196 If he has to take the path of blood

the phone keeps ringing until everyone in the house is awake. yuta has the urge to choke someone. he hates it when something disturbs his sleep. this is the third time in a row and he's only four years old, for god's sake. this body needs sleep!

his father strokes his head, but that can barely work for someone like yuta who is glaring at the phone. if he had a gun, he would have shot it right at that moment. 

rie sits up. she has a similar expression like yuta. her brain barely works when she's half-asleep. kiyohira glances at his wife and son and smiles. "sleep."

after receiving the command, rie drops on the bed and hugs yuta like a pillow. yuta's hair is a dishevelled mess. he scowls at his father like an angry cat. his sleep is disturbed. he can't go back to sleep easily and now, he can't get out of his mother's arms when she's hugging him tightly.

kiyohira sighs and picks up the call. "what's wrong, takeshi?"

[iori found ren with an assassinated woman. is it related to you and sister-in-law?]

he becomes utterly quiet. is nina dead? he glances at his wife who is sleeping without any care. will maddox come for her this time?

[brother, what are you hiding from me?]

"takeshi, can you get ren out of there? take him to a safe place. he might be in danger."

there is a short moment of silence. [brother, are you and sister-in-law going to be okay?]

"honestly." kiyohira exhales, tired and worried. "i don't know."

this is the reality. he can't tell the future, but he can fight with everything that he has. but, even that might not be enough.

leaning against his car, takeshi stares at the sky. there's a faint crescent moon. the city is not far. the stars fade when one gets closer to the city. it seems that the city lights suck away the lights of the stars. whereas the bright and dazzling lights of the city that make one feels lonely, the faint light from the stars are calm and peaceful. whenever he looks at them, he feels that he's not alone. he has his brother.

"brother, who are these people?" he asks his brother, "are they related to the fire at the mansion five years ago? did sister-in-law leave because of them?"

[yes.] 

"are you not going to tell me who those people are?" takeshi sighs.

[it seems that you will dig the muddy ground even if i want you to keep out of it.] he hears his brother's hesitant voice. [they are part of the underworld. i am trying to figure it out. talk to imamura if you are curious. but, i don't want you to get involved, takeshi.]

rie opens her eyes. yuta is also awake. the mother and son are listening to kiyohira's words. kiyohira has his back to them, but he is aware of their stares. 

[i want to do something if i can.]

"find out about yuki's father. imamura is already looking into yuki's family. take care of ren. he might be in an emotional state right now. don't let him do anything hasty. the best that both of you can do right now is not attracting the attention of those people. let them focus on us. imamura is good at working in the background. talk to him."

he finishes his instructions and hangs up. he turns around with a smile. yuta is frowning hard at him. rie's face is blank. "ren is okay."

"did nina…?" rie can't complete her question. nina's face comes up in her mind. during any meeting, the energetic and seductive girl would always lied down on her stomach and played games. though they were not friends, nina was better than the other members of the dh. that was one of the reasons why she wanted to help her. but, she failed. nina is dead.

yuta doesn't feel any sadness or guilt for nano. nina might have died because of his actions. but, he had killed too many people to feel anything. she was a stranger to him in his past life. it's the same in this life. in this life, ren is alive and nina is dead. the timing is also the same. 

change is happening. but, people still have to die. if that's the case, then he wants maddox and yuan bo to die in his parents' place. 

but…

he notices his parents' shared look again. they are hiding something from him. he needs to get that phone and find out what they have been up to. rather, what his mother has been up to? 

he looks up at his mother who looks quite upset after hearing about nano's death. it's better if her mother never finds out that he's been reborn. the fewer people know, the better it is. also, he doesn't know how his mother will react if she ever finds out that he had been an assassin. he doesn't want her to blame herself or look at him differently. he's her son. that will never change. things are different when it comes to his father. he didn't know his father in his past life. in this life, their relationship is different from the start. but, his father reacted better than he expected him to. his father also blamed himself. it's not his parents' fault that they met greedy and manipulate arses like maddox kang and hashimoto chisa.

how will his parents react if they find out that he's planning to kill some people in this life too? 

maddox kang. 

yuan bo. 

and the woman who didn't even bother to tell her real name.

his mother covers him with the blanket. "go back to sleep, it's too early.  don't think too hard. i will wake you up later, okay?"

he closes his eyes. he's been thinking of keeping her alive until the day when she killed him. but, if she's maddox's daughter and heir to the consortium of the sinners, she has to die right now. he doesn't care about others, but it will prevent the bloodbath. he can't let his family get involved in any case. if he has to take the path of blood to protect his family, he will take it without any hesitation.

the enmity between maddox kang and his family can never end in peace. maddox kang's daughter has to die.