Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 2: Awakened Blood
Hikari followed Kaito and Orbital 7 through the corridors of Heartland Tower to the lab. During the whole, there had been absolutely no conversation between Hikari and Kaito. It seemed to Hikari that the young man was not much of a conversationalist. It also seemed like there was something that was troubling Kaito a great deal. Though Hikari could not figure out what that something might be. He just seemed to have kind of a worried look in his eyes.
"So, how long have you known Shark?" Kaito asked, finally breaking the long silence.
"Who?" Hikari asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sorry, I mean Ryoga Kamishiro." Kaito explained.
"Oh, he's sort of a childhood friend." Hikari explained. "This morning is the first time I've seen him in years. If you don't mind me asking, how'd Ryoga get a nickname like Shark?"
Kaito shrugged. "I guess when you use a deck full of shark monsters, a nickname like that kind of sticks."
After a few moments, Hikari and Kaito finally reached the lab. Christopher was inside looking at some data on one of the lab's computers when he noticed their arrival.
"You must be Ms. Fudo." Christopher greeted as he walked over. "I'm Christopher Arclight. Thank you for coming all this way to help."
"It's no problem." Hikari assured him before turning to look at the large reactor inside the room. "So this is your Momentum Reactor, huh?"
"It took us quite some time to build." Christopher replied. "We built it following the specifications of your father's most recent designs."
"My dad mentioned that you're using this reactor for some kind of special project, but he was pretty sketchy on the details." Hikari revealed. "Mind filling me in?"
"We're hoping to use this reactor to open doorways into other dimensions." Kaito explained.
Hikari blinked a little in surprise. "Wow… that's a pretty ambitious project."
"You don't think it's possible?" Christopher asked.
"No, it might be possible." Hikari answered. "My dad once told me that a Momentum Reactor could be used to travel through time."
"Are you serious?" a surprised Kaito asked.
"I've never read anything about such a thing." An equally surprised Christopher spoke. "Is this some sort of secret project of your father's?"
"Nope, this is just something from a story that my dad told me a few years ago." Hikari explained. "I don't entirely believe it myself. Supposedly this was something that happened before I was born. A sad old man from the future came back through time to try and change history for the better, but things got a little out of hand."
"That does sound extraordinary." Christopher admitted.
"Yeah. But as far as I know, it's just a story." Hikari replied. "Let's focus on what you guys have been trying to do. So have you had any success so far?"
"We tried opening up a portal last night, but just when it seemed like one was about to open, the emergency shutdown system kicked in." Christopher answered.
"Well, that could mean either one of two things." Hikari theorized. "Either punching holes into other dimensions is just too much for this reactor to handle, or there's some sort of software glitch. We should start by looking at the control programing for the reactor to see if there are any problems."
"You guys go ahead and get started." Kaito told them. "I'll come back to help after I get a bite to eat."
"Kaito, I'm sure Ms. Fudo and I can handle things on our own." Christopher told him. "Why don't you take the afternoon off and go check on Droite?"
"I'm sure Droite's doing okay." Kaito replied. "The important thing right now is finishing this project."
"Excuse me, but who's this person you guys are talking about?" Hikari asked.
"Pardon us. Droite is a friend of ours who was here last night during our first attempt." Christopher explained. "She was injured from a power surge that occurred before the shutdown system activated."
"I see…" Hikari replied, finally figuring out why Kaito seemed so worried. "Well hey, if you're worried about this friend of, Kaito you should go check on her. Christopher and I can handle things just fine without you."
"I'd prefer to work, if it's all the same to you two." Kaito told them as he headed for the door. "Besides, I'm sure Droite doesn't want to be around me right now. Orbital, stay here and help Christopher and Ms. Fudo."
"Y-yes sir!" Orbital replied with a salute. With that, Kaito exited the lab.
Christopher gave a heavy sigh. "That young man can be so stubborn sometimes."
"He reminds me a little of my Uncle Jack." Hikari remarked. "It also seems like he's blaming himself for what happened in that accident, the poor guy."
"Yes, I'm sure that Kaito feels responsible for what happened." Christopher agreed. "Well, shall we get to work?"
"Sure." Hikari agreed. "Let's get started."
Shark entered the Kamishiro Mansion with the rest of the ex-Barian Emperors and headed into the living room. The whole trip back from the academy, Shark had been unable to get Hikari out of his head. In truth, Shark had always had a little bit of a crush on Hikari ever since the day they met, and he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she had become since then. As soon as Shark and the other four got into the living room and sat down, he was finally able to push Hikari from his thoughts to focus on some household business.
"Okay, so I guess the only thing we need to deal with right now is who's turn it is to cook dinner tonight." Shark told the others.
"Well, it was your turn last night, so tonight it looks like I'm the one." Durbe answered. "Tomorrow night it'll be Mizael's turn again, since Merag's out of town."
"Hey! Wait just a damn minute!" Gilag protested. "How come you never let Alit and me cook anymore?"
"Yeah! You guys have only ever let us cook dinner once!" Alit pointed out.
"Are you two serious?" Shark told them. "Gilag, do you remember what happened after we ate that rabbit stew you made that one time? We all had to get our stomachs pumped!"
"That stew recipe I used was the best! I don't know what happened!" the muscular ex-Barian responded.
"Your mistake was you bought the meat you used from some man on a street corner who wasn't an actual butcher." Durbe calmly pointed out.
"Hey! I got that meat cheap!" Gilag told them. "You know how much rabbit would've cost at an actual butcher shop?"
"I saw you put that foul meat into that wretched stew you forced on us." Mizael reminded him. "It was green and obviously unfit for human consumption! And like it or not, we're human now!"
"As for you Alit," Shark continued, "that chili you cooked was hotter than the surface of the sun!"
"Well excuse me for trying to add a little spice to our meals!" Alit protested as he waved his arms. "Can you blame me with all the bland stuff that you guys cook? Besides, the dinners that Gilag and I cooked don't even come close to that little dinner Vector made for us that one time!"
Shark, Durbe, and Mizael all cringed a bit when they recalled the one and only time they had allowed the mad ex-Barian Emperor, Vector to cook dinner for them. Maybe it was because they were tired that evening from the mountain of schoolwork they had to work on during that time, but against their better judgment they had let Vector handle dinner. That night, Vector had cooked a different kind of meat dish for each member of the group, though he was very vague about the kind of meat he had used. The meal had turned out to be very tasty. But as they all began to digest what they had eaten, Vector had revealed the secret ingredient that he had used for everyone's dish. The meat he had used was road kill that he had scrapped off the side of the highway out of town.
"Look, I'm tired of talking about this. Durbe's cooking tonight, and that's that!" Shark decided. "But Durbe, maybe tonight you should avoid cooking anything that has meat in it."
"I'll see what I can do, Nasch." Durbe replied as he got up.
"Well, we tried buddy." Alit told Gilag. "Wanna go kill some time at the arcade?"
"Sounds good." Gilag agreed.
With that, Alit and Gilag exited the room while Durbe headed for the kitchen. Mizael left the room moments later to do his own thing, leaving Shark alone once again. Thoughts of Hikari began to flood back into the water duelist's mind. He thought about leaving and swinging by Heartland Tower to see her, but decided against it. Shark was snapped from his thoughts by the sound of his ringing D-Gazer. He looked at the device and saw that it was Rio calling him. He clicked on the device, and an image of his twin sister appeared on the screen.
"Hi Ryoga." Rio cheerfully greeted. "Just thought I'd call to check in."
"How your trip going?" Shark asked. "You and Iris doing okay?"
"We're fine. Iris is taking a little nap right now." Rio answered. "So, anything interesting happing back home?"
"Well… Hikari Fudo's in town." Shark answered somewhat hesitantly.
A wry smirk appeared on Rio's face. "Hikari Fudo, huh? You must be real glad to see her again?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shark asked.
"Oh come on, Ryoga. I know you've had a crush on Hikari for a long time." Rio revealed. "So, how long is she going to be in Heartland?"
"I think she said about a week, at least." Shark replied.
"Well then this is the perfect opportunity for you to ask her out." Rio told him. "You probably won't get a better chance than this."
"What the… I can't ask out Hikari!" Shark told her.
"Why not?" Rio asked. "I think the two of you would make a good couple."
"There are tons of reasons why!" Shark insisted. "For one thing, there's the shady reputation I ended up with after you ended up in the hospital. Then of course there's the little fact that two years ago I was an alien conqueror that almost destroyed two worlds."
"If she's still the Hikari Fudo I remember, I'm sure she's not going to care about any of that stuff." Rio assured him.
"Let's face it, Rio. When it comes right down to it, Hikari's a princess and I'm just scum." Shark told her as he slumped back on the couch. "There's no way she'd be interested in someone like me. Besides, someone like her probably has a boyfriend already."
"You'll never know unless you ask." Rio pointed out. "Look Ryoga, I think it's about time that you got yourself a girlfriend. Just think about, okay?"
"…Yeah, okay. I'll think about it." Shark finally agreed.
"Good." Rio replied. "Well, I should probably be going now. See you soon."
"Later." Shark replied before the screen of his D-Gazer went dark.
Shark sighed and leaned his head back over the side of the couch. He had to admit that Rio did have a point. He was sixteen, yet he had never made an appearance on the dating scene. Maybe it was a good idea for him to try asking Hikari out. He didn't really have much to lose. Shark toyed again with the idea of swinging by Heartland Tower. But in the end he decided that it could wait until tomorrow. Right now, he decided he needed a little nap.
Dusk fell as Droite wandered aimlessly through the city. She had been walking around for hours, feeling like she was trapped in a living nightmare. Droite no longer had a heartbeat or a pulse. She actually had become a member of the walking dead, and she assumed that the accident at Kaito's lab was the cause. Droite had decided against going to a doctor about her condition. She was afraid that any doctor that examined her might want to dissect her to try and figure out what she was.
Droite was more afraid than she had ever been in her whole life. She had no idea what was happening to her, but it seemed like she was changing into something. She also felt incredibly weak, like she barely had an ounce of energy left in her. As Droite continued down the deserted sidewalk she was on, she spotted a bench on the corner. She staggered over to it and sat down in order to try and calmly figure out what to do. It finally occurred to her to go back to Heartland Tower and see Kaito. There was a chance that he and Christopher might be able to come up with some kind of cure to her condition. Plus she really wanted to see Kaito at that moment.
As Droite sat on the bench, a man in his mid-thirties emerged from the bar across the street. He had slightly long dark-brown hair and wore a grey suit with a red tie and a brown overcoat. Upon spotting Droite on the bench, the man smirked and began to walk over.
"Hey there, little lady." The man spoke, getting Droite's attention. "Couldn't help but notice you all alone over here. Mind if I sit down?"
"Get lost." Droite told him.
The man ignored Droite's command and sat down next to her on the bench. "My name's Genta. What's yours?"
"Go away!" Droite ordered. "I'm… I'm not feeling well."
"Well, maybe I can make you feel better." Genta offered as he leaned in close. "What's say you and I go back to my place for the night?"
Droite was about to try telling Genta to leave again when a strange instinct suddenly took hold of her. She suddenly wanted to lock her lips with Genta, but not to kiss him. It was more like she was looking at a water pitcher that she could take a drink from, and did indeed feel something that could only be described as thirst. Despite her revulsion towards the man, Droite grabbed hold of Genta's face and jammed her tongue into his mouth. His breath tasted of liquor and tobacco, but she felt she needed to keep hold.
Droite took a deep breath and suddenly she felt some kind of energy flowing into her through her mouth. Unbeknownst to Droite, Genta's body had begun to glow with a bright purple aura. Genta attempted to struggle to get away, but Droite kept a tight grip on his face. In a matter of moments, Droite pushed Genta onto his back as she continued to suck the energy out of him. As Droite continued to drain more and more life from him, Genta's hair turned white and his body began to shrivel up.
Once Droite had drained away every last ounce of energy left from Genta, she pulled away and sat back up. She found that she no longer felt weak. In fact, she felt invigorated. There was a sort of afterglow like the kind one might feel right after having sex. She licked her lips and suddenly found that she had gained a pair of sharp incisor fangs. After a few moments, Droite finally looked down and saw Genta's desiccated corpse beneath her. In that moment, new instincts and memories suddenly overtook her and she suddenly knew what she was, what she had become, what she had always been, and what she now had to do. With this clarity she was no longer afraid of what was happening to her. She welcomed it in fact, and went off into the streets to stalk for her next victim.
Author's Note: There are two reasons why I have Rio being away on a trip in this story. The first is because so I wouldn't have to write for as many characters. The second is because of an idea for another ZEXAL story I have featuring Rio. The idea in question is still being developed, but it's going to be taking place at the same time as this story.
Please review and let me know what you think.