I scrambled to think of a way to explain the situation—why I was in this position with Senior Tanaka—but before I could even open my mouth, Yuka and Sanae had already turned and run off.
Only Misaki remained, standing there, her eyes fixed on us. But she wasn't really "seeing" us.
She looked distant, her gaze unfocused, like her mind was caught in a whirlwind of thoughts she couldn't untangle.
I quickly stepped away from Senior Tanaka and approached Misaki.
"Hey," I called out gently, pulling her from her thoughts.
She flinched. "Y-Yes?"
I gave her a desperate look. "Help me."
She scoffed and turned her head aside, arms crossed.
"Why should I? While we were all worried, here you were having a good time with the student council president."
"That's not it!" I quickly retorted. "Aren't you my best friend? Help me out here, will you? I had my reasons, but I swear—it's not what it looked like."
As I spoke, I gently pushed her back by the hand and started walking away, leaving Senior Tanaka behind. She could use this moment to gather her thoughts too.
Today was a half-day, so after the lunch break the school ended.
The others went home since there were no club activities today, except for the student council.
I just did my work, keeping to myself. No further conversations were exchanged between me and Senior Tanaka. It was understandable for her to be still so hesitant.. She couldn't just come out and trust me after everything.
After finishing my tasks, I grabbed my bag and prepared to head home. I just hope she makes up her mind soon—otherwise, things are going to get troublesome for me.
Getting off at my station, I did what I usually do—skip the bus and walk home.
The roads were empty, and I was nearly home when I glanced back and noticed someone following me. I kept walking, alert, my focus sharp behind me—too sharp, in fact, because I failed to notice the black car pulling up ahead.
In one swift motion, the door flung open. A man stepped out, grabbed me, and pressed a handkerchief soaked in chloroform against my nose.
"Shit."
The sharp chemical scent flooded my senses. My vision blurred. Strength drained from my limbs. And then—darkness, as I was dragged into the car.
I awaken to the chill of water on my face. As my eyes adjust, I find myself kneeling on tatami mats inside a traditional Japanese hall. Soft light from paper lanterns reveals carved wooden beams overhead, sliding shoji doors, and a raised tokonoma displaying a calligraphy scroll with ikebana.
Around me stand a dozen unmistakable Yakuza: men in black suits or kimono , slicked-back hair, and vivid irezumi tattoos. Some wield katanas, others modern firearms—a stark mix of tradition and ruthlessness.
Directly ahead, a woman sits on an expensive chair, her cold, unreadable gaze fixed on me. I realize I've been brought right into the heart of their domain.
The woman looks to be in her early twenties, with long straight black hair that cascades down her back, her straight bangs covering her forehead. Just below them, her scarlet red eyes pierce through the dim light, and her face is eerily similar to someone I know—just a bit more matured. Her large earrings dangle elegantly from both ears, complementing her aura of power and grace.
(AN: For anyone who still didn't realised, she is the girl from the cover art, as some of you were curious about her, here she is.)
"Issai, is he the one?" she asked, her cold and mature voice echoing through this silent hall, carrying an authority.
"Yes, Miss Mikazuki," the vice president Issai replied from her side, standing straight like a soldier before his commander. "He seems to know an awful lot about our world—or more specifically, about us. He's been deliberately trying to get close to Miss Tsukuyo. I suspect he's a spy from a rival clan."
My eyes locked onto him—this bastard. As I suspected, he's the one who snitched on me. Since I've been becoming the obstacle of whatever plan he had brewing.
While Issai kept talking, her eyes never left me—sharp and unreadable. Once he finished, she finally spoke, her voice calm but commanding, "Who are you?" She likely already dug into my background and found nothing suspicious… which only made her ask me directly.
"Just a normal high school student," I replied casually, keeping my voice even. I wasn't lying—there was nothing to fear.
She tilted her head slightly, her scarlet eyes narrowing as if trying to peel away my layers. "Then how do you know so much about us?" she asked, her voice still cool. "And why are you trying to get close to Tsukuyo?"
I paused, carefully weighing my words. I knew I couldn't lie thoughtlessly—she would catch it immediately. "That's because... I knew her even before she came to this school, though she doesn't know me" I said, choosing my words carefully. "I just wanted to get close to her like a friend, to help her like a friend."
Her eyes narrowed further, the silence in the hall growing heavier. Even the armed men around us seemed to shift slightly at my words.
"You watched her?" she echoed, voice calm but laced with a chilling edge. "That sounds more like a stalker than a friend. And with what do you want to help her?"
My next words were cut off by a surprised voice, "W-What's going on here?"
I turned around quickly—and there she was. Senior Tanaka stood frozen at the entrance of the hall, still in her school uniform, her bag hanging on her hand. Looks like she just got back from school. Being the student council president, she usually stays behind longer than the rest.
The armed men surrounding me immediately shouted in unison, "Welcome back, young miss!"
But she ignored them completely, her sharp eyes locked on me—no, on the situation. "I-I asked what is going on here?" Her voice trembled slightly, there was desperation behind it.
This time, it wasn't the grunts who answered—it was Mikazuki herself. Leaning back slightly in her chair, her voice cool and composed, she replied, "Don't worry, Tsukuyo. We were just having a little chat with your friend."
She immediately denied it, flustered and shaky, "H-He's not my friend! He's just a club member, we're complete strangers! I even hate his guts and don't want to see his face. Q-Quickly, kick him out of here!"
I could see through her act—every word was her way of trying to protect me, to distance herself so they'd let me go. I understood her fear, but that's trivial, it's not going to happen.
I looked at her with a pained expression and said in a wounded tone, "How could you say that, President? We were so close just this morning…"
Her face turned crimson in an instant as the memory must've flashed in her mind. Without thinking, she blurted out, "Idiot! I'm trying to help you here!"
The second the words left her mouth, her eyes widened in horror, and she covered her mouth with both hands. But it was already too late—the damage was done, the truth slipped, and the entire room went silent. All eyes were now on her.
Mikazuki's voice remained calm as she asked, "Why did you lie, Tsukuyo?"
Tsukuyo's entire body trembled as if the temperature had suddenly dropped. Her eyes lowered to the floor, and her voice came out barely above a whisper, "T-T-That's..."
Fear gripped her throat, choking the words before they could form. Her fists clenched at her sides as her mind spiraled, she doesn't know what to say.
She didn't have to answer—because I let out a deep, deliberate sigh, loud enough to draw every gaze in the room. Under the weight of their stares, I rose to my feet and calmly strode toward Tsukuyo.
The tension was palpable, but I didn't falter. Stopping at her side, I gently placed a hand on her back. The subtle contact wasn't just for show—it was to lend her strength. I could feel her trembling ease ever so slightly, as if it was enough to keep her from collapsing.
I turned my gaze toward Mikazuki, locking eyes with her as I spoke clearly, letting each word ring out in the still air.
"You two are really frustrating, you know that?"
The moment the words left my mouth, the atmosphere shifted. The men stationed around the hall erupted with fury, their grips tightening on weapons, eyes burning with hostility.
"This bastard—"
"How dare he speak like that—!"
Their voices seethed with killing intent, as if they were just waiting for the signal to strike. One gesture, and they'd kill me on the spot.
Yet I didn't flinch. My gaze remained locked with Mikazuki's, unshaken by the murderous aura surrounding us. I spoke again, cutting through the rising tension like a blade.
"Why are you keeping her in the dark?" I asked, my voice low and firm. "Why won't you tell her the truth? Do you even realize how much she's suffering because of you?"
Each word was deliberate—sharp, accusing, and unyielding. The room felt heavier, the silence that followed even more suffocating.
Senior Tanaka stared at me in confusion, clearly unable to grasp the meaning behind my words. The silence in the room lingered, thick with unspoken tension, until Mikazuki finally broke it.
"It's all to protect her," she said, her tone cold, almost dismissive. "An outsider like you doesn't have to concern yourself with it."
Her words hung in the air, but there was something in her eyes—an underlying emotion that hinted at more than just indifference.
Tsukuyo's eyes widened in shock. 'To protect me?' The words echoed in her mind, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't find the logic in them. Her fists clenched at her sides, trembling—not with fear this time, but with barely contained rage.
"Don't give me that!" she suddenly shouted, her voice cutting through the heavy silence like a blade.
Had it been any other time, she would've never dared to raise her voice at Mikazuki. But not now. Not after hearing what she said. And with Hayato standing beside her, his hand resting gently on her back, steadying her—she found the courage she didn't know she had.
"You distanced yourself from me… turned cold right after our parents died," Tsukuyo's voice cracked as her emotions surged. "You even killed my first-ever friend… right in front of my eyes!" Her breath trembled, her eyes glistening with restrained tears.
"And now you're telling me all of that… was to protect me?!" Her voice rose again, echoing through the hall. "From who?!"
The room fell into a tense silence, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air. The yakuza members exchanged uneasy glances, but no one dared to interrupt.
Tanaka Tsukuyo and Tanaka Mikazuki, blood-related sisters, hailed from a renowned Yakuza clan. Several years ago, tragedy struck when their parents were killed in a violent gang war with a rival organization. At the time, both sisters were still quite young.
With the help of loyal members from their clan, Mikazuki managed to escape with her little sister, eventually finding refuge in this city—home to a branch family of their clan.
It was here that their new lives began—however, far from the warmth they once knew. From a young age, Mikazuki was forced to shoulder the burden of leadership, hardening herself and burying the warmth of her former self beneath layers of responsibility and resolve.
As time passed, the bond between the sisters began to fray. Their moments together grew scarce, and the once-close relationship became a strained silence. Tsukuyo, left in the shadows of her sister's new role, was unbearably lonely. Back then, even Issai hadn't been assigned to her side.
After a full year away from school, Tsukuyo re-enrolled—this time as a third-year student at a new middle school.
The time she spent at that school became the brightest chapter of her otherwise gloomy life. There, she found laughter, made new friends, and began to feel like a normal girl again. For a while, it seemed like the darkness of her past couldn't reach her.
But that illusion shattered the moment her classmates discovered her background—that she was from a Yakuza clan. Fear replaced friendliness, whispers took over conversations, and one by one, they all began to distance themselves.
Just like that, Tsukuyo found herself alone once again.
She began to feel that school was no different from her cold, empty home—just another place where she didn't belong. Thoughts of quitting altogether crossed her mind more often than not.
And then, she met him.
A clumsy guy who somehow managed to trip on a perfectly clean stretch of road. She noticed him from afar, hesitant at first. 'What if he became scared of me like the others?' she wondered.
But ultimately decided to help him get up. She offered him her hand.
To her surprise, he didn't flinch. He didn't look afraid. He just smiled awkwardly, took her hand, and thanked her like she was any ordinary girl.
From that day on, they began to grow closer. She learned that he, too, didn't have any friends—labeled a nerd, ignored by his classmates. In their shared loneliness, they found comfort in each other.
They'd eat lunch together in quiet corners, exchange notes, and often study side by side in the library after school.
It was just one person… but for Tsukuyo, that one friend meant the world. In the darkness of her isolated life, he became a warm, flickering light.
One day, Tsukuyo decided to rebel against her sister—just a little. She made a spontaneous plan with the boy to visit a nearby crepe shop after school. It was supposed to be a small, innocent adventure, a rare moment of joy in her otherwise controlled life.
But she never thought that would turn into a nightmare.
On their way there, a black car screeched to a halt beside them. Her sister had somehow found them. Without saying a word, Mikazuki dragged Tsukuyo into the car.
And then, in cold silence, she raised her gun and shot the boy dead right in front of her.
That moment shattered something deep inside Tsukuyo.
She began to believe it was punishment—punishment for defying her sister. The boy died because of her. That guilt consumed her.
From that day forward, she refused to let anyone get close. Terrified of repeating that same tragedy, she built a wall around herself, wore a mask to keep others at a distance. In her mind, it was carved in stone: her sister hated her, and she can't disobey her.
So she chose loneliness over loss.