Disclaimer: YGO GX and its characters do not belong to me.
Summary: He opened his eyes and discovered that he was alive Daitokuji one-shot.
Warnings: This story contains spoilers for Daitokuji from GX. If you do not know of his past, then read on at your own risk. I have no beta reader, so you may catch a few small errors that I try my best to correct.
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Opened His Eyes
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As the dust settled in the underground laboratory, it eventually came to cover books that covered a wide range of subjects; reincarnation, alchemy, physics and biology. Not only that, it covered various pieces of machinery; these pieces were both small and large and occupied the important parts of the room. Having no one to disturb it, the sediment had grown up over a small period of time. This sediment had even begun to cling to the glass of a large cylindrical tube that was in one of the room's darkened corners, powered by nothing save a few electrical cords that allowed the liquid that was contained therein to keep moving and remain fresh.
Within this tube, protected by this unnamed fluid, was the figure of a man.
Long black hair bobbed up and down, moved around by the currents that moved around inside the tank. It seemed so quiet, so much at peace.
Right then, the homunculus opened its eyes. It closed them immediately, wincing at the fluid that it had found itself immersed in.
Am I… alive?
A simple memory came to mind; he had died.
Thinking upon this, the homunculus soon came to a conclusion; it was being remarkably calm for one who had just journeyed back from the land of the dead. Feeling his chest rise and fall, rise and fall, he felt as if he were in some alien place. Having been forced to get used to the fact he would die, he had now returned from the cosmos and back down to earth.
His chest rose and fell once more.
Alchemy had been both his condemnation and his absolution. With it, he had achieved nigh on true enlightenment. A year or so ago, he had been diagnosed with having chronic beryllium disease, which had been as a result of his work. Symptoms of the disease came about after a long time of being exposed to the chemical in question. Breathing difficulties, coughing fits, chest pain, general weakness and the coughing up of blood; all of them he had suffered.
Then again, he was an alchemist; it was no wonder that he had been coughing so violently.
Unfortunately, modern medicine had only been able to do so much. In the end, he had placed all of his hope into his alchemic research and this chance to bring himself back from the dead was his reward.
Opening his eyes once more, the homunculus closed them. He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. Before he had made the final preparations, he had placed his most beloved companion, Pharaoh, into the care of a special home that looked after cats. It had cost a lot of money, but his cat deserved nothing but the best. This was what made him sad; his pet had to be wondering where he had gone. Perhaps he even felt abandoned and this made him very sad indeed. One did not die on one's friend. Pharaoh had to be missing him.
He found it almost amusing that one of the first things he remembered was his cat. That only showed the bond the two of them had. Pharaoh was one of the few in the world, perhaps the only one that really understood him.
A fist raised and pounded on the glass. He wanted his freedom.
Freedom from this cage.
He had to have been trapped in here for who knew how long.
Freedom from death.
He wanted to prove that his research had not been for nothing.
Freedom from Kagemaru.
He wanted to pay back his debts and move on.
As the man pounded his fist against the glass, his ears pricked attentively when he heard the sound of something cracking. Taking a deep breath, he realised only then that something was happening. The liquid was assailing his lung and filtering into his nose, making him breathe more fitfully in order to stay awake. He began to panic as he sought to free himself from his prison. He wanted to get out of here; there was much he had to do and he wanted to see his Pharaoh again. He did not even know how his friend was doing.
There was further pounding on the glass. Behind it, the man's mouth moved but no words could be heard.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a large crack and a large abrupt fracture appeared in the glass. It spread from one end right to the other. The homunculus blinked and gazed at the spider's web he had created. Seizing the opportunity, he started to pound at the glass again and again. He was so close that he could taste it.
Feeling the glass give way, there was a final fracture and the glass clattered to the floor, along with the liquid contents of the tank and the homunculus itself, who plummeted to the floor and felt the remains of the liquid pour over his naked back and down to the floor. His hands scraped against the floor, his fingers digging into the dirt and stone. He was alive!
Letting out deep, long breaths, the homunculus's mind wandered back to Pharaoh.
Suddenly, he let out a loud cough and felt something working its way out of his system. The liquid that had worked its way into his body was being coughed up. His lungs were stinging painfully from the sensation of the air and it took him several long minutes to get used to his new surroundings.
Almost unnoticed, something emerged at the border of the man's mind, a long forgotten memory. He shrugged and attempted to ignore it, but he could not. Feeling light-headed, he shook his head as a second one arrived. Soon enough, he found himself remembering a plethora of things, so many things.
Soon, one memory became many and he felt as if his mind was being plucked at here, there and everywhere until it was left as nothing but a floating sea that was as dark as the water he had been suspended in. He raised his hands to his head in an attempt to contain everything he was being given but failed miserably. His head hurt; it was as if it was being smashed apart from the inside and there was no way to bring relief to the pain that he was feeling.
This pain was released in the form of an ear-splitting scream that echoed throughout the chamber and through the doors to the world beyond.
He was standing over a desk, measuring out amounts of chemicals into various beakers and tubes.
Pharaoh was purring as he gently stroked the cat's head, smiling as he did so.
He was placing himself inside a coffin, aware of his fate and thinking of the unknown path that lay before him.
Had he been scared? Of course he had been scared! He had been waiting to die! However, it had not been his time to die. He had been young. He was too full of hopes and dreams to allow himself to die. There was still much left for him to do and he wanted to survive.
Slowly, the homunculus pulled itself up off the floor and thought about what had happened. He would deal with those memories, in time. His eyes wandered over and soon saw a coffin propped up against the wall. He was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.
Wandering over, he made a noise as he gripped the lip and pulled it off. Placing it to one side, he gazed down at the man who lay inside. His eyes were closed, just like his own, and he was dressed in trousers, a shirt and a white lab coat. Upon his nose stood a pair of small square glasses.
However, the man's features had long since desiccated.
The homunculus blinked, after which he reached down to take what had once been his glasses. His new body no longer needed them, but he liked to think that he had something of his old life to hand.
Making a few apologetic expressions, he put them on the bridge of his nose, where they fitted snugly. After this, he looked inside the man's jacket and saw writing.
His name was Daitokuji.
Replacing the lid, Daitokuji turned around and removed his glasses. Holding them carefully in his left hand, he opened his eyes to reveal a pair of brown irises, which focused upon the broken tank from which he had freed himself. Alchemy had shown him the truth.
His eyes had been opened at last.