But of course, everything was never easy for Shuuji.
All the years of pain, obedience and endurance that he had buried deep within himself collapsed in a single moment.
It happened right after another brutal morning. The Colonel had just thrown him hard against the training mat and leaving him gasping and bloodied.
"That's enough for today." the Colonel grunted. "The boss wants to have his breakfast with you. Don't keep him waiting."
As usual, Shuuji did not argue. He wiped the blood off his lip, stood up and changed into a clean shirt. His bruises burned with every movement but he was used to it. The pain had long become a part of him and something he could endure without a sound.
He walked down the dim hallway that led to the elevator. It carried him silently to the top floor. When he got closer to the door, the smell of rum and cigars filled the air. But when he was about to knock, the hushed voices from inside made him pause.
"...please reconsider it, Boss." Hirotsu's voice said. "She's only a child. If you keep her there, she won't survive much longer."
There was a moment of silence before the boss's deep voice cut through.
"You are getting sentimental, Hirotsu. You know that I will not raise anything useless."
Shuuji froze. His heartbeat quickened.
"Giving that little girl to those scientists might actually become a good thing for her. If she survives, she might prove useful. If she doesn't, then she was never meant to be anything important." the boss continued dismissively.
For a moment, Shuuji couldn't breathe. His mind went blank.
Little girl... Scientists... Useful...
There was only one girl the boss could mean.
Mariko.
His twin sister.
Without realizing it, Shuuji's hands clenched tightly at his sides. He could feel his nails cutting into his palms. Then his breathing quickened when a cold wave of dread swept through his entire body.
Before Hirotsu could reply, Shuuji pushed the door open. The loud slam startled the two men inside.
"What... What did you just say?"
The boss turned slowly in his chair. He looked calm as if he had been expecting this moment. He didn't look surprised either. He did not even flinch.
Instead, a twisted smile curved on his lips.
"Ah..." he softly said. "So you heard, huh."
Shuuji's voice trembled. Every word he spoke was full of anger.
"What did you do to Mariko?!"
The boss did not answer right away. He leaned back in his chair and watching the boy carefully. It was the same way how a person watch an animal cornered in a cage.
"Do you really want to know, Shuuji?" the boss asked.
"Tell me!" Shuuji shouted. "Where is she?! What did you do to my sister?!"
For a moment, there was only silence around them. Hirotsu was unable to look at the boy and even lowered his head.
Then the boss chuckled. At first, it was soft. But it grew louder and echoed against the walls. It wasn't the laugh of someone amused. It was the laugh of someone broken, cruel and entertained by his suffering.
"You really didn't know, huh?" the boss said while looking straight into Shuuji's eyes. "She's been gone for years. Four years, to be exact."
Shuuji blinked. His stomach twisted violently.
"...What?"
The boss stood up and walked around his desk. "We sent her to a research facility four years ago. They study ability users there. Experiment on them. Dissect them. They said it's for the sake of knowledge."
Shuuji's world tilted.
"You... You what..."
"She was born from my bloodline." the boss went on. "And I thought, why not see if she carries something special too? Maybe she would awaken a special ability worth using too. But..."
He let out a mocking sigh.
"It still produced no results. So who knows? Maybe she is still there. Maybe she died during one of their little experiments. Either way, she already served her purpose."
The words didn't register to him immediately. They just heavily hung in the air.
Then Shuuji's entire body started trembling. His throat felt dry, his chest tight and his breath became shallow. The room seemed to shrink around him.
Seeing this, Hirotsu sharply turned to the boss sharply.
"Boss! That's enough!"
But Shuuji barely heard him.
He took a step forward. Then another. His vision blurred because of dizziness but his voice came out raw and furious.
"You said you'd keep her safe... You promised me..."
The boss only smiled wider. There was an unhinged glint in his eyes.
"And I did. For a while."
"You lied!" Shuuji shouted. "You lied to me!"
The boss slightly tilted his head as if he was amused by his accusation.
"You're so naive. This world runs on lies, Shuuji. You should be thanking me for teaching you that early."
In an instant, something inside Shuuji snapped. The walls of obedience he had built for years slowly cracked and shattered.
The boss's laughter filled the room. It was echoing off the walls like the voice of a mad god. His grin was wide and manic. His words were dripping with cruelty while he continued his twisted story.
"Your sister was such a fragile thing, Shuuji." he mocked. "One of the scientist reported that she used to cry every night. They said she begged for you and your parents until her throat bled. See? She was never meant for our world, Shuuji. But you?"
The boss pointed at the young boy. His eyes were gleaming with delight.
"You were born for it, Shuuji! You are everything Gen'emon should've been!"
Each word sliced through Shuuji like a blade. His breathing quickened and his vision pulsed red. He could barely hear anything beyond the pounding of his own heartbeat.
The boss did not notice it. He was too wrapped in his own madness while recounting every detail as if to carve it into Shuuji's soul.
"I could still remember when I brought her there. She was still small and adorable. But maybe, she's gone now. But it doesn't matter anymore."
His grin widened more into something monstrous.
"You know why? Because you are still here. My perfect creation! My—"
He didn't finish.
There was a blur of motion.
In less than a heartbeat, Shuuji swiftly moved. It was soundless and fueled by years of suppressed rage and agony. The sound of bones cracking followed as he twisted the boss's arm backward with unnatural force.
The old man's body jerked violently. The grin on his face faltered for the first time.
"What—"
But before he could react, Shuuji grabbed the silver fountain pen lying on the desk. And without hesitation, he dragged the sharp tip of it across the boss's flesh from the base of his neck down to his torso. His blood sprayed across the table and staining the papers, the floor and Shuuji's face.
The boss staggered while his eyes widened in disbelief. The room fell into stunned silence for a fraction of a second before the chaos erupted.
"Boss!!!" one of the guards shouted before pulling his gun.
"Shoot him!" another one yelled.
But before they could fire, the boss, who was still clutching his bleeding chest, screamed hoarsely.
"Don't shoot him! Or else, I will kill you all!!!"
The guards froze and suddenly unsure what to do.
Shuuji looked down at the bleeding figure before him. His small hands were slick with blood but his expression was eerily calm. But his eyes were dark and empty. It looked like the abyss itself.
When the boss saw this, he shuddered before his knees gave out as he sank to the floor.
"Y-You... You're a demon!!!" he rasped before blood bubbled from his lips.
Shuuji said nothing. He just watched the boss before the sound of his own heartbeat echoed in his ears.
Then he turned around. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the nearest guard's gun. The man barely had time to react before Shuuji smashed the butt of the weapon into his face and knocking him out cold.
The other guards moved to intercept. But Shuuji was faster.
He ducked behind the desk, fired two clean shots and hit the lights above. The room was plunged into flickering darkness. Soon, shouts filled the room while the guards stumbled and momentarily blinded.
By the time they recovered, the boy was already gone.
Shuuji sprinted through the hallways. His lungs were burning but he did not stop. He knew the building by heart. He already memorized every passage, every shortcut and every blind corner of this place. His mind started replaying every map and every escape route he had memorized during his training.
Every time someone appeared to block him, Shuuji would shoot them without hesitation. His shots were clean and precise. It was the kind of aim drilled into him through years of brutal conditioning.
But he did not aim to kill. He was only aiming to disable them. Anyone who stood in his way would dropped instantly.
Soon, the alarms blared through the halls. All the guards were shouting their orders to each other. The sound of boots were thundered from all directions.
But Shuuji did not care.
He tore a black cloth from a fallen guard's uniform and wrapped it around his head to hide his face. The faint sting of gunpowder filled his nostrils and it quickly mixed with the metallic scent of blood.
When he reached the eighth floor, a blur of red blocked his way. There was a woman wearing a floral kimono standing there. Her crimson hair was flowing behind her like fire. She held a katana at her side and looked at her with sharp and cold eyes.
"So you're the little monster the boss keeps hidden." she murmured while stepping forward.
Shuuji raised the gun but she was faster. In a blink of an eye, the edge of her sword rested against his throat.
But Shuuji's eyes did not waver. There was no fear and hesitation in it. There was only fury and desperation.
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly. She also looked intrigued with him.
"You've got guts, kid. But this is as far as you—"
Before the woman could finish, Shuuji dropped to the ground, rolled under her arm and slipped past her in one fluid motion. The woman spun and slashing where he had been. But he was already gone. The little boy was darting down the corridor with light footsteps.
"Tch." she hissed while lowering her sword. "Fast little rat."
Shuuji ran without looking back. His lungs screamed for air but he pushed harder. He could see the exit sign glowing faintly ahead. The faint taste of freedom was filling his mouth for the first time in years.
Soon, he burst through the final door and into the cold night air.
The biting wind hit his face but it felt like life. He tore off the cloth around his head while breathing hard.
Behind him, the building was still swarmed with guards and chaos. But Shuuji did not stop. He did not even turn around.
And the boy left behind only bloodstains and the sound of his name while the streets of Yokohama swallowed him whole.