↑ Izumi Shinzo above ↑

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'You learned to run from what you feel, and that's why you have nightmares. To deny is to invite madness. To accept is to control'
—Megan Chance

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"Actually, it's the puppetmaster."

Katsura's mocha coloured eyes were as wide as saucers as his words sunk in. What the...

The puppetmaster? As in, the mastermind?

"Aha, but I guess it's up to you whether you believe me or not though," continued the voice with a conceited laugh. "Any who, I'm calling to tell you about the disaster that's to befall Kyoto if nothing is done. Oh, and before you ask, I'm not on either side. I'm just a witness to everything that's going to happen."

The mastermind paused on the other end before continuing.

"Once upon a time, the largest group in Kyoto, the Kitoshi's, were out to get the very, very bad Inohara's because they ended up killing the person they were tasked to protect, making them unable to fulfill their promise to them. The second protector also failed to live up to her expectations, and so to get revenge for their saddening loss, the Kitoshi's went after the Shinzo's lives as well."

Katsura pursed her lips together, gripping onto the phone tightly in her hand. Despite being startled by the sudden revelation, she knew what he was hinting towards.

She failed her mission. So the result would be war.

"But," went on the sanguine tone of voice, "if the Prime Minster is down, the city would be engulfed in nothing but bloodshed and chaos between the families, and there would no rules for anybody to follow. By failing their mission, the Inohara's ruined the balance of this once peaceful city." He stopped for a laugh. "You being an Inohara yourself know what I'm trying to get at, right?"

With a vain chuckle coming from the other side of the receiver, Katsura swallowed hard, feeling on edge.

"So, Katsura, that's where my proposal comes in," he said with a simper.

"Proposal?" Katsura asked tentatively.

"Yup," he cooed. Something in Katsura's gut told her that he was smirking. "Want to team up?"

☻ ☺ ☻

"Three things, really," she said, her salmon coloured eyes filled with a sullen emotion. "About the Prime Minster, about Moriko Kitoshi... and about the disaster."

Tadashi felt his heartbeat heighten at Izumi's foreboding stare. Disaster? That definitely didn't sound good.

Izumi sat up appropriately, taking a sip of her tea. "Tadashi, tell me, what do you know about the Prime Minister?"

"Huh?"

The question caught the brunet off guard. From the intent look Izumi gave to him and the hawk-eyed ones from the bodyguards behind him, he swallowed hard.

"H-he... runs Japan?" Tadashi replied unsurely, and the glare Izumi shot his way automatically told him that she couldn't believe he just said that. His jaw fell in response. But what was wrong with that? That was right, wasn't it?

With a sigh, Izumi put down her cup. "See, I would reprimand you for your immature answer, but I'll let it slide. Those seem to be the types of answers society pulls from adolescents these days."

Snapping her fingers and being the princess of Kyoto she was, the maid from earlier came dashing into the room to take her teacup. She spared Tadashi's very own cup a glance, which was still mostly filled, and nodded curtly before dismissing herself.

Izumi, after the maid closed the door behind her, narrowed her eyes into slits. "My father isn't just title based."

Tadashi gulped before Izumi resumed.

"In Kyoto, you'd automatically think that the Shinzo's have the most power because of the Prime Minister status. And that is true. By title, that is." Izumi paused, propping one leg over the other. "But other than the Shinzo's, there's also another very powerful group." The blonde's pink eyes locked with Tadashi's. "You know who it is, don't you?"

Know who it is? Tadashi thought. He didn't even have to think. A powerful group? It could only be that one. "The Kitoshi's, right?"

Izumi let out a conceited chuckle. "So you're not as oblivious as I took you for."

All of a sudden, her look completely darkened, leaving behind no trace of nonchalance. It instantly told Tadashi that whatever she was going to tell him would be able to solve all his questions of this entire incident.

"The Kitoshi's are well-known around Kyoto. They're a famous group, and despite not having any connections to political and government involvement at all, they still have a large influence. The reason for that being of their status," Izumi began the explanation. "The Kitoshi's are a family of geniuses. Prodigies. When you have a family filled with the best of the best, anything and everything is possible. Hacking, influence, unstoppable power; their family is dangerous and the most hazardous to have ever impacted Kyoto. They're feared and revered by every family in this city. And they terrorize and involve themselves in every single one."

Noticing Tadashi's shocked expression, Izumi scoffed.

"Their status has been large for ages. So even if we Shinzo's join the picture by gaining political dominance, their title doesn't just fade. Especially in government. Their influence on my father's territory is more terrifying and overpowering than him himself.

"And if that's the case, it makes things obvious, doesn't it?" Izumi continued. "If these dominating and oh-so-powerful kings asked the very tiny Shinzo's in power for a slight favour, they would never refuse. And my case wasn't any different."

"Your case?" Tadashi repeated.

Izumi replied with a nod. "Like Ayame said, I'm not the Prime Minister's daughter. I was adopted into this family."

Tadashi's breathing hiked. He gulped back all arguments. It was true? Then...

Izumi cracked a smile. "It's similar, huh?"

The brunet was confused. "What is?"

"The document for that Crime Games... it said it right?" Izumi went on, prodding his very memory of that day. "That Moriko Kitoshi is "adopted.""

Tadashi's eyelids shot up at the memory.

~FLASHBACK~

"She overworks herself, too. Is a part of, like, twenty clubs. Prep courses twice a week." Akira's jaw fell. "Oh my! It also says she's adopted!"

"What?" Ryuu demanded.

Saya hummed, reading more of the file. A shrug. "Family issues or something."

~END OF FLASHBACK~

"Not to pop my whole "I'm-Little-Miss-Perfect" bubble or anything," Izumi went on, waving her hand around dismissively, "but I killed my family."

Tadashi's blood ran cold at Izumi sudden look of hostility.

She placed her intertwined fingers under her chin. "It was an accident, believe it or not. I was five, and alone in the kitchen near the cleaning cabinets. After tasting the food my mother made for my family that day, it was bland so I didn't want it. But because I wanted my family to enjoy it, I ventured through the very cupboards and pulled out something that looked like salt. I sprinkled some onto it and when they all returned, as usual, they paid me no mind and went straight to eating. Right after they ate it, they stopped moving. Entirely. It took almost an hour for me to realize that they had died instantly. What I had given them was an acute toxin."

Toxin... Shinzo really did kill her family. Tadashi thought, biting his lip. Another surge of fear coursed through him. But, it was an accident, right? She didn't mean to poison them...

Leaning back in her chair, Izumi went on, "My family worked for the Kitoshi's. They were very loyal middlemen. So when the news that their only daughter killed the family, it wasn't good for them. They didn't need it ruining their name. So they took me into their family. I became a freeloader at the Kitoshi mansion. And Moriko... she became my younger step-sister."

Izumi seemed to choke at the last sentence. She coughed to regain her composure, and then puckered her lips in a straight line. After a small reverent silence, Izumi let out a shaky breath. Tadashi watched, feeling a heavy sensation in his chest. Guilt. He knew Izumi was feeling it also.

And if she really was... there was absolutely no way she was the mastermind behind these events.

"Moriko was just like Chiaki stated," Izumi started yet again, swallowing hard. "Role model, class rep, star-student... She was a pain in the ass if you ask me. Even though her family was scary and formidable, she was pure-hearted and innocent. I despised those people the most... so we obviously didn't get along with one another."

The expression Izumi wore said the exact opposite of her words. Even though she was saying she hated her, in honesty, she really thought of her as a sister. Just as Moriko thought of her and treated her as one despite not even being apart of their family all those years ago...

"Since I was a freeloader and wasn't a real Kitoshi, there was this huge bundle of pressure and work they put on me. Endless nights of studying, manners, etiquette; they taught me everything they could to keep me upheld with the high expectations at that household. All the while they kept me hidden from the public due to my crime," Izumi said monotonously and sighed. "And when I was twelve, the police had finally been able to track me down. The Kitoshi's and the police were arguing and arguing over what to do with me, and to release the information of the crime and all that. But since that would mean tarnishing everything they worked so hard for, they didn't agree to any of their terms. The Kitoshi's overpowered the police, hid away my files from the public's eyes forever, and sent me to live with the family in power then, the Shinzo's."

So that's why... Tadashi's lips downturned into a frown as clenched the teacup he held tighter.

"Since my father, Takaomi Shinzo, is the Prime Minister, protecting my secret would be simple. The only way for me to do so was for me to be known for something else, and be a role model student to all. To become the princess of this city, basically." Izumi chuckled lightly. "You really were spot on that day, Tadashi, about my secret."

Astonished, the brunet stared at his upperclassman, speechless. She was talking about the kidnapping plan, and that secret Tadashi prodded during that very Crime Games for Moriko Kitoshi.

At Tadashi's reaction, Izumi sent him a small smile. "I've had respect for you since," she said. "But also hatred."

Before Tadashi could recoil to the statement, she calmly closed her eyes.

"If you're wondering why the Shinzo's agreed to such a one-sided agreement, it was because it was the Kitoshi's who were asking. If that family wanted, they could destroy the Shinzo's name overnight. By whatever means necessary. Even killing... and nothing would be said about it."

Silence overfilled the room. Tadashi heard his exhilarating heartbeat loud and clear as he took a deep breath before opening his mouth, "W-why are you telling me this, Shinzo?"

"I already told you, didn't I?" Izumi scoffed. "Although, it may also be because I don't have much longer left."

Tadashi flinched and his head whipped toward the blonde. "What do you mean—"

"I told you that the Kitoshi's have dominance over every group in the city, right?" Izumi cut Tadashi off, scowling at him. "When I came to this family, the Kitoshi's switched our profile's. Mine and Moriko's. I was the one doing all the work. The one in seventeen clubs, the one with prep courses. All for the purpose of protecting her, not me.

"Those bastards could care less about someone like me. So in exchange for their kindness toward me, they gave me a chance to make it up to them. And that was to protect Moriko. That's why when you guys were discussing a plan to kidnap Moriko during that Crime Games, I knew I had to steal it to protect her just in case." Izumi fixated her gaze onto Tadashi once again, portraying her vexed emotions. "Since the Kitoshi's are feared and revered, and are always the group pulling the strings from behind the curtains, many have it out for them. And instead of hiring bodyguards to protect them, they'd rather sacrifice one with no significant value to them; another small-staus family. Or me.

"And after Moriko Kitoshi's kidnapping, I failed my job of protecting her. No, the Shinzo's failed their job of protecting her along with the Inohara's. After her death was confirmed, they started to get restless. That's how I know..." Izumi's eyes reflected a strong animosity toward the certain group. "They're coming to kill us sooner or later. To get us back."

Tadashi was distraught. He bolted to his feet impulsively, her words coming as a shock to him. "Shinzo, but—"

Breaking out into a hysteric laugh, Izumi grinned. Tadashi stopped instantly, not expecting that reaction from her. But then again, this entire conversation was unexpected. Why... Why was everything like this these days?

Izumi shut her eyes. "Kaide."

"Huh?" Blinked Tadashi.

"Kaide Iriai." Smiling a genuine smile, Izumi tittered. "After almost ten years, I haven't heard my real name. It doesn't suit me, right?"

Standing from her chair also, the blonde shrugged.

"Oh, well. Tadashi..." The mention of Tadashi's name startled him and Izumi flashed him a serious glance. "What I relayed to you today is my nightmare. I don't want the disaster to befall Kyoto over my mistake."

"It wasn't your fault! The mastermind—" Tadashi tried to defend her but, Izumi laughed.

"You really are an idiot," she snorted arrogantly. "It's closer to my fault than anyone else's in the club. But, Tadashi, I believe that the mastermind behind this occurrence has already wormed their way through these events as well. Instead of placing blame, I think we should focus on finding him or her to end this all."

"I agree," Tadashi said. "But Shinzo—"

"Tadashi, the Crime Games are more than what you think."

Her words caught the brunet off guard and he stepped towards her subconsciously. "What do you—"

Before Tadashi could finish his question, a bodyguard in the room pulled out a gun from his suit coat and put it to Izumi's neck. "Don't move!" he shouted, thrusting it deeper into her very skin and aiming his leering tone to the very brunet.

The other bodyguards in the room blocked off the exits also, and grabbed onto Izumi from behind so that she wouldn't try to run.

"What... are you doing?" Izumi's voice came out hoarse and shaky as the sensation of the cold metal made her skin crawl.

Tadashi's heart stopped at the sudden development and Izumi's panicked expression. His body obeyed the very orders relayed to him. What was... A gun? Why would a gun... Tadashi felt his knees start to buckle. This couldn't be happening. No way. No.

His memory flickered back toward the piles of limos filled with bodyguards he saw outside the mansion before he entered. With his mind still working—the only part of his body that was—he pieced together the information instantly.

These bodyguards were hired by the Kitoshi's.

Trembling and pushing through the very fear that overcame him, Tadashi took a small step forward. He had to save her. He had to. If he didn't do anything, who knew what these people would do.

The bodyguards lunged for Tadashi at his movement that went against their orders, and held him back. The rest went for Izumi. Tadashi struggled under the bodyguards' aggressive pushes and shoves, trying to push his way away from them. He had to get to Izumi!

"St-stop!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, holding out his hand. "Shinzo!"

"Tadashi!" she screamed back, kicking and shoving them away but to no avail. Their strength was way greater than of her. "Get away from here—"

The sound of a gun going off muffled her screams and Tadashi heart stopped beating entirely. His breath got caught in his throat. His senses turned off.

The bodyguards backed away from the limp body which came crumpling to the ground and blood came gushing out from the wound in her throat. Red surrounded her at a fast rate, and she was no longer moving.

Tadashi stopped struggling. Tears of disbelief overfilled his eyes as a large surge of nausea overcame him. He couldn't process anything anymore. He didn't allow himself to. This entire situation was a living nightmare.

The bodyguards held him down and placed a gun to the side of his head, ready to shoot him also. He didn't resist. He didn't fight back. Death... It was a numbing pain. A soaring pain.

The door to the room slammed open from a powerful kick, and the sounds of guns firing barely even registered in the brunet's mind. One second he was on the floor and the next he was being forcefully yanked to his feet. His lifeless eyes landed upon the familiar clubmate and club supervisor of his, and bemuse enveloped his features.

Yasuo Ishikawa spared a quick glimpse at the bleeding body of his senior and clubmate before clenching his teeth and dragging Tadashi out the door. Loud sirens went off around the mansion and the bodyguards pursued them without hesitation. Nobuo, who ran ahead of them, utilized a revolver identical to the one that had harmed Izumi to shoot them down.

Even after listening to countless of bullet shots, Tadashi didn't notice when they had made it safely outside of the mansion and were still running.

"Sorry, Tadashi," Yasuo apologized, gritting his teeth furiously as he sprinted ahead of him. "I'm sorry. We were too late."

☻ ☺ ☻

Holy, even I wasn't aware that I got this far with this story already! It's unexpected because I still remember writing chapter 11 out...and it feels like just the other day...

But even though this sudden cliffhanger happened, the story's not even close to being over yet, which is great, yes(?) With this begins the second arc of the story! The arc will mainly be full of revelations so get ready for some answers! xD

Look forward to the next chapter~!

-Misty