"Great job, Kaito. You've completed the mission. Now you're free to go wherever you want. Well done."
The voice was calm. Too calm.
Kaito froze. That voice… it wasn't unfamiliar.
No.
It couldn't be.
"…KENJI!?"
Noooo!! It couldn't be. This man was his damned good friend. This can't be a joke, right?
Just like heaven answering his prayers…
"Hello, Kaito. You didn't forget your friend, right? It's your dearest friend, KENJI, hahaha. Oh, and Yui says hi—except, she's not breathing anymore. Oops, did I spill too much?" Kenji spoke begrudgingly at first, but ended his speech like a maniac.
That was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
"Hello?"
"..."
"Hello, Kaito? You there?" Kenji went on and on, tugging at Kaito, trying to get some words of regret—or something along those lines—out of the poor man.
"Where are you right now?" Kaito finally spoke. But this time, Kenji could feel the unhinged killing intent behind his words, making him shiver.
"Hehe, you want to join the party? No harm done. I'm at the Double Door Warehouse. Come alone, hehe." Kenji said, ending the call without delay, leaving Kaito all alone in the silence. He felt like his soul was being ripped apart. Everything he had—or rather, everything he thought he had—was gone. His wife. His brother. His family.
All he wanted now was to find the death god himself and break his bones to pieces... if he even exists.
***
Somewhere in the dark nether, a fiend demon with small pointy horns and red skin shivered as he suddenly felt a wave of killing intent targeted at him.
***
Kaito zoomed off into the night, not minding the chaos that ensued on the road as he maneuvered his way to the warehouse. It looked like a Fast and Furious movie to outsiders, but the beast behind the wheel knew this was a blood-and-bone affair. He had been conned—by someone so close to him, someone he once called brother. As the reality of betrayal crashed down on him, Kaito's rage reached new heights. Stepping on the throttle like it had insulted his ancestors, he sped toward his destination.
***
In a dark alley near the warehouse, two figures stood under a flickering light.
"Big boss Kenji, you sure he's gonna come? I mean, he's the f**king number one for a reason, right?" asked one of the men, dressed in black from head to toe, eyes glued to the ticking clock.
"Haha, he will come. After all, he's just a raging beast right now. We just have to control his every action, and there'll be a new number one on the Dark Leaderboard," Kenji laughed maniacally as he walked into the building to kick off his plan, unconcerned by the storm he was about to summon.
"Big boss is the best…" the younger man whispered, hurrying after him.
Inside, men of all sizes were gathered. Some were messing around. Others were sharpening blades. But they all knew: taking down Black Cat was no small feat. Tension hung in the air like a guillotine.
SCREEEEE!!
CRASHHH!!
"KENJI!! YOU EVIL BASTARD, COME OUT HERE NOW! WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU? I'VE ALWAYS WATCHED YOUR BACK! I TREATED YOU LIKE A BROTHER! WHY?! WHYYYYY!?"
Kaito roared, bursting through the warehouse doors.
CLAP! CLAP!! CLAP!!!
"And so the guest of the show arrives. Ooh, might I say, the MAIN CHARACTER is home," Kenji mocked from the shadows. "Give him a proper welcome, guys."
CLICK! CLICK!
Kaito glanced around. Dozens of guns locked on him. He looked up to the dark balcony where Kenji stood.
"So this is how it is, huh?" he muttered, balling his fists. He tuned his mind and soul to the fight ahead. Then, with a voice disturbingly calm, he asked:
"Why did you do all this, Kenji? To kill me off and take the number one spot?"
"Yes, of course. Sigh… Since the main character wants to know, then I'll be your humble narrator, haha. Just don't piss your pants by the end of my story."
Kenji's tone turned venomous.
"Do you know how much envy I had toward you? You were Father's favorite—just because your mom, that sl*t, was more beautiful than mine? You got all the resources. Heck, you even trained with Master Shido. Meanwhile, I—his firstborn—barely saw his face. Remember high school? Father gave you the best tutor. You even took the top spot at school. In college, you knew I liked Haine, but you stole her from me. Leaving me with a pathetic person like Yui! Haha. Brother, if I can't get the toy, no one does.
Now you're left with nothing, little brother. At least I got Father's mercenary company. Wanna share?"
"Hahaha… Father was never biased toward me. If anything, he loved you more. I still remember the scars from the time I went to meet him. He tortured my mother in front of me. And every time I tried to stop him, I was taken to the Dark Court—you know what that means, don't you?
I only trained under Master Shido because I begged him. Father didn't assign me a tutor. I saved my allowance and hired one myself so I wouldn't fall behind. I studied every night while you slept and aced your papers.
You had servants. I was a servant.
As for Haine—if you were bold enough, maybe she'd be alive today.
Father always wanted you to inherit the company… but you were too hot-blooded, and you killed him yourself.
Among us two, brother, I never got a chance. I made my own.
All I ever wanted was to be a good father… but you f**king blew it. You made me kill my wife and her unborn child!!"
Tears streamed down Kaito's face, reopening old wounds.
"I was sorting through some papers in my car before the mission like I always do. Haine might have put it there to surprise me… and there it was—a pregnancy test result. Proof. I was going to be a father..."
SHOCK.
Everyone in the warehouse froze. Even Kenji was shaken.
"…Can you repeat what you just said, brother?" Kenji asked, voice cracking. This was news to him. Real news. If he'd known… maybe he'd have done things differently.
"Don't 'brother' me, you f**ker. I found that test result a few days ago. Haine was pregnant. And now I've killed her. I've killed them both."
"…Ooh sh*t… that's bad…"
Kenji was still trying to process everything, but Kaito started laughing. Loud. Wild. Like a man possessed.
"You wanted to be number one, didn't you? Well, if you walk out of here alive, it's yours. In fact—if anyone here walks out alive, I'll hand it to you myself."
He looked around.
"I saw some familiar names. Looks like the top twenty of the leaderboard are all here."
Silence. Then dread.
Even Kenji stepped into the light, stunned by what he just heard.
Was Kaito planning to die?
Or was he about to take everyone down with him?
"IMPOSSIBLE!!" Kenji shouted.
But before he could finish—
————BOOOOM————