Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/1449481. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Category: M/M Fandom: DRAMAtical_Murder Relationship: Trip/Virus_(DRAMAtical_Murder) Character: Virus_(DRAMAtical_Murder), Trip_(DRAMAtical_Murder), Toue_(DRAMAtical Murder), Sei_(DRAMAtical_Murder) Additional Tags: Verbal_Humiliation, slight_re:connect_spoilers, Alternate_Universe_- Canon_Divergence, Minor_Character_Death, Blood_and_Gore, Dubious_Consent, Incest, Explicit_Sexual_Content, Violence, Desperation Series: Part 1 of Polarity Stats: Published: 2014-04-11 Completed: 2014-04-17 Chapters: 7/7 Words: 12488 ****** When I First Met You ****** by Sereisa Summary "There was no dramatic music playing in the background or a blowing wind that suddenly came to a halt. There was not even a beam of light, which could later be interpreted as a divine direction. There was just nothing…Well except him standing in the hallway and that boy with bright blond hair, he was staring at. ..."   That's the beginning of (my) story of Virus and Trip. Notes I have to excuse me... :( english is not my native language and therefore I'm pretty sure that there are mistakes in the story. however, I hope that you'll be able to understand it nevertheless and maybe...enjoy it? *-*   First two chapters might be somewhat complicated because of the narrative style. Its getting better after a certain point in the story, though - promise!   Beta'd by the great speakingincode - thanks a lot !! <3 ***** Chapter 1 ***** Annoying. Everything was just annoying. Getting up every morning, going to school, studing for exams, being forced to interact with those creatures… He couldn’t believe how someone really could think of life as something special or even something worthy; for him, it just seemed senseless, a vortex of never- ending boredom... a vortex that was complicated as hell. But he didn’t care what might become of him in the future; the future was something he never thought of anyway. So he didn’t bother to study for the last exam, and he was getting even worse... Not that anyone had thought that that was even possible. But, as he stood in front of the principal’s office, he realized that he had proven everyone wrong yet again. Suddenly, he heard a voice near him. “Hey, isn’t that Tatsuya? Seems like he got in trouble again.” When he turned around he saw two of the things in the same class as him approaching. “Don’t go near him. You know, he’s beating everyone who dares approach him to a bloody pulp,” whispered the smaller one. Smirking, the taller one was completely unimpressed. “Who cares? Even he wouldn’t dare to start a fight in front of the principal’s office.” He came further towards the person they called Tatsuya. “Hey there! I saw your results of the last exam on the board. You seem to- ack!" And here another one was proven wrong as a fist met his nose. Why'd they bother him anyway? The only thing those ugly mugs were good for was being punched in the face. He thought they’d have learned by now. Guess not… He turned around and began walking away. Fuck the principal and that crying thing on the floor - he didn’t belong in their world anyway. He shouldn’t be forced to stick to their rules. On his way outside, he passed a crowd around the bulletin board. They all took that shit way too seriously… and they seemed to be especially noisy today. ”That’s impossible! It's never happened before… I thought he made a deal with the devil to get these grades and now a new kid just-” “I heard that he didn’t study this time. So maybe that’s why...?” “It’s not suprising at all. I mean, the newbie is related to Toue; he should be special.” “'Virus,' huh? That’s a strange name for a boy.” According to their muttering, someone got better grades than the school’s number one nerdy kid, who'd always gotten the best grades for as long as he could remember. But he didn’t care about grades, so their little competition didn’t impress him very much. If he’d started taking school seriously, he could be the best in no time; he was sure about that. Outmatching one of those things intellectually was no big deal, really. There was one thing he agreed with them on, however: “Virus” truly was a strange name. Tired of all the trouble, he started heading home again. ...........................................   “You’re just no good! Your teacher called, said your grades got even worse. And you got into a fight yet again! Do you wanna kill me? Do you want that? ‘Cause I'm telling you right now that I’m almost done with you and all of this shit. Why did we even take you in if you’re not even a little grateful?! Can’t you just be a normal kid? Why do we always end up with the crazy ones? I mean, can’t you just try to not be a shame for this family?!” the woman raged. It was remarkable how she could get even more angry just by yelling at him. While she stood in the middle of the room, gesturing furiously and screaming in a voice that could probably to break glass, he leaned against the doorframe with a calm expression on his face, waiting for it to be over. She just raged more and more, seemingly cheered on by his silence and lack of interest. Somehow, it was even funny, how he could annoy people by just existing... “Go to your room; I can't look at your face any longer. I'm gonna speak with your father about this, and you’re going to apologize to the principal tomorrow for not following his orders,” the woman said finally. And with that, he was allowed to go to his room and get some rest. To him, along with sweets, beating up random people, or destroying things, sleeping was very enjoyable. Because of his hobbies, he sometimes wondered if in a former life he was a lion, if something like that was actually possible.     ..........................................     The next morning was exactly like the previous one: getting up, getting ready for school, heading to school, sitting in school, beating up random people, being called to the principal… Everything indicated that it would be a normal day in his boring life. When it happened, there was no dramatic music playing in the background, or a blowing wind that suddenly came to a halt. There wasn't even a beam of light that could've been interpreted as a divine intervention. There was just... nothing. Except him, standing in the hallway, and the boy with bright blond hair he was staring at. When he turned to look him in the eyes, he got the feeling of being understood for the first time in his life. He had an aura of pure white around him. Time seemed to stop right at that moment, and he thought that maybe, just maybe, he found someone who was worth his attention. A thousand thoughts crossed his mind right then when, all of a sudden, the boy turned to walk away. Everything in his brain was washed away by the sole thought that he was leaving. Every cell in his body screamed, “Don’t let him go! You can't let him go!” He reached for him, but pulled his hand back instantly. It didn’t seem right to touch him. So the boy walked away without a word and left him alone. He stood there for another few seconds, but before the boy could get out of his view, he made his decision: Even if he couldn’t stop him, he wouldn’t be stopped. So he started running... and boy, did he run! It felt like an eternity until he finally reached the boy, who just looked over his shoulder to find himself being chased. The boy continued his walk and he followed. And so the day went on; the boy walked onwards, and he followed. He soon realized that that boy was the “Virus” the things were talking about the day before. Virus seemed to care a lot about the things, as he chatted amiably with a lot of them and smiled at everyone. He seemed to be very popular among them, although he was new to the school. For him, it was obvious that Virus was the God among those insects. And, even for him, it was only natural to follow God, no matter what. It really wasn’t easy, as the teachers didn’t understand his behaviour… Well, nobody seemed to understand him. Except Virus, of course, who either understood him or just didn’t care. Virus was six years older than him, which meant that he’d have to go to the higher-grade classes when he followed him around. At first, he wasn’t allowed in the classes, but when they realized he just sat in front of the door waiting for Virus to come out, that changed very quickly. The teachers stopped their pouting and just ignored the duo. They probably assumed that he would stop his behaviour sooner or later, which he was determined not to do. After school, he and Virus headed to Virus’ home, a very tall and modern mansion. Obviously, Virus’ family had a high living standard. Virus opened the garden gate and walked in. Before he could follow, however, Virus turned around and closed the gate behind him. Looking him in the eyes, he smiled and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to bring home strays.” With that, Virus turned and walked into the house. He just took a seat in the front of the gate, waiting. ***** Chapter 2 ***** Chapter Notes Well...I had to change the rating earlier than I thought. But better be safe than sorry, right? Some tags got also added, so check them first, if you get easily triggered. Please note that this is a ViTri-fic! Meaning it might get pretty f<3cked up sooner or later. Beta'd by the great speakingincode! Thanks a lot! <3 enjoy! :) When he came home that evening, he was welcomed by that woman waiting for him in the entrance. She seemed to be even more furious than she'd been the day before. A flow of “why”s and “where have you been”s bubbled out of her. He, however, was more fascinated by the way her throat moved during her speech. He wondered briefly if she’d stop her raging if he sliced it. Or if she’d move even more, spreading her blood everywhere on that neat carpet of hers. And what would Virus think if he found out that he had killed a woman? Would he approve or just not care? Maybe he’d smile in that wolfish way, with closed eyes and slightly tilted head, telling him that’s not how an eight year-old should behave. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a slight pain spreading through his left cheek. That woman stood right in front of him with her hand raised and a shocked expression on her face. A few seconds everything was silent until tears appeared on her face, disfiguring it even more. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you! You’re not talking, not listening, you don’t seem to care about anything… Can you- Can you even feel at all?” Her voice had become a shrill howl by then. “When I agreed to take you in, I wanted a child. A child! Not a monster...!” She searched his eyes for some kind of reaction, but it never came; he never reacted. He was never happy, didn’t get sad or angry... He was always calm and collected, and did what he wanted and what was necessary; nothing more. Feelings like love, hate, and jealousy were foreign. Disgust? That was something familiar. And... maybe, after meeting Virus, adoration. But everything else was a sign of weakness he didn’t benefit from. He didn’t need them. After that encounter with the woman, he went straight to bed. No need for more of the rigmarole that would definitely come up if he headed for the kitchen to get himself something to eat. Laying in bed, he thought of Virus before drifting to sleep.   ........................................................   The following days went by without any considerable events. He got up one hour earlier every morning to be at Virus’ before he could start to head to school alone. During the lessons, he sat at the desk right behind Virus. (The kid who sat there originally was charmed by the way Virus smiled at him and told him how nice it’d be if he could sit somewhere else.) The breaks were spent on a bench in the schoolyard where Virus could observe everything that took place. He just stared at the sky or Virus himself. One of those days, they started sharing their lunch (which really meant Virus started sharing his lunch with him, since he never bothered taking something to eat with him). “Here, you can have it,” Virus said after a while, obviously having noticed the way he was eyeing the parfait. “I’m not really that into sweet things anyway,” he said, unwrapping his tuna sandwich. He passed him his lunchbox and raised an eyebrow at him when he hestitated to take it. “Hm...” he hummed after another few seconds. “You know, you should take what’s offered to you. It’s very impolite to just ignore it.” An amused smile spread on Virus’ face. “Not that I’d care about something like that, but…” He turned the box over, letting the parfait drop on the ground. “You never know what happens if you don’t take it.” They spent the rest of the break in silence. But, since that day, he took everything Virus offered him.   ........................................................   After the lunch break, they usually spent the rest of the day in class, studying, more or less. Virus truly was a genius. He had no problems answering every question of his teachers and sometimes his classmates, although he seemed absentminded most of the time. Compared to Virus, he sometimes felt a little stupid. He had little to no problem following the lessons, even though he was way younger than the rest of the class, but Virus was always a few steps ahead of him. It didn’t bother him, though. In his mind, the idea of Virus just knowing everything slowly formed, and with every passing day, he was proven right. When school was over, they headed to Virus's house, where Virus would step in, closing the door behind him, and he’d sit in front of the gate, waiting. Sometimes people stopped by, asking him if everything was alright or why he sat in front of the gates, if he was afraid to go home. There were also the ones who thought he was some kind of beggar and ended up either changing sidewalks or giving him money. A few times, people tried to touch him, which he detested but tolerated; the urge to attack them for coming near him had somehow disappeared. In fact, he hadn’t hit a single person since he had met Virus. That, however, changed very quickly.   ........................................................   He learned early on that Virus took piano lessons twice a week. “I like the melancholic sad sound only a piano can create,” Virus told him one day, when they were on their way to Virus’ teacher. “It can produce the most dramatic and tragic melodies while still sounding calm and collected.” He hummed and then suddenly started chuckling. “Don’t you think it’d be fitting? A piano playing in the background while the world comes to its end... Doomsday and Haydn... Sounds like a low-budget movie to me.” The first few times, he wasn’t allowed to attend the piano lessons, so he sat in front of the teacher’s house until Virus would come outside. But one day it started raining and the teacher asked him to join them. He assumed him to be in his fifties or even sixties, judging by his look and his outfit; he looked like he just came out of an Edgar Wallace movie. The teacher sat next to Virus while he leaned against a wall, listening to Virus playing “Für Elise” over and over again. He thought that he never heard anything more perfect in his life - except, of course, Virus’ laughter. However, the teacher seemed to think otherwise, complaining constantly about Virus playing too fast, too slow, not giving a shit about breaks… His constant bitching really got annoying. If not for Virus, he’d be long since gone. But just when he started to let his mind wander, he heard it: the blow. Virus, who wanted to continue his playing without paying attention to the determined break, got struck on his hand by his teacher’s baton. Virus just glared angrily at his teacher and shook his hand. The teacher opened his mouth to complain about something, but got cut off as his head met the piano keys three, four, five times in a row. He stood behind the teacher, hand in his hair, pulling his head towards him just to smash it on the piano yet again. And again. The teacher, who initially seemed shocked by his violent acting, was probably unconscious by then. Having painted almost the half piano red from the teacher’s blood, he came to a halt, staring at Virus for some kind of reaction. Virus only thinly smiled and crossed his legs. “That’s it? Thought I had me some kind of Rottweiler. This is somewhat disappointing...” Virus's smile faded slowly. His gaze wandered to the teacher resting on the piano. “I hate him. There are only a few people who actually end up making me hate them, and he’s one of them.” He frowned. “Actually, I wanted to destroy him in a different way. Well… I guess I don’t have to anymore. Or maybe I have to do it anyway, since your job here… is not completely satisfying.” Virus gave him a thin smile at that. “Don’t you agree with me?” Having understood Virus’s command, he pulled the teacher on the ground and started kicking him. Virus started playing another piece on the piano in the meantime. Because of the higher speed, it sounded like a more aggressive version of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. He continued creating his new piece of art. The teacher's ribs, his arms, his face… Everything that came in the way of his foot merged into a pulp. Hematomas started to cover his body along the saliva and blood that poured out of his mouth, his nose, and every wound he caused him. “It’s a pity, really,” Virus stated during his play. Laughing, he said, “He should have known that violence doesn’t solve anything.” The sound of the piano, Virus's laughter, his fists hitting the teacher’s body and the wet squelching of his blood created their very own and oh so beautifully cruel Sonata; truly, the most beautiful melody in the world. The time passed and then suddenly, Virus got up from his seat, approached him with slow steps, stopped right in front of him; their bodies almost touching. He looked over his entire body and smiled, a genuine one, for the first time. “That’s a good look on you: staring at me with those calm eyes of yours, covered in red with the blood dripping from your fists… drip, drip.” He looked down his body to find him indeed being covered in the teacher's blood. Just like Virus said, he got stains everywhere. Truly amazing, however, were his fists, which had never been that red before. The blood dripped off them, slowly falling to the ground next to the bloody pulp he left behind. Drip, drip. Out of nowhere, another pair of hands laid upon his. Virus chuckled when he noticed his slight trembling. “My, my...” he hummed, “you don’t have to be afraid of me… or maybe it’s not fear? But what else could it be, I wonder…What else could it be?” Virus entwined their fingers briefly, spreading the blood between both pairs of hands. Afterwards, Virus patted his cheeks lightly, smearing the blood on his face. “A fitting look, indeed,” he repeated when he looked on his bloodied fists again. Drip, drip. His smiled turned sharp then, showing teeth. “I think I finally found you a suitable name.” He stepped over his former teacher, heading to the bathroom. “Come on, Trip. We should get clean before we go outside,” he called over his shoulder. So Trip did as he was told and followed Virus yet again. ***** Chapter 3 ***** Chapter Notes Again beta'd by the great speakingincode - thanks a lot !! <3 hope you enjoy it! :) See the end of the chapter for more notes The next day, Virus decided that it was time for a little excursion.  “I have a… hm...” he trailed off, tapping a finger on his chin lightly. "Let’s call it... 'appointment' tomorrow morning. We have to travel for quite a while, so it’s better to go right now. There’s enough time left for us to waste in school anyway.” They went to the train station, where they waited almost two hours for the required train to arrive. Virus spent the time observing and chatting about all the different people who gathered in the station. He told Trip over and over again how important it’d be to watch people, as one could gather a kot of information about them just by doing so, especially about their preferences or even their weaknesses. He told him that a wise man once said, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Trip found that to be rather amusing. A sentence connecting “wise” and “man” was something he immediately counted as incredible. Nevertheless, Virus was having fun spending his time observing those meaningless existences, so Trip was okay with it as well. The train stopped on the station in front of the entry to Platinum Jail. Stepping through the gate, they were welcomed by fanfares and fire crackers all around them. At the same time a panda came running to them, all happy and friendly. It really caught Trip off guard. While he was standing, kind of dumbstruck, in the middle of the hall, Virus stepped forward to talk to the creepily cheerful panda. He showed him an object that Trip couldn’t identify from the distance when the panda became very silent. Nodding slightly, he stepped aside and pushed some buttons on his remote control. As a result, the previously closed door in front of them opened up. They walked through it and Trip was blinded by all the different shades of red lights he had to face. He heard a giggling sound next to him and turned to find Virus staring at him. “Should have seen your face,” was all explanation he got. Virus then led him through the mass of people, which romped all over the district. Their tour ended in front of a huge black building. Judging by its looks, it was some kind of night club. A queue of people had formed in front of the entry. Virus, however, seemed not to be impressed by them at all, as he just passed them and walked up to the doorman. The doorman looked at Virus and raised and eyebrow at him, gesturing in Trip’s direction. “Ah…since when am I not allowed to bring…” Briefly, Virus shot a glance at him. ”…friends over?” he continued, smirking. The doorman shrugged his shoulders and stepped aside, letting them enter the building. Virus looked over his shoulder to Trip. “This is the so called 'Flame Willow' nightclub,” he explained. “It’s a very interesting place, believe me. If we have a little more time, I might show you around. Now, however, we’re gonna get to our room. There’s something I need to check out.” They took the elevator to get to the penthouse. Apparently “our room” meant the entire upper floor. While Virus strode through the flat, as if it’d be the most natural thing to do, Trip felt somewhat out of place – a very rare thing to happen.  Well, everything he had seen of Platinum Jail was luxurious and glamorous. There was no reason for him to be surprised. However, he couldn’t quite deny the slightly shocked expression on his face when he took the whole thing in: The apartment was mainly held in black, white and a few shades of grey: Different types of black, white and grey tiles and carpets – very, very soft-looking carpets – were sprawled on the ground, the walls were all painted white and the majority of the expensive-looking furniture was black… or grey. A leather couch was placed in the middle of the room, which Trip found to be pretty inviting. As if having read Trip’s thoughts, a voice coming from the bathroom told him to “not stand there like a stone figure,” but to make himself comfortable. So he sprawled on the couch, thinking about the person in the next room.   .................................................................     He woke up from a tickling feeling in his left ear. When he opened his eyes, he saw Virus leaning over him, grinning. “Ah… the sleeping beauty finally decided to join us! I’m overjoyed!” he babbled happily. “Did you just fucking blow in my ear?” was all Trip could come up with, being somewhat distracted by the very little space between their faces. Virus frowned at that and put some distance between them. “My, my,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I expected your first words to me to be a little more…” he paused and looked up at the ceiling, probably searching for the right expression. “A little more memorable, I guess. But well… there’s no time for arguing about that now. We’re expecting a guest. Or, better, he’s waiting outside. I wanted to wake you up before letting him in. No need for everyone to see your sleeping face, right?” He gave him a brief smile and then turned to open the door. The guy entering wore a suit with a little winged heart attached on the front, and had a briefcase with him. Trip assumed him to be part of the yakuza. The guy glanced briefly in Trip’s direction before handing Virus the briefcase over. He then waited for some kind of reaction from Virus, who only nodded at him and opened the briefcase. Within, there were a few documents – probably billings – and some sort of certificate. Virus seemed to be pleased with the content and told the guy that everything was fine and that he could leave. Before he was out of the apartment, though, Virus stopped him, asking: “Ah, wait, please! Do you think you could do me a small favor?” He smiled. “What is it, Virus-sama?” the guy questioned. “I need someone to inform Toue that Trip here will be joining our meeting tomorrow,” Virus explained, still wearing that false smile on his face. “It’s taken care of,” the guy said with a light bow and left the apartment. Virus sighed and faced Trip, his smile becoming a little bit more relaxed by then. “Don’t you have any questions?”” he asked. Trip looked at him for some time. Actually, there were only a few things he really wanted to know. “Why do they call you 'Virus'?” he inquired. “It’s a strange name.” Virus's smile just got bigger at his question. His eyes sparkling happily, he said, “So is 'Trip'.” Virus flopped down on the couch and stared at Trip for quite a while (who tried his best to hold his gaze, what was never an easy thing to do, as Virus had some kind of creepy power over him that made him want to avert his eyes or just play dead). “Hm...” Virus continued. “Do you know the definition of 'Virus'?” Trip shook his head. No, not the way Virus did. “Virus: A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apart from a living cell. A virus invades living cells and uses their chemical machinery to keep itself alive and to replicate itself. It may reproduce with fidelity or with errors (mutations); this ability to mutate is responsible for the ability of some viruses to change slightly in each infected person, making treatment difficult. Viruses cause many common human infections and are also responsible for a number of rare diseases,” Virus quoted calmly. “So we’ve got the attributes 'invading,' 'parasitic,' 'mutating/ changing unexpectedly' and 'causing diseases.'” He grinned slyly at Trip. “Does that answer your question?” “It might. But it’s your real name…” Virus nodded. “So, who would name their child that way?” Trip wondered out loud. Virus looked at the ceiling. “Yeah, that’s right,” he said. “Who would name his child like that? ...I wonder.” Chapter End Notes By the way, the "wise man" is Sun Tzu; the quote is taken from his work "The Art Of War". The definition of "Virus" was taken from " http://www.medterms.com/ script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5997 ".   Next chapter is going to be about Virus' past! :)   ***** Virus - Part I ***** Chapter Summary A little excursion to former times... Chapter Notes See the end of the chapter for notes 14 years ago, Midorijima, hospital A lonely man sat on the bench in front of the labor room, face buried in his hands. He sighed quietly and raised his head to take a look around. The floor was strangely empty, apart from him and a few nurses who passed him from time to time on the way to their next task. He had given up on trying to get an answer on how his wife was doing, if everything was alright. They would only mutter that they weren’t responsible and he had to be patient, he’d be informed when everything was over. So he sat there, patiently waiting (more or less), feeling like a dog that had to stay out of the store waiting for its owner to come back outside. He couldn’t believe that he was here in the first place. He never wished for a perfect family with a father, a mother, 2.5 children, a dog, and a family car. But when he came home a couple months ago and was greeted by his wife, who literally jumped at him with tears in her eyes, sobbing that they’d finally be a proper family, he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her that all he needed was her, nothing else. Furthermore, he was worried how they wanted to make it. He barely earned enough for the two of them to live without worrying too much. Kids, however, were really expensive. He might be forced to take on another job, or... maybe his wife could get a job, too? While he was lost in his worries about their future, he heard footsteps coming. He looked up to see a female doctor approaching. “Sir?” she asked in a low voice. “I’m sorry to have tell you, but during the birth, some unexpected complications occurred. It couldn’t be avoided.”  A cold fear slowly spread through his entire body. What was this talk about? What the hell was she trying to tell him?! She crossed her hands and met his gaze. “I’m very sorry, but there was just no way we could have saved her. I know it’s a big loss, and I understand how you feel right now, but fortunately, we saved your child. Please follow me. I’ll take you to him.” Her mouth was moving; she was probably speaking to him, but he didn’t hear any of it. Their life, his life, had been destroyed in a blink of an eye and there was no way for him to get it back ever again. The doctor started to walk, gesturing him to come along. Feeling strangely empty, he stood up and did as he was told. They walked down the hallway until they reached a metallic door. The doctor opened it, and they stepped through. The room behind it was filled with several empty incubators, only one of them occupied. “I’ll wait outside. Take your time getting to know your son,” a voice next to him said before he heard the door closing behind him.  Slowly, he stepped up to the baby, which apparently was his own. Its skin was pale, almost white, and the few hairs, which draped his head, were pure platinum. His hands soon turned white as he continued to clench his fists, staring at the creature that was to blame for the death of his beloved wife. The longer he stared, the more furious he got. “I don’t know why you gotta live while she had to die,” he hissed. “You have no right to live. You're my son? Don’t make me laugh! A son doesn’t murder his parents… You’re a monster, that’s what you are! A disfigured, disgusting, selfish parasite that only lives because it took its mother's life!” He escaped out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Before he was able to leave, however, a voice called out to him, “Please wait, sir! He doesn’t have a name yet!”  “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” he asked, not slowing down. “He's clearly a 'Virus.'" ..................................................................................     Virus hated his father for always blaming him. Everything was always his fault. He never could do anything right in his eyes. Be it the high electricity bill, the awful dinner, or the falling rain, it was always Virus’ fault. “The sky cries ‘cause he can’t stand the thing you call your face any longer,” his father had told him, when - as a little kid – Virus once asked him why it rained.  Every question Virus asked was answered in that way. “Because you’re disgusting,” or  “They think you’re ugly, that’s why,” were the most common answers. Sometimes, when his father was in a good mood, he stuck to, “It’s none of my business to answer your stupid questions. Go bother someone else!” At first, Virus did it exactly that way. He asked random people random questions. Soon his father found out about his new hobby, though, and developed also a whole new hobby himself – beating Virus up 'til he was a whimpering mess lying on the floor. “How dare you, making the family look stupid in front of the neighbors?!” he yelled, letting his belt rain down on Virus for the eleventh time. Or was it the twelfth? He had lost count… His back and arms had already started to change their color from blue to black, and his face was a mess of blood and tears. He couldn’t even see anymore.  “Please, father!” he begged another time. “I’m really sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise! But please- please stop it! It hurts!” he howled. “Don’t you dare call me “father”! You’re not my son!” His father screamed manically. “My” – strike –“son” – strike – “wouldn’t” – strike – “fucking” – strike – “kill” – strike – “his” – strike – “mother!” – arm, back, head, flank… Virus wanted to escape or just loose his consciousness, but his father shook him violently, making it almost impossible. “Why are you crying?! Does it hurt, huh? The little baby is in pain... pffft… feelings are weaknesses, remember that. You’re not allowed to have those! If you need to wear an expression on that face of yours, smile! That way the other people don’t get bothered by your stupid emotions!” he said finally, letting Virus drop to the ground, where he happily met the darkness of unconsciousness. After their encounter, Virus never again questioned anything. If he wanted to know something, he’d get himself an encyclopedia and just memorize the desired extract. However, his father seemed to get a lot of fun from beating the shit out of Virus on every possible occasion, while telling him to forget all about feelings, which only made him weak and apparently were the sole reason why he couldn’t fight him. Sometimes even an angry glare at his father was enough to make him furious. So Virus decided that it’d be in his best interests to do as he was told and fight all the feelings that dwelled in him. It was a long and hard fight, but finally, he was victorious. He did become an empty shell, smiling and talking politely, never getting angry or anything similar. He even was able to endure his father’s violations without so much as flinching slightly. He’d just stare at him, waiting for it to be over. It did hurt like hell, yeah, but his father never understood what Virus had realized early on: Violence was no solution. His father wanted to break him; that much was obvious by then. And although violence surely served to break someone’s bones, it could never break their wills. therefore Virus was sure about who’d be the one taken down first.    ..................................................................................     Things got really bad on Virus’ tenth birthday. His birthday had never been a day they celebrated in the first place, as it was the day his mother had died. His father would sit at the table, drinking way too much and weeping over a picture of her while Virus hid in his bed, waiting for the day to end. This year, however, was slightly different. When Virus entered the kitchen his father sat on his usual place, staring at the picture, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Virus only wanted to grab a bottle of water and then leave as silently as he had arrived, but when he was about to open the fridge he heard a croaky voice behind him. “She was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Caring, funny and oh so lovely… Have you ever seen a picture of her?” Virus shook his head, no. Indeed, he was never allowed to even look at one. Because of it, he was really interested when his father gestured him to come closer. He turned the picture around, so that Virus could take a look. His father had been right: His mother really was a true beauty. Nevertheless, he felt there was something off, but couldn’t quit put his finger on it. Obviously having noticed Virus’ reaction, his father nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s right. You look just like her. That’s why I can’t stand to look at you for more than a few seconds - you resemble her way too much…” His voice trailed off and soon he started crying again, wetting the picture with his tears.  Virus, who felt the atmosphere getting weird, returned to his room.      ..................................................................................     He woke from his door creaking loudly. A quick glance out of the window told him that it was still night time. He stared at the figure slowly approaching his bed and for the first time in his life, prayed for his intuition to be false. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. His father sat on the side of his bed and slowly began to pull away his blanket. “I’m not her, you know,” Virus stated, trying to sit up. “Hush… hush...” his father said, getting over Virus and pushing him down with his body. “Be a good boy and be silent for daddy, will you?" Virus just stared open-mouthed at the dark mass towering above him. His mind started working again, though, when he felt hands sliding down his torso, opening the buttons of pajamas thereby. He reached to push the hand away but soon found his own hands to be pinned above his head. “Don’t do that! You’re crazy! I’m your son!” he whined helplessly. His father only chuckled slightly, pushing Virus’ trousers down with his free hand. “Yes, you are. And daddy wants to show you some love. Don’t you want that?” he asked, his voice throbbing with sarcasm. “You have no idea what love is..:!” Virus screamed, again trying to break free. It was useless, however; he was a grown man with an aim. Virus had no chance. “I did once,” his father explained, “but that was a long, long time ago. Ten years, to be exact. Now stop your struggling, it will only make it worse…for you.” He ripped his underwear apart and threw it to the other clothes on the floor. Slowly, he began running his hand over every part of his slender body. From his neck, to his nipples, down his abdomen, his inner thighs …everywhere his hand wandered, Virus felt snails crawling over his body. He wanted to throw up, tell him to stop it, but he was afraid of what might happen if he did. So he stared at the ceiling, waiting for it to be over. He didn’t feel, couldn’t feel – everything was going to be alright. His father spread his cheeks apart and inserted two fingers without any preparation; slowly fucking in and out of his hole. “Hnggh…!” Virus howled, biting his lips until he drew blood. He hadn't expected it be that painful.... Distracted by the pain, he didn’t hear the zipper getting opened. He briefly allowed himself to be relieved when he felt the fingers leave his body. But then a much larger object nudged at his hole and Virus screamed when it pierced his body in one thrust. “Arghhh… please… please take it out. Take it out! It hurts… please!” he begged constantly. His father just slapped him in the face and began moving in and out roughly. “You’re truly a-a bad son. Not eve-even granting daddy a little fun,” he huffed out slightly breathless. Virus continued crying silently and forced his body to relax while it got defiled by his own father. After what felt like an eternity, his father thrust in even deeper and stronger than previously, for two or three times, before he suddenly came to a halt, shaking slightly. Virus felt a warm liquid spreading through his lower half, before his father pulled out, who then stood up without saying a word and left the room. In his entire life, Virus never had felt that dirty and humiliated before. He turned to his side, staring at the clock through his teary eyes. 3:16 a.m, his birthday was over. Chapter End Notes oh god...I'm sorry...did I really write that?! *silently cries in the corner* ***** Virus - Part II ***** They never spoke about what had happened that night. Virus tried to avoid his father as best as possible, whereas the latter one continued with his daily torture. Adding to Virus’ agony, he started using sex as another way of hurting him. The first couples of weeks were the worst, as Virus never knew when his father would vent his spleen. Some days it was enough when he sat at the table - eating lunch - for his father to grab his wrist, toss him on the floor and start to kick him in his stomach until he’d throw up. On other days, Virus would do something that unforgiveable (according to his father), which would literally force him to teach his son a lesson. Preferably, those lessons contained bending him over random objects, forcing his legs apart and fucking him into oblivion. Despite the pain and the humiliation, Virus soon found a way to bear with it, though. His face blank or wearing a false smile, he’d let his mind wander off. Fantasizing about a different life, about his future or about how to get rid off all the shit that burdened him. Their life went on that way for almost two years, until one day his father returned from work, calling him. “I got news” he grinned. “ You don’t know about it yet, but I met a woman a couple of weeks ago. She’s working in my company, too. I don’t want to explain all the details, but we’ve been going out for quite a while now and I think it could become something serious between us.” His father told him with a hint of pride in his voice. “However, she asked if she could come over; wanted to see my place. Therefore, she’ll visit tomorrow evening, joining us for dinner.” He glanced at Virus warningly. “I want you to behave yourself.” Virus, who had expected something like that to happen sooner or later, could only hardly suppress the laughter swelling in him. Instead, he put on his smile and questioned in a soft voice, whether or not the lady knew about his preferences. His father frowned, obviously getting what he was up to. “What do you mean by that?” “Well, wouldn’t it be….” Virus explained sweetly. “let’s call it “custom” to tell a potential lover about his hobby to beat his underage son into a bloody pulp and afterwards rape him for his own satisfaction? Don’t you think so too…”he asked, his smile gotten a distorted grimace by then.” daddy?” He felt the pain in his cheek before he even saw his father’s hand coming – worth it.       ................................................................................         The doorbell rang and Virus’ went to open it. The woman, who apparently was his father’s new interest, was indeed an eye-catcher. Virus birefly wondered, why she’d volunteer to go out with his father in the first place. “Welcome in our humble little home. I hope you’re hungry, dinner is almost ready!” He charmed, putting on his most innocent looking smile. “Aww !” She said thrilled, petting his cheek lightly. ”you’re a true sweetie! You’ve gotta be Virus, isn’t that right?” He nodded and stepped inside, gesturing her to follow her. He helped her taking off her coat, before taking her to the kitchen, where his father had already prepared their plates. She chose the seat next to Virus, across from his father. The dinner went well. His father and the woman chatted almost constantly, while Virus poked in his meal, making an unhappy expression. “What is it, Virus?” the woman asked, when she noticed his behavior. “Don’t you like it?” Virus nodded and lowered his gaze shyly. “It’s not bad, really. But I’m full…guess, I ate too much sweets. I’m really sorry…” he explained quietly. “Oh no!” the woman spluttered. “It’s no problem, really! I’m not angry with you!!” She tapped his shoulder in a friendly manner. “Believe me. It’s okay. You don’t have to eat it, if you don’t want to.” Her eyes wandered to his father. “it’s okay, right?” His father smiled thinly and nodded. “Of course it is. Just let it be. I’ll clean it later.” The woman smiled happily, probably assuming that she had helped Virus in some way. “You have a nice father, you know? But that’s probably why you’re so cute as well.” She chirped. At once Virus and his father smiled brightly. Virus turned to her, babbling “Oh you have no idea. He’s such a loving father indeed. You’ve never seen someone like him. All my classmates would be jealous, if they’d know about it…” He flashed his father a sassy smile at that. “We’re really happy to have each other, isn’t that right?!” Virus chuckled amused at his own joke. His father just nodded silently. The woman watched the entire development with sparkling eyes and a satisfied grin on her face. They continued their dinner without any special incidents. Virus spoke about his school, his classmates and the bullies, who were responsible for the hematomas on his arms. His father and the woman argued about their work and soon the evening was over and the woman left. Virus cleared the table and went to bed, leaving his father sitting at the table, apparently lost in his thoughts.       ................................................................................         One week later the phone rang while his father was still at work, so Virus went to pick it up. “Ah! It’s you, Virus ! How are you?” an excited voice inquiered. “Yeah it’s me. I’m good. How are you?” he asked polietly. “ That’s nice hearing.” He practically heard her smiling at that. “You know, I wanted to talk to you. I plan to surprise your father; as he’s always so nice to me. I thought off making dinner or something like that, but I need your help with that. Maybe you could tell me when I can come over while he’s still at work. I don’t know his working hours, but I want him to come home getting greeted by the delicious smell of an already prepared dinner. Don’t you think, that’d be the best?” She said more to herself than him. Virus chuckled slightly. Indeed, he thought that to be the best. “Yeah, of course. I’d love to help you. Maybe today? He should be working really long today and afterwards he’s always so exhausted. I’m sure, he’ll be overjoyed.” Virus explained happily. “Today? Well that’s somewhat spontaneously…but if I go to the mall right now, I should be at yours in…maybe two hours?” “Sounds great to me. See you later!” he chirped and hung up. It might be a month to soon, but Virus decided he deserved to get a nice birthday present for once.     He went to his father’s bedroom and opened the wardrobe. Huming lightly, he took a large white shirt out. A brief glance at the clock told him that he had to hurry to get to the bathroom, where he tied his slightly grown hair into a ponytail to look more like her. Eyeing himself in the mirror, Virus chuckled. He couldn’t remember a time in his life, where he had been that excited. He winked at his reflection and started to strip off all his clothes, which he laid – neatly folded – on the clothes basket. After taking another deep breath, he put on his father’s shirt, letting the buttons open. He went into the living room, where he sprawled across the couch until he heard his father’s car arriving. Virus quickly put himself into a sitting position - let the show begin…   His father almost fell over, when he opened the door to find his son jerking off on the sofa. He gulped a few times, before he achieved to stutter out: “Vir- Virus? … What are you doing?” Virus stopped his hands and writhed lewdly on the couch. “I’m so sorry, daddy. I just couldn’t hold on any longer. Would you help me? Please? Be my good daddy and take a little bit care of me..?” He whined, his eyes almost as big as plates. “I’ll take all the responsibility…I promise. But please?” His father just stood in the middle of the room, apparently at a loss of what to do or what to say. So Virus took action. He sat opposite to his father’s position and spread his legs, so that he could see everything that was going to happen. One of his slightly trembling hands returned stroking his neglected cock, while the other one started toying with his right nipple. Throwing his head back, he moaned loudly. “Please …ah…daddy…plea-please…”. He took his hand from his nipple and brought it to his mouth, sucking roughly at his own fingers, while he met his father’s gaze. He fucked his fingers in and out of his mouth until his saliva run down his chin, dropping on his chest. Then he took his fingers out, running them slowly down his entire body, spreading the saliva everywhere. Finally arriving at his hole, he muttered another “please” before thrusting two fingers inside. He made a show of twirling them around, making obscene sounds thereby. In the meanwhile he brought his other hand to his mouth and started licking his own precum of his fingers. “Please daddy…your’s is better…” he whined another time. His father finally came to join the game and ripped his pants open, while approaching Virus. Violently, he pushed him on his back and inserted his own two fingers in Virus hole, finding it to be slightly strechted thanks to Virus’ work. No words were shared, when he took his cock in his hand and entered him, going all the way in one thrust. He gripped his hips firmly and began sliding in and out. Virus moaned loudly at every especially deep thrust, his father made. Appart from that he laid very still, only spreading his legs even wider for his father, who used all the given space to speed up his thrusts. Fucking in and out of Virus for another few moments, he finally reached his climaxed and spilled his seed deep inside of Virus. It was then, when his father looked up to find the woman standing in the room, staring at them with an expression of pure shock on her face. “Fuck” was all he said before pulling out and running towards her. “Please! It’s not as you think. He seduced me…I had no chance, it’s not my-“ “You just fucked your own son. Probably not for the first time. And you’re telling me that it’s not your fault?!” She screamed hysterically. “I..I had no idea. You are sick! And ..and you – you shouldn’t be here, you belong in jail. I’m going to call the police.Someone's gotta stop you …” she reached in her bag to grab her phone, when his father started beating her. Once he started, there was no ending. He kicked her, slapped her, tossed her against their furniture or against the walls, until she finally stopped her screaming and went really silent. “What’s with you?” his father asked the disfigured corpse lying on the floor that once had been a beautiful woman. “Oh no…” he sobbed unrestrained. “It’s not my fault..I never wanted to…why….why..:” Virus slowly got up from the couch and approached the picture of missery. “My my…that went really bad.” He said, his voice a soft whisper. “What are you going to do, daddy? You can’t hide everything what happened. The police will get here – it’s only a matter of time. What do you plan on telling them? That she went in on you fucking your son? And therefore got killed by you?” His father looked up. “But it’s not my fault…I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s you…you’re the one to blame, not me” Virus smiled gently and took one of his father’s hands, sliding it up his inner thigh, where it soon met with his cum that slowly dripped out of Virus' hole. “Isn’t that your’s, daddy? No one will believe you. They won’t believe, a child of merely twelth years to be that evil. And they’ll find proofes.” He crouched down next to his father. “You’re such a poor, poor thing. It’s really sad, but it’s over and you know it.” His father stared at his hands, the corpse, Virus and finally again on his hands. “What should I do? I have no idea…what should I do? There’s nothing left…” Virus smiled at him with his eyes closed. “But daddy, you know what to do…” He got up and went to the kitchen, returning with their sushi knife, handing it over to his father. He took the knife and met Virus' gaze for another time. “It’s easy, believe me. You only have to really want it.” Virus whispered, voice a sweet poison. His father took the knife and with a swift movement, slit his own throat. But instead of dying,he made terrible gargling noises and whrited on the floor, while his blood streamed everywhere. “Oh my…look at what a mess you made” Virus said light-hearted. “Maybe I should have told you that such a cut only leads to death because of bloodloss?” His laughter clang through the whole appartment. He didn’t know how long he sat there, drenched in semen, sweat and blood, but when he finally stopped laughing, everything was quiet.         ................................................................................           “Believe me! I’m telling you something is really fucking WRONG with that kid!” the police man said for a countless time in a row. “When we got to the appartement…you didn’t want see it by yourself…there was blood everywhere and that kid just sat there in the middle of it all, smiled and asked if we had any problems finding their home! That’s not how a twelth year old should behave! Especially after being raped and having to witness his father killing his lover first and afterwards killing himself. And he’s no different now…really, it’s creeping me out. He’s just too happy. Always smiling and being polite. You get the impression that you’re talking to a robot. There’re just no feelings, you have to-“ “It’s fine now. I know what you’re trying to tell me” the woman said “but now I’m telling you that he’s shocked and that’s everything.” “But-“ “No “buts”. He’s under shock and that’s it! You are a police officer, your job is to investigate crime scenes. I , however, am a psychologist and my job is to investigate people’s minds. So you should do your job and let me make mine!” She said angrily. The police officer nodded silently and left. The psychologist put on a smile herself and entered the room, where the kid waited. “So, you’re “Virus” right?” she asked nicely. He smiled back brightly and nodded. “That’s true. And you’re the psychologist, who is supposed to take care of my poor little soul, I guess?” “You’re right. But first let me tell you something.” He waved his hand, gesturing her to continue. “The police officers are somewhat…perplex about you’re behavior. They think you might be a soulless or rather emotionless monster.” She explained sweetly. “Oh is that so?” Virus grinned slyly. “What happens if I tell you that they’re right?” “Then” she said, her eyes glowing brightly. “I think I have to introduce you to someone really special.” “Who could that be, I wonder.” Virus stated. The psychologist stood up immediately and left the room. After a few minutes she returned with a tall man with brown hairs. “Hello Virus. It’s an honor to meet you.” He said. “My name is Toue and I got something rather interesting to offer you. Would you mind hearing me out?” Virus smiled. A nice birthday present, indeed. ***** Chapter 6 ***** Chapter Notes it's a bit short, I know and I'm sorry. But well...I wanted to update it today (right now, it's already past 10 p.m.) and it just would've taken too long to extend it. and again the usual: self-beta'd, not the native language, sorry and so on... enjoy! :) See the end of the chapter for more notes Platinum Jail, present day When he got up the next day, Trip found Virus already sitting in the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. His hair was a mess, as his spikes stood out in every possible way. Trip wondered, if he had accidently reached into a socket. He smiled at the thought and sat down across from Virus, who continued staring into space without so much as looking at Trip. They sat in silence for quite a while, before Trip got slightly bored. He eyed Virus, who hadn’t budged since Trip entered the kitchen, and opened his mouth to start some kind of discussion. If only for hearing Virus’ voice. It really was creepy to witness him being that quiet. “Sooo…what are we-“ Trip tried but shut up immediately as Virus’ glanced at him sharply. At least he tried...he told himself disappointed. Finally, after another several minutes of deadly silence, Virus emptied his cup at once and went to the bathroom. When he returned, he was neatly dressed, his hair was fixed and he wore one of his “there’s-so-much-to-do-and-too-little- time-smiles”. “Get ready, Trip” he commanded cheerfully “we have to go, if we don’t want to be late.” Trip nodded and did as he was told. They left the building and headed for the tall, white tower, which was located in the center of Platinum Jail. On the way Virus told him, they’d meet a very important person. He grinned disdainfully and added “at least, that’s what they say.” Trip didn’t really understand why Virus would voluntarily work with a person, he apparently did see as something inferior. Then again, he was Virus. So probably every person on the planet was inferior - more or less. He let his eyes wander above the scene in front of him. Dozens of people strolled up and down the street. From time to time they’d stop to take a look into one of the stores or to chat with somebody. It might have been a scene of perfect happiness and peace for anybody else, but Trip only felt reminded of an big anthill. Everywhere the little animals would crawl, never knowing what really was going on. But they wouldn’t care anyway. It was pathetic, really. Virus guided him to the back entrance, when they arrived at the tower. Because of the pass he was wearing, Virus had to be some kind of employee, Trip supposed. Which was kinda strange, as according to what he knew Virus was only fourteen. But yet again, he shouldn’t be surprised, after all it was still Virus. And honestly, he didn’t care very much. He’d join him anyway, he decided and shot another brief glance at Virus, who was busy with tapping his foot while waiting for the elevator to arrive. The elevator arrived after what felt like an eternity and they could finally continue their journey, much to Virus’ pleasure. However, they seemed to have reached their goal, when the elevator stopped at the uppermost floor, where they got out. Virus stepped forward and knocked on the tall door, that towered in front if them. After hearing a silent “come in”, they entered the room. Unsuprisingly, it was a big office. Nothing really special, except the fact that everything was just tall and somewhat glamorous. In front of the desk, a middle aged man with brown hairs stood, nodding in Virus’ direction, when they passed through the door. He then faced Trip and got started with his speech. “Hello, my name is Toue.” He explained in an almost silent voice. “And you’re the kid, that stalks our dear Virus?” A low chuckle escaped Virus at that. “It’s true then.” Toue continued. “Well, before we get to know each other a little better, what I really would like to do, I have to discuss something with Virus first. It’s likely that you won’t understand any of it, therefore I hope you don’t mind?” Trip only nodded and fixed his gaze on Virus, who began speaking. “As you already know, I met yesterday with my registrar. It seems that everything’s going according to the plan. No, it’s even going better then I had originally calculated. Therefore, I want to launch the second phase…” He held in, looking at Toue. When latter one didn’t interpose, Virus continued. “Therefore I’ll move to the east district and bring Morphine into action for the first time. Furthermore, I want Trip here “ he used his thumb to point in Trip’s direction “to become part of all my actions. I got the impression, he’ll make himself useful for me. That’s right, isn’t it?” Virus turned to him, raising an eyebrow. Trip nodded immediately, even though he didn’t really understood what was going on. “Is that so?” Toue asked. He rubbed his chin and went up to stare out of the window. “ “Trip” hm? That’s quite an unusual name, I have to admit. I wonder, if you’re an unusual kid as well…but it surely tells me something about you, that you’re siding with Virus.” He murmured, still turning his back on them. “I have a dream, you know. I want to make the world a better place; a peaceful place, where everybody can live in harmony with each other and the nature. However, that’s not an easy thing to achieve and it may require slightly different methods than what you would expect. But sometimes we have to stick to unusual methods, if we truly want to reach our goal. Don’t you agree with me? I’m sure, you too have such an aim, for which you’d give up everything. Maybe even your own ethics...” Toue trailed off and the room was silent for a while. Finally, Toue turned to face Trip. “If they knew about my methods, the people sure would deem them inappropriate; wrong even. But they don’t know about them yet. And I don’t plan to ever let them know. It’s enough, if one day, they’ll see what I created and as soon as they’ll get to enjoy our new world, they’ll never question me anyway. So, why should I provoke an outburst of panic? There’s no reason for it. That’s why we have to operate secretly. And here, Trip, is where Virus comes into play. You heard his wish of you joining him. Personally, I think that you seem to have a very high potential. Therefore…what do you think? Will you help us creating our own heaven?” Trip briefly looked at Virus, who only smiled contently, before facing Toue. “Yes.” Toue sighed relieved and nodded. “Well then, I trust you , Virus, to tell him everything he needs to know. If it’s fine with you, I’d like you to go now. There’s some buisness, I need to attend to.” Virus and Trip bowed slightly and left the room. “That went pretty well” Virus chirped happily. “ However…” he grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop walking and looked straight in his eyes. “why did you agree to help him? Did his speech really touch your tiny heart?” Virus teased. Trip shrugged and brushed his hand of. “I don’t care about him or his aims. But “inappropriate methods”? That sounds like fun to me. What about you? Peace and harmony are not really the first things, which come to my mind when I think about you.” Virus grinned and righted his glasses. “Well if not peace and harmony, what else could you have in mind while you’re thinking about me…hm?” He chuckled loudly. Trip refused to answer though; letting his gaze wander everywhere except Virus. “Too bad…But to answer your question: Because it sounds like fun to me, too..” Virus stated seriously, despite still smiling. “Ah..” He said all of a sudden, apparently having remembered something important. “While we’re still here, there’s someone I want to introduce to you. Let’s go, Trip.” Chapter End Notes one chapter left, 'till we finally get to the real interesting part (of the series)... stay tuned! :P ***** Chapter 7 ***** Chapter Notes here we go, final chapter for this part of the series ! enjoy ! :) See the end of the chapter for more notes Trip was glad to have Virus as a guide. Within the endless seeming corridors of the Oval Tower, he’d surely get lost in no time. Virus, however, strutted around, humming softly. Trip didn’t understand why, but Virus seemed to be really happy - something that happened very rarely. Sure, Virus would always smile or even fool around, but Trip knew better than to take this behavior serious. Actually, it was nothing else but a disguise. Similar to a mantis, he knew exactly how to charm his way into the people’s hearts, just to exploit them for his own intentions. Trip could watch this procedure several times a day and it really looked easy as shit, when Virus did it. But Trip supposed, it had to be pretty hard. Personally, he couldn’t even do so much as create an awkward atmosphere, when he ought to have contact with a person. Or…well, start a brawl. Therefore, he admired Virus in this regard. Speaking of Virus…where the hell was he? Trip looked around to find himself standing alone in the middle of a hallway, he didn’t even know he had set foot in, in the first place. He muttered a quiet “shit” and ruffled through his hair. Slightly hoping it’d help him finding his way back. Why had the tower to have such a weird structure anyway? “….is that so? Mhm…okay then. Thanks!” he heard a familiar voice echoing from the left. Trip turned around the corner to – much to his relief - come across Virus standing on a threshold, apparently involved in a discussion with an old researcher. When Trip came closer, he could take a brief look in the room behind. It was stuffed with plush toys and unopened presents. In the center of it all, there was an empty chair, which looked awfully similar to a throne. A very weird tower, indeed… “ Ah Trip, there you are!” Virus smiled, turning to him. “I was just informed that we have to go to one of the laboratories below.” They took their leave and headed downstairs. Trip was almost getting annoyed by all the wanderings they had to undertale. He wondered if it’d stay that way when he’d actually work here. “Excited?” Virus asked slyly, when they arrived in front of a massive door. Trip shook his head. “Well, you should be…” Virus explained crypticly. “This is one of the - if not the one - reasons, which make this whole venture so interesting.” He entered a code in the device next to the door, whereupon the door opened. They went through and wandered in a pitch-black room. Everything was quiet except their breathings and the sound of Virus’ hand tapping the wall in attempt to find the light switch. The moment he did, they were blinded by bright white light. Trip had some problems adjusting to the dazzling white, whereas Virus didn’t seem to be affected at all. After his eyes stopped protesting, Trip faced a large metal ….electric chair? At least it looked that way. There were leather belts on the arms and a very high technical looking helmet in the head section. To his surprise, there was a blindfolded kid fastened to the chair. Trip didn’t really know, if it was a boy or a girl, but it didn’t matter, as it just looked like a picture of missery. It’s skin was pale, white even, and Trip didn’t really have to make an effort to spot his bones beneath the thin skin. The weird helmet, from which several firmly fixed wires went to strange-looking machines, was affixed on his head. To round the entire thing out, there were also a few tubes inserted in his veins. “Sei?” Virus asked softly, while he slowly approached the kid. The kid lifted his head weakly and opened and closed his mouth for a few times, probably trying to say something, but no words were coming out. “My my… did they cripple your vocal chords again? How impolite.” Virus said. “I wanted to introduce you to someone, but it seems that now I have to do the introduction all by myself. So Sei, if I remove that blindfold of your’s, will you promise not to use it on him?” The kid nodded at Virus’ words, whereupon he detached the blindfold from the kid’s eyes. The kid blinked a few times and looked at Virus, who crouched down beside him and smiled brightly. “That’s right. Take your time to adjust to the light.” Virus then looked at Trip, gesturing him to come closer. “Sei? This is Trip. After today he’ll be spending a lot time with the two of us. Don’t you want to say hello?” Virus offered. The kid wearily raised his head another time, this time, however, to face Trip. The moment the kid met his gaze with those veiled eyes of his, Trip felt as if he had just rammed his head against a wall. It was a strange feeling. “What the hell..?” Trip asked confused. Virus frowned at that. “And I was so nice, wasn’t I? But that was very rude, Sei. Well, at least it was worth a try…” He said in a monotonous voice. He stood up, brushed the – non-excisting - dirt off his trousers and blindfolded the kid again. Not at least paying attention to the latter one’s despaired attempts to escape getting blinded again. “It’s your own fault, Sei. It was your decision to be no fun today.” Virus stated and left the room, followed by Trip.   “What was that?” Trip asked confused. Virus smiled thinly. “This, Trip, is our secret ace. You already heard about Morphine, right? It’s my part to help Toue to find a way to control the minds of the people. And our dear Sei, is very important thereby. He got a power – we call it Scrab – that enables him to invade the mind of the person concerned and place a part of his own conciousness therein, controlling the person thereby. But of what we assume, it does only work for people, who actually have…let’s call it dreams, hopes, ethics and so on in their mind. Meaning an “empty” person can never get affected…however, for the purpose of working with him, you can get an operation to adapt your eyes, so that he won’t have an affect on you.” Virus explained, while they left the tower. “But he did try to use scrap on me, didn’t he?” Trip asked. “And it didn’t work, right?” Virus nodded. “So, what does that mean?” “It means” Virus chuckled softly “ that we’re going to be an amazing team. Now hurry up, we have to pack your things for moving to the east district.”       ...................................................................................         They arrived at Trip’s house in the evening. Actually, Trip would have prefered it, if Virus had waited for him at the bus station or at home…everywhere, but coming along. Virus, though, seemed to be highly interested in his former living standarts and therefore wasn’t convincible to let Trip go alone. Predictably, Virus almost started laughing when he saw the rotten house, Trip called his home. As soon as they entered the house, however, Virus stopped his laughter as they were flooded by that woman’s accusations of Trip being a bad son for making her worry so much and not telling her that he’d stay with a friend. It was the last thing Trip wanted to hear at that time, so he went straight towards his room, letting that woman rage in the entrance. Virus made himself comfortable on Trip’s bed, while he packed together everything he wanted to keep or considered useful. He almost smiled at Virus lying silently on his bed. In his eyes it was a truly beautiful view. Virus on his back, his pale skin in contradistinction to Trip’s dark bedsheets, eyes closed, stretching his feet away and wearing a thin smile on his delicate features. Trip had to admit that Virus reminded him of an angel. And somehow, he really felt at peace in that particular moment. “You have a weird mother” Virus murmured. Shrugging, Trip replied: “I don’t know. She’s always telling me that she took me in when I was younger. However, I don’t remember that. So I don’t know, who my real parents are. But I don’t care anyway.” Trip huffed scornfully. “You know, everytime I do something undesired, she threatens me to inform my father about it as soon as he’d come home. I’ve never seen this guy, though. Don’t even know if he actually exists…” "Hm..." Virus sighed. Right in that moment the woman came rushing into his room. She took a look around and seemed to realize what was going on. Trip could almost hear her taking a deep breath. “It’s not possible…Don’t you dare leaving me! After all I did for you! You have to stay with me!” She yelled frantically. Trip wasn’t very impressed by her perfomance, though, so he continued packing his back. “It’s all your fault!” He heard her scream and turned around to find her grabbing Virus’ wrist and shaking him violently. “It’s your fault! He would never think of leaving me, if not for you. You put me at odds with him, isn’t that true?!” Trip was about to step in, when Virus brushed her hands of as if it’d be nothing. “My my…This got to be a misunderstanding” he stated. That woman evidently relaxed at the word “misunderstanding”. She sighed. “Phew and I almost thought, he’d leave me…” “Well that’s true” Virus continued. “I’m talking about who is to blame. Regarding your last statement, you’re obviously blaming me. However, I can ensure you that I didn’t do anything. In fact, it’s an evidence of your incapacity that I didn’t have to do anything. It’s pretty pathetic, isn’t it? You’re an old desperate clingy woman with nothing in your life except your son. And yet, it doesn’t take anything for him to leave you behind - just like the others did. Oh yeah. You remember that feeling right? That feeling of being left behind; not being worthy enough to be kept close. Disdainfull woman that you are, you thought if you had a child, it’d be dependent of you. It’d never be able to leave you like the others did. No matter what. But that didn’t work out pretty well, did it?” Virus smile got brighter by every word he said, whereas the woman got on her knees, tears running down her cheeks. She stared at Virus disbelieving. Her illusion of a perfect life got crushed by some words of a teen. And while she sat there, sobbing erratic; Virus towered above her, seeming to have the best time of his life according to the blazing look in his eyes. In the meantime, Trip finished packing and gestured Virus to leave. An arm around his leg, stopped him from moving, though. “Please…please don’t leave me..” that woman cried, smearing her tears on Trip’s leg. “I love you. So please don’t leave me.” Trip didn’t even flinch and shook her off, heading to the door, when he heard her yelling for another time. “If you leave no…You’re no longer my son! Don’t dare to go through that door or you can never come back!” Trip turned around, seeing the hope rise in her eyes, answered: “I don’t care.” and left the house, Virus next to him.   “That was almost tragic” Virus said. Trip glanced at him briefly and saw his smile. Wearing a smile of his own he said : “You like it tragic.” Virus nodded. “Indeed, I do.” They smiled at each other for another few seconds before turning and heading into their new life together.     Chapter End Notes Thanks to all of you, who stayed until the end. I hope you had fun reading. :) my version of their first meeting is over now. The sequel is going to be about their time in morphine, the yakuza, the development of their relationship and (probably) the first time meeting and dealing with Aoba. Things are really going to get interesting from now on - promise! I have a lot of crazy ideas running through my mind, which I wanna share with you...and thanks to their age within the following parts, we can look forward to some real Vitri-action... First part on saturday or by sunday at the latest. Hope to see you ! :) Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!