The Queen of the Underworld

Chapter 7

It's been a few hours since I got home from that situation. Chance and I have been sitting silently, watching the firepit eventually go out on its own. After I said what I did, he immediately got silent and sat down. I feel like I've crushed his whole world in a matter of seconds. 

"What dad told you to do," He broke the silence. "That's what we do in my job field. It makes it so others can't use your DNA to commit a crime or plant false evidence to link you to something. It also offers a safety barrier when you clean up a spot in my job with a mix of cleaning agents because nothing can be used in a trial." I stared at the pile of ashes. "I didn't know that he conditioned you, Akira." I could feel his eyes bore holes in me. "I didn't understand your mannerisms until Ken pointed a few out to me. I've been thinking hard about it all since you snapped almost two weeks ago." It's already been that long. "I didn't know that dad put all of the stress on you to keep us both safe. I thought I was doing that by complying with my Boss and the requests made of me." Taking a breath, I moved to take my necklace off. I held it out to him, making him gawk at me again.

"He instructed me to give you his necklace once you fully understood. I didn't understand the instruction or what he meant, but it might be what you just said." He took it from me and looked at it. 

"My grandmother gave this to him when she died. It was precious to him, so I was happy that he gave it to you. You've always been more meticulous than I have, and you never lose anything." He tried to give it back to me, but I refused. 

"That was one of his last directives for me," I said and stood up slowly. "It's not mine; it's yours. He made that same observation, so he knew it would last as long as you needed to come to whatever conclusion you seem to have come to." 

"Akira," He stopped me. "I feel like I've been the worst brother alive, and I'm so sorry for ever thinking you had it easy. I shouldn't have doubted you in anything," He and I made eye contact. "But, please don't get shot again. You're acting like nothing happened when I know you're in serious pain. You're acting as though it's easier to be alone, but I'm telling you that I don't want that to happen. You're my sister, and someone dad saw potential in. I always tried to win attention or listen to his every directive because he was focused on you, but I understand that he was conditioning you the entire time so that when he died, one of us had an idea on how to function properly to account for both of us." I took the necklace and put it on him, gritting my teeth at the pain from my side. 

"Why would I admit to being in pain? It makes you weak." I said and made my way to the back doors. "At least, that's what he always said to me." I sighed and w,e both entered the house. It's as if everyone was watching us the entire time. Kei and Rio stopped their conversation when I entered. 

"Sit down, a**hole." Rio snapped at me. "I know it hurts; you got shot." I ignored him and opened the fridge, grabbing something to eat and drink. "It doesn't make you tough, you know. You're just being a d*** about it. No one here is going to judge you for it. You're a f***ing bada**, Akira."