Sleep.

Sleep.

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Ah.

I wasn't going to do an A/N moment this chapter but some disclaimers will be needed for this chapter so that no one is alarmed or anything.

WARNING: This chapter contains the following: Child abuse, neglect and the like. If you do not condone such actions or DO NOT want to read such actions then please go this symbol:

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This is the indication that the section is done.

Thank you.

…

Ahem. Anyways since I already did the disclaimer might as well do the A/N part of this chapter.

Some notes:

I just realized just how many more words I have written compared to my last FF. It feels so long ago… I kinda wish I hadn't even created it in the first place, it's like a stain… But whatever, it serves as a good reminder as to my start.

Chapter 193 showed me just how much the REDACTED are like to their REDACTED.

It was pretty shocking.

Also, the REDACTED arc is done which is pretty nice.

…This is more of a random note, but I found out that Touhou Project had a WHOLE ANIME (Non-canon and fanmade), and their production was actually comparable to some studios… If you want to know more, search up on youtube 'Touhou Project Anime' or 'Touhou Project Fantasy Kaleidoscope ~The Memories of Phantasm~' (I haven't watched it all but it's actually really good. The only thing I would nag about is the sound quality because you can't hear it all too well at times but…)

Finally, from now on, all the A/N comments will be at the end of the chapter and the Title will also be gone. I noticed how other creators use this 'technique' (if you can even call that) and I feel like this just ruins the immersion. (I might sometimes have small A/N moments at the start if it's important or just a small comment.)

Anyways let's get this chapter started. Hope you enjoy it.

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I watered a small daffodil. It had somehow survived the cold winter and I found some attachment towards it.

An ever growing war between me and my mind kept going.

I trained and I sat in front of the grotesque being on the other side of this luminescent blue barrier, I did everything in here, in my mind.

But even barriers have their limits…

I looked at the black fog covering the floor.

It was so thin that it made the snow look only a bit gray.

I leaned back into my chair and my arms lay rest on the armrests of the chair. I took pleasure in watching this thing get pushed back or grow, it was like a pet.

Not a pet you would keep, but one that you would find in the wild to put to rest.

Funnily enough, this was the only place where I could put my mind to rest… Occasionally.

I secretly glanced up to find two massive eyeballs floating and watching my every move.

The whole forest has taken more and more of the shape of a small sphere with a large iron shackle surrounding it.

I looked at the small daffodil.

There was only one thing I trained here, the only thing I could train.

It was a secret weapon for my plans…

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'Why?'

A young child thought.

Their screams felt tangible, prickling on his skin like thin needles nestling deep into his body.

High above him were two people. His mother and father.

At first when this happened, he thought everything would be fine, as long as he apologized then everything would be fine…

Not.

His once close and tight knitted family became as loose as a ball of yarn. Tight enough but slowly falling apart…

People often underestimate just how smart kids are, he realized this when his parents tried to coerce him with a piece of hard candy.

Like the good kid he thought he was, he took it and the screams and shouting began once more.

Slap!

"...It's this damn child! He ruined my fucking life!"

He looked at his father, tightly holding his teddy bear for comfort, in his eyes he saw something… something that's unexplainable, and the words not yet known to him. But deep down he knew, he knew that this man was not his father.

His happy and fond memories of their family shattered.

"T-Those damn eyes!" The drunken man shivered as he raised his hands.

Slap!

He wasn't able to go to sleep, go to school, or even shower.

He was a prisoner with the people who gave birth to him as his jail guards.

As time went on, he got thinner, his once clean and bright house turned into one of neglect, the smell… It was bearable.

He frowned at the smell of rotting food and dead insects. But he curled into a ball hoping his dreams would be better…

…

Laughter…

He was outside…? His lucidity seemed to fall apart before the fog rolled over his eyes once more.

The smell of grass and morning dew.

The breeze of mid-spring.

He felt and experienced it all.

Although he instinctively felt that it was wrong he looked up at the hands that were warm. He wanted to see the loving looks of his parents but was only met with cold gazes.

Instantly, the world turned dark and cold.

The sun turned into moon, the grass into dirt and the warm air into chilly wind.

The hands that held him were like ice and their skin aged and became decrepit.

Out of the corner of his eyes was a pit.

Anguished screams and moans came out and hands slowly came out.

"Hah… Hah…"

His hands were impossible to get free from, the hands held him like stone.

His lips trembled and his eyes watered.

As the pit grew ever closer, he woke up.

"oi…"

A low voice groaned.

Cold sweat encompassed the tiny boy's body.

"y-yes…"

  He could barely muster out.

"Take this money and go get me some beer…" The television continued on with its evening show.

The notes of yen glided down to his feet.

"o-okay…"

Not realizing the implications of what happened, he for the first time in years, went out for the reason of getting beer.

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Klunk!

I reached down to grab my hot coffee from the vending machine.

Click!

Gulp!

"Hah…"

As I sat on a wooden bench inside a park, I felt the warm wind brush against my skin.

Enjoying this peace and quiet, I closed my eyes hoping for the peace to last a bit longer…

'kill, experiment, destroy…'

The madness inducing whispers filled my mind.

I slowly opened my eyes and softly sighed.

Taking another sip of my coffee I tried ignoring the miniscule sounds in the background but a certain sound made me rush over.

"Puhaha!"

"Go to hell!"

"Hahaha!"

I used [High-Speed Dash] along with [Presence Blending] and [Silent Steps], those three techniques synergized quite well and they became a staple in my missions.

I jumped onto the rooftop silently making my way towards the sounds.

Not noticing my arrival, I jumped from the high rooftop and down onto one of the thugs.

Bang!

Hitting the asphalt he immediately passed out.

His brain must have rattled quite a bit.

I apathetically stared at the growing pool of blood before locking eyes on the stunned thugs.

Like deer in headlights they were frozen by my sudden appearance.

I swiftly took each of them down without any difficulty.

Patting myself down and clenching my fists, I saw no exertion in my muscles whatsoever.

"Hello there…" I squatted down and offered my hand to the beat up and badly bruised child.

He stared at me with hateful intent.

"..."

I awkwardly took my hand back and searched my pocket for a healing syringe. I took the plastic protection top off and used the syringe.

It would take a day or two but he would be fine.

"?"

I looked back, if it wasn't for my superhuman hearing I would have missed it with his breathing.

"Did you say, 'help me?'" I had my hands in my pockets but my fists were clenched at the sight upon turning around.

The boy was crying, his tears flowed to an excessive degree.

I went back and squatted down again.

"P-Please… Help me…" 

The pain in his voice…

He found the strength to grovel at my feet.

His hands gripped my ankles with as much strength as he could.

"Don't."

"Don't ever grovel at someone's feet like this."

I patted his head.

"Tell me."

He could barely articulate the words before passing out.

I carried the boy in my arms to a nearby bench, the same bench where I left my coffee and suitcase.

Woosh!

I left my black coat with him, it was nearing night and I didn't want the kid to get a cold.

Only ten minutes away was a worn down apartment complex…

Click!

"Ugh… Are you back?" A worn out and tired voice called out.

Tok.

As the door closed I took my gas mask out ready to find out the real truth.

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"Mmm…"

Tak.

Tak.

The boy rubbed his eyes.

Still a bit foggy in the head, he saw an advanced suit.

"...Are you a kidnapper?" He asked quietly.

"What made you think of that?"

A familiar voice resounded in his ears.

With a frown he asked another question, "Who are you?"

The teen paused.

'Who am I…'

"I wonder." He murmured.

One reminisced about his various killings and different disguises.

"Mmm… whatever mister… kill me if you want, I don't care anymore…"

One felt the rhythmic breathing of the boy back on his shoulder.

Shifting him, he started walking towards his destination.

As the sun went down behind him and the street lights turned on, the night grew colder.

Step. Step.

One, deep in his thoughts, eventually laid his eyes on the night sky.

Though only the brightest of the stars were visible, One felt peace in watching the night sky and its clouds slowly moving along with the wind.

"Hah…"

He was tired…

All he wanted was some peace…

His fake hair swayed in the wind.

As he went through everything in his head, his determination reaffirmed itself.

Soon, he reached his destination with no trouble whatsoever.

'Here we are.'

One went up the stone steps and knocked on the door.

"Hello?"

As he shifted the falling boy back onto his shoulders, One heard the grumblings and creaking of a bed as steps slowly made their way towards the door.

"...who's there? It's late in the night…"

"...I'm here to drop a kid off."

"...God damn it, these damn irresponsible parents dropping kids here…"

One heard the man mutter to himself.

Click.

The door opened enough to see the silhouette of a dark figure with the moon right behind.

"I'm leaving the child on this doorstep, if you do not accept him I will go to another orphanage to take care of him."

"Who said that I wouldn't take him in?" The man said in a cranky tone.

"Leave, leave, it doesn't matter if you're the parent or not, I'll take care of the children, it's my penance for this world."

One took the child carefully and laid him on the ground carefully.

One tried to take the long black trench coat that covered the child but even unconsciously he held the warmth it provided.

"..."

One gave up and left, allowing the sleeping child to keep the black coat.

Click.

Taking off the door stopper, a man came out with a lighter and cigarette in hand.

Flick!

"Phew…"

The man picked up the child and kicked the door into a slam.

Slam!

'I guess he'll be covered for.' One thought, in the shadows of a nearby tree.

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"You are doing great Shura!"

It was an office, one that held guns as decor and a wooden desk where three people sat at.

"If you keep this up you'll do even better than what we hoped for!"

The two sitting facing their daughter were the two heads of the Ashura company. A large conglomerate encompassing anything destructive that sells to everyone.

Terrorist groups, governments, anyone and everyone that wanted the finest weapons that they could get their hands on would go and buy from them.

Of course as researchers themselves, they wanted more. Nothing was enough for them, their endless greed for the most powerful weapon in the world drove them to great lengths and they just started their most ambitious project yet.

They wanted to create the most powerful cyborg in the world.

Cybernetic enhancements was a new industry but was a quickly expanding and thriving market in its golden age.

Using their knowledge and vast resources they started a large reform of their company and focused their sights on cyber tech.

It had been a few months and their project had been a resounding success.

Their daughter at the age of seven had passed the Bronze Rank exam for the Spy Association with extreme ease.

In a few months would be the Silver Rank exam and with the new 'upgrades' at a 10 to 90 ratio of flesh and blood compared to pure technology that they replaced her with, they were confident in the success of this prospect.

Shura came to a halt, stopping her hands and eyes from the paper and set it down.

"Honey?" Shura's mother asked.

Their twisted sense of love had led to this point.

"Wrr!" As the mechanical sounds came from her head Shura continued, "I've determined. You are no longer needed." A cold and mechanical voice came out. 

Shura's left arm shifted from her normal hand 'form' into a large spike.

Sssk!

The woman's head was impaled with the other side visible showing.

Without even a moment to give breathing time Shura did the same to her father. 

With two dead bodies with their heads resting on her desk, Shura went back to attending at her papers like nothing had happened, not blinking or wavering.

"..."

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Relationships are complicated.

I saved a victim of abuse and she became my sister. I woke up in a kid's body and killed people for a living. 

Rather than relationships I should say that MY life is complicated.

It looks like I'll have to keep this postponed until a few years later…

I always wondered why we went on such useless missions. Not only was the facility more known to the outside world but it just doesn't make sense.

It was time.

They were buying time.

For what?

If you had the recipe for mindless super soldiers I'm guessing you would take it?

I thought that the mental corruption was a side effect, which it was, though something sped it up. Like fertilizer.

I had some plans for the mental corruptions but since it came to this point I guess it doesn't really matter anymore.

"Haha…"

"So you made me think I had a chance of survival… how cruel." I spat out.

"Hmm~? Why is that so cruel? I just wanted to see you slowly fall apart."

Technician stood over me like he was some pretend god.

I tried shaking Combat off from me but to no avail.

To my left and right were the Termites and Sinclair.

They stand motionless, after all, Trick and Neuro must have hypnotized them.

I guess the backup plans are coming into use.

"..."

10%

"Nothing more to say?"

He pointed his ear towards me like a comedian.

"How long…" I muttered.

20%

"How long what?"

"How long since everyone was hypnotized by them."

30%

I eyed Trick and Neuro who were sitting in the corner of the room.

Technician tapped his chin for a few seconds, swaying his head while thinking.

40%

"The first to fall was the blockhead, Three. It was around two months?"

50%

"Then slowly everyone else fell down until only you were left. It was really surprising, you know? We only thought that you would hold on until the five month mark but you went above and beyond and held on for a year."

70%

"Well then, since you have no more questions I'll end this, Trick, Neuro finish it. I need my afternoon nap."

80%

I need to buy some time…

"...I have one last question to ask."

These seconds feel like hours…

"What is it?"

"...Was Sinclair even my sister?"

I love her. She's a sister that was there for me, it would be heartbreaking to know that she wasn't even a real person but rather a puppet acting on someone's order.

Technician looked at me blankly.

"Puhahaha!!"

Tears swelled in eyes as his laughter reverberated in the room.

"Her? She was a pawn, a piece to be used. But she is useful, her modifications are certainly noteworthy…"

…I guess I was the naive one to think that a child could be so mature.

"...Ah well, let's get this over with. I wasted enough time as is."

Both Trick and Neuro came up as their hands reached for my face.

Once I get out, I'll kill you guys…

All of you…

100%

My world went dark.

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Inside One's mindscape was a small white daffodil.

Two of the petals snapped off as his first and second backup plan came into motion.

[1: Purging of mental corruption… estimated time… 5 years]

White light expelled from the petal as the rapidly consuming void came to a halt and was slowly being pushed back. 

[2: Wake up call: Purge all negative mental suggestions and hypnosis… estimated time… 5 years]

The second petal exploded into numerous small white nodes of light as it helped the light push and kill the greedy darkness.

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Uhh… I don't really know what to say?

So basically I'm going to start trying to write around 2k-4k chapters every few days. (Every two days or so)

Another chapter should be out in a few hours if not tomorrow.

The reason for this change is because I'm quite forgetful and leave everything last minute so this should help keep me in place… I hope so.