“The remnants of the past are frightening. But those experiences are the ones that are making me stand right now.”

▪ ▪ ▪

The next Tuesday after Gin and Kaizo’s meeting in Giotto’s.

Now, would you look at that?

Kaizo is actually interacting with other people. Though he’s kind of awkward and very stiff, he is doing his best.

But I wonder if he’s like that too when he was still working. Or perhaps his social ability went down because of not talking to any people for a few months in his tormenting experiences?

Anyways, he still wears a bandage which is not my fault in any ways, of course. Wink, wink.

▪ ▪ ▪

Lunch break.

“Guys, I won’t be around the afternoon period tomorrow. Just saying.”

“Ehh… That’s unusual, Gin.”

“Why though?”

“Sorry I can’t tell you guys.”

“Then she-“ Nagi attempted to say something, but then he was stopped by Gin.

“Stop right there, Nagi.

The girlfriend will be the first one to know about that. And I can probably pull her with me."

Rin made a face that doesn't need to voice out a "huh."

“Now you just made it really suspicious when you included me. I’m also interested now.”

“Whaaat.

I’ll just tell you later, anyways.”

“I guess Shiro will be locking the clubroom tomorrow, then.

Any objections?” the ever so organized Jean butted in.

“None.”

“Then Nacchi will be in charge of cleaning tomorrow!”

“Ha?! Why me?!”

“Then go home. Lol.”

I never get tired of Jean being the organizer of everything.

“Then we’ll be going ahead of you two. You better tell Ringo about it already.”

The four then stood up with their lunch boxes on hand.

“Well, part of it is having my check-up in a hospital in the Capital. That’s all I can say.”

“That’s good, then. See you in the classroom.”

The four of them left without even turning their heads to us. All I’m just doing is sitting normally in front of Rin in the six-seater table where we always eat or just hang out.

“Now I’m curious.”

“Yeah, you sure are.

…

As I have said, I’m going to the Capital to go to a certain hospital there.”

“Why does my being there have to do with it?”

“I figured I will first tell you everything that I haven’t said to the other guys. I’m also sorry for not telling things to you beforehand in the past.

It’s up to you if you’re going with me, though. I'm.not forcing you.”

“Hmm…” she listened with poise as she covered her mouth with her fingertips.

“I’ll explain then.

There’s a certain doctor I wanted to meet in Maris Hospital in the very busy Capital.”

“What?! The biggest hospital in Orio?!” she then leaned forward towards him.

“I plan on having my checkup with that doctor too, but I bet that he won’t charge for it.”

“Do you somehow know him, Gin?”

“Yeah, ‘somehow.' But not as an acquaintance. It’s more like he’s my personal doctor for some time?”

“A personal doctor… that now works in Maris? You’re amazing.”

“Then, do you remember what I muttered in chapter 16?”

“Huh?”

“The words I accidentally said that made no sense to you when you heard it.”

“Hmm…”

“If only I didn’t fail to escape those lunatics.”

(!)

“That’s it! I remember now.”

“That’s good then. You really defeat my vague words.

By the way, did Mom or Dad tell you a story when I was a child?”

“As far as I can remember, none."

But a memory fish suddenly caught on a subconscious bait in her mind.

"Oh, she showed me pictures of you when you’re a child. I think I was helping your Mom with our cross-family dinner that time.”

“Pictures, huh.”

“You’re really cute when you were a toddler, you know? But you managed to tone down your physique when you grew.”

“I won’t deny that I was a bit wide that time. But didn’t you find something weird with the pictures?”

“Huh? There’s none, really.”

“Let me tell you something, then. I only have one photo album in our house. That is every picture I had since when I was born.

First, in the transitioning of the pictures, there’s quite a gap in time. Like, I was a snotty brat in one picture, then the very next, I already grew significantly."

“Now that you’ve pictured it- No pun intended.

Now that you’ve pictured it, it actually looked like that.”

“Second, perhaps in the first half of the photo album when I was a toddler, I was smiling in almost every picture. Then let’s assume the next photo is when I was already eight or nine, I stopped smiling.”

“Oh, yeah. Aunt and I noticed that. Though, she just said that you’re just being shy as you grew."

“That’s part of it, yeah.

But in at least one of those pictures, did you notice me wearing a metal bracelet on my wrist?”

Rin stayed silent for a bit of time but she suddenly snapped her finger that startled me. It seems that she recalled one.

“Yes, I did see several pictures like that! Do you mean those with the chains?”

“Yeah, it actually has my name in it. Though, before I got in the accident, I cleaned my room and found it. It brought me back a lot of fragmented memories that I didn’t even want to remember.”

“Can I assume that everything you’ve been saying is connected to something?”

“Precisely.

To spill the beans, the name of the doctor I’m looking for is Rishou Kagetora. He’s a well-known doctor because of the medicinal drugs he produced that saved lives.

He was once awarded the Doctor of the Decade because of those accomplishments. Everything that he accomplished is thanks to a year of research he conducted in 2007.

I suppose you could say that it’s his prime time in his profession as a doctor. He was also recommended to transfer to institutions in other countries but he denied all of them for some reason. I thought finding him will be a pain, but he was just in Maris after all these years.”

“I think I’ve heard about those awards once. As far as I can remember, I read it in a magazine.”

“Indeed. It made a lot of controversies but it was then neglected as time goes on.

But, I may be the only one that knows his experiments he did ten years ago.”

“What?! How did you even know about that?!” she let out as she slammed her hands on the table when standing up.

“Shh. Even though this place of the school is quite isolated, we should still minimize our voices.”

Realizing how loud her shout was, she instantly covered her mouth and looked in her left and right.

“Now here is where the plot thickens.

I’ve already told you about how there was a group of a hundred children with the age of five to be subjects of experiments, right?”

“Mhm. That was when we were inside the Room.”

“You already know that I was one of those, as I have already said.”

“Yes.

You even told that incomplete drugs were tested to the children and by doing so, their constitution gave in and that population gradually depleted.”

“What’s more, some of them did not die from that. Many also killed themselves.”

“…!”

“I think I’m the only one that survived. I tried to escape, and things about escaping the lunatics are connected to it.

Anyways, the production of medications was successful.

…

Rin, have you ever heard of Bone Regeneration?”

“Yes, I have. It was said that several people has that and it has an attribute of healing broken bones faster than the normal speed of a human body…

Wait, don’t tell me… You said that almost every bone in your body got shattered but it came back to one piece in just eight hours. Are you telling me that you have Bone Regeneration?”

“Hypothetically, the fastest healing duration.

It came back to one piece, yes. But my bones were still shattered that time. It took me one and a half year to completely heal them. When I entered the Void, I can barely walk, honestly.

It was also the reason why my memories were very hazy and why I lost a lot of my emotions.”

“Now that makes sense. Physical or mental pain can definitely lead to something like that. Gin, bluntly asking, does that mean that you’ve lost your…" for some reason, she hesitated to continue.

“My humanity? I guess… you could say that. I was like a machine for a bit of time, you know.”

I’m underestimating Rin too much. I didn’t expect her to take all of them calmly.

“Rin, you’ve gotten stronger haven’t you?”

“Thanks for that. But I ask for a favor.”

“Yes?”

“Please be beside me when I cry later.”

“Hahaha. I guess I need to be ready when your dad starts scolding me because I made you cry again.”

“I can imagine that. But I'll back you up, of course.”

“Should we go back now?”

“Math is the next period so we better be not late in the class.”

~ ~ ~

In the end, I fulfilled the favor Rin asked me and as expected, I had a one-on-one with Rin’s father. But he understood the situation and he gave me permission to let her join me in my excursion tomorrow.

▪ ▪ ▪

The next day.

We both took the half-day and after lunch, we got ready for the stressful trip to the Capital.

It was a bumper-to-bumper traffic as expected. The smoke from the cars is everywhere. This time, we are commuting since I haven’t had my driving test.

It was quite a long trip and I’m blaming the traffic for it. But we made it to the hospital anyways.

We entered the building and immediately went to the reception desk.

“Excuse me, I made an appointment with Dr. Rishou Kagetora today.”

“Are you Mr. Gin Sakato and Ms. Ringo Akanami? He’s on his office at the eighth floor.”

“Yes, thank you very much. We’ll be heading there now.”

We’re just fortunate enough to enter the elevator with no one but us two. I don’t really like elevators with a lot of people.

“By the way, Rin. I did tell that we were identified with code numbers right?”

“Yes, what’s yours then?”

“You’ll know soon enough.

But there’s one kid there that calls me with a nickname. It took me years to realize what it means, though. I’ll tell you the nickname some time because it’s quite painful remembering what he called me.

He’s the closest friend I had that time.”

“I see…”

“Well, we’re here at the eighth floor.” we stepped out of the elevator and proceeded to find his office in the big floor.

“I guess that there will be a door with his name.”

“Let’s just hope it has.”

“Oh, there it is, Gin. Here!”

“Rishou Kagetora… It’s been a while since I last saw your face.

…

Dr. Kagetora, can we enter?”

“Please come in.”

What a surprise. He still looks young but his hair is definitely turning gray. Though, he’s iconic facial hair did not change at least one bit.

“Are you Mr. Sakato and Ms. Akanami?”

“Yes, I am Gin Sakato and this is my companion, Ringo Akanami. Though, I’m the one that will just be checked up.”

“Hmm… I think I’ve heard that name before…

Can I ask you where did you come from?”

“We both came from Cotona. Just above the Capital.”

“Cotona…

Alright, should we start the checkup now?”

“I’m ready when you are, Doctor.”

~ ~ ~

Even though it’s just a check-up, I even asked for an X-ray examination for him to see my condition.

“Mr. Sakato, your condition is good, all in all. But I’ve been wondering about your results in the X-ray. I’ve seen a bit of difference in your right foot.”

“Ah, that’s because I sprained my right ankle when I was a first year. It was a lame accident, to be honest with you.”

“Another thing, your bones are completely healthy. I guess that you have a good amount of calcium in you.

But that’s all I have to say. It’s nice meeting you Mr.-“

“Long time no see, Dr. Kagetora.”

“Umm… Mr. Sakato?” the doctor then got confused.

“Hahaha… I expected that reaction from you, Doc. Though I’m quite hurt with your reaction after not seeing you for more than ten years.”

“I-I don’t understand what you’re saying, Mr. Sakato.” Kagetora's expression went a little frightened and sweat of tension dripped.

“Yes, you can’t, Doc. Because you have already forgotten my existence. Or rather… you chose to disregard my existence. Scratch that, you wished for me to disappear.

Then, I am the second number after the first quarter of a hundred.”

“Y-You… Don’t tell me…”

He quickly stood up while looking at me with such a fearful face. He started shaking from head to toe until his legs gave out and fell to his knees.

“Z-Zero… twenty-seven… I thought you were… already…”

“Indeed, that is me. I am 027, Rishou Kagetora. I am the assumed lone survivor of your successful experiments.”

“Why… Why did you find me after all those years…

Are you seeking for revenge…?”

“I bear no vengeance to you, Doc.

I’m just here to have a little chat with you. But as you can see, my companion already knew everything about me and the dark truth of your experiments…”

(!)

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m very sorry…!”

I did not expect such a reaction. He’s crying while he’s on his knees. I can see it. I can see fear and regrets leaking out of his eyes.

“Stand up, Doc. It’s pathetic for a doctor to cry in front of his patients.

But I will say, I guess your conscience didn’t take it anymore. Perhaps you didn’t feel happy when you took that award.”

“I’m scared… I’m scared of what I did to you…”

“That, huh…

Rin, listen well. This will be the first time you’ll be hearing this.”

“Are you really going to tell her, 027…?!”

“It feels a lot better when you call me that instead of my name. Thank you for that.

Or do you wish to say it instead of me?”

“…

D-Do as you may…”

“I promised that I will tell you everything right, Rin. This will hit quite hard.”

“I’m seeing a lot of possibilities now. Don’t worry, Gin. I won’t cry this time.”

“It’s for the better that you know about this.

Rin… The times I have gone insane for three times wasn’t a first for me. When I was five, I lost my sanity for the first time because I couldn’t resist the painful drugs. And because of that…

I ended up killing one doctor barehanded when insanity took over myself.”

Inevitably, her hands trembled strongly, but in a few, she clenched them to a fist.

“Gin…

Thank you for telling me…”

“You promised that you won’t cry, right?”

“I’ve considered that as a possibility, knowing your experiences. It’s a good thing you told me these things. I feel so relieved right now.”

“Truth destroys any illusions. Even if it’s painful, that is the only way to move forward.”

“Yeah, it sure is…”

“Hey, Doc. Do you wish to come with us?”

“For… what?”

“Let’s visit some graves together.”

▪ ▪ ▪

We went to a memorial park in the Capital to visit those who passed away because of the experiments. Most of the deceased were resting in this cemetery, and that doctor.

“Is this the first time you’re visiting him?”

“That’s right, Doc.

I can still remember that day when I regained my consciousness.”

I was kneeling over the stomach of a man wearing his lab coat. He’s lying down on the floor. His white lab coat became stained with something that is red.

I then looked at my small hands. It was shaking, and so is my body. My hands…

My hands were red and it’s kind of damp.

My knuckles extremely hurt.

Now I see more people wearing lab coats staring at me and the man that was lying down.

I looked at the man again and suddenly, everything became colorless. It’s all black, gray, and white.

It’s scary…

I’m scared…

I started to cry…

And then I realized…

I have ended someone’s life.

“Gin…?”

“Oh!”

“What’s wrong, Gin?”

“Ohh… I just remember that time. Now it’s really hard to look at his grave.”

“This is also the first time I’m visiting them. I’m greatly astonished just by looking in those names. I can still remember their numbers.

008, 079, 046, 099, 032, 051, and 012.

Those are the children we visited today.”

“You know, Doc.

I don’t believe that I’m the only survivor eleven years ago. As I have said earlier, it’s just assumed that I’m the only one that is still alive out of the one hundred children.

I want to start a journey to find if there are still children that survived.”

“It will be a difficult one… I think. Even I don't know if there is someone apart from you that survived.”

“Just now, you stopped running away from the things you’ve done already, Doc. Keep it up and you’ll be relieved from the nightmares you’re having.”

“Hey, Gin.”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever thought of the possibility of a survivor that may just be near to us?” Rin curiously asked.

“There’s no way that you’ll be a lab rat too.”

“Heheheh… Indeed. There’s no way that could happen.”

“But I will consider your suggestion. There may well be someone that is very near to us that survived.

He or she can be at Blue Ink, but I’ll have to eliminate the possibility of our friends since they have proof of being normal children when they were five.”

“Well, I guess I’ll be starting in Blue Ink then. But now that you think of it, there’s a high possibility that they are studying as fourth year high school students.

That is… if they’re alive.”

“It’s getting dark now, so I need to return to my office.

But wouldn’t it hurt if I treat you two for dinner today? Though, that can’t compensate enough as an apology.”

“Either way, I would gladly accept.”

And my stomach started roaring like a lion.