Back with another chapter of Shifted! I'm on a roll!-skips off cheering-
Gingka:-sweatdrops- Well, someone's having a good day. Anyway, Galaxy's sorry for taking so long to update, AGAIN, and she promises that updates will be more frequent, as this story is now her main focus. Enjoy!
They had been training for a full week now. After the initial incident between Gingka and Guro, there had been no less than twenty more, which Madoka had kept careful record of every time.
Every time, it was the same. Gingka would hear 'Half-breed' from a mile away and would instantly groan in annoyance. Moments later, the redhead would find himself with his back pressed against the nearest large object, with Guro flicking his snake tongue almost up Gingka's nose. A few taunts would be thrown, Gingka's mostly delivered in a cold, emotionless tone, while Guro never hesitated to hiss in a teasing tone.
Madoka was beginning to think that there was a bit more history between her halfbreed friend and the purebred bully than either of them was letting on. The was why she now waited, back pressed against the wall, for Gingka to finish his training session with the head shapeshifting teacher.
The redhead was concentrating, eyes closed, wearing a loose-fitting pair of brown training pants. A light orange glow was shining through his bare skin from the flames inside his body, flames which Madoka had quickly learned to identify and watch for. Even trapped inside the body of her friend, the flames could still burn if she were to touch the glowing orange skin.
A large blue pair of wings was present on Gingka's back, leftovers from his shift to a Pegasus earlier that morning in preparation for the very training session he was now in. The entire area was completely silent. Even the trees were not rustling, despite a light breeze that was blowing.
Madoka held her breath as the large wings on Gingka's back began slowly shrinking in size. The teacher smiled triumphantly, but the solemn expression on Gingka's face remained unchanged as his horse's tail began shortening in length and thinning.
"With practice, the process will grow faster. Excellent job."
Gingka nearly jumped at the sound of the trainer's voice, glancing over his shoulder in surprise and grinning triumphantly as he saw that no trace of wings or tail remained. The orange glow around him faded completely, turning to a thin coating of frost as the powers within his body shifted into the freezing cold of ice.
Madoka walked over and handed Gingka his shirt, congratulating him.
"Hey, half-breed!"
That made twenty-one as Gingka again groaned and turned to face Guro.
"What now, idiot?" he asked, an undertone of annoyance in his voice as the snakelike shifter slithered towards him.
"Took you long enough to complete that simple task. I could do it when i was five." Guro smirked, attempting to back Gingka up against a wall, but finding, to his surprise, that the redhead stood his ground rather than backing.
"Considering that it's only been four years since i even found out i was a shifter, i think i've got that beat already." Gingka smirked, much to Guro's annoyance.
"You would be wise not to cross me." Guro snarled, his appearance changing from that of a snake to that of a tiger.
Instantly, Gingka's eyes flashed to reptilian as his teeth turned to fangs. "On the contrary, you would be wise not to cross me a second time." he growled, allowing a few flames to play around his fangs before going back to full human and stalking off, leaving a very surprised-looking Guro behind.
Madoka nervously followed Gingka, rather surprised herself at his sudden, menacing outburst.
"That was interesting." she commented as they left the training building.
"I had to try keeping him from bothering me again. It was starting to get annoying." Gingka muttered.
"Oh…" Madoka muttered.
Gingka looked up and sighed. "It's a crazy life, being a shapeshifter."
"That much i can tell." Madoka said. "But, you are amazing. You can do things that i can only dream of, things that i thought were mere myths."
"So did i, until i turned into a dragon." Gingka chuckled.
Madoka laughed. "I'll bet."
Gingka grinned, flashing a set of dragon's fangs at the brunette.
"You know, i don' think i'll ever get used to that." Madoka laughed nervously.
Gingka blew a puff of smoke into the air. "I scared myself half to death the first time i looked in the mirror." he laughed,
"I'll bet." Madoka sighed.
Gingka smiled slightly and put an arm around the brunette's shoulders, giving her a light squeeze and pulling her close.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah… This is just all so weird and surreal that i feel like i'm in a dream." Madoka sighed.
"I feel like i've been living a dream for the last four years." Gingka sighed, removing his arm from Madoka's shoulders and looking up at the sky, his skin glowing a slight orange as he did so. A chilling breeze blew through, causing Madoka to shiver slightly and move closer to the half-breed.
"It's a long way back to the main compound, and it seems to be getting late." Gingka commented, looking at the setting sun. "Should we make camp, or fly back?"
"I don't know…" Madoka sighed.
"Hop on then." Gingka sighed, shifting to dragon form. Madoka climbed on, and Gingka leapt into the air.
A few hours later, the two arrived at the compound where the others were staying.
Weren't we going to talk to the shifter leader about the Darkling problem?" Kyoya asked as Gingka and Madoka entered.
"He's not there right now. Apparently he's off somewhere visiting another Shifter country or something." Gingka sighed.
"Oh." Kyoya muttered.
"Look out!" Zero suddenly yelped as someone walked in and hit Madoka on the back of the head with a stick, knocking her out cold.
Gingka whirled and instantly shifted to dragon form, opening his mouth to freeze the intruder where he stood, but coughing and falling unconscious himself as the masked figure sprayed a foglike substance at him. The redhead dropped to the ground with a low moan, shifting back to human form as he did so.
"Hey! Nobody knocks out our friends without having to deal with us!" Kyoya snarled, drawing his sword. The younger bladers did the same, but were soon knocked out by a few Darklings that entered the room.
"Good work. Let's get them back to our compound."
Hours later, Gingka awoke with a moan. The moment his eyes opened, all of his senses snapped into high alert, as he heard the panicked shouting of his friends. The redhead sat bolt upright, looking around through the near-complete darkness and finding that he was in a large room.
"Madoka?!"
"Gingka! Where are we?! What's going on?!"
"Hang on, i'm coming!" Gingka scrambled to his feet and darted forwards, only to be jerked roughly back by his arms.
"What the?!" the half-breed shifter exclaimed as he glanced down at his wrists, following a set of shackles to the wall.
"Brilliant…" Gingka groaned.
"Gingka?! Are you alright?" Madoka's frightened voice called.
"I'm fine. Just chained to a wall…" Gingka muttered, glowing white and beginning to shift to dragon form.
However, his intentions were rudely interrupted as the chains binding him glowed blue and sparked, a wave of energy traveling from him to the wall. Gingka gasped as he fell to his knees, panting.
"What… Was that?!" he exclaimed.
"The chains are enchanted, so to speak. They drain the power that would otherwise allow you to shift forms, and we really can't have that, now can we?" a voice echoed.
Gingka snarled. "Guro, you snake!"
"Surprised, halfbreed?" Guro cackled.