"So, that's the plan?" Kevin still rubbed his sore cheek as he asked, "Have Jelena give him the pills while Lemmy holds the officers at bay?"

"Well, it's not rocket science." Lem figured, "Just as long as I keep my eyes open, everything should be lickity-split."

"But didn't you say your Iro Ability only allows one person at a time?" Green girl raised an interesting point.

"Well, in order to be used reliably, yes." Lem explained the nature of his Command, "The best way to describe it is like herding sheep."

"Ah, so we've been degraded to sheep this time." Waitress girl interrupted.

"Shut." Lem's eyes glew a strong topaz yellow as he used his Ability on her, "Ahem, as I was saying - It's like herding sheep. If you only gotta herd around one sheep, then it's pretty easy to manage. You can always stick close to it, and it won't wander off no matter what. Though if you have an entire herd on the other hand..."

"You won't be able to stick close to everyone, and some might get away." Green girl finished his sentence.

"Exactly. Basically, it's not that I can't Command multiple people, it's just that the more people I use it on, the less stable the Command gets. Though this can also be rectified by me either Commanding more people for a shorter time or less people for a longer time. It's like that, see? An inverse proportion."

"Quit acting all proud with those big words just because you aced that test the other day..." Kevin glared at him.

"Hey, the only reason I did so well is because I had Meil teach me." Lem returned the favor before sighing, "Ugh, no wonder that jackass has to take meds when he does nothing but overexert himself."

"The guy's been through a lot, son." Lem's dad patted him on the shoulder, "He's definitely seen some shit - things none of you can even imagine. Heck, I'm a reformed bandit and even I wince when I have to recall the whippings we had to endure back in the prison."

"So, we got the first part down, but what about the actually difficult part?" Waitress girl asked, "Actually getting Meil to swallow the pills."

"Is that really an issue?" Kevin asked, "I mean, we're his friends, we only want what's best for him, despite how he's been treating us recently."

"Actually, I think I'm gonna have to agree with Jelena on this one." I raised my hand shyly, "Just the other day, Meil flipped out on me because I made him his breakfast without him watching, and I accidentally burnt my hand on the stove."

Showing them the slight reddening on my left palm, everyone stood petrified. It really didn't hurt much though, only when I would actively touch it, but apart from that I could pretty reliably continue to use it in my day-to-day life. Maybe an itch or two throughout the day, but I know better than to irritate it.

"He hurt you, Nelly?" Kevin was the most shaken of all, "Cheh, that hypocritical asshole... And to think, he was the one lecturing me not to hurt you."

"Did he do anything more?" Lem's dad was the next to speak up.

"No, just this." I then chuckled nervously, "Come on, guys, it's nothing too bad. Look, it won't even leave a mark."

"That's not the issue." Waitress girl urged, "You need to be more aware of his actions. I get you're seeing him through rose-tinted glasses and everything because you two knew each other for so long, but to so easily forgive him for harming you over nothing?"

"U-Uhm..." Green girl raised her hand just like I did previously to grab everyone's attention, "I don't think we should be taking so many digs at Meil just yet. I-I'm not saying his actions are justified or anything, just that he's not in the right state of mind."

"Right." I agreed with her, "If Meil, the real Meil, knew what he was doing, then I'm sure he'd want to punch himself until his nose bled. The best way to get our revenge on him would be to get him to take his meds and then explain the situation to him fully. Once he realizes what's up, he should be way more conscious of taking his meds, and everything will be back to normal. This will all just be a fun story to look back on and laugh."

"You know, sometimes you can act way too mature for your age." Lem inspected me, "Whilst in other times you can be way too naive. I don't mean to be a downer, but I don't think you fully understand how schizophrenia works. This is the real Meil."

The moment he said this, I could feel the room around us disappear. My head got a bit muddy, and I stumbled a bit before grabbing onto Kevin's bedframe. The real Meil... No, the real Meil is kind and awesome! He's quiet and aloof, which makes his naiveties cute like none other, but then he'll look at you with the most serious and sincerest of eyes when you ask him for advice or help! The real Meil... The real Meil isn't the Meil that hurt Kevin, that hurt me!

"H-Huh?" I regained my footing, "Q-Quit it with the jokes. Meil is..."

"Meil is a schizo." Lem heartlessly repeated, "He is not alright in the head, and you shouldn't just ignore his case and sweep that detail about him under the rug like you've been doing. Point is, he'll be skeptical of us when we try and feed him the pills, but it'll eventually make him feel better. As someone close to him, someone who he himself has harmed, and most importantly someone he cares about deeply, I believe that the job of convincing him to take the pills would best suit you."

"Heh..."

"What's so funny?" He got a bit mad.

"Nothing." I looked at his eyes with a resolute stare, "Just thinking how you can be quite mature for your age as well."

"I-I'm eighteen!" He standoffishly defended himself, "The exact age my maturity should reflect!"

"Oh, is that so?" I teased as I left the room, "Then that means you're usually just way too childish. Seriously, are you sure we're not the same age?"

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"A-Ah!" He stuttered, though I had already closed the door before he could answer, "Damned brat...!"

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"O-Oi, wait up!" Him and Green girl ran behind me, "Seriously stop! You may think that exit was cool and dramatic just now, but you really made yourself look like a fool!"

Stopping dead in my tracks before angrily turning back at him, I couldn't help but see red as I glared a hole through his skull. He too stopped running in favor of keeping a safe distance from me, so he sighed before explaining what he meant to say properly.

"A-Ah, I'm saying this for your own good, y'know?" He tapped his pointer fingers together, "Basically, I was like that as well when I was your age, but the harsh reality of it is that you only end up being cringe when you do that."

"Cringe?" I tilted my head and furrowed my brows, "What's that?"

"You've never heard of the term? It's a new slang word around campus." Green girl latched onto the conversation, "Like second-hand embarrassment."

"Eh? So Lem basically said that what I did was so embarrassing that even he felt ashamed, is that it!?"

"Yeah, actually. Hey, you got that pretty quic-!" Lem smiled, though I slammed him straight across the face.

"Don't ever call me cringe again!" I shouted, "I-In fact, calling people cringe... is cringe!"

"Gasp! Did you just slap me!?" His eyes glew yellow.

"H-Hey now! Don't you remember what I said about using your Iro Ability on me?!"

"Yeah, if memory serves, you said I'd be your enemy if I ever Commanded you again, in which case..." He snapped his fingers as he looked over at Green girl, "Kiria, slap this insolent brat for me!"

"W-Wait, that's cheatin-!" I then got the shit slapped out of me, "Augh, stop! I-I'm seriously gonna get mad! STOP, YOU DAMNED CLEAVAGE CRETIN!"

"A-Ah, sorry! I couldn't control myself! It wasn't me, mademoiselle!" Green girl immediately picked me up off the ground after she got done beating me to a pulp, "L-Lemmy, how could you!"

"Wasn't me~!" He teased as he walked away, "Blame her for asking for it!"

"Ugh..." I cleaned the dust off my clothes before muttering, "Cringy-ass..."

Needless to say, we made it to the police station, though it was quite the long and arduous trip. Thinking back on the stories mom and dad used to tell me about all the time, dad used to travel all across the world with all sorts of people, but I wonder if he ever had people as annoying as these two? Actually, he started his travels with auntie and uncle, didn't he? They toured Trivis Numerica before they left auntie and went on to Great Hiana, where he met mom and they had me. What an origin story, am I right? Yeah, good ol' mom and dad...

"Good day." The officers welcomed us, "Here for a visit or for a long term stay, ehe!"

"Hehe, just a visit, please." I replied, all smiles, "We're here to see Meil Deram."

The moment I spoke his name, the guard's faces immediately went pale as they glanced over at each other and gulped. What the hell could he have done so soon for him to already warrant this type of reaction?

"M-Mademoiselle, we believe it is not a good idea to go visit him." They warned, "He is not fond of anyone. The man... he bit off one of our guard's ear off just this morning after the guard handed him his breakfast."

"He what!?" We all jumped in surprise, "Why would he do that?"

"We don't know either, mademoiselle." The guards started sweating, "We were told he is a patient suffering from schizophrenia, so we tried to be as delicate as we could, but even then he had this strange... disdain for anyone who came in with a guard's uniform."

"Must be because of the trauma from prison..." Lem muttered just quietly enough for it to not reach the guards, "A-Alright then, is there anyone he wanted to see?"

"Y-Yeah, now that you mention it, there was." He gulped, "It was some girl's name. He couldn't stop repeating it the entire night."

"Nelly." I muttered before raising my voice, "Was the girl's name Nelly?!"

"Hm?" He tilted his head, "N-No, sorry. We can't be too sure what the name was exactly, we just know it sounded faintly like a girl's name. Sadly, that's all the officer who was overseeing his cell told us."

"And I presume the officer that told you is the same officer that got his ear bitten off." Green girl sighed.

With their only answer being to nod, we knew all too well what had to be done. With Lem casually approaching them, his eyes glowing a bright yellow as he instructed them to let me in for as long as I wanted to, they stepped aside and ushered me to the room where Meil's cell was.

Walking through the cold and dark hallway was quite scary, but it was nothing in comparison to the room I was about to enter. Just setting foot in this tiny little claustrophobic room with nothing but a small table and chair sitting across from the second half of the room that was fully barred up made my stomach churn, and the maddening noise of a tennis ball continuously hitting the wall and ceiling over and over only added to that sense of insanity. The person being kept behind those bars was, incidentally enough, the same person responsible for throwing the tennis ball continuously into the wall. Turning to see who was entering, he immediately lost interest in the ball as he raced to the metal bars, frantically reaching towards me.

"Nelly! You are safe!" His white eyes shed tears upon tears as he continued to reach over to me, "Thank Ouroboras, you really are here! I thought for sure when that kidnapping son of a bitch took you that there was no saving you! Come here, let me touch you, I want to make sure you are really real!"

"Meil..." I felt a strong sense of fear well up from within, "I've never heard you swear before..."