Three Hours Later.

Outside the room where a young boy underwent some of the worst psychological traumas known to man, a group of scientists monitored the child’s biometric data. Soulless eyes callously examined numbers and charts on lifeless screens, the human behind the data long pushed to the recycling bin in their minds, to only be recalled when absolutely needed.

At the center of these zombies stood a tall, gaunt Japanese man who almost disappeared into his lab coat. It was difficult to ascertain his age due to his sickly appearance, but he could have been somewhere in the range of mid-thirties to early forties. Despite the man’s stature, he managed to cut an imposing figure on account of his cold-blooded, snake-like gaze, which seemed to peer into the deepest recesses of the hearts of men, yet carried no empathy for what it saw. The man’s eyes grew even colder when a small beeping interrupted the silence.

The man looked at his watch, then back at the child on the screen. “Time’s up. Let him go.” His voice was faint yet carried an irresistible authority to it. No sooner had he spoken, did the simulated torture come to a swift end as two orderlies rushed up to the boy. They removed the helmet and unfastened the straps before the larger of the two picked the frail and limp Taiga. They then walked off-screen, most likely to administer some first aid to the child.

Whoosh!

The snake-eyed man turned to the door that just opened. As expected, Akari walked in, gaze heavy as he watched the orderlies take Taiga off-screen.

“Saika,” Akari greeted as he came up to the snake-eyed man.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Leader Akari,” Saika returned the greeting with a placid gaze. “What brings you down here?”

Akari frowned but ultimately retained his calm. “I was informed you want to implement Rebirth tomorrow. Is this true?”

“Yes, of course,” Saika stated matter-of-factly. “These children were ready a month ago. I only postponed it because you asked. Well, time’s up.”

Akari’s gaze trembled slightly. “These children are not rea—“

“Need I remind you of the importance of our work?” Saika challenged before Akari could finish. “This project directly alters the fate of thousands, no, millions of lives. And you want to delay it further because you’re inside’s acting up now?” The scientist’s cold gaze shifted from Akari to the data on the screen before him. “Don’t worry. My work is perfect. There will be no errors.”

Akari hands balled into fists by his side, teeth tightly clenched together with rage. Still, he ultimately decided to keep his calm, managing to grind out, “Just remember, there are real, breathing children behind those numbers.”

“These are disposable assets,” Saika sneered with contempt. “If they fail, we can always replace them. The world is not lacking in malnourished, desperate children.” Those hellish eyes turned to Akari, sending goosebumps down the latter’s spine at the callous indifference within them. As if sensing Akari’s unease, Saika chuckled softly. “But don’t worry. As I said, I never fail. We will not have to dispose of your little children.”

Akari’s gaze hardened. If looks were enough to kill, Saika would have long been on his way to the underworld. Alas, even if Akari could slay the scientist with his eyes, he wouldn’t dare to do so. He was aware of the importance of the job and how much time, money, and resources had been poured into it over the last decade. Akari could not jeopardize the mission at this late stage out of selfishness. He could only pray that Saika’s ability matched his callous arrogance, and the experiment was a success.

If the experiments were successful, the kids would thank them despite all the suffering they endured.

At least, Akari chose to believe that.

“I will hold you to those words,” Akari stated, his tone carrying a hint of threat. Without waiting for Saika’s reply, he stormed out of the horrid room.

Sharp glints sparked in Saika’s eyes as he watched Akari’s back disappear behind the door. His lips curled up into a devious smile as he mocked, “Ignorant buffoon. Let’s see how long you can keep up that high and mighty attitude.” Casting Akari to the back of his mind, he called out to one of the scientists. “Make final preparations for Rebirth. We commence in three hours.”

“What about Taiga, Saika-sensei?” The scientist inquired.

Saika sent the scientist a dissatisfied glare. He hated being questioned. “Who?”

The scientist swallowed hard but managed to let out, “The child who just went through HELL, Sir.”

“Ah, Subject 23,” Saika murmured with a hint of recognition. “What about him?”

The scientist fidgeted under the viper-like gaze. “He was just put through a lot of mental strain. There’s no telling how he would react to the gene transfusion.”

“And? How is that my concern exactly?”

The scientist shivered, unable to contain his shock at Saika’s apparent disregard for the child’s life. “My apologies Saika-sensei. I will go ahead and have him prepped immediately.”

“Uh-huh,” Saika replied with a sneer. “You go do that.” The sneer deepened as he watched the frightened scientist scamper off. “Every last one of them. Completely useless.” Saika turned his gaze from the scientist, his brain already pushing the encounter to the trash bin. Saika’s gaze turned sinister, his tongue slithering over his lips as he barked out orders to the remaining operatives, all in preparation of what promised to be the culmination of his life’s work.

Elsewhere, while Saika prepared for his big moment, Taiga was given a rude awakening by the chilled biting of a bucket of cold water. The young child woke with a start, screaming at the top of his lungs as he shot to his feet—or, well, tried to.

Taiga soon found his hands and feet were bound to a chair. The stinging pain from the restraints helped Taiga to come to his senses. He focused on the pain, letting him realize he had returned to reality where those undead would no longer be able to reach him.

Taiga took a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves. Having collected himself, he raised his head, yellow eyes calmly taking in his surroundings. Two guards with electric batons stood at guard behind a graying scientist whose gaze was centered on the child, carrying hints of worry and pity. He recognized the scientist as a Kiiragi-sensei, the one usually in charge of administering the HELL punishment and ensuring Taiga did not mentally collapse afterward. Flanking the scientist were five orderlies, one of whom held a metal tray cart whose contents were shielded from view by a white cloth.

Taiga could not make sense of why one of these usually callous scientists would have such an expression, so he tried to fish for some information. “What’s going on? Usually, you dump me in my room.”

In response to the child’s question, Kiiragi only shook his head. There was no need to worry the child with something that might not happen. At the very least, let him live his last moments in blissful ignorance. Kiiragi’s gaze strengthened, having cobbled together his once shaken resolve. “There is a new experiment. We were tasked with preparing you.”

An experiment? A sense of impending doom overwhelmed Taiga. His eyes shrunk, muscles tightening with increased tension.

Kiiragi seemed to notice the subtle changes in the child’s aura as he immediately added in a reassuring tone. “Ah, you aren’t the only one going through this experiment,” he explained. “All the children will be undergoing the same treatment.”

“Treatment?” Taiga repeated the keyword, nerves visibly loosening up. If the other children would be going through the same experiment, it shouldn’t be too dangerous. At least, he didn’t believe whoever bought them had spent so much money and time just to throw them all away at this juncture.

“We’ll be improving your brain functions beyond anything a human has ever experienced,” Kiiragi explained. A part of him probably felt it would indeed be too bad if the child left the world completely ignorant. Furthermore, the promise of nigh omniscience could serve as a sufficient motivator, maybe even alleviate the stress on the child’s mind. “That said, we have to begin if we are to meet up with the others.” He motioned to the orderlies who came to either side of the young child. The cloth covering the tray was removed, revealing a pair of scissors, a bowl, a syringe, and a couple of small bottles with unusual solutions.

Taiga already knew what was coming, so he resolutely shut his eyes. Sure enough, moments later, he felt a prick on his right arm. Before long, he was once again faced with the nightmares that plagued him during his sleep, this time with no reprieve from Henri.

Taiga wasn’t sure how long he suffered, but like always, he was eventually awoken to massive overhead lights shining directly into his eyes.

Taiga quickly shut his eyes, but not in time to stop the searing pain that shot up to his brain from the intensity and heat. Taiga saw red as his eyelids unable to prevent the painfully bright light from piercing through, causing him to almost scream out in pain.

Taiga realized he wasn’t the only one suffering when he heard the nearby cries of some other children.

Just when Taiga was beginning to wonder just what type of sadistic punishment the scientists had conjured up this time, the pain abruptly seized. Taiga’s eyelids tentatively cracked open, bright spots coloring his vision. Luckily, it seemed like the overhead lights had been shut off, allowing Taiga a clear view of the cold, gray ceiling above.

Taiga attempted to get his bearings, but unfortunately, it seemed his head, like the rest of his body, had been bound in place. From his body’s orientation and the semi-soft material beneath him, it seemed like he was lying on some kind of gurney.

Taiga, used to such situations, did not panic. Instead, he looked down the corner of his eyes to see if he could gain any more information about his whereabouts.

Taiga instantly regretted his decision.

Oh how much better it would be to have remained clueless.

Out the corner of his eyes, Taiga saw d see other children strapped down to gurneys. However, what chilled him were the massive robot arms hanging just behind the head of every child. Only, rather than fingers, these arms ended in arrays of medical cutting tools.

At this point, Taiga finally noticed that someone shaved the children bald to allow easier access to their skulls.

Taiga had seen a lot of things in his eleven-twelve plus years on the earth. He had done some terrible things and seen even worse things done to others and himself. He had never believed anything in this world could shake him anymore, but seeing those robot arms emotionlessly standing behind each child’s head sent a chill up his spine. Although he already knew it would be fruitless, he could not help but struggle against his restraints.

Taiga’s struggles seemed to set off a chain reaction, as the children began to scream in terror as more of them became aware of their surroundings. However, predictably, despite all their effort and screams, no one managed to break free.

“Henri!” Taiga called out with everything he had. He didn’t know why, but the thought of Henri going through this experience terrified him more than his impending doom.

“Taiga!”

Taiga’s eyes swiveled to his left, where he could barely make out a shape on the gurney next to him. He hadn’t recognized her the first time because her trademark blonde hair was gone, but he would never mistake her voice. “Henri, are you okay!?”

“I'm fine,” To his surprise, Henri’s tone was relatively calm, carrying a hint of laughter even. “Well, as fine as I can being strapped to a death machine and all.” With a soft sigh, she lamented, “Can’t believe they cut my hair. That’s just cruel.”

Taiga froze, unable to come to terms with her unnatural calmness. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Henri let out a short laugh. “What, do you think I’ve gone crazy?” Some of the children nearby listened to the conversation, sharing the same thoughts in their heads. No one in their right minds would be able to laugh in this situation. Henri’s next words, however, sent a shock throughout the whole room. “I won’t die.”

It was such a soft declaration, but its impact on the terrified children was akin to a thunderstorm exploding in their hearts. No one said a word. Their minds hung on the words of the strangely over-confident girl.

Despite their maturity, these were all children, none of whom had even hit thirteen. When these children felt their world collapse around them, they only wanted someone to reassure them that it would be alright, no matter how illogical it might be.

It seemed Henri had taken up that role. Although he did not believe her words for a second, even the stoic Taiga found himself drawn in.

“I survived Hadet,” Henri softly whispered. “To survive, I ate garbage rejected by dogs.” The children remained silent as they each recalled their various ‘homes.’ “I was forced to do things I’ll regret my entire life.” Henri’s tone grew stronger, and each passing word reverberated in the children’s hearts. “After surviving all that, you think I'm gonna die in some hidden room in the middle of nowhere?”

Chuckling softly, Henri stated in a matter-of-fact tone, “Not happening. I'm not going to die. Neither will you, Taiga, so stop worrying so much.” A child sniffled. “None of us will die here. This is just a scary experiment, that’s all.”

As if annoyed by her declarations, the mechanical arms whirred to life, descending over the children’s heads with cold detachment. Faced with the monsters, the children could no longer hold their calm. Some broke into tears, while others began to wail out loud.

“DON’T CRY!” A single voice tore through the hall, forcing the despairing children to center on its source. “Don’t cry. We’ll be fine, I promise.” Something was soothing about the little girl’s voice. The children could not help but be drawn to it like babes after the pied piper. They quieted down, whimpering slightly as they faced the robot claws.

It was a good thing the children were spaced apart and could only see each other from the corner of their eyes. It made sure only two people could see Henri, and out of those two, only one knew her well enough to know what she was really thinking.

That was because, at that very moment, Henri was pale, her arms shaking in their restraints as she tried hard to contain her fear. Tears unceasingly poured down her eyes, but whether in a bid to convince the children or herself, she kept up the confident façade, talking the rest of the children through the nightmare.

Taiga would later ask her what was going through her mind at that moment. Her answer would be, she could not think of anything. She just didn’t want to die so pathetically. And what’s more, even if they were to die there, she did not want to give the sick scientists the satisfaction of watching the children panic.

The mechanical arms seemed to have tired of toying with the children, as in the next second, they stabbed into the children’s arms, releasing some concoctions into their bloodstreams.

Seconds later, the children found themselves entirely immobilized. In fact, they might as well have been dead as they could not even feel the gurneys beneath them. If it were not for the fact they could still see, they would have assumed they had gone to the afterlife.

Unfortunately, their nerves' deadening was just the first step of what these robotic arms had in store. Soon after inserting the first injection, a second followed. This time, the solution within was dark-green, but it had a strangely sinister vibe to it. Of course, it might have just been a trick of the mind projecting terror onto the syringe.

Taiga’s gaze hardened as the syringe once again broke his skin and emptied its contents into his bloodstream. His eyes widened in shock as the contents of the drug rapidly crushed its way through his systems.

It was beyond tyrannical!

The solution mutilated his veins and muscles, somehow corroding his bones in the process. It destroyed all genes found in its path before restructuring them in its preferred form as it advanced, leaving more rigid, stronger bones and muscles behind.

It could be imagined that if their nerves had not been deadened in advance, the children would have gone into shock and most probably perished from the pain alone. Before long, the children’s gurneys were soaked with blood as even their skins were not spared from the rapid corrosion and rebirth.

The tyrannical solution converged on Taiga’s heart, mangling it beyond recognition. Somehow, though, the destroyed cells regenerated fast enough to prevent any lasting damage. The new heart beat with such ferocity and strength it would have smashed apart his ribcage had it not already been reformed by the solution.

Several hours had passed since the drug had first been injected into their systems, and though the children were cognizant of the chaos in their body, they could neither feel nor influence it. Some began to relax, allowing the drug to do its work. Since they could not feel the pain, why should they be afraid? The simple mentality of a child.

However, reality would once again prove to be a cruel mistress.

The mechanical arms which had remained silent the whole time suddenly whirred to life. The indifferent machines swapped out the syringe for some cutting tools then took point behind their shaved heads.

Taiga’s eyes widened in disbelief as he felt something poke his scalp. Although it wasn’t painful, the sensation of something scraping against his skull was just too uncomfortable. He peeked at Henri, hoping to get some clues.

Once again, he regretted his actions.

The young boy mentally shook at the sight of the bloodied mechanical arm casually lifting, then folding back a significant part of Henri’s scalp. Although he could not see it from his angle, he had cracked quite a few skulls in his time, so he could easily picture the bloody scene exposed underneath.

Was this why they were shaved!?

Taiga could not ponder on the question as his body froze immediately at the sight of a familiar green liquid dripping out of a syringe which had at some point been equipped by the arm.

Unlike the first syringe, the needle on this thing was at least twenty centimeters long, making it look less like a clinical instrument and more akin to a tool of murder. Preceding the syringe, however, was a tiny drill that drove into the exposed skull. Shortly after that, the needle stabbed into the exposed brain tissue, depositing its contents within.

Taiga could not follow anything else, as his entire body instantly went into rapid shock akin to a thousand lightning bolts slamming directly into his brain. It seemed the nerve-reducing agent do nothing to soften the blow as the young child suffered blow after intense blow until he began to lose his sanity.

Luckily, Taiga’s body could no longer handle the pain, and he instantly shut down. Unfortunately, however, he was once again transported to the familiar void. Only this time, something was different. Terrifyingly different.

Previously, Taiga was only vaguely aware of his existence within the dream world. He instinctively knew the environment was fake, which contributed to his ability to retain his sanity after many nights of torture. Somehow, this time, things had taken a drastic turn. For one, he could feel his presence in this world, down to his very heartbeat. If his memory was not intact, he might have even suspected he was transported to another world.

Pitter-patter…

Taiga raised his head, eyes straining to see past the dark to where the sound originated. His gaze constricted, heart tightening with fear as a familiar face stumbled towards him, her feet echoing against the water-like surface. Taiga had been tormented by this girl for far too long in so many different ways. He had no intention of sticking around. He took advantage of the fact he could feel his entire body to spin around, urging his legs to flee across the dark void.

Grab!

Taiga’s attempt halted prematurely, his feet grabbed by a disfigured hand that shot out of the ground. In his panic, Taiga made an instinctive motion, pointing his hand at the arm and ‘squeezing the trigger.’ A pistol actually appeared in his hand to his shock, the subsequent bang proving the bullet even fired.

Taiga’s momentary euphoria was immediately replaced with despair when the bullet harmlessly bounced off the arm like it was nothing. A cold breath brushed against the young man’s neck. Taiga slowly turned to see that disfigured girl grinning at him, broken teeth barely hanging onto her gum.

“We’re already dead, Reaper,” the girl coldly mocked, her voice akin to a grate. Her fingers curled around Taiga’s throat, leaving a burn mark from the intense, nail-biting cold. “Bullets and Knives can’t hurt the dead.” She casually bit into Taiga’s shoulder, relishing in the sheer horror in his eyes. She lifted her head, cheeks bloodied by the morsel of flesh held between her lips. Her bloodied lips curled up at the tears running down the frightened child’s face. Swallowing the “Welcome to Retribution, Reaper.”

Taiga’s frantic cries reached no one as the apparition bent down and hungrily bit off chunks off his arm. Taiga’s mouth was wide open, his eyes bloodshot, but he couldn’t even muster the strength to scream. For reasons unknown, the pain had exponentially shot up, even compared to HELL. Strength left the child’s limbs, his mind nearly breaking under the pain as he was slowly consumed bite after bite.

Initially, Taiga looked forward to his death. At the very least, he would finally be free from the torture. However, fate was far crueler. Just as the whites of his bones began to peek through the gore, his entire body regenerated, healing all the injuries in a flash.

Despair colored Taiga’s eyes. His heart cracked, unable to withstand the implications of what that meant. The young man almost gave up entirely, but an image of a blond girl with a brilliant smile flashed in his mind. Moments after, it was replaced with Henri’s strong conviction proclaiming he would live.

Taiga’s dull eyes suddenly flared with stubbornness. A powerful desire to live burst through the young man’s core. The dead were unceremoniously blown off him. “I won’t die,” Taiga mumbled through the pain as he stumbled to his feet. Ignoring the dead on the floor, he began to take one hard step after another in an attempt to get as far away as possible.

Taiga’s lumbered across the water’s surface. He did not know where he was going, nor did he care. He only knew he had to be as far away from the dead as possible to have a chance at survival. And so he took one painful step after the other. He was unsure how long he trudged for, but he was eventually caught by one of the dead and had an entire arm torn clean off.

Rather than be clouded with despair, the young boy’s eyes sparkled with fury and determination.

‎ “I will not die! I will return to Henri! I will return to you!” With a scream, Taiga’s stubborn will to live once again blasted the dead off him. He once again continued his trek across the watery surface.

And so a cycle was born. Taiga would run and then get caught and eaten. His desire to see Henri once again would force his assailants off him, and then he would run again.

No one knows how long this cycle repeated himself. Taiga himself lost count of how many times he died in this hell zone. The psychological strain had begun to seize hold of him, slowing down his steps and reducing how far away he pushed the dead.

To make matters worse, it seemed the dead were getting faster and smarter as time passed, thereby reducing the amount of time between captures.

Taiga had no idea how long he’d been running. It could have been weeks, months, maybe even years. Feeling a cold breath on his shoulder, he once again blasted the surrounding dead to the ground. Unfortunately, though, he only managed to take a single step this time before a familiar chill seeped into his shoulder.

Taiga weakly peeked over his shoulder at the disfigured girl. As expected, she bore a cold, mocking grin as she sized up her prey, hollow eyes fixated on the veins on Taiga’s neck. “No more running. It’s time for retribution Reaper.”

Crack!

Something in Taiga broke. The stubbornness and drive in his eyes deflated, leaving them empty and void. He had been alternating between tortures and running away from the nightmare for far too long. Most adults would have given up eons ago, late alone a child his age. He had only lasted this far because he believed he would see Henri once again. But now that he no longer had the strength to run, what was the point?

Maybe it was retribution. Taiga had killed so many people, after all. It was only fair his past destroyed him.

Taiga’s muscles relaxed, his clenched fists opening up much to the delight of the dead. They immediately pounced on him, the dead girl lunging for his throat. They all knew this was the final time. Once he died, there would be no regeneration. That was because his brain would shut down after accepting his death.

“TAIGA!”

The dead girl’s mangled teeth stopped inches from his throat, its eyes bulging with shock and rage. “Nooo! Die! You Must Die!” Her hysterical shrieks fell on deaf ears, however, as Taiga’s lifeless eyes suddenly lit up with blinding light.

“Get Off!” Taiga’s roar sent all the zombies tumbling for several dozens of meters till they were all out of sight. He weakly fell to one knee, but his gaze was firm, lips curling up to a satisfied smile. That was because he could see above, familiar sunlight beginning to pierce the darkness. From that sun, a golden angel glided down towards him.

A warm smile on her face, Henri stretched out her hand to the lost boy. “You will live,” she said matter-of-factly. “This is not where you die.”

“I will live,” Taiga repeated as he accepted the offered hand. Slowly the angel pulled him up and towards the light.

“You can’t run!”

Taiga looked down at the horde of dead running towards his location, at the head of which was that familiar disfigured girl.

“You can’t run from your past! You will pay! You will pay for killing us all!”

“Maybe so,” Taiga softly replied as he ascended towards the crack in the void. “However, until then, I will live. I will live with her.” With those words, Taiga completely ignored the hysterical shrieks as the light slowly enveloped him.

Taiga lightly groaned. He felt like someone had commissioned a drilling exercise in his skull. Despite a massive headache, he managed to pry his eyelids open. The first thing he saw was a couple of fluorescent overhead lights shining brightly down at him.

Taiga’s brows lightly creased, feeling like he had forgotten something important. It was at this moment that a shadow blocked the light. Squinting a little, he recognized the familiar ocean-blue eyes and what seemed to be a small field of gold.

Taiga did not get to say a word before someone tightly wrapped his neck in a bear hug. “Taiga, Taiga! Are you really awake?” He could feel a moisture wetting his chest. Taiga was even more confused. He wanted to ask what the hell was going on, but… “I thought you would die!”

Boom!

Like a busted dam, the gates shutting off Taiga’s memories crashed down, allowing the events of his dream torture to come rushing back in full detail.

Taiga froze. An emotion overcame him that he could not comprehend or put into words. All he could do was wrap his arms around Henri’s shoulder and pull her closer into his embrace. His grip was tight, his arms shaking somewhat as if he was afraid she would disappear from his sight should he let go.

Taiga looked down at the head buried in his chest. Judging from the field of golden hair that had grown since the last time he saw her, Taiga estimated he had been out for at least a month or two.

How long had Henri waited for him? How long had she called out to him?

How long did she try until her voice finally reached him?

Taiga did not know how to express what he gelt. He only knew he would be dead thousand times over if it were not for Henri. He was not sure how he knew, but Taiga knew that if he had accepted his death in that world, he would have died for real, for whatever reason. Taiga was still alive only because he looked forward to seeing Henri again. And in the end, when he finally lost all hope, it was her voice that brought him back from the brink. To call him appreciative would be the most tremendous understatement of the century.

Taiga pulled Henri from his chest, allowing him to sit upright on the bed. Henri sat on the bed, reddened eyes worriedly looking over Taiga’s body to make sure he was really alright. Seeing her worrying gaze, all the pent-up emotions within exploded all at once.

Fuelled by a primal instinct, he pulled Henri towards himself and pressed his lips against hers. It was a desperate kiss, pouring all of himself into her. His arm wrapped around her waist and dragged her tight as if trying to meld her body into his.

Henri’s eyes widened with shock, especially when the arm around her waist pulled her deeper. It was so forceful and a little painful, but she did not mind. A small smile played on her lips. Closing her eyes, she took the initiative.

Taiga froze as a wet tongue parted his lips and invaded his mouth. His inexperienced tongue was easily wrestled to the ground as the invader claimed his mouth for her own. Electric sparks exploded in the young boy’s mind as she slithered over the walls of his mouth, marking the territory as hers.

Taiga raged, his tongue rising as it fought for its territory. He cross-invaded, leaving his mark, and claiming her as his own - the other part of his soul.

Only when they were forced to come up for air did the battle come to a temporary ceasefire.

Breathing hard, Taiga rested his forehead against Henri’s, an exceedingly rare playful smile on his face. “Thank you. You saved my life.”

Henri buried her head next to his chest, listening to his quickened heartbeat. “Don’t talk rubbish. You saved my life every day. I'm the one who should be thanking you.” Taiga wanted to protest, but she sealed his lips with a brief kiss. Admiring the burning yellow eyes, she whispered, “Welcome home, Taiga.”

Taiga sighed, his heart relaxing as he whispered right back, “I'm home.”

*cough*

Taiga turned to the side, where an embarrassed Ford stood, scratching the back of his head. “Just wanted to say, we’re happy you’re back.”

“Yeah, ain’t the same without the competition.” Surprisingly Kugo also stood there, his gaze level. However, there was a hint of relief, however small, evident by the way his muscles visibly relaxed.

“I'm glad you’re alive.” By his side, as always was Sahi. Unlike Kugo, the relief was quite evident as she had a hand on her heart.

The trio were not the only ones present. It seemed the entire group had come to wish him well, all coming one after another to display their relief and joy.

Taiga suddenly got a bad feeling. “Why does it feel like you guys were expecting a funeral?”

“The doctors said this was your last day,” Ford answered. “If you didn’t wake up, they would have pulled the plug.”

Taiga shivered as he turned to meet the other gazes. Judging from the way they looked away, he shook his head. It seemed it was the truth. “How long was I out?”

“Three months,” Ford replied. “The last of us woke up after three weeks. You were under far too long. Doctors began to feel you wouldn’t wake up. Felt it would be better to cut their losses.”

Taiga looked down at Henri with gratitude. It would seem she saved him in more ways than one.

Before Taiga could get a chance to thank her some more, a troop of doctors and nurses marched into the room and dismissed all the children. Sizing up Taiga like a prized turkey, they began running various tests…