Lyon POV:

One month later.

I sat in the lotus position as I focused on moving the Ki fragments towards my solar plexus.

“Leo, have you seen my favourite cap?~”

My eyebrows twitched slightly as I heard Jasmine’s voice. I opened my eyes reluctantly and answered her.

“It’s by the bed in the usual place.”

“Found it~”

I closed my eyes and focused once more. I barely got started when she called out to me again.

“Leo, I can’t find my secret stash of sweets!”

I furrowed my eyebrows and let out an exasperated sigh.

“You keep it in the fourth drawer of the closet.”

“Oh, yeah! Found it~”

I once again closed my eyes and examined the current progress of my Ki Center. The changes were gradually becoming more evident as it had been 7 months since I started practising, so this was a good sign.

“Leo—”

My eyes shot open as I dashed into the room and glared at Jasmine. She was laying down on the bed with a pillow in between her thighs and arms. She pressed it deeper against her breasts while her tongue lightly ran over her lips, emphasizing the dark shade of red across the bridge of her nose as she locked eyes with me.

“Jasmine, you know I’m trying to meditate. It’s important.”

Her long eyelashes fluttered in an alluring way before she sat up. She chucked the pillow away, revealing her signature black and gold sports bra as her lips curved into a cute smile.

“Let’s spar.”

“Can you wait a couple of hours?”

“Sure~”

She yawned while stretching out her arms. I closed the door behind me and sat back down in the middle of the large room.

Jasmine did this a lot.

Sometimes I would dash into the bedroom and find her almost naked, other times she would be calling out to me in her sleep. However, I had pretty much adjusted to living together with her.

I often went upstairs to check on Marina and Len, but the situation changed two weeks ago when Ness told me to stay out of sight.

She explained that the District Leader had made a move and that we needed to make some changes. I was worried about Marina and Len, but she assured me the two of them would be fine.

As a result, I was forced to stay down in the basement with Jasmine. We had been sparring every day of the month and her improvement was phenomenal.

She learned quickly and manipulated the air in creative ways. I could feel her Ki constantly increasing whenever we fought, but so did mine. We bounced off of each other, constantly improving together as time passed by.

I finished meditating and saw Jasmine leaning against the door.

“Those scrubs have been snooping around more and more lately. They seem convinced you’re in here, but can’t confirm it. Not only that, but the Dealers have toned down their distribution drastically.”

She stuck a lollipop in her mouth as she folded her arms. She didn’t seem happy about the way the situation was playing out.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not quite. You’re forgetting that there are plenty of people here whose lives depend on those drugs.”

‘!’

She was right. If the District Leader suddenly decreased the distribution of drugs in the streets, how would the addicts react? Wouldn’t they become more violent or do whatever was necessary to get their hands on it? And what if he took advantage of them in that state...

“Mhm. Crimes been going up lately, but it’s not the goons doing the damage this time.”

She walked over to the ring and jumped inside while I wondered if the District Leader was probing me. Why else would he make a move like this?

“Should I make a move soon as well?”

“That’s not it, Leo~ What you’re doing right now is for the best. Think about it. You were going to get rid of the drugs in this district anyway, right? So, a similar situation would have happened regardless of how you did it.”

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I watched her bend down as she stretched her limbs. When she put it that way, it didn’t seem like there was an immediate solution to this problem. I was positive that there was a better way to manage the withdrawal symptoms, but I needed time.

I walked up to the ring and stepped inside. My eyes narrowed slightly as I recalled Mr Cruiser mentioning that the District Leaders had to offer a monthly tribute to the Ruler of the South. In other words, if District 4's Leader could take such a drastic approach to try and draw me out, that meant the other districts weren’t operating well at the moment.

‘I feel like a big opportunity will present itself soon.’

Jasmine wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

“Stop thinking so much. We can do it together~”

I felt her heartbeat quicken as my own did too. Her breasts pressed against my chest while her soft lips gently brushed past my neck. Jasmine always smelled really nice and I couldn't help but wonder if it was a female thing.

“Right.”

My lips formed a short smile as I rubbed her back gently. She reluctantly let go after a few minutes and released her Ki.

“Foo.”

I took a deep breath and the Ki around me exploded more viciously than before. Whatever they had up their sleeves, I was determined to crush them all.

***

Brunaulf POV:

“Heuk!”

I gripped the bed sheets tightly as cold sweat poured down my face. It was always the same dream—his cold gaze peering down at me as his lips parted; saying those dreaded words once more:

“Please don’t die on me.”

My body shivered while I sat alone in the corner of the room.

‘What has he done to me?’

Whenever I tried to use Ki, I would see those calm blue eyes stare into my soul. I’d double over and fall to my knees while images of the past would assault my mind. Strength would flow out of my body, leaving me helpless as my lips would curve into a smile against my will.

I was scared.

I didn’t want to face... it again.

“!”

The door flung open, smashing against the wall loudly. I jumped back, almost having a heart attack as I gripped the sides of my head tightly; the corners of my mouth continuing to curve upwards while I trembled.

“Brunaulf, you disappoint me.”

The masked man pulled out a chair and sat down on it. He wore a dark hoodie that covered most of his slightly pale face while his eyes were a myriad of different colours as if it was struggling to settle on one.

“M-Master...!”

I gulped as my head hit the bed. He had taken good care of me, yet I embarrassed him. I felt even worse than before now that he had personally visited me.

“How strong was he?”

‘!’

He didn’t come here to ridicule me? Maybe he won’t abandon me after all. I need to get it together.

‘Kehehe...’

I cackled inwardly as I felt power flow back into my body. That’s right. I am Brunaulf!

“Master, he wasn’t much—”

“Brunaulf, don’t make me hit you.”

He released a portion of his Ki and I immediately prostrated myself before him again. I must have lost my mind... to try and bluff in front of him.

The pressure in the room rapidly increased while it felt like my body was being crumpled together like a piece of paper.

“Keuk... He was strong, Master. I couldn’t see his attacks, even though he was only mid Nagi level...”

The pressure subsided and I quickly gasped for breath. My master remained motionless as he stared at me.

“I plan on meeting him. Fix yourself up, because the next time he resurfaces, you’ll be facing him.”

‘What? Face him?’

I looked up at my master in a daze. My lips gradually curved upwards as I realized this was the perfect opportunit—

“Ugh...!!”

Sharp pains speared through my mind, forcing me to recoil backwards as my back smashed against the wall. I gripped my throbbing head while cold sweat ran down my neck. My gaze swept over my bandaged body, unable to stop the trembling of my hands.

My reality had been shattered.

I watched my master’s eyes soften as he observed my broken state in silence. After a few minutes, he furrowed his eyebrows slightly and stood up.

“Deliver my message to him: It’s time for our paths to cross.”

He closed the door behind him and I was left alone in the room once more. I looked down at my two hands that continued to spasm violently and, for the first time, in a very long time, I felt...

Sorry.

***

Orga POV:

“I told you, we’ll be eating out here tonight.”

“And I keep telling you, I don’t like the food they serve here.”

I clicked my tongue as I leaned against the wall. It had already been one month, but whenever I met up with Sindel we could never agree on anything. The two of us were the very definition of oil and water.

Sindel was a few centimetres taller than me, but we were both the same age. He had short brown hair that he always kept tidy and had light brown eyes. Maybe if he wasn’t such a stickler for things and didn’t constantly get in my way, I might, just might, consider him a little bit attractive.

I watched him bend down slightly as he removed something from my hair.

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“I keep telling you that I can’t stand the sight of mess.”

The veins on the side of my head twitched while my eyebrows furrowed.

“Are you trying to say my hair is messy?”

“It was messy, but now it’s not.”

My patience snapped and I grabbed him by his top.

‘This little...’

I don’t know why the Leader made us go on these stupid dates, but if it meant being able to end Len's life myself, then I had no choice but to play along. I calmed down and pushed Sindel away.

“This is why you’re single. You’re so aggressive.”

He fixed his top by smoothing out the creases in a precise manner. I cocked my head to the side as I glared at him.

“That’s funny. Last time I checked, Mr Perfect here was also single. Or am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong. I have priorities and being in a relationship isn’t one of them.”

I clicked my tongue at his response and proceeded to ignore his existence. We walked down the street and came across an old woman selling handmade teddy bears.

‘How pathetic.’

I ignored her eyes asking whether I wanted one or not and walked on.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

I heard an old, soft voice and spun around to see Sindel buying two bears. He seemed oddly enamoured with them and when he noticed me looking, he smiled. Yeah, Sindel actually smiled?

He walked up to me and handed me the bear.

“If only you were as cute as this bear, there’d be hope in this world.”

“If only you knew when to keep your mouth shut, you’d have more friends around you.”

“...You have a point.”

He walked on ahead as I looked down at the bear. Its two dark beady eyes and brown fluffy fur gave it an overall cute look. My lips spread into a thin smile as I stroked its head lightly before catching up with Sindel.

“There’s a rumour going around that defeating Brunaulf was just the Opening Act.”

“Haha yeah, they said that he’ll be making an appearance again soon. Act 1: The defeat of the Vices, right?”

“Shhh, not so loud you idiot.”

I overheard a couple of people gossiping as they passed by when my feet came to a halt. My hand shot forward as I grabbed one of them by the neck. I slammed his back against the wall as he let out a pained groan.

“Now where did you hear that? Do tell.”