"Now that we're talking about it," Junichi said, his voice taking on a rare serious tone, "y'all know the story of Kurama, don't you?"
Rika's eyebrow arched. "You mean the nine-tailed fox?" A faint scoff. "No native of the islands could go their entire lives without hearing it."
"What the hell is that?" Ares's face scrunched in confusion.
"Which iteration of the story are you talking about?" Maomao leaned against the windowsill, one arm folded, the other raised so her knuckles rested against her temple. "There are multiple."
"True."
"GUY!" Ares's voice reached frequencies that probably bothered dogs. "CAN WE, FOR A MOMENT, REALIZE THAT NOT EVERYONE GREW UP LISTENING TO BEDTIME STORIES?!" Her face wrinkled with frustration, freckles bunching.
Junichi's grin returned. "You know, for a tiny creature, you make a ton of noise."
"Who are you calling a little person, you damned monkey?!"
"You're talking about Kurama and the woman's wish, right?" Maomao snapped her fingers, the pieces clicking. "The version with relevance to sorcery in our homeland."
"Exactly." Junichi nodded approvingly. "But what does that have to do with the bomb I just dropped?"
Ares pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezed shut. She licked her lips—a nervous habit—and spun her hand in a "get on with it" gesture. "Are you guys fucking deaf? I'm the one surveying his competency, so can y'all loop me in, please?!"
"Oh, sorry." Rika collected herself, adopting the tone of a lecturer. "The story is about Kurama, the nine-tailed fox. Not the one from that manga—the real one. She enjoyed coming to the human realm and stealing things. Just for fun. Just for mischief."
She paused, letting the weight settle.
"One day, she stole a mother's child. Hid it near a riverbank. We don't know exactly how the child died—probably starvation, since no one could find it for days. When Kurama realized what she'd done, guilt consumed her. She went to the mother and offered to give up her own life in exchange for granting the woman one wish. Anything at all."
Ares blinked. "I don't see how this correlates."
"The woman wished for the extinction of the entire human race." Maomao's voice was quiet. "Or at least, some versions say she wished for the power to cause that extinction. Either way—the fox's guilt unleashed something far worse than anyone could have imagined."
Ares blinked twice. "Wow."
"Yep." Rika nodded. "The story is used to teach children not to take their pranks too lightly. Since it might annoy someone to the brink of universal destruction." She squinted, as if physically searching for a reason why such a harsh lesson was necessary. "Now that I think about it... that's a really extreme way to teach that lesson."
"I see..." Ares's eyes widened with understanding, then narrowed with renewed frustration. "Actually, wait. I don't fucking see anything. Are you guys just trying to waste my time?!"
Junichi's gaze drifted toward the window, his expression shifting to something distant. Retrospective.
"You know, when Akame first came to us, I thought he was just another first-rate brat who wouldn't be a challenge." His voice was softer now. "Amanai-sensei brought him in personally, so I couldn't say anything about it back then. But I didn't think much of him." A pause. "After all, how can a guy who can't even do sorcery hope to survive in a world filled with sorcerers? It was impossible."
He turned back to face them.
"But then I got this strange feeling about him. And once he betrayed the Vatican, I had the opportunity to dig deeper. No restraints—he was a traitor now, fair game."
The room held its breath.
"I think," Junichi said slowly, "he's related to Izanami. The first Second Sword."
"!"
Even Ares went still this time.
"Oh." Junichi noted her expression with satisfaction. "So you do know her."
"Who wouldn't?" Ares's eyes wandered, unfocusing. "She's responsible for killing all the Christian missionaries who first came to the islands. Sat atop a rock of iron and blood, waiting at the coast for the boats to land. Took their arrival as a declaration of war and answered accordingly."
"Yep." Junichi nodded. "She was that badass. And due to that, she was deemed unfit to be First Sword. Unfit to be Sword Master. That's when your pops took over, right?"
Rika's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "You don't have to bring up my father all the time."
"Okay, okay." Junichi raised placating hands.
Maomao tilted her head. "I'm glad we've established the connection. But I still don't understand how this ties to Kurama."
Ares and Rika looked at Junichi, waiting.
"I just think," he said, "that story is a prophecy. Of what's to come."
"!"
"Because the Saikyo clan?" He snapped his fingers, pointing at the group. "They descend from the lineage of that old bat who made the wish. The woman. The one who wanted extinction."
Rika's eyebrows drew together—the furrow she got when deep in thought.
"Yessir!" Junichi leaned back against his pillows, satisfied. "Enlightened y'all."
"And because Akame's a Saikyo," Maomao's eyes widened, "and he's related to Izanami, then Izanami must also be a Saikyo!" She snapped her fingers in triumph.
"The only thing this tells me," Ares groaned, "is that he's unfit for any interrogation if he's related to that psycho bitch." She rubbed her temples. "Back to stage one."
Rika said nothing.
But her eyes met Junichi's across the room.
'I have something to ask,' that gaze said. 'But not now.'
Junichi's eyebrows rose twice in quick succession—a subtle acknowledgment. Understood.
"Anything else you can tell me?" Ares asked, already resigned to disappointment.
"Nope. Nothing at all." Junichi spread his hands. "Then again, this is just my theory."
"I should've known." Ares turned sharply, stalking toward the door. "The only thing you guys did was make my job harder."
She yanked the door open.
"Make sure you don't get hit by a car while crossing the road, short stack."
"Fuck you!" Ares's middle finger rose without her even turning around. "A waste of time. The Five Swords are useless."
The door slammed behind her.
Maomao stared at the closed door. "Well. She was nice."
Silence settled over the room.
But it wasn't comfortable silence. It was heavy. Charged. Something pressed down on the air between them—something Rika carried alone, and the other two could feel.
Her eyes remained fixed on the window, but she wasn't seeing the city outside.
WHAT COULD SHE BE HIDING?
TO BE CONTINUED.....