Haruto climbed into the car, shutting the door behind him with a heavy thud. His eyes fixated on the dashboard, but his thoughts raced, swirling with frustration and confusion.
'What the hell...' he cursed inwardly, gripping the steering wheel as his mind replayed the confrontation with Daiki.
The face he had longed to see, the man he had sworn to destroy, had stood right in front of him—and he did nothing.
His hands trembled, still feeling the rage that coursed through him, but now it was mixed with self-loathing.
'I should have killed him...'
Haruto's plan had always been clear: to steal everything Daiki cherished, to make him suffer the way he had suffered.
But when he was finally face-to-face with him, all that meticulous planning had crumbled.
His emotions had gotten the better of him, and now he felt more helpless than ever.
Jin's words echoed in his mind: "And when they least expect it, I'll stab them in the back and take everything away from them. Then they'll know what it feels like to be dead when they are alive."
'I can't even stand next to him without losing it...'
His grip on the steering wheel tightened before, with sudden desperation, Haruto slammed his forehead against it.
The blaring car horn shattered the silence of the night, but he didn't stop.
He kept banging his head against the wheel, the pain did nothing to quell the storm inside him.
Enji, seated calmly in the passenger seat, raised an eyebrow, his hand lazily holding a cigarette.
He let Haruto continue for a moment before yanking him by the shirt.
"The hell are you doing?!"
Haruto's eyes, wild and bloodshot, met Enji's. "You set me up, didn't you? You knew Daiki would be there, so why would you do that?!"
Enji scoffed, unfazed by his accusation. He took another drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke in Haruto's face.
"And? Aren't you the one who wanted to kill him? Now you're losing your mind just from seeing him?"
"I... I just..." Haruto's voice faltered, unable to find the words to express the rage and shame twisting inside him.
He felt like a fool.
Enji sighed, clearly unimpressed. "How about you just give up? Whatever grudge you have against Daiki, it's not worth it. You're cracking at the seams over nothing."
He flicked ash out the window, his expression bored as he exhaled smoke.
Haruto clenched his fists, his voice low and frustrated. "I can't... Damn it, I need to drown myself in cold water or something."
It was his ritual, a way to soothe himself when the anger became too much to bear.
Enji studied him for a moment, his eyes narrowing before he sighed again. "Move over. I'll drive."
"Don't worry, it won't hurt much. Feels like an ant bite," Nakamura said casually, as Enji chuckled.
The comment made Haruto frown. It reminded him of something his mother used to say whenever he needed shots at the doctor's office.
However, as the needle touched his skin, he was surprised that the pain was more manageable than he'd expected.
As Nakamura worked, the conversation turned casual. They talked about the gang's symbol, the Crow, which puzzled Haruto. It didn't seem to match the gang's name, Karafuru Pierce.
"The school gang changes names and its personality every time a new leader takes over," Nakamura explained, his voice light as he focused on his work.
"But the tattoos and piercings are constants."
Haruto shot another look at Enji, who grinned, clearly amused by the situation. "That's why Enji joined this gang in the first place, to merge it with his old one."
"He's obsessed with the needle," Nakamura laughed, remembering the past.
"The name might change, but the tattoo remains. Another group knows us as 'The Murder of Crows.'" Nakamura added.
"I am a leader for Karafuru Pierce only. While Murder Of The Crows is led by senior Kikuchi." Enji chimed in.
He nodded, it meant that the 'gang' he knew, the one that only just longing under the bridge was just a cover of something more.
Karafuru Pierce was also inclusive to the high schooler while the Murder of The Crows was added with the one that already graduated and had connections with a bigger gang.
"Does this group have a connection to Yakuza?" Haruto asked, curiosity piqued.
Nakamura hesitated for a moment before responding, "More or less."
He absorbs the information. It made sense. Their operations were far beyond the scope of an ordinary school gang that he knew.
As the needle buzzed on his skin, another thought surfaced. "Why didn't anyone tell me the bag was full of money instead of drugs?" Haruto's voice sharpened with frustration.
He had been paranoid the entire time, only to realize the situation had been something entirely different.
Enji laughed from the corner. "I want to mess with you."
"Also, Money, drugs, guns—it's all the same. If the cops found that bag in your car, it wouldn't matter what was inside. You'd still be going to jail."
Haruto couldn't argue with that. Whether it was drugs or a stash of cash, it all pointed to trouble.
Enji suddenly straightened, his eyes narrowing as he asked, "So, what happened with Daiki in that warehouse? What was all that about?"
Haruto's hand tightened into a fist, the memories flooding back. The rage simmered under his skin.
"He invited me to the Underground Ring this Saturday night."
The room went still. Nakamura stopped the tattoo gun mid-line, his eyes wide with surprise.
The magazine slipped from Enji's hand, hitting the floor with a soft thud as he stood up and walked toward Haruto, his expression serious.
"And what did you say?"
Enji's voice was sharp, carrying a note of concern that hadn't been there before.