| SPOILER WARNING! This article may contain major plot details for the SPY x FAMILY manga. This article may contain unmarked spoilers. Read at your own risk. |
| “ | Winston Wheeler, Westalis Intelligence Communications division. He may well have been behind all the recent spy purge that's done so much damage to our Operations. | ” |
Note that the arc title is conjectural and following sub-headings are fan-made, used to better organize the story.
The Mole Hunt Arc is the fourteenth story arc in SPY x FAMILY.
The lives of Westalian agents in Ostania are put at risk after a mysterious mole steals classified documents, one of which includes operations in Ostania like Operation Strix. The intelligence services of the two countries begin the pursuit of the thief and the stolen files in the hope of getting to them first.
Summary[]
Yor's Gripe[]
Yor gets teased by her co-workers
At Berlint City Hall, Camilla and Millie get stuck working overtime, so Yor and Sharon help them. After finishing all their work, the girls agree to go out for dinner. Yor quickly gets drunk, so Camilla and Millie grill Yor for any gripes she has with Loid but find none. After they share their gripes about their partners, Yor tries to fit in and, even trying to leave the restaurant, imagines killing Loid but retracts. Ultimately, the girls accept Yor's "lovey-dovey" marriage and tell her that giving a welcome home kiss is normal for couples, which shocks her. When she returns home, Yor faints at the thought of giving Loid a welcome home kiss. Loid catches her from falling, but a flustered Yor ends up crashing around the house to prevent herself from hitting Loid, to his bewilderment.[2]
Loid and Yor have a misunderstanding
The next day, Yor wakes up and worries that she made a fool of herself in front of Loid the night before. After Anya leaves with Becky and Martha to the zoo, Loid sees Yor creeping into the living room. Loid asks Yor to tell him any concerns she has about their life together, but since Yor cannot think of anything, she tries to be vague by saying that she has problems with everything and declares she is dissatisfied with their life together, which astounds Loid.
Just as she says this, Yuri bursts into the house and is shocked by what he hears, so a discussion is started, but is interrupted after Loid gets an emergency call and promptly leaves for Berlint General Hospital. Suspecting Loid of cheating, Yuri convinces Yor to follow him but is forced to withdraw after receiving an emergency summons order from the Lieutenant. After Yor follows Loid to the hospital, she finally sobers up and heads home.
A mole steals top-secret files from WISE
At the hospital, Fiona reports to Loid that a mole from WISE HQ in Westalis has stolen top-secret files, one of which was a coded map regarding agents' operational activities in Ostania, including Operation Strix. At the same time, Yuri and other SSS agents are ordered by the Boss to ensure the mole's security upon crossing the border.[3]
The Chase for the Mole[]
Yuri meets Twilight disguised as Winston
The mole is revealed to be Winston Wheeler, a talented spy whose abilities are praised by Twilight himself. The WISE agents make their way to Wheeler's supposed destination, Shellbury in northwest Ostania. Fiona suggests pulling the plug on every operation in Ostania and restarting with a clean slate but Loid refuses, reasoning that in Operation Strix's case, it would take years to get as close to Donovan Desmond again as they are now. Agents from both SSS and WISE arrive at Shellbury, and Loid is tasked with keeping the SSS from getting Winston. At the same time, Winston receives orders to meet at the city's hotel. Disguising himself as Winston, Loid scouts the hotel from afar and observes disguised WISE agents waiting for the real Winston. In order to buy time to capture Winston, Loid approaches Yuri as Winston and tells him that he will change the meetup location to a park.[1]
Meeting at the park, "Winston" and the SSS agents question each others' identities. Loid says his "green" tie and "yellow" gemstone tiepin were the signals that they specified. The agents report the color yellow to the Boss at HQ, revealing Jeffrey as a mole working with WISE since it was a canary trap set to reveal who was leaking their information. Upon learning that Twilight is impersonating Wheeler, the SSS agents prepare to capture him. However, Loid triggers several hidden traps around the park as he escapes.
Yuri and Twilight's confrontation
Loid quickly disguises himself as Yuri and misdirects the SSS agents to another location before heading down the sewers. The real Yuri arrives at the park shortly afterward and notices that Twilight left behind a track leading to the sewers. Yuri gives chase but is almost killed by Loid, who hesitates upon seeing him. While both men are taken aback by their sudden appearances, they nevertheless shoot at each other. At the Forger home, Yor is still rattled by Yuri's suggestion that Loid is having an affair and wonders to herself if Loid will be coming home late.[4]
Yuri's shot injures Loid's right arm, while Loid shoots Yuri's gun away, and the two quickly engage in hand-to-hand combat. After knocking down Yuri multiple times, Loid is surprised by Yuri's endurance but ultimately comes out on top as Yuri finally collapses. Loid prepares to make a finishing blow but spares Yuri after hearing him apologize to Yor and disappears further down the sewers.
Fiona discovers Winston
Winston does not show up at the hotel, prompting Fiona and the WISE Agent to switch their plans, with the Agent putting on a disguise of Gascoigne, the SSS officer that Winston is supposed to meet. Wheeler, who has been waiting for a signal, notices "Gascoigne" leaving the area and tails him under the possibility that the meetup location changed. Still unable to lure out Wheeler, WISE agents stage a car accident. By observing the onlookers' reactions and poses, Fiona finally identifies Wheeler. Winston attempts to escape but is cornered by Fiona and another WISE agent.[5]
With nowhere to run, Winston surrenders. Fiona has another agent secure him by tying his hands behind his back and, recovering the files he stole, starts moving Winston since he might have the intel memorized. In that instant, he jumps over his restrained hands and, now free, uses the bind to take the agent hostage and threatens to kill him, although Fiona ignores this as they are all prepared to die. The WISE Agent disguised as Gascoigne suddenly arrives on the scene, and, using this to his advantage, Winston throws the hostage at Fiona and jumps down the railing to the level below. After freeing himself with the knife the agent dropped, Winston escapes into a nearby sewage pipe, prompting Fiona to send backup and chase after him.
Fiona finds Twilight defeated at Wheeler's hands
Inside the sewer, Loid, still wearing the disguise of Yuri, is attempting to get to a safe zone when he starts hearing the footsteps of someone being pursued. Suddenly, Winston tries to attack Loid from behind with a brick. Loid tries to maintain his cover as Yuri to Wheeler, but Winston sees through the lies. Realizing he is talking to Twilight, Winston decides to unmask him, and they get into a melee. Fiona arrives at the scene of a defeated Loid as Winston is pulling the mask off him. Consumed by rage, Fiona unleashes a forceful blow with her feet, stopping Winston in his tracks.[6]
Elsewhere, Yuri is awoken by his teammate, Chloe, and the Lieutenant. Knowing Yuri was defeated by Twilight, the Lieutenant has Chloe bring Yuri to the surface for medical treatment and goes after him alone. On their way out, Yuri wonders why he was not killed but cannot put his finger on what that would suggest.
Fiona strikes Winston
Returning to the spies, Fiona draws her gun at Winston, who threatens to kill Loid and orders Fiona to throw away the gun, to which she angrily complies. Winston realizes that Twilight holds some importance to Fiona and reminds her that they cannot have any attachments in their work, telling Fiona that it is the reason she has no hope of beating him, but Fiona jumps at him with blind rage. Winston can read her attack, but the speed of her punch is so fast that he barely manages to block it. Fiona lands her punch on Winston, punching his arm into his face and breaking her right arm. Rattled, Winston struggles to get back on his feet.
A narration explains that human beings are normally prevented by subconscious mental inhibitors from using 100% of their strength, as doing so would seriously damage their muscles and bones. However, in Fiona's case, she was so furious that all of her mental inhibitors broke. Fiona declares Winston weak for his inability to trust anyone and how much Twilight motivates her that she will not be beaten. In their fight, Fiona ends up victorious by swinging a hook at Winston with her dislocated arm and knocking him to the ground.[7]
Afterwards[]
Loid and the WISE Agent carry Fiona and Winston out of the sewers
Just as Fiona is about to finish him off, Loid comes to, telling her not to kill him. Together they tie him up, but Fiona begins to panic, wondering when Loid regained consciousness and if he heard what she said about him. They begin discussing everything that has happened earlier, with Loid reasoning to Fiona that he was unable to kill Yuri due to how it would affect Operation Strix. After the WISE Agent arrives, they begin to leave the area with Loid carrying Fiona while the WISE Agent carries Winston.
Yor shatters Loid's worried expectations as she warmly welcomes him home
On their way back, the WISE Agent asks Loid to join him for a drink, but Loid declines, as he had left on the pretext of a work emergency and that it would be rather suspicious if he did not head back soon. Already outside the Forger Residence, Loid prepares himself to handle Yor's grievances, but, to his surprise, Yor is not mad, so he falls to the floor in exhaustion and relief. Yor notices Loid is injured, for which he comes up with an excuse about a wrestler patient. Loid then asks about Anya, who is asleep. He proceeds to apologize to Yor about her gripes, but she explains that she only made them up to seem normal. Gobsmacked, Loid collapses on the floor again. Yor asks if Loid needs an ambulance, but he shrugs it off and requests Yor to take care of the housework for him for the next two days, which she gladly accepts. As she laughs to herself, Yor explains to Loid that she realizes it is not gripping that she wants, but to be able to share his burdens. She tells Loid that he does not have to be perfect all the time, but Loid, although relieved and satisfied with Yor's reasons, believes that he must be perfect in order to survive after his fight with Winston and Yuri.
Yuri suspects Loid is Twilight
As they finish their conversation, Yuri barges in, notably injured too. Loid then goes to prepare some tea, but Yuri notices Loid's right arm is hurt. Remembering that he shot Twilight in the right arm earlier that day and that the master spy could be someone he knows, Yuri forcefully rolls up Loid's sleeves to check for bandages or the wound but finds nothing. Yor inquires what Yuri is up to, who makes up an excuse about Loid's safety. Yor then hurries Yuri away and tells Loid to take a shower.
Inside the shower, it is revealed that Loid had disguised his wound. Realizing that Yuri could tell he was injured, Loid reminds himself that a spy is as good as dead if he allows a seed of doubt to take root in someone else and urges himself to pull himself together. Coming out of the shower, he smells something burning and worries that Yuri might have returned after acting on his suspicions. What he instead finds is that Yor has accidentally set his shirt on fire while trying to iron it, and Loid collapses on the floor once more.[8]
Fiona becomes embarrassed at Sylvia's hints of being aware of her feelings for Twilight
The next morning, Fiona has been admitted to Berlint General Hospital to recover under the excuse of clumsily falling down the stairs. Director Gorey has arranged a private room for her and attempts to spend some alone time with her, but she brushes him off while the nurse in charge sends him away to let Fiona rest. When Gorey finally takes his leave, Fiona asks the nurse, Sylvia in disguise, what she is doing there. Sylvia explains that because they are short-handed at the moment, she has no choice but to take part in the infiltration operation herself. She then hands over Fiona's test results, revealing she is less seriously injured than first feared and will be back to work in no time due to her training in the mountains. Sylvia congratulates her but asks Fiona not to get herself killed as she cherishes and adores her. As Sylvia leaves, she hints at her knowledge of Fiona's feelings for Loid, which causes Fiona embarrassment and panic.
Meanwhile, at the Forger residence, the family stays home to let Loid rest, so Yor, Anya, and Bond spend time together in the living room. After Anya and Bond get their hair brushed by Yor, Franky arrives to deliver some stuff for Loid, and Anya wants to see his hair brushed. The group causes a commotion, which Loid comes out of his room to see, but he quickly heads back inside in exhaustion.[9]
Damian's Gift[]
Anya stops Damian from leaving with the cakes
At Eden, Damian has prepared a bag of cakes to repay his debt to Anya but wants to give it to her privately to save himself from embarrassment. Reading his mind, Anya invites him to a meeting. However, Becky, Ewen, and Emile interfere, making Damian want to give up and leave, but he gets stopped by Anya. The pair are caught out of class by Henry Henderson, who confiscates the cakes and tells them to see him after class for a written apology. After they finish writing their apology, Henderson invites the kids to join him for tea with Damian's cakes. While they discuss the cakes, Damian has a flashback to his conversation with his butler, where he finds out that they were procured by Melinda, who also left a message hoping that Damian would become closer to Anya. After eating, Anya offers to be friends with Damian, who asks why she wanted to meet with him earlier. Damian gets embarrassed while imagining that Anya likes him, which creeps her out and causes them both to retract their offers of friendship.[10]
Yuri's Dilemma[]
Brought down by his losses to Twilight and getting kicked out of the Forger home by Yor, Yuri begins to lose faith in his abilities, especially his fighting prowess. The Lieutenant shows Yuri the silver lining from his recent loss which was wounding Twilight, which has enabled the SSS to begin a manhunt for suspects matching the spy's injury. Chloe arrives with Bobby Bockle, who she believes could be a Twilight suspect, but he is completely off the mark. Yuri helps Chloe with the interrogation, in which he harshly belittles Bobby and threatens to torture him to reveal the base of his organization, the Chicken Circle.
Chloe slaps Yuri
After obtaining the base's location, Yuri and Chloe investigate it together. On the way there, Chloe questions Yuri's poor mood and reminisces about their college days together, remarking how impertinent he was and still is. When they pass by Yor on the street, Yuri hides himself from her. Chloe does not understand his actions and suggests telling Yor they were dating if she saw them. Yuri is annoyed by her suggestion, but Chloe tells him that if she were Yor, she would want him to be happy. Upon arriving at the Chicken Circle's base, Yuri charges inside for a head-on clash with its members, desperate to find out how to become strong enough to beat Twilight. While Yuri is distracted, one last attacker attempts to ambush him but gets stopped by Chloe, who slaps Yuri for his recklessness.
Chloe reprimands Yuri for only thinking for himself and not considering how Yor would feel if he died. She then tells him that he should prove to Yor that he can protect himself. Yuri recalls a memory in which Yor improved her dodging skills and concludes that he must do the same. After returning home to train, Yuri gets a surprise visit from Yor, who apologizes for kicking him out and gifts him with home cooking. After eating food made by Loid, Yuri curses his brother-in-law and thinks of finding a reason to get him arrested. However, he stops and thinks about how Yor would feel, prompting him to ask her how she feels about Loid.[11]
Story Impact[]
- It is revealed that there are moles in both WISE Headquarters and Ostanian Intelligence.
- Yuri and Loid meet for the first time during their secret jobs as an SSS agent and WISE spy, respectively. When they meet, Loid is disguised as Yuri. Their encounter results in Loid almost killing Yuri twice, but he hesitates each time.
- The mole, Winston Wheeler, is defeated and captured by WISE.
- Yuri begins to suspect for the first time that Loid may be Twilight.
- Loid begins to doubt for the first time about his feelings for Yor.
- Sylvia reveals her awareness of Fiona's true feelings for Loid.
- Anya begins to suspect Damian has romantic feelings for her.
- Yuri's fellow officer and collegemate, Chloe, is introduced.
Characters Introduced[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 81.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 79.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 80.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 82.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 83.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 84.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 85.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 86.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 87.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 88.
- ↑ SPY x FAMILY Manga: Chapter 89.
[]
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||