BXBX NOVEL Chapter 300 Ritsuka's Situation
"Wait, you're sure you heard that right?" Lee Seng and Keng both asked in unison. The two twins stepped forward, spooking Ritsuka. He stumbled backwards, losing his sense of balance as he grabbed onto the railing of the bed.
"Y-y-y-yeah. I'm pretty sure that's what happened." Ritsuka stuttered. "I-I don't know what any of that means. Who was that woman? What did she mean by 'conditions have been met. The Ability Mutation will now begin'?" Lee Seng and Keng looked at each other.
"You always wondered if it was possible to mutate other peoples' abilities, right?" Keng asked. They both turned to look at Ritsuka. "I think we just got our answer."
"Shit." Lee Seng cursed. He took a step back, shaking his head.
"W-what do you mean by that?" Ritsuka looked between the twins. Keng was just staring at him like he was studying something while Lee Seng was in utter disbelief. "Why do you two have two different reactions?!? It's like you two have the same exact responses! What am I missing here?!?" Ritsuka's voice rose. Keng moved over and muffled Ritsuka's loud voice.
"Shush, Ritsuka!" Keng warned him. "Do you want someone to come in?"
"This can't be real." Lee Seng shook his head. "What if yesterday when my aura grew that large, I accidentally mutated everyone else in that room?!?"
"We don't even know if that's the case. We don't even know how it happened." Keng tried to reassure his human partner. "Don't think of more scenarios. We have to deal with Ritsuka."
"Can you please explain to me what you're talking about?!?" Ritsuka asked, loudly as he peeled off Keng's hand. Keng removed his hand and moved over to Lee Seng. He grabbed Lee Seng and quickly pushed him over to Ritsuka.
"You two. Sit." Keng pushed Lee Seng into the corner chair and helped Ritsuka onto the bed. "You woke up in pain in your stomach right?"
"Yeah… Then there was the smoke and the gold light." Ritsuka nodded. Keng looked over Lee Seng.
"Would you say it resembled the same color as his aura?"
"Maybe…? I'm not sure. It might look like it."
"Turn your aura on." Keng ordered Lee Seng. Lee Seng sighed and lifted his hand. A golden shimmer covered his hand as he looked at Ritsuka. "Did it look like that?"
"Uhhh…." Ritsuka scratched his head. "I guess it kinda does resemble it."
"If you heard a female voice. It must be the one I hear then." Lee Seng nonchalantly added. He set his hand back on the arm chair, ignoring the gold aura as it faded.
"Do you really think I could've accidentally gotten my ability mutated?" Ritsuka asked.
"It's a possibility. We won't know for sure but it's the most likely cause." Keng answered.
"Or you're just on some weird DM exhaustion thing. People have temporarily lost the usage of their ability." Lee Seng gave another theory.
"Well, that could be another solution. We might as well try to think of it's ability mutation."
"Did anything else happen after that?" Lee Seng inquired.
"Well…" Ritsuka's voice trailed off.
30 Minutes Earlier…
Ritsuka's eyes fluttered open. He could hear familiar voices quietly talking somewhere in the room. He groaned as he sat up. He felt sore.
"Ugh." Ritsuka groaned. Two heads poked out from the curtains off to his side.
"Ritsuka! You're awake!" Olivia rushed over and tackled him with a hug.
"Ouch!" Ritsuka winced. He patted her back as she pulled away.
"Y'know we spent all night with you, right? You were sweating a lot in your sleep so Evan and I took turns wiping your sweat off."
"You both wiped sweat off me?" Ritsuka exchanged glances at both of them.
"Yup." Evan nodded. "Before you panic, I think you would've been more comfortable with a dude wiping your torso so I did that. I didn't see anything else so you're fine."
'Thank god.' Ritsuka let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Ritsuka began to turn. Olivia and Evan hovered around him, making sure he could walk on his own. The first step he took, his stomach pain returned, bringing back the odd memories that came with it. "Argh." Ritsuka started to fall. Evan and Olivia quickly grabbed him, lifting him up.
"Ritsuka, are you okay?" Evan asked.
"My stomach hurts so much." Ritsuka groaned.
"Let's get you to the bathroom first." Olivia eyed Evan, who nodded. The two supported Ritsuka over to the sliding door, opening it. Evan and Olivia led him over to the railing near the toilet and allowed him to hold onto it before leaving.
[Notice: Conditions have been met. The Ability Mutation will now begin. Please stand by.]
Those words echoed in his head, again. He pulled his pants down and sat on the toilet. He groaned as he clutched his stomach.
"I ate some medicine before we went to eat breakfast with you guys. I tried using my powers while I was in that bathroom and nothing happened. Just smoke." Ritsuka looked at his hands.
"You can't manifest a weapon?" Lee Seng raised his eyebrows.
"No. I can't… That's why I'm so…"
"Upset?"
"Yeah." Ritsuka sighed.
"Well, try again." Lee Seng motioned.
"What if it doesn't work?" Ritsuka asked. "What if something worst happened… Like I have no more powers… I won't be able to stay here…" Lee Seng stood up and rested a hand on Ritsuka's shoulder. He smiled as Ritsuka continued to stare at his hands.
[Notice: Ability Mutation has successfully finished.]
Lee Seng and Ritsuka made eye contact with each other.
"Did you hear that?" Lee Seng asked.
"Y-yeah… It said it ended." Ritsuka nodded.
"Well," Lee Seng removed his hand. "Try it." Ritsuka took a deep breath as Keng and Lee Seng stepped away.
"Black Obsidian." Ritsuka whispered. Smoke billowed out of him, pouring onto the bed and floor around him. Black Obsidian appeared in his hands. His eyes glowed. They began to focus on the sword. He spent some time looking at the sword before releasing it into smoke and looking up.
"So?" Lee Seng raised his eyebrows. "Anything?"
"Uh, I guess everything's fine. I don't feel anything different."
"Hmmm. I wonder what the ability mutation even did then."
"Well, if that's figured out then–"
The door flew open.
"Ritsuka? Lee Seng? Are you okay?" Liz's voice called out.
"Keng!" Lee Seng hissed. Keng sighed and touched Lee Seng. His body erupted into silver light as he flew back into Lee Seng's body.
"Oh, there you are. You guys okay?" Liz asked.
"Uh, yeah, yeah." Lee Seng nodded.
"Ritsuka wasn't feeling well and just wanted to come and rest here." Lee Seng smiled. Ritsuka began to nod.
"But I'm feeling better. Sorry that I did that whole thing earlier." Ritsuka began to apologize. Liz waved her hand as more footsteps came into the room.
"It's alright. We just came to say bye. We're all gonna go back to the dorms and get ready for class." Liz pointed.
"Yeah, we should still practice afterwards though." Manny commented. "We have two days to practice so we might as well try, right?"
"Oh, y-yeah." Ritsuka nodded. Lee Seng and Ritsuka watched as Evan and Olivia popped up besides Liz and Manny.
"Are you two going to be fine here by yourselves?" Olivia asked. "Are you two even excused from classes?"
"Oh, that reminds me!" Liz exclaimed. She moved over to Lee Seng. "Dr. Valentin told me to tell you to call him when you're awake. I totally forgot. You two are excused for classes today. If you guys feel better by the end of the day, let us know and we'll do training together."
"Oh, alright." Lee Seng nodded.
"Sure." Ritsuka nodded. "And sorry I caused a scene."
"Don't worry about it." Evan spoke up. "It's been a really stressful time. We all understand it."
"Just rest well." Olivia waved.
"If that's it, we'll leave. Ready to go?" Manny asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Liz spun around. They all began to wave at Lee Seng and Ritsuka.
"We'll come by after school!" Olivia shouted.
"Bye." Lee Seng and Ritsuka waved. They waited for the door to close and both of them let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close." Ritsuka shook his head. "Could've been caught."
"Yeah, well… Thankfully we didn't." LEe Seng replied. "Well, I'm gonna step out and call Dr. Valentin. I should figure out what he wants."
"Alright."
"You want Keng to be here with you?"
"Huh? Uh, nah. It's fine." Ritsuka shook his head.
"Alright, be back." Lee Seng stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him as he moved to his room. He shut it behind him as he fished for the phone in his pocket. He clicked on Dr. Valentin's name and put the phone up to his ear.
Ring, ring, ring…. Ring, ring, ring… Ring, ring–
"Hello?" Dr. Valentin's voice came through.
"Hey, Dr. Valentin. It's me, Lee Seng." Lee Seng replied. "I was wondering what you wanted to talk to me about?"