Tokyo: The story begins with a confession.

Page 25

"Drink!" Uesugi Kenichi saw through Busujima Saeko's intentions, but he showed no intention of backing down. He attacked again, slashing at her shoulder with his sword. However, he found that Busujima Saeko changed her previous retreat in the face of this attack. Instead of retreating, she advanced, sliding forward and stabbing his heart with her sword.

"Hahaha, come on!"

Trying to trade injury for injury? This crazy woman!

Kenichi Uesugi cursed inwardly as he looked at Saeko Busujima's fanatical and excited laughter. If it were a true life-or-death struggle, this injury could be easily replaced. He was confident that he could bring Saeko Busujima down with only minor injuries.

But this woman was crazy, and he wasn't; he didn't intend to kill her with a single blow.

His sudden dodge put him on the defensive!

Saeko Busujima pressed her advantage relentlessly, rapidly wielding her wooden sword, slashing horizontally and diagonally, one strike after another as she hacked at Kenichi Uesugi, her face growing increasingly excited.

However, Uesugi Kenichi's raw strength was clearly superior, and he blocked every single one of Saeko Busujima's attacks.

After a few more moves, the two wooden swords clashed again. Saeko Busujima gasped for breath; the intense clashes had already taken their toll on her stamina. If this continued, she would inevitably lose.

Her eyes narrowed, and taking advantage of the collision, she slashed forward, the blade cutting straight at Uesugi Kenichi's wrist, trying to force him to put down the wooden sword!

"I won!"

"Too naive!" Uesugi Kenichi shouted. He was now truly enraged. Every move and every strike from this woman was a life-or-death struggle against him, as if she were his father's killer!

Faced with this slashing attack, he released the wooden sword with his right hand under Saeko Busujima's astonished gaze. The wooden sword paused briefly in the air before he grabbed it with his left hand, while simultaneously striking Saeko Busujima's wooden sword with his right elbow.

Before Busujima Saeko could even get up, he stumbled and lost his balance. He lunged forward and swung his sword with his left hand, slashing at Busujima Saeko's shoulder. Before she could get up, the tip of his sword was aimed at her throat. Although it was a wooden sword, if he wanted, Busujima Saeko would instantly become a corpse.

The air finally quieted down, a deathly stillness descended, and even the moon hid behind the dark clouds.

Saeko Busujima lay quietly on the ground, the bloodlust and excitement in her eyes slowly subsiding. Only now did she seem to realize what she had done.

"It seems I'm being controlled by desire," Saeko Busujima chuckled self-deprecatingly. Ever since she caught a whiff of Kenichi Uesugi's aura, it felt as if a demon was constantly whispering in her mind, urging her to kill and destroy.

She looked at the wooden knife resting on her throat, then at Uesugi Kenichi, whose bright eyes were shrouded in shadow and only visible in the shadows, and suddenly laughed.

"You won. I'm very sorry for causing you so much trouble. I'll give you my life as compensation."

Once she regained consciousness, she truly felt she had no face to live in this world as a human being anymore.

She craved violence and killing; she couldn't even forgive herself for it.

If it had been someone else instead of Uesugi Kenichi today, I might have died by her blade.

She had long been aware of that urge to commit violence, but she dared not tell anyone. The more she suppressed and hid this impulse, the stronger it became, like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.

Kenichi Uesugi was the fuse that ignited the fire, but even without Kenichi Uesugi, this powder keg would have exploded sooner or later.

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Reason to Live

Kenichi Uesugi quietly looked at Saeko Busujima lying on the ground; she seemed to have regained her composure.

"Why would I kill you? Do you want to put me in jail?" He moved the knife away. Why is it that none of the girls he meets are even remotely normal?

Saeko Busujima was stunned for a moment after hearing Kenichi Uesugi's words, then chuckled to herself, "I was inconsiderate. I will take my own life."

Just as she was about to get up, a sharp pain shot through her left shoulder, causing her to furrow her brow.

Kenichi Uesugi helped Saeko Busujima up, annoyed. "Don't talk about death all the time. Why don't you just live a good life?"

"Does someone like me even deserve to live in this world?" Saeko Busujima's eyes were filled with confusion; she even loathed herself for being like this.

Kenichi Uesugi sensed the confusion in Saeko Busujima's tone. She was a completely different person from the one she had just spoken to. Was there some reason for this situation? He was curious.

However, he didn't ask anything; he wasn't one to pry.

Saeko Busujima turned to look at Kenichi Uesugi, who was standing right in front of her, and gave him an extremely gentle smile. "May I call you by your name?"

Uesugi Kenichi shrugged indifferently; he didn't care much about how he was addressed.

"Kenichi-kun, is there anything you'd like to ask?"

"No, if you want to talk, I can listen."

"Just as those people at school said, Kenichi is a very charming person." Saeko Busujima chuckled after a moment of silence. Her deep purple hair gave her a unique charm, like a blooming poppy.

"Hey, you know what? I've almost killed someone." Saeko Busujima's gaze turned deep as she began to recall.

Kenichi Uesugi's expression hardened as he silently looked at Saeko Busujima.

"It was probably four years ago. On my way home at night, a man tried to attack me. Of course, he didn't succeed. I was carrying a wooden knife at the time, and when he tried to attack me, I slashed hard at the man's shoulder blade and thigh bone."

"After the police learned what had happened, they took me home directly. Because I was a minor, there was no punishment."

"Since that's the case, it's just self-defense, or perhaps excessive self-defense. What's there to be bothered about? Of course, scum should be taught a lesson, especially scum who dares to lay a hand on women." Uesugi Kenichi looked up at the sky, where the moonlight was now peeking through the clouds.

"That's right, if it were just that, it wouldn't be worth my concern, but that's not the only thing bothering me."

Saeko Busujima lowered her head. "At the time, I felt very happy. Even though I had seriously injured someone, I felt extremely joyful."

“Actually, things didn’t have to turn out this way, but at the time I was holding a wooden knife and knew I had an absolute advantage, so I pretended to be scared to lure the man into taking action. When the man was about to assault me, I fought back without hesitation.”

"That feeling was extremely pleasant, a pleasure I had never experienced before."

"This is the real me!"

"This is the true nature of me, Saeko Busujima: intoxicated by power and finding pleasure in violence!" Saeko Busujima said, becoming increasingly agitated before gradually calming down.

Kenichi Uesugi looked at Saeko Busujima in silence.

“I know that was wrong. I have been suppressing the impulse in my heart ever since then, but it seems that the more I suppress it, the more serious the situation becomes. Now I can no longer suppress it, so I lost my mind after feeling the aura on Qian Yijun.”

Saeko Busujima looked at the silent Kenichi Uesugi and gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Do you think there's any point in me living like this?"

Snapped!

He slapped Saeko Busujima across the face, leaving a bright red handprint on her stunningly beautiful face that haunted the dreams of countless men.

How ridiculous! To give up one's life for such a reason?

"Don't underestimate the value of life. There are countless people who, even when enduring pain ten thousand times greater than yours, still manage to live on with every ounce of their strength. What right do you have to trample on other people's respect for life?"

Kenichi Uesugi's face was filled with anger. He had seen far too many people who, even when they saw no hope, never gave up and used every ounce of strength to live, clinging to that last bit of hope even if they were like ants.

In his view, Saeko Busujima was not beyond redemption. Everyone has a dark side in their heart, but what makes a person human is this dark side. Under the constraints of morality and law, most people can restrain themselves.

Since she is still able to restrain herself under such circumstances, then what she is doing now is nothing more than a denial of herself.

The pressure only intensifies because I am unwilling to accept myself as I am, hate myself as I am, and dare not talk to others about it.

Saeko Busujima covered her face and stared speechlessly at Kenichi Uesugi, completely stunned. "But I can no longer find a reason or motivation to live."

"You lost to me in this duel, so your life is now in my hands." Uesugi Kenichi wasn't good at comforting people, so he said forcefully.

You said you had no reason to live, and I'll give you that reason!

"Since you love fighting so much, then from now on, become the sword in my hand and live for me," Uesugi Kenichi said, pinching Busujima Saeko's face hard.

Despite being treated so roughly, Saeko Busujima felt no anger whatsoever. Her face flushed instantly, and she even wanted to be treated more roughly.

Her face was flushed, and she looked at Uesugi Kenichi with a dazed expression. "Then from now on, please let me be the sword in your hand. Please use me as you please. I will fight for you forever, until the last moment of my life!"

Kenichi Uesugi breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Saeko Busujima had been fooled by him. If Saeko Busujima had committed suicide after fighting him, who would he have to complain to? He didn't want his new life to begin with a life on the run.

"Let's go then." He checked the time and realized it was almost 12 o'clock.

Where do you live?

“In Chiyoda Ward.” Saeko Busujima stared intently at Kenichi Uesugi, her gaze somewhat morbid, as if she could see no one else but him.

Kenichi Uesugi frowned. Chidashiro Ward wasn't far from here, and even by taxi, it would take quite a while at this hour, not to mention that Saeko Busujima was injured.

He glanced at Saeko Busujima, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Can you stay at my place tonight?"

“Of course,” Saeko Busujima replied without hesitation.

"Let's go then." He glanced at Saeko Busujima's unsteady gait and reached out to support her.

Saeko Busujima leaned against Kenichi Uesugi, her face full of adoration, and said, "Okay."

Chapter 57 A Woman Like a Yamato Nadeshiko (Seeking Flowers)

Back at the apartment, Kenichi Uesugi opened the door and went inside. "The apartment is a bit small, please don't mind."

Saeko Busujima said nonchalantly, "Why would I care? I'd be happy even if I lived on the street with Kenichi-kun."

She glanced at the layout of the room, and before Uesugi Kenichi could make a move, she knelt down to help him take off his shoes.

“I can do it myself.” Uesugi Kenichi glanced at Busujima Saeko with some embarrassment. She was not used to having someone help her change her shoes, and the contrast between Busujima Saeko’s current virtuous wife and loving mother appearance and her earlier behavior was too great.

"This is what I should do, please let me do it?" Saeko Busujima looked at Kenichi Uesugi with pleading eyes.

In her view, this was something she should do, and that was how she was in her traditional understanding. Contrary to her outward appearance, she was a typical Yamato Nadeshiko-like woman, well-versed in the ways of a wife.

Seeing her determined look, Uesugi Kenichi remained silent for a moment before letting her do as she pleased.

He looked down at Saeko Busujima, then examined her under the bright light.

She had deep purple hair, a cold and aloof face, and a strong, unapproachable air about her. Her figure was incredibly impressive, with a pair of high, firm breasts that seemed out of place for a high school girl; it was practically unfair.

Of all the people he had met, only Kasumigaoka Utaha could rival him in terms of figure. Kasumigaoka Utaha's strength lay in her curvaceous body proportions and her perfect black stockings legs. As for Kato Megumi, let's ignore that topic.

He chuckled inwardly, feeling an indescribable sense of satisfaction at having such a beautiful woman serve him by taking off his shoes.

After helping Kenichi Uesugi take off his shoes, Saeko Busujima looked around the room and found it very clean, leaving her unsure of where to begin.

In her eyes, whether Uesugi Kenichi is poor or rich, kind or evil, she will stay by his side and help him handle everything.

Saeko Busujima acted as if she were the lady of the house, without any sense of restraint. After rummaging through the cabinet for tea leaves, she brewed a cup of tea and placed it on the table. Then, after looking at the contents of the refrigerator, she asked, "Kenichi-kun, are you hungry? Let me make you something to eat."

At this moment, Uesugi Kenichi seemed to have become a guest, appearing somewhat reserved.

"It's late, no need to work anymore, get some rest."

Saeko Busujima, her pretty face flushed, lowered her head and softly replied, "Okay, then I'll go run the water for you to take a bath."

She ran to the bathroom and found there was no bathtub, so she turned on the water to test the temperature before coming out.

"The water is hot, you can wash directly." As she spoke, she opened the cabinet and picked out a nightgown for Uesugi Kenichi, even taking out his underwear without any hesitation.

Uesugi Kenichi: "..."