Chapter 139, Fifty-Seventh Cycle (11)
Shuichi Akai and Akemi Miyano arranged to meet at a very secluded park.
The park was very quiet at dusk; there was no one else there except the two of them.
Even so, Shuichi Akai kept glancing around warily to prevent anyone from witnessing their meeting and conversation.
It was clear that Akemi Miyano was a little confused by his sudden invitation to meet her, but she still smiled gently and quietly as she waited for his answer.
She wore a white dress, had long black hair, and beautiful, gentle eyes; she was a very popular person wherever she went.
Shuichi Akai even knew that the members of the organization that was monitoring her had said that her smile had a strange magic that could bring peace to people, reduce the hostility and murderous intent in people's hearts, like an angel.
Although it may sound strange, people who remain gentle, kind, and strive to face the light even in darkness are more attractive and inspiring to most people than those who have never seen darkness under pure light.
After Shuichi Akai got together with her, he was often talked about by others. After all, although Akemi was under surveillance and deeply involved with the organization, she had always grown up in the ordinary world as an ordinary person. Her friends and mentors felt that such a dangerous and terrifying man as him was not worthy of such a gentle and kind Akemi, and they always wanted to persuade them to break up.
Shiho Miyano disliked him for a long time before reluctantly accepting him as her sister's boyfriend. However, their relationship soon became even more complicated due to Bourbon's meddling.
After that, he became the organization's Ray and made Miyano Akemi a target of Bourbon, which made things even worse. Fortunately, Miyano Akemi took the initiative to break up with him, and thankfully their relationship at least remained as friendly friends.
In fact, Shuichi Akai had a feeling that Akemi Miyano's feelings for him were not just those of a friend, but they were also different from the passionate romance he had experienced before. This made him even more curious about what Bourbon had said to Akemi Miyano that led her to decide to break up with him, but she did not sever ties with him and still often worried about him.
"FBI?" Miyano Akemi was taken aback after he revealed his identity.
However, she didn't seem particularly surprised. Did she think he was joking?
“Yes, I need to make a decision tomorrow.” Shuichi Akai looked her in the eye seriously. “Whether I succeed or not, I will leave the organization. I’m here to say goodbye to you, Akemi.”
Akemi Miyano shifted her gaze: "Hahaha, how stupid. Even if you're going to lie to me, you should at least tell a more sophisticated lie, right?"
Her expression grew increasingly strained, and tears finally welled in her eyes as she choked out, "This won't scare me at all..."
Although she said this, her expression clearly showed the sadness and grief of finally confirming something she had known all along.
Shuichi Akai paused for two seconds, a rare look of shock and disbelief flashing across his face.
He immediately took two steps forward, his emotions slightly out of control, and grabbed Miyano Akemi's shoulder as she struggled to hold back her tears. He bent down and asked earnestly and urgently, "You... you knew all along? If you knew, why didn't you stay away from me? I was clearly using you!"
"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known..." Miyano Akemi turned her head to wipe her tears, but the tears in her eyes just wouldn't stop flowing.
Shuichi Akai loosened his grip slightly, looking at the woman in front of him who was so sad that she couldn't stop crying, and was speechless for a moment.
“I’m sorry…” he said in a low voice, “If you are still willing to believe me, if the final battle goes well tomorrow, if I survive, I will definitely find a way to take you two sisters away from the organization.”
Akemi Miyano was taken aback.
Shuichi Akai continued, "However, tomorrow's decisive battle is too dangerous, and I myself am not entirely confident, so you should pretend to be unaware and not take any action. If I fail, you must act as if you have no idea of my identity and try your best to distance yourself from me."
Akemi Miyano wiped away her tears, took a deep breath to calm herself, and forced a smile as she said to him, "Actually, I'm already very happy that you told me this before you left. Now you can focus on your mission and be careful. Shiho and I will be fine for the time being."
"I said I would protect you, and that wasn't a lie," Shuichi Akai said earnestly once again.
Akemi Miyano's eyes flickered slightly, and tears finally welled up again, blurring her vision.
However, she was at least certain that the person in front of her wasn't entirely deceiving or taking advantage of her...
"There's one last thing." Shuichi Akai turned his head and looked around again, then asked in a low voice, "Is my identity what Bourbon told you back then? Is that why you broke up with me?"
Akemi Miyano shook her head: "No, this has nothing to do with Bourbon. I've suspected it for a long time."
Shuichi Akai watched as she tried to appear strong and calm despite her uncontrollable tears, and sighed silently.
So, even though she's so smart and knew all along, why did she still foolishly continue to be with him?
"So, Mingmei, can you finally tell me the real reason you broke up with me back then?" he asked.
Even something like that wasn't enough to make Akemi Miyano leave him. Shuichi Akai really couldn't think of anything else that Bourbon could have told Akemi Miyano that would cause them to break up without him even knowing the reason.
Akemi Miyano wiped away her tears again. She calmed down a lot when it came to serious matters, but she was also a little hesitant about whether to tell the truth.
But since it was time to say goodbye, and Ah Da had apologized and confessed everything to her, it didn't seem right for her to continue hiding it. But...
Akemi Miyano intertwined her fingers together and finally whispered, "Because, I later found out that we are actually cousins. My mother and your mother, Ah-da, are sisters."
Shuichi Akai was stunned.
Shuichi Akai's pupils dilated in shock once again.
“Although cousin marriage is legal in Japan, you live in America, right? Many regions there still have reservations about it, and you're unaware of this. I'm worried you'll find it bothersome later.” Miyano Akemi looked down at her fingers. “I…I sometimes worry that our relationship might have progressed so quickly because of genetic affinity…”
Shuichi Akai, having recovered, asked, "Akami, are you sure? Bourbon told you this information back then? You... knew my true identity and even my family situation back then?"
So, that feeling of caring for him even after breaking up... is it actually familial love?
“It wasn’t Bourbon who said it, and it has nothing to do with Bourbon.” Miyano Akemi shook her head again. “I don’t know the specifics of Aya’s situation either. After all, you were in such a dangerous situation, so of course I wouldn’t investigate your identity. It was just something that Shiho discovered by chance while doing her experimental research.”
Shuichi Akai, of course, did not believe it. Although Shiho Miyano was a scientist in the field of biology, she would not study their blood relationship for no reason.
"Don't lie to me. You're not that kind of person. You wouldn't break up with me without explaining anything because of this," he said firmly.
Akemi Miyano glanced at him, somewhat helplessly, and then said, "There's one more thing. I know that you had another girlfriend in America when you were dating me."
Akai Shuichi: "..."
Akemi Miyano tilted her head: "Did you break up with her after dating me for a while? Even though I know it was for the mission, it was still too much for her. She must have had a hard time accepting it, right?"
Shuichi Akai remained silent.
Akemi Miyano looked extremely sad and heartbroken: "This is too much for both of us. I can't continue to date Dai normally after knowing this. Besides, we have too many problems between us. If neither of us can be honest with each other, it's best to break up, right?"
Shuichi Akai had no rebuttal.
He was also shocked by the complicated relationship between the two of them. Not to mention that it was only natural that Mei, who was originally very gentle and kind but also very delicate and perceptive, would not be able to accept so many problems mixed in with what should have been a pure relationship.
Miyano Akemi looked at the long-haired young man who was silent and didn't know how to answer, and couldn't help but smile. She stepped forward and gave him one last hug.
“Actually, I’ve thought about it too,” she said. “I was thinking that after everything is over, after Shiho and I have successfully left the organization, after we’ve been honest with each other, if we can have a good talk with the girl we hurt, maybe we can try to start over.”
Even so, Akemi Miyano had practically given up. She truly didn't know how to handle the situation. She couldn't imagine how Miss Judy must have felt; Miss Judy was so pitiful. She couldn't blame Dai for what he had done in that situation, but she also couldn't face the truth. She couldn't possibly continue her normal relationship with Dai after knowing about this; their feelings could never return to their initial pure and passionate state.
Shuichi Akai gently hugged her back.
“However, even if we can’t go back to how we were at the beginning, we’re already family, so it’s okay. Don’t worry, Shiho and I trust you, just like we trust our older brother?” Miyano Akemi looked up at him and smiled. “So, for now, you should focus on your mission and be careful. We’ll be waiting for you.”
Shuichi Akai met her gaze, his throat dry and unsure what to say. He could only nod and hum in agreement, promising again, "I will definitely protect you. Wait for me."
Akemi Miyano smiled and nodded, "Yes!"
Finally, Shuichi Akai asked the last question that he cared about: "Akami, did you know Bourbon before? I mean, before he became an undercover agent."
Akemi Miyano knew that she could no longer hide the fact that she and Bourbon were secretly in contact. She didn't know the details, but she would never reveal Zero's affair.
She shook her head: "Bourbon probably isn't an undercover agent, but we did know each other before, which is why he investigated you. But Bourbon is actually a good kid. Even though he knew Ah Da's identity, he didn't tell the organization. He wouldn't really hurt you, so..."
Akemi Miyano looked up and met his gaze earnestly: "Although I don't know what your final battle will be about tomorrow, if it involves Bourbon, can you try your best not to hurt him?"
Shuichi Akai sighed silently: "Of course, I already suspected he was an undercover agent, and this operation won't harm him."
Shuichi Akai received so many shocks in those short ten minutes that even his mind couldn't process them all at once.
Akemi and Shiho already knew his undercover identity, and even knew about his family relationships that he himself was unaware of. If his mother knew what he had done to his cousin, she would definitely beat him to a pulp, right? But even so, they didn't sever ties with him and continued to care about him within the organization.
Bourbon is even more outrageous. Not only did he reveal his true undercover identity, but he also investigated his ex-girlfriend in the FBI. If Bourbon really was an undercover police officer and already knew Akemi and the others, then it would be perfectly understandable that he disliked her for approaching Akemi with ill intentions from the very beginning.
Moreover, none of them revealed his identity, allowing him to remain undercover safely until he decided to make a decision to leave the organization.
This feeling of being protected in return was a very rare experience for Shuichi Akai.
*
Rei Furuya suddenly felt a chill.
Morofushi Kagemitsu immediately asked worriedly, "What's wrong? Is your heart starting to hurt again?"
Rei Furuya shook his head and rubbed his arms: "No, no, it's just a sudden chill. It must be that Shuichi Akai saying something disgusting."
Not long ago, Rei Furuya experienced a sudden, mild heartache, which felt more like a glitch in the world's programming than a minor warning.
The reason must be that Shuichi Akai went to say goodbye to Akemi Miyano and revealed his identity. Then, because Bourbon had previously shown Akemi Miyano in front of everyone in the organization that "one sentence made Rae get dumped", it aroused Shuichi Akai's curiosity and investigation, thus further exposing Bourbon's undercover identity.
This was also within Zero Furuya's expectations.
However, Furuya Rei's identity is still very stable, so there's no problem. No matter how much speculation there is, it's just speculation at this point.
The reason for the sudden heartache that Furuya Rei guessed was that after learning that he had discovered Shuichi Akai's identity so early but had not killed him, he had some chilling speculations that made Rei feel that Bourbon was not really targeting him, which did not quite fit the confrontational development between the two in the plot.
However, this did not prevent Furuya Rei from continuing to hate and target Akai Shuichi, nor did it affect Miyano Akemi and Akai Shuichi's separation. So the world program was alert for a moment and then returned to normal.
"Are you really alright?" Morofushi Kagemitsu became anxious after his heart pain. "Should we just stick to the original storyline tomorrow instead of trying anything else?"
"It's alright, it's alright." Furuya Rei smiled and reassured him, "It's not a big problem. We'll proceed as planned. Nothing will happen."
Anyway, Shuichi Akai can finally leave tomorrow, which is something to celebrate!!!
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