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The Market
The first time was in the tumult of Bangkok's floating market. Shin was on a rescue mission with Taro, Heisuke, and Amane, trying to filter through the mental chatter of passersby to spot members of Uzuki. Suddenly, a familiar frequency pierced the chaos: a cold, almost cutting silence.
He turned his head and saw her.AkiraShe walked alone along a wooden platform, her frail figure blending into the crowd. She wore a straw hat to hide her face, but Shin recognized her gait. She stopped in front of a stall selling handcrafted daggers.
“How much for this dagger?” she said, showing a dagger wrapped in a bandage.
The salesman looks at her and replies mockingly.
“These are not for you, miss; these are weapons used for fishing but also by international assassins,” he replied.
Shin felt his heart clench. He could hear the echo of her determination: she wasn't looking for a memory, she was looking for a tool to kill.
“She seems even more determined than during her attack at the TCG,” Shin thinks.
“I can’t stop him in front of everyone, especially if the Slur team is around,” Shin thought.
“I’m an apprentice assassin on a mission, and I want your fucking dagger, so please give it to me,” she said, almost screaming, her eyes dark.
The vendor complies and gives the dagger to Akira, who immediately puts it in her pocket. Shin had never seen him angry before... besides, it wasn't like him to be.
He kept his distance, hidden behind a fruit stall. He didn't take a step toward her. He knew that if she saw him, she would see the worry in his eyes, and she would flee even further and wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
The Neon Lights of Sukhumvit
The second time was in the pouring rain, a few hours after the attack. Shin was following a trail that led to an illegal club. Crossing a flooded alley, he looked up at a metal footbridge.
Akira stood there, motionless in the downpour, watching the cars go by below. The pink and blue neon lights reflected off his skin, giving him a ghostly appearance. Shin froze. Using his powers, he captured a fragment of his thoughts: an image of his aunt Rion, then Uzuki's bloodied face.
Then another image, this time of Uzuki with Rion's personality, who seemed to be speaking in another language…
It was a downward spiral of self-destruction. Shin clenched his fists, his hand trembling on the hilt of his weapon. He wanted to shout her name, drag her back to the store, tell her that Sakamoto would take care of everything. But the "noise" around him brought him back to reality: three low-level mercenaries were watching him from the shadows. Shin silently stepped aside, drawing the killers' attention to himself to clear Akira's path, without her ever noticing.
3. The Temple of Dawn
The third time was at sunrise, near Wat Arun. Shin was exhausted, his telepathic abilities saturated by fatigue. He had sat down on a bench to catch his breath when he saw a figure bow before a statue.
It was her. This time, she seemed to be praying, or perhaps simply seeking a moment of peace. Shin froze. For the first time, he sensed no bloodlust in her, just immense loneliness. He wondered if she knew he was there, barely twenty meters away.
One word would have been enough. But as he was about to get up, he sensed a murderous intent coming from a nearby rooftop. A sniper. Shin didn't hesitate for a second: he leaped in the opposite direction from Akira, triggering a noisy diversion that forced the shooter to focus on him. When the dust settled and Shin took cover, Akira had vanished, safe and sound, unaware that she had just escaped death thanks to the "vagabond" she had been fleeing.
Hangar
The hangar air was thick with the smell of kerosene and dust. Shin moved cautiously, every muscle in his body screaming in pain from the previous battles. His ears were ringing, but his mental radar suddenly went haywire.
She is standing there in front of the building.
This time, it wasn't a fleeting glimpse in the street. It was a massive, overwhelming presence, that of a predator ready to pounce. Shin turned the corner of a shipping crate and found himself face to face with it.
Sakamoto saw a sign for Shin not to interfere; he wanted to see what she planned to do.
Akira was no longer wearing her straw hat. Her hair was disheveled, and her gaze was that of a stranger. She held her dagger, the point directed towards the ground, but ready to rise again in a flash.
"You again," she said, her voice dry from the country's heat, as she watched Shin emerge from his hiding place…
“She must have seen me with her paths… luckily she didn’t see Mr. Sakamoto,” Shin thought.
Shin stopped, breathless, a trickle of blood running down his temple. For the first time on this journey, he was no longer hiding.
"You have no idea how hard it was for me to follow you without being spotted, Akira," he said with a tired smile. "Now put that dagger down. We're going home."
Akira stared at him, surprised by the frankness of his words. In her mind, she suddenly realized that the shadows she thought she'd seen these past few hours, the miraculous diversions, and the enemies who mysteriously vanished... it wasn't luck. It was him.
"You're an idiot, Shin," she murmured, but the tension in her shoulders eased a notch.
"Maybe," he replied, finally approaching. "But I'm the idiot who won't let you face Uzuki alone."
— “You can’t beat me,” she replied, running towards him. She jumped and kicked Shin on the head, knocking him down. “I won’t let an idiot ruin my plan!” she said.
Kanaguri appears, he signals to Akira to move forward before beginning his plan, Shin grabs his hand
“Don’t do it, I’m sure we can find another way to get your revenge!” he said.
— “Not even in your dreams,” she said, crushing his hand with her shoe before disappearing.