"What information do you want?"
Silvain's sudden appearance left Ryoko Tamiya feeling like she was staring into a dense fog. All of his abilities were perfectly concealed beneath the surface. Had he not revealed himself, she wouldn't have known he was a Parasyte at all.
"I'm completely different from you. I have no interest in humans. On the contrary, I'm very curious about Parasytes."
Silvain returned his right hand to normal and continued, "You must have dissection data on Parasytes. I want everything you have."
His request displeased Ryoko Tamiya.
Since becoming a Parasyte, no one had dared to speak to her with such audacity.
A surge of killing intent rose within her. "I do have plenty of data. But why should I give it to you?"
"Because I'm worth cooperating with. Aren't I?" Silvain smiled as he looked at her.
Ryoko Tamiya stared at him for a long time before finally nodding. "Congratulations. You've convinced me. Meet me with Shinichi Izumi after class, and I'll give you what you want."
With that, she turned and left the career guidance room.
In the now-empty room, Shinichi stared at Silvain like he was seeing him for the first time. His face was pale and his voice uneasy. "When... when did you get parasitized, Silvain-kun?"
In the face of Shinichi's angry question, Silvain simply smiled and pointed at his own head.
"How are you so sure I'm a Parasyte? Or do you assume that all hosts with Parasytes inside them become Parasytes themselves? If that's the case, then tell me, Shinichi, what are you?"
Before Shinichi could respond, Migi answered on his behalf. "I'm in a symbiotic relationship with Shinichi. I didn't consume his brain. He retains his human consciousness. Therefore, he's still human."
"That's right. I'm human. Definitely not a Parasyte!" Shinichi said firmly, though his voice carried a hint of guilt.
Silvain turned and said softly, "What if the Parasyte that tried to take over me lost consciousness during the process? Would I, still possessing a human mind, not be considered human?"
"You mean... the Parasyte inside you is brain-dead?"
Shinichi looked shocked.
Silvain didn't answer. He simply continued, "Like you, I'm a special existence."
Then he turned and walked out, heading back to the classroom.
Standing alone, Shinichi stared at his back in silence.
"Migi... do you think what he said could be true?"
Migi blinked its large eye. "It's possible. Just like any group, there are always a few exceptional individuals. As he said, he may be one of them."
"No. What he said is definitely true." Shinichi smiled faintly.
Migi tilted its eye, puzzled. "How can you be sure, Shinichi?"
"Because I saw something in him that you Parasytes don't have."
"What is it?"
"Guess," Shinichi replied with a mysterious grin.
…
After school, the two took a bus to the coffee shop where they had agreed to meet Ryoko Tamiya.
On the bus, Migi kept peeking out and observing Silvain, clearly curious about what exactly made him different from other Parasytes.
It wasn't until they arrived at the café that he began to understand.
"This place looks expensive. The atmosphere's nice though," Silvain said casually. He set his schoolbag at his feet, picked up the coffee in front of him, and took a sip, completely at ease compared to Shinichi's stiff demeanor.
"Shinichi, roll up your sleeve," Migi said suddenly. "Two Parasytes are approaching."
"I thought you said there wouldn't be a fight," Shinichi replied as he rolled up his sleeve.
"There won't be. But two of them are coming."
"Don't worry. If there's a fight, I'll help," Silvain said as he continued drinking.
Soon, Ryoko Tamiya appeared, accompanied by a man.
The man wore an expressionless face and was dressed like an average office worker.
"Sorry for the wait. Let me introduce him. This is Mr. A," Ryoko said.
Mr. A examined both of them, his eyes narrowing as he sensed something strange.
"What's going on here? Can this guy even be considered one of us? And why is there an ordinary human here?"
"A, don't worry. I'll explain everything," Ryoko said, then took a seat across from Silvain and Shinichi.
"This is the data you wanted." She handed Silvain a file folder.
He opened it on the spot and flipped through it. The folder contained both text and diagrams, though not much. Clearly, Ryoko hadn't given him everything.
As he studied the parasite dissection images, the progress bar on Silvain's panel jumped forward.
"This isn't everything, is it?" Silvain asked with a smile.
"We're cooperating. It wouldn't make sense for me to hand over all my bargaining chips."
"These are still useful," Silvain said as he placed the documents back into the file and slid them into his bag. "So, what's the job?"
Ryoko then pulled out another stack of papers, printed with personal information.
"This Parasyte isn't under our control. She's already responsible for multiple incidents around Tokyo and is drawing too much attention from both the public and law enforcement. I need you to eliminate her."
Silvain looked through the papers. There was a photo of a woman, along with a map of her last known locations.
Trying to test my strength? Silvain thought as he tucked the photocopy into his bag. His lips curled into a grin, revealing razor-sharp teeth.
"No problem. I'll take care of her soon."
"You're a Parasyte too?" Mr. A frowned.
Silvain's smile turned even more unsettling. "What? Don't I look the part?"
Mr. A said nothing more, but Ryoko continued, "Now that our cooperation is established, let's move on to something else."
"Izumi. What are we, in your eyes?"
"Man-eating monsters." Shinichi hesitated. "Actually... I don't even know what to call you."
Ryoko's next words stunned him.
"Actually, I'm already pregnant. The father is Mr. A."
Even the waiter was so shocked he dropped a coffee cup.
"What a waste of two good cups," Silvain muttered. He had returned to his human appearance and dabbed his mouth with a napkin in disappointment.
"Now, Shinichi, tell me… is the child in my womb human, or Parasyte?"
(To be continued.)