Two-Point Seven Percent (Two-Point Seven Percent 1)

Prologue

August 4th, 2025

I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared.

The waiting room was quiet. Even the music that played over the intercom was too soft. The scratching of a pen against paper at the front desk sounded so impossibly loud.

Arisa Naoe fidgeted violently, clenching and unclenching her jaw and tapping the heel of her foot against the carpeted floor. Her mother Hiroe had an arm around her, slowly rubbing her back comfortingly. Arisa kept her eyes closed because she didn't want to look at anything or anyone. It didn't matter to her that the waiting room was only occupied by three people; Hiroe, her translator, and herself. She felt too exposed, like every eye was upon her.

I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared.

The door next to the front desk opened. "Arisa Naoe?" A man's voice called out in English.

"Here," her translator responded in English. Arisa was good with English but she wasn't entirely fluent. The translator would help translate medical terms from English into Japanese.

Attending a doctor's appointment was not the ideal way she wanted to visit the United States for the first time.

I'm scared. I'm scared. I'm scared.

"Arisa," Hiroe said softly. Arisa said nothing and stood up with her mother. She opened her eyes to look at the nurse—but then she suddenly felt light-headed and nauseas. When she breathed, the air burned its way through her nose and mouth. A loud roar filled her ears and only a singular thought reverberated in her mind.

I need to leave.

Arisa suddenly pulled away from Hiroe. Without saying a word she turned away from the nurse and took off running. She heard Hiroe shout her name behind her, but she didn't care. She burst through the door of the building and ran blindly. She saw people standing in the hallway turning to stare at her, but she didn't care. It was everyday though that a fourteen-year-old girl was seen running through the hallway like that.

She found one of the exits and slammed her way through. Pain shot up her arms from the sudden impact of her hands on the bar of the door. She ran out into the Florida heat and continued running until she reached a grassy median in the parking lot separating the parking spots from the road. She collapsed upon the grass, and she managed to suck in a loud breath. Then she began to wail.

Hiroe found her daughter like this, sitting curled alone on the grassy median. She sat down beside Arisa and touched her shoulder. "Arisa," she said softly. "Arisa, are you all right?"

"I—I can't do it!" Arisa cried out, sobbing into her hands. "I can't do it, Mama! Please don't make me do it!"

Hiroe exhaled sharply, but she didn't lose her temper with her daughter. She reached out and reached a hand on her other shoulder. "Arisa. We traveled all the way here from Japan—"

"I know, but I CAN'T!" Arisa screamed. "I'm scared! S-So scared, Mama! Please don't make me do it! PLEASE!"

Hiroe was silent for a long time. She gulped audibly before she spoke again. "Arisa. This is for your benefit. We're here to help you—"

"I don't want to know! I don't want to know, Mama! I-If I'm—" Arisa choked on another sob. "Oh Mama...I can't do it!"

"Arisa, think of your father—"

"Please!" Arisa grabbed the front of Hiroe's blouse and pressed her face into her mother's sternum. "I beg you! I don't want to know, Mama! I can't do it!"

Hiroe reached up and embraced her. It was a loose hug though because of how hot it was outside. "...All right," she conceded. "If you don't want to know Arisa, then I won't force you."