Return To Me Chapter 2: Hope's Rebirth, a Misc. Anime/Manga + Maximum Ride Crossover fanfic

Return To Me

This chapter and the next will get more into the reason this is a crossover with Maximum Ride.

Disclaimer: Not mine, 'kay? 'Kay.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

Yoshitaka stared blankly at the flickering television screen. There was some kind of special news report on. A plane had crashed on its way across the Atlantic Ocean from America, and around one hundred people had been killed. Yoshitaka didn't even blink. What were a few dozen deaths when your own world had died long ago? He had grown tired of the reporter's nasaly voice half an hour ago, so the sound had been muted. His stomach rumbled, and though he knew it would probably just get thrown up later after another dream about Katsumi, he went into the kitchen to make himself something to eat.

As soon as he passed through the doorway, a picture of Katsumi appeared on the television screen.

Light.

So much light.

And voices. Shouting, screaming, angry, panicked.

Men in black uniforms and shielded helmets dragged the whitecoats away.

Then there was a new voice. Soft, feminine, almost soothing. Promises of help, food, warmth, light, and home.

Home.

Eiji raced down the street to his brother's house, ignoring stop signs and speed limits. He only pressed his foot on the brake when the house came into view, barely managing to swing into the driveway. He didn't even bother taking the key out of the ignition before throwing the car door open and sprinting up the sidewalk. Without knocking, he threw open the front door, looked around quickly, and ran into the kitchen, skiding on the tiles as he tried to stop. Yoshitaka was sitting at the table, picking at a bowl of unseasoned noodles. He looked up, a bit of curiosity leaking into his eyes.

"Eiji, what-"

"They found Katsumi!" the younger man blurted out.

Yoshitaka's chopsticks clattered as they hit the table. "W-What?" he whispered, his face revealing just how shocked he was. He had gotten his hopes up several times in the past, only to have them shattered, and he didn't think he could handle it again.

Eiji grabbed his brother's shoulders, his own hands trembling. "The police just called the office looking for you! They know where Katsumi is!"

Yoshitaka couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Katsumi was alive. Already, he could feel the hole in his heart closing, but he knew it wouldn't heal completely until the other man was back in his arms. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" He knocked over his chair as he stood up.

Before he could run out the door, Eiji stopped him. "You should clean yourself up first," the shorter man said, scrunching up his nose. "When was the last time you took a shower?"

"How can you even think about that at a time like this?!" he demanded, dark eyes burning with passion.

"You've both waited for each other for a long time, Yo-chan," Eiji said softly, smiling. "I don't think a few more minutes won't make a difference."

Yoshitaka tapped the cold, metal table with his fingers. The light in the room was dim, and the atmosphere was tense. Even the slightest movement seemed awkward. Eiji had driven like a mad man to get to the police station as fast as possible. Yoshitaka called Wakabayashi, who he hadn't talked to in months, telling him to meet them there. Now, they all sat in the little room, waiting.

Finally, the door opened and a man in a police uniform walked in, holding a thick manilla envelope.

Yoshitaka stood up. "Where is Katsumi?"

"Please sit down, Mimuro-san," the man said as he took a seat of his own. "I assure you, Hirose-san is safe."

Yoshitaka didn't sit down until Eiji placed a gentle hand on his arm. Once he was seated again, the man opened the envelope and began pulling out several papers and two photographs. He pushed one of the pictures towards their end of the table. The all leaned forward, studying it curiously.

Wakabayashi spoke first. "What is it?"

"That," the officer said, "is University."

"It doesn't look like any college campus I've ever seen," Eiji told him.

"That's because it isn't a college. It may be called University, but it's actually a facility used for genetic experimentation. It was recently discovered in China, just after several similar facilities were brought to light in the United States. According to the files, and the rather substantial..." He hesistated for a moment. "...evidence that was confiscated from the buildings, it has been discovered that these facilities have been responsible for most of the missing persons reports filed in the last decade. The victims range from infants to full grown adults."

"You said this facility performed genetic experiments," Eiji interjected. "What exactly did they do to the people they kidnapped?"

The officer hesitated again, looking down at some of the papers on the table in front of him. "From what we've gathered, they were attempting to create a race of superhumans- not like superheroes in comics books, mind you. Basically, they were fusing the DNA of their victims with that of animals, trying to create a perfect mix of both species' best traits." He picked up the other photo and passed it down. "As you can see, things didn't always go as planned."

Yoshitaka got it first. He took one look at the picture and blanched. It showed a young child, around five years old, staring back at the camera with frightened eyes. There were strange, pincer-like growths on his face. His left arm was withered, and appeared to be covered in fur. His legs were just skin and bones, and were covered in dark bruises. Yoshitaka passed it to his brother, and saw the look of horror mirrored on his face.

"Is-" He stopped, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Is Katsumi...?"

"Actually, our contact at University says that Hirose-san appears to be one of the successful experiments." If the officer noticed that Yoshitaka bristled when Katsumi was referred to as an experiment, he didn't show it. "Apart from a few minor physical alterations, he is bodily sound."

Wakabayashi let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God for small miracles," he laughed, taking off his glasses and rubbing a hand over his eyes.

"Where is he?" Yoshitaka asked impatiently.

"Hirose-san is currently still at University, along with several others. We have a private jet set up to take you three and some of the children's parents over to the mainland in about an hour, so you can bring Hirose-san home yourself."

Yoshitaka's heart lept.

Katsumi was coming home.

See? Crazy genetic experiments like in the Maximum Ride world! Yay!