If you notice any errors, please feel free to give me constructive feedback. English is not my first language, so if you notice any mistakes, please mention them in the comment section at the end of the chapter. I do not own Overlord. All property rights belong to their respective creators. Let's begin the story!
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Chapter-23
Kurenai Estate,
Tokyo, Neo-Japan;
Earth – Year 2134,
Overlord Verse;
Kai exhaled, his fingers tightening around the steering for a moment before letting go. The navigation showed the exact spot: a narrow street just off the main arcade, tucked between retro vending machines and a yakitori stall that had somehow survived into the twenty-second century.
He stepped out, and the sound of the car door caught more than a few eyes.
His dark coat swept low, tailored sharply as a blend of classic elegance and corporate precision of a suit with long coat. His appearance wasn't flashy, but in a world that had gravitated toward subdued techwear and sterile practicality, with business suits, he stood out like a dump of charcoal on a snowfield. People stared at the enigma.
Some with curiosity. Some with envy. A few with that familiar frustration that society often showed to anything unplaceable – especially someone who carried themselves without a care in the world, the people who had it easy.
But as always, his presence along with his car and dress kept them from approaching him. He crossed the street, ignoring the stares. For a moment, halfway across, something made him stop. As, he felt a familiar presence in the crowd.
Kai's gaze swept behind him – across the neon signs, the crowd, the hum of scooters. But it was gone just as fast. He didn't chase the unknown variable. Just shook his head and pushed open the door.
The air inside the shop changed instantly. Humid and dense with the smell of smoke, and cheap liquor. A traditional izakaya left behind by time, till serving. And packed with drunks. The volume spiked at his entrance – a few glasses clinked harder, a chorus of laughter too loud to be natural. But no one said anything.
Kai's eyes scanned quickly—and there, near the back, a large hand waved lazily in the air. Akaza aka Indomitable Wall gestured towards him.
Kai moved though the throng of drunkards. He didn't sidestep. He didn't weave. He simply walked—straight, unbothered, parting through the mess of bodies and slumped shoulders. One stumbling patron turned as if to block him, eyes bloodshot with drink—but something in Kai's gaze, his attire and the way he carried himself stalled the drunk man mid-motion. He stepped back instead, as he clicked his tongue in annoyance, but didn't dare to confront Kai.
Akaza gave a short whistle as Kai reached the table.
"I swear, you walk through people like you don't give a fu*k about them or the World."
Kai gave a noncommittal shrug, 'Being the young prodigee of Kurenai family, there are some things you pick up or are just drilled into. Not as if we have a choice…' He mused, as he looked down at the other man at the table.
Or more accurately, over him.
A drunk man in his late twenties laid slumped over the edge like a wilted leaf, knuckles white from gripping his empty glass, black hair tangled and sticking to his cheek. His shirt was wrinkled and stained, the signs of tears still fresh at the edge of his eyes.
Kai sighed and pulled a chair.
"So, how's our guild's best assassin holding up?" he said dryly, brushing imaginary dust from the chair before sitting.
"Did he finally relax? Or is he still trying to sing a song as a broken love poet?" He muttered, remembering the background music artist from their call.
In answer, Akira aka Nameless Shadow stirred.
"I loved her," he croaked, rising slowly like a corpse from a grave. His voice cracked—desperate, messy. "I've loved her since forever. Ever since we were kids… For as long I remember, But… why? Why now? Why him? How could she…" He mumbled.
Then he dropped again—face-first onto the glass table.
"...Still at it, huh," Kai muttered.
Akaza scratched the back of his head, looking more apologetic than embarrassed. "He's been like this for a week now. I tried dragging him back to his place, but he said he wanted to drink in a place that 'smelled like loneliness.' I think he read that in a manga."
"I'm not even surprised," Kai replied, voice flat. "Love does rob them of their thinking capacity, I suppose they do enter a blind frenzy from it." Kai mumbled, a hopeless sigh escaped him. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a sealed tablet. Popping the top, he dropped one into an empty glass and poured water from the pitcher.
Akaza blinked. "Wait, that's –?"
"A detox." Kai grabbed Akira's collar from behind and yanked him upright with one practiced motion. Akira barely reacted, eyes hazy and barely open. "Make him drink this. Unless you want to translate depressed poetry of his, for the next hour."
Akaza took the glass. "Right… down you drink this, buddy," he said, bringing it to Akira's lips. The infamous assassin of Vanitas Regnum Anta squirmed but the liquid was in before he could protest.
He coughed. Twitched. Then froze.
Kai leaned back and folded his arms looking over at the lovestruck fool.
******
Akaza watched his friend recovering, at least he appeared to be. Looking over at Kai, remembering the man they had met during the Clan Meetup, back then were just a small band of people, who had banded together to challenge Valhalla Dungeon and later created a clan.
Akaza silently watched over his friend worried.
Akira's hand trembled as he reached for the glass, his breath ragged, eyes still hazy from the aftermath of his emotional collapse. But he downed the water in one gulp.
"Akaza…" he muttered, voice hoarse, gaze flicking to his friend beside him. His eyes then locked onto the man seated quietly across from him—the one person he hadn't expected to see here.
"…K-Kai?"
The shock was evident, breaking through his stupor. His eyes widened, his mouth parting slightly as if he still wasn't convinced it was real. Kai's cocky smile plastered across his face, as if he were some poster boy for Narcissism.
Akira slumped further into his seat, the weight of embarrassment settling in.
"…Sorry for dragging you into this." His voice was soft, shoulders hunched.
Kai sighed. "Don't worry about it. In a way, I'm partly responsible. I brought Shining Knight into the guild, after all."
"It's not your fault." Akaza cut in, shaking his head, brows furrowed.
Akira echoed the motion, his hair falling into his face as he muttered, "There's nothing you can say to help me, Kai…"
The resignation in his voice was palpable – flat, hollow, rejecting any sort of helping hand extended towards him.
Akaza shot him a glare, but quickly apologized. "Kai, please don't mind him, it's his intoxication and heartbreak speaking." He muttered, glancing at his childhood friend.
Kai leaned back, chair creaking slightly beneath him. His gaze drifted to the ceiling for a moment before dropping back to Akira.
"You know, Akaza," he started, tone casual but sharp, "this isn't uncommon."
Akira's eyes narrowed, tension rising in his shoulders.
"There are plenty of fools who ruin themselves over one-sided love." Kai's voice was quiet, but it cut clean through the fog cloaking his mind. "They build their whole world around someone. Assume the understanding – bond, the teasing, and their friendship… to mean more than they actually do."
Akira's hands clenched into fists under the table.
"And when they finally realize the other person never saw them that way?" Kai shrugged, his smile tinged with cold irony. "They lose their balance. Just like him – Making fool of themselves in the process." He spoke a bit with disdain.
The words struck deeper than any slap could have. Akira's chair screeched back as he kicked it away from the table, fists flying toward Kai in blind anger.
Akira's punch an inch away from Kai, when Kai stomped lightly, shifting his chair back just enough for the front legs of the chair to lift. The punch passed clean through the air where Kai's head had been a heartbeat ago. His chair landed back on the floor with a soft thud.
Akira stumbled, his rage blinding him to everything but Kai's expression.
Flat. Calm. Almost… bored.
"Come on, Akira," Kai muttered, tilting his head as if inviting another swing. "Wake up, and move on. You are blinded by your love. Give up on that useless love of yours. She doesn't and didn't love you."
Akira growled, disoriented but fueled by raw emotion. He lunged again – this time trying a kick followed by another wild punch.
Kai stood fluidly, pushing his chair a bit and jumped backwards, balancing with his right foot on the seat of the chair and his left on the backrest. His movements were effortless, just like stepping through stone to cross a river.
Akaza tried to grab Akira, "Wait! Akira, stop—!"
But Akira ducked under Akaza's hand, his attention fully focused on Kai. Another punch and another miss.
Kai jumped backward onto the next table, his long coat over his three-piece suit fluttering behind him. The patrons nearby looked up, half-startled, wondering the cause for the fight, with few looking over for the shop owner to deescalate the situation and with a few of them cheering the fighters, while the rest remained indifferent to the fight.
Luckily for everyone involved, the table Kai landed on was empty.
"Don't lose your dignity and your job for some worthless love, you have your parents to worry about." Kai muttered, his voice steady, eyes never leaving Akira.
Akira's chest rose and fell, sweat mixing with leftover tears. His arms slowly dropped to his sides, fists trembling—not with the urge to strike, but with the bitter ache of powerlessness.
"Have you calmed down enough to think calmly?" Kai asked, tone casual.
Akira stood there, silent, his breathing loud in his own ears.
"Good." Kai stepped off the table, landing lightly beside his chair, dusting his hands off.
Akaza reached out again, finally managing to pull Akira back toward his seat.
Kai sat down once more. His voice softened, barely above a whisper.
"Getting drunk, falling apart, lashing out at your friends and family – that is not fine, Akira." Kai muttered, with a wry smile.
"Shut up!" Akira's voice cracked—part rage, part raw ache. "Don't talk like you understand me, Kai! You—"
"I may or may not understand your circumstances." Kai's words cut him off flatly.
"Watching someone you care about pick someone else." His eyes narrowed, a nostalgic smile on his face. "Walking behind them. Supporting them. Knowing it's all pointless, but doing it anyway. Hmm! that's a disaster and at that point they are just asking for more pain." Kai muttered with a sigh, his tone confounding both Akira and Akaza. To them the way he spoke and the look on his face, was as if he was speaking from experience but from his phrasing and the way he ended it, confused them. Even the way he looked at Akira with pity, did not help them.
Knowing Kai's situation, it was impossible for them to imagine such a scenario – After all, it has nearly been a couple year shorter to complete a decade since they first met him. And as far as they could remember, he was in his high school back then and he has been the same. They couldn't imagine him with any other personality. They couldn't imagine him any other way.
"You have your whole life ahead of you, Akira. Do not let this setback hold you. Be happy for your friend, if you can at least act the part of being happy for her." Kai muttered, glancing at both of them.
"I… loved her." Was all Akira could mutter.
"For a silent guy, you are full of surprises. Anyway, weren't you three friends from your childhood?" Kai spoke, looking at Akaza, probing.
But before Akaza could answer, Akira shook his head and spoke. "No… Akaza and Sayuri are neighbours and grew up together, while I befriended them later in middle school.'
"Interesting… you must have loved for a very long time." Kai spoke. Looking back at Akaza, a chubby guy, who if he remembers correct, works as a manager at some construction company. While, Akira had inherited his family's dojo and also works at a sales company, managing dojo in his free time.
"So, how's your dojo and job?" Kai muttered, confusing them both. His question woke Akira from his stupor, trying to comprehend the reasoning behind the question, as he answered. "It is fine, though I would love to quit and let my brother handle it. But my father is against the idea, saying that my brother's doesn't have what it takes to teach."
"So, what about your other job?" Kai muttered.
"Hmm! It's manageable, I suppose. Though, I am not interested in inheriting the dojo, but this is the arrangement I have come with my father to continue forward." He mumbled under his breath.
"Well, you are quite unsure of your future aren't you." Kai muttered, Akira slumped down hearing his answer. Akaza was saddened by his friend's situation, but he didn't like the way Kai was handling the situation. He opened his mouth to stop him, but was shocked to have Kai's attention on him. "Then, what about you, Akaza? Is the job treating you good?" Kai muttered, glancing at Akaza, after hearing Akira's answer. "I am doing well enough to support myself, for now." He replied.
'Hmm!' Kai sighed at both of them. "So, have you given any thought towards marrying or dating, Akaza?" Kai spoke, an internal sigh he released watching his flustered look at the sudden question, also confusing Akira of his choice of questions in this situation.
"No…" mumbled Akaza. For Kai – To look at the flustered look of a man in his thirties, right after watching another man cry, was making it quite a unique experience for him – Not to say if it were one of his least desirable memories. 'And there's that dejected sad look,' He mused.
"So, what do you think about Sayuri, Akira?" Kai muttered, once again confusing them both.
Akira had enough of it, what if he was from some powerful family and was quite rich. Being rich doesn't give him the right to demean their life, the people who struggle and live under the constant pressure of the society. And was going to argue about it, when Akaza intervened. "Kai, he is hurting. He had his heart broken, not long ago and now you are undermining his love and even his life. Please have some empathy, and help me console him. Or you can leave. This is not a game." Akaza spoke with a stern tone. It was new for both Kai and Akira.
Akira had never witnessed this side of his friend, despite being with him for… since forever.
******
Kai laughed, angering not just Akaza but even Akira. They had enough of this young master's charade. After all, to them Kai did call himself a young master, every time he joked around about himself or the wealth of his family, reasoning with them, for his excess spending in Yggdrasil. They were both going to get up and leave, when Kai smiled and stared Akira in the eye, making him pause, doubtful of his sanity.
While, he had come to know about his condition from Hitoshi, after Sayuri had expressed her jealousy towards his blind spending in game. But that didn't mean he could demean them or their friends. He was now worried for his sanity… Was going to speak. When Kai beat him to it. "So, what is it that made you love her?" He mumbled, still seated as Akira and Akaza had both stood up. "You see, I am new to this business, as you can tell." He muttered.
Earning a dubious look from them, Kai sighed and gestured them to take a seat.
"Akira, did you truly love Sayuri?" Kai muttered, uttering her name again and again. Before he had always called her by her game Id. This development confused Akira, as he stared at Kai.
Smiling at Kai's twisted personality and the joy he found in his misery, Akira answered him, as a courtesy for the long friendship they shared. "Yes, I truly loved her, with all my being." Spoke Akira, pouring all his emotion in that one sentence. Strangely he felt relief, rather than annoyance. As if a weight had been lifted of him. His mind that had been clouded for the past days, numbing his senses, cleared away at least partly. Though he still felt his heart ache, remembering her, but was now – A bit calm enough to think about his current situation and not have her occupy his mind.
"So, what is it that you desire now? Her happiness or your happiness?" His question was quite simple to him. Akira opened his mouth to answer his question and leave this place, while all the cells in his body urged him to punch Kai in the face. Yet, he couldn't.
Akira's mouth opened and closed as a fish gasping for air, but he still failed to answer his question. Despite wishing to answer his question with, "Her Happiness" He struggled to get any word out.
"So, what about you, Akaza? Do you love Sayuri enough to wish for her happiness over yours or his?" His question, sending a ripple among them.
For Kai, he was all too familiar with Akaza's look. And the way, his Guildmate looked at Sayuri or Wandering Soul in game and in real life. The way he spoke with her, and the way he stepped back, when Akira and Sayuri conversed. Even now, with Shining Knight or Shiroi Suzutsuki.
Their situation and personality were quite different, yet Kai could understand his situation and his pain. And the love he held for Sayuri and how deep it ran.
Kai felt the love Akaza buried within himself, when he conversed with his two good friends – One… a love of his life and the other, his good friend also the guy who loved the love of his life. But to have their love taken away by a third party, wasn't something they could have expected.
'With the way he defended her, when Akira accused her of being gold digger made it quite apparent. Added with the way he talked about her. Describing her, painting her in beautiful light, and the love his voice held while talking about her. Made it very obvious, you just needed to observe.' He mused. Though it had been Silent Witch who had first questioned him about the love triangle in this particular group, when Kai started observing them more closely, paying attention to their conversation and interaction.
Kai hadn't involved himself with the group dynamics nor interfered, to let life take its course.
And now his declaration was met with rebuttal from Akaza, while Akira shockingly stared at Akaza. But to be met with silence from Kai, who didn't try arguing against him. Akaza turned silent, letting many possibilities run through Akira's mind, when he stared at Akaza with look of betrayal.
Their reaction to the situation amused Kai, and to find him laughing at their predicament. Angered by his reaction, both of them couldn't control themselves anymore and jumped on him together, both of them swinging their punches.
Only to fall flat on their face – Tired and exhausted, while Kai comfortably sat on his chair, after making short work of them. Their fight was short, and before the owner could intervene, Kai was done with them. Ever proving that the Tens of various Martial Arts certificates and trophies showcased in his house weren't for show after all.
******
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**The End**
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