"So you think it was her choice to give those blades to the boy?" Tetsuya asked, seeking confirmation of Akizame's words.
"Yes. I spent three years with them… and I entrusted my life to Ren many times." His gaze softened, veiled by a melancholy he could hardly hide.
"Then why do you think she gave them to him?" Tetsuya pressed.
"I mean… what kind of relationship tied those two together?" He brought a hand to his chin, thinking.
"That's a question I've been asking myself as well…" Akizame murmured.
He briefly looked away from the road and checked the rearview mirror.
"Maybe she knows something…"
Akizame noticed it immediately.
Yume was about to wake up.
—Where am I…?—
The girl's mind and vision were still clouded.
She sat up in the back seat.
Little by little, the objects around her began to come into focus.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Tetsuya greeted her in a provocative tone.
"The Reikeitai…!" she exclaimed, still not fully lucid.
Yume turned to the side and tried to kick the car door to free herself.
Her foot struck a thin sheet of ice that appeared out of nowhere, cushioning the blow.
"You'd better not move yet." Tetsuya's voice sounded like a threat.
The ice reshaped itself, becoming sharp and stretching toward Yume.
"Sylpha, appear!" she tried to summon her spirit.
—It's useless.— Akizame thought, already knowing the outcome.
—My spirit… why… why isn't it appearing?— With that thought pounding in her head, Yume froze.
"Tetsuya, that's enough now," his companion warned him.
"Tsk… fine." He lowered the window and gestured toward the roof of the car.
Perched there was the boy's spirit.
At his command, the figure vanished.
—I can't feel her either…— Cold sweat ran down Yume's back, unable to sense her companion's presence.
"Don't worry." Akizame's voice snapped her back to reality.
"Yume, considering how you came out of the battle at White Place…" he paused briefly.
"Thrashing around like that will only make things worse," he warned her.
"Akizame, what happened to my spirit?" she asked through clenched teeth, clearly worried.
"The handcuffs," he replied vaguely.
The girl lowered her gaze to her wrists, focusing on the crystal embedded in the metal.
"That yellow crystal is a spiritual crystal. It blocks spirit summoning," he explained calmly.
"Blocks summoning…? What are you talking about? I've never heard of anything like that!"
"That's normal," Tetsuya cut in.
"Only the Reikeitai possess them, and only we know their origin." He too remained deliberately vague.
"Origin?" Yume repeated, puzzled.
"Now that you've calmed down, how about you answer a few questions?" Akizame's tone grew more serious.
"W-what do you want to ask me?" she hesitated.
"Tell me… can you confirm whether Kaito is truly dead?"
Akizame's question brought everything that had happened at White Place rushing back to Yume.
The collapsing rubble.
Kaito crushed beneath the weight of the tower.
"K-Kaito…" Her gaze became distant, fractured by panic.
"Akizame! What are you saying?! Didn't he make it out of the tower?!"
She suddenly lunged forward toward the front seats, her body tense with fear.
Akizame exchanged a glance with Tetsuya before answering.
"No…"
Those words struck Yume like a crushing blow.
"However, there's something else you should know…"
Her eyes lit up, pierced by sudden hope.
"Under the rubble we found five bodies," Akizame explained.
"Chizuro Fuyumi, Reiji Fuyumi, and the entire elite squad," Tetsuya added, picking up the thread.
"As for your friend's body, there was no trace of it," Akizame continued.
"So you're telling me he's still alive?" Yume asked, her heart in her throat.
"That's what we were hoping you'd tell us," Tetsuya replied provocatively.
—If Kaito is alive, he'll be injured… he'll need me… I have to get out of this car.— Yume's thoughts hardened into resolve.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked the members of the Reikeitai.
"Do you really need to ask?" Akizame replied without taking his eyes off the road.
"Yume, I've done some research on you. What you did with the criminal known as Shirogane…"
The girl jolted at those words.
"In this world, you can't escape your actions," Akizame said, meeting her gaze.
"We're taking you to Yorigakure."
Two hours later, Yume was still trapped in the car.
Beyond the window, the view opened onto a beach overlooking the sea.
Behind the stretch of golden sand rose the largest prison in Fuyoko, massive and imposing, like a shadow dominating the coastline.
"There it is, finally," Tetsuya exclaimed.
—That's Yorigakure!?— Yume's astonishment was etched across her face.
On the outskirts of the prison stood several buildings, all very similar to one another, with ground covered in pale, irregular stones.
At the center of the settlement, the prison towered toward the sky. It was divided into three levels: the first, the base, was the largest and supported the two upper floors. The overall structure resembled an enormous cone divided into several sections.
Yume and the members of the Reikeitai crossed the entire town until they passed through the prison's main gate.
The sound of Akizame's car engine died away.
"Come on, let's get out." He opened the door and stepped outside.
Tetsuya took charge of pulling Yume out.
The girl was dragged by the arm.
—I can't do anything…— she clenched her teeth, staring at the boy's grip around her wrist.
As soon as they crossed the threshold, they found themselves in a spacious room.
To the left was a counter, while on the right stood a small table surrounded by several sofas.
Ahead of them, on one side, was access to an elevator; on the other, the entrance to the first cells.
"Wasn't the prison warden supposed to greet us?" Tetsuya asked his companion.
"Well, let's take the chance to look around," Akizame remarked, scanning the area.
"After all, you know the rumors surrounding this prison too."
"What rumors?"
The elevator doors opened, and a man spoke those words.
He couldn't have been older than thirty-five. He wore a variant of the Reikeitai uniform: instead of the usual black and white, his was black and red.
His face looked young, free of wrinkles, but a long scar crossed his left eye, forcing him to keep it permanently closed.
His hair, slightly messy and parted down the middle, immediately caught the eye because of its color: a vivid, unnatural purple.
"You didn't answer me, Mr. Akizame."
The air suddenly grew heavy.
—So this is the prison warden…?— Yume thought, holding her breath.
She was still unaware of what awaited her in Yorigakure.