A Human among Beastmen
Hey everyone, Merry Christmas and Happy holidays. Sorry for the long wait, I was just having a little bit of a writer's block and was side track with writing other stories. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and that you all stay safe this Christmas.
Chapter 6: The end of normal days part 6
Michiru and Nazuna stayed in the hospital for a few days to heal from their injuries. In those days, Shawn would visit them whenever he had free time. Along with those visits, Shawn would bring presents for his two friends. Some of those gifts would be of macaroons or a single flower for both girls, but mostly he brought Michiru and Nazuna their homework. The latter causing Michiru to grumble in displeasure, which amused both Shawn and Nazuna. It wasn't long before the two girls were let out of the hospital, yet it took another few days before they were able to go to school again. Shawn made sure to keep an eye on both of his friends to make sure that they didn't aggravate their injuries. Though his constant worrying caused Michiru and Nazuna to be little annoyed with him, they were still grateful to have him around to help them if they needed assistance. It was during one day after school that the trio had stopped at the park to hang out for a while.
The sun was slowly setting within the sky as Michiru sat on the bench, while Shawn stood near her right side where her bag and crutch sat. They watched as Nazuna did her own original catch phrase in front of them. She was standing on one of playground platforms, while pretending that she's speaking to a group of judges.
"What's your name? Nazuna! Say it backwards, Nazuna! And my dream is your dream. I'm an idol from which ever direction you look. The name's, Nazuna Hiwatashi!"
Nazuna ended her speech by posing with a charming smile on her face. Michiru laughed joyously, while Shawn clapped his hands at Nazuna's presentation.
"That was a really good introduction Nazuna," praised Shawn with a smile.
"He's right," said Michiru in agreement as Nazuna jumped off the platform. "You're going to be a great hit. Why don't you audition?"
"I don't like having other people choose me," answered Nazuna as she walked over to the bench and sat down on it, while she and Michiru high fived each other. "I want to be the one who chooses them."
Shawn raised an eyebrow at what Nazuna had just said: "Really?"
"Yes," responded Nazuna firmly.
"Or maybe you're just scared," said Michiru with a teasing smile upon her face.
Nazuna looked at Michiru in confusion: "What?"
"We almost died in an accident right?" said Michiru which caused Shawn to grimace.
"Don't remind me," grumbled Shawn as he gave Michiru a discomforting look. "I nearly lost you two that day and it still haunts me every night."
Michiru looked up at Shawn with a soft smile: "Sorry, but my point is that Nazuna and I are not afraid of anything now."
Shawn only closed his eyes and sighed at what Michiru had just said. Even if facing death was something of a challenge that people had to face in the near future, there were still some things that people should be afraid of. For him, he was still afraid that he would wind up losing the only two friends he had left. The thought of them dying made his heart clench at the thought. He didn't want to go through that experience ever again.
"Every obstacle is an opportunity, so just do it." Michiru continued as Shawn heard her pick up her crutch, stand up and started walking away from the bench. "Become a real idol."
Shawn opened his eyes again before they widened in surprise and worry when he saw Michiru climbing up the steps of one of the playground equipment. Nazuna also grew worried when she saw what her friend was doing as well.
"Michiru, what the heck are you doing!?" exclaimed Shawn in a loud voice.
"He's right, that's dangerous!" shouted Nazuna in agreement.
"Listen you two, I'm not giving up basketball either," said Michiru as she continued to climb up the steps with determination fixated upon her face. "No matter what happens"-She soon reached the top of the playground equipment and stood proudly in front of her two friends with her right fist held high into the air-"We can be anything! Let's both climb to the top of our fields, okay?"
Shawn stared up at Michiru in confusion and amazement as she smiled down at them with confidence upon her face. He then smiled back at Michiru, along with Nazuna. But her smile looked a little more tired than inspired by Michiru's words.
"You're amazing, Michiru," said Nazuna with a chuckle.
"Yeah, she is," said Shawn in agreement as he placed a hand on his waist. "But sometimes Michiru, you can be a little reckless in your actions."
Michiru pouted before she leaned forward to glare down at Shawn: "I'm not reckless!"
Unfortunately, Michiru leaned a little too far forward and she suddenly found herself tipping over. Shawn quickly saw this before he jumped into action. He ran towards the playground equipment and used his parkour training to climb up the smooth walls of the dome. He caught Michiru just in time and helped steady her as they both now stood upon the playground equipment together. The two of them let out a sigh before Shawn looked down at Michiru with a frown of exasperation.
"This is what I mean," said Shawn in a serious voice. "You need to think before you act Michiru."
Michiru pouted up at Shawn in anger, but decided not to argue with him. Shawn only raised an eyebrow at his friend before he suddenly felt someone's intense stare upon him. He and Michiru turned to look down at Nazuna, who was gazing up at them with wide eyes before she spoke.
"Um...Shawn, how did you do that?"
Shawn gave Nazuna a confused look for a moment before realizing what she was asking about. He gave the red-haired a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head with his right hand.
"I decided a few weeks ago to take up parkour training," answered Shawn with a chuckle.
"Really?" asked Nazuna in surprise before she looked at Michiru. "Did you also know about this Michiru?"
Michiru went stiff for a moment before smiling nervously: "Um...well."
"Yeah, she did," replied Shawn as he stepped in to help Michiru out. "I told her about my parkour training just before you and she had gotten into that accident."
"Y-yeah," stammered Michiru in agreement. "It was when I was hanging out at his house that he told me about what he was doing."
"Oh, I see," said Nazuna before a smile appeared on her face. "Well it looked as if his training came in handy this time. Otherwise you would have winded up in the hospital again."
Michiru puffed out her cheeks in anger while Shawn quietly chuckled in amusement. He soon helped Michiru down from the playground equipment. After that, the trio began to make their way home. Shawn and Michiru split off from Nazuna after saying goodbye to her, and began to walk together back to Michiru's house. They were silent for a while before Michiru finally spoke up.
"Do you think Nazuna really bought what you said?" she asked with a light frown showing upon her face.
"Well I wouldn't say that it was a complete lie," said Shawn as he looked at Michiru. "Parkour is part of my self-defense training. So it was pretty much a half-truth that I told her."
"I guess that's true," said Michiru in reluctant agreement. "But I still feel kind of bad for lying to her."
Shawn gazed at Michiru for a moment before letting out a sigh then spoke: "Well...then I guess we'd better tell her the truth."
Michiru paused in her walking and looked up at Shawn in surprise. Shawn stopped to stand beside Michiru with a smile on his face.
"I think it's time that Nazuna knows about what happened and what exactly is going on. We haven't seen Blake around school for a while, so it's safe to assume that he's probably not within our hometown anymore. Also I know that lying to Nazuna is starting to really weigh down on your conscience and..."
Before he could finish, Michiru leapt forward and wrapped her arms around Shawn's neck while her crutch fell to the ground in the process. Shawn was startled by Michiru's sudden hug before he smiled and wrapped his arms around her.
Tears began to appear within the corners of Michiru's eyes before she spoke in a happy whisper: "Thank you."
"No problem," said Shawn as he gently patted Michiru on the head. "It's the least I could do after what nearly happened to you and Nazuna."
Michiru responded by hugging him a little tighter before pulling apart from him: "So...when do you think we should tell Nazuna?"
"As soon as you two are both healed," answered Shawn.
Michiru pouted before muttering: "That's way too long,"
Shawn chuckled before he bent down to pick up Michiru's crutch: "Don't worry. In about two or three weeks you and Nazuna will be back to full health."
"I guess," said Michiru as Shawn handed her crutch back to her. "But it's still going to be a long wait. And you know that patience is not one of my strong suits."
"Well then that's just something you'll have to learn," teased Shawn as the two started to walk again. "But I'm sure the days will fly by before you know it."
Michiru only grumbled as they continued to make their way back to their homes.
Two weeks flew by and Shawn's two friends were fully healed. It was during those weeks that Shawn grew nervous about telling Nazuna the truth. He wasn't sure how she would react when he and Michiru tell her about what he had been really doing. Not to mention telling her about Blake killing an innocent beast-child. Yet Shawn knew that keeping this secret from Nazuna for too long wasn't right, no matter whether if it was for her own protection or not. He made a promise to Michiru and he intended to keep it.
We soon find Shawn walking down the street towards the park where Nazuna and Michiru were waiting for him. It was just after school and Nazuna had asked him and Michiru to meet her at the park. She said that she had exciting news to tell them. Shawn was curious about what Nazuna wanted to reveal to them, and had agreed to meet the two girls at the park.
'I guess this will be my chance to tell her about Blake and my self-defense classes,' thought Shawn with a light frown upon his face. 'Hopefully she won't be too angry about us keeping those two secrets from her.'
It wasn't long before he finally arrived at the park. He spotted Michiru and Nazuna standing near the playground equipment.
Shawn walked over to the two girls: "Yo!"
"Geeze, you're a minute late!" exclaimed Michiru with a pout. "What kept you?"
"Sorry," said Shawn as he came to a stop in front of Michiru and Nazuna. "I had to help out with cleaning the classroom today."
"Seriously?" grumbled Michiru as she gave Shawn a flat look. "Couldn't you have skipped cleaning the classroom and just come straight here?"
"Kenta asked me if I could help out," said Shawn as he gave Michiru a disapproving looking. "Besides I was only a few minutes late."
Michiru sighed before she turned to look at Nazuna, who had been watching her two friends in amusement.
"So what did you want to tell us Nazuna?" asked Michiru curiously.
An excited expression appeared on Nazuna's face before she answered Michiru's question: "A few days ago I signed up to take part in the idol audition."
Michiru and Shawn stared at Nazuna in surprise before Shawn finally spoke up after a minute of silence: "...And?"
Nazuna's smile grew before she answered Shawn's question: "I did it! I really did it! I passed the audition!"
Shawn and Michiru smiled at what Nazuna just said before Michiru spoke up: "No way!"
"Way ta go Nazuna!" cheered Shawn excitedly. "You're one step closer to becoming an idol!"
"You really think so?" asked Nazuna hopefully.
"You bet," said Michiru as she clasped Nazuna's hands with her own. "You're gonna be great Nazuna. You got this!"
Shawn nodded his head in agreement before he decided it was time to tell Nazuna the truth. But then he noticed Nazuna's body starting to shake. Michiru, who had been holding Nazuna's hands, also noticed this.
"Nazuna?" asked Michiru in concern.
"What's wrong?" questioned Shawn with a frown.
Nazuna was unable to answer Shawn or Michiru and only continued to shake. Then, without warning, her hands shapeshifted into paws with pink fur running up her lower arms. The next thing to change was her hair. It had changed from its usual red to pink with two canine shaped ears on top of her head.
Shawn and Michiru both jumped back in shock and confusion at what they had just saw happen. Shawn stared at Nazuna in utter shock before he slowly began to speak.
"N-Nazuna...you're a..."
He never got to finish as Nazuna, who had been staring down at her hands in horror, quickly turned and ran away from Shawn and Michiru. Michiru and Shawn could only watch with baffled expressions upon their faces as Nazuna disappeared from their sight. The two friends stood rooted to the spot for a moment before Michiru was the first one to speak.
"W-what happened to Nazuna?" asked Michiru in a small voice.
Shawn didn't answer for a moment, but when he did it was in a voice that held uncertainty: "I...I don't know Michi. I honestly don't know."
The next day, we see Shawn sitting at his desk in his class with a distant expression upon his face. He wasn't really paying attention to what the teacher was saying for his mind was occupied with other things. He still couldn't get over what he had just witnessed yesterday within the park. Nazuna had just turned into a beastman.
'But how can that be?' thought Shawn with a frown upon his face. 'How could Nazuna have just turned into a beastman?'
Before he could go any deep into his thoughts, Shawn was quickly startled back to reality when the teacher suddenly shouted out his name.
"Shawn!"
Shawn let out a yelp of surprise and turned his attention towards the teacher: "Yes sir?"
"May you please read page 203 for us," said the teacher in a firm voice.
"Yes sir," answered Shawn as he stood up from his desk.
Lunch came around afterwards and we see Shawn sitting at the usual bench underneath the tree. He was leaning against the table with a sad expression upon his face. The memory of how he and his three friends had once sat at this table together made his heart clench.
'Damn it,' thought Shawn as he clenched his right hand into a fist. 'How did our lives get so messed up?'
"Shawn?"
Shawn blinked before looking up to see Michiru standing beside him: "Oh...Michiru, hey."
"Hey," greeted Michiru gently with a sad expression upon her face. "You doing alright?"
"I should be the one asking you that question," said Shawn as Michiru took a seat on the other side of the bench's table.
Michiru sighed as she leaned against the table. The two sat in silence for a while before Shawn spoke again.
"Were you...able to get in contact with Nazuna?"
Michiru replied by shaking her head 'no' before speaking: "I tried calling her smartphone, but all I got was Nazuna's voice box."
Shawn sadly frowned as the two of them went into complete silence. They stayed like that for a while before Michiru spoke up in a voice that held fear and confusion in it.
"Why is this happening?" voiced Michiru as Shawn looked up at her. "First we find out that Blake is part of the anti-beastmen group on top of him killing an innocent beast-child. Then Nazuna suddenly turned into a beastman right in front of our eyes. Why is this suddenly happening to us?"
"I don't know," said Shawn sadly before a determined expression appeared on his face. "But I promise you this Michiru. Whatever is going on with Nazuna, we'll figure it out together."
Michiru looks up at Shawn with an unsure expression upon her face before she spoke: "Really?"
Shawn nodded before he gently grasped Michiru's left hand with his right: "I swear upon my life Michiru that we'll get through this no matter what."
Michiru stared up at Shawn for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face. Shawn returned the smile with his own while giving Michiru's hand a gentle squeeze.
It wasn't long before school ended and the sun was slowly starting to set over the town. It was during that time that Shawn and Michiru decided to head to Nazuna's home to check up on her. We find the two friends walking together as they headed down the street towards Nazuna's house. As they did, Shawn decided to come up with the best plan of action when they visited Nazuna.
"When we get to Nazuna's place, let's make sure to take things slow," said Shawn as he looked Michiru. "We don't want to spook her when we get there."
"Right," said Michiru with a nod.
They had just come around the corner when they saw a large black van park within the streets. Shawn and Michiru watched as a couple of people dressed in black suits climb into the van. Shawn frowned when he thought he saw a flash of pink for a moment before the door to the van closed. He and Michiru continued to observe for a moment as the van drove away.
"What do you think that was about?" asked Michiru curiously.
"I'm not sure," spoke Shawn gently. "But I can't help feeling that something bad had just happened."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that we need to get to Nazuna's house and fast."
With that, Shawn and Michiru started to run as they headed towards Nazuna's house. Once they got there, Shawn quickly rang the doorbell and the person who answered the door was Nazuna's mother.
Nazuna's mother was in her mid-thirties with short black hair. She had fair skin and soft brown eyes. She was wearing a green short sleeved shirt and a long white skirt.
Nazuna blinked in surprise when she saw Shawn and Michiru standing on the front step of her door before speaking.
"Shawn? Michiru? What are you two doing here?" asked Nazuna's mother curiously.
"I'm sorry for the late visit Mrs. Hiwatashi," said Shawn as he panted slightly for breath. "But we were wondering if we could talk to Nazuna for a moment."
"Please," spoke Michiru with a pleading expression. "We just want to see if she's okay."
A sad expression appeared on Mrs. Hiwatashi's face before she replied: "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that's impossible."
Shawn and Michiru look up at Mrs. Hiwatashi in confusion before Shawn spoke again.
"What do you mean?"
Mrs. Hiwatashi hesitated for a moment before she finally replied: "Nazuna's gone."
A cold mixture of dread and fear washed over both teens as Mrs. Hiwatashi continued to speak.
"It was yesterday that Nazuna suddenly came home and rushed up to her room without speaking a word to me or her father. I thought she might have had a bad day at school and needed time to herself. Yet when I went to call her for dinner, she said that she wasn't feeling well and that she needed just rest. I grew concerned about what she had told me but decided to let her be. Then this morning I went up to Nazuna's room to check on her, but when I opened the door she wasn't there. I grew worried when I didn't find any note saying where she had gone. I was hoping she had gone to school and was hanging out with you two."
"We haven't seen her at school all day," said Michiru.
"We were hoping that Nazuna was still here," spoke Shawn.
Fear and worry appeared on Mrs. Hiwatashi's face as Shawn and Michiru glanced at each other. As they did the same thought crossover their faces. Either Nazuna had run away...or something else had happened to her. A moment later, Mrs. Hiwatashi called the police and told them about her missing daughter. It wasn't long afterwards that a search party was formed. The police, along with Shawn, Michiru, Shawn's mother, Nazuna's and Michiru's parents then started looking around town. They searched for hours from sunset to midnight, but their search came up empty and nobody was able to find Nazuna. It was a sad day for everyone, especially for Shawn and Michiru.
To be continued
Here you all go, my Christmas gift to all of you. May you all have a wonderful Christmas.
