05. Mekakushi Chord II

Mekakushi Chord II (メカクシコードII Mekakushi Kōdo II) is the fifth chapter of the Kagerou Daze manga.

Summary

 * The group arrives at the mall and head to the seventh floor by the stairs, as Kido's ability gets cancelled by physical contact. Kano notes that Momo seems stressed, and she accidentally reveals that she saw her brother earlier. She worriedly tells them forget it, and they continue up the stairs. Momo reassures Marry, who is out of breath and seemingly upset over breaking her favorite cup. Once they reach the seventh floor, the group decides to visit the store's amusement park after making their purchases.


 * Momo suddenly spots Shintaro just ahead of them and accidentally pushes Kido right into him. Kido's ability breaks; Momo panics about Shintaro seeing her, and Marry trips and falls in excitement as well. Shintaro, however, doesn't notice Momo and bows at the waist, stuttering an apology to Kido. She dismisses him and turns around to reactivate her ability; Momo mourns over how lame her brother is as he looks around in confusion before collapsing in exhaustion over the interaction. Kido, bewildered, asks if Shintaro really is Momo's brother; she tries to deny it, but Kano confirms that she called him just that.


 * Momo notices that Shintaro is talking to his phone and must have brought Ene along. She is greatly upset about running into him, as he's awkward and hasn't tried to leave their home in two years, and she wants the Dan to just buy their things and leave. However, Kido says that his presence is a problem; she had planned to reduce her ability so that Momo could interact with the store's staff as a normal customer, but since Shintaro grew up with Momo, he would be able to immediately recognize her unlike everyone else. Since Shintaro's actively browsing the whole floor, Kido decides that it's best for them to wait at an empty aisle until he leaves before continuing their shopping. Kano complains, suggesting that they should bother Shintaro, but suddenly stops talking.


 * They follow his gaze and spot two men in black gear with a bag at a corner. He asks Kido for instructions, and she orders him to get Shintaro. He leaves the group, and Kido explains to Momo and Marry that the bag smelled of gunpowder and the men are probably armed. She plans for them to leave as soon as Kano returns to Shintaro. However, Momo sees some distance ahead of her a piece of dynamite with a timer; only three seconds are left on it. She tries to warn Kido, but it's too late, and the bomb explodes.

Trivia

 * This chapter was originally titled with the number "2", but is changed to the roman numeral "II" in the volume.