After Kisuke left, Honoka instantly snarled at Haruto, "Why did you stop me!?"
Normally, Haruto would have already cowered in fear in face of her wrath, but this time, he stood his ground with a light chuckle and a calm demeanor, "Because you misunderstood him."
"...What?"
Haruto then started walking towards Aika's room while saying, "If Aika were to remember all of this, then I can trust him to take care of our daughter." And before disappearing from Honoka's sight, Haruto added, "Of course, I'll do my best so that she can't recall anything. This is our ticket out of this."
Still confused by what he meant, Honoka followed him to clarify why he wasn't even at least slightly angry.
.
.
.
Kisuke reappeared within the perimeter of a certain mansion and observed the surroundings first before stepping out of the shadows. As soon as he relaxed his aura, dozens of guards watching the mansion in secret were immediately alerted of his presence and couldn't help but shudder as he appeared out of nowhere and managed to get so close to them.
Multiple guards hurriedly rushed to his position but before they could approach, it seems that each and every one of them received an order and retreated back to the shadows without any question.
Kisuke's stride didn't change and he peacefully made his way towards the gates of the Mansion. The gates automatically opened for him as he walked in and reached the huge double doors that opened too, but this time, it was manually opened by someone very familiar, "How are you doing, mom? It has been a while."
Sakura happily jumped at him and gave him a big hug, "I'm doing fine~ How are you?"
"I'm doing great and am actually very ready to make a mess... No. Clean up the mess I've left. However, looking at things now, the situation was a bit different. For starters, it seems that the bounty on my head has already disappeared." Before he even reached Aika's house, Kisuke was able to access the information he needed from the bots he'd left to gather news. Although it was just superficial information known to the public, Sakura and the rest didn't mention anything about his terrorist status being lifted, 'They placed all the blame on the now-disbanded Khaos Brigade. Well considering how much mess they made, it's easy to push some other blames into them and they wouldn't be able to deny it. Though I would have really liked to move around more with a criminal record since they won't be able to contain me with their rules.'
Sakura was able to guess what he's thinking and said, "It's about time you play by the rules. You do know how much of a mess you're leaving whenever you just go about things your way, right?"
Kisuke averted his eyes from her and continued walking.
"Though you can deal with your problems effectively, the politics of things are entirely different.", Sakura continued with a resolute tone, "And I don't want you and the girls to keep fending off unknown threats because you guys don't have the protection of any organizations. Yes, you are strong, but you can't control the world with just strength. People gather for a reason."
Kisuke stopped walking and smiled wryly while facing her, "Don't make it sound like I'm aiming for world domination."
But there was some truth to what Sakura had said. As a branded criminal, he can pretty much ignore the rules that the factions followed. However, that would also mean that the factions would see him as a threat, not as a criminal, but as a rabid dog without his leash and running around freely. Alone, he might be fine, but there were others that could drag him down and even if he put all his protection methods on them, he couldn't possibly defend all of them.
By being tied down, he would be subjected to the same rules as everyone else played and the threat he poses instantly goes down, "Bureaucracy is really a pain in the ass, but I guess it's also a way to move around safely."
"Stop speaking like you have a choice! Just be a good boy for now. You'll have all the chances you need to deal with Olympus later."
"Ho? Did they already reveal their fangs to the world?"
"They didn't. They are still a major participant in the International Rating Game so they won't be making a move that would incriminate their chances of winning. Not now, at least. But we can talk about this later. By the way, I didn't expect you to get Haruto's approval! We thought that stubborn guy would need to be persuaded by his wife!" Sakura suddenly changed the topic as they walked along the corridor.
Kisuke already knew that they were listening since he didn't hide his presence when he visited them and it would be weirder if they didn't bug the place, "I don't think that counts as approval."
"Well, no one really expected you to suddenly bring Aika instead of Yoruichi. And I understand why Honoka became so mad. Putting others to the test is really just inviting misunderstandings and hate. Although you don't mind, it doesn't mean it doesn't affect you."
"If I've deemed something as important, I'll do it if I can afford the price. Aika's hate is pretty cheap compared to what she could get."
Sakura sighed, "Is that so? Although you've changed, you've also become self-sacrificing. Do it in moderation, okay? The others can also take care of themselves. You don't have to feel like you're being chased by something because everything is peaceful right now."
Kisuke didn't say anything regarding that.
"Whatever..." Sakura gave up, "Let's go meet the master of the house, your aunt."