Shu's POV
Week 2 came in, and I couldn't get over my past guilt, as if I couldn't forgive himself. Beneath positive face, when behind closed door of my habitación (room in Spanish) lies a still unresolved guilt that was still simmering within me. Though, I remembered Sasuke of the classic, ultra popular anime "Naruto" and his lifelong life of vengeance against his older Itachi for slaughtering their clan within Konoha. I knew how Sasuke's life was permanently altered by that traumatic scar, and he lived a life of isolation from Naruto and everyone else, allying with Orochimaru and being a ninja terrorist to everyone, even to Naruto, Sakura, and the Hokages.
Realizing all that, I realized that I had become close to becoming like Sasuke, and I managed to crawl out of the abyss unlike Sasuke. One early morning, at 5:20 a.m., after my Catholic morning prayers in my room, I sat down on my desk chair, una silla de madera ("a wooden chair" in Spanish) and opened my red and black, spiral-bound notebook and turned on the desk lamp. Turning to the next blank page, I wrote these words with a blue, gel pen:
"I realized how close I was to becoming like Sasuke of "Naruto" in terms of life of vengeance. Like him, I had my vengeance against Gen-san for killing my parents in my danchi apartment home in Urayasu City within Chiba Prefecture. Like Sasuke, I had it, but unlike him, I regretted it, plunged into depression, self-loathing, and PTSD, and then was now working my way out of the abyss. I will not be like Sasuke. Lo juré, which means "I vowed that" in Spanish."
With that, I pulled back the curtains of my window to let the morning light in and took a deep breath.
I remembered how last night, Gen said to me this: "It's okay, I am here for you. If you couldn't forgive yourself for that, then I understand. Your feelings of guilt are way heavier for you to handle and forgive yourself."
Because of that, I leaned on him for comfort, but it wasn't an act of codependency; it was a surrogate one with true family love.
Later at 8:10 a.m. after breakfast, Gen, accompanied by me, Nato, Arashi, Sousuke, and Hayate, visited the cages underground after an elevator ride. These cages held both the zombie subjects and the survivors who were spared thanks to Gen's change of heart. Among the zombies is Nato's younger brother Hoka, who had been a SWAT soldier before Nato abducted him for the zombie experiment 1 year ago (according to Sousuke's accounts).
Nato cried in guilt. "I am sorry, brother. I was a monster…I will do anything to bring you back…"
"Yes," Gen added, "we promised that, by the time the cure had been made, you'll be the first to receive it."
Hoka, now infected in his now tattered SWAT uniform, tilted his head calmly.
Nato pressed his forehead against the reinforced glass while sobbing and his frame shook between sobs. "I was a failure to you, brother, a monster of a failure."
Sousuke comforted Nato.
My heart beats in sympathy, and I felt bad for Nato-kun and Hoka-kun.
Meanwhile, Gen opened the cages of the survivors. "Go and get out of here," he commanded them. "You can receive medical treatment in the medical wing. I had offered supplies there if you want before decided leaving this place. There were military vehicles roaming outside I can place a call on them for an evacuation pick-up."
The disheveled survivors, including ones that Nato, Hayate, Enmei, Ichiro, and Kaimen had abducted for the zombie experiments, nodded and fled the floor via the elevator to receive treatment from the YKY doctors. Gen, through the intercom, commanded his subordinate doctors in the medical wing in the main buildings to treat their wounds and provide food and water for them. From what I can tell, they did so.