The first thing that caught Tsunan Hitachiin's attention when he stirred up, was the folded piece of paper lying under Shun Shutsuki's cellphone on the low table next to his futon.
Grabbing the piece of white paper, the doctor stood up and unfolded the sheet.
It wasn't only his heart that shook but his whole world that seemed to go literally upside down, as he read the content of the letter- written none other that by Shun- which said:
Dear Tsunan,
There is a million of things that I would like to say to you but, above it all, I want to thank you. These few months that I have spent with you and the others have rendered me more than happy. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'll take these precious souvenirs with me in my grave. My farewell to the master, Heihachi, Hatsu and everyone else, and my farewell to you, Tsunan.
Shun.
'Is it morning yet?' Hatsu Sho asked, as he woke up at that moment, and seeing the face that Tsunan was making, the blond male jumped to his feet, demanding at the doctor, anxiously, 'Tsunan, what is it? Did something happen?'
'It's Shun!'
Alarm bells went off in the blond male's head instantly. 'What's up with Shun?'
Tsunan was in too much of a state of shock to answer this question of his, causing Hatsu to snatch the letter away from the doctor's hands to read it.
'Dammit! What does this mean?!' cursed the blond male in a mixture of hysterical panic and frustration.
Heihachi flew into the living room in that instant and reverting back to his human form, he began telling them about what he had witnessed, while putting on his clothes at the same time.
'She surrendered herself to the members of the Shutsuki clan who have come to capture her. I believe that she knew they're going to come for her!'
'Dammit, Shun!' groaned Hatsu.
'They're going to execute her?!' came Ayame Tsuge's voice, abruptly, the latter having appeared under the veranda.
Heihachi concluded that it was well Ayame that he had seen outside of the compound just a few minutes ago.
Having no need of an answer, Ayame rushed away, without any doubt to inform the other members of the organization about what he has overheard.
'We need to inform the master immediately!' declared Tsunan, as he pulled himself back together, and just as he reached for his phone which was on the low table, suddenly, it rang- the caller being no other person than Kagami Gushiken himself.
'Tsunan, Burabura has just informed me that Shun has ended her contract with it last night,' declared the master, directly; his tone alarmed. 'Is Shun there? Can I speak with her?'
The doctor began to brief the older male on the situation rapidly, leaving for the latter's place, alongside Heihachi and Hatsu, without wasting a minute.
***
A short while later, at the master's house…
'Yama, I'm leaving now,' Kagami said to his wife.
They didn't have a minute to lose.
If Tsunan, Heihachi, Hatsu and he wanted to prevent Shun's execution, they needed to leave for Kitani Village- village where the Shutsuki clan lived- without delay.
'I'm coming with you!' declared the dark-haired woman to her spouse's astonishment.
'But-'
'Shun is like a daughter to me! You won't be able to stop me from accompanying you!' she stated, in a firm and un-contradicting tone.
Kagami Gushiken stared at her for a minute, before a grin spread over his face.
'Do you know that I love it when you speak like that?!'
Taking hold of her face in-between his two hands, he bent down and pressed their lips together in a kiss.
She smiled at him when he pulled his face away.
'But what about Gakkuri?' they asked each other, and a familiar female voice answered, 'Don't worry. I'll stay with her.'
Instantly, they looked at the person who has just entered the room; that person being Shuko Higaonna.
'It's Ayame who informed me. In fact, not only me, he informed everyone at the organization about the situation. They're all here.'
With her arm, she pushed the door of the office wide open to show them the number of people who were waiting for them in their living room; by Tsunan, Hatsu, Heihachi and Gakkuri's side.
There was not one member of the organization who was missing.
'We're coming with you to save Shun!' declared Ayame, as the master and Yama-san came out of the office.
Kagami exchanged a look with his wife, being as surprised as Tsunan, Heihachi and Hatsu were.
'Why are you doing this?' asked the doctor.
'We are all grateful towards Shun Shutsuki for something or another,' replied Yanagi, speaking for all of them.
'Please, bring her back!' pleaded Shuko, while she held a weeping Gakkuri in an embrace.
'Yes, we will,' the master assured her, his eyes traveling across the faces in the room.
***
At twilight...
A pair of hands pushed me down by my shoulders to onto my knees.
I couldn't see anything through the dark cloth covering my face but I could hear more voices around me, mumbling unintelligible words.
And then, came a loud, distinct, masculine voice, which said, in an authoritative tone, 'Take the gunny bag off her head. I want to see her face.'
'R-Ryu-sama!' stammered another voice, this one closer- just behind me. 'That could prove to be dangerous.'
Ryu-sama?
Is he-
'Just do it.'
At this, the gunny bag was pulled off my head, and I blinked a few times, before my eyes settled onto the face of the person who standing a few feet away from me, with his arms crossed behind his back.
That man was my grand-father- Ryu Shutsuki.
We had a picture of him at home in Konishi.
I lowered my eyes, filled with awe.
All the members of the clan were present without question and I had no doubt about where I was. This was the Shutsuki's family compound, situated in Kitani Village. Some of the houses were built traditionally while others were made of concrete.
'You resemble your mother a lot but you have your father's hair,' stated the man who was at the head of the clan, looking at me down. 'The Godai Shakujō appears only once over many generations. When I think that it's the daughter of the man who has disowned his own clan, and on top of that, a murderer like you, who happens to possess it...' he trailed off, shaking his head in indignation.
'But at least, you're behaving with dignity at your approaching end. I have been told that you didn't pose any resistance to your capture. But, still, I'm going to seal your Godai Shakujō for precaution.'
I was surprised to learn that there was a way to seal the Godai Shakujō but it didn't surprise me though that he wanted to seal it.
I became conscious that I was kneeling inside of a pentacle that has been drawn in the ground of the yard. Five golden bowls were placed at each point of the star but I couldn't see what they contained.
Joining his hands together, Ryu Shutsuki began reciting an incantation.
The lines of the pentacle started to glow and five balls of light, each having a different color- colors associated to the five elements- shot out of the bowls and dashed at me.
I cringed away in anticipation of the impact, but the balls didn't hit me in the literal sense of the word, they entered my body, procuring me a gut-punched feeling.
I fell to the ground, coughing; the pentacle no longer glowing.
'Tatsuma! Kuzen! Take her to the warehouse. She'll spend the night there. Tomorrow, we'll execute her at the precise moment when the sun will be at it's highest point in the sky,' the old man declared, and on this note, he turned around and strode away; the mob dissipating at his departure.
Two young dark-haired boys of my own age came up to me, and yanking me to my feet, they led me to the warehouse.
The ritual having weakened me down, I could barely stand on my two feet, and when the two young men released their grip on me- once we were within the confines of the building- I collapsed on the ground.
'Well, well, for a sadistic killer, you're not much to look at!' scoffed one of the two males- the one whose name was Kuzen- and he pulled me into a half-sitting position by my hair.
I whimpered.
'And what if you showed us the degenerate hidden behind that angelic face of yours?!' urged the other.
'Kuzen! Tatsuma! What are you doing?' called another masculine voice, all suddenly, and we looked at the person who had appeared in the doorway of the single-room building.
This guy- I recognized his face.
He had been standing a step or two behind Ryu Shutsuki earlier, with his expression blank. He was around Tsunan's age, his skin papery-white, his eyes a pale gray. Tall and muscular, he had long, red hair.
My father was the youngest child of his parents; he had four older brothers before him. Sōgon was the only child of his eldest brother, as from what he had told me once.
'Oh, Sōgon, it's you?!' Kuzen Shutsuki called at the red-haired male, and then, looking back at me, he grinned viciously, saying, 'Well, we were just trying to get to know our dear cousin better.'
'Why don't you join us?' the other- Tatsuma Shutsuki- called at the older male.
'No, thanks,' the latter replied, coldly. 'These kinds of childishness don't interest me.'
With this, he turned around and walked away.
'Tsk! That Sōgon, I tell you!' muttered Kuzen Shutsuki, peevishly. 'He remains on his high horses with us because one day he'll take the head of clan!'
'I've never seen anyone as pretentious as him!' seconded Tatsuma Shutsuki.
They leered at me for a minute, before Kuzen Shutsuki let go of his grip on my hair with a growl of annoyance, and flinging around, he flounced out of the building; Tatsuma Shutsuki tagging along with him.
The doors of the warehouse closed onto me, leaving me alone with myself in absolute darkness and silence.
***
Tsunan… Hatsu… Heihachi… Master Kagami… Yama-san… Gakkuri… Natsuhiko… Ameonna…
Tsunan must have read my letter at his wake and Heihachi must have told him and the others about what he had seen.
Are they angry with me right now because I didn't tell them anything?
Surely, they are...
The memories of all the good moments I had spent with them defiled in front of my eyes and tears began to flow down my cheeks.
No, I shouldn't cry, I told myself, biting my lower lip to stifle my sobs. No, I shouldn't.
Unexpectedly, the door of the warehouse opened, causing me to freeze.
It was past midnight.
Who could it be? What are they here for?
My heart accelerated in my chest, my throat tightening.
In the dim light coming from the tiny window found high up on the back wall, I could discern a figure in the darkness, and the said-figure was moving towards me.
Dead alarmed, I picked myself up into a sitting position with much effort from where I was lying on my side on the floor, and I began to retrogress fearfully from the dark figure until, my back entered into contact with something behind me- a pile of boxes.
There were piles of boxes on either side of me too.
There was nowhere for me to hide.
Feeling utterly cornered, I stared frantically at the looming figure which was now at the same level as me.
'Don't scream! I'm not going to hurt you,' it told me in a masculine voice- a voice that I had heard before, but that I couldn't quite place- and in all of a sudden, there was brightness all around me.
In the light of the electrical lamp sitting by my feet, I could finally see the face of the person who was kneeled in front of me.
That person was Sōgon Shutsuki!
'I'm here to help you escape.'
I was stupefied. 'What?'
Untying my hands, he yanked me to my feet by my upper-arm and he began to drag me towards the door; holding the electrical lamp in his other hand.
'Why- Why are you doing this?' I asked, in confusion.
'Ever since I've been a child, I've always had a lot of admiration for my uncle, Kazuya,' he explained. 'When he abandoned the clan, my admiration for him only strengthened for, he did what he needed to do. I've grown up trying my best to resemble him. I refuse to believe that his daughter is a criminal. I know that this reason of mine may appear to be insufficient, but this is how it is!'
'No, please, stop!' I said, skidding to a stop and thus, causing him to pause down too.
He looked at me directly in the eyes, his expression a mixture of surprise and irritation.
'If somebody sees us, you'll be severely punished. You risk to lose your position as future head of the clan, getting banished, or even worse- being executed along with me!'
'I'm doing this in full knowledge of the risks!' he stated, as he began to pull me towards the door with him again; his eyes set in the front.
We came out in the open.
'I can't let you do that!' I told him.
At that precise moment, we ran into Tatsuma and Kuzen Shutsuki.
My breath caught.
They jerked to a stop to stare at us in puzzlement. Automatically, I snatched the electric lamp from Sōgon Shutsuki's hand and I hit the latter on the head with it in a fling.
The red-haired male stumbled forward, letting go of me to hold his head in pain.
Without missing a beat, I picked up a piece of glass off the ground from the broken lamp and gave the redheaded male a nudge with my knee at his popliteal fossa, which had for effect to cause him to bend downwards, allowing me to push him to onto his knees on the ground by his shoulder, only for me to bring the piece of glass right under his throat.
'Don't move or I'll kill him!' I warned Tatsuma and Kuzen Shutsuki, who were rushing to their older cousin's rescue.
They stopped dead, their expressions panicked.
That was when I pretended to have a sleep attack.
***
A few minutes later...
'You little pest!' Ryu Shutsuki's voice rose above the roof of the warehouse. 'How did you dare to try to run away?!'
There came the sound of a slap followed by a small whimper.
'Don't you try that again!'
Sōgon Shutsuki looked at his grand-father and his two cousins as they came out of the small building.
'I'm going to stay here to keep vigil!' he told them, and the old man nodded while his cousins asked him to be careful around the red-haired girl.
He waited for them to get completely out of sight, before he entered the now brightly-lit warehouse.
***
'Why did you do that?' asked Sōgon Shutsuki, as he drew up to me.
I turned my face to the side to hide the red stinging mark on my left cheek. I was sitting against the back wall with both my legs and hands tied this time.
'I didn't want you to have any problems because of me,' I whispered.
Everyone believed that Sōgon had surprised me while I was trying to run away and he had been trying to stop me when, Tatsuma and Kuzen Shutsuki had arrived.
'You could have kept me as a hostage to flee,' he pointed out, before he let out a sigh and asserted, 'But I suppose that it goes against your nature. I'm starting to figure out your personality. You're not the kind of person to flee.'
After a minute of silence, he added, 'I fear that there's nothing that I can do for you anymore.'
Without another word, he left.
***
The following day...
'The execution may begin!' declared Ryu Shutsuki, as he unsheathed the katana in his possession.
The sun was at the zenith.
All the adult members of the clan, including Sōgon Shutsuki, were present to assist to the execution in the yard at the main entrance of the compound.
No one spoke anymore and the two men standing by my sides, untied my hands, before they shoved me down to onto my knees on the ground and held me firmly into position by my arms.
Advancing towards me, the old man raised his katana in the air, preparing to behead me.
I closed my eyes.
Okā-san! Otō-san!
I'm going to join you soon.
My only two regrets are that I haven't been able to assure myself that Subaru is actually doing alright before I die, and also that, I didn't get to say thank you and goodbye to Tsunan, Master Kagami and the others in person...
Thank you for reading!