CH. 76 - The Serum

 In the classroom, in a slow time for them as the majority of visitors have passed their booth already, Hisana ties Kitaro’s headpiece back on him. She focuses on making it look nice as Kitaro leans down a bit to give her a better angle.

 “Be honest, do I look stupid?” Kitaro asks her.

 “No, I think you look super cute.” Hisana says happily. Kitaro blushes a bit and smiles at her when Shiori comes rushing out of the break room followed by Hikigaya, catching both of their attentions.

 “Shiori, wait!” Hikigaya calls to her before following her out of the class. Hisana and Kitaro look at them.

 “There they go again. Should we go help them?” Hisana says.

 “No, I think this will be something they need to solve themselves.” Kitaro says, watching them go. Hisana looks at him, a bit surprised by his mature words and look. She blushes and smiles as she admires him.

‘I love you, Kitaro.’

 In the halls, Hikigaya rushes through the small crowds and bending halls, trying to catch Shiori, but she moves more swiftly through the crowd.

‘What did I say? I only said I’d make it clear we aren’t getting together or anything. Why would that upset her?’ Hikigaya thinks to himself as he stops, losing sight of her. He pants a bit while looking around. He stops and closes his eyes for a moment, glowing a bit of a red color before opening his eyes sharply and looking at a classroom a bit from him.

 “There.” he says.

 He walks into the empty, dark classroom and sees Shiori sitting in the window, staring out into the night. Hikigaya stands quietly for a moment as Shiori watches a few school staff prepare the scheduled fireworks.

 “They’re about to set the fireworks off. Wanna watch them together?” Shiori asks without looking at him. Hikigaya sweats a bit before speaking.

 “Shiori, what’s wrong? I really didn’t mean to upset you, I just want to-”

 “You really think that we would never be together?” She asks, still looking out the window. Hikigaya sweats, nervous to say the wrong thing to her.

 “Well, I mean, yeah. That way, you and your crush can be together without worry. ...right?” He says softly.

 Outside, the fireworks are lit by the workers as they shoot out into the night sky. Everyone looks on as they fly up with a whistle. Emiko and Kenzo look up while holding treats in one hand and holding each other’s hands with the other. Tom throws a ball and knocks over a stack of bottles with a smile before turning around and looking at the fireworks flying into the sky. Milo and Tsuki work together as they perform a magic act, the fireworks rising outside the windows behind them. Riley sits on a throne in her class while two other classmates stand by her in fake knight armor. She looks out her window at the rising fireworks with her collected gaze. Chizuru looks out the class window at them as Samuel and Ashley sit on a wall outside watching them shoot into the sky together. In this empty classroom, Shiori turns and looks at Hikigaya. He is stunned a bit as tears roll down her cheeks despite the frustrated look on her face.

 “Hikigaya. Have you ever thought that maybe my crush is you?” She asks as a blinding bright light flashes in the sky behind her. The fireworks burst, and there is only silence for a moment. Hikigaya stands there with wide eyes as he stares at her. Time seems to stop as suddenly the only people in the world are them, but it only lasts for a moment before the loud boom from the fireworks. The sound snaps Hikigaya out of it as he blinks and looks at Shiori but is shocked when she is nowhere to be found. He looks around for a moment before stepping outside of the classroom.

 “Shiori! Where did you go?” he asks out loud before taking a step, but suddenly, an agonizing sharp pain stabs his chest. His heart beats loudly in his ears as he almost collapses to his knees. He struggles to breathe as he grips his chest.

 “What’s… happening?..” His nose starts to bleed as he coughs heavily into his hand. He pulls it away from his mouth to see a scary amount of blood. “Shi... Shiori?” he asks as he pushes himself to walk forward. He walks, barely able to stay upright, barely able to see, as people start to notice.

 “Woah, hey, you alright?” A man asks as Hikigaya ignores him. His eyes are focused, but no one can be sure on what until he finally collapses to his knees. He coughs again as blood spills onto the ground. His vision blurs, and he loses balance before falling onto his side and passing out. 

 “Hikigaya! Shiori! Where’d you guys go?” Haru shouts as he comes around the corner. He sweats and gets a worried look when he notices a small group of people around Hikigaya on the ground. Haru rushes over, shoving through the crowd and to his friend’s side. “Woah! Hey, are you okay? Hikigaya? Hikigaya!” Haru shouts as Hikigaya lays on the ground, bleeding from his mouth and nose. Haru’s voice slowly fading away as Hikigaya loses consciousness.

 Hikigaya lays in a hospital bed with his eyes closed and multiple monitors on his body. The doctor leaves the room as his mother, Hamasaki and Shiori wait outside. Asami gets up with a worried look.

 “What’s wrong with him? What’s happening to my boy?” Asami asks, her voice breaking subtly. The doctor has a sad look.

 “I’m sorry, but we just can’t find a cause for his condition. From the samples we took, it seems his body is deteriorating. If we can’t find a cause soon, I’m afraid the damage will be fatal.” The doctor explains. Asami stares at him in disbelief for a moment, a horrified look on her face, before she falls back, sitting down, holding her head in her hands.

 “First my little girl, now my Hikigaya?..” Asami says with a scared whisper as she starts to sob. Hamasaki tries to comfort her, holding her in her arms as the doctor speaks again.

 “We gave him a medicine that’ll promote healing so his body can do its best to hold on while we figure out a cure. It will also put him to sleep, if you'd like to speak to him now.” The doctor says before stepping away as Shiori gets a worried look.

‘Knowing him, he’s trying all he can to regenerate whatever is happening to his body, but it must be too much for him. And the last thing I said was…’ She thinks back to last night and gets an upset look. ‘I have to figure out how to save him.’ Shiori thinks with a worried but determined look. She goes into Hikigaya’s room and gently sits down next to his bed, looking at him. He opens his eyes a bit and smiles weakly.

 “Hey, sorry for… causing so much trouble…” Hikigaya says with a weak voice. Shiori shakes her head softly.

 “It’s not your fault.” Shiori assures him. Hikigaya looks away for a moment before looking back at her.

 “Maybe it is…” he speaks softly. She looks at him confused.

 “Do you know what’s happening to you?” she asks with serious eyes as Hikigaya answers, fighting off the medicine to put him to sleep.

“Back in the lab… the serum… Strife told me… lethal…” He says between weak breaths before falling asleep because of the medicine. Shiori sweats a bit.

 “The lab? …the night I fought Frontier. The serum the Devil’s Syndicate wanted! He must’ve gotten some in his body when we were trying to stop them.” Shiori thinks, quickly piecing it all together.

Back then at the facility…

 Something then catches his eye. He turns to see a glowing green vial, a single one, in a tube carrier. He goes over to it and picks it up in his right hand and looks at it closely, only to be confused as to what it actually could be. 

 “It doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before… Is this what they’re after?..”

 Before he could look at it too long, there is a loud bang as bullets come flying towards him, destroying the vial and shooting through his hand at the same time. This causes the green liquid to spill all over his now heavily open wounded hand.

In the hospital…

 “And Strife must’ve told him about its dangers at the tower. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Did you not realize? You can be so stupid sometimes…” Shiori says frustrated before blushing a bit. “I will save you, Hikigaya. I promise. But first, I have to make a call.” She says while standing up and pulling out her phone.

 In an office, a phone rings on a desk. Chief then reaches over and grabs the phone. For a moment he is surprised to see the name ‘Fullsky’ on his phone but he answers.

 “Haven’t heard from you in a while. Thought we agreed at the aquarium you were retired or something?” Chief says into the phone with a smile.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Listen, Watchdog isn’t doing very well, and I think it has to do with the serum the Devil’s Syndicate was using. I need to know if you have any files on where it came from or who made it.” Shiori speaks into the phone rather urgently. Chief pauses for a moment before answering.

 “Would a full sample of the stuff work?” Chief asks, looking to his left. Shiori is surprised, and relieved.

“Yeah, actually. How did you get a hold of it?” she asks.

 “I stole a vial from one of those suits’ vans while they contained it all at the facility. I wasn’t about to let them take everything from my crime scene.” Chief says while picking up the vial from a drawer in his office.

“You have no idea how much that helps. When can you meet me to drop it off?” Shiori asks.

 “I’ve got some time tonight.” Chief says.

“See you then.” Shiori says quickly. Chief looks surprised as he leans forward a bit.

 “Wait, how will you know where-” He asks quickly before the call ends. He sweats as he looks at his phone before setting it down. “Those kids give me the creeps sometimes.” He says before looking at the vial. He pauses for a moment before getting a concerned look. 

 Later that night, Chief waits on the roof of the peace officer station with a hot cup of coffee steaming in the cold night air. He turns around when he hears someone landing behind him.

 “I could sense your soul, that’s how. I knew you’d be here.” Shiori says, dressed as Fullsky once again. Chief sweats a little at her words, kinda creeped out.

 “Is that some new power you got?” he asks.

 “Something like that. Did you bring the serum?” Shiori asks. He sips his coffee while pulling the vial out of his coat pocket and holding it out. Shiori smiles as she reaches for it, but he suddenly swipes it back. She looks confused as he stares at her.

 “You know, you and Watchdog both are still unsanctioned vigilantes. By all rights, I should arrest both of you. You’ve only been free so far because I trust you guys, but this is gonna take a lot more than trust.” Chief says with a serious tone. Shiori gets a serious look as Chief speaks.

 “I can’t guarantee your actions, and if I think for a second that I may be putting my family or anyone else in danger, I have to listen to my gut. The bad guys wanted this badly. Now, all of a sudden, you want it? How do I know you’re not working for them? How do I know you don’t want it for some other sinister plan? It’s bad enough the only thing I know about you two is that you’re some teenagers.” Chief says with a conflicted look.

 “Chief, Watchdog and I fought hard by your side to stop the Devil’s Syndicate. He even lost his-” Shiori begins but suddenly stops, thinking of Amber. She exhales softly as she looks Chief in the eyes. “...Watchdog lost a lot trying to do what’s right. And now he's dying, and that serum is the key to it, so I am going to get that vial no matter what.” She says with a frustrated but serious tone. Chief looks at her calmly before sighing and handing it over.

 “Fine. But if I come to regret this-” he says, offering it to her. She quickly but composed, takes the vile with a smile.

 “You won’t. I promise.” She says with a warm smile while holding the vial. Chief smiles back a bit.

 “You guys got families too, that I know.” Chief says kindly to her. “You do good. I may not always understand your intentions, but from what I can tell, you help keep the peace. Even if it comes at my expense..” He says, drooping a bit while rubbing his head.

 “This means a lot to me, Chief. I mean that. I’ll give you a call if it works.” She says as her wings pop out of her back.

 “It better. What other unsanctioned vigilante teenagers will I find to help me?” He says with a smile and a wave as she begins to float away into the night sky. Shiori flies back, holding onto the vial with a determined look.

 “Now to find a really big brain to make a cure.”

 In Sugawara’s home, Sugawara focuses on a little machine he is currently constructing while Haru watches excitedly.

 “Pliers.” Sugawara says, putting his hand out.

 “Pliers!” Haru says happily, quickly handing him the tool he asked for.

 “Flathead.”

 “Flathead!” They repeat the action as Haru smiles. Sugawara screws something in the back of the little machine before closing the panel and sitting it upright.

 “There we go! I finished it. A little guy to pass the salt to everyone at the table.” Sugawara says with a smile.

 The machine turns on as it looks around. It is small, has one wheel for a means of transportation and a square body with a camera lens on the front to see. Haru sits in his seat across the table excitedly.

 “Hey little guy! Could you pass me the table salt?” Haru asks politely as the machine looks over to the salt container in the center of the table. It rolls over and puts its hands around the shaker and lifts it forward towards Haru. He laughs as Sugawara smiles proudly. It stops once it gets in front of Haru before falling over, salt still in hand. They stare at it for a moment before Sugawara smiles with a sweat.

 “I guess he only had enough energy for that task.” Sugawara says. Haru smiles warmly at it.

 “He’s earned a rest.” He says. Suddenly, Shiori comes rushing into the room with the vial of green fluid in hand. They both look concerned and get up. “Shiori! How’s Hikigaya doing? Is he better?” Haru asks. Shiori shakes her head. Haru looks worried as Sugawara notices the vial.

 “What is that?” Sugawara asks.

 “It might just be the cure for Hikigaya’s condition.” Shiori says with a slight smile as Sugawara stares at it with focused eyes.

 “Wait, you want me to make it?” Sugawara asks, worried after Shiori explained what she needed to for him to understand the situation. “Nuh uh! No way! This is way beyond my field of expertise.” Sugawara steps back away from the vial Shiori holds up to him.

 “You’re the only one I know who’s capable of doing this! I know this is asking a lot, but you have to at least try.” Shiori asks with begging eyes. Sugawara sweats and looks worried as Haru takes his hand.

 “Suga, our friend needs your help right now. I’ve seen the amazing things you can do with that big brain. I know you can do it.” Haru says supportively, giving him a soft yet still worried smile.

 “Whatever you need, I can get it. Just please… save Hikigaya.” Shiori says with desperation lining her every action. Sugawara stares at them for a moment, anxiety rushing through his body before he exhales, concerned.

 “I’ll try my best.” He says with a slight smile. Shiori’s eyes instantly look a bit more relieved as she smiles at him.

 “Thank you.”

 Over the next few days, Sugawara works restlessly as Hikigaya worsens in the hospital. Sugawara works at a brand new station he set up in his home just for this with a large computer and different machines all around.

 Sugawara places a vial in a machine before it begins to spin, then he rolls back in his chair to a microscope to check a test cure on his own blood combined with the serum. It sits for a moment before the blood cells begin to break down. Sugawara falls back in his chair with a frustrated look as the computer next to him reads ‘Failure.’

 Shiori sits next to Hikigaya with a worried look as he coughs up more blood and strains to catch his breath, Shiori wiping the blood from his mouth, holding his hand tightly.

 Sugawara reads a monitor with a breakdown of the serum before applying different compounds via the computer, and an external machine adds the amount to the serum before spinning it. The bright green serum changes to a purple color before he adds it to a blood sample.

 The test runs before the cells once again break down and the computer reads ‘Failure.’ He gets angry before trying a different set. Again, failure. He tries again before getting another failure. Over and over again his tests come back as failures.

 Sugawara stares at the screen for a moment, hopelessly, before standing up. He turns around and takes a couple steps, running his hands through his hair before he looks at the machine he made for the table salt. He stares at it for a moment before getting angry, grabbing a chair from the dining room table and smashing it against the wall.

 He breathes heavily in frustration before he screams and drops to his knees, punching the wood floor until it breaks beneath his fist and blood drips from his hand. He pulls back his fist one more time but stops before dropping his hand to the ground, his knuckles bloody as tears begin to fall from his cheeks.

 “I can’t do it… The one time in my life my friends need me and I can’t do it… Hikigaya is going to die because of me…” Sugawara sobs. He falls back on his knees and leans his head back while catching his breath, looking up at the ceiling. 

 “What am I missing? I’ve broken it all down and built it back up again over and over. I’ve tried every possible configuration, the structure should work. It should reset the cells back to their original state while removing the mutation effect, so why doesn’t it complete the cycle?.. Why does it just give up right at the end?..” he asks himself with a frustrated look. He then looks over at the salt machine once again. He stares at it for a moment before his eyes grow wide as something connects in his mind.

 Sugawara quickly sits back in his chair, a bandage now over his injured hand, and immediately gets to work. He re-compiles the serum once again, but instead of going straight to testing it in real life, he creates a simulation run with the configuration of the manipulated serum and runs one final test. The computer processes, calculating the effect before reaching 100% and flashing success. He stands up with a surprised look as he stares with wide eyes.

 “I did it…” He says with a smile before pressing ‘enter’ on his keyboard, and the machine quickly injects the configuration of elements into the serum, mixing it into a turquoise colored serum. Sugawara quickly grabs it from the stand and rushes out of the building.

 In the hospital, Shiori lays her head on Hikigaya’s lap, wearing a jacket that obviously belongs to Hikigaya, as tears fall from her eyes. She stares at him as Hikigaya looks worse than ever, barely holding on as his body looks weak and some of his veins turn black. She raises her hand and gently places it on his chest before it begins to glow with her Healing Aura. After a moment and with no change, she only cries more.

 “Why doesn’t this work?.. why can’t I help him?..” Shiori cries silently to herself. The glowing from her hand stops as she just lays with him. “Hikigaya… please… don’t die… I still haven't said it… I… I love you…” she whispers softly as Hamasaki steps into the room with a worried look.

 “Shiori… why don’t you go get some air? I’ll watch him, just for a little bit.” Hamasaki says with a soft hand on Shiori’s back. Shiori slowly gets up and nods softly while wiping her tears away. She steps outside, now dark in the late night, and walks into the park area of the hospital. She walks a bit away from the building with her head lowered before stopping on the sidewalk underneath some lamplight.

 She clenches her fists a bit with a frustrated look before suddenly crouching down and crying into her hands. She cries for a moment as Sugawara rushes up the path. He runs quickly but stops for a moment when he hears her, catching his breath. He looks around for her until he finally sees Shiori in the park and perks up before running her way with a smile.

 “Shiori! Shiori!” he calls to her. Shiori looks surprised before she quickly stands up and turns around.

 “Sugawara?” She says as a slight burst of relief rushes over her.

 “Shiori, I got it! I figured it out!” he calls out. She looks shocked before smiling.

 “You did? Let’s go give it to him then!” Shiori says desperately. Sugawara stops in front of her and pants for a moment to breathe before speaking.

 “We can’t. It’s not finished.” He says, leaning on his knees. Shiori looks at him confused and a little upset.

 “What do you mean?” She asks as Sugawara stands up and looks at her with a pleased, slightly prideful look.

“Well, at first, I was looking at the modified serum as a cure, a vaccine of sorts. Something that must be compositional to curing the serum in his blood. It had to be the construct that would fix him, but I was wrong. What it really is, is a power source!” Sugawara explains as Shiori looks surprised. Sugawara looks at the vial of turquoise liquid with bright eyes. “I don’t think the scientists who made it realized they made a form of biological power, unrivaled clean energy, but in order to achieve the threshold needed to be self sufficient, it needed more energy. So it sucked the life out of the body’s cells in an attempt to reach the energy goal. The mutations and such were only byproducts of the serum sending the cells into overdrive to get more power. It’s actually quite fascinating when you-”

 “Sugawara. Just tell me what you need.” Shiori interrupts Sugawara as he explains, interested in her friend’s words and passion but desperate to save Hikigaya, trying not to be rude. Sugawara understands though and smiles at her, worn out and tired.

 “Power. Lots of it— way more than a human body would produce in its lifetime. The cure serum needs to be powered up to achieve its goal and cancel the effects of the unrefined stuff in Hikigaya’s body.” Sugawara says.

 “If that’s all it’ll take, then stand back.” Shiori says with a determined look as her eyes start to glow and she lifts her hands into the air sharply.

 Sugawara looks shocked as he quickly drops the vial on the grass and dashes away. Clouds swirl in the sky as smaller bolts of lightning spurt out. Shiori yells before swinging her arms down with a snap as a tremendously large lightning bolt blasts from the sky and into the vial on the ground. Sugawara covers his ears and closes one eye at the loud boom and bright light.

 The vial filled with a turquoise liquid begins to change to a darker blue color as energy floods it. After a moment, Shiori stops and stumbles back a bit, worn out from the technique. Sugawara slowly approaches the burned area where the vial was. He looks at it as it glows a bright color with the blue liquid inside. He smiles satisfactorily. 

 “It’s ready.” Sugawara says as Shiori smiles warmly.

 They rush their way back inside, running down the halls and to Hikigaya, vial in hand. Asami, Takanou, and Riku look at them concerned outside his room as they rush their way. Hamasaki even opens the door of his room and steps outside with them.

 “What was that noise?” Takanou asks.

 “It sounded like super close thunder.” Hamasaki says, holding the door open.

“Everything’s okay.” Shiori says in a rush with a smile as the two of them push past the family and into Hikigaya’s room. They all look confused as Shiori and Sugawara rush to Hikigaya’s side.

 “What do we do? Does he drink it?” Shiori asks.

“No, it needs to be injected into him.” Sugawara says quickly.

 Shiori turns around and immediately starts looking through the drawers in the room and finds an empty syringe. She rushes back, and Sugawara takes it before filling it with the cure serum. Shiori takes the now almost empty vial as Sugawara injects the cure into Hikigaya’s arm carefully.

 The family comes in with concerned and confused looks as Sugawara steps back once the cure is completely injected. He stands next to Shiori as they both stare with held breath, waiting.

 “How long until the cure takes effect?” Shiori asks.

“It should start working immediately.” Sugawara says softly as he stares at his friend, hopeful he’ll recover but a bit of interest in the process to prove his theory right. Suddenly, the black veins along Hikigaya’s neck and arms begin to fade. Shiori smiles as Hikigaya slowly begins to open his eyes.

 “Hikigaya?..” Shiori asks softly. He looks over at her a bit before smiling weakly.

 “Oh, hey you guys.” He says. Shiori begins crying as the others cry too, with joy filled eyes. “I hope I didn’t cause you all too much trouble.” He says softly before suddenly getting latched onto tightly by Shiori.

 “You dummy…” she says with a smile through her tears as she presses her face into his tightly. Hikigaya smiles back as Sugawara collapses to his knees in relief.

 “It really worked…” he says with a sigh before suddenly being grabbed into a hug. Asami hugs him tightly on her knees while crying.

 “Thank you…” Asami says in a grateful whisper. Sugawara is surprised and blushes a bit while nodding.

 “Big bro!” Riku shouts while rushing to the bed and jumping on him, Shiori stepping back. Hikigaya winces in pain before smiling a bit. “You made me so scared! I didn’t want to lose another one!” Riku shouts with teary eyes.

“I’m sorry for scaring you.” Hikigaya says with a smile before Takanou comes over and grabs Riku.

 “Okay, Riku, let’s give him some time to recover.” He says while taking him off of Hikigaya. Takanou looks at Hikigaya with relieved eyes.

 “We’re so glad you’re okay.” He says as Asami nods, stepping next to him and wiping the tears from her eyes. They stand there for a moment, letting the relief set in as Shiori stands next to Hikigaya silently. Her head is lowered as she blushes a bit, almost embarrassed about her reaction. Hikigaya notices smiles and at her.

 “Those tears for me?” He jokes, trying to lift her spirits. She chuckles while wiping her face with her sleeve before she takes a step closer.

“Shut up.” She says softly while smiling a bit and taking his hand in hers. They all gather around as they finally find the chance to relax now that Hikigaya is recovering back to normal.