Chapter 36

"Yuuji-san." The next day, Kanon arrived at his side while Aiden was sunbathing by the resort's outdoor pool. "I've thought about it long and hard, and I can't accept your confession."

"Hm?" Aiden lazily looked up at the girl, raising his shaded glasses and giving her a quizzical, inquiring glance. "What was that?"

Kanon blushed deeply and looked away immediately. She put the back of her hand to her face as if to hide. Flustered, she continued.

"W-We just know so little about each other," She stammered. "It's n-not right to suddenly just, um, you know...g-go out. That is to say, I don't think its the right time to...but, m-maybe someday..."

Aiden, sporting a heavy hangover, had no idea what she was getting at.

Kanon froze as she allowed herself the mistake of looking at him. He sat there languidly with his legs stretched out, his tall, powerful frame radiating a kind of raw masculine energy. She gulped, her mouth suddenly dry.

"Uh, so...so..." She found herself at a loss for words. Ah, what's with her? Why is this so hard!?

"So?" Aiden rubbed his eyes.

"So..." Kanon heard the huskiness in his voice and it did silly things to her tummy. "No, I'm sorry, I can't do this!" Feeling her face turn unbearably hot, she promptly ran away.

Aiden yawned, wondering what the heck had gotten into the girl until he remembered the little act he put on the other day.

I think I've been rejected.

The thought amused him. How often had that happened? He honestly couldn't remember. It was...refreshing?

At that point, he felt another pair of eyes on him. Aiden turned his head, seeing Akari from across the pool. He crooked a finger.

Against her better judgment, she came to him. "Something wrong, Princess?"

His words rattled her feathers. Princess? What was he trying to say? She didn't like it.

"Can you please just...s-stay away?" Ah, she stuttered! She tried to put on a strong front, too...

"Stay away? From Kanon?" He smiled. "What, you really think I want her? Please."

For some reason, she found that annoying? "Hey, my family's Kanon is known as the beauty of her entire campus."

Aiden looked at her weirdly.

"...And? Do you want me to like her, or don't you?"

"Of course I don't! But you don't have to act like she's not worthy of--"

Aiden laughed in her face. "This kid....look, once she turns 18, by all means, send her my way. Until then, you don't have to worry I'll try to seduce her. She's cute, just not in my strike zone."

Akari stiffened. "I know that, logically, but Rumi..."

"Is an exception. You know why." He grimaced.

Akari followed suit. "Don't remind me."

"In any case, you won't have to be so on guard with me soon enough." He took a glass from the table at his side and took a drink. "You remember that widow I met last night?"

"Huh? Why?"

The man smiled at her. "I've ingratiated myself." He took a key from his pocket and twirled it in front of her with a finger. "This, " He said, "Is the key to her penthouse."

"So like a parasite, you've latched onto yet another family."

He shrugged. "I use the resources available to me. If it means escaping that bitch and her daughter, I'd even whore myself."

Pretty women can survive on their looks alone. Likewise, Aiden can find some pretty, wealthy widow or even housewife to take care of him for now until he could stand on his own. Hadn't he already done so with Akiko? But she had a connection to Naoko, so he had to make his leave.

As for Akari? She thought this might happen eventually. What about her mother? She hadn't enjoyed herself in such a long time.

"....You wouldn't consider staying?" The words surprised even her. But she meant them. She didn't much like him, but he made her mother....relaxed? Satisfied? Maybe even happy. If he really kept to his word about not touching her of her sister, maybe this situation was alright....

Aiden's entire expression vanished. "You, your mother and your sister are good people. " He clenched his jaw. "I've seen you die once already. Don't ask me to risk that again."

Her heart stopped.

"I'm a cancer to your family. As long as I'm with you, you'll always be in danger. At least this woman is just here in passing, unconnected to Naoko and this city. I can go with her and be safe. Your family can be safe."

Akari knew that was true. She felt it in her bones. Even if Naoko was taken off the table, he was stained with blood and she didn't know if, or when, he might relapse into the person he had been. A battle raged inside her. Caution against him versus the fact he made her mother's days that much easier.

She deserved him. And yet, he was not a good person. At least, not fully. In this world, he had no attachments. No one he cared for. That was on him. It meant he teetered constantly on the edge of sanity and careless abandon.

Akari stayed quiet.

"You're not known me long, and yet you understand me better than anyone on this planet." He stood from his seat and rubbed her head. "Thank you for that."

Akari wanted to cry. As much she felt an aversion to him, felt he deserved every bit of this harsh reality he'd been given, she also found it hard to condemn him. Try as she might, she...

She didn't understand. He was more complex than any person she'd ever read. He'd been taught to be strong and hide every wayward emotion that denoted weakness. To be "a man".  But that kind of upbringing had done nothing but form a person so jaded that he sought darker, more dangerous thrills just to feel alive. He'd had a loving family, but no one understood him. His sister was sheltered, and his brother had never been held to the same standard.

He'd been alone and believed he could only ever live alone. Die alone. Such was the Maddox way. You endured, suffered. And you either rose....or fell.

Aiden had risen. But not as a man who embodied the virtues his father had tried to instill. Instead, he'd learned harshness. Cruelty. Both towards himself and others.

Akari was torn, but she ultimately understood that this was the best for everyone involved. She'd never pick someone like Aiden over her own family's safety.

"You're a sensible kid. That's good." With that, he walked away.

Akari felt his absence like a blow to the chest, but it didn't matter. In time, she'd forget about him. And he'd want her to.

***

A week later, Aiden had just gotten done with a rather pleasurable one-man orgy comprised of Wen Jing's, his current benefactor's, closest friends, when he received the call.

He didn't recognize the number but the voice was familiar.

"Aiden, we have a problem. Rumi killed herself."

"....So?"