//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - First of many Trials and Twins ask questions. // Story: Hexan, the Phantom Thief // by Hexan Tronic //------------------------------// 04/18 Mon Nothing major happened on the way or at school today, so after school, I took a moment to decide how I want to go about things. So, I decided to take a moment, and discuss my options with Abigale, while still sitting at my desk. “Alright, I think there are only really two options for today. Go into the Palace, or check in with that doctor.” I explain readily. “Hmm… To be honest, while I would say go into the Palace to work on it as fast as we can, I think we need to take our time, prepare a bit more.” Abigale suggests, resulting in me nodding. “My thoughts exactly, so doctor?” I ask. “Doctor.” She replies with a nod. As I get up to leave, a thought crosses my mind. “Should I check out the library first? Just in case.” I ask, heading to the staircase. “Probably, couldn’t hurt.” She agrees. So, I head on up. When I walk inside, the girl behind the Librarian’s desk calls me over. “This is your first time here, right? I tend to recognize all the regulars.” She says, looking me over. “Yeah, it’s the first chance I’ve had to stop by.” I explain, rubbing the back of my head. “You wouldn’t happen to be the transfer, would you? You match the description…” She mutters, while asking the question, to which I just nod. “Well, while I don’t particularly have anything against you being here, some of the other students might. So just be careful, okay?” She says, looking concerned. “I’ll be alright, thanks for the concern. Do you have any books you recommend?” I ask, hoping she does, so I don’t have to go looking. “Hmm… Maybe ‘Memoirs of an Assistant’? It’s a book about a man who helps people with the strangest of things, and is fairly engaging. It’s unfortunately a work of fiction, but I still like it.” She suggests, sounding a bit excited. “Sounds good, mind if I borrow it for a while?” I ask, noticing the book on the desk. “Sure, just make sure to return it in the condition you took it.” She explains, handing me the book after stamping it. Once I put the book in my bag, I head on out to the station and prepare for the ride home. --------------------- I managed to get back to Yongen without incident, and make my way to the clinic as planned. Inside I see Ishi-sensei behind the counter, which I guess is usual for her. So I walk on up. ‘I should ask about the “enhancing drug” i heard her talking about the other day…’ When she hears me walk up, she looks up from her paperwork. “Oh, hello again. I didn’t expect to see you so soon. What are you here for today?” She asks, looking up at me curiously. “Well, I wanted to ask about whatever that suited guy was talking about. While I did talk him down, I doubt all he said was false.” I explain. “Hmm, I figured you were going to ask about that at some point. Head into the back.” She says, before I walk into the exam room and take a seat on the stool, while she walks in from behind the curtain to the reception desk, and leans against the door. “So, you're curious about that ‘slander’ as you called it a couple days ago?” She asks, to which I nod. “Well, while I’m not creating any ‘super-drugs’, some of the stuff I do make has some strong effects.” “Anyway, I wasn’t getting the results I wanted from them, so I was going to dispose of them. That’s about all there is to it.” She finishes explaining. “So, why do you want to know about such stuff?” She asks while looking at me closely. “You don’t seem to be very athletic, so it can’t be for that.” She says, having appraised me thoroughly. “I need the assistance with my exams. I’m getting too fatigued just looking over the books for hours. Even Boss’s coffee doesn’t help.” I say, quickly making it up as I go. “Hmm… Well, that could work, but it isn’t an ideal solution. Are you sure this is what you want to try?” She asks, looking serious. “Yes. Although I would like to help you out in some way, if you’re going out of your way to help me.” I say, looking slightly up at her. She seems to take a moment to think about my offer. “While this medicine is pretty expensive, I could be persuaded to give you a discount, as long as you help me out. Out of curiosity, do you consider yourself someone with a large amount of stamina?” She finally asks. “Yeah, I’d like to think so.” I replied, deciding if I didn’t, to work on it for Palaces. “That’s good, because I’ve been looking for a young person about your age to help me out. But even after putting an ad in the paper, I haven’t found one. ...Think you're up for the task?” She asks, looking like she is waiting for an answer. “Sure, I have no problems helping you out. Just what would I be doing?” I ask, getting a bit curious. “You’ll be participating in clinical trials for my medicine, as well as helping out around here when I need it. If you can manage that, I’ll happily sell you my medicine.” She finishes explaining, before going off to grab something, coming back a moment later with a glass of red liquid, passing it into my hand. “I don’t want to ask what this is, do I?” I ask, getting an amused shake from her head. After a moment I down the suspicious substance. “Huh…?” She asks, looking a bit shocked. “I can’t believe you actually drank that…” She admits. ‘A bitter, yet sour taste, I can’t really describe it… Yet, nothing I can’t handle’ I think to myself. “Damn… Still doing OK, huh? Not bad, for a high schooler…” She says, before looking worried. That’s when I feel a sharp pain all over, clutching my head as I fall unconscious. The last thing I hear before going out cold is her voice. “...Welp, guess that’s it then…” She says, before I’m dead to the world. --------------------- Igaku Ishi’s POV: For a moment, I’m just sitting here, looking at the possibly idiotic young man that drank an experimental medication without any questions. After that moment, I swiftly move him onto the examination bed for tests to make sure he’ll live, because I don’t want to ruin any more lives than I may have already. After a couple tests, I discover the cause of his fainting, and document it, before deciding to wait for him to reawaken for a couple more tests, just in case. After about half an hour, he awakens, although he seems a bit groggy, with glazed over eyes, so I wave my hand by his face to get his attention. “Hey kid, are you feeling okay?” I ask, a little worried. “Just a bit light headed, and still tired. Like when I tore that mask off one time…” He mutters that last part, but I ignore it, since it seems unimportant, even though I think I see his bag shift a bit from his statement. “Can you think clearly?” I ask, hoping he’ll be fine. “Yeah, but it’s a bit slow right now…” He replies. “Alright, well, I just want to run a couple tests, then you can rest a bit more before heading home, alright?” I ask, making sure to get his permission first. At his nod, I get to work, beginning by taking his jacket off, giving easier access to his arms, after which I test his blood pressure and take a sample, with his permission of course.  Both seem normal, so I move on, sliding his purple shirt up and checking his heart, which seems to be beating at a slightly slower than normal rate, which makes sense if he’s tired. After a couple more tests, I help him slide his jacket back on, before having him lay down, as well as giving him some sleeping pills. “Here, these will help you sleep for a bit.” I say, passing over a glass of water. After he downs the pills, he is out almost instantly. ‘Huh, guess I’ll have to wait until he awakens again to talk about more clinical trials.’ I think to myself, before turning to work on the formula for the next batch. While I’m working, I hear a rustling behind me, and turn around to see some sort of puppy curled up on the boys chest, watching me. I tilt my head, wondering where it could have came from, before noticing his bag, which is open and tipped over. When I take a look inside, I see, to my surprise, a knife and gun. “What’s a kid doing, walking around with those?!” I ask myself, taking a closer look, picking up the gun. ‘I’m glad I left the door locked.’ I think to myself looking it over, while realising it’s just a model, letting out a sigh of relief. “It’s just a model. Maybe he’s interested in these kinds of things. But that doesn’t explain why it’s in his bag and not at home…” I continue talking out loud, a bad habit of mine. After looking it over a bit more, I put it away. As I sit back at my desk, I notice his puppy looking at me, looking a bit guilty, I think, so I roll my chair over and pet them. “It’s alright, you didn’t mean to knock them out. Maybe be careful next time, alright?” I suggest, while, I’m guessing it’s a she, is leaning into the petting. After a couple minutes of that, she falls asleep on his chest, and I go to continue my work. After about half an hour, I hear some light groans behind me, and turn to notice the young man beginning to wake up, so I turn my chair to give him my full attention. As he begins to open his eyes, I gently move his puppy to my lap. --------------------- Hexan Tronic’s POV: When I began to awaken, I felt a weight on my chest, which felt alive. As I tried to open my eyes, it was taken off of me. So I opened my eyes up to get a look around, and after a moment recalled that I was in the clinic. Looking over at where I feel myself being watched from, I see Ishi-sensei sitting in her chair, with Abigale asleep on her lap. ‘I guess she was the weight I felt.’ I think to myself, slowly sitting up. “How are you feeling?” Ishi-sensei asks, looking at me with a bit of worry. “I’m a tiny bit light-headed, but otherwise I feel fine.” I calmly explain. “That’s good. I was a bit worried when you woke up before. You weren’t entirely conscious at that point. You likened the feeling to ‘After I tore off that mask one time’. No idea what that means, but I get the feeling it meant you were completely wiped.” I mentaly facepalm when she says that. ‘God damn my semi-conscious self!!’ I think, before stretching. “I have no idea what I was talking about. Maybe a dream?” I suggest, sounding casual. “If you say so. You sounded oddly serious but whatever. Either way, I got enough data for now to continue my work. Also, you are fine physically, but I wanted to wait until you awoke to have a short chat.” She explains while idly petting Abigale. “Sure, but when did Abigale get out?” I asked, curious. “Sometime after you fell unconscious the second time, she just went over and curled up on your chest.” She explains. “Alright then. What did you want to talk about?” I ask. “First off, do you still want to help out with this? I know you said so before, but I’m just reconfirming.” She explains. “Of course. You likely have your reasons for working on this. So if helping you will help someone else as well, I have no reason to decline.” I explained readily, causing her to smile. “Thank you. I’ll make sure to add more medicine to my menu for you next time. Onto other matters, when your pup crawled out of your bag, some interesting items fell out.” She explains sounding curious herself, while making me concerned. “It wasn’t what I think it was, was it?” I ask, hoping it wasn’t my Palace weapons. She just nods. “Ah… Those are part of a hobby of mine. I like collecting and working on model weapons and guns, and I recently found out about a good shop for it in Shibuya. The weapons were in my bag because the owner wanted proof of my interest.” I explained, hoping it was believable enough. “That makes some sense. Especially because of the laws about guns here. Ones that look too real could be a problem.” She explains but gets me thinking. ‘Maybe that gun dealer could make some more realistic or custom weapons…’ I think to myself, before nodding. “Yeah. I’ll be more careful about it from now on. Most people wouldn’t be as understanding as you are Ishi-sensei.” I say, fixing up my bag. “Aww, what did I do to be downgraded from chan to sensei?” She asks, a slight smirk on her face. “You did nothing. My puppy on the other hand did not like me “flirting” with you last time.” I explain, rubbing the back of my head. “Oh? Did she get a bit jealous?” She asks, going along with it. “Slapped the back of my head and everything right after.” I nodded as I replied. “Sounds like an overprotective little sister to me.” She explains, carefully moving Abigale from her lap back into my bag. “Yeah, she might just be like that. Either way, I think I should head off, unless there is anything else?” I ask, thinking it’s about time to head out. “I’m about done here myself, so you can head out. Have a good evening, my little guinea pig.” She finishes with a smirk, going back to her work. I softly chuckled to myself and grabbed my bag, before heading out into the alleyways of Yongen, where I noticed how dark it was and hurried home, feeling a bit more gutsy. --------------------- When I walked inside, the first thing I saw was Roast-san behind the counter. “You better be keeping out of trouble. One mistake and your life’s over” He reminds me once again. After the nice reminder, I head upstairs, where Abigale hops out of my bag, once I place it on the table by the banister. “You know, you could use this time to clean the rest of your room.” She points out, yawning, likely having just awoken. “While I could do that, wouldn’t it be better to have a good amount of lockpicks for the Palace?” I ask, looking over at my workbench. “Good point. It’d be a pain if we found a locked chest or door and had none left. Let’s do it!” She cheers, hopping over to the workbench, when I realise that I can’t make any, because I don’t have the materials. “It’s alright. We can just go back to anything that’s locked.” “Alright. Cleaning it is then…” I mutter, beginning the dredded job of cleaning my room. I begin with the shelves beside my bed, which are filled with piles of books. “Politics, law, and philosophy… These all sound like very difficult books…” Abigale mutters, looking through them with me. “Oh! Maybe you’d be able to read this one!” She exclaims, pawing a magazine, with the title, "Yoncha Wanderer". I just look down at her. ‘I feel insulted. Just a bit…’ I think to myself, storing the “book” in my bag with the one from the school library. “You know, I wonder why such a thing was mixed in with all these difficult books… Though I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Abigale mutters to herself, before looking at the mess that was beside the shelves. “This is a good opportunity, and we have a fair amount of time till we need to sleep, so why not deal with this too?” She asks, to which I nod. After a while, of cleaning, we find a potted plant, which is still alive. “Look! That plant is still alive, perhaps we could decorate with it?” She suggests, so I nod and move it beside the shelves, while moving everything else neatly behind the other side of the stairs up here, neatly stacking the books, and neatly storing every other thing that was in the pile of junk. “This is nice. This room feels much more comfortable and lived in now. And now you can decorate it with whatever you want!” Abigale adds, smiling, before she yawns. “Alright, I think it’s about time for bed. Even with the nap in the clinic, we’re both probably still exhausted from the day.” I nod and quickly get changed, before laying in my bed, pulling the covers up. I feel Abigale curl up beside me as I fall asleep. --------------------- Caroline’s POV: While I’m just relaxing, since our Master and the Inmate aren’t here, I decide to go around and look in the other cells, something I haven’t had much chance to do. When I do, I notice something strange. Cells Six to Thirteen are barren, not even a bed or toilet in them, or even the chains of the inmates cell. Cells One to Five mimic the Inmate’s closely, but not exactly. They have chains over them, but the furniture in them are hazy, like they aren’t fully there, but are at the same time. And the final fifteenth cell, which has no number above it, just has a hallway, but we were expressly ordered not to go down there, so I ignored it, and turned to my sister. “Yes, sister?” She asks, having noticed my gaze. “I was just wondering, have you ever taken the time to think about the other fourteen cells in here? I mean, we are only meant to have one Inmate, right? So why so many when we are only using one?” I ask her, in one of my rare moments of contemplation. “I have taken the time to think about it, and I have come to two possible conclusions. The first is that they are just decoration, not meant to actually be used. The other conclusion is that we will be housing more inmates in the future, likely during our main Inmates rehabilitation.” She explains, though I notice her eye twitches a bit on the final word. “That makes a fair amount of sense, I mean, about five of them look like they already have an inmate, but they aren’t quite stable, the stuff in them looks fuzzy.” I explain, to which she nods. “I do have a theory, but I would like to keep it to myself until it is either confirmed or denied.” Justine explains calmly. “Alright. If you think it’s best, I won’t push the issue. But it does involve the Inmate personally, right?” I ask as a guess. “Correct.” She says, before going silent, probably to think. I decide to do the same, taking a seat against one of the walls to rest and think.