Chapter 1
It was not something he wanted to get caught doing. Azuma probably would've beaten his head in with a clipboard.
Nonetheless, it was damned important to Rei, so Zero was going through with it.
Rei was what Zero liked to think of as the small part of himself that represented everything about him that GOA couldn't change: his morals, his duties to his mother and their entire colony. Lately, Rei had been rather quiet, content to let Zero go through the extensive training alone, only popping up with nightly reminders of why he was doing all this.
Like Zero, Rei had a horrible temper, and the two people who brought him to life best were two that Zero dealt with on a daily basis: Kizna and Hiead.
Rei liked to think of Kizna as the annoying little sister he might've had the rotten luck of getting stuck with. She claimed to know everything about Pro-Ings, and in most cases (unfortunately for Zero's ego), she was right. He didn't really dislike her, since she was a lot like him and kindled his fighting spirit. He had yet to figure out how to avoid those kicks of hers, but when he did, revenge would be oh so sweet…
Hiead was another matter entirely. Both Rei and Zero hated Hiead. Rei hated him because he seemed to mock everything about home just by being, and Zero hated him because he was cruel, disrespectful, and damn good at everything Zero was damn good at. Plus he was mean to Ikhny for no good reason at all (not that there was a good one; everyone was a little clumsy at times…except Hiead), and that pissed off Kizna, which meant she just had to take it out on someone. Zero was often that someone, but that wasn't the point.
Frankly, Hiead was damn good at everything, which made it damn near impossible to beat him. So both Rei and Zero were more than willing to take any kind of victory over him (not that there had been anything other than constant, infuriating ties).
Which resulted in lots of contests: who could do the most damage in the Pro-Ings, who could impress Azuma first/more, who could get more compliments from the other Seniors.
Today's contest was patience. Whoever could stand being near the other the longest won. The loser either became exasperated and gave up or lost interest completely. Zero knew that from personal experience, as he had yet to win.
But this time would be different. Just not in the way he was expecting.
Currently, Hiead was winning, simply because he was intent on avoiding the fact that Zero was even sitting there to begin with. Hiead didn't ignore people, because that would initially require encountering them first. He just never admitted that some people existed, so it was rather like meeting a bunch of extremely annoying idiots every single day of his life. It certainly didn't do anything positive for his outlook, and that was just the way he liked it.
Zero was losing, well, because he had to admit that Hiead was there to even start the contest (in fact, he was the only one aware of it). But rather than ignore, Zero's strategy was to glare at Hiead. On anyone else, this would've eventually gotten so bothersome that blows would've been traded. However, someone glaring at you can't really bother you, if that someone doesn't even exist in the first place.
Unfortunately, the contest was interrupted when Roose burst into the room, panting heavily. "Ze….Zero," he gasped weakly, stumbling over to his friend. "You…you gotta…come quick…" Despite his miraculous weight loss, Roose still got tired very easily. Wrecka was quick to say that was because he still thought of himself as fat, rather than admit something might've gone wrong with her diet.
Zero gave him the usual 'can't-you-see-I'm-competing-with-Hiead-again' glance and continued the contest.
But Roose was tugging on his arm, trying to pull him to the door. "Zero, c'mon…gotta go…accident…"
Zero looked up at that. "Accident?"
Roose nodded rapidly, still trying to catch his breath. "With the Pro-Ings…Kizna…"
"What?!" Zero cried, leaping up and grabbing Roose by the collar. "What happened to her?!"
Roose swallowed noisily. "Don't know. They said she fell and hit her head. Yamagi sent me to get you. Let's go…" He trailed off, and with good reason.
Zero wasn't there anymore.
A second later, Roose was hit by an incredible blast of wind that sent him reeling. By the time he regained his senses, he found himself in an empty room. Shaking his head in slight wonder, he hurried after Zero, silently hoping Kizna was okay.
* * * * *
Excluding the times when he used his EX abilities, Zero was quite certain he'd never run faster in his life. He wanted to use them, of course, but didn't want to waste time getting lectured and punished for it. Roose hadn't mentioned Kizna's condition, and he didn't want to consider if the boy was just clueless about it or being vague on purpose.
It didn't matter that Roose hadn't told him exactly where Kizna was, either. Zero just followed his feet, and perhaps on something deeper than instinct, they led him straight to medical wing. He turned the final corner just in time to see Wrecka, Saki, and Yamagi's Repairer (he could never recall her name) trying to force their way past Azuma, who was doing an excellent job of blocking the doorway. Of course, they were all Repairers, and therefore had no hours of intense physical training under Azuma's watchful gaze. Zero did, and planned to put every one of them to good use.
Not slowing down a bit, he charged down the corridor and leaped, clearing the heads of the Repairers and slamming into a slightly startled Azuma, who was knocked back a few feet. However, the Instructor quickly recovered and pulled him into a very painful headlock. That, however, left the door unguarded, and the girls quickly slipped inside.
Zero struggled helplessly, shouting, "Let go! I have to see Kizna!"
"All YOU have to do is shut up and get out!" Azuma yelled, muscling him back to the door.
But just then, a very familiar head of white hair passed through Zero's gaze, and his eyes widened in shock as Hiead joined the growing crowd around what was presumably Kizna's bed. Several people shortly went flying out of the way as a result.
Too startled by the thought of Hiead being concerned about any Repairer, much less Kizna, Zero instantly stopped fighting and allowed Azuma to drag him from the room.
They hadn't gone far when Azuma threw him into a nearby storage closet and slammed the door behind them. The Instructor ran a hand through his tousled hair and straightened his tinted glasses on his face. "Like I was trying to tell you before you made that miserable attempt to take my head off, Number 88, there's a reason why you couldn't see your Repairer."
"Which is?" Zero nearly spat.
Azuma frowned. "The official statement on the incident will merely say that she was suffering from fatigue and fainted. That she fell from the Pro-Ing and possibly broke her arm."
"Why are you telling me this?!"
"Because the unofficial statement, the true one, will say that she was infected."
Zero froze. "Infected…? By WHAT?"
Azuma removed his glasses and sighed. "Victim."
Zero's eyes widened. "But…that's not…!"
"Possible? Then why don't you tell me all about the Victim, since you're suddenly an expert! You really think we can classify them all? There may be hundreds we haven't even seen yet. This is the first viral one we've seen, but that doesn't mean there aren't more like this."
"So it's contagious?" Zero asked, looking ill himself.
"Apparently not. Repairer Number 87 was a witness, but she's fine. This is more than just a random infection. I think your Repairer was targeted."
"Targeted? Why? What'd she do?"
"Just a damn good job," Azuma replied. "With your skills and her support, there's very little doubt about you reaching Top this year. The Victim knew that, it seems. They're afraid of what you and her could do if you ever got that far."
"Why didn't they just take me?!" Zero cried in his face.
"We don't know, and we're not going to let you run in there until we're sure they can't get you, too. You're too important to GOA to risk losing."
"And Kizna isn't?!"
"Well, they've already got her, haven't they?!" Azuma snapped, shoving him back. "Look, I told you this is new. We've never seen anything like it. There are just too many risks involved. In the end, great Repairers are easy to come by. Great Pilots aren't. You'd do well to remember that, Number 88."
"If you think I'd work with anyone but Kizna--!" Zero began.
"Oh, you will, if it comes to that," Azuma interrupted, getting in his face. "Because I will NOT allow you to wimp out on humanity just because you don't like your choice of partner."
"Kizna is my partner," Zero stated firmly. "And I want to see her NOW!"
"No." Azuma headed for the door. "I'm not doing this to be a jerk, Number 88. I'm trying to ensure you survive long enough to become a Pilot. After that, you can take all the risks you want. But until then, you're my responsibility, and there's no way I'm losing two of you to the Victim. As soon as I know it's safe, you'll be permitted to see her, but not a minute sooner. Nothing you've heard here leaves this room. Now get back to your quarters. You've got a training session in the morning."
Zero's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he sulked off to the room he shared with Hiead, not even realizing he'd need another Repairer in the morning.
* * * * *
As usual, Zero slept restlessly. Usually, though, he only dreamed about the Ernn Laties, his mother, Erts, or some combination of the three. This night, however, none of them were present.
He found himself sprawled on his back under a tall willow tree. High above him, he could see what looked like a tail hanging from one of the branches.
The tail vanished from sight, and two large, catlike ears emerged, followed by a wild mop of dark red hair and huge, pink eyes.
Zero blinked a few times. "Kizna?" he asked uncertainly.
The girl leaped off the branch and landed squarely on her feet in front of him. It was Kizna.
Sort of.
For one thing, she was much too short to be Kizna, and barely looked a day over six. Her cat ears weren't even artificial, they were just fake. In fact, it took Zero a long moment to realize that she was actually wearing a brown cat costume, complete with pipe cleaner whiskers and a long sock for a tail. But when he ignored the costume, Zero could definitely identify her as the same girl he'd seen falling out of a tree in his visions.
"You're lost, huh?" she asked, sounding as if she'd discovered a stray puppy.
Zero wasn't sure how to answer. "Where are we?"
"My tree," she replied, pointing. "I can go all the way to the top. Wanna see?"
"Maybe later," he said quickly. He didn't want this Kizna falling, too.
She shrugged and sat down next to him. "Well, you're still lost. That's not good."
"You…are Kizna, aren't you?"
"Nope. My name's Kamikizzie. Or that's what Papa calls me when I try to fly. But mostly I'm Kizzie." She stuck out her hand, which was hidden by a rather lumpy paw.
Zero shook the paw. "I'm…Rei."
"Really? I knew a girl named that once, but it was spelled funny, and anyway, she was mean."
"I'm not," Zero added helpfully.
She brightened at once. "Oh, good! Wanna watch the sunset?"
"Um…sure, okay."
Kizzie beamed. "Great! Later you can walk behind me, and we'll tell Papa you followed me home."
Zero thought it odd that she was treating him like a pet when SHE was the one dressed like a second-rate stray cat, but decided not to upset her. "Where's home?"
"Where it always is, silly. Behind the rock that looks like Clayface!"