Spinocerebellar ataxia.  To the nurse the term was just an overly long way of telling otherwise healthy people that their lives would be over in a matter of years.  The niceties of 'we'll make sure you're comfortable' or 'who knows what sort of advancements might be just around the corner' didn't quite seem to cut it, especially not with the young people who would be afflicted with this condition that he'd have to deal with day in and day out at this school.  
 
After all, what sort of consolation is a comfy bed or a cure if you're struck incapable of doing so much as breathing by yourself without assistance.
 
Plopping down a folder with the results of a few tests, he watched sullenly as one such student, Saki Enomoto, watched him from a sitting position, a dejected expression on her face.  With a lot of other students, he could promise forms of treatments of lifestyle choices that might help keep their condition in line, keep it from enjoying the lives that they had even barely begun to live, without worry.
 
Judging by Saki's expression and the tightening feeling in the nurse's stomach, neither one of them thought these were acceptable, or at least viable, options.  Spinocerebellar ataxia was taking her life away, and there was no cure coming down the pipe or change in her lifestyle that could alter that.  It could be slowed down, for a time at least, however the folders in front of him held information that even cast a very cold dose of reality on this assertion.
 
Strength tests, reflex tests, testing of her fine motor skills:  all of them pointed to one conclusion...
 
“I'm afraid the tests confirm what your recent difficulties hinted at:  the degrading of your muscle tissue is beginning to gain momentum.”
 
The young woman didn't even bother to feign surprise.  Over the past week she's been having trouble finding the strength to will herself around.  The support her crutch once gave her was no longer able to keep her up as easily, sending her collapsing to the floor and even simple tasks were becoming a hassle.
 
For most people, this could just be exhaustion or a severe lack of sleep from stress creeping up on them, draining them of strength that would return with a good night's sleep or a pot of hot coffee.  For Saki, it meant that her life as an active, functioning person was well on route to it's end.  
 
“I can still get around though.”  She speaks up, sounding completely bitter, as she looks over to her crutch.  “It can't be that bad.”  
 
The nurse just sighs.  “Well it isn't that good either.  If you can't keep yourself up on the crutch for extended periods, then we'll have to transition you to a wheel chair.  In addition your check ups will need to become more frequent so that I can keep an eye on it's progression-”  
 
As the nurse spoke Saki merely tuned his advice out, having committed the summarized version of it to memory.  She'd need a wheel chair, then a full-time assistant... and with that would go any resemblance of a normal life.
 
After the nurse scheduled another visit for tomorrow Saki retrieved her crutch.  After several minutes spent assuring the nurse that she would be fine, she began to walk down the hallway, dusk peering in through the small windows of the door.  
 
Carefully measuring out each step, completely taken in by the effort required to get around and her bitter loathing of it, Saki failed to notice something step out from one of the adjoining hallways.  
 
A few minutes later, while the nurse was setting up to head out for the evening, he heard a sudden echoing clatter coming from down the hall.  Quickly stepping outside of his office to check on the noise, concerned that it might be a student having fallen on their way for a last minute check-up, the nurse's eyes went wide at what he saw.
 
Saki's crutch lay in the middle of the hallway:  no sign of Saki, no sign of a struggle, no sign of anything at all.
 
------------------------------------
 
“We continue to report live from the campus of the Yamaku High School for disabled children after the sudden disappearance of yet another student from the campus.  Last night, after visiting the nurse's office, one Saki Enomoto disappeared quite suddenly, the nurse in during the time of the disappearance reporting to have only found her crutch in the hallway leading out from his office, without nary a sound or sight that might give clues as to what happened to the young woman.
 
While runaway students and other troubled behavior is hardly unexpected given the poor state of many who attend the high school, this recent spattering of disappearances have baffled local investigators and school security.  No trace has been found of any of the six children who have vanished anywhere on campus or within the local vicinity and eye witness reports of possible sightings are varied and often unreliable.  With no sign of a struggle or apparent kidnapping of even the physically capable of the vanished student body, investigators and Yamaku staff insist that the disappearances are likely students running away, and will keep the grounds open while-”
 
A quick press and toss of the remote silenced the small television in the apartment of Akio Mutou, the teacher of the news-focused high school quickly assembling his attire for the day (albeit in his usual, sloppy, lethargic manner).  The otherwise dull eyes of the bedraggled professor seemed intently focused on the television screen, even while going about dressing himself.
 
Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth he quickly prepared a cup of coffee to wake himself up before heading to the high school.  While the machine dispensed the drink into a Styrofoam cup that had seen it's fair share of use, Mutou walked over to a desk nearby his front door and began putting together what he'd need for the day.  Money for the taxi rides to and back, his ID and his wallet all went into various pockets, he quickly stashed the papers, hastily graded just last night, into a folder along with his lesson plans and quickly grabbed his apartment keys.  
 
While getting together all his mundane items, Mutou's hand lightly grazed the surface of a lone key that sat upon his desk.  A rather old, rustic little thing that sat entirely separate from anything else on his desk, even trash that was otherwise thrown without care onto the desk.  Mutou's eyes seemed to dart to the key, keenly focusing on it as his hand gingerly picked it up, bringing it in front of his eyes to gaze upon.
 
A ding from the coffee pot pulled Mutou out of his fascination with the key, setting the item down onto the desk, right back into the spot so separate from everything else, as he ran back into the kitchen.  Grabbing his coffee the teacher quickly made for the door in a rush, opening it before grabbing his school folder and shutting it quickly behind him.
 
------------------------------------
 
Doctor Mut-Who
 
Starring:
 
David Tennant
Hisao Nakai
Emi Ibarazaki
Hanako Ikezawa
Lilly Satou
Rin Tezuka
Shizune Hakamichi
and Shiina “Misha” Mikado
 
------------------------------------
 
His eyes drifted.  It'd been a habit picked up over the past few days.  Always taking constant glances to the periphery of his vision, always watching for anything that might be there.  Taking glances to the door to ensure that nothing sat there, watching him from behind layers of clothes that perfectly hid a face that Hisao always felt behind him.  He'd start out the window, carefully scanning the grounds between the classroom and his dorm room for a flowing brown coat, or a wide-brimmed hat... any sign of what might otherwise stop him from a quiet journey to his dorm.  Then again, it was probably worse when it was quiet:  he couldn't see or hear him, but he knew he was there, watching him, observing him, always there.
 
'Tomorrow's the day then...'
 
That was Hisao's only thought as he tapped his pencil against one of Mutou's work sheets, his eyes vacantly drilling holes through the sheet of paper placed before him after his vision was finished drifting.  Hisao, usually easily capable of solving the equations set out before him, with a little help from his usually partners Shizune, the deaf president of the Student Council, and Misha, her pink-haired always active translator, found himself at a loss today.
 
Not out of being incapable of coming up with answers to these problems.  Every few seconds when his mind could focus enough to bring attention to the problems on the sheet, an answer would easily be forthcoming.  The problem was that his attention would drift over this past week.
 
He hadn't thought much of the news when he arrived at Yamaku High School, of the six kids who had disappeared mysteriously.  Standing at the iron gates, his first impulse was actually to run as far from the school as possible.  So he pretty well understood why students might feel like running away, but it did dishearten him another way:  it would mean the feeling would never leave.
 
He was proven very correct:  wanting to run away never did leave him.  Now, it was just around for very different reasons.
 
It started off, while not innocently enough, non-threateningly enough.  A slight buzzing sound in his ear would make itself known every few hours, distracting Hisao and drawing his attention to the possible source of it.  It actually occurred during his first lunch period, sitting down with Shizune, the deaf president of the Student Council, and Misha, her interpreter.  Hisao was asking them about various facets of the school:  where the library was, what hours were the various dining periods, the location of the nurses' office and so on.  
 
Then, it a small buzzing sound, almost like static over a phone, started to hum in his ears.  Misha must've heard it too, as the pink haired girl pressed an index finger into each ear and scratched, as if trying to dig out whatever may have been causing the noise.  Hisao, for his part, just looked around to see if he could find the source of the noise.  No such luck.
 
After awkwardly explained why he and Misha had suddenly ended the conversation to Shizune, whom had been completely out of the loop for that time, Hisao was lead on over to the nurse's office.  The nurse, a nice enough guy he supposed, seemed rather distracted during their visit, a pale tone to his skin and dark circles underneath his eyes.  Hisao would later learn that the most recent 'runaway' had disappeared just down the hall from his office.
 
The fact actually caused Hisao some discomfort, considering how jovial the nurse was trying to be during his own visit, but it was over soon after the visit concluded.
 
Afterward, Hisao continued to hear the static, every so often buzzing just loud enough for him to hear it, even as he put himself to bed.
 
On Tuesday the static continued to be an on and off occurrence, usually in the chaotic mess that was the halls in between classes and lunch or when he was, for the most part, alone.  One instance in particular was during a run in with a girl named Lilly Satou, a blind girl who acted as a neighboring class' representative, in the tea room.  Hisao continued to be heartened by the fact that he didn't seem to be the only one who heard it.  As with Misha the day before, Lilly seemed to be vaguely aware of the noise too.  
 
Perhaps she didn't bring it up because it was only a minor nuisance, something that didn't bother her too much.  For Hisao, well, he didn't bring it up because it had quickly become a bother:  something that just popped in and out from time to time.  Maybe it was because of his hospitalization, maybe it was just something to do with the school.  
 
Whatever the case, after tea he visited the library and ran into a friend of Lilly's, Hanako, a girl with very bad looking burn scars running down the right side of her face and on her hand.  The run in was short lived, as the girl ran off after very little was said between the two.  
 
After picking up some books to feed his reading habit, Hisao walked back to his dorm.  The grounds had become rather empty by that point, people either still in club meetings or having gone back to their dorms.  It was at about the mid-point of his journey back to the dorm room that Hisao's hearing picked up on the static again.
 
If that were the end of it, Hisao would've brushed it off as he had been.  Instead he noticed something, just on the edged of his periphery.  Having turned his head to look, Hisao's chest tightened a bit at what he saw.
 
Standing just to the side of one of the school buildings on campus was a figure standing several inches taller than Hisao, at about a little over six feet tall if he had to wager a guess.  The figure was quite masculine, looking immensely strong underneath his clothing.
 
A thick, brown coat buttoned all the way up to his neck, which itself was covered by a thick, flowing scarf that seemed to wrap about the entirety of the lower have of his face.  A wide brim hat cast a thick shadow on the rest of his face, combined with the distance between them to leave Hisao entirely incapable of seeing this man's face.  The rest of his body was similarly covered, gloves, boots and dress pants making sure that not an inch of his form was exposed.
 
The static buzzing in his ear remained as he stared, before long Hisao rubbing his eyes to try to dispel the visage of the man.  Indeed, when Hisao opened his eyes again, the man was gone, the static ringing in his ears soon following.
 
Hisao hoped this would've just been a one-off appearance, or at least could be easily explained away.  However, the appearances, and threatening nature, of this figure would only escalate from Wednesday's lunch period, after a run in with another student.
 
Said student, Emi, a member of the track team with no legs, crashed into him in the hall after class had ended.  Hisao, still nervous over the appearance of the man yesterday, had deemed it a good idea to take lunch on his own today, to try and calm down before his worry and stress ended up distressing anyone else.  This 'good idea' ended with Hisao in a panic, as Emi's crash into him brought about a painful flutter in his chest.
 
The incident drew more than a few stares, as Lilly had been coming down the hall to pick up Hanako and Shizune and Misha had noticed Hisao's quick retreat into the hallway.  After some deep breaths to calm his heart, to bring the pain down, Hisao assured them he was alright and quickly left, trying not to gather much more attention than he had.
 
However, after that time and throughout the day, Hisao couldn't help but be brought back to the pain in his chest.  Not because it was actively hurting him anymore, but because the man from the day before, this stranger, set about stressing and scaring Hisao to no end.  Every now and then Hisao would hear a buzzing in his ear, and a quick glance to look around would bring to his gaze the dressed man as he watched Hisao, as he stalked him.
 
The tense paranoia of knowing that this person was following him all across the school had sent Hisao's heart into fits throughout the day.  His heartbeat had been elevated after his run in with Emi, had only worsened throughout the day.  When he met Rin, an armless artist, and noticed that the person was staring at him from the courtyard through the window Hisao's heart threatened another flutter.
 
When he tried to point the man out to Rin, she turned her head to look.  Hisao inwardly cursed, the man had already departed.  The act caused Rin to quirk an eyebrow at Hisao, saying something that caused Hisao to shudder.
 
“Huh, maybe the problem is in your head after all.”
 
Beyond any shadow of a doubt that was the biggest punch to the gut that Hisao had suffered during his time at Yamaku.  The consideration that maybe he was just seeing all of this in hid head, that the stress from his heart, the hospital and coming to a new school was overwhelming him.  
 
It was what scared him from telling anyone about this at all.  He knew his numerous drugs had side effects, at best the staff would just pass it off as his drugs and change them around, sending Hisao's body into another fit as he got used to some other combination of pills.  At worst, it wasn't the drugs, and Hisao would be sent off to the hospital, or worse, thrown into a padded cell.
 
Another hit to his stomach came when he exited the art room and ran into Misha and Shizune, both of them taking a step back out of surprise when they saw him, as if they'd seen a ghost.  
 
Four months spent in the hospital choking down various pills and going through several surgeries couldn't have helped build any sort of 'healthy' look to him.  Now that he's been at Yamaku he's spent the past day being stalked by some stranger, his near omnipresence a terribly threatening force.  The fact that he might be insane, only seeing this man as a figment inspired by four months of crushing loneliness, drugs and surgeries and the loss of what had been his old life...
 
All that stress and paranoia was wrecking him both inside and out.
 
He continued to feel on edge throughout the rest of the day, being distracted by his paranoia even while helping Rin with her mural.  For Hisao, it was a immense relief to go back to his dorm room and try to relax, immediately going for the shower to try to wash away his stress and tension with a nice hot shower.
 
It seemed to work for a while, even as he stepped out of the shower.  The thick steam obscured his vision, which ordinarily wouldn't have been a problem.  As he toweled himself off, however, a rather strong bump into his side brought him out of his calmed state.  Figuring it was Kenji, his 'roommate' as it were, Hisao turned to apologize for the bump.
 
Instead Hisao nearly bit his tongue off as the imposing figure of the man stood before him, his face obscured by mist and shadow as he stood before the arrhythmic student.  As Hisao's heart started to pump blood as if there were no tomorrow the man, seemingly with little effort on his own part, pushed his finger tips into the right side of Hisao's chest, sending him flat onto his rear as he bumped up against the wall.
 
Hisao quickly grabbed at his heart, already feeling the fluttering pain starting to return.  He damned his arrhythmia, it was turning what was supposed to be his most basic survival instinct, fight or flight, against him as the panic and instinctual desire to get away was killing him.
 
Hisao's mind practically shut down at this.  He was going to die either way, no matter what.  Either he'd stay there and let this man do what he would, or he could run and his heart would explode.
 
The doctors had said that his heart would be the end of him, but he didn't expect the end to come like this.  Hisao closed his eyes and turned his head away from the man.
 
“Pathetic.”
 
Hisao shivered at the memory of the tone of that voice.  That cold, unfeeling, hollow tone.  
 
“Your form begs you to run, but the flawed, broken construction prevents you from doing so.”
 
“It is a terrible construct.”
 
What he said next stuck with Hisao throughout that evening and all of the next day.
 
“One that can be fixed.”
 
There, on the floor of his bathroom, as his heart threatened to just blow out of his chest, Hisao opened his eyes in surprise, as he tried to look at this man directly.  They sat there and stared at each other, Hisao at a face he couldn't see, and the man into a face that was equal parts horrified and in pain.
 
“Preparations will be complete Saturday.  Be ready to ascend to perfection.”
 
With that the hulking figure of a man turned stiffly and walked off, heavy footfalls echoing in the room for a time afterward before the sound of his steps disappeared.  
 
Hisao would have tried to pursue, but his heart was still beating rapidly against his chest.  By the time it calmed down, the man would be long gone.  Taking a few minutes to try to get his heart under control, Hisao slowly stood up, still heavily shaken by the experience.
 
And this time, as his reflection showed, he had five well placed bruises on the ride side of his chest to confirm that what he had experienced was very much real.
 
A few knocks at his door came fifteen minutes later, a member of the dorm's security staff had come to check in on him confirmed something he had suspected when the man disappeared.  The cameras in the dorm had gone out during the time the man would've been inside, and the staff wanted to make sure none of the students disappeared.  
 
Once again Hisao realized that he had been the only one to see this man.  It was getting to become a point of frustration now:  before he could have blamed the drugs, or think that he was slightly deranged.  Now it seemed that everyone was too busy with the festival to notice or that this stalker had his fingers placed against the pulse of the school that he knew how to manipulate things to work out for him.
 
Despite being surrounded by people in this school, he was starting to feel just as alone and useless as he had felt back at the hospital.
 
The next day was spent with Hisao doing everything in his power to surround himself with people.  He knew that the man would still have a watchful eye over him, but at least if he was surrounded by people Hisao could be reasonably certain that this man wouldn't swoop in and insult and/or scare him to near death again.  
 
It actually started with his first morning run with Emi, a good enough experience that the nurse had suggested to help strengthen his heart.  He was sweating and tired afterward, but he had to admit that running did take his mind off of his stalker.
 
After a quick shower (ignoring Hisao being scared nearly to death by Kenji having quietly sneaked in to try to bum money off of him, Hisao thinking that the tall-figured man had come back for him sooner than he said), Hisao went to class for the day.  The morning class had barely even begun before something happened.  Lilly had come around the class early to look for Hanako, said girl having not come to class yet or spoken with her yet that day.  Lilly, unfortunately, ended up running into Shizune and Misha.
 
It was unfortunate because, as Hisao quickly saw in the scene that pieced itself together before him, Lilly and Shizune just did not care for each other at all.  Their miniature battle played out before his and Misha's eyes, obviously distressing the both of them (especially Misha, who seemed to grow more and more uncomfortable with translating Shizune's barbs against Lilly).
 
Course, it was only made all the more distressing when Shizune turned her attention to him.  With Shizune pressing him about joining the Student Council again (a concern he had largely forgotten thanks to the stalker business) and about doing things for the festival, Hisao saw not only an excellent opportunity to get surrounded by as many people as possible as often as possible, but to disarm Shizune's and Lilly's fight.
 
“You know what Shizune, you're absolutely right.”
 
If Hisao had felt a little less stressed, he might've smiled at the memory of Misha's, Shizune's and Lilly's shocked expressions.
 
“I haven't been doing enough.  If I'm going to figure out what I'm going to want to do around here, I need to buckle down and get involved.  I promise to help with the festival:  I'll help Lilly and her class out with a few things, I'll pass some stuff around for you and Misha, heck, maybe I'll even stop by Rin's mural to see if I can help out there.”
 
Of course, had this been any other situation, this would've been complete and utter bull.  Hisao really didn't want to get involved in too much, not while he was still so new to the scene and so... lethargic, he supposed the word was.  But this was just about the best opportunity he could see to duck his head in amongst as many other people as possible.  It was the only way he could even slightly feel safe around here.  Maybe that safety could've helped him think about what the man had said to him in his bathroom, but that was another concern entirely.
 
Right now, he just wanted to have as many people between him and that stalker as possible.  
 
Instead of being met with immediate approval from any of the parties, they all actually looked on at him with concern.  His episode with Emi and the heart flutter was well known and, although Lilly couldn't see his physical appearance (although he was sure Hanako could fill her in on the rather details), Shizune and Misha could see that he looked amazingly tired and stressed.
 
“You sure about that Hicchan?  Seems like a lot to put yourself through...”
 
“I'll be fine, really.”
 
All three of them probably wanted to press the point of his appearance, but before they could the rest of the class began to pour in.  Shizune, Lilly and Misha seemed to accept Hisao's offer, thankfully forgetting about the argument that had occurred not mere minutes ago.
 
The nearly ever present static would be there throughout the rest of the day, but Hisao was able to take it in some stride by not glancing around for 'him'.  Painting with Hanako in Lilly's home room for a time, handing out fliers for Shizune and Misha later and mixing more paint with Rin, and Hisao managed to keep the thoughts of the imposing man at bay.  Of course by the end of the day he was absolutely exhausted, but that hardly mattered.  It didn't matter if he was exhausted, wearing himself ragged.  All that mattered was that he could feign some sense of safety.
 
One 'very' quick shower later and Hisao collapsed onto his bed for sleep, falling into a deep sleep immediately.
 
All that brought Hisao's recollection to this morning.  
 
He honestly didn't know what he was thinking when he was on his run with Emi, only his second one since having the heart attack.  Maybe Emi's teasing enlivened him to a degree.  Maybe the stress had just pushed him forward, as if he could outrun everything that was on his mind.
 
Maybe, somewhere in the very back corner of his mind, he wanted to prove the man wrong.  Prove that his 'broken' body was still capable.  That his 'imperfection' wasn't so bad.
 
Of course, his heart chose that moment to absolutely destroy that notion.  He felt a great pain erupt in his chest as he stopped his running, bent over with his hands wrapped around his torso as he tried to calm his heart.  Although he was successful in preventing a full on heart attack, Hisao nonetheless ended up being on the receiving end of a very frustrated chat with the nurse and laid up in the cot for a few hours to rest.
 
If it weren't for the nurse's otherwise jovial, honest nature and the personal touches made to his office, Hisao would've thought the scene a dead ringer for his hospitalization.
 
Perhaps it was that realization, after the nurse was called out to check on some student's accident somewhere on campus, that finally caused Hisao to break down, crying in the empty office.
 
He was broken.  There was no denying it.  His body was flawed and it was flawed to the point where his previous life was no longer within his reach.  He couldn't run for much longer than a few dozen seconds without suddenly having to fear for his heart's condition, his health was in shambles from the months spent in the hospital, the surgeries, the drugs and he had to constantly worry about his worrying, which stupidly enough, only made him worry more...
 
He was a mess.  Of course it had everything to do with the stalker, but he was less a cause than the instigator.  His presence forced Hisao to come to terms with all this.  Maybe if he hadn't stalked Hisao, panicked him to no end, then maybe Hisao could've gone on for a few more months (though even that, at this point, seemed charitable) without realizing just how limiting his body was on him now.
 
But no.  It happened then and there.  The realization of the limitations of his form were forced on him not even a week after his 'new' life was supposed to begin.
 
… But.
 
At least there seemed to be a way out.  The man, for all the fear and paranoia he inspired in Hisao, did seem to be perfectly super human.  Able to track Hisao down wherever he went, strong enough to send him on his ass with what looked like little more than a small shove and built like an ox.
 
Any typical madman could've just killed Hisao and have been done with it.  Perhaps it was Hisao's mind just trying to reach for something, anything, that could've prevented him from living out a life where he had to be afraid of his own body.
 
It was stupid of course, and probably amazingly dangerous to consider.  However, for even the briefest of moments, Hisao was ready to accept the man's offer of 'perfection'.
 
A few minutes later and another talking to from the nurse, and here Hisao was.  He had slept straight on through the lunch period and arrived late to class.  Mutou noticed this, but a note from the nurse told him what he needed to know.  Hisao sighed, knowing that the others were bound to be curious as to what the note was about, but he resigned himself to dealing with it at the end of class...
 
'Speaking of which...'  Hisao thought to himself as the bell for the afternoon class' end suddenly rang, students suddenly popping up out of their chairs to leave.  Hisao looked over to Shizune and Misha, each of them noticing his empty work sheet.  Neither, even Shizune, seemed particularly upset though:  both gave Hisao very concerned looks.  Knowing that he was going to have to talk, Hisao took a breath and prepared to explain himself.
 
“Hisao, can I have a word with you?”  
 
Saved by Mutou.  
 
Hisao turned his head to Mutou, noticing that the man was staring directly at him with an equally worried expression to Misha and Shizune.  Likely the combination of him not doing his work and the note had gotten Mutou worried and had him wanting to have his own chat with Hisao.  
 
Misha and Shizune, for their part, just spared another look to Hisao before being chased off by a rather stern look from Mutou, the two waving goodbye to him before getting out of the classroom.  Hisao quickly pulled up a desk to Mutou's, figuring that the sooner he and Mutou spoke, the sooner he could leave.
 
Mutou, however, seemed less than ready to even start this conversation.  Mutou's hands seemed to rub nervously up against each other, or across his five o'clock shadow.  He seemed nervous and unsure of how to broach the situation.  
 
“Mr. Mutou, I'm sorry for not doing my work.”  Hisao said, his own stress-induced impatience causing him to speak first, drawing Mutou out from his thoughts.  “I promise I'll make them up for tomorrow.”  
 
“Hisao, that's not what I'm concerned about...”  Mutou said, his normal, rather dull tone of voice seemingly crossed with something else.  A hint of frustration, maybe?  Was he really so unsure of how to talk about this entire thing?
 
“Is it about the note?  I've already talked it over with the nurse, he's already given me the entire thing about my heart and how I should be more careful about it and-”
 
“This isn't about that either.”  Mutou suddenly interrupted with a rather quick word, Hisao finding himself a bit surprised before Mutou pulled back, seemingly going into thought for a moment.  “Well, I suppose it sort of is.  In that sort of satellite way where what happened with you earlier is more or less circling around the bigger problem.  Same thing with this afternoon's work too now that I think about it, so never mind what I said earlier.”  
 
A swift sniff marked the end of Mutou's statement, before the teacher shook his head and reeled himself further back again.
 
“If this was just about today, then I could pass it off as a bump in the road.  But for the past four days... well, it's just been one swing downward as far as I can tell.”  Mutou said, leaning back in his chair.  “You're obviously getting more and more stressed, you're exhausted, you're pretty much as distant and distracted as any thing I have ever seen in all my days and, sorry to say this, but you don't exactly look good.  I mean, you didn't walk in here looking like the picture of prized health, but you've managed to get even below that.”  
 
Hisao actually had to blink as he was observing his teacher.  It seemed like every time he opened his mouth his tone started off in the calm, bland droning that he'd gotten used to in Mutou's teaching and general speaking, but now as he spoke it just seemed to devolve into a rapid, energetic sort of rambling.  By the end of a statement he'd seem to try to visibly reel himself back into that bored drone, but it didn't seem to hold.
 
“I guess what I'm saying is that for all these problems you've been having, there has to be something big that's behind them.”  Mutou said, his tone sounding careful as he chose his words.  “We've already had problems here with the recent disappearances, and I don't want that to end up happening right in front of me.”  
 
Hisao had to stop himself from rolling his eyes.
 
“Well look, don't worry about it.  I'm not going to run away and leave you feeling like you could've consoled me on how I can feel better and not run off, okay?  I'm just going through a lot of stuff right now, you know, the arrhythmia and recently being forced to transplant my entire life to a new school for crippled people, and it's kinda getting to me.”
 
'Admittedly I'm removing the worst thing about this situation, but still.'
 
“Hisao, those are big problems yeah, but this isn't the sort of thing I'd expect as a reaction to stress.  It's stress, sure, but you're also coming off terribly paranoid.  I'm trying-”
 
“I know you're trying, but it's just not something you can really help with.”
 
He could see that he had pretty well annoyed Mutou with that last bit there, but really, all things considered, this wasn't something that Mutou could help with.  The man who was practically hunting Hisao looked like he could tear Mutou in two.
 
“Look, thanks for trying to help out, but it's nothing.  Now if you'll excuse me.”  Hisao quickly stood up and turned to walk out the door.  Taking a glance over his shoulder, he noticed Mutou staring at the back of his head, looking pensive as he watched Hisao exit.  A few moments later Hisao heard Mutou get up out of his chair and start to walk towards the door, but by then Hisao was already halfway down the hall.
 
“Look, Mr. Mutou, I-”
 
“What's after you Hisao?”  
 
Hisao's stride came to a complete halt as he heard this, his head snapped over to look at Mutou.  His teacher stood at the door to his classroom, still seeming conflicted in his tone and gaze, but it had become noticeably more steeled, more serious.  His eyes seemed far more alive and stern than they had this entire week, and it was a bit unnerving for Hisao.
 
“What are you talking about?”  Hisao asked, Mutou slowly walking down the hall.
 
“I know I look awfully bored most of the time, but that doesn't mean I don't notice things Hisao, doesn't mean I can't pick out odd behavior.”  Mutou said in a hushed tone, the harsh edge of his voice keeping it from being what Hisao would consider a whisper.  “I didn't see it happening on your first two days in class, you seemed at least somewhat at ease then.  An odd twitch here a glance there, but it wasn't out of anything serious.  Those were curious gazes to look around for something.  But then I began to see it:  I saw it in your eyes, the glances to your sides, to your surroundings, the swift twitches of your head to get a good full look behind you.”
 
“For the past few days when you've marched yourself into my room you glanced out the door to check on what's there, looked out the window to ensure that nothing was sat out there, looked across your shoulders for some invisible sign.  Every time you left you did so with one eye right behind your shoulder, carefully watching and keeping a look out for something.  Whatever it was, you were afraid of it being there:  just behind you, just out of sight, right where it could get you if it wanted to, right where you wouldn't be able to see it keeping it's sights set on you.”  
 
As Mutou spoke the stern gaze in his eyes intensified.  No longer bored or glazed over, these eyes were  intensely piercing through Hisao himself, the gaze calculating and heavy, as if brought weighed down and informed by decades more experience than Hisao's life up to this point could offer.
 
His tone was no longer being reeled back, nor was it somewhat lightened by a ramble.  It was strict, it was precise and it spoke with an authority that Hisao felt he couldn't dare rebel against.
 
“Now... what has an eighteen year old who says all of his problems are right here-”  Mutou said, poking Hisao in the left side of his chest.  “-looking for trouble behind him.  What thing had Hisao Nakai making sure, whether he was in a room full of people or headed out to be on his own, that he wasn't being watched...”  
 
“More importantly, what's got you so afraid that you're making painfully inadequate excuses to try to cover up this paranoia.”  
 
Hisao's breaths began to shudder in and out of his body as he stared up at Mutou.  He could feel his fear  pick up again
 
“Mr. M-Mutou, I-I ca- there's nothing...”  Hisao's voice shook as he glanced about, only forced to face forward when Mutou grasped both of Hisao's shoulders to still his movements, the teacher kneeling down somewhat to get on a good eye level with Hisao.
 
“Hisao, listen to me.  Whatever it is, I promise you it isn't here right now.  Whatever is watching you I can guarantee that it isn't right here watching you.”  Mutou said sternly, Hisao practically compelled to look this man in the eyes.  “Now, I can help you.  I've been around this block more than my fair share of times.  I can fix all this:  whatever is after you and whatever is after the other students, I can stop it but I need you to trust me.”  Mutou said, a shake of Hisao's shoulders punctuating the end of his statement.
 
“How... how can you possibly help?”  Hisao asked incredulously.  This man was just his teacher, after all, and a sloppy, normally bored one at that.  Hisao took a deep breath in as Mutou's expression seemed to shift, a confident, determined grin sprouting on his face.
 
“Believe me Hisao.  Whatever is after you, when it pieces together who I am it'll be infinitely more afraid of me than you are of it.  I can guarantee that.”  
 
It was a ludicrous idea of course.  That anyone or anything could be afraid of this man, well, on it's face Hisao knew it was garbage.  However, there was the way he said it.  The utter conviction and confidence that he carried in his tone.  The look in his eyes, sincere and knowing...
 
There was something about it all that came together and made Hisao want to believe it was true.
 
“There's this man.”  Hisao started, a choked breath following the statement as he looked around again.  “He's dressed completely head to toe in thick clothes, I can't make out a thing about him.  He's been following me since Tuesday, but no one's seen him other than me!  Then there's this noise, this static, that's always accompanying him when he's watching, that I always hear first.”  Hisao opened up like a flood gate, the stress and paranoia that had been building up over the past several days being let loose.
 
“He says he wants to fix me, get rid of my flaws and make me 'perfect', and...”  Hisao dropped off at the end, shaking his head as he shuddered.  Mutou, for his part, just pat Hisao on the shoulder as he listened.
 
“It's alright Hisao, just let it out.”  
 
Hisao nodded, taking another breath to steady himself as he continued.  
 
“I'm supposed to meet him sometime tomorrow.  He said the preparations for me would be complete by then.”  As Hisao finished Mutou nodded, his gaze dropping off to the side before he looked back up at Hisao.  
 
“Meet me in the office buildings after class normally begins tomorrow.  Get some sleep tonight, you'll need to be bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for tomorrow.”  Mutou said, patting Hisao on the shoulder as he stood up and began walking, Hisao turning to watch Mutou leave.
 
“Wait, why are we waiting until tomorrow, that's when he's supposed to come looking for me.”  Hisao said, Mutou looking over his shoulder with a small grin.
 
“Three things:  I need time to get ready for all this, you need to rest up if you're going to be any good for this and precisely.”  Mutou said, clapping his hands together.  “If ever there's going to firmly put an identity to what this thing is, it's going to be when it'll be when it's coming for you.”  
 
“So what, I'm bait?”  Hisao asked incredulously.
 
“Oh, no, no... well, yes.”  Mutou said with a laugh.  “Oh, and be a sport and be sure to tell everyone that class is canceled tomorrow.  Or at least tell Misha and Shizune, they'll get word around.”  With that Mutou turned a corner and kept right on walking, his footfalls slowly echoing down the hallway till they were gone.  
 
Hisao stood there for a minute, puzzling over his teacher and his behavior, before sighing and running a hand through his hair.  Once again, the young man's world had been thrown for a loop, third time in the last four months.  Oh well, at least Mutou wasn't as threatening or vaguely terrifying as the heavily dressed stalker.  
 
'Now, to get news to Misha and Shizune...'
 
------------------------------------
 
“WAHAHAHA~!”  
 
'Well, should've seen that coming.'  Hisao thought as Misha gleefully laughed aloud in her usual, joyous manner.
 
“Classes are canceled tomorrow?  Hicchan, that's amazing!”  Misha said, putting her hands at her sides as she continued to bellow out laughter.  Shizune, for her part, while looking somewhat annoyed after Misha translated for her, did look oddly relieved too.  If anyone could guess, Shizune was just relieved that they'd have more time to finish up things for the festival on Sunday.  
 
Shizune's hands immediately flew into a series of signs, Misha immediately looking over at her deaf friend before nodding.
 
“So, Hicchan, what're you going to do with class off tomorrow?  You... going to keep on helping us out with the festival?”  Misha asked, seeming a bit concerned as she signed the conversation to Shizune, her expression also shifting.
 
Hisao actually felt a little uncomfortable, trying to think of how to dance around this.  
 
“Well... no, I'm going to go to the... office building, nurse's office, tomorrow.”  Hisao said, Misha and Shizune raising an eyebrow.  “Just feeling really tired and stuff, want to make sure I'm not destroying the old ticker.”  Hisao tried to say with some semblance of a grin.  Shizune nodded in understanding at this, Misha nodding a bit more vigorously.
 
“Sounds like a good idea Hicchan, you do look like you'll dro-”  Misha's statement was interrupted by a quick pinch from Shizune, the drill-haired girl yelping in pain as Shizune signed at her.  “Shut up Misha!... Wait, I'm Misha.”  Shizune sighed in exasperation at her friend, signing again as Misha nodded.  “Alright Hicchan, no worries.  You go to the nurse's office tomorrow.  We'll make sure the others know.”  Misha said, Shizune's cheeks puffing up at the end of her statement, Misha apparently throwing that bit at the end herself.  
 
“Thanks Misha, Shizune.”  Hisao said, nodding in appreciation.  “Welp, I'm going to go head back to my room and crash.  Enjoy the day off tomorrow you two.”  Hisao said with a smile, Misha just grinning.
 
“WAHAHAHA~!  Please Hicchan, the Student Council never takes a day off!”  Misha proclaimed with a bombastic pump of her fist, one translation later leading Shizune to pridefully adjust her glasses.
 
With that Hisao hastily withdrew to the dorms.  He heard the static pop in and out a few times on his way, but just hoped that he really wasn't going to be ready for him until tomorrow.  Silently sneaking past Kenji's room to avoid a run in with the paranoid anti-feminist, Hisao slipped into his room and quickly readied for bed.  Locking the door and then stacking about as many things in his room as possible against it was just another precautionary step.
 
Fortune seemed to smile on Hisao for the first time since he arrived:  the night ended up being surprisingly restful.
 
Maybe what Mutou had said had helped calm him down.
 
------------------------------------
 
Quiet.  Very, very quiet.  
 
When Hisao awoke that morning he quickly made his way over to the office buildings.  Figuring that he could lay down 'camp' next to the Nurse's office to ensure that his stalker wouldn't get to him before Mutou did.  When he did arrive, he found that the Nurse wasn't in his office, or anywhere to be seen for that matter.
 
In fact, no one was in their offices on the first floor, not a one.  
 
Still, Hisao waited there for Mutou.  Although he couldn't be absolutely sure if Mutou would come, the way he spoke, the look in his eyes:  Hisao just believed him.  Of course, remembering that Mutou basically outright admitted that he was 'bait' did make Hisao quite uncomfortable, it at least told him that Mutou would be around...
 
Hopefully.  
 
“It is time.”
 
Looks like that good faith was going to be put to the test.  
 
Hisao slowly turned around, a swallowing a lump in his throat as he saw his stalker behind him.  Without the mist obscuring him from Hisao's vision and so up close, Hisao could actually make out a few odd details.  The brim of the hat wasn't what was wide, but the cap of the hat itself, as if to fit a head that was larger than the one currently occupying it.  
 
Then there was a glint that he could just barely make out coming from where his eyes should've been, like metal or glass.  
 
“Yeah... about that, I've been having some second thoughts.”  Hisao finally said, taking a step back from the imposing man.  The man merely stared for a moment, before taking a few heavy steps of his own.
 
“You will not have such concerns when it is over.  There will be nothing to trouble you at all.”  The cold, steel-edged voice replied, Hisao just shrugging.
 
“Well, you know, I'm not exactly supposed to run off with strangers either, I've got a heart condition-”
 
“Which will be fixed, along with your other flaws, other imperfections, once you come with me.”  The man continued to approach, Hisao swallowing a lump in his throat as he realized he was getting pretty dangerously close to having his back against the wall.
 
Just as he was about to make a break for it, a pair of fingers reached up to tap the man on the shoulder.
 
“Sorry to interrupt, but I think I've got something for you sir.”
 
Hisao blinked rapidly at this.  The only person he was expecting to be here was Mutou but this man sounded nothing like him.  Nothing like anyone Hisao had heard in his entire life.  The stalker stopped and turned around to face whoever it was behind him.
 
Only to be greeted with a fire extinguisher to the head.  
 
Hisao's eyes widened as a surprisingly metal-on-metal sound clanged out through the hallways, the man falling over like a sack of potatoes from the hit.  His hat flew off in a random direction, his head now only being obscured by the rest of his body and the scarf.
 
Hisao then turned his attention to the assailant and had to do a double take.  
 
Mutou was indeed in front of him, but in a state that Hisao hadn't quite seen him before.  His face, while still quite angular and worn, was now cleanly shaven; a grin on his face as he looked down at the body of the stalker.  His dress was a similar attire, a long coat with a four-button suit, dress shirt and tie, but it was much better put together, much more tidy than he was used to seeing.  In addition, a pair of sneakers adorned his feet, clashing with the dress attire, if only slightly.  
 
“Oh, now this takes me back to when I had no hair.”  Mutou said, the accent Hisao had heard now clearly coming from him.  “Hit a guy over the head with a wine bottle... or was it the serving tray?  I know a wine bottle and serving tray were involved somehow.  Well, either way, took his head clean off.”  Mutou said with a smile, only then noticing Hisao's rather disturbed expression.
 
“Oh, don't worry, he wasn't actually a person.  He was sentient plastic.”  Mutou said, as if that by itself was enough to explain.
 
“Wh... uh... huh?  What?”  Hisao asked incredulously.
 
“Come now Hisao, keep up.  If you're tripping up over that then I dunno how you're going to be able to handle all this.”  Mutou said, nodding towards a stairwell at the end of the hall.  “Now come on:  I called a staff meeting upstairs to get people away from the basement, keep 'em distracted.  Also, we should probably get going before it gets back up.”  Mutou said as he began jogging towards the end of the hall, Hisao stumbling to run along with him in his confusion.
 
“What, how?  You just clocked him over the head with a fire extinguisher.  How could he get up after that?”  Hisao said as they reached the door to the stairwell.
 
“Same reason it could do this.”  Mutou said, lifting the fire extinguisher into Hisao's field of vision:  a massive dent in the metal turned the fire extinguisher into a misshapen hunk of metal.  Hisao's jaw dropped when he saw this, his eyes immediately darting over to where the man had been knocked flat onto the ground.  
 
It wasn't that the individual was now easily back onto his feet that concerned Hisao the most, as he turned to face the arrhythmic teen and Mutou.
 
It was this... thing's head.
 
A metal mockery of a human head, a gray-toned metal casting that had metal bars extending out of two raised sections where ears should've been, the bars connecting with each other just above the top of it's head in an overall square shape.  Hisao would've joked that it explained the hat, but he was far too shaken by, what he found to be, the most defining feature of this... machine's head.
 
Two holes where eyes should've been.  Empty, soulless, black holes that still seemed to burrow their way through him.
 
“Priorities... recalibrating.”
 
The tenor of it's voice seemed to be slowly changing, from the calm, steel edged tone of voice to something harsh, something more reflective of it's machine appearance.
 
“New subject identified as... The Doctor!”  
 
The machine began to march after them, raising it's right arm.
 
“Priorities recalibrated!  Integration of human target secondary objective!”
 
“Primary objective:  The Doctor!”
 
“You will be deleted!”
 
“Delete!”
 
“Delete!”
 
"Delete!"
 
------------------------------------
 
Terror.  For the longest time, Hisao had considered terror in one way:  the absolute, unabashed feeling of being horrified of and threatened by something; a creature, a situation, whatever, that would soon end your existence.  For the past week, Hisao had learned that there was a different sort of terror.  A slow, suffocating terror, one that felt like slowly falling to the depths of a moving body of water, drowning even while you flailed against the current in attempt to get back to the surface.
 
After a week of being faced with the latter, Hisao found the culmination of the experience, the terror that he had thought of for most of his life facing him, to be heartrendingly horrifying... almost literally.
 
What was before him could only be described as a metal mockery of a human being, marching at him and the man, this 'Doctor' as the machine called him, whom had been his teacher for the week.  As Hisao stared into the black recesses this thing used for 'eyes', Hisao could feel the beating of his heart accelerate to a panic-worthy degree; adrenaline and horror in equal amounts driving it.
 
However, it was only when he suddenly felt a yank on his arm, The Doctor pulling him along with him, that Hisao found himself able to put this adrenaline and horror into a very quick run.
 
“Hisao, first lesson of hanging around with me:  if I'm running, you're running!”  The strangely accented man said in a stern, but shouting, tone as they both ran for the door at the end of the hall, The Doctor practically shoving it open.  Throwing a glance over his shoulder, Hisao saw the sleeve of the coat the machine was still wearing tear open, a small device similarly colored to the machine's head popping out of the tear.  For a moment, Hisao could swear it almost looked like a-
 
“Move!”  The Doctor screamed as he pulled Hisao into the stairwell, forcing Hisao into a kneeling run while ducking as well.  The move proved to be a lifesaver as they continued their run, as soon after a quick burst of red lasers impacted the wall on the other side of the stairwell, just above where they had previously stood.  Hisao looked up, relieved but again surprised, as he looked at the burnt holes now left in the wall.
 
“That thing has lasers?!”  Hisao shouted as they ran down the stairs, Hisao feeling his heart starting to race again as they fled.
 
“Well, just about everything in space has lasers Hisao.  More often than not the safer thing to assume is that whatever you've run into has a laser either somewhere in it or on it.”  The Doctor said casually as they approached the basement level of the stairwell.  
 
“So that thing's from from another planet?”  Hisao asked, less incredulous than looking for confirmation.  After all, he'd never seen anything like this on Earth, so something alien, while very weird in and of itself, was still the better explanation.  
 
“Well either that or another dimension, but that's a question that'll be best answered a little later.”  The Doctor said, shoving the door to the basement open as they reached the bottom of the stairwell.
 
Within the space of five minutes, Hisao had found himself completely thrown off by something this man, this Doctor, had said so casually.
 
“A-A-Another dimension?”  Hisao could barely manage to stammer even that out.
 
“Yeah, that's what I said wasn't it?”  The Doctor asked as they slowed down, having run into a long corridor in the basement.  As Hisao put his hands above his head to try to catch his breath and slow down his beating heart, he noticed that the hallway was flanked on both sides by storage rooms, each with a door starkly identical to the previous.  “Now, I know you probably have a lot to ask, but try to keep the questions simple while I-”  His sentence tapered off a bit, tapping his fingers against his chin in thought as he looked at the doors.  “-try to remember where I put our means of getting out of here.”  
 
Aside from the sound of the machine's marching echoing from the stairwell, Hisao's slap against his forehead was the loudest noise to echo through the basement corridor.
 
“You mean dragged us down here with some freaky robot-”
 
“Cyberman.”  The Doctor quickly corrected him.  “Also, whether they're from the other dimension or this one, Cybermen are cyborgs, not robots.”  With that The Doctor quickly ran over to one of the doors, opening it up with a swing.  The bizarre man stuck his head inside the door and growled before shutting it, running to another one.
 
“Alright, fine, Cyberman, cyborg, whatever.  You brought us down here with it chasing us, and you don't even know where our escape route is?”  Incredulity was thick in his tone as he spoke, The Doctor looking somewhat offended.
 
“Hey, its been a while since I was last down here.  Besides, I'll find it here in a minute, just got to keep checking in these doors...”  The Doctor quickly swung open another door before shutting it while speaking, Hisao continuing to take deep breaths as he shook his head.
 
“Fine, just hurry up.  The Cyberman marched pretty slowly, but still, I think we only have-”
 
Hisao's comment was immediately cut off by a load crash he heard from the stairwell.  The young man quickly swung his head to look at the source of the noise, his jaw dropping slightly as what he beheld.  The Cyberman was kneeling down on the floor in the middle of the stairwell, slowly raising itself up as it stared at Hisao.
 
Had this been any other situation, Hisao would've found the situation hysterical.  His mind would've wondered to two possibilities:  that either the Cyberman had fallen down the very center of the stairwell in order to catch up with them, or that the cyborg had just fallen down several flights of stairs because of the awkward way it moved.
 
Unfortunately, this was a situation where a cyborg intent on 'assimilating' him had a laser built into its right arm.  Both of which were pretty effective at killing any humor Hisao might've found in the situation.
 
“-less time than I thought!  Doctor, hurry up!”  
 
As Hisao turned back to further goad the Doctor into speeding up his search, all Hisao found himself faced with was a an empty hallway, one of the doors carelessly left open.
 
"Found it!"  The Doctor's voice excitedly declared from inside the room, Hisao wasting no time in running inside the storage room, slamming the door shut as he did.  The young man quickly cast his eyes about for the means of escape that the Doctor had found:  amidst the cluttered room there were dozens of filing cabinets, boxes stuffed to the brim with folders, a few chairs stacked up against the wall, a blue box taller than the Doctor himself and the door behind him.
 
"I think you might've picked wrong Doctor, this isn't looking like a good escape route...”  Hisao muttered fearfully, hearing the marching footsteps of the Cyberman through the door.  The Doctor arched an eyebrow at Hisao, seemingly perplexed as he pulled an old key from his coat pocket.
 
“What, are you daft?”  The Doctor seemed to take a few seconds to think this rather blunt declaration over, before slapping his forehead.  “Ah, of course, first time with the perception filter.”  The Doctor murmured to himself as he slid the key into the blue box, Hisao preparing to retort when a realization began to dawn on him.
 
That blue box was.... weird.  Not a ‘looks weird’ weird or even a ‘I don’t like the look of it’ weird but... there was something about it, something that the Doctor’s unlocking of its door that ticked something off in Hisao’s head.  Made the box seem strange.  Foreign.
 
It hit him like a sack of bricks the more he thought about it.
 
The Doctor was sliding an old key into one of two doors of a very tall, wide, wooden, blue box, a white encased light in the very center of its roof.  The doors had tinted windows on both side, with the door to the left having a sign written in English plastered just about dead center of the door.  Hisao could only make out a few words here and there, English having not been his strong suit, but then that was more than he really knew about the words that encircled the box just above the doors.  
 
The realization that hit him as he stared at this thing was that it was weird because it just didn’t belong in this room.  The more Hisao realized this, the more he wondered just how he hadn’t noticed this the first time he had walked into the room and set his gaze upon the blue box.  
 
While Hisao’s mind raced with these thoughts the Doctor turned the key, pulling the door open as he unlocked it.  “Come along Hisao, not much time before that old tin can breaks in here.”  The Doctor said with a grin, stepping into the blue box.  Hisao’s heart continued to beat erratically, nerves eating at him rather than exertion or exhaustion, as he slowly approached the blue box.
 
“A-are you mad?”  Hisao asked, realizing that the question by this point was rather meaningless; life had seemed to have gone mad within the past week, after all.  “How are the two of us supposed to fit in... to fit in... in...”  
 
Hisao’s question died before he could finish asking it, dead on arrival as Hisao stepped in front of the two doors, only vague directions from unconscious impulses guiding him into the blue box itself.  Inside the blue box, a box that looked like it could barely fit the two of them, was a grand, wide open room.  
 
The near circular shape of the room laid open for Hisao to gawk at, his eyes slowly traversing the space before him.  The room seemed to be combination of some sort of control room and coral reef, with great stone columns rising and arching towards the center of the room where a large, glass cylinder with floating crystals suspended in its center rose up into the ceiling from a circular control panel right smack dab in the middle of the room.  
 
The control console was an odd assortment of things itself, much like the coral/machine design of the room itself, with knobs, levers, switches, computer monitors, radio antennae... a bike pump and a gramophone and other odd, seemingly random assortments of devices all attached at various points on the console.  While Hisao gawked, the Doctor was busily running about the console, messing with the various knobs and levers while turning a crank on the side of the console.  
 
The Doctor quickly turned his head to watch Hisao aimlessly wander towards the middle of the room, grinning as he saw the wander that engulfed Hisao’s eyes.  The Doctor’s grin seemed to fade quickly as he watched Hisao, the Doctor quickly flipping a switch.  
 
VWORP!  VWOOORP!  VWOOOOOORP!  VWOOOOOOOORP!  VWOOOOOOOOOOOORP!
 
As the crystals in the glass tube began to rise and fall, a cacophonous noise the likes of which Hisao had never heard in his life began to echo throughout the room, the very floor beneath his feat seeming to shudder slightly with each echo of the noise.  Soon after, the shaking and the noise just cut out all together.  As this happened the Doctor flipped a few more switches before quickly striding over to Hisao, setting his hands on the young man’s shoulders.
 
“Hisao, take some deep breaths alright?  Deep breaths kid.”  
 
Hisao blinked a couple times as he took in this instruction, only realizing that he had fallen pretty damn close to hyper-ventilating when his attention came to his breathing.  Short, panicked gasps for air had replaced his steady breathing, his heart mimicking the pace set by his breathing.  Trying not to panic, lest he set his breathing and heart even closer towards the danger zone, Hisao began to take in deep, long gasps of air, placing his hands above his head.  
 
“Thanks...”  Hisao breathed out after a few rounds of deep breathing, the Doctor nodding when he was satisfied that Hisao wasn’t going to go into a panic attack and croak.  
 
“Everyone gets a little anxious and excited when they first step into the TARDIS.  With everything else on top of that, its no wonder that you’re a bit... flustered.”  The Doctor said with a grin, patting Hisao on the shoulder before he stepped over to the console, twisting a few knobs and typing into a keyboard.  “Now, I do believe you might have a few questions to ask before we get moving, so best to start asking them now.”  
 
Hisao nodded his eyes still casting their gaze about the control room of the TARDIS.  
 
“So, that’s what this thing is called then.  A ‘TARDIS’?”  Hisao tried his best to closely mimic the Doctor’s very foreign accent when pronouncing the word, his attempt at the accent causing the Doctor to laugh a little.  
 
“Yes, the... ‘TARDIS’.”  The Doctor took a moment to clear his throat before saying the name of the box again, this time his voice falling into the accent and pitch he had spoken when Hisao only knew him as ‘Mutou’, the accent there being a little easier for Hisao to mimic.
 
“Ah, thanks, that’ll make me sound less ridiculous in the future.”  Hisao said, a grin on both his and the older man’s face.
 
“That was the plan.”  The Doctor stepped right back into his, Hisao would now guess, ‘normal’ manner of speaking, stepping around the console as he did.  “Yeah, this fine old girl is a Type-40 TARDIS, a ‘Time and Relative Dimensions in Space’ machine... or is it ‘Time and Relative Dimensions in Space’ craft?  Or ‘Time in Relative Dimensions in Space’ ship?  Never did get the nomenclature for the end right.”  The Doctor pondered the terminology for his blue box while Hisao took the name in, his eyes lighting up in an odd mix of excitement and bewilderment.  
 
"Time and relative... you mean this thing is a time machine?"  Hisao choked out, deep breaths punctuating his excitement.  
 
"That and a space ship, for lack of a better word in your language.”  The time traveler leaned up against the console.  “This can take me anywhere and anywhen in the whole universe.”  
 
“Soooo... that must mean  you’re an alien, right?  Nothing like this exists on Earth.”  Awestruck by the fact that he was in such a magnificent machine, Hisao drifted to the next question that arose in his mind.
 
“Yes sir~.  I’m a Time Lord, of the planet Gallifrey.”  The Doctor flashed a wide, if melancholic, grin at Hisao, adjusting his coat as he awaited the next question.  When he saw that Hisao looked, oddly enough, disappointed the Time Lord raised an eyebrow.  “What is it, what’s wrong?”  
 
“Nothing, nothing.  Well, actually...”  Hisao frowned a bit as he looked at the Doctor.  “Are you just... I dunno, disguising your real appearance or something?  You don’t look like an alien.  You look more human than I thought aliens would.”  
 
“Ah, you see, that’s where you’re mistaken. “ The Doctor began, a cheery grin on his face.  “I don’t look human.  You look Time Lord; we were around first.”  
 
“Oh, sorry.  Its just, well, you know:  what are the odds that human - er, sorry - Time Lord looking aliens would pop up on different planets across the galaxy?”  Hisao joked, attempting to lighten the mood as the Doctor chortled a little.
 
“Better than you’d think, actually.”  
 
“Right.”  With a nod, the questions continued.  “So, you said what that Cyberman was, but you didn’t say why it was here.”  Hisao shuddered at the thought of the cyborg that had pursued them.  
 
“Well, hard to say why they’re here.”  The Doctor said, a  grim expression marred his  features.  “I mean, they’re likely here to assimilate human beings into the collective, but I don’t know why here specifically.”
 
“I’m sorry... ‘they’?”  Hisao asked as he swallowed nervously.
 
“Yes, ‘they’.  A Cyberman never attacks without being a part of a group of Cybermen.  There’s likely a whole lot of them somewhere around here.”  The Doctor clapped his hands together at that.  “With that said, that’s probably good enough for question time.  We should get moving if we want to stop the Cybermen from assimilating everyone in the area, then on Earth.”  The very serious nature of the statement was rather disturbingly juxtaposed with the cheery way the Doctor had said it, the time traveler heading towards one of the other doors in the control room.  
 
“What?  We had to run away from just one Cyberman.  How are we going to be able to stop a group of them from doing what they want?”  Hisao asked, incredulous.  As the Time Lord scavenged through the room on the opposite side of the door, Hisao could only hear a very loud laugh echo from within.
 
“Hisao, Hisao, Hisao.  We aren’t going to just stop the Cybermen from doing what they want.  We’ll send them back either into the darkness of space or the other dimension, make sure they won’t take even one more student and do it without anyone in this city being the wiser!”  The Doctor exited the room, his arms cradling various electronic parts and tools, a wide, confident smile on his face.
 
“How do you know we’ll be able to do that?”  
 
“Because, Hisao-”  The Time Lord strode towards Hisao, depositing the electronics and machine bits into his arms.  “I’m the Doctor, and today you’re my companion:  there is no possible way we can fail.”
 
Hisao shuffled the electronics around in his arms, staring up at the Doctor.  The same charisma, conviction and knowing that had been present when he convinced Hisao to tell him about the Cyberman in the first place.  It was assuring, convincing... empowering.  
 
Hisao found himself as confident as the alien in front of him.
 
“Right, so, what's the plan Doctor?”  
 
“Right, the plan is-”
 
Ding~
 
“-oh, yes, one moment!  Almost forgot.”  The Doctor quickly ran over towards the console.  Hisao blinked a few times as the Doctor plucked a long, metal stick from the console that hadn't been present before, a blue gem at the end of the device.  
 
“Sonic Screwdriver.  Emits waves of sonic energy to do... well, I've lost track by now.  Needless to say, useful little gadget.”  The Doctor twirled the implement around in his hand as he walked over to him.  “Alright, now, before I forget we need just one teensy little thing before we step out.  Very important, very very important.  Turn around for me would you.”  
 
“Err, okay?”  Hisao was a bit beyond fielding too many more questions at this point.  The Doctor's direction had been solid up to this point, if a little nerve wracking at times.  The teenager turned about in place, the Doctor grabbing onto the side of his head as he began to trace the gem of the Sonic Screwdriver along his scalp.  
 
“Now, you said you heard buzzing in your ears before spotting our Cyber-stalker, right?”
 
“Yeah, kinda like interference on a radio or cell phone.”  Hisao said in an idle tone as he stayed still for the Time Lord.
 
“You see, that's not normal.”  The Doctor said flatly, the Sonic Screwdriver drifting closer to one of his ears.  “Cybermen don't communicate using waves that could be picked up on transceivers or other receptors on... commonly found on Earth.”  The Doctor corrected himself mid-sentence.  
 
“It isn't like this at all, but imagine that the Cybermen are all cell phones, with one of them, one referred to as the Cyber-Lieutenant, or maybe referred to as a Cyber-Lord, or if not a Lord or Lieutenant, a Cyber-Leader, being a cellphone tower with a satellite attached.  They manage communications between the Cybermen units, orders, plans et cetera, and send and receive information to the Cyber-Controller, leader of the entire Cyber Empire.  A very closed off network, in other words.”
 
“These guys sure do like to use the word 'Cyber' a lot, don't they?”  Hisao asked dryly, the Doctor nodding his head.
 
“Well, its in the name so they're stuck with it.  
 
“So, anyway, your point is that I shouldn't be able to pick up their communications as buzzing in my ear?”  Hisao asked, mulling it all over in his head.
 
“Weeeell, I wouldn't say 'shouldn't'.”  The Sonic Screwdriver suddenly began to vibrate against Hisao's scalp, just behind his left ear, a lot of interference being emitted from the tool.  “Right then, this is going to hurt foooor... a while.”
 
“Wait, what?”  
 
Hisao suddenly yelled aloud as he felt a sharp, widening pain behind his ear, only stopping himself from immediately forcing his hand atop the pain by the electronics bundled in his arms.  The Doctor pulled back on the Sonic Screwdriver, laughing in triumph as he stood back from Hisao.
 
“Here the little bugger is.”  
 
“Ow, what the heck did you just do?”  When Hisao turned to look at the Doctor, his jaw slackened at what he saw.  The tip of the Sonic Screwdriver was now slightly dripping with a small amount of his blood, while the Doctor carefully examined a little... something in his right hand, the something covered in blood.
 
“What, what is that Doctor?”  
 
“This, Hisao, is how the ordinarily lumbering Cybermen managed to seemingly be everywhere you were in this school:  a tag.  They've been tracking you with this; and its activity has been what you've been hearing every time they've wanted to put a set of eyes on you.”  
 
“W-what, but how?  How did they get that there?  When did they have the time?”  Hisao's questions were quite rapid, the Doctor seemed less energetic.  Activating his Sonic Screwdriver again, the tiny, tiny object seemingly coming to life, wriggling between the Doctor's fingers like some kind of extremely tiny, metal worm.  However, aside from the worm-like movements, it actually didn't look too terribly much like a worm.
 
The row of sharp teeth just under a set of black eyes made it look like some kind of monstrous lamprey.  The sight didn't help Hisao's twisting and turning stomach, to say the very least.
 
“A very, very downsized Cybermat tooled out to work as a tracking device; completely mobile and very hard to see thanks to the small size.  Probably sneaked onto you and latched on sometime when you first arrived.”  The Doctor once again took his Sonic Screwdriver to the Cybermat, the wriggling of the creature ceasing immediately.  The Time Lord quickly deposited the Cybermat and his sonic tool into one of his coat pockets.
 
“Which this off you and turned off, for now, the Cybermen won't be able to track us down.  However, with it and with this-”  The Doctor pat the random electronics held in Hisao's arms.  “-we should be able to get started on tracking down where exactly they're hiding out.”  The Doctor's grin grew as he spoke, as he walked past Hisao to head for the TARDIS' doors.
 
“Wait, really?”  Hisao asked, grasping at any opportunity to take his mind off the Cybermat.
 
“Indeed.  Now the real work begins.”  The Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS and stepped out, Hisao following close behind him.  Hisao, much to his surprise, found both himself and the Doctor standing out in the middle of Yamaku's campus.  
 
“So, I'll need you to head to the rooftop of our class' building.  The Cybermen aren't going to be able to find you by their favored method, so you'll have a nice space of time to reach the rooftop without them being the wiser.”  The Doctor shut the doors of the TARDIS behind them after Hisao exited, the young man curiously glancing up to the rooftop of the aforementioned building.
 
“Why does this stuff need to go up there?”
 
“This is a pretty darn old property that's had a lot of renovations over the decades Hisao.  There's bound to be something; antennae, satellite bits or radio signal receivers that we can use to reverse the polarity of the Cybermat's signal flow.”  The Doctor rubbed his chin a bit as he looked up, Hisao following his gaze before nodding.
 
“Alright.  What do you need for me to do when I get up there?”  
 
“Wait for me.  Even when we find out where the Cybermen are, that'll only be the first step into booting them out.  So I need you to wait for me while I go to the staff meeting I called and start setting a few wheels in motion.”  
 
“What?  The meeting would've been ten minutes ago, they've either left without you or gotten it over with by now.”  Hisao said, surprised by the Doctor's lack of attention to this.
 
The Doctor only turned to smile at Hisao.
 
“Actually, the staff meeting is in two minutes, and in one and a half minutes the only Cyberman in that building will be chasing a pair of intrepid, and may I say handsome, gentlemen into the basement of the building.  Because they'll be distracted by the signal of the Cybermat still in that lad's head, you'll be free.”  The Doctor, as if to prove his point, pulled out a pocket watch from his jacket and presented the clock to Hisao.
 
Indeed, they had actually popped up more than a minute before Hisao had wandered into and then been beset by the Cyberman.  Hisao actually laughed, amazed, as he saw this, looking up at the Doctor, then to the TARDIS.
 
“It really is a time machine!”  Hisao nearly shouted, the Doctor nodding as he put the watch away.
 
“What did I tell you.  Now, let's move, quickly.”  
 
“W-wait!”  Hisao shook himself from his amazement, looking back at the Doctor.  “Should we really be leaving it out in the open?”  
 
“Not to worry Hisao.  As you've seen yourself, the TARDIS can be very hard to notice.  The perception filter basically ensures that anything without at least a small level of psychic ability will just pass it by as if it were nothing special at all.”  The Doctor said as he continued walking away.
 
“So, its safe?”  Hisao asked, even as he began to walk off to the class building.
 
“Hisao, trust me, no one will notice the old girl.”
 
 
------------------------------------
 
 
It was a freeing and exhilarating rush, to be honest.  For the past week Hisao had the worry of these stalkers, the Cybermen, hanging thick on his shoulders.  Constant reminders of their eyes on him at every turn, little time to not worry about what they might do.  However, now the Doctor, a man with a time machine that was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, had managed to actually free him from the pressure of it all.
 
Maybe not for too terribly long, but for now, Hisao was just happy and excited to be able to get up to the roof of the class building with only a fleeting concern of the Cyberman, who was still probably hopefully distracted by the 'past' him and Doctor.  Hisao chuckled at that:  the idea that he was existing at the same time as another him from his past.  Most people didn't even think time travel possible, but here Hisao was having experienced it first hand.  Of course, he didn't understand how it worked at all, but hey, he traveled back in time.  That had to be worth something.
 
'Not being assimilated by the Cybermen for one.'  Hisao reminded himself, before pushing himself up the stairs of the building with renewed gusto.  He could marvel at having traveled through time later, for now the Doctor needed him to get this stuff to the roof for him.  Moments later, Hisao made it to the roof, taking in deep gasps of breath as he walked out onto the roof, the gravel crunching and grinding beneath his feet.  
 
As he set the electronics down on the bench that he and the others normally sat on, Hisao decided that it would be best if he simply waited for the Doctor to show up before looking around for an antennae or something for him to use.  The Cybermen were still around, according to the Doctor, and really, Hisao would rather not be spotted and caught simply because he was up and moving around.
 
With that, Hisao decided to lay out on his back and rest for a bit.  After all, the staff meeting couldn't last too terribly long if the Doctor was in such a hurry.  
 
-----------------------------
 
'Oh, what I go through to protect these humans.'  The Doctor thought to himself as he quickly descended the stairs of the staff building.  Twenty minutes, and only about eight of them served his purpose of stopping the Cybermen.  The other twelve was dry, old nonsense that was always brought up at these staff meetings and deciding funding for various purposes.  He might've lost more time than he'd like, but he at least did manage to set things into motion on the school end of the ordeal.  Now, all he had to do was get to the roof so he and Hisao could do their part.
 
As the Doctor ran across campus towards the class building, he caught a glimpse of Shizune walking around campus with various building materials on hand . Misha was notably absent from the Student Council President's side, although the girl was probably out and about working on other facets of the festival.
 
It was actually a rather nice coincidence; now, rather than wait for the staff to inform the Student Council, the Doctor could do so himself.  With a grin on his face the Doctor ran up towards Shizune, pulling out a pen and paper from his jacket pocket and before he scribbled a message.
 
'I have some good news for the Student Council!'
 
----------------------------
 
'Oh God, yes it could.'  Hisao thought to himself, checking his watch for about the tenth time in the last thirty minutes.  While Hisao did idly ponder whether the Doctor needed to take this long for the meeting or if the meeting was just dragging on beyond either of their expectations, Hisao couldn't say that he liked it either way.  The longer he waited, the more time the Cyberman could spend looking around for him.  The Law of Probability basically guaranteed that it'd eventually stumble on him, if not sooner then later, after all.  
 
Hisao tried to shake off the thought.  Constantly doting on the fact that he could be captured at any moment wasn't going to get him anywhere and would only accomplish stressing out himself and his heart.  Hisao closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he tried to center himself.  A few minutes passed before Hisao heard the door to the roof open up.  The young man opened his eyes and tilted his head back to look, and sighed in relief when he saw the Doctor standing there with an amused look on his face.
 
"My, my, my.  Aren't we relaxed for someone on the run."  The Time Lord chuckled as he spoke, Hisao laughing as he stood up.
 
"Hey, I wasn't relaxing.  I was laying low."  The response was met with a groan, the Doctor palming his face as Hisao just laughed.  
 
"... Blimey, you said that on purpose didn't you?"  The Doctor shook his head.  "Never mind, we need to get to work.  It'll take some time for me to put all this together."  The Doctor walked over to the electronics on the bench,  gathering them all up before he looked around the roof.  
 
"Yeah, good idea."  Hisao agreed, walking around the roof.  "But if you don't mind me asking, why isn't this already assembled, whatever it is?"  
 
"Hisao, I might pride myself on being prepared, but I don't have something in the wing for every occasion.”  The Doctor nodded in the direction of the other side of the roof, Hisao following the alien close behind.  “Sometimes I have to wing it.  Like now:  I’ve never known the Cybermen to be too terribly subtle when it comes to their plans, so I’ve never had an occasion to have to search too hard to find them.”  
 
“So now, you need to build something to track them down through their communications network.”  Hisao finished, the Doctor nodding.
 
“Bingo.”  The Doctor said, half in acknowledgment of Hisao’s statement and half for having found an old television antennae.  “Just about as old fashioned as we can get for communication with resorting box radios and telegraph wires, but it’ll do.”    The Time Lord ran up to the antennae, laying out the electronic equipment before him.  
 
"Very, very lucky that this campus is so old.  Otherwise we might not have had much to go on at all."  The Doctor said, laughing a bit as he pulled out a pair of glasses from his coat pocket, putting them on as he got to work.  "Just big enough for our purposes too.  Love it when a plan comes together.”
 
“Does this thing even work anymore?”  Hisao asked, crossing his arms across his chest as the Doctor shook his head.
 
“Probably not as per its original purpose, but with a little bit of jury rigging and with all this... stuff, it should do what we need it to do.”  The Doctor said, extending his hand out to Hisao.  “Now, Hisao, do me a favor and hand me the bit that looks like a capital letter L... unless, you're that bad at English?"  
 
"I can at least get the alphabet right Doctor!"  Hisao said in faux indignation as he handed The Doctor the described piece.  "Besides, that can't be its name."
 
"Oh it isn't.  But if I were to ask for it by name you'd just stare at me, go 'whot' and then I'd have to use the simple description anyway.  As clever as that helps me feel Hisao, we don't have that much time."  The Doctor sniffed at that, before frowning.  "My goodness, all this time later and I'm still rude."  
 
Hisao shrugged as he sat back, handing the Doctor parts and pieces or assisting him with the construction of the device as required.  Eventually, curiosity got the better of Hisao and, after a few moments of shifting around, his curiosity burst forth.
 
"So, Doctor... you do a lot of this time traveling, right?"  Hisao asked, the Time Lord pausing for a moment..
 
"I suppose you could say that, yeah.  Why?"  
 
"Well, just curious is all... do I end up famous or successful in the future?"  Hisao asked, leaning forward slightly.
 
"Ah, first question a time traveler gets asked by most anyone:  'what is my future like?  Well, either that or 'what is the future like'.  Such a silly question if you ask me, what's the good of knowing if your future is good if there's no surprise in it ending up good?"  The Doctor rambled for a bit before shrugging.
 
"Anyway Hisao, even if I was inclined to tell you, which I'm really not, I can't say for certain.  One, I'd be telling you about your own future.  Depending on how good or bad it was you could end up altering your behavior, making different choices then you would if you were uninformed..."
 
"Changing the future via information you wouldn't get normally.  I'm guessing that's bad right?"  Hisao asked, the Doctor shrugging.
 
"Well, time really is a fickle old girl.  You can never tell what might end up setting her off.  However, generally best not to test her too much.  So yeah, it could be a really bad thing."  The Doctor said rather forcefully, before continuing on.  "Then of course there's the fact that your timeline is now in flux, so even if I did know anything about how your future went, it'll probably be far different now."  
 
"... Wait, what?"  Hisao asked, actually taken aback by this information.
 
"Well, I'm a time traveler Hisao.  People might not notice that I'm not where I should be, but according to the universe I shouldn't be in most places I visit.  So, my presence makes whatever timelines I touch pretty volatile.  They can make for changes to the time stream, some good, some bad.  Course I always try for good, and a lot of the time I end up doing what the timeline general says happened... if in a bit of a roundabout way."
 
"For example, in any of your English classes throughout all these school years, did they talk about Shakespeare?"
 
"Well... yeah, obviously."  Hisao arched a brow as he spoke, wondering where the Doctor was going with this.
 
“You know about his lost play, Love’s Labors Won?”  The Doctor snapped his fingers back as the electronics sparked for a moment, wagging them as Hisao shrugged.
 
“Well its lost.  Other than that, I don’t know... but then most people really don’t know what happened with it, right?”
 
“Well, I do.”  The Doctor said with a smirk.  “Needless to say, it was all a bit mad.”
 
“Considering what we’re doing right now, I wouldn’t be surprised.”  Hisao said with a laugh.
 
"Oh believe me Hisao, this isn’t even a drop in the bucket."  The Doctor laughed as he got out two jumper cables, connecting them to bits of the electronics, before walking around looking for some source of power.  "So yeah, I travel the universe, meet interesting people and lots of times end up playing a vital part in history.  So long as I’m careful and don’t do anything stupid, like cause a paradox, I’m fine.”
 
“Sounds easy enough.”  The young man said offhandedly, causing the Time Lord to waver a bit.
 
“You’d think so.  Like I said, time is a fickle old girl and even the precise definition of what is and isn’t a paradox can get really muddy.  Even the simplest paradox of all, meeting yourself in the same location in the same moment in time, I’ve violated more than a few times.  Course there were special circumstances at work during those times, but still, I was shaking hands with other selves from past times.  You know how weird that is?  I mean, oldest me was like ‘oh great, look, I become a clown and a dandy’.”  
 
The Doctor’s anecdote fell flat with Hisao, who just seemed to be somewhat horrified at the notion.  The Doctor, meanwhile, snapped his fingers and walked over to an air conditioning unit, popping it open with his Sonic Screwdriver before connecting the jumpers there.  A small spark flew from both ends of the jumpers as the electronics began to spring to life.
 
“Ah, molto bene!  Just a few more tweaks and we’ll be ready Hisao!”  The Doctor said enthusiastically and he knelt back down by the electronics, Hisao still rather stunned.
 
"... So, how do you not end up destroying the universe then?"  The young man asked cautiously, the Doctor laughing a bit as he looked up to Hisao.
 
"Well, I try to be really careful for one.  Two, I try to fix whatever damage I might cause.  Finally, who is saying I haven't?"  The Doctor's grin threatened to split his face as Hisao's eyes went a bit wide, The Doctor going back to work shortly thereafter.  "Course, everything works out alright in the end.  Traveling around in time and space might be dangerous, but then that's time, space and the universe for you.  Brilliant, big, beautiful and dangerous."  
 
Hisao considered all this and nodded, smiling slightly as he thought of all the possibilities.  Shortly thereafter, though, a thought occurred to him.
 
"So, why have you been around Yamaku so long then, if traveling around the universe is so great?"  Hisao asked, the Doctor's grin fading a bit as he turned back to his work.  “I don’t know how long, but you didn’t just show up when the kidnappings started if everyone’s familiarity with you is any indication, or at least ‘Mutou’ didn’t-”
 
"I have my reasons.”  The Doctor said rather flatly, Hisao bristling a bit at his tone which, along with his answer, conveyed a very clear message of ‘drop it’.  The Time Lord brought out his sonic tool and, with a few whirs aimed around the now constructed machine, nodded his head.
 
“We’re good.  Now, we can use the Cybermat to reverse their signal and start tracking them.”  Hisao looked at the Doctor’s device, amazed that he had managed to make such a thing out of the various pieces but, there it was.  “Hopefully, it’ll be quick.”  The Doctor said as he pulled out the Cybermat.
 
“Yeah, hopefully.  We need to find them as soon as possible.”  The young man said firmly, while the Doctor merely nodded.
 
“Indeed, it’d also be nice if our special tin can friend didn’t end up finding us before we did.”  The Doctor said as he placed the Cybermat into the machine, Hisao snapping his head to look at the Doctor.
 
“Come again?”
 
“Well, this little bugger needs to be transmitting his signal for the machine and the antennae to start trying to project and intercept theirs.  Without his signal we’re getting nowhere fast.”  The Doctor grimaced as he spoke, aiming his sonic tool at the Cybermat.  “Unfortunately, that means that tall, gray and gruesome will be able to start tracking us again.”
 
“... So, how long until he finds us?”  Hisao asked, nervously rubbing his arm as the Doctor shrugged.
 
“Dunno.  Could be one minute away could be dozens!  It all depends on where he is when we turn this little puppy back on!”  The Doctor said, the Sonic Screwdriver whirring to life as it reactivated the Cybermat.
 
“Oh.  How long until this figures out where the Cybermen are?”  Hisao’s face was slowly paling, even as the Doctor stood up, placing his Sonic Screwdriver back into his coat pocket.
 
“Well, anywhere between five to fifteen minutes.”  
 
“... So, we just going to sit here and hope it doesn't find us?”  Hisao asked incredulously, the Doctor clapping his heads together with a nod.
 
“Yep.  Unless you'd like us to go hide and leave the only means of tracking the Cybermen down alone out in the open for them to stomp all over?”  
 
“Point taken.”
 
“I thought it would be.”  The Doctor flashed a grin as he walked over to the wall of the building's roof access, leaning up against it as he watched the machine whir and run.  Hisao, noticeably more nervous, followed the Doctor's lead, twisting and turning his head to look around for any Cybermen at the same time.  Several minutes passed as the two waited for the machine to finish with its job, the Doctor drumming his fingers against the wall they leaned on and Hisao still nervously glancing around.
 
Soon after, the two heard the stair access door open up, footsteps crunching in the gravel of the roof.  The Doctor and Hisao glanced to each other, each immediately freezing in place as they heard the steps meander about aimlessly.
 
"It might just be Rin, she usually ends up hear a while before Emi or anyone else."  Hisao whispered, the Doctor shrugging as he slowly slid over to the corner of the wall.  The Doctor tilted his head out, quickly snapping it back as he slid back towards Hisao.  
 
"Afraid that might've been a wee bit optimistic on your part Hisao."  The Doctor whispered, Hisao swallowing nervously as he looked over to the machine.  
 
"Is it done yet?"  
 
"No, it'll go 'ding' when it has the signal."  The Doctor said, Hisao just staring at the machine as he paled.
 
"So, what're we going to do Doctor?"  He asked, his eyes locked onto the machine, as if a stern enough glare could get it to work faster.
 
"Be deleted."
 
".... Well, that's really pessimistic of you."  Hisao commented, turning his head to look at the Doctor, who was looking over to the corner.
 
"That wasn't me Hisao, that was that."  The Doctor pulled away from the wall as he went backpedaling away from a completely covered Cyberman in a brown coat, Hisao practically choking as he quickly followed the Doctor's lead.  The covered Cyberman merely watched them move as he raised his right arm.
 
"Wait, wait."  The Doctor said, raising both of his hands in the air as he nudged Hisao to do the same.  "We give up!  We are willingly handing ourselves over!"  
 
"What are you  doing?!"  The young man growled at the Time Lord, even as he raised his hands.
 
"Play along, we might be able to salvage this and get into their ship if he's the right type of Cyberman."  The Doctor whispered, looking straight at the Cyberman.  
 
"Well, what if he's not keen on letting us go once we're on the ship?"  Hisao whispered back, the Doctor shrugging.
 
"Haven't pieced together that part of the plan yet."  Hisao had to hold himself back from snapping his head towards the Doctor, instead settling for another low, whispered growl.
 
"As 'clever' as you can be, you're awfully thick sometimes, you know that?"  
 
"It happens from time to time."  The Doctor muttered, before returning to speaking to the Cyberman.  "We are willing to hand ourselves over to be integrated into the Cyber Empire.  There's no need to harm us."  
 
The Cyberman merely stood silently for a few seconds, before speaking.
 
"The human, Hisao Nakai, is to be integrated into the Cyber Empire, in service to the Cyber Emperor.  Records indicate that taking in The Doctor would prove far too risky to the integrity of the mission.  The Doctor is to be, deleted."  As the Cyberman spoke in the subdued voice that Hisao had initially come to associate with them, the right arm of the Cyberman's coat once again ripped open, revealing the metallic cylinder.  
 
"Well, at least we know they're from this universe.  That's a load off my mind."  The Doctor said, Hisao staring incredulously.
 
"Yeah, only to be replaced with the fact that you're about to be deleted, right?"  The young man once again found himself stunned by the Doctor when, in response to this, the Doctor's face contorted into a grin.
 
"Mmm, no.  Not really."
 
As if on cue, the school's lunch bell began to ring, the Cyberman glancing about as Hisao jumped a bit at the sudden interruption.  
 
"Go ahead and fire off that laser if you really want to my metal friend.  The only thing you'll succeed in doing is alerting an entire school to your presence.  Even as we speak, kids are pouring out onto the grounds.  If they don't end up seeing the bright flash of light from your little arm pistol, then they'll sure as heck hear it... and maybe my pained death screams."  The time traveler jokingly grimaced as he spoke, lowering his hands into his coat pocket.  "You've been needing to keep this covert because you know what happens if people find out you're here.  You won't blow it over little old me."  
 
Hisao risked a quick glance over his shoulder, largely finding the Doctor's threat to be right.  A lot of students were already out and about on campus, either to head down to the Shanghai or to have a picnic on Yamaku's pristine grounds.  If the Cyberman did fire off that little laser, he might as well be screaming in that robotic tone of voice about where he was.  
 
Imagine the relief that both Hisao and the Doctor felt then when the Cyberman's laser withdrew back into its arm.  
 
Only to be replaced with worry and fear again when the Cyberman's right glove suddenly erupted in flame, sparks of wild electricity dancing between its robotic fingers as electricity built up in its hand.
 
"Ah, right, that little electric shock thing you've got going in your right hand.  Forgot about that."  The Time Lord muttered as he looked on at the Cyberman, as three lumps suddenly popped up across random points on his body.  The lumps quickly made their way to the nearest opening in the clothing covering the Cyberman, pant legs or sleeves and the like, revealing them to be Cybermats, only these were several times bigger than the one that had latched its tiny self onto Hisao's head.
 
"Ah, and more of those slug things to make sure we don't just run from it this time.  He came prepared."  Hisao said, a grim expression on his face as he attempted a quick quip, as the Cybermats positioned themselves carefully around Hisao and the Doctor.
 
"If we could distract him for a few seconds I could dispatch him and these Cybermats pretty quickly..."  The Doctor whispered as the Cyberman began to march towards them, its right arm outstretched towards them, while the Cybermats also slithered their way towards them.  
 
"Yeah, well, can't exactly distract them if they're right on top of us now can we?"  Hisao practically spat back, the Doctor nodding.
 
"True, but, who did you say normally got here after this Rin girl you mentioned earlier?"  The Doctor asked, sounding a bit leading, as Hisao raised an eyebrow.
 
"I said Emi.  Why?"  
 
"You think Emi could distract this, stopping him from killing me and dragging you off to who knows where?"  The Doctor's tone had definitely shifted, sounding as if he was egging something on, while Hisao just shrugged.
 
"I suppose so, but-"  
 
Hisao's counter was interrupted by a very, honestly, surprised sounding robotic growl from the Cyberman as it stumbled forward and backward, starting to swing itself around.  Hisao's jaw dropped a bit as he saw Emi and her twin tails hanging on for dear life on the back of the Cyberman, banging her fist on its head.
 
"Ow!  What's up with this guy's head, it feels as hard a rock!"  Emi shouted as she continued to hang on.
 
"Perfect timing!"  The Doctor said, pulling both hands out of his coat.  With a quick flourish one hand brandished the Sonic Screwdriver, pointing it at each of the Cybermats and, with a blast of sonic whirring, deactivated each of them in turn.  The Doctor then quickly ran up to the Cyberman, pressing his sonic instrument into his other hand while Emi continued to ride the cyborg.  
 
"Oi!  Drone!"  The Doctor shouted at the Cyberman, just barely ducking underneath its arm as it swung itself towards him.  The Doctor quickly reached up to the Cyberman's head, knocking off the hat covering it and pulling away at the collar protecting the bottom half of its head.  Bringing up his other hand, the Doctor blew into it, fine, glittering particles flying into the face of the Cyberman as a sickly grinding sound began to churn out from its 'mouth'.  
 
The Doctor backed away from the cyborg, pulling Emi off its back as the three stared at the Cyberman flailing about, the grinding growing more and more loud and soon become accompanied by choking sounds.  Soon enough the Cyberman collapsed onto its hands and knees, the grinding and choking quieting slightly before the alien cyborg fell completely to the ground.  
 
The Doctor grinned a bit as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, Hisao stared at the body of the Cyberman, an unbelieving expression on his face, while Emi stared most directly at the head of the Cyberman, her jaw hanging open as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing.
 
"Doctor, what did you do?"  Hisao asked, the Doctor chuckling as he slapped his hands together, bits of glittering dust flying off from them.
 
"Mondas Cybermen Hisao, unlike their other universe counterparts, are entire humans in stasis inside those metal tins.  To make sure the bodies don't end up just dieing, the metal shell has to simulate a lot of functions for the body, like breathing."  The Doctor said, blowing away the dust.  "The Cyberman's automated respiratory functions can filter out a lot of compounds Hisao, practically evaporating them to ensure that the function doesn't get clogged.  But there's one material that the system can't filter out:  gold."  
 
"Basically, I filled that Cyberman's respiratory system with gold, effectively suffocating it."
 
"... And you didn't do this earlier because?"  Hisao asked, the Doctor biting his bottom lip.
 
"Weeeell, I couldn't be sure if it these were Mondas Cybermen or Cybus Cybermen.  If they were the latter from the other universe, all I would've done is annoy it and then get shocked to death.  Besides Hisao, I can't just collapse a 16th Century Spanish coin into dust every time I run into a Cyberman.  That's just wasteful."  
 
"As opposed to getting killed?"  Hisao asked, nevertheless laughing at the Doctor who just shrugged.  Before the Doctor could retort, both his and Hisao's attention was dragged back to Emi, who very quickly pointed at the Cyberman's head.  
 
"Th-that things a cyborg-robot thing?!"  Emi asked quickly, quickly walked over to the Cyberman and kicking it with her foot, practically shrieking when her foot's clunk against the Cyberman's head confirmed solid metal.  "It is!  A-and its from another planet, or something, you said?"  Emi pointed an accusatory hand back to the Doctor, who only nodded.  "And you didn't call him Mutou, you called him... 'Doctor'.  Doctor what?"  Emi then pointed to Hisao, who just kinda shrugged.
 
"Just 'The Doctor'."  Hisao answered, the Doctor chuckling a little as Emi looked between the two of them.  "That's his name."  
 
"... So, is he from space too?  Is that how he knows all this stuff?"  Hisao actually was getting a little worried about Emi, the girl seemed to be on the verge of passing out as she continued asking her questions.
 
"That's right.  One-hundred percent alien right here.  I even have a space ship."  The Doctor answered with a grin, Emi seemingly stopping completely as she just stared at the Doctor.
 
"That's.... that's...."  Emi seemed stuck for a few moments, Hisao slowly approaching her to try to comfort her.  As he approached Emi broke out into a huge grin, bringing her hands up as she jumped.  "Amazing!"  The loud scream nearly deafened Hisao, who slapped his hands onto his ears as he saw Emi quite practically break out into a fit of giggles.
 
"I can't believe it!  I mean, here I thought that this was just all some weird guy trying to hurt Mutou and you, but no, cyborg-robot thing!  And those slug things!  And Mutou's an alien named the Doctor!"  Emi was practically laughing, excitement written all over her features as the Doctor joined in with her laughter.
 
"A little hard to believe isn't it?"  The Doctor asked, Emi nodding as Hisao just stared.
 
"A little, but the robot thing, what'd you call it, Cyberman?"  Emi pointed at the prone form of the Cyberman.  "That's really hard to just wave off."  Emi said with a wide grin, the Doctor nodding his head.
 
"Well, she's adapting really well to this, isn't she?"  Hisao said with a small bit of sarcasm, the Doctor laughing as he pat him on the back.  
 
"Certainly taking it better than you did."  The Doctor said with a laugh, Emi's excitement waning slowly as she seemed to come down from her high, looking over at the electronics and the Cyberman again, a questioning look on her face.
 
"So... what exactly is going on here anyway?"  
 
"Ah, you are a bit behind compared to Hisao aren't you.  Well, you see Emi, these Cybermen-"
 
DING!
 
"-AH!  Got their signal!"  The Doctor said, running over to the machine with his Sonic Screwdriver.  Emi and Hisao stared at the Doctor for a few seconds while the Time Lord examined the device, nodding in satisfaction as he returned his screwdriver to his coat pockets.  "Right, Hisao, mind carrying this while I fill Emi in on our way back?"  
 
"You're actually going to fill her in?  What about how dangerous this all is?"  Hisao asked, earning a small look from Emi as the Doctor chuckled.
 
"Too late to ask her to ignore it now, isn't it Hisao?  Besides, she's the fastest thing on no legs, I'm sure she'll be able to handle it."  The Doctor said, a beaming grin lighting up Emi's face as he began walking back towards the staircase.  "Now come on then, back to the TARDIS!"  
 
“That’s the name of his space ship."  Hisao informed Emi as he picked up the device, Emi nodding in excitement as she quickly ran up beside the Doctor.