Sasayama walked holding the dominator with both hands as they approached the indicated meeting point. The alleyways were dimly lit and the night breeze resembled a mournful hissing sound blowing across her skin, like icy kisses of death. When they crossed the alley, Sasayama suddenly stopped in front of them, and Touko would almost knock him over if she were not aware of his movements. Until then Yashiro had not taken her eyes off her companion, but when she noticed the suspicious posture, the enforcer had adopted she could not help but be curious, and looked for what had left him motionless.
Yashiro narrowed her eyes as she studied the slim yet no less formidable figure at the end of the floor, hands resting on the railing and eyes fixed on the front. His white hair fluttered in the wind and gave no sign of having noticed the presence of the newcomers, he seemed to be as absent as if he were a spectator of a dismal appearance. Sasayama came out of the trance he had fallen into, and after shaking his head to adapt his sight to that image, he raised his hands to aim in the direction of the young man.
Yashiro felt her entire body become paralyzed, her heartbeat beginning to sound distant and insignificant as if it did not belong to her. She looked down the barrel of the gun, but the artificial transformation that characterized it never came. She did not know the mechanism, but finally managed to inhale air when she realized that it did not work against him, just like Touma Kouzaburou. Somehow, the Sibyl System could not detect his true intentions.
Crime coefficient is 44. Not a target for enforcement action. The trigger will be locked.
Sasayama clicked his tongue at those words, of which only he was aware. His finger remained on the trigger and what he most desired in the world was to pull it, especially when the man standing several feet away turned to them, with a slightly scowling frown. It was clear that they had the element of surprise on their side, but that subject nevertheless, curved his lips in an amusing smirk as if the unexpected visitors were in truth irrelevant passengers.
"The orchestrator behind the Specimen Case," Sasayama sentenced with a scowl. "Makishima…"
A paused laughter that seemed to overflow with admiration, coming from the young man, filled the space with a disturbing calm, like the silence of a cloudy afternoon before the storm. Yashiro listened to his steps and followed him with her gaze as he walked to one side, until he stopped and fixed the amber of his eyes on Sasayama again, in an analytical way. He did not seem at all concerned about the fact that he had been discovered, and raised his right hand in front of him in an imposing gesture.
"And you are the enforcer Sasayama Mitsuru … a hound cannot go far alone, it is owned by the Sibyl System," silence conveyed a supernatural glow in his eyes, as he half opened them to stare at him with an intensity that shook the young women. "If you have broken the chains in order to get here, it means that the Public Safety Bureau did not approve your justice, or they have no leads on me."
Sasayama stepped forward testing the waters, dominator in hand. With his head tilted slightly to one side, he seemed to examine every movement Makishima made, who despite not showing the same robustness, managed to convey an intimidating aura that harbored all kinds of adversities, and the enforcer had a very good nose for it. He could easily tell the difference between a fox and a rabbit when he saw it with his own eyes, and in those moments, his whole body was tense.
"We know Touma Kouzaburou did not commit the crimes alone. It's just a matter of time before we discover the identity of the one who gave him the tools and created the resin…"
Makishima clicked his tongue and let out a sly chuckle as he walked around, away from them. Sasayama began to lower his hands, tired of waiting for the action of the dominator he was so accustomed to. He was still confused and irritated, unable to fully accept that the Sibyl System would judge that man as innocent. Despite looking so natural there was something about him that kept him alert, and his hunting dog instincts never failed. He was sure that if Masaoka were there, he would react in the same way.
"Fascinating… as perceptive as a detective," Makishima stated stopping his walk, in order to tilt his head toward him with pride and to exchange, for one thousandth of a second, his gaze with Yashiro. "What criteria do you use to judge someone as a criminal or an innocent? Does the dominator in your hands do it? In an age where the secret to getting inside people's minds has been discovered, it seems that individual wills are not part of the equation. Nevertheless, when people live constantly adapting to the standards that the Sibyl System oracle imposes, without relying on their own personal desires, do they have any value as human beings?"
Sasayama gritted his teeth and held his breath for a few seconds, without looking away from him. The repugnance overflowed from each of his features, and Yashiro found that he seemed to contain his impulses so as not to pounce on the other at that very moment.
"You're nothing but a social misfit who envies the happiness of others. That's what you are. No one's going to remember you after this, just like Touma Kouzaburou. You'll be ignored by society once again."
Yashiro raised an eyebrow at Makishima's soft, ironic chuckle, and as she looked in his direction, she saw the way he pointed at the enforcer with his right hand, master of an indescribable complicity. Sasayama on the other hand, let out a huff when he realized that he had something in common with that young man, and could not help but grimace at the mere thought of it.
"You are a latent criminal, a scumbag to this society. You abandoned everything you knew and the only place you could belong to in order to let your instincts take over. And yet no one understands your hatred, no one approves of your sense of justice. You are aware that you are completely alone in this world, but like me, you turn that loneliness into a weapon. And you see… I have a high regard for anyone who is willing to act on his own free will. Now that you know of my existence, I am afraid that I cannot allow you to leave this block. You feel it… don't you? Someone else's life is hanging by a thread, and you are the only one holding it up."
When Makishima looked at Touko, the younger girl closed her lips tightly and gulped. However, Sasayama stood in front of her cutting his line of sight, and clenched his fists hard. Makishima on the other hand, remained immovable in his own satisfaction, contemplating the way Sasayama slowly lost control.
"I won't let that happen. I'll discover the truth behind all this, even if I have to…"
The enforcer silenced himself, exchanging a disappointed look with Yashiro. He was aware that he could not control himself, though deep down he longed to capture him alive, to fulfill the role of the detectives. Makishima arched an eyebrow at his flaming words and raised his head a few inches, as if challenging him. His teeth peeked out shily, as white as the shirt he was wearing, and he stifled an imminent laugh to deign to shine a twisted smile instead.
"Justice by one's own hand is not the way of an enforcer."
Sasayama slowly put the dominator away again and paused for a long time, until he finally let out a sigh full of irony.
"No… but that of a latent criminal is."
In the blink of an eye, Sasayama approached Makishima as a tiger to its prey. The latter remained cautious like a cat about to jump, as if time had stopped and he was no longer able to hear the animal roar of the enforcer, but then, with an agility that disconcerted Yashiro, he stopped his attacks and responded with the same ferocity, joining the dance with expert and elegant steps.
When Sasayama moved to his face, the albino blocked his movement and turned on himself, landing his knee on his chest and leaning to the side to knock him down. A smirk of surprise was drawn on his lips as he could not stomp his face, since the enforcer slid to his feet and kicked him again. Makishima deflected him once more, and came close to strike him on the cheek, followed by another on his knee. Sasayama planted one of them on the floor and it was then that his opponent grabbed him by the head, hitting him again in the face with his leg.
The enforcer's nose was covered with a red that seemed to shine under the moonlight, and for some seconds his sight became blurred. Makishima ran toward him, but took a few steps back when he tried to kick him on his ankle and make several punches with his fist, which he immediately stopped, taking him by the arm and turning to raise him on his shoulders, until he threw him strongly toward the railing. For a few seconds he stood in the same position like a sculpture of ecstasy, admiring the grimace of pain on the enforcer's lips.
Yashiro could not help but contemplate the lethality of such a martial art that both seemed to share and she barely noticed Touko's scream, which made Makishima spin. Still, when the younger one tried to approach them to intervene, Yashiro held her by both arms having to use opposing forces, to prevent her from entering a conflict that both knew she could not resolve on her own.
It was at this point that Sasayama staggered to his feet and began to run toward him, but Yashiro's blink urged Makishima to react in time, who clutched his wrist by standing next to him and hit him in the throat with his elbow, though he did not let go and instead, forced his neck to push him backwards with his own weight. A cynical smirk brightened his face and for a moment Yashiro felt a strange feeling as she tried to recognize the man who was as bloodthirsty as the enforcer; two beasts about to tear each other apart. Sasayama extended his leg in the air to push him away, and jumped up to resume the fight.
With an angry impulse, the enforcer managed to push him forward, yet once again he was caught by surprise, and Makishima took all sorts of kicks and punches to take the lead. Sasayama failed to dodge one of them, and in a matter of seconds he was knocked down. However, Makishima kept hitting him over and over again, filling his face with a dark red until he finally stopped his action, kneeling next to the body of the enforcer, utterly panting and out of it.
For some eternal seconds he remained motionless, with a lost look; his chest went up and down uncontrollably, until a smile brought his pale face to life and he stood up. Sasayama allowed himself to cough and Touko breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that despite the bleeding he tried to get up, at first with his healthy leg and staggering in the process, until he managed to stand up almost completely. His eyes were squinting and his whole body was trembling with pain.
When Makishima looked at him, he did so with feigned compassion, as if he were a stray dog to whom a bone had to be thrown. He stood a few feet away and began walking around as if giving him time to recover, while he stretched out his fingers and opened and closed his fists. Yashiro then understood that he was playing with him. He caused him to lose control pushing him to his limits, only to have him torn to pieces. She blinked when Makishima showed the vivid reflection of a sharp barber's blade, as it unfurled from its hilt.
"Takahashi-san… take Kirino-san and inform the Public Safety Bureau," the enforcer incorporated her in a whisper.
Yashiro exchanged a glance with him, saw the shadow of doubt on his face as he pulled out his own combat knife. Sasayama bowed his head while looking into her eyes, placing all his trust in the older of the two students. Shocked by the gesture, it took Yashiro a few seconds to nod her head in compliance with what seemed more like a plea than an order. She could glimpse an overwhelming flash in his eyes, something that was not common for disinterested people like Sasayama Mitsuru, and she knew that the opportunity to get Touko away from the conflict was something she had to take advantage of as soon as possible.
Yashiro grabbed Kirino Touko by the wrist ignoring her refusals, and began to run down the alley leaving behind the two men, who confronted each other again with renewed zeal. The silence of the night was absolute, only interrupted by the sound of their shoes over the puddles of dirty water. Neither was aware of the time they had been running until Touko suddenly broke loose from her grip, unable to keep up. Yashiro recovered faster and felt her heartbeat again. Touko, on the other hand, leaned on her knees for a full minute and when she finally managed to calm down, she stood up and started to walk forward, looking around as if she were lost and searching for her way back home.
"Sasayama-san was right," Touko declared with her gaze fixed on the wall. "We have to tell the bureau everything… Touma, Makishima, Ouryou…"
Yashiro felt time running out, and an uneasy discomfort invaded her whole body. The mention of her partner had come to paralyze her and a sickening terror took over her mind, turning her into a child again.
"Ouryou?"
Touko raised her head and opened her eyes wider, without daring to face her. Yashiro's tone expressed the purest exasperation, yet especially, pain. She needed the answers she had found, even though she knew she would not like to hear them.
"She was involved from the very beginning. I heard her talking to Touma about plastination and the new materials that were granted to them… I even saw her going with him to places farther away from the academy."
Yashiro remained silent for a few seconds, feeling like a little girl who is learning to speak, and that formulating each word is a great odyssey for her.
"Such as?"
Touko seemed to hesitate and did not respond at the time, either to remember or because the abruptness of the older one had been unexpected and strangely icy, as if suddenly her voice were that of someone outside herself.
"Near the boundaries there is a large gate… with a panel on the left. She has a device that authorizes her to enter. I'm sorry… you were very close, weren't you?"
Yashiro's breath, calm and constant so far, began to be agitated for her words being interrupted by some brief shuddering sighs, as if she harbored the imperturbable passage of an illness within her. It must have been half a minute before Touko heard some slow steps behind her, which stopped at times as if walking a few feet were a long journey, until she felt Yashiro's presence too close and a funeral silence divided them both.
When Touko was about to turn around, it was too late. She began to squirm as she felt an arm wrapped around her neck tightly, to the point where she was unable to breathe. Her hands searched for the person responsible as a shot in the dark, but they only managed to hit its face over and over again, perceiving the soft skin and straight hair between her fingers. She felt like a helpless animal whose anger clouded her mind, forcing her to seek a way out as best as she could.
Her heart was beating so fast that she could feel it in the middle of her chest, and seconds passed at an imperceptible speed for her. Less and less energy was driving her to survive and she felt her sight slowly darkening, her arms and legs no longer responding, exhausted by the effort. Until at a precise moment, her entire body became motionless like a corpse, and the last thing she could see embracing her was a cold and immense darkness.