The five names are five pillars of DH. It is not unusual if a pillar is suddenly replaced. After all, DH is only a small part of something bigger. As one goes deeper into the dark world, there's no end how far one can go.
The five of them know about each other. They know each other's secrets. Knowing more means that death will seek you faster if you betray. Trust is a double-edged sword in the inner circle of DH. They trust each other's abilities, but they won't hesitate to remove the betrayer when the time comes.
Rie already knows this. Yuta is still young. He doesn't know much about DH.
"Rie is lost in her thoughts again." Nina laughs. "Sending Yuta away has taken away all the life from her. I don't think that she can do such a difficult job if she's always in the land of thoughts."
"Why don't you just worry about yourself?" Rie looks at her. "You were nearly caught last time."
"Nearly caught and being caught are two different things." Nina retorts in a whiny voice. "Don't I want to live? I will never get caught. If I get caught, I will be killed before they find me. I don't want to die in such a way."
Bo yawns. "Since we have received our assignments, I want to leave now. I have to go to school and pretend that I am an idiot."
"I have to feed my dog." Jordan stands up, not looking drunk one bit.
"You don't have a dog." Maddox scowls at him. "Can't we stay and talk? You are my only friends."
Rie wears her coat and cap. Maddox walks to her. "Why are you also leaving now? You have no one at home."
"I want to finish the assignment before Yuta comes back," Rie tells him honestly.
"Your son inherited your genius." Maddox takes the muffler from her hands and wraps it around her neck. "When are you going to send him to school?"
Perplexed, she pushes him away lightly. "I will send him to school when I think that it's time. Keep your concerns to yourself."
Yuan Bo looks at them with irritation in his eyes. To him, it seems like they are flirting. Maddox can see that Rie is rejecting his advances again. He smirks and says, "How can I not be concerned?"
Rie scowls at him, very well aware of the meaning behind those words. Without looking back, she walks out of the house. The rays of sunlight are breaking through the dark sky. With a deep frown, she steps inside the rented car and drives away.
"What's Yuta doing now?" It should be night time in J country. She decides to call him tomorrow. Is her son mad at her for leaving him at his father's place? Does he miss her? It's been a day since she saw his face. Her eyes are on the verge of sweating.
It takes half of the day to get to the train station. From there, it will take another day to reach her home. This time, the location of the meeting was closer than she expected it to be. Having all the members at the same place and at the same time is definitely dangerous.
Who is the secret leader of DH? That person is the one who is most dangerous. That person assigns the jobs to each member. Each time, the member gets a mail from that person for the meeting. This time, it was Maddox. Last time, it was Jordan. Before that, it was Nina.
With a lot in her mind, she stares out of the window of the train.
***
She punches the passcode and sighs. There's no Yuta at home. She pushes the door, missing her son tremendously. Should she go to J country and see her son? That also means meeting Kiyohira. She can't avoid him if Yuta likes his father.
"Mother!" She is startled when a pair of small arms wrap around her feet. Yuta looks up at her, grinning ear to ear. "Welcome home."
"Yuta, why are you here?" She squats down. Tsuchiya must have brought him back. Kiyohira must have done something wrong. Did she not inform her about this because she was in the meeting? "Did your father do something bad to you?"
Yuta wrinkles his brows. "No, Father brought me here."
"What?" She thinks that she heard wrong. "Who brought you here?"
"I did." Kiyohira's voice echoes through the room. Dressed in casual clothes, he steps toward her. It's been five years since he saw this woman. Even after everything, she has not changed one bit. She looks the same. Her heart is also the same. "I brought him here. I wanted to meet you."
She glances at Yuta. "How?"
She is baffled by his words. In one day, how did her son change so much? What did Kiyohira do to her son? Why is he talking about little sister now?
His parents need to have a talk. Yuta winks at his father and thumbs up before running to the bedroom. He presses his ear to the door to listen.
"Rie." Kiyohira looks at her solemnly. "Let's talk."