The click of bare feet echoed through the hallways, his breath low and senses on high alert. The stench of antiseptic filled the air, blending with the metallic tang of blood and the beeping of various machines.
Kaito moved swiftly through the halls, his breathing silent but his heart racing. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to move faster, but he knew that would be the wrong decision.
Behind him, alarms blared, echoing off the cold, white walls and into Kaito's ears, causing him more pain than the icy floor beneath his feet.
Turning a corner into another hallway, a voice came over the intercom—a voice he recognized all too well.
"Subject 001, containment breach! All units, deploy immediately!" The voice paused before continuing in a quiet but sinister tone, "Kaito, my dear, Mommy will get really angry if you keep running off. Return to your cubicle right now, or I'll come get you myself."
Kaito stopped, his gaze fixed on the nearest speaker. He stared at it as though looking into her face, but then a scoff escaped his lips.
"Bastards," he muttered under his breath before resuming his pace.
His steps grew quieter, the clicks of his feet diminishing as he moved faster. Turning another corner, his mind raced with different thoughts, but he managed to focus on the path to the main gates.
"Kaito Shizukawa!" the voice barked again through the speakers. "Return to your cubicle this instant. I will not repeat myself!" Her voice was harsh and commanding, devoid of true emotion despite her attempts to feign it.
It was just one of their facades, and Kaito knew it well.
Stopping once more, he raised a hand to the earpiece in his ear. Without flinching at the sharp pain or the blood that trickled out, he ripped it free.
He raised the device to his lips. "Doctor Shane."
Almost immediately, the alarms ceased, and the sound of approaching footsteps came to a halt. The wall to his right suddenly shifted, revealing a screen displaying the face of a pale, red-haired woman who looked no older than thirty. Freckles dotted her cheeks, and sleek glasses, covering her ocean-blue eyes.
It was nerve-wracking to see her eyes—eyes identical to his—on the same woman who had made his eighteen years of existence a living hell.
And the fact that she looked so innocent and sweet only made it more infuriating.
"Kaito, you scared Mommy," she mumbled, her tone soft and warm, showing how much zhe cared for him as a mother, but that was what was trying to show. He wasn't surprised; he knew how easily she could pull off that pretense. "Where are you?"
His gaze shifted from the screen to the signboard overhead, then to the massive silver door ahead, and back to the screen.
"Fifty-ninth hall," he replied sincerely.
Her brows furrowed in a slight frown, but her forced smile did not falter. Her eyes, however, betrayed her, as she silently gave orders.
"Kaito, dear, wait right there. I'll....."
"....apologies, Doctor Shane," he interrupted, glancing back as the sound of footsteps resumed. "I can't be your guinea pig anymore. There are other kids who might meet your expectations," he paused, locking eyes with her through the screen, "Also, I'm not ten, so drop the baby talk."
For an instant, her smile slipped, but she quickly masked it, rising from her seat. "Forgive Mommy, dear. Just return to your cubicle, or wait there," she repeated, ignoring his words.
Kaito saw no point in continuing the conversation. The approaching guards were too close. He tossed the earpiece aside and resumed moving, clutching a silver chain and pendant in his hand.
This was his one shot at freedom. He wouldn't fail again this year.
Five steps from the door, a faint cry reached his ears—a sound too familiar to ignore.
He froze, the sound cutting through his haze of desperation. Turning swiftly, he saw her—a little girl, no older than eight, standing in a corner. Her wide, fearful eyes locked onto his.
His gaze dropped to her legs, wrapped in bandages and Band-Aids where the bandages couldn't reach.
"Help..." she whispered, glancing toward the approaching stampede. Kaito followed her gaze, staring down the empty hall.
He hesitated. Freedom was within reach. He could leave her behind, never looking back. But she was like him.
The number burned into her neck and her blue eyes, identical to his in design, told him as much.
His hesitation faded as quickly as it came. He reached out and took her small hand, pulling her out of the corner.
"Stay silent and close your eyes," he ordered. She nodded. Lifting her in his arms, he held her protectively, his grip tightening on the pendant.
The sound of pursuit grew louder: boots pounding against the floor, guns cocking, and commanding voices shouting orders.
How he hated them—all of them.
Kaito reached the door, typing in the twelve-character passcode he had memorized years ago. As the doors beeped and began to slide open, a voice yelled from behind, accompanied by the red dots of laser sights.
"Subject 001, return to your cubicle or face termination!"
Kaito sighed in defeat, slowly turning to face them. For the first time, a smile crossed his lips, and his eyes burned with determination.
"My name is Kaito Shizukawa," he declared. "And I decide when my existence ends!"
He ducked instinctively as a bullet whizzed past, shielding the girl with his body as more bullets bounced off the walls. Slamming his fist into the screen, he forced the doors to close.
Their aim was pathetic—almost laughable.
Darting through the narrowing gap, Kaito destroyed the same screen, outside the building and continued running.
At last, the final door stood between him and freedom. Bursting through it, he felt the cold, unfiltered air hit his skin and enter his lungs.
He was free. And so was the little girl in his arms.
_____
Four months had passed since Kaito last saw the sterile walls of the laboratory, heard the incessant beeping of machines, or felt needles piercing his body.
Four months of living in a world of chaos but momentary peace.
He was safe. For the first time in years, no one was trying to alter his DNA or merge it with something else. There were no shadows lurking in every corner, no cold hands shoving needles into his veins, and no one calling him "Subject 001."
They had done it. They were free. Eighteen years of torment for him and eight for her, had finally come to an end. Now, it was just the two of them.
It was a burden, but one he was willing to bear.
Kaito stood on the opposite side of the street, his eyes fixed on her. Airi's long white hair caught the sunlight, glistening like silver. She smiled—a small, hesitant curve of her lips as though she wasn't entirely sure how to use the gesture.
In contrast, Kaito's expression remained stoic. Barely anything could make him smile.
Not that there was a need to.
"You can cross now!" Airi called, waving to him from the opposite sidewalk.
Kaito nodded, his chest tightening with relief—and something else he couldn't quite name.
The crossing light turned red, halting the stream of cars. Pedestrians began making their way across the road. Airi stayed where she was, bouncing lightly on her heels. The cold detachment that once defined her seemed to have melted away since Kaito had found them a place to live.
As Kaito stepped onto the road, his pace steady and slow, he paused midway, earning annoyed honks and glares from drivers.
His eyes narrowed. He felt it—a low rumble in the ground, faint but unmistakable. The atmosphere shifted, sending a chill down his spine.
Before he could act, everything changed.
"No," he muttered under his breath, tilting his head to the sky in search of a crack or ripple.
Yet, nothing.
Something was off.
Realizing they needed to get home quickly, he began weaving through the crowd, searching for a glimpse of white hair. There she was, still waiting for him patiently on the other side of the street.
Sliding through the narrow gaps between people, Kaito's focus was entirely on reaching Airi. But as he neared her, the ground trembled violently, throwing many to the ground.
He pressed forward, hoping she was still standing. Then, a bone-deep chill washed over him, prompting him to glance at the sky again.
The clouds were spiraling, forming three whirlpools. Each vortex had a faint hue.
"Black, red, and blue," he murmured, his voice laced with irritation. "Of all days, another quake decides to hit four months after we escaped."
"Kaito, let's go!" Airi's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.
As he stepped forward, the ground shook violently, the sound synchronized with the panicked screams of the crowd.
It wasn't the same earthquake, of months ago.
This was worse.
Kaito's expression darkened. "Airi, run!" he yelled, weaving through the frantic crowd. Most people gave him and Airi wide-eyed stares as if they were ghosts.
Maybe it was the way they seemed unaffected by the quake.
But Airi didn't move. She waited for him, just as he had once done for her.
The spiraling clouds shattered, revealing light at the center of each vortex, each having what looked like sparks, something that didn't suprise anyone, because it was not the first time, something like this had happened before.
But not as worse.
Scrambling to their feet, the crowd rushed forward in panic. Kaito was pushed backward, away from Airi, his body carried by the tide of people.
"Kaito!" Airi cried out.
"Run! Airi, run!" he yelled back, staggering until he reached the safety of the opposite sidewalk. He watched blankly as Airi stared upward at the wormholes now forming in the sky, pulling everything within reach.
Or at least that's what it looked like.
"Kaito," Airi whispered, clutching the bag in her hands tightly. "It's happening again."
Kaito tore his gaze from the wormholes to her. "Merge quakes are just the universe's way of reminding us that we're not alone in this world. Don't be scared, Airi."
His tone was cold, but he was trying to reassure her. He cursed inwardly for his inability to sound warmer, but Airi understood him.
Without hesitation, Airi hurried toward him, her little size acting as an advantage as she moved through the crowd.
She threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest.
Kaito wrapped his arms tightly around her, at the same time things around them were being pulled into the wormholes. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"Airi," he said softly, "Don't open your eyes. Okay?"
"Okay," she mumbled, clutching him tightly as the pull of the wormholes grew stronger.
Kaito braced himself for whatever lay ahead, he would protect her. They had survived eighteen and eight years of hell. They could survive this too.
He surrendered to the pull, letting the wormholes take them both.
"Well, goodbye earth," he mouthed, slightly relieved that he was leaving the apocalyptic world he was born on and had a slight opportunity at a better life ahead.
Or so he thought.