บท 63: Chapter 63: Haruto’s plan
~~This chapter follows Haruto's events after he ran away from Hina's fury~~
And so, the young leader of that small criminal army fled with some of his men, tails between their legs.
His plan to bring Hina back into his ranks had magically failed.
He had tried in every way to convince that girl, once his comrade in arms, to rejoin their group with the intention of stopping something much bigger than them.
To lure her there, he had kidnapped her own friend, knowing that Kai would come to rescue her, and with him, Hina.
At first, he considered kidnapping Kai, but quickly realized that if he did, Hina would hunt him down for the rest of his days.
The two men who broke into that young white-haired man's house were nothing more than hitmen—or rather, sacrificial pawns sent to scare him, in order to draw Hina out.
After that, he manipulated and kidnapped Naomi, drawing Hina in, threatening her with a phone call that if she didn't come right away, they would hurt her, and then Kai, all just to test her strength.
After confirming that she was still an unmatched force, he decided to lure her into a trap along with Kai to attempt to bring her back into his ranks of soldiers.
"…This… wasn't part of the plan. We should have kidnapped Kai right away," Haruto muttered to himself as he walked, flanked by two soldiers, leaving Akira to fight her adoptive sister.
For the first time in a long while, he had failed.
He hadn't expected Hina to be alone.
He was convinced that Kai would show up with her.
"Boss, we'll have other chances," one of his men said.
"No… that monster is now our enemy. And we've lost Akira, one of our best soldiers…" he replied, clearly irritated.
He knew perfectly well that he would never see Akira again, one way or another.
One of his best soldiers.
A strong woman to whom he had promised revenge in exchange for her loyalty.
Akira had nothing left.
Rejected by her family and friends due to a false accusation.
"Boss, but we still have Kaito and Aiko… they're much stronger than Akira," his subordinate replied, as they finally reached an underground tunnel that connected several key routes in the city.
"I know… I know," he responded with a sigh.
Then, they entered the tunnel and, after closing the door behind them, began to walk toward their "salvation."
Haruto was heading for the Harunaga district.
More specifically, he was heading toward a small abandoned house not far from the main station of that small town.
That house was considered cursed and haunted by the ghost of a girl who had been brutally murdered for no apparent reason.
There were reports of sightings, nighttime screams, and strange occurrences around that house.
For this reason, it had become inaccessible to the public and had been sealed by an exorcist.
But for criminals, it was a place of refuge, connected underground by a network of disused sewers.
These sewers reached the foundations of the house, and over time, the Kobayashi Dragons had used it as a base, turning it into a veritable headquarters.
Step by step, Haruto walked through the dimly lit tunnels, his heart heavy with defeat.
The cold air clung to his skin, and the steady drip of water echoed ominously through the underground passageways.
His men followed silently, their footsteps muffled against the damp ground.
Haruto's mind raced, but outwardly, he showed nothing but cold determination.
The weight of failure gnawed at him.
They had a long way to go before they would reach the headquarters.
The abandoned house that stood above them , untouched by the world and offered refuge from the police, rival gangs, and anyone else who dared to stand in their way.
For now, they were safe, but Haruto couldn't shake the sense of unease that clung to him like a shadow.
During the fight with Hina, a flying knife had grazed his cheek, leaving a sharp, angry cut that now throbbed with every heartbeat.
The wound wasn't deep, but it burned with more than just pain.
It was a mark of humiliation. The leader of the Kobayashi Dragons, wounded so easily by someone he once considered his equal.
His pride stung worse than the injury itself.
He pressed a hand to his cheek, feeling the slickness of blood.
"This scar will be a reminder…" he thought grimly. "A reminder that I underestimated her."
But deep down, Haruto already knew.
He perfectly knew that Akira would've betrayed or left him eventually.
She was strong, yes, but loyalty only stretched so far when one's soul was fractured beyond repair.
That's why he had kept the location of their true headquarters a secret from her.
A cruel calculation, but one that had served him well.
Haruto had learned long ago that trust was a luxury he couldn't afford.
His men kept their distance, knowing better than to speak when Haruto's temper simmered just beneath the surface.
They had seen the sharp edge of his rage before, and none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of it now.
Instead, they followed in silence, their eyes occasionally flicking toward him, waiting for his next move.
Despite his outward calm, Haruto's thoughts churned.
His life had been split in two—by his own design.
By day, he was a normal student.
He laughed with his classmates, shared meals with friends, and blended into the background of a world that was blissfully unaware of the darkness lurking beneath the surface.
No one suspected that behind the mask of an ordinary young man was a cold-blooded killer, a leader of one of the most feared gangs in the city.
And that's how he intended to keep it.
But as he pressed forward into the tunnels, Haruto realized that facade was beginning to crumble.
Yuna had seen his face, and so had Hina and Naomi.
His carefully crafted double life was at risk of unraveling.
He would have to act fast.
"I'll make her pay…" he muttered through gritted teeth, his voice a low growl that echoed in the tunnels.
His fingers clenched into fists, the rage bubbling just beneath the surface.
But his men didn't respond they perfectly knew that Haruto's anger was a force to be reckoned with, a storm they had no interest in weathering.
Yet as Haruto walked, another thought struck him.
"I can't go back to my old life."
Yuna had seen him.
Hina had seen him.
Naomi too.
He was exposed.
The mask was slipping.
But he wasn't done yet. Perhaps… perhaps he could still use one last trick.
The "doppelgänger" card.
It was a wild plan, risky, but Haruto was no stranger to risk.
He could claim that the man Yuna had seen wasn't him at all but nothing more than a twin brother, a lookalike.
With the police chasing after him, it might be his only shot at staying hidden in plain sight.
After all, who would suspect the seemingly ordinary high school student who sat in the front row of his class?
And yet, a part of him wondered why Hina hadn't hurt him.
She had every reason to.
And most of all, she had a lot of chances to do so.
Was it because she wanted to leave her old life behind? Or was it something else? Did she hesitate because of Kai?
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the sharp ring of his phone.
The sound cut through the air like a knife, and Haruto stopped dead in his tracks.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the device, his eyes narrowing at the sight of an unknown number flashing on the screen.
No one had his real number.
This had to be someone from his gang.
Without hesitation, he answered, his voice cold and sharp.
"Hello? Who's speaking?" Haruto's tone was detached, almost mechanical.
"Boss, it's Aiko. How did the mission go?" came the reply, her voice high-pitched yet laced with a deadly edge.
Aiko.
One of the government's most wanted criminals; an infamous serial killer who had earned herself an international arrest warrant.
She was one of the few who killed not out of necessity, but for the sheer pleasure of it.
"The mission failed. I'm heading back to base. Make sure everything is clear when I arrive," Haruto replied, his voice like ice.
"Understood. Kaito, Yorihime, and I will handle everything. But boss… there's already news circulating on TV about the incident at the building. They're calling it another gang feud," Aiko said, letting out a slow sigh.
Haruto's jaw tightened. "Of course the media is on it already," he thought. "I need to stay ahead of them."
"Fine. Just follow the orders. I don't want any more surprises," Haruto said, his voice firm and commanding.
"Yes, boss," Aiko responded, her tone neutral now.
"For now, we'll lay low," Haruto decided aloud, speaking more to himself than to his men. "Let the situation calm down. We have no choice. I'll continue living my life as usual, blending in with the crowd. Tomorrow, I'll go to school like nothing's happened. You all stay in the shadows. Don't draw any attention to yourselves, or we'll have bigger problems."
"Understood, boss. We'll be waiting for you," Aiko had said.
Haruto ended the call with a click, his mind already racing ahead to the next move.
He inhaled deeply, forcing the anger to dissipate.
There was no room for rage now since he needed to be lucid to think about the perfect plan.
Haruto nodded to himself, pocketing his phone as he walked deeper into the tunnels.
The darkness closed in around him, but Haruto didn't fear it.
It was where he thrived.
Soon, he would be back at their base, and there, in the shadows, he would begin again.
Because no matter how many times he fell, Haruto would always rise.
And this time, he would've been ready.
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