Next day — Masaki’s bungalow…
Soft morning light slips in through the curtains… a slow whooshh of air drifting through the hallway.
The gate opens — click… Hio steps inside… calm, measured footsteps… tap… tap… tap… Without looking around, he walks straight to the hallway sofa… sits down smoothly — soft thump… Pulls out his phone… thumb scrolling — swipe… swipe…
After a while—
The gate opens again — creak… Souta Minami walks in… heads straight over and stops near Hio… stance relaxed, but questions in his eyes.
“Why did you call me this early, Hio?”
Hio doesn’t look up… keeps scrolling… “Masaki was attacked yesterday… the guy’s name was Rokura Hayashi.”
Souta’s eyebrow lifts slightly… he sits on the side sofa — shift… “Who is he?”
Before he can finish—
Footsteps from the stairs — thud… thud… thud… Masaki walks down… gaze steady… He comes over and sits with them — thump…
“Rokura Hayashi…” Masaki’s tone is low, serious… “We don’t have much information on him… even the Japanese government has almost nothing.”
Hio stops scrolling… locks his phone — click… Looks straight at Souta…
“And… Hayashi has already killed one of our rankers.”
Silence fills the room… the air turns heavy.
Masaki speaks slowly… “Yeah… the Rank 3 you have now… it used to belong to Daigo Narumi.”
7 years ago — Shinjuku
A dark corner… three dealers sit around a table… cigarette smoke curling through the air — fuuu…
Dealer 1, in an uneasy tone— “We’ve got goods worth 500 million… we need to move it out of Shinjuku.”
Dealer 3 shifts in his chair, tense — creak… “But how do we avoid Masaki’s eyes… he’ll definitely show up for this deal.”
Dealer 2 stays silent… thinking… fingers tapping a rhythm on the table — tap… tap… tap… Then a spark of a plan flashes in his eyes…
“We use the underground metro.”
Dealer 3 leans in… “How?”
Dealer 2 smirks slightly… “Rich students… small packets hidden inside their bag straps and stitching. No one will suspect a thing.”
Dealer 1, doubtful… “Goods worth 500 million… through something that small?”
Dealer 2, confident… “I’ll prepare 50 bags… you just find the carriers.”
Dealer 1 and 3 exchange a glance… then nod — hmm.
Next day — Warehouse
50 students stand in a line… nervous whispers — fusfusahat… murmur…
Dealer 1, in a loud voice— “Each of you will get one bag… take it out of Shinjuku via the metro… job done, 500k reward.”
Among the students, greed and doubt mix together… But slowly, one by one, they pick up the bags — rustle… lift…
Shinjuku Metro — Underground
The crowd is heavy… announcements echo — ding dong… The sound of the train — ghrrrr…
All the students blend into the crowd…
Among them— A calm figure… Daigo Narumi.
He stands on the platform… still… observant.
Then—
A man bumps into him — bump!
“Sorry bro, wasn’t paying attention!”
Daigo gives a slight glance… calm tone— “It’s fine… go.”
The man quickly walks off… But as he leaves… a faint, strange smell — whiff…
Daigo’s expression shifts subtly… instincts triggered.
That smell… not normal…
He silently follows him… footsteps controlled — tap… tap… Using the shadows… perfect tracking.
The man slips into the restroom…
The next second—
Daigo turns into a blur — SWOOSH!
A precise strike — THAK!
The man drops unconscious instantly — thud…
Daigo picks up the bag… opens the zip — zzzip… Checks inside…
Small packets hidden within the stitching… And a folded note…
A spark of excitement flashes in his eyes — spark…
“Ohhh… so there are 49 more bags out there…” A slight grin… dangerously calm…
“Well now… interesting.”
The metro chaos is still at its peak… announcements — ding dong… Tracks vibrating — ghrrrr… Crowds murmuring — murmur… push… shuffle…
And in the middle of it all… Daigo Narumi stands perfectly calm… eyes sharp… target locked.
He slowly begins executing his plan…
First student— Daigo glides with the flow of the crowd… swishh… a smooth move… grabs the strap — snatch!
and without making a sound, the bag is in his hands.
The student doesn’t even notice… already moving ahead.
Second student— This one is alert… throws a punch — whooshh!
Daigo tilts his neck… clean dodge… instant counter — thud!
wrist lock… bag released… grab!
The man freezes… Daigo is already onto the next target.
Third— He tries to run — tap tap tap!
Daigo cuts a shortcut… blocks the path — step… stop.
Pressure through his eyes… the man halts… Daigo simply takes the bag — pull…
And then—
A rhythm forms…
Grab — shift — dodge — take
Step — slip — counter — collect
The metro’s vibrations… the crowd’s push… the noise… none of it disturbs Daigo…
To him, this is just a moving battlefield… and he’s dominating it effortlessly.
In just a short while…
44 bags in his hands.
Breathing steady… stance relaxed… like he just finished warming up.
He stacks the bags in one place… thump… thump… makes a slight pout and mutters—
“Man… I only missed 6 bags…”
The train reaches the next station… ding dong… doors open… The crowd pours out… and out of those 50, only 6 bags manage to escape safely.
Later — Masaki’s bungalow
The door opens — click… Daigo walks in… bags slung over his shoulders… yet his face completely casual.
Masaki looks at him… arms folded… “How many times have I told you… don’t cause trouble for people.”
Daigo makes a silly face… eyebrow raised… “You think I’m a bully?”
Masaki gives a faint smile… “Yeah… a little.”
Daigo picks up one bag and signals to him… “Look… there’s something interesting in the strap.”
Masaki checks the bag — rip… stitch opens… Neatly packed drugs inside…
Daigo hands him the folded note as well — flip…
Masaki’s expression turns slightly amused… “There were 6 bags… where are they?”
Daigo scratches his neck… awkward grin… “Sorry… I missed those.”
Masaki suppresses a small laugh… “It’s fine… this is more than enough.”
Elsewhere… darkness… silence…
A figure stands in the shadows… staring at the 6 bags placed on the table…
Interest in his eyes… calculation…
Rokura Hayashi.
He picks up his phone… dial — beep… beep…
The call connects— Dealer 2 answers immediately… “Yes sir..”
Hayashi’s tone is calm… but the pressure underneath is clear… “Who is it… that’s been skimming my goods?”
Dealer 2, slightly nervous… “Sir… we tried our best… but a ranker showed up there.”
A brief pause…
“A ranker… from Masaki’s group?”
“Yes sir… Rank 3… Daigo Narumi.”
Silence… then Hayashi speaks slowly… voice low… dangerously calm…
“Find out… where he lives.”
Masaki’s bungalow — late afternoon…
The living room is wide open… sunlight pours in through the large glass windows… golden reflections spread across the floor… a soft AC breeze flows — whooshh… A low table at the center… sofas arranged around it…
Masaki leans slightly against the backrest, one arm resting casually on the edge of the sofa… Hio sits to the side, posture straight, phone spinning between his fingers — tap… spin… tap… Raiga stands in the corner with arms folded, legs crossed… expression completely flat… Daigo sits at the edge of the sofa, leaning forward, elbows on his knees… eyes casually scanning everyone…
Masaki tilts his neck slightly, looking at all of them— “So… tell me, where are you guys going this vacation?”
Raiga doesn’t change his posture… staring straight ahead— “I want to go to Europe… it’s honestly a really beautiful place.” His fingers tap a slow rhythm on his arm — tap… tap…
Hio turns slightly toward him, chin raised a little… “Yeah… go there. The nature is really clean… pretty peaceful.”
Daigo’s eyes instantly lock onto Hio… he leans in a bit more… curiosity obvious— “You’ve been there, Hio?”
Hio gives a short nod… “Yeah… I have.”
Daigo’s lips curl into a teasing smirk… his finger lightly traces a circle on the table — scrrr… “You forgot about me? I wanted to come too.”
Hio looks straight at him… expression completely deadpan… “I went with my girlfriend.”
A second of silence… then—
Daigo suddenly straightens… leans slightly closer to Hio… eyebrows raised— “Take me this time… I’ll be your girlfriend.”
The corner of Raiga’s lips lifts slightly… Masaki gives a side glance toward Raiga… both sharing the same amusement… huff…
Hio replies without even blinking— “You’re not girlfriend material… you’re more like someone who deserves a shoe to the face.”
HAHAHA— Laughter bursts through the room… ha ha ha… Daigo leans back, holding his chest… Raiga lowers his head with a silent laugh… Masaki shakes slightly… Even Hio can’t fully hide the faint smirk at the corner of his lips.
Outside the bungalow — driveway…
Everyone steps out… footsteps crunch over gravel — crunch… crunch… The air is slightly cool… leaves rustle — shhh…
Hio walks parallel to Daigo… gaze straight, tone a bit serious— “Narumi… what’s your address? We don’t know where you live. It’ll help in an emergency.”
Daigo’s steps slow for a micro-second… shoulders stiffen slightly… He gives a side glance… then looks ahead again… calm mask returning—
“Sorry, Hio… I can’t share my address. It’s private.”
Hio watches him for a few seconds… eyes evaluating… Then gives a slight nod… “Alright.”
A thin silence stretches between them… Then Hio changes direction… takes a different path… tap… tap… fading away…
Daigo pauses for a second… then resumes walking — tap… tap…
City street — early evening…
Streetlights flicker on — tik… glow… Cars pass by — whoooshh…
Daigo walks steadily along the footpath… hands in pockets… gaze neutral…
Then—
His eyes land on a girl standing beside a parked car…
He slows down… then stops… Head tilts… eyes focus—
“Mizuki… you’re here?”
Mizuki pushes herself off the car… takes a step forward… A soft smile… brushing a strand of hair from her cheek— “Yeah… I’m here. I was waiting for you.”
Daigo blinks slightly, confused… brow creasing… “But why?”
Mizuki lightly interlocks her fingers… her body sways a little… voice soft— “I’m your girlfriend… so I want to go to a café with you.”
A slow smile forms on Daigo’s lips… shoulders relax… “Yeah… why not. Let’s go.”
Café — warm ambience…
Door opens — ting… Soft music inside… the rich, warm aroma of coffee fills the air…
They slide into a booth side-by-side — shff… Daigo sits a bit straight… Mizuki keeps a slight distance at first…
The waiter arrives… cups placed on the table — clink… Steam rises — sss…
Mizuki slowly slides closer… her shoulder almost brushing Daigo’s arm… Daigo gives a brief side glance… notices… but says nothing.
He lifts his cup… sip — sip… Eyes soften… “The coffee’s good.”
He takes out his phone… opens the camera — click… focus… Captures a photo of the café.
Mizuki tilts her head… looking at him— “Why are you taking a picture?”
Daigo replies casually… adjusting the screen— “I’ll bring Sayuri here.”
Mizuki’s smile freezes… fingers go still on the table… Her eyes lower slightly… a silent pause…
Maybe… I can never take Sayuri’s place…
Her grip tightens around the cup — tik…
Daigo catches that stillness… side glance… His voice softens a little—
“You should take a photo too.”
Mizuki looks up instantly… her forced smile shifting into something real— “Yeah… why not.”
She wraps her arm around Daigo… pulls him closer — slide… close… Their shoulders touch… warmth clear…
Phone raised in front… “Smile.”
Both their lips curve… eyes on the camera— click!
Outside the café — night…
Under the streetlight, the two stand… a soft glow falling over them… The air is slightly cold — whooshh…
Daigo stands still… Mizuki by his side… A second of quiet…
Suddenly—
Mizuki grabs his sleeve — grab… hold…
Daigo stops… turns toward her — step… turn… The distance between them closes…
Mizuki takes a deep breath… her chest rising slightly… Then, without a word—
She steps forward… And softly presses a kiss against his lips — soft… still…
Time seems to slow down… Their shadows merge beneath the streetlight… The wind feels like it’s stopped… leaving only that moment… intense… silent…
—Chapter 2 end—