Chapter 11: Heart Ache

The heart monitor beeps were drowned out in his mind. His violet eyes stared down at the sleeping form.

Her blue hair was sprawled out, longer, reaching off the sides of the bed. The blankets were wrapped around her tightly, keeping her hold in a makeshift cocoon.

Her chest rose in low breaths, yet she wouldn't wake.

She was alive, but remained asleep for the past few months, unaltered.

Takabi sat next to Nana's bed, hand on her arm, body tense and heart racing with the hope that she would wake up soon. Day after day, whenever he wasn't eating or training with Kairas, he would spend his hours at her side, allowing disappointment into his soul with each moment she wasn't awake.

Nana is what spurred him on. She's the reason he would continue on with his job. It's what she would've wanted. What he wanted, though, was just to see her open her eyes.

A hand placed itself on his shoulder. Looking up, he locked eyes with a dark figure. Freshly shaven face, black hair and an all black suit. There was a faint hint of shadow emitting from his feet, but it quickly faded away when he began to speak. "You've been in this cycle for a while now. You should give it a rest."

Takabi scoffed, returning his eyes to Nana.

"I'm serious," He pressed, "It's gotten worse. When was the last time you slept?"

"Can't sleep, Garuga. I don't want her to wake up and it's not my face she sees first."

The Shadow Dragon exhaled, pulling up a seat and sitting next to Takabi. "She's going to be mad at you for not resting."

"Worth it."

"Can I ask you something?"

Takabi broke his gaze from Nana, watching Garuga.

"Where does this intense love come from? Since I've met you, you both have been borderline obsessed with one another. I'm not trying to get under your skin, I just want to understand."

"Well," He began, "I can't exactly explain it. It just… It hurts when I'm not with her." He touched his chest, taking a deep breath. "She found me. I don't know why, and I ask myself every day why me, out of everyone in here."

Garuga cleared his throat. "She told me once, before she ran into you, that she knew a wild child who would get her to do some dangerous things as a kid. That was you?"

"Yeah," He laughed, genuinely, in response. "We'd play all the time as kids. Maybe that's when it started. I was sort of dumb when I was younger, so I couldn't really tell what a crush was. I do know I got into a bunch of fights with the kids around the neighborhood whenever someone tried talking to her."

Garuga gave a hearty laugh, standing from his seat. "She was right. You were a wild child. Think you can pry yourself away for a little bit though? We need to talk about Shine."

Nodding, he leaned over and placed a kiss on Nana's forehead, before standing and following Garuga from the infirmary.

His eyes looked over the Bunker compound. It had grown bigger as time moved on. They came across many other small towns off the map, where people needed refuge. Many kids, inhuman of course, who needed a new home. To compensate, they expanded on the inside. The cafeteria was the size of a school gym. 

The training room had also undergone some expansion. Takabi had a sudden idea one day, to give it alteration to everything inside. Increased gravity, intense heat and cold, anything to make the conditions harsher on a person to further the results someone can gain.

It worked wonders for Takabi and Kairas.

Taking from their example, everyone decided to push themselves further. Currently, Aqua was in the room with Mia.

Aqua grew well. Longer hair with an athletic build. Now around five foot two, her body has begun to blossom a bit into puberty. She wasn't just a child. Takabi saving her gave her the motivation to be like him.

To be strong and be capable of defending herself.

Aqua and Mia exhaled, opening their eyes before charging at one another, slamming knuckles together. Mia swung with a left hook, Aqua dodging under and countering with a quick slap of her palm.

The two slid back, before Aqua willed a wave of water up from behind her. She threw her arm forward, the water rushing at Mia faster than she expected. Mia leapt into the air, releasing blasts of magic from her fingers. The water split, shooting up in front of Aqua and blocking most of the bolts. One slipped through and cut her cheek. Aqua stretched her arms out, the water rushing back around her and bending in the air.

Aqua and Mia smiled at one another, before charging at each other and clashing in a bright light.

Takabi smiled, heading up to the board room and opening the door.

Garuga was inside, standing at the back of the room and writing something in black dry erase on the whiteboard. He spotted three other figures in the room. One had pure white hair like he did. Her pale skin glistening with a faint sparkle under the room lights, tracksuit hugging her developed build tightly.

Next to her was a lazy looking man. His hair was slicked back and he wore a red long coat, black jeans and an orange T-Shirt that read DragonForce. He spotted Takabi first and waved to the boy as he walked around and sat on the opposite side of the two at the table. "Where's everyone else?"

"Rose and Jewel are still in the library researching. Raia hasn't come out of her room." The woman told him.

"And Ariel?"

"School."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about the classes we started."

"Shouldn't you be learning too?" The man asked, taking his feet off the table. "Seems like a waste to let yourself get dumb."

"I'm learning plenty from Garuga. Thanks for the concern though, Porrelth."

Porrelth smiled and laughed, nudging the woman. "Well, Syrreth. He sounds better at least."

"Leave the boy be. We have more important things to worry about now. All set, Garuga?" Syrreth asked the Shadow Dragon, who in turn faced the three and nodded.

"Right. From what Takabi told me, it's definitely their sister. She was recently attacked by two demons posing as her family. One was a descendant of a Wolven Clan known for inbreeding. They had an insatiable sexual appetite that only their kind could sedate." Garuga slapped the white board with a photo.

In it was a blonde haired male, blue eyes, but fur growing onto the skin. "At will, he can alter his appearance, but only by color. Orion is his name, but I can't give any more information than that. We have no clue of his affiliations with the Kult, and there's a very good chance he doesn't have any to begin with. Easy for him to disguise himself as Shine's brother if all he had to do was change his hair color."

Garuga slapped another photo on the whiteboard. This one, Takabi recognized very well. A large burly man, with hands as large as the table they sat around. He was taller than average to compensate for his hand size, torso built well as if he was a consistent heavy lifter. Thin legs, all black eyes that held a multicolor glow. His hair was longer, greyish in color, and skin holding a greasy glow.

"This man is simply known as The Father. Mysterious, even among Demon kind. He definitely has connections to the Kult. Low ranking in the grand scheme though, so capturing him may not be a top priority."

"What kind of Demon is he," Takabi asked, tapping his fingers against his temple.

"No specifications. He's most likely a Composite," Garuga answered.

"You mean like the smaller Demons who're too weak on their own so they band together in a single body? Gross, must be hot as hell inside. His organs are definitely goop by now," Takabi said. "I ran into him when I found Shine. Both seemed messed up mentally. This explains why."

"What about the girl," Porrelth asked.

Garuga placed a picture of Shine on the board. Takabi smiled at his handiwork.

The photo was dark, due to turning off the flash, but he was proud he managed to get such a great angle. In the photo, Shine was falling over in her chair, pencil on her nose and eyes wide. The angle of the shot was from her window, back facing the camera, but just enough of her face was visible.

"Shine Yamishito, currently using the last name Stevens. Memory loss, from what Takabi tells me. Top athlete at her school, and currently orphaned. She's willing to trust Takabi and Kairas, so we could essentially bring her in any time we wish." He looked back at Takabi. "However, I'm sure he wants to wait until she's ready."

Takabi nodded in response. "She's stubborn, but confident in herself. I couldn't sense any sort of mana from her at all. It may take time for her to awaken."

"Where is she now? I'll force it out," Porrelth suggested, but Takabi shook his head.

"No, can't have you do that. She's hesitant to fully trust us, but she does. Give her a reason not to and she'll slip right into the Kult's hands. We take it slow, and see if her power bursts on its own. It's been eight years, I'm sure the time is close. After all, her healing factor is already active."

"Well observed, Takabi. I'm surprised at this new attitude of yours." Syrreth complimented.

"Well then, we'll keep tabs on her and make sure nothing else will happen that'll put her in too much danger. Takabi, you and Kairas comb Denver for The Father and Orion. If you find them, do not engage. Hide yourselves well and track them back to wherever they go. Got it?" Garuga took the photos off the board. "Dismissed."