Tattoo [Growth [Part 4]]

[esp_dragonv2]

Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: M-21 grows, and with it, so does the tattoo.
Notes: Thanks to Madame Azure for all the support and cheering on while I was writing this. :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General
Word count: 1,841
Total word count: 18,393
Status: Work in progress



M-21 stared at the contents of the fridge, trying to decide what to eat.

"You're hungry too?"

M-21 huffed, nodding at Takeo. "No, but Frankenstein wants me to eat or go outside whenever my thoughts..." He frowned. He still didn't understand the direction Frankenstein said his thoughts went.

"Mm?"

M-21 shrugged. "Frankenstein thinks my thoughts are too harsh towards myself." It still didn't make sense - it was the truth.

The wolf barked and M-21 glowered at it before reaching for one of the tubs of leftovers. "He can be wrong about things." Sometimes.

Frankenstein hadn't been wrong about anything yet. Whenever Frankenstein suggested they do something, there was a reason for it. Even if it was small things like having a more regular sleep schedule or eating a better diet, M-21 did start feeling better afterwards.

Takeo hummed, coming over. "He's not this time - you are harsh towards yourself."

M-21 looked at Takeo incredulously. Takeo agreed?

"He said eating and going outside would help?" Takeo said, taking another tub and collecting plates.

M-21 grimaced. "That, and I had to 'be kind' to myself."

What good was being kind? He'd had to take what he could and be aggressive in the Union to survive. Being kind hadn't helped. It was a weakness that made someone stand out and be killed.

...But... M-21 frowned. It was because of Frankenstein and Raizel-nim's kindness that they had taken him in and kept him alive.

They could afford to be though. They had the strength to back it up if someone tried to take advantage of them.

"Is it helping?"

"No." M-21 heated his food in the microwave, scowling at it. "It's - what's 'be kind'? And why should I be when I'm too weak to help in a fight?"

They watched the food spin around for a few seconds in silence.

"Would seeing Frankenstein's data help?"

"What?"

"Would seeing Frankenstein's data help?" Takeo repeated as M-21 took his food out the microwave. "You think you're weak - maybe seeing recorded data could change your mind?"

Would it? Frankenstein's data was meticulously taken and he wouldn't change them just to make them feel better.

"Maybe..." M-21 said. There wouldn't be a big difference. Not compared to Takeo or Tao's data.

"We'll look at them after we've eaten then," Takeo said, putting his own food in the microwave.

* * *
The lab was silent when M-21 and Takeo entered it. Frankenstein must have went out.

"Which one does Frankenstein keep our data on..." Takeo mused, looking around.

"All of them," M-21 muttered. Keep as many copies as possible with back-ups, just to make sure there was always a current version somewhere. After what had happened with -

The door swished open and Tao poked his head in. Tao grinned when he saw them. "Heeey, I thought I heard someone come in. What'cha doing?"

"Trying to find where Frankenstein keeps our data," Takeo said.

M-21 cast his eyes over all the machines, frowning. In the Union, he knew exactly where to go when he needed access to his data, the passwords used and what folders they were stored in. He'd needed to know, to change his data before the scientists noticed the difference.

Here, he hadn't seen his data since Frankenstein had given them access to it months ago. He hadn't felt the need to. Frankenstein had what he wanted, and M-21 didn't have anything to hide from him. Or couldn't hide it, since Frankenstein already knew.

"You tryna look at data or machines and ya didn't invite me?" Tao let out a dramatic sigh, and then grinned at them. "Best place is over here."

Tao hadn't crossed M-21's mind and just how distracted was he right now? A lot, by the looks of it, because he still couldn't make sense of what Frankenstein wanted or what he'd told them.

Tao lead them further into the lab to where the monitors covered the walls.

"So what're you looking for?" Tao said, his fingers flying over the keyboard as the computer whirred to life.

"My data," M-21 said.

Windows started opening as soon as M-21 said it.

"Yeah?" Tao said. "What about?"

"Trying to see if I've gotten stronger."

Tao snickered and M-21 stared at him.

"Well yeah, you've gotten stronger!" Tao said, fingers still moving. More windows opened and closed. "Comparin' the first entry and the most recent, yeah?"

"You think so too?"

Tao tilted his head to look at him. "M. Em," he said, reaching up and patting M-21's shoulder with the back of his hand, "if ya weren't capable of taking it, I wouldn't put you out in front, ya know?"

But... That was because he had to be. Tao was leading them, and Takeo needed distance with his guns.

"Got one," Tao said, setting the window to the side.

M-21 glanced at it and frowned. It had been months since he'd last seen his data but...

"That's not right." The numbers were far too high from the ones he'd had in the Union. That had to be a record for Takeo or Tao.

"Mm?" Tao glanced over. "Yeah, it is, see?" Tao circled parts of the screen with a finger. "Your name and date."

Wait. "This is the earliest entry?" That didn't make any sense. The numbers were already too high for something recent - they couldn't be what he started at.

"Yup." A couple more clicks and the properties window appeared. It was created on the same date and hadn't been modified since then.

"An' here's last week's data."

...No. There had to be a mistake. "He must have mislabelled them. These are yours." The jump was too far.

"Mmmnope," Tao said. "I wasn't built for strength and this has notes on your transformation. Ours talks about how volatile Dark Spear is." Tao paused, squinting. "Hey, how'd I never notice Boss was keepin' tabs on Wolfy's growth too?"

"When was the last time you looked?" Takeo asked.

"When I needed measurements for our suits, so I guess I wasn't looking there. "

M-21 couldn't stop staring at the data. They had to be wrong, but they were right there, staring back at him. Did Frankenstein really think he was that strong?

"Here's us!" Tao said, two new windows popping up. "See? These list Takeo's speed and eyesight an' my hearing and energy capacity - that one's yours."

...Oh. This was his. He...was a lot stronger compared to when he had been in the Union.

That still didn't seem right. He didn't feel stronger, not against their recent enemies and what was the point of being stronger if he kept fucking lo-

The wolf barked, pressing in at his jaw.

"Fine," he muttered. Be kind. Be fucking kind. He was stronger than he thought he was. Was that enough?

The wolf kept the pressure, rumbling. Seemed like it.

"Em, you good?" Both Takeo and Tao were watching him.

"...Yeah. I just...need to think about it." A lot.

"Heh, don't go thinkin' about it too hard or you'll start going around in circles." Tao shut the computer down and stretched. "Right, time for coffee!"

"How many cups have you had today already?" Takeo said, eyeing him.

"Who needs ta count!"

M-21 followed them out, letting their conversation wash over him.

* * *
M-21 paced his room, hearing cars passing by in the street. It was too early to go to bed, but even if it was, he wouldn't be able to go to sleep. Not when his thoughts refused to settle.

The wolf seemed just as restless, darting from one side of his body to the other.

He was stronger. Fine. He could see that. His body wasn't breaking down like it used to. He didn't need pills to keep his body together. Right. He'd changed since he'd been in the Union.

The wolf curled up around his neck and barked.

M-21 frowned, trying to look at it. "What?" Did it not like what he was thinking?

It ran down his arm to his hand and barked again. It wasn't wanting him to stop thinking, then.

"What is it," M-21 said, looking in the direction it was barking at.

The window was in front of him, and so was his desk. Go outside?

"Fine," he said, turning around to leave his room.

The wolf curled to his palm and barked again.

M-21 paused, lifting his hand to look at the wolf. "What do you want?"

The wolf barked in the direction behind M-21.

He sighed. It wasn't about him though, so that was...probably a good thing.

He walked towards the window, trying to see what the wolf was interested in.

The wolf barked at the desk as he passed it.

"...There's nothing there." He didn't use his desk for anything. It had a box of tissues on it, that was it. It wasn't something new, so the wolf couldn't be suspicious of it.

The wolf kept barking.

"There's nothing-" M-21 sighed. "What is it?" He waved his hand over his desk, hoping the wolf would react to something. It couldn't fit anymore like it used to, curled completely around his hand.

It started barking when his hand hovered over the box of tissues.

M-21 stared at the tissues. "Do you want me to wash my face now?"

When he flipped his hand, the wolf was pawing outwards.

He looked back at the tissues and then at the wolf. He snorted.

"Not everything is about me." Right. Of course it wasn't. Sometimes, the wolf just wanted to play.

He tugged one of the tissues free from the box and dangled it above the wolf. "Like this?"

The wolf jumped up and a corner of the tissue tore free and drifted towards the desk.

Huh. Its reach away from his skin was bigger now too.

"You want it like this, or on my skin?"

It barked, tail wagging.

"Helpful."

It didn't seem frustrated, seeming to be content to jump up and shred the tissue.

It wasn't long until the desk was littered with tissue pieces.

"Good thing we did this here rather than downstairs," M-21 muttered. Frankenstein would have been pissed at the mess and they wouldn't find all the pieces at once either.

The wolf tilted its head at him before snapping at another bit of tissue.

"Em, you here?" Tao said, poking his head in. He looked down. "You trying to make it snow indoors?"

M-21 huffed, sweeping the tissue bits into the bin. "The wolf was bored."

"Weeell, we could help with that," Tao said, grinning. "Me an' Takeo were thinking about having a training session - you in?"

M-21 stared at him. "But - I can't control my transformation." He could lose control and hurt them.

"Yet," Tao said, holding up a finger and grinning at him. "And who knows - maybe that's something that only happens when you first upgrade. Only way to find out is to try and see!"

"All right," M-21 said, standing up. He could do that.