Heroes

Chapter Forty-Five

I opened my eyes and saw mist, nothing else. The calm fog was too thik for me to be able to see through it. I was confused but soon felt my body relax at the warm, soothing temperature of the area. It felt like I was in the world’s greatest steam bath. My mind screamed panic, but my body said relax. It was a wonderful state of nirvana.

I felt the space beneath me solidify, and I suddenly was in a strange state of…Hell? I wasn’t sure, but everything was red. Blood stained the dark stone walls, red, poisonous ferns grew from the ground, sprouting like weeds, the strange stench of burning rubber, and red butterflies everywhere, dripping blood behind them. It was a gruesome and beautiful sight, all at the same time. I wasn’t sure how to react, so I figured it wouldn’t be wise to go exploring; who knows what I could find in the artificial Hell.

"Welcome, Adelhelm," a voice boomed. I searched around, trying to find a vessel for the voice, but there was no one. Nothing.

I grew a bit angry. "It’s Adel! Not Adelhelm! Get it strait, Ominous Omniscient Voice!"

"I have a name!" it boomed again, and suddenly there was a form before me. But it was blurred and corrupted, so it wasn’t definable.

"Calm yourself!" the voice echoed again. "And you shall see!"

I was confused but went along with it. What did I have to lose, right? I took a deep breath and tried to lower my pitter-patter of a heart rate, but it wasn’t easy when I didn’t know what the hell was going on.

Eventually I felt the air around me cool and I opened my eyes. I was in what looked like a hotel room. Yellow couch, sterile white walls, except for two that were completely glass overlooking a beautiful nightime skyline. Regular, typical plants were placed around the suite, it was pretty nice. Then it hit me.

"H-H-H-HOLY JESUS CHRIST ON A POGO STICK!!!!" I shouted, extremely surprised. "IT’S THE KIRA INVESTIGATION HQ!!!"

"Or at least you think it is," a new, semi-deep and creamy voice called. I turned around and found…a hot guy? "Stupidly enough, this is what your desires have led your subconcious into creating."

He had dark red hair, cream skin, golden eyes. His style was very mechanical, steampunk. Soft gold glasses rested on his forehead, on his chest a brown vest covered in straps and buckles, and sleek black pants that hugged just the right way. Black calf-high boots with golden buckles adorned his feet, and he looked as comfortable as if he was in a t-shirt and sweats. It was…to be honest, sexy.

"Um…hi?" I said awkwardly, suddenly realizing that I was alone with a sexy-as-hell guy in a hotel suite. "And you are…?"

"You know my name," he said smugly. "You must find it."

"Um, actually I don’t know your name," I said, "s’why I asked."

"I cannot tell you. My name is hidden deep within your soul. You must locate it yourself."

"Um…" I said, trying to decipher. "OH! I GET IT! You’re my zanpakuto!"

He grinned (my heart dropped to my big toe), nodding his head. "Correct. Good job, Adelhelm."

"It’s Adel."

"I shall call you by your true name, and I expect you to extend the same courtesy."

I sighed. "Whatever. So how can I find out your name?"

"You must figure that out for yourself."

"Ugh, that means thinking," I whined, but decided there was no avoiding it. I trotted over to the couch where my idol L once sat, and took his position of crouching chin-to-knee. I noted how different the world looked from this position…everything seemed more detailed, broader. It was a relaxing pose that let my mind wander and think.