“What did you just do?”
Before he could respond, the resulting explosion made her duck down. When she looked up again, the parked car was lying on its side, exuding dark smoke.
“What have you done?!” she hissed. Panicked, she tried to snatch his phone out of his hands. “Stop it right now! That man is using you, Kanba! He won’t actually help us!”
Kanba deftly evaded her hands. As he walked toward the La Terre sculpture, he tapped around casually, detonating every car in his way.
“Open your eyes, Kanba! This isn’t right!”
All around them, the situation was slowly escalating. Using the smoke as cover, Kanba felt around for the little KIGA symbol carved into the base of the bronze statue. The door opened, and he slipped inside.
“Wait!” As sirens blared somewhere behind her, Masako ducked down and barreled through the door after Kanba.
The space inside the statue was too small to be called a room; all it contained was a single computer. In the darkness, Kanba pulled a jackknife from his pocket and jammed it into the system unit as hard as he could. Sparks flew, and the space filled with smoke. But Masako knew the computer wasn’t his only objective. Maybe his job was done for today, but come tomorrow, he’d get dragged into an even bigger scheme…and she couldn’t afford to let him add anything else to his list of crimes.
Desperate to calm her racing mind, she exhaled quietly. Her fingers brushed the slingshot gun concealed inside her pocket. If it came down to it, she was prepared to abduct Kanba by force. But right before she pulled it out—
“We have you surrounded! Cease all resistance and come out with your hands behind your head! I repeat: we have you surrounded!” a man’s voice shouted over a megaphone—most likely a police officer.
“Kanba, we have to surrender. I’ll come with you.”
“You are going to drop your gun and go home. Just tell ’em I took you hostage or something.”
As he spoke, he felt around on the floor with his foot, then pressed down hard. A small panel opened, revealing a secret spiral staircase leading down into the darkness. He started down the stairs without the slightest hesitation.
“Do not follow me.”
But for Masako, no such option existed. She chased after him. “Where are we?”
“The Tokyo underground is a labyrinth of branching passageways. No map of them exists, and most of them haven’t been disturbed for decades. This is one of them. Trust me, no one will find us in here.”
“You really think you can outrun the police forever?” Her heels clacked on the stairs as they descended deeper and deeper.
“If that’s what it takes to save Himari’s life,” he replied without missing a beat.
She stopped short. “Why are you doing this? She’s just a stranger!”
And if you insist on helping her, then why won’t you admit you love her?
“She’s my sister.”
No matter how emotional she became, Masako rarely ever lost control. Generally, she suspected that most of her anger died along with their grandfather. But emotions always found a way to reignite. She seized Kanba by the arm, digging her nails into his jacket, and yanked him back as hard as she could. As he whirled around to face her, she registered the look in his eyes, clearer and sharper than ever before.
“Look at me! I’m your sister!” she pleaded, gazing at him with narrow eyes that matched his, though hers were damp. “Snap out of it! That man has put a curse on us!”
But Kanba simply stood there in the darkness, silently enduring the pain of her fingers digging into him.
“I know you’re aware of the vile, unspeakable things our father has done. And you saw where that got him.”
All this time, Masako waited and waited for her father and brother to come home, all the while protecting Mario and protecting the Natsume family legacy. But her father never returned, and at this rate, Kanba wouldn’t, either.
“Our dad is dead,” he revealed to her without even batting an eye.
“That’s not true.”
Her grip on him weakened; he yanked himself free and continued down the stairs.
“That’s not true!” She pulled out her gun and aimed it at his back.
“Yes, it is. He’s been dead for more than eight years. You know this.”
He heard the click of her gun, but didn’t stop.
“All this time, I’ve been fighting to keep hold of everything I’ve got left. I refuse to accept that our father is dead, and I refuse to let them steal you away from me, too. If you don’t stop, they’ll use you and throw you away, just like they did to him! They’ll crush you!”
“Don’t care.”
As she stood there, frozen, he walked off down the spiral staircase. She aimed a shot at the back of his head, but despite her best efforts, her laser sight was unsteady.
“I don’t want to lose you a second time!”
Hands shaking, she fired the gun. The bullet missed by a wide margin, hitting the stairs ahead of him and breaking apart. Startled, he came to a stop and looked up.
“Say it. Say I’m your one and only sister. Say it just once, for old times’ sake, and I’ll commit to this curse with you for all eternity.”
“Masako…”
For the briefest of moments, it felt like her fingertips grazed the fire burning inside him. Just then, a searchlight flared up, blinding them. Masako turned away reflexively. Kanba hastily leaned over the railing, peering down at the light shining up from below.
“There is no escape! Now give up and surrender! We have you surrounded! Cease all resistance immediately!” the policeman from earlier shouted over his megaphone.
Kanba crouched down, pulled out his cell phone, and started tapping around. “Get down,” he told Masako, and a moment later, the sound of a rolling metal ball echoed through the vast underground space. She promptly crouched down next to him, listening to the sound.
“We have you both surrounded!” the policeman repeated, right before a deafening explosion filled the area, accompanied by thick smoke. As Masako clutched at her head in horror, a piece of ash landed on her hand, leaving a tiny burn mark.
As they arrived at the bottom floor, Masako gasped at the gruesome sight that awaited them. Kanba was controlling something that possessed far more offensive power than any measly slingshot gun—and with just his cell phone.