Six months have passed since the girl went missing. During this time, the authorities have not been able to find even a trace in the forest. Organized rescue teams are perplexed as to how and why the search operation was delayed so much. In such situations, time is the most important resource. No one even suspected the true nature of the tragedy. The girl's parents are in mourning. In order to distance and not cultivate compassion in Taiko, Kyudai placed him in a laboratory room.
Another reason was a potential destructive quirk that Taiko cannot control, as the scientist assumed. If such an incident were to happen again, it would cause more fuss on the surface, which could well lead to the exposure of his hiding place. Therefore, with all his charismatic mustache, he convinced the guy of the need for this.
- "It seems that living within four walls does not cause him discomfort, of course, I have not noticed any emotional instability in him, but still, it is worth ending his stay here as soon as possible. Hell, he never even cried like normal kids. The death of a girl close to him caused him more confusion and curiosity about why it happened than sympathy. I need to continue moving his character towards the dark triad." - Kyudai kept records.
- "In several weeks of living here, the quirk has not manifested itself. Absolutely no physical indicators have changed. The walls are reinforced concrete, so there is no need to worry about the strength of the foundation. He read, drew and wrote. At the same time, I taught him everything I knew, including the school curriculum. We will have to change our approach soon." - the scientist finished today's entry.
- Dad, I'm hungry. - a child's voice was heard from the laboratory speaker.
- I'll be there soon.
Taiko was not locked up, and could freely walk around the laboratory, which was still quite empty. He ran, jumped, looked at medical instruments and lay on the surgical table, in general, occupied himself with whatever he could. Sometimes his father brought him snow-white rats in a cage. At first they seemed funny and cute to him, but the scientist cut out all empathy at the root by declaring what diseases these carriers of epidemics carry. Moreover, clearly and with pictures from the Internet.
Taiko no longer saw them as cute and friendly rodents. Now for him they are pests, devouring grain, breeding epidemics at an unthinkable speed. What was the example of the bubonic plague of the 14th century worth.
Reading for too long also left him undernourished, so the only useful hobby was dissecting rats. How else under the supervision of a scientist-surgeon?
When Kyudai first showed how to dissect, he ordered to repeat after him and observe all the rules of sterility. Taiko understood why, but the question that immediately matured still burst out.
- Father, remember you said that there are no rules, that they are only in your head.
- That's right, I said so.
- So why should I follow these rules too?
- Reasonable people don't deny the rules - they use them and adapt to new ones. In this case, the rules are needed so that you don't get infected with something from this vile rat. Alas, there are fundamental rules even in science, the violation of which can cause a fatal outcome, and so it is with everything.
Taiko remembered the key words and gradually began to understand the essence of the scientist's words.
- Another thing... - he continued. - ... if you were so strong that even fundamental rules are nothing. Now we are talking not so much about science, but about society as a whole. - he cut out the rat's kidneys with pinpoint precision, a drop of blood splashed onto the mask. - But only a few people on the entire globe are capable of this. You are lucky to be here and not somewhere else. You are one of those very close to such a person.
Taiko's eyes sparkled, he cut out the rat's heart with a scalpel, then carefully placed it in a metal tray.
The old man smiled slightly, pleased with the result. He didn't even think that the usual dissection of a rat would be as exciting as a hundred years ago.
-Almost an eternity...
-What-what?
-Ah..nothing. Let's go have lunch. Don't forget to wash your hands. - the scientist was happy, because he could always dump the work on the deputy head doctor. Otherwise, he would not have time to study the quirks.
-Good.
Washing his hands, Taiko did not reach the mirror, he put a chair and looked into the mirror. Short-cropped jet-black hair, a few freckles on his face, and green eyes like emeralds. The boy had no doubt about the incident in the forest, it was easy to guess about the spontaneous awakening of the quirk. As his Father said, it could be of the destructive type. Today he promised to present a new plan for activating the quirk. Kyudai said that after awakening the quirk, users can instinctively use it, but not Taiko. This is a signal that it is difficult to control, or a special condition must be met. However, as it turned out later, this quirk is far from being of the destructive type.
***
That night, Taiko had a nightmare. Grotesque creatures with twisted and disproportionate limbs walked along the blackened soil. The procession lasted forever, the armada of creatures did not end, going far beyond the horizon. One step - and skulls cracked in the soil from the pressure of massive feet. The second - lightning opened up across the red sky, striking the creature with tentacles hiding in the darkness. The third - cracks spread across the ground.
The dream ended abruptly, before reaching the fourth step. Taiko woke up from a sudden cramp in a cold sweat. The bedding was soaked with sweat. In the darkness of the room, only the sound of the fan and the light of the only night lamp standing at a distance from the bed were heard. In the cages under the lamp, even the rats stopped fidgeting and fell asleep.
The scientist taught Taiko to be independent, so the child, physiologically 5-6 years old at most, was brought up enough to wipe his own ass and wash dishes. It couldn't be otherwise, Kyudai Garaki is the greatest scientist, not a nanny.
Taiko went to the toilet. At first, he continued to see monsters in the dark, but after quickly going to the toilet and washing himself, his thoughts changed. He began to think about tomorrow's new method of awakening and analyzing his quirk. On the way back to bed before the difficult day tomorrow, the shadows in the dark seemed not so scary, and the outlines of the little devil in the corner of the room were even more interesting. Coming closer, the notorious shadow dissipated.
Taiko was really afraid of them at first, after the nightmare everything seemed scarier than usual, but having calmed down, the fear retreated. This feeling came from within, he realized how easy it is to grip a person's mind with fear. Everything that exists in the world can turn into fear - a hypertrophied version (prototype) in the head.
- "Psychology is a strange science." - with this thought, Taiko fell asleep in his gloomy cell. This cell had very strong metal bars holding someone inside, so it was a holding cell, there was nothing else for Taiko, so Doctor Ujiko simply opened this apartment for him, if you can call it that, and settled him there, holding the door open. Taiko was left to figure out for whom this cell was intended, or for what...
***
The next day came. They had to get up really early, Taiko put on a sweater for the cool drizzling weather, and together with the scientist they went out through the corridor, at the end of which there was a small secret exit into the forest near the rocky area.
Taiko inhaled the purifying forest air and looked at the city of Jaku and the hospital from a high forest hill.
- Sometimes I also get tired of sitting in a dusty laboratory. - an old voice rang out from behind. They rarely exchange everyday and worldly conversations, preferring the relationship of a mentor and student, only partially replacing his father. Taiko really considered him his father, even though his advanced age seemed strikingly significant compared to the parents of other children. The boy had suspicions, but there was nothing to confirm them yet. After the project to create clones of All For One, Doctor Ujiko destroyed all traces, including some laboratory devices.
They came out not very far from a secret and inconspicuous hatch leading to the underground laboratory. Ujiko told him this:
- Until you awaken the quirk, you can not come back. - the scientist said, as if cutting off with a share of irony, so that the child would not return without results. He taught him to receive either success or failure. Even failure is a certain result, which will play a role in the future. - I can give you a hint.
- No hint needed. - Taiko loved riddles from his father, so he took the hint as humiliating. His father entrusted him to do everything on his own. Chuckling, the old man said at last: - Sometimes self-confidence is a virtue, and sometimes it is a sin. Be careful and do not go too far into the forest.
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