After the ceremony, Junsei returned to the Yaoyorozu mansion with the father and daughter. Momo sat quietly in the car, her shoulders slumped. She could not understand how someone could commit such a heinous crime, nothing can excuse such horror. Beside her, Mr. Yaoyorozu said nothing, though his eyes strayed more than once to Junsei.
Momo had told him about Sykes, about how the boy had known Junsei before, about their conflict and how Junsei reacted to seeing him. Those details turned slowly in his head causing unsettling thoughts to flood his mind. Junsei, for his part, stared through the car window without expression.
When they arrived at the mansion, they were greeted by Sai, who bowed slightly and welcomed them back. Mr. Yaoyorozu rested a hand briefly on Momo's shoulder.
"Momo, my dear," he said gently, "go and rest. You don't look well."
She nodded without thinking and went to her room. Junsei turned to follow his own path when Mr. Yaoyorozu's voice stopped him.
"Junsei. Come with me to the office."
Mr. Yaoyorozu glanced at Sai and gave a small tilt of his head. Without a word, Sai followed them. Inside the office, Mr. Yaoyorozu said, "Close the door," without looking back.
Sai allowed Junsei to enter first, then stepped in after him and shut the door firmly.
Mr. Yaoyorozu walked toward his desk, then stopped. He turned suddenly, his face grave.
"You are the one who did it, aren't you?" he said. "You killed the three families."
Sai stiffened, taken aback. Junsei merely stared at Mr. Yaoyorozu in silence.
"Don't give me the silent treatment," Mr. Yaoyorozu snapped, anger breaking through his restraint. "A boy who knew you in the orphanage meets you during the day. You show clear hostility toward him. The next morning, the boy, his family, and even his friends are dead. That is too much to be coincidence. Are you going to deny it?"
Junsei spoke softly. "Why are you angry? Is it the same reason Momo is sad?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu's voice rose. "So you're not going to deny it! I truly wished it was not you who did this. Why am I angry you ask? Because I have a monster in my home killing people in the middle of the night. Because I trusted you and told you not to harm anyone, and you not only broke my trust but went ahead and killed eleven people. Do you realize what you have done? Do you realize what could happen to you, to us, if you are found?"
"It would be bad," Junsei replied.
Mr. Yaoyorozu's face tightened, then slowly slackened. He pressed his fingers to his temples. "You have crossed the line… you…"
"If I may, sir," Sai interrupted calmly, "can we hear the reason why he did it?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu looked at Sai, then back at Junsei. "Answer him."
"He lied to me and he tried to kill me before." Junsei said, his tone unchanged, "He was a bad and dangerous human, so I didn't trust him and kept listening to him all the time after he left us in the morning. He told his friends he was lying and wanted to trick Momo and use her. His friends laughed and approved his plans. His parents did the same."
He continued without pause. "He was a bad person planning to do something to Momo. He knew about the orphanage and that I didn't get kidnapped, which you said would cause everyone trouble. So I killed him and everyone who had heard I was in the orphanage. I did my best so no one could find me."
Junsei paused, then added, "I did what you said. 'Don't attack or harm anyone, unless you are protecting Momo.'"
Mr. Yaoyorozu frowned. "What did he plan to do exactly?"
"He wanted to use her," Junsei replied, "for something called UA."
Mr. Yaoyorozu froze. "UA?" he repeated. "Do you know what UA is?"
Junsei shook his head.
Mr. Yaoyorozu's face twisted between anger and disbelief.
"Out" he said suddenly. "GET OUT!!"
Junsei turned and left without a word.
Sai watched him go, then looked back at Mr. Yaoyorozu.
"Eleven people were brutally killed," Mr. Yaoyorozu said bitterly, "because an idiot was boasting about some fantasy. Sending him to school was a mistake. A horrible one."
"What happened was a tragedy," Sai said carefully, "but the boy did it because he thought he was protecting the miss as you instructed."
"He killed eleven people for no reason," Mr. Yaoyorozu snapped. "I was wrong, he is too dangerous, and we can't predict how he will act."
"Not really," Sai replied. "He simply takes things more literally than normal. That can change with time."
"You've got to be kidding me," Mr. Yaoyorozu said. "Do you not understand the problem here?"
"I do," Sai said. "We just need to be more careful with what we tell him to do. Give him a chance. We've confirmed there are no leads pointing to him."
Mr. Yaoyorozu shook his head. "You've grown soft."
Sai smiled faintly. "I am fond of him. I have never seen someone like him before. He is unique in more than one way. I'm curious to see where this life leads him. Beside my opinion, do you trust he won't be caught if he was left to his own devices? If that happen, there is a good chance the truth will be twisted and incriminate you, especially with his… unique circumstances"
Mr. Yaoyorozu sighed with a resigned face.
"Talk to him," he said at last. "Explain what he did wrong, and that he can't act on his own like this again. And emphasize that he can't let a soul know what he did."
Sai nodded.
——————
Junsei sat alone in his room, his thoughts circled the reactions he had seen. Momo's response was the easiest to understand. Her sadness, her pity for people she had never known, felt familiar in its own way. She was one of the good humans, like Kimi and Kikyo, those who tried to be kind simply because kindness felt right to them. To such people, their malice toward other creatures was born of ignorance or fear.
What surprised him was her father.
Junsei had already placed Mr. Yaoyorozu neatly among the rest of humanity in his mind: driven by ambition, a greedy man calculating risks and rewards as most humans, those who could kill for fun or anything other reason.
He had expected concern for consequences. For reputation. For danger. He thought the man would worry about Junsei being discovered, about blame and implication, about heroes turning their gaze toward this house. Heroes, after all, were dangerous monsters.
Yet that was not what he had seen.
Instead, Junsei had seen fear, anger, remorse, and beneath it all sadness. Junsei could not make sense of it, the man's action didn't fit Junsei's understanding of him. Was it the number of deaths that had done it? Eleven lives was the threshold he had for killing? He did not know, it was confusing.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.
"It's me," came Sai's voice through the door. "May I enter?"
"Yes," Junsei replied.
Sai opened the door and stepped inside with an easy smile, closing it gently behind him. He leaned against the wall for a moment before speaking.
"I hope you don't take Mr. Yaoyorozu's words to heart," he said calmly. "He's in shock from the deaths, and from learning that you were the one responsible. What you did is no small matter, and in his eyes… it is evil."
Junsei watched him carefully. "Why did you defend me?"
Sai raised an eyebrow. "Did you keep listening after you left the office?"
Junsei nodded once.
"Then you heard the reason," Sai said. "I find you interesting. And I want to see what you will turn out to be."
Junsei absorbed this in silence before saying "I understand the point. Don't kill again without permission."
Sai gave a short nod. "Glad you do." His tone softened. "Junsei, in life, many people will wrong you. Some in small ways. Others in ways that feel unforgivable. If you go around taking revenge, it will ruin your life. Take it from me, I've walked that road."
Junsei tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Sai's smile faded "Long ago, some bad things happened to me, I retaliated and things became worse. Eventually, I killed the people who caused them. Those choices dragged me into a dark place. For a time, you could call me a villain." He exhaled slowly. "Then circumstances changed. I met Mr. Yaoyorozu. He gave me a chance. And here we are, years later." He looked directly at Junsei. "I know what it feels like to want revenge. And I know the emptiness that follows it."
Junsei's voice was steady. "You think I killed them for revenge?"
Sai said. "Didn't you?"
"No," Junsei said firmly. "Revenge is a human thing. I refuse to be like you."
Sai blinked, genuine surprise crossing his face.
"You don't consider yourself human?" he asked quietly. "Then what are you?"
Junsei lowered his head. "I don't know."
Sai sighed then said gently "You are human, You speak and think like us. You act like us. You live among us. Hiding in the forest or calling yourself something else won't change that. And denying that you took revenge doesn't mean you didn't."
Junsei's eyes locked onto his as he replied. "He lied to me before. He attacked me from behind and tried to kill me. He was dangerous. Survival is all that matters in this world." His voice grew colder. "I killed him and everyone else to ensure Momo's survival. And my own. I won't allow anything to threaten me."
Sai studied him for a long moment, his expression serious, searching Junsei's eyes. At last, he sighed.
"I'll be here if you ever want to talk," he said quietly. "Not all people are bad. And even bad people can end up being part of the good memories you make." He paused at the door. "Try to trust, even if only a little."
Then Sai turned to leave, but he paused and turned once more at Junsei and said "If survival is all that matters to you in the world… why did you make the deal? Was survival the most important thing at that moment?"
Junsei had no answer.