Miyajima Tsubaki glanced over with a sidelong look.
Madam Tsubaki, having just experienced being deceived, had already determined that the person in front of her was a bad boy.
She no longer believed his act.
A secondary reason?
What could it be?
Although Miyajima Tsubaki looked furious on the surface, the fire in her heart wasn't actually that hot.
It was like a heavy summer rain; the drops were large, but after a short downpour, the sky would quickly clear.
Although her rage burned fiercely for a moment, it extinguished just as quickly.
There was even a faint sense of relief.
If she was deceived, so be it.
It was better than suffering some kind of misfortune.
"Bring him in," Hayato shouted toward the outside.
As soon as he finished speaking.
Miyajima Tsubaki still didn't know what was happening.
Hayato drew his sword, and with two swift *swooshes*, the blade severed the hemp ropes binding her feet and wrists.
Miyajima Tsubaki immediately felt her hands and feet loosen.
Only then did she notice that Hayato had two swords, one long and one short, hanging from his waist.
Moreover, these two swords looked very familiar, identical to her family's heirloom, Quick Blade Ichimonji.
Before Miyajima Tsubaki could ask what was going on.
The door was pushed open again.
A person rolled in miserably, like a kicked ball.
And the person standing behind her did indeed have one foot raised.
The person who raised the foot was a woman.
She had short, red hair tucked behind her ears.
Her figure was curvaceous.
Her face was also quite pretty.
She looked very young... much older than the young Hayato, but definitely younger than herself.
She was probably around twenty-five or twenty-six.
Tsubaki looked at the woman; although her clothing was different from that day, and she had removed her hat and mask, Miyajima Tsubaki still recognized her instantly.
This woman was the truck driver... To think she was such a beautiful young lady.
Miyajima Tsubaki noted this internally, but she couldn't afford to dwell on it.
The person who was kicked in was the 'protagonist' of this scene.
He was in a more wretched state than Miyajima Tsubaki.
Although he wasn't blindfolded or gagged, his hands and feet were tied together, forcing his entire body into a strange, spherical shape.
He looked extremely strained.
In fact, his expression was genuinely one of considerable pain.
But more than his expression, what Miyajima Tsubaki couldn't ignore... was his face.
Miyajima Sosaku.
Miyajima Tsubaki initially wanted to call out "Brother," but quickly swallowed the word.
She hadn't had a brother for about ten years.
"Tsubaki..."
Miyajima Sosaku's head was wedged between his thighs, and his feet were above his head.
The posture was truly ludicrous.
However, neither Miyajima Sosaku nor Miyajima Tsubaki could laugh.
Miyajima Tsubaki felt confusion and astonishment.
But Miyajima Sosaku felt mostly distortion and terror.
"Tsubaki..." Miyajima Sosaku continued calling his sister's name. "Save me, save me... Only you can save me now!"
His speech was so frantic that one wondered if he might bite his tongue.
Miyajima Sosaku was swallowing saliva as he spoke, acting as if he would be slaughtered like livestock the next second.
Miyajima Tsubaki could understand every word Miyajima Sosaku said, yet she couldn't figure out the current situation.
"Wh-what's going on?" She looked toward Hayato.
"A surprise."
Hayato smiled, then pushed the shoulder of the short-haired woman.
"You two siblings have a good talk.
I'll wait for you outside.
When you have a result, just knock on the door of 405 next door."
Having said that.
Hayato walked straight out of the room, then slammed the door shut with a *bang*.
Only Miyajima Tsubaki and Miyajima Sosaku remained in the room.
Miyajima Tsubaki was stunned for a moment.
Then she looked at her brother, who was tied up like a newborn.
"What... happened?" she asked.
Too many incomprehensible things had happened today.
Her mind cleared up a bit, only to quickly become muddled again.
Her mood calmed down somewhat, only to quickly become anxious again.
Miyajima Sosaku seemed not to hear his sister's question, instead repeating over and over:
"Tsubaki, save me, save me... Now only you can save me, only you can save me! I don't want to be killed, I, I don't want to be killed... I don't want to be killed, I don't want to be killed..."
Looking at Miyajima Sosaku's terrified expression,
Miyajima Tsubaki recalled ten years ago.
At that time, after he made a mistake and tried to escape, he also begged Miyajima Tsubaki for help in this way after his father broke one of his legs.
But, now his father was clearly still in the hospital.
"Save me, please, Tsubaki, save me—"
"…What exactly happened!" Miyajima Tsubaki had a headache from the noise.
She couldn't help but demand, "How can I save you—how did you become like this, why were you with Mr. Hayashi!?"
She blurted out several questions, but Miyajima Sosaku seemed to have only caught one key point.
"How can I save you"—Miyajima Sosaku quickly gave Miyajima Tsubaki the solution:
"As long as you plead with Mr. Hayashi, he said that as long as you say to let me go, he will let me go. If you don't let me go, he will definitely kill me... Tsubaki... Sister, sister, we grew up together, didn't we? You must choose to let me go... You, you quickly go tell Mr. Hayashi that he won't kill me, he won't kill me... Go quickly."
Mr. Hayashi, kill, slaughter...?
Miyajima Tsubaki was silent for a while, as if trying to figure out how these three words were connected.
And Miyajima Sosaku's noisy voice still echoed in her ears.
Aiya Yayoi looked back at the door.
"You're just going to let those siblings talk? Are you sure?"
"Yes," Hayato said, "I said I'd give Miss Tsubaki the decision-making power, and I'll stick to it."
"They're siblings," Aiya Yayoi frowned and said, "What if that Miyajima woman..."
"She's older than you, show some respect," Hayato said.
"What if that old Miyajima woman," Hayato corrected, "gets soft-hearted and spares her brother?"
Hayato rolled his eyes and didn't answer Aiya Yayoi.
Aiya Yayoi narrowed her eyes, full of suspicion:
"You seem to trust Miyajima a lot?"
"…I thought you just had a complicated relationship with the Miyajima girl, but I didn't expect you to want to be her father!" Aiya Yayoi accused with a finger, "…Disgusting!"
Hayato still didn't answer.
He looked up.
Above "404" was "504", which was Yukino Fuyumi's room.
He should visit her sometime.
He wanted to ask Snow Woman Miss some questions.
Hayato thought to himself.
Seeing that Hayato ignored her, Hayato leaned in and blew into his ear.
"I can also let you be a father... Hmm, only in bed," she stuck out her tongue and licked the air.
"I'm not that old yet," Hayato said calmly.
Hayato:... You're unyielding, kid!
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