Hamazura Shiage pressed his back up against the wall.
He slid down and sat on the ground.
Kuruwa was gone.
The conversation he had with her replayed in the back of his mind.
"Oh, you know. The thing about Hanzou-sama sheltering a small girl."
The truth was, Hamazura Shiage was not in a position where he could brazenly enjoy his life in Academy City.
When he had left the city and gotten caught up in World War III, he had been on the run because it had been determined that he was "an uncertain element that knew too much about the dark side of Academy City".
During the war, Hamazura had gotten ahold of a certain piece of data.
It was known as the Parameter List and was enough to shake Academy City at its core.
But it wasn't perfect.
He had managed to balance the scales, but if the scales tipped past a certain point, the very depths of Academy City would be sure to put together a means of eliminating him.
"I don't know the details, but it seems that girl is being targeted by the upper levels of Academy City. It's as if she would be killed if she walked around the area for half an hour."
At best, the scales were exceedingly unstable.
If they received another large shock, they could be moved in one direction or the other
To prevent that, it was best to lie low.
He needed to take time to see whether the scales were tipped far enough in his favor to risk his life on it.
Basically, he had to not cause any problems.
He should abandon Hanzou and abandon the girl who was being targeted.
"Ah, I can't quite remember her name."
Most likely, that reasoning wasn't wrong.
If he was to ensure his safety, that was the only option left.
He had sworn to protect Takitsubo Rikou.
He wanted to keep danger from her as much as possible. He wanted to avoid having her swallowed up by the city's darkness at all costs.
So the decision to abandon them wasn't wrong.
It wasn't wrong.
But…
"I think it was…Fre…Fre…mea? …Yes, it was Fremea Seivelun. She's about ten years old and has fluffy blonde hair. She was emotionally attached to Komaba-shi, wasn't she?"
Crouching in the alley, Hamazura gritted his teeth.
Komaba Ritoku was the Skill-Out leader who had once fought the city's darkness for the sake of a great number of Level 0s and died for it.
Fremea had been the girl Komaba had fought until the very, very end to protect. Hanzou was most likely sheltering her to carry out Komaba's dying wish.
Fremea was a harmless Level 0 with no connection to Skill-Out.
That harmlessness may have been one of the reasons Komaba had tried to protect her.
Also, Hamazura Shiage knew the family name Seivelun.
Up until then, he hadn't known the family name of the girl emotionally attached to Komaba. Even Komaba, the person closest to her, had merely called her "imported" because that had been his first impression upon hearing the name.
However, Hamazura couldn't fool himself any longer.
Now that he knew this, he had to face this.
"…Frenda Seivelun," muttered Hamazura.
There was a short pause before he continued speaking.
"So she was her little sister…!!"
Frenda had been one of the main members of Item who had fought alongside Mugino Shizuri, Kinuhata Saiai, and Takitsubo Rikou.
He did not know the details of how she had come into contact with the city's dark side and become part of Item.
It was possible Frenda herself had enjoyed fighting.
But…
It was possible it had all started with Fremea.
Was there really nothing wrong with abandoning her?
His friend Hanzou was currently fighting with the city's dark side.
Allowing Fremea to die would be the same as trampling on the feelings of Komaba Ritoku and Frenda.
With all that, was there really nothing wrong with abandoning them?
(…That's right.)
"There isn't anything wrong with it," Hamazura muttered.
He had given voice to his thoughts in order to solidify his view.
His voice gradually grew louder.
"There's nothing wrong with it. There's no way there's anything wrong with keeping danger away from Takitsubo and the rest of Item!! I overcame all that war. I may have been covered in filth, but I finally grabbed this new life with my own two hands!! Like hell I could let that slip away. I will protect what I've obtained on my own no matter what!!"
Still crouched in the alley, Hamazura grabbed his head with his hands.
That's right.
When he thought about it rationally, the most effective way of protecting himself, Takitsubo, and the others was to abandon Hanzou and Fremea here.
That option held the least risk and allowed him to protect those he cared about the easiest.
That was what he should choose if he truly wanted to protect those he cared about.
When he let the callousness sink in, he knew he should just let the problem approaching before his eyes go on by him.
He would choose.
He had to choose.
Now.
Hamazura clicked his tongue and clawed at his head.
"Fuck!! Like hell I can abandon them!!"
He put his hand to the wall and stood up once more.
He ran towards the shadows in the depths of the narrow alleyway that symbolized the city's dark side.
He ran to save his friend who was facing a deadly crisis.
He ran to protect the feelings of the dead.
He didn't contact Takitsubo and the others.
This was Hamazura's problem.
As long as the balance of the scales was unstable, he couldn't get those girls wrapped up in this.
He ran in order to ensure that he would return.
Hamazura Shiage dared to run into the depths of the darkness.