"KETO!"
"You're so damn loud…" It was an unbelievable sight. The lone wolf of the Wild Beasts is all beaten up. I rushed to his side and helped him get out of the storehouse.
"What the hell happened to you man!?" I asked. Keto seemed extremely exhausted and in pain with the way he breathes and walks. His right eye is swollen and there was a lot of bruises on his arms. Who could've done such a thing?
"Those damn Exitiums were playing dirty. There was seven of those bastards that dragged me here, I could've beaten them all but they played quite unfair."
"Seven!?… it was already unfair to begin with, several of those bastards going against one guy." It's only been weeks since I joined the gang and I never thought I'll get to see Keto in this kind of state so soon.
"Yeah, those pieces of shits… when I get my hands on them! I'm gonna…" Keto began clenching his fists, accompanied by a dog-like growling.
"Boss, take it easy. You're badly injured."
"I might go wild and rip them all apart!"
"Don't go running wild now!" Judging by his injuries, I think Keto won't stand a chance when the gang war happens. His bruises will definitely take time to heal, and the gang war is only a few days away.
"Tsk, we're heading straight to Ren's place. Where's your ride?" All of sudden!?
Gramps might get worried about me for being out for too long. "But boss, it's already too late. Maybe we can just inform him about this tomorrow?"
"The hell are you talking about? This is an urgent matter that needs to be reported to the leader as soon as possible. Get your shit together Lyde." I think you should be the one getting your shit together you dumbass dog. What needs to be done is to get you to some infirmary/hospital for treatment.
"…so where's your ride?" He asked again.
"Erm… this is…" He was stunned to see the bicycle I showed him. Seeing his reaction makes me feel a little embarassed. "Are you serious? You used this to get all the way here?"
"Y-Yeah." I ended up scratching my head in shame.
Keto sighs with a hint of disappointment on his face. "…whatever. Let's move."
As we go on our way to Ren, Keto was really struggling with his beaten body. I could've gone to the hospital first without following his orders, but it seems that his fists are fine enough to throw a punch at me if I ever disobey him. I'm not really that worried anymore though, I already feel like pushing him off my bike for being too bossy with directions.
"Turn left over there, and stop over at the first apartment."
"Okay!" We're finally here!
Stopping infront of the apartment, Keto continued to lead the way to Ren. And he knocks on the first door as we got on the third floor, this must be Ren's apartment. "…coming!" Ren yelled.
_____
Ren's pov
"…coming!" I yelled. Who could it be at this hour? This better be important, disturbing my time for watching my favorite show is unforgivable.
When I opened the door, there was two hooligans waiting for me and one of them isn't in good condition. "Keto, what happened to you!?" I asked, though I think I already know who done this to him.
"It's the Exitiums. I think they want the gang war to happen sooner." I knew it.
"I see. Let's discuss this inside." Those Exitiums really tries hard to get on my nerves. The same thing almost happened to me this morning, if I hadn't outran those bastards then I might be too exhausted to watch my favorite show. Though my night is still ruined with these two coming over.
After letting them inside, I handed Lyde some bandages so that he can fix Keto for a bit. "What do you think they're trying to do? Can't they just wait for the date we settled for?" Lyde asks.
I chuckled at this simpleton. "I don't think cowards would wait for that. They must be planning to take down every person that is in command in Wild Beasts before the gang war could happen."
"That kind of victory sucks, not that they can bring us down that easily." Keto commented.
"Yeah. Now that they did this, we should just give them what they want right now..." I'll teach those pests that they messed with the wrong people. "...Keto, call the others. We'll be gathering at the square. Prepare yourselves."
"Okay, I'll do that right away." As Keto goes off to call the gang, Lyde look really worried. The kid must be scared.
"It's your first gang war, huh."
He got startled and nodded. "Y-Yeah, I'm pretty nervous. I never engaged in big fights before."
"I see... you can just quit if you want to." I told him.
The nervous expression on his face soon fades as I told him that. "It's fine to quit on us, you know? I don't need weak cowards on my team."
"But—"
"If you're worried that Keto getting angry at you for quitting, it'll be fine. I'll tell him that you're not good enough for this."
His blank expression had me grinning. I can't tell what he's exactly thinking, but I know he's not stupid to let this chance slip by. Though it would be really interesting if he doesn't steps back on this. He's either a smart coward or a brave idiot.