Cherished Memories

After the short meeting with Gregorio Silva, Louis continued through the empty white corridors, only the light tap of his footsteps accompanying him.

It still felt rather odd to be in the new medical building extending from the military complex. It was a mix of enthusiasm and anxiety with something else.

He couldn't put it into words.

But…

'Dad must've walked through places like this.'

He would like to think he is as close as he could be to a person he couldn't meet anymore. 

The island on which he lived during his early childhood probably had similar medical facilities, except this one time he gets to be in the research compounds instead of hearing about them from his old man.

The facility appeared simple, with its walls, ceilings, and floors being a simple shade of white. However, the scenery behind the doors that Louis walked through at the end of the hall might overstimulate one's vision if unprepared.

Louis took in the fresh air of the park built inside the facility, where most interns and researchers came to relax in their free time. However, it was almost completely empty at the time.

With classes done, most interns didn't leave the labs. They were all preoccupied with furthering their careers and making connections. Louis would've done the same had he not sworn to meet someone once he became an intern.

A concrete pathway encircled the garden, and many different paths derived from it towards the center where a fountain lay with benches.

Lively trees and many types of flowers were present, one could barely find two identical plants in the park. It could be said that the park was perfect… perhaps too perfect.

These plants were all genetically modified, some shouldn't even be there as the environments in which they grow and sustain themselves were too extreme to grow in a single garden.

The place appeared completely natural, but behind the greenery and vine wall, the same white walls encircled the area, only the ceiling appearing to be glass that let the surroundings be bathed in the sun's rays. But even that wasn't real; they were just panels that replicated the wavelengths from the solar radiation produced by the sun.

Despite the weirdly perfect environment, Louis silently sat on a nearby bench on one of the park's many trails. So many stunningly beautiful flowers surrounded him but he didn't even spare him a glance as there was already one he could't stop thinking of.

'Cruz… It's been a year.' She was a year older than him, so she had entered the military research center as an intern a year earlier.

However, her role as an intern has changed recently. She had volunteered to participate in a medical trial and couldn't leave the facility until the tests were done. 

'What do I even talk about?' He was becoming too self-conscious about the situation. It will just be the two of them in a room entirely alone…

He couldn't take her out so anything like a date in the city was out of the questio-

'-Date? What the hell am I thinking…' He smacked those thoughts out of his head.

It's not like he hasn't texted her, she was allowed to communicate with close relatives and the staff. Thanks to his sister Karen, now a head nurse, and Gregorio Silva, Louis could also visit her without heavy restrictions as long as he followed certain rules.

Louis's deep contemplation was interrupted by his phone buzzing. He recognized the vibration pattern he had set for a certain person.

==============

Karen: You lazy bum where are you?

Louis: Park of the medical near the fountain, why?

==============

Louis frowned puzzled as his sister didn't even text back. He experienced a couple of anxiety-filled seconds before he turned to the sound of steps coming to his side.

"Catch!" He heard a woman's voice as a banquet of roses covered his vision. 

"Wha-" Lous could barely register what was happening as he suddenly had hands all over his face when he caught the flowers.

"If you are good at research, how 'bout you discover how to look presentable." The woman chastised him and he suddenly found a pair of deep blue eyes glaring at him through dimed glasses.

A beautiful woman of slender build stood in front of Louis, her smooth chestnut hair flowing down her shoulders. Her pale hands cupped Louis' face before smearing some sort of cream on his skin without any regard for his personal space.

"Aurora-?" Louis didn't seem to even care about the woman's actions.

"I told you he would be here thinking some nonsense instead of just doing it," Aurora smirked and talked about Louis as if he wasn't in front of her.

"I get it, I get it." Karen tiredly dismissed the researcher's comments as she fixed her little brother's messy hair.

She was an elegant woman with a figure that made many heads turn her way. Her short wavy hair was raven-black and her ruby eyes soothed the soul of whoever lost themselves in them.

"Wha-" He couldn't get a word out before being pushed outside the park with a smoother face and presentable hair.

"Get your butt moving!" Aurora ordered as she left with Karen. The pair went as fast as they came.

"... whatever." And just like that, Louis took a deep breath and walked to his destination.

It wasn't a long walk, but it felt like one. He was sure he kept a normal pace, but his steps felt too slow. Were his steps too long or too short?

He made sure to breathe calmly but still felt his heart quickening.

He wanted to remain focused on his greeting and what to talk about, nonetheless, his mind would inevitably become blank in seconds.

The embarrassment he felt from the stares directed at him by a few guards and the nurse he had to check in for his visit made things worse.

The banquet of roses was passed between each hand repeatedly as Louis checked his palms, afraid they were too sweaty.

'Here I am.' Louis finds himself in front of a metal door, a certain special girl at the other side…

His hand grasped the doorknob and his heart quickened, the resolve that had been building up vanishing instantly.

But, firmly turning the doorknob and pushing it, he entered despite that. 

He opened the metal door inward and what greeted him was…

Silence…

'???'

It didn't look like the room of a patient in the slightest.

To his right was a dresser with a wide-framed mirror on top, plenty of perfume, and other small accessories decorating it. Unexpectedly, there was a window in the room and a wooden coffee table with a white tablecloth. Its intricate design of flowers and golden ornaments was simple but it showed great craftsmanship. 

It appeared to be a living room, but the bed in the center of the room with a door beside it said otherwise, then the couch nearby with more tables in between immediately rebuked the earlier statement as if the place was meant to hold more than two people, unlike a normal bedroom.

'There is a kitchen too…' He glanced at the small sink and stove to the right of the room.

It was more of a luxury single-room apartment than a patient room.

Louis was perplexed at the sight.

He had been walking those cold white corridors with the floor only being pale grey to make sure someone didn't walk into a wall but suddenly, he opened a door and found his foot landing on the wooden floor of a homey warm room.

However, even if the room appeared to be welcoming, he felt the quicking heartbeat of his suddenly halting as it dropped to the pit of his stomach.

Why?

Quite simple.

No matter how pleasant the room was. It lacked something…

Someone's presence.

Cruz wasn't there.

Did he walk into someone else's room?

Wait! 

'A room like this in the medical building makes no sense.'

Should he be there?

It didn't look like a place to keep a patient in.

But, didn't he just check in with the nurse?

It didn't make sense.

He was frozen in the doorway, his hand still on the knob and a batch of flowers in the other.

…Right, he sho-

"Boo!"

"KYAAAAAAGERhdsjlaks-" If his heart was at the pit of his stomach, then now it was about to jump out of his chest!

Once he felt a warm breath brush against his ear produced by the pronunciation of the scariest word in the English language, he felt a wide range of emotions that he wasn't sure how to deal with other than unleash his manliest scream as he did full jump to the side and hit the dresser with his butt, he would've fallen backward had he not used his free hand to stop his stumbling.

Louis incredulously stared at the culprit.

As it turns out, the door opened inwards and all Cruz did was hide behind it.

"AHahahahhaha!" The silver-haired woman entered a fit of mad laughter.

She covered her face as she couldn't help but snort and wheeze at the image of Louis jumping the distance of a gold medalist with the warcry of a hamster the moment she scared him. 

No one would think that she was a patient of a medical facility, the psychic ward seemed more fitting for her as she almost laughed her lungs off.

"Fhk- youhr fashe- *snort*- fkaka-" her laugh slowly descended into babbling as she tried to put words between her tittering. 

"Ahh…." Her laughter came to an end with a few weak wheezes as she wiped off a few tears of mirth from her eyes. After both of them recovered their composure, she stood face to face with an unamused Louis.

Her crimson eyes now met his. They were a shade deeper in color than Louis', if his were rubies then hers were garnets. Her long braided silver hair flowed down her tanned face and created a rather exotic image. The hospital gown she wore somehow failed to hide her curves as her voluptuous chest and wide hips were still noticeable.

"Oh." Her smiling eyes widened as Louis silently offered the roses to her.

Her hands tried to accept them but they only grasped empty air.

"Ow!" She faked being hurt as Louis lightly bonked her head with the batch of roses. Of course, they didn't have thorns.

She chuckled as her hands warped his and lowered the flowers so her eyes met his again, the red of the flowers seemed to climb up her face for a moment, "I missed you too."

Louis' grumpy demeanor in a nanosecond.

"You call that 'missing'?" He questions with a helpless smile.

"Very." She didn't let go of his hand and guided him to the kitchen sink.

"I thought I had come to the wrong place." Louis briefly glanced around the room before looking at Cruz who now held the roses close to her chest.

"I feel like I'm at the wrong place too… I'm the only one who uses this room but they still put those too high." She stared at the top cabinets with a blank expression.

However, this time it wouldn't be that much of an issue.

Turning to the side, Cruz tilted her head and gazed at her knight in shining armor with batting eyelashes.

'!!!' With a stone face that could not reveal earthly desires, Louis reached the top cabinet and brought down a cylinder vase for the flowers.

"Everything works fine here… except for those." She grumpily glanced above her as she waited for Louis to fill the cylinder.

"But this room isn't something found inside the medical facility." Louis followed Cruz to the coffee table while carrying the vase with roses.

She had told him about her having a comfy room during their calls, but she never went into exact detail.

"You are right," a mysterious smile grew on her face, "your sister and her friend helped plenty with making this place more… lively… and Dad probably threatened a few people." She chuckled at the last part.

Her father was very much against her taking the tests, but one part was very clear despite her still doing so against his will, he was still her father. He used every connection possible as the head of security and past achievements in his military days to make sure his daughter was safe. Some of the older generations appear to be fans of him, almost as if he were a comic hero.

"Lively, huh?" Louis glanced at the window beside him.

Through the glass, a tree with a swing tied to a branch and a splitting block for wood chopping were right outside as the sun far away slowly fell down the horizon between mountains and a myriad of trees. 

It wasn't a still image or a flat scenario as it showed even more of the scenery outside the window. The trees slowly swayed as the wind rushed between the mountains and birds flew every now and then. There was no reflection or mirages no matter what angle he observed from.

"Looks pretty realistic, right?" She nodded to herself and lightly taped the 'window' only for the image from the glass to contort into many colors, "but they can be quite sensitive."

Louis stared at the screen slowly recovering its original image from Cruz's touch. The image that could easily be mistaken for a real place quickly lost its magic. 

Who knows the amount of layers the screen must have to replicate a life-like scenery?

But it didn't just stop there, her finger slowly dragged downward, and the window frame began to distort before the wooden wall followed. 

"Oh…" Louis realized that the walls were all just an illusion, not just the scenery of the 'window.'

They weren't just images displayed, but holograms as well.

"There is a reason they are used to mimic ceiling pans only, they don't want people touching them." She snickers. Indeed, the clouds and blue sky of the park couldn't be any closer to the real sky.

"And they let you?" He narrowed his eyes.

The girl across the table simply gave him a toothy grin.

Louis chuckled.

The wooden walls and windows weren't real, of course. Despite how the room looked, it was still a patient's room.

It was a relief that Cruz appeared to be her normal self despite living in a single space for months. Louis wasn't sure how well she was doing as texts and calls couldn't ease his concern.

"So," Cruz struggled to keep a chortle in check as she kicked her feet under the table, "how did the researchers greet Mister 'The next revolutionary scientist and doctor'?"

"Ah-" Louis felt embarrassed at the sudden question.

Everything, living or not, is basically just chemicals made of atoms.

The only thing differentiating a rock from a worm that lives underneath it is its arrangement of atoms. To be more specific, the worm has a distinct formation of molecules known as DNA.

The double helix molecule that strings together the chemical alphabet of A's, C's, T's, and G's. How these chemicals are combined will lead to different results, one combination will make a flower while another will create a bee or even a human.

Every living being has a code that makes it grow, reproduce, and adapt.

The discovery of DNA led to the research of living beings' DNA sequences from beginning to end. Something called a Genome.

And with this, a new kind of science was born.

Synthetic Biology.

The understanding and utilization of genetic data composing all living beings.

To understand what code makes the jellyfish cells everlasting or what makes the healing factor in a salamander capable of regenerating organs.

Humans would move on from genetic imperative evolution to a conscious imperative one with the mastery of this new science.

Louis' father has done thorough research on Synthetic Biology. Given that such research was the legacy left to a rather antisocial Louis at the time, it was read and studied repeatedly by the young kid religiously.

Not only that, but the old research team which his dad was part of didn't really try to stop Louis from learning of some patents and notes, and considering that his father was labeled a genius and Louis somehow managed to catch up to his studies from an early age, there were a lot of expectations on Louis.

Many were ready to get some connections to a young man destined to succeed.

From researchers almost fighting over who was going to show him around to the point that he had a whole group of people taking him around the facility.

And that includes some ladies being really 'friendly.'

Of course, Louis knew better than to tell Cruz of those certain nurses who were too happy being around him. He was inexperienced, not clueless.

"-and that is why they called him-pft- they c-called him 'Fifty Shades of Brown.'" Louis struggled to finish his retelling of the drama and slander thrown between the researchers who fought to be his guide in the medical center.

Representatives from many research teams wanted a piece of Louis, so the amount of fighting happening around him wasn't small.

"HAHAHAH!" Cruz was almost falling off her chair with laughter, "Ohhh, that's disgusting-kferk-" she began to crack up right after once again.

"I- hahahah!- I don't know if he will come back to work tomorrow- pft-" Louis had a better time keeping it together.

Despite Cruz's roaring laughter, a short but loud buzz couldn't be drowned by it.

"Ah-" she was slightly startled by it, but she quickly recognized it.

"...Time's up," Louis said as he realized what it meant.

With a sigh, Cruz got up and Louis did the same.

"I will come ba-"

"You better do." Cruz didn't let him finish as she immediately hugged him, her face buried in his chest.

In a small moment where feelings were laid bare, Louis warped his arms around her, "I will."

After an embrace that was too long but not uncomfortable, Louis finally had to leave.

Even if leaving Cruz was the hardest part of his day, he walked out with much more confidence than he walked in.

'She laughed a lot.' A wide smile adorned his face.

It was mostly them just catching up with each other and talking about his first impression of the facility, but he enjoyed it.

"Hmmm…" The nurse who had checked him in saw Louis coming out of the hall after a short procedure to check his body's state for abnormalities.

"Plenty of contact but within the allowed parameters." The nurse looked at the monitor with a knowing smile.

Louis' confident stride became hasty as he left the facility while the nurse giggled behind the desk.

This little exchange did become a routine as Louis came by every day during his internship. Cruz had texted him that the restrictions on her weren't as strict as he was thinking. And she was right.

Aside from not leaving the room, scheduled checkups, and the time she takes medication along with her food during surveillance for any abnormalities, Cruz was free most of the time.

Louis would go through his day with the research team and study under professors waiting to leave and go to her.

Though, now without the pressure of not ruining their first real talk after months of being away from each other, he observed his surroundings with more care than before.

And, between one of his plenty of visits, he saw something.

'Juzo Mido…' Louis glanced at a section of the medical facility. One could say that it belonged to the military complex rather than the medical one as it was outside the facility, but Juzo Mido was known as a medical scientist.

Among the men who were seen as the top researchers like his father, Juzo Mido was one of them and perhaps be seen as the one at the top of his field in the world, a person who was perhaps one of the most known as well.

Not just because of his research.

However, he isn't exactly part of the medical research team as he has his own. This is also the reason why Louis is so sought out as Juzo Mido could just jump in and offer him a spot in his team.

After all, the man could be considered a third party as he has many ties to a renowned Private Military Company with no country to affiliate with and is working here as part of a contract.

Usually, it would spell plenty of trouble for him to have his own security team inside a military complex that isn't his own in another country, but, for a man like Juzo Mido, some governments are willing to bend some rules for his results.

Louis only glanced at the facility outside the medical building before continuing on his way. 

It's not like he wasn't interested, but Louis had his place already, just like his father who stayed on that island long ago. He had no desire to leave just yet.

"..." Louis' stride came to a halt as he saw Aurora pass by giving him a peace sign with a bright smile along with his sister who blatantly avoided eye contact with him.

'Something's up…' The young researcher narrowed his eyes at the smiling woman.

And sure enough…

'It's too dark.' He entered Cruz's room once again.

The lights were dim, almost pitch black if not for the occasional thunder outside the 'window' illuminating the room.

Only the outline of furniture and tables told him that at least the room's structure remained the same.

"Oh well." Louis made his way to the coffee table and made sure the roses had their water.

Seconds passed by as the thunderstorm outside got more sinister.

The scenery outside was hardly distinguishable for the water constantly hitting the window as thunder struck in the distance.

Darkness was ever looming in Louis' perception as the room appeared to be swallowed by a deep abyss.

The rain stopped and the thunder ceased.

It was as if the light vanished along with all sound except for the man's own breathing.

Louis simply sat in the abyss so quietly he could hear his own pulse.

But that wasn't for long.

There was a brush of air he felt near him.

He looked down to his side and, as the thunder made a comeback to light up the surroundings momentarily, he saw a pale white ghostly face with jagged teeth and hollowed eyes.

"..." He only gave it a blank stare.

"..."

"..."

"...Tch!" Cruz began to take off her mask," the atmosphere was per-"

"-AHHHHH!" Louis screamed in horror at the maskless girl.

"Ah you litt-" A startled Cruz cursed, "shut it!" she threw her mask at him.

But he just laughed as he caught it.

The grumpy girl pushed some buttons on the hidden panel behind the bed and the lights returned to the room.

The walls regained their wooden surface.

"Where did you get this?" Louis examined the mask. 

'Was leather of such high quality used just for a mask like this?' It was surprisingly high quality as the texture was the same as old dried skin but was incredibly firm, it wasn't hard to mold to give it a shape with some pressure, making it rather bizarre.

"Aurora." Cruz sat on the chair.

"Figures." He nodded.

He played with the pale white mask between his hands and snorted.

"Doesn't this remind you of anything?" He said in a teasing tone before holding it above his head as the pale mask took a rather pointy shape, like a cone.

"Hm?" Cruz appeared none the wiser.

Louis began to mimic a high-pitched voice as if panicking while he shuffled in his seat, "I'm not racist! I'm supposed to be a ghost!! Look!!! I'm brown-"

"AHHHHHHH! Shut up! Shutupshutupshutupshutup-" Cruz flipped out.

She snatched the mask back from a cackling Louis.

Her face gained a red hue as she was reminded of a bad Halloween costume.

"Ugh! Don't remind me!!" She cried.

"Hahaha! Just be glad that you only got a stern talking." Louis couldn't stop laughing at the cringing girl.

"I didn't know how to wash the sheets! How could I know that they would end up sticking up like that!!" 

"Hahahahah!"

Louis had known each other for quite a long time, the list of embarrassing memories wasn't short.

"Huh?" However, Louis' dominance in the teasing game wouldn't last.

He wouldn't normally use his phone during his visits, but he recognized the vibration pattern from his pocket.

==============

Karen: Pitcure of uncles vidit to kyoto :) 

==============

"Oh." Louis' eyes didn't remain on the unusual typos of his sister and saw the picture he was sent.

It was his uncle and wife along with two children wearing yukatas as sakura leaves fell around them with a beautiful garden in the background.

Deciding to see what Louis was looking at since she was freed from his ridicule, Cruz walked around Louis and saw what he had in his phone.

"That's Lindow and Tsubaki?! They've gotten so big!!"

"It makes me feel old…" He commented.

"Right…"

"Didn't you make a big deal of how a kid called you 'Miss' in a store during high school?" 

"Yeah, kind of makes you think." Cruz didn't seem sheepish, she had a rather calm demeanor, as if she had everything under control.

"We have to appreciate our memories, no matter how old or painful they are… they just help you realize how precious is the present." She said as she sat back down and stared at Louis across the table with a light smile across her lips.

"Uh-huh…" Something was wrong and Louis could clearly feel it.

"You know, Lindow really does look like you when you were small…" The little smile on the delicate face of the woman began to grow while Louis' smile started to fade.

Lindow, despite being his cousin rather than sibling, does look like him due to identical black raven hair and red eyes. However, that wasn't what Louis was thinking of.

Lindow was just 5 years old. 

Cruz and Louis knew each other long ago, but it wasn't that far back…

'...that kind of remark… why is it so unsettling-'

"You know, Karen did bring her family album once…" Cruz continued.

"...did she?" The question from the young researcher came out as a mortified whisper that held a tinge of betrayal.

"You looked sooo much cuuuuter~ I can't believe you carried Mr.Snuggles all day-"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup-"

Indeed.

Memories must be preserved, even the ones that follow this cherished meeting…

____________________________________________________________________________

Word Count: 4,465

It's not clear if Lindow from God Eater and Louis from Code Vein are related. But both have Amamiya as their last name while also sharing raven-black hair and ruby eyes.

So… you know, might as well say that they are related. Also, Lindow should be around 5 and Tsubaki 9 at the time before the collapse of the world.