Line 49

Roots ① (ルーツ１) is the second chapter of the tenth volume and the overall forty-ninth chapter of the Devils Line manga series.

Summary
Yuuki Anzai, Tomoaki Ogata, and Ryusei Yanagi arrive at ONL. Yanagi is impressed that Yuuki's mother is a researcher there. Yuuki is nervous about meeting her for what he thinks is the first time. When Midori Anzai comes to meet them, he recognizes her from the R2PC conference. She asks him how the prototype tranquilizer device has been working out and when Yuuki tells her it didn't work the day before, they go to the R&D department to see what can be done. Midori is relieved to hear that no one was hurt while he was transformed, but she is flustered that it didn't function as intended. Yuuki thinks back to being saved by Kikuhara and wonders, if he hates Yuuki so much, why did he bother to come save him.

Midori takes him to the bionomics research department and shows off a combat suit to be worn by devils they developed for a security company. Yuuki is surprised to hear that a security company is hiring devils, since they weren't when he entered the work force. She tells him now that devils are going to be laid off from the police, security companies intend to hire them up. She asks if he's interested in working there, since he's out of a job. He's interested in anything that pays, even if he doesn't know what "security" entails. She tells hims it's very similar to his job with the police with the added roles of guarding ONL facilities and tracking down escapees like his friend Johannes Kleeman. Yuuki says he wouldn't call him a friend considering he never sees him. Midori talks fondly of him and also notes that he was the first subject of the hybrid plan to exhibit a single eye transformation. She takes Yuuki somewhere more private to talk about these sensitive topics.

The first devil on record was found and arrested in 1956, the same year that research on devils began. Another was arrested the following year. Although people first suspected the cause for their behavior was a disease, research showed that the effect was hereditary. Research on them became very secretive after that and devils were treated more like animals than humans and their treatment got worse when their healing ability was discovered. In 1960, it was requested by a government official to find out why some devils don't transform, drink blood, or heal quickly. Yuuki is surprised to hear about these devils with ReMI. Even though the evidence at the time for ReMI was little more than folklore among devil clans, research on it began with the hybrid plan in 1963. Yuuki asks why Johannes is considered a success if he transforms. Midori says he's already more successful than a ReMI devil because he's never lost control and he can still heal quickly. He was completely opposite of Yuuki, who was weak, couldn't heal, or transform. In fact, Yuuki was thought to be a ReMI devil until he met Tsukasa and transformed for the first time. Since his ability to transform and heal was triggered, he was actually an "indefinite ReMI" and isn't anything out of the ordinary for children born in the hybrid plan. Yuuki feels oddly grateful that he is able to transform because otherwise, he would be dead and he would have left Tsukasa on her own. She assures him his relationship with Tsukasa can work since her relationship with someone addicted to blood has worked out for the past 20 years.

Midori tells Yuuki more about how she met her husband, Tamaki. Midori and her subordinate Julius Kurtz were transferred to the hybrid project in time for the 15th term in 1989. When they transferred, they learned about all of the horrible things that had been done to test subjects in the past. Kurtz considered quitting, but Midori promised that they could change the policy if they stayed long enough to be promoted. The candidates for sperm and egg donations were selected and paired randomly from criminals and a few staff members who volunteered. The Red Group had the eggs taken from human mothers and the sperm from devil fathers, while the White Group had the eggs taken from devil mothers and the sperm from human fathers. In the initial terms of the hybrid plan, the pairs actually engaged in sex, which resulted in many casualties. From the 5th term, it was all done artificially. Even then, human mothers often died during pregnancy due to the hybrid fetuses sensing their blood, going berserk, and killing them from the inside.

Midori saw Tamaki for the first time in his cell, handcuffed and suffering. After being given his dosage of blood, Tamaki had been trying to scratch himself due to withdrawal. She admired his hair color. Apparently, after his killing spree, his claws and fangs were never able to return to normal. The transformation also affected his throat and thus his speech. He speaks by writing on a board. To prepare him for the hybrid project, they were trying to reduce his addiction to blood with medicine and counseling. One day, Midori stepped in to do the counseling instead of her coworker. At first, Tamaki didn't acknowledge her, as he did with other researchers, but when she asked him about breakfast, he answered. He seemed to appreciate her casual tone and they managed to have a good conversation. Midori continued to do the counseling for a few weeks and it wasn't until she brought up his time at an architecture school that he stopped talking. Later, she looked at his records and discovered that his girlfriend Miho Kaneda, who had committed suicide, had gone to the same university with the same major and that they grew up together in the same hometown.

The next time she saw him, she asked about why he was crying in his cell the first time she saw him. He told her that drinking blood brings back a flood of bad memories. Midori recommended finding another medium to draw out his good memories, like building a model. At their next session, Tamaki agreed and requested supplies to start building. He told Midori he planned on recreating his and his girlfriend's dream home. Although Midori was happy to help, she couldn't help but feel melancholy for the love Tamaki had for Miho that she could never know. She wished she could have a place in his heart, too.

When Tamaki finished his model, all of the researchers congratulated him. He asked Midori to display it somewhere, which surprised her because it is something so personal to him. He told her she was the one who inspired him to make it and it helped him move on.

The hybrid plan would start the next year and pairings needed to be made soon.

Chapter Notes

 * Yuuki arrives at ONL and meets with Midori.
 * Midori recommends Yuuki look for work with a security company since he doesn't have a job.
 * The hybrid plan was started in order to create ReMI devils.
 * The early terms of the hybrid plan had many casualties and was still unsafe at the time.
 * Hans Lee is considered a success because he is even better than a ReMI devil (he can heal and transform).
 * Midori met Tamaki when she transferred to the hybrid plan in 1989 and started counseling him.
 * Midori pushed Tamaki to build a model to bring out his good memories. He does and he is able to let go of the painful things in his past.

Characters

 * Yuuki Anzai
 * Tomoaki Ogata
 * Ryusei Yanagi
 * Midori Anzai
 * Julius Kurtz
 * Tamaki Anzai
 * Masami Komatsu
 * Kurasawa