Authors note:

The Doors of H.E.N have been bolted shut as you have approached the last few weeks. Eager to at least get some form of closure, or perhaps to simply torch the place out of frustration, you decide to try one more time. As you enter the dark alley it's located on, you are stunned to watch a circus procession escape the doors of H.E.N at a sprint. It looks like a mad house! Clowns zoom past you in a frenzy as jugglers and freaks follow, all mixed up in a crazy whirl of pigs, mice and tigers. As striped hides and sequins disappear out of sight, you turn back to see Skrit standing at the door waving a broom at the retreating backsides. When he sees you, his face lights up instantly.

Skrit: "Now that theys are gone, you cans come back for stories!" he announces joyously, grabbing your hand and pulling you forward. Lady Rouge herself is also at the door and she offers you a curt nod before tossing you another leather bound volume.

"As with all things, relatives have a way of getting in the way and devouring time. I hope you have not minded the wait hmm?"

Thinking you Damn well have minded the wait, you sit on a chair near the entrance and begin to bury your nose in the book at once.

Skrit: (disclaimer) "We Don't owns it, so please do not be angry with us. We does not steals it"

Bonus chapter: Chapter Three

The glass of red wine was lowered in displeasure.

It was strange how this one movement set the mood of the surrounding room. The music that had been blaring out of the sound systems did not cease, but silence fell on every other aspect. The talking and the laughing stopped and even the movement all seemed to draw to one point.

The boss was angry.

This could be a very bad thing. The present companies had never seen the Oyabun react this way, and were worried about the ramifications. The man did not have the reputation of being gentle with any that displeased him. Had someone done something that had offended him? They cast suspicious glances at each other, trying to find the source.

They moved back as a collective as the doors to their private room parted.

Heads bowed as their shateigashira entered, his dark hair tied neatly at his neck and his suit starched as always, but somehow looking flustered. Ten men flanked him and they looked like they had been through a blender. They did not show the disrespect of wearing their torn uniforms in the presence of their Kumicho and had changed, but Blood was still trickling from lacerations all over their faces and hands. It did not take much consideration to guess that their injuries continued under their starched suits. They moved stiffly and blood was soaking through some men's blazers in parts.

The wine glass landed on the black glass table beside him with a definite clink.

At that point in time, anyone that did nothave to be in that room beat a quick exit.

Moments later only the wounded men and their shateigashira remained with the Boss. The doors clicked shut behind the crowd with finality as the music was unplugged and the full weight of the atmosphere sent the ten suited men to their knees in a respectful bow.

"Sir" Kyle Rondart bowed his head in grim resignation. This was not a report that he wanted to give. It was not going to end well.

"Sir we-"

"You lost her" The words cut in easily and the voice was dangerously devoid of tone. "Yes I assumed as much"

Kyle usually never had a problem with opening his mouth. He loved to be the first in the door, swaggering triumphantly before he regaled great battles and tense obstacles he had managed to defeat with ease. It tense deals Kyle was the voice of the organization in conference, and he also took the role of a saikō-komon; occasionally acting as the family's lawyer when they traded glancing blows with the law.

His enemies and underlings called him The Silver Tongued Weasel.

Charisma had gotten him both in and out of literally hundreds of situations in the past, and many joked that he didn't a sword in battle; that his tongue alone had cut him a spot to his seat. Today however, the usual air of confidence was gone completely. There was no way to smooth this situation over.

They had fucked up big time.

He'd be lucky to be allowed to keep his tongue after this.

"Reed-sama she escaped at school, we knew nothing of her departure from class!" a cue ball thug slammed his head against the floor as he bowed profusely. "She scaled the wall from the second story bathrooms!"

"The teacher responsible for giving her a bathroom break has been dealt with!"

"Please Reed-Sama forgive us!"

Silence followed as the men on the floor sweated a verdict.

"They are dismissed"

Kyle closed his eyes as the men behind him released the breaths they had been holding and filed out hastily. He was sure they had viewed their dismissal as forgiveness. Of course they did. They were lowly grunts after all with no magic in their blood.

They couldn't even sense the man waiting for them in the corridor.

Kyle chose to block out the sounds of their screams as he recounted a much more informative account of their story.

"Sir she broke the barriers that we had in place. We still don't know where she learnt how to do it, but she managed to leave this world"

Reed digested this information sourly as he swirled the contents of his wine glass. The brow above his monocle creased slightly as the doors opened once again. A man entered, an inverted pentagram glowing faintly on the back of his blood drenched hand. The amused grin on the man's face told him all he needed to know of the fate of the men who had just left.

"And what of equilibrium?"

The new occupant of the room did not bow a knee, but the group's wakagashira had never been the type to submit to such blatant shows of servitude. Instead, he swaggered in calmly and helped himself to an abandoned glass of champagne that had been relinquished by one of the previous guests. Unlike Kyle, the assassin had no need to grovel, his news was good news.

"She did a trade. The world is still in perfect balance." Seishirou Sakurazuka was never wrong. Silent and methodical, if he stated that the world would end in three minutes, there was not a man who knew him that would not begin to make peace with his gods. So when he stated that the balance had remained stationary, Reed had no reason to disbelieve him.

So Yuuko still meant to fight him. Through an avatar perhaps, but it was good to know that her hate had not diminished any even though she had escaped his hold.

At this the kumicho allowed a grin to his face.

"I assume that you have greeted this balance accordingly?"

A single eye amber eye studied Fei Wong Reed with bridled amusement. There was no need for a verbal answer but Seishirou gave one anyway.

"He is marked"

The glass of red wine met a smile as it was raised to meet the lips of Japans most ruthless Yakuza Boss.

"Good. Then it will be amusing to see how this unfolds"

~*~

A dimension away, tears leaked from red eyes as the mistress of the shop watched on, now powerless to help.

'I'm so sorry' she whispered, taking what comfort she could from her guardians. 'Please realize my gift… before it's too late.'


Definition of the Yakuza terms used:

The Yakuza have a very complex organizational structure. There is an overall boss of the syndicate, the kumicho, and directly beneath him are the saiko komon (senior advisor) and so-honbucho (headquarters chief). The second in the chain of command is the wakagashira, who governs several gangs in a region with the help of a fuku-honbucho who is himself responsible for several gangs. The regional gangs themselves are governed by their local boss, the shateigashira.

Lady Rouge: "I'm using Yakuza, but won't swap you with strange terms. Once I initially introduce their positions, I will try not to overly refer to the Yakuza structure. It is more the power they wield and who is in a position to oppose them that will come to the forefront."