"How could you let them take Mamoru? Which one of you was responsible for protecting him?"
"It's m…"
Before the sentence could finish, the sound of footsteps echoed.
"I take responsibility, Sir Kades."
"No, Danme-sama, it's m…"
"Stop, Selemen. You only recently joined us; I shouldn't have given you such a responsibility."
These voices made Shinji's eardrums tremble, and he felt a sharp pain in his head.
"It looks like he's waking up. What should we do now, Sir Kades?"
"Take him to Okami, Clay. She'll take care of him until he's ready."
"Yes, sir. What about the blade?"
After this question, an intense silence followed.
"Take it too and leave it by his bedside at their door. Okami, like me, knows it belongs to him… she'll understand."
Before he could open his eyes, Shinji smelled something that made him reel before putting him back to sleep.
The pain he felt was still there when he woke up. The cold gnawed at his skin despite the blanket covering him. The fabric only half-covered his frail body, and the wooden bed he was lying on creaked with every breath.
He finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a cracked ceiling. A soft light fell on his face, filtered through dusty curtains on his right. The air, the curtains—
Everything here reminded him, in one way or another, of his room, the one where he faced who he was.
Though he didn't know this place, he felt… safe.
"What is this place?" he murmured to himself.
"You're finally awake."
Those words came from a soft, calm voice that made him jump. He half-sat up, panicked. How could he not be, after everything he'd been through? He could no longer afford the slightest trust.
His eyes fell on a figure sitting by his bedside. A young girl with gray hair and calm features.
Everyone he'd seen in this world so far seemed to hide something dark in their gaze, but this girl inspired no fear in him. On the contrary, for the first time, he didn't feel hated.
"A person like her, in this world?" he murmured.
"She must be hiding something. That has to be it. There's no other explanation; this world and everyone in it hates me, after all."
[Activation of the Third Eye]
"What's that?"
"Don't worry," she continued. "You're safe here. You should avoid moving. Lie back down; some of your wounds are still open."
Her voice, despite Shinji's suspicions, managed to calm him. He let it flow through him. Nothing compelled him to obey her, especially not now, but he did so without protest.
[The suspect has no malicious intentions]
[The suspect does not seek to kill the host]
[The suspect does not envy the host]
"What's this voice in my head?"
He lay back down and stopped moving. He began to look around the room, quickly noticing its poor condition. The walls were cracked, the wardrobe in the far-right corner was as dusty as the curtains, and a table to his left held what looked like bandages.
He concluded that the room he was in served as some kind of infirmary, though its deplasjons state might unfortunately worsen the condition of any injured person who ended up there, like himself.
"What am I doing here?" he asked, his eyes returning to the girl.
"You don't remember?"
Despite his guarded expression, the last time he'd been honest, he hesitated to tell her everything—his amnesia, the young girl, the cave, the Zephyrs, the men in black robes… that dream.
But he swallowed his words, deciding he couldn't afford to make that mistake again.
"No… sorry."
His voice betrayed him; he couldn't look her in the eyes. She understood he was hiding something but didn't press further.
"That's a shame. To be honest, we found you unconscious at the refuge's entrance, lying on the ground. You seemed… in bad shape."
"In bad shape, huh?" he thought, chuckling inwardly.
"They didn't go easy on me. And why? For a blade I have no memory of, an identity I have nothing left of but these dirty clothes."
He gripped the blanket tightly without realizing it.
"Was there anyone with me?" he asked. "When… you found me?"
"Now that you mention it… There was someone. A figure walking away from the refuge when we came out. But too far to make out their face."
"I see."
"Oh, and there was also…"
Shinji sat up abruptly. Any clue about himself was welcome. Even just a face, any information could help alleviate some of the suffering he felt deep inside.
"Be careful!" she exclaimed, rushing to steady him.
"You're still injured, idiot."
"Sor… sorry."
The girl took a bandage from the table and began wrapping it around a wound on Shinji's left hand. She did so with a gentleness that touched Shinji.
He felt that she wasn't just tending to his wound but also to a part of him he didn't know.
Then she added, once she ensured the bandage was secure:
"There was a cat with you."
His heart began to race. He relived the moment when Neko was crushed. Beads of sweat slid down his forehead.
"A cat…?"
She pointed to a corner of the room.
"He just woke up too."
Shinji slowly turned his head and saw him—the alley cat. That white cat that was his first interaction in this world.
"Neko…"
His breath caught; he was breathing harder and felt like vomiting.
"Are you okay? Are you bleeding again?" the girl asked, concerned.
But Shinji wasn't listening anymore. His gaze was fixed on the cat, the cat that was no longer there when he escaped the cave, when he needed him most. And that look, the same look as the rat, the same look as… Neko.
It was as if he'd just seen a ghost in front of him.
She approached and took his hand to calm him.
"Neko, right? You kept repeating that name in your sleep. You said you had to save him."
"So it wasn't just a nightmare…" he murmured.
But he knew she wasn't lying. He'd already lived this scene, where he had to save him before he died and left him alone in this world.
"So how is he here… and me?"
A moment of silence passed, as if the world had slowed around them. Shinji caught his breath, his eyes still fixed on the cat grooming itself.
The girl's voice gently brought him back to reality.
"I'm sorry… I forgot to ask your name."
"I… don't know."
Though he suspected her for a reason he couldn't explain, the words he'd heard earlier reassured him.
[The suspect has no malicious intentions]
"I see. How about Shinji?"
"Shinji?" he murmured.
The word rang in him like a bell. He had no name, no memory of one, and yet this name sounded so right in his ears that he didn't argue with her.
Barely had he processed this name when a loud thud resounded. Someone had violently knocked on the door and opened it immediately without waiting for a response.
"You could've been quieter, Yoru," said the girl.
A young man appeared at the door, with a dark gaze, but not like the ones Shinji had seen before. No. This gaze, despite its darkness, didn't seem fueled by resentment or jealousy like the others he'd encountered.
There was something hidden in it, something Shinji couldn't discern.
"Tch. So, the stranger's finally awake, huh…"
He was tall, strongly built, with broad shoulders, a clenched jaw, and short black hair.
His mere presence put Shinji on edge. His presence alone made Shinji want to flee this place.
"You can get lost now. We don't need a guy like you here."
Those words struck Shinji to the core, shattering the faint sense of calm the girl had given him.
[The suspect has no malicious intentions]
[The suspect does not seek to kill the host]
[The suspect envies the host]
"The suspect envies me?" Shinji thought.
"Someone envying me? What's next?"
"I don't understand this world yet, but this voice is starting to annoy me. How do I make it stop?"
[Deactivation of the Third Eye]
"Deactivation? What's happening to me now?"
The boy began approaching Shinji, his footsteps echoing through the room, but the girl intervened.
"Calm down, Yoru. He's just woken up."
He ignored her and didn't take his eyes off Shinji. He ended up grabbing him by the collar, just as the butcher had done before Shinji lost consciousness at the market.
"And you? How can you trust him, Haruka, after what happened?"
"What did I do to him too?" Shinji thought before looking at the girl.
"At least now I know her name is Haruka. What a nice name."
She stepped between them and gently pushed Yoru back.
"That's enough. Yelling won't get us anywhere."
Following that, a feminine but highly charismatic voice was heard at the door Yoru had nearly broken earlier.
"What's going on here?"
A woman entered the room, much older than Shinji and the two people he'd just met. She commanded respect, and Shinji noticed it quickly.
Yoru calmed down as soon as she ordered him to, though he didn't take his eyes off Shinji.
"He's awake," he replied curtly. "He can leave now."
"That doesn't mean you have to scare him the moment he wakes up. Step away from him."
He clenched his fists but eventually released his grip and stepped back.
"Tch… Sorry," he muttered insincerely.
The woman turned to Shinji. She took a few steps forward, then bowed slightly.
"My name is Okami. I'm the head of this refuge."
"A refuge…?" Shinji repeated softly.
She nodded, then looked at Haruka.
"Can he get up?"
"I've redone his bandages. He'll need to take it EASY, but yes."
"Perfect. Help him get ready. I'll show him around."
Shinji felt his heart ease a little. For the first time in a long time, someone was offering him help without expecting anything in return. No threats. No price. Just… a helping hand.