Sofia? Job? What is she talking about? he wondered. Out loud, he said, “Chidori, stop joking around. Now’s not the time.”
“Yeah, I know. And I wish I was joking around... you’re kinda clinging to that idea right now, right? I know it’s probably confusing, but just be brave and accept this, please. That’s what will allow us to make the world better.” With a violent motion and tear-filled eyes, Kaname pressed the gun to Tessa’s head, and pleaded with Sousuke. “Please, Sousuke. Trust me. Let me go. If you don’t, I’ll kill Tessa and you’ll die, too. I really don’t want that!”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” he pleaded. “Put the gun down and get away from her!”
“Why won’t you understand?!” Suddenly, Kaname slammed Tessa in the side of the head with the butt of the gun. The girl staggered and started to fall, but Kaname yanked her back up by the braid. “I hate this! I decide what I’m going to do! Nobody can control me! Not even you have that right, Sousuke!”
“Chidori?!” he cried out in alarm. None of it made any sense. The fire that he’d felt just moments before had been doused, replaced by a chill that he’d never felt before—a creeping sensation he could never have even imagined.
That voice, those words, that speech pattern... They sounded like Kaname, but they were completely at odds with her actions. He felt like he was talking to an artificial intelligence that had been modeled on her, instead. How could she say something like that after striking the defenseless Tessa? Kaname continued walking towards the exit to the hall, dragging Tessa with her. There was no way he could shoot her to stop her.
“Wait,” he called after her. “Where are you going?”
“You love me, right?” Kaname replied. “So, don’t follow me.”
“You can at least explain! Do you even understand what you’re doing?!”
“Of course I do! So don’t follow me!”
“Come back to your senses, Chidori!” Sousuke yelled, striding towards her. This is absurd, he told himself. I’m not letting her go after coming this far. Shoot Tessa? Shoot me? It must be a bluff. There’s no way she’d do that. I just need to jump on her and wrestle the gun away. It might get a little rough, but these are desperate times... I don’t have a choice. Then we’ll get out of here, and I can investigate—
“Sousuke!!” Tessa screamed, and a gunshot rang out.
Kaname had shot her in the head. The 9mm bullet opened a gaping hole in her temple and scattered her brains out the other side. Tessa’s body let out a little tremor before slumping to the ground, and a large blood stain began to spread across the floor. She didn’t even let out a final cry. She had died on impact.
“Te...” he choked out. Tessa. It can’t be...
Kaname turned the gun again at Sousuke, who was frozen to the spot. “I told you! It’s your fault! I told you... I told you to stay away! You’re the one who killed her! Now make it right!”
Incredible. Don’t you even realize that you’re the one who killed her?! He couldn’t think any longer. His mind was blank. Sousuke ran towards Kaname with all his might, hoping to constrain her.
“It’s your fault!” Kaname cried, and fired again without any hesitation.
Sousuke felt a heavy jolt in the center of his chest, and his breathing became shallow. She fired again. A second time, a third time, again and again she hit him... His bulletproof AS operator’s uniform just barely managed to stop the shots.
“Chidori...” he moaned. I don’t believe it. As he stood there, unsteadily, she took the gun firmly in both hands and took aim at his unguarded head. “Don’t—” he tried to say.
“Goodbye, Sousuke.” Kaname smiled. She fired.
The last thing he saw was the muzzle flash. The bullet landed just above his forehead, blasted away part of his brain, and killed Sousuke on the spot. He didn’t even have time to curse in despair.
Silent darkness and emptiness. That was all this world contained.
No... There was a voice.
It said to him, It’s okay. You don’t have to try so hard. I promise I’ll wait, so don’t worry...
A faint light appeared in the darkness.
His vision—which had narrowed to a point—rapidly expanded, and a scream that tore from his throat. The sound combined rage, sorrow, self-loathing, and a fear that seized his heart. It sent the muscles of his body into a violent spasm, bringing him upright.
“Sousuke?!” Lemon was looking at him with an expression somewhere between terror and exhaustion.
They were still in that great chamber, Sousuke having collapsed at some point. Lemon was crouching by his side, and Tessa was lying about five meters away. Her head seemed to be intact.
I wasn’t shot, he realized. I just lost consciousness...
Kaname was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m not... dead?” Sousuke asked, touching his forehead. It was whole. He checked his chest and his stomach, where he’d been shot before, and found no sign of a hit there, either. “What’s going on? And... where’s Kaname?”
“She... left,” Lemon told him slowly. “You tried to run at her but then suddenly collapsed.”
“I did?”
“Then she shoved Testarossa-san away and ran off. I didn’t think I could catch her with my leg in this condition, so there’s nothing I could’ve done... I don’t think,” Lemon said uncertainly. He looked pretty confused himself.
Sousuke stood up, heaving for breath, and walked over to the collapsed Tessa. Aside from the strike across her face, she had no visible injuries. There was no sign that she’d been shot, either. She looked just fine, fortunately, but... “What did you mean, ‘I don’t think’?”
“I could’ve sworn I saw her shoot you to death,” said Lemon. “Both Testarossa-san and you. But I guess it was my eyes playing tricks on me, or... ugh, that déjà vu again. From what I’ve been gathering about how all this works, what I saw might have been a ‘potential future,’ one where Kaname-san resorts to lethal force. But I wonder why that would happen when the déjà vu has otherwise stopped...”
Lemon’s right, Sousuke realized. He’d been hit by waves of déjà vu since he’d first entered the great hall, but it had stopped a short time ago. “Chidori...” he said, tottering up to the door she’d left through.
He had to catch up to her. She’s gone mad, he told himself. That’s the only explanation for why she’d shoot me like that...
“Wait, Sousuke. It’s been at least three minutes,” Lemon protested. “You’ll never catch her.”
“Let me go!” Sousuke shook off Lemon’s hand as he tried to grab him, still dragging his leg.