Chapter 2

The world began to faze soon after his body hit the bed. It wasn't unusual for sleep to claim him this quickly as his days were mostly filled with a vast amount of activities that ranged from school to work at the W.O.C. But his sleep was dreamless, no visions or fragments of the memory that had possessed his mind had made their way back. When he awoke it was to the morning light that had sneaked into his room, only to notice he had overslept. Kenji leaped from grogginess to wide-awake in mere seconds as he rushed to get dressed and hurried to pack his lunch. With a few muffled curses he managed to get on his bicycle and head over to school.

His mind was set back in track with his usual weekend duties and so all thoughts of the memory were pushed aside. Kenji's work in the W.O.C. was vital, and more so when Yugo would leave in his seemingly random trips around the world.

It wasn't until Sunday night, a week since his forgotten memory decided to awaken, that Alice was organizing the last of the files when she turned to Kenji.

"Kenji, don't stay too late. We can finish this tomorrow." Alice's voice called out to him.

Kenji fixed his gaze upon the former nurse and smiled.

"I won't."

Alice gave him a skeptical look.

"I promise." Kenji quickly added.

"Okay, if you need anything don't hesitate to call Gado or me." Alice was grabbing her purse when she turned once more towards Kenji.

"If something is wrong, you know you can talk to us, ok?" Her face was stern and her bright brown-reddish eyes held that knowing look that would make Yugo squirm where he stood.

Kenji wavered before replying, "I know. Thank you."

Alice shook her head as she hid a smile that threatens to escape her lips. "Oh Kenji, you might have many of the other adults here fooled, but I know you're still young and sometimes don't feel secure to share your thoughts. But I assure you, sometimes it's better to talk to someone than keep it bottled up inside. Regardless of how absurd it might seem."

Kenji relaxed muscles he wasn't aware he was straining and nodded weakly. "Goodnight, Alice. Be careful."

Alice did not answer immediately and simply nodded offering a few parting words.

Kenji worked for the next few hours only to stop when his eyes demanded some rest from the bright screen. The constant strain of concentrating on his vision was now responsible for the beginning of a massive headache. Uriko would have made fun of his vision by calling him 'mole-boy' and that would have lighten the mood of this dull office.

Kenji arose from the desk chair and stretched his limbs as he stared out into the city. It was darker than normal, the stars and moon had been covered by thick blankets of gray clouds.

A soft tapping on the glass windows he hadn't heard before caught his attention.

It was raining, and Kenji had been so lost in his work he had not realized there was a storm slowly forming outside.

He dropped back into his chair and stared out into the midnight sky, how many nights had he spent staring out into the sky like this? Waiting or searching for his target in the dead of night. Rain, snow, or a mild storm such as this was no reason to seek shelter, not unless he had finished his task.

As his senses slowly gave away as he was quickly lost in thought, his mind reviving memories he had never truly forgotten but never quite wished to remember. Like a mosaic of images, they slowly became more defined, at first nothing made much sense, the faces were blurred and the voices heard faint, he then began to recall seemingly random memories.

The rain had no ceased for days, and although it wasn't a storm, the weather was anything but pleasant for exterior activities. Kenji sits alone at the balcony that surrounds the enormous dojo in a perfect square. The weather might not have been good for heading out, but it was a beautiful and relaxing sight to watch as the drops hit the leafy landscape before him.

"Boy." A voice calls out to Kenji, who immediately turns to face the man.

"It is time." The middle aged man, wearing a simply uniform that marked his rank ―a low rank, Kenji notes― says as he turns back into the dojo. Kenji is still very young, barely learning how to write and read and already expected to behave like an adult.

Hours later, after the deed was done, Kenji finds he dislikes storms, the way the rain amplifies the blood that stretches across the dim lit alleyway, the way it makes his dirty uniform stick to his skin as it pulls the stains of blood closer in a sick embrace. Kenji dislikes the thunder for reminding him of the screams the victim had made when he plunged his claws into his flesh.

"Well done." His master says as he places a hand on his small shoulder. A gratifying feeling should have swelled up in Kenji's chest, but he is unused to the practical aspect of being as assassin and the theory has little effect to prepare his young mind for the scene before him.

Even though he meticulously washes his filthy hands the smell of blood lingers, he doesn't sleep well for the next month that follows.

Lighting lighted the sky and Kenji was startled when the thunder soon followed, replacing the silence with its rumble. Kenji felt silly as he quickly lifted his hands and stared at them.

Clean and pale hands.

He snorted at his irrationality and continued to gaze out the glass panel. He had not recalled memories like those in a long time and Kenji felt he could do so now that he had grown older and more emotionally stable. Another lightning strike lit the room and he recalled why this particular memory was relevant…

What had happened to him when Busuzima found him came as no surprise, he was a tool for Tylon and Busuzima did what he would do with any other tool that wasn't working correctly, "fix it".

Kenji knows all too well the pain that comes along with the feelings of hopelessness and fear, when the mad scientist would strap him down like an animal, as he would linger to see the results of his insane experiments all the while finding delight at the child's expense when his twisted work ended as a success.

For what seems ages Master Kato doesn't return and Kenji is left at the mercy of the madman. His mind wonders to different scenarios of what was to happen next, but his favorite is where he manages to escape and talks to the silly girl trapped in that cell.

It is ludicrous, because they had not even spoken for half-an-hour before he got pulled away, and besides it had happened a couple of days ago more or less, she could have already forgotten him. But at the same time it feels so logical because he has never been allowed to interact with children his age. He has so many questions running through his mind though at some point it becomes hard to think coherently, but that could have been blamed on the procedure Busizima was performing at the moment. It has never made much sense to Kenji, because all this is above his limited knowledge of science and what-not, but all Kenji does know is that it makes his head hurt and it becomes hard to think. There is a constant voice at the back of his mind that tells him what to do and Kenji finds it hard to not obey it. Only once, a long time ago, he overheard the name of what was being done, something called brainwashing. Kenji, in his child's mind, found that silly because nobody ever washed their brain.

From the corner of his eye he sees Busuzima; his face contorts in anger as he throws around equipment. Although the scientist was clearly yelling, his voice is stifled by the pain that surges his body. His heart is pounding loudly in his ears and his ragged breaths turn to whimper. Kenji is desperately looking for some sort of comfort now― for the ranging scientist and his over-stimulated senses cause his to get anxious― and he only wishes to get away from the freakish man that hovers over him oblivious to the boy's fretfulness.

Yet even through the terrifying ordeal, Kenji is ashamed, ashamed that he is crying ― and were he able to speak― willing to beg for it to stop. His Master would have been furious and disappointed for dishonoring his Master, the School, himself as the heir.

"Well ain't this dandy! Just one session and you manage to crisp the damn sensors. That old bag of bones will never let me hear the end of this…" Busuzima mumbles as he began to take apart the recently upgraded hardware of his equipment in hopes of fixing it himself.

The procedure had been a total failure, leaving Kenji a third of the process in of the brainwashing.

With the strong drugs that had been administered still having adverse effects on his body; his stomach turns upside down as his limbs tremble uncontrollably. But it was his mind that has been the most deteriorated, as if all thought has been obscured by thick fog.

Try as he might, Kenji's mind is almost animalistic in his need to escape.

In a final fit of anger, Busizima unstraps and practically kicks out the child from his small lab room. "I can't work with your whining, go somewhere else to be useless!"

In a desperate attempt to get further away, Kenji forces himself to his feet and drags himself along the walls. His isn't sure of where he is headed, but anywhere was better than next to Busuzima.

Uriko is startled from her semi-sleep by the boy who had run away from her side a few days ago. Their short conversation, well mostly monologue from Uriko's part, had cheered her up slightly, even if it had been painfully short.

He looks like a ghost, his already pale skin a new frightening ghostly white, his eyes dark and sunken as sweat ran down his brow.

Uriko dashes towards the bars of her prison and Kenji gracelessly fall before her. Her panicked eyes search his body for injuries; her hands wretchedly hover over the thick iron bars.

"Kenji!" She yelps as he groans in pain. Uriko sticks her hands out the bars to gently pet his hair. It does little good, but to provide him comfort was perhaps the only thing she could do.

His eyes snap open at her touch and he jerks back taking a few shaky breathes only to slump down once more.

Outside it must be raining, because Kenji can smell the moist and moldy air that somehow slips into the holding cells, probably due to the poor maintenance that is given to these types of places.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you." Uriko whisper as she reached out again, as if the boy before her was an injured animal. This time Kenji allows her to reach him, and draws closer to her. His eyes are dull and Uriko isn't even sure he is listening, but seeing him this distressed makes her equally troubled. Outside there is disarray of sounds, and even through these thick cement walls they could be heard. It is a storm, fitting for the mood that has taken hold of the room.

Lighting must have stuck near because Uriko's prison shakes with the force of the thunder. Her hand tenses as she pets his messy and dirty hair before resuming her relaxing caresses. Even in this ill state Kenji's keen senses can taste the fear that consumes Uriko, she is afraid of the storm and thunder, almost as much as he hated it once when he was much younger. ― And perhaps even pure and innocent.

Kenji fights the urge to fall asleep. He fears he will wake up in that small room again, trapped and tied down. But his body is exhausted and unconsciousness soon claims him. The last thing he sees is a girl crying behind metal bars as she frantically repeats something, something he can't quite make out, but he thinks her lips voice, "Please don't die."

Whatever happened next was a mystery to Kenji; the memory ends there and is followed by an extensiveness of nothing.