Mamoru felt the sound of his heartbeat increase more, and his cheeks felt hot.

This--this is the first time he has seen somebody of the opposite gender before. 

He was under the impression that anybody they kept locked up in a place like this would be a guy. 

"Y--you're a girl?"

The girl looked him up and down; after a while, she sighed. "For a moment, I thought there would be a cool guy out here, but all I see is a hobo."

That fantasy-like image vanished the moment the girl opened her mouth.

"Excuse me; perhaps I heard you wrong?"

Kouji always told him to be polite, especially around girls. 

"I said you're a hobo; not only do you dress like one but even the way you speak-"

At that comment, Mamoru grabbed hold of her shoulders. "Listen here, you, you can't just insult somebody you only just met."

For a moment, the girl looked stunned, but it didn't take long before her monotone-like expression returned. The girl kicked his shin, and Mamoru yelped in pain.

"Are you holding a grudge because I called you a neet?"

"You're a hypocrite; after you insulted me first, you're telling me off for getting back at you?"

This girl has an angelic-like appearance, but she has such a foul mouth. Then again, he can't judge her too much. He wonders how long she has spent in this area. It does look like she can leave her room. But unlike the area he stays in, there isn't a cafeteria or place to hang out; the only thing anybody can see here is long hallways.

"Ugh, sorry." Mamoru went on his knees and bowed. "I didn't mean that. I just said it to test you."

"Test?"

"I am looking for my friend."

At that, the girl's expression changed. "Your friend?"

"Yeah! I was wondering if he was in here. You see, he is wearing a uniform like this except he is a bit shorter than me, he has pale-colored medium pink and white-colored hair. He looks meek but talks a lot, and his name is-"

"Kouji."

"Yeah! That's him, you know him?"

He doubted Kouji went around telling strangers his name. So he probably became friends with this girl.

"That kid disappeared a few days ago."

"Argh damn, I just missed him. I was formulating the last few days when would be the best time to sneak out."

"What's your name?"

Mamoru blinked when he heard that question. This is the first, no the second time somebody has asked him what his name is since he came here. The people in this place refer to each other by numbers; the only privileged ones with names are the researchers. 

"Me? Mamoru."

"That's a weird name."

What? Oh no, she didn't just insult his name.

"By saying that, you're acting rude again. My name isn't weird."

The girl looked uncomfortable when he called her out for saying something rude. Perhaps she is bad with this kind of thing? 

"I've never heard that name before."

"Really? I hear it is common." Mamoru trailed off. Then again, he wonders how long she has been here? If she has been here for so long, it is only normal for her not to understand normal things. "You know it is strange for us to debate about my name without giving your own."

"Danger level extreme."

The moment Mamoru heard that, he cursed in his head. This is worse than numbers. They gave this poor girl a strange title. While the nature of the name makes him curious, Mamoru knew better than to ponder on it.

Even if she is dangerous, it doesn't matter. She doesn't look like the type of person who will hurt him.

Now how does he get her to say her real name?

Unless she has been here since birth, then she wouldn't have a name. 

"Sumire."

Mamoru blinked when he heard something escape the girl's lips. "Huh?"

"You wanted my name, right?"

Well, he did, but he didn't think she would give it. Or maybe it is because of Youji? Youji disappeared quite some time ago, so he supposes that is enough time to- his thoughts broke off when he heard a rumbling sound. Huh? That doesn't sound like his stomach.

His gaze fell on the girl who had turned a bright shade of red. "What are you hungry?"

"No!" Sumire exclaimed. She tried to sound aggressive, but all he could hear was an adorable voice.

Pfft, she is so cute.

Mamoru pulled out his bag and eyed the hamburger he placed in a container. It is a shame he has to give this way. He planned to eat it later in case he got caught and needed the strength to escape. 

But this is fine too; he wants to become friends with the girl. This is the best way to bridge the gap. There was something about her other than her fairy-like appearance that made him want to befriend her.

"Right, I know what you want."

"N--no, I don't want your food-" Sumire's sentence fell short as she eyed the container curiously. "That is?"

Mamoru blinked at her reaction. "Uh, it's just a hamburger."

When he saw no reaction from her, Mamoru paused. Could it be that she has never seen a hamburger before? Then she might have been here since birth. But no she has a name. The subjects who come here who have names were once a part of normal society. 

"You don't know what it is?"

"D--don't make fun of me. I--I've been here for long, and my family was not the type who ate out."

"Ah, homemade meals?"

"No, the cook.."

Mamoru blinked when he heard those words. He thought there was something different about her, but this girl is a noble? Then what on earth is she doing in a place like this? She looks very skinny too like somebody hasn't fed her in a long time.

Normally people in this institute focus on keeping the subjects healthy. Aside from the inhumane training and keeping them from outside world factor- they don't mistreat them. At least he thought so but judging from this girl; there are dark secrets about this place.

Then again, it is not like he didn't notice. After he stayed here awhile, he began to notice things he didn't before. In the beginning, he used to like it here. From his very first day, people liked him. The adults interacted with him and treated him well.

However, as more time passed by, he observed how these people behaved in front of others. Mamoru recalled how he saw one of the researchers looking at Youji in disgust and how they rudely shoved him out of the way in the hallway. He observed this for a few days and noticed a pattern.

The researchers are only nice to the people with talent; they treat those without skill as failures. They are only nice to him because they think they can gain something from him. When he leaves this place with full control of his power, they can use him whenever they need help.

It was the first time he felt such disgust. Even more than the parents who treated him like air, these people were more despicable. If he didn't meet Kouji, then he most likely would have had a poor opinion on his world.