Prologue: From Shijo with Love

"I see you have awaken from your slumber."

His voice was oddly soothing, but I knew better than to trust this man in my current circumstances.

The sack that his thugs put over my head was suffocating, combined with the long plane trip in a private jet was almost like some cliched development.

Contrast to the comfy armchairs on a plane, the room I'm in was chilly, probably reaching freezer temperature. The chair that I was placed on as hard as a slab of metal, producing screeching sounds as I attempted to free myself. A dim light went through the sack, making me a bit nauseous as I opened my eyes.

I instantly took that statement back, however, as the sack was violently yanked off my head. A strong light poured into my pupils, blinding me instantly and caused an instinctive shaking of the head. Gradually letting my eyesight get used to the light, I came face to face with a silver-haired man who sat right across me in a freezer room.

"Where…. am I?"

"A room where you, a young lad who still has years of youth, will either freeze or starve to death."

"Nice coat…you got there." I glanced at the man's thick overcoat that protected him from the murderous artificial weather once I regained my eyesight. "I'll pay you an arm and a leg for that."

"You do know why you are here, don't you?"

"A great big misunderstanding." I chuckled despite the harsh conditions I was put in.

Bullshit.

I knew exactly why I was here, and who I was dealing with.

Shinomiya Gan'an.

Head of the Shinomiya Zaibatsu, the multinational company that I hustled and almost got away with.

"We could have just let the authorities deal with you." He stroked his beard, his piercing eyes penetrating my soul.

"But that would cause the stocks to drop dramatically." I finished his sentence for him.

"Well aren't you a bright one?" He chuckled gently.

"I have to give it to you, hustling my company isn't exactly something people of your age have the resources to, let alone having the guts to do so."

"Therefore, it must have been a big misunderstanding." I gathered up the remainder of my strength and squeezed out a smile, "Who would even have the balls to…"

"The Shijos. I should have known." He laughed heartily at himself.

Well shit.

"What I didn't anticipate, however, was the choice of personnel they had for the job." He motioned for one of his henchmen to give him a folder.

"Petty thief John Smith in London."

A photo of me pickpocketing on Tower Bridge.

I had to say, the amount of people in there made everything so much more easier.

"Card shark John Doe in Las Vegas."

A photo of me playing at a private table in an underground casino.

Ah yes, one of my favorite activities to kill time and earn some quick cash.

"Voodoo shaman Narith Sen in Cambodia."

A photo of me performing a ritual to the locals of a village to purge evil spirits.

"You're gonna have to believe me when I say I had to make stuff up as I progressed through the ceremony."

"With no known associates and numerous alias, even our top-class technicians had a hard time finding even a trace of you in this small world." Gan'an gently shook his head smiling.

I'm untracable because I don't accept help or partnership.

Knowing from experience, they will always betray me in the end.

"What interests me, however, is why did they hire you?"

Damn, this dude certainly did his research.

"Do you want me to even say it out loud?" I chuckled.

"I don't think they would risk one of their own to embark on this suicide mission."

"Precisely." The silver-haired man leaned forward.

"But why did you accept this impossible task anyways?"

"Because it's fun?"

Gan'an's eyes narrowed.

"And I was planning on selling them out to you anyways."

"You would expect me to believe that selling the Shijos out to us was the plan all along when you're strapped to a chair freezing to death by me and company?"

"Given the fact that both the Shinomiyas and Shijos are super rich multinational economic powers, wouldn't it be logical for you to give me a good sum of money if I sold them out to you?"

"You would sell out your employers to achieve personal goals?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"It would be a shame that they relied on me when they should know perfectly that I would use them in return."

"You have a cold heart for a kid." Gan'an smirked at my statement, "Don't you have anyone to love?"

"I don't bother." I also leaned forward.

"In the end, they'll just leave me."

"You know, I'm starting to like you." Gan'an leaned back smiling.

"Uncuff him and give him something warm."

I felt a fuzzy blanket cover my shoulders that made the old gradually disappear as the cuffs that binded me for almost a day were taken off. Wrapping the blanket tightly around me, I looked at Shinomiya Gan'an carefully.

Shit. I can't get a read on him.

"Maybe it was fate that brought us together." He motioned his men to bring forward a tray of two glasses and a bottle of whiskey.

"Why so?" I asked.

"You think like us." He filled one-third of a glass and put it in front of me. "I appreciate intellectuals like you."

"Even though I just attempted to transfer half of your company's stocks to the Shijos?"

"A valiant attempt, I must say." He then poured himself a glass and took a small sip.

"I can use someone of your talents."

"You've got a lot of guts to hire someone who just tried to pull a fast one on you." I took a sip from the glass, letting the afterburn of the hard liquor warm my body.

"But of course." Gan'an placed his glass on the metal table that seperated us.

"Only this time, I will be keeping you on a leash."

"Figures." I shrugged.

"Ain't that right…" He tossed the last photo from the folder across the table.

A photo of me and the orphanage nurse that raised me.

"Ayase Kotaro-kun."

No….

"Don't you touch her." I glared at the silver-haired man, but he only smiled back at me.

"I'm not even interested in threatening you, Kotaro-kun." Gan'an leaned forward again, this time dangerously close to my face.

"As long as you are alive, you will be of use to me."

So that's his play.

Making me his pawn.

But if that's the hand I'm dealt right now, might as well make something out of it.

"So what's the mark?" I took another sip from my glass.

"My daughter." Gan'an took out a photo from his pocket and placed it gently in front of me.

A girl with red eyes and her jet-black hair tied with a red ribbon. Her maid had blue eyes and blonde hair tied in a side ponytail.

Rich people sure are crazy.

"You want me to…con your daughter?"

"You try anything like that and I'll have you disappear from the face of the earth."

"Alright, chill." I choked on my drink and sat the glass back on the table.

"So it's about your daughter, but what's the job?"

"Surveillance."

"Don't you have maids, butlers and bodyguards for that?"

"The Hayasacas have served my family for generations." Gan'an's facial expression was stern and his eyebrows were creased.

"However, I notice small rebellious phases from Kaguya and her personal maid Ai."

"Isn't that what teenagers do?" I sighed.

"I don't like how she's been keeping secrets." He finished his drink in a gulp, "I need someone to monitor both of them."

"You sure got some control issues." I rubbed my forehead gently.

"Got a piece of paper?"

Gan'an nodded, and one of his men gave me a pen and a page torn out of a notepad.

"Any angles would you prefer me to approach this matter?" I twirled the pen in my fingers.

"Discreetly."

Heh, no shit.

"Any shills?"

"None. You're on your own."

Should make things easier, I hope.

"Any fancy gadgets?"

Gan'an gave me a blank stare.

Guess I'll have to make do on my own.

"I will arrange your transfer to Shuchi'in Academy in the following hours." My new boss stood up from his chair, preparing to leave.

"I hope you're going to enjoy your life at school, Kotaro-kun." His smile was calculating and just as menacing when I met him…..who knows how long ago?

"Haven't been to school since…"

"Good." The door opened as he stepped out of the freezing room.

"I'll leave you to prepare."