Suppressing a smile, she pointed toward Rei Furuya's ear.
Rei Furuya reached out and touched it, finding a fresh, dewy rose pinned right to his hat.
At that moment, his face darkened.
What made him even more furious, however, was that the culprit responsible was standing right behind him with a bright smile.
"Honey, it must be the guidance of fate that brought us together again!" she said, holding a bouquet of roses and sighing in an exaggerated tone.
"When?!" Rei Furuya's pupils constricted. He had deliberately taken a detour just to shake this woman off!
"Do you like them?" The woman handed over the flowers. "I heard that confessions require flowers. Was it because I wasn't holding flowers earlier that you rejected me?"
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about!" Rei Furuya stared at the woman in front of him, trying to read her thoughts.
"I'm not talking nonsense. I really like you." Mao Akai's mouth turned down at the corners, making her look precisely like an unhappy cat.
Why was this different from what Shukichi-nii had said? Shukichi-nii had clearly said that the moment he confessed, Miss Miyamoto immediately and excitedly accepted, yet the person who had stolen her heart only glared and roared at her. Romance was truly hard to understand.
Watching the look of disappointment on the woman's face, Rei Furuya was horrified to discover that he could actually detect a hint of grievance in her voice.
Watching this scene unfold from the sidelines, Shuichi Akai twitched the corner of his mouth. He had no idea what his little sister, whom he hadn't seen in ages, was up to. While he certainly wanted to see Bourbon get taken down a peg, that didn't mean he wanted his sister mixed up with The Organization.
So Shuichi Akai gave a light cough and walked over to Bourbon's side. He looked at Mao Akai, his deep green eyes filled with warning. "Miss, would you please stop pestering my colleague? We are working."
Mao Akai looked at Shuichi Akai, then back at Rei Furuya, and explained, "I really do like him."
Rei Furuya didn't know why Rye had come over to bail him out, but he seized the opportunity to slip away, walking briskly toward Scotch as if he didn't want to stay another second.
Seeing his comrade walk away, Shuichi Akai's expression turned stern. He growled in a low voice, "Stop messing around, Mao! He is not someone easy to deal with!"
Seeing Mao Akai pout in disapproval, Shuichi Akai spoke again, "They are dangerous. Take Masumi and get out of here right now!"
With that, he hurried after his comrade and left in a rush.
Mao Akai watched the three retreating figures and curved the corner of her lips. "Sorry, Big Brother, but I'm not going to listen to you this time."
"Big Sister! Mao Big Sister!"
Not far away, Masumi Sera spotted Mao standing there and ran toward her. "I finally found you, Big Sister! I thought I just saw Big Brother, but Big Brother looked so scary!"
Mao Akai lowered her head and patted the head of the little girl who had run up to her. "You must have seen wrong, Masumi. Big Brother should be working as an FBI agent in America right now."
"No I didn't! I definitely saw Big Brother!" the little girl protested unconvinced.
"In that case, let's go back and ask Mom." Mao took Masumi Sera's hand and began walking slowly in the opposite direction. "Shukichi-nii should have already told Mom that we're heading back. If Mom calls later and finds out we aren't home, she's going to be angry."
"Fine." Hearing her older sister invoke their mother, the little girl dropped the idea of dragging her sister off to find Big Brother.
A few days later, Mary Akai returned from being out. Masumi Sera flung herself into her mother's arms, chattering excitedly about what had happened a few days prior. When Mary Akai heard her daughter say she had seen her oldest brother, Shuichi Akai, her previously smiling face froze and turned cold.
"Mom, that really was Big Brother I saw that day!" Masumi Sera looked up at her mother with hopeful eyes.
Mary Akai's eyebrows arched up in anger and her mouth turned down. "How could that fellow possibly come back? He's still risking his life and limb for his new boss."
Hearing both her mother and sister deny it, Masumi Sera began to doubt herself.
Perhaps she really had mistaken someone else for him that day.
Heartbroken, the little girl went back to her room, failing to notice that her older sister had already packed her luggage.
"Mom, did the mission go smoothly?" Mao Akai leaned over the staircase banister and looked down at her mother.
Mary Akai took off her trench coat, removed the gun she kept holstered close to her body, placed it on the table, and then pulled out a roll of bandages and tossed it to Mao Akai.
"Ooh~" Mao Akai let out a whistle and vaulted down from the upstairs landing. "Doesn't look like it went very smoothly."
"No, it went extremely smoothly." A trace of smugness flashed in Mary Akai's eyes.
"Looks like Big Brother has been in touch with you."
Hearing her daughter bring up that disobedient oldest son, Mary Akai's expression immediately soured. She let out a light huff. "I am not his superior."
Detecting the awkwardness in her mother's tone, Mao Akai knew her mother must have seen Big Brother recently. Perhaps the injuries on Mary Akai had something to do with Big Brother as well?
Mao Akai's eyes rolled slightly. As she applied slight pressure while binding the wound, she heard a muffled groan escape Mary Akai's lips.
Then, a pale hand pressed down on Mao Akai's hand.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Mao Akai tilted her head and asked innocently.
Mary Akai glared at Mao Akai.
Catching the signal, Mao Akai leaned closer. "Does Mom have Big Brother's contact info?"
"How would I have something like that? That honorable FBI gentleman has probably forgotten all about his family long ago."
"Is that so?" Tying the gauze into a neat bow, Mao Akai sighed. "Looks like I'll just have to go find him myself."
"What do you think you're doing?" A baseless sense of dread welled up in Mary Akai's heart.
When was the last time she had felt this way?
It seemed to be six years ago, when her oldest son, then studying in America, told her that he had changed his citizenship.
"Mao!" Mary Akai barked sharply.
"Mom, I'm already an adult." A gentle smile hung on Mao Akai's face as she watched her mother's expression grow increasingly sour.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have agreed to this in the first place." Mary Akai glared at Mao Akai. "I won't allow you to go!"
"But I've already promised them." Mao Akai blinked innocently. "You should know that the moment I fired my first gun, I had already made my choice."
"Even so, it shouldn't be now, not—" Mary Akai's voice gradually trailed off. She tried hard to keep her head clear, but her brain felt heavier and heavier.
Watching Mary Akai go limp in front of her, Mao Akai stepped forward, scooped her into her arms, and walked slowly up the stairs.
Hearing the commotion outside, Masumi Sera opened her door.
Mao Akai smiled at her. "Masumi, Mom is tired. You'll have to take good care of Mom these next few days."
"Eh? What about you, Big Sister?"
"Big Sister's vacation is over."
When Mary Akai finally woke up, Mao Akai had already left Neon.