The small Death

He knew he wasn’t supposed to see this. Not because he was against the experiment in principle, but because… it was too early. Their trials had barely started and it would be years before any of these would be approved for testing on humans.

And yet there it was, in an underground room, still accessible because the security gates hadn’t been fully installed: A tank large enough to fit a human. The technicians likely didn’t even know what they were building, and they had signed an NDA regarding the specific tech anyway. But Ran recognised it immediately. He had sat with Eisaku night after night while they dreamed of this design, sketching it out, talking specifics.

Just what kind of test subject did Eisaku want to put in there? Whatever it was, it couldn’t be legal…

—--

Through a series of comparisons, they determined the differences in how Shohei handled the extraction, which had been informed by his peers at the university, and how they had done it so far. It was subtle, but yielded extraordinary results. The main difference was the amount and quality of polysaccharides the extraction managed to isolate. These long chains of sugar molecules were especially valuable to the environment in the tank, evident by the algae bloom. Whatever other differences there were would be a matter of closer examination.

Shohei immediately became a hero to the team. New test series were designed with his refined formula in mind, and he became central to a lot of experiments. He had to work hard not to let his sudden fame inside the lab go to his head.

But most of all, his success seemed to endear him to Kyourin. Previously, he had been absent from the lab for long stretches at a time, but lately, he kept hovering in Shohei’s vicinity, never bothering him, but always there. At first, Shohei was nervous about it. Who wouldn’t be, if their boss was always just there, looking over their shoulders? Yet slowly, but surely, Kyourin’s presence became reassuring rather than annoying. The room felt warmer, more complete with Kyourin in it. Shohei didn’t examine this feeling too closely.

Several weeks went by like this, and Shohei had amassed an astonishing amount of equipment, taking up more than half of the large lab, running several experiments at once. He was in his element once more. No matter what he needed, Kyourin Laboratories provided it. Chemicals, hardware, samples—everything just a question away. It was heady.

“Matsumoto, I have good news.”

Shohei looked up from where he was portioning a new batch of young termite mushrooms. Ito stood on the other side of the long table, holding up a sheet of paper.

“What is it?”

“The data for the month-long observation is finally here and evaluated.”

Shohei put down his instruments and pulled off the plastic gloves, then reached for the paper. It was… hm. That batch? Interesting. And the results… oh. Oh!

“That’s… the cancer trial.”

“Correct. We mixed it with the various minerals we usually use to promote plant health in the system, and the mixture with kaolin was especially potent. We’re going forward with this one, and we need several new batches.”

“Working on it.”

“Great. Honestly. We have made more progress in the last few weeks than in the months before,” Ito said and beamed. “Thank you for accepting the position here.”

Shohei just nodded. He didn’t want to tell him that Kyourin Laboratories had been one of his last choices. It seemed ridiculous now, but back then he hadn’t known. What a twist of fate this was.

“You’ll get me the precise order form today?” Shohei asked.

“Yes. But I already know it’s likely three times as much as last time.”

“Mhm. That’ll take about two weeks. I could be faster, but growth is sporadic, and I can’t predict the harvest completely.”

“I understand. Sensei has been working on establishing a new colony in the south-western part of the greenhouse, but it hasn’t worked so far. Only shows how delicate these creatures are…” Ito trailed off. “It’s a wonder we managed to keep them here at all.”

“How did he manage in the first place? I never asked.”

“It wasn’t his work. Saikawa-sensei was the specialised biologist, who suggested it in the first place. They did countless trials, some of them in south-east Asia and even Africa. It took years to get even one colony to flourish in captivity, and that wasn’t even taking into account the transfer to Japan. He…”

“He?”

Ito shook his head. “He was driven by his vision like a man possessed. He disappeared for weeks, months at a time. But whatever he did in private yielded results, so no one questioned him—least of all Kyourin-sensei. Well, the outcome speaks for itself.”

“If he was so invested, why did he leave his life’s work?”

“That’s not my place to tell you.”

Shohei pressed his lips together in frustration. What kind of big fallout did these two have? It must have been of epic proportions…

“I’ll get the list to you later today,” Ito said and waved as he exited the room.

Shohei was left alone with his thoughts.

—--

It was dark. Dark and warm. Shohei groaned sleepily as awareness danced through his head, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared. Sleep threatened to pull him under again, but something told him to wake up. He tried to move, but his arms and legs felt like they were made of lead. What…

He’d worked on the latest batch late into the night. That much he remembered. Too tired to risk the journey on his bike, he decided to take a quick nap before making the trip back home, settling in on the sofa at the back of the lab, behind his desk.

And now…

“Go back to sleep, you’re exhausted.”

The voice was low, calm and familiar. Just by hearing it, Shohei was pulled under, back into the realm of sleep. What did they call it? The small death? Why did that come to mind just now?

Lips touched his forehead. He couldn’t open his eyes to see who it was, but the contact was gentle and loving. Shohei must be dreaming, he thought. There was no one in his life, who would touch him like this, who would make him feel so warm and settled.

Unconsciousness claimed him again, this time completely, and he sank deep into darkness.

—--

When Shohei awoke, it was light. Not the artificial light of the neon tubes overhead, but the natural light of the sun, spilling in through the large windows that separated the lab from the greenhouse. He stretched and took in his surroundings. The lab laid in silence, only the hum of the centrifuge on the other side of the room audible.

Shohei shot up, suddenly very awake. How was it morning already?