(Haruna POV)

***

While the two men were inside, Haruna and Yui were waiting near the elevator.

"....Senpai, how should we start the conversation?"

"I dunno, I'll just ask him to stop forcing Reiji, I guess," Yui shrugged.

"But we need a game plan!"

"Even if we have a proper one, the core message won't change. Isn't it better to be direct with someone like a Yakuza Boss, who might even appreciate that?"

Haruna paused, considering this carefully because it seemed like a valid argument.

"That..... makes sense?" she mumbled.

"Exactly. But if you want to start building a plan of action, I won't stop you. Just don't include me in them, because I'm pretty sure I'll just end up ignoring them."

The two of them continued to discuss it quietly, making sure to keep their voices low out of awareness for the security guards who were just on the opposite side of the corridor.

But as they prepared themselves, the door opened and a young man came out.

Haruna was taken aback, since he looked around their age, especially because of the school uniform he was wearing.

"That green tie..... Isn't that from Oshima High School?" Yui asked with narrow eyes.

Oshima was a renowned high school that was geared specifically for sports students, and a lot of the country's top athletes were alumni from this training-focused institution.

Even Haruna had heard of it, despite having barely any interest in sports.

It was difficult not to, because a lot of kids in middle school, and even earlier, had made it a goal to get into this school, which obviously wasn't easy by any means.

But unlike Yui, that's not what caught Haruna's eye.

It was the creepy look he was giving them.

The boy's green eyes were wandering all over their bodies, not even making an effort to mask the desire within as he approached them with a curious look.

His entire existence screamed 'sharp', with a sharp and pointy jawline, sharp eyebrows, and thin, swordlike eyes that gave him a uniquely roguish look.

He was the type that people would think of the word 'delinquent' if they judged a book by its cover.

He stopped in front of them with his hands in his pockets, leaning on one foot lazily as he smirked.

"I came here for business, and might be leaving with pleasure? If that's not luck, I don't know what is," he quipped sarcastically.

The mocking tone in his voice was too obvious.

"What do you two say to a cup of coffee, with a side of something extra?" he continued, craning his neck upwards to make their large height difference even more obvious.

".....Who the fuck is this creep?"

The boy's smile vanished, shifting his focus to Yui coldly, who was recoiling with sheer disgust.

"Watch your words, woman. Do you not know where you are?" he hissed, his already raspy tone deepening with fury.

Haruna wanted to step in, hoping Yui could look at the bigger picture and stay quiet for a bit, but she chuckled before she could say a word.

"Pfft, does the location matter when you get your eggs crushed? You wanna go to a more private place first, so that no one sees you cry like a baby?"

The boy's face morphed into complete indifference, reining in his previous casual mood as he narrowed his eyes even further.

"....You've got guts. I like that."

He put his hands in his pockets as his gaze flickered between them, his obvious curiosity growing with each second.

But before he could speak again, the office door opened again, and the bearded man raised his arm.

"You two, the Boss has agreed to meet you!" Takeda called out, gesturing them to enter.

Haruna saw her chance and quickly pulled Yui away from the boy, ignoring his confused expression as he stared back and forth between them and Takeda.

'What a weirdo..... In fact, everyone here seems like a weirdo aside from Reiji-tan,' Haruna mused, remembering the bald man.

Takeda furrowed his brows when he saw the guy behind them, but didn't say anything as he let in the two women before closing the door.

Haruna, who was already a little nervous, accidentally bit her tongue when she saw the intimidating man sitting on what looked like a miniature throne behind a massive desk.

He had an intimidating aura, which she would never have thought was a description she'd ever have to give.

The long salt and pepper hair, the diamond face shape, and the well-trimmed beard that jutted out with a point made her feel like she was standing in front of the lion from a movie she loved as a kid.

And the tight-fitting black vest over the formal shirt and tie was the cherry on top, giving him a regal look while also highlighting his well-built figure.

She had seen his photos online beforehand, but only now that she was in front of him did she realize why the syndicate was so massive, yet so controlled.

Yui, on the other hand, just snorted after one glance and directly took a seat on one of the other two chairs in front of the wooden desk.

Haruna restrained her flustered appearance and joined her in the remaining chair.

She was hesitating because she wanted to wait for Reiji's dad to invite them to sit, but decided that showing a united front with Yui was a better choice.

Takeda moved to join the bald guy in the corner, indicating that they only planned to listen in instead of joining the conversation.

Yagami Daichi leaned back in his throne and studied the two girls calmly, taking his time before starting their little 'chat'.

"Takeda tells me you're Reiji's friends?" he uttered, his voice deep and magnetic.

'Geez, it feels like I'm in the medieval times, sitting in front of a King....'

"Yes, Sir," Haruna nodded, locking away the wandering thoughts because it was time to get down to business.

"Why are you here?"

Yui crossed her arms, crossed one leg over the other, and made herself comfortable, much to the exasperation of Haruna.

"I wanna hear your theory as to why we wanted to meet you?" the redhead smiled, but with no emotion whatsoever.

Daichi raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent for a few more seconds.

"....You're a prickly one, but I doubt it was out of choice," he finally replied to Yui, and then switched over to Haruna. "And you're more rational, but lack a backbone. An odd but effective combination for a negotiation, I must say."

'.....What the fuck?'

Haruna didn't think their personalities were much of a secret; that was something anyone could figure out quite easily.

But they'd both only said one sentence so far!

"That doesn't answer my question, Mr. Detective," Yui rolled her eyes.

"Ugh..."

Haruna glanced back at the sound and saw the bald man crouching with his hands on his shiny head while Takeda was facepalming.

'Why on earth is she so confident? She hasn't seemed nervous at all until now....' Haruna wondered internally.

"So you're also impatient," Daichi smiled, seemingly not taking any offence, to her great surprise. "I'm assuming you're here to try and stop me from forcing Reiji into this field? it's either that, or Reiji has wronged you somehow, but I doubt you'd be stupid enough to come here if you weren't close to him."

"Smart man," Yui grinned. "So we have come to an agreement?"

'Should I say something? I feel like I need to say something?' Haruna panicked.

"No, we have not."

Yui's face fell, glaring at Daichi intensely.

"Why not??"

"That's not your concern," he shut them down instantly.

Yui started to stand up, but Haruna grabbed her arm and forced her to sit down before turning to Daichi with determination.

"Do you have any idea how much pain he was in? He was bedridden with a fever for two whole days, and still had the nerve to brush it off like it was no big deal! Why are you insisting so much on putting him in danger? Isn't it better to find someone who actually wants to take over instead of relying on someone who might as well run your entire operation into the ground out of spite once he's forced into your position?" she snapped, somewhat maintaining her volume from rising too much.

Daichi's eyes widened slightly, just slightly, as he slowly leaned forward to place his hands on the table.

".....He was bedridden?"

Haruna twisted her expression, gripping the armrests of her chair tightly.

"You didn't even know? So you call him up and force him to do your bidding, and then you don't even check up on him after that injury?"

".....How is he now?"

"It's not my job to tell you; it's your duty to find out," Haruna shrugged, dropping the last shred of respect she was holding onto out of hope.

Yui gave her a thumbs up and grinned foolishly on the side.

Daichi closed his eyes and rubbed his beard, signaling to the men standing behind them.

"Get me my drink, and give them some water."

".....Yes, Boss."

The bald man walked over to the bar on the right side of the room and filled a glass with some whiskey and an ice ball, and two large glasses of iced water, which he then placed in front of each person, respectively.

Daichi took a deep sip of his drink, but the girls didn't touch theirs.

The man swirled his glass carefully, staring deep into it.

"He was never meant to be hurt enough to affect his daily life," he said quietly, breaking the silence.

"But he did. And he will again if he keeps this up. Isn't that right?" Haruna replied indifferently.

Daichi nodded, still looking down at his glass.

"....If only he'd done it the next day, where we could control the location better. But he had to be stubborn," he muttered wryly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yui interjected.

Neither of them knew much about the context of how he got the injury in the first place.

Daichi sighed and looked up at them.

"Tch, I told him to go the next day instead, but he said he had something else planned and refused adamantly. If the location was different, controlling the situation would've been much easier."

".....What?"

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