*The sound of rain tapping on the window...
In a laboratory filled with various scientific equipment and colorful liquid-filled bottles, a little girl watches her mother working diligently.
"Hey mom, what are you doing?" the little girl asks with sparkling eyes full of curiosity...
"Hmm," her mother smiles gently while stirring a light blue liquid in a glass tube, "I'm making a medicine to heal wounds on the human body."
"Heal wounds on the human body?" *The little girl tilts her head in confusion, her black hair swaying gently*
(I don't understand, "Is there really such a medicine?...
"Come here," her mother calls the white fluffy cat that is lazily lying in the corner of the room. "The sound of the cat's small steps approaches gracefully...
The cat sits neatly on her mother's right leg, its tail swaying slowly, showing its comfort. With very careful movements, the woman applies the medicine to the cat's leg wound using a sterile cotton bud.
*whoosh*
A soft light appears momentarily, and in seconds...
"Wow! The wound is gone!" *The girl's eyes widen in amazement, her mouth forming an 'O'* "Mom, this is like magic!...
"That's right, this is my homemade medicine," she replies while gently stroking her daughter's head with love. "But this isn't magic, dear; it's the result of scientific research."
"I want to learn how to make medicine like that too!" *The little girl jumps up and down with enthusiasm*
"No, you're still too young. You can learn when you're grown up." *Her mother shakes her head gently* "This is very complicated and dangerous if not learned properly..."
"Okay..." *The girl replies in a disappointed tone, her lips forming a cute pout*
*Thud!*
"A dream?" Rin slowly opens her heavy eyelids. Her vision is still blurry. (What is this on my head? It feels cold...)
Rin tries to sit up in bed with great effort. The compress cloth falls onto her lap. Her head still feels dizzy.
"The door creaks open slowly...
"You seem to have a fever, so I told our teacher...
that you won't be going to school today because of your fever...
"Kazuki enters while carrying a steaming bowl of porridge. The aroma of ginger and chicken broth fills the room...
"Open your mouth," Kazuki says while directing the spoonful of porridge, which has been blown to cool it down.
"I can eat—"
*hap* Before Rin finishes her sentence, Kazuki has already put the spoon in her mouth.
(So annoying!) *Rin's face scrunches, her cheeks flushed from the fever*
"Hmm..." Rin looks at her changed clothes. "Hey, did you change my clothes?" *Her eyes narrow suspiciously*
"If I say yes, what are you going to do?" *Kazuki replies with a flat expression...
"You perverted boy!" *Rin reflexively hugs her body, her face turning even redder*
"It was my mom who changed them... she came here to deliver my stuff from home, then she left..." Kazuki places the bowl on a small table beside the bed...
"Are you worried about me, Kazuki?...
I'm just doing what I need to do...
*Rin turns her face away, gripping the blanket tightly*
"Kazuki leans back against the wall...
Silence for a moment. Only the sound of the rain can be heard...
*Rin's voice weakens, almost a whisper* "My mom used to be a scientist who cared a lot about others. Every day she spent time in the laboratory, creating medicines to help people. But when I turned 16...
Rin takes a deep breath before continuing. "A group of people in red cloaks came to our house. They forced my mom to create illegal drugs. Drugs that could drive people insane or drugs that could kill them...
*Tears begin to well up at the corners of Rin's eyes...
"My mom refused. And they... they..." *Rin's voice trembles* "They killed her in front of me. Blood... blood was everywhere..."
"Kazuki remains silent and listens, his expression still flat...
"They took me to a secret facility. A white room filled only with laboratory equipment. They forced me to make illegal poisons. I had no other choice...
*Rin's hands tremble as she continues her story*
"I created various types of poisons and dangerous medicines. I don't know how many lives were lost because of my creations... Every night I am haunted by the screams and cries of those who became victims...
"When I turned 18, they decided they no longer needed me. But they didn't let me go just like that. They... shot me with bullets filled with my own poison."
"Rin touches her chest, where the scar is located*
"It felt like fire burning from within. Every cell in my body screamed in pain. After I passed out, they dumped me in the same river they dumped you...
"Isn't it strange?...
After we were poisoned...
the poison made our bodies feel like they were burning from the inside... Clearly, we should have been dead... the reason we are still alive... maybe because our bodies were able to fight it off...
"What's really strange is... why our bodies could change...
Clearly, this is very strange...
"so Rin's body changed too... Kazuki thinks to himself...
"after my body changed... I felt very strange, I feel like I'm not myself anymore...
I feel like, slowly, my old self is starting to disappear...
"I think this poison... makes us like newborns... it seems our memories will also gradually disappear, and we will become new people without remembering anything...
"but that would make me happy, I would be happy if I could forget everything that happened in the past...
I'm sorry, Kazuki, because of my poison you also have to become like this...
"Hah, Go to sleep already. You still have a fever," Kazuki interrupts. "I don't care about what you say. I am Kashikoi Kazuki, and I will remain Kashikoi Kazuki...
"Hah!" Rin looks surprised at Kazuki's flat face, (Kazuki, what kind of person are you really? You seem to have no fear at all... Or are you just too stupid to feel scared?)
"You know they will come looking for me," if they know I'm still alive! They will definitely kill me and you will also be killed... they will surely kill everyone close to me,
"They are very dangerous people! They are like demons with human faces!" *Rin's voice trembles with fear* "Their red cloaks always smell of blood..."
"Silence." Kazuki puts his finger to his lips. His eyes radiate a strong determination. "I will not die, and I will not let you die.
"No matter how many there are. As long as I still breathe, I will protect you with my own life," Kazuki says with his flat face, showing no joy or arrogance, only a face that doesn't care about anything...
"And I also feel they still don't know you are alive with a new face...
if they knew you were living with a new face... I have no choice but to destroy them one by one...
"Do as you please, you idiot." Rin crawls under the blankets, hiding her flushed face...
(The reason I said that is because I don't want you to become like them... I don't want you to lose your humanity like they have... Kazuki, you really are foolish...)
*The sound of rain still taps on the window,
Outside the window, a shadow in a red cloak watches silently before disappearing into the darkness.
"Hmm, they really are like ghosts that can vanish anytime!,
"It seems you want to play with me, huh? Well then, let's see who among us will die," Kazuki looks out the window with a very cold gaze...