Chapter 4: The Plan

I, Yakumo Amaki, just witnessed something unbelievable.

You see, two days ago, my best friend, Ketsu Shiduo, had told my other best friend, Jonael Kendo, that his girlfriend, Ishiduo, cheats on him, Jonael didn't take this likely and a fight broke out, they later reconciled, but Ketsu just didn't give up and somehow managed to convince Jonael and I to see for ourselves. And what we saw was exactly what he said, Ishiduo, the usually polite and proper girl, was nothing more than a bitch, who was only after Jonael's money, nothing more.

This realization had broken Jonael, now he won't even leave his own room, it was truly heartbreaking. He had no one here to help him, both his mother and father had left for the States yesterday's morning and his sister was nowhere to be seen. He only had Ketsu and I right now, so we both contacted our parents and told them we'll be staying at his house for a while.

"Jonael, Jonael please open the door…" Ketsu said, eyes swollen. He was the one who really felt Jonael's pain the most, after all they've been friends the longest…

"Ketsu, just take it easy." I said, trying to calm him down.

"No… Jonael's in pain, and you're telling me to calm down!? Are you mad!?" He yelled frantically.

"Bro, calm down, your blood pressure is gonna reach critical like this." Weirdly enough, I was the one who's calm, usually I'd be depressed too, but now I gotta keep it together, I mean, look at these fools, they ain't got their shit together at all…

"So what? We should just leave him there?" He asked.

"Bro, are you still blaming yourself?" I asked. In truth, I knew he was blaming himself, he probably thought that if he hadn't said anything, Jonael wouldn't have been in the state he is, but we both knew he did the right thing, if he hadn't said anything, Jonael would have been used, so all in all it was a good thing.

"Yeah…" He replied.

"Then don't, imagine Jonael living a lie, would that make you feel any better? Answer: no, it wouldn't. So let's just chill, he'll come around, eventually…"

♦

Ishiduo, Ishiduo, Ishiduo. So, as you might have known I just found out my girl's been playing me, like she wasn't even my girl to begin with, but whatever, I'm depressed, angry, but strangely, I'm calm, very calm. I haven't been able to shake this feeling of absolute calmness ever since I found out Ishiduo for who she really is.

What I found even stranger, was that I felt like this had happened before, like in a distant past, I had been forsaken, betrayed, used and thrown away, just like trash, it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all, it felt like my anger wasn't only at Ishiduo, but at everyone and everything. But what was more disturbing, was the fact that I heard a voice, a strange, yet familiar voice When I saw Ishiduo cheating, at that moment, it was like I was in a vast sea of nothingness, I could see nothing, it was empty, as empty as the great void, and then I saw a cute little girl, she tried to tell me something, but i couldn't hear her, so I tried going closer and closer, but the closer I reach the further she seemed and at a certain point I woke up, I was just so tired of it all, I didn't have the strength to pursue it at the time, with the whole Ishiduo thing going on, but now, I'm in my right frame of mind and can think clearly, so this was really weird. Why did I see her? Who was she? Where did she come from?. I contemplated as I tried to piece everything together, but failed, over and over again.

♦

Three days later…

It's been three days now, I haven't left my room, I had a snack bar and a bathroom installed in my room, just in case one day Rias whines up trying to kill me or something like that, who knew it would come in handy now? Hehe…

Over these three days, I've had a lot to think about, and I've come to a realization, the girl I saw, I ain't gonna be seeing much of her, at least for now… And as for Ishiduo… I really don't know.

"Jonael, Jonael~ please come out!~"

Hmmm, over these past few days, Ketsu's been trying to get me out of here, even Yakumo had joined in for some reason, these guys… my best friends, my 'real' friends. Hehe, thanks guys, just knowing you guys are here, makes me feel better.

I think I better go meet them before Ketsu gets a heart attack. I thought as I stood up and headed for the door.

"Well, that's enough, Jonael you're coming out there right now! Even if it means I'll have to break down this door!" I then heard running sounds, and at that time I opened the doors.

*Open

Ketsu came running inside with full force, realizing the doors were open he tried to stop, but his momentum was too great and he came barreling into the wall and…

*Thug!

He immediately went unconscious.

"Yo, Jonael you ok now?" Asked Yakumo, completely ignoring the collapsed Ketsu.

"Ya, I think so… we should probably check on Ketsu…" I said, while looking at the collapsed Ketsu.

"He'll be fine, let's go get you something to eat." Said Yakumo.

"Well, if you say so…"

20 minutes later.*

"Yo, Ketsu, you awake?"

"Yeah, Jonael, I'm–" Ketsu, now regaining his senses, looked at me like he had just realized that I was the one talking.

"Jonael! You're out of your hole!? I thought you would be in there forever!" He said as he hugged me.

"Ketsu, Ketsu, please let me go! You're suffocating me!"

"Oh, sorry, I just got really excited, I thought you would commit suicide…" He said looking nervous.

"Wait, suicide? Hell no. Over a girl nonetheless? Hell no." Said Yakumo, who sounded like he knew me better than anyone else. "Wait, Jonael, what the hell's you looking at me like that for? Did you really think of commiting suicide?" He asked, with a dash of fear in his voice.

"No, I didn't." Why would they think I would do that? Do these fools think so little of me? "Well, enough of that, Ketsu, join us.x I said, beckoning Ketsu to come have lunch with us.

"Ok…" He replied, still looking drippy.

"So, who cooked this? Did you guys ask the maids to do this?" I asked.

It was a Japanese/Western style dish, consisting of tempura, udon noodles, unagiri rice, fish, chicken(grilled), some cupcakes and a light soda, a weird combination, but still, delicious.

"No, Yakumo made these." Replied Ketsu

"Yakumo, you can cook?" I was shocked, and why wouldn't I be? I haven't seen him cooking before, it's so weird, I guess you never really know a guy.

"Yeah, my mom's been teaching me, so…" He said with a touch of embarrassment.

"Well it tastes really good." I honestly complimented his dish, it must have taken him a lot of effort making these.

"No problem." He said, still embarrassed.

We then ate in silence, not because we had nothing to talk about, but because we didn't want to spoil the mood and ruin the meal.

Hmmm, 'ruin' our meal? Why does the word 'ruin' seem so familiar? I've been using it my whole life, but it sounds so weird now, why is that? I contemplated these events when, suddenly Ketsu asked me a question.

"Jonael, what are you going to do with the whole Ishiduo case?" He said looking down at the floor. This idiot is taking this even worse than I do, what a weirdo. But, really, what I'm I going to do?

"How about we get some revenge?" Yakumo asked. The usual Yakumo was always calm and calculative, but now, he looked more like the incarnation of rage, I could literally see his rage filling up the dining room, it resembled the devil himself.

"Yo, Yakumo tune down your violence, it's not like we could get back at her anyways, she belongs to a Mafia, not just any Mafia, but one of the most dangerous Mafia in Tokyo, and you want us, some bunch of kids, to go up against them, we wouldn't even stand a chance. Will just get ourselves killed." I said. The chances of us getting revenge on Ishiduo was not too optimistic, heck we didn't even stand a chance. Even if our parents were wealthy, it didn't mean money could solve all problems, and I doubt any of our parents would wanna go up against a Mafia, just because of something like this… apart from Ketsu's dad, but that's a different matter.

"The way I see it, we got two options, the first, we go through a full frontal assault which basically is meaningless suicide or we play it smart, bring 'em down from inside."

"How so?" Ketsu asked.

"We can't bring them down with our own hands, but if we can get hold of some piece of evidence against them from inside, we could probably get them caught and thrown into jail for a long, long time." Suggested Yakumo.

"Yeah, the 'Black Snakes' are famous for being elusive, and have never been caught in an actual crime, but have only been recorded as suspects, even the 20 recorded kills they've made, wasn't proven in court, the case still ongoing till today. If we could actually get some dirt on them, it'll do the cops a real favor." Replied Ketsu. Wait, how did he know all this anyway?

"That's right, if we can get some dirt on them, then we can have our revenge. We will probably need to keep it down though, we don't need other mafias thinking we're a treat!" Proclaimed Yakumo.

He was making a lot of sense. If we actually get some concrete evidence against them, beat them at their own game, we could probably put them behind bars, but that also comes with a risk. What if we're caught? What if we find nothing, wouldn't that be seriously risky or even dangerous? Even if all goes well, that doesn't mean it'll be the end of it, we could be hunted down or killed.

"So, Jonael, what do you think? If it's too dangerous for you we could stop right now." Asked Yakumo.

I find it funny, the usual Yakumo would have just sat by and let Ketsu and I do all the planing, but not today, today he's the one taking the lead, but his plan was too dangerous… but even at that, both Ketsu and Yakumo had already decided, knowing them they'll go with it even if I refuse, my two dearest friends are able to go through so much just for me, I can't back down, nor can I disappoint!

"Sure I'll go, this is my matter after all, if I don't go, who else will!?" I exclaimed.

"That's the Jonael I know! I thought the events of the last few days had made you lose your balls or something!" Said Yakumo.

"Good to have the real Jonael back, I thought you left us for good…" Said Ketsu, while cleaning his tears. This must have been a real emotional moment to him, but to me it was getting creepy, very creepy.

"So! Yakumo, what's the plan!" I said in an attempt to change the direction of this discussion, before things get too weird…

"Ok. Ketsu I'd need you to use your full access to the 'Underground'. Can you contact someone who would wants them taken down?" Asked Yakumo, it may seem like he's insane asking Ketsu this question, but in truth Ketsu's dad runs one of the largest Underground trading companies in Asia, he is it's heir, and as the heir, there was no way he wouldn't have a few contacts he could use.

"That depends, a lot of guys down-under do what them gone, but I doubt they'll entrust such tasks to kids, even if my dad maybe on good terms with them, they'll never give me any help, not the way I am now, that's for sure." He said looking depressed. I don't blame him, just because his dad could do something didn't mean he could too.

"So, what can you get?" Asked Yakumo, sounding somewhat depressed.

"I could get some of my boys to assist us and do some investigating, but let's not count on them too much, I could also get us some means of protection." He said.

"What mean?" I asked.

"Means like guns, bullet proof vests, bullet proof vans and an e-TME ticker! We've all taken training, we've all handled guns before, so I think we'll be alright–"

"Ketsu, wait! Let me get this straight: you can't get anyone truly trustworthy, but you could get us an e-TME ticker!? How the hell does that even work!?" I had to ask, an average citizen couldn't get that on the market, no, even a not-so average citizen couldn't get it, even if his life depended on it.

"You know the Underground is an amazing place, I could pretty much get us anything, but then my dad would know, so…"

Well that's true, we couldn't let our parents know about this, if we could ask for our parents help, we could basically assemble a small army, but this whole deal was a secret.

"Well, we can just use the e-TME ticker as a last resort. So let's recap, we got some guys who could assist us, some means of protection, all provided by Ketsu. Thanks man." Said Yakumo.

"No worries." Replied Ketsu

"So, tomorrow we begin, as for now, Ketsu, I need you to call all your boys, tell 'em we're gonna pay based on the amount of information and its quality." Said Yakumo.

So, tomorrow we'll be heading out? Well let's get this started, while our adrenaline's still high.

Little did I know that this was the decision that would change my life all together.

♦

Somewhere on Earth.

In a mansion somewhere in Europe, sat a young man who looked to be in his late 20's or early 30's, he was a tall figure, handsome, some might even say beautiful, infact if one didn't know, one may have even thought of him to be a woman and on the opposite side of the room sat a young lady, with deep blue eyes, snowy white hair and a cold personality, she was a beauty, although losing to the young man in terms of beauty and glamor, she was still a living embodiment of beauty, her gorgeous body proportions were further illustrated by he tightly fitted Valentino gown, it's arresting yellow hue around her waistline made for a magnificent view, it opted for a modern take on the classic, floor-length gown via a tasteful cutout. The design was fresh, fun and very bold, the perfect balance between glamor and ease.

These two figures sat on opposite sides of the room, at a glance it could be seen that the man was superior in status, as shown by his manner of dominance and the woman's submissive nature

"How is the child fairing?"

"Lord Theranel, the child has been doing well."

"Is he close to awakening?"

"There have been no obvious signs, but ever since a few days ago he had a change in his personality."

"How so?"

"My Lord, his change was too sudden and it dispersed within seconds, but I am sure I felt it."

"Felt what?"

"I felt fear, a fear that I have only felt once before, the absolute aura only the Fallen could exclude."

"Hmmm, his awakening is near. Listen, you and the others must watch him close, but do not interfere, just watch."

"Yes my Lord.

"Report to me on the details of his progress.

"Yes my Lord."

♦

The young lady had left and all that remained was Theranel.

"It seems the day of tribulation is upon us, Baren and the others and even I have sinned against this child, but who would have thought, after all these years, after all his reincarnations, he would fall into my hands?" He said

"The day the Fallen's wrath will descend on all is near, I hope some of us will survive."