The Truth Behind the Saegusa Clan

Two days later...

Yūto opened his eyes.

His vision was still blurry.

He tried to move his body, but a sharp pain spread throughout his body, and his breathing still felt heavy.

"My body still hurts," Yūto muttered.

The silence in the room was broken when the door slowly opened.

Creak!

Yūto was startled.

Aoi entered the room carrying some fruit.

She was surprised to see that Yūto was already awake.

"Yūto!"

Aoi quickly went to his bedside.

"Thank goodness... You're finally awake."

Her voice trembled.

Yūto gave her a faint smile.

"Sorry for making you worry."

Aoi slowly shook her head.

"You don't have to apologize."

Yūto looked at her for a moment before slowly letting out a breath.

"Thank you..."

Aoi placed the fruit on the table.

"Eat some fruit first."

Aoi handed him an apple.

Aoi smiled.

"Wait a moment. I'll get you some warm tea."

Aoi brought him the tea.

She helped Yūto sit up.

"Take it slowly. Your body must be low on energy after sleeping for two days."

Yūto gave a small nod.

"Looks like... I still can't move normally."

Aoi smiled.

"That's why you need to eat first."

Yūto took a sip of the hot tea, feeling a little warmth return to his body.

The room fell silent again.

A few moments later, Yūto remembered Takeshi.

"How's Grandpa Takeshi?"

Aoi smiled.

"Don't worry. Grandpa Takeshi is fine. His injuries weren't that serious."

"Thank goodness..."

"I heard they're allowed to go home today."

Yūto fell silent, staring blankly ahead.

"...Yūto? Yūto?"

Aoi waved her hand in front of Yūto's face.

"Huh?"

"You're spacing out."

Yūto smiled.

Aoi smiled back.

"Thank you for saving me that time."

Yūto lowered his gaze.

"It's nothing. And thank you for coming here today."

Aoi handed him an envelope containing money.

"This is the money for the cake my grandfather ordered."

Yūto nodded.

"Thank you."

Yūto tried to get out of bed.

"I have to see Aunt Haruka. She must be really worried about me."

Yūto carefully stood up, but his body was still too weak.

His legs trembled, and his vision began to spin.

"Yūto, wait—"

Before Aoi could finish her sentence, Yūto lost his balance.

Aoi instinctively reached out to support him.

However, they both fell back onto the bed.

Thud!

Aoi fell onto her back beneath Yūto, while Yūto accidentally fell on top of her.

Their faces were only a few inches apart.

For several seconds, they simply stared at each other without saying a word.

The room was completely silent.

Suddenly, the door opened.

Creak!

"Be careful, Dad," Reika said.

"Don't worry. I'm feeling better now," Takeshi said as he entered the room.

He suddenly stopped.

His eyes widened when he saw Yūto and Aoi in such an awkward position on the bed.

Reika, who entered right behind him, saw the same thing.

Aoi quickly sat up and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Her face turned red like a tomato.

Takeshi looked at them.

"Sorry. Looks like I came at the wrong time."

Takeshi turned around as if he was about to leave the room.

"N-No, Grandpa! It's not what you think!" Yūto shouted, his face turning red.

Reika looked at Yūto and Aoi with a cold expression without saying anything.

She let out a quiet sigh before following Takeshi into the living room.

A few moments later, Yūto came out of his room.

Aoi supported him as they walked toward Takeshi.

Yūto sat beside Takeshi.

"Yūto, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"It's about the Saegusa Clan."

Yūto immediately looked at him.

"Grandpa knows about the Saegusa Clan?"

Takeshi nodded.

"Not just know about them. My old friend, Kenzo—the man I told you about yesterday—was the leader of the Saegusa Clan. He was also Mikoto Saegusa's father."

Yūto's eyes widened.

"Can you tell me everything about the Saegusa Clan?"

Takeshi looked at Yūto seriously.

"First, I want to ask you something. When you fought "The Brothers" yesterday, why did you ask them about the Saegusa Clan?"

"Because my name is Yūto Saegusa."

Takeshi fell silent for a moment.

"How's that possible? As far as I know, every member of the Saegusa Clan was killed."

Yūto lowered his head.

"I still don't know who my biological parents are. I haven't found any other clues. The only thing I know is that my family was killed and my clan was wiped out by "The Covenant"."

Takeshi let out a sigh.

"From what I know, Kenzo was an incredibly strong samurai. I don't believe Kenzo was killed by "The Brothers"."

Yūto looked at him.

"But according to some witnesses, the description of the killers matched "The Brothers". I'm sure they used some dirty trick to defeat Kenzo!" Takeshi said.

Takeshi took a deep breath.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"As far as I know, that was the day the Saegusa Clan was killed. Could you be Kenzo's grandson? As far as I remember, Kenzo only had one daughter, and she wasn't married yet."

Yūto fell silent.

"You know? "The Dragon Slayer' is a very powerful man. He's the leader of "The Covenant", but he rarely shows himself," Reika said.

"You know about them?" Takeshi asked.

Reika looked at Takeshi.

"I'm hunting "The Think". I tracked him down and found him in Europe. It turned out that he had ties to "The Covenant". Many people say that "The Think" acts on behalf of "The Dragon Slayer"."

Reika took out an identification card and showed it to Yūto and Takeshi.

"I work for an international organization that fights mafia groups."

"Are you also hunting "The Covenant"?" Yūto asked.

Reika shook her head.

"Technically, I'm hunting "The Think". After tracking him down, I found out that he has ties to "The Covenant"."

Reika looked at Yūto.

""The Think" is very strong. He's extremely fast."

Takeshi smiled.

"I thought you came here because you wanted to visit me," Takeshi teased.

Reika sighed.

"I'm on a mission to track down "The Think", but I also wanted to visit you."

"Well, alright..."

Yūto and Aoi smiled.

"Don't act like a child, Father. You're the leader of Seiryu-kai..." Reika said.

Suddenly, a cold voice came from outside the house.

"What did you just say?"

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

A blue-haired man walked through the front yard toward the living room.

His expression was cold.

He was Ryu Kazama.

"Takeru Kazama was the true leader of Seiryu-kai. After he died, the leadership automatically passed to me."

His sharp gaze was fixed on Reika.

"Who do you think you're talking to?! You think you can talk to everyone however you want? I'm your aunt! Learn to respect your elders!" Reika shouted.

Ryu gave a mocking smile.

"If you want to be respected, then act like someone who has a heart."

Ryu stared at her sharply.

"Where were you when my father died?"

His gaze became even sharper.

"You didn't even come to his funeral, and now you're telling me to respect you?"

"That's enough... Please stop. I have guests. Don't embarrass me in front of them," Takeshi said.

Reika fell silent and left without saying anything else.

Ryu was also silent before turning his attention to Takeshi.

"How are you, Grandpa? I just wanted to make sure your injuries weren't too serious."

"I'm fine, Ryu."

"Was it really "The Brothers" who attacked you, Grandpa?"

"Yes, but I was lucky. A young man came and saved me."

"He fought "The Brothers" by himself?"

Takeshi nodded.

"What was his name?"

"I didn't have a chance to ask his name. He just left."

Ryu gave a small nod.

"Alright, then. I still have something to take care of."

Ryu turned around and left.