"Please — tell me what to do."
Inside the cell, once his mind was made up, Shu's voice steadied.
"Play the part of a failed escape. Let them catch you. They'll take you straight to where Segai is."
"He's been questioning you all day — he should be reporting your status to his superior before dinner. Walk in on that. Act flustered. Tell them you panicked for your friends, that's why you ran — lean into it. Agree to whatever they ask. Just make sure they don't go after your friends. You're smart enough to handle that part."
"More importantly, right now — the real target is the information I need: Segai's superior, the Director of the Antibody, Shuichiro Keido, and what he currently thinks of Funeral Parlor's personnel. Work the conversation. Guide them there. I believe you can do it."
"Wait — that's — that's way too much!"
Shu's voice cracked under the weight of it.
Everything the voice had laid out was difficult enough just to understand, let alone execute. Shu listened, cold sweat running down his neck, the ID card in his trembling hand almost slipping into the trash bin.
"Hello? Sir? Hello?!"
Silence. The device had gone dead. No matter how many times he called out, nothing came back.
The pressure crashed down on him again, heavier than before. His thoughts scattered — but the arrow was already nocked. Shu knew that if he backed down now, he'd just be the same useless person he'd always been.
I made her a promise. I told her I'd fight for her. So — I can do this.
After a beat of wavering, his eyes went hard. He stood up, took the ID card, checked the cell door for guards, and swiped it open.
He stepped out.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing, kid?!"
Exactly as the voice had predicted, there was nowhere to go. Shu made a show of bolting for a few strides before the soldiers had him on the ground. A completely pointless escape that would now technically count as an attempted breakout.
But he'd prepared himself for this.
"How did this kid get a hold of a Major's ID card?" the soldiers muttered to each other, completely at a loss.
"Let me go! Get off me!"
Even pinned at an angle that put real strain on his arms, Shu struggled as convincingly as he could manage.
"Take him to Major Segai."
...
Nobody could quite figure out what to make of him. A random suspect didn't get personally interrogated by Segai for an entire day without a reason — and the fact that Segai, infamous throughout the military for his methods, had gotten through all of it without touching him was its own kind of signal. Someone with complicated enough ties had to be involved.
They weren't going to risk damaging him. They cuffed him again and marched him toward Segai's office.
King Crimson watched it all unfold, then followed along behind them, baring its teeth in a satisfied grin.
Shu's heart was slamming against his ribs.
He had no idea how to navigate what came next. The instructions the voice had given him — guide the conversation, extract intelligence — were only a rough shape in his head, not anything he could actually execute. But he was out of time to think.
Gai and I are the same age. He became Funeral Parlor's leader. I'm no worse than him.
"Major Segai — this prisoner tried to break out. We caught him."
(③)
While he'd been steeling himself, the soldiers had already brought him in front of Segai.
Violet hair, a complexion that looked faintly unwell — Segai swiveled in his chair to face him. On the desk before him, a projection screen showed a large video feed: a bearded man, standing somewhere that looked like a research facility, wearing a white lab coat. Shu felt a vague tug of recognition but couldn't place him.
"Remarkable, young man. How exactly did you open the door?"
"...I stole the key. Obviously."
Shu forced the answer out through gritted teeth.
"Forgive me, Director Keido — this is an embarrassing lapse on our part." Segai turned back to the screen with a faintly amused expression.
"What do we do with him, Major?"
"Send him back where he came from. And this time, make sure he's not carrying anything else."
"Yes, sir!"
"Wait!"
The word came out before Shu had made a conscious decision. It stopped everyone — including the bearded man on the screen — and every pair of eyes in the room turned to him. He had no idea what came next. He had nothing prepared. But he couldn't go back empty-handed.
"How long are you going to keep me locked up?"
He had no technique, no script. He was running on instinct alone. His whole body was rigid with fear. But the promise he'd made was the one thing he refused to give up.
"Your release, or continued detention — that depends entirely on your attitude, Shu."
"I've already told you — I don't know anything!"
He kept his gaze level, his expression open.
"I'd only just joined. Not even a day. Please, let me go — I don't have anything useful to tell you!"
"Only a day?" Segai rested his chin on his hand, a fox-like curve coming to his lips. "You've got real nerve, I'll give you that. Can you tell me why you joined Funeral Parlor?"
"I — I..."
He had no answer.
He'd stonewalled Segai through hours of questions, never giving up more than vague, useless non-answers about being a new recruit who didn't know anything. But now he'd volunteered the twenty-four-hour figure — and that was interesting.
"Your mother, Dr. Haruka Ouma, is a researcher with the Special Viral Countermeasures Division. Your uncle, Shuichiro Keido, is the Director of that same division. Given your remarkable family connections, I find myself genuinely puzzled — why would someone in your position choose to become a terrorist?"
...
Shu took in a quiet breath of surprise. He'd known about his mother. But his uncle being the Antibody's Director was news to him — and he had no idea the bearded man on the projection screen was that same uncle.
"You're not going to answer? Hm." Segai's smile went knowing. "It's a girl, isn't it."
The words sent a full-body chill across Shu's skin.
"No, it's not!"
The denial came out as a reflex — which was, of course, exactly the kind of reflex that confirms everything.
"Chivalry at your age. How refreshing." Segai watched him with the look of someone reading a very short book. "You're not hard to read, Shu."
"...Inori."
Director Keido had seen enough. The name dropped from him, quiet and certain.
Shu felt the floor fall out from under him. He didn't understand how — he couldn't find the exact moment he'd given himself away — but somehow they already knew. He'd failed. He'd exposed her.
I didn't complete the mission. And I dragged Inori into it. I'm completely useless.
"What's your assessment, Director? Any thoughts?"
"She escaped from my custody. I know every move she makes." Keido's voice came through the feed, flat and expressionless, his face half-shadowed. "Should we arrest her?"
"No."
"Her vessel still needs time to mature and attune. Her activity within Funeral Parlor currently serves my objectives. Her situation is not your concern, Major."
"Please — don't touch Inori! I'll cooperate! Whatever you want — I'll tell you where to find Gai! Just don't hurt her!"
Shu's thoughts had splintered completely. He hadn't caught the exchange between Segai and Keido. All he could think about was trying to pull back whatever he'd already lost, throwing himself at the only lever he could still reach.