It's possible... As I said, they don't share the actual job. Midori is Akiko's personal assistant, where Chiaki was her bodyguard. However, Midori was not hired until after a few run-ins with the Lair Legion.


I don't recall that happening in a story, and I don't believe it would be a good thing to introduce. Regardless of any personal relationship, there was a definite chain of command to be respected, and Chiaki doesn't strike me as one who would take an insulting action in front of an audience.

Masamune plays a delicate game when it comes to her self image in that she does not usually go out of her way to threaten and inspire fear in those she deals with, like other crime bosses might. However, the world of organized crime is one where the jackals are always circling, looking for signs of weakness, and if she doesn't keep up a powerful front she'll have to spend time and resources fighting them back. Chiaki would know that, and be smart enough not to contribute to any appearance of weakness by displaying open insubordination.




As I mentioned before, Akiko looks for the right shaped peg to fill each hole. If she wanted someone killed, she would not mention it to Chiaki at all, as Chiaki doesn't want to kill. It is no great trouble to find someone who does.




I would doubt that Akiko has outright lied to Chiaki... but I see no reason why she would have told her everything she was doing as well. As far as the sister aspect goes, if Chiaki saw her as a big sister then it's quite plausible that Akiko specifically shielded Chiaki from the dirtier aspects of the business so that the samurai could keep her hands relatively clean.

From Akiko's perspective, she gave Chiaki all sorts of advantages, made honorable use of her talents, never asked her to do anything that went against her nature, and allowed her to walk away to live her life after it was over. If Chiaki should disapprove of how Akiko handles the rest of her affairs and turn on her, using what she learned in Akiko's service against the crime boss, then Chiaki would be the one leading a great betrayal.

Akiko is not and has never been a "good" person. She was created to be a antagonist, albeit a reasonable one. She is dangerous, and she is a criminal, but she has shown a sense of honor and has generally been left alone by the LL because there are far worse that could take her place. Rupert's assessment of her mental make-up is largely correct... Akiko is broken on the inside, and there are some things she's simply not capable of... and true empathy is one of them. She is missing a big piece of what many would call a soul, and compensates through extraordinarily disciplined thinking, often passing up the immediate gratification in exchange for long-term goals.

There's no reason that Chiaki could not be aware of that, or even admire her for her discipline. She may fear that one day her mentor may be pushed too far and lose her grip on that discipline that keeps her from becoming a truly sadistic monster... fearing as much for her friend as she fears what Akiko might be capable of doing.

But I don't believe she can be angry at Akiko for her nature. It's dishonest... She was a crimelord when Chiaki met her, and she didn't get there by bathing puppies.

As for Akiko, I believe she's capable of enjoying the company of others. I believe she enjoys the chance to mentally and verbally spar with the Baroness, for instance. She's not emotionless... she's able to find people and interactions engaging. But for her, living is much like playing a video game... There's no deep emotional attachment to anything... it's all just experiences on the way to some final goal. I think her time with Chiaki is an experience that made that part of the game more fun.



Midori likely mentioned Chiaki due to security and visitors logs from the safe, so I would guess so. I don't know that Akiko would disapprove greatly... it's just another thing to watch and see how it develops. The part that directly affected her Mangatown (so far) has been dealt with, after all.