They were so sure he'll make it this time. And he did.

The intervals between the materials were getting shorter. This was the twentieth "muscle training" and the scientists started mixing the languages in which the texts were written. They were teaching him languages, and he was learning so fast it was upsetting his stomach. Tao couldn't quite tell how long these torture sessions lasted but he got the feeling they were getting longer.

(Those bastards must be so happy their guinea pig was improving.)

He sighed when the screen went black, as if he was holding his breath all this time. His dry eyes were ready to bounce of his head.

It was over and done.

Tao felt the pressure on his neck. Soon after, the helmet too was unhooked. His eyes were singed with so much white. He shut them tight and bowed his head, groaning over the burning in them that just couldn't seem to stop. Familiar fingers wrapped themselves around his jaw, lifted his head, forced him to open one of his eyes. A thumb pulled on his eyelid and fear materialised as he recoiled away from the visage of Dr Aris looming over him. Ignoring his squirming, she administrated a few drops in each eye. Unbidden, a moan tore through Tao as that cold liquid snuffed out the flames. Her palm covered his eyelids, creating a more comfortable dark and he finally started to relax.

(It was over.)

"Good job, six hours straight," she said in English.

She talked only in English now; the only time she didn't was when she had tempered with his brain. Tao didn't really care. English was now like Chinese to him. Korean and Japanese too. He had no doubt those bastards will drill every single language on the planet into him.

"You'll do much better and with less pain once we start on the chemical enhancement. At the moment, your body is having trouble following your brain."

(Why was she still talking? Couldn't she just knock him out with some drug and let him sleep?)

One of the many problems that her playing around with his brain caused was that his brain wanted to keep working, thinking, analysing and learning. It didn't leave him alone. Tao was always considered to be hyperactive, but this was getting ridiculous. It was so bad sometimes that he couldn't get a wink of sleep without the help of sedatives. He feared he might be becoming a drug addict.

"Oh… What to do about this? What to do?"

Her fingers were in his hair. Tao hated it. He could tolerate her being close and touching his body. He had to get used to it, since he didn't have a choice. His head was different. He'd get goose bumps whenever he felt her disgusting fingers petting him. It didn't even feel like petting; it was more like she was analysing every single part of his scalp.

She was admiring the scar she made, he could bet his life on it. It wasn't visible now that his hair has grown back a little. Still, when she touched him like that he could feel that cursed line she cut months ago throb.

"Hm… I didn't expect this. What should I do, hm? Have any suggestions?" She stroked his soft white hair, honestly puzzled. She liked the original tar black colour, she wasn't planning on it to turn white.

"That won't do," she thought, "it looks ugly like this. Honestly, what am I to do with this boy? He had only one job – to be obedient and pretty and he is only making me fret like this!" She lifted his head by pulling on his hair so he could see her properly.

"We have to deal with this. It's annoying to watch. Why don't you try to be useful and turn it back to black? Hm?"

(What the hell was she saying?)

It was so hard sometimes to understand her, no matter how smart and fast his brain now was.

"I beg you... Please, just... let me sleep."

"I have to do everything around here." She shook her head in disappointment. "Oh well… You're still cute, so I forgive you. And you're becoming manly. You're way taller than me now. Oh, how I hope we'll be able to start the rest of experiments soon."

"Sleep… please, can I sleep now?"

Dr Aris prodded him with a chilling stare she had on her pale face whenever she wasn't satisfied.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Y-you said I could sleep if I complete the test." He's voice felt weak.

"And the test is not over yet. We need to see if you recorded all of the information, as we always do, remember?"

Truth be told, he forgot. After the screenings, he would be sat down in front of another monitor. It would show questions he had to answer, pictures he had to connect to a certain object, name or info… He had to do it in a short amount of time too. Since he didn't have hands to push the buttons with they'd put a device on his forehead that would pick up his thought process and give an answer. It was all very cool… and all very sick.

"If you finish in three hours, I'll let you rest."

"Three hours?" He wanted to cry. It was logical, tough, six hours of input, three hours of output. It was always like that. It was as if they wanted to make him faster than a computer. (How funny that was.)

"Ok."

"Good boy."

It's tiresome to live this way. He liked travelling and at first it was refreshing to be always on the move, too busy to stay still, which was exactly what one needed to escape the nagging sensation of loss.

How he managed to live in one place before, was beyond Takeo.

(Perhaps that got something to do with Tama-san.)

Yeah, travelling was fun mostly because it meant there was a home waiting for you when you get tired of it.

After two years of getting by, travelling across Japan looking for a place to stay and work, Takeo was wearied by the whole concept. Part of the reason why he was moving from place to place was because he didn't want to be found. If he was not needed in Tama-san's group then he refused to go back just so that he could be yelled at and kicked out of the safe house.

He shook his head with a heavy sigh. Well, he's not returning to Tokyo any time soon. If Tama-san really wanted him back he would have caught him by now. Takeo may be good at hiding, but that man was oyabun, a yakuza family boss. He had people all around Japan. One of them would have tracked him down.

"Forget about that man." He blew his cigarette smoke quietly. It dissolved in the cold air that smelled of snow.

The weather forecast said it shouldn't snow for the whole week. Takeo had a feeling there will be a snow day tomorrow and his predictions for these type of things were usually spot on.

"Kids in my neighbourhood will lose their minds," he thought and smiled to that. Perhaps he'll get a day off too.

Then again his boss was very strict. He'll probably end up shovelling snow in front of the restaurant. He was the youngest of the staff – and most certainly the strongest – so they're not going to let him off the hook that easily.

"At least I'll get free cocoa." That was another reason to smile. His boss was strict, but liked to treat his employees with sweets.

Hot cocoa and snow. That's enough. Sapporo was a beautiful place. No wonder he stayed here the longest.

He didn't want to leave.

This crooked little restaurant he worked at just couldn't do without him. Well… the dishes couldn't, someone had to wash them. (And Takeo was quite skilled.) The last time he broke a plate was back in Osaka a year ago. He's come a long way from then.

Takeo turned around when he felt a weak pull on his short pony tail. His boss, Koichi-san, closed the door behind him and stepped outside. The man covered himself with a blanket he took from the office.

"So cold! Damn, how can you stand it?" The middle-aged bald man sneezed.

Takeo smirked and took out a cigarette from his pocket. "Getting old?"

"Ha! I'm already old." Koichi-san lit up the cigarette Takeo offered him and sighed. "Kid, your break was over two minutes ago."

"Ah, my bad," Takeo mumbled with haste. He put out his half-finished cigarette on an ashtray he borrowed from the cabinet in the kitchen, gave the old man a quick bow and walked to the door.

"Oi, how long have you been my dishwasher?"

"Six months, I guess?" Takeo said with a stupid look on his face.

"Care to remind me why I waste my hard earned penny on you and not on buying a proper machine? One that doesn't require breaks?"

"Um, I… Don't know?"

"A stupid machine could do a better job."

"Oh…" Takeo uttered trying to sound not as disappointed as he felt. "Okay… Did I… do something wrong, Koichi-san?"

"Wanna try waiting on tables?" He wasn't looking at him, just puffing his smoke.

That was a surprise. Takeo didn't see this one coming. Not in a million years. He felt… strange.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that? You don't want it?" Koichi-san barked.

"No, yes, I mean – Yeah, I want to. I wanna try." Takeo snapped out of his little shock almost dropping the ashtray.

"Don't get me wrong, kid. It's not like I need another waiter." His boss huffed. "It's just that Mimi-sensei told me and I quote 'He's good with his hands and he's super-hot. Make him wear the apron and a tie, or I'll quit. And tell him to keep the ponytail.' You see the situation I'm in? I've got no choice."

Takeo was trying so hard not to burst into laughter. Mimi-sensei was head chef and she often pulled pranks on the boss. (She was the only one that could and go unpunished.) This one was particularly hilarious.

"You laughing at me, you damn brat?" Koichi-san flushed.

"N-no, no, never, sir." Takeo put his hand over his mouth as if he was seriously contemplating the proposition, when in fact he was desperately trying to hide a wide grin on his face.

"I swear to god if you brake or drop something on our guests, I'll strangle you." He poked him in the chest with his finger, while Takeo nodded.

"Roger that," Takeo said seriously and took a mental note not to mess this up. Waiting on tables was not rocket science and if Koichi-san gave that opportunity to anybody else it wouldn't have been such a big deal. To Takeo it was and he feared if there was a way to be lousy at this job he was doomed to find it.

"Don't think like that, you can do it, and Koichi-san wouldn't be asking it of you if it could cause him trouble. And even if it could, he still asked you."

Sweet warmth filled Takeo to the brim and he realised he was truly embarrassed. He felt that all the hard work he did every day was not enough anymore to repay the man's kindness. (He just had to find a way to show reverence.) Koichi-san straightened up holding Takeo's shoulder lightly.

"Good." He put out his cigarette in Takeo's ashtray. "Now, go get me the newspapers. There should be a short article about the restaurants in our area." He pulled out his wallet.

"Ah, no need. Let it be a thank you gift from me." This was nowhere near enough to show Koichi-san how much Takeo respected him, but it was a start.

"Newspapers as a gift. What a cheapskate… Didn't expect anything better, tough, from a little crook…" He mumbled under his breath taking the ashtray from the boy.

"I'll be right back." Takeo started walking with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm timing you, kid." Koichi-san returned the wallet. "If you don't return in ten minutes, you can say farewell to dinner break."

Takeo bowed to him and ran down the street. Koichi-san watched after him with a small smile tucked in the corner of his lips. A loud sneeze broke his daze so he went back inside.

Staying put could be dull, but sometimes it was fun and in Takeo's opinion waiting for such occasions was more worthwhile than waiting for the next train.

He loved those moments, especially because he was getting more of them the longer he stayed in town. People started remembering him, talking to him on the streets. Outside of the restaurant most of his friends were either under ten or over sixty years old.

Grandma Aki who lived in the same building would always pester him to close the windows when he went out, not to stay up too late and to brush his teeth every day. It took him a long while to notice that helping her go down the stairs became part of his daily routine.

There was a group of grandpas who played chess in the park he walked by to get to work. They would always greet him and use him to get themselves breakfast from the bakery down the street. Becoming their official errand boy was also something that he realised much too late. Sometimes he'd think they wished him good morning just so he'd slow down and listen to their next request. Their interaction with the boy looked like playing fetch with a pup.

He didn't mind that much; being an errand boy was an honest occupation. Not that he was payed… (Oh well.)

There was also a group of kids who liked to follow him around in the morning on their way to school. They became friends over a cat the kids were trying to domesticate. One day it got stuck on the tree while running away from them. Takeo just happened to be walking by and all of the crying kids cornered him, pulling on his trousers, begging him for help.

They were so happy when "tall onii-chan" got the kitty down safe, but after that, for some reason, they didn't dare get too close to Takeo. Worshipping him from afar was ok, but being in his presence… perhaps he really was a bit scary. He had sharp eyes, he was tall with brighter hair colour that people often mistook for being dyed. The ponytail and smoking might be giving them a wrong impression.

"Maybe I do look like a yakuza."

He missed Tama-san. It would be a lie to claim otherwise. No matter how much he found living in this poor part of the town pleasant, there was always pain in his chest during long nights when he was alone. He just couldn't get rid of the impression the falling out with Tama-san was somehow his fault.

"Earth to pretty boy."

Takeo flinched when he realised he was wringing the newspapers in his hands. The shopkeeper, Rin-chan, was resting her small, round face in her hand and chewing a gum. She was watching him with a sly smile. "Want me to leave you two alone?"

"Um, no. Sorry." He cleared his throat and gave her the papers. "I'll take this."

"Any plans for tonight, Takeo-kun?" She popped the pink balloon.

Rin-chan could be a real femme fatale with that husky voice and rosy lips that turned to stark crimson when it's cold, but she never bothered with dressing up or applying a lot of make-up. (Takeo thought she didn't need any.) She was three years older, yes, but still cute.

(Yeah… Rin-chan was always cute.)

"Nothing special." He waited for his bag with his palms in his pockets.

"Wanna go with us? The guys from college are throwing a party." Rin-chan was smart and hardworking. Her family wasn't rich, so she decided to work and go to a smaller university in town. That was hard to match.

"I'm not sure I'll be able to take part in discussions about law."

She laughed at him. That was no lady laugh. (Takeo didn't mind.)

"We don't talk about that when we're having fun. You're being silly." She handed him the packed papers and a receipt. She was now carefully looking at him as if she was trying to read his expression. "Come with us. It will be fun."

"I'll think about it."

"You said that the last time."

And like… ten times before, but she decided not to mention his cowardice. Rin was good at reading people, and Takeo-kun was an open book. He wasn't avoiding her because he didn't like her or because he wasn't interested in her in that way. Takeo-kun was one of the kindest people she's ever met… and a bit goofy. He was probably afraid to start anything with her for some reason and Rin was ready to wait for him to realise she wasn't just teasing. She was getting impatient, however, and well… the girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

"It was busy at the restaurant. You know Koichi-san… can't disappoint him."

"Takeo-kun."

He finally looked at her. He wasn't lying; it was hectic at the restaurant the last time. Besides… He didn't know how to act at such gatherings.

Is there some dress code? Where on earth would he find a suit if it was mandatory to wear one? Was he supposed to bring something as a gift to the host? He wasn't in their little clique. Was he even invited or was Rin-chan just being nice? He couldn't imagine any of those smart kids wanting to hang out with a dropout. Was it more polite to refuse or accept in this situation? He had no idea. He wasn't planning to ask Rin-chan, nor was Koichi-san ever gonna find out about it. Takeo didn't think he'll stand the humiliation.

"When I ask if you want to go with us I actually mean if you wanna come with me."

Right, he forgot Rin-chan was bold. Yet another plus. He really couldn't compete with her.

Discomfort must have shown on his face, because Rin-chan continued not giving him a chance to decline again. "Oh, stupid me, I forgot I had to study tonight, I can't go party."

"Ah…"

"Hey, how about I come to your place? My brothers can be noisy at home and I really need to concentrate." She bit her lips as if she was sorry to bother him like that. The way she "nervously" nibbled her lips… (Well, shit.)

His heart rate sped up. "Ok. I'll go somewhere so you can use the room to your liking."

"Na-huh. I need someone to keep me awake and make me coffee and snacks." She popped yet another balloon and ever so slowly... slowely licked her lips. And all over them – from the corner to the juicy down lip where her tongue curved playfully and stroked the thin upper lip leaving it wet.

(Wow.)

That was so on purpose. It wasn't even funny. He thought he had imagined it with the nibbling, but there was no doubt about it. This girl meant business and poor Takeo didn't have a clue how to react to her resolve. (Maybe he should just let her do what she wants? No, wait, did he clean the place yesterday? His shift was ending late tonight. Did he have time to go and clean up?)

"When will you drop by?" He tried to sound casual.

"I'll pick you up. You finish at nine, right?" She was playing with her gum, pulling on it with her long fingers.

(Well... Double shit.)

"Fine."

She smiled and he was smitten with her for all eternity. (Well played. Well played, indeed.)

"Dear God, please tell me my face is not red like a radish," Takeo murmured, almost falling when his leg missed the edge of the sidewalk. That was stupid of him. He shook his head and walked faster down the street.

He and Rin-chan are going to be together tonight. Alone. Was there some protocol to this? Was he expected to do something, to buy, to prepare something? Curse Tama-san for not teaching him something so important. Didn't he always say a man should respect a lady? How? How do you do it? Things popping up in Takeo's head had nothing to do with respect.

Takeo stopped dead in his tracks as his mind did a hard turn.

The way his father handled women… Prostitutes, but women still… and the way he talked about sex, made Takeo feel that "making love" is painful and unpleasant.

(It was no wonder his mother hated him, being forced to endure such intercourse just to get pregnant with him and then spend nine months carrying him around. It must have hurt one's stomach to be inflated for so long just to cut it open in the end to extract the parasite. The C-section left his poor mother with a long scar across her belly.)

(No wonder.)

"Stop it," he ordered himself pushing the poisonous thoughts aside. So, because of his strange father, Takeo felt sex was awful. (So what? That's not even true.) When he got older, he knew that's not always the case, but… If you take into account that the closest contact he had with the opposite sex was that one time when he slapped the girl at school, you'd conclude just as Takeo did that he was bound to hurt Rin-chan.

"No, never," he shook his head as if to banish the thought; he'd never raise a hand to a woman. But he did once and if it was true that blood is thicker than water…

"I'm not my father. No. I'm Tama-san's kid. And I'm not a brat anymore."

His mind was full of bratty things he wanted to do with Rin-chan, though.

(So what? Wasn't that normal?) He wouldn't know. He never got to talk about it with Tama-san.

"It's not like she's not thinking about the same thing, right?"

"No way, you're reading way too much into this. Why would she want a screw-up like you when there were dozens of smart, rich, future lawyers in her little club? She just wants to study so don't be an ass and make her coffee."

He blinked.

"Ha… maybe she really does wants to only study," he thought feeling his heart sinking, "That would be a shame."

Takeo mentally slapped himself. "Just forget it."

He couldn't really. The image of her red lips were too fresh in his mind. He was still thinking of the way she licked them, when he got to the narrow street behind the restaurant. He almost didn't notice someone waiting near the door.

The man looked out of place. He wasn't Japanese. (Maybe a tourist or something.)

"Excuse me?" Takeo's accent was horrible. "Are you lost?"

"Good evening. I was waiting for you."

The blond in a costly suit was polite, yet he was giving off an eerie vibe. It might have been because of the flat grin on stranger's face or the way his words confused the Japanese boy. Nevertheless, Takeo didn't want to be rude to the man on the account of his wild imagination.

"Ano… Sorry, I don't speak good. Police station is… this street, on the right." He was pointing at the crossroad.

It was as if a bull rammed into him. The man's fist collided with his gut and Takeo saw dark spots. He dropped to his knees choking on his own breath.

"My, my, you're sturdy. Dr Aris will be most pleased," said the man as if he was praising him. The foreigner grabbed his hair and started walking away from the restaurant, pulling Takeo behind him like a sack. Takeo wheezed and sunk his nails into the man's hands. That didn't seem to faze him at all. Takeo tried to call for help, but there was not enough air in his lungs. He closed his eyes and collected his strength.

Yuri was not expecting a kick to his face. Takeo pulled his long legs up. He caught Yuri's neck between his calf and his thigh and pushed him down with a surprising amount of force. That made Yuri release his ponytail. When Yuri hit the ground Takeo lifted his leg and kicked Yuri's head hard with his heel, like pounding in a nail.

Takeo rolled over and scrambled to his feet as fast as he could. He lost his balance after a third step and leaned on the wall. His body was shaking. He still couldn't breathe normally.

(What the hell-)

That hit to his stomach was nothing to sneeze at. He could have sworn the guy cracked every single one of his ribs.

(Was it possible for a human to hit so strong?)

"Pfft…" The man snickered. He got up in a matter of seconds, cleaned his hands and corrected his glasses. He looked like he was having fun. "Finally, some resistance."

The man disappeared right in front of him. Only when Takeo got slapped on the back did he see Yuri beside him.

Takeo fell to his knees. He turned and tried to punch the Blondie with a fist, but Yuri just waved his hand off like he was shooing off a fly. Something cracked in Takeo's ears and he screamed. That bastard broke his arm.

"What the hell?! With just that? What's with this strength and speed? Was this guy even human?"

Takeo didn't even realise Yuri raised his leg. His foot stopped inches away from Takeo's nose.

"Hm… no, not the face, she'd hate that."

Yuri disappeared again and reappeared at Takeo's other side, bent down in a crouch. He punched him in the flank and sent him flying to the wall. Takeo blacked out the moment he hit the concrete. Yuri cleaned his sleeves and hummed in satisfaction.

"Well, that's that."

Author's notes – chapter 4

I wanna talk about the age of our boys here. The comic never told us the exact numbers. The only age we know is Tao's. When we meet him he's 24 years old and I take it it's true since there's no reason for him to lie. M-21 is presumed to be 26-28? According to Seira M-21 is the oldest of the three, Takeo being the second, Tao being the youngest. Knowing all that I decided M-21 was 28, Takeo 26, Tao 24.

Wow, that makes Hammer the same age as M-21 and Shark only one year older, at least according to the Noblesse wiki. Since we mentioned those two, Krantz is 45, Dr Aris is 30 (apparently, but I think she's older) and Yuri is 30 years old or more. (I'd say more, especially if he's a Crombel's spy. Crombel obviously figured out how to live forever because of Franky's diary, so why wouldn't he at least slow down the ageing process of his agent, if it's a high quality agent?)

We don't really know how long the boys were at the Union. We suppose it was a long time since they are quite affected mentally by their system (M-21 might have even been born in the lab, who knows? Imagine if there isn't a name he had before the Union. That would be heart-breaking.) Considering that, in my story Tao got caught when he was 16, Takeo when he was 20, which means Tao was already two years under Dr Aris before Takeo came along.

Speaking of Dr Aris, I know they said she didn't really interact with the DA5, except with Krantz and Takeo (as Taira), but I just can't imagine that being true. She loves her babies, in her own perverted way. I can't see her not wanting to experiment on them personally or just taunt them and scare them. They are her toys and possessions on which she spent a lot of time, creating them to look their best and compete with Crombel's subjects. So, yeah, I'll have her interact a lot with her babies. The damage to them is even bigger then, is it not?

See you in the next chapter!