Parasyte -the maxim-
Symbiosis
Chapter 2: Name

"Hideo. Hideo Shimada."

It'd been another month before the parasite found one of his own. This one was a woman. She was pregnant, but she was definitely like him. She walked right up to him in broad daylight and introduced herself as Reiko Tamura.

Kayoko had been with him, and had stared between the two with both confusion and realization. He glanced to her and handed her the bags filled with the groceries they'd bought that day. "I'll be home soon," he assured her, pushing her away as gently as he could.

She'd nodded and scurried away. After two months of living with him, she had grown used to his presence. After the first month, she'd stopped going to school, citing health reasons to leave the school. Whenever she had to take an exam to prove something about still learning through her time off, he helped her, as his capacity to absorb information was greater than hers.

She stayed home to take care of him, to ensure that he could blend in with humans. Although his capacity for information was greater than hers, there were things that he did not understand. Whenever those came up, he asked her, and she would always provide information to the best of her ability.

They discovered that other parasites, like him, were dangerous, flesh-eating monsters. It was why there was so much attention on the mincemeat murders. Most of the parasites were bloodthirsty, but this parasite didn't quite understand why they were.

Until Reiko Tamura showed him.

Devouring human flesh did wonders for regenerating energy. Had he known before, perhaps Kayoko would not have survived as long as she did. Had he known before, perhaps he would have killed her rather than have saved her. He immediately forgot about that thought, as it was only right that she stayed alive.

"Why haven't you killed the girl yet?" Reiko asked during one of their bimonthly outings.

"Because it isn't right to kill her," he replied.

She smirked. "Is it because you have feelings for her? Any kind?" Her tone was interested, but sarcastic.

The parasite looked up at her, his mouth bloody from the flesh. "No. It has nothing to do with preference or emotions. It's because it would be wrong if she wasn't alive." He said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world which, to him, it may have been.

Reiko nodded. "I see." There was a lull in conversation, something which never felt so uncomfortable to the parasite. "It's been two months, and I don't know your name."

For a moment, he thought. "I don't have one."

"You should. Don't you know your host's name?"

He scoffed. "Of course. But using his name is wrong," he replied easily.

Narrowing her eyes, she watched the other parasite with both curiosity and resentment. "For what reason is using his name wrong?" she demanded dryly, crossing her arms over her bulging stomach.

He glanced at her again, finding no trace of joking on her face. Not like how Kayoko sometimes made jokes with him. "He's a bad person. Using his name is wrong because it makes Kayoko tired. It's not right when she's tired."

Reiko never questioned him again.

"Kayoko." She looked up at him as they lay on their separate futons. "Should I have a name?"

A gasp came from the dark-haired girl as she shot up in bed. "I can't believe I forgot. It's been four months already, and you still don't have a name?" She sighed. "Why don't you just use… use his name?" she asked, stumbling before saying his host's name.

He shook his head, turning on his side to face her. "No. You can't even use his name. You're scared." She bit her lip. "I want one that you can say. Can you give me one?"

She hesitated, but nodded. "I'll come up with one for you," she vowed.

Reiko wanted him to transfer into high school.

The high school that Kayoko used to go to.

"I'm not leaving her alone."

"Then take her with you."

He couldn't argue with Reiko's logic. She somehow managed to make the most unpleasant-sounding ideas make some sort of sense. Even if it didn't seem right to him, she managed to change it to make it sound at least a little right.

Turning towards their victim, he sighed, taking another bite of the human flesh. Although he knew that he needed it, somehow, it didn't feel right in his gut. "I don't get it. All this to look after some boy? He sounds like he's more trouble than he's worth," he muttered.

Reiko hummed a little. "In a way, he is," she replied slowly. "But he is special. He is like us, but also like your human. He and the one called Migi are in perfect symbiosis. It is important for us to find out how. For our species to survive."

"I'm alive. I'm surviving. Why is he important?"

"Because you want to keep surviving, don't you?"

He stood, letting his face reform into the face he'd decided to keep after the first night he met Kayoko. "His name is Shinichi Izumi, huh… I guess I'll do it. But only if Kayoko comes with me," he decided, much to Reiko's approval.

Convincing her was easy.

It was clear from the way she'd practically jumped at the chance to go back to high school that she missed it. She wanted to see people her age again. She must have had friends. According to Kayoko, she'd left in the middle of the current school year. It was nearly September, so she could come back and pick up where she'd left off when she decided to study at home without too much hassle.

"But you're going to need a name…" she murmured. "I'll think of one when I write your transfer papers. Oh, and I have to make up something about your parents. Since you're going to be seventeen, after all… Well, I'd better start soon!"

She seemed happy. It was good. Her entire being seemed lighter as she practically skipped back to their shared bedroom to work. He watched her, something tugging his lips upwards.

He sat down on the couch, picking up his plate. Despite the fact that he'd been out with Reiko and that he'd already eaten in order to keep his strength up, he still wanted to finish Kayoko's food. She'd made it especially for him, after she claimed that he had enjoyed her marinated steak. She made it every week after he agreed with her, although he couldn't tell if he enjoyed it or not.

She once asked if he got sick of it at any point in time. He replied negatively. Half of it was truthful, since he didn't know whether he was "sick of it" or not. The other half was just so she wouldn't look disappointed. It was only right when she was happy.

If going to high school would make her happy, he would do it.

It was only right.

"Hideo Shimada," she proudly announced, holding up the transfer paper with his new name at the very top of it. "Well?"

He took the papers from her hands. "Hideo like 'splendid man,' and Shimada like 'island rice paddy,' right?" he asked, trying to remember the characters and meanings that he'd learned from borrowing her Japanese textbook.

Kayoko nodded. "Yep! I think it fits you. I took his name and used the sounds as a base. I'm not very good at names, but it works!" She looked so pleased with herself that he couldn't tell her otherwise.

Not that he would. He had no opinion.

"So, everything is set up for us to go to school in a week or two?" he asked, glancing at the uniform she'd hung over his bed. It looked stuffy, but there was a matching one hanging over hers, except his had grey pants and hers had a skirt that was much too short for him to approve of.

She nodded again, beaming. "Yep! We're in class 3 together. I made sure to get us in the same class. It took a little begging, but I'm glad that we're together." She smiled at him.

He mirrored her smile, or tried to. She gaped at him.

"What? Did I do it wrong?"

She shook her head. "No. You look good. I like your smile."

Somehow, he knew that she was completely sincere.

Kayoko got sick the first week of school.

She came down with a common cold. Her immune system was always a little weaker than most people's, so she got sick a lot as it was. She knew that it was going to be a risk letting Hideo go to school without her, but she knew that he wouldn't hurt anyone in broad daylight.

She knew that he was killing for food now. With that woman, Reiko Tamura. Ever since he met her, his appetite around Kayoko had been lessening. However much he tried to hide it, she saw the blood on his clothes sometimes, even though he tried to wash it before she saw. She somehow knew that he'd become one of the more dangerous ones of his kind, even if he had kept her alive for some reason.

He could've killed her so many times, and no one would ever suspect a thing.

"One of us has to get our schoolwork," she told him as she pushed him weakly out the door, struggling since he'd planted his feet stubbornly and refused to move. He'd stubbornly stayed with her during the first day of school, trying to discern whether or not she was at any risk of getting even sicker. "I think it should be the one who's healthy. Besides, what if you caught what I have?"

"I don't get sick."

He didn't get it. "All the more reason for you to go! Hide, please, I need to rest, and you need to go to school! It's bad to miss if you're not sick!" she protested, looking up at him desperately.

Sighing, Hideo nodded, relenting at the look on her face. "I'll make sure to get your work as well. I'll get what we missed yesterday, too. Okay?"

She nodded with a smile. "Good. I'll make sure there's food on the table for you when you get home," she replied.

He patted her gently on the head. "Don't worry about trivial things like that. Rest now. Get better, so you don't have to send me to school alone." His words were blunt, but not unkind as he turned, walking towards the school.

As she waved him goodbye, she wondered when she started thinking of Hideo as a "he" and not an "it."

Shinichi Izumi was an interesting person.

He reacted to Hideo the way that he'd assumed Kayoko would. Izumi reacted with hostility, threatening violence, even though Hideo claimed he wasn't violent. Even though the creature in his arm was being more open about giving Hideo a chance, Izumi was stubbornly refusing to give up.

"If I was violent, my body count would be in the double digits. Plus, I wouldn't be living alongside a human," he reasoned, trying to assure Izumi that he was of no threat.

It backfired horribly. Izumi's eyes widened comically, then narrowed until they were mere slits. They felt like they were trying to kill Hideo with just a gaze. "You're living with a human? And you haven't killed them yet? Bullshit."

"Shinichi. He's telling the truth." Migi, the more reasonable of the two, validated Hideo's claims.

Hideo nodded. "Believe me. I wouldn't kill her. It isn't right," he added.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. It's not right if she's dead." He paused, seeing Izumi's confusion mix with his hatred. "She knows about me. And she's accepted me as I am. She even gave me my name."

The human boy growled. "I still can't believe you haven't killed her," he mumbled.

Hideo blinked. "I told you. It's not right."

Before Izumi could say anything more, Migi interjected himself into the conversation once more. "You said a human gave you your name. Remind me what it is again," he asked politely. It was nice to talk with someone who was reasonable.

"Hideo. Hideo Shimada."

Migi paused for a moment, clearly going over all of the information in his head. "Hideo Shimada… Interesting choice in name. Especially from a human."

"She said it fit me."

Hideo stood his ground firmly, even asking for Izumi to show him to class 3. If Kayoko were there, he wouldn't need to ask Izumi, but he didn't talk to anyone else, as he'd arrived late and had to fill out some papers, then explain why he missed the first day of classes. Plus, socializing was never part of his mission, or a strong point of his. He'd only ever interacted with Kayoko, and sometimes the people they briefly spoke to when they went out to shop or just get some air.

As Izumi showed him to class 3, he asked, "Why didn't I notice you until today?" Hideo looked towards him, then hummed.

"I was at home yesterday. Kayoko is sick. It's why I was late this morning."

When he said her name, Izumi reacted violently. He grabbed Hideo by the collar and glared at him. "You… you're living with Kayoko? Kayoko Kenzaki?" Hideo nodded, not seeing what was so wrong with that. "You bastard. If you hurt her… I'll kill you," he growled.

Hideo grabbed Izumi's hands and pried them off his shirt. "You're being dramatic. I told you already. It's not right for her to die," he drawled, meeting Izumi's angry gaze with his own calm one.

He could feel Izumi's murderous gaze on his back, but he couldn't pay any attention to it. He knew that, logically, it didn't make sense for Kayoko to die. It wasn't right for her not to have a spark of life in her eyes. He couldn't kill her, because, to him, it would be wrong.

Glancing back, he saw Izumi muttering something to Migi, his right hand.

Whatever it was, it didn't concern him.

"Migi. What did he mean when he said that… it's not right for Kayoko to die? Does he… feel something for her?"

The eye in his hand blinked at him, as if it was in thought for a moment. "Shimada is one of my kind. He runs on pure logic, not emotion. It's impossible for him to feel anything for her. His logic somehow convinced him that the girl is better off alive." Migi paused for a second. "But when you threatened him, I could feel that he was not angry that you threatened him, but that you insinuated that he would kill her."

Shinichi looked up, his eyes following Shimada's back as he entered class 3. He looked like every other parasite he'd ever seen, especially the eyes. His eyes were as dead as Ryoko Tamiya's, even if he carried himself a little differently.

"Shinichi." He looked to Migi again. "He isn't a threat. He's not here to hurt anyone. If he was, that girl would have been dead, and you would never have known it was him."

He gritted his teeth, knowing that Migi was right. But he didn't like the fact that Kayoko was living with someone so dangerous. Her life was in danger, and he wasn't sure that there was anything that he could do to help her.

"Hideo Shimada, huh?"