Akai Mary slumped against the wall, looking at Kanjuro and then at her daughter clinging to his embrace. The last flicker of resistance in her eyes died out. In the face of absolute power and established facts, all her struggles appeared laughable and futile. Exhausted, she nodded in resignation.
Sera Masumi hugged Kanjuro's arm tightly, burying her face against his side. Her emotions were complex to the extreme, but a strange, twisted sense of belonging quietly took root in the depths of her heart.
Kanjuro led the newly "recruited" mother and daughter out of the apartment like a triumphant emperor. As he passed the doorway, he didn't even spare Gin or Vodka a single glance.
Gin and Vodka immediately bowed their heads like the most submissive servants.
Watching Kanjuro's departing figure and the mother and daughter following him—their expressions complex and their fates completely altered—Gin and Vodka glanced at each other, both seeing the same thought in the other's eyes:
This Tokyo, and even the entire underworld, would likely face an unprecedented, subversive storm under Kanjuro's will and methods, which defied all common logic. And they had no choice but to follow closely.
Back at Kanjuro's temporary stronghold, inside the suite filled with an invisible sense of oppression. Akai Mary was placed on the sofa; she straightened her back, trying to maintain a final shred of dignity, but her slightly trembling fingers betrayed her inner turmoil. Sera Masumi stayed close to her, looking at her mother with worry and then at Kanjuro, her heart heavy with complex emotions.
Kanjuro didn't waste any time. He walked up to Akai Mary and looked down at her, his gaze as sharp as a blade, cutting straight to the core:
"Mary, tell me everything you know about Miyano Elena." His voice was flat, yet carried an unquestionable command. "Don't try to hide anything. You know that in front of me, concealment is pointless."
Akai Mary's body stiffened. She snapped her head up to meet Kanjuro's eyes, which seemed able to see through all illusions. Her lips quivered, and a flash of extremely complex emotion crossed her eyes—there was connection, hesitation, and even a trace of... unspeakable dread? She seemed to know something, but the information was wrapped in a thick fog, making her hesitate to speak.
"...I..." She opened her mouth, but in the end, she only shook her head dejectedly, avoiding Kanjuro's gaze. "Some things... it's not good to know too much. Especially about her..."
Her reaction further confirmed Kanjuro's suspicions. As a former MI6 elite and someone closely related to the high-ranking FBI official Akai Tsutomu, Akai Mary had definitely come into contact with certain core secrets regarding Miyano Elena!
Kanjuro narrowed his eyes slightly. He could, of course, use his power to forcibly probe Akai Mary's memories; that wouldn't be difficult for him. But looking at the woman before him—feigning composure yet unable to hide her fragility—and the mother-daughter relationship between her and Sera Masumi that had just been forcibly "stitched" together, he suddenly felt that directly reading her memories would be like using a crowbar to open a delicate lock. Efficient, yes, but lacking the pleasure of the dismantling process.
He enjoyed watching them struggle under pressure, weigh their options in fear, and eventually be forced to offer up their secrets personally. That satisfied his dark desire for control far more than obtaining the answers directly.
Thus, Kanjuro let out a soft sigh, one that carried a hint of feigned regret:
"It seems you need a little... extra motivation."
He changed the subject, his tone becoming nonchalant, yet he dropped a far more lethal bombshell:
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something. That'stepson' of yours, Shuichi Akai..."
Kanjuro paused intentionally, admiring how Akai Mary's body instantly tensed and her pupils suddenly constricted.
"He was too much in the way, so... I've already slaughtered him."
"What?!!!"
Akai Mary felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She bolted upright from the sofa, her face turning deathly pale, her eyes filled with extreme shock and agony! Although Shuichi Akai was not her biological son, their years of living together, fighting side-by-side, and his care for Masumi had long since created a deep bond akin to family. Shuichi Akai's "death" (as she understood it) had always been a deep scar in her heart.
Now, hearing Kanjuro admit to killing Shuichi in such a casual tone, the massive impact and rage almost suffocated her!
"You... you actually... killed Shuichi?!" Her voice was hoarse, filled with unbelievable grief and fury.
Facing her anger, Kanjuro merely shrugged indifferently. "Just clearing out a potential threat. Like crushing an unruly insect."
"You... you devil!!" Akai Mary was shaking with rage, pointing at Kanjuro, her voice carrying a sob. "You killed Shuichi! How many more lives do you have to take before you're satisfied?! Stop this, Kanjuro!!"
Her rebuke was full of despair and maternal indignation, attempting to awaken any shred of conscience Kanjuro might have (if he had any at all).
However, Kanjuro just quietly watched her break down, the corners of his mouth even curling into a faint, almost cruel smile.
"Stop this?" He repeated the words as if he had heard a funny joke.
"Mary, you still don't understand."
"The rules of this world are set by the strong. Taking lives? That's just a necessary means of clearing the path."
"As for stopping..."
His gaze became even deeper, carrying an indifference that looked down upon all living beings.
"When I have everything I want, when I grow tired of this game, then perhaps."
"But for now, the game has only just entered an interesting stage."
He stepped closer again, the invisible pressure making it almost impossible for Akai Mary to breathe.
"So, tell me about Miyano Elena. Otherwise, I don't mind letting you experience what the true limits of'stopping' really feel like."
His threat was self-evident. Shuichi Akai's death was both a statement of fact and a bargaining chip to apply pressure.
Akai Mary slumped back onto the sofa, tears falling silently. She looked at the cold and heartless man before her, then at her daughter Masumi, who was pale with fear and clutching her arm. A massive sense of powerlessness and a protective instinct warred fiercely within her.
She knew that if Kanjuro said it, he would absolutely do it. To protect Masumi, and to protect anyone else she might still care about who might still exist (like her second son Hideyoshi?), she seemed to have no choice left.
She closed her eyes, appearing to have exhausted all her strength, and said in an extremely weak voice:
"...Fine... I'll talk... I'll tell you... everything I know... about Miyano Elena..."
In this contest of wills, under the grief of losing a "son" and the urgency of protecting a "daughter," Akai Mary's psychological defenses finally began to crumble. Kanjuro looked at her with satisfaction, knowing that another treasury of secrets was about to open to him. And a key piece of the puzzle in finding Miyano Elena seemed about to be added.
Akai Mary was imprisoned in the dim room, the iron chains making a cold scraping sound on the floor. She watched Kanjuro leave with Sera Masumi, her hoarse voice echoing in the empty room: "Stop killing people... what do you actually want?"
Kanjuro paused at the door for a moment, the shadows outlining the profile of his face: "You will find out."
That night, Kanjuro gathered the four of them in the master bedroom. Akemi Miyano stood submissively to his left, Ai Haibara stood to his right with her head bowed, Sera Masumi was forcibly pushed into a sofa chair, and Akai Mary was chained to the wall.
"It's time for you to understand what true bonds are." Kanjuro's voice echoed in the room.
When dawn arrived, a twisted connection had already been established amidst pain and humiliation.
Outside the window, the first ray of sunlight shone into the room, but it could not dispel the internal chill.
New bonds were formed in the darkest of ways, and the plan to find Miyano Elena would continue to unfold within this twisted network of relationships. The pale morning light filtered through the gaps in the heavy curtains, slicing through the frozen oppression in the room. The scent of last night's madness and humiliation had not yet fully dissipated, clinging to everyone's hearts like an invisible spiderweb.
Akai Mary curled up in the corner, the coldness of the iron chains seeping through her thin clothing into her marrow, but her heart was even colder. She lifted her head; beneath her messy blonde hair, those once-sharp eyes were now filled only with withered despair and a lingering, maternal plea. She looked at Kanjuro, who stood in the center of the room like darkness personified, and used the last of her strength to speak in a hoarse, broken voice:
"I was wrong... Kanjuro... I really know I was wrong... I beg you, stop... don't go any further..."
Her admission of guilt was not for herself, but for her only remaining child, for that Hideyoshi whose name she didn't even dare mention.
Kanjuro slowly turned around, the morning light casting a long shadow behind him that completely enveloped Akai Mary. There was no emotion on his face, only a frozen indifference.
"Stop?" He repeated softly, as if he had heard an extremely naive word. "Mary, your 'admission of guilt' comes too late, and it's far too cheap."
He crouched down to eye level with her and lifted her chin with his fingertip, the motion gentle yet carrying a chilling intent.
"When you do something wrong, you must accept the lesson. And your lesson... is to make you realize more clearly exactly how great the price of defying me is."
Having said that, he stood up and didn't spare her another look, saying to the others in the room, "It's time for us to depart."
Akemi Miyano immediately walked to his side submissively. Ai Haibara followed silently, though her face was even paler than usual. Sera Masumi looked at her mother with some hesitation and then at Kanjuro, but was ultimately intimidated by a single look from him, bowing her head and slowly moving her feet.
"No... where are you going? Kanjuro! Where are you taking Masumi?!" Akai Mary watched in horror as Kanjuro prepared to take her daughter away. She struggled to lung forward but was held fast by the iron chains, only able to let out a helpless wail.
Kanjuro did not answer her. He simply led the three women out of the room without looking back, cutting off Akai Mary's desperate cries behind them.
Arriving in the living room, Kanjuro seemed to remember something. He stopped and looked seemingly at random at the uneasy Sera Masumi beside him, asking in a conversational tone:
"Masumi, I remember... you seem to have another... non-blood-related brother, right? Called... Hideyoshi?"
Sera Masumi's body suddenly stiffened, and she instantly looked up, her cat-like eyes filled with unconcealable fear! The thing she feared most had happened! As expected, Kanjuro had not let Hideyoshi go!
"Ye... Papa Kanjuro..." Her voice trembled, "Are you... are you going to... kill... Hideyoshi?"
Looking at her terrified expression, Kanjuro smiled instead, a smile both elegant and cruel. He reached out and rubbed her hair in an affectionate gesture, but the words he spoke made Sera Masumi feel as if she had fallen into an ice cellar:
"Don't make it sound so blunt, Masumi."
His tone carried the pleasure of a predator toying with its prey.
"I'm just... very interested in this 'brother' of yours. After all, like Shuichi, he also has the blood of Akai Tsutomu flowing in his veins, doesn't he?"
"Moreover, for Mary to care so much that she didn't even dare mention him in front of me... he must know something interesting, or perhaps, he himself... is an interesting existence."
A predator's glint flashed in Kanjuro's eyes.
"Take me to see him, Masumi. Let's give him a...'surprise' meeting gift."
...0
His words were like a final sentence, completely shattering the last bit of hope in Sera Masumi's heart. Her face was deathly pale, and her body was cold. Under Kanjuro's unquestionable gaze, she couldn't even summon the courage to resist or plead. She knew that Hideyoshi's fate had been gripped in the palm of this demonic 'father' from this moment on.
A new hunt was aimed directly at the last of the Akai Family—Akai Hideyoshi. Kanjuro, with his distorted 'family,' set out on another journey paved with blood and despair. Meanwhile, Akai Mary, imprisoned in her room, was powerless and could only wait in endless fear and regret for the potentially more cruel news to come. According to the address provided by Sera Masumi, Kanjuro's group arrived at a traditional Machiya Dojo with a classic charm located in Tokyo's old town district. A sign for a 'Shogi Classroom' hung at the entrance, and the quiet environment matched the description of where her 'non-blood brother' Akai Hideyoshi usually spent his time.
Kanjuro had Akemi Miyano and Ai Haibara wait outside the dojo, while he changed into casual clothes that suited a high school student's temperament and put on a pair of plain glasses, slightly restraining his overwhelming aura. He gave the uneasy Sera Masumi a slight smile, his tone gentle yet unquestionable:
"Let's go, Masumi. Take me inside and just say I'm your classmate who's interested in Shogi and came to observe."
Seeing Kanjuro's instantly 'harmless' disguise, Sera Masumi felt an even deeper chill in her heart. However, she didn't dare disobey and could only nod stiffly, taking a deep breath to try and make her expression look natural as she pushed open the dojo's wooden door.
The inside of the dojo was very quiet, filled with the faint scent of tatami and incense. A few students were kneeling before Shogi boards, the sound of pieces being played echoing crisply. At the very back of the dojo, by the window, a tall young man wearing a loose Kimono with a refined, scholarly look was facing a board alone, his brow slightly furrowed in deep thought. He held a piece between his fingers, hesitating to place it, completely immersed in the small world of the game.
It was indeed Akai Hideyoshi.
"Hideyoshi-niisan." Sera Masumi tried to make her voice sound lighthearted as she stepped forward to greet him.
Akai Hideyoshi looked up at the sound, and seeing Sera Masumi, a gentle smile appeared on his face: "It's Masumi. What brings you here today?" His gaze then fell on Kanjuro behind her with a polite, inquiring look.
"This is my classmate, Kanjuro," Sera Masumi introduced him as Kanjuro had instructed. "He's very interested in Shogi, and hearing that you're very good, Hideyoshi-niisan, he wanted to come and see."
Kanjuro stepped forward at the right moment, bowing slightly to Akai Hideyoshi with a perfectly timed, somewhat shy and admiring smile: "Hello, Hideyoshi-senpai. I've often heard Masumi mention you, saying you're a very formidable player. I apologize for the intrusion, but I was hoping to observe and learn a bit."
His posture was very humble and his tone sincere, which, combined with his deceptive handsome appearance and 'high school student' status, instantly dispelled most of Akai Hideyoshi's suspicions.
"So you're Masumi's classmate, welcome, welcome." Akai Hideyoshi nodded with a smile, gesturing for them to make themselves comfortable. "I'm currently studying an endgame puzzle and got a bit carried away, please don't mind me. There are cushions over there, please help yourself."
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.