Akiko's scream halted, and she looked in astonishment as Kenji grabbed Endo by the neck, pushing him backward with one hand.Amid the chaos, Kenji still managed to catch Akiko's body, which nearly fell as she lost her balance.“Kenji…”Akiko wanted to speak and ask, but all of her words were swallowed by relief. Tears fell from Akiko’s eyes without her realizing it, as she continued to look at Kenji in disbelief.“What…” Kenji’s question trailed off as he saw Akiko’s bruised cheek and torn clothing. There was no need to ask what had happened. Kenji's lips thinned as he suppressed his emotions, slowly standing straighter.“Can you stand?” Kenji asked.Akiko nodded and wiped her tears. Without needing to be told, she moved behind Kenji, who now stood facing Endo.The man was standing, rubbing his neck. The force of Kenji's push made his neck feel like it had been
"Here."Ryu handed over the katana he had been carrying to Kenji, who had just stepped out of the car."Later. I want to talk first."Ryu nodded and followed him into one of the abandoned buildings on Tokyo's outskirts. Of course, the building belonged to Shingi Fusaya. It was an old, disused factory that had been vacant for more than five years and was scheduled to be demolished next month."Who is he? Does he have a family?" As Ryu caught up to walk beside him, Kenji asked."Kouki Endo is unmarried. He's the second of three brothers. All male. His parents are still alive, but they live in Aomori. They rarely have contact, though. They're just ordinary people," Ryu relayed, providing Kenji with the information he wanted to know."Good. They still have other sons to replace him."Kenji’s flat tone sent a chill down Ryu’s spine. He had been friends with Kenji for a long time, but seeing him in hunting mode like this was sti
Akiko woke up, but she stood up too quickly.“Aahh…” Akiko straightened her back. There was a sharp pain as she bent down. Endo’s rough handling still left her sore.And as she groaned, Akiko still felt the pain. Her cheek ached as she opened her mouth. The bruise still hurt.Akiko sighed, grateful it was Saturday. She wouldn’t need to apply heavy makeup to cover the bruise.Akiko frowned. She wanted to report Endo to the police for what he did, but it would cause a big scandal.Akiko couldn’t imagine how her coworkers would react. At worst, someone might call her a flirtatious widow who seduces men. That thought made Akiko doubt whether reporting him to the police was the right choice.Perhaps the evidence of abuse on her face and back could strengthen the case against Endo—especially with her uncle as a witness. But Akiko wasn’t sure she could handle the uproar her report would create.
“What doll?” Akiko dodged the question, and that was a disastrous move."There's a rabbit doll in your room. I bought it for..."He stopped. Kenji still couldn’t talk about it, and Akiko immediately busied herself with chewing, avoiding eye contact with Kenji altogether. Talking about that loss felt like confronting a large, unavoidable obstacle.“That doll shouldn't be with you.” Kenji changed his direction, concentrating solely on the information he was seeking.“I bought it myself. It’s not yours.” Akiko was defiant.This was because she couldn’t explain how the doll had changed hands. It was all too wrong.Akiko believed that her actions that day, such as hugging Kenji, were wrong, as her feelings had changed from those of a child seeking comfort. Back then, she had been too weak, and now she wanted to forget it.“Where did you buy it?” Kenji inquired, clearly
"I think you should report this to the police! And that alone isn’t enough. That bastard deserves to be castrated!"Kyoko didn’t bother filtering her words; her hands mimicked the motion of breaking something in two. There was no need to ask what Kyoko wanted to break, especially after she mentioned the word "castration.""That’s my plan too, but I’m hesitant if it turns into a big scene," Akiko said, as attaching her name tag at the entrance after waiting in line for quite a while.Mondays made the lines a bit longer. Everyone chose the same time to arrive—five minutes before work started."But it's disgusting that he's still in the office with you. Who knows what he’ll try to do next?" Kyoko replied, shuddering.Akiko sighed. Of course, she agreed with that sentiment. She didn’t know how she was going to face Endo after this. She wasn’t even sure she could bear to meet him. Just thinking about it ma
"Kouki Endo? Wait!"The police officer writing Akiko’s report furrowed his brow and stared at his handwriting. Akiko was just as confused."I feel like I’ve heard this name before, but I can't remember where. Sorry, give me a moment."Akiko nodded, watching as the officer sifted through his files.She glanced over at Kyoko, who could only shrug, equally clueless. Akiko had planned to report Endo herself to HR, but for the police, she asked Kyoko to come along.Even though this was a police station, the place still felt unfamiliar to her. And now, halfway through the report, there was another oddity."Are you reporting Kouki Endo, who works here at Shingi Fusaya? A real estate company?" The officer finally pulled out a file and read the data.Akiko nodded."Heh... hah..." The officer suddenly smiled and nodded his head."What’s going on?" Akiko asked.The officer looked satisfied, as i
Ryu paced back and forth in front of the ER, his hands constantly wringing together. Kenji was taken to the ER an hour ago, but nothing has been reported."Here," Inoue, who had arrived ten minutes earlier, handed her phone to Ryu."What's his name?" Ryu asked."Yato Maeda," Inoue replied."Maeda-san?" Ryu pressed the phone to his ear."Who are you? Why are you calling me at this hour?"A slightly harsh reply came from the other side. It was ten o'clock at night. Being forced to take a call from an unknown person was understandably annoying."Ryusuke Sato. Kuryugumi.""Who… Oh?" There was a commotion on the other end, and Ryu clicked his tongue impatiently. He had no patience left at this point."Sato-san, I apologize for not recognizing you. How can I help you?" Maeda quickly corrected his tone, becoming very polite."There's been an incident, and Sandaime is in the ER at Saiseikai right now. Your hospital
"Did you just tell Akiko what happened?!"Ryu hissed and glared when he heard how Inoue ended the call by mentioning the name of the hospital where they were."I... yes..." Inoue stammered. She had already decided on her own. She was obedient, but Ryu's orders were not as heavy a burden as Kenji's."Are you insane?! How will you explain to her what happened?! Are you going to honestly tell her everything? Do you want to die in Kenji's hands?"Ryu reminded Inoue of what would happen if the decision involving Akiko turned out to be wrong. Without Kenji's permission, approaching Akiko was too dangerous."But she needs to know Sandaime's condition. They told me to prepare for the worst. Akiko-san is...""SHUT UP! He will live! Don’t talk as if Kenji is going to die!" Ryu snapped.He rarely sounded or appeared angry, but this situation had pushed him to the point of despair.Ryu had to rub his face again, calming himself d
“Himawari! Natsu!”A ten-year-old boy let out a loud shout when he discovered two other children hiding behind the bushes beneath the tree.“Kenzo—big brother!”Natsu was startled to see Kenzo suddenly appear. He pulled the girl, Himawari, beside him to stand, intending to run away, but Kenzo stopped him.“No! You’re making Okaa-san worried. You have to go back.” Kenzo grabbed Natsu's arm.“But Himawari is scared. She doesn’t want to go to school,” Natsu pointed at Himawari, who was now sobbing.“Hima-chan.” Kenzo knelt down and gently stroked Himawari's head, which was bowed down.“School isn’t scary. You’ll meet many new people and make new friends,” Kenzo coaxed softly until Himawari looked up to meet Kenzo's gaze.“But… but… I want to be with Natsu. I don’t want to go to school…”
“This place isn’t bad.” Kenji didn’t outright refuse, but his reluctance was evident.“Indeed, I will make sure this place will never be bad for those children. However, Kenzo stands apart from these children. They are kids who truly have no family and are forced to live here. Kenzo has me. I am his family. I am the only family Kenzo has."Akiko didn’t want to acknowledge this while remembering Kenzo's mother’s actions, but Kenzo was still the child of her mother’s younger sibling—her family. No one else was her blood relative as of now.“I can’t forget that fact and pretend Kenzo is someone else. It will haunt me in my sleep,” Akiko urged again.Kenji fiddled with the car keys beneath him while staring at the back of Kenzo's head, who was now trying to draw something with crayons on a new piece of paper.“I know you hate his mother—I do too. But you don’t hav
“I still don’t want to do this,” Kenji grumbled.“I know, but I’m sure you also know that this is the right thing to do,” Akiko replied, looking at her husband, who was now unbuckling his seatbelt. Although they arrived two minutes earlier, neither of them got out of the car.The decision they—Akiko—made was indeed a significant one. Akiko needed to calm herself. Kenji had left the choice to her, but he was still going through it with a heavy heart.“Come on, let’s go.” Akiko finally opened the door and stepped out.Children playing in the yard rushed over when they spotted her.“Tanaka-san! What did you bring today? Candy? A storybook?”A chorus of voices greeted Akiko. She often visited the orphanage with gifts, so the children expected her to bring something.“I brought something in the car for you, but it’s a secret. You can…”
“I don’t want to sleep with you.” Ryu repeated the question in disbelief because it seemed too absurd. He shook his head while rubbing his face.“I think your ability to draw conclusions isn’t very sharp right now,” Ryu said.“No!” Kyoko was obviously offended. Although it wasn't a direct insult, Ryu had implied that Kyoko was stupid.“Don’t be angry; I understand. I would be disappointed if your mind was entirely calm at the moment.” Ryu smiled with satisfaction.“I’m calm!” Kyoko retorted.“You just asked about my desire to sleep with you. I think that’s quite a disturbance that’s keeping you from being calm.” Ryu left his suitcase and approached Kyoko, who suddenly panicked and stepped back.“Don’t deny it. You won’t succeed in making me think otherwise.” Ryu chuckled softly at her panic.“I don&
“Don’t open it now. You’ll get wet.” Ryu raised the hood of Kyoko's raincoat just in time as a large amount of water splashed toward where they were sitting. It was as if someone had poured a giant bucket of water on them.The orca whale show they were watching involved jumping out of the water. Of course, when they fell back, they splashed a lot of water toward the audience.Ryu clapped like everyone else, appreciating the hard work of the giant mammals, but Kyoko didn’t clap at all—not even when the show ended.“Didn’t you like it?” Ryu inquired as they exited, discarding their soaked raincoats.Ryu grabbed a small towel handed out by the staff, then used it to dry Kyoko’s hair and neck. Although Ryu had covered her hoodie just in time, some parts of Kyoko’s hair and neck were still wet.“You don’t like aquariums. I’ll note all of that.” After waiting for a
"I want to go home."Kyoko suddenly spoke up just as Akiko finished applying pink lipstick to her lips.“Huh? Why? Did you forget something?” Akiko straightened up, confused, as she glanced at the kimono Kyoko would be wearing.Kyoko's kimono was simpler, with only a hair ornament as an accessory. It wasn’t as elaborate as the one Akiko had worn when she got married in Utoro.Ryu had planned for their wedding to be similar to Akiko’s, but they had compromised for a more modest ceremony at the city hall. Ryu knew Kyoko's feelings about temple buildings, so he wouldn't dare force anything. Besides, the reception would still happen; just the ceremony would be different.Nobody objected to the decision. Everyone agreed as long as the wedding took place, including Akiko. Even though her expensive kimono was a bit much for a city hall wedding, she was still happily helping Kyoko.“Everything's ready. I just need to pu
“You must be crazy!” Kyoko stood up and paced back and forth in the living room, trying to recall if there was any sign that Ryu wasn’t serious.But everything was serious. Ryu had even sent her a photo of the kimono he would wear on their wedding day. When Kyoko saw the photo, she thought Ryu was insane, as discussing kimono patterns would escalate their deception.In the end, Kyoko made her choice, wanting to end the pointless discussion. But it turned out that the discussion was important.“Are you just going to sit there?!” Kyoko yelled angrily, glaring at Ryu, who was calmly sipping beer and munching on peanuts he had brought earlier.“What do you want me to do?” Ryu frowned.“Cancel everything! Call them all! Cancel it!” Kyoko sat back down next to Ryu and then attacked him, reaching for his waist.“Hey, wait! Don’t get aggressive all of a sudden,” Ryu was, of cour
Ryu shook his head, while effortlessly unlocking Kyoko's apartment door once more by simply inputting her birthday—the day after tomorrow.He had repeatedly reminded Kyoko to change the password, which was extremely easy to guess. Not just once—like when he first broke in to find the listening device—but several times since.Now, Kyoko no longer lives in Tokyo. Since becoming actively involved in Kuryugumi and assisting Kenji and Ryu, Kyoko had relocated to Osaka, where she now primarily worked.However, Kyoko hadn't been working regularly since visiting her parents, and no one was pressuring her to do so either. Kenji didn’t give any orders, leaving everything up to Ryu.The apartment’s security was truly weak, especially since there was still no sound, despite Ryu walking into the room for several moments. It was evident that Kyoko had fallen asleep due to the late hour. Ryu had come straight to the apartment after returnin
Akiko adjusted herself in front of the mirror, gazing at the new kimono she would wear the day after tomorrow.The kimono was custom-made for her, so naturally, it fit perfectly. But Akiko wanted to see if the color matched her expectations. And indeed, everything was perfect. It fit her body beautifully and didn't feel heavy or hot, which was crucial considering it was still summer.The modern kimono, with a white base, was adorned with pink cherry blossoms. Akiko had even prepared hair accessories filled with cherry blossom designs to complete the look.She wasn’t wearing the hairpiece yet, but when she tried placing it on her head, the pink color matched perfectly with her black hair. Everything was set. She had also prepared clothes for Natsu and Kenji.BANG!Akiko flinched and dropped the hair accessory she was holding. The loud noise from the sliding door startled her.Luckily, Natsu was in the next room, so he wouldn’t be