“Are you planning on killing more soldiers in Osaka’s military base or can I let my guard down?”

That question surfaced amidst the beginning of the sunset, in total silence except for the friction of rubber tires on asphalt and the every so often rattling of the vehicle’s metallic structure. Summer was still a good month away but the temperature in the Kansai region at the late hours of the day were already a prelude to the upcoming season. The way the sunset shined dark orange in clear skies left the impression the next day would be one of terrifyingly good weather, especially if military drills and training were to happen.

“Why would I kill the soldiers in Osaka’s military base?” inquired Rei, his head tilted to the left as he switched his gaze from the outside scenery to the vehicle’s driver.

“Why would you kill Tou-san?” asked back Eki, only taking a quick side glance at the super soldier to keep his attention first and foremost on the driving.

“I think… he wouldn’t like me telling you the reason,” said Rei after a brief pause between question and answer. “Or that’s what it feels like to me.”

“As usual, you make absolutely no sense and I can’t understand you or what you say at all…” sighed Eki - both outwardly and inwardly. The fact he knew who Tou Kurose’s killer was wasn’t exactly eating at him, but if more casualties were to happen because he didn’t reveal the culprit… Yes, that would definitely start to eat at his heart and fill the void left with guilt.

“It’s not that complicated of a matter. I think you understand it quite well too,” pointed out Rei, switching his gaze back to the scenery he had missed earlier in the day. “Everybody has things they don’t want others to know, humans and super soldiers alike. Right, Eki-san?”

“Right…” bitterly acknowledged Eki, his hands tightening their grip on the steering wheel. Of course, the source of the guilt would be for having let himself be blackmailed and prioritised his safety as a spy over other lives. He swallowed the large knot on his throat and, albeit a bit hesitantly, asked, “Are there more people you’re planning on killing?”

“Yes,” acknowledged Rei without a shred of hesitation. Not even his expressionless features changed to accommodate the cold-hearted confirmation. “But none of them can be found within the Osaka’s military base."

Eki had to push down and bottle up the urge to ask if there were such targets still left in Tokyo’s military base. He was sure that if he knew the answer to that question, he’d wind up regretting it. Knowing could very well end his life or turn him into an accomplice. He already had a lot on his plate as he jiggled his loyalty to his friends and squadmates and his duty to the ones who saved him from a miserable life as a disposable soldier under a foreign army. He couldn’t afford to complicate his already extremely risky situation even further.

“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?” inquired Rei, turning once again to Eki on the front passenger seat. He silently waited for the slightly surprised soldier to enunciate the next question.

“...Did you ask to come with me because you wanted to talk in private?” asked Eki, still extremely taken aback by Rei’s willingness in answering any questions and doubts he currently had. If it had been him - and probably any other person - he would have done his best to avoid being put in an interrogatory position. Rei truly was a strange creature with an even stranger thinking process.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to see Osaka,” confessed Rei, his cheeks puffing out slightly in what seemed to be either indignation or a pout (in Eki’s perception, at least). “But Murayama-san said we were to multi-task. ‘Killing two birds with one stone’, wasn’t it? You need to go to Osaka. I want to see Osaka. You want to ask me some things. I don’t mind answering them. Multi-tasking.”

“You really have a different way of viewing things,” chuckled Eki despite the complex and tense conversational topic. “Weren’t you the one who called yourself a ‘liar’? Don’t you think it’s a little bit difficult for me to distinguish if you’re telling the truth or lying with a straight face after letting me know that?”

“I don’t know,” said Rei, sitting straight on the passenger seat once again. After a brief moment of silence between the two of them, Rei tilted his head. “If a liar tells someone they’re a liar, are they lying or telling the truth? I read a line like that in one of the books I was told to read.”

“What was the answer the book gave to that question?” asked Eki, accommodating the super soldier in this unexpected shift of conversation. It could either be a completely random remark or it could be something else other than reminiscing.

“There are four types of lies,” explained Rei, lifting one of his hands so he could count with his fingers. “There’s lies, misinformation, popular belief and the truth.”

Just what kind of books are you letting him read, Murayama-san…?, inwardly sighed Eki, not facepalming himself only because his hands were far too busy with driving. Even so, he continued going along with what Rei was saying. “Why is the truth included in the list of types of lies?”

“The truth will remain as the truth until someone finds out it’s a lie,” said Rei, his lips curling up into a brief smile. Shortly after he put out those words, he turned his head the opposite direction and nearly glued himself to the passenger seat’s window. “Eki-san, what is that? It looks like some sort of gigantic creature?”

“...It’s… a crab…” answered Eki, his voice rough from his dry throat. He tried to swallow but apart from the brief movements of his hands, arms and feet to keep the vehicle swiftly riding through Osaka’s streets, he found that he was unable to move any other part of his body. Was this what people called being paralysed by fear? “It’s a crustaceous… But that one is fake… Just a display sign.”

Rei voiced a small non-committal reply and the vehicle was once again flooded in deep silence. There was only the friction of rubber tires on asphalt and the occasional rattling of the vehicle’s metallic structure.

“...Do you want to see it from closer?” asked Eki out of the blue, when the giant crab-shaped sign was no longer in sight. He gestured to a free space between two parked cars. “The first store I need to go to is in this street. For as long as you don’t take too long, don’t try to run away and don’t do anything too crazy, you can go check it out while I’m in the store.”

“I can?” interjected Rei, his grey eyes sparkling with excitement despite his never-changing expressionless. Once he got an affirmative nod from Eki and the car had been successfully parked, Rei gave a brief bow at the human soldier and readily jumped out of his seat. “Thank you very much, Eki-san.”

“Please try to not get lost either!” reminded Eki before Rei blended in with the bustling crowd and disappeared from view. He doublechecked if he had his cellphone and wallet on him, as well as Mitsu’s shopping list, and removed the safety belt. But rather than exit the car, he slammed one of his fists on the steering wheel. “Damnit!”

This is insane, cursed Eki in the back of his mind. His fist slowly slipped out of the steering wheel and went to join the other hand that had been taken to cover his face. He couldn’t tell what kind of expression he was making but he didn’t want anyone to see it. He didn’t even want to take a peek at the rearview mirror and see it for himself. With just that simple phrase, he made me doubt and second-guess everything I know. Everything I think I know. This is way beyond dangerous… I’m starting to think that, if he so felt like it, he could turn the truth into a lie and vice versa. At this rate, he’s going to brainwash all of us and make us do whatever he wants, no questions asked.

And I’m already one of them…

Eki opened his wallet and removed from inside one of the smaller pockets a small SIM card. He quickly switched the one inside of his cell phone for the secretly stored one and opened the texting app.

Halfway through writing the message, he heard it. Cold, cruel, taunting giggles reached his ears. His body froze at the sound. His lungs became static. Maybe even his heart momentarily stopped pumping. His hands became a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. The cellphone slipped in between the large rift it caused and noisily crumbled on the vehicle’s floor.

“Yer such a wicked gal, hehehe!”

“I know, right? Ahahaha!”

Two women dressed in showy, revealing clothes walked pass by the parking spot, giggling to one another about the poor luck some unsuspecting men had upon getting to know certain types of women. Namely, the two of them.

“This is driving me insane…” whispered Eki with a shaky voice, his heart now reversely thundering inside of his ribcage.

Rei, please run away. I don’t care what sort of punishment I’ll receive for it and neither do I care about all the censure and admonishments I’ll get for my hasty decisions. Just leave us alone before you cause unrepairable damages to all of us and our lives.