The steps echoed in the desolate calm of the night. The faint lights in the alleyways came from the balconies of some apartments or holographic advertising, but the few sounds that could be heard were from the screens that had been left on, announcing the recent news or the grey rain due to lack of maintenance.

Yashiro took a long look at Sasayama as she walked a few steps behind, studying the neck that no longer bled. What shocked her most was the disinterest he felt in his own life. In those moments, he was more concerned about what might happen to Kirino Touko. She arched an eyebrow until she finally closed her eyes, with a smirk. When she opened them again, she noticed the expectant gaze of the young man.

"I was wondering… what motivates you to continue. What is the origin of the enormous responsibility you feel for Kirino-san," Yashiro cautiously stated.

Sasayama said nothing for a few moments, he just stared into her eyes with a transparent expression, as if he were already too far away, lost in his own memory. After some seconds, he shook his head and pulled a cigarette out of his pants. However, when he tried to use his lighter, he realized it was empty, and threw it to the floor abruptly showing his teeth. The snap of metal against floor echoed throughout the alley, and Yashiro stopped her walk.

Sasayama looked around until his attention was drawn to an older man who was smoking, sitting next to a garbage can. He had a beard that was several days old and his hair was all over the place. When Yashiro approached, a deep smell of tobacco came up through her nostrils, and she never made such an effort to smile in her life. If she considered that Sasayama smoked too much, that man was a walking chimney.

"Can I borrow your lighter?" the enforcer asked.

The old man looked up slowly as if he had not noticed his presence until then, or if it were the first time someone had caught his attention, and to Yashiro's surprise, a faint but honest smile lit up his dry, cut lips. Then he took out a worn-out lighter from his jacket pocket and brought it to Sasayama. The skin on his hands was so wrinkled that it was evidence of old age, and his short, uneven nails were a sign of a stress reliever.

"Help yourself, son."

When Sasayama managed to light the cigarette, he placed it on his lips such an asthmatic whose life depended entirely on an inhaler, and closed his eyes in an almost transcendental ecstasy. Then he brought the packet to Yashiro, waving it in the air to make a cigarette appear, which she shook her head at and putting it away again, thanked the man by returning the lighter. It was only then that his eyes came to life and began to observe her with a flaming and cold vivacity.

"When I was a child, my father used to mistreat me, but once I defended myself and he passed out," the enforcer mumbled in a hoarse voice. "As I thought I had killed him I went to the police and turned myself in, and during rehabilitation I decided to become an enforcer. However, when my father woke up, he killed Mari. My younger sister. When I see Kirino-san… I see her. And I don't want to lose her, you know? If anything happened to her…"

A flash of lighting illuminated the entire alley, but it was her own mind. Yashiro could see her father sitting at the dining room table, with the screen on showing the latest news. She was curious about the black object on the wooden surface, and listened to her elusive footsteps as she walked toward him on tiptoe. The revolver was heavy in her small hands, and in a way, she managed to sense that it was something dangerous.

Her features darkened even though a dazed smile lit up her face. When her father noticed her presence, he smirked ironically and placed a hand on her shoulder, taking the weapon to show her what it was made of, how to clean it properly and how to take it in her hands. The voice echoed in her head for a few seconds as he said, it is a tool, not a toy.

The images were replaced by some of her mother, with those features so sweet that were hard to forget, even for people she passed on the street. One could simply feel safe in her presence, under her warm and angelic arms. She was one of those people who did not need to say a single word, for her actions were capable of expressing and naming things.

Yashiro felt a shudder run through her entire body as memories faded into her mind like ashes, showing her amidst all chaos the face of Ouryou Rikako. When everything finally fell apart, she sighed softly and managed to relax her body. Although she was not aware of it, Sasayama could feel the sudden pallor that had hit her entire face, giving her a cadaverous look.

"You will never forget that you were not there when she needed you most," Yashiro stated with a blank stare.

Sasayama frowned and nodded deeply, implying that it was just what he thought. Despite everything, they had things in common. But when Yashiro realized it, she grimaced with her lips as someone who hears terrible news, and continued walking to avoid the eye contact of the enforcer, who kept looking at her in a different way, strangely warm, like the reunion of friends returning from long journeys.

Before Sasayama could add anything, a popping sound burst into the deaf calm, leaving both of them perplexed. The enforcer was the slowest to react, but when he did, he raised his arm and joined the incoming call, extinguishing all expression. Yashiro turned to look at him. The static image of Inspector Kougami became visible on the hologram, but a silence grew and for almost half a minute, no one said a single word.

"What are you doing, Sasayama?" Kougami finally asked.

Yashiro's eyes opened. In spite of the distance, she was able to perceive the tension that was camouflaged under the soft tone of the inspector. She imagined him on the other side, wherever he was in those moments, with the look of death that sometimes characterized him. She noticed him tired, but especially confused, betrayed. Kougami did not understand that to stop Sasayama he would have to shoot him. For his will was no longer directed by the Sibyl System, he himself had finally taken ownership of his actions. Unlike the other agents his gaze was overflowing with motive, and that was what made him impenetrable.

"Touma Kouzaburou has Kirino-san," Sasayama sentenced, letting cold flow into his words. "I got to find her before he hurts her."

A pause again. Yashiro wondered if Touma would be actually willing to harm the person he probably loved most in the world. She did not see it as possible, yet something deep down inside made her feel otherwise. She could see Touko in the center of a conflict, getting involved to protect Sasayama, and at the same time taking the worst hit. The pride of Touma would force him to stay alive at all costs, though he would hate himself forever if he were to harm her.

"You are about to cross a line of no return. Turn around now before it is too late," warned Kougami.

The inspector was calm, but there was a hint of concern in his words. Something that caught Yashiro's attention, since she had imagined that inspectors did not care about enforcers. After all, they were latent criminals. Sasayama shook his head, letting shine a faint smile. Then he released the cigarette and threw it on the floor, putting it out with the sole of his shoe. Yashiro raised an eyebrow when Kougami's voice echoed in her mind.

No one was going to help Sasayama. No agent, inspector. Touma Kouzaburou had an arrest warrant and if Sasayama broke his contract with the Sibyl System, his whole life would fall apart. Since he was a latent criminal, he could be discarded as soon as he lost his usefulness or became too worn out. He was a dog with a collar who thought he was free, when in fact he was not. For the illusion would vanish as soon as he stopped obeying the imposed orders.

"I can't do that," Sasayama confessed, this time with some pain in his voice. "This case taught me… that law can't always protect people."

Yashiro blinked when after a brief gleam in his eyes, the enforcer cut off communication without giving his inspector any explanation, as if the effort came from the depths of his soul. For some eternal seconds he remained motionless in the same position, smoking another cigarette as if searching for a meaning to his existence. When he finally remembered Yashiro's presence, he nodded forward and they resumed their march, without exchanging a word the rest of the way.

After walking for several minutes at a fast pace, Yashiro stopped in front of a shopping mall, which rose before them like a large gray tomb, housing the old traditions and reflecting the decline of the neighborhood. The enforcer stood beside her and raised his head, contemplating how huge the building was.

"From now on I'll go alone. It can be dangerous and I don't want to involve you," Sasayama maintained.

Yashiro turned in his direction with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes shone like ice under the faint and dim lights, diving into his eyes, as sharp as knives.

"I am in it from the moment I lead Kirino-san to that zoo. I will not give in now…"

Sasayama stretched his neck by placing his hands on his hips, until he finally gave up with a last breath and walked into the building, followed by her. Yashiro looked around, feeling vulnerable and small in the face of the immensity of the environment. The first thing she noticed was the characteristic and unmistakable smell of ramen that took her to another world, to the memory of her mother preparing the broth and to the exquisite flavor it had every time she tasted it.

There were fast food stands with tables outside, various clothing stores and some even of technology. The people surrounding them wandered around with empty eyes and hands in their pockets, hopeless as if they had grown accustomed to their lifestyle and no longer questioned whether there was anything else. She wondered how many of them were latent criminals, individuals who no longer belonged to society, since even therapy could not help them.

"Once Touma told me that he came here often," Yashiro argued, observing the people.

Sasayama looked at her sideways and smiled ironically, as he watched the stores that were scattered around the place. The floor was dusty and worn out and when they passed by some garbage containers Yashiro wrinkled her nose, overwhelmed by the smell of dead dog. The other one, on the contrary, seemed not to be aware of it and kept walking, absorbed in himself and at the same time attentive to any possible threat. About three men were smoking in a corner, but they did not even look at them, they remained engrossed in their cigarettes as if their lives depended on it.

"Well, I do not think he is here to buy rice," Sasayama confirmed making a grimace with his lips. "This block has no security cameras, and also the drones cannot enter."

Yashiro nodded in silence looking to the same corners he was paying attention to, where it would be appropriate to have security cameras watching. The place was quiet, yet it harbored a strange aura that disturbed them, especially Yashiro. She could sense the cautious glances of the street sellers who passed by, or the owners of the shops that stayed inside with the screens on and the holograms of their windows activated, which were fully ordinary and did not show illegal things as she had expected. However, it did not look like an ordinary shopping mall, and they were as two foreigners whose curiosity bothered the residents.

"We should split up," proposed Yashiro.

Sasayama raised his eyebrows in complete disgust, but when she pointed out the way she was dressed he watched her from top to bottom until he finally gave in, though not entirely convinced. Yashiro did not look like a student, but rather an ordinary citizen, and at that moment it turned out to be quite useful for she managed to go unnoticed, as if she actually belonged there. Sasayama was the only one dressed in black and wearing a tie, something unusual in a low-income area like that, but his indifferent walk made him one more among the crowd.

Yashiro walked upright and with her hands in her coat pockets. A torrent of cold air made her breathe harder, and for an ephemeral moment she closed her eyes to hear the distant sound of the wind, letting herself be lulled to sleep by its beautiful melody. The corridors widened until she ended up on an escalator, which was stopped and worn out by the passage of time, denoting the number of people who had passed by.

There was no one in that part of the hallway and she decided to go back, in order to look around first or ask someone if they had not seen a student. Ousou Academy's dress was too conspicuous and extravagant, especially in places as remote from society as that one. However, she heard footsteps behind her in addition to her own, and stopped almost immediately.

"Yashiro? What a pleasant surprise! How did you know I was here?"

Yashiro closed her eyes for a few seconds, not being able to face him as quickly as she had assumed. Despite remembering his witty voice with total clarity, at that point it became incomprehensible. She could imagine him standing there with total simplicity, but the image produced a certain remorse. When at last she gathered the strength to do so, she turned around and raised her head when she found the escalators empty as in the beginning. It was on the second floor, leaning on the railing and with an amusing smile on his face, where Touma Kouzaburou was.

"You know what they say: those who talk a lot tend to be more careless with words," Yashiro replied, with a certain boldness in her voice.

Touma let out a loud laugh that echoed in her ears, and when he finally stopped, he squinted at her. His hands clung to the railing with greater strength and he rested on it with his forearms, leaning forward like a cat about to take a leap of death. Silence broke through like a hurricane and they remained in the same position, analyzing each other as if memorizing every detail.

"You are a long way from home… this is not an appropriate place for students. If anything happened to you, I am afraid there will be no one to confirm your presence."

Yashiro ignored the implied threat and held the same solemn expression, standing firm in her place. She was not going to show herself weak and even less so in front of someone like him. Yet the truth was that a cold snuck up on her, alarming her to that voice. She began to question whether Touma would be actually able to harm her. His feelings for Touko were clear and he would never dare touch her, but she instead was just another student in the crowd, who was even interfering with his plans. The best thing for him would be to get her out of the way, or at least that is what she would do if she was in the same situation. She swallowed before she spoke, clearing her voice.

"How convenient… tell me one thing then. What will you do with Kirino-san once you get rid of me? You know she will hate you for the rest of her life. You murdered her father and nothing can make up for it. You think that with a simple hug she will forget?"

If Yashiro expected to provoke him, she had not succeeded, or at least was not visible in his appearance. Touma was still immersed in her, with a look that she found impossible to read as if he were searching for something beyond her words or had not really heard her. His eyes seemed to narrow as they melted into hers and his expression softened with a sweetness full of pride, certainly arrogant.

"If there is one thing we have in common, Yashiro… it is pain. Our mothers died because of the Sibyl System and that is something we will never forget… but you learn to live with it."

Yashiro grimaced with her lips and for several seconds her teeth popped out. Then she shook her head with her eyes narrowed, and released a slow sigh. Something was growing inside her, but she managed to contain it in some way, and her voice then sounded equally threatening and calm.

"And why don't you let Kirino-san learn on her own? I'm sure she won't hesitate to kill you as soon as she gets the chance. It'd be a great show, by the way," Yashiro extended her arms as she imagined the headline on the news. "The culprit behind the horrific crimes, is found dead with the same modus operandi as his victims."

Yashiro's eyes glowed with satisfaction, and it took her a few seconds to come back to reality. When she returned to the brown eyes lowering her arms, she realized that her words had left him silent and immovable in his place, as if he had vanished in time.

"Now I understand why Shougo-kun took a liking to you."

Yashiro kept her lips half open and arched her eyebrow for an ephemeral moment, not knowing how to take that comment. A new smile had formed on Touma's lips, this time with a certain degree of boldness and tenderness. She knew him well enough to realize that in those moments, she did not actually want to know what was going on in his head, and she was about to make a point of it when she heard hurried footsteps behind her back.

"Takahashi-san!"

Touma looked up, the greatest disappointment returning to his features.

"I see you brought friends," Touma observed, clicking his tongue. "Unexpected, but unwelcome…"

The young woman instantly turned around and found Sasayama. The enforcer had stood motionless and speechless, utterly focused on the irregular shadow cast by Touma's figure on the floor. The latter seemed to recognize him and rolled his eyes, making a disinterested gesture with his hand.

"Ah, if it isn't the same nosy hunting dog again! I should have aimed at the eye, so you would be dumb and deformed…"

"Where is she?" Sasayama bellowed through his teeth. "I swear if you touch her…"

"Do you mean my princess? Do you really think I would be capable of harming her?" Touma asked as he took one hand to his heart, and suddenly his eyes were wide open. "With beings like you, on the other hand, inquisitors who deal out death in the name of a god like the Sibyl System…"

At that moment, two men came down the escalator and Touma stood up, giving Yashiro one last nod. She could only contemplate him as he turned around, until he disappeared from her line of sight without looking back, as if her presence was then as insignificant to him as that of a worm dancing in the earth. One of Yashiro's eyes narrowed a few millimeters for a fleeting moment, feeling a suffocating hole in the middle of her chest that made it impossible for her to breathe.

The first of the subjects pulled out a gun from his jacket as he approached Sasayama a few meters away, but the latter went ahead and in a fleeting movement, attacked him grabbing him by the wrist and planting his knee in his chest. The man lost his breath on the spot and Sasayama succeeded in taking control, knocking him down and throwing the gun away from him. Everything happened so fast that in a mere blink of an eye, Yashiro observed Sasayama turn around to protect himself from the other man, who was taller and more robust.

When the giant tried to hit him with his fist, Sasayama stopped his forearm and stamped his knuckles on his ribs, causing him to fall backwards as he hit his leg with his own. The moment he touched the ground, he continued to strike him with his foot, until the other man he had knocked down appeared from behind with a knife, releasing an animal grunt that echoed throughout the hall. Sasayama managed to evade him and stab the blade into his neck, and stayed several seconds panting over the body, contemplating the way life abandoned those dark eyes until he heard the cutting sound of multiple shots, and for a fraction of a second, he closed his eyes, imagining the pain that never came.

He looked back, discovering the giant he thought he had knocked unconscious with a river of blood flowing through his chest, and a gun he had not been able to use next to him. As he turned forward, his eyes blinked to find the figure of Yashiro standing with her hand raised, aiming in the direction of the man. A few eternal seconds passed until Sasayama finally got up, having to hold on to the floor so as not to fall, either because of the fight he had had or because of how unrealistic the scene in front of him looked.

He addressed Yashiro slowly and without saying a word, raising his hand softly to take away her weapon, like a child trying to caress a rabid dog. She was breathing hard and her pupils were so dilated, that she seemed to have abandoned that world at the moment of pulling the trigger. She kept staring at the red coloring the floor, and Sasayama placed his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes to try and hold her to reality. He sighed deeply when Yashiro came to her senses, breathing in air like someone who has been locked up for a long time.

To his surprise, the touch and closeness seemed to intoxicate her, since she instantly turned away from him as if in a rage, her hands slightly trembling. Sasayama arched an eyebrow and followed her with his gaze, as she headed for the escalators and began to climb, to reach the second floor of the building. Sasayama dropped the gun leaving it next to one of the bodies, and joined her by climbing the adjacent stairs. He could not help but be curious as he studied her in silence, and took his hand inside his suit to pull out the dominator. Yashiro had not realized that he was aiming at her, and the enforcer frowned at the results.