Kami-Jutsu: The Yakuza's Son is Aware-Chapter 16: Najimi… Why did you Kill Him?

I lay sprawled on the cold ground as some alien goo poured into my body from every direction.

I couldn’t breathe and was beginning to suffocating.

"I am going to die alone, in the mountain," I thought, as everything slowly blurred.

"Najimi!"

I heard Onii-sama’s voice tear through the silence.

He was filthy. His clothes were torn and mud-streaked, his hair damp with sweat. He looked worn out.

He had been searching for me, apparently.

That day was the first time I ever saw him frown properly, with a palpable, raw concern written all over his face.

Without hesitation, he scooped me up from the ground and held me tightly in his arms.

That fool... in doing so, the black liquid thing began to slither rapidly toward him, reacting like it sensed the contact.

It reached Onii-sama’s body in seconds, but then, just as fast, recoiled and rushed back into mine.

I shrieked, clinging to him, crying as loud as my lungs could let me.

"Shhhh. It’s fine now," Onii-sama whispered as he gently patted my head. "It’s gone."

I looked around frantically, trying to find it. The forest was quiet again. I couldn’t see it anywhere.

I returned my teary gaze to Onii-sama. The water in my eyes blurred his face, but I think he was smiling faintly.

He hugged me again, tighter this time.

"I’m glad I found you."

It hurt so much, knowing what I knew deep down: that thing, whatever it was, had entered Onii-sama’s body. It had to be inside him, like a parasite hiding in its host.

But no matter how many times I begged for tests and checkups later on, the doctors said nothing was wrong. Nothing was inside him.

I looked up at my big brother... then leaned in and kissed him.

His eyes sparkled in surprise. "Why did you do that?"

I answered without hesitation. "Because that’s what people who love each other do. I... I love you, Onii-sama."

He smiled, a soft, thin smile, the kind most people would miss.

"I love Najimi too. Let’s go home now. It’s late. Our parents are worried."

I rode on Onii-sama’s back as he carried me down the mountain.

And I made a vow that day: I would protect him with my life.

I understood what a little bit of loneliness could do to someone after being lost in the mountains for a few hours.

But Onii-sama... he’d been lonely since forever.

I’d always stay by his side... Always.

Until the day that black slime’s influence starts to show.

Because I knew very well... that it wasn’t over yet.

*

My sense of defense toward my elder brother became the fire in my core.

Even as a 6-year-old, I pushed myself hard.

Martial arts, swordsmanship, history, literature; whatever I could get my hands on, I devoured to grow more useful.

So much so, people began to whisper that I was a genius.

*

"You better fix that attitude, Shizuka," said the man in the suit, his smirk showing he had no real respect.

He was referring to the witch’s reaction to the nasty job he’d just offered Father; an affront packaged as a business partnership.

"Forgive her, Takade-san," Father said with a low bow. "We’ll consider the offer and get back to you at a later date."

As they exited the sitting room, the man kept yapping, his words full of the arrogance of someone who thought the Kurosawa family was on its last leg.

Then his eyes fell on Onii-sama, who was crouched nearby, studying a trail of ants with unnatural focus.

"Hehehe," the man sneered. "When are you going to get rid of that sorry excuse for a child? He’s so creepy and strange, I doubt even the orphanage would take him."

He turned fully toward Father.

The witch was already shifting beside him. Her face had gone cold, the dead-eyed expression that rarely surfaced unless someone had crossed a line.

"I hope you’re not planning to make him the heir?" the man scoffed. "You’d better pick someone from the other executives... unless you really want to seal the downfall of the Kurosaw—"

SHNK!

A blade pierced up through his jaw before he could finish.

It skewered straight through his open mouth, the steel gleaming faintly as the tip poked through the top of his skull.

A clean, silent execution.

He sputtered once, blood gushing from his mouth, then collapsed like a discarded puppet.

Father didn’t even flinch.

He looked away and walked calmly back into the house.

My hand was still raised when the witch said, "Najimi... Why did you kill him?" Her terrifying eyes were fixed on the corpse, like she wanted to rip it apart.

"He talked trash about Onii-sama," I replied flatly. "Whoever talks bad about Onii-sama will die."

"You can’t just do that, Najimi..."

"And?" I turned to her, my bloodlust rising. "What are YOU going to do about it?"

Still staring at the corpse, she muttered, "If you kill a man again, Najima, I’ll make sure you never see Ken-chan for a very long time. Mark my words."

Then she walked off to call our men to get rid of the body.

Her threat only made me hate her more. It made me want her dead.

But it also filled me with dread. The day I never see Onii-sama again is the day I die.

I tried to assassinate her several times. But she beat me every single time.

Until I listened to grandfather;

"Najimi-chan, you’ll never win against Shizuka. Her style is unique—custom-made to destroy people."

He opened one eye and added, "Learn from her. Ask her to train you. Maybe then, you’ll stand a chance."

Training with her made me sharper, deadlier. But it didn’t matter: I still couldn’t land a hit on her.

I came to realize something else... The witch actually loves Onii-sama too.

One night, he screamed from a nightmare, and she outran me to check on him.

I saw it in her eyes—