Bloodbath

Chapter 27

Zoe slowly made her way towards Nana, her vectors ready to kill.

Nana released hers as well and waited for the blond to make the first move.

"Guys, knock it off!" Tommy tried to get between them. "This is ridiculous!"

"Stay out of this," Zoe said coldly, using one of her vectors to push him out of the way.

This angered Nana, who attacked Zoe a moment later. She used one of her own vectors to punch her, sending the blond into the side of the house with a crash.

From inside, the guys looked up, surprised.

"What was that?" Takuya asked.

"I have no idea," J.P. replied.

Takuya stood up. "I better go check it out."

Zoe threw Nana into a nearby tree, then punched her in the face.

"Stop it!" Tommy shouted at them.

The girls ignored him and continued to fight. Zoe was hit in the stomach, then knocked to the ground. Just as Nana was about to attack her again, Zoe jumped up and moved out of the way at the last second.

Before she could retaliate, Tommy ran out in front of her.

"Stop it already!" He shouted.

Zoe paused, having yet another flashback. She could see Takuya as a child. His clothes were covered in blood and tears were pouring down his face. "Stop it already!" He was yelling.

The blond fell to her knees, her head filling with pain as it normally did.

Just then, Takuya ran out.

"What's going on?" He asked, rushing to Zoe's side.

"Nothing," Tommy tried to say nonchalantly.

Nana only stood there, perplexed.

"Zoe, are you okay?" Takuya asked her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Zoe looked up and smiled, back to her child-like persona. "Takuya!" She cried out happily, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Takuya smiled as well, pulling her up to a stand. "Looks like you're feeling better, huh?"

"Better," Zoe repeated.

What just happened? Nana wondered. Why does she keep going back and forth between these two personalities? What was triggering the change?

Takuya looked at Nana. "Look, I know we didn't get off to a good start, but you're still welcome here."

Tommy laughed sheepishly. "She gets cranky when she doesn't eat."

"Well then, get in the house and have some food already," the brunette said with a laugh.

The four of them walked into the house, Tommy and Nana still somewhat confused about Zoe's condition.

"We have fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and biscuits," Takuya told them. "Courtesy of Kouji."

Kouji snorted. "More like courtesy of KFC...."

"Yeah, Kouji's cooking talents only go as far as the microwave," Kouichi teased.

"At least I'm smart enough not to put metal or tin foil in the microwave," Kouji shot back.

"One time! That was one fricken time, and I hadn't slept in like two days."

Kouji rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We still needed a new microwave after that."

"So," Courtney butted in, trying to sound sweet. "How are you feeling, Zoe?"

Zoe thought for a moment. What was the girl's name again? What did the guys call her?

"Bitch!" Zoe said happily, remembering.

Everyone burst out laughing, except for Courtney at least.

"What did you just say?!" She stalked over to the blond. "Say it again! I fucking dare you!"

Zoe blinked. "Bitch?"

"Why, you little-"

Takuya pushed Zoe behind him. "Leave her alone," he warned.

"But she-"

"Look, she didn't know what she was saying," Takuya said. He turned to Zoe. "Her name is Courtney."

"Courtney?" Zoe asked, then looked at the redhead. "Courtney!"

"Yeah, remember that," she sneered.

Takuya sighed. "She will. Let's just eat already."

As they sat at the large table, Nana looked at Takuya.

"I'm really sorry about attacking Zoe like that," she said, embarrassed. "I don't know what came over me...."

"Don't worry about it. Zoe's fine and people do crazy things when they're hungry. Just ask J.P.," Takuya joked.

"Hey!" J.P. glared at him. "Was it my fault that Dunkin Donuts ran out of pink-frosted donuts with sprinkles?!"

Kouji smirked. "Wow, what a manly donut."

"Do NOT mess with my donut!"

"It wasn't the worker's fault they ran out. You didn't have to jump over the counter and tackle him," Kouji shot back.

Kouichi rolled his eyes. "Dammit, just shut up already."

Within minutes, Nana had cleaned off her plate, before even J.P. had finished.

"Sorry," she said, turning red. "Guess I was hungrier than I thought........."

Zoe suddenly held out the rest of her plate, a smile on her face. "Nana."

Nana blinked, confused. "Is this for me?"

Takuya grinned. "Aww, Zoe knows you're still hungry, so she's giving you the rest of her food. Isn't she cute? Uh....I mean...uh..."

"Admit it, Takuya. You like Zoe," Tommy teased.

"Shut up!"

"Are you sure?" Nana asked Zoe.

The blond nodded. "Nana."

Nana smiled. "Thank you."

At the research facility

Chief Kurama sat in his office, his mind elsewhere. He was thinking about his past, before he started working for Professor Kakuzawa.

"Come on. It'll be a great opportunity."

Twenty-seven year-old Daichi Kurama looked down. "I don't know....."

Yu Kakuzawa looked at his best friend. "I really want you to work at the research facility my father owns. But you can't tell anyone about it, though."

Kurama shook his head. "Sorry, but you'll have to find someone else for the job."

He began to walk away, then heard Kakuzawa call out after him. "Don't you want to see the aftermath of humanity?"

The man stopped, shuddering. He had seen a horrible sight about four days ago, a memory he wished he could erase.

It had been raining out that night. Policemen were gathered outside of a hotel, their guns ready. Twenty feet away was a child's tricycle, a small basket in front. Inside the basket was a woman's severed head.

Two officers cautiously opened the door to one of the rooms, still pointing their guns. They slowly walked in, then stopped dead in their tracks as they heard a noise. A moment later, a little girl with blond hair emerged out of the bathroom. She was wearing pink pajamas and slippers, as well as a matching nightcap. The girl was crying, burying her face in her hands.

"Poor kid. She must've seen the whole thing," one of the officers said, walking over to her. "Are there scary people inside?" He asked her, wording it for the four year-old to understand.

The girl sniffled, then nodded. The policeman signalled for the other officers to to move in. As he tried to comfort her, the squad searched the room, looking in anything large enough to conceal a person. They checked the bathroom as well, yet found no one.

"Where are the scary people?" The officer asked the little girl.

She pointed at him, much to his confusion.

"Huh?"

Suddenly his head exploded, blood squirting up like a geiser.

The girl smiled, cutting another officer in half a second later.

"Shoot her!" One of the other policemen yelled out.

Frightened, the girl sprinted out of the hotel room, managing to escape from their gunfire. They pursued her, yet she was somehow able to get away, despite being only a young child and much slower at running than them. There was no sign of her for another four years, as the killings had stopped after that incident. She was found shortly after a mass killing, known as the Carnival Massacre....

Kurama rubbed his tired eyes, then heard his phone ring.

"Hello?" He said in a dull voice.

The scientist waited a few seconds, listening to the man on the other line.

"Yes, sir. Right away." Kurama hung up the phone, sighing.

He took one last look at the pictures of his wife and Nana, then left his office to meet with his boss. As reluctant as he was to follow the man's orders, he had no choice at this point. He would forever be in debt with the director.

yeah, the little girl was obviously zoe. and just to clear things up, after she escaped from the cops, she ran into the woods and fell down a hill, hitting her head. she was sent to the orphanage a day later, after someone found her. i didn't feel like explaining that part in the story so i just figured id say it here. okay stay tuned for the next chapter, coming soon. by the way, i hope this chapter didn't come out too stupid or corny well, later