Line 45

Corvus Corax is the third chapter of the ninth volume of the Devils' Line manga series and the forty-fifth chapter.

Summary
Takeshi Makimura wakes up not knowing where he is. A woman is there when he opens his eyes, but he doesn't recognize her. Then, Mayu Sumimori walks into the room. When she sees he's awake she bursts into tears. The other woman is Mayu's older sister Mana. Mayu goes on to introduce the other people at the cabin with them, including her mother Saki, the maid Mrs. Tezuka, and the doctor Yumibayashi. Mayu brought them there secretly so no one would find them. The cabin belongs to Mrs. Tezuka and her late husband and is located in Tsumagoi Village in Gunma. Makimura is shocked to find out its been six weeks since he arrived. The doctor says that with some physical therapy, he'll be okay.

Makimura asks Mayu about the bullet she took to the arm. Mayu explains that one of Queen's people got her. Makimura knows them by name. The one who shot Mayu was Rina and the one who shot him was Eka, the squad commander. Makimura says that Queen has a long history in the military and implies he wears make-up because he's gay. Makimura wants to go back to Tokyo to retrieve all of the information he had on the CCC members and Queen's troop.

Mayu is overwhelmed by happiness that he's alive and awake. He's surprised that she forgave him for strangling her, but she says she heard his apology and after she lost Rina, she called home where her sister Mayu picked up and sent a couple cars and the family security guards to find the two of them. Makimura owes her his life and promises to pay her back however she wants. At the moment, Mayu is only thinking about asking for a kiss, but she never actually says it.

Mayu explains her current moods about her mother and sister. Her mother was genuinely worried about her after she got shot and did everything she could even though she's sick and can't walk. Her hatred for Mana is unparalleled and she's convinced that because she recently broke up with her boyfriend, she's going to try to seduce Makimura. Makimura tells her not to worry. Now is not the time for a relationship.

Mrs. Tezuka brings in the newspapers from a month and a half ago and Mayu put the news on the TV. It seems a lot of legislation involving devils is being passed and Makimura figures that this was what the government wanted all along and they used the CCC to do it. Although it would be valuable to know who is drafting the legislation, it's probably being copied from the R2PC Action Guidelines. Mayu has never hear of the Action Guidelines or the R2PC and when she tries to ask about it, Mana puts her down. She goes on Wikipedia to look it up and finds out that the Redeyes' Right Protection Committee was established in 1993 by the Mibu Administration. Mayu and Mana end up screaming at each other after Mayu has trouble reading the kanji for Mibu. Mana calls her useless, incompetent, and stupid for winding up at a secret organization that's trying to kill her. It comes to a head when Mayu vows to save up money for plastic surgery so she can be the prettiest in the family. Mana says it isn't her face that's ugly and slaps Mayu. Makimura stops the fight by suddenly walking in.

Mayu's mom, Saki, talks to Makimura one on one to explain that their family had no idea the dangerous work Mayu had gotten into. She says they heard about the job from a friend of a friend from a study group - the group run by Nanako's adoptive father. Saki doesn't hold it against her daughter for wanting plastic surgery.

Makimura goes out to talk to Mayu with a cane he got from Mrs. Tezuka. Mayu is holding ice on her swollen face. Mayu listens to what he has to say about her relationship with her sister and she appreciates his advice to decide for herself about the surgery. She admits she listens to him because she likes him. Makimura's answer is dismissive and she starts to cry at the rejection. She begs him to let them be friends, or at least not strangers. She knows he's out of her league. He agrees.

Time passes at the cabin and Makimura continues to recover until he can walk on his own. Mrs. Tezuka gives him a haircut and Mayu freaks out that Mana is going to fall in love with him. So, he tells her to protect him. Mayu asks if he wants something from her, since he's acting so nice to her, but he says there's nothing. He gets the urge to touch her shoulder and he wonders aloud if she's gotten cuter, which she firmly denies. Mayu's hopes for a romance start to spring up again, even though she's sure it's out of the question, but she remembers how he promised he'd do anything for saving his life and she asks him to kiss her. He quickly cradles her face in his hands and says he will, like he's been unconsciously waiting for this moment for a long time.

Chapter Notes

 * Makimura wakes up in a remote cabin that Mayu took him to where he's been being treated for his injuries for the past six weeks. He is in her debt.
 * Makimura gets caught up on current events and says he wants to go back to Tokyo to retrieve information he collected while working for the CCC.
 * Mayu gets into a huge fight with her sister Mana and confesses she wants plastic surgery, even in front of her mother.
 * Makimura recovers and can walk again. His relationship with Mayu grows closer each day.
 * Mayu thinks he could never love her, but when she asks him to kiss her, he seems to want to.

Characters

 * Takeshi Makimura
 * Mana Sumimori
 * Mayu Sumimori
 * Saki Sumimori
 * Mrs. Tezuka
 * Dr. Yumibayashi (no dialogue)
 * Rina (no dialogue)
 * Eka (no dialogue)