Chapter 64

11 “Honestly… If you’d just explained all this from the beginning, I would’ve made the arrangements to help.” Minoru and Yumiko lowered their heads to the young girl in the lab coat standing with her arms crossed before them. “Erm, yes, about that… We thought if we told you everything, it’d become your responsibility, so we didn’t want to cause any trouble for you…” “I’m in charge here. It’s only natural that I should take responsibility for such things.” The girl—Professor Riri Isa, the SFD’s acting manager and strategic commander—spoke sharply, with a serious expression. “Also, Yukko, that ‘Erm, yes, about that…’ made you sound quite a bit like Mikkun.” A strange “Guh?” noise emitted from Yumiko’s throat, and DD, who was sitting in a chair behind the Professor, snickered. Normally, this would warrant a death glare from the Accelerator, but they felt guilty for leaving DD out of the loop about the situation, so even she couldn’t muster up too much anger. Looking at Yumiko and Minoru as they hung their heads, the Professor sighed and walked over to sit in her beloved mesh chair. Crossing her legs so that her cute slippers hung off her feet, she took a sip of the café au lait Minoru had prepared for her (about 90 percent “lait,” with the coffee being little more than a flavoring). The time was 4:40 a.m. More than two hours had passed since the car chase on Loop Road No. 7. The night was still dark outside the window of SFD Headquarters’ fifth floor, but soon the first trains would be starting to run. “…But since it was connected to Stargazer, I suppose I can’t blame you for your decision.” The Professor put down her mug and looked out the window. “Rescuing Cici…I mean, Claire…is my dearest wish, too. I never mentioned it before at Oli-V’s request, but now that things are in motion, I see no reason not to make this mission our top priority. Although it’s a shame Oli-V can’t be here now…” “Um, how are he and Suu doing…?” Minoru asked. The Professor spun in her chair. “Hinako only had light injuries, so she should be back tomorrow…that is, today. Oli-V will be staying for another day just to be safe, but his wounds are much less severe than what happened in Minami-Aoyama.” “I see… That’s good.” Minoru sighed in relief, then was hit with a wave of regret. If only he’d stayed calm in Yoyogi Park, he would’ve been able to move normally in spite of Lubricator’s film. He could have prevented Olivier from getting hit, Suu from getting struck—and Liquidizer from getting shot, too. “Hey. You.” Yumiko suddenly reached out and prodded him in the side. “Ow! …Wh-what are you doing?” “Figuring out exactly what you’re thinking, that’s what. Listen, you did your best, and the results prove it. Focus on the present right now, because we’re going to need your help to rescue Claire, too.” “…All right.” Minoru nodded and turned his gaze toward the large monitor on the wall. Displayed there was an online map and a single photo. The map was of Tokyo Bay, and the photo: a large cabin cruiser. It seemed to have been taken with a powerful telephoto lens, capturing the air rising off the waves. “Who would’ve thought the Ruby Syndicate base was on a boat? I never would’ve sniffed that out, even if I patrolled the whole city,” DD murmured. “But you’ve gone across the Aqua-Line and the Bayshore Route a few times, right?” Yumiko asked. “You didn’t pick up on it then?” “Not at all. They’re probably careful not to use their abilities on the ship.” “True. Your nose has become pretty famous by now.” As he listened to their exchange, Minoru once again felt relief that their mission hadn’t failed. What had been intended as a simple exchange of information had turned into a big to-do, but they had still managed to get the information they needed without a single civilian, police officer, or SFD member getting killed. Liquidizer had sent the photo to Minoru’s smartphone just an hour prior. The text itself simply said “Merci,” but the photo was encoded with latitude and longitude coordinates. It was clear this ship itself must be the Ruby Eye Syndicate base. If her information was to be believed, then that meant Olivier’s younger sister, Claire Saito, was being held on that very vessel. “…Damn, though, even with a fancy ship like this, how the hell can they live on a boat for months at a time?” DD sounded doubtful. The Professor looked at the monitor. “Well, I’m sure it’s not at sea all the time. They probably go back to the marina from time to time. Lots of people live like that on ships, you know.” “Huh, talk about a luxury cruise.” Yumiko glared at DD for his envy. “Why not buy yourself a rowboat with your bonus when the SFD disbands, then? You could bring a tent on board and live in that, no?” “That sounds like the opposite of luxury to me…” “Anyway! Our next task is to figure out which marina this ship is contracted with. I doubt there are many marinas in all of Tokyo Bay that are big enough to dock a ship like this, so it shouldn’t be too hard.” Yumiko stood up, clapping her fist to her palm. The other SFD members besides Olivier undoubtedly wanted desperately to rescue Claire, too. Since Minoru had joined the SFD after the incident, he couldn’t say he understood how they felt 100 percent, but he certainly felt strongly that he wanted to help, too. If his older sister Wakaba were still alive, she undoubtedly would’ve told him to do whatever it took to get Claire back. “…All right, I’d better go home for now.” Yumiko came closer to Minoru. “Are you planning on going to school today?” “Well, yes, of course. The third semester just started…” “Aren’t you a dedicated student. I’ll drive you there so you can sleep on the way.” Yumiko started to walk toward the door, but Minoru stopped her. “No, it’s all right. You’ve been up all night, too… Besides, since it’s an outbound train, I should be able to get a seat.” “Are you sure? No need to be shy.” “I’ll have you help me practice riding a motorcycle sometime instead, if you don’t mind?” At that response, Yumiko grinned slyly and clapped Minoru on the back. “Oh, I’ll help you out, all right.” The sky was still dark when Minoru left SFD Headquarters. He hadn’t made much note of the midwinter cold during the mission, but now it chilled him to the bone. Pressing his sleeves together and walking at a brisk pace to warm himself up, Minoru breathed out a white sigh. He was finally going to have to buy a motorcycle, but he only had himself to blame. When he had written the report to the 3E Committee about how he had encountered and captured Lubricator, he could hardly say that he was working with Liquidizer, so he wound up writing that he was riding his motorcycle on Loop Road No. 7 when he came into contact with Lubricator. This meant that they might eventually give him assignments under the assumption that he had a motorcycle, so though it was last-minute, he had no choice but to hurry along the process of acquiring a license and purchasing a vehicle. Yumiko seemed dead set on finishing all of it within the week, so he would probably be practicing his motorcycle riding after school every day for the foreseeable future. But right now, he was more concerned about Liquidizer than any of that. Since she had sent him a message, did that mean she had gotten to a safe place for the time being? What was she going to do next? And would she really keep her promise to Minoru to make sure Trancer never killed someone again? In the car on the way back to SFD Headquarters, Minoru had asked Yumiko: How many confirmed victims had Liquidizer killed? Yumiko thought for a moment, then said that the number of victims was unknown. In other words, they hadn’t confirmed any kills by her hand. Still, that wasn’t basis enough to believe Liquidizer’s claim that she had never killed anyone. In the hideout in Minami-Aoyama, she had certainly tried to kill Minoru and Suu without mercy. And just the night before, she probably would have liquefied the two officers in the van if Minoru hadn’t stopped her. Feeling conflicted, Minoru continued walking through the moonless dawn. When he reached the bright lights of Meiji Avenue, he took a right, walking down the just-opened stairs to the subway. He had to wait a while for the first train to arrive, but when he finally settled in the heated train car, exhaustion hit him all at once. He had to change lines at Ikebukuro, so he couldn’t fall asleep now. It was only when he thought to look at his vocabulary flash cards that he realized he was empty-handed. His textbooks, notebooks, and flash cards were all in his messenger bag, which was still in the back seat of the Swift. “………” Minoru sat in silence for a moment, then leaned his head against the window. He didn’t know where Liquidizer was right now, but she could very well have already left the Kansai region. He’d probably never get that bag back. The notebooks were brand-new for the third semester, so he hadn’t used them much yet, but he was probably going to have to buy five subjects’ worth of textbooks all over again. I should’ve had the SFD reimburse me for those, Minoru lamented with another small sigh. Minoru’s bike was still at the school, so it was 6:30 a.m. by the time he walked back to his house from Yonohonmachi Station. He was just in time to get into the washroom before Norie woke up, so he removed his slightly sweaty uniform, took a shower, and changed into his spare uniform in his room. After he put some new notebooks and the few textbooks he hadn’t lost into his old day pack, he headed down the stairs, where Norie was just waking up. After saying good morning and apologizing for the unplanned sleepover, he joined her in preparing breakfast. He left the house at his usual time. As his familiar routine settled back into place, Minoru quickened his walking pace. Tomomi Minowa was supposed to be in the hospital for a few days, so it was unlikely he would see her on the way to school this morning, but he couldn’t help looking every time a girl passed him in a Yoshiki High School tracksuit. In the end, he hadn’t had a chance to consult the other SFD members about the anemia that might be secretly spreading at his school. But now that it was a day later, the “pylori terrorist theory” that he’d discussed with Ogu seemed like a preposterous idea, and he couldn’t help thinking there was probably a more logical explanation. Ogu had said he would ask around the other athletic clubs if any of their members had symptoms of anemia, so Minoru could probably put off thinking about it further until hearing the results of Ogu’s investigation. With that decided, he looked at the roof of the Super Arena and started walking up the stairs to the Hokosugi Bridge. Before he crossed the bridge, he inhaled deeply and looked around, but he didn’t see or smell anyone suspicious. Of course not. Liquidizer must be hundreds of kilometers away by now. …Or so he thought. He crossed the Hokosugi Bridge, walked east alongside the Cocoon City mall, and was getting close to the Yoshiki High School gates when goose bumps suddenly ran down his spine and rooted him to the spot. Standing next to the gate was a girl in a black sailor uniform from a different school. She wore a dark-gray mod coat over her uniform and large black glasses, and she had her hair in two pigtails, just like she had on Hokosugi Bridge the day before yesterday. The only difference was the bag over her shoulder. “Li…” Minoru choked down the shout that sprang to his lips, along with the cold air. He couldn’t cause a commotion here. Because Liquidizer was having some kind of conversation with a Yoshiki High School student. “…Ohhh, so you’re taking the transfer exam for this year? Do you know where the teachers’ office is? I can take you there.” It was a female third-year student who was saying this. Minoru didn’t know her name, but he was pretty sure she was on the student council. Liquidizer responded to her friendly offer with a very sincere-looking smile. “Thank you very much. But a friend of mine from this school already offered to guide me.” “Oh my, how nice. Won’t you be cold waiting out here, though? Why not at least come inside?” “Actually, it looks like he’s here now.” Liquidizer turned, almost as if she had sensed Minoru’s approach—which she probably had. The student council girl looked over as well. Now he really had to say something. “…G-good morning.” Greeting them in a quiet voice, he walked over, and the third-year stepped back and smiled. “Make sure you show her around properly, all right? Ms. Kido, if you have any questions about the school, feel free to come to the student council room on your lunch break.” “I will, thank you.” Liquidizer bowed her head politely. As he watched the third-year walk away, Minoru voiced the first question that came to mind. “Er…who is Kido?” “My fake name, obviously. More importantly, let’s take this elsewhere before we draw too much attention, shall we?” Liquidizer glanced around seriously. Sure enough, the students walking past were casting curious glances toward the pair. But where would we go? Nowhere’ll be open at this hour— It took him a hot moment, but soon Minoru realized she was suggesting they go into the school. NO WAY! he wanted to shout, but he was in no position to refuse. The students around them were essentially hostages. If Liquidizer wanted to, she could no doubt kill a dozen people on the spot within less than a minute. He had no choice but to obey. Nodding stiffly, Minoru led the way into the school. Walking toward the courtyard for now, since there shouldn’t be any students there, he tried desperately to get his thoughts in order—but with too little information, combined with his lack of sleep, he simply had no idea what was going on. “…Were you serious about transferring here?” Once there were no students around them, Minoru asked a second question. Liquidizer rolled her eyes and sighed. “Of course not.” “Then what are you doing here…? And how did you even know which school…?” “I came to return this to you, Minoru Utsugi.” Acting as if she was stating the obvious, Liquidizer took the bag off her right shoulder and held it out to him. Finally recognizing it as his own messenger bag, Minoru gaped in shock. He stayed frozen for a few more seconds, then hurriedly took it. “Th…thank you very much. That’s a big help…” Still, that didn’t solve the mystery. There wasn’t anything in the bag that would have given her his school name or address, as far as he knew. Of course, his name and class number were written in his textbooks, but it would be difficult to figure out that he went to Yoshiki High School from that information alone. Noticing his confused expression, Liquidizer prodded Minoru’s chest. “You were wearing this uniform all day yesterday. I couldn’t help remembering the crest on the buttons, could I?” “Ah…” Looking down at his shirt, he realized that while his buttons were currently hidden by his coat and scarf, he’d taken both off on several occasions the day before. All of the buttons were engraved with the school crest, so it was probably easy to narrow it down by looking up the websites of schools near the New Urban Center. I’ve got to change clothes before missions from now on, Minoru thought. “…Are you saying you looked up my school and came all the way here just to return my bag…?” “Well, that’s not the only reason.” Liquidizer looked him up and down through her glasses, then continued. “I have two more pieces of business with you. One is a peace offering, and the other is a request.” “P-peace offering? What…?” “As I mentioned when we spoke near the Super Arena, you have an interesting smell.” “……” Minoru shrank back a little and looked at himself again. He’d just changed his uniform and showered, so how could he possibly smell sweaty already? “No, I don’t mean your body odor.” Liquidizer shrugged, then quickly closed the distance between them, bringing her face up to Minoru’s neck. There weren’t any other students nearby, but the courtyard wasn’t completely empty, so Minoru nearly jumped away from her. But her next words froze him in place. “It’s the smell of an ability besides yours. It’s incredibly faint, but some other Third Eye holder is doing something to you.” “What…?” Minoru caught his breath and looked from Liquidizer’s face to his own hand and back. “A Third Eye ability? You mean there’s an unknown Ruby Eye nearby…?” “Pull it together, will you? How would a Ruby like me smell another Ruby’s scent?” “……” Minoru fell silent for a while, then realized she was right. Hosts to red and black Third Eyes alike had the ability to detect enemies by smell, but only enemies—so Jet Eyes could only smell Ruby Eyes, and Ruby Eyes could only smell Jets. The Searcher, DD, was an exception; he could detect Jet Eyes by smell as well, but even that had a much smaller radius than his detection of Ruby Eyes. “A Jet Eye is doing something to me…?” he muttered. His thoughts raced. Did that mean one of the SFD members was using some kind of ability to continuously affect Minoru in some way? But as far as Minoru knew, Chief Himi was the only member whose ability could work like that. I haven’t seen the chief in a while. How would he—? But this theory was dispelled by Liquidizer’s next statement. “It’s not just you, boy. While I was standing by the gate, I checked to see if other students were being affected by this ability, and I noticed no less than four in the half hour since the gate opened. They were all being affected far more intensely than you, too. I don’t know what exactly the effect does, but all of them looked pale, like they were on the verge of getting sick.” “They were…pale?” Those words clicked into place with the other fragments of information in Minoru’s mind. When Tomomi Minowa collapsed in front of Minoru’s eyes the previous morning, her face was as white as a sheet. Satoshi Tsumori looked pale when he glared at Minoru in the classroom, too. And then there were the words that Shouya Ogu had said during that lunch break: You mean…the kids who are good at school and sports are being targeted? Like someone went after Minowa and Maezaki and those nerds and infected them with H. pylori on purpose? But the cause wasn’t the Helicobacter pylori bacteria—it was a Third Eye ability, and that of a Jet Eye like Minoru, that was making students at the school anemic. “Looks like you’ve thought of something.” Liquidizer was observant as usual. Minoru nodded slowly. “Yes… I thought it was a real illness, though. I never imagined it might be a Third Eye ability… But if that’s the case, wasn’t it dangerous to stand watch by the gate? What if you’d come across the Jet Eye themselves instead of just their victims?” “Fine by me. I wanted to see their reaction. The SFD already knows my face anyway, so it wouldn’t matter if someone saw me.” “Reaction…? What if it had turned into a fight?” “Oh, it wouldn’t. Not with you Jets,” Liquidizer said casually, then looked toward the school. “Anyway, our new Jet friend doesn’t seem to be here yet. Shall I help you identify them?” “Erm…well…” Minoru desperately wanted to say he could do it himself, but since he couldn’t distinguish the person by smell, it would be difficult to find the offending Jet Eye on his own. DD could probably finish the job before breakfast, but he wanted to get a bit more information before he reported this to the SFD. Otherwise, the information would probably go to the 3E Committee, and he wouldn’t be surprised if they shut down the entire school over the incident. “…Yes, please, if you don’t mind. Um, just pointing them out would be great.” “Sure.” Liquidizer nodded, then continued in a quieter voice. “Now, I don’t mean to make you return the favor, but there is a little something I’d like your help with as well.” “Oh, right… You did say you had a request. What is it…?” “We might not want to discuss it here. Is there anywhere we can speak in total privacy?” Of course not; we’re at a school, Minoru was about to say, but then he remembered: the top-floor landing in the south building Ogu had showed him just the day before. “…Will it take long?” “No more than five minutes, I imagine.” “Okay, then… Follow me, please.” Why do I keep getting stuck in these situations I can’t control? Minoru wondered as he led the way toward the south wing. Borrowing some guest slippers and entering the building, he waited until there were no teachers around to head up the stairs. When they managed to reach the fourth floor without anyone questioning them, Minoru sighed with relief and headed to the landing at the top of the stairs. Glancing around Ogu’s “secret hideout,” Liquidizer smiled faintly. “I see. Every school has a well-kept secret spot like this one, I suppose.” “…Liquidizer, is this a disguise, or was your appearance yesterday the disguise?” Minoru asked the question without thinking, then remembered that Yumiko had asked the same thing yesterday. Liquidizer deflected the question again, this time by saying “Believe whichever one you want,” then started removing her coat. “Wh-what are you doing?” “I’m just taking off my jacket. Relax.” You really think I can relax right now? Minoru backed away but hit the wall immediately. Liquidizer held out her coat toward Minoru and spoke with a serious expression. “I’ve thought about it, but as I said yesterday, the only explanation I can think of for how Lubricator was tracking me was that some other Third Eye–ability user has marked me somehow.” “Marked…?” Minoru echoed as he took her coat. “Right. I wiped all my GPS devices clean and changed my phone, and he still found me… I have to get rid of the mark somehow, or it won’t matter how far away I run.” “…So that’s why you’re still in Tokyo?” Liquidizer raised an eyebrow. “Omiya isn’t in Tokyo.” “I…I know that. I meant in the Tokyo area,” he mumbled, then asked another question. “So where is Trancer now…?” “I can’t tell you his exact location, but he’s safe somewhere nearby. Except…” Liquidizer’s eyes clouded behind her glasses. “His breath and pulse are stable, but he won’t wake up for some reason. Third Eye users metabolize drugs quickly, so if it was any kind of anesthetic, it should have worn off by now…” “What…?” Minoru furrowed his brow, thinking back to Trancer’s unconscious face from the night before. “But he wasn’t pale or anything. He looked like he could wake up at any minute…” “I thought that might be because of a Third Eye ability, but I couldn’t smell a thing. If it was someone from the SFD—a Jet Eye ability—then I should be able to detect it.” “…As far as I know, there’s not anyone in the SFD who can…” Then Minoru hurriedly shut his mouth. He couldn’t go leaking top secret SFD information, even if it was just the lack of a certain ability. Even in this situation, Liquidizer was still a Ruby Eye, and an enemy. Liquidizer smiled thinly, making no sign of whether she knew what he was thinking. “Well, I’ll take care of Trancer somehow. What I want your help with is the marking on me.” “I can’t cancel out someone else’s ability or anything like that, though.” “I won’t ask you to get rid of it.” With that, Liquidizer lifted her arms at her sides. “……?” “You’re going to have to smell me all over. It’ll be quite faint, but if there’s a mark on me somewhere, your Jet Eye nose should detect it.” “…Huh?!” I can’t do that! he wanted to exclaim, but she cut him off. “Look, I’m not exactly going to enjoy it, either. But this is the only way… Besides, they might be marking you Jet Eyes with the same ability, you know. If you can get information about that ability now, then this is in your favor, too, no?” “………” Minoru couldn’t disagree, as much as he wanted to. If any of the SFD members had been marked the same way without noticing, the location of SFD Headquarters could be exposed. Steeling himself, Minoru took a step closer. He started to sniff from a few feet away, but Liquidizer stepped toward him as well. “You won’t be able to tell from that far away.” “…All right.” Reminding himself that this was no time to get embarrassed, Minoru moved closer until his nose was almost touching her. First, he carefully smelled near her head, but all he could detect was her shampoo. Her ears and neck had the same results. Then he realized something. “…Huh?” “Did you find it?” “No, not that… It’s just strange. From this distance, I should be able to smell your Ruby Eye scent…even if you’re not using your ability.” “……” This time, Liquidizer was the one to look dumbfounded, a rare expression on her. Then she sighed. “Right… I suppose that’s true. So the scent would be mixed in, making it impossible for you to find it…” “No, that’s not it…” He looked into her face, still barely a couple of centimeters away. “I don’t smell anything. Two days ago on the Hokosugi Bridge, and yesterday when we removed that bullet in the hotel in Shibuya, I could smell your Ruby Eye scent…but all I smell now is your shampoo.” “What…?” Liquidizer furrowed her brow, then suddenly leaned toward Minoru’s chest. She sniffed the air, then pulled away. “…You’re right. I don’t smell your Jet Eye scent, either. But why?” “Don’t ask me…” Minoru was bewildered, but Liquidizer quickly got back to the subject. “Well, we can worry about that later. If you can’t smell me right now, then that works out perfectly. Keep sniffing.” “…Right.” Left with no other choice, Minoru brought his nose close to her again. He checked her uniform’s collar, her back, and her arms, but there was no smell. Desperately trying to turn off his brain, he smelled near her chest and stomach as well, and just as he was moving from her right flank to her left— “Ah!” Minoru exclaimed. It was just for an instant, but he had detected something this time. That characteristically beastly smell, like metallic blood and wild animals mingled together. Pressing his nose to the navy-blue fabric, he inhaled deeply. Sure enough, just five centimeters below her rib, there was the incredibly faint smell of a Ruby Eye ability. “R-right here!” Minoru prodded her side with his fingertip, and Liquidizer jumped. “Wh…?! Don’t poke me out of nowhere!” Brushing Minoru aside, she lifted the hem of her shirt without hesitation. Then she rolled up the thick fabric of her undershirt, exposing pearly white skin. She prodded the area a few times, then froze. “Ah…there’s something here…” Liquidizer pinched the flesh between her two fingers, but Minoru couldn’t see anything. “Wh-what should we do…?” “You don’t have a scalpel and some disinfectant by any chance, do you?” “Of course not.” “Hrmm…” Liquidizer reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a hundred-yen coin. She held it up in front of her eyes and stared at it. Suddenly, the bottom half of the coin changed shape, sagging into a long thread like melted caramel. Just as a drop started to separate from the tip, it hardened again with a tiny snap. What Liquidizer was holding was no longer a coin but a silver needle with a half-circle handle. “…Are you going to stab yourself with that?” “What else would I use it for?” “Shouldn’t you disinfect it first?” “Any bacteria on it would’ve been destroyed in the liquefaction process.” With that, Liquidizer brought the needle toward the skin pinched between her fingers and carefully slid the sharp end into it vertically. Once it had gone in about a centimeter, she quickly pulled it out. A tiny droplet of blood formed at the edge of the wound. At first, nothing else happened. But a few seconds later, Minoru’s eyes widened in shock. Something was moving underneath Liquidizer’s skin. A tiny object, smaller than a grain of rice, squirmed around unsteadily as it moved toward the cut. The drop of blood swelled up, trembled, and dropped to the floor. “Wha…?!” Minoru couldn’t help but let out a small cry as he saw it. In the middle of the small spatter of blood was a cone-shaped insect, wriggling sluggishly. Its body was only about four millimeters long, and it didn’t appear to have legs, but there was a cluster of fine threads growing from its wider end. Crouching down, Liquidizer jabbed the needle in her right hand into the small insect. Then she stood up and stared at it closely. Minoru leaned in to look at it, too. As the pair watched, the insect writhed for a while, then finally stopped moving. Immediately, it dissolved into a viscous red liquid and dripped off the needle. “Wh…what in the world…?” Minoru whispered. “I’m no biologist, but I don’t think there are any insects on Earth that melt after they die,” Liquidizer responded coolly. “It must’ve been made by an ability.” “But…an ability that makes insects…?” Then it occurred to him. Only five days ago, Minoru had just fought a Ruby Eye whose ability created different kinds of insects. “Ah! So was that…Stinger’s…?!” “It must have been.” Liquidizer nodded gravely, then melted the needle in her hand. The silver liquid fell to the floor, forming microscopic metallic droplets that slid away into the cracks of the landing. “When I fought Stinger hand to hand in Ooi Futo Park…he must have planted it on me then.” “Now that you mention it…when Stinger was chasing Trancer, he used a superfine thread. If it came from a bug like that one…does that mean you’ve been trailing a thread behind you for the past five days?” “Don’t make me sound like a caterpillar, please.” Liquidizer wrinkled her nose and pushed Minoru lightly on the chest, then shook her head. “I think I would’ve noticed that. No, these parasites—let’s call them ‘threadbugs’ for now—probably emit some kind of wireless signal if they’re able to enter a human host, and they just produce threads as a sign if they can’t.” “Right… Even a bug that small would probably hurt a lot if it stabbed into you. The only way to get it into someone’s body without them noticing would be to distract them with other pain, I guess…” The three bugs Stinger had used in battle so far—spinebugs, missilebugs, and wireworms—were already dangerous enough, but if he could create tracking bugs on top of that, then his ability really was on an entirely different level from anything they knew. If they were going to have to fight him again someday, they’d have to be sure to prepare very carefully… “Huh…? No, wait a minute.” Minoru paused and looked at Liquidizer’s face. “What is it?” “Well…if that bug came from Stinger’s ability, doesn’t that mean that Lubricator was getting information from Stinger in order to track you? But five days ago, Stinger attacked Jet Eyes and Ruby Eyes indiscriminately…so wouldn’t Lubricator normally be a target of his, too…?” “You just realized that now?” Liquidizer said dryly, rubbing the area where she’d just removed the threadbug. “The simplest explanation is that Lubricator is connected with Stinger somehow. And if that’s the case, then it might’ve been a different power that issued the order to kill me, not the Syndicate at all…” “…Another Ruby Eye power besides the Syndicate?” Unable to respond, Liquidizer simply tucked her undershirt back into her skirt. Then she took her coat off the doorknob and started to put it on, but she paused when she raised her left arm. Her wounded shoulder was probably still in pain. Minoru reached out silently and helped to pull her coat on. Turning around, Liquidizer blinked at him. “Thank you… So what happened with Lubricator?” For a moment, Minoru wasn’t sure whether he should answer. But since the man had shot Liquidizer, he felt she had the right to know. “They brought him to the same hospital where Trancer was being held. He was pretty heavily injured, so I think they’ll be treating him for a while.” “I see.” Liquidizer nodded. “You really saved the day by stopping that Demio, boy. I hate to admit it, but I wouldn’t have been able to handle that alone.” “If you really were alone, I think you would’ve managed…,” Minoru mumbled. “Ha…” The Ruby Eye smiled wryly. “Having something to protect isn’t easy, as it turns out. Not that I can complain, since it was my own choice. At any rate, just let me thank you. Although I’m sorry I have nothing more to offer you than words.” “Maybe you could stop calling me ‘boy,’ then?” I don’t think that’s too much to ask, he thought. Liquidizer’s smile only widened. “All right then, Minoru.” Wait, I don’t know if that’s— But it was too late to take it back now. As Minoru’s face took on a strange expression, Liquidizer snickered, but then the smile vanished from her lips. Abruptly, she closed the distance between them and pulled him down. “…?!” “Quiet! I smell a Jet Eye!” she hissed in his ear. Minoru’s eyes widened. The only rooms on the fourth floor of the south building were prep rooms for each subject, so it was unlikely that any student would come here so close to the warning bell. If the Jet Eye had noticed Liquidizer’s scent and come here, it was possible this would lead to a fight. Crouching in the corner of the landing, Minoru prayed desperately for the person not to come any closer. Finally, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. It sounded like a student’s hallway slippers, not a teacher’s sandals, padding along the resin floor. The footsteps reached the fourth floor and paused. After a few tense seconds of silence, they finally started walking again: not up the stairs but into the hallway. There was the sound of a door opening and closing, and then silence. Still being held down by Liquidizer, Minoru asked in a whisper, “Was that a victim just now…? Or was it…?” “Judging by the strength of the scent, it must’ve been the perpetrator. And from this distance, they would’ve noticed my scent, too.” “Huh…? Then why…?” Why didn’t they either come toward you or run away? Minoru wanted to ask, but Liquidizer was ahead of him. “They must not know.” “…?!” “They noticed a smell, but they didn’t realize it’s the smell of a Ruby Eye, the natural enemy of Jet Eyes. In other words, it’s a ‘stray Jet’—one who’s never had contact with another Third Eye host.” Minoru fell silent. This possibility hadn’t even occurred to him. It had already been over three months since the red and black Third Eyes rained down on the Tokyo area. So this person had gone on living their life normally all this time, never once encountering another Third Eye host? “That Jet Eye took a right and went into a room about ten meters down the hallway. What are you going to do?” Minoru looked at the clock. There were only five minutes until the warning bell and ten minutes until the brief morning homeroom period. Considering the time it would take to get to the first-years’ Class One room, he only had about ten minutes to spare, but he couldn’t let this opportunity slip to catch the Jet Eye in question alone. “…I’ll go.” At that, Liquidizer released her grip on Minoru’s head. “Then I’ll come with you.” “What? Why…?” “There’s a chance this is a trap set for me, albeit a very low one. But I wouldn’t want to lose sleep if you got killed because you were mistaken for me, b…Minoru.” “…Thanks for your concern. But even if it is a trap, please don’t kill them, all right?” “I know, I know.” The pair stood up together and headed down the stairs. The fourth floor of the south building was completely silent. As they proceeded right, they passed the world history prep room and the Japanese history prep room, then reached the math prep room. If the Jet Eye had gone ten meters down the hall, they must have entered this room. As Minoru looked up at the sign next to the door, a voice suddenly echoed in the back of his mind. Would you like to come check it out sometime? I’m sure you’re more than qualified to join the math club now. The person who had said that to him was Akitoshi Hazama, from Class Two of the first-years. And the math prep room was also used as the clubroom for the math club. Was Hazama the Jet Eye waiting behind this door? He was the only one in the top grade ranks who didn’t have anemia symptoms, so that was certainly a logical assumption. To be honest, Minoru didn’t do well with people like him, but he was going to have to persuade him somehow to cancel out the ability that was tormenting Tomomi and the others. Liquidizer elbowed him as if to say, Hurry it up already. Taking a deep breath, Minoru reached out, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. The math prep room was bigger than he’d expected. The left and right walls had bookcases up to the ceiling, and there was a long, thin table in the center of the room. Folding chairs were lined along either side of the table, and in one of them sat…a petite female student. The color of her hallway slippers indicated she was a first-year. “……?!” Surprised, Minoru looked around the room, but there was no one else in sight and nowhere to hide. Then he turned to Liquidizer, who’d followed him inside. “Is she the one…?” he whispered. “No doubt about it.” Her response was so prompt and certain that Minoru had no choice but to accept it. So Hazama wasn’t the Jet Eye who’d been spreading disorders through Yoshiki High. The female student stared up at Minoru and Liquidizer in shock for a moment, but finally she seemed to sense something about them and stood up from her chair with a clatter. Grabbing her textbook off the table, she clutched it to her chest as she backed away. Her long hair swayed at either side of her face, revealing the skinny outline of her features. “Wh…who are you two?! You’re not in the math club, are you?!” Her thin voice jogged Minoru’s memory, bringing to mind a single scene. Minoru had met this student before. He didn’t know her name, but they’d come across each other just the day before. It was the girl whom Tsumori had crashed into in the stairwell yesterday. Minoru had offered to help her, but she’d muttered “I’m fine” and hurried up the stairs. Maybe that incident had been no mere accident. Did she run into Tsumori on purpose to use her ability on him?