Freesia 81

Final chapters for the Seinen Freesia, by Jiro Matsumoto. Ya know, that thing with the nutter who thinks he sees dead people. Or maybe he does. Oh, and he's an assassin who thinks he has superpowers, and chances are he got 'em, too!
Okay, let me post this while I still have some sort or grip on my own sanity.

This is a Gantz Waiting Room release.

Expect the scanlated version here.
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187
=The war's over...
Chapter 81=Deal.

188
=Oh yeah? So... Who won...? Us or them?
=Not us.
=No waaaay.
=It's been two weeks since the night of the explosion/and the number of casualties and missing people keeps growing... The count is currently over 700 people.//But according to the foreign media, this time the bombing was a surgical strike, involving the use of a guided missile/and because of this many are those who believe this strategy was elaborated with a humanistic bent.
=What when the occupation army comes and rapes us?/That won't happen./So how about a karaoke?/You sure?/The ore factory over there got all its exploitation rights taken away. Cabinet members just had to resign en masse after that./...Woooooow....

189
=I don't think/I'm really getting it.
=The new Cabinet is deliberating on an amendment for the Vengeance Act/We're expecting the clause to be adopted this weekend at the earliest.//Essentially, the Vengeance Act would be abolished, the Proxy Enforcers' unlawful and criminal actions investigated, and met with suitable punishment once ascertained./The authorities have already started to list the prominent figures in the various Vengeance agencies...

190
=Mother./You already done eating?//It's been only the two of us, here...//but.../this may be the last time we get to have this...//I wished I could have lived in the real world/but I never thought this would turn out to be our future.

191
=I knew the risks, but I was unable to avoid them, ultimately.../There's no turning back, now. I can't hide either.//I'm stepping into foreign territory here, as far as future goes... So I'm a bit confused, at the moment./I should have saved my friend... My herbivore's intuition hasn't been working out either./I'm like a sonar-less submarine, in the middle of the sea.//That's why I can't take you with me.../Don't worry, though. I've made preparations for you, money and all. You'll be fine.

192
=Mother. Please forgive me.//I couldn't be the good you would have wanted, in the end./I just wanted a quiet life with you and Keiko.//The bugs will stop buzzing, the phone will stop ringing.../and by the time you can hear properly//everybody will be gone.

193
*riiing*
*riiing*
=It's time. I have to go./Reality is calling for me.

194
=I've seen that old hag somewhere... She lived with that bespectacled nut...
=Someone rang the bell, and went out to check the entry hall. This is all I've found.../There's also a letter, director.
Letter: This is my mother. Please take care of her. The bank will handle everything regarding the payment.
Check: Kokkori Bank/Regular Bank Account
Envelope: Kano Hiroshi.
=What are you doing? Take Kano-sama's mother to her room, and be quick about it, you slowpokes./And prepare a bath for her, will ya?
=Ye... Yes sir.

195
=Come to think of it, you never gave me a phone call before, Yamada-san./This is the first time.

196
=Because I never had cause to give you a phone call before.
=Why did you have come here in this ruined factory's storehouse of all places?
=Why, you ask?/We are wanted people, at least at the moment.
=Wanted?
=The Vengeance Act has been amended.
=But the reform hasn't been enacted yet, has it?
=Won't be till next week, but the authorities are already taking steps to have us arrested./Having to bail out because they got the drop on us would suck.

197
=If the reform gets adopted, that will make everyone at the office a criminal. After all, falsified reports, authority abuse while on the job were common practice.//On top of that, I've been shooting civilians. That's a murder charge, right there........
=What about disguising the collateral damage as an accident?
=The hit on Tanaka might count as legit, but I wouldn't put any money on that./There's no way we can arrange for it to look like an accident now, is there?//Plus with the war lost, people are gonna need scapegoats. Us. The administration wants someone who can take the fall for the conflict, and its own faulty government.//Well no... Not only them. The whole country does./Some questions need answering, and that's why we get to be the bad guys.

198
=Nobody cares about the truth./Not when the country's about to get a new start.
=Sounds bad enough/We better run for it, and fast.
=I don't have the chutzpah to run away from the armed police force.[tn: Normal cops don't have firearms in Japan, hence the need to mention it when they do. Unless they do have them by default in this manga of course.]/I gotta think up of something else.
=Then.../What do you want with me?
=Well.../I was wondering what you were gonna do.

199
=I've just left my mother in the institution's hands.//Because with me gone.../there'd be nobody to take care of her...
=So... Are you running away?
=The conclusion the boss talked about is still nowhere in sight./The puzzle still needs a piece to be complete.//Achieving perfection may be impossible/but getting close to it is not.

200
=........./What are you talking about...?//Whatever the boss says has no more meaning, now./Because our job is over.
=It's not over. This isn't pizza delivery./If you look for "something", you need to act like it.
="Something"....?
=It's not just about me. Higuchi....... and even you. We're all looking for it.//And the act of searching is called "being alive"./That's why the results don't matter. The important thing is the way you go about it.

201
=..............Oh, well./Talking to you hasn't solved anything, as usual.
=Very well, now.//If we're done talking, I'm gonna take my leave./I'm kinda busy...
=Leave your weapon behind, please./Kano-san.

202
=When you get outside, put your hands on your head,/Kneel down and face left.
=!
=I told you, didn't i?/I had to pick another course of action...

203
=I made a deal with the cops. Public Safety./The authorities were pretty determined to get their hands on the infamous "Phantom Killer", you see.
=I see.//I never noticed. How careless of me.../My intuition's been getting quite rusty, of late.
=They chose this deserted place for a reason/should you oppose any resistance, they'll shoot you to death.//So do as I say, please./Give me your gun.

204
=Sorry./I still need my weapon.
=Kano-san.
=Don't worry about me./I have no wish to get myself killed.
=No one's gonna save you...

205
=This changes nothing./I have to do this.
=What do you mean?/I don't understand.
=.........../I guess not.
*clank*
=Not so long ago, I couldn't understand it myself........

206
=...Kano-san.

207
=Put your hands on your head and bow down where you stand./This is your last warning!//We're dealing with the famous Phantom Killer, right here./Keep your eyes peeled.

208
=You guys have pulled out the stops, I see./Why me?
=Because you're exactly what they need...[tn: Or maybe "what we need", assuming that guy is one of the cops or was at some point.]
=Is that so?
=Put your hands on your head...........

209
=I.. It can't end.../Like this.
=You.../What are you!?
=Hopefully.../You'll get to find it too.
=Water... I want some water...[/end