Shackles of Guilt

by Vuken

Also called "Operation Steel Balls" among my peers, this is a complete reconstruction of Guilty Crown, where I attempt to give more logic and coherence to the story and to redeem our little Shu by making him epic while keeping the "Guilty Crown" theme.

12. Chapter 11

Hey, I'm back! Sorry about the long delay, things were rather busy during the summer and I was unable to write as much as I'd have liked to, but you'll be seeing regular updates from now on. I have a deadline to finish the whole story before November 15th, so I'll be posting quite a few chapters a week until all is finished.

I've rewritten all of the previous content for quality improvement, proofreading and such. The events are all still the same, so rereading it all is not necessary, but if you'd like to do so then feel free – I believe you'll see the difference.

I have 30 days to write 20 chapters, so I'll be updating at most every 48 hours hahaha it will be utter insanity. For now I'll leave Chapter 11 for you to read while the rest is done. Do enjoy.

Vuken

Chapter 11

Of Loyalty & Treason

I lay miserably upon the cold floor, still feeling the pain of how magnificently I was stabbed in the back by someone I was willing to risk my life for. I can catch a glimpse of the train's last wagon passing by, clearly telling me I will not be getting any assistance from either of the girls that accompanied me.

Hell, this is fucked up. I can feel something inside me broke into little pieces just now, as my inside is suffering from an emotional shitstorm of biblical proportions. The result is I can't concentrate in anything at all, be it my utter hate against Yahiro for setting me up, the guilt for making Inori be as damned worried as she surely is in this moment, or the urge to vent everything with a well-placed fist to the face of whoever's approaching footsteps belong to.

"Ouma Shu-kun."

And the person closing in on me calls my name. It is a man, and he fashions a quite sinister voice... I cannot expect to have a good time dealing with him. I raise my torso and turn to face him, deciding he takes greater priority than any of the other problems raging inside of me and being prudent enough to not stand up with the rifles aimed at me. Judging from how he is wearing a white uniform, different from the armored gear the rest are wearing, I can safely assume he is their leader.

The man continues nonchalantly walking to reduce the distance between himself and the King of Fools sitting before him. He seems somewhat cheerful compared to the tense atmosphere around us; he is even closing his phone's screen just now, from where I can hear playing – of all things – the distinct music of a mobile videogame.

"You…"

He bows looking down on me as he speaks, already standing at talking distance. I am now convinced beyond a doubt that he is having fun, seeing how he deliberately paused talking to add suspense after starting his sentence. Naturally, what he'll say next is…

"… are under arrest."

Aww, really? Fuck you.

Replying to my silence, he bends his knees and crouches close to me, pulling a pair of handcuffs to bind my hands with. The thought of attempting to draw his Void to fight the Anti-Bodies crosses my mind, but doing so would mean betting my survival on its abilities. If his Void is too weak I'll be killed in an instant, and if it is too strong then its light will shine too bright to be unnoticed in the middle of the night. Taking the gamble is too risky, and thus is not a viable option… I'll have to wait for a chance to act.

I offer my wrists voluntarily to avoid raising hostilities between us. I am unaware of how much these guys know about me. If they are already informed that I am the bearer of the Power of the King, it wouldn't be strange for them to open fire if I show resistance.

Upon getting done with cuffing my hands, the man helps me up. This guy is unbelievable. He's condescendingly smiling at me, as if intending to say I am now a little piggy for him to toy with. Damn, he even has a small clown-shaped doll hanging from his phone, which is still even now playing some game's background music to accentuate his character.

"What a good friend you have."

He pokes fun at me, looking into the distance to where the train left off.

"No shit."

I retort directly, not amused at all.

"Ah, today's youth never ceases to amuse me."

I'm starting to hate this man. I am tempted to kick him down the rail while his attention is busy elsewhere – just the same way Yahiro did to me.

He turns his face to me again and then motions with it for me to move, raising his eyebrows as he looks towards the stairs leading to the streets on the floor below. Now that I get to see him again, I notice one of his eyes is artificial… mechanical, even. There's a large scar right beneath it, telling he lost it either in combat or in an accident.

"Shall we get going, Ouma-kun?"

He indicates the way with his extended hand as well, leaving no space for rebuttal.

"What can I do but comply?"

I reply coldly, unable to hide the hell of a mood I am currently in. The man laughs at me in a friendly tone, even patting my shoulder as we begin walking.

"Nothing at all, young man. It's good that you know your place."

We go down the poorly illuminated stairs. There's a light post close to us, but it seems the bulb has gone bad. Ah, no… these guys turned it off – I can vaguely see the shape of a truck hidden there in the dark. Moreover, there's not only little visibility to this area, but also hardly any sound; the only noise I can hear is that of the metallic steps resounding as we step on them. The Anti-Bodies must've redirected the traffic to avoid having any people stumbling upon us, reinforcements for me included.

Damn, this is bad. They'll take me to their headquarters for sure. There's no doubt I'll be interrogated, which would not be much of a problem by itself, since I am a loyal man and will not betray those I hold dear… unlike a certain piece of trash I know. The problem is the possibility that they may try to use Haruka to persuade me… or blackmail me to betray the Funeral Parlor. And that would be a TARFU scenario for Ouma Shu.

We have just reached a very large transport vehicle I dare not call a truck – it is more like a small bus. I am ordered to board first and take the farthest seat on the rear wall, which I do without complaints. Two, four, six, eight… there's ten men entering after me, taking the seats on the walls by my sides. Damn, there are nearly a dozen of us and we're not even tight – this thing is enormous.

The man who cuffed me enters last and closes the door behind him, and then proceeds to sit down right by my side. Not saying anything, he opens up his phone again and… resumes playing whatever he was playing before arresting me. This man knows no shame.

The driver starts the vehicle and slowly accelerates, most likely headed directly to the Anti-Bodies' home turf. I'm so screwed.

A minute or two pass before the man by my side – Scarface, as I'll call him for now – opens his mouth and speaks to me while still submerged in his little game.

"Ouma-kun, I have a question for you."

Not even waiting to arrive before interrogating me? Well, damn. I stay looking down as I already am doing, to avoid eye contact at all costs – I don't want to give him any hints about what I am thinking, for he may be able to trick me into revealing information if I am careless. I wait for him to proceed talking, keeping my silence as much as I can.

"Close-fitting underwear or tights, sometimes called spats or caleçon. Eight letters long. What do you think it is?"

…

Scarface is hopeless. He is serious about this – he is even looking at me, expecting a reply. What an absurd person… I can't believe it. Uh… close-fitting tights… um…

"Stockings?"

I play along in the end, having nothing better to do. My own phone is broken, ha-ha.

Scarface seems to like my answer, as he raises his eyebrows as in saying 'not bad' while punching the letters into his phone, but then shakes his head in displeasure.

"That's nine letters, Ouma-kun."

Scarface… screw your game.

"IT'S LEGGINGS!"

… I'll gouge his other eye out someday.

Scarface jumps excitedly in his place, even raising his phone up high in celebration upon finding the correct word. He continues rejoicing over his victory, busily typing the characters while speaking to himself.

"Okay, leggings… leggings…"

I look at him in silence, surprised at his weirdness. He's the kind of guy I wouldn't admit being friends with if someone asked. I'd like being in his good graces right now, though… I could use some help to get out of this situation.

"I hate leaving blank spaces in my crosswords, you see."

Good for you.

"So I'd like you to help fill in a few blanks for me, Ouma-kun."

Yeah, right… I'm not playing with you anymore.

"I've prepared a room you can think quietly in, though it's a bit small."

And he takes the conversation to the direction of my imprisonment.

"You're welcome to stay as long as it takes for you to solve my puzzle."

Or maybe not. I don't know if he's serious about anything anymore.

Ah, damn it… why did he, of all people, have to catch me? I'd very much like someone more energic… like a crazy American obsessed with putting guts into everything. Yes, that'd be at least a bit better than being with Scarface here; maybe I'd even befriend the gutsy guy. But hell, as if anyone like that would exist… there's hardly any amazing people left in the world. I'll just nod and smile to whatever Scarface says until we arrive.

In the meantime, I have to think of the best way to deal with this situation. I'm beginning to calm down, despite the annoying little sounds from Scarface's phone game that keep popping up as he enthusiastically keeps answering his crosswords. If I manage to keep my thoughts uninterrupted by outside interference, then perhaps I'll be able to come up with something. Katsu!

I breathe and close my eyes, then lower my posture in preparation to go deep in thought.

"Ouma-kun? Don't go off to meditate on us."

FOR FUCK'S SAKE, SCARFACE!

"I'm tired, that's all."

Damn it, damn it all! I'm still very volatile; this moron in here has a natural talent to get on my nerves. Somehow I manage to keep my agitation inside myself, but I don't think my mental fortitude will be enough to ignore this guy anytime soon.

In the end I have to put up with Scarface all of the way to GHQ's headquarters. From what little I can see outside the vehicle's small windows, I can tell we have already entered its installations. To confirm my assumption, our transport enters what I assume is the garage and parks shortly afterwards.

The truck's hind doors are swung open and the soldiers surrounding me step out. Scarface and I exit last, with the former kindly showing the way to me with a cynic smile. As I set foot outside, I see for myself just how vast the difference in power between GHQ and the Funeral Parlor is: while Gai has over two dozen vehicles at his disposal, I can easily see over a hundred military transports parked in this massive place.

I am given little time to be awestruck at GHQ's deployment capabilities, however, as Scarface is fast to make me follow him and the rest of his squad inside the building. I look attentively around me with as much discretion as I can to keep track of my location; chances are I'll need to know my way around here fairly soon if I somehow break free.

Scarface is keeping a close eye on me, however, so I am unable to memorize how to return to the garage – the only exit I yet know of – as well as I would have wanted to. This bastard is clever… he isn't letting me do anything: he purposely interrupted my train of thought during the ride here, and is now preventing me to grasp this place's layout.

I sneak a peek of his face and see he is smiling back at me. There's a fierce unspoken confrontation between us, in which he is clearly telling me I will not outwit him.

Fucking shit, I got caught by the devil himself… I must be extremely careful if he proceeds to interrogate me, for I am aware this guy is good at what he does. Talking with him will be dangerous, but I cannot stay quiet and not answer anything either since I fear that if I attempt to do so he will pull Haruka out as a token for blackmailing me.

Ah, I'm in deep shit.

I am taken to numerous places inside GHQ's headquarters while I think what to do. I am asked for my full name, get a few pictures of my face taken and made to register my hand prints in a digital panel. Finally, they proceed to do that which will likely be my doom: they stick a needle on my arm to get a blood sample off me.

This is very bad. Aside from the fact that I've had three different needles inside of me in two days, there's the problem that it is entirely possible for Sephirah to realize that I was injected with the Void Genome. Fuck, who am I kidding saying it's entirely possible? It is an absolute reality: Sephirah WILL know I have the Void Genome inside of me.

It is just a matter of time – once the results are done, chances are I'll be shot on spot. If I am lucky, that is… I wouldn't be surprised at all if Sephirah did something drastic like draining all of my blood to retrieve their prized sample. I'm so fucked, so fucked.

Ominous thoughts fill my mind, so I am somewhat surprised when I find myself alone with Scarface inside a plain room with a table and two chairs in its middle. Satan's very incarnation takes the seat closest to him and motions me to plant my soon-to-be-dead ass in the chair opposite to him.

I do as I am told, having no other option. I am still cuffed in the middle of hostile territory and he has a gun with him too, so being cooperative is my best option. Judging from how we are alone in a secluded room, I can guess I will be interrogated.

Things will get very delicate from here on... if I'm not careful, I might be killed. I cannot keep my mouth shut and say nothing, since Scarface does have ways of forcing me to speak, but I cannot play dumb and lie my way out of here either: I can clearly understand the man sitting before me cannot be deceived by conventional methods.

"Ouma-kun, you look troubled."

God damn it, Scarface, let me think in peace! Agh, this bastard knows well how to keep me in a state of mental turmoil; he isn't letting me settle down and think properly.

"My friend kicked me off the train; how would I be happy about it?"

I give a superficial answer, just to buy some time. I must stay chit chatting with him while I sort things out inside of me and find a way out of this hell of a pinch.

Scarface laughs lightly before voicing a reply.

"Don't give it too much thought, he had little choice."

So Scarface himself moved some strings on Yahiro, huh? I shouldn't be too surprised, now that I think about it; this madman seems to be very skilled at manipulating people. Judging from the arrogant tone he is using, I can tell he is also very confident in his own abilities... I should take note of this. If I see enough through his character, perhaps then I may be able to turn the tables on him.

"More importantly, I'll proceed with introductions, so I hope you'll forgive my rudeness for not having done so before. My name is Segai Waltz Makoto, and I serve as the acting Major for the Anti-Bodies' First Company."

Yay, he told me his name, I'm so excited.

"To be frank with you, Ouma-kun, I'll say I am surprised to have arrested you. I am aware of your relation with Dr. Ouma Haruka, one of our most prominent researchers, and so first of all I must ask if you were aware of what you were doing yesterday."

And he goes straight to the point. Ah, fuck this shit. I'm a terrible liar… what should I do? If I deny my involvement with the Parlor, he'll simply present facts to me indicating that I was in the firefight yesterday – he managed to arrest me, so he has to know about it somehow. Even if he does not have information about me in this moment, he will know I am in league with them once my blood analysis is completed, so I am screwed either way.

"Ouma-kun?"

Shhh, I'm trying to think.

"You were witnessed helping one of the terrorists involved in the firefight yesterday. Does the name Menjou Hare sound familiar to you?"

Ugh! You bastard, that's a low blow!

"She testified against you yesterday. Really, women are terrifying: if you lay your hands on their property, they get back at you in an instant. Does an incident regarding her school uniform ring any bells?"

THIS MAN IS A DEMON!

"Killing a man right in front of her was no good, either. You have much to explain both to her and me, Ouma-kun."

AGH, SHU! KEEP YOUR MIND STRAIGHT! HE IS PLAYING WITH YOUR HEAD!

To hell with him, he is lying! I can imagine Yahiro betraying me, but pairing Hare with the likes of him is unthinkable. The two of us have known each other and been close friends for years, so I can say I would not expect her to turn against me even after I caused her to be hospitalized the way she is.

Hey, hold on… what? There is an inconsistency here. Scarface heavily implied just now that he has talked with Hare, since he mentioned things only she should know such as my theft of her uniform. However, Yahiro told me she had not yet woken up after being injured, and so it would have been impossible for her to be testify against me if that had been the case.

Therefore, the discrepancy I have just found means that either Scarface or Yahiro fed me with bullshit, because since the former had been with the Anti-Bodies waiting for the train I was riding to stop, then he would have had no time to speak with Hare if she had woken up in the hospital while Yahiro was away.

Moreover, Scarface has stuck with me the whole time ever since, so if he has spoken with Hare then it must have been before Yahiro came into contact with me, when he claimed she was unconscious in the hospital.

This leads me to assume that Yahiro lied to me in saying that Hare was injured, since it is absolutely certain that Scarface did interrogate Hare because he knows about the incident with her uniform. And so, I can conclude that my old-time friend is safe and Yahiro merely used the story about her being hurt as a way to bait me into going with him.

Yes, this has to be the case, since there were no bullets fired by the subway station other than the one Inori used to kill the solider, which would make it very unlikely for her to get hurt after Inori and I rushed away with the stolen bike.

"What have you got to say, young boy?"

Scarface is pressing me after my long pause, so I have to answer by now. However, I'm a bit more composed that when I just got here, after having convinced myself that my friend is unscathed. Ah, at long last I've finally gained the much needed peace of mind I had been unable to get before. I'll play safe and try to get out of him as much information as I can before I decide on which approach I should take.

"I did not mean to involve other people in this."

Let's see how he reacts to me playing innocent… Perhaps if I beat around the bushes to know more about Scarface, I'll be able to find a way to outwit him.

"The woman you helped yesterday caused well over a hundred civilians to die. I believe you are aware of that by now, Ouma-kun."

Ugh… this bastard keeps throwing gut punches one after another. I know, damn it! I was involved in each and every one of their deaths, but he is also conveniently leaving out the fact that it was the Anti-Bodies who caused them all. Therefore, Scarface, I politely invite you to stick your words up your ass.

Or so I would like to say. Getting hostile with this guy will only prove to be counterproductive, so I'd better find a way to keep myself alive rather than speeding my own death. If I am reckless, chances are Sephirah will execute me for treason against GHQ even if I have the Void Genome inside of me.

But hey… wait a minute.

"I had no idea she was so dangerous."

I may just have an escape route available if I trick Scarface into giving it to me.

"You should have known ever since you saw my men's corpses inside your school."

Hoh, so they were under his command? He's got a point there, though. How will I reply?

"I panicked and ran away with her."

There, I'm making myself look like a wimp. I need Scarface to underestimate me.

"Yet you provided her with a disguise to elude capture. Why was that?"

Hmm… bastard. Ah, I know!

"I found her all bloodied in the floor, and she asked me for clean clothes. I thought she had been attacked by thugs, so I tried to help."

Scarface shouldn't know I heard the first firefight, when Inori stole the Void Genome. GHQ itself covered the news, so I supposedly had no way of knowing there were terrorists on the loose.

"Even though you knew there were terrorists on the loose?"

WHAT?! How did he even – AH, SHIT! I TEXTED HARUKA AND HE HAS ACCESS TO THE CHAT HISTORY! FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!

Damn it, I screwed up! Quick, an excuse!

"She… was very beautiful."

The blame lies on my libido; seems legitimate. Scarface laughs at my reply, like he should. This time I was actually honest with him, though, so he shouldn't be displeased.

"I told you, what women can do to men is truly terrifying."

I try my best not to smile with him. It sounds very stupid now that I look back on it, really. Ouma Shu stumbled upon a girl he liked and he leapt to the flames of hell with her. Though I have no regret for my decision, I must admit Scarface would be in the right in calling me a fool. This is very useful for me, though – I want him to see me as someone who is easily influenced by others.

"But that was a foolish thing to do, Ouma-kun; you should not judge a book by its cover."

Yeah, I knew it. So what's next, Scarface?

"I would like you to tell me in detail about what happened afterwards."

Well, this is catchy. How should I reply? He checked my text history with Haruka, so I can assume that he also got his hands on the disguised call I had with Gai. If I lie to him about it, he'll lose all trust in me and thus I'll be putting myself one step closer to the grave.

Therefore, I have to play honest and make him believe he is succeeding in manipulating my behavior. This guy has a thing for turning people against each other, so if I lead the conversation so that he would try to make me betray the Funeral Parlor, I can fool him into thinking he was successful in poisoning my mind.

"I talked with the girl and she told me the GHQ was dangerous. She said they intended to use the Apocalypse Virus to create a biological weapon, and explained to me that she had stolen a sample to develop a countermeasure against it."

Alright, I'm making it seem as if they had brainwashed me to help them. I'll keep up making some bullshit.

"I came into contact with a man via public phone, and he instructed me to meet him in the outskirts of the city. I was about to take the train when I ran into Hare, and the girl I was with killed the soldier who had detected us afterwards.

The girl stole a bike and had me drive it, saying she needed me to come along, and then a fierce gunfight broke out. After we left the tunnel, the terrorists told me to keep going to rendezvous with their leader.

Even now, I don't understand what happened next. I fell down the bike after going inside a building, and landed on top of the cylinder the girl said she had stolen. Something was injected into me, and I only remember very vaguely what I did afterwards. You'll call me crazy, but here were Endlaves being destroyed by someone with a sword. I think I saw a bright light, too… everything in my head is still blurry."

Scarface is quietly listening to my story, in which I have only changed a few details to make it seem as if I had been unknowingly drawn into a bigger conflict than I had imagined after having been injected with the Void Genome.

Hiding the secret is futile, since Sephirah will find out very soon about it anyway, so I have to make use of it now by feigning cooperativeness. The mechanic-eyed interrogator doesn't look like he doubts me, so things look good. I'll proceed to making him try turning me against the Funeral Parlor.

"At some point I fell unconscious, and woke up later on inside a room I had never seen before. The terrorists were there as well, and for a moment I thought I was going to die. They were furious at me, saying I had stolen the power they had acquired… they called it the Void Genome, or something around those lines.

They took a lot of blood from me after some suggested they should reclaim it by force, but a guy intervened and said it was impossible to retrieve after having been injected. I was locked for several hours, until the girl I had helped came to me and said she needed me to assist her again with something only I could do."

I'm a big damned liar.

"She said I would get to go back home if I helped them get a second sample, and so they asked me to spy on Haruka and ask her about her work."

Scarface's interest visibly rises after I mention Haruka, whom he can potentially use to persuade me to betray my comrades… or so he thinks.

"I… I didn't know what to do. They told me it was necessary, because GHQ was dangerous and they absolutely needed me to fight against them, saying that whomever I joined in the conflict would emerge victorious, but they were turning me against my mother! If – if this is Haruka's work, then I don't know what to believe anymore, I don't know which side I should take!"

I sound desperate in the end, like a lost child asking to be told the right direction. God damn it, will this even work? I took an insanely dangerous risk in revealing so much about what happened… if Scarface fails in taking the bait, I am done for.

Yet this bastard keeps me hanging, as he stays quiet while thinking about something. Come on, come on, come on and say something!

"Would you mind taking a walk with me? I'd like to show you something."

SUCCESS, MOTHERFUCKER!

Scarface invites me to leave the room. He might very well be trying to fool me to go straight into the execution chamber for having said what I said, but the way he said it was so friendly I can only think he is attempting to evoke the Stockholm Syndrome to make me think highly about the GHQ and then turn me against the Funeral Parlor.

I rise from my chair and follow Scarface, praying my plan worked. Normally, it would be extremely strange for a military organization to trust someone affiliated to an enemy faction, but I have something useful in store: my relation with Haruka.

Scarface seems to be fixated in making others do as he wants them to do. Given how my very own mother works with Sephirah, the manipulative bastard does have a realistic way of persuading me to betray my "newly found comrades". If he were to tell me GHQ is not as bad as the Funeral Parlor has made me believe, and then add that Haruka herself worked to make the Void Genome, it wouldn't be strange for me to heroically wield my family's legacy against the true villains who attempt to bring about anarchy and chaos.

Or so would Scarface want me to think. Regardless of Haruka having worked or not in making the Void Genome, Scarface could say it anyway to persuade me and I'd have no way of proving him wrong. He should also have ways of attempting to tarnish my view of the Funeral Parlor, so I'd better have my guard up against whatever he may have to say.

All this is assuming he isn't taking me to my death. This feeling of uncertainty is, of all things, thrilling. What will happen to me? Will my plan to become the Funeral Parlor's new mole work or will I just be killed off? Having death potentially lurking at every corner is a new experience for me, but for some reason I am taking it much more lightly than I thought I would.

A few days back, when I heard the firefight following Inori's theft of the Void Genome, I immediately started running away from the place. It was a stupid thing to do, now that I inspect my own past actions; I could have just taken refuge inside the building instead of running like a fool on the streets where the fight could have been headed to.

When did I change? Part of me believes the Power of the King is having a much higher impact on my being than I've yet noticed, but I think I had already begun to become very nonchalant about danger ever since I met Inori.

I remember that when she pointed a gun at me, I was still relatively calm. Just hours later, I got into a crazy motorized persecution, and then I sliced a number of Endlaves apart with, of all things, a sword.

Less than a day later I got captured by the enemy and am currently waiting to see if my improvised scheme for survival will work or not. Despite all of this, I feel… calm. Why? This is not normal. Something triggered a change inside of me in an entirely unnatural way, but I cannot tell if it was the event of meeting Yuzuriha Inori or being injected the Void Genome by her. Perhaps it was both… but I cannot see how the two are related.

"This is the reason why your friend betrayed you."

Oh. Getting so deep in thought is becoming a bad habit of mine; I didn't even notice when we left the building we were in before. Scarface and I are standing inside what I can tell to be a medical facility, since everything looks sterilized and the scent of medication is heavily impregnated in the air.

I turn to see where Scarface is pointing and see him: the traitorous bastard to set me up. Or so I'd like to call him, but I can't bring myself to do so anymore. Through the crystal before me, I can see Samukawa Yahiro a few floors below us standing beside a young boy lying asleep in a hospital bed.

What gets to me is the fact that said boy is plugged to numerous life support apparatuses and has most of his body's right half completely infested with the crystals characteristic of the Apocalypse Virus' advanced stages.

"That person is Samukawa Jun, your friend's younger brother. Both of them were orphaned during the Lost Christmas incident, and your friend Yahiro-kun has been taking care of this child ever since the vaccine stopped working on him."

Ah, shit. I had no idea. I can guess where this is heading to.

"Yahiro-kun became heavily indebted to continue his brother's treatment, so when I found he was acquainted to you I offered him a deal: I would lift his debt and insure his brother's medical needs for the rest of his life in exchange of assisting in your capture."

This bastard.

"Major, you are a cruel man."

I express my thoughts, seeing Scarface and I seem to have gained a small degree of mutual trust between us. He proves me right, not reacting adversely but rather shaking his head with an air of solemnity about him. He's a filthy liar, I can tell.

"I do what I must be done to ensure this country's safety."

Hey, I might get to live after all. As I had hoped, his speech begins!

"The Apocalypse Virus pandemic ten years ago, and the series of riots starting with lost Christmas sent this country into madness. Later on, we at GHQ developed a vaccine that enabled us to successfully pin down the Apocalypse outbreak and return the nation to a state of order."

Here it comes… here it comes…

"That's why I can't forgive the Funeral Parlor."

YES! IT WORKED! IT FUCKING, FUCKING WORKED!

"They're trying to ruin that order even now, as we're fighting to protect it."

It's becoming seriously difficult not to burst out laughing like a maniac to celebrate my scheme's success; I know what Scarface is going to say next:

"Ouma-kun, I just can't understand. Why would a clever boy like you want to trample on our good intentions?"

IN HIS FACE, I GOT HIM! I GOT HIM!

"They are an organization that holds a mass murderer in its ranks. Here, in the very building where I was interrogating you a while ago one of the shooters that participated in the firefight two days ago is imprisoned."

Right, as if I'd believe you.

"He opened fire at a group of innocent children, killing half a dozen of them and wounding nearly the same number. It is people like these that we simply cannot allow to be free doing as they please… that is the reason why fought so desperately to retrieve the Void genome to avoid having it fall into the wrong hands."

Alright, now is the time to reply. I look down, as if I deeply regretted my actions, and muster as much self-derision as I can to make Scarface think I really mean my words.

"I was naïve. I got myself involved with the Funeral Parlor before I realized what had happened. As you said yourself, female wiles are truly dangerous things… I was taken in entirely by her – by that woman."

I'm being an ass, putting Inori on the line like this, but Scarface already knows about her existence so I am not giving him any new information. Forgive me, my love, but I'm using you as a believable excuse to feed this bastard before me. I'll make it back alive and apologize properly, Inori, but right now I have no other choice.

Scarface smiles at my reply, apparently believing it.

"It is fortunate that you are now in our hands, then. The Funeral Parlor is not what you believe them to be. They have told you terrible lies about our investigation regarding the Apocalypse Virus; I assure you everything we do is to provide humanity a better future."

I, on the other hand, become serious as I take on where he left off.

"But what have you got to say about the Void Genome? Before I knew it, I became a freak. I fell off the bike with the girl at my back, ended up having a syringe stuck on my neck, and now these guys are saying I am the most important piece in their conflict."

Ah, I am a big damned liar as well. Go on, Scarface, keep eating my crap. Answering to my wishes, he becomes grim as well, locking both his natural and his artificial eye at mine.

"We must talk about that seriously, but not in here. Let us head back to the other room."

And off we go, uncomfortably silent for most of the way. We exit the medical facility and board a transport vehicle that drives us back to the building I was previously in. Hell, I didn't even notice I had ridden this thing a while ago; I must've been really lost in my own personal world.

We arrive again to the small interrogation room and take our respective places once more.

"What did they tell you about the Void Genome?"

Straight to the point.

"They said it is a military technology GHQ is developing… it lets its user draw Voids, as they call them. What are those things? I took out one, but never knew what it was."

Scarface shakes his head as he is deep in thought, closing his eyes while doing so.

"I cannot answer that, for I do not know myself. What I can tell you is that you were given false information: the Void Genome is meant to work as humanity's ultimate tool for technological development, not as a weapon like they claim."

I'd be a fool if I just accepted that easily, so I'll resist.

"How can you say that, after seeing how I laid waste even to a group of Endlaves?"

For the first time, Scarface sighs.

"You'll have to believe in the Doctor for that."

Ha! I knew it!

"Which doctor?"

I play the fool intentionally to make him say it.

"Ouma Haruka, your mother… she actively participated in the Genome's development."

So close… so close…

"What do you mean?"

This will be music for my ears.

"Your family's legacy is currently running through your veins, Ouma Shu."

HE EVEN USED THE SAME WORDS! AHHHH SCARFACE, YOU ARE DONE FOR!

I bury my face on my hands to hide the sinister smile my interrogator would otherwise notice. I appear to be shocked, and Scarface seems to be still taking my crap. He is too confident in his skills of turning others against each other.

What he doesn't know is that my bonds with Tsutsugami Gai and Yuzuriha Inori run just as deep as those with Haruka, so I will immediately take my mother and make way back to the Funeral Parlor's when I get the chance to do so.

"Major Segai… would it be too much if I… asked to join your ranks? I want to make Haruka proud of her work… I can't let her down after hearing all you have told me."

I'm one step away, come on – take it! TAKE IT!

Scarface gets up and retrieves his phone from his pocket. Quickly, he dials to a number unknown to me and says the following words:

"Find me a lawyer for Ouma Shu; he has more use for us outside a prison cell."

Good Lord, how did it come to this?

HOW DID IT COME TO THIS?

I can't believe I pulled it off. After staying in the phone for a few minutes, Scarface proceeds to take my handcuffs off and guides me to another room with a crystal screen dividing it in half where I'm supposed to meet my lawyer. Scarface then goes off to fill some paperwork and I'm left in the room with only a single guard keeping vigil on me.

Less than an hour passes before the door on the other side of the glass opens and a man enters accompanied by a guard. I couldn't care any less about them, feeling splendid about my scheme's success, so I don't pay much attention to their arrival.

The man is given a chair and he sits down in front of me, but I don't even look at him since I'm still too busy sorting out what I'll do once I am "officially enlisted" to the GHQ; I have to think of a way to pass the number of loyalty tests Scarface mentioned I'll be subjected to before being allowed to join them, after all.

I somehow managed to convince the guy to believe me, so things should go smoothly from then on… the biggest problem will be dealing with Haruka when comes to see me. How will I explain everything to her? I'll have to lie to her…

"Yo, Shu-kun."

IT CANNOT BE!

"I took your mother's request to be your lawyer… I'm Mason."

The voice calling to me from the other side of the screen brings me back to reality at once, and I nearly fail to keep my jaw from dropping down straight to the floor. For the life of me, I cannot explain how, but the one speaking is none other than Tsutsugami Gai disguised in a business suit, claiming to be my lawyer.