Checkmate

The passing days only intensified the weight of my sentence.

“Upgrade now with the new 7.4 series implants from Luminous Genes. Take advantage of summer deals and our second-hand market.”

Silence…

Forty-eight hours after the protest, the fever led me back to the humble neighborhood where Kenzo Miura’s abandoned building stood.

My vulnerable state attracted the gaze of surveillance drones, hovering curiously as they studied my every move—both mine and those of the bloodstained notebook in my possession.

“The summer trade-in program of 2308 is here. Want to upgrade your implants but don’t have the funds? Cellos Robotics offers new solutions: bring your old implants and swap them for new ones.”

Shut up, please…

Alongside the growing nausea, the voices of these companies echoed in my head as if my body had already known its only way out.

“I have to keep going…” I leaned against the grimy walls as I climbed the stairs of the decrepit building. “C-careful…”

At one point, only the railing saved me from falling headfirst into the void after a sudden bout of dizziness.

“Come on, Isayama…”

Despite the cold sweat running down my back in the summer heat, I pushed open the door and entered the house.

“Hello?” My voice echoed among the garbage and graffiti.

My eyelids grew heavy, but my soul insisted on pressing forward.

Just a bit more, Isayama… We have to do it for them…

I searched through every drawer in the house.

I know it hurts, but time won’t stop for us…

Despite the agony, I sifted through the papers scattered on the floor, hoping to find something useful—something that might explain why Kenzo met the same fate as someone like Shinpei or Yamaguchi-sensei.

The only thing that caught my eye was a broken mirror. Its cracks bore traces of blood.

Despite my pain, I stopped to look at my reflection in the fragments. Barely recognizable, I lifted the neck my shirt to reveal the lower half of my neck.

Yellowed, burning, those three centimeters of rot crept up my skin, destroying everything in their path. My fingers trembled as I moved the fabric, knowing that if I touched it, I’d lose my other hand.

I don’t think I’ll last much longer…

For the second time in my life, the S-Flu came to remind me of humanity’s fragility in this war.

Damn it…

I removed the cold-salty water on my forehead.

Back on the street, I staggered through that outer district, always shadowed by a surveillance drone.

Alcoholism, filth, poverty—I had never felt so vulnerable. Nor had the gray sun ever felt so scorching.

I don’t know if it’s following me because of my investigation of the weapon or because of my infection…

I pretended not to hear the hum of its rotors as I replayed every step of our chase through the rain in my mind.

They were designed to detect S-Flu infections… You’ve got quite the nose, buddy…

With the notebook barely shielding me from the heat, I reached the street where Kenzo was arrested. The fever blurred my vision, preventing me from focusing on anything clearly.

“Knew we'd run into you here, kid.” Someone spoke behind me. “You don’t look too well.”

Defenseless, I stumbled back two steps. I knew exactly what kind of people these two men were.

“Don’t be scared; we’re here to help. We’re infection investigators from Hero Enterprise. Surely, you’ve heard of us.”

They wore white gloves and sunglasses so opaque I couldn’t tell where they were looking. Their dark suits were immaculate. They exuded confidence, as though they already knew who I was.

“I-I’m fine.” I staggered. “Just need a little rest…”

“You don’t seem in a state to decide that, friend. Let us help you,” said the other.

“Nothing a few painkillers can’t fix.” I walked in the opposite direction.

“Listen to us, please…”

The hours spent wandering the streets are taking their toll. I don’t have the strength for this…

“I’m fine.”

“We’ve got great deals—the safest implants on the market…”

“I don’t need implants…”

“Wait, kid…”

Their words blurred with the hum of my fever. My body pressed forward, unsteady, as their voices faded behind me.

…

Hours passed.

“Tatsumi?” I spoke through the hologram on my wrist.

It was already night. I was lucky to have evaded them and made it home without collapsing in some distant alleyway.

“Isa, where are you?”

“At my family’s house. I couldn’t enter Cellos in my condition…” I spoke from the bed. The room felt empty without my belongings.

“…Huh? What about Katy?”

“Her friends are looking after her. Don’t worry.”

“Hey, do you need anything from me? Someone should be taking care of you too…”

“If you want to help, keep working on the investigation. Did you see everything I sent you on Monday?”

“Don’t change the subject, Isa. You got infected with S-Flu, disappeared for two days, and you want to talk like nothing’s wrong?”

“We don’t have time to rest. I don’t know how much longer Katy has…”

“Isa, you need to rest…”

“I’m fine, really. I’m following the academy’s protocols to the letter: painkillers, rest, antibiotics…”

“Isa…”

“This morning was rough, but I’ve been fine since then.” I tried to sound upbeat.

“You need to get surgery…”

“I think I can last a few more days like this.”

“We both know you can’t, Isa. Without spinal implants, you won’t make it.”

“And give up music?” My voice faltered. I stared at the ceiling.

“Why would you give up music? Are you stupid?”

“I don’t want to lose myself…”

“I don’t care what you want or don’t want!”

“What if the Isayama who wakes up isn’t me?” I raised my right hand between the desk lamp and my face.

“You’re so stubborn. You know that’s not how it works.”

“Tatsumi…”

“I know how much you hate this, but let me be selfish. You love sacrificing yourself, right? Then do it—for Katy and for me.”

“I…”

“If you’re really scared, do it for us. I won’t let you die from S-Flu.”

In that moment, memories of my first case flooded back. The pain of failing to save Joshua Cam. My desperate cries and pleas.

My selfishness, begging Joshua to abandon everything he believed in just to make those around him happy.

That indescribable void as I watched his smile fade into the ceiling while he thought of his father. The lost look on Shizuka, his daughter.

His final breath.

I knew surgery was my only option. Just like Yamaguchi-sensei, they’d cornered me into checkmate.

We were losing this battle. I knew perfectly well that the phantom I was chasing was slowly strangling us.

“Tatsumi, the surgery will make me vulnerable to BlackBrain. You know that, right?”

My friend took a few seconds to answer.

“If I get infected with that, there's no turning back…”

“Are you implying Katy’s a lost cause?” he murmured.

“S-sorry?”

“Are you saying we can’t save Katy? And by extension, you?”

“N-No, I…”

Gone was the inexperienced nursing student I once knew. Circumstances had shaped Tatsumi into a reliable, resolute man. Half a year ago, I’d never have imagined he’d be the one between us to stare death in the eyes with such determination.

“We’re going to stop that biological weapon, you hear me?”

“But I…” I could feel the throbbing of my infection in my neck.

“The S-Flu has you cornered… At least BlackBrain will give you a few more weeks. Isa, sacrifice your ideals for Katy…”

“Die this week or in two, right? Assuming they don’t overload my implants like Yamaguchi-sensei’s… What a fantastic prospect…”

“I promise we’ll save Katy, but I’ll need my best friend at full strength.”

“Tatsumi, would you mind if I waited just one more day? There’s a place I’d like to take Katy.”

“A place?”

“If I go through with the surgery, tomorrow might be my last chance…”

As I spoke with Tatsumi, my fingers moved instinctively in the air, tracing the notes of a sonata that still echoed in my mind.

The last chance before I face that thing head-on…