Sunday. I liked that day. Normally I used to spend it at home sleeping or eating, but sometimes Yoichi would take me to the library with him. I used to go there every time, even if I ended up getting kicked out because I was making too much noise. Sunday. Quite a nice day, yes. It was like being on vacation for me, even if every now and then I had to go to my father's office during the lunch break to bring him some documents that he forgot in the kitchen in the morning. Sometimes on Sundays I would be invited by Yoichi to eat at a fast-food restaurant or somewhere where my father's subordinates wouldn't find me, but as usual I was forced to go home after a few hours. But it was not bad. I mean, it was definitely much better than this.
***
I felt fuzzy. I didn't even know what happened to me.
I was in my laboratory room, but it all seemed strange and it was probably the first time I wasn't in pain. In fact, I felt calm, nearly relaxed. I had the feeling that something good was going to happen.
I glanced at my surroundings, but everything was just like always, even though my vision was slightly blurred. It was a bit creepy, though.
"Not right, too good," I muttered to myself as I noticed that the straps around my wrists were more flexible than I remembered. Somehow I just couldn't remember what had happened. It was a strange feeling, especially because a small voice in my head told me that there was something important to remember. I didn't even know why I was so carefree as I moved my gaze from one wall to another. I knew that I shouldn't have been happy at that moment, yet the belief that something good would happen soon gave me the strength to smile for the first time in a while.
But I shouldn't have been so happy. Suddenly a noisy laugh came out of my lips that until just before were forced into a smile. It was nice to be able to have fun for a while, especially when I was able to talk.
"Three, zero one, nine, two five," I said after a while. Even I didn't understand what those numbers meant, but I wasn't really confused. After all I was the one who spoke. I felt like I already knew that sentence's meaning, I just couldn't remember it.
All of a sudden the door in front of me snapped open, making me jump for the surprise. At first, I couldn't recognize the figure that stood out in front of me, it seemed just a silhouette like all the others. At a certain point I closed my eyes, sure of being in danger, aware that it was a possible threat.
But then I felt something warm on my sweaty head. I slowly opened my eyes, unsure of what to do.
"It's been a while, huh?"
Ishida was standing in front of me with his usual cheerful smile. I froze on the spot, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He was there. He came there for me. I tried to swallow the lump of saliva that had formed in my throat, but this only made the situation worse by causing the tears that I had desperately tried to hold back to run down my cheeks.
I desperately searched for his warm hand, already sobbing uncontrollably "I-Ishida..."
The brown-haired man in front of me smiled softly at my sniffling figure before kneeling in front of me and moving a lock of hair out of my eyes "How did I ask you to call me?"
I gulped loudly, barely able to compose a sentence that made sense "Ha-Hayato."
"Good," he murmured as he gently stroked my head. I didn't have any control over my body, by now I was whimpering like a child. And still, I couldn't care less. He was there, that's all that mattered.
The scientist came closer to me and I instinctively dropped my head on his shoulder. He was thinner than I imagined and his hair tickled the back of my neck. That made me cry even more. I didn't know if that was only desperation or actual happiness, but it was somewhat painful. I started sobbing louder, wetting Ishida's white coat with my tears. He didn't move an inch though.
"Shh... It's okay, I'm here now," he whispered as I nearly screamed from the pain. It wasn't anything physical, but it hurt like hell. The scientist kept stroking my hair as I screamed and cried, not even considering moving away.
At that moment I felt safe.
***
His eyes suddenly opened wide as he let out a loud whimper. Before calming down, the boy had to take a few large breaths. He knew that he cried in his sleep, but didn't pay attention to the tears that wet his cheeks.
He had a nightmare without a doubt. What he dreamed made him feel a lot of pain, even if it was only what his mind created. His eyelids felt heavy, even though he just woke up.
Yuuya was angry at himself for putting all his wishes in Ishida's hands, the man that he should have hated more than anyone at that moment. And yet he couldn't help but hope for his return. He knew he was just a foolish boy, Ishida had only left a few weeks ago and would not be back so soon. However, having lost count of the days allowed him to have more hope than he should have. But it was the first time he dreamt of the brown-haired scientist, and it disgusted him. He hated feeling so helpless, yet he knew there was nothing he could do about it. It was inevitable, the weak always waited to be saved by the strong.
It had probably been a few weeks since Mikami began to perform sadistic experiments on Yuuya, tearing up every single possibility of a future outside that laboratory. At first the boy tried to fight with everything he had, but he soon realized that his pathetic attempts at resistance were nothing more than a source of entertainment for the scientist.
The torture continued exactly as indicated in Mikami's damn notebook, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. It seemed as if Yuuya's life had already been written in the diary left by Ishida.
He soon realized that resisting was utterly useless, and after realizing that escaping those entire hours of pain inflicted on him by Mikami had decided to endure everything without doing anything. He knew that he could no longer be called a human being, whatever connected him to the world had evaporated. The only thing that made him realize that he was still alive were the constant visits of the blond-haired scientist.
He had been talking to himself for some time, he had to find a way to entertain himself. He didn't care that he was considered a madman, especially because his only spectators were the scientists who controlled the development of the experiment. But he didn't know how long he would last. When he was not tortured or left alone in the dark on a cot after waking up he was forced to listen to the same song that came out of the speakers in the room hundreds of times. Yuuya had already realized that Mikami was only doing this to keep him awake, to give him something to hold on to.
In a short time he learned every single word of the song, knew the rhythm by heart and even knew every variation of the singer's voice. He even sang along sometimes, but only when he felt strong enough to speak. The more time passed, the weaker he felt. He hadn't walked for a long time, he had atrophied legs, even if every now and then a couple of scientists untied him to take him around the room. He knew that the cause of his weakness was whatever he was injected with every time he had to undergo painful experiments and tests.
He wanted to leave that place.
Yuuya was humming quietly to himself when the door opened and Mikami made his entrance, but the raven-haired boy didn't even bother to look at him.
"So just let me be myself, that's all I ask of youuu!" the boy shouted at a certain point and then bursting out laughing loudly. His chuckles didn't sound happy though. They were void of any emotion.
The blonde-haired man grinned at the shaking figure in front of him "I see we're pretty excited today, huh?"
And with that, Yuuya immediately closed his mouth and stared blankly at the ceiling. He already gave up on Mikami, the silent treatment wasn't going to work on him.
"No, I'm not. But you've got a pretty big smile on your face. What's new? Found a new child to torture?" he snapped back with a bitter smile.
The scientist clasped his hands together and giggled "No, not yet. But I have news."
Yuuya's eyes widened. When Mikami said there was some news it didn't mean that something good was going to happen.
"W-What? W-What do you want?!" snarled the raven-haired male as he clenched his fists, already on the verge of tears. He knew that crying was bad for his ego, but all his pride vanished the moment he was trapped in there.
Mikami's lips curled in a cruel smile "You'll be soon be moved to Chamber 5. You've reached the first half of the second period, congrats."
"What the hell is Chamber 5?" snapped back the boy.
"Just another laboratory. Nothing much, really, but I didn't have anything to do, so I came to tell you. You must be pretty proud of yourself, I mean, respecting religiously Ishida's plan will make him proud of his little hamster."
Yuuya was now used to Mikami's stinging comments and learned to ignore them, knowing that reacting would only make the situation worse. It was still annoying though.
"So you came here just to tell me that I'll be moved to another cell? That's it?"
The scientist snorted "Of course not. I'm here to accompany you there."
The dark-haired male's eyes widened immediately as he stared at the ceiling with pursed lips and a blank expression. He surely didn't expect that. That meant he could walk alone.
It didn't take Mikami long to untie him and put him back on his feet. For a couple of seconds Yuuya dared to think about running and finding an escape route, but he immediately changed his mind as soon as he found himself staring at the gun that was pointed at him. It was unexpected.
"Shall we go, then?" asked Mikami as he stared at his frightened expression. Yuuya silently obeyed, not daring to contradict the one who was holding the gun.
It was the first time he saw the outside of the laboratory. The walls were gray and spotless, illuminated by some LED lamps on the ceiling. The corridors looked all the same, and there was no one around. The feeling of self-pity was enormous, just thinking that he was walking nearly freely outside the room was depressing.
The two were walking fast, denying the boy the chance to admire the outside of his cell. They stopped in front of a white door with the number 5 written on it. Mikami opened it with some kind of electric key and stepped aside to let Yuuya walk in.
"Your new room. See you soon then." said the scientist as he shut the door close. Before he could do anything, Yuuya found himself on the floor of the room, completely alone.
The walls and the ground were all covered with some kind of mattress, and there was nothing else. Not even a bed or a table.
Yuuya was free to move now, but what was he going to do there?
For some strange reason, he thought that maybe his old laboratory room was way better than that.