Chapter 6: IF Route: The Depths of Hell/Sleeping Beauty

So this is a happy ending IF.

IF Route:

The Depths of Hell/Sleeping Beauty

I'm dreaming.

It was a dream that I had repeated over and over again since that day, to the point of being sick of it.

In a completely unadorned laboratory with white floors and walls, the same people as always were conducting an experiment on me. They were talking about something, but I didn't care about that at all, and just waited for time to pass.

I spent that time thinking about Nina after returning to my room.

If I return first, I greet her with a "Welcome back," and if Nina returns first, she greets me with a "Welcome back." Then we eat meals together, talk, play, and sleep at night with her in my arms.

That was everything to me and nothing else mattered.

There was a loud noise and I was brought out of my thoughts. When I came to, I realized that no one was around me. I looked towards the entrance to the laboratory, wondering where they had gone.

Nina was there, her whole body dyed bright red.

"Ni ...na?"

My vision was blocked and I could smell a strong blood.... I was being held in Nina's arms.

"...Lena, thank you for meeting me."

Nina's body, which had always kept me warm, was now cold and robbing me of my body heat.

"Thank you for being my friend. I'm so happy."

I don't know what's going on, and I don't want to know.

"Thank you for being my best friend and family."

I tried to speak, but my throat was clogged and I was trembling, so I couldn't speak.

"...I was really happy when you promised to stay with me forever."

Nina's voice was missing its usual energy, and sounded extremely weak.

"I'm sorry for breaking my promise..."

The sound of Nina's heartbeat that I could hear was gradually slowing down.

"Thank you for telling me that you love me."

Unconsciously, I raised my hands, trying to cling to Nina and embrace her.

"Lena, I love you with all my heart."

My outstretched hand grabbed nothing.

Nina, who had been blocking my view until just now, had disappeared, and I was surrounded by many people and children.

I looked up and saw the sky, but Nina was nowhere to be found.

"...Hah, ah."

It was only when I realized this that a voice came out of my closed throat.

"Ahhh, ahh."

But I can't put it into words anymore.

"Aaaahh!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Feeling a terrible headache, I opened my eyes and sat up. Looking at the clock, I saw that it was only just after four o'clock, which was too early to get up.

"Hmm..."

I sigh and get out of bed exhausted; I won't be able to sleep properly without the medicine anyway.

I took a shower to wash off the sweat and changed into my uniform. It was still too early to leave the house, so I had a quick breakfast and relaxed on the sofa.

I turned on the TV for no particular reason. There was nothing in particular I wanted to watch, but I was happy if it could distract me even a little.

Even though five years have passed since that day, it's a memory that has never faded and is still a recurring dream, a memory that could only be described as a nightmare.

But still, I still dream about it.

"Lena, I love you with all my heart."

Maybe it's because I'm clinging to such a dream.

[Executive Department of Tokyo Headquarters, Third Unit Room]

In a room in the headquarters where the task force of enforcers who protect citizens from supernatural crimes works, a man in his forties and a girl who is still generally considered to be a student are facing each other.

"Enforcer Sannomiya, why did you cut off both of the subject's arms?"

"The subjects were armed with firearms, and two of them had contact-type supernatural abilities that required them to touch the palm of their hands."

"And then you cut off everyone's arms?"

"I thought that was the best thing to do."

As the girl responded calmly, the man's voice seemed to carry a hint of irritation and resignation.

"Hmm... Sannomiya, with your abilities and skills it shouldn't have been difficult to restrain them without losing their arms, even if there was a hostage."

"..."

"Even if they finish their sentence in prison, it'll be impossible for them to properly reintegrate into society..."

"...they were holding children hostage, pointing guns at their heads and demanding money in return for their safety. I don't think such people can or should be reintegrated into society."

There was a different emotion in her voice than before, and there was undoubtedly anger in the girl's voice that she couldn't hide.

“…I’ve told you countless times not to let personal feelings get in the way of your mission. You can go home now, and I’ll let you know your punishment tomorrow.”

"... Understood, excuse me..."

After seeing the girl off and leaving the room, the man leaned back in his chair.

"Commander, here's some tea, if you'd like."

"Oh, I'll take it. Thanks."

"Another trouble from Enforcer Sannomiya? What kind of punishment will you give this time?"

The man frowned a little at the question and let out a deep sigh.

“At most, she will only have to write a few letters of apology, and I'm up against one of the only four first-class enforcers, you know? We're boss and subordinate in terms of work, but I don't have the authority to do anything about it."

"Right. I'll get back to work then."

Watching his subordinate return to his desk, the man gets back to work writing the report.

"...Don't let your personal feelings get in the way... If someone who knew about it and didn't do anything about it said that, it's not going to have any impact on me."

A voice that was filled with clear regret and anger.

"Wake up soon hero, we can't do anything to save your princess."

No one heard those words of prayer.

The clean white walls and floors, and the smell of disinfectant and various chemical solutions - I feel disgusted with myself for feeling nostalgic for such things.

I walk quickly down the hallway to the hospital room, where I've been going every day for almost half a year now.

I put my hand on the door to my hospital room and opened it with a slight sense of hope.

She was sleeping on the single bed in a large private room, breathing quietly just like the night before.

I sat on the edge of the bed and touched her cheek. Her face was just as beautiful as it was back then, her skin as soft and firm as fresh snow, and her shiny, silky white hair.

I let go of her cheek and pulled the covers back a little, then I held her hand, burying my face in her chest and pressing my cheek against her so I could feel her warmth and the sound of her heartbeat.

Hearing the warmth and steady heartbeat that was different from before, and realizing that she was alive, my heart calmed a little.

Four months have passed since the doctor told me that she could wake up at any moment, but she has still not woken up to this day.

Ever since that day, Nina has continued to sleep.

It had been about a month since I became an enforcer that I found out Nina was alive.

Until then, the only meaning of life for me was hatred, anger, and revenge.

Since no one wanted to take me, I was raised in a facility run by the executive branch, where I was given temporary care.

At that time, I was listless and just living without any meaning.

The company that ran the facility where Nina and I were was not particularly well-known, it was a pharmaceutical research and development company, and I had heard from the news that the people involved had already been arrested and the company had been dismantled.

It was the day after I turned twelve that I learned that this was a fabricated truth that had only been revealed on the surface.

I was taken to a room by a staff member from the facility who had been looking after me, and the truth that a scout from the executive committee told me was completely unacceptable.

The company that was demolished was a subsidiary of a well-known company that I knew, and it was that company that actually operated the facility and directed the experiments.

This is confirmed by the testimony of the arrested facility staff, as well as data and documents left at the facility, and several people from the company who were clearly involved have already been arrested.

However, I was told that there was not enough evidence to prove that the entire company was involved, and that it only caused some damage.

I couldn't understand, I didn't want to understand. If that was true, then the people who killed my mom and dad, and Nina, were still living their lives as normal, without being held accountable for their crimes.

My once empty heart was filled with hatred and anger, and I felt murderous intent well up from the bottom of my heart.

It's so easy to kill someone using my supernatural power; I can cut them into pieces so that nothing remains of their original form.　

Just as these thoughts were filling my head, the Scout spoke up.

"If you become an enforcer, you may be able to realize everything you want to know and do."

"Even if it's not possible right away, there will surely be an opportunity to make them pay for their crimes someday."

I accepted the invitation.

That was probably what they had planned from the beginning. The job of an enforcer has an extremely high death rate, there is always a shortage of personnel, and I, with my excellent supernatural abilities, would be an easy pawn. It was obvious. Thinking about it now, the facility that had taken me in was probably a place for that purpose.

That was good. If you were planning to use me then so was I. I just needed to get my hands on information, information about that facility and the people involved, and that was all I needed to become an enforcer.

Once I knew who I needed to take revenge on, I'd kill them, I wouldn't give them time to pay for their crimes, and I didn't care what happened afterwards.

I became an enforcer as soon as I turned fifteen, the required age, and passing the exam was easy as I had plenty of time to study and train.

Then, about a month after I became an enforcer, I received permission to view the documents I had requested.

Since copying or transcribing the materials was prohibited, I read them from cover to cover, making sure I didn't forget anything and didn't miss anything.

And then I found out that Nina was still alive.

The documents stated that the girl's life was saved thanks to the fact that one of the enforcers who rushed to the scene that day had the ability to regenerate, and that she was subsequently taken into care of in a local hospital.

Once I realized that Nina was alive, that I would see her again, and that we would talk again, I couldn't stop myself.

I quickly put the documents away and asked my boss to let me meet with Nina.

Luckily, since Nina was still under the protective custody of the Enforcement Division and I was an Enforcement Officer involved in the same case and knew Nina, permission was easily obtained.

What would I talk about when I met Nina? I want her to hug me again, I want her to pet me like she used to, I want to see her smile, I want to hear her voice, I want her to look at me with those beautiful eyes again.

That's all I could think about as I headed to the hospital where Nina was staying. Stupid me, I was getting carried away, without even checking carefully about her current condition.

When I met Nina for the first time in a long time, she was asleep in bed, connected to an IV drip and life-support equipment.

Her body was so thin that her bones were visible, and her once beautiful hair was now extremely unruly.

Although she survived, some kind of drug had damaged her body to the point that it was a miracle that she was still alive, and the doctor told me that if she continued on her current path she would not wake up, and that she had only a few more years at most.

I didn't want to think about it.

Nina won't wake up yet?

Will she die in a few years?

When we finally met?

As I muttered to myself whether there was any way to cure it, the doctor said that there was hope if she could receive continuous treatment using high-level regeneration and healing-related supernatural powers.

However, this would cost a considerable amount of money, and there are already very few people with regeneration or healing abilities, so it would require a lot of authority to gather them together.　

From that day on, the meaning of my life changed.

It's not that I no longer had any desire for revenge, or any hatred or anger. But more than that, Nina was incomparably more important to me.

Right now, I don't have enough funds or authority to treat Nina, so I just need to get some, but I don't have time.

From then on, I accepted any job or assignment I was given, begging to be allowed to accompany those above my rank.

Fortunately, it seemed the executives had higher expectations of me than I had expected, and I was able to transfer to an assault unit where I would have a better chance of gaining achievements and gaining experience.

Because I was involved in solving several major cases and because my supernatural powers had evolved into an area-domination type, I was able to rise in rank to first-class enforcer in just one year.

The authority and discretion wielded by a first-class enforcer was sufficient to achieve my goals.

I took Nina under my custody, transferred her to a hospital with the best medical facilities in the country, and hired several top-ranking supernatural investigators to treat her.

The funds I had saved without spending were almost gone, but thanks to this, Nina's health had recovered to a level that was incomparable to before.

Nina still hasn't woken up, but I've done everything I can, and the treatment using supernatural powers is still ongoing.

So I will keep waiting, no matter how many decades it takes, always, always.

I opened my eyes and raised my face from Nina's chest. I looked at the clock and saw that there were only five minutes left until 8 pm, the end of visiting hours.

I pulled the covers back over her, touched Nina's cheek one last time, and gave her a light kiss on the other cheek.

"Nina, I'll go for now."

I leave the hospital room as I always do, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, hoping that I will receive a reply someday.

[Sannomiya Reina/Lena]

-- Now 16 years old.

Life is hard! It's painful! She can't bear it! But now, clinging to Nina and revenge, she's somehow managing to survive. Despite being addicted to drugs, she's grown taller (166cm), and her figure is good thanks to her daily training.

[Sannomiya Nina/Nina]

--Now 15 years old.

Thanks to treatments using healing and regenerative abilities, her body is in perfect health. However, due to the combination of being on the brink of death from the administration of powerful drugs and being bedridden, she hasn't grown much (145cm). She is scheduled to wake up in the next episode.