Sasaki stopped his feet in front of the door at the end of the ninth floor hallway. Ken watched Sasaki reach into something from his inner suit pocket. It's a card, similar to the name card that he gave to Ken and Chikara a moment ago while in the secret room. Sasaki placed the card in his finger on a plain steel board located beside the door, which Ken initially thought was just an ordinary decoration board.
It wasn't until a minute after Sasaki tapped the card, there was a static sound coming from the steel board. Beep. Just one time, and the sound is very smooth. Then, the steel plate moved slowly upwards and revealed a screen on which there were instructions to stick a thumb on it.
The 'beep' was heard again for the second time. The difference is that this time the sound accompanied the door opening automatically. Ken was silent, even to the point of not realizing that Sasaki had gone inside first.
When Ken entered the room, there were already several pairs of eyes looking at him. A man who standing next to the window is Aoki. The other one is sitting on the couch and the other one standing next to Aoki. They both look unfamiliar since Ken has never seen them before. But they seemed to give him a friendly smile. Bowing down politely, Ken introduced himself to those two men.
A man sitting on the couch nodded in satisfaction, then let Ken sit down. Ken sat opposite a man in a white shirt who was chewing something in his mouth. After Ken sat down, he began to feel somewhat uneasy with the man in front of him, who continued to look at him intensely and smile happily.
"Ano ... Hirano-san? If you stare at Imai-kun like that, he'll probably think you're weird ...."
When Sasaki said that, the man in the white shirt who was sitting opposite Ken turned his attention towards Sasaki while widening his eyes. He turned his gaze to Ken again, this time while blinking his eyes, then muttered something to himself.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. Recently I've been spending a lot of time with Fuukaku people ... ehm and the point is not there." That man cleared his throat before continuing, "First of all, I want to apologize for the incident earlier. You're not hurt, right?"
Ken nodded.
"Thank God. The incident also surprised us so that we couldn't help but focus on cleaning it up to the root."
Ken didn't know what to respond to, so he could only nod. Noticing the awkwardness between himself and the 17-year-old teenager in front of him, the man turned to the side.
"Aoki-san, didn't I ask you to give him my card?"
Aoki who was previously engrossed in talking to the man beside him instantly turned his head while frowning. "I gave it, really."
"Eh? Seriously? But why does he seem to know nothing?"
The frown on Aoki's face deepened, then in a loud tone he called Ken. "Imai! Where are the business cards I gave you when I called you in the arena? If it was you who were careless and forgot to put such an important thing, it's purely not my fault, you hear that?!"
Ken reached into his waist bag and then pulled a piece of paper from his wallet on which was written the name of someone he did not know yet.
"This one?" Ken asked, handing the paper to the man in front of him. The man's face which had previously looked confused instantly lit up brightly and he nodded his head in satisfaction.
Ken took back the card while remembering the name written on it. Hirano Masayuki. The man in the white shirt who sits opposite Ken is Hirano Masayuki, the top leader of the group that currently houses him.
"Imai-kun, did Aoki-san not tell you anything when he gave you my card?"
Ken put Hirano's name card back in his waist bag and shook his head. "Not at all."
"Liar! I obviously told you that Hirano was the leader and I am his underling!"
"Eh … it's rare when you admit it yourself with such an 'underling' word," said the man beside Aoki, giggling.
Ken turned his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Even a child who has recently learned to read kanji can tell just from this name card, Aoki-san."
Aoki's jaw hardened. His hands are clenched into fists on both sides of his body. The man in the black shirt beside Aoki hurriedly restrains him from attacking Ken just because he feels annoyed to have been cornered by a 17-year-old high school boy. Sasaki who was observing behind Hirano couldn't help but shake his head. Meanwhile, Hirano chuckles.
Ken observed the situation around him with warm feelings. His awkwardness began to disappear like a breeze. Although Aoki still looked at him with such piercing eyes, Ken knew if that man would not really prey on him. Unconsciously, the corners of his lips were raised without his knowledge.
"Haha ... In that case, where should I start introducing myself?" Hirano finally focused his attention on Ken. Ken himself who was given such a question was just shrugging his shoulders.
"This guy has been leading the organization for about three years," said Aoki, who suddenly walked over and sat beside Hirano. His hand reached into his trouser pocket, took out a cigarette, tucked it on his lips, and then lit the lighter that had been on the table for some time. The room has been filled with cigarette smoke. "He's five years younger than me, two years younger than Yamashita, one year older than Sasaki, and ten years older than you."
"Uwah ... why should it be so detailed, haha."
Hirano laughed again as he unwrapped the paper gum from his pocket, and chewed it. He had offered Ken, but he refused politely.
Ken turned his attention for a moment to the side of the room, precisely next to the opened window. He observed a big, tall man beside Sasaki. If he heard right, Aoki said that he is Yamashita. Even if Ken didn't guess wrong, it should be the uncle of the young man he and Chikara had just met. The uncle of a guy named Yamashita Kouichi who claims to have access to detailed information in the Higami and other biggest organizations.
Suddenly Ken remembered something he had not yet confirmed.
"Hirano-san," said Ken, making the atmosphere instantly turn quiet. He cleared his throat before continuing, "I want to know what really happened a while ago. So please, tell me honestly."
Hirano did not answer. He hung on to the question for a few moments. He had time to blow gum in his mouth and then pop it.
"All I know is that they always come every year at a time like this," Hirano replied at the end. Ken frowned and looked eager to ask the second question. But before that happened, Hirano continued, "Roughly speaking, if you think that the sudden attack just now has something to do with your appearance as a figure who should 'not exist', it is not certain yet. And we also don't want to take care of it further if there really are no signs leading to it."
The corner of Ken's eyes twitched. "But what if I guessed it right?! If those people did come because of me, how about it?! What if they not only attacked here but also at the location where my family is?!"
His shoulders went up and down irregularly. His breathing was as ragged as if he had just run around the field for ten laps. Without him noticing, his position at that time had changed. He stood up from his seat and leaned forward towards the two men sitting opposite him.
"Calm down!"
Hirano spit his gum on the paper, then put it in the trash bin near the table. He leans his back away from the back of the couch. This time his previously relaxed gaze turned alert. Ken, who was actually still burning with anger, was instantly petrified, then returned to his seat.
"Thank you. You almost exploded and burned us all here in an instant."
Ken blinked, then reflexively lowered his head and stared at all ten of his fingers that could be seen igniting flames at his fingertips. He looked at it thoughtlessly. In the shock, he then remembered the lessons and advice his grandfather had always given him. At that very moment, he took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, dismissing the turmoil of anger that was trying to dominate him. Moments later, when he had completely calmed down, the flames that had ignited on his fingertips vanished from his sight.
"Huh ... I'm really surprised, Imai-kun! This is the first time I've seen you in combat mode," Hirano said as he sank his back into the back of the couch. His hands stroked his chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm afraid of ...."
"Well, it's okay, I can guess how you feel. After all, who is not upset if someone intends to harm their own family, right?"
Ken took a deep breath. He twisted his fingers with an uneasy feeling. Hirano, who saw his behavior, sighed along.
"Imai-kun, as I said earlier, we don't want to investigate the attackers further if there are no signs to suggest that this really has nothing to do with your appearance," said Hirano. Ken only responded with a stiff nod. "But what you don't know and what I haven't yet explained is that this time the attack is different from the previous one. And because of that, the faces that should also be here with us can't come here because right now they're busy investigating the details of the attack in more depth."
Ken slowly raised his head. The hue on his face instantly turned pale. With a blank-eyed look, he reached into his waist bag and grabbed his smartphone, then hastily pressed the flat object to his ear with his hands shaking faintly.
Without a word, he left the room and dashed somewhere.