Chapter 3: Lessons Learned
The next day Hunter stood with Ganta in line at the cafeteria. There was an awkward silence between the two until Ganta spoke up.
"So, Hunter did you umm" Ganta paused as Hunter stared "Did you see Alex and the Red Man at the same time?" Hunter stared for a moment confused.
"Well yeah, why do you ask?" A look of relief washed over Ganta as he let out a sigh.
"Oh well, its just, you saw that thing Alex did with his blood right?"
"Yeah wh- OH." Hunter said catching on. "That's right she could do the same thing!"
"Exactly, I just... wait she?" It was now Gantas turn to be confused. "What makes you think it was a woman?"
"Well I heard her talk, plus that guy in the hoodie said 'It's her you have to worry about'."
"Wait guy in the hoodie? I didn't see anyone like that."
"Hey you're holding up the line." A woman with pink hair spoke up. Hunter and Ganta both made quick apologies and moved on each receiving a small brownish-yellow cube.
"What... What is this?" Ganta said picking his up and holding it up to his face. Hunter did the same but sniffed it.
"It smells like cardboard." He then took a bite and his face scrunched up. "Tastes like it too."
"Let me guess, you two are new?" Looking over they saw the same pink haired girl who rushed them. In her hands she held a pack of sandwiches and a salad.
"How did you get that?" Hunter asked still dealing with the aftertaste.
"Hehe, yep definitely new. You guys are gonna have to earn some cast points." Hunter and Ganta shared a glance at each other with clueless expressions. "Oh god you didn't even read the rules yet did you? Okay listen up 'cause im not gonna repeat myself. Cast points are the currency in this joint, you can buy anything from Food, to clothes, to beer, or even parts of your sentence if you have enough." Ganta and Hunter both perked up a little hearing that. "Basically it will make things easier if you earn Cast as soon as you can." She then looked them up and down. "Oh screw it, you guys can have half of the sandwiches. I'm Azami by the way." Before either of them could thank her a loud crash caught their attention. A very large man with styled buzzed hair, wearing a fur trench coat, and a silver necklace stood over a bald older looking man before kicking him in the head. The large man then bent over and took a plastic card from the older man.
"Please, I've been collecting those Cast since they threw me in here." The large man then took a bowl of soup and threw it on the other man's head.
"HAHAHA, Come on now, I gave you some new hair. That sounds like a fair trade to you doesn't it?" The older man shook his head before the greasy haired man and the man with the ponytail knelt down next to him and said.
"Man, wasn't that nice of him? You know how you could thank him? With the security code." Azami Glared at the display.
"Then again its hard for anyone to have it easy when assholes like him are around." Unbeknownst to Hunter and Azami, Ganta had tried to slip away only to trip and drop his tray right in front of the man who stepped on the ration.
"Hey what where yo-" Ganta then looked up to see the man staring down with a smile that almost looked real.
"I haven't seen you before kid, you a newcomer?"
"Y-yeah im-" Ganta was cut off with a punch to the face which sent him to the ground.
"I don't care who you are brat! But you damn well better learn the name Kozuji Kazumasa if you know what's good for you!" At this point Hunter ran through the crown and stopped in between Ganta and Kozuji. Getting a better look Hunter saw that he was easily a foot taller and twice as wide. "Oh, Another newcomer? Good I didn't feel like beating the brat anyway. Be a good boy and kick him a bit or i'll feed you your own pancreas." Hunter took a step back, this man was certainly intimidating but he couldn't do that. Ganta was one of the few people he even knew in this hellhole and even with that he was in the small amount Hunter would consider a friend. He froze again wondering what he should do. "HURRY UP I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!" Hunter was about to grab Ganta and run when he remembered what Alex had told him.
"Don't let people walk all over you." Hunter then got an idea, it was stupid, Max had gotten into several fights doing what he was about to do but if Hunter just ran he'd be doing the exact opposite of what Alex had advised. So he took a deep breath and said.
"Fuck you, Fuck your gay ass necklace, Fuck that coat, Fuck your shitty hair, Fuck your shoes, Fuck those assholes that do anything you tell them to, and Fuck whatever gave you the idea that you can hurt my friend and then tell me what to do." Kozuji stared for a moment before laughing.
"You've got quite a pair on you kid." He then reached down and grabbed Hunters collar before headbutting him square on the nose resulting in a loud crunch. Hunter stumbled back holding his broken nose before falling down next to Ganta who was still holding his cheek changed positions to try and get a better look. "Too bad you don't have the brains to match." Hunter raised his hand up seeing it covered with blood. "Brat, laugh at him. That was some funny shit right?" Ganta looked back to Kozuji with fear in his eyes before turning back to Hunter. Their eyes met and Hunter whispered.
"Do it, just do it." Ganta felt awful as he put on his best smile and laughed. Thankfully it was enough to convince Kozuji who also laughed and walked away satisfied. Ganta looked up to see Azami glaring at him before walking over to the bald man and offering him her sandwiches. Ganta then turned to Hunter but couldn't look him in the eye.
"Im sorry."
"Don't be, he would have just hurt you more." Hunter stood still holding his nose.
"Still I shouldn't have-"
"Stop." Hunter said forcefully. "I'm not mad, hell I told you to do it." He then let out a sigh before wincing. "I need to ge to the infirmary, Alex is probably up by now anyway."
In the infirmary Alex sat in front of an old doctor with white hair holding papers Alex could only assume were about him.
"So doc how long do I got to live." Alex said leaning forward just far enough so that he didn't irritate the stitches on his back.
"Well that depends on how much candy you get" Alex smirked at this and said.
"Ah sweet you're giving out suckers? Do you have any bubblegum flavored?" His joke went unappreciated by the doctor to deadpanned him and replied.
"No, the candy that counteracts the poison." Alex's face almost instantly changed from playful to mortified.
"Poison?"
"Yes poison, your aware of the little prick you get around this time every day right?" Alex's jaw dropped.
"Prick? What prick?"
"Hm, well no matter your first should come in about three, two, one." Alex braced for the pain but after a moment of not feeling anything he relaxed slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, my watch must be off" Just then Alex felt something small stab him before a burning sensation appeared for a brief moment before fading away.
"Shit!" Alex exclaimed pushing his fingers under the collar to rub his neck. As he pulled it away he examined his hand and saw a bit of blood on it.
"Ah there it is. That is how the poison is administered into your bloodstream, the 'Candy' " He said doing finger quotes "Is really the antidote. It tastes awful and it's expensive, But it's more than worth it." Alex sighed but nodded.
"Thanks for the tip doc, anything else I need to worry about?"
"Well you seem to be suffering from a great deal of physical exhaustion, so i'd advise not doing anything to strenuous, honestly though you should just go back to your cell and get some sleep. Luckily the cut you received is Just a flesh wound so simply try not to reopen it or you will probably need to have the stitches redone."
"Yeah I think imma go do that sleep thing, thanks again doc." As he stood to leave Hunter and Ganta walked in. Hunters nose had stopped bleeding but was bent out of place and Ganta still held his cheek. "The hell happened to you two?"
"Some asshole hit Ganta for no reason then broke my nose!" Hunter said as Ganta walked up to the doctor explaining what happened.
"Broken nose? Ah I can fix that come 'ere" Alex then reached out and grabbed his nose, with another crunch he moved the bent part back into place.
"OW THAT FREAKING HURTS MAN!" Hunter said pulling away.
"Yeah well tough, it needed to get done." Hearing this the doctor walked over and examined Hunters nose before turning to Alex and nodding.
"Good work, put some ice on it and you should be fine tomorrow." He then went back over to Ganta.
"So" Alex began. "Who'd you pick a fight with?" Alex asked with a slightly amused grin.
"First of all I didn't pick a fight, I just told him to fuck off after he hit Ganta. And I think his name was Kozuji or something like that." Alex's smirk disappeared.
"Kozuji Kazumasa?" Alex asked with a deadly serious expression.
"Yeah that's him, wait how did you know his name?"
"They guys a MMA legend, you'd need a week just to melt down all his trophies." Alex then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hunter do you remember what I told you this morning?"
"Yeah not to let people walk over me, I did that and-" he was cut off by Alex
"No the other thing."
"Umm it was something about, err." Alex shook his head and said.
"Know when not to pick a fight." He repeated himself. "Now I want you to explain how in your brain that translated to piss off the goddamn Pulverizer." Hunter crossed his arms and grumbled.
"Oh so what I did was stupid but when you picked a fight with those three punks it was fine?" Alex then jabbed a finger into Hunters face.
"The difference is I can take three guys at once." Hunter put a hand over his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing at the statement that he was sure sounded much better in Alex's head. Alex just rolled his eyes and continued "Oh, grow up. anyway my point is next time you get face to face with that guy, run I don't care what he's getting in between, you need to book it in the opposite direction as fast as you can, understand?" Hunter nodded. "Good, now then anything else interesting happen?"
"Well I learned about cast points."
"And those are what exactly?"
"Well you see-" Hunter was cut off as they heard Ganta and someone else scream wit the unknown voice yelling out.
"GHOST!" The two Americans in the room looked to each other.
"Shiro?" Alex asked.
"Shiro." Hunter confirmed being able to see her from his position. They then walked over to the group of three as Shiro was telling Ganta something about toys.
"Oh you mean the dog race?" The same blond man who had been cut by Makina asked Shiro who nodded enthusiastically.
"Dog race? Whats that?" Alex butted in, inserted himself into the conversation.
"Oh It's really just a big obstacle course. but the prize is huge, like one hundred-thousand cast if im remembering right."
"Woah!" Hunter said with wide eyes. "That much just for winning? Screw it it's worth a shot im in." Shrio bounced over to Alex and with a big grin asked.
"Hey Alex me, Ganta and Hunter are gonna join the race!"
"Wait hold on who said I was-"
"Wanna join?" Shiro asked with a wide smile.
"Well I would..." Shiro's smiled faded and she looked a bit dejected. "But i'd probably hurt my back." Shiro then pouted and puffed out her cheeks.
"That's an old person excuse and you know it!" Alex held up his hands defensively.
"No, really look." Alex then turned around and pointed his thumb at his back. His jumpsuit had been cut open and the length of his back was exposed. What really caught the eye though was the large stitched up wound that traveled from his right shoulder to his left hip. "If I race i'm probably gonna rip them open." Shiro had a mixture of anger and sadness on her face.
"How did that happen." She asked softly.
"Oh that's right, you were knocked out, well to make a long story short that guy with the ponytail cut me when my back was turned." Shiro was fuming now, her hands curled into fists at her side, her face even more pouty and puffed out, and to top it all off she stomped her foot into the floor. "Hey calm down." Alex said putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just because I can't compete doesn't mean you can't have fun, so how about this. You go out there and win the race and I'll watch and cheer you on. Deal?"
"YEAH, COME ON GUYS LET'S GO WIN!" Shiro said throwing an arm into the air.
"I still never agreed to join you know." Ganta said before his stomach growled and he held it frowning. Then the blond spoke up.
"I heard you get a red bean bun for joining." Ganta now with a look of determination said.
"I'm in lets go guys!" And with that the three racers went off to join.
"So, you're Alex Kato right?" Turning around Alex looked at the blond who wore a kind smile on his face.
"That's me, who wants to know?"
"Hey relax it's not like im in any condition to fight." He said still smiling. "My names Yo Takami, I'm actually supposed to find you for someone."
"And who would that be?" Alex said with a raised eyebrow.
"His calls himself Tamaki. Apparently he's pretty high up the chain of command here." Alex scoffed at this.
"And he wants you to find me?" Yo nodded.
"Yep, in fact he wants me to take you to meet him as soon as I find you." Yo paused giving Alex the chance to talk. When he stayed quiet Yo continued. "So what do you say?" Alex thought for a moment. On one hand this could be a trap to rob him or something like that. On the other hand if he was telling the truth this could be a rather lucrative deal, hell he might even be able to get some candy out of it.
"You know what, screw it im in."
"Alright." Yo said standing up. "Lets not keep him waiting."
Hunter walked with Ganta and Shiro to the locker room, but as Ganta opened the door Hunter stopped and looked around until he spotted a drinking fountain a little further up.
"Hey Hunter are you coming?" Ganta said as Shiro kept chanting 'red bean bun'.
"Yeah i'll be just a sec, im gonna get some water first." and with that Ganta and Shiro entered the locker room and Hunter walked a little further on until he reached the fountain and started to drink from it.
"Well, well, well. We meet again kiddo!" Hunter almost choked as he turned in the direction he just came from to see non other than Kozuji and his goons standing tall with his arms crossed across his chest. "And just what are you doing here hmm?"
"W-we-ell I was jus- I im thinking abou-" Hunter stammered backing off mostly trying to create distance. but then it hit him. Kozuji was blocking the door to the locker room.
"Wait let me guess, you're here for the dog race right?" Hunters eyes widened as he took another step back. "Heh greedy little shit, here's some advice free of charge." With two steps Kozuji closed the distance and bent down to be face to face. "Don't, just run off back to your cell an I promise not to break your jaw this time, deal?" Hunter looked down and once again remembered Alex's advice.
"Next time you get face to face with that guy, run I don't care what he's getting in between, you need to book it in the opposite direction as fast as you can, understand?" Hunter didn't answer he just did what Alex had told him too and turned around and ran as fast as his legs would carry him.
"Good call kid, maybe you do have some brains after all! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He hated it but if he wanted to survive he had no choice but to run and live another day. He felt like a coward for leaving his friends, for not standing up to that guy, and for not even hesitating to do so. the second he felt he was far enough away he dropped to his knees panting.
"Damn it, is this all I can do?" He shook his head. "No, no Alex has to know something about fighting, I just need him to teach me."
Alex and Yo came to a stop at the door.
"Well this is it." Yo said before knocking on the door.
"Oh come in, come in!" a cheery voice called out from the other side. Yo opened the door and walked in with Alex entering soon after. As they walked in a fox faced man in glasses and a grey suit spun around in his chair before stopping and turning to the two young men.
"Sir I brought him here just like you asked." The man who Alex assumed was Tamaki smiled and nodded.
"So you have." He then pulled out a plastic card and slid it across the table when Yo picked it up and pocketed it. "Leave us, I'll have Alex fill you in when we're finished." Yo nodded and walked out the room. "Now then, let's get to business shall we?" Alex smiled and said.
"Sounds good, what did you have in mind?"
"Well for now a simple reconnaissance job, just collecting information on your cellmate." Alex raised an eyebrow at this.
"What do you want to know?" Tamaki laughed and shook his head.
"Ah you misunderstand, I don't want to know about him, I want to know what he does from here on out." He then reached into a drawer and pulled out what looked like a small black earbud and offered it to Alex. "Report anything he does, no matter how insignificant it may seem." Alex stared at the device for a moment and then took it placing it in his ear. "Very good, here have this." He then pulled out another plastic card and slid it across the desk. "This card has one million cast points on it, think of it as your starting bonus." Alex took the card and pocketed it.
"Is there anything else?" Tamaki leaned forward with a sly gin and said.
"Well there is one more thing your, well let's be frank my dear boy." he said with a chuckle "Your powers, show them to me."
"So you know about those." Tamaki nodded.
"I do and im very interested to see them in action." Alex brought his thumb up to his mouth and bit down ripping it open. He gave the blood some time to flow before having it wrap around his hand from halfway down his forearm forming the claws as he held his hand up wiggling his fingers. Tamaki's face looked a little disappointed at this. "Is that all?" Alex let out a little 'Heh' before turning around and walking towards the door as he reached it however he spun around and quickly outstretched his hand extending the fingers at a speed that looked like he was shooting them. They embedded themselves into the wall with five thuds right past Tamaki who now had a wide smile on his face. He then raised his hand before bringing it down as fast as he could. the fingers reacted like whips lashing down tearing through the wall and part of the floor before returning to Alex's hand and into his thumb with the rest of his blood.
"That's far from all I can do." And he walked out to see Yo still standing there.
"Well how'd it go?"
"Lets just say I got the job."
Hours later the day had ended, the dog race was a bust with no winner, Kozuji was now in solitary for his actions, and everyone went to their bunks. Alex and Hunter lay in their respective bunks, Alex on top, Hunter on bottom.
"Hey, Alex?"
"Yeah?"
"Think you could do me a favor?" There was a short pause.
"Depends on what it is."
"Well," Hunter mumbled a little before saying. "Could you teach me how to fight?" there was another pause.
"Are you gonna try and fight people like Kozuji?"
"No- I mean maybe." Alex laughed at that.
"And why would I do that now?"
"Because I think you care, you can be a bit of a dick at times but in the end you aren't that bad."
"HA" Alex forced out a laugh. "And what gives you that idea?"
"Well you saved me, Ganta, and Shiro."
"Oh, don't get it twisted you, Ganta, and Shiro all owe me big time for that." Hunter Just rolled over and said.
"You know, you say that but I get the feeling you don't mean it."
Major story Changes: Alex did not work with Tamaki this early In the original,.
Alex: In the original Alex entered the dog race because he spit out his candy before he knew what it was, Alex does not meet Azami in this version, In the original Alex killed Kozuji, Alex had not met Yo yet.
Hunter: In the original Hunter did not meet Azami or Kozuji and did not interact with Ganta, Hunter found out about Cast Points and Candy from Alex, and generally had a much smaller role basically being just a cameo at the start.