Chapter Thirteen
By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? - Isaiah 53:8
* * * *
The Starlight’s Hall bar in Kabukicho is one that is regularly frequented by Hati members, though this fact was unknown to all but the owner of the bar, Mizuki Itou, a young man in his mid-twenties who had dropped out of college after failing his examinations. And because the bar was located in underground Shinjuku, Mizuki hears a lot of news and gossip going in and out of his bar, and the man also happens to be one of Yuri Yagami’s informants and friends.
And as such, Mizuki is currently patiently listening to Yuri rant about her ‘idiotic teammate and friend’, and what he had done to incur her ire this time. The bar isn’t too crowded at this time of the day, and only a few tables were occupied. And those occupants weren’t paying attention to Yuri who is currently seated at the bar counter which Mizuki is standing behind, cleaning some wine glasses with a cloth.
Yuri and her two best friends often frequent this bar on the few occasions when all three of them have the same day off. Of late, even Selina and Sunny have taken it upon themselves to join them for their occasional drinks. And as such, Mizuki is quite familiar with them by this point in time.
“And I really have no idea what he is even thinking!” Yuri ranted, going through her third glass of some hard vodka[1][2], trying to get herself hammered, but to no avail. The Phantoms of Hati tend to have quite a strong tolerance level towards alcoholic drinks because of the nature of their work, as there are times when they are required to go undercover.
“No, scratch that. He isn’t even thinking at all!”
Mizuki sighed as he paused in his cleaning, looking at Yuri in the eye. “Yuri, look at it from Ren’s perspective,” he said. “You know what he has gone through. Unlike you and Tohya, he didn’t choose this life. Fate picked it for him. Along with every other.” Yuri growled low in her throat by this point in time, but Mizuki ignored her and continued speaking. “That girl is a Raven’s Gate assassin. How do you know that she didn’t choose this path willingly, and isn’t a spy for them?”
Yuri stared at Mizuki with a slightly hurt expression. “She’s just a child—”
“All of you have faced child assassins before.” Mizuki interrupted. “And you know that they are the most dangerous assassins out there. No one would be wary of a child, or even think of them being capable of murder. And that makes it easy for them to assassinate their targets. You’ll be dead before you even know it.” Mizuki sighed before resuming his cleaning. “That’s what Ren is concerned about. You know the life that he led prior to joining Hati. He knew better than anyone else the true nature of the assassin’s life. And he knew the lengths that people would go to.”
Yuri was quiet. She knew better than anyone else about Ren’s dark and bloodshed path, seeing as how she’s the one who had actually recruited Ren into Hati. That teen had been trained as an assassin, a killer, even before he was old enough to walk. As such, it isn’t surprising to think that Ren knew and understood the dark nature of people’s hearts better than anyone else.
And a very fair and unbiased part of Yuri knew that protecting and caring for Yuuki like this was wrong. Ren’s concerns aren’t that unfounded after all. As a Hati assassin, and not just any assassin, but a Phantom, she knew that there was an extremely high chance that Yuuki may not be so innocent after all, but still…
“He’s afraid, Yuri,” said Mizuki grimly, and Yuri looked up, not showing the surprise on her face. “Ren is afraid to lose you, to lose Tohya. Both of you are the only ones who are helping him to keep his sanity. You are his first friends. His past is something that could not be forgotten or erased so easily. That’s why he had been acting like this.” Mizuki glanced at the girl. “Take it as a word of advice from someone who is older than you. Check everything out about that girl. Ren is right. For a Raven’s Gate’s assassin, she sure gives in extremely easily. And it seemed a little too easy for you guys to catch her. Even for a child assassin.”
Yuri was silent, pondering over Mizuki’s words. He had been part of the informant circle for several years now, and was one of the few who knew about Hati’s existence, as well as Raven’s Gate’s existence. Being an ‘outsider’ of sorts, Mizuki can look at things clearly.
Yuri sensed someone approaching her, and she turned only to see Tohya walking up to her with a calm expression on his face, his hands stuffed into his pockets. The teen stared at her for several moments before sighing.
“Yuri, follow me,” he said. “I’m going to see an informant of mine. I’ve had him to do a little…investigation on Yuuki some time back.” Tohya cringed at the dangerous look on Yuri’s face. And if looks could kill, he’ll be six feet under. “He has some news about Yuuki that he says we need to know. And I have a feeling that it isn’t going to be something that you’ll like to hear.”
* * * *
The streets of Shibuya were bustling with the usual energy that one can always find in the commercial streets of Japan during late afternoon. The streets were crowded with the usual high school students who were mingling around with their friends, gossiping about nothing in particular.
Ren Kamizuki’s face was unsmiling as he walked through the streets of Shibuya with his hands stuffed in his pockets, giving off such an icy aura that every single person in the streets wisely kept their distance, or got out of the way of the obviously bad-tempered teen.
Finally, Ren stopped outside an electronic games store, staring at his reflection in the shop window. But he is not really seeing anything at all as a flurry of thoughts invaded his mind. He was playing and replaying the argument between him and Yuri earlier.
What part of ‘she’s a kid’ do you not understand?!
And what part of she’s a trained assassin do you not understand?!
Yuuki didn’t have a choice in what she has to do! She’s the same as us! The only difference is that we were all taken in by Hati!
Ren growled, scaring quite a few people passing by him. He had the look of a killer. He wished that Yuri could understand him. He knew only a little of Yuri’s history, and he can only vaguely guess the reason why Yuri is so protective over that girl.
But unlike Yuri, Tohya and nearly three-quarters of Hati, he had been trained as a killer even before he was old enough to walk, and thus, he understood the true nature of Man better than anyone else.
Never judge a book by its cover.
That had been a phrase drilled into Ren’s head by his trainer even before he was old enough to walk, and that is probably the one aspect of his former life that he even remembered.
Furthermore, Ren had a feeling that the girl is not what she seems, and his sixth sense hasn’t failed him yet. This is rather surprising, as usually, Yuri is the one who could read people easily. But this time, the tables were turned on them.
Ren then frowned as he spotted the reflection of none other than Yuuki appearing in the shop window that he is currently standing in front of, and he immediately turned around only to see the girl walking through the streets of Shibuya.
Ren raised an eyebrow.
Didn’t the Elder place her under house arrest, and that she is not allowed to venture out of Hati alone without an escort which must be a member of the Phantoms? What is she doing out here? And more importantly, how the hell did she sneak out of Hati, sneaking past all their alarms and security systems?
Feeling his internal alarming bells going off within his head immediately, against his better judgment, Ren Kamizuki decided to follow her.
* * * *
Yuri can only stare blankly at the guy who is Tohya’s informant whom they have met at the Hachiko statue near the Shibuya station. For certain reasons, Tohya had withheld the name of his informant, and Yuri had respected that, as she had done the same thing with several of her informants as well.
It is for security purposes, as being an informant in the underground society is an extremely dangerous job. In fact, Yuri is surprised that Tohya’s informant had asked to meet her in the first place, as informants usually tend to meet only their handlers.
The crowd was thinning because of the time, and Yuri was relieved at this, as it wouldn’t draw too much unwanted attention to them.
“Come again?” Yuri asked at last.
Tohya was staring as well, but there seemed to be a resigned look in his eyes – like he had expected to hear something like this from his informant. The teen then glanced at Yuri before sighing and turned back to his informant. “Elaborate please,” he said.
His informant sighed and nodded. “It took me a lot of work to even turn up something about that girl,” he said. “And seeing as how it is Raven’s Gate that we’re talking about after all, I’m not that surprised. It took me close to a month just to find out what I did.” He paused and took a deep breath before speaking again. “That girl who is christened ‘Number 12’ in Raven’s Gate…and from what I know, the child assassins are all given a number, and it is what they are known as within that organisation.”
Tohya and Yuri both nodded.
“Within Raven’s Gate, all their child assassins are put through rigorous training in order to wipe out all forms of emotions in order to become an efficient killer, before they are actually sent out on missions. Raven’s Gate usually kidnaps children without any family and train them to be assassins. That girl is probably one of them. In other words, she is a ‘killing machine’. It is her job to kill. She cares about nothing but killing. The child assassins that were raised in Raven’s Gate are trained like this.”
“But—” Yuri tried to protest about Yuuki weakly, not that she was putting a lot of effort into it, but she was cut off by the informant.
“And I came across a piece of information that I only found out through sheer damn luck,” said the informant. Tohya raised an eyebrow, silently asking him to elaborate. “Apparently, Raven’s Gate had slipped one of their own into Hati in order to take out several of Hati’s best, as well as the Elder and the captain of the Phantoms. If the heads fell, then the entire organisation will fall. And this assassin is—”
“It’s Yuuki, isn’t it?” said Yuri with a resigned look on her face. Tohya looked at her with concern. “I know. I know that Ren’s words have some truth in them. I just didn’t want to believe it. Yuuki…is that assassin that Raven’s Gate sent to infiltrate Hati, isn’t it?”
Tohya scowled before fishing out his cellphone. “I’m calling Ren and the captain,” he muttered. He then turned towards Yuri. “No objections, I guess, Yuri?”
Yuri closed her eyes before opening them again. “No.”
* * * *
Ren was led all the way to the Shibuya district before entering the Shibuya 109, a department store that is quite popular with women of all ages. Ren raised an eyebrow as he entered the department store whilst taking care to keep a considerable distance between himself and Yuuki so that he wouldn’t get discovered. And all the time, he was wondering what the girl was even doing here in the first place.
He thanked his lucky stars that the department store was rather crowded now so that he was able to at least blend in with the crowd as he followed Yuuki, all the time trying to look inconspicuous.
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And to Ren’s utmost surprise, the girl led Ren all the way to the rooftop of Shibuya 109. The teen paused outside the door of the rooftop, one hand on the doorknob as he wondered if he should open the door or not.
Finally, against his better judgment, Ren decided to open the door and enter the rooftop. And he raised a curious eyebrow as he saw no one there. He then looked left and right before a soft voice spoke from behind him, and the teen jumped backwards a little, and turned only to see Yuuki leaning against the wall.
“Welcome,” said Yuuki, her bangs covering her eyes. “Kamizuki-san.”
And Ren froze as he saw the look in her eyes. He knew what that look was as he had seen it several times before in his time in Hati.
Those were the eyes of a true killer.
But that didn’t beat the twin daggers that could be seen in the hands of the girl, and Ren froze.
‘Shit.’
* * * *
“The recipient whom you are trying to reach is currently unavailable. Please try again—” Click.
Tohya sighed as he hung up his cellphone before turning towards Yuri. He had been trying to get hold of Ren for some time now, but his call simply isn’t getting through. “It’s no good,” said Tohya with frustration. “I can’t contact Ren.”
Yuri frowned slightly. Whenever Ren isn’t on missions, he usually made it a point that he would always be able to be reached on his cellphone. Did something happen?
“Did he say where he’s going earlier?” Yuri asked carefully.
Tohya shook his head. “No. He only said that he is going to take a walk when he left headquarters,” he said. Tohya then frowned. “Where is he?”
Yuri swallowed a lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. She can’t help but have a very bad feeling about this. And her instincts haven’t failed her yet. “Tohya, call headquarters. Check with them to see if Yuuki is there, whilst I try to track down Ren’s current location,” said Yuri before Tohya nodded.
Yuri then lifted the face of her communicator watch, only to reveal several buttons on it, along with a small radar-like screen like those that you see in the control rooms of submarines. She then pressed a small button near the bottom of the watch before the coordinates of Ren Kamizuki’s current location showed up on the screen of her watch.
The communicator watches of every Phantom were also fitted with a tracker device in the event they are ever in trouble when on missions, and are unable to call for help. Naturally, this tracker device is only limited to within the country of Japan.
“Thanks.” Tohya spoke grimly into his cellphone before ending the call, and turning back towards Yuri. “Yuri, Yuuki isn’t in headquarters. One of the personnel manning Control told me that the surveillance cameras around headquarters had spotted her heading towards the direction of—”
“Shibuya 109.” Yuri interrupted, not taking her eyes off her watch.
Tohya blinked. “How do you know that?” he asked, bewildered.
Yuri turned towards him, showing Tohya the coordinates that have just shown up on her watch. “Because that’s where Ren is as well,” she said with a resigned sigh. Usually, Yuri hates admitting that she had made an error in judgment, but she can’t help but admit this time that Ren has been right all along.
“I’m contacting the captain.” Yuri muttered as she took out her cellphone and dialling a number that she has long memorised.
Three rings later, the call was picked up by Riou Takeshi.
“Yagami? Good thing that you’ve called. I was about to contact either you or Tanigawa.” Tohya pressed his ear against the phone to listen in to as much of the conversation as he could, much to Yuri’s displeasure. “Control had just informed me that the girl had left headquarters. And I can’t reach Kamizuki at all. Has something happened?”
Yuri sighed. Without further ado, she quickly launched into a brief summary of what the informant of Tohya’s had told them several minutes prior, and Riou Takeshi was silent for several minutes. When he spoke again, Yuri could have sworn that winter had come early as his voice was cold. Extremely cold.
“I see. We will talk about this once you’ve returned to headquarters, Yagami.”
Yuri closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. “Yes sir. I will accept whatever punishment that you deem fit to issue.”
“Then this is your punishment: an immediate mission,” said Riou briskly. “Phantoms XIII and V are to track down Raven’s Gate assassin, Number 12, and execute her immediately.” He paused. “Is that clear, Yagami?”
Yuri didn’t answer for several moments before she spoke again. And no matter how attached she is to ‘Yuuki’, no…Number 12, she knows her own duties to the Hati organisation, and her own duties as a member of the Hati’s elites – the Phantoms.
“Yes sir.”
“Good. Track down Kamizuki as soon as you can.” Riou sounded worried. “If he is indeed with Number 12 as you’ve said he is, then he might be in some trouble.” Click.
Tohya cringed at the look on Yuri’s face when Riou hung up. For all their arguments recently, especially with the latest one that caused them to nearly come to blows, Yuri really does care about Ren. And he knew that she will probably blow a fuse if anything should happen to him.
“Let’s go, Tohya,” said Yuri grimly, slipping her cellphone back into her pocket. “We have our orders.”
Tohya nodded before clicking a button on his watch. And almost immediately, the digits on the face of his watch which read the current time changed to the roman numerals of Yuri, Ren and Tohya’s designated numbers within the Phantoms – XIII, VIII and V.
“Hati Phantoms.” Tohya muttered. “Commence mission!”
* * * *
Ren Kamizuki panted, his left hand clutching his right shoulder. There were several cuts on his body, and his clothes were also stained red with his blood. Blood was slowly dripping off Elvigar, and Ren winced slightly, as he was fairly sure that he had probably dislocated, if not fractured his right arm.
Yuuki…no, Number 12 had come at him without any warning, and Ren admitted that he had under-estimated the skills of that girl, and that was what had caused him to be injured in the first place. But part of the reason why he’s as messed up as he is, is because he had to minimize the chance of the security personnel of Shibuya 109 overhearing the racket that they’re making, and coming up to the rooftop to investigate.
Ren sure did not want to find out what would happen after that.
Even if Number 12 didn’t kill them, Ren knew that Hati definitely would.
Outsiders who found out about Hati’s existence by mistake are usually ‘erased’ by Hati themselves. It may be cruel, but necessary. If the public ever found out about Hati’s existence, and what they actually do, it may create a scandal like no other, especially considering the fact that the government agencies of all countries across the globe actually knew what Hati does. Civil war would just be the least of their worries.
Thus the reason why Ren Kamizuki, Phantom VIII of the Hati’s Phantoms, wasn’t giving his all in this battle.
Beep.
Ren glanced down at his wristwatch before dodging out of the way of Yuuki’s attack once more, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid her dagger, and this resulted in another cut on his shoulder. Part of the reason why Ren is currently having so much trouble is because he is technically a long ranged specialist.
The team that made up of Ren, Yuri and Tohya were set up by the Elder and the captain as a First Response Team, as they’re a team that is expected to respond to any situation necessary, and neutralise the threat. While he is a long ranged specialist, Tohya is a closed ranged specialist, whilst Yuri is an all-rounder.
Ren groaned inwardly as he made a mental note to himself to increase his sparring sessions with Sunny, Yuri and Tohya to improve his hand-to-hand combat skills.
If he even lives to survive this.
“You’re sure persistent.” Yuuki remarked, the twin daggers in her hands already stained red with Ren’s blood, with droplets of the crimson liquid dripping off of the ends of the blades. “Hurry up and die already.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said Ren, panting heavily as he got to his feet once more. He had already lost a great amount of blood, and if he loses anymore blood, he’ll be in some serious danger. “The Phantoms have a tendency to not give up, even in the direst of situations. We have a duty to complete.”
“How pathetic.”
“Maybe it is.” Ren agreed with Yuuki, surprising the girl greatly. “I used to think the same thing that you did. But then, Yuri came along. She changed me. I may not like you, but it’s my job to be observant. I can see that you truly like her. It may be a mission issued to you by Raven’s Gate, you can’t help but like Yuri, can’t you? That girl may be one of our best, but she has this ability to touch people’s hearts with mere words and actions alone. She can change people.”
Yuuki shook her head. “Shut up!”
“What’s wrong? Because you know that I’m speaking the truth?” Ren stated.
He knew what that beep from his wristwatch was earlier.
Either Tohya or Yuri must have set off the ‘mission start’ command. All Phantoms who were put in teams, had that function set in their watches that would trigger the signal for ‘mission start’ once a member of their team set off the command. And knowing Yuri, she is bound to have tracked him down by now.
Ren is the computer genius among the three of them, but Yuri isn’t that bad with computers, having learned what she could from Ren. He just has to stall for some time with Yuuki which isn’t too difficult, seeing as how Ren is quite the expert with mind games. All Phantoms are extremely skilled with interrogation, but Ren takes it to a whole other level.
“No!” Yuuki protested loudly. “She…she is nothing to me! She is just one of the nuisances that I have to take out for the sake of this mission! Nothing more! Just like you!” She pointed one of her daggers at Ren. “This…this is…just…a mission… This…is just…a mission…”
A whistling sound reaches Ren’s ears just then, and something silver flew past him before knocking the two daggers out of Yuuki’s hands. And a split second later, a gunshot was fired.
Blinking, Ren turned around to see Tohya and Yuri standing on either side of him, both panting heavily. Tohya reached out with one hand and caught one of his twin spinning knives as it flew back to him, whilst Yuri had her Odium in her right hand, breathing heavily.
“Tohya! Yuri!”
“Ren, are you alright?” Yuri asked, not taking her eyes off of Yuuki.
Ren nodded his head. “Somewhat,” he said, breathing heavily. He failed to mention that his vision was already starting to blur; probably due to the fact that he had already lost huge amounts of blood. The doctor of Hati is going to have his head for this.
Tohya took one look at him. “You don’t look alright.” He pointed out, and Ren grunted.
Yuri had not taken her eyes off of Yuuki once ever since she had arrived with Tohya to Ren’s aid. Her uncle has trained her to be an assassin, and she knew the rules and the ethics of a Phantom like the back of her hand.
No matter what the situation is, a Phantom mustn’t let their emotions rule their head.
That was just one of the things that her uncle had drilled into her head. Kenji Yagami had been one of Hati’s best assassins, if not the best that they ever had. He had driven Yuri into the ground hard during training, ignoring the fact that she was only a mere child at that time, but he had even been younger than Yuri when his father had trained him as an assassin.
How could Yuri be so stupid as to forget what her uncle had taught her?!
Never ever judge something or someone by their appearances. Things are never what they seem, especially in the bloodshed path that we took.
“I didn’t want to believe it.” Yuri spoke softly, not taking her eyes off of Yuuki, and not moving her gun away from Yuuki as well. “But it’s really true. I had almost forgotten what my uncle had taught me. I’ve almost forgotten the ethics and code of the Phantoms. Number 12. What is your mission here? What is your purpose to infiltrate Hati?”
Yuuki or ‘Number 12’ flinched slightly. That action was so subtle that it would have gone unnoticed by most, but fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how one tends to look at it, Ren, Yuri and Tohya aren’t your typical people.
“No. I guess that I don’t even have to ask,” said Yuri, shaking her head. “‘If the heads fell, then the entire organisation will fall’.” She looked at Yuuki straight in the eye. “That’s your mission, isn’t it? To kill the Phantoms that have the most influence within the Hati organisation, as well as the captain of the Phantoms, and the Elder himself.”
Yuuki’s left eyebrow twitched slightly before she narrowed her eyes at Yuri. “I guess I can see why they told me to be wary of you,” she muttered. “You’re really dangerous.”
Tohya narrowed his eyes, holding his weapons in a way so that he is ready for combat at any given time. “Who did?” he asked dangerously.
“Kami.”
Yuri exchanged looks with her teammates before turning back towards Yuuki. “Who is this ‘Kami’?” she asked. “What is his real name?”
“Kami is Kami,” was Yuuki’s answer. “He has no name. He is God.”
Yuri, Tohya and Ren exchanged looks, all silently agreeing on the same thing. Whoever this Kami is, he seriously has a God complex.
“But…it is enough now.” Yuri narrowed her eyes as she saw Yuuki take one step backwards – to the ledge of the roof. The sun was setting by now, and the sky was being painted a beautiful orange-red. “When one fails a mission, only death awaits us.”
“Don’t be stupid!” Ren said harshly. “Which idiot on earth would willingly choose death just because a goddamn mission failed?!” He breathed heavily. “Even in Hati, there are times when we fail missions! Even the Phantoms do! I did. Tohya did. So did Yuri! Everyone makes mistakes!” He took one step forwards. “I may not like you, but I’m quite good at reading people. It’s part of who I am, even before I had joined Hati. You are not a bad person. We can help you.” Ren glanced at Yuri before turning back towards Yuuki. “The same way that Yuri helped me.”
Yuuki stared at Ren for several moments before looking from Yuri to Ren and back again for several moments, before she chuckled bitterly, taking another step backwards, practically at the edge of the roof by then.
“You…” said Yuuki, chuckling bitterly. “You’re really just like what Tatsuya had said.”
Yuri’s eyes widened a slight fraction. “Huh?” She blinked several times. “Did…you just say…‘Tatsuya’?”
Ren’s eyes were wide in shock. ‘Tatsuya?!’
Yuuki smiled sadly as she took another step backwards. “It’s…too late,” she said. “I’m tired. I’m…really tired.”
And to the horror of everyone watching, ‘Number 12’ let herself fall from the rooftop. But she never managed to make it further than one foot, as Yuri somehow managed to make it across the roof in record time, and grab the right wrist of the girl with both hands, nearly getting pulled over the rooftop herself.
Exactly how Yuri managed to do that, no one had any idea.
Yuuki looked up as she felt someone grabbing onto her right wrist with both hands, and her eyes widened only to see Yuri hanging onto her hand for dear life, with a look of intense concentration on her face. Seconds later, Tohya and Ren appeared by Yuri, both grabbing onto Yuri, so that she didn’t fall over the rooftop.
“Why? You… I tried to kill you!”
“It’s not your fault!” Yuri grunted, trying to pull Yuuki up, but to no avail. Yuri may be an eighteen-year-old teen, but she is still a girl, and she lacked the physical prowess of the male. “You’re just a child…a gentle and innocent child. You don’t have to kill if you don’t want to! It’s not your fault! You’re alive, aren’t you? You’re like us. You’re a living breathing human.” Yuri didn’t even realise when she had actually started crying herself. She hadn’t cried since she was nine years old. And yet, this girl who is so much like her… “Don’t…give up…!”
The eyes of Yuri, Tohya and Ren widened as they saw Yuuki smiled. A real smile this time.
“Thank you,” said Yuuki, not seeming to care that she was currently hanging nearly twenty feet above the ground, about to plummet to her death should Yuri lose her grip on her. “In the beginning, it is nothing but a mission to me. A mission to assassinate the Elder of Hati, as well as some of the best members of the Phantoms. But…my heart started to waver as I spent more time with you.” She chuckled bitterly. “I guess…my training isn’t as successful as I thought.”
“It’s not too late!” Ren insisted. “We can protect you! Now that we know everything—”
Yuuki shook her head. “It’s too late. All members of Raven’s Gate are monitored closely. I don’t know how Kami ‘monitors’ us, but he knows. He’ll know if we betrayed him. And if we betray him, or even think of betraying him…we die.” Yuuki smiled before reaching up with her free hand, and grasping around Yuri’s hands. “Thank you…Yuri-neesan[3]…for everything.”
And she pried Yuri’s fingers from her wrist.
And before Yuri, Ren and Tohya’s horrified eyes, Yuuki plummeted downwards, smiling with a contented look on her face all the while.
“YUUKI!” Yuri nearly screamed, and Ren has to grab hold of his friend to stop her from jumping down the building after the girl.
“Stop! It’s too late!” Ren hissed in Yuri’s ear as he literally had Yuri in a dead arm-lock to prevent her from committing suicide next.
“YUUKI!”
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[1] In Japan, the legal age for purchasing and consuming alcoholic drinks is 20, unlike Singapore where the legal age is 18
[2] In underground Shinjuku, crime rates are higher than any other place in Japan. And thus, even though Yuri is two years short of her twentieth birthday, she can still purchase and consume alcohol in underground Shinjuku. It is tolerable within Hati because of the nature of their jobs
[3] -neesan: Elder sister in the Japanese language, though it can also be used to address an older female