"Shit!" Before I could react, she swung at me. Both of my arms were thrown up in defense, her fist slamming straight into my elbows, sending me spiraling across the floor. The pain knocked the wind from out of me, but her relentless pursuit wasn't ending there, breaking into a full sprint to close the distance.
I chose to use the arrows to launch me towards the large pane windows along the hallway, narrowly avoiding another vicious attack from Jordan. I could almost see the steam being emitted from the knuckles of her fist. I breathed a sigh of relief, pushing myself off the floor and taking a stance. Even though she hit hard, she wasn't as monstrous as that Vampire from a week ago.
I kept two arrows at my feet and placed the remaining two in my hands to add inertia to my punches. I quickly skated over to Jordan, both hands at the ready. Just as I slid close to her guard, my first punch completely missed its mark as she stepped to the side, reeling back one of her legs. I shot forward again as her leg, nearly the size of a tree trunk, fired out in turn to counter me.
I sped past the kick, using the momentum of my Boon to land a blow into Jordan's side, causing her to stagger into the wall next to her.
I launched myself forward once more, attempting to slip in another blow to stagger maybe, or stun her momentarily, but she was unfazed. Through some misguided confidence, the other strikes that I could've dealt were negligible, lacking impact against her heavily muscled frame.
Realizing I was at a disadvantage at this distance, I shot back, attempting to create as much distance between the two of us as possible.
VRRRST! A loud, ear-piercing noise rang out, the air around Jordan reverberating with this unknown energy. Violet gasped, "Shit! Come on!" Monday, her ability hovered above Jordan, who shook their head, resisting the effects of Violet's Boon.
Jordan's attention was now locked onto Violet, who, in response, used the ability again, spamming it as much as possible, hoping that it would finally go through as Monday's ability enraptured the beastial girl in a surrounding, slowing effect. At this point, what I was fully witnessing was truly something in slow motion.
It was almost painful to watch. Her body was moving at such an abysmal pace compared to her unnaturally chaotic speeds from before as she was attacking me.
Unfortunately, Jordan did not let this stop her; she launched herself forward, using her momentum and weight to crash straight into Violet.
Violet instinctively jumped out of the way, Jordan's body barely grazing past her, but the sheer mass and speed of the hit, even the slightest bit of her body, sent her flying into one of the walls beside her.
I got on all fours, quickly speeding to the two as fast as I could, and in that moment, Jordan raised her fist into the air, prepared to slam it down onto a recovering Violet.
Violet's head whipped up to meet the massive sight before her, throwing herself back as Jordan's fist cracked the floor below. The ground lifted slightly at the edges, causing the ground beneath them to shake.
The instant I approached, I unleashed a flurry of punches onto Violet's body, managing to dig into a few soft spots within the muscle, eliciting a visible reaction from her as she staggered to the side. With one arching motion of my foot as well, I slid across the floor over to Violet, grabbing her with a free hand and pulling her away from combat, skating as far away as I could, standing in front of Violet as a wall of sorts.
"I feel good..." I whispered to myself, lowering my stance.
Violet noticed the energy in the air had changed, preparing herself as well as Jordan, straightening themselves for another onslaught of attacks.
"I-I can't really do anything offensively, but..." Once again, Monday set down a slowing field over Jordan's body, but this time, they couldn't shake off Violet's Boon, just as before. Momentum and weight can be huge factors in speed, especially when facing a creature as massive as whatever was happening to Jordan right now.
Jordan launched herself forward, both hands clasped together, ready to be brought down upon me. I raised my guard, prepared to move the instant her fists came down upon me.
I misjudged the timing, both fists crashing down upon me, sending me straight into the floor below. I could feel my back straining against her fists, legs buckling low as my knees hit the ground, and I'm sent straight through vinyl and concrete. It isn't a pleasant feeling falling twenty feet out of the air-- that feeling of being crushed, then the reverberating feeling of my bones rattling as I collide against the floor below.
My eyes flickered, and I started seeing double, struggling to catch my breath. Violet looked to be in shock, wide-eyed, peaking over from the floor above me. I could've sworn she said something, but I couldn't hear it... in fact, all I could hear was the ocean. Sounds came to me as if I were submerged in water, whilst my body felt as if I was sat straight under a slab of earth, pressing down upon me like some oppressing weight of the world, telling me not to get up, that I had failed, and that I should give up here.
Or... maybe that's just my own subconscious talking to me. Those survival instincts within the back of my brain are alerting me to run away, to find some refuge, some shelter. What am I? Prey? A rabbit hunted by a prowling predator? "I don't want that..." I wheezed.
I blinked, Violet running away as Jordan began to chase after them.
I have to get up. I had to. I pulled myself off the ground, the remnants of Violet's ability on me, leaving me, as what remained managed to actually help me recover to a reasonable level to persist, to continue fighting the beast that Jordan had become.
I sped through the halls, catching up to Jordan and Violet.
Violet was on the ground, hands out, "Please! Jordan!" As she spotted me, she pointed, and once again, I was emboldened by her Boon.
During this exchange, Jordan could only scream in response. A scream filled with rage untold. What could've pushed her this far? Did I miss something? Maybe... Maybe I wasn't as good a friend as I thought... I thought to myself as I encroached upon them both. "Jordan... don't worry, I'll be sure to save you here..." I announced, taking a step forward, readying myself for anything.
BANG!
With a step of the foot, I shot forward. Pop! Pop! Two hits, both hitting their mark with a newfound amount of strength and power behind every hit. Jordan jumped away from me, tears rolling down her face, indents of what I had done remaining on her body.
"I'm sorry, but we gotta knock you out!"
Outstretching her body, she swung once. I managed to duck under the massive swing, but didn't anticipate a hoof of hers to clip me in the leg. It didn't hurt much, but it caused my guard to drop momentarily as she prepped for one last swing.
An oppressive noise followed as Monday once again focused on slowing Jordan down, but she wasn't deterred, getting ready to swing onto me with a force similar to our exchange before she sent me straight down a floor of the Academy with just her fists.
Just as Jordan's fist was about to hit me, the coming strike was slowed down significantly by a bizarre force field being emitted from Violet's body, but that was enough to mitigate the devastating blow that was coming for me. I reflexively raised my arm, attempting to jump back and reduce the damage further. However, the blow still carried a substantial amount of power; I could even feel one of the bones in my forearm snap against the impact of her fist, the force emitting a rippling energy that stung flames against my skin.
Soon after, a snapping sound. That didn't happen, and in a last-minute gambit from Violet, she reversed time at just the right moment to keep me alive.
I let out a long sigh. "Sorry, Jordan. You're gonna be in a lot of pain in the morning!" I took a breath and shot straight forward into Jordan's stomach, sliding past her guard, raising one arm back, and launching it straight into her face. Her head whipped down to meet me face to face. Her maw opened up wide, clamping down onto my fist. Adrenaline was carrying me at this point, one leg whipped out from under me and straight into Jordan's head, and in response, a sickening crunch from my left arm could be heard.
Regardless, the kick was powerful enough to send Jordan through a wall, knocking her out cold onto the floor before us.
"Oh my god! Gael!"
I took a breath, my vision becoming blurry. I look over at Violet, confused. "What? What is it?"
"Your arm!"
I looked down to see my left forearm partially degloved, a chunk of muscle loosely hanging from cracked bones. "Oh..." It all hit me at once, and I passed out.
Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen that much of my own blood outside of my body in my life, and, next thing I know, I wake up in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages. As I forced my eyes open, the first thing I did was look at my injured arm. Luckily enough, it was still attached to my body. Oddly enough, somehow, I retained all of my mobility. I flexed my fingers, waving my arm around in wide arcs, bringing my arm in, everything. It was fully functional.
"Is it due to me having a Boon?" No, this seemed more unnatural. Even after the wound on my shoulder had healed, I still felt the soreness that remained, but I don't feel any of the pain I should be feeling in my arm. Granted, I don't know how long it's been, but given that I'm still wrapped in bandages, I can only imagine it hasn't been very long.
I stood up from my hospital bed, eyes panning across the room. I wasn't in pain, and I don't feel any weakness in my legs, arms, or throughout my body. I don't think I've slept long, probably a day at most.
I looked over to the various tubes and machines connected to me, and one by one, removed them all. There was a surprising lack of blood anywhere; in fact, after removing the infusion needle, where a small bead of blood would typically form at the spot it was inserted into my arm, I found instead a simple red dot that disappeared after a few seconds. I scratched my head, lips pursed. I was genuinely puzzled... and then I tapped something on the sides of my head.
Actually, on that topic, the sides of my head felt heavier as well. Warmer, even. I felt that, right when I removed the bandages, I could hear more as well.
I could hear conversations echoing through the hall right outside the room I was in, along with various hushed conversations throughout the hospital. I felt my ear flick for a moment, alarming even myself.
I raised both of my hands, grabbing at wherever my ears were, and met with the soft touch of fur. Now that I think about it... I feel something around my tailbone as well. I blinked, rushing to the nearest restroom to look myself straight in the mirror. My face was regular, my body was normal, and aside from that, I now spot a scar on my left forearm due to Jordan's little gift as we finished our battle.
Then I looked at my head, and then I looked at my back. I... I have animal ears? Like... a rabbit's, or a hare's? Ears similar to my Boon, Lateralus, but like... not robotic, more animalistic like, y'know... an actual rabbit's ears!
I couldn't even fathom what I was looking at, and then I turned around to look at my back, lifting my gown to reveal a scut—a small, fluffy tail right on the lower section of my back. "W-What?" My voice cracked. I got closer to the mirror, inspecting myself. The ears weren't at the top of my head like some anime, but right where my old ears would've been, now replaced with these... hairy, long ears.
They could change the direction they were pointed in, and eventually, I attempted to pull them down, trying to hide them as best I could. However, as I let go, they popped straight back up. "W-What... why? What...?" I summoned Lateralus and was met with a familiar sight. For a moment, I had thought we'd fused, but somehow I've become more like my Boon regardless.
How did this happen? I asked myself, eventually opting to tuck my ears down into the collar of my gown or shirts I wear in the future. I need to devise a long-term solution to conceal these. The real question is whether other people could even see them at all.
After an hour of staring, I set off back to my hospital room, placing arrows on my feet to provide an extra boost of speed, as I didn't want to test my luck.
Clearly, this seemed to have been a recent development since the FBI hasn't come knocking at my door yet. Either that, or other people really can't see this, similarly to how people already can't see Boons or Banes normally, anyhow.
Honestly, after a moment of deliberation, I just stood awkwardly in my hospital room, looking down at myself. "I guess I'd be more of a hare than a rabbit, huh...?" Thinking aloud, commenting on my own height.
You know, now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever actually clarified how tall I really am. I'm around 190 centimeters tall, which means I often tower over many of the kids at school, and that's why some people think I'm a little weird or intimidating. Now we have this 190-centimeter-tall, mostly girl, somewhat boy, they/them standing around with rabbit ears and a tail.
How the hell did I get here? I sighed, ripping a hole in my gown to let my tail through, and just when I did so, Naomi entered the room, an apple and a knife in hand.
There was a moment of silence between us, and all I could do was stand there like a deer in headlights. "Uh..."
Before she could speak, I held a hand up. "Hold on! First, think to yourself, how would an unconscious person in a gown sneak in rabbit ears and a tail that somehow can move as if it's a part of their body! Which it is... a part of my body that is..."
Naomi blinked and then closed in on me. I instinctively backed up as she pressed on her pursuit before cornering me against the window of my room.
"N-President?"
She looked at me with a curious expression for a moment before, in one swift motion, grabbing my tail. Why was that the first thing you went for!? A sudden sensation came over me, causing my knees to buckle. In an attempt to stop myself from falling to the floor, I wrapped both arms around Naomi's neck, causing both of us to stagger.
She let go, and as that happened, I pushed off of her. "What are you doing!?"
"I was curious, I didn't expect that I'd see something like this in the real world."
At this point, the ears stuffed into my shirt flopped back out, standing upright on the sides of my head. "T-That..." One of the ears flicked, eyes looking to grab my clothes, suddenly now feeling exposed in my hospital gown.
"Are you feeling shy?"
"H-- Yeah! Yeah, I am! Is that a surprise!?
"No, I've just never seen you this flustered, so I was intrigued."
"You just touched my tail without asking, I'm gonna be a bit flustered." My eyes searched for anything that might have clothes or could be worn, but in the end, I found nothing. "Shit! No clothes?"
"What did that feel like, by the way?"
There's no way I can say thatout loud. "It didn't hurt if that's what you're wondering."
I turned my back to her momentarily, trying to scavenge the room as best I could. A fruitless effort, but one could only hope. In response, though, Naomi took both of her hands and then ran them across my ears, pulling them back. She set a chair behind her, and as my upper body gave out, she sat down, leading to me falling straight into her grasp.
"W-What?"
"Why are you so worked up?"
"I... I..."
Naomi sighed. "Just to let you know, Jordan is fine. The problem is, she's under the same effect you are currently."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Well, it should have only come from her family lineage, but you got unlucky-- or, if you see it from a different perspective, lucky and have also taken on the traits of this lineage as well—another exceptionally rare type of Bane, similar to vampirism, it can infect others."
"Fuck... wait... w-what is this?"
"Lycanthropy, to put it simply. The Bane in question, though, is called Primal."
"So like... I'm some sort of... werecreature?"
"A rabbit, or hare, it seems. Congratulations, or... You have my sympathies, depending on how you feel about this whole endeavor."
"Uh... is there... any negatives I should know about?"
"Well, first off, not necessarily a negative, but people who cannot already see Boons and Banes cannot, in fact, see your ears and tail. The problem is, the instant you're spotted with those from another user, it's essentially like you're advertising that you have a connection to the supernatural."
"C-Can I hide them? Is there a way to... y'know...?"
"There is. But from what I can tell, that comes with time."
"Jordan has this, too?"
"Yes, and now, we'll speak on one of the other negatives of having this Bane. Once per month, on a full moon, you'll fully transform into the creature you represent. Of course, in the good 'ole werewolf fashion that this is, it'll take a large humanoid shape. You can eventually take on that form yourself, but on full moons, you become uncontrollable. Of course, what that entails completely depends on what animal you represent."
"H-How long have I been out for you to have gotten all of this information so quickly?"
"Most of it is off-hand knowledge since my family is in close contact with Jordan's family-- though I've never met her until a couple of weeks ago. After that, the rest was just explained to us by her older sister."
"Crazy how I'm learning she has an older sister here, instead of directly from her, but... yeah, cool, I guess. So in typical werecreature fashion, I'll involuntarily transform on a full moon?"
"Indeed, and along with that, whilst fully transformed, though not impossible, you'll be finding a bit of difficulty using your Boon."
"Can I get rid of this in some way?"
Naomi pondered for a moment. "Not at all."
"Fuck."
"Unfortunately, from hereon, this trait will be passed on in your family lineage as well. Hope you're okay with that."
"W-Was it a full moon? Is that why Jordan went haywire?"
"No, losing control can also come from a collection of stress and emotional trauma built up over time until it explodes out into a fiery explosion that was your fight with the Red Bull, Jordan herself."
I sighed. "So... Jordan's alright?"
"Yeah, she's alright."
"Why'd this ability only awake in her now?"
"It didn't. This was just an unlucky situation from the very start."
"So... is there a reason why she wasn't aware of the supernatural before now?"
"Yes, it's simply because she hadn't experienced it directly before. I have to reiterate that just because you have a Bane, it doesn't necessarily mean you are aware of the goings-on around you, and now that she is, it has fully manifested itself. Similarly to you, her body has experienced some changes."
Naomi wasn't kidding. We walked over to Jordan's room to be met with a girl who, just a day or two ago, was significantly smaller than me, now trouncing me in size, easily beating me by a few inches in height. Along with that, she sported animal-like features through cow ears and horns that curled around her head and a thin, flicking tail with a tuft of hair at the end.
I'll say it now as well, but her height wasn't the only thing that was scaled up in size. Now that I think about it, has there been anything enhanced about me biologically? Aside from the ears, of course.
Jordan's eyes lit up. "Oh! Gael! President!" She looked to Naomi in particular. "I didn't think you'd come back so soon," And then at me. "Uh... so... hey~!"
"Yo... looks like we're in the same boat now, huh?"
"Y-Yeah..." Jordan paused. "I-I'm sorry about what happened. I heard about everything from Violet, and..."
"It's whatever, I have cool werewolf powers now, so it's a non-issue, okay? No permanent damage or anything."
"Yeah, okay... yeah..." Jordan chuckled, leaning into her hospital bed.
I looked over at Naomi. "Hey, could you give us a moment?"
Naomi nodded. "Okay," Before leaving the room.
After Naomi left, I crossed over to Jordan and sat down beside her. "Hey... Jordan... what the hell happened? What's going on with you?"
Jordan blinked. "W-What?"
"Is everything alright? Naomi explained everything to me and, well... I can only assume this happened because of something happening in your life, no? What's going on? What happened back there that had gotten you so... angry?"
"I-I..." Jordan averted her gaze, pulling her ears down with a frustrated expression on her face. "I-It's nothing... I-I just lost it... I guess."
"Jordan, there has to be something deeper here. You transforming like that isn't just some 'I just lost it' moment. What's going on? What happened? If we don't get to the deeper issue here, what's to say what you did won't happen again, right?"
She licked her lips and swallowed, ears still pulled down to her neck. "I... I don't want to involve you in my problems... I'm sorry."
"You dragged me into your issues the day we stayed up late on the Academy grounds, Jordan. You dragged me into your issues the instant you bit me, I'm pretty sure."
"I bit you?"
"Yeah, you did, and I'd imagine that's how I got these now." I pointed to the newly formed animalistic features on my body.
"I... I see."
"So... what'll it be, Jordan?"
Jordan took a breath. "I... I'm not ready to say it yet. But I am reflecting... I just... I want to wait until I'm ready to say anything, okay?"
I sighed, but I knew if I pressed any more, she'd just shut down. "Okay, I'll be waiting, okay?"
"Yeah... thanks, Gael."
"Mhm."
I left the room, turning to see Naomi waiting just outside of it, hands behind her back. She looked over to me. "Hey, how was your talk?"
"It's... progress." I sighed again. "Anyhow, uh... You doing anything after this?"
Naomi's deadpan expression broke into a chuckle. "Am I free?"
"Yeah... I-I guess. I'd need to get changed but..."
She shared a quizzical look with me before heading down the hall. "Alright, we'll go to your place first, then we'll hang out. Does that sound good?"
I nodded. "Y-yeah... hell yeah." I paused. "Uh... do they have spare clothes or anything? I can't exactly escape from here in a hospital gown."