"Cough… cough."
At sunset the sky burns red.
Reze opens her eyes and spits a clot of blood.
She sits up with difficulty, looks down at a body almost fully healed, and uses the wall to stand.
In the end she failed to keep those two.
First, because making too big a scene would draw in other factions; second… the two weapon hybrids who showed up later caught her off guard.
Snake woman. Katana Man. Whip hybrid. Flamethrower hybrid…
Four-on-one—she came up just short.
Limping out of the alley, Reze's eyes hold a thread of doubt.
Those four together—and three of them rare weapon hybrids… Is that really something the Gun Devil can pull off? And all for the heart of that girl Denji?
And her, too… Guinea Pig's mission for her is also to obtain the Chainsaw Man's heart.
What's so special about that girl?
Thinking, Reze suddenly remembers Su Tang.
Teacher… he's gotten so close to that girl. He can't possibly remain untouched…
Worry replaces doubt.
Convince him to run? But would he agree…
She doesn't know—and has little confidence.
But she feels she should try.
She heads to a nearby newsstand and picks up a rush-printed paper, the ink still tacky.
The headline screams:
"Tokyo Hero the Black-Cloaked Man Appears Again!!"
"Tokyo Hero the Black-Cloaked Man Appears Again—The Dragon Devil's Contractor Deserves the Name; Shadow Ninjas Become His Signature…"
Su Tang rubs his temples as he reads the front page.
He clearly forced everyone away at the time, yet whoever wrote this makes it sound like they were on the scene—and their descriptions are wildly exaggerated: clones, Shoryuken, Azure Dragon Tail…
It's enough to make him doubt himself. Could those random punches really have some hidden "technique"?
"Eh? Mr. Su Tang, you're awake?!"
A delighted voice chirps beside him.
"Mm. Just woke." Half-sitting against the ward wall, Su Tang folds the paper and sets it aside, looking to Denji. "You were doing problems, so I didn't interrupt."
"Hee-hee." Denji beams at the praise, tosses her math book aside, and scratches her head. "I remember Mr. Su Tang said once I master linear equations in one variable, you'll take me on a trip—so I'm cramming."
"Oh—are you all right though? You just collapsed there this morning…"
"I'm fine. Nothing serious."
Seeing her worry, Su Tang waves a hand. "Just not used to a new move. A day or two of rest and I'll be okay."
He isn't lying to soothe her.
It really isn't serious.
The new technique, inspired by the Holy Lord, is still crude. The good-evil split lasted too long and triggered a failsafe he'd set, forcing the two Su Tangs to merge; the internal clash knocked him out.
Now the Tiger Talisman is slowly balancing yin and yang within him. He should be normal again by tomorrow.
"Okay." Reassured, Denji relaxes at once.
She never doubts what Mr. Su Tang says.
"Right—where are Power and Ponytail?"
"Ponytail's lying in the ward next door; probably still out. Dunno where the others are. But Power's under me."
Denji snickers.
Under you?
Su Tang blinks, leans to look.
From his lower angle before, he'd thought Denji was on the floor. She isn't. She's sitting on Power's face.
Very firmly—no wonder he hadn't heard Power's voice.
"Mmph mmph!" Power flails her hands. Denji scoots and lets her up. "I was afraid this scumbag would wake up and start yelling and disturb Mr. Su Tang's rest, so I covered her mouth."
"Huff, huff…" Gulping fresh air, Power lunges at Denji, bellowing, "Brat! Think who saved you—me! Not only no kowtow, you even covered my mouth… and you call that covering?!"
Predictably, the bickering starts again.
Power loses again and again, but she has a goldfish memory for this sort of thing and soon forgets—so she keeps losing and keeps fighting.
Sometimes she pops off and pins Denji under her.
Like this time.
Watching them roughhouse, a smile on his lips, Su Tang simply enjoys the moment.
Outside the window, the sun sinks and night rises. At the door…
A knock?
"Teacher… are you in there?"
The girlish voice makes Su Tang pause—he didn't expect Reze.
Surprise warms his face. "It's me. Come in."
Creak—the door swings open.
A violet-haired figure slips in lightly.
"Teacher, how are you feeling now?"
Reze sets the fruit basket on the table and asks with concern.
"I was okay—now that you're here, I'm very much okay." Su Tang smiles.
A hospital visit—especially from someone unexpected—is a small joy.
"Eh? Old woman, you came?" Denji sees Reze too. She frees one hand from pinning Power and waves. "Welcome—mmph!"
"Hah! Fighting me and you dare get distracted!" Power seizes the chance to reverse and lock Denji beneath her again, crowing, "Hahaha! I truly am the strongest! The ever-victorious general!"
"Is it always this lively at your place, Teacher?"
Watching the tangle of the two, Reze asks with a wry face.
"Mm… I'm used to it." Su Tang sighs with a smile.
"By the way—how did you know I was here?"
"The paper." Reze nods at the fresh issue on the table. "It said injured Public Safety personnel were sent to this hospital. I asked your name at the desk and found you."
Su Tang nods. "Public Safety's casualties must be heavy. The attack came so suddenly—I have no idea what the other side was after."
"Denji's heart, I suppose."
"Denji's heart?" Su Tang lowers his voice reflexively. He looks at the girl hesitating before him, brows lifting. "How do you know that?"
"…"
Reze doesn't answer. She looks first to Power and Denji.
Su Tang takes the hint and lifts his head. "You two go on home. I'll come back later."
"Eh? Mr. Su Tang won't come with us?"
Denji looks between Reze and Su Tang, tilts her head. "Okay, I get it—you're going to talk about grown-up stuff again… We'll go first."
She drags Power out, still grappling.
A last call drifts back:
"Come back early!"
Su Tang chuckles.
Then looks to Reze.
The violet-haired girl is staring after Denji with open envy; emerald eyes full of longing.
"What's wrong?" Su Tang asks.
"Nothing." Reze faces him again and draws a deep breath.
"Teacher… before anything else, I have to confess something."
Her throat works dryly, nerves plain in her voice—fear and worry jostling.
Still, she screws up her courage and blurts, "I—I'm actually an agent of the Soviet Guinea Pig!"
Saying those words seems to drain her completely. She immediately ducks her head, not daring to look at him.
But none of the reactions she imagines appears.
She hears only a mild:
"And then?"
Eh?
She peeks up, trying to read his face.
Only to see an exasperated smile.
"I'm not going to eat you. Why so careful?" Su Tang can't help laughing.
This is nothing like Reze expected. She'd imagined anger, scolding, disappointment—she hadn't imagined… he would smile.
"But… but I belong to Guinea Pig…"
"Right. So what?"
"Maybe you don't know what Guinea Pig is—it's the Soviet—"
"The Soviet special service, mm? What, testing my basic Public Safety knowledge?" He cuts in, smiling. "Want me to recite a dossier on Guinea Pig?"
"Huh?" Reze blinks.
"Then—Teacher, you're not…"
"Not angry? Not shocked?" Su Tang shakes his head, gentle. "Ever consider I'd already guessed?"
!
Reze's eyes widen.
She remembers his question that night at school.
—Reze, you're not a Tokyo local, are you?
"Looks like you figured it out."
Seeing the blush on her face, Su Tang's eyes hold a trace of wonder. "I suspected your background wasn't ordinary—but I didn't expect you to be Guinea Pig. That… is dramatic."
Tokyo isn't only full of lunatics—it's full of spies.
Valmont told him as much during their second conversation.
And here it is.
"Eh…" Reze sinks onto the bed's edge. The speech she'd rehearsed all the way here turns to wastepaper; her brain stalls.
"Wake up—we were talking business."
Su Tang taps her shoulder. "You said Denji's heart—what about it?"
"Her heart… oh, right, her heart!"
Reze comes back to herself and realizes her worry has somehow dissolved.
She flicks a lock from her brow; her full lips part. "Those two's goal is Denji's heart."
"How do you know?"
"I chased them and asked."
"You chased them?" Su Tang's brow furrows at once. He studies her face, voice going low. "Those two are dangerous. Charging in like that… you weren't hurt, were you?"
Reze lifts her gaze. Emerald eyes meet his worried, caring face.
She hadn't expected his first question to be whether she was okay.
Her voice thickens; a smile tugs at her mouth. She shakes her head. "I'm fine. They weren't my match yet. But… they had help. A whip hybrid. A flamethrower hybrid. Both weapon hybrids like Katana Man and Denji."
Su Tang's eyelid jumps.
As Reze speaks, he keeps his eyes on her.
Katana Man and the snake woman were already hard enough; add two equally nasty weapon hybrids—it isn't hard to imagine how grueling her fight was.
"No more impulsiveness next time." he says.
"Okay! I'll do whatever Teacher says!" Reze dabs at the wetness at her lashes and forces a laugh. "Wind was a bit strong just now… Also, Guinea Pig's mission for me is to obtain the Chainsaw Man's heart."
He pretends not to notice the clumsy subject change.
"The Chainsaw Man is Denji, right? Guinea Pig wants her heart, too? When did that order come?"
"The day Teacher first gave me flowers." She answers at once.
Clearly etched in memory.
"The day I first gave you flowers…" Su Tang frowns. Wasn't that the day Valmont told him Guinea Pig had a big move coming?
So their target wasn't him, but Denji.
Because the morning's battle exposed the Chainsaw Man.
"Do you know what Denji's heart is for?" he asks.
"No. My order only says to obtain the heart—not what it does. It doesn't even name Denji. I learned the Chainsaw Man is Denji on my own."
Reze shakes her head.
"Mm…" Su Tang hums.
"Teacher…"
"What is it?"
"Whatever Denji's identity or specialness… she's already a vortex's center. The closer you are, the more likely you'll be dragged in… Teacher, you… come away with me."
Reze says, "Far from Denji. Far from the vortex…"
"No."
"…Okay."
He refuses without hesitation. Puzzled when she doesn't argue, he asks, "Eh? You're not going to press me?"
"Truth is, on my way here I thought of a hundred things to say if you refused…" Reze's emerald eyes glimmer like stars. "But just now, my mind changed."
"I'm thinking—if Teacher won't leave…"
She looks at him quietly, then smiles, brave and bright:
"Then I'll stay—"
"And face everything with Teacher!"
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