5.10
Not long after that, Shiro dropped out. The only other student was gone.
From this point on, my memory became more monotonous.
There was no one to really talk to. Some days, depending on the curriculum, other than to shovel food down my throat, I really didn't open my mouth.
But even after being alone, what I did hadn’t changed.
If anything had changed, it was the general martial arts.
Up until now, I had been competing with the same White Room students, but now that they were no longer with me, all of my opponents became adults.
By the time I turned nine years old, I had defeated all the instructors who had taught me everything I knew about martial arts.
That was probably why the instructors were in a hurry to gather up in the room.
“Kiyotaka, you are now going to fight several people in a real battle. This is the culmination of everything you’ve learned so far. You are permitted to use any means necessary.”
“Yes.”
“Also, don’t hold back at all. You can do it with the intention to kill them.”
“Does that mean I can actually kill them?”
“Unless we stop you, you can take us at our word. Be very careful.”
“Yes.”
I was in a large training room and a group of adults in suits walked in.
I had never seen them before.
When they saw me, they made silly faces and started laughing.
“I thought it was a joke when they said we’re really supposed to fight this kid seriously.”
They were clearly different from the adults I had seen teaching fighting techniques.
Their movements weren’t fluid, but rough and spirited.
These were opponents who were capable of irregular fights in an uphill battle rather than an even playing field.
Unlike previously, pure physical strength was no match for them. The difference in muscle mass is obvious.
They were the kind of guys that, in a head-on fight, you’d have no chance of winning 100 out of 100 times against.
“Yes, it's ridiculous, but don't cut corners. We’re talking about people paying that kind of money just to subdue one kid. You'd think they'd have unusual skills.”
It was one of the men who seemed to have some standing among the men that spoke.
“Listen, come at us with the intention of killing us. No, try to kill us. With that much spirit and determination, if you don’t come at me with a general idea of what to do, I’d be a little heartbroken beating you up.”
The man who seemed to be the leader of the group instructed me to do so.
I was going to do it. I already had my orders.
“We'll give you some weapons if you need them.”
He said and placed his shoes on the ground.
The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed off the floor.
“I don't need it.”
“...You want to do it with your bare hands?”
“Yes.”
“You’re probably not joking around but… I'm serious too. Just pick one.”
“Sir, is that an order?”
I turned to the instructor, who was looking down at me from upstairs and asked for orders.
“That's an order. Do as the man says. I'm sure you should’ve been taught how to use all of them already.”
Then I’ll just obey.
I looked in the bag.
“Baton, stun gun, knife—whatever you want.”
Sure enough, I had seen them, held them, and learned how to use them in past courses.
For simple killing power, I'd go for the knife, but I wanted more reach.
“I'll take this one.”
Without hesitation, I reached for the baton and grabbed it.
The baton was about 30 centimeters long.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“You swing it and it grows to about 80 centimeters. You hit with it, right?”
“That's right.”
In order to win, I must accurately hit the weak points of the human body.
He had probably never fought a fighter of my stature before.
I needed to take advantage of the fact that I was small and short, making it difficult to face me.
After a few minutes, when the last adult fell down with his leg smashed by the baton, I raised it. I struck him on the skull and knocked him unconscious with one blow.
If that didn’t work, I would’ve just delivered a second blow that would shatter his skull.
“Stop! Stop!”
I heard a voice echoing through the room, and I stopped moving and threw the baton lightly into the distance.
Adults rushed into the room and helped the fallen adults up.
“Oh my god... We've got to get him to the infirmary right away!”
The medical team, who had seen his condition and realized that he was seriously injured, carried him out on a stretcher.
“What the hell were you doing, Kiyotaka?”
“I was ordered to kill him.”
To be sure, I even asked again to confirm if it was really alright.
“What's the problem with that?”
The instructors were stunned by the situation, but soon after, the door to the room opened.
“Ayanokouji-sensei!”
“You guys take care of these guys. I'd like to have a meeting with Kiyotaka. Follow me.”
Orders were absolute.
I followed him without a second thought.
Usually, there were several instructors by my side, but today it seemed to be just one.
“As I'm sure you're aware by now, I'm in charge of the White Room and I'm your father.”
“I know who you are.”
“I've never claimed to be your father, but when did you ever learn that?”
“I remember from when I was four years old... when I overheard you talking with the instructors.”
“I see. You're a fourth-generation student and you continued to dominate. And the next thing you know, you're the only one left, just silently perfecting the curriculum... No, you continue to exceed it.”
To me, the existence of a father was nothing special.
It was just a fact. Nothing more, nothing less.
“You are special to me.”
“...”
“The White Room has only been in operation for a short period of time, about 14 or 15 years, but even so, I don't see a vision of a genius like you being born in the next few years or so. Of course, with each successive term, they are steadily reducing their shortcomings and overcoming their problems one step at a time...”
It seemed certain that I was being praised.
Just like the talk about being my father, these were simply facts.
“You can go back now.”
“Excuse me.”
What was the meaning of that conversation?
Perhaps it had something to do with the device attached to my arm.
As if to confirm this, the man said.
“How did it go?”
“During the fight and during the conversation with Ayanokouji-sensei, there was not even the slightest disturbance in Kiyotaka's pulse.”
“His heartbeat was untouched even though I said he was special, or... No, I think it's safe to say that his human emotions have completely stopped functioning.
“It’s both a strength and an indelible weakness for Kiyotaka.”
“Ishida is right. Emotions are a low priority, but they’re still essential. Even half of what’s left in an average person is enough, but in Kiyotaka's case, there’s almost none. He’s suitable and unsuitable at the same time to be an educator, politician, or any other use.”
The two talked about various things in front of me, without hiding anything.
I wondered if this was part of the curriculum.
It didn’t matter what was praised and what was criticized.
All that mattered was whether I dropped out or not.
“It's probably impossible for him to learn to feel emotions in the White Room environment, isn't it?”
“Yes, but he can use lies to his advantage when necessary. He may not have a lot of emotion, but he’s mastered the art of pretending to be something he's not.”
“That's the problem. It's too late for him to learn to express his emotions now in the White Room. Then we have no choice but to drastically change the environment.”
“...I don't understand.”
“You don't understand?”
“We’ve educated many children from the first generation to the thirteenth generation that’s currently in progress. The difficulty level of the curriculum has been very different, but clearly, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is different. This isn’t because he’s the son of Ayanokouji-sensei, but because he’s an anomaly.
“Indeed, that’s true. No matter how harsh the environment is, Kiyotaka showed adaptability sooner or later. Every child has a plateau, but why is Kiyotaka the only one who doesn’t have one? Why is it that the more you teach him, the more he absorbs everything as if he were swallowing it all?”
“I don't know... It's easy to say that it's a genetic inheritance, but the White Room will never be truly complete without a thorough investigation of what’s going on.”
“If I can get a steady supply of people who are as good or better than this kid, my ideal will be realized. Figure it out. Don't give up on the idea until you understand it. That's what you're being paid for.”
I continued my education. What awaited me at the end of it all and what laid beyond the quest for knowledge.
That was all I wanted to know.
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