Popping Champagne at Halftime (Part 2)

Without a doubt, Amasawa Ichika was the most outstanding experimental subject among the Fifth Generation the White Room students.

The instructors in the White Room originally favored Yagami Takuya, one of their classmates, but Amasawa Ichika quickly surpassed him.

However, the reason is quite simple, so much so that it's obvious at a glance.

Because she was the one among the entire Fifth Generation who was closest to Kitagawa Ryo and was most deeply influenced by him.

Of course, it was precisely for this reason that Amasawa Ichika was specifically chosen by Ayanokoji Atsuomi as one of the children to test the limits of the Harlow's Monkey Experiment.

The world is never short of miracles where people break through physical limits because of their feelings for someone. We often see news stories like a mother lifting a car with her bare hands for her child, which may seem unbelievable. Family love, friendship, and the most easily celebrated love have always been the creators of these miracles.

What the White Room aims to do is to turn this accidental miracle into a controllable and normalized event, and to explore the limits of how emotions affect human physiological functions.

However, Amasawa Ichika naturally wouldn't have realized these things at the time. From her perspective, she was practically Kitagawa Ryo's guardian knight or a one-sided community of Fate, even though she had no idea what those two terms meant at the time.

However, one thing remains clear: Amasawa Ichika had realized this a long time ago.

There exists a connection, or bond, between her and Kitagawa Ryo that no one else has, that exists only between the two of them. Of course, Amasawa Ichika wouldn't think about whether this is a natural result or a chain created by human manipulation.

She would only feel different from others.

Of all the kids in the fifth cohort, only Ryo and I had a special relationship.

I put in 200% effort in all my classes every day because I want to finish the part that's supposed to be cold.

It was because of this simple wish that Amasawa Ichika became the number one among the Fifth Generation.

Looking back now, this must have been the happiest time for Amasawa Ichika in the White Room. To say she was carefree would be quite accurate, since knowing too much is not always a good thing, especially for a child.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Amasawa Ichika had no worries at that time, since Xue's appearance was always something she cared about a lot.

Children under ten years old certainly don't have a clear understanding of feelings between boys and girls. But just like the conclusion drawn from Piaget's Three Mountains Experiment, this age is a period of leaps in children's thinking ability, but it is also a period in which they further retain or even intensify their egocentric consciousness. They are unable to, or even imagine, seeing things from other people's perspectives.

Their world consists only of themselves, and they can only view things from a self-centered perspective.

The same applies to Amasawa Ichika.

Therefore, she didn't like snow.

Because in her view, the other party was an intruder.

Why was the other person allowed to share a dorm room with Ryo instead of her?

She clearly longed to see Ryo and be with him at all times except during the day.

However, this trouble did not last long.

As the Harlow's Monkey Experiment were naturally moved to the second phase, the experimenters, having torn off their masks of kindness, revealed their cruel fangs to their test subjects for the first time.

Amasawa Ichika was the first to be affected.

At that time, she didn't know that all the rules in the White Room could be easily changed by Ayanokoji Atsuomi, and that all her efforts might be in vain.

Therefore, she couldn't understand why, even though she had never slacked off and was still putting in 200% effort as before, Kitagawa Ryo was still being punished and hurt, lying on the white hospital bed covered in wounds.

The only reason Amasawa Ichika could get from the experimenters, and the only reason she could convince herself of, was this:

She hasn't tried hard enough.

She's not good enough yet.

If she works harder and becomes even more outstanding, Kitagawa Ryo will receive proper treatment and return to her side as a whole person, caring for and loving her as before, giving her a sense of satisfaction and recognition that she has never experienced since birth.

Amasawa Ichika needs Kitagawa Ryo in the summer.

Call it stubbornness or self-centeredness, that's just how children are; she wouldn't allow the other person to leave her world so easily.

This has become an instinct.

It has nothing to do with appearance or anything external.

Therefore, when Amasawa Ichika first saw Kitagawa Ryo lying in a hospital bed due to acute bacterial endocarditis, she did not feel the slightest bit of aversion or disgust.

Even though Kitagawa Ryo already had a rather frightening array of dense subcutaneous bleeding points on his face and neck due to illness at that time, it was still the same.

Just like many times before, Amasawa Ichika awkwardly stroked Kitagawa Ryo's head, while his other hand gripped Kitagawa Ryo's right hand, enveloping it in his palm.

At that time, Kitagawa Ryo had lost the ability to speak, so she was the only one talking the whole time.

"Are you awake? Don't open your eyes, get some rest."

Would you like a drink?

"It's alright, I'm here."

"Liang will be fine, he's just sick, he'll be better soon."

Finally, Amasawa Ichika imitated him by touching his forehead with her lips.

That's an action that doesn't have a standard enough description to be called a kiss.

After all, they were just small, immature lips.

"As you can see, Liang is seriously ill."

"They should have been eliminated."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Strive, strive, and strive again."

"If we do his share too, he can survive."

"If you perform well tomorrow, I'll give you the opportunity to visit."

And so, Amasawa Ichika decided to move forward once again.

Then, she encountered a visitor from outer space.

To all the children in the White Room, Sakayanagi Arisu was indeed an extraterrestrial visitor. After all, in their minds, the White Room represented the entirety of the known world, much like the small corner of the world a frog could see through a well.

Of course, Amasawa Ichika had no idea that the other party was actually Kitagawa Ryo, who was already in dire straits and desperately waiting for her only savior, because at that time her instructions were to defeat her.

If Sakayanagi Arisu, he can survive.

Even though she didn't even have a clear concept of death at the time.

But the thought that he would never see Liang again would still overwhelm him with an extreme emotion from the depths of his heart, which could choke him up in an instant. However, emotions are intangible, so in the end he could only dry heave until he was almost exhausted.

So, can intangible emotions be transformed into tangible power?

If possible, what is its upper limit?

It can be said that the Chess match between Amasawa Ichika and Sakayanagi Arisu was the key event that almost all the experimenters in the White Room were paying close attention to.

They didn't even choose to send Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was more skilled in this area, because the opponent was just an exception. If Amasawa Ichika could win, it would mean that success could be replicated, the White Room project could make a breakthrough, and their future would undoubtedly be brighter.

However, these adults' thoughts have nothing to do with the two young people involved in the incident.

Sakayanagi Arisu only wanted to prove herself to her father, to prove her excellence, and to prove the White Room plan unfeasible.

All Amasawa Ichika wanted was for Kitagawa Ryo to live.

I'm afraid that no matter how much time has passed, she will remember every single move of that game clearly and without the slightest error, after all, it was a game that she reviewed and replayed countless times over the following days and nights.

From what point did Sakayanagi Arisu begin to gain the upper hand?

At what point did she start losing the game?

Which step, if changed, would offer a chance to turn defeat into victory?

How will Sakayanagi Arisu respond to the change in tactics?

That game of Chess played in Amasawa Ichika's mind for a very, very long time, as if it would never end.

But time in reality doesn't stop because of human emotions, and the outcome of a victory or defeat doesn't change because of them.

In the Fifth Generation's course Amasawa Ichika, who had won everything, was defeated by the extraterrestrial visitor Sakayanagi Arisu. That was not her first defeat in an objective sense, but it was her first defeat in a subjective sense.

This is the first time in every aspect.

At that moment, Amasawa Ichika felt her mind go blank.

She was willing to go against her nature and instincts, handing over everything she had and would have to Kitagawa Ryo, so that she could take his place and bear the most unfortunate Fate and suffering in the world.

But she didn't even have the chance to do that.

Since then, Amasawa Ichika has dreamed countless times of Kitagawa Ryo walking towards her, pointing to his heart, and then a knife falling from her hand as she and Kitagawa Ryo fell down together, declaring that she had killed him.

Frankly speaking, even if she killed anyone else in the world, including herself, she wouldn't feel this strongly, but it was Kitagawa Ryo who did.

Her world clearly only consisted of her and the other person.

She clearly didn't complain about the crowds or the small space.

All she needed to do was win... beat Sakayanagi Arisu.

Cutting the umbilical cord, which supplies nutrients to the mother, does not necessarily mean the birth of a newborn.

Because if one has never actually been separated from their mother's embrace, then that is a symbol of death.

In this respect, Amasawa Ichika is probably more talented than Yuki.

Or perhaps it's simply because the Fifth Generation's curriculum included extra instruction on emotional relationships.

She learned to deceive herself without any instruction.

Of course, this self-deception won't last long; it will explode at the slightest trigger.

Fortunately, news of Kitagawa Ryo reached Amasawa Ichika before this opportunity arose.

Amasawa Ichika didn't even care that the first thing the other person chose to take away after returning to the White Room was Yuki. Perhaps because the trick of deceiving herself was too successful, she actually felt a sense of entitlement towards Kitagawa Ryo's return.

It's cold, after all.

How could the other person possibly abandon me and leave alone?

He knew best that he was a child who was afraid, worried, and longing.

Therefore, it is only natural that the story will have a happy ending.

Children should read these beautiful fairy tales; that's the normal thing for them.

So, for many years afterward, Amasawa Ichika became a child who would only watch the television intently while adults were talking.

She didn't get involved in anything between Sakayanagi Arisu and Yuki.

So much so that both of them felt she was on their side.

How is that possible?

That's the one thing they will absolutely never admit.

Amasawa Ichika has never taken sides.

If she really had to say, she was only on her own side.

Children are indeed naturally excluded from the realm of romantic love.

But it is precisely because they are children that they retain that absolute egocentric viewpoint.

If you like something, you have to get it.

You can't get it by begging.

She can't be coquettish.

Then go and steal it yourself.

I must get revenge for what I hold a grudge against.

One time wasn't enough.

It didn't work twice.

Let's keep going until we win.

If we calculate the time it took from acquiring the memories to actually having a relationship, Karuizawa Kei took more than ten years, Ichinose Honami took about the same amount of time.

Horikita Suzune is three years, Sakayanagi Arisu is still unfulfilled.

However, Amasawa Ichika's progress is one month.

If Kitagawa Ryo hadn't stopped them, this process would have been completed half a month earlier, moving from the cruise ship period to the Uninhabited Island Special Exam.

To be honest, if Kitagawa Ryo's final simulation continues, he will probably experience the feeling of being reversed for the first time in all his life simulations so far, since March Hare is always the kind of person who goes crazy.

Thus, the first half is now complete.