When dawn broke, Tatsuya forced himself out of bed. The weight on his shoulders felt heavier today, as if the world was pushing down harder than usual. He had an appointment with the Colonel, and though he was exhausted, there was no avoiding it.
The walk to the Colonel's office was somber, each step echoing through the empty corridors like a distant reminder of how alone he was. His fingers instinctively brushed the edge of the door before pushing it open.
Inside, the Colonel sat at his desk, his eyes rising to meet Tatsuya's as he entered. But Tatsuya's gaze was immediately drawn elsewhere—to a large picture hanging on the wall behind the Colonel.
A family portrait. A man, a woman, and two children—twin girls, no older than five. The man was unmistakably the Colonel. The twins looked innocent, playful, and the woman…
Tatsuya's breath hitched in his throat.
The woman in the picture was the target he had been tasked to eliminate.
The realization was like a knife twisting in his gut, the room suddenly suffocating. His mind raced. How? How could it be? He had been given a mission, cold and clinical, nothing personal. But this…this was Miyuki's mother?
"Colonel," Tatsuya muttered, his voice unsteady, "Who… who are they?"
The Colonel's expression darkened as he glanced back at the picture, then shifted his gaze back to Tatsuya, his eyes heavy with an emotion that seemed foreign to him. "That," the Colonel said, his voice low and deliberate, "is…was only my family."
Tatsuya felt his world collapse around him. He stared at the Colonel, waiting for the rest of the explanation that would make this all make sense—but nothing could prepare him for what came next.
"You've met her before," the Colonel continued, his tone filled with a sorrow that cut deep.
The words of confirmation hit Tatsuya like a sledgehammer. His mind reeled, trying to reconcile the mission he'd carried out, the faceless target he had observed from afar, and the woman who had stood before him, motionless in death.
"She was Miyuki's mother." Realisation struck in.
Tatsuya's legs gave way, and he lost balance. His heart pounded in his chest, his pulse echoing in his ears as the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place.
Miyuki… was the daughter of the woman he had been sent to eliminate. The twins in the picture—one of them was Miyuki.
"I didn't know," Tatsuya whispered, his voice hoarse. "I didn't know."
The Colonel sighed; his hands folded tightly in front of him. "No one did. No one knew about our marriage, not until after her death. We kept it hidden. Even Miyuki was being watched because of her ties to her mother. Her mother was too dangerous to ignore. She brought Dutons into this world's technology, knowledge that could change the balance of power. She wasn't someone who could be allowed to roam free."
Tatsuya felt sick to his core. All the missions, all the assignments he'd carried out—this one had been different. He had been a part of something far darker than he'd realized. Miyuki's mother had been a key figure in a larger game, one that spanned governments, technology, and power.
"No one outed you in the mission that day. Miyuki was under watch all the time because of her mother, maybe they found out because of this. Because she was with you."
"When the massacre happened," the Colonel continued, his voice a bitter growl, "orders came down to eliminate her mother. She knew too much. And yet… she didn't run. She should have. She could have disappeared. But she didn't."
Tatsuya's memories resurfaced—the day of the assassination. The cold air, the heavy silence, the way he had stood still, staring at her lifeless body. He had been there.
"I remember," Tatsuya muttered, his voice shaky. "I still remember standing there, looking at her. I… I didn't… I wasn't the one…"
"You didn't kill her yourself," the Colonel said, cutting through Tatsuya's haze of memories. "But you were a part of it. You stood by as it happened. And now, you must live with that."
Tatsuya's chest constricted. The memory played out in vivid detail—the woman lying still, her face peaceful in death, while he stood frozen, unable to move. He hadn't known then who she was. He hadn't known she was connected to Miyuki.
He had been a soldier, following orders. But now, the weight of those orders was too much to bear.
"Miyuki was being watched because of her mother," the Colonel explained, his voice softer now, almost regretful. "She never knew the full extent of what her mother was involved in. But her mother… she was one of the brightest minds of her generation. And that's why they couldn't let her live."
Tatsuya clenched his fists, the anger and regret boiling within him. Miyuki had been targeted because of something she had no control over. Her mother had been the one who brought Dutons into play—an advanced technology that had the potential to shift power on a global scale. And because of that, she had become a threat.
But what haunted Tatsuya most wasn't just the death itself. It was the way it all happened. The way Miyuki's mother had stood there, knowing what was coming, and yet choosing not to run.
"Why didn't she escape?" Tatsuya asked, his voice strained. "She knew… she had to know. Why didn't she leave?"
The Colonel shook his head. "That's something I've never been able to answer. She could've gone underground, could've disappeared into the shadows. But for some reason, she stayed. And it cost her everything."
The room fell into a heavy silence as Tatsuya's mind churned through everything he had just learned. Miyuki's mother—the woman who had been such an integral part of the world's power structure—had chosen not to run. She had accepted her fate. And Miyuki had been caught in the crossfire.
The massacre that had led to her mother's death… Tatsuya had been part of it, even if he hadn't been the one to pull the trigger. He had been a pawn in a game far bigger than he could have imagined.
But now, the pieces were laid bare before him.
"Did Miyuki know?" Tatsuya asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"No," the Colonel replied, his eyes darkening. "She never knew. She believed her mother died in a routine accident. And that's how it will stay."
Tatsuya's heart ached. He had been forced into a web of lies, deceit, and power struggles that had taken away everything he cared about. And now, he was left with nothing but the unbearable weight of the truth.
As the memories of the assassination day flooded back to him, all Tatsuya could see was her lifeless body—Miyuki's mother—lying on the ground before him. The cold, the silence, the stillness. It was a moment that would haunt him for the rest of his life.