In the Gift Tokyo building, subject 4444 continued to get up with whatever she was assigned, she was still annoyed about what happened the other day, and she kept on lamenting until she heard a knock on her door.
“Subject 4444.”
“Yes.”
“Hamana wants to see you.”
Hamana was someone who you wouldn't even politely challenge, her red lipstick was bold and sharp, just like her demeanour, she is the absolute head of this branch below Evan Rust, but she sucks up to Evan Rust too. She had dyed brassy brown hair and two hair clips both on her right, one in royal blue, the other in a more golden-beige tone, Ayana Hamana was a ruthless control freak. Subject 4444 was just outside her office, the sign read ‘Dr. A Hamana’, she waited until her assistant let her in.
Subject 4444 walked in and faced the woman.
“Ah, subject 4444.” Hamana said,” I heard about your failure the previous time.”
Please don’t punish me…I tried…please…
“However, I don't care if you keep on glossing over that…I have a proposition.”
She dared not to speak, even in compliance.
“You will become gift development’s latest propaganda tool.” Hamana stated, “Got that?”
“Yes ma’am!” subject 4444 said.
“Good, you will become a global sensation junior idol, you're, well…with a more normal name, which I’ve made, is Hotaru Yonshi, you’re really cute, you know that, and not fat and ugly like the other subjects, you’re really cute, you should be an idol, that’s why I picked you especially.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Subject 4444 didn’t know better, but was compliant, she had to do anything for Gift.
Hotaru Yonshi…
Why was she picked to be a propaganda tool?
Well, she needs everyone to know the rules, was she like, some sort of enforcer? Well, being chosen for looking cute must be something great; yet subject 4444 felt chills, something felt wrong but who was she to question the greatness of Gift they knew best anyway. Questioning them is just blasphemous; after all, if Gift weren’t in charge, who would be feeding people, who would be making medicines?
Subject 4444 continued to ponder as she waited for the machine that was attached to her to finish what it needed to do, would this mean no more draining? Well, she did have dancing and singing lessons the next day, but subject 4444 continued to go through with her daily routine. See if she increased in power, see if she was even more lethal, why did they want her to be a propaganda tool, wasn’t she made for killing? Who even dared to spend time engineering someone to look ‘cute’ as didn’t Dr Hamana say that she was cute?
She can’t ask these questions to anyone but herself, she is only efficient if she listens, at least subject 6174 used to come up with conclusions, yet, she was too sick to live due to her severe muscular dystrophy, and the last thing she told her was “I need to tell you something” before being dragged away from that room, she wanted to run after that wheel bed but they stopped her, before dying because she couldn’t live any more. Her body only gave her suffering as the doctors' aid, thin arms, fragile body. She remembers her soft brown hair that was wavy thick, and long and had bangs her lightly freckled skin with a slight tan and her eyes that brought everything together that was blue-brown hazel, she was transferred from Greece for treatment. Her hair was knotless too, her hair was comforting, and her hair was familiar and welcoming.
“Subject 4444, time to take a shower.” a guard said.
She obeyed quietly, following the guard to the female shower areas, continuing to ponder questions she knew she would never get an answer to in this life, she let the cold water fall on her as she massaged the shampoo onto her hair, it was lucky she was a good girl who followed orders, or else everyone would yell at her.
She made sure her hair was brushable and finished her shower off with a Loofah to her skin, all over her skin, then exited the shower and all her clothes on. She dries her hair by herself, she perfected the art of being clean in less than 20 minutes. Which was highly efficient.
What was subject 0271 doing, wait, why should she care, it isn’t her job to care anyway, it’s her job to listen, to understand Gift is the saviour of humanity and that what they do is best for the whole species. She knew they knew the utmost best or humans would probably be extinct by now.
—
Meanwhile, Reini was now in the karaoke room, she heard the other girls sing their selected songs, and now it was her turn, but she was indecisive, thankfully, there were vocal synth songs and songs from doujin circles, which was nice, but was she going to sing those in front of people she just met, wouldn’t it be embarrassing.
She felt like she was taking too long with her choices, so she picked something that she would sing in front of others but unique enough that she liked it, she took a deep breath before the intro started.
Now, you could say she sang like an angel- a passionate one who confronts a sinner in the act; with power and might, it was clear she was destined for this, the women looked at her dumbfounded as she finished her song, she certainly shook the room and everyone in it, these women were more experienced than her but the faces said something.
“Woah, tell me you got that on camera, right?” Haruno asked.
“Of course I did!” Akahana replied, like last time, right?”
The pain was kicking in right now, she had hoped it was a less painful period this time but she was desperate to go back to her room with a heating pad and shrivel up underneath her blanket, luckily, the karaoke session was about to end, and she was going to get picked up this time, they all finished up the hour and waited outside.
There was a white SUV with tinted side windows, you could still see a bit of the inside, the driver seat rolled down the windows to reveal Tatsu in the passenger and Kesshu in the driver’s seat, they were going to take them back to have that dinner Kesshu prepared.
It was convenient because Reini just wanted to sit down because those cramps were getting to her, she wanted to eat that nice dinner Kesshu talked about, oh, she was starving and her appetite was getting insatiable, she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t blackout, so she could eat all that lovely food and get her to fill.
She tried to stand up but her back was slightly arched from the cramps, why did it come at this time, why this time in particular, it was convenient all the food was laid out already, and she saw Mirai Melody laying everything out, making sure there was space to reach out for anything and everything was within a hand’s reach.
There were so many foods, plain rice, miso soup with udon noodles, two bottles of soda, curry sauces, two different types of salad, fries with a selection of sauces, fresh bread, and last but not least, a platter of different meats made in differing ways, some fired, Reini looked eager with hunger and she wanted to eat as soon as she got to the table.
But one thing.
She needed to do the thanks for the meal, she followed everyone in the thanks and started to fill her plate and her bowl with everything she saw, she was ravenous.
She tried the curry first, but it wasn’t spicy enough, it felt very mild.
“Oh, this curry isn’t spicy enough, did you undershoot, it tastes good, but it’s not spicy enough!” Reini said.
“My bad!” Kesshu replied, “I adjusted it to everyone’s level, I can bring more chilli powder if you want, I made myself spicer curry, would you like some?.”
“Woah, you guys must have some spicy handling powers or something, I can barely handle this ‘mild’ curry!” Utako said.
“Well, you get some and you don't,” Aoi said.
She finished her mild curry first; she could leave some room for the spicier curry, now this was it, this was what she wanted, this was the spicy she wanted, she had already finished the curry and the rice and moved on to some of the meats with the bread which she also paired with some fries, sauces, salads and poured herself some soda since she was still young, she devours her makeshift sandwich and moves onto the miso soup with udon noodles, which she instantly slurped up as well, she discovered some handrolls on the table and began devouring them too, the umami and savoury flavours were beautiful, along with the spicy curry, she pours herself more helpings as she’s really hungry and craving more and more.
“Hey, don’t forget, I have dessert planned for everyone!” Kesshu exclaimed.
Reini knew she had to save some space for dessert, so she decided this was the last helping, so that she didn’t look too greedy, she was super excited about dessert.
“Wow, you sure have eaten a lot, like you eat like you’ve never had a homemade meal, am I right in saying that?” Tatsu said.
“Oh, yes, that’s true, I didn’t think a home-cooked meal would be different to a ready-made meal, Is this what you guys eat every day?” Reini replied
“I mean, it’s a feast but we usually eat food of the same quality every day, I mean, you do look thin and sick pale, you should eat up, do you ever even have enough to eat, do you have a safe home situation, do your parents cook you food?” Aoi exclaimed.
“Oh, I don’t have parents.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, terribly so!” Aoi exclaimed, “What happened to them?”
“They simply weren’t present she was conceived by something else.” Mirai Melody said.
“Oh, I didn’t notice you Mirai, what was she conceived by perhaps?”
“Well, she was made in a lab but not in an IVF way, she was likely developed as a super weapon by gift, that’s right, isn’t it?”
Reini looked at Mirai, she was correct, she was made in a lab, it wasn’t nice but it happened but it isn't something to smile about because it happened. Rather, she wouldn't want to talk about it
but then again, she doesn't want to lie to anybody. The parfait was being distributed across the table.
It was even tastier than she was thinking it would be. She tried not to make any expressions in case they thought she was even weirder for eating parfait in such a way.
“By the way, we don’t let people perform if they are sick, underweight and malnourishment fall under, so please, let us look after you before your debut.” Mirai continued.
Reini was still eating her parfait, not minding much attention to Mirai.
“Hmm, yeah, please do that,” Reini replied as she continued her parfait serving.
“Anyways, we’ll meet up downstairs, in the training room, get ready,” Mirai said.
“Oh, you guys have a downstairs?” Reini asked.
“Yes, a training facility fitted with the best training tech the SII has to offer.”
“Oh, that sounds cool, could you lead the way, I’m still new here.”
“Of course, I was planning on doing that.”
Reini had finished her parfait, she was so full that it was hurting a little, she had never been so full like that, she was grateful, the food was so good, it was like heaven on earth, a meal fit for a righteous queen. She put her dishes in the sink and followed Mirai to the training facility.
It was a magnificent facility, hiding in a subterranean environment so nobody would suspect anything, and everyone could train in peace, there were some contraptions of sorts; it certainly was state of the art.
“I’ll hook up this wrist tracker on you, is that okay?” Mirai asked
“Usually they’d be hooking up more than that,” Reini muttered.
“Oh yeah, they would.”
“Huh?”
“Well, let's start the first test, would you mind stepping into the room and placing the headset on yourself?” Mirai asked.
Reini did as she was asked, it looked like she was being tested with the headset, and it seemed reasonable.
‘Now starts the first SII issued test- category one, reaction time, to answer this section, you must hit the button when you see the square turn green from red.’
A simple reaction time test, this wasn’t too hard, all she had to do was press the button when the square in front of her turned green, a few times of course, she readied her finger on the button so she wouldn’t have to move to it when the light turns green.
Not even one glimpse in and she already pressed the button, an impressive reaction time, only to do it again, and again, even Mirai was slightly impressed, she had beaten many people before.
She moved onto the other sections, with ease, until her cramps started flaring up, she wanted to puke, she wanted it to all stop, she dropped, with no control, puking a little, the cramps were hurting more this month, she could hear some laughing again, there’s always laughing once a moon.
The other thing was out this month, she felt a little queasy but there was nothing to kill in this room, but there was an open window, with a flowing curtain, and blood on her mattress again, which slightly irritated her.
She could smell the strong smell of scented oils; and feel the slightly tiny balls of lint on her shirt, she could feel the cables tugging on her again, she didn’t like these cables, she wanted them off, she wanted them removed, she wanted to run away again.
“Reini?” are you okay in there?” a voice asked, “Am I allowed to come in, would you like more time?”
It was a concerned feminine voice, asking about someone else entirely, she had to respond, she had to say something, she was full of adrenaline but wasn’t sure what to do with it.
“Looks like she’s still out, I'll leave her be and ask again.”
Looks like the owner of that voice was going, away, it was nice to be alone, she wasn’t sure how long it had been since she was last out, but there was nothing to do, she hated the medical equipment, it reminded her of the lab and it was horrible, they tried to keep her enclosed, there was nothing to do but sleep.
And sleep she did.
A slumber that even fairytale princesses would be jealous of.
Reini woke up again, feeling queasy, how long had she passed out, how long had she been like this?
“Reini, may I come in?” a voice asked.
“Who is this?”
“Aoi.”
“Oh, sure, you may come in.”
Aoi came in slowly, with a little present, it was some chocolate, some roses and a get well soon card.
“Mirai saw you pass out, she was really scared, we got this for you,” Aoi said.
This was a small gesture but she was still really thankful, and it was some of the more expensive chocolate, for her anyway, she could smell it a little, and she wanted to devour it.
“I’m sorry, I got a little sick,” Reini said.
“That’s okay, we all get sick from time to time, don’t stress about it, we’re all different, now, the doctor will conduct some tests on you, is that okay?”
“Sure, just tell the doctor to be quick, I want to rest.”
A doctor came in, she had ashy light brown hair in a messy bun and brown eyes with roe gold circular glasses on top, she had a lanyard hanging from her and wore a doctor’s coat over a beige sweater dress, which matched her neutral makeup, her whole appearance was consistent and friendly, she had skin that was ever so slightly showing a slight pink.
“You must be Reini, right?” the doctor said in a welcoming tone.
“Oh, you’re the doctor, I’m sorry everything is a mess.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine, we can walk into a different room, I’m Doctor Lily Carter, one of the SII’s many doctors, you may have seen my wife before, Akahana?”
“Oh, you’re her wife, well, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard quite a bit about you, feel free to tell me if anything makes you uncomfortable, I’ll be doing my best with you today.”
“Alright then.”
She looked at her, all doctors needed to glance at their patients before going in, she looked at her limbs, not touching anything else as she only needed to inspect her limbs, unlike Gift who was intrusive and checked every inch of their subjects.
“You passed out, would you happen to know why?” The doctor asked.
“Not really, sometimes I pass out.”
“Do you have any family history of anything hereditary?”
“I’m not sure, I was made in a lab to be used as a weapon, one time I escaped the lab but I’m not sure how I did it, I was bleeding and then I blacked out and woke up somewhere outside the lab, I blackout every time I bleed in a certain area, you know, I’m sorry if this is vulgar but the area where you pee or something, sometimes I don’t have anything to stop the bleeding.”
“Your period? Well, how painful are they usually? I mean you said you blackout.” The doctor asked
“Depends, I think I was lucky to not black out one month, I mean, I guess it hurts, and sometimes I can’t afford care products.”
“Any allergies you know of?”
“Not really, I can eat most things, lots of milk as well, I think I drank a whole jug I found once.”
“Likely no lactose intolerance,” she said “Got it, would you be happy if I carried out a simple allergy test.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
She hadn’t noticed how quick the contraption was, it looked like one of those library stamps, and how little space it needed on her arm, a grid that then displays the results on a screen, all the squares looked normal, which the doctor looked at.
“No allergies, that’s good,” she said.
She saw in television shows that children had parents to go to the doctor with, she had no one to go with, she had no one to buy her sweets at the pharmacy or the in-hospital shops after appointments, she had nobody to show grades to, it wasn’t like she went to school at the moment, maybe since April was next month, they might make her go next year; it wasn’t like she couldn’t read, she could read fine, how else would she know what songs she wanted to play in rhythm games, how else would she know what was in what she was eating.
The doctor seemed to be done, with everything else, blood test, allergy test, reflex Test, that was it for the basics.
“Anyways, tell your guardian to get this prescription, and to take this letter, Do you have anything else you'd like to disclose if that's okay?” she asked gently.
All she knew was that one scientist told her she was so hard to work with because she had an incurable developmental problem, not what it was, or if she should tell this doctor she met. She did know this doctor knew someone else who was kind to her, certainly not everyone she met would be this kind to her, she knew this was rare; alas she would try to make use of it as much as she could. Her attention deficiency was as clear as day, and so was her need for affection, a dryness in her heart that rivals that of the great Sahara and Gobi deserts. It was also clear she didn’t know how to deal with affection, as she tended to act strangely when she was given it.
“I’m not sure, all I know is that I feel like I don’t feel like I relate to people sometimes, and sometimes I feel like some sort of freak because of that,” Reini said.
“I may know someone who I can refer you to, I’m more of an expert on the physical body.” She said.
“Oh okay, thanks, doctor.”
“Hey, as soon as I heard that you were sick, I rushed here quickly, if you didn’t know already, I am one of the SII’s doctors, we brought you here as we wouldn’t want to risk any of our agents or high-risk cases being vulnerable under anything that might mean gift has access to it.”
“I got that already, where’s everyone else?” Reini asked.
“Oh, wasn’t Aoi here?” The doctor said.
“Oh yeah, she was.”
“Looks like more people are coming, well, coming to your room, let's head back, you have visitors.”
“Oh okay, then.”
There were a bunch of people in the waiting area, all glad, she was fine. She didn’t know how to react or feel about it, she sat down with them, not sure what to do, with a prescription and letter in hand, a little reluctant as well. She awkwardly hands the letter to Tatsu as he talks to the doctor.
“A prescription?” Tatsu said.”No problem, Anything to help you recover, I’ll read this letter at home, that seems appropriate, for now, let's get the prescription, anyways.”
They headed for the pharmacy next door, a pharmacist was at the counter, ready for anything, as usual.
“Oh, Mr. Otokabe, how’s it going?” the person at the counter said “I’m taking over for my mum today.”
“I could tell, spitting image, yet you are younger, are you going into pharmacy like your mother?” Tatsu said as he handed the prescription over.
“Yes, I am, She inspires me a lot, so I decided to take over from my mother on some days to get experience I'll get the prescription ready.”
The counter person went over to someone in the back, giving them the prescription, and it didn’t take long for the pills to be created, and for a bottle of treatment syrup to be taken from a shelf, the pills were then sorted into different boxes.
“The note says to take these for a month, and finish it, YOU ALWAYS finish medicine even if you feel fine.”
“Yes, I know, we don't want resistant bacteria to live.”
“And that’s a lot of vitamin pills too, is the prescription for that girl, what’s her name?”
“Reini.”
“Sounds pretty, where did you find her?”
“Akahana found her in an abandoned apartment.”
“Seriously? No wonder her prescription is big, she has a lot of deficiencies, where are her parents?”
“She has none.”
“Is this another SII secret?” the pharmacist asked.
Usually, you don’t say to people that someone is a lab experiment, but since the counter person was also an SII agent, they were allowed to listen in, everyone in this pharmacy worked for the SII, as this was a funded front for SII operatives. The young pharmaceutical student on the counter was allowed to hear, and there was no gift interference, even using their cell provider from a different SII front, which was a far superior cell provider in terms of speed and Gift had no way of accessing their feeds.
“Yes, she was an experiment from Gift, escaped for a year and then we found her.”
If you look from outside the window, it looks like a normal conversation between a frequenter and a normal cashier, with a kid wandering the aisle. Reini looked around the pharmacy, she eyed the cheap lollipops, they looked tasty, but she had no money to buy them, she also wanted those cute hair bubbles, with the glitter-look which were just bits of woven tinsel.
“Hey Reini, do you want a lollypop?” Tatsu asked.
Her staring was too obvious, she couldn’t say no or yes either, she was slightly dumbfounded.
“Maybe,” she muttered.
“Okay, pick a flavour and come here, actually, pick a few more, I won’t mind, it’s on me.”
She reluctantly picked out a few more, placing them all on the table, hoping she didn’t pick out too much. Or he would be inconvenienced by the amount of lollipops, she picked out 5 flavours.
“Alright, I'll pay for everything,” Tatsu said
“Alright, just use the reader then when you’re ready.”
Thankfully, people in Japan didn’t have to pay too much for their medical things, but you still had to pay for them, but it wasn’t as burdensome for someone as rich as Tatsu Otokabe, as he could help people with his wealth, due to his generosity, he isn’t as rich as other people like Evan Rust or Poppy Grander, yet his wealth always grows exponentially, even after giving most of it away, it’s almost parasitical! Like a tumour that hasn’t been properly removed.
“I’ll pay you back when I find some money,” Reini said.
“Pay me back?” Tatsu asked in a confused tone.
“Yes, I will, also, how much is rent per month?”
“Rent? You’re 12, we should be giving you money, here, take this.”
Tatsu quickly put some money in an envelope and handed the envelope over, It was the biggest bill yet (realistically probably bigger than 10k yen due to inflation), the biggest Reini ever had, and it was the crispest bill ever, She wanted to cry, were you allowed to be this generous; to her especially. It was beautiful, to say the least, she had no words, imagine how much she could get by, she could buy food for a month, or finally afford pads, imagine how wonderful her life would be, maybe she could finally afford to take a hot shower.
She left with Tatsu, heading to his white SUV, until she picked up on some crying.
She had to go up to that person, she had to check on them.
“Are you okay, I heard you cry?”.
They shook their head. They looked young, but they still looked slightly hopeful, it looked like they were looking for something. They looked younger than she did.
“I can’t find my mother, I’ve been looking everywhere, and I’m hungry, I’m really hungry.”
What could Reini do, this child was hungry, did she have any food on her? She did have some lollipops, maybe she could give him some, she also had a big bill, realising that she didn’t need that bill because at least she had somewhere to live. She handed the child her bill and some lollipops.
“Go get some food at the convenience store, stretch this bill out, and don’t spend it all in one place, I was there at one point,” Reini said.
“Thanks so much, I’m not sure what to do with this much money, are you sure you meant to give me this much?” the kid said.
“Yes, there was no mistake.”
“I’ll remember this, thanks.”
“Have a good one.”
“Thanks so much, bye!”
Reini felt something, so she went back to the SUV which wasn’t far.
“What were you doing, when you were there?” Tatsu asked
“Nothing much really.”
“Oh okay.”
Tatsu started up the car, he drove Reini back to his home, Reini was sitting at the backmost of the car, on the window seat, leaning against the window, looking as the landscape changed by the second. Tatsu was too busy driving, and Reini needed to be more spaced out. The car then stopped, and that was it, they were back, Tatsu pressed some buttons, also checking if any windows were down.
“You gave that kid the note, right?” Tatsu asked.
Reni was loss for words, how did he know that, she just said she was doing nothing, nobody needed to know that she gave some poor kid a note, nobody needs to know about acts of charity, it should be commonplace yet our society tells us not to engage with the “lower classes”, or they’ll buy drugs with the money, what could a little boy do with that money? Where would they buy drugs for that much?
Tatsu gave Reini twice the amount, she looked dumbfounded, as this was now the most money she ever got in her life, feeling guilty as well, but she always wonders why Tatsu always had envelopes on hand, it’s curious how he did; it’s like he’s prepared. Reini didn’t know what to do at this point, this was too much money, this was more than enough, this was still far too much, maybe she could save it, as she thought before.
She headed to her room, her suitcase was still open, she needed to unpack, but she also needed to rest.
Maybe she could be nice to herself for once, take a little nap.
And sleep…
—
“Strike a pose” the said.photographer said.
Subject 4444 complied with the photographer, she knew she had to listen or else gift wouldn’t like that, disobedience means that something is wrong with you, and if something is wrong, that’s not great. Disobedience is frowned upon, and Dr. Hamana was supervising anyways.
She wanted some water.
But if she asked right now, she would look weak, and she wouldn’t want that, not in front of so many adults.
“Take 5!” someone yelled.
Finally, an acceptable time where she could eat and drink something, she was famised and those biscuits certainly looked really tasty, very tasty, they were flowery and had red jam, she reached out for one until she felt a hand grab hers. She heard some tutting behind her.
“We wouldn’t want to add anything to your perfect body.” Hamana said “what will people think if their idol is fat, those aren’t for you.”
“Could I at least have some water?” she asked.
“Fine, only because I need to keep you alive.”
She grabbed a bottle she then found somewhere to drink it alone. Nobody was watching, dd she have to sip it like a princess, because she was alone? Something tells her to chug the water, to go wild, free her temptations.
She didn’t drink it a ladylike manner, as soon as she let the bottle hit her mouth, she went ferociously, it was already empty, and Dr Hamana wasn’t anywhere to be seen, well, near the snacks anyways, she snuck near the table and grabbed as many cakes and biscuits as she could and hid away and quickly gobbled them, whipping crumbs and cream away from her face.
That felt good.
That little bit of defiance.
But it was wrong, she felt really guilty, she felt really bad, was she a criminal now? But if she admited, would they go easy on her?
There was only one way to find out, but something in her wanted to keep that a secret. She could hear the shoot director asking her back on, complying with that order, she went back into the shooting area, continuing to strike poses like she was asked, she wouldn’t be done today, she then had history and then science later on.
They kept on making her take pictures, what were these pictures for again? Her idol debut? Does one need this many images?
This was all Dr Hamana’s idea so she had to comply.
Compliance is the sign of a healthy person, isnt it?