She woke up mildly an hour later cradled in his arms. He had fully undressed with her to spend all the time he needed. He heard his phone buzzing, and he groaned before reaching over to answer it. "Hey. I know. We fell asleep. It'll give the fighters time to recover and such. Oh, he did win? Good. We'll be out there shortly. Maybe twenty minutes, so you can have an alert sent. And, you know what? Put weapons out for them to use against each other. They'll get removed if one of our own goes in."
"Who…?" Saiki mumbled. Kiryu set the phone down and kissed her neck.
"Ugajin said that thug won. We can make it interesting to see if any of them want to murder each other for us. Or ignore the weapons. We'll see," he muttered.
"You really do have the most fantastic body I'll ever lay my eyes on," she murmured and ran her hands over his chest and back.
"And it's all yours," he growled and quickly claimed her again. It was ten minutes later that they were finally able to leave the bed. "I'll never get enough of you. I still can't believe that we're together."
"Not the only one," she said softly. He pulled her into his lap after they dressed to cradle her. "I really turned your world upside down. Didn't I?"
"No regrets," he chuckled. He saw her smile fade slightly, and he gently squeezed her to tell him what she was thinking of.
"I did…want to see what was pulled out of you, though. I need to know how to prepare the salve. That should be next on what we need to do when we get back," she said seriously. He found himself nodding at that.
"Yeah. We need to know," he agreed.
"Maybe you're right. About having an undisturbed at home day," she mused. He smiled and nodded again. "We never had that."
"No. We haven't," he said. He felt her move her arms around his neck, and he found himself getting pushed back onto the bed from his sitting position with her. "And what are you doing? Not that I'm complaining…"
"I didn't think you would," she said and planted a solid kiss on his mouth. He kissed her back and grunted irritation when his phone buzzed again. She had to break the kiss to answer it for him. "Yes?"
"It's me, Rabten. I wanted to let you know that I recall the one that nearly attacked me in Hawaii. He claimed he was from a group called…The Barracudas. It was a few years back, but I'm sure he may still be around. I never got his name, but I do have his description. I will text it to you. I will also be in Hawaii, so if I see him, I will send a photo," he said.
"Good. I look forward to that. Talk to you soon," Saiki nodded. Kiryu sighed and let her continue to recline on him.
"When do we get out of here?" Kiryu asked.
"Maybe…after the last round of fighting. We really do need to see what is in your system," she said softly. He nodded and forced himself to sit back up again with her. He saw her wince, and he took an intense concern while studying her features. At his puzzled look, she said, "For some reason…I just had an urge…to go out and kill someone…"
"What?" he frowned hard.
"Sometimes it happens if I don't do anything for days on end. It shouldn't be hitting me now, but…" she frowned hard.
"You did kill people today, though," he said while thinking back.
"Part of my training. Maybe I just…need to train. But with my back the way it is…I don't know," she sighed.
"Was this before you were left alone for a month?"
"I think so."
"Okay. So this started after. Hmm. What would you normally do while just…waiting for the next mission?"
"Usually I would be training. Perfecting my weapons. Setting up new training routines. Huh. Maybe that's what I need to do. It's been a few years since I set up a new training routine…" she mused.
"How would you make it?" he grinned and lifted her in his arms.
"I could possibly make another with multiple flamethrowers again. The electrical floor, of course. Maybe more building structures to scale on. I could do shifting building structures! I don't have one of those yet! Maybe even coat them with ice, so I'd be dealing with electrical, hot and cold elements…"
"That sounds difficult," he admitted.
"I know! I think that would be fun…" she grinned and found herself seated in his lap to overlook the coliseum. Their sushi was untouched and now finished off quickly. More was ordered, and Seonhee waved at them.
"What were you grinning about just now?" she asked.
"I think I need to make myself a new training room. With shifting buildings coated with ice," Saiki chuckled and got fed a piece of sushi with raw salmon. "It will really force me to up my game."
"I want to see how you build it!" Seonhee said with a form of excitement. "I also want to see if you can build one for the Geomijul. As, oh…beginner level?"
"First I would need to see your strengths, weaknesses and limits. Everyone is different. Then, on those details, I can do something. I have no real plans tomorrow. So, if you want to do this…we could…" Saiki mused.
"No. Tomorrow is a true 'at home' day. Day after," Kiryu said quickly and excepted a piece of sushi from his wife. "And we are not doing anything at all tomorrow to prove it."
"Really?" Saiki chuckled. "Things could always change…"
"I know. But for now, nothing tomorrow. We need a day to recover in full for your back and my beat down. Anyways, who's left to fight each other?" he asked. He chuckled when his wife wiped at his mouth a bit with a napkin.
"Four fighters remain," Ugajin nodded.
"I could go down there and explain the rules…?" JUSTICE1975 asked.
"You can. And if any challenge you, tell them it will be accepted. But they will be disqualified if they lose. So, Ebina, if anyone tries to challenge me or my husband, you can step in to take over. If you want to work for me, then this will be my first order for you. What do you say?" Saiki asked.
"I'm in," Ebina nodded. "I'm sure we'll go over work contracts later?"
"Yes. With pay and such. Just remember. Don't fuck up. One chance with me. That's it," she warned again. "This will be your trial run with me."
"I actually don't really need payment. I still want to help build any structures you need," Ebina admitted. "I…made a promise. I have to keep it."
"We'll see if it comes to that. Because if I let you have any hold on things…I will be watching you with incredible scrutiny," she growled.
"I know. You have my vow that I will not disappoint you," he swallowed.
"I'm actually very surprised," Kiryu said and fed his wife a piece of melon. "I never expected one like you, Ebina, to be so willing to take orders from someone. You're used to giving the orders."
"It is different," Ebina agreed with a small nod. "This was…actually the last thing I would have ever done."
"You can always back down now. And play it safe," Saiki muttered.
"I don't see the point," Ebina sighed. "You found me once. If I try to hide away again…it won't work."
"Ah. So you are trainable. Good to know," she grinned lightly. Kiryu coughed out his laughter. Ebina pursed his lips together and ignored the odd glance from Kasuga. Then she said, "I will put everyone starting under me on a one month surveillance period. You won't even know that I'm watching you. I'm used to working alone to get things done. Prove me wrong on where your alliances truly are."
"Not alone anymore," Kiryu muttered in her ear.
"At least…sleeping alone…" she seemed to shrug. Now he looked at her to get her laughing softly.
"I'm there for you no matter what. Just as you are for me," he said and ran a finger over her cheek gently. Then he glanced around. "Where's Akame?"
"She had to check on something really quick. She said she'd be right back," Joongi nodded. Zhao also nodded to confirm it. Kiryu made a confirming sound and glanced down to see the lead thug going up against the former yakuza man. Kasuga grimaced at the sight of two massive weapon tables being introduced on either side of the coliseum floor.
"I really hope he lives through this…" he frowned. "I know I agreed to the weapons, but I didn't expect the two of them to pair up to fight."
"We'll have to see," Adachi sighed. Nanba already had medical staff waiting on the side. Both fighters were soon flying at each other with weapons drawn. As much as the thug leader was taking on quite a bit of damage, the former yakuza knew how to fight and avoid getting hit.
"He had to have been an officer," Daigo muttered. "I'm getting him out of there. He would benefit us."
"Yeah. Let's get him and take his place," Goro grinned.
"No. You must wait until after the time expires. One minute left," Saiki said. "I want to see both of their resolves."
"Hmm…" Kiryu thought aloud. When it was nearing the end of the fight, the thug leader grabbed a gun off the table. Now Kiryu was concerned. "How did a gun end up in there?!"
"Not my idea…" Saiki muttered. "Do we step in? I can get down there faster. And we have to move now."
"Do it!" Kiryu said. Saiki grabbed her cardigan to place back on, and leapt out of his lap again to use her whip to vault her right into the coliseum floor. She kicked the gun away and stood in front of the former yakuza man.
"Sorry. Guns were not to be allowed. I don't know how it got on the table, but the fight is now over. You both are still standing. Therefore, there is a choice. You both call a draw and go against another. Or…one of you stays to fight one of my choosing. What will it be?" she grinned wickedly.
"I draw…" the former yakuza man nodded.
"Good. Please go wait in the lounge. And you?" she asked the lead thug.
"I'm still fighting!" he growled. She grinned widely and motioned for one of the fighters to come down. Brody got up before the others could respond and strode over to her.
"This is the No Way In Hell Circle. So, you will fight this one. And he's one of the best of the best here. Knock yourself out!" she giggled softly and let Brody charge in with a massive grin on his face.
"It's about time I got to smash in a face!" he leered with his clown makeup on. Samejima rolled his eyes, but he knew that Brody was more than a match for the brash thug. Kiryu kept a close watch on his wife when she collected all the guns that littered the weapon tables. She was a bit impressed with the magnum and decided to hold onto it.
"Very nice gun…" she mused. "Not often I got to play with them."
"Guns are okay. I still prefer my fists," her husband chuckled and led her back up to their chair. Daigo and Goro were now talking to the former yakuza man, and the man was in shock at who he was talking to. Then he recognized Kiryu with extreme surprise.
"Ah! Are we making a new Clan?!" the man asked with hopefulness.
"Nope. We are working on making a building to help men like you integrate back into society. No more Clans. No more fighting like that. If you pass your assessment, we'll likely give you a job depending on your skills," Daigo nodded.
"Oh. Well, I did do a lot of the security camera feeds…" the man said.
"Great! We could definitely use you. Hmm. We need a building set up for the ones we find," Goro frowned and walked over to where Saiki and Kiryu sat again. "We need a building to house the ones we find in. A temporary place for now. What do you think?"
"Another reasonable idea, Goro. If only you had this side of yourself when we first met. I might have respected you better," Saiki smirked. Goro scowled and flipped off Taiga's laughing form. "Anyways, I'll ask Seonhee."
"I'm right here. And I agree. Joongi, wasn't there a building that went vacant around the Geomijul headquarters?" she asked.
"I think there was. I'll request for it to be scouted out," Joongi said and sent of a text to the scouting team. "It will get looked into now."
"Also, I ran into some old friends. I was given information on a building crew that can help us. We should get someone out to the Tojo land to start leveling it out and finding where all the man fixtures were to salvage them. I'll request that now," Kiryu said and sent a text to Koyuki. "I'll get a call from someone shortly."
"Get a quote and set aside as much as we need to pay off with," Saiki nodded. "I don't know who was hired to excavate my home out. I wish I did."
"There were no builder's marks?" Adachi asked. Kiryu answered his phone to start talking to a contractor in depth over what was needed. Saiki mildly listened in and kept herself cradled in his arms before returning her attention to Adachi to answer him.
"None. For safety," she sighed. "I know I'll want to rebuild the elevator shaft to go underground from the main lobby. And I do have video clips of most of the rooms on the bottom if we want to reconstruct them from before. We may need to build a three story building again for our needs. Just not as large if we want to make room for an orphanage."
"I just got the quote. We'll have more than enough to start clearing and leveling the land," Kiryu said with a chuckle. "They can get on that tomorrow."
"That's fine. It may be best that we stay home to monitor things," Saiki yawned and stretched in her husband's lap.
"Hey! Sorry I disappeared. I've been working with one of the guys that handles entertainment. They want to get that karaoke room set up fast. I had to let you know," Akame said and settled with them. "They plan to build a deluxe stage for guest singers, too. I was told to let you know so they can have the approval to get started on that."
"Good! Have the main manager in charge of events get in touch with me. I'll give him my setup for the karaoke chamber at home. As for songs, Kazuma, you can give him a song list," Saiki chuckled and got kissed by her husband with solid agreement.
"Anyways…" Seonhee started and paused on watching the lead thug get carried out on a stretcher. Brody had the training of an assassin and easily out-maneuvered around bladed weapons with complete ease. She returned her attention to Saiki. "I'm going to have a training complex built in my headquarters. I really would appreciate it if you could train my men."
"I'm going to text you some equipment to get ahold of," Saiki said and took out her phone. "Prepare your room with this. Have your men perform a series of kick, punch and stamina tests. I need to know the strengths and weaknesses of each man. It's important."
"I can do that. Joongi, you'll also be part of this," Seonhee said.
"Oh. Ah…of course," Joongi agreed.
"You should be, too," Saiki said to her.
"I plan to be! I want a whip and those shoes. I need to know how to use them," Seonhee chuckled. Saiki laughed softly and blinked at a text she got.
"Ayako…" she muttered and read it. Then she chuckled and shook her head. "She is demanding to become adopted to us right away."
"Ah! We do need to do that, too! Okay. After the fighting. We go," Kiryu nodded. Then he laughed softly at a text from Taichi. "Yeah, the kids want to be ours. We'll need to get on that quickly."
"Three more fights?" Saiki asked.
"Looks like it," Ugajin nodded. "I think I need to join you on land. Samejima can keep tabs on things here."
"As can I," JUSTICE1975 nodded. "The two of us will be plenty."
"That's fine. I may use the same payroll system here for other employment needs. Can I get the main financial officer here?" Saiki asked. The man was called over to sit down and discuss how a separate system could work. Kiryu was impressed with the critical questions asked, and the main financial man gladly accepted the challenge of taking over an extra payroll service.
"Such a thing is of no worry to me at all! I do love a good challenge! Just give me a week to send you the details of what will be needed to ensure a payroll process is established," the man chuckled confidently.
"Good! That's what I like to hear. We'll do that," she nodded. "I will bump your pay up for the extra job."
"Don't worry about that," he said. "I will volunteer this."
"Oh! If you insist," she nodded.
"I do," he smiled and left quickly to get on the new job details. Kiryu was pleased that everything was neatly coming together. He texted a few of the young adults that were now bombarding him, and Saiki made a group chat on her phone to include everyone into it. Now both her phone and Kiryu's phone were blowing up, and she texted to them all to calm down or the phones would get shut off.
"Let me handle this," Kiryu said and texted the group to remain calm. "I know they're all excited to see us again. We might have to let them come over tomorrow. As much as I wanted alone time…"
"Might not happen until Hawaii?" Saiki found herself chuckling.
"You got that right," he nodded. "Okay. That should calm them down."
"Mmm…" Saiki agreed lightly and snuggled into him.
"Something wrong?" he asked her and tightened his arms around her.
"Just enjoying this," she sighed. He chuckled softly and stroked a lock of her hair. He glanced down at the next set of fighters and kept his face neutral. Then he grimaced and coughed slightly. Saiki sat right up to examine him. "Kazuma?! Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine. Just…a lingering sensation. Nothing like before. I'm sure there may be a few effects. But it's the first time I felt it since the salve was applied. I'll just have to keep myself calm and clear of surprises," he sighed.
"Around her?" Goro snickered lightly.
"Asshole, why don't you go pick a fight with one of the challengers?" Saiki drawled out. Goro went quiet and glared at Taiga when he died laughing all over again. Adachi and Nanba were freely snickering at the whole thing. Ebina and Tsuruno gave awkward glances at each other.
"What's rather hilarious is that he knows she's talking to him," Ugajin grinned. The other three fighters coughed out laughter. Daigo had to turn his head to laugh at Goro's glare at the strong fighter.
"That is so not fair," Goro grumbled.
"At least you still have your dick," Taiga grinned.
"Fuck you," Goro snorted.
"What's this about?" Samejima asked. Kiryu glanced at him and told the story of what they were talking about. Ugajin's gaze darkened at the whole thing.
"I feel deprived that I couldn't meet him while he lived," the fighter growled. "I would have used my bare hands to rip his limbs apart!"
"Feel free to do that to anyone that insults me," Saiki smiled.
"Gladly," he nodded. "Anyone who approaches my baby sister…if she gets insulted, you text me their name and send me a photo to let me find them. I'll pummel them all down!"
"You really do see her as your sister?" Nanba mused.
"I do. We respect each other. It really does feel like family. Hmm. I…really want to know who your parents were. Can you…?" Ugajin asked. Saiki frowned at that, but she whispered in her singing tone directly into his head. "Ah! Wow! That voice! But…I see. Why…do those names sound familiar…?"
"You told him?" Kiryu asked.
"It's odd. It felt right," she admitted.
"You're my cousin!" Ugajin gaped. "From your father's side!"
"What?!" Saiki blinked.
"Yes! I mean…okay. We can't talk here. But this explains why I felt such a kinship with you! I think I even remember your real name…" he started.
"Not here," Kiryu said quickly.
"Text me what you think it is. Then delete the text," Saiki said. Ugajin did just that. Her jaw dropped.
"Yeah. That's her name," Kiryu nodded. The texts were removed, and Saiki was overwhelmed with a rare emotion of intense relief. Her husband hugged her tight and cradled her until she calmed down. "Easy. We know we can definitely trust him now. He wanted to come with us. We'll learn everything back at home. Refocus for now."
"I'll try…" she whispered.
"There's a lot that I'll need to go over with her. We'll get it sorted out," Ugajin promised. "I'm curious of the last few fights."
She could only nod and let herself get cradled. Kiryu reclined himself in the chair a bit more to let her press her face into his neck. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and gave wary glances of warning to let everyone know to stay back.
"Yeah. When she gets like this…" Kasuga winced. "I'll sit a bit further over here…"
"Ditto," Zhao agreed.
"I don't get it," Brody frowned.
"Her mental state isn't her own when she gets too emotional," Seonhee said. "She can easily snap into a killing state of mind. We've witnessed it."
"Oh…" Brody blinked and went back to watching the challengers approach each other. JUSTICE1975 was in his own state of silent shock on the thoughts he was mildly getting from Saiki. It's as though her personality is completely split in half! It's correct that she could easily slip into the part of herself that only kills relentlessly. This can turn out bad…
"Easy…" Kiryu whispered and suddenly turned his attention to the main entrance of The Castle. He saw a rather buff man in a suit walk in. "Looks like the Daidoji sent their challenger…"
"Did they…?" Saiki asked in a wary tone.
"Easy!" Kiryu muttered with a low growl. "Focus on me. Listen to my voice. Don't think of anything else. Ugajin will challenge that one. And we'll make sure to remove the weapon tables for that fight. I need you to listen to me for now. Please? This is important."
"I'm…trying…" she winced.
"I have to take her away from here until she calms down. Don't let him fight until I get back. The others can go through. He's the last one," Kiryu grunted out and lifted Saiki to carry her off.
"I can help make sure of that!" Akame gave him a thumb's up. Then she saw Ebina making an amused sound. "What's on your mind?"
"It's interesting that he's not making a Clan…" Ebina mused. "But…he's acting like a patriarch."
"Don't say that to his face," Seonhee said in complete warning.
"What? The Kiryu Clan doesn't have a ring to it?" Ebina asked with a small grin. Tsuruno gave a side glance at him now. Daigo grimaced and shook his head. Even Goro and Taiga gave looks of disapproval.
"Kiryu-san lead a Clan? Eh…I honestly don't think he'd want that," Adachi frowned. "He does have that mindset, sure. But a to make a new Clan? Nope."
"He always talked about walking away from that," Nanba said.
"The public would be breaking down our doors to take us out. Then we'd all be targeted by various news outlets and freelance reporters to falsify things again. We'd all be at risk. Don't even think about it," Zhao said with worry.
"Even if it was in secret?" Ebina asked with a light grin.
"I wouldn't put it past him," Kasuga said. "Kiryu-san just wants to retire and have a family of his own. To finally settle down quietly. To a point with what Sai-chan can do, of course. Leave him out of that Clan mess."
"Nothing would be kept a secret for long," Akame chided him. "Not with my network! And there would be others on the side waiting to jump in to gain all the glory! Think about it!"
"Just remember that you're going to work for Saiki. If she thinks you're going to double-cross her, she won't even think about killing you. She'll just do it," Seonhee said flatly. "Don't fight a battle you can't win. You've seen how she fights! She doesn't stop for a second to think twice unless it's Kiryu-san."
"On top of that, you over-stressed Kiryu-san. It nearly killed him. She isn't gonna forgive you of that overnight," Kasuga said with a heavy frown.
"I'm surprised she let you live," Joongi said.
"I'm…just as surprised. Considering her reputation," Ebina sighed with agreement. As they continued to discuss the next few events, Kiryu had Saiki locked in a heavy kiss in the bedroom.
"It's okay," he muttered and squeezed her trembling form.
"I have family! Not all of it was ripped from me!" she said with disbelief.
"I know. And we're going to gain a lot more with the adoptions," he smiled warmly at her. She could only nod at that.
"I was thinking that we should make a third floor for living quarters for family. To help out if they feel a need to," she murmured.
"We can do that," he agreed.
"Kazuma."
"Yes, Aika?"
"Love me," she whispered and kissed him hard.
"Yes…" he whispered back when he was able to. He wasn't even thinking of what was happening. All he could do was respond to what she needed. And he knew she needed everything he could give her. Even after he shouted with her, he still kept her close. It was when his senses returned that he realized that her pants and underwear were tossed aside with his pants and briefs in their haste to get close. He still wore his jacket with the shirt opened. Her cardigan was draped over a chair with her corset halter top undone for now. She was resting against his exposed chest and shivering softly. "What's wrong, Aika? Talk to me?"
"So much to say…and so hard to say…" she sighed. He could only nod and lightly stroke a lock of her hair. "We need to finish this up and head back."
"Yeah," he nodded again. He kept his arms around her to keep her against him until she was calmed down.
"In a bit…" she said softly and closed her eyes. He gave a sigh of his own and found himself laughing. "What?"
"I think I do need to start keeping count of how often we're together," he mused. That got her shaking her head at the idea. "And I'll be incredibly surprised if you're not pregnant."
"We'll still have to see about that…" she swallowed.
"Aika?" he glanced at her now. He noticed she was lowering her eyes, and he sat up lightly to fully examine her. "What is it?"
"I'm just surprised at myself," she smiled. "I never would have expected to…let myself do such a thing. To be with a man. After those attempts. What happened to me. I always thought I'd be married first. But with you…"
"We were already in love. Why else would we need a reason?" he smiled.
"I really wish…that what happened to me…when it should have been you…" she shivered. He frowned and pulled her close.
"I am your first," he growled in her ear. "I told you before. I am the one that counts. It's true…you were not my first. But you are my last. My true one and only. I can count on one hand on how many I've been with. But now that I have you? No one else can ever compare to you or replace you."
He saw her blush a bit and he nudged her. When she didn't respond, he said, "What are you blushing about, eh? You able to tell me?"
"Oh…ever since I first saw you in the cameras around the headquarters…I would…well…just that I'd fantasize about you…with me…" she said with a hint of extremely rare embarrassment. Now he rose a brow and cracked a grin.
"What…would we be doing…?" he asked. "I can make those fantasies a reality now, you know."
"Stop it!" she hissed and blushed even harder.
"You have no idea how cute and sexy you are when you blush," he grinned a bit more and kissed her. "I'm going to keep asking you until you tell me…"
"No…" she shivered. Now he saw it was with laughter.
"Then we aren't leaving here until you tell me."
"Are you serious?!"
"Yes."
"We…did a good portion of things already…"
"Such as?"
"A shower…"
"Okay. What else?"
"Like this right now."
"And…?"
"I…can't possibly say the last thing…"
"I'm already excited again on thinking of what you want to do. Tell me."
"Eh…"
"My lovely, beautiful, sexy Aika. Tell me the one thing that makes you blush the most. I really want to know," he muttered and kissed her softly.
"We…sort of did it earlier…but not completely…where I would be bending over in full…over the bed…with you behind me…" she worried her lower lip a bit.
"And…how would this start?" he asked and moved his mouth over her neck.
"You'd…have to catch me by surprise…" she said with a soft gasp. "And it doesn't…have to be the bed…could be anywhere…"
"Is that so? Hmm. Then…I suppose we should wait a bit. So I can catch you by surprise in the privacy of our own home," he chuckled and kissed her passionately now. "We do need to get back out there to see if Shishido goes back to his former bosses. Shall we?"
"Okay," she smiled and let him kiss her again.
"And remember. I am your first. Your only. No one else can touch you. You even let me touch you. And I'll never allow anyone to touch me like this. Only you," he muttered against her mouth before kissing her yet again. He ended up claiming her a final time for now before finally letting her separate from him. As they dressed, he sighed. "Yeah. We'll be lucky if we leave the hotel room."
"You would think so," she chuckled lightly. She winced lightly and ran a hand over her belly. She thought he was distracted when she did it, but he had just caught the movement from the corner of his eye.
"Aika?!" he glanced at her now.
"Damn. I was hoping you missed that," she frowned.
"Are you in pain?" he asked and went straight over to her.
"No. Just…that tightening sensation again. I've been monitoring myself. I know how my body feels all the time. So…these sensations are new," she said. At how his eyes lit up, she rolled her eyes. "I don't know for sure!"
"I'm calling it. I got you pregnant. And I'm slap-happy that I did!" he grinned and lifted her into his arms.
"We don't know!" she said again and grimaced at another sensation.
"What?" he asked quickly.
"It…feels like the start of a rock forming…" she frowned. "I mean…I've been doing some research, so…"
"You're taking a test next week?"
"I planned on it. It takes time for a certain hormone to generate to show a pregnancy is there. It could be a purely false alarm. And due to my age…I'm borderline high risk. I would need to be constantly monitored," she explained.
"Fine. I don't want you to fight at all. I know you have those jobs. I want them out of the way now. I'm tempted to just tell Rabten to piss off and pay him for the last three. But if we're dealing with The Barracudas…they are a ruthless, cold-hearted bunch. When I was in Hawaii, a homeless man stole my wallet. We got it back and let him go, but then he did the same to a member of The Barracudas. They caught him, strung him up to a wall and gutted him open. Then left him there to die."
"I see. I think I'll have fun playing with them. If they dare to cross our path," she mused. "Anyways, let's finish off the fights here. We need to get home to test what came out of you. Then we need to cater to our soon-to-be kids."
"Right," Kiryu nodded. Then he paused and took out his phone.
"Who are you calling?" she frowned.
"Hey, Rabten. Guess what? After this job in Hawaii, we are paying off the other two jobs you want her to do. Because my wife might be pregnant! You know this! I'm not going to let her risk herself any further than what she has to do. How do I know? Because she's feeling unknown sensations where a child would form. That's right. Fine. We'll discuss it later," he growled out protectively and hung up. Now he looked at her amused gaze. "I'm putting my foot down."
"I can tell," she smiled.
"I really don't want you to do anything. I know you can. But I can't let you take that risk anymore. Not when you may be having our child. And not after I finally found you after all these years," he muttered and lifted her in his arms to carry her out. He kissed her cheek when she blushed and sighed. "Now I have to refocus. We have a Daidoji challenger. We should have Shishido out there to watch with us. If his neck is healed up enough."
"That is something we should do," she agreed. As he carried her back to where the others were, he pressed his mouth to her ear.
"I love you," he muttered.
"I love you," she smiled and kissed him intimately. He kept one eye open and managed to guide himself to the chair to sit back down. Not once did he break the kiss until a few minutes after that. Saiki looked at Samejima and said, "Kazuma and I decided that Shishido needs to watch this last fight. To see if he really needs to go back or not. Get him, please?"
"He might be drugged up," the fighter frowned.
"I see. Check if he is coherent, then," she nodded. "If he isn't, then strap his ass to a stretcher and wheel him over."
"That can be done," he nodded back and rose up to check on the man.
"Who won the fights?" Kiryu asked.
"We are down to two challengers. Not counting the one from that other group. So, we have a choice. They fight each other. Or we take them out," Ugajin said. "I know you want me to take care of the new challenger."
"If they have the strength, they fight each other. The winner gets ten thousand yen. Let them know," Saiki nodded to JUSTICE1975. He chuckled and rose up to do just that.
"We don't get any rewards?" Brody asked.
"You get to keep your life," Saiki growled. That shut him up neatly and got the others to snicker softly. She yawned and snuggled into her husband's protective embrace. He was on full alert to guard over her now. She sighed when he placed a hand over her belly to rub gently. She sighed and muttered, "As much as we don't know…that does feel nice…"
"Good," Kiryu nodded and glanced over at Shishido walking over. He had a bandage around his neck to show he was able to move around for now. "Were you told of why you are here?"
"No," Shishido said a bit hoarsely.
"The Daidoji sent over a champion to fight in the coliseum. To win you back," Kiryu smirked. Shishido's eyes widened with disbelief.
"So, we caught you. But…do we release you…?" Saiki mused.
"Don't…please…!" Shishido gave a pleading beg of worry.
"We'll have to see. If Ugajin can cement your fate here…then we shall keep you. But if he fails…then you get released into the pond you were pulled from. Right?" Saiki snickered lightly.
"Let me sign a contract with you!" he begged.
"After the fight," Kiryu nodded. When Shishido hissed out his displeasure, he moved in to lunge. Then he stopped himself at the claws that Kiryu revealed at a near-punch to his face. "And you want to work for my wife? And if you work for her, then you work for me. This is strike one for you."
"And it shall carry over after the contract is signed. If there is a contract," Saiki growled and tensed up. "You shouldn't even get a strike…"
"Easy…" Kiryu grunted in her ear. "It will be punishment enough if he goes back to the Daidoji. They may increase what you already did to him."
"The fighters are already picking on each other with who will win the prize money," JUSTICE1975 snickered when he sat down. "So, when you are ready to give the word, they shall fight."
"Do it now," Kiryu nodded. Within five minutes, the two challengers eagerly squared off on the coliseum floor. Then they flung at each other with swears and jabbing insults. At the five minute timer going off to signal the end of the fight, they were still going at it.
"Do we stop them?" Samejima asked with pure amusement.
"No need," Saiki said with a bored yawn. "Let them kill each other. But I will not give them the money. Someone else should do it to keep me out of it. Do we even have cash bills?"
"There is a safe with such a thing," Ugajin nodded. "I'll get it and bring it to the winner? If that's fine?"
"Go for it!" she chuckled. "And you may as well stay down there for the next fight. If you so choose?"
"Gladly," he nodded and was quick to move off. Then he strode back over after getting the cash to kneel down and whisper softly, "Technically…you would have been my sister. My family was going to adopt you. So…I will gladly keep calling you my little sister."
"Ah…!" she blinked. He chuckled, winked at her and made his way to the coliseum floor. Kiryu sat up to keep her nestled in his arms to calm her down again. He muttered softly in her ear and stroked a lock of her hair. He glanced down and saw the last challenger standing. The man was lanky, wore tattered jeans with a loose, dirty white, tattered shirt spattered with blood and cheered for himself. The losing man was already hauled away.
"Your winnings," Ugajin nodded and handed over the cash in a small carry case. "Just remember. If you spend it all…you have to pay the same amount to re-enter. That's the rule."
"Can I, um, suggest, that, ah, the winning person…has a free entry to challenge those that approach?" the man asked hopefully. "To not start at the bottom, but be a reigning champion? Of some sort?"
"This was a trial run. Just a test to see how this would work. This fight…does not count," Ugajin smirked. "Next time, though? That would be a possibility. For now? Not a chance."
"Damn it!" the man scowled. "I may as well just give the money back to keep from spending it, then!"
"Hmm. That would be interesting. Let me ask about that…" Ugajin mused. "Stay here. I'll even ask about your little idea, too."
"Sure!" the man said with a form of hopeful pride. Ugajin moved back over to Kiryu and muttered what was suggested. Kiryu rose a brow and rose up with Saiki in his arms to follow the fighter back down to the coliseum floor. The other three fighters followed them for added protection.
"That can be done," Kiryu grinned at the man after standing in front of him with his wife in his arms. "You would get a reserved spot when the real event happens. Give the money back to Ugajin if you decide to do this. You'll leave with your pride and bragging rights."
"There's gotta be something else I can show off!" the man whined.
"In the true event, there will be an exquisite tiger keychain that you can keep. Actually, I'll give you a lesser one to show you hold a seat where you are now. As a temporary reward. Will that work?" Ugajin asked.
"Ah! Yes! That would work!" the man grinned. He gave back the prize money and got a gold tiger keychain in return. "Awesome! I'll keep this closer than my wallet!"
"I wouldn't show it off, though," Saiki warned. "It may get stolen."
"Ah…right…" the man winced and limped away with his temporary prize.
"Rather clever way to not lose any money," Kiryu chuckled.
"I just had a rather brilliant idea," Saiki mused.
"Do tell?" her husband smiled.
"We can give the winner a choice to leave with the onyx tiger on winning the full event. Or they take half the winnings, leave the tiger and accept a tiger keychain that can 'hold' their place as the fighter needed to be beaten before the others in the last round. What do you think?"
"I like that," Kiryu grinned. "And, if they option to take the onyx tiger…they are not allowed to return to challenge the coliseum again."
"The black tiger can mean the death of a fighting career for possible early retirement…" Ugajin found himself grinning widely. "Do it."
"Done," Saiki nodded. Kiryu chuckled softly. Then he saw the man the Daidoji sent out walk onto the coliseum floor. Ugajin nodded and easily stood a half-foot taller than the buff man. "Remove the weapons. There will be no cheating in this fight. No guns. No knives. Just brute strength."
"The prize is Shishido," the strong fighter muttered.
"Let's do this…" the suited man growled and readied himself to fight. The tables were quickly taken away by the waiting staff. Kiryu returned to his seat with Saiki and the other three fighters to signal for the fight to start. Shishido was set in a chair to watch the fight commence, and he frowned hard with a grimace at how the large man was starting to subdue the strong fighter. Then the other three fighters around him started to snicker with complete knowing.
"He's being played with…" Samejima grinned wickedly.
"Never fails," JUSTICE1975 agreed.
"Another two minutes," Brody nodded. Saiki found herself grinning at how her brother let himself get beaten down. Then, right when the Daidoji brute got over-confident, Ugajin gave a wicked grin from his kneeling form and sucker-punched the brute's chin to knock his head back on rising up swiftly.
"I've felt girls slap me harder!" the fighter grinned and lunged swiftly to punch hard in the man's gut. Saiki died laughing at that comment. Seonhee was giggling with absolute craziness. Akame rolled her eyes, but laughed hard at it, too. The others there were sniggering and laughing freely.
"Ugh…!" the brute gasped for air. Then he got knocked down when Ugajin combined both of his fists and slammed them down like a sledgehammer into the middle of the man's back. He was completely winded, unable to move for a moment, and Ugajin scoffed him with disgust.
"Stay down," the fighter growled and simply turned to leave the coliseum. When the brute managed to rise up and pull out a gun from an inner coat pocket, Saiki scowled and swiftly swung down into the coliseum.
"Saiki! No!" Kiryu gaped. He could only stare at the scythe that came out in mid-flight to land straight through the man. Ugajin's jaw was dropped in sheer horror on watching the brute fall apart in half. She had kept the head whole, and she used her bladed shoe to slice it off.
"Send that back to the Daidoji! I'm keeping Shishido. They can rent him from me for missions. Fuck them all!" Saiki spat out. "No guns were allowed. He brought one. We didn't search him as an act of trust. No more of that shit."
"Saiki…" Ugajin swallowed. "I would have been fine…"
"No," she said with a hard shake of her head. "You are family that I thought was lost. I won't put up with that."
"Saiki!" Kiryu said and moved to her side to scoop her up. "Why?!"
"Why wouldn't I?" she asked him. Her husband groaned and gestured for her to put away her scythe. She did so and got carried away from the bloody mess.
"And that's why we don't fuck with her," Goro said. Ebina's eyes were wide with shock at what he witnessed.
"I need to work for her," Tsuruno said with a small nod to himself.
"I want those shoes," Seonhee smiled lightly. The staff moved in to swiftly clean up the blood and box up the body. The head was placed in a separate box to await further orders on what to do with it. Shishido was trembling from head to toe when Saiki was soon before him in Kiryu's arms.
"That's what I will do to you if you fuck up with me," Saiki vowed. "You still want to work for me?"
"I…I do…" Shishido managed to nod.
"And so you know…I am the Headhunter of the Yakuza!" she grounded out. Now Shishido's jaw dropped in absolute shock. "You never knew. Did you?"
"N-n-no!" he said while trembling even harder.
"Interesting how they kept that from you. Heard of me?" she smirked.
"Just…rumors…" he swallowed.
"And now she's my wife. And likely pregnant with my child. I kicked you down before. I know I can do it again. But…my wife may put you down permanently before I can even touch you. She's killed over fifty men in a warehouse to get me out when they tried to kidnap me," Kiryu muttered out.
"I'll need to see your collar. I don't want them zapping you out of commission before I get the chance to," Saiki said and turned her head to the entrance of The Castle. A swarm of Daidoji men were bombarding the way in. Anyone that was an innocent guest was quickly ushered into a nearby shop or enclosure to protect them. She counted nearly thirty of the suited men. Now she gave a twisted grin of delight.
"Are they seriously…?!" Kiryu gaped.
"I need…to play…Kazuma…" she whispered.
"I…damn it! How long?" he asked with a bit of defeat. "If we go down there…I know I wouldn't last long in my condition…"
"That's an awful lot of them," Adachi said and watched the men rushing into the staff trying to block the way up the stairs. Goro was ready to help out, but Daigo rose up his hand to keep the others there.
"Five minutes…maybe less…" she said on studying how each man moved. JUSTICE1975 was shaking in his chair on seeing this side of her mind now. Ugajin was speechless at everything. Samejima was quickly sending a warning out to the staff to prepare to duck down if Saiki took care of everything. Brody moved to show he was going to block the way up to them with his massive bulk.
"Do it. Return back when the job is done. Harm none up here unless I am in danger. Go!" Kiryu nodded and set her down. She laughed and let her haunting voice filter down to target the men and confuse them. Then she swung down on her bladed whip with her scythe out again.
Now the group saw a true bloodbath happen. She danced, flitted and sliced her way through all of them. She was laughing in her haunting tone the whole time to mock and enrage them. Every twirl she did resulted in limbs sliced off with her bladed shoes with intense, surgical finesse. Acupuncture needles were flung out to block off the bullet chambers in any gun drawn for them to explode in use.
Heads were soon rolling away when she swung out her scythe, and the staff of employees were flat on the ground to steer clear. When the last Daidoji man fell in pieces, she leapt back up and used her whip with expert parkour skills. Kiryu nodded to her and gestured for her weapons to get put away. Then he placed his hand on her shoulder to show he was there when she stood next to him. That broke whatever hold was on her, and she whined while placing a hand to her head from the intense headache that assaulted her.
"Saiki!" he hissed and lifted her into his arms. Then he glared at the others. "Say. Nothing. Not a word. Got it?!"
"Yeah," Kasuga nodded. "I know it's to protect us."
"What…how…?!" Shishido was beside himself at what he just witnessed.
"Completely untouched…" Ebina swallowed with disbelief. Even Tsuruno was at a loss for words with several others.
"That…was very sad…" Nanba frowned and shook his head at the dead men that littered the floor.
"Might want to save the heads in separate boxes," Seonhee muttered. Joongi was quick to help give that order. Akame was shaking from head to toe at what she just witnessed.
"Ow!" JUSTICE1975 said and shook his head now when he found himself finally freed from Saiki's thoughts. "That hurt…!"
"What's wrong with you?" Samejima asked.
"My mind…was mildly locked to hers. Now I just got a glimpse of the headache she has. It's fading now, but…her thoughts…the way she was thinking! What I saw…she shouldn't have gone through all that! She was just a child!" the fighter growled out. "She didn't know anything but how to kill! Like a common animal! No one should have ever gone through the hell she went through!"
"You saw that?!" Joongi asked.
"Yes. It's…something my armor lets me do. But this was…I've never been so locked in before! I was actually…seeing what she went through! Parts of things. How she killed. Strategized to kill. I've never seen anything like it," the fighter shivered hard at what he recalled now. "And no one could find her!"
"I had vowed to myself to never stop trying to find her. But after twenty years of fruitless searching…I actually gave up…" Ugajin winced.
"She was hidden under the Tojo headquarters. None of us knew save a few. And it was planned that way. Even I didn't know. If I did, I would have freed her," Kiryu said. He looked at his wife to see she was sleeping soundly against him. He kissed her forehead tenderly and made sure her face was pressed into his neck. "She's sleeping. I'm going to sit back down. No one say anything. She can still wake up and snap into a killing mood."
"I thought she was able to control the headaches?" Kasuga frowned.
"We thought so, too. I'm starting to think that it depends on how deep this…persona of hers is. If she's brought out of it quickly, it tears her apart mentally. She has to bring herself out of it gradually. It's starting to seem that way," he frowned and kept her cradled in his embrace. "And it all started after she took the medicine to heal her mind."
"Medicine?" Ugajin asked and sat down now.
"A poison. But it lets her think clearly when she's able. I'll tell you what she told me," Kiryu said and filled in the ones that wanted to know. When he told them how she tested what happened if she didn't take it, he gestured to the floor of The Castle. "Think of that…on a grander scale."
"Fuck…" Goro grimaced.
"And I said I remembered what that place looked like," Daigo said with a dry swallow. "This is like a near mirror-image. Just a smaller scale as Kiryu pointed out just now."
"Fucking Dog Catcher…!" Taiga snarled out.
"Her deceased jailor?" Samejima asked.
"Yep. That's what she called him. He was the one that did it to her. We told you all about it. But…you can see what he did to accomplish it," Kasuga muttered his distaste. "Men like that guy shouldn't exist."
"And we wiped him out of existence," Goro grunted. "He still called her a little dog on trying to find her, too! I was there for that!"
"What?" Ugajin growled out.
"She cut off his head in the end. She just couldn't do it while he was out and about. She needed our help. And she couldn't do it long ago since no one knew about her," Adachi frowned. "What else could she do?"
"Yeah. His face was priceless when he saw me again," Kiryu smirked. Then he glanced around for silence and gently whispered in Saiki's ear when she started to stir. Her deep blue eyes met his brown eyes under the false glasses. She started to shake horribly to show she was still fighting off something, and he was quick to lift her up to rush her back into the bedroom. Only when they were alone and behind closed doors did she finally break down into racking sobs. "I'm here, Aika! I'm here…!"
"I…blacked out…again…! I…!" she panicked.
"Easy now…" he soothed and sat on the bed to crush her to him. "Breathe. Listen to my voice. That's it. Breathe…"
"Ka…zu…ma…!" she whimpered out.
"Breathe…" he whispered and rocked her. Very slowly, her body began to calm down. He took in slow, deep breaths with her to help her calm down further. He knew she calmed down faster when she heard him breathe. She was still shaking, but it wasn't as intense as it was. "Hush…it's okay now…"
"I want…this…to stop…" she shivered and clung to him.
"After Hawaii. I'll do all I can to help stop it. But you also need it. We just can't let it overtake you like this. You can control it, Aika! I will help you control it. Okay? But no more jobs after Hawaii. No more missions. I can only promise you so much. But I know that you won't let anything get in our way, too. I may say this now, but things always change. Just relax now. You're with me. You're with me…" he whispered and rocked her. She hiccupped and relaxed even more. "That's it…"
"I hate this…" she whispered.
"I know you do."
"I lose myself…"
"And I'm here to help you regain yourself."
"I feel…so fucking weak…when I black out! I lose…control…"
"When did you black out? Can you tell me?" he soothed and ran a hand through a long lock of hair. He pressed his mouth to her temple to show he wasn't budging from her side.
"When I…was told…to do the job…" she swallowed. "It felt like…that job long ago…the Clan…with so many there…"
"I see."
"I…let myself get lost in thought…it was just instinctive…"
"Hmm."
"Do you…still love me after all that?" she asked with a hard tremble.
"Aika. Don't you ever ask that question again," he said sternly to her and had her look into his eyes. "I love you no matter what you do. No matter who you become. Because I know you would never hurt me. You protect me. And you'll protect everyone else we know we can trust. And I know you love me as much as I love you. I love you more and more with each passing day. I will never stop loving you."
She started to tear up, and he kissed her heavily to show he still loved her as much as he always had. After the kiss broke, he started to hum softly while rocking her. He felt her body finally calm down and regain control. He continued to run a hand through a lock of hair while he hummed out a song. She rubbed her face into his shirt, and he gave her a handkerchief that he had in one of his jacket pockets. Only after it was lightly used and put away did he finally lift her from the bed to carry her back out. All she could do was cling to him, but he was already expecting it.
Ugajin was standing in front of the door to ensure no one could get in. His massive arms were crossed over his equally massive chest to show he was ready to punch out anyone that got too close. He turned when the door opened, and he nodded to them both. Kiryu looked at him and said, "I was going to go out there, but I think we need to talk first since you're here. Come in."
"Right," Ugajin nodded and followed them in. The door was closed, and Kiryu sat down in a chair with his wife in his lap.
"Is it safe to call you by your real name with him here?" Kiryu asked his wife softly. She looked at him with a small smile.
"He knows it. I'm sure he'll keep it secret," she whispered.
"You have my promise. I won't even say it around other family unless I know it's safe to mention," Ugajin nodded. She nodded back and sighed hard.
"Aika cannot be put under any stress right now. Even when she's in this mood…she can still snap. I witnessed it. She blacks out and instinct drives her to kill. After the trip in Hawaii is done, I don't want her to take on any more jobs. She wants to be free of this garbage. At least to a point that she can control it better. It's important."
"I know," Ugajin nodded and sat down on the bed.
"Everyone thinks I can control her. I can't. I am just her grounding point. Her focus to come back to us. I want everyone to think I can control her. Even she wants that to happen. She chooses to listen to me. You can already tell that she does what she wants if the instinct to protect and kill takes over," he said lightly.
"Yeah. I just saw that," Ugajin grimaced. "But…Aika…what happened to you? I mean…"
"I can't…really talk yet…" she frowned.
"I can tell you what happened. I know we talked about most of her past, but there were a few details left out purposely. Listen closely," Kiryu gestured to be focused on. Now the fighter learned the grisly tale of what happened that night to her over thirty years ago. The state of the house. The returned items of jewelry and the music box. Even more was how she was spotted and picked out. Ugajin was shaking his head at all of it.
"I barely remember Uncle Hori. He was studying to be a scientist of intense degrees. Even Aunt Kai was a well-established nurse in the medical field. What happened to them…it shocked the entire family…" he winced at the memories. "I was only about ten years of age when it happened. And when we learned that Aika was taken to an adoption center?! Instead of coming to one of us?! We were all livid and making our way to find out where she was taken.
"We had just found out where she was sent, but then it was reported that she was stolen! Kidnapped! We sent out detectives. Police. Everyone we could find that was willing to help. But…nothing came of it…"
"What was the name of the orphanage?" Kiryu asked.
"It was Poppy Seed Rise. A very small, out of the way place. It looked pleasant enough, and they had just received her. They were actually trying to track us down to inform us that they had her! But when she was gone…she wandered outside somehow. She was so scared from what they told us. Very confused. Everything happened so fast! They didn't even know how intelligent she was," Ugajin sighed hard and shook his head. Then he blinked. "Wait. They did. She figured out how to open a childproof latch within five minutes…"
"That's how I got outside…" she blinked at the memory. "They had a chair by the door. I stood on it. I was just tall enough to lift the latch! I just…I just wanted to go home…"
"Aika…" Kiryu frowned and cradled her.
"My old house…we need it to be either claimed or destroyed," she said.
"I want to give it to one of our future kids," Kiryu said.
"Oh. We could do that…" she blinked at the idea.
"We'll need to clear it out and remodel it," he said.
"I'll handle that," Ugajin said.
"Two things will need to be done right away. Her baby room has her name on the wall. Remove the name. The other thing is this. The bed in the master bedroom is still a murder scene. Don't think about it. Just get rid of it," Kiryu said in complete warning. Ugajin's jaw dropped at that news. Saiki shivered and let her husband comfort her. He looked at the fighter and said, "The way she was brought up…some things just can't be fixed overnight. She's getting better about it. But I have absolutely no regrets that I married her as fast as I did. With the cancer that may still be taking me over…I couldn't wait."
"Cancer?!" Ugajin blinked.
"Oh. You didn't know?" Kiryu frowned.
"No! Wait. You did tell me. I think. What's going on?" he asked. Now Kiryu told him what was happening with him and what was going on. He was completely stunned.
"I thought Akame would have said something to you," Saiki said.
"She did, but I was skeptical. I had also mildly forgotten that something was said with everything going on. Of course, I don't think we know what type of cancer it is, do we? It's…why I was a bit confused. But now it all fits together. The three month treatment.
"I wasn't too sure on what the treatment was for. Now I do. Again, you did tell me before, but it slipped my mind. Hmm. I think I need to go to Hawaii with you. I just got my baby sister back. I can't let her go anywhere alone. I mean…damn! Do I tell the rest of the family?" the fighter asked. "Would it be wise?"
"If she's overwhelmed, it may be too much. Tell a few at a time. She cannot be the center of attention right away. Only tell those that know how to keep things quiet for now. We need to make sure it's safe to come forth to any others. Too many questions will be asked. If it's demanded to talk to her by them all, then we may have to do an auditorium style event. But only a few should approach at a time for safety," Kiryu advised. "And advise for no one to insult her. Ever."
"Right," Ugajin nodded. "I know we have a few that like to challenge. I'll stress to keep their mouths shut around her."
"Good to know," Kiryu grunted out.
"I wonder if the orphanage that had me has an old photo of me," she frowned in thought.
"I think they do! I can definitely call them and ask. If one of the family doesn't have a photo, that is," Ugajin nodded.
"We just need to be careful. Anyways, let's inform Shishido that he's now fully employed by my wife," Kiryu said lightly.
"And I hope the Daidoji like their little…'gifts'…" Saiki snickered.
"That, too…" Kiryu sighed. "We're likely on their radar now."
"Well, I see them as enemies now. I refuse to work with them. They gave me money with no strings attached. Then they came in here knowing I was here. And they slapped me in the face. They had best stay far the fuck away from me!" she spat out. When Kiryu's phone rang, he took it out of his pocket to answer it.
"Hello?" Kiryu asked.
"Is Shishido back with us?" the man asked.
"Nope. But the head of your challenger with all of his goons will be sent back shortly," Kiryu said neutrally. At the dead silence given, he continued, "We said no weapons. Your lead goon pulled a gun when he lost the match. Saiki severed him in half and reserved the head. Then the rest of your patrol tried to jump in to help. She slaughtered every single one within five minutes."
"He wasn't supposed to do that! None of them were! Shit!" the man hissed out. "We should have sent another out to monitor things. To enforce the rules. It wasn't supposed to go like this. There were a lot of good men that died."
"Well, now you can give them proper burials," Saiki grounded out. "At first, I was going to declare all of you as untrusting. But, if you can prove to me that they acted on their own and out of bounds...I may forgive this act of childish insensitivity. I'll give you a month. I will not be in town for all of next week. I will be on my honeymoon in Hawaii. Find out what happened. Send me a report."
"If only you just agreed to work for us…" the man sighed.
"Don't you fucking dare mention that again. I will find your headquarters and paint the walls red with blood," she said with absolute vehemence. "I was a fucking lapdog for over thirty years of my life. I will no longer be one."
"You wouldn't have been one! We would have given you a leadership role!" he said quickly. "We would have made you an officer!"
"Fuck that. No. I'd still have to listen to orders. I don't do that. I lead. I don't obey. And, so you know, Kazuma doesn't control me. We have a mutual respect for each other. I choose to obey him. I don't have to," she said sternly. "It's been proven. And, as he is my husband, I won't let anyone lay a fucking finger on him."
"Besides, why should we trust anything you say? The Daidoji, again, disrespected us and disobeyed orders. This is an insult," Kiryu muttered out.
"I just got approval to set you up in an exclusive flat right on the beach of the big island of Hawaii. No cameras. No interruptions. All room service and fees will be paid by us in full. Of course, any expenses outside the hotel are your responsibility, but inside? We will cover the tab. Please accept this as our apology," the man said with intense concern in his tone.
"What…?" Saiki blinked and looked at Kiryu. Her husband quickly took over the phone call.
"No catch?" Kiryu asked warily.
"None," the man confirmed.
"Fine. We'll accept it. But if there is any garbage that comes to us…you know what will happen," he warned. "Text me the information and any instructions so I can handle it for my wife."
"This is strike two. If there is a strike three…we are finished. You'd better make sure your superiors know," she growled out loud enough to be heard.
"I will do so now," the man agreed and disconnected the call.
"I really. Really. Hate the Daidoji," she growled.
"I can relate with that now," Ugajin said grimly. "Yeah. I'm going with you. I'm sure there's a spare room in the flat?"
"Nope. You will get your own place to sleep. Not sharing our space," Kiryu smirked at him. "Remember. It's my honeymoon with her."
"Ah! Right. I'm sure I can get a room nearby," Ugajin laughed softly.
"Let's inform Shishido of his new employment contract," Saiki muttered. Kiryu nodded and continued to carry her out. The rest of the group quickly looked over when the three returned and waited for Kiryu to settle back in the chair with Saiki in his lap. He saw the mess was already cleaned up in a swift, methodical way. He knew it was from all the other stuff that happened at The Castle, and the staff was specially trained to handle things.
"Did anyone take a picture of what that floor looked like?" Ugajin asked.
"It's on video, I bet," Akame said.
"Video? Interesting. I want the footage," Kiryu said. "Digital format."
"On it!" Akame said and rose up to request it.
"Why?" Saiki asked.
"I want you to see how you attack," he explained. Now she found herself pausing in thought at that. "You need to see how you do it. Not only to see how blacking out affects you, but so you can critique yourself."
"That would be interesting," Seonhee smiled.
"You blacked out?" Joongi frowned.
"Yeah. What he just asked," Kasuga said with complete concern.
"I did. The moment I was told to go down there…I was lost," Saiki swallowed. "My body moved on its own."
"I actually saw a few things from your thoughts," JUSTICE1975 said. Now she looked at him with a frown. "I saw parts of what you went through. I was…absolutely disgusted! They were starting to train you at only five years old! They saw you were memorizing things at three years old when they got you. And I saw the one that caught you. He was already teaching you how to cut things open. That it was okay to do it. You had no childhood."
"I didn't even have toys," she said softly.
"I am your toy now," Kiryu muttered in her ear. That got her laughing softly. "Play with me as much as you want."
"Terrible…" she shook her head. Then she said, "I do wonder if the orphanage that had me…if they had any video footage outside."
"Just the front door," Ugajin said. "Nothing of the grounds. I know they fixed it after you were taken, but it was the first thing my family asked."
"And that asshole took you when you were outside of the building," Goro frowned at what he remembered. "Maybe I can take a piss on the remains when we get back…"
"Jerk off on it, too," Taiga smirked. Goro glared at him with his single eye.
"That is disgusting. But noteworthy…" Saiki frowned and shuddered lightly. Adachi and Nanba were laughing and grimacing at the thought. Zhao whistled and got a weird glance from Joongi.
"Oh! I got a text from Tomi," Kasuga said and checked it. "He's done with work. He'd like to know what's up. Sa-chan had to stay until closing. Chi-chan has been flooded with business meetings, but she hopes to be out in the next hour."
"If Tomi can meet us on the mainland, he can drive us back. We can fill him in," Kiryu nodded. "We'll need two cars, though."
"That we will," Joongi nodded. "I can get one of the Geomijul to get here to help with a van."
"Go for it," Saiki said. "Kazuma, how's my back?"
"Yeah, let me check," her husband said and had her lean up a bit. "None of the stitches opened up. A little swollen. We'll get it doctored up when we get home. Just tell me what to do."
"I can do that," she nodded.
"Good. We may have to come back here once a week to show we're in charge. And we'll want to be here for every fighting event. Ugajin, you have a team set up to keep control of this place?" Kiryu asked.
"I can also have some men stationed here," Seonhee offered.
"If they accept, give them a bonus in pay for five thousand yen a day. I can help with that," Saiki smiled lightly. Seonhee looked at Joongi to send the offer.
"I got twenty men chiming in to help," Joongi chuckled.
"Good. We can rotate them in shifts once a week. That way they don't feel homesick and can get a chance to go back outside in familiar territory," Seonhee nodded. "Joongi? When can they leave?"
"They are waiting right now," Joongi nodded.
"Have them bring enough vehicles to escort Tomi here. We should go now," Seonhee said and looked at Saiki. "Who will be here?"
"Saiki wasn't here to know who was stronger than who, so I'll answer that. The four fighters here were known as the 'Four Kings of the Coliseum'. Ugajin insisted to come with for now, and he's the strongest one. It would also make sense that he is the one in charge while here in our stead, but he wants to help protect Saiki for a time.
"Samejima will watch The Castle while we are out, even though he comes in third. JUSTICE1975 was second in power and will work with him. I know the roles should be reversed due to strength, but JUSTICE1975 can be the 'muscle' just in case Brody gets overcome. Brody, as anyone can guess, is the fourth in power here. I'd much rather have it this way just in case," Kiryu said before Saiki could answer. "I know their ranking. And I have beaten them all down before. I don't care to be part of their circle, but we all have earned each other's respect."
"Ah. As you say," Saiki nodded. "Make sure to call me directly if shit hits the fan. We do need to go and start preparing things."
"That we do. Come," Kiryu smiled and pressed a kiss to his wife's temple.
"I could walk…" she said.
"No," he said and grinned lightly at her sigh. "You've never been pampered before. You're long overdue."
"Of course…" she sighed and laughed at the nuzzle into her neck. They both looked over to see Akame jogging over with a USB stick to give them. Saiki took it from her and flipped a section of her whip handle open. She pushed the USB stick into it and let the small computer extract the information.
"What's on that?" Kiryu asked.
"The video footage of her attacking," Akame said. Then she blinked at what Saiki was doing. "Ah, what did you do?"
"My weapon is also a computer. In certain parts. This way, if anything happens to the USB, I have a backup copy. And it sends this copy to my cloud database," Saiki chuckled. She gave the USB stick to her husband to hold onto.
"Okay. I need to ask. Did you ever get your IQ checked?" JUSTICE1975 asked. "I'm highly curious if you did…"
"I did. I'm at 149. I did this out of my own curiosity after I was freed," Saiki said with a small shrug. Now Kiryu stopped in his walk and stared at her with complete disbelief. "What?"
"You…are one of the rare geniuses…?!" he asked.
"I suppose. It would make sense?" she smiled. "With all I can do?"
"Amazing…" Ebina muttered out.
"What's going on with me?" Shishido asked.
"Your ass stays here," Saiki said to him bluntly. "Part of your contract with me is to not step foot off this boat. So, you will fight any challengers that are about to approach Brody. That's your primary job. You may also get mild supervisor jobs, but nothing too strenuous. So, Samejima, please have a room set up for him. And a constant watch at all times."
"Done," Samejima nodded. "We will escort you out, but will remain."
"And you contact us if anyone else tries to get on this ship to take it over. If it happens, let them take it over. Because Saiki will take it back within the hour of getting on board," Kiryu said with a stern tone. "We don't want lives lost. No one plays out being a hero. It's not worth it."
"I can get that," JUSTICE1975 agreed in full.
"Yeah," Brody nodded.
"I think I need to change clothes if I'm leaving the ship. Ah, can I have ten minutes?" Ugajin asked. Saiki nodded to him and watched him move off briskly.
"How much room is in the helicopter?" Tsuruno asked.
"Enough for ten people," Akame nodded.
"Looks like three of us may have to sit it out. Unless we all settle in," Daigo frowned. "Think we can?"
"I don't think we want to risk a return trip," Kiryu sighed. "We'll make due. The moment Ugajin gets back, we go."
"Yeah…" Saiki yawned. "Maybe we can invest in a larger helicopter."
"We'll be fine," Tsuruno nodded. They chatted over what to do the moment they land, and Kasuga confirmed that Tomi would be there by the time they landed. Joongi had arranged for two of the largest vans the Geomijul had would also be ready to help out.
"I'm back!" Ugajin said when he walked over with a small suitcase. "I locked up my room for now, but there's nothing in it that can hamper forms of security and such. I'll likely buy a few more clothes in the mainland. I also have a small rental space that I use on occasion. Where would we be going, though?"
"Ijincho. My city that I protect with the Geomijul," Seonhee nodded. "I could set you up with a room inside the Geomijul headquarters."
"Well, my rental isn't in that city. I'll have to find a new place to retire in for the time being. I may have to take you up on your offer. How far away is it from Saiki?" Ugajin asked.
"Less than ten minutes," she smiled.
"Done. I'll accept. Just don't let your guys think I'm joining them," he said.
"You could offer to train them," Saiki grinned. "It would give you a reason to smack sense into them if they try to fuck with you."
"That's a good idea…" he grinned a bit wickedly. "If it comes to that, I may have to. We'll see."
"I think I know a couple men you can punch into a wall, too. I'll tell them that you're Saiki's older brother. Since you are," Seonhee nodded. "Joongi. Are we ready to go now?"
"Yes," Joongi nodded. As they were about to board the helicopter, Saiki gave out a hiss of warning.
"Darling?" Kiryu frowned.
"A spy. I saw movement. Can I hunt?" she asked.
"Don't kill. Just bring him to us. Or signal for us to go to you. Okay? We don't want any more deaths," he said carefully. She smiled with a nod and got set down. "Stay in control. Remain calm."
"I will," she nodded and was quick to use her whip to leap away. Kiryu was anxious for her, but at the surprised shout from a man given, he soon found her signaling where she was with a bright light. Ugajin, Samejima and Kasuga rushed over with Kiryu to find her standing over a surviving man from the Daidoji behind a maze of boxes and crates.
"He chose not to join the fray. Smart man," Kiryu smirked.
"I broke him," Saiki snickered and squeaked when she got pulled into her husband's arms.
"I think the helicopter's too full to bring him back with us. What do we do?" Kasuga asked. Ugajin and Samejima hauled the man to his feet and dragged him over to the others.
"He should call his boss and get picked up," Kiryu said.
"They'll kill me!" the man whimpered.
"And they likely think he's already dead," Saiki mused. She set her gaze on the cowering man. "Do you have family?"
"No…" the man swallowed.
"Want to work here for me?" she grinned. Kiryu rose a brow at this.
"Ah…I can…?!" the man gaped.
"As long as you keep your mouth shut on things. Yes. You can help watch over Shishido. In secret. But if you fuck up once…you're dead," she warned.
"I'll take it!" the man nodded.
"Good. Sign a contract. You'll get paid like the others. Bonus pay for extra work, too. I'll be back by the end of next week, most likely. Do your job well. You will always be watched," she nodded. The man sighed with a bit of relief and looked at Shishido sternly.
"Already doing his job. Good," Kiryu muttered. The helicopter was quickly boarded after that, and Samejima, JUSTICE1975, Brody and Shishido watched it fly off. They looked at each other.
"Let's get to work. We have events to build and personal living rooms to assign. Move," Samejima said to them all to show he was now in charge. On the helicopter, Kiryu kept Saiki nestled in his lap. He knew she wasn't used to so many in such a small space, and he had her completely focus on him.
"That's it. Just stay with me," he whispered and kissed her forehead. She had her eyes closed as a light form of sleep for the rest of the flight.