In one of the dormitories on the fourth floor, a pink-haired boy was reading a book quietly in his bed. Usually, Ansel liked the quiet, but this was different. He liked it when he was alone, but there was someone else in the room with him. Slowly his eyes were drawn to the other man in the room. He was just wearing his normal attire, minus his iconic black hoodie. Normally the man would start a conversation with Ansel, but today it was different.
The moment the man finished cleaning himself up, he sat on the sofa and read through some files. Ansel at first did not think much of this and carried out his daily routine; cleaning himself up. When he was done and saw that there was still a lot of time left before he had to go to work, Ansel decided to lie on his bed and read a book to pass the time. As he was doing this, he expected Lin Ye to start talking with him. However, no matter how long he waited, the man kept on reading the files without even raising his head toward him.
Not being able to hold off his curiosity, Ansel called out to him, "What's the matter with you?" Ansel asked, "You've been reading that for hours on end now."
Lin Ye finally raised his head from the papers and looked at him. He showed a smile and put the papers down on the table near to him. The doctor leaned back on the sofa and hummed
"It's nothing."
Ansel doubted that.
Although he knew this, Ansel did not say anything more. When he saw how Lin Ye was smiling at him, he knew that he wouldn't get anything from him. So to not waste their time in a goose chase, Ansel sat up and thought about a topic to talk about with him. Seeing that he was bored, and he got Lin Ye's attention, why not?
A situation popped into Ansel's mind. That should be a good place to start a conversation.
"The two women that you brought, I did a medical test on them," Ansel closed his book and placed it to his side. His eyes are still on Lin Ye, "Nian and FEater, right?"
Lin Ye raised his brow at this, "Really? What a coincidence. Yeah, they are with me. What is it? Have they done anything bad? Were they hard to deal with" He sighed, "Was it Nian? Sorry for that."
Why was he acting like their parents now?
"Nothing like that," Ansel denied, "It is more about the result that they show. One in particular."
"Really? That's good. I thought Nian burned the place," Lin Ye looked more at ease hearing this, Then he focused on Ansel, "So, what is it?"
"Her body. I want to know more about it." Ansel said.
"..."
Lin Ye stared at him, his eyes slowly blinking. A deep sigh escaped from his lip as he leaned back into the sofa and massaged his aching head.
Ansel was confused by his reaction and tilted his head to the side.
Lin Ye moved his hand away from his head and leaned towards Ansel.
"Ansel," He started "We're friends, right?"
This only made Ansel even more confused.
"Yes?" he managed to answer this random question.
"Good. Good," Lin Ye nodded, "So as a friend I will give you another chance."
"Chance?" Ansel asked, "For what?"
"To word your question better," He said seriously, "Think wisely. The way I am going to view you after this depends on the next few words that will come out of your mouth."
Lin Ye then cracked his knuckles, making Ansel flinch.
"Choose them wisely."
This was the first time Ansel saw Lin Ye this furious. At first, he did not understand what this man was talking about, but when Ansel remembered what he had just said to him, blood rushed to his face, making his face almost brighter than his hair.
"That wasn't what I meant!" Anself flailed his arms at Lin Ye as he explained himself, "The data that I got from her test was weird! I want to look into this in more detail!"
Lin Ye did not look convinced, "Really?"
"Really!" Ansel shouted, desperately wanting to end this discussion.
They stared at each other, seriously by Lin Ye and embarrassedly by Ansel.
After what felt like an eternity for Ansel, Lin Ye let out a sigh and leaned back into the sofa.
"Good," Lin Ye said, "I thought you were a pervert just now and was about to make you meet your maker early."
"Who do you think I am!?" Ansel shouted and pointed his finger at him, "You?!"
"Woah. I think you are being a bit unreasonable now," Lin Ye hummed, "I gave you a chance to not let me misunderstand you," A smirk appeared on his face, "Or are you really a pervert? I heard bunnies are amongst the more hor--."
"Shut up!" Ansel screamed.
This made Lin Ye chuckle.
So this was what people felt when teasing someone. He understands why people like to do this to him so much. Ansel could do nothing to stop him from laughing, so he could only glare holes into his head from afar.
Finally calming down, Lin Ye stared back at the glaring - pouting from his point of view - bunny and rested his head on his hand.
"So about Nian?" He asked, "You may continue."
Although Ansel wanted to smack the smirk off of Lin Ye's face, he chose to be the bigger man and let it go. It did not mean he would forget about this.
"She refused to undergo medical tests. We tried to explain to her that every operator needs to go through it, but she still refuses." Ansel sighed at the memories, "We reported this to Dr. Kal'tsit, but the answer that we got was to leave her be. The best that we got from her was to ask for you to persuade her to do this." Ansel then asked another question, "Do you know why Dr. Kal'tsit is not doing anything about this and let her be?"
Lin Ye scratched his chin.
Of course, he knew. He told all about who and what Nian was yesterday with Warfarin. What caught his attention was how Kal'tsit reacted to this. She told him that she would give Nian the position of being a guest on Rhodes Island and not an operator. Although she did not tell him why she was doing this, Kal'tsit placed the responsibility of taking care of her on him. Lin Ye did not mind it, but it intrigued him how she seemed to know who Nian was more than he did after he told the whole story to her.
He might need to research Yan's history with deities when he was free.
Kal'tsit also reminded them to not tell the rest of the people about Nian's identity. This was to not cause chaos, something that Lin Ye fully agreed with. So for dealing with Ansel's question, he did what he did the best if he found himself in this type of situation.
Bullshiting.
"The last one, I don't know," He smiled at Ansel, "About Nian not wanting to get a medical test, I will talk to her."
Although Lin ye answered his question, it was far from enough to satisfy Ansel. However, Ansel knew how stubborn Lin ye was in keeping secrets, so this was the best that he could get from him for now. Realising this, Ansel sighed and took his book by his side. He laid back in his bed and read it.
Lin Ye hummed and looked to his side at the documents that were scattered on the table. Lappland, Eyja, Ptilopsis and Nightingale. Those names were staring back at him. It was like they were taunting him.
Without looking away from the papers, Lin Ye's asked, "Ansel, how many people are Infected in the medical department?"
"... Half, I believe," Ansel lowered his book and looked puzzlingly at him, "Why did you ask this all of a sudden?"
Lin ye smiled at him, "No reason. Just curious."
Ansel just raised his brow at him and read his book again.
Half?
So if Lin Ye took this information as a base, more than half of the people in this moving mini city depended on him to cure them. More if he was counting people who were out. And now, Lin Ye needed to pick between four people to not get the cure for a disease that was killing them. A cure that people would easily kill for to have.
No pressure.
None at all.
With a sigh, Lin Ye stood up abruptly and walked to the door.
"Getting something to eat," Lin Ye glanced at the laying bunny, "Joining?"
Without looking away from his book, Ansel answered, "No. I have to go on a walk later," Ansel flipped a page, "Go on without me."
Lin Ye shrugged and left the room. The door closed behind him as he made his way to the cafeteria.
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty hall. A lone figure could be seen walking, in the quiet hall, making each step he took louder than normal.
As Lin Ye was walking in the empty hall, his mind was thinking about who he would choose to not get the cure.
Eyja.
Lappland.
Ptilopsis.
And Liz.
These were the names that were running in his head. Lin Ye was not given an easy choice because if he could, he would give each and every one of them the cure. However, like his life, nothing was that simple. There must be something that needed to be added to cause him annoyance.
He needed to choose one of them to not get it.
So ran every memory that he had about each of them.
Eyja. She was an amazing person. Hard-working, a genius, talented and kind. Those were a few words that he would use to describe this amazing person that he knew. Said person also respected him, weirdly enough. Although he tried to make her just consider him a normal person, she would always ignore him and continue to give him the respect that he should not get. With how smart and talented Eyja was, she would have an amazing life ahead of her. Her research could easily save lives. However, like a trend in this world, a kind and amazing person would not be given an amazing life. She was infected. How? Because she felt responsible for continuing her parents' research and endangering herself to finish what her parents started. In the end, she got Oripathy because she did a noble cause.
Was it unfair for Eyja? Of course, but what could he do? That was in the past, and he needed to focus on the now. To choose either to save her or not.
Lappland. That dumb dog that he knew. The first time he met that girl was not something he wanted to relive. Being treated to fight her was not a good way to introduce oneself, no matter what world he was in. At first, Lin Ye thought this girl was batshit insane. Killing people without any remorse, dumpster driving in new places and even biting him without any good reason. All in all, his first impression of the guard was not a good one. However, that all changed when he went on a mission with her for the first time. Although she was harsh, she helped him in his training. Although she killed people, she also protected her teammate. And to end it all, Irene. She treated Irene kindly, in her own special way. She was more than a crazy wolf, Lappland was much more than that, and Lin Ye hated how he thought she was only that. Lappland, under all of her craziness, was still a person. She was his friend and Lin Ye was lucky enough to meet her. Lin Ye then realised that the reason why he was okay that Lappland was in a team was how he saw her reaction when she saw a person. Texas. She earned her attention. He did not know why, but he knew one thing.
Lappland did not want to be alone, no matter how hard she tried to deny this. However, that person was also dying now, and Lin Ye was given the choice of either saving her or damning her.
Ptilopsis. That cheeky assistant of his. Their first encounter was not what he expected. A person that was sent by Olivia to be his assistant. If he had to say, if it was not for Olivia, no one would consider being a personal assistant of a newly opened department that was not related to medical treatment. So seeing Ptilopsis in his office ready to be interviewed by him would never be forgotten by him. The first time they talked, Lin ye found it strange how robotic her speech pattern was. Like he was talking to a computer rather than a person. She even fell asleep in her interview. He was worried that he might hire the wrong person at the time. Oh, how wrong he was. In just a few hours, with her brilliant mind, Ptilopsis was able to help in treating Liz's nightmare. He firmly believes, that without her help, Liz would still have nightmares to this day. As he spent time with his assistant, he got to know her more. Although she was robotic in her way of speaking, it did not stop her from being sassy with him. Spreading rumours after rumours of him on the Ark. She also had a cheeky side, trying her best to push his buttons. Although it was annoying, he would be lying if he did not enjoy her company. Ptilopsis was more than a personal assistant, she was someone that Lin Ye wanted to see having the best life she could ever have.
And Lin Ye was given the choice to give that life or not.
And that left Liz...
She...
She's...
As Lin ye was walking on autopilot, he took a sharp turn at the corner where the cafeteria should be. A figure then almost slammed into him, if not for him snapping out of it and stop himself from doing it. Out of habit, he apologized first.
"Ah, sorry," Lin Ye apologized and was about to make his way to the cafeteria, but a voice stopped him.
"Pin -- Dr Lin Ye?"
He froze in place and spun his head to where the voice came from. Her long whitish blonde hair was just how he remembered it was. The two eyes that were staring at him were like a portal to the bright day sky. And what made him so surprised when looking at this beautiful woman was that she was standing in front of him without any discomfort on her face.
"Liz?" Her name escaped from his mouth, and he noticed it. His tired expression softened when he saw how healthy she was. He slowly came closer to her and smiled at her, "How are you? And you know you can just call me Ye."
Liz recovered from her previous shock and smiled at him, "Ah, I forgot, I am fine Ye." Then she became curious about why he was here, "Ye, where are you going? Your office is not on this floor."
Lin Ye hummed and nudged his head to where the cafeteria was, "I want to grab something before I head to work." Then an idea popped into his head, "Do you want to join me?"
Liz looked troubled at his question. It was like she did not know what to say to him. Seeing this, Lin Ye smiled and waved his hand at her.
"You must be busy," He smiled and was about to turn his back to her, "It's ok--."
"Yes!" Liz said out loud.
Lin Ye raised a brow at her sudden outburst. Realising this, Liz's face instantly become brighter in colour.
"... I mean," Liz tried to recover, "I would like that."
Lin ye chuckled at this. She really did not change.
"Let's go then."
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
At the table where only the two of them were, Lin Ye and Liz caught up with each other. Lin Ye told Liz all about the little adventure that he had with his group. With how no one was in the cafeteria other than them, he could tell her everything without worrying. The reason why there were no people now was that this was the time when most of the staff here had to start to work. She was surprised at hearing he was the prince of a country and got two new sisters, one he adopted and the other that he reunited with. As Liz was hearing more of his story, she slowly became more worried.
Fighting a dragon.
Getting attacked in his own room while he was in the bathroom.
Rescuing his new little sister from a family that she hated.
Assassinating the family member that his little sister hated.
Same old, same old.
It was like Lin Ye was trying to kill himself. And Liz was far from happy hearing about all of this. When he was finished telling his story, Liz was ready to throw the empty bowl - she ordered a bowl of salad and was done eating it - in front of her at him. However, the way Lin ye was telling the story to her, with a smile on his face, she stopped herself. Liz just reminded him to be more careful and not make her worry. Although it was not much, Liz saw Lin Ye took her word seriously.
It was Liz's turn to tell her about what she did when he was away. With how her body was getting better now, she was allowed to follow Nearl and Shining on their missions. However, she would need to get permission from Kal'tsit. Other than that, she also needed to do a medical test before and after a mission. She told him that she got to see different places with them, that she became more useful now. Lin Ye quietly listened to all of this with a small smile on his face. He was happy for her. She finally got what she had always wanted, to be able to explore the world.
However, how long did she have left before the Originium in her body started to act up? Yes, she could always take the cure again and again, but what would happen if the Originium evolved to not be affected by it?
He really did not want to think about it now. He was too busy giving all of his attention to this sweet little devil in front of him with a smile on his face.
When Liz ended her story, Lin Ye's phone started buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out from his pocket, and it was an alarm that he set. His eyes widened at the time. Lin Ye was going to be late.
Liz also noticed how late it was and said to him, that she needed to get to the medical department now to get her medical test. With that, both of them left the cafeteria and found themselves where they met.
"Ye, the pendants," Liz held out her hand to him, "Give them to me. Let me recharge them."
"Oh," Lin Ye unstrapped the two crystals hanging on his waist and placed them on her hand, "Thanks for the reminder."
"Mhm," Liz nodded, "I will take my leave then."
Just as she was about to leave, a hand grabbed onto her arm. She turned around to see Lin Ye smiling at her, "Wait, I almost forgot."
Lin Ye let go of her arm and rummaged through his pocket. Liz turned to him and waited. He pulled out a small bottle of medicine from his pocket and held it to Liz.
"Here," Lin Ye smiled, "This is the medicine that cured your leg before. I found some more when I went to Yan."
He did not lie, well half-truth. Lin Ye asked the first prince to get him some of the secret medicines from the royalty from Higashi. Leizi gave them to him before he left Yan.
Liz's face instantly lit up and with both of her hands, she took the medicine from him. She raised her head to him and smiled at him.
She held the bottle to her chest, scared of losing it, "Thank you," Liz said in an excited voice, "Thank you, Ye."
Lin Ye did not like to admit it, but he missed how Liz would use to call him Pineapple Bun. He knew that it was silly for him to think like this, but her calling him his name rather than Pineapple Bun made him a little sad.
Although he thought this, Lin ye still smiled at her. She looked so happy getting the bottle from him and that was the only thing that matters right now. His childish thought of missing his pet name did not matter in the slightest.
"Hey, Liz," Lin Ye called her, "Did you get your memories back yet?"
Liz put the bottle away into her pocket and stared back at him, "No."
Lin Ye hummed at this, "Really? Nothing?"
The medic nodded, "I do not remember what my childhood was," Liz hummed, "Even the most vivid memories of my past, about the war that I was in, are still cloudy every time I try to remember it."
Then she stared back at him, "How about you, Ye?"
"Me?" Lin Ye raised a brow, "What do you mean?"
"Yes, you have amnesia too, right?" Liz asked, "Have you not remembered your past as well?"
His body froze at her question.
A body lay on the snow floor. Two figures were staring at it, still unmoving.
"Ye?" A worried voice snapped him out, "Is something the matter?"
Lin Ye felt two hands placed on his cheeks. He then saw Liz's face a few inches away from his. Her fair face was painted with worry as she stared at him.
"Liz?"
"You were spacing out all of a sudden," Liz said, "And your face is paler now."
Lin Ye's face softened and hummed, "I'm fine Liz."
"But--."
Lin Ye placed his right hand on Liz's, "I am fine Liz," He smiled at her, "Don't worry, Liz."
Liz wanted to rebut him, but her words were gone when she saw the way Lin Ye was looking at her.
He looked so at ease now.
"I'm fine," Lin Ye said, "I promise."
Liz could feel her eyes glued to his face as he said this. The medic could hear something drumming loud in her chest. Her face started to feel hot. All of these strange things were happening to her body, and she ignored all of them.
Her only focus was how Lin Ye was looking at her at this moment.
"Liz?" Lin Ye asked.
"... Yes," Liz was amazed at how she was able to give him an answer.
"How long are you going to hold on to my face?" Lin Ye smiled.
Liz's body froze. She looked at what she was doing and Liz noticed how close she was to him. It was so close that she could feel him breathing. If a person would push either of them, they would...
She let go of his face and hastily took a few steps back away from him.
She immediately apologized to him as she failed her hands, "I am sorry!" She stammered, "I... I... Did... Not-."
A chuckle could be heard, making her stop panicking.
In front of her, Lin Ye chuckled. Liz could see how bright his face was now as he let himself laugh.
When Lin Ye was done, he smiled at her, "Why are you apologising?" He placed his hand on Liz's head and lightly brushed her hair, "You did that to cheer me up."
Liz looked up at him and saw him smiling at her, "Thank you."
She lowered her head to hide her now burning face and nodded at him, "Mhm."
After a while, Lin ye stopped rubbing her head. Although she was conflicted about this, Liz raised her head and saw Lin ye holding something to her.
She knew what it was too.
"Pineapple Bun?" She said confused as she took it from him.
She stared at it and then go back to Lin Ye who was smiling at her.
"Something to have when you are on your break," Lin Ye said, "And I am not taking it back."
"... Thank you," She held the bread closer to her body.
"I think you should be on the move now," Lin Ye hummed, "You are going to be late."
Realizing this, Liz panicked a little, "Oh no."
"Bye then," Lin ye turned his back to her and glanced at her, "See you soon."
With that, he walked the opposite way she should be going.
Liz watched as his back became smaller with each step he took. She looked down in her that the bun. Although she liked the taste of it, a thought came into her mind as she watched the man's silhouette fade away.
"I want yours though."
She shook her head to get that thought away and tuned to where she should be. As Liz was walking away from the hall, if she was just a few seconds late when she turned her head, she would have seen Lin ye looking at her figure slowly fading from afar.
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Draft: Jaq
Proofread: Discord
Edit: Jaq