Inside the Hattori Mansion, chaos reigned. The smell of blood hadn't yet dissipated. Conan, enduring the waves of pain from the gunshot wound in his calf, leaned against the wall, watching the grim-faced Hattori Heizo and the despondent Heiji Hattori. He couldn't help but speak, his voice breathless with pain:
"Just like that... you let them go? Inspector General Hattori! Heiji!"
Hattori Heizo slowly unclenched his tightly balled fists, his resolute face showing a rare, deep weariness and helplessness. He glanced at his son's heartbroken expression, then looked out the window in the direction Kanjuro and the others had left, sighing heavily:
"What else could we do? Kazuha, and my sister Shizuka... are both in his hands, completely controlled by him in ways we can't understand. Right now... they'd probably give their lives for him." His voice was filled with the helplessness of a father and a brother.
Heiji Hattori suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot. He turned to Conan, his voice hoarse and pained, posing a soul-crushing counter-question:
"Kudo! What if it were Ran? If Ran were brainwashed by him, like Kazuha is now, willing to pick up a gun and point it at us without hesitation for Kanjuro, willing to die for him! Could you... bring yourself to do it? Could you bear to... kill the person you love?"
This question hit Conan's heart like a boulder. He opened his mouth, images of Ran's gentle smile and her possible hate-filled gaze, like Kazuha's, flashing through his mind... A cold chill rose from the depths of his heart, and he fell silent. He couldn't answer. The mere thought of such a scenario was enough to break him; he didn't even have the courage to face it.
However, reason soon overcame this momentary weakness. Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain in his leg, Conan analyzed:
"But... Kanjuro! How could he have been shot so easily? Don't you think it's too coincidental? The bullet just happened to avoid all vital spots! He definitely did it on purpose! He's acting! He used Heiji's impulsiveness to completely bind Kazuha's heart! Now he's leaving with two women he fully controls. Next... who knows what more extreme, irreversible things Kazuha might do under his influence!"
His analysis hit the mark. The Hattori father and son were well aware of this, but knowing and acting were two different things. With hostages at stake, they were truly caught in a dilemma.
Meanwhile, on a highway shrouded in night.
Kazuha drove the vehicle, with the pale-faced Hattori Shizuka in the passenger seat and the "weak" Kanjuro leaning in the back, blood still seeping from his chest. Behind them, several police cars with flashing red and blue lights pursued closely, their piercing sirens tearing through the night's silence.
"Brother Kanjuro... they're following closely!" Kazuha said anxiously, looking in the rearview mirror, her hands on the wheel slightly sweaty from tension.
Kanjuro slightly opened his eyes, glanced back, and a cold smirk curled at the corner of his mouth. His voice was "weak" yet carried an undeniable command:
"Ahead... that fork... turn in... then... stop..."
Kazuha obeyed without hesitation, sharply turning the wheel. The vehicle veered off the main road onto a mountain path, stopping after a relatively hidden curve.
"Help me... out... we're... heading into the mountains..." Kanjuro instructed.
Hattori Shizuka and Kazuha immediately supported him on either side, carefully helping him out, abandoning the vehicle as they stumbled into the dark depths of the forest. Kanjuro leaned most of his weight on the two women, his steps unsteady, appearing severely injured.
The pursuing police cars quickly arrived and stopped. Well-trained officers got out with guns, forming a tactical formation, ready to search the mountains.
However, as they approached the edge of the forest where Kanjuro and the two women had disappeared, something bizarre happened.
The officers at the front, upon crossing an invisible boundary, suddenly froze! Their eyes showed a moment of confusion and bewilderment, as if they'd suddenly forgotten what they were doing, or... as if the forest scenery before them had twisted and overlapped, making it impossible to accurately judge direction. They wandered in circles like headless flies, some even starting to search in completely opposite directions.
"What's going on?!"
"Where's the target?!"
"Report! Lost visual on target! Repeat, lost visual on target!"
Chaotic and incredulous reports filled the communication channels. They'd clearly seen the three enter this area, so how had they vanished in the blink of an eye? This forest looked ordinary, so why did entering it feel like stepping into a fog?
Unbeknownst to them, on an unseen level, a faint barrier distorting reality and perception, originating from the dark bible, was quietly spreading with Kanjuro at its center. This barrier wasn't an impenetrable wall but more like a potent cognitive interference and mental suggestion, causing intruders to lose their way and overlook nearby traces. It was a subtle trick Kanjuro could still use even in his "critical" condition.
Deep in the forest, supported by the two women, Kanjuro slightly turned his head, sensing the chaos and confusion behind him, a flicker of mockery in his eyes.
(Mortals' perception... so fragile.)
(Now, time to find a place to properly 'recover'...)
Under the meticulous care of Hattori Shizuka and Kazuha, he continued deeper into the mountains, leaving the pursuers and their futile anger behind in that forest of distorted perception. Hattori Shizuka and Kazuha grew even more convinced of his "miraculous" escape, their dependence and admiration deepening. Darkness spread with their steps into the heart of the forest. Deep in the mountains, a dilapidated hunter's cabin provided a temporary shelter. Moonlight filtered through broken window frames, casting mottled shadows. Inside, Kanjuro leaned against a corner, his face still pale, his chest wrapped in makeshift bandages torn from cloth, bloodstains faintly visible. Hattori Shizuka and Toyama Kazuha sat close on either side, as if he were their only lifeline in the storm.
Kazuha nestled against Kanjuro, recalling the heart-stopping events at the Mansion, especially the moment Heiji Hattori fired the gun. Tears of grievance and fear welled in her eyes again as she sobbed, "Uncle Heizo... and Heiji... they went too far! How could they do that to you! Especially Heiji, he... he's gone mad!"
Hattori Shizuka remained silent, but her slight trembling as she held Kanjuro's other hand revealed her inner turmoil. On one hand, there were complex feelings about her brother and (step)son's actions; on the other, an uncontrollable heartache seeing Kanjuro's "critical" state.
"Shizuka, Kazuha," Kanjuro's voice was slightly clearer than before but still carried a pitiable weakness. He looked at the two worried women beside him, his tone gentle yet grave. "Are you... afraid?"
Both shook their heads simultaneously, Kazuha saying firmly, "As long as I'm with Brother Kanjuro, I'm not afraid of anything!"
Kanjuro nodded slightly, a "grateful" yet somewhat "helpless" bitter smile appearing on his face.
"What I'm about to say might be beyond your understanding... but given the circumstances, I must tell you." He paused, as if gathering strength, then slowly said, "I... am not an ordinary person. I possess some... dark secrets from ancient traditions, what you might understand as... Black Magic."
This news made Kazuha and Hattori Shizuka widen their eyes slightly, but surprisingly, their eyes showed not much fear. Instead, after the initial shock, they were quickly replaced by an "of course" understanding and deeper curiosity. After all, Kanjuro's mysterious aura and previously displayed unconventional methods seemed to only make sense with this explanation.
"Earlier, to escape the Hattori residence, especially to protect Kazuha from harm," Kanjuro's gaze fell gently on Kazuha's face as he continued in his deceptive voice, "I used my core magical power to set up an interference barrier, allowing us to temporarily shake off the pursuers. But the cost is... my magical power is nearly depleted now, and my injuries can't heal quickly on their own..."
He coughed twice at the right moment, even a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, making the two women's hearts clench.
"Brother Kanjuro!"
"Kanjuro!"
Both exclaimed simultaneously, Hattori Shizuka unable to resist gently wiping the blood from his mouth with a handkerchief.
Kanjuro "struggled" to grasp their hands, his eyes moving between their worried faces. Finally, in a tone filled with apology yet utmost "sincerity," he voiced his "request":
"Now... there's only one way for me to quickly recover some magical power and stabilize my injuries... but this method requires your... help."
He deliberately paused, observing their reactions.
In Black Magic, there exists an ancient 'Magic Replenishment' ritual... that requires... the most intimate union of yin and yang, drawing upon the most fundamental energy of life to replenish magical power..." His voice grew softer, carrying a kind of unspeakable "shame," "I know this is excessive, but... this is the only method I can think of right now that will allow us to leave here safely, and... allow me to continue protecting you."
After these words were spoken, the small hut fell into complete silence.
Kazuha and Hattori Shizuka's cheeks flushed crimson almost simultaneously. They were not naive young girls and naturally understood what Kanjuro meant by "yin and yang union" and "most intimate contact."
This request was undoubtedly bold and immoral, especially in the current circumstances, and involving both of them simultaneously... However, their worry for Kanjuro, their dependence on him, and that deliberately guided and amplified "affection" and "protective desire" quickly overwhelmed their initial shyness and slight hesitation.
Kazuha thought about how Kanjuro had "exhausted his magic" and "suffered severe injuries" to protect her, filling her heart with gratitude and an impulse to sacrifice. Her face flushed, but her gaze was unusually firm as she nodded first, her voice as faint as a mosquito's yet clear: "I... I'm willing... as long as it helps Brother Kanjuro..."
Hattori Shizuka looked at Kanjuro's "weak" appearance, recalling how he had "saved" her from despair earlier. That twisted obsession had long made her cast aside worldly ethics. She took a deep breath and slowly nodded as well, her eyes carrying a determination akin to martyrdom: "I'm willing too... whatever you need me to do..."
Kanjuro watched their reactions, a "grateful" and "affectionate" smile appearing on his pale face. He extended his arms and gently drew the two women, willingly offering themselves as sacrifices, into his embrace.
(See, so-called love and loyalty are so... cheap and useful in the face of survival and dependence.)
The moonlight cast a faint glow, illuminating the embracing figures within the dilapidated hut.
After an unknown amount of time, the movements inside the hut gradually subsided.
Kanjuro still leaned against the corner, but his originally pale complexion seemed to have regained a barely noticeable hint of color, and his breathing had steadied considerably.
He held Kazuha and Hattori Shizuka, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion and complex emotions, gently brushing his fingertips through their sweat-dampened hair. His eyes, in the shadows of the moonlight, were as deep as an ancient well, devoid of any warmth, filled only with cold satisfaction and calculation.
(Magic power... has indeed recovered somewhat.)
(And the imprint on their souls has deepened further.)
(Next... it's time to consider how to move the next piece on the board.)
The mountain forest was silent, with only the night wind passing through the gaps between trees, emitting a mournful sound, as if lamenting the fallen humanity and the silently growing darkness. The faint light of dawn filtered through the cracks in the wooden hut, dispelling some of the night's chill. Kazuha and Hattori Shizuka awoke one after another, their bodies retaining the fatigue and lingering absurdity of the previous night, but more so a strange sense of belonging, feeling even more closely connected to Kanjuro. They instinctively moved closer to him, as if he were the sole source of warmth and safety.
Kanjuro watched their dependent postures, timely displaying a complex expression mixing affection, pain, and resolve on his face. He sighed softly, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness and heaviness:
"Shizuka, Kazuha... after last night, there are some things I must say."
The two women immediately looked up, focusing on him with concern.
"I can see," Kanjuro's gaze seemed to penetrate the walls, seeing the distant Hattori Mansion, "your brother (husband), and Heiji... deep down, they still value emotions. It's precisely because they care about you, fear you being harmed, that they had no choice but to let us leave yesterday."
His analysis sounded reasonable, even carrying a hint of "understanding."
However, he shifted his tone, his voice becoming utterly desolate and "selfless":
"But, as long as I'm alive, as long as I can still breathe... they, especially Hattori Heizo, will not give up their desire to kill me. To uphold the justice in their hearts, to so-called 'protect' more people, they will eventually try every means to find me and eliminate me."
He reached out, stroking Kazuha and Hattori Shizuka's cheeks respectively, his movements gentle but his eyes filled with "reluctance" and "determination":
"I can't burden you any longer. Following me, you'll only live forever in danger and pursuit, even... you might be seen as accomplices, standing against me."
He took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, uttering those words of strategic retreat:
"So... you should leave."
"Return to the Hattori family. Tell them everything is my fault, that I coerced you. This way... you can return to a normal life, at least... a safe one."
These words exploded like thunder in Kazuha and Hattori Shizuka's minds!
Go back? Return to that place that tried to kill Brother Kanjuro? Return to that "home" that doesn't understand them, even pointed guns at the person they love?
"No!!" Kazuha almost screamed, throwing herself into Kanjuro's embrace, tightly clutching his clothes, tears instantly welling up, "I won't go! I absolutely won't go back! Brother Kanjuro, don't even think about sending me away! Without you, I won't go anywhere! I don't care about any normal life!"
Hattori Shizuka also shook her head vigorously, her usually elegant and composed demeanor completely gone, her eyes filled only with determination and a hint of panic. She tightly grasped Kanjuro's hand, afraid he might really push them away: "Kanjuro, don't talk nonsense! How could we possibly leave you? You're the one who awakened me from a zombie-like existence, you gave me the true meaning of living! I don't care about the Hattori family, I don't care about safety! I just want to be with you, no matter where we go, no matter what we face!"
Watching their agitated and resolute reactions, Kanjuro's "struggle" and "pain" seemed to deepen further: "But... following me, the future is uncertain, even possibly..."
"We're not afraid!" Kazuha interrupted him, raising her tear-streaked face, her eyes shining brightly, "As long as I can be with you, I'm not afraid of any danger! Brother Kanjuro, don't even think about abandoning me!"
Hattori Shizuka also nodded firmly, her tone carrying an unquestionable resolve: "Right, we're not afraid. Kanjuro, don't try to push us away with such reasons. From the moment we chose you, we've already severed all ties with the past."
Kanjuro looked at them, remaining silent for a long while, as if engaged in an intense internal struggle. Finally, as if "moved" by their "affection" and "determination," he sighed deeply, pulling both women tightly into his embrace again, his voice carrying a hint of "touched" sob:
"Silly women... you really are... two fools..."
"In that case... I promise you, I won't try to send you away anymore."
"From now on, the three of us will share life and death, never to part."
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