Chapter Eleven - Confidence.

The room was silent again after the door shut.

Kazou sat stiff, next to him, Rose rubbed at the angry red marks around her wrists where the cuffs had been. Her eyes were bloodshot—but not from fear. From grief.

"I don't think Nine or Ten did anything… What if this all were an armed robbery?!" Rose exclaims.

"We don't know Rose…" Kazou replies softly.

Behind the two-way mirror, Detective Lisa watched in silence, arms crossed, face unreadable. Beside her stood Inspector Ryouma Natsuki.

"She really believes that boy's innocent," Lisa said.

"He is innocent," Ryouma replied, quietly. "Someone wanted him dead. That's not the profile of a killer. That's the profile of a witness."

"She didn't just run," Ryouma says.

Lisa's arms were crossed.

"No." She replies.

"She planned it," Ryouma said. "She waited until the cameras went down. Got out clean. No security breach, no digital footprint. That's not panic. That's precision… But, what is strong is the fact that she's seven…"

Lisa's eyes didn't leave the glass.

"She's Experiment Nine. She is a clone of a woman. She isn't fully a child. Nine of them are." Lisa spoke.

Ryouma turned slightly, watching her face.

"Do you think she did it?"

Lisa didn't answer. Ryouma looked back into the room. Kazou had his head in his hands. Rose was staring at the table like it had betrayed her.

"She was close to Ten," Ryouma said. "Always watching. Always just behind him. If anyone knew what was going on in that lab, it was her. And now Ten's got a bullet in his head, Fujino's dead, and she's gone. I need a search out. Full perimeter, all sectors. Quiet, but thorough."

Lisa stayed still. Ryouma turned to face her directly.

"Lisa. Would it be okay if you ordered a search for the girl?" A long pause. Then finally, she nodded once.

"Understood." But her tone was flat. Almost too agreeable.

He exhaled through his nose, tired and heavy.

"I'm ruling out Dr. Kuroda—for now," he added. "There's no physical evidence tying him to the murder. His alibi holds up. Whatever's going on... It's deeper than just one mistake."

Lisa gave a small nod. Ryouma turned, walking down the hall, his footsteps echoing into the distance. The moment he disappeared around the corner, Lisa's expression shifted. Subtle. Her eyes narrowed just slightly.

A slow, knowing smile crept across her lips. She looked back through the glass at Kazou. And whispered, under her breath:

"I know it's you, Kuroda. You killed. You can't run."

Then the smile vanished. And she turned away.

* * *

The echo of Ryouma's footsteps faded into the corridor. He didn't look back. His hand slipped into his coat pocket, fingers brushing over a small flash drive tucked inside a crumpled cigarette pack.

At the end of the hallway, he paused by a vending machine. Pressed his forehead lightly against the glass. Rows of bright, colorful snacks blinked back at him. Meaningless. His reflection in the glass looked older than he remembered. Tired. Slightly off. Ryouma straightened up and pulled out a photo. The boy. Ten, curled up in the hospital bed, wires running into his arms, oxygen taped under his nose. He looked so small. So fragile. A child caught in something he never asked for. The photo blurred for a moment.

"We'll figure out who did this to you." He muttered before pulling out a cigarette.

***

The trees tore past her like shadows with claws. Nine ran, faster than her legs knew how. Twigs cracked beneath her bare feet. Blood smeared across her arms, her cheek, her shirt—his blood, maybe hers. The pistol bounced in her grip, too heavy, too real. Her fingers clenched it like a lifeline and a curse. Her breath came in ragged gasps, each one colder than the last. She didn't know how long she'd been running. She didn't care. Only one thing echoed in her skull: "Don't be scared," he whispered. "Once the demon is killed, the soldier can see the end. Run for him. Run away from here. Take the gun, and run." He had said. "Good girl," Ten whispered, his voice like a dark lullaby. "Now pull the trigger." Then the sound. Bang. And then— Nothing.

Suddenly, Nine's feet caught a root. Her body pitched forward. Smack. Face-first into a freezing puddle, mud and water rushing up her nose and mouth. The gun skidded from her hand, clattering against a rock. She stayed there, too stunned to move. Then her shoulders began to shake. Not from cold. From something worse. She rolled over, staring up at the branches above.

The barely sunrisen sky fractured between them like broken glass. She reached for her face and felt the blood there—still wet, still warm.

Did I pull the trigger? Did I kill him? You me… And the end? What did you mean?

Her breath caught. Her throat tightened. She didn't know. She couldn't remember the angle. The moment. All she could remember was Ten's eyes. Calm. Full of something… final. She curled into herself, hands over her ears.

Why? Why did he want me to do that? Why didn't he run with me?

A dry sob clawed its way up her chest. Another. Then more. Her small body shook with them. The puddle turned red as the water soaked into her sleeves. She was only seven. But the guilt—the fear—had aged her a hundred years. And still, she didn't know if she was a murderer… For what felt like hours, but was just minutes, the wind had picked up, rustling the leaves above like whispers she couldn't understand. Her body ached. Her face was scraped, her knees bruised. Blood had dried in her hair. But she didn't move. She blinked slowly, her lashes crusted with dirt. The pistol still lay beside her. It looked smaller now, partly sunken into the mud. Almost like it had never fired a shot. Almost like none of it had happened. But her hands still shook.

Was he dead? Did I shoot him? Or did someone else... while I watched?

Her thoughts were still tangled, splintered. Something about the memory felt off—like her brain had folded the truth in on itself to protect her.

Anyway…

I have to go now.

I have to obey him. You little demon.

***

Lisa couldn't ignore the nagging feeling in her gut. This case—this whole mess with Kuroda and Brook—it wasn't right. She had expected more. Lisa sat in her office, her gaze fixed on the stack of files in front of her. She needed answers. Yes, she had Nine but something felt off. She had to know what was really going on. The silence in her office seemed to grow louder as she processed everything she had learned so far.

"Kazou Kuroda was an intelligent man. Too intelligent for this to be some simple mistake. He had worked with Dr. Fujino for years. The two of them had been close—too close, maybe. But it didn't make sense. All the evidence they had pointed toward a murder performed by a missing child who may or may not be alive. Or even an armed robbery. Yet, Kuroda was being dragged into this."

The more she thought about it, the less certain she became. But there was something about him. Something she couldn't shake. A small voice in her head kept telling her that Kazou was hiding something.

That he was somehow involved, even if she couldn't pinpoint how. Her fingers drummed idly on the desk as she pushed the thought away.

"Kazou Kuroda…" She muttered to herself.

There wasn't enough evidence to frame him—not yet, anyway. And Lisa was careful. Too careful to make a move without the right proof. She couldn't afford to make a mistake like this, not with everything on the line.

"Patience," she muttered to herself, her voice low and determined. "I need more. I won't clear Kuroda until I have more."

She leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. The weight of the case felt heavy on her shoulders, but she wasn't about to give up. Not yet.

"I'll find the truth," she whispered to herself, more determined than ever. "I always do."