Prey to the World

Ch.1 Prelude: How Strange...

...

It was high noon and the sun had reached its apex point in the sky. Zeke Flora had been sitting on a bench near the park looking at his rather, as he felt, poor choice of snack and beverage which was a simple bottle of water and an apple. He often questioned as to why he even bothered to buy apples if he knew it wouldn't exactly satisfy his appetite.

Zeke was a big guy and he knew it. Not to say he was proud of it, but he knew nonetheless. Eating but an apple would be less than satisfactory, much to his dismay. Sighing, he leaned into the bench and pondered as to why he was even out here. He then remembered that he told himself that "this was the day he'd change for the better."

He chuckled bitterly. Right, as if I haven't told myself THAT before. he thought and set the apple next to him and opened the bottled water. He leaned forward on the bench and watched lazily as people and liminals alike went on with their lives, probably doing a lot more than what he was doing currently.

Or rather, doing a lot more than he's ever done.

He took a sip of his water and recoiled slightly, "Warm already? Jeez…" He chastised and quickly screwed the cap back on. He leaned back again and gazed upward at the vast blue that was the sky. "What am I going to do with myself?" he murmured solemnly. He recollected his life before this and often questioned what happened to all that positivity.

His life wasn't exactly what one would call eventful. Being coddled as a child wasn't exactly the greatest path to adulthood as it led him to being painfully optimistic and ignorant. Because of that naivety, life hit him. Hard. Having to learn on his feet led him to where he is now, sitting on a bench waiting for a good time to simply head to a house funded by his parents. In consequence, he became self-conscious and started to overeat when he was upset. With his self-esteem lowered, he humbled himself and never thought he would surmount to anything.

Though, even through all this, he still felt a little bit of his optimism left. He liked to give advice to others and often encouraged those who needed it, as counter-intuitive as it sounded.

Zeke mulled over his thoughts and decided that it was about time he got up. He looked forward and saw man and an Arachne subspecies walking down the sidewalk he was on. He actively shivered. He didn't want to seem rude with such a gesture but after a few run-ins with some predator Extraspecies who thought they were above the law- Arachne included- left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. To say he didn't trust them was an understatement. Whereas the word distrust meant he was deathly scared of our newly found neighbors.

Zeke lived in a place that was filled with people a lot more active and fit than he was, so rouge liminals often saw him as a morsel in the chaff. His confrontations with them nearly ended his life if it weren't for the M.O.N. and their vigilance.

Feeling very paranoid, he scrambled up, grabbing his apple and water in tow and started off. His actions were rather hasty and abrupt, giving off the wrong impression to the Spider-woman. The Arachne saw Zeke shuffle to leave her presence which, in turn, wounded her self-confidence. Her facial expression went sullen and she let out a depressed sigh. This did not go unnoticed by the host. Feeling rather offended by Zeke's actions, the man quickly walked to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Um, sir, do you have a problem with my homestay?" said a man irritably. Apparently the Arachne had seen his slight actions.

Zeke froze. Nah! I don't have problem with the walking, talking killer spider! I mean, it's not like they web people up and drink their blood like a FREAKING SIPPY CUP! Obviously he couldn't say that because such bluntness wouldn't do well in his current predicament. So he went with option two: squabble his way out. Attempting to build bravado, he composed himself and wiped the cold sweat that quickly formed on his brow. Something had to be said, right?

The lack of color on his face sure didn't help though. One would go as far as to say it looked rather unconvincing.

"No! No! Not at all! I just, uh... Lost track of time! You know, this day is so nice so it's easy lounge about right? I'm gonna be late for this... " Zeke thought for a second, "Thing at home!" Smooth, idiot. he cursed to himself. The man seemed unamused by his reasoning and glared daggers at the bigger man.

"Right... Wait I know you.. You're the guy who can't himself out of trouble! I suggest you watch yourself," he started spitefully, "she went through a lot already and I don't need you making stupid gestures to make her feel bad." He then pointed at Zeke, "Maybe if you lost some weight," he taps Zeke's stomach, "they would leave you alone." He spat before walking off to a smiling Arachne, leaving Zeke to himself.

...

"It's time." said a woman in a black suit and tie. She had been watching him for awhile now and knew everything about him... Almost everything. Now that the time was right, she'd finally enact what was told of her. "Alright, buddy. Time to pay you visit." she walked off without another word.

...

A lot of people don't like him.

Zeke lived in infamy for being a huge source for anti-liminal politicians everywhere. His problems fed the flames of politicians who wanted nothing to do with the monsters that lived among them. Being a foreigner, he was the golden apple for campaigns and political messages, leaving him to the crossness of those who supported them. The Government tried their damnedest to keep his recent incidents under wraps but it would inevitably be exposed on the phone camera of a snooping bystander.

Zeke clenched his fist, crushing the apple in his hand. He wanted to retort so badly, to say something that would help regain what little pride he had left. He couldn't… He knew there would be no point in attempting to fight back. It would have been a fight that he already lost.

Angry tears emerged from his eyes. "But why?" his voice shook along with the rest of his body. "Why me?" he questioned. Maybe he deserved it in some twisted way. That's what he reasoned with from time to time thinking that he maybe did something to upset this balance everyone set for themselves. All he knew was that he wanted nothing to do with it.

He turned his sight toward his hand. It was slightly bruised from crushing the apple. He violently flicked his hand to get the juice off of it and partially out of irritation. Zeke turned his heels and headed home in a small jog. "Stupid, dumb, scum piece of garbage…" he continued grumbling insults as he went.

With a little adrenaline flowing through him from recent events, he was able to keep his pace. Depressing thoughts wracked his mind as he jogged through the streets, ignoring his surroundings. His situation seemed to become worse and worse with each passing day and today wasn't any better.

In Lay Man's term, it sucked. It sucked a lot.

Arriving at his familiar residential area, he reached 'his' house which stood out more than the rest. 'His' house was rehashed by a construction group his parents hired using their custom blueprints. His parents were famous home designers known as "The Flora decorum couple". So one can only imagine the beauty the house held. Zeke slowed his jogging to a halt, breathing heavily all the while and swiftly took his key from under a potted plant next to his door.

He entered his house and immediately flopped on his couch in his living room with an irritated sigh. He pursed his lips and flung his head backward. "Goddesses, man!" he shouted, his irate state getting the better of him. Feeling fatigue from the emotional stress, he closed his eyes and tried to relax. He eventually went to sleep after brooding to himself.

…

Evening had started to set in when Zeke heard a loud knock on his door. "Ah come on.." he moaned groggily, reluctant to get up. He then heard knocking again, however this time it sounded more like pounding if anything. He growled, getting up from his resting spot and scratched his stomach. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Zeke said unprofessionally. He walked to the door and opened it, only peeking his head out. "What do you want?" He asked rather rudely, scratching his head.

He then took the time to get a good look at his visitor. It was a woman who looked probably three years older than he. She was graced with blonde-red hair and sported a nice tuxedo suit which hugged her rather curvaceous features nicely, not that he cared at the moment.

The mysterious woman also wore sunglasses which prevented him from seeing her eyes. "Hi there! My name is Yoko Namura and I am a Cultural Exchange Coordinator." She said, trying to look through the door. "And? Whatever you're selling, I don't want it." groggy irritation was apparent in his voice however, she ignored his rude comment and continued. "You are Zeke Flora: age: 22, height:5'10, eye color: Turquoise green, Hair color: Orange-red, and weight: 275 lbs, and you hale from North America, correct?".

Zeke narrowed his eyes. "Uh, yes, that's me." Zeke said slightly uncomfortable. He also noted that she was using the American measurement system. Strange… "Perfect! If you'd let me, I'd like to ask you a few questions and hopefully provide answers should you have any questions for yourself." She beamed, quickly forcing her way in.

Zeke looked at her incredulously and decided to roll with it, not having much else to do. "Nice place! I've never seen anything like it! Are those Geodes?" the seemingly government official asked. Yoko was entranced by a long glass case that sat under a large window sill in the living room. It was filled with a variety of geodes that varied in different colors and sizes.

"Yes... Yes they are." he replied. His patience was wearing thin. He didn't want to be mean to his guest since he didn't have many(any), but he really wasn't in the mood. "Sorry. Sorry. Let's get down to business." With a shrug, Zeke moved to his dining area and pulled a seat for her at his table. She nodded in acceptance and Zeke quickly took his seat on the opposite side. "First, do you know why I'm here?" she said, pushing her glasses up.

"I'm afraid not. You kind of just showed up." Zeke said crossing his arms.

"I'm here on the account of multiple attempts at your life by Extraspecies who act outside of the law." She responded with a darker tone. Zeke glowered. He was afraid this day would come. She was probably here to silence him or something. "Look, I'm sorry I-" he started sorrowfully but was interrupted quickly. "By any chance, do you develop paranoia when near another liminal?" She asked quickly, taking out a piece of paper and a pen. This surprised him greatly. "Oh..." he managed to utter out. Zeke felt intimidated.

"Yes or no?" she urged.

"Oh, uh, unfortunately I do," he said looking down abashedly. Yoko drew something down, murmuring to herself.

"Are you aware that not all liminals are like this?" she continued before looking back at her paper. The young man leaned against his chair and wracked his brain for a proper answer. "I don't freaking know... Maybe? Wh- where are you going with this exactly?" Zeke inquired with a hint more frustration. The woman ignored his question and took maybe as a yes. "Good to hear!" she said happily and continued writing notes down. The sudden shift in attitude was unnerving. Zeke clenched his fist on the sleeve of his shirt to relieve the stress that was building up.

Yoko gazed up from her papers, "Are you interested in being a host for an extraspecies by any chance?" This shook Zeke, why in the world would they want him to be a host? His answer was clear, that's for sure."Ha ha! No! Sure, not all Liminals are savage, man-eating beasts, but that doesn't change the fact that some are incredibly rude or manipulative. I'm sure nice ones exist, but so far, I'm not convinced. Plus!" he motioned at himself, "Do I look like a guy who can take care of a mon- Liminal?" He found it funny that he went directly toward his looks, knowing it had nothing to do with that. "Besides, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of more fitting candidates than I am. Not that I want to be one one the first place."

"Not really." she retorted. "The reason I am here: We are currently going with a new program known as 'Monster Therapy'." Zeke opened his mouth to say something but was beat to the punch. "'Monster Therapy' is a program for those who were assaulted and or otherwise harassed by violent liminals. We make the victim a host family for a more docile subspecies to help the victim reconcile with extraspecies. As time goes on, we give the host more predator like liminals until their phobia or paranoia is gone." she finished. She pushed up her glasses and leaned back, "Ring a bell?" Zeke put on a worried look. He wasn't exactly up to this nor did he think he deserved this responsibility.

She leaned forward and placed her hands under her chin, "Look I, or rather, we, know who you are. After that little escapade you had with that man and his homestay, we felt it was about time we confronted you about this matter." She then looked him up and down and continued, "You just so happened to fit the bill, luckily for us. I was a little apprehensive to do this because—" Zeke stopped her there, "You were afraid you'd be handing a liminal to a fat, nerdy, woman obsessed shut-in who only looks at manga, is emotionally disturbed and drools at every girl he sees?" Zeke said cutting her off. He knew all too well what his visage brought out and wasn't exactly impressed with the assumption. Who could blame them though, he was a shut-in at times.

This caused Yoko to stutter a bit, "N-n-no! I just thought you would be uncomfortable with a liminal so soon! That's it! Totally not that!" She started to pull on her collar nervously. Zeke wasn't impressed. Not in the slightest. "Look, I don't want your stupid program and if you just came here to insult me, please take your leave." Zeke spat before slumping into his chair, pointing at the door with the meanest scowl he could conjure.

Yoko sighed and adjusted her tie. She then readjusted herself and spoke again, "My apologies for being so unprofessional. I didn't mean to offend or accuse you of such things. I should have come here with an open heart. So on this plea, I would like to ask if you would still accept our offer." She lowered her head on her hands in respect. There was a moment of silence between the two. "No." he stated simply.

"What?!" she shouted quickly.

"I said no." Zeke crossed his arms.

"Please reconsider!" she pleaded. "Look, I know it's sudden but this your first opportunity to get over your fears! Not only that but it will help clear the propaganda that surrounds you! Think of it for a minute. You'll be able to live free of ridicule and prejudice and you won't be an easy target anymore! You'll be safe!"

"Or you can lead a killer right to my doorstep and end me then and there!" Zeke quickly argued. He slammed his hands on the table and got up. His stomach jutted the table slightly forward.

"I'm not-!" She pinched the bridge of nose and sighed. "I'm not here to kill you. I'm trying to help you. Plus, the Cultural Exchange Bill is at risk! All we want to do is see you safe so entire races don't have to suffer for it." This had him thinking. Was he being selfish? That thought scared him a lot more than it should have.

Zeke wasn't mean or a bitter person. Sure, he lacked faith in himself and liminals but if there was one thing that came out of being a coddled child, it was morals. Hearing the real situation immediately changed his mind set. He wasn't going to be one to destroy lives like that. Zeke started looking at everything but her. He then nodded saying, "Alright... Alright I'll do it. Only if they want to stay here! Don't force them! Also, I'd like to apologize for my behavior." he agreed. He said the last part with a tired smile.

He reached out his hand to shake in agreement. Only to be jutted forward by an overly giddy Ms. Namura. "Thank you!" she shouted, shaking Zeke's hand violently, "I really appreciate it! Trust me, you'll enjoy having an extra species here. Plus, you're not even that big! You're actually a lot skinnier than I thought. Perhaps there's more muscle under that cushion than I thought.~" she cooed and winked at him.

Zeke blushed at the compliment, not used to the attention. He then looked down at himself and sighed in quiet relief. Perhaps his metabolism was more active than he originally thought… He clenched his fist a couple of times and stared at his biceps, flexing it. Yoko noticed this and smiled cheekily, "Got you thinking, huh?" she said coyly. "N-no! I just…" Zeke struggled to find the words but couldn't. How could I not think about it? "D-don't tease me! We just met!" He shouted, flustered. "Trust me, hon, you look fine, I would know, you looked a lot worse when I imagined you the first time. Plus, I don't think limnals are as judgmental as us humans are, them normally being on the receiving end." She reassured him. He nodded a bit before her words clicked. "Wait, worse!?" A vain started bulging on his forehead. She turned away fake laughing while he shouted at her.

After talking and going over things about the exchange, Yoko handed him payload of papers to sign and a booklet that listed the various extrapecies that lived among them. "Sorry about all the papers, it's simply for assurance and agreements, seeing as you are a special case. 'Monster Therapy' is a crude way of saying it, but it fits your situation perfectly." She quipped happily. "Alright, I'll be taking my leave as it is very late. I expect those papers signed tomorrow alright? We'll be set by then." Zeke looked out the window and saw that the sun had set. He then smirked at Yoko, "Yes, Ms. Namura!" he sounded not unlike a grade schooler. She stuck her tongue out at him and moved to the door, "See ya tomorrow, hon!" she said before leaving the abode.

Zeke simply nodded and turned his head after the door shut. He then turned to the mountain of paperwork and went to it. How strange… he thought to himself. Never in his life did he ever think he'd do something with his life, let alone this! He felt troubled though. This whole thing was moving so fast and with little explanation. He honestly feared what was going to happen but steeled himself regardless. For now, it's best was best to finish what was in front of him. Though… something seemed to be lurking in the shadows, unbeknownst to him. Perhaps things aren't going to go as smoothly as he thought.

…

Prey to Biographies?!

Zeke Flora (Our MC!)

Species: Human! (Like you and me!)

Height: 5'5/165cm

Breast size: B ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (Obviously N/A)

Age: 22

Birthday: March 9th

Occupation: None (but he knows how to drive and has a licence )

Zeke Flora is a young man from the U.S. who had his hand held for most of his life. Thusly, he has developed poor motor skills and a naive outlook on life. This would take it's toll as he made his way through High School to Adult hood. Being easily manipulated by everyone around him, he slowly started to back off from everyone socially. His kindness and unwillingness to do anything extreme would lose him many friends but gain favor from his teachers, whom were his only friends. Without the wisdom of life, he would be hard pressed to find a job, make friends, or find love. One thing his parents did, however, was give him morals upon morals. Whether not it's a blessing or a curse is up to you. He has very bad unlucky streak with extraspecies, which leads to where we are now.

Personality: Zeke is a good man who can listen to anyone. He is kind to almost everyone he meets but lately he has gotten a little rough. He is judgemental to Limanals and will automatically assume they are up to no good. Though he lacks a lot of knowledge he still understands how he must treat others. His morals constantly keep him in check.

Appearance: As you know, he his a little on the not skinny side, so he purposefully uses baggy clothes or black clothes.

Role: Main Character.

Traits

Fluent Japanese: but of course. He has been living there for two years. In fact he's been using it through out this chapter!

Character bonus: He is the center of attention. Though his life sucks now, it'll likely get better.

Silver tongue: He is an advice giver and somehow a wooer. He inadvertently has a way with words due to his nature

A/N Awesome first chapter! Well, actually this was the boring chapter to help you see what you're dealing with. I'll post more as time goes so I hope you enjoy this little fic.