*"Who am I?"*
When Chuuya opens his eyes on a mountain of rubble, he has nothing but his own name. No past, no family, no memories—just a power to bend gravity itself and the comrades he'd die to protect. But the question he's too afraid to ask haunts every battle, every drink, every laugh he fakes: *What if I'm not even human?*
Eight years later, a strange ability is running wild through Yokohama, and anyone who touches it has their deepest secrets torn into the open. Assigned to investigate,
The Night the Twin Dark Hearts Leak - The Boy With No Memories and the Ability Remnants of the Fog Whistle Bridge
There was the smell of rubble. Iron, dirt, and rain, all mixed together.
When I opened my eyes, the sky was overcast, and around me, fragments of broken buildings were piled up like mountains. When I moved my arm, my body felt impossibly light. As if I'd turned into air itself.
"...Where is this?"
My voice was hoarse. My throat was bone-dry, and I couldn't breathe properly.
I slowly pushed myself up. Scrapes covered my whole body, and my clothes were torn to shreds. I searched my pockets, but they were empty. My name, my address, my family's faces—I couldn't remember a single thing.
But strangely, the one thing I did know was my own name.
Nakahara Chuuya.
That alone floated there, alone in my head.
My face reflected in the cracked glass of the abandoned building's window. Vivid orange hair. Clear blue eyes. Mud-smeared cheeks.
"...Who is this?"
The me in the glass looked like a stranger.
I was scared.
I didn't know who I was. Where I'd come from, why I was here. Everything was blank white, and a cold wind blew straight through the depths of my chest.
I looked up at the sky. Heavy clouds drifted slowly past.
I just stood there on the rubble, motionless.
———
Eight years later.
"Chuuya, what are you, really?"
An abandoned warehouse near the port. My comrades had gathered and were raising hell like always. I leaned against the wall, drinking a canned juice, and listened to that voice.
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
I laughed it off.
"I mean, you never talk about your past at all. Your parents? Siblings?"
"...Doesn't matter, does it?"
"Yeah, I guess not."
My comrade laughed and went off to join the others.
I took a sip of the canned juice, feeling the cold liquid slide down my throat.
(The truth is, I'm scared of being asked.)
That's what I thought, deep down.
Who are you? I can't answer that question at all. Because even I don't know.
So I had no choice but to laugh. Hide my true feelings, put up a front—that's how I'd been protecting myself.
It was shortly after that I awakened to my power to control gravity. I could freely change the weight of anything I touched. I could even manipulate my own gravity and fly through the air.
With that power, I protected my comrades. I defeated enemies.
But the more I used it, the more I thought, somewhere in my heart:
(Someone with power like this... maybe I really am not a normal human after all.)
The unease never went away.
———
"—Chuuya-san. Chuuya-san!"
I snapped awake.
My heart was pounding. Sweat beaded on my forehead.
"...Ah, what is it?"
I slowly sat up. I'd sunk so deep into the black leather sofa that my neck ached a little.
This was the executive's office in the Port Mafia headquarters building, "Kurokujira." A twenty-eight-story high-rise, with the Yokohama cityscape spread out beyond the window. The cranes of the port district, the sea glittering in the distance, and the countless lights of the buildings.
"I apologize. For disturbing you while you were resting."
A young member was bowing his head apologetically. Black suit, sunglasses. The very picture of a low-ranking mafioso.
"It's fine. So, what do you want?"
I stood and picked up the black hat that had been sitting on the desk. I pulled it down low. This hat was from back then—no, I won't think about that now.
"The Boss is calling for you. He says he wants to speak with you directly about the investigation into the truth-leak ability incident."
"Truth-leak, huh."
I let out a small breath.
Apparently, over the past few days, a strange ability had been going out of control all over Yokohama. Anyone who touched each other would have their true feelings leak out—that kind of troublesome ability. The first victim appeared at Fogwhistle Bridge in the port district, and now reports were trickling in from the city center too.
"Got it. I'll be right there."
———
The Boss's office is on the top floor of Kurokujira.
Stepping off the elevator, I stood before the heavy door. I knocked, and after a voice from inside said "Enter," I slowly opened it.
The room was dark. Only the night view beyond the window faintly lit the space.
"Chuuya-kun. Good of you to come."
At the far end of the room, behind a large executive desk, sat the Port Mafia Boss, Mori Ougai. Forty years old. A former doctor, and always a calm man. He wore a black suit with ease, a glass of red wine in his hand. Beside him stood a blonde girl, Elise.
"I heard you called for me."
I touched the brim of my hat and gave a slight bow.
"Yes. I'll get straight to the point. I want you to take charge of the investigation into that truth-leak ability incident."
"...Me, sir?"
"More precisely, I want your instincts on the ground. Since the ability first went out of control at Fogwhistle Bridge, the damage has been spreading. If this continues, it will affect the Port Mafia's interests as well."
Mori swirled his glass and continued matter-of-factly.
"Moreover, this is no ordinary ability incident. There are signs that the ability's residue is targeting specific individuals, going out of control as if it has a will of its own."
"Specific individuals?"
"It's still only conjecture. But it's worth investigating."
Mori set his glass on the desk and looked at me.
"You should be able to handle it. Besides, this incident has—"
He cut himself off there.
"...No, I'll hold off for now. First, go see the scene for yourself."
"Understood."
I answered briefly and left the Boss's office.
(What was he going to say this incident has?)
A small nagging feeling remained in my chest.
———
The night in the port district smelled of the tide.
Fogwhistle Bridge is a drawbridge connecting the port district to the city center. About eighty meters long. At night there was little foot traffic, and the streetlights were sparse.
I arrived at the scene with a few of my men.
"Executive, over here."
A member who'd been investigating the scene ahead of us was waiting at the foot of the bridge.
"What's the situation?"
"We found what appears to be ability residue. However, the one who touched it—"
"You touched it? You idiot, I told you not to do anything reckless!"
I rushed over.
Near the bridge railing, a young member was sitting slumped on the ground. His face was dead pale, his eyes unfocused.
"Hey, are you all right!"
"...I'm sorry, Executive. My hand just moved on its own."
"Don't talk. Did you call an ambulance?"
"Yes. It should arrive in a few minutes."
"Good. Are you unharmed?"
"I'm fine. I haven't touched it yet."
I put my arm around the slumped member's shoulders and hoisted him onto my back. Even though I'm small, when I control gravity, weight doesn't matter.
"Don't do anything reckless, you idiot. You lot are my subordinates. I can't have you dying on me."
The subordinate on my back murmured a small "I'm sorry."
Until the ambulance arrived, I stood on the bridge with my subordinate on my back.
The night wind blew. The smell of the sea grew stronger.
At the center of the bridge, I could see an eerie light flickering.
(So that's the ability residue.)
A pale purple light. The lingering trace of a troublesome ability that exposes the true feelings of anyone who touches it.
The light pulsed slowly, almost like a living thing.
———
After handing my subordinate over to the ambulance, I stayed at the center of the bridge.
"Executive, here, a little something."
Another subordinate held out a convenience store bag. Inside were canned beers.
"Hey, don't drink on the job."
"Come on. You must be tired, Executive."
I let out a small sigh and took the canned beer. I popped the tab and took a sip.
...It was terrible.
No, not terrible. My face was heating up immediately.
"Executive, isn't your face red? Aren't you a lightweight?"
The subordinate was holding back laughter.
"Shut up! We're at a crime scene, take this seriously!"
I shouted to cover my embarrassment.
But the subordinates around me were laughing. A warm atmosphere flowed through.
(Times like this aren't so bad.)
Somewhere in my heart, I thought that.
———
To examine the ability residue, I approached the center of the bridge.
The pale purple light drifted at my feet. I kept my distance so as not to touch it directly and observed.
"...What the hell is this? For ability residue, it's lingering way too strongly."
Normally, ability residue fades with time. But this one kept glowing, as if it had taken up permanent residence.
"Isn't there anyone who can analyze abilities?"
"That's the thing—we don't have anyone with that kind of ability."
"Tch. Useless."
I clicked my tongue.
That was when it happened.
A chill ran down my spine.
I turned around.
At the entrance to the bridge, there was a figure.
A sand-colored coat. Short, curly black hair. Bandages wrapped all around his body. And that grinning face.
"...So it's your presence I felt."
I gripped the brim of my hat.
"Hey there, Chuuya. Long time no see. Been doing well?"
The moment I heard that voice, the blood in my body felt like it was about to boil.
"Dazai...! What the hell are you doing here!"
"Same reason as you, of course. Investigating the truth-leak ability incident. I'm a member of the Armed Detective Agency, after all."
Dazai walked onto the bridge with a light step.
"Don't come closer! Get lost, right now!"
"So cold. And here we are, finally reunited."
"I don't need a reunion, not ever again!"
I manipulated gravity, trying to lift Dazai off his feet. But he dodged nimbly.
"Still short-tempered as ever. That's why you'll always be a shrimp."
"Who're you calling a shrimp! I'll kill you!"
I clenched my fist.
In that instant—
The ability residue at my feet suddenly flared bright.
Purple light engulfed the entire bridge.
"What—!"
"Chuuya, don't move!"
Dazai's voice was serious, unlike his usual self.
But it was already too late.
The light swallowed me and Dazai, and my vision went white.
And then—
'Dazai, you bastard—why're you worrying about me?'
Someone's voice echoed directly inside my head.
'Chuuya, you're the one who's lonely with me at the Agency, aren't you?'
A different voice.
This is—
After the light faded, I was standing on the bridge.
Across from me was Dazai.
We stared at each other in silence.
"...Did you hear that just now?"
"I heard it. Your inner voice, that is."
Dazai was smiling. But his eyes weren't smiling.
"This is the worst."
I looked up at the sky.
Above Fogwhistle Bridge, the eerie purple light still flickered.
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