Akira — once Akiro — stood frozen, his widened eyes reflecting the firelight. His body trembled, not from fear, but from the weight of everything unraveling. The crackle of the fire, the soft whisper of the wind, and the faint popping of ash filled the silence between them.
Shino and Matsamaru stood beside him, gazing into the flames. Just beyond the shattered walls of their ruined shelter, Hiro stood under the moonlight, its glow draping over him like a quiet truth.
"That... that can't be..." Matsamaru finally broke the silence, his voice shaky. "Haru was never on the mission?"
Hiro didn't turn. He didn't need to. His voice cut through the air like steel.
"No."
Then, slowly — with a calmness that felt unnatural — Hiro turned to face them, a faint smile carried by smoke on his lips.
"It's more like... he was exchanged."
Hiro's voice was calm, but his words sank like stones in a quiet lake.
"To my surprise," he said, stepping forward just slightly into the fire's light, "I have never met Giyu Osai in my life…"
The others stared at him, breath tight in their chests.
"…and yet, all of you acted like he had always been with us. Like he was family. That was why I kept quiet. That Giyu—the one who appeared that day—wasn't real. He was a technique."
Akira's breath hitched.
"A trigger," Hiro continued, "for memory loss. A planted identity. And in that moment… Haru was switched."
Shino's fists clenched.
Hiro locked eyes with them now, voice sharp.
"He took Haru's place and went on to complete the mission—not for us, but for them. Yes, we don't know how or why… but Giyu Osai had the same goal as the attackers."
The fire cracked, but none of them moved. The truth was here now—ugly, twisted, and terrifying.
Hiro's hand stayed pressed gently to his chest, eyes closed, a soft smile curling his lips.
"The Haru we've been protecting… might've already been taken," he said quietly. "Perhaps the words he spoke—his thoughts—were truly Haru's… but the soul, the personality? Different. Altered."
Akira's knees nearly buckled. His voice cracked.
"Come to think of it… Haru never talked that much—until this mission…"
Hiro opened his eyes, pointing directly at him.
"You're correct, Akira-san."
Matsamaru sat back, his hands open before him, staring down into his palms as if they held the truth—or the guilt.
"That's just a theory," he muttered. "Akira might've forgotten the 'A' in his name. Giyu could've been a fictional illusion, a trick... But he never took over Haru. He wouldn't..."
Then he froze.
His breath caught.
That moment—
That exact moment when Haru killed the bandit leader.
There was no hesitation. No mercy.
No… Haru.
Matsamaru's lips parted.
"…That wasn't him."
Hiro's smile lingered, quiet and knowing.
"Tell me..." he said calmly, hands behind his back, "...how did all of you know Giyu was a memory eraser?"
The question sank deep. Their eyes widened as clarity struck them like lightning.
Shino's lips parted slightly. The list. The one handed to him by the Hekai before the mission—
No Giyu.
Akira staggered a step back, his body trembling, even his usual stoic expression cracking.
Matsamaru's voice was barely a whisper.
"He… he said it. We met him at the village and he told us himself—he had already entered our minds. Haru told us Giyu was a memory eraser… Was that when it happened?"
Hiro shook his head slowly, his voice almost amused.
"No… He manipulated us again… just now."
Their disbelief was palpable. Silence.
"You see," Hiro continued, his voice calm, "we never met anyone inside or outside the village. He just appeared, and we believed him. For three whole days, Haru said nothing. Not a word. Until the day he changed."
His eyes sharpened as he leaned forward slightly.
"This morning and this night, he manipulated us again… which means—he's still here."
Akira stepped forward, voice strong and demanding.
"Then how… how did you block his attacks?"
Hiro's expression didn't falter. He nodded, as if expecting that question.
"Akira-san… I possess Anti-Honeki. Mine wasn't given by the gods—it was passed down by my father. A blessing, not a curse."
He took a step forward, the firelight flickering against his robe.
"True Honeki is a curse from the gods, yes… but it's tied to their laws. Mine reverses everything Honeki does. Manipulation, illusion, memory tampering—it all collapses."
He looked Akira in the eye.
"And you were supposed to know that."
Akiro lowered his head, voice barely audible.
"S... sorry."
Hiro looked around at them—their faces weighed with confusion, despair, and silence. He saw it in their eyes: the loss, the doubt, the guilt.
He cleared his throat and stepped forward, voice firm.
"While we sit here drowning in sorrow… why not move? Let's find Giyu. Let's uncover where Haru really is. And Henji too."
Their heads slowly lifted, eyes flickering with new energy. Like embers reignited.
Hiro let a small grin stretch across his face.
"Besides… aren't we forgetting someone*?"
Their voices collided in realization—
"CHIMARU!"
Hiro chuckled lightly. "What do you say, Death Squad? Let's find our friends. Let's finish this mission. And maybe… just maybe… we break the seal on this cursed village."
They turned toward the moon in silence.
The fire cracked softly.
The wind tapped through the ruined walls.
But in that silence—hope burned.
Just then
Hiro's smirk deepened, his eyes shadowed under the moonlight as he tilted his head slightly—almost unnoticeably.
His teeth clenched tight.
"Oi, Haru…" he muttered under his breath, too low for anyone to hear, "Should I kill him here?"
The others stood beside him, unaware.
Their eyes locked on the moon, shoulders lifted with newfound confidence.
But behind them…
Hiro's presence darkened, the firelight flickering strangely on his back.
And in that moment—
A silent war had already begun.
One that could change the course of the mission—
and carve a rift so deep between them,
no blade nor bond could mend it.
A single thought buried in silence,
but loud enough to shake fate itself.
Behind their unity,
a shadow had already split from the light.