CHAPTER 42

"Then, he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out, and he was a beautiful butterfly. The end." Kagami finished reading the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar to her audience as she held the book up for them.

Her audience included most of the children from Junichi's neighborhood. Mina-chan was sitting in the front row, her face shelved eagerly on her fists as she leaned forward and clung to Kagami's every word. It was a perfect day for outdoor activities and Kagami chose to spend it reading to the children, an activity that gave her a newfound sense of joy. Perhaps it was her pregnancy that waking her feel maternal, maybe it was the warmth she felt from the smiling children who looked up to her like a big sister ever since she came to live with them. Maybe it was Junichi.

Mina-chan was the first to clap for Kagami's performance and the others soon joined in. Seeing the children clap so jubilantly and sincerely for her warmed her heart and she couldn't help but place a hand on her still flat stomach. Even though her stomach was still flat, she could still feel the same warmth radiating from her. Her baby was clapping too, she could feel it. Kagami looked up and saw Mama Sane bringing a cooler full of ice cream treats and she eagerly asked the children who wanted to partake in their consumption. She giggled when she saw how unanimous the decision was.

Mama Sanae opened the cooler and it was like a piranha attack Kagami once saw on a nature documentary. The cooler was picked clean of ice cream in a matter of seconds and Kagami giggled again when she watched Mama Sane's demand for the children to put their trash in the cooler go unheeded. Mina-chan held an ice cream cone in one hand and kept Kagami's hand secured in her other. The two girls walked around the neighborhood on the beautiful summer day enjoying the tranquility and Kagami savored her time with her little Matsuri clone.

As they walked down the street, Kagami looked at Junichi's house. He still wasn't home. She heard him leave his house on his Kawasaki bike earlier in the morning and was accompanied by another one of his soldiers also on a similar street bike. Kagami didn't think he was going on another raid looking for Yuka Miyakawa since he would always go with a large team.

Kagami smiled to herself, reminiscing about their second date they had the previous night. It once again wasn't anything flashy or showy given Junichi's limited resources, but the gesture was just as romantic. Junichi took Kagami to the park where Mina-chan's favorite tree sat on the top of her hill later last night with a telescope and a picnic ensemble. The two enjoyed a nice dinner under the stars with Junichi being the constellation guide for Kagami. He even showed her a few land navigation tricks he learned in the army using the stars as maps. Needless to say she was impressed again. She agreed to a third date right after she kissed him goodnight again on the cheek. Maybe on their next date she would go bolder.

Her memory was interrupted by a thunderous roar approaching the neighborhood. Mina-chan quickly clutched onto Kagami's skirt and snuggled against her hip as Kagami patted the young girl reassuringly. Kagami could tell that motorcycles were approaching them, but they definitely weren't the ones Junichi rode. These engines sounded louder and heavier. Two motorcycles appeared from the curvature of the street and Kagami breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Junichi was riding one of them. His soldier who accompanied him was also riding the second one.

"It's okay, Mina-chan, it's just Junichi." Kagami cooed and hoisted the girl up and held her close.

"It's too loud, onee-chan!" Mina-chan wailed and hid her face in Kagami's long hair.

Kagami nodded in agreement. His last bike released a minorly irritating hum but this one was loud enough to break windows just by gunning the throttle. Carrying Mina-chan, Kagami walked across the street towards Junichi's house where the two men parked and dismounted the bikes after silencing them. Junichi's soldier said a few words to him and then left.

"Hey, what do you think? It's a brand new Harley Davidson Fatboy." Junichi said with pride when Kagami approached.

Kagami narrowed her eyes at the bike. "It's a little loud for the children, don't you think?"

"But honeyyyyy…" Junichi melodramatically wailed.

Kagami instantly blushed to the point where Mina-chan giggled when she saw steam pouring out of her ears. "You idiot. That's not funny." Kagami snapped.

"I know it's not funny. A man should not be forced between the two women he has the hots for!" Junichi wailed again and collapsed to his knees while hugging the bike.

Mina-chan was laughing at the display while Kagami glared at him. She hissed, "You through?"

Junichi quickly sprung to his feet and cleared his face and with a normalized tone replied, "Yeah I'm done."

Kagami just shook her head at him and she put Mina-chan down. "Mina-chan, would you mind giving us some alone time?"

Mina-chan giggled again. "Okay, onee-chan. Just don't be too loud!"

Both Kagami and Junichi's faces went red as the little girl ran away laughing. There was painfully awkward silence between them until Kagami slowly turned her head and looked up at Junichi. He didn't have to look at her to know that she was shooting him a dirty look.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about." Junichi said and turned to her. Sure enough, she was giving an angry and questioning expression glaring at him. "I swear she didn't learn it from me. You know how kids are. They hear something on TV or something and then they'll repeat it without knowing what it means. Was there something you wanted?"

Kagami's face cleared and she huffed. "Seriously though, what's with the bike? I saw you leave on your other one now you got this."

Junichi stared down at the Harley Davidson and patted the seat. "I traded it in for these. Let's just say it's another step closer in both taking down Miyakawa and once again bringing peace to the Aku District."

"And you're gonna do all of that with a motorcycle?" Kagami asked as she folded her arms.

He continued to stare at the massive bike and pursed his lips. "I'll explain it some other time. Anyway, are you ready for tonight?"

Kagami tilted her head. "Ready for what?"

"Our date."

Kagami's cheeks tinted again. A third date? Sure, she was anticipating one, but not so soon. Giggling nervously, she curled one of her pigtails and asked, "What were you thinking?"

She was a bit surprised when Junichi's lips curled upward to a conniving smile and he started laughing. Kagami started to worry. Junichi answered: "I want to take you someplace special tonight…but to get there…you have to ride on the bike."

Kagami's eyes lifted and she quickly frowned. She turned around with her arms folded again and huffed, "No…wayyy."

"Honey…"

Kagami stiffened again and turned around. "Will you quit saying that?! Especially in that tone!"

Her flustered persona amused him and he chuckled again. "Oh Kagami you really need to relax from time to time."

Kagami's face softened and she glanced away. "It's not that. It's just…I never had anyone…special before. So hearing things like that makes me nervous."

Junichi's face also relaxed when Kagami's softer side came out. He smiled at her again and walked up to her. She looked up at him and felt those nerves again when Junichi held both her hands.

"Kagami…do you trust me?" He asked.

Kagami cocked her head again. "Huh?"

"You heard me."

"Well of course I do. You took me in when no one else would, gave me shelter and food and have treated me like royalty. I'm forever in your debt for all of that so yes, I do trust you." She replied, even tightening her grip around Junichi's hands.

"Good. Because if that is true, then you would know that I would never let anything bad happen to you or put you in any situation that I wouldn't put myself in." Junichi replied.

Kagami stared into his eyes and continued to feel her heart beat. She could see just how serious he was. His voice was firm with conviction, yet still gentle and smooth. In his eyes Kagami could see that he held strong feelings for her and he saw her as more than just a friend or a guest in his community. Kagami suspected as much and it was no secret to herself that she had feelings for him as well, but admitting it was still a whole other ballgame. She glanced at the bike, now seeing it as a test he was giving her. He wanted to be in a relationship with her, but he couldn't do that if she didn't trust him completely.

Kagami inhaled a deep breath and sighed. She looked up, smiled, and nodded. "I trust you."

Junichi grinned. "Good. Then be ready to go by seven tonight."

His voice was once again firm but delicate in its delivery. Kagami didn't feel as if she was being bossed around and admitted that she liked the idea of a man who was confident and knew how to take control of a situation. She was looking forward to her date tonight and expected it to be a more memorable one. A bolder one.

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Her eyes were bloodshot and the skin beneath them were black as a raven's feather. It was the result of no sleep. Hiyori didn't sleep a wink (and was barely able to close her eyes at all) las night after being reunited with the bane of decency and righteousness itself. She sat at her breakfast table and continued to tremble. Her family members had all departed for the day and Hiyori sat alone, a mug of coffee trembling in her shaky grasp. The black liquid swished and swayed with each movement as she slowly raised it to her lips and she sipped it, hoping the drink would wake her up from this nightmare.

She was drinking her coffee black this morning; a very unusual choice for Hiyori. She always preferred her coffee to be sweeter, but this time she needed something stronger to get the vile taste of Yuka Miyakawa's tongue out of her mouth. The harsh flavor wasn't helping. Hiyori could still taste Yuka's tongue prodding the inside of her mouth after she forced herself upon her to dominate her. She shuttered again, unable to wake up from her hellish reality. Every time she closed her eyes, the events of last night would replay in her mind.

As Hiyori felt her newfound happiness turn to ash and blow away, Yuka continued to keep her wrists pinned above her head against the door. Yuka was fully enjoying this kiss. Even Hiyori could tell that Yuka wasn't getting sexual arousal from the contact, but rather from knowing that she was dominating and victimizing her. From the little Hiyori knew about Yuka's past, she imagined that the psychopath must have been dealt a horrible blow at childhood to be aroused by control and intimidation.

Yuka finally pulled out of the kiss, making Hiyori cough and gasp for air. She still trembled beneath Yuka's grip and her knees knocked. Hiyori could see just how much Yuka was enjoying watching her squirm in fear.

"Now like I said…you are going to help me flush Kagami out of her little hiding place." Yuka whispered.

"Ba-ba-but I don't even know where she is!" Hiyori wailed.

"That's okay…because I do." Yuka hissed. "I've known where she's been for a while now. Ever since I injected her sister with my little drug and her family disowned her. Now…it is time to put my plan into full swing. Kagami will die…Tsukasa will die…their biggest sister will die…and then…I will leave their parents alive just so they can kill themselves over the corpses of their family. I already took two of their daughters…"

Hiyori shook her head. "Why Yuka? Why do you hate them so much?"

Yuka chuckled again and gently rubbed Hiyori's cheek. "Oh my dear Hiyorin…I don't hate the Hiiragi family. They're such a nice and compassionate family with strong religious principles and are always putting the community above their own interests. How could I ever hate them?"

Hiyori could see the irony in Yuka's logic. Yuka Miyakawa was an uninhibited sadist who just wanted the world to burn and seeing such an innocent and pure family like the Hiiragi's suffer was what gave her pleasure. However, Hiyori was still missing one piece of the puzzle. Junichi Watanabe. She was still unaware of the connection Junichi shared with the Hiiragi family and ultimately that was Yuka's motivation. She wanted to destroy Kagami once and for all, as well as the rest of the Hiiragi family, because then it would in turn destroy Junichi. With Junichi weakened, Yuka hoped for a final showdown between the two of them and the winner would forever rule both the Aku District and the drug and prostitution trades that kept the money flowing within it. That was ultimately what it was all about. Yuka destroying Junichi and Kagami and all her friends and family were merely Yuka's pawns to make it all happen.

"Please Yuka, don't do this." Hiyori whispered as a tear slid down her face. "Just leave me alone. Just leave all of us alone."

It only furthered Hiyori's dismay when she saw her begging and crying was only increasing her captor's arousal. "Like I said, my dear, you are going to help me destroy the Hiiragi family. You and that cute little girlfriend of yours. If not…oh my god the pain that will befall her. Like I said as well, I will make you take a bath in her intestines and to make it better…I will make you watch me gut her. I will pull her guts out slowly while she's still alive. You ever slurp your spaghetti? Well think of that in reverse."

Hiyori's face greened and Yuka giggled at the sight. The long-haired otaku gulped and more tears began to flow freely. She gently nodded, giving her consent that she would help Yuka. She squeaked her question of what she needed to do.

Yuka's smile curled tighter and her eyebrows scrunched together, creating a truly frightening image of evil. She patted Hiyori on the head and said, "I'll be in touch."

She pushed Hiyori aside and left her room without saying another word. Afterword, Hiyori cried. She didn't sleep that night.

Hiyori's tired eyelids fluttered a bit and she jolted her head back up. She glared at the conundrum she was in. It was clear to her that Yuka's parting words last night were another part of her psychological torture. She would suddenly appear after all these years to draft her for her war against righteousness but leave her looking over her shoulder of when she would appear again. It was like being in a mafia movie and Hiyori knew that if she didn't obey Yuka, she would wake up with a loved one's severed head in bed with her.

Another thought suddenly came to Hiyori when she tried to wash Yuka's taste out again. She said last night that she had already taken two of the Hiiragi daughters. Hiyori shrugged it off as Yuka's way of saying how she corrupted Kagami and Tsukasa with the drugs.

She was wrong. The Hiiragi's had dealt with Yuka Miyakawa once before a few years ago. They just never knew it. They still didn't know it. They would soon know it.

Hiyori's phone suddenly rang and the chimes made her shriek and jump. She looked at the screen and saw it was Konata calling her. She breathed a quick breath of relief and answered the phone.

"Hey you!" Konata's cheerful voice echoed in the phone. Clearly Yuka only visited Hiyori in the night. "I was wondering if you wanted to go do something today. I was actually watching the weather forecast for the first time I think ever and I saw it was going to start to get cold next week. Guess summer really is over now, huh?"

Hiyori's throat was like cotton as she tried to speak to her girlfriend. She wanted to scream, to cry, to yell at Konata to run. That was Hiyori's first instinct. To tell her to run. Even if she could speak at all, she wouldn't even know where to tell her to run to. That's all she wanted to do. Was just yell RUN into the phone. She wanted to scream and cry for help as well, but knew what would happen to Konata if Hiyori uttered one word about what happened at her house last night.

"Hello? Are you there Hiyorin?" Konata asked.

Hiyori was suddenly able to clear her throat and uttered groggily, "Ye-yeah I'm here. I just woke up."

Konata giggled. "I know that feeling. But like I said it looks like the colder weather is coming and I was thinking we could go for a walk in the park again today. We could also get lunch at that outdoor restaurant you like. You know, the one right next to the lake."

Hearing Konata's voice filled with joyous innocence and bliss made Hiyori's eyes swell with tears knowing that that tone in her girlfriend's voice was short-lived. She did her best to hide her distraught on the phone and was eventually able to agree to a nice romantic walk in the park with her followed by lunch. Hiyori wondered if she would even be able to taste it.

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Nighttime fell upon the land and Kagami was walking back to Junichi's house. She was bundled up as per his instructions, though she didn't understand why. It was still warm out even at night and she felt a bit uncomfortable in the layers of clothes but was able to ignore it for the most part. She still pondered what their date was going to be and what this special place was Junichi wanted to take her to. As she approached his house, she saw him looking over the motorcycle. She knew that sometimes motorcycles had saddlebags on the sides used to carry things, but this bike didn't have them.

Junichi looked up and saw her and he smiled. "Good evening. You're looking nice tonight."

Kagami squinted playfully at him. "I feel like the Michelin Man."

Junichi laughed. "Yeah I can understand that but trust me you'll thank me for telling you to wear all of that later. Anyway, are you ready?"

She smiled and nodded. "Though I am a bit nervous. I've never rode on a motorcycle before."

"You have nothing to be afraid of," he said and reached down behind the bike and lifted up two helmets. "But just to make you feel better I thought you'd appreciate having this on."

Kagami smiled and nodded again, quickly grabbing the helmet. She quickly redid her hair so the helmet would fit over her head and Junichi sat on the bike first. He stood it up and Kagami slowly pulled herself over the side and sat behind Junichi, placing her feet on the foot pegs and she quickly coiled her arms around his torso.

He patted her conjoined hands and said, "Here we go!"

He started the bike and the engine's mighty roar made Kagami tighten her grip around his stomach. She thought she might hug him so tight that she might cut him in half, especially when she felt him put it in gear and the bike began to move. Even though she trusted Junichi, she was still fighting off panic, especially as the bike left the neighborhood and began to speed up. She instantly realized why Junichi instructed her to dress so warmly. Even though the night was warm, she started to feel chilly as the bike picked up more speed and the wind became more violent. When she saw how close they got to other cars as the motorcycle continued to zip past them, she clamped her eyes shut and whimpered.

Kagami kept her eyes closed for a few more minutes until she slowly opened them again. They were about ten minutes into the journey and despite the engine's mighty roar, Kagami had to admit how relaxing being on the motorcycle was. Maybe it was how tightly she hugged the man she cared about, maybe it was how she could hear his heartbeat when she put her head to his chest, maybe it was the peaceful night, or maybe it was how riding the motorcycle made Kagami feel like she was flying.

She eventually felt comfortable enough to look around and hoisted her head upward to look at the stars. They somehow felt closer on the motorcycle and Kagami was intrigued how her vision somehow began to funnel into the immediate. She was no longer looking at the sky. She was one with it, flying freely in it and she felt her lips slowly curl with satisfaction at the newfound sense of freedom it gave her. She couldn't explain it but simply riding on the motorcycle melted all her problems away and all the memories that tormented her faded away. Kagami was able to fully relax and felt herself melting into the seat with her loving grip around Junichi.

Before she knew it though, the bike began to slow down and Kagami looked around. They had left the suburbs a long time ago and were in a more secluded setting. Junichi pulled the bike into a stone parking lot and stopped the bike, allowing Kagami to look around more. They seemed to be at a camping ground area as they were practically in the woods. There was a single trail leading into the woods illuminated by the generous full moon.

Junichi dismounted the motorcycle and helped Kagami off as well. "How was that?"

She removed her helmet and couldn't help but pant and smile. "I liked it."

He smirked to her. "This way."

He held out his hand and Kagami slowly took it and she blushed as she watched their fingers intertwine with each other. Junichi led her to the trail and the two walked on it, their hands conjoined. Kagami scooted closer to him both for warmth and for comfort. They were definitely at a higher elevation as she could now see her own breath in the night sky and she had to admit being out in the woods at night was never her idea of a good time.

"Almost there," he said after they walked for five minutes.

She looked up and saw a small orange glow in the clearing ahead. They walked up the final small hill and made it to the top of an observational overlook. Kagami's mouth dropped and her eyes widened when she saw they arrived at the top of a cliff and the whole Saitama prefecture was ahead of them in the valley below. It was like an endless ocean of darkness dotted with millions of sparkling diamonds in the night. They approached the edge of the cliff and Kagami could see cars moving on the streets ahead, their headlights giving away their locations. She could also see an airplane coming in for a landing near Tokyo. It was like the world's largest Christmas village right before her eyes.

"Junichi…this is so beautiful." She said softly. "I can see everything from up here."

"Not yet," he said, grabbing her attention. She saw him looking at his watch until it started beeping. He smiled and looked up at the sky. "Now you can."

Kagami turned and looked upward again, only to be shocked once again. A meteor shower began in the sky, streaking more incredible lights across the sky. Kagami cupped her mouth in awe over such a stunning display as Junichi slowly approached her from behind. He slowly wrapped his thick arms around her slim waist and pulled her close while placing his face gently onto the top of her head. She reveled in his touch and hummed softly.

"Thank you for bringing me here." She whispered as she hugged his arms around her waist.

"You're welcome…and I was hoping I could ask you a question."

"Yes?"

"Would you stay with me?"

Kagami slowly looked up and turned to face him. "Stay with you?"

"Kagami…I've really enjoyed your company at my neighborhood this past month and I remember when I showed you your family heirlooms and you wanted to take them home?" He asked.

She nodded.

"I will admit I was scared then. I still am to be honest. I was scared that you were going to leave and I would never see you again. I really like you…I can actually say that…I love you, Kagami." He said shakily but still firmly.

Kagami felt her face set ablaze. No one ever told her that before. Sure, she heard it from her family every day before her downfall began, but it was a different kind of love. Kagami was scared as well. She was scared of these feelings, as well as the idea of someone being in love with her. A poor image after everything she endured was still something she struggled with, but she could still see the sincerity in Junichi's eyes and hear it in his voice. He truly did love her.

She gulped and felt her eyes swell. The only response she could give was to quickly jump up and hug him tight. A few tears dripped from her eyes and she sniffed quickly. She whispered, "Of course I'll stay."

The two slowly let go of each other but still held each other closely. Kagami gulped again. She wanted to make a move. A bold move. Closing her eyes again, she puckered her lips, lifted her face up, and waited. She didn't have to wait long for Junichi's pursed lips to make contact with hers. The two lovers held each other closely and deepened their kiss under the shower of shooting stars christening their relationship.