The early morning sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains of the hotel room, casting mottled shadows on the floor. The air was filled with a lingering romantic atmosphere. Kanjuro leaned against the headboard, with Sera Masumi curled up in his arms, her cheeks still flushed.
However, on Kanjuro's usually calm face, a rare trace of genuine surprise flashed by. Just now, during their intimate contact, his beyond-normal keen perception clearly captured a faint but incredibly clear resonance within Sera Masumi's body—it was a unique fluctuation originating from his own bloodline!
Another one?
Kanjuro frowned slightly. Ayumi, Haibara Ai, Akemi... and now Sera Masumi? His bloodline seemed particularly prone to leaving a mark on these women with special constitutions or backgrounds. Was this a coincidence, or some pattern he hadn't fully understood yet?
His fingers unconsciously stroked Sera Masumi's smooth back as he fell into a brief contemplation. The daughter of Akai Tsutomu, the descendant of an FBI agent, was now carrying his flesh and blood... the implications of this seemed more complex than simple 'control.'
Sera Masumi felt his subtle movements and opened her eyes dizzily. Meeting his thoughtful gaze, she buried her face deeper out of shyness and murmured softly, "What's wrong?"
Kanjuro retracted that hint of surprise and regained his usual composure. He looked down at the girl in his arms and decided to use this unexpected discovery to advance the next step of his plan.
"Masumi," he called her name, his tone carrying a special post-intimacy affection and an unquestionable authority, "I have something I want you to help me with."
"Hmm? What is it?" Sera Masumi raised her head, her cat-like eyes filled with confusion and a sweet sense of being needed.
Kanjuro looked directly into her eyes and said slowly, "Take me to see your mother, Akai Mary."
"See my mom?!" Sera Masumi instantly woke up mostly, her body stiffening slightly, a flash of wariness and panic in her eyes, "Wh... why do you suddenly want to see her?"
Kanjuro had prepared his rhetoric long ago. His face showed a perfect expression of mixed seriousness and concern:
"You are my woman, and now you... have my child." He paused deliberately, feeling Sera Masumi's body tremble slightly, and continued, "By all rights and reason, I should go see your family, especially your mother. I don't want to make things difficult for you, nor do I want our relationship to always be... hidden in the shadows."
His reason sounded perfectly logical, even carrying a 'responsible' attitude, which greatly soothed Sera Masumi's uneasy heart. She did indeed long to formally introduce Kanjuro to her mother, but she was also incredibly worried about her mother's reaction. Her mother, Mary, was such a shrewd and vigilant person; would she accept Kanjuro? Would she accept this man with a... complex background and terrifying rumors?
Seeing the struggling and hesitant look on Sera Masumi's face, Kanjuro gently stroked her hair, his tone coaxing: "Don't worry, I just want to meet her, let her know of my existence and my feelings for you. I won't make things difficult for her."
Under his gentle offensive and the grand justification of 'for our future,' the scale in Sera Masumi's heart gradually tilted. She bit her lower lip and finally nodded:
"O... okay. I'll take you to see Mom."
But immediately following that, she suddenly raised her head, her cat-like eyes flashing with an extremely serious and warning light, staring intently at Kanjuro, saying word by word:
"But! Kanjuro! Promise me! Seeing my mom is just a meeting! You are not allowed... not allowed to have any improper thoughts about her! Absolutely not! Otherwise... otherwise I will definitely never forgive you!"
Her warning carried a girl's characteristic jealousy and unease in protecting her mother, but it also revealed her deep awareness and fear of Kanjuro's inexplicable attraction—she was afraid that even her mother would be unable to resist this man's demonic charm.
Kanjuro looked at her serious, as-if-facing-a-great-enemy appearance and found it somewhat amusing in his heart, but his face showed the helplessness of being misunderstood and sincerity:
"Silly girl, what are you thinking?" He reached out and flicked her nose, a gesture of affection, "She is your mother, an elder. I only have respect for her. In my heart, there is only you."
This 'deeply affectionate' confession hit Sera Masumi's weak spot again. Her cheeks reddened, and the doubts and warnings in her heart were instantly mostly dispersed by sweetness. She lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly and gave a small "Mm."
At an angle she couldn't see, the corner of Kanjuro's mouth curled into a faint, calculating arc.
Meeting Akai Mary?
Of course, he wasn't doing it for some "meeting the parents" or "respect."
That widow of Akai Tsutomu, a former MI6 agent of extraordinary skill, held core secrets about the Akai family, the FBI, and perhaps even Miyano Elena. She was, in herself, a highly valuable "treasure trove of information" and a potential target for control.
Sera Masumi's warning? In the face of his absolute power and desire for control, it was like a child's babbling, completely devoid of any binding force. Whether he would have "inappropriate thoughts" about Akai Mary depended on the lady's own value and... interestingness.
"So, when shall we pay a visit?" Kanjuro asked softly, sounding like a young lad eager for the approval of his elders.
Sera Masumi thought for a moment and said, "Mom's... movements aren't very fixed. I need to contact her first to confirm the time and place."
"Alright, I'll wait for your news." Kanjuro smiled with satisfaction.
A new prey had already entered his field of vision. Akai Mary, the mother hidden behind the scenes, was about to be led right to Kanjuro by her own daughter. And Kanjuro was already looking forward to seeing what kind of expression this former elite agent would make upon learning that her daughter was under his control and carrying his bloodline, as well as... what valuable "surprises" she could bring him.
The search for clues about Miyano Elena seemed to be on the verge of a new breakthrough. And Kanjuro's dark wings were about to cover the last core member of the Akai family. A few days later, Sera Masumi indeed called, her voice filled with excitement and a hint of nervousness:
"Kanjuro! I talked to Mom! She agreed to meet you! She said... she wants to see what kind of person you are first. We've arranged to meet the day after tomorrow in the afternoon at the outdoor cafe in Beika Central Park. Does that work for you?"
On this end of the phone, however, the corner of Kanjuro's mouth curled into a cold arc that stood in stark contrast to his gentle tone.
"The day after tomorrow in the afternoon? Beika Park?" he repeated softly, his gaze already fixed on a specific direction outside the window. "Sure, no problem. I'm looking forward to meeting her."
However, after hanging up, Kanjuro did not wait. He stood up and walked straight toward the door. A strong, almost instinctive premonition, mixed with fragments of buried memories, drove him to act immediately. He didn't need to follow any appointment for the day after tomorrow; what he wanted was a sudden, direct confrontation—an absolute control that shattered all preset rhythms.
Based on previous investigations and information Sera Masumi had inadvertently revealed, he had already obtained the address of one of Akai Mary's temporary safe houses in Tokyo.
Alone, he moved through the streets of Tokyo like a ghost, his pace leisurely yet swift. As he drew closer, a memory forgotten in the corners of the river of time slowly surfaced like a sunken ship—
It was from an earlier year, during a period when he traveled the world in his "Eternal Eighteen" form and his power had not yet been fully revealed. He had once had a brief and intense encounter with a Western woman who was agile and had eyes as sharp and calm as a cheetah's. That woman had left an impression on him, not because of affection, but because of her excellent fighting skills, agent-like alertness, and... the unyielding pride in her bones.
Her name... seemed to be... Mary. Yes, Akai Mary!
At the time, it was just a fleeting affair, and he hadn't even paid much attention to what followed. But now, connecting all the clues—Sera Masumi's age, the resonance of the bloodline within her that shared the same source as his own, Akai Mary's identity and past... a clear and intriguing conclusion emerged in Kanjuro's mind:
Sera Masumi was the daughter of him and Akai Mary!
The mother whom he was preparing to "visit," and whom Sera Masumi was desperately trying to protect, turned out to be an old acquaintance from a one-night stand years ago, and... she had given birth to a daughter for him!
This sudden realization caused an extremely rare light, a mixture of astonishment and intense interest, to flash in Kanjuro's eyes. The weaving of fate was so ingenious and ironic.
He arrived in front of a seemingly ordinary apartment building where, according to his intelligence, Akai Mary was staying. He didn't knock, nor did he give any warning. He simply reached out and pressed his hand against the door lock. A faint surge of dark energy pulsed, and a subtle "click" came from inside the lock as it opened.
Kanjuro pushed the door open and entered.
The apartment was simply furnished, bearing the marks of a temporary residence. In the center of the living room, a blonde woman dressed in smart casual clothes, with a well-maintained figure and a cold face that held the charm of years of refinement, was standing with her back to him, seemingly organizing documents on the table.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Akai Mary turned around sharply, her movements swift as lightning. A small but lethal handgun was already in her hand, her eyes sharp as a hawk's, instantly locking onto the intruder!
However, when she clearly saw the incredibly handsome young man standing against the light at the doorway, the vigilance and coldness on her face instantly froze, as if she had been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning!
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Akai Mary's eyes, which were similar to Sera Masumi's but deeper and calmer, stared intently at Kanjuro's face. Shock, disbelief, the daze of long-forgotten memories being unearthed, and a complex emotion for this man whose face had barely changed—an emotion buried so deep in her heart that she didn't even want to admit it—surged violently in her eyes like a volcanic eruption!
Her lips trembled slightly, and the hand holding the gun actually went a bit weak. Almost in a groan, she breathed out the name that had been buried in her heart for many years:
"...Ye... Xiao...?"
"It's... it's you?! How could you be... here?! How... have you not changed at all?!"
Her voice was filled with extreme horror and a sense of disorientation, as if time and space were out of joint. The man before her was almost exactly the same as the mysterious and powerful youth in her memory, as if time had left no mark on him!
Kanjuro walked slowly into the room and closed the door behind him, sealing off the outside world. He took his time observing this "old acquaintance" who, despite the passing years, was still graceful and had a sharp aura. A meaningful smile with a sense of destiny appeared on his face.
"Long time no see, Mary."
His gaze was like a scalpel, seemingly able to pierce through the skin and look directly at the secrets in the depths of her soul.
"It seems that between us... besides old ties, there are also some... unexpected 'connections'."
His gaze swept over her body pointedly, finally settling on her eyes, which were filled with shock and confusion.
"For example... our daughter, Masumi."
These words, like a final sledgehammer, slammed hard against Akai Mary's heart!
Her body swayed violently, her face instantly turning pale as all her composure and pretense collapsed in that moment!
He knew! He knew everything! Masumi... her Masumi... The massive shock, combined with the bitterness and fear of raising her daughter alone and hiding the secret for all these years, nearly overwhelmed her in an instant. She looked at this man who had reappeared like a nightmare, at those deep eyes that seemed to control everything, and a sense of unprecedented powerlessness and deep-seated worry seized her heart.
Seeing Akai Mary's distraught and broken state, Kanjuro knew that the initiative was now entirely in his hands.
This "meeting the parents" had taken place ahead of schedule, in the way he was best at and also the most cruel. And Akai Mary, this former elite agent, in the face of Kanjuro's absolute power and the subversive truth, had already lost all initiative and ability to resist, becoming a new prey in his palm, waiting to be unearthed and "pacified."
The search for clues about Miyano Elena might find a new breakthrough through this mother, who had deep connections with both the FBI and MI6. And Kanjuro was more than happy to enjoy the brilliant reaction of this "old flame" after she learned the whole truth.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.