Back at the Seirei Exorcist Group's underground headquarters, Makoto Katsuragi arrived, explaining his meeting with the Seven. He leaned against the boss's desk, arms folded and eyes closed, as all the members listened.
"Wait, let me get this straight," the boss said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You picked a fight with the leader of the Seven?"
Makoto sighed, then said nonchalantly, "Actually, they picked a fight with me. I just chose to fight their leader. It was the smart call. If I beat him, they'll show some respect for our region. Not just that, but it'll atone for what they did to my dad."
Ninda spoke up, "You clearly don't understand what you're up against, do you? Your odds of beating a member of the Seven are one in a million. To put that in percentage, it's less than zero percent that you don't die."
Haruko looked shocked. "Makoto is the strongest one we have. There's no way it's that easy to put him down, is there?"
Takumi Enatsu looked at him. "The Seven are the strongest. Yes, Makoto is strong, and it's hard to put him down in a fight, but he still isn't a match for them. I'd say the best option now is for the boss himself to personally beg the Seven for Makoto's actions." Takumi turned to see an angry glare on the boss's face.
"Like hell I'm apologizing to those bastards. They don't deserve my respect," the boss growled.
Takumi tried to reason with him. "Look, I know how much you hate their boss, but this is for Makoto's sake. Can't you just swallow your pride for this one moment?" The other members backed him up.
The boss sighed. "Fine. I'll… I'll talk to them."
Makoto responded almost immediately. "There's no need for that." He stood up straight.
Miwafe marched toward him with bloodlust in her eyes, while Yana tried to hold her down. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy? We're trying to do the best we can to keep you safe, and you're turning us down! Don't you see that we care about—" Before she could finish, she realized what she was saying and flushed with embarrassment. She immediately threw a heavy ice shard at Makoto, screaming, "NOT LIKE I CARE! DIE!"
"Makoto!" Yana yelled, running to check on him as he lay on the ground.
Before Yana could even approach him, Makoto kicked up from the floor, quietly dusting off his clothes. He continued in his emotionless tone. "Look, I know how strong the Seven are. I saw their strength up close and in person." He remembered the incident where the Fourth Rank nearly killed him. "But this is the risk I'm going to take, for revenge and answers. I already knew this would happen eventually, so I've planned for this. There's no need to stop me."
The ice shard had left blood flowing from his head. Makoto tried to act cool, but the blood was a dead giveaway. Takumi yelled, "Do you know how dumb you look saying that, bleeding from the head?"
The boss sighed again. "I don't know if you're dumb or brave, but do what you want. As a team, we'll back you up. We've got your back. In the meantime, when is your battle with the leader of the Seven starting?"
Makoto smirked. "Tomorrow. They let me go for today to rest up because of my fight with the creepy doll guy. That's more than enough time for me to think of many ways to beat him. By the way, do any of you know his Standz ability?"
Makoto asked as the boss answered straight, "no, not really, his missions are done secretly, same with the Seven. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's actually an honor to witness their standz up close. I can say each of their standz' pressure is easily country-level, if not better."
The boss said this as Takumi Enatsu nodded in agreement. "That's true. And I haven't seen him up close before to know his abilities. Your chances of winning are in the impossible tier, especially with no staaa..." Takumi Enatsu immediately stopped himself when he saw the newbies around. They couldn't know Makoto didn't have a standz ability. He had to think of something fast. "...staaaandard. Makoto has no standard, yes, that's what I meant," Takumi Enatsu said.
Rin tilted his head to the side in confusion as the boss spoke immediately. "Okay, that will be all for today. You all are free to go. Do as you please for today, but remain alert and don't be as stupid as Makoto, please. If you spot a Seirei, report it immediately," the boss said as they left his office, leaving him alone with Ninda.
Ninda quietly stared at him. "Umm, sir, I think we should have more faith in Makoto. I believe in his skills," Ninda said as the boss smiled, "Sure."
Outside the office, Makoto opened the fridge to get a bottle of water. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see it was Yana. He looked at her in confusion as Yana's face flushed red. She swallowed hard, and sweat ran down her face—a sign of being nervous and shy.
Makoto stood up, walking toward her. "Yo, Yana, what's up? You lost or something?" Makoto said as Yana shook her head no dramatically. Her face flushed red, and she said, "No."
Makoto asked confused, "Okay, um, so where is Miwafe? Isn't she supposed to be with you?"
"I ditched her," Yana said almost immediately.
Makoto stared at her in shock, thinking to himself, (Okay, that was mean).
Yana calmed her breathing as she said, "I had to. I wanted to come see you." She immediately turned left and right to see if anyone was coming before she spoke. "Makoto, I don't think you should do this. I know you don't have a standz, and that just makes your chance of beating them zero. I'm scared of..." Yana's face flushed red as she forced the words from her mouth, "I'm scared. I don't wanna see you hurt again." She remembered how Makoto almost died because of her.
He placed his arm on her shoulder. "Yana?" Makoto said with a harsh tone. Yana closed her eyes, preparing for a scolding.
"Did you graduate to a G cup? Good for you," Makoto said with a smile.
Yana stared at him, both embarrassed and confused. The sound of Makoto's giggle put her mind at ease. Makoto looked at her. "Who do you think I am? I'll be fine. Just make sure you find Miwafe. She must be worried sick about you." Makoto said, leaving as Yana touched her heart, her face all red as she nodded.
Meanwhile, in the Seven's base, the fifth member kicked up from his seat, stretching. He smiled, "Okay, now that's done. How about we go shop for candy, Haruka?" Renzo said as the fourth rank looked at him with no emotions. He looked away. "Ahhhhhh, I'd rather sleep forever. That Makoto kid got on my nerves. I can't believe he did that. That just makes me so ashamed," Haruka said.
Akari, the second rank, smiled. "That is true. You are normally a chill guy. I wonder why you of all people would snap. Ryūjin, yes, but not you."
Akari said as Renzo held his laugh. "It's obvious why. Makoto insulted Hina, and Haruka always get worked up when someone says something about Hina," Renzo said.
Haruka immediately looked around to see if Hina heard it, then remembered Hina and Ryūjin went out earlier. He sighed in relief, then frowned at Renzo. "You brat, I don't have time for this," Haruka said, walking out. "I need fresh air."
Renzo wrapped his arm around him, smiling, "Sure, dude, let's go."
Haruka said with a low tone that was deprived of emotions, "Please let go of me." As the both left, leaving Akari and Saito alone in the hall.
Akari couldn't help but stare at Saito with a side glare, wondering his real intent for picking a fight with Makoto. Even though Saito's eyes were closed as he relaxed his head on the back of his hand, he could still feel Akari's gaze on him. He spoke, "What is it? Something bothering you?" Saito said as Akari looked away immediately. "Nothing."
Saito looked at him with a frown. "You're such a liar."
The room remained quiet for a while before Akari spoke. "You know the kid had the wrong idea about us, right? It's perfectly understandable if he acted the way he did. I would too. But don't you think you should be talking to him rather than fighting him?"
Akari said as Saito breathed out, "I get it, but do you really think a word would get into his head by talking? He's as stubborn as his father. And do you remember how me and his father settled over the smallest things?" Saito asked.
Akari smiled. "Yeah, you both would fight over every stupid thing, and in the end, it would always be a draw, and you two would end up forgetting what you fought for. But still..." Akari's expression changed. "You know the kid doesn't have a standz, right? he doesn't have standz ability and standz pressure. That's nothing he can do in a fight against you, so I don't think you fighting him would be fair."
"He picked to fight me right?. It was his choice," Saito said, then smiled at Akari. "And besides, I thought that kid would be going down easily," Saito said as his expression turned serious.
At Damein's run-down apartment, Daichi laid there, playing his video game as he waited for his next order.