Chapter 12

The black van can to a screeching stop, startling several people as it did. The driver didn't get out but the side door slide open and a few soldiers stepped out. They began to yell at the people in Italian, telling them to move away from the area immediately.

As soon as it was clear, the hotel doors opened and the group of six walked out, five men, one woman. They were dressed conservatively, choosing not to stand out among the throng of party goers. But there was something different in their faces that made the soldiers realize that these were the right people.

They stood aside as the group climbing inside the van to pick out their items. It was an impressive collection considering that Okina had only called the Italian intelligence forces five minutes ago to warn them of the impending strike by the Juppongatana. His only request in return for the information was that a cache of weapons arrive at the hotel as quickly as possible.

Saitou wasted not time choosing several 9mm guns and slipping into holsters on his person. It might seem excessive but with Tokio still in the hospital, there was only one of them to carry out their revenge on the Juppongatana. And he wanted to make sure they never forgot the day they crossed paths with the Wolf.

Hiko was a bit more conservative, actually stopping to take some surveillance equipment in addition to the weaponry. He looked over at Kenshin as the red headed man examined the cache. Hiko frowned and dumped the surveillance things on him, deciding it would be faster then watching the man fight with his morals again. So he took a few weapons for Kenshin, just in case.

Aoshi was fitting Megumi with a bullet proof vest as Sano grabbed a few items. As soon as she was ready, he handed her something resembling a cattle prod. Megumi's brow furrowed before she nodded and awarded him with the smallest of smiles.

The group reassembled outside of the van and paused for just a moment before splitting and moving on to their destinations.


Meanwhile, in St. Mark's Square, the Carnival floats were circling before pulling into their assigned spots to await judging. Kaoru's wrist wounds had reopened slightly as she struggled against the bonds that just wouldn't budge.

"You'll get blood on your dress," Shishio smiled.

Kaoru shot him the nastiest look she could muster from under her mask but he shrugged.

"Fine, continue if you must," Shishio said. "The rest of us will just enjoy the show."

Kaoru turned away and looked down at wrists. She fought back the tears again and took in a few breaths. She was going to get out of this. Somehow, she was going to get out and then warn the others.

"Ne, Soujirou," Yumi laughed as she looked over at the boy. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were sulking."

Kaoru's head whipped up and she looked over at Soujirou. It was true, there was something wrong with him, Kaoru hadn't been imaging it. The red demon turned towards Yumi, staring at her intently.

"What's the matter?" Shishio suddenly demanded.

Soujirou turned his attention to him. "Why would anything be wrong?" he asked.

Kaoru blinked. That wasn't his normally cheerful voice. Suddenly, there was a bit of hope. If she could get Soujirou to help her…

"You should be happy," Shishio replied, his voice steady. "But the one time you should be, is the one time you don't appear to be happy at all."

"Happy?" Soujirou asked. "Yes, that would be true. Your plan is about to come to fruition. All the years of planning, this is your moment in the sun. Your theory that weak will perish is about to be proven."

"Yes, it is."

"So I am weak then," Soujirou demanded. Shishio glared at him. But before he could say anything, Soujirou held up his wrist. "I know. I know you had me marked as well."

Shishio frowned. "This isn't the time to discuss this."

"Of course not," Soujirou said. "We'll discuss it after you release the virus, I'm sure."

Shishio shifted, sensing the danger that was slowly growing around Soujirou. Yumi started to reach for her gun but Soujirou began to laugh.

"Go ahead," he said. "Take a shot with it."

Yumi's hand snapped forward and she held the gun level at him. Shishio didn't blink as the nozzle crossed in front of his face. Kaoru on the other hand, leaned back as far as she could. Suddenly Soujirou didn't appear the best way to get out of this mess.

"Don't push me," Yumi said firmly.

"No, I'm serious," Soujirou smiled. "Take a shot. Probably would be more merciful then letting the virus do its job. Just make sure you use it on yourself."

"Soujirou," Shishio threatened.

"Shut up," Yumi cried, the gun suddenly unsteady in her hand.

"Go on," Soujirou continued. "Ask him."

Yumi's breathing quickened but she didn't move or say a word. The only thing that changed in her stature was a quick glance to Shishio.

Shishio sighed. "I don't see where any of this is coming from. I was upfront with you about the plan from the beginning. You knew what was happening."

"Except for the implants," Soujirou stated. "Or ID tags. Or let's call them by their proper name, virus distributors."

Yumi blanched a bit and the gun started to waver in her hand. "Shi…Shishio?" she said looking at him. "It's not true is it?"

Shishio looked at her. "I told you, the implants for the virus were implanted in people who had crossed our organization. Like her," he motioned to Kaoru who was now struggling openly. She had come to the realization that she was not just surrounded by one psycho, the entire group was about to lose it.

Yumi nodded firmly. "Yes, of course. Soujirou, stop kidding around," she said starting to lower the gun.

"Think about it Yumi," Soujirou pressed. "What makes more sense? That Shishio would collect random people off the street or that he would just use people in his own organization."

"Soujirou," Shishio warned.

"Convenient how we all got internal ID badges around the same time that the virus implementation program began."

"It doesn't make sense!" Yumi cried, her grip suddenly tightening. "This entire plan is to make the Juppongatana kings of the world. What would killing them off accomplish?"

"It's not about the Juppongatana," Soujirou continued. "It's just about him. Him and his theory. Right, Shishio? This is the great test of who are the strong and who are the weak. What better way to rebuild a society in your image then by eliminating all those who wouldn't fit first?"

Shishio was silent. Yumi looked at him intently. "Shishio?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Shishio said. "There's nothing you can do to stop it."

Kaoru's eyes opened wide. It was suddenly clear that this wasn't a Juppongatana attempt to blackmail the world at all. It was Shishio attempt to wipe out most of the population and rebuild it from scratch under his image of perfection. The float wasn't a joke, Shishio was attempting to bring an apocalyptic plague to the world.

He turned to Yumi. "You are the one with the gun," he said. "It's your choice what to do."

Yumi looked at him and Soujirou. Shooting Soujirou would eliminate the last road block to Shishio's plan but… but if Soujirou was right, then Yumi had the virus too. And it might kill her. But that was only if she was one of the weak. And if Shishio had believed in her all these years, then that couldn't be true.

Yumi turned the gun. "I am one of the strong," she finished pointed the gun at Soujirou and pulling the trigger.


Hiko, Saitou and Kenshin ran up the stairs of a nearby house. The Plaza was packed and they needed a higher vantage point to find anyone in the mess. Once on the roof, Kenshin went for a pair of the binoculars and started scanning the crowd.

It was a kaleidoscope of humanity, he realized as he swept the crowd. All the costumes and masks glittered in the lights and it was hard to pick out individuals at all. The floats were scattered across the area and despite Okina's description, he wasn't sure if he was looking for the right thing.

"Wait," Kenshin said, letting the binoculars settle on spot. "I found them." He rattled off the degree reading on the top of his view and Hiko and Saitou adjusted their binoculars to find it.

"Four people," Hiko stated. "No one else appears to be around them." He paused. "The one playing Death… look at the bandages on his arms. It must be Shishio."

"Shishio would come out in the open like this?" Kenshin asked.

Hiko snorted. "That egotistical lunatic? How could he bear to miss his plan succeeding. Probably wanted the best seat in the house."

Kenshin frowned "The one of the right looks female. It must be Yumi."

"The short one at the left," Saitou observed, "is probably Soujirou."

"But who is the fourth one?" Hiko asked.

"Female," Saitou said.

"The only one in the Juppongatana other then Yumi is Kamatari… well, in a way," Hiko shrugged. "But last time I checked, he wasn't anywhere near Venice."

Kenshin's eyes squinted. Saitou was right. It was a woman. But who else did the Juppongatana…

"Soujirou," Kenshin suddenly said.

"On the left in red," Hiko said. "What about…" He trailed off. Soujirou was in the helicopter with Kaoru when it went down. If he was here now…

"KENSHIN!" Hiko called out but the red head was already running across the roofs.


Kaoru's eyes closed shut as the gun popped. She stayed like that for a minute before she realized that the sound was repeating. Taking a chance, she opened an eye and walked as Yumi kept pulling the trigger but the gun kept coming up empty.

Soujirou leaned over. "You don't think I'd figure this all out and then leave you armed?" he asked.

Shishio began to laugh. "Good job, Soujirou," he smiled. "But not good enough." He slowly removed the sheath from the scythe he had, revealing a razor sharp blade. Soujirou didn't bother waiting for him to finish, he took the red sword and brought it down towards him.

Shishio had jumped clear when the sword hit the wooden horse but Kaoru wasn't able to get away. The metal hit her horse as well and cut through it, slicing it in half. She slid forward, just passing under the sword as she hit the ground.

The binds still held her arms and her ankles close their partner but she had a lot more movement now. She quickly stripped off the mask and pulled the tape off her mouth. She was about to yell a warning to the crowd but they had already realized this wasn't part of the act.

She slid forward like a worm and tried to reach the end of the float but something grabbed her leg. Turning around, she watched as Yumi dragged her back towards the debris pile. Kaoru delivered a double kick to her stomach and Yumi dropped her, stumbling backwards.

Kaoru returned to her struggles but heard Yumi pushing herself off the ground. Looking over her shoulder, Kaoru saw the other woman pick up a plank of wood and begin to advance. She struggled to move faster but Yumi was moving to fast.

Yumi raised the plank above her head and brought it down with all her strength.


Aoshi and Sano looked at each other before eyeing the bakery once more. It was the only place they were sure led to the Juppongatana base but going through it was very risky. There was no doubt that security had been increased since they were last there.

"Once we start, we can't stop," Aoshi said firmly. "It'll need to be fast or else they'll be able to secure the lab. Misao, how much time will it take to reach the lab?"

"About three minutes, if you walk. Under a minute if you run," she replied through the headset.

"Run it is," Aoshi said. "Sano, cover Megumi. Whatever happens get her to the lab."

"Got it."

"Megumi…"

"I know, I know," she sighed. "I'll be careful."

Aoshi nodded firmly and gripped a small grenade in his hand. "Keep your eyes closed when these go off," he instructed.

"Good luck!" Misao yelled over the headset, causing them all to flinch.

"Let's move," Aoshi said, seeing a nasty retort forming on the edge of Sano's lips. He walked forward and carefully entered the back door, feeling the temperature drop as they moved underground.

The first set of guards was almost immediately by the entrance and Aoshi barely had time to react.

"COVER!" he yelled as he tossed the flash bang. Light filled the room and blinded the guards momentarily. . But it was enough time for Sano and Aoshi to knock them out.

The process continued as they made they're way into the depths Venice. It was never a light run, their feet pounded against the ground as they ran, Aoshi barely giving them notice before incapacitating the troops in front of him.

Sano had worked up a light sweat by the time they reached the main entrance. It was locked naturally but Aoshi had already broken through once before. Doing it again was simple, even if they had changed the codes.

The door opened and Aoshi barely had time to warn the rest of them before the dozen or so Juppongatana lackeys opened fire. The hallway was lost in a hail of bullets and smoke that ripped through the door way. Aoshi was trapped on the right while Sano covered Megumi with his body on the left.

Aoshi frowned. They didn't have time for this. Looking over at Sano, he locked eyes with the other man and waited for him to nod. Sano didn't look too pleased but nodded none the less.

Aoshi grabbed toward of the flash bangs, pulled the pins and rolled them through the doorway. There was a bit of commotion inside but the grenades went off the people inside were blinded.

Aoshi took off, firing his gun as he took off down the right hallway. Sano took Megumi's hand and they ran down the left.

"What about Aoshi?" Megumi asked once they were out of earshot from the guards.

"He'll lead them the other way. We need to get to the lab."

Megumi bit her lip slightly and nodded. She tried to silence the little worried voice in her head that Aoshi had just jumped straight into the fire and might not make it out.


The wood exploded in her hands and Yumi barely had time to blink before she registered that someone had destroyed it before it hit its target. And by the time she realized what was going on, she hurtling back off the float, the victim of a swift punch to the chin by a pissed off red head.

Kenshin would have regretted hitting a lady if Yumi had been one but instead he was more concerned with the bound up form at his feet. He fell to his knees and pulled her up to a seated position. Her eyes were still shut, as if she was still waiting for the final blow.

"Kaoru," he said, his voice cracking slightly.

Her blue eyes fluttered open and she smiled, her bound hands reaching forward and softly touching his chin. His eyes snapped shut and he was sure it was real. She hadn't died, she was right here.

"Kenshin," she smiled. "I knew you'd come."

"I thought… I thought…"

"I'm so sorry," she said, looking at him sadly.

He shook his head to clear away the last traces of doubt that it wasn't real and grabbed her hands. "It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're here. Glad you're safe," he said suddenly wrapping his arms around her.

He let his guard down for the moment but Kaoru got a clear view of what was about to happen. She could barely utter his name in warning before the gun went off.


Aoshi ran, doing his best to lead them as far away from Megumi and Sano as possible. It was hard to keep track of which way he was going but he realized so long as he didn't turn too many corners he would lead them eventually into the center of the base.

Or into a dead corridor.

Aoshi's feet skidded to a stop as he turned to face the pursuing guards. He had managed to outpace them but he could hear their feet approaching him.

"Aoshi! Hold them off for a few minutes," Misao yelled in his ear. Despite the volume of her voice, he could tell that she wasn't worried. She must have a plan.

"How long exactly?" he asked.

"2 mins 32 seconds," she responded.

Aoshi quickly did the math as he removed his coat and placed his hand on the first gun. He just had to time it right and he might have enough bullets to last until Misao's plan came into effect.

The first guard turned the corner and Aoshi pulled out the first gun, firing his first shot while counting to three in his head before firing the next one. The shots came out in rapid succession, the casings barely hitting the floor before the next shot was fired.


In the dim room of the hotel, Misao was typing frantically as the ICE breaker worked its way into the Juppongatana computer defense program. While it did that she was working with another computer hooked up with the JIA system to track down the satellite.

"We found it," Okina said suddenly though the laptop. "We can position one of our satellites to take it out but it'll take half an hour for it to get into position."

"Too long," Misao said, barely registering who she was talking to. She was concentrated on the progress bar of the ICE breaker. "Come on," she whispered.

"We're trying to contact the Americans. They have one closer."

"Good idea," she said, watching at the progress bar filled up and the Juppongatana security system. She watched as the entire layout of the base filled her screen. It didn't take long to find where Aoshi was.

"Aoshi, LEFT!" she said, typing in the command and opening a door on his left. It took a few minutes before he responded and Misao immediately closed the door.

"Make sure the biolab is open," he said.

"Doing that right now."

"The American's are having problems," Okina stated. "We're still…"

"Hang on," Misao said. "I have an idea. Aoshi, go to the end of the room. There should be a vent there."

"Found it."

"Okay, follow my directions. I think I can get you to the command center and we can take out the satellite from there."


Sano and Megumi stood at the biolab doors trying to figure a way in when they suddenly opened. From the chatter over the headset, it was obvious Misao had just given them a way in.

Megumi quickly stepped inside but Sano paused at the door. Down the hall, he could the remains of Aoshi's chase group coming towards them. He pushed Megumi inside and yelled at Misao to close and lock the door.

Megumi turned and looked at him. She banged her hands on the glass of the door but it wasn't opening. Sano looked at her, put a hand on the glass and dragged it down, telling her to stay low. Then he turned down the hall.

"HEY!" he called out. The guards looked at him and Sano barely had a chance to take off before they started firing at him. Then he disappeared and Megumi was alone.


Kenshin and Kaoru stared at the gun that Yumi was pointing at them. Neither of them could move as she glared at them with an angry face.

Then it broke and it was clear Yumi was in pain. She collapsed onto the ground, revealed Saitou standing behind her. His gun smoldered a bit as he followed Yumi's body to the ground. He glared at Kenshin and Kaoru.

"This is not the time," he said firmly, walking over and pulling a knife out of his pocket. He sliced through Kaoru's bonds. "Take the girl and get out of here."

Kenshin was about to do just that when he realized something. "Where's Hiko?"

Saitou looked at him and then up towards St. Mark's tower.

"That's where Shishio and Soujirou went," Saitou replied.

Kenshin looked a bit alarmed and then looked at Kaoru. She nodded firmly and let go of him. "Saitou, get Kaoru out of here," he said starting to run towards the fight.

"HEY!" Saitou called out, forcing Kenshin to stop short. Saitou frowned and reached for something at his back. He pulled the katana free and threw it to Kenshin. Kenshin caught it and looked at it grimly before taking off.


Megumi walked around the lab for a moment, not sure what to do. She was alone, locked inside a small room with a deadly bioagent. Some part of her was screaming to get out and could feel claustrophobia starting to grip at her.

No, she said firmly. She couldn't let that happen. She needed to stay focus. Pursing her lips, she pressed the button on her headset.

"Misao," she said firmly.

"Just a second," Misao replied, frantically relaying instructions to Aoshi in the background. "Sorry, Megumi go ahead."

"Misao, I'm in the biolab. Sano led the guards away but I don't know if there are any alarms in here."

There was a pause before Misao responded. "You should be okay now to walk into the main area. Hang on… do you see the computer at the desk?"

"Yes," Megumi said, walking quickly across the lab to the empty chair.

"I'm going to log in from here and you should be able to access all the lab's files."

"Okay," Megumi replied softly, watching as the screen came alive in front of her. Misao signed off after that, leaving Megumi alone in the silence. After a moment, a normal Windows screen settled in and Megumi found she could open most of the folders.

At first, she was a bit nervous. The silence was overwhelming and she did feel a bit trapped. But as soon as she found the files for the virus, she forgot most of her fears. Until she came to a startling revelation.

"Misao," She said into the microphone. "We have a problem."


Aoshi wondered once why no one was following him. And then he decided to just forgo exploring the possible reasons and chalk it up to dumb luck. He listened to Misao's directions, hearing her bark out an answer to the wrong person occasionally before correcting herself. She must have had at least four conversations occurring simultaneously.

"Okay, the next door will be it and umm… be ready, because Sano is coming right behind you."

"Sano's coming from where?" Aoshi attempted to ask but half his question was lost in Sano's yelling as he barreled right into him and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him away from the approaching soldiers.

He could barely hear Misao's directions as she sent them stumbling into the command center. But he could hear the door slam shut behind them and saw the assembled crew look up at him.

"Oh crap," Sano observed as the five soldiers there stood up to take on the intruders. Aoshi was out of bullets, Sano wasn't the gun type so they did the only thing they could. Jumped into the fray bare-handed.

Aoshi was graceful, using the subtle art of Aikido to disarm and subdue most of his attackers. Sano was the exact opposite, crunching his fist into their noses to force them to let go of their weapons.

Both approaches worked fine and in a matter of seconds, the two had gained control of the room. Rushing over to the console, Aoshi quickly began to decipher the information while Sano secured the room.

"Oh guys…" Misao said through the headset.

"What's wrong?" Aoshi asked as he fingers danced across the keys.

"Minor problem. Megumi just went through the biolab files and she says there's no cure."

"In the files?"

"At all."

Aoshi and Sano fell silent. "What do you mean?" Sano asked.

"It means that Shishio really has gone insane," Aoshi answered. "Misao, I've got control of the primary control of the satellite systems."

"Okay, let's try to get it to self-destruct," Misao replied. She started to hand out directions as Aoshi typed them in, leaving Sano feeling useless at the side.

Suddenly the room went dark. A few seconds later, red lights filled the control room followed by a series of loud klaxons.

"Ah, that doesn't sound good," Sano observed.

"DAMN!" Misao screamed through the headphones. "There is no self-destruct device. It was really just masking the base self-destruct."

"How is that possible?" Sano asked.

"Easy," Aoshi said, standing up and walking over to some of the fallen guards. "Shishio didn't want anything to take the satellite offline so if anyone tried to do it from here, it would rigged to destroy the entire base." He pulled the weapons off of them and proceeded to the door.

Comprehension flickered across Sano's face. "Megumi."


Soujirou crouched down, clutching the red sword as he scanned the bell tower. He had followed Shishio up the winding staircase but lost him just as he entered. He listened for any sounds that might give away Shishio's location.

He slowly turned around the corners of the tower, peering through the giant bells as he tried to find Shishio. Something moved in the corner of his eye and he brought the red sword to face it Several doves flew towards the ceiling and disappeared out a hole in the roof.

Soujirou realized his mistake immediately. The doves were a distraction and Shishio was right behind him bringing the scythe down towards his head. Soujirou leapt backwards, hitting one of the bells as he jumped up towards the ceiling. Shishio followed after him, attempting to ignore the incessant clanging.

Soujirou landed on top of one of the bells and watched as Shishio landed on the one opposite of him. Soujirou slowly twirled the sword in his hand a few times before crouching low and aiming it at Shishio, all the while tapping his foot, against the bell. Shishio smiled and gripped the scythe with both hands, preparing for Soujirou's strike.

Soujirou disappeared, leaving the bell swing in the background. Shishio listened, hearing the faintest of footsteps around him before he realized where Soujirou was coming and swung the scythe.

Soujirou landed on the ground beside the bells and felt the world tip to a side. Immense pain engulfed him and he barely could see straight as Shishio jumped off the bells amd strode towards him. Soujirou realized two things. One was that his hand still clutched the sword. The only problem was that his hand was no longer attached to his arm.

Gripping the bleeding stump, Soujirou closed his eyes as Shishio laughed. "You wanted to be rid of the device in your wrist. And now you are."

Soujirou backed towards the wall, trying to retain consciousness as he watched Death approach him with a raised scythe.

"Leave the boy alone."

Shishio and Soujirou turned towards the steps and watched as the huge figure emerged from there. Hiko Seijirou stepped into the bell tower, two katanas in his hands as he surveyed the scene.

Shishio turned to face him with a twisted smile. "So the leader of the Hiten has finally emerged to fight again."

"The same could be said for you," Hiko replied, positioning himself opposite from the Juppongatana head.

Shishio looked down at the slumped over form of Soujirou and turned back to Hiko. "Then I believe it is time we finish things."

"It has been a long time coming," Hiko agreed.

Shishio tossed the scythe to the side and caught the katana Hiko threw to him. He slowly strapped it to his side and prepared to fight. Hiko's feet shifted as he searched his mind for an inner peace that would lend him strength in the battle. But that inner peace was shattered as a voice filtered up the stairway.

"SHISHOU!"

Hiko barely had time to utter a 'baka deshi' when Shishio attacked, katanas clanging as Hiko countered. Using his strength, he pushed the mummified opponent backwards clearing the way for Kenshin to bound up the stairs.

"Baka!" Hiko yelled as soon as he caught sight of the red hair.

"Shishou," Kenshin said, taking in the scene and quickly resting a hand on the sword.

"Get the kid out of here," Hiko motioned towards Soujirou. Kenshin tensed up a bit but Hiko shook his head. "This fight is mine."


"Misao, what's that noise?" Megumi asked through the headset.

"Ah… okay, don't panic or anything but it's the self destruct for the base," Misao replied through the comm.

"THE WHAT?" Megumi cried as she ran towards the door and opened it, stepping into the hallway.

"It's okay, you should have enough time to get out."

"SHOULD?!?!"

"I'm working on that. Oh… and umm… watch out," Misao added quickly.

"What out for what?" Megumi began. But her question was answered by the sound of approaching gunfire. Megumi's eyes opened and she started to run. Two seconds later, she felt something grab her waist and suddenly she was thrown across someone's shoulder.

"Not fast enough," Sano yelled as he continued running down the hallway, with Aoshi firing guns off behind him.


Saitou was yelling and Kaoru was very glad it wasn't at her. It was at the hospital staff who were attempting to organize for casualties from the riot that had once been the Carnival. Finally he gave up and grabbed one of the nearby doctors by the collar.

"Fix her now," he stated clearly, pointing to Kaoru who could only meekly smile.

The doctor flustered a bit before looking over at her and motioning her to an examining room. Saitou followed behind and grabbed the telephone as the doctor looked over her bruises.

"What are these?" he asked in English pointing to the stitches on her wrists.

"I don't know," she replied, shaking her head.

"It can't be good," Saitou said rejoining them. "Cut them open and pull whatever's inside out."

"WHAT?" the doctor demanded.

"He's right," Kaoru said. "Please, just do what he says."

The doctor was still hesitant but one amber-eyed glared and he was calling for a couple of nurses. Kaoru closed her eyes as they cut through the wires and gently opened the wounds.

"What in God's name?" the doctor said, reaching into her right wrist with a pair of tweezers and removing a small cylindrical device.

"Be very careful with that," Saitou advised. "It's filled with a very potent bioagent that will spread a virus through this entire hospital in a matter of hours."

"Call the police," the doctor told one of the nurses. "We'll need to quarantine the entire hospital just to be safe."

No longer hesitant he quickly went for the second set of stitches, letting the other nurse sew up Kaoru's now virus free wrist. He paused as soon as he looked in the wound, bring down the magnifying glass to look into it.

"What's wrong?" Saitou demanded.

"It's not the same," the doctor replied. "It's attached to the arterial wall and there are a small series of lights… but I can't tell what they are."

"A countdown clock," Tokio said, suddenly appearing at the door in a hospital gown.

"Countdown to what?" the doctor asked.

Kaoru looked up at them as realization dawned on him. "He said… he said I'd be the first one to die. That means… this is what he was going to use to signal the satellite."


Author's note : Yes, I know that the previous JIA have only had 12 chapters but this one... wow, I got to 14 pages and realized there was no way I could fit the entire conclusion in this time.