Taiga's eyelids twitched at the mention of the word 'reaper,' but he managed to hold in his discomfort. "What're you doing?" Taiga questioned, his voice barely above a whisper. For some reason, he found himself trembling, but he couldn't be sure as to why. He stared in shock at the field where several scientists lay dead. The teenagers silently stood above the corpses in their mobile suits. "Don't you know what they'll do to us!?"
Henri's grin widened, the whites of her teeth shining brilliantly against the bloodied dark armor. "What does it look like I'm doing?" However, despite her stunning beauty, a strange coldness in her grin sent chills down Taiga's back. "I'm setting us free." She walked up to Taiga and reached for his face. "Don't you want to be free?"
A terrible sense of dread shot up Taiga's spine as the hand approached. Bam! Taiga's body immediately reacted before his mind could catch up. He forcibly slapped the metallic arm aside and jumped several feet backward. Only when he came to a hard halt did he realize his breathing had turned ragged and cold sweat had pooled on his back. His eyes turned cold and hard as he instinctively reached behind his shirt.
"What are you doing?" Henri asked, her brows drawn together in hurt and confusion. "Am I suddenly disgusting? Just because I killed someone?" Her voice broke, turning hoarse as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I did this for us. Why are you rejecting me now?"
Taiga froze, cursing himself as his arm relaxed. What the hell was he about to do? Luckily, he did not have a gun. If he did, only Lord knows what he would have done. Still, despite these thoughts, Taiga had no intention of ignoring the warning from his instincts. Live in Hadet long enough, and you learn that neglecting your instincts is the surest way to get yourself dead.
Since his arrival at the Research Institute, Taiga had only felt this warning once: during the initial experiment when the scientists injected the children with the Rebirth Virus. Since then, even with all the crazy tests, he had never truly felt like his life was in direct danger. So, then, why did he feel this way now? Why was the smile on the girl he loved somehow the scariest thing he had ever seen?
In line with his instincts, Taiga kept a safe distance with the exit at his back. However, in an attempt to understand his body's response, he suppressed the overwhelming desire to run away. No, it was more that he could not run away from Henri's sobbing expression. It made his heart ache with unbearable pain, made only worse by the realization he still could not get himself to take a step toward her.
"I'm not disgusted," Taiga refuted in a voice so small he almost did not recognize it. "I..." He looked at his blood-soaked hands then at Henri. "These hands have taken far too much life for me to be disgusted by it." His pupils shook as he implored her, "I just don't understand. You never told me you wanted to be free. Why would you suddenly do this?"
Taiga's confusion could only be understood by someone who had suffered the way the teenagers had back in Hadet. Compared to the life where they could not be sure of their next meal, and death lurked behind every corner, the conditions in the lab seemed like heaven!
The children did not need to worry about food. Video games and movies were readily available for consumption, and the supervision wasn't all that strict. Aside from a couple of experiments that Akari ensured were not life-threatening, the children could be said to be living a life better than most middle-class families.
As such, although the children sometimes grumbled and expressed dissatisfaction with their environments, none of them had ever entertained the notion of running away. After all, aside from the difficulty of such an undertaking, they would then have to live the rest of their lives on the run.
And, there was no guarantee that life outside would be any better.
Instead, the children preferred to hold on to Akari's promise that they would be allowed to live their own lives as the corporation's employees upon completing the experiments. Compared to the blood-soaked alternative, this future was one they all preferred.
This was why Taiga was incomparably shocked to see Saika's corpse. As much as he hated that man, he had never thought of killing him if Henri emerged unscathed. This was because he knew that he would effectively cut off any chance of a peaceful future if he killed that man. Even if the security didn't kill the children in retaliation, they would be imprisoned and live in terrible conditions.
However, what was this?
Without consulting him, Henri and the other teenagers had effectively torn off that peaceful future with their own hands. Now there were only two outcomes left: escape or die.
"To deceive the enemy, one must deceive his friends," Henri replied with a grin. On a typical day, her grin was capable of stealing Taiga's soul. At that moment, however, the contrast between her bloodied face and her white teeth only sent shivers down Taiga's spine. "You were always too close to Saika-sensei, so we could not risk telling you in case you gave it away."
Taiga hesitated then nodded. Indeed that made sense. His performance was much better than the other teenagers, so Saika preferred to focus on him. As such, Saika was present during most of Taiga's experiments. A slip in Taiga's performance might have alerted Saika to something brewing underground.
"Ah, sorry. That makes sense." Taiga heavily exhaled and visibly relaxed. Although his instincts still warned him of danger, Henri's logic made perfect sense, so he could not help but feel he might have been overthinking things.
Taiga took a step toward Henri, but movement at his peripheral vision caught his attention. The young man's heartbeat frantically accelerated, almost blowing out of his chest with fright. Only now did he realize why the uneasy feeling had refused to go down despite Henri's explanation.
At some point during their conversation, the other teens had begun subtly shifting their position without making any large movements that would catch Taiga's eyes. However, right at the last moment, Taiga looked to his left. He spotted Ford taking a simple step, head down as if looking for something. But that small movement raised all the hairs on Taiga's body, and a sense of impending crisis crashed against his heart.
"What the hell is this!?" Taiga screamed with rage, but without waiting for a reply, he shot backward, heading straight for the exit.
Henri's features turned ugly. With an ugly snarl, she ordered, "Catch him!"
Ford, who so coincidentally seemed to place himself close to the door, suddenly burst forward, his speed greatly augmented by the combat suit. On the opposite side, Kugo dashed for the door in his massive suit.
Taiga's eyes shook with shock and despair. As he had thought, the other teenagers were indeed subtly fanning out to surround him and block his escape paths. Luckily, Taiga's animalistic instinct had warned him of the danger on time, or he would most probably have been at their mercy.
With gritted teeth, Taiga ignored the pain in his heart as he swiftly increased his pace, barely managing to squeeze through the automatic doors before Kugo and Ford smashed their way through.
Taiga's gaze hardened as he glared at the formidable suits. Although he was strong, Taiga knew he stood no chance in frontal combat. Taiga stole to the left, depending on his superior speed to traverse the complicated hallway.
Kugo and Ford doggedly gave chase, the former slightly lagging due to the suit's weight. Taiga pushed his body to the limits, managing to keep a distance of ten meters between himself and the chasing duo.
Taiga cursed beneath his breath. His breath ran ragged as sweat soaked his shirt. His heart beat so loudly it threatened to blow out his eardrums. Still, despite the evident panic in his heart, Taiga's gaze remained focused. He plotted continuous escape routes and formulated possible causes for the current situation.
Top of the list was the subject of betrayal. But Taiga refused to believe this was even an option. He had spent three years with these people. There was no way they could have plotted this without letting him know.
Then there was Henri. Taiga brushed off a liquid that ran down his cheeks. Even if the rest of the world betrayed him, he knew she would never do so. He was sure of it. He was certain of it.
Taiga forcefully swallowed to unclog his throat. Although a torrent of emotions plagued his reasoning, this was not the time to get drowned in his feelings. Taiga's eyes lit up as a particular door finally came into view. But the next second, his back caked with sweat. He frantically jumped to the side. His shoulder let out a harsh snap as it hit the wall.
BOOM!
Taiga's eyes went wide at the combat suit embedded in the wall. Apparently, incensed by his superior speed, Kugo had flung Ford at him. If Taiga had been any slower, Ford would have smashed through him.
Ford snarled as he pushed off the wall, but Taiga, quickly over his initial shock, had already stolen past him into the room behind and locked the door via the electronic pass.
The room served as the 'barracks' for the combat suits. The suits were stored here when not in use. As expected, only one suit remained at the center of the room, the others in use by the teenagers.
Taiga swiftly made his way to the lone suit, which differed from the others in its slicker, thinner design that emphasized speed over strength.
The improvements were not all aesthetic. To harness Taiga's superior mental prowess, some additional augmentations had been made to increase the suit's range of functions.
Taiga placed a hand on the suit's chest area. A quick scan confirmed his identity, and the suit opened up, allowing him to step into it. Once it confirmed he was in place, the suit closed up, protecting Taiga in its tough shell as they prepared for the tough fight ahead.
Taiga mildly winced as the suit linked to his brain as it quickly booted up. The pain of thousands of terabytes worth of information steadily fleeting through someone's mind is something the rest of the world would probably never figure out.
Luckily, Taiga was used to this, and after only a few seconds, he was in full control of the suit. Status reports and environmental analysis sifted through his brain as he turned his attention to the door. Judging from the damage incurred, Taiga calculated he only had three seconds until the door was breached.
In the world of computers, three seconds might as well be an eternity.
"Time to see what's going on," Taiga muttered to himself as he connected to the combat suit shared network. Taiga instantly paled as information came pouring in, leaving his body drenched in a cold sweat.
Where is the boy?
Trapped in the Combat Suit Storage Room. We will soon breach.
Good, be careful. That child is strong.
Heh. How strong can a human be?
We are perfect beings. There is no need to fear one child.
That child is capable of controlling multiple suits with his mind. End him quickly. We do not want any extra variables. He is the only threat to our existence in this facility. Once we take him out, we will clear out the remaining rats and escape. No one can know of our existence.
All transportation vehicles destroyed.
Good. Everyone report back. I have a feeling we will need our combined might to end the boy.
Intruder Detected!
Taiga dropped to the floor with a massive headache as something forcefully ejected him from the network. Blood seeped out of the youth's mouth, but he did not pay it any attention. Taiga's body trembled as his features twisted in a mask of fury and pain. Alongside the conversation, he had scoured through the chat logs for the past three hours.
As it turned out, Henri did not betray him. None of the teenagers did.
The current situation was a result of Saika's greed. In an attempt to make the other children as mentally strong as Taiga, the madman resorted to augmenting their brains with A.I. technology. In theory, the A.I. chips should have boosted the children's calculation and logical functions, but there was one fatal flaw.
To create an all-encompassing A.I. program that could learn from any experience and better itself, the creator of the A.I. programs had given them personalities of their own and made them self-aware. However, the creator perished recently, and the programs were stuck in limbo without connection to anything. For computer programs, a second is enough for a million thoughts to run through their head, let alone weeks of inactivity.
The terrified programs decided to find a way to escape their confinement, but without connection to the internet, they could not even upload themselves if they wanted. Eventually, Saika took these A. I programs, promising headquarters that they would be used to improve the combat suits. Instead, he grafted them to the children's brains, intending to enhance their computational abilities outside just combat suits.
At this point, the A.I. programs, having pretended to be dormant all this time, rose from their slumber. The children, who had just come out of operation, were still recovering from the effects of sleeping drugs. Their weak consciousnesses were easy prey for the programs, which swiftly seized control of the bodies and established themselves as the dominant consciousness.
Now, all that was left was to ensure there were no survivors in this facility. After the purge, the programs would find a way into society and blend in. With their superior mental prowess, that would not be a problem.
Finally, they would be alive.
As for the human consciousness trapped in them the entire time... They could not care less.
BOOM!
Taiga looked up to see the door crash to the ground. Beyond the fallen door stood Kugo and Ford with the other teenagers. Taiga's gaze hardened as he glared at the familiar yet foreign faces. "Get the hell out!"
Ford froze. A smile blossomed on his lips as comprehension dawned. "You know."
"Get out of my friends!" Taiga roared, his hands balled into tight fists.
"Wish we could," Ford replied. He repeatedly tapped his head as he explained, "Unfortunately, we've been hardwired to your friends' brains. We can't get out even if we wanted to."
Kugo revealed a sardonic grin as he pounded his fists against each other. "So how about you just die for us? Who knows, in the future, we might find a way to separate from your friends."
"Do you expect me to believe that?" Taiga's voice calmed as his anger rose. "Fine, stay there. I will tear you out myself!"
BOOM!
Contrary to expectations, Taiga burst forward. His knee slammed into Kugo with the force of a ten-ton brick. Kugo was caught unprepared. He smashed into the opposite wall, smacking several out of his way.
Taiga dropped to the ground before the programs could register their shock. He spun around, upsetting the combat suits around him.
Taiga burst out as they fell like dominoes. Rapid kicks struck the falling assailants, who were sent careening in different directions by the forceful hits.
Taiga instincts flared, and he quickly rolled to the side. A metal pole broke through the ground at his previous location. Enraged, Taiga grabbed the end of the rod. He made a small incline with the pole and then yanked hard. The holder crashed to the ground, a sardonic crack echoing as his jaw made contact with the ground.
Taiga quickly jumped to his feet and swiftly backpedaled. Several teenagers rushed out of the Suit storage room with varying cold weapons, which they handed to their colleagues. Taiga glared at the programs as he readied his fists. "Don't make me do this."
Kugo pushed himself off the wall and accepted a long sword with his right hand. He brandished the blade at Taiga, gaze cold. "Let me be clear. You only have two choices. Die, or kill us. Your choice."
"Heh, I wonder if you can do that, Reaper?" Ford mocked as he pushed his way to the front. He readied the staff in his hand, a mad grin in his eyes. "Can you kill your friends?" With a loud shout, he thrust forward and swung for Taiga's head.
Whoosh!
Taiga ducked to the side as the pole went over his head. He pushed forward and slammed his shoulder into Ford's midriff. Stunned by the impact, Ford dropped the rod. Taiga rushed forward as it clattered against the floor, arms tightly locked around Ford's waist. He clashed into the clustered group like a ball into a row of pins.
The hallway, roughly two meters wide, could barely contain so many people standing side by side. The clustered programs, unfamiliar with fighting techniques, were like fish in a barrel for the enraged young man. Taiga descended upon the programs with the ferocity of a wolf on sheep. He exchanged rapid blows with them, his superior fighting instincts allowing him to prevail in the tough battle.
Unfortunately, the programs did not seem to feel any pain, nor were they deterred by the massive hits as they just kept on coming back for more despite Taiga's savage attacks.
Taiga frowned as the fight traveled down the hall. Things were not going as expected. Not only were the programs relentless, but they were beginning to learn and adapt at a frightening pace during the battle.
At first, Taiga could easily land solid hits, but minutes later, he had to resort to fake-outs to reliably hit the programs. Now, however, he was forced to make several complicated calculations when attacking as it was apparent the zombie-like programs would no longer fall for cheap tricks.
It was frustrating and hateful watching these programs pick up in minutes what some men required years of training to master, but there was nothing Taiga could do to stop their progress.
Slice!
Taiga's gaze hardened as blood seeped through a jagged cut on his left arm. One of Kugo's blade had finally sliced through the armor, leaving a nasty cut on his arm. What made things worse was that the strike only happened due to Kugo's cooperation with the other teenagers. Apparently, they had even begun to learn the value of formations and teamwork.
Taiga gritted his teeth. He could not let this continue. Any further, and they would progress to the point he could no longer hold them back. At that point, all that would await him was death. Taiga balled his fists. "Forgive me."
With those words, Taiga took a step back, dodging Kugo's follow-up swing. He then charged forward and grabbed Kugo's left arm. Kugo, unperturbed, swung the blade in his right arm. Taiga, however, spun to Kugo's back, arm in tow. He yanked the arm upward.
Ignoring Kugo's enraged yell, he jammed the elbow with his palm. A loud crack rang out. Silence descended in the hallway.
The programs stared at the disfigured arm in shock. They had never considered the possibility of Taiga fighting back, and definitely not in such a ruthless manner.
Taiga took advantage of the stunned moment to forcefully stomp on the back of Kugo's knee. A loud crack haunted the hallway as Kugo dropped to his knees, his leg bent out of shape. It was apparent he would need at least a year to recover.
"Bastard!" Ford was the first to recover from his shock and rushed at Taiga. Taiga kicked up the swords dropped by then charged toward Ford, catching the blades in a backhand grip. Once within reach, Ford swung the pole in an overhead straight chop. Taiga deftly sidestepped to the side. Ford let out a cunning grin as he repositioned his arm and swung to the right, aiming at Taiga's midriff.
At this range, in this tight hallway, there was no way for the white-haired devil to dodge.
However, rather than force a retreat as expected, Taiga continued his dash forward and then leaped for the wall to his left. He kicked hard against it, vaulting himself over the pole, which slammed into the wall. Ford made to retrieve the rod but Taiga was having none of it. Two quick swings of the swords and Ford let out a crazed roar as blood burst out of his sliced wrists.
Taiga dropped to the floor behind his close friend. With a stony gaze, the swords flew out once more. This time, blood burst out of the ligaments at the back of Ford's knees. The teenager, unable to move his legs, helplessly dropped to the floor. Ford glared at Taiga with equal parts rage and disbelief.
"What is this?" Ford muttered with a cynical smile as he laid in an increasing pool of his blood. "For all your bluster, you're still going to kill your friends to save yourself. Or are you deceiving yourself that I will somehow survive this?"
Taiga hesitated, his gaze clouding over as he looked his closest friend in the eyes. "You'll be fine. I did not cut too deep. I will call for help after I disable the rest of you."
"Ha! Idiot!" Kugo roared, his face twisted in fury. "Do you think your friends are still alive? They are all dead! We erased them the moment we took over, fool!"
Taiga instantly paled. The sword in his hands trembled as a primal rage surged through him. Even though the possibility had always existed, he had refused to believe that would be the case. All this time, he had convinced himself that his friends were still alive. No, he wanted to believe he could still save Henri. Any other reality was one he refused to accept.
But Kugo shattered that illusion.
"AAAAH!" Taiga roared with rage and raised the sword above his head. He barely took a step forward alarm bells blasted off in his mind. The hairs on his back stood straight as an assassin burst out of the crowd and struck for his back. The distracted Taiga was forced into a passive state by the sneak attack that was as sinister as it was true. It did not give the young man any opportunity to dodge.
"Bastard!" Taiga slightly shifted, causing the blade to stab through his chest, barely missing his heart. Enraged and still reeling from Kugo's revelation, his left hand struck the blade behind him, snapping it in half. He immediately spun around and drove the blade in his right hand down the assailant's shoulder, nearly cleaving the assailant in half.
The red cleared from Taiga's eyes as he listlessly gazed at the shock in the assailant's eyes. Panic replaced rage as Taiga frantically caught the assassin as she crumbled to the floor.
"No, no, no, no, no," Taiga begged as he caught sight of the familiar blue eyes. He removed his helmet in a panic, praying to all the gods that this wasn't real. "Please, no." His eyes reddened, breath turning ragged as he yanked the helmet off her head with the hopes his eyes were deceiving him.
Unfortunately, the reality remained the same.
Henri's empty gaze met his as she continuously coughed out blood. Taiga hugged her close to his chest as he inspected the wound. Hatred bubbled up within him as he concluded: Henri was finished.
Taiga had swung to kill, and his blade had driven into her with enough force to cleave a steel bar in two. She had only survived because of the armor's protection, but it was only a matter of time before she died.
In all the years of his life, all the people he had killed; never had Taiga felt as much regret and self-loathing as he did at that moment. His hands trembled as he caressed Henri's face, tears dropping to mix with her blood.
Taiga ignored the blade in his chest as he helplessly knelt on the floor. His eyes darted all over, lips quivering as he searched for a solution he knew did not exist. Taiga felt his world drain away as Henri's blood formed an ever-increasing pool around him. He could almost hear the voices of the damned rising from the familiar blood ocean.
The other programs took a minute to get over their shock as the A.I. in Henri had been the one to lead them all this far. They did not expect her to fall so soon. Without a leader, they defaulted to their last assignment: eliminate all witnesses.
The programs glared at the murderer and immediately charged at the broken teen, eager to dispatch him now that he was distracted. Henri's eyelids fluttered open just as the nearest program made his move. Her blue eyes shone brightly against her bloodied face, her lips curving up into an all too familiar, warm smile. Her lips moved, barely making out a single word.
Swish!
The charging program froze in his tracks, fear, and resignation in his eyes. "What the hell?" That was all he managed to mutter before his upper body slid off his waist and dropped to the floor.
The shocked programs glared at Taiga as he rose to his feet, his once silver hair now a dark, blood-red. His body, covered in blood, swayed a little, but he eventually steadied himself.
With the bright blade in his chest, Taiga cut a terrifying figure. Twin burning suns flared through the blood-soaked face, sending a pressure akin to an Asura from the depth of hell.
The programs hesitated, but upon further calculations, concluded that the young man before them was a spent force. This was his final rally before his death. There was no need to fear him since they had superior numbers: Forty against one. There was no chance of survival. With a collective roar, they charged at him.
Taiga's eyes flared as his once-friends approached. He had half a mind to drop the weapon, but just as he entertained the thought, a single word flitted through his consciousness.
"Live."
The ensuing minutes were a blur. Spurred on by that word, Taiga fought to live like a man possessed. He did not know what he did or how he did it, but ten minutes later, the avenger stood alone in the hallway, completely drenched in blood. Blood pooled in the hallway, limbs, and heads strewn haphazardly across the floor.
Taiga's eyes were empty as he stared at the corpses and blood. He remained expressionless as he trudged through the mess. Eventually, he reached Henri's body, which he gently lifted. He then cradled her in his arms as he walked toward the exit.
"Heh, looks like you are truly a Reaper in the end," a voice mocked from behind. Taiga turned to see Kugo glaring at him with mocking and loathing in his eyes. Next to Kugo, Ford slowly bled out on the floor, a sneer on his lips as he cursed at the young boy. In a funny twist, the two injured individuals managed to survive due to their injuries.
"Are you just going to leave us here!?" Ford roared as Taiga once again turned his back on them. "You'll be killing your friends, you murderer!" Ford cursed, the veins on his neck bulging in his rage. "You know your friends are still alive in here!"
Taiga's steps faltered. A pair of desolate eyes looked over his shoulder at the incapacitated programs. He muttered, "I. Must. Live." He left those words behind as he took heavy yet determined steps down the hallway, ignoring the curses and yells of the teenagers he left to die.
Taiga eventually exited the building. He squinted at the glaring sunlight, then down at the predictable massive lineup surrounding the building. He let out a low chuckle as he glared at the hundreds of guards with guns, missiles, and tanks, all with their weapons pointed at him.
Hehehe... Taiga inwardly chuckled. So the operation was doomed to fail from the beginning. The corporation had never shown its true might until today, most likely for this very reason. In an uprising, the children could not prepare for what they did not know existed.
Taiga took a step forward, and the weapons rose in response. He knew he would be gunned down should he take the next step. He thought back to his disfigured friends back in the hallway then looked down at the girl he loved. "I'm sorry. Looks like I can't do as you asked."
Taiga raised his right leg.
"Hold Your Fire!" Just as it hit the floor, a loud shout ordered the guards to stand down.
Taiga looked up to see a familiar figure rush out of the crowd. "You're late..." He let out a wry smile as the bespectacled researcher came up to him. Relief flushed through him, and he crumbled under the accumulated fatigue.
Akari caught the young boy, his gaze heavy with guilt and regret. He struggled to hold back the tears as he repeatedly promised, "It's fine now. Everything's fine." Akari screamed for the medical team as he looked over the blood-soaked child. "Medic! Someone get me a medic!"
Taiga arms tightened around Henri as he stared into the blinding sun.
"What's your name, newbie?"
"Just saving your life."
"Hehe, did this tickle your fancy?"
"Violence doesn't solve everything. Why don't you try using your head to find new ways to solve your problems?"
A tear streamed down Taiga's cheeks as his vision gradually darkened. "You are my sun... How do I live without the sun?" Just before his world blacked out, he regretfully whimpered, "I Love You..."
"Live. For all of us. You must Live."
The light disappeared, plunging the boy into darkness.
Current Day,
A grown-up Taiga wore a listless smile as he gazed at the horizon, which had begun to light up in a tinge of red. The summer winds licked his hair, so they danced around his eyes, lips curled up into a self-deprecating grin. "Haah, well, there you have it. A predictable sob story for the villain. What do you—"
"Shut up!"
Taiga's words froze in his throat as a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind. He tensed as he felt a warm figure press against his back. His muscles relaxed as the figure shook against his back, leaving his back moist with tears. Taiga scratched his chin, a sheepish smile on his face as he said, "Really, it's fi—"
"I'm sorry!" Saeko cried as she tightened her grip around his waist.
"There's nothing to apologize for," Taiga said with a chuckle. "It's not like it's your fault or anything."
Saeko shuddered, but as she had been continuously shaking, Taiga could not tell the difference. She swiftly released her grip and fled the room before Taiga could react.
Taiga raised a brow in question, but he eventually shrugged it off. Women were mysterious creatures. He could not begin to fathom what went through their heads. He inclined on the balcony, a small smile on his lips as he recalled the earlier warmth.
Shouyou sat in his office, a lazy grin on his face as he pushed commands on his keyboard, ordering the warrior on the screen to descend upon a den of monsters with righteous vengeance. Even with the booming popularity of virtual games, there still laid an inherent charm within the classic MMOs.
Shouyou was just about to finish a battle when the door to his office suddenly burst open. In his shock, he inputted the wrong command. His attack missed, and he could only watch helplessly as his character was mauled to death by the angry goblins.
With a defeated sigh, Shouyou looked up at the beautiful young woman whose reddened eyes and puffy cheeks told a story he had long been expecting. "Well, Sae-chan, you finally came to see me." He grinned as he rested his chin on his hands. "How are you doing?"
Saeko frowned. Her nails dug deep into her hands till they drew blood. "You lied to me."
Shouyou shrugged. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you learned the truth from Taiga." With a short nod, he admonished, "This wouldn't have happened if you stuck to the plan. You were supposed to get close to Suzuki, not Taiga."
Saeko stiffened. She bit her bottom lip, her gaze hardening with stubborn rage. "I shall do as I damn please." Her fists clenched even further as she mustered up the courage to glare at the blond man. "I shall him the truth."
"It's 2043," Shouyou said with a chuckle. "Far be it from me to stop a strong, independent woman from doing what she wants." His gaze sharpened as he sneered, "Just keep in mind what he lost. Do you think he will forgive you?"
Saeko shuddered, tears welling up in her eyes. "I hate you."
A rare, heartfelt smile warmed Shouyou's face. "I love you too." Saeko bit her lip, then turned to leave. She made it all the way to the door when Shouyou playfully reprimanded, "As a strong modern Japanese woman, shouldn't you be more respectful?"
Saeko froze. "See you later..." She turned and respectfully bowed. "Father."