July 30, 2053 – 03:22 a.m.

Mitsuo and Jin are inside the former's tent, in front of a normal laptop typical of 2025.

"Here... now I'll show you" says Mitsuo as he starts the video game. After a few seconds, the first image appears of a girl with two enormous breasts barely concealed by a white coat. Below this, some text appears communicating with the player.

Welcome back, doctor, we were waiting for you to start the experiment.

Jin stares at the screen in bewilderment, while Mitsuo continues to click on the computer and advance in the game.

"I-I created this part, b-but it's not possible... I hadn't finished the game yet..." Jin says with difficulty, realizing that he is looking at something he knows he hasn't finished yet.

"Hey! Look at this... I love this part" exclaims Mitsuo.

The female character says that in order to work better, she needs to take off her shirt, and in the next image, she appears in her underwear. Mitsuo stares at the screen, completely mesmerized by the 2D girl, while Jin continues to try to make sense of what is happening, unable to even express himself.

"Of course, Jin, you're really sick to create something like this."

"I-I hadn't even started this part... it was just in my head."

Meanwhile, the girl in the video game adds that she is still too covered up to work properly and needs to take off her underwear as well, asking the player if he agrees or disagrees with this statement. Mitsuo, grinning with pleasure, is ready to click "yes" to make her undress further, but at that moment Keina enters the tent. "Hi guys, Gaho told me you were here. I was looking for you to..."

As soon as Keina sees the screen, she is shocked and can't help but scream, even punching the two boys on the head. "Ahhhhhhhh!!! Pigs!!!"

Mitsuo and Jin are on their knees with their heads bowed, both with marks from the blow they received a moment earlier. The two are apologizing to Keina, trying to explain the situation to her.

"So you were just showing Jin this game to convince him that he really is in 2053?" asks the leader.

"Exactly... he's the creator of this piece of junk" Mitsuo clarifies.

"Hey... what are you saying? I was so overwhelmed to see my game finished that I almost fainted, but you seemed very taken with the plot, or maybe I should say with that lascivious assistant" Jin retorts.

"I had to show you the game, or you would have continued to believe that we were teasing you and that we were crazy. I did it for the Resistance. You're the sick one who created such a dirty game"

"But you said earlier that you loved my game and that you've already finished it dozens of times. Who's the real sick one here? The creator or the nerd obsessed with 2D girls with big boobs?"

"Nerd who?"

"Who's sick of dirty things?"

The two stare at each other, their heads just a few millimeters apart, with a defiant air, while Keina speaks calmly, her eyes filled with despair. "You're both hopeless pigs..."

Mitsuo and Jin, aware that they are both partly to blame, stop arguing and listen to Keina.

"Anyway, even though you are clearly two perverts that any girl would do well to stay away from, I am forced to continue dealing with you for the sake of the Resistance."

Keina, who had been a little sulky until now, puts on a sweet, reassuring smile and addresses Jin in a gentler, calmer voice. "Are you finally convinced by what we told you?"

"You mean about 2053, the Resistance, and everything else?"

"Exactly."

Jin becomes thoughtful and reflects for a moment before responding. "I can't say I'm entirely convinced by what you've told me, but this game Mitsukazu showed me is definitely a point in your favor."

"Idiot! My name is Mitsuo!"

Jin ignores Mitsuo's complaints about his constant mispronunciation of his name and continues talking about the visual novel he has just seen.

"I'm sure I haven't finished it, but the scenes are just as I would have wanted them to be. Besides, you don't seem to have any bad intentions, and even though you sometimes get angry with me and I don't understand why, I feel like I'm being treated as an ally... so for now, I've decided to believe your version. I'll stay with you a little longer so I can see things more clearly."

Keina seems very pleased with those words. "Good! I'm glad to hear you say that."

Then the leader herself takes her leave. "I'm going to go and prepare the strategies for our next offensives. Mitsuo, your presence is obviously needed too."

"Of course" replies Mitsuo, who gets up and follows his sister towards the exit.

"Wait! I have a request" Jin intervenes before the two leave the tent.

"A request? Go ahead." Keina replies.

"I-is it possible for me to stay here a little longer... I'd like to discuss the game in more detail... so that I can be sure that it's actually what I was creating."

Keina blushes at this request and responds by shouting as she leaves the tent. "J-Jin, you're a pig!"

Mitsuo, who stood there watching him as if he were hopeless, opened a box and took out a sign, which he handed to Jin. "If you tell Keina that I told you to do this, I'll kill you... put this outside the tent."

Jin looks at the sign he has been given and realizes that it says "do not disturb" on it. A little embarrassed, he tries to respond to Mitsuo's sudden gesture of kindness. "T-thank you."

"It's not kindness... I'll never be kind to you. This is just male solidarity, let's say."

"I see."

Mitsuo leaves the tent, leaving Jin alone inside.

"I really don't understand why he's so angry with me," Jin muses under his breath. Immediately afterwards, he pokes his head out of the tent, quickly turning it left and right to make sure no one is around, and puts up the "do not disturb" sign. Finally, he goes back into the tent, chuckling. "Now I can have some fun on my own."

Mitsuo and Keina are in the tent where they are preparing various strategies to fight Gotha, the largest tent in the entire camp.

"He has finally accepted the idea of being in 2053," Mitsuo begins, thus starting the discussion with his sister.

"Yes."

"So what's the next move, sis?"

"None."

"What do you mean, nothing? I had to give up my dignity by showing him that obscene game to convince him, and now that he's made up his mind, we're not going to do anything?"

"Exactly, we'll treat him like everyone else for a while. He's just a kid."

"On that note... have you ever wondered if you might be wrong? I mean, I'm convinced it's him too, but he's just a kid. How could he have traveled all this way? Plus, he doesn't even have that scar on his face..."

"I'm not sure it was his choice. Hearing his story, I guess he ended up in a wormhole, but there are other things I'm sure of."

"Let's hear it."

"The first is that he is the Jin we all know. It's true, he doesn't have that scar on his face, but even though he's inexperienced, he said he's very intelligent and passionate about physics, and then you heard him say those names that make your blood boil."

"Yes." Mitsuo replies more somberly.

"Besides, if it were possible to travel through time... well, the only one capable of doing so would be him, even if from what he said it seems to have been all a matter of chance."

"All right, then I will go along with your wishes. He will continue to participate in our missions, thereby increasing his sense of belonging to the Resistance, and he will be educated by the professors who have joined us over the years."

"Good. I'm glad to have your support, brother."

"One last thing... I know you wanted to keep everything as secret as possible, but our comrades are not naive, they are becoming increasingly aware of Jin's true identity. At first they thought it was just a resemblance or that the name was a tribute from his parents, as you said them, but his conspicuousness and causing trouble in public certainly doesn't help him go unnoticed. I'm sure Gaho has already figured it out, and so have many others."

"That's not a problem. The important thing is that we use our authority to keep him safe. I wanted to avoid everyone else noticing him, simply because his presence is so strong that it creates divisions. Basically, the risk is that two factions will form: those who hate him, like you, and those who consider him our savior, like me. Today, the future is uncertain and we don't know what will happen. All we have to do is allow him to grow and learn, while at the same time binding him more and more to our ideals."

"I understand. I will reiterate to everyone that the order from the leaders is to treat Jin normally and that anyone who talks to him about the past will be expelled from the Resistance. This way, the rumors will never reach Jin, who will continue to live in the dark about everything."

"Go ahead, brother."

Mitsuo leaves the tent to go and relay this new order to all his subordinates, while Keina expresses a thought to herself. "I'm sorry to have to plot behind your back, Jin, but I know you well enough to know that you still couldn't bear the truth."