~~~Jayu's POV~~~
I Don't Understand-
"Get away from my child!"
He shoved me away. I was just trying to help-
Mama... Sorry I left you-
"Jayu!"
Mama? You're still here?..
I turned around- She was shouting. I tried to see where it was coming from-
But-
She was not there-
In a blink-
"Jayu!!!"
Kara-nee came running towards me-
"What the fuck are you doing?!"
At that same moment, Itoshi-nii attacked that little girl's father-
Kara-nee wrapped her arms around me. I knew that feeling. It's supposed to be warm. It's supposed to make you happy-
"DEMON!"
I don't understand why I started to cry-
"BE THANKFUL OUR SQUAD IS HERE TO PROTECT YOUR DAMNED CITY!"
Why is Tomo-nee so angry?- Why are there so many people?- I recognized those looks-
The plane... The fire... The dark-
What is that look?... F-fear?...
But- Why are they looking at me?-
Why... Me?-
It hurts-
I wanted to cry-
I wanted to scream-
But I couldn't-
I just closed my eyes-
"Jayu-chan.."
Kara-nee. She called me in my deep slumber. The softness of her voice-
She was smiling at me, and I was lying in the back seat of our car-
~~~Hiikawa Apartments~~~
Lying on the cold wooden floor, Ayro's voice finally reached Kirashi.
His fingers twitched as dust settled on his black-and-green hair.
"Ugh... what the heck?..."
He muttered, sitting up.
Ayro was still shielding him. He looked back.
"Good, you're back. Our battle isn't over. You good?"
Kirashi took a deep breath and grabbed his katana once more.
"Yeah, yeah... sorry 'bout that."
He paused.
"So... game plan?"
He leaned on Ayro, scratching the back of his head.
Ayro glanced back, simply replying,
"No change."
Silence came and went between the two. Then the ronin's voice echoed across the battlefield they'd created.
"Hoh?.. The specimen is awake?..."
He muttered in a low, proud tone.
"Hah? Specimen?"
Kirashi raised a brow.
The ronin smirked.
"Come out~"
He paused.
"Let's play an act~"
He sneered.
"The wolf and the sheeps!"
Peace faded again as the apartment rumbled.
The last residents managed to flee the building.
The ronin launched repeated attacks on Ayro's defense.
"He's not letting us have an opening!"
Ayro muttered.
He spun around.
"Kirashi!"
Kirashi's eyes widened, quickly turning into a grin.
"OK! GOT IT!"
As the ronin continued his attacks, he laughed maniacally.
The continuous whirring of his metallic components rang out as they struck Ayro's seemingly unbreakable dark shield.
Then suddenly—
"Ah!"
He hushed.
His barrage stopped. The metal echoes clashing against Ayro's shield fell silent.
"Behind?!"
It was Ayro, emerging from the floor, dark power surging with him.
"Tsk!!"
The ronin clicked his tongue.
Ayro's dendrils rose along with his body. His palms surfaced first as the tendrils snapped forward, wrapping around the ronin's frame.
In that same instant, the shield dropped. A powerful gust of wind burst outward—and Kirashi was gone. A hole was punched straight through the floor.
The ronin froze in place, his body tightly coiled by Ayro's dendrils.
Kirashi stood before him, blade raised, its edge pointed directly at the ronin's neck.
His shoulders rose and fell sharply, breathing heavy and uneven—but locked with intent.
"You won't get away now."
Silence stretched between the three, but it was once again broken by the ronin.
He sneered.
"Pft hehe..."
The sneer slowly turned into manic laughter.
"Hehe... HAHAHHAHAHHA! HAHAHHAHHAHA!"
"You think so?!"
He mocked.
Kirashi smiled, confident—but once again his body betrayed him.
His body fell, along with his blade.
"What the hell?!"
Kirashi thought to himself.
"Don't you get it?!"
The ronin shouted.
"Even with you two—it's not enough to beat me!"
He paused.
"Let alone one!"
He turned to Kirashi.
"Especially him- Not fit!"
He turned back to Ayro.
"Your weak mortal bodies will betray you... But I'm different!"
Ayro clicked his tongue, but kept his hold on the man.
"Kirashi..."
He thought to himself.
"You can try and try... but all of this is just child's play for me..."
The ronin continued.
"Give up now... Ayro-kun..."
He looked back at Ayro, a few feet back.
"Chasing us won't do you any good... Let's just focus on our own jobs, shall we?"
He suggested.
"You kill Seele's... and we sell 'products'... there's no need for our paths to cross."
Ayro raised one brow and smiled.
"But our path's already crossed."
He paused, confident.
"You can no longer change that... Ronin."
The ronin smiled.
"You think so too... huh?"
At that moment, an invisible force struck Ayro once more.
His breath was taken; the air around him began to weigh him down—but his form never faltered.
"He- he's doing it again!"
He thought to himself.
The smile on the ronin's face faded.
"Hoh?.. Interesting?"
He paused as Ayro continued to struggle.
"Why are you not dropping to the floor?"
He smiled once more.
"You truly are an interesting one... Ayro-san."
BANG!
At that instant, the ronin managed to free himself from Ayro's dark dendrils.
Along with it, all of Ayro's tendrils holding the apartment together faded.
As the building partially crumbled, dust filled the air once more, blinding them all.
Glass, wooden planks, splinters, and concrete rained down everywhere.
But Ayro refused to give in. He fell to his legs from the ronin's counter but forced himself up once more.
"It's not over!"
The moment he stood straight, his breath was taken again.
One of the ronin's sickle was already pointed at his neck.
The dust around them settled, revealing the ronin's half-metallic, half-human face once more. Smirking confidently, his eyes locked on Ayro's.
Ayro gritted his teeth, eyes matching the ronin's.
"But... ending it all here..."
He paused.
"Will it be worth it?.."
he muttered.
"What is he talking about?!"
Ayro thought to himself.
"Since your friend out there... he's definitely knocked out cold now. I'm going to take this chance to speak to you,"
The ronin muttered.
"Hah?"
Ayro raised a brow.
"His story is far from over, and it's rather 'interesting,' to say the least."
The ronin dropped his sickle and slowly walked toward Kirashi.
"Very interesting indeed."
He then turned back to Ayro, his smile fading.
"This is a message... a warning to your squad, Ayro-kun."
He paused, His mood switching.
"Never tap in with our business again."
He then shrugged.
"You guys are lucky... we insisted on taking you down fully, but our boss just won't allow it."
"Their boss?"
Ayro thought to himself.
"On that note—I'll be taking my leave."
The ronin bowed like a performer, confident smile etched on his face, as his sickles shattered and seeped into his metallic parts.
"We won't hold back the moment we cross paths once more."
He quickly stood straight and pointed his left palm at Ayro—it was another blast.
"Shit!"
Ayro thought to himself.
BLAST!
Ayro dodged it. He quickly regained his stance, but the ronin was already gone.
All that remained was a new hole in the wall as the light of the sun slowly faded into the blues of the night.
Half of the third floor of the Hiikawa Apartments lay in ruins after the unplanned battle between the two sides—but only one side was left wounded, and at a loss.
As the orange hues of sunset faded into deep blues, the ronin landed on an empty balcony somewhere in the city of Fukuoka.
It was a dark, quiet room. The ronin's dissimilar eyes narrowed as he scanned the space.
Then, a voice echoed from the darkness.
"Did they get the message?"
The ronin's head snapped toward the sound. It was Il Min-song.
The lights flicked on. He was seated on the couch, phone pressed to his ear.
The Ronin closed his eyes before replying.
"Made it a little obvious."
Il Min-song chuckled.
"Haha.."
He paused, shifting his attention back to the person on the other end of the call.
"Ah yes, boss—Vin has returned."
Another pause, as Vin the Ronin stepped closer.
"Yeah, yeah... we'll be leaving soon."
Il Min-song stood and signaled a few of his men to head downstairs. They were already prepared to move.
"Yes sir—copy. We won't initiate unless they do first, Mr. 'H'."
With that, Il Min-song ended the call.
He turned to Vin the Ronin, updating him as he walked toward the door.
"We'll be heading back to Tokyo by land. Our boss advised we do 'drive-throughs' in the following cities."
He paused, opening the door.
"Kitakyushu, Hiroshima, Okayama, Osaka, Kyoto... and lastly—"
He turned his head back toward Vin.
"Nagoya."
"Got it."
Vin the Ronin nodded once as they boarded their vans.
He looked out the window, a faint smile forming.
"Kirashi... what an interesting specimen."
He paused mid-thought, looking up front.
"He's bound to be eaten by the dark."
As the electric vehicles hummed to life, they departed the city of Fukuoka—leaving no trace of the atrocities they had continued to commit within it.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
Tomori hushed.
"Jeez... you've gone out of control there—kunoichi,"
Aldrin muttered from the back of the vehicle.
Ryujin's group was on their way back to the apartments, their little tour ending in a disastrous conclusion. The once hyped and warm atmosphere had turned dark and silent, everyone trapped in their own thoughts.
Miss Gigi's eyes flickered between the rear-view mirror and the road, quietly watching her squad from the front.
Beside her sat Ryujin—straight-backed and disciplined, eyes locked on the road ahead.
Behind him, Itoshi held Tomori's hand, carefully wrapping gauze around her palm.
"Sorry about that, everyone..."
She hushed, scratching the back of her head.
"I got a little consumed by my emotions..."
Itoshi clicked his tongue without noticing, his grip tightening just a bit too much.
"Who wouldn't burst out from that bullshit!"
The vehicle fell silent as everyone turned toward him.
Tomori chuckled nervously.
"Yeah, yeah... c-can you stop squeezing my hand now?"
"Ah! S-sorry!"
Itoshi blurted.
"Nah, don't worry about it!"
She paused, then smiled.
"There... done."
Itoshi finished binding Tomori's self-inflicted wound—damage caused by gripping her own hand too tightly in frustration.
He leaned back into his seat, eyes glued to the window, hands resting behind his neck.
"Thank you so much, flame boy!"
Tomori hushed.
Itoshi didn't reply. His gaze never left the passing scenery outside.
Tomori turned to her left, watching Jayu asleep once more—curled on Kara's lap, her head resting against her shoulder.
Up front, Miss Gigi raised one brow, observing them through the rear-view mirror.
"Ryujin..." she hummed.
"Yes, ma'am?"
Ryujin replied immediately.
"Hand over Jayu to the Spines,"
Miss Gigi suggested.
Everyone flinched, heads snapping toward her.
"Hoh? Seems like you all disagree with that idea."
She paused.
"But it's what's best for Jayu. She'll be safer with them—far from the battlefield. Far from the eyes of those who are deceived."
The group fell silent. No one argued.
No one even tried.
The hum of the engine filled the space between them, steady and indifferent, as the city lights passed by outside the windows.
Each of them stared at something different—reflections on glass, the road ahead, the rise and fall of Jayu's breathing—but none of them spoke.
Miss Gigi kept her eyes on the road. Ryujin's hands remained firm on his knees. Itoshi didn't move, didn't look away from the window. Kara's arms stayed wrapped around Jayu, just a little tighter than before.
As the night deepened, the vehicle continued onward—carrying with it a decision that no one was ready to accept, but none of them dared to refuse.
Bright white lights bled into the dark night.
Dark night shifted into blue screens.
Blue screens faded back into darkness.
The darkness of a single room—where seven crownless kings sat and watched.
"Heh?"
One man hushed.
It was The Room That Observes All.
"Why didn't Ryujin respond?"
A voice asked.
"Their base is now in ruins. He was aware of that attack."
Another man chuckled from the shadows.
"Classic Ryujin... everyone rejoice. Our golden weapon is returning."
He paused, amused.
"I was worried for a bit he wasn't as ballsy as he used to be. Turns out I was worried for nothing."
Another voice agreed.
"Indeed. This is truly remarkable."
The first voice spoke again.
"Well, it's true Ryujin didn't go soft on his members—but is it worth the risk?"
He paused as the other Skulls turned toward him.
"How much is he willing to lose? Not just his members... but our Organization."
Silence followed as his words settled.
"The ones that attacked Ayro and that wind boy are the prideful 'Business Dealers.' We have nothing to do with their line of work."
Then another voice cut in.
"Yet... we haven't done shit to stop them."
"We don't have to," the first voice insisted.
"This is their problem. Ryujin is aware of that."
He paused.
"It's great to see him make these judgments again—but if trouble arises involving those men, supporting them could stain our image."
"Well... if that's the case," another voice said, "isn't it better to stop them now?"
A different Skull replied.
"Perhaps. But I believe we'll gain more by letting them act freely."
He paused.
"Both sides prefer to fight in the dark. Neither wants public attention—especially regarding those trades of women."
He chuckled quietly.
"So we just let them do what they want?" another asked.
"Indeed,"
The voice answered.
"We'll consider this their 'special cut.' We feed on their success and allow them more 'free will.'"
"And if that free will leads to their downfall,"
He continued,
"they're on their own."
Another question followed.
"And if they lose? What then? We'll lose the squad."
The first voice answered bluntly.
"That's just how it is."
The room stiffened.
"Yes, they're special,"
he went on.
"But many 'special' squads came before them."
He paused.
"Most met gruesome ends because of their decisions—and they will be no exception."
His shadowed gaze swept the room.
"We have plenty of special personnel. We don't need those whose fates are already sealed."
With that, the conversation ended.
Silence reclaimed the room as the monitors continued to flicker.
The seven Skulls remained seated—watching.
~~~Hiikawa Apartments~~~
Itoshi's mouth dropped as he took in the state of the apartment.
Tomori and Kara stood to his right, while Aldrin held Jayu on his left.
In front of them was what used to be the front section of their apartment—now reduced to ruins.
Broken walls, collapsed beams, scattered debris. The place barely resembled a home anymore.
Amid the rubble, Kirashi and Ayro sat calmly, dust clinging to their clothes as they looked back at the squad that had just returned.
Itoshi swallowed.
"What the hell... just happened?"
he muttered.
Behind them, Miss Gigi let out a low hum.
"Heh?"
she said.
"I thought we had a disaster."
~~~To be Continued~~~