Author's Note: Hello my loves! Hope everyone has been healthy and safe this past year. I am thrilled to be jumping back into writing after a long hiatus. Currently, I have a few projects in the pipeline on this account (for those of you who are die-hard Boku no Hero Academia fans, you are in for a treat coming this month). Sincerely though, for those of you who get a chance to read this chapter, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking by me and having faith in this project. Now...back to our favorite trio!

Anger consumed me to the point where my field of vision blurred heavily, leaving me with no sense of where I was anymore.

Shit...why, am I letting this girl derail the man I am? Love or not, this was never me. I was able to sleep with any woman I wanted, get my way, and leave any emotion behind. When I was working with Takenaka, I owned Nagasaki. No one has ever made me feel this terrible...or this alive before. Wake the fuck up, Mugen!

My feet ached. I glared at the morning sun, hating it more and more the longer I continued walking. At this rate - I was bound to reach a town...somewhere. Unfortunately, though, I realized soon enough, I wasn't alone.

"So...are you going to stop creeping through the trees anytime soon or should I go up there and shoot you down? Funny how they sent you to kill me when you when the only thing you have been known to kill is the mood, brat. Maybe you should have paid a bit more attention to how your old man's favored guard handles his shit!"

I leaped high into the pine tree where Yuto was lurking. The shade shrouded his face with traces of sunlight peeking through the thicket of broken leaves to highlight a furrowed brow. An excitable smile streaked across the young warrior's face as his black hair hung low and past his chest.

"You want to say that again, vagrant scum?!" His golden eyes now glowed with a passion so deep that only the insane would understand...or someone like me...with nothing in the world left to lose. He drew his katana with steadfast fingers and brought the blade directly under my chin and halted before dealing a final blow.

"See, point proven...you have absolutely no follow-through, asshole!" I brought my blade to meet his in a swift draw. Besides new sexual escapades, the greatest high any man can experience in his lifetime is being able to smile in the face of a man who is hellbent on killing him. Rage is intoxicating. "Now listen, I'll take the high road and let the boss's only son live under one condition."

"Eat shit, Mugen!" Yuto spat in my face.

"Oi, that's no way to be talking to your superiors."

With a swift kick, I knocked him off the ledge and into the field below. Following after, I landed crouched directly above him. Placing my foot on his throat to keep him pinned, I seized his prized weapon and turned the blade to meet his cheek.

"Are you going to listen now? Today is not the day to be fucking with me!"

"What...happened...to...your...pet? Did...she...not...fulfill...her...duties?" Yuto desperately gasped as my foot bore more weight down on his neck.

His head...will...be...MINE!

Running the blade now on the skin of his cheek, I made sure to leave my mark, drawing and soaking his blade with his own blood.

"Speak of Fuu like that again and I will murder you, your father, and destroy the empire he built! You are going to do as I say...and follow my order. You are going to take me back to Nagasaki and forget about the girl."

"Foolish...scum! You've...gone...soft. Now...get...off...of...me!"

"Suppose you're right."

I belted out laughing. The brat was right and I hated to admit it. On any other day, Yuto would have been as good as dead; however, everything ebbed and flowed much differently now. I didn't care if I lived or died. My life means nothing if Fuu can't continue her journey...even if I don't fit perfectly into her dream.

Releasing my foot, Yuto staggered up onto his feet, meeting eye to eye. After coughing up the saliva he had lodged in his throat, he agreed to take me back to the old man's headquarters. Though Ryuu's men were known to be barbaric in every sense of the word, both past and present members clung to a very strict code when it came to terms of internal disputes. When the guilty party willingly "turns themselves in" to repent for a fault on their behalf, they are forced to face Ryuu and his inner circle for "final judgment". From there, swift punishment was executed.

"Now, where's you're second in command. I know you didn't come alone," I confidently stated, pushing my hair away from my face.

"Nobu, get out here!"

I saw the curly-haired boy walk out shyly, with his sword still perfectly resting in its holster. He looked battered and beaten by the trek. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. Nobu was a kind soul, strong of will and mental strategy, who, unfortunately, succumbed to working for the yakuza under desperate familial circumstances.

"I'm sorry, Mugen," Nobu lowly stated with his deep-set eyes peering at the grass beneath his feet. "Please know, I never wished for us to meet like this again. The boss... well...he offered me my freedom," he continued as he gently took both swords away from my possession. Nobu's dark eyes flooded with tears. For a younger guy who towers me in height and is beastly in appearance, I felt I was standing next to a wounded bird. "You...were my only friend. I never wanted...to betray you!"

"Kid, it's ok. You deserve to be reunited with your family," I stated as I patted his shoulder for reassurance. "Besides," I continued on through a nervous laugh, "you will have one less headache on your hands with me no longer around!"

My gaze then shifted back to Yuto, whose eyes never broke his glare from me as if relishing in this false sense of victory.

"Seriously?! You brought the only man I can respect in this whole fucking organization, all the way from Nagasaki, to join you on this manhunt? You really are a piece of shit, Takenaka!"

Yuto smirked.

"Mugen, you boisterous fool! I need to relish in this capture and I will do so by making it unbearable for you in every way possible. I'll respect your wishes and we will take you back to Nagasaki so you may answer to my father; however, we will find the girl as well and you are going to lead us to her. Disrespect those wishes and I will see to it that we kill you on the spot, seize the girl, and kill her soon after."

"Fuck you."

I was speechless. Cornered. I had no choice. I needed to ensure Fuu's safety from afar while growing the distance between us and them. When the time comes, I may need to say goodbye to the only love I have ever known...forever.

Why didn't I just listen to what you had to tell me last night? Why did I stray away from your side? Hold me, Fuu. Please...