Riku fingered his split lip. It wasn't as if the other boy's punches could get past him, but the point of a meaningless fight was mutual pain, not simply to show off. Riku had allowed his defenses down for the weaker, less skilled boy, just to keep the fight going. There was nothing else that he was interested in at school. It was stupid. He didn't care about the principal's warning. It didn't matter. The odds were that the statement was a lie, like the last two times the principal had told him such a thing, and he didn't care even if the old fart spoke the truth. Expulsion would be just dandy with him. Better than school, anyway.
"Now, Mr. Natsume, your father has been notified of this incident, and I will leave it up to him for your home punishment, as for your detentions, i find it only fair that-"
Riku let the meaningless ramble hit him like a bunch of nonsensical murmurs. It wasn't hard with Japanese. He could tune it out easily and make his brain work as if he could only recall German. Though, his German wasn't too hot either. While his Japanese held remnants of an accent, no matter how hard he tried, his German was simply childish, and he sounded like a five-year-old, despite understanding most of it. An exchange student had come from Germany a few years ago, and when speaking to her, though she was impressed at his past and his comprehension, she found the way he spoke laughable. Cute, even.
Something caught his eye suddenly. Black wavered in his sight in front of the old man.
Riku stared at it, his narrow blue eyes widening. He stood from his seat and slammed his hands onto the desk, trying to get a better look at it.
"Mr. Natsume?!" The principal shouted, unaware of the spectacle.
"Don't you see it?!" Riku shouted, pointing his finger yet trying not to touch it. "It's right there!! Look, you old coot!!"
"Mr. Natsume!!" The principal shouted once again, slamming down his fist. "Take your seat and calm yourself this instant!!"
Riku gritted his teeth, pushing the papers off of the principal's desk. "You blind old bat!! Forget it, I'm out of here!!"
His outburst was nothing short of a tantrum, but the old coot, could he really see nothing? Perhaps it's my imagination, Riku thought, biting his already raw lip as he stormed from the principal's office and ignored the teachers trying to halt him. He stomped his feet heavily as he walked, staring at the walls that were now speckled with the small black holes. People stared at him like he was crazy, they leaned over and whispered to one another. What is going on?! Am i going insane?! His wild thoughts continued, running through all of the possibilities as he escaped the school building and began running. He didn't bother to worry about running into the people on the streets. They didn't matter, they couldn't see it. His worries about suddenly being insane were suddenly accompanied by the worry that it was reality. That it was truly a horror only he could see.
The sidewalk narrowed to being the side of cracked road that signaled his approach on his crappy little neighborhood. He slowed, taking a look around. At least there were few people here to watch his breakdown. Riku watched as the black voids meshed together, split, and meshed together again with another black void. They grew larger, and occupied more space, and-
Riku collapsed to the pavement as he attempted to put his weight down on his left leg. He clawed at the cracks in the pavement, digging his fingers in and bending his knee to try to push himself upward again. He had to keep moving, he had to-
His eyes looked back, his leg dissipated into blackness at the thigh, gone. A black hole in the ground had consumed it.
Riku screamed in terror, squeezing his eyes shut a moment and opening them once again to stare wildly at anyone. "Please!!" He called, letting himself collapse, and reaching his hand out to a couple. "Help me!! Please!!" He watched the vision fade and his last sight was the two smiling and whispering. They saw nothing. Only a boy crying for help from nothing.
. . .
Riku's eyes flashed open to slightly distorted room. His eyes couldn't settle on one particular thing, but chose to try and witness everything at once. Images came in blurs. He jolted slightly, the sensation of being underwater processing finally. His eyes widened and his hands slammed against the glass as he eyed the surroundings to the end of the glass and the beginning of the exit. Panic rushed through him though his body processed it differently. He simply wanted a way out, and a way out quickly. He let himself sink to the bottom, and pushed against it with his feet, clawing upward on the glass to get the rest of the way up. He pushed at the lid immediately, and suddenly grabbed the edge of the tube.
Riku's body convulsed with the shock, though his body didn't react to the pain regularly. He found himself simply thinking, hey, that hurt... and continued to grab it again.
This time, he held back any reaction, and hefted himself up to the air. He took a deep breath and immediately covered his nose. What a god-awful smell. He wished he hadn't caught a whiff of it at all!
Riku sat on the edge and examined his surrounding thoroughly, now that he'd escaped the fluid. Five others crawled from their tubes, nude, were already awakened. It would seem that he was a little late... But..... Nude?? He looked down to examine his own body. He was completely exposed, his pale skin free of all the 'battle scars' of his fights and his abuse. His unnaturally long, pale blonde hair clung to his body in most places, the moisture of the liquid weighing it down. He was so... different.... He felt so different.
He turned to examine the lid beside him.
"Susumu Riku, huh?" He muttered, processing his new name. He fingered his lip, golden-brown eyes widening at the stunning lack of being split, but what else had he expected?
He began reading yet another inscription....
NINGEN NO KAMI
HUMAN-GODS
HUMAN-GODS
Ningen no Kami is the name of the new species of humans that are sleeping dormant in these tubes right now. They have been in these tubes since they were embryos and will awaken once they have reached the age of eighteen. These tubes are called Shikenkan and are basically their mothers' wombs. Ningen no Kami are the "perfect humans" that excel in everything,and specialize in up to five things. They have been genetically altered to look flawless and beautiful in every aspect, and will be used as our organization's successors in order to plot the next revolution, making Japan the world's ruler. Like in Las Vegas, What happens in here, stays in here.
"Perfect, huh?" He muttered, and looked down toward the ground. He let his body drop, but his feet connected with the ground clumsily, and he slipped slightly, reaching out with his hands to lean against his 'mother' to regain his balance. He straightened, not feeling the embarrassment he should have felt at his fumble, and brought his hands away. If that thing was his mother, he surely wanted nothing to do with 'her'.
Riku pulled his hair in front of him, recalling a little bit of 'I shouldn't be nude in front of other people', to cover his exposed genitals. He hugged it in front of him, not caring about his bare ass, and began slowly approaching the others, not speaking. He would see what they would have to say first.