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Kei focuses hard until the blurry images from his IBM’s view become clearer. There’s a cluster of trees on the edge of a steep hill with the sound of water just below. He hears a splash, then another, and his IBM catches a glimpse of exactly what he hoped it would.
“This way, Kai!” Kei yells to his friend before running ahead. “Come on!”
Kaito doesn’t have much time to gather his things before his friend is nearly out of sight. “Go on! I’ll catch up.”
Kei continues along, dodging trees and low-lying shrubs as he sprints ahead to the cluster of trees. His descent to the water’s edge is more of an agile fall, and he hits the water with a noisy splash.
“Don’t you dare follow them!” He calls out to what seems to be an empty forest, but his command is soon understood by a large black creature across the stream. With a strange huff of defiance, it rises from the bank, leaving Kei and Kaito far behind with each massive step.
Again, Kei focuses. The IBM’s speed makes the forest a blur of green. Several sets of footprints branch off in every direction, each one a dead end and a bitter reminder of what he’s up against.
“Damn it!” Kei swears to himself, finally climbing out of the shallow water and onto the other side.
“See anything?” Kaito calls out, descending the drop-off with much more grace than his friend. He crosses the water, watching Kei closely, the look of defeat letting him know there’s no reason to rush.
“The prints go everywhere. It’s no use.” Kei sighs, lying backwards onto the muddy ground. “It’s like there’s twenty people with them.”
Kaito sets his belongings on a nearby rock and joins Kei at the water’s edge. “Maybe they’re working with other people?”
"No, that’s not like Tosaki. He’s working alone. Fewer people, fewer problems.”
“How far can they really get in these woods, though?” Kaito reaches for a bottle of water and passes it to Kei. “I mean, they’re just barely ahead of us, right?”
Kei takes a sip of the water, taking his time to respond as he thinks it through. “That’s what I thought.”
“Maybe now is a bad time to rest. Shouldn’t we keep moving?”
Kei shrugs in defeat. “What’s the point? They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do. Why do we have to be the ones to stop them?”
“Well,” Kaito begins carefully. “You said yourself that it’s an ‘even match.’ If anyone can stop them, you can.”
“But nobody really knows that I’m an Ajin too.” Kei replies. “I’d be in just as much trouble if I’m caught later on.”
“Hey, I say use your powers for good while you can.” Kaito encourages. “Plus, I don’t mind hanging out in the woods. It’s a really peaceful place to be.”
Kaito hardly finishes speaking before a loud splash cuts through their conversation. Kei stands up, searching the creek for an explanation as his friend does the same.
“What do you think…” Kaito begins, but Kei hushes him before he can ask.
For a while, they’re both silent, letting the sounds of the forest make the noise. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary.
“Sorry, guess I’m just jumpy.” Kei finally speaks, sitting back down.
“Could’ve been an animal or just a tree branch or something” Kaito says, but he can’t shake the feeling that something is watching them.
He looks over his shoulder, surprised to see that nothing is there as the strange feeling increases. “This place does give me the creeps sometimes.”
“So much for peacefulness.” Kei jokes, watching his friend’s startled reaction. “You ever run into bears or anything?”
“Yeah, every now and then.” Kaito admits. “But you just give them their space and it’s usually fine.”
“Usually?” Kei laughs. “Just usually?”
Kaito smiles,.“Ok, well there was that one time…”
“Kai! Look out!” Kei shouts suddenly, giving his friend just enough time to duck as a gigantic clawed hand sweeps past him.
Kei jumps up, immediately calling his IBM as he does. “Stay put!”
The IBM disobeys and charges forward, striking the opponent IBM across its face, causing its whole body to fade away.
Kaito scrambles to safety on the other side of Kei, both of them in total shock. Kei’s IBM mumbles something sarcastic, then fades into the air and out of existence.
For a moment, neither of them speak. Kei finally gains enough clarity to reach into Kaito’s bag and pull out the tranquilizer guns that they’d hoped would never be used. He disables the safety and hands one to Kaito.
“Don’t shoot unless I say.” He whispers to Kaito, whose stunned silence makes him only able to nod.
“Show yourself!” Kei shouts at the trees, surprised to see two forms slowly emerging.
“Should’ve known they’d never send a pair of inexperienced humans.” A tall, light-haired man taunts as he approaches. A short, dark-haired woman walks beside him with a rather terrifying aura. She’s half his height, but twice as intimidating.
“Tosaki.” Kei identifies the man still a few meters away. “And I’m guessing this is your Ajin.” Kei gestures toward Shimomura.
“She’s not my Ajin. She’s just an Ajin, and you’re lucky your friend there has quick reflexes or we’d be testing to see if he were an Ajin as well.”
“This won’t be very pleasant for either of you if you don’t surrender to the government.” Kei warns, moving his gun to a more threatening position.
Tosaki laughs. “Surrender? You’re really serious?”
“Only if you’ll turn yourself in first.” Shimomura retorts. “Seems fair.”
“The government doesn’t know I’m an Ajin.” Kei says. “And it doesn’t matter anyway. It’s you two that they’re after.”
“It does matter.” Tosaki replies, taking a few more steps towards Kei despite the weapon pointed straight at him.
“You should be far more concerned with Satou’s whereabouts. He’s the dangerous one.” Shimomura moves closer as well. “We’re just trying to go off the grid.”
Kei snorts. “Likely story. You’re probably working for Satou.”
“We’ve already declined his offer, actually.” Shimomura says. “So chasing after us is a waste of time.”
“And capturing us is an even bigger waste of resources.” Tosaki adds. “What do you expect to gain from that?”
“It’s my job and I intend to do it right.”
“If that’s what you really want, then why don’t we work together?” Shimomura’s offer seems sincere but Kei hesitates to trust it.
“Why not? After all, you’ve been holding that gun for a while now. Anyone intent on catching us would’ve already fired it.” Tosaki dares to move even closer until he’s only a meter away. “We could really help you with Satou.”
“Promise us immunity and we’ll do it.” Shimomura joins Tosaki. “That’s all.”
Kei hardly remembers that Kaito is standing next to him until his friend lowers his gun. “It’s not up to me, but…” His voice trails off as he looks to Kei.
Kei wrestles with the sudden proposition. The idea of abandoning his task, of letting his targets go when they’re standing right in front of him seems nearly impossible.
“How do I know I can trust you?” Kei can’t believe he’s asking such a question.
“There’s a man named Nekozawa who has connections with manufacturers at Musashi Heavy Industries.” Shimomura begins. “If you can promise us our safety, we’ll tell you exactly how he’s getting Satou his weapons.”
“And anything else I need to know about Satou.” Kei demands. “I won’t have time to play secrets if we go through with this.”
“Consider it done.” Shimomura agrees. “There’s a hideout about half a kilometer from here if you’d like to join us.”
Kei lowers his weapon. “Alright, lead the way.”
Kaito stares at him, wide-eyed and silent, breaking his trance just long enough to grab the bags and return to the group.
“Sorry my ghost almost got you.” Shimomura apologizes. “I don’t think I got your name.”
“K-kaito. My name is Kaito.”
“Well Kaito, don’t worry. It won’t happen again.”
Kaito nods weakly, still shocked by the whole turn of events. He stumbles through the thick brush of the forest floor, wondering if he should run for his life or keep following his friend.
“Kai’s the one you should thank.” Kei says. “Without him, I never would’ve made it this far through the woods.”
“That’s exactly why our hideout is here.” Tosaki stops walking and looks around. “This place isn’t exactly easy to find.”
“I’ll do my best to keep you hidden.” Kei says. “But this fight with Satou won’t be easy.”
“That’s not news to us.” Shimomura warns. “He’s convinced violence will solve this.”
“You think he’s wrong?” Kei asks. “I mean, if it works…”
Shimomura shakes her head, “No it would work, but it’s not sustainable. He doesn’t see that yet, and if we can prevent him from destroying everything we’re at least going to try.”
For a second, Kei is forced to think about the reality of Satou’s plan. Killing off everyone but Ajin probably would ensure their rights, but…
He looks over at Kai.
Not everyone is an Ajin and the thought of putting Kai through something so awful is too much to think about.
Gradually a rooftop comes into view above the treeline as they approach the hideout. Kei’s expectations for the day could not have been more off, but he’s not about to risk Kai’s life for anything. Not for temporary fame from the government or media and certainly not for something as useless as money.
Really, nothing has changed. He’s still chasing the enemy. Now he just has more allies to join in the pursuit.