Chapter 3 – Adaptation

Third person POV

 For the next 4 days, Reina started to adapt his life in Gen's organization. He started to leave his room, only to look around the headquarters and go to the toilet. But, he didn't try to take showers just to clean his body of dirt accumulated from his depression and regret. Even so, Rashi and one of Gen's squad leaders, Nato Hokawa, started to give him food, water, and other necessities in his room so he could survive his depression. But at least, Reina didn't totally become a shut-in because he still at least communicates with a handful of people. Also, he experience so much unforgiveness to himself as well, exasperating his state of despair and slow self-destruction.

 His depression stays the same, but one time, when Nato came to check on him, he hears some objects hitting the walls and floor. He soon discovered that Reina is getting worse a bit in his depression. Now, he throws objects across the room to vent out his self-blame and self-hatred for killing Gen out of vengeance.

 "Woah, Reina-kun, calm down!" Nato tries to calm him down.

 "I'm a bad person!" Reina yelled out as he throws a pen across the room, before breaking down into tears once again. "I'll never forgive myself!"

Nato sat down next to him and pats his back. "It's okay, calm down, I'm here for you."

 "I'm sorry…" Reina sobbed.

 "You had been saying that every time we visited you," responded Nato back while trying to keep his tone as sincere and sympathetic as possible.

 "I know…" Reina nodded slowly while sniffling, "…I think…"

He paused.

 "Think what?"

 "…of dying," Reina responded finally.

This shocks Nato a lot. "What? Suicide?"

Reina shook his head. "No, I'll die alone and rot away."

 "What? Please, no, don't do it."

 "I don't deserve to live."

 "Yes, you do, Taro-san, you have so much to live for!"

But Reina couldn't be convinced.

So, Nato decided to put aside his duties and stays with Reina for the night.

 Then, finally, the next day, a Saturday early morning at 5 a.m., Gen finally woke up from his 5-day coma. He then got up and saw his surroundings, confused, disoriented, and a bit groggy. "What happened to me? Where am I?" Then, he looked at Arashi, who was asleep on a sofa in the room.

 "Ara-kun?" he asked him.

This causes his head researcher to wake up from his slumber and looked at him.

Arashi was very surprised to see his leader alive and again.

So, he ran to him and hugged him a bit. "Gen-san!"

 "W-What happened to me?" Gen asked him back.

Pulling from hugging, Arashi explained, "A young man named Reina Taro killed you, but he felt extreme regret afterwards, so he asked us to save you instead."

Gen was shocked to hear that; he didn't expect that and thinks he deserved to be slain by Reina for his crimes against humanity.

But now, he was there, alive and well.

 "Woah…" Gen commented as he looks at his thighs, "…I thought I deserve to die for what I did. But, he did it, for me?"

 "Yes, he did it for you," Arashi responded confidently.

His tone then turned into a concerned one. "But he is now depressed and is now giving up on life."

Gen was once again shocked to hear that. "What? He is?"

Arashi then nodded solemnly.

 "Where is now? Is he going to kill himself?"

 "He's currently in one of the sleeping quarters in this building. And no, he is not going to take his own life. He said that he will die slowly and rotting himself away instead."

Gen was alerted with shock by it because he doesn't want his soon to be new friend to die because of that single regret in seeking revenge. "No, I don't want him to die. Please, we have to stop him before he did something harmful to himself!"

Arashi nodded in agreement. "Once you had recovered enough, I'll take you to his room."

And so, Gen waited until he had recovered enough to walk.