Eri Kisaki forcefully suppressed the storm in her heart, struggling to maintain the calm exterior of a top lawyer. She took a deep breath, put down her glass, walked to the coffee machine, and somewhat stiffly poured herself another cup of black coffee. The rich, bitter aroma filled the air. Without looking at Kanjuro, she pointed to the sofa opposite, her voice deliberately steady:
"Have a seat."
Kanjuro complied gracefully, sitting elegantly on the sofa, as relaxed as if in his own home. His gaze rested unabashedly on Eri, carrying scrutiny and a hint of amusement. Eighteen years had left this woman with mature charm and a capable demeanor, but in his eternally youthful eyes, he could still vaguely see the shadow of that high school girl in the Old School Building, with her stubborn yet confused eyes.
Eri held her coffee cup, her fingertips slightly white from the force. She sat back in the armchair, finally lifting her eyes to meet Kanjuro's gaze. When she saw this face again, unchanged from eighteen years ago, even more handsome and profound, her heart still uncontrollably raced violently. Fear, resentment, and a complex, indescribable emotion, dusted over by time but never truly extinguished, intertwined.
(He's still the same... no, he's even more... dangerous and captivating than back then.)
(That Underground Research Lab... those chaotic nights... and Yukiko...)
She remembered her best friend Fujimine Yukiko, who had also failed to escape Kanjuro's clutches back then. That unspeakable past, like the deepest nightmare, was a secret she and Yukiko tacitly buried together.
Suppressing the surging emotions, Eri took a sip of the bitter coffee, trying to calm herself with the familiar taste. She put down the cup, looked directly at Kanjuro, her voice icy with restraint: "Kanjuro, speak plainly. Eighteen years have passed. You suddenly appear, find me, what exactly do you want?"
Kanjuro didn't answer immediately. He just sighed lightly, the sigh lacking much genuine emotion, more like an opening remark. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze seeming to carry a hint of 'concern':
"All these years, raising a child alone... must have been very difficult, right?"
Eri shuddered, her pupils contracting sharply! He knew after all! He clearly knew Ran was his daughter! Her worst fear had come true. A wave of immense helplessness and anger surged up. Almost through gritted teeth, she retorted: "So what? What does that have to do with you? Where have you been these eighteen years? What right do you have to interfere now?!"
Facing her question, Kanjuro didn't get angry. Instead, he showed an almost 'innocent' expression. He spread his hands, his tone annoyingly calm:
"Don't get worked up, Eri. I don't intend to appear as a father in front of Ran, at least not now."
Eri was stunned, completely unprepared for him to say this. "Then you... what do you want?"
The corner of Kanjuro's mouth curled into a strange, bewitching smile. He said slowly: "I think... the identity of 'brother' seems more suitable for me now, and easier for Ran to accept. You see, she seems to have a natural affinity for me. So... I hope you can help me conceal the truth, let me stay by her side as her 'half-brother from the same mother.'"
"Brother?!" Eri, as if hearing the biggest joke, couldn't help but snort coldly, her eyes filled with sarcasm and disbelief. "Kanjuro, are you insane?! Do you even know what you're saying? Have me help you deceive Ran, let you approach her as a brother? You... you couldn't possibly have some perverted, filthy fantasy about your own sister, could you?!"
Her accusation was sharp and direct.
Hearing this, Kanjuro didn't get angry. Instead, he burst out laughing, the laughter low and pleasant, as if he'd heard something extremely amusing. Just as Eri was creeped out by his laughter, he suddenly moved!
His speed exceeded normal human reaction limits! Eri only saw a blur before her eyes. The next moment, a powerful, irresistible force pulled her up from the sofa, instantly landing her in a firm, warm embrace!
Kanjuro's arm encircled her waist like an iron band, tightly confining her in his arms. Their bodies pressed closely together. Eri could even clearly feel the strong heartbeat from his chest and the body heat through his clothes.
"You... let me go!" Eri, shocked and furious, struggled, but her strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree against Kanjuro.
Kanjuro lowered his head, his hot breath brushing her ear, his voice low like a demon's whisper, carrying a fatal allure:
"Filthy fantasy? Heh..." He chuckled lightly, his arm tightening further. "Eri, don't act so detached. Over these eighteen years, dare you say... you've truly completely forgotten me?"
His words were like the sharpest needles, precisely piercing the most secret corner of Eri's heart. Her body stiffened abruptly, her struggling force instantly slackening. Feeling the familiar yet unfamiliar masculine aura and powerful presence from behind, a mix of fear, humiliation, and... a tremor and palpitation she herself was unwilling to admit, uncontrollably swept over her. Some fragmented memories from eighteen years ago flashed in her mind like ignited sparks.
Kanjuro keenly They captured the subtle changes in her body and her momentary lapse in concentration., he continued whispering in her ear, his voice full of magnetism:
"Admit it, Eri. Some marks cannot be completely erased by time..."
The night was deep. Under the apartment lights, Eri, forcibly held in his arms, her face flushed, her mind in turmoil, her A strong psychological defense began to crack under Kanjuro's sudden intimate assault and soul-piercing question.
Forcibly held in Kanjuro's arms, Eri's body first resisted stiffly, her hands trying to push him away.
However, that familiar, demonic aura, like the most potent poison, instantly It shattered the dam of reason she had built..
Some sensory memories from that chaotic night eighteen years ago surged up uncontrollably like a tide—the scorching body heat in the darkness, the forceful embrace, and that trembling yet addictive touch mixed with pain and Ultimate pleasure... Her body betrayed her will, her The force of resistance dissipated without them even realizing it..
Feeling the softening of the body in his arms, Kanjuro let out a low laugh, his magnetic voice tinged with playfuland understanding:
"See, your body is much more honest than your mouth... Do you really want me to let you go?"
These words struck Eri like thunder, jolting her from her brief Intoxication!
Immense shame and anger at being seen through instantly overwhelmed her!
"Kanjuro! You beast!!!" She suddenly raised her head, tears falling like broken strings of pearls, mixed with anger, humiliation, and eighteen years of pent-up grievances, pouring out uncontrollably. She pounded on him with all her might, though it felt like tickling, "What do you want now?! Does humiliating me like this make you happy?!"
Kanjuro allowed her to vent her powerless anger, but one of his hands subtly slid down, his fingertips carrying a barely perceptible, almost electric magic through the thin fabric of her loungewear.
A strange, electric-like shiver instantly spread through her body! Eri Kisaki trembled violently, freezing as if under a paralysis spell, her sobbing abruptly ceasing.
Kanjuro watched her instantly flushed cheeks and abruptly constricted pupils, a cruel satisfaction curling at the corner of his mouth. He raised that seemingly magical finger, gently waving it before her eyes, his voice low and seductive:
"See? Your body... feels it too, doesn't it? After eighteen years, it still remembers me."
Eri Kisaki flinched as if burned, sharply turning her face away, not daring to meet his eyes or look at that seemingly cursed finger, her voice broken with sobs and extreme shame: "You... you bastard... So why did you come to me... What do you really want..."
Kanjuro watched her fragile yet stubborn demeanor, dropping his mocking expression as his tone turned "serious," as if stating an obvious fact:
"Let's be together again, Eri." His voice carried an undeniable certainty, "Even if... you're nominally Kogoro Mouri's wife now. I don't mind."
"Wh... what?!" Eri Kisaki could hardly believe her ears. She whipped her head back, looking at Kanjuro as if he were insane. Gathering her strength, she finally pushed him away, staggering back two steps and leaning against the cold wall, as if only that could support her weakened body.
"Kanjuro! What kind of woman do you take me for?!" Her voice trembled with extreme anger, "A plaything you can toy with at will, summoning and dismissing as you please?! A married woman?!"
Kanjuro, pushed away by her, wasn't angry. Instead, he frowned as if puzzled, his tone even taking on a hint of "tolerance" and "understanding":
"Haven't you already found another man? That Kogoro Mouri." He spread his hands, as if stating the most normal thing, "I can understand. After all, women... are always so cheap, so (caaf) hard to guard their chastity for so-called 'true love,' always needing support and comfort."
He paused, his gaze falling on Eri Kisaki's pale, furious face, adding a sentence as if bestowing a favor:
"It's only for Ran's sake that I'm willing to accept you like this."
These words, like the most venomous blade, completely shredded all of Eri Kisaki's dignity and the last of her patience! She trembled with rage, her vision darkening, tears flooding her eyes almost to the point of blurring her sight. Her heart felt as if gripped by an invisible hand, aching so badly she could hardly breathe!
"Kanjuro!!! You fool! Idiot! Self-righteous bastard!!!" She almost roared, her voice filled with blood-curdling despair and mockery, "For these eighteen years! When have I... when have I ever truly forgotten you?!!"
She fiercely wiped away the tears blurring her vision with the back of her hand, her eyes turning cold and sharp, like shattered glass, piercing straight at Kanjuro:
"I married Kogoro?! What do you think it was for?! I just... I just wanted to give Ran a seemingly normal family! A nominal 'father'! Kogoro... he's my childhood friend! He knows everything! We only have a marriage of convenience! It's to protect Ran!!!"
Her voice grew louder, carrying a cathartic exhilaration and deep sorrow:
"Kogoro and I... we've never even truly held hands! Let alone anything else!! Where were you these eighteen years?! And now, what right do you have... what right do you have to judge me with that condescending, patronizing tone?! To insult me?!"
Her final words were almost choked with sobs. Leaning against the wall, as if having used up all her strength, she was left with only silent tears and ragged breaths.
Kanjuro stood in place, listening to Eri Kisaki's confession-like revelation. For the first time, a subtle, genuine look of shock appeared on his face.
He clearly hadn't expected the truth to be like this.
The woman he thought had long thrown herself into another's arms—even accepting her with a hint of contemptuous "tolerance"—had, for eighteen years, guarded their daughter alone in such a way, and... in an almost obsessive manner, guarded some emotion he couldn't understand but was undeniably real.
A deathly silence filled the air, broken only by Eri Kisaki's uncontrollable sobs. Kanjuro watched the woman leaning against the wall, fragile as if she'd shatter at a touch yet unyielding at her core. Deep in his eyes, some cold calculation seemed to crack slightly.
"I don't believe it!"
Kanjuro's voice was icy and resolute, carrying an almost obsessive denial. He couldn't accept, or rather refused to believe, that Eri Kisaki had "remained chaste" for him these eighteen years. This contradicted his understanding of human nature—especially female—"frailty" and "fickleness."
Eri Kisaki, seeing the stubborn doubt in his eyes, felt a wave of immense desolation and helplessness. She stopped crying, roughly wiping the tear stains from her face with the back of her hand, took a deep breath, and tried to regain the calm, rational lawyer she usually was. She took a few steps forward until she was mere inches from Kanjuro, looking up to meet his deep, unfathomable black eyes now filled with distrust.
"Don't believe me?" She forced a bitter, mocking smile, "Kanjuro, don't you possess abilities beyond ordinary imagination? Doesn't that dark bible of yours grant you the power to glimpse truth and manipulate time and space?"
She raised her hand, her fingertips almost touching her temple, her gaze resolute:
"Look! Use your power, see for yourself what I've been through these eighteen years! See if I'm lying! See if I'm the kind of... cheap woman you say, unable to guard herself!"
Her challenge carried a desperate courage and the bleakness of being pushed to the edge.
Kanjuro's pupils contracted slightly as he stared into Eri Kisaki's unflinching eyes, which even held a martyr-like glow. After a moment of silence, he slowly raised his right hand, index and middle fingers together. At their tips, a deep, cosmic-dark black light suddenly coalesced, within which fine temporal runes seemed to swirl and dance—a manifestation of the [gospel of luke·Time Manipulation] authority!
Without the slightest hesitation, he gently pressed that fingertip, charged with temporal power, against Eri Kisaki's forehead.
"Hum—"
An invisible ripple spread from the two of them, the surrounding light seeming to distort slightly. Kanjuro's consciousness, guided by that dark power, forcibly invaded the undefended river of Eri Kisaki's memories!
Countless images, sounds, and emotions surged into Kanjuro's perception like a bursting flood:
He saw Eri Kisaki's panic and helplessness upon discovering her pregnancy; saw her hugging her best friend Yukiko, both crying bitterly and swearing to keep the secret; saw her tossing and turning to give the child a legitimate name, eventually turning to her childhood friend, brother-like Kogoro Mouri... A key scene emerged—
In a quiet corner of a café, a young Eri Kisaki confessed everything to an equally young Kogoro Mouri, including Kanjuro's existence and the child in her womb. She begged for his help.
And Kogoro Mouri's reaction wasn't anger or disdain, but a kind of... understanding and complex sympathy. He remained silent for a long time, finally nodding and saying, "Eri, I understand your predicament. Actually... I have secrets I can't tell others too." His gaze drifted, carrying a hint of barely perceptible tenderness and struggle, "I... Yusaku and I... we..."
The images flickered. Kanjuro saw the interactions between Kogoro Mouri and Kudo Yusaku that went beyond ordinary friendship—secret, deep, and affectionate. They carefully hid this socially unacceptable love, and Eri Kisaki's proposal happened to provide Kogoro with the perfect "cover." A marriage of convenience, mutually beneficial, was thus formed—no wedding, just a simple agreement and a unified story for the outside world.
He saw in their so-called "marital" life, Eri Kisaki and Kogoro Mouri treated each other with "respect," more like roommates and comrades living under the same roof, guarding their respective secrets while raising Ran together. Kogoro, due to his own sexual orientation, even had a subconscious distance and slight aversion to women, which perfectly explained why he was so "cold" to his "wife" and his complex attitude toward Ran (not unloving, but unsure how to naturally act as a "father").
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