Epilogue

When I opened my eyes, I saw a white ceiling.

My nose caught the smell of chemicals. I ached all over. It didn't take me long to register that this was a hospital.

"So you're awake, huh?"

A little ways from the bed, I heard a woman's low voice. When I turned my head, my eyes found a familiar redheaded police officer. Fuubi Kase was peeling a piece of fruit.

"Want an apple?"

"…That's an assassin for you. Put a knife in your hand and the results are first-class," I muttered. I was gazing at the extraordinarily thin ribbon of skin from that perfectly peeled apple. "And? How long was I out?"

I couldn't see any sunlight around the edges of the curtain. That meant it had been at least half a day.

"Mm, about forty hours," Ms. Fuubi said, glancing at her watch. Apparently, I'd slacked off even longer than I'd figured.

"Well, you woke up earlier than the former Ace Detective," she said, then admonished me to stay in bed.

"…So, Ms. Fuubi. Why are you here?"

She started to get out a cigarette…then put it back in the carton. Was she hesitant to smoke in a hospital room, or was this…?

"There are three things I need to tell you."

I could feel Ms. Fuubi's eyes on me, but as she began to fill me in, I gazed at the ceiling.

"First: Charlotte Arisaka Anderson is in the ICU, unconscious."

During that showdown at the abandoned building, Seed had hurled Charlie out of a three-story parking garage. She probably hadn't been conscious when she hit the ground; she couldn't do anything to break her fall. The fact that she was alive at all was practically a miracle.

"What's her current condition?"

"No idea. I'm not a doctor," Ms. Fuubi said. I'd heard her say that before. "Now everything depends on how strong her will is."

She didn't clarify what she meant by "will." When I thought of what Charlie wanted most right now, though, I didn't even need to ask.

"Second: We believe Seed has Yui Saikawa."

During that showdown, briars had attacked out of nowhere. They'd swallowed Saikawa, and she'd vanished.

"Is she all right? Where is she now?"

Seed was planning to use Saikawa as his vessel. That meant he wouldn't kill her. But if he'd already taken over her body…

"I'm using everything I've got to search for her. At this point, though, Seed isn't making any obvious moves."

"…On the other hand, that's no guarantee that Saikawa is safe."

We had to figure out a way to rescue her, fast, before it really was too late. "So, Ms. Fuubi." I sat up in bed.

"Where is Natsunagi?"

She'd told me about Charlotte and Saikawa, so Natsunagi was the only one left.

She had gone into battle against Seed on her own, in my place— "I was wrong. She was a detective," Ms. Fuubi murmured.

"She was willing to make any sacrifice to carry out her duty. She inherited that spirit of self-sacrifice from the former Ace Detective. In both name and deed, she was—"

The next moment, Ms. Fuubi's face was right in front of me. "What's the point of hitting me?" she asked.

I'd thrown off the covers and grabbed her before I was even aware of it. I knew.

I didn't need anybody to tell me it was pointless.

I just didn't want to hear that one final word from anybody. "Save that punch for the person you really need to give it to."

Gently, Ms. Fuubi removed my hand from her shirtfront. Then she walked out of the hospital room without another word.

I just stood there.

I knew already, really.

I was just scared to admit it. "Natsunagi is…"

The detective was already dead.