As we sat there on the roof I struggled with the reality that I now lived in.
"Wha...But, how am I still alive?" I asked.
Cid looked at me with a serious yet understanding expression.
"Do ya know what the Limbic System is?"
"No…" I said.
"Sigh... ya know how in manga where the heroine has this "Mind over Matter" kinda moment?"
He took a long drag of his cigarette. The girl next to him frowned.
"You'll die smoking those…" She said.
"Ah, I don't care. I ain't dead yet… Anyway kid, the brainstem is where the basic instinct for survival "stems" from."
He tapped the back of his neck.
"When a creature's life is in danger the "instinct" for self-preservation kicks in. It starts the blood pumping, your mind starts racing, primal emotions take over... Yada Yada...
Now what do ya think would happen if the Temporal Lobe, which controls those emotions, where to over power the nervous system, or any other part of the body?"
"The hell is this guy talking about...this isn't an advanced Biology class…" I thought.
"An entire body down to the cellular level governed and controlled by emotion and instinct.
We call people with such abilities: "Yuda."
I looked at him with a confused expression. "Yuda?... I don't understand...Wait, is she one?" I asked.
He looked behind him to the girl; she turned away, avoiding his gaze.
"Yeah, I suppose so. But like her, you're a "special case". Yuda are created when a person experiences a strong emotion at the point of death.
But here's the kicker, when you die your last memories are "how" you croaked right? Your brain recognizes that as the greatest threat to your existence and jacks into that memory and uses it to uh...ah..fuck."
He waved his hand in a circular motion trying to think of an answer.
"..."Adapt". Changing your body in one of two different ways; your body will strengthen itself so it won't be harmed in that specific way again. Or in rare cases, your body will learn to recreate the method in which you died."
"How does that work?" I asked.
"Well think of it this way, if your friend can run faster than you he'll always be better than you at running. But if you can run faster than him, then he can never beat you again.
In short; you beat death at its own game.
But of course nothing is made out of thin air so your system uses parts of your body as "materials" to create such a defense. Such as calories that are used to run or jump.
Of course when your body is no longer under attack, your system will shut off.
Switching from "Defense" to "Recovery" and repairing the damage and materials taken from your body. You still with me kid?" He asked.
I tilted my head from side to side.
"Uh...sorta? I'm more of a visual learner…"
"Hmf…" He took a puff of smoke and glanced at the girl.
She walked in front of Cid; taking out a small knife, she slit her wrists.
"Wha!? The hell are you doing!?" I yelled.
Cid took another puff of his cigarette. "Watch, kid…"
The blood from her wrists flowed down, gathering in a large pool of blue blood.
"Blue blood…" I thought.
She held out her hand. "Jisatsu Release."
"Wha…"
I watched as swords of blood rose from the pool; she gripped a sword, turning to the water tank. The blade seemed to turn solid; she swung the blade, slicing the tank in half. Water began to pool out onto the roof.
"How…?" I asked.
Cid stood up from his spot.
"Think about it kid, the amount of iron in your blood. Shouldn't be too hard to make at least a dozen of those puppies." He looked back to her. "That's enough."
The blood began to seep back into her wrists, in a few moments her wounds were gone.
"Of course Yuda aren't invincible. A being dictated by their emotions is driven on instinct alone; they don't have reason.
So the more they give in to their emotions, the more the system takes over; "As long as the creature survives, it doesn't matter how much is lost."
Heh...it's funny, you're simultaneously protecting and killing yourself."
"So you're saying I'm gonna die, if I become a Yuda?" I asked.
"Hate to say it kid, but you're already one. But all Yuda are different. Some give in while others are smart and can use their abilities without the risk of killing themselves. But one thing always remains the same; "they're a threat"
"But the percentage of criminal activities and murder in Japan is really low; how could there be so many made to be considered a threat!?" I yelled.
"Tell me kid, what is the percentage of suicide in Japan?"
"..."
"Fourteen point Nine Percent.
Out of a hundred thousand, fourteen thousand nine hundred people will kill themselves. There are Nine million, two hundred seventy three thousand people in Tokyo alone. You do the math."
He turned around heading for the stairs to the hospital.
"We don't even need to look for killers, we're doin it just fine on our own.
S.I.N is tasked with stopping Yuda and figuring out what reaction in the brain stem is causing people to turn into monsters."
"Then why didn't you kill me..." I asked.
"You passed."
"Tch..I don't care about whatever shitty test I passed or percentage of suicide! The way I see it, you tried to kill me and now I gotta find my sister!" I yelled.
Sorrow looked down at the ground and spoke with a voice so quiet you could barely hear her; "I told you he wouldn't listen."
"Hey, give the kid a break, he's probably just got a headache. Come with us, we're going to HeadQuarters. There's someone you'll want to see. Trust me." He said.
"...Fine, but you guys better have something to eat. I'm starving."
--------
We pulled up to some old-looking office building. Getting out of the car I noticed how deserted the place was. It was run down, with broken windows, graffiti, crumbling brick work, and decaying...everything.
"You sure you got the right address gramps?" I asked.
"If it fooled you, then it's getting the job done." He said.
Walking inside we crossed many old and abandoned rooms and halls, finally coming to an elevator. Cid stepped up to the doorway.
"Step back" A small needle appeared on the button; Cid placed his thumb on the needle; the button glowed green and the door opened.
"It's blood activated?" I asked.
"Well, it reacts to specific blood; so yes." He said.
The elevator was all high tech and futuristic; slick and silver.
"Woah…"
"Don't act so impressed, it's just an elevator." He snickered.
The door opened up to a long hallway; like the elevator it was white and polished; like we were in some sorta sci-fi movie.
Coming into what looked like a laboratory, I noticed some kid working at a computer; looked to be about ten. His hair was dark green, combed back and clean.
"Who's the minor?" I said. The boy turned to me, his eyes were a clear silver.
"Are you perhaps referring to me?" He asked.
"Yeah, shouldn't you be in preschool or something?" I asked.
"You are correct, I am younger than you. But I assure you, I am much more intelligent."
"What!?" I shouted.
"Hey, cool it." Cid said. The kid spun back around, continuing to work on whatever he was doing.
"This is No.1 "Isolation". He funds the organization; practically runs it too…" Cid said.
"How did a little kid get in some fancy organization?" I asked.
He looked at the boy. "Do you want to explain?" Cid asked.
"No, you go ahead; you can put in layman's terms for him. I doubt he can comprehend anything else."
"What'd you say? I don't care who you are, no snotty brat's gonna talk back to me!" I yelled.
The boy turned around; he tapped the side of my chest. Immediately my body froze; I was unable to move.
"Gah, what'd you do!?" I demanded.
"I just activated one of your pressure points." No.1 said.
Cid took a drag of his cigarette. "Sigh…"
"No smoking please, there is a child present." No.1 said disapprovingly.
"Ugh…" He threw the cigarette away.
"Okay, so once upon a time; this kid was the son of a rich family. And then he got brain cancer, the doctors tried everything but nothin worked, so he died. The end."
"A bit morbid explanation hm?" No.1 said.
"Hey, you said you didn't want to."
"So he's a Yuda like me and the shorty over there?" I asked.
Sorrow gave me a sharp glare; I felt the hairs on my neck stand up.
"Sure, basically the kid's super smart. Cid said.
"You could say that my body used the mutated cancer cells to evolve my prepubescent brain. Raising my IQ and thought process." No.1 stated.
"Uh huh, einstein, got it." I replied.
"Hm, would you perhaps like to participate in a small experiment?" No.1 asked.
"...No."
"You'll get a warm meal." No.1 Said.
Gurgle... "Fine." I agreed.
--------
I was led into a large white room; up above me was a viewing window. I had a nervous feeling in my stomach that wasn't just my hunger.
"Hey, what kind of experiment are we talkin here?" I asked.
No.1's voice came on over the intercom.
"We're going to have you take a quick test to acquire a better understanding of your abilities."
The doorway closed; I could hear it locking from the other side.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" I yelled.
"Don't panic, you'll be perfectly fine. Beginning test."
An alarm began to blare as a door slowly opened on the other side of the room.
"Uh… Why is that door opening? What's going to come out!?"
"If we want to understand your powers we're going to have to test its combat strength."
A man came out of the doorway; his eyes were black and yellow; his hair was long and white. The clothes he wore were tattered and his body was covered in rope marks.
"Who the hell is that? And why does he look like he's got an asphyxiation fetish!?" I asked.
"That man is a Yuda like you; but his mind has been corrupted beyond reason.
So he's more in terms of a wild animal now." No.1 said.
"So what am I supposed to do!?" I yelled.
"Kill him."
"What!?"
The man crouched down on all fours; his hair began to grow and stretch out.
"Rgh…" (Jisatsu Release)
His hair branched out like webs; he began to jump around the room, using his hair to move around.
He shot his hair at me like a cannon; I quickly dodged but it changed direction, grabbing my leg.
"Gah!" I shouted.
No.1 came over the intercom; "Try fighting back, we need to see how your Yuda nature is activated."
"Ugh…" I groaned.
I grabbed the hair holding my leg, trying to rip it off but it wouldn't tear.
"What's this stuff made of!?"
Instead I took hold of the strand and yanked on it. The man lurched forward, he shot more strands of hair at me but I used the strand I held on to, to swing around, dodging the attack.
"Ngh...Rah!" He yelled.
I jumped on to his back, trying to strangle him.
"Ngh… Come on, black out or somethin!"
It didn't seem to work; his hair centered around me, pushing back up against the wall.
"Argh!"
"Not very smart trying to choke a man who died from hanging himself" No.1 said.
The hair began to coil around my body; he was going to crush me.
Cid came into the observation room; walking up to the window. "What do we have goin' on here?" He asked
"A simple test" Replied No. 1. "I'm collecting data on his Yuda ability to see what exactly triggers it."
Cid stared down at the test room blankly.
"You know his powers are activated by shooting himself right?"
No.1 looked at him, confused and miffed.
"Why was I not informed of this? This is critical information for research." He sternly stated.
Cid shrugged.
"Sigh, fine. Let's just say "this" is the beginning of the test."
He clicked a button on the keyboard; a small box opened up next to Shikari.
"Ngh...what's this?" I asked.
"Take it." No.1 said.
I quickly put my hand inside, pulling out a common pistol. "Wha… A gun?"
I looked up at the window, Cid made a gun gesture to his head. "What!? No! We already did this!" I yelled.
"Would you rather shoot yourself or be crushed to death by bondage freak over there?"
"Rgh...fine!"
I placed the gun to my head; it was just as hard as the last time. Sweat dripped down from my forehead and my heart was racing. "Ngh...Damnit!" Bang!
Shikari's body went limp; blood spilled out from his skull, staining the white hair. The man stopped, confused.
No.1 looked at Cid with a concerned face. "You said his trigger was a gun!" He yelled.
"Just wait." Cid replied.
Shikari's body began to twist and move; the blood began to gather around his head.
"...Rah!" The man yelled.
He pushed against the wall smashing Shikara through the steel walls; creating a crater. Shikari held out his arm; "Haaah…"
(Jisatsu Release)
Blood formed turning into a large shotgun. Bang!
His arm shot back with incredible force; breaking. The shell was fired, cutting off a large portion of the man's hair.
"Ngh...Rgh…" He jumped back, launching hair at Shikari; Shikari opened his mouth as a huge muzzle came out. Firing a large shell at the man; he quickly gathered his hair, trying to protect himself but the shell ripped through it, taking out a large chunk of the man's body; he let go of Shikari, staggering to the ground.
He tried to replace his body with his hair but it was already too late; Shikari grabbed the hair, ripping it off.
"Argh!" The man screamed.
He grabbed the man's head yanking it back; his finger formed into a gun, which he then placed in the man's mouth.
"Haaah…" Bang!
The man's body was obliterated into a bloody pulp as a shell was sent straight through his body, creating a large crater in the ground.
Cid took out a cigarette, taking a puff. "Damn, never seen one like him before…"
"His cellular regeneration is astonishing, he's able to use large amounts of organic matter with almost no consequence. He took down the type 2 Yuda with ease!" No.1 stated.
Shikari looked up at the window; his eyes a black void of red. "...RAAAAAHH!"
He held up his hand; the skin around his arm peeled back as multiple guns branched out and began firing at the window.
"Shit, the kid's out of control." Cid said.
"The safe wall won't be able to take much more of this!" No.1 yelled.
"I'll have to go down and stop him." Cid said.
"No, send in No.4."
The door opened up in the white room; a man walked through. His hair was short and black and his eyes were bright blue. There was a scar over his left eye. He also had earrings on his left ear; he wore a rowdy looking black jacket and blue jeans.
"So you're the new kid huh?" He said.
Shikari turned to the man.
"I'm No.4 Fear! Now I know what you're thinking, why is a guy li…"
Bang! Shikari fired a shot at him, it nearly missed him.
"Woah! Feisty one aren't ya? Let's fix that." He said.
He threw off his shirt and jacket; revealing a large tiger tattoo covering his back and shoulders.
The man stepped forward, biting his lip; (Jisatsu Release)
His skin became a shiny dark green; he stood before Shikari, his body slightly shaking.
"Ha ha! I'm invincible! Come at me brother!"
"Rgh...Rah!" Shikari fired a shell at No.4; it made contact but shattered against his skin. He took no damage whatsoever. Shikari began to unload hell on the man; tearing up the floor and the wall behind him; but he continued to walk forward unharmed.
"...ngh!?" Shikari stepped back.
"Time to say good night kid!" No.4 yelled.
He grabbed Shikari's head; slamming him down hard into the ground.
Shikari fainted; the skin on his arms regrowing.
No. 4 looked up to the window giving a smile and thumbs up. "Heh heh, nothin to it!"
No.1 spoke over the intercom; "Thank you No.4, please take him to the infirmary for recovery."
"Can do!" He said.
He lifted up Shikari and started to walk out the door.
Cid looked at No.1; "So what do ya think?"
"He's a bit unruly, but in time he will be a valuable asset."
"Alright then, I'm gonna go meet him." Cid walked out of the room.
--------
I awoke with another throbbing headache yet again; but a fuzzy memory of what happened after I shot myself. "Ugh…"
Cid sat next to me; smoking as usual.
"Morin', sleep well?" He asked.
"Go to hell." I said.
"You're already here kid, the only question is; will you stay?" He asked.
"I'd really rather not...I've got "other" things to do." I said.
I gradually got to my feet; still a little shaky.
"You know what a rhetorical question is?" He asked.
"No."
He looked at me and laughed.
"Hey! What's so funny!?" I yelled.
"Nothin... Just look it up. Anyway, the thing is; you're dead, remember?"
"What?"
"To your school, your friends, your family. Everyone." He said.
"Wha, how could they…"
"They had your burial yesterday; of course it was a closed casket because they never "found" your body."
"But I was in the hospital!" I yelled.
"We've got someone workin there… You died at that amusement park last night, you're officially deceased to the world. "Off the records''. Consider yourself lucky."
"Wha, lucky!? I can't do anything anymore! How am I supposed to live my life if I'm dead to everyone!?" I shouted.
"You're not; you were given a second chance. You could have been just another corpse last night but you made it out. Now, I'm given you a choice; leave and live in a world where you no longer exist… or work for S.I.N." He said.
"What's in it for me?"
He took a long drag of his cigarette; he stood up, pulling back a curtain.
"Sigh… You get to keep her heart beatin."
I looked down at the girl in the bed; she was hooked up to an oxygen machine.
I almost cried looking at her; her beautiful black hair running down her white hospital gown.
"Honzu…?"