Emergency Meeting

Back to the present…

The sound of the alarm slowly brought me back to consciousness.

“Is it morning already?” From the floor, I glanced at the window. Sure enough, the first streaks of orange began to tint the sky.

Slowly, I silenced the alarm and rose from the mattress.

Today, I must make progress—I can’t let their deaths mean nothing.

“It’s Wednesday already, Sleeping Beauty...” I said to my companion.

I watched her stretch lazily as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

If we’ve moved her mattress into my room, why is she still using my bed?

“Good morning…” she finally muttered, still nestled beneath the sheets.

“How was your third night at Hotel Tore?” I asked, heading for the fridge and turning on the mini stove along the way.

“Fine…” she replied, dragging herself out of bed.

“I’ve arranged to talk about Shinpei’s death today. I’d like you to come…”

“Me?” She wandered around my room, still half-asleep, as I searched for a frying pan.

“I know things have been tougher lately, but I need you to hold on for me. Two heads think better than one… I need to do this for Shinpei, and for him…”

She yawned, wrapping her arms around me from behind.

“Fine,” she said, hiding her doubts. Her nights hadn’t been easy since the death of our boss. “But wouldn’t Carlos or Felix be more useful? Why me?”

“I’d rather not involve anyone else for now…” I said with a forced smile as she let go of me.

“Why not?”

“I don’t want to alarm anyone until I’m certain. It won’t be a good idea...” I pinched her cheeks playfully, feigning confidence.

I haven’t been sleeping well either since Monday...

Shinpei’s death…

I recalled images from the funeral as I pretended nothing was wrong.

But it’s impossible Shinpei died from a simple implant malfunction…

I remembered the day he dropped a cup of coffee in the office. The fear in his eyes...

Meanwhile, I prepared breakfast with a smile. There was no point ruining peaceful moments like that one.

If Yamaguchi-sensei is showing similar symptoms, then his time is running out... Damn it, we need answers before it’s too late.

…

Hours later, during our lunch break, my partner and I headed to a café in District 2, the same district where Cellos’s building was located.

Once inside, we each ordered a coffee and waited for the others at a table near the wall.

Soon, they appeared, presenting an image that genuinely terrified me.

“Hey, guys…” Tatsumi greeted us as he arrived with Yamaguchi-sensei.

“Good morning, my friend.” I smiled, shaking his hand. “Yamaguchi-sensei, how are you?”

The old man looked at me with uncertainty. His white beard, now thicker than the last time I saw him, couldn’t hide the gauntness of his cheeks.

His trembling hands clutched his red notebook tightly.

“Are you eating well?” I asked, noting the doubt in his eyes.

“Forgive me, have we met before?”

It took me a few seconds to respond—seconds that completely shattered Tatsumi’s composure.

Again…

“Of course, we know each other. I’m Isayama Tore. I was your apprentice at Jiguroka Hospital, and we used to have coffee together,” I said, smiling at the old doctor.

His eyes lit up with recognition.

“Tore, that’s right… Forgive me. Lately, my mind’s been such a blurry place.” With a weak gesture, he clung even tighter to his red notebook.

“It’s okay. Conducting research like this can’t be easy, sensei.”

My composure surprised Tatsumi, who quickly offered Yamaguchi a chair before sitting down himself.

Unfortunately, my calm wasn’t something I was proud of—it was the callus left by scars from past defeats

“Um, do I know you too?” he asked Katy.

“No, no. We haven’t met,” she stammered, clearly affected by what I’d told her about my father. “I’m Katy Shimizu. I work with Isayama as a contagion investigator. I’m just here to help...”

“I see… Well, I hope one of my godchildren isn’t giving you too much trouble...”

“All right, Yamaguchi-sensei. I think it’s time we get down to business. Isa and Katy are only on their lunch break,” Tatsumi interjected.

“True, time isn’t on our side…” I said, cradling the cup in my hands and looking at my former mentor. “Have you discovered anything new, sensei?”

“M-me? No, I…” He pulled his trembling notebook away from us.

Every time I see him, he’s worse… I don’t know how much time we have left...

“He’s been like this for days—he won’t show his notebook to anyone,” Tatsumi explained.

“We don’t know who could be watching…” Yamaguchi muttered.

“It’s okay, sensei. I trust your skills and knowledge,” I said, smiling amidst the background hum of chatter and the faint scent of incense.

There were still some who believed floral incense could ward off the virus...

“In that case, Tatsumi, I think we should go straight to our boss’s case.”

“Yes… Isa, Katy, I’m so sorry for your loss…”

“The only thing we can do now is ensure it doesn’t happen again. Any ideas?”

I looked for support in my companion’s eyes but didn’t find it. She was staring at Yamaguchi-sensei with unease, as if his defeated image had brought her back to her sleepless nights.

“Honestly, no… With so few cases, it’s hard to make reliable diagnoses…”

“Then let’s improvise one ourselves. Something we can use as a foundation.”

“Isa… Fine.”

Katy remained mostly silent, listening.

“From what we’ve seen in recent weeks, I’m increasingly convinced that what killed Shinpei and my father is the same thing. Tatsumi, your theory about the fifth evolution seems spot on,” I explained. “The bad news is that, even if its spread is low, it’s much more insidious than the previous one…”

“I-I see,” he replied, rifling through his notes. “If it helps, it doesn’t appear to spread through the air…”

He glanced at Yamaguchi-sensei to his left.

“I completely agree. I was around Shinpei a lot right before he was admitted, and I’m perfectly fine.”

“Sacrificing spread for more discreet symptoms…”

“That could be an option, especially compared to rot,” I said, trying to keep Tatsumi’s ideas flowing.

“Transmission through fluids?”

“Maybe.”

“What if it exploits the absence of certain antibodies in some organisms? No, that would limit it to extinction...”

This is more complicated than I thought. Our research is too underdeveloped…

I sought support from Katy again, but she didn’t seem inclined to participate.

She won’t be able to help us. It’s already enough that she’s overcome her fears to be here.

“Tatsumi, we need something—anything to start with.”

“I know. Actually, we began a list last time…”

“Huh?”

“Remember, motor system failures…”

“Partial memory loss…” I added.

“Loss of taste…” Katy chimed in shyly.

“Exactly.”

“Anything else?”

“Shinpei collapsed the day he was admitted to the hospital.”

Of course.

“My father trembled a lot—he said he couldn’t feel his legs or arms,” I said, taking my companion’s hand and remembering the last time I touched our boss.

“Isabel…” Yamaguchi muttered; his gaze distant.

Suddenly, the alarm on my wrist hologram went off, signaling the end of our lunch break.

“Damn it…”

“I have an idea, Isa! Don’t leave!”

“Tatsumi?”

“I need some time to examine the sensei’s notes, but I think I’ve found a lead!” He grabbed my shirt to stop me from standing.

“R-really?”

“Really! But I need a favor from you.”

“I’ll do whatever I can…”

With the warmth of Katy’s hand in mine and fueled by Tatsumi’s determination, my eyes fell on Yamaguchi-sensei’s trembling red notebook. I knew time was slipping through our fingers. I could only hope Tatsumi would find an answer before it was too late for the sensei, or someone else…