The Trip Chapter Two: The Touch
By: Flyby Stardancer
"Can
I help you?" asked a pale-skinned woman in a baggy, sea-green outfit. Her hair,
an almost-black dark chocolate, was pulled back into a slick, shiny ponytail.
Her eyes were a midnight blue, friendly ice. The smile on her face looked like
it had been cut from a magazine and then pasted on her face. The perfectly
shaped, full lips were the bright red of blood. The small, even teeth peeking
out at the world were the same color as the spotless white walls of the
hospital.
"Uh…
Yeah… I guess so… I'm trying to find my birth records," answered Kenji.
"Okay."
She went up to an empty computer terminal behind the neatly arranged counter
and began typing. "What's your name?"
"Um…
That's one of the problems," replied the zoanthrope, "I don't know my birth name."
Suddenly,
the ninja sensed another zoanthrope enter the room. Out of the corner of his
eye, the teenager spotted a tan-skinned young woman in a white lab coat. Her
fire-orange hair was in a long, spiky mane that almost reached her knees (like
Washu's from the show "Tenchi Muyo"). There was a baby blue headband in her
hair that matched her short, tight-fitting skirt. Her button-up shirt was only
a shade lighter than her outrageously-colored hair. Long, well shaped legs
ended in feet that were covered in white, two-inch high-heeled shoes. Wide, sky
blue eyes blinked once, and full lips painted wine red parted slightly. Kenji
turned his attention back to the nurse who was helping him.
"I'm
sorry. I can't find a birth record without a name," said the nurse.
"That
you anyways," said the mole and he turned away from the counter. A disappointed
silence hung around the ninja's strong, yet slight form. As he neared the door
the female doctor stopped him.
"You're
looking for your birth record," said the doctor, a statement wit a hint of a
question. At Kenji's affirmative nod, she asked, "You're one of us, aren't
you?"
He
looked at her quizzically, not quite understanding what she meant by 'us'.
Before he could ask her though the doctor continues, "Follow me." She turned,
and walked briskly into another hallway, identical to the one she had come
from. The blue-haired teenage shrugged, and followed her.
"Here
we are," said the doctor.
"Where
are we?" asked Kenji.
"This
is where we store all the zoanthrope birth records. The government doesn't want
these records stored with the ones for humans. We list everyone in alphabetical
order by their beast forms. You may search here and photocopy the papers you
need." She indicated a photocopier hidden in a dark corner. Then she left the
room.
Well, that was
strange… Oh, well. I wonder how often they update these? The teenage mole walked over to
the pale tan-colored file cabinets, then looked at the labels on the cabinets.
Soon, he found the "M-P" drawer and opened it. Let's see… Some guy, some girl, that old Bakaryu… What's this?
Bakaryu/Bryan Takiyo?
Kenji
tugged at the file, accidentally dropping it on the carefully polished floor. A
small, white square separated itself from the rest of the papers. His curiosity
perked, the mole frowned inquisitively and picked the square up, turning it
over. The ninja's mind whirled in shock at what he saw.
It
was a photograph of a small boy, he couldn't have been more than nine years
old. The boy's expression was solemn, neither frowning nor smiling. The dark
eyes were deep, empty oceans, void of any life what-so-ever. The photograph was
a key to the dam holding back the young adult's childhood. Memories flooded his
mind, all in a tumble, like water rushing though the dam gate. One stuck out
among the rest, a raft on top of the tempest waters.
A young, auburn-haired girl was shoved into a poorly-kept cage. She stumbled, but quickly regained her balance, as if she had done this many times before. The girl wore a white pajama-like outfit, and her eyes still held youthful innocence, despite the grueling surroundings she was in.
"You alright?" asked the other occupant of the "room". His cobalt bangs were styled in a way that they almost resembled a claw, reaching out to slice at his opponents.
"Oh,
it's the middle of the night
And
I'm reaching out for you"
"I'm fine! They just had me fight more of those robot-thingies! I'm glad, 'cause I didn't have to really hurt anyone!" said a younger version of Uriko Nonomura. "Ooo! Do you hear that? Alica and Stephen must be playing music again!" The young cat giggled. Suddenly, she asked, "Wanna dance?"
"In
the darkness
I
can feel your touch break through"
"Uh…sure, alright… Um… How do you dance?"
"That's easy!" the girl giggled some more. "I saw Alica and Stephen dancing once! All you do is wrap your arms around me, and I'll wrap my arms around you, and we move the music!" With that said, Uriko placed her arms around the blue-haired boy's shoulders. His arms carefully encircled her back. The two began to sway, looking extremely cute.
"When
I look into your eyes
And
your skin's against my skin
I
will hold you 'till the sun comes crashing in
Where
would I be now
Without
the tenderness that you possess
"The
touch
The
touch that makes me strong
That
keeps me holdin' on
I
come to you when times are tough
Your
love is just enough
To
lift me up so high
There's
nothing I won't give
To
be with you
To
reach for you
I
love…for the touch
"Oh,
I wanna be the one you need
I
need to be the one you see
I
gotta justify the faith you have in me
You're
the beauty in my life
You're
the sun that lights my soul
You're
the other half I need to make me whole
Who
would I be now
Without
the warmth you bring to everything
"The
touch
The
touch that makes me strong
That
keeps me holdin' on
I
come to you when times are tough
Your
love is just enough
To
life me up so high
There's
nothin' I won't give
To
be with you
To
reach for you
I
live…for the touch
"All
my life has been a journey
Here
to you
Every
road and river
Brought
me closer to
"The
touch
The
touch that makes me strong
That
keeps me holdin' on
I
come to you when times are tough
Your
love is just enough
To
lift me up so high
There's
nothin' I won't do
To
be with you
To
reach for you
I
live…for the touch"
That is…was me… Kenji's jaw dropped in shock. I must be Bryan Takiyo…
Hajime
Busuzima, Shenlong, Stephen Goldberg (Stun), as well as several other anonymous
people were standing, clustered in front of the silver-haired man (remember
him?). Their expressions were blank and their eyes were devoid of the spark of
life. Clearly they were under either hypnotism or brainwashing.
"I
have sent Rane ahead to track our victim. Soon he will be one of us!" cried the
man in a Swedish accent.
