The next day, Mr. Yaoyorozu gathered his wife and daughter. He cleared his throat once before speaking.
"Next week," he announced, "I will be moving overseas to the United States for a period of time. I will be working on a new project. It will likely take years."
His wife blinked in surprise, and Momo's eyes widened.
"Years?" his wife repeated. "Why such a sudden decision? We didn't discuss this before."
"It is unexpected for me as well," Mr. Yaoyorozu replied evenly. "But I cannot help it. This is the project of my life, and I am not giving it up."
His wife studied him in silence for a moment, then said slowly, "But what about our work and our life here? Are we simply leaving everything behind?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu shook his head. "You will remain here. Momo still has her studies, and her dream of becoming a hero. I will be going alone."
Momo stood abruptly. "How can you do that?" she demanded. "You're leaving us on a whim for work?"
"I am not leaving you," her father said firmly. "I will simply be living elsewhere. I will call, I will check on you, I will visit and you can visit me. Momo, if not for your studies and your dream, I would have brought you with me. But just as I have something I must pursue, you have something of your own, and I will not be the reason you give it up."
His wife narrowed her eyes. She had known him for years, long enough to recognize when he was lying or hiding something. She knew the project he had been obsessed with for months, and she could feel that something had gone wrong, something serious enough to force this sudden departure.
While mother and daughter sat with the weight of the announcement, Sai made his way through the mansion and stopped outside Junsei's room.
He knocked once and entered. Junsei was seated on his bed, a book open in his hands. He did not look up.
Sai watched him for a moment before speaking. "Mr. Yaoyorozu will be leaving for the United States."
"I know," Junsei replied calmly. "I heard."
Sai sighed. "This habit of yours is really bad."
"To you," Junsei said, turning a page, "but it is good for me."
Sai studied him, his gaze sharp. "Your words and actions affected Mr. Yaoyorozu more than you think."
"I don't think so," Junsei replied. "He would have made this decision regardless of me."
"Because he is a bad human?" Sai asked.
Junsei nodded.
Sai folded his arms. "Then tell me, what is a good human to you, and what is a bad one?"
Junsei closed his book. "A good human pities and cares for all creatures, human or not. They can make mistakes, but those mistakes come from ignorance or fear. A bad human is driven by self-desire. They kill, steal, lie, and do everything for the sake of their goal."
Sai shook his head slowly. "You see the world in white and black. That is wrong. Between white and black, there are shades of gray."
Junsei did not respond.
Sai watched him for a moment, then asked, "And what about you? Are you a good human?"
"I am not a good human," Junsei said.
After a brief pause, he added, "I don't qualify."
Sai raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to be one?"
"I will never be," Junsei replied. "I want to live. And I want the world to live."
Sai frowned slightly. "Nothing straightforward with you, is there?" He sighed, then asked quietly, "Junsei… when you killed those families, when you killed Yuzu Kari, did you look them in the eyes?"
Junsei shook his head.
"Killing is not easy," Sai said. "When you kill, you don't just end the life in front of you, you lose something inside along the way. If you had looked into their eyes, seen the light fade little by little, you would have felt a coldness in your chest."
He paused, then continued, his voice lower. "I understand why you acted. You don't hold true malice inside you. That is exactly why I don't want to see you kill. I don't want you to lose what makes you… you. If someone threatens you, unless it is immediate, please don't act. There is always a second way."
Junsei looked at him. "What did you do in the past?"
Sai's expression darkened. "I had a close friend. He was killed by bad people. I tried to go through the police, but they were slow, too slow. I feared my friend would never find justice. So I killed one of those who harmed him."
Sai's voice grew heavier. "Later, those people found my family. They killed them."
Junsei remained silent.
"I went on a rampage," Sai continued. "I hunted them and killed them all. Eventually, the police caught me. My sentence was reduced when evidence of what they had done was discovered. If I had waited… my family would have lived, and those people would have been punished anyway."
He exhaled slowly. "Later, I managed to leave prison, but I was nobody, no place among people. I did unsavory things just to survive. Eventually, I met Mr. Yaoyorozu, and I began working for him. I don't want to see you suffer a similar fate just because you wanted to live."
Sai turned and left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Left alone once more, Junsei stared at the closed door as he thought [I don't end life, I reclaim it. And killing doesn't bring me coldness, it makes me feel warm.]
——————
In the evening, Junsei once again found himself standing inside Mr. Yaoyorozu's office. And this time there was no Sai, only the two of them, facing one another.
Mr. Yaoyorozu broke the silence. "Yuzu Corporation came after me because of the project I am working on," he said. "It will change the world. It is my dream to leave my name in history. If I remain here, my family will be in danger. So I am leaving."
Junsei regarded him before speaking. "What makes you think they won't come after them if this project is as important as you say?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu did not hesitate. "Because I will act as though I have cut ties with them. I will keep contact to a minimum. A man who appears to have abandoned his family for greed is less likely to choose them over money afterward."
Junsei tilted his head slightly. "So now what? Do I come with you?"
"No," Mr. Yaoyorozu said, shaking his head. "I want you to stay here and continue protecting Momo."
Junsei's gaze narrowed. "You were doubting whether you should keep me in your home, and now you want to leave me alone here?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu exhaled slowly. "I feared that something would go wrong, that something would anger you and you would turn on my family. But when I hesitated, when I feared the law and stalled for the sake of my dream, you acted. What you did was wrong, and I do not approve of it. But you acted with the intent of protecting my daughter from my own indecision."
His voice grew heavier as he continued. "You are frightening. You are dangerous. I knew that the moment I saw you for the first time. I hoped you would mellow after you live with us for a period of time. Perhaps, one day, you might become another trusted presence at my side like Sai. A powerful one."
Mr. Yaoyorozu's eyes darkened. "When you acted on your own, I began to doubt my choice. I was worried that I brought an unreasonable monster into my house. I see now the merit in how you view the world, preventing danger was better than waiting to only find regret. I want you to continue watching this place. And if a threat comes, a real threat like Yuzu, deal with it in the way you see fit. If things go bad, I will do the best I can to help you even if I am not in Japan."
Junsei considered this. "Anything else?"
Mr. Yaoyorozu hesitated, then asked quietly, "Do you truly still intend to return to the forest even now? Do you still see it as better than life in this mansion or among people?"
"One day," Junsei replied, "I will live free without humans."
Mr. Yaoyorozu nodded slowly. "I see. I genuinely hope that one day, you will feel a sense of belonging among people. We are not as bad as you think, there are plenty of good and kind people out there."
Junsei turned without another word and left the office, the door closing softly behind him, leaving Mr. Yaoyorozu alone with the weight of his choices.
Junsei had enough time to see what people are like, good humans are the rarest thing among humans. And their good is often buried behind the cruelty and greed of the rest.