"Taichi..." Kirks called out, "She's here."
Taichi Fujisaki looked in Kirks direction and noticed there was a girl hiding behind him.
"It's alright." Taichi told her, "I won't hurt you."
The girl peeked her head out some more, but quickly retracted.
"She's very shy..." Kirks told his friend.
Taichi got on his knees so that he and the girl were around the same height.
"You're Torri, right?" Tachi asked the girl, "I'm Dr. Fujisaki. It's nice to meet you."
The girl peek her head far enough to see her whole face. She had short black hair and brown eyes.
"I'm going to take care of you from now on." Taichi said, "Is that okay?"
Torri stared at the doctor for a good while before looking at the ground. After giving her a warm smile, Taichi got back up and faced Kirks.
"Are you sure she misbehaves at her parents' house?" he asked him.
"That's what the report said," Kirks told Taichi, "But I don't know how accurate it was."
"Hmm... I wonder..."
"What is it, Taichi?"
"Do you mind giving Torri a check up?"
"Okay, but what for?"
"...Asperger Syndrome."
Kirks handed Taichi the results.
"You were right, my friend." he told him, "Torri does indeed have Asperger Syndrome."
"That explains her poor social skills and the fact that her parents says she misbehaves." Taichi said, "They just didn't understand what the poor girl was going through."
"Is a place like this really okay for a girl like her?" Kirks asked.
"Well, this place is new to Torri. That alone makes it uncomfortable for her." said Taichi.
"So what do you plan to do?" his friend asked.
"I'm going to learn as much as I can about Torri so I can help her fell more comfortable around here." Dr. Fujisaki said.
Kirks put a hand on Taichi's shoulder.
"If anyone can do that, you can, my friend." He said as he walked away soon after.
"Here, Torri. Have this."
Taichi gave Torri a book. The girl held the book and tilted her head in wonder.
"It's a diary." The doctor told the girl, "You write how you feel in it."
Torri looked at the doctor with big brown eyes.
"Do you know how to write?" Taichi asked.
The girl nodded.
"Whenever you feel like you need to write your thoughts, just use that book once and a while." Taichi told her.
Torri was fast asleep. Taichi carefully entered her room so he wouldn't disturb her and picked up her dairy.
'I'm sorry to invade your privacy, Torri...' he thought, 'But I need to learn a little more about you.'
He left her room and looked in her dairy to discover her writing contrasted greatly from her speech. She wrote in complete sentences, and was very honest. From what he read, Torri was frightened, and even she thought she was a bad child. Tears fell from Taichi's eyes.
'You're not a bad child, Torri...' he thought, 'I'll make sure you know that...'
Taichi Fujisaki made it a daily routine to check Torri's Dairy every night. The more he read, the more he learned about her. Kirks soon came up to him.
"You know, Torri's birthday is tomorrow." he said.
"Yes, it is." said Taichi.
"Got anything special planned?" Kirks asked.
"I most certainly do." Taichi told his friend.
"Happy birthday, Torri." Taichi Fujisaki said, as he handed her a gift.
Torri took the gift and looked at Taichi.
"Go ahead and open it." He told her.
Torri stared at him some more and finally proceeded to open the gift. She let out a gasp when she saw what it was. It was a large bird plushy. A Robin to be exact.
"You like birds, right Torri?" Taichi asked her.
"...I love birds..." she said.
That was the first time Torri has ever spoken to Taichi, or anyone in the lab for that matter.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get you a real one." Taichi joked.
"...I still love it..." Torri said, not understanding that it was only a joke.
Taichi smiled at the fact that Torri was finally talking to him.
"I have another gift for you, Torri." he said, as he got his laptop.
He began showing her images of different kinds of birds.
"Birdies!" Torri said unusually loudly.
She looked at the images in awe. There were so many she never seen before.
"There are different kinds of birds all around the world, Torri." Taichi told the girl.
Torri let out a laugh as they continued to view the birds.
"That one looks funny." she said.
"It's called a 'Toucan.'" Taichi told her, "They live in tropical areas."
"It looks so funny." Torri said, "But it's still cute."
Torri made more comments about the birds she saw. She also asked questions when she wanted to learn more about them. She even told Taichi how much she'd like to fly alongside the birds. All with a bright smile on her face. It touched Taichi's heart to finally see a smile on Torri's face. Just from exposing her to birds, he was making remarkable progress. After seeing the bird images, they had cake.
"This is so yummy!" Torri cried.
"Have you never had cake before?" Taichi asked.
"No..." Torri answered.
"Fifteen years, and you never had cake until now? What a shame!"
Taichi left Torri alone after a while, giving Torri some time to write in her diary. Soon, however, she was getting sleepy. Taichi came back to tuck her in.
"Goodnight, birthday girl." he said, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Mr. Fujisaki..." Torri said, getting his attention again, "Thank you. This was the best birthday I ever had."
Taichi smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that." he said, as he gave her one final goodnight and left the room.
Kirks came by soon after to check on his friend.
"That went well." he said.
"It sure has." Taichi said.
"Are you going to check on her dairy tonight?" Kirks asked.
"No." said Taichi, "I don't think I need to do that anymore."
"You really made her smile today." said Kirks, "I think she's taking a real liking to you."
"I'm glad to you think that." Taichi said, "She's a wonderful girl. Her parents were very foolish to give her up. Although... As selfish as this sounds... I'm glad they did. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in my life..."
"I haven't seen you this happy since Chihiro was still alive..."
Kirks covered his mouth. He realized that was an insensitive thing to say.
"Sorry... About that."
"It's fine, Kirks." Taichi told him, "I know you meant no harm."
After some thought, Taichi asked his friend
"Do you think she see's me as a father?"
"We'll, you're definitely a better father figure then her biological one." Kirks assured him.
"Still..." Tachi said, "She seems too sweet of a girl to disown her real father... She probably still blames herself for her parents giving her up..."
Kirks put his hand on Taichi's shoulder.
"Well, like I said before, you're a better father then her real one could ever be. You actually took the time to get to know her and to get closer to her. I think it's safe to say Torri thinks of you as a kind of father, even if she's not willing to admit it."
"...Mr. Fujisaki? Can I call you 'Father'?"
The question Torri asked caught Taichi by surprise. Tears began to flow down his cheeks. Torri misinterpreted this as making him upset.
"I'm sorry..." she said, "I won't call you that if you don't..."
But before she could finish, Taichi was embracing her.
"Of course..." He said, "Of course you can, Torri."
Taichi felt her trembling. It finally occurred to him that she was sensitive of being touched, let alone being hug. He was about to retract his embrace, but Torri was already hugging him back before he can. So he continued to hold her, and he held her long.
Taichi spent all the time he could with Torri whenever he wasn't working. She opens up to him more each day. She talks more, smiles more, and laughs more. Moments spent with Torri was like a dream to Taichi. It was like having a second chance to raise a child.
No one was prepared for a day like this. The lab was attacked by an army of Monokumas led by a smaller one with a more advanced A.I. After letting out a strange, cartoonish laugh, the lead Monokuma walk towards Taichi.
"Where are you hiding the girl?" he asked him.
He must have been talking about Torri.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He lied.
"Don't play dumb." the Monokuma demanded, "I know all about Torri. I know how her parents gave her up for being so odd and hard to handle, and I know she blames herself for being let go...And I know she's probably fallen into the depths of despair right now. And that's why Junko has chosen her."
"Chosen her for what?" Taichi asked.
"To be part of the Anti-Kamukura Project." said the monochrome bear, "You see, New Hope's Peak is making some kind of Deus Ex-Machina known as the Kamukura Project, which is said to be the Ultimate Hope for the world. This could ruin Junko's plans to plunging this world into despair. So we're going to turn Torri into an evil counterpart that's on the side of despair."
"Well, you wasted your time." Taichi said, "She's not here."
"I see we have to do this the hard way, then..." Monokuma said.
He began walking around and came across a door he found suspicious.
"She's in there, isn't she?" the bear asked.
"N-no...!" Taichi lied.
"That wasn't very convincing." said Monokuma, "Tell you what. You can chose Torri's fate. You can either let her become a despair... Or you can let her die."
Taichi eyes widened as Monokuma started to laugh again.
"Have I gotten your attention, doctor? You see, If you don't cooperate, then we'll just kill he girl right in front of you and find someone else to turn into an Ultimate Despair."
"You're bluffing..." Taichi said.
"Nope! Here's a list."
Monokuma handed Taichi a piece of paper. On it was several names, including Torri Feiji. The names before hers were all crossed out.
"The names before Torri's were the chosen ones who's guardians didn't cooperate." the bear said, "I'll let you guess what happened to those kids."
Taichi trembled and fell to his knees.
"So what would you rather have done to her?" the bear asked again, "Death or despair?"
Taichi already had to witness Chihiro die from illness. He couldn't bare watching them kill Torri. But he couldn't bare the idea of her becoming like Junko, neither. He didn't know what to do.
"Need some more motivation?" Monokuma asked, "When we kill her, it won't be quick and painless. No, she'll suffer greatly, and she'll beg for us to kill her. And once I'm satisfied with her despair, only then will she have my permission to die. So... What will it be, doctor?"
And that did it. That was enough to finally break him. Flashbacks of Chihiro suffering from his illness rushed through his head. It was a nightmare he couldn't bare to see again.
"...You win." he said, "You can use her for your little project."
"Good man!" Monokuma said as he handed him some blueprints, "Now, I need you and your scientist friends to put that machine together. And we will double check to see if it's all done correctly, so don't try anything funny with the machine, or else we'll just go with the alternative way of bringing her despair, and I'm sure you don't want that, right doctor?"
Taichi didn't say a word. His expression alone was enough for Monokuma to know he understood.
"Tell you what..." the bear told the doctor, "When you finish the machine, and everything checks out, I'll give you one day to spend with Torri before we alter her. That'll be my gift to you for cooperating."
Monokuma then had two bigger Monokumas help the doctor up.
"Well, then. Let's get started. We've got a lot of work to do."
To be continued...