Kouta brought Yumi to the building he'd woken up in. The same place where Saki's lab was.
Yumi followed Kouta through the entrance door on the side of the building. First thing she noticed upon walking inside was that it reminded her of a nightclub. Flashing lights, loud music, dancing customers. Kouta took her past all of that into a carpeted hallway that led to several office rooms. Yumi saw a man walking their way with his eyes closed. Both the man and Kouta stopped just a few feet from each other.
The man was none other than Abe Shinya. He opened his eyes. First he looked at Kouta, then at Yumi. "It appears that you've achieved your goal. What will you do now?"
Kouta looked up at him. "My main goal never changed. There's someone I have to kill."
The slightest smile of intrigue was on Shinya's face. "Oh? And who is that if I might ask?"
"I don't know yet. But when I do, he's dead."
"I see. Come to my office later if you have time."
Shinya continued walking.
Kouta led Yumi down to the basement. "Who was that man?" Yumi asked.
"Abe Shinya. A dangerous man. Stay away from him." Kouta replied.
The two walked into a dark hallway. Kouta frowned. "Something's not right...all of the people I saw...they were emitting something that felt like...inferiority. Yumi does too, but not as intense...what is that?"
Kouta opened up a metal door. Saki was inside doing whatever with her equipment.
Saki turned around. "Oh, Kouta, you're back. And you've found your friend." She waved at Yumi with a smile.
Yumi gave her a half-hearted wave back.
Kouta walked up to Saki. "Saki. You're a researcher right? You mentioned something about Gates before. Tell me about them."
Saki nodded. "Alright. No problem. All living creatures have something called a Gate. It's basically our connection to the spirit realm. By default our Gates are closed, but the ones we call Espers have their Gates opened already. Some people have Gates that are larger than others, but traditionally the size of the Gate determines how powerful one is. Some people might also have what's called a Guardian. Usually a Guardian is a ghoul who was randomly summoned from the spirit world to watch over their host. Anything else you wanna know?"
Kouta determined that she was telling the truth. "What's a demon?"
Saki put her finger to her chin. "Demon? If I recall, a demon is really a ghoul that has slain other ghouls. Ghouls gain strength by killing their kind. That's all I know. Satisfied?"
Kouta frowned. "Not nearly at all."
Saki shrugged. "I'm sorry that I failed to fulfill your needs master."
Yumi raised an eyebrow. "Master?"
Kouta smacked Saki on the head. "Cut it out will you?!"
Saki teasingly laughed back at him and stuck out her tongue.
Kouta flopped back on the bed. "I don't know what I should do. I'm in a tough spot right now."
Yumi sat down next to him. "Yeah...we're wanted by the police now...and...I don't want to go back home."
Kouta looked at her. "Why?"
"My father came back."
Kouta sat up. "You mean Taro?!"
She nodded once. "I hate him. And I hate mom too for bringing him."
Saki leaned against the wall. "Your dad is Miyazaki Taro? He's pretty big stuff in the Underground. I heard that he has ties to Red Factor."
Kouta's gaze went in her direction. "Red Factor? What's that?"
"Oh? You didn't know? They're like an underground organization. They're enemies of Shinya and the TPD. Though they're private, and no one can tell who is a member and who isn't. But rumors say that Taro is one of 'em."
Yumi frowned. "If he's a part of them then they're no good."
Kouta stood up. "I'm going to see Marie. Yumi, let's go."
Yumi stood up to follow him.
"Hey Kouta, that reminds me." Saki said. She pulled a phone out of her pocket and tossed it to him. "New phone for you. I wiped it so nothing should be on it. I put my number in it just in case."
Kouta pocketed the smartphone. "You stole this?"
Saki put on an innocent face. "Well yeah, but I stole it from this woman who was being rude to me, so fair is fair."
Kouta shook his head. "Thanks...I guess."
He left with Yumi.
Saki smiled seductively. "He's changing. I can feel it. I wonder who will Kouta be in the end... Exciting."
--
Kouta made it to Marie's building. He entered room 9-J where she always was.
Marie didn't seem surprised to see him, in fact she was more concerned. "Kouta...and..."
She looked at Yumi.
Yumi held a hand up. "Miyazaki Yumi, nice to meet you."
Marie raised her eyebrows. "Miyazaki...you don't say."
Kouta took a step forward. "Marie, I need you to check my body for anything irregular."
"Irregular? What brought this on?" She looked into his eyes. She saw an expression that she couldn't tell was fear, or anger.
"Marie. Please."
She sighed. "Fine. I'll get to you in a second. But first." She tossed him a newspaper.
Yumi looked over Kouta's shoulder to read it. The front article had Kouta's face on it.
Murakami Kouta, Dangerous Person Wanted.
Marie crossed her arms. "Seriously. It's all over the internet. Could you be anymore reckless? The entire city wants you now. Keeping you here is even putting me in danger."
Kouta handed the paper to Yumi. She suddenly felt bad. "This is because of me..."
Kouta ignored her. "I did what I had to do. I'd do it again if I had to."
Yumi looked up at him. "But!"
Kouta gave her a sharp glare. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you go to prison for something you didn't do?!" He closed his eyes. "No, actually I would have done it regardless if you did it or not. The TPD is my enemy now, so what. The original goal stays the same; I want to know who is responsible for my family's death."
Marie smiled. "Youth. I miss it."
Kouta looked back at Marie. "Also, you should know. I joined Shinya."
A look of shock immediately came from Marie. She abruptly stood up. "You what?!!"
Kouta crossed his arms. "It's only for the time being, but it's a decision I had to make. It was a life or death situation."
Marie grabbed him by the shirt. "Do you know what you're getting yourself into right now?!! I thought I told you to stay away from that man!! He'll kill you!!"
Kouta gently grabbed both of her wrists and got her off of him. "I know. But he won't kill me. Yet. I realized that there's too much I don't know by myself. He's useful to me right now. I'll be getting closer to what I need to be doing."
Marie sat back in her chair looking defeated.
Yumi noticed her reactions. "Um, excuse me, but it looks like you know this Shinya person. Did he do something to you?"
Marie pulled the collar of her blouse down to where you could see the top of her chest. A blue insignia of a ouroboros was there. Kouta recognized it. It was the same mark that Saki put on herself.
"Where did you get that?!" Kouta asked.
Marie covered it back up. "Shinya put it on me a long time ago. He came to me hurt one day. This was before he became known around Tokyo. I healed him not knowing who he was and he branded me after finding out my talents. Since then he's been using me to make and supply rare medicines and drugs for him. He owns me, so if he demands something of me, I'm not able to deny him."
"How long ago was this?" Yumi asked.
"Somewhere close to twenty years ago." she replied.
"You don't look that old." Kouta said flatly.
Yumi hit him on his head. "Don't joke around at a time like this!"
Kouta didn't flinch from Yumi's hit. "I'm not joking."
Marie smiled softly. "No it's okay. I understand that my appearance can be misleading, but I'm only forty-two."
Yumi's mouth dropped. "No way!" she exclaimed.
Marie got up. "Yes, it's true. I've come across some miracle workers during my time here."
Kouta looked around. "Twenty years in this place? Don't you get tired of it all?"
Marie went through some drawers. "Yes. If I'm being honest then I'd much rather spend all of my time in my own research, but as you know, I can not. That's why I wanted you to stay away from him. Once he gets a hold of you, it's impossible to leave. Even in your case, where he didn't brand you, he knows that you can't hide from him." She pulled out some clear tubes and a syringe. "Lay down on that bed for me and we can get started."
--
Some while later, Kouta was asleep on the bed with tubes going into his arms and legs. He also had various pads placed on his chest and forehead to monitor his body's systems. All the while Yumi sat besides the bed waiting patiently.
Marie looked over the results on the computer. "That's odd..."
Yumi lifted her head up. "What is?"
"Kouta's brain activity is off the charts. And I don't mean because of his ESP. My biofeedback tech is suited precisely for espers, so for it to be acting like this...it's unbelievable. And that's not all..."
Marie pulled up a graph of the human body on the screen. Yumi got up and took a look. Marie pointed to it. "This shows me the activity of a person's Gate. The blue dot here shows me that Kouta's Gate is indeed active, and the electromagnetic signals from it are spreading throughout his body. This is normal, and a sign of healthiness."
Yumi pointed to the screen. "But what's this red dot?"
Marie turned around in her chair and looked at Kouta. "Well that would mean that there's a second Gate, which should be impossible, as all living beings possess only one. The machine is reading it as a irregularity, so I can't get a good read on it. But it's definitely there."
--
It was nighttime. Takeshi pulled up in his car in front of a dark alley. He got out of his car. There was a man who could be barely seen in the shadows. Takeshi walked up to him.
Takeshi smiled. "It really is you. Bassui Sano."
The man pushed his glasses up. "Of course it is. You're an old friend of mine, I'd do anything to help out."
Takeshi quickly got serious. "What you told me over the phone. Is it true? You can catch him?"
Bassui smiled slyly. "I have my ways, I assure you."
Takeshi held out a briefcase. "I assume that you won't do it for free."
Bassui took the case. "You know me so well Takeshi. This is why we get along."
Takeshi went back to his car. "This stays between us, keep your mouth shut. Got it?"
The man nodded. "Silent as a dead man." He chuckled.