SCIAW: Chapter 439/440

Chapter 439: Miyano Akemi's Regret

Today was not a good day for Akemi Miyano.

The bank robbery she had planned yesterday was actually intercepted by the very people she had chosen in the end.

She knew the ones she picked were all people with strong desires and an insatiable hunger for money. She had even considered the possibility of them wanting to monopolize the loot. But the fact that they acted so quickly was far beyond her expectations.

The one who took action was not a thug, but the incompetent middle-aged driver.

"I was careless..."

Akemi knew this was the result of her own carelessness.

"You were indeed careless."

"!?"

The voice was so cold it could freeze her soul, making her body stiffen instantly.

There was no visible figure in the dim room, but under the faint moonlight, the outline of a man could be seen.

Gin.

When Akemi muttered his name, her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably.

"A simple bank robbery, and you turned it into a mess. A billion yen lost because of a loser like you."

The cold voice carried ridicule and mockery, making her face burn with humiliation. She forced herself to remain calm.

"I will get back the lost billion yen."

"Heh, get it back? You, a loser?"

The sneer shattered her composure.

Gin casually tossed a few boxes in her direction.

"This is..."

Akemi's heart trembled. A bad premonition surged within her.

"The billion yen you lost."

His mocking tone only deepened her unease.

The billion yen had been recovered, but not by her. Gin had retrieved it himself.

Sure enough, when she looked up, the moonlight revealed the dark barrel of a gun aimed at her.

"Miyano Akemi, you are only a tool to keep Shiho in line. Why would you think you have any value on your own?"

"And your incompetence proves you are useless."

Bang.

The suppressed shot echoed softly in the room.

Her forehead felt damp with sweat as her strength drained away. She could no longer stand.

She collapsed to the floor like a boneless puppet.

Her consciousness had not completely faded.

Shiho... I failed...

Guilt consumed her. She had failed to save her sister from the organization's clutches.

She had been prepared to sacrifice herself, but she never expected her end to come like this.

Not only did she fail to see Shiho one last time, but she also did not know if her actions would affect her sister's fate.

"If things truly developed this way, what would you do, Ms. Miyano Akemi?"

The sudden voice startled her.

The cold floor sent a chill through her back. She instinctively tried to prop herself up.

But as she sat up, she realized something.

I'm... not dead?

Her hand went to her forehead. She remembered being shot, but there was no wound. No blood.

"Death is only a matter of time."

"I believe you understand whether the scene you just saw would actually happen."

"..."

Akemi bit her lip. She had to admit, such a scene was entirely possible. In her mind, Gin would never bother cleaning up her mess. He would simply wait for her to recover the money, then kill her without a word.

She forced down the bitterness and looked toward the shadowed figure in the darkness.

"Who are you?"

She couldn't identify the person, nor could she understand why she had just seen that vision. It felt like hypnosis.

"I am someone interested in your fate."

Interested in my fate?

Akemi didn't understand.

"Including your sister."

"!?"

She understood that perfectly. Her teeth clenched, but soon she relaxed them.

"My sister is still in the organization, under their watch."

"Yes, I know."

"Then why come to me? I am worthless to them now, and I can't help you."

"I know that too. Perhaps you misunderstood. I have no interest in that organization. I am only interested in the fate of you two sisters."

Akemi hesitated.

"I don't quite understand."

"Let me put it simply. Your death will deal a heavy blow to your sister. She will stop assisting the organization in drug research. Once you die, her fate will be sealed."

Akemi's composure shattered.

"Shiho... she won't die like that!"

"Really? Are you sure?"

The gentle tone made her heart waver. Cold sweat formed on her forehead.

"You know what kind of place that organization is."

"As her sister, you have done many things that have implicated her. You are well aware of that."

"A CIA undercover agent infiltrated the organization and made a certain impact. That man has targeted you and decided your fate. He wants you to die in despair."

"They discarded you like trash. What do you think they will do to your sister, who they used you to control?"

Images formed in Akemi's mind.

After hearing of her death, Shiho would lose all hope and walk straight into the organization's trap.

Then, an explosion...

Shiho!

Akemi's heart throbbed in pain.

She understood her own ending. But if it came to that, what would happen to Shiho?

She could already picture Shiho resisting the organization, only to be utterly crushed.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Akemi clenched her fists. She knew she had dragged her sister down. Without her, Shiho would never have been involved.

If she had done nothing, at least things could have continued as before.

But because she had acted recklessly, this was the result.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 440: Putting Loyalty and Faith on the Scale

"It's me... This is all my fault..."

Thinking back to the past, Akemi knew everything had started with her expectations of Moroboshi Dai.

Because of that man, her sister had been dragged to the edge of a hopeless situation.

If she had never recommended him, perhaps she and her sister would never have faced this kind of danger.

Life might still have been unsatisfying, but it would not have pushed them into complete despair.

"Yes, it's all your fault."

"It is because you expected something from him. You thought he could bring you a change. That's why you recommended him to your sister, even knowing he approached you with the intention of using you to be recommended."

"You are responsible for all of this. You need to understand that."

"I see..."

Her expression was filled with misery, but she knew she deserved it. She had trusted someone she should never have believed in.

But Shiho was innocent. She should not have to die alongside her.

"But Shiho is innocent!"

"In this regard, no one is truly innocent. Identity and the environment one lives in are beyond personal control. Since you and your sister's identities were given by your parents, in a sense, your parents are not innocent either."

"But unfortunately, your parents are missing, so the consequences they should bear must now be borne by you two sisters."

The voice was still gentle, but the words were sharp enough to cut.

"As for whether your sister is innocent... I believe she understood your intentions the moment she accepted your recommendation. So, can you still say she is innocent?"

"This is your two sisters' respective way of taking revenge on the organization, isn't it?"

"..."

Having her thoughts laid bare, Akemi could not refute for a moment.

Forced into a corner, she revealed her true intentions.

"I hoped that man could bring change to me and Shiho."

"I learned his identity, and it seemed he approached me deliberately to infiltrate the organization. After learning this, I hoped to use his status to help me and Shiho leave."

"Well, that's the correct answer."

She gave a bitter smile. She had never wanted to say it aloud.

"Emotions are the best means of exploitation. Just as the CIA agent used them on you, you used the same method on him."

"But you knew ordinary means would be useless against a CIA undercover. So you used your sister to give him a recommended identity. Then, bit by bit, you told him about the hardships and threats you and your sister faced, so that guilt would grow in him after receiving the recommendation."

"You wanted to use his guilt to help you both escape the organization, even if it meant joining the witness protection program."

"But your plan still failed."

Akemi's face darkened. She had intended to make him feel guilty, but at the crucial moment, she failed to play her role. Worse, she had made things even more dangerous for herself and Shiho.

"It is exactly because of your current situation that you need to be prepared. You were even willing to dirty your hands to get that one billion yen."

"It's a pity you still miscalculated. Do you know the most important quality a killer must have?"

"Quality of a killer?"

She clearly didn't understand.

"The most important quality is, naturally, not having to keep promises."

Akemi was no fool. Hearing that, she instantly realized Gin would never keep his word.

"Why? He clearly said so."

Her voice cracked.

"He did. But did he ever say he would keep that promise? You think too highly of yourself, Ms. Miyano. You have little value, especially with your limited abilities. On top of that, you're connected to a CIA undercover, so to him, you're worthless."

"One billion yen was never really part of a transaction. It was more like a gesture to brush you off."

"He expects nothing from you. Your fate was sealed the moment that CIA agent's identity was exposed."

"And you know very well what they hate most is a traitor."

Yes, she knew this better than anyone.

That organization never tolerated traitors. Once exposed, death was inevitable.

The moment his cover was blown, the safety of both her and Shiho vanished.

She had always known this.

It was because she knew so well that she now felt true despair.

She realized she had been abandoned, discarded like trash.

And once she became an abandoned pawn, her sister would follow, crushed for resisting.

They were both already standing at the cliff's edge, only one step away from shattering completely.

Yet even with her heart steeped in despair, Akemi searched for a single safe path.

She looked at the shadowed figure before her.

"Please, can you help me and my sister?"

It was her only choice.

She was certain no one else would help them. The only possible savior was the one who had appeared quietly before her.

"So, what can you give?"

"I think you, having seen the ways of this world, understand this best. You must pay for what you want. That is the rule."

She understood that rule perfectly.

"But... I have nothing..."

"No, you do. I want your loyalty and faith for the rest of your life. If you accept, I will guide you in facing the troubles before you and in rescuing your sister."

"Loyalty and faith..."

She hesitated. She didn't think she was worth much, but this was the best bargain she could get.

She had nothing left, so her loyalty and beliefs for the rest of her life no longer mattered.

She would give anything to save her sister.

"Yes. I can give you anything I have."

"Very good. From today, you are my believer. And I grant my believers the right to choose their own destiny, and the power to change it."

(To be continued.)