A moment of silence was observed to honor Juno, then the memorial came to a close. The Headmaster left first. Then the elders. Then the instructors. Then the students. “You were pretty monstrous awesome out there, man.” Kaito was on Ren’s tail the moment he walked out the huge mahogany doors, rubbing his hands together gleefully, like an excited little child. “Don't get so turned on over violence,” Ren muttered under his breath. “It's unhealthy and fucking disgusting.” Kaito chuckled. “Right. Well, I like disgusting. You should try it.”They were just turning into the corridor that led up to Ren’s office when elder Kenji’s voice rang from behind them. “Headmaster, one moment.”Ren stopped and turned to observe the older man with pinched brows. “Anything I can do for you?” “We have to talk in the council room.”Ren’s eyes flashed. “I told you, the only talking I’ll be doing is with my—”“That is not what we have to talk about,” Elder Kenji cut in smoothly, his eyes patient and p

“So, first time at a bar?” “What do you think?” Kurosaki grinned nervously as he walked into the ‘south pop’ bar lit up in neon lights and booming with loud music, next to Kaito who walked with all the casual confidence of someone who was familiar with such environments. Kaito shrugged, nodding like he understood. “It's easy to get used to. You just have to get some alcohol in your system and feel. Voila.” Kurosaki eyed him warily. “Seriously? It's that easy?” “Watch and see,” Kaito cut him a wink before he walked up to a scantily dressed and pretty attendant. “Excuse me, miss,” he drawled, eyes twinkling as he checked her out. “Two glasses over here, please.”She flashed them a sweet smile and catwalked over with the tray of sparkling, bubbling drinks carefully balanced on her hand. “Go ahead,” Kaito nudged Kurosaki by his shoulder. “Pick one glass and,” he inhaled deeply, “feel,” exhaling the word. Meanwhile, Ren and Ryota walked up ahead, with the latter struggling to catch u

It was all Ren could think about for the rest of the day. Who would have wanted to hurt him…and why. Perhaps…could it be the Blackthorns? Ren dismissed that fact because the Blackthorns did not seem like the type to harm you until they had what they wanted from you. And they wanted something from Ren, something important to them, even though Ren was still not so sure how he got to that point with them. He let out his frustration and confusion on the punching bag, slamming his fists left, right, center, up and down. He had been at it for a long while, so long that his knuckles throbbed, begging to take a break. But he kept on pushing himself, needing to release the energy by all means. He was tempted to go over to Hana’s room and ask her to tell him everything about her family, and he knew if he didn't keep hitting the bag, he would actually go up to her room where she was probably on her laptop, and ask her. He hadn't seen her go to work in a long time, and he wondered why. Thi

Ren sat very still and watched the monk light all seven candles round about a circular seal, which was wide enough to contain two legs. Apprehension about what was to happen burned in his mind. A ritual? What would happen if the monk succeeded in casting the entities out? Would they be gone forever? Would Ren even like that? Would he be satisfied? Would all his problems finally go away? Would it possibly bring back his dead loved ones? He had so many questions and not a single answer. Heaving a deep breath, Ren pried his gaze away from the monk to the windows. There were shadows of a small handful of people gathered on the other side, trying to see into the room, but all the doors and windows were shut.“What do they want?” Ren heard himself ask as he stared at them, flames licking up the walls of chest. “You made quite the scene, you know?” The monk answered absent-mindedly as he went about his business. “Attracted a lot of attention in the temple. I knew this was too much on yo

“There’s a gala happening at the headquarters of Tanjiro Freight tomorrow night. A celebration of the closed deal between two big dogs in the shipping business. We must infiltrate the gala and take out Ryuji Tanjiro.”“No, that absolutely cannot happen,” Kaito cut in abruptly, walking all the way to where Ren stood next to the projector. “We can't infiltrate the private gathering of a Yakuza boss.” Ren glared at Kaito, jaw ticking, the agitation about the mission pressing against his chest like a stubborn weight. “I don't recall needing your input or presence in this meeting,” he snapped. “You’re not a part of my team, in case you haven't noticed.”Kaito threw his hands up in exasperation. “No, you're missing the point, Ren.” He threw a frantic glance around the faces in the room. “Does no one here know Ryuji Tanjiro? Ryuji The Menace?!”Ren frowned. Ryuji The Menace. He had come across the nickname more than a couple times during his research a few hours ago. The nickname unsettled