While a scourge recently finished killing the CEO of an insurance firm on the opposite side of the world, in Japan, Kito and his crew ran for several kilometers and are taking a break from running. Kito had vomited blood out from the stress his ki and body have been running throughout the day, but he seems somewhat fine.

  Kito then realizes what happened to his apartment.

  "Ah, right. I'm homeless now."

  Kasumi raises his hand. "My place isn't-"

  Interjecting quickly, Bara suggests "My apartment has plenty of space Mr. Kito!"

  The leader chuckles at his men. "I'm grateful for you both, truly. But, I believe that now is the perfect time for me to get back to my roots and do things the old way. You know how us men do it."

  "What doesn't kill us only makes us stronger," repeat Kasumi, Bara, and Daiki in unison.

  "That's right. And who knows; maybe going back to my old ways will remind me of what I need to do. But that's for later. For now, I need to dispose of a body. It's nearing midnight so in the mean time, you guys can go search for the biker Bara was talking about earlier. We'll meet up at the harbor as agreed."

  "I'm going to have to pass." Says Robert. "I need to get home as soon as possible."

  "Ah really? I understand." Says Kito. "Us four can handle this just fine. Go rest now Mr. family man."

  Robert wrinkles his nose. "Yeah." He goes his own way.

  Kito sniffs; the leader and his crew watch as Robert walks away from the scene, only to sprint a few seconds later, disappearing into the woods and soon, the road.

  Kito then whips out his flip phone and checks the time.

  9:37 PM

  "Well, I must get a move on. I really hope they don't find the corpse of the assassin in the trees or else it'll make my warning to the OA mean very little."

  Kito pauses for a second. "Well... mean even less compared to what it means now."

  The shifting mass of scribbles and blotches known as Daiki then asks, "sir, where are you going to plant the corpse?"

  "I found a neat little post within Robert's neighborhood. I believe it'll be an obvious and open enough place for the OA to back off for a bit of time. If they didn't like us when we were kind, then we'll just go the exact opposite. Granted, it'll traumatize a poor police officer but, it's a price worth paying. Besides, they signed up for the job, so they should be ready to steel themselves given any situation."

  Kito spits on the ground and continues. "Bunch of sensitive pansies is what this country is turning into. But I digress."

  Bara and Daiki both nod in agreement.

  Bara then asks, "say boss, but what about the this new guy? Do you think he can be trusted?"

  Kito turns to Bara. "Well? Can he be trusted?"

  Bara crosses his arms and thinks for a moment. "From my bump in with him, I was very weary throughout our interaction but my logic goes, if he actually was a part of the OA, he would've killed me by then. And now that we had this dinner, it would make little sense if he was with the OA, considering we just met up with them. Now if this guy happens to be a part of the OA then A. we would simply have to kill him. Even without Mr. Kito, I'm still confident in our strength. And B. I don't know how the OA works, but if they have another squad sent after us then that's just another force we have to deal with."

  Kito snaps his fingers and responds. "That's the thing though, as we discussed earlier, I theorize that Naoki and his crew and the person that bombed me are in two different groups. Considering Naoki was unaware of the bombing and thought my message to you men was meant for him, as well as further confirmation during the restaurant, it only confirms that there's two different groups coming after us; the first time is a coincidence, the second, third, and so on are evidence."

  All of the men look at each other.

  "So what should we do?" Asks Kasumi.

  Kito chuckles. "The only thing we can do is be careful. I suggest the three of you go together while I settle my business. Shibukawa, you have this man's number right?"

  Bara nods. "Yes. And you said to have him come over at midnight, correct?"

  "Initially, yes. But considering the time and how long these things can last, I want everything to be done as soon as possible. I want you to go and pick him up instead of having him meet us at the harbor. It's safer for you three if he happens to be a part of the OA due to all of the civilians and potential for collateral damage. I need you all to keep a keen eye on him. The very moment he tries to harm one of you, that's your time to kill. As much as I'd like to keep an agent for information or as leverage, I don't want to risk it. We were lucky we fought against kids yesterday. I don't want them to unleash the heavy hitters on you all just yet. But nevertheless..."

  Kito grins and looks at his men. "when it's time to put hand to ass, show them what I taught you all."

  The three men stand and salute. "Sir yes sir!"

  "Up and at 'em." Commands Kito. "Find the biker and bring him to the harbor."

  With blurring speeds, Kito leaves. Meanwhile, the men all huddle around Bara.

  "I have a plan." Suggests Bara. He opens Tatsuki's contact and begins texting.

  "Are you still interested in helping Ushiyama Kito's cause? This will be your only chance of doing so."

  Within six minutes Tatsuki responds.

  "Yes. What do you need of me?"

  "Where are you located? We'll pick you up. And are you alone?"

  "I'm at the Hanafusa 24 hour manga cafe. Yes, I'm alone. Just text me when you're here."

  The men all look at each other.

  "Seems a little too convenient" says Kasumi aloud.

  "That manga cafe... that's only a little far." Says Daiki.

  Bara shrugs. "Well, there's only one way to find out. Onwards."

  The men all go in the same direction. Bara gallops with the legs of a deer, Daiki dashes forward with moderate speed, all while Kasumi blurs past the both of them in short bursts, only stopping whenever he's in their sights.

  .

  .

  .

  As the other men go on with their duties, Robert eventually arrives back at his house. His wife is still at work. His son is still with his grandma. And the other girl is still away. He sighs in relief. He takes a quick shower, changes his clothes, and walks towards the end of the block. He knocks on the door.

  "Mother-in-law, I'm here to pick up Joji."

  Disgruntled, the old woman calls her grandson over, kisses him, hugs him tightly, and lets him off with his father.

  Joji Kaneko and Robert Baskerville walk back to their house. They turn on the TV. Robert watches football; England vs Italy. Joji on the other hand plays on the ground with his toys.

  .

  .

  .

  Meanwhile, forty minutes passed; after dashing at a moderate speed, Kito eventually finds the town and tree where he hung up Nowa's body. Hoisting the limp and slowly bloating body, Kito wraps the corpse's limbs around his body like a piggyback, and continues to run towards Robert's town for another thirty minutes. There, he spots the original post he found. Kito unwraps Nowa's body off of himself and slaps the gas out of Nowa's bloated face.

  "There." Says Kito to the corpse. "You'll look a lot more handsome now. Consider it my final act of kindness to you and that group of yours." Kito cackles to himself, before climbing up and positioning the corpse on the post like some macabre prop.

  Kito looks around. Thankfully, there's no witnesses, otherwise that would be even more work for him. He sniffs a bit. The air gets denser.

  "(Hm...the fog is getting thicker.)" He thinks to himself.

  He proceeds to run towards the train station, where he would act calmly and casually, crossing his legs, folding his arms, sitting down, and taking a rest while the train took him to the town with the harbor. Despite taking the respite, and even with his limited Ki, Kito slept. Though indeed entering his REM cycle, even the people that got on the train could sense something off with the disfigured, sleeping man; the instincts of the civilians warned them to not be near the napping Kito. Even with some of them recognizing who he was, none dared to disturb the local celebrity, and the potential consequence of doing so. As if looking down a steep, mile high cliff and deciding whether it would be wise to jump down.

  .

  .

  .

  Hours later, Hana would stumble upon the gruesome display.

  .

  .

  .

  Meanwhile, back with Bara, Kasumi, and Daiki, they eventually arrive at the small city. The roads only have a little bit of traffic. Most of the shops were closed because of the time of day. The typical 7/11's were open 24/7, with some people coming to and fro to get dinner or snacks. At the corner of a city block, the men spot a three story tall brick building with lights still on. A neon sign that reads "Hanafusa Manga cafe" is at the top of the entrance.

  Bara texts Tatsuki on his phone "We're outside the cafe."

  After a solid ten minutes of waiting outside, Bara begins. "He's not responding. We don't exactly know what's up with this guy so here's what I'm thinking. Kasumi, I think you're the fastest out of all of us. Especially when there's so few people out right now, I think it'd be best if you stay outside and keep guard, just in case he tries to run away or any other agent tries to enter."

  Kasumi crosses his arms and nods his head. "Alright." He quickly leans against the wall and stares at anybody coming by.

  "Daiki, you come with me. But, when we arrive at the floor, I want you to approach from another side just in case he tries to slip by or attacks me from behind."

  "Understood." Complies Daiki.

  Bara and Daiki enter the cafe. A female attendant stands there with a nonchalant smile.

  "Greetings." Says the attendant. "How long would you like to stay?"

  "By any chance, could we pay for only ten minutes? We're only here to pick up a friend."

  The attendant makes an exaggerated face of sorriness. "Ooooh, I'm so sorry! The company's policy is that you can't enter without paying. The minimum is 400 Yen an hour."

  Roughly $4 within the time this story takes place.

  Bara tries to hide his irked expression. He holds his chin in contemplation. "Well," says Bara turning to Daiki. "Kito says to be thrifty. As much as this is important, I really don't want to pay 400 yen for something that's going to take less than five minutes; ten tops."

  Daiki turns to his senior and asks. "Has he responded yet? If not, then how will we find him?"

  "He hasn't responded yet. I'll try calling him." Says Bara.

  After dialing the phone, it rings for a couple of seconds before going straight to voice message.

  "Well," says Bara, pocketing his phone. "We're just going to have to brute force it. Though, time isn't the only issue. He and whoever else is here are the real problems. By any chance, are you good at [mapping]?"

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Daiki shakes his head. "I've been focusing on my ability more than anything; Kito told me to focus on one thing before moving to other applications."

  Bara quietly groans. "I would have trained for mapping, but Kito suggested the same thing about my ability before moving on to other fundamentals. That being said..."

  Bara takes out a small metal container out of his pocket. It's akin to an altoids container.

  "Kito suggested me to keep some for emergencies." Says Bara.

  The attendant simply stands there, taking a phone call, trying not to get distracted by the two men awkwardly waiting in the lobby.

  Bara then opens the can and takes out a tiny zip-lock bag containing a single piece of dried jerky.

  "Because of my ability, I found a perfect loophole for tracking him down." Whispers Bara. "It's annoying but we'll just have to pay for it."

  Bara takes the meat out of the zip-lock packet, eats it in one gulp, and pockets the small can. The both of them walk to the attendant and pay for one hour's worth.

  Walking up the stairs, with no one but Bara and Daiki around, Bara's nose and mouth morph into a bear's snout. Bara takes the paper that was used to write Tatsuki's number, and sniffs it. Though faint, Bara could smell Tatsuki's fingers on the paper. Concentrating Ki on his snout, Bara sniffs the air. Three seconds pass. "Upstairs." says Bara. The both of them march up the stairs up to the third story.

  The quiet and narrow halls of the cafe are bereft of customers. Most of the people were already sleeping. And the few people that are awake are too busy concentrating within their cramped rooms. Eventually, Bara and Daiki reach the room 396.

  Bara sniffs close to the door.

  "Are you sure this is it?" Asks Daiki.

  "Definitely. Keep an eye out for behind us."

  Daiki does so without saying a word, concentrating his Ki.

  Bara focuses his Magic and Ki throughout his body. His grip alone makes an indent on the door handle. Forcing and breaking the lock open simply by turning it, Bara slowly opens the door. Saliva pools out of his mouth, bearing his fangs for the poor fool who would dare to cross Kito and his crew.

  Eventually, with the door wide open, Bara sees a shirtless man on the floor, drooling. The man is 5'10" and has spiky black hair with orange tips. He has a defined physique. The floor is a large, thin, cushioned mat that acts as a sort of mattress to sleep on. His body takes up 75% of the room. He's curled up with a blanket on top of him. The small computer is playing an anime automatically. The sleeping Tatsuki is limply holding a manga on his right hand. His leather jacket acts as a pillow. His motorcycle helmet rests on top of the computer tower. His backpack sits in a corner; though considering the cramped room, it's left with only a few inches away from his feet. A dirty plate of what used to be curry sits on the table. The smell of said curry, on top of sweat makes Bara quietly pinch his nose.

  In confusion, Bara stares at the sleeping Tatsuki. With his boot, Bara gently taps Tatsuki's forehead.

  With a couple taps, Tatsuki slowly opens his eyes, to see a large imposing figure at his door, staring down at him.

  In shock, Tatsuki shoots away from the figure and bears his fists, only to rapidly open and close his eyes. Within one of these blinks, Bara's snout instantly morphs back to his typical face. Eventually, Tatsuki calms down. "Oh." Says Tatsuki. "It's you. You scared the shit out of me." Tatsuki then rubs his eyes, saying "Well, it's about time you arrived."

  "Harada." Says Bara taking in the scene one more time. "What the hell is this?"

  Daiki slowly inches towards Bara, trying to get a good look at the room too.

  "Ah sorry... I thought you were the owl man. And then I saw it was you, but I didn't recognize you because I just woke up... and then I thought you had a snout for a second but, it was just my imagination... sorry for reacting like that."

  "Owl man?" Asks Bara. "What the hell are you talking about? Nevermind that, we texted you and you weren't ready."

  "Yeah, again, I'm sorry. I was waiting for you guys but I was watching this anime about a blind delivery driver and he was getting hunted down by assassins and... it was kinda boring so I ended up dozing off. Say, how did you end up finding me?"

  "I used my ability. Now hurry up, we need to go."

  "...What? What are you talking about?" He yawns and continues to change. "Well you're here now. Say, do you know if this will take all night?"

  Bara scunges up his nose. "Why do you ask? Are you having second thoughts?"

  "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just that I need to refill up on my hours here. I don't want them evicting me just because I forgot to pay for 12 more hours."

  Bara squints. "You don't live here, do you?"

  "I do, actually." Replies Tatsuki mid-yawn as he puts on a "MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS" shirt. "Everything in this room is all I own. Minus the computer, the book, the monitor, and the mat I'm sleeping on." He then puts on his black jeans and jacket.

  Bara scoffs. Daiki stares, almost feeling thankful for his own living situation.

  After Tatsuki finishes getting himself dressed, he exits out the room, puts on his shoes, and closes the door. As he's about to lock the door, he notices the hand imprint on it, as well as the broken door handle.

  "Wh- what the?"

  Tatsuki turns to Bara. "Did you do this?"

  "Yes. I apologize for the damages."

  "...Why would you ever feel the need to do this? You could have just knocked."

  "Considering what we've been through the past week, you're going to have to prepare yourself for what's to come. If this is alarming to you-"

  Bara then turns to Tatsuki. "then this probably isn't a safe venture for you."

  Tatsuki tilts his head. "What does that mean?"

  "A lot of pain with very little gain. Are you still willing to come?"

  Tatsuki rolls his neck and arm. "Yeah, yeah, I've been through hell before. I'm up for it."

  With a gruff grunt, Bara finishes. "Let's go then."

  The three of them all go downstairs. Tatsuki pays for his additional hours and they all exit. Tatsuki mutters under his breath "just hope nobody steals anything from my room."

  Outside, the three of them meet up with Kasumi.

  "Did you see anything?" Asks Bara.

  Kasumi shakes his head.

  "Say, where are we going?" Asks Tatsuki.

  "We're going to the harbor that boss works at." Responds Kasumi.

  "Gotcha. Are we taking the train? Or did you guys bring a car?"

  Daiki, Bara, and Kasumi all look at each other.

  "We ran here." Says Kasumi.

  Tatsuki stares at them. He gets up to Kasumi's face; despite Kasumi being taller by four inches, Tatsuki still makes an annoyed face.

  "I'm not messing around here." Says Tatsuki. "First he breaks the lock on my door," he says whilst pointing at Bara. "And now you're telling me some bullshit about running all the way here. The closest harbor is kilometers away. You expect me to take this seriously?"

  Kasumi gets annoyed. Despite knowing he could full well run through this guy like a finish line, that would be unproductive. As Kito has said before, "a man controls his anger; a man that let's his anger control him has the emotional control of a child."

  "That's the difference between men and women after all..." Mutters Kasumi to himself.

  "Huh?" Responds Tatsuki, getting more in Kasumi's face.

  "Nothing, I was just talking to myself" explains Kasumi. "Listen," he continues, holding his palm an inch away from the biker's chest. "We're all being serious here. If you don't want to believe us, that's fine. But one way or another, we're going to the harbor."

  Bara chops the air between Tatsuki and Kasumi, dividing the tension. "Tatsuki, show Kasumi here what you showed me back at the train station; shake his hand and make yourself stronger."

  Confused, Tatsuki shakes Kasumi's hand. "Don't tell me. You guys can use this too, is that it?" Asks Tatsuki.

  Upon accepting the handshake, Kasumi's furrowed and annoyed brows deflate into an understanding look.

  "Hm. So he's just weak. He won't be able to match our speed, got it." Says Kasumi.

  Tatsuki chuckles, tightening his grip. "You guys really like pissing me off, huh?"

  Bara, Kasumi, and Daiki all glare at Tatsuki.

  "If a fight is what you want," says Kasumi. "I'll give you one."

  Daiki pulls Kasumi's tanktop back. "I got this big bro. It's about time he's learned a lesson in humility."

  "Gentlemen." Growls Bara. "We're getting nothing done. Tatsuki-"

  "What?" responds the biker in an annoyed tone, letting go of the handshake.

  Bara then smacks the biker in the cheek. Despite barely coating his hand with Ki, the slap sends Tatsuki stumbling to the floor.

  "We weren't insulting you, it's just a matter of the truth. We have years of experience in controlling Ki and Magic while I'm assuming you don't. Is that correct?"

  Tatsuki, dazed, and stumbling, gets up and only responds. "huUHhh?"

  After regaining complete consciousness, Tatsuki dusts himself. "Yeah alright... fair enough. I apologize." Tatsuki then does a small bow. "Force of habit."

  Kasumi raises his eyebrow. "Force of habit?"

  "Back when the gang used to be active, respect was a big factor. If someone had a problem with us, we'd confront them face to face. Typically, we would just beat them up and that would be that."

  Bara and Kasumi exchange a shared look. "Gangster huh?"

  "Ex-gangster. The gang isn't active anymore."

  "I see." Says Kasumi pinching his brow. "Listen," continues Kasumi, getting close to Tatsuki. "I sort of understand where you're coming from. Kito has a similar style. However, as a man, there's more mature ways of going about things."

  "Oh yeah? Like how?"

  Kasumi scratches the back of his head. "Well it all depends on the severity of the issue but, we don't want to be making huge issues over insults. We're trying to make stronger men. If an insult makes you lose your cool that fast then imagine when a real issue comes by. You'd crumble." Kasumi reaches his arm around Tatsuki's shoulder and pulls him closer. "And besides, we do things efficiently."

  "Then what would you do if someone disrespects someone or something you hold dear?" Asks Tatsuki.

  "Well, again, you can let them waste their words. But if they really don't learn, or if it really means that much to you then..." Kasumi pulls Tatsuki closer and whispers in his ear. "Nothing gets solved with a mere beating. You need to do something a lot more punishing. At that level, you simply do what comes natural."

  Tatsuki gives Kasumi a weird look and backs away from Kasumi's grip.

  "Okay well," continues Tatsuki. "If I'm that much weaker than you guys, then I might as well ride my motorcycle, right?"

  Kito's men all look at each other. "Yeah that works." Says Kasumi.

  "I'll join you." Says Bara. "I'll be on the back, guiding you to where the harbor is."

  "Sounds good." Says Tatsuki, unholstering his keys and walking over to the parking lot. "I'm assuming I'll meet you guys there?"

  "Yeah." Says Daiki. From there, both Daiki and Kasumi jog ahead, before sprinting into the forest, disappearing out of their sights.

  Tatsuki gets on his motorcycle before quickly getting off.

  Confused, Bara asks "what's wrong?"

  "Sorry, it's just that I don't want the Owl to figure out my identity."

  Bara blinks and as if trying to process another language, he asks again. "What."

  "The Owl. He's been stalking me and I don't want to face him again. I can feel him watching me as I sleep. I noticed my body change since I first saw him and... I'll just explain it to everyone when we get to the harbor. I'm sure Kito would like to hear... Kito does have abilities, right?"

  "Yes." Says Bara. "He trained all of us. If we all had abilities, I really doubt he'd be the leader. Or else someone as weak as him would've been trampled by us a long time ago."

  "...right. Well ok, let me just go back and get my helmet."

  Tatsuki runs back and retrieves what he needs. After a couple minutes, Tatsuki exits out the cafe wearing his pitch black visored helmet, as well as holding a spare helmet in his hand. He throws the spare helmet at Bara. Bara looks at him confused.

  "What's this for?"

  "Consider it a safety precaution. Anyone who rides with me has to wear a helmet. Otherwise, it's a bad omen from a friend."

  Bara, annoyed, forces the helmet onto his side.

  "It's too tight..."

  Bara then sits on the back, visibly shifting the entire vehicle down with his weight.

  "...How much do you weigh?" Asks Tatsuki.

  "This better not be an insult."

  "No it's not an insult it's just that the motorcycle's weight limit is 180 kilos. How much do you weigh?"

  "As of right now, 142 kilos."

  "..."

  They start accelerating. The bike, though slow, still moves moderately.

  "Well... we'll make it eventually." Mutters Tatsuki.

  After thirty minutes, Tatsuki continues riding at a heightened speed.

  The engine of the motorcycle clearly struggles, making a loud, forced roar. Forests sprawl the scenery for kilometers on end. Tatsuki calmly rides while Bara folds his arms and centers his balance with ease.

  "I have a question." Begins Bara.

  "What's up?"

  "Why do you want to help Kito?"

  "Ah, I was hoping to save it for the interview. But, in essence, I really do think he's a good fit for a leader. Plus what happened to him today is incredible alone. To think he survived the apartment explosion and had the balls to get on tv? You can't help but admire the guy. He seems tough and really embodies the Japanese spirit. I'm sick of all these immigrants. They make a mess of Kyoto and disrespect our culture. And as far as I'm aware, it's only get worse and worse the coming years."

  Bara grunts. "Aye, I feel you on that. But as much as people agree with you, why are you going to this extent. Surely, hatred isn't your only reason?"

  "It's not hatred, I just love my country and I hate to see it hurt any more. But otherwise, after the era with the gang died out, I've just felt aimless. Just working day in and day out to support myself and live the adult life. But there's something about Kito that makes my spirit feel alive. He is a true man in my eyes, and I do believe that that's the type of person that should be mayor of this prefecture. If he can run for higher positions, that would be awesome. Even if a fisherman isn't that relevant to the prefecture, I feel like that only speaks more on his charisma."

  Bara chuckles a little. "Aye, another thing I can agree on."

  .

  .

  .

  In the midst of waiting for Tatsuki, Bara, and Kito, Kasumi and Daiki arrive first at the harbor. They sit down and talk about their day, how life is going in general, the typical stuff. Eventually talks die down and Daiki begins to read a comic book that he kept in has back pocket while Kasumi scrolls on his phone.

  In the midst of scrolling through youtube, his eyes widen.

  "What the fuck?" Says Kasumi in a semi-loud tone.

  Daiki turns to him. "What happened?"

  "The CEO of Bullwinkle Health Insurance just died. Like... almost an hour ago."

  "Huh..." Comments Daiki. "That sucks."

  "Apparently he leapt off the building."

  Daiki, though a mass of scribbles, contorted the makeshift lines of his face to make a confused expression. "That... why would he do that?"

  Kasumi shrugs. "Idunno. Maybe the depression got to him."

  "But with all that money, there's no way... that doesn't make any sense?"

  Kasumi shrugs. "Well, that's just what the news says. Do you think he was assassinated or something?"

  "Probably. I mean it'd be less believable if he happened to 'kill himself' in prison but out in the daylight right in front of people... I don't know. Like I understand that there's very few people who can use the tripower system but this is... yeah no I've got no idea. I guess that's one less Billionaire in the world."

  "Boo hoo, right?" Chuckles Kasumi.

  Daiki doesn't say anything.

  "...What's wrong?" Asks Kasumi.

  "I'm not so sure if Kito would approve of laughing over a dead person. It seems a little disrespectful."

  "Kid," says Kasumi. "He's an American Billionaire. He wouldn't fucking care about any of us. Especially, since his target demographic is in the West."

  "Ah. Fair. It's weird that happened though."

  "Yeah."

  "Yeah."

  They continued to wait around.

  .

  .

  .

  After almost an hour, Kito eventually arrives at the harbor. A cloud of sweat radiates off of him. Despite keeping his head up, his skin takes a slightly grey tone, and bags appear underneath his eye. Yet, he holds himself the same way he usually does. Twenty minutes later, Bara and Tatsuki arrive as well. They both take off their helmets. Tatsuki's eyes widen once he sees the bandana icon in the flesh. As much as he wanted to smile, his previous years told him to tone it down and keep a stone face.

  Kito sits on a large wooden container, his legs dangling down while he rests his elbow on his knee and his palm on his cheek. Daiki and Kasumi stand beside him with their arms behind their backs while Bara stands guard near the door. Tatsuki stands in the center, sandwiched by the four men that could easily run through him, dice him, brutalize him, or all three at once.

  "Sit." Commands Kito.

  Tatsuki does so.

  Kito pauses before pointing. "Your heartbeat. It's rapid. Take a breather."

  "Yes. You're right." Tatsuki inhales and exhales. "By the way Mr. Kito, I hate to sound insulting but, are you okay?"

  As the men beside him were ready to give the guest a scolding, Kito simply chuckles. "I had a building blew up in my face. You tend to look a little roughed up when that happens."

  "N-no sir, I'm talking about your skin tone."

  Kito gives a confused look.

  "You see, I was so shocked by your presentation that you did with the news that I rewatched it for almost an hour straight. I could actually remember the entire speech if you'd like me to repeat it."

  "Please don't."

  "Of course. Sorry. But I noticed that aside from the burns, your skin looked normal. Yet now, it looks a little off. Are you you're ok? I can help with anything if you'd lik-"

  Daiki interjects. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to huh? Use honorifics."

  Kito waves his hand. "Guys, relax. He's just a bit excited is all. But to answer your question, I'm fine. I'm just... tired."

  "I understand." Responds Tatsuki.

  Kito yawns. "So I was told that you really wanted to help, is that correct?"

  "Yes." Says Tatsuki. "I would do anything you ask of me."

  "Alright. I'm glad you're excited. However, I need to know everything about you before I can allow you to enter our group."

  "Of course."

  "So, where were you in life before this very moment right here, right now?"

  "Well," begins Tatsuki. "I was in a biker gang led by none other than Yamazaki Saizo the Great."