My two cents

So I managed to get some if not most of the raws on Instagram, and here are my thoughts.

This chapter, from Akihito's reappearance on is just a total mindfuck. And I know it's intentional lol. We see a brief glimpse of an awake Akihito in his hospital bed before the kidnapping, and someone call to him by name off-screen. Akihito's attention piques at his name, so we can assume from just THAT that he does not have severe amnesia. He may not recall the events of last chapter well, if at all, but he knows who he is. Whether that's all we see of him awake in the hospital I don't know, because I don't know if I got all the raws.

From there, Akihito goes missing for 5 months. We know he was kidnapped by Sakizaki, who is just about as annoying as Sudou at this point, and Chernoborg. After 5 months, in this short chapter, he suddenly reappears in a police station in Warsaw. Seemingly unharmed, everything hunky dory, apart from the emotional reunion between him and Asami. If he was physically tortured, especially while still recovering from traumatic injuries, they did a DAMN good job covering it up. Akihito and Asami go to a hotel, where they talk briefly and Akihito seems "off" at that point. Akihito notices Asami's inner conflict and opts to seduce him out of it. They begin making love on the bed, and Akihito is surprisingly forward during intercourse, choosing to ride him, which of course puts Asami in a more vulnerable position. Akihito pulls a planted knife from under the pillow and threatens to kill Asami then and there, without a second thought, speaking a disturbing manner. In this ONE frame with the knife over his head, Akihito looks eerily like Sudou. Whether that's coincidence or intentional by Yamane-sensei remains to be seen.

In this particular scene, we see no mental lapse by Akihito as he manipulates Asami. No inner struggle from brainwashing. But we can tell something is off with him. His conversation isn't authentic, and he chooses to quickly sway Asami out of said conversation. If this is indeed actually Akihito, the way he's been brainwashed so flawlessly is WEIRD. I mean, I'm more inclined to believe it is him rather than the other big theory circling around. Chernoborg twisted him in his still fragile mental state (waking from a traumatic coma), planted him in the police station as bait, and arranged for them to go to a hotel where he would kill Asami with the one he loves. Makes sense, but it all seems too...I don't know. How was Akihito brainwashed to the point of acting like this and killing Asami without any hesitation? How does he not have a scratch on him at the police station?

This leads into the other theory, that Sudou SOMEHOW survived both being shot by Akihito and the building collapsing on him. It's already a miracle that Asami and Akihito survived their ordeal (plot armor, yes), but Sudou was left IN the building. So hypothetically here, he survives and is recovered presumably by Sakizaki. People think he physically alters himself to resemble Akihito, and plants himself in Warsaw to personally murder Asami once and for all, of course after intercourse, because he's an unfettered psychopath. Interesting theory, especially considering the final frame of the chapter. BUT, how in the world would Sudou recover from even WORSE injuries in only 6 months, undergo reconstructive surgery, and appear to Asami with NO visible scars/wounds? The timing makes no logical sense, which compromises the rest of that theory. He shouldn't be alive at all lol.

All of that said, I'm honestly still not convinced without a doubt that this is indeed Akihito. Basic logic would say yes, and it certainly will make for some of the biggest drama yet, but it all seems too convenient. I don't know. It brings to mind The Hunger Games when Peeta was captured by President Snow and tortured to madness inside the Capitol. Gale and his team later recovered him inside ground zero, while meeting no enemy fire. Peeta later encounters Katniss in the hospital, where he's bruised and emaciated from the torture. Katniss, overcome with emotion, tries to embrace him but Peeta immediately attempts to kill her by suffocating her. Snow planted Peeta to kill his biggest enemy in the cruelest way possible. This is almost a mirror of that, but WHY does Akihito look healthy and well?? Perhaps there's a more advanced means of torture Chernoborg used that didn't involve such things.

And lastly, WHERE HAS FEI LONG BEEN DURING ALL THIS? He's the one that rescued and brought Asami and Akihito to the hospital, and visited them repeatedly. Why is he suddenly MIA?