Kiris.h.i.+ma Ayaka died within minutes. Her eyes were still open, staring at Daniel with gla.s.sy eyes.
He didn"t give a single glance to his wife. Daniel reaches for the throwing knife in his pocket. Mira is walking toward him on the table. He can"t kill her, but he doesn"t want to die either. Even the Consortium didn"t know that he killed Kiris.h.i.+ma Yuki. He knows well what would happen to him if the Consortium ever finds out.
Mira stops at the edge of the table. "Daniel, calm down. I am not going to kill you."
"How did you know all that?" He watches her every single movement like a hawk. It can"t be a child. A child wouldn"t stand in front of him with an angelic smile after killing her own mother and her grandfather. Even if Kiris.h.i.+ma Naoki wasn"t her biological grandfather, he was still her grandmother"s husband. If she can kill them all, what is stopping this child from killing him?
"How did I know…" Mira raises her head, looking at the ceiling. She puckers her lips and taps her chin. "Daniel, I don"t mind telling you. But you might end up dead if you find out why -- Oh, don"t even think about it. If you hurt me or kill me, you wouldn"t meet a good end. My mother and that old man are already dead. You can"t report to the Consortium that they did something to me. What will you do now? You don"t have many options."
He clenches his teeth. Her each word is right. He can"t do the same thing that he did when he killed Yuki. "What do you want?"
"I want the throne, of course." She jumps down the table. "I like you. You are quite capable, Daniel Nagasawa. You wanted me to become your puppet queen, but that"s not possible anymore. Shall we do this how it was supposed to be from the beginning? I will forget your offences and keep your secrets. In return, you must do what I say."
Did she get possessed? Daniel observes her. The previous Mira is gone. There"s no sign of child-like innocence on her face. Could a diary affect someone in this way? A child is suddenly an adult? And not an average adult, but someone who kills people without blinking her eyes once.
"Make a decision, Daniel." Mira yawns. "I am sleepy."
She has him. He doesn"t have any option. He has to bend his knees in front of her. Daniel puts down the knife on the floor. His heart is beating rapidly. The child places her hand on his head. "You made the right decision. You can only fulfil your wishes if you are alive."
The child walks away from him. On top of the stairs, she stops and glances at the table full of blood. "Clean up the table. We will cremate the bodies tomorrow."
Lying on the bed, Yuta stares at the ceiling. He can"t sleep. Though his father promised him that he would bring Mira to his family, a foreboding feeling is haunting him. Something bad is going to happen because things never seem to go the way he wants when it comes to her.
She did tell him her real name.
Yuta sighs. Then, why did she not tell the rest? Was she afraid that he would hurt her?
Rie pushes the door and peeks into the room. Her son is frowning and sighing like an old man. She purses her lips in worry. He must be thinking about Mira. Her husband had told her about her son"s wish. She doesn"t mind bringing her future daughter-in-law. She likes Mira too.
When he looks at her, she looks at him sadly and asks, "Son, are you sure about sleeping in a separate room? You are only four. You can still sleep with me."
"I am fine, Mother. I am old enough to sleep alone." He"s never been this sure about anything before. He might be four physically, but he"s a grown-up man. He doesn"t want to get sandwiched between his parents. He wants to avoid seeing those glances that they give to each other. He definitely doesn"t want to be a hindrance in his father"s mission. Both men must support each other.
"But who will I hug to sleep?" Rie lets out a depressing sigh.
Yuta lips purse into a thin line. She likes to use him as a pillow. He shakes his head and says, "Mother, you should hug Father."
"If I hug Father only, who will you hug?" Rie makes a face, pretending to be annoyed. She questions him with a teasing voice, "You are thinking of hugging Yuki, aren"t you?"
"No!" Yuta replies in beat, "I am not thinking of doing anything like that."
"Why are you agitated?" Rie leans on the door frame, amused by her son"s reaction. The slight blush on his face is hard to miss. "It"s only a hug. It"s not like you are showing your male organs to her in the name of education."
"I wasn"t going to show it to her." How many times does he have to say that? He"s accused of a crime that he didn"t commit. "She forced me to do it. Mother, your son was the one who was wronged. You can"t imagine the torture and humiliation I went through at the hand of a six-year-old girl. If she succeeded in tearing it off, you wouldn"t get to see your grandchildren."
He grits his teeth. That girl has psychopathic tendencies. What kind of child would ever think of tearing someone"s male organs off? His dignity… By a six-year-old girl… He wants to cry for real. Why is his mother laughing at his wounds?
"I am not worried though." Rie grins at him. "Your sisters will give me enough grandchildren."
"Mother!" Yuta pouts. "You are cruel."
"What"s going on here?" Kiyohira coils his arm around his wife"s waist. "Who are you calling cruel?"
Yuta stands up on his bed and points at his mother. "Father, Mother is laughing at me."
Rie shakes her head and chuckles. "I wasn"t laughing."
"You are still laughing." Yuta"s eyes fill up with tears. His dignity. His dignity. His poor dignity.
"Can you blame me?" Rie smirks at him, "I didn"t expect my son to get bullied by a girl in such a way."
"You admit that I was bullied, but you made me apologize to her." Yuta looks at her with disbelief.
"It was your fault." Kiyohira tells him calmly, "You went to her house and asked her to bully you. I don"t think that I will ever understand why a four-year-old boy would ask a six-year-old girl if she wanted to see his male organs."
"Argh!"It"s so embarra.s.sing. Yuta lies down on the bed and covers himself with the blanket. He grumbles under the blanket, "I want to sleep. Both of you should concentrate on making a sister for me."
He hears his parents laughing and walking away. Yuta rubs his face on the pillow. His eyes turn solemn. Is she doing all right? It"s hard to sleep tonight. Should he visit her? He will wait until her parents get busy and go to her house.