Eyes That Sting
Eyes sting. Arms tingle. Feet don't touch the ground. Now I start to piece together what's happening. My eyes are definitely open, yet I can't see a thing. The strange sensation in my ears suggests I'm wearing a blindfold. The numbness in my arms and the fact that my feet aren't touching the floor must be because my wrists are bound with rope and I'm hanging. Are they planning to torture me? Makes sense—regenerators are rare, so it's been a while since anyone could torture one without consequences. Still, it'll take them quite some time to realize torture won't work. I just hope they're the type who genuinely enjoy it.
More importantly, is Mari all right? Most of the paperwork gets handled by her, not me, so she probably knows more than I do—and the information she holds is far more valuable. I don't mind being tortured, but she's just a civilian. Her physical abilities are above average for a normal person, yet escaping in that situation wouldn't have been easy. The way they didn't use her as a hostage to stop me, and how they all swarmed toward me instead, made it seem like they had no interest in anyone else. But if they're simply the kind who enjoy torture, kidnapping one civilian is literally nothing to them.
Should I cause a scene right now to draw their attention this way? I tried pulling myself up with my arms, bending my knees and putting strength into my wrists, but my legs just folded and I thrashed uselessly in the air. My strength had dropped below even what it was at the department store—nowhere near the level this body had reached before.
Hold on. Has my strength already returned…? How long was I unconscious?
I'm not a mutation-type superhuman who alters my body. Strictly speaking, I'm a recovery-type. The changes that occur through Regeneration aren't normal; I'm simply redirecting the power that would normally focus on wounds to other areas to build muscle. Because I can't fully control it, the wounds heal before I can do much, especially if they're small. In short, it's over-regeneration. Muscles created that way naturally disappear. There are plenty of reasons—either the body removes them to regenerate, or it doesn't recognize them as part of itself, or treats them as foreign matter and eliminates them. The stronger the Regeneration, the faster they vanish. So how long would it take for someone like me? Using the muscles extends the time, but without use it could take anywhere from three to six days. I've never measured it properly, and since I was knocked out, I have no idea how long it'll be this time—but at least a day must have passed.
I quickly search for another way out. My eyes are covered, my arms are bound, and even though my legs are free, there's nothing useful I can do with them. I twisted my wrists, rubbing them against the rope. There wasn't a single loose fiber, so it would take a long time. …These guys are unnecessarily meticulous. If you're going to tie someone up after kidnapping them, at least make it easy to get injured. It would be nice if I could use my fingernails or toenails to make a wound. The position is awkward enough, but the way the rope is tied, one strand runs across my palm, making nails difficult, and toenails are out of the question—my shoes are still on and taking off the socks would be too much trouble anyway. Even if I get caught in the middle, this side is easier to play off.
Clack— creeeak— While I was trying to cut my wrists, someone entered. From the sound of the door, it was made of metal. The space I'm in feels fairly large. Two sets of footsteps. One of them is carrying something. They're close, yet they show no urgency even though I'm clearly attempting to escape. It seems they haven't noticed what I'm doing.
I didn't expect them to come in so soon, but if I'd already taken off my shoes and socks, they would've immediately figured out my intent.
"What, you're already awake?"
"Unfortunately, I—"
Thud— Whether it was on purpose or not, it didn't really hurt. Even without Regeneration, an ordinary person would've shaken off the pain quickly. More than that, they hit me while I was still talking. It's strange to expect manners from criminals, but do they really have no sense of basic courtesy?
"Hey, you told him to talk, didn't you?"
"I know. I just wanted to hit him once."
The other one beside him spoke. The guy who hit me seemed hot-tempered; I'd thought if I talked back even a little he'd hit me harder, but with someone this calm mixed in, it was going to be difficult. In the end, I'd have to wait until they actually started torturing me. Professionals who only inflict pain without leaving wounds take longer.
"Did you come to torture me? That sort of thing is meaningless."
"We'll do it whether you rush us or not. Just shut up and stay still."
Pfft—. I laughed at them in my mind. Telling someone to shut up while torturing them? Then what's the point of torture? These kinds of torturers have such pointless pride that if you act like this, they'll get angry and start acting like amateurs. … …Wait a second. Thinking about it, these guys already know I have Regeneration, right?
Whoosh—! One of them poured cold water from a bucket they were carrying. I couldn't see what was in the bucket or who poured it, but the stream was strong enough that it was probably the same guy who'd hit my stomach earlier.
"How's the water taste? We just got this batch."
"Nothing special."
Literally nothing special. The water was a bit cold, but that wasn't a problem, and it didn't hurt either. Aside from my clothes getting damp because they weren't waterproof, I had no particular impression. If this is the only way they can torture me because of my Regeneration, then they don't have much skill to begin with—why are they acting so proud? If they're this passive, I'm the one who's going to have a hard time…
Whoosh— They poured water over me again. It was less cold than before and poured more weakly. No change. At most, my socks were soaked through now. …I have no idea what they're trying to do. At this rate, it feels like Plant Day might have arrived while I was unconscious—they keep pouring water on me without doing anything else. If this is the level of torture a regenerator usually receives, then they're really… …?
"Ha! Who do you think I am that you'd go to the trouble of kidnapping and torturing me?"
"We don't give a damn about brats like you either."
When I deliberately raised my voice, he grabbed me by the collar. Whether I was tied high up or he was short, there was no feeling of being lifted at all. How had they poured water from above earlier? Was there a platform? Just in case, I should consider the possibility that one of them is a telekinetic. More than that, it seems they don't actually know who I am. I should've realized it from the lack of loose fibers on the rope—these guys think I'm just some 'girl' they can see?
My thoughts multiply. For now, I start moving my bound hands again, little by little. If their attitude is genuine, either no wounds will form or they'll take an extremely long time to appear. Actually, I don't really know either. These guys don't seem to have any real intention of torturing me properly—they're not even asking for information, just repeating the water pouring, and they kidnapped me without knowing who I am. And yet again… Ugh, I have no idea. If they knew who I was, they wouldn't need to torture me—they'd just tie my limbs and pour cement over me. The information I hold might be tempting, but getting rid of me would cause a bigger loss than using that information, and eliminating any chance of escape would be far more beneficial. Even if they don't know exactly who I am, just knowing I'm connected to certain people should've made them eager to torture me, but this attitude… I can't figure it out.
"Ha… We're out of water. I told them to connect a water line to the torture room."
The sound of creaking and two buckets clacking together followed, then the footsteps gradually faded. I could hear it, but there was no space left in my head to think about anything. The ambiguous act that barely qualified as torture had stopped, leaving only me and the two of them in the space.
"Hey. Why did you kidnap me?"
That's what I want to know right now. I can't feel any clear purpose, nor any real will to do this. If they're going to act like this, it'd be better to just lock me up somewhere and leave me alone.
"Probably because you're connected to the representatives of Area 4 and Area 7. What other reason would there be?"
"Ha! You kidnapped me just for that? Don't make me laugh."
Ha, seriously, what is this? I understand even less now. Am I the target? Are the Area 7 people the target? Should I interpret it as two representatives from Area 7, or one from Area 4 and one from Area 7? There are far too many people targeting me, and I didn't even know there were people targeting the Area 7 representatives—let alone which ones. And 'probably'? 'Probably'!? That means they don't even know the exact reason themselves.
"The reason we kidnapped you is…"
Thud— thud— thud—. Footsteps echo from a distance. It seems the guy who went to get more water has returned.
"You're back."
"Hey, we're the ones doing the torturing here. What if you give away information?"
"Does it really matter?"
"Ha, well, I guess not…"
Their conversation passes back and forth. I quietly hold my breath and listen.
"What's that in your hand?"
"Oh, this? A hose. I figured we'd need a lot of water, so I just connected a hose to the tap."
"…Who's going to turn on the water?"
"Ah~ Good point?"
Are these guys really supposed to be torturers? Their incompetence is beyond words.
"Think before you act."
"Sorry, this is my first time doing something like this."
I'd felt something was off from the beginning, but were they really complete beginners at torture?
"Usually one or two buckets and it's over, but you're still fine. This is a first for me too, you know?"
"That guy only passed out after absorbing several bags of it. Did you really think diluting it in water would work?"
…What?