At that moment, the wind had suddenly blown.
Among the scattering cherry blossom petals in full bloom,
the young masked man murmured something to the cat nestling at his feet.
Amazingly, the cat had talked as if it was a natural thing to do.
Ah, amazing, the plot's developing!
And then, and then?
And then, the masked man fluttered like...
Hey, you're killing the mood!
Give me a break!
Why the heck is everyone mating?
This is why I hate spring.
I am Ootsuka Mayu.
I am a member of the 4th Foreign Affairs Department in the Police.
Just between us, I was in the manga club in my university,
and I'm actually pretty into it.
The anime I'm into now, is...
Maurice The Rose.
My hobby is writing stories.
Of course, I have done many doujins, and I have a lot of fans as well.
The pollen this year is terrible.
This is why I hate spring.
"The masked man standing among the cherry blossom trees."
This image came to mind from a dream I had last night.
No, was it really a dream?
Even now, it's still a bit vague.
The members of the 4th unit had decided to hold a flower-watching party that night.
What's this?
It's information that the contractor who was killed was holding onto the other day.
It looks like the number for a safety deposit box and we've found out where it is, but...
The critical number is missing.
The stolen goods from the incident at the Gate.
I believe it is related.
Under a cherry blossom tree?
Yeah, it seems a contractor who had taken some goods from the Gate was buried there.
So, I have to kill that contractor?
No, your job is only to dig up the goods.
What's buried is only a sample, but
there should be a numeric password written on a memo or something.
Don't forget about it.
Is that it?
Don't let your guard down.
I have a feeling that someone may try to steal it ba-
You okay?
Shut up.
Allergic to pollen?
During times like this, I'm happy that I'm a cat.
I hear cats are allergic to pollen, too.
Really?
Don't worry, Mao.
Pollen won't affect us.
What?
Contractors don't see dreams and aren't allergic to pollen.
That's the first time I heard that.
In the end, contractors are monsters.
There's nothing strange no matter what it may be.
Is it true?
Oh yeah, where's Yin?
That pink girl must've have come again.
Pink girl?
From the first time they met when Yin ran away, she's been going there ever since.
Here.
Wasn't it great?
Yeah.
I'll tell you about an interesting doujin story next time, okay?
It's even more risqué!
What's it called? Moe moe?
It seems that she's become involved with a dangerous world now.
Tell her to cut her ties.
It'll be problematic if she lets out information to a normal person.
Here you go, Matsumoto.
Ah, thank you.
Saitou seems a bit gloomy.
It's because the chief couldn't make it.
He's probably dreaming of being alone with her after watching the flowers if things go well.
He should just tell her.
The chief is pretty dense about things like that.
Well, he has to think about their positions, too.
It doesn't seem like spring will be coming for him.
But there are also people like you who bow down to their colleagues.
W-What silly things are you saying, Matsumoto?!
H-Here, another one.
I've had enough.
Be careful, Ootsuka, he just might be the one who's thinking about what'll happen if things go well.
I'll be all right, I don't really like young people.
A refined person like you, Matsumoto, is more...
Just kidding.
To be truthful...
I wasn't really interested in real men...
Until that time.
Like I said!
You've got to be more forward!
Kouno just disappeared somewhere after some office lady seduced him!
Geez, she's a bad drunk.
If you like her, you should tell her clearly!
Geez, you just don't understand a woman's heart!
You should research and read some novels!
Novels? Those things?
What do you mean, those things?
You'll understand when you write stories, too!
Like how delicate people's hearts are!
Oh? You write some?
Ah, oh no, Matsumoto, you're making me embarrassed.
If you search for MayuMayu on the computer, you can read my stories right away!
Eh, are you interested?
I may not look like it, but I was once a young man who was into literature.
I've read quite a bit, like works from Kamizaki and Kajii.
Wow, you really are refined, Matsumoto!
Ah, I guess...
Beneath the cherry blossom tree lies a buried corpse.
Or some mystery like that.
Let's begin.
A buried corpse, huh?
Ah, I shouldn't have asked something that weird.
Why do I, feared as the Black Reaper, have to do this?
This is it?
What about the numerical password? Is there a memo or something?
No.
This is it, it's written right on it.
4697...
W-What was that?
A-A pervert!
S-S-Stay away!
This is the number.
4697635.
You heard the number just now, didn't you?
I-I heard nothing.
The number 4697635!
You heard it again!
N-No, it's because you said it!
Shut up!
Dammit! I can't keep things a secret because of my remuneration!
Remuneration?
I said something I shouldn't have again!
I can't let you go now because you heard things you shouldn't have.
I-I don't remember any numbers.
Liar! 4697...
635.
See? You do remember.
T-That's because you said it over and over!
S-Stop!
Things seemed so detached from reality just now,
and all I could remember was the appearance of the person who saved me.
He was beautiful.
Especially the line of his collarbone.
I remembered that he had danced like the air, though.
And there my memory stops.
You got her?
Tell the ones on top to erase her memory.
What is it?
Public Safety Department?
Which means she knows that contractors exist.
In that case, if we use the ME, it won't mean we've cleared out every trace.
If she's part of Public Safety, then at the very least, she won't be stupid and reveal information about us to the public.
And if she does?
If that happens, there's only one thing to do.
Take the goods to Huang, Mao.
I'll take care of the rest.
I got it.
A dream?
So it was...
That's all I could believe it was.
But for some reason, my pulsing heart just wouldn't stop.
And then...
A story began to flow from me.
It was like a drunken spring dream.
The cat had told the masked man the mysterious password.
Number, huh?
What would work?
And for some reason, this number from my dream was burned onto my mind.
Episode Twenty-Six Beneath Cherry Blossoms in Full Bloom...
You lost the goods?
Don't give me that crap!
Sorry, unexpected things happened.
Cats have it tough during this season.
I desperately looked for it, but...
Don't worry, I'll find it for sure.
You better! Damn it, everyone's so...
By the way, don't get too close to that girl, Yin.
You know what situation you're in, right?
Huang, she's made a friend, so a little bit...
Stay out of this!
You got it?
Yes.
There it is!
Hey!
It's mine! I've been looking for this for 2 years!
The Maurice pilot is super rare!
What are you saying? This Maurice has been waiting for me!
A book can't possibly wait for you!
Your head's gone crazy!
What's crazy is your head!
Are you serious?
Are you really the MayuMayu who wrote "Maurice's Night?"
Yeah.
I can't believe I called such a great person a brute and a swine.
If there were a hole, I'd like to crawl into it right now.
It's all right, you just need to be careful from now on.
Oh yeah, that story you uploaded yesterday about the masked man was cool!
Eh? You read it already?
It's an original character, right?
How is he going to get involved with Maurice?
Well, you'll just have to wait.
It'll be unfair to other fans.
I see...
But the masked man with delicious collarbones is really great!
I know someone like that, too.
Eh? A masked man?
No, someone with nice collarbones.
Thanks for the meal.
Come again!
Those collarbones...!
See? They're delicious, aren't they?
No doubt...
There's no doubt!
W-What's wrong?
Ah, no, it's nothing.
Those are the collarbones that saved me.
No doubt about it.
It wasn't a dream!
A-Are you okay?
Please tell me where he lives!
No! I'm the only one allowed to stalk him!
I've been in a slump these days.
Isn't that really bad?
I'm sure I'd be able to write something interesting if I met him.
Umitsuki Apartments
On that night, my legs had finally made their way to the Umitsuki Apartment.
My desire to meet him had overcome me.
What am I doing?
Ootsuka.
Ootsuka!
Y-Yes!
Are you so busy that you're losing sleep?
N-No!
Just what do I...
Could it be...
These feelings...
Why is she looking for us?
Could it be that she knows who we are?
You still can't find it?
Yeah.
What the hell are you doing?
Can't you at least remember the password?
I do remember some of it.
4697...
4697635.
What did you just say, Yin?
4697635.
The password.
Jun, who had received the password from the masked man,
ran full speed to the zoo where Maurice was being kept.
And then he yelled,
"Maurice, I need you after all."
Yin, w-what are you saying?
Even humans and elephants can love each other.
It may be forbidden love,
but Maurice, I will live my life with that love.
"Maurice's Night," this is it!
What's this?
Are you saying this number is the complete password?
I just let Kouno go and confir—
Bingo! It certainly is the right number.
But, someone else got here already.
We were too late!
Why is that number here, though?
I don't know, but I heard that it's a story she had written.
Story?
So you've read it, Matsumoto?
Yeah...
The masked man is also written here.
If it's about BK-201...
Ootsuka said that she didn't see him, though.
Which means she got information from another source.
It'll be dangerous if she makes any bad moves.
That's right, we've got the goods, but the information has been leaked.
They've got you tailed, too.
You know what to do, right?
Yeah.
There it is!
All right!
You lost her?
What the heck are you doing?
You're...
Ootsuka! Get in!
Why are you here, chief?
He's a contractor? Do you want to get killed?
Contractor? But he's the one who save—
Just hurry up!
Chief!
Idiot! Come on!
What's going on?
It's BK-201, the Black Reaper.
BK-201?
You looked for him not knowing that?
If I had known, I wouldn't have written the story.
You should know he's suspicious because of his mask, at least!
I don't know.
Love is blind!
Love?
That's right, Saitou worries about his position,
and can't ever confess his love. That just isn't love!
What are you saying?
Get down!
Let's call for reinforcements!
They won't make it, take Ootsuka and run, Saitou!
I'll hold him back!
Please don't be ridiculous!
I can't abandon someone I lov—
It's love! That's all to it.
Saitou!
Li-kun?
Hei!
I found it, Hei!
W-What just happened?
Strangely, no one remembers what happened that night.
But it seems like it wasn't just me who didn't feel clear about it,
the same feeling as if something is stuck in your throat.
Don't you remember, chief?
I'm sure I remember saying something really important to you that night.
Sorry, I can't remember.
Anyway, I feel that I found the truth regarding something very important.
However, only one thing was clear.
Ever since then, my allergies have been healed for some reason.
I don't know why, but I feel like I will have a nice spring.
Medicine for allergies?
Yeah, seems like it was made by the chemical department from the Gate.
If everything went well, it could've led to a complete cure.
So that's what that fluid was?
Yeah, but there's a negative side effect.
You lose a few days' worth of memory.
It's unfortunate, but it'll be a while before it's put to use.
Wait, Huang, Hei and I haven't lost our memories of that time.
Is it because of what Hei said then? That contractors aren't allergic to pollen.
Who knows? I don't know about contractors.
Oh, it's the pink girl.
She's probably heading to Yin's place.
Hey, Huang.
We were able to collect the goods thanks to Yin remembering the number.
Yeah, do whatever you want.
Aren't you glad, Yin?
Yeah.
It can't be... right?
She's not coming today?