Chapter 22

A woman in black dungarees walked through dark streets with an ice-lolly in hand. Despite the dark clouds blocking the afternoon sun and the low rumbling of thunder, she still wore a pair of bedazzled sunglasses. Her hair was styled in two space buns, and her white oversized hoodie stood out like a sore thumb amidst the sea of black and grey clothes. Her eyes casually watched a blonde-haired girl standing in front of the large Kurasuno Teaching Hospital. The girl was oddly dressed too, holding a comically large phone with a small forget-me-not charm on it in one hand and a bouquet of lilies in the other.

"Amaya Suzuki, eh?" the woman muttered, the ice-lolly in her mouth making her shiver in delight. Her left hand bore a clear black ink tattoo: Number 11.

Amaya contemplated going into the hospital. She did not have the courage to face Jean. She was not afraid to see him, but she was afraid her heart would not be able to take the multitude of emotions she felt when facing him. When she looked at him, she remembered Lucas, the stabbings, and the bright, cocky kid. She wondered if she should have done something, if she should have been more insistent that he didn't fight Number 20. The hand that held her flowers tightened its grip.

"Excuse me." A small voice interrupted her. She looked to her side but saw no one there. Then she looked down to see a middle schooler looking up at her. "I'm really sorry to bother you, but I've been walking around this place in circles." The girl had pretty blonde hair tied up into a neat ponytail. She looked like a perfect student with her book bag on her back and an umbrella in hand. "I'm meant to meet someone here, and I don't really know the way," she said shyly.

Amaya looked at her curiously. "Aren't you afraid of me? I'm a delinquent, ya' know?" She did look the part. Kurasuno was quite conservative, and her accessories and makeup made her stand out a lot, often associated with delinquent girls. In her world, everyone dressed like this, but this place was a little different.

"Ah? Sorry, I just thought you dress like my brother," she said, flustered.

Amaya chuckled and moved her phone into her tote bag before extending a hand. "Here, hold on to me. I'll take you where you need to go."

The hospital was large, consisting of multiple buildings all connected one way or another. Jean's building was the same building the girl needed to go to. Amaya did her best navigating through corridors and lifts before finally arriving twenty minutes later. "This is the place," she said as they arrived at reception. People sat in the foyer on metal seats, and a set of lifts were towards the other end of the circular building. "This is reception. In case you get lost again, they should be able to help you. But if you wait here, your brother should arrive," Amaya explained.

"Thank you so much, pretty nee-san!" the girl thanked her with a bow.

'Pretty nee-san, huh?' Amaya did like children. She wondered if she could have one of her own. But if she had to leave, could she bear it?

Amaya smiled and waved her off before turning to the receptionist. "Is it ok if I leave these for someone?" she asked the nice-looking lady.

"Yes, of course. What is their name and room number?"

"101, Jean Carter."

"Alright, one second," she said as she started to check the patient list. Amaya let the lilies stay on the reception desk. She looked at them for a second before raising her phone and, after a few moments of fiddling, left her charm in the small envelope snuggled between the flower stems. Forget-me-not. Would Jean remember her when he got older? She didn't think he would, and she was okay with that. She would leave this world in a few months anyway. She wished him the best. She hoped he'd be a bit less cocky and fight a bit less.

"Nii-chan!"

The little girl's voice rang through the hospital space, and Amaya turned to see her run into the arms of a blonde-haired man in the same uniform as hers. Lucas. She felt her heart catch in her throat.

The receptionist found the patient and smiled, looking up. "Sorry about the delay. I can take the flowers now, miss." She paused. The blonde girl was gone, but the bouquet of flowers was still there.

The little middle schooler ran into Lucas's arms, and he hugged his little sister dearly. "I thought you were lost? I was coming out to find you," he said with a laugh.

"I was lost, but a pretty nee-san helped me!" she said quickly, turning to find Amaya. Her smile turned into a frown as she realized Amaya was gone. "That's strange, she was just here." Lucas looked at where his sister was staring and saw a bouquet of lilies.

Amaya, who had rushed out, felt her heart beating in her chest. She placed her fingers against it as she left the hospital.

'I guess you have something you want to protect more than anything, and that person is just not me.'

She hated herself for thinking that. Why did she expect him to put her above all else? That wasn't normal. Normal people did not love someone to the point of obsession and absolute devotion, but that was what she craved deep down: absolute devotion.

Such a thing was an impossible ask.

"Hah." She began to laugh at herself. How interesting, someone who could not afford to love wanted love so much it drove her to maniacal laughter.

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The abandoned warehouse by the river had visitors now for the second time in a row. A small fire was lit in an old can as the night was quite cold. Kenji squatted by the fire, Hiroshi and Scarface patiently waiting for Amaya. They had all realized that somehow the power dynamic had shifted, and now they were all waiting for her to show.

"Sorry I'm late, guys!" Her voice came through before they even saw her. She was panting as she ran in, dropping her tote bag to the floor immediately to relieve her shoulder from the pain.

"The wicked run when no one is chasing," Hiroshi muttered. He thought this quote suited her very well, especially the 'wicked' part.

Once she caught her breath, she stood up to look at Kaito. "Sorted?" He nodded quickly, even holding an envelope to give her. She reached out to grab it, feeling it was rather thick.

"What's this for?" she asked, confused, looking inside to see a large stack of cash.

"Um, it's our dues," he said.

Amaya looked at Kenji in confusion. "Normally, leaders under you should pay protection dues," he explained.

Amaya looked at the money and didn't know if she should laugh or cry. How many poor kids did they bully for this? "It's fine, I don't need something like that," she said, pushing it back to him. "Just tell me the plan you came up with."

Kaito, who was a bit shocked to receive the money back, was momentarily unsure of how to continue. He cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "Right. So, here's what we've got. Mamuchi's stronghold is their main base, and they've been using it to launch attacks on smaller territories. They work with a lot of the homeless kids in the area. Selling... services." He said the last part uncomfortably. Amaya had an idea of what he meant. Prostitution and drugs were their main ways of earning; it was underregulated and could be quite lucrative.

Amaya listened intently, nodding. "Go on."

"The only problem we have now is not knowing who the members of Mamuchi are. They don't publicize their names, just numbers, so we don't know who is who," Kaito said, sounding mildly defeated. "The issue is now how the hell we can find out who we are fighting against."

Mamuchi had 50 executive members; it was quite large and spanned the entire country. "Realistically, only those under number 20 might be involved in this fight, but if we defeat number 20, you will become quite famous and might have to fight the others." Kaito explained. "If you plan to ever get to the top, you will have to fight your way there."

"So if I defeat him, I will take his position?" she asked casually.

"Not necessarily, they might not let you join. Especially since you have expressed animosity," Kenji added some context. Why would they let someone who wanted to tear them down join?

"So, what's the plan?" Amaya asked again. Kaito looked flustered.

"I couldn't come up with one. We don't know enough to make a plan."

Amaya frowned and then turned to Hiroshi. Hiroshi was supposedly quite brilliant, and yet he sat quietly. "Hiroshi, I assume you are more intelligent than the newbie. I know you already have a plan. Stop sulking and just share it."

Hiroshi looked up, his eyes narrowing at Amaya's accusation. "I'm not sulking," he muttered. "I just don't like you."

Amaya rolled her eyes. "Get in line. Now, do you have a plan or not?"

Hiroshi sighed and stepped forward, pulling out a small, worn notebook from his jacket. "I've been thinking about this for a while. Number 20 is quite notorious for his businesses. His strength lies in his anonymity and his network. We can't attack them head-on without knowing who we're dealing with. But we can disrupt their operations and force them to reveal themselves." Number 20 had a read identity and a real job and a real family, the best way to exploit him was to exploit that. But they didn't have a way of getting that information so they could only go about It this way.

He opened the notebook, showing a rough sketch of the city's layout with several key locations marked. "These are the places where Number 20 operates most frequently. I've been keeping track, he's been moving more and more inward. If we hit these places hard, we can force him to come out of hiding to protect his assets."

Amaya leaned in, studying the map. "These are brothels and drug dens."

"Exactly," Hiroshi said. "If we cut off his income streams, he'll have no choice but to respond. And we will be able to more accurately predict what they will do." Strike first and watch their reaction.

Kaito looked at the map, his brow furrowing. "But won't that put the homeless kids in danger? They're the ones being exploited in these places."

Hiroshi nodded. "It's a risk, but we can't let Number 20 continue to operate unchecked. They know what they got themselves in. It's not our business."

Amaya frowned, she stared at the notebook. "Just leave it to the police to pick up, we're just high school kids." She knew deep down, if the police were any good then they wouldn't be there in the first place. "So we target their operations, force them into the open, and take them down one by one."

"More or less," Hiroshi said. "But we need to be smart about it. Each hit has to be precise and coordinated. No room for error. I do not know how many men he has under him, but at least this way we can control the fight a little."

Amaya nodded. "Kaito, you and your crew will handle gathering intel on these locations. Find out who runs them, when they're most vulnerable, and any other useful information."

Kaito nodded, his earlier uncertainty replaced with determination. "We can do that."

Hiroshi looked at Amaya, his expression serious. "This isn't going to be easy. Number 20 will hit back hard once they realize what we're doing. Are you sure you're ready for this?" This was a real war, people could die, was she ready for the blood of children to be on her hands?

Amaya met his gaze without flinching. "Do I have any other choice?"

Scarface grinned, clapping his hands together. "Finally, some real action. I'm in. Let's take these bastards down."

With their plan set, the group dispersed, each member heading off to prepare for their respective tasks. Amaya watched them go, her heart resolving to prepare as much with her system as possible.

As she turned to leave, Hiroshi grabbed her arm, pulling her aside. "A word," he said quietly.

Amaya raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Hiroshi looked around, ensuring they were out of earshot. "I still don't trust you. But I respect what you're trying to do. Just remember, if you get us killed, I'll make sure you regret it."

Amaya smirked. What a stupid threat, but at least he was no longer so cold. "Noted."