6-28

Sae trails her fingers down the length of the page. Her eyes flicker as she drinks it all in. Kagawa knows she's used to this kind of thing, but he's still impressed at her ability to process information. It's necessary to being a prosecutor - and being a detective - but it's a skill she's developed proficiently.

"This is..." she trails off, and looks up at Kagawa.

He nods. "I know."

Akechi, sits with his hands held patiently in his lap, in a chair besides Kagawa. He smiles, pleasantly. "Strange and stranger."

Sae lays the file down on her desk, and taps the page with her index finger. "Do we know who sent these messages?"

Kagawa shakes his head. "Unregistered number. So, a burner."

"Damn," Sae spits. She reaches up a hand and rubs her temples. "What the hell even is this?"

"We don't have the whole story," Kagawa replies. "And, if I'm being honest, I'm starting to worry about what the 'whole story' entails."

"The way I see it," Akechi begins, as he reaches across Sae's desk to slip the file towards himself. "There are several points that warrant further investigation. First, we need to determine what - precisely - occurred between Rin Sugimura and Haru Okumura." He pulls the paper containing Sugimura's phone records free with a flourish, and makes a point of studying it. "Second, we need to investigate this address near the Bay. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it odd that Rin Sugimura was instructed to rendezvous at this building, and mere hours later, he was dead." Kagawa recalls the Elder Sugimura's words. My son was murdered. "Third," Akechi continues. "What was on the second phone?"

As much as Kagawa doesn't like Akechi, he finds himself nodding along with the boy. "This entire meeting was set up through a burner. Why instruct him to pick up a second phone, once he'd arrived at the exchange point?" He rolls his shoulders, uncomfortable in the chair. "They were already communicating anonymously."

Sae scowls. "We can't jump to conclusions, but I think we can safely assume that whatever the contents of this second phone, the one who initiated this meeting didn't want it to be seen, by anyone."

Akechi makes a soft, hmm noise in his throat. "That implies, that whomever sent these messages was aware that someone would view Sugimura's phone records. Potentially, us. And why would we have reason to review said phone records? Perhaps they already knew a crime was going to be committed."

Kagawa shakes his head. "Don't jump to conclusions, Akechi. We don't know why the sender had Sugimura use a second phone. We won't know for sure what's on it, until we find it. Or, we find the person who sent Sugimura these messages." He holds out his hand for the file, and Akechi gives it to him. "They must've been close, since they saw Sugimura arrive."

And that's very, very concerning. He reads over the messages one more time.

Kaneshiro. A name he'd hoped to never hear again. It'd been three years since their investigation. Three years since Kaneshiro had vanished. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't. But why not? Wasn't that jumping to conclusions as well? Drugging young girls sounded exactly like something he would do.

"Let's take a step back from that," Sae says, and points to Kagawa. "You said you spoke with the Okumura girl. She'd said everything was fine."

Kagawa nods. "She did. She never mentioned anything about being abducted."

"And we can confirm that she's fine, now. She's at home, going to school. Hell, she's best friends with my sister apparently." She makes a face. "But if it wasn't true, why would Sugimura agree to this meetup? Why would he go to meet this person, under the assumption that they had Okumura?"

"Why pay a ransom for someone you knew wasn't missing?" Akechi asks.

"Because he didn't know Haru Okumura wasn't missing." Sae's eyes widen. "Makoto told me Haru Okumura had slept at our place for a few days." She puts her hands on her head. "Dammit! Why didn't they say anything?"

"Something's going on here," Kagawa says. "And I don't like it. I spoke to Makoto and Okumura, and they both insisted things were fine. If Okumura was kidnapped by Sugimura, why wasn't it reported? How did Okumura get away? If Okumura wasn't being held by someone close to Kaneshiro, what was the point of luring him out to that building in the Bay?"

"Perhaps," Akechi says, and shrugs. "The intention was to kill him."

The other two look at him. He raises his hands, in defense. "I know it's jumping to conclusions, but hear me out. Whoever did this, must've known that Sugimura brought Haru Okumura to this Kaneshiro's in order to drug her or do something else dastardly. They also had to know that Sugimura didn't know that Okumura was ultimately safe. It's a perfect trap, no? If Haru Okumura was being concealed by Makoto, then Sugimura must've been panicking the entire time she was 'missing.' He is presented with a solution to his problem, a quick fix, so to speak. He is led out to the Tokyo Bay, where he is shown something, and then, only a few hours later, he is dead, driven into the Bay by his own driver. Perhaps something happened in that building. Something that ultimately led to the death of Rin Sugimura and his driver."

Kagawa looks over at Sae. "Sae, you know what this suggests, right?"

She meets his gaze, and Kagawa does not like her face. "I do. But for the sake of full disclosure, why don't you say it out loud?"

"This suggests," Kagawa says, and gestures to the file. "That Makoto may have had a hand in all this."

"I thought we had dismissed that possibility?" Akechi asks. "And I still am not sure I see how this Sugimura investigation relates to your insistence on a greater conspiracy, Niijima-san."

She waves her hand through the air. "The Sugimuras are a political family. It's not such a stretch to believe they could be involved. And I didn't like this case from the start. And now you tell me that Sugimura was lured out to some abandoned building in the Bay by a burner phone? I like it even less, now." She sighs. "Still, I cannot believe my sister would be capable of something like this." A look crosses her face. "But I would not be surprised to find influencers in her orbit."

Kagawa almost gulps. "So, what do you want to do? I agree, she can't be involved, but the connections are there, as much as I don't want to admit it. Would you be willing to put surveillance on your own sister?"

Sae shakes her head. "No, but..." She trails off, then focuses on Kagawa once more. "You said she contacted you, correct? When she first broached the topic of Sugimura?" Kagawa nods. "Then perhaps you could reach back out to her. She was always fond of you." Kagawa feels a slight pang in his chest at this, but doesn't let it show. "Perhaps you can determine, given what we know, how Makoto factors in to all this, and if there are others near her that may be involved."

Akechi clears his throat. "If I may be bold for a moment, are you referencing Akira Kurusu?" Sae cuts him a glare, and he gives a nervous smile. "I'll take that as a yes. I know you won't like hearing this, but the two of us have developed something of a rapport these past few weeks. Maybe I could talk with him, and see if he could shed some light on these incidents?"

"Allow me to point out that we're talking about a bunch of teenagers," Kagawa says. "I agree that the stone should be overturned, but do we seriously believe that these kids would've had the forethought to use two separate burners to lure a politician's son to his death?"

"I think you should give young people more credit, Detective Kagawa," Akechi replies, with a small grin. "My generation is full of surprises."

I'll bet, you little punk.

His phone vibrates. He takes it from his jacket pocket and his eyes widen as he recognizes the number. He glances up at Sae, then over at Akechi. "Excuse me," he says, and stands up. "I've got to take this."

He retreats from the office and heads down the hall before he brings the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?" He asks.

"Good afternoon, Officer Kagawa," Makoto Niijima says. "I was hoping we could talk."

#

Akira peers around the corner. Across the street, Ryuji huddles over an ATM. Akira watches as he inserts his cash card, and punches in his PIN. He withdraws a small handful of yen, then shoves everything back into his pocket, and heads in Akira's direction.

A moment later, Morgana slinks out of his hiding spot, approaches the ATM, leaps up, and removes the card reader from the device, wrapping it in his tail and bounding across the street.

"How was that?" Ryuji asks, when he stops alongside Akira.

"Good," Akira tells him. "Very good."

Morgana catches up to them, and thrusts out the device. "Do you think Kaneshiro will be mad if it only has a few on it?"

Akira shakes his head. "You're only supposed to have the reader active for a few minutes. Any longer, and someone might get suspicious. In and out, that's how this works." He takes the device and puts it back into his bag. "If I need more, I'll do more, but for now I'm hoping he's distracted enough to not care how many are on this reader."

Ryuji shrugs. "If you're sure, bro. Want to head back then?"

Akira nods, and holds open his bag for Morgana. The trio proceed in silence for a short while, until Ryuji visibly summons up the courage to ask, "So, you're going to see him tonight?"

Akira gives a small grunt. "Yeah. I'll have to call out of work. Honestly, I'm starting to think I should just quit these other jobs altogether. Shit is getting too complicated. I'm juggling too much." He looks up at the rooftops overhead. "Plus, if this war goes south for Kaneshiro, and the Dragon figures out who I am, I don't want them to show up at my part time job. Or hurt those close to me." Ryuji takes an exaggerated step away from him, a small smile on his face. Akira laughs. "Real nice, man."

"You gotta laugh, man," Ryuji replies, and tries to live by example.

Morgana squirms around until he's able to pop his head out of the bag. "Let's stay focused. It's good that Akira is doing what Kaneshiro tells him to, but we're still no closer to figuring out the keywords for the Palace."

Akira sighs. "I think the Dragon that follow Kaneshiro have gone to ground. There must be an additional headquarters or something, but I've got no idea where." He staggers a bit against uneven pavement, kicks a loose pebble, and keeps walking. "But how many places could he have across all of Shibuya? And I get the impression there's no place that Kaneshiro cares about."

"Yeah," Ryuji says. "I mean, he's a freakin' psycho. Seems like all he cares about is controlling Shibuya and getting rid of the Dragon."

Akira hesitates for a moment, a kernel of an idea swirling about in his mind, but as he's about to seize on it, the concept fades. Damn, he thinks. What was that? He cannot recall.

"You okay?" Ryuji asks him.

"I am," Akira replies, head nodding, reaching for whatever floated just beyond coherence and finding nothing. "I'm fine."

The three settle into a comfortable silence as they walk, heading for LeBlanc. Once they cross over into the Yongen-jaya neighborhood proper, Ryuji asks, "What's up with Makoto?"

Akira feels something hitch in his voice when he replies, "What do you mean?"

"I mean about her dad, dude," Ryuji says with a shrug. "It's all pretty messed up, what you told her. And her reaction is pretty weird too."

"Maybe," Morgana says. "But she mourned her father three years ago, when he died. Now? Maybe she just wants to bring Kaneshiro to justice. Maybe we should give her more credit."

"I don't know," Akira says, and shakes his head. "I'm with Ryuji on this. When I told her the news, she just... shut down. I don't know that she really processed it, you know? I don't like thinking that she's just going to focus on the whole 'Kaneshiro' thing and not deal with the fact that her father was murdered."

"Are you gonna talk to her about it?" Ryuji asks. Akira glances at him, and Ryuji must interpret the look wrong, because he holds up his hands defensively. "Just sayin', you know how she is. She pursued us re... what's the word?"

"Relentlessly?" Morgana offers.

"Yeah, relentlessly," Ryuji says, with a quick nod. "She did that, and all we did was push her buttons. Now that she knows Kaneshiro did in her dad? She might go off the deep end." He grimaces. "I know Ann wouldn't care too much if that happened, but I don't think Haru would appreciate it much. You should talk to her about it, is all I'm saying."

"I agree," Akira tells him. But the problem is where to draw the line. I want her to stop entirely, to take care of herself. That's what I should want, isn't it? "But we need her connections right now. She should've reached out to Kagawa today. If she can learn what he knows about us, she might also be able to find out more about her father's old case, and that could give us some insight into Kaneshiro. But still, I feel bad about all this."

"It's okay if she helps," Ryuji says, as they turn the corner and approach LeBlanc. "But if she pushes too hard, it might backfire, you know? Her sister is nuts, isn't she? So it ain't exactly unprecedented."

Akira arches a brow. "Did you just say 'unprecedented?'"

Ryuji rolls his eyes. "Whatever dude. I've told you, I know words."

They step up to LeBlanc and Akira laughs as he pushes the door open. Ryuji follows him inside and, as always, it takes his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light. When they do, he finds the cafe the same as usual, Sojiro behind the bar, a single, solitary customer - female - at the counter, gazing at the older man wistfully.

"Hey," Sojiro grunts when they enter. He nods towards the counter. "You got a package."

Akira blinks. "Me?"

Sojiro shakes his head. "No, Ryuji."

Ryuji's eyes bulge. "Wait, for real?"

Sojiro scowls. "Of course not. Yes, it's for you, Akira." He shrugs and turns back to his mugs. "You don't usually get mail."

"No," Akira says, spying the package on the counter. "I don't."

It's a small rectangular container wrapped in cheap, tan paper. The edges are taped to perfection, but the address is scrawled near illegibly, only to be crossed out and a sticker placed alongside it with Akira's name and LeBlanc's address.

Morgana hoists himself up onto Akira's shoulder and peers down at it. "What'd you think it is?" He asks.

"I don't know," Akira replies, with a frown.

Ryuji slaps his shoulder. "Think it might be a care package? Like, from home?"

Akira feels a knot in his stomach. "I don't think so." He picks it up. The package itself is light, and when he shifts it from side to side, he doesn't hear anything sliding around within. "Come on," he tells his friends and they all go upstairs.

He places it on his desk and sits before it, staring. Why am I so unnerved by this? He wonders, but he has a pretty good guess why. There's no return address. He's got no idea what's inside or who sent it. It could be from anyone. Even Kaneshiro's gang. Even Kaneshiro himself.

"What if it's got, like, anthrax in it?" Ryuji whispers, as if the volume of his voice could decrease the threat.

"Don't be dumb, Bonehead," Morgana replies. "It's not going to have anthrax in it."

"How do you know?" Ryuji asks, glaring at the cat.

"Because why would someone send Akira anthrax?"

"I'm not asking the 'why,' I'm asking how you know it doesn't have anthrax in it?" Ryuji throws his hands wide. "People are crazy. Isn't that a good enough reason?"

Morgana looks crestfallen. "Well, I guess I don't actually know if it-"

"Uh-huh," Ryuji replies, with a smirk on his face. He crosses his arms, but his face falls a moment later. "Not sure why I'm happy about that."

Akira sighs. "Only one thing to do," he says. He reaches into his pockets and pulls out his keyring. Then, with deft hands, he slides the edge across one of the lines of tape. It splits, neatly, and he says, "One down." When he turns to look at them, he finds Ryuji and Morgana have retreated across the room, to the top of the stairs. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," both say.

"Thanks guys," Akira replies, and turns back to the package. "Wimps," he mutters, beneath his breath. What if there is anthrax in here? His brain asks him. There's not going to be anthrax, he tells it. How do you know? It replies, echoing Ryuji and Morgana's brief spat.

With a bit more reservation than he will ever admit, Akira continues his unwrapping. Finally, the paper falls away to reveal a small, monochromatic white box. Gingerly, he reaches out a hand and pushes the lid back.

"It's a phone," he says.

"Any anthrax?" Ryuji calls.

"No," Akira replies. "It's a phone."

The two return to his side, and stare in puzzlement down at the phone. It's a small, wireless flip phone.

"Looks like a burner," Ryuji replies.

"Dude," Morgana says. "It probably is a burner."

Akira reaches out and lifts up the small device. When he does, he sees a small charger placed in the box, just beneath the impression in which the phone sat. He pulls that out as well, setting it down on the side, and then sees a small piece of paper folded at the very bottom.

"What's this?" He asks, and yanks it free.

He unfolds it and reads it aloud, and his eyes widen as he goes. "'If you want help with Kaneshiro, call the number saved on the phone.'"

He looks at his friends.

"Dude," Ryuji says.

"Dude," Morgana says.

"Dude," Akira whispers. He flips open the phone and turns it on. Sure enough, a few seconds later, he locates the only saved number in the phone, under the header of 'Anonymous.'

"You really gonna call it?" Ryuji asks.

Akira ponders this. "The note is pretty vague," Akira says. "It doesn't mention anything about being Phantom Thieves. But it says it can 'help' with Kaneshiro. Hell, it could be a member of the other Dragon group."

"I don't know about this, Akira," Morgana says. "Too many variables are never a good thing."

"I agree," Akira replies. "But whoever sent this knows where I am, and who I am. So we can either ignore it, and get no information, or try and figure out who's on the other side." He hits 'Call,' and brings the phone up to his ear.

It rings three times, before there's a click, followed by a few vague clicking noises. Then, "Hello?" The voice is indistinct and robotic. Akira immediately knows that whoever this is, they're using a device to disguise their voice. He's got no idea if they're male or female, based on the single word.

"Hello?" Akira asks. "Who is this?"

"You called me," the voice replies. "Who is this?"

Akira frowns, and thinks. "I got this phone in the mail. And I got a note. There was only one number in this phone."

Silence for a time. Then, "Oh."

Akira summons some courage and blurts out. "Are we going to talk about this? Or are we going to just sit in silence and-"

"You guys are the Phantom Thieves, right?"

Akira feels the floor drop out from beneath him. His body feels like it enters freefall. Sweat forms at his hairline and he can feel it start to make its way down his skin. His throat is dry.

He opens his mouth, and attempts an, "Um-"

"Stupid question, of course you guys are the Phantom Thieves. You're going after Kaneshiro, right? I can help you. Look into things for you. Do stuff for you. But I want something in return. It's non-negotiable."

"W-who is this?" Akira asks.

There's a strange burst of static on the other end of the line, and Akira wonders if it isn't some kind of sigh. "My name is Ali Baba."

"That's not a name," Akira says.

"Yes it is," Ali Baba insists. "And it doesn't matter what you think because it's what I'm calling myself and that's all you need to know, so are we gonna deal or not?"

Akira look up at Ryuji and Morgana, who stare at him, expectantly. "How do... why do you think we're Phantom Thieves?" Akira asks.

Ryuji throws his hands in the air, and starts to pace. Morgana's mouth drops open in shock.

"You're not as careful as you think, Akira," Ali Baba replies. "Neither is Ryuji, Ann, Haru, Yusuke or Makoto."

Akira's mind kicks back into drive. She brought up Makoto, but not Morgana? Why? Does she not know Morgana can talk? Does she think Makoto is a Phantom Thief? She isn't, but if this Ali Baba thinks she is, it means they don't know everything.

"You drop all those names, but you can't even tell me your real one?" Akira asks.

"Ali Baba is my real name," the voice replies. "It's the only one that matters."

"You still haven't told me how you know about us," Akira says.

"It doesn't matter how I know," Ali Baba replies. "Only that I do know."

They've got me there, Akira thinks. He doubts he'll be able to get Ali Baba to disclose. "Alright," he says, instead. "Why do you think we need help with Kaneshiro?"

"You're looking to change his heart," Ali Baba replies. "He's doing bad stuff. He's a big bag of dicks, basically. You want to change his heart, but you need help. I can help you."

"How?"

"I'm good at finding things out, duh. So if you need information, I can find it for you. But in return..." There's a sound like a cough, or maybe a sniffle, it's impossible to tell with the distortion. "I want you to change my heart."

"You want us to change your heart," Akira says, out loud, for the benefit of the others. The shock of the request is enough to make him pause. "I don't...Why?"

"That's not your business."

"It is if we're going to do it." They don't know how we change hearts. Otherwise, they'd know about the Palaces and everything else.

Silence from the other side. "Agree to help me, and I'll tell you what you need to know, when you need to know it."

Akira plays this through his mind. Is this a trap? Was Ali Baba really a police operative? But if they were, why were they reaching out to him like this? If they had evidence, why not just arrest them? I need to talk to the others. He pulls out his real phone and checks the time. But I need to get going to the meet up soon. Kaneshiro had instructed Akira and some others to meet up later that night. He needed proper time to prepare, not play games with whoever this was. "Alright," he says. "Fine. But if this turns out to be a trick, you'll understand if we don't help you down the line."

"It's not a trick!" The voice, despite the distortion, manages to sound indignant.

"Alright," Akira replies. "I'm sorry. So. How are we going to do this?"

#

She disconnects the call, and is, once again, bathed and blissfully alone in the blue light of many screens. She inhales the stale air in a deep breath, and lets it out in one triumphant exhale.

Crouched on her chair as she is, she raises her hands - balled into fists - up in the air and shouts, "I did it!" She catches a reflection of herself in the monitor and beams. "I did it," she repeats.

"Yes," comes a voice. "You did."

She freezes. Her smile becomes fixed, then falls away. She lowers her arms and puts her hands over her ears. "No," she mutters. "Please. Not now."

"You did it," the voice says. It's young, female, and dripping with sarcasm and hostility. "You did it."

"Please," she says, and squeezes her eyes shut. "Please, please, please, please."

She feels hands on her shoulders, even though she knows they aren't really there. They tighten, bit by bit, nails digging into her bare flesh. "You did it."

"I didn't mean to," she protests. "I didn't."

"But you did. You did it. You killed me. You killed me."

I don't have to listen, she thinks. I've got work to do. I don't have to listen to this.

"I can hear you," the woman behind her whispers. "But you know you did. My own daughter. My own daughter killed me."

Futaba shakes her head, eyes still shut, her hands over her ears. "I didn't mean to," she whispers. "I didn't mean to, please."

"My own daughter killed me," the revenant of Wakaba Isshiki whispers. "You killed me." The words pound through her skull like a drum. "You bitch, you bitch, you bitch, you bitch, you bitch, you bitch, you bitch, you bitch..."

It goes on and on, and eventually Futaba retreats back into herself, and cries herself to sleep.

#

Kaneshiro watches the flames rise into the night air. He's heard people reflect on the beauty of fire, before. They'll pontificate about its hunger and dance, but to him, fire has never looked like anything more than orange and white. He ducks back into the car. "Let's go," he says.

Nanashi puts the car in drive and they speed out of the construction site. Someone has turned on 'Crazy Train,' and he gives a small nod in appreciation. He glances back out the window as they pull from the yard, driving past the two bodies of the guards they'd strangled.

The site is too massive for their firebombing to have much effect. But this was the future site of the Entertainment Boulevard the Boss had set his hopes on. Going legit, Kaneshiro thinks. Going legit with casinos and bars and hookers giving handjobs underneath the tablecloths. What a fucking joke.

This would piss off the rest of the Dragon Syndicate, which was exactly what he wanted. Kai's death set the stage, but this was escalation. Killing an old associate past his prime was one thing, but deliberately going after the profits? The angrier they got, the more mistakes they'd make. The Boss would want revenge, and he'd pop his head out of whatever hole he'd hidden himself in. That would be all the time Kaneshiro needed to chop it off.

Then, the venture would fall into his lap, and he'd rebuild it in his own way.

"Where to, Boss?" Nanashi asks, as they pull onto the main highway.

"Number Fifteen," Kaneshiro says, referring to one of his various, random meeting locations. He wasn't dumb. Dragon enforcers would be knocking down the door of his buildings any day now. But all they'd find were a bunch of empty rooms and few drugged out prosts they hadn't bothered taking with them. Kaneshiro had his own private safe houses, as did most of his close associates. He had been careful never to share that information with others within the Dragon. They wouldn't find him. Not until it was too late.

They drive deeper into Tokyo, and become swallowed up in the vast desert of streets that is Shibuya. He stares out the window, and allows himself a faint glimpse into the future. A beautiful, new world.

Then, Nanashi informs him that they have arrived, and Kaneshiro comes back to reality. They are in a parking garage, a few levels beneath the street. He shoves the door open and gets out. A few of his men have gathered nearby. He sees a number of Shujin students as well, backed against the far wall, looking like wild animals, eyes wide and full of nervous jittering.

He spies Kurusu almost immediately, and grins. "C'mere," he calls, looking at him. The others shoot the kid glances. Akira looks around as if unsure, then shuffles forward.

Kaneshiro figures he'll do him a favor. When Akira is close enough, Kaneshiro brings his hand up, and closes it around the back of Kurusu's neck. He thrusts his arm forward, and Akira tips forward with a panicked gasp. He's bent at the waist, only slightly, but Kaneshiro knows enough to know what this looks like. "Just relax," Kaneshiro tells him. "I'm not gonna hurt you, kid. Just want to give them a little show. Don't want to make you target, yeah?"

"O-okay," Akira manages. Kaneshiro leads him away from the group, not quite dragging him by the neck, but close enough. "I messed with some ATMs, like you asked," the kid continues.

"Very good," Kaneshiro replies. He snaps his fingers, and his lieutenants proceed to hand out orders to the assembled crews. "How are you doing, with yesterday?" He lets Akira go, and the kid straightens up a little too fast.

Akira shrugs. "I, I'm okay, I guess."

"First time you ever saw something like that, yeah?"

Akira nods. Kaneshiro crosses his arms and leans against one of the garage's pillars. "My first when I was about your age. Wasn't even in this country." Akira looks at him then, a little confused. Kaneshiro chuckles. "Mongolia. The Boss had taken me out there, part of a small team to deal with some competitors that ran to ground there. Mongolia's a big place. Lots of plains. Lots of desert." He shrugs. "Not big enough though. Your first time, you want it to be momentous. You want to stick a fucking tombstone in the ground that reads, 'Here Lies My First.' But nope. Bones are under some dune now, decomposed to nothing, or whatever." He smiles. "Those Mongolian girls, Kurusu. Let me tell you."

The kid tries to smile, but Kaneshiro can tell how uncomfortable he is. It's something he's familiar with.

He remembers standing on that great, wide open plain, the sky a perfect blue overhead.

The Boss had stood alongside him, eyes narrow, mouth pulled into a tight grimace.

The man lay crumpled on the ground before them, his hand raised in supplication, trying to hide his face from their gaze, as if it would make some kind of difference.

Kaneshiro's hand had held the gun, and his hand had trembled.

The Boss had growled then, "Do it! Do it, kid!"

And Kaneshiro had screamed, and pulled the trigger, and as the BANG echoed out into the world, he felt for sure it would never die.

But it did. And that was that.

##

A/N: Woo! 100 chapters! I mean, if you count 'State of Crimson' this is technically the 99th chapter but fuck it!

Thanks for all of your understanding regarding our family situation. It means a lot that people have been so cool about the whole thing. It sucks, but them's the breaks. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. I'll have the next one up as soon as I can. We're almost into July (about damn time, right?).

Thanks again!