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North and South
The old train rang it’s sirens, as it drove along the lines. Almost like a boat during the stormy sea, it shook side to side at times. The boxed lunch from the train station almost fell off the table, as Mikado and Kisa barely held onto it. The quality from the speaker the announcements came from was as horrible as it could get, and with the seats open across from them, it really felt like they were more outside of a dense population.
The two of them disguised themselves as more normal citizens, with Kisa the hood on, and Kisa a bowler hat, but there were no other people around them anyway, besides a few senior citizens, reading the local newspaper, or operating their own smartphones.
Kisa tightly grabbed her boxed lunch, embracing it in her arms.
“So this…is a train…It feels more primitive than I expected…What kind of energy is this running on? Firewood?”
“Since it’s a normal train, it runs on energy. Though it’s a bit different from the train I know.”
Though Mikado had rode on trains before a few times when he was invited by his friends at school, they didn’t have any boxed seats like this. Most of the passengers were standing, filling the train to the utter limit.
“Seems like fewer and fewer people are living in the rural areas. At this rate, all civilization will move to the cities…”
“Fufu, so this is how we lessen the amount of people…”
As Mikado gazed around the train interior with slight worry, Kisa instead found it intriguing. There, the train conductor arrived, wearing loose clothes.
“If I may be free, I would like to ask for your tickets.”
Mikado kindly called out to Kisa.
“If something tough happened, just tell me. I’ll help you escape.”
Kisa shook her head, her expression distorted in despair.
“It’s too late…Everything…”
“Thank you very much~”
The train conductor went on his way again. Like a god in his own reign.
“What do you mean?” Mikado felt slight despair that his good-will didn’t get through.
“It’s just like back at the story of Noa’s ark. The people won’t see the horrors coming until it’s right in front of them.” Kisa spoke with confidence.
Waiting for a while, the elderly all got off the train, leaving only Mikado and Kisa inside the quartier. For a second, it felt like they were pulled off into the realm of the dead, but soon after, a wide green scenery opened up beyond the windows. Now, nobody should be able to hear them. This was the perfect time to reconfirm future plans.
“And, what are we going to do now? Even if you say run away, we can’t exactly escape to the ends of the world.”
“If it’s with you, I wouldn’t mind living the rest of my life in the mountains somewhere.” Kisa looked up at Mikado.
“I-I see…”
Seeing Mikado flinch at her honest confession, Kisa snickered.
“But, I do have a proper plan. With this incident, everything should calm down if we take care of the Nanjou Family’s numerical five.”
“Numerical five…?”
“The big heads of our family, taking care of finances, infrastructure and whatever. Because of their influence, they got hot-headed, thinking they can go against me…But not that easily, they will pay for this.”
As if to symbolize her anger, Kisa picked up the rolled omelette from her lunch box, and split it in two, making even Mikado sympathize with the poor eggs.
“You can’t kill them.”
“I know. It’s normal infighting after all. I got some wonderful medicine that will let them become more honest.”
“Killing them was better!”
“That’s not true. As long as you’re alive, something good will definitely happen…right?”
“Don’t decorate something horrifying with nice words!”
“Being brainwashed isn’t as bad…We can all work hard to live!” Kisa’s eyes radiated in a strong shine, as she smiled.
Mikado told Sigma that ‘Kisa doesn’t want to become an Empress of Darkness’, but he was starting to lose confidence in that.
“We’re currently heading to a mountain residence the numerical five often use…but gaining control over that could prove difficult. They have a tight security there.”
“So we’d need weapons, huh.”
“Yes. I was thinking of blowing up the entire mountain. But, the weapon needed to have the mountain erupt is at a research facility far away…”
“I’d like to ask for details concerning this weapon…But before that, wouldn’t the numerical five die if you did that?”
Kisa held her head.
“That’s right…I want them to die, but at the same time I don’t…What an unexpected maiden’s heart I possess.”
“Keep telling yourself that…”
A maiden would not possess such a thinking process in the first place.
“Well, if it’s about weapons, I might have an idea. It’s a bit of an irregular method, so keep it a secret, alright?”
“Basically, having sex!”
“As if! I got close contacts in the police force, so I might be able to get something if I ask them.”
“Basically, you’re going to have sex with old man police officer then…” Kisa’s shoulders shook in fear.
“No! Who would have any merit from that deal!”
Even after trying to clear up the doubts, Kisa stayed dubious.
By the time they stepped off the train, they were surrounded by green, the train station clearly not the newest either. Rather, this didn’t even look like a train station building, with no ticket gate. With no selling place for tickets, no machine to buy them at, you didn’t even see any station employees. The board which announced incoming trains was about to break down as well.
After blinking a few times in surprise, Kisa dashed off into the direction the train had driven off to.
“They deceived us! I have to kill that driver!”
“Don’t kill him! We weren’t left behind, this is a normal train station!”
Mikado desperately stopped Kisa, who was about to chase the train on the rails. Not knowing if there was any trustworthy doctor around, he couldn’t risk her getting hurt.
“What kind of train station is this?! This is a shell heap no matter how I look at it! Not like I’ve seen it, but this is what it feels like!”
“This isn’t some place to throw trash away! This place was shown on the map, so it’s a proper train station!” Mikado showed the map on his phone to Kisa.
In order to shake off any potential tailing from the Nanjou Family’s private squad, he bought a new one on the way. Kisa looked around the vicinity, as wary as you could be.
“…How do you even pay here?”
“I don’t think the people around here care too much even if you don’t?”
“There is no way someone with such good-will exists. They must have set up surveillance cameras, shooting anybody that tries to escape!”
“What kind of public order is that?!”
Mikado was dubious if a country with such strict laws even existed on this planet. That being said, Mikado was equally worried. The two validated their tickets, and even took pictures of them as proof to not be shot by the employees, leaving the train station behind them.
After separating from the tracks, the outside scenery was unexpectedly nutritious. Apparently, this was quite the tourist spot whilst being plain, with small food stores lining up next to the main street—or rather the small street in the center. Famous chestnut steamed buns, spicy rice crackers, egg cognac, they even had honey ice cream, together with deep-fried tempura. A big billboard in front of them said ‘Winter Riverside Festival’, but it wasn’t even winter. Taking it down and putting it up every year was probably just too much of a bother.
Walking alongside these stores, Kisa glanced everywhere. And, Mikado picked up the fact that her gaze was awfully glued to the deep-fried food stall.
“…You want to eat some?”
Kisa’s face turned beet red.
“N-Not at all! I know that we don’t have the time for that, and I wasn’t hoping that we could walk around a bit to enjoy the place!”
“You…”
—Really are cute, Mikado swallowed his thoughts.
Thinking about it, this was the first time he went on a proper trip with Kisa, with just the two of them. Because nobody would bless this relationship.
“Guess we’ll grab a bite?”
“Eh, b-but…”
“There’s a lot of enemies. We have to stack up on energy as much as possible so that we don’t run out in the middle. What do you want to try?”
“Then…the deep-fried ice cream.”
Kisa pointed at the menu like a small child. Apparently, this was the recommended dish of this store, as they even put up pictures of it. Lining up, Mikado put in the order to the female employee.
“Two times deep-fried ice cream please.”
“We have a couple-sized ice cream, how about it? Though the amount is about for three people.”
Left with this unexpected choice, Mikado gazed over at Kisa.
“…What should we do?”
“E-Even if you ask me that?! W-We’re not a couple yet…Ah, it’s not like I hate the idea of that or anything though!” Kisa frantically waved her hands.
Even her ears were burning bright red, looking adorable. The shop employee apparently thought similar things, as she spoke to Mikado.
“What a cute girlfriend you have.”
“I’m not his girlfriend! We didn’t finish our game yet! That size is fine, so just give us two!!” Kisa slapped her hand on the counter, ordering with a commanding tone.
And then, ten minutes later. Holding a giant cup of ice cream in her hand, Kisa walked along the street.
“No matter how much I eat, it doesn’t get less…it’s too big…Why did I even order this…”
“I wonder why…”
Even though she excelled at manipulating other people into doing her bidding, she equally had these clumsy parts to her. That being said, just what you would expect, the ice cream was pretty delicious. The deep-fried portion was easy to bite, and the ice soft, decorated with nuts and flakes on top. Seeing Kisa work away at this mountain of food in front of her, Mikado felt his chest grow hot.
He always wanted to do something like this. Spending a normal day with no need to hold back, spending time with the girl he loved. Sadly, the current situation isn’t exactly a normal one. With a heavy heart, Mikado worked on his own ice cream, as he went down the path to the police station. As they made it to the lower end of the street, Kisa grabbed the hem of Mikado’s shirt.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Over there. A soldier of our private squad..”
Following the gaze of Kisa, Mikado spotted a man, wearing a suit. He carried a large suitcase, as his footsteps resounded towards them.
“I’m shocked you can tell. You know him?”
“I don’t, but that suitcase. It’s specifically made by us, an integrated machine gun inside. They mostly use this by acting as tired salarymen, sneaking inside a company, only to wreak havoc.”
“Sounds awful.”
“To think they’d even be searching for us around here…Should we run?”
The man had already spotted the two.
“No, we’ll only seem more suspicious. We’ll stay here.”
“Fueh?!”
Mikado pushed Kisa against the wall of the tunnel, embracing her.
“H-Hey…”
“Shh.”
Mikado put his hand on Kisa’s mouth, as she was about to let out a voice. They were waiting for the man to pass by their backs. Kisa’s neck turned red. Being this close, Mikado directly felt her chest moving up and down, her slender body shivering. Mikado became aware that this heart was beating faster as well. Her hair tickled his cheek, a sweet scent reaching up to his nose.
Slowly but steady, Kisa wrapped her arms around Mikado’s back. WIth a sensation that the two started to become one, Mikado lost to his urges, and embraced Kisa even further. The man had already passed by them, but even in this safe situation, separating felt so lonely, as Mikado couldn’t let go. He wanted to be like this with her forever.
“Mikado…can’t…breathe…” A weak sentence leaked from Kisa’s mouth, to which Mikado quickly separated from her.
“S-Sorry…”
“N-No…it’s fine…” Kisa averted her red face.
The gesture of her fixing her ruffled her was unbearably cute. He already longed for Kisa’s sensation in his arms, but Mikado forcefully calmed down his beating heart. That was dangerous. With nobody around like that, he was close to losing himself.
“Then…should we go?”
“…Yeah.”
The two started walking again. It felt like the distance between them had shrunk just now. Was that Mikado’s assumption, his wishful thinking? Or was that reality? The hands of the two were close enough to touch, yet not making it to the very end.
They headed to the police station, and after Mikado named himself at the reception, the chief came to greet him personally.
“If it isn’t Kitamikado-sama! I’m ashamed to greet you here without having anything to offer!”
Small pearls of sweat dripped down his cheek, as he panicky fixed the button of his shirt.
“No, I’m the one at fault for coming here unannounced. I actually have a request for you.”
“Do not hold back! If it’s for Kitamikado-sama, I will do my utmost to fulfill it—Ugh?!”
The chief slammed his fist on his own chest, almost coughing up blood in the process. Waiting for him to recover, Mikado stated his business in a face quiet enough that nobody could hear him.
“I need any sort of weapon you can offer me.”
“A weapon?” The chief’s eyes opened wide.
Though he would often be asked for work by the Kitamikado Family, a request like this was unprecedented. He asked the other officers to leave, lowering his voice as he spoke to Mikado.
“…An emergency situation?”
“…Yeah.”
In other words, a problem between the Kitamikado and Nanjou Family. If a war broke out between the two, the country would go up in flames. Even if this war resulted from a forbidden love like this.
“An alien attack…”
“Not aliens.”
“Kitamikado-sama will have to infiltrate the alien spaceship to bring it down…”
“This isn’t Independence Day. We’re dealing with normal humans here.”
Mikado grew worried relying on the person who immediately connected an ‘emergency situation’ to ‘alien attack’.
“Then…over here.” The chief guided Mikado and Kisa.
He must have gotten excited, after nothing happened in this countryside town for so long. Walking past the other officers on his way with a grin, he took out a small key from his chest pocket, opening the door to the weapon storage. Inviting the two inside, he immediately locked the door.
The room was filled with a scent of metal, gunpowder, and grease. On the display stand hung countless guns, with plenty of firepower, however…
“…You only have guns?”
Kisa looked around, slightly disappointed.
“Using handguns or revolvers doesn’t exactly work against armed helicopters after all.” Mikado narrowed his eyebrows to that.
At a previous police station, Mikado was allowed to inspect a submachine gun, or the bullet-proof shield, but it couldn’t be helped that this location was so far in the countryside. Seeing the two dejected, the police chief approached Mikado.
“Just between the two of us…I’m actually gathering a thing or two as a personal hobby of sorts.” His expression showed that he was having trouble speaking of it.
“Weapons, huh.”
As Mikado guessed, he nodded along. Seeing how he reacted, it must have been something off limits, and if this was any normal situation, Mikado would have to give him a harsh punishment, the situation wouldn’t allow that.
“I will overlook this once. Show it to me.”
“So basically, I will not be given any punishment, nor forced to step down from my position, right?” The chief asked just to make sure.
“Yeah.”
“Nobody will come hunting me or my position, right?”
“As long as you don’t pose any problems with it.”
The chief jumped up.
“Heck yeaaaaaaaah! Kitamikado-sama allowed me my personal collection!!”
“Chief?!” Mikado jolted up.
Then again, everybody would be taken by surprise after seeing a man dance like a rainforest inhabitant, pulling off a rain dance. The chief cleared his throat, and continued.
“…Excuse me. I lost myself there. To me, weapons, ammunition, and agonizing screams are more important to me than three meals a day.”
“I know it might be weird coming from me, but is it fine leaving this guy as a police chief?” Kisa gave a wry smile.
“I’m not sure myself anymore.”
Mikado met Kisa’s gaze. Not minding their reactions, the chief operated the panel at the wall. Pressing the button that appeared, he turned around to the two.
“Feast your eyes upon this! This is my precious small collection!”
The display with the guns split in two, revealing the wall behind them. The wall slid to the side, showing a hidden room. Guns everywhere. This wasn’t just a small collection anymore. The police chief rested his shoulders against the heavy weapons, pointing at one.
“How about this, Kitamikado-sama? A 0.20 calibre anti-tank rifle.”
“What are you even planning on fighting?”
“Tanks.”
“I get that! I’m asking for the exact situation!”
“Once the police and the defence force end up going to a full-blown war.”
“How would that even happen?!”
That felt like a post-apocalypse battle. Mikado realized that the world would be a better place if the chief’s private selection of weapons would never find it’s use.
“Look, Mikado! It’s C4! He even has C4! With this, we can send the Tokyo Tower into the stratosphere!” Kisa jumped at Mikado, holding a plastic case.
The chief nodded along in satisfaction.
“Indeed. With this, you could blow up Tokyo Tower or Mount Fuji.”
“With this, we can blow up a certain police station, inhabited by an old man with a weapon gathering fetish!”
“Hold on, are you talking about this station by any chance?” The chief started sweating profusely.
“What else? What weapon do you recommend, Chief?” Kisa asked like she was asking for the recommended dish in a restaurant.
“Let’s see…What about this? A recoilless rifle, extremely useless in fast-paced combat.” The chief put down a weapon at Mikado’s feet.
“This is also part of your hobby?”
“It is. I happened to see it during a 30% sale, and bought it.”
“Where did such a sale even happen…”
“I’m worried about the quality. It might explode right in front of you if you fire it.” Kisa warned in a serious tone.
“Hehehe, I have much more still. This here is a non-lethal poison gas grenade, this a laser weapon able to steal your sight in one second, and this gear that can generate an ultrasound that can render all people in the vicinity unconscious.”
“Are you planning to committerrorism?!”
“As a hobby, yes.”
“Don’t do that even as a hobby.” Mikado sighed, picking out only a handful of useful gear and weapons.
From the looks of it, the Nanjou Family weren’t the only ones working in the shadows of this world.
Having amassed a safe amount of weaponry, they headed towards the residence of the numerical five, and decided to stay over a night at the foot of the mountain. It was an old hot-spring lodging, taken care of by a family for generations. Apparently, with the great location and view it had, it was loved by many, and even used as the stage in famous movies.
Since they ran the risk of endangering the other guests if they took a bath or met with them, Mikado and Kisa rented a room with their own open-air bath. Finishing the payment, Mikado went to take a bath first, with Kisa following after. As Mikado was cooling in his room, Kisa arrived fresh from her bath.
Her cheeks were still red from the heat. Small droplets of water ran down from the tips of her water. Seeing Kisa dressed in the yukata of the inn was refreshing, as her white neck shone out from the top, her bare legs from the bottom.
Kisa gazed over at the bedding, which had been provided previously by the landlord.
“She put the futons together, huh.”
“Well…I guess that would happen if a boy and girl stayed over together.” Mikado scratched his cheek in awkwardness.
The owner of the inn probably judged Mikado and Kisa to be a couple, and clearing up the misunderstanding would prove difficult anyway.
“Was this the same when you stayed over with Shizukawa-san?”
“W-Why are you asking that?”
“Tell me. Did they put the futons together when you stayed at an inn with Shizukawa-san?” Kisa stared right into Mikado’s eyes.
It was almost like she felt a bit angry. This expression had been turned to him many times thus far, especially when the love game was involved, but this time it felt like jealousy was involved as well.
“We didn’t sleep over inside Japan…so we weren’t sleeping in futons like these.”
“Really? What about being called over to the Shizukawa residence to sleep there?”
“…N-Not since we started being high school students…”
“Hmmmm?” Kisa brought her face closer, glaring at Mikado from close range.
Putting her hand on the tatami mat as she pulled her body forward, her yukata was pulled up, revealing her thighs.
“When we were younger, I stayed over many times…And for some reason, the futons were put next to each other…”
“Idiot!”
“Ouch?!”
Kisa rammed her forehead against his.
“That’s to get two people together! The Shizukawa Family…Rinka-san was aiming for you ever since then.” Kisa puffed out her cheek, wrapping her body inside the futon with a spoilt mood.
Having hoped they could enjoy a bit of a drink and talk after their respective baths, Mikado was disappointed. That being said, they had to get out early the next day, so resting up more didn’t hurt.
Mikado turned off the lights in the ceiling, laid down on the futon next to Kisa’s. Thanks to the moonlight shining inside the room, he could see the interior of the room. The tea cups on the table near them, and a set-up trap at the entrance. The chirping of the insects was heard from the nearby river. Naturally, the reason Mikado couldn’t sleep properly was not because of that. Before, he had been locked up inside the queen’s room in the foreign country, and just after he remembered that the love game was still on-going, so he had to be wary. Yet, the biggest reason was the fact that she had feelings for him, and this fact was enough to get him wide awake.
“Hey…Mikado.”
That’s why, as he suddenly heard Kisa’s voice calling out to him, he felt his heart almost leap out of his chest.
“…What?”
“Won’t you…come over here…?” Kisa lifted up her futon, inviting him.
She had an almost saddened expression to her, her eyes radiating with charm. Even though he knew this was going to end badly, Mikado was unable to resist at this sight, entering her futon. Right that second, the entirety of Kisa’s scent filled his nose, making his body burn up, as he felt like his entire body was embraced by Kisa.
“This almost feels like we’re running away.”
“Yeah.”
Moving to a place where their parents couldn’t reach them, they stayed over at a distant inn. Though the reasons were a bit more complicated than a quarrel with their parents, in the end it was the same as running away.
“Maybe doing this from the start would have been faster.”
“Crushing the Nanjou Family as a whole?”
“No! Just the two of us, running away.”
“…Now that you say it.”
There were indeed things more important than family. If they had thrown away the shackles restraining them from the start, the situation wouldn’t have escalated as it did now.
“What if…we made a baby and went home, would they get angry at us?”
“P-Probably yeah.”
Met with this bold question, Mikado was flustered.
“But, if we do that, they will have to give up, right? So it is…an option.” Kisa spoke, as she brought her body closer to Mikado.
Her bare legs entangled with Mikado’s, her slender fingers holding on to his yukata. Her radiating eyes, filled with love and desire, only looked at Mikado. The breathing of the two became rough, the breaks shorter. As he brought his cheek close enough at a distance they were touching, Mikado realized that she would be willing to accept him right now. That whatever he would be doing in this room, she would be happy about it. That being said—
“Better not…for now.”
“For now? What kind meaning does that have? That you would do it under different circumstances?”
Putting the words ‘Of course’ into his actions, Mikado embraced Kisa, who buried her face into his chest. Inside this dark room, they felt each other’s warmth, embraced in each other’s scent, as they covered each other’s with their own, to make sure they wouldn’t be stolen.
“I wanted to ask this before…But why did you even come up with the love game?”
“A long time ago…you told me something.”
“What did I say?”
“If only we hadn’t been enemies. Hearing these words, I couldn’t help but imagine that, dream about it.” Kisa muttered, frustrated.
Mikado was the same in that regard. That being said, unlike Kisa, he had given up on this future all together.
“What would you have done if we weren’t enemies?”
“Met you all the time, and stayed over at your house.”
“I would have attended the same school as you, starting from grade school.”
“We’d be eating lunch together, just the two of us, always:”
“Sneaking away during school trips to check out the location ourselves.”
“Making delicious chocolate for you on Valentine’s day.”
“Going on the first shrine visit with you, praying that we stay together forever.”
“Watching you as you grew right in front of me.”
“Being entranced you grow more and more beautiful.”
A past that could have happened. Yet, a life that had not been allowed. Reminiscing about this non-existent past, the two brought their faces closer. Kisa’s half-opened mouth was right in front of Mikado’s eyes. Mikado brought his lips onto Kisa’s, just as she brought her lips onto his.
—Soft.
Mikado’s head turned numb. Nobody knew what would happen tomorrow. They were both rushed with the feeling of they might not ever be able to speak of their feelings.
“…I love you.”
Both of them muttered at the same time. Their lips overlapped again, as they longed for the other. Just how long have they wanted to do this. Before they realized it, their yukata had been disarrayed, their breathing getting more and more stimulated. From Kisa’s eyes, tears as beautiful as diamonds fell down.
“…Guess I lost the love game.”
“…Same here.”
“That means it’s a draw then.”
Their hands intertwined, their cheeks rubbing against the other.
“Don’t die. There’s still many more things I want to do with you.”
“Of course. I won’t be beat by anybody else but you.”
In order to protect each other from the cold at night, they tightly embraced each other, falling asleep in the other’s arms.
The residence of the numerical five was located at the summit of the mountain, at the shore of a beautiful lake. Being used as a meeting space often, it was far away from any other civilization. This allowed them to be safe from any attacks, the surroundings decorated with countless traps.
Inside the surveillance room of this hut, a big cake stood on the table in the dead center. Together with all the monitors and terminals, it didn’t fit into this atmosphere at all, as it looked like some decorative cake, often seen at luxurious parties. Though the soldier that had it in front of him had taken a few bites, he never craved for it. A comrade of his caught on to that, asking him.
“What’s wrong with that cake?”
“Apparently, it’s from the kitchen. Though nobody can really attack this monstrosity, looking at it…”
“Wait, isn’t there some sound going on?”
“A sound…?”
“A clock ticking maybe…?”
“No, isn’t this…a fuse?”
The soldiers grew pale, as they wanted to jump out of the room, but it was too late. The decorative cake exploded, as the shockwave blasted strawberries everywhere. The guards were blown away, as the screens were covered with cream. Hidden inside the cake was a small bottle, that started leaking sleeping gas, leaving the soldiers unable to even warn their allies.
“The cake was a lie! I repeat, the cake was a lie! With this, the chain of command has been rendered useless!” Mikado ran along the wide open mountain path, as he confirmed the situation.
He remembered the prank Kisa played at the party when they were younger. The exploding cake turned the party of the political world into a white wonderland. Back then, Mikado and Kisa ran away at full speed, but now they were seeking out the disaster.
“From what I can see, the interval of incoming communication for the soldiers in the outer yard is around ten minutes. If we don’t secure the numerical five until then, they will pick up on the situation going on in the surveillance room!”
“What will happen then?!”
“The entire residence will be closed off after one minute. After five minutes, the support squad will come in. It’ll be game over!” Kisa aimed for the cafeteria of the residence.
At this time, the numerical five would often be gathered to eat lunch together. If they don’t strike them all down at once, the chances of being overwhelmed are too great. An warmed man appeared from a room on the way, spotting Mikado and Kisa.
“Wha?! Kisa-sama?! Why are you here?!” The soldier was baffled.
He tried reaching for the communication device at his waist, but Kisa didn’t allow that.
“I wonder why!” A sharp needle came flying from her hand, hitting the soldier right in the brow.
The soldier froze up, and collapsed backwards, freezing up.
“Hey! He’s not dead with that, is he?! He’s coughing up blood!”
“It’s poison that will wear off in a month! If he’s lucky.”
“What if he’s not…”
Mikado and Kisa hurried along. They had to gain total control of the numerical five, but they couldn’t ruin too much to achieve that. If they created any victims, they wouldn’t be able to talk their way out of it.
Running up the stairs, a small group of soldiers approached them, all of them carrying submachine guns. Before they could pull the trigger, the two immediately closed in on the enemy. The shoe of Mikado hit one soldier’s spine, whereas Kisa’s stun gun ran right into the other’s neck. Letting out screams of agony, they collapsed. The guns falling to the ground let out a wildfire, scattering the window glass.
“We’re the strongest team! Join the Nanjou Family, and become my partner already!”
“No, you’ll join my family, and help bring justice to this world.”
Mikado and Kisa shared a high five, running along the passage. Even inside the enemy’s dent, Mikado felt no worry whatsoever. Rather, the joy of running rampant with Kisa was far greater. On top of that, having shared their first kiss, and affirmed their love for each other, Mikado felt limitless strength and energy resting inside of him.
Mowing down the soldiers of the squad, they moved into the deeper parts of the residence, eventually hitting a thick wall. Unlike the other ones before, it was a metal wall, as if to isolate what laid beyond.
“A barrier wall?! Did the defense system already activate?!”
“They must have caught on to the ruckus going on inside.”
“Basically…the numerical five are locked away in this room?”
“The chances are high!”
Kisa put a plastic explosive onto the wall, pulling the fuse. Watching this movement smooth enough you didn’t think she was still in high school, the fuse lit up, and Kisa jumped into Mikado’s chest so that he could protect her from the shockwave. The explosive blew up, creating a giant hall in the wall, only for a disturbing sound to fill their ears.
“…!”
Mikado carried Kisa, and jumped aside. Cutting through the white smoke, a storm of bullets came flying towards them, full-throttle machine-gun fire. The carpet and such were riddled with bullet holes, making a mess out of the entire floor behind them.
Mikado still held onto Kisa, as he ran up the wall, grabbing the ceiling.
“Kisa!”
“Yes!”
Kisa took out a flashbang from the belt on her thighs, throwing it inside the cafeteria. The both of them closed their eyes, waiting for the screams of agony to rush inside the cafeteria. Having been hit by the bright flash, the soldiers held their eyes as they fell to the ground. Mikado quickly rendered all the soldiers with guns unconscious, as Kisa did it with the rest.
Even in such a ruckus, the numerical five all sat around a luxurious table. Must have been the rotten pride of the Nanjou Family. That being said, they had anticipated the flashbang, as they had their eyes closed, burying their faces into their arms.
“Now, your party is over! You will regret making the Queen of Darkness your enemy!” Kisa declared, a gun pointing at them in hand.
“Kisa-sama?!”
“Just when I was wondering who would attack us!”
“Why are you here?!”
“Isn’t that obvious?! It’s to obtain my love with Mikado!!”
Realizing what she just said, Kisa blushed profusely.
“Love…?”
“What kind of love…?”
“The successor of the Nanjou Family is talking about love…?”
Met with doubtful eyes, Kisa shook in embarrassment. Unable to watch this scene any further, Mikado scratched his head as he provided a follow-up.
“Y-Yeah…Kisa and I…love each other. Even yesterday, we shared passionate moments together…”
“S-S-S-S-Shut up! Every one of you! Line up at the window, arms behind your heads!” Kisa demanded, as she shot the gun, wildly.
The food on the table was blown away, holes appearing in nearby monitors. The numerical five did just as they were told, sitting on the floor, gritting their teeth.
“Shit…damn you, Sai…”
“I didn’t hear about any of this…”
“We weren’t planning on hurting Kisa-sama or the boy…”
“Not planning on hurting her? What do you mean?” Mikado narrowed his eyes.
He felt like something was off. Naturally, it made sense that they would try to leave Kisa out of any harm, but why would they do so for Mikado?
“If you want us to tell you, you have to show the correct attitude!”
“Invading our dinner, and pointing a gun at us, learn your place!”
“Right right, you Kitamikado brat!”
Kisa just calmly smiled.
“Alright. If you don’t answer me within ten seconds, I’ll be erasing you one by one. In 50 seconds, you’ll end up as shark bait.”
Having the gun pointed at them, the numerical five gave up.
Mikado and Kisa kicked open the front door of the Nanjou Family’s main residence, storming inside. Behind them were all the unconscious soldiers they had taken care of on the way. Mikado formed a fist with such strength that blood came out, whereas Kisa rattled her giant chainsaw, driven by anger.
“Welcome back, Onee-chan! You sure were fast!”
Mizuki came running down to the entrance hall. She completely ignored the hellish scenery, just greeting her older sister as energetic as always.
“Wait, Mikado-kun came with you?! It’s the first time you came here! Let’s play!” Mizuki jumped at Mikado’s waist.
“We don’t have time for that. You get it?!”
“I don’t!”
“At least try to!”
Pulling away Mizuki from Mikado, Kisa walked deeper into the residence. Seeing the chainsaw painted with blood, as well as her expression distorted in rage, the people present ran away in fear, letting them pass with no resistance.
Arriving at the private office of the current family’s head, Kisa used the chainsaw to cut the door in half. They were greeted by the head of the family, Sai, who sighed.
“I was wondering when you’d come. I knew you were an unmanageable person, but you could have not caused a ruckus like this.”
“Grandmother…? Do you have any final words…?” Kisa pointed the still roaring blade of the chainsaw at Sai.
Clear killing intent was leaking from her eyes. She was ready to cut down her family without any hesitation.
“What might you be referring to?” Sai just snorted with a laugh, not panicking in the slightest.
“Everything! Just how much are you going to look down on us?! This incident was all your plan, wasn’t it!” Kisa took out a certain picture, slamming it on the desk.
It was the picture she had found in this very office before. A boy and girl looking exactly like Mikado and Kisa were cuddling with each other.
“My, where did you get that picture?” Sai raised one eyebrow.
“Though there was no data left, we looked through the various newspapers at the time. Carefully, so that no problems would arise. And as it turns out, the people in this picture…”
“The woman is the young Nanjou Sai…You, Grandmother.”
“The man is Kitamikado Raidou…My grandfather.”
A direct connection between Nanjou and Kitamikado family, a coupling that shouldn’t have been in existence, let alone a picture like this resulting from it.
“The numerical five spit it out. When you were younger, you had a mutual love with Mikado’s grandfather. But, the numerical five back then wouldn’t allow that, standing in opposition.”
“This having happened to you, no way could you stand in the way of your grandchild. Rather, it’s the opposite. You sent the evidence to both our phones, as well as to the numerical five, all in order to speed up our love game, right?”
Kisa and Mikado pressed on Sai, who watched the two in silence until…
“…And? Did you at least kiss?”
“Huh?! W-W-Why would you suddenly ask that?!” Kisa grew beet red.
“I’m asking if you’ve kissed. Answer me.”
“Ugh…We did…”
“Who initiated it?”
“B-Both at the same time…” Kisa felt like digging a hole, being forced to tell a member of her family about her sex life.
Kisa sighed.
“Draw due to injury, huh. Well, knowing how much of an embarrassed fellow you are, Kisa, I think you worked hard.”
“D-Don’t make fun of me!”
Naturally, the fact that her face was burning red didn’t exactly help her point. Sai saw this, and shrugged.
“Love is something scary after all. I didn’t expect you to cause such a ruckus…Then again, I’m the same.”
“Just answer my question already! You were the mastermind behind everything, right?!” Kisa once again slammed her hand on the desk in rage.
“It’s just as you said, Kitamikado Raidou and I loved each other. We were much more lovey-dovey than you. Every time we met, he would spoil me in bed.”
“S-Spoil you in bed…?”
“We had sex, of course.”
“Hyau…”
Her energy had vanished elsewhere, as Kisa just let out a flustered voice. She grabbed Mikado’s shirt, looking up at him to plead for help. Yet, he felt the same way. At the same time, he wished she would take away the chainsaw in her other hand, as this contradicted her image of a young maiden immensely.
“…In the end, I’m jealous of you two.” Sai muttered in a saddened tone.
“Eh?” Kisa’s eyes opened wide.
“I was unable to truly follow my emotions. No matter how much we longed for the other, we couldn’t be together. I was unable to stay with him, and eventually lost to his fiance.”
“Grandmother…”
“Frustrated, disheartened, I wished for the annexation of the two families. Gathering strength in the main family, I managed to never allow the numerical five any sort of rebellion anymore.”
“Annexation…? Not absorption?” Mikado doubted his ears.
Mikado only assumed that he would be able to get Kisa to his own family, but he never thought of connecting the two families. Because the light and dark they emitted were too far away.
“It’s not a weird talk at all. Back when the Nanjou Family and Kitamikado Family were first founded, they were allies. They held the ideal of protecting Japan, allies that chose to split it in light and dark.”
“Just like…Mikado and I.” Kisa muttered.
“Exactly. Though this fake stance escalated, until the two families truly started hating each other, if it’s with the two of you, who share the same vision as the founders, you might be able to bring the two families together. That’s what I thought. Because your parents didn’t have any interest in the Kitamikado family, I chased them out of the house.”
“Is that why they were sent away to a rural area?! Not because they were useless?!”
“They wouldn’t help in bringing the two families together, so of course. Either way, there doesn’t exist anybody more proficient for this matter, so good riddance.”
“You sure resemble Kisa a lot…”
“Where?! How?! I’m not that wrinkled!”
“Kisa? How about we continue that part in a later conversation?” Sai’s faze froze up.
Even being the strong 99 she was, a maiden would never change.
“So that’s why you brought up the idea of the love game.” Mikado asked.
Sai nodded.
“If the game continued for much longer, the chances of other people catching on would have grown, so I gave you a little push…But this is as much as I can do.”
“So the second you pass away, the dissatisfied members will come hunting us.”
“If we don’t satisfy everybody, there won’t be anything we can do, huh…”
They needed a force stronger than the leaders of the both families.
“The path awaiting the both of you is a battlefield. You will become enemies to countless inhabitants of this country. Do you still…want to be together?” Sai gazed at both Mikado and Kisa.
If they gave any half-hearted answer, they would most likely be killed. That being said, ever since they were born, the entire world was their enemy, so pondering about it now was a waste of time.
“Of course. I am the Empress of Darkness. No matter what anybody says, I will take everything I want.”
“I am a Kitamikado, blessed with the light of Japan. With my greatest justice, I will make Kisa my own.”
Mikado and Kisa connected their hands, and glared destiny right in the face.
CClaw Translations 
It’s a draw…
Thx for the chaps!
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