Paperwork Complete

My face was plunged into the depths of the ocean made of paper laid out before me.

Just barely before the submission deadline, I had finally finished going through each and every single filing for collateral damage, with new files about deaths related to the incident piling up behind them.

There was no way I could finish everything in the last two hours I had left, my eyes slowly starting to shut by themselves. The endless amount of caffeine required to complete all the filings on time had also just run out.

My body struggled to keep up with the tiredness, and I couldn’t rely on my regenerative prowess at all, any sensations relating to my Traumata having ceded since I sat down at that desk.

With one minute left for the files to be collected, there were still multiple pages requiring my attention. I stamped as fast as I could, writing the last words on the page just as someone came to pick up the boxes.

“Please just wait one moment right there.”

He looked at me, flabbergasted at my ability to even speak in the first place. But he did listen. I managed to just barely squeeze Araki’s stamp into the upper box as he left the room.

Barely stepping my foot out of the doorframe, two armed guards already pointed their guns at my head, commanding me to get back inside.

Not wanting to get shot, unsure about whether or not wounds inflicted on my in my current state would heal like before, I quickly slipped my foot back inside the room, closing the door in front of me.

At the peak of my exhaustion, after keeping myself awake for more than 48 hours straight, I sunk into my bed. Seconds later, I was already sleeping. Whatever else could possibly bother me now had to simply wait.

I didn’t even dream during my sleep. It was pure bliss, compared to the past few days. My entire body felt properly refreshed for once.

I rung up the intercom on my wall, asking for anything to do that day, but was denied any requests besides basic needs.

They told me nobody was willing to take me on any mission with them after the G-CANS incident and what happened the day after my awakening. It seemed the only people in the department willing to cooperate with me were Araki and Matsumoto, and they were both still out of duty.

With Araki having filed for two week of time off shortly after leaving and Matsumoto still not being in a condition to even leave her hospital bed, I had nothing to do. The one thing I was allowed outside of my quarters was a daily visit to her. I used it to check up on her condition, since I sacrificed my sweet release for the sake of her betterment.

She wasn’t awake yet yesterday. I slowly grew worried that my efforts may had gone to waste.

I was just on my way toward her recovery room, when I was briefly stopped by the same insane scientist that conducted the testing of my regenerative abilities before the incident.

“What a coincidence, catching you here. I was just on the way to your confinement to deliver you the news, but since you’re right in front of me now, I suppose I’ll just tell you right here.”

He pushed his glasses slightly upwards, his view shifting form my face toward the clipboard he held before him.

“It’s about your regenerative ability. After careful discussion with the scientific and spiritual board, and feeding your data into the Traumata algorithm, we have deduced that you are in possession of a secondary Traumata, called “Wärme”. I assume you already felt its effects three days ago? You truly are something one of a kind, Doctor Wada truly did some magnificent work, as always.”

What did he mean by that? Work? I don’t remember anything overly invasive during my childhood, so he must mean something else.

Before I could ask him, he had already disappeared from my sight.

The four guards surrounding me at all times continued walking, and soon I had arrived where Takako was held.

Takako. Written as precious child. I’m sure that meaning shifted after the landslide, seeing what she’s capable of.

I pondered her name in front of the door briefly, before being shoved in, the door closing shut behind me.

“You came again? Thanks. I’m slowly getting better. They told me you’ve been here every day since. I’d love to grant your wish, but you and I both know there’s some unfinished business still roaming the streets. Who knows where she went after that affair. She definitely didn’t die, or I would have known.” Her stern face slowly softened the longer I stood close by.

“Just before you came in, I got another earful of complaints for what happened. They’re still grasping at straws when it comes to explaining all that destruction to the public. The news calls it an unprecedented, mysterious accident, but I doubt that’ll hold up much longer. I thought you’d want to know, since you shouldn’t have clearance for any outside information at all.”

She reflexively reached for my hand when she suddenly began shaking, staring at me with the face of a child that had just learned about the death of the sun in 4.5 billion years. I only saw that innocent girl in front of me, still yearning to be held by anyone around her.

A shallow knock resounded from outside of the door, and it slid open.

“So you’re finally awake again, Takako? That’s great. I was worried, seeing the scans over the past few days. But if you’re up already, then I assume your situation is improving slowly.”

She immediately let go of my hand, suppressing her slight shiver as he got closer.

“You always did seem special, ever since I saw you in Nagasaki back then. You even managed to recover from that. I’ve just had a similar case, and that one didn’t make it. Must be because she was there to help you, right Laura?”

“That could be part of it, I suppose.”

I hadn’t seen her that tense from interacting with another person before. Could it be? Was she actually afraid of him?

It definitely wasn’t hatred, at least. That much I could tell by now.

Satoru approached the health monitor, inspecting it intently for a short while.

“Congrats on your promotion by the way, Laura. I knew you would make it big in the department someday, just like me. But you’ve almost exceeded my expectations. You now have a constant security detail monitoring you, isn’t that a step up in the world?”

He grinned in my face.

“Can’t have you running around freely with that compassion of yours spreading to other people, you know. The entire structure would collapse if we let ourselves be guided by those feelings. We wouldn’t be here right now if compassion was leading us.”

He was definitely right about that, evidenced by almost everyone in this building being permanently eager to put a bullet through my head at the slightest inconvenience.

“But that compassion I nurtured was what led you to develop that secondary Traumata in the first place. A perfect balance, heat and cold. Keeping each other in check constantly. Without it, you would have died in the rubble of your girlfriend’s apartment, a frozen brick slowly melting away. I’m so glad to have taken you in.”

He seemed different than before. The way he spoke didn’t resemble a normal human at all. Why was he so condescending toward me? Was that insane guy actually right about what he said?

Satoru left shortly after, leaving both of us confused. Takako just stared at me.

“And here I was thinking he actually cared about somebody other than his wife. I should have known,” she said, reaching out for my hand again.

So that guy was right? Was I just his personal little experiment all that time back then? But then why did he treat me with such genuine care? It makes no sense. None at all. He may have constantly traveled, but he still cared for me like his own daughter. I think.

“Sorry, that just slipped out. I didn’t mean it, at least I don’t think. I can’t fully control what I’m saying right now.” Takako’s grip around my hand slightly tightened. “It’s just… he’s genuinely terrifying, from what I’ve read, and experienced.”