Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 24: Taiga's Confession

The trainees dispersed shortly after Kashi's declaration of war. Accumulated fatigue from a long week of anticipation and strategizing, combined with the mental exhaustion from the mission took a toll on their young bodies, sending them rushing to their warm beds to recharge before L.N.E's resumption.

All except for Suzuki, who was ushered off to a medical facility for further checkups, with Dr. Yukino personally supervising the examination. She pulled him off to the side for a short word after the checks were complete and no abnormalities found.

Yukino scanned through the files on her tablet as she spoke to the quiet Suzuki. "Your heartbeat's triple the regular rate, and your blood and bone density have doubled since your awakening. A bit weird, but that's par for the course for expert pilots." Smiling, she set down the tablet and looked at Suzuki. "Otherwise, you are pretty normal. Your body's fine, but how about your mind? Is there anything you find different? Please feel free to share your thoughts. It will remain strictly confidential, and your experiences might help us better understand this phenomenon and serve those coming after you."

Suzuki's brows momentarily furrowed. He did not particularly care about confidentiality. He was just unsure how best to answer the question. "I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but I can sense that there's a 'source' for my strength. Like a conviction, for which will suffer consequences if I renege or backslide." Frown deepening, he muttered, "Perhaps its due to my past failure, my 'source' seems to be an intent to 'protect' at any costs. Kashi and I share the same 'source,' but our convictions solidified differently. In my case, my protection method is cutting down whoever is threatening whoever's under my protection. Kashi is a bit different. He's much stronger than I am, so all he needs to do is 'reach' whoever he needs to protect. His body can handle the rest."

"That is quite the detailed description," Yukino praised. "According to our records, it takes a few weeks for most expert pilots to identify and confirm their convictions. You possess an uncanny objective view of yourself."

"Is that impressive?"

"It is a rare trait, at the very least."

"Then I can't take the credit," said Suzuki with a shake of his head. "It's not that I have an objective view of myself. I have an objective view of Kashi, and he has the same for me. It's more like two people who live together, keeping tabs on each other's emotional states. There's nothing impressive about that. The really impressive thing is creating a second objective personality to live in the same body."

"But that—"

"Is not my ability." Suzuki's brows drooped, but not one to dwell on his shortcomings, he shook his head and changed the topic. "That aside, I've noticed I can easily recall a lot of 'useless' information. The number of seconds it takes to ride the elevator from the lobby to this floor, how many overhead lights on the hallway, and the number of spiders I saw outside."

"Improved rote memorization and information processing." Yukino nodded. "That is also normal."

"Will those affect Kashi in-game? Like, make it easier to learn or master skills?"

Yukino's eyes twitched. "Yes. You are really observant, Mato-kun."

Suzuki's brows rose. The woman opposite was smiling, but he felt like a tiger had locked onto him, ready to rip him to shreds if he asked any more questions. Normally, he would not care, but the game was only a few hours away. Kashi would find out everything anyway.

'Hey, don't forget you're in there too!' Kashi's snickers tormented the annoyed youth. 'You're not gonna let my daeben body die, are you? What kind of protector kills off one of his closest charge's lives?'