Chapter One: Cenacolo

Let’s see... Olives, capers, penne… I still need to grab some anchovies.

Ageha strolled through the narrow aisles of the local supermarket. He was tasked to buy the ingredients for dinner and a week’s worth of food supplies. This had been his weekly ritual for the past month or so.

This is starting to become a pain. It’s gotten too cold for night visits like this.

He remembered the comfort he had felt after he had entered the relatively deserted supermarket earlier. Ageha liked cool temperatures, but the frigid December winds robbed too much of his body heat. His body was mostly metal, so he needed to take extra measures for insulation.

He grabbed two small cans of anchovies and tossed them in the shopping basket. His head was preoccupied by other thoughts as he mechanically procured the items in his mental list one by one. His destination after this shopping detour was an upscale apartment in Ebisu. It was located in a populated area, and young people roamed the nearby commercial district until late. He recalled Kaika’s answer when he had questioned her choice for a hideout.

"To hide the tree, use a forest," huh?

Kaika had even laughed at Kousuke's safe house location. She had ridiculed how he seemed to have taken the idiom too literally.

Ageha checked his basket and confirmed that all the items on the list were there. He then walked towards the cashier to purchase the ingredients. A teenage girl was standing in front of the cashier.

“The total is 3425 yen, miss,” said the old lady at the register.

The girl wordlessly handed over a five­thousand yen bill to the cashier. The girl’s profile caught Ageha’s attention. It reminded him of someone he knew quite well. It was not her facial features but her lack of any expression that matched with the stoic butler's. The teenage girl’s unkempt short hair and her half­closed eyelids made it seem as if she had just gotten out of bed.

“Do you have a membership card?” asked the cashier.

The girl shook her head, her bangs swaying softly because of her languid motion.

“We are currently doing a membership promo. You can get a membership card for half the price!”

The girl listened to the old lady. The cashier, drilling down to the finer details of the membership promotion offer, continued her explanation. Ageha did not stand in line yet and quietly observed the odd girl from the side. He noticed that she slightly opened her lips but closed them again without saying anything. That action reminded him of Kureha, who he had been able read quite well after some practice.

He deduced that the girl was not interested in the offer but could not speak up. He would usually let this sort of situation play out without interfering, but he was also being delayed by her inability to stop the cashier’s prattling. He did not find the girl’s silence irritating, but he did not want to anger a certain little monster by being late.

“Excuse me,” said Ageha.

Both the cashier and the girl turned to him.

“I think she is not interested.”

The old lady raised an eyebrow and then looked at the girl. She made a small nod.

“Oh, I am sorry for taking up so much of your time! Here is your receipt. Thank you for the purchase!” The old lady handed a slip of paper to the girl.

The girl lazily received it and exited the supermarket with her purchases.

Ageha unloaded the contents of his basket onto the counter. The old lady greeted him and proceeded to scan the items one by one.

“She was quite a beauty, no?” asked the old lady.

“Hm? Yes,” he said.

“Are you sure it’s okay not asking for her number? That’s why you helped her isn’t it?”

“Of course not. That would be a crime.”

“Oniisan, are you thinking of something lewd? I only said to ask for her number.” The old lady smiled mischievously.

He emulated the girl's poker face. "No. The only reasons to get the number of a cute girl would be either to scout them for showbiz or to eventually do lewd things to them. I just answered with that in mind.”

“...You certainly aren’t fun to tease.” She smiled wryly.

“I get that a lot.”

Ageha had meant his last line in two ways. He certainly did hear comments about his resistance against such prodding quite often, but he had also meant he frequently encountered women, especially older ones, that tried to flirt with him. He was used to deflecting such approaches.

The old lady finished bagging the items and handling the payment. “Thank you for the purchase!” she said with a wink as he turned to the exit and walked away from the register.

After passing the automatic doors, he found the teenage girl he had helped earlier standing outside. She approached him the moment their eyes met. Ageha realized that she had been waiting for him.

Her lips parted, but she said nothing before closing them. She repeated this several times.

Ageha deduced what she was trying to say. He had significant experience with poker­faced and reserved girls, after all. Seeing a girl that was like a combination of Saya and Kureha naturally made him smile.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

The girl’s sleepy­looking eyes widened ever so slightly. Ageha felt a little proud of making the robotic girl react.

“Be careful on your way home.” Ageha turned away from the girl and walked to his next destination.

About half an hour later, he arrived at the apartment.

“You’re late.”

The unpleasant greeting came from Kaika. She was sitting cross­legged on the apartment floor, both hands pressing on the navy blue skirt between her legs. It was a pose completely unbefitting a rich young lady. Saya, who had opened the door for him, was in her usual outfit.

“I missed the bus.” He went into the kitchen and placed the shopping bags on the counter.

“The supermarket isn’t that far.”

“The one I went to is. I change the place where I shop at each time as a precaution.”

“I see. That’s pretty obsessive­compulsive even for you,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“I’m glad you’ve already grasped my way of thinking.”

“Being subjected to your weekly ranting has that side effect.”

“How rude. I don’t rant… that often.”

“At least you’re aware of it.”

Saya entered the kitchen and started taking out the items from the bags. Dividing the ingredients by order of usage, she organized them neatly on the counter. It was her turn to prepare the food tonight.

“Can you really blame me? This place is too cramped,” said Kaika, the corners of her lips pointing down.

“You should see my apartment. This room is about double its size,” said Ageha as he took a seat at the ​kotatsu​. Kaika shifted to face him.

“I don’t mind the room space, but the bathtub's way too small.”

“You're just spoiled because you are used to the quasi­pool in the mansion.”

“Oh, you’ve seen it? I had it built myself.”

“I only used the shower room when I was staying over, but Kureha showed the main bath to me once.”

Kaika showed a look of surprise. “...You’ve recovered that much?”

“You can say that.”

Kaika nodded with a relieved expression. Ageha had not gotten over Kureha’s death yet, but he had wanted Kaika to know that the loss no longer affected his judgment negatively.

“What's our menu for tonight again?” asked Kaika, changing the topic.

“​Penne Alla Puttanesca,​” he said. “The normal kind.”

“Please do not expect too much," said Saya, her voice coming from the kitchen. "Ojousama’s more avant­garde requests are in Ageha­sama’s territory. I can only prepare simple meals.”

“No, you’re pretty good. Not quite at my level, but your dishes can be sold in a restaurant,” said Ageha.

“It would’ve been a typical Ageha compliment if you didn’t brag," said Kaika with a wry grin. “You’re pretty petty when it comes to your forte."

Saya’s laugh reached the living room.

Frowning slightly after being laughed at, Ageha asked, “Anyway, how long are we supposed to keep this up?”

“Until we get rid of Kazuki. We can't ignore the chance that there might be more of those cyborg soldiers. The mansion is too dangerous now.”

“Still no leads on where he is?”

“Not yet, but it’s only a matter of time. The same can be said for us, though.”

“Do you plan on moving again?”

“Maybe next week.”

“Don’t choose a place too far from my apartment. Being your errand boy is annoying enough as it is.”

“I told you that we have no choice, right? Outside of the people in this room, no one else can be trusted, at least not with my location.”

“That’s why I’m doing this despite the inconvenience.”

“You’re not the only one inconvenienced by the current state of things.”

“Yeah, I’m sure Saya has her hands full taking care of you.”

“I beg to differ, Ageha­sama. Except for the addition of cooking, my duties have hardly changed.” Saya temporarily stopped her hands and turned to Ageha. “As her butler, secretarial work, household chores, as well as bathing and dressing Kai­Ojousama are second nature to me.”

“I think the last two aren’t really part of your duties.”

“They aren’t, but she insists on doing them,” said Kaika.

Saya really does dote on her like a big sister.

"Some of the maids who were supposed to do those things lost their jobs because of her zeal," she continued.

Wait, there were actually people assigned to bathe and clothe Kai!?

And they got fired because of something so stupid!?

Ageha was having trouble keeping a straight face.

“What are you saying, Ojousama? You, who cannot even tie her own hair properly, should not give false information.”

“I think it was your fault that Kai ended up that way,” said Ageha.

Saya pouted and released a cute groan. She continued cooking while the other two chatted about various topics.

After about fifteen minutes, Saya placed the finished dish on top of a mat on the ​kotatsu​. The penne ​was generously coated with aromatic, red sauce. Bits of olives and capers were scattered all throughout the steaming concoction. Starting with her mistress, Saya started serving the pasta.

“I’m impressed by your guts. You actually cooked an italian pasta dish for this petty italian chef,” said Kaika.

“That’s one word too many,” he said.

“I know that he will be fair in his judgment,” said Saya with a trusting smile.

Ageha remembered Saya's face when they had first met and was reminded of how much she had changed. She could not be called expressionless anymore. Though still on the less expressive side, her reactions could now be considered normal for a young woman.

The three of them dug into the food. Ageha dissected the dish in his head. The flavor of the sauce was well balanced. The acidity of the tomatoes smoothed out the salt spikes from the other ingredients. ​Puttanesca ​was not a homogenous sauce. Each bite provided a different experience depending on what was rolled onto the fork. Saya managed to recreate this effect excellently.

“Good job. Looks like you took my advice on the amount of anchovies,” he said.

“Petty was the perfect word to describe you, after all,” said Kaika.

“No, it really was thanks to his instruction that it turned out so well. I have never made puttanesca ​this good, if I do say so myself,” said Saya.

“Indeed," said Kaika, looking impressed. "The ​penne ​was a nice choice for the pasta. Since you minced the olives, the hole in the pasta easily grabs them. This is delicious."

“She probably chose ​penne​ because of the alliteration though,” said Ageha.

“As expected of my partner! I knew you would get it,” said Saya while nodding towards Ageha.

Ageha sighed at Saya’s display of her odd humor.

“Where did you learn to cook so well? This dish is pretty close to something prepared by a professional cook," said Ageha.

“It was part of my training to become Ojousama’s butler. My skills had rusted due to lack of use, but I have recovered them because I cook almost daily recently.”

“I envy how you can do almost anything. That versatility is something I’ve always wanted because I’m a one­trick pony.”

“The grass is always greener on the other side, Ageha­sama. The level of specialization that you have achieved has always astounded me.”

“...I would say ‘get a room!’ to you two, but I’m afraid you would actually leave me here alone and do just that,” said Kaika, exasperation evident in her face and voice.

Saya blushed to her ears and hung her head. Ageha found her shyness cute because it contrasted with her usually composed and rigid self. He did not realize he was staring without moving his utensils.

“And now Ageha's charmed enough to stop eating. What’s with this couple?” asked Kaika, her eyes rolling as she worked on her pasta.

“We’re not a couple, and I couldn’t help it. She’s too cute.”

Saya reflexively cupped her face with both her hands after hearing Ageha’s comment. A feminine moan squeezed through the gaps of her fingers.

Ageha’s trust in Saya had grown steadily throughout the span of their relationship. It has gotten to the point that, excluding himself, Saya was the person he trusted the most. Attraction started to seep in through the cracks on his wall of wariness.

They had finished eating dinner before the blush left Saya’s fair skin.

“What’s for dessert?” asked Kaika.

“You still want to eat after having two plates of pasta? And don’t give me the excuse that sweets go to a different place.”

“I need the sugar.” She nonchalantly tapped her temple twice with her index finger.

Ageha easily figured out what she meant and stood up. Actually, he had dessert planned and had already bought ingredients for it in the supermarket.

“Are you okay with ​cannoli​?”

“I’m sure anything you make will be exquisite.”

“I am looking forward to it as well,” said Saya.

He smiled at the two ladies before heading into the kitchen. Their confidence in his cooking brightened his mood. He brought out the dessert ingredients from a shopping bag and placed them on the counter. He opened the pantry and looked for the flour. Finding none, he decided to ask the one usually in charge of this kitchen.

“Saya, where’s the flour?”

“I am afraid we are out of flour. I used it in the melon bread I baked yesterday.”

“Looks like I’ll have to go grab some at the nearby supermarket.”

“I will go in your stead. You can start preparing the filling in the meantime.”

Ageha was glad that Saya knew enough about cooking to come up with such a considerate suggestion but worried about her at the same time.

“Isn’t it a bit risky to go out there? Kazuki probably has his men looking for you too,” he said.

Saya glanced at Kaika and asked for permission wordlessly.

“I guess it should be fine. The supermarket is close by. It’s unlikely you’ll run into the enemy during such a quick errand.” Kaika moved closer to Saya and then whispered, “And grab me a couple of those.”

“You mean dolphin cookies?” she asked loudly enough for Ageha to definitely hear it.

Kaika pinched her cheek until she apologized.

Saya quickly put on a white coat and left the apartment. Ageha started working on the ​cannoli filling. Kaika entered the kitchen area and sat on one of the bar chairs beside the counter.

“Be careful,” she said.

“About what?”

“Kazuki might suspect you as well. It might be a good idea to change your address.”

“No, if I do something like that, it’d be the same as confirming his hypothetical suspicion. I also have work.”

“You do know that you can quit your job and work for me full­time, right?”

“I love cooking.”

“You cook for me too.”

“Can you eat dozens of plates of food?”

“You like cooking that much?”

“I’m half kidding. It's true that I like seeing lots of people enjoy my cooking, though."

“I didn’t think you were so generous.”

“I’m not. I do it to stroke my ego.”

“Honest to a fault. You could’ve used that touch of softness in your character you know? The reade­” She stopped herself. “I mean, people will like you better.”

“I couldn’t care less if strangers like me or not.”

“I guess that’s where we differ.”

“You actually want to be liked by people you don’t care about?”

“Their tendency to like me is directly proportional to my acting ability. It’s me toning my pride.”

“I guess we aren’t so different.”

The two exchanged wry smiles after finding more common ground.

***

Saya, her breath white in the winter air, rubbed her cheek with her free hand as she followed the sidewalk,. It was quite late, and the neighborhood street was deserted.

It’s probably an open secret at this point.

She thought about her feelings for Ageha. Even excluding her embarrassing display earlier, she had shown many signs of her affection for him. The frequency had only been increasing as time passed.

Is he bothered by it?

The plastic bag containing flour and cookies swung in the same rhythm as her steps. She recalled his frequent compliments and generally affectionate demeanor. Saya wondered if she could find hope in those.

Maybe he feels the same?

Her face, already tinged red from the cold, further saturated in color. She tried to contain her excitement because she knew how painful it would be if her hopes were betrayed. She could never read Ageha properly. In the first place, she was not very skilled at reading other people. Her perception and sensitivity were on par with the layman, but it paled in comparison to Kaika’s or even Ageha’s.

Should I tell him properly?

She pondered this possibility. Kaika had said she was fine with Saya confessing her feelings to Ageha. Her mistress, saying it would strengthen her control over Ageha, even encouraged it. She found Kaika’s treatment of Ageha as a tool distasteful, but it was something she had already chosen to accept when she had agreed to walk this path.

But what if he rejects me?

Would she be able to control herself after such a development? Just concealing her feelings had already led to numerous embarrassments like the one during dinner. Would they still be able to work well as a team after that? Saya cursed her own emotional immaturity. They were professionals. It was expected that any feelings beyond the scope of their duties stay there. The fact that she lacked the confidence to declare this confirmed her weakness. However, that was understandable because this was the first time she had ever felt so strongly towards a romantic interest.

“Saya Saionji.”

She reflexively turned around. Before she could even finish the motion, she regretted doing it from the bottom of her heart. Her emotional distress caused her to drop her guard enough to respond to someone calling her name.

“It really was you. Serendipity can be amazing,” said the rough­looking middle­aged man. He was looking at Saya’s grocery bag. He wore a thick, brown, leather coat and black jeans. The scars on his face implied significant combat experience.

Alarm bells blared in Saya’s head. She did not know this man. He was likely someone from Kazuki’s faction. She decided to buy time by questioning him.

“Who are­”

She immediately cursed her own naivety. The man had not even given her time to finish speaking a single line and rushed towards her. She saw the man pull out a knife from his back, so she threw the shopping bag in his direction. The man veered to the side and avoided the bag. He had not slashed or smacked the bag away as Saya had expected.

He completely read my thoughts..!

She had hoped that the flour exploding from the bag once it got hit would give her time to compose herself, but her opponent was not green enough to fall for such tactics.

The man aimed his knife at her throat. She swiftly leaned back and avoided the slash, but the man’s right leg quickly extended and slammed into her left knee. She staggered from the force of the hit. She instantly figured out that the man’s leg was cybernetic. Her alloy legs would not budge an inch from a normal kick.

Saya ducked another slash and performed a back handspring. The enemy dodged her rising legs, but she had expected that. She had done it to create space, but her opponent did not allow that and immediately closed in.

How about this!?

She pulled out a handgun from her coat and hurriedly aimed it at the man’s head, but he merely slapped her hand to the side. She had intended to surprise the enemy with the weapon, but that had not worked either. She was being overwhelmed by the man’s combat experience and composure.

The man thrust his knife towards her stomach. Dropping her gun, she quickly stepped aside and grabbed the his oncoming wrist with both hands. It seemed she had superior reflexes and speed. Realizing she was holding flesh, she tried to twist the man’s wrist and disarm him, but he easily escaped her grasp and stepped backward. She took this chance and hopped away from him.

The two of them maintained that distance while trying to read further into each other’s planned movements. Shoving away the fear in her heart, Saya opted for her most practiced attack. She closed in and threw her favorite jaw­dropping roundhouse. The man ducked and narrowly avoided the kick, his hair ruffled by her boot. Saya quickly shifted her stance and drove her raised leg downward into an axe kick. Surprising her with the speed of his reaction, the man sidestepped the attack and slammed a left uppercut on her side.

Saya gasped from the blow. She endured the pain and jumped away. The man quickly followed her and threw a front kick. She relied on her instincts and spun to avoid the blow. She then continued her rotation and smashed her left elbow into the man’s cheek. The blow staggered him, but Saya was also hurt from their previous exchange and could not follow up immediately.

Her palm strike missed its target, and the man countered by grabbing her arm and throwing her over his shoulder. She immediately bent her knees and made sure her feet made contact with the ground first. The impact was largely dissipated by her cybernetic legs, and she managed to keep her body off the ground. She tried to gouge out the man’s left eye with her free hand, but he, realizing his throw had failed, quickly released her and dodged her attack.

Still on the ground, Saya performed a leg sweep. The man jumped backward to avoid it. She quickly stood up and launched a barrage of kicks. The man avoided her lethal dance by the skin of his teeth. He countered with his knife and sliced Saya’s forearms as she attempted to defend her torso from the blade. The sleeves of her jacket were cut up and beads of blood scattered in air.

This is bad...

Her wounds were deep and dripping copious amounts of blood. She tried to close her fingers but could not do so with her left hand because the nerves were cut. The pain slowly eroded her consciousness and judgment, and the possibility of her death slowly became clearer.

Not in a place like this..!

Regrets jolted her body into motion. She had not seen Kaika achieve her goal yet. She had not avenged Kureha yet. She had not told him how she felt yet.

The gun she dropped earlier caught her eye. However, it was a fair distance away from her, and the man stood in between them. She decided to risk her life on her last chance of survival.

The man slowly moved towards her probably because he knew how dangerous cornered animals were. He was right. On the verge of death, organisms were capable of amazing things. Saya dashed towards the man with reckless abandon. He was caught off guard by the action but quickly poised himself to receive Saya’s attack.

But she did not attack. She merely ran towards him at full speed. He was forced to dodge her charge but managed to inflict a gaping wound on Saya’s abdomen as she passed by. Despite her injury, Saya continued her run, picked up the handgun as she rolled on the ground, and then turned and shot at the man.

The wound on her arm affected her aim and caused her first shot to miss, but the second shot somehow hit the man’s shoulder. The man jerked from the impact but soon moved to escape. His hand grabbing his wounded shoulder, he ran into an alley as Saya unloaded a few more bullets in his direction.

Saya had created enough distance for the handgun to be too dangerous for the knife wielder. Despite her injuries, she was confident she could kill him if he tried to move towards her. This insurmountable edge of projectile weapons was likely the reason why the man had rushed at her without waiting for her to speak earlier. Remembering how easily Ageha conquered that advantage put a smirk on her face.

She knew the gunshots would definitely attract the police, so she had to leave the area. However, her legs did not obey her. She tried to walk back to the apartment but fell down near a telephone pole. She slowly sat up and leaned her back on it as she tried to collect her breathing. She looked down and smiled wryly at what appeared to be a fatal wound. She calmly took out her terminal and dialed Ageha’s number.

At least I can finally be honest.

***

“She’s late,” said Kaika.

“You’re right,” said Ageha.

“She’s never late.”

Ageha tensed up, but his reply was interrupted by his terminal’s alert tone.

“Speaking of the devil.” He pressed the accept button and lifted his terminal to his ear. “What happened?” He smiled as his worry flitted away.

“I was attacked.”

Then it stormed back.

“Are you alright?”

“No. It is... quite bad.”

“Where are you?”

“...Beside a telephone pole... near the abandoned house.”

He had travelled that path often enough to instantly figure out where she was.

“Don’t move. I’ll go there now.”

“I am afraid... it is too late. More importantly, I... have something to tell you.”

“Shut up and conserve your energy.” He hung up. He understood how grave the situation was. It was not that he did not want to hear her dying words. He had simply prioritized logic over sentimentality. The seconds they would spend talking could end up costing her life.

He hurriedly headed for the balcony, but he stopped and looked at Kaika. He realized that this could be a trap to isolate her.

“I understood the gist from what you said on the call. Go,” she said with a stern expression.

Ageha jumped from the fifth floor balcony to one on the fourth. He repeated this going one floor lower at a time. After landing on the street, he sprinted to where Saya was. His thoughts were in disarray.

Not again..!

He relived his powerlessness when Kureha had been killed. Part of the reason why he could not move on was because the strength that he had sought and had obtained had been completely useless in preventing Kureha’s death. That event had denied his way of life in the most simple and permanent way possible. After letting time scab the wound, he had finally obtained some semblance of stability, but that was at risk of destruction again.

His peripheral vision blurred as he focused on getting to Saya as fast as he could. Unspeakable images ran through his head with each step. His rapid heartbeat drowned out all sound. He eventually reached the telephone pole she had indicated.

He found her sitting on the ground with her back leaning on the telephone pole. Her white jacket was soaked in blood, and her hands were lifelessly sprawled in red pools on the asphalt. She sat there unmoving, like a broken statue of a goddess forgotten by time.

Ageha ran towards her and gently lifted her body up. He stared at her pale, expressionless face and lost all composure.

He screamed her name in a voice that he had never made before.

Chapter Two: Late Night Delivery

Gen exited his home’s personal operating room. Both Ageha and Kaika stood up from the sofa upon seeing the doctor.

“How is she?” asked Kaika.

Ageha stared intently at the visibly fatigued doctor. Gen closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I did all I could,” he said.

Sound disappeared from Ageha’s world. His face went blank with his lips slightly ajar. His vision was flooded by white.

A tug on his bloody shirt woke him from his stupor.

“He’s lying,” said Kaika.

“Impressive, as always. Yes, the surgery was a success. She’ll be fine,” said Gen.

In an instant, Ageha rushed to the doctor and grabbed his collar.

“You son of a bitch,” said Ageha, his eyes wide and flaring with anger.

“It was just a little joke.” The doctor was not smiling and did not look amused at all.

His three years with the emotionless doctor had taught Ageha that Kanou Gen did not have a sense of humor. That “joke” had been a test, and he had failed miserably. He grimaced upon realizing his mistake.

“It seems you’ve become significantly more human since the last time we talked,” said Gen while looking into Ageha’s eyes.

“While you’re still the same psycho.”

“I won’t deny it. Can you let go now?”

Ageha released the old doctor and took a deep breath to calm himself.

“And I wasn’t lying. He merely jumped to conclusions,” said Gen, glancing at Kaika.

“True enough,” said Kaika as she shrugged her shoulders.

Gen turned to Ageha and said, “That was amazing. I was looking right at you but couldn’t react to your movement at all. It’s quite ironic how much of a monster you’ve become despite regaining some of your humanity.”

“Is it really that surprising? You’ve operated on him before, so you should know how enhanced he is,” said Kaika.

“Wait, what do you mean?” asked Ageha.

“He was the one who fixed you up when you got shot. You should be thanking him for that, but I guess that prank he just pulled makes you even.”

“I don’t expect gratitude for a paid service,” said the doctor.

Ageha’s gaze turned cold. He looked at the old man as if he was eyeing a bug destined for extermination and said, “We can’t trust someone who can be bought by money.”

“Normally I’d agree with you, but Gen’s case is a little special,” said Kaika.

Ageha raised an eyebrow. “Special?”

“He and my brothers had a falling out. He was part of the research team that developed those cyborg soldiers you killed. He had different ideas on the direction of the project, so he was stripped of his position.”

“You were fired?” asked Ageha, looking at the doctor.

“Essentially.”

“So you want revenge?”

“You should know that isn’t the case.”

Gen was right. Ageha fully understood that the absurdly rational doctor would not move due to such an impulse.

“Then what?”

“I only want to continue my research. This lady here allows me to do that in exchange for my services.”

“Your bullet wound cost me most of the equipment in that operating room,”said Kaika. “Gen’s expertise is very expensive, so I don’t really call on him unless absolutely necessary.”

“But that means he’ll betray us if someone offered a higher reward.”

“Of course I will, but that’s not a possibility in the case of Kazuki Nikaidou. That man cannot be trusted,” said Gen while shaking his head.

It made sense. That was enough to convince Ageha that his old doctor was telling the truth. He knew Gen did not like lying. The doctor preferred to create situations where he would not have to. Ageha decided to cease his hostility for the time being. The doctor was not their ally, but at least he was not their enemy.

Ageha made a small bow. “Thank you for saving Saya.”

Gen’s eyes widened. “...You just keep surprising me. I’m at a loss as to whether you’ve become a more interesting or boring subject.”

“I’m not doing this for your entertainment.”

“Right, he’s doing it for mine,” said Kaika, her lips curled into an adorable grin.

Ageha shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

“I’ll move the patient to one of the rooms. Ageha, please help me.” Gen walked back to the operating room.

“Understood.” Ageha nodded and followed the doctor.

They pushed the operating table with Saya on it into one of the free rooms. They then cooperated in gently lifting and laying Saya down on the bed. The pair returned to the living room after they had ensured that all the machines and tubes were properly attached to Saya.

Kaika had been observing the two of them. She made a puzzled face and said, “It’s kind of scary seeing you two together. One of you was about to kill the other just seconds ago, but then you worked together like nothing happened.”

“You’re perfectly capable of doing that too,” said Ageha.

“But mine’s an act. You actually don’t feel any anger anymore, do you?”

“Of course I don’t.”

Kaika shot Gen a questioning look. “And you call him more human in this state?”

“Yes. You should’ve seen him in his early teens,” said Gen.

“I’m curious. Do tell.”

“I’m sure you have better things to do than tell old stories,” said Ageha.

“I do. I have an appointment that I’m already late for. Call me if anything happens.”

“Wait, you can’t leave a patient right after surgery.”

“Yes I can. She’s stable. Her injuries aren’t as bad as they look. Blood loss was the main problem, so she should be fine now. I also used special drugs to curb postoperative infection. You can stay with her as you please.”

“But still­”

“Don’t forget that I was the one who plugged up the hole on your side.”

Ageha fell silent. He knew first hand how skilled Gen was. It was merely his affection for Saya that clouded his judgment. He agreed with Gen’s analysis of him. The killer was becoming too human.

Gen put on his coat, grabbed his suitcase, and left the house. Ageha took a seat on one of the chairs in the recovery room. Kaika sat on the left side of Saya’s bed and stroked her cheek.

“Don’t scare me like that…” whispered Kaika, a mixture of sadness and relief appearing on her face.

Ageha had been too busy with his own emotions to pay attention to Kaika’s state. Looking at her now, it was obvious how anxious she had been. It had been her quick and accurate instructions that had saved Saya. Ageha admired her composure and sought solace in it.

“What should we do now?” he asked.

“First, I have to find a safe place to stay. We can’t trust anyone who knows who I am. I still don’t know how they were able to narrow down their search area enough to actually encounter Saya.” She closed her eyes and held her chin. “It might have been peripheral information that we unwittingly gave out during communication with our subordinates. I say subordinates, but most of them have probably already defected to Kazuki.”

“Can’t you just stay here?”

“As much as I would like to accompany Saya until she recovers, I can’t. Gen also brings other patients in. Most of them are shady too. A single bed­ridden patient is much easier to hide than a mobile person. I’ll wait for Gen’s return then leave.”

“You can’t stay with me. I’m probably on their list of suspects, so that would only increase the danger you are in. How about getting another hideout?”

“And stay there by myself? Are you mad?”

Ageha remembered that despite the long list of talents this prodigy had, taking care of herself was not one of them. Kaika without Saya was like a bird with a broken wing.

Kaika closed her eyes and delved into her thoughts. After a while, her eyelids snapped open. “I have an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”

Ageha frowned. “...What is it?”

***

Rin, wearing only her bra and panties, rummaged through her closet. It was past her bedtime, but she was looking for something nice to wear instead of lying in bed. She had been in her usual nightie when she had received a call from Ageha.

I wonder what kind of favor he needs?

He had said that he would be coming over. A favor that must be asked in person limited the possibilities. Factoring in the timing and location, Rin felt her face heat up.

It can’t be that, right?

Rin imagined a scene that she usually fantasized about while in the shower. Did Ageha finally notice her feelings and want to reciprocate them? The hands flipping through her clothes quickened. However, they gradually slowed down as she entertained another possibility.

Did he find out?

Things had been a little awkward between Ageha and her. She had discovered a facet of his likely much larger secret during her hike. She did not know the details, but it was definitely not something reputable. Due to this knowledge, she had unconsciously distanced herself from him. He might have caught on to this and came to confront her about it.

She imagined a masked man entering her apartment door and choking her. She quickly shook off those thoughts because she refused to believe that Ageha would be capable of something like that. Rin had faith that his kindness was real.

The fact that she was busying herself trying to look good in front of him despite having glimpsed his other persona shed light on her feelings for the young man.

This settles it... I love him.

She was surprised that she felt excitement instead of regret for falling for a mysterious, likely dangerous, man who seemed to be uninterested in her romantically.

Two knocks came from the door. She panicked and quickly stood up. Forgetting she was only in her undies, she went to answer the door. Realizing her mistake right before she turned the doorknob, she quickly ran back to the closet but tripped on one of the clothes on the floor. A large bang echoed in the room.

“Rin?” Ageha’s worried voice had come from behind the door. He had probably heard the crashing sound.

“P­Please wait, I’m coming!”

She had never cleaned up and gotten dressed as quickly as she did then.

She had settled with a sky blue one piece dress because it would be odd if she wore more layers in her well­heated room. Without checking the peephole, she opened the door.

Standing outside was the expected visitor, Ageha. Rin gaped upon seeing the person beside him.

“Kaya­chan?” she asked.

“Sorry for barging in this late,” said Ageha.

“I apologize for the intrusion,” said Kaya while bowing elegantly.

“Eh?” Rin’s face was clouded with confusion.

“I know this is unexpected, but can you let me explain?”

“...Okay. Come in.”

“Thanks,” said Ageha.

Rin closed the door after the two visitors had gone inside her apartment. She invited them to take a seat in the small living area and prepared tea. Ageha sat on the sofa while Kaika chose the bean bag. After a while, Rin served them hot black tea.

“Thanks. This really does the trick in this weather,” said Ageha.

“You’re welcome.” Rin did not have her usual buoyancy.

Rin sat down on a chair, took a sip of her tea, and placed the cup back on the saucer. Her eyes alternated between the two visitors. After several seconds of silence, Ageha spoke up.

“I need a favor.”

“...What is it?”

“Kaya­chan needs a place to stay for a week or so. Saya and Kaya­chan had moved to Tokyo recently, but Saya got caught in a traffic accident. She’s currently recuperating in a hospital, so Kaya­chan’s left alone in their apartment.” Ageha scratched his head. “I considered taking her in myself, but I work part­time at nights and usually come home late. I also have no idea how to take care of a young girl, so­”

“Okay.”

“I know this is too much to ask­ Wait, what?”

“She can stay here. That’s what you wanted to ask, right?”

“Well, yeah. I didn’t think you’d agree so easily.”

“I live alone, so I there’s lots of space. And who would miss a chance to live with such a cute girl?”

Rin’s explanation was true but incomplete. She hid two other reasons. One was that she was worried about leaving a little girl to someone who was likely involved in illegal matters. The other was her jealousy that had compelled her not to let such a beautiful lass stay with the man she loved.

“Thanks. I really appreciate this.”

“You can count on me!” Rin smiled innocently, hiding her tainted thoughts.

“Thank you very much, Rin­san,” said Kaya, her head bowed.

“Just call me Rin.”

“Okay.” Kaya smiled shyly with a blush on her cheeks.

“You’re so cute!!!” Rin grabbed the girl and tightly embraced her.

“Rin, I cannot breath..!”

“Oh! Sorry! I got carried away.” Rin quickly released the girl, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

“I’m glad you two seem to get along,” said Ageha, smirking for some reason.

They discussed the details of Kaya’s stay, such as her food expenses, sleeping quarters, and the like. After coming to an agreement, Ageha prepared to leave.

“Don’t tease her too much, okay?” said Ageha.

“Of course I won’t. We’re going to get along like real sisters!” said Rin.

She decided not to ask why Ageha had been looking at Kaya when he had said his parting line.

***

Rin immediately sighed in relief after Ageha left. Seeing that, Kaika scrunched her eyebrows.

That’s odd.

Kaika knew that Rin liked Ageha romantically. Sighing in longing would be one thing, but Rin’s reaction to Ageha’s departure was relief. That meant part of her had been wary of him. Kaika decided to take a shot at the dark.

“You know his secret?” she asked. It was a safe question because it could be easily explained away.

Oh my…

Kaika could not hide her amusement at Rin’s reaction. Rin looked like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

“W­What secret?” asked Rin, her lips trembling.

Kaika effortlessly interpreted Rin’s trepidation. It was not something that belonged to daily life. Kaika did not know how, but Rin had probably glimpsed Ageha’s truth. Ageha had told her on the way to Rin’s apartment that his recent relationship with Rin felt awkward, so he was unsure if she would let Kaika stay over. That change in their relationship could be explained by Rin learning something about Ageha’s secret persona.

Not liking the idea of feeling each other out, Kaika chose to take the initiative.

“His other job,” said Kaika coldly, dropping the Kaya facade.

This sudden change caused fear to surface on Rin’s expression. She unconsciously took a step back.

“That confirmed that you do.” Her eyes staring sharply at Rin’s, Kaika maintained their distance by stepping forward.

Rin appeared to have understood that Kaika was part of Ageha’s dark secret. Her eyes swam, and her frame trembled.

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you, or rather, I can’t, considering our difference in stature,” said Kaika, a wry smile appearing on her face.

“...Who are you?”

It’d be better to be selectively truthful here to gain her trust.

“I’m Kaika Nikaidou, Ageha’s employer for his other job.”

“His moonlighting as a personal chef?”

“I’m pretty sure you already know that’s not what it is. Would you like to know more?”

Rin fell silent. Her fearful face gradually changed to one full of determination. She nodded.

She likes him that much? I have to say I’m impressed, Ageha.

“He’s my bodyguard. Aside from his culinary skills, he’s also well­versed in martial arts,” said Kaika.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you asked?”

“I mean, isn’t this supposed to be a secret?”

“If I’m going to live here for a while, it’s going to be revealed anyway. I intended to tell you from the start.”

“Then why didn’t you do it when Ageha was here?”

“Because I don’t want him to worry. He specifically told me that he didn’t want you involved in any danger, but we simply had no choice this time. Telling you too much could put you at risk.”

“Well thanks a lot,” said Rin sarcastically.

“No, I’m really sorry about this. If I had another place I could go to, I would’ve gone there.” Kaika made a sorrowful expression.

“What happened?”

“Saya’s indeed hospitalized, but that’s because she was attacked. I’m being pursued by certain people, so I can only hide in a place that has no direct connection to me.”

“What makes you think I’ll let you stay after hearing all this?”

“The fact that you love Ageha.”

“Eh?” Rin’s face quickly turned crimson after she had processed what Kaika had just said. “I d­ don’t feel that way­”

“Oh please. The only one who doesn’t know is the man himself. Even Saya and Kureha found out immediately.”

That was a lie. Kaika was perfectly aware that Ageha also knew of Rin’s feelings.

Rin’s expression took a rollercoaster ride. It switched from confusion to embarrassment, then to anxiety, and then finally to resignation.

“...Even if that were true, that doesn’t mean I would help you.”

“Ageha is also in danger.”

“What?”

“My enemies are probably targeting him as well. If I stay with him, he wouldn’t be able to fight at his best. Both of us would likely die.”

Rin did not reply. She seemed to be deep in thought.

“I’m desperate. It took me a lot of pleading to convince him of this plan. He only agreed after I promised to try my best to keep you out of harm’s way.” Kaika sighed and made a resigned expression. “Of course, I can’t force you. If you want me to leave, I will.”

“...That’s unfair. I can’t very well kick you out after hearing all that.”

“Yes, you love Ageha after all.”

“Stop saying that over and over!”

“...Thank you.” Kaika bowed deeply.

Rin sighed, slumped her shoulders, and lazily said, “You can count on me.”

Chapter Three: Squall

“Yo, let’s go grab some girls,” said a man wearing a bandana.

“We did that just the other day. The cops might start giving a fuck,” said a slightly younger man. He was wearing multiple layers of loose clothes, typical attire for a gang member like him.

“No way!” His eyebrows scrunched together as his lips curled into a smirk. “I betcha they don’t even care who goes missing near our turf. Even if they did, they don’t have the balls to do anything about it.”

“Guess you’re right.” The gang member stood up from his chair.

A red dot appeared on his forehead. The man sporting a bandana was looking right at his face but did not seem to notice anything unusual.

Suddenly, the upper half of the gang member’s head burst and scattered in the air.

Brain matter stuck to the other man’s bandana, and blood coated his face. He had definitely heard the gunshot, but it seemed as if he was still unable to process what happened yet. Glass shards from the broken window were scattered on the floor.

“Wha­”

This time, it was the bandana covered head that exploded. The thin cloth had not reduced the human spatter in the least.

“Entry point secured,” said a girl perched on top of a building beside the one that housed the two dead gang members. She was wearing a dark grey form­fitting suit and a protective vest with numerous pockets. Her sleepy, unmoving face made it seem as if was looking at the most boring thing in the world.

“Proceed with the mission. Leave no one alive, Arashi,” said a gruff voice coming from her earpiece.

“Roger.”

The girl stood up and aimed her customized assault rifle at the same window she had shot through earlier. The large rifle did not seem as if it could be carried, much less used, by a girl her size. It had no scope, but a small laser sight was attached to its frame. Only Arashi could see the emitted light because of her special right eye.

She flipped a switch on her rifle and pulled the trigger. An arrow shot out of the bottom barrel of her rifle and dug itself deeply into the concrete wall inside the room. Attached to the arrow was an extremely thin alloy rope, the other end of which was connected to the rifle.

She jumped off the roof and flipped another switch. The rifle rapidly pulled the rope in, causing her to fly towards the window. She slipped through the opening and used her cybernetic left leg to land on the wall where the arrow was anchored. She nimbly bounced off the wall and landed on the ground. Using her right hand, she pulled out the arrow and reset it in her rifle.

Her unkempt black hair had been further ruffled by her jump. Her half­open eyes scanned the room as she walked towards the open door. She peeked into the corridor and saw several men appear from the stairwell at the far end.

She closed her left eye and used her bionic right eye to zoom in and calculate the distance. The men noticed her and readied their handguns as they took cover. Arashi took out a compact grenade from her vest, pressed a button on it, and pitched it to her targets. It was an absurdly accurate long distance throw. The concussion grenade landed right in the middle of the gang members and exploded. Arashi entered the corridor after confirming there were no active hostiles. She ran past the corpses she had just produced, her face still deadpan, and went down the stairs.

On the next floor, she met two more gang members and promptly shot them to death. Running down the corridor, she heard some activity in a closed room. She kicked the door open and tossed in a frag grenade without looking inside. Screams resounded in the room, but they were erased by the explosion.

Reloading her rifle in between encounters, she continued clearing out the floors in the same manner. A rare smile slowly crept into her emotionless face.

This is so much fun!

She arrived at an intersection on the second floor. She engaged two men taking cover at the end of the eastern corridor. While they exchanged gunfire, another gang member with a pistol appeared from the western corridor. Realizing she was sandwiched, Arashi immediately shot and destroyed the two ceiling lights on the eastern corridor and dove into the darkness.

The two men shot randomly because their eyes had not yet adjusted to the dark. Arashi calmly stayed prone on the ground and shot the heads of the two men one by one. Her right eye’s heat detection capability had compensated for the lack of light.

The man from the western corridor approached her from behind as she was standing up. He aimed his gun and fired, but she managed to avoid the gunshots by jumping to the side. He followed her with his gun sight, so she quickly lowered herself almost flat to the floor. His bullets had missed and flown just above her head, but Arashi was rendered unable to shoot or dodge due to her position. The man aimed his gun at her with a confident smirk, but before he could fire, a shock wave coming from behind threw him towards Arashi.

Right before Arashi had ducked, she had lobbed a concussion grenade over the man’s head with her left hand. It had been a rushed toss and had dropped quite a distance from the target, but it was enough. The grenade had exploded on impact, pushing the enemy towards her. She met the frightened man’s head with a roundhouse kick. His neck snapped like a twig from the combined force of the blast and Arashi’s alloy leg.

The innocent smile on her face grew even more pronounced. She looked like a normal teenage girl having fun with her friends, only she was surrounded by dead bodies.

This was the only time that Arashi could express herself properly. Normally, she did not know how to interact with people because she lacked social experience.

That was close!

Good thing the grenade didn’t fly too far.

The upper floors are clear. I should head to the lobby.

Her abnormal reticence did not mean that her mind was always blank. Her tongue and face were simply too untrained to translate her thoughts to words and expressions.

This incapability continued to cause various problems for her in everyday life, but her current task was different. She could be herself while doing what she was trained to do. It was something she knew well and excelled at, so not even a shred of her usual awkwardness could be seen.

I feel bad about Father’s injury, but being in the front lines makes this so much more fun!

Her father usually took the role of the vanguard, with her focusing on support. Due to a gunshot wound, he had to take the supporting role this time. He only gave her instructions and information while he observed from a different location.

Arashi jumped the stairs and landed on the ground floor.

They gathered in the lobby as planned.

There were over a dozen people in the large room. They were watching the numerous lobby stairwells and elevators. One of them saw her peek into the room and alerted the others. She hid herself, pulled out a grenade, and while keeping herself hidden, threw it into the middle of the room using her right hand.

Her ARMS had guaranteed that the grenade covered the large distance to her target. The grenade hit the ground, and a blinding flash of light, followed by an eardrum­shattering boom, filled the lobby.

Arashi rushed into the room and picked off the man who had noticed her earlier. The high­calibre bullets of her rifle had torn through his body as if it was paper. The rest of the gang members were still blinded by the flash grenade and did not shoot likely in fear of friendly fire. This room had become her own little garden, and she intended to play to her heart’s content.

She continued running across the room while changing targets and firing in short bursts. Each pull of her trigger meant one less enemy. Their innards and blood flew through the air and painted the dirty old carpet red. Not ceasing her run, she reloaded her rifle as she counted off the remaining enemies.

Don’t worry. I’ll get to you in a minute.

By the time some of them regained their vision, Arashi was already quite a distance from her initial position. The remaining gang members looked around in confusion until one of them got her face blown off. They immediately started firing at the source of the gunfire, but Arashi had already leapt away from her position. She executed a landing roll, stopped in a kneeling position, and shot down the closest man. Noticing a gaudily dressed woman aim a submachine gun in her direction, Arashi jumped up over ten feet to avoid the bullet trajectory.

The female gang member pulled the trigger but missed Arashi by a hair’s breadth. Arashi returned fire while in the air. She held the trigger longer than usual to compensate for the accuracy lost due to her lack of stability. The shock on the woman’s face suddenly became unreadable because her jaw had been blown off. The heavy recoil caused Arashi to float backward. She landed on her butt and used the remaining momentum to roll back and stand.

You thought you could actually hit me?

Despite her internal boasting, her smile remained cherubic. She was not skilled enough to express her more complicated thoughts.

She took a firing stance and shot the backs of two women who were running towards the building exit in terror.

Her deadly, flamboyant dance had finally ended. A slightly satisfied look surfaced on her face. She had poured forth her entire self without reserve.

“First building clear, sir,” she said in a monotone.

“Roger that. Move on to the next building. We have to clear out three more for this mission. Eight targets have surrounded your building’s main exit. They only have handguns and melee weapons, so just break through them.”

“Yes, sir.”

She started walking towards the exit doors. They were tinted, so she remained undetected as she eyed her prey. Her smile returning, she readied her rifle and pinched two compact grenades between her fingers.

I wish this would never end.

Chapter Four: Tenderized

A crisp bang came from the freshly opened bathroom door.

Rin, seated on a bathroom stool, reflexively turned to the noise. Her naked form started quivering, causing droplets of water to quickly drip down her seductive curves. Her face flushed to an extent far beyond what could possibly be caused by bathing in hot water.

“Wh­What are you doing!?” she shouted.

Kaika was standing on the doorstep. She had expected Rin’s surprise. The door had been locked, but picking it open had been child’s play for her. Lock picking was a valuable skill for someone who had such a high risk of being abducted, so it had been part of her training.

Still, such an exaggerated reaction…

Kaika was also undressed, save for a small towel that hung over her shoulder. Her wavy hair was not tied in her usual twintails and sloped down her shoulders and back.

Is she blushing from seeing me naked? No, this is too much even for that.

Kaika had absolute confidence in the beauty of her uncovered body, but Rin’s panic aroused her suspicion.

“Taking a bath,” said Kaika as she closed the door behind her.

“The door was locked!”

“Don’t worry about such trivial details.”

“...People in this world have different values. What’s trivial to you may mean the world to me. Right now, I’m very, ​very ​interested on how you got that door open and why you’re in here.” Her face was still fiery red, her left eyebrow twitching in anger.

“I wanted to bathe with you. Isn’t that reason enough?” asked Kaika as she gracefully approached Rin and moved behind her.

With her pout unyielding, Rin closed her eyes and said, “Reason enough? You don’t simply barge into someone while­”

Kaika quickly slipped her right hand between Rin’s thighs and slid her fingers over and slightly into the young woman’s special place.

“­she’s having fun by herself?” asked Kaika, continuing Rin’s line.

“Eh?” Rin’s face showed utter confusion as she turned to Kaika, who had stepped back two paces away from her. “What the hell are you doing!? And th­that’s not true!”

“But it’s wet.”

“O­Of course it is! I’m showering!!!”

“But it’s sticky.” Kaika rubbed her index finger and thumb together in front of Rin.

“!!!”

Rin covered her face with her hands and let out a tiny shriek. Her entire body reddened from embarrassment.

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone masturbates, you know?”

“Don’t say that so clearly while acting so damn calm!” Rin glared at Kaika.

“I didn’t think you were a late bloomer. How odd.”

“Who’s the odd one here!? Why’re you so perverted at that age!?”

“Who isn’t perverted at fifteen?”

“Being perverted is different from being horny!”

“So you were already horny at that age?”

“...You tricked me! You little...” Rin stood up and extended her hands towards Kaika.

“Were you fantasizing about Ageha?”

Rin screamed frantically as if to drown out the young man’s name. She tried to grab Kaika while the latter nimbly escaped her grasp in the small bathroom. Only a few seconds had passed when the bathroom door slammed open again.

The two turned to the door and saw Ageha, dressed in a thick brown winter coat. His worried expression quickly turned to a surprised one.

Rin froze in place. Kaika quickly dove into the bath as Kaya would have. Ageha’s expression changed once again, this time to an appraising one, as he ogled Rin’s nudity from top to bottom.

Rin quickly grabbed the bathroom stool and threw it at Ageha. Ageha easily avoided it by tilting his head to the side. He also readily slapped away the incoming shampoo bottle, soap bar, loofa, and feminine wash. Kaika had been grinning at the situation the entire time.

“Why the hell are you still staring at me!!!” screamed Rin.

“I have no choice. I won’t be able to dodge or block if I look away,” he said as he snatched a flying plastic bucket from the air and dropped it to the floor.

“Stop calmly explaining and get out!”

“Then stop asking me questions and throwing objects at me.”

Having run out of objects to throw save for Kaika, Rin crouched down and covered as much of herself as she could with her arms. Ageha quickly turned around, exited the bathroom, and closed the door. His silhouette was visible through the frosted glass door.

“...Why did you do that?” asked Rin.

“Do what?” asked Ageha.

“...Peek into the bathroom.”

“I didn’t mean to peek. I was about to ring the doorbell when I heard a scream and clattering noises from inside your apartment. I got worried, so I rushed inside and followed the sound of the ruckus.”

“...I see.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, it’s not like you meant any harm. Just… please forget what you saw.”

“No, I meant that I was sorry for breaking the lock of your front door. I’m actually happy with what I just saw, so I can’t grant your request.”

“Ageha…” Rin’s voice rumbled within the tiled bathroom.

“I’m kidding! We’re separated by a door, and I’m out of your elbow’s reach. It was the perfect chance. I couldn’t help it.”

Rin kept her eyebrows scrunched for a while and then sighed deeply.

“So why the sudden visit? Worried about Kaya?”

“That, and I wanted to cook for you as thanks for letting Kaya stay over. You told me before that you usually bathed before preparing dinner, so I had a rough idea of when to visit.”

“So you did have some impure motives. You’re timing’s too perfect.”

“...I can’t completely deny that.”

“I don’t know what’s more troublesome, you being honest or not.”

“I’m always honest, except when I’m joking.”

“The fact that I can’t tell when you’re joking is the problem.”

“You just gotta live with that.” He chuckled.

“Hmph. You better be grateful that I’m so forgiving.”

“I am, and not only for that.”

Rin did not reply. Kaika could see Rin’s receded blush returning slightly.

“Anyway, take your time in the bath. I’m going to prepare dinner in the meantime,” said Ageha as his silhouette on the frosted glass grew fainter.

“Wait,” said Rin.

“What’s up?”

“My stool is on your side of the door.”

“You do know that stool also means­”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“...Got it. I’ll toss it inside, so go somewhere where I won’t see you.”

“Thanks.”

***

“Curry?” asked Rin with a hint of disappointment in her tone. Her hair was down and still faintly damp. She was wearing a yellow V­neck shirt and white shorts.

“Japanese lamb curry, to be exact,” said Ageha. He placed three plates of rice topped with fragrant brown stew on the square coffee table. Kaika and Rin sat on the floor facing each other with the table between them. He took a seat on a vacant spot.

Rin seemed a little hesitant. “That’s an odd choice for a chef at an italian restaurant.”

“Save your doubts until you’ve given it a try. I’ve had a lot of practice with other cuisines recently.”

Kaika was the first one to scoop up a mix of curry and rice. Her face lit up as soon as the spoon went into her mouth. She looked ecstatic as she quickly gobbled up the contents of her plate.

What has Rin been feeding you..?

Ageha felt proud that his cooking was loved by such a picky eater. He thought her Kaya act was slipping a bit because of her honest reaction to delicious food. Even so, Kaika did not voice out her comments like always because doing so would not fit Kaya’s demure personality.

Kaika’s enjoyment seemed to have whetted Rin’s appetite. Rin eagerly took a bite.

“...How can this be so good?” she asked.

“Thank you.”

“No, seriously. I’m asking how you made this.” Rin looked astonished. She started quickly stuffing her cheeks as if the meal had a time limit.

“That’s a long story. I used more than twenty ingredients in the spice mix alone.”

“Wrow! Thash amashingh!”

“I’m flattered you couldn’t stop eating, but please swallow first before talking. That’s dangerous.”

Rin quickly chewed and gulped down what was in her mouth.

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

“You don’t have to repeat that. I understood despite how garbled it was.”

“What makes this so different from normal curry?”

“I made it.”

“How?”

“You like it enough to completely ignore that brag, huh? I guess it can’t be helped.”

Ageha usually refrained from talking in length, so he was not fond of explaining his cooking process. However, he had grown accustomed to doing so because of Kaika, who always pestered him about it.

“I simply catered to the audience,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“I know you like sweet, fruity flavors, so I added mashed mango to the stew. Since you also like spicy food, I added fresh chilies at the very end to give it a kick while keeping the flavors bright and fresh. I chose lamb because its flavor blends well with the mango. It also gives the dish some novelty for a Japanese palate.”

Rin looked surprised by how much consideration he had given not just to the dish, but to her as well.

“Where did you even get the lamb? I don’t think supermarkets have that.”

“I bought some from Sapore’s supplier. I got to know him when I went over to his shop to check his selection during our inventory restocking. I specifically used lamb chops because it’s less gamey and more tender than the usual stew cuts. I didn’t have all night to cook after all.”

Rin had been eating during Ageha’s explanation. After gulping down another spoonful of the curry, she drank half a glass of water.

“So there are no vegetables in this because­”

“That’s right. But you really should eat more vegetables. Eating meat and crepes all the time isn’t good for you.”

“Says the chef who omitted veggies just to match my tastes.”

“This is my thanks. It wouldn’t make sense if you didn’t like it, right? And while I did say I tailored it for you, this is still a dish that could be served in a Michelin starred restaurant. The herbed basmati rice alone is already fine dining quality.”

“Adding ‘Michelin starred’ in there makes you you.”

“Didn’t you know that Sapore is a candidate for a star?”

“Really!?”

“Just kidding. There’s no way I would know, considering how secretive that organization is.”

“Ugh. I thought I was finally going to get a raise.” She munched on another spoonful of curry while obviously faking a frown.

Ageha noticed that Kaika was irked, despite her rather cheerful expression. He had grown to sense certain swings in her mood.

Is she irritated because we’ve been ignoring her all this time?

Ageha saw her empty plate.

Maybe she wanted to ask for seconds but couldn’t find the right timing?

Ageha knew that Kaika could not be her usual talkative self because she was pretending to be his shy cousin, but it seemed she had reached a limit of some sort.

“Ageha­niisan.”

“Yeah?”

“You know, in the bath earlier, I saw Rin touch­”

In a motion so swift he barely managed to follow it, Rin used her fist like a mallet and hammered Kaika on top of her head.

“Ouch!!?” shouted Kaika, her face absolutely bewildered.

Ageha barely managed to contain his laughter at the scene. This was probably the first time Kaika was hit in her entire life. Karasuma would never have laid a hand on his precious treasure, and Saya only grabbed Kaika’s hair once.

Oh, Saya did try to strangle her before, but since she was forgiven, Kaika was probably unscathed.

“Behave,” said Rin, her eyes glaring coldly at Kaika.

“...Okay.” Kaika’s shocked expression dissolved into a more repentant one.

I guess you’ve finally met your match.

Ageha did not know what had happened between the two but felt glad that they were somehow getting along.

Dinner proceeded peacefully after Rin’s display of violence. Insisting it was her job because Ageha prepared the meal, she tidied up the table and washed the plates. Ageha had made a large amount of curry, so she poured the leftovers into a plastic container and placed it in the fridge. In the meantime, Ageha and Kaika had been chatting about his workday at Sapore and other everyday topics.

“I’m going to take out the garbage. You guys can relax here for a while. I’ll be right back,” said Rin. She walked out of the room carrying several garbage bags.

“Shouldn’t you help her out with that?” asked Kaika, dropping the shy act.

“She carries much heavier trays from the ​cucina ​to the ​sala​. She’ll be fine.”

“Point taken. I felt that strength firsthand earlier.”

“How’s your head?”

“It’s fine. Do you wanna hear what I was about to say before she hit me?”

“I’ll pass. We won’t get off with just a smack on the head if she finds out that you tattled on her.”

They both chuckled while thinking of the rough yet vibrant young woman.

“Saya has woken up,” said Kaika.

Ageha was surprised by the news but felt relieved immediately after.

“How is she?”

“She could already talk on the phone. Gen also said there was nothing to worry about.”

Ageha nodded without replying. He trusted Gen’s skills as a doctor.

Kaika looked at Ageha with a serious expression. “More importantly, she told me about her attacker.”

Ageha’s eyes narrowed, and his lips pressed tightly together. He had been patiently waiting for this information. He listened to her report silently.

“He’s a man in his fifties with short grey hair and scars on his face. From what Saya could deduce, both his legs are cybernetic. He’s highly skilled in melee combat. He managed to wound Saya that badly, after all.”

“Any clues that could lead to his location?”

“Saya said she shot him on the shoulder, but I don’t think a mercenary Kazuki hired would be stupid enough to go to a hospital. Right now, this is all we have.”

Ageha gritted his teeth. He tried to suppress a scowl but failed.

“You should be careful as well. We don’t know how many skilled killers Kazuki employed. Who knows when your cover will be blown, assuming it hasn’t been already.”

“Let them come,” said Ageha in a frigid tone. The air around him felt like it dropped several degrees in temperature. His face lacked emotion, but his eyes sharpened as if seeking prey.

“I know how you feel, but we need to be prudent for now. We should refrain from anything rash until she has recovered. Go visit her. That should improve both of your moods.”

Ageha’s expression softened. “I’d like to, but I’m not sure if visiting Kanou­sensei’s place is a good idea. I don’t want to risk leading the enemy there.”

Kaika raised an eyebrow and asked, “But it’s okay to visit here? Does that mean Saya’s safety is more important than mine?” She was smiling, so she obviously just meant to tease him.

“No, it means that visiting a friend’s house is much less suspicious than visiting an underground doctor’s. A lot of people think Rin and I are a couple anyway.”

“Do you really feel nothing for her?”

Ageha fell silent and thought seriously about his relationship with Rin.

“I­”

The sound of the opening door interrupted his reply. Kaika returned to being Kaya and shyly greeted Rin.

“Welcome back.”

***

Rin was woken up by a tapping sound. She gazed at the digital clock on her bedside table. It was 1:47 A.M. She had gone to bed shortly after Ageha had left her apartment. She was usually a heavy sleeper, but her excitement from Ageha’s surprise visit had made tonight’s sleep lighter.

Sitting up, she turned her head to the faint repetitive noise.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?” asked the young girl sitting beside the coffee table.

“Kai?”

Even her sleepy head remembered Kaika’s preferred term of address. The young girl was quite adamant about it, and she wanted to respect that. The fact that she actually liked calling such a cute girl by a manly name was secondary.

“That’s odd. You didn’t wake up from this much before. I tried typing as silently as I could.”

“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, why are you still awake? It’s almost 2 a.m.”

“I’m always awake at this time.”

A look of worry formed on Rin’s face. “...What time do you usually sleep?”

Kaika tilted her head. “It varies, but since coming here, around 5 a.m.”

Rin normally woke up just minutes earlier than Kaika in the morning. She had probably been waking Kaika up inadvertently during her preparation for work.

“That’s less than two hours of sleep!”

“I can subtract just fine.”

“That’s not what I meant. You’ll get sick like that.”

“I’ve been like this for as long as I can remember. I’ll be fine.”

“Haven’t you tried­”

“No offense, but I can do without your advice.”

Rin realized that someone as smart as Kaika had certainly tried all available remedies for her condition already. She became aware of her unintended condescension.

“I’m sorry,” said Rin.

“It’s okay.” Kaika, her eyes glued to a screen, started typing on her terminal again.

Rin wanted to know the cause of Kaika’s condition but decided not to ask. Knowing might satisfy her curiosity, but it would do nothing for the one afflicted. If Kaika wanted her to hear about it, she would have already told her.

“Besides, insomnia can be useful. I can get a lot more done because I have more time,” said Kaika.

Rin figured out that Kaika did not want to hurt her feelings, so the girl had smoothed out the thorns in her earlier replies.

“You mean you got used to it?”

“There’s no such thing as getting used to sleep deprivation. I just learned to act fine after years of it,” said Kaika without a hint of sadness on her face.

Rin felt a pang of guilt in her heart. She had unconsciously pitied Kaika. Rin had intended to understand her, not look down on her.

“...You said your condition is useful, but if given a chance to be able to sleep longer, would you take it?”

“That’s a foolish question. I would take it in a heartbeat.”

“I see.”

Kaika stopped typing. “...I’ve always wondered how it would feel to sleep under the shade of a large tree on an endlessly wide meadow without a care in the world, just slumbering for hours on end and waking up actually feeling refreshed.” Kaika made a wry smile. “It was a childhood dream of mine. Go ahead, you can laugh.”

The combination of the words “childhood” and “was” in her explanation irked Rin.

You’re still a child, you know?

Without saying anything, Rin got out of bed and walked over to where Kaika was sitting. She swiftly picked up the young girl by her armpits.

“What are you doing!?” shouted Kaika in shock.

“You’re lighter than I thought.” Rin carried Kaika to the bed and flopped her on it.

“That’s because you’re an amazon!”

“You mean ‘athletic,’ right?” asked Rin with her hand raised up.

“...Yes.” Kaika cowered in the face of Rin’s hammerfist.

Rin quickly got into bed and covered both of them with the thick comforter. Kaika tried to squirm her way out. Rin, preventing her escape, snugly embraced her from behind. Kaika tried to free herself to no avail. Her body slackened after she had apparently resigned herself to her fate for tonight.

“I’m no meadow, but it’s better than nothing, right?” asked Rin.

“Hmph.”

Rin relaxed her embrace after confirming that Kaika no longer intended to escape. She thoroughly enjoyed the soft bolster that she had just acquired. After a while, sleepiness gently assailed Rin, but she checked on Kaika first before succumbing to the temptation. The young girl’s breathing was steady, and her body was completely relaxed. Rin followed Kaika into the land of dreams soon after.

They both woke up at roughly the same time as always. Rin looked at Kaika and asked, “Did you have a good night’s sleep?”

Kaika’s face clouded in confusion, as if she could not figure out the answer to a test question.

“...I did,” said Kaika.

“You’re welcome.”

Chapter Five: Secret Ingredient

“Yuuji, garnish the lasagne and take it to the head chef’s counter,” said Ageha.

“Yes, chef!” said a slim young man. He was wearing the same white uniform as Ageha.

Yuuji quickly topped the aromatic layers of meat, bechamel, and cheese with microgreens. The pasta had been baked in a square single portion dish. Sapore served its lasagne in its baking dish to keep it warm. Forgetting how hot the dish was, Yuuji carelessly tried to lift it without a potholder.

“Ow!”

Yuuji almost dropped the lasagne, but Ageha caught it and placed it back on the counter.

“Be careful,” said Ageha curtly.

“I am so sorry!” Yuuji immediately bowed in apology. His short black hair whipped up for a second due to the speed of his movement.

“It’s alright. Everyone makes mistakes.”

Yuuji lifted his head, his face filled with worry, and asked, “Are you okay, chef?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you get burned by the dish?”

Ageha nonchalantly looked at his fingers. “No, I’m fine. My fingers are used to heat.”

Yuuji’s face filled with admiration. He bowed again. “Thank you.”

Seeing the sincere displays of regret, respect, and gratitude in quick succession, Ageha wanted to smile, but he opted to keep the stern expression of a superior.

“It’s no big deal. You don’t have to keep bowing to me. I’d rather you spend that time working,” said Ageha.

Yuuji straightened his posture and said, “Yes, chef!” A determined look surfaced on his slightly feminine face. He lifted the lasagne using a potholder and headed for the chef’s counter.

He’s a bit rough around the edges, but with that personality, he’s gonna grow.

Yuuji was one of the new chefs that had been hired to fill in for Matsunaga, the ​secondo ​chef who unwillingly retired thanks to Ageha. The kitchen hierarchy had been restructured, and Ageha had been promoted to sous chef.

While Ageha continued cooking, he glanced at the retreating figure of the inexperienced chef. He had known Yuuji for only a few weeks but had learned quite a bit about him because he wore his heart on his sleeve. Yuuji’s defining features were his sincerity and hardworking nature. He was average in all other aspects.

Kirishima inspected the lasagne and then beckoned Rin to serve it to the customer. Rin placed the dish on her tray using a small black towel for insulation. Before she walked into the sala​, she turned to Yuuji.

“Don’t worry about it. Ageha’s really appreciative of your hard work. He isn’t gonna mind such a small mistake,” said Rin.

Yuuji looked touched from the show of concern. “Rin…” He smiled with renewed vigor and said, “Thank you. I’ll try harder!”

Rin made a spectacular smile and nodded. Yuuji faintly flushed from the sight. Not noticing this, she gracefully turned and strode into the ​sala​.

A few hours later, Ageha took a break and entered the staff room. He found Rin sitting on a chair while fiddling with her mobile terminal.

“Hey,” said Ageha.

Rin looked up and smiled. “What’s up?” She pocketed her terminal.

“Thanks for the follow up with Yuuji earlier.”

“Nah, I just said what I felt. Yuuji is a nice guy.”

“I know. It’s just that I can be a little too straight when speaking to my subordinates.”

“That can’t be helped. You take your work very seriously.”

“He does, too. A little too serious, maybe.” He chuckled.

Ageha took a seat on one of the chairs. He cracked his neck by tilting in from side to side.

“Tired?” asked Rin.

“From stress. You?”

“Full of energy! I’ve been sleeping like a log thanks to my new body pillow.” Rin made a mischievous smile.

Ageha found it odd but decided to ignore it. Rin stood up from her seat and approached Ageha from behind. Before he could react, Rin had already grabbed onto his shoulders with her fingers.

“What are you doing!?” asked Ageha in surprise.

“Giving you a massage. Nothing beats a shoulder rub when you’re stressed.”

“Wait­”

“Eh?”

Ageha’s attempt to stop her had been too late. She had already squeezed on his shoulder with all her strength. The problem was that his flesh had not budged a millimeter.

“What is this?” asked the confused Rin.

Ageha closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He tried to come up with a plausible excuse but could not find one.

“...Are these cybernetic?”

He decided to answer honestly. He owed Rin far too much to blatantly lie to her at this point.

“Yes.”

“So Kai was telling the truth…”

Kai?

Ageha stood up, causing Rin to release her hold of his shoulders, and turned to her.

“What did she tell you?” His expression lacked its usual softness.

Rin trembled from Ageha’s reaction and took a step back. Seeing this, Ageha felt a twinge of guilt. He made a regretful smile.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, it’s okay.” Rin fixed her posture. “About that, Kai told me about her identity and that you were her bodyguard. I wouldn’t have believed her normally, but…” She fidgeted. “I saw you on Mount Takao while I was hiking some time ago…”

Rin was on Mount Takao that day?

What an absurd coincidence.

Ageha lamented his typical stroke of bad luck. He wanted to click his tongue but resisted. He closed his eyes and pressed on his temples. “Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut.”

“No, it’s not Kai’s fault! I… wanted to know.”

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this.” Ageha dipped his head.

“You had no choice, right? I’m fine with it.”

Ageha knew how Rin felt about him, but he did not realize how deeply until now. He was being horribly unfair to her by taking advantage of those feelings. Guilt raged in his heart.

“I’m sorry for lying to you all this time.”

“I hid stuff from you too, so we’re square.”

“Those don’t measure up­”

“It does to me, and that’s what matters right?” asked Rin with a brilliant smile.

Ageha could not smile in return. He could not let go of his guilt despite, or rather precisely because of, Rin’s kindness and mercy. His eyes unconsciously avoided Rin’s. Rin’s smile gradually became more awkward because of Ageha’s odd demeanor.

A knock from the door disturbed their impasse.

“Excuse me,” said Yuuji as he entered the staff room. He immediately noticed the odd atmosphere. “Were you in the middle of something?”

“No, we were just chatting,” said Ageha.

It was a blatant lie, obvious from Ageha’s and Rin’s awkward expressions. A friendly chat did not fit such an atmosphere.

“Chef Kirishima said he needed Shikimi­san in the kitchen,” said Yuuji.

Yuuji appeared to have somewhat understood the situation but did not pursue the matter.

“How many times have I told you to call me Ageha?” he asked with a smile.

“That would not do! You are my senior and superior. It is only proper.”

Yuuji’s response caused an image of a certain stickler for formalities to flash in Ageha’s mind.

At least it’s not “Ageha­sama.”

“I give up.” He shrugged as he walked towards the door. He looked back at Rin and said, “See you later.”

She winced after seeing his face. Ageha did not let that faze him and left the room.

What face was I making?

***

“Don’t you have to go back, too?” asked Rin. She sat down after Ageha had closed the door behind him.

“I was actually on my way here to take break when Chef Kirishima called out to me. Would you like me to leave?” Yuuji looked completely serious.

“No, that’s not what I meant! I just­ I thought you came here to fetch Ageha.”

“I’m sorry. I assumed you wanted to be alone.” He made an apologetic expression.

I can’t believe he’s the same age as Ageha.

Rin thought that if it were Ageha who saw her panic just now, he would have teased her or, at the very least, been amused. Receiving an apology was not her expected reaction, especially from someone older than her.

They’re completely different types.

“I should be the one apologizing,” she said.

“No, you did nothing wrong,” said Yuuji with a smile.

Rin did not not use polite speech when speaking to Yuuji because he had insisted that seniority in the workplace overrode seniority in terms of age. She was thankful because she preferred to speak casually in general.

“Did something happen?” he asked as he took a seat.

“Was it that obvious?” She smiled, but her slightly furrowed brows showed her regret.

“I wouldn’t say obvious… You two usually get along so well, so something like this stands out. Did you have a fight?”

“No, not at all. Don’t worry about it. Ageha was just stressing over the strangest things.”

“Really? He always looks relaxed and in control to me.”

“Well, yeah. He loves to make fun of me when I trip up or panic.”

“He doesn’t do that to me at all, though. Maybe he doesn’t like me?” Yuuji’s expression darkened.

“No way. We were just talking about you earlier. All good things, trust me. He probably just doesn’t want to muddle the line between friend and subordinate.” Rin slightly tilted her head upward and leaned on the backrest. “That guy can be pretty strict when it comes to work. If you think he’s already hard on you, you should know he’s much harder on himself. He wouldn’t be a sous chef at his age otherwise.”

“I see. He really is amazing.”

“And he knows it, too. His bragging takes some getting used to.”

“I don’t see that as bragging. I think Shikimi­san is just being honest. Personally, I would find it more uncomfortable if someone like him acted all humble. Wouldn’t it seem fake?”

“You watch him pretty closely, huh?”

“Of course. I want to learn as much as I can from him.” Yuuji smiled.

“Be careful about idolizing that guy. His weird personality might rub off on you.”

“I could use some of his confidence.”

“No, you’re fine the way you are. Ageha said so, too.”

Yuuji sighed. “What am I doing? I intended to comfort you but got consoled instead.”

“It’s really no big deal. Ageha… just felt distant for a second.”

“Have you told him that you like him yet?”

“No, I haven’t­ Wait, what!? I d­don’t like him or anything!?” Her denial had been a pitch higher than normal.

“You don’t have to keep it a secret from me. I gave up on pursuing you because I realized how much you liked him. I have no chance,” he said with a straight face, but his cheeks were glowing red.

Rin’s face grew hot from the unexpected confession.

Why did he have to be similar to Ageha in the worst way!?

Rin corrected herself. They were different. Yuuji’s honesty did not have any ulterior motive. Ageha mischievously sought the reactions his opinions would elicit.

“I…” Rin fidgeted in embarrassment.

“You don’t have to say anything. Like I said, I’ve given up. ...I decided to support you and Shikimi­san. Who wouldn’t after seeing how you two act around each other?” Yuuji’s face grew even redder. He looked like he had been squeezing his words out.

Don’t confess so suddenly if you’re gonna get all embarrassed about it!!!

A certain word in Yuuji’s response caught Rin’s attention.

“‘You ​two​?’” she asked.

“Yes. I’m pretty sure he also likes you.” A small amount of melancholy was discernible from his smile.

Rin felt like smoke was coming out of her ears. “...Really?”

“It’s just my opinion, though.”

Even though she had complained inwardly about Yuuji’s straightforwardness, she actually found it refreshing. She felt that Yuuji was someone she could easily confide in because he had no other side.

“I see. Thank you,” said Rin with a beam.

“For what?”

“For comforting me. Isn’t that what you’re here for?”

“It looks like I wasn’t the one influenced by Ageha’s personality.”

“I­ I didn’t mean it like that! I know that you were here to take a break, not for me especially­”

“I’m just kidding,” said Yuuji with a grin.

Rin sighed and slumped her shoulders. “It looks like both of us have been contaminated by that jerk.”

Their laughter filled the staff room.

***

“Hey,” said Ageha.

Rin jumped away and screamed. She turned around and saw Ageha’s figure. “You scared the hell out of me!!!”

Ageha had been waiting for Rin outside the service door of Sapore. He felt that they needed to discuss the current situation in more detail, but due to the incident earlier, he had found it too difficult to talk to her inside the restaurant.

“I’m sorry.” His face contorted in regret. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

“Why were you standing there? I thought you were a pervert or something.”

“No special reason. I was just leaning on the wall while waiting.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Half an hour or so.”

“Are you crazy? It’s freezing cold out here.”

“I know.”

Their breaths were misty white. The temperature was much lower than what Ageha preferred, but speaking with Rin took priority.

Rin was dressed in a white winter coat. A long purple scarf was wrapped around her neck with her pony tail resting on it. Her cheeks slowly turned pink from the cold as she lightly rubbed them with her gloved hands.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“We could’ve talked inside.”

“It’s something that needs privacy.”

“...I see.”

Rin seemed to have grasped what Ageha wanted to talk about. However, there was apparently something else that bothered her.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not Ageha.”

“...Have you gone nuts?”

“No, you have.” Rin quickly raised her hand and launched a chop towards Ageha’s forehead. She fully stretched her arm to reach it due to their height difference.

Ageha could have easily dodged the blow but decided to let it hit. “Ow! What are you doing!?”

“That’s my line. An elbow isn’t enough this time. Have you looked in the mirror?” Her eyebrows were pressed together, and her blazing glare was upon him.

“No.”

“What’s with that face you’ve been making all day? You look like an abandoned puppy. It’s cute but not you!”

Did she just call ​me​ cute?

He felt complicated about the praise, but that thought was quickly erased by a different realization. Rin was furious. Not feeling embarrassed about saying something like that indicated how angry she was.

“Sorry.” He made a pained expression. His guilt towards Rin kept dragging him back to this unusual state.

“That!” She pointed a finger at his face. “That isn’t like you! Isn’t this where you smile like an arrogant jerk and say, ‘You’re the one who should look in the mirror. You’re nostrils are flaring,’ or something!?”

An arrogant jerk…

Rin breathed heavily after her outburst. Ageha remained silent.

“I’m doing this because I want to, not because you dragged me into it,” she said as she emotionally gesticulated with her hands. “Stop feeling guilty because it’s pissing me off! If you really want to make it up to me, act like you usually do!”

Rin looked like she was pleading with Ageha despite her use of imperatives. Her face was on the verge of tears. Ageha finally realized what had gotten Rin so angry.

She felt anxious after seeing me like this.

Rin’s concern for Ageha was, of course, real. However, the root of her anger was fear. Ageha was not sure if it was fear of him distancing himself from her, fear of the danger she was in, or fear of the peril Ageha had to face, but he was certain of her anxiety.

She’s right. The best way to make it up to her would be…

Ageha suddenly laughed.

“Eh?”

“I can’t believe you fell for that! Did you actually think I was waiting here for half an hour? I only went outside after seeing you leave the dressing room,” he said.

Rin looked confused at first but then appeared to have figured out what Ageha was doing. She probably understood that this was an act, but it was necessary for them to return to normal.

“Why you!? I was seriously worried over here!”

Rin tried to whack Ageha on the head again, but he nimbly dodged all her blows.

“It was just a joke! And stop wasting your time. You’ll never hit me anyway.” He continued to laugh while evading Rin’s hands.

“I got you several times before!”

“That’s because I let you hit me. Do you really think an ARMS­enhanced bodyguard would get hit by a ​cameriera​? Even elite mercenaries don’t stand a chance against me.”

Ageha had intentionally trivialized his dark secrets. Rin was now a part of his other world because she had willingly stepped into it. He had also casually declared his strength to alleviate her anxiety. She should know by now that he never boasted without basis.

Rin growled but eventually gave up after realizing the futility of her actions. She smiled at him, her face looking refreshed, and asked, “So, where to?”

“There’s this new ​ramen ​place that I have been wanting to try. It probably can’t hold a candle to my ​tonkotsu​, but it’s nice to eat someone else’s cooking from time to time.”

“Your treat?”

“No way.”

“...I kinda wish you kept a little of that meekness.”

“Never had that in the first place.”

Leisurely heading to their destination, the two of them walked side by side as always.

Chapter Six: The Two Fishes

Ageha had rare day off, so he had decided to restock his home pantry. He was walking back to his apartment after shopping for ingredients.

A middle­aged woman walking a golden retriever headed towards him from the opposite direction. Ageha veered slightly to the side to make room for them, but as they were about to pass each other, the dog suddenly barked at him. Having limbs much harder than dog teeth, he simply looked at the dog in annoyance.

“I’m so sorry!” said the woman as she did two quick, shallow bows. “Sophie is usually so polite.”

“No worries,” said Ageha. He merely nodded and walked away.

Dogs tended to be wary of him. He was unsure if it was because of his artificial limbs or the smell of blood on him. Either way, it mattered little because he disliked dogs from the start. They were messy, noisy, and dependent.

Why did that dog have a foreign name?

He was pondering such a trivial thing when he saw a familiar face. He wondered if her hair was always so disheveled. Her half­opened eyes were staring at the entrance of a family restaurant.

What’s she doing standing there?

Ageha approached the girl, but before he could call out to her, she turned to him. Her eyes widened ever so slightly. She made a small nod, likely a subtle greeting. The teenage girl in front of him was the one he met at the supermarket the night Saya had been attacked. She was wearing a beige turtleneck underneath a furry brown winter coat with its hood down. On her slender lower body were black tights with a pair of grey shorts on top.

It’s amazing how girls walk around like that in this temperature.

“Do you want to go in?”

She blinked and nodded, her face as expressionless as ever.

“You’ve never been in one before?”

She made another nod.

“Are you afraid of going in because you don’t know how to order?”

She quickly nodded twice.

What kind of teenager doesn’t know how to order in a family restaurant?

Ageha felt like a detective performing an interrogation. He was proud that his deductions were correct, but now he was stuck in a dilemma.

Should I help her out?

He was surprised such a question even came up. Normally, he would not concern himself with something like this. Closing his eyes for a moment, he reflected to find the reason. A certain face flashed through his mind.

Kureha.

He remembered his first impression of this girl. Her inability to speak her mind overlapped with his earlier memories of Kureha.

Guess it’s fine once in a while.

Having decided to be a good samaritan, he asked, “Would you like me to accompany you? I can teach you how to order.”

The girl’s eyes widened significantly, making it seem like she was fully awake for a change. Then her brow wrinkled ever so slightly. Ageha would have missed it had he not been completely focused on her face. She looked down for a few seconds and then nodded.

“Okay, follow me.” He passed the girl and walked towards the restaurant entrance when a loud rumbling sound came from behind him.

He turned to look but the girl was no longer there. Hearing faint footsteps behind him, he turned around again, only to realize that she had taken his back once more. The close combat specialist’s pride somewhat damaged, he decided to catch her on his next try. He faked a turn and then quickly rotated to the other side. The girl seemed to have read the feint but was too slow to react. Ageha stepped back upon getting the girl in his sight to prevent her from going behind him again.

The girl was blushing to her ears. She stood frozen after her crimson face had been revealed. Ageha figured out what that rumbling noise was.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. It’s normal when your stomach is empty.”

She did not respond, but the red on her skin slowly started to recede.

I wonder if she practices martial arts?

Even if he was not maximizing his ARMS, it was no minor feat to take Ageha’s rear twice,. Before he could ask, he noticed an anomaly.

The girl’s eyes slowly closed as her figure swayed. Her knees suddenly buckled, and she started to fall. Ageha dropped his shopping bags and caught her before she hit the ground. He carried her in his arms, gently lowered her on the ground, and propped her back on a wooden fence erected along the sidewalk.

The girl’s breathing and temperature were normal. Another loud growl finalized Ageha’s amateur diagnosis of the patient’s condition.

I’ve never seen anyone actually faint from hunger before.

She had probably been starving for a while now. The quick exercise just now had pushed her over the edge. Ageha checked on his groceries. Some of the eggs were broken. He cursed under his breath when he realized that wasted food was the least of his worries.

What should I do with her?

He could not just leave her here. Her condition would only worsen if she did not get nourishment. There was also the risk of someone mugging her or worse, molesting her. He looked at her lovely sleeping face, the perfect bait for horny old men, and sighed.

In for an inch, in for a mile.

He lifted her up and carried her on his back. He could easily carry her on his arms, but that would look very unnatural, not to mention embarrassing, considering the significant distance to his apartment.

He had been preoccupied with diagnosing her condition after she had suddenly passed out, so only now did he notice that her right arm and left leg were cybernetic.

Everyone has a story.

He grabbed and lightly squeezed her right buttock to check if it was flesh.

Perfectly shaped­ I mean, it’s not cybernetic.

Carrying his groceries and a random girl he met on the street, the young man headed home.

***

Arashi slowly opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar room. She tried to remember what had happened.

I wanted to grab something to eat at that restaurant… Then the man who helped me in the supermarket showed up…

Her memory cut off. She realized that she had probably fainted at that point. Alarm bells sounded in her head. She did not know where she was and who had captured her. She checked on her arms and legs. They were not restrained. She was simply lying on a bed with a blanket over her. She slowly tried to sit up, but a bout of dizziness forced her to lie back down. She took a deep breath, gathered her energy, and got out of bed. Having escaped from her warm and cozy cage, she unsteadily walked towards the door.

She noticed that she did not have her coat on and examined the rest of her attire. Her boots were missing, but the rest of her wardrobe seemed fine. She exited the room and checked her surroundings. It appeared to be a small apartment. She heard a clanking sound and followed the noise. A man, whose back was turned to her, was standing in the kitchen. She wanted to silently approach and restrain him, but in her current state, she was not confident of success. Before she could decide, her belly growled again.

This damn stomach!!!

Hearing the noise, the man turned around and said, “Perfect timing. The food’s ready.” He carried three steaming plates and placed them on the ​kotatsu​.

Realizing that she was not in danger, Arashi suddenly lost energy and started wobbling. Ageha briskly walked to her side, supported her, and had her sit down at the table. The table was already set, with plates, glasses, soup cups, and utensils for two.

“I hope you like spicy food. I had already bought the groceries, so the menu was kinda set. If you can’t handle the heat, there are fried spring rolls too.”

On the first plate, there were stir­fried chicken, peanuts, and chilis. The second deeper plate carried numerous small white blocks of tofu swimming in a fiery red sauce with minced pork. On the third plate were golden brown spring rolls sliced in half, their cut edges exposing a colorful mix of vegetables.

“I had planned for Chinese for this week, mainly ​Szechuan​ dishes. Nothing beats spicy food during winter. We have ​kung pao ​chicken, ​mapo tofu​, and the spring rolls I mentioned earlier.” He slowly lowered a small stove carrying a compact hot pot on the middle of the table. “And this is the ​mao xue wang​, a duck blood and chili hot pot. You don’t have to eat this if it’s too exotic for you.”

“So much!” Arashi’s eyes opened to their maximum capacity.

Ageha offered her a bowl of rice. “So you weren’t mute.”

She shook her head.

“You don’t want it?” Ageha retracted the bowl.

“Not mute!” The girl frantically reached for the bowl, but her languid movements could not compete with Ageha’s agile evasion. After she had tried a few more times, Ageha voluntarily handed the bowl to her probably because her drool had been dripping all over his floor.

The petite girl started eating slowly at first but gradually picked up speed the more she ate. Her pace eventually peaked as she continued to tear into the food. Ageha was also eating but in a more relaxed manner.

What is this!?

I’ve never eaten anything this good in my entire life!!!

This man must be a god!

She stopped her gorging for a moment and took a large gulp. She looked at Ageha as he calmly moved his chopsticks.

“...Are you... a god?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She bowed her head deeply in worship for a moment and then proceeded to ladle small cubes of coagulated blood into her soup cup. She rapidly devoured the hotpot ingredients.

“It seems you’re not a picky eater, or is it just that good?” he asked with a proud smile.

Without removing the soup cup from her lips, she nodded enthusiastically.

“I guess it’s the latter. This much was supposed to last for a week, but I figured you could finish a couple of servings since you were starving. I didn’t think you could eat this much, though.”

The contents of the plates were mostly gone. Only the hot pot had about half remaining. Beads of sweat were dripping all over Arashi’s face.

My tongue’s burning, but I can’t stop eating!

Is this what they mean by divine punishment!?

Ageha filled Arashi’ glass with cold water. She quickly grabbed the glass and gulped down the water.

“Wipe your face too. Your dripping sweat into your soup.” He handed her a table napkin.

She obediently followed the god’s command.

“I wonder if this is how Saya feels when she takes care of that brat?” whispered Ageha to himself.

Ageha noticed tears dripping down the girl’s face.

“Are you okay!? Is it that spicy!?”

Arashi noticed what he was referring to and quickly wiped away her tears with the napkin. She looked at him and said, “Delicious.”

Ageha looked ecstatic from the praise. He reached for her head and gently rubbed it.

Surprised by this action, Arashi quickly retreated backwards. However, some of her hair was caught in Ageha’s ring, and the strands were painfully pulled out. Arashi’s expression did not change as she rubbed her aching scalp. She took some more distance from Ageha and suddenly prostrated herself before him.

“...Must not... touch a god.”

“Are you stupid?” asked Ageha with a baffled expression.

She nodded.

Arashi knew she was not the brightest of the bunch and accepted it. She definitely would not deny it, especially if it was a god asking her.

“I’m not a god. I was kidding earlier,” said Ageha.

That revelation caused her to show her first real expression to Ageha. It was one of utter shock and disbelief.

“I’m glad to know that your face isn’t paralyzed, but seriously, it shouldn’t be that much of a shock.” He eyed Arashi as if she were a mysterious animal.

Arashi regained her blank expression and returned to the ​kotatsu​. She then started eating again.

“You’re just gonna go on like nothing happened!?”

Arashi did not respond. After a short while, she peeked at Ageha. He carefully took off his ring and removed the hair strands caught in it. He looked as if he swallowed a bitter pill.

I wonder why he’s making that face…

I want to know.

But I can’t even ask properly, and I’m stupid.

But maybe­

“I’m Ageha Shikimi. What’s your name?” he asked before she could complete her thought process.

“...Arashi.”

“What irony.”

Arashi tilted her head in wonder.

“You weren’t kidding when you agreed to being stupid, huh?”

She nodded.

“It’s ironic because your name means ‘storm,’ but you’re as quiet and languid as a sloth. Well, your eating prowess might deserve that name,” he said while looking at the empty plates.

Arashi’s cheeks blushed a little.

“Eating a lot isn’t something to be shy about. It makes the cook happy.” He smiled.

Arashi did not feel embarrassed about her appetite. She had felt embarrassed when her stomach growled, but that was because even she had enough common sense to know that hunger was utterly shameful. A large appetite did not even register as anything significant to her. She had blushed because she had been touched by Ageha’s willingness to explain things to someone as slow as her.

“It’s odd how you can eat so much, though. Your body shouldn’t consume that much energy, right?”

Arashi looked puzzled.

“I didn’t mean to pry. I couldn’t help but notice that you have cybernetic implants because I carried you here.”

He wants to know about my body.

But I can’t tell him about this.

“...Accident,” she said. She felt a stinging pain in her chest.

“I see.”

Ageha turned on the television facing the ​kotatsu​. He cleaned up the table while Arashi watched TV. After finishing up after­meal chores, he took the seat to her left.

“Why were you outside anyway? It’s a Monday. Don’t you have school?”

Arashi shook her head, her focus on the television screen.

“You mean, you don’t go to school?”

Still facing the screen, she nodded.

Ageha turned to the television and asked, “Is it really that interesting?”

Arashi’s head bobbed up and down several times. A travel show that featured a local aquarium was on the display. Videos of sharks and giant turtles were shown as the narrator gave a detailed explanation of the exhibits. Ageha looked at Arashi, whose half­opened eyes were sparkling.

“You wanna go?”

Arashi had nodded before he could even finish his question. She was amazed by the television programme because her father did not allow her to watch TV. The possibility of seeing that scenery for real felt like a dream to her.

That looks awesome!

For the girl who could only play in the battlefield, the world beyond the screen was a mysterious and alluring wonderland.

Ageha dipped his head a little and closed his eyes for a short while. He then nodded to himself and said, “I can take you if you want. I don’t have anything else to do today anyway.”

“God!” she shouted.

Ageha rapidly stood up and jumped away from her. He looked creeped out by Arashi, who was crawling on all fours towards him with no expression on her face while saying “god” repeatedly.

“But only if you stop this ‘god’ thing, okay?”

“...Sir?” she asked with a salute.

“What am I, your commanding officer? Rejected.”

“...Ageha?”

“No honorifics, huh?”

Honorifics?

Arashi tilted her head.

“I guess it’s better than ‘god.’” He sighed in resignation.

For the first time outside of combat, a subtle smile spread on her face.

About an hour later, Arashi was staring at a display again, but this time, it was a large glass aquarium filled with multicolored fish and other aquatic life.

“Do you like them?” asked Ageha.

Without turning to him, she nodded.

“Hm. I don’t really know much about fish, well, except how they taste.”

This time, Arashi turned to him with slightly widened eyes.

You can eat them!?

“Can... eat?” she asked while sluggishly pointing to a rainbow­colored fish.

Arashi loved to eat fish, but she was only familiar with the fillets sold in supermarkets and prepared dishes in small local eateries. Equating these beautiful animals with food had not occurred to her.

“Not that one.” He pointed at a yellowfin tuna instead. “That, however, would make great sashimi​.”

Arashi vaguely knew of ​sashimi​. She had overheard one of her targets praise its flavor while eating some. She had not been able to try the sliced fish because it had gotten covered in blood during her mission.

“You’re drooling again. How can you still be hungry after eating that much?”

She wiped the corner of her mouth using her sleeves, which were slightly too long for her sylphlike arms. She was not as beautiful as Kaika nor as elegant as Saya, but her sleepy look and her cute features combined would certainly arouse men’s protective instincts. Her turtleneck revealed that she did not have much of a bust, but her slim and lean body gave the impression of both charming fragility and underlying strength. The flawless contour of her buttocks was plainly visible due to her tight shorts.

“I don’t really see the value of watching fish swim around in a giant tank. I prefer more practical pastimes,” said Ageha, looking a little bored.

Arashi actually liked fish for reasons other than consumption. It was true that she was fascinated partly because she had never gone on such a trip before, but there was meaning in going to the aquarium in particular. She approached the glass and placed both of her open palms on it. Her nose was so close to the tank that it almost made contact.

They’re like me.

“...Like me,” she said as she gazed at a ray that slowly glided in front of them.

“In what way?” It seemed he understood what she was trying to say.

Just like them, I can’t express myself despite having a face and a mouth.

She opened and closed her mouth in hesitation several times. “Can’t... express self.”

“I don’t think fish have much in their heads to express. You’re different, right?”

I’ve never met someone who can, who tried to understand me as much as he does.

“Well, the way you open and close your mouth without saying anything is something you have in common. The only difference is it actually looks cute when you do it.”

Cute? Me!?

She felt her face slowly heat up.

“You look flushed. Are you angry?”

Of course not!

Why would I get angry over something like that!

I have to say something before he gets the wrong idea!

Her lips flapped wordlessly again.

“I’m just kidding. Don’t panic. I know you’re just embarrassed.” He smiled at her.

She quickly nodded to affirm his statement.

“I’ve gotten a lot better at reading people thanks to Saya,” he said.

Saya?

Arashi tilted her neck slightly while gazing into Ageha’s eyes.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just voicing out my thoughts.”

She did not miss the gentle expression on his face when he had mentioned that oddly familiar name. She felt a twinge of pain in her chest.

What was that?

Not understanding what that pain meant, she decided to ignore it. They strolled to exhibit after exhibit as Arashi silently ogled the various fish in the numerous tanks. Ageha patiently followed behind her. He occasionally pointed at certain animals and explained how delicious they would be if cooked in a certain way. Arashi greatly enjoyed his culinary narrations, so much so that her sleeves were getting heavy from her drool.

They eventually made it to a long glass tunnel surrounded by water and marine life. The tank was so large it extended as far as the eye can see on all sides. Granted, visibility was reduced because it was filled with water, but it was quite immense regardless. The floor was transparent and displayed the corals stemming from the artificial seafloor.

Competition in the leisure industry had grown fierce due to the high spending capacity of the general populace. Finding elaborate and massive attractions like this aquarium even in small towns was not uncommon.

Arashi froze in place after entering the tunnel.

Amazing…

Her mouth agape, she slowly swiveled her head as she took in the view.

This is so amazing!

A whale shark loomed overhead, and a giant sea turtle was slicing through the water to her left. Schools of fish swam all around them, smaller ones darting in random directions.

Arashi felt envious of how large their world was. To her, it looked like they could swim endlessly in any direction.

“...So free...”

Ageha looked at her after hearing her words.

“Not really. The fish here are trapped in this tank. The ones in the wild have more freedom, but even then, they’re stuck in water.”

That’s more than enough!

“...That’s enough!”

He looked at her with a serious expression. “I see.” He walked closer to her and slowly raised his right hand. He suddenly paused as if he had remembered something. Switching hands, he used his ringless left hand to pat Arashi on the head.

This action had freaked her out earlier because she had truly believed that he was a god. She did not know much about gods, but a lot of people seemed to worship them because they gave them things and granted their wishes. Despite having done both for her, Ageha had confirmed earlier that he was not a god, so Arashi did not run away.

It feels good…

Just like mom.

Her half­open eyelids drooped until they closed completely. There were not many people in the aquarium because it was a Monday afternoon, so the two managed to avoid too many odd looks despite their daring display.

“Let’s go. There’s still a lot left to see,” said Ageha, urging Arashi forward.

She nodded and walked beside Ageha. They were a lot closer than before when she had been leading the way, peering at exhibits in succession.

At the end of the long tunnel, there was a large room with many shallow pools of water containing different kinds of aquatic animals. A banner near the entrance had text that read “Touch Pools” and images of cartoon starfish printed at the bottom.

“You can touch the animals in the pools here. It’s really popular with kids­”

Before Ageha could finish his explanation, Arashi had already run off to the closest pool. There were no lines, as if they rented the entire place to themselves. Ageha grabbed her by the scruff of her turtleneck before she could contaminate the water.

“You have to wash your hands first,” he said and dragged her to one of the numerous sinks near the entrance.

After washing her hands, Arashi trotted over to a pool. She gazed at the fish in the tank. They were small sharks, and the purpose of the exhibit was for the visitor to feel the rough texture of the shark’s skin. However, something completely different filled Arashi’s head.

Is this the game they call ‘goldfish scooping!?’

Arashi had once seen an advertisement for a large festival on a giant screen in the city. It had shown various activities that could be found in the festival, but what had caught her eye was the game called “goldfish scooping” due to her affinity to fish.

She looked around for a paper scoop, but could not find one.

No choice. I’ll just use my hands!

The sharks were moving at a speed that made one wonder how people could touch them in the first place, but that was irrelevant to Arashi. She used her bionic eye to calculate the speed and trajectory of the hapless creatures. Raising her cybernetic right hand, she targeted one that was about to enter her attack range. After ascertaining the right timing, she struck.

Water splashed up, but the fish was unscathed. Ageha had caught her hand before it could touch the fish.

“What the hell are you doing!?” he shouted, incredulity, rather than anger, filling his voice.

“...Goldfish scoop,” she said, her face just as blank and sleepy as always.

“Those aren’t goldfish! And this isn’t a game!”

Arashi simply looked at Ageha without a reply. He made a deep sigh.

“I guess I should’ve expected something like this from you. You could have killed that shark, you know?”

Arashi tilted her head at his question. She did not understand what was wrong with that. The teenage girl did indeed like fish. She liked watching and eating them, so it was obvious to her that she would like killing them as well. A different realization dawned upon her.

He also has ARMS.

There was no way a normal person could have caught her thrust, yet he had done it so easily. Finding something in common with Ageha caused a fuzzy feeling to surface in her chest.

What is this feeling?

Growing confused, she decided to shelve the matter. Arashi disliked thinking hard about things. However, despite her attempts to push it out of her mind, it kept nagging at her. The twinge of pain she had felt when Ageha had mentioned the name Saya earlier started to bother her again.

Her worrying was halted by a tug on her turtleneck’s rear collar.

“You have to touch them gently. Who knows how much one of these sharks costs.”

Arashi nodded and followed Ageha’s instructions. She happily went through all the touch pools. Satisfied, she left the room with Ageha.

“We have only five minutes left until the show starts,” said Ageha as he slightly quickened his steps.

Arashi followed suit, her steps faster due to the difference in their stride lengths. They arrived at a large concert hall with a wide pool as the stage. There were almost no seats left, but they were lucky enough to find two vacant ones close to the pool because a mother had left to take her child to the restroom. Since it was free seating, they took advantage of the opportunity and seated themselves.

The lights darkened, and a gentle melody played within the large hall. A spotlight illuminated the center of the pool. A dolphin suddenly shot up from the water’s surface, as if treading the beam of light. The music suddenly increased in volume, and its beat accelerated. More spotlights shone on different areas of the large pool, and dolphins also made their appearance from those spots.

Wow…

Arashi was floored by the spectacle. She did not have access to many forms of entertainment. A show like this, designed to evoke awe from normal people, was magical for her. She was speechless even inside her head.

Ageha gazed at Arashi’s face. Aside from her eyes, which no longer looked sleepy, her face still held the same blank expression.

“How is it?”

She did not reply. Her eyes were still glued to the squad of sea mammals cavorting on the liquid stage. Her fingernails unconsciously dug into the armrest cushions. Her lips were slightly ajar as her cheeks flushed in excitement. Probably noticing this, Ageha did not bother her enjoyment any further.

After the show ended, Arashi was glowing. Her movements were unusually lively. No one would liken her to a sloth in her current state.

Having completed their tour of the aquarium, they left the attraction and headed for the station. Her current lodging was in the same neighborhood as Ageha, so they headed to the same train station. The ride home was relatively quiet. Uneventfully, they reached the stop where they would have to part.

“Did you have fun?” asked the chaperone.

I had the time of my life.

She nodded.

As far as she could remember, this was the most fun she had ever had outside of battle.

Ageha smiled and said, “I guess it wasn’t a bad way to spend my day off.”

Arashi took out her wallet from her coat’s inner pocket. Ageha had paid for the aquarium tickets because she was so bad at dealing with people, including cashiers. She pulled out a couple of bills and tried to hand them to the young man.

“Kids shouldn’t worry about things like that.” Ageha gently smacked her on the head.

Understanding what Ageha meant, she obediently kept her money.

“I’m heading this direction. See you around. Probably won’t happen, though.” Ageha turned around and began walking away from her.

Arashi’s heart started beating loudly. She did not want this to be the last time they met, but more importantly, she had not even expressed her gratitude for all that he had done for her. Her hand unconsciously extended and grabbed Ageha’s coat sleeve.

With his back still facing her, he turned his head to the side and asked, “What’s up?”

Mustering her courage, she gulped and took a deep breath.

“Thank you,” she said with unexpected clarity, her fingers still gripping Ageha’s sleeve.

They were words that she had not said in a long time. Overjoyed at being able say them properly, her fingers lost tension and released him.

Without turning to face her, he simply said, “You’re welcome,” and walked away.

Arashi arrived at her apartment twenty minutes later. She was greeted by her father with a punch in the gut.

“You’re late,” said the large man with scars on his face.

“Sorry, sir!” Arashi stood at attention.

Sweat formed on her forehead as she endured the pain in her abdomen. It was painful enough to send an untrained person reeling.

“That was too long for a lunchbreak. Where did you go?”

She did not respond. There was no way she could tell him about her day.

He punched her again, this time on her side. Her ribs creaked. She fell to her knees, coughing.

“This is a waste of time. Stand up. We have a new target.” Her father walked towards a desk.

Following orders, she stood up and followed him. He motioned to a display on the desk. The screen showed a picture of a familiar young man. She gasped.

“This is Ageha Shikimi. He was added to Nikaidou’s list. Seems they finally confirmed that he’s dirty.” He operated the terminal and caused more information to display. “Since Saionji’s out of the picture, we can focus on this guy. If he’s really that masked man, this’ll be a difficult mission.”

Saionji? Saya Saionji…

Arashi remembered the name of their previous target.

Her father continued briefing her about the mission, but none of the information entered her head.

Ageha’s our new target?

Her pulse instantly sped up. Numerous thoughts rampaged in her head. She tried to understand the feelings that she currently held for the young man. Her palms started sweating, and her mouth parched.

What’s this feeling?

She wanted to see him again, despite being with him just minutes ago. Her father mentioned his current address during the briefing, but she already knew where he lived. She had been happily eating in his apartment just noon that day.

I want to spend more time with him.

Why? Why would she want to do that? It was a compulsion she had never experienced before. What was that fuzzy feeling and that twinge of pain earlier? Deciding not to think too deeply about it, she quickly decided on what her feelings meant.

I think I like him.

Her heartbeat was almost audible to other people at this point.

I like him.

She concluded with finality. However, Arashi did not know romance. To her, this emotion was not much different from her fondness for food. A better comparison would be her affection towards fish. Arashi liked watching them, touching them, and…

I wonder how much fun killing him would be!

She smiled brightly.

Chapter Seven: Substitution

“It’s not your fault, Souichi,” said the sickly woman on the hospital bed. Her long yet lifeless hair was tied in a low ponytail.

“Kaoru… If… If I had only…” said the bulky man sitting by her bedside while holding her hand. His concern clearly showed in his voice and expression.

“Kept quiet about your superior officer molesting your comrade­in­arms? I would’ve never forgiven you if you had done that. Tomoe’s my friend too.” Her eyebrows wrinkled.

Arashi watched her parents quietly from the other side of the bed. She was an extremely timid girl and hardly spoke. Other children found her unsociable, so she had no friends her age. Still, Arashi was not lonely because of her mother, who would always tell her stories or play with her at home.

“I didn’t think Colonel Godou would do something like this. I even went to talk to him directly without reporting it,” said Souichi.

“Don’t worry. Someone as skilled as you will land a great job soon enough. One look at your track record and accomplishments should convince anyone.” Kaoru smiled at him with her eyes closed and entwined her fingers with his.

“I’m trying my best, but it seems that he’s already reached out to them. None of the security companies I’ve applied to have even called me in for an interview.” He shook his head.

Still in second grade, Arashi was too young to understand most of their conversation. All she knew was what her mother had told her before. Her father had lost his job, but it was something to be proud of because he had done the right thing.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. It’d be pointless if you fall ill too,” she said.

“But the hospital fees are piling up. We also need to save money for your operation.”

“I’m sorry for being such a burden.” The corners of her eyes wrinkled in sorrow.

“That’s not what I meant! I just want you back home as soon as possible.”

The fluster of the usually composed Souichi caused the mother to chuckle.

“You’re such a worrywart.” She flashed a grin. “I’m quite healthy, you know? The doctor said my condition’s stable. I’m more worried about the two of you.” She turned to her daughter. “Arashi, you have to take care of your father. He can be reckless sometimes.” Her hand gently stroked Arashi’s head.

Arashi closed her eyes and nodded twice.

“I… can’t deny that,” said Souichi, glancing at his daughter with a wry smile.

Kaoru looked at her husband. “You too. Arashi doesn’t speak up even if she needs something, so you need to pay more attention to her.”

“Roger that.”

“Please keep the military terms outside this room,” said Kaoru with another fake frown.

The couple laughed. Arashi did not understand what was so funny and was left tilting her head to the side.

After saying goodbye, the father and daughter left Kaoru’s hospital room. Souichi, with Arashi in tow, walked deeper into the hospital. They soon ran into an old man with large spectacles. His white lab coat gently fluttered as he walked.

“Noguchi­sensei, what a coincidence. I was heading to your office,” said Souichi.

“Tanizaki­san! Kaoru­san is quite fortunate. I have never seen a more frequent visitor,” said Noguchi with a smile.

“I… just have a lot of free time.” A complicated expression emerged on his face.

“Did you want an update on your wife’s condition?”

“That, and I wanted to talk about the transplant.”

“...Unfortunately, the price has increased.”

“What!?”

Arashi felt her father’s grip on her hand tighten. She winced from the pain.

“The bidding for organs is quite fierce, especially for hearts,” said the doctor.

“Is there no other way?”

“I am sorry to say this, but all you can do is earn the money. It is not an impossible amount.”

Souichi bit his lip. His regret was evident on his features.

Arashi had heard a similar conversation between her parents before. Even she understood that they needed money for her mother to get better and return home. She missed her badly but knew nothing about earning money, so she could do nothing but depend on her father.

“Tanizaki­san, your wife’s condition is steadily deteriorating. Without the transplant, she will likely last a year at most,” said the doctor with a straight face.

“I know that..!”

“Have you already told her?”

“No, not yet. I do not want her to worry. It could worsen her condition.”

“That is a possibility, but I believe the patient has the right to know of their prognosis, especially if it is this serious.”

“Please, Noguchi­sensei! Keep this a secret from her. I will earn the money, I promise!” He bowed deeply as he pleaded with the doctor.

Seeing her father like that, unease filled Arashi’s heart. Would her mother’s illness worsen? How long would it take for her to return home? She wanted to ask her father but could not find the words.

Noguchi looked reluctant, but he nodded and said, “...I will respect your wishes.”

“Thank you.” Souichi kept his head bowed.

“It is nothing much. Please raise your head.”

Responding to the doctor’s request, Souichi straightened his back.

“If that is all, I still have patients to attend to,” said Noguchi.

“Yes, of course. Thank you for sharing your precious time with us.”

The doctor walked away from the two. Still holding Arashi’s hand, Souichi briskly strode to the building exit. After leaving the hospital, he gazed at the bright noontime sky. His grip on Arashi’s hand became firm but not to the point of hurting her. His eyes were overflowing with resolve.

“I’ll save you. I promise..!”

Six months later, Kaoru, having recovered from a successful heart transplant thanks to an anonymous organ donor, left divorce papers on the dining table and disappeared without a word.

***

“That’s right. Hold it like that. Now shoot,” said Souichi, his scarred face showing no emotion.

Arashi squeezed the trigger as instructed. The recoil caused the rifle stock to slam into her shoulder. Despite her small fourteen­year­old frame, she did not look fazed at all. She hit the edge of the target nailed to a tree. Dense greenery surrounded the instructor and trainee.

Looks like her cybernetic arm is doing it’s job, ​thought Souichi.

The last time he had made his daughter fire a rifle was about a year ago. She had dislocated her shoulder the moment she had pulled the trigger. Her petite arms had been unsuited for this sort of activity. This had prompted Souichi to replace his daughter’s defective part with ARMS.

It was pretty expensive for a black market deal, but it looks like it’ll pay off soon enough.

Arashi silently continued firing at the target. She was getting more accurate with each attempt. Souichi had drilled the theory into her head. All she needed had been the physical strength to perform the action.

A clicking sound instead of an explosive gunshot came from the rifle.

“Reload,” said Souichi.

Arashi removed the magazine and hurriedly pulled out a fresh one from her vest pocket. Likely due to her haste, she accidentally dropped the clip. Souichi instantly slapped her on the face.

“You would be dead by now if this were a real shootout, you fool.”

She wordlessly picked up the clip and loaded it into the rifle. Blood dripped from her cut lip as she resumed her firing practice. The sleepy look on her face did not falter.

“You have to master marksmanship in order to be useful to me. You’re small frame is unsuited for close combat. I’ll handle the front, so at least become competent enough to support me.”

Arashi nodded during a pause in between gunfire bursts.

Souichi had started coaching Arashi in a multitude of martial skills as soon as her body had been able to endure it. To this day, her rigorous military training continued without lapse. He also gradually increased the difficulty as her body grew in size and strength. Her mind’s maturity was never in the equation.

After her marksmanship training, Souichi commanded her to pack up the rifle and dispose of the dropped bullet casings. She robotically obeyed his every word.

While Arashi was busy cleaning up, Souichi suddenly threw a punch at her. She reflexively ducked to avoid the hook and quickly created distance between them.

Good. She didn’t get knocked out like last time.

Arashi pulled out a small pistol and aimed it at her father. She shot twice, but her target had avoided her gun sight before she had fired. She then turned around, kicked off the ground, and sprinted away. However, Souichi easily caught up to her using his cybernetic legs. He assaulted her with a punch combo, which she deftly parried. Finding some space between his attacks, Arashi jumped backwards while holstering her pistol. She pulled out a knife as soon as she landed.

Souichi was hot on her heels and did not give her time to do anything else. He launched a front kick targeting her torso. Arashi avoided it by stepping back. She countered with a knife stab towards her father’s chest, but before her blade could sink into his skin, his right fist smashed into her face. Their difference in reach, even if she was holding a knife, was insurmountable.

Arashi flew backwards and crashed to the ground. She was still conscious probably because of the pain from her profusely bleeding nose. Her face contorted in agony.

That face…

That fucking face...

Don’t show me that fucking face!!!

Arashi had gradually grown to resemble her mother. She now looked almost identical to her when her mother had been the same age. This tormented Souichi, but he could usually control it. However, Arashi’s pained face had always blown away that restraint.

Souichi rapidly approached his downed daughter and picked her up by her vest. He then slammed his fist into her cheek.

“Stop making that face, you traitorous wench!!!”

Her miserable expression reminded him of Kaoru when her illness had worsened. He had been unable to do anything, and in the end, she had betrayed him. He suspected that Godou had approached her and had used the organ transplant, her life, as a bargaining chip. However, the reason was irrelevant. What mattered was her betrayal.

He punched Arashi again. Her face twisted further, driving him to greater fury. He continued beating her until her expression became blank. At first, he had thought that she had lost consciousness, but she was still awake. Her survival instinct had probably paralyzed her facial muscles. This was not a new occurrence, and the interval between the start of her abuse and her reaching this state had been growing shorter.

Arashi had not made a sound during her entire ordeal.

Even more so than her mother’s face, she had perfectly inherited her voice.

Souichi released his hold on her vest. Her lifeless legs unable to support her body, she plopped to the ground. Her bruised and bloodied face scraped against the soil and pebbles on the ground, but she did not change expression at all.

Souichi’s anger gradually evaporated. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“You can’t go on jobs like this. Excluding your stupidity, it looks like mobility’s your greatest weakness. Luckily, that can be rectified.”

He had become a mercenary in order to kill people in positions of power, such as Godou. But Godou himself mattered little. What Souichi wanted was simply to kill people like him. He loathed the reality that they existed. His hate was everything to him. No price was too high.

He looked down at his dazed daughter and tapped her left leg with his foot.

“This has to go.”

***

Arashi tried to shake off her nervousness by taking deep breaths. It was her first solo job, and she dreaded her father’s evaluation. It was not enough to just complete the mission. It had to be perfectly executed.

I hope I meet his expectations.

Despite his abusive treatment, Arashi did not hate her father. He was the only other person in her life, after all. He had also raised her by himself ever since her beloved mother had disappeared. She firmly believed that her father cared for her and was only so strict because he wanted her to be strong.

Her perspective on things was partly caused by her lack of common sense. Her training had made it impossible for her to attend school, and her father had forbidden her from going out by herself without permission.

Perched on a tree branch, she readied her rifle and took a peek at her target. She was tasked to eliminate a rich family who had crossed someone powerful in one way or another. Most of their jobs were like that, and Arashi cared little for the reasons behind them.

A white limousine surrounded by two escort vehicles slowed to a stop in front of an empty restaurant. Her father had chosen this time to attack because the family of four was celebrating the mother’s birthday in a rented­out fine dining restaurant. The venue itself was far from the city and usually accommodated only affluent or renowned guests. The lack of people made this job easier.

I think one grenade should do it.

She decided to kill the people in the first escort car with an armor piercing grenade. Reducing the number of armed hostiles was her top priority.

She accurately threw the armed grenade towards the first car. The sound of shredding metal echoed in the large courtyard. Seeing the destruction, the people in both the white limousine and the second escort car immediately escaped from their potential death traps. The limousine driver had died from the shrapnel propelled by the explosion in front of him.

A couple and two small boys had gotten out of the limousine, and four bodyguards had rushed out of the escort car. Two of the guards quickly approached the family, while the other two drew their guns, split up, and searched for the assailant.

Arashi quickly shot one of them in the chest. Everyone present immediately located her due to the explosive gunfire. Before the isolated guard could even aim at her, she riddled his arms and neck with bulletholes.

The family and the remaining guards ran into the building. Arashi quickly gave chase. Her targets moved slowly because of the children, so Arashi easily caught up with them by consecutively leaping forward using her cybernetic leg.

The two guards stopped at the far end of the dining room and turned around. Determination to take out Arashi burned in their eyes. They opened fire, forcing her to dive under a table for cover. A waiter that had not evacuated was killed by stray bullets. The family escaped from the dining room using the kitchen entrance.

While lying sideways on the ground, Arashi kicked off the leg of one of the heavy wooden tables and quickly slid on the floor. Her enhanced leg power pushed her quite the distance. The long white table covers hid her from her opponents’ view.

Popping out from her new position, she easily disposed of one of the surprised guards. The other guard returned fire, so she dashed to the side. While running, she shot at the guard but missed because her movement had thrown off her aim.

The guard ran out of bullets about the same time as she did. However, her reload speed, honed by her father, was vastly superior.

This is thanks to father’s training!

She closed in on the guard, who was still frantically reloading his handgun, and shot him in the face. Without stopping, she trailed after the escaping family. She caught up to them in the parking area at the back of the restaurant. They were running towards a gate leading to the street.

Arashi easily picked off the father and mother. Her following burst shot missed one of the boys because of his small frame, but she managed to kill him in her second attempt. The other boy exited the parking lot while wailing.

Dammit, I have to get him!

She rushed out of the parking lot and went after the boy, only to be greeted by his dangling corpse. Souichi held the child by the head and casually removed the knife that had been sticking out of his chest.

Arashi instantly straightened up and said, “Sorry, sir!”

“Why did he get this far?” Souichi shook the small corpse in his hand.

Since it was not a fixed military reply, she found it difficult to explain the situation.

“I… missed,” she said.

“I see. Well, I’m sure you would’ve gotten to him in a few seconds anyway. I just saved you the trouble because he bumped into me.” He wiped off his knife on the boy’s shirt before dropping him to the ground. “I saw the staff evacuate from this gate. Any witnesses?”

“None, sir!”

He gazed at her with a serious expression and touched her right cheek with his hand. “Not bad for your first solo mission. Good job.”

Arashi felt happy. She was only complimented by her father when she successfully completed missions.

I was so worried after missing twice...

She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“However, missed shots might have greater consequences in future missions.”

His palm still on her cheek, Souichi tapped her half­opened right eyelid with his thumb.

“This has to go.”

Arashi could only nod at his command.

Chapter Eight: Taking Orders

“You look better than I expected,” said Ageha as he approached the patient’s bed.

“Is that sarcasm, Ageha­sama?” Saya was wearing a loose hospital gown, and her arms were covered with bandages. A tube connected her to an IV drip. She slowly sat up and smiled at the young man.

Ageha smiled back and took a seat beside the bed.

“No, I really am relieved. You were in really bad shape when I found you.”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“I didn’t bring it up for that. I only did what was necessary.”

“I know, but I am thankful all the same. Kai­Ojousama mentioned how worried you were, so I would like to apologize as well. I was too careless.”

“...What did Kai say?”

“She said that you frantically asked her about what to do after carrying me back to the apartment, and that you drove like a madman until you got here.” Saya looked as if she remembered something and giggled. “She also said that you nervously paced around Kanou­sensei’s living room like a husband whose wife is in labor.”

“That little­”

“The last one was a lie.”

Ageha looked surprised. His reaction was expected because even Saya was surprised at herself. It had always been him who poked fun at her, and she had never attempted to turn the tables in this manner.

“I guess you’re doing fine if you can joke like that,” he said with a wry smile.

Saya locked eyes with him. “I know I should not be, but I am a little happy you worried as much as I did when you were shot.” She smiled bashfully.

Ageha fell silent with a complicated expression.

It’s so much easier to be honest after accepting my feelings.

She noticed Ageha’s confusion and immediately understood that he was unaccustomed to her current behavior. However, she did not want to return to her old self anymore. It had been a long time since she was this comfortable with herself.

“How is Kai­Ojousama?”

“She’s behaving for now. Has she contacted you?”

“She has sent me updates on the current situation. She is staying at Natsume­san’s apartment, right?”

“Why do you keep calling me with ‘­sama’ but refer to Rin using ‘­san?’”

“It is a matter of standing. You are Kai­Ojousama’s partner. Natsume­san is merely an acquaintance.”

And a rival should be treated as an equal.

Ageha shrugged his shoulders. “Kai treats me like a pet, though.”

“No way. If anything, it is the other way around. You are the one who prepares her meals.”

“I’ll pass on a pet honey badger.”

Saya could not help but laugh. The gap between the animal’s unassuming name and its true nature perfectly matched the disparity between Kaika’s facade and interior. Her laughter caused the wound on her belly to ache. She winced.

“Are you okay?” asked Ageha, clearly worried.

Saya controlled her breathing. The pain was significant, but she did not want him to fret, so she endured it much like Ageha had done when he had been the one stuck in bed.

“I am fine. I just laughed a little too hard,” she said with a forced smile.

“Don’t push yourself. Maybe I should get going so you can get some rest?”

“No!” She reflexively raised a hand and beckoned him to stop. “I mean, that is all I have been doing for the past few days. Chatting with someone makes me feel a lot better than being cooped up in here alone.”

And I missed you.

“...If you say so,” he said.

“According to Kanou­sensei, I am recovering quicker than expected. He even offered to upgrade my left eye this morning. A doctor would not operate on someone in bad condition.”

“...Upgrade your left eye? What?” He looked completely perplexed.

It dawned on her that she had never told him about it. “My left eye is bionic.”

Ageha eyes widened. “Not that I mind, but why did you keep it secret?”

“It is not really a secret. It is just a boring story.”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to chat. I don’t have any stories to tell except for Kai’s ranting or bragging, and I’m sure both of us have heard enough of that for a lifetime.”

Saya giggled. “True.” She thought for a moment and decided to tell him about it. She felt glad that he was so eager to know about her.

“Do you remember how I was sold to NGC for ARMS experiments?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I had a boyfriend there. He was very popular with the girls, but for some reason he chose me.”

“The fact that you’re not faking humility right now is one of the things I like about you.”

Saya felt her face burn. “...Do you want to hear the story or not?” she asked with a slight frown.

“I do, I do. Sorry for interrupting,” he said with a placating smile.

“Well, during our… first time, one of his admirers went berserk. She probably heard the…” Saya fidgeted in hesitation but continued, “...sounds from outside my boyfriend’s room when she came to visit. She then broke the door down with her cybernetic arm.”

“Okay, that escalated quickly.”

“My boyfriend panicked and ran away. I could not blame him. The girl’s glare as she stomped towards me froze me in place. Jealousy is terrifying…”

Ageha nodded deeply. Saya was aware of his past and knew that he completely understood what she had meant.

Saya unconsciously touched the skin below her eye. “She gouged out my right eye with her fingers. I was lucky my boyfriend called for help after he escaped. The guards somehow made it in time.”

“You wouldn’t have been injured if he didn’t run away in the first place.”

“True enough. We broke up right after that.” She made a bitter smile.

“Wait, you said that girl took out your right eye, but earlier you mentioned that Kanou­sensei offered to upgrade the left one.”

“My right optic nerve was too badly damaged and could no longer be connected to a bionic eye. It was only after Kai­Ojousama picked me up that I had my left eye replaced. Shooting and fighting effectively are incredibly difficult with only one eye, so she had my remaining eye swapped with a bionic one to compensate.” Saya pointed at her left eye. “This can automatically measure distance and zoom. The more recent models are capable of much more. They are ridiculously expensive though, much more than other cybernetic parts.”

“I’ve always wondered how you could shoot so accurately despite having one eye covered all the time.”

“I styled my hair like this to cover my hollow eye socket when I was still in the facility.” Brushing her hair to the side, she uncovered her right eye. “I bought a glass prosthesis after I came to the mansion, so I do not really need to keep it this way anymore, though.”

“Keep it. I like it.”

Saya chuckled softly and said, “You never change.”

“Of course.” He made his habitual poised smile.

“Sorry to interrupt your chat, but the patient needs her medicine,” said Gen as he entered the room.

Saya’s door was generally left open to avoid waking her whenever Gen had to check on her condition or administer medication.

“You actually came with perfect timing. Too perfect. Don’t tell me you added eavesdropping to your long list of misconducts?” asked Ageha.

“Please. I have no time to waste listening to lovers flirting.”

“Kanou­sensei, we are not like that!” said Saya in a fluster.

“Whatever.” The doctor looked genuinely uninterested. “I had wondered what made Ageha turn out like this, but I never expected the answer to be so boring.” Gen walked to Saya’s bedside and injected transparent liquid into her IV drip. “This should help with the pain. How are you feeling?”

“My wounds still hurt if I move too much, but other than that, I feel fine.”

“Good. I’ll be going out for a house call. Please don’t engage in strenuous physical activity just because you have the house to yourselves. It would be bad if your wounds reopen.” He wore a bored expression.

“O­Of course not!” she shouted.

Ignoring her protests, the doctor quickly left.

“Has he always been like that?” asked Saya.

“Like what?”

“How should I say this… Cold? Dry, maybe?”

“Yeah, as far as I’ve known him. Why?”

“I was just wondering if he disliked me in particular because he is always so curt.”

“It’s the opposite. He’s probably taken an interest in you. That last jab is proof of that. He wouldn’t tease someone he’s indifferent to.” Ageha looked at the door Gen had just used. “That guy doesn’t really like or hate things. He’s either interested or disinterested, that’s it.”

“Why would he be interested in someone like me?”

“Who knows? It’s not a bad thing, probably. I survived it, so you should be fine.”

“Survived? What exactly did he do to you?”

“Pain threshold and tolerance experiments, mostly.”

“Wait, he tortured you!?” Saya made a shocked face mirroring her true feelings.

“No, it was with my consent.”

Saya’s cheeks went red.

He’s an M!?

Shocked by the sudden revelation, Saya could not reply. The conversation trailed off and a long silence filled the room. Unable to bear it, she decided to speak up.

“I am sorry for taking up so much of your time. You are probably very busy.”

Wait, what am I saying? This sounds like I want him to leave!

Saya felt slightly dizzy.

“Actually, I have tons of free time recently. Kai ordered me to keep my head down until you’ve fully recovered.”

“I see. That is fortunate. I did not want to be more of a burden than I already am right now.”

“Injured people shouldn’t worry about things like that. Just relax and be pampered.”

“...I am not really used to something like that.”

“I’d be surprised if you were. You’re always busy spoiling that brat. I bet you don’t even take time off.”

Saya flinched because he had hit the bullseye.

Ageha suddenly raised an index finger with a proud look on his face. “I have an idea. Just for tonight, I’ll listen to whatever you say.”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

The idea completely dumbfounded her. Saya could not deduce his motives because she was having a hard time thinking clearly. She was not sleepy, but she somehow felt more relaxed than usual.

“To get you used to ordering people around. You somehow suck at it despite having Kai, the ultimate role model, by your side all the time. Learn to depend on people, at least when you’re injured.”

Look who’s talking…

Saya recalled Ageha when he had been shot. She found his advice ironic but did not blame him for it. Knowing and doing the right thing were different. People, without exception, were shackled in chains that occasionally stifled change.

Normally, Saya would never accede to such a proposal. Her position as Kaika’s aide made it impossible to do so. However, she surprised herself again by what she said next.

“You will do whatever I say? Is that a promise?”

What was that just now!?

Ageha looked equally surprised at her response. However, he quickly recovered his composure and said, “Yes, it’s a promise.”

Saya was confused at the sudden turn of events. She now held authority over the person she loved. The possibilities exploded in her head. However, she could not possibly abuse his sincere offer, so she decided to request something quite normal.

“Can you make me something to eat?” she asked.

“That’s it? You’re too reserved. I know my cooking is delicious, but I do that for you all the time.”

“No, you do that for ​us​. This time, I want you to cook for ​me​.”

Her own bold statement made her feel embarrassed.

“...Got it. I can’t promise my usual level of quality. I don’t think Kanou­sensei has much in his pantry.”

“So the quality of your cooking is due to the ingredients?” asked Saya with a challenging smile.

Ageha stood up and rotated his shoulder. “You just had to say it. Prepare to have your mind blown.” He left the room right after his declaration.

Left alone, Saya performed a self­diagnosis.

What’s wrong with me?

She had become more honest after accepting her romantic feelings for Ageha. However, the last few minutes have been abnormal. It was as if her rationality and restraint were ebbing away and her true self was being exposed more and more. She tried to squeeze her addled brain for the cause. Gen’s visit came to mind.

It was the medicine!

Gen would not hurt his patients. Despite being amoral, Gen had pride as a doctor. That meant the painkiller he had injected had a side effect and had dampened Saya’s restrictions.

This realization would have normally caused Saya to ask Ageha to leave in order to avoid further embarrassment, but in her current state, she decided to simply go with the flow.

After about half an hour, Ageha returned to the room with a tray carrying a covered bowl and a soup spoon. Saya, now high after the medicine had circulated in her system, cheerfully smiled at him.

“I didn’t think you’d be this happy. You haven’t even tasted it yet,” said Ageha as he placed the tray on a bed table. He then rolled the table in front of Saya and removed the lid of the bowl.

“I made some ​okayu​. It’s pretty basic because the ingredients in the kitchen were pretty sparse, but I’m confident in the taste.”

Saya looked down and surveyed the unveiled thick golden liquid.

“Wow, it looks great. It smells good too.”

“Here you go.” Ageha handed her the spoon.

Saya did not move to receive it. Instead, she looked at him and said, “Feed me.”

“What.”

“Use that spoon to feed me.” Saya made a pleading face.

Ageha looked as if he had seen a miracle. “C’mon, you’re not a kid. You can eat by yourself.”

“But you promised.”

He grimaced.

“Ahh…” Saya tilted her head upward and seductively parted her lips.

Ageha slumped his shoulders in resignation and hesitantly scooped up some of the congee. He carefully carried it towards Saya’s mouth.

“Ouch!” Saya jerked her head away from the spoon.

“Sorry! My tongue’s used to boiling­hot food so I thought it was already cool enough.” Guilt soiled his features.

“Blow on it.”

“What.”

“Blow on it to cool it down.”

“We can just wait for it to cool down by itself, you know?”

“But I want to eat ​now​.”

Ageha made a complicated expression after witnessing Saya act like a spoiled child. He was probably wondering what caused Saya’s change in personality, but he still obediently blew on the congee.

“...Are you blushing?” asked Saya as she looked at his face.

Ageha did not reply and merely focused on cooling down her food.

After verifying her observation by taking a closer look, she said, “I cannot believe ​you ​are actually blushing. I think this is the first time I have ever scored a point from you.”

“So your hair pulling didn’t count as a win?” Ageha made a rare pout.

“What hair pulling?” Saya was genuinely puzzled.

“To think you really do that unconsciously…” he mumbled.

Saya opened her mouth again. This time, Ageha successfully fed her the aromatic porridge.

Her eyes widened in awe. “My mind is officially blown.”

Ageha smirked proudly. Little did he know that Saya’s statement was also accurate in a different sense due to her medication.

“How can this be so good?” Saya checked the contents of the bowl again. She saw sliced green onions, an ​umeboshi​, and yellow rice soup colored by eggs. It was a standard ​okayu​.

“What a foolish question,” said Ageha as he used the empty spoon to point at himself.

“I make ​okayu ​with the same ingredients. Why does this taste so much better?”

“I made a couple of changes to the standard recipe. First, I used more water, making the consistency a little closer to Cantonese congee. It’s easier to eat and digest, so you probably find it delicious partly because your body instinctively knows what it needs.”

Saya found the idea interesting. She learned that cooking was not merely about a set recipe, but also about adaptability and customization.

“Second, I used only egg yolks to make it creamier and more flavorful to compensate for the increased liquid content. Lastly, I seasoned it to perfectly match your preferences. The order was to cook for ​you​, after all.”

Saya did not feel embarrassed, nor did she blush. Instead, she was overcome by a strong longing for Ageha. She wanted to embrace and squeeze him tightly. Not wanting to waste the delectable dish presented to her, she endured.

Ageha spoon­fed Saya until the bowl was empty. The next order came immediately after Ageha had cleaned up and had moved the table.

“Lend me your arm.”

“...What exactly do you mean by that?”

Instead of answering, Saya scooted over and created enough space on the bed for Ageha to lie in.

“I was afraid that’s what you were thinking. I’d understand if it’s the other way around, but my arm is harder than rock, you know?”

“I do not mind.”

“I know I said I’d listen to you, but this is a little­”

“You promised.”

Ageha fell silent. His eyebrows scrunching together, he closed his eyes and appeared to be deep in thought. He then sighed deeply and said, “Okay. A promise is a promise.”

This is so convenient!

Saya knew full well that Ageha could never break a promise he had made in earnest. He had probably given his word thinking that Saya would not abuse it, but the current Saya was not the one he knew. All the emotions she had kept buried within were now gushing out. The emotionless mask that she had painstakingly woven onto her face was coming undone.

Ageha climbed on top of the bed, lay down, and stretched his cybernetic arm across the mattress in place of a pillow. Saya rested her head on his arm without hesitation. After a few seconds like that, she turned and nuzzled up to him.

Ageha jerked in reaction. “Hey! What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting strange since earlier.”

“Do not worry about it. I am just a little high from the painkillers.”

I didn’t intend to tell him that, but whatever.

Saya was now inebriated enough to not care about anything she said.

Ageha breathed out a sigh of relief. “I knew it was something like that. Well, all that’s left is to enjoy it, I guess.” His body relaxed as his lips curled into a wry smile.

The awkwardness dissipated, and they now looked like a normal couple snuggling in bed. Their proximity brought previously unknown happiness to Saya. She felt excited yet content at the same time. Those feelings further lowered her guard, causing her to give a forbidden command.

“Love me.”

Ageha suddenly stiffened. Her lips were just a few inches from his ears. He had definitely heard her words. Realizing the finality of her confession, she quickly returned to lucidity. She instantly sat up, her face filled with a combination of shock and terror.

“I take that back! Forget what I said! I am not thinking straight!” Her eyes darted around as her fingers clawed into her hair.

Her thoughts were in disarray, but her partner, who had also sat up, was the picture of calm.

“Is that an order?” he asked as he gazed at her.

This forced Saya to regain her calm. She stared at him and pondered deeply for a while.

“...No, please do not forget it...” She backed away from him a little, her shapely buttocks reaching the edge of the bed.

Ageha waited silently for her to continue.

“I know my feelings for you have been an open secret for a while now. I also understand that we do not have the leeway for something like a romantic relationship with everything going on. But I guess… I could not resist.”

She hugged her knees and buried her face in them. The two of them stayed like that for a few moments.

“Saya­”

She turned to look at him and said, “Do not follow that order unless it matches your own will.” Her eyes were filled with determination.

Ageha, interrupted by Saya’s sudden command, did not say anything more.

“Whether you decide to follow it or not, all I want is a clear answer. I just… want to know how you feel.” Her tender expression clearly conveyed her yearning for the young man. “You do not have to answer right now. Actually, please give it some thought before replying.”

His mouth slightly agape, he wordlessly soaked in her words.

“I have another order while I am at it.” She took cover behind her knees again. Her ears were blood red. “Please leave me alone for today. Any more and I will die from shame.”

Ageha looked at her cute maidenly figure and took a deep breath. “Okay.” He slowly got off the bed and walked towards the door.

“Wait.”

Ageha turned to her. “What is it?”

“I have an order that is unrelated to our relationship. Since your promise is only effective for tonight, this will be my last command.”

He stiffened up due to the gravitas in her voice.

She locked eyes with him. Her face had regained its usual dignity. “Please take care of Kai­Ojousama for me.”

“Leave it to me.”

***

Kaika and Rin had been playing a popular fighting game when Ageha had dropped by. Now he, or rather his character, was being pummeled to death by the two girls in turns.

“So weak!” said Kaika.

“Whoohoo! I won again!” Rin pumped her fist as her character made a victory pose on the screen.

“Can we please stop now?” asked Ageha dejectedly.

“No way! Kai has been beating the hell out of me since earlier. Thank god you decided to visit.”

“I just came here to check up on you guys. I’m not a substitute punching bag.”

“How come you’re so bad at this despite being such a talented fighter?” asked Kaika.

“I’m just distracted.” He was not lying. He had just received Saya’s order, her heartfelt confession, a few hours ago. However, he knew that even with his full attention on the game, the result would not have changed.

“That ​is ​pretty strange. Having seen you cook countless times, I was convinced you had amazing coordination,” said Rin.

This scene reminded Ageha of one from his childhood.

He recalled his friends saying similar things to him when they had first played at the arcade. It had been such a painful memory for him, but now he could look back without fear. The things he had gained since then allowed him to do so.

A new fear sprouted in his heart. He was afraid of losing what he had obtained, just like how he had lost his first love, his best friend, and Kureha.

“I’ll give you a handicap, Ageha. I’ll play with only my left hand!” said Kaika.

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

It was against Ageha’s principles to not give his best in competition. However, the difference in his and Kaika’s real life combat ability appeared to be reversed in the virtual world.

““Flawless Victory,”” said Kaika and the virtual referee simultaneously. She arrogantly shoved a V sign in front of Ageha’s face using the hand she had not used during the fight.

“I give up.” He handed the controller over to Rin.

“Wait! You were supposed to be my stand­in!” said Rin with a pleading face.

It looks like she was beaten even worse than I was before I got here.

“Oh? Here comes a new challenger!” Kaika looked very excited. It seemed as if she would never tire of bullying those weaker than her.

Ageha fondly looked at them. The desire to protect his current life welled up. He recalled how his first friendships had been destroyed. Raking up his regrets, he analyzed where he had fallen short.

If I had just been honest about my feelings towards Airi...

He had known about Jin’s attraction to the same girl, so he had purposefully kept silent about his own feelings. That had led to the horrible conclusion that had given birth to his broken self. If only he had been more courageous back then, things might have gone differently. Saya’s brave confession came to mind.

How should I answer her?

“Why are you so good at this!? Didn’t you say you haven’t played this before?” asked Rin.

“That’s because I’m a genius. This is my first time playing any fighting game, actually.” Kaika thumped her washboard chest.

“Darn, I can’t even get you to half HP. If only I could invite Yuuji over. From what I hear in the sala​, he would’ve given you a hard time.”

“That’s too bad. I like beating down the hardworking types,” said Kaika with a confident smirk.

“It’s your turn on the stake.” Rin tossed the controller to Ageha.

He reluctantly caught it. The monitor displayed the character selection screen. He mindlessly scrolled through the large cast of fighters, but his mind was nowhere near the game.

How ​did ​he feel towards Saya? He had avoided that question for the longest time. He and Saya had been making the same excuses over and over. Both of them had been fumbling around trying to keep a certain distance from each other.

Once he seriously tried to answer that question, his mind was flooded with images of Saya: Her blind loyalty to Kaika’s cuteness, her strange hair pulling habit, her bad puns, her dignified smile, her adorable fits of embarrassment, her command.

He recalled the dread he had felt when he had discovered Saya covered in blood.

“Hurry and make up your mind,” said Kaika.

“Sorry for the wait.”

His onscreen cursor finally settled on a player character. He pressed the confirm button.

I’ve decided.

Chapter Nine: No Reservations

“Arashi?” asked Ageha.

He stopped walking near the train station lobby exit. A few steps away was a sleepy­looking teenage girl with a scarf wound around her neck. The red knitted cloth was quite long and covered her mouth, making Ageha uncertain of her identity.

She nodded, her back still leaning on the wall.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Ageha knew that they used the same train station, so it would make sense for her wait here if she wanted to see him.

She nodded again and walked towards Ageha.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“...Come.”

“Where to?”

She wordlessly grabbed his sleeve and tried to drag him along, but he did not budge. She turned back and looked at him without changing expression. She tilted her head to side.

“Don’t act as if following you is the most natural thing in the world. Can’t you at least explain why?”

“...Play.”

“Isn’t it a little late for that?”

It was already past 10 p.m. Ageha was on his way home from work, but Arashi’s firm grip on his jacket stood in the way of that. She looked determined to take Ageha along.

She must be really bored.

Thinking that her languid expression actually matched her thoughts this time, Ageha considered her invitation. She must have a destination in mind because she was pulling him towards the station platform. He did not have any plans for tonight because Kaika had forbidden him from any suspicious activities. Alleviating a girl’s solitude did not seem like a bad way to spend his free time.

He sighed while shrugging his shoulders. “Okay, but let go of my sleeve first. I won’t run away.”

She reluctantly released him and then walked to the train platforms. He followed behind her.

Several train stops later, they arrived at a run­down station. It was not dilapidated because of age, but because of vandalism. There were graffiti all over the walls, and most of the benches were broken.

“What are we doing here?”

Without answering, Arashi beckoned him to come along with her eyes, or at least Ageha thought she did. They walked along an empty street. Aluminum cans and cigarette butts littered the pavement. The buildings around them looked decrepit and abandoned. Seeing the state of this place reminded Ageha of a news report he had seen on television a while back.

He recalled the name of the station they had stopped at. It matched the one mentioned in the news report about a gang that self­destructed in one night due to infighting. The area’s silence indicated that the gang had either died out or abandoned this place.

Ageha was confused as to why Arashi had taken him here. She had said that she wanted to play, but there was nothing interesting or entertaining here.

Maybe she made this place her hangout after it was vacated?

No, that doesn’t make sense.

This is too far from our city.

Ageha’s wariness increased. He felt no enmity coming from Arashi, so he did not think it was anything dangerous, but his unanswered questions put him on guard. He could have simply left Arashi on her own, but his curiosity prevented him from doing so.

Arashi stopped walking in front of an empty building. She pointed downward several times. Ageha tried to decipher what she meant.

“You want me to stay here?”

She nodded quickly twice.

“Okay.”

She ran inside the building right after his agreement. He felt slightly annoyed because of the cold but had no choice except to wait patiently. He already had a rough idea of what this invitation meant, but he had come too far to simply go home without confirming Arashi’s intentions.

Several minutes later, Arashi appeared from the building. A military vest replaced her coat and scarf. The rest of her body was wrapped in dark grey skin tight material. In her dainty hands, which had cutely pinched Ageha’s sleeve just earlier, was a large rifle.

Ageha sighed.

I knew it’s going to be something like this.

He had tried his best to deny the possibility. He did not want another one of his more cheerful memories tainted by betrayal, but reality was not so merciful.

“Did you trick me from the start?” he asked.

She vigorously shook her head.

Right, she’s not smart enough to do that.

Even this invitation had been very crude. It was so incredibly suspicious that it actually seemed innocent, and it was. She had never intended to deceive him. Arashi was simply that clumsy.

“Can’t you reconsider? If you’re doing this for money, I’m sure my employer can top it.”

She shook her head again, her expression still as vacant as ever. Her bored face did not match her outfit or the situation at all.

Ageha’s gaze sharpened, like a falcon targeting a hare. “You’re going to die, you know?”

She smiled. It was an innocent, exhilarated, dazzling smile.

Ageha finally pinpointed why he felt a certain affinity with the girl in front of him.

So you were broken too.

As if her change in expression was a starting signal, both of them moved at the same time. Arashi aimed her rifle at Ageha as he bolted to the entrance of a building across the street. Fighting a rifleman barehanded on an open field was nigh impossible. He also planned to analyze her battle capability first before striking.

Arashi aimed at him and shot two short bursts. Ageha felt the bullets zipping past him as he reached the entrance. He smashed through the glass doors while covering his face with his arms and leapt into cover.

She’s really good.

Considering how fast he had sprinted, the fact that she had barely missed was indicative of her expert marksmanship. He admired and felt jealous of her skill. However, he remembered her age and clicked his tongue.

She’s too young to be that good.

No wonder she broke.

Arashi trailed behind him. She used her cybernetic left leg and propelled herself forward, but Ageha was much faster. The hallway floor cracked from the force of his strides.

Arashi caught sight of him right before he rounded the far corner of the corridor. She fired another burst of bullets, one of which grazed Ageha’s shoulder and sent him spinning. His coat and the artificial skin underneath it was ripped open.

What the hell!?

Ageha was taken aback by the impact. The bullet had merely grazed his alloy arm, but his entire body had been forced into a spin. He quickly regained balance and continued fleeing. He now understood that taking one of her bullets squarely would lead to injury even if it missed his vital parts.

Ageha managed to lose Arashi by bounding up a flight of stairs. He climbed two floors before going into the corridor. It was now a game of hide and seek. Ageha silenced his breathing and focused his hearing. He could not hear the sound of Arashi’s footsteps and deduced that she was still on a different floor. Prioritizing mobility over comfort, he removed his coat and threw it in one of the open rooms.

He stealthily moved along the corridor until he saw a boarded up door. Noticing an open glass window right across it, he thought that this was an ideal location for an ambush. He smashed the boarded up door, hoping that the loud noise would alert Arashi of his current position. He then quickly went through the open window and dug his fingers and toes into the concrete wall below it. Like a rock climber eyeing his next hold, he took a peek at the corridor. After confirming that his target had yet to come, he closed the glass window and ducked his head.

Arashi soon arrived at the corridor where Ageha was lying in wait. Without approaching the room with the broken door, she threw a compact grenade. The grenade bounced off the door frame and then off the wall before hitting the ground in the middle of the room. A deafening explosion erupted.

Vigilantly checking her surroundings, Arashi slowly walked towards the door and peeked into the room. Ageha saw her translucent reflection on the window pane and immediately lifted himself up using his arms. Pulling himself forward with his right hand, he crashed through the window while shielding his face with his left arm. Glass shards flew in the air as he landed on the floor. Arashi turned towards him, her eyes opened wider than usual.

Ageha threw a right uppercut towards her gut, but she somehow twisted her body and avoided the brunt of it. His blow had grazed her vest and one of her rifle magazines crashed to the floor.

Was I unconsciously holding back?

Ageha frowned as he analyzed his missed opportunity. He had taken her by surprise. A straight punch to her head would have killed her and ended the fight. Using a slower body blow had been his involuntary attempt at keeping her alive.

Ignoring her dropped ammo, Arashi immediately leapt backwards. Ageha was about to follow her when he noticed a grenade rolling on the ground in front of him. Since it was already on the floor, he instantly deduced that it was not the type that exploded on impact. He kicked the grenade towards Arashi, who had already created a significant distance between them. They both raised their arms to protect their faces. The grenade detonated in the air several feet in front of her and saturated the room with light and sound.

A stun grenade!?

It had exploded right in front of Arashi, so she was likely blinded. Thinking this was his chance to defeat her, Ageha dashed forward while enduring his hazy vision and buzzing eardrums. However, his chase was cut short by a bullet hitting his upper chest. His sweater and skin were blasted off, and his alloy muscle was exposed. The bullet ricocheted, but the impact blew him backwards and robbed him of breath. He rolled on the ground and then quickly dove into an open door to his left. A trail of bullet holes appeared where he had been crouching an instant before.

Ageha wondered why Arashi was unaffected by the flashbang, but something Saya had said before came to mind.

“The more recent models are capable of much more.”

Arashi has bionic eyes.

Ageha surveyed the room while coughing. There were no other exits except for the window. While running towards his only escape route, he saw a grenade bounce off the door frame and into the room. He jumped towards the window and curled up into a ball while in midair. The grenade exploded behind him, scattering shrapnel that battered his back. They did not pierce through his ARMS, but the force hurled him outside the window.

He reoriented himself as he fell from the third floor and flipped once in order to face the ground. Landing on all fours like a cat, his cybernetic limbs mitigated the impact. He coughed several more times before he was able to steady his breathing. The damage from the gunshot to his chest was not life threatening. He stood up and looked at the broken window he just fell from.

Arashi’s face poked out. She looked ecstatic.

Okay, now I’m pissed.

***

Amazing! He’s so strong!

Arashi was looking down at Ageha, who had just fallen from the third floor. He looked unscathed.

I can’t believe he made that jump after taking a grenade blast!

She made no effort to hide her smile. Her true feelings were laid bare. She had finally found the perfect playmate. She could pour out her everything without reservation.

Arashi knew how formidable her enemy was. Choosing a familiar location as their battlefield and not letting him prepare weapons were part of her strategy to ensure victory. Challenging him alone was a little reckless, but there was no way around it. It was simply more fun that way.

She aimed her rifle, but he had already darted out of sight before she could start shooting. This was the first time she had ever fought against someone of this level. Even her father no longer stood a chance against her in one on one combat. However, her current barehanded opponent had survived her attacks and had almost successfully ambushed her. If she had not luckily dodged his body blow earlier, she would have already been defeated.

She flipped a switch on her rifle and shot a grappling arrow at the fire escape of the neighboring building. She then jumped from the window and used the alloy rope to swing down. After smoothly landing on the asphalt, she vigorously shook the rope to dislodge the arrow and reloaded it into her rifle. Time was precious in her pursuit, but considering her opponent’s mobility, she could not afford to abandon the arrow.

Arashi ran in the direction Ageha had disappeared to. She saw him turning into a backstreet and gave chase. Immediately after entering the alley, her eyes almost popped out from what she saw.

A huge metal dumpster was flying towards her.

She instinctively ducked. Spreading her legs wide open, she lowered herself as close to the ground as possible, like a spider. The gigantic projectile brushed her hair. Fear started to contaminate the bliss she was experiencing.

What in the­

The loud sound of the dumpster crashing behind her jolted her awake from her dumbfounded state. She was reminded of the existence of a monster capable of such a feat.

She looked in the direction where the dumpster came from, but no one was there. There was no place to hide in the narrow alley. She looked up but still saw nothing.

It can’t be.

She moved to verify her dreaded suspicion: She had not looked up enough.

Craning her neck, she looked straight up and saw Ageha falling from the night sky more than a dozen feet above her. Right after throwing the dumpster at her, he had apparently jumped in an arc more than two stories high and was now hurtling towards her like a ballistic missile.

She managed to hop back and avoid his stomp but lost her balance. Arashi was forced to block Ageha’s followup roundhouse kick with her rifle. His attack broke her gun in half and pushed her away.

Arashi discarded her unusable weapon and pulled out three grenades. She scattered them in the space between her and Ageha to prevent his pursuit. It was suicide to fight him without a proper weapon, so she prioritized rearming herself and sprinted away. Leaving three explosions in her wake, she headed for one of her backup weapon stashes. The hunter had become the hunted.

She eventually reached a box hidden behind a telephone pole and opened it. After quickly grabbing the submachine gun inside, she filled her vest pockets with compact grenades. Before she could finish arming herself, she heard rapid thuds coming towards her. She turned around and saw Ageha charging at her with insane speed while holding a metal dumpster cover.

She reflexively pointed the submachine gun at him and started shooting, but it did no damage to his thick metal shield. Startled by his sudden charge, Arashi was unable to dodge. She instinctively kicked off the metal ram using her alloy foot. The collision caused her to fly backward several dozen feet, but it was better than being trampled by the makeshift bulldozer. She lessened the damage by rolling to a stop. Her submachine gun slid on the floor to her left.

She reached for her gun using her closer left hand. Her pursuer was already rushing towards her as she stood back up. She intended to create some distance by bounding away using her cybernetic leg, but it had been damaged by the previous attack. It still moved, but there was no way she could outrun Ageha in her current state. She had no choice but to fight it out here.

Ageha flung his shield at her like a frisbee. It almost scraped the tip of her nose as she dodged it by leaning back like a limbo dancer. A punch came flying towards her face before she could recover her stance. She parried it using her right arm and aimed her submachine gun at Ageha’s face. He effortlessly redirected the hail of bullets away from his head by nudging her left arm.

Dammit, I can’t aim properly with this arm!

She let go of her weapon and spun in place counterclockwise. She caught the falling gun with her right hand and ducked low to avoid Ageha’s hook. After completing a full rotation, she shot at his face from below, but the bullets were blocked by Ageha’s arms. Unlike her custom rifle, the submachine gun did not have the power to stagger him.

A metallic click signaled the end of her attack. Seeing her run out of ammo, Ageha grabbed the barrel of the submachine gun and squeezed it like a soda can. Arashi released her mutilated weapon and launched a roundhouse kick targeting his face.

He easily caught her left leg and pulled her up and off her feet. Ageha held her upside down by her leg as she struggled to get free. She punched his leg, but it had no effect because she lacked leverage.

Ageha grabbed the bottom of her vest and ripped it off. His fingers had also caught some of the skin tight fabric covering her, so the front of her grey skintight suit was torn open. Her snow­white bare chest and belly were exposed to the frosty air.

Ageha flipped the stunned girl right side up and held her alloy arm with his right hand. He then wrapped his free arm around her neck. Her back was firmly planted on his chest, and his lips were right beside her right ear.

“Surrender,” he commanded.

She shook her head.

No! It can’t end like this..!

Arashi was high from the excitement and terror that Ageha incited within her. She could no longer tell if she was having fun or trembling in fear, but she was sure of one thing. She did not want this festival to end.

“Whatever. Let’s talk more once you wake up.”

Ageha gradually increased the constriction of his chokehold. Arashi struggled and kicked his thighs using her damaged alloy leg, but his much thicker limbs resisted the attacks.

Not yet..!

Her vision slowly turned white as blood stopped flowing into her brain. She could no longer move her body, so using her last ounce of willpower, she squeezed out a word.

“...More..!”

Gunshots rang out.

Ageha released Arashi after taking several hits on his back. Arashi quickly grasped the situation and scurried away.

Father!

Ageha took cover behind the wall of the nearest building. Arashi used this chance to escape. She knew that her father would follow suit as soon as she had left the area. Leaving her dance partner behind, she bit her lip in regret as she disappeared into the labyrinth of abandoned buildings.

Hours later at their temporary base of operations, Souichi meted out Arashi’s punishment for confronting their target alone.

“I’ve seen you do a ton of stupid crap, but this takes the cake.”

Souichi stepped on Arashi’s head and pressed it onto the ground. She was still in her torn suit, so her naked breasts were being squished onto the cold flooring. She did not struggle because she was too badly beaten up to do so.

“You’d be dead now if I hadn’t noticed that your gear was missing. Now he knows that we’re targeting him. This mission has become much more difficult than it was supposed to be.”

He ground his boot sole onto Arashi’s skull. Her usually unkempt hair was now a complete mess. Tears and saliva pooled on the floor beside her face.

“I’m not even going to ask why you went solo. I’ll never understand what goes on in that defective head of yours anyway. But remember, never disobey my orders again.”

He finished off the lecture by kicking Arashi in the gut. She floated a few inches off the ground due to the impact. Souichi had hardly put any strength into the kick, but his cybernetic leg had easily lifted Arashi’s petite frame into the air.

“At least now you know what kind of monster we’re dealing with.” Souichi walked away from her.

Monster?

No, he’s not a monster.

He understood me.

He fed me.

He showed me amazing things.

He patted my head, just like mother did.

He played with me tonight.

Above all, he’s invincible.

As I thought, Ageha… is a god.

He’s my god.

I can’t wait to see you again.

I can’t wait to kill you.

While plotting to kill her god, Arashi fell in love.

Chapter Ten: Last Call

Ageha rapped on Rin’s door.

“Who is it?” asked Rin. Her voice had come from inside the room.

“It’s me. It’s an emergency.”

After hearing Ageha’s voice, Rin quickly unlocked and opened the door.

“What happened!? Are you okay!?” asked Rin as soon as she saw his appearance.

He had retrieved his coat after his duel with Arashi. Though the shoulder was torn, it was still better than his tattered sweater.

“I’m fine. I just had a run­in with an acquaintance.”

“But your clothes are ripped! Are you hurt?”

Ageha used his knuckle to sharply knock on his exposed shoulder and produced a clank.

“I’m not that frail. More importantly, where’s Kai?”

“She’s in my bedroom. Actually­”

Without letting her finish, Ageha marched to Rin’s bedroom. He had never been in there before but knew where it was.

Sorry about this.

There was simply no time for etiquette. It had been confirmed that he was being targeted by the enemy. His acquaintances would likely be placed under surveillance as well. He had to take Kaika and go into hiding until Kazuki had been eliminated.

He briskly opened the door and saw Kaika sitting on the bed. Rin followed him inside.

“Get up. We need to go. My identity has been compromised,” he said.

Kaika did not move, much less reply.

“What are you doing? Hurry!”

He looked at her closely and noticed her abnormality. The animated girl he knew was nowhere to be seen. The Kaika before him looked like an empty husk. Her eyes were unfocused, and her usually puffed out chest was tucked in. Her head and shoulders were slumped. The tips of her twintails sprawled lifelessly on the bed. Not a shred of her dignity and vibrance remained.

“What happened?” asked Ageha worriedly.

Kaika gave no response. He looked towards Rin.

“I have no idea. She received a call earlier and then started acting like this. She won’t even look at me when I talk to her.”

Ageha moved closer to Kaika and knelt down to match her height.

“What happened?” he asked again. His face bared his concern for her.

As if his expression woke her up from her stupor, she finally focused on him. She slowly parted her lips.

“Acute Massive Pulmonary Embolism.” Her face was as blank as her butler’s.

“What did you say?” he asked with a puzzled look.

“Blood clots blocked the arteries in her lungs. Gen said it was an absurdly improbable complication in her specific case. The clots usually form in the legs, apparently.”

Ageha’s heart gradually sank as he slowly connected the dots.

Kaika continued, “He was on a house call when it happened. It was too late when he found her.”

Her explanation was clear and concise, but her words belied her current appearance. This incongruence was probably due to a form of escape that she was currently undergoing.

Ageha had already guessed what the conclusion of her explanation was. He desperately tried to deny it by convincing himself that Kaika was lying, but his rationality betrayed him. He knew there was no point in telling such a ridiculous lie. Kaika would have manipulated him more elegantly.

She was telling the truth.

“This isn’t the time for jokes,” said Ageha, his voice cracking.

Don’t say it.

Please Kai..!

“Saya’s dead.”

Ageha knew that death was something commonplace. Very few perished in a dramatic way like Kureha. Illness, old age, and accidents took far more lives than murder. Saya’s death was simply another boring example of that fact. In this world, luck trumped justice.

Right.

It happened again.

This is reality.

She died.

I haven’t given her my answer yet.

But she died.

He accepted Saya’s death.

I quit.

And his world shattered.

Everything around him broke apart like glass. Regret assailed him. He should have answered her earlier, but that possibility had evaporated.

He lost his desire for anything. Even vengeance had lost meaning. After overcoming one tragedy after another throughout his life, he finally decided to call it quits.

He could not even tell if he was standing or lying down. All he could see were fragments of his broken reality slowly falling all around him. Each of them contained a memory of Saya.

One of them showed a scene from when they had hardly known each other. He had found Kaika’s blame towards Saya unfair and had intervened.

“Thanks for defending me earlier.”

He gazed at another shard.

“I had not thought of that! A good one, Chou!”

Her odd humour had charmed him when they had been deciding on his codename.

“You can look forward to your arm pillow when you wake up.”

She had not fulfilled her promise. At least he had managed to hold her in his arms when she had asked for an arm pillow herself.

“Please do not involve me for I do not have anything to say about whatever it is that Kureha­Ojousama said that definitely does not affect me in any way because no matter what I will not be negatively affected since I do not care about who loves anyone in view of the fact that I do not love anyone.”

The memory of when he had confirmed her feelings for him sparkled on another fragment.

“Kureha­Ojousama, I have finally managed to drag your pigheaded Oniisama here.”

He recalled how much he had been saved by her when he had fallen to despair before.

“You will do whatever I say? Is that a promise?”

I failed you.

“Love me.”

I loved you.

It was over.

Like Kaika, Ageha’s eyes glazed over. His breathing had stopped, and he did not care if it never started again. Rin looked at him, her face warped by agony, as he stood there frozen ever since hearing Kaika’s declaration.

He did not even see Rin because he was trapped in his cloister of anguish. His memories of Saya continued to fall and melt into the ground. Outside of his broken shell of reality was only darkness. As the glowing fragments decreased in number, his surroundings gradually lost light. He was gradually swallowed up by the creeping shadows. He saw nothing, felt nothing, was nothing.

However, before he completely succumbed to despair, one last shard floated down and hovered in front of him.

“Please take care of Kai­Ojousama for me.”

It beat.

His dead heart beat.

His pulse slowly picked up speed.

Not yet.

It was not over yet.

I need to fulfill my last promise to her.

Kaika was now in despair. He was not allowed to join her.

He grabbed the last floating shard and stabbed it into his heart. It was his time limit, his life sentence. He was forced to live until Kaika was safe.

His senses returned along with his mental clarity. His goal was set, and his method was decided. He had not recovered. He had simply reset himself into his state before Saya’s demise. It was not salvation but merely a delay in his inevitable doom.

His shattering world froze. Destruction could wait. He had more important things to do.

First, I need to snap Kai out of it.

“Get ready to leave,” he said.

Kaika looked at him with an eyebrow slightly raised and did not reply. Tonight was the most quiet she had ever been in front of him.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“That’s my line,” she said as if she had lost interest. “It’s over. I’ve lost.”

“Not yet. We’re still alive. First we need to find a safe place to hide.”

“What for? Saya’s gone, and your identity was leaked. I have no one else I can trust. It’s only a matter of time before Kazuki finds and kills us. Why delay the inevitable?”

Her pathetic words angered Ageha. Did Saya really wholeheartedly devote herself to someone so small? He grabbed Kaika by the collar of her pajamas, lifted her up into the air, and glared into her eyes.

Rin tried to stop him, but his grip was immovable for a normal person like her.

“Disgusting. I pity Saya and myself for ever being your subordinates.” His features mirrored the revulsion in his voice.

“...What did you say?” Anger flitted across her face.

Good, your pride is still intact.

“Someone who let Kureha and Saya die in vain deserves to be called that. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? You’d say the same thing to yourself.” He tossed her onto the bed.

Kaika lifted herself up and glared at him. “How dare you!?” she shouted. Her dead eyes lit up with flaring anger.

“How dare I? That’s rich coming from someone who just abandoned her authority over me.”

“When did I ever do that!?” Her eyebrows and nose furrowed together as her face glowed red in fury.

“The moment you gave up.”

He was absolutely right. The rational Kaika would be unable to deny it, and she did not. Instead, she attacked him like an emotional, illogical child.

“I know that! I know all that!!! But what would you have me do!?” she screamed at him as she pounded his torso with her fists. “I want revenge as much as you do! I want to win! But I have no more cards to play!!!”

Her knuckles started bleeding. She had been hitting the equivalent of a steel wall, so it was expected that her uncalloused skin would crack open.

“You still have me!” he shouted.

She paused for a moment but then continued her attack.

“That’s not enough! We barely had a chance with Saya, but now she’s gone!”

Ageha grimaced upon hearing the horrible truth replayed. Probably realizing the futility of punching his cybernetic body, Kaika targeted his face and climbed his body to reach it.

“I’m nothing but a powerless girl now!” She managed to crawl up his body by gripping his coat. She then grabbed onto his neck, pulled herself up, and wrapped her legs around his torso like a child.

With their faces lined up, she pulled back her fist to gather energy for a punch.

“No, you’re not. You’re still the unreasonable prodigy Saya loved, and I’m still your unbeatable warrior.”

Kaika stopped moving and looked at him wordlessly. Ageha’s face contorted in sadness.

“Please, Kai. I promised her. Let me protect you.” He finally confessed his true motivation.

Kaika’s face lost all expression. She remained silent while hanging onto Ageha’s neck. After a few moments, tears started gushing out of her eyes.

“...Ageha…” she said while sobbing.

“Yeah.”

“She’s gone…” Her crying increased in volume.

“I know.”

“Saya’s gone..!” Kaika wailed. Forgetting all dignity, she shamelessly embraced Ageha’s head while screaming over and over.

“I know,” he said again.

He embraced her in return, taking over the weight her thin limbs had been carrying while hanging onto him.

Tears ran down Rin’s face as she watched them. Kaika continued to cry for what seemed like an eternity. She eventually settled down after fatigue had overcome her exhausted body.

Ageha prepared Kaika’s belongings while Rin treated the wounds on her hands.

“Thank you. Not just for this.” Kaika raised her bandaged hand. “It was… you were warm,” she said with a sad smile.

“...You’re welcome anytime.” Rin looked as if she was parting with family.

Kaika had somehow recovered her usual form. It was probably an act, but Ageha thought that was better than the alternative. He himself had not changed much from the beginning, at least on the outside. Between the three of them, anxiety was most obvious in Rin’s demeanor.

You really are a good person.

Before Ageha and Kaika left the apartment, Rin approached the young man.

“Where will you go?” she asked.

“The less you know, the safer you are. I know I don’t need to repeat this, but please don’t tell anyone about us.”

Rin nodded obediently.

“You can count on me,” she said with greater determination than ever before.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

“No, I chose to help you. This is my own responsibility.”

Ageha was worried that his ties with Rin might put her in harms way. However, he also knew that as long as Rin’s knowledge of his other persona was kept secret, there was little risk of Kazuki going after a mere co­worker. Rumors about them having a closer relationship were just rumors, after all.

“Thanks, Rin. We have to go.”

“This won’t be goodbye, right?”

Rin appeared to be dreading the answer to her own question, so Ageha lied.

“Of course.” He smiled confidently.

Rin smiled in return. She trusted him completely.

Guilt knocked on the gates of his heart, but they did not budge. His heart would remain locked until he had carried out his final task. The fact that he had again lost part of his humanity came to mind, but he dismissed it as if it meant nothing.

“Hurry up,” said Kaika, her arms akimbo. “We have work to do.”

“That’s more like it.”

With a pout, Kaika blushed slightly and said, “Stop acting so high and mighty. I’m the boss in this relationship.”

“Understood, Kai­Ojousama.” He smiled wryly.

The resurrected devil, followed by her unbreakable death scythe, stepped out of her safe haven.

***

I can’t believe it’s only been two days.

Ageha had not come to work for exactly that long. Rin had known that he would disappear but did not expect his absence to affect her so much.

I hope they’re doing okay.

It was not only Ageha she worried about. She had grown attached to Kaika in the time they had been together. Kaika was arrogant and demanding but also adorable and wise. Even excluding those, she practically breathed charisma.

I hope she can sleep well even on her own.

Maybe Ageha can sleep next to her.

A pang of jealousy pricked her heart.

What am I thinking!?

She immediately scolded herself for thinking negatively about someone she cared for. With numerous worries weighing her down, she sighed.

“Something troubling you?” asked Yuuji.

“Wha!?” shouted Rin.

“Whoa, I didn’t mean to surprise you. I knocked several times, but no one answered.”

Rin straightened up from her slouch. Yuuji was standing across the table in Sapore’s break room.

“Sorry, I was spacing out,” she said.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize.”

They looked at each other and chuckled. However, the smile on Rin’s face quickly faded. She was so emotionally burdened that she could not hide it.

“...Did something happen?” asked Yuuji, his features showing concern.

“No, it’s nothing important.”

“The look on your face doesn’t agree with you.”

Rin could not reply. Even she knew that her thespian talents were not mature enough to hide her current distress.

Yuuji sat down on a chair to her left. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” He then looked at her seriously and continued, “Actually scratch that. Please tell me.”

Rin was surprised at his forceful request. Pressuring someone to tell you their troubles was unheard of, at least for her. Her astonishment showed on her face.

“Sorry, that came out wrong,” said Yuuji as he scratched his head. “It’s just… I want to help you, and I can’t do that if I don’t know anything.”

“Like I said, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me. You’re swamped enough with Ageha taking time off, right?”

Rin felt a prick in her heart. She did not want to lie to Yuuji, and technically, she had not, but keeping things from him still evoked guilt.

“It’s not just me. The entire ​cucina ​is struggling. It makes one realize just how amazing he is.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that. His chef hat might not fit anymore if you do.” She chuckled.

“Did something happen between you?”

“You’re really persistent about this.” She faked irritation. She knew Yuuji only had good intentions but wanted him to stop prying.

His lips curled into a frown as he looked down. “...I don’t want to stand in the sidelines again.”

“Again..? What do you mean?”

Rin was truly curious, but she also intended to deflect Yuuji’s interrogation with her inquiry.

“It’s nothing interesting.”

“Said the guy who wouldn’t quit probing.”

“...Sounds fair. Give and take, okay?”

“I didn’t say that,” said Rin with a mischievous smile.

“That’s cheating. Well, whatever. I guess you should at least know why I can’t let this go.” Yuuji stared at his clasped hands, which rested on the table. “I have­ ...had two best friends. They had become a couple but eventually split up. She fell into depression after the breakup but wouldn’t open up to me about it.”

Rin realized that Yuuji probably saw his friend in her.

Yuuji unclasped his hands and stared at his open palms. “I tried my best. No, I could’ve done much more to reach out to her… But I didn’t. She committed suicide three years ago.”

Rin gasped at Yuuji’s revelation.

“Yuuji, I’m sorry, I didn’t­”

“No, there’s nothing to apologize for… It seems I was only trying to soothe my regrets. I’m the one who should be saying sorry.” Melancholy marred his expression.

Rin could not reply to his confession.

Yuuji faced Rin and bowed his head slightly. “Forget what I said earlier. Now that I’ve put it into words, I can see how selfish my request is. Sorry.”

Guilt gripped Rin’s heart. She had hurt Yuuji. After hearing his story, she now understood why he had been so pushy about trying to help her. She had been experiencing the same debilitating helplessness for two days now. While weeding out compromising information, Rin decided to share some of her burdens with the young man.

“It’s got nothing to do with Ageha,” she said.

Yuuji quickly straightened up and gazed intently into her eyes, as if to communicate how much he appreciated her trust.

“I had a friend stay over for a couple of days at my place. But a few days ago, her sister died in the hospital because of a surgery complication.” Rin took a deep breath. “She just closed up completely, and I couldn’t do anything to help her. She returned home soon after that, so I lost my chance.” She smiled wryly. “I guess I have no right to complain after shutting you out just now.”

Yuuji shook his head wordlessly. He appeared to have understood her feelings.

“I just feel so helpless… How did you get over it?” she asked.

“I didn’t. I even pried into your affairs because I can’t let go. I’m no better than before.”

They both sighed.

“Okay, so now we’re both sad,” said Rin.

“You gotta admit it’s a hilarious conclusion.” Yuuji made a wry smile.

Rin started giggling. It slowly escalated into laughter. Yuuji, hooked in, followed suit.

“I guess it’s a waste of time worrying about it if there’s no solution!” said Rin as she stretched her arms and back.

“Sounds about right.”

“Thanks, Yuuji.”

“No, thank ​you​.”

***

“Saionji’s dead, Nikaidou­san,” Yuuji’s voice came from a mobile receiver.

“Is that certain?” asked Kazuki, his expression growing serious. He firmly pressed his mobile onto his ear, as if to prevent any words from spilling out.

“Pretty much. It was heavily implied by Rin Natsume.”

“Shikimi’s co­worker?”

“Yes. Like I told you before, I heard Ageha talk to her about having ARMS and being a bodyguard. She was involved from the start. We should’ve just tortured the information out of her.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one that has to do the clean up. I’d rather move with solid information. So, what did she say?”

“Seems your sister stayed with her for a while. She told me that Kaika’s sister died due to surgery complications a couple of days ago and that the girl fell into depression.”

“That’s consistent with the report I got from one of my mercenaries. Saionji probably succumbed to her wounds. Where’s my sister now?”

“Unfortunately, it seems she’s left Natsume’s place. I can go check if you want.”

“Go ahead and get information from Natsume by more ​direct ​means.”

Yuuji chuckled. “Understood.”

“Good job, Jin. To be honest, I didn’t expect much from a con­man, but I guess every trade has its master.”

“I humbly accept your praise. I was lucky that my short culinary career became so useful in this job.”

“Are you sure you don’t want any compensation? You’ll be able to play around for several years, you know?”

“That’s very generous of you, but I’m not doing this specific job for money.”

“You do have quite a history with Shikimi. It’s actually how I found you.”

“Really? I thought that it was my infamous reputation that caught your eye.”

“No one has ever heard of you.”

“Well, sorry about that.”

“No, that was a compliment. A popular swindler is like a popular spy. It’s the height of idiocy.”

“Looks like my news is well received. I’ve never been offered money ​and ​praise by the same person before.”

“It is.”

“Is Saionji really that important?”

“There’s no need for you to know that.”

“Whoops, forget I said anything. No reason to step on a dragon’s tail.”

“I’m glad you catch on so quickly. I’m looking forward to your accomplishments, even after this mission.”

Kazuki ended the call and leaned back on his ergonomic office chair.

I’ve won.

A satisfied smile naturally spread on his face. He pressed a button on his desk terminal and said, “Akane.”

“Yes, Nikaidou­sama?” asked a female voice coming from a speaker.

“Bring me a bottle of champagne.”

“How many glasses should I bring?”

“Just one.”

“Understood.”

He had suspected that Saya was either heavily injured or dead because she had suddenly disappeared. She had not attended any of the board meetings, and none of his surveillance had reported any sign of her ever since her encounter with his recently employed mercenary. Jin’s information had confirmed his suspicion.

Kaika is now isolated.

It was fact. Kaika had almost no one left to turn to. He also knew a possible weakness of Ageha, her last remaining ally.

Rin Natsume.

He pondered how to make use of that woman. She had to have some sort of significance to Ageha, considering how he had left Kaika in her care. That had required a lot of trust, and trust required rapport. Rapport, in turn, birthed affection and attachment.

His secretary knocked on the door and entered his office after receiving his permission. She placed a chilled bottle of sparkling wine and a champagne flute on his table.

“Did something good happen?” asked Akane. She was wearing a white long sleeved shirt inside a black suit. Her shapely hips were emphasized by her tight black pencil skirt that reached just above her knees. While her tied­up hair and black­rimmed spectacles gave her a mature appeal, she did not look like she was already in her mid­thirties.

“Yes, I received some good news.”

“Congratulations, Nikaidou­sama.” She smiled as if she sincerely wished for his success.

“Would you like a glass?”

“I could not possibly..!” she said with a light blush.

“Don’t worry about formalities. I’m in the mood for some company.”

“But I am still on duty...”

“Then from this moment, you’re off the clock. Go fetch another glass.”

She still seemed hesitant at first, but that vanished after she took a deep breath. She smiled brightly and said, “Understood.” After bowing once, Akane left the office with a spring in her step.

Kazuki chose to have his first celebratory drink before she returned. Though she was an excellent secretary, she had not been involved in this specific plan. It was not that he did not trust her. He simply made it a habit to never give too much power and information to one person. Balancing the delegation of responsibilities had always been his forte.

Not caring about any spillage, he opened the champagne bottle and poured the contents into the flute. He raised his glass to no one but himself and took a sip.

Delicious.

The taste of wine could vary for many reasons, and one of them was the drinker’s mood.

Depending on what information Jin could squeeze out of Rin, she could be used as a hostage or a bargaining chip. At the very least, he needed a way to kill Ageha. It would be easier to kill Kaika first, but Kazuki opted for entertainment now that his victory had been decided.

Dance for me, sister.

Chapter Eleven: Unchained

Ageha placed a large pot of beef stew beside a small rice cooker on the table.

Kaika lifted her back off her chair’s backrest and looked into the pot. “What’s with this absurd amount? We can’t eat all this.”

“This should last until tomorrow. It’s better to cook in large batches to reduce my time spent cooking.”

“But you love to cook, don’t you?”

“That’s a luxury now. I need to be on guard as much as possible.” He returned to the small kitchen just a few paces away and grabbed plates and spoons.

“Just don’t burn yourself out.”

“This much is nothing.”

“As expected of my ‘unbeatable warrior,’” she said with a smirk.

“I said that in the heat of the moment. Stop dredging it up.”

“It had a lot of impact. I was so shocked, seeing someone so old suffering from 8th grade syndrome.”

“I’m not suffering from such a stupid thing, and I’m not old.” He set the table and sat down in front of Kaika.

“Looks like your lively enough to joke around,” she said with a smirk.

“I could say the same to you.”

“You should know by now that I’m only acting. I’ve embarrassed myself in front of you more than enough,” she said with a bittersweet smile.

He glanced at her bandaged hands and kept silent.

Kaika looked him straight in the eyes and continued, “I’m actually surprised you’re handling it so well.”

It was obvious what the word “it” referred to. Saya’s death overshadowed everything.

“...I’m not handling it at all.” His face was devoid of expression. “I’m just prioritizing your safety above everything else. Anything unrelated to that can wait.”

“You aren’t thinking of something stupid, are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like killing yourself after getting rid of Kazuki?”

“You can’t kill something that’s already dead.”

“Here we go again with your 8th grade syndrome.”

He smiled at her jab and shrugged his shoulders, but Kaika easily saw through his crude facade.

Such a hollow smile won’t fool anyone.

If you don’t want people to worry, at least try as hard as I do.

He served the stew with rice and started eating. Kaika followed his example and put a spoonful of meat and carrot in her mouth.

I didn’t think you cared for her this much…

The stew was absolutely tasteless. It was cooked perfectly. The meat was mouthwateringly tender, the vegetables were nice and firm, and the sauce was the ideal consistency. However, it was hardly seasoned.

Did losing Saya disable you this badly?

Kaika did not know the cause of this mishap. Seeing Ageha eating as if nothing was wrong, she wondered if he had lost his sense of taste. It was possible that taste did not even matter to him anymore.

Not like I’m doing any better…

With Saya gone, Kaika could not even do the most basic things correctly. Rin had acted as a substitute when Kaika had stayed at her apartment, but Ageha was a young man. It was impossible for him to bathe or clothe her, much less fashion her hair. Kaika had tried her best, but her attempt, much like the time she had worn Kureha’s gift for the first time, had failed. Her head looked like a mess, but Ageha had not even commented on it.

Kaika continued to shovel the bland morsels into her mouth. This was no time to be picky, and calling Ageha out on his cooking could further exacerbate his condition. She could not help but sigh.

I’m so tired…

Kaika had bags under her eyes. She had returned to her previous sleeping habits, but sharing a bed with Rin had accustomed her to longer and more restful sleep. Her body was having trouble with the sudden reversion.

Their meal was interrupted by an alarm coming from Kaika’s terminal. It was connected to cameras and motion detectors they had placed around their newly rented house. She immediately checked the display.

“We’ve got company.”

***

“This is the place, right?” asked a man wearing a military uniform and an earpiece.

His partner was also dressed in a uniform with a different design. They observed the building to their left from inside a parked car.

“Yeah. The caretaker reported that a man resembling Ageha Shikimi is renting this house. All that money and effort spent casting the net finally paid off.”

“Let’s go then.” The man opened the car door.

“Hey, shouldn’t we wait for the new guys? Nikaidou­sama said we shouldn’t move until the strike team is complete.”

“You mean that old fart and that girl? Putting the geezer aside, there’s no way I’m trusting my back to such a green brat.”

“...I gotta agree.”

“Besides, there’re more than a dozen of us already here. What can one man do?”

They both got out of the car. It was late at night, and the street was deserted.

The leader, eager to get things over with, pressed a button on his earpiece and said, “All teams, we’re moving out. Team Spider and Zodiac, cover the rear entrance. Team Phantom, join us out here in front. We’ll launch an assault and eliminate the target, Ageha Shikimi. Don’t forget that Kaika Nikaidou must be kept alive if possible.”

“Does that mean she must be unharmed?” asked a voice coming from his earpiece.

“No, one or two missing limbs shouldn’t matter. Our employer even said that we can have some fun with her.” He made a lecherous smile.

“Roger that.”

The teams left their vehicles and moved to get into position. Team Phantom approached the two men in front of the house.

“Are all teams ready?”

“”“Yes, sir.”””

“Commencing oper­”

The man’s head was smashed onto the pavement and his brain splattered all over the tarmac.

***

Crushing a man’s head underfoot, Ageha landed on the street in front of the house. He had jumped from the balcony after Kaika had given him the go signal. She had easily identified the leader of the operation and had ordered Ageha to kill him first.

The man beside the corpse, likely the second­in­command, looked horrified after seeing his leader’s head obliterated.

Ageha did not give him time to recover and smashed his head open with a fierce punch. The man’s brain spewed out. His hand and foot dyed crimson, Ageha turned to his next target.

He normally held back when he fought human enemies in melee combat. He only used enough force to kill them because that was more efficient and reduced the amount of blood and meat that splattered on him. However, this battle was unlike those he had fought before.

I have to protect Kai.

Considering that, he had decided to use his full power. Fighting while defending Kaika was impossible. A single bullet going her way would end it all, so he had to make sure all the muzzles were directed at him.

The only way to do that was to become a threat that required undivided attention. His typical minimalist fighting style did evoke terror in his enemies, but that level of fear would likely make them avoid fighting him and go after his weakness, Kaika.

He had to give the impression that turning their backs to him would lead to their immediate destruction. He needed to shed his human skin and unleash his true monstrosity.

He kicked the practically headless corpse towards a group of five mercenaries. They avoided it by diving to the side.

Seeing them scatter, Ageha approached the car parked in front of their house and ripped off the door. He normally used objects as a shield, but a defensive fight would put Kaika at risk. This time, he had acquired a weapon to increase his reach.

Ageha leapt towards the group across the street and smashed one of them sideways using the car door. The impact threw the man onto a concrete wall, breaking his skull on contact. The other four started shooting at him, but he paid them no heed. They were too close for guns to be effective. A quick sidestep by Ageha caused them to lose their target. Using the car door like a battle axe, he cleaved two of the mercs in one swing.

He noticed that one of the remaining two opponents was calling for backup and decided to finish up quickly. With full force, he threw the car door at the one with the radio as he dashed in the direction of the other enemy.

A bullet grazed his ear and ripped off a small piece of it. Ageha ignored the trivial wound and threw an uppercut into the merc’s abdomen. The blow sent the merc flying more than a dozen feet into the air before crashing into the ground.

Ageha turned to confirm if his makeshift tomahawk had hit its mark. The merc was sprawled on the ground. His head was tilted in an odd way, indicating that the car door had collided with his head or neck.

Lucky shot.

Bullets hit Ageha’s back. A group of ten mercs had appeared from the east alleyway of the house. He was pleasantly surprised by their stupidity. They should have split into two teams and performed a pincer attack, but they foolishly moved in a single pack instead. The death of their leader had probably made them panic. Kaika’s contribution to this fight had become apparent.

Ageha leapt into the air and landed on the other side of the parked car. He kicked a corner of the car, causing it to spin slightly. The car’s right side now faced the group of gunmen. Ageha then grabbed the car’s chassis from the bottom and tipped the car to its side. A rain of bullets riddled the car roof and hood. Ageha had used the car as a barricade to defend himself from the gunfire.

Ageha ripped off two of the car’s tires and lobbed them over to the enemy group. One of them was so terrified at Ageha’s display of inhuman strength that a tire actually hit him and knocked him out. Ageha repeated this action using the two remaining tires.

Using this distraction, Ageha sprinted into the west alleyway. Along with the flying tires that grabbed their attention, the flipped car prevented the mercs from noticing Ageha’s escape. They continued to shoot at the car, causing it to catch fire. After emptying their magazines, the mercs hurriedly reloaded their weapons as they stared at the flaming spectacle.

By this time, Ageha had already rounded the house. He dashed out from the left alleyway where the mercs had come from.

He launched a spinning kick at one of them, but it was blocked by the man’s cybernetic arm. However, it did not kill the attack’s momentum. The man was blasted onto the burning car and caught on fire. He screamed frantically, grabbing the attention of his teammates for a split second.

In that span of time, Ageha had already killed two more people by smashing their heads together.

“Aim for his head!!!” shouted one of the men.

Too little, too late.

He had been completely underestimated. These mercs should have been informed about Ageha’s abilities. However, they had not taken into account how the human mind reacted to seeing something stupefying firsthand. Watching a war movie was completely different from being in a battlefield. The enemy had been naive and had not mentally prepared themselves for an encounter with a true beast.

Ageha dove downward and avoided several bullets targeting his head. He then placed both palms on the floor and performed a wide sweeping kick with both his legs extended. The attack shattered the shinbones of three mercs.

While grabbing the leg of a collapsed merc, Ageha promptly stood up and smashed him into two of his reloading allies. Only one merc was left standing, but he screamed and turned tail. Ageha used this chance to finish off the two mercs writhing on the ground due to their broken legs.

The mercs he struck using their ally had managed to stand up, but their guns were still out of ammo. Ageha made short work of them by crushing their windpipes with his fingers.

The only enemy left was the deserter. He had created some distance, but it was an exercise in futility. Lowering his torso, Ageha blasted off into a sprint and easily caught up to the hapless merc. He did not even actively attack and simply ran him over. The merc’s torso was trampled and crushed.

Ageha shook the blood off his limbs. He wanted to rinse it off in the shower, but he and Kaika did not have the luxury of time. More enemies were surely coming, so they needed to leave immediately.

Ageha heard a crashing noise from behind him. He turned and saw a merc holding a handgun fall down to the ground, along with a large pot of beef stew. The merc knocked out by the tire earlier had apparently woken up and had approached him from behind to get a shot at his head. Ageha was lucky the merc had stopped right under the balcony. He had almost been killed, assuming that the merc could hit his head with the first shot.

“What would you do without me!?” shouted Kaika from the balcony. She was carrying a large rucksack on her back.

“Words fail me.” He smiled, his face still coated with blood.

Kaika beckoned him over, so he jogged towards the house.

“Come fetch me,” she said.

“You can just run down here. If that’s too much of a chore, you can jump down. I’ll catch you.”

“Your arms wouldn’t be much of a cushion, considering they are harder than the ground. Just get over here.”

Ageha sighed and jumped onto the balcony.

“Here’s a towel for you,” said Kaika as she handed a white towel to him.

“Thanks.”

“I just don’t want blood getting on me.”

“What do you mean?” he asked as he hurriedly wiped the blood off his body. He was in his battle suit, so the liquid had not soaked in. He had been wearing it under his everyday clothes in preparation for the unexpected, and that had paid off.

“Carry this on your back.” She dropped the rucksack in front of him. “And carry me in your arms. That’s the fastest way.”

Ageha thought for a bit and agreed. Carrying Kaika would be far faster than having her run for herself. He obediently did as ordered.

“Wait, I forgot something,” said Ageha.

Carrying Kaika in his arms, he jumped down the balcony and landed on the street. He walked towards the unconscious man beside the stew pot and stomped on his chest. The man’s rib cage instantly caved in, crushing his heart.

“It took me two hours to make that,” he said.

Kaika snorted. “How petty. It’s not like we could’ve brought it along.”

“Wasting food is a pet peeve of mine.”

Kaika peeked at the man with the squashed torso and then at her prince.

I’m starting to become uncertain which one of us is more of a monster.

Kaika, smiling happily, wrapped her arms around his neck. Ageha, with their entire fortune on his back and his ​raison d'être​ in his arms, traversed the city in the dead of the night in search of a new sanctuary.

Chapter Twelve: Peeled

“Heading home?” asked Yuuji.

Rin looked behind her and saw the young chef garbed in winter attire. She released the doorknob and faced him.

“Yeah. Looks like you’re done for the day too.”

“Just got out of the dressing room. Wanna walk together ‘til the station?”

“We’re heading in the same direction, so it would be weird if we didn’t walk together.”

“Well, you know, you might not want a certain someone to misunderstand.”

“You mean Ageha? Unfortunately, I don’t think he’d bat an eyelid.” Rin smiled sadly.

He has much bigger problems right now.

I hope they’re okay.

“You’re selling yourself short. You’re beautiful and dependable. There’s no way he wouldn’t notice that,” he said with a consoling tone.

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere.”

Yuuji made a surprised face and blushed a little. “No, I­ I didn’t mean it like that! I didn’t intend to­”

“I’m kidding, relax.” Rin giggled.

So this is how Ageha feels when he leads me by the nose.

She remembered having a similar conversation with Ageha before, only she had played the dominant role this time.

Yuuji slightly slumped his shoulders.

“Let’s go then.” Rin opened Sapore’s service door and exited. Yuuji followed her and closed the door behind himself.

It was snowing outside. There was no wind, so the snowflakes gently floated down all around them. Rin covered her head with her coat’s hood as they headed towards the station.

“Do you often walk home with Shikimi­san like this?” asked Yuuji.

“I wouldn’t say often. Only when our shifts end at the same time.”

“Have you tried waiting for him?”

“No, that would be the same as admitting I like him.”

“Maybe, but he probably knows about how you feel anyway.”

Rin was shocked. “Really!? Did he say something!?”

“No. It’s obvious from the way you act around him. I don’t think he’s that dense.”

Rin made a troubled face.

“Why are you frowning?” he asked.

“Who wouldn’t? I’ve been trying to keep it a secret, but apparently I’m the only one in the dark about everything.”

“But that’s a good thing.”

“...What do you mean?”

“He already knows how you feel but doesn’t distance himself from you. Chances are, he likes you too.”

“You did say something like that before.”

“And I meant it.”

“...Why are you trying so hard to get us together?”

“I’m not exactly trying hard, but I do want you to be happy.”

Rin recalled Yuuji’s confession and realized he was doing it for her sake. He had also comforted her earlier today when they had spoken about their own helplessness.

“You’re a nice guy.”

Those were her true feelings.

Yuuji blushed. “Thanks.” He smiled as if her words meant the world to him.

They continued chatting about Ageha until they reached the station.

“I’m over here,” she said.

“Huh? Me too.”

“What a coincidence.”

They walked to the platform together and boarded the same train. The cabin was full of people, so they hardly spoke to each other during the entire ride. The people inside had slightly thinned out by the time they reached Rin’s stop, the ​Kichijoji ​station. She stepped out of the train and turned to wave goodbye to Yuuji, but she found him standing beside her.

“We lived in the same neighborhood!?” she asked.

“I’m just as surprised as you are. You never mentioned where you lived.”

“I rent an apartment near the commercial district.”

“Wow, that must be expensive.”

“It is, but I love this area. I’ve been hanging out here since college.”

“It’s a fun place, for sure.”

Rin nodded happily. “Thanks for everything today, Yuuji. I’m going this way.”

“I’ll walk you to your apartment.”

“I’ll be fine. My place is just a few blocks away.”

“That means it won’t take much time at all.” He smiled.

Rin considered declining, but she was having a lot of fun chatting with the young man. It somehow alleviated her pent­up anxiety, so she decided to take him up on his offer.

“Okay, as long as you promise not to do anything weird,” she said with an impish smile.

“O­Of course not!” He looked completely serious as he waved his hands in front of him.

She enjoyed how easy to tease Yuuji was. It was a completely different type of interaction to the ones she always had with Ageha. Being in control had its own unique appeal.

They walked the streets alongside each other. Christmas decors were abundantly displayed in the numerous establishments near the station. Holiday tunes played loudly on large speakers, and restaurants advertised special date meals for the event.

“Any plans for tomorrow?” asked Yuuji.

“No.”

“What!?” He looked genuinely surprised.

“What do you mean ‘what?’”

“It’s christmas eve!”

“Yeah, which means I’ll have to work overtime. Sapore is always extremely busy on christmas eve. Didn’t the ​cucina ​come up with a special menu?”

“Yes, but it was mostly the head chef who worked on it since Shikimi­san’s on leave. Any idea when he’ll be back?”

“Nope.”

“That means you guys aren’t going on a date, either.”

“How could we? We’re not even going out yet.”

“Seems you’ve gotten more confident,” he said with a smile.

Not knowing what he meant, she tilted her head.

Yuuji seemed to have caught on to her unvoiced question and answered, “You said, ‘We’re not even going out ​yet.​’”

Rin blushed furiously. “You’re the one planting weird ideas in my head!”

“I just gave my opinion! Sorry!” Yuuji frantically raised both of his hands in front of him in order to calm Rin down.

Rin had only pretended to be angry, but he seemed to have interpreted it as truth.

“No, I’m not really angry. Don’t apologize.” She made a wry smile.

“Whew, I thought I stepped on a landmine.”

“Do I look like a minefield to you?”

“Well, Shikimi­san did mention how you physically abuse him.”

“What!?”

“He specifically advised not to stand beside you and to be wary of your elbow strike. At first I thought he was warning me to keep my hands off you, but the fear in his eyes looked real.”

So that’s why Yuuji kept an odd distance from me the entire trip!

What are you teaching this kid, Ageha!?

She had completely forgotten that Yuuji was older than her.

Rin looked down and said, “That’s completely... mostly... occasionally... not true…”

“That didn’t sound convincing,” he said as he stepped away from her a little bit.

She sighed and hung her head.

Soon after, they arrived at Rin’s apartment.

“This is my place. Thanks for walking me home, Yuuji.” She beamed at him.

“No problem. I had a great time chatting with you.”

“Me too.”

Yuuji suddenly sneezed into his elbow.

It ​is​ pretty cold tonight.

And Kai’s not there anymore, so it should be okay.

“Wanna have some tea inside before you go?” she asked.

“It’d be polite to decline here, but that would be a great help. I’m pretty bad with cold weather.” Yuuji shivered as he hugged himself.

Then don’t walk me to my apartment when it’s this cold out!

She did not want to chastise him for being a good person, but she was also worried about his health, so she had scolded him in silence.

They took an elevator to the third floor and headed to Rin’s apartment. Rin slid her card key in the door lock and opened the door.

“Come­”

Something covered her nose and mouth before she could finish her invitation, and her consciousness quickly faded away.

***

“Awake at last,” said Jin.

Rin stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She seemed confused as she looked around her room.

“Do you understand the current situation?”

Rin tried to answer but could not because she was gagged. She shook her head as drool dripped down the corners of her lips.

“You’ve been abducted. I say that, but as you can see, we’re still in your apartment. Anyway, I’m here to get information on Ageha from you.”

Rin’s eyes widened in shock. She then shook her head repeatedly.

“You look like you can’t believe this is happening. Didn’t he warn you about how dangerous a game you’re playing?”

Rin started struggling, but her limbs were firmly bound to her chair with many layers of packaging tape.

“It’s no use. You won’t be getting up from that chair unless I let you, and the only way for that to happen is if you give me useful information about Ageha and Kaika Nikaidou. Their location, future plans, those types of things.”

Rin glared at Jin.

Oh, how scary.

He laughed tauntingly at her display of defiance. “Looks like you don’t understand your role in this.”

He slapped her in the face with his full power. Rin emitted a stifled yelp. Blood started dripping from her nose and fell on her lap. Her cheek immediately reddened and became slightly swollen. Despite that, Rin raised her head and glared at him once again.

This bitch.

Why does everyone like that bastard so much?

“I’m going to remove the gag so you can answer my questions.” He pulled out a large knife. “If you so much as speak loudly, I’ll slit your throat. I’m very bad at grunt work, so I can’t guarantee I won’t accidentally kill you if you try anything funny.” He sneered at her as he removed her gag. “Where are they?”

“...I don’t know.”

“You seem to be telling the truth. Okay, next question. Do you know how to find them?”

“No.”

“Now that one,” he said while snickering, “was a lie.”

Rin eyebrows furrowed as her eyelids snapped open.

“What’s so surprising? You think someone who has tricked you all this time can’t even tell when an amateur is lying? Seeing through lies is child’s play for any decent con artist, and I’m not just decent.”

“Who are you? Why are you doing this?”

“I’m the one who should be asking questions here, but I guess you do deserve to know why you’re in this mess.”

“I’m in this mess because of you.”

“Now, now.” He wagged his index finger. “You shouldn’t blame people like that. If you wanna point fingers, you should aim at Ageha.”

“That’s rich, coming from a hired thug!”

“You’re voice is getting a little loud there, missy.” Jin flashed his blade in front of her face.

Rin, reflexively shutting her eyes, leaned her head away from the knife.

“And for your information, I’m not doing this for money. Didn’t I say this is all Ageha’s fault? You’re trapped here because I want to take revenge against that asshole.”

“Revenge?”

“Remember the story I told you about my two best friends? Ageha’s one of them.”

Rin gasped.

“He went crazy after his first love Airi and I became a couple. He attacked both of us, broke my arm, and smashed my face. And this was when we were thirteen!” Jin laughed hysterically as if his entire story was a gag.

Then his smile vanished completely.

“I ​will ​get my revenge.” He glowered at Rin. His eyes looked like deep black voids.

Rin turned her head to the side and said, “You’re lying, or you deserved it.”

Jin slapped her again, this time using the back of his hand. His knuckles caused a large bruise to start forming on her face.

“You seem to be underestimating me quite a bit, Rin.”

“Can you blame me? You’re acting like a third­rate hoodlum.”

Let me educate you then.

Jin grabbed Rin’s chin and made her face him. “About Airi dying, that was true too. She was scared of Ageha and refused to help me get revenge, so I conned her family for all its worth. She killed herself after I told her it was all her fault.”

Jin was obsessed with vengeance. He had even attended culinary school in order to best Ageha somehow but had been kicked out due to his lack of talent. After that, he had decided to play into his strengths and had ventured into the world of swindling.

“I’m willing to do anything to destroy Ageha. Do you ​really ​want to know how far I can go?” A maniacal grin spread across Jin’s face.

Rin tried to look away again, but Jin grabbed her by the hair and stopped her.

“How can I find him?” he asked.

“I said I don’t know!” Tears dripped down her swollen cheeks.

“No, you ​do ​know. I can see it in your face. I can hear it in your voice. I can feel it in your breathing. You’re thinking about it right now.” Jin’s eyes widened as he stared into Rin’s.

Rin remained silent.

“Looks like we’re doing this the hard way. This isn’t my specialty, but you gave me no choice.”

His hesitation was fake. He did not mind Rin’s stubbornness in the least. It gave him the excuse to mutilate one of Ageha’s “possessions.” He had cornered Airi until she had committed suicide for the same reason.

Jin gagged Rin again and left the room. Minutes later, he returned with a pair of pliers in his hand.

***

Muffled screams filled Rin’s apartment. The soundproofing her expensive apartment boasted had backfired in an unimaginable way.

STOP!!!

IT HURTS!!!

AAAHHHHHHH!!!

Using his pliers, Yuuji had just ripped off the nail on her left ring finger.

She looked at her bleeding hand and struggled to get free. However, the multiple layers of tape binding her would not budge. It felt as if she was glued to the chair.

“Two down. I’d rather this not take all night, but if I have to pull out all your nails, I will.” He smiled gently at her.

Rin kept crying during the torture. She gasped for air as she tried to deal with the excruciating pain. Blood and spit dribbled down her chin and neck, staining her clothes.

“Have you changed your mind?” asked Yuuji with a raised eyebrow.

I can’t tell him no matter what.

He was right. She did know of a way to find Ageha and Kaika. Kaika had given her a contact number to use in case of emergency. It was supposedly untraceable according to the freeloading prodigy, but a means of contact could be used a number of ways. It could even be employed to trick Ageha into revealing his location.

I have to protect him..!

So she shook her head.

“That’s too bad.” Yuuji sighed. “Now I have to disinfect one more finger. We don’t want bacteria getting in there, do we?”

He soaked a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol until it was grey and fully saturated. He then roughly squeezed it while grinding it against the wound on Rin’s bloody finger.

AAAAHHHHHH!!!

“What was that? I didn’t hear you.”

Rin coughed as she choked from her own saliva.

“Oh well, on to the next one.”

Please… Stop...

Rin considered telling him everything she knew. The temptation was tremendous, but she gritted her teeth and bore with the pain.

An image of Ageha’s confident smile surfaced in her mind. She imagined how she would feel if that smile turned into a scornful scowl due to her betrayal.

There’s no way I can survive that.

Her illusionary pain exceeded her current torture. She repeated this deliberation process and reached the same conclusion five more times.

“I’ve gotta be honest. I’m impressed. Three fingers left, and you’re still not talking.”

Contrary to his words, Yuuji did not look fazed at all. He appeared to be genuinely enjoying her anguish.

“I wonder if you considered what losing nails means to you?”

Rin looked at him quizzically. Yes, it was painful, but he was disinfecting the wounds, so infection was not an issue. What else could there be aside from that? Was it not enough already? Could she endure any more?

“It seems you’ve forgotten completely. Aren’t you a ​cameriera​?”

Reality struck her. Her career required skill but fundamentally relied on appearance. No guest of a fine dining restaurant would want their server to have disgusting nailless fingers. It would be impossible to hide when she placed dishes and glasses on the table. Yuuji had likely thought of this when he had chosen this method of torture. He was robbing her of her future.

Rin had somehow held on because she believed that she would be able to live through this ordeal. However, her “reward” for surviving this abuse, her everyday life, had depreciated in her mind.

Will they grow back?

She had never lost a nail before and had no idea if they would grow back after being torn off like that. Dread enveloped her heart as she considered losing her job, something she took pride in and loved second only to family and friends.

But that was exactly her job’s value. It was ​only ​second to her loved ones. Protecting Ageha and Kaika took priority no matter how gut­wrenching losing her passion was.

Her mind was so addled by pain that the idea of wearing gloves had not occurred to her.

Rin endured until all her fingernails were gone. She fainted from the pain and fatigue not long after.

“Rin.”

She heard Ageha’s voice.

Is this a dream?

She did not question the reality of the torture. The anguish was so deeply ingrained in her memory that she was certain it truly happened. What she doubted was the voice she had just heard.

She slowly opened her eyes and tried to wake her mind from slumber. The lights were turned off, and the room was pitch dark.

“Rin.”

It was Ageha’s voice. She had absolute confidence that she would not mistake it. A surge of hope washed over her heart.

Ageha!

I’m here!

Help me!

Forgetting that Ageha being there also meant he was in danger, she desperately screamed into the gag and pulled on her bindings.

“Rin.”

Where are you!?

I can’t see you!

“Rin. Rin. Rin. Rin. Rin. Rin.”

She fell into confusion after hearing Ageha say her name many times in succession.

The lights turned on and illuminated her living room. Yuuji, holding a mobile terminal in his hand, was standing a few feet away from her. Ageha’s voice continued to play from the device.

Yuuji’s face contorted into a derisive grin. “Did you think he came to save you?” He broke into laughter. “As if that’ll happen! No one even knows you’re missing! Did you forget that you’re technically at home?”

I… I thought…

I thought it was over…

Her relief from just moments ago swiftly transformed into despair. She felt as if her heart had caved in. She began crying like a child.

“Oops. I hope I didn’t go too far and break you. I still need your info.”

I can’t do this anymore…

Please just kill me.

Despite losing hope, betraying Ageha did not occur to her. Agony had befuddled her brain, so the logical choice of saving herself by sacrificing him escaped her.

Yuuji removed her gag and asked, “Are you ready to talk now?”

His question caused her to stop crying. She recalled a way to get out of this. All she needed to do was give Kaika’s contact number to Yuuji, and she would be set free.

“I­”

Seeing her reflection on the standing mirror in her living room caused her to pause. She recalled someone else that had shown the same resigned, soulless expression.

Kai.

Could she betray someone who had just suffered such a great loss?

I can’t do something like that.

“I will never betray them,” she said with finality.

Yuuji raised both hands in the air. “I surrender. You win. If you won’t break, then all I can do is let you go.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “Did you really think I would say that?”

Rin inhaled deeply in order to unleash a loud scream, but Yuuji instantly saw through her plan and muffled her mouth with his hand. Taking the chance, Rin bit his palm with all she had, but before she could tear through his flesh, he punched her jaw with his free hand. Her world spun from the impact. Yuuji immediately gagged her again.

“You fucking bitch!” he cursed as he cleaned his wounded palm. He used the alcohol and cotton balls to wipe the blood and saliva away.

After he had finished treating himself, he turned to Rin, who had regained some of her resistance.

“If pain won’t work, let’s try the opposite.” He had a perverted leer on his face as he walked towards Rin.

Oh no.

Please no.

Rin’s defiant attitude quickly evaporated as fear ran through her body.

Anything but that..!

But contrary to what she expected, Yuuji had not removed any of his clothing.

“Unfortunately, I can’t do you because you’re taped up like that. I’m no athlete, so holding you down as I fuck you isn’t an option.”

Even so, Rin had expected him to force him to swallow his member or something similar, but she then realized that she would have instantly bitten it off. He had probably thought the same and abstained.

She was about to sigh in relief, but then Yuuji moved behind her and started feeling up her chest.

Stop it!!!

Desperate to escape his touch, she squirmed on the chair, her ponytail flailing about. He ignored her silent protests and stuck his hand between her legs.

His touch was experienced and uncharacteristically gentle. He stroked through her panties at first but eventually made direct contact. A few moments later, Yuuji removed his fingers from their nook and wiped the sticky liquid covering them on Rin’s face.

“Every girl that falls for that cretin is a whore. Getting wet from being touched by the guy torturing you? Just how much of a slut are you?”

Rin wanted to die. She did not feel an ounce of desire for Yuuji nor his touch, but her body was saying otherwise. She felt an intense heat rise from her loins and a dampness between her thighs.

Yuuji returned to work, pleasuring his captive.

Why?

What’s happening to me?

Why does this feel so good!?

Her breathing grew rough from lust. She hated the man behind her, but her body betrayed her and longed for his caress.

Stop burning up!

Stop getting wet!

Why won’t my body listen to me!?

Her pride torn apart, Rin cried incessantly as her skin flushed with desire. She felt mortified when her hips began to chase after his fingers as they periodically pulled out of her crevasse.

“Time to finish you off.” Yuuji moved faster and rougher.

Her mind gradually blanked out until everything was dyed white. She stopped breathing, and her body jerked several times as waves of pleasure coming from her core reached the tips of her fingers and toes. Her tensed spine eventually slackened as she slowly rolled down from the peak of gratification.

A sagely enlightenment graced her mind. It made her fully realize what had just transpired.

He… made me…

He made me…

This bastard made me..!!!

And it was the best climax in her entire life.

Her soul let loose a soundless scream. She bit into the gag until her gums bled. Her wounded fingers dug into the chair as she tried to express her vexation in any way she could.

“Why’re you getting all worked up? We’ve only just begun,” said Yuuji with a refreshed look on his face.

Rin’s eyes lost focus. She felt like her heart had stopped beating. She hoped that time had stopped as well, but Yuji’s renewed fondling crushed that dream before she could even try to delude herself.

“This is in the way.”

Jin pulled on her brassiere straps and cut them with his knife. After ripping off her underwear, he diligently resumed his task.

Rin had tasted the most humiliation she had ever experienced six times that night, each time more shameful and pleasurable than its precursor.

She had become an empty shell of herself by the time Yuuji had gotten tired of playing with her. She did not care about anything anymore. After being betrayed by herself, loyalty towards other people was far removed from her psyche.

Yuuji took off her gag. Rin’s head hung loosely, so he placed his hand on her cheek and raised her face. “Now talk.”

However, she was so jaded that she could not even understand his words, much less speak anymore.

Yuuji clicked his tongue. “Looks like I overdid it. Hmm… Seems this method is too effective for someone with a lot of pride.” He opened his bag and took out a vial and an injector. “No choice, I’ll just use this.”

Rin dazedly looked at the thing in Yuuji’s hand.

“Curious?” he asked. “This is a truth serum. I could’ve used it from the start, but it would’ve ruined all the fun.” He chuckled.

He chuckled.

Anger cleared her clouded mind.

This bastard actually chuckled.

After doing all that to me solely for his enjoyment..!

In that moment, Rin learned what it truly meant to hate someone.

Yuuji injected the serum into Rin’s arm. It did not take long before it had showed its effects. Rin’s face relaxed completely, and her expression looked almost euphoric.

“Can you find Ageha?”

“...Yeash.”

Rin had lost control of her thoughts and actions.

“How?”

“...Kai’s conthact… nhumba.”

A victorious smile appeared on Yuuji’s face. “What is it?”

Rin started enumerating the numbers that Kaika had told her before. She had memorized it and had intentionally not recorded it anywhere in fear of a copy being stolen.

Deep within the recesses of her mind, Rin was fighting the influence of the drug. The drug also had the side effect of making her relive memories in a dreamlike state. The strong emotions triggered by her memories with Ageha and Kaika allowed her to regain some semblance of control. She managed to hold her tongue before saying the last number.

“I whill… not… betrayhh…”

But it was too late.

“You already did. It’ll only take ten tries, probably less, to get hold of Kaika Nikaidou. Maybe I’ll get luck and get it in my first try?” He laughed in a carefree manner.

I… betrayed them.

After I tried so hard…

After he did all that to me…

I…

…

Light disappeared from her world.

Chapter Thirteen: Invitation

“How did it go?” asked Kazuki as he rested his chin on his clasped fingers.

“I managed to squeeze your sister’s contact information out of her,” said Jin, his voice coming from a speaker.

“Is it authentic?”

“I haven’t tried calling yet, but I’m certain.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“The method of interrogation.”

“...Excellent work. I’m glad you didn’t rest on your laurels after your previous accomplishment.”

“Instead of praising me, I’d like you to keep your end of the bargain.”

“Of course. Shikimi is yours. Do you have something in mind?”

“I’m planning to lure him out using the woman as bait.”

“Will he fall for a trap that obvious?”

“Definitely. He’s always had a heroic streak since we we’re kids. He won’t abandon her.”

“You seem to trust Shikimi a lot.”

“Trust? No way. It’s just fact. The guy simply doesn’t change.”

“That’s convincing, coming from you. What do you need?”

“If he’s as dangerous as you said, a large team of mercs.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our information on his battle prowess show how dangerous he can be when fighting a mob. He uses human bodies as weapons and shields. More people also means increased risk of friendly fire.”

The strike team’s failure is proof of that.

Kazuki had received that report just hours ago. He did not divulge this information to Jin because that attack had violated their agreement. Jin was supposed to head the assault on Ageha, but Kazuki cared little about that promise. All he wanted was to remove another obstacle as quickly as possible.

“I assume you have a better idea,” said Jin.

“I’ll lend you ​Kusarigama​.”

“What’s that?”

“A pair of mercenaries. One of them specializes in close combat, while the other in marksmanship and explosives. The former dispatched Saionji.”

“Sounds dependable.”

“That’s to be expected, considering their price. They’ll handle the military preparations. I’ll leave everything else to you. Get rid of Shikimi as soon as possible.”

Kazuki did not underestimate Ageha. ​Kusarigama ​was one of the best in their trade. They also had a hostage, detailed information on Ageha’s abilities, and control of the battleground.

Time to meet your Waterloo, boy.

***

Ageha scrubbed the blood off his artificial skin as the water washed away the dirt on his body. After drying himself off, he left the shower room and began rifling through their rucksack for his clothes.

“You could’ve gotten dressed inside the shower, you know. I get the feeling that you don’t even see me as female,” said Kaika.

She was sitting cross­legged on top of a tacky heart­shaped bed. Her eyes were glued to Ageha, who was completely naked, as he pulled out a shirt and jeans from the bag.

“At least I don’t walk down corridors in the nude. Besides, the shower cubicle is transparent. You could’ve gotten your fill if you wanted to.”

“Who says I haven’t?”

“Who says I care?”

“That’s exactly what I meant when I said you don’t see me as female.” She sighed and pressed a button on the side of the mattress. The bed started rotating slowly, removing Ageha from Kaika’s view.

Ageha quickly got dressed, finishing after the bed had made one full rotation. Kaika pressed the button again to stop the rotating bed. She raised a hand to get Ageha’s attention and patted the spot beside her. She then opened the medical kit that she had brought out while Ageha had been in the shower.

“It’s fine. The bleeding has stopped,” he said.

“No, it’s not fine. We have to disinfect your ear. It’s one of your few organic parts, so take better care of it.”

“You’re actually worried about me?”

“Of course. When have I not worried about you?”

“When you made me cook days after I was shot.”

“You were fine by then. Worrying is something done in appropriate situations. Anything more is merely an act of self­gratification, or worse, an exhibition of sympathy.”

Ageha could not help but chuckle at her reply. Such a cynical opinion was expected of Kaika, and he shared it.

He scrolled through their interactions. What Kaika had said was true. She might have been domineering and whimsical, but she had never been apathetic towards him. Even their quarrel after Akihabara had been partly due to her concern about keeping his identity a secret. He could even recall multiple occasions in which she had expressed worry for him.

He obediently sat down beside her and shot her a doubtful glance. “Can you even do this?”

“Not as well as Saya, but I’ve been trained in basic first aid. It’d be useful if I ever got injured, according to my father.”

“You do live in a dangerous world. Have you ever wished for a different life?”

“Of course not. I chose this path... and lost many things because of it. I can’t stop now.” Kaika soaked a cotton ball with disinfectant and kneeled on the bed in order to reach Ageha’s ear. “This might sting.”

Ageha turned his head and made a face showing pure disbelief.

“I’m kidding,” she said with an angelic smile and dabbed the medicated ball onto his open wound. “Looks like a pretty large chunk was taken off. You might need some cosmetic surgery for this.”

“I don’t mind having uneven ears.”

“I do.” She bandaged up his wound.

“What, you’re the type that dresses up your pets?”

“I guess I am, but putting that aside, strange scars are bad for your cover. They make you more identifiable and could also rouse suspicion in your day job.”

“...It’s good to know that you’re looking forward again.”

“What about you?” she asked, her expression dyed with concern.

So this is an “appropriate situation” for worry, huh?

You’re right, as usual.

Ageha had no vision of the future. He only wished to protect Kaika as Saya had commanded. His condition was indeed grave, and Kaika had probably sensed that.

Before he could answer, Kaika’s terminal started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket and checked the display. Her expression immediately darkened.

Noticing her change, Ageha asked, “What’s up?”

“It’s an unknown number.”

Ageha instantly understood what she meant. Her untraceable mobile number was known to only a select few, and all of them were in her contact list. Barring the off chance of a wrong number call, it was communication from the enemy.

Kaika accepted the call and put it on speaker. “Who are you?”

“Not even a greeting? That’s unexpected from a well­bred young lady like yourself.”

“I have no greetings to spare for strangers.”

“You’re perfectly right! We ​are ​strangers. To be honest, I don’t give a shit about you.”

“Is that so? Then I’m hanging up.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Then get to the point.”

“Now, now. Don’t get your panties in a bunch­”

Kaika hung up. Ageha shot her a reproachful look, but she simply raised her hand, signaling him to wait. After a few seconds, her terminal rang again, and she tapped the speaker button.

“What an impatient girl! Your chef must have his hands full dealing with you. He’s there, isn’t he?”

Kaika visibly stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

Ageha was just as confused as Kaika appeared to be. Why would the enemy want to speak with him?

“Feigning ignorance this late in the game? Seems your brother overestimated you.” He released a small sigh. “Hand him the phone if you don’t want Rin Natsume to suffer anymore than she already has.”

“...What did you do to Rin?” she asked in a bone­chilling tone, her eyes sharpening.

Ageha suppressed the urge to speak up. Losing his calm here could worsen the situation.

“A lot, but don’t blame me. It was her fault for refusing to reveal her secret. You better hurry up and get Ageha. She still has toenails, you know?”

Ageha deciphered what his comment implied and could not keep silent anymore. “Who are you?”

Kaika shot him a scolding look but then sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

“Finally! The man of the hour! Since you’re both so curious, I’ll give you a clue.” The man on the line coughed twice. “Good evening, chef,” he respectfully said in a completely different voice.

Ageha recognized it.

“Yuuji...”

“Right and wrong!” His voice returned to its original timbre.

“What do you want from me?” asked Ageha.

“A couple of things, but for now, come to the courtyard of your middle school. It closed two years ago, but I’m sure you remember where it is. Come alone, and hurry.”

Everything clicked into place inside Ageha after hearing the meeting location. The man’s voice, though deeper than the one in his memory, was familiar. Yuuji’s attachment to that courtyard confirmed Ageha’s suspicion.

“Jin?”

Yuuji had already ended the call before Ageha had said the name.

“It’s a trap,” declared Kaika.

“Of course it is.” Ageha started undressing.

“Even though it’s pleasant to watch, what are you doing?”

“Suiting up.”

“Are you daft? This is a trap. You said so yourself.”

“I won’t do anything rash.”

“Going itself is already stupidly rash.”

“I’ll see if I can save Rin. If it’s impossible, then so be it.” He slipped on his black combat suit. It was still speckled with dry blood.

Kaika stopped her attempts to dissuade him and fell silent with a troubled expression. She closed her eyes and appeared to be in deep thought. In the meantime, Ageha donned his repaired alloy armor. After securing a small bag on his waist, he stepped towards the door. Kaika grabbed his hand and stopped him.

“I’ve changed my mind. Go save Rin,” she said.

“I can’t abandon Rin. It’s my fault she’s­ Wait, what?” He turned to her.

“If she’s still alive, do everything you can to save her.”

“...I didn’t expect that. It seems you’ve taken a liking to her.”

“I have. I also owe her for everything she’s done for me. However,” she said while squeezing his hard alloy hand in hers, “promise me something.”

“What is it?”

Her brows furrowed, and she bit her lower lip. “You have to come back no matter what,” she pleaded, her usual commanding aura nowhere to be found.

Ageha was flabbergasted by not only her anxious expression, but also her show of vulnerability. He was unable to reply immediately. Excluding any obligation to Saya, he genuinely thought the girl in front of him was precious.

Maybe there’s still hope for me.

“Not to brag, but I’m confident I’ll shrivel up and die from hunger if you don’t.” She smiled wryly, but her eyes were still on the verge of tears.

“That’s not something to boast about." He smiled back.

“Starving to death in a love hotel isn’t how I imagined my last.”

“At least go out and eat something if you’re hungry!” He could not help but play the straight man even in this dire situation.

She squeezed his hand tighter.

“...I’m worried, Ageha.”

He firmly grasped her hand in return and put on his mask.

“I promise, Kai.”

Chapter Fourteen: Spilled Milk

It was already past midnight when Ageha arrived at his old school. He could still remember its layout, so he had no trouble navigating the premises. Carefully checking for enemies and traps along the way, he moved at a relatively slow pace.

He went inside the main building and headed for the courtyard exit on the other end. WIthout revealing himself, he peeked into the large open space and saw Rin, gagged and tied to a chair, underneath a leafless cherry tree. Jin was standing right beside her with a knife in his right hand.

“Come on out. I know you’re there,” said Jin in a loud voice.

Surprised, Ageha wondered how Jin had found him. He had been moving as quietly as possible. Thinking that he had been exposed, Ageha walked out of the building. Rin immediately started struggling as her eyes called out to him. He avoided her gaze and stared at Jin.

“To think that you’d actually come out.” Jin flashed a mocking grin.

Ageha mentally clicked his tongue after realizing he had been lured out by a lie.

“Repeating that line every few minutes was starting to get embarrassing, but it was worth it.” Jin laughed like a successful prankster. “As gullible as ever. You haven’t changed a bit. Merry Christmas, Ageha.”

That minor defeat did not shake Ageha. He realized that it might even be advantageous in what he was about to do. He had to play his cards perfectly in order to have any chance of saving Rin.

“...Who are you?” asked Ageha.

Jin observed Ageha as if he were analyzing a math problem. After a few moments, his face flared red in anger. “You really don’t remember me!?”

Of course, Ageha remembered him, but he had also not forgotten what Kaika had told him before he had left the love hotel.

“In order to save Rin, you need to make them think she has no value as a hostage. Fortunately, you have a mask and I’m your teacher. Time for a crash course in deception.”

It had not been the first time Kaika had spoken to Ageha about acting. Kaika loved to teach, and in their time together, she had taught him about various things. Drama, her forte, had been one of the most common topics of discussion. Her crash course had consisted of teaching Ageha how to apply what he already knew to a specific situation. For the next few seconds, he needed to play his role perfectly.

“Distract him by trivializing his value to you. Avengers hate that.”

“Did I kill someone you know?” asked Ageha calmly, his tone curious.

Jin looked at him in shock. “You fucking asshole! It’s me, Jin!”

“Don’t overact.”

He almost imperceptibly tilted his head to the side. “...Jin? What happened to your face?”

“You’re the one who broke it!!! After the doctors were done with me, I didn’t even look like myself anymore!”

“Keep it short.”

“I see. Not that it matters. You’re all going to die anyway.”

“Yeah, right! If you do anything funny, I’ll kill her.” Jin traced the tip of his knife on Rin’s face and caused her cheek to bleed slightly.

“Don’t hold your breath under any circumstances.”

Ageha, underneath his unfazed facade, desperately controlled his urge to rush towards Jin and pulverize his face.

“What’re you talking about? Didn’t you hear me? I said, ‘you’re ​all ​going to die.’”

Jin looked perplexed. “Aren’t you here to save her?”

“You still want more tips? Okay then. Be yourself. Aren’t you a monster?”

“Your head must have a screw loose. That woman betrayed me. Of course I‘m going to kill her,” said Ageha as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Rin started bawling after hearing Ageha’s answer. A torrent of tears flowed down her face as she gasped for air in between her muffled sobs.

Sorry, but there was no other way.

Jin’s confusion turned to fear. His expression reminded Ageha of the time when he had squashed his arm. Kaika and Ageha’s combined efforts had successfully deceived a master con artist.

“Y­You fucking monster!!!” Jin pointed his knife at Ageha.

It was a meaningless gesture because of the distance between them. After confirming that Rin was out of immediate danger, Ageha dashed towards Jin. Taken aback by this sudden attack, Jin was unable to react and stood in place.

However, a grey­haired man wearing a military uniform suddenly rushed out of the shadows and ran to intercept Ageha. Jin was too close to Rin, and she would be placed in danger if he fought in her vicinity, so Ageha changed course and headed to the annex building instead. The soldier followed him inside. Ageha welcomed him with a back kick, but the soldier dodged it by spinning to the left and moving to Ageha’s side.

This guy is dangerous.

Ageha had not expected to defeat the enemy with his first attack, but he was surprised at how easily the soldier avoided his kick.

The soldier countered with a knife slash directed at his face. Ageha raised an arm to block the attack as he recovered from his whiffed kick. The blade, cutting through his suit and skin, produced a screeching sound as it scraped against his alloy forearm. Ageha hopped backwards and pulled out his dual knives from the bag on his lower back. They had switched positions during the scuffle, and Ageha’s back now faced the courtyard exit.

The soldier swiftly rotated his body and thrust out his left leg. Ageha was surprised by the speed of the soldier’s attack and was forced to block it with his arms. The impact pushed him backward. Without allowing Ageha to recover, the enemy dashed towards him and swung his knife towards his temple. Ageha ducked down and countered with a stab aimed at the enemy’s chin. The enemy nonchalantly leaned his head back and avoided Ageha’s blade with ease.

His composure definitely comes from ample experience.

But how’s he avoiding my attacks?

Outside of Kazuki’s mindless cyborgs, it was difficult to imagine anyone being able to keep up with Ageha’s speed and power. However, the enemy was dodging his attacks with ease.

Ageha did not cease his assault and slashed his other knife at the enemy’s leg. The soldier’s uniform was torn open, but blood did not spill out.

So both his legs are cybernetic.

Ageha had already confirmed that at least one of the soldier’s legs were enhanced due to the speed and power of his kick. In order to analyze the enemy better, he had tested the other one.

The soldier drove his forefoot towards Ageha’s chest. Ageha parried the blow by striking it to the side with his palm.

His attacks aren’t nearly as impressive as his dodges.

I see...

Let’s test that theory.

Ageha swung his knife towards his opponent’s neck, but the soldier leaned back and dodged the knife’s arcing trajectory. The enemy continued his leaning motion and handsprung backward. Instead of pursuing the enemy, Ageha decided to use this time to profile him.

His upper body’s completely human.

The enemy had not blocked any of his attacks and had relied completely on dodges.

He has bionic eyes.

The enemy’s offense and defense had a large disparity in effectiveness. That gap would make perfect sense if his motion perception was boosted by enhanced eyesight. Of course, the soldier also had to be naturally gifted and had trained extensively for it to be useful. That enhancement allowed him to see and dodge oncoming blows, but his attacks did not improve as much because they relied more on physical ability than perception.

An image of a sleepy­looking teen flashed through his mind.

Kazuki has a good eye for people.

But he doesn’t hold a candle to Kai.

The soldier remained motionless a short distance away. Ageha launched an offensive and closed in. He opened with two successive swings, which the soldier dodged by hopping back and then ducking. Without giving him time to retaliate, Ageha shot his knee towards the soldier’s face. The enemy leapt backward and narrowly avoided lethal blunt force trauma. Ageha promptly trailed after him and unleashed three slashes by spinning his body while extending both knives towards his target. The soldier’s vest was shredded by the first two strikes, but his flesh was unscathed. The third slash had the longest reach, forcing the soldier to block it with his knife.

The soldier’s knife flew from his hand due to Ageha’s sheer power. Without losing composure, the soldier pulled out a handgun and started firing at Ageha’s face. Ageha weathered the storm of bullets by raising his arms to protect his head. The soldier took this chance and retrieved his knife. He continued firing his weapon while creating more distance between them. Ageha rushed towards the soldier as he guarded his face. Running out of bullets, the soldier holstered his gun and prepared for Ageha’s attack.

Ageha continued to push his enemy back using combination attacks. That was the best way to get around the enemy’s motion perception. By attacking incessantly, Ageha forced the enemy’s body to the limit.

The soldier was forced to block Ageha’s abrupt front kick by raising his alloy leg. The impact blew him away, and he crashed through the doors leading to the sports grounds. Their battle had spanned the entire length of the annex building corridor.

The soldier slowly stood back up as Ageha dashed towards him. Noticing that the enemy had taken a different fighting stance, Ageha braked. He eyed his opponent carefully to decipher what he had up his sleeves. While observing the soldier, Ageha caught the subtle movement of his lips.

“Fire.”

Ageha immediately realized that he had been lured out into the open and fooled into standing still. He hurriedly raised his arms to cover his head. A loud gunshot echoed from the distance.

The bullet pierced his left elbow joint and rendered his arm immobile elbow down.

***

He blocked it somehow, but this should be enough.

Souichi visually confirmed the damage Ageha had just taken from Arashi’s snipe. His left arm was now useless.

Time to finish him off.

The gap in experience had defeated Ageha. The young man had failed to notice that Souichi had been communicating with Arashi during the gaps between their engagements. The more seasoned warrior had lured Ageha outside and had intimidated him to stay still. Even Souichi admitted that the young man possessed far more raw power and talent than himself, but those were not everything in combat. Luck and experience also heavily swayed the goddess of victory.

Souichi rushed towards Ageha as the latter was still reeling in pain, or at least, he should have been. However, Ageha blocked the blade flying towards his jaw with his right forearm and used his injured left arm to smack Souichi in the face. Since the arm could not move, the young man had used it like a whip. The force was relatively weak, but it was enough to momentarily stun Souichi. Souichi ran for cover as soon as he saw Ageha pulling out a handgun. Ageha fired several shots as Souichi leapt behind a tree. By the time Souichi peeked to check on him, Ageha had already returned inside the annex building.

He used his damaged left arm as a distraction to pull out a handgun.

He should be reeling from the pain right now.

Freak.

Souichi quickly gave chase. His state­of­the­art cybernetic legs allowed him to keep up with the young man. He generally spent most of his earnings for better equipment. Souichi saw money solely as a means to kill better. He also splurged on Arashi’s body and equipment, but to him, that was no different from upgrading a weapon.

“He went deeper inside the annex building. Move to the south roof of the main building,” he said as he pursued Ageha.

“Roger,” said Arashi, her voice coming from Souichi’s earpiece.

Ageha leapt up a flight of stairs, and Souichi followed suit. The young man sprinted across the corridor and headed to the far end of the building.

It looks like he’s trying to lose me so he can escape.

The hostage is useless.

“Arashi, pitch a frag grenade to the second floor’s east corner window. It should be visible from your current location.”

Souichi could easily imagine where Arashi was because he had memorized the layout of the school and knew Arashi’s abilities inside out.

“Roger.”

Arashi was on the roof of a different building. It would normally be impossible to accurately throw a grenade from such a distance, but Souichi was not worried in the least. He had hammered the skills into his daughter enough to have absolute confidence in her combat ability.

A compact grenade broke through the specified window and landed in front of Ageha. He quickly jumped backwards while protecting his face with his right arm. The shrapnel from the frag grenade dented his body armor and ricocheted from his legs.

Enduring the grenade damage, Ageha ran down the corridor and turned into a corner.

Good. Keep going that way.

Souichi already knew that grenades would not be enough to kill that monster. He had heard about how he fought against Arashi from the girl herself. The current Arashi could be called unparalleled in terms of pure fighting ability, but Ageha had defeated her while holding back enough to keep her alive. Knowing how formidable their enemy was, Souichi had prepared numerous measures to increase their chance of success.

He glimpsed Ageha turning again into the main corridor and immediately pressed a button on his mobile terminal. A deafening explosion rang out. It had come from one of the remote bombs they had set up all around the school.

“Arashi, report target status.”

“The target fell from the second floor and dropped into the pool.”

Did that do it?

Souichi was unsure if the blast had killed him. Considering how heavily enhanced and armored Ageha was, it was possible that he had survived the explosion.

“Shoot him while he’s in the water,” he said as he followed Ageha’s trail.

“Negative. There are a number of heat signatures in the pool. All of them are stationary. I cannot identify the target.”

The burning debris that fell into the pool…

Souichi clicked his tongue.

“Shoot him if he surfaces.”

“Roger.”

From the second floor, Souichi stared down at the pool from the gaping hole created by the explosion. He noticed Ageha’s weapon bag on the floor near the wall opening.

It must have been ripped off in the explosion.

He’s barehanded now.

Suddenly, Ageha flew straight up from the middle of the pool. Arashi, who had been waiting for him, immediately fired. She hit her target, but Souichi soon realized that it was not Ageha but only a part of him.

He tore off his left arm and used it as a decoy!

Ageha had already gotten out of the pool while the father and daughter had been distracted. He dashed into the main building and disappeared. Souichi, still on the second floor of the annex, thought he would probably not catch up even if he gave chase. It would have been possible if he had jumped down earlier, but trepidation from seeing Ageha’s inhuman stunt had delayed him.

ARMS were no different from normal limbs when it came to nerve sensitivity to actual physical damage. Ripping off a cybernetic arm was just as painful as ripping off the original one.

And he did that right after being thrown off a building by a bomb explosion.

For now, Souichi opted to return to the hostage and stand guard just in case Ageha returned to save or kill her. He was more suited to guard duty than Arashi.

“Search the main building for the target and eliminate him. The target has no weapons and only one arm. He should be manageable quarry for you.”

“Roger.”

Souichi detected a hint of excitement in her reply but chose to ignore it.

***

Ageha cursed inwardly after seeing Souichi standing guard near Rin. After losing his pursuer, he had gone up to the second floor of the main building and ran to the window facing the courtyard to check the situation. He had hoped that he could grab Rin and escape, but he was too late. The pain from his torn right arm coupled with the soldier’s quick thinking had resulted in the soldier beating him to Rin.

Rin was unconscious. Jin was nowhere to be found. He had probably fled the moment hostilities had commenced. The soldier was giving orders to his partner. Ageha concentrated and listened to the soldier’s side of the conversation.

“Have you completed the sweep of the first floor? ...Okay, proceed to the next floor. Be careful. It was lucky I bumped into Saionji that night. If those two paired up, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”

What did he say?

Saionji?

That night...

The clues that Ageha had been ignoring until now flooded back. A conversation with Kaika about Saya’s assailant came to mind.

“He’s a man in his fifties with short grey hair and scars on his face. From what Saya could deduce, both his legs are cybernetic. He’s highly skilled in melee combat. He managed to wound Saya that badly, after all.”

He remembered Saya coated in crimson.

It was him...

He had been consumed by helplessness and despair ever since Saya’s death. He had neatly compartmentalized those feelings for the sake of fulfilling his promise, but that did not mean he felt no rage.​ ​Precisely because he had bottled up all of it, his emotions had become more volatile, and the cage of his fury had been coming apart at the seams.

He remembered Saya’s blushing face.

It was you.

He remembered how he would never see it again.

You killed her!!!

Saya had died from a postoperative complication. Though the soldier had caused her injuries, he had not been the direct cause of her death. However, none of that mattered to Ageha. In fact, to the current him, the only thing that mattered was killing the man in the courtyard. The mirage of vengeance had unhinged Ageha completely.

Ageha landed on the courtyard with a thud. The sound drew the attention of the soldier, who immediately readied himself upon seeing Ageha. In contrast to his blazing emotions, Ageha steadily marched towards his target. He did not care that the soldier was calling for his partner during his approach.

Just like when he had fallen prey to wrath after learning Kousuke’s location, Ageha once again became a fiend. The blood rushing to his head sharpened his concentration and removed any form of inhibition. He no longer cared if his body withered to nothing afterwards.

The soldier closed in and launched a kick aimed at his left jaw, the perfect target because Ageha could not block with his left arm. Instead of dodging, Ageha decided to counter. It was a ridiculous choice. If his timing was off by even a split second, the kick would reach full velocity and smash his skull.

So what?

Consumed by rage, he committed to his ridiculous decision. However, unconventional choices were also the most unpredictable. The soldier’s eyes widened in shock as Ageha stood his ground and threw a right hook.

An instant before the soldier’s leg fully extended, Ageha’s fist collided with his thigh. Upon contact, Ageha locked all the joints in his cybernetic body and kicked the ground to amplify his attack.

Ageha’s blow overpowered the soldier’s kick, which had not reached its maximum momentum. The soldier staggered and could not defend against Ageha’s low kick. It connected and damaged the soldier’s right knee. The soldier howled in pain, but he gritted his teeth and tried to jump back using his good leg. However, Ageha swiftly grabbed his vest and threw him in the air.

The soldier flailed around in midair about a dozen feet above Ageha. He was unable to reorient himself because Ageha had added a slight spin to his throw. The old man started falling down helplessly.

Ageha smashed his fist into the man’s left arm right before he crashed to the ground. The limb burst into pieces as if it was hit by a cannonball. The man coughed up blood after hitting the floor with his back. He wheezed probably because one of his broken ribs had pierced through his lung.

Placing his foot on the downed soldier’s left thigh to hold it in place, Ageha grabbed the grey­haired man’s lower leg by the ankle and ripped it off. The soldier’s screams of agony interspersed with fits of bloody coughing.

Ageha slowly regained his sanity after seeing Saya’s killer in tatters. It occurred to him that he had to hurry up and finish off the soldier. He still needed to deal with the remaining enemy and rescue Rin.

Before he could stomp on the old man’s head, a burst of gunfire hit him. High­caliber rifle bullets tore through his body armor and threw him backward. He failed to alleviate the impact by rolling and skidded on the ground. He saw a teen girl jump down from the second floor window and then aim her rifle at him.

Arashi.

He had expected the sniper to be her. The expert marksmanship and the grenades pointed to her being the soldier’s partner.

Ageha picked himself up from the ground and dashed to the side to avoid incoming gunfire. Arashi pursued him like she did in their previous skirmish and threw a grenade towards him. Gambling that it was a time­delay grenade, Ageha kicked it away. It fell near the leafless cherry tree and detonated. Rin had luckily been on the other side of the tree and was shielded from the incendiary blast.

Arashi continued to shoot at Ageha, who kept zipping around at an insane speed. She managed to hit him in the thigh, and he fell forward.

However, bullets were ineffective against ARMS due to the way cybernetic limbs were constructed. The impact still had an effect, but Ageha’s thigh was like a thick pole of alloy. It would not budge from mere bullets.

Taking almost no damage, he rolled on the ground and stood up. She aimed at him and pulled the trigger. Instead of gunfire, only a clicking sound came from the gun. Seeing her run out of ammo, Ageha instantly charged towards Arashi.

Arashi quickly retrieved a magazine from her vest and ejected the one from her rifle. However, the sheer pressure from the incoming demon caused her fingers to slip. She still managed to catch the clip and reload, but Ageha was already in her face by then.

She leapt to her right to avoid his charge, but Ageha extended his half torn arm and struck her shoulder. The impact caused Arashi to flip in the air before crashing to the ground face first. Ageha stepped on her back to prevent her from getting up.

“I told you you were going to die.”

As expected, she did not reply.

“Surrender,” he said.

“...More..!”

What the..?

Is she an M or something?

A loud creaking noise interrupted their reunion. Ageha turned towards the sound and saw the cherry tree burning from the ground up. The explosion of the incendiary grenade he had kicked away earlier had lit the tree on fire. The flames had eaten through the trunk, and the tree was about to topple over to one side.

Rin was on that side.

Ageha left Arashi and sprinted towards the falling tree. He somehow made it in time and caught it with his right hand. His body strained to keep the tree from falling. He turned his neck to check if Rin was alright but saw something completely unexpected.

Beyond the unconscious Rin was the brutalized soldier, sitting up and aiming his handgun straight at Ageha’s head.

He was going to die if he did not move now.

Rin was going to die if he did.

He could gamble that the wounded soldier would miss, but that was a one in a million chance.

There was no time.

He followed his heart and made a decision.

He chose to abandon Rin.

His promises to Kaika and Saya had won out.

Before he could act on his decision, the old soldier’s cranium exploded.

***

What did I…

What did I just do..?

Arashi looked at her trembling fingers. She had already dropped the rifle she had just used to kill her father. Her knees buckled, and she sat on the ground.

Why did I..?

Father..?

She looked at her father’s corpse a fair distance away. He had been the man who had battered her for every single mistake, who had confined her in the house for most of her life, who had failed to keep her mother from leaving, and who had robbed her of her speech and smile. Despite all that, she deeply loved him.

And she had shot him in the head.

Arashi’s eyes glazed over. Even though she could see Ageha struggling to move the tree away from Rin, she did not comprehend any of it.

She recalled what had happened. Again, she had been unceremoniously defeated by Ageha. This was no surprise. The entire battle, she had believed her god was undefeatable. As long as she herself held on, he would play with her indefinitely. She had absolute confidence that he would survive every shot she had fired and every grenade she had hurled in his direction.

That was why she had said the word “more” after her defeat. She had begged for it to continue.

Arashi started crying with a blank expression. Her tear­clouded vision could barely make out Ageha’s silhouette as he unbound Rin and carried her on his shoulder.

When she had seen her father aim his handgun at Ageha as he desperately tried to protect the young woman, she had thought that he was going to die. Her finger had moved on its own.

Ageha now stood in front of her.

“I won’t apologize because it was your own decision, but thank you. You saved Rin’s life,” he said.

“...What?”

“I would’ve had no choice but to let her die if you hadn’t killed that man.”

He would’ve survived anyway?

I killed my father for a woman I don’t even know?

Arashi wailed. Her face warped in sadness. She had just killed her father for nothing.

This is punishment.

Because my faith in him wavered.

“I owe you one,” he said as he turned and walked away.

Her feelings for the young man became twisted, its sweetness rotting and its flame flickering out.

***

Ageha laid Rin on the brightly­colored bed and sat beside her. The lights of the love hotel room were dimmed, but the walls were illuminated by pink spotlights. Ageha hated the decor, but he had to bear with it. Having lost his left forearm, there had been limited options for accommodation. A hospital would have been ideal, but he had no idea how far Kazuki’s hands reached. He had wanted to make sure Rin was safe.

The love hotel they had entered belonged to the red­light district near Ageha’s childhood home. Considering both distance and convenience, he had decided to let Rin rest there. The fully automated room selection system was perfect for people who did not want to be seen. That was also the reason he and Kaika had chosen to stay in a similar place the day before.

Rin stirred. Her drowsy eyes looked at Ageha and slowly focused.

“A dream..?” she asked as she slowly sat up.

“No, it’s not.”

Her expression flipped from confusion to surprise to relief. Then she started crying.

“I’m sorry..!” she said with her face marred by guilt.

Ageha was shocked. He had expected her to curse him for allowing her to go through such an ordeal. Her fingernails had all been torn off, and her face was bruised and battered. However, she had apologized instead.

“I’m so sorry!!!”

“No, ​I’m ​the one who should be apologizing.”

How good a person are you?

No, that’s not it.

How can you love someone like me so much?

“I tried! I tried so hard..! But in the end I betrayed you!”

She had taken his words at the courtyard seriously and believed that Ageha felt betrayed by her.

“I only said that so that they wouldn’t hurt you! You did nothing wrong!”

“It’s this body’s fault!!!” She hugged herself and started clawing at her arms using her nailless fingers. Ageha’s words had not reached her.

Despite only having one arm, he easily collected her wrists in his right hand and stopped her from hurting herself further. She struggled at first but eventually slackened and bawled like a child.

“He made me come, Ageha..! I don’t even remember how many times..!” she said in between her sobs. Her tone was filled with self­hatred. She scorned herself.

Jin, I will kill you in the most horrible way imaginable. I promise.

Ageha embraced Rin with his right arm. She wrapped her arms behind him and cried into his chest.

“I’m so sorry! Please don’t hate me!!!” she shouted.

“There’s no way I could hate you. This is all my fault. I should’ve never involved you in my affairs.”

“Don’t say that! I chose to do this. I wanted to help you… Be part of your world. But… But I gave in… I betrayed you… even though I love you so much!”

In her fit of self­pity, she had blurted out her true feelings. Ageha had known about them for a while, but now that she had declared them, he had no choice but to answer. Ignoring her confession would be the same as turning her down in her current broken state. He had wronged her far too much to do something so cruel.

Saya’s smile flashed through his mind. But she was gone. If his broken self could mend Rin’s wounds even a little, he would be glad to do it. He had already abandoned her once when he had been cornered. He was not about to do it again.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, gently pushed her away from his chest, and kissed the corner of her eye. His lips wicked away her tears.

Rin’s eyes snapped open in surprise. Her crying stopped completely, and she stared at Ageha with a puzzled look. He placed his hand on her face and caressed her cheek.

“Sorry, my hand must be hard and cold,” he said.

“Wh­ What are you­”

“You really don’t understand?”

She made a shallow gasp. Tears started forming on her eyes again, but Ageha knew they were of a different nature from earlier.

“But, but I betray­”

He sealed her lips with his. At first, it was a light peck, but Rin gradually loosened up after Ageha licked her bottom lip a few times. She welcomed his tongue and entwined it with hers. Her fingers ran through his thick locks as she slowly changed position and knelt on the bed to better match his height.

Rin’s lips and cheeks were burning. Her skin was as soft as cotton and smooth as velvet. Her breaths gradually grew ragged. Pausing their sensual tussle, she parted their lips and leaned back.

“Are you fine with someone like me?” she asked.

“That’s my line.” He pulled her face closer and kissed her again. He tasted her honey and explored her depths. His hand reached for her left breast.

Rin jerked away on contact.

“I’m sorry,” said Ageha.

She had just been manhandled by Jin. It was downright foolish of him to even think of touching her like that.

“No! I, I was just surprised… That’s all.”

“Don’t push yourself. I know it doesn’t sound convincing considering where we are, but I didn’t bring you here for that.”

Rin swiveled her head and scanned the room. Her face blushed further upon realizing where they were.

“I’m in no condition for something like that anyway.” Ageha looked at his missing forearm.

Rin followed his gaze and screamed comically.

Chapter Fifteen: Valedictions

“Akane,” said Kazuki after tapping a finger on his desk terminal.

“Yes, Nikaidou­sama.” Her voice naturally had a slightly lower pitch compared to most Japanese women. It had a seductive timbre.

“Get me a cup of coffee.”

“Will you keep working? It is almost midnight.”

“What’s so odd about that? I’m usually at my office when the day changes, and so are you.”

“But it is christmas eve.”

“So?” Kazuki realized something. “Do you have plans? You don’t have to wait for me. You can go now. Well, after you bring me my coffee,” he said and then laughed.

“Th­That is not what I meant! I do not have plans! I mean, I do not have anyone like that…”

Kazuki found her reaction cute. He did not have many chances to see her interact with others, but from memory, she only got flustered when speaking with him. She usually carried herself like a strict teacher and exuded an aura of dignity.

“A­Anyway, I will bring your coffee immediately.”

The communication was severed.

...Does she have feelings for me?

Unlike his brother Kousuke, Kazuki had never been popular with the ladies. He was obese and unattractive. All the women flocked to Kousuke when he had still been alive. Even during his funeral, Kousuke’s lovers had visited in droves and had cried together despite knowing how they had been merely one of his many playthings.

Kazuki lacked innate confidence. He had built his pride from the ground up. His intellect and pragmatism had taken him to where he was. Unfortunately, none of that translated to him becoming popular. Of course, he could simply buy women to sleep with them. That was something he did from time to time, but believing that someone genuinely liked him was a luxury he had abandoned in his teenage years.

But Akane seemed different. Kazuki wondered if she had actually seen something beyond his physical appearance and shield of money.

While pondering, Kazuki had also been writing a draft of his next proposal to the board. He currently had a firm foundation in NGC. Aside from his position as CEO, he also had support from most of the board members. He was thriving on the business front.

Once Kaika was eliminated, he would have no need to stay in hiding. Jin was taking care of Ageha at the moment, and Kazuki was waiting for his report. It would signal his conclusive victory over Kaika.

Several knocks came from the door.

“Come in.”

Akane walked in carrying a tray with a cup of coffee.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to try again.

He stared at her face as he pondered his options in romance. He noticed that she looked a little distracted as she approached his table.

“Is there something wrong?” asked Kazuki.

“Oh, it is nothing. I almost bumped into one of the guards on the way here.”

“And?”

“He has such a pretty face.”

She likes handsome men too. Women.

Kazuki felt slightly betrayed.

“So that’s your type?” he asked, trying his best to hide the thorns in his voice.

She almost dropped the cup but somehow avoided spilling a drop. She placed the coffee on his desk before answering.

“No, I just did not recognize him. I do not rate people based on their appearance.” She smiled sweetly at him. The odd contrast between her dignified air and her innocent expression exuded a mysterious allure. “There is much more to men than good looks.”

Kazuki realized that her last line had been referring to him in particular. He, who could manipulate an entire room of wiley directors with his eloquence and acting, fell silent and sipped his coffee to hide his nervousness.

After taking a few gulps of the aromatic black liquid, Kazuki cleared his throat and said, “You can go home now. I’ll finish up in a few more minutes.”

“Actually, I have been staying in one of the guest rooms for a while now. I figured it would lessen the chance of this place being discovered. It is also more convenient, considering my hours.”

He had not known of this arrangement, but that was expected because he delegated most of the house and personnel management to Akane. It was well within her scope of responsibilities to decide such a thing by herself. He gained a renewed appreciation of her dedication. Akane was apparently the type that worked far harder than she let on, like a swan on the water.

Kazuki was suddenly assailed by intense vertigo. Placing both hands on his desk, he tried to steady himself.

“Nikaidou­sama?” asked Akane, noticing his abnormality.

Kazuki started wheezing. He could not breathe.

What’s happening to me!?

His world swirled, and then his head fell on the desk. In front of his face was the cup of coffee Akane had just delivered.

Poison!?

“Nikaidou­sama!!!” shouted Akane. She frantically went around the table and shook his shoulders. She immediately used his desktop terminal to call for help.

Kazuki could no longer see properly, but he still heard the panic in her voice. This confirmed that she had not betrayed him. Then who poisoned him? He recalled their conversation just moments ago.

“Oh, it is nothing. I almost bumped into one of the guards on the way here.”

“And?”

“He has such a pretty face.”

“So that’s your type?”

“No, I just did not recognize him.”

He normally would have found it suspicious. However, he had let down his guard because of his confidence in his victory. Kazuki’s addled mind made one final deduction.

It’s your win, sister.

He was swallowed by the darkness.

***

“Ageha­sama?”

Ageha stood at the open door of the love hotel room Kaika was staying in.

“What happened to your arm!?” she shouted.

The young man stared at her as if he was in a daze, his lips slightly ajar. He slowly walked towards her. Once she was within arms reach, he suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Wh­What are you doing!?” asked Saya in a fluster.

What’s happening!?

Why’s he hugging me!?

Her mind boiled trying to come up with answers to her rapidly bubbling questions. It had not been long since they had last seen each other, so this was too much for a greeting. Her face turned beet red from embarrassment.

Ageha held her tighter.

“Ageha­sama, it hurts..!”

However, he did not let up. Saya felt warm droplets fall on her neck.

He’s crying..?

“You’re alive…” he said.

A possible explanation for Ageha’s odd behavior popped into her head.

It can’t be…

She tried to turn her head towards Kaika, who was standing behind them, but before she could, Ageha released his embrace, marched to Kaika, and slapped her in the face.

“Kai­Ojousama!!!” Saya quickly ran to Kaika, who had fallen to the floor.

Kaika’s lower lip was cut and bleeding profusely. Her cheek was bright red, contrasting with the rest of her pallid white skin. Saya wanted to scream at Ageha for hurting her so badly but realized how much he had held back. His palm could have easily pulverized Kaika’s beautiful face.

“Why?” asked Ageha in a freezing, low voice.

“It was necessary,” said Kaika.

“Deceiving me was necessary?” His eyes narrowed in anger.

“No, deceiving Rin was necessary.” Kaika slowly got up with the help of her aide.

Saya quickly took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped off the blood on Kaika’s chin.

“Rin had to genuinely believe that Saya’s dead. If I had told you about the plan, you’re amateurish acting would’ve given it away. It’s particularly hard to fool people that you trust, after all.”

Ageha furrowed his eyebrows. “Why would Rin need to believe that?”

“Because of Yuuji.”

“Jin?”

“Well, I didn’t know he was Jin before his call, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he’s a spy sent by Kazuki. I figured that out after hearing about him from you and Rin.” She licked her bleeding lip. The blood coated her pink tongue red. “The timing of his appearance was already suspicious, and so was his constant displays of sincerity, but the clincher was the fact that even ​you ​seemed to trust him. That was unnatural and had to have been engineered.”

Saya furrowed her eyebrows. So much had happened in her absence. She looked at Ageha’s left arm and clenched her fists.

Who could’ve done this?

“Yuuji must be an excellent actor or con artist in order to fool you,” said Kaika as she gingerly touched her swollen cheek and winced. “Taking that into consideration, I planned to fake Saya’s death and use Rin to inform the spy. If the information came from her, Yuuji would easily believe it. Liars are confident in their ability to detect lies. We know what to look for.”

“What’s the point of faking Saya’s death in the first place?” asked Ageha.

“I can answer that, Ageha­sama,” said Saya as she moved her eyes from Kaika to Ageha. “One of the recon teams located Kazuki three days ago. The information could not be trusted, so Ojousama asked me to confirm its validity. I had already recovered enough to move normally at that time, so I immediately left Kanou­sensei’s place to verify. The information was accurate.”

“Seems I still have some loyal retainers that won’t be bought by money,” said Kaika.

Saya nodded to her mistress. “Ojousama decided to fake my death at that point. Since then, I have been trying to find a way to infiltrate Kazuki’s safe house.”

Ageha looked at Kaika and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about this? I would’ve killed him myself.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you. Kazuki knows all about you. Did you really think he wouldn’t have countermeasures?”

“Ojousama is correct,” said Saya. “I checked the defenses of the safe house during my infiltration. A forceful intrusion would have been impossible, even for you.”

“You knew everything?,” asked Ageha. He looked hurt.

Saya gasped. “No! I mean, I­”

“She had no idea that I kept you in the dark,” said Kaika. “You should know by now that Saya would never agree to something like that.”

“...You still haven’t answered my original question,” said Ageha. “Saya could have done all that without pretending to be dead.”

“I wanted to raise her dismal chances. In Kazuki’s eyes, Saya’s death is equal to my defeat. I have no one else I could trust aside from you, and your cover was already half­blown. Faking her death allowed her to move freely and also lowered Kazuki’s guard. It was a big gamble, but I had no other choice.”

“If all you needed was to fool Rin, you could’ve told me about all this after we left her apartment.”

“I sent Saya on a suicide mission. There was a high chance of her being discovered and killed while infiltrating Kazuki’s fortress. It would’ve been crueler if I told you that she was alive only to take it back a few days later.”

Ageha grimaced.

“Besides, you seemed stable at the time. I didn’t know how you would’ve reacted if I told you about my deception. I still think I made the right choice.” Kaika softly caressed her swollen cheek as if saying it was proof of her statement. “But that doesn’t make it fine to hurt you. I’m sorry.” Kaika bowed her head deeply.

This was the first time she had ever bowed her head in apology to anyone, at least from Saya’s memory.

Kaika raised her head. “It’s no consolation, but the plan was a success. Kazuki is dead.”

Ageha looked surprised by the news.

“I had just given my report to Kai­Ojousama before you arrived,” said Saya as she tried to placate Ageha’s anger with her victory spoils. “A few hours ago, I successfully entered Kazuki’s safe house disguised as one of the guards and slipped poison into his coffee. I did not visually confirm his death, but judging from the chaos in the premises as I escaped, the plan succeeded.”

However, Ageha did not look satisfied at all. This information should have been fantastic news to him because vengeance for Kureha had finally been served, but he simply closed his eyes with an emotionless expression. The most difficult trial had been cleared, but nothing looked resolved for him.

After a long and tense silence, Ageha opened his eyes and walked towards Kaika. Kaika stood her ground despite visibly shaking from his approach. Saya prepared herself to defend Kaika if Ageha attacked her again. When the two were within two feet from each other, Ageha went down on a knee and lined up his eyes with Kaika’s.

“Tell me the truth,” he said.

“...Alright,” said Kaika with a nod.

“Why did you give Rin your contact number?”

“So that she could contact us if there’s an emergency.”

“Really?”

“What other reason could there be?”

“How about creating a situation where I could fight the enemy without having to protect you?” he asked.

Kaika did not reply.

“We needed to get rid of our hunters, especially if Saya failed in her mission. But it’s pretty much common sense how difficult it is to fight with extra baggage, especially if that baggage is a fragile little girl.”

Saya tilted her head at Ageha’s speculation. She had too little information about the situation to follow his reasoning properly.

Ageha continued, “Rin’s only a co­worker from Kazuki’s perspective, but that’s only if she knew nothing about you.” Ageha took one of Kaika’s bandaged hands and gently ran his thumb on top of the covered wound. “That act and that contact number were all for this.” Ageha raised his mutilated arm.

Kaika remained silent.

“You wanted Kazuki to bring out the big guns when I could fight at my best. If a contact number was all they could get from Rin, the only way to use it would be to lure us out using Rin as a hostage. It was a coincidence that Jin wanted me alone, but I would’ve gone alone anyway since there’s no merit in bringing you along. I can understand the logic behind your scheme. However...”

Kaika stared into his eyes. She did not deny or affirm his accusations.

Ageha released her hand and made a pained expression. “All of Rin’s fingernails were pulled out.”

Her expression settled into a frown.

“Jin touched her… many times, and tore her pride apart. She hates herself now. ​That ​Rin. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it,” he said with a bitter smile.

She bit her lower lip, disregarding the effect on her cut.

“You broke her.”

Kaika gasped.

Saya wondered why Kaika was not denying any of Ageha’s accusations. The prodigy she knew would have easily made up convincing excuses and stopped Ageha from doubting her. However, she had chosen not to do so. Kaika had changed. Was it her relationship with Ageha or Rin that changed her?

Maybe both?

Ageha made a sorrowful smile and looked into Kaika’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Kai. I can’t trust you anymore.”

Kaika flinched as if his apology had stabbed her. Ageha stood up and walked towards the door.

“Ageha­sama! Where are you going?” asked Saya.

“There’s no longer any need for you to know.”

His words pierced Saya’s heart. She froze in place but woke up the moment Ageha closed the door behind him. Saya, intending to follow him, rushed towards the exit.

“Don’t go,” said Kaika.

“But Ojousama, I have to stop him!”

“Don’t go,” she whispered. Kaika had been trembling ever since Ageha had voiced his words of parting.

Ojousama…

Saya approached Kaika and embraced her. Kaika, like a baby, fumbled around as she tried to wrap her arms around her butler.

It was likely that all that had transpired had been part of Kaika’s plan. However, she had not been able to execute it perfectly in the end. Saya understood that just because one had planned for a situation did not mean they already knew how they would feel once it really happened.

Kaika cried quietly in Saya arms. Saya did not know how she felt upon seeing such a human side of her mistress. On one hand, she was glad to see Kaika honestly depending on her. On the other, she was afraid of seeing her mistress, always proud and loud, so weak.

This isn’t over.

Even without considering her own feelings for him, Saya wanted to get Ageha back. She did not care about his power. All she knew was that the girl in her arms needed him just as much as she did.

Epilogue

Kaika sighed and put her utensils down on the table.

“Is it not to your liking?” asked Saya.

“This is boring.” Kaika sipped some water to cleanse her palate of what she had just eaten.

“It is delicious, though.”

“That doesn’t matter. This isn’t what I want,” said the picky gourmet as she pushed her plate of truffle risotto away from her. “I’m sick of dishes that rely on fancy ingredients. I want something unique, something more creative and exciting.”

“In other words, you want ​his ​cooking.”

“...I won’t deny that.”

The mistress and her butler were having dinner in the Nikaidou manor. The long dining table looked lonely with only two seats occupied.

Saya stopped eating for a moment. “Have you contacted him yet?”

“I’ve tried, believe me. He isn’t answering my calls. At least he hasn’t blocked my number.”

“No luck on my end either.”

“That, I find baffling.”

Saya raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“He definitely loves you. It makes no sense for him to ignore your calls.”

“Wh­Wh­What are you saying, Ojousama!?” Saya’s face went red.

“I’m merely stating fact. The way he took you into his arms proves it.”

“T­took me into his arms…” Smoke puffed out of her ears.

“Wait, he only had one arm, so that phrasing isn’t really accurate. Well, if the word ‘arms’ was in all caps, it would work.”

“A­anyway, I was thinking of visiting his apartment.”

“A tryst?”

“No! I am going to convince him to reconcile with you.”

“Kidding aside, that’s probably a good idea. It would be best if you go without me. My presence… would probably have a negative effect,” said Kaika with a melancholic expression.

Part of the reason Kaika had faked Saya’s death was to compel Ageha to act on his feelings for her. By losing Saya, Ageha would see what he had been taking for granted. Their reunion should have resulted in the two admitting how they felt for each other. That, in turn, would lead to Ageha forgiving Kaika, Saya’s irreplaceable mistress, for her trespasses. At least, that was the plan. However, the current situation indicated that her scheme was not going well.

To think it would affect me this much…

Kaika had lost her appetite ever since Ageha had left. It was not just because she missed his cooking. What he had said to her that night had truly shaken her.

I didn’t think words could still hurt me.

Kaika had believed that she could treat everyone as tools. A tool held no opinion, and even if it did, its user would not care in the least. Her current state meant that they were no longer mere instruments to her. She genuinely cared about Saya, Ageha, and even Rin.

“It would help me a lot if he is around to guard you,” said Saya with a dissatisfied look. “Now that the CEO chair is open again, my duties as a member of the board are keeping me very busy. There will be times when I cannot attend to you. You need someone to protect you in my stead.”

“You worry too much.”

“But Kazuki’s faction could still attack at anytime.”

“Like I said when we returned to the mansion, I’m no longer in danger. Kazuki bought his support with money and threats. He had no charisma whatsoever, so he resorted to bribes and lies to control people. Granted, he was brilliant at it, but now that he’s dead, none of his subordinates would go out of their way to avenge him. A dead man can’t pay them, after all.”

“I am still not convinced. I will go visit him tonight. The sooner he returns, the better.”

“You’re contradicting yourself. You’re saying that you need to get him back so I can be safer, but you’re leaving me alone to do so.”

“That is…”

“Just admit that you miss him.”

“Ojousama!” Saya made a cute pout.

It was an expression she never would have shown before meeting Ageha.

A hint of guilt appeared on Kaika’s features. “...Tell him that I’m sorry for what happened to Rin. I thought she would immediately spill the beans. I… never expected her to go that far. It was my mistake.”

That was a lie. Kaika knew what kind of person Rin was. She was impressed by how long the young woman had lasted against torture, but that she would suffer to a certain extent was well within Kaika’s predictions.

That did not mean Kaika felt nothing about allowing Rin’s torture. It was precisely because she cared that Ageha’s words had damaged her so badly. However, like when she had sacrificed Kureha, Kaika willingly took on these burdens for the sake of her objective.

“Understood,” said Saya.

***

Saya nervously walked to Ageha’s apartment. Numerous simulated conversations kept running through her head. She felt like her brain was overheating despite the cold. After arriving at his doorstep, Saya took a deep breath and pressed the buzzer. She heard footsteps coming towards the door.

“I thought you were gonna be late tonight?” asked Rin as she opened the door.

Both Saya and Rin froze for a couple of seconds.

“Good evening,” said Saya, breaking the ice.

What’s she doing here..?

Saya felt her heart sink.

Rin’s welcoming smile disappeared and was replaced by a look of wariness. “...Saya­san.” She did not look surprised to see Saya alive.

“What are you doing here?” asked Saya.

“That’s my line, isn’t it?”

“...Apologies. I wanted to speak with Ageha­sama. But judging from your welcome earlier, he seems to be out.”

“Yeah, he won’t be coming back until later.”

“I see.”

An awkward silence enveloped the two young women.

“Pardon my curiosity, but are you staying in his apartment?”

“Yes. Ever since the incident, I can’t stay in my room anymore. It reminds me of… unpleasant things. Ageha lets me stay here for the time being.”

“I see.”

A small bud of hope bloomed inside Saya. She desperately tried to believe that Ageha was simply housing a good friend and a victim of his circumstances.

“We’re trying to find a larger place now that we’re going out, but he’s been busy so we haven’t gotten around to it.”

Her hope was instantly plucked.

So this is your answer…

Saya finally understood why he never answered or returned her calls. To Ageha, both she and Kaika were now in the past.

Saya’s shoulders almost slumped from the news, but she gritted her teeth and kept her perfect posture. She had been defeated, but her pride would not allow her to unravel in front of the victor.

“I see,” said Saya, her stoic expression unflinching. “I will return on a different date to address my business with Ageha­sama. Goodbye.”

“Take care.” Rin promptly shut the door as if warding off unwanted visitors.

Saya walked towards the elevator. Away from an audience, her mask gradually crumbled. Tears started pouring from her eyes and soiled her face, but she made no effort to wipe them away. Her expression was twisted with sorrow. She did not stop walking as her sobs leaked out.

Ageha­sama…

She missed him so.

Ageha­sama..!

She loved him so.

But that no longer mattered. He had decided, and knowing him, it was final.

Her heart broke.

***

“Sorry for coming back so late,” said Ageha as he entered his apartment.

“No worries!” Rin beamed at him like usual.

Removing his coat and shoes, Ageha walked into the living room.

“Have you had dinner yet?” asked Rin.

“Yeah, I grabbed some ​takoyaki ​on the way back.”

Rin looked surprised.

“What?” he asked.

“I didn’t think you liked that kind of food.”

“I actually love ​takoyaki​. My mouth is used to tasting hot food, so I can even eat it while it’s piping hot.”

Ageha started stripping off his multiple layers of winter clothing and piling them on the sofa.

“Hey, don’t just suddenly strip in front of me!” shouted Rin while blushing.

“Why?”

“Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“No.”

“Well I am, so stop it. At least wait until I’m not in the same room.”

Girls are so picky.

He recalled Kaika’s reaction to his stripping but immediately erased the image from his mind.

“We’re a couple now, so isn’t it fine?” he asked.

“Th­That’s cheating! I’ll allow anything if you say something like that.”

That was not true. Even though they had been living together for a couple of days now, they had not slept together. Rin’s trauma from Jin’s torture caused her to shrink back in fear when he touched her sensitive areas. Ageha slept on the sofa to keep his lust in check.

Having gotten Rin’s permission, Ageha continued to undress while she faced the other way. Ageha heaved a sigh.

Another fruitless night.

Ageha had been out late trying to buy information from information brokers in the darker parts of Tokyo. He had been looking for clues on how to find Jin.

This would have been much easier with Saya’s help.

Saya’s information network was vast. She could find Jin much faster than any of the cheap information peddlers that he could afford. A large chunk of his savings had gone to fixing his left arm. The bill had been more expensive than expected because his ARMS were state­of­the­art.

No, I can’t do that.

Ageha reprimanded himself for thinking about his former companions. Putting Kaika aside, his feelings for Saya were unchanged. However, he had already betrayed her by accepting Rin. Even though he had believed Saya was dead when he had made his decision, there was no way he could forgive himself for hurting her.

After changing into his house clothes, Ageha plopped down on the couch.

“What, that’s it?” asked Rin.

“What do you mean?”

“I… I thought, you know, since we’re a couple now like you said, we could do something more couple­like...” she said while fidgeting. Her cheeks had a shade of pink on them.

She really is cute.

Ageha was assaulted by guilt for thinking about Saya in front of Rin. He was being crushed by regrets on all sides, but he accepted them all. They were his punishment.

“Come here.”

Rin obediently trotted to him and sat on his lap. He held her in his arms and kissed her. Each peck made his heart ache, but he endured.

“I’m so happy,” she said.

“Me too.”

A growing cycle of lies and regrets tormented him.

***

“Don’t… move.”

It had been a simple stroke of bad luck. Saya had left her side at the worst possible timing.

“Who are you?” asked Kaika.

She already knew who the girl in front of her was. Ageha had given his report on Arashi after their fight in the slums. The fact that she was pointing a large rifle at Kaika confirmed the girl’s identity. Kaika had only asked the question to buy time.

“...Arashi.”

The teen had easily infiltrated the mansion. She had incapacitated several guards until she had found Kaika, who had been on her way to a safe room.

I miscalculated.

I should’ve followed Saya’s advice and lay low a bit longer.

A part of her found it hilarious how she clung to the mansion despite the fact that it had already been easily attacked twice before. She realized that her prison since birth was also a home she unknowingly cherished.

As Kaika reflected on her mistake, she desperately thought of ways to escape this situation with her life.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Revenge.”

“I don’t remember doing anything to you.”

Arashi shook her head and said, “Ageha.”

How popular do you plan to get?

“He no longer works for me. I can tell you where he is, if that’s what you want.”

Arashi shook her head. What the teen said next was completely outside of Kaika’s expectations.

“Hire… me.”

Kaika had completely misread Arashi. She was a master at reading people, but in Arashi’s case, there was simply too little to read. Such an odd motive was impossible to discern just from looking at the teen with a frozen face.

“Why should I?”

Arashi tilted her head. The question appeared to be too difficult for the simpleton.

“Let me rephrase that. Why do you want me to hire you?”

“...Stronger. Need money.”

I see now.

Not minding the rifle trained at her, Kaika walked forward. She then extended her right hand towards Arashi and said, “Interview complete. You’re hired.”

Arashi’s half­closed eyelids rose slightly. She then warily lowered her weapon and grasped Kaika’s extended hand.

The stroke of bad luck turned out to be the opposite. Kaika needed someone exactly like Arashi. She already had a vague idea of why Ageha had not returned to them. Rin was the most likely culprit.

Kaika liked Rin a lot. She was bright and warm, like the sun. Kaika had managed to get truly restful sleep, an invaluable commodity to her, in Rin’s comfortable arms, and she was thankful for that.

But that did not mean she would allow Rin to steal him. Ageha had become an essential spice in Kaika’s life. If she had to choose between Ageha and Rin, the answer was obvious. A wicked grin spread across her face.

Sorry, but he’s mine.

Preparing to cut away another part of herself, Kaika imagined her inevitable suffering and laughed.

End of Volume 2

Definition of Terms

The terms are arranged as they appear in the second volume.

Cenacolo ­ ​Italian for “The Last Supper.” Penne ­ ​Short, cylindrical pasta. Puttanesca ­ ​Sour and salty italian pasta sauce typically made with garlic, tomatoes, olives, and capers. Cannoli ​­ A Sicilian dessert that consists of a tube of fried pastry filled with sweetened ricotta. Basmati rice ­ An aromatic Indian rice that goes well with Indian curry. Michelin starred restaurant ­ A restaurant given a one to three star rating in the Michelin guide. Only the best restaurants in the world are awarded Michelin stars. Bechamel ­ A white sauce made from a flour and butter ​roux ​and milk. Microgreens ­ A combination of small leafy greens used to garnish dishes served in fine dining establishments. Sze Chuan​ cuisine ­ Cuisine originating from ​Sze Chuan​, a province in Southwest China, that is characterized by bold and spicy flavors. Kung pao ​chicken ­ A spicy ​Sze Chuan​ dish that consists of stir­fried chicken, vegetables, peanuts, and chilis. Mapo Tofu​ ­ A ​Sze Chuan​ dish that consists of cubed tofu in a spicy sauce made from chili, bean paste, fermented black beans, and ground meat. Mao Xue Wang​ ­ A Sze Chuan hotpot dish that consists of duck blood cubes, pork offal, and cubed tofu. Sashimi ​­ A Japanese dish that consists of bite­sized slices of raw fish served with soy sauce and wasabi. Honey Badger ­ The most badass animal on earth. Okayu ​­ A Japanese congee that typically has less liquid compared to other east asian rice gruel. Umeboshi ​­ Japanese pickled plums. Cantonese congee ­ A Chinese rice gruel that is cooked in much more liquid compared to okayu​, resulting in a smoother and silkier dish. Truffle risotto ­ Risotto, a creamy yet al dente italian rice dish, flavored with truffles.