Can You Use That On Me

(All characters are adults.)

(There are no actual blood relations between any of the characters.)

(Storing brain cells.)

April, at the gates of the Amasawa residence.

The cherry blossoms had not yet fully withered. A chilly breeze swept across the platform, swirling a few pale pink petals into the air.

The bus bound for Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School pulled slowly into the station. As the doors opened, a young man stepped inside, hands tucked into his pockets, his posture straight.

Black hair, light gray eyes. He looked around the bus with a somewhat nonchalant air at his fellow students, all wearing the same uniform. As they saw him board, every gaze turned toward him.

The eldest son of the Amasawa family, Amasawa Reigetsu.

Amasawa Reigetsu nodded in greeting to everyone looking at him, then, hands still in his pockets, walked to an empty seat and sat down.

Holy crap, no way! The person next to me looks... kind of familiar! Isn't this our Ayanokoji Kiyoko? She hasn't changed much in a few days, so...

"Use that on me. Can you?"

What a shocking thing to say!??

Amasawa Reigetsu's expression went through so many changes in a short span of time that if anyone other than Ayanokoji had been watching him, they would have only thought his mouth was twitching.

At the same time, Amasawa Reigetsu looked at Ayanokoji Kiyoko's face in disbelief. What shocked him more than meeting her here was—

Well, she was still a girl of few words, so that was normal... as if! Isn't that even weirder?

That's not how it was written in the White Room! You're supposed to be expressionless, carry a piano, practice calligraphy, then expressionlessly beat me up, walk away without looking back, and then someone else is supposed to come in and say I've been expelled, right?!

The profound image I, Amasawa Reigetsu, spent a full two hundred characters building—one part aloof, two parts mysterious, three parts nonchalant, and four parts scheming—was shattered by a single sentence from Ayanokoji Kiyoko?! As expected of the White Room's greatest masterpiece; truly terrifying.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Oh, calm down, brothers. I'm holding it together.

Although the thoughts just now were memories that had appeared out of thin air, Amasawa Reigetsu had indeed spent some time in the White Room, even if the result was... let's not talk about that. As for what Ayanokoji meant by "that"... it was Amasawa Reigetsu's "ability."

On the day Amasawa Ichika was born, Amasawa Reigetsu awakened a special ability. It was as if, much like Amasawa Ichika, it was a gift from the world to him.

Amasawa Reigetsu called this ability "Induction."

Induction could do many things. It could induce a line of sight to make himself disappear from others' eyes, or be used to play basketball. It could also induce thoughts, making others believe or disbelieve something. And finally—mind control.

This was a supernatural power, and Amasawa Reigetsu was the only esper in this realistic world. That was why that old thief Ayanokoji Atsuomi had taken a liking to him and sent him into the White Room.

Amasawa Reigetsu found the White Room too stifling and boring, so while he was there, he loved to throw out an Induction to tease his classmates or the supervisors whenever he had the chance. However, as the experiments progressed, everyone's reactions gradually became duller.

Ayanokoji was the only person he remembered after his expulsion; she was the only one unaffected by "Induction." Furthermore, before the day he was nearly expelled, Ayanokoji would always call him to her room as if she had predicted what he was going to do. She would do nothing but stare at him, then let him go.

Though, it must be said, Ayanokoji was quite beautiful...

Back to reality.

"Use 'Induction' on me."

Ayanokoji Kiyoko looked earnest, or rather, it was impossible to see any expression on her face at all.

"And then what? You shouldn't have forgotten that you have no emotions, so I can't induce your feelings."

Amasawa Reigetsu was a bit speechless. So, she called everyone out just for this? Although he could do it with mind control, it wouldn't be fun. Ever since his younger sister forced him to use it once, Amasawa Reigetsu had never used full-power mind control again.

Ayanokoji Kiyoko seemed to want to say something else, but she held it back. Their interactions in the White Room were always like this—just a few words, and then silence.

Ayanokoji Kiyoko: ( ᗜ ‸ ᗜ )

"Could someone please give up their seat for this elderly lady?"

A clear, bright female voice broke the air in the carriage.

This, conversely, caught Amasawa Reigetsu's attention. He could feel that this line was filled with the flavor of emotion.

The speaker was a girl with short, tea-colored hair. She was carefully supporting an elderly woman with white hair, a signature sweet smile on her face. With just the right amount of concern and gentleness, she walked softly toward the blond muscle-head who was hogging the priority seat.

"Excuse me, student, could you please give up your seat? This is a priority seat for the elderly; it would be better to let the grandmother sit here."

[BLACK FILE]

File Status: Permanently Sealed

[Major Anomalous Event]

Time: 12 hours after the 4th Generation, Yuki, was deemed eliminated.

Event Level: BLACK

Event Summary: The target individual exhibited a clear loss of emotional control for the first time, followed by an immediate loss of ability control, resulting in widespread, irreversible impact.

Presumed Cause: The elimination of experimental subject Yuki.

Dialogue Record (Partially Recovered):

Target Individual: "Where is Yuki?"

Researcher: "She failed."

Target Individual: "Then there is no one left to talk to me."

Researcher: "These are the rules of the White Room."

Record interrupted for 17 seconds.

[Anomalous Diffusion]

Subsequently, 17 staff members within the research area exhibited:

Intense agitation, abnormal heart rates, errors in judgment, and emotional instability.

Among them, 3 engaged in disputes, 1 actively attacked surveillance equipment, and 2 experienced brief amnesia.

Most severe case: Researcher B-09 attempted to initiate isolation protocols but stopped before entering the password, subsequently muttering to himself:

"There is no point in continuing..."

"Is this truly correct..."

Post-confirmation:

This individual had never previously exhibited personality fluctuations.

Technical Department confirmation:

No external intrusion detected.

[Final Conclusion]

The Committee determines: The abilities of WR-4th-00 have exceeded the control range of the educational system.

[Discussion Record of Disposal Plans]

Plan A

Immediate isolation.

Rejected; simulations have failed.

Plan B

Continue cultivation.

Rejected. Danger level too high.

Plan C

Personality reconstruction.

Rejected; simulations have failed.

Recommendation:

WR-4th-00:

Permanently removed from the official cultivation sequence.

All files listed under BLACK-level lockdown.

Personnel associated with the 4th Generation are prohibited from further discussion of this individual.

[Appendix]

WR-4th-01 Observation Record

After the event concluded.

WR-4th-01 stared at the blank surveillance area for an extended period.

And spoke voluntarily for the first time:

"Zero... has left."

Recording personnel did not respond.

[BLACK FILE CLOSED]