Crime coefficient is 80. Not a target for enforcement action. The trigger will be locked.
He squinted as he saw the number slowly but progressively shrinking, though she had just taken a life to save his own. He even thought that she could be a detective. He had never met a student with such a crime coefficient and assumed that she would have ample job offers in the future. Sasayama put the dominator away when he perceived a cold glance from the young woman, and he did not really know if he had been discovered, since she did not say anything and persisted in her walk, until both stopped when they reached the last step.
Sasayama clenched his teeth as he lost track of Touma and began to turn in the same position, looking in different directions. He looked like a lost little boy, desperate to find his mother in such a big place. Yashiro let out a huff when a fleeting memory invaded her mind, and her father's face became visible once again. She closed her eyes intuitively, but the effort was in vain. There was a girl with the biggest grin, sneaking through the crowd while being watched by an older person. She merely entered into trust with everyone, but never saw the same person twice. She never had the same name again. And yet, it was a simple game to her.
"Are you okay?" Sasayama touched her shoulder, reincorporating her. "We will find her."
Yashiro shook her head and turned away to continue walking, without looking at him. In one of the fast foods stands there was an old woman attending, talking to other sellers, and they decided to approach her to ask about Touko's whereabouts. Sasayama displayed his identification to show her, however she had seen anything suspicious, or at least nothing extremely strange, let alone a student. She seemed to be the kind of old lady who knew even the time her neighbors were asleep, but she could not give them any answers anyway. They went through all the hallways without finding any trace of Touma, until they finally concluded that he could have left the building, so they went back to the street once more and met the people who were coming and going, immersed in their own responsibilities.
"You mentioned earlier that you became an enforcer by choice," Yashiro suddenly said in a whisper. "How is it possible for a person to want to take on such a role?"
Sasayama turned his head in her direction squinting, as if of all possible questions, that was the one he had least expected. He looked forward again, seeking inspiration in the dark and penetrating sky. Yashiro saw him abstracted for the first time, and followed with her gaze the same spot as him. She did not remember looking up to find those beautiful bright points on top, mentioned so many times in digital astronomy books. In the end it was something that was learned by theory, yet never applied in practice. All of her generation, just like her, did not know what a star really looked like.
"Nobody likes to get their hands dirty, but somebody has to."
Yashiro huffed with a dancing smile on her lips. Sasayama was perhaps one of a kind. She could see a flickering light inside, but Yashiro could not sense its warmth. Her fists closed for a mere moment, just enough not to be noticed by the enforcer, and she narrowed her eyes lost even in the wide sky.
"You accept that the one who pulls the trigger is you, and not the Sibyl System. I wonder… has there ever been, just once, when you questioned your will? Why do I follow such and such an order?" Yashiro pointed at a random person with an open hand. "How does the Sibyl System know that person over there is guilty? How does it distinguish between a murderer and an innocent?"
Sasayama looked at her in astonishment, as if he could not believe her words or were processing them in his mind. He was strangely serious, something that intensified the tension in the air. However, it seemed to Yashiro that he was trying to hold on to something with all his might. She noticed the way his eyes blinked for a fraction of a second, and his lips parted.
"Never thought about it… but does it matter to know?"
Yashiro closed her eyes when she heard him, breathing deeply. She had always been disturbed by the kind of people who, in order to live from day to day, were able to ignore everything around them. They were not in the least interested in finding out why things happened. After all, it was not necessary to know these matters, for the Sibyl System was in charge of granting everything without consideration.
"And why are you here then? Why do you carry a knife in your pocket, knowing that the dominator can do the job for you?"
Sasayama turned around and faced her. His eyes were enveloped in flames and Yashiro could hear the sound of his breathing, but she remained in the same place, undaunted by his presence. And then she knew, from the way his whole body relaxed, that the energy was not directed toward her, but toward the Sibyl System. Yashiro knew the answer, yet desired for the enforcer to accept it of his own free will.
"I always convinced myself that what I was doing was right, and I still want to believe in the effectiveness of the system, but that guy, Touma Kouzaburou… will continue to kill as long as he is free. And if the Sibyl System cannot stop him… there is no choice but to go back to the old ways. Unfortunately for him… prisons ceased to exist long ago."
Yashiro made a firm nod. Touma was not the type of person one could reason with, and he had chosen that path of his own accord.
"Why didn't you tell the inspectors that he cannot be judged?" Yashiro wanted to know.
Ever since she overheard the conversation he had with Kougami at the academy, while he rested, she was struck by the fact that he remained silent, not revealing to his colleagues the truth of which he had been a spectator in the flesh. And when Sasayama plunged into the meaning of her question, he brought a cigarette to his lips, exhaling smoke in another direction.
"I don't want them to go into this abyss. Once your sight is adapted to the darkness, no matter how much you see the light again, your perception will no longer be the same…"
"You believe their hues will be jeopardized," Yashiro intercepted him, narrowing her eyes. "Still, I do not agree with you going after him on your own. You want to eliminate a man who can change the destiny of this society, for the fact that he cannot be judged by a system that claims to protect people, means that such a system has no value, and is only based on promises… he is an individual who should be captured to be judged by people, as was the case in ancient times…"
"And who are these judges going to be, Takahashi-san? Don't you find it strange that they want to capture him alive? Since when does the chief throw out such an order? No, it seems twice as strange to me: you will call me paranoid, but my sense of smell tells me that, if I give them Touma Kouzaburou, I will never see him again. It's like you say: that guy can turn this society upside down and throw away the principles that shape it… there are people who are going to be harmed, and it won't do them any good if chaos reigns on every corner…"
"But… who would be harmed? Who would benefit from the continued existence of the Sibyl System?"
Yashiro got no response, as Sasayama looked up at something behind her, out of reach, and was drawn to it in a sudden and unexpected way, passing by her as if she were not really there. When Yashiro turned around, she found at last what had attracted his attention. It was a girl walking hand in hand with her mother, and at first Yashiro made a dull face. Yet, she noticed that the little girl had a red ribbon around her neck, identical to the one worn by the students at Ousou Academy. And that was not precisely a student block.
"Where did you find that ribbon?" Sasayama questioned.
The mother frowned in confusion and somewhat concern about his presence. Sasayama used to get a little intense when he was searching for something so eagerly, therefore Yashiro went ahead and explained to both the mother and her daughter that there was a student who had been kidnapped and that they were looking for her. Sasayama showed the woman his identification and when she read that he worked for the Public Safety Bureau, she looked at him more relieved and even felt comfortable, completely willing to give them all the information they needed.
Yashiro bent down at the height of the little girl, who was blond and had light brown eyes, and grinned sweetly asking her where she had found that ribbon. The girl showed all her teeth and started running forward, gesturing with her hand to be followed. The enforcer watched in awe how they quickly fell into trust with her, as if they had known her all along. If she had not interfered, they would have hurled all kinds of insults at him.
"Women," mumbled Sasayama.
They arrived at a more secluded and lonelier place, an alleyway through which one could access different departments. The girl guided them to a garbage dumpster and told them that she had found the ribbon on the floor but had not seen anyone, so she took it with her. Sasayama stared at the apartment in front of them, as if he were even willing to set it on fire. Yashiro asked the woman if she knew who lived there, but she replied that it was believed to be a squatted property.
It was quite common in that area and they did not give it much importance. Yashiro, however, did not imagine Touma living there. He was proud enough as to aspire to something better, and could not accept to stay in such a place. But especially, he must not have liked having Kirino Touko in those conditions. She began to wonder if he was running away, looking for a place to hide now that he knew they were after him. She knew Touma, and she did not imagine him on the run.
Sasayama came back to reality as he felt the soft touch of the girl on his arm, and when he turned to the tiny figure, he saw that she was reaching out to give him back the red ribbon that did not belong to her. He was stunned at first as if he had never seen such a small being, and finally, to Yashiro's surprise, he closed the girl's hand allowing her to keep it.
Such was the girl's happiness, that her eyes shone and she threw herself at him with a big hug in the form of gratitude, even though she only reached his waist. Yashiro held back from smiling as she saw Sasayama looking at her as if asking for help, not knowing what to do in such a situation. When the girl separated from him, she returned to her mother and they finally said goodbye, thanking them for the valuable information. For a long minute, Sasayama followed her with a glance while holding the cigarette with his fingers.
As they walked to the apartment's door, the loud and majestic sound of music reached their ears. The door was closed, and Yashiro was about to comment that there might be someone living inside, when the sharp noise of glass breaking interrupted her, and she frowned as she distinguished Sasayama's body sneaking through the window, like a thief in the night.
Yashiro did not have time to object to anything, so she just followed along and went in after him, avoiding getting hurt by the glass fragments. They were in a dark, dust-covered dining room, with things in disarray as if they had ransacked the apartment. Sasayama intuitively pulled out his dominator, but stared at it for a few moments as if he found its touch extravagant.
Yashiro walked through the room until she reached the kitchen, which was divided by a table similar to those in bars. On top of it was an old record player, which she kept staring at as a child in a candy store, until Sasayama came over and stopped the music. Everything remained in the most absolute silence, and it was then that Yashiro realized how loud that melody had been, for at last she could hear her own thoughts.
"Touma was always fascinated by Mozart," Yashiro remarked with a lost look.
Sasayama raised his eyebrows in confusion, and at the same time, suspicion. He found it strange that the young woman knew him to such an extent that she recognized his musical tastes, and began to wonder if there was something she had not told him. However, both looked at each other when a dry noise burst into the beautiful calm, being accompanied by another blow, as if something had fallen on the second floor of the apartment. Then a few desperate steps followed, from someone who seemed to be running.
Sasayama tightened his grip on the dominator's handle and ran to the stairs, but when Yashiro could reach him, she saw that he had been petrified, staring at the figure that had descended as if it were an angel. Touko had a lamp in her hands and in it were small drops of blood, but she was not injured. Sasayama extended his hand to take hers, in an almost unconscious act, as if he had anticipated Touma's shadow on the second floor, bent and wobbly, while he felt the blood falling from his head, staining his hair and leaving a trace on his skin.
When Sasayama aimed his dominator at him, Touma stood up like a wild creature that is caught in the night and stared at him, curving his lips into a smirk. His hand hid part of his face, but when he put it away, he saw the blood on his fingers, and the red seemed to stir something inside him. Sasayama let out a grunt, aware once again that the dominator was useless against him.
Yashiro could perceive the anger absorbing every neuron in his mind, the betrayal causing him a suffocating pain in his chest and blinding his heart. Touma's hungry look was that of a man who had nothing to lose, but was willing to do anything. A shudder ran down Yashiro's back, chilling her blood and motivating her to follow Touko, who ran in the opposite direction, toward the back door leading to the yard.
Still, it was the piercing sound of a gunshot, followed by Touko's desperate cry, that stopped her in her tracks and made her turn around. Sasayama was covering himself behind the wall, the edge of which had a bullet hole in it. Touma did not have good reflexes and grimaced as if he were reminding himself. When he confidently walked down the stairs and the barrel of his gun was within reach of Sasayama, with a speed that seemed a blur, the latter intercepted it in time and a second shot thundered into the room, losing itself on the ceiling. For a few eternal seconds the two remained confronted, longing for death as if they were destined to destroy each other.
Sasayama let out a grunt with a clenching of his teeth and seemed to lose all remaining self-control, since he hit him in the head with his own and the revolver flew away from them. Yashiro looked down and for a brief moment, forgot everything except the small shape of that gun a few steps away from her. Touko shouted and opened the door with a key she had, jumping out, but Yashiro was unable to understand.
She just took the gun, at first with both hands and then with only one. The weight disoriented her a little, as if it took her away from reality and the whole surrounding environment. It was a sudden heat and the smell of fire that woke her up. A path of flames opened up on the sides of the room and when she turned around, she noticed that the exit was blocked. The fire seemed to have originated on the second floor, but Yashiro did not want to stay to find out.
When Sasayama looked around, he freed himself from Touma's grip and kicked him in the thigh, followed by a sharp, direct blow to his throat. Yashiro saw how Touma instantly backed away, bringing his hands to his neck as if the impact had affected his airway. His eyes were narrowed and he took several seconds to get his bearings, yet by the time he did, Sasayama had already crossed the fire to meet with Touko on the other side, and Yashiro covered her face when the huge dark green curtain of a window came between them, raising the flames and filling the room with smoke. Touma stood up and stared at her, with a strange confusion taking over his features. Then he looked down, discovering that Yashiro had his revolver.
"Are you going to shoot me?" his voice rose.
A smirk danced brazenly on Touma's lips, who turned to the silvery eyes with an almost supernatural glow. The mere idea of dying was indifferent to him, or perhaps amusing if the executioner was her. Yashiro's hand trembled as she held the weapon, yet she kept it halfway, as if she were not entirely ready to wield it in the direction of his head. Part of her desired to end it all, and she grimaced as she noticed the way her finger quivered at the trigger. It was at that very moment that a beam of light was projected in front of her, completely surrounding her and bringing her back into the Ousou Academy.