The Temptation of Ryo Mochizuki

<How do they say it again, Ryo? It’s a dog eat dog world. If we’re to make it out here. We must carve our way through it.>

‘But why here?’ Of all the places for Onryō to direct him to, why go to a red district when there are plenty of obscure Mortan hunting spots that are barely monitored by the CMC or affiliated hunters. If it was just to satiate that hunger. He could have gone anywhere. But he sensed discontent in the Symbiote.

<Thrill of the hunt.>

Then this was about more than eating someone. Ryo appreciated the honesty but straying from his purpose, the idea scared him more than anything else. This place was busy and full of all kinds of degenerate detritus that had drifted down here for one reason or another. This is what we are expected to protect day in day out. Is my life worth it for all this? Ryo wanted a definite answer but in truth he understood so little of the humans and Kaskari that he lived alongside that every day left him with many questions and very few answers. It only now dawned on him he had been standing in front of the window as the lady in black lingerie danced around the pole, stretching her body in ways he did not think was possible. On the opposite side were men doing similar acts.

‘They really like this stuff don’t they? I wonder why?’

<Temptation is the bane of us all> echoed Onryō.

Ryo did not disagree. Even now he felt the Symbiote’s hunger grow inside. One arm crossed his stomach and he turned from the window. His chest tightened as he did. Who would be his next victim? How would he even do it? He didn’t like being around so many people. Then again as he checked around him, many a Cyber or god forbid Hybrid looked far scarier than him. And yet I’m supposed to be the monster. Hilarious. He resolved himself and entered the club. Immediately, a wash of bombastic sound and dark neon colours overcame him. Accompanying this was an intoxicating mix of smells that blurred his vision, nearly making him lose sight of his mission here.

‘What is this?’

<Some kind of aphrodisiac? Don’t worry I can resist it>

Ryo felt some relief at that. The inside of the club had a bunch of platforms and poles for dancers. These platforms had seating areas surrounding them and at the centre of the room was the bar. Ryo made his way there, casting curious glances at any potential target that caught his eye. At the bar he sat on one of the stools and ordered a shot of vodka. He downed and had another. Much to his disappointment no matter what he drank, the effects of alcohol never really affected him. The Symbiotes are just that good.

<It’s pays to have a clear mind> whispered Onryō. <So which of these lovely ladies takes your fancy?>

Ryo stared at the empty glass and began moving a single finger around its edges.

<Second doubts? Really now.>

‘No, I mean we’ve killed before but why here?’

<It’s not enough to just kill someone. I can’t explain it.>

‘We’re just a Simulacrum though. We don’t need to do any of this! This idea was planted in us by that Red Psion.’

“Can I interest you in another drink?”

The question came from his side. One of the girls, a silver skinned Kaskari no less stood awaiting his response.

“Sure why not -”

“Or,” she said leaning in close to his ear. “Can I interest you in a private show?”

Ryo looked to the empty glass and then to the red eyed Kaskari. A trait they all seemed to share. Except, when they used their gift, the iris would shift in response and their veins would glow.

Ryo nodded and stood up. She grabbed him by the hand and led him around the bar to the back end of the club. He noticed her veins had a small light blue illumination.

“Is that a trace?” Ryo asked.

She giggled at his question and looked back at him, the red eyes shifted now to a lumniscent blue. “I like to know what I’m getting in for.”

“I can’t say I blame you.”

She led him into darkness, the narrow corridor was chock full of bodies mangled together engaged in acts he’d have rather not had the pleasure of seeing. It was here he felt the weight on his chest again but not from the prospect of the act. The aphrodisiac effect that he had experienced upon entering was thicker here, almost like fog in his vision and made him see things in a more focused way. From the sweat that dripped from the bodies around him, to the hairs that stood on their arms and neck.

<I’ll be fine. Do what you need to do, and then we can get out of this awful place.>

She led him into a private room and used the knob on the wall to adjust the red lighting to be dim enough so that they could just see each other. The room itself had various sized cushions scatted around it and on the heart shaped bed itself. The headboard had purple string lights that would act as mood lighting.

The Kaskari woman climbed onto the bed and kneeled so that she was right in front of his chest. “So how do you want me?”

<Now! do it.>

In a single moment, Ryo’s transformation took over his clothing and morphed it into the horror that had been the bane of many before. The woman barely had time to register his full stature as a large mutated coppery hand pushed her down into the silk quilt. With his free hand he formed the lance that would pierce her. It wrapped around much of his arm and its tip now pointed at her chest. Raising it he paused unable to move.

“Oh? Getting cold feet are we.”

Ryo released his hold on her and stepped back uncertain of what she meant. The Kaskari sat up cradling her breasts.

“Why the long face, you think I haven’t fucked a Mortan before. You creatures are all bluster and no balls, and you are certainly not the first that’s tried to kill me either.”

Ryo said nothing. It was like his thoughts were scrambled. I can’t… not after what she did… what she did…

“Oh, did my trace scramble your little friend. Happens a lot these days, we have to be able to pull off even the simplest trace. They say it helps you feel it more. I just think its neat party trick.”

“You’re not afraid of us.”

“Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t, Mochi-san,” She said as she got closer to him and pressed her pale palm up against his rugged chest. The synchronicity of her mind entwining with both of his sent shivers down his spine. Her soft touch emitted a faint pulse that travelled across his body while her own veins once more turned bright blue. With his senses scrambled by her and the powerful aphrodisiac making him lose all semblance of self control. It grabbed her by the throat and tumbled forward into a pit of endless bliss.

Of course its hunger remained.

Subdued, yes but only for a moment of sheer bliss. The insatiable hunger soon returned not long after, begging for release. He was no stranger to what Psions like her were capable of. While many just had the trace that granted them a greater insight into someone’s past or present state of mind. The ones that learned how to rend could do so much more. A rend did much more than read, it could attack, penetrate or warp every aspect of the subject’s being. I don’t like not being in control. I didn’t expect to be so easily overpowered.

<Nor I,> replied Onryō. <I’ll settle for anything at this point.>

If not even a calming trace could stop the switch from flicking back then his current path was irreversible and since the night was not yet over he found himself on the hunt once more. He knew he could have easily killed her but some part of him resisted that pull. In the end, he had left the club in haste and made for the nearest train station. The journey back to the centre of the old city gave him time to reflect a little more.

‘There’s no going back, is there,’ he said to himself as he clutched the pole and did his best not to look at those around him.

<Perhaps the Kaskari’s power could be a temporary fix for our current problem?>

Ryo scowled. ‘I would rather not drag her or anyone like her into this.’

<If we continue like this. Many more people will die. We will die.>

‘I don’t understand why they kept us alive knowing what had been done to us.’

<Perhaps they want to see if we can control it.>

‘Or they want to see if surrendering to our base instincts somehow makes us stronger. The experiment never ended, Onryō, we’re still trapped in their hell. We are their weapon after all.’

<But what about the potential loss of life?>

‘It’s all collateral damage to the Vigil Agency. It’s not like we’re expected to live very long anyway.’

This train’s route took him beyond Sector 0 and into Sector 9. As he left the clustered mess of Old Tokyo’s hub. He noted how few people shared his carriage. One an aging man dressed in a ruffled black and white suit, his briefcase sat beside him on the seat. His loose fitting tie said everything about his current state of mind. On Ryo’s right, sat a young girl still dressed in her uniform. What was she doing out this late? He wondered. He noted the light flickering above as the train car shook and jolted him back and forth. He saw the brown growth emerge on the inside of his forearm. He scratched at it, peeling away the Mortan skin. He held the bulging mass in his clenched fist as the light above finally died. Don’t look, Ryo. Don’t let it win. We are the ones in control.

He could not stop himself turning. Even if it wasn’t real he felt the overpowering desire. The hunger he experienced in this exact moment was indescribable. Darkness had flooded the carriage turning it inky blue. The profound silence muted everything around him. If the train was still moving. He couldn’t feel it. The creature that he was destined to fall to stood ahead of him. Its towering stature allowed its shadow to covet him. Around it lay the spoils, the briefcase; its contents spilling out to meet the growing red puddle at the foot of the creature. In either hand the creature held its two lifeless victims by the throat. Their cut up bodies had been mangled and broken. For Ryo the only sound now was his rapid heart as his grip on the pole tightened. He noted its heavy groan. The sudden blur across his vision made him realise they had actually stopped. Both the man and girl left and he straightened before exiting also. Alone on the platform he took in long laborious breathes.

‘I’m not becoming that. I’m not throwing away my life for that!’

Onryō remained silent as he staggered forward, resting on the cold metal railing that granted him a view of things below. The street was quiet except for a few people and passing cars. Above him, loomed the dark edifice that stretched across all of Old Tokyo; the Amaterasu Platform.

‘The Clockwork King should help us clear our mind.’

The side street that would take to the Clockwork King was not too far from the train station. He walked down some steps until he was ground level. Despite it being past midnight, the street still had some traffic that he had to avoid. Once the road was cleared he crossed over and entered the narrow side street. He didn’t get too far until two drunkards stumbled out of the narrow strip that was Tatsumi-Shindo. They hadn’t seen him and they began walking chatting and singing loudly. The itch came back forcing Ryo to scratch at his arm.

<One of them is a Mortan.>

‘Do you think?’

<It’s possible this could be a trap for the one they are with.>

‘Pry him with booze, so much that when the strike comes…’

<They’ll never see it coming>

The Mortan within could hold back no longer. It transformed him into the monster. The lance took shape and he directed it at the centre man and blinked. But what if I’m wrong. He didn’t get a verbal answer, as the snake like lance met its target and the blur of what came next happened so fast that he could barely process it all.