WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Choujin X, Chapter #3 by Sui Ishida, Jan Cash and Snir Aharon, available in English now from Viz Media and Manga Plus.
After watching Tokio and Azuma inject themselves with a drug, Tokio turning choujin and singlehandedly defeat a choujin in Chapter #1 of Choujin X, Azuma's fate was left up in the air in Sui Ishida's new series. It wasn't clear whether he was alive or dead, human or choujin. Fans held their breath for an explanation as to what happened with Azuma in Chapter #2, only to be met with no answers. Thankfully, Chapter #3 picks up shortly after Tokio's victory over Johnny and reveals exactly what happened to Azuma.
In Chapter #3, Azuma wakes up and is horrified by the sight of Tokio's bird-like, transformed face, which Tokio himself hardly notices. Tokio wants to take Azuma to the hospital but Azuma refuses, citing that Tokio can't be seen in public with his face like this. So, Azuma orders him to hide and forbids him from going outside until he has control over his body.
Tokio, who has always followed Azuma's lead and has never taken the initiative to act on his own, has no choice but to listen to him. Tokio's struggle with his face now having a beak and having talons for hands has a pitiful comedic undertone: Tokio has no idea what he's doing -- the transformation is essentially wasted on him. Azuma would know and be able to help him except he doesn't pick up the phone. So, Tokio leaves to pay his friend a visit.
Binding his beak with a belt to hide his face, Tokio stands outside of Azuma's apartment and calls him. Alone in his room, Azuma somberly tells Tokio that the blood tests were normal: he's not a choujin. Azuma hypothesizes that the reason why Tokio became a vulture choujin is that it's a form that he most desires. Tokio's opinion of vultures had changed drastically, thanks to Azuma, which is why they hold a special place in his heart.
But Tokio doesn't want to dwell on the mechanics of choujin, he wants Azuma to tell him what he should do. Azuma has always been the clear-headed one and always has a plan. He should have ideas on how Tokio can change back. Instead, Azuma yells at Tokio to think for himself for once. At his outburst, Tokio apologizes and hangs up before Azuma can say anything else. Azuma, for his part, instantly regrets his anger and apologizes... to an empty room.
Meanwhile in Chapter #3, Johnny, the choujin that Tokio had defeated earlier, is interrogated by his boss (a man in a white mask) about who used the other two syringes and Tokio and Azuma's identities, but Johnny refuses to rat them out. What's more, Johnny feels utterly guilty for killing his two friends in his moment of madness. But guilt has no place here and the masked man decapitates the Flexi Choujin with a single kick.
That drug that Johnny injected himself with had most likely affected his sense of judgment, rendering him incapable of thinking as clearly as he normally would have. Tokio and Azuma took the exact same drug, but it appears as though it does not have the same effect on Tokio, though Azuma seems to be having difficulty controlling his emotions. Whether that's because of the drug isn't clear, though. Azuma had theorized that Tokio's choujin form was a result of a deep-seated desire, but it might be more like a reflection of how Tokio sees himself -- as a vulture.
Azuma seems to be trying to distance himself from Tokio in Choujin X -- either out of fear, jealousy or something else. Despite claiming that the blood tests came back normal, Azuma might be harboring a secret. Already, a rift is forming between the two friends with both of them struggling after their ordeal with Johnny. It might force them apart even further if they don't figure out what's happening soon.
