That Small Group of People

Arisa wiped her brother's face with a handkerchief.

With nothing else to do, Kure Fusui helped Shiraki Uke drink some water.

"That was an amazing fight!"

Kure Fusui recalled what she had just seen, her differently colored eyes sparkling. "What school were those techniques from? Where did you learn them?"

Shiraki Uke couldn't answer right away.

Everyone had their own experiences, after all, so Kure Fusui didn't mind. Still grinning, she said, "I'd like to see more of your techniques. I'll come find you when I have time, so don't forget you still owe me a favor~!"

"...Sure."

Shiraki Uke didn't refuse, though he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the way Kure Fusui was looking at him. He turned his gaze aside and looked at the other two instead.

Katahara Metsudo and Akagi Shigeru—they really were the biggest of big shots!

After catching his breath, Shiraki Uke raised a hand and thanked Akagi Shigeru.

Thanks to Akagi Shigeru's reminder, Shiraki Uke had noticed that "critical mistake" sooner and stopped avoiding "the feeling of pain."

That singular, astounding talent was unmistakably apparent in Akagi Shigeru!

But Akagi Shigeru smiled and shook his head. "No, I should be the one thanking you."

With a cigarette between his lips and a gaze unusually clear for an ordinary person, he murmured, "Mahjong has been boring lately, and there haven't been any interesting experts. I was thinking of retiring in the next year or two, but if there are more fights like that last one, I wouldn't mind watching a couple more."

"Yeah, it really was interesting..."

Akagi Shigeru finished his cigarette and raised a hand to the group. "Thank you for having me. I'll be going now. Maybe we'll meet again someday."

With that, he left alone.

Watching Akagi Shigeru walk away, the two sisters from the Kure Clan couldn't help remarking that, as expected of Katahara Metsudo's drinking buddy, he was quite an unusual man himself.

"...Ah!"

Only after Akagi Shigeru left did Kure Fusui come to her senses and remember that she hadn't had a chance to introduce everyone. She immediately felt a little rude.

But Metsudo didn't mind. Instead, he chuckled and pointed to a spot not far away. "I'm in no hurry, but someone over there certainly is!"

Everyone looked where Metsudo was pointing and saw the Sanjigumi's underboss, Inoue Sugaya.

The underboss was sitting on a stool outside the fighting area, talking to someone on his phone. His face was full of fear, and sweat visibly covered his head.

They weren't far away, and most of the other people around them had left, so Shiraki Uke and the others could clearly hear someone berating him over the phone.

"You fool who doesn't know his own place! A little outfit like the Sanjigumi should be grateful it's allowed to hold underground fights at all. And you actually thought you could host Kengan matches? Dream on—"

"You arranged this match on your own initiative, and the Nogi Group's hired fighter was badly injured. You even dragged a major conglomerate into it. We at the Jinwa Group aren't taking responsibility, so deal with it yourself!"

Without giving him any chance to argue, the caller hung up.

The underboss froze, his face ghastly. He felt hollow inside, and cold sweat kept breaking out on his forehead.

It had never occurred to him that "Nioh" Komada, whom he had paid a fortune to hire through an intermediary, would suffer a crushing defeat and serious injuries.

As a result, he had offended the casino regulars who had bet on Komada, the Teiai Group, which now had to forgive part of Shiraki Uke's debt, the Nogi Group, which had hired Komada, and his immediate superior, the Jinwa Group, which didn't want to offend the Kengan Association. Even the Kengan Association itself...

He had offended them all!

The underboss gasped for breath, his life almost flashing before his eyes. Even the Jinwa Group had told him to "deal with it himself," and he couldn't imagine what he was supposed to do next.

After thinking it over for a long time and getting nowhere, the underboss stood and walked away in a daze without so much as looking at Shiraki Uke and the others.

"...Hmm!"

Metsudo raised his eyebrows and teased with a smile, "The young man still lacks 'breadth of vision.' After all, 'deal with it yourself' means he has full authority to handle it. That's also a fine chance to turn things around."

Katahara Metsudo was a formidable man who had fought his way up from the bottom to become a leader in the financial world. Naturally, the Sanjigumi underboss couldn't compare to him in the way he viewed difficulties.

"Oh, right, right..."

Metsudo suddenly thought of something and pulled Kure Fusui aside for a quiet word.

"Little Fusui, since you've already discovered that there's something 'behind' this match, sorry for the trouble, but as someone in the know, would you pass a message to Erioh for me?"

Kure Erioh was the current head of the Kure Clan. He had also once been Katahara Metsudo's personal fighter and the first "Fang of Metsudo."

Kure Fusui blinked. "Of course. What is it?"

Metsudo sighed with considerable feeling and slowly said, "It's been a long time—an organization with ambitions has set its sights on the Kengan Association."

Puzzled, Kure Fusui half-jokingly asked, "You don't mean the Teiai Group, do you?"

"No, not just them." Metsudo shook his head. "It seems a 'criminal organization' active in the underworld has begun entertaining thoughts of swallowing up the Kengan Association..."

"In any case, tell Erioh things won't be boring lately!"

Metsudo chuckled and patted Kure Fusui on the shoulder. Then his expression abruptly turned serious, and he cautioned her, "Besides that, Little Fusui, if you're curious and want to investigate further, you need to be careful of 'diamonds.'"

Kure Fusui was confused.

Metsudo added seriously, "Especially the 'diamond' cut to its highest form—IDEAL."

Chapter 11: That Small Group of People

Kure Fusui was his junior, but she was no amateur, so Metsudo had no intention of stopping her from continuing her investigation.

"'Ideal'... referring to a diamond cut. Is it a code name?"

Kure Fusui made a note of it and nodded her thanks to Metsudo.

"Hmm!"

Metsudo relaxed again and swept his gaze over the group. He noticed that Arisa was tending to Shiraki Uke's injuries, but she was clearly having a little trouble.

Arisa knew how to apply ordinary bandages, but Shiraki Uke now needed somewhat more professional treatment.

By now, though, almost everyone from the underground casino had left, and the Sanjigumi underboss who had organized the match was nowhere to be seen. Naturally, there was no one left to attend to Shiraki Uke.

"This won't do."

Metsudo beckoned to the Guardian behind him, signaling for him to come forward and bandage Shiraki Uke's wounds.

As the current chairman of the Kengan Association, Metsudo was happy to look after a young fighter just starting out, especially one as talented as Shiraki Uke.

"Among the younger generation—fighters and entrepreneurs alike—there are some quite interesting people. I suppose I won't be bored..."

Metsudo made a few remarks with a smile, then waited quietly. Once the Guardian had finished treating Shiraki Uke's wounds, he turned to say goodbye to everyone.

"I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you for having me!"

Old Metsudo was as energetic as ever.

After Metsudo and his two Guardians left, the underground casino grew even more deserted.

Arisa continued looking after her brother. With nothing else to do, the two Kure Clan sisters also stayed to keep the siblings company.

Once nearly everyone had gone, two men in black who had been waiting in the shadows—the two black suits from the Teiai Group—stepped forward and spoke to Shiraki Uke.

"Mr. Bai Mu."

The two men in black were quite polite.

They were debt collectors for the Teiai Group, and their relationship with the Sanjigumi underboss was merely a business arrangement. They faced no pressure from "the underworld"; all they had to consider were contracts and profits.

"Please rest assured that the contract you signed earlier remains valid. However, we cannot provide the details of the debt reduction just yet. We ask for your understanding."

One of the men in black offered him a business card and bowed slightly.

"The Sanjigumi seems to have contacted someone else, and we need to report this to the company... In any case, we'll contact you as soon as possible and visit you afterward."

"..."

Shiraki Uke took the business card and nodded in agreement.

Unlike the yakuza, the Teiai Group, despite being a ruthless conglomerate, was ultimately still a legitimate "company," and the two men in black were just employees.

Judging by what Kure Fusui and old Metsudo had said, this underground fight seemed to involve some outside force. The situation was quite complicated, so naturally, lower-level employees couldn't handle it entirely on their own.

In that case, he might as well wait and see what happened.

It was late at night when everyone left the underground casino.

Kure Fusui drove, giving Kure Karura and Arisa a ride and taking Shiraki Uke along as well. They drove out of the chaos and darkness of the underworld and returned to the bustling city streets.

Looking at the neon lights outside the car window, Arisa suddenly felt as though she had returned from another world, as if everything that had happened tonight had been nothing more than a dream.

Then she looked at her brother beside her...

He was asleep.

Sprawled across the back seat, he slept soundly with a peaceful look on his face. Apart from the bandages on his forehead and body, nothing about him suggested he had just been through a fight to the death.

A slight bump in the road left Shiraki Uke half-awake. He narrowed his eyes, and scenes from the ring that night flashed through his vision, filling him with heartfelt excitement.

"Nice, that was great..."

"..."

Hearing Shiraki Uke murmur in his sleep, Arisa suddenly remembered that before he fell ill, her brother had always been like this—a hopelessly chaotic optimist.

Arisa was naturally happy that her brother had returned to his old self, but when she thought of Shiraki Uke's excited face covered in blood, she couldn't help feeling a little worried too.

"It's a good thing... I guess?"

The car stopped in front of the open space by the Shiraki Family home.

Kure Fusui woke the groggy Shiraki Uke and, as they were about to part, pulled out a business card and handed it to him.