Yuhi raised his eyebrow when he heard those words.

What does she mean that something has changed? Yuhi was going to ask her for an explanation when she suddenly exclaimed. "Ah, we are way past the meeting time. Yuhi-san, let's go!"

"Hey, don't run, your still-" Yuhis sentence fell short when he saw that the girl had lost her balance.

Geez, she is far too clumsy. Yuhi rushed over and immediately broke her fall. For a moment, their gaze met and he felt electrocuted. How many times has this happened already? But every single time it happens, he ends up feeling this way.

Yuhi wondered what she felt every time they ended up this way.

But since they were on the steps, he also fell down, which led to him on the ground with Sumire on top of him.

"Did you gain some weight? You're too heavy."

"S-" Sumire paused mid-sentence, realizing what he said. "Hey!!" Despite her anger, she quickly got off him.

Yuhi stood up too and turned to Sumire immediately. He brushed the dirt away from the edge of her clothes and bent down when he saw something. Her shoelace had come undone, so even if she didn't have a bad leg, she would have fallen anyway.

He slowly fixed it, carefully tying a knot that wasn't too tight but not too loose that she would fall again.

"Say Yuhi."

"What is it?"

"Why are you so good to me?"

Yuhi blinked when he heard her question. What is she doing saying such things again? She isn't trying to embarrass him, is she? Yuhi knew she often liked to tease him about his feelings, and the answer he would give to this question is his feelings.

But that doesn't seem to be the case in this instance. From the corner of his eye, he could see a tint of red on her cheeks.

Normally he wouldn't have a hard time answering her, but he suddenly felt an intense gaze on them. Yuhi stood up and pulled Sumire behind him. He quickly scanned the area but didn't find anybody.

Was it just his imagination? But just now, it felt like somebody was watching them.

"Yuhi?" Sumire called out.

"We should go quickly."

Yuhi didn't fail to see the disappointed look on her face, but right now, he felt uneasy, so he couldn't answer her. If he actually answered that question and it leads to her letting her guard down- Yuhi shook his head. He needs to focus on the task at hand.

....

The place Sumire brought him to was in the suburbs of the small district they were in. Here the worse crimes took place, and the living conditions weren't great. The lake water was a murky green/grey color, and there was a foul stench in the air.

This isn't good for her health. The meeting place just had to be in this place. Yuhi called out to her. "Sumire, are you okay?"

Sumire laughed at his concern. "Im fine. This isn't the first time."

Indeed being part of the underworld means they don't have the luxury to see nice things. While there are many rich people in this industry, they earn their riches through underhanded means, so the money is considered dirty. There are equally as many who are poor.

They approached a building that looked like it was on the verge of falling apart. It was an old club from the broken sign at the front. It looked like the group they were meeting already occupied the place.

Once they saw Sumire, they immediately made way for her.

"Is that really her?"

"I met her once before."

"No kidding, I thought she was still too frightened to go around in public."

"Ha right, we shouldn't get close to her. We value our lives."

"Didn't she always talk about righteousness and act like a saint? But she got an innocent civilians killed."

Yuhi frowned when he heard their words. Before he could say anything, though, a gunshot sound appeared. The person who said that last part was now on the ground was dead.

"Please forgive us for such discourteous behavior." A bulky-looking man appeared apologetic as he looked at Sumire.

Sumire didn't say anything and simply strolled inside. Yuhi didn't leave her side for a second. Quite some time has passed since he has last seen people behave like this towards Sumire. People fear her, and at the same time, they respect her. Yuhi glanced back at the man who just shot their subordinate. He was sending warning glares towards the others that spoke out.

People do crazy things when they are around somebody they respect. Even more so, in this society, hierarchy is very important. The strong will stand on top, and the weak, in order to survive they have to listen; otherwise, they will get stepped on.

It is the same no matter where anybody goes, huh? But he supposes that is normal already.

The moment they reached a large room. Sumire turned to him. "Yuhi-san, stop me if I do something stupid, okay?"

Yuhi frowned at her words. What is she planning to do? He didn't get a chance to ask since somebody leads them inside. In the center of the room sat on a large pale red velvet couch was a man with spiky blonde hair, wearing a red and black colored suit. He wore large rings on his fingers and several piercings.

Despite his gaudy look, Yuhi could tell that he was strong.

There are people like him who are strong but have made stupid decisions, leading to this situation.

"I haven't seen you in so long, Miss Sumire; please take a seat."

The man seemed courteous at a glance, but Yuhi could sense the hidden mockery behind his tone. Yuhi sighed quietly. This man is courting death.

There is a reason why Sumire prohibited such things, and yet he went ahead and broke the rule. There are rules that are made to be broken, yes, but breaking a rule Sumire made well, he would never do it.

Sometimes people forget how scary she can get.

"It seems the passing of time has made you stupider. I thought you were a smarter person Mr. Rick." Sumire commented. "But it seems I was wrong about you."

"No, I believe you were right. Let us not beat around the bush; both of us are very busy people."

"Indeed, then I will tell you directly. Move your toys away from my turf, and our partnership will continue."

At those words, Rick burst into laughter. "You mentioned the partnership, but," his gaze dimmed. "Were you not the first person to turn their backs on us?"

".."

"We had nothing to do with that accident! How could you raid our bases like that and take out so many people?" Rick bellowed.

It took Yuhi a moment to understand his anger. Now that he thought about it, there was a time when she first came to Tokyo. A time where she often disappeared. They weren't dating then, so he didn't think it was proper for him to inquire about it. But now he understood.

She must have been investigating all the gangs in the area, and it leads to this.