Chapter IV: Okaa-san kara no tegami

0625hrs, 23 May 2013, Somewhere in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." William Makepeace Thackeray

"Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open." B.K.S. Iyengar.

Serena gasped for air. Everything was so bright. So white. So clean. It seemed like there was no color to this place, and that if there were, it would immediately get sucked up by the whiteness of everything.

Where am I? she thought. The last thing she remembered was fire and not being able to walk.

She tried to get up. Her body would not respond. She began to panic.

What's going on?! I want mom…dad…even my idiot brother…

She could at least wiggle her finger on her right hand. Wait…finger…?

Painfully, she turned her head and looked at her right hand. There were two missing, and she couldn't move her thumb or index finger as they were immobilized. She could still give the bird though, that was always important. She couldn't move her arm because it was strapped down to the bed.

Oh no, what else am I missing?

Left hand. All fingers in place but immobilized.

Can I at least move my legs?

She tried again. No response.

Crap.

Tears were streaming from her eyes now, but they hurt like hell.

I want to go home…I want to go home…I want to go home…

A door in front of her opened.

"She's awake."

Two doctors and a nurse walked into the room. The nurse checked the IV fluid going into Serena's arm while the doctors examined Serena's "progress".

"How are you doing?" one of them asked. Serena could barely make out the name "Kawasaki" on his name tag.

She tried to respond. Her lips moved, but no words came out.

Why can't I speak?!

Again, lips moved. No words.

Speak Dammit! Come on Serena, fucking speak!

"Gahhhhhhhhh," was the first sound. Not the one that Serena was hoping for.

"Very good," the other doctor said, as if it meant anything to her.

They spent the next ten minutes or so doing some more tests. Poking. Prodding. Everything they did hurt.

Serena cried and cried. She couldn't do anything.

"I'm sorry," the nurse said to her. "We have to roll you over. This will hurt a lot."

Again, Serena couldn't do anything but painfully nod her head.

After removing the restraints, they rolled her over. She mouth opened to scream in pain but nothing was coming out, as usual.

In thirty minutes, it was all over. After another painful roll-over, they left and she was alone again.

"Poor girl," the nurse said. They were in an observation room with a big one way mirror, looking at Serena try to move in vain, mouth opening and closing but nothing coming out. The other patients were on video camera in the room, asleep or just now starting to wake up.

"That's just the beginning," Kawasaki said. "It will get a lot worse once the reconstruction process begins. What do you think Kobayashi?"

Kawasaki was in his mid-thirties, a very excitable doctor with much intellect, but not a lot of experience. He had been recruited right out of his residency for this project; he showed much talent and a very good grasp of what was wrong with someone if they came to be treated by his hand.

The other doctor, Kobayashi, simply stared at Serena.

"Kobayashi?"

"Mmm?"

"I asked what do you think?"

There was more silence.

"Well…" Kobayashi began. "With the robotic replacement limbs, the healing/repair solution we have available, and extensive plastic surgery, we can completely make her good as new. Better even."

Kobayashi was an older gentleman, with grey hair and spectacles, with years of experience and prestige on his belt before the government recruited him for this project.

"But…" the nurse chimed in.

"Nurse Kuroi," Kawasaki hissed. "Please don't…"

Kobayashi held up his hand. "Nurse Kuroi is right. 'But' is the sentiment that I have. I do not know what will happen with Miss Serena here mentally. She can be the strongest woman in the world but her mind is still in shock. That is something we cannot fix. Even my expertise as a brain surgeon cannot help the mental state."

Beep beep beep. A light in the room flashed. Another patient needed some help.

"I'll get it," Nurse Kuroi said.

She left the observation room and headed down a long, brightly lit hall. There were five patient care rooms, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1F. 1E was the observation room that Kuroi had just come out of, and Serena was in room 1F. The patient in question was in 1B.

Amy was waking up from all the drugs they gave her. She was one of the least wounded, next to Mina, and had to be kept sedated in order to preserve secrecy. Now that they were in a top secret medical facility (located in Miyagi Prefecture, at Mt Izumigatake, Furusato Midori-no-michi, just up the road from that ski resort or skating rink…something like that), they could be woken up for the real treatment.

"Ugg…" she moaned as Kuroi entered the room.

"Hello," Kuroi said politely, checking the IV and vitals.

"Where…where am I?" Amy tried to get up. She wasn't restrained as she had been deemed less of a risk patient, unlike Serena or Raye (and they couldn't move anyway).

"Please, lie down." Kuroi was super polite and gently pushed Amy back down into the bed.

"I…I…"

"It's going to be alright. You're safe now."

Amy nodded slowly. "Where are my parents?"

Kuroi had prepared for this moment for awhile now, but it was still hard to speak the scripted message to Amy.

"I'm very sorry Amy. Your parents cannot see you."

"Why…?" The brain in Amy's head was running in a sprint now. This wasn't any normal hospital. A quick glance of the room revealed instead of a (somewhat) cozy hospital room, with a TV, chairs, bathroom, windows, or anything else, there was nothing at all. White walls with padding on the sides, bright white light from the in fluorescent lights the ceiling, one window in the door and no sharp objects in the room, with everything bolted to floor. "Why…?"

"Amy, I'm sorry, but you're in the care of the state."

"Care of the state?" It took a couple of seconds for that to sink in. "What…?"

That was the kicker.

"What are you talking about?!" Amy said, panic rising in her voice. "I want to see my mother!" Amy tried to get out of the bed again. Kuroi let her sit up at least before stopping her.

"Please," Kuroi said. "You're smart. You wanted to become a doctor, like your mother right?"
"I…"

"Don't you?"

The answer of course, was yes, but not like this.

"You can help your mother. You can serve your nation. You can be a hero." Nurse Kuroi repeated each of the pre-scripted line carefully and with conviction. "You want to be a hero, right?"

Amy looked down. She didn't know what to think. She saw the bandage on her stomach, where her guts had splayed out.

"Think of it like college. You were planning to go to college, right?"

Amy looked back up. "Like college?"

"Yes, what you're going to do will be the equivalent of an education from Todai."

Todai? That was her dream. Make mom proud. Todai. Doctor. Respect.

"But again, you are a ward of the state."

"Can't I write to her? Call her? Send an email? An SMS?"

Kuroi shook her head. "Amy, this program requires the upmost secrecy and discipline. You might put your mom at risk by contacting them. And you can't make your mom proud if she's dead."

"But…but…" Amy sputtered at Kuroi's logic. It wasn't adding up.

Kuroi looked around, then came up and whispered into Amy's ear.

"I'm not supposed to show you this," (she was), "but this is a waiver signed by your mom after the accident."

She pulled out a piece of paper with Saeko Mizuno's name seal stamped on it. It was actually for the cremation of the body that was supposedly her daughter, but the tech guys lifted the seal and put it on a waiver that released her to the state for reasons "that would benefit the country in case of severe injury or disability." Even though Amy and the rest of the girls were legally adults, in certain situations the state would come in and take over in case of emergencies.

It was complete bullshit, as usual.

But that was all it took to convince Amy.

"Mom…" she moaned, looking at the paper. "I…guess you had your reasons. You're a doctor. You understand. Unlike dad. Not like him at all." She cried a little bit, but she understood. Mom knew best. "I'll make you proud mom."

Kuroi tugged the paper away from her. "I'm sorry. But now you understand. Please try to get some rest now. You'll need it to recover."

Amy laid back down in the bed, sad, but relieved. This terrible event that had happened might have a silver lining at all. She fell back asleep.

Kuroi walked out of the room, taking one last look at Amy. She sighed, knowing it was all just a lie.