Heart of Darkness: 07/07/2021: 16:19 Automatic PA: In accordance with this emergency, security has shifted to Blockade Mode. Looking down all gates and bulkheads.   Don't cry, Yuuri! I'll do something!--Natsuhiko found himself standing in the midst of fire.  (Is this... nine years ago...?)Okay, so this has been pointed out in the thread before, but it's particularly pertinent now. The point of view from which we're seeing the events unfold is marked by the color of that little bar below the name in the text window. Currently, we're viewing it from the point of view of Natsuhiko, who is looking into Yuuri's memories, which is represented by this yellow color. However, we will soon switch directly to Yuuri's point of view inside the memory, which will be represented by a green color. This will be switching around as we jump from memory to memory, so some narration might seem to be a little disjointed if a switch happened and you didn't notice. It was the day Yuuri and Natsuhiko had sneaked into LABO. Natsuhiko was watching the memory of when they were trapped in Area 5, but through Yuuri's eyes--  ♪ BGM: Abyss ♫ But the smoke and the heat had sapped Yuuri's body of its energy. Natsuhiko looked at her with tears welling in his eyes. I'm sorry, Yuuri... it's all because I took you with me... I tried to act cool and say I'd save Mom... But I couldn't, and now I got you trapped in this mess... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...!It wrenched Yuuri's heart to hear those words. So she gently wiped away his tears.  ...It's okay, Hikorin... It's because you're always trying your hardest, for everyone else... I loved that about you... So I'm glad... that you stayed with me... until the end. Yuuri...!Natsuhiko embraced Yuuri.  As her consciousness faded, only one thing remained in Yuuri's mind. (... Please, God... I don't care... what happens to me... But if you can save at least one of us... please save Hikorin...!)And as if in response to her prayer-- Yuuri heard a voice beside her ear.  {We're in Dr. Tenkawa's room!}--No, it wasn't beside her ear. It sounded like it was echoing directly inside her head-- (T... telepathy? Hikorin used telepathy...?) As her sight and hearing faded-- Yuuri heard another voice. ???: --hiko! Natsuhiko!  M-Mom...! Thank goodness you're safe! I came here to save you! Let's take Yuuri and get out of here!And right after she barely managed to hear the professor yelling--  ♪ BGM: Silence ♫ ------ ---- --And after who knew how long-- ...ri...! Yuuri...!Yuuri woke up at the sound of her name.  ♪ BGM: Anxious Times of Rokumei City ♫ When she opened her eyes, she saw Dr. Tenkawa. Thank goodness. You're awake. Huh... what...? What happened... to me...? You don't remember? After you got caught in a fire in LABO, you were asleep for an entire day.Yuuri looked around. She appeared to be in a hospital room, but Natsuhiko was nowhere to be seen. Umm... where's Hikorin?But without answering Yuuri's question, the professor asked her a question of her own. By the way, Yuuri. I'm sorry for asking this right after you woke up, but... can I get you to take a little test with me? A test? We need to make sure your body hasn't developed any problems. You two were bombarded with hazardous particles, you see.Yuuri didn't know what ''hazardous particles'' were and her head felt a little groggy-- but she answered obediently nonetheless. Okay. They took blood and urine samples and put her inside a giant machine to take pictures of what was inside her head. At first, Dr. Tenkawa seemed the same as usual-- but as the tests progressed, the look on her face froze over.  ♪ BGM: Extra-Sensory Perception ♫ --Yuuri's 'IGF2R gene' is Type S...!?Dr. Tenkawa perused the test results on a PDA as she spoke with someone who appeared to be an assistant. That's impossible. Are you sure there's no mistake?Assistant: W-we've redone the test several times... and it's turned out Type S each time. No, it couldn't be...! Yuuri, what was your BC aptitude? They've measured you in school, right? Umm... it's 'C'. ...As the professor sunk into silence, her assistant whispered into her ear. Assistant: It's exactly as she says... All of her past examination results have recorded her IGF2R gene as Type C.  Her gene mutated!?Even the look on the assistant's face changed when she said that last word. Y-Yuuri! Can you try using telepathy for me!? Huh? But I haven't been able to use telepathy yet-- That's what I thought, but please, try! Focus on something you want to tell me. Anything!It was hard to think of something on the spot like that-- but Yuuri did as she was told. (I've never used telepathy before, but... Um... Let's see...)  The professor audibly gasped. And at the same time, Yuuri felt something strange as well. It felt completely different from all the times she had tried and failed to use telepathy before. --It was almost like the thought she had weaved inside her head had spewed out-- ...Yuuri, you're worried about Natsuhiko, aren't you... Ah... y-yeah.The professor responded to Yuuri's question. The question she only thought of inside her head. ...Okay, then. Now I'll think of the answer to your question inside my head. Use BC to try and read that answer. Huh? But isn't that empathy...? Please, just try it. (B-but why? I can't pull that off... Mashiron said hardly any kids out there can use empathy...)But even so, Yuuri focused hard to try and read the professor's mind. And soon enough-- Yuuri heard a voice echoing inside her head.   This time Yuuri was surprised for sure. The professor hadn't moved her mouth at all. And yet Yuuri heard her voice--!! (Her mental voice...!)Yuuri relayed what she heard from that voice back to the professor. H... Hikorin's... sleeping? ...!! ...That's right. That's exactly right.The assistant spoke up mere moments after the professor had just barely managed to wring those words out. Assistant: P-professor, could this be...? It's hard to believe... but it appears she's rapidly begun to demonstrate use of both telepathy and empathy. There's no room for doubt here... She's an Acquired Rank S Aptitude Communicator.Assistant: B-but how did this happen!? During the accident, the WX particle energy in Area 5 reached a maximum of 9500 mSv-- --which damaged her gene and caused it to reconstruct itself to best suit its environment. But I never expected a theoretical phenomenon like that to be realized in such a fashion.Assistant: Then do you mean-- the same happened to the boy that was with her!? I cannot rule out that possibility...!The professor looked at Yuuri and spoke in a low voice. I'm sorry, Yuuri, but please wait in this room for a little while. I need to go do some tests with Natsuhiko too. Um... was something wrong? ...Normally, I'd say these were good results, but... Anyway, I'll be back soon.And with that, Dr. Tenkawa and her assistant left the room.  Left all alone, Yuuri suddenly felt scared. Even an easygoing person like her could tell... that things were about to get out of hand somehow...
|
|
| ← # ? Mar 18, 2017 13:49 |
|
