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“Go on—cower in fear. I want to see that face of yours twist and contort with terror,” Namie taunted, holding the bottle over the girl’s head. But Mika did not scream or beg for mercy.

Namie sighed and went for the bottle’s lid. “Do you have any last words while you’ve still got that face?”

Was that question meant to be an act of mercy or merely a demonstration of her superior position in the situation?

In either case, that question succeeded in drawing a macabre answer out of Mika Harima.

“Ephemeral and fleeting are words applied…to the vicissitudes of life. The rise and inevitable fall of all things.”

“…Huh?” Namie squawked, pausing in surprise.

Mika smiled lazily up at her, so easygoing that it might have been the effect of the muscle relaxant, and it was in that tone of voice that she continued, “When we first…came into this building…you asked if I knew the meaning…of the word ephemeral. Well…I do know it. I know…a whole lot of things…”

“…And? Is that your final statement?”

It was just empty bravado. One last act of futile defiance.

Namie knew it was so. She wanted to believe it was.

She wanted to believe that the rising foreboding within her was nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

It took only seconds for Mika to shatter this futile hope.

“Kanra…is Izaya Orihara.”

Huh?

For a moment, Namie couldn’t process what she’d just heard.

Kanra was the username that her employer Izaya used to interact with a specific chat room online.

Why would she mention…?

Then she paused.

Wait…how does this little bitch know Izaya’s username in the first place? And has she ever…even met Izaya…?

“Tarou…is Ryuugamine.”

“…”

“Setton…is Celty. Saika is Anri. Bacura is Kida. Mai and Kuru are Izaya Orihara’s sisters, Mairu and Kururi.”

This time, an undeniable chill ran through Namie’s body.

Mika continued, her smile beatific, “And the username that both Izaya Orihara and you use when manipulating people…is Nakura.”

“Wait…”

“Ryuugamine is the founder of the Dollars… Anri is possessed by a demon blade named Saika… Kida is the leader of the Yellow Scarves. But I suspect that none of the three is aware of the others’ secrets.”

Namie wanted to stop her, but now her body wasn’t reacting. Was it instinct? Curiosity? Or just plain fear?

“The people who tried to hurt Anri yesterday and the day before…are a pair of Russians…Vorona and Slon…which mean ‘crow’ and ‘elephant,’ respectively. Izaya Orihara…hired them…”

How does she know this? Namie wondered. This creeping question eventually made every muscle of her body tense. How much does she know?

“Slon’s connection to Izaya Orihara…is deeper than Vorona’s. So Izaya heard about the Awakusu-kai’s contract for Slon through him…and tried to entrap Shizuo Heiwajima. Someone stabbed him last night…and now he’s in the hospital.”

“…!”

Every single sentence was a definitive blow.

The last one was something Namie herself had only learned this morning—but none of it should have been in Mika’s personal range of information.

“How…do you know these things?”

“Don’t be silly… It’s the same way…as always. Do you know…how cheap…and incredibly small bugs can get…nowadays? So I’ve…been placing them around…all the people who are likely…to get involved with Seiji. And I know a few things…about hacking…”

“…!”

“Izaya Orihara was the only one…who found the bug right away…but as long as whomever he talks to on the phone is bugged…I can still hear from him… Shall I reveal some things that don’t involve you? Like last night, Mikado took a ballpoint pen, and…”

“Enough. Be quiet.”

Planting bugs…? That can’t be, Namie thought. She was frozen in place.

“What do you think…? I know lots of other things…such as the fact that you and Izaya…are also connected to the Asuki-gumi…”

“This…this can’t be… You’ve never shown any sign of this before… In fact, if you always knew all the things you just said…you could have stopped them from happening!”

“Huh…?”

“The stuff with your friends! When that idiot Izaya led your friend on and screwed everything up…if you knew all about that—in fact, if you knew about Saika!—then you could have helped avert all that disaster! That ugly business! Before Masaomi Kida got hospitalized!”

“…”

Mika looked just a little bit sad. “Anri doesn’t know…that I know,” she said. “I don’t think she’s aware that I’ve been brushing up on her and Ryuugamine…the same way that I planted a bug in Seiji’s room.”

“But…that shouldn’t matter…”

“If I told her that I knew everything…and helped her directly…that would mean getting personally involved in all that mess. It would be one thing if that was just me. I don’t care about Anri and Ryuugamine being disgusted with me or getting arrested. But…”

She closed her eyes. That brief pause was all Namie needed to understand what she meant. Sure enough, the answer was as expected.

“If Seiji learned about Ryuugamine’s secret circumstances, he might claim he owed that boy a favor and get involved with it… He mustn’t know. Seiji might seem brusque and aloof at first…but at heart, he’s extremely kind. Just like the time he saved me and Anri from those thugs…”

“…”

“So…I decided to learn and learn and learn and learn and learn and learn and learn about everything, even the people around him. So that I could make sure Seiji doesn’t get involved in any of the danger they pose…”

Mika fell silent. Namie said nothing for a while, too. Silence fell upon the warehouse, as if time had frozen.

But…

“…I understand how you feel. And I understand now that you are far more capable than I ever gave you credit for…and far more abnormal,” Namie murmured, unstopping the glass bottle.

Mika glanced at it, smiled, and then thought, I wonder, if I blow really hard when she tips over the bottle, will some of the liquid splash back on her? That way I can take her down with me… Actually, never mind. Seiji would be sad if a family member was terribly hurt.

Meanwhile, Namie slowly twisted the cap on the bottle. She had no idea what selfless thoughts were running through Mika’s mind, but even if she did, it wouldn’t have stopped her hand.

And yet, just at the moment that the glass bottle was about to open, Namie did stop. Not of her own will—but because a very familiar hand suddenly reached in to grab her by the wrist.

“…That’s enough, Sister.”

“S…”

The moment she heard the voice, Namie felt that her heart might stop as well.

Her shock might have been from haste, joy, or twisted love—or perhaps all three.

“Seiji!”

“Seiji?!”

Both women were stunned.

“Why…?”

Why is he here? Mika wondered—but Namie had no doubts whatsoever. She cast the bottle aside, stood up, and clenched Seiji’s body tight.

“Seiji…oh, Seiji! I’m so glad…I’m so glad you’ll still call me ‘Sister’!”

“Ow, ow— Sis, you’re hurting me,” he said, prying his way loose of the affection. “Are you all right, Mika?”

“Y-yes…”

“I see. That’s good,” he said simply, then turned to Namie. “Sis…”

“S-Seiji…?”

Gone was the demonic possession from just moments ago. Now Namie gave him a look like a puppy caught in the rain.

He sighed and muttered, “I don’t know what happened here…but I think you understand you crossed a line.”

“Um…”

“If you had damaged Mika’s face just now…I would have hated you for it.”

“…!”

Namie knew that. She was prepared to undertake her plan and suffer that consequence. But as soon as she heard it from his own mouth, she realized how brittle her determination had been. Terror ran through her.

“H-how long have you been watching…?”

“…Since about the moment you kissed Mika.”

“…!”

If anything, it was Mika who looked shocked at this. The fact that she had known all the secrets of Mikado and the others had itself been a secret—from Seiji. And now he had heard all about it. He knew that she had bugged not just him, but all his friends.

“Ah…aaaah…”

“I saw you two kissing, and I had no idea what was going on, so I kept watching…and then it seemed like things were getting dangerous, so I stepped in to put a stop to it,” he said. His expression was dark, just like the warehouse itself, so he could have been exasperated, or he could have been mad.

Both Mika and Namie looked away uncomfortably. Eventually, Namie broke the silence to ask, “H-how did you know where we…?”

“I left the sushi place and went home…and I met Sonohara out in front of that old curio shop that went out of business.”

“Huh…?”

“I asked her, and she said she hadn’t called you. So then I called you and got your voice mail, and I started getting worried. I called everyone we knew, and that got me nowhere…so eventually I got desperate and tried the people we met at that hot-pot party…”

Seiji paused, scratched his cheek, then continued, “Dr. Kishitani said you’d probably be here…”

Namie suddenly pictured the face of the man she’d talked to no more than an hour ago.

That…that four-eyed freak! I swear…I’ll get rid of him one day—along with that Black Rider!

She began to plot how she would get back at the black market doctor, magma bubbling in her heart—when something covered her raging, quivering lips.

—?!

Her sight went black. It felt like something was touching her cheeks and nose as well. She heard Mika gasp much louder than before.

…?

Suddenly, light came back—and she saw Seiji’s face, pulling away from hers.

“See? It’s really unpleasant to have something like this happen from a person who isn’t your lover, right? So you ought to apologize to Mikabesidessince way backthat’s—to female friends of mineand you’re always”

Less than half the words that Seiji was saying were reaching Namie’s brain.

…?!

Because she suddenly realized that the sensation she’d felt was a kiss from Seiji.

…!—?!—?—!—!—?!

The next thing she knew, Namie Yagiri was running from the spot.

“Huh?! Sister, wait! Where’s the head—?!” Seiji called out after her, but she was already out of hearing range.

Impulses exploded within her, fiercely pumping from her heart and through all the muscles of her body.

Like a living engine, Namie Yagiri could not help but sprint at full speed for the next five minutes, before the muscles collapsed with fatigue at last.

Five minutes later, Ikebukuro

“Why are you so angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

“You are angry.”

Seiji and Mika were arguing as they walked away from the Yagiri Pharmaceuticals warehouse. Technically, he was the one walking, carrying her on his back and hoping to hail a taxi while she recovered from the effects of the drug. But something was wrong with her attitude.

“Fine, fine, you aren’t angry. At least tell me what I did.”

“…You have no idea how a woman feels, Seiji,” she said, turning her head so that her cheek rested against his shoulder. “I know that you really love my face, not me…that you love the real head…but that just makes it even more important if you’re in love not to kiss your own sister…”

Mika never cared how much Seiji spoke to other women, but for some reason, her way of thinking was different at this moment. Was it because this was Namie Yagiri, the woman who declared herself an official rival for his love?

…I’m the worst. He learned my secrets; he should be far more angry with me than the other way around…

She felt disgusted at the way she was taking it all out on him. She buried her face into the middle of his back, ready to let the tears flow—

“I didn’t.”

“…?”

He openly admitted, “When I grabbed her face and pulled it closer, I put my fingers in between our mouths, just like this.”

He held out two fingers and laid them sideways over his lips, then craned his neck and wondered, “For some reason, she assumed it was a real kiss… Based on the way she raced out of there, it must have really creeped her out. Funny, given how much she used to hug me…”

Mika’s mouth was hanging open in shock. Eventually, she closed it and scolded, “Even still…that’s terrible.”

“Really? It is?”

“Yes. This sort of thing doesn’t work on logic,” she said, practically sulking.

“Ha-ha!” He couldn’t help it.

“…What’s so funny?”

“You finally did it.”

“…Did what?” she asked, looking up.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and happily explained, “Normally, you just go ‘Yeah, yeah!’ and play along with whatever I say. So this is…kinda fresh.”

“Seiji…”

“Plus, there have been lots of surprises today.”

“…!”

Mika tensed. She’d been placing “spies,” so to speak, on all the people Seiji knew as a tool to keep him out of danger. It was an action she didn’t want him to know about, a side of her that even she knew was abnormal.

Mika Harima did not think that sneaking into the home of her beloved and placing bugs there was abnormal. It most certainly was, but not by her standards. However, she did understand that spying in this manner on people she did not love was abnormal by most people’s standards.

Only she knew where her arbitrary, vague boundary between what was normal and abnormal lay—but what mattered now was that Seiji had learned about the thing she herself recognized as abnormal.

“Umm…”

She knew she had to say something, but no words came. Normally, she could talk about her love for him without ever running out of words, but now she found herself at a loss.

Thankfully, he spoke before she needed to.

“Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t try to pretend I’m a saint or anything. I’m just nosy. If I find out someone I know is in trouble, I suppose I might be inclined to stick my nose into it, too.”

“Seiji…”

Why…? Why is Seiji the one apologizing?

She tried to say something, but once again, Seiji filled the gap.

“But…I’m not going to deny what you did for me, Mika.”

“…”

“I’m starting to lose my grip on what exactly love is. All I know is that I love the head. I can’t explain it. There’s no logic to it. That’s all I can say. I don’t love you, and I only care about my sister as my sister—whatever she happens to feel.”

“Yeah…I know.”

She’d heard that speech many times before. His words were unbearably direct, but there was no lie in them.

After a while, he continued, “But the one thing I won’t do is deny you. I might try to stop you, but I won’t deny your thoughts. I respect your love. I just might not accept it.”

“…!”

“If you caused trouble for someone else out of your love for me…I don’t have the right to stop you from doing it. I heard you mentioning Ryuugamine’s name and some weird words like Kanra and Saika or whatever—but I’m not going to worry about it.”

He doesn’t love me.

“You can tell me the details of that stuff later. Then we can discuss what we should do. After all, maybe something in all that trouble you don’t want me to get involved in has a connection to the real head.”

“…Right.”

But he’ll allow me to love him.

She nodded with a smile, and he sighed. “And despite all this selfish stuff I just said, somehow you still love me. What is it about me, anyway?”

The same question as always. But today, Mika had a different answer than usual.

“I’ll tell you if you decide to love Mika Harima!”

“…Can I love you as a friend?”

“No, only as a lover.”

“Then I guess I’ll never know the answer.”

Mika could pour all her love into him. That was enough for her.

What she truly cared about wasn’t Seiji’s heart. It was her own love for him.

It was an abnormal girl’s eccentric love.

On the other hand, Seiji’s lack of love for her and his acceptance of that abnormality also made him a resident of the abnormal side.

For now, Mika felt that her love was blessed and celebrated.

For now.

Seiji shuffled through the town with Mika on his back, the sun making its slow descent toward the horizon. They continued their nonsensical discussion while ignoring the curious gazes of onlookers, existing only in their own little bubble.

“Still can’t move your limbs?”

“Nope.”

“Liar.”

“Yep.”

“Whatever. Guess I missed the chance to ask her…where the head is.”

“I don’t think she even knows anymore.”

“…Maybe. Maybe that Izaya Orihara you mentioned has it. I’ve heard that name in rumors before—maybe I’ve actually met him somewhere. I could try finding out where he lives and sneaking inside.”

“There’s no need to do that.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve found three different apartments Izaya Orihara has and snuck inside them multiple times…but I never saw any heads.”

“…Oh. Well, there goes that option.”

“Yep.”

“Also, I don’t think sneaking into people’s homes is a good idea.”

“Yep.”

“…What would you have done if you found the head before me?”

“Eaten it.”

“What?”

“If I become one with the head, then you’ll love me, won’t you?”

“Probably not. In fact, it’s pretty much impossible in the first place.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I’d stop you.”

“By killing me?”

“Yeah.”

“I knew it.”

“…Do you hate me now?”

“Huh? Why would I?”

“Never mind.”

“What about me? Not my face, but Mika Harima? You hate me now?”

“Not really…”

“Then…you love me?!”

“Not really…”

“Aww…”

“Don’t ‘aww’ me.”

“Okay, I was kidding. That was a fake ‘aww.’”

“Wow, you gave up fast.”

“…”

“…”

They vanished into the bustle of the city, continuing their endless conversation.

Her love was abnormal.

His sister’s love was abnormal.

But in a way, the boy who bore their love and shrugged it off without batting an eye might have been the most abnormal of all.

The city of Ikebukuro accepted even this abnormal love triangle, playing the same tune it always did.

Swallowing them into its grand flow.

In ways slow, gentle, and majestic.

Night, Shinjuku, apartment

In the usual apartment, its owner still absent, Namie took a shower.

“Seiji…”

How many times had she murmured that name today? It had been at least a hundred times during this shower alone. She pressed her lips and then clutched her body.

I suppose that counts as the first time I’ve ever kissed a man…

The qualifier kissed a man either meant she was disregarding her prior kiss with Mika or that she had experienced it with other women in the past—but in any case, there was nothing in her mind but the image of her beloved brother now.

She let the cold water wash over her, trying to chill the burning fervor of her flesh. If she didn’t, her very sense of reason might crumble into ruin.

Seiji…

“Ha-ha.”

Seiji!

“Ha—ha-ha, ah-ha… Ah-ha-ha-ha… Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…”

Maniacal laughter spilled out of her mouth as his name repeated and echoed in her mind.

There was a saying that love lasts three years while marriage gets stale in three days—but Namie’s love for her brother would never get old.

There was a reason for that, of course; loving her brother was as natural as breathing for her. No human being grows “tired” of breathing.

And just like breathing, Namie could not survive without loving him.

She would continue living, subsisting on her love for her brother.

She would do so tomorrow and the day after that…until the day Seiji no longer existed. Perhaps even beyond that day…

“Seiji…”

She exhaled that breath of desire, the heat of it dissipating into the Ikebukuro night.