6A/N: I had planned on doing a series of Halloween one-shots, but then my teachers were like 'nOPE you will have a test that makes up half your grade every day of the week this month' so I was a lot busier than I thought. My tests are out of the way for now (that I know of) and I decided I should write at least one spooky story, though I think this one is more on the weird side. Anyway, in my German class we were talking about Doppelgangers, so I thought hey, why not make a story about someone meeting their Doppelganger and ending up seeing some out of character things. Keep in mind the characters are OOC for a bit for a reason. It is all resolved at the end of the story. Sorry for any mistakes or anything bad. R&R and let the creepy oddness begin.
{Edit: I was just reading through this again since I couldn't really remember it an I found so many typos and errors my neck cracked from all my cringing. The errors should be fixed now though. Sorry :)}
There's an old legend known throughout the world. That legend, is the Doppelganger. A Doppelganger is a person's look-alike, their twin. Everyone has one, who maybe lived in a time period before the person was born or maybe is going to live centuries after the person's death. Sometimes though, a person and their Doppelganger exist at the same time. That is not allowed. There is an evil version of a person and a nice version. Contrary to popular belief, the Doppelganger is not always the evil one. Only one of the two may exist at once, which is why anyone who see's their Doppelganger is struck down by fate. They face either extreme misfortune or in few cases, there may be no consequence. However, the most common consequence is death. As only one version of a person may live at one time, the two are thrown into a battle of survival, from which only one will emerge. The question is, who will it be?
Everyone in the world has the possibility of seeing their Doppelganger, though not every person will actually run into this problem. Those who see their Doppelganger are not all famous, rich, young or old. It can happen to anyone, no matter their social status, strength, financial status or age.
In the early morning of a chilly Saturday, Osamu Mikumo got a slap in the face from misfortune. He was by himself on the street, headed to Tamakoma. There wasn't a single other person in sight. Then, there it was. A figure walked down the street toward Osamu in the low dawn light, a scarf hiding half of their face. Osamu looked at the ground, drawing his scarf up over his face more to fend of the cold breeze. He didn't look at the person coming toward him until they were almost right next to him. For some reason, Osamu felt the sudden urge to look at the person, almost feeling drawn to them. He looked up to see leaf green eyes locked with his own green eyes. The other person had dark brown, almost black hair and the same color scarf as Osamu. If fact, just after the person passed, Osamu realized they had been an exact copy of him, clothes and all. Startled, the agent turned around, though his look-alike was gone. Osamu spent the rest of his walk constantly looking over his shoulder.
When Osamu got to Tamakoma, everyone else was there. Tachikawa from HQ was also there, sitting on the couch with Jin. The two were talking about their Triggers, Kogetsu and Scorpion, as well as a little bit about Fujin. Osamu sat down on the other couch and rubbed his head, trying to process what he'd seen earlier.
"Osamu, are you okay? Chika asked, having suddenly appeared next to the teenage boy. Osamu jumped in surprise, more on edge than usual.
"Oh, uh, yeah Chika. It's just that a really weird thing happened to me today. I was walking down the street, and I saw some one who looked exactly like me. I turned around after they passed, since I wanted to see who it was, but they were gone," Osamu explained. Chika frowned.
"Sounds like a Doppelganger," said Yuma, who had somehow materialized right next to Osamu on the couch, causing the latter to jump once again.
"Kuga!? Wait, what's a Doppelganger?" Osamu asked. Yuma leaned back and put his arms behind his head. His eyes closed and he had his feet propped up on the coffee table.
"Doppelgangers are people's look-alike, everyone has one. There's always an evil version of someone and a nice version. Usually they exist at different times, but sometimes they end up in the same time period. In that case, if someone sees their Doppelganger, they're going to either face extreme misfortune or they'll die. Only one version of a person can be alive at once, which is why the person who sees their Doppelganger usually dies. It's an old legend," the Neighbor explained.
Osamu was stunned. He was going to die? He had an evil twin? Doppelganger? It was all too confusing, and Osamu decided to go with the best option he could think of.
"Jin-san?" Jin took his eyes off of Tachikawa, letting them settle on Osamu.
"You need something, Osamu?" he questioned. Osamu nodded.
"Will I die anytime soon?" he asked. Jin stared at the younger teen for a moment, then sighed.
"It's possible," he said simply before turning back to his rival to continue their conversation. Osamu blinked. Jin didn't seem to care at all about what he'd just told Osamu. Though that aside, Osamu was shocked. Jin saw a future in which he died?! Sure that had happened before and Osamu had survived, but he'd been in a coma for a week. The scars that remained were ugly reminders of that unsettling experience.
Osamu opened his mouth to ask his his future-seeing friend another question when Jin and Tachikawa both stood up. They headed for the door, walking side by side, Tachikawa's arm around Jin's waist. They were still talking.
"I'll be back later!" Jin called as he walked out, laughing when Tachikawa kissed his cheek. Osamu cringed. Since when had Tachikawa and Jin been a thing? Besides, wasn't Jin usually a perv that flirted with every female he saw? Since when had he liked guys?
Konami, who Osamu hadn't noticed once since he had gotten to Tamakoma that day, noticed the young teen's face.
"What's with that look, Osamu? Did you seriously forget about those two? They've been together almost a month," she said. "If you don't like it you could at least make it less obvious," she then scolded. Kyosuke walked up next to her, slinging his arms around Konami's shoulders.
"What would you expect from Osamu, Kirie? He's not the type that has a lot of self-control," he said, frowning. Osamu stiffened, noticing the way his two senpai's stood. Were they together too? Why was Kyosuke's face something other than blank like it always was? Also, why did he call Konami by her first name and speak in more than single sentences? Everyone was acting weird.
"Oh, it, uh, it was nothing. I was just thinking about something, Senpai," he lied, sitting back on the couch. Yuma stared at him.
"Osamu." Said teen went rigid. Yuma had a Lie Detector Side Effect, and had definitely seen right through his lie. "You think too much," Yuma said, much to Osamu's surprise. The brown haired boy had expected his white haired friend to call him out for lying. Maybe Yuma hadn't actually been paying attention, or he just wasn't saying anything. That was very out of character for Yuma, but it wasn't as wired as it should have been. Maybe that was because everyone had been acting weird that day.
"Chika, are you hungry? I just made some triple meat dumplings," Reiji called from the doorway. Chika smiled and ran over to the red haired man, who ruffled her hair before walking with her to the kitchen. Osamu shivered. For some reason, that oddness was worse than everything else.
"Osamu, are you going to HQ anytime soon? I'm going to head over in a few minutes to do some matches with Midorikawa," Yuma said. Osamu shook his head and Yuma nodded. He stood up from the couch and walked to the door.
"See you later," he said, waving over his shoulder with his left hand. Osamu noticed that the teen did not have his Black Trigger. The Ring wasn't on his pointer finger where it usually was. Yuma was still short and white haired though, which meant he hadn't been fixed. So how was he alive if the Trigger was gone? All this weirdness was crushing Osamu like a heavy weight, stressing out his brain. A headache began in the back of his skull. Why didn't he remember anything? What was even going on?! No longer able to stand it, Osamu stood up from the couch and walked quickly to the door.
"I'll be back. I forgot something at home," he said.
"Hurry, or all of Reiji's dumplings will be gone by the time you get back!" yelled Yotaro from where he had suddenly appeared near the tv. The boy looked normal, but Raijinmaru was nowhere in sight. That only made Osamu walked faster.
The teen got as far away from Tamakoma as he could, his mind trying to process everything. Jin and Tachikawa? Konami and Kyosuke? No Raijinmaru? Chika and Reiji suddenly as close as siblings? Jin not caring that Osamu faced the possibility of dying? That and more, much more. It was all wrong, not what Osamu remembered ever happening. There was no way that he could have just forgotten everything. It had to be some trick, it had to. There was no way any of this was real.
Osamu was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see the person walking towards him until their shoulders bumped. Osamu looked up to apologize.
"Sorr-"
"No need to apologize. Also, I can assure you, it's all real," said a voice so foreign yet very familiar at the same time. Osamu's eyes widened, and he spun around to see himself. That was impossible though. Osamu knew for sure he didn't have a twin brother. Unless that was another weird thing. That couldn't be right though. Or maybe... The truth clicked into place in Osamu's head. This was his Doppelganger, his evil twin, who's smile was more of a villainous grin.
"What do you want!?" Osamu demanded, his fingers closing around the Trigger in his pocket. The Doppelganger's smile only seemed to widen.
"I want... to kill you!" he responded proudly, before lunging forward. At the same time, Osamu and the Doppelganger drew their Triggers from their pockets, activating them in sync.
"TRIGGER, ON!"
Osamu's Raygust locked with the Doppelganger's, the former person gritting his teeth as he tried to find an opening. The two Raygust's pulled apart as their users jumped back, before running back in to fight. Osamu managed to hold his own for a little, his jaw clenched painfully as he fought. The Doppelganger's evil grin never faltered.
The two continued to fight, but it didn't last long. They were in the city, not in the Forbidden Zone. That meant Osamu couldn't use Asteroid or any other Shooter skill. All he could do was use Raygust. To his misfortune, the Doppleganger was better at handling Raygust, and just when things started looking up for Osamu, he was overpowered, and his Raygust was knocked out of his hands. The teen reached for his only weapon, but it was too far away. The movement gave his Doppelganger an opening, and Doppelganger-Osamu took advantage. Osamu got the breath knocked out of him as he slammed into the ground, before he found himself pinned under the weight of his Doppelganger, who knelt on top of him. The Doppelganger had Osamu's Trigger in its hand, and without any difficulty, Doppelganger-Osamu crushed the Trigger.
In an instant, Osamu's Trion body disappeared, replaced with his normal one.
"Any one who sees their Doppelganger dies, Osamu. You should have known from the start that you didn't stand a chance..." the Doppelganger whispered loudly, his tone harsh. With the same villainous grin he'd had on his face since the start of the fight, the Doppelganger raised his Raygust and brought it down onto Osamu's flesh and blood chest.
\*o*/ \*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/\*o*/
Osamu gasped and jerked awake, pushing away from the desk he had previous been sitting at with his head down, out cold. He tipped back in his chair, and was unable to recover his balance. With a yell, he fell back and hit the floor.
There were footsteps in the hallway, then the rest of Tamakoma, bar Yotaro who was with Yosuke, was in the room. Osamu blinked a few times, willing away the bleariness in his eyes as he rubbed his sore head.
"You okay, Osamu?" asked Yuma, who stood next to the teen laying on the floor. Osamu nodded, and Yuma held out a hand. Osamu accepted it, and was easily pulled to his feet. The teen stumbled a bit, falling into Jin, who caught him by the arm. Behind Osamu, Chika righted the chair so it was no longer tipped over.
"You sure you're okay, Four-Eyes? You took a pretty hard fall," Jin said. Osamu nodded, freezing in fear when a hand caught his chin. Konami pulled off Osamu's glasses and looked at his eyes. She turned his face a few times before releasing him and handing back his glasses.
"He doesn't have a concussion at least," she announced. Osamu relaxed and put his glasses back on, rubbing his abused head again. It sure felt like he had a concussion.
"That's why you shouldn't work yourself so hard. You always stay up late working on strategies, then fall asleep at the computer," Shiori scolded. Osamu looked away sheepishly.
"Sorry, and I'm fine. I just had a really weird dream," he said. Everyone looked at Osamu expectantly, wanting to know the details. Osamu shifted uncomfortably, then sighed.
"Basically on my way here I was walking by myself, then I ran into a person who appeared to look exactly like me. I turned around to get a better look at who it was, but they were gone. When I got to Tamakoma, everything was pretty normal. Apparently I looked weird, and Chika asked if I was okay. I told her about what I saw, and Yuma was suddenly next to me. He actually knew things about this world, and he started talking about Doppelgangers," Osamu explained. Yuma's face morphed in confusion.
"What's a Doppelganger?" he asked.
"I'll tell you later, Kuga," Osamu said, not in the mood to explain or hear an explanation of Doppelgangers.
"Anyway, since seeing your Doppelganger means you're going to die, according to some legend, I asked Jin-san if I was going to die. He just said 'It's possible' then started talking to Tachikawa-san like he had been before I said anything. He didn't seem concerned about the fact that I was possibly going to die soon. Everyone also called me Osamu instead of Four-Eyes, and Chika didn't add the -kun to my name. I was going to ask Jin-san something else, but he just got up and left with Tachikawa-san. What's even weirder was that they were a couple and were hugging each other, all that," Osamu said, cringing. Jin winced.
"I didn't need that mental image," he said. Everyone else nodded in agreement. Osamu gave him a look that said 'sorry' and 'you asked for it' at the same time before resuming his story.
"After that, Konami-senpai scolded me for forgetting that they were dating, and Karasuma-senpai came up and put his arm around her. He was calling her by her given name and he had an actual expression on his face. He talked with more than on sentence at a time, and instead of pranking Konami-senpai he was dating her," Osamu recounted with a shiver. Kyosuke and Konami both took a step away from each other.
"I lied and said I had been thinking about something, not mentally criticizing Jin-san and Tachikawa-san. Yuma was sitting right next to me, and he didn't say anything about my lie. He just told me I think too much. After that, Reiji-san came into the room and asked Chika if she wanted some of the dumplings he'd made. She went right over and Reiji-san ruffled her hair. They were being very sibling-like. It was very weird. Just after they went to the kitchen, Yuma went to HQ to fight Midorikawa. He didn't have his Black Trigger on his hand, but he was still in his Trion body and everything. It really confused me, so I decided to leave for awhile. As I headed out, I saw Yotaro sitting in front of the TV, but I didn't see Raijinmaru anywhere." Rindo frowned, imagining his son without Raijinmaru.
"No Raijinmaru?" the man muttered to himself.
"I walked around the city a little, wondering why everyone was acting so different. I was in an empty part of town near the outskirts of the city when I bumped into someone. It turned out to be my Doppelganger. We fought, and he won. He destroyed my Trigger so my Trion body was replaced by my real one. He went to stab me with Raygust, and I woke up when he did it. It was weird, because he had my face and everything, but his smile was creepy," Osamu finished, shivering at the thought. Yuma's eyebrows were high above his eyes as he duckfaced.
"You have a very active imagination," he pointed out. Jin nodded in agreement.
"Well, if that's it, I think I have a meeting to go to," Rindo announced, heading out of the room. Konami, Kyosuke and Reiji soon followed, obviously uncomfortable, leaving only Mikumo squad and Jin.
"I'll never be able to sit on a couch with Tachikawa again," Jin said with a sigh, though Yuma's duckface made it clear that Jin was being sarcastic. Osamu rubbed his sore head again.
"Sorry, Jin-san," he said. Jin shook his head, his signature smile returning to his face.
"Make sure you put some ice on your head, or it'll hurt when you wake up tomorrow. My Side Effect tells me so," the brunette said, mysterious as always as he walked out of the room. Osamu looked at the other two teens in the room. Yuma was off in his own little world, staring at the Black Trigger on his left pointer finger. Chika was awkwardly waiting for someone to say something.
"Have you guys eaten yet?" Osamu asked, breaking the silence. Yuma and Chika both looked at their captain, then shook their heads. Osamu smiled.
"Why don't we get some food then?" he suggested. Yuma and Chika nodded, smiles on their faces as they headed out of the room.
"So, what is a Doppelganger?"