*Chapter 33: Suspect C*

Blade just stood there, breathing hard after throwing all of his blades. He was completely shocked and couldn’t believe his eyes, though his expression was hidden behind the Phantoms’ mask.

In front of him stood Shiro Kenoshita, his face unreadable.

Suddenly, Blade’s earpiece buzzed.

“Blade… Can you hear me?”

It was Eyepatch’s voice.

“Huh? Dude? Where are you…?”

Meanwhile, Shiro was holding one of the razor blades between his fingers. His mind was racing.

Every move. Every pause. Every dodge… and every blade he threw.

He had already observed and analyzed every movement and pattern of Blade. None of it was random. He had seen that fighting style before.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

…Interesting. So that confirms it…

Shiro thought.

He calmly tossed the blade to the ground.

Then he spoke.

“I must say… that’s no ordinary martial art you possess. Most impressive, indeed.”

Blade remained silent.

“So, you really aren’t with Abyss either, are you?” Shiro continued.

Blade said nothing.

“I’ll take your silence as a negative.”

Shiro paused, then adjusted his glasses.

“By the way… do you remember someone named Gen Shiwazaki? Central Shopping Mall, North City. June 2?”

Shiro’s eyes sharpened.

“Gen Shiwazaki was assassinated that day. Shot several times while protecting a civilian.”

Blade didn’t speak. He didn’t remember the date. But the name… He remembered that clearly. His hand twitched slightly.

“Blade… Boss has rescued Anya successfully.”

Eyepatch’s voice came through the earpiece.

No response.

“We’re retreating now. Quickly. Get out of there.”

Blade stood completely still. His mind was no longer processing Eyepatch’s words. All he could hear was Shiro’s voice.

Shiro watched him carefully.

”…Interesting.”

“Blade? Did you hear me? We’re retreating!”

Nothing.

“Blade!”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed.

”…That confirms it.”

His voice remained utterly calm, but there was something unsettling about it.

“You are…”

Shiro paused.

”…Suspect C.”

For a moment, Blade couldn’t hear a thing. Eyepatch’s voice… Shiro’s voice… Everything blurred together.

“Blade! Oi! BLADE!!”

Eyepatch was shouting now.

“RUN!!”

The voice echoed directly inside Blade’s head.

And then…

Blade ran.

The scene shifted.

Eyepatch tapped his earpiece.

“Man… why weren’t you answering?”

He stood inside the underground railway station beside an old orange freight locomotive. In one hand, he held a small screen, monitoring Blade’s position as a marker moved across the map.

Behind him…

CLANK!

The sound of a metal panel being slammed shut echoed through the station.

Tokio Yukawa crouched beside the locomotive, closing the electrical cabinet he’d just finished working on.

An open toolbox sat on the ground beside him, filled with wrenches, screwdrivers, a multimeter, wire cutters, electrical tape, and several loose pieces of wiring.

Tokio slowly stood up and stretched his back.

“That was a hell of a workout…” he sighed, exhausted.

He looked down at his hands. They were covered in dirt and grease.

He picked up a folded electrical schematic and examined it one last time.

The locomotive had been sitting underground for who-knows-how-long, and several of its electrical connections had been damaged. Tokio had spent hours tracing the circuits, replacing a few burned wires, reconnecting loose terminals, and bypassing one particularly stubborn section of the electrical system.

He sighed.

“So… the boss lady successfully rescued Anya, huh?” he asked.

Eyepatch glanced at him.

“Looks like it,” he replied casually.

Tokio nodded.

He grabbed a bottle of water and poured some over his hands, rubbing away the dirt and grease.

“Anyways… I think I fixed the wiring,” he announced with satisfaction.

Eyepatch looked at the locomotive.

“You sure this thing’s gonna work?” he asked skeptically.

“Can’t say for sure,” Tokio admitted.

Tokio folded the schematic and tucked it under his arm before climbing into the locomotive’s cab.

”…If the diesel pipelines aren’t damaged,” he added cautiously.

Eyepatch stared at him.

“That’s a pretty important ‘if,’” he pointed out dryly.

Tokio ignored him.

He checked the main electrical breaker.

Click.

Then another switch.

Click.

The control panel flickered to life, and a few gauges slowly moved.

Tokio watched them carefully. He turned another switch and listened. A faint mechanical hum came from somewhere beneath the locomotive.

“Fuel system’s responding,” he said.

He smirked with relief. “Looks like we’re lucky.”

Tokio reached for the engine start switch and turned it.

For a moment…

Nothing happened.

Tokio stared at the controls.

”…Come on,” he urged impatiently.

He kicked the deck.

“Ughh… damn it.”

He tried again.

CLICK.

The starter motor suddenly engaged.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR…

The locomotive roared to life.

The entire station trembled as the diesel engine thundered through the underground tunnel.

Eyepatch stared at the locomotive, genuinely surprised.

“Wow…”

A grin slowly spread across his face.

“Nice work, Tokio-senpai. Nothing less from you.”

Tokio popped his head out of the cab window.

“Hell yeah…” he cheered.

He looked back at the controls.

”…Though I’m not exactly sure how to pilot this giant junk machine,” he admitted sheepishly.

Eyepatch stared at him and sighed. He grabbed the side railing and climbed onto the locomotive.

“Just leave that to me,” he declared confidently.

Tokio moved aside as Eyepatch climbed into the cockpit.

Outside, the orange freight locomotive continued to rumble. The rails beneath it began to vibrate.

And somewhere beyond the underground station…

Blade ran.

His footsteps echoed through the corridor as he sprinted around the corner.

Behind him…

THUD!

Shiro came after him.

Blade glanced over his shoulder.

Shiro was still there.

He’s still following me?!

Blade quickly turned his attention back to the path ahead.

A stack of wooden crates blocked the corridor.

“Out of my way!”

Blade jumped onto the first crate and kicked the next one aside.

CRASH!

The crates tumbled across the floor behind him.

Shiro didn’t slow down.

He simply stepped over the scattered debris and continued after him.

Blade gritted his teeth.

He reached the end of the corridor and saw a staircase leading down.

Without hesitation, he jumped over the railing.

“Whoa!”

He dropped to the floor below, landing hard and immediately rolling forward.

THUD!

Blade pushed himself up and kept running.

A second later…

Shiro appeared at the railing above.

He looked down at Blade.

Then he jumped.

THUMP!

Shiro landed several meters below with almost no hesitation.

Blade looked back.

“You’re kidding me…”

He ran faster.

The corridor opened into a large storage area filled with old equipment, boxes, and hanging plastic curtains.

Blade grabbed one of the curtains as he passed and pulled it down behind him.

FWUMP!

The curtain collapsed across the path.

Shiro pushed straight through it.

Blade was already climbing over a pile of equipment.

He jumped from the top of it and grabbed a metal pipe running along the wall.

Using it to swing himself around the corner, he landed on the other side and continued running.

“Blade!”

Eyepatch’s voice suddenly came through his earpiece.

“Can you hear me?”

Blade breathed heavily.

“Yeah!”

“Keep running straight! You’re heading toward the old railway station!”

“Got it!”

“There’s a staircase ahead. Take the left side!”

Blade reached the staircase.

He didn’t bother using the steps.

He jumped over the railing and dropped to the next landing.

THUD!

He stumbled for half a second before catching himself.

Then he continued downward.

Behind him…

Shiro reached the staircase.

He looked down.

Blade was already several floors below.

Shiro calmly jumped over the railing.

THUMP!

He landed on the lower floor.

Blade glanced back.

How the hell is he doing that?!

He pushed through another set of doors.

BANG!

The doors slammed against the wall.

Blade emerged into an old maintenance corridor.

“Left!” Eyepatch shouted through the earpiece.

Blade immediately turned left.

“Then straight ahead!”

Blade sprinted through the narrow passage.

“There’s another staircase!”

He reached it.

This time, Blade jumped over the railing and grabbed the handrail of the floor below.

He swung himself down and landed.

“Ow…”

He didn’t stop.

He kept running.

Behind him, Shiro appeared at the top of the staircase.

He watched Blade disappear around the corner.

Then he followed.

Not running wildly.

Not rushing.

Just following.

Like he already knew Blade would eventually run out of places to go.

Blade burst through another door.

And suddenly…

The sound of something enormous filled the tunnel.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR…

Blade froze for half a second.

His eyes widened.

The underground railway station.

The old orange freight locomotive was already moving.

Its engine thundered through the station as the train slowly picked up speed.

“Blade!” Eyepatch shouted.

“I’m here!”

“Get to the train!”

Blade looked toward the moving locomotive.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“JUST MOVE! All you have to do is just follow the damn train…”

Blade sprinted toward the tracks.

The orange freight locomotive was already moving, slowly picking up speed.

“Blade!” Eyepatch shouted through the earpiece. “Get to the train!”

“I’m trying!”

Blade ran alongside the moving freight cars.

One of the middle cars was passing right beside him.

He reached out and grabbed the railing.

The train pulled him forward.

Blade quickly planted his foot on the side step and pulled himself up.

THUD!

He landed on the narrow walkway running along the side of the cargo car.

“Hah… hah…”

He looked ahead.

More freight cars stretched into the darkness.

“Keep moving!” Eyepatch shouted. “Don’t stop!”

Blade started running along the side of the train.

He grabbed the railing as the train picked up speed, jumping across the small gaps between the cars.

Meanwhile…

Shiro reached the station.

The last few cars were already passing him.

He stepped onto the rear platform of the final cargo car and grabbed the railing.

The train was moving faster now.

Shiro didn’t hesitate.

He climbed onto the side walkway and started moving forward.

His footsteps were steady.

Calm.

Almost unnervingly calm.

Blade glanced over his shoulder.

A figure appeared several cars behind him.

Shiro.

Blade’s eyes widened.

”…You’re kidding me.”

“Keep moving!” Eyepatch yelled.

Blade turned forward and sprinted.

He jumped across the gap between two freight cars.

Shiro followed.

Blade climbed over a coupling and continued along the next car.

Shiro stepped over it without slowing down.

The train thundered through the underground tunnel.

Blade looked back again.

Shiro was getting closer.

Blade gritted his teeth. He pushed himself harder. He kept moving.

From one cargo car to the next.

He grabbed the railings, jumped over the couplings, and continued forward without looking back for more than a second.

Shiro was still following.

Blade finally reached the locomotive.

He pulled himself onto the rear platform of the engine and looked around.

His eyes landed on a large wrench lying near the equipment.

He quickly grabbed it.

“Come on…”

Blade crouched down near the coupling connecting the locomotive to the rest of the freight cars.

He jammed the wrench into the mechanism and pulled with all his strength.

CLANK!

Nothing.

Blade gritted his teeth.

“Aghhh… Come on!”

He pulled again.

CLANK!

The train continued thundering through the tunnel.

Blade could hear footsteps approaching behind him.

Shiro was getting closer.

“Fuck!”

Blade tightened his grip and pulled again.

CLANK!

The coupling shifted.

He put all of his weight into the wrench.

CRACK!

The connection finally gave way.

The freight cars jolted violently behind him.

Blade stumbled forward as the locomotive pulled away from the rest of the train.

The gap between the engine and the remaining freight cars quickly grew.

Blade slowly stood up.

He was now standing at the rear of the locomotive, still holding the wrench.

Across the widening gap, Shiro stood at the front of the first freight car.

Their eyes met, though Blade was wearing the mask.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

The freight cars began falling farther behind.

Blade breathed heavily.

Shiro simply stared at him.

Then…

Shiro reached behind him and pulled out a handgun.

Blade’s eyes narrowed.

Shiro raised the gun.

His finger moved toward the trigger.

Blade suddenly froze.

He couldn’t move.

He felt it…

DEATH.

There was no doubt in his mind. Shiro wouldn’t miss. And somehow… Blade could feel it.

“Blade! Can you hear me?” Eyepatch called through the earpiece as he drove the locomotive.

No response.

Eyepatch glanced back.

Tokio looked toward the rearview mirror.

“What the hell is Blade doing…?”

Blade’s body… even his mind… was frozen.

Shiro’s eyes remained unreadable.

His white hair waved in the speeding wind.

But suddenly…

Shiro lowered his gun.

His face remained unreadable.

The distance between them grew.

Farther…

And farther…

Until the freight cars disappeared into the darkness behind the locomotive.