Kara is leading the way for Hirono, so that Hirono can have a room for himself.
„I wouldn't have thought, that this place would be this big. There are lots of rooms inside this hideout.", says Hirono.
„We put a lot of effort to build this hideout. It took a while, but it's still not nearly finished as we hoped to build it. Tenazuchi is taking up most of the space for his crazy experiments unfortunately, but we still have plenty of rooms. Since we are not the only ones with powers, and won't be in the future, we built a lot of rooms for the future recruitments as well.", says Kara.
„It's amazing what you all achieved while being hunted."
„Well, this is not our first hideout. In the past, the Space Station located various hideouts of ours, and we needed to escape. This is the first hideout that they haven't found out so far. The Space Station is well aware how we operate and how we hide, that's why they were successfully able to find us thusfar. I'm pretty sure that this place won't be found out for a long time."
Both arrive in front of a room.
„This will be your room. There is a bathroom inside, and a bed. Take your time, and freshen up. In the meantime, I will go an get you food and clothes."
„It seems like, that this will be my new home from this day on."
„As I said before, this is just the beginning. Your whole life will turn upside down, and almost every day you will learn something new. Tenazuchi will tell you everything that we learned as well until now, but be prepared, it's a lot at once, and Tenazuchi doesn't wait for you to understand everything."
Hirono enters the room, while Kara leaves to get some food and clothes for Hirono.
Hirono looks around. The room is lit by a single small light. The bed is in the corner, but it's not dusted. There's a door leading to the bathroom. Everything inside the room is clean. It must be because of Tenazuchi. Hirono puts the blanket around his body on the ground, and gets inside the bathroom. It's over a month since he last took a shower. He turns on the shower and let's the water drop all over his body. Hirono closes his eyes and enjoys the heating inside his body. He touches his body, and checks if he is still there. Taking the shampoo, and cleaning all the dirt on his hair. Cleaning every inch of his body. It's like it's been years the last time Hirono took a shower. Hirono enjoys it for a few more minutes, until he turns the water off. The bathroom is filled with the steam. After his shower, a giant bathrub filled with warm water is waiting for Hirono. Hirono slowly gets inside the hottub with his right leg first, following with his left leg. He turns his back to the water, and slowly gets inside with his whole body. Hirono can already feel the relaxation in his muscles. He yet again closes his eyes.
Kara is in the kitchen, and is preparing the food for Hirono himself. He peels of a few potatoes, throwing away the skin into the trash. After peeling them, Kara chops the potatoes into tiny pieces, and puts them into a bowl, to let them get cleaned by the water inside. He also chops some onions, vegetables and cheese into tiny pieces, and puts them all into seperate tiny bowls. Two eggs are lying on the table. Kara grabs them and cracks them open. He mixes the two eggs well together. After mixing the eggs, Kara puts them to the side, and poors the water out of the bowl with potatoes, putting a few spoons of water to put the bowl into the microwave for a few minutes. He then takes out a pan, puts some oil in it and starts to cook the ingridients one after another, starting with the sliced onions. When finished with the cooking, he puts the pan away to get the bowl of potatoes out of the microwave. Kara mashes the potatoes and puts the bowl to the side for the potatoe mash to cool down. In the meantime, Kara cooks the eggs in a new pan well, and puts it on a plate. He then starts to form the potatoes and puts the ingredients inside, to cook the potatoes again in the pan. After making a few of them, Kara puts the two plates on a serving plate, and gets out of the kitchen.
It's been more than half an hour since Hirono entered the bath. He opens his eyes and looks at the ceiling. A strange feeling overcomes him suddenly. Hirono can't tell how to interpret it. He gets out of the bathtub and grabs a towel to dry himself completely. He gets out the bathroom and throws the towel inside a small basket next to his new bed. Hirono touches his chest and stomach to see if he feels any pain, but all the injuries are healed already. There is no signs of burning or any scars. The healing speed of his body doesn't shock Hirono anymore after what he's been through. At that moment, Hirono wonders how fast he got accustomed to his powers, it feels like that this green aura was a part of him his whole life. Kara enters the room, and puts the plate with food on the table, while leaving a pair of clothes on the chair.
„Were you able to relax a little bit?", asks Kara.
„I forgot about the time in the tub, it was really nice to shower after being a prisoner for a month. I actually didn't want to get out, but I can already feel that I'm getting hungry at the same time.", says Hirono.
„We take turns in preparing food, it's my turn this week. There is more in the kitchen if you want. I'll come back later to give you a tour. Just take your time. You can relax in here as much as you want.", says Kara and leaves the room.
Hirono takes the clothes on the chair, and puts them on, taking his time just as Kara said. The clothes are way bigger than the clothes in his apartment, but they are the right fit, considering how much the body of Hirono changed. He sits on the chair and starts to eat the food on the table that Kara brought. The food is very delicious, but is finished in mere seconds. The hunger of Hirono is still not gone. Hirono stands up and picks up the plate. He opens the door to find his way to the kitchen. Hirono looks to the left and to the right, seeing a long hallway. He wonders if he can actually find the kitchen on his own.
Kara enters the room of Tenazuchi, and looks at Tenazuchi. Tenazuchi on the other hand is still experimenting with his tools, ignoring Kara completely.
„How long will you pretend in doing your stupid experiments?", but Tenazuchi still doesn't respond.
„It was you, who instructed me to infiltrate the Space Stateion 8, depite knowing that I don't like that place. You wanted me to break Hirono out, without explaining anything to me. I put myself in great danger, still you keep us out of details. Would you have cared if something happened to me? I don't owe my life to you like the rest of the group. I've survived without you before I joined you. Maybe the others don't care and are ok with this, but don't play the boss around me. You benefited from me as well I did from you. Most of the intel you got about the Space Stations came from me. How about a thank you for a change. We all still don't know you at all, even though we've been together this long. Would it kill you to be more like a human?"
„Are you done? I don't have time for your drama right now."
Kara tries to hit Tenazuchi with a giant fire fist, but the attack gets dissolved before hitting Tenazuchi.
„You are a piece of trash. Don't think that you can command us around like we are your underlings.", and storms out of the room.
„You might think about me the same way as he is thinking. Especially after I turned you into this form."
Hirono enters the room.
„I don't know any of you, but I owe my life to you. It's thanks to this power probably that I am able to breath outside. But it is really messed up to force someone into something that they're not comfotable. If you really knew that Kara didn't want to revisit the so called Space Station 8, then Kara has the right to be mad. I am greatful that I got out, but if I had a chance to undo it, I wouldn't let Kara come after me."
„Those are very brave words of yours, but would you have actually done that?"
„Yes, of course. I've been through some stuff, and I know all kinds of situations and emotions despite my young age. I would rather spend years locked in that cell, than make someone miserable for a month for someone they don't know.
„I am very surprised to here those words. Since the day we met, I had high hopes for you. Especially after you adapted so well to your powers. It's easy to make decisions based on emotions, but would you have made the same choice if you knew that thousands of people would've died because of your action?", but Hirono doesn't say anything.
„I don't portray myself as a good person or a hero. I have a simple mission, and that is to end the situation that we are in. During this time, someone has to be the emotionless bastard to reach that goal without getting more causualties. You can blame me as much as you want. You can hate me as much as you want. I am here not to be anyones friend or family, but to fulfill my role as someone that knows a little too much of this world. If you don't like the situation here, you are free you leave, no one's is holding you back. Your power is needed, so it was a choice I had to make before the enemy had used it for different purposes."
„I get that it is important to make certain decisions in dire situations. I even understand where you are coming from. But I still think that it was a grave mistake to let Kara do this job. There are is difference in being emotionless and senseless. As for leaving, I won't leave this place, not after Kara went into the trouble to do this all on his own. Even though I got accustomed so quickly, I still have room to grow, especially since I didn't really had the chance to take a break and take this all in. I probably will meet lots of new people now, but I am ready to do this. There is a reason for me to receive this power. I have to grow with others and not alone. I can clearly see it. You are like me. But let me tell you something. Don't. You don't have to be like this. I need still some time for myself. You can tell me everything I don't know later.", and leaves the room.
Tenazuchi looks after Hirono, but continues to do his experiments.
„So, this is the one you made Kara went through the trouble to break out."
„When did it become common to eavesdrop on conversations here."
„It's a surprise to see you act not the way you usually are. You don't normally get this serious around others, or rather talk that much openly. I know that Kara doesn't get it much and that he is always heated up, but I can see through your mask. Something must've happened for you to act differently.", says Asuha Haiden, one of the members of the group.
"You should go and introduce yourself to Hirono, he will be a part of this group now. There are a lot of things I still have to do, so you can leave me alone now.", says Tenazuchi.
„Alright, I will let you be. But you should know, that the boy is right. Don't hide behind your mask, I know that there is more than the actual you behind it.", says Asuha while Tenazuchi is still concentrating on his experiment.
„By the way, Mikari should be on her way too, we were in contact the whole time, but I have to report what I have discovered. Kara was right, there is a lot more going on at the Space Station 66 as he was predicting. I will gather Kara and Hirono to tell you guys the details of my discovery. Let me first take a break and let you be alone for a while. I hope there is food, I haven't eaten anything properly for a few days now.", and starts to head to the door.
„And I know that you are not an emotionless bastard like you portray yourself. I know that you will not do it, but you can talk to me at any time you want.", and leaves the room.
Hirono is walking around the hallway, and is still searching for the kitchen. For a second, Hirono thinks that he wouldn't have confronted anyone like he did with Tenazuchi before. He thinks for himself, that it could be influence of his powers, but overall he changed so much in such a short time. He knows well that he still needs the time to process the fact that monsters and powers exist, that he had to fight someone and lost and that he killed one of those monsters. Suddenly, the stomach of Hirono starts to hurt, and Hirono has to vomit. The image, that the monster was a human and that he killed him comes in his mind. A feeling of guilt started to build up inside Hirono. It was the first time for Hirono to feel this way after such a long time. His mind starts to drift to Takumi, questioning himself, if it was actually a wise choice to engage with Takumi the way he did. Hirono realizes that he started to blame himself, and that he is reflecting on the things that happened so far, making him smile for a second. Hirono gets himself back together and keeps on moving. Once he is in the shape he should be, he will head back and check on Takumi, that the the least he has to think, that's what Hirono decided on that moment.
Kara is in a big room with tools and devices in it, while sitting on a barrel-like object. He gets pissed while looking at everything in that room. Everything in that room was created by Tenazuchi himself, it was basically a storage room for Tenazuchi.
„Why do you keep torturing yourself like this in here? You should stop sitting here and start resting for a while, you've been on a mission for over a month now.", says Asuha, while standing at the door.
„I don't need to rest right now, I have to be in here for a while. You should be the one resting."
„Everyone is going through stuff now, but it will be alright. Don't be so hard on Tenazuchi, everyone has a tough past. We should stick together in times like these."
„Tenazuchi just pisses me off, I don't want to see him right now. He knew exactly why I didn't want to accept that mission, but he still forced me to do it. Even though everything went smoothly, it was like hell for me to stay a month inside that cell. All the memories I tried to surpress so hard came back to me. I didn't want to remember all that stuff. All the things that happened during that time, all the pain that I had to go through. But Tenazuchi didn't care at all.", making Kara smash some devices next to him with his giant fire hand.
„You know Tenazuchi the longest, you are practially the founder of this group along with him. I am sure that you know Tenazuchi the best among all of us. You are not mad at him because he is like this. You are actually mad at him, becuase you know that he is surpressing his emotions for everyone. That's why you blame yourself even more for being so emotional, letting it out on Tenazuchi. It hurts you to see him acting like he doesn't care about anything at all. You know, that it was a difficult decision for Tenazuchi to make, to send you on that mission. At least, try not to be hard on him, he cares more than it looks like, and you know that. And most importantly, don't be hard on yourself. Everything might look perfect and flawless from the outside, but everyone struggles in the inside, that also counts for our little group in here.", making Kara shed tears.
„The second you come back, you keep on being annoying.", making Asuha smile.
„You know that this is my biggest strength. Come on, get up and freshen yourself, you also deserve to rest. Maybe take a shower, you stink."
„You are the one to talk.", making Kara angry for a second.
„And, you were right about the Space Station 66. I wouldn't have thought that the Space Station would get even shadier than they are right now. We might have to operate sooner than thought. I will tell you the details once we all rested. I would also like to meet the new recruit later."
„Well, it was a matter of time to discover more dirt about the Space Station. I was a right choice to look into that matter after all. Alright, I decided, I will take a bath. Something smells disturbing in here.", making Asuha smile.
„Thank you.", says Kara before leaving the room.
„He is still just a kid inside. Well, I should take a bath as well. I smell disturbing.", and leaves the room.