Kanjuro walked with a composed stride through the sparse wooden fence surrounding the café and reached the outdoor table where Akemi Miyano sat. He didn't sit down immediately but stood by the table, his calm gaze falling on her. Those deep eyes seemed able to pierce through all disguises and reach the secrets in the deepest part of one's heart.
The afternoon sun cast a soft golden edge on his tall frame, yet it did nothing to soften the invisible but powerful aura surrounding him. He pulled out a chair and sat opposite Akemi, his posture elegant and relaxed, as if he truly were just attending an ordinary date with an old classmate.
"Long time no see, Akemi." He spoke, his voice gentle and devoid of any emotional ripples, as if discussing the weather. "You said on the phone it was inconvenient. Can you tell me now why you specifically asked me out? Is there something important?"
Akemi Miyano's heart pounded frantically in her chest, nearly breaking her ribs. She forced herself to meet his gaze and managed a somewhat natural smile. Following the prepared script, her voice carried a deliberate tremor—a mix of shyness and nostalgia: "Actually... it's nothing particularly important. It's just... it's been a long time since I've seen Mr. Kanjuro. I happened to see the news and thought of the past... I... missed you a bit."
After speaking, she instinctively lowered her eyelids, not daring to meet his eyes for too long, fearing he would see through the fear and struggle deep in her gaze. Her fingers tightly twisted her clothes under the table, her palms cold and damp.
Kanjuro listened quietly, not responding immediately. His deep gaze lingered for a moment on her slightly lowered neck, which curved with fragility. Then, he let out a nearly inaudible sigh. That sigh was soft, yet it felt like a massive boulder dropped into the lake of Akemi Miyano's heart, stirring up stormy waves.
"Akemi," his voice remained gentle, even a bit softer than before, yet it carried an unquestionable penetrating power, "you've been like this since you were little—you're not good at lying."
Before the words had even finished echoing and before Akemi Miyano could react, Kanjuro suddenly stood up, walked around the small coffee table, and came to her side. In the next moment, he made a move that turned Akemi's body rigid and caused Shuichi Akai's pupils to contract as he watched through the scope on the distant hill—
He leaned down, reached out, and gently took Akemi Miyano into his arms!
It was an embrace devoid of lust, more like a condescending comfort with an air of scrutiny. His arms were firm and strong, carrying a warm body temperature as they encircled Akemi's somewhat thin body. His chin almost rested on the crown of her head, and his voice sounded close to her ear, low and filled with a magnetic allure:
"Tell me the truth, Akemi."
"Did someone... specifically ask you to do this?"
"You're being threatened, aren't you?"
His tone was so certain, as if he had long seen through the entire truth and was merely giving her a chance to confess.
Boom—!
Akemi Miyano's mind went completely blank. All her plans and psychological preparations crumbled before this sudden embrace and the direct, piercing question. At such close range, the cold yet charming scent on Kanjuro completely enveloped her. His incredibly handsome face was right before her eyes—that perfect jawline, those eyes deep as a starry sea that now seemed only to reflect her panicked image... Her reason was screaming about the danger, reminding her of Shuichi Akai's plan and her sister Shiho's safety. However, her emotions burst through the dam in an instant. The twisted childhood dependence, the hazy feelings of her youth, and the uncontrollable heart palpitations and daze she felt now facing this powerful, handsome, and strangely gentle man... various emotions submerged her like a tsunami.
She was held by him, her body stiff, unable to move or think. Those arms that had once given her 'protection' in childhood now felt like the most exquisite shackles. She opened her mouth, wanting to deny it, wanting to continue her clumsy performance, but the words were stuck in her throat, unable to make a sound.
She only stared blankly up at his face so close to hers, her gaze unfocused, as if her soul had been drained, leaving only an empty shell captured by his immense charm and the illusion of tenderness.
On the distant hill, Shuichi Akai clearly saw the entire process of Kanjuro embracing Akemi Miyano through the high-powered scope, as well as Akemi's momentary loss of focus and nearly surrendered expression. His gaze was cold to the extreme, his index finger tightening slightly on the trigger, though his breathing remained steady. He knew a massive variable had appeared in the plan. Kanjuro had not only keenly sensed the trap but had directly launched a fatal counterattack by exploiting the most fragile part of Akemi's heart.
At this moment, Akemi Miyano was like a small boat that had lost its rudder in a storm, liable to be completely swallowed by the crashing waves Kanjuro had stirred. Meanwhile, Shuichi Akai's sniper crosshairs remained deathly locked onto Kanjuro's head, waiting—or rather, judging—for a perfect shooting opportunity that might never come. The air froze, and killing intent silently diffused under the warm afternoon sun.
Kanjuro gazed closely into Akemi Miyano's eyes, which were gradually losing focus and filled with struggle and confusion. The faint, ambiguous curve at the corner of his mouth deepened. Unnoticed by anyone, from the tips of his fingers resting on Akemi's back, a sliver of extremely faint, black light—as if from an abyss—seeped silently into Akemi's clothes like a living, thin snake, touching her skin.
Akemi Miyano felt a surge of cold warmth—the contradictory sensation only adding to her confusion—instantly race from her spine through her entire body. All the voices in her brain—Shuichi Akai's warning, her worry for her sister, her own fear—were forcibly suppressed and blurred at this moment, as if through a thick layer of frosted glass. A strange, unquestionable sense of peace enveloped her. The deep-rooted, twisted dependence and attachment she felt for Kanjuro were infinitely magnified and clarified by this power, becoming the only melody dominating her will.
At that moment, Kanjuro's posture as he embraced her appeared intimately close, but in truth, he had subtly, almost imperceptibly, exposed his right temple more clearly to the line of sight from the sniper point on the distant hill! This was an extremely brief, yet for a sniper master like Shuichi Akai, crystal-clear shooting window! It was a flaw as meticulously designed as a trap to lure a moth to a flame!
Upon the hill, Shuichi Akai's heart suddenly constricted! Through the high-powered scope, he clearly saw that fleeting, fatal opening. Kanjuro's head rested defenselessly at the center of the crosshairs! This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Driven almost entirely by muscle memory and tactical instinct, his index finger pulled the trigger with micrometer precision!
"Bang—!!"
The muffled crack of the sniper rifle, processed by an efficient silencer, sounded like the whisper of the Grim Reaper on the hill. The lethal bullet tore through the air at terrifying supersonic speed, following a precisely calculated trajectory toward Kanjuro's temple!
However, at the very same instant the bullet left the barrel!
Akemi Miyano, whose mind had been invisibly influenced by the power of the dark bible and whose protective instincts had been magnified by Kanjuro, experienced a reaction from her briefly "controlled" body that erupted from instinct, transcending even mental control! A split second before the bullet could reach Kanjuro, she seemed to sense the invisible threat of death. Letting out an indistinct, terrified whimper, her previously stiff body suddenly exploded with immense strength!
Instead of trying to dodge, she used all her strength to fiercely and resolutely push Kanjuro, who was embracing her, toward the side and rear!
"Ugh!"
Kanjuro followed the force of her push, stumbling back a step in a slightly "clumsy" manner, perfectly avoiding the bullet's fatal path. The sniper bullet that should have pierced his skull carried a scorching air current as it narrowly grazed his temple, eventually vanishing into the distant air, leaving only a faint, almost invisible trail of blood slowly seeping from his forehead.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
After completing the action, Akemi Miyano seemed to have exhausted all her strength. The confusion and chaos in her eyes grew even deeper as she stood dazed, her chest heaving violently, staring blankly at the Kanjuro she had "pushed away."
Meanwhile, at the sniper point on the distant hill, Shuichi Akai witnessed the entire scene through his scope—Kanjuro's deliberate opening and Akemi's desperate, instinctive protective action that was by no means a pretense! A blazing fury, nearly incinerating his reason, instantly rushed to his head!
"Bastard!!!"
He slammed his fist into the dirt beside him, teeth clenched and veins bulging on his forehead. Those green eyes, usually as cold as ice, were now burning with a raging fire and the flame of being completely toyed with, mixed even with a hint of indescribable heartache.
He was angry not only because the sniper shot had failed, but because he had seen with his own eyes that Akemi Miyano, the woman he was trying to "save," had actually protected that demon so unhesitatingly at the critical moment! Even if she was being influenced, that instinctive reaction cut him deeply.
Kanjuro steadied himself and raised a hand, gently wiping the insignificant trace of blood from his temple with a fingertip. He looked at the smear of crimson on his finger, then glanced toward the direction where Shuichi Akai was likely hiding. Instead of alarm or anger, his face bore an even deeper, more delighted, and cold smile, as if everything was within his grasp.
He turned his gaze back to the dazed Akemi Miyano, his voice so gentle it was hair-raising:
"See, Akemi..."
"Even after all these years, your body... your heart, is still protecting me."
"This is the real you, isn't it?"
His words, like a final judgment, crashed heavily onto Akemi Miyano's chaotic heart and were clearly transmitted through the communicator into the ears of the enraged Shuichi Akai. From the beginning, the trap had not been set for Kanjuro, but was a dish of despair he had meticulously prepared for both of them.
Akemi Miyano stared blankly at the faint bloodstain on Kanjuro's temple, then looked down at her hands that had just pushed him away with all her might, her brain in total disarray. The nearly instinctive protective desire that had erupted just now shocked and felt foreign even to her. The power that drove her was a mixture of the dark bible's suggestion, but deeper down, it was an emotion she hadn't fully realized or had been suppressing.
"Wh... why is it like this..." she murmured to herself, her voice trembling with confusion and late-dawning realization, as if asking Kanjuro, but more like asking herself. She clearly should have cooperated with Shuichi Akai, clearly should have hated this man who had caused countless tragedies, but why did her body make that choice uncontrollably when the bullet flew?
Seeing her lost and soul-shaken state, Kanjuro took a step forward, closing the distance once more. He ignored the potential sniper threat as if it were completely beneath notice. He reached out and gently brushed aside a stray lock of hair blown by the wind across her forehead, his movement as tender as a lover's caress, forming a cruel contrast to the cold calculation hidden in his words.
"It's okay, Akemi." His voice was low and magnetic, carrying a sinking, soothing power. "Thank you for protecting me."
That "thank you" acted like a key, completely opening the long-sealed floodgate in her heart. Being gazed at so intently by him, feeling the touch from his fingertips that seemed to paralyze her nerves, Akemi Miyano clearly felt that her feelings for Kanjuro had not perished with the passage of time. Instead, because of her childhood obsession and the "vulnerability" he showed now (despite it being a pretense), they became even more complex and harder to let go. That seedling, which started in deception but took root and grew in her heart, had never truly withered.
She lifted her eyes, which were shimmering with tears, mixed with confusion, struggle, and a desperate honesty. She looked at Kanjuro's handsome face so close at hand, her voice soft but filled with the courage of someone who had nothing left to lose:
"Mr. Kanjuro... actually, since I was very little... I, I've liked you very much."
A faint blush rose to her cheeks, but her gaze did not waver.
"Even though... even though I know that your finding people to bully me and then saving me back then... might have all been planned. But," she shook her head vigorously, as if to shake off the logic that caused her pain, "to me, the feeling of being with you and the way you protected me later were all real. I... I've always remembered."
This nearly morbid confession, spoken in such a setting, seemed so out of place, yet it truly reflected her distorted inner world.
Hearing her words, Kanjuro's face showed an expression that could be called "moved." A seemingly real soft light flashed in his eyes (perhaps just a more exquisite performance), and he gently took her hand, his palm warm.
"Akemi..." he called her name, his tone carrying a touch of sincerity as if he were affected. He threw out the bait at the right time, his tone perfectly natural. "To repay you for your protection just now, and for our past 'affection'... I am willing to help you find your sister, Shiho Miyano."
Akemi Miyano's eyes widened suddenly, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Re... really? Is that possible?" Her voice trembled violently with excitement and disbelief. Finding Shiho was her greatest obsession for living! If Kanjuro was truly willing to help, with the terrifying power he had shown, perhaps... "Of course." Kanjuro smiled, his tone certain, carrying a convincing and powerful aura. He tilted his head slightly, looking at her with a gaze that held a hint of disappointment and testing, asking softly in return: "Could it be... you don't like me? You don't believe me?"
This light sentence carried more weight than any threat. It directly questioned the heart Akemi had just bared, placing her on the edge of a cliff between emotion and reason.
However, just as Akemi Miyano was about to be completely submerged by this massive temptation and emotional offensive, a low roar of suppressed extreme anger and anxiety suddenly came from the miniature communicator hidden in her ear, the voice exploding in her chaotic mind like a thunderclap:
"Akemi! Don't believe him! He's using you! Wake up! There's no way he'll help you! This is a trap!"
On the hill, Shuichi Akai saw Kanjuro's hypocritical performance clearly through the scope. He was anxious but unable to fire again—Kanjuro's position and posture had become harder to capture, and Akemi was almost completely exposed in his line of fire. He could only issue warnings through the communicator, hoping to wake Akemi's remaining reason.
On one side was the obsession she couldn't let go of since childhood and the immense hope of saving her sister; on the other was Shuichi Akai's sharp warning and the cruel reality.
Akemi Miyano froze in place, the color draining from her face. The spark of hope she had just lit intertwined with Kanjuro's gentle gaze, while Shuichi Akai's cold warning rang in her ears. She felt as if she were being torn in two by these two completely different forces. The courage of her earlier act of protecting Kanjuro and the subsequent emotional release seemed so insignificant compared to the cruel choice she now faced. She opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound, the immense contradiction and pain nearly suffocating her.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.