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BAM!
The SSS office desk shook violently as Yuri slammed his fist down on it. His eyes were wide, and his breathing was heavy.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” Yuri shouted. “THERE MUST BE A MISTAKE! MY SISTER ISN’T AN ASSASSIN!”
Lieutenant Curtis seemed unfazed by Yuri’s outburst. He gently placed a folder on the desk. “The evidence is clear, Lieutenant Briar. We’ve already interrogated her, and she’s admitted it herself—”
“LIES! THOSE ARE ALL LIES!” Yuri shouted again, flinging the folder onto the floor. Its contents are scattered everywhere.
Yuri suddenly froze. “Wait, YOU INTERROGATED HER?! If you’ve hurt my sister, I’ll—”
“File a complaint?” Lieutenant Curtis cut in. “Remember your position, Lieutenant Briar. You could face punitive action if you’re deemed to be obstructing the investigation.”
Yuri fell silent immediately, but his teeth still ground in frustration. He had joined the SSS to protect his sister, and now this was happening.
“But don’t worry, we didn’t subject her to physical torture. We tried, but she kept fighting back. Ten SSS members have already been hospitalized because of your sister.”
Lieutenant Curtis then picked up a sheet of paper from the documents Yuri had dropped, placed it on the table, and showed him a picture of Yor.
“That’s not surprising, since Yor Briar Forger is the Thorn Princess, Garden’s greatest assassin. Just so you know, Garden is an assassin organization that’s practically Ostania’s shadow government. Not even the SSS can mess with them. At that level, the Thorn Princess could easily kill everyone in this building and escape. But she didn’t. We have absolutely no idea why she’s acting this way. That’s where you come in, Lieutenant Briar.”
Yuri growled. “So you mean… You want to use our blood relation to pry information out of her?”
“Blood is thicker than water, Lieutenant Briar,” replied Lieutenant Curtis. “Interrogate her. It’s fine if you end up discussing personal matters as well. If you’re lucky, your sister might provide important information that could lighten her sentence.”
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WALKING TO THE DARK SIDE
Disclaimer: Spy x Family © Tatsuya Endo, inspired by an fic “Godfather” by are.key.take.tour.
Republishing or copying this work for AI training purposes is strictly prohibited.
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Yuri slowly opened the door to the interrogation room. He was alone with his sister, though a listening device was attached to his uniform. They seemed to be given privacy, but they were still being monitored.
Yuri looked at his sister sitting across the table from him. Her face looked much more haggard than before. There was absolutely no trace of the soft smile and bright face that had always brightened Yuri’s days. The older sister she loved most was now sitting there with a pale face and slightly gaunt cheeks. What surprised Yuri a bit was that her older sister was wearing a black dress she had often worn at parties and formal events.
Her eyes, which had seemed vacant, suddenly widened when she saw Yuri. She jumped to her feet, and if it weren’t for her handcuffs, Yuri was sure her sister would have rushed over to him.
“YURI! How did you end up here?!” Yor exclaimed. “Why are you wearing an SSS uniform?! Did they drag you from the ministry and force you to wear that—!”
“No, sis,” Yuri replied quickly. “I don’t work at the ministry anymore. I’m now a member of the SSS, Second Lieutenant Yuri Briar.”
Yor covered her mouth. Her body trembled, and tears welled in her eyes. “Yuri, so all this time… you…”
Yuri felt his heart break as he saw tears in his sister’s eyes. Why did she have to find out about his real job this way?
Yuri did her best to hold back her emotions, then sat down in the interrogator’s chair. She spoke in a cold tone.
“That’s not important right now, Sis. Now tell me who the Thorn Princess is—the bastard who accused you of being an assassin and got you locked up.”
Yor still looked shaken, but she complied and sat across from Yuri. “I am the Thorn Princess, Yuri. It really is me.”
“NO, THIS MUST BE A LIE!” Yuri shouted. “There’s no way my kind and gentle sister could be an assassin! Someone must have framed you!”
“But I really am the Thorn Princess, Yuri—”
“STOP LYING, SISTER!”
“Yuri, I—”
“THIS IS ALL A LIE!”
“Yuri—”
“NONE OF THIS IS POSSIBLE! IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!”
Unable to scream anymore, Yuri slumped down, exhausted. His sister still didn’t deny it.
Yor looked down, then spoke in a choked voice, as if holding back tears. “I’m sorry, Yuri. I’m so sorry….”
Hearing his sister's voice, Yuri tried to soften his tone again. He then asked, his voice trembling, “When, Sis? Since when have you been an assassin?”
“Not long after our parents died,” Yor replied softly. “I do this job to make money….”
That answer pierced Yuri’s heart. It answered all his questions about why his sister always came home covered in blood. It also explained why the documents Lieutenant Curtis had given them included several victims of the Thorn Princess whose dates of death were more than ten years ago.
Yuri felt so stupid. Why didn’t I realize this at all?! I’m the one who made you do that terrible thing!
“Why are you still doing it now?! Are you having financial difficulties, even though you work at City Hall? I’m an adult now, sis! I have my own money! If you need money, you can ask me—!”
“No, Yuri,” Yor interrupted. “I’ve thought about this many times myself. I’m not doing this just for the money, but because I want to protect the peace of the world we live in by getting rid of evil people and traitors to the country.”
Yor’s gaze darkened. “I’m starting to think… my work isn’t as noble as I thought.”
Yuri fell silent. Lieutenant Curtis’s words about Garden returned to him: an assassin organization even more powerful than the SSS. His sister had joined it to support herself and her younger brother, only to be brainwashed into believing murder was a noble calling. Unforgivable.
But that reasoning raised a new question in Yuri’s mind.
“You were an important member of the Garden, weren’t you? Why didn’t they help you after all those years of service? You’re so capable—surely you could have fought off the SSS, escaped, and returned to Garden!”
“I was expelled, Yuri,” Yor replied curtly. “I failed to carry out my mission and messed it up. That was considered treason by Garden. I should be grateful I only ended up in the SSS’s hands. Usually, traitors are eliminated by the Garden itself. There’s no point in me running away from here.”
Yuri clenched his fist tightly. Garden had cast him out—after everything she had done for the organization?
“Mission? What kind of mission did they give you?” Yuri asked. He wondered how difficult the mission must have been for Yor—the Thorn Princess, one of Garden’s best assassins—to fail at it.
There was a moment of silence. Yor seemed hesitant, but finally she answered.
“…I was ordered to kill Loid.”
“Huh?! Lottie?!” Yuri was startled. “Why was Lottie your target? Isn’t he just an ordinary psychiatrist at the hospital?”
Did Lottie secretly commit some major crime that made him a target of the Garden? Like manipulating patient data, or even selling patient data to Westalis? Damn it, I knew he was a scumbag—!
Yor let out a long sigh before continuing. “I can’t tell you everything, but the gist of what I know is that Loid is a spy sent by Westalis. And his real name is… Twilight.”
Hearing that name, Yuri felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. This was worse than he’d imagined. The scumbag the SSS had been searching for all this time—turns out he was his sister’s husband?
“Why didn’t you just kill him?!” Yuri shouted. “He’s an enemy of Ostania! Snap out of it—he must have manipulated you into falling in love with him! All his sweet words and actions this whole time have been nothing but lies!”
Yor remained silent. Then she smiled. “I don’t know if everything Loid has done all this time was a lie or not, but during my last meeting with him… I felt like he wasn’t lying anymore.”
Yuri growled. “How can you be sure that’s not a lie?! People in love usually have a hard time making sound judgments! THAT DAMN TWILIGHT! He must have talked you into turning yourself in so he could run away like a coward! That lying scumbag bastard—!”
“Yuri, that’s enough.” Yor’s voice turned firm. “Please don’t insult Loid any further.”
“YOU’RE STILL DEFENDING HIM?! Even after you were arrested by the SSS because of that bastard’s incitement?! You should be thinking about your own situation—!”
“Why aren’t you thinking about me, Yuri?” Yor cut in suddenly. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Don’t you think about how I feel when I see you wearing an SSS uniform? How do I feel knowing that you’ve been hiding something like this from me?! How is Loid any different from you and me, who’ve been hiding our real jobs all this time?!”
Yuri froze instantly. His tongue was tied, but he tried to respond. “I-it’s different! You and I are doing this for Ostania–!”
“And Loid did that for Westalis, his country!” Yor interrupted again. “We all know this is a hard job, but we all persevere for someone or something important to us. I work as an assassin to create a peaceful world where you can live. The reason I entered into a contract marriage with Loid was that I wanted to put your mind at ease—and to use it as a cover so I could continue doing this job!”
Yor began to sob, covering her face with her hands.
“You shouldn’t have joined the SSS, Yuri…” Yor said through her sobs. “You should have lived a normal life… gotten married… had lots of children… instead of us having no parents… and then lived a long life until you became a grandfather… You should have left this dirty work… to me…”
Yuri’s body trembled at those words. Tears welled in his eyes, and he clenched his fists tightly.
“I SHOULD BE THE ONE SAYING THAT!” Yuri shouted, jumping to his feet. “I know you’ve sacrificed so much for me! You’ve sacrificed your time, energy, and everything for me! That’s why I want you to live happily! I want you to marry a good man, have lots of kids, and live happily until you’re a grandma! That’s why I joined the SSS! I don’t care if people think I’m evil, as long as I can create a peaceful world for you!”
Yuri sat back down with his head bowed and began to sob. “But what happened… because I pressured you to find a boyfriend quickly… You ended up falling into Twilight’s trap… and ended up here… I’m sorry, Sis, I failed to protect you….”
A moment of silence enveloped them, still broken by their sobs. Yuri was the first to stop crying; he wiped his tears with his sleeve and spoke softly.
“Sis, please…” Yuri pleaded. “Tell the SSS everything you know about Twilight. You’ve lived with him for a long time, so you must know a lot about him—his habits, his favorite foods, anything! If you’re willing to provide information, or even help capture Twilight—you could get a reduced sentence!”
“No, Yuri. I won’t do it,” Yor cut in, her sobs having stopped but her face still puffy. “I’m doing all this to save Loid and Anya. If I tell you about that, then what’s the point of me being here?”
“YOU STILL CARE ABOUT HIM?!” he shouted. “I already told you that Twilight—!”
“A spy who threatens Ostania? Yes, I know that, Yuri,” Yor cut in again. “But let me tell you, I did all this of my own free will, Yuri. I was even the one who told Loid to run.”
Yor let out a long sigh before speaking again.
“I know that no matter what I say about Loid, you won’t believe it. But even though my marriage to Loid was a fake marriage, I admit that the time I spent with Loid and Anya was the best time of my life.”
Yor said this with a small smile, brightening even the interrogation room, which should have been tense.
“I don’t regret any of what happened,” Yor said. “I was arrested by the SSS not because Loid was a spy, but because I’m an assassin. Whatever the reason, I’ve killed many people. Because of that, I won’t run from my punishment.”
Yor’s words left Yuri speechless. He wanted to argue or ask more questions, but he stayed silent.
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Yuri scratched his head in frustration. Even though he’d read a dozen books on the law, he still couldn’t see a clear path forward.
The SSS faced pressure from several sides, even though the case was hidden from the public. Many of the Thorn Princess’s victims had committed crimes that made them deserving of being labeled traitors to the state, but they also had colleagues or relatives in high-ranking positions across various sectors. Those people demanded that the Thorn Princess be punished as severely as possible.
Yuri’s interrogation of Yor yielded nothing of substance. Thorn Princess knew about Twilight, but she refused to provide any information. As a result, the SSS no longer had a strong case for keeping Thorn Princess alive. The worst-case—yet most likely—scenario was execution by electric chair.
Still, Yuri wouldn’t give up. He would rack his brain to find a legal loophole to prevent that from happening to his sister.
Forced labor? The sentence was relatively short, but most people who served it ended up with permanent physical or mental disabilities. Even though my sister was strong, I couldn’t let her endure such a harsh punishment.
Life imprisonment? If she was lucky, she might get parole after 20–30 years. But what if she didn’t qualify? I didn’t want her spending the rest of her life in a cold, dirty prison.
Exiled to a remote place or banished overseas? That might be better. At least she wouldn’t be locked up. But would it be okay for her to live all alone like that?
“Ever since you got a job and started living on your own, to be honest, I’ve been feeling a little lonely….”
Damn it, am I supposed to let her live like that again?!
“Yuri?”
The voice snapped Yuri out of his thoughts. He saw Chloe walk into his office and call his name.
“What are you doing here? It’s 1 a.m.–!”
“I should be asking that, Lieutenant Briar. You’ve been at the office for three days straight, even though nothing is forcing you to stay overtime,” Chloe said sharply.
“None of your business!” Yuri snapped, looking away.
Chloe only sighed. Lieutenant Curtis’s words echoed in her mind.
“Keep an eye on Lieutenant Briar. Make sure he doesn’t do anything reckless.”
“Are you still thinking about your sister?” Chloe asked, trying to sound sympathetic.
Yuri didn’t answer. But suddenly he stood up. He walked toward the door, grabbing his gun as he went.
“Hey, where are you going?!” Chloe called out.
“I need to talk to my sister one more time,” Yuri said. “I have to get information about Twilight from her.”
“Now?! You won’t be allowed into the prison at this hour! Your sister’s still holding firm after interrogation, isn’t she?! I know she’s your sister, but don’t force her—” Chloe exclaimed.
“I have to make her talk about Twilight. It’s the only way she can survive execution,” Yuri said, still walking. “I’ll do whatever it takes to save her, even if it means risking my life.”
Chloe shuddered at those words. She immediately grabbed Yuri’s arm, stopping him.
“Don’t tell me… you’re going to threaten to kill yourself if your sister keeps refusing?!” Chloe exclaimed, eyes wide. “You’re crazy! She’ll hate you if you go through with that!”
“That’s better than being executed, right?!” Yuri shot back.
“Still! If you go that far, I won’t let you go! I’ll report you to Lieutenant Curtis!” Chloe retorted.
Yuri gritted his teeth. “Fine! I have another option! I’ll make up a story that Twilight or the Chihuahua Girl is in danger, so my sister breaks out and kills anyone who gets in her way—!”
“That’s just as crazy! You could get your teammates killed—!” Chloe exclaimed.
“Then what am I supposed to do to save my sister?!” Yuri shouted. “Chloe, tell me now! How can I save her from execution?!”
Chloe fell silent. She couldn’t bring herself to answer Yuri.
“There isn’t one, is there? This is the only way!” Yuri shouted again. “Now there are only two choices: risk my life or the lives of the entire SSS—!”
Their argument was cut short when an alarm suddenly blared from the SSS’s underground prison.
Yuri and Chloe rushed toward the sound. When they reached the prison, they found many guards sprawled across the floor.
Yuri glanced at the wounds. They were clearly caused by a sharp weapon, not a firearm or anything of the sort.
Who did this? WISE? Or—
Yuri’s heart raced. He recalled the documents he’d read about Garden. As an assassin organization, they rarely used firearms because they made too much noise. They were so skilled that bladed weapons at close to medium range were enough to kill their targets.
Was this Garden’s doing? Did they come to save my sister? Or could it be…
Yuri rushed into the prison cells, ignoring Chloe’s screams and the corpse he stepped on. He reached the cell where Yor was being held. The cell was unlocked, so he entered immediately without a key.
Breathless, Yuri saw Yor standing in the middle of the cell, frozen in place. He quickly threw his arms around his older sister.
“SIS! Are you okay?! I was so shocked—!”
Yuri’s words stopped when he felt blood soak his shirt. He saw a large hole in the left side of Yor’s chest, where her heart should have been. Her body slumped the next second.
“SISTER–!”
Yuri caught his sister’s body and gently laid her down in his arms. Yor’s eyes were still open, but her breathing was labored. Her body was already growing cold.
“SISTER?! SISTER?!” Yuri cried out desperately.
Yor’s hand suddenly rose, gently caressing Yuri’s cheek. Yor gazed at Yuri’s face as a single tear trickled down her cheek. Her lips, which were also bleeding, whispered a single word very softly.
“... I’m sorry…”
Yor’s hand slowly slipped away from Yuri’s cheek, then fell to the floor. Yor’s eyes went blank. Her breathing had stopped.
After that, Yuri couldn’t remember what happened. Yuri only remembered a strange sensation in his body.
His ears were ringing.
His throat hurt.
Several hands began to hold his body; some were shaking his shoulders. Yuri caught a glimpse of Chloe’s panicked face, and her mouth seemed to be moving, as if she were saying something. But Yuri couldn’t hear her at all.
Only then did Yuri realize that the pain in his throat and the ringing in his ears were caused by his own screaming.
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Yuri could only recall fragments of what he went through after that day. His body felt weightless, his steps were unsteady, and everything seemed gray.
He remembers Lieutenant Curtis patting his shoulder and saying, “It took a lot of effort to convince the higher-ups to allow your sister to be buried in a civilian cemetery.” He remembers the funeral. He stood frozen in front of the closed coffin where his sister lay. He remembers Dominic and Camilla being there, shaking his shoulder and saying something—though Yuri can’t recall what they said.
He remembers standing before the headstone inscribed with the name Yor Forger, with the dates of birth and death written below it. He remembers walking in the drizzle, with Chloe pulling his hand, guiding him away from the cemetery. Until finally, when Yuri regained full consciousness, he was already back in his apartment, dry and alone, as if the world had shut away his prison-cell mind.
He was sitting on the sofa, facing a wall covered with photos of his older sister.
His older sister Yor was the only family he had.
His older sister Yor, who had lived a life of darkness for years for his sake.
His older sister Yor had left this world.
Leaving him alone.
All alone.
“Sis. . .”
A single tear rolled down Yuri’s cheek.
“I’m sorry. . . I’m so sorry…”
Yuri began to sob. His tears flowed more heavily.
"After everything I've done... I really thought I was strong enough to protect you... But in the end... I failed. I FAILED!"
Yuri screamed even louder, wailing in front of his sister's photo. He cried and cried until finally he lay limp on the sofa, exhausted.
As his consciousness faded, random memories swirled through his mind. Until finally, a new memory surfaced—still featuring Camilla and Dominic shaking his body at the funeral. But this time, Yuri could make out what Camilla was saying.
“What happened?! How could Yor die?! Where’s Yor’s husband?! Why didn’t he come?!”
Those questions instantly snapped Yuri back to consciousness, as if an electrical wire in his head that had previously been severed was now reconnected. Yuri’s thoughts began racing again, faster than the speed of light. His body instantly sat up straight again. The four walls of his cell suddenly felt real.
“Twilight...” Yuri whispered.
Loid Forger, you said you’d protect my sister from a rain of spears, bullets, even meteors. Where’s the proof? Instead, you let your wife get captured and ran away like a coward!
Damn it, I forgot he’s Twilight. He’s been pretending to be a charming, good man all this time just to win my sister over for his mission! Then, once she was no longer useful, he discarded her. Unforgivable!
Loid Forger’s face flashed through his mind. Yuri immediately felt disgusted. All the kindness he’d shown all this time—from being a good husband and father to cooking delicious meals, doing household chores, and even protecting Yor from a terrorist’s gun—it was all just Twilight’s cunning scheme to perfectly portray Loid Forger.
You’re a vile bastard, Twilight....
Yuri growled. His eyes bulged. His breath came in gasps; his chest was no longer constricted by sobs, but by a massive, raging fire. That fire consumed Yuri’s entire body with rage.
“I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you….”
Yuri repeated those words over and over.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’LL KILL YOU!”
Yuri screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing through the room. A new purpose was born in his life: he would avenge Yor and kill Twilight.
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“Good, Yuri Briar. Direct your rage at Twilight, at WISE, and at Westalis. Let that rage fuel your vow to avenge your sister and destroy all of Westalis to ashes….”
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END