The air was thick with the stench of blood, antiseptic, and burning flesh. The underground lab, dimly lit by flickering overhead lights, was in complete disarray—bodies of scientists and guards strewn across the cold, sterile floor, walls splattered with crimson. Kaede's boots echoed through the corridors as she rummaged through overturned cabinets, shelves, and steel drawers.
Ren leaned against the examination table, breathing heavily. His body trembled, wracked by the slow, torturous effects of the poison coursing through his veins. His vision was blurring, the edges darkening. His breathing was ragged, shallow. His entire body felt like it was on fire, yet his skin was deathly cold. Every pulse of his heartbeat sent agony through his veins, as if shards of glass were cutting through him from the inside.
His grip tightened around his knife to keep himself grounded. He could barely feel it.
Kaede swept her gaze across the lab, scanning the numerous vials of antidotes lining the shelves. There were at least twenty different kinds—each labeled with complex chemical names, each potentially lethal in the wrong dose.
"I found them," she called out, glancing over her shoulder. "But there's a problem."
Ren exhaled sharply through his nose, barely holding back a bitter laugh. Of course, there was a problem. He clenched his jaw, trying to keep himself upright, but his knees nearly buckled.
"Which one?" he asked, voice hoarse.
Kaede hesitated. "I don't know."
Ren tilted his head back, exhaling slowly, his patience fraying. His hands clenched into fists. Every second was an eternity of pain. He had been patient. He had endured. But he was at his limit.
"Then inject all of them."
Kaede snapped her head toward him, narrowing her eyes. "That's suicidal."
Ren's lips curled into something between a smirk and a grimace. "I don't care."
"You should. After all your the syndicates precious egg."
"Kaede—" His voice was razor-sharp, his breathing ragged. "Do it. Now."
She hesitated, searching his face for any trace of doubt. There was none. His expression was blank, but his eyes—his eyes were sharp, filled with unwavering resolve. She didn't care if he died but the blame would be on her.
Kaede sighed, rolling her shoulders. "If you die, I'm not wasting time mourning you."
Ren chuckled darkly. "Wouldn't expect you to."
She grabbed a handful of vials and syringes, working quickly, calculating probabilities in her head. Some of these antidotes would neutralize the poison, others would do nothing, and a few could make it worse. It was a gamble, but there was a way to narrow it down. Mai had taught her to a good extent about poisons and antidotes.
She examined the viscosity, the color, the way each liquid reacted when exposed to air. A few had a distinct reaction—coagulating or fizzing slightly. Poison neutralizers typically shared specific chemical properties. She narrowed it down to five.
"This is the best I can do."
Ren nodded. "Then get on with it."
She injected the first. No reaction.
The second. Nothing.
The third. A violent seizure overtook Ren's body. His muscles spasmed, his jaw clenched so tightly that blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
Kaede cursed under her breath.
The fourth. His breathing slowed for a moment—too much. His pulse was dropping fast.
Kaede quickly injected the last one.
For a moment, nothing.
Then, his body relaxed. His erratic heartbeat slowly steadied. His skin, once deathly pale, regained a fraction of its usual color. His breathing, though still ragged, was no longer strained.
Kaede exhaled sharply, tension leaving her shoulders. "Well, you're not dead. Lucky bastard."
Ren didn't respond immediately. He slowly opened his eyes, the sharpness returning. His body was still weak, but the worst had passed.
He sat up, rolling his shoulders. The pain was still there, but it was bearable. Manageable.
Cold. Controlled.
Ren was back.
Without a word, he pushed himself to his feet and turned out of the lab and to the hallway toward Itoshi's body, lying in a pool of his own blood. Even with his throat slit, the ex-assassin was still breathing.
Ren crouched beside him. "Still alive, huh?"
Itoshi let out a wet chuckle, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Of course. You really think a little slit throat would do me in?" His breathing was shallow, but his eyes were sharp, filled with something almost like amusement. "You have no idea what the Syndicate is capable of, do you?"
Ren remained silent, but his gaze didn't waver.
Itoshi coughed, blood seeping from his lips. "You think you know what you're dealing with, but you don't. You don't know what they've done… what they will do. You don't know why Yusuke and I defected, why others did too. But most of them are dead now. We were lucky. For a while."
Ren remained expressionless. "You're talking too much for someone who's supposed to be dead."
Itoshi let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah… guess I am."
Ren easily lifted Itoshi's limp body, throwing him over his shoulder despite the man's much larger frame. His movements were smooth, effortless, as if Itoshi weighed nothing.
Kaede raised an eyebrow. "And what are you doing now?"
Ren didn't answer immediately. He walked toward the lab's exit, his boots echoing against the cold tiles. Then, without looking back, he said, "I promised him a burial."
Kaede scoffed. "That's not part of the mission."
Ren stopped, turning his head slightly, casting her a sharp, questioning look. "Our mission is already fucked. There's nothing left. Things don't always go as planned."
Kaede crossed her arms. "Burning this place wasn't part of the mission either."
Ren's lips curled slightly. "Exactly. But if we burn it, any information Yusuke had on the Syndicate goes up in flames."
Kaede sighed. "This lab is under a hospital. People could get caught in it."
Ren didn't even flinch. "Not my problem."
She exhaled. "Of course not."
Ren scanned the room, eyes landing on a lighter on one of the steel tables. He picked it up, flicking it open.
Kaede arched a brow. "And how are you planning to burn this place without kerosene?"
Ren smirked slightly. "It's a lab. You really think more than half the chemicals here aren't flammable?"
They poured every volatile liquid they could find across the room. A mix of ethanol, acetone, and other highly flammable substances. The smell was overwhelming.
Ren tossed the lighter.
The flames erupted instantly, consuming everything in seconds. The heat surged, the fire spreading like a living thing. The air grew thick with smoke, the room bathed in an orange glow.
As they turned to leave, Ren glanced back at Itoshi, who was still barely clinging to life.
"Like I promised," Ren said coldly, watching as the flames crept closer.
Itoshi's rasping laughter mixed with the crackling of fire. "Heh… a proper funeral… how nice…"
Ren turned and walked away, Kaede following beside him. Neither looked back.
The fire raged behind them, the past burning to ash.