Chapter 383: Someone Fell for It
“Kazumi, where are you going!”
In the young girl’s bedroom, Fukada Akihiko stood up worriedly, watching the black-haired young girl who was stomping out of the room towards the main door.
Kazumi, however, seemed to not hear the calls from behind her and continued to walk forward, reaching for the door handle to open it and go out into the stairwell.
But the moment the girl’s hand touched the doorknob, the faint shadow behind her instantly became dense under the light. The black shadow materialized and flipped upwards, directly climbing onto Kazumi’s body. The action of opening the door instantly halted, as if she were being restricted by something.
“Eh…”
With a faint sigh, Fukada Akihiko closed the door and walked into the living room.
In fact, he didn’t want to use his ability so crudely to control Kazumi. But this sulking little one seemed to want to go outside, and he couldn’t follow her out right now, as it would easily cause her some unnecessary trouble.
“Little Kazumi, come with me first. Uncle will explain properly.”
Gently grabbing the girl’s wrist, Fukada Akihiko removed the restraint on Kazumi and pulled the reluctant girl to sit on the sofa in the living room.
“Hmph.”
The girl’s cold snort reached his ears, making the helplessness on Fukada Akihiko’s face even more bitter. He tidied his expression and put on a gentle one, seriously looking at Kazumi curled up at the other end of the sofa.
“Kazumi, Uncle doesn’t mean to control you or anything. I was just a little worried, so I said that to you. The matters within the organization are indeed quite dangerous, so you should just…”
“No, I won’t give it to you.”
The young girl crossed her arms, her stern face pouting with an inexplicably cute expression. Listening to Fukada Akihiko’s words, she shook her head firmly and refused.
“But what you did before was really too dangerous. Although something saved you this time, you won’t be so lucky next time.”
“Just listen to Uncle this once. I’ll help you talk to Kurokawa Iori, and there won’t be too much trouble. Just stay home, go to school, and live your life, okay? Just do what you need to do. Don’t worry too much about living expenses. I won’t object if you want to date that brat.”
Seeing the girl’s attitude, Fukada Akihiko replayed what he had said earlier. Perhaps it was because he was too anxious when he heard the news that Kazumi became so uncooperative. He softened his tone and advised her earnestly.
“No… No.”
Fukada Akihiko’s words seemed to have touched a nerve. Kazumi looked back for a moment but quickly turned back resolutely, continuing to refuse.
“Eh… Come here and tell Uncle why you’re so unwilling? Aren’t you scared yourself because of what happened last time?”
Looking at the uncooperative girl, Fukada Akihiko couldn’t get angry at all. After all, when the girl spoke of experiencing death, Fukada Akihiko felt his heartbeat slow down by half a beat.
But even with the item that could avert death, the pain at that moment was absolutely unavoidable. Fukada Akihiko could not bear to let his little princess suffer such pain.
What happened before could be understood as the girl’s effort to be strong for her parents and herself. But now, after experiencing this, Fukada Akihiko hoped that it would make Kazumi give up. Before getting too deeply involved, she could still have the chance to return to a normal life.
“I’m scared…”
“But if I don’t stay in the organization, I can’t get stronger.”
Perhaps because Fukada Akihiko’s tone was no longer as harsh, the girl gradually changed her previous attitude, sat up, and began to communicate properly. She tore at the tissues sticking out of the tissue box on the table with one hand and answered.
“But Kazumi, you don’t have to do such dangerous things. Even if you want to become stronger, you don’t have to stay in the organization. I can teach you a lot of things, and you can still become a very capable person.”
“It was my negligence before. I forgot to tell Kurokawa Iori about you, which led to you being assigned such a dangerous mission.”
“Little Kazumi, you are Uncle’s only family. I really don’t want to see you, a girl, doing such things. If something were to happen to you, I wouldn’t know how to face Masato and the others.”
Recalling the girl’s determined look before, Fukada Akihiko sighed. If it weren’t for that accident, the girl in front of him would probably still be living a life of acting coquettishly in her parents’ arms. But now, she had matured in a way that was completely unlike girls her age.
But recalling his friend’s instructions, Fukada Akihiko could only continue to persuade her, trying to dissuade the girl.
“But Uncle Fukada, you’re the only family I have now.”
The young girl looked up, her face devoid of much expression, but her jet-black eyes were full of stubbornness. She met Fukada Akihiko’s gaze without fear, her cold tone lacking much emotional fluctuation, yet inexplicably carrying a hint of sadness.
“Uncle Fukada, you always say that [Shadow] is a very dangerous place, but aren’t you yourself in this danger? Father and Mother were, and Uncle Fukada is too. You always leave for a long time without a word, leaving me alone.”
“I don’t want to go back to that kind of life. I don’t want to wake up one day to the news that you died in an accident, just like the day my parents left.”
“Now that I finally have the power to grasp everything, even if it’s only a tiny chance, even if I might face many difficulties, isn’t it much better than waiting at home for news of someone important leaving me?!”
Kazumi’s words were light and even, without much emphasis or emotion. But in Fukada Akihiko’s ears at this moment, they sounded exceptionally heavy. He looked up at the girl in front of him, not daring to believe it. The man opened his mouth, and finally let out a long sigh.
Even Fukada Akihiko himself did not expect that he would feel like he had been educated by a girl more than twenty years younger than him.
Perhaps there were some inaccuracies in what Kazumi said, but if all of this was based on the purpose of caring for him, then he couldn’t say a word of refusal.
“Sigh, Little Kazumi, you’ve really grown up…”
Standing up, Fukada Akihiko seemed to have aged several years in an instant. He looked at his friend’s former small home with a hint of melancholy and couldn’t help but speak.
But thinking of his duty as an elder, he continued.
“Uncle will no longer ask you to quit the organization. You also have your own things you want to do, and I will no longer object.”
“But there is one thing I still want to say. For your safety, you cannot refuse necessary help. This is not Uncle trying to control you, but rather to protect you as much as possible…”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s real.”
The girl’s cold question echoed in his ears. Fukada Akihiko instinctively wanted to turn his head and insist, but found that the girl had already crept behind him at some unknown time.
Her previous coldness was replaced by a cunning little expression. She handed out a list that seemed to have been prepared long ago, grabbed Fukada Akihiko’s arm, and leaned in, smiling smugly as if her plan had succeeded.
“Then Uncle must keep his word~”
