"How much of everything that I'm telling you do you believe?"

This was the one question that served to put me off guard. Certainly, I had been rather suspicious when the boy had requested from me a moment of my time. Given how I held a significant role within the Blue Mermaids, this had naturally caused me to put the boy off whilst escaping him by visiting my old Instructor Furushou-sensei.

She had been affected during the latest incident, where a rogue Yokosuka Girl's Marine High School had attacked and sank her ship. The Sarushima as it was had rolled over from the flooding caused, though given how the schools were only assigned dummy torpedoes, this was suspicious in of itself.

To add to my department's worries, the ship in question was believed to be the Tanikaze. The ship had the daughter of a prestigious family as her captain, and that she had attacked her own instructor was damaging the family's reputation. I've had to fend off several angry phone calls and emails from the family heads to bring their daughter back in.

Of course, there was only so much that we Blue Mermaids could do. Recent budget cuts despite Okaa-san's attempts to negotiate with the Board of Directors had eaten heavily into our systems. The last few operating satellites we had were just barely able to get the job done, and there has been news of the Board looking into scrapping our ships.

Which was why when I left Furushou-sensei's room with a heavy heart, I was quite surprised to find that boy again. He was rounding the corner as I closed the door, and as I looked up, he was presenting me with a cup of hot coffee from the hospital's vending machine.

I had tried to turn down his offer, but he insisted, saying that he didn't like coffee anyway. He claimed that he had though I had needed a coffee and had gone to buy one for me. While it was touching, I reminded him that he shouldn't be giving things like this away to people he barely knew.

He just smiled and told me that he knew me from before, but never really got to do anything about it. It was as I was waiting for the lift and sipping the coffee when he mentioned how he and his crew were forever grateful for what I had done for them.

That was when it had clicked for me. I remember starting in surprise, facing him once more as he gave me that face, that sad and forlorn smile that expressed an infinite amount of tiredness, those eyes that closed as he did so, like a person who had given up all hope.

I remember that face.

A badly crippled vessel, flames roaring high into the night sky, a series of explosions like a chain of firecrackers…

A body, mangled and torn.

I had stepped back from the lift then, and asked after his health.

"I live in the hospital now. Always waiting for the day when you would show up. But you never did, until today."

What happened to you?

"A series of unfortunate circumstances, you could say. Since you were there, you would understand more than most would."

That's not really answering the question, young man.

"I know, I know. Well, if it's the injuries list you're after, I've mostly healed up from the shrapnel wounds and fractures. My doctors say that I had a concussion, and while I am glad to be alive and in high operating condition, I have always wondered if my personality had always been like this. Usually I get memories of myself in my dreams, shouting at people or spouting curses every which way. As you can see, my manner of speaking might have changed significantly since then."

What else? Where are the rest of your crew?

"That's the issue, isn't it? Since I was sent here, I haven't managed to find out where everyone else is. All that the people here could tell me was that I'll see them again someday. What they don't know is that I can hear them mentioning how it would be better for such a thing to occur later rather than sooner. Quite odd, don't you think? Munetani-san?"

That's… while I do have a vague idea of where these crew had gone to, I didn't want to be the one to have to break to him the news. Well, he wanted an audience with me, and he managed to get himself one.

"That's right. Other than just thanking you, there is something I need to share with you. It is of strict importance, and it is meant for your ears only. I have directives to never share this information with anyone else but you, lest it falls into the wrong hands. There are others with similar directives as well, though I have yet to contact them yet.

And he might very well be the last one left! All the children known to be involved had been tried for treason and were either serving time in a juvenile hall or in exile. It's a miracle they haven't come for this one yet.

"Maybe so. The thing is, is there any where private enough for me to do so? I am inclined to believe that everything in this hospital has been bugged, in the hopes that they can pick up what I'm saying and put a stop to me before anything else."

"Perhaps we could do it in your room? I promise that I'll keep it strictly confidential and that you'll receive the fullest extent of my protection."

The boy giggled to himself. "Oh my, how forward of you, Munetani-san. But yes, we could go ahead and do it in my room."

Classic male humour.

I followed the boy back down the hallways. We passed several rooms, going past Furushou-sensei's room. As I walked by, I saw her still looking out of the window and at the rain pouring down on the hospital's courtyard.

Up another flight of stairs, taking the first left and the last room down the corridor on the right. It turned out to be a communal ward, yet the boy was the only one in here. The other beds were vacant, a thin layer of dust on them.

In a way, it was rather odd. With the land shortages these days, most public facilities would be packed with people who could not access such facilities at sea. For those on floating cities, they did have their basic facilities, but the most prestigious and most well-funded buildings tended to be on land.

"That's about right. The thing is, even I'm not sure why this ward is kept empty. Apart from occasionally checking in on me, the nurses never say anything. The theories I have regarding this, though, would seem quite far-fetched to you. But to me, they seem like the most likely explanation for everything that has happened so far."

I chuckled lightly, "Oops, guess I let it slip out. Well? What sort of theories do you have?"

We were now one ward away from his ward. As he continued walking, he tilted his head backwards, and I mean literally backwards like his neck was going to break at any moment. "Do you believe in conspiracies? That everything that the government does, that your own superiors do, are all small parts of the machinations of something infinitely more complex? Because if you don't, then you won't believe anything that I say."

"Well, I can't say I do… It depends on the context, I guess."

"Hmm… for a first timer, fair enough, I guess."

In an undertone that I barely managed to catch, he murmured, "God knows what we went through back then."

Having reached his room, the boy sat himself on the bed. Gesturing to the bedside chair, he waited as I pulled it out from the bedside so that I could face him. Dusting it off, I smoothed out my skirt as I settled in it. The hard plastic was something familiar, comfortable yet firm.

"Well, to start off…" he paused, tapping a finger to his cheek. "I guess I need to tell you everything from the start. Back when I was serving on board my boat, there was this crew member. He was for some reason was almost always on the bridge. Instead of hanging out with the other crew members of his same department when off shift, he would either be on the bridge talking with the other officers… In fact, he never really went anywhere else.

"The thing is, his family is incredibly linked to this story that I'm going to tell you, so bear with the contextual knowledge for now. His father was married to a scientist that eventually would be involved in the Gene Transfer Experiment…"