A Name Without A Face

Chapter 17 {Do You Hate Me}

  Her struggled breathing as I came close became weaker with each passing moment.

Her eyes trailed up my figure and Chiaki appeared to be thinking. "You are... Hinata, aren't you?" She pushed her words, ever so softly that even I had to listen carefully. That name again...

I stepped closer, and then once more. She winced in pain, and the flowing didn't seem to be coming to a stop anytime soon. "No," I answered shortly and leaned down to crouch beside the dying girl. How could she still be alive...?

"You really... Don't remember." She closed her eyes but continued to breathe. After a second, she opened them again and looked straight into my eyes, void of fear. Instead, she smiled and slowly reached her arm out towards me. I would never have expected I would be comforting someone before death with everything I've already done but that's what I was doing. The moment I took her hand, I was met with something new. A memory. It didn't belong to me. It was... It was Hajime's of course.

I could see Chiaki sitting beside me- him- and playing a game. She was saying something, but I couldn't hear. It was as though I was far away. Everything became difficult to focus on, but before it faded, I heard her say something.

"It doesn't make a difference whether you have a talent or not. I mean, that isn't the end goal. You have greater freedom than we do... All I have are games. But you can go anywhere and become anything."

I found myself back before the dying Chiaki. Her smile faded and I felt her hand go limp in mine. I set her arm beside her body carefully, as to not hurt her anymore.

I remember... I remember now.

Who I once was... In the reserve course. Talentless, worthless, so I had agreed to partake in the Kamukura project, run by the Steering Committee. They were the ones that secretly ran the school, a group of scientists stealing money from students' families for the inhumane project that would create me; and the headmaster, Jin Kirigiri, was part of it.

Everything came flooding back to me, but the memories of Hajime couldn't seem to... Attach. It was as though I remembered, but my brain wasn't accepting them as mine.

Chiaki's chest stopped moving and she became another useless death. There was no point in staying around here any longer, but I wasn't interested in cleaning this up. Not this time. Not her.

I backed away from the scene and turned to exit outside. Junko was doing her own thing, continuing her plan without my help in front of the school. A crowd was circling around a man on the ground, and he seemed to be crying. I met Junko's eyes, but she didn't gesture she needed my help. As such, I slipped through the gates and exit towards the building I had been staying at. This was fine then. I would wait here.

Still in shambles, untouched yet. Fires began to line the streets, but the smoke rising into the air caused it to start to rain.

What will be the end of this? At least it didn't seem to... Be boring.

I made myself comfortable on the highest floor and closed my eyes. As I slept, I didn't dream, or more like I couldn't.

I wasn't made to dream. I wasn't made to feel, but I still had emotions. Weak, but I knew I did. I felt anger, I felt boredom, I wasn't quite sure what I was feeling as I slept in darkness, but it wasn't anything good. These memories. The ones of Hajime's... They made me feel something I hadn't before. I felt... Unstable.

They didn't mean anything to me when I first recalled them, but now I couldn't erase them. They were blending in with my reality. Who... Who was I? Really? Was I Izuru Kamukura... Or was I Hajime Hinata?