A deep voice was speaking.
"Murakami. Hey! Murakami!"
Kouta sat up, finding himself in a jungle. He quickly stood up, trying to identify his surroundings. "Where am I?! Am I dead?!"
"No boy, you aren't dead...yet."
Kouta just noticed that someone was speaking to him. He looked over at the floating red demon.
"You're...Kidomaru, right?"
He fiercely nodded. "I called you here to warn you about using my Gate."
"Your Gate?"
"Yes. You've used it in your previous battle. It likely came out in the heat of the moment, but still. My Gate grants power in exchange for Zen. It is not something to abuse. Your Zen is not nearly enough to draw from me. You could've died if all of it were to be taken away. Just be mindful of that."
"I'll try." was his response. He woke up in Saki's lab.
"About time you got up." she said.
"How long was I out?"
"Two days."
Kouta stood up. "Need water."
Saki tossed him a water bottle.
He drank it and headed for the door.
"Leaving already?" Saki asked.
"I can't just sit around right now. I'll be back before long."
--
[One day earlier]
Inouye Kozan woke up screaming. He was bandaged on his head and chest. The doctors ran into his room to see what was wrong.
His eyes were darting around and he was in a cold sweat. The bedsheets were soaked.
"He's hyperventilating!" one of the doctors said. "Hey, can you see me? Try to calm down. You had severe head trauma. Try to calm down."
Kozan jumped out of bed and grabbed the doctor by the collar. "Calm down? Where are my men?"
"Hey, easy now. You just got up-"
"WHERE ARE MY MEN?!!"
The doctor squealed in fear. "T-They were reported dead. Most of them."
Kozan's nostrils flared a few times. "You smell like crap." He pushed him to the side.
The doctors tried to get him to lay back down, saying he'd just suffered a severe injury.
"Don't tell me to calm down!! Embarrassment!! Failure!! We LOST!! My men were killed, we didn't arrest a single person, and do you know how much money it's gonna cost to repair the damage? MILLIONS!! It was a complete failure!! Do you understand how I feel right now?!" Kozan yelled. He breathed heavily.
"I-I understand sir, but as your doctor I must ask you to calm yourself."
Kozan grabbed him by the shirt. "You wanna see how calm I am?"
Kozan tightened the grip he had on the doctor and slammed him through the wall, creating a six-foot tall hole.
Everyone grew fearful of him.
Kozan appeared to calm down for a moment. Then he yelled out in frustration, stomping down.
The entire floor of the building started to shake violently.
"C-C-Commander!! Stop! The whole place will collapse at this rate!!"
Kozan stood up straight. He frowned. He lifted his foot. There was a deep crack in the linoleum flooring. He looked at the hole he made in the wall.
"My body's trembling with anger. It's fueling some sort of power." He walked out of the room. "Murakami Kouta. The next time we meet, you will feel the full extent of my rage."
--
[Present time]
Kouta made his way to Marie's building.
Going up the stairs he got a bad feeling. "Why is it so quiet? Is there no one here?"
He started sprinting up the stairs.
Kouta ran to room 9-J and rushed inside. Everyone was gone.
He picked up a note left on the bed.
It read: "You know where to find me."
Kouta crushed the paper. "Shinya." he said darkly. He jumped through the wall and flew away immediately.
Upon reaching the designated building, Kouta pushed his way through the crowd and went to Shinya's office.
Fujin and Akane closed the two doors after him. He was trapped.
Kasumi and Yumi were tied up on the floor. They had tape over their mouths. The both of them were unconscious.
A man sat in the main chair behind the desk. The chair turned to face him.
To Kouta's surprise, it wasn't Shinya in the chair.
"How do you like my presentation? Well-planned, don't ya think?" he said.
"I don't have time for these games. I don't know who you are, but let them go."
"You don't know who I am? Of course you do. Everyone does."
Kouta noticed the horizontal scar on the man's forehead. "Usako...Ban?"
"Bingo! I knew you were smart. Expected to see Abe? He's apparently away on business right now. What for, I don't know, nor do I care."
"I don't care either. I'm just here for my friends. After that I'll be leaving."
Akane made a move towards him.
Kouta gave her a sharp look with glowing red eyes that made her stop dead cold in her tracks.
Fujin also came at him at the same time. Kouta hit him squarely in his chest and stopped his heart. Fujin clutched at his chest and hit the ground, gasping for air.
"D-Don't hurt me..." Akane said.
Ban chuckled. "Relax. I haven't done anything to the girls yet. I want something in return."
"What is it?" Kouta remained on guard but his eyes stopped glowing.
"Your grandfather. Murakami Jikai. He left you a necklace behind am I right?"
Kouta frowned. "A necklace? What are you on about?"
Ban's eyes narrowed. "There's no way that you can't know about the necklace..."
Kouta tilted his head. "If you have nothing else to say then I'll be on my way." He started walking over to Yumi and Kasumi.
"I know who killed your family."
Kouta froze. His eyes flared red again. He rushed over to the table and grabbed Ban by his hoodie. "You better not be lying. I'll kill you right here."
Ban grinned. "I like this side of you Kouta. You're much livelier now. But yes I actually do know the truth. But I won't hand over such valuable information for free. Trust me, this benefits the both of us."
Kouta's eyes dimmed. He roughly let him go, taking some steps back. He started untying Kasumi and Yumi. "What do you want? I don't appreciate you touching these two. Pull something like this again and I'll hunt you down."
Ban snickered as he pulled the hood over his head. "I'd like you to take Akane over there off of my hands. I no longer need her."
Kouta looked behind him. "She's a Black Dragon. They tried to kill me."
"But they failed, obviously. Akane and Fujin are double agents. They work for me without Shinya knowing. That's how I get my information."
Kouta narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He stood up carrying Yumi on one shoulder and Kasumi on the other. He looked at Akane. She seemed scared of him now. Kouta decided that that was a good thing. "I'm going to do what I want with her." he told Ban.
"Yes, that's fine, do what you will. I still need Fujin for something, but Akane is just dead weight now. Take her. I will contact you again shortly."
"Within the week." Kouta said.
Ban raised an eyebrow. "You're making demands? Do you know what I can do to you?"
"Just try it." Kouta said. He phased through the doors. "Akane, let's go."
"R-Right." she followed behind obediently.
Kouta stopped before getting too far and came back through the doors. "One more thing. Did you take Marie?"
Ban looked up at him. "The nurse? No she left of her own accord. I did nothing with her."
Kouta then left.
He brought the three of them to Saki's lab. He laid Yumi and Kasumi on the bed. Akane stood by the door.
Saki came from a back room looking puzzled. "I know you said you'd come back, but what's this? I hope they pay rent."
"We won't be here long." Kouta said. "I've got a plan. Saki, this is Akane. She was dumped on me by Ban, so I'm gonna make use of her. Place a contract on her with me."
Saki's eyebrows went up. "You're...willingly asking me to contract her with you. And this is okay?"
"Yeah, just hurry up and do it. I don't need her stabbing me in the back."
Saki shrugged. She walked up to Akane.
"W-What's going to happen to me?"
Saki chuckled. "It's not painful. Come here." She undid the top few buttons on Akane's shirt.
She tilted her head at Kouta, motioning him to come over. She grabbed his hand and placed it on Akane's chest. "Contract."
A blue ouroboros tattoo engraved itself on Akane.
"What is this?" she asked.
"A contract. Kouta owns you now. Welcome to the club." Saki showed off her own marking.
Akane silently went to the sofa on the far side of the room and sat down.
Saki walked up to Kouta. "Now seriously. What's up with you? What's going on?"
Kouta looked her in the eyes. "I can't fully trust her without assuring her loyalty. Same with you. It was your idea in the first place."
"You're changing Kouta."
"Think I don't know that already? I don't even know who I am anymore. But Ban said that he knows who killed my family. It's worth it." He put on a black velvet tailcoat jacket and put his hands in his pockets.
"Are you sure it's worth it? I mean, I'll follow you regardless but are you positive? This is a lot. Even for you. This is Usako Ban we're talking about."
"Saki. I lost my mother, who I loved the most in the entire world. My father, who I looked up to. The man I wanted to be like when I grew up. And my little sister Mieko." A single tear fell down Kouta's face. "I was supposed to protect her. She was the most innocent and cutest little sister I could've ever asked for. I lost all of that. I will use anyone that I have to use, kill anyone I have to kill, just so I can avenge them. It doesn't matter if it's worth it or not. I'm putting my life on the line for this."
He walked out the door.
Saki clutched at her chest. She shook as tears slowly flowed down her cheeks. "Heh. I didn't think I had the capacity to feel pity for others. What a fool I am."
Akane was curled up on the sofa with a saddened look in her eyes. She didn't hear a single word said by Kouta or Saki. Her employer literally just threw her away like yesterday's trash. Shinya will know that she betrayed him, twice, and now she was being owned by the same man that was her target not too long ago. She felt lost. It was like she didn't belong. She was just...there.