Chapter 45

Chapter 45 is the forty-fifth chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
Will Takumi give into his fear or will he be able to hold out against the pain?

Synopsis
At Youtoukorou, Lisa Kuraki fails to reach Takumi Kuruya by cell phone and wonders if she did the right thing by sending Misaki Sakimiya after him. One of her bunnies instead wonders whether they were right to trust Takumi in the first place; Clarissa says that Takumi is obedient when bounded by fear, but "all bets are off" when he is faced with an even greater fear.

In Higuro and Momoya Agakura's hideout, Higuro resumes his interrogation by reminding Takumi he has no choices left. Momoya questions this, since he can see two possible choices for Takumi to make—to cooperate, or to die—but Higuro insists Takumi is someone who would easily abandon the 'now' to avoid death, given his past: Takumi believed in justice and goodness until his parents and the world betrayed him; then he believed in the value of evil until Kōzaburō Arase destroyed the Sons of the Styx. With justice and evil both feeling 'unreal' to Takumi, Takumi developed a phobia of reality. Higuro surmises that Takumi prefers perceiving the world through his headset and through cameras because doing so make everything "like a game."

Takumi concedes that Higuro seems to know quite a bit about him, to which Higuro points out he did buy Takumi's intelligence-gathering abilities in the first place. Having abandoned his plan to win Takumi over given Clarissa's evident 'liking' of him, he points his gun at Takumi and asks him to explain why he was in the abandoned building—and explain everything else besides. After all, Takumi surely does not want a 'game over'.

Meanwhile, in Youtoukorou, with Nishida's spirit and Urai listening from the sidelines, the bunnies speculate that it would be 'bad' if Takumi has been captured by the enemy. Clarissa is of the opinion this is "actually perfect timing," opining that Takumi needs a new connection besides 'fear' to shackle him.

Takumi weakly laughs that he is afraid of it being 'game over', but that giving in to Higuro now would be a bad ending in and of itself. Pausing, Higuro abruptly shoots a bullet that grazes Takumi's left leg—deliberately grazes, he assures Takumi, since "in real life" being shot in the arm or leg would be more dangerous than the movies make such injuries out to be. Since Takumi will undoubtedly talk in the end—since he has no secrets he values more than his own life—Higuro encourages him to avoid putting himself through a painful experience unnecessarily.

Although Higuro's words first trigger bad memories of Arase threatening Takumi, Takumi subsequently remembers how Corpse God declared his friends' lives were more valuable than any secret, how Misaki Sakimiya and Polka Shinoyama were getting along, how Miyabi Hosorogi and Corpse God had cheerfully interacted. With a smile of his own, he tells Higuro that no one likes the person who always complains "that's not how it works in real life" while watching a movie. Momoya agrees.

Higuro aims his gun at Takumi's head(set), calm but nevertheless inwardly certain that something is 'off'. As he puzzles over why Takumi appears to be afraid of pain but not of death, Takumi inwardly reminds himself that "Polka"—the Corpse God—should be able to revive him through necromancy if he dies here. Concluding that he must inflict enough pain to supersede whatever Takumi's backup is, Higuro procures a soy sauce packet unused from his lunch and dribbles the soy sauce over Takumi's graze wound.

Takumi writhes on the floor as Higuro asks if he feels like talking; though Takumi admits he does "a little," he insists he wants to be stubborn in order to able to step forward. Wishing that Takumi had clung to that stubbornness back when Arase interrogated him, Higuro picks up a flathead screwdriver—or a similar-looking tool—and digs it into Takumi's graze; as he does so, he casually remarks he could be interrogating someone else in Takumi's stead—such as the Sayo Shinoyama he spotted holding a stuffed shark. Takumi warns him he would be turning the Shinoyama Clan against him if he did such a thing, but Higuro claims he would merely have to secure permission from his higher-ups.

Momoya asks if that is truly the case; Higuro explains that although he is supposed to handle any clashes with the Shinjuku mediators on his own, the higher-ups will intercede on his behalf in the event a power on the Shinoyamas' level becomes involved. When that happens, the Shinoyamas will be the ones who fall. Takumi protests that Higuro is likely lying, but ever-smiling Higuro denies this, presses the muzzle of his gun to Takumi's graze wound, and assures him he can always be replaced if he dies.

Before Higuro finishes squeezing the trigger, several black 'wires' seize the cord binding Takumi's legs together and swiftly haul Takumi upward. Momoya yanks Higuro back at the suddent movement, and they look up to see Takumi dangling upside-down mid-air—and Xiaoyu Lei perched on a thin beam, the 'wires' in fact the extended digits of his left hand.

Xiaoyu proclaims that Higuro finally gave him a reason to save Takumi: he cannot allow Takumi's death if it would put his mistress in Higuro's cross-hairs next. Furthermore, Higuro has given him reason to kill Momoya and Higuro both: if they would do harm to the Shinoyamas at all, then they are his enemies by default.

Over in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department headquarters, with Arase standing by, Tsubaki Iwanome informs Chief Superintendent Habaki of the alleged Shinjuku mugging and that the building visited by Phantom Solitaire has been implicated in the investigation. Habaki starts to say he was not informed, only to pause upon realizing the building is the same building where Hosorogi's blood was found; although he agrees to look into the matter, he reminds Iwanome he cannot smooth over a 'rampage' and warns him to keep his emotions manageable. Iwanome replies that Arase will keep him line even if he has to punch him to do it.

The two see Habaki off with a bow. Arase asks Iwanome if he is really allowed to punch Iwanome in a worst-case scenario; rather than retract the option, Iwanome simply asks him to go easy on him.

In the office of the Superintendent General, Jirotarou Takanosu hears a knock at his door and invites his visitor inside. Silence ensues. Jirotarou leaves his desk to investigate the corridor, which is empty, and steps back to shut the door once more.

Behind him, someone remarks, "This is a nice chair." He turns to find Phantom Solitaire sitting comfortably in his seat.

Referbacks

 * To Chapter 7, where Corpse God says to Takumi, "My friends' lives are much more valuable...than any secret of mine."