A whole week had gone by without me being able to figure out who were the mysterious students in class that knew Kaya from the past.

I had expected that they would eventually come up and confront me themselves, but that didn't happen.

I mean, if they were friends of Kaya, why didn't they just come straight up and say hi to me?

Why did they have to go the roundabout way of asking Saya about it instead?

...

Was it because I was acting that differently to Kaya that they knew I wasn't the same person?

Aaah!

It was no use.

No matter how much I thought about it, it wasn't making any sense.

All I could do from now on was be more careful with the way that I acted at school.

I sighed, sinking into my desk with a cloud of frustration hovering over my head.

"Kaya~!"

Ueko's voice called out to me, and I glanced wearily to my side at the girl with shoulder-lengthed blond hair and a pair of viridescent eyes that glimmered with cheekiness.

"Gak! You look terrible, Kaya!" Ueko exclaimed, seeing my face, "What's wrong?"

Crap, I was supposed to be watching my image at school.

"Do I really look that bad...?" I asked.

"No," Ueko shook her head with a joking smile, "Relax, I was just kidding, Kaya! You always look pretty."

"Um, thanks..."

It still felt weird to be called pretty as a guy even though I was in a girl's body.

Ueko pulled up a chair next to my desk, sitting down. Other students around the classroom were doing the same thing, most people having finished lunch by now and were just chatting idly with their friends.

"You know, Kaya, you're actually super popular amongst the guys..." Ueko whispered to me, glancing around the classroom to make sure no one was listening in.

God dammit.

"Eh, come on, you're pretty popular yourself, Ueko," I said with a forced smile, trying to change the topic.

"No, seriously." Ueko's glance turned slightly more serious, "I mean I have a few guys that ask me out every year, but that's normal for a girl. You're on a completely different level, Kaya. Even just walking out the hallway just then, I overheard guys talking about confessing their love to you."

"W, what the f...?!" I stopped myself just in time, staring at Ueko in shock.

"Yeah, it's only been a few weeks since you came back from America but you're probably one of the most popular girls in the school already," Ueko said, "Apparently, lots of the guys are really into you because of how easy you are to approach and talk to unlike other girls."

This must be because of all the voluntary school activities I signed up for (most of them being sports-related).

I had thought that by participating in school activities it would help to improve my image at school and make me look more like a normal girl, but this was the complete opposite of what I wanted.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that..." I said.

"Come on," Ueko laughed, "You should be happy! That means you're going to have no problem getting a boyfriend!"

That was a topic that I did not want to talk about.

Time to divert the conversation to Ueko and away from me.

"S, speaking of boyfriends," I said quickly, "How's Sora? You know, that guy you were seeing that you told me about on my first day back at school."

"Oh him? I broke up with him," Ueko said casually, "He was really annoying, always calling me up all the time, ugh..." Ueko grimaced, thinking about it.

"Really..." I forced a smile.

Although it hasn't really been a long time since I got this new body, I felt like I almost knew Ueko's entire life story from our time spent together at school. The only thing I couldn't remember was the names of all her exes since there were so freaking many.

Seeing a troubled expression on Ueko's face as she glanced out the window, I tried to cheer her up.

"That's a shame for him," I said to Ueko, "I mean, if I was a guy, I would be totally devastated about losing such a pretty girlfriend, haha."

"W, wha..."

Ueko glanced at me in surprise with a blush, but at that moment, I felt two presence at our side and we glanced over to see Saya and her friend standing near our table.

Saya smiled at me, "Sis! You're inside the classroom at lunch today! I thought you're normally out on the oval during lunch time."

"Ah, Saya!" I brightened up seeing her angelic smile, "Nah, we decided to go back to the classroom after eating lunch outside, haha. It's seriously hot today!"

Saya giggled, then glanced over at Ueko with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about the other day, Ueko. I've been meaning to apologise to you for a while."

"There's nothing to apologise for!" Ueko smiled back, "I was the one out of line that time."

"Ah, sorry, I forgot to introduce my friend," Saya said, indicating at the girl standing to her, "This is Mayumi," then she indicated at each of us to Mayumi, "This is my big sis, Kaya, and her friend, Ueko."

The girl bowed timidly, her long brown hair bobbing as she did.

"Nice to meet the both of you..." The girl said in a soft-spoken voice, then she turned to me, shy excitement lighting up her face, "I heard so much about you from Saya! Y, you're a really great big sister...!"

"W, what?" I laughed embarrassedly, "Come on, Saya's the one that is a great sister! She cooks my lunch every day! Compared to her, I don't even do anything...!"

Saya giggled, glancing at me, "Well, there's exams coming up in two weeks that I was hoping to get sis' help to study together on..."

"E, exams...?" I repeated.

"Don't tell me you weren't listening to what the teacher was saying last week, Kaya..." Ueko said to me.

I never listened to what the teacher was saying.

Most of the time, I was sleeping with my eyes open in class.

"There's nothing to worry about!" Saya smiled, "Sis always scored in the top 10 for every exam she did in Junior High!"

My legs began to feel weak, sitting in my chair.

"T, that's Junior High, Saya...!" I laughed weakly, "Senior High is a bit different..."

"Oh, now that I think about it," Mayumi said, glancing at Ueko, "Ueko, aren't you the number 1 ranked student in our year? Your name is always at the top of the list in the exam results!"

"Yeah, that's right," Ueko said, then glanced at me worriedly, "I also scored the highest marks in all our exams back in Junior High too... I remember Kaya was always right up there behind me..."

What the hell?!

I had been hanging out with a genius at school this whole time?!

I had no idea that Ueko was that smart!

But then again, Ueko was always joking around when we talked to each other so it wasn't like we ever talked about anything serious...

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Anyways, I'm looking forward to studying together with you, sis!" Saya smiled brightly at me.

"Y, yeah... me too..."

For the rest of the conversation during lunch, I blanked out, thinking about how I was going to help Saya with her studies, let alone score anywhere near the top 10 in the upcoming exams.

~x~

"Aaaahh..."

I was in another depressive rut, thinking about the upcoming exams.

I even tried to pay attention for the first time during all the classes after lunch (even though I still didn't understand anything that the teacher said).

"Come on, Kaya..." Ueko laughed weakly by my side, "Cheer up... Are you still thinking about the exams...?"

I was walking out to the school gates with Ueko amidst the crowd of students also leaving the school to go home.

"O, of course not...!" I quickly said, putting on an enthusiastic face, "Me? Being worried about exams? Hahaha, don't joke, Ueko..."

"Right..."

We stopped outside the school gates, watching as the students leaving the school gradually dissipated while waiting for Saya.

"Jeez, Saya is late," I said, checking the time on my phone, "We did agree to all hang out together after school today to check out the new cafe in Shibuya, right?"

"Yeah..." Ueko replied with a worried face, her eyes searching the crowd for Saya.

"Let me give her a call," I said, seeing the worried look on Ueko's face.

Calling Saya, her phone appeared to be switched off, having reached her voicemail.

"No good," I said to Ueko who had been waiting for my response.

Now I was starting to get worried too.

After waiting for a while more at the school gates, a familiar figure appeared, running over towards us from across the school grounds.

It was Mayumi.

"Mayumi, there you are...!" I said as she approached, "Jeez, you're late, also, Saya's not with you...?"

I stopped when I saw the pale frightened look on her face.

"S, Saya... sh, she...!" Mayumi panted, trying to catch her breath and looking as though she was about to cry at the same time.

"Take a breath," Ueko said to Mayumi, walking over to her to make sure Mayumi was okay, "Calm down first and tell us what happened..."

Mayumi started sobbing, her hands rubbing at her eyes, "I, It's Saya...! She got taken by the third-year seniors...! I, I..."

"W, what--?!" I reached out, grabbing onto Mayumi's shoulders and turned her to face me, "Mayumi, where did they take her?! Is she okay?!"

Mayumi started bawling even further, unable to answer my questions.

"M, Mayumi...!" I said, trying to stress the urgency of the situation.

"H, Hey, Kaya...!" Ueko said, "You're making her even more scared...!"

I glanced down at my hands that were holding onto Mayumi's shoulders tightly, and released my grip of her.

"S, sorry..." I said.

I had no idea how to deal with Mayumi.

I had reacted instinctively as though I was a yakuza gang leader that had heard about an enemy attack.

In situations like that, time was the essence.

I stepped back, feeling restless as I waited for Ueko to soothe Mayumi until she was ready to talk again.

"S, Saya had to help Matsuda-sensei to put some books back in the teacher's room," Mayumi sniffed, "T, then when we were leaving the school building, w, we ran into the third-year seniors..."

Ueko and I listened carefully with grim faces.

"T, they grabbed Saya... a, and I didn't do anything...! I can't believe myself...!" Mayumi covered her face with her hands, sobbing, "I, I was so scared that I couldn't move...!"

"I, it's okay..." Ueko said, trying to sooth her again, "It's not your fault, Mayumi..."

"Still...!" Mayumi sobbed.

We waited for a bit more for Mayumi to calm down again.

"What about the seniors that kidnapped her?" I asked Mayumi, "Did they say anything?"

"T, there was one guy... he called himself Shigeo..." Mayumi said, "H, he told me to give you a message, Kaya... T, to meet him at Kabukicho in Shinjuku..."

Ueko and I glanced at each other.

Shigeo.

It was that senior student that was bullying the junior student with his group of friends from the week before.

"Thanks, Mayumi." I said, having heard everything that I needed to know.

I turned around, getting ready to head for the train station to get to Shinjuku.

"W, wait, Kaya...!" Ueko grabbed my arm, stopping me, "What? Where are you going?!"

"Isn't that obvious?" I said, "To Shinjuku, of course."

Ueko stared at me with a flabbergasted face, "Alone?! K, Kaya, listen to me, Shigeo means serious business...! He's not joking when he says he has yakuza ties...! I've seen seem him before in Shinjuku hanging with real yakuzas...!"

I pulled Ueko's hand off from my arm.

"So what!" I said, "You want me to leave Saya alone with those assholes?!"

"T, that's not what I'm saying...!" Ueko said, wincing, "There's nothing you and I can do, Kaya... We should take this matter to the police..."

"T, the police...?" I said, then shook my head, remembering what happened last week at Kabukicho with the two police officers, "The police aren't going to do anything about this, Ueko. Trust me."

"..."

"I'm going to Shinjuku." I said, turning around, "And there's nothing you can say to stop me, Ueko."

There was silence for a few seconds behind me as I started to head for the station, but then I heard Ueko's voice from behind me.

"Mayumi, go to the police station and tell them about this, okay." Ueko said to Mayumi, and Mayumi nodded back to Ueko.

Then, Ueko ran up, catching up to me.

"If that's your decision," Ueko said in a firm voice, "Then I'm coming with you."

"Ueko..."

"Come on, let's get to Shinjuku quickly and find Saya!"

I nodded, then we ran together to the station.

~x~

[Shigeo Nishi]

[Son of the Patriarch of the Nishi Family, subsidiary family of the Tero Clan]

"Have you heard about the legend of The Devil of Shinjuku?"

I glanced to my side at the man in his early twenties with long straight black hair that fell to either sides of his head, his face smooth and remarkably unblemished for a yakuza.

He was Kobo Tsuga, a liutenant within the Nishi family that had a reputation for his quick rise to power within the family due to his fighting prowess and violent personality.

"Of course," I smirked at him, then I glanced around inside the warehouse filled with at least a hundred yakuza men all dressed in the signatory black and white suit of the Nishi family, "I'm sure everyone here has heard about it as well, there's probably not a single yakuza in Tokyo that hasn't heard about the rumours."

"Hehe, you're still young, Shigeo," Kobo said to me, "But of course, it's only been a bit over a month since The Devil of Shinjuku disappeared. Not to mention, I've heard The Devil of Shinjuku was around your age. Maybe he even went to your school, hahaha."

"Come on, Kobo," I sneered, "Don't be ridiculous. As if a man that dangerous would go to school."

"I heard The Devil of Shinjuku once killed ten men at a bar with his bare hands!" A yakuza from the side said.

"That's nothing," Another yakuza snarled, "I heard The Devil of Shinjuku went into a gang shootout with his fists! And he won!"

"I heard The Devil of Shinjuku entered another yakuza clan's headquarters all by himself and beat the living shit out of every single yakuza inside the building!"

The yakuzas inside the warehouse began arguing with one another.

I chuckled, glancing around, "Everyone's so heated up over mere rumours. No one even knows if any of it is true or if The Devil of Shinjuku actually existed."

"Don't blame them," Kobo laughed, "Every yakuza just enjoys a good story, especially one about another yakuza."

Then, Kobo's face took on a more serious look, "Besides, The Devil of Shinjuku and his gang, the Shi-kai, are just a chapter in history now. From this point onwards, it's the Tero-kai's golden age."

I nodded, contemplating Kobo's words.

Then, a quiet voice came from behind me.

"Do you think you guys are going to get away with this?"

I turned around, glancing at the girl with cherry pink hair and marigold eyes tied up with ropes on a chair.

She was staring at me with fierce eyes.

"Ah, I almost forgot about you..." I said, walking up to the girl with a smile, "What was your name again...? Saya, right?"

"..."

She said nothing, glaring at me.

What a despicable girl.

I leaned down to her, crackling a smile on my face, "You can blame that dumbass bitch of a sister of yours for what's about to happen to you."

"..."

"If she had just got down on her knees and apologised like I kindly asked, then maybe I would had just played around with her for the rest of the school term and it would had ended there." I said, "But instead, that bitch decided to play tough and disrepect me. Well, I'm going to enjoy the look on her face when she gets here."

"D..." The girl muttered.

"Hm?"

"Don't talk about my sis like that...!!"

The girl screamed, then she suddenly pulled her hand out from behind her, hitting me on the face.

"Wh, what...!"

I fell backwards in surprise, feeling a stinging pain on my cheek where she hit me, then I raised my hand up to my face, feeling warm blood on my fingers. There were small cuts on my cheek from her nails.

The girl was sitting on the chair, the ropes hanging loosely downwards. She had a small metallic ruler in one hand that she had somehow used to get out of the ropes.

The yakuzas around the warehouse fell silent, seeing the commotion.

"Woah, the bitch's got claws!" Kobo wooed from the side, laughing hysterically.

"Shut up!" I snarled at Kobo, then stood up from the ground, breathing roughly as I glanced down at Saya, "Y, you fuckin' bitch...!! You actually scratched my face...!!"

"Shigeo, um... we can't do anything too extreme..." One of the third-year seniors in my class started speaking, seeing the livid look on my face. The third year seniors from my group were huddled in a small group standing at the side of the warehouse.

"Shut the fuck up!!" I yelled, "Get that bitch up!! I'm going to fuckin' cut her face up for what she just did!!"

The third-year seniors were exchanging uncomfortable glances with one another, "Oh shit, once Shigeo gets mad, there's no stopping him..." One whispered.

"Oy oy, Shigeo," Kobo spoke to me, reaching out to my shoulder, "They're just high school kids like you, don't go overboard here. We don't want to give the cops any reason to..."

"I don't give a shit about that, Kobo!" I shouted, shrugging his hand off, then I stormed over to the side where some boxes were stored in the warehouse, "The Tero-kai already owns all the streets of Shinjuku thanks to my father and the Nishi family! The cops don't even dare to set a foot inside Kabukicho! At this point, no one can fuckin' stop us! Unless the fuckin' Devil of Shinjuku himself walks into this warehouse!"

Then, I pulled out a giant knife from one of the boxes, turning back to face the girl with a sinister smile.

"Let's give that pretty face a little makeover...!" I crackled in a mad glee.

Saya took one look at the knife, then jumped out of the chair, flinging the ropes off her as she tried to make a break for it.

But in a warehouse filled with yakuza, her attempt was futile.

She screamed as a few of the yakuzas grabbed onto her, forcing her back onto the chair.

I walked over to the screaming girl who was being held down by the yakuzas and laughed like a maniac as I raised the knife, preparing to cut her face.

"That bitch of a sister of yours is going to love it when she sees this!" I said.

At that moment, the sound of the warehouse door creaked noisily, echoing inside the warehouse.

I turned back to face the warehouse door, as did everyone inside the warehouse, just in time to see the moment it flew open, the body of a yakuza in the Nishi family's black and white suit flying like a bullet inside the warehouse.

The yakuza's body landed roughly several feet inside the warehouse, rolling several feet further before eventually coming to a stop and revealing the ghastly bruises and blood all over the yakuza's swollen face and body as though he had gotten into a fist fight with a bear.

Everyone's eyes turned away from the body and back up at the warehouse door in stunned silence to see a lone girl in school uniform with cherry pink hair and marigold eyes stepping into view.

It was Kaya.