After the Ruby Eye had disengaged from the runaway Biter, Minoru and Norie had been driven to the hospital with DD behind the wheel. Just as if they’d discussed it beforehand, Norie was put on a stretcher at the emergency intake entrance and given a thorough examination right away. Luckily, she didn’t have any injuries that seemed to be hurting her, but since the Biter had made her take powerful sleep medication, they put her in a private room on the top floor just to be safe.
A while ago, she had woken up for just a few minutes, spoken to Minoru a bit, and gone to sleep again. She’d probably have to take the day off from the prefectural office today.
Saying she and whoever the chief was would process the scene and keep information from leaking, Yumiko stayed behind in the arena parking lot. Minoru had worried in his own way about her injuries as he waited for Yumiko on a bench nearby Norie’s private room, but after seeing how she walked just now, it seemed she wasn’t seriously injured.
Judging from what she had said, she had probably been able to take the hits well. For her, even that extraordinary fight really was “usual.”
But of course, for Minoru, all those things were still like events from a dream. There was a mountain of things he wanted to ask Yumiko, but he was still in a daze and couldn’t even decide where to start.
As he was gazing vacantly at the predawn sky from the front window, words that even he hadn’t expected came pouring out of his mouth.
“That time… When the runaway Biter tried to kill Norie and me…,” Minoru muttered.
Yumiko gazed at him hard as if encouraging him.
“…He looked at Norie and, how should I put it…seemed to hesitate. I thought there was absolutely no way he could communicate, but just for that moment, it felt like his thoughts came through. I felt like he…didn’t want to kill Norie. And he actually did stop attacking… Why would he do something like…”
“…”
When Yumiko turned to face forward again, the silence continued for a few seconds, but finally she answered in a small voice.
“…It’s believed that, to a certain extent, Third Eyes copy the memories and personalities of their hosts.”
“Huh? …Their m-memories…?”
“That’s right. The two cases of runaway Ruby Eyes before the Biter also made repeated attacks that were mechanical and instinctual, but they said things that seemed to originate in the memories of their hosts. And that was despite the fact that the brains of their hosts were mostly destroyed at that point.”
“…!”
He inhaled sharply. With his mind finally working as it considered the meaning of Yumiko’s words, Minoru muttered in a hoarse voice, “…So… The reason it hesitated to attack Norie was because the memories and intentions of that man…the Biter, still remained in the Ruby Eye… Is that it…?”
“—That’s the most logical way to think about it, yeah.”
“But… I mean, the Biter’s the absolute worst kind of person, and he’s attacked and killed several people before now, right? He tried to bite and kill Minowa three days ago and all… Why would that kind of person let only Norie…?”
Having managed to say that much, Minoru bit his lip hard.
The reason that monster hadn’t killed Norie was because it had copied the memories of the Biter? He felt like that hypothesis was just hard to accept.
Yumiko turned her upper body back to Minoru, who was silent. Her dark eyes reflecting some inner hesitation, she wavered for a brief moment. But after blinking just once, the Jet Eye girl started speaking in a quiet tone.
“We’ve just now discovered the real name of Confirmed Ruby Eye Possession No. 29, code name Biter. He didn’t have any IDs on him and his vehicle registration burned with the car. We put in an inquiry about the plate number and finally heard back…but seeing the name, both the chief and I were surprised. It was a huge shock for DD. Seems like he was a fan of the guy.”
“Uh…a fan…? Was he a performer or something…?”
“Something like that. Apparently, he was a relatively famous gourmet food critic who wrote articles about restaurants for magazines and occasionally appeared on TV. Full name’s Hikaru Takaesu.”
“Hikaru…Takaesu…,” he repeated in a whisper.
That name did sound familiar. Minoru didn’t know much at all about actors or cultured people. Still, he guessed it hadn’t been his imagination when he thought he’d seen the Biter somewhere before when confronting the man for the first time with his untransformed face on the roof of Saitama Super Arena.
As he was wondering why someone with that kind of social status would do those things, Yumiko started speaking again.
“Takaesu’s mother was also a famous education commentator. But she died six years ago in a car accident. It’s not clear whether it was really an accident or if her death was suspicious, but from a quick Internet search, it seems like Takaesu had been active in the entertainment industry with his mom since he was a kid.”
“…Do you think he liked his mom…?” Minoru murmured.
Yumiko neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, speaking in an even quieter voice that neared a whisper, she said, “I don’t know. That’s why I’m just stating the facts. The women we think were victims of the Biter…of Takaesu, were all unmarried regardless of their age. In other words, he never went after a housewife. These are just my completely baseless assumptions but…if the Biter projected his own mother onto your sister in her apron and kidnapped her without doing her any harm because of that…then those feelings were copied to the Third Eye, too, and that’s why he didn’t attack your sister even when he was in a runaway state…”
“But… If so, it’s just like…”
Minoru hung his head low and forced his voice out from the back of his throat.
“It’s just like the Biter’s a victim, too. Are you saying he couldn’t help killing people because the Third Eye was giving him orders? It’s too late for something like that. He was the absolute worst sort of person who attacked and bit to death innocent people by his own choice, wasn’t he? He was absolute evil, and it was natural for him to die, wasn’t it…?”
After briefly falling silent at Minoru’s words, Yumiko answered him in the most gentle-sounding voice she had used thus far.
“There’s probably no such thing as absolute evil… Third Eyes produce many kinds of unique abilities, using the memories of the humans they enter as a template. On top of that, the Ruby Eyes give people the urge to kill others, and the Jet Eyes… Well, since I’m involved myself I’m probably not even aware of it, but I think we’re definitely receiving some kind of orders, too. No one yet knows what meaning or purpose there is in that. What if…this isn’t a natural phenomenon and the two colors of Third Eyes were sent to Earth by someone? If so, what the Ruby Eyes are doing might be considered good to them, and those of us getting in the way might be evil. But you know…”
Suddenly, Yumiko gently touched her fingers to Minoru’s right hand, which he was clenching tightly on his lap.
“At the very least, I’m grateful for what you did, and I’m sure your sister and that girl from the track team are, too. You saved my life, DD’s, your sister’s, that girl’s, and the lives of all the people the Biter might have killed next. No matter what anyone says, that’s a good thing… Even if I question the existence of absolute evil, I also believe the opposite. There are things you should do and must do in this world, no matter what. For me, that’s knocking all the Ruby Eyes all over the world back into space and decreasing the number of victims as much as I can, even if it’s just by one person. Even if those actions go against the will of something in space.”
“That’s exactly right. There’s no doubt that that, at least, is the reason we Jet Eyes exist,” said a voice suddenly, full of dignity and strength.
Yumiko pulled her hand back at incredible speed, but Minoru quickly lifted his face without noticing.
A tall, thin man was walking down the hallway toward them, his shoes
clicking against the floor. Although he was dressed plainly in a dark suit with a maroon tie, his sharply pointed eyes above the high bridge of his nose gave off a strong light. He might’ve been in his late thirties. Faint furrows were carved at both sides of his mouth and on his brow, but his pitch-black hair was neatly smoothed down, giving him a youthful look.
Was this man the chief whose name he had heard so many times?
His image was far from the managerial one associated with such a title; he looked like a warrior who would appear in a period novel. Usually, Minoru would be intimidated in front of a dignified person like this. But now, he stood up naturally without averting his eyes. Maybe it was because he was so exhausted or because he was aware that this was a Jet Eye, one of his own kind.
Yumiko stood up next to him at the same time. Putting both hands behind her back, she spoke first to Minoru.
“This is our chief. He has the dangerous ability of being able to manipulate the memories of other people. And, Chief, this is probably the final Jet Eye in the Kanto region. His ability—”
“I’ve heard. Should I call it a…complete defensive shield? It really is quite interesting. You’re a professor’s dream,” he said in a voice that was smooth yet carried well.
The man gave a faint smile as he held out his right hand to Minoru.
“Good to meet you. I’m Himi, in charge of the Special Section of the Health and Safety Department in the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Special Sec for short.”
Minoru rushed to shake the hand that had been offered.
“Oh, I’m U-Utsugi.”
“You don’t have to be so formal. My ability isn’t as dangerous as Yumiko here says. I can’t do anything unless a person cooperates with me.”
“No…I’m sure it’s…”
The man named Himi had a huge hand that was both tough and pliant, likely honed by martial arts; Minoru felt just as if it were enveloping his whole body. After zoning out for a moment, he hurriedly released the hand.
“Uh, my own ability isn’t a very powerful one. It can’t protect anyone but me… Yumiko and DD were both injured fighting the Biter, and only I was unhurt…,” Minoru somehow managed to say in an indistinct voice, his eyes still down.
But Himi’s quiet yet clear voice overlapped the end of his sentence, which trailed off weakly.
“Yet you didn’t run away.”
Minoru’s body tensed with a start, and Himi gently placed a large hand on his shoulder.
“To save your sister and Yumiko and DD, you made the best possible use of your ability and your surroundings to fight a huge enemy instead of running away. Even among Jet Eyes, there aren’t many people who can do that. Let me be direct. You’re the kind of person we need. Minoru Utsugi, please work with us to—”
“Please don’t.” Minoru cut Himi off, shaking his head with his eyes still down.
He looked up at the tall man’s bold features for just a moment, then dropped his gaze immediately.
“If you know my name, then you’ve already looked into the incident eight years ago anyway. If so, you should know. I’m someone who runs, someone who hides. The only thing that’s important to me is to have a peaceful everyday life. Even the reason I tried to save Minowa or Norie or Yumiko and DD was because I would feel bad if I couldn’t save them… That’s all there was to it.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Yumiko said from behind him, her tone unexpectedly soft.
Minoru just stood there, unable to turn around. He was even more surprised as he listened to what she said next.
“I’m sorry. I said a lot of things to you in the park that were unfair.”
“…No… It’s totally natural that someone would want to say those things to me…”
“That’s not true. I…was probably jealous of your ability. It’s because I thought…if I’d had your ability, I might have been able to save people that I failed to save before…”
“…”
“But it really was just my ego after all. I thought all that because I wanted to make things easier on myself… But…I want to save people when I’m able to do so, even if I’m only doing it for me. People don’t even know why they really do things themselves, so I don’t think it matters what your motivation is. What matters is what you do. That’s all. I’m repeating myself, but…you saved my life. Whatever reason you had for doing that doesn’t change how grateful I am. —What is it, Chief?”
Her last comment was directed to Himi over Minoru’s shoulder. Minoru kept his eyes down as, in front of him, Himi spoke with a slight smile in his voice.
“Well…it’s just that I was surprised. This is the first time I’ve heard you talk like this, Yumiko.”
“Stop that… Anyway, I’m done talking.”
Yumiko flung herself down onto the bench with a thud.
Biting his lip hard, Minoru replayed a part of what Yumiko had said in his mind.
What matters is what you do.
So is she saying someone like me would be able to do something?
Since discovering the nature of the protective shell, Minoru had thought that the orb had given this ability to him so he could cut himself off from the world. He had thought that it heard his never-ending prayers to be alone and was granting that wish through physical means.
But was that wrong?
Was this power given to him so that he could atone? Was somebody saying that by protecting more people he could make up for the sin of hiding alone in a dark hole while watching his father and mother and sister die…?
There’s no way I can make up for it. Even if I saved dozens or hundreds of people, I doubt the stake of guilt driven deep into my chest would come out.
…But—but.
…If someday I lost my life in the process of fighting to save someone…
…Would you forgive me the next time we meet… Waka…?
Minoru didn’t know how long he’d been silent. But when he slowly lifted his gaze, Himi was there, waiting for Minoru’s response, his expression completely unchanged.
Minoru turned around just for a moment. After looking into Yumiko’s eyes, who seemed like she wanted to give him a push, he turned to face Himi again.
“I’d like to ask you to surgically remove my Third Eye and erase all my memories related to it…but it would be no use, would it?”
“My apologies, but the answer is no.”
“If I do work with your organization, do I get some kind of reward someday when everything with the Ruby Eyes has been settled?”
“Yes. When Special Sec is dissolved, the members will be given a bonus for their services. I can’t tell you the amount here, however.”
“Is that so? …It’s only been three months since the Third Eyes came down, but you’re so well prepared.”
Himi smiled enigmatically at Minoru’s comment.
“Well, there’s a lot behind that. If you like, it would be possible for us to pay part of the bonus upfront…”
“I don’t need a single yen,” he said plainly, continuing. “But when everything is over, I want to use your ability.”
Hearing this, Himi raised his eyebrows just slightly but encouraged Minoru to continue with a wave of his hand. After taking a deep breath, Minoru told him the rest.
“Use your ability to…erase all the memories related to me from everyone who knows me. From you guys as well.”
Complete silence stretched on for a few seconds. As dawn gradually approached outside the window, an ambulance siren wailed faintly.
“—But realistically, wouldn’t that be impossible?” Himi asked in an appropriately surprised voice.
Minoru gave his head a little shake.
“To be precise, you can just erase the memories of people who I’m aware know me relatively well. There shouldn’t be that many, even in the neighborhood around my house and my school.”
“…I don’t understand what you’d gain from that, but…but if that’s what you want, I’ll make that promise. As
long as I’m alive then, that is.”
“Thank you. Then…if you want me, I’d like to join Special Sec and…”
“Your sister, too? You’d erase her memories of you, too?”
The one who cut Minoru off was Yumiko. Her tone itself was calm, but her voice had an edge of severity similar to when he’d first met her. Minoru turned around again and nodded.
“If I wasn’t around, Norie could build her own family and live for herself.”
“…I don’t think even you know if that’s what she wants, but… So what would you do, then, in a world where no one knows you?”
Yumiko’s eyes gave off a challenging light, and Minoru stared right back into them.
“Who knows… Maybe…I just want to find out. Find out what a world where no one knows me is like.”
Yumiko didn’t attempt to make a single sharp comment in response. A little way away from her, Minoru listened to Chief Himi as he explained the details. It was decided that Minoru would visit the Special Sec headquarters in Tokyo the day after tomorrow when school let out. As they shook hands once more, Himi added something as if he’d just remembered it.
“Oh… While we’re on the subject, I’m now headed for a meeting with the girl you saved…Tomomi Minowa.”
“Oh…is Minowa in this hospital?”
“Uh-huh. Special Sec has what you might call a special arrangement with this hospital. At any other hospital, a detective from the precinct would come charging in immediately if we said someone was injured after being attacked by a burglar.”
“That’s…true. But why has Minowa been hospitalized for three whole days? Was she hurt…?”
“No, luckily she has almost no injuries, but she saw the Biter while he had his ability activated… After she regained consciousness, it took quite a while to give her careful counseling, explain the situation to her, and request that she cooperate with the memory block.”
“…You’re going to erase her memory…?”
“That’s the standard procedure and also the best way to handle things. Even without being injured, the fear from being attacked by a Ruby Eye puts a huge burden on a victim’s heart,” Himi said frankly. He continued in a quiet voice, “To be absolutely sure, we’ll seal all memories going back several hours before being attacked by the Biter. She’s given her consent but says she would like to see you once before then. It seems she’d like to thank you. What will you do?”