After a short time of playing, the doorbell rang. Aiko paused the game and went to open the door.
"Ugh, I've been waiting for you guys forever! You're so late."
"It's all this guy's fault; he was walking so slowly."
"That's unfair, Mami! I waited at your house for half an hour!"
"I'm a girl, you know—I had to change clothes!"
"It's so hot outside. If I knew, I wouldn't have come."
Four people, around Aiko's age, walked in—three girls and one boy. Masashi recognized the boy; it was Yusuke Asakura, whom he had previously met with Ms. Naoko at a restaurant.
"Who's he?" one of the girls whispered to Aiko when she saw Masashi.
Before Aiko could respond, Yusuke spoke up. "You're Masashi, right? Hirota Masashi?"
"Hello, it's been a while. I go by Gennai Masashi now," Masashi replied calmly.
"Oh, I see…" Yusuke scratched his head awkwardly.
"Aiko, are these all your classmates?" Masashi tried to help ease the situation.
"Let me introduce you all. This is my sister's former student, Hiro–no, Gennai Masashi. And this is Murashima Mami, Kogure Ryoko, Aikura Ai—and you already know Yusuke."
"Hello, I'm Gennai Masashi."
"It's nice to meet you, Gennai-kun." The girls, all well-mannered, greeted him in unison.
"Pleased to meet you," Masashi replied, still somewhat unused to the overly formal Japanese greetings.
"Aiko, now that your friends are here, I'll get going."
"Stay a bit longer! At least finish this game with me, please?" Aiko pleaded.
"Next time. Stop acting like a kid, playing games all day."
"You're so annoying."
"No need to see me out. Goodbye." Masashi nodded to Aiko's friends, then headed for the door.
"Come back sometime!" Aiko called after him.
"If you need anything, give me a call. Do you have my number?" he asked, putting on his shoes.
"Wait a second, let me get a pen and paper." She ran off to find them, and after a moment, returned. Masashi wrote down his number before finally leaving.
"Aiko, is he your boyfriend?"Murashima Mami asked excitedly.
Yusuke's face immediately changed, looking tense as he watched Aiko.
"You're crazy! I told you, he's just my sister's student. Don't jump to conclusions."
"Really? But it seems like your relationship isn't that simple," Kogure Ryoko chimed in with a sly smile.
"I can't deal with you guys. It's not like that, okay?"
"Aiko, it's important to be honest," teased one of the girls.
"Ugh…" Aiko collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.
Throughout their conversation, Yusuke's expression shifted, his face muscles tightening and relaxing repeatedly. Meanwhile, Ai Aikura, another girl, muttered to herself quietly, "So his name is Gennai Masashi…"
***
Meanwhile, at Masashi's house, Kazumi was cooking while Rumi helped her.
"So, how did you meet my brother?" Kazumi asked.
Recalling the memory, Rumi replied, "My family runs a kendo dojo in Hokkaido. About two months ago, I was participating in a training camp at the dojo. One day during practice, Bro Junichi came to find me. Oh, I forgot to tell you, Bro Junichi's full name is Junichi Shiraishi. He was my grandfather's top disciple, and after my grandfather passed away, the responsibility of teaching students fell to him. That day was the first time I met Senpai."
"Was he there to see you?"
"No, he was there on a mission, to fulfill the last wish of Senior Lei Yin to return my grandfather's sword, 'Nine Souls,' to our family."
"Senior Lei Yin? Who's that?"
"You don't know? He's senpai's master," Rumi replied, surprised.
Kazumi thought for a moment before saying, "So, what happened next? Was that the end of it?"
"Not quite. After I found out senpai was Senior Lei Yin's disciple, I foolishly challenged him to a match. I was defeated so thoroughly that I couldn't even put up a fight. Even Bro Junichi was taken down in a single move. Because of this, I begged my father to let me transfer here, so I could study kendo under senpai."
"He even knows kendo? He's becoming harder and harder to figure out," Kazumi muttered, shaking her head.
**
On the top floor of a 30-story commercial building in Manhattan, a group of well-dressed individuals sat around a conference table, listening to a man in a black suit give a report.
After the man finished his report, a middle-aged man seated at the head of the table spoke. "So, you still don't know why Lei Li and Chang'an have been going to Japan frequently?"
"No, sir."
"What do you all think about this?" the man asked, addressing the others.
A tall, slender, blond man stood up. "Mr. King, as long as they're not causing trouble in our territory, we don't have to worry too much about their intentions. Japan is far from here. Let's keep monitoring the situation; soon enough, we'll get clarity."
"Hmph, by the time we do, there may not be many of us left here," a very fat man snorted.
"Indeed, we can't just let this go. The Black Dragon's power is growing rapidly; they've already absorbed several gangs. This doesn't bode well for us. If they were to merge with or ally with Japanese gangs, our narcotics shipments from the Golden Triangle to Asia would be severely impacted. Japan is our biggest market in Asia," said a man dressed like a gentleman.
"It wouldn't be easy to take over the Japanese gangs, but collaboration is possible. While you were in Japan, did you notice any meetings between Black Dragon and the local gangs?"
"No, we didn't detect any contact with other gangs," replied the man who had just given the report.
"Didn't detect it or just failed to notice it?"
"What are you implying, Mr. Marlin? Are you questioning our intelligence team's competence?" the tall, blond man glared at the fat man.
"I didn't say that; I was just asking. Who would dare question the Young Master's ability?"
"You…" The blond man clenched his fists, angered that the man had called him by a nickname he despised.
"Please control yourselves; we're in a meeting," said Mr. King.
The two men stopped, though the tension remained.
"Lawrence, keep monitoring Lei Li and his associates. Also, investigate the Japanese high school student they've interacted with. Report to me immediately with any updates."
"Yes, Mr. King. I'll take care of it," the blond man replied respectfully.
"It's too early to draw conclusions. Let's reconvene when we have concrete information. If there's nothing else, the meeting is adjourned." Mr. King stood up and prepared to leave.