Yumi sat in that dark room all by herself. She was locked in there for four days now. They gave her food and water, but she felt like a prisoner. Where did she go wrong? It was just the first day of school. She was known as the most beautiful and popular girl in school, but she was just glad that her life was finally peaceful. As a child, her father, Miyazaki Taro, would often scream and hit her. He was a very angry man. When her mother finally decided to cut ties with him, her life started to feel...normal. But she made a mistake that would affect her for the rest of her life. She chased after Murakami Kouta. Yumi and Kouta had been friends since the third grade. But they were no closer than any other pair of friends. In middle school Yumi dealt with depression. She was the antisocial girl who didn't have many people to talk to. She didn't want anyone to talk to either. But Kouta would always find a way to force himself into her life. He was a real friend. Yumi would often find herself jealous of his friendship with Kasumi. Those two were basically best friends. But just as high school was about to start, a series of traumatizing events led to Kouta becoming a stale person emotionally. Yumi could clearly tell that he wasn't the same person. But even after all of that, she continued to chase after Kouta. She wanted him to know how much he'd affected her. But he slipped further and further away.
Those life choices led her to where she was now. A police station, locked in a dark room. Seeing her father had already shaken her mind up, but now she was broken. Her and Kasumi were the only people on the roof with Nomura Rin. No matter how you look at it, she would appear guilty. She was going to prison.
--
Kouta awoke in a dark room with neon lights somewhere in the background. He was in some sort of lab. He sat up. His arm was healed. He flexed it, and noticed that his muscles were more developed than normal. He didn't have a shirt on, or any clothes for that matter. He was simply on some bed under a white sheet. He looked around. There was a girl walking around the table full of random chemical mixes cheerily in a white lab coat. Underneath it was a tight shirt and gray pants with flat white sneakers. She looked behind her.
"Oh, Kouta. You're up."
It was Saki.
Kouta rubbed his neck. "You're the crazy girl who stabbed me!"
Saki laughed mischievously and put something in a syringe. "Don't take it personally. Were just orders. Apparently you already had an antidote to it before I even gave it to you, so call it even."
Kouta decided to drop the matter. He flexed his right arm again. "Did you heal my arm?"
Saki put the syringe on a tray next to an array of other syringes filled with varying liquids of different colors. "Not really, I only straightened the bone out for you. Your body healed itself on its own. Seems like you're a quick healer."
Kouta frowned at his arm. "Funny. I don't recall having something like that."
Saki brought over the tray of syringes and placed it on a rolling stand. She wheeled it over to Kouta's bedside. "Boss told me to make some formulas for you just in case you wanted one."
Kouta looked at them. There were nine total. "What are they for?"
Saki smiled. "They'll make you stronger in different ways, though taking more than one can cause some serious side effects. Three and I can't guarantee your life."
Kouta looked at the fluids. Each one was a different color.
Saki picked one up that was orange. "They don't give you new vectors or anything like that. It's more like a supplement that unlocks your Gate."
Kouta looked at her. "What's a Gate?"
"It's a term that symbolizes the life force flowing through you from the spiritual world. It's what makes espers an esper."
"You gonna tell me what they do?"
Saki shrugged. "I don't know what they do. They're random. Just pick."
Kouta stared at the tray. He grabbed the syringe with the blue fluid. He also grabbed the one that was clear.
Saki chuckled. "So you decided to take two after all?"
Kouta placed one in each of his hands and shot them into his left and right legs. He felt the fluid rushing into his bloodstream. He soon felt a pounding headache and pain everywhere in his body. He groaned before yelling out in pain and then falling unconscious.
Saki chuckled some more. "Idiot. They're all placebos. You just shot vector-removal fluid into your bloodstreams. And two of them. You'll be less than human when you wake up!"
She left the room laughing to herself.