Chapter 15 : When the secrets bleed

The tension inside the Syndicate’s headquarters was palpable. Renzo’s footsteps echoed through the grand marble hall as he approached the central chamber, his rage fueling each step. His coat, still singed from the earlier encounter with Mikuya, hung like a dark shadow around him. Sora’s disappearance and Mikuya’s refusal to fall had broken him. She was no ordinary enemy—there was something deeper, something far more dangerous about her.

Renzo pushed open the heavy iron doors with force, slamming them against the walls. The inner council of the Syndicate sat around a sleek black table, their faces half-illuminated by the dim, flickering lights above them. The silence was deafening as he strode in, fury burning in his eyes.

"I want answers," Renzo growled, his voice cutting through the room like a blade. "Who is she? Where did she come from?"

A sharp silence followed his outburst, but no one flinched. The five leaders of the Syndicate had long been hardened by power and control. Lady Hisoka, the cold and calculating ruler of the intelligence division, was the first to speak, her voice a smooth whisper, laced with venom.

"Calm yourself, Renzo," she purred, her silver eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Throwing tantrums won’t solve anything."

Renzo’s rage bubbled over, his fists slamming onto the table with such force that the surface cracked under the pressure. "This is no failure," he spat, his voice venomous. "I was close to ending it. But she—" He clenched his fists, shaking with anger. "She’s not normal. No child should have that kind of power."

Daigo, the massive enforcer of the group, let out a deep, mocking laugh. "A child held you off?" he scoffed. His broad shoulders and deep voice gave him an imposing presence, but Renzo’s glare silenced him quickly.

"Don’t mock me, Daigo," Renzo hissed. "You have no idea what she’s capable of. She’s dangerous."

Another leader, Kaito Ishida, the youngest and most ambitious of them all, leaned forward, his dark eyes narrowed in contemplation. "I’m curious, Renzo," Kaito said, his voice calm but with an edge of intrigue. "Why do you consider her such a threat? She’s just a girl."

Renzo’s gaze flicked to Kaito, the words catching in his throat for a moment. "It’s not just her strength," Renzo muttered. "There’s something else. Something dark. Something... familiar. And I know you felt it too, Kaito."

Kaito’s expression flickered with something like guilt, but he quickly masked it with a smile. "I felt her power, yes," he admitted. "But there’s more to this than strength, Renzo. I saw something in her eyes. Something I can’t explain."

Lady Hisoka’s eyes gleamed with interest. "What do you mean, Kaito?"

Before Kaito could respond, Takahiro Okabe, the silent and calculating hunter, spoke for the first time. "You’re all overlooking the bigger picture," Takahiro’s voice was a quiet rumble, but his words carried weight. "This is no longer about just a girl with power. We’re dealing with someone who survived the impossible. Someone who’s learned from our mistakes."

Renzo’s anger flared once more, and he slammed his fist on the table. "I don’t care about your damn theories, Takahiro. I need answers. Who is she? And why is she coming after me?"

As the tension in the room thickened, a low-ranking soldier entered, his face pale and filled with fear. The council’s attention snapped to him, and Renzo’s eyes narrowed.

"What do you have to say?" Renzo demanded.

The soldier swallowed hard, visibly trembling under the weight of the Syndicate leaders’ gaze. "I… I know who she is," he stammered.

Renzo’s attention sharpened. "Go on."

The soldier hesitated, his voice barely above a whisper. "Her name is Mikuya. She’s the younger sister of… Saito."

A heavy silence fell over the room.

Lady Hisoka’s fingers froze mid-tap on the table. Her usual composure slipped for a heartbeat, her eyes flickering with something unreadable. Across from her, Daigo’s ever-present smirk vanished as tension coiled in his massive frame.

But the rest of the council remained unmoved—puzzled, but unaffected. Kaito raised an eyebrow, glancing toward Hisoka and Daigo, curious but silent.

Renzo’s expression remained cold and impassive. "Saito?" he echoed, the name unfamiliar to him. "And why does that matter?"

The soldier hesitated. "Saito refused to join the Syndicate. He rejected our offer and fought back. We... we had no choice but to eliminate him."

The words hung heavy in the air, but Renzo remained unfazed. His focus was on the present threat, not a ghost from the past. "And the girl?" he demanded.

The soldier shifted uncomfortably under Renzo’s glare. "She witnessed everything. We… we didn’t know he had a sister. She was just a child, hiding behind him when it happened." His voice trembled. "And now… she’s after us."

Kaito’s voice broke the silence, softer but more weighted. "I saw it in her," he murmured. "The rage. The fear. But there was something else—something far more dangerous."

Lady Hisoka, her calm restored, leaned back in her chair, her voice smooth once more. "Whatever her reasons, she’s declared war on us." Her silver eyes gleamed coldly. "And I, for one, don’t plan on letting a child destroy everything we’ve built."

Renzo’s fists tightened. "I don’t care about her reasons. I want her gone."

The soldier, still trembling, hesitated before speaking again. "T-There’s… one more thing," he stammered.

Renzo’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Spit it out."

The soldier swallowed hard. "Her parents…" His voice shook, as if even saying the words was a risk. "They… they were part of the Agency. And—" he hesitated, as if unsure how much to reveal, "—they tried to eliminate her. But… they failed."

A chilling silence followed.

"They survived," the soldier continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "And… they returned to the Agency after their failure. No punishment. No questions. Like someone wanted to keep it quiet."

For the first time, even Renzo seemed momentarily unsettled. His expression darkened. "And no one thought to mention this before?" he hissed.

The soldier bowed his head, trembling. "We thought she died that day… but she didn’t."

A cruel smile returned to Daigo’s lips as he cracked his knuckles. "Finally, something we agree on."

Lady Hisoka’s voice turned razor-sharp. "If we’re to stop her, we need to move fast. The longer we wait, the stronger she becomes."

Renzo’s eyes burned with cold fire. "I have a solution," he said, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "I’ll bring in someone who won’t fail."

He gestured to the door, and the massive iron doors creaked open. A tall figure stood silhouetted in the doorway, his presence commanding attention. His long black coat billowed behind him, and his blood-red eyes glowed ominously.

"This," Renzo said with a chilling grin, "is Kurogami. He will end Mikuya’s life. He has never failed a mission."

The room fell silent as Kurogami stepped forward. His eyes flicked to each of the leaders, and there was no warmth in them—only cold precision.

Lady Hisoka’s lips curled slightly. "Impressive. And what makes him so special?"

Kurogami raised a hand, and shadows seemed to respond to him, swirling around his fingers like living entities. With a flick of his wrist, the shadows lashed out, cutting through a steel column like it was made of paper. The room stood in stunned silence as the column crashed to the floor with a deafening clang.

Renzo’s grin widened. "He is special. And he will be the one to end Mikuya."

Kaito’s eyes lingered on the name for a moment longer, a shadow of unease flickering behind his calm expression.

"But will he be enough?" he murmured to himself. "Or is it already too late?"