Freezing: Finding Limits

Chapter 1: Progression and Perspective

It was a side of had always conflicted with the reality of life's situations and what it required him to act.

The mask of cold professionalism was necessary whenever he had to deal with the Chevalier organization or others like them.

Only a few individuals closest to him actually came to know the true nature of Gengo Aoi.

And one of them was currently in this lab, overseeing the development.m of one of the things he held most dear.

As he opened the door to an observation deck, he was greeted by the scientists currently residing within.

"Good Morning Dr. Aoi." They said respectfully and in almost perfect unison.

Gengo returned their greeting in kind, noting their politeness, likely an unintentional consequence of Lab 13's recruitment requirements.

The staff at Lab 13 was always vetted for three important factors, the fist was an ability to exercise discretion, the second was advanced talents in their respective fields and finally a sense of compassion.

But it is difficult to balance all the three traits together, and emphasizing any has always lead to problems.

Even I myself don't always get it right. such is the beautiful and imperfect nature of humans. The renowned scientist contemplating.

He thought about his two former closest lab aids, they had been a cut above all the others he had employed, then and even now.

But both of them now longer worked for him for different reasons. Wina's compassion had led her to believe that his projects would save the human race at the cost of their humanity.

I hope I won't prove her right.

Scarlett's rare intelligence had brought her too close to secrets that he had needed to stay in the dark.

I am sorry for what happened to both of you. But I simply cannot place risk on any of Maria's legacies.

Speaking of legacies, that was the main reason for this lab visit.

"How's his progress been today?" He asked.

"He's currently in the last stretch of his cardio run." A male researcher answered. "Next on today's programme are weight training and then the indoor obstacle course, with the appropriate breaks in-between."

"OK, then everything is proceeding as scheduled." He replied.

"Can I have the cardio readouts?"

A lab aid, this one female, handed Gengo a clipboard with papers attached. As he read over the cardio results, Gengo smiled slightly. He's already running faster than I had predicted, but I guess it's not surprising given how resolved he is.

While continuing to peruse the readouts, another lab aid spoke up.

"Doctor Aoi, the instructor has also requested to starting giving the boy H2H and CQC training at the end of today's workout."

"Hand to Hand and Close Quarter Combat?" Gengo asked raising an eyebrow. "Is there any particular reason why she asked?"