[Fanfic] Trick Play [Chapter 2]
Title: Trick Play [Chapter 2]
Rating: K+
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely the creators of Eyeshield 21.
Summary: Hiruma has disappeared during a crucial time in training for the Saikyoudai Wizards. Mamori sets off to look for him and bring him back, but there could be more to Hiruma's situation than she realised, and it may lead to the two of them making the biggest trick play they've ever planned and executed.
Notes: This took a while to post up. Enjoy! :)
~*~
Holding her breath as the door slid open, Mamori braced herself for their reactions, but the scene before her was even more bizarre than she had anticipated. As all eyes fell upon her, their anger subsiding into confusion, Mamori quickly scanned the room.
One yellow light on the ceiling tainted the room, making every shadow larger within the corners. A table sat beneath that light, one cup and one pot remaining on it despite there being two people seated. The woman was seated directly across the door so she was the first person to see Mamori. Wearing an expensive-looking kimono and sitting in an upright posture, Mamori concluded that she must be close to her fifties as she noted the graying hair and wrinkles. But the way she was looked at Mamori gave her an understanding of what it was like to be a deer caught in headlights.
"What is going on here? Who is this?" she asked, her voice hoarse from all the shouting she had just done. The shadows in the room made her look even more unnerving to Mamori as the woman's eyes scanned her from head to toe.
The man at the table, whose back Mamori faced initially, had turned around now and Mamori took a good look at him. His hair was also graying, but his facial features... "Sugiyo, what is going on? Why did you bring this stranger in?" he asked. "She doesn't belong here."
"Yeah, she doesn't."
Mamori's eyes widened at the familiar voice. Standing in the left hand corner of the room, where the shadows shrouded him even more, stood Hiruma. His arms were crossed, and while she could barely make out his face in the darkness, his eyes continued to question her presence.
Mamori gaped, wondering what to say. I'm sorry for interrupting? I was just here to bring Hiruma back? Even she knew this was something she shouldn't be involved in. But Sugiyo smiled at them, unwavered by the tension.
"I needed assistance in the Ryokan. The two of you are obviously creating too much of a mess for me to handle alone," said Sugiyo, her gaze pointedly focused behind the woman where pieces of a broken teacup lay.
The woman sniffed with an air of disapproval around her, her eyes never left Mamori. "She's a mess. Look at her clothes and her hair. She should have at least changed first. She's still carrying her backpack too. Are you so poor to only afford a foreign untrained staff?"
Mamori wasn't sure how to react to all this. Should she play along? What was going on? She looked at Sugiyo who merely waved her hand in dismissal. "I assure you, she is the best assistant I could ever ask for... in this situation."
Her last words were almost mumbled, but Mamori caught them. The woman was still unimpressed, but the man was looking at the woman again and tension continued to build up in the room. Sugiyo motioned for Mamori to put her bag down in a corner, and whispered that she would be bringing a broom and dustpan. For now, just stay quiet and watch the broken shards.
Nodding, Mamori quickly did as she was told. She looked at Hiruma, but he showed no interest in her at this point, and had instead resumed looking at the two people at the table.
"I suppose would you like to continue wasting our time?" the woman finally spoke up.
"Wasting OUR time?!" the man replied, fist curled on the table.
"Of course, you call me all the way out here when it was obvious I was going to refuse your request. Rather than waste your breath, you should be spending this time getting treatment and saving your poor excuse of a body."
"Does it look like I want treatment?!" The man almost stood up, leaning on the table as he did so, but he moved too quickly and he almost fell. Mamori gasped but stayed where she was. "There's only one thing I want and I don't care if I die because of it!
Let me see Kirie!"
The woman's eyes narrowed. "You really do want me to repeat myself. I'm tired of this. I will leave tomorrow morning and there is nothing you can do to stop me."
Despite his initially strong demeanour, the man's face slowly changed into one of defeat. Unable to even stand, he went on his knees, his head hanging low. "Please... you have to let me see Kirie... just one last time..."
"I've had enough of this nonsense. I shall retire to my chambers now." The woman stood up, preparing to leave.
"Stay where you are, Kaede."
Sugiyo entered the room once more, passing the broom and dustpan to Mamori, but she motioned Mamori to stay alert. Nodding, Mamori knelt before the broken shards and began to clean them up, making sure she did so quietly so as not to disrupt this heated conversation.
Sugiyo sat by the table, forcing Kaede to do the same. "What more do you want Sugiyo?" the woman named Kaede asked. "I came all the way out here as a favour to you, but you are obviously wasting our time with all this nonsense."
"Yes, you're all wasting my time," replied Sugiyo, pulling out her stopwatch. "You have all been here for a total of three days, four hours, thirty two minutes, three seconds and counting, and in not one of these seconds did you even properly resolve the issue that is at hand."
"There is no issue at all!" cried Kaede, losing her calm demeanour. "It is not my issue when this man's demand is ludicrous and he knows it!"
"He is asking to see his wife one last time, Kaede." Sugiyo looked at her with disdain. "It is a sensible demand considering the situation he is in."
"The rules are the rules, Sugiyo. No male member of the family branch is allowed on temple grounds. So neither he nor his rotten son may come."
As Mamori carefully picked up the smaller shards, the woman's words began to paint the picture for Mamori, but she was still terribly confused. Mamori looked at Hiruma, feeling sure that he had just been mentioned and wondered if he would explain this to her.
But he refused to look at her, and instead continued to watch the two people. It was then that Mamori felt shame wash over her. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't even be involved in this personal matter at all. Why did Sugiyo invite her here?
Sugiyo was deep in thought at Kaede's words. "So let me make this clear, only females related in some way to the Sato family branch can enter the temple? And even though you have full power to do so, you will not recover Kirie?"
"I see no reason to remove her from her final resting place. Hiruma Yuuya," Kaede glared at the man before her. "I will, in no way, do any favour for you after the pain you have put my sister and I through."
Mamori had cleared up every little piece of the porcelain shards and in the deathly silence through which Kaede's words resounded, she heard the slight waver in Kaede's voice. As Mamori stole a glance at the man, Hiruma Yuuya, the shadows had completely claimed his face.
There was nothing left to be said.
Kaede stood up and left promptly, not without glancing at Mamori for a moment, still with an air of disapproval. The tension in the air began to dissipate, but what was left made Mamori even more uncomfortable.
It was despair.
Hiruma finally moved away from the corner, approaching his father. "Get up," he said.
Yuuya nodded, and without another word, Hiruma bent down and hauled his father up by his under arm, allowing the old man to lean against him. Mamori got up to help, but Sugiyo held on to her shoulder, shaking her head. Once the two of them left did Sugiyo finally speak.
"You can go to the back area to talk to him. There is a lot that needs to be discussed."
"Why...?" Mamori asked, her voice shaky from fear and sadness. "Why did you ask me to come here?"
Sugiyo's usual grin was replaced by another expression that Mamori had never seen before. Whatever this situation was, if it made Sugiyo smile that way... "Because there may be something you and Youichi might be able to do to solve this."
Mamori was about to ask how, but Sugiyo had taken the dustpan and broom from Mamori and left the room. Confused, but determined to at least do what she could, Mamori took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and quickly went outside to where Sugiyo had instructed.
It was already dark, and there wasn't much light around as most of the outdoor lamps were dim, but it was enough to see Hiruma casually walking towards her as if it wasn't a big deal. Mamori had expected him to be angry, to demand why she was here and how dare she intrude in his personal matters. But he looked exhausted, and somewhat informed of why she was here.
"That damn old lady sure had the nerve to invite you here."
"I'm sorry," her words tumbled out. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was this serious and I really shouldn't have been involved in something so personal."
Hiruma didn't say a word, he merely continued to look at her. Mamori wasn't sure how to interpret what he was feeling at that moment. He looked almost apologetic as well.
"Is... is your father alright?"
"He's fine. Fucker wore himself out after a day of shouting and throwing things around. Fucking asked for it."
"... Are you alright?"
Hiruma's eyes seem to sharpen at the question, but he grinned. "Keh, how do you expect me to answer that one?"
Mamori cringed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so worried but I don't know what to do..."
"Stop worrying, Fucking Manager, this isn't a burden for you to carry."
"I know it's not my place to pry but..." Mamori hesitated, but surely there was a reason for her being there. "Just… What's really going on, Hiruma-kun? Why is your father reacting that way? Why are you involved?"
Hiruma kept still for a moment. Then with one of his long fingers, beckoned Mamori to follow him as he began to walk. Mamori walked beside him, and it wasn't until they were out of the Ryokan did he begin to speak.
"If that damn lady brought you here, then she must have something planned that will have you involved. So I'll tell you everything."
There was a short pause which felt like a stab through her heart. Hiruma had always trusted her in a lot of things, but she knew it meant a lot for him to trust her in something as personal as this.
She nodded to assure him.
He didn't hesitate. "My father is sick. Cancer. Asshole finally smoked himself to his grave as predicted. What no one expected though was his sudden desire to see his wife again... Yeah, my mother."
Feeling rather embarrassed for the way she looked at Hiruma, she decided to keep her eyes forward on the dark road.
"Sato Kirie. She and her sister Kaede took care of a temple all the way in Akita. There is one major temple that the Sato family takes care of and handles, and they were both in charge of it... until Sato Kirie fell in love with Hiruma Yuuya."
They continued to walk on, and Mamori noticed the shift of tone in Hiruma's voice.
"Sato Kaede took over the temple once her sister was married. The Sato family didn't approve of the marriage one bit, so Sato Kaede claimed she had lost a sister. But it wasn't until her sister really lost her life did her words ring true."
Mamori opened her mouth to ask what happened, but shook her head. Hiruma noticed that.
"Accident. She was crossing the road. The car's brakes were faulty. At that time, that fucking old man I call my father was reaching the peak of his success but he couldn't afford his wife's funeral yet. So he allowed the Sato family to handle it.
Before he realised it, his wife's ashes were taken away and kept at the temple. He thought it was fine, that it was better that way. That was where she belonged after all."
"How about you? Were you okay with that?"
Hiruma narrowed his eyes. "I was a fucking kid. I didn't know what to think. All I knew was that my mother's gone and there was no way she was coming back. The Old Man wasn't that religious, so we never even built a shrine for her. She was gone, and we moved on.
So imagine how fucking surprised we were when he starts raving on about wanting to see his wife again."
"How did you all end up at the Kitae Ryokan? It's a strange place to be at."
"Can't say I care much about the relationships between these old people. The Old Man was here first, and then Sugiyo got Sato Kaede to come in. I was called in the next day because he started throwing things and Sugiyo needed someone to grab him when that happens."
"So the broken tea cup?"
"His work. Yes. He refused to seek treatment on his condition. He's determined to die but wants to see her ashes before that."
"... Why can't he see her?"
Hiruma was quiet for a moment. He led her down another path which seemed to be taking them back to the Ryokan. "There are many sections to the Sato temple, each steeped in its own tradition. The one temple Sato Kirie's ashes are in can only be entered by the females in the Sato family or its branches, family extensions. No men, no outsiders."
Mamori had heard of such traditions before, but to hear that it was still being practiced felt almost absurd. "Why was your mother's ashes kept in there, out of all places?"
Hiruma shrugged. "Obviously Sato Kaede had always wanted her sister back and she wanted to ensure she stayed there. That's why even though she could bring the ashes for the old man, she won't. So no matter how much my father begs or even threatens her life, she will never let go of her sister."
Frowning, Mamori wondered how hopeless the situation really was. "Can't you do anything to get her?"
Hiruma grinned. "Were you hoping I'd blackmail my own darling aunt?"
"No! Well..." Mamori trailed off, raising her shoulders.
He cackled in response. "You know me too well, Fucking Manager. I thought about it, but I don't think even blackmail would get her to let go of her sister. I could probably have blackmailed her cousins that are staying there currently, but they're aware of my presence and my... abilities. Keh, she probably has more dirt on them than I do. Pretty sure nothing I do will make them let it go. And as much as I know where that temple is, I wouldn't want to mess with the Sato family and outright steal those ashes."
"I didn't say anything about stealing."
"I'm just letting you know I thought of all the possibilities," he grinned. "Unless a female family member from the Sato family, or a branch of the Sato family, agrees to bring those ashes out, that old man will never get his wish."
They were quiet as they approached the Ryokan. The sound of their steps and the loud chirping from the crickets were the only sounds filling in the silence between them. Mamori allowed the situation to sink in for a moment before asking Hiruma one last question.
"Do you really want your father to see your mother again?"
Hiruma was quiet as he kept his eyes on the Ryokan. He thought about it carefully before replying, "I don't particularly care. That old man will never seek treatment so he's going to die anyway." His tone shifted again with one word. "But..."
He was cut off. "There you two are. Seriously, thirteen minute and twenty seven seconds for a walk? Can you waste my time any further?"
Sugiyo stood by the entrance of the Ryokan, stopwatch in hand once more.
"Keh, didn't know you still wanted us around."
"Of course I need you two around. There is a lot to discuss."
"What's there left to discuss?" Hiruma asked, sounding annoyed by this as they approached her. "It's over, he's lost. Just let him die in misery."
"On the contrary, all isn't quite lost yet." Sugiyo grinned. "There is another possible route that can be taken. I hope you've kept Anezaki well informed, Youichi.
Because this will depend on what you two will decide."
Chapter 1 | Chapter 3
Rating: K+
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely the creators of Eyeshield 21.
Summary: Hiruma has disappeared during a crucial time in training for the Saikyoudai Wizards. Mamori sets off to look for him and bring him back, but there could be more to Hiruma's situation than she realised, and it may lead to the two of them making the biggest trick play they've ever planned and executed.
Notes: This took a while to post up. Enjoy! :)
~*~
Holding her breath as the door slid open, Mamori braced herself for their reactions, but the scene before her was even more bizarre than she had anticipated. As all eyes fell upon her, their anger subsiding into confusion, Mamori quickly scanned the room.
One yellow light on the ceiling tainted the room, making every shadow larger within the corners. A table sat beneath that light, one cup and one pot remaining on it despite there being two people seated. The woman was seated directly across the door so she was the first person to see Mamori. Wearing an expensive-looking kimono and sitting in an upright posture, Mamori concluded that she must be close to her fifties as she noted the graying hair and wrinkles. But the way she was looked at Mamori gave her an understanding of what it was like to be a deer caught in headlights.
"What is going on here? Who is this?" she asked, her voice hoarse from all the shouting she had just done. The shadows in the room made her look even more unnerving to Mamori as the woman's eyes scanned her from head to toe.
The man at the table, whose back Mamori faced initially, had turned around now and Mamori took a good look at him. His hair was also graying, but his facial features... "Sugiyo, what is going on? Why did you bring this stranger in?" he asked. "She doesn't belong here."
"Yeah, she doesn't."
Mamori's eyes widened at the familiar voice. Standing in the left hand corner of the room, where the shadows shrouded him even more, stood Hiruma. His arms were crossed, and while she could barely make out his face in the darkness, his eyes continued to question her presence.
Mamori gaped, wondering what to say. I'm sorry for interrupting? I was just here to bring Hiruma back? Even she knew this was something she shouldn't be involved in. But Sugiyo smiled at them, unwavered by the tension.
"I needed assistance in the Ryokan. The two of you are obviously creating too much of a mess for me to handle alone," said Sugiyo, her gaze pointedly focused behind the woman where pieces of a broken teacup lay.
The woman sniffed with an air of disapproval around her, her eyes never left Mamori. "She's a mess. Look at her clothes and her hair. She should have at least changed first. She's still carrying her backpack too. Are you so poor to only afford a foreign untrained staff?"
Mamori wasn't sure how to react to all this. Should she play along? What was going on? She looked at Sugiyo who merely waved her hand in dismissal. "I assure you, she is the best assistant I could ever ask for... in this situation."
Her last words were almost mumbled, but Mamori caught them. The woman was still unimpressed, but the man was looking at the woman again and tension continued to build up in the room. Sugiyo motioned for Mamori to put her bag down in a corner, and whispered that she would be bringing a broom and dustpan. For now, just stay quiet and watch the broken shards.
Nodding, Mamori quickly did as she was told. She looked at Hiruma, but he showed no interest in her at this point, and had instead resumed looking at the two people at the table.
"I suppose would you like to continue wasting our time?" the woman finally spoke up.
"Wasting OUR time?!" the man replied, fist curled on the table.
"Of course, you call me all the way out here when it was obvious I was going to refuse your request. Rather than waste your breath, you should be spending this time getting treatment and saving your poor excuse of a body."
"Does it look like I want treatment?!" The man almost stood up, leaning on the table as he did so, but he moved too quickly and he almost fell. Mamori gasped but stayed where she was. "There's only one thing I want and I don't care if I die because of it!
Let me see Kirie!"
The woman's eyes narrowed. "You really do want me to repeat myself. I'm tired of this. I will leave tomorrow morning and there is nothing you can do to stop me."
Despite his initially strong demeanour, the man's face slowly changed into one of defeat. Unable to even stand, he went on his knees, his head hanging low. "Please... you have to let me see Kirie... just one last time..."
"I've had enough of this nonsense. I shall retire to my chambers now." The woman stood up, preparing to leave.
"Stay where you are, Kaede."
Sugiyo entered the room once more, passing the broom and dustpan to Mamori, but she motioned Mamori to stay alert. Nodding, Mamori knelt before the broken shards and began to clean them up, making sure she did so quietly so as not to disrupt this heated conversation.
Sugiyo sat by the table, forcing Kaede to do the same. "What more do you want Sugiyo?" the woman named Kaede asked. "I came all the way out here as a favour to you, but you are obviously wasting our time with all this nonsense."
"Yes, you're all wasting my time," replied Sugiyo, pulling out her stopwatch. "You have all been here for a total of three days, four hours, thirty two minutes, three seconds and counting, and in not one of these seconds did you even properly resolve the issue that is at hand."
"There is no issue at all!" cried Kaede, losing her calm demeanour. "It is not my issue when this man's demand is ludicrous and he knows it!"
"He is asking to see his wife one last time, Kaede." Sugiyo looked at her with disdain. "It is a sensible demand considering the situation he is in."
"The rules are the rules, Sugiyo. No male member of the family branch is allowed on temple grounds. So neither he nor his rotten son may come."
As Mamori carefully picked up the smaller shards, the woman's words began to paint the picture for Mamori, but she was still terribly confused. Mamori looked at Hiruma, feeling sure that he had just been mentioned and wondered if he would explain this to her.
But he refused to look at her, and instead continued to watch the two people. It was then that Mamori felt shame wash over her. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't even be involved in this personal matter at all. Why did Sugiyo invite her here?
Sugiyo was deep in thought at Kaede's words. "So let me make this clear, only females related in some way to the Sato family branch can enter the temple? And even though you have full power to do so, you will not recover Kirie?"
"I see no reason to remove her from her final resting place. Hiruma Yuuya," Kaede glared at the man before her. "I will, in no way, do any favour for you after the pain you have put my sister and I through."
Mamori had cleared up every little piece of the porcelain shards and in the deathly silence through which Kaede's words resounded, she heard the slight waver in Kaede's voice. As Mamori stole a glance at the man, Hiruma Yuuya, the shadows had completely claimed his face.
There was nothing left to be said.
Kaede stood up and left promptly, not without glancing at Mamori for a moment, still with an air of disapproval. The tension in the air began to dissipate, but what was left made Mamori even more uncomfortable.
It was despair.
Hiruma finally moved away from the corner, approaching his father. "Get up," he said.
Yuuya nodded, and without another word, Hiruma bent down and hauled his father up by his under arm, allowing the old man to lean against him. Mamori got up to help, but Sugiyo held on to her shoulder, shaking her head. Once the two of them left did Sugiyo finally speak.
"You can go to the back area to talk to him. There is a lot that needs to be discussed."
"Why...?" Mamori asked, her voice shaky from fear and sadness. "Why did you ask me to come here?"
Sugiyo's usual grin was replaced by another expression that Mamori had never seen before. Whatever this situation was, if it made Sugiyo smile that way... "Because there may be something you and Youichi might be able to do to solve this."
Mamori was about to ask how, but Sugiyo had taken the dustpan and broom from Mamori and left the room. Confused, but determined to at least do what she could, Mamori took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and quickly went outside to where Sugiyo had instructed.
It was already dark, and there wasn't much light around as most of the outdoor lamps were dim, but it was enough to see Hiruma casually walking towards her as if it wasn't a big deal. Mamori had expected him to be angry, to demand why she was here and how dare she intrude in his personal matters. But he looked exhausted, and somewhat informed of why she was here.
"That damn old lady sure had the nerve to invite you here."
"I'm sorry," her words tumbled out. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was this serious and I really shouldn't have been involved in something so personal."
Hiruma didn't say a word, he merely continued to look at her. Mamori wasn't sure how to interpret what he was feeling at that moment. He looked almost apologetic as well.
"Is... is your father alright?"
"He's fine. Fucker wore himself out after a day of shouting and throwing things around. Fucking asked for it."
"... Are you alright?"
Hiruma's eyes seem to sharpen at the question, but he grinned. "Keh, how do you expect me to answer that one?"
Mamori cringed. "I'm sorry. I'm just so worried but I don't know what to do..."
"Stop worrying, Fucking Manager, this isn't a burden for you to carry."
"I know it's not my place to pry but..." Mamori hesitated, but surely there was a reason for her being there. "Just… What's really going on, Hiruma-kun? Why is your father reacting that way? Why are you involved?"
Hiruma kept still for a moment. Then with one of his long fingers, beckoned Mamori to follow him as he began to walk. Mamori walked beside him, and it wasn't until they were out of the Ryokan did he begin to speak.
"If that damn lady brought you here, then she must have something planned that will have you involved. So I'll tell you everything."
There was a short pause which felt like a stab through her heart. Hiruma had always trusted her in a lot of things, but she knew it meant a lot for him to trust her in something as personal as this.
She nodded to assure him.
He didn't hesitate. "My father is sick. Cancer. Asshole finally smoked himself to his grave as predicted. What no one expected though was his sudden desire to see his wife again... Yeah, my mother."
Feeling rather embarrassed for the way she looked at Hiruma, she decided to keep her eyes forward on the dark road.
"Sato Kirie. She and her sister Kaede took care of a temple all the way in Akita. There is one major temple that the Sato family takes care of and handles, and they were both in charge of it... until Sato Kirie fell in love with Hiruma Yuuya."
They continued to walk on, and Mamori noticed the shift of tone in Hiruma's voice.
"Sato Kaede took over the temple once her sister was married. The Sato family didn't approve of the marriage one bit, so Sato Kaede claimed she had lost a sister. But it wasn't until her sister really lost her life did her words ring true."
Mamori opened her mouth to ask what happened, but shook her head. Hiruma noticed that.
"Accident. She was crossing the road. The car's brakes were faulty. At that time, that fucking old man I call my father was reaching the peak of his success but he couldn't afford his wife's funeral yet. So he allowed the Sato family to handle it.
Before he realised it, his wife's ashes were taken away and kept at the temple. He thought it was fine, that it was better that way. That was where she belonged after all."
"How about you? Were you okay with that?"
Hiruma narrowed his eyes. "I was a fucking kid. I didn't know what to think. All I knew was that my mother's gone and there was no way she was coming back. The Old Man wasn't that religious, so we never even built a shrine for her. She was gone, and we moved on.
So imagine how fucking surprised we were when he starts raving on about wanting to see his wife again."
"How did you all end up at the Kitae Ryokan? It's a strange place to be at."
"Can't say I care much about the relationships between these old people. The Old Man was here first, and then Sugiyo got Sato Kaede to come in. I was called in the next day because he started throwing things and Sugiyo needed someone to grab him when that happens."
"So the broken tea cup?"
"His work. Yes. He refused to seek treatment on his condition. He's determined to die but wants to see her ashes before that."
"... Why can't he see her?"
Hiruma was quiet for a moment. He led her down another path which seemed to be taking them back to the Ryokan. "There are many sections to the Sato temple, each steeped in its own tradition. The one temple Sato Kirie's ashes are in can only be entered by the females in the Sato family or its branches, family extensions. No men, no outsiders."
Mamori had heard of such traditions before, but to hear that it was still being practiced felt almost absurd. "Why was your mother's ashes kept in there, out of all places?"
Hiruma shrugged. "Obviously Sato Kaede had always wanted her sister back and she wanted to ensure she stayed there. That's why even though she could bring the ashes for the old man, she won't. So no matter how much my father begs or even threatens her life, she will never let go of her sister."
Frowning, Mamori wondered how hopeless the situation really was. "Can't you do anything to get her?"
Hiruma grinned. "Were you hoping I'd blackmail my own darling aunt?"
"No! Well..." Mamori trailed off, raising her shoulders.
He cackled in response. "You know me too well, Fucking Manager. I thought about it, but I don't think even blackmail would get her to let go of her sister. I could probably have blackmailed her cousins that are staying there currently, but they're aware of my presence and my... abilities. Keh, she probably has more dirt on them than I do. Pretty sure nothing I do will make them let it go. And as much as I know where that temple is, I wouldn't want to mess with the Sato family and outright steal those ashes."
"I didn't say anything about stealing."
"I'm just letting you know I thought of all the possibilities," he grinned. "Unless a female family member from the Sato family, or a branch of the Sato family, agrees to bring those ashes out, that old man will never get his wish."
They were quiet as they approached the Ryokan. The sound of their steps and the loud chirping from the crickets were the only sounds filling in the silence between them. Mamori allowed the situation to sink in for a moment before asking Hiruma one last question.
"Do you really want your father to see your mother again?"
Hiruma was quiet as he kept his eyes on the Ryokan. He thought about it carefully before replying, "I don't particularly care. That old man will never seek treatment so he's going to die anyway." His tone shifted again with one word. "But..."
He was cut off. "There you two are. Seriously, thirteen minute and twenty seven seconds for a walk? Can you waste my time any further?"
Sugiyo stood by the entrance of the Ryokan, stopwatch in hand once more.
"Keh, didn't know you still wanted us around."
"Of course I need you two around. There is a lot to discuss."
"What's there left to discuss?" Hiruma asked, sounding annoyed by this as they approached her. "It's over, he's lost. Just let him die in misery."
"On the contrary, all isn't quite lost yet." Sugiyo grinned. "There is another possible route that can be taken. I hope you've kept Anezaki well informed, Youichi.
Because this will depend on what you two will decide."
Chapter 1 | Chapter 3