Chapter 14: Bushido Plan

In the morning, the Kukis were all gathered in the dining room once again. Tsubone seems a bit fidgety, but Ronin was staring at her.

Monshiro also arrived, still a bit sleepy. She was young after all. And she was studying a lot to be worthy of the Kuki name.

"G-good morning, haha-ue." Monshiro tried once again and Ronin squinted her eyes at Tsubone.

'What do you want me to do?' Tsubone communicated with her eyes.

'What do you mean what to do? Greet her back.' Ronin pointed at Monshiro with his lips and eyes.

"Good morning, Monshiro." Tsubone greeted, a bit flat. But it made the little girl happy that Tsubone didn't ignore her.

'Great, just work on your inflection more. You sound forced.' Ronin rolled his eyes and Tsubone frowned at him.

'Shut up, I'm trying over here.' Tsubone huffed at him and Ageha noticed they were communicating.

After their meal, Monshiro was really happy and she didn't even need to be cheered up.

"Kuhahaha! We will be off!" Monshiro followed Hume as she was off to school.

Tsubone felt a bit tired mentally. And she thought that thinking about exhausting things sure drains you.

"Anigimi, you talked with haha-ue didn't you?" Ageha raised a brow at him and she thought that Tsubone can be stubborn at times.

So it was quite something that he made her do something that broke the status quo.

"Of course, Monshiro is my sister. So I have to look out for her. That goes for you as well. Hideo... Well, his shining optimism doesn't need help." Ronin shrugged.

"You and your bleeding heart." The twins sighed at him. They only cared about one thing after all.

Ageha seemed to have selective hearing though, only registering that he would help her if she needed it.

"Anigimi, are you after our own heart?" She blushed and Stacy nudged Azumi again.

He just raised a brow at her. "Ageha, are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm as healthy as a horse, anigimi. Thank you for asking." Ageha didn't caught his meaning.

"Tch, you gotta give it to them straight. They're dense as a brick." Aka clicked her tongue.

"People here need it spelled out for them Ronin... Hah, I fear for the future." Miyo sighed.

The twins could already see it, he'd be swarmed by hussies left and right.

"Shush, you two. I'm not some hormonal teenager that would hump every beautiful girl I can get." Ronin rolled his eyes at them.

"Not yet you are." They rebutted immediately and he frowned.

They decided to walk to school as it was relatively close. And they continued their conversation now that they were alone.

"Look here, you're a splendid person, Ronin." Aka furrowed her brows.

"We are getting rusty... The years have been kind to us. We haven't supressed ourselves in years." Miyo reminded him.

"What of it?" Ronin sighed at them as they continued.

"We're entering puberty, humans are so predictable due to their inherent nature. Many people are killed due to it." Aka brought up their missions.

Some thought they were cute so they could get close. The teens managed to seduce targets and then kill them.

"What are you trying to say exactly?" Ronin raised a brow at them.

"We trust you, but what if someone like Momoyo comes on to you? Miyako is developing too. We're sure that Koyuki is turning into a beautiful woman as well." Aka had a grim expression on her face.

"Humans are hardwired for some things. What if they try really hard and your body doesn't listen to your mind? That was the case with Miyako's mother." Miyo remembered her mom.

He then pieced it together and he softly grabbed their waists.

"Are you afraid that I will leave you two?" He could feel their anxiety.

They didn't react, but he knew that the he answer was a resounding yes.

"Then don't worry..." Ronin held onto them tightly.

"I have never thought of leaving you behind. Remember that, always. Akasuki, Kimiyo." He closed his eyes as he remembered why he even accepted Mikado's offer in the first place.

He could have left them behind, let Claudio and Hume take care of them and put them in a haven that the Kukis owned.

But he went back there anyways, with a freshly stitched wound that would render the majority of people out of commission.

And everything that they did till this day was for their own future. "Don't say that I will leave. You two are a part of me, I would rather burn in hell before leaving you."

The two took off their visors, wanting to look at him directly.

Their eyes that were like the ocean met his electric blue ones. "See? That's what we mean." They huffed at him.

"What? Scared that I'll have tons of girls?" He teased them and they nodded.

"You two have a special place in my heart. We bled together, fought together, killed for each other. Nobody can ever top that." Ronin smiled and they beamed at him.

"Damn right." They pinched his sides. "But you didn't say we're the only ones for you." The two squinted their eyes and he sweated a bit.

But he is fearless, even facing Hume who could probably match Tesshin.

"What can I say? I'm good looking. The ladies love me, they can't resist my devilish, blue eyes." He smirked at them.

"Shut up, you." The duo pinched him again and they started thinking up some criterias. 'No hussy will get their hands on you.'

__Kuki estate__

While Ronin was working with two laptops concurrently, answering emails and running the company.

Mikado returned and he lounged around him for some time. "Jiiii." Ronin was ignoring Mikado and the man wasn't going away.

"I said... Jiiii." Mikado was like a stalker and Ronin rolled his eyes, he could tune him out. As an assassin, he can stay still and be focused for an opportunity for weeks.

But Mikado was just going to annoy him until he gets tired. "What is it, Mikado?"

"Hey, fancy seeing you. Are you winning, son?" Mikado laughed and Ronin sighed.

"I'm busy, Mikado." Ronin pointed at his laptops. "Really? Don't seem like it." Mikado took a chair and sat down besides him.

They went silent for a second and the typing noises of a keyboard resounded.

"Thanks... You're one busybody you know?" Mikado said softly, contrary to his loudness.

"Hmph, I don't have to clean up for you old man. You should be doing that yourself." Ronin gave him a side eye.

"Geh, sorry, sorry. Busy and all that jazz, you know?" Mikado went silent again.

"I... I just don't know how to face Monshiro. She's been alone for more than a decade with her mother you know?" Mikado looked vulnerable and Ronin raised a brow at him.

"Hah, I thought you Kukis are decisive?" Ronin sighed and Mikado chuckled.

"I guess... But a man's not perfect you know? We all habe things we can't do well." Mikado looked at the ceiling.

"I don't. At least I haven't found one yet." Ronin shrugged.

"You cheeky little... Your old man's being sentimental here, cheer him up." Mikado ruffled his hair.

"Hey, not the hair. I style that real well you know?" Ronin swatted his hand away.

Mikado then took out a bottle of scotch and Ronin raised a brow at him. "I'm underage, you know that right?"

"Do I look like I care?" Mikado deadpanned at him and Ronin shook his head.

"Drink with me, you're my oldest after all. Can't do this with Ageha. And Hideo... Well, you'd have better luck in making him fuck his maid kuhahaha!" Mikado laughed boisterously.

"That's the reason why you're in trouble in the first place." Ronin clicked his tongue at him.

"Disrespectful brat." Mikado took some ice and poured him a glass.

"Hey, do you think I can be a good father?" Mikado talked to him like he was an old friend, instead of his adopted son.

"Anyone can be, are you up to the task?" Ronin swirled his drink and took a sip.

"I want to be." Mikado thought that he has been neglecting his kids a bit.

They were brilliant. So he left them to their own devices. And now that Monshiro was here, he recognized his own misgivings.

"You're in the right track already." Ronin gestured for a toast and Mikado didn't expect him to say that.

"Is that so?" Mikado toasted with him and he sipped his drink. "I never expected to have a father and son bonding with you of all people." Mikado snorted.

"Means that you don't have many friends." Ronin rebutted and Mikado nodded. "True, that."

"Say, you have a girlfriend?" Mikado smirked at him and he thought that he's close with Ageha and the twins he saved from his previous organization.

Ronin just raised a brow at him and Mikado laughed.

"Give me lots of grandkids yeah? Kawakami has a lot of beautiful girls." Mikado reminisced.

"Hah, want me to tell on you to Tsubone?" Ronin threatened him.

"Heh, she knows that I was delinquent back in the day." Mikado huffed.

"That explains it." Ronin rolled his eyes and Mikado nudged him for the backhanded comment.

"Enjoy your youth, kid. Get tons of girls, I know you will." Mikado egged him on.

"I'm fine, thank you." Ronin declined immediately.

"Your hands aren't a girl, kid." Mikado chortled and Ronin sighed at him.

"You deserve it." Mikado looked in front of him and he remembered their track record.

They were brutally trained. Since they could walk, Ronin and his colleagues were trained to be the ultimate killers.

Poisoned so they would be immune, beaten, so they won't break, and brainwashed to oblivion, so they would be loyal.

"Anyways, interested in why I'm so busy? Even though Monshiro is here now?" Mikado smirked.

"No, not really." Ronin answered immediately, but Mikado ignored that.

"I call it the bushido plan. We're cloning notable people of the past." Mikado revealed and Ronin looked at him with a frown.

"No, no, don't worry. We aren't trying to make an army of soldiers for the purpose of world domination." Mikado raised his hands immediately.

"Hmph, you better not. I can run Kuki corp. myself." Ronin squinted his eyes.

"Kuhaha! You're as spicy as ever. We're cloning them to integrate them into our forces. Just like the other servants, a deterrent you know?" Mikado explained.

"Isn't Hume enough of a deterrent?" Ronin thought of the blonde.

"He's getting old, hey. Don't look at me like that, his words, not mine." Mikado huffed.

"Hume? Getting old? I'd say that guy would be still strong even if he was as old as master Tesshin." Ronin snorted.

"Well, he's only human in the end." Mikado shrugged and Ronin thought that was true.

He just doesn't feel like one, but he is one. "Says that he can get tired easily now. Though he can finish fights before he even breaks a sweat." Mikado chortled.

Ronin then thought of his friends, Aka, Miyo. They were still young, but it dawned on him that they would die eventually.

Some ideas started to spring up inside of his head, but Mikado broke him out of his thoughts.

"We need as many people as possible. And the bushido plan came into fruition. We'll be able to proceed with the final testing in a few years. Look forward to them." Mikado smiled.

"Sure, just don't program them with laughs like your kids. It gets old real fast." Ronin thought that the bushido plan would be beneficial for the future of the Kukis.

"Speaking of them, how about Ageha? She's going to be a beauty you know?" Mikado wanted a competent and trustworthy person for Ageha.

"Are you seriously pimping your daughter to me?" Ronin gave him an incredulous look.

"That's a bit too strong of a word, how about... Securing her future?" Mikado laughed.

"Hah, go to sleep and fix your mess old man. You should focus on that." Ronin sighed at Mikado's antics.

"Ohh! Yeah, yeah, how about a little outing with just Monshiro, Tsubone, and I?" Mikado thought of a plan.

"That won't work, Tsubone isn't comfortable enough with that." Ronin and Mikado discussed plans to make Tsubone and Monshiro grow closer.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.