The Truth Behind the Blood

The street was silent.

Not because the war had ended.

But because Renjiro had ended it.

The bodies lay scattered, the air thick with the metallic scent of blood. The neon lights flickered above, bathing the scene in eerie flashes of color.

And in the center of it all, stood Renjiro.

Breathing hard. Hands clenched.

A demon among the dead.

But then—

Akane spoke.

And her words cut deeper than any blade.

The Unspoken Name

“Haruto.”

Renjiro flinched.

The name. That name.

It wasn’t his.

It couldn’t be.

But when he looked into Akane’s eyes, he knew—

It had always been his.

“Stop,” he said, voice hoarse.

But Akane didn’t stop.

“You were never just Renjiro.” Her voice was gentle, but it carried the weight of centuries.

“You were always Haruto. The one who started this. The one who ended it. And the one who…”

She hesitated.

Renjiro’s pulse pounded.

“The one who what?” he demanded.

Akane’s lips parted.

“The one who made me what I am.”

The Ghost’s Revelation

The world tilted.

Renjiro’s hands felt too cold, too numb.

“No.”

He stepped back.

Because he knew what she was saying.

He knew what she meant.

But he refused to believe it.

“I didn’t—”

Akane’s eyes burned with something unreadable.

“You did.”

Renjiro’s breath caught.

He had killed before. Many times.

But not her.

Never her.

Right?

Akane stepped closer. “You don’t remember. But I do.”

Her fingers brushed his cheek. Cold. Too cold.

“You were the one who ended my life, Haruto.”

A Past Buried in Ashes

Renjiro’s mind snapped.

Memories—broken, fragmented— slammed into him.

A shrine, engulfed in flames.

A sword, slick with blood.

A woman, falling.

Akane.

Her.

Renjiro’s breath came in short, sharp gasps.

“No… no, that’s not—”

His fingers dug into his skull.

It couldn’t be true.

But the more he tried to deny it, the more the memories pushed through.

It was him.

He had killed her.

He had loved her.

And then, he had ended her.

The Curse of Love and Death

The weight of it crushed him.

Renjiro staggered, his world splitting apart.

“Why?” His voice cracked. “Why did I—?”

Akane’s expression didn’t change.

“Because you thought you had no choice.”

Renjiro felt sick.

He had spent his life believing he controlled his fate.

But all this time—he had been reliving it.

Falling in love with the same woman.

Losing her again.

And again.

And again.

Akane smiled, but it was a sad, tragic thing.

“This is our curse, Haruto.”

The End of the Yakuza—And Him

Renjiro’s vision blurred.

A curse.

Not just his. Hers, too.

The Yakuza had been his war, his legacy.

And Akane had been his undoing.

He looked around—the bodies, the blood, the ruins of the empire he had built and destroyed.

And finally, he understood.

He had been born again to finish what he started.

Not just the Yakuza.

But himself.

Akane reached out, her hand hovering just over his chest.

“This time, you have a choice.”

Renjiro stared at her.

Because he finally knew—

The only way to end the cycle.

The Final Choice

Renjiro closed his eyes.

Took a slow, deep breath.

And then, he made his decision.

One that would finally end the war.

The Yakuza were already gone.

Now, it was his turn.

End of Episode 12

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