Where It All Started

“Onii-sama…” I whispered as tears streamed down my cheek and fell on the old photo. “I’m sorry…I’m really, really sorry…if only I never visited your house…then he…he wouldn’t be able to find you…” I repeatedly apologized, even though I knew my brother wouldn’t be able to hear it anymore.

*****

I had just reached my dorm after getting back from Kazuya’s house when I saw Shin, my father’s right-hand man, waiting for me. While Tetsu was my father’s left-hand man specializing in combat, Shin was the one specializing in strategies and schemes. He was called by many nicknames, such as ‘genius tactician’, or ‘black-hearted schemer’, or even ‘the devil-incarnate’. Upon seeing him, I was instantly overcome with bad feelings, but I forced myself to stay calm.

“Shin? What’s the matter?” I asked him coldly, reverting back to my ‘Ojou-sama’ persona.

“I’m terribly sorry for disturbing your rest, Ojou-sama.” Shin politely lowered his head. “But the head has asked you to come home as soon as possible.”

“Oh? Is there a problem occurring?” I frowned.

“Yes, apparently Kikuchi-sama has found the missing eldest young master, Kazuya-sama.”

At those words, my face stiffened. It felt like everything was going dark and the ground beneath me suddenly disappeared.

“…jou-sama? Ojou-sama, are you alright?”

I snapped back to my senses at Shin’s voice.

“…I’m fine. So they’ve found my missing older brother?” I asked, trying my hardest not to show how disturbed I was.

“Yes, that is the case. I came here to escort you back home. Please follow me.” Shin offered his hand.

I stared at him for a moment, hesitating over what to do. Was this a trap? Did they actually know that I’d been in contact with Kazuya for over a year? But if they didn’t, and I refused to come home, they’d inevitably be suspicious. And besides, there might be something I could do to help my brother if I go.

Having decided that, I took Shin’s hand and went with him.

*****

However, the scene that greeted me back home told me that I was too late.

“Otou-sama! Please spare her! She’s just an ordinary woman!” Kazuya shouted as he clung to my father’s feet.

His face and body were bruised from all the beatings, yet he still tenaciously tried to protect Shiori, who was being restrained by Tetsu. Shiori was unharmed from the look of it, but she was clearly scared to death. Her body trembled as she stared at the glistening katana in Kazami’s hand.

Despite the overwhelming despair she must've felt, Shiori didn’t utter a single word. She didn’t beg for her life, nor did she blame Kazuya for dragging her into this. She had a resolved look, as if she knew this was how they would end.

“An ordinary woman, you said?” Kazami scoffed coldly. “She’s clearly a wicked witch who seduced you and led you astray! She turned you into this soft, useless piece of trash that can’t even kill a fly! She made you into a failure!”

“Kazuya is not a failure!” Out of the blue, Shiori shouted. She glared at Kazami with indignation in her beautiful black eyes. “He’s the most kind, gentle, and compassionate person that I know! You’re the one who twisted him and turned him into a killing machine, just to keep him under your control! You’re no father of his, so just leave us alone!”

For a moment, silence shrouded the room. I stood frozen in the entrance, not knowing what I should do or say to salvage the situation.

My father looked at Shiori with narrowed eyes, as if her words had hit their marks. Then he glanced down at Kazuya and shook him off by kicking him away.

Shiori nearly leapt to her feet, but Tetsu forcefully held her still. Her gaze was still fixated on Kazuya, who was coughing blood on the floor, when Kazami stood right in front of her. Despite his murderous glare, Shiori bravely raised her chin and glared back at him.

Kazami's expression hardened, as if he saw something he hated in Shiori's courageous eyes. Without another word, Kazami swung his sword and cut Shiori’s body into two.

Thud!

The silence felt indescribably painful as Shiori’s lifeless body hit the floor. Blood started pooling around her body, and an especially large amount of it came from her belly.

“N-No…no…!” Kazuya’s eyes shook as he watched his wife and child being killed in front of him. “NO!!!!!!!!!!!!”

He scrambled to his feet and ran toward Shiori’s body.

Slash!

With another swung of his sword, Kazami severed his son’s neck from his body. Kazuya’s lifeless body collapsed before he could reach his wife’s side.

“Ah…Aah…” I covered my mouth, desperately suppressing a terrified scream.

It wasn’t my first time seeing a dead body, but seeing someone precious to me being slaughtered like they were merely animals shook me to the core.

“Sakuya.”

At Kazami’s cold voice, I instantly stiffened. Would I be the next one to lose my life?

“In this world, power is justice.” He continued, swinging his bloodied katana to shake off the blood. “We are the powerful ones. Therefore, we are justice itself.”

Kazami looked at me with indifferent eyes, as if the corpse in front of him wasn’t his own son.

“We have the right to dominate anything and everything in the world. So don’t go around spouting nonsense about trusting other people or saving the weak.”

His words rang inside my ears, tearing apart my already wounded heart.

“Lest you will end up like this useless trash.”

*****

That night, I ran away from my family.

I couldn’t bear the despair from my brother and Shiori’s death, nor could I endure the immense guilt of leading the Kagura Family right to their house, a fact that I learned directly from Kikuchi who was tasked with watching my every move.

So I immediately called Shinji and uttered just three words, “Please help me.”

Shinji, who seemed to have grasped the situation, didn’t ask anything. He simply arranged everything and guided my escape. Of course, my disappearance caused another great disturbance in the Kagura Family. But I couldn’t care less.

I lived with Shinji for almost a year, since nowhere was safe enough for me. I lived quietly and held my breath, as if I’d already died. It wasn’t an easy time, for I repeatedly had nightmares of my brother’s death. In my dreams, my brother would blame me for his death and curse me for being his sister. I could barely eat and lost all of my motivation to live.

Shinji, who couldn’t bear to see me wasting away like that, proposed something to get me back on my feet.

*****

“Why don’t you take revenge for him?”

“Huh?” I looked up from the dinner that I barely touched and stared at Shinji.

He suddenly threw that idea at me during dinner that night. I blinked at him, unable to comprehend what led his mind to that conclusion.

“That bastard killed Kazuya, right?” Shinji said. “So the one to blame for his death wasn’t you—it was the family head. It’s not your fault, Sakuya-chan. Then, it’s obvious what you should do next. Avenge Kazuya’s death.”

“Avenge…Onii-sama…” I muttered. Sparks of life started to flicker within my previously empty eyes and I gripped my chopsticks tightly.

“Simply killing him won’t be enough.” Shinji continued. “To make him suffer as much as Kazuya did, you need to take away and destroy the most precious thing for him—the Kagura Family.”

“I see…” I nodded, as if in a daze.

“As for the methods…” Shinji looked at me. “It’s all up to you, Sakuya-chan. I’ll support you all the way until the end.” He smiled kindly.

Instead of answering, I lowered my head. In my mind, the image of my brother’s lifeless body kept haunting me. But Shinji’s words also rang true in my ears. I’d been grieving for Kazuya for far too long. It was time I stood up and did something for my brother—like destroying the family that killed him.

“…I’ll do it.” I raised my face, resolve and determination filled my eyes. “My father believes that strong people like us can do whatever we want without any consequences. He believes that the family needs to be strong—but they don’t need heart nor kindness. He believes that kindness will only lead to weakness and ruin. That’s why it’s fine for him to turn children into killing machines. But I beg to differ. I’ll destroy that belief of his.”

I put down my chopsticks, stood up from the dining table, and headed to the window. The night sky that I saw looked more vast and glittering than what I remembered, probably because I’d never bothered to look up ever since I lost Kazuya.

“I’ll show him that I can be stronger than him, without losing my kindness and turning into a tyrant.” I turned at Shinji and declared, “I’ll raise an organization with power that rivals the Kagura Family, but I won’t do it the way my father did. I’ll build up a strong, respectable organization that doesn’t rely on turning children into killing machines. Then I’ll crush the Kagura Family with them. That will be my revenge against my father. Will you help me, Shinji?”

Shinji stood before me and smiled widely. “Of course, Ojou-sama. I want to see the future that you envisioned. Please let me help you.”

*****

After solidifying my resolve, I entered Sakurasaki Academy to realize my goal. Instead of building a new organization from scratch, it would be faster to take over an existing one and transform it into my ideal organization. Hence I set my eyes on becoming a Banchou and changing the delinquents to be strong yet kind people.

Fortunately, Sakurasaki’s principal was Shiori’s uncle. He knew about my identity, yet he still welcomed me with open arms. I enrolled into Sakurasaki without problem and immediately subjugated the delinquents in that school. I made Ouji, Hiiro, and many other delinquents into my subordinates. I also took care of the surrounding schools’ delinquents to prevent them from messing with my people.

However, no matter how strict I became, the delinquents still couldn’t change their images. They were still looked at with fear, and unable to blend in with other students. I was nearly at my wits end when Ryuu transferred into Sakurasaki. The way he treated me normally despite me being a delinquent gave me a ray of hope. That was why I recruited him into the group.

And I wasn’t mistaken.

Ryuu changed the delinquents in a way that I could’ve never done. And it wasn't only that. He also brought together the Student Council and the delinquents, something that I never imagined possible. He gave me hope when I needed it the most.

Yet, that hope wilted before it could bloom into reality.

*****

“…nji-san…Shinji-san…Shinji-san!”

That voice snapped me back to my senses. I blinked and realized that my mind had wandered after telling the three delinquents in front of me—one of them was a normal student, to be exact—about Sakuya’s past.

“Sorry, I’m a bit lost in thought.” I smiled at them.

Just now, I somehow recalled the promise that I exchanged with Sakuya. She had sworn to crush the twisted Kagura Family, so that no more unfortunate children like us would be born. I wondered how she was doing now, after being taken back to that hellish place.

Oops, I guess I let my mind wander again. I quickly focused on Sakuya’s subordinates in front of me.

“After hearing the truth…what do you guys want to do?” I asked them. “Will you still stay by her side? Or will you back down? Whichever it is, I hope you won’t regret—”

“ “ “We’ll stay.” ” ”

All three of them answered at the same time, with perfect harmony.

“Sakuya-chan has suffered through so much. Of course I want to be by her side and comfort her.” Hiiro declared.

“I may not be strong enough right now, but I’ll protect her with everything I have.” Ouji decided.

“There’s something I need to tell her. So I don’t want to give up just like this.” Ryuu said determinedly.

After hearing this, however, Hiiro and Ouji looked at Ryuu with strangely competitive eyes.

“You’re going to tell her that you like her, right?! How dare you steal the march on me?!” Hiiro accused him.

“H-Huh?!” Ryuu’s face instantly flushed as he frantically denied it. “I-Idiot, that’s not it…no, I also want to tell her that, but there’s something else I want her to hear! So…”

“Then I’ll say it to her first, as the oldest here.” Ouji interjected calmly.

“ “Age has nothing to do with it!” ”

The two retorted with perfect sync.

I suppressed my laughter as I calmed the three of them.

“You guys, why don’t you leave the bickering later after you get the chance to meet her?”

The effect of those words was immediately seen. All three of them fell quiet and pricked their ears carefully.

“Just as I said earlier, I’ll help you guys sneak into the Kagura Family’s main house and get Sakuya-chan out without anyone knowing.” I said confidently.

“Huh? But we’ve tried doing that and failed splendidly!” Hiiro argued, his pride as their strategist was clearly wounded.

I smirked. “You guys failed because you don’t know where to get in quietly and where to look for Sakuya-chan, right?”

They all nodded with a bitter look.

“Next time will be different. I’ll give you all the information that you need, so you just have to follow my lead and you will succeed.” I assured them.

“Why does this feel like a flag…?” Ryuu muttered, but the other two ignored him.

“When will we do this?” Ouji asked impatiently.

“Tonight. We need to finish this before the family head—Sakuya-chan’s father—comes back. Fortunately, he won’t be coming back until four more days. And by launching another assault in the same night, they won’t see this coming.” I grinned.

Ryuu, Hiiro, and Ouji’s face looked tense, but they also had resolve in their eyes as they nodded.

“Now, here are the details…” I began discussing the plan in more details.