Rizu leaned wearily against the textured wall behind him and folded his arms over his torso as he stared at the unconscious man in silence. He didn't know Manta at all, but his sympathy was sincere. He watched as the breathing followed a slow rhythm against the surface of the blanket and glanced briefly at Lyserg, who was sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"What did Akira say?" Lyserg asked finally. Piercing the silence was unexpected, and the sudden sound seemed to echo through the small room.

"He's fine," Rizu replied weakly. "The cuts weren't deep enough to cause major damage. He's just sleeping now."

"That's good." His voice revealed a mixture of stress and fatigue as he spoke. For the first time in days he didn't really know how to proceed and began to question his own judgment.

"I have to tell you something." Rizu interrupted his thoughts with a grave expression and took a few steps forward in front of the bed.

"What is it?"

The door opened suddenly, startling them both, and Lyserg widened his eyes when he saw the three men enter. The first was Daisuke; his facial features revealed he hadn't slept well in days, but the black suit he wore was well pressed. He glared at Rizu first who didn't return the gesture then smiled at Lyserg with willful sarcasm. Ren quickly followed him inside the room wearing a gray collared shirt with a pair of black trousers. Lyserg felt his hands tremble as he stared at him but was mostly bothered by the man's calm demeanor. Shintarou was last to enter; Rizu and Lyserg were equally surprised to see him, fearing he had been killed. His brown eyes were clouded by redness from fatigue, and he stared blankly at a random wall without addressing anyone in the room. His short hair fell wildly over his head in a series of softened spikes, and the tan short sleeved shirt he wore with his brown pants was overly wrinkled as if he had been in some kind of fight.

Silence enveloped the room quickly, bringing with it an uncomfortable tension that was palatable. Ren approached the bed slowly, placing a delicate hand against Manta's forehead. He lingered briefly there before staring at Rizu with a blank expression.

"He will recover...Mr. Tao," Rizu explained timidly then looked away.

"That's good to hear," he replied with concern, although his face made the apathy apparent.

Lyserg stood quickly from his chair and balled his hands into fists. Ren ignored the display and began walking to the door. Daisuke waited for him to say something but was disappointed when he didn't speak. Shintarou gravitated to a corner in the room and stood completely still and silent, remaining unnoticed.

"I called him, Mr. Diethel," Rizu said quickly. "Shortly after we arrived."

"What?" This was the only thing he could blurt out at the time, and he stood in front of the bed in a frozen state of shock.

"This is out of control. You never said she was unstable. You never told us she was dangerous. I had to do something."

"You did the right thing, Rizu," Daisuke added cheerfully. "Mr. Tao is very pleased with you."

"Rizu..." Lyserg swallowed hard and stared at the man with frustrated eyes. "You have no idea what you just did."

"Come with me, Lyserg," Ren said plainly and walked out into the hallway. "Let's talk."

Daisuke followed him out of the room, and Lyserg stared at the floor with defeat before walking slowly away from the bed. Rizu watched him leave but didn't say anything, and when the door was closed he redirected his attention to Shintarou. They stood in silence for several seconds until Shintarou stepped out of the corner and lifted his head enough to view Rizu's worried expression.

"What happened?" he whimpered weakly. "Where have you been?"

When there was no answer, Rizu slowly walked toward him until he was directly in front of his face. Shintarou was short compared to Rizu. He rested his eyes against his neck and remained silent. Rizu's eyes filled with tears quickly; it was a reaction he couldn't control, and he reached out his hand slowly to touch him.

"Don't," he said finally and took a step back.

"I thought you were dead." Rizu sniffed. "I thought...you were gone."

"I'm fine."

"What about Nami? Does she know you're okay? Have you even called her?"

Shintarou clenched his teeth briefly and swallowed hard. His face reddened quickly from the question, and for several seconds he didn't respond.

"Shin-"

"I'll call her soon," he said quickly. "There's something else I need to do first."

"What is it?" Rizu asked weakly. "I'll help you."

"No," he sighed. "You've done enough, Rizu. I shouldn't have involved you in the first place."

"You didn't force me to do anything I didn't want to do," he countered. "We're a team, remember?"

"I came here to say goodbye."

Shintarou's words were abrupt, and his eyes were mixed with despair and cold indifference. Rizu frowned at him and bit his bottom lip before deciding to respond.

"What are you planning to do, Shintarou?"

"I'm going to end this," he replied. "That's all you need to know."

"I deserve to know what this is about," Rizu countered as his voice elevated. "I deserve to know if you're about to do something reckless."

"You won't change my mind," he snapped. "I just wanted to say goodbye in person. That's all."

Rizu stared at him with wounded eyes and took another step forward. Shintarou backed away and glanced at the wall behind him.

"That's not fair," he said softly, "treating me like I mean nothing to you. Like we're strangers."

"I don't want you involved. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"What am I supposed to do without you here?" he pleaded. "What about Nami? You're going to abandon her too?"

"I have to do this," he replied dismissively. "You won't make me feel guilty about it, Rizu. Goodbye."

Shintarou walked swiftly to the door as the need to escape became painfully apparent. Rizu followed, and as he grabbed the door handle he was quickly distracted.

"Shiki please," Rizu whimpered suddenly. "Please don't leave."

He paused weakly and stared at the door sadly before closing his eyes. Rizu hadn't called him by that name in years, and conflicting emotions of anger and longing filled his brain. He knew this was a bad idea, facing him in person, but he wanted to see Rizu again. Even if this would be the last time he wanted him to know he cared.

"Please don't leave me," Rizu repeated as the tears fell swiftly down his face. "You're all I have."

Shintarou couldn't tell him he was right, that they only had each other in the world. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell Rizu his sister was dead. It was just as impossible as walking away or saying goodbye. Rizu had been a part of their lives since they were small children. He knew everything about Shintarou: his likes and dislikes; his weaknesses and strengths; his innermost secrets that even Nami didn't know. Rizu was everything to him, and he knew it.

"Go to my house in two hours," he said abruptly. "I'll call you."

"You're not just saying that to get rid of me, are you?" Rizu asked with a weak smile.

"No," Shintarou replied. "Wait for me."

The hallway outside of Manta's room was quiet with the exception of a humming vending machine in the distance. Ren, Daisuke and Lyserg walked to the end of it, reaching an empty office. Daisuke turned on the light as soon as they entered and smiled at Lyserg when he sat on a black chair in front of the desk. Ren opted to stand, and he stared into his emerald eyes with unsettling ambiguity for several moments in silence. Lyserg had no will to look at him. Instead, he stared at the wooden surface of the desk and released a weak sigh.

"I'll wait outside," Daisuke offered slowly and quickly exited the room, closing the door behind him as silently as possible.

"I'm not proud of any of this," Lyserg started weakly. "I didn't want to be in this situation in the first place. But, you have to admit your fault in this."

Ren didn't respond.

"She's out of control," he sighed. "I understand that now. But, so are you. You can't justify hunting her down, just as much as I can't justify helping her."

Ren's expression didn't change, and Lyserg grew frustrated with his silence.

"You're not chasing her for justice, Ren. You're hunting her like a wild animal because of this sick fascination you have with Anna. An obsession you still won't admit you have. You don't think like a rational person. You do things that are completely insane, and if you were stable you would recognize this."

Ren took a few steps forward but didn't speak.

"I should have said something long ago. I should have done something a long time ago," Lyserg sighed bitterly. "You should be in prison, Ren. You should be in an institution. Maybe that's where you both belong. I can't do this anymore. I won't pretend that-"

Ren punched him swiftly in the side of his neck, cutting off his air and violently interrupting his statement. He gagged for a few moments, and when he began coughing Ren punched him again in his face. Lyserg fell clumsily to the floor and braced his fall with his hands, but Ren didn't allow him to recover, kicking him mercilessly in the ribs. He whimpered something weakly under his breath and moaned loudly when Ren kicked him again in his stomach.

"I'm disappointed in you, Lyserg," he said finally, pausing briefly to grab a large section of his hair, and he dragged him a few feet until he was leaning in front of the desk.

"You've lost your mind, Ren," he managed to say faintly.

"We were supposed to be friends," Ren continued and ignored the statement completely. "You have no loyalty."

Lyserg coughed a few times and struggled to push himself off of the floor, and Ren paused to watch him silently. The office door opened abruptly, and Shintarou ran inside the room with Daisuke closely behind.

"Please stop, Mr. Tao," he pleaded weakly. "I can give you what you want."

"No you can't," Ren replied blankly without removing his glare from Lyserg's pained expression. "I want to beat him until he stops breathing. If you did it for me I'd have no satisfaction."

"You don't want Mr. Diethel," Shintarou countered. "You want Ms. Tamamura. And, I know where she is."

Ren narrowed his eyes and bit his bottom lip. He considered the statement carefully, and after brief seconds of pause he kicked Lyserg in the face.

"Mr. Tao!" Shintarou pleaded again. "I can take you to her! Please let him go."

Lyserg coughed again involuntarily, this time spitting up a small puddle of blood. His vision was growing blurry, and although he heard the men talking around him he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"He doesn't know where she is," Shintarou continued weakly. "Rizu took action independently. He just told me where he's hiding her."

"How did you get him to talk?" Daisuke asked with a frown but was ignored.

"Please let me prove myself to you again. Allow me to regain your trust in me. Please, Mr. Tao. Let me fix this."

"I don't like being lied to, Shintarou," Ren replied and slowly turned to face him. "Do you understand?"

"I'll take you there myself," he rebutted, "and if she's not there you can kill me."

"I intend to," he said quickly.

Shintarou paused and stared at him with narrowed eyes but quickly recovered, changing his expression into fearful obedience.

"We should go now before she leaves," he responded sadly.

"I'm going with you," Daisuke added with a frown. "I don't trust him, Mr. Tao."

"Fine," he replied flatly then turned slowly to stare at Lyserg.

Lyserg met his gaze with a fuzzy awareness. He couldn't seem to move from his position on the floor, and the pain ravaged his body mercilessly when he tried.

"Don't move," Ren said sternly and pointed at him. "We'll continue this later."

When Tamao entered the living room from the hallway, she noticed Hao was awake and fully dressed. He placed his cell phone in his pocket and turned around quickly upon hearing her approach.

"It's time for you to leave," he said harshly.

"Are you leaving?" she asked timidly and began rolling the hem of her shirt into her fist.

"Yeah," he replied. "And, I'm taking Yoh with me. So you can go."

"If you need someone to stay with him I can do it," she pleaded and took a step forward. "You don't have to take him with you if it's something important. I'll take care of him, Hao. You'll never have to worry about him ever again."

Hao didn't respond immediately. He was reluctant to leave Yoh alone with anyone, including his best friend. But she presented a valid argument. Yoh wasn't ready to be out of the house; he made that very clear, and Hao would be heading somewhere he definitely didn't want him to be.

"Fine," he sighed with slight aggravation. "Don't do anything crazy, and don't let him talk you into anything stupid."

"I won't," she replied cheerfully. "I promise."

Tamao smiled at him warmly as he abruptly left the house, and when he closed the front door her smile quickly faded into an irritated scowl. She was distracted upon hearing a small gasp from the hallway, and she turned around slowly. Although the hallway was dark, she could see Yoh standing in the middle of it, and judging by his frightened expression he was definitely surprised to see her there. She slowly walked into the hallway as he stepped backward toward his bedroom, and the closer she drew near she knew his terror increased. His limbs trembled violently and seemingly without his consent, and his eyes were wet suddenly as he stared at her.

"Yoh," she said finally. "Listen to me."

"What...are you doing here?" He whispered the words faintly, and his bottom lip quivered.

"We don't have much time," she dismissed him. "I need you to get dressed."

"Where's Hao?" he whimpered. "Where's my brother?"

"He's not here," she sighed with frustration. "We don't have time for this, Yoh. Just get dressed."

Yoh couldn't hide his terror; he had no idea what to do, and the only thought that surfaced in his brain was of his brother. He wanted Hao to save him from this madwoman and was angry he left him there alone. He couldn't read Tamao anymore; her actions and thoughts were unpredictable. But, he knew he had to cooperate.

"Where are we going?" He tried to ask the question as calmly as possible and took a deep breath after.

"I'll tell you as soon as you get out of those pajamas," she replied warmly.

"Okay," he said weakly.

Anna stood at the base of the staircase with slightly widened eyes. She clutched the fabric of her dress in her hand and slowly clenched her teeth. Pirika stood nearby with a frightened expression, and she couldn't hold back the tears that were spilling over onto her cheeks. Ryu folded his arms over his torso and stared at the floor. He was disgusted and angry, but for some reason he didn't want to say anything. Horo was standing in the center. His face revealed the stress and devastation that had been building up for weeks. The pain in his body resonated with a nagging headache, and his mouth suddenly felt dry. This final betrayal was the catalyst to his latest breakdown. He no longer had the will to continue with his current path, so he decided to confess his soul to his sister. She wasn't alone in the house, something he simply forgot, and he was forced to start his story from the beginning when Anna and Ryu joined them. The entire monstrosity was regurgitated: the poisoning and burial; the shooting; the mutilation and torture. He even briefly mentioned Lyserg's and Ren's roles in the debacle. The confession was greeted with the most painful silence imaginable and was probably triggered by shock.

"I'm sorry," Horo said sadly, directing his statement at Anna. "I'm so sorry."

"How could you?" Ryu blurted angrily. "What were you thinking?"

Pirika couldn't speak at all. Her tears choked her throat and she stood in front of him sniffing and holding her face in her hands.

"Where is she?" Anna said finally with bitter disdain.

"I don't know," he sighed weakly. "She ran off."

"Then it's obvious she's after Yoh," Anna concluded. The frustration and anger were apparent in her voice, and she hastily walked away, grabbing a light jacket near the front entrance, and attempted to exit.

"Wait!" Horo called her worriedly. "Where are you going?"

"You said he's staying with Hao. She knows that too."

"Anna, you shouldn't go alone," Ryu said gravely. "It could be dangerous."

"This ends now!" she snapped, pointing a finger at them. "If none of you are going to stop this madness, I will."

Horo didn't respond and allowed her to leave without following. Anna was right, after all. None of them had the will to stop Tamao; this was why things were so distorted. Anna could never be controlled, especially when she was angry. She would definitely explode soon, and they learned years ago to just quietly step out of the way. Tamao reached the point of no return. She was no longer herself, and her delusions were taking over her mind. Her psychotic actions didn't make any sense to others, but for some reason she knew in her heart they were necessary. She could never go back now, and now that there was no buffer, she couldn't be stopped.

Of course, there was one thing she didn't bargain for. Horo knew she would have to choose very soon which was more dangerous: being hunted by Ren or Anna.