Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Cloak of Night

Chapter 3: The Unknown Grandson

Just as Katsumi was trying to calm Koharu amidst the wreckage of the destroyed restaurant, she suddenly stopped. The two girls stood like stone statues, staring at the short red-haired man who appeared in the shattered doorway.

He was tall and wore a black coat that contrasted with his coppery skin. His eyes were emerald green, but they held a coldness unbecoming of a young man. He moved with absolute confidence, the devastated surroundings completely unaffected.

"Who... who are you?" Koharu managed to whisper the question in a trembling voice, wiping the tears from her face.

He smiled broadly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "My name is Ryo Takuya. I am the grandson of Takuya Yuichiro."

The words fell like a thunderbolt. Koharu stared at him in disbelief, while Katsumi felt a shiver run down her spine. There was something familiar in his voice, something that stirred her memory in a way she couldn't explain.

"That's impossible," Koharu whispered, her voice trembling with shock. "My father didn't mention having a grandchild. He didn't even mention having any other relatives."

Ryo took an old envelope from his pocket and handed it to Koharu. "Maybe he didn't tell you everything. Takuya Yuichiro was my older brother. He died when I was young, and your father—my uncle—cared for me until I was in my late teens. Then there were... family disagreements, and we lost touch."

Koharu opened the envelope with trembling hands and pulled out old black-and-white photographs. The first showed two young men standing side by side, one looking familiar, the other...

"That's your father." Ryo pointed to one of them. "And that's my father."

The second man had the same features as Ryo—red hair and green eyes. But there was a warmth in his eyes that his son's didn't have.

"But why did you come now?" Katsumi asked, her voice more unfamiliar than she intended. "After all these years, right after your uncle died?"

Ryo looked at her, and for a moment, something in his eyes shifted—like recognition or perhaps surprise. "You're Katsumi, aren't you? My uncle mentioned you in his letters."

"Letters? What letters?" Koharu flinched.

Ryo smiled again, that puzzling smile. "We've been corresponding secretly for all these years. My uncle has been telling me about your lives, about how you've grown into strong women, about Katsumi and her brother becoming part of the family."

Katsumi felt a sharp pain in her heart at the mention of her brother. The memory of Keiji was still a raw wound, and the reminder of him made her world crumble around her once again.

"Then why didn't he tell me?" Koharu asked, anger tinging her voice. "Why did he hide your existence?"

For the first time, Ryo sounded a little hesitant. He looked at the ground before answering, "Because he was protecting you. The family feuds you spoke of... weren't normal. There were dangerous people involved, people my uncle didn't want to expose you to."

"Dangerous people?" Katsumi repeated. "What do you mean?"

Ryo looked up again, his expression more serious. "I mean my uncle's death wasn't natural. And your brother's, too."

The words fell like a thunderbolt. Koharu flinched and staggered backward, while Katsumi felt the world spin around her.

"What did you say?" Katsumi whispered, her voice barely audible.

"You said their deaths weren't natural," Ryo repeated quietly. "My uncle didn't die of a heart attack, and your brother didn't commit suicide. They were both murdered."

Koharu let out a loud scream and collapsed to her knees again. Katsumi felt her blood freeze. She knew, deep down, that Keiji wouldn't have killed himself. He wouldn't leave her alone, and he wouldn't give up just like that.

"Who?" she asked in an icy voice. "Who killed them?"

"The same people who are now hounding you for debts," Ryo replied. "The same people who sent that woman to marry my uncle and steal his money."

It was all clear now. The sudden marriage, the wife running off with the money, the mysterious debts, the visits from the unknown men. Everything had been planned.

"But why?" Koharu asked between sobs. "Why did they want to hurt us?"

"Because my uncle refused to help them," Ryo replied. "They wanted to use the restaurant to launder money, but he refused. So they decided to take everything from him another way."

Ryo stood up and walked over to the broken window, looking out at the dark street. "The problem is, they didn't reckon with one thing."

"What?" Katsumi asked.

He turned to her with a different smile this time—a predatory one. "They didn't reckon with me."

Suddenly, Katsumi felt the sensation again. The same feeling she'd had when the mysterious young man saved her. The same voice, the same presence, the same...

"You!" she cried, her eyes widening with realization. "You're the young man who saved me!"

Ryo smiled broadly. "I finally remembered."

"But... but your hair was black, and I couldn't see you clearly..."

"A wig comes in handy," he said, running his hand through his red hair. "Especially when you don't want to be recognized."

Koharu looked on in surprise, not understanding what was happening. "Wait, what's going on here? What rescue?"

Katsumi quickly explained the events of yesterday, and how a mysterious person had saved her from the bullies. Koharu listened with increasing amazement.

"So you've been watching her all this time," Koharu told Ryo.

"I've been watching you two," Ryo corrected. "Ever since I learned my uncle was dead. I knew they'd come for you."

"So what now?" Katsumi asked. "What do we do?"

Ryo looked at her with utter seriousness. "Now, you two have to choose. Either you run away and hide for the rest of your lives, or..."

"Or what?" Koharu wondered.

"Or you help me end this once and for all."

The two girls were silent for a moment, weighing their limited options. Outside the window, the night was drawing in, the street looking darker and more uncertain.

"What will it take?" Katsumi wondered.

Ryo smiled, but this time his smile held a hint of admiration. "Courage. And trust in me."

Katsumi looked at Koharu, then at the wreckage of the restaurant around them, then back at Ryo. She thought of Keiji, of Takuya's uncle, of all the injustice that had been done to them.

"Okay," she said firmly. "Tell us what to do."

For the first time since his arrival, Ryo smiled genuinely. "First, we have to get out of here.

They'll come tonight to make sure their message got through. And then..." He paused and took motorcycle keys from his pocket. "Then the real game will begin."

Amidst the darkness and wreckage, the two girls faced a choice that would change their lives forever. It was the end of a life of calm and safety, and the beginning of something far more dangerous and mysterious. But for the first time in weeks, Katsumi felt she had hope of avenging her brother.