As much as I love Yosano and want my s/is to love her too, I think Jekyll! Gillian would be terrified of her at first. Given her background of being experimented on by another sadistic doctor with a healing ability, itâs take her a while to get used to Yosano. Which, from a shipping standpoint, offers some good scenarios of angst of her having to work through this trauma that wrestles with her growing fondness, yâknow. Anyway, this particular piece isnât really shippy, I wanted to write out a scene of what happened the first time Jekyll! Gillian found herself injured shortly after joining the detective agency, which as a side note is around a year before the main story starts. Also, this is a quick lil thing so I havenât done much proof reading so excuse any typos please.
She winced, squinting and blinking at the light hanging above her. She wasnât sure where she was or what had happened exactly, her thoughts were still trying to wake up. She tried to move her hand to rub at her eye, but went still when she realized cold metal was keeping it in place.
Yosano looked over her shoulder at the slight noise. âAh~ Youâre awake now, hm? Poor timing for yourself, seeing as Iâm about to get started, but more fun for me. Letâs see hereâŚâ she ran her fingers along her tools, gloves sliding over the cool metal. âI think Iâm going to use⌠this one~â Se picked up a meat cleaver and flipped it in the air, catching it smoothly. âYou got yourself a mighty fine injury out there, let me treat you.â She waltzed over to where Gillian lay on her table, holding the cleaver above her head with a wicked smile.
Gillian wasnât seeing Yosano, though. No, looming over her in that moment was a different doctor, one from many years ago. The scalpel poised in her grip glinted bright in the overhanging light, kept always so pristine, not yet covered in crimson again. The doctorâs smile was that of an overeager cat, one that couldnât wait to toy with itâs prey. The chains held her limbs tightly, she could hear them rattle with each fearful tremble of her small body. She couldnât even turn her head to look away, for that too was chained to her table.
Yosanoâs cleaver arced through the air, and the scalpel neared. Laughter echoed throughout time and memory, Gillianâs pupils growing small in her panic, frozen still in terror. She opened her mouth to scream.
That day, most everyone at the Armed Detective Agency was out working on one thing or another, meaning it was mostly empty save for a handful of office workers.
âDazai! Weâre already a full minute behind schedule! Stop lazing around this instant!â
And two men who also should have already been on a job by then.
âHhhmmm, do I have to, though? Iâm sure you can handle this on your own.â Dazai lounged sideways in his chair, legs propped up on his desk. He lay beck over the arm rest so he was looking up at Kunikida from upside down.
âWhile you have no idea how much I wish I could leave you here and not have to deal with your antics today, need I remind you that we work in teams. Which means, unfortunately, I have to drag your sorry ass along with me. Now, get up so we-â
Both menâs heads snapped up at the sound of metal tearing in another room, followed by a crash and a short exclamation of pain. That last noise they recognized as coming from doctor Yosano. They glanced at each other, expressions serious; theyâd heard plenty of pained screaming from Yosanoâs operation room, but never anything from the doctor herself.
Yosano stumbled backwards, clutching her arm, four long gashes running from her shoulder to her elbow. âWhat the hell?!â
Behind her, the door slammed open; Kunikda still had one hand splayed across the door, the other holding a torn out piece of paper ready to be transformed at a momentâs notice, Dazai stood right behind him, eyes instantly taking in the room.
âWhatâs happening?â Kunikida demanded, his voice echoing through the room.
Yosano gave no response, instead keeping her attention on the girl standing on her table.
It wasnât exactly the same girl sheâd had strapped down, that was immediately clear. Her hair hung loose around her head, and where once itâs color had been mostly a pale green with a small section of dark, the two colors had swapped places. Her skin was now a grey green, her fingers replaced by long, dark talons, and her eyes were pure, inky, black with red swirling pupils. Those eyes bored into the doctor, wild and crazed to the point she wondered if they were actually looking at her.
â⌠Hyde. Is this what her full take over looks like?â Kunikida said, slowly stepping into the room, Dazai right behind him. She wasnât paying attention to either of them though.
âI knew it; I knew it was all the same. I told that naĂŻve little fool that she couldnât trust anybody; that the only reason you could possibly want someone like her would be to perform more experiments on us.â
âExperiments?â Dazai muttered. His gaze wandered down, and settled on her exposed abdomen, her blouse having been unbuttoned and left open by Yosano earlier to examine her wound. There, standing out amongst her skin, was a collection of neat scars. The main oneâs formed a Y shape, with smaller, slightly less prominent scars branching out in some places. It looked like the Y scar had been reopened many, many times.
âWell no more.â Hyde continued. Her voice shook in unhinged, barely controlled rage. One taloned hand came up to grab at her hair, and her razor sharp smile looked about to crack her face in half. âThis time, Iâm going to be the one to dissect you!â She coiled her body, and in a flash sprang forward, the table skittering backwards from the force. Claws out stretched, she aimed directly at the doctor.
She would have ripped the womanâs face to ribbons, torn her open as many times as it took to finally be rid of her, had Dazai not smoothly stepped directly into her path. His hands shot up to snatch both her wrists, and from the point of contact his ability emitted a bright glow, illuminating the dim room. The light color of her hair bloomed across the surface while the dark twisted and shrank, caged once again. Her red eyes shifted back to a bright blue, the black draining away. Gillian fell to the floor with a thump, held up only by Dazaiâs grip still on her wrists.
From her closed eyes, a tear squeezed out, rolling down her cheek. âPlease, noâŚâ
The other three were silent, starring down at the unconscious girl at their feet. Slowly, Dazai released his grip, lowering her to lie on the floor.
âWhat the hell was that all about?â Kunikida asked.
Yosano loosed a breath, bringing her uninjured arm up to run a hand through her hair. âI have no idea. I was about to get started on healing her, when she screamed in panic for Hyde. Barely took any effort for her to tear out of the restraints after that, and I couldnât jump back fast enough to avoid getting scratched. Maybe she thought she had been captured earlier? This was her first time having me work on her. I figured the scared look was from one of you guys telling her about my treatments. Hm.â She crouched down next to Gillian, pulling her blouse aside to run a hand over the skin of her abdomen, where previously an open wound had marred the area was now smooth skin. âEither way, looks like turning into Hyde completely healed her, so thereâs no need for me to treat her today. One of you carry her to a bed, let her rest for a bit.â
âI can keep an eye on her, in case she panics and turns into Hyde again.â Dazai said, bending down to hoist Gillian into his arms.
Kunikida scoffed âYouâre only trying to get out of working again. Still,â he regarded Gillian âdo you think thatâs a concern?â
Yosano shrugged âCanât say for sure when Iâm not sure what caused it in the first place, but I think, given her talk of âexperimentsâ that she was triggered by the setting of the operating room, if she wakes up somewhere else, I think sheâll be fine.â
Dazai and Kunikida nodded in agreement.
In fitful dreams, Gillian saw images of the past. Of chains and red, concrete walls. Of pristine tools and syringes of unnamable liquids. Of sinister laughter and cruel, excited smiles. Of a small ball of light, always hovering at her side. Â Â Â Â Â Â