The moment Hiro stepped downstairs, he heard a string of impatient curses.
Looking up, sure enough, it was Kirishima Ayato. He stood by the car with a dark expression, pacing back and forth, muttering nonstop like a child who had had his candy stolen.
"Well, if it isn't Ayato," Hiro walked up with a smile, his tone relaxed. "I could hear you swearing from far away. Who was bold enough to make our great Ayato so angry?"
Rize, standing beside him, pressed her lips together in a light laugh. Her beautiful eyes shifted between Hiro and Ayato, clearly enjoying the show.
Ayato suddenly looked up. His scarlet kakugan almost seemed to spit fire.
Grinding his molars, he forced out two words through clenched teeth. "Get in."
His voice was so dark it seemed ready to drip water. Anyone could hear the suppressed rage in it.
Hiro remained unhurried. His gaze swept over the sleek black luxury car beside them, and his brows lifted high. "You can drive this?"
He paused deliberately in feigned surprise, then added slowly, "Got a license?"
Crack.
Ayato's fingers tightened violently around the car door handle. The metal handle let out a strained groan under his grip, fine cracks appearing beneath his palm.
Veins bulged on his forehead. The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. He looked like a volcano about to erupt at any moment.
Seeing that pushing further might make the kid explode on the spot, Hiro stopped while he was ahead. He pulled open the back door and made a polite gesture toward Rize.
Rize covered her mouth with a soft laugh and gracefully bent to sit in the back seat.
Hiro followed in, and the spacious, comfortable back seat immediately improved his mood further.
Bang.
Ayato slammed the car door so hard the entire vehicle shook.
He stood outside for several deep breaths, chest heaving as he struggled to calm the emotions on the verge of explosion.
He closed his eyes and cursed that shameless couple a hundred times in his mind.
What rotten luck. This mission had not even been his to begin with. He had gone to Eto on his own and said he owed Hiro a favor. About his father's matter. He should at least thank him face to face.
And now? That little bit of gratitude he had painstakingly built up had long since been blown to the clouds by the two of them working together to provoke him.
Thank him? Thank my ass. If he did not pull something underhanded, it would count as him being in a good mood today.
He yanked open the driver's door and sat down, fastening the seatbelt as roughly as if he were fighting it.
The next second, the engine let out a savage roar.
Screech.
The tires scraped wildly against the ground, releasing pungent white smoke and leaving two dark skid marks.
The luxury sedan shot forward like an unbridled black beast.
The following drive was a road nightmare. The car weaved brutally through traffic, squeezing into any gap. It moved so fast the scenery blurred into streaks of color.
Red lights meant nothing to Ayato. He stomped on the accelerator and charged through intersections amid sharp honking and shouted curses, causing chaos in every direction.
In the back seat, Hiro and Rize remained unusually calm.
Rize even leisurely adjusted her long hair that had been tousled by the wind, as if enjoying a pleasant drive.
After a series of heart-stopping drifts and sudden brakes, the car finally halted in an almost overbearing manner in front of an abandoned factory in the 13th Ward. Dust rolled up from the tires.
"We are here." Ayato's voice was cold as ice, his intent to dismiss them undisguised. "Get out."
The car door slammed shut again. Hiro looked around.
What entered his eyes was desolation. Weeds grew everywhere. Broken windows resembled hollow eye sockets. It was so dead silent that even the wind sounded distinct.
His perception spread quietly, yet he could not detect the presence of any living being, as if this place had been completely forgotten by the world.
Rize's slender fingers tightened slightly as she gently grasped Hiro's hand. A faint trace of vigilance colored her voice. "Hiro."
Hiro immediately squeezed back, lightly tapping the back of her hand with his fingertips in reassurance.
Ayato locked the car briskly and, without looking at them, stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked toward the factory interior like the carcass of some giant beast.
"Follow me." His tone remained stiff.
Hiro and Rize exchanged a look and followed in tacit understanding, their clasped hands never separating.
The interior of the factory was even more dilapidated than the outside. Sunlight filtered through cracks in the roof, casting murky beams where dust drifted.
Ayato led them through piles of abandoned machinery with familiarity, stopping at a hidden corner where an old industrial elevator stood.
The elevator doors opened with a dull sound. The three stepped into the narrow metal space, and Ayato pressed the button marked "-5."
The elevator descended slowly. The cables and machinery produced rhythmic, slightly grating clacking sounds, adding oppression to the unknown journey.
Ding.
A crisp tone broke the silence. The elevator came to a steady stop.
As the metal doors slid open, a deep corridor appeared before them, dim wall lamps dotting the sides like the esophagus of a monster.
Ayato walked ahead without a word. Their footsteps echoed through the passage. The lighting flickered, and side paths appeared from time to time like an underground maze.
Just as the oppressive atmosphere nearly reached its peak, they followed Ayato around one final turn.
The view suddenly opened.
The strong light made Hiro narrow his eyes instinctively.
An enormous plaza beyond imagination burst into view. High-intensity lights overhead illuminated the area as bright as day.
In the distance, outlines of various facilities could be seen, figures moving about. It was a completely different world from the lifeless desolation above ground.
"This is..." Genuine surprise flickered in Hiro's eyes as he murmured, "...the legendary 24th Ward?"
At the corridor's exit stood more than a dozen figures with varying auras, led by Yoshimura Eto and Tatara. They had clearly been waiting for some time.
Yoshimura Eto stepped forward. Beneath her signature bandages, the corners of her lips curved upward as she greeted them with a cheerful lilt.
"Oh my, welcome."
Hiro's gaze swept sharply over the many upright figures ahead.
Good grief. Aogiri Tree's foundation was far stronger than the version in his memory.
With his interference, history had long since deviated from its original course.
Looking around, aside from Yamori, who had been cleared out early, every well-known executive from the original story was present.