YOZAKURA FAMILY
MISSION 37 REFUSAL
Morning.
Oh?
No one's around.
Huh?
PLEASE DON'T LOOK FOR ME KYOICHIRO
What's up with this?
Hey, good morning, Mutsumi.
Morning!
Are you feeling better now?
Yes. As you can see, I'm much better now.
Taiyo!
Don't touch that paper--
Huh?
Whoa!
BIG BRO KYOICHIRO
He ran away?
This was written late last night.
Aside from us, I'm not picking up any signs of life in the house,
so no question, he's run away for the first time in ages.
The first time in ages?
Huh?
For some reason, I'm feeling limp.
Oh...
I knew it.
Huh?
I call it the "De-Kyoichiro Effect."
In the absence of Big Bro Kyoichiro, the leader of the Yozakura siblings,
everyone undergoes a series of mental and physical changes.
In your case, Big Bro Taiyo,
your muscle tension, heart rate, and breathing all went down 70%.
It's a reaction to the stress
of Big Bro Kyoichiro's constant surveillance, harassment, and bullying.
Oh, my poor Taiyo!
You'll be fine now!
Isn't that kind of insulting to Big Bro Kyoichiro?
Anyway, what you just said, Big Sis Shion...
It's the first time in ages?
Oh, you see...
Big Bro Kyoichiro
has been known to up and vanish over the most trivial thing.
Most trivial thing?
It depends on the situation.
But for example...
when he just got a brand-new suit...
and he got caught in the rain.
Does he really have a heart of glass like that?
Or when someone pilfered his secret stash of chocolate.
You were the one behind that, right?
He once disappeared
when he couldn't snap apart his chopsticks cleanly.
Talk about too fragile!
Well, he did always have a delusional side.
Come to think of it, he was like that at the start.
Well, he's bound to come home in a little while.
But don't let your guard down.
He may take offense for no reason,
but since he still wants our attention...
Huh?
...he leaves reminders of himself all over the place.
So he's super high-maintenance!
Like tampering with the clocks.
Kyoichiro!
Or inscribing his name everywhere.
Like, how precious is that?
Okay, it's a horror show.
Just look at the ceiling.
I'M WATCHING YOU
We'll make him clean it up himself when he gets back.
There's still so much that I don't know about him.
Well, you can just sit back and relax for now, Taiyo!
SHONEN STEP
When Big Bro's not around, things get lax for me, too.
I always have to watch myself, or he won't stop nagging.
Mutsumi, your grooming!
Your posture! Your language!
I see he puts you through a lot, too, Mutsumi.
My nerves are always on edge
making sure that moron doesn't bug you and Mutsumi.
My whole face has gone crazy slack.
No, that's way too slack.
Lately, he's asked me to do maintenance on his Steel Spider,
like, a hundred times,
so knowing that I have the day off today is a relief.
Well, I did some rewarding work, so it's all good.
No, it's not good at all! Don't you see that he's running you ragged?
Well, it's a huge relief knowing I won't have to see that smirking face today.
I thought I'd upgraded the Old Man Hunter,
but even though it's totally not working, I'm not annoyed in the least!
So you say, but your face is bright red.
Lately, my skin's been breaking out a little due to that mysterious racket.
If I can start getting some quality sleep, I won't get any more pimples,
so that's one less worry.
Actually, that has nothing to do with Big Bro Kyoichiro, does it?
Since it means that
I won't have to fight off Big Bro Kyoichiro night after night
trying to steal Big Sis Mutsumi's hair samples, I'm thrilled!
So it's all connected!
That was disrupting his sleep!
Wait, but isn't that way beyond pervert level?
That's what he was doing night after night?
All right! You two go off on a date.
At times like these, you need to let it all go!
Kengo, you're letting yourself go too much.
A date, huh?
Sounds good! Let's go!
Shopping!
Just look at Goliath's fur.
Is this the "De-Kyoichiro Effect," too?
But do you think Big Bro Kyoichiro's really okay?
He's not picking up the phone.
Oh, he'll be back before you know it, so no worries.
Big Bro's always so mean to you,
but you never complain and always treat him with kindness.
Thanks. Don't overdo it, okay?
Hey, I'm not overdoing it all.
He'll probably get bored of running away and be back tomorrow.
Then we should enjoy ourselves while we can, huh?
Did he really run away?
Taiyo?
I know I just heard that.
But...
how would he know about Big Bro Kyoichiro?
My bad, Taiyo. I've found something.
There was unauthorized access
into the Old Man Hunter Deluxe system last night.
Those glitches were caused by the security program kicking in.
Access from the family network,
all evidence completely erased.
It was Kyoichiro.
I have no clue why he would use the system behind my back,
but since he did, it's clear what his goal was.
We were all distracted by Kyoichiro's usual attention-seeking traps,
but just now, I noticed that something was off.
There was a family photo over there.
But Kyoichiro took it with him.
Big Bro Kyoichiro...
He was so thorough about keeping his weapons in good shape.
Don't tell me...
Tracking Kyoichiro would be virtually impossible
even for top-tier spies.
But as we're siblings, we can predict where he'd go based on his habits.
But he's being really thorough this time and acting abnormally.
Yeah, he totally excluded all the vendors and routes that we know of.
Normally, he leaves everything to me,
but this time, there were tons of specific instructions and retakes.
That's never happened before.
Don't tell me that idiot...
Big Bro Kyoichiro...
Got to hand it to Shion's system.
It detected multiple targets
with abnormal levels of someinine in this area.
They're here, aren't they? The former heads.
I'm going to annihilate the roots that are consuming Mutsumi.
I saw that move coming.
Now that you're a monster, have you lost your nerve?
I soaked my Steel Spider
in the someinine substance emitted from Taiyo's body.
Taiyo's blade, which had received Tsubomi's blood,
cut right through Itsuwa, who was revived by Tsubomi's blood.
And so these threads, too, will be able to cut through you.
Drunk on your superhuman powers, you're too rusty now, Dad, to stop them.
There's no need to put the family in danger.
I'll settle this score.
There's still time if you act now. Turn back.
I'm the one who stands between you and my siblings.
I never had a path of retreat...
from the start.
Sharp. Deep.
Good thrust.
That's precisely why I'm so sad I can't bear it.
That this will spell the end for you.
The past heads of the Yozakura family.
Puppets who were resurrected as Tsubomi's roots.
If I can wipe them all out, Mutsumi...
will be released from Tsubomi's curse.
We gathered here to talk to you, and you're leaving already?
Are you spooked by the thought of killing your own son?
We're already done talking.
You can each carry on as planned.
This is all for Lady Tsubomi.
You make it sound as if you're the one who knows best.
What an impudent man.
Now, then.
I commend you for your boldness in thwarting our meeting
so you can protect your younger sister.
That said, it's so foolish of you.
Should you perish here, the current Yozakuras will be gutted.
The 10th head, Mutsumi, will fall into our clutches.
You're our blood, so we won't torture you.
We'll bring you down fair and square, as Yozakuras should.
If you have any last words or farewell poems, I'll hear them now.
No need for that.
Since I'll be leaving soon.
All right, who's on milk duty first?
Only peaceful methods, all right?
All right, let's be fair and go in order. Kyoichiro, you're first.
Children, stop resorting to force.
I love all of my siblings.
And my younger sister with blue-black hair,
who'll take over as head of the Yozakuras,
was even more special to me.
The pretext of protecting the head
fanned the flames of my pride as her elder brother.
Mutsumi herself was my reason for existing.
As if she were a princess and I was the knight protecting her.
But that was a ludicrous misconception.
How's Mutsumi?
I think that physically, she's recovered.
Don't you overdo it, either, Nanao.
Big Bro, let's play cat's cradle together.
You're still on bed rest, Mutsumi.
Go back to your room.
Just for a little while.
Please? All right?
It's your turn, Mutsumi.
Um...
what am I supposed to do?
Oh, yes, that's right!
You weren't the fastest learner, were you, Mutsumi?
Remember how you often tangled up my arms and fingers?
Well, a lot of the time, I was doing that on purpose.
You naughty girl.
I've taken charge of Mom's accounts.
I've also transferred ownership of the other assets,
and I've notified our business partners.
We'll be able to carry out
the Yozakura affairs as we always have
without a single hitch.
Mutsumi.
I'm fine.
I can't sit around crying.
And I need to able to wipe my own tears myself.
Even if Dad and Mom are no longer with us,
this is still the same house where we all lived in such happiness.
Just like you all protect me,
I've got to protect the Yozakura family.
Because I'm...
the Yozakura head.
I was ashamed of myself.
I was merely watching over her as my sister
with the tunnel vision of an elder brother,
so I'd never seen the hidden strength in that delicate form of hers.
Deep, gentle, immense.
The only thing that I can do for Mutsumi...
I'm not protecting Mutsumi.
She's protecting all of us.
I just need to be her blade.
The deep, sharp blade
of my revered head and beloved sister.
BLACK THREAD
Detecting faint tremors.
An underground battle is being waged nearby.
Don't tell me he's really...
When I restored the data deleted from the Old Man Hunter Deluxe,
I was able to pinpoint
massive amounts of someinine in this area.
There's no question.
He's confronting either Dad or the former heads.
I was able to analyze the tremors.
1344 by 399.
Magnitude 81.
That's where Kyoichiro is.
Mutsumi and Goliath, stand by.
The rest of us will...
charge!
Big Bro Kyoichiro!
They're all knocked out?
The someinine levels are falling.
Soon, they're all going to fade away.
No way.
Actually, this is how strong Big Bro Kyoichiro is.
At any rate, thank goodness you're safe.
Stay away from me.
Big Bro?
Kyoichiro.
I won't censure you for jumping the gun this time.
But...
what did you just do to your own brother?
I have nothing to say.
And...
...you won't be seeing me anymore.
Forgive me.
Big Bro Kyoichiro...
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