It Finally Came

He rushed upstairs and pushed open Aikawa Yumi's door.

The room was empty. The bed was in disarray, jewelry lay scattered across the vanity, and the window stood wide open. The night wind poured in, making the curtains flap wildly.

Naoki went to the window and looked outside.

The alley behind the tavern was empty.

He crouched down and carefully examined the marks on the ground.

"She was taken..."

Naoki returned downstairs, activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and carefully inspected every trace in the tavern.

The blood was still fresh, which meant the fight had happened recently.

The direction of the overturned tables and chairs, the distribution of footprints, the scratches left by weapons...

Naoki's Sharingan quickly picked up every detail, reconstructing the scene in his mind.

At least a dozen people had broken into the tavern. Several of them were ninja, and judging by the traces of ninjutsu they left behind, they were no weaklings.

Aikawa Yumi had fought back, but she had been subdued quickly. Those bloodstains... might not have been hers. They could have belonged to the intruders.

"Who could the culprit be?"

Naoki thought of the man who had made him cut off his ear.

As he pondered, he suddenly noticed a hidden mark on the floor...

Pain.

A dull ache at the back of Aikawa Yumi's neck washed over her consciousness like a rising tide, wave after wave.

She opened her eyes. Her vision blurred for a moment, then she made out the scene before her... an ornate folding screen, flickering candlelight, and the nauseating scent of sandalwood.

This was Todo Ichiro's castle.

He had caught her.

The thought surfaced, and Aikawa Yumi smiled instead.

She turned over and sat up. Suddenly, someone spoke.

"Aikawa Yumi, it's been a long time."

She looked up and saw Todo Ichiro seated behind a low table, holding a teacup. A smug smile, as if victory were already his, hung on his lean, sinister face.

"Todo Ichiro." Aikawa Yumi's voice still carried its languid lilt. "You're still as pathetic as ever. You only know how to resort to these despicable tricks."

Todo Ichiro set down his teacup and paced over to her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to lift her head.

"I heard you found yourself a pretty boy. You've been enjoying yourself, living it up every day, haven't you?"

Aikawa Yumi said nothing. She only stared into his eyes, the same mocking smile still playing on her lips.

Todo Ichiro's expression darkened. His fingers tightened, leaving several red marks on her fair chin.

"The man who killed my men—that was the pretty boy, wasn't it?" He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "A Chunin? You think he can protect you?"

"Can he protect me or not? Haven't you already seen for yourself?" Aikawa Yumi scoffed.

Todo Ichiro abruptly let go. "Still got a sharp tongue," he said coldly. "We'll see just how sharp that pretty little mouth of yours is in a moment!"

With that, Todo Ichiro took off his clothes and picked up Aikawa Yumi.

"You bastard!"

Aikawa Yumi struggled. She had a few basic fighting skills, but she was no match for Todo Ichiro.

"Let go of me!" she shouted, kicking and hitting him, her voice full of defiant stubbornness.

Todo Ichiro paid her no mind and forced her onto the bed.

Aikawa Yumi fell onto the soft mattress, her long hair dark as ink and her red dress bright as flame. Her chest rose and fell sharply as she panted. Her beautiful eyes fixed on Todo Ichiro, filled not with fear but with scorn and defiance.

With a beauty so close at hand, Todo Ichiro felt a fire burning inside him. He couldn't be bothered to think about anything else.

He hadn't wanted to resort to this, but at this point, even a worn-out woman could still serve a purpose...

With a lewd laugh, Todo Ichiro reached out and tore at Aikawa Yumi's red dress.

Though Aikawa Yumi had some skill, she had already used up much of her strength when she was captured. Facing Todo Ichiro now, she couldn't resist for long before she began to grow weak.

"Why pretend to be some chaste martyr?" Todo Ichiro sneered, dragging Aikawa Yumi closer. "That pretty boy could touch you, but I can't?"

Aikawa Yumi said nothing. She only turned her head aside and closed her eyes.

A face appeared in her mind: cool and distant, its profile faintly glowing in the moonlight. And those eyes, always silent, as if separated from the world by a thin veil of mist.

Anu.

Her Anu.

Todo Ichiro's patience had clearly run out. He growled and reached for the last thing covering Aikawa Yumi.

The woman took a deep breath and flicked her sharp nails...

Todo Ichiro bent close, his fingers brushing her cheek. A cruel grin twisted his sinister face. "Like running your mouth? We'll see if that pretty little mouth of yours is really as tough as you pretend!"

Just then, the tightly shut door suddenly exploded!

Wood splinters flew everywhere as a shadow darted inside like a specter, heading straight for Todo Ichiro.

Todo Ichiro's pupils contracted. He instinctively rolled backward, but still failed to evade the fierce flash of the blade.

A large chunk of flesh was sliced away. Clutching his shoulder, Todo Ichiro roared.

"Who's there! Who dares make trouble here!"

He looked up.

Moonlight poured through the shattered doorway, illuminating the newcomer.

His short black hair was slightly tousled, and flecks of blood spattered his pale face. His crimson eyes glimmered eerily in the dark as three tomoe slowly turned within them.

Aikawa Yumi sat on the bed, her red dress torn nearly in half, exposing large swathes of pale skin. She looked at the figure in the doorway, radiating murderous intent, and smiled.

My Anu finally came.

"Who are you? How did you get in here? Where are those useless men of mine? I've been feeding them for nothing!"

As Naoki advanced toward him, Todo Ichiro clutched his shoulder and kept backing away, still struggling to resist.

"Your men are all dead. And as for you..."

Naoki flourished his blade and darted forward.

"No, you can't kill me! My father is—"

Before he could finish, Todo Ichiro's head rolled to the floor. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. To the very end, he couldn't believe someone had so easily cut off his head in his own castle, in the safest place he knew.

Blood spurted from his severed neck, splashing across Naoki's clothes.

He didn't look down at the body still twitching on the floor. He remained where he was, scanning every corner of the room to make sure there were no hidden threats. Only then did he turn his gaze back to Aikawa Yumi.

Aikawa Yumi sat on the rumpled bed, her red dress torn nearly in half, exposing large swathes of pale skin. There were several bruises near her collarbone and dried blood at the corner of her mouth, yet she was smiling.

Her voice a little hoarse, she said, "Anu, you got here just in time."

Naoki said nothing. He simply walked over and held out his right hand. Moonlight streamed through the window and bathed him, outlining him in a cool silver glow.

Aikawa Yumi looked up at him.

The moonlight, the white clothes, the crimson eyes, the hand held out to her...

She reached out and took his warm, strong hand, afraid that Naoki, appearing before her like a celestial being, would vanish from her sight the very next moment.