After arriving at the site, Naea discovered that the area was entirely deserted; the crowd, including the grandmother, had long since departed. It was then that the crushing reality set in—Kenji had lured her there under the pretense that her grandmother was asking for her, a cold fabrication designed solely to isolate her. Standing amidst the emptiness, the weight of his deception hit Naea with suffocating force. Despite the betrayal gnawing at her, she maintained a haunting silence, refusing to give Kenji the satisfaction of an outburst. She climbed into the passenger seat, her movements mechanical, as Kenji initiated the drive. With a detached air, he asked if she wished to be taken to the White Frost Empire or the Takahashi Mansion. Naea didn't look at him; instead, she fixed her gaze on the blurred landscape outside, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "None of them," she murmured, her voice steady despite the agony in her heart. "Take me to Osaka. I need to be with my family."
Kenji turned the steering wheel, his knuckles white against the leather, and broke the heavy silence. "Look," he said, his voice deceptively smooth, "I know you want to go to Osaka, and I promise I'll take you there. But you have to understand the situation at the Takahashi mansion. Grandma is absolutely devastated after losing Minato. He was the eldest, the heart of the family, and she isn't handling it well at all."
He glanced at Naea, gauging her reaction. "You know how fragile her health is. If she spirals further into this grief without support, it could be catastrophic. If you stay for just a few days, even if you just talk to her, it might be enough to pull her back from the edge. You're the only one who can really reach her right now."
Naea felt a cold knot tighten in her stomach. Every part of her wanted to scream 'no,' to demand he drive straight to Osaka and let her escape this suffocating web, but the mention of Grandma's health hit her where she was most vulnerable. She knew the woman was suffering, and the thought of her collapsing from grief felt like a weight she couldn't simply ignore.
"Fine," Naea whispered, her voice barely audible. "I'll stay for a few days. But that's all."
A flicker of triumph sparked in Kenji's eyes, though he kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead. He had played his hand perfectly. As the car began the slow climb toward the Takahashi mansion, Naea slumped against the passenger seat, staring blankly at the blur of trees passing by. She felt trapped, a chaotic storm of confusion and guilt raging in her mind, leaving her to wonder if she had just made an act of mercy or if she had simply walked willingly into another one of Kenji's traps.
Akira somehow managed to drive back to the White Frost Empire, her movements mechanical and hollow. After parking her car, she stumbled into her apartment and went straight to the bedroom, collapsing into the bathroom where she stepped fully clothed under the icy blast of the shower. She stood there for five minutes, the freezing water failing to drown out the suffocating heat and agony burning within her—Naea's cruel words were searing into her mind, refusing to let her find a moment's peace.
Nearby, Macau was in her own room when she heard the faint sound of the front door. She knew it had to be Akira; they were the only two who knew the passcode. She had been on a video call with their grandmother, but she ended it immediately to go check on her. When she knocked on the bedroom door and got no response, she headed to the kitchen to prepare something for her to eat.
Suddenly, a gut-wrenching sound pierced the silence—Akira was sobbing uncontrollably under the shower. Macau rushed to the door, shouting her name, but Akira didn't hear her, nor did she answer. Forced to use the spare key, Macau burst into the room and found her standing under the running water, fully clothed, weeping in a way she had never heard before.
Macau rushed to her side, quickly turning off the shower. "Akira, what happened? Why are you crying like this?" she asked, her voice trembling with a gentleness only a sister could provide.
Akira collapsed into Macau's arms, clutching her tightly as she sobbed, "She played with my feelings, Macau! She is so cruel. She hurt me so much... the physical pain I've endured in the past is nothing compared to the agony her words caused me today."
Macau, who had never seen Akira break down like this, felt her own eyes fill with tears. Gently pulling her back to look at her, she held her steady. "Akira, you're soaking wet and wearing your clothes. Please, let's get you out of these, and then we'll get you something to eat. After that, we'll sit down and talk, and I promise we'll find a solution to this pain together." Though Akira was the elder of the two, in that moment, it was Macau who stood strong, providing the shelter she so desperately needed.
Kenji pulled the car into the parking lot of a quiet restaurant, the sudden deceleration snapping the silence. He shifted into park and looked over at Naea, who hadn't spoken a word for miles. "We're stopping here," he said calmly.
Naea opened her eyes, her gaze sharp as she looked at the building, then back at him. "Why are we stopping? I didn't ask to stop."
Kenji sighed, his tone adopting a patient, almost patronizing edge. "It's obvious, isn't it? We're at a restaurant, Naea. We're going to eat."
"If you're hungry, go ahead," she retorted, staring straight ahead through the windshield. "I'll stay in the car. I'm not hungry."
Kenji gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles tightening. "Come on, Naea. I'm not just here for myself. I know you haven't eaten since last night. You need to put something in your stomach."
Naea's posture stiffened, her voice dropping to a dangerous, low temperature. "Stop forcing me. I told you, I am not hungry. If you push this, I'll get out of the car right here and call a cab. I don't care how far away we are."
Kenji let out a sharp, incredulous laugh, shaking his head. "So much attitude. I was just trying to look out for you since you've been starving yourself. If that's how you want to play it, fine. We'll just go home."
He slammed the car into drive and pulled back onto the road. To bridge the tension, he reached out and turned on the stereo, playing a playlist of Uru—her favorite artist. The soft, melodic vocals filled the car, but Naea didn't soften. She reached over, clicked the power button, and silenced the music instantly.
"I want to rest," she said firmly. She leaned her head against the cool glass of the window, closing her eyes to shut him out completely. Kenji didn't say another word, the only sound left in the car being the hum of the engine as they completed the drive to the Takahashi mansion.
Akira eventually emerged from her room, having finally changed into fresh clothes. She walked into the kitchen to find that Macau had prepared her favorite meal—a gesture meant to offer comfort—but the sight of the food didn't stir even a flicker of a smile on Akira's pale, haunted face. She sat down in heavy silence, forcing herself to take only four or five small, mechanical bites before the effort became too much. Without a word, she stood up and retreated to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her to hide away once more. Macau watched her the entire time, her heart aching with every listless movement. She desperately wanted to reach out, but she held back, knowing that in the wake of such a profound betrayal, Akira needed the one thing she couldn't force: time and space to breathe.
Kenji pulled the car to a stop at the Takahashi mansion, and just as he moved to open Naea's door, she stepped out herself, her movements brisk and detached. The mansion was unnervingly quiet; the usual hum of activity had been replaced by a heavy, hollow stillness that felt more like a tomb than a home. As Naea wandered through the corridors, she noted the absence of the grandmother, who she correctly assumed was resting in her quarters. Seeking refuge from the suffocating silence, Naea retreated to the garden as the evening shadows lengthened at 6:00 PM. She stood by the fountain, watching Yumi's two children play in the distance, when a voice drifted toward her: "Those children... they can never seem to sit still, can they?"
Naea turned to see a woman in her late thirties approaching, her expression one of tired empathy. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met," Naea said, bowing slightly in a formal greeting. Yumi studied her, immediately noticing the shimmer of unshed tears behind Naea's carefully composed mask. Without a word, Yumi stepped forward and pulled Naea into a warm, grounding hug. "I am Yumi Takahashi," she murmured, "Minato's wife." Naea stiffened, recalling Kenji's mention of her earlier that morning. "I know," Naea replied quietly. "Kenji told me."
Yumi pulled back, her gaze searching Naea's face. "May I ask you something?" she ventured. "If it is within my power to answer, please," Naea replied, keeping her voice steady. Yumi lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, her eyes darting to the children playing in the garden before looking back at Naea. "Do you know who killed that animal?" she asked.
Naea paused, her heart hammering against her ribs, but she forced her expression to remain icy and calm. "I don't. Why would you assume Minato was shot?" she countered. Yumi shook her head, a grim, determined smile touching her lips. "That man was a monster; he would never have taken his own life. Someone ended him, and I am searching for that person. I don't want justice—I want to thank them. They did me the greatest favor of my life, and I want to help them in any way I can."
The tense, low-whispered confession was abruptly punctured by Kenji's arrival. He had been watching them from a short distance and now stepped into the garden, his smile as sharp and practiced as ever. "If you two are quite finished with your private exchange, dinner is served," he announced, his voice smooth but carrying an undercurrent of authority. "Grandma has joined us."
Yumi didn't flinch. She turned toward him, a playful, knowing glint in her eyes. "Kenji, you never mentioned that your doctor friend was this lovely and kind," she teased. Kenji stiffened, a flicker of color rising to his cheeks that he quickly masked behind a cool, dismissive wave. "Oh, Yumi, stop it," he muttered, turning to usher her two children toward the house.
As Kenji walked ahead with the children, Naea and Yumi fell into step behind him. Yumi leaned in closer, her tone shifting from playful to earnest. "I don't know about the rest of them, Naea, but you can think of me as your sister," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "If you ever face trouble here, or if you need someone to turn to, you come to me. Understand?" Naea felt a jolt of confusion; Yumi's offer felt heavy, filled with a meaning she couldn't quite decipher, but she tucked the thought away as they reached the dining hall.
Inside, the atmosphere was suffocatingly quiet. When the grandmother's eyes landed on Naea, an unmistakable look of relief washed over her aged features, though it did little to lighten the gloom of the room. The Takahashi household, once expansive, had dwindled to this small, fractured core. Kenji's parents lived permanently abroad, leaving him to be raised by his grandmother, while Minato's parents had perished in a tragic accident a decade prior. Following Minato's recent death, the grandmother had insisted that Yumi remain at the mansion, a request Yumi had felt duty-bound to honor.
As the four of them—Kenji, the grandmother, Yumi, and Naea—settled into their seats for dinner, the silence of the mansion seemed to press in on them. It was a dinner held in the shadow of loss, where every clink of silverware felt like a reminder of those who were no longer there to pull up a chair.