Lyon POV:

“Ha, sorry about that.”

Jasmine popped another lollipop in her mouth while sitting down on the floor. I sat opposite her as her flushed face returned to normal. She looked to be in high spirits, even throwing me an unnecessary wink.

‘She’s so eccentric.’

I sighed inwardly. I had a strong feeling that living together with her wasn’t going to be easy in the slightest. She put her dark blue cap on and took the lollipop out of her mouth.

“You’ve probably imagined the chain of command to be something like this: Dealers — Brunaulf — Copycat — District leader, right?”

I nodded my head. She was spot on; that had been my original line of thought. Jasmine’s lips curved into a smirk as she shook her head before continuing to explain.

“District 4 isn’t a small place. It’d be impossible for someone like Brunaulf to keep tabs of everything going on here.”

I had my suspicions as I’d observed the district earlier this week. It was a big area, but I thought the reason why the District Leader could control the place so thoroughly was because of fear.

“Brunaulf is what we’d call a ‘Watcher.’ He’d observe the situation in the streets and make adjustments based on his own judgement.”

Jasmine pointed the lollipop towards me and emphasized the parting of her soft lips.

“In cases like yours, he’d need to report to the ‘Vices,’ which for him would be Copycat.”

That means there were other Watchers too. However, it seemed like Brunaulf was one of the more prolific Watchers—most likely due to his connection to Copycat.

“In other words, the reason the streets have gotten quieter isn’t solely because you took out Brunaulf—he’s only a small cog in the wheel.”

“...That makes sense.”

We didn’t say anything for a while and I pondered over what move I should make next. I wasn’t going to waste my time taking out the Watchers one by one and then moving onto the Vices; that would take too long.

I glanced at Jasmine. She had a really good head, but that was to be expected since her Uncle was Mr Cruiser.

‘!’

A sudden thought flashed through my mind.

“Why hasn’t Mr Cruiser done anything about this situation?”

Jasmine’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she folded her arms.

“That’s because Unc already tried to do something before, but everyone has a weakness. How do you think they responded when they couldn’t handle him? They kidnapped and tortured those he loved.

That’s how my Aunt died, that’s how... several good people died and when that wasn’t enough, they took innocent civilians and hung their dead corpses up around the district.”

My eyes widened in shock. They’d go so far just to restrain one man? It was unbelievable.

“After seeing so much death, it was normal to be deterred and so Unc stopped. He focused on raising... his two nieces who had lost their parents in a similar way...”

Jasmine bit her lip which quivered slightly while clenching her fists before her expression returned to normal.

“He set up Comfort and the District Leader had no choice but to acknowledge it as a safe zone in order to maintain the balance.”

“Wouldn’t me being here be a problem then?”

“Not quite. As long as Unc doesn’t make a move directly, the District Leader won’t either. The last time they fought he almost died but was saved by Copycat.”

Jasmine inched closer to me. Her hazel eyes faintly glowed while blood rushed to her cheeks once more.

“So you can’t rely on Unc to get involved anymore than this. It’ll just be the two of us.”

I ignored her advances and organized the new information I had received. The District Leader was no match for Mr Cruiser—that was good news.

‘Copycat...’

This person’s name had come up many times, yet I still didn’t know much about him.

“Jasmine, tell me about Copycat.”

She put the lollipop back in her mouth as she thought for a while on where to start.

“I’m sure you can tell by his name, but he’s an ability user. The ability you create once you reach Shin depends on many, many factors: such as creativity, knowledge, understanding, etc.”

She gave a short summary and quickly moved on.

“I don’t know the full scale of his ability, but... They say he can not only copy other abilities but also people’s appearances too—though there’s often some differences with the original.”

Then was he able to temporarily hold off Mr Cruiser by copying his ability? It sounded like a plausible theory, but there were still too many unknowns.

I wasn’t familiar with the Shin stage, so I couldn’t tell just what restrictions his ability had. However, even if he did intervene again, his ability wouldn’t work on me.

“!”

I was so lost in thought that I didn’t notice Jasmine’s face was a few inches away from my own. This was starting to become a hassle.

“Jasmine... I think we should set some boundaries—”

“Boundaries? Didn’t you agree to be my partner in exchange for us looking after Len and Marina?”

“I did... But when you said partner I thought you mea—”

“That was your own assumption then, right? I never specified what I meant~”

Jasmine poked my chest lightly with her finger as her lips formed a cute smile. She had played me well; I didn’t expect her to have other thoughts in mind, especially with how adamant she was that I make a move now to shake up the district further.

“Alright, fine. But how can I rely on you if you act like this every time you fight strong guys?”

Her smile vanished and she moved away. I know it sounded harsh, but it was a valid point. What’s the point in teaming up if she’s just going to fawn over her opponent?

“It’s true. I like strong guys, but you’re misunderstanding something.”

She pointed to her eyes.

“I’ve always been able to see the hearts of others through their eyes. Your eyes are similar to Zane's. If his were a quiet burning furnace then yours are a calm raging sea.

I can see the strength and resolve the two of you have—it’s supernatural. You don’t doubt, you trust yourselves and move accordingly...”

Her words trailed off and her eyebrows quivered.

“How can you both be so strong in a world like this?”

Her words caught me off guard as I observed the sadness imprint itself deeper onto her face. I didn’t realize she had such thoughts.

“Jas—”

“So, don’t worry. My heart is only yours now till the day I die.”

Her face lit up like a beacon of light and her lips parted as she grinned cheerfully. Her cheeks went rosy red while her hazel eyes shone vibrantly.

I felt my chest suddenly tighten as I watched her.

‘This won’t be so bad after all.’

I smiled to myself and got up from my seat.

“Let’s get along well, Jasmine.”

***

??? POV:

It had been one week since I received the news of Brunaulf's disgraceful defeat. Rather surprisingly, it was Copycat who suggested that we reduce the activity on the streets for a while.

I was under the impression he would be out for blood since Brunaulf was his favourite disciple. In any case, I followed through with his suggestion and ordered all the Watchers and Vices to attend today’s meeting.

I sat on my large chair at the end of the room as I watched hundreds of my men drop to one knee. The ten Vices stood at the front followed by the seven Watchers behind them and finally the lowest-ranked members at the back. Apart from Brunaulf, everyone was present.

“I’m sure you all know why I’ve gathered everyone here today.”

I got up from my seat as I heard a few murmurs in the back.

“A new rat has found it’s way into my district. He took out my beloved Nephew, torturing him as if he found a new toy to play with...”

I took a deep breath to calm my rage before sitting back down. I tapped my knee lightly until my head space had cleared enough to continue.

“He moved onto Brunaulf, a man who got the job done no matter what obstacles were in his way. He brutally terrorised him and for all we know, he may never be the same again.”

Murmurs spread throughout the lower-ranked members. I heard them curse the newcomer as I leaned back in the tall chair.

“According to some untrustworthy eyewitnesses, the rat is currently staying in Comfort.”

“Comfort? That damn place again.”

“They’re a real pain in the ass, for sure.”

I waved my hand and the talking among the members abruptly stopped. Sindel, one of the Vices, stepped forward.

“District Leader, I recommend we continue with Copycat’s approach. The target has an obsession with inflicting both mental and physical pain—it won’t be long till he leaves Comfort again looking for another target.”

It was a compelling argument. I would have dismissed it based on Brunaulf's situation alone, but... what did my Nephew do to deserve such excessive force used against him?

“I disagree. We should raid Comfort immediately and drag him out by force.”

I glanced at Charge who had also stepped forward as a sigh escaped my lips.

‘Raid Comfort? Has he gone mad? This blockhead.’

I didn’t pay any attention to his words, but his suggestion had created quite the stir among the Watchers and other members.

“Are you prepared to go up against old man Cruiser then, Charge?”

Orga challenged Charge directly. He clicked his tongue and immediately backed down. Old man Cruiser hadn’t involved himself in this matter yet, and he probably never would.

My lips curved upwards uncharacteristically. After all, I had made sure to teach him a thorough lesson last time. I felt the long scar across my chest throb slightly as it recalled the battle of the past.

“The problem is, if he truly is there, what’s his time limit? How long will he stay holed up in there?”

Orga voiced her concerns and the rest of the Vices agreed with her rationale.

“Send some men to keep tabs on Comfort. Also, bribe those who have a good standing with Old man Cruiser to try and get some information.

We’ll watch the place from both the inside and outside. Dealers decrease your transactions by a third of the usual amount.

As for the rest of you, continue to lay low and await further instructions. If you spot anything suspicious, report what you find to the nearest Watcher.”

“Yes, Leader!”

I gave out the appropriate instructions after taking some more variables into consideration. On the off chance that he’s not just a maniac that enjoys hurting others and is actually using his brain—the outcome would still be the same.

My lips curved upwards slightly.

‘Reducing the drug distribution in the streets benefits me too, you rat. Do you know what happens when you take away something that a person’s life depends on?’

He’d soon find out. I watched the rest of the members disperse but Sindel, Orga and Copycat stayed behind.

“Jasmine’s back.”

Copycat got straight to the point. However, even if Jasmine was back it made no difference to me. He turned around and left the room. I’d known him for years, but he was a hard guy to read.

“Leader, how do you plan on dealing with Len?”

I gazed at Orga putting on her fingerless gloves. I imagine she was still peeved that Len had taken the number one position from her.

“Do as you see fit.”

I honestly didn’t care. Len had been incredibly useful to us, if she wanted to run, I’d let her. It’s not like she’d get far anyway.

Fortunately, the other District Leaders had been experiencing some issues of their own according to my sources, so I had the luxury of not worrying about losing face.

“Leave Len out of this. She’s no longer one of us—she was never truly one of us to begin with. What is there to gain by hunting her down?”

‘Ah. I get it now.’

The two of them had stayed behind because they hadn’t come to an agreement on this matter. I did just tell Orga to do as she pleases, but now I’ll have to take into consideration Sindel's opinion. I watched Orga glare at Sindel, but he paid her no mind.

“Okay, okay. Since you two can’t agree, go on a date and tell me five things you like about each other.”

“...Leader, with all due respect, you made us do this last tim—”

“As long as you’re satisfied with the answer, I can do as I please, right?”

I nodded my head and Orga grabbed Sindel's arm. She dragged him away as he called out to me desperately.

‘That’ll keep them busy for awhile.’

It was a pain having them bicker privately to me like this. I originally thought this would be a stupid idea, but who would have guessed that they both sucked at complimenting one another?

I stopped tapping my knee and smirked. It was probably time to switch this one out soon, but I looked forward to the upcoming conflict.

“Let the show begin.”