CHAPTER 14

"… must say… impressed…"

"… sound surprised."

"On the contrary, doctor… knew you… the best… it's just… never cease to amaze me…"

"Oh! I love… flattery… such a gentleman… be a dear… tell that pig…"

"He will… informed. I'll visit… he returns…"

"Is… working on the next series?"

"Bigger one…"

"That… fff… pig… shhh…"

"Now, now…"

"Yes, yes!"

Something fuzzy moved out of his view.

"What… you think? Satisfied? Think you can control him now?"

"Mm… need… test it."

"You don't seem… trustworthy of… work."

"…"

"Well of course he looks stoned… What do you think I've been doing for… past three days?"

The muffled conversation washed over him, every word, one after the other thrown into oblivion, completely forgotten.

"Is he in there?"

Caught up in his little world that kept him warm and safe, Takeo didn't want to be anywhere else. It was peaceful and he felt good and right.

"… won't remember anything we said… currently thinking about it."

"It?"

"The thing you needed, Krantz."

"What's the story?" Krantz asked while slowly moving his hand in front of Takeo's colourless face to check for any reaction.

The kid's eyes were half-lidded, sluggishly moving, but not responding to the outside stimuli. He knew his eyes were black, but Krantz could tell the pupils were unnaturally dilated.

Every time he'd blink, Krantz would notice how red and swollen his eyelids were, suggesting Takeo wasn't shedding tears of agony just in the first hour of his torture. (Unexpectedly or not, the leader of the DA5 stayed in the corridor, on the other side of the door, eavesdropping.)

It wasn't a sign of worry or some last minute change of heart – Krantz wanted to know how Dr Aris will react to a probable failure and whether he will be blamed for it. It was good to be prepared and have an elaborate excuse ready, especially when she flips like she did in the maze. (The woman was awfully grumpy since the incident, which made Krantz have low-key panic attacks whenever she'd call his name.)

The other reason was the fact that Takeo had survived the first twenty minutes of the procedure, awakening his curiosity and hope for the success of the experiment. An hour in, Krantz had a gut feeling he'll be eating that dish after all; his gut was rarely wrong. Knowing his hide was safe, Krantz could leave the bitch to continue with the dirty work.

Despite being aware of what to expect, despite being incredibly excited for the next stage of the DA5 project – Krantz couldn't help but be somewhat disturbed by Takeo's appearance. And that was saying something, considering he'd seen things no man would believe to be true.

"I am his baby sister Teira," said Dr Aris as if it made sense. "And you see, I'm very sick."

"More than you know." Krantz thought glancing over to her who kept combing Takeo's hair as she continued to speak.

Dr Aris had brought many things in the room on the second day of brainwashing. She looked like a little girl going at her friend's house for a sleep over. Krantz could imagine her combing the boy's hair while hissing lies like a snake into his ear.

"We were a happy family once, until our father left us for another woman. Our mother had a nervous breakdown and died. Soon after I caught a horrible, incurable disease." She brushed the long hair in monotone manner. "We were both young when we lost our parents. Big brother dropped out of school so he could care for me and earn money by working at restaurants. Alas, our family was never rich and his poor income couldn't possibly pay for all the medications and bills. Despite our misfortune, big brother never stopped trying for me, he never thought of abandoning me like mother and father did and that's why I love him more than anything in the world. The only one who loves him like that."

At one moment Krantz thought Takeo reacted to her words. He knew the kid was alive; if he were less observant, he'd surely mistake him for a dead man or, at least, a paralysed one. (Takeo was moving, tough. The small inconspicuous movements of the fingers, slow shifting of his body, gesturing with his lips like he was having a mute conversation with someone invisible – it was all there. Drained of his energy Takeo appeared to be dreaming awake.)

"One day big brother got home from work and there was Yuri in my bedroom," Dr Aris said fully enthralled by her fairy-tale.

"The plot thickens." Yuri was smiling.

"You're a villain sent by the Union to take me for some dreadful experiment."

"Villainous role is to my tastes; never was a fan of predictability inbred with the righteous side." Yuri corrected his glasses, amusement clear in his voice.

"Big brother couldn't let that happen, of course. He begged you to reconsider. Teira was small and fragile, she was sick, she couldn't possibly survive the strain of experiments." Dr Aris was patting Takeo's soft, silky head. "If that's so, you said to him, then there's no reason for your sister's existence."

"Oh, dear, I think you've nailed me."

"I know, right?" She leaned over Takeo and pressed their temples together. "My dear brother offered you everything we had so you'd leave me alone and, as every evil guy would, you refused."

"I have a feeling I know how the story ends."

"Shush, Yuri, don't spoil it. I love this part the most." She pulled Takeo in a tight hug. "Our eyes met and at that moment I knew my brother will go in my stead. I tried to stop him, telling him it didn't matter what they'll do to me since I'm already as good as dead, but he wouldn't listen. You were doubtful at first when Takeo offered himself, but after some thought you've agreed. Takeo asked you to allow him to visit his sister while she still had time. And you said that if Takeo proves his worth, Teira will be taken under the Union's care where she will receive the best medical attention in the world. Scientists at the Union could even find the cure for Teira's disease, depending on Takeo's loyalty.

"Needless to say, big brother agreed in a heartbeat." Dr Aris added in a childish giggle.

"And he believes in this?" Krantz asked hiding his disbelief.

"Completely." She was so sure of herself.

"I commend you for your imagination and hard work. However, I fear the story lacks details and suffers from small illogicality," said Krantz with great caution. Still, it was better to point out the faults than suffer from it later.

"I must agree. Choosing a sick meat for experimenting, doctor?"

"It doesn't have to be logical nor correct." Surprisingly, she was not angry. She seemed to be having fun. "It doesn't need to be complex nor reasonable to be emotionally engaging. Taking the details from real memories, knowing what your main actor will do and how he'll feel is more than enough to make a convincing story."

"Real memories?" Krantz asked.

"Big brother here actually has a sibling." She grabbed Takeo's jaw and lifted his head.

"Oh, a twist," Yuri sighed. "Don't know if I'm thrilled or pissed."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Yuri. He has never even met the child, didn't even know the gender of it."

"And you're saying the brat will do anything for someone he's never met?" It was more of an opinion than a question.

"My baby Takeo is a real piece of work, Krantz. I honestly think we had hit a jackpot with this one." Krantz knew Dr Aris can be really creepy without even having an intention of being so. The way she nuzzled the boy reminded him once again how grateful he was for her lack of affection towards him.

"Whatever. Just wake him the hell up," Krantz thought to himself. It was unusual for him to have… goose bumps along his flesh. (He knew well how being shell-shocked looked like, he knew what PTSD and nervous breakdown was, he knew of and used manipulation himself, he had seen what drugs – regular or the Union's – can do, he had witnessed the results of many experiments failed and successful and he had dealt with many unhinged and doped subjects.

Being in a presence of an officially brainwashed human was a first for him; it was a first for the Union too. This was perhaps the closest they'll ever get in copying the rumoured mind control of nobles. Sure, a lot of subjects had their memories removed, some of them were reconditioned and made amenable like Tao, but this… This was something else.

Takeo wasn't even awake enough to show the signs, yet Krantz knew he didn't want to get involved with it more than he had to.

Guess he was just too old-fashioned for the art of brainwashing.

"Aside from the fact that this sister loves her brother, how is she different from those people from Sapporo?" Yuri questioned.

"Why Yuri, she's dependent of him." She answered as if it was more than obvious and enough of a reason. (After these three days she did know Takeo better than anyone, so…)

"So… How much did you erase?" Yuri asked.

"What I've just told you became his life; everything else is gone," she said. "He remembers most of his time at the Union with a few modifications of certain events, of course. He knows of Dr Aris, but he knows me as Teira."

"That sounds like there could be many blanks in his memory. Is he going to notice?"

"Oh, there are, but he won't be aware of them, or rather…" Her lips were resting on Takeo's ear, her words were meant for the boy and him alone, even though he didn't appear to be able to hear anything. "He won't think about them."

"Is Teira already under our care?" Yuri wanted to know.

"Takeo proved to be useful in the maze. As we agreed, Teira has the best doctors at her disposal." She was practically singing from joy. "Which also means, one wrong move and Teira gets under the microscope."

"What if he wants to see the sister?" Krantz said.

"Then we'll arrange the meeting. It will serve as a nice opportunity to check up on him. See if there are any relapses or recovering memories."

"And if there are?"

"I still have some of that drug left, though I'm not sure whether there will be a need for it at all. Worst case scenario, we quit the act altogether and you suck him dry." She smiled at him.

Krantz could definitely live with that: "What do I tell the others?"

"I'll leave that decision to you." She was really in a good mood, he couldn't recall the last time she was beaming like this. "If you do share that knowledge with them, please advise them to pretend like they're oblivious of it; we don't need any triggers. I want to follow the transformation through the end."

"Understood." Krantz nodded. Telling others would open many interesting possibilities, not to mention it would be so fucking fun to tease and harass the brat.

However, Krantz was not rash. He'll have to measure all of the pros and cons before making a choice. He will have to tell them something, though. No matter how dumb Shark appeared to be or how uninterested Hammer was, they were both smart enough to notice the brat didn't have a bloody sister a couple of days ago.

"What is your next move, doctor?" Yuri asked.

"Prepping my baby for iris implant surgery." She was observing Takeo's face, tracing her intruding fingers across his flesh however she pleased. "Do some finishing touches on Tao and then Krantz can have them." She jerked Takeo's head to the side and brushed the thin strands of dark hair out of his sleepy eyes. "What do you say, Yuri, blue or green?"

Giving Takeo lances that enabled him night vision was a stroke of genius; using that as an excuse to play with colours was stupid. Krantz could never understand this insane fixation on looks. Cosmetics were the least important thing when it came to raw power. Since he missed the window of opportunity to casually leave these two psychos with their toy, now he had to listen to them waste the precious time. He sometimes got the feeling he was the only one on a schedule. The world can't wait much longer.

"Blue," said Yuri. Krantz spent enough time with the blond to know he didn't really care either, yet his act was flawless. "It will go nicely with the reddish shine of his hair. You see how the colour changes in the light?"

"Hmm…"

"Also, blue will go well with his personality."

"Ah! Ice blue. I like that." Dr Aris finally let the boy go.

"Thank you."

"Oh, and this!" She pulled gingerly at her silver earrings. "We should match, being siblings and what not."

"I'll arrange a visit to your jeweller."

"Alright, but make it tomorrow afternoon. I'm dead tired."

"As you wish."

Tao woke up to the playful tunes of a song he didn't know. He recognised the distinct humming of a husky voice immediately, which made him relax once again against the unusually soft pillow. In that daze, it almost got him convinced he was not in his room. While he lazily explored the grey ceiling, the sweet humming continued lulling him back to sleep.

Tao was alive and she was here with him. Satisfied.

This was perhaps the first time in forever that his mind kept silent, letting him rest by her side and enjoy the lullaby. This will be the moment he'll cherish forever.

Tao couldn't really fall asleep, but he could pretend; being woozy and a bit disoriented helped a great deal. He moved his head a little, once again surprised how comfortable the cushion felt against his cold skin. The image of her fiery hair was fuzzy to his eyes. It didn't matter – Tao could feel her weight on the bed, her hips touching his. She was really here.

And she was doing something, her attention elsewhere, her back turned to him. Something felt strange. There was a peculiar sensation. Tingling. She pulled at something and, oddly enough, he felt the responding tug from the region of his own shoulder. It wasn't painful, even though he recalled her saying he might be experiencing some pain after the surprise was done. Tao couldn't even describe it as unpleasant, it was just… confusing.

And somehow familiar. The shape… He knew that shape she held with such care in her hands.

Hands…

She was inspecting an arm while murmuring the lyrics of a song. A pale arm with nicely defined muscles had a hand larger than hers, with five long fingers. It was precisely how a human hand should look like. She untwisted the fingers, the hand resting in her warm palm. He could feel the tingling heat spreading through the limb and reaching his beating chest. He felt the wiggling of the fingers, her own brushing over the black polished nails.

She pressed the hand between hers, taking it into what Tao could only see as an affectionate embrace. The touch… He could feel the touch, the one he knew so well, but it felt so different this time in so many ways.

His fingers moved. (His…?) Of course. That was his arm she was holding and he felt it. And he could touch her too; squeeze that small hand, pull it closer, gently, slowly and he could never let go now and…

Tao saw her turning to him. Her… It was a woman… Not that woman.

Everything was wrong – her face, the way her eyes twinkled when she looked down at him, the way her hair fell over her slender frame and tickled his forehead. It wasn't Dr Aris clasping his hand and even though the stranger's appearance was engulfed in fog he felt nothing but genuine happiness of belonging. Such a foreign feeling, Tao didn't believe he could experience something so powerful anymore but he did.

Tao was safe and snug in those arms.

He then realised his free hand was sheepishly tugging on bedsheets as if it was searching for something… Someone. The rational part of his mind knew there was no one else beside him and the woman in the room, yet Tao was still expecting to find someone sitting on the other side of the bed holding his hand.

It was a bittersweet emotion that shock his soul. There was so much happiness yet Tao was so very much disappointed that the place near him was empty.

An old wound reopened on his heart and Tao sighed, not understanding why he felt this way. Hearing his name being called was a great distraction from the pain.

"Tao." Dr Aris repeated seeing how the boy was not all there. Drowsiness was expected after the operation, not to mention that Tao was most certainly overwhelmed by the spectacular surprise. "Look at me, Tao. How are you feeling?"

Tao took some time to focus on her face, like he wasn't sure where he was supposed to be looking. He tightened the grip, his hands cupped around hers, cradling her with such tenderness as if she was made of glass. A weak moan escaped his lips, a sound that Dr Aris thought resembled a whine of a baby animal.

"What are you doing, Tao?" She almost snorted when he came closer. If Tao were a cat he'd be purring. "Didn't you hear what I'd asked?"

"Nh…" With his eyes closed and a small smile caught in the corner of his mouth, there was no mistaking it.

Tao was cuddling.

Any other time, Dr Aris would see it as a praise-worthy achievement. (Tricking someone to act this way with her was her favourite hobby, after all.) This time tough… Perhaps it was the way the boy shined so innocently that made her feel nauseous.

"Ugh!" She pushed him suddenly scratching his cheek in the process. "I know you're overjoyed with my surprise, but don't you go disgusting on me!"

Tao looked lost for a moment and then something clicked in his mind – his eyes cleared up, his breath hitched as if he has just woken up from a long dream. He blinked touching the scratch.

He was touching himself… with his arm.

Tao had arms.

He could touch and feel his face. On his own.

"How does that feel?" Dr Aris asked, her anger deflating.

"… Real…" Tao uttered, distracted by the drops of blood from the already healed injury. The red liquid between his fingers felt different from the flesh or the linen. Warm, slippery… He could tell the difference. On his own.

It was blood. His blood. Red blood. Like the one humans had.

"Tsk, you're not very helpful." She mumbled under her breath. "I guess all the nerves and receptors work fine. They better be, I checked five times already. All the conductors seem operational too. Now, we need to only try them out." She glanced over to Tao who was completely engrossed in the fact that hands are used for touching. "Tao!"

He flinched at her scold, instantly pulling the hands away from his flushed face.

The yellow fish eyes peered through him locking his body in place. It wasn't the worst stare she had given him. It was far less menacing from the one that meant she was about to hurt him, but for some reason Tao couldn't suppress the shudder. His mind decided it was a right time to start working at full speed and all of the voices began screaming in his head: "She's gonna take them away!"

"N-no…" Tao whispered when she took a step closer. "Please… I-I'll be good…"

"What are you blabbering about?" Dr Aris was annoyed, her hands resting on her waist. She waved her head like she didn't have time to deal with his whimpering. "You know what? Just shut it, alright?"

Tao nodded, his fingers fidgeting in a surge of anxiety. One of the things that crossed his mind, while nothing but joy occupied his thoughts, was that now when he was finally complete he was just a small step away from being free from Dr Aris. He realised now that the sudden hope was only a side product of the most addicting of all feelings – Tao still very much needed that woman. A part of him was still not ready to break the chains that connected them.

"Focus, Tao, I don't have all day," she said. "Now… As I had promised, I've made you some fabulous arms. Much more resilient than the old ones, supported by the toughest known metal, coated with the first grade bio-skin. No one will be able to tell they're artificial, and you should feel as if they were real." Her mood got better the moment she started explaining the ingenious of her work. She took his limbs and moved them like props.

Tao had to admit they looked fascinating. The skin felt like skin, with the traditional texture and elasticity that probably matched his real one perfectly. He could see the pores and when she brushed her fingers across his forearm, prickly goose bumps broke out across his arm and nape, sending a small, cold shiver through his body. To prove a point she waited for him to notice the way the thin hair rose from the unaccustomed sensation.

"They come with some perks too. Hidden inside are meters of elastic, bullet proof wires that – with a bit of practice – you'll be able to move with your mind. Just like the rest of your body." She turned his arm to observe his wrist. "Wires are quite sharp and flexible. They also serve as conductors allowing the flow of electrical current, which means you'll be able to electrocute your enemies with them."

Tao looked up, meeting her gaze.

"I've installed powerful and lasting batteries in your body for you to use as a source, but you can also collect the electricity from the surrounding areas. That's one of the ways to recharge. You can suck and discharge any current you want, and not just with the wires."

Dr Aris showed him his black fingernails. Tao didn't see it before but now, with her own polished nails being so close, he understood that what was glazing the tips of his digits was not make-up.

"You can literary shock someone with the slightest of touch."

The level of her amusement was alarming. "Black is used for power in all circuits. It's not crucial to my design, it could have been any colour, but I do think it's a nice touch."

Dr Aris stared directly in his eyes and no matter how awkward it was he had no courage to avert his gaze. Already being far too close, she reached for his face, pulling a strand of his hair, fixing his hair part and he could do nothing but swallow past the lump in his throat. She was being strange... Stranger. In a really eerie kind of way with which Tao didn't yet know how to deal.

Tao had wished for so long for her to be satisfied with him. He got his wish.

Dr Aris being satisfied was… There was no word to describe it.

"It matches." She outdid herself. The hairstyle she picked for him went tremendously with those dark eyes. The bangs were the perfect length making him look mysterious and older, and the white part was just in the right place to give it the modern feel. It was a bold fashion statement, but he was pulling it off so well, Aris almost thought she was too emotionally involved to evaluate it objectively.

"Put this on." Not breaking their eye contact Dr Aris tapped the pile of clothes waiting at the end of the bed. That was the first time Tao even noticed it. She then got up giving him some space.

Tao knew there was no place for embarrassment. That woman saw every nook and cranny of him; she even saw his insides. Humiliation was just one of many things he learnt to live with, yet he was so grateful when she had the decency to turn around. She sat on the chair and entertained herself with the magazine she had brought. (That was the most privacy he'd ever got in this institute.)

Dr Aris started humming and he took that as a cue. He was a bit slow figuring out what's front and what's back, not wanting to make a mistake. Tying up the shoelaces was a challenge, especially since his control over the new limbs was still stiff. After the second try he solved the conundrum and was… actually proud of himself.

He can do this.

"I- I'm dressed."

Dr Aris looked him up and down, then she stood up and that was the first time he saw the difference in their height. They never stood next to each other. He was always laying, sitting, crouching; always being down on his knees or bent over taking every single possible submissive position known to mankind. If someone had told him he was taller than that woman he would have taken it as a sick joke.

How tiny she was, was even more evident when she put her hands on his shoulders. A sudden unrestrainable urge to straighten up his back washed over him. Like so many things today, this was also the first time he ever actively corrected his posture.

It felt… wonderful… Empowering.

An old thought lit up and he felt like he won his first battle. Not being rebuked by Dr Aris helped him a lot to actually believe in his victory.

It was a victory, a small one, but a victory still.

He can do this.

"Show some skin, Tao. That's what this T-shirt is for." She uncovered his right shoulder. "Look at these stitches." She stroked a long invisible line across his flesh. "See a scar anywhere, a hint of a cut? No, of course not, that's the beauty of it. It's the work of a master, Tao. Let everybody see how good your Dr Aris is, how pretty she made you." With a pompous grin she caught his face and pinched his cheeks. "Brag a little."

He blinked and she let him go, taking a few steps back in order to see the complete picture. After a couple of seconds she clapped her hands in joy. Tao could swear she was tearing up.

"Perfect!" Dr Aris let out a loud sigh. There was so much wild energy in her ready to explode into fireworks. "Oh, I knew it! I just knew it, absolutely gorgeous. My work here is done."

That caught his attention. He opened his mouth just to close it, not knowing how to say what was on his mind.

"Do- Does that mean… I'm a success?" He probed cautiously. "No more… tests- and training?"

"Well… We'll have to run some simple tests just to make sure you're doing ok with all the new parts." She kept fixing his clothes like a true nit-pick she was. "We need to try the off switches I'd put in your head. It's my newest experiment in the nano field, so I'm quite excited to see how it all works out." Her thumb was rubbing his temple. "Didn't even had to open you up, I just injected them with a needle. Pretty neat, don't you think? I know you do – you're a tech guy, like me."

Sure, somewhere deep inside… Somewhere really, really deep down inside of him there was a form of love towards such things.

(Could he call it love? The acquired taste was a more appropriate word for it. Perhaps he had moments when he could say he liked technology and science. They were a part of him, he knew almost everything there was to know about them and he had fun using the knowledge in his "what if" games. So, yeah, in a way he was a 'tech guy' and he was easily amazed by things presented to him. Tech related or not.)

In any other situation… He might have agreed with her it all being neat. Not this time. No. And it wasn't because she stuck a needle in his skull.

Being told you were like a person you… you hated…

"You do. You hate her. She's repulsive. She's insane."

The only positive feeling he was getting out of this was the fact that with those off switches he'll be able to sleep without the help of pills.

"No… Not sleep. Shut down." Tao remembered. It stabbed him right in the heart and Tao ignored the pain. Another confirmation of his lost humanity swept under the rug. At this point he couldn't care less about semantics, he just wanted it to be over. Finished. Ready for the outside.

"A- And after that?" Tao gave his best not to sound impatient.

"After that…" She smiled to him. "After that you'll meet the others."

Tao held his breath, his mind processing everything she had ever said, his thoughts and memories creating insufferable racket in his head threatening to burst out and shriek.

"Others? There are others? Like me? How? Better than me, worse than me, same as me? What does that mean? What could it mean? Who are they? Had she mentioned them before? Did I forget? Where were they all this time? Was she with them when she'd leave me alone? How many times was I alone? Did she spend more time with them than with me? What does that mean? Could it be…?

"… replicable…" A thought formed in his mind. His lips were twitching while a trickle of sweat made its way down his neck.

"No… No, no… No, aren't I special? To her? We can't all be special. We can't all be the 'only one like this' in the entire Union! But, but what if we are? What does that mean?! Are we all getting out? Can we all get out?! I have to get out of here!"

"O-oh-ha, ha… Others?" He barely stifled the giggle.

"Yes, others," she said. "You know this, you've been fed essential information about the Union in your latest muscle trainings. We go through dozens of potential agents in a month."

She was right, he did know and somehow, he overlooked it. (Did he do that on purpose? He felt so dumb.)

"Ha, ha, ha, I know, I know." He cackled, his mouth hijacking the steering wheel from his brain. "But you said…"

"I don't like boredom, Tao." Dr Aris interrupted him. "It's not nice to pick favourites. You are all my children, but I do prefer you five among the others. At the moment."

"Five?" Tao managed to somehow regain the portion of his calm. (Alright, he wasn't the only one, he wasn't special. Fine. He was good enough to be among the lucky five, among the favourites and that's all that mattered. It was fine. More than fine. It could turn out to be freaking amazing!)

Tao believed he'll be sent out there alone. It was exhilarating as much as it was scary. He hoped one day to be a part of the outside world, but it was asinine to think it to be easily accomplished. It could take a very long time and if not being special meant having four more people as company during that time, then by all means – let him be mediocre.

"… I'll have companions… Friends… like me… They'll understand… They'll understand me. I won't be alone… never be alone…"

"Don't worry, Tao, you'll meet them soon."

"I won't need you anymore."

"And after that?" Tao needed to hear it. His logic was flawless, he was trained and modified to be used against the Union's enemies, but he needed to hear her say it.

"A little eager there, aren't we? I like that." Dr Aris laughed, yet her eyes were curious and on guard. "The five of you will be sent out on missions. You'll get to use all the great gifts I've given you. It's gonna be so fun."

There. It was official now.

Tao curled his fingers into fists, a low thrum of excitement building in his veins at the thought of being free. All of the previous worries, the perplexity of moral, the unescapable bleak destiny of his mortal soul, the sins he might- Will commit – none of it could diminish the fact that Tao was given a chance to live.

"I can do this."

Author's note – chapter 14

Iris implant surgery was first developed to treat traumatic eye injuries and medical conditions, but the procedure has become increasingly popular for cosmetic reasons. So, changing eye colour is actually a thing. I learn new stuff every day.

Long ago I pondered over whether I should make Takeo a natural blue eyed *cough* god of hotness *cough* or not. Asians can have blue eyes, it's just really rare, so in the end I opted not to (it would have been too much, too much instant hotness, hotness overload *cough*).

I was lazy to write it in, and honestly it wouldn't have fit in with the flow of the story, but I wanted to hint as many fans already had that Tao's design was inspired by Tao Okamato, a famous Japanese model who made waves in the fashion industry in 2009 when she donned a unique bowl style haircut. I wanted to put Okamoto on the cover of the magazine Dr Aris was reading and in the end didn't.

But, hey, now that I've squeezed that picture into your head...

Hope you've spotted a little throwback to chapter 5 (the scene with Tao's parents is one of my favourite scenes even now). What is your favourite scene from the story? A favourite chapter? Tell me about it in the comments.

See ya soon!