198 Make me do anything you want me to do

iori stops the car on the road and drags ren out. she's sure that her cousin would alert the cops. they will get caught if she continues driving this car. she waves her hand in a hurry to get a taxi. her phone starts ringing. the caller is none other than her cousin.

she can imagine that her cousin is plotting ways to kill her right now. she isn't a fool. she will never pick up her cousin's call. she will run away from the city after delivering ren to takeshi. of course, she will go back to os city after she gets the interview. she must take the interview before takeshi comes.

"you better pay me back for this," iori yells at the caller. 

[sure, you get a pass to make me do anything you want me to do.] 

her heart skips a beat when she hears his amused tone. a taxi stops in front of them. she doesn't even look at ren when she grabs his elbow and pushes him inside the taxi. 

"go to ab street," she tells the driver. "takeshi, are you sure? i might make you do horrible things."

[i don't mind as long as it's you.]

what the hell is wrong with him? iori blinks her eyes. why is he talking like that? she is having weird thoughts now. she's looking forward to meeting him. ah! what should she make him do?

[the guards will let you in. make yourself at home. i will be there soon.]

she stares at the phone. just what is wrong with him? he was different four years ago. now, he's so different. did he drink a wrong medicine?

"kawamoto-san." iori looks at ren who has a hard time grasping his situation. "did takeshi get his head hurt in the last four years? did he lose his mental stability?"

ren stares at her. "i didn't hear anything like that. last time i saw him, he was the same. where is he right now? is rie coming back?"

she widens her eyes. "umezaki rie? kawamoto-san, she died five years ago."

he realizes that he slipped. things are complicated. until rie makes it known to the world that she's alive, he should keep it a secret. "my bad! i meant to say kiyohira."

he meant it. she frowns at him. what does she not know? umezaki rie's corpse wasn't found. kamiyama kiyohira never said anything. what's going on? her reporter instincts are acting up. if the wife of kamiyama kiyohira is alive, then it's a piece of big news. she must find out more before she leaves the city. 

and before anything else, she must also get the interview. she's a career woman now. she must get a job at the headquarters.

"kawamoto-san, what happened back there?" iori asks him with concern in her eyes. 

ren creases his brows. his mind has clarity now. he has seen iori at kiyohira's house a few times. she was one of takeshi's friends. 

he is not an idiot. he won't share the details when he knows that it can put her and his rie-chan at risk. he doesn't know what's going on, but rie-chan destroyed the dh and she wanted to help nina. he must talk to rie-chan first. "i don't know much. we were heading to a hotel when someone suddenly started shooting."

"who was that woman?" iori can tell that he's lying. that's fine. she's a reporter. she must get his trust first. if that doesn't work, she will find it out in other ways. she can tell that something big is going on. her reporter's instincts are sharp. she was a class president during her schooling. she used to observe the troublemakers like takeshi the most. there were his 'admirers' who hassled her because they thought that she was his girlfriend. the college wasn't peaceful for different reasons.

"she was…" a slow ache spreads in ren's heart. he lets out a breath. he can't say that he loved her, but she is still occupying his mind even after she died. "someone i like."

she's someone he likes? he still likes her. iori leans back. she should start with innocent questions. "what was her name, kawamoto-san?"

***

in the village, yuta can't sleep. he can't wait. he is going to see her. he gets out of the room. his father is patting his mother on her shoulders. yuta puts his finger on his lips when kiyohira sees him and shakes his head. 

kiyohira sighs. he is stuck between his son and his wife. his son is not a child. his son doesn't want his wife to know about his rebirth. his wife doesn't want his son to know that she knows about his rebirth. his son is sneaking out of the house while his wife is depressed about nano's death. his son is four, but his son is also twenty-four. 

he is a father of a four years old boy, but he has to prepare for troubles that a former assassin and hacker will stir. his wife is nothing less either. there are two notorious troublemakers in the house. 

when yuta is out of the house, he releases his breath. he knows where yuki's house is. the rays of sunlight are breaking through the night sky. he runs toward that woman's place. if he gets in, he's sure that he will find clues about yuki's father. he will find out what is going on with yuki's family. why is yuki being raised as a boy? is she being mistreated by her family? if that is the case, he has to do something about it. nobody else is allowed to torment that woman other than him. she owes him everything that she has.

he is panting for air by the time he reaches her house. the front door is locked. he curses his small weak body. he takes quiet steps around the house. the house is well-maintained. behind the house, there's a small garden. but, there's no opening at all. he can't break the door unless he wants everyone to wake up. he notices a treehouse. the branches of the trees are close to the opened window on the second floor. 

that will do for now.