Hybrids: Chapter Four

Yagi felt so lonely since Sako wasn’t in his room. He had no one to talk to and he was getting tired of his own thoughts. He wasn’t used to this stagnant silence. He missed Sako. Sako had been in the care unit for two days now. Doctor told Yagi that he would hopefully be back by the fourth day. But that seemed like an eternity.

With no one to talk to, Yagi busied himself with some origami. He made a blue and white bird for Sako and planned to give it to him through the vent when he came back. But until then it sat on his white bookshelf staring at him so he wouldn’t forget.

During the afternoon, the door opened, and Doctor walked in. Yagi had been sitting on his bed making the last few folds for his newest origami fox. His eye did not lift from his project. Doctor asked how he was doing but Yagi pretended he didn’t hear so instead Doctor sat next to him on the edge of the bed. “Did you make all of these yourself?” He asked Yagi, examining the other creations Yagi had brought over.

Yagi nodded.

Doctor nudged the arm that had been hurt, “Nice to see your arm is all healed up. Sorry again for ramming the door into you.”

Yagi shrugged and finished the fox. “It’s fine.” He mumbled as he sat it on the palm of his hand as he looked it over making sure every fold was precise and where it needed to be.

Doctor sighed, “Yagi, I was told you haven’t been eating or drinking again. You’ve also only been sleeping four hours or so a day. You should sleep more.”

Yagi stopped for a second and got irritated. He lifted his head and looked at the mirror. They were always watching him. How else would they know that he only slept four hours a day? He scoffed, “Damn rats. Always telling me off to someone.” He muttered looking back at his fox. Inside he was silently laughing at himself for sounding a little like Sako for a second.

“Yagi, it’s not like that and you know that. There’s no reason to get all mad. We care about you. Especially right now since we know you miss Sakuro. But you can’t punish yourself because he’s in a care unit and you miss him. None of this is your fault.”

“I’m just not hungry. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yagi, you haven’t touched your food at all. Your lunch is still on that table.” Doctor said as he gestured to it.

Yagi glanced at the bowl of cold soup. “Because it’s drugged.” He put the fox down and looked at Doctor, “Do you think I’m just stupid or something? Obviously, you guys want me to eat and drink and then get more sleep. You know I’m not going to do it willingly either, so you try to trick me!”

Doctor frowned, “Yagi, you don’t have a choice. You’ll have to sleep whether forced or willingly. Your body needs rest.”

Yagi shook his head. “Please just leave.” Yagi said as he turned away.

Doctor sighed and picked up a paper butterfly. Yagi grew irritated and walked over to the door, “The door is over here. Leave.”

Doctor glanced at him and stood up after he put the butterfly down. He looked at Yagi, “You’ll thank me later.” He said.

Yagi scoffed, “For what?”

He pushed Yagi against a wall and pushed a needle into his arm. Yagi groaned in the sudden pain and pushed him away before Doctor could even pull the syringe out. Yagi turned around and pulled it out of his arm and threw it towards the door.

Doctor put his hands out in an act of innocence and to be ready to catch Yagi if he fell. “Just relax, Yagi. Everything is going to be okay. You just need some sleep.”

Yagi’s eyes started to feel heavy, and he stumbled back with a shoulder against the wall. “I hate you.” He mumbled. He shook his head several times trying to shake it off. But it was pointless. “Every person here deserves to go to hell.”

Doctor walked over and wrapped his arms gently around Yagi and helped him to the ground. Yagi tried to push him away, but it was in vain. He was too tired to accomplish anything.

Yagi felt hot tears fall down his eyes and he didn’t understand why. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that caused his body to turn against his will as his sleepiness became mixed with the other negative emotions he had been experiencing recently. “Sakuro needs me.” He mumbled tiredly, still trying to push Doctor’s arms away. “I can’t sleep. I need to be there for him if he needs me.”

“Just go to sleep, Yagi. Everything is going to be okay.” Doctor whispered. “Sako will be okay.”

Yagi tried to fight it, but the drug pulled him farther and farther into darkness. Before he knew it, he could hear Doctor’s heartbeat as his eyes closed as Doctor pulled him closer, picked him up, and laid him in his bed.

“You have to get us out.” He mumbled to Doctor.

“I will, Yagi.”

After that, everything went dark.

Sakuro was hurt and Yagi wanted to help him. Something told Yagi to stay away from Sakuro, but his loyalty took over. As he helped mend Sakuro’s cut hands, he met his friend’s eyes which were completely black. Yagi tried to run but Sakuro caught him. Blood covered Yagi’s hands as he tried to fight Sakuro from hurting him. Yagi panicked when he realized that it was his own blood drawn from his own friend’s violent attacks. This wasn’t Sakuro. This was a monster.

Yagi opened his eyes and gave a shuddered sigh; glad he woke up from the horrible nightmare. But he was still so tired. Yagi faded in and out throughout the next two days. He knew he was restrained but he didn’t care. Even though the drug was long gone he was still tired. Nurse and another woman came in during the afternoon when he was just partially awake. They’d make sure he drank and had something to eat to give him his strength back saying it was the reason for why he was so tired.

But it was a lie. He knew he was tired because they were helping him be tired. They gave him a jump start to get to sleep. Every bite and every drink he had was tainted. But he didn’t care what they gave him. He didn’t care what they did. He just wanted to be left alone so he could sleep.

On the third day he was more awake but still exhausted. They had released him completely, so he was free to move but he kept waking up in his bed not remembering ever going to his bed or going to sleep. On the sixth time he went to get out of bed but found Doctor at the end of the bed telling him to stay.

“Why?” Yagi asked. He tried to sit up but a pain in his head held him down.

“Because we keep finding you on the floor. You’re so tired that you keep fainting because your brain can’t function without proper rest. How’s your head?”

Yagi’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You hit your head pretty hard on the table. I was worried you would have a mild concussion from your fall.” He explained.

He ran a hand through his blonde hair to feel the bandage, and sure enough there was one. He dropped his hand to his side and sat up, “Is Sakuro awake yet?”

“He was but he wanted to take a nap. Victor has been helping him understand the demon part of him.” He smiled a little bit, “Also, congratulations. You’re officially a half angel.”

He forced a smile.

Doctor titled his head to the side, “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy to be one. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

Yagi shrugged. “Sako wanted me to be a demon.”

Doctor nodded in understanding. “At least you didn’t have to go through what he had too, though.”

“Can I go see him when he wakes up? Just for ten minutes? Please?” Yagi asked as he tried to sit up again. He pointed at blue and white paper bird, “I made this for him, and I want to give it to him to cheer him up.”

Doctor nodded. “Only if you stay in bed until he wakes up.”

“Deal.”

As promised, an hour later Doctor came and brought Yagi to the care unit to see Sako. His cot was in a reclined position, and he weakly waved when he saw them. Yagi looked at him with sympathy when he realized Sako looked much more tired than he was the last he saw him. “They just gave me more drugs and I feel awful now.” Sako told them. “Nurse said she forgot something, so she’ll be right back.”

Yagi walked over and placed the paper bird next to his friend. “I made this for you to help cheer you up.”

Sako smiled when he saw it, “Thank you.” He frowned, “I feel bad though.”

“Why?”

“Because I have nothing to give you. Every year we’d make each other a card for our birthdays, and I barely have the energy to wave.”

“A card? But today…Wait, is today my birthday?” He asked Doctor. When Doctor nodded, Yagi laughed in embarrassment, “I thought it was a week from now. I guess with all my worrying about you, Sako, I completely forgot.”

Sako laughed too. But his enjoyment was gone when Nurse came in with a syringe in her hand. Sako groaned, “Hurray, more drugs. What does that do to me now?”

“Nothing. It’ll help with your pain though.”

She walked to the other side of Sako and prepped his arm and Sako took Yagi’s hand without realizing it when the needle went in his arm. He closed his eyes and groaned softly as the needle was inserted.

Nurse pulled the needle out and smiled, “Good job, Sakuro. You’re getting a lot better at this.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Can we be done with the shots now? Please?”

She only smiled and left.

Sako mocked disappointment and released Yagi’s hand. “She didn’t even give me a sticker.”

Yagi laughed at his joke even though he knew Sako was just doing it to move past the shots.

Sako hesitated. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to grab your hand. The shots are awful.”

Yagi shrugged. He was fine with it if it helped Sako feel better.

Branson suddenly came rushing the room with Victor following close behind him, “Yo, Doc! You won’t believe…oh hey, Yashagami.”

Sako groaned and lifted his hand to his nose, “Branson, your cut.” He cleared his throat and Yagi put a hand on his arm to try to comfort him.

The second it took for Branson to understand what he meant was the second Sako got sick. Luckily Yagi just managed to pull his hand free from range as Sako coughed up black blood.

Sako groaned and Doctor helped him sit up and change his shirt that was now spotted with the blood. Sako sighed, “Why do I do that? You’d think throwing up blood would be a bad thing.”

“Natural reflex.” Victor said. “Demons and angels are naturally enemies so when demons smell their blood, they become bloodthirsty. Our blood get’s mixed with our salvia and acts as a stabilizer so that when we drink angel blood, it doesn’t make us sick.”

Branson moved away from Victor at the same time Sako gagged.

“Don’t tell me that.” Sako said. “I might not throw up blood next time.”

“Where did you even read that?” Branson asked.

“Leader tested it with me and made the conclusion with his team.”

Doctor narrowed his gaze, “Of course he did.”

“So how come you guys get to run around the place?” Yagi asked. “I thought we were supposed to be in our rooms.”

Branson smiled. “Well, once you turn eighteen, you’re allowed to go in and out of your room whenever you want. There’s limits and curfew of course though,” Branson said. He looked at Doctor, “Maybe I can even show him around?”

“No. There’s no point anyway since we’re leaving.” Victor told him in a quiet tone.

“Oh yeah. When are we leaving, Doc?”

“Soon.” Doctor answered. Yagi wondered if Doctor even had an exact time in mind. “And don’t talk about it. We don’t know who’s listening.”

“I have one question, Saruko,” Victor said. He waited for Sako to look at him before he continued, “Whenever you smell angel blood don’t you get thirsty? Like all you can think about is not being hungry?”

Sako looked around the room nervously as all eyes now were looking at him, “I guess.” He groaned and put his head in his hands, “Now I’m a demon and a vampire.”

Victor pressed the matter further. “Have you ever tasted it before?”

Sako raised his head, “No! Of course not!” He covered his ears. “Please stop with the questions!”

Victor cleared his throat, “Well when you do, let me tell you that everything changes and it does sound gross, but angel blood tastes amazing. It’s so good that we demons have to train ourselves to not drink it willingly.”

Sako gulped. “Willingly? You mean, once I taste it, I’ll…”

“You’ll change. You’ll do anything to get more. Branson wasn’t allowed near me when I tasted it because I wanted to bite him to get more. Your canines get a little longer too during this phase.”

Branson shivered. “Thanks for bringing back the memories, man. I thought I had buried them all. I hated being a half angel just because of that.”

Sako’s mouth hung open. Yagi put a reassuring hand on his friend’s shoulder, but Sako shrugged him off quickly.

“So, what about angels?” Yagi asked, “Don’t we have anything?”

“What do you mean?” Doctor asked.

“Like if half demons crave the angel blood and change because of it, do we…you know…crave blood too or get any like abilities?”

Branson jumped in, “We don’t drink blood. But yes we do get ‘abilities’ but our instincts mature later though, After a few months, you should be able to see what I mean. We can heal faster, and we can also see better in day and night while demons can only see better at night.”

“Can we fly? Angels are supposed to have wings, aren’t they?” Yagi asked Doctor.

“No. Thank goodness for that. It’s already hard enough to manage all of you.” He answered.

“Then perhaps you are unsuited for this position, Doctor.” Leader growled.