The Fukushima shivered when they heard his statement. Although they were scared of the man in front of them, they couldn't help but wonder why this man was so angry. Kiyohime only slapped a lowly maid, there's no big deal in doing that.
So why is he angry?
"Um, if I may Mr. Watanabe, I'd like to say something," Kuroishi asked.
"You have one minute!" Akira said ruthlessly.
"Thank you. Em, my wife only slapped the lowly maid for insulting our daughter and she also refused to apologize for it." Kuroishi said in an unsentimental tone.
Akira's eyebrows twitched when he heard Kuroishi's statement.
Lowly maid!? Were they referring to my Hima!? Akira thought as he tightened his fists.
"Yes, that bitch is to blame," Kiyohime added.
Akira was furious. Not only did they slap his precious girl, but were also calling her names!
They are going to pay dearly!
Akira just ignored Rin's parents as they were rambling on, he walked up to Himari and touched her swollen cheek.
"Does it hurt?" Akira asked with a calmer look on his face.
"Uh huh, a lot." Himari said like a spoilt child.
"Don't worry, I'll patch you up in a bit. First, I need to teach these people a lesson." Akira then signaled to the guard standing at the door. The guard called five more hefty men like him, then they surrounded the Fukushimas.
"Now, how many times did you slap her?" Akira asked heartlessly.
Kiyohime shivered but didn't answer the question. She was too terrified to answer. Kiyohime thought that these men were going to do the same thing she did to Himari. So she thought if she lied about the number, the pain she would experience would reduce drastically.
"Em, f-five t-times." Kiyohime stuttered.
Akira raised one of his eyebrows. "Are you sure it was five times?" Akira said in an imposing tone.
Kiyohime nodded her head and then sighed slightly.
Akira immediately turned to Himari. "Is that true?"
Himari looked at Kiyohime who was giving her the stink eye. She is trying to make her lie about the number. But, Himari just grinned and said.
"It's a lie. She's slapped me eleven times." Himari said while giving Kiyohime the finger in her mind.
Kiyohime's expression grew worse.
You dirty liar! Kiyohime thought.
In reality, Himari got slapped seven times but since Kiyohime decided to lie, Himari thought if they didn't play fair, then she wouldn't too wouldn't even, the guards who were present during the whole thing, smiled lightly.
The new miss is truly cunning.
Akira's expression became strict. was just going to make you apologize for what you did. But since you lied to me, I'm going to deliver a new punishment."
After Akira finished his statement, three out of the six guards held Kuroishi, Kiyohime, and Rin tightly.
"What are you doing?! Let me go! " Rin declared as she was trying to release herself from their grasp. "Miss Rin, I had mercy on your family by giving you a company as a source of income. But it seems like you people deserve no mercy." Akira turned to the three guards who were standing in front of him. "Give three of them twenty-two slaps each," Akira said coldly.
"Why twenty-two? I only slapped her eleven times!" Kiyohime knew that it was a lie but she could still manage eleven, but twenty-two. She'd rather die than receive that much of slaps.
"I would have said eleven slaps but you lied, so two multiples eleven. Oh! Do it somewhere else. The sound of slaps is quite annoying." Akira said.
The guards immediately carried the Fukushimas out of the room. They begged and begged but they were completely ignored by Akira. One of the guards was about to take Himari's parents but was immediately stopped by Akira.
"Leave them alone. They can stay. "
The guard bowed his head and then left the room.
Himari sighed.
Good riddance.
Himari's mom quickly ran over to her daughter. "Himari! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Mom. What about you? You were also slapped by Rin's dad." Himari only cared about her parents right now, her injuries can wait.
"You're still caring about us even when you're like this." Himari's mom started to cry. "We're sorry for being failures as parents."
Even Himari's dad had teary eyes. "We're truly sorry for our incompetence as parents."
"Mom.. Dad.." Himari was speechless.
Himari has never once blamed her parents for what has happened to her. It wasn't their fault they were scammed and then had a lot of debt to pay. Rather, she felt the urge to care for them more since they were going true a tough phase in life.
So seeing them cry now was truly heartbreaking.
"You're not incompetent." Akira placed his hand on Himari'a's dad's shoulder. "What happened was beyond your control. You two are good people, so I'm sure you're really good parents. Am I right, Hima?"
"Yeah. Mom and Dad, you are not disappointments. Even though you had a lot going on, you never maltreated me or treated me like an irrelevant person. You loved and cared for me even during tough times. You are the best parents a girl could ever ask for." Himari said with a big smile on her face.
When Himari's mom saw Himari's smile, she cried even harder. "Oh Himari! You're the best!" She hugged Himari tightly and then cried in her arms. Himari stroked her mom's hair as she tried to comfort her.
After a while of crying, Himari's mom walked up to Akira and bowed her head. "Thank you for taking care of my daughter. We promise to pay you back any way we can."
Himari's dad also bowed his head. "Thank you so much."
Akira was flustered by their actions. "Please raise your heads. I don't want to ask for anything much. But could you do one thing for me?"
Himari's parents look at Akira curiously.
"I'd like if you could give me the permission to have your daughter"