Eternal Melody

Mamoru saw her sooner than he thought he would. It was his day to go hunting in the forest; when he saw the little girl crouched in the corner, he felt his heartbeat speed up.

It can't be her, can it? He cautiously walked over, and soon he was standing right in front of her. The moment he stood directly in front of her, Mamoru confirmed the girl he met several days ago.

What is she doing out here?

Surely today cant be her hunting day? They usually do not allow two people in at the same time because there was a risk that the two could negatively influence each other. Mamoru understood the real reason; they do not want to let the kids get too close just in case they plotted against the institution. While they have brainwashed most of the subjects in this place, some are suspicious about this place, like him.

He met a few recently and was put in the same group as them for class activities. They are an unusual bunch, but he does not sense any malice from them like he does with the adults.

Mamoru wanted to talk to the girl about them and wanted to hear her opinion. So after this, he did plan on sneaking out again. He did not visit her the following day after their first meeting since that would be far too risky, nor the second or the third.

While he knew the adults had no idea about the meeting, they knew he snuck out. It isn't the first time he has done that, so they simply brushed it off like usual. But Mamoru felt that if they knew who he met with then, they would react differently.

Who would have thought that he would end see her before he snuck away?

Mamoru parted a strand of her hair from her face only to feel the heat transmit from her face o his hand. Mamoru frowned and placed his hand on her forehead.

"Ouch."

Why is she so hot? With the way the institute monitors them, it is impossible to catch things like a fever. Mamoru looked the girl up and down and immediately found the source on her right leg.

A snake bite, is it poisonous? He carefully examined the wound. It is poisonous, but it is treatable. Mamoru carefully placed the girl on his back and paused. He cant go directly to the exit; the adults would be there. He should use the other entrance.

The adults will wait a little bit, but they will head back independently if he doesn't show up at the destined time. They know how ability users tend to go crazy on their hunts; as long as he makes it back before the curfew, it should be fine.

After walking for a few minutes, the girl stirred awake. "-uhi...Yuhi.."

It was a soft mumble, but Mamoru could make out the name.

Why does it feel like he has heard that name somewhere before?

….

He remembers it after they reach the hideout. This hideout belonged to a former researcher Kein. When the man saw him, he didn't say anything and just pointed to the bed.

"Kein, you said you were in charge of a subject before you isolated yourself, right? What is that person's name?"

Mamoru didn't know why that incident made him curious.

To his surprise, the man had gone pale the moment he placed Sumire on the bed. He seemed frantic and also afraid.

"Kein?"

"Sumire-chan?" The man muttered.

Huh, he knows her name?

Mamoru extended his hand out. 2Kein?"

The dazed man finally snapped out of it and placed his hand on his forehead. "The subject I was in charge of and this girl were close enough to be lovers."

"Uh, old man, is that your strange fantasy? She is—"

"I know what I saw! Those two kids were very close; it wasn't a brother or sister like relationship either."

He seemed agitated, and Mamoru paused to think. "I heard that your subject caused an accident and harmed loads of people."

"They were both my subjects, the one who did the damage," Kein turned to the girl on the bed. "It was Sumire-chan."

That incident only happened recently; it also fits with what the girl told him about being here for a while but not since childhood.

"Before the incident, was she like me?"

Were there circumstances the same?

"She was a normal subject, like you."

But something doesn't add up. "She said she has always been in that area since she arrived."

At those words, Kein clenched his fist. "They erased her memories." He trailed off. "To be exact, they manipulated a kid with a memory ability; that child was the subject of my friend. Naturally, the three got along very well with each other. The boy was a bit older than them, so he acted more like their older brother."

"What happened?"

"My subject managed to escape. The memory kid would have too, but he turned back to get her. Those people took advantage of him and made him erase her memory; then they tossed him aside."

It was clear that this was a very painful memory for Kein. But now it made sense that Mamoru wondered why a former researcher would hide in a place like this? From what Mamoru observed from Keins behavior, this man hated the institution more than anybody.

To think something tragic like that happened. He briefly heard of the incident, but the stories the adults tell people are different.

"The adults talk about a kid who broke the rules, stole samples and went berserk attacking people and ended up killing their friends," Mamoru trailed off. "They tell such a story so they can ensure that we never step out of line and repeat the same mistake."

With the way they repeat it every day, most kids, including himself, have the thing memorized. The first time he met Kein, he knew there was something different about this man. Why would an old researcher stay in the forest not exactly owned by the institute but close enough that they can use it?

Mamoru figured that the man did not resign from the place in a normal way. Otherwise, why would he act so jumpy whenever other researchers go by this area?

It was weird; there was something weird about all of this.

But when it came to weird things, he should know better than to get so involved.

Yet his gaze fell towards the girl on the bed. "Could you give me some more details?"