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═══ BAD OMENS ═══

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STORMING INTO THE OFFICE ON THE TOP FLOOR with his shoulders heaving up and down, Itachi threw open the door, letting it slam against the wall with a loud bam! and fixed his father with a glare.

"You lied to me!" He was seething with anger.

Sat behind a desk, Hoshino Ken sighed, lifted the glasses off his nose and massaged his temples. "You'll have to be more specific than that, son."

"You never told me anything about a will or the fact that you're not Akiko's father!"

Ken slammed a fist down. "Don't yell at me, boy!"

"Why didn't you tell me!? I have every right to know!"

"Because it's none of your damn business, Itachi!" retorted Ken, jumped out of his seat and approached his son. "You are disobeying my orders right now! You're supposed to keep watch at the wearhouse!"

Itachi scoffed. "They're locked up without a way to escape. I'm not a freaking guard dog."

In the blink of an eye, Itachi found himself pinned against the wall, the angry red face of his father right in front of him, staring him down with a fist raised in the air.

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS AT RISK IF THAT LITTLE BITCH GETS AWAY! SO DO YOUR FUCKING JOB OR YOU'LL BE NEXT IN LINE!"

He thought he had gotten used to his father's sudden bursts of anger but he had never seen him this out of control in the twenty-two years of his life. Itachi flinched. Turning his head away, he expected to be hit but gasped when he was thrown down instead.

Ken towered over him. "You really don't want to upset me. Now, get back to work. I can't afford you to start slacking off."

The man settled down behind his desk again while Itachi stayed down, catching his breath and calming down his racing heart.

"All this time, you made me believe that I was going to lead the business one day," Itachi spoke quietly, followed by a dry, humorless laugh. "But you never intended to pass it down to me, did you? You were just using me. And I fell for it. Stupid Itachi."

He hit himself over the head. Then, he pulled himself off the floor, smoothed out any wrinkles in his suit and inhaled deeply.

"You disappoint me, Itachi," was the last thing Ken said before he turned his attention to the computer screen once again.

Without sparing another glance at his father, Itachi turned on his heel and stormed out of the office.

"I'm going to prove that I'm not useless!"

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──── ˚✩ ༘*ೄ˚ ────

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THEY SAT IN SILENCE. Neither of them found the right words to say. Despite being brother and sister, they knew very little of each other. In appearance, they were like night and day, but personality wise they weren't all that different. Both were hardworking and determined and always aimed for the highest.

But even they hit their limits every once in a while.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here," Itachi broke the silence, facing the floor.

Seina rolled her eyes. "Just get to the point. There's only one reason why I let you in and it has nothing to do with sibling love."

Itachi sighed, lifting his eyes to meet his sister. "I found out about Junto's will."

A laugh emitted from Seina's throat. "Took you long enough. For being so smart, you sure as hell took your sweet time."

His eyes bulged out of his head. "You know about it and never thought to tell me?!"

Her laughter transitioned into a quiet chuckle. "Unlike you, I pay attention to the details, the fine print if you will. I noticed how father was treating Akiko differently and did some research."

Itachi scoffed. "So you've been having a good laugh while I was working off my butt to achieve a goal that is out of my reach? You're cruel."

The night sky had welcomed back the sun, chasing away the darkness. A blanket of light blue and green hovered over Tokyo. The traffic noise had amplified as the city slowly awakened. Seina walked over to the window, gazing down at the city with thoughtful eyes.

"You don't know what true cruelty looks like," Seina retorted dryly. "Cruelty is when you are forced to watch your mother die at the hands of your father at two years old. You, you have been spoiled your whole life compared to what Akiko and I went through."

Outraged at Seina's accusation, Itachi jumped off the sofa and stood next to her, eyes shooting sharp daggers. "Don't make it sound like I had the best life growing up! You know that I didn't have it easy either! Constantly being criticized and being told that none of your efforts were enough isn't the kind of life a child should have! I always stood in your shadow, no matter what I did! You were always daddy's favorite child!"

Unexpectedly, Seina slapped him across the face.

"What was that for?!"

She was fuming, breathing heavily as though she was getting ready to fire some shots of her own.

"You always did only care about yourself, Itachi," she spat in disgust. "That name was well chosen. You are a weasel. Everything you did was just to get father's attention, but you never once considered looking after your sisters like a good brother should have. Instead, you left us alone to go work for a bunch of criminals!"

Itachi swallowed, finding it hard to retaliate when deep down he knew, Seina was right. He had always tried to appeal to their father. He had always been focused on polishing his own reputation. He hadn't once stopped to consider what his sisters had to face, or Mayu.

Though that had only been the case up until his teenage years.

"That's not all there is to it," he spoke quietly.

Seina faltered, looking up at him quizzically. "What do you mean?"

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──── ˚✩ ༘*ೄ˚ ────

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PACING THE ROOM IN ITS FULL LENGTH, Akiko found it hard to remain physically still when her mind was racing, looking for a way out, trying to construct a plan to escape.

"There is no way we can get out as long as that door is locked," she mumbled to herself, repeating the words for the millionth time. For a moment, she stopped and stood in the sunlight coming through the window.

"But if that door opens, it is most likely going to be Kurayami or Ken we'll be up against. Defeating them is nearly impossible, even more so when they have guns," she added.

"What if one of us feigns being hurt?" suggested Baji.

Chifuyu shook his head, throwing a piece of rubble across the room. "They don't care about what happens to us. They would leave Akiko for dead if she was seriously injured. They wouldn't have to get their hands dirty."

Low-spirited as she was, Akiko was unwilling to give up just yet. All these years of studying and training her brain, she wouldn't let those go to waste. For once, she needed the pressure to find a solution to their problem. There was no denying that she could work effectively under pressure.

A metal pole caught her attention. It lay between the rubble, inconspicuous at first, but it was the spark that Akiko needed. She grinned and clapped her hands excitedly before she rushed toward the pole and picked it up.

"We can use this as a weapon," she said, swinging the metal pole through the air like it was a sword. "If they can play unfairly, so can we."

Smirking, Baji took the pole out of her hands and gave it a swing. "I'm sure there's a rock here somewhere to sharpen one end. Then I'd have a spear."

With newly found enthusiasm, the raven-haired boy got to work.

"Assume we can overpower whoever opens the door," Chifuyu jumped on board of their plan, leaning back on his hands, eyes following Akiko as she started pacing again. "They aren't dense enough to only send one person in here. It took two of our best fighters to take down Kurayami. Even Hanma is hard to defeat for Baji and I. What are we going to do?"

His hands curled into fists and clenched. "I wish I could just knock them out like I did those punks in school."

Akiko was reminded of Junto and Takemichi, who refused to stay down no matter how many times they were beaten. Takemichi wasn't particularly tall or strong or skilled in any way, but it was his stone-hard determination that pushed him to surpass whatever limits he faced in the physical realm.

She also remembered what her grandfather had said during one of his lessons when one of his students kept failing to perform one of the moves.

'Failure is nothing to be disappointed about. Failure only shows us where we still have work to do, and where there is work, there is room for improvement. As long as you know why you failed and never lose your will, there is nothing you cannot achieve. The mind is a powerful weapon in itself. If you strengthen it, it will strengthen you altogether.'

"A fighter is only as strong as his will," she whispered.

"Where did you hear that?"

"It's something I learned from my grandfather," she explained with a gentle smile and took a seat next to Chifuyu. "And Takemichi is living proof of it."

Chifuyu chuckled and nodded. "Can't deny it. I always wondered how he does it."

Slowly, all the lessons she had learned while living in the Sano house resurfaced. "Because he knows what he's fighting for. Shinichiro told me that knowing what it is that you're fighting for will keep you going, even when it seems hopeless."

Baji cringed at her. "You're starting to sound like my grandma."

Picking up a small rock, Akiko threw it at him. He dodged it with a laugh and got back to work. Gradually, one end of the metal pole became sharper as Baji worked on it with a rock.

"As long as we hold onto what we love," Akiko concluded as she stared at the iron door, "no one can stop us from getting out of here."

A smile tugged at Chifuyu's lips. When he noticed Akiko trying to hide a yawn, he decided to be bold and pulled her closer, placing her head on his shoulder. "Why don't you get some rest? Our brightest mind can't function properly if she's tired."

"Oi! Stop calling me stupid!" Baji complained from his corner, drawing a laugh from Akiko when the two started bickering.

"I didn't say anything!"

"But you implied it!"

"No, you're just terrible at interpretation!"

"If I'm so stupid, how did I figure out what Valhalla was really up to?"

As the boys argued back and forth, Akiko slowly drifted off into a restless slumber.

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──── ˚✩ ༘*ೄ˚ ────

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"WHAT ARE YOU PROPOSING, KEN? That we fight some kids? They're less than half our age, man. Grow up," Yin scoffed, running a hand through his black and white hair.

"If Akiko is anything like her father, keeping her locked up won't do anything to break her will," said Yang on a different note. "You'll have to find another way."

His black eyes darkened even more, almost making it appear as though the black consumed them. His mouth stretched into a mocking grin. Ken chuckled.

"Well, it just so happens that I know just what to do to get Akiko to obey me," he announced. "She has too many traits of her father. They think and act almost the same. The trick that worked on him will surely work on her."

"Mayu is out of town and we lost track of her location," Kurayami informed him. "And I'm not taking the fall for whatever crazy plan you have this time. Not again."

"You won't have to," assured Ken with unwavering confidence. "Itachi has been nothing but dead weight. Maybe spending a couple of years in jail will make him man up."

"What exactly is that plan of yours?" asked Yang, tilting his head to the side, a quizzical look in his grey eyes.

"Whatever it is, I'm not playing any part in it. Your plans always get our asses in trouble," clarified Yin with a sneer on his face.

"It seems Akiko has gotten herself a boyfriend," Ken said, smirking evily. "It's time to teach her what it feels like when you can't have what your heart desires."