Confirming his suspicions was the only way to move forward.

  After escorting the Seitenshi safely back to the Sacred Residence, Haruki Aizawa immediately returned to his apartment. He went straight to Kayo Senju to ask for the results of her investigation.

  As it turned out, Kayo's efficiency was staggering. The name "Tina Sprout" was infamous enough in certain circles that Kayo had managed to pull a complete dossier in record time.

  "Tina Sprout. IP Rank 98. She possesses the Owl Factor Gastrea gene," Kayo reported, her expression unusually grim. "Furthermore, intelligence suggests she is a specialized soldier created by Professor Ains Rand, one of the 'Four Sages'."

  "The Four Sages?"

  "The world's top four researchers in the field of mechanized soldiers. Kagetane Hiruko, whom we encountered before, was a product of Professor Grünewald. Tina Sprout is the American counterpart."

  Kayo continued listing the data she had skimmed from the IISO's deep-web servers, painting a picture of a girl who was as much a machine as she was an Initiator.

  "Does she have a connection to Sōun Ikuma of Osaka?" Haruki asked.

  "There's no direct paper trail, but Professor Rand is a researcher funded by the United States. Sōun Ikuma maintains extremely close ties with the U.S. government. The probability of them being connected in this assassination plot is over 90%."

  "I see."

  Haruki nodded slowly. He had the full picture now. He knew who she was, who she worked for, and what she was capable of. He also knew how to counter her, but he found himself hesitating.

  If she were a simple assassin, he would have removed her without a second thought. But his interaction with her the previous day stuck in his mind. He felt like he needed to confront her one st time—not as a bodyguard, but as a person—to see if there was any way to resolve the crisis without her blood on his hands.

  The next day, on the outskirts of the Sacred Residence.

  Haruki and Tina met again. Haruki didn't reveal that he knew her identity. He wore a neutral expression, acting as if they were still just two strangers who had shared a moment of kindness.

  "Here. Takoyaki," Haruki said, handing her a warm paper bag.

  Tina rubbed her perpetually sleepy eyes, her face lighting up with a drowsy smile. "Thank you, Haruki-san."

  She took the bag, then reached into her pocket and pulled out her bottle of caffeine pills. She dumped a handful of the white tablets directly onto the takoyaki and began eating them together, chewing the medicine and the food in a strange, mechanical rhythm.

  "..."

  Haruki didn't know how to comment on such a bizarre diet. He simply took out his own skewer and sat down beside her on the park bench.

  "You're a very cold person, Haruki-san," Tina said softly, watching him. "It's strange. You look like you don't care about anything, yet you went out of your way to help me. I don't understand you."

  "Being cold is just my personality. It doesn't mean I'm indifferent to the world," Haruki replied. He looked at the girl beside him. "The word 'cold' fits you better, Tina. You look like you've lost interest in being alive."

  "Because I don't know what happiness feels like."

  "Is that so?"

  "Yes. At least, until yesterday. Before I met you, my life was just... pain. I didn't know why I was even breathing."

  "Until yesterday...?"

  "The time I spent with you was... nice," Tina said, a genuine, bittersweet smile touching her lips. "Even though you're quiet and a bit boring, being near you makes me feel safe. I think... I might like you more than I should. I really, really like you, Haruki-san."

  "Getting a confession from a little girl isn't high on my list of achievements," Haruki said, shaking his head. He didn't have any interest in being a "lolicon," nor did he have those kinds of feelings.

  A silence fell between them. It wasn't awkward; they both seemed to appreciate the quiet. Their personalities were simir in that regard—both were solitary thinkers who found comfort in the stillness.

  But Haruki eventually broke the silence. He had a mission to perform.

  "Tina. You're a Cursed Child, aren't you?"

  The question was direct, slicing through the peaceful atmosphere like a knife.

  Tina's expression faltered for a fraction of a second, but she quickly masked it. "Why... why would you say that, Haruki-san?"

  "Let's be honest with each other. I am the Seitenshi's bodyguard. Last night, I engaged a sniper who tried to take her life." Haruki didn't point his finger directly, but the intent was clear. "I don't know why that sniper is doing what they're doing. If they're just a killer who enjoys the sport, I'll end them without mercy. But if they have a reason... a reason I can respect... then maybe there's another way."

  Tina went silent. She looked down at her hands, her fingers trembling slightly.

  "I..."

  She seemed to be on the verge of saying something, of confessing, but the cold, digital trill of a phone interrupted her. She pulled it out, and the moment she saw the caller ID, her face turned pale and rigid.

  "I'm sorry, Haruki-san. I have to go." Tina stood up, declining the call and looking at Haruki with a gaze that had suddenly turned sharp and professional.

  "I understand," Haruki said, his own eyes turning cold and focused.

  They both knew. The next time they met, there would be no takoyaki. There would be no friendly conversation. They would be enemies, and only one of them would walk away.

  "If the world wasn't so cruel... I think we really could have been friends," Tina whispered, holding her ptinum-blonde hair as a gust of wind swept through the park.

  A stray leaf blew across Haruki's field of vision. When he blinked, she was gone.

  Haruki stood in the park for a long time, the silence weighing heavy on him. Eventually, he received a call from the Seitenshi. The next meeting with Sōun Ikuma was about to begin. He turned and headed back to the Sacred Residence.

  Meanwhile, Tina arrived at a small, dingy rental apartment on the edge of the district. Her phone rang again.

  "What were you doing? Why did you decline my call?" a cold, distorted voice barked through the speaker.

  "Forgive me, Master... I was napping."

  "Hmph. The Seitenshi's revised travel route has been secured. I am uploading the coordinates to your neural link now."

  "Understood."

  Data flooded Tina's vision, the maps and timestamps etching themselves into her brain. When she saw the final route, she hesitated. The conversation with Haruki had left her in a state of internal chaos. She was starting to doubt the "logic" of her existence.

  "What is the hesitation for?" Professor Rand's voice sharpened with suspicion.

  "I was just... calcuting the necessity of the target's death."

  "You are not paid to calcute necessity. You are a tool, Tina. Tools do not think; they perform. Our client is already furious about your previous failure. You will succeed this time."

  "..."

  "Tina," Rand said, his voice dropping to a low, maniputive purr. "My lovely masterpiece... surely you aren't thinking of disobeying me?"

  "No, Master."

  "Tell me, who is your master?"

  "It is you... Professor Rand."

  "And who allowed you to live when the rest of the world wanted you dead?"

  "It was thanks to you, Professor."

  "And what are you?"

  "I am your tool, Professor."

  "Good. Don't fail again. If you do, don't bother coming back."

  The line went dead. Tina stood in the dark apartment, her breathing shallow and ragged. She felt a phantom pain in her chest—not from a wound, but from the crushing weight of her own reality.

  She took a lighter and set fire to the curtains of the apartment, using the distraction of the bze to slip out unnoticed as neighbors began to scream. She moved toward her designated sniping position along the Seitenshi's route.

  She was Rank 98. She was a hybrid of a Cursed Child and a mechanized soldier. She was the ultimate evolution of the battlefield. But as she set up her heavy Varanium rifle, she felt a paralyzing dread.

  She remembered Haruki cutting her bullet in mid-air. She remembered his kindness.

  "Please... don't come," she whispered to the empty air. "Haruki-san... I don't want to kill you."

  But she knew he would come. He was a professional, just like her. Destiny didn't care about their feelings; it only cared about the collision.

  Haruki sat in the backseat of the Seitenshi's armored transport as they headed toward the summit location. He didn't mention Tina to the Seitenshi. He didn't want to burden her with more fear, and he didn't want anyone else interfering with his pn to handle the girl.

  As the motorcade entered a narrow corridor between two high-rise complexes, Haruki's Sense of Fluctuation spiked.

  Target locked.

  "Stop the car!" Haruki commanded.

  "What? We're in the middle of a secure zone—" the driver started, but Haruki didn't wait. He grabbed his bdes and kicked the door open, leaping out into the street.

  "Stay down! Don't move until I give the signal!" he yelled back at the car.

  He looked up at a building three hundred meters away. Through the shimmering heat haze of the afternoon, he saw the glint of a lens.

  Bang!

  The shot was aimed at the car's engine block to disable it. Haruki blurred forward, Onikiri already in his hand. He didn't cut this one; he used the ft of the bde to swat the bullet into the pavement.

  He took off, a streak of purple and green, running straight up the vertical face of the building.

  On the roof, Tina's eyes widened. "He's coming... he's really coming..."

  She abandoned the sniper rifle and drew her dual katanas. Her "Owl" traits activated, her pupils diting into wide, glowing circles of crimson.

  The Sword Ghost and the Owl Assassin met at the edge of the roof. There were no more words. The csh began.

  ***********************************************

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