Project: Karma

26 | Classified Files

<Nagisa>
Waking into the facility the next day, I took the bracelet out of my lab coat and stared at it. How could I just leave it with him? After everything he tried to do, I didn't have the heart to just not accept it.
Nagisa, if you keep doing this. You'll just get his hopes up. Remember? Kaede loves Sugino.

Argh?! Why am I the one stuck between all of this? Why can't Sugino get it in his head? I don't love him and I don't think I ever can. When it came down to it. He's still one of my precious friends. One wrong move and our relationship might as well take flight south.

"Nagisa?"

Koro-sensei stood In front of me and handed a file into my hands.

"Y-yes?" I flinched.

"Watch where you're going." He pointed at the large vase of flowers off to the side of the hall. That I was about to walk into.

"Right. What's this?" I waved what he had given me.

"Careful careful." He stopped my hands from moving. "Can you bring this down to the Project Itona department?" He asked.

"Sure." I nodded.

"Thanks." He shoved his hands in his pockets and whistled away.

I don't know if I was seeing things, but it looked like Koro-sensei has gotten more flimsy. I don't know how to describe it. Bubbly?

I glanced back at the file that I held in my hand. I guess I'm taking a detour before work. I headed down the opposite hall and made my way past the countless doors on the side.
Other scientists that did not recognized me walked past and I could sense them turning their heads.
All these years, I've only stepped into the department 4 times. Which is understandable because Project Karma is where I work.

I stood at the lab door and my ID wouldn't scan me through. Great. The other scientists inside saw me but they gestured their hands to tell me to wait awhile. At the moment, they were adjusting Itona with alterations.

Well? What to do?
I stood along the side so I wouldn't be blocking the door. I happened to peek inside the file and saw documents of Itona. Nagisa, privacy, you can't just look inside classified information like this. Anyhow, Koro-sensei did hand them to you with trust. Essentially, I have broken that trust.

But this happened to be different, at least from the usual documents I've seen before.

If I keep reading...that's weird. What's with all these hospital papers? I dug deeper into the numerous pages to see records of a male named Horibe Itona. Admitted into the MD as a test subject at the age of 6. What caught me off guard was that these are just like any files you would see at the hospital for a person.

Don't get me wrong. Itona is a artificial human. But these papers said that he is human. Or at least was human.
I wonder if there are other files with the other projects. If I could make inferences. Itona technically isn't computer programmed. Maybe 80% artificial with 20% human.

D-does that mean that all the subjects were once human before?! Even Karma? I closed the file and wondered if that was the case.
The door slid open.

"Ahem." The scientist of the Itona department reached out his hand and I gave him the file.

"Thank you. Sorry you had to wait. These buffoons don't know how to use the proper gadgets for the alterations just yet."

He pointed at the newbies.

"Well sir, they are new." I brought up.

He raised his brow and sighed.
I need to get out of here. I bowed my head and smiled.
•••••••
When I made it to the lab. The only thing on my mind was those documents. The possibility that Karma was human beforehand was quite impossible, or maybe not.
Why haven't I've seen documents likes those about Karma? Does Shi know about it?

"Nagisa?"

Karma called my name I looked over.

"Your laptop is making sounds."

"H-huh? Right. Thanks." I rushed over to my desk and viewed the desktop to see a video chat request.
It was from Kaede!

I sat down and allowed the connection. While that was idling, I took a deep breath to recollect myself. Within a few seconds, I saw Kaede along side with Okuda and Yukiko. To think that they would all be together at the moment.

"Nagisa! How are you?" They all said in a unison. I could help but to giggle.

"I'm at work right now." I whispered.

"Ahh! Are we interrupting?" Okuda asked.

"It's alright." I gave a thumbs up to Karma and he sent one back.

"What are you all doing together?" I questioned.

"Well. Okuda landed a job in New York and I happened to be on vacation here." Yukiko spoke with her sweet voice that I miss.

"It was a coincidence that we were all on the same plane!" Kaede gleamed. "We decided to rent a hotel altogether for the time being." She added.
The lab door slid open and Shi walked in.

"What are the odds!" I laughed. "It's great to see you guys again."

"Awe? Giving us those words already? I get it, you're busy. Well video chat again later." Kaede waved.

"Bye Nagisa." Both Okuda and Yukiko waved as well and their face on the screen disappeared.

"Friends?" Shi poked my cheek.

"Yes." I nodded my head.

"Don't do that too often here. Don't want to be caught by our seniors." She teasingly warned.

"Of course." I took her words to heart.

With all the fun cleared from my head. I turned to Shi. With her rank, I wonder how much she knows.

"Do you think there's a chance that these artificial humans. We're actually real people once?" I asked.

"Huh? Well there could be a slight possibility. However, there scraps of metal from head to toe." She pointed out the obvious. "Why?"

I shook my head and sighed.

"I don't know, just thinking to myself."

Shi made a regular expression. Of I hope you're not poking your nose in something that you're not supposed to.
••••••
30 minutes later of deciding whether or not to proceed with my assumption of humans becoming robots, I managed to get up to talk to Karma instead.

"What's with that face?" Karma tilted his head. "What's on your mind Nagisa?"

"Do you remember anything before you came here?" I questioned.

"Like before all of this? Now that I think of it. Not that I know of. It's all a blur to me." He replied.

"If I could find information leading up to how you were created. Would you want to know?"

Karma's eyes spoke for themselves. Even if I knew how he would reply. I still listened.

"If that was the case. Wouldn't it be better to not know? What if you discover something that you wish you never knew about?"

There he went. I was afraid he would say that. Despite his words. I couldn't just shake off the feeling that there's much more to all of this.

"However, if it's you. How could I say no?" Karma revealed such a bright smile that it got my heart skipping. "If you're so sure that there is something worth revealing. By all means Nagisa. I'll support you on the way."

I hadn't taken into consideration of how he would actually feel about it. He and I are both delusional to reality. My fantasy of wanting reality in both of us.