Sitting on the couch of his house, Yoru numbly stared at the television, displaying the car accident his father died in. He’d prayed that it was all a bad dream on the night it happened, hoping that his father would wait for him in the morning with a made breakfast, however when he woke up, he was alone.

His house felt empty. Too big. Too quiet.

He couldn’t eat. It’s been several days since the accident, and only two people called to check upon him. Nobody else, nobody remembered.

The man who killed his father, Anzai Takeshi, had been arrested and the news flashed to the jury. What Yoru hoped for, was that he would get convicted for murder, and put into prison to rot for the next few decades. Yoru wouldn’t mind it even if he spent the rest of his life in prison, but he knew no punishment was hard enough.

His father is dead.

Anzai took him from Yoru.

The jury returned to their seats, ready to read their verdict.

Yoru’s body began to shake, his breath hitching.

There seemed to be a slight commotion, and Anzai began to fidget in his place. The judge turned his head to the left, seeing a man running up to him, leaning forwards to whisper something in his ear. Yoru squinted and leaned forwards, as if to see better what was shown on the TV. The man nodded and left, the judge clearing out his throat.

“Not guilty! Case dismissed.” As he slammed a gavel down, dismissing the case.

The TV remote fell to the floor.

His wide eyes stared at the screen as he watched the policeman take handcuffs off Anzai, the man rubbing his wrists. Nobody paid any attention to him.

But Yoru saw.

The mad smile flashed on Anzai’s face just for a second before the cameras turned to the jury leaving, and it left Yoru dumbfounded.

No, he hoped he saw it wrong. Hoped he heard wrong.

“The case is dismissed? How? He, he crawled out of that other car. My father… burned in that car, from the lighter that man threw.”

Curling up his hands in a fist, Yoru jumped from his sofa. “It’s not possible. No…”

Tears streamed down his face as he repeated that one sentence, over, and over, and over again.

Seven years passed since the incident. Seven resentful years, seven years spent in grief and guilt.

He lost everyone. Everything. The people wouldn’t employ him, he lived on whatever money was left in the house. Little by little, he had to sell the furniture. So he slept on the floor, cooked from his memory, his father’s old cookbooks. Those are fantastic cookbooks, he felt as if his father was there, guiding him with every step again, like he used to when he was little. 

He couldn’t afford to live in the house anymore. Thrown out on the streets, he only had some food with him, and the old books, which still had the lingering scent of his father, his home. So he wandered around the city, sleeping on the streets, crawling in the backs of the meadows and gardens, only to get stones thrown at him if somebody passed by.

“Get lost, little pest!” was the common sentence he heard every day.

Tired, hungry and thirsty, he had only a bit of a sandwich left before he ran out of food. His red hair was unruly, his face dusty, eyes dead.

Soon his legs gave out. So he slouched against a wall of a house, listening to the murmurs of people passing by.

“But that’s not what really happened!”

“Nobody cares anymore! Not a single soul out there. He’s been dead for seven years. Mayor Takeshi won the elections and since then, some things got better, while some got worse, I’ll admit that. But do you really think anyone remembers that man, what was his name even? Azuma something?”

Yoru recoiled, almost dropping the sandwich. But he decided to remain silent, and hidden.

“All I’m saying is, that he was a much better candidate than Anzai. And then what happened? He took him out.”

“Quieter! Do you want somebody to hear you?”

The amber eyes darted to the two men standing at the beginning of an alleyway Yoru had been hiding at. Two men who were wearing suits with golden chains around their necks. They looked like the mayor’s bodyguards.

The two men took a look at Yoru, who covered his face with his father’s red scarf, now dusty.

Sighing, the man continued, “That’s just a beggar, who cares if he hears us. But I have to get it off my chest; Azuma Kazuhiro would’ve made a far better mayor than Anzai will ever be. He had clear visions, he knew how to take care of many problems, which Anzai still doesn’t. But what happened? Anzai took Azuma out. Killed him in his drunken state and made it all look like a car accident. Remember?”

Yoru froze. But the man still continued talking.

“What didn’t go according to his plan, was that a couple saw him at the accident place and called the cops, who had Anzai arrested. But what did the fool do then? He bribed the jury to let him off the hook. That little break which happened? The cameras have never caught it, but he sent his man to give money to the judge to let him go. Talk about being corrupted.”

Tears filled Yoru’s eyes. His father murdered; it was all planned? And made looking like a fucking car accident??

The worst of all; he was let go because the jury had been bribed?!

Squeezing the sandwich, he didn’t feel hungry anymore. Rage, pure rage took over him. Tears streaming down his dirty face, he waited until those bodyguards were out of sight to move.

He walked down the street, with clear intention, people moving out of his way. He had to find something he could do; he couldn’t let his father’s death go in vain.

The library, that will be his starting point. He still needed to learn more. But he will definitely find a way to kill Takeshi.

The librarian looked at the teenager walking down towards the counter, the boy who looked ready to rip apart anyone who stood in his way. Fear took over people, mothers getting their children away from that boy, whose red hair stood out in the crowd.

“Hi, I’d like to get a membership in the library, please.” The librarian stood shook.

“Alright, no problem. May I have your ID, sir?”

Yoru handed her the card, and she recoiled upon seeing it. Silently typing in the data, she said, “It will be finished in around three weeks. Meanwhile, would you like to take a look around?” she added with a smile.

“Uuh, am I allowed to borrow books now, please? I need to study.”

“Of course. You can always come here to ask if you can’t find something.”

And Yoru studied, studied the finances, the mayors, the politics which never actually interested him. He came to learn of Shuryo Inu, the bodyguards assembled by the mayor who do his dirty work and help the police capture criminals around the city.

“So, if I somehow get to fight the Shuryo Inu, I’ll be able to get closer to killing the mayor, huh? Interesting.” He said, mused.

Flipping through books, an unusual name caught his eye. “Heiwa kōchiku-sha? What the hell is that?”

“It’s a fucked up history, that’s what this is.” A voice reached him from behind.

Yoru turned to the woman, who set a pile of books upon the table. “Yoru, right? Nice to meet you, my name is Ai. This group here, once used to work for the mayor, but they got separated after the Shuryo Inu party falsely accused Akai Ryu of murdering some people. The books in the city libraries, in the stores, and in schools, they are all false. A propaganda started by the mayors. The Akai Ryu didn’t do anything wrong, the Shuryo Inu was in fact the group who tortured the man who stole that mayor’s money. They are the ones murdering people around. But they were always the mayor’s favorites, so it was easy for them to accuse Akai Ryu of the crimes they committed. Some members were hung on the town square, which still has the gallows pole as a tourist attraction to this day. The rest managed to escape, but nobody actually knows where. And now, the Akai Ryu are holding a grudge against the Shuryo Inu. They want to pay them back, so they’re always beefing with them, meddling in their business.”

Setting the book down, Yoru asked her, “Do the Akai Ryu have anything with the mayor?”

Sighing, she answered, “No, they have always gone against the Shuryo Inu. The mayor is a different story. If I were them, I’d get rid of the mayor first, and then the Shuryo Inu.”

“Because the mayor controls them.”, Yoru concluded.

“Exactly. Now you see why your previous point is useless.”

Yoru snorted. “Don’t be so rude, Ai. I am still learning.” They laughed, Yoru finally feeling relaxed after so long.

A few weeks have passed.

Yoru exited the library, but heard somebody call his name, so he turned back. The librarian handed him a book.

“Here. This is the real version of Akai Ryu and Shuryo Inu I’ve talked about. Take it with you. Maybe if you get lucky, you’ll find them. You seem really smart. My suggestion is that you enroll in a science school here, in Kuroyuki. Learn whatever it takes to someday bring the mayor down.”

Yoru hugged her, holding the book in his hands. “Thank you, Ai, for looking out for me when nobody did.”

Ai smiled, returning the hug. “Now go. Remember you are always welcome here, Yoru.”

“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.” He said as he set out to find them, vowing to get strong enough to take the mayor down someday.

A hand upon his shoulder startled him.

“Yoru, it’s midnight already. I suggest you go to sleep. You’ll need it.”

Looking up, Yoru’s eyes met the electric blue of Kyoshi’s eyes, his dark eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah, I’d sleep if I could. This is just…me overthinking things. The mayor did some dirty deeds, and I kept on remembering things I’d rather not. Time passed by.”

Smirking, Kyoshi approached him, sitting down next to him. “How fucked up the mayor is… The things we’ve come across… you’ll read them.”

“Let’s go back to the study. I want to show this to everyone–”  

The doors of the study slammed open. The wide eyes of Ai met them, she was breathing hard. “Yoru, the mayor is coming here! Hurry up, and be gone! I’ll hold him off as much as I can, but get those papers and run!”

The duo were on their feet instantly, gathering the papers and cursing under their breaths. “How did he find us here? This was supposed to be our secret hideout!” Yoru whispered.

“I have no idea, Yoru. He must’ve searched everywhere else first and this was on his way.” Said Kyoshi, taking the last paper and exiting the study, closing the doors behind him.

Reaching the rest of the team, Ryo showed a thumbs-up, as if already answering Yoru, “We’ve got everything, and we’re ready to take off.”

Ai rushed, whispering, “Go. Take the secret passage out. The mayor is already here­–”

“Where is he? Yoru, come on out, I know you’re hiding in there~” the mayor’s voice could be heard across the library.

Yoru’s wide eyes met Ai’s, who nodded to him. “Get lost, Yoru. You still can’t fight him now. Somebody’s with him. I’ll hold him off as long as I possibly can, but get out now.”

“Ai–” Yoru’s voice got cut off as she rushed out, confronting the mayor.

“Yoru, hurry up. We’ll come back for Ai later.” Luna whispered to him.

 But he remained to watch.

“Mayor Anzai, what brings you here at this hour?”  Ai politely greeted him in an undertone.

Looking around himself, the mayor squinted. “There has been a notice that the Akai Ryu are hiding in here. We’ll be searching the entire library. I expect your full cooperation.”

“At this hour? Sir, you can look around here but you won’t find anyone else besides me.”

“Then I’m sure you won’t object to the search, will you now?” The mayor cut.

 Ai was taken aback, before composing herself and replying, “I’m not, but you will create such a mess if you’re going to turn over every counter–”

“Damn right, I will! Until I find him, I’ll burn the whole city to the ground to find him!” The mayor screamed, pushing Ai aside and heading towards the Akai Ryu.

“Yoru, we have to move! Now!” Shion pulled him by the sleeve, but Yoru kept his eyes glued upon Ai. The librarian fought against the mayor’s bodyguards, but the towering figure next to the mayor grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up.

Making a choking sound while fighting against him, Ai’s eyes met Yoru’s. “Run.” She mouthed the order to Yoru, before the bodyguard bellowed as she scratched him with the heel of her shoe.

Yoru had his hand on his sword in a second, but it was still a second too late.

The Akai Ryu watched from their hideout as Ai’s head slammed against the counter, blood spraying the killer and the counter.

His eyes wide, Yoru resisted Luna’s hands that pulled him back, he wanted to kill that bastard. The tall bastard with a hood on his head, the forearms were the only part of his skin showing. Black twirls marked the right arm, alongside with a spiked bracelet.

“Yoru, we have to go! Please!” Luna begged, pulling him into the tunnel, until Ai was out of his sight. And only darkness embraced him.