All humans are cruel. In people's hearts, there exists something dark and corrupted. I don't think there is anybody in this world who is truly good.

Back then, he tried to persuade her that isn't the case. But it was only because he wanted to see the good in humans. He also understood her line of thinking; after all, one would only have to look at the adults in the institute.

There was a time where he got tired of it. How many more times would they beat him to death and revive him before they got their desired results? The only times he got a break were during dawn, when the guards would finally get tired and sleep.

How many times did he wish that he would just stay dead longer than a few minutes? Every single time he came back to life, it felt like he would lose something valuable. He didn't understand what that something was, but he felt that if this kept up the next time they revived him, he would no longer be the same him.

This is for her sake; it is better than her going through this is what he would repeatedly tell himself. Naturally, the girl didn't know anything about the experiments. She would scold him, however, for getting hurt and being careless.

How many times did he want to tell her, silly girl, this is all because of you?

But no matter how strong he was, even he had his limits. One researcher asked him one day if he still wanted to continue. It seemed this lady had developed a bit of sympathy for him. But he said to her with a foolish smile that this was for her.

The main concern was not his physical strength but his mind. It seemed he was far weaker than he thought mentally.

His mind couldn't handle the amount of torture he received daily, and he was breaking down inside.

"Mamoru, wake up."

Mamoru woke up panting and gasping heavily. The person who woke him up was John. The man had been shouting and shaking him for god knows how long.

He thought he was already awake and was thinking of the past. But it seemed like he had been stuck in the nightmare. Mamoru felt his entire body tremble and his heart pounding. The blood rushed to his ears, and he was vaguely aware of his fists over his chest and his nails piercing his skin.

"Sorry for being loud, but your body waves were fluctuating."

Well, that makes sense; each researcher was in charge of monitoring the physical condition of their subject. "But weren't you in the middle of business?"

John sighed. "You really aren't cute. It's true that I had work, but like I can watch my friend fall apart."

Friend huh? Only this man would call him his friend. John passed him a cup of water. "I came here to tell you what I found out. The strong power user you referred to that the mafia group had before, that man left around the same time as Ibuki-chan."

So it seems like he was right.

"It seemed he took a lot of money with him when he left and claimed it was to establish his own group. Naturally, the mafia group supported him because they believe they would benefit too. I guess they didn't think he would turn on them."

"Black Alice." Mamoru tapped his fingers against the desk. "Even the institute doesn't know what kind of people they are."

"Our investigations on them are limited. Or rather," John sighed. "Every single time we get close, they find out. I think only Terashima Yuhi has been successful with getting any information."

Mamoru laughed. "Are you saying Yuhi can beat the institute easily?"

"That man could probably do it. Ibuki-chan was regarded highly by the researchers. But I think that was because Terashima helped her stabilize her condition. They both learned something from each other."

"What do you think of those two?"

"I think they are each other's light and shadow. Though realistically, Ibuki-chan is the shadow, and Terashima is the light. It wouldn't surprise me if Terashima thought it was the other way around."

Mamoru sighed deeply. "So this is complicated. That man must have gone over to the Black Alice organization, no he is most likely the leader of that organization."

John nodded. "Considering how he left around the same time as Ibuki-chan, it won't be a stretch to say he is after her. There are no traces of anybody chasing Terashima, but they most likely have plans for him too."

When he first learned who Sumire was in love with, Mamoru felt relieved. It relieved him that the Yuhi she liked so much was the same guy he got to know. Terashima Yuhi is not a bad person; despite what others say about him, he is a good kid. Sure he may seem cold outside, but that is only a front since he is clumsy at expressing his feelings.

Mamoru chuckled; come to think of it, Ki is the same as well. When they first met, she tried to act strong in front of him, only for it to backfire. It didn't take long before he learned how kind she was,

"If it is Yuhi, he will be fine; no matter what happens, he will protect her. That's why we should focus on our own preparations."

"Are you sure about that? Sorry if I am stepping out of line, but that was the first time I saw you like that. The first time I saw you desperately act like a human."

Mamoru turned red, understanding what he was saying. "You were watching us!"

John beamed happily. "I didn't think you were the type to take advantage of someone when they were sleeping!"

"I only kissed her cheek!"

"Are you sure about that? The security footage captured it differently. My team and I thought you were doing indecent things, so we switched the footage off."

His eyes twitched, annoyed. "If you were watching, then you should have come down to help; she had a high fever."

"It is nothing you cant solve. Besides, you were the one who said you would handle her matters personally."

Indeed he did say that but, "That didn't stop those people from hurting her."

He let his guard down. He thought it would be safe as long as she stayed in the same area as him. While he does not trust any researcher other than John, at the very least, his team has good people.

"I apologize. I should have assigned somebody better."

Mamoru shook his head. "It's not your fault. Naturally, they were the ones who caught her; of course, they would try to get at her whenever I wasn't around."

Still, he hopes the incident didn't leave any mental scars.

Ki, for now, they cannot meet, but the next time we do. The next time he will tell her everything.