Chapter 7
Ryoba Aishi was a resourceful woman. An intelligent one. Unmatched in skill and sheer nerve. She almost never had an opponent who matched her in ability.
Almost, of course, is the key word here.
As she stared into the eyes of her single worthy opponent, she wondered what she could do to stop the madness he was about to unleash. She would not lose her family, not when she'd worked so hard to earn it.
"Hello Jushiro, it's been a while since we've last seen each other, hasn't it?" she ventured in a clipped tone, almost as if she was talking to a colleague from a long time ago. This wasn't very far from the truth anyways.
The journalist, with hatred and spite shining wildly in his eyes, spat back a nasty retort. Ryoba's eyes narrowed dangerously. While he was a big and burly man, something in the way Ryoba was looking at him made him shiver unintentionally, much to his chagrin.
"You know, I hear Tomoko is doing very well at school. Of course, she goes by Info-chan these days. In fact, she's very good friends with my darling daughter Ayano." Ryoba smiled maliciously as she watched the journalist go through the motions of shock, fear and bizarrely, a morbid sort of curiosity.
Of course, Ryoba knew who Tomoko was. Her agreement with the Saikou family required that she be kept up to date on anything that might impact Ayano's well-being.
She knew her role in the school, and the keylogger Ryoba had set up on Ayano's phone informed her that they had been corresponding. It pleased her greatly that Ayano hadn't killed so far, this had been her greatest mistake in her own time, one that kept her from entering her love's heart in a more natural way. Ayano proved to be more intelligent than she was at that age. She hoped she would continue this way.
Ryoba observed the journalist's flushed features. She understood, being a parent and all, though she also relished the effect she had on him. He was why her husband was still afraid of her, after all this time. She was glad her husband was not here to observe the scene, she'd sent him off to do some shopping for Ayano.
Her thoughts ventured to his daughter, her daughter's form of an obstacle. All Tomoko had in her arsenal were her father's research papers about the Aishi case, which had been inconclusive at best in front of the Japanese court. No one would listen to anything on that document, given the scandal associated with it. Tomoko could not harm her daughter unless she actually committed a crime, which she hadn't so far. This allowed Ryoba to be more comfortable with playing around with the journalist's feelings.
"Stay the hell away from my daughter Ryoba." The journalist growled. Ryoba was pulled out of her thoughts.
"Oh? I have no issues whatsoever with your daughter. You on the other hand are causing too much trouble for my taste." She tossed a dossier towards the journalist. "You thought Saikou wouldn't find out?"
The dossier was a hefty one, containing stacks of evidence detailing the illegal nature of Saikou's various activities. Money laundering. Bribery. Inhumane working conditions in their numerous factories. Of course, this wasn't even the worst of it. Ryoba had a feeling this stuff was common knowledge among normal folk, though it was mostly ignored as people feared for their jobs and safety. No, there was something else that would cause a much larger issue.
Highlighted in red, with multiple attachments and labels on it was an ongoing investigation on the long-lost Saikou daughter, Ichiko, and her twin. Many people originally thought Ichirou and Ichiko had been the sole Saikou heirs back in the day, but older people who had been around to see Ichiko's birth remembered there being two daughters. Any news about this of course, was immediately shut down.
Ryoba, having dealt with the Saikous and their dirty businesses for so long, knew the story behind it all, and the journalist's ongoing research, while still incomplete and lacking many vital details, was too close to the truth for Saikou's comfort, and Ryoba's, by extension. At this rate, he would surely find out the truth behind Ichiko and Ichira.
The journalist looked upon her, flabbergasted.
"As we speak right now, your home and the various storage lockers you have rented across the country are being raided." Ryoba informed him. "Of course, knowing you, I'm sure you've devised many plans in case such a day ever came. Talk, now."
"Or what, Ryoba? What do I have that I can lose? I have already lost it all."
"It seems like you want me to have a problem with Tomoko after all, huh?" Ryoba ventured innocently, relishing the utter horror that covered the journalist's entire being.
"What are you going to do, Jushiro? You can't talk to her. You can't even see her. You don't even know what she looks like. If something were to happen to her, just how on earth would you know?" Ryoba purred, eyeing the journalist with a bored yet slightly amused expression on her face. After all these years, Jushiro was still quite the temperamental man. She might have found it endearing if he hadn't taken so much from her.
"You and your daughter would go down immediately if something like that happened. You know it, I know it. What's the point of such an empty threat?"
Ryoba shot the journalist a stellar smile, completely ignoring the Journalist's attempt at a rebuttal. "You know, I might take the job myself. You nearly ruined my life, it's only fair that I get to completely and utterly ruin yours. I don't fear you. We've already established that."
The journalist stared, dumbfounded. "Fine." He sat down at the mahogany table behind him, and gestured for Ryoba to sit down.
The conversation lasted four and a half hours with much screaming, pleading and even begging interrupting Ryoba's demands. After the entire ordeal, Ryoba left, satisfied. Now it was time for phase two of her plan. She dialed the only number saved on the burner phone she had been given.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Saikou, it all went according to plan."
"He thinks you believed him, right?"
"Of course, and if I know him, he will give Tomoko the signal. I made sure that he didn't understand I knew they were in communication."
"Then he will slip up. Good."
Somewhere in Info-chan's room, a red LED light went on.
.
.
.
Japan
Ayano woke up that morning feeling lighter than usual. Another threat was finally averted. She wondered what she should do next. Maybe she should start talking to Senpai...
Just the thought of it was enough to make her blush profusely. No, not yet. She didn't want to creep him out. She had to get to know his habits, his likes and dislikes, his character better first. Then she could mold herself into his ideal girlfriend candidate. Ayano resolved to follow Taro around more to see what she could pick up from his daily schedule.
She checked the time and started getting ready immediately. She had to reach his house in time to follow him.
Through the day's events, she learned a lot about him. He wasn't into sports, he liked children and had practically raised his own sister while his parents were busy with work, he wanted to become a pediatrician, and his favorite movie was Scream. He typically hung out with the nerd clique and spend a lot of his time in the library, catching up on classes. One tidbit interested Ayano much more than anything else though.
During lunch, she listened in on a conversation he had with Budo, the head of the martial arts club. This was a friendship Ayano found interesting. Perhaps Senpai's calm and collected nature countered Budo's energetic and bubbly persona. They seemed to be really close friends, judging by how much they hung out together.
"I just have no luck with girls, man..." Taro huffed, rubbing his eyes. He'd been reading earlier. Ayano found it adorable.
"What? You'd been hanging around Amai just a few days ago. Didn't work out, huh?" Budo ventured, not looking up from his protein packed bento.
"No... I tried to talk to her a couple of times, but she just started ignoring me all of a sudden! I don't know what came over her."
"Man, all you do is study and read, what's a girl supposed to do with that? You aren't a girl's type at all, you're just a nerd. Look at Toshiro from the Drama Club, now that's what you should be doing."
Toshiro was the acting president of the Drama Club as Kizana, the actual president, was away on some sort of tour. He was the embodiment of the perfect dreamy boyfriend among Akademi's girls, tall, handsome and very poetic. It was like he'd jumped straight out of a shoujo anime. Of course, Ayano didn't care about anything he might say or do, but she would be foolish to not see the effect he had on girls.
"Man, you think it's the plays and stuff? Maybe I should join the club... But then I'd miss out on my math..."
"Live a little, Taro." Budo retorted, his mouth full of chicken.
Needless to say, Ayano did not like where this was going. She trailed along as Senpai walked towards the Drama Club's room, from a safe distance of course. She watched as he tried to steel his nerves and entered the room.
The voice that greeted him was not Toshiro's.
"Hi there..." a cool female voice ventured. Ayano pretended to play with her phone as she watched the scene unfold. Kizana was finally back, it seemed.
"Um, hi. I actually um, wanted to... Join your club?" Senpai ventured.
Kizana looked him over and gave a smirk. She approached him, her lips almost touching his chin as she pulled his collar to straighten it.
"Ah, of course. You know, you're just the perfect type for the new play I'm planning to put out. Come read the script with me, and we'll see if you've got the skill for it."
With that, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards a bookshelf. Ayano saw red and could barely extricate herself from the scene. If she'd stayed a moment longer, she would have killed the girl immediately.
"Stupid, what would Taro think!" she muttered as she left.
From a dark corner, a certain red-headed girl watched with a smile. Perhaps this was what she was looking for.
