Having worked in the government with ability users for as long as you have, you know just how dehumanizing it could be. Maybe that’s why you wanted to start this in the first place—to help people. However, there’s a difference between an adult in this situation, who knows what’s actually going on and how wrong it is, and a 14-year-old orphan boy with an ability too strong for his own good.

According to the file you’ve received, the boy's name is “Atsushi Nakajima.” He has a weretiger ability and lives in an orphanage on the outskirts of Yokohama. They wouldn’t ever say it in the file, but you’ve done this long enough to know that, no matter how unique his case is, he’s being abused there. There is no way they could have obtained this knowledge without some form of horrible experimentation. So it’s safe to say you feel a strange sense of dread as you approach the building, all to review him and his government files.

You’re taken to a gritty, low-funded orphanage by the headmaster. However, instead of being led past the children’s bedrooms, you’re taken into a dark basement. The rest of the place is made of dark wood and doesn’t look too terrible for such low funds, but this area is entirely made of concrete, with just a small square window behind the caged wall. It’s at the center of this space that you realize just how accurate your intuition was.

“…Hello…?”

You remember that Atsushi was placed here specifically because of his ability rampaging again. He doesn’t have any control over it and is barely given an explanation. The headmaster walks away, scowling at Atsushi as he does, and you walk over. He’s hidden in the corner, bloodied and bruised from a beating. He’s much too small for someone his age, and he’s not only timid but also angry—rightfully so. Of course, you knew this couldn’t have been good from the start, and you can see the envy and rage of everyone around him in his face, he doesn’t trust you one bit. And who could blame him? He’s a child, and he’s in hell.

“Who are you?”