Ryusei was taken to the GCC base where he lived; luckily he had no serious after-effects from his fight and would just have to wait before resuming his missions. It was early morning now, but Ryusei was still shocked by what had happened to him during his fight with the One-eyed Owl, but he hadn't told anyone. He hadn't told anyone about his transformation, not knowing how they would react. But when he mentioned that he'd met her during his hunt, she sent him up against the car. Assuming she hadn't killed him because she had better things to do than confront an investigator. He headed for the control room, hoping they'd give him something to do so he wouldn't have to think about it again.
The door opened and he entered the room. What he didn't know was that Kotaro, Akira, Arima and Kishouu were in the control room, ready to celebrate Ryusei's very first solo mission. Akira had a cake box on the desk beside her.
Kotaro was the first to notice that Ryusei had entered the room. He smiled and drew the attention of Akira and Kishouu. The trio looked at Ryusei and smiled.
"Congratulations, Ryusei!" they said.
Akira revealed the cake, making Ryusei smile. They all sat down on a table and she began to cut the cake, but cut herself slightly. Ryusei looked away as he saw the cut on Akira's finger.
As he watched the blood flow, he felt the monster he'd transformed into trying to resurface.
"Something's wrong." Kishou asked.
"Y-yes, I'm fine." Ryusei lied, not wanting to alarm anyone.
Everyone ate the cake before Kotaro and Akira returned to their duties, leaving Ryusei with his mentor.
There was an awkward silence for a moment, until Kishou spoke up.
"You've transformed, haven't you?" he asked.
Ryusei's eyes widened at this request.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about." Ryusei said, becoming nervous.
"You don't have to hide it from me, I didn't want this to happen to you. At least not now. Follow me, I'll explain everything." Kishouu said, rising to his feet.
Ryusei got up too, and they went to the infirmary,
where they went to see a doctor who turned out to be someone who'd been involved in the birth 19 years ago.
"Oh, Mr. Arima. What brings you here?" Asked the doctor before looking at Ryusei, "Oh, I see, it's begun?"
"Indeed." Kishou nodded.
"What were you talking about?" Ryusei asked.
In response, the doctor showed the video of the ghoul's delivery 19 years ago.
"Who is this woman?" Ryusei asked.
"Your mother." Kishou replied, shocking Ryusei. "She was a pregnant ghoul who underwent a number of experiments in a laboratory. A GCC team raided it and killed everyone present except her."
"The team salvaged all they could from the research done by these people and kept the woman alive and watched her to be examined... Then she finally gave birth." The doctor continued as Ryusei guessed what he was getting at as he saw himself as a baby, held by scientists while his mother was a corpse.
"She died giving birth to me... and those experiments made me this... thing. I'm both ghoul... and... this thing" Concluded the young man.
"Not exactly." Kishouu retorted. "According to some research reports we've recovered, the name of the thing you can transform yourself into is 'Amazon'."
"Your mother's ghoul DNA was heavily altered. Even if she couldn't be transformed, everything points to her being an Amazon, too. And given that RC detectors never react with you, we have to deduce that your progenitor was human." The doctor continued. "A one-eyed ghoul is a rare case in itself. So a hybrid between a human and a new species, I'll leave you to imagine how rare that is."
"Then why didn't you keep me as a lab rat?" Ryusei asked.
"It wasn't necessary. Your treatment was to prevent the Amazon in you from surfacing. But it's obviously not enough anymore. What's more, we wanted you to have as normal a childhood as possible." Explained the doctor, pulling out a briefcase. "We've been able to create certain things thanks to the research we've gathered.
"Think of it as your new service weapon. When you're assigned to missions again, you'll have to keep it with you at all times, like the other investigators with their Quinque.
Ryusei took the case and opened it, containing a silver bracelet with a blue-eyed totem on it, as well as a black belt with a gold front plate and two red lenses on it, under the front were two rotating handles.
"The bracelet will inject you with a kind of drug that will restrain your Amazon side, so you'll be able to act normally in society. Luckily, your human side will allow you to eat human food, so don't worry. As for the belt, it will allow you to use your Amazon side whenever you want without losing control." the doctor explained again.
Ryusei's head ached slightly as he could feel and see Origin leaving his cage and wanting to get out... He wanted the belt.
"I... I guess it's time-limited." Ryusei asked.
"Ryusei asked. It'll only work for 2 years. After that, you'll have to pray to be able to master your inner Amazon." replied the doctor.
"I see..." Ryusei said, pulling up his sleeve completely. "Put it on me. Before it tries to get out again and I hurt someone."
"Are you sure? It will be very painful." Kishou asked, worried for Ryusei, who was learning a lot all at once.
"I'd rather suffer now than hurt innocent people." Said the young man.
The doctor hesitated, but Kishou nodded and opened the bracelet before closing it on Ryusei's arm. Ryusei gritted his teeth, groaning in pain as all the needles in the inner side of the bracelet penetrated his skin, while the bracelet disappeared, as if his body had absorbed it.
Ryusei spent the last few days in his apartments, officially still recovering from his battle with the One-eyed Owl. Information about his true nature remained as secret as before, and Kotaro and Akira came to visit him whenever they had the chance. Kishouu Arima, however, had not had the chance to visit Ryusei, as he was busy preparing something else.
Akira came to visit Ryusei again. She smiled as she sat down next to him.
"Hi Ryusei. How are you?" she asked.
"I'm fine, I think." Ryusei replied.
"That's good to hear. You know, for a first mission, it was impressive to face more than 4 ghouls on your own. That's no mean feat, especially for a first solo mission." Akira complimented.
"Thank you. Afterwards, I ended up being thrown into a car." Ryusei said, blushing at the woman's praise.
Akira put his reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I'll be all right. I suppose it's a bit my fault. I should have assigned you someone nearby to help if things went wrong." She says.
"Don't worry, I'll heal fast." Ryusei nodded slowly, "When will I be allowed out?"
"Just one more day. That's all. But even once you're allowed to leave, you're not allowed to go out without someone watching over you. That's an order from Mr. Arima." Akira explained.
He nodded in understanding.
"Tell me something. Have you ever seen, One-eyed Owl?" He asked.
"I haven't. I haven't. But you were lucky. And I can tell you this, the fact that you survived that encounter shows us that you've more than proven yourself. Some of our most senior investigators couldn't escape surviving that thing. I doubt I'll be so lucky if I cross its path." Akira explained.
Ryusei simply lowered his eyes to his lap.
"Does anyone know who she is?" he asked.
Akira simply shook his head.
"No, but I wouldn't worry so much. Now get some sleep. You should get some rest." she said.
Ryusei nodded and went to bed after Akira had left the room.
Two weeks later...
Ryusei had slowly recovered. He was allowed to go wherever he wanted as long as someone accompanied him. Physically, he could already go on missions, but Arima refused to let him go as long as he wasn't 100% sure he was in control of his Amazon transformation. But that would require transforming himself, something he refused to do, for fear of hurting the closest thing he had to a family. Be it himself, Kotaro or Akira.
Speaking of them, Akira and Kotaro kept changing who would look after him. Both personally wanted to make sure Ryusei was okay, since they saw him as a little brother.
Ryusei was currently cleaning his room with Kotaro. He tidied his clothes and wardrobe while Kotaro tidied his shelves.
While cleaning, Kotaro accidentally dropped one of the books. He picked it up but then saw what the book was. A smile came over his face.
"I didn't think you liked reading Sen Takatsuki's books." He said, attracting Ryusei's attention, who saw that he was holding a book.
"Yeah, I've never been a fan of other books. I like his horror books. I've found a few secrets in her books, which makes reading them even more interesting." Said the young man.
"I see. Which book did she write is your favorite?" Kotaro asked.
"Why do you ask?" Ryusei asked in turn.
"Well... If I'm honest, you've never struck me as the type to be interested in books. So I'm curious." Said Kotaro.
"You're not wrong. My favorite book is Cher Kafka. It was his debut." Answered the young man.
"I think I remember hearing about it. That was a few years ago, wasn't it? When did you buy this anyway?" Kotaro asked.
"It was a gift for me. Arima gave it to me when I joined the GCC. He told me there weren't many ways to entertain myself, so he gave me Cher Kafka to read. I still remember how Arima told me that if I did well in my training, he'd buy more of his books for me to read." Ryusei explained, smiling at this as did Kotaro.
"I guess you really enjoy his works. What book are you reading now?" Asked the investigator.
"Look, I know why you're talking about books. You don't have to pretend to be interested." Ryusei retorted.
"Well, maybe I am a little interested. But it's also good work to get you talking. Do you mind if I borrow a book so I can read it?" Says Kotaro.
"It depends. Are you going to bring it back in the same condition it left me?" Ryusei asked in return.
"Of course we will. I won't damage it or anything. I promise." Kotaro replied.
"Hmm. That's fine by me."
"I suppose I could start with Dear Kafka. That was his first book, wasn't it?" Kotaro asked.
Ryusei simply nodded and continued tidying his wardrobe. Kotaro picked up Cher Kafka, put it in his pocket and continued cleaning the shelves.
Finally, the whole room was cleaned.
"It looks much better now, doesn't it?" Kotaro asked.
"Yeah." Confessed Ryusei, who was a little used to his mess.
The door opened and the two men looked back. Akira stood in the doorway.
"Kotaro, it's my turn now." she said.
"All right, then. Ryusei, I'm going to read this book and then we can talk about it some more." Kotaro said.
Akira crossed his arms and gave Kotaro a questioning look.
"Book? What book?" She asked.
"One of Sen Takatsuki's works. Dear Kafka." Ryusei replied.
"The best-selling horror novelist?" Akira asked.
Kotaro et Ryusei acquiescèrent, la faisant sourit.
"You know, I've heard she has her books signed not far from here. If you like, Ryusei, we can go and get your book signed." she offered.
"Seriously?!" Ryusei asked, his eyes almost lighting up at the news.
"Of course we can. Besides, you've been cooped up at the base for the last two weeks. A bit of fresh air will do you a lot of good. So, what do you say?" She replies.
"Yeah! B-but wait a minute. When does she sign books and where?" Ryusei asked.
"At the mall in two days. That'll give you enough time to think about what you're going to wear and decide which book you want her to sign." Akira replied.
"Cool!" He said enthusiastically before his face turned red with embarrassment. "U-uhhhh. I mean, yeah. Sure."
The two older adults smiled. Kotaro took out Cher Kafka and handed it to Ryusei.
"You should let her sign this one. It'll show you're a real fan of her work." He said.
"Thank you, Kotaro. Thanked Ryusei.
Kotaro smiled and left the room.
"Let me guess, he didn't know you liked to read?" Akira asked.
"Basically. We just spent some time talking about books before we finished cleaning the room." Ryusei replied.
"How do you feel about meeting her? Excited?" She asked.
"Yeah, but also a little nervous. Especially with..." Ryusei said before shaking his head, narrowly avoiding evoking his inner Amazon when he had to keep it a secret until he was sure he had it under control.
Akira thought he was just a little scarred by his fight with the One-eyed Owl and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, I'll go with you. I'll go with you." She said.
Ryusei nodded and lay back in his bed, while Akira sat on a chair beside his bed and talked to him. This was how he often spent his time when he wasn't on a mission, in training or in front of the console like many people his age. He would simply lie down and read a book or talk to someone.
Even if he had to wait a while before meeting his favorite author, he was looking forward to it.