Ilaya looked at her confusingly, but then, she thought of something as she asked
"Did the boss ask you to train me?"
Nicole nodded at her as she said excitedly
"Yes! I plan to train your body stronger to make you capable of executing all kinds of movements and not tire out easily!"
Then, she pulled out a pistol from her waist as she handed in to Ilaya
"Here, hold this and weigh it"
Ilaya looked at the gun and she grabbed it
'Its heavy. Her appearance and this gun doesn't match'
As she studied the pistol curiously, Nicole said to her
"Let's go to the backyard. It's more comfortable there and more suitable to explain all the things you need to know"
Then, as they're heading towards the backyard, Ilaya heard Nicole said to her
"By the time you complete your training, you'll feel that the gun that's currently heavy for you will turn into featherlight!"
As she heard that, Ilaya became worried for herself. She had a hunch that she'll suffer terribly in her training. As she's thinking, Nicole suddenly asked her
"For you, what do you think is a gun?"
Ilaya looked at the gun in her hand as she thought. She soon came to an answer as she said to her
"A tool… to protect?"
Nicole suddenly laugh as she said to Ilaya
"Well, of course. You really need guns to protect yourself. But…"
Nicole stopped and turned to look at her. She then seriously said
"So, to protect yourself or someone, are you willing to use it?"
Ilaya hesitated as she stared at Nicole. She then looked at her gun as she remembered the time where she was kidnapped
'If… If I had this gun at that time, would the suffering that I experienced wouldn't happen? If… I just shot the killer, would I not have turned into a blood thirsty monster at that time?'
Then, she shook her head and said to Nicole
"I wouldn't use it to take the life of others. But, I'm willing to use it to protect myself and the people I cared about"
Nicole looked at her seriously before suddenly smiling as she turned around and walked. She said to Ilaya
"That's a good attitude! I saw a lot of people turn into something strange when they obtain a power that can dictate the life and death of others! I'm glad that you're not like me!"
As Ilaya looked at Nicole worriedly, she heard her said
"Ilaya… that gun in your hand. Can you feel its weight?"
Ilaya confusingly said to her as they entered the building
"Yes?"
Nicole then said sadly to Ilaya
"That's the weight of life. Every time you use it to take a life, it will feel heavier and heavier. Then, there's two outcome when that happened"
Ilaya looked at Nicole's small back as she sadly thought
'Is she also suffering? I guess even a cheerful and odd like her had their struggles'
Then, Nicole continued
"It's either someone will never be able to pick up the gun due to the guilt that's crushing them. Or… they will forget the weight and turn into something strange. Both will have an equally tragic outcome"
As she said that, they both turned silent. They just continued to walk as they passed Ilaya's room and they reached the backyard. The gloomy mood of Ilaya instantly vanished as she saw birds in the trees, butterflies in the flowers, and the peaceful breeze that caressed her skin. She excitedly said to Nicole
"This place is really wonderful!"
Nicole excitedly jog towards the center as she exclaimed
"Of course! I put all my time and effort into making this place beautiful! It's my sanctuary!"
Ilaya followed her and they both sat on the carpet. The two just observed the peaceful place for a bit before talking. Ilaya asked Nicole about her training
"Nicole. How do you plan to train me? I don't know anything about fighting so, I will appreciate some guidance about defending myself"
Nicole then said to her in a voice that imitates an old master
"Now listen here, disciple! I will need to strengthen your body first for the first week! So, you need to do a 10 kilometer run, 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, and ten minutes of meditation everyday"
Ilaya laughed at Nicole as she played along
"Yes! Master! But I'm worried that my body will collapse if I overdo it. So please be lenient with this disciple!"
They looked at each other before both of them laughed. Ilaya felt that the coldness in her heart turned warm
'I wish I can this be happy always'
Then, after their laughter. Nicole said to her
"You will start your daily training starting tomorrow. For now, I will explain all the things that you need to know about us. You know that we're members of the Yakuza aren't you?"
Ilaya nodded as she remembered Yamato. She somewhat missed that guy. Then, Nicole continued speaking
"So, you know now. The current members of the Yakuza is about 5,000. Of course, a lot of members died when they were ambushed the other day, but, were recruiting many people that got rejected by society. So we're raising numbers each day"
As she heard that, Ilaya thought something before asking Nicole
"What is this group goal? I heard that the Yakuza's are scary bunch"
Nicole looked at her with an offended expression, but Ilaya knew that she's really not offended, she just like to emote
"You do know that you're now part of the scary bunch right?"
Ilaya suddenly froze as she realized that she's now a Yakuza. Her expression became conflicted as her life kept throwing her in different directions. Nicole saw her expression as she laughed. After laughing, she said to her
"But, you're right. The Yakuza operates in the light, but also in the dark. We manage in the shadows of society and do dirty work. But, you should know that even if we didn't exist, there's always someone who will do it in our stead. The fact that there's many criminal organizations that the Yakuza are currently fighting is proof of that"
Ilaya listened carefully as she digested the information. She felt that there's some truth to that and she couldn't deny the balance of good and evil. Then, she cautiously asked Nicole
"Do our group operates about smuggling"
Nicole looked at her as she had guessed what Ilaya was concerned about. She then shook her head as she said to her
"No, we don't smuggle people or something about using people as merchandise. Our boss prohibited it a long time ago. But we smuggle firearms and anything except for humans. We also have many brothels, but It didn't count as violation to our code"
Ilaya let out a sigh of relief. She will be extremely conflicted about joining a group that treats people as goods. Her morals and ethics will not allow that. She then asked about their boss. Ilaya was still peeved at Ivana for punching her
"What about our boss? What can you say about her?"
Nicole looked at her strangely as she teasingly said to her
"Gossiping about our boss now are we? Haven't you met her already? So you should know what kind of person she is by now!"
Ilaya suddenly felt embarrassed, but as she remembered the pain in her cheek. She suddenly felt justified and didn't care as to what Ivana would feel about being discussed. And she had a feeling that she's not going to care anyway
She said to Nicole confidently
"Anyway, tell me. She punched me earlier so I planned to become stronger, and return the punch that she had given me when I became stronger"
Nicole looked at her strangely again
"You do know that she's our boss right?
But her expression soon turned to an excited one
"But… that sounds exciting!"