Hello to all readers. I know it took me sooooo long to complete my last chapter. Writing something original was difficult, to say the least. This chapter is the one that will shake things up a bit before things really go to hell. Enjoy.
Phase 10 - Predation: The Horrible Truth
A small group of Anti-Bodies were in front of an orphanage. Their mission was to locate and contain victims of the Apocalypse Virus after it was discovered that the new strain was not only manufactured by Shuuichirou Keido, but also the victims had Helheim fruit growing from their bodies. And as such, they were attraching the Inves, monsters that were connected to the virus. When they devoured the fruit, the Inves grow in size and power. As such, GHQ had to take preventative measures to insure public safety by eliminating any Inves hotspots as well as burning down all traces of the fruit. This pecticular squad had recently aquired information of an infected person being seen in the outskirts of Tokyo. In the attic of the orphanage was Jun, the younger brother of Yahiro. They were both on the run from the GHQ after Funeral Parlor assaulted Isolation Ward 4 to rescue Shu and Kenji. Jun was groaning in pain due to not taking treatment for quite some went out to retrieve some food, went through the back door, unaware of the GHQ's presence, and went to the attic to check in on him. He saw Jun reaching for a knife.
"Jun. Are you okay?"
Half of Jun's face was covered in mineral-like infections. It was slowily encompassing his entire body.
"What's wrong?"
Just then, Yahiro heard noise coming from downstairs. The one leading this squad was Makoto Segai. He managed to verify the information by sticking his pistol inside a nun's mouth. The nun instantly gave their location.
"I appreciate your cooperation."
The nun looked down in guilt.
"Don't try to beat yourself up over this. No one will blame you for wanting to live. Besides, I'm sure you must be aware of recent events by now."
The soldiers went upstairs to apprehend the brothers. However, as soon as they got to the attic, they were gone. Like they were not even there.
"Well, that's disappointing. I just hate it when they run away."
Segai looked at the floor, and found a virus shard.
"But at least we know we're on the right track."
xxxxxx
(Tenozu High)
It was just another day at school. The atmosphere was somehow lighter than usual. A couple of weeks ago, the mood was soul-crushing anxiety. But three major events happened. First, a battle between riders was online for all to see, and people agreed it was tremendous to watch. Second, the perpetrator of the Inves attacks on people as well as the new strain of the Apocalypse Virus was uncovered. Although the people's trust in the GHQ was near rock-bottom, it dodged a bullet thanks in part to Bravo and Baron taking part of the arrest of the perpetrator and discovery of the underground greenhouse. The one that was distributing the new strain all over Tokyo. A few of the emitters were made public and cordoned off pending further investigation. It was the first time the occupational government looked incompetent for the first, indicating its departure from Japan. It was a long shot, but one that made the people of Japan feel optimistic for the future. Lastly, a high school student made his second stand-up act online, and people loved it. All-in-all, everthing looked bright. This was epitomized by Souta making a film with Inori as the star. There was even a mini-crew to take part in the filming. Inori was in from of a camera while Souta was giving direction.
"Okay, we're ready to roll. You're distraught by the news over your lover's death. And action."
Meanwhile, Shu was having a phone coversation with Gai.
"What? One week? That seems like kind of a long time for the leader to be away, isn't it?"
Shu was eating lunch while talking.
"Some matters require me to show up in person. Just enjoy being a normal kid for a few days."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I can manage that."
Shu noticed Hare in front of him while he was talking to Gai with his headset. He had to cut the conversation short due to his involvement with Funeral Parlor still being a secret.
"Uh... we'll talk when you get back. Someone needs me right now. Later."
Shu hung up as Hare continued to stare at him.
"Uh... Hey, Hare. What can I do for you?"
"Oh... it's nothing. Just uh..."
"Helping out Souta, right?"
"Uh... yeah. that's it."
"Speaking of which, I just remembered that I needed to go get some props he asked me to go get. I'll see you later."
"Yeah. later."
As Shu walked, he had this thought in his head.
'So. I have a week to be a average kid. Well, no time like the present.'
While this was happening, Inori recited her lines with a dull, emotionless tone.
"It cannot be true. I don't believe it."
"Cut! Cut!"
xxxxxx
Hare was in the classroom talking with Kanon. She spoke how different Shu has been recently.
"Shu doesn't seem the same to me lately. It's like he's gotten bolder or something."
"He is taking up comedy. Although I don't know if he actually wants to do that as a profession."
"It's more than that. It's almost like he's a different person."
"Maybe it was the time he took on an Inves for a while to help Souta and Inori while they were in trouble. Remember that?"
"Oh yeah. Wait, you don't think...?
"I don't really know, Hare. All I do know is whatever did happen to Shu, it was something profound. Even before Oshima, a lot of things happened to Shu. But, I think you're taking these things happening to him out of proportion."
"Like, maybe this is Shu all along, but he didn't know how to express himself the way he does now?"
"Yeah. Maybe that's it. Maybe we're seeing Shu for the first time the way he wants to be seen instead of the way we thought he was."
"Huh. Never thought of it that way."
"Really?"
Kanon was now in Hare face with a sly smile on her face. This made her freak out a bit and back off three feet.
"I've seen the way he looked at you. First it was the docks, then at the beach. He actually has the hots for you, and you feel the same way. Why don't you take the next step, and help him be a man?"
Kanon chuckled with a cat's smile on her face.
"Stop torturing me!"
"Re~lax. I'm just playing with you."
Hare had a look on her face that didn't like her sense of humor.
"In all seriousness, life rarely goes the way we want it to. If you still have feelings for him, then accept him for who he really is. You're lucky to have that opportunity, Hare."
In that instant, Hare knew the conversation shifted from Shu to Yahiro.
"You still haven't heard from Yahiro, haven't you?"
"I even checked at the orphanage where we grew up, but they haven't seen him. I remember when I used to go there to see Yahiro. We used to spend hours there, playing as kids."
As Kanon continued to speak of childhood days, Hare was reminiscing the day when she first met Shu.
xxxxxx
(Flashback)
It was the first day of Tenozu High as the freshmen were standing for the opening ceremonies to commence their transition from middle school students to high school students. Hare was standing in the sixth row while Shu was standing in front of her. Hare was staring at the auditorium stage for a while before noticing a boy staring at her.
(Play Queen's You're my best friend)
She noticed back. For one moment, they had direct eye to eye contact, and she was smitten by him. Little did she know, the opposite would occur as well. The boy who made eye contact with her then turned his eyes to the front while being more red than a tomato. Later on in the day, she went to her homeroom where she would take her classes, and little did she know, they boy who stared at her was in the same place as well. She went to him, tapped his shoulder, and waited for him to turn around.
"Hi there."
The boy was shocked to see the girl he met for the first time to be in the same homeroom with him.
"Oh, hi. Nice to meet you. For real, I mean."
Hare chuckled for a bit before introducing herself.
"I'm Hare. What's yours?"
"Shu Ouma."
(end music)
xxxxxx
(present)
Kanon alerted Hare of something that was important to her.
"Hare. Listen to this."
Kanon was reading her horoscope on her holotablet. Her sign was Libra.
"'The object of your affection is at the aquarium?' What the heck? It's not like I'm trying to find a fish or anything."
Hare chuckle for a bit, and then asked,
"Can you check out mine?"
"Sure."
Kanon was such good friends with Hare that she knew her sign was Cancer.
"A tiger-striped tea kettle heralds love's arrival."
"Where are I supposed to find that?"
Out of nowhere, a tiger-striped tea kettle dropped on the classroom floor.
"No. Freaking. Way."
"Excuse me!"
The girls turned their head at the classroom door to see Shu. Hare was blushing a bit at Shu's seemingly coincidental appearance.
"Hey, Hare. Kanon, can I ask you a favor?"
Hare was silghtly disappointed that he wanted to see Kanon. However, Kanon thought different.
"Uh... yeah, Shu. What is it?"
"Can you take over my duties with Yahiro's movie? It's just something I gotta do."
Hare was curious as to what Shu meant. Kanon, on the other hand, had a clue to what he meant.
"Okay. But you owe me."
Shu clapped his hands together as a gesture of appreciation.
"Thanks a lot."
As Kanon left, Hare saw a smirk that indicated something, but could not point it. Then she turned to Shu.
"What is it?"
"Well, it's a question that's been in my mind for quite a time, but I couldn't bring myself to ask it."
Hare had her guesses to what Shu wanted to ask of her, but did not want to jump to conclusions. Although she did wish it was the question that she wanted Shu to say.
"Would you like to go out with me?"
Hare's heart skipped a beat while blushing. For a long time, this was what she wanted to hear from Shu's mouth. And now that she did, she had no clue what to say next. The next three minutes were the longest three minutes of her life. She just stood there, dumbfounded and speechless. While she was trying to say anything to indicate a yes, Shu spoke first.
(sigh) "Well, if you don't want to, I understand if..."
"YES I WILL."
(beat)
"Really?"
"Yeah. Yeah. I would really like to go out with you."
"Great. Let's go."
Shu held out his hand to her, and it made Hare estatic.
xxxxxx
(GHQ main headquarters)
In a makeshift courtroom, Keido was in handcuffs for being accused of crimes against humanity. Since the GHQ are affliated with the United Nations, they had that authority. However, it was limited, and could not be easily be exercised without authorization from appropriate channels. Today was the exception, and the GHQ were given permission to indict a GHQ employee with that charge. Not only was he caught red-handed by video-taped confession, there were a number of witnesses who testified against him. From threatening their lives to actually seeing how he controls the monsters he, allegedly, discovered, Keido was also waist-deep with experimentation that would make Frankenstein's work look like a misdeameanor. Combined with Colonel Dan Eagleman's covert investigation into Keido's work, as well as the forensics team recovering most of the deleted files which uncovered designs of emitters and their locations all over Tokyo, The trial was absolutely over with Keido looking at life imprisonment, at best. As the proceedings came to an end, Haruka was in the her seat looking at her brother. She was surprised that he was going to face the death penalty, and it did not even phase him. She wondered if he was either still reeling in from the shock of exposing himself and everything he had done, or perhaps that he just did not care what was happening to him. When she came outside, she was greeted by Marcus Yan. She was surprised.
"Supreme Commander."
"Please, don't look so surprised. And also, after today, I won't be supreme commander anymore. I'd just resigned. Due to your brother's crimes, we're all in a bind right now."
"Yes sir. I'm fully aware of that."
"I hope you won't put it against me,..."
"Sir. I am fully aware of what my brother has done. I do not codone it at all. Whatever punishment you have for him, I know it will be a fair one."
Commander Yan chuckled a bit.
"That's a little of a unusual attitude a family member would take, concerning he could face the death penalty for this."
"It's not that, sir."
"I know. Does your son know about this?"
"About how he's related to us? Honestly, I don't know. Recently, it feels like I have no idea who my son is anymore. At first, he was easy to predict how his reactions would be, but after the incident at Isolation Ward four..."
"Interesting. I had no idea he was there. Then again, I seem to recall 'arresting a civilan student on false pretenses' on Keido's charge count. That was your son?"
"Yes."
"My apologies about that. He's 17, right?"
"Yes, he is."
"I have a son about his age. Of course, I think that maybe the one thing we have in common. We both have sons that feel complete strangers to us."
"Perhaps."
"One more thing. Your department is now under full investigation. Your work is now put on hold until the investigation is over. Think of this as a opportunity to take a break when this is going on."
Haruka was surprised that the supreme commander of GHQ just gave her a vacation, albiet under a different pretense. Still, she took it.
"Thank you so much, sir. And good luck to you."
"I appreciate it."
xxxxxx
After a train ride to Hare's apartment to drop off their school bags, which was closer to the school than Shu's, they immediately went into the city to enjoy themselves. From clothing shops to snack stops to having fun at a arcade to singing a duet at a nearby karaoke booth, Shu wanted Hare to have a good time, and she was. Hare was beaming with joy and laughter whenever she was around Shu's smiling face. Both were not just enjoying each other's company, they were cherishing each other and every moment that came their way. They didn't care if their classmates were going to bust their kneecaps over this. They were having fun, spending time with each other, and enjoying each other. Both of them wondered if this is the reason people fall in love. And they were in love with other. All it takes is a declaration to make it official. It was already nighttime. Shu offered to take Hare home.
"Might as well. Your schoolbag is at my place."
Both were at the train station, waiting for it to come. Shu spoke to Hare.
"It was nice of Kanon to take over my duties for Souta's film."
"Yeah, it was."
"Although I hope the favor won't be anything bad. Heh-heh."
Shu looked at Hare's face, and was concerned.
"What's the mattter?"
"Kanon's worried about Yahiro. He's been missing for quite some time."
Shu's mood turned bitter when he heard Yahiro's name.
"She's worried about him."
"And you feel the same way?"
"Well, yeah. He's out friend, Shu. Don't you know where he is?"
"I don't know where he is, and I don't care."
Hare was shocked by Shu's last words.
"How can you say that about him, Shu? I thought he was your friend."
"That's what I thought, too. Until the day I went to jail for no good reason."
Hare was now confused by his words.
"Remember that explaintion I gave to the class for why I went to jail? Well, Yahiro played that part. He ratted me out because he thought I was going to rat him out first."
"What do you mean 'rat him out first?'"
"Do you know he has a little brother?"
'Yeah. Sometimes I would come to visit him to cheer him up. Why?"
"How did you think Yahiro paid for his medical bills?"
"He told me that his parents gave him and his little brother a lot of money if anything happened to them. They died in Lost Christmas."
"He actually get his money by selling Norma Gene to junkies."
Hare was now dumbfounded by this discovery. She never thought Yahiro would be a dealer of all things.
"No."
"Yes. When I dicovered it, things got tense between us, but I was willing to keep it a secret. For his little brother. And what does he do in return? Stabs me in the back. So, yeah. I'm pissed off at him about that. The only person I feel bad about is his little brother Jun. He has to pay for his brother's crap."
Hare was disheartened abouth how Yahiro was the one who sent Shu to jail after Shu was willing to keep a secret for him and his little brother. She did not want to think bad of Yahiro, but he was the reason why she almost lost Shu. And that is what made her angry at Yahiro while also feeling bad for Shu. He showed real friendship, and was falsely imprisoned because of it. The train finally arrived. While riding, Shu still had an angry look on his face. Hare tried to diffuse the ire in Shu by supporting his right to be angry while trying to find forgiveness.
"Shu, listen to me. I know you're angry about what Yahiro did to you. I'm not saying you shouldn't. But, you shouldn't let it stay inside of you. Anger brings out the worst in people."
"It just hurts so much. I thought of Yahiro as an actual good person. Someone I could trust. Then he sells me out to the GHQ even though I said I wouldn't. How is that fair?"
"It's not. But like I said beofre, don't let anger stay inside of you. You have more emotions inside of you that you can express."
It was then that Shu remember that beofre he talked about Yahiro, he was on a date with Hare, and the memories about that date came to him. He had a moment of happiness with the girl he liked. It was then he decided to tell Hare how he felt about her. And he wanted to do it with a smile on his face. When Hare saw that smile as she finished, she blushed once more.
"You're right. I do have more emotions in me than anger."
Shu got closer to Hare.
"Hare, I have this thing I wanted to say to you, but I didn't know what you would say in return. Because for there to be a meaningful connection btween two people, communication has to be a two way street. What I'm trying to say is this."
Shu hesitated at first, but he mustered up all the courage in his body, heart, and soul to confess his emotions to Hare.
"I...have been in love with you for quite some time. But, when it comes to love, it's like I said before. It's a two-way street. So I want to know. Do you feel the same way about me?"
Hare was stunned by what happened. Shu just confessed his feelings to her. For her, it was the most amazing thing to happen to her. Not only did want to do the same thing, she felt compelled. Albiet, in a whispered voice. She got closer to Shu, but had her head down.
"Yes. I do. Hearing how you feel about me..."
Hare now had her up up, facing Shu, with tears in her eyes. There were tears of joy.
"Makes me so happy."
Shu looked at her face with a smile on his face. Hare smiled back. Shu then placed one hand on her face to wipe off her tears, then placed it near her chin to get closer to her. Hare took it as a cue to make the relationship official. Both were getting closer and closer to each other, lips out in the open as the space between them was shrinking and shrinking. But, just as the train doors sild open, someone wearing a hoodie came rushing into the train, falling down on the floor while spilling pills all over the floor. This interrupted a special moment as Shu and Hare turned to see what was happening. When the train doors closed, Hare looked to the window next to them to see two unsavory characters at the station stop. Shu was still looking at the hooded person as he looked familiar. Not in a good way. He became more so when he spoke.
"Damn it."
Other people were seeing what was the commotion. The hooded person was picking up the pills he spilled when he threw himself inside the train. Shu finally knew who the hooded person was.
"Yahiro."
He flinched when he heard his name spoken by somebody else. He truned around to see Shu with Hare.
"Shu. Well, well. Looks like you two have gotten close."
"We were having a special moment until you barged in here."
Yahiro was surprised by Shu's tone and slightly-angered response.
"So, is that all you have to say to me?"
"What do you expect me to tell you? You want to get into it here, on the train?"
Shu stood silent, as Yahiro did bring up a good point.
"Hare, I'm so sorry about this. When I get back, maybe we can do this again. But right now, I need to speak with Yahiro in private."
Hare looked at Shu, noticing happiness mixed with regret showing on his face.
"Yeah, okay. I'll bring you your schoolbag with me tomorrow."
"Thanks."
Shu kissed Hare on her cheek as a apology. She blushed with a smile on her face. She got off at the next stop,. She looked at Yahiro and Shu. She remembered a time when those two were good friends. Now, it was as if she was looking at two people who were ready to fight one another. As the train moved away from the station, Yahiro commented on the relationship between the two, assuming he was still buddies with Shu.
"Well, I see you two are now official."
Yahiro said with an almost playful tone. This angered Shu as he punched Yahiro in the face. As Yahiro got up, he looked at Shu, seeing the anger he was containing.
"Okay. Can see you why did that."
Unbeknowest to the both of them, the train's security camera system was hacked by Segai. He had lost Yahiro's trail, but still remembered he was still keeping an eye on Shu without him knowing after all this time. He continued monitoring him even after the Tsukigase dam incident.
"Oh, Shu Ouma. Keeping a close on you was clearly the right call."
xxxxxx
At an abandoned train yard near an oil refinery, Shu was following Yahiro to wherever he was leading him. Yahiro spoke to Shu abot what he was doing since Isolation Ward four.
"That night, they told me they were gonna euthanize my brother. When the chaos broke out, we took advantage of the confusion and ran. I wasn't gonna just sit around and wait for them to kill Jun. So you can hate me all you want. I sold you out to get Jun treatment there. And in the end, it was the worst thing for it."
Both of them kept on walking inside of a nearby building complex. Once inside, Yahiro led Shu to a room where Jun was resting.
"Jun."
Shu was shocked to see just how far his infection was. He didn't want Jun to be put to rest, but based on his condition, living was somehow worse than dying. He felt further pity for Jun. Yahiro picked him up from the floor onto the couch Jun was resting on.
"You fell off again, huh? You okay?"
Jun looked to see Shu there. There was a look of fear on Jun's face.
"It's all right, buddy. You're gonna be okay. This is my... he's a friend."
Shu was conflicted in the choice he was going to have to make. Either let Yahiro pay the consequences of his actions, or let his little brother suffer for Yahiro's mistakes.
xxxxxx
Meanwhile, in another building across where Shu was were a group of Anti-Bodies, now under the new leadership of Colonel Dan Eagleman. One of the soldiers reported to Colonel Dan to confirm their target's location.
"We've tracked down the fugitive cancerous."
"Excellent work, men. We have them in sight. Yan, you read me?"
Lieutenant Yan was in a command trailer with Segai. Daryl was his field commander, while Segai still retained his duties. He considered himself fortunate that not only did Keido kept his involvement with Project Helheim a secret, he also erased any trace of his role in any of his previous operations. He only had to play dumb to keep the investigators off his scent for a while. For now, he had to suffer the indignity of playing second banana to an actual banana and his commanding officer. He had to deal with this for now. Daryl responded back to Colonel Dan.
"Yes sir. Just one question. Is it really necessary to have me on this mission? I mean, this is a simple cancerous hunt."
"If it was like before, then yeah. I would agree with you. But, there could be some Inves following those boys. If there are, we need to be ready for anything. Until our soldiers are equipped with firepower that can actually kill an Inves, I need you there in case things get too serious for the average soldier to handle."
"All right then, sir. Just say when."
"Now that's the attitude I wanna hear. Continue reconnisance of the target. Examine the whole area for any Inves activity. Check every dark corner you can for those monsters. If encountered, alert Baron immediately and escape as fast as you can. You got all that, Scarface?"
"You got it, Dan! Just leave everything to me here. We gots guts galore for this job."
Segai said all that with the same enthusiasm the Colonel would express. This rather either surprised or weirded out anyone within earshot distance of it. Segai then returned to his usual demeanor.
"Oh, don't look at me that way."
The dispatched soldiers scouted the building complex area for any Inves activity. Daryl was still in the command trailer, awaiting notification if the mission required his skills. Covertly, they sprinted all over the complex in search of any and all Inves. None had turned up
xxxxxx
(nighttime)
Yahiro asked Shu a question.
"Do you think I could borrow some money?"
"What makes think you can ask anything of me, Yahiro?"
"Please Shu. We need cash to keep running, and to eat."
"Is that it? That's why you went out of your way to show me Jun? To think I thought highly of you."
"Please Shu. Listen. I have to protect him. I'm the only one who can do it. Please."
Shu still had anger for Yahiro, but he also had a conscience.
"Fine. But not for you."
xxxxxx
(Funeral Parlor headquarters)
Ayase was near the computer terminal regular used in their meetings, knitting. She then heard a ring. She saw the I.D signal belonging to Shu.
"Is Gai there?"
"He just left."
"I've got someone I need you to harbor. An Apocalypse patient. And his symptoms are pretty advanced."
"Woah. Hold on a second. You got to run this by Shibungi first..."
"I'm sorry, Ayase. We don't have time. We're heading for point yellow-one. Be there in one hour to pick us up."
Shu hung up. Yahiro was impressed by how Shu spoke over the comm.
xxxxxx
Gai was traveling in a Funeral Parlor command trailer. Inori traveled with him.
"Look this over. It won't be long before we have to use it."
In front of Inori was a metal frame containing song lyrics. Inori looked them over.
"It's wrong. This song... It's all wrong now.
xxxxxx
The reports came via the GHQ comm lines.
"This is scout one here. No Inves nor insurgents seen. All clear."
"Scout two. Same as well."
"Scout three. Reporting same results."
"Reports confirmed, sir. The entire area is clear."
"Excellent. You hear that, Scarface? You and your forces can move in and capture the target. Daryl, you can kick back and relax for a bit. But be on alert if you're called."
"Yes sir. Understood."
As the soldiers now got into positons to trap the fugitive cancerous, Daryl was on a chair, relaxing. Then Rowan came to his side.
"So, Mr. Yan? How are you feeling?"
"About what?"
"Oh nothing. But if you really want to get into it. I'd like to talk about your experience in the greenhouse located under HQ."
"Gotta admit, it was freaky. I remember the last time I was in a forest. It changed me once. But not in a good way. And now I've changed again because I was in a forest."
"They say the outdoors is the place to discover who you really are."
"You already saw who I was before."
"Correction. That's who you were. But it was not just the forest."
"Oh yeah. The Star-Spangled transfer."
Rowan laughed nervously for a bit, understanding who Daryl was talking.
"I admit, he's a bit extravagant."
"More like in your face 24/7."
Both laughed at that fact about the Colonel.
"But yeah. You do have point. He's the reason why I'm not such a prick anymore. And be honest with me. I was an unbearable prick."
Rowan looked at Daryl, and saw that he did want honesty from him.
"Yeah. You were."
"I won't get mad. I'm just glad to know that I'm not like that anymore."
Rowan looked at Daryl. He saw him being contemplative, and accepting of his new self.
"I need to get back to my duties, sir."
"Okay. By the way, you can call me Daryl."
"You got it, Daryl."
xxxxxx
In a generator room, Yahiro found a nearby cart. Jun was still struggling with the virus.
"I know, Jun. Just put up with it for a little while longer."
As Shu open the door, he looked for anybody that could have been after them. He thought the coast was clear. In reality, Segai was an nearby rooftop with two snipers in position to fire on the targets.
"Looks like they finally decided to make their move. All units, we're going to box them in. Perferably, I want them alive, but if we have to improvise to get the job done, well so be it. Endlaves on standby."
"Yes sir."
As Shu was still on the lookout for danger, Segai looked at Shu with glee.
"Let's get started."
The sniper on the left started, shooting near Shu's foot. He stumbled in fear.
"Crap, it's the Anti-Bodies! How the hell did they know where to find us?!"
"Stay calm. We knew this would happen. Just keep moving."
The boys kept moving foward despite the sniper attack. This made the attention of some nearby workers in the area.
"Do you hear that?"
"What if it's a Funeral Parlor attack?"
"Can't be. I thought they stop attacking after that forest under GHQ."
"Run for it."
Yahiro found a nearby forklift they can use.
"Perfect. We can use that."
"No, we can't."
A GHQ command trailer drove nearby the forklift. They made it inside of the secondary generator rooms of the complex.
"This whole thing is a trap. It's a tactic to lure us onto an escape route, and take us in. If you don't think like they do, then you're dead."
Shu attempted to extract Yahiro's void from his chest. Yahiro was confused about the whole thing, and stopped him before he could do so.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"You have to let me use your void. I have the ability to people's hearts as weapons. I can take them down."
Yahiro was skeptical about Shu's claim.
"Do you really expect me to believe that? For all I know, you led them right to us. You hypocrite."
"SHUT THE HELL UP, TRAITOR! I'm not the one who stabs people in the back. I don't abandon them. I promised I would get Jun somewhere safe, and I'm going to live up to that promise. SO SHUT UP AND LET ME DO THIS?"
Shu finally reached inside Yahiro and extracted his void. As Yahiro layed unconscious, Jun got out of the cart he was in.
"Jun! You need to get back in your cart. Don't worry about your brother. He's safe."
Jun finally spoke to Shu.
"Not that."
"What do you mean? What is it then?"
Meanwhile, two soldiers with RPGs launched them to blow up the cargo door where the boys were last located. Shu was finally located.
"Fugitive cancerous located."
"Young man, step away from the fugitive, or we will open fire on you."
Shu stood up the soldiers.
"Stay there, Jun. I'll be right back to help you."
Shu did a high jump to get behind the soldiers, and slash them with Yahiro's void. There was no blood spilled, but it did knock them out good. More came in, and a couple of them saw two of their comrades down on the floor. Shu grabbed Jun and Yahiro, and jumped again to get some distance between them. The rest of the soldiers came in to apprehend them. Shu got enough distance between them to buy some time to lay down both Yahiro and Jun in a safe place, far from the fighting.
"Stay here. I got this."
Shu jumped again to where the soldiers are. The first one, he kicked in his face, then slashed him down. The rest of the soldiers fired their weapons. Although a few bullets sliced Shu left cheek and right arm, he was agile enough to dodge the bullets. One by one, Shu slashed the soldiers down. One of them seperated himself from the fight, and notified his superiors of the situation.
"Emergency. We got a student slashing us down like files. We need extra firepower, now. I don't know if we can take him."
Segai took it as Shu bearing his fangs.
"Understood. I'm sending in the Endlaves."
The signal came through for the Endlave pilots to activate their mechs, and proceed to exterminate the target that was giving their comrades a hard time.
xxxxxx
While they were engaging the target, Colonel Dan was hearing all what was transpiring by listing through the comms. Hearing the report of a student slashing his men, Colonel Dan wondered if he was connected to Gaim, or it was a clue to Gaim's identity. He contacted Daryl.
"Lieutenant, this is the Colonel speaking."
"Yes sir. I hear you."
"We have reports of a student slashing soldiers down."
"You don't mean..."
"I don't know if it's him or not, but keep an ear out if you hear anything about Gaim."
"Yes sir, understood."
Daryl stopped relaxing, and went outside to be ready in case Gaim made an appearance. Although his irrational hatred for Gaim was gone, he still had a score to settle with him. He now considered him a rival of sorts. He was still determined to best him in battle.
'You're strong in your own way, Gaim. I recognize that. But, is it gonna be enough for what you believe in? One of the things I don't like are hypocrites. I sincerely hope you're not one, Gaim.'
xxxxxx
Shu was almost done with the rest of the soldiers he was engaging with Yahiro's void. A few of them ran away from them.
'Okay. Thought it would a more difficult fight...'
Just then, Endlaves made it inside to exterminate Shu. One of them shot first, but missed due to Shu jumping so high.
'Now I have to kick it up a notch.'
Shu jumped around to confuse the Endlaves to the point they lost track of his location. As soon as they did, the Endlaves moved all over the place to search for their target.
'They're distracted for now. Better make this quick.'
Shu let go of Yahiro's void, and it returned to him. Although, he was still unconscious.
'Gai was right. Handling two abilities at once is too much.'
Shu then summoned his Sengoku Drvier from his chest, and took out his lockseed. He had to make his transformation quick.
"Henshin."
"ORANGE!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!"
As soon as his armor formed, Gaim went into the battle. Cocking his Musou Saber, Gaim encountered an Endlave. The Endlave began shooting at him, but the shots deflected. However, this was different, Although he still felt the impacts, the shots were not as damaging to him than the last time.
'I'm getting stronger now.'
Gaim shot a couple of rounds to the Enalaves's face to blind him, and placed his orange lockseed on his saber.
"LOCK-ON!"
"1, 10, 100!"
"ORANGE CHARGE!"
The resulting slashes destroyed the Endlave in front of him.
'And I'll keep getting stronger. Strong enough to match Gai one day.'
More Endlaves came to Gaim. Gaim knew he could not take all of them at once. He ran for a tactical retreat. One of the Endlave's pilots contacted his superiors to alert them of Gaim's arrival.
"Attention, all units. Gaim is in the vincinity. I repeat, Gaim is in the vincinity. Colonel Eagleman, do you copy?"
xxxxxx
(GHQ Main Headquarters)
"Confirmed. Contacting Baron to join you. Maintain your distance until backup arrives."
"Roger that."
Colonel Dan contacted lieutenant Yan to alert him of Gaim's presence.
"Lieutenant, this is the Colonel speaking."
"Yes, sir."
"Gaim is in the area."
"Understood. I will take him down immediately, sir."
"Affirmative."
Daryl went outside from the command trailer he was in, summoned his driver, and transformed.
"Henshin."
"BANANA!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"COME ON! BANANA ARMS! KNIGHT OF SPEAR!"
Baron then activated his lock vehicle, and rode his bike to where Gaim was.
xxxxxx
Gaim was still engaging the Endlaves, but they were far away from him for some reason. Gaim had to switch to a long distance weapon. He switched out his orange lockseed to the ichigo lockseed. Although he hesitated for a while, Shu knew that in a battle, you have to make use of all your resources.
"ICHIGO!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"ICHIGO ARMS! SHUSHUTTO SPARK!"
Gaim threw his ichigo kunai hard and hit some of the Endlaves. They dealt some superficial damage, and one hit an Endlave on one of the joints, causing it to fall down. Gaim was feeling pretty good about now. Until a thought hit him.
'Usually when things get to be like this, there's usually something that comes along to give everyrthing a complete 180 turn.'
The Endlaves wnet to the opposite direction as a motorcycle arrived. Gaim saw a Rose Attacker approaching to his location.
'Like that.'
Baron had arrived to give Gaim a real fight.
"We meet again, Gaim. I thought you'd stopped fighting against us when that greenhouse was discovered."
"It only proved just how clueless you and the rest of GHQ were. Me, I always knew what was going on. I con't help it if you were being used to hunt down the people who knew everything you didn't. Last time I checked, you were enjoying it."
"That was a past me. I'm not like that anymore."
"Right."
"Anyhow, you're harboring a cancerous fugitive. Hand him over to us."
"So you can euthanize him?"
"We have to contain him. There are still Inves in the city of Tokyo. They're attracted to the infectous like him."
"He hasn't grown the fruit on his body. He still has a chance to recover."
"So hand him over so we can treat him."
Gaim stood, staring at Baron. Trying to read the man behind the mask. Baron tried to do the same thing. Both riders attempting to figuring out the other. One who has a desire to be the person different from the one he used to be. While the other desires redemption from the bastard he once was. Then, Jun was struggling to walk to Gaim. Gaim saw Jun doing so. He heard his groans of pain as Jun walked to him.
"JUN!"
"Colonel. I have the fugitive in sight."
"Let the soldiers handle him. Handle Gaim."
"Yes sir."
Just them, Jun's infection began to encroach on him.
"JUN!"
The infection devoured him further and further until it devoured him completely. Gaim saw the whole thing happen right in front of his eyes. He was too late to save an innocent life. Gaim lost strength in his knees and got on the ground. His hands trembling in sorrow.
'I... failed him. Oh God. What have I done?'
Baron was seeing the whole thing from afar. So did Colonel Dan via the Endlave's cams. Colonel Dan noticed that the crystal infections did not dissapate as usual. Rather, the corpse remained. Then, the crystals began to shed off the corpse. What came out of it was not human. It was an Inves. This Inves had a tiger's head with green shoulders and claws. The left claw was twice as big as the right claw. Its legs were white. This was the Byakko Inves. What was born after the Apocalypse Virus killed Yahiro's little brother. Gaim, as well as Baron, was absolutely stunned by what they saw.
"No way."
"So that's how those monsters are born. The virus mutates them until they are human no more."
Gaim stood up, by this time only out of habit. He knew that the Inves were a danger to humanity, but this Inves used to be human. This cause an internal conflict within Gaim. The Inves then started to attack Gaim. On the far side of the building, Segai saw seeing how this new scenario would unfold.
"It's not what I expected, but I admit, it's definitely intriguing. How would you deal with this, Gaim?"
The Byakko Inves was hitting Gaim with swift and powerful strikes of his large claw. Gaim, on the other hand, was too concerned that he would hurt Jun if he fought back.
"Jun! It's me, Shu! I'm Yahiro's friend! Don't you remember me?"
The Inves was still fighting against Gaim. Baron was watching and hearing the whole thing. Gaim actually said his civilan name to the monster. As if he was still human. Baron had seen what these creatures were capable of, and felt these creatures were abominations that had to be destroyed. Baron went to the Inves to kill it. Gaim was still getting struck down by the Inves until he fell flat on the ground. He was still trying to reach out to Jun.
"JUN! Please don't do this!"
The Inves went for the kill only to be hit by Baron's BanaSpear. Gaim turned to Baron.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Killing it! What else?!"
The Inves charged towards Baron only to be pierced by the tip of the spear. It bled in pain as it gave out a loud screech.
"Stop it! You're killing him!"
"Haven't you noticed anything?!"
"It's somebody's little brother, goddamn it!"
"IT'S NOT HUMAN ANYMORE! IT'S A FREAK OF NATURE THAT HAS TO DIE!"
Baron gave out a few more hits to the Inves. It fell on the ground, then ran away. Baron attempted to run after it, but was stppoed by Gaim with him running in front of him with his Musou Saber in both hands.
"I won't let you hurt him."
"Him? Wake up! Whoever that thing used to be, that person is gone. Did you forget why you became a Kamen Rider? To protect people, right? Well, how are you protecting people this way? You have to accept that that monster is not a person no more."
"I know that Jun is still in there somewhere. And I won't let you near him!"
"Is that right?"
Baron gripped his BanaSpear tight, and attacked Gaim. Baron dealt several blows to him, and Gaim was stumbling backwards as the blows continued to hit him. Gaim then jumped backwards, and threw five ichigo kunai at Baron. Baron, however, managed to deflect them all.
"It has to die!"
"His name is Jun!"
Gaim placed the ichigo lockseed on his saber.
"LOCK-ON!"
"1, 10, 100!"
Baron was getting close to Gaim as he was charging towards him.
"ICHIGO CHARGE!"
As soon as Baron got close to Gaim, Gaim releashed a finishing move on Baron. This caused his armor to dissipate. Daryl was unconscious on the ground. Gaim then ran to find Jun. In the command trailer, Rowan tapped into the building complex's security camera system. He saw Daryl on the ground floor.
"All avaliable units. Locate to sector 40. Lieutenant Yan is down. I repeat, Lieutenant Yan is down."
"This is Tango-4. I am near the lieutenant's location. Retrieving him now."
Rowan continued to monitor Gaim. He saw him reach to the Inves and stopping to stare at it for some reason. Gaim attempted to talk with it for one last time.
"Jun! It's me, Shu. Remember me? I promised your brother that I would keep you safe."
"But unfortunately, you spectacularly failed, Shu Ouma."
Gaim immediately recognized that voice. He saw the Inves approach him, and Segai pet it. It was being docile as a cat to Segai.
"Segai! You did this, didn't you?"
"If you mean set up this trap, then yes. If you mean what happened here with poor Jun, then no I'm not. This is because of the Apocalypse Virus. You see, there is a 5th stage to the virus. Mutation."
"What?!"
"Basically, what happens is what you saw a little while ago. The virus consumes the human host to the point that it can rewrite the DNA of its host. The results is what you see here. The Inves. Creatures that are born when their DNA overtakes the organism they devour. I honestly find them fascinating. To first exist as a microorganism, and then evolves by brutal domination of its weaker host. Indication of how a superior species is born. And to think you've killed so much more like Jun here."
Gaim knew what Segai meant. He remembered all the Inves he killed previously.
"You don't mean..."
"Oh yes I do. Every Inves you have killed used to be human."
Suddenly, the monsters had human faces on them. Some of the Inves he killed could have been somebody's mother, father, sibling. Somebody's spouse, friend, son, or daughter, or just an innocent person who didn't want to be like this, but were forced to by cruel chance.
"All those times you berated GHQ personnel for being clueless; all those times you have proclaimed that you have claimed to be consistent about your beliefs. Only to find out that you have nothing more than a hypocrite. The only reason why you can be called a hero is because of the lives that were sacrificed to get you where you are today!"
The horror of it all was sinking in. Shu always believed that he was doing the right thing. That he was resolved to never be a pawn to anybody anymore. Only to find out that of all the morons that inhabit the world, he was the biggest one of them all. So many emotions were coursing through Shu. Feelings of shame, anger, humiliation, obliviousness, and despair.
"Don't feel bad. If you didn't kill them, they would've killed you. And all the people you care about."
Shu was seeing all his friends' faces, and imagined them as Inves. He wondered how would it be before he would have to kill them if they were infected by the virus.
'And for what?'
Gaim kneeled down on the ground in submission of the truth of his actions. Segai looked down on him at his lowest. For him, this was ecstasy.
"In the end, Shu Ouma, you sacrificed people to be who are today, regardless if they were good or bad. You have spilled blood to find hope for yourself. Deny it all you want. That's just the way the world works."
Segai took out a helheim fruit, and threw it onto the ground. The Inves saw it, and ate it.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
Segai was walking backwards into the shadows as he spoke.
"Kamen Riders are supposed to be heroes of justice, right? Time to go to work."
The Byakko Inves grew until it was a large white sabertooth tiger with green stripes. It was fast and agile. Gaim took out his Suika lockseed.
"SUIKA!"
"LOCK-ON!"
"SUIKA ARMS! ODAMA BIG BANG!"
The Byakko Inves started rampaging all over the complex. Some Endlaves were shooting at it. Although their weapons hurt it, they were just making it angry. The Inves jumped at the first Endlave it could find and brutally ripped it apart. The other Endlaves moved back several feet, but the Inves gazed at them with murderous intent. Before it could maul them, Gaim descended and got in between. Gaim charged towards the Inves, allowing the Endlaves to escape. Gaim gave a right hook to the Inves. The Inves bounced back by tackling it to a nearby wall, and attempting to take Gaim's right arm. With his left arm, Gaim stabbed the Inves in one of the bullet holes made by the Endlaves. The Inves screeched in pain and back off of Gaim. The Inves was struggling with its injuries. Meanwhile, Ayase, in her Steiner Endlave, finally made to where Shu told her to go, but saw Shu in his armor. His giant one.
'So, he's already having fun without me.'
Ayase observed Shu, and noticed something was different.
'He's not the way he usually is. I see the Inves, weak and ready to die, but he's not doing anything. What's up with that?'
Ayase saw Shu hesitating for no reason. Then she saw another person on the building complex. She ran his face against her group's database, and discovered it was Yahiro Samukawa. Yahiro woke up due to the loud screeching sound that woke him up.
"Hey, you can't be here."
"SHU!"
Shu turned to see Yahiro in the middle of the battle.
"WHERE'S MY LITTLE BROTHER?! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD KEEP HIM SAFE!"
Ayase saw Shu's hand holding his Suika Sojinto, shaking. He was clearly rattled, but she was not sure why. She believed that Yahiro had something to do with this.
"You need to get out of here, right now."
The Inves heard some voices and partially regained consciousness to see Yahiro yelling. This awakened it, and roared to everyone's shock. Ayase grabbed Yahiro as quickly and carefully as she could. The Inves started to go after Ayase while she was carrying Yahiro. He was shocked to see one of the monsters that was on the news up-close and personal. He was terrified by what he saw. The Inves was getting closer to the two of them, but Gaim intervened. With one punch, he knocked the Inves to the side. It regained footing, and stared at Gaim to indicate that it was done with him. Gaim flipped the Cutting Blade on his driver three times.
"SOIYA!"
"SUIKA SPARKLING!"
A huge energy blade manifested on Gaim's weapon. The Inves charged towards him, and Gaim stabbed it to death. As this happened, huge crystal stream appeared out of the Inves and started to surround the both of them. Then everthing got bright.
xxxxxx
As soon as the brightness dimmed down, Shu was in his regular body, and so was Jun. Then an image appeared in front of Shu. It was a regular apartment complex with its own playground for children to play in. Shu saw two familiar looking kids. Upon closer inspection, Shu saw Yahiro and Jun when they were children.
"This is Roppongi. But before Lost Christmas."
"That's right."
Shu turned around to see Jun, in his hospital gown, but uninfected.
"Jun, is that you?"
He nodded to confirm.
"I'm glad we have this chance to talk."
Shu then heard another voice. A child's voice, with a tone of gratitude and glee.
"Wow. Thank you."
"For your birthbay. It's the one you wanted, right?"
Shu was seeing a younger Yahiro give a watch to his little brother.
"The date was December 24th, 2029. This was the happiest moment of my life. In a few seconds, Lost Christmas is gonna happen."
Shu was going to see firsthand what was going to happen. And it was going to happen at a time when these people where just enjoying the day. To know that these lives were going to be devestated by a disaster in a few moments made the fallout of the incident all the more tragic.
"I want this to be the last memory to be the last thing I take with me. Before I give up this life. You've already helped me, Shu."
Shu then remembered what he witnessed and what he was doing a few moments ago. He had killed the Inves that was born out of Jun's death.
"No! I...I.. didn't mean to..."
"I know you didn't want to kill me, Shu. But I am no longer here. What is left is a monster. A monster you have sworn an oath to destroy, no matter what. If you didn't kill me with you rider powers, then my death would've been done through the use of Yahiro's void."
"Yahiro's..."
"His void severs the connection between life and death. If you had used that, I could finally get some rest."
Shu then remebered how it felt using Yahiro's void.
"That can't be right. It's crazy."
"The crystals that imprisoned my body mutated me into the beasts that terrorize humanity today. Before that, they gave the ability to see into people's voids. As a result, I saw a side to my brother that he tried to hide from everybody. Even from me."
Shu saw a happy memory of Yahiro and Jun planning a celebration. Then he saw an image of Yahiro holding his void, and threatening Jun's life with it.
"You're in the way. You're ruining my life."
Shu was horrified by what he saw. A murderous intent inside of Yahiro.
"I've see the horrible thoughts behind the kind eyes. Over and over again. My friends, family, the caretakers who looked after me in the hospital. Even you, Shu. You're probably no different."
Shu had no defense for himself. How could he?
"I can't bear to live any longer. Not with this hanging over me. I'll end up hating my big brother. I want to die holding on my love for him. As my true self. Don't blame youself for what you've done, Shu. You've actually freed me."
Shu now had an epic feeling of despair.
"Shu. You have to realize by now. Those engulfed by the Apocalypse Virus are no longer human. You have to accept that. Goodbye."
Everything got bright again.
xxxxxx
Shu was back into reality again, picking up where he left off. He had stabbed the Byakko Inves to death with a finishing move that ended with an explosion. What was left was a smouldering corpse of a monster. Gaim looked at the remains, feeling guilt and sorrow over his actions. He canceled his transformation, and went back to normal. Shu walked around the remains of the Inves to talk to Yahiro. Ayase put Yahiro down on the ground. The complex's fire supression system was activated, and sprayed water on the area that fire was taking place. What was left behind when the flames went down were some scorched flesh, half a ribcage, and the head of a humongous sabertooth tiger. Yahiro was looking for Shu until he finally arrived. Shu was walking slowly to where Yahiro and Ayase were. He arrived with Yahiro asking a question.
"Where's my little brother, Shu?"
A short silence took place before Shu finally said something.
"He's dead."
"What did you say? You're lying."
"He's dead. I killed him. I had to."
Yahiro grabbed Shu by his collar.
"WHY?!"
"BECAUSE HE WAS A MONSTER!"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL MY BROTHER?!"
Ayase grabbed Yahiro to seperate him from Shu. He wanted to choke the living daylights out of Shu, but Ayase brought out Steiner's in-built dagger to warn Yahiro.
"Don't try anything."
"Yahiro, I'm telling you the truth. Jun died becuse the virus took him over. It finally killed him."
"Then why did you say you killed him?"
"Because the virus transformed you little brother into an Inves."
This shocked both Yahiro and Ayase.
"No way."
"Tell me you're joking, Shu."
"I'm not Yahiro. Jun really did turn into that."
Shu pointed to the remains of the Byakko Inves. Yahiro was utterly devestated by the truth. Shu approached Yahiro and gave him the watch that he gave to Jun when they were young. It was broken. He ran in fear of what happened. He ran further and further until he could run no more. He was alone in a dark industiral part of the city with nobody else to hear his sobs. Then a figure carrying a halberd with helheim fruit attached like ornaments approached Yahiro. He saw the figure and was scared.
"Who... Who are you?"
"For tonight, call me a stranger with a kind heart. Who wishes to be with you in your time of sorrow. And I have seen what caused you sorrow."
The figure held out his hand in front of Yahiro and had him see on what he missed out when he was unconscious. His little brother Jun being devoured by the virus, and his corpse mutated into an Inves. Shu becoming a Kamen Rider to kill him. Then he saw more people mutating into Inves and the Kamen Riders killing them all. Yahiro was overwhelmed by what he saw. The figure spoke to him.
"What you feel is not just exclusive to you. Many people have loved ones lost to Kamen Riders. You know what must happen next."
Yahiro felt a wellspring of rage surging inside of him.
"I... hate all Kamen Riders. I... will kill all Kamen Riders."
The figure chuckled in glee over what he did.
'A willful pawn for what's to come.'
xxxxxx
At a aquarium, Kanon was staring at huge fishtank talking with herself to express her unspoken feelings.
"Life never really does go the way we want it to. For some people, thye're blessed that way. Yahiro, I wish I could tell you what's on my mind. I want to do that so bad... with you."
Things have taken a dark turn. Shu discovering the truth of the Inves, and having to kill Jun. Now, Yahiro has been approached by a mysterious figure. This story will continue on, and I will be happy and willing to give you more. Don't forget to read and review. Tell your friends all about what you read. Later!