In retrospect the results of her search all seem very, very obvious. Tsukumoya has never been seen outside of an internet context. Even when he was writing books his editor had never met with him in person. He was reclusive, presumed to be a shut-in of some kind or possibly even entirely agoraphobic. Kasane always had a suspicion that there was something more to him than a simple author and blogger who had a habit of sticking his nose where it didn't belong but at the time she had far more irritating thorns jabbing her in the side to deal with than one man who knew far more than he should. And after everything ended it simply wasn't worth it. Tsukumoya offered an olive branch and she accepted. Whoever he might be didn't matter anymore.

The further she digs into her current job however, the more clear it becomes that Tsukumoya Shinichi is less of a "who" and more of a "what". He isn't just a mysterious individual. He is a mystery. An anomaly. He is something with too much knowledge. And as by-product of that knowledge, too much power.

He is exactly what she is searching for. Not the only one. There are faint hints of another as well, but that one is harder to pinpoint. Tsukumoya is centralized. He lives and breathes in Ikebukuro. Or more, in its internet infrastructure.

All it will take is a few more weeks of research and she could likely find a way to capture him, just as she's been asked. A careful study of his habits, how he moves, if he has some sort of a centralized consciousness that could be lured onto a device that could then be isolated from the internet. Those few things would be enough. The fact that he's friendly with her is an added bonus. He'd trust her. She could lead him anywhere.

It would be so simple. So very, very, simple.

So why does the thought of following through unnerve her so much? Why is there an insidious thread of discomfort that wraps around her heart and squeezes a bit even as she considers the possibility?

When did she get attached?

The questions don't stop coming as she opens her laptop and her fingers dance across the keys. Address, username, password. All entered without a moment's hesitation, taking her right to the man (creature) who at the very least should have one answer for her.

Kujiragi Kasane
Why didn't you tell me?

Tsukumoya Shinichi
I beg your pardon?

Kujiragi Kasane
Why didn't you tell me what you are long before this point? Then at the very least I could have made an informed decision.

Kujiragi Kasane
As it was I took this job blind, with no idea what I was hunting.

She doesn't even consider the possibility that he has no idea what she's talking about. Of course he knows. There's no way he can't know. The sudden silence from him seems all the more obvious now that she's back in his chatroom. It's been well over a month since their last conversation. It's been well over a month since she took up this job. He knew the instant she accepted and walled himself off, likely aware that it was only a matter of time until she figured him out.

It's hard to say what he would have done if she had tried to trick and trap him instead of approaching him openly like this. Would he have gone along with it? Would he have tried to talk her out of it? Would he have simply disappeared into the ether never to be seen again?

Does it even matter?

Tsukumoya Shinichi
The fact that you took it so easily, without the slightest thought as to whether or not what you were chasing was sapient, is exactly why I didn't tell you.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
You describe yourself as a villain, Kujiragi-san. Why on earth would I trust you with my greatest secret? With the absolute core of who I am.

Despite the fact that his reasons are completely understandable that odd tightness returns to her chest. Even though she has no reason, no right, to feel hurt, that cold thread keeps squeezing and squeezing. He'd been pushing and prodding at her for friendship, after all. She may not have anything in the way of practical experience when it comes to such things but the concept she understands well enough. Friends are honest with one another, it's the sort of saccharine moral paraded around in children's shows.

But then she offered him nothing in return. She recognizes this. He never owed her honesty because she offered none.

She's so lost in thought it takes a moment for her to realize that he continued messaging. He must have taken her silence as a form of agreement to his assessment of her.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
So now you know. And I suppose knowing means you have to make a decision.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
You either make your attempt to capture me, in which case I will fight you tooth and nail. And if I escape I will cut all ties with you. I will eradicate this chatroom and you will never hear from me again.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
Or you let me go, which will likely be detrimental to your reputation. But you will still have my friendship. And you will gain my trust.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
These are your options.

Kujiragi Kasane
Or I have a third option.

She's not sure why she says it. She's not sure why it matters to her at all. Maybe she's greedy and wants the best of both worlds. She wants to remain the detached villain who will do what is asked of her. What needs to be done. But she also wants this. Someone to talk to who seems to have a genuine interest in her and her feelings.

She wants it all.

Kujiragi Kasane
In my searching I did find that there's another... "entity" I suppose, that is similar to you.

Kujiragi Kasane
I could still fulfill my contract without harming you at all.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
I'm well aware of QAWSED's existence, and as much as I dislike them I don't want to see them sold into any sort of imprisonment either.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
If you think simply throwing someone else to the wolves in my place will keep my trust you're sorely mistaken.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
You call yourself a villain and are capable of all the cold-hearted cruelty that word implies, but I am not.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
I can't continue to associate with you in good conscience if you do.

Kujiragi Kasane
Would you have equal problems with anything else I did, or is it only things that effect you directly.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
Who's to say? Maybe I'm just selfish and don't want to be put at risk, or have the associated guilt of seeing someone being put at risk in my place.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
Maybe I'm just as bad as you and Orihara and simply don't want to own up to the fact.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
But either way this is my line in the sand. If you try to capture myself or QAWSED, or even simply pass on information of our existence to your buyer, you can consider our friendship at an end.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
The choice is yours. And whatever your decision I will know the results.

Tsukumoya Shinichi
I'll leave you to make your decision. Don't try to contact me. I'll message you with new chatroom details once I'm sure of my safety.

The chatroom closes so abruptly Kasane almost doesn't have a chance to read the final line. Tsukumoya's sudden coldness is shocking, although not unwarranted.

She doesn't notice that her hands are shaking until she lifts one of them to her face to rub at the bridge of her nose. There's a headache coming on, a tight pressure behind her eyes that matches the one in her chest. A building urge to scream and scream and not stop that she's never felt before. Not even when Shinra rejected her. Perhaps because that rejection she expected. She has always expected the worst. Tempered expectations make it so easy not to feel.

Until now.

Tsukumoya was such an odd bright spot. Someone who asked nothing of her. Someone who simply wanted to chat. Someone who seemingly knew all of her secrets and simply didn't care.

And now she has to decide just how important the existence of such a person in her life is to her.