Chapter 44
“I understand.”
Back at the apartment, Asuka Kazuya casually tossed his coat onto the back of the sofa. He rubbed his stiff neck, seemingly unconcerned about his current predicament.
“Including the three hundred plus tourists registered on graduation day, there are over eight hundred people on that list. Even if Gin checks them one by one, it will take at least three days.”
Amuro Tooru: “And then?”
Asuka Kazuya: “Then we kill Gin during that time.”
Amuro Tooru: “…”
Shouldn’t a normal person be thinking about gathering evidence against Gin and setting a trap to bring him to justice?
But if Gin was that easy to kill, undercover agents from so many countries wouldn’t have a headache until now.
Seeing Amuro Tooru’s silence, Asuka Kazuya stood on the stairs, looking down curiously from the railing: “Amuro Tooru, you’re about to die, why aren’t you panicking at all?”
Amuro Tooru raised an eyebrow slightly: “You’re also about to die, why aren’t you afraid?”
Asuka Kazuya: “I respond to kindness, not force.”
Asuka Kazuya: “Besides, don’t change the subject. You must be thinking about how he opened that file, right?”
Amuro Tooru had his subordinates contact the Metropolitan Police Department months ago. To ensure the safety of undercover agents in various organizations, the MPD upgraded their passwords last month, adding dual fingerprint and iris recognition.
Even if Gin copied the data, he wouldn’t be able to open it.
—That’s what Amuro Tooru thought, but things didn’t go as planned.
“Only officers above section chief can open the file, and there are only a few active in Tokyo. You should have checked, they’re all dedicated public servants, no contact with the organization.”
Asuka Kazuya’s mind was active, speaking more seriously than usual.
“Of course,” he shrugged. “Besides those people, there are also special agencies that can interfere with police operations.”
“Like ‘Kato,’ they were able to overturn his entire life’s records in a few hours, even fabricating false relationships–”
Asking was futile.
Superintendent Adachi had also suspected his identity, but even after asking Kato’s kindergarten teacher, the answer was the same.
[This is Kato.]
[Because of his distinct blond hair, I remember him clearly.]
This was because their memories had been altered from the beginning. To maintain social stability, the Special Abilities Division had a dedicated team responsible for modifying ordinary people’s memories.
If there was someone they couldn’t handle, the military police would step in. Forget about one in ten thousand, military police were geniuses, one in hundreds of millions.
Amuro Tooru understood, calmly raising his eyes and asking what he wanted to do.
“Going back now is playing right into their hands.”
“There’s nothing I can do,” Asuka Kazuya said leisurely. “It’s just a chat, lecturing me is fine, but I was the one who brought Akemi-nee back, and now they’re deliberately exposing her location to achieve their goals…”
Asuka Kazuya slowly walked upstairs in his slippers.
The moment the bedroom door closed, Asuka Kazuya’s voice lowered. His eyes, hidden under his bangs, were cold, his expression indifferent, almost self-deprecating.
“Self-righteous justice…”
“…turned into me pushing someone into a fire pit.”
Tokyo, Special Abilities Division Headquarters.
As the liaison directly in contact with Asuka Kazuya, the executive officer had long anticipated his return.
The young man’s suit was wrinkled, probably from working long hours. He hadn’t even replaced the glasses that broke when he was knocked unconscious.
“Where’s Chief Taneda?”
“Chief Taneda isn’t someone you can see whenever you want.”
In the special room designed for ability users, the executive officer sat at the desk, facing Asuka Kazuya.
“Besides, didn’t you block his number?”
Unlike his usual attire, Asuka Kazuya was wearing a brown hoodie, the hood loosely covering his blond hair. He lowered his eyes, staring at the tea in front of him for a few seconds.
“Am I that scary?”
After a while, he looked up, uttering softly,
“Even calling back all the offensive ability users, I’m here to see Chief Taneda, not to beat you all up.”
“Sorry,”
The executive officer pushed up his glasses, his expression not betraying any guilt for deceiving him for so long.
“During the Assassin King incident, Verlaine secretly infiltrated here, several members of the Special Abilities Division died by his hand.”
Asuka Kazuya: “Is that also my fault?”
“Don’t overthink it,” the executive officer replied. “These are necessary precautions, they were here even before you came.”
Asuka Kazuya casually rested his hand on the table, tilting his head slightly upon hearing this: “I didn’t believe it when the Theos people told me before, I’ve completed so many missions for you, and you’re still so nervous, don’t tell me you really want me to get you the bank vault password?”
This joke was quite cold. The executive officer was silent, somewhat admiring his ability to joke in this situation.
“That’s the problem,” the young man frowned. “You used the word ‘you.’ Ultimately, we don’t mind you having your own friends, but repeatedly changing plans for them, even using my identity to access the database, that’s a bit out of control.”
“I know.”
Asuka Kazuya’s hand traced the rim of the teacup.
“You’re also in contact with that person from the Port Mafia, right? Using Verlaine to eliminate Chuuya’s and my friends—knowing it wouldn’t work, you still took a gamble… or did you not expect Dazai to mention me to Verlaine? Or, do you still not understand why I know Verlaine?”
“Don’t think about it, Kazuya.”
The executive officer couldn’t help but sigh, taking off his glasses and replying with a headache.
“The lab has developed the antidote. Personally, I suggest you withdraw from this mission immediately.”
“I heard that British and French officials are still in Yokohama, trying to find Verlaine.”
Asuka Kazuya rested his chin on his hand, not answering, instead tapping the rim of the teacup, casually crossing his legs.
“Theoretically, I’m also their product. To prevent Japan from obtaining information on Verlaine, they’re using various methods to obstruct the military and police—say, if they knew I was still alive and had become a member of the Special Abilities Division, what else would they do?”
Then it would become a political issue.
The executive officer was silent, not expecting his memory to have recovered to this extent.
“That won’t benefit you at all.” After a long while, the young man slowly argued. “Even if they take you back, the best-case scenario is being placed in a European ability prison. That’s the most secretive place in the world, even we don’t know its exact location.”
“That’s for you to evaluate,”
Asuka Kazuya pushed himself off the table, his tone casual.
“Either stop now and give me the list, or continue acting secretly, isn’t evaluating pros and cons what you’re good at?”
One step.
Two steps.
The executive officer sat in his chair, listening to Asuka Kazuya’s retreating footsteps.
Only after the alarm was deactivated did he softly say to the child he had watched grow up,
“About Ango… did you know I was lying to you all along?”
Asuka Kazuya’s footsteps paused for a moment.
But even in the end, he didn’t answer this question. The screens in the hall displayed surveillance footage from all over Japan, marking the locations of every registered ability user.
With every step Asuka Kazuya took, the gazes of the other ability users waiting in the hall shifted.
“Should we act?”
A man at the front turned, also asking the executive officer who had just walked out.
“Although we’ll be unlucky for a while, he can’t possibly deal with all of us at once.”
The executive officer lowered his head, staring at the glasses in his hand.
The cracks had disappeared at some point, the molecules seemingly shattered and reconstructed, without a trace of the previous damage.
“No need,”
The executive officer said calmly.
“Kazuya’s ability isn’t causing misfortune, that’s Dazai’s speculation, you’ve been misled for a long time.”
Obtaining data, analyzing data, parsing and reconstructing data—Asuka Kazuya was created to gain absolute control over those 2383 lines of code. Those researchers probably hadn’t expected that everything in the world could be seen as just a few lines of code.
This was an existence even more dangerous than Verlaine.
The executive officer felt conflicted, slightly regretful.
He should have supported Mori Ougai’s decision back then.
For the sake of justice and stability, the Special Abilities Division should eliminate, not the Port Mafia, not the police officers who influenced Asuka Kazuya—
but Asuka Kazuya himself, the child who used to lie on his desk, asking him coquettishly why he didn’t write to him.
“Today is a good day~”
After leaving the Special Abilities Division, Asuka Kazuya hummed a tune, intending to buy dinner on his way back, but he bumped into Superintendent Adachi himself, who was on a mission with Makino.
Having not seen each other for a long time, the two made eye contact, a deathly silence falling before ending with Asuka Kazuya running away and Adachi Yuhei threatening him with a 100,000-word essay.
Asuka Kazuya reluctantly kicked a can on the ground: “What 100,000 words? Did I break some heavenly law to deserve that?”
Adachi Yuhei: “Cut the crap. Stay here quietly, I’ll settle the score with you after I collect the statements.”
Adachi Yuhei had considered dismissing this unreliable subordinate. But Makino Haruki, after waking up, wrote a long statement, insisting that he took the bullet willingly, it had nothing to do with Asuka Kazuya, and he was alive thanks to him.
[His injuries are a bit troublesome, you know, he’s still on a secret mission, it would be great if you could assign some work to me.]
Adachi Yuhei’s face darkened when he heard this. He wasn’t angry about anything else, just annoyed that this brat didn’t even bother to contact him after recovering.
He had fought hard against pressure, not listing this brat as a suspect in Makino’s injury.
“A little girl has gone missing.” Seeing Asuka Kazuya’s displeasure, Officer Makino leaned closer, quietly explaining the situation. “This is the sixth case this month. They happened in other areas before, we only connected them recently.”
Asuka Kazuya’s stomach grumbled. He looked up reluctantly: “How did you connect them?”
“The bodies were all discarded in trash cans, with scraps of paper beside them. The officers in charge didn’t pay much attention before.”
Makino Haruki said, pointing at a man and a woman in the distance.
“They said they witnessed the crime scene a few days ago, a foreign couple, it seems?”
Jodie Starling.
Andre Camel.
As Akai Shuichi’s colleagues, FBI born and raised, they didn’t use their real identities to enter Japan this time, but posed as a couple.
“It’s from the Bible,” Jodie, who looked foreign, said with a strange accent. “Excuse me, we have other matters to attend to, can we leave after giving our statement?”
The missing child this time was named Yunoki Kaori, six years old, a first-grader. The crying woman beside her was her mother. Kaori had apparently argued with her before she went missing, and they didn’t initially think she was kidnapped.
“Statistically, 44% of children in kidnapping cases die within the first hour of their disappearance.”
Makino Haruki raised an eyebrow, warning: “Statistics are statistics, don’t say that in front of the family later.”
Asuka Kazuya: “I’m comforting them. The survival rate basically increases after one hour.”
“Unfortunately, the mortality rate is close to 70% after twenty-four hours.”
A familiar voice came from above. Asuka Kazuya pouted, looking up unhappily.
“I hate it when you guys appear behind me without a word.”
Rye, or rather Akai Shuichi, looked down, unconcerned by this complaint.
“Sorry,” he apologized quickly, “drinking more milk might help you grow taller.”
Asuka Kazuya: “…”
Asuka Kazuya: “So what if you’re 188cm? I’ll really hit you.”
Akai Shuichi’s lips curved into a smile, not retorting.
He was wearing a leather jacket today, carrying a shopping bag, seemingly having bought necessities for Sherry.
Asuka Kazuya was half-believing his excuse, his peripheral vision catching the expression of the man who had just been trying to leave.
“Hey,”
Asuka Kazuya nudged Akai Shuichi with his elbow.
“That man seems to be interested in you.”
Akai Shuichi raised an eyebrow, glancing at Asuka Kazuya’s casual attire: “Do I look that gay?”
“I remember you’re a foreigner,” Asuka Kazuya disagreed, correcting him seriously. “Aren’t foreign countries very open? Be careful not to be accused of discrimination.”
Akai Shuichi’s gaze slowly swept over Camel, who shuddered and immediately pretended nothing had happened.
He had only wanted to see why these two were involved in this case in Japan…
“What about you?” Akai Shuichi said casually, diverting Asuka Kazuya’s attention. “Seeing how close you are to Bourbon, I thought you were interested in him.”
Asuka Kazuya coughed in shock.
Akai Shuichi patted his back considerately: “It’s not just me, everyone thinks so.”
Asuka Kazuya: “Who’s everyone?”
Akai Shuichi: “Not telling.”
Asuka Kazuya: “Why?”
Akai Shuichi: “They made me promise not to tell.”
“…”
Asuka Kazuya was speechless, not expecting him to be so interested in gossip.
Camel was sweating profusely upon hearing this.
He didn’t know the blond man’s identity, worried that his glance just now had exposed Akai’s identity in the organization.
He clenched his fists, just as he was about to say something to remedy the situation, he heard the blond man say, “The FBI is a bit different from what I imagined.”
Was something wrong?
Camel’s pupils constricted, trying not to peek while listening to Akai’s calm words.
“Different how?”
“Amuro Tooru said the FBI are all despicable.”
“Is that so?” Akai Shuichi remained expressionless. “Did he also confiscate your FBI book, saying it would pollute your mind?”
“Yes, yes.”
Asuka Kazuya was surprised.
“You even know this? No wonder Amuro Tooru hates you.”
“Only those who can’t write books themselves would slander others,” Akai Shuichi retorted. “Kazuya, you should have your own judgment.”
Judgment?
Judge what?
That the FBI was better than the Japanese Public Security?
Asuka Kazuya didn’t understand, seeing the gaping expressions of the couple in the distance again.
He could hear everything, even from so far away. Could it be that the FBI was a terrifying existence abroad? They were that scared.
Asuka Kazuya didn’t bother pursuing this, instead grasping something the three FBI agents didn’t seem to care about.
“Who allowed you to call me by my name?”
Asuka Kazuya snorted, deliberately teasing him,
“I told Amuro Tooru too, only best friends can call me by my name, everyone else can only call me the great Ka… Kato, the great Kato.”
Jodie: “…”
Camel: “…”
Was this guy sick? Was Akai-san about to mock him?
However, Akai Shuichi was already used to all this. Under his companions’ questioning gazes, he slowly looked away from Asuka Kazuya.
“I didn’t have any friends in the organization to begin with.”
Asuka Kazuya was taken aback by Akai Shuichi’s unhurried words.
“Even so, do you really need to add the word ‘great’?”
