He looked so "normal," even a bit... cute? Especially when he occasionally showed a bit of embarrassment because he wasn't good at sports.
An illusion that "Kanjuro is actually a pretty good person, just misunderstood by the outside world" began to quietly take root and sprout in Sera Masumi's heart. She became more and more relaxed around him, even taking the initiative to share special side dishes from her bento or discuss reasoning puzzles she was interested in.
She didn't know that all this "friendliness," "clumsiness," and "gentleness" were disguises carefully woven by Kanjuro to perfectly fit her psychological expectations. He was like the most brilliant hunter, wearing the most harmless sheep's skin, patiently eliminating his prey's wariness step by step, waiting for the perfect moment.
Kanjuro took in the fading vigilance and the quietly sprouting goodwill in Sera Masumi's eyes, sneering in his heart. He knew that the first step had been successful. Next was to let this goodwill ferment, making her unconsciously rely on this "warmth," thereby opening her heart deeper to him, and eventually... willingly offering up all the secrets she knew about the Akai family, the FBI, and Miyano Elena.
The campus sunshine remained bright, and the clamor of youth echoed in her ears. But behind Sera Masumi's gradually relaxing smile, an invisible, dark net was slowly tightening. And her "illusion" about Kanjuro would become the most fatal bait for her to fall into the net.
After a few days of (seemingly) peaceful campus life, the suspicion hidden deep in Sera Masumi's heart eventually surfaced like a reef underwater. She couldn't completely separate the gentle and friendly desk mate before her from the ruthless "Kanjuro" of the rumors who had stirred up trouble in Tokyo.
During one lunch break, only the two of them were on the rooftop. A breeze blew past, carrying the warmth of early summer. Sera Masumi squeezed her half-finished milk carton, hesitated for a long time, and finally gathered the courage to turn her head and look at Kanjuro, who was leaning against the railing and gazing at the campus.
"Ye... Kanjuro-kun," her voice carried a hint of undetectable tension, "I... I heard some rumors about you... saying... saying you've done some... um... not-so-good things..." She didn't specify what, but the probing in her eyes and a trace of lingering fear already explained everything.
Kanjuro slowly turned his head to look at her. He didn't immediately deny it or get angry; instead, in his deep eyes, the original gentleness seemed to be covered by a layer of faint disappointment and hurt. He sighed softly, his voice a few shades lower than usual:
"So, do you also think I'm the kind of person who would hurt others for no reason and is utterly irredeemable, Classmate Sera?"
His counter-question, carrying a sort of gloom from being misunderstood, accurately hit the soft part of Sera Masumi's heart. Seeing the real (feigned) hurt in his eyes, Sera Masumi instantly felt a strong wave of guilt and embarrassment. Was she being too judgmental? Had she hurt him?
"No... I didn't mean that..." She waved her hands hurriedly, her cheeks feeling a bit hot, "I just... just heard some things..."
"I don't care how others see me or what they say about me," Kanjuro interrupted her, his gaze locking onto her eyes, his tone carrying a rare, almost fragile seriousness, "But, Sera, I don't want... even you to see me wrongly."
This use of "Sera" removed the distance of "Classmate," carrying a sense of intimacy and trust that made Sera Masumi's heart skip a beat. The disappointment in his eyes and the focus of "only not wanting to be misunderstood by you" gripped her heart like an invisible hand.
"I..." Sera Masumi was speechless. Looking into Kanjuro's eyes, which seemed to hold both stars and disappointment, all her previous doubts and vigilance felt so pale and cruel at this moment. She even felt she was being a bit too much.
Seeing the doubt completely dissipate in Sera Masumi's eyes, replaced by a panic born of guilt, Kanjuro knew the timing was right. He struck while the iron was hot, stepping forward to close the distance between them, his voice low and full of allure:
"You say there's evidence for what I've done... then, Sera," his gaze was burning, with a piercing power that couldn't be avoided, "those feelings you have for me in your heart... that curiosity, that involuntary draw toward me, even... that hint of goodwill you feel you shouldn't have..."
He leaned in slightly, his breath almost brushing her ear, and asked that fatal question:
"If you 'love' me, is there evidence?"
"!!!" Sera Masumi's brain went "buzz," and instantly went blank! Love? How could he... how did he dare to ask so directly?! And... evidence? How could there be evidence for something like feelings?!
Kanjuro didn't give her time to think. He looked into her suddenly widened, shocked, and panicked cat-like eyes and continued in that low, demonic voice:
"You see, many things are not like solving a case, black and white, requiring concrete evidence to be defined."
"Senses, feelings... these things that exist in the heart and intuition are often more real than any cold evidence, and also... more uncontrollable."
His words were like the most precise key, prying open the last line of defense in Sera Masumi's logic. Under his powerful presence and the guidance of his words, she found that she actually couldn't refute him!
And at the very moment her mind faltered and she was lost—
Kanjuro suddenly reached out, grabbing the back of her neck to prevent any possible retreat. Then, amidst Sera Masumi's horrified gaze as she failed to react in time, he lowered his head and forcefully, irresistibly, covered her lips!
"Mph—!?"
The blood in her entire body seemed to rush to her head instantly, only to freeze in the next second! Her mind was a complete blank.
He... kissed her?!
This realization exploded in her mind like a thunderclap! She should push him away, should give him a shoulder throw! But... her body was like it had been hit with a freezing spell, stiff and unable to move. Was it because she was too shocked? Or was it because... under the groundwork of his words just now, and with that hint of goodwill and guilt indeed present in her heart, she actually... didn't feel such strong disgust or resistance?
This kiss wasn't long, but it carried an absolute sense of possession and declaration.
Kanjuro slowly released her, looking at the young girl's crimson cheeks, her violently heaving chest, and those eyes that had lost focus and were filled with confusion and disbelief. The corner of his mouth curled into a fleeting, triumphant arc.
He knew that from this moment on, the relationship between them had completely changed. The barrier of suspicion had been broken, and the boundaries of emotion had been forcibly crossed. Sera Masumi could no longer define him as a mere 'classmate' or a 'target to be wary of.'
Kanjuro extended his finger, gently stroking her slightly swollen lips, and whispered in a voice tinged with a hint of sated hoarseness:
"Now, do you still need so-called 'evidence', Sera?"
"Feelings... don't lie."
Sera Masumi stared at him blankly, her brain still a chaotic mess. Anger, shame, shock, and a hint of... a secret throb she didn't want to admit even to herself, were all intertwined, making her lose her composure completely.
Kanjuro's sudden assault was not just a kiss, but a precise psychological demolition. He had branded himself deeply into her senses and emotions, paving the way for deeper control later on. Sera Masumi, this sharp little kitten, already had half a foot in the hunter's carefully woven trap of 'tenderness' and'specialness.' The lingering burning sensation on her lips and the dangerous yet charming scent on Kanjuro's body were like an invisible spider web, tightly entangling Sera Masumi. Her brain gradually recovered from its blank state, followed by a tsunami of chaotic emotions—shock, shame, annoyance at being violated, and... a secret throb that even she felt panicked by.
She suddenly took a step back, creating some distance, and raised her hand to forcefully wipe her lips as if trying to erase that undeniable mark. Her cat-like eyes were wide, filled with the fire of being offended and un-settled panic. She glared at Kanjuro, her voice trembling slightly with agitation:
"You... what are you doing?! Kanjuro! What exactly do you want?!"
Her questioning carried a hint of bluster, her heart beating wildly in her chest, almost about to break through her ribs.
Facing her anger, Kanjuro didn't show the slightest apology or retreat. Instead, he took a step forward leisurely, once again closing the distance she had just created. His handsome face still wore that inscrutable expression, a mix of gentleness and dominance, and his deep eyes locked onto her, as if he could see through all her feigned anger and inner wavering.
"What do I want?" Kanjuro repeated her question, his tone gentle yet carrying an unquestionable certainty, "Isn't my intention obvious enough, Sera?"
His gaze was like something physical, slowly sweeping over her cheeks which were slightly flushed with anger, and finally landing again on her lips that had just been ravaged. That look carried naked possessiveness.
"From the first day I transferred here, my goal has been very clear."
His voice was low and magnetic, every word striking a chord in Sera Masumi's heart,
"I want you to..."
He paused deliberately, creating a heart-stopping suspense,
"...become my girlfriend."
"Girl... girlfriend?!" Sera Masumi was completely stunned. This straightforward, almost crude answer caught her more off guard than any threat or conspiracy she had anticipated! She had imagined Kanjuro approached her to investigate the FBI, for the past matters of her brother Shuichi Akai, or even to deal with her mother... but she never thought it would be such an... absurd reason, seemingly purely out of personal feelings?!
"Just... just because of this?" She looked at him in disbelief, trying to find a trace of deception in his eyes. "You did so much... just for... this?"
"Otherwise?" Kanjuro tilted his head slightly, revealing an almost innocent smile, but deep within that smile was the composure of someone in total control. "What did you think it was for? FBI secrets? Or your 'dead' brother's legacy?" He casually mentioned Sera Masumi's most sensitive nerves, yet his tone was as flat as if he were talking about the weather.
"To me, none of that is important." Kanjuro's gaze became focused and deep, as if she were the only person left in his world. "What's important is you, Sera Masumi. It's you as a person, your eyes, your stubbornness, everything about you... that attracted me."
This speech, which was almost a confession, combined with his deceptively handsome appearance and the deliberately cultivated focused affection, created an even greater storm in Sera Masumi's already chaotic mind. Reason told her this was dangerous and wrong, but emotionally, the feeling of being uniquely 'needed' and 'desired' by such a powerful and special man was like the sweetest poison, eroding her judgment.
She thought back to the bits and pieces of their time together, his 'friendliness', his 'clumsiness', the 'vulnerability' and 'concern' he only showed to her... could it be that those weren't acts, but... real?
Seeing the light of intense struggle in her eyes, Kanjuro knew she was just one last straw away. He spoke again, his voice carrying a hypnotic magic:
"And, Sera..."
His tone carried a perfect touch of testing and expectation,
"Do you dare say that you... don't have even a single feeling for me?"
"Not even a single emotion similar to 'liking'?"
This question, like a final blow, completely shattered Sera Masumi's psychological defenses. She recalled her gradually dissipating wariness toward him, the curiosity and favorable impression she had developed, and even the uncontrollable racing of her heart when he got close... weren't these the seeds of 'liking'?
Under Kanjuro's carefully woven emotional trap and strong psychological pressure, Sera Masumi's reason retreated step by step. A sense of dizziness swept over her, a mix of fear of the unknown, submission to dominance, and that infinitely magnified, distorted 'love.'
She looked into Kanjuro's eyes, which seemed capable of sucking out one's soul, and at his handsome face so close at hand. A huge, almost irresistible impulse seized her.
Finally, after a suffocating silence, Sera Masumi, as if bewitched, slowly and very slightly nodded her head. Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's buzz, carrying a tremor and a sense of resigned acceptance, yet strangely mixed with a hint of relief:
"I... I agree..."
She took a deep breath, as if using up all her strength, and raised her eyes to meet Kanjuro's gaze,
"Actually... it seems... I like you too, Kanjuro."
The moment those words were spoken, she felt as if some kind of shackle had been broken, while at the same time, an even deeper net enveloped her.
On Kanjuro's face, an unmasked, winner's smile finally appeared. That smile was breathtakingly handsome, but it also carried a heart-palpitating dark meaning. He reached out and gently pulled her into his arms, feeling her body tremble slightly.
"Very good." He whispered in her ear, like a demon's sigh, "From today on, you are mine, Sera."
Sera Masumi leaned in his cold embrace and closed her eyes, her emotions complex to the extreme. Fear, confusion, shame, and the morbidly growing dependence and expectation for this dangerous relationship were all intertwined.
She did not know that this seemingly 'mutual affection' start was exactly the beginning of her completely falling under Kanjuro's control and heading toward an irredeemable abyss. Meanwhile, Kanjuro had, without any effort, turned the sister of an FBI ace agent into his new, interesting plaything and a potential bargaining chip. On the chessboard of searching for Miyano Elena, another piece firmly controlled by him had been added.
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