Kubota, Tokito and Mai sat in Kou's shop, sharing lunch with the doctor.
Kubota had recovered well in the months following his shooting, although his stamina wasn't what it once was. And, to Tokito's disgust, he'd taken up smoking again.
Tokito had mellowed somewhat with his memories returned. While he maintained his enthusiastic outlook on life, he was less likely to lose his temper over little things. Most days, anyway. He no longer wore his glove, since the child he'd entrusted it to had looked so sad at the prospect of giving it back that Tokito had let him keep it. Not that it made much difference after all the news coverage.
Mai had recovered well from her ordeal and they hadn't seen her "Agent" alter-ego since they'd left the facility. Not surprising, since Dr. Shudo had explained that that personality was programmed to only come out when triggered, either by the activating phrase or my Mai's life being endangered. Kubota sincerely hoped they'd never see the Agent again. And, on a completely frivolous note, he wished her hair would finish growing long enough so they could trim off what was left of the dyed part and get her hair a single color again.
Once the whirlwind of activity on the military base had died down, Dr. Shudo revealed that he'd been secretly trying to develop a serum to reverse the effects of W.A. After news of this got out, he was overwhelmed with offers of help from other scientists and together they created a treatment that stopped the progression of the drug, although it didn't reverse any of the effects. Since they'd been injected, neither of his cats had experienced any episodes of the intense pain they'd once suffered.
All in all, once the media frenzy had died down, their lives had taken on a normalcy Kubota had never experienced before. If he was perfectly honest, he found it rather boring.
The bell on the door jangled, letting in a frazzled-looking Kasai. "Makoto, I'm glad I found you. I've got news." He waited until he had their collective attention before he continued, "Another W.A. body's been discovered."
"What? But I thought the whole operation was shut down by the Americans."
"It was, in Yokohama. This new body was found in Tokyo. The Tokyo P.D. is asking for our help as consultants on the case. You want in?"
Tokito's "Hell, yeah!" was accompanied by a determined nod from Mai. Then they all looked at Kubota.
"Tokyo, huh?" He took a drag on his cigarette and blew a lazy tendril of smoke toward the ceiling. He smiled.
"When do we leave?"
Fin.