The whole week came pretty slow when you are just doing your routines with no job like interrogation or enforcing, or just simply watching the superiors do their works at night. When I mention day routines, it should be understand as school, school, and school. It has been 4 year since I started to take up the Japanese education, but I have to admit that it was a blast with them. Watching some of the classmates slacked off in the day and then scrambled themselves to cram school at night is a joy to me. In fact, just thinking about it make me want to ace the next possible English/Japanese/Physics/Math/Whatever (or all of them if possible) test and shove them to their face as a big fuck you for neglect whatever duty they have to do at school (as I don’t go to cram school, or intended to do so). But my gramp warned me when I first came here: “Stay low and don’t stir shit up, then we don’t have to worry about bringing bodyguards next to you at school”. So I just periodically tank my score at tests and making sure everybody think I’m just another snot-nosed-above-average-looking foreigner who try to learn the “Japanese way”. Too bad I already mastered all of it, except for puns. They are my nightmares.

Anyway, the week went by, and here came Friday night. I was preparing stuffs. From tuxedo to my favorite pair of handcannons: Thunder and Lightning, I had them prepared and ready. I’m not a neat freak, but I don’t want to embarrass the old man with my not-so-clean fashion sense either.

Then I go to sleep, hoping for the best for tomorrow, the first “Big Boy Job”

But I met her again.

To be able to describe where I was back then would be impossible to do, since it is a maddening collection of some of the weirdest and most insane scenes in the history of mankind crumbled together. Well, at least in my opinion as a horror movies fan anyway.

It looked like I’m somewhere in an abandoned city. The whole city was grey, devoid of any colors. The buildings surrounded me were crumbled bit by bit, crack by crack. I stood in a puddle of water in a middle of a street, with rains pouring down on the top of my head, while looking to nowhere to logically determine where I am was inside this madness. I was wearing some kind of cut up Hayabusa jeans, without any tops.

Then from behind, a pair of arms wrap around my neck gently. A very feminine pair of arms. I got a hold of it, then turn back, it was the white haired girl. She wore a big straw hat, with a brown farm girl style dress that make you want to say “oh fuck you look beautiful in this shit”. Like last time, her appearance (and also her outfits) was just as out of place as a bloodied meat cleaver in a woman’s bedroom. She was looking at me, again with those big sparkling eyes. Unlike last time, it wasn’t filled of curiosity when one is looking at an alien, but rather with an aura of lovingness, like my mom used to look at me. Even though I had to admit, she wasn’t the best mom she can be.

The girls charged toward me, right into my stomach, and knock me down right on my feet. Apparently she double legged me. A textbook double leg. I felt the water splashed between me and her. She pinned me, and with my arms and feet immobilized she close the distance between our face, while keeping that same look from her eyes, only intensified a bit more. I looked at her, and I realized she was blushing. As our face were coming to meet, her blushing cheeks are clearer at every inch she got closer. I didn’t resist at all, for some reason, chiefly because somewhere in my head told me that it will a memorable experience.

Our nose touched.

Then she backed out, with a look of confusion and embarrassment at the same time. Her face got redder and redder. She was flustered. How cute could that be?

She closed her eyes, and her face making an expression that I can only describe as “cute stubbornness” She then rushed in.

And our lips touched.

It was not really my first kiss. But as my dad used to describe: awkward teenage slobbering.

The sensations were overwhelming my body. Even though it was a dream, the sensations seemed so real to be said as “dream”. It was her first kiss, because the same awkward teenage slobbering thingy is happening with her lips, only with even more awkwardness. But somehow to me, it was the best kiss ever. The one that make you want to wish that the moment were real, and alive forever. Who said two wrong doesn’t make one right ?

I remembered the entire thing after a few cans of Coke and a lot of shadow kickboxing later. When we kissed, she was loosening her grip, and my arms started to do its dirty job. I stroked her smooth-as-silk white hair. My hands then descended down to her waist, all the way to her hips while she still pinned me with her hand on my chest. Instinct, as I would defend myself with the dream polices in case I got arrested for third degree fantasy rape. Then she finished the kiss, back out and gave me a very naughty smile. She then come close to my ear, whispering: “those hands of yours surely are naughty, are they?” She grabbed my right hand, and put it on her heart, or more specifically her huge chest. I could felt them beating lively as if they want to jump out of her well groomed chest.

This time it was my turn to get blush. She giggled as I flustered while looking into the infinity, scrambled all over my mind to find a way to say something. She got down on my body, again whispered into my ear: “bye bye, wolfy” and follow up with a kiss on my left cheek.

The sound of “Whore to a Chainsaw” by Thy Art Is Murder went up. It was 6 o clocks on a winter Saturday morning.

All I know after that, I started to like the word “wolfy”.

The whole week goes by slowly when you are just doing your daily routines without interrogation or enforcing, or just simply watching the superiors do their work at night. When I mention day routines, it should be understooded as school, school, and school. It has been 4 year since I started to take up Japanese education, but I have to admit that it has been a blast with them. Watching some of my classmates slack off during the day and then scrambling themselves to cram school at night is a joy to me. In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to ace the next possible English/Japanese/Physics/Math/Whatever (or all of them if possible) test and shove them to their face as a big fuck you for neglecting whatever duty they have to do at school (as I don’t go to cram school, or intend to do so). But my gramp warned me when I first came here: “Stay low and don’t stir shit up, then we don’t have to worry about bringing bodyguards next to you at school”. So I just periodically tanked my scores at tests and made sure everybody thought I was just another snot-nosed-above-average-looking foreigner who was trying to learn the “Japanese way”. Too bad I already mastered all of it, except for puns. They are my nightmares.

Anyway, the week went by, and here came Friday night. I was preparing stuff. From tuxedo to my favorite pair of handcannons: Thunder and Lightning, I had them prepared and ready. I’m not a neat freak, but I don’t want to embarrass the old man with my not-so-clean fashion sense either.

Then I went to sleep, hoping for the best tomorrow, my first “Big Boy Job”

But then I met her again.

Act 1: Into Kyoto
“Wake up Kuro, we are in Kyoto”

The raspy voice of Kojiro-san woke me up. I was in a car on my way to the resident of the Fenikkusu-gumi’s kumicho somewhere in the place they called Kyoto. The last thing I have had remembered before trippin’ into dreamland try to find Lady White Hair is how loathful I am when in a car. I looked out the windows, and let the scenery ease my mind. It was beautiful.

Even after all those years Osaka is still the same place I watched to the first time on National Geographic XD back a few years ago: ancient, stylistic while having a fair share of modern glamour. The perfect combination I guess. Too bad not many places are like that many more. They all go apeshitted with total mechanization of society.

“How’s Kyoto Kuro? Beautiful right?”

Kojiro-san asked me, with a straight face accompanied with a smile. He is my family’s top lieutenant, overseeing all other lieutenant from other clans and families under the flag of the Itachizame-kan, which is half of my family actually. His nickname is the Kansai Tiger, allegedly due to his aggressiveness(more like passive-aggressiveness to me), along with the really hideous tiger tattoo at his back and the fact that he come from Kansai, where the accents are just as ridiculous as a redneck’s accent. He sort of look like one as well: big sideburn on the side of his round head, while on top of his head is a messy bunch of hair that looked like Koizumi’s hair but much messier. But one thing that is good about his outward appearance is that everybody knows that he is a guy not to be messing with just at a mere first sight. Right now, he is my legal guardian and “working” superior at the same time. His duty? Monitor me and giving me “night jobs” for “experience”.

“Yeah, it is beautiful”. A half assed answer from me.

Act 2: The Phoenix’s mouth.
“Kuro, we are arrived”

I opened the door and get off the car. I thought I was gonna shit myself there for a second. Imagine a 16th century European style mansion in the middle of an Asian city like Kyoto. It is an abomination perhaps, since it is so out of character even it is already a few hundred years from the feudal period. On another hand, I got to admire its beauty and the massiveness of the place. The word “rivaled” isn’t really far-fetched at all when compare this place to my gramp’s place. But it is a pretty blonde haired girl in a classroom full of native Japanese student: out of ordinary, in an extravagant way.

I got out, and guess who’s accompanying me: twenty big, strong and stern-looking guys along with Kojiro-san. They was getting out of the cars. I noticed a few familiar faces, and they all so noticed too with an awkward response by bowing down their head confusingly and as quickly as possible when I glanced across them. I guess they didn’t really ever think such an important guy worked with them on jobs like beating somebody’s head to total pulp.

After all the guys were out of their cars, I finally took a look to the already opened gate of the mansion. There were 2 lines of men in black suit, standing side by side. They formed a road lead directly to the mansion’s doors. In the middle of the man-made road, there was a girl in a white kimono standing. Given the background, it was pretty close to what I defined as “irony”.

Before I went any further from the car, Kojiro-san held my shoulder back. He said:

“Kuro, before you step any more step, first get your head and back straight, and walk like you mean to walk. Remember, you are the Itachizame-kan’s future kumicho. So don’t disappoint me, boy.”

I did what he said. Then I turned to him, he smirked back and gave me an approval nod. So I started to walk inside to the gate, while the whole battalion followed. As I was approaching, the girl inside bowed down at the sight of me.

“Welcome to the residence of Mashiba-sama. My name is Ran. Mashiba-sama is waiting for you. Please come this way.”

She stepped aside, with her left hand pointing the way. I stepped in, and then walking behind Ran. As each step I walked, the guys from both side of the road bowed down, as a gesture of greetings and sincerity. I felt like a damned shogun commander leading his troops to the battlefield. The problem? I’m not really full blooded Japanese, and only a 17 years old asshole.

Act 3: In the arms of perdition part 1: Into the void
It was a relatively short walk, from the entrance to the main hall of the mansion where the meeting would be conducted. Ran said a feast was in planning but due to unforeseeable circumstances it was rendered into a bare bone meeting. No horns, no drums, no foods. I was a little disappointed as a food lover. We were walking in these wide corridors, with white wall, blue carpet laid down below our feet and replica of famous paintings was hanging on the walls.

Suddenly.

That feeling again.

The feeling of birds flying all over my body as if it were hollow and full of air instead of made by bone, marrow and a lot of blood.

My head turned, my eyes looked around anxiously constantly taking one step of a time at the discretion of Ran-san toward to the main hall. I was sweating all over my black suit, even though it is winter outside the building. Something is wrong, either with my body or this.

“Mashiba-sama. The Itachizame - kai family is here.” Ran knocked on a brown wooden door that have more than triple the size of my body. From outside, I can already guess the size of the room. Unless the magic man in the sky have a bad sense of humor and make a guy who a giant door for his less than 25 meters squared room.

“Let them in” A gravelly but stern voice coming out of the door.

Ran opened the door. Inside the room, it is nothing sort of amazement. The room itself is huge, probably more 100 meters squared. There are massive book cases, a working desk, a small shrine, and a “holly fuck” collection of katana and weaponry from the ages. Pretty normal for a boss of a powerful crime syndicate I guess. Come to think about it, my gramp’s room is also nothing less than the word “amazing” actually. In the middle of it, there was a set of furniture consisted of 2 English sofas and a small table with a tea set on top of it. One the left side, there was a guy sit on it. Behind him were these very formal looking behemoths. Describe them as goliaths in a suit wouldn’t be too far-fetched.

Ran led us into the room. Only a handful guys were allowed to come with me and Kojiro while the rest are either guarding the door or guarding the cars outside. As I was coming nearer and nearer the table, the feelings inside my spine started to intensified. For every meter I walked, they got heavy just as much. It was hard just to walk.

“Mashiba-sama, Itachizame-kai had arrived”

“Alright Ran, you can go now.” She then bowed to his holiness, then retreat out of the room. It was my turn. Assumptions make a fool out of anybody, but it was too intense for me to ask anybody, so I just threw the dart in the dark room.

“Hello, Mashiba-sama. My name is Sakubara Kazushi and we are from the Itachizama-kai. It is our pleasure to meet you”

The whole pack bowed down to him. It is customary.

It was a slight pause. We were still bowing down to them. A gravel voice then comes out.

“It is a pleasure to meet you too, Kazushi…. My name is Mashiba Kazuo and I am the kumicho of the Fenikkusu-gumi. Please sit down. Let us be quick”

About two hours later or so, I was sitting in one of the car on the way back to Tokyo. I blankly looked outside the windows, at the city I’m about to depart. Let my mind wanders wherever it might be…Whether it is Mashiba-sama’s hulky bodyguards or my apartment…

Ah, and then there is what happened in the residence of Mashiba-sama. It was a bag full of mixed food, some really good, some just plain shit…everything else….dah dah dab...In the thick of it, I thought there would be some sort of paper agreement or stuff like that, but then I remembered the way of Japanese business. It was quite clear. The bang was at the end. I become the man who would be the handlers of some heavy luggage for my family on the way to my apartment.

As I can vividly remember (although it is just merely 3 hours ago), it started by some light greetings and introduction. First I introduced myself as the grandson of the Itachizame-kai’s current kumicho named Kazushi Sakubara. I made it so it concealed parts of me under the discretion of Kojiro-san, who feared for my own safety. Bleh. Mashiba-sama seemed a little bit unimpressed, but he then introduced himself.

I heard from gramp that he is one of the youngest in his time to receive permission from his kumicho to make his own clan. It was 20 years ago according to what my gramp remembered. Mashiba-sama was 25. Everything then went snowballing since then. Now he is one of the top dogs in the underworld, having “business” relationship to countless organizations, underground or not, from North American to Europe. And he is only 42, which is 25 years younger than my gramp and as old as my father.

Wait, so that’s mean he isn’t that great isn’t he?

Anyway, back to the tea table. He fired the first fire of the evening

“I’m sure your gramp had already explained what the purpose of this meeting is. Didn’t he?” Mashiba-sama asked.

“Yes, yes he did. Very thoroughly and carefully.” I answered.

“Excellent!” He proclaimed “Your grandfather taught you well.” He then complimented

“I was originally intended that there will be a feast to celebrate the bonding between the two syndicates. But there was an unexpected turn of event that required my appearance, so I had to do this as soon as possible. I am truly apologized for that”

“No no, it is okay Mashiba-sama. If it is what it had to be, then I suggest we get on with it”

“Good. I like that, straight to the business. It was our faith in one another that your grandfather and I agreed on, so it shall be faith that we will cement the two families’ bond in this moment. Do you agree?” He looked at me.

“Yes, Mashiba-sama, I wholly agree.”

The Japanese faith. One of the things that blew me away when I first came here, but a while later I figured out. If a society where samurai was judged by honors and faith, then in modern time it was bound to be more or less the same.

I looked at Kojiro-san. He then gave to me a special decorated box from behind. Inside the big piece of wood lied the Tensou, peace and all. Then I stood up, bend down to Mashiba-san.

“Here, Mashiba-sama, this is Tensou. Just as what you and my grandfather agreed on.”

“Thank you, Kazushi.” He received the box, opened it and admiring its beauty

“This blade, it must be a real treasure isn’t it?”

“I don’t know much about sword and blade, but if is there anything that can cut through steel then this is the tool for that job”.

“Oh really?”

He then pulled out the katana, and took a swing to my neck. It was exactly one inch from the blade to my neck.

Kojiro-san jumped out of the backseat: “what are you doing?!” He has his hand on his pistol.

“Relax, I just want to see how the Prodigal Son react, right Drake?” It was astonishing how in one second a guy from a very respectable façade can turn right into a devil.

“So you know who I am right, Mashiba-sama?” I tensed. I just did the same as well, one second formal, a second later a complete street ass.

“Yes, I am not that stupid you know” He grinned, while retracting the blade back to its red scabbard, unto its box.

“It was me who suggested that you were the representative for your family. I was dying to see you in real face. Your acting was lousy anyway. You know, not too many people in the underworld are able to seen the prodigal child himself, born from a Japanese mother and an American father, with the circumstances that a lifetime criminal can only dream of.”

He lit a cigarette, and blew out a smoke, and relaxed back. The whole room has gone from good to bad. No one knows when it will get better, or worse. Probably the only ones that was still stay sleazy were me and him, even though I was nearly at the point of going to the river of Hades right there.

“If I’m correct, Your mother is the daughter of the current kumicho of the Itachizame-kan. And your father? The next in throne for the largest shadow family in the United States: The Torino Family. And you are their offspring of their secret marriage. Even though, the story is pretty wide spread in the underground like a ripple in a pond, you are often considered a drinker’s telltale, an urban legend. But now, after seeing you with my own mortal eyes, I can now confirm that this urban legend is real. Right?”

I nodded. There was nothing more I could say. All true. Another puff of smoke from that mouth came out.

“So, Mashiba-sama, you know all about me. There is nothing I can hide now. But I have a question: why you want to see me specifically? There is something you want, right?”

“Damn right I do. The way I see it, you might be the only one who worthy enough to take care of this family’s most sacred possession. Your gramp also agreed on that as well”

“I don’t know how worthy enough I am, but since you trust me to that degree, I guess “no” is not an option”

“Yes, exactly” He said, and made a sign to his subordinate. The guy nodded, and he then went back to some place hell know.

“See Kuro, there are countless versions and accounts about you. Some say you just a still born…”

Ah hah. I am right here.

“..but your gramp say you are a rare breed. An astonishing IQ of 170, not to mention talents that can only by brought up by the family’s background. And you, the guy who got it are only 17 years of age and not even finished high school yet.”

“That was really generous of my gramp to say that. To tell you the truth, I’m not even that good really….” I tried to ease his amazement at me. I think it was a slight overdose of my gramp’s propaganda on this one.

“Don’t be modest. You are the perfect man to take care of this clan’s treasured possession. I’m sure you will step up to the challenge.”

The door from the side of the room, or in far front of me opened. A girl came in.


“Hah?” My jaws dropped as soon as I saw them. I stunned by het unusual but extremely vibrant beauty. Those eyes….that face……white hairs….I thought I saw them somewhere….

“Wait a minute, white hairs…”

“Oh fuck, it was the girl in my dreams.”

Never in a billion years had I seen this coming. Never ever.

As I said, never in a billion years I have had seen that coming. It was one of those “what the fuck” moment. They say dreams are prophetic, but I didn’t know it was this prophetic.

She was livin’ up the room the second she stepped in with that crimson kimono. Every single detail that Mother Nature gave to her since birth was on proud display, even though it was under several piece of cloth. She was walking into the room with an elegant and flair of a young lady just stepped out to the world. Her walking gait was full of energy and confident; even it seemed a little reluctant at times.

Shouldn’t she be holding something? She came empty-handed. That was the question slipped through my mind. Later on, I got the hard answer.

The room was totally silence. Only the ambient sound of nature was heard. And the sound of the door shut close by the 2 maids.

At the sight of her, closer and closer to my eyes, the “tingling” feeling that has been plaguing my body creep up, harder and harder. I can’t explain it. My body didn’t go along with me; it was like I’m in some kind of twisted sexual torturing. I desperately cringed on the pants I was wearing.

“Drake, are you ok? You don’t look so good….”

“No I’m….fine. Don’t worry.”

It was a lie.
“Allows me to introduce to you, this is my daughter, Shirohime Mashiba”

She bowed to her guest. “It is a pleasure to meet you Torino-san, please take good care of me”. She said delicately.

I stood up, bowed back, while trying to keep my eyes on her beauty. The beauty I saw on my dreams, it was right in front of me….Exactly, downright to every minor details that I might have spared previously….The back-length white hairs, the eyebrows, the lips, those sparkling eyes, along with that figure. The kimono just makes everything a hundred times better, especially the figure.

“My full name is Drake Torino. But you can call me Kuro. It is an honor to meet you too Mashiba-san. Please take care of me as well.” I smiled. But my tummy wasn’t. Butterflies was everywhere in that damned place.

“Shiro, meet Kuro. He will be your caretaker from now on” Mr Mashiba said with a twisted grin in his face.

My heart missed a beat back then.

Act 5: In the arms of perdition part 3: The reflection of the void (transmission)

“I’m sorry Mashiba-sama, I didn’t quite hear that.” I answered with a confusing look.

“I said, you are going to be my daughter’s caretaker from now on”

“Uh…..may you explain to me why?”

“Kuro, Ran is this family’s most sacred possession. And since you are the one from your family who will take care of my family most sacred possession, I am giving to you my daughter. Sorry my dear, maybe he is just perplexed because of your hair…”

“It is okay dad…” She said.

“No it is not her hair. Her hair is very beautiful. But I thought your family’s possession is…something like my family’s sword…and also it should be my whole family not only me who have to take care of her…”

I could see that Mashiba-san was slightly blushing from the compliment of mine. But before I was able to finish my sentence, Mashiba-sama cut it short.

“No no no, your gramp said it would be you that will take care of it. I heard it very clear. He said you volunteered to take the burden of the protector for your family”

I was speechless. There was nothing I can reply.

“Anyway, she will be leaving with you now. All of her luggage and personal belongings are already down at the entrance, ready to go with you right now. I’m sure you had some spare space to store her belongings. ”

‘Shellshocked’ is the only word that came to my face. A shoot or a punch to the head would be nice for me to bring me back to reality. Sadly, this is reality, is it?

“But but….”

“She will be on your care from now on…and Drake-kun, for this alliance to be fruitful, please protect my daughter at all cost, just like I protect your family s’ sword, or you will be facing the executioner at the next morning and your family will be dead by sun rise”

Now his face is distorted into this weird looking devil-like face. His glare was like a sword, penetrated through my still sexually-tortured hollow body. Think of a troll face but evolved and devil-ized. It is amazing how far a body can take during times like this, my body that is. I wished I can somehow reply back at him with somethin’ witty, but my lips were numb.

“But but…”

“No but. If you have anything else to ask, you should check on your grandpa. He should be able to explain it to you. I’m sorry but now I had to attend a very important matter. Bye Shiro…father will see you soon…and don’t worry, I’m sure Kuro-kun will take care of you well”

He said as he stroke her hair and kiss her forehead. She blushed, and then gave me this look, which I cannot explain in words. But I’m sure it was meaningful, in some ways.

“Goodbye Kuro. I hope you will have some wonderful times with my daughter at your care” He grinned.

Did he purposely saying that?

A voice inside my head spoke: “can somebody tell me what the fuck is happening here?"

Act 6: In the arms of perdition part 3: As reality runs black

The road back to Tokyo was silently dreadful. She sat in front of me in the semi-limo, never say a word beside groan, grunts, and several other types of noise. I looked at her, she looked at me, then she looked outside, while I kept looking at her. The pattern continued on and off for a while. I was too stupid to say anything meaningful after the whole mindfuck. As for her, heck if I know. My eyes was doing most of the work, looking up and down, left and right at her. They were fixated on Mashiba-san to an unhealthy degree. I rubbed my eyes, and oozed off to cool them off. The black curtains closed in…

The black curtains were lifted. I opened my eyes, and all I could see was the color black. I looked around, trying to find any trace of light. It was confusing and a little scary. A bout of nostalgia hit me: I remembered the time when I get lost in the mall. It felt almost exactly the same as I felt in this negative zone right here. The only difference is that I don’t run around and crying out all my tears.

Then my eyes caught something.

It was light, but it was far away. It looked like a star in the horizon in a pitch black night. Just a small white dot in a black piece of paper.

I ran toward it, with all the fibers in my body craving for some lights. Normally, I don’t afraid of darkness, hell, black is my favorite color. But my body was just desperate for light, as if it had been locked in the darkness for so long.

The light eventually got larger as I ran toward it. I could felt my face was becoming the happiest face it could ever be. My spine was shivering from the excitement. Everything in my peripheral sights was a blur, tunnel vision was kicking in. The only point of focus now was the light.

It was now as big as my body. I couldn’t see anything pass it. But whatever, I just jump to it. Think of it as I just jumped into a portal. I thought it was an opening of a cave.
I wasn’t wrong. I jumped past it, and land on some kind of hard ground. The bright light inside is much brighter than it was on the other side. In fact, the light was almost permanently blinding my eyes. I rubbed my poor pair of eyes, soothing it. Then why it finally adjusted itself to the light, my jaws dropped: I was standing outside of a cave, on the edge of a cliff overlooking a valley down below. The scenery below was just epic: there were the pink of the sakura trees, with the green of the grass, the brown of the soil the grey of the rocks, and the clear white of a river ran though. All of these mixed together in a beautiful way. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

Then something blocked my view. It was soft….there were slits of light passed through it…..it was a pair of hands.

I hold the wrists. The wrists were small, soft, and smooth. Something you can only expect from a girl. I putted it down to my waist, and then turned around. Guess who? I assumed it was Shirohime Mashiba in her full glory. In my eyes at the moment, it was her, no doubt about it. Picture a 10/10 girl with white hairs, dressed in a white kimono with crimson butterflies graphics all over it. Even more stunning, on her white hair there was a butterfly-shaped kanzashi sit there, complete her geisha look. And please, it is a complement, geisha is not prostitute.

My body stood there, look at her, just as stupid as those last times I looked at her. Every time she met me, she always found ways to make my trap shut. I tried to mutter some words.

“Uh…………..hello……………” I was practically stuttering. It was embarrassing.

“Greetings, son-in-laws” She smiled

Wait, son-in-laws?

“Huh? Who are you?” I gasped.

“Oh….i forgot….” She chuckled. “I am Shirohime’s mother, Sakura. Nice to meet you” She smiled, again. She looked just like Shirohime.

“You are her mother?” My eyes were wide open.

“Yes I am.” She answered. There was a cheeky sense in her response “Hmm….i am here to take a look at you…”

She then literally took a good look at me. I felt like I was getting mentally rape.

“…and I have to admit, you look better than I thought you would be” She laughed. “Anyway, I’m sure you met my daughter, Shirohime right?”

“Yes, that’s right….” I replied.

“Alright then. As her mother, please take good care of her, okay? It had to be you who take care of her.” She smiled. “My son-in-laws” She then winked.

“Son-in-laws? You got to be kidding me.” I said in completely disbelief.

“No I’m not kidding.” She toughen up her voice and step by step she walked toward me. I started to get scare a little bit.

“You know son-in-laws….Shirohime is my strong willed daughter, but she is delicate and fragile…..but that’s where you come in, my son-in-laws. You are exactly what she need”

“I am not your son-in-laws” I shouted. “Please do not joke with me anymore, I am serious”

She leaned her face forward to me. “Really?” It was a really close encounter, literally only a kiss away. But I shook off: “Yes, really, oba-san”

“Don’t call me oba-san…I am not that old you know….” Her voice went down. “But anyway, sooner or later you will be my son-in-laws. So I have to take a good look at you….but from the look of it, you seemed to be quite capable of taking care of her.”

But then I heard the voice of Kojiro-san trying to woke me up “Wake up, Kuro….wake up….”

“Ahh. That’s a shame. See you next time then, my son-in-laws.” She said. “Tell Shiro that her mom said hello…”

“Wait, oba-…..”

I opened my eyes. I was back in the car again, with a jumbled mind.

Act 7: In the arms of perdition part 4: As fantasy runs black.

I was now sitting in my gramp’s room. Sitting in traditional style on the tatami mats was a pain, even with a cushion. Next to me was Mashiba-san. We were in my gramp’s room, waiting for him to arrive. Apparently while I slept, he called Kojiro-san and told him to bring both me and her to his mansion.

Great.

I had to waste another hour just to get home. But that’s was just a small price to pay. About 5 minutes of waiting awkwardly in his big ass room with Mashiba-san, his holiness came in through the bamboo door. To my pleasant surprise, he looked quite formal. He wore an old school style men’s kimono, black on the top but grey at the lower part, with contrasting white stitching holding the garments together. He normally would wear something like kaki-t shirt combo, not something formal like this.

Mashiba-san stood up first. She immediate greeted the presence of my gramp, something I forget to do now and then.

“Greetings, you must be Akiyama-sama….My name is Shirohime Mashiba and it is my honor to meet you.” As per customs, she bowed.

“It is my honor to meet you too, Mashiba-san. My name is Takechi Akiyama. And welcome to my mansion. I’m sure you already make acquaintance with my grandson Kuro.”

“Yes, I did. He was wonderful” She busted a smile.

She did her thing. It was now my turn.

“Hello, gramp” I smiled.

Mashiba-san looked at me like if I’m committed a great sin. Much to her visible surprise, Gramp replied pretty much the same way. In fact, everybody surprised at how informal we interact with each other.

“Hello Kuro” he smiled. “Both of you take a seat. We need to talk about this”

Mashiba-san and I sat down, rotating our body facing him. The air began to tense.

“Alright. Kuro, I am sorry for not telling you some of these “minor” details last week. Old age I guess…”

“It is okay, Gramp. Just please, please, please tell me what is going on with this deal about me and her. I am experiencing a bad mindfuck now. I mean…..I didn’t…”

“I know Kuro, I know how you feel. I will be honest, but first promise me that you will take these things as seriously and maturely as possible, okay?” He stressed.

I inhaled a deep breath “Yes, I will”. Obviously I lied.

“Okay…….the thing is that…..Mashiba-chan here is your future wife”

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“Let me say again, ok? The girl sit next to you, Shirohime Mashiba, she is your fiancée.”

Act 8: In the arms of perdition final part: The truth, and nothing but the truth

That was the last thing that I ever need. A fiancée.

Needless to say, I had to pick my jaws up from the floor. I looked at Mashiba-san. She was blushing at the revelations.

“Mashiba-san….?” I turned to her

“Yes……Kuro-san?” She replied.

“Did you know about this?”

“The truth is……yes I did.” She hesitantly answered it. Then she started to look down to the floor, as if to avoid my eyes. Strangely enough, I didn’t think it was her real reaction. Turn out I was right later on.

“Gramp…..?” I turned to my grandfather.

“Yes, Kuro?”

“Why didn’t you tell me anything about it?” My voice was borderline fury. I almost unknowingly stressed every Japanese syllables I spoke. “So basically the whole Kyoto trip was just a ruse to set me up with her? Why did you even agree to this at the first place without asking me?” I asked. Every fiber in my body was demanding answers.

“First of all” He calmly spoke. “Sorry for not telling you. It was for confidential reason. So was the trip. I have to disguise it as a business trip. Even to you” He explained. “Second of all, the engagement was done by the request of your mother actually.”

My jaws drop for the second time. “My mom?”

“No. It was my idea actually. But your mom……she was worried about you: you are living alone at your apartment, with no one to taking care of you at Tokyo. Of course, it would be frank to say that she worried and scared shitless about you every day just about everything that might be relate to your welfare in here. She thought that would be nice for you to have a girl to take care of you. It gave me a flashback a promise I promised Mashiba-sama, which is your fiancée’s father, a while ago…”

“What kind of promise was that?” I immediately followed up with a question.

“Well…..we promised that when the time is right, we would unite the two families by a marriage between your mother and him. Sadly, after that incident she married to your father so the promise was unfulfilled. But he proposed that he would like to have his offspring and your mother’s offspring instead, if the situations allowed to. In his mind, he was keen on the face that it would be two birds with one stone: achieve a firm foothold in the underworld while his children’s future would be secured. I couldn’t disagree with him. It was also my intentions as well…The katana was a small price to pay for this”

Yes. It was his intention all along to make his grandson become a groom unknowingly and unwillingly. What an intentions. That probably applied to Mashiba-san and her father as well. That’s what went through my mind back then. Then I remembered Tensou.

“Wait, so you give Mashiba-sama the family’s katana for Mashiba-san?”

“Let’s just say that everything have a price. That’s what he demanded for his daughter….”

Then I remembered my father.

“But what about my dad? I’m sure my mom wasn’t the only one making decision?” In my mind, I was snatching for everything I could find to get me out of this mess.

“Your dad? He simply agreed with what your mom said. That’s what she said.”

Damn. I thought. My only glimmer sight of hope is gone. Complaining was only gonna make it worse.

“Gramp…..how long has you and him make this arrangement?” That’s another question I had. I wouldn’t be surprise if this only happened in the last 6 months.

“Actually….we arranged this for 2 years already. But Mashiba-san wasn’t old enough yet. So we decided to postpone it…..until now. She’s 16 and you are 17. Which is perfect.”

Perfect, my ass. I sat there, silent for a few seconds to collect all of my thoughts. The whole things were a mess that needed to be sort out.

“So let me get this straight…..i am going to marry Mashiba-san here in the future for the sake of the clan, is that correct? And I have no chance whatsoever in backing out of this?”

“Actually, you do have a chance of backing out, if you and Mashiba-san isn’t meant for each other. Mashiba-sama told me that if his daughter cannot get along with you then he will have to pull the plug out on the deal. Honestly I have no objection over that. I’m sure you won’t.”

“No, I won’t…..” I inclined. But part of me found it pretty curious why there was a “backing out” clause in this whole deal. But whatever. It was fine with me.

“He loves his daughter very much isn’t he, Mashiba-chan?” My gramp turned to my “fiancée”.

“Yes….my father does, Akiyama-sama” She answered.

Another question popped in my mind: “Gramp, now I somewhat understand the whole deal, what am I going to do with Mashiba-san here?”

“Simple. Take her to your apartment and do your things in there. You know, your….. things…”

Chapter 3: Demoness.

Arc 1: Night

I opened my eyes.

It was black, no sense of light at all.

I looked out of the windows. It was still night time with lots of stars on the black sky.

“…Why am I so fucking cold even though I’m inside my futon? And what is this….”

As much as my horror, Shirohime was next to my naked body. My left arm was feeling the temperature of her bare chest. Both of us were inside the futon. I dared not try to figure out what the hell happen…because in my mind, it was pretty much clear. 1 guys, 1 girl, 1 futon, both of them naked. Now what was the answer again?

Ugh…I felt sick in the head….Did I drink any alcohol? It was extremely claustrophobic. I struggled to stay upright. In my eyes the world was spinning around. And around….and around…..

I fell back to my bed with a loud “thump”. It is amazing that I still remembered the whole thing clearly.

That dizzying feeling was still there. My arms was struggled to get the blanket over to my neck. I pulled my legs in to avoid the cold lingering down below. My mind was still suffering from the fuzziness, so I closed my eyes, went back to sleeping mode. Now let’s fast forward to a few hours later…

Act 2: Day

I woke up with a nasty case of bedhead. I could feel it with my hands: my hairs went off in every direction possible. I looked outside; the sun was not as bright as usual. It was 8am the morning after I finished bring “summer child” to the “12 to 7” apartment of mine. Then for some amount of time, I engaged in several activities with her, it was some kind of welcome feast, but ironically with her cooking. Her cooking was delicious. Somehow, alcohol beverages were somehow involved.

Shit.

It went for a couple of hours I think, with us talking back and forth about what-the-fuck-that-i-cannot remember, and then somehow I had sex with her. She was next to me, still sleeping inside the futon. I looked at her with great admiration: her white hairs stand out as usual, but even better with the sun shine on it. It literally sparkled in my eyes. She was a beautiful lady. I looked at her, at each small detail. But when I zoom out, all of the things I have seen are pieces of the puzzle that Mother Nature has complete to almost perfection, with the result is her almost unmatched beauty. She looked so peaceful when she is sleeping, like a kid after a hard day of work.

My curiosity suddenly flared up, so I flipped the futon to peek in, trying to take a look at her body. It made me slightly blushed. She looked great in her kimono since they emphasized everything that is good about her figure, but she even looked better when naked (Captain obvious jokes here). Her chests like a pair of big Christmas balloon that just got blew, while her body is an hourglass, a slim but curvy hourglass. After that, I didn’t even bother to look at her behind. It was too much. If there were moment in a dark businessman (read: criminal)’s life where he had to be embarrassed, this should be it.

People only resorted to the criminals’ way when there are no other choices present to them. For me, it was not the case at all. In fact, my parent groomed me to be a (put a “respectable” job in here) in the future so that I won’t walk the same road as them, the road that you will never know when is the end, only a fortunate number of guy who able to walk to the end naturally, without a bullet to the head or by some kind of physical trauma. Ironically, my parents chose this way themselves. Anyway, the process was pretty much a waste as you can see where I’m at now.

I looked at Shirohime Mashiba again, or more accurately my fiancee. I stroke her smooth white hairs. It was an impulse any man could have after a night sleeping with a hot girl him about to get acquaintance with.

At that instance, she opened her big sharp eyes.

Those eyes. It looked into the fucking void that was me.

Act 3: Sober.

This might become a cliché, but at that very moment when she opened her eyes and look at me, I couldn’t move a muscle. Think of a theft that got caught red-handed: that’s exactly what I felt back then. My hand was still tangle with her white hairs. Her eyes, they were beautiful, but back then it was the eyes on an animal after finished its meal, a very satisfying meal.

She got up.

She then hold my hand, pulled it out of her hair.
She smelled it. She was quite pleased with it.

“You know danna, I thought you were a little too bland to my taste” She stroked her tongue to the side of her lips. That shit can only come straight out of a porn movie.

She then leaned forward; felt down to my body. Imagine a very soft but heavy piece of boulder fall down to your body: that should feel like it.

“Hey hey, Mashiba-san….what are you doing?” She was ogling all over my birthday suit, in an extremely lewd way that only a degenerate mind can think. Sadly I am one.

“I don’t know, continuing consuming our marriage I guess” She said, and bite down to my neck. She then snuggled up to my body, and doing what everybody does while in heat. I struggled to try to restrain this cougar in heat. No, it should be a demoness in heat, because she looked almost like one, only her beauty was what keeping me from running away in panic.

“……what the heck happen last night?” I asked, in stuttering mode.

“You don’t remember?”

“Honestly, I don’t Mashiba…”

“Call me Shiro-dono, danna”

“Ok…Shiro-dono……”

It was weird, I thought. Why was she using such old term? But I got a more important thing to do and that was figure out why I was humping her in the first place.

Needless to say, it was difficult to simultaneously do 2 things at once: speak in coherent second language and restrain this “demoness” in heat. Then it was eventually clearer, details by details, about what had happened that night. She was reaching me all over the place while my mind struggled to stay upright and give me a proper flashback

“I bought her up to my room, along with all her stuffs. Why the hell does girl need this much stuffs anyway? Felt like I just lift a ton.”

“She was a sweet but shy girl. A very sweet but shy girl. Later we had a welcome dinner in the apartment after all the formalities and things were done.”

“It was with beers (why the fuck did I drink beer anyway?), beef, some veggy thingys she cooked. She was one hell of a cook. I tried to cook but failed catastrophically. So she step in and work her magic. She said she often cooks at home for her parents.”

“She was drunk as fuck, so I had to carry her to the bed and I would sleep outside. I think I was drunk as fuck as well.”

“Then she pulled me in”…..now try to guess what happen next.

“Wait wait…..this is so…..confusing” I said as I pushed her away gently, enough for separation but not enough to push her out of the bed.

“What?” She then gave me this look, the look of I-know-but-I-pretended-that-I-don’t-know.

I got out of my bed, get to my short: “Just….give me a second…” Then I go to the bathroom, wash my head, brush my teeth, all those procedure, and proceed to smack myself in the head. “What the fuck have I just done?”

Act 4: WC

I looked at myself in the mirror. Blankly.

Nothing in my head.

Nothing. It was completely blank.

Then a pair of hands ran up from my shoulder, down to my chest.

“What are you doing in here all alone? You make me wait you know…”

It was Shiro-dono. She was completely butt naked. Apparently she didn’t have any idea what are bathroom etiquettes. You just don’t bang into a bathroom without the one inside’s permission.

“Sorry but it was a rough night. Can’t remember shit. Alcohol is such a pain.”

“But I do. You were such a powerful creature you know that? Like a big bad wolf” She whispered to my ear. Her statements made me blush. “I never know you can be like that”

“Alright alright I get your point. Can you get out a bit? I want to take a shower.” I serious’d.

“Why can’t we take a shower together?” She whispered again, this time with
“dangerous” intent. “I mean, we already saw each other naked. There is no need to be shy anymore.” She said as she wrapped her arms around me tightly. “Especially I am your fiancée and all…”

“No. Because I don’t want you to rape me again” I said with a dry tone.

She chuckled “Really?”

“Yah, really” I turned back, get down and pick her voluptuous body up.

“Wow. I didn’t thought you are this strong”

“Neither do I” I held her tight in my arm, and put her down gently to the tub next to me. I then opened the shower and jump in. We then looked at each other as the water falling down to the tub. I don’t know if it is a romantic sight or not, because by the way she looked at me it is obviously that she is having something in her mind. I mean…..I just get my cherry popped the first night I was with her. It went for a while. There were only the sounds of water falling down.

She gasped, then let out a disappointing breath. “….you are really boring you know?” She leaned toward me, turn her back and fall to my chest. “You got a beautiful girl in front of you, naked, not to mention she is your fiancee, and you still don’t make a move?”

“Sorry to disappoint you but that’s the way I am. In fact, I was busy trying to figure out what to say” I said. “I’m a shy kid, I guess, especially with women like you”

“Really? You are that bad?” She asked with a slight sense of surprise. She probably expecting a lot from her so-called Prodigal One aka her fiancée.

“I’ve never got a close friend, a girl friend, or any friend at all beside my family. Everyone else is just acquaintance level.”

“Are you counting your fiancée too?” She said, and doing what every type of feline is known to do: snuggle up and feelin’ it out.

“I don’t know…..yet” That was my half assed answer. “I mean….I just met you for like…I don’t know, 24 hours I guess?”

“But you’ve already sleep with me…”

“That doesn’t constitute a relationship. People have one night stand all the time right?”

“Geez, I didn’t know that you were this uptight” She sighed.

“I’m not uptight” I replied, and then get closer to her ear “As you can see…” I then started to reach down her chest. And message it. The sight of it is too much for me to handle. “Your chests right here is making my hands go crazy”

She apparently enjoyed it “Hah….you are such a naughty bastard. What kind of guy are you?”

“The weird, was-a-virgin type.” I replied. “

“So you were a virgin?” She turned back. Her left eyebrow was raised.

“In some ways…yes I am” I confessed. She then immediately followed up “How come you are so good at bed? You were violating me left and right…”

“Were you really drunk yesterday? You seemed really bright for someone who drank like 12 bottle of beers just 8 hours ago.” I looked at her.

“Maybe, maybe not” She grinned. I thought she is specialized in psychological warfare type of thing, by the way she acted the whole time, I’m pretty sure she was probably half way through my brain already.

“Either way, let’s cleans ourselves up. I feel dirty. No sex. Alright?”

“If you say so. Okay then” She nodded.

Later we spend 10 minutes cleaning each other up. First it was her back, then my back, then her limbs, then my limbs, all the way to her chest. You probably know what happened next. When you got a girl deliberately show her buttocks and chest all over the place the first reaction any guy can ever do is too grab a hold of it too make it stop bouncing. It always went downhill from there. We dragged each other back to the bed and continue our unfinished business. Retrospectively, my father also suffered the same fate. Now his son was going in the same route as him, the same fucking route full of disaster.

Act 5: Sunshine

After the sex, we simply went back to sleep for 2 more hours or so. Luckily it was Sunday. I woke up first; with Shiro-dono hugged my body tightly like there was no tomorrow. I got out, put my clothes on, and go to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. I sat my butt down in the living room with the coffee on the table. And there I sit, thinking about how my life had gone so far. It was a very antagonizing process.

And then she woke up.

Again, with no clothes on. This time she was leaning on the edge of the bedroom’s door, smiling.

“What are you doing, Shiro-dono?” I asked.

“Nothin’. Just watching my fiancée.”

“Please, at least put some clothes on, will you?”

“What kind of clothes do you want, danna?”

“Any kind of clothes. Please, just put something on. A naked apron would still be better than naked.”

“Okay then” She chuckled. She then went to the kitchen for a few seconds, and then came out with the black apron on her front.

“How is it, danna?” She devilishly smiled.

“Much better.” I answered, and then take a sip of my coffee.

She came next to me, on the couch I was sitting. She took a hold of my left arm, held it tightly between her breasts, while she let her head rested on my shoulder. She wanted some bonding, I thought. I didn’t know what to said, she either. We just looked out the windows outside, as the sun shined down on our room.

Act 6: The brighter side of suffering.
“You know, Kuro-danna….” She spoke.

“Yes, Shiro-dono?”

“You actually exceeded all of my expectations of you, dear.” She complimented.

“In what way exactly?” I asked “I hope you are not referring to what we did a few hours ago”

“No, you idiots.” She blushed. “My mother was right….she said I would be married to a tall, talented half-Japanese guy who got green hair on his head. She wasn’t wrong”

“Your mother?” I gasped.

“Yeah. It may sound strange to you but I met her in my dreams…but she passed away a while ago…”

“I’m sorry to hear that….” My voice deepened.

“It is okay…it is not like you are going to believe me anyway…”

“Actually no, it is not strange at all.” I used my other hand, stroked down her smooth white hairs. For some reason, instead of a malicious, sexually aggressive beast I saw a few hours ago, she is like a cute cat that was waiting for her master’s hand on her fur. A completely opposite of one another. “I think I met your mom in one of my dream too.”

“Really!?” It was her turn to gasp. “You are not serious.” She looked at me. Her green eyeball and black pupil was staring at me with its utmost tension. “She…passed away…”

I calmly replied: “No, I’m serious.” I then pulled her head down, while letting my body fall back to the remaining space of the couch we were sitting in. At the end of “the fall”, I was in my couch in my napping position, while she was on top of me, still wearing that apron. “And I’m sorry for your loss…..” I didn’t know which place to look, her eyes or her cleavage. I noticed then, instead of hugging my right arm, she was hugging my body. Then she crawled, bit by bit to my ugly mug.

She silenced for a bit.

“No it is okay….Kuro-danna…”

“Now that’s better…You want me to tell you how I met your mother?” I said, again putting my hands on her, this time behind her bare back.

“How do you know that it is my mother?” Her voice went up. She sounded like a cheeky little kid then.

I giggled. “Firstly, because she said so. Secondly, she looked like you, these white hairs, those eyes, this magnificent body. I’m sure all these things came from your mother.”
I stopped. “And she also entrusted her daughter into my hand, too, if that’s what you know” I giggled again.

“Can I trust my husband on this one?” She asked, again staring to my eyes.

“I’m sure you can, Shiro-dono” I leaned forward, trying to give her a kiss. But my head only reached the air in front of her. “Ouch” I thought. She smiled, then she crawled to me, and we kissed each other, French style.

We fall back, continued to enjoy the day. Suddenly, my head popped a question. Something I always wondered ever since she came here.

Act 7: The brighter side of suffering part 2: Her story (Or the lack of it)

“Shiro-dono, I got a question.”

“What is it, my dear?” She replied.

“I wonder…..a girl like you, why do you agreed to marry me in the first place anyway? A guy that you never met before…”

“What? You not satisfy with me?”

“Not that you idiot” I knocked some sense into her forehead with a pluck. “I mean…..i couldn’t imagine, in this day and age there is a girl still agreed to arrange marriage willingly…”

“Well my dear…” She stared closer into me. “You have to find out the hard way why I agreed to marry you in the first place, then.” She smirked.

“Why can’t you tell me now?” I asked.

“Why not?”

That was a comeback I did not expect. Shiro-dono then pushed herself off of me, standing next to the couch. “Let’s just forget that for a moment, Kuro-danna. Now, what do you want for lunch, my dear?”

“Anything is fine” I got up from the couch, stretched my lazy body. And the day went on. That question was still lingering in my mind. I was thinking about it all day, even when I chucked down my throat Shiro-dono’s delicious food. The next 12 hours when pretty tame, I took her around the block and to a local supermarket to buy some foods with some basic stationaries. Then we got back and finished up the day with me helping her prepare for tomorrow, her first day at my academy. Luckily before we leave the mansion the day before Gramp tossed me her uniforms and her school ID so there was fewer things to worry. Like always, she looked stunning even with a school uniform. I don’t need to explain further, am I? When everything is done (including my homework, my fucking homework, and a few things for tomorrow too), we retreated back to the bed at around 11pm. I wore my Venum shorts with a sleeveless white T-shirt like usual, while…..Shiro-dono wore a black nightgowns. ‘Nuff said.

“How do I look, Kuro-danna?” Again, with that devilish smile, and those eyes at me.

I was trying my hardest not to get into something like yesterday again. I much prefer her wearing something like a pajama from neck to ankle. But whatever.

“You…..looked good….I guess” To minimize any further damage to my eyes, I pulled her in to the bed, got the blanket over our bodies and shut the light immediately. Right off the bat, in typical feline-demon fashion of her, she hugged me and started to snuggled all over my body. The temperature was rising through the roof in its typical rocket rate. Not to mention, hiding my boner as well. The only thing I could do was to breathe deeply, wrap my arm around her, and pretend that everything is fine and dandy. It was, until the first day she went to my academy. But between that…..i met her mother again.