Chapter Nine: Unfavorable:

All three adults sat in the living room. Aiguo eyed them from the recliner.

“What do you want?” Tsuzuki asked, glaring. Aiguo pressed his fingers together.

“I will get to the heart of the matter,” he said. “My name is Aiguo and I am the head of Viper’s Teeth.”

Tsuzuki raised an eyebrow. “Viper’s Teeth as in the Hong Kong mob?”

“Correct. Are you familiar with the legend of the 300,000 demons locked away in Hell?”

“Yes. They were destroying Asia and had to be sealed away.”

“Good, saves a long story to tell.”

“What’s your point?” Anna asked.

“The gate is crumbling,” Aiguo said. The couple looked rather confused.

“What?” they asked. The mob boss slicked back his hair.

“The gate keeping the monsters in will not hold for long. The atomic bombs distorted the gate’s composition. My lab is struggling to keep it closed.”

“And… what does this have to do with Kirika-chan?” Tsuzuki asked.

“She’s the key,” Aiguo said. Both “parents’” jaws dropped.

“What did you say?” Tsuzuki asked.

“Well, more actually, her father was half of the key.” Aiguo straightened his back. “You know about the child’s parents, yes?”

“Yes.”

“And understand what that could possibly mean, right?”

“How do you know Kirika-chan is the key?”

“We don’t.” Aiguo’s facial expression became grim. “Which is why we need to run tests on her ASAP. We need to know for certain.”

“No!” Anna barked. Her husband turned to her with big eyes.

“Anna?” he asked.

“You understand what’s at stake here,” Aiguo said.

“I do,” she said. “But I also did my homework about your gang. Your experiments are barbaric! Most of your test subjects died or ended up in a coma! I will not let you run your tests on a baby!”

“But if we don’t test her soon, countless lives will be at stake!”

“It can’t be worth a baby’s suffering!” Tsuzuki tilted his head as Anna spoke. At dinner, she wouldn’t even look at the little girl. Aiguo pressed his hand against his forehead.

“This is most unfortunate,” he said. “And here I was expecting to get the key back in a reasonable manner tonight.” Aiguo sat up, sighing. “Look, we are all pressed for time here. I will give you two weeks to change your mind.”

“And if we don’t?” Tsuzuki asked. Aiguo sighed.

“Then I’ll have to use force,” he said.

“Please leave,” the shinigami said, breathing to calm himself down. The mob waved him off.

“Fine,” he said. “I will see myself out.” Aiguo stood up and turned towards the door. However, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “Remember, I will be back in two weeks’ time. If you refuse me again, I will take the baby by force. Have a good night.” The couple was left with a bitter taste in their mouths as the front door slammed shut.