The surrounding turned silent as no one said anything. Except for the man
"Nicole. Replace my phone damnit! I just bought that one!"
Nicole walked towards Ilaya as she said to him
"Okay. I have many phones anyway. Just pick one"
Nicole pat Ilaya's back as she said to her
"Ilaya! That's not how my student is supposed to act! Be strong! Don't let anyone make you cry! Show them who's the boss!"
Her encouragement was interrupted by the man who walked towards Nicole
"I don't mean those phones! They're tapped alright! Buy me a new one!"
Nicole turned to him irritatingly as she said
"If you don't want those phones, then fuck off! When did you get here anyway? Why am I not notified?"
Nicole looked around at the people around them as they averted their gazes. The man then scoffed at her
"Why? The boss ordered me to get you. We have a meeting"
Nicole then shouted to all the people around them
"All of you! Get to work!"
As the people heard her shout. They all scrambled away and soon, the three are all left in the hallway. Nicole then said to the man
"Wait for me here. I'll drive Ilaya first to her destination"
The man then looked at the crying Ilaya as he mockingly said
"Why bother? She's useless anyway. Isn't it better if you just feed her to your babies?"
"Enough!! Watch your word Kazuki. You're in my territory! Not yours!"
Nicole became enraged as she glared at Kazuki. The man then shrugged as he walked passed them before saying
"I'm telling you Nicole. You will someday die because you keep attaching yourself to that and this monster. Isn't the last lesson enough for you?"
Nicole didn't say anything as she froze. The man then left and the two became silent. Nicole touched her heart as she said to Ilaya
"Let's go now Ilaya. You're going to be late"
Ilaya nodded and walked. She's still looking down and keeping silent. As they got out of the gate. Nicole sighed and said to her
"Ilaya. You really need to grow up more. Even if they say that it's your fault, you know it yourself that it's not true. Don't let them walk all over you. If you're going to be weak, what happened earlier will happen again. If you're going to argue, make sure that you have the strength to back it up"
Ilaya cried as she said in a raspy voice
"But… I'm weak. I'm not strong like you or Kyora"
They reached the car as Nicole said to her
"Get in. In the front seat"
Ilaya obliged and entered the car. As the car drove off. Nicole then said to her
"We all started as weak. No one was born strong. You just need to learn it and experience it. The difference between the strong and the weak is that the strong didn't give a shit about what people say and think. Weak people get crushed by the opinions of others"
Nicole then slowed the car due to the traffic before saying again
"You cried because you got hurt by his words right? Because you cared about what he said right? If you don't care about what he is saying, then you will not get hurt. Or you can even challenge him into a spar, that way, you can teach him a lesson and also sends a warning to other people that will look down on you"
Nicole laughed as she said
"At least. That's what I'll do. But same logic"
Ilaya didn't answer. She thinks that Nicole was right. But
'It's not that easy. For me, not paying attention to what others say is not easy'
Then, she remembered the man as she asked Nicole
"Who's that man?"
Nicole became annoyed as she said
"That's Kazuki. He's also a guard like me. He has temper issues so he often clashes with me. That bastard is really good at annoying people. Especially me. Tsk"
Ilaya became confused as she asked
"Does a guard have that authority? He acts like he owns the place. And people didn't even mess with him"
Nicole laughed as she said
"Well yes. You don't know. The people called guards are the defenders of the base they're stationed at. All guards, like me, are elites so they have the respect of the others. At the start, the guards are supposed to accompany the boss everywhere. But due to the boss being a demon. She stationed her guards in the bases as to not waste their capabilities"
Nicole wanted to say something else but stopped. She continued driving
Ilaya didn't notice and nodded. She remembered the disdain of that man and felt that she's becoming infamous in the Yakuza. Of course, in a bad way. She became curious about what the man said earlier. Then, she worriedly asked Nicole
"Nicole, are you going to join the attack later?"
Nicole nodded as she seriously said
"No choice. This attack is an important one. So all the guards will move. Maybe even the boss will take action"
Ilaya forgot about her pain as she became worried about her safety. She thought about stopping her, but she knows that she will go anyway. It's the boss's orders
"Take care of yourself. Don't die alright?"
Nicole laughed as she said to her
"Of course! I'm planning to plant a new type of flower in the garden! There's no way I'm going to leave that task unfinished!"
Then, Nicole excitedly said to Ilaya
"Ilaya! When the fight is over, we ca-"
Only to be abruptly ended as Ilaya jumped at her seat as she covered her mouth. Ilaya then removed her hand as she said nervously
"A-Are you crazy? That's a death flag! Don't say that!"
Nicole was startled by her actions and soon laughed
"Ohh! So you believe in that superstition. Never thought you believed in that!"
Ilaya shook her head as she said
"Still, I'd rather believe than taunt fate. You'll never know when you die"
The two continued to banter as they arrived at the restaurant. As Nicole parked the car. Ilaya got out of the vehicle. As she's closing the door, she paused for a moment before leaning and looked at Nicole. She said
"Nicole. I'm serious. Don't die alright? Be careful"
Nicole got irritated as she said to her annoyingly
"I get it! You already said that almost three times! Now go!"
Ilaya looked at her deeply before nodding. As Ilaya qlooked at the entrance of the restaurant, Nicole drove off as she received a call. She answered it and a man's voice sounded
"Where are you? The boss gathered all the guards in the old place. I'm still waiting for you, so hurry up and get here!"
"Alright, alright! I'm coming!"
The man said to her annoyingly
"Why are you still mingling with that abomination? You know what's at stake right!?"
Nicole said to him angrily
"Don't call her an abomination, you bastard! Do you have a death wish?"
The man didn't continue the conversation as he hung up after saying
"Whatever! Just get here! I'm going to leave you if you're not here in 10 minutes!"
Nicole drive so fast as she overtake the other cars. She arrived at the base in just 7 minutes. She saw Kazuki outside at the base as she opened the window and loudly shouted to him
"Here you bastard! Get in!"
The man saw her as he headed towards her car. After he gets in, he said to her
"Go now. We're the only one who's not in the gathering"
Nicole drive as she said annoyed
"Yes! Yes you bastard. Seat tight!"
The car sped up as they drove in the busy street of Tokyo