Himari

“Himari!” Her shout echoes around the facility. Her legs burnt; the walking, the running – it all took a toll on her. She was running out of steam; the earpiece kept ordering her. She was sick of it.

“Turn around, just don’t go down; you will ruin everything. There are some things only you can do," the leader frantically spoke, Yuka denying him; it wasn’t planned but expected in a situation like this.

Running down the stairs, each step lands heavy, with no care for being silent or even scared of those that await her.

Himari, don't—

She rounds the corner at the staircase.

Who are these people?

THEY stood there, in white lab coats, with old grey hair, most of their bodies still inhumane, but human cracks started to spread; three figures stood.

She didn’t know any of them; her eyes were already in a different place.

“Himari—” Her body lay flat on the ground, the axe to the side stained red from hilt to metal, her breathing very shallow and uneven.

Yuka can’t move; the people are in front of her, and Himari is lying on the ground. What could she do in this situation? "Move; I want to talk to her."

“Subject J-019, we can’t move for you. "She attacked us with an axe," an old man with grey hair and a raspy voice spoke, his tall stature leading the two lab members behind him. Her eyes saw his features, exactly like those in the files she read about Koyomi.

Her eyes then saw the two bleeding lab coats behind the front while one of THEM was unresponsive in the background. Himari fought like a true warrior to the end, never yielding; it was so like her.

Yuka throws her hands up in the air. “I have no weapon, just a camera recording." The implication behind her words was clear; her voice, however, just shook in the delivery.

“Even with a camera, you were built to obey, even when asking us to move. You have no backbone." The old man got closer to the camera, his eyes staring down directly into the lens.

Why am I asking them to move—I'm in charge of the camera, yet I can't take control of the situation. I'm so pathetic.

She tried moving her body forward with no avail until the leader spoke up. “Don’t listen to THEM; your perception is getting better, and their control is getting worse. So move and see off the person you care the most about."

He's right—I can’t let her die alone, not this time.

Her steps pace forward, shoving past the old man, whose smile widens a bit. “Seems in the right conditions you can break the control; that mechanical experiment inside your ear is causing too much of a handful."

Her shoes falter walking up as she goes before kneeling beside her. “Himari, I'm here—” Her bright pink eyes were already shedding tears, seeing Himari just barely hanging.

“Yuka—I succeeded for you. I finally got my chance to stand up for myself and someone I care about.” Her voice was only whispers and wind; there was nothing her mouth could mutter anymore. Her grey eyes only got darker, the colour sucked out of them.

The hand falls.

“I have no regrets left.” Her eyes start to drop tears onto the unresponsive face, painting it in a reflective light against the crimson moonlight.

Burying her head into Himari’s chest, she cries; just cries.

“We promised to become free; we promised to finally leave this place! Why did you lie? Why do you lie here not talking to me? What happened to our happy times? When I made ramen for you when we survived the lab, it was our final meal together just now! Tell me, Himari—"

A cold, gentle hand pats her head. “Are we out yet—we made it, Yuka, didn’t we?" The voice was higher this time; it was hopeful. They were free now, weren't they?

“Koyomi! How—” Yuka’s voice shakes; it is barely audible anymore.

Koyomi tilted her head forward, seeing slash at her stomach area as her vision began fading slowly. “I'm just a talking corpse; I can feel life draining already too."

“No, no, no, just stay a bit longer, please!” Yuka’s tears fly out more ferociously, the pain overwhelming her.

Her pink eyes couldn't stop crying; they looked at Koyomi's eyes, already pitch dark grey. She was dead yet still here for this final moment. Koyomi wrapped her hands around Yuka tightly.

Her grip never let go despite her energy vanishing slowly. “Cry it out; you're going to be free, even if we won’t be together. At least you will be free—Be happy, Yuka!” Her voice cracked.

“Just keep—" Her voice faded.

Yuka stared down at the dead body. "Finish what you were supposed to say! Don’t just stop now; please finish it—” Her dress darkened slightly.

Kensaku stared down at the scene, emotionless. “Write down that the duality experiment succeeded." His subordinate got out their notepads, writing down the details of the encounter. Yuka’s rage reached a boiling point.

“Is this just a sick experiment to YOU? We're humans too!" Her voice was defeated. How could other humans view others as just experiments to be studied? It was sickening.

Her earpiece said, “Yuka, it's over—get out of there before THEY take you too. " There was hesitation in the leader's voice, a machine that at this moment somehow hesitated.

“I don’t have the power to rebel against your right, Kensaku. " Yuka dropping the name causes his face to further end, clearly amused at the reveal his name was exposed so plainly.

He looks down at Yuka. “Go back to your room, J-019; we will discuss it later."

Yuka turned and walked off.

“Use that, Yuka." The leader, speaking from the other side, urged her, “Get back to Takeru’s room, and I will explain everything—” She didn’t answer back, just began walking; her senses were depraved, her mind shattered, she only could walk.

The stairs felt invisible, the hallways felt dreamlike. This was reality. She just walked; she knew nothing else.

…

Takeru saw her face, empty, no expression, the blood dripping from her frilly, stained dress. He quickly welcomed her before shutting the door behind them. “Do you need water?”

Silence.

Her eyes staring at a blank piece on the wall, her earpiece telling her something she didn’t know—it didn’t matter. “Do you need help with something?” Takeru tried to help, but it was pointless.

“People—people who see others as tools, people who use others, who lie, and who control others—what type of people are they? Were they just doing their job? But that face—they were enjoying it; I saw that old man smile—”

She pulled her short hair out, black strands falling out. She just kept scratching; it calmed her a bit. “Stop that!” Takeru grabbed her hands, holding them firmly but not roughly enough to alarm her.

“They both died; I just stood there. I could have grabbed the axe; I didn’t fight; I let them die. Maybe if I got help in time or if the leader was here, maybe both of them would be happy."

That silent dark grey-eyed face flashed into her mind; her eyes couldn't even tear up anymore. It was all too much; she just wanted things to end already, to stop this pain that she keeps feeling within her heart.

Takeru stood beside her and didn’t touch her or try to hold her; they barely met, and he knew she would just flinch away. Just hoping his presence would be enough until the end.