Chiba Prefecture, in a small, not very famous café.
Toru, wearing light makeup, sat at an outdoor table, leisurely drinking his Americano.
He was recalling the chaotic events of last night, his mind filled with Yukino's shy expression and her pair of fair, soft, pinkish-white small feet.
It had to be said that Yukino truly lived up to her reputation as a top student at Sobu High School. She learned things extremely quickly.
Watching foreign P-site videos, under Toru's guidance, she quickly went from awkward to familiar, allowing him to feel the flexibility of her toes and the softness of her soles.
However, Toru was an experienced man. It was still somewhat difficult to resolve things using Yukino's inexperienced feet.
In the end, under his persistent guidance, Yukino still tied up her black hair and served him with her head lowered.
"I didn't expect Yukino to be such a love brain."
Toru clicked his tongue.
This was somewhat unexpected for him.
He had thought Yukino was a calm and rational girl who would not act impulsively, just like during her chuunibyou phase when she strictly pursued her so-called genuine ideals.
But the reality was that Yukino was not rational at all. She was just a high school girl who could act on impulse and might even oppose her family for certain reasons.
And Haruno had also shown him her true self.
Compared to her younger sister, Haruno was actually weaker inside. She had always been suppressed by her mother and family, leaving her unable to breathe. Everything she did was for the sake of the family.
Yukino was actually a pitiful girl without a strong sense of self. In this regard, she was even worse than her sister.
"Anime characters are distorted. In reality, they can't be exactly the same. They have worries too, and they're troubled by family and school matters."
Toru silently reminded himself.
Reality and anime were completely different. He needed to focus more on reality and not apply his shallow understanding of anime to others.
This made him more cautious, preventing himself from falling into danger because of arrogance.
"Ms. Yukinoshita… is truly an oppressive parent."
Toru sighed softly.
All the problems of the Yukinoshita family stemmed from Ms. Yukinoshita.
It was because of her strong control, self-centeredness, and desire to dominate everything that the family had become what it was now.
In the past, Toru had seen many such frustrating parents online, but he never expected to encounter one in reality, and even less that it would be the mother of the Yukinoshita sisters.
Unlike Toru, who had a cheat and could rely on himself to escape his original family, the Yukinoshita sisters, despite being beautiful and outstanding, could not escape theirs.
They had long been bound by their family. A large part of their excellence was actually the result of that upbringing.
Ms. Yukinoshita had provided them with a good educational environment and material conditions.
Although Yukino had bravely broken away from her sister and mother, the main reason was that Toru supported her.
Otherwise, how could a high school girl survive alone after leaving her family?
Toru's thoughts wandered when a figure appeared in front of him and sat down across from him.
He came back to his senses and smiled at the man wearing a baseball cap and disguise, saying softly, "Shuichi."
"Adam Spencer, or should I call you Fujiwara Toru?"
"Just call me Toru."
He answered casually.
This was their second official meeting.
The first was in New York, when Toru encountered Mossad and fought them, meeting Shuichi at the end.
As for what happened at the aquarium, the two never truly met face to face, only exchanging fire through the central door.
Even now, Shuichi did not know that the one using the rocket launcher against him was Toru.
"How is my mother?"
Shuichi's gaze under the cap was sharp.
"Hm? You don't know?"
Toru was briefly stunned, then thought about her current condition.
After shrinking, she did not want anyone else to know, except Masumi, not even her own son.
Since she did not want Shuichi to know, Toru would not interfere. After thinking for a moment, he said, "She ran into some trouble, so she can't meet you for now."
"This is related to the Organization you're investigating, and MI6."
Shuichi said, "My mother, is she also investigating Father's case?"
At first, Shuichi began investigating the Black Organization because it was connected to his father's death.
After discovering it was a massive criminal group, it became impossible for him to let it go.
Although his moral sense was not particularly strong, like Rei, he still had a sense of justice and would not allow such an organization to act freely.
"It's not convenient for me to talk about her situation. You should ask her yourself for details. I can only tell you that she's safe and not in danger."
"And I'm cooperating with her."
Toru said, picking up his coffee cup.
Shuichi nodded. "My mother contacted me. She said you had something to discuss."
Toru lowered his head slightly, as if choosing his words. "I need you to cooperate with me in a performance."
"What kind of performance?"
"A performance of your death."
Shuichi reacted immediately. "That Organization found you, and they want you to join. The condition is that you kill me?"
"As expected of you, Shuichi. You figured it out quickly."
Shuichi frowned. "You want to infiltrate them as an undercover agent?"
"Not exactly. You should know that what happened at Shuchi'in Academy last time was actually the CIA targeting me."
Toru deliberately misled him. "…But what you don't know is that the CIA has long been cooperating with that Organization."
"Shuichi, it's impossible for you to fight them alone. You can't go against the CIA."
"Also, although the FBI is currently hostile to them, believe me, unless you become the Director, there may come a day when even the FBI leadership cooperates with them."
"That Organization holds leverage that makes powerful figures willing to cooperate."
"You can't trust any high-ranking FBI officials. The only person you can trust now, and the only one you can cooperate with, is me."
Toru's words led Shuichi's thinking in the wrong direction.
He could not tell Shuichi about assassinating a presidential candidate, so he made him believe the CIA's actions were because of the Organization.
Shuichi said without hesitation, "I trust you and am willing to cooperate."
"Oh? You trust me that much?"
"To be precise, I trust my mother. Since she's working with you, it means you're someone suitable."
Shuichi said calmly, "…My goal is only one, destroy the Organization, find Rum, and avenge my father."
"Then let's have a good cooperation."
Toru raised his coffee cup.
Destroying the Black Organization was impossible.
If it were the old Toru, he might have thought about it. But now, he wanted to replace That Person.
It had taken decades for the Organization to reach its current scale.
Even if he did it himself, he could not do it better.
Destroying it would be a waste.
What Toru wanted was to transform it completely, make it his own, and use it to control the underground world.
The Organization's method of controlling the world was actually correct.
Researching immortality, building connections with powerful figures, using evidence of crimes to threaten officials into cooperation.
If someone refused, they were eliminated.
If it continued to develop smoothly, it would eventually become a terrifying entity.
It was just that the Organization was in a miserable state. Most of its core members were useless, and it had been infiltrated by intelligence agencies from many countries, leaving it in chaos.
This was the failure of That Person and Rum. Toru wanted to correct it and put the Organization back on the right path.
"Tell me your plan. I will fully cooperate."
Shuichi clinked his coffee cup with Toru's and spoke coldly.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)