"I guess if you keep building walls to protect yourself, you eventually end up unable to climb over them..."
In the Suribashi district, at the heart of Yokohama's concession, sixteen-year-old Toru Amane lives a life as solitary as it is secretive. I...
Haru stared at Dazai for a moment, breathless from the request he had just made. He remained silent for a long time before recalling the day Dazai had asked him to tamper with Kenzaburo's flash grenade, which Toru had already altered by replacing the explosives with harmless powder. Haru, who had sworn never to betray Toru and to repay her for all he owed her, realized at that moment that his excessive loyalty was a tool she could easily use for projects as grim as the one she had undertaken against Kenzaburo. He looked down, lost in thought. He felt confused. Dazai had once prevented him from being complicit in Toru's planned death... Dazai had saved her... but... what about this time? Denouncing Toru for treason did not seem to be in his best interest... However, Dazai was the only one who had so far managed to understand Toru's plans.
Haru clenched his fist, frustrated. He barely knew Dazai and had no reason to fully trust him... but if anyone could predict and counter Toru's plans, it was him. He sighed before looking at Dazai again, the frustration visible on his face as he spoke. "I will do it only if you assure me it's in her best interest!" He affirmed with conviction, his tone firm.
Dazai looked at him coldly before retorting. "Are you trying to act in the interest of a traitor?" "Know that I can personally ensure that Toru is registered as such. All I wanted was to determine your true devotion to the mafia, and it seems I have my answer." Dazai replied in a low voice before stepping forward and kneeing Haru in the stomach.
Haru: "Argh-" The blow was strong enough that the pain made Haru lose his ability to stand, causing him to slide to the ground, his body leaning forward against Dazai's to avoid falling, his gaze vacant.
Once Haru fell to his knees, he clutched his side, wrapping his arm around his stomach where the pain was still intense. Dazai, whose expression remained cold and gaze merciless, drew his revolver and pointed it at Haru. "Until I hand you over to the hunting section, you are my prisoner, understood? If you were hired, it was only to serve as 'leverage' if Toru turned against us, keep that in mind." Dazai said coldly, his expression impassive.
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Two days later, in one of the port mafia's warehouses, 3:00 AM.
Toru was sitting on a crate, stacked high on several others, placing her near one of the skylights of the hangar, which let in some light from the half-moon, the night sky dotted with a few stars visible through the city's light pollution. Her vacant gaze was lost in admiration of the small piece of sky she could see, as she patiently awaited someone's arrival, her cheek resting on her fist, her legs crossed and dangling in the air. She still looked as tired as ever, dark circles under her eyes, thinking about the situation and the various possibilities, which only intensified her mental fatigue.
It had been a day since a detailed article about a possible alliance between six high-ranking officials and the mafia had been published, as well as the assassination of Kawabata, causing a media scandal. Toru had made sure to mention her involvement in the article's sources under the pseudonym "Noriko," recognizable only to the key players, ensuring that any tensions between the mafia and the security forces would be directed specifically against her. She knew her participation in such a publication would make her easily accused of treason.
Things seemed to be unfolding as she had predicted. The spy she had deliberately let pursue her had proven extremely useful. As expected, Dazai had been informed of everything and immediately understood that Toru's betrayal of the mafia needed to be made official quickly before outside agents could complicate the situation, though this was still a possibility to consider.
She planned to use the current situation to her advantage, and for that, she needed to meet her next contact... very soon.
However, some elements of this affair were quite troubling. She couldn't help but question certain points... The six names clearly mentioned in the report... Revelations that seemed almost deliberately induced, especially by the way Ryu didn't seem to want to hide anything when he alluded to Project Noriko concerning her...
There were several clues leading her to believe that things were not what they seemed, and she intended to get to the bottom of it... but first...
"Well... if I expected to find you here. Usually, traitors hide and avoid exposing themselves right under my nose..."
Toru immediately recognized the voice as Ryu's and her gaze shifted directly to him. As expected, Dazai's denunciation had quickly brought Toru closer to her target... He stood below, in the hangar, looking amused as he gazed up at the young girl sitting higher up. He held the handle of a scythe resting on his shoulder. At first glance, it didn't seem special, but Toru quickly noticed the strange material, a deep red, from which it was made. It wasn't metal. It was blood.
Toru briefly eyed the scythe, curious about what kind of power Ryu might possess, but he quickly interrupted her, his carnivorous smile still plastered on his face.
Ryu: "Well then? What are you waiting for? Do you expect me to make you come down myself?"
Toru looked at him silently before standing up and jumping from her perch, landing just a few meters behind him. "If your intentions were that 'belligerent,' you would have already attacked me..." She said simply as she turned to face him, hands in her pockets, as usual.
Ryu smirked before retorting. "If a fugitive has the audacity to take the risk of wandering right under my nose like you do, it means you have something to offer. And I'm quite curious to know what it is."
Toru: "Indeed... I have a proposal for you. How about killing two birds with one stone?"
Ryu raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming more curious. "What do you mean?"
Toru: "It's quite simple. We could, you and I, achieve our goals in a joint operation. You, who claim to want to take Mori's place through the chaos a conflict with the superpowers department could cause, could simply eliminate the high-ranking officials I mentioned in the article that got me labeled a traitor... And... as you yourself have already understood... I could, by serving as bait to lure them under your control, take revenge on those who made my life what it is today..."
Ryu listened attentively without interruption... When she finished her proposal, he began to chuckle softly, amused, until his chuckle turned into sincere laughter... "You then! You're just like your father! Not just physically."
Toru watched him laugh with a neutral expression, having neither the desire nor any reason to laugh as he did. She also didn't understand his reasons for doing so...
When his laughter finally subsided, he approached her, bending slightly to face her directly, a smirk on his face. "I'm in. After all, it's understandable. Those guys targeted Mishima enough to make him abandon his little family... Who knows? If they hadn't gone after him, by now..." "...you'd probably be in a nice, peaceful little family."
He straightened up, still holding the scythe on his shoulder. "So? When do you plan to do it?"
Toru slightly raised her head to look at him, being much smaller than him. "In fact... They are already on their way. I sent them my location an hour ago..."
Ryu blinked a few times, surprised. "So you had already set your plan in motion... How could you be sure I would accept?"
Toru shrugged rather nonchalantly before looking away. "Well. You had no reason to refuse anyway..."
Ryu's expression returned to amusement, giving her a dubious look. "And I imagine you had a backup plan in case... right?"
Toru kept her gaze averted, letting a long second pass before answering. "..." "Of course I had one."
Ryu smiled slightly. "Has anyone ever told you that you're terrible at lying?"
