“I can do this!” Azusa stood in front of the Japanese sliding screen leading to the room where the Patriarch waited and slapped her cheeks. The brisk slap echoed through the lengthy hallway.
Shortly after Kuki left, she returned to show Kouya and Azusa to this room. Naturally, Azusa was to lead the way into the room—Kouya followed behind her. For some reason, his presence gave her courage.
Azusa checked under her kimono, Good, I still have my sole weapon on me.
“Excuse me! Can I come in?” she asked from outside the sliding door.
“Come in,” answered someone from inside the room.
Azusa slid the door open the moment she was granted permission, revealing a spacious traditional Japanese room decorated with expensive-looking antique hanging-scrolls and katanas on the back wall. The room looked like what Azusa had seen in Yakuza movies, adding to her initial thought the Patriarch would be a stern-looking middle-aged man.
However in the middle of the room sat—
“Welcome. I assume you are the girl Kouya is contracting with? …Is what I planned on saying, but you’re…”
No matter the angle Azusa looked at him from, the man was clearly in his early thirties.
“Um, pardon me, where is the Patriarch? Is Kouya’s father, Mr. Akashi, not here right now?”
“I am Akashi Doumeki, the current Patriarch of the Red Coven. I am undeniably the person you are looking for, Azusa Saito.”
“You are?! But…”
He appeared young enough be Kouya’s older brother. His eyes, silky black hair, and straight nose were similar to Kouya’s, but Azusa had a hard time believing they were father and son.
“Kouya, you’re there, aren’t you? Azusa will be confused if you don’t explain to her.”
“…Vampires age at a much slower rate once they reach twenty. He might not look it, but the Patriarch is over 200 years old. The stronger the vampire, the longer their lifespan,” Kouya explained to Azusa after reluctantly coming out of the shadows. His voice was stiff.
Azusa’s eyes widened, “Then you are really the Patriarch?”
“Hello, Azusa. I know about you. My condolences for your unfortunate kidnapping. Now then, why are you here? I assume you are not actually here because you are going to establish a contract with Kouya, no? I feel bad for Kuki,” Akashi smiled as if to say he knew everything. He rested his elbows on the table and looked as if he were testing her.
Azusa caught her breath. Akashi’s expression may have appeared gentle, but the aura coming from him screamed he was the powerful vampire in charge of the rest of the vampires around here. The game was about to begin.
“Allow me to get straight to the point! Please release my father. I want his unconditional release where he will not be judged or punished for any crimes!”
“Is it all right for me to assume the man you refer to as father is the researcher who kidnapped you without permission? If I am not mistaken, his name is Shinji Saito.”
“Yes. You are right. Can you do that for me?”
“Impossible,” Akashi asserted. His one word seemed to freeze the air in the room. “Could you ask the same of us for a criminal who stole millions or even billions of yen worth of goods? You cost us about that much. You want us to acquit him of that grave crime… Don’t you see the unfeasibility of your demand?” Akashi’s expression and tone were kind, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. He wasn’t angry, but studying her.
Azusa carefully picked her next words, “Is it impossible?”
“Impossible.”
“No matter what?”
“No matter what.”
“In that case, I have my own idea of how to make it possible,” Azusa said and pulled a paring knife from under her kimono. Akashi’s expression faltered for the first time.
“Oh?” he uttered a little surprised. “Are you going to threaten me with that knife? Unfortunately, your knife will never reach me. I may not look the role, but I am the man who rules over the entire Red Coven. I’ll rip off all five limbs before you can swing the knife.”
“…I am sure you will,” Azusa commented and calmly held the knife to her throat. The knife cut into her flesh. Blood dripped onto her arm. Kouya gasped in shock behind her. “At this distance, I will be able to slit my throat faster than you can stop me, right? Now then, let’s negotiate, Mr. Akashi.”
“…You’re an interesting girl,” Akashi chuckled like he was genuinely amused.
“Please release my father.”
“Your threat is that you will kill yourself if I don’t accept your terms? You aren’t that important to us. You shouldn’t overestimate your own value, child.”
“Lies! If that were true, you wouldn’t have sheltered me in the mansion with bodyguards! If all you wanted was to prevent me from being captured by the Blue Coven, you would have killed me the moment I was in your possession, right? But you guys didn’t do that. All because you want to know more about me as a resource for your ‘research to become human’… Am I wrong?”
“…I guess you are a smarter girl than the reports let on. Our research to become human is just one small piece of our greater research to ‘preserve our species’. Our hopes for you span to a resource for more extensive research. Even so, your death won’t adversely hinder our research. You were somehow able to run away this time, but I have ordered your bodyguard Ichi to kill you if you attempt to run away too many times. Whether you are alive or not doesn’t matter much to us.”
“Regardless of what you just said, don’t you believe when it comes down to having a living guinea pig or a dead guinea pig, a living guinea pig has more value?”
“Are you saying you will become a compliant guinea pig?”
“No, I will not be compliant! I will fight you to the best of my ability! In return, I won’t run away!”
“Oh?”
“I will resist! But I won’t run away either! I will not leave this town of my own volition! You can do whatever you want! Chasing me, capturing me, and vivisection is all up to your own discretion! Go ahead and continue your research!” Azusa looked straight into Akashi’s eyes. She glared to keep from losing to his overwhelming aura.
“In other words, in return for promising the unconditional release of Shinji Saito, you will live the rest of your days here as a guinea pig. Did I understand you correctly?”
“Yes. I will fight you though!” Azusa repeated. She said everything she came to say. She felt sweat gushing from all her pores. Akashi looked genuinely taken by surprise. He smiled broadly and started laughing aloud.
“All right. I will acquit Shinji Saito! And as token of kindness for your bravery, I will allow him to live with you in the mansion you are confined to. You are a good girl who has an immense love for her parents. It appears there is much I need to learn from your father on how to raise children.”
“Th-Thank you very much!” Relief swept through her body, zapping her of strength and causing her knees to buckle. Kouya wrapped his arm around her waist to support her as she was about to fall backward. He looked like he couldn’t accept what just happened, but he nodded when their eyes met.
“I don’t know why you ran away Azusa, but I presume the Blue Coven was involved. Kouya, you brought her here; you are responsible for guarding her from now on. You can let Ichi continue to watch over her when she bathes, changes, and sleeps, but you are responsible for everything else. You will stay in the same mansion in a separate room. Understand?”
“…Understood,” Kouya nodded unhappily. Azusa felt sorry for him. She really caused him nothing but trouble.
“One more thing, Azusa. As long as you do not break your promise to me, I will guarantee your safety in this town. I cannot allow you to be alone for obvious reasons, but I don’t mind if you freely walk around town with Kouya. Naturally, I don’t have to say what will happen if you…go against your word.”
“I won’t! Thank you very much!”
“No need for thanks. This is the result of your actions. You can be proud. Also, you said we can dissect you alive, but we don’t have the desire to do so yet. We are curious what changes your body will go through on your way to adulthood. Your blood is the Ancient’s, but your body is human. We don’t even know if you will age normally or at a slower rate like we do. As such, I believe over the next five to six years we won’t take any heavy-handed measures such as vivisection. I personally don’t want to do anything like that after six years either, but it will depend on the situation, making it something I cannot promise you at this point. But I will endeavor to avoid such a thing.”
Akashi smiled at Azusa, completely changing the aura he gave off earlier—now he actually seemed like just a nice man. Azusa was relieved.
“I am fond of personalities like yours. To the point I would be thrilled if you established a contract with Kouya for real.”
“I will not!” Azusa flatly declined, the concept of contracting being the same as marriage nagging at the back of her mind.