James opened his eyes and found himself in his room. After looking left and right in confusion, he sat up slightly. It took him a few seconds to realize that this was his room at the restaurant.
At this moment Fox's voice was heard.
[Good morning, sleepyhead.]
James spoke in a low voice as he held his head with his hand:
"Good morning to you too."
Fox didn't say anything, knowing that James was annoyed by the noise every time he fainted. There was a brief moment of silence as James took deep breaths in and out. After this short silence, he moved to a sitting position. First he looked at his clothes.
Before the match, he had buttoned his jacket all the way up so that the scales on his chest would not show. Now, he stood up, unbuttoned the jacket, and took it off. Immediately after that, he took off his shirt and couldn't help frowning at what he saw.
The tops of his shoulders were covered in white scales and small ridges appeared. Not surprisingly, the color of the ridges was also white. These spiky protrusions were fortunately small and not sharp. At least not yet.
"Damn."
He said to himself. Apart from that, the scales completely surrounded his chest. In the center of his chest, a circle had formed. This circle made the center of his chest look slightly sunken in. The black lines of this circle were the only difference in the white scales.
Apart from that, when he pulled his pants down a little, he noticed that the scales also surrounded his waist. When he saw this, his mood dropped completely. Inwardly he was thinking, 'What could be worse?' when Fox's voice was heard:
[Come on, don't make a face. Look on the bright side. You'll finally be able to arrange a meeting with a Vexos. You're already racking up points too fast. You're bound to get out of this situation].
James smiled faintly. It wasn't very comforting. He'd heard it more than once. All he had to do was buy time and win matches. The points he had scored so far made it clear that this was not impossible.
So now he would be his only hope to buy the time he needed. He thought it was impossible to stop the Resistance. If only his own actions could delay them, it would be more than enough.
"Oh, you're awake!"
Just as he was about to put it on, the door suddenly opened! James hurriedly got dressed as he turned to the source of the sound and saw Lucy looking at him with a relieved expression. But then, of course, that expression quickly turned to one of curiosity at what he saw.
"James... What are those?"
James stood there like a criminal caught in the act. As Lucy approached him, James didn't know what to do. He spoke with a slight panic:
"W-What are you talking about, boss?"
He muttered inwardly: 'Oh, fuck!'
This was a blatant invasion of privacy. How should he wrap it up? What should he have said? James could have been a good actor when he prepared himself and proceeded with a plan. But in this moment of panic he stopped thinking.
Lucy was confused. James's strange panic made her wonder what he was hiding. Taking advantage of his panic, she moved closer to James and placed her hand on his chest. She frowned at the rough surface she felt. James took a few steps back as he hurriedly removed Lucy's hand from his.
As he did so, she caught a glimpse of skin covered in white scales.
James looked at her, not knowing what to say. He had fucked up big time and this time he couldn't think of a lie to save the situation.
Lucy, on the other hand, had a thoughtful expression.
She could not doubt the reality of what she had touched, even if what she had seen had seemed so to her. But she couldn't make sense of what it was. It was the first time she had ever seen anything like it. She looked at James. It was obvious that he knew something. She asked with concern and curiosity:
"What are that, James? "
James looked at her, not knowing what to say. He had no idea how to explain. The funny thing was that Fox, who was supposed to help, was clearly panicking.
[What are we going to do!? What are we going to do!? Say... Say it's a side effect of my illness or something, maybe it'll do the trick].
James was about to say what Fox said when he paused. He had a feeling that saying that would put him in an even worse situation.
Finally, he took a deep breath and said honestly what it was:
"These are scales. I think."
James sat back on the bed as Lucy looked even more surprised. He needed to calm down a little. Otherwise he might say something he shouldn't have said.
Lucy was even more surprised and curious. He wasn't one to pry into someone's private life. But she thought it might be a health problem. There were many strange diseases, after all. Even if she had never heard of them.
Lucy asked as she stood looking at him:
"Scales? Do you have a special health problem?"
James looked at Lucy, who looked extremely worried. Naturally, he found this strange. Yes, he helped her, but did they have such a close relationship that she should be so worried?
With an awkward expression, he debated whether to tell her or not. It would not be appropriate to lie to someone who had given him a place to stay. James would undoubtedly feel uncomfortable. He didn't know what would happen in the future.
But if he turned into a monster, he didn't want to leave a lie behind. Fox, realizing that he was going to tell her the truth, said nothing. After all, there was no rule against telling anyone, and Fox realized from his expression that he didn't want to lie in the first place.
[I hope you're trusting the right person.]
She just said that and then went silent.
James began to explain his situation. He said he was walking around with a lost memory and that his identity was a strange hybrid. At least that's what he knew. He said that as he fainted, he found himself in a place, and as he moved through it, his memory came back. But in the same way, he said that these scales were getting more and more advanced.
James, of course, did not mention that he was a Bakugan, or that he had been reincarnated, or any of the other nonsense he had experienced. He glossed over the details of this and said that he himself did not know.
Hearing all this, the only thing on Lucy's face was shock. It was not possible for a human being to crossbreed with an unknown animal! Animal hybridization was illegal. How could such a thing happen?
James's occasional clueless behavior made more sense. He had said he was amnesiac, but it was astonishing how much. Still, unable to shake the surprise, he asked unconsciously:
"Is there... Is there no way to fix this?"
James hesitated briefly. Then he shook his head from side to side:
"I don't know. All I know is that I need to reach a certain score. A certain place. Otherwise... I don't know what will happen."
It had been a while since he had experienced acceptance mixed with fear. Of course he hadn't given up. But he understood that he had to consider every possibility.
Lucy didn't say anything. What could she say? There was too much uncertainty and James was expressing that he didn't know. It became more understandable that James was walking around with his usual stoic expression on his face. Inwardly he might even be questioning his own identity.
James looked sixteen years old. Someone his age had been put in such a strange situation. How could she not feel sad? It probably wasn't even what James thought it was. This identity crisis might even have made him think about it.
Lucy felt she had to find a solution. She spoke sadly:
"Can't the doctors find a solution?"
But James immediately refused.
"No! I don't want to be a test subject for doctors."
James knew that even if he told the doctors, they wouldn't find a solution. It could end up with a mad professor wanting to examine him, and he was afraid of that.
Lucy understood what James was afraid of. She put her hand on his prickly shoulder and spoke:
"Then we'll find another way. Don't worry, everything in life has a solution. Your big sister here will do her best to find it. You said you had to reach a high ranking, right?"
James nodded his head in agreement, but inwardly he was surprised. He hadn't expected her to so quickly accept what he had labeled as nonsense and start thinking about solutions.
It warmed his heart and made him happy. It was the first time he had experienced this warm feeling of someone thinking about him. At least he could say it was the first since the family he remembered.
Lucy was convinced that James had another problem. She would undoubtedly have to investigate. She decided she would have to understand that for now. It was much more likely to be James's own deduction. She couldn't say anything directly without investigating.
But she couldn't drag an almost adult to the doctor either.
Lucy exhaled deeply:
"All right, then. You do the best you can. You don't have to worry about this place. It's already overflowing enough as it is."
James kept his smile. Looking at Lucy's face, he could feel the concern and care. It was like caring for a little brother. But it also made him feel strange that someone was so worried about him.
He laughed lightly and decided to change the subject:
"Got it. Thanks, boss. Never mind that, but have you heard from Victor?"
Lucy then made a face as if she had suddenly remembered something.
"Yes. A man named Gray came by. He said he'd made the necessary arrangements for your request and to come to your restaurant tomorrow."
James was stunned.
"S-so soon?"