Chapter 22

Fifteen years ago, Ango Sakaguchi had been only ten. If his deduction was correct, the Number Seven Agency had already been operating then. Even five years later, Ango Sakaguchi had been no more than a minor pawn who had just joined the government, following orders to work undercover in the Port Mafia.

As for killing his friend...

Perhaps Ango Sakaguchi regretted it too.

He regretted becoming a pawn, becoming cannon fodder on the government and Mori Ougai's chessboard and dragging his friend down into the abyss with him.

Even if the Number Seven Agency had changed leaders, Ango Sakaguchi was not so depraved that he would take over an organization like that.

The crow poked at his palm with its beak, and Kamiki Yūhaku smiled as he stroked its feathers.

"Don't worry, I won't believe it," Kamiki Yūhaku said. "Do you like Ango that much? Because he fed you back then?"

"All right, all right, I understand."

Just then, the crow suddenly raised its head and looked at the sky. Kamiki Yūhaku immediately recognized the posture: the crow was on alert. He frowned slightly, but before he could ask what was wrong, the crow spread its wings and flew into the sky.

"Little Crow?" Kamiki Yūhaku watched the crow. "What happened?"

The crow cawed twice at Kamiki Yūhaku, then shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

"Hey, Little Crow!"

Kamiki Yūhaku hurried after the crow, but it flew too fast and disappeared from sight in moments.

Kamiki Yūhaku stopped and looked around, trying to find something amiss in the information he had. Little Crow was no ordinary crow. According to Chiba Kambei, it was very likely an Ability Beast, possessing a considerable degree of humanity and keener senses than an ordinary animal.

Little Crow had never suddenly left him before. The fact that it was so frantic this time meant something was definitely wrong.

Kamiki Yūhaku clutched the clothes over his chest.

His heart was pounding wildly, as though something terrible were happening.

Ango Sakaguchi stood at the entrance to the Number Seven Agency. Looking at the nameplate bearing its name, he calmly pushed up his glasses.

The intermediary came out through the door, followed by a familiar figure.

Back then, Ango Sakaguchi had used the Number Seven Agency's record-cleaning service to clear Osamu Dazai's name. He had gone through four intermediaries before meeting this representative. This time, he had even had to ask Director Taneda for help to see him again.

The Number Seven Agency was a terrifying place, even to Ango Sakaguchi.

It was the government's central disposal site for incriminating evidence that could harm it. The Number Seven Agency had arrested an ability user whose ability was called Perfect Crime. He could completely invalidate evidence, which made the Number Seven Agency highly efficient.

But for the same reason, the Number Seven Agency was not merely a place where the government disposed of incriminating evidence; it could also become a threat to the government.

This was the greatest vulnerability left behind when the government committed crimes for the sake of the so-called "public" and sought only to hide them.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Sakaguchi." The representative stood opposite Ango Sakaguchi. "We meet again."

Ango Sakaguchi nodded. "Is the Number Seven Agency operating normally?"

"You've come at an inconvenient time. The ability user responsible for destroying evidence is away, and the Number Seven Agency is handling a very important job," the representative replied. "If you're willing to wait, we'll accept your request once the Number Seven Agency has completed its assignment."

"The ability user is away? Why?"

"That's none of your concern."

Ango Sakaguchi frowned slightly. After a moment, he nodded. "If you don't have time, then never mind."

"Thank you for understanding."

And so the Number Seven Agency's representative came and left in a hurry, without accomplishing anything.

The intermediary bowed to Ango Sakaguchi and promptly left as well.

Ango Sakaguchi looked around. Because of the Number Seven Agency's special nature, no cameras had been installed where they met. He lowered his head and left, then returned to his office. After telling everyone not to enter, Ango Sakaguchi locked the door from the inside.

He first made sure the room was secure enough, then sat down at his desk and turned on his computer.

As someone who had once infiltrated the Port Mafia, Ango Sakaguchi was not quite as skilled at gathering intelligence as Kamiki Yūhaku, but he was not far behind. He also had plenty of ways to obtain information.

After making sure all his preparations were complete and he could not possibly be traced, Ango Sakaguchi reached into his pocket and pulled out an identity card.

The card belonged to the representative he had just met.

Security at the Number Seven Agency was extremely tight. An identity card was required to register both entry and exit, and some information could only be accessed with a special identity card.

Ango Sakaguchi inserted the card into the slot and quickly entered the Number Seven Agency's system. Right at the front was a folder containing its latest assignment.

He opened the folder, and the next moment, a video began playing before Ango Sakaguchi.

"Today is Yūhaku's birthday. Give us a smile." A gentle male voice came from the video. The camera was pointed straight at a boy's face, and Ango Sakaguchi's eyes widened slightly.

Although he was still a very young boy, his white hair and red eyes made it clear that he was a miniature version of Kamiki Yūhaku.

The camera moved, and the person filming came into view. He was a refined-looking man wearing a white coat. A crow perched on his shoulder, flapping constantly as his movements made it struggle to keep its balance. Ango Sakaguchi knew the man: Chiba Kambei.

"Yūhaku, what would you like for your birthday?"

Kamiki Yūhaku looked at him, then tilted his head after a moment. The young boy sat quietly in his chair like a doll. "I want flowers."

"No flowers with thorns," the doctor said. "How about we grow some sunflowers?"

"Can we eat the seeds?"

"Don't be like Little Crow and think only about food." The doctor laughed. "Don't you think sunflowers are wonderful? They keep striving toward the sun, and they're such a warm yellow."

Kamiki Yūhaku lowered his head. After a moment, he gave a small nod. "Okay."

"Then let's make a pinky promise." The doctor took Kamiki Yūhaku's hand. Ango Sakaguchi noticed that his fingers were wrapped in bandages. "I'll grow more, even prettier flowers with you. Something so beautiful would be sad if it hurt you, too."

"Okay?"

Kamiki Yūhaku tightened his hand slightly. He looked at the doctor, his red eyes intent.

He said, "Will you always grow flowers with me?"

"You won't ever abandon me again, right?"

"Of course," the doctor replied with a smile. "I'll always stay by your side."

The video cut off abruptly. Ango Sakaguchi's breathing quickened slightly. He hurriedly opened the file beside the video, then found an audio recording in the folder. He played it, but after listening for a while, he still could not make sense of it, so he opened the document beside it instead.

As soon as he opened it, he saw something that made his breath catch.

"Plan for the elimination of the artificial ability user Kamiki Yūhaku"

He hurriedly scanned the remaining materials onto a storage device he had prepared beforehand. Then, at the appointed time, he quickly tossed the identity card at the place where they had met, turned, and left the Special Division.

He had to find Kamiki Yūhaku.

Back then, he had been powerless to do anything but watch Sakunosuke Oda walk toward his death, because he could neither stand against the Port Mafia nor defy the government. As a result, after the orphans Sakunosuke Oda had adopted died horrible deaths, he lost his will to live and even shattered his own dream before he died.

He absolutely did not want to see Kamiki Yūhaku go through the same thing.

Chapter 22

Little Crow never went very far from Kamiki Yūhaku.

Although it occasionally got into a sulk with him, it would only wander around nearby. It was also particularly easy to appease: give it a certain brand of snacks, and it would fly back onto Kamiki Yūhaku's shoulder as though the sulk had never happened.

To Little Crow, Kamiki Yūhaku was an irreplaceable member of its family too.

But no matter how humanlike it was, Little Crow was still only a crow. It could neither speak nor express itself, and in its little head, which could not hold much, the doctor, Chiba Kōbe, had never died.

The fire had burned down the house and reduced Chiba Kōbe's body to ashes. The crow, one burned wing drooping, had flapped about in the ashes, trying to find the Chiba Kōbe hiding among them. Perhaps, in the little bird's eyes, Chiba Kōbe was only playing a grand game of hide-and-seek with it.

Even now, it often searched for traces of Chiba Kōbe.

"Little Crow," Kamiki Yūhaku called as he walked down the road. "Where did you go?"

Yokohama was not particularly large, but even in such a small place, it was hard for Kamiki Yūhaku to find a crow that had flown away. In the end, he could only go to a park he often visited. He sat on a bench, looked up at the sky, and waited for the crow to come back on its own.

As he waited, Kamiki Yūhaku opened the system interface, which he had not looked at in a long time.

The empty interface, with nothing else on it, was still the same, except that Recognition had risen to 90%.

It looked as though he was just a little short of success.

But who knew how long that last ten percent would take? Just as Kamiki Yūhaku did not know when he would escape the cocoon he had spun around himself.

Kamiki Yūhaku closed the system interface and leaned back against the bench. A gust of wind blew past, and a withered yellow leaf fell onto him. He picked it up, and just then he heard footsteps beside him. The instant he turned his head, the person approaching was already at his side, grabbing him by the wrist.

Caught off guard, Kamiki Yūhaku crushed the withered leaf in his hand as the newcomer pulled him to his feet.

"Huh?" Kamiki Yūhaku stared at the newcomer in surprise. "Ango?"

"Don't ask why. Just come with me." Ango Sakaguchi pulled Kamiki Yūhaku along as he ran to the side.

Kamiki Yūhaku did not resist. He ran forward with Ango Sakaguchi pulling him along, his eyes fixed on the man ahead of him. There was no surprise or particular concern in his red eyes, but he wore a constant smile, which made him seem especially sincere.