4 The Epitome Of Pain

Good morning, my lovely Kurayama, it's Monday." The same cheerful, joyful, happy, playful, and caring voice called out.

Kurayama was already awake. He was sitting in the corner of the room, staring at the floor while hugging both of his legs.

"I came here a little early so that I could talk to you. Remember, I promised that today will be fun!" He declared.

Kurayama didn't respond as he kept looking at the metallic floor.

"Oh my dear Kurayama, you must not feel so broken after such things! There are still many more things we must do! If you break so quickly, it won't be fun to continue."

Kurayama quickly glanced at Katsuri before he averted his stare towards the floor.

"Do you still hate me? Oh, Kurayama, you're breaking my fragile heart. Well, I do owe you some information on why all of this happened to you." As he was gazing at Kurayama, Katsuri had a happy smile plastered on his face before the boy trembled upon hearing his words.

"You should know that your father was a researcher working for us. He is the one that helped create the gamma serum when he started working on it 12 years ago so that he could aid his family financially. He helped us very much, but he was against the idea of using it on humans, and don't even get me started about his reaction to the weapons program.

He was so stubborn and rebellious, just like you, and somehow managed to convince other researchers that this program is 'bad.' Still, he was very...interesting. So, I gave him two choices:

To work for us and save his family, or rebel and cause their untimely death. Unfortunately, he chose the second one, and he didn't stop at just that. He stole the serum and escaped from the facility while trying to call your mother to warn her about us.

His plan almost worked, and he almost ran away from us. But, Akuishi already anticipated his actions and caught him before he could've disappeared and warned your mother.

He wasn't just annoying me now, he was even breaking the rules of my game, and you know that those who break the rules must be punished. His punishment was simple, he just had to kill his family, but he refused. So, we forced him to do it with just a little injection.

My lovely Kurayama, I still remember how your father slashed the adorable little Hina in the stomach and made her guts spill out, how he severed Aiko in two pieces, how Katsu tried to act like a hero and stop his father, only to miserably fail. And finally, how he pinned your mother to the ground and mercilessly severed her head as she pleaded for mercy.

Oh my dear Kurayama, I still remember how soft and silky your mother's bloody hair felt when I grabbed it. And finally, the look you gave me when you entered and saw the beautiful sight of your dead family. It still fills me with pleasure every time I remember it." Katsuri spoke in a voice filled with an unusual amount of happiness, one that no normal human would feel towards anything like that.

Kurayama curled up in his corner and cried softly and silently. Even when he was dehumanized, the pain of losing his family was still too great to bear.

"Katsuri?" After walking up to Katsuri, Akuishi asked in a perplexed voice.

"Oh, Akuishi." After shifting his gaze towards Akuishi, Katsuri replied as a joyful and friendly smile formed on his face.

"Why are you here so early? Don't you ever sleep?" After yawning, Akuishi asked as he gave a tired but friendly smile to Katsuri.

"As long as it's for my dear Kurayama, I'll stay here all day and night!" After shifting his gaze towards Kurayama, Katsuri replied.

"You never change, you sick fuck." After releasing a deep sigh, Akuishi replied in a casual voice before he smirked.

"Only for Kurayama. So, where are the others?" After standing up and walking towards Akuishi, Katsuri asked.

"They're coming right now. By the way, are you sure about this test?"

"Of course, why are you asking?" After happily smiling, Katsuri asked as he tilted his head sideways.

"Well, it's 6 AM. I was thinking about starting with something a little lighter, for my sake of course." After yawning while rubbing his eyes, Akuishi said in a tired voice.

"Of course not. Kurayama has grown up, we must not treat him like a child anymore. I am sure that he himself doesn't want to." After patting Akuishi's back, Katsuri answered in a confident voice before he gazed at Kurayama and grinned.

While the two were chatting, two guards, accompanied by a researcher, entered the hallway with a stretcher and proceeded to walk towards Katsuri.

"Sir." The researcher said as he gave a respectful nod to Katsuri.

"Should we use sleeping gas?" One of the guards asked.

"No, that is no longer necessary. My lovely Kurayama has finally become obedient."

"Understood." The guard replied as he opened the containment unit and signaled the other guard to enter the chamber with the stretcher. The two guards picked up Kurayama and placed him on the stretcher before they strapped him into it. The two guards exited the cell and made their way towards the test room with the researcher and Akuishi.

The test room had a titanium chair with straps on both sides, and a large table that had a lot of syringes and chemical substances placed on it.

"Another titanium chair?" Akuishi asked in an irritated voice.

"Yes, sir. The subject is powerful. Even if he is obedient, we can't be sure that he won't react on impulse." The researcher replied.

"Won't he break out from those straps?" Akuishi asked.

"I guarantee you that he won't be able to do that."

The guards strapped Kurayama to the chair and placed a brain-wave reading helmet on his head, just as the researcher grabbed a syringe filled with a blue chemical.

"That again?" Akuishi asked.

"It's necessary, sir. He needs to be injected by the gamma serum, so when we inject him with the poison, the serum then tries to evolve the body and create a powerful immune system to help stop and counter the poison."

"Which poison are we starting with?" Akuishi asked in an interested and intrigued voice.

"The Tetrodotoxin neurotoxin."

"Oh, for fuck sake. Stop using those overly scientific terms with me and speak an actual language."

"I mean the pufferfish poison, sir. But first, he must be injected with the gamma serum." The researcher said as he walked up to Kurayama and injected him. He spazzed on his seat as his veins turned light-blue.

"Great response! He improved way beyond our expectations. Now, for the neurotoxin." The researcher said as he grabbed the needle that had a lot of poison in it and injected the boy with it.

Kurayama violently gasped as he was struggled and groaned from the pain. The researcher backed away and walked towards a monitor wired to the helmet.

"Hmm, his body is reacting violently to the poison, but I don't expect him to beat it in the first try." He casually stated as he scratched his chin.

Kurayama struggled with the poison, but he stopped grunting and jumping up and down on his chair.

"I see, he has lost sensation." After Kurayama stopped moving, the researcher stated in an intrigued tone of voice.

"I see, he finally reached paralysis of muscles. I have to admit, he held up pretty well. Akuishi sir, would you please?" The researcher asked with a respectful voice.

"Full healing." After grabbing the boy's shoulder, Akuishi spoke in a yawn before the boy gasped for air as soon as he woke up. He struggled to breathe as he suffered the aftereffect of the neurotoxin.

The researcher walked up to Kurayama while holding two syringes, the ones that he needs daily, and injected him with them.

"Alright, we should move him now to the gas chamber." The researcher said as he signaled the two guards to move him out.

"Sir, you need to be inside with him, so he doesn't die. Here, take this gas mask. It's made to withstand any type of toxic gas." After walking up to Akuishi and giving him the gas mask, the researcher requested.

"Sure." As he wore the gas mask, Akuishi replied in an irritated voice.

The two guards placed Kurayama in another chair and strapped him in before they placed a wireless brain-wave reading helmet on his head.

Akuishi walked into the chamber before the two guards walked out and closed the door behind them. Meanwhile, the researcher was standing in front of a large control panel.

"Now, we will proceed with the test using 'hydrogen cyanide'." Said the researcher as he flicked a switch that was in the control panel before a barely audible sound came out from the walls of the chamber.

"It has been a few minutes, and he only has dizziness, headache, weakness, and fatigue. He should have more serious symptoms by now. He is doing pretty well." The researcher said.

45 minutes later:

Kurayama was violently spazzing out on the chair as he was vomiting blood before he suddenly stopped moving.

"Low blood pressure, slow heart rate, convulsions, lung damage, and unconsciousness. He did pretty well for his first time." The researcher said as he stopped the flow of the gas. "Akuishi sir, you can heal him now." The researcher spoke over the speakers.

Akuishi nodded as he walked towards Kurayama. "Full healing." He said in a tired voice after he grabbed the boy's throat.

Kurayama woke up, still suffering from the effects of the gas as he was visibly confused. The researcher ordered the guards to pick up Kurayama and get him back to the previous test room.

The researcher entered the test room with Akuishi and picked up, what looked like, an empty needle as he made his way towards Kurayama.

"Are you going to inject him with air?" Akuishi said after releasing a quick laugh.

"It may seem like there is nothing in this needle, but it has a meager amount of Polonium." The researcher professionally replied.

"Polonium?" Akuishi asked with a slight surprise in his tone.

"Polonium is the deadliest poison out there. It is 250,000 times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide. Just seven trillionth of a gram of Polonium is enough to kill any adult.

A single gram of Polonium could kill 10 million people. The element's toxicity coupled with radioactivity makes it impossible for the victim to survive when exposed to even the tiniest dose. The boy here will be injected with one trillionth of a gram of Polonium."

"He'll instantly die. That's quite the opposite of what we are trying to do." Akuishi said, seemingly clueless.

"He would have, but he was injected with the gamma serum, and he also withstood the gas chamber for 45 minutes. It would take a couple of minutes to kill him." The researcher said as he injected Kurayama with the toxin.

Thirty seconds after his injection, Kurayama suddenly spasmed as his eyes widened and pupils turned upwards. His body convulsed while he struggled to even produce any sounds of pain. The fact that blood constantly escaped from all his seven orifices would already be gruesome enough if not from the never-ending stream of foam and saliva that Kurayama immediately spilled from his mouth.

"In thirty seconds, he will die from total organ failure, Akuishi ." The researcher stated.

Akuishi got close to Kurayama and grabbed hold of his forehead. "Full healing." He said as he used his power for five constant minutes. Kurayama was alive but barely conscious.

"What now?" Akuishi asked.

"He will be injected with various microbes, viruses, and nano viruses." The researcher calmly stated as he grabbed a bunch of syringes.

"Isn't that going to kill him?" Akuishi curiously asked again.

"He survived Polonium for two minutes. I don't think any other disease or virus in the entire world could kill him now." Said the researcher with a tint of surprise in his eyes while lightly hitting the syringe.

"Do I need to stand by to heal him?" Spoke Akuishi, almost collapsing from the lack of sleep.

"No, that won't be necessary. After he gets injected, he will be transported back to his cell. Think of it as a vaccination." Said the researcher while shrugging his shoulders.

"Finally! Thank fuck! I was dying for just two more minutes of sleep!" Akuishi, after releasing a loud and deep sigh, stated as he walked out from the chamber while rubbing the back of his head.

The researcher injected Kurayama with various viruses and diseases as he was still unconscious before he ordered the guards to get him back to his cell.

The guards and Akuishi carried Kurayama back into his cell and threw him inside in a hurry, to not contract any of the viruses, and to get a few minutes of sleep.

"Fucking Katsuri. He knows I'm not a morning person, yet he is so persistent in setting up the tests in the early morning and dawn." Akuishi complained and ranted as he walked down the hallway, accompanied by the two guards following after him.

Suddenly, one of the guards turned to look at a cell that contained one of the subjects and stood there staring at it with a confused expression. Noticing his strange behavior, the other guard stopped and turned towards the containment cell.

"Huh? What are you two staring at?" Akuishi asked with a hint of annoyance from the guards' behavior.

"Um...sir. Subject number 5 is being...awfully weird." One of the two guards replied.

"What do you mean?" Akuishi asked in a perplexed tone of voice as he walked towards the guards.

"Well, he's—“

Before the guard could finish his sentence, the glass panel exploded into fragments that flew towards him at an absurd speed.