Chapter 102: Chapter 23
Atop a mist-shrouded mountain peak, nestled within a sprawling, secluded Japanese estate, stood a figure of immense, quiet power.
Shirohara Ichibei, an old man whose bald head contrasted sharply with his long, pristine white beard, sat cross-legged upon a massive, smooth boulder.
He wore a heavy black kimono and a white haori, the wind whipping the fabric gently around him.
Before him, a massive, ancient pond reflected the pale morning sky.
Ichibei was a man of legend, though the masses knew only half the story. He was a former military doctor who had served with distinction during the world wars, his name still honored and praised for accelerating the advancement of modern medicine.
Beyond that, in the secret world of the supernatural, he was known as the King of Acupuncture, a former master member of the Grand Order whose mastery over Ki-infused needlework was said to be capable of even reviving the recently dead.
He was an absolute master of Ki and, by most internal estimates, one of the strongest human beings alive today, a fact few outside the highest echelons of the Grand Order knew.
He was the grandfather of Shirohara Retsu, and the man who had meticulously trained her in the cold, precise art of acupuncture.
If Seijirou were here, he would have instantly recognized this old man.
This was the wise, powerful mentor who, in the original game's lore, was destined to meet the struggling protagonist, Tadano Taro, and teach him how to fight and how to use Ki—the very master Seijirou had always wanted to meet and learn from.
At this moment, a young man, lean and disciplined, wearing a stark white combat Gi, approached the boulder.
He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and bowed low.
"Master," the young man said, his voice deferential. "The young lady, Retsu, has already arrived at the building where Kageyama Seijirou and his lackeys are currently staying at. And she had already taught those mortals the preparatory rites to attain Karyoku, and she will soon bring that boy, Kageyama Seijirou, here for training."
Ichibei offered a slow, almost imperceptible nod, not breaking his silent communion with the morning air.
The young man remained respectfully behind him, his eyes fixed on his master's imposing back.
After a moment, he spoke again, a tremor of frustration underlying his tone. "Master, do you not plan on stopping it at all? The use of Karyoku by untrained students is reckless, and training that delinquent in Ki will only draw undue attention."
Ichibei let out a long, audible sigh that sounded heavy with weary resignation. "Boy, I couldn't stop Retsu even if I desired to. That girl is utterly obsessed with the brat from the Kageyama Family, so much so that she has quite calmly threatened to kill me herself if I even thought of harming a single hair on his head or interfering with his well-being."
Ichibei stood up, his movements fluid and powerful despite his age, allowing the gentle breeze to hit his face.
"In Retsu's mind," he continued, "helping those mortals attain Karyoku is a strategic move to surround Seijirou with capable shields. If I were to try and stop it, if I were to oppose what she believes benefits the Kageyama boy, she would surely fight me to the death. She would lose, but she would make the attempt, and the disruption would be catastrophic."
Ichibei knew that at her current strength, Retsu wanting to kill him would be nothing but pipe dream, but if the two would truly fight, the chaos they will cause would be devastating.
Especially since Retsu has no regard for human lives. She would surely lure him in a populated place where she knew he wouldn't be able to act recklessly lest he killed many innocent people.
The young man, who was one of Ichibei's other disciples, a former orphan elevated by the master's grace, clenched his fist at his side.
A fleeting look of raw, poisonous jealousy flashed across his face, instantly swallowed by his practiced, emotionless mask.
As if sensing the brief burst of chaotic emotion, Ichibei turned, his red eyes focused directly on the young man. "Don't bother."
The young man looked at Ichibei, confused. "Master?"
Ichibei sighed again, the sound laced with paternal grief and sorrow. He repeated, his voice softer this time. "Don't bother. Give up your feelings for my granddaughter."
The young man stared at his master, surprised at his words.
"Retsu is, in simple terms, a sociopath. In her eyes, everyone's life weighs as much as a broken toy." Ichibei frowned, remembering the moment he had found out how twisted his granddaughter was, "Dare I say, she doesn't even consider anyone to be a 'human' like how she sees herself. Even me, her own grandfather, is merely another high-value piece of equipment, no different from my best needle set."
The young man frowned, finding it hard to believe that the kind hearted and gentle young lady he had always looked up to would be so twisted like his master had said.
"That girl knows no true love, no joy, no sadness, nor any other genuine human emotion. She is someone who is merely imitating humanity to fit in with the simulation she believes this world to be."
Ichibei stared at the sky, his eyes distant, remembering the sheer, cold terror he had felt when he first truly understood what the world and everyone else in it represented in Retsu's mind.
Sociopath couldn't even accurately describe her condition. She was like an entirely foreign creature, an entity of perfect logic and zero empathy, wearing a flawless human identity.
Ichibei admitted, his voice barely a whisper, that he had even thought of killing her then and there, a necessary mercy for the world.
The only thing that stopped him was the visceral, overwhelming fact that she was his own blood—his granddaughter.
Ichibei tried everything to set her straight, but the only thing he managed to do was turn her into a master actress—someone who can perfectly act human, capable of mimicking every emotion down to the smallest twitch of the eyelid.
That is why he was so profoundly confused when Retsu suddenly possessed a faint, raw trace of genuine, messy, human emotion a few years ago.
And upon further investigation, he discovered that all those emotions, every trace of genuine fear, longing, and possessiveness, revolved entirely around one man: Kageyama Seijirou.
Ichibei had thought that her learning those emotions, she would finally become 'normal', that's why she didn't oppose it when the Kageyama Family hired her to be the personal doctor and caretaker of the Kageyama heir.
But...he messed up.
Instead of learning how to feel genuine emotions and become normal, Retsu became even more insane.
Humanity, in her eyes, began to even lose their value.
She had even corrupted the Kageyama Heir, turning him into someone like herself, who sees the world as nothing more than a simulated world, and the people as nothing more than programs for their entertainment.
When Ichibei had found out about this, it was already too late. Thankfully, the Kageyama Family didn't suspect anything, or if they did, they didn't say anything.
The Kageyama Family was actually very satisfied with how their heir grew up to be. Cold, heartless, calculative, and fiercely intelligent.
A characteristics needed to inherit the wealthy and influential Kageyama Family.
Ichibei once again turned back to the young man, his eyes holding a direct, firm warning. "Boy, you are my most priced disciple, that's why I am telling you this. Give up your misplaced love for my granddaughter. Find a nice, normal girl to fall in love with. Not someone who doesn't even see you as a human being."
With that, Ichibei turned his back once more, not bothering to offer more words to his disciple.
He had already warned him, and whether to take that warning to heart and listen to them is no longer his problem.
The young man cupped his hands, offered a silent bow of obedience, and left the courtyard.
The words of his master, of how Lady Retsu was a sociopath, imitating human emotion, treating all living things as toy—still rang in his mind, but he paid no attention to them.
His memory had its own truth.
Miss Retsu treated him nicely. When he was just a poor, struggling orphan, she was the one who extended her hand to help him and brought him to her grandfather for training.
When he was bullied by the other, wealthier disciples during his harsh training under the master, it was Miss Retsu who, with cold, efficient cruelty, put an end to the harassment.
When he was injured, it was Miss Retsu who would personally treat him with a soft touch and concerned voice.
Miss Retsu has treated him so differently than the others, he reasoned. Surely, she must have genuine feelings for him, right?
After all, he didn't see her doing all those things for any other disciple but myself.
Now, there was some random, spoiled delinquent who was threatening to take Miss Retsu away from him—the woman he had idolized and loved from a distance for years.
How could he allow that to happen?
The young man stopped at the bottom of the path, his jealousy now solidified into vengeful determination.
"Kageyama Seijirou..." he muttered, his eyes narrowing with bitter intensity. "Just you wait."