No. 01663 – Part 1

“You can’t be serious…”

A horrified look is drawn on Ren’s face as he hears the professor revealing he’s actually a Blue, while Hideki’s expression is teeming with malicious joy as he begins to scorn the young man:

“Tell me, how does that make you feel? Does that make you wanna kill me? Makes you hate me!?”

Hideki releases the pressure from Ren’s arm a little bit and gets his face closer to the young man to whisper in his ear:

“Why don’t we both stop this farce and have an honest conversation between our real selves?”

Ren blankly stares into nothingness for a while and gives a deadpan response:

“Our real selves? Unfortunately, I’m not sure I could do that”

“Oh, C’mon!? Do you hate me so much that we can’t have a normal, friendly chat?”

As Hideki states his inquiry, he moves aside a little, giving space between the two.

Is this guy really a Blue? After all that he said and done, should I trust his words and just have a chat with him? I honestly think it’d be better off goin’ for his weapon and-

No. If I did that, I’d never forgive myself. This is the one opportunity I never thought I would get. A chance to understand a Blue’s way of thinking. A chance to prove to myself that…

“…”

Ren’s face changes, and he looks at the man, but not with despise or hatred. (The only emotions he was allowed to have towards a Blue) He had a fierce gaze, but one brimming with honesty and curiosity.

“I accept your proposal, let’s talk”

“Good!”

The professor stands up and moves away at the same time Ren also gets up while holding his sore arm.

“I think it’d be beneficial if we start from the beginning, don’t you think so too, Haku-san?”

“What do you mean?”

The man begins to walk, circling Ren.

“It’s as I said before, or you’re a spy that Violet or Blue somehow managed to sneak in here, or…”

Ren clutches his fists and bites his lips at the prospect he could somehow be a spy of Blue.

“That’s absurd!”

“Yeah, indeed it’s an absurd idea, but not an impossible one”

“However, the other possibility is also incredibly unlikely”

“And that is you betraying Violet by your own accord”

“I would never betray Violet!!”

Ren’s voice rises as he approaches the man in lab coat and grabs him by the collar.

“I know this feeling very well too… Haku-san”

“You-!!”

Ren’s angered complaint is interrupted by the genuinely pained expression written all over Hideki’s face.

Ren’s emotions took the best of him, somehow those words pained his heart, even though he knows they are absolutely true, even though he thought that he had already made up his mind about this fact. His body still somehow wanted to deny it.

Ren finally releases the man’s collar.

“You better not be making fun of me!”

“I would never! I’m a man of my word. When I said I’d be having a heartful conversation, I truly meant it!”

The two stayed silent for a few seconds.

“Well, there’s no going back now. I suppose I should tell you my story first before inquiring you about yours”

“But…”

“It’d be better to talk in a more reserved, comfortable place, wouldn’t it?”

Ren shrugs.

***

SLAP!!!

“You jerk! You attacked me and Ren-kun, and then shoved me down into this trap door, and now you act like it was nothing!!!?”

After the stairs under the trap door, there was a small and narrow passageway that led to a surprisingly spacious office. It had the same kind of vibe as the cafe but without the ambiance music, and all the tables and chairs. In their place, the was one large computer desk with a cushioned armchair and two more chairs on the other side.

Ren was in of those chairs with a satisfied look on his face comfortably drinking tea, while Mayu and Hideki discussed near the doorway.

Mayu’s face is bright red as she yells at Hideki and the man tries to diminish the severity of what he had done with a forced grin while his cheek was also beaming in red, but as a consequence of the slap, he had received.

“I already said sorry Amano-san. I promise I won’t do anything like that ever again”

“Yeah, just like you promised you would move out from here when you made your ‘super groundbreaking’ new invention!”

“And that was five years ago!!”

“Ugh!”

Somehow it seemed the words Mayu said followed by the ironic air quotes did more damage to Hideki than the slap. The man visibly flinched and scratched his head embarrassed, as the girl continued her rant.

“Ok Amano-san, we can surely continue this convo another time. We don’t want to scare our guest, do we?”

“You don’t need to worry about me, this is far more entertaining than the serious talk from before”

“C’mon Renichi-san, you don’t need to be so mean…”

Ren sips his cup of tea while grinning a little.

“But seriously, I had a reason for going overboard as I did. I can understand you both being angry at me, but please allow me to explain myself!”

Mayu pouts and crosses her arms leaving a little sigh while tilting her head to the side, as Hideki slowly walks away from her and goes across the room. He sits on the cushioned armchair while putting his elbows on the table with a serious face.

“What I’m going to say to you now, no one besides Juurou Amano-sama knows”

“And I would be extremely grateful if you two could keep it a secret from everyone else”

Just like that the laid-back atmosphere of the room vanished. Mayu sat at the chair beside Ren’s, and much like the young man also paid close attention to what Hideki had to say.

“This is a story that begins in a place far too different from here”

“A place where humans are not allowed to exist anymore…”