Epilogue

Shohei stood at the edge of the terrace, overlooking the sea. It was an almost windstill day, which was unusual for Tokyo Bay, which made him bake in the heavy sunshine of this August afternoon. A shadow fell over him as someone held an umbrella over his head. He turned around to see Eisaku.

“Are you actively looking to get sunburnt?” Eisaku asked.

“Not specifically. I just needed some air. The humidity in the greenhouse was killing me.”

“It’s not much worse than the city centre right now.”

“Fair. What luck we have to live out here, then.”

Eisaku leaned forward and kissed Shohei’s cheek. “I’ve come to fetch you. The therapist is here.”

Shohei let himself be led through the hallways, into one of the large meeting rooms, which had been repurposed into a rehabilitation and training facility. In the middle of it, listening to the expert, was Ran Saikawa, sitting in a wheelchair.

The years of floating in the tank had kept him alive, but his muscles had atrophied to an alarming degree—so much so, he could barely stand or hold something in his hands. While he kept getting better at gripping, his legs were still a long way from getting back to their prime, even two months after he’d woken up from the tank.

With the medical attention he needed, they couldn’t keep the story under wraps. Half the country vilified Kyourin Laboratories for human experiments, half the country was ecstatic about the medical progress achieved. Years worth of data about Ran’s progress was still being evaluated and resulting discoveries were leading to new treatments and drugs. Several people quit the lab. New people were hired. Life went on.

Life also went on for Shohei. While Ran was still cautious, Eisaku had insisted he remain with them. They were working it out, one day at a time.

It wasn’t easy, but it didn’t need to be. Shohei finally had a place he belonged and we would do everything to keep it.