Chapter 3: Metamorphosis
Kaito ran into his apartment in a hurry and he closes his front door rapidly. He was breathing heavily. Kaito hold his shoulder in pain and ran into his bathroom and he took his medicine box out.
*I better put a bandage on the bite before it gets infected, i wonder if that aswong is still after me? Why me?! Those 6 men…*
A flashback of the 6 gang members in the alley with their pistols pointing at Shadow.
*They died because of me… BECAUSE I WAS TOO WEAK!! I gotta get stronger and destroy all these bastards!*
Kaito put a bandage on his shoulder and he walks away to his bedroom and he jumps on his bed too weak to take his clothes off. Kaito sighs,
*I hope i feel better tomorrow…*
It was night, a few cars passed by and Tokyo was full of flashing lights.
Kaito's shoulder was not filled with red veins anymore, they became dark and no human could ever have dark veins like those.
The morning, the birds chirped and the sun started to shine, Kaito slowly woke up, he rubbed his eyes and yawned. When he finished rubbing his eyes, he got up and walked out of his room and into his bathroom and locked himself in it.
[CLACK]
Kaito removed the bandage and he looked to see if his bite got infected or not but it was gone, the bite was gone.
*Huh?! How- It… IT WAS THERE YESTERDAY!! Was i too drunk so i imagined things?! Did i imagine pain?! IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!*
Kaito touched his shoulder to see if there was any sign of pain or discomfort but no, he didnt feel anything but a simple touch.
*That's weird, im gonna call Hikoto later to see if that's normal he's familiar with all that stuff.*
Kaito takes out his phone and its a Saturday so there is no school. He goes to Hikoto's phone number and he calls it.
[DRING DRING] [DRING DRING]
Hikoto doesn't respond so Kaito thinks he's sleeping, and, that's what Hikoto's doing, he's actually sleeping.
*I'll call him later…*
Kaito thinks of the poor men who died because he wasn't strong enough. He sighs and he opens the bathroom door.
[CLACK]
He walks out of the bathroom and he sees Mio laying on the couch playing on her phone.
Mio - « Hey Kaito. »
She said in a woolly voice that mean't she just woke up. Kaito waves to her and he says,
Kaito - « Hey Mio, sleep well? »
Mio looked at Kaito from behind and she looked bored.
Mio - « Mmhm, and you? »
Kaito nodded and walked to the couch and sat down, he took out a book from the drawer of the table called « The Silent Reckoning » about a serial killer who's never been caught by anyone.
Mio - « I just dont get you, how could you have a passion that lasts for more than 15 years? It's abnormal, you were three and you were reading books, h- how? »
Kaito was concentrated in his lecture but he still responded to Mio's question in a nice voice,
Kaito - « Well, i never really get bored since there are so many options, it's like an infinite selection of paradise. »
Mio rolls her eyes in annoyance.
Mio - « pffts, nerd »
He looks at her in disbelief and then he accepts it and he continues to read his book.
A few minutes later, Kaito gets up and he walks to the fridge and opens it.
Kaito - « I got sushi. »
Mio's eyes light up, she gets up and smiles inpatiently. She walks up to the fridge and sees the sushi. Mio hugs Kaito
Mio - « Thank you, Kaito! »
Kaito smiles and he says in a kind voice.
Kaito - « No problem, i bought this for you a couple days earlier. »
He grabs the sushi and takes out two plates and puts the sushi on the plate, he puts the two plate of sushi on the dinner table, Kaito and Mio sit down on the chair. Kaito says in a kind voice but slightly stressed out voice,
Kaito - « Enjoy your meal! »
Mio nods in excitement since it was her favourite food, it was Kaito's favourite food too.
They both grab their sushi and Kaito takes a bite out of it, his eyes widen, he puts his hand on his mouth in disgust and he runs to the toilet and vomits it out. Mio was about to bite the sushi as Kaito was vomiting but she stopped since it was apparently disgusting.
Kaito - « BAHH!!! »
He ran out of the toilet after puking, he walked back to the dinner table, Mio looked at Kaito curiously.
Mio - « Are you okay? »
He shakes his head in disagreement.
Kaito - « I think the sushi is expired, don't eat it, it's fucking disgusting. »
He grabs the sushi and looks if it's expired, but i wasn't, it was far to be expired. Kaito hands a sushi back to Mio.
Kaito - « Try one, Does it taste shit? Does it taste expired? »
Mio takes the sushi and she looks at it with anticipation. She exhales loudly getting ready to rush to the toilet.
Mio - « If i get highly sick, i'm gonna sue you. »
Kaito waits for Mio to bite down into the sushi.
Kaito - « Go on. »
She opens her mouth and she approaches the sushi towards her mouth and she throws it in. She chews it and she looks normal and she doesnt look disgusted, she is overwhelmed by the deliciousness of the sushi.
Mio - « It's very good, delicious even! Maybe yours was not good, try another one »
She takes a sushi and gives it to Kaito, he takes it and he eats it. Again, he runs to the toilet and pukes it out.
Kaito - « BAHH!!! »
After a couple seconds later, he walks out the toilet and he walks into his bedroom.
Kaito - « I'm going to sleep, i'm feeling nauseous »
Mio looks back at Kaito unfazed and she turns back to the sushi and she smiles as she eats one at a time.
Kaito fell asleep and he had a dream, in his dream, a bunch of people were walking next to him and he was in a crowd in Tokyo, it was late night. In the middle of nowhere, his stomach rumbled loudly. Kaito walked into an alley to get some food, but not normal food. Real Kaito didnt control this dream, the dream controlled itself, its like if Real Kaito was a passenger in the dream. A man passed next to Kaito in the alley, Kaito licked his lips and he jumped the man.
Man - « AHH!!! »
Kaito's eye turned red and black with a vertical slit and he bit the man neck and the man died. Kaito was about to bite the man again and behind Kaito appeared Shadow, Shadow was still a dark figure with red glowing eyes.
Shadow - « Looks like you're finally giving in to your aswong nature. »
Shadow chuckles. Kaito looks behind to Shadow with an angry face, blood was dripping from Kaito's mouth because of the man.
Kaito- « Get Out. »
Shadow raises his arms and he was smiling with his white teeth.
Shadow - « Well ain't that a nice way to treat your mentor! »
Kaito - « You're not my mentor. NOW GET OUT BEFORE I KILL YOU TOO! »
Shadow chuckles and he points his finger at Kaito
Shadow - « Now you've got some nerve to talk to me like that, but i'll like to see you try. »
Kaito runs to Shadow and he prepares to pin Shadow to the ground.
Kaito - « RAA!!! »
Shadow punches Kaito in the face and Real Kaito wakes up in a cold sweat.
Kaito realises that he has blood in his mouth,
he thinks to himself,
"Sometimes i accidentally bite my tongue during the night which makes me bleed"
He gets up from his bed and he walks
towards his bathroom, he looks at himself in the mirror and he looked worried and also quite terrified.
*What is wrong with me? Am i sick?…*
He started breathing heavily and he touched his head with his fingers.
*Regeneration… allergic reactions to food… dreams of me devouring people… what's wrong with me?!*
Kaito takes out his phone and he searches on Google, « What are signs that someone is an Aswong? »
There was an article with the exact same question as the question that Kaito wrote.
In the article, it said: « 5 Signs that someone is an Aswong
• If you regenerate a severe wound in a couple minutes, that's a clear sign that you're is an Aswong.
• If you feel something forming in your back.
• If you start feeling hungry but for something else than human food.
• If you feel a little pain in your eyes.
• And most importantly, if you puke after eating any type of human food, you are one.
For Kaito, it was all of them, Kaito ran out of the bathroom and he ran into the kitchen. He took out milk from his fridge and he chugged it, Mio was in her room sleeping with the door closed. Because of the milk, it made Kaito puke but he didnt have to time to get to the bathroom so he puked on the kitchen.
[BAHH!!]
Kaito - "No, no, no… this can't be… i can't be…"
He takes out ham and he eats it too but he spits it out because it was disgusting.
[BAH]
*There is one finally way to decide if i am an Aswong, if i am a human… i hope that i will survive this.*
Kaito grabs a kitchen knife and he takes off his shirt, he didnt have abs and he looked weak.
He exhaled loudly trying to prepare himself for the pain although he was pretty sure he was an Aswong, this was just to confirm it. He raised the knife and he stabbed himself in the stomach but the knife broke in half, the two pieces of the knife fall to the ground and Kaito realises that he isnt human anymore. He runs in a room where there is a mirror, and he sees that one of his eyes were vertical slits with a red and black colours. Kaito was breathing intensely, he hid his Aswong eye with his hand and he took it off. He started crying and his tears on his normal eye were transparent normal tears, but his tears on his Aswong eyes, the tears were red.
[Im just a normal college student with an only friend, im just living a usual life in an apartment living with my little sister. Im not the kind of the guy to be the hero of a novel. But if you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be… a tragedy.]
Kaito - "No… no… no… this can't be… i… i can'r be a monster… of 8 billion people on
this earth… why me?! WHY?!!"
Kaito's scream was so loud that it woke up Mio, she got up instantly from her bed and rushed into the bathroom where Kaito was. She knocked on the door and waited for Kaito to open or talk to her.
Mio - "Kaito? Are you okay in there?"
Kaito's eyes widen as he heard his sister
*Oh god… what do i tell her? Do i go out and tell her the truth or do i keep it a secret?*
Mio knocks on the door again.
Mio - "Kaito? Are you in there? Are you okay?"
Kaito - "…"
Mio - "Alright, i'm coming in!"
She puts her hand on the handle and she slightly opens the door.
Kaito - "No! Don't come in!! I'm… i'm… i'm shitting!
Mio laughs slightly and she closes the door without looking in.
Mio - "Alright, goodnight!"
She heads back to bed and she leaves him. Kaito was in the bathroom and he was staring at himself in the mirror in horror for what a creature he's become.
As Mio was heading in bed, she walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water, she saw a gallon of milk on the ground with the milk spilling out, she also saw a knife in two pieces. She looked stressed and worried, she looked back at the bathroom door where Kaito was. She walked to the bathroom door and knocked again.
Mio - "Alright, what the fuck happened in the kitchen, Kaito?"
His eyes widen in shock and he couldnt stay here, he had no response.
Mio - "Kaito… The fuck is going on with you? Earlier you couldnt eat food, now i see a knife broken in half with a gallon of milk spilling on the ground? Im your sister."
Kaito clenches his fists and grits his teeth in stress.
Mio enters the bathroom and she sees Kaito looking at himself like he's looking at a monster in the mirror, Mio still didnt see Kaito's eye.
Mio - "Kaito… what's going on? You can tell me… you're acting really strange and it starting to freak me out."
Kaito - "Mio… please don't hate me…"
Mio - "Huh?"
Kaito turns towards Mio and she sees Kaito's aswong eye. She looked horrified and confused, she had so many thoughts in her head.
Mio - "K- Ka…"
*She can't even say my name… i can't blame her… i am a monster… and i deserve to die. I am now the same species as the ones who killed my parents… i am my own killer…*
Kaito was crying and Mio was shaking in disbelief and fear.
Mio - "Kaito… you're…"
Kaito - "Im sorry, Mio…"
Mio - "I… i can't… why? Why… how?"
Kaito - "It's since today… i dont know what… i didnt hurt anyone…
Mio - "This is…"
Kaito - "You can punch me, kick me… i don't deserve better anyway."
Mio hugs Kaito tightly and she starts crying too
Mio - "I still love you… with all my heart…"
Kaito - "I love you too"
Mio - "You've always been there when i needed you whether it was physically or mentally… i'm gonna be there for you now."
Kaito nods and he starts crying more.
Kaito - "Thank you…"