Chapter 2: first contact with an Eraser

The next day started like the previous one.

Except today’s paper envelope was white.

Asahi frowned.

So far, he had only seen three colors of paper envelopes: brown for notification papers, blue for erasure details, and pink for clone information.

On his mission order, he would have to pair up with a man called Shimizu Honda.

An eraser.

He had never met one before only heard about them through a video on a DVD he had found in his wardrobe when he woke up in his apartment three months ago.

A woman had tried to escape the procedure. She was locked up. It turned out she had received a notification from him forty-eight hours earlier by the time the file was recorded.He would have to assist and witness her procedure, he sighed and asked the woman at the reception desk about his new partner’s information, she reassured him that he was on his way.

He waited for two hours in the lobby.

Then the man showed up pink-dyed hair, dark bags under his eyes, a strange suit.

“Let’s go,” he said, walking past him.

Asahi stared at him for a moment, then followed.

They entered a car, Asahi in the passenger seat and Shimizu driving. Thirty minutes later, they stopped in front of a house Asahi vaguely remembered.

Two men stood near the entrance like guards. Asahi and Shimizu showed their IDs, the guards’ eyes glowed red briefly before one of them opened the door.

The woman was inside.

Sachiko Arai.

She was trying her best to appear calm, but her body was shaking.

“You know why we are here, right?” Shimizu asked, sitting across from her. 

The air conditioner was on, and all the windows were closed.

“I… I just wanted to— I did nothing wrong,” she said, trembling. Tears formed in her eyes.

“You tried to escape the optimization.”

“I don’t want that! Why should I die for a clone to take my place? My family loves me, my friends too. Why should a clone benefit from all of that?”

“It’s not about you. Stop being selfish. Your entourage deserves the best version of you,” Shimizu snapped. “You pretend to love them, but you’re ready to leave them behind. You’re the selfish one.” He exhaled, calming himself down, and took the paper out of the white envelope.

He read the new government’s statement aloud.

How disappointed they were in her.

How much her family would suffer because of her resistance.

How her friends would be mocked for having known her.

She was sweating and crying at the same time, despite the cold air.

Shimizu then pointed a gun at her.

“Any last words?”

“…No…”

The gunshot made one of the guards flinch.

Shimizu left with Asahi. His walk was calm and slow. Outside, he lit a cigarette and offered one to Asahi, who declined.

They entered the car and drove back to headquarters.

“Does this type of procedure involve cleaners?” Asahi asked while filling out the paperwork.

“Yes. The guards you saw earlier will call our superiors to send a group of cleaners.”

“What will happen to the family?”

“They will be relocated to the dump side of the city. That only involves her parents and siblings. The rest of the family is safe.”

“Will she still be cloned?”

“She’s a rebel. Rebels don’t get cloned.”

Asahi nodded and continued writing.Once at headquarters, he learned that his other cases for the day had been handled by a colleague. He had only been assigned to the rebel.He went home more tired than usual, but he kept his routine.
At some point during the night, Amemiya called him and attempted small talk, Asahi remained professional.

When everything went quiet, he heard a struggle near his door. He told himself it was nothing, even though he was shaking.

The next morning, he saw the cleaners working in the building hallway.He walked quickly past them, but one of the cleaners stopped him.

“Good morning, sir. We were called during the night, but none of us were available, so we decided to come early this morning. Please excuse the inconvenience.”

What looked like human blood had almost been washed away, leaving faint pink stains on the white walls.

He simply nodded and walked past the woman.

“You really have a pretty smile, sir,” she added softly.

He kept walking.

But deep down, he was shaking.

He took a cab because he didn’t feel like walking. The driver tried to make small talk, but when his gaze landed on Asahi’s ID, he immediately fell silent.

Once at headquarters, Asahi went straight to Amemiya’s office.

Another day.

Another mission.