"Hmm? Wait. I sense someone…" he muttered. He could tell right off that it was another zoanthrope... but still there was something strange about it. He peered into the darkness ahead, and slowly a huge, bulky form appeared in the gloom. It was covered up in bandages, but you could still see the eerie deep blue color of what should otherwise be it's skin. "No ordinary zoanthrope…" he mumbled, falling back a step.
"You… saw me." it's deep voice hissed in an insect-like tone. "You saw me."
"Holy…!" he was too stunned to finish the sentence. "Who or what is this?"
"Ggrr… You… One of his minions." the thing hissed, menacingly. "I will kill you… Kill you…" And then it rushed at him, the bulky, bandaged form slowly charging towards the injured wolf.
"H-Hey… Wait! Stop!"
"Buuusuuuziiimaaa…" it growled insanely, still barreling towards Yugo.
"I said wait, dammit!" Yugo repeated. The creature ran right at him, but he stepped aside the last minute and tripped him to the ground.This is the last thing I need right now! Yugo complained to himself, while kicking at the thing. He hated to waste time fighting when he could be out looking for Kenji, or Busuzima. And he was aware that he was still injured from Shina's attack. I'd better take care of this guy quick, before he gets a change to morph.
The bandaged form rolled off to one side and got back on it's feet, glaring at him angrilly. It tried to attack, but it's attack was too slow. The boxer dodged his punch easilly and threw a flurry of punches into his side, knocking him to the ground. Good thing this guy is so slow. He jumped on top of him, pinning him to the ground, and punched his face into the pavement.
"You know about Busuzima?" Yugo interrogated. "Where is he? Where?"
"Ggrrr…" the thing growled, it's eyes fluttering halfway shut.
"Hey, don't pass out on me! I'm sorry I hurt you." the thing hissed at him angrilly. "I'm sorry, I said! Someone I know is being held captive by Busuzima. I have to save him!"
Even after doing this to me… he is not yet satisfied… the torturted form thought, grumbling somehting under his breath. When will the madness end?
"Huh?"
"He performs hideous experiments… on live zoanthrope subjects."
"Live subjects? What kind of monster is this Busuzima? I won't let him do that to Kenji!" he jumped off of the man. "I won't! I must hurry!"
"W-Wait. I will tell you… where he is."
"You know?"
"I had intended to go there myself…" He raised his hand and pointed in a south-easternly direction. "But it seems I'm out of time."
"I'm sorry…"
"I don't deserve sympathy." the other interrupted. "I… cooperated with his experiments. I didn't know it at the time, but I'm still responsible."
"I see." Yugo nodded his understanding. He felt truly sorry for beating on the poor creature, but it really had given him no other choice. "I'm sorry. I owe you one."
Then he turned and ran in the direction the other had been pointing. No time to waste, he thought. I can't let them hurt Kenji! He stopped at the first building he found. But found that it was only an abandoned warehouse. I wonder what that guy was talking about anyway? Maybe I should've asked for better directions... Oh well, too late for that. If he said it's this way then it can't be far from here, right? He stopped at the next building and opened the door, only to find the same nurse from the hospital he thought he had gotten away from. She was also searching the room. Did she come all this way looking for me? That's kinda creepy...
"Hey, what're you doing in a place like this?" he wondered.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, noticing him for the first time. "You said what am I doing here? No, what are YOU doing here? YOU should be in the hospital, mister! Not in a place like this! I came all this way to help you!"
"I didn't ask for your help!" he complained. How ridiculous! A nurse who chases her patients half-way across the world? "Get out of here, just go home! It's too dangerous here."
"Why you ungrateful little…" she clenched her fsts and stomped over to him. "Now I'm really mad! I'll have you know I'm the kind of person who finishes what she starts!"
"H-Hey, calm down!" He backed away from her, but she grabbed his arms and started dragging him out of the room.
"I'll drag you back to the hospital if I have to!"
"Let me go!" he yelled, struggling to free himself from her grasp. "Stop! You'd better stop before I get mad!"
"You be QUIET!" she let go of one of his arms and slapped him across the face. "You're injured, so act like it and do what I say!" He growled and used free arm to punch her in the chest, which shoked her into finally letting him go. Then he gave her his best one-two punch forcing her to back away from him. It made her furious and she kicked at his legs untill he fell to the floor.
"Ow, ow! Some nurse you are!"
"You call that bedside manner?" she asked as he jumped to his feet. "Well excuse me! I come here to find you, and you have the nerve to say "Go home"? Hmf!"
"I don't want to be a nuisance!" Yugo explained. "Kenji was kidnapped 'cause I couldn't protect him. I don't want anything like that to happen to you because of me."
"You were worried about me?" she realized. "Then why did you bolt out of the hospital like that…?"
"I knew you would grill me about what happened, and I didn't have time to explain things." he added, heading for the door. "This is my problem and mine alone! I'll rescue Kenji myself!" He turned and ran as fast as he could, his hope soaring as he felt the energy build up inside him.
"Now wait just a minute!" she yelled, running after him. "I'm going with you! Don't leave me!"
He stopped for a minute, allowing her to get just close enough, and the morphed into a wolf, sending her flying away. I'm sorry Alice, but I don't want you to get hurt. I will save Kenji! Then he ran at his top speed, completely out-distancing her. A new sense of hope filled his mind as he could feel his wounds healing, and himself becoming stronger. He wound around numerous corners and bends untill he was sure she had lost all trace of him. But the time he finally lost his beast form he also realized that he had gotten lost himself. Oh great! Now I'll never find Kenji! He let himself fall down to the ground in exhaustion.
Light footsteps echoed throught the streets, the sound coming closer and closer. Oh no! I hope it's not Alice again! Then he noticed that the footsteps weren't hurried at all. This person wasn't running, they were walking towards him. But who could it be? A short, slim figure appeared in the gloom ahead, walking slowly into the light.
"Kenji!" Yugo yelled, overjoyed to see his brother was safe and well. "I was looking for you! You had me so worried!"
"Kenji?" he asked in a strange tone of voice. "Who is Kenji?"
"What do you mean?" Yugo asked, looking up at him in shock. "What's the matter with you, Kenji?"
"Silence!" he cried, running towards him. "Die!" Yugo was helpless to do anything other than sit and watch as the young man ran over to him. What happened? he wondered. Kenji kicked at him viciously, knocking him to the ground. Yugo got up quickly, but the boy dissapeared before his eyes, a log floating in the air where he had just stood.
"What the...?" Before he knew it he was flying through the air and someone grabbed him from behind, he landed head-first on the pavement. He could feel his body fall to the ground as his vision blacked out and he went unconscious. The young man kneeled down over him and lifted his arm to strike the final blow.
"Did you think you could win?" he looked into the man's face. "Wait… A strange sensation… Like I should be remembering something. This guy… I seem to remember him. But who could he be…?" He stared blankly at the bruised face for several minutes, his mind thrown into confusion by something that seemed so familiar, yet he could not remember. "Yu…" he could almost remember a name. "Yugo? Yugo!" and then it all came back to him. "Oh no, what did I do? Yugo! Did I do that? Did I? No! Nooooo!" he screamed, picking the man's head up from the ground and holding it in his arms. He cried, a single tear falling down his cheek. He had almost killed his best friend.
"I remember…" He could remember all kinds of things now. Horrible memories about being strapped to tables and forced to take anthestetics. The way all of reality seemed to twist and turn while someone reached into his mind and clouded out his thoughts. "I was being brainwashed by Busuzima." Then he remembered what he had been afterwards, the cold-blooded killer he had become. He had rained death down on his victims at his master's slightest whim. The faces of every single one of his victims returned to him, bleeding, screaming for mercy. He hurt inside so much...
"I won't hide from it anymore!" he cried, shoving the images away. "I'll beat this brainwashing by myself!" He set the man's head gently back down on the pavement, lovingly patting him on the head, and then and got up. I'll do it for him, it's what he would do if he could. "You just watch, Yugo!" He ran of into the night, seeking to destroy the man who had brainwashed him. He ran all the way, taking the quickest route he could remember. I'll get you for this Busuzima! How dare you turn into an assassin! How dare you pit me against my brother Yugo! He finally got the the place and burst through the door to find Busuzima standing by a table waiting.
"Ah, so you're back." he noticed. "Well, how did things go?"
"I'll tell you how they went! I'm not your slave anymore!"
"What? The brainwashing… It wore off? You little ingrate!"
"I'm here to put an end to your evil plans!" he yelled, stomping over to the hated kidnapper.
"W-wait!" the coward stuttered, stepping back, and waving his hands between them. "Let's talk things over! OK? OK? You can trust me! Please!"
"Now to end this for good… For you, and for everyone that I have brought sadness to!"
"So you really wanna fight me, eh, Bakuryu?"
"Kenji!" he cried, swinging madly at the hated man. "My name's Kenji!!" He morphed into a mole-beast and slashed through the other with his huge, sharp claws untill all he could see was blood. The man screamed and tried to run, but could never get far away enough from the claws. Finally he slumped to the floor, blood rushing through several huge gashes in his body. Kenji morphed back into a human and stared down at the horrible mess. "Good. I'll destroy everything. Busuzima, this lab… …and me. Then Bakuryu the bloody assassin will be no more."
He knocked several tables laden with chemicals to the floor and a fire started burning up the carpet. He stood and watched the flames lick hungrilly at the drapes nearby. Soon the wholle building would go up.
"Goodbye, Yugo… Thanks to you, I can die as a human…" He head footsteps behind him, and he turned to see a tall, blond, broad-shouldered man standing in the doorway.
"So, do you think you've settled this?" he asked.
"Do you?" he asked back, unable to make an honest answer.
"He may be gone, but the foolish war between humans and zoanthropes isn't over. You are not responsible for all of the misery that Busuzima has created. You're running from yourself. Will you forsake those who risked their lives for you?"
"Even if I survive, what is there for me to do? Fighting is all I know."
"So young, yet you say fighting is all you know? Ha!" the man snickered at the statement. "You're not that good, kid! But if you want to prove yourself, try to defeat me!" The man threw a punch at him then, wihtout any further warning, and it hit him right in the head.
I don't want to fight anymore, Kenji thought, but you leave me no choice. He swiped the man's legs out from him, and then kicked at his head. The man groaned in pain, but then got back up and threw another punch at him. However, it was too slow, and Kenji dodged it almost effortlessly. Then he realized that he still had power left, so he morphed back into a mole. Then he did his beast drive, slashing at him once to stun him, blowing fire at him from al directions, and then another furious slash which threw him to the ground. His fire attack spread through the room, setting everything ablaze.
"It looks like you can back up all that tough talk after all." the man moaned, lying on the ground and holding a blood gasp in his stomach.
"I'm sorry…" Kenji apologized. I guess I went a little far. I've gotten out of hand. All I can ever do is kill, I ought to be destroyed. The other man caught the look on his face.
"…you still don't want to live…"
Yugo woke up with a nice, large bump on his head. Ow! What happened? And then he remembered Kenji.
"Kenji? Kenji?" he looked up and down the dark streets, but no one seemed to be there. He pulled himself up from the pavement and looked again. "Kenji! Where are you? Where did you go!?!" He heard some noise in the distance and decided to investigate it. He ran towards the commotion, turning back through a few streets that looked somewhat familiar. I wonder if this is the way I came, sure hope I don't run into Alice again. Then he remebered that he needed to go back there anyway, since the bug-guy had been trying to lead him somewhere. He ran untill he saw a building that was partially lit on fire, he burst through the door to find...
"Kenji! You're alive!" At the mention of his name Kenji whirled around to find Yugo in the doorway.
"Yugo! How did you…?"
"Idiot! Who do you think you are, huh? What, even old Gado's here? What are you doing here anyway?"
"Yugo… Busuzima turned me into a ninja assassin…" Kenji admitted. "He made me…"
"That's all behind you, Kenji." Yugo smiled, and walked over to give his brother a hug. "Now it's time to live your own life."
"So you beat me to it again." Gado mumbled. "Your skills are sharp as usual." Yugo turned to stare at him, wondering if the rumors were true, and he really was the head of the Liberation Front.
"Gado, just what do you think you're doing?"
"The human-zoanthrope conflict will destroy the world unless we stop it. The Liberation Front only makes things worse for both sides." he explained. Yugo sighed in relief that Gado wasn't with them. "The world needs a leader… A true leader."
"And you're saying that you can be that leader?" he assmued.
"No," Gado corrected. "I'm not conceited enough to think that. Besides, I'm too old. I can only help ensure that the next generation takes up the challenge."
The next generation? Yugo wondered. Hey, wait, you don't think he's talking about... "Stop what you're thinking, 'cause I don't want that job!"
"Solving problems takes more than force, and fighting is the only skill I have." he picked himself up from the ground, and got into his fighting stance. "I will test your power and your destiny."
"Would you listen to me?!" Yugo complained as Gado took a swing at him. "You stubborn old man!" he ducked under the swing and sent a powerfull uppercut into his chest, throwing him back to the ground. "You're in no condition to fight!"
"Neither are you." Gado pointed out, kicking his legs out from under him.
"Hey! Both of you stop that!" Kenji cried, getting between the two. Gado got up and shoved Kenji out of the way, and then Yugo kicked him back to the ground.
"Leave Kenji alone!" Gado got back up again, but Yugo used his fire punch, to send him sprawling back to the ground again.
"Yugo! This whole building's already going up in flames!" Kenji protested.
"Oops... sorry."
"Excellent," Gado admitted. "my friend's son…"
"What does this prove?" Yugo wondered. What is so important you gotta start a fight right now?
"Someone must take the helm of the destiny of the species. Whether that person wants to or not…" he continued. "There must be no more zoanthropes who end up like that poor young boy.
"I'm not a boy." Kenji mumbled. "And don't talk about me like I'm not even here!"
"You're right." Yugo agreed. "Zoanthropes like Busuzima who exploit their own kind make my blood boil."
"There are evil zoanthropes, just as there are evil humans. Use your strength to oppose them in the name of peace for all. You are more than qualified."
"Yeah, well…, I'll do what I can." Yugo offered, but then he reconsidered. "What am I getting myself into…"
"You'll be alright, Yugo!" Kenji supported him. "After all, you rescued me, didn't you? You can save others out there who need help like I did!" A flaming chunk of ceiling fell down between them.
"We have to get out of here!" Yugo cried.
"Yeah, you're right." Gado agreed. "Yugo, you and that boy will have to carry me out of here."
"What? Don't make me laugh. I can carry you by myself."
"No, you must do it together! Please." Yugo walked over to Gado and started helping him up, but Kenji hesitated. Yugo looked back up inot his eyes, and saw the pain and hurt mirrored there.
"Kenji, you didn't plan on dying here, did you?"
"Hmm…"
"You IDIOT! Why?!"
"Would you hurry up, please?" Gado mumbled as another chunck of the ceiling crashed to the ground behind him. He whispered into Yugo's ear. "No scolding, Yugo. Let's just avoid the whole subject… for now."
"Oh, alright." Yugo agreed, tyring to hoist the big manover his shoulder. "Geez. Come on, Kenji, grab that shoulder, would ya?"
"B-But…"
"Hurry! Or we'll all end up burnt to a crisp." I know you're saying this to keep me alive. Kenji thought as he grabbed the other shoulder and they carried Gado out of the burning room and down a small flight of stairs. I thank you.