Kanjuro returned to his nest-like base, the air filled with his unquestionable aura of control. He summoned Akemi Miyano and Ai Haibara (Shiho Miyano). The two women stood before him with different postures—Akemi with total trust and dependence, while Haibara showed a silent, distant obedience.
Kanjuro looked at them, his gaze lingering for a moment on Haibara's cold little face, which bore some resemblance to Miyano Elena, before dropping the bombshell in his usual calm, waveless tone:
"Regarding your mother, Miyano Elena's whereabouts, there's a lead."
In an instant, the air in the living room seemed to freeze.
Akemi Miyano snapped her head up, her large eyes, which always held a gentle light, instantly bursting with unbelievable ecstasy. She almost threw herself at Kanjuro's side, grabbing his arm, her voice trembling with excitement: "Papa! Really?! You found Mama's whereabouts?! Is she... is she still alive?!"
Her joy was pure and burning, as if a ray of sunlight had finally pierced through the haze that had long enveloped her. In her simple and persistent understanding, finding her mother meant that the true 'family' could finally be reunited.
Kanjuro allowed her to grab his arm, a faint, youthful smile appearing on his 'forever eighteen' face. However, deep within that smile was a depth and coldness that only those in the know could perceive. He gently patted the back of Akemi's hand as a response.
"There are clues indicating she is likely still alive and living in seclusion in a cabin in the woods." He did not reveal more details, such as Akai Mary's confession, or the involvement of Akai Tsutomu and the ongoing pursuit.
"That's wonderful! This is truly wonderful!" Akemi wept with joy, turning to tightly hug her sister, Ai Haibara, who was also stunned. "Shiho! Did you hear that? Mom might still be alive! We... we'll be able to see Mom soon! Our family can finally be reunited!" She was immersed in the grand vision of happiness, not even noticing her sister's stiff body.
The moment she was hugged by her sister, Ai Haibara (Haibara Ai) stiffened slightly. In her ice-blue eyes, shock, disbelief, and a deeply hidden longing—one she didn't even want to admit to herself—flashed by. Her mother... that gentle figure who had become blurred in her memory, the mother who was said to have died at the hands of the Organization long ago... might still be alive?
The impact of this news was immense. But soon, her reason returned, and her gaze involuntarily shifted toward the 'youth' with the faint smile—Kanjuro, her biological father, an existence her heart resisted intensely yet could not deny the blood connection to.
She did not like Kanjuro; one could even say she feared and loathed his coldness in controlling everything and regarding human life as insignificant. Countless times in the middle of the night, she wished all of this was just a nightmare, wishing she had no relation to this demon.
However, the cold reality was that the DNA test results were there in black and white, confirming the blood relationship between the sisters and Kanjuro. She was Shiho Miyano, and also Kanjuro's daughter. This fact was like the sturdiest of shackles, firmly binding her to this man she wanted to escape. She could neither deny nor break free from it.
At this moment, hearing the news that her mother might have survived, her heart was filled with mixed emotions. On one hand, there was the deep longing for her long-lost mother and the excitement of knowing she might be alive; on the other hand, there was immense worry—if her mother was still alive, how would she view this Kanjuro, who had forced his way into their lives and 'reconstituted' the family in such a distorted way? And what exactly was Kanjuro's purpose in searching for her mother? Was it truly for a so-called 'family reunion'? She didn't dare think too deeply.
Looking at her sister Akemi's clear, hopeful smile, a complex bitterness welled up in Haibara's heart. Her sister was completely immersed in the false 'family' dream woven by Kanjuro. Meanwhile, she was soberly aware of the cruelty and danger beneath this beautiful facade.
She lowered her head, her long eyelashes concealing the emotions churning in her eyes, and finally only let out a faint 'mm' as a response to her sister's excitement. She didn't look at Kanjuro, but she could feel his gaze, which seemed to see through everything, resting on her.
Kanjuro took in all of Haibara's subtle resistance and complex psychological activity, but he didn't care. To him, the bond of blood was one of the strongest shackles; no matter how much Haibara struggled internally, she could not change this fact. Finding Miyano Elena was not just to fulfill his daughters' (especially Akemi's) wishes, but also to uncover the final secrets of APTX4869. Perhaps, he could even bring this brilliant female scientist under his control.
"Get ready," Kanjuro spoke indifferently, breaking the slightly subtle atmosphere. "We'll be leaving soon. It's time to bring your mother 'home'."
His words sounded like a warm promise to Akemi, but to Haibara, they sounded like a final judgment. The journey to find Miyano Elena was about to begin, and no one knew what kind of storm was hidden behind this 'family reunion'.
Deep in the forest, isolated by layers of dense green far from the bustle of the world, was hidden an old wooden house that almost blended into the natural environment. This was Miyano Elena's place of seclusion for over ten years.
Time seemed to favor this woman exceptionally. Despite experiencing the loss of her 'husband' (Koji Miyano), being hunted by the Organization, wandering, and years of seclusion, her face still maintained a startling beauty. That beauty combined Akemi Miyano's gentle serenity with Ai Haibara's (Shiho Miyano) cold refinement, yet it was settled with a unique charm bestowed by time and a lingering trace of melancholy. Her eyes were like moonlit amethysts, clear and deep; the fine lines at the corners of her eyes did not make her look old, but rather added a touch of mature, moving temperament. Living alone for years had not made her haggard; instead, it had tempered a resilience and tranquility like a mountain spring.
However, beneath this tranquility lay a complex and painful past that she had never told anyone.
Many years ago, when she was just a high school student, she had a first love as brilliant and brief as cherry blossoms. The other party was a mysterious and handsome youth named Kanjuro. He seemed to come from another world, possessing an irresistible charm and a depth beyond his years. They fell in love, and at that impulsive age, they conceived their first child—Akemi Miyano.
That time was sweet and pure, even though Kanjuro's whereabouts were always elusive. However, not long after she was immersed in the joy of becoming a first-time mother, Kanjuro vanished into thin air, completely disappearing from her life without leaving a single word. The immense sense of loss and the hardships of early motherhood nearly broke her.
A few years later, when she had almost moved out of the shadow, Kanjuro appeared again briefly. He still had that unchanged youthful appearance, as if time had stood still for him. Complex emotions and perhaps the arrangements of fate brought them together again, and they conceived their second daughter—Shiho Miyano (Ai Haibara).
But this time, Kanjuro's departure was even more resolute, as if the previous reunion was only to fulfill some fated stage. He disappeared again, leaving Elena with two young daughters and an even heavier burden of life.
In order to give her daughters a relatively 'normal' identity and a stable living environment, and also to make a living using her scientific talent, she accepted a marriage of convenience with her nominal elder brother—Koji Miyano. Koji was an honest and kind scientist; they presented themselves as a couple to the outside world and entered that mysterious Organization to work together, quickly being given important roles due to their exceptional talents. This marriage had no love, only the warmth of mutual support and cover. Koji Miyano even treated Akemi and Shiho as his own, giving them the paternal love they lacked.
However, the good times did not last. Their identities as FBI moles were exposed, and the Organization began a bloody purge. Koji Miyano sacrificed himself in that fire to cover for her, while she managed to escape with some core research data by relying on her familiarity with the terrain and a stroke of luck, eventually remembering this woodland cabin she and Koji had used for vacations and secret experiments in the early years.
From then on, she changed her name and lived in isolation from the world.
Over the years, the only belief that kept her alive, besides the endless worry for her two daughters' safety (she thought they had also fallen victim to the Organization), was the dense experimental data and instruments before her. She was desperately researching APTX4869, not to perfect it, but to develop an antidote. This was both her redemption for participating in this evil research in the past and a faint, perhaps even slim, hope in her heart—hoping that this drug, which could reverse time, would give her a chance to make up for what she owed her daughters, or even... to see them again one day, or to uncover the mystery of the eternal youth surrounding Kanjuro.
She would often stare out the window at the dense forest, her mind flashing to Kanjuro's eternally young face with its wicked smile, and the images of Akemi's gentle smile and Shiho's intelligent, quiet appearance as a child would also surface. Tears would fall silently, but she would quickly wipe them away stubbornly and dive back into her complex and tedious research.
She did not know that the gears of fate had already begun to turn. The tranquility of her ten-plus years of seclusion was about to be broken. The man who had changed her life, given life to her two daughters, and brought her endless pain and mystery, was now leading their grown daughters through layers of forest, approaching her only hiding place step by step.
A reunion intertwined with a complex past, blood ties, unsolved mysteries, and potential danger was about to unfold before this woodland cabin.
The dense forest gradually receded beneath the wheels, and finally, the old wooden house hidden among the towering ancient trees appeared at the end of their vision. The air was filled with the scent of soil, decaying leaves, and a sense of isolation. Kanjuro stopped the car and led Akemi Miyano and Ai Haibara (Shiho Miyano) toward the closed wooden door.
Akemi was so excited she could barely contain herself, tightly holding her sister's hand, while Haibara appeared even more silent, unspeakable complex emotions churning deep in her ice-blue eyes. Kanjuro's expression remained calm, as if he were just coming for an ordinary visit.
He did not knock, but simply reached out and gently pushed open the wooden door that seemed to carry the weight of countless years.
"Creak—"
The door hinges made a long sound, breaking the silence of the forest.
Inside, a woman in a simple long dress with a slender figure was facing away from the door, leaning over an experimental bench filled with instruments, focused on recording data. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she jerked, and the pen in her hand fell onto the table with a 'clack'. The vigilance developed over years of seclusion made her turn around instantly, shouting sharply: "Who is it?!"
However, the moment she saw clearly who was at the door, all her rebukes and vigilance got stuck in her throat, turning into extreme shock and bewilderment.
Time seemed to flow backward at this moment.
Her gaze first fell upon the two girls. The older girl, looking at her with tearful eyes—how similar the gentleness in her features was to her own youth! And the girl standing slightly behind, with short tea-colored hair and a cold face—that stubborn and intelligent gaze almost overlapped with a blurred and precious little figure deep in her memory... "Ake...mi...? Shi...ho...?" Miyano Elena's voice trembled uncontrollably. She covered her mouth with her hand in disbelief, her eyes reddening instantly as tears escaped her control. It had been over ten years! The daughters she thought had died in the Organization's persecution were actually... actually appearing alive before her eyes!
"Mom! It's really Mom!" Akemi Miyano could no longer restrain herself; she ran over crying and hugged Miyano Elena tightly, as if to vent all the longing and grievances of the past ten-plus years. "Mom! I missed you so much! We finally found you!"
Miyano Elena also hugged Akemi back forcefully, feeling her daughter's real body heat, tears falling like broken pearls. She reached out tremblingly, looking at Haibara who was still standing in place with a complex expression. "Shiho... my little Shiho... you... you've grown so big..."
Haibara looked at her mother's face—the same as in her memory, only with more of time's weathering yet still moving. Seeing the unfeigned, surging maternal love and excitement in her eyes, her tightly wound defenses finally cracked. Her ice-blue eyes also filled with mist. Although she didn't run over like her sister, she slowly, step by step, walked forward, and finally, gently and with a hint of unfamiliar hesitation, took her mother's outstretched hand.
"Mom..." This call was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it contained far too many emotions.
The mother and two daughters wept together in an embrace. Over ten years of separation between life and death, and a river of longing, finally found an outlet at this moment. The wooden house was filled with the mixed joy and sorrow of reunion.
However, in this deeply moving picture of reunion, there was still an unignorable figure.
After Miyano Elena had slightly calmed her excited heart, she raised her head with tear-filled eyes, her gaze passing over her daughters' shoulders and landing on the 'youth' who had been standing quietly at the door, seemingly out of place with his surroundings.
When her vision clearly captured that face—
As if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning, Miyano Elena froze completely! Her breath stopped abruptly, and her mind went blank!
That face... that face, handsome to the point of being unreal, with a hint of a lazy, wicked smile... those eyes, so deep they seemed capable of swallowing souls... it was him!
Kanjuro!
That man! The one who burst into her life like a shooting star during her high school years, bringing her ultimate joy and heart-fluttering moments, only to vanish completely like a ghost, leaving her with two daughters and a lifetime of mysteries! That... legendary eighteen-year-old boy who reportedly never aged, like an urban legend!
How could he be here?!
How could he be with Akemi and Shiho?!
Why... hasn't he changed at all?! Even his clothes and demeanor perfectly overlapped with the figure deep in her memories!
Immense shock, a trance-like state as if time and space were distorted, and that complex, indescribable emotion buried by the years but never truly extinguished, flooded over her like a tsunami. She looked at Kanjuro, her lips trembling slightly, unable to utter a single word. Only her beautiful amethyst eyes were filled with ultimate disbelief and a long-lost flutter, as if she had returned to her teenage years.
Meeting Elena's shocked gaze, Kanjuro slowly stepped forward. His pace was calm and unhurried, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening slightly with a playful sense of knowing everything.
"Long time no see, Elena." His voice was still clear and bright, just like when he first approached her under the cherry blossom trees on campus back then. "It seems you've taken... fairly good care of my daughters."
These pointed words acted as the final confirmation, striking hard against Miyano Elena's heart.
Daughters... His daughters... He admitted it! He knew too!
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