Trigger Locked: The Mind Control Assassins

Chapter 13

"Touka, where are you going?" Hayato asks me as I'm about to leave the house. I wish I can tell him about the note that Shiori left for me. I don't know what Shiori's alter ego will do if she notices that there is someone else besides me. "Does it have anything to do with the note that you got just now?" Hayato asks me again. I guess I can never hide anything from him. He's no different than dad. He will always pester me until I tell him everything.

"Yes, it's a note from Shiori. To be exact, it's a note from her alter ego," I answer him. Hayato doesn't say anything after that. As I'm about to leave, Hayato starts speaking to me. "You'll go first. Yuuto and I will follow suit. Let's pretend that we're following you and you don't even realize it. I know that will only make you look careless, but we'll do our best to fool her."

I feel relieved that I don't have to say anything about helping me behind the scene. He sure knows what to do when dad is not around. "I have a feeling that Shiori wants to settle things with me fast. I guess this is going to be our final showdown." Yes, that's what my gut feeling is telling me. I feel like she was letting Mr. Ninomiya alive just to tell me that she will come after me later on. She's been aiming for me all this time.

"You don't think about saving her this time?" Hayato's question has caught me off guard. At this point, I'm not even sure whether I can save her or not. I wish I don't have to do anything that will put me in a position to kill her. But I don't think I can do that. Whenever I have to fight anyone who is under the mind control, it will always have one outcome. It's either the other person or me will die. It's never a happy ending in that situation.

"I don't know. I can only tell when I see her. But if there is a chance, I will save her. Even if it means that the probability is almost close to zero." Hayato only smiles when he hears my reply. "Don't worry about it. We'll do what we can to help you. We also want a happy ending for this. If we can save another one person, that's already good enough for the rest of us."

Hayato's word makes me feel assured about the good outcome. Without wasting time, I head to Shibuya. This is where Muse Agency is located. Since the agency is somewhat far from where we live, I have to take a train to go there. Throughout the time I'm inside the train, I wish I can confront Shiori without resorting me to shoot her. I hope it's going to be a peaceful confrontation, but it seems like a rare possibility to me.

It takes about 15 to 20 minutes for me to reach Shibuya Station. And that doesn't include the time for me to walk to Muse Agency since the building is a bit far from the train station. Once I reach the rooftop through the staircase, Shiori is there waiting for me. It is a cold night, with the dim moonlight shines on the rooftop. Her gun is placed right on her right waist. From the look of it, it doesn't look like she's going to fight me the moment I'm here.

She notices as I'm already at the rooftop. "Just like what I expect from someone like you. I guess PSIA agents are pretty confident to come here and face an assassin on their own," Shiori says to me. Just like Momoko Sugita, her voice sounds different than Shiori. Even at a first glance, I know that the person right in front of me is not even her. She only uses Shiori as a physical mean to come in contact with me.

"You're not Shiori, aren't you?" I ask her. She chuckles as I debunk her true identity. "Well, you're right about that. I'm not Shiori. My name is Natsu. This is the name that Shiori gives me as her alter ego. You already know that Shiori and I are a different person. So, I prefer you to address me as Natsu from now onward." I cringe when I hear her introducing herself as Natsu. How dare she use Shiori's body to play around with me!

Natsu looks amused when she sees how annoying I am with her self-introduction. "I understand that you don't like me. But then again, you have to face the fact that Shiori you know is no longer exist. Shiori's real personality is already gone. Only her physical body remains the same." Her words irritate me even more. "So, you're free to do anything you want?" I ask her in anger.