06 / 04 / 2019 - Daito, Prefecture Osaka, Japan.
2:40 PM, Akane's Room.
'What the hell? Is this some kind of joke?'
Up until now, even he couldn't believe what he had seen. But the proof was as clear as day. Blinking, his gaze fixed on her formal picture and her position on the company's profile page.
…
[ PERSONNEL REGISTRY // STATE INDUSTRIAL BLOCK ]
Full Name: Risha Mikhailovna Mikhailova
Date of Birth: 10 November 1983 — Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
Gender: Female
Current Position: General Director of the ALMAZ-Mikhailov Concern
Corporate Overview:A leading state-sanctioned contractor of the Russian Federation, specialising in the development and mass production of advanced ground-based armour, precision firearms, ballistic and tactical munitions, and autonomous unmanned surface vehicles (USVs).
…
Before he could dissect the data further, the phone was gently pulled from his field of vision. The sleek screen darkened, revealing his aunt. The smug wide grin she had worn a moment ago had vanished, replaced by a small smile.
Resting the phone face-down on her lap, she gripped it tightly with both hands. Her crystalline sky-blue eyes cast downward, staring blankly at her white hand — her mind had drifted somewhere unknown.
Akane watched her carefully. Sensing the rapid shift in her mood, he stepped back slightly, crossing his arms over his chest — feeling that perhaps the true shape, or the holes in her story, would be answered now.
"But…."
Her smile ceased entirely as memories of everything she had endured over these months slowly crept back. Beneath the titles and the global prestige, the reality of her so-called family felt like nothing more than a sick, cruel joke.
Risha pressed her lips into a bitter line, bending under the sudden crushing irony of her own status — and the contrast of what she had told Akane earlier.
"The moment your mother and father disappeared… they completely closed their doors to me," she whispered, her voice dangerously quiet. "Or rather, they closed their ears."
Swallowing hard, her shoulders trembled.
"No intelligence reports. Not a single word of condolence. Not even permission to arrange a proper burial for Alisa. Nothing. I don't even know what I'm supposed to feel anymore. They've gone completely silent. Why? Why?! I keep asking myself, Akane-kun…"
What had started as a weary, self-deprecating murmur quickly ignited into an undercurrent of rage and hatred. Her fingers clamped down on the phone so violently that the plastic casing creaked under the pressure.
Akane got the distinct impression that if he weren't standing right there, she would have slammed the device against the wall and walked away from her position as General Director without a second thought.
Gritting her teeth at the dark memories surfacing in her mind.
How could they be so utterly heartless? What were they even doing back in Russia? The Elders? Her grandfather? Her own father? What were they trying to accomplish by abandoning them like this? Why hadn't a single person called?
Pushing her memory further back, she recalled that the main family branch hadn't even deigned to attend Alisa's wedding years ago. The abnormality of their family expanded her mind, leaving her entirely suffocated by the newly found weight of that confusion.
'So, that's how it is?'
While his aunt was once more caught in the second spiral of her grief, Akane remained immersed in his own mind, connecting all the dots in sequential order.
The impact of the so-called Mikhail Family didn't bother him much — there had been no noticeable influence on his eleven years of life. As he had said earlier, he didn't know them, so there was nothing to feel.
This was the main reason for her anger and helplessness, right? Thinking about it, Akane was calm enough to accept everything — unlike his aunt. He had decided not to rely on anyone, and now, in a perfect coincidence, a lesson had arrived by itself.
Looking at her downcast, trembling shoulders, Akane assumed that Auntie's reliance had been placed in her family. Believing someone would back her up. But when a true crisis struck, her family had chosen to leave her out in the cold instead. A humiliating, devastating blow, no?
Hands on his chin, lips pursed in a wavy line as he thought further along this line. Well, all in all, it was just an assumption — her one-sided story could not be the main reference.
'Though, this did not diminish her capability in the slightest, does it?'
Shaking his head faintly, Akane let out a silent breath. He knew his aunt was far more resilient than this. She wasn't the type of weak-willed person who genuinely required a safety net to function.
The mere fact that she had endured everything — protecting his siblings until his awakening — was proof of her conviction and inner strength, no?
She was also the little sister of Akane's mother. If his mother had truly chosen to live as an ordinary human despite hailing from a multi-billion-dollar military dynasty, then that alone was a beautiful, calculated anomaly Akane could respect.
'Besides, it doesn't change the fact or the strangeness that we were born human despite possessing the primordial souls of Dragons. I refuse to believe Mother was truly ordinary.'
'Or perhaps… Father willingly surrendered himself to Mother's mortal form, ensuring we were born human. Hmm. An interesting hypothesis. A distinct possibility…'
Catching his breath as his internal monologue about his parents ran through his head, he choked slightly, derailed further than his earlier thought — what a bad habit.
'Right. I am expecting you to operate at that exact same level, Risha-nee-chan…'
Yes, that was it. And if his aunt was simply a larger version of Irina, then it was right to treat her the same way he did the little one.
So, stepping forward, Akane lowered himself onto one knee. Under her startled, wide gaze, he reached out and gently grasped her hands.
"Now, now… calm down, nee-chan," he murmured, his voice smooth and soothing.
"You've grieved twice in front of me today for the sake of those past nine months. It's despairing to learn the truth, I know. But… I still believe in you."
Consoling her with practised ease, his fingers slowly pried open her warm, violently clenched fists. He could feel the remarkable softness of her skin as her white knuckles gradually relaxed under his careful guidance.
Looking down, his lip twitched. The outer case of her smartphone had literally cracked under her grip.
Swiftly lifting his head, he locked his fully crimson gaze onto hers, flashing the softest, most reassuring smile he could muster.
"Then again, you are still the General Director, aren't you? The endless stream of corporate work is still landing directly on your desk. Doesn't that serve as living proof that the family hasn't fully abandoned you?"
That was the core detail that had remained stuck in his analysis since she first mentioned the paperwork. Watching her sky-blue eyes widen in surprise, he knew his words were hitting their mark.
Earlier, she had been completely blinded by her hatred through these exhausting months — but he didn't mind reminding her of this.
'There must be a conditional clause or a specific hidden directive within the Mikhail Family.' Internally, Akane calculated the possibilities and theories, even as he maintained his gentle smile.
'Or, if I dare to make an overreaching guess… is there a pre-existing connection between Father and the Mikhail Family?' At this, his smile stiffened slightly.
'After all, if a structurally perfect, brilliant, and gentle woman like Mother chose to marry Father, how could a powerful dynasty like the Mikhails willingly back down and let an unknown vagrant take her?'
'To their aristocratic eyes, it would look like coupling a pristine rose with a rotten apple. Though… to a transcendental, divine entity like Father, what is a mere mortal family even worth?'
A sudden slight movement in his palms snapped him back to reality.
'Ah, shit. My thoughts derailed again.'
Internally clicking his tongue at his bad habit, his focus returned to his aunt's face.
'Forgive me, Auntie. Whenever it comes to Mum and Dad, I can't help but lose myself in the sea of memories. I'd love to extract more of my mother's history from you, but this is hardly the proper occasion.'
Feeling the deliberate warmth radiating from his small hands, Risha fully snapped out of her dark reverie. The unsettling, suffocating cage of rage and hatred in her chest cooled — washed away by his calm logic.
'That's right…' Her breathing finally evened out. Analysing his point, she realised the profound truth.
The main family branch had closed its ears to her cries for answers, yes — but they hadn't revoked her security clearances or privileges, nor had they stripped her of her position. They were still maintaining her power.
Upon realising this, a massive weight was instantly lifted from her heart, as if half of her agonising problems had vanished into thin air. Yet the sudden clarity brought a different kind of pain.
Biting her lower lip hard, she sharply diverted her gaze from his. Her shoulders began to shake violently, her vision blurring with a fresh wave of heat.
'I'm truly stupid, aren't I?'
"I'm… I'm truly stupid, aren't I, Akane-kun…?" she sobbed aloud, voicing the exact thought echoing in her mind.
Beyond the relief, a profound sense of unreality washed over her. She felt entirely conflicted — torn between a sudden surge of hope and a deep, suffocating sadness. But deepest of all was the sheer self-blame over her own perceived stupidity.
'Oh no, what now?'
His brain stalled once again — two in a row on this single day. He was a fraction of a second too late to react.
He watched in sheer dry disbelief as his aunt suddenly ripped her hands away from his grasp to cover her face.
In an instant, the quiet bedroom was filled with the sound of muffled sobbing as she desperately wiped the pool of tears with the back of her hand.
'Her mood flips as easily as the back of a hand.'
Shifting his weight, Akane withdrew his hands and stood up. Sliding them into his pockets, he decided to simply let her be.
The worst of the crisis had clearly passed, and this final outburst of emotion was a psychological necessity for her. He had no intention of stopping it.
'Right…'
Suddenly, his lips parted as a sharp realisation struck him. His crimson eyes widened slightly. Spinning on his heel, he threw a tense look toward his bed.
For a fraction of a second, his posture locked in place out of fear — but as the rhythmic, smooth sound of soft breathing reached his ears, his spiked heart rate settled back down.
Only now did he register the sheer volume of the ruckus his aunt had just caused in a small bedroom. Navigating around the chair, he quietly walked over to the mattress.
Standing at the edge, he looked down. The little devil's face was entirely peaceful, her messy silver strands splaying across the pillow as she slept soundly. For a few lingering moments, Akane just studied his younger sister.
A faint, uncharacteristically soft smile touched his lips. It left him in brief wonder how she could sleep through such a theatrical commotion — but a moment's thought answered it for him: she probably felt entirely safe because he was back.
Feeling a fleeting, familiar pang of guilt, he chose to leave her to her rest. Erasing the smile from his face, he let out a quiet sigh.
His sharp ears picked up a shift in the room as the muffled sobbing finally died down. He turned his head sideways to face the source.
"Thank you… Akane-kun…"
He walked back over as Risha leaned her head against the backrest of the study chair, staring up at the ceiling with a faint, genuine smile. Standing directly in front of her relaxed form, Akane raised an eyebrow by a fraction of an inch.
It went precisely according to his expectations. Her immediate crisis was resolved. Even though a chaotic chain of unanswered anomalies still loomed in their future, the psychological foundation between them was finally solid. Which meant…
'It's time to get out of my room, no?'
Risha let out a long, cleansing breath. The sheer velocity of the day's events had left her thoroughly drained.
Sensing the silence, she lifted her head — her sky-blue gaze colliding directly with his flat, unreadable stare. Once again, she couldn't penetrate his clinical mask.
But feeling sensible now, she could guess at the atmosphere: realising that an eleven-year-old boy had just been forced to conduct back-to-back emotional counselling sessions for his sister and his aunt.
For this, her cheeks flushed a light pink.
Scrambling out of the chair, she pushed it back with a sharp scrape, brought a clenched fist to her mouth, and let out an artificial cough.
Without uttering another word to disturb his peace, she turned and marched toward the exit in a hasty, dignified stride, her face growing visibly hotter with every step.
Akane simply tracked her departure, entirely baffled by whatever erratic logic was spinning through her adult brain.
He followed her silhouette until her hand clamped onto the door handle. The latch clicked, and the brown door swung open — but right before she stepped through, she paused.
"Once again… thank you very much, Akane-kun."
Flashing a look over her shoulder — her face still a messy, tear-stained ruin — she looked genuinely happy. Her eyes and lips curved into beautiful crescent moons.
Unknowingly, the sight sent a jolt through his memories — a profoundly familiar smile, but… no longer here to be appreciated.
He stood dazed for a few silent seconds. By the time his high-processing mind snapped back into reality, the door had already clicked shut.
His aunt had practically fled the scene. The rapid, echoing thuds of her footsteps faded down the corridor, leaving the bedroom shrouded in absolute silence once more.
'Oh hell, I forgot to ask her for money…'
Shaking off the brief haunting memory as quickly as he could, Akane's face crumpled into pure, unadulterated exasperation. A wave of financial sorrow washed over him.
If his aunt was that rich, why the hell should he even trade information for a cheap box of guns in the first place? Huh?!
In a bizarre turn of events, both Irina and Risha had walked out of his room completely healed of their long-standing trauma — leaving Akane as the sole, mathematically disadvantaged loser of the afternoon's exchanges.
Letting out a defeated sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. No other visitors came to knock on his door for the rest of the day, finally leaving him in absolute solitude with his own, heavily derailed thoughts.
----
Three days passed in a flash.
The rhythmic sound of lead scraping against paper and pencils dancing over grids resounded across the quiet classroom.
Squeezed into the strict, isolated rows of desks, thirty-five students sat in suffocating silence, punctuated only by a suppressed desperate groan or a heavy sigh here and there.
Even Akane could not escape this mandatory rite of passage.
Wearing a pair of thin-rimmed glasses, he leaned forward slightly over his desk. Unlike his sweating peers, his mechanical pencil glided across the pristine white sheet unhurriedly, with effortless fluidity.
'It's interesting….'
A subtle, almost imperceptible smile played on his lips. His crimson-ashen eyes were half-lidded, his posture entirely relaxed.
He was thoroughly enjoying himself. Looking down at the large B4 exam paper, his gaze scanned the various black-and-white diagrams mapping out units of biology, chemistry, physics, and earth science.
Right now, they were in the middle of Subject Three: the Science section of the Jitsuryoku Test — or, more accurately, a diagnostic proficiency test.
Of course, to him, revisiting an academic curriculum he had never formally studied was an oddly refreshing spectacle.
Despite being deep in thought, his hand never stagnated for a single second. After a brief interval, his pencil arrived at the final block: Earth Science.
Calculating the climate patterns and geological shifts entirely in his head, he simply filled out the boxes by weaponising his pure logic and the scattered fragments of data floating around his mind.
Humming faintly under his breath, he decided it was truly a fine morning.
Halting his pencil with plenty of time left on the blackboard clock, he leaned back in his chair. Chasing the warmth of the natural light cascading into the room, he turned his face toward the open glass pane beside him.
Outside, a sprawling cherry blossom tree bloomed in vibrant shades of pink.
The cool spring breeze wafted through the gap in the window, bringing with it the crisp scent of the season —
Beautifully mingled with the heavy waxed wood of his old desk and the faint chemically sweet ink of the fresh paper.
His flat gaze froze, tracking the empty expanse of the sports field.
Letting his mind wander — as he truly said and meant it, his knowledge was advanced and covered many things, which meant a surface-level school curriculum was hardly wrong to overlook.
In simple terms, he forgot to study. Feeling the blinding light, he smiled like a Buddha. And lately, he had also been mostly preoccupied trying to understand psychology and human biology.
Therefore…. His lips twitched in helplessness, resignation, and acceptance.
There was a risk of failing; he had answered entirely with logical guesses and ideas rather than standard textbook answers.
'Well, he guessed that was it, no?' he thought dryly.
Goodbye, academic ranking; he hadn't cared about that much in the first place.
Letting out a sigh, he took back his gaze sheepishly. Well, mathematics and Japanese could still be salvaged, and all in all, he hated losing as much as anyone.
"I hope they are cultured enough to understand my answers, though…."