Chapter 90: Fireworks at the Shrine
Perhaps Mariko Yashida had never imagined such a meeting.
As a child, Mariko had always fantasized that one day, someone would come to her through wind and snow — alone, with a sword in hand, a flower in one, and a drink in the other — to free her from the prison that was the Yashida name.
But the strange man now standing on the rooftop before her was nothing like what she had imagined — though he was, arguably, even more handsome than her fantasy.
It had to be said: the Uchiha bloodline had gifted most of its descendants with remarkable appearances — not just superficial beauty, but something more substantial.
The man on the eaves, with long hair flowing in the wind and a sheathed short blade at his side, had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes — exactly the kind of look Mariko liked.
"Who are you?" she asked, still fearful despite herself.
Though the Yashida Group was a legitimate enterprise, it had long-standing conflicts with many other Japanese conglomerates. Mariko had faced assassination attempts before.
So, the man on the roof could be a prince charming — or an assassin sent by a rival organization.
"Who am I? I'm the one who can help you break free from your cage," Uchiha Akira replied, offering an absurdly grand promise. Regardless of what Mariko thought, he was committed to playing the part.
"Don't joke with me… a cage? You don't even know who I am…"
"Don't know what?"
"How did you get behind me?" Mariko turned in shock — Akira, who had just been on the roof, now stood silently right behind her.
"Don't be afraid. At least I'm human — not a ghost."
"Want some teppanyaki?" Akira extended a fresh teppanyaki skewer, still steaming.
The aroma mixed with the heat and savory sauce made it undeniably tempting.
Mariko's mind blanked for a moment. A strange man, appearing out of nowhere, suddenly offering her teppanyaki? What sane person would eat it?
"It's really good!" she said, taking the food and happily digging in.
To Mariko — who had longed to break out of her cage — this absurd, reckless man felt like a beam of light cutting through the night.
After all, she was alone. There was nothing to lose. If he really wanted to hurt her out here in the middle of nowhere, she wouldn't even have time to call the police.
Still, she suddenly remembered — they were in front of the XX Shrine. Eating teppanyaki in front of a shrine… If her father found out, she'd be harshly punished.
"It's just a shame there's no sake," she murmured while nibbling at the food.
"Wait here. Sake's on the way," Akira said casually, summoning a shadow clone and vanishing in a flash.
"Wait for what?" Mariko tilted her head in confusion.
"Ten minutes. You'll have sake in ten minutes."
"Liar," she laughed. "Even if you called someone now, no one could get here that fast. This shrine is far from any supermarket or convenience store."
"A man's promise is worth a thousand gold coins. I never go back on my word. Trust me."
Akira flashed her a charming smile.
"My late mother used to tell me — a man's words are just tricks to deceive women."
"Sake's here." Akira pulled a bottle of sake from behind the shadow clone. "How many bottles do you want?"
"You're kidding, right? Did you hide this ahead of time? So you really are a playboy who sweet-talks women~" Mariko took the sake and drank while finishing her teppanyaki.
Even if he was a playboy… he was still better than her own prison.
"Aren't you going to drink?" she asked.
"I'm not used to sake," Akira said, shaking his head.
"That's nice."
"Hm?" Akira was confused. What's nice?
"I said… it's nice that you're so free. If you don't want to drink, you don't. If you want to stand on the roof, you do. When I was in high school, even choosing a backpack I liked was a luxury."
"I couldn't even confess to the boy I had a crush on. Everyone was afraid of me. They'd smile politely, calling me 'princess' — but behind my back, they called me the Yakuza Princess."
"I really envy how carefree you are…"
A few drinks in, Mariko's words started to flow, and her initial caution faded.
"Hey, hey… why are you here so early in the morning? What are you up to?"
Well, there was a plan — originally, he had come to burn the place down. But then he met this poor girl.
Looking at Mariko — ranting and venting in front of him — Akira began to question if it was too cruel to manipulate someone so pitiable.
A soft blush crept across Mariko's cheeks as she became more animated.
"What's your name?"
"Me? Call me Uchiha Akira."
After thinking for three seconds, he decided to give his real name. His face was already altered (with transformation jutsu), so there was no point in lying about his name too.
"Akira, has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?"
Mariko leaned closer, staring into his large eyes. "Your eyelashes are longer than mine. So jealous."
A faint fragrance from her drifted toward Akira — whether it was natural or perfume, he couldn't tell.
"You're beautiful too, Mariko. Definitely the kind of woman who'd make a great wife and mother," he said honestly.
"Then why aren't you drinking? There's a beautiful woman right in front of you~"
Mariko slowly leaned her head onto Akira's shoulder.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not that kind of woman. Today is probably the most rebellious day of my life. I'm happy. No strict father, no scary grandfather. No one telling me what I can or can't do."
Her words made Akira relax a little too.
"Don't you want to escape all this?" he asked.
"Where can a woman go? Our enemies are everywhere. Running away means death. I don't have the courage to face that."
"Sounds like your background's complicated."
"Oh? Didn't I tell you? I'm the Yashida Group's little princess — the Yakuza Princess. Scared now?"
Mariko, slightly tipsy, waited for his shocked or fearful reaction — maybe even for him to run away.
Everyone else did, once they heard her family name.
"Yashida Group? That's nothing. I'm the head of the Osborn Corporation," Akira replied nonchalantly. "What's so scary about a yakuza group?"
"Akira, the way you lie is really handsome! At least you didn't run away — that's already impressive. The CEO of the Osborn Corporation is Norman Osborn, you know!"
She was already slurring her words.
"I want to see fireworks… No matter the season, fireworks bloom beautifully in an instant."
"You want fireworks, Mariko?"
"Yes, but don't tell me… you prepared fireworks too? That would mean all of this was planned. And if that's true, do you really think you'll get what you want from me?"
"Even if I don't know what you're after — I should warn you, I'm not valued in the Yashida family. You won't get much by using me as leverage."
Even drunk, Mariko was sharp. She knew this man was like a poppy flower — beautiful but dangerous.
Taking her body might be easy… but taking her heart? Not so much.
"Akira, if you can show me a fireworks display that truly touches my heart, then my heart is yours," she said, blushing under the moonlight, brushing her hair back.
"Well, you're in luck. I was planning to make some fireworks tonight. Keep your eyes wide open!" Akira winked, then turned toward the shrine.
"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!"
With an overwhelming surge of chakra, Akira unleashed the massive fire-style jutsu toward the shrine's main building.
"HEY! What are you doing? That's arson!" Mariko was stunned — she had expected a firework show, not literal fire.
"You said you wanted fireworks, didn't you?" Akira replied with a grin.
The enormous fire jutsu engulfed the main building, followed by three more aimed at the surrounding smaller structures.
The mostly wooden shrine went up in flames instantly, turning into a mountain of fire.
Atop Tokyo Tower, Tony Stark was dining with Shingen Yashida. Tony hated having dinner with other men, but Shingen's relentless bowing and apologizing eventually wore him down.
If Akira had been there, he would've told Tony that bowing and apologizing was just normal in Japan — it didn't necessarily mean anything.
"Nice view from Tokyo Tower," Tony said absently. He hadn't wanted to come, but Shingen insisted.
In Tony's opinion, the Tokyo Tower was no different from the Eiffel Tower.
"Is that a fire over there? Looks pretty intense!" Tony noticed the blaze in the distance.
He tapped his glasses — the lenses zoomed in on the fire. Still blurry, but it was definitely a major fire.
Back at the shrine, Akira and Mariko were now trapped in the blaze.
"Are you a mutant? Some kind of fire-controlling power? Did you not think about where we were before starting a fire?"
She wasn't even angry — just annoyed that she might die in such a stupid way.
"I'm not a mutant. But tell me — are you satisfied with this fireworks display?"
Mariko looked at Akira's calm face and suddenly felt at peace.
"It's… beyond my expectations. I have to admit — it's beautiful."
"Then, as promised, Yakuza Princess — your heart is mine."
She walked up to Akira and gently hugged him.
"Yes… my heart is yours. But looks like we're going to die together. I never thought I'd fall for someone I just met… and die with him."
"But I've found that when you're really facing death… it's not so scary."
Then, Akira scooped her up in his arms.
"We're not dying. Hold on tight — we're leaving!"
In a series of swift shunshin movements, Akira escaped the flames, still carrying Mariko in a princess hold.
As for the shrine — the fire was so intense, Tokyo's fire department would be on its way any second.