The Kitty Killer Isn't That Cold

"No, I'm very glad you're willing to trust us..."

Seemingly understanding how difficult Nana's choice had been, the petite Rhodes Island medic expressed her understanding.

Nana had chosen to get into this car not only because she had a good impression of Outcast, who was also a Rhodes Island operator.

More importantly, while Nana had been arguing with her manager under the cover of smoke, this little fox and the woman beside her had truly been tending to the wounded among the ruins of Loken Watertank...

Although Little Fox seemed to be treated as nothing more than an errand runner, constantly ordered about by the Contingency Contract staff due to her age, Nana could tell that compared to the other organizations using this incident for publicity, these two cared more about fulfilling a doctor's duty—saving people.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Su Sulo from Rhodes Island's Medical Department, and the one driving is my colleague..."

"Call me Touch. Nice to meet you, Agent."

"...As for the agent thing... this operation was entirely in my personal capacity... Borrowing the organization's power in the end was more or less a forced choice..."

As she spoke, she tilted her head slightly toward the window. Having lost one eye, Nana felt that her sense of distance might be seriously off... Would she still be able to use a gun properly in the future?

With that doubt in mind, Nana closed her eyes slightly... The two doctors in front had little combat ability and showed no hostility, so the killer allowed herself to relax a little at a time like this.

Watching the girl in the backseat, whose bandages had been completely dyed red with blood and who seemed to have fallen asleep from exhaustion, Su Sulo kept calculating her blood loss from her complexion and breathing... She had wanted to take out her portable staff several times along the way, but Touch had stopped her each time.

"Don't move around... Her presence is locked onto us..."

"...That's why we're not her enemies..."

"How can something like that be made clear with words alone...? In her current state, she may be even more dangerous than an acutely infected patient."

As she spoke, seemingly feeling that she had not explained herself clearly enough, Touch continued while trying to keep the car as steady as possible:

"Of course, acutely infected patients are dangerous because their condition is dangerous... But this Feline is dangerous mainly because she herself is dangerous."

"...But she's a Feline who looks like she might not even be an adult..."

"Trust an old operator's instincts... Kal'tsit had me accompany you on this internship because she was worried you'd run into situations you couldn't judge from books alone... Besides, Su Sulo, aren't you from a race that seems unable to grow up even after reaching adulthood?"

As she spoke, Touch winked at Nana through the rearview mirror... Realizing what her senior had done, the little fox covered her mouth and turned back to look at Nana.

Just as Touch had instructed, Nana was merely resting with her eyes closed. She had not actually fallen asleep.

"Um... I'm sorry! This is my first time going on an internship with my senior! I wasn't trying to speak badly of you!"

Seeing Su Sulo hurriedly lean over the seatback and bow in apology, Nana smiled and waved her hand.

"It's fine... Also, I really am an adult... It seems I was just born able to grow only this big. That shouldn't be my fault, right?"

"I still recommend getting a physical examination when you have time. Who can guarantee that an abnormality isn't a symptom of illness?"

[My neighbor thinks she's right.]

Nana glared toward the source of the voice that had somehow appeared by her ear again. If the space to her right had not been directly outside the car, she would have nearly drawn her gun... Her ears had suddenly shot upright so visibly that Touch looked around the outskirts they had just entered with confusion.

"What's wrong? I haven't noticed any problem..."

"N-Nothing... This child's sister agrees with you... But I... don't really want to get a physical examination... There isn't any medical institution I can trust."

"...You were speaking with this child's... sister?"

"This child's sister isn't..."

She recalled the public files in the media, but Nana did not look as though she were joking. Su Sulo looked around for a long while, her tail fur standing on end, before asking hesitantly:

"Um... This child's family is your friend, right?"

"Yes, I'm their neighbor...'s friend... I live downstairs from them."

Remembering the identity she was currently using, Nana's smile no longer seemed like merely a pathological issue in Su Sulo's eyes.

"They're all wonderful people... This child's two older brothers were a little shy. At first, they would peek at me from behind corners... Her sister Kate worked at the bakery on the corner... She got into the local university, and her family had saved money for her to open a shop... And her mother, Cole... had even hosted me... us... Ah, yes... us... They'll host me again in the future? That really is wonderful..."

Seeing Nana hold Little Cat as though she were looking through the child in her arms at someone else, muttering to herself, Su Sulo's tail fur stood up even more.

Touch's expression also turned serious.

"What I'm about to say may be unpleasant, but for the child in your arms, I need to confirm something... Are you lucid?"

"What do you mean by lucid?"

"Do you understand that this child's entire family died in that tragic experiment? I know you had a rather close relationship with this child through various connections... But if you are more immersed in this tragedy than the child herself, then I do not think you are suited to care for her."

"T-Touch, isn't that... too harsh?"

Ignoring Su Sulo's question, Touch drove while watching the rearview mirror, waiting for the reaction of the woman described in the reports as a "brave doctor," only to later be exposed as an agent of a Columbian government agency.

But unlike the immediate denial or obvious mental instability she had expected, the black-haired girl fell into thought.

"...I think I'm probably lucid... I also know that my condition may not be quite right... But I really can hear that family speaking. At its strongest, I can even see their faces clearly...

"They really are still alive... They say it is the result of my Originium Arts... But in my work as an... agent, I never encountered anything similar in the past... So even I find it utterly unbelievable.

"Don't rush to say it's a mental problem... I'm not the only one who can sense the dead... This child can see them too."

At that moment, not only did Su Sulo look deeply conflicted, but even Touch's first thought was, These two should both be sent for psychiatric treatment.

Although Nana had lost one eye, she was not so blind that she could not see at such close range inside the car... She could see the silent advice in the two doctors' expressions: Maybe you should see a doctor. But clearly, that was not possible right now... And just as Nana had joked before, she still could not find a medical institution she could trust.

Originally, she had been able to trust ICA... But now... she was still observing the Homeland Security Bureau.

"In any case, we need to report this situation to the committee... Please understand, this is for little Matilda's health and normal development..."

"Mm... It doesn't matter. It's all the same."

With that, she gave the two doctors a shy smile. As the convoy stopped, Nana picked up Matilda and got out. Next, Little Cat would undergo a detailed examination at the hospital, and her condition would also be made public.

After that, she only needed to wait for her manager to secure custody, and Nana could legally take her out of the public eye... Of course, doing it illegally was acceptable too. Nana could live with that.

As for these two Rhodes Island doctors, they probably would not meet again... They were good people, and Nana did not want to drag them into this if she could help it.

Interacting with good people could lift one's mood through conversation alone... Nana had spoken so much to them in the car partly because she wanted someone to confide in, somewhere to pour out her thoughts...

They were doctors. They would not go around spreading a patient's affairs for no reason... And even if they did, others would probably only assume that "Doctor Nana" had been too devastated by the Bruce family tragedy after this incident and developed mental problems.

In truth, Nana had indeed confirmed that Kate and Cole chattering at both her and Little Cat was her Witchcraft acting up... No one else could help with something like this. If she could not take it anymore, she could talk to someone and adjust her mood... If she truly could not find anyone, she could complain to Ghost... That last option seemed easier to keep secret?

Thinking that, she slung the WA2000 still hanging from her body behind her. Its case and accompanying equipment had probably been recovered by the Security Bureau... With such a large Firearms Arts weapon, tattered clothes, and an injured eye... Nana radiated the air of a battlefield from the moment she entered the hospital, drawing attention everywhere she went.

Nana truly watched every one of Matilda's examinations with an iron-blooded posture... Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought she was with the uniformed soldiers.

That was right, the military had followed them to the hospital as well... They claimed it was to prevent conflicts between Nana, reporters, Contingency Contract personnel from cooperating companies, and uninformed civilians, so they had established a rudimentary isolation perimeter.

Kitty Killer held no hope that this showy security could stop anyone with ulterior motives... The soldiers, however, really did seem to have their eyes on her.

Of course, many civilian bystanders were staring at her as well... Nana suspected it was because the temporary bandage over her left eye had been entirely soaked red...

"Um... How about... at least letting me perform some preliminary treatment on your wound...?"

Matilda's examination was nearly complete, and the child had been placed in a hospital bed. Su Sulo, the Rhodes Island intern who should have left upon arriving at the hospital but had stayed by Nana's side until now, gathered her courage under her senior's encouragement and tried to speak with Nana.

"...This... You should know my situation, right...? I won't leave this child. Even if you say the treatment room is next door, I won't go."

"W-Why? Your injuries are severe..."

"This child... I had five years to notice her family's suffering... But I didn't. Today, I had at least five minutes to think about whether to save them... But because I hesitated and looked back and forth... Matilda lost the last of her family... I promised that friend I would take good care of her... I won't give anyone with ulterior motives another chance..."

Seeing that Nana truly intended to stay resolutely by Little Cat's side, Su Sulo opened her mouth slightly as though she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

The little fox with shoulder-length pinkish-purple hair first sighed and raised her hands in surrender, then patted the medical messenger bag bearing the same Doctor Nana emblem as Nana's.

"Then... what about treating you here? I think it's such a waste not to use the hospital's available equipment, but if you insist..."

"...Actually, I was planning to treat it myself..."

After saying something that made a real doctor's blood pressure spike, Nana looked at Su Sulo, who was clearly frightened but still showed her medical staff. In the end, Nana nodded.

"...No anesthetic, and don't do anything unnecessary... such as movements that would block my vision... Also, treating me may get you caught up in a conspiracy involving this child... If anything happens, you should stop immediately and lie down... You're a good doctor. You'll surely become a respected physician someday... So protect yourself."

"Ah... Okay!"

Though Su Sulo had been encouraged and was full of determination, her hands still began trembling involuntarily after she saw Nana remove the bandages, which were soaked enough to drip blood... This sort of battlefield procedure that forcibly raised the difficulty of treatment, combined with debridement without any anesthetic, was too much pressure for Su Sulo, whose previous focus had been internal medicine involving Oripathy circulation.

So Touch put on a pair of medical gloves and came over as well.

"I'll help too... You don't mind, do you?"

"Mm."

Seeing the two Rhodes Island doctors accepted and beginning treatment for the "hero" from the news, the hospital's own white coats wanted to step forward as well, but Nana immediately drove them back by holding her gun one-handed.

"I don't know you, and this place isn't safe. Don't come in here and make trouble..."

At that moment, Nana's black cat ears stood erect. Her uninjured right eye watched Little Cat directly in front of her as though the two people busy before her did not exist... Only the blood running down her left cheek and her right eye's refusal to close proved that she was still keeping her promise.

PS: I've been running to the bathroom all day... My writing kept getting interrupted... I've been writing from midnight until now, getting interrupted every few words... I almost wanted to move my desktop computer into the bathroom... I don't know whether it affected the continuity... At least my writing itself was very disjointed.

PS2: Killers seem to have similar scenes where they receive medical treatment while remaining on guard before beginning their counterattack... I only noticed after writing it...

PS3:

1st Rosemary's Embrace: 023 Abruptly Cut Short

Nana had actually prepared herself for a desperate fight. In her view, if someone wanted to take Matilda away, the examination phase at the hospital would be the best time to act... Because if she were them, that was when she would strike.

So she personally watched every examination Little Cat underwent, using the hospital environment to seal off every possible route by which Little Cat could be taken away. Even after reaching the special ward watched by countless eyes, she refused to leave even briefly to clean up her disheveled appearance.

But blood-loss wounds needed treatment, just as wounded hearts needed time to heal... Nana ultimately accepted Su Sulo's insistence as a doctor. It was hard to say whether Kitty Killer's willingness to accept treatment also carried the intention of feigning weakness to lure out enemies... But in the end, until her wounds had been treated, Nana never encountered the enemy attack she had anticipated.

This greatly exceeded Nana's expectations...

The soldiers outside the ward seemed to truly be carrying out the lockdown obediently. Staff wearing Contingency Contract badges and red vests hurried back and forth, occasionally discussing the progress of the laboratory cleanup.

The tiny pink-haired doctor at her side carefully instructed her on how to care for her injuries, as though every conspiracy surrounding the Bruce family had vanished entirely at this moment...

Moonlight spilled down, yet the doubts in the killer's heart only grew deeper.

[The latest news is that the military has backed off.]

Only after her manager brought the latest intelligence did Nana seem to understand why things had become so calm.

[Williams confessed to every one of his crimes. He handed over all research material and experimental data from the Originium Organ Project without reservation... After verification by Rhine Lab's Energy Department, the material was complete, from theoretical design to experimental procedure... The military got what it wanted.]

"What about ICA?"

[ICA has also clearly stated that it will continue to abide by its original rules... Do you remember your employee handbook?]

"...You can't accept a second assignment against the same target..."

[That rule only applies to contracted employees, but this time Loken Watertank Experimental Park was half-cleared out, Loken Williams himself was sentenced to at least a hundred years, Contingency Contract has fully mobilized public opinion, and the Maylander Foundation also took part in the operation... The nature of the incident has already been fixed. Not even the president can reverse the verdict now.]

"What role did the 'organization' play in this?"

[One of the "judges"... Unfortunately, our main work is still focused more on dangers that could trigger massive changes in the world... If you had not ultimately chosen to join the Security Bureau, giving us an excuse to get involved, illegal experiments like this would not fall under our jurisdiction in the first place... Compared with public agencies, ICA is obviously freer, and that is why I need you, Seventy-Seven.]

[As a newly established organization in a newly emerging country, we lack outstanding frontline operatives... This means that many times, even when we know something is happening, all we can do is stand aside and pretend to be helpless... And that is still a political act meant to show the outside world that our nation is strong and powerful.]

"So in reality, our organization's upper ranks can only watch. Even if they do reach in, they lack the power to interfere, and they'll only bring disaster upon themselves and end up dead?"

Compared with ICA's civilian disputes, the missions on the organization's side appeared to be several levels more difficult...

As Nana thought about this, she heard a knock on the ward door. It was the Security Bureau agents she had met for the first time today, bringing things over.

Aside from the weapon case she immediately recognized, which contained the firearms she had left at the laboratory and which could have exposed her identity, Nana also saw a suitcase, and... a potted plant...

Yes, her own plant.

But the operation was still ongoing. Nana did not understand why her manager had brought the potted plant over... If she had to name anything it had in common with the weapon case and suitcase, it was probably only that her manager had bought all of them for her.

[You're very sharp, but telling the truth so bluntly is hurtful...]

"Accepting reality is the foundation that lets our work move forward... And... why did you have someone bring my plant here?"

She carefully wiped the dust from the plant's leaves with her hand. There was not much of it, but Nana still wiped it away attentively.

"Don't you want me anymore?"

[...Shouldn't your first reaction be that you're being sent out on fieldwork?]

"Now?"