The rain was extremely unwelcomed. It slowed down the business, hindered efficiency and efficiency and swiftness were of utmost importance for back-alley deals like this one. The lean, suited man looked side to side and then over his shoulders before passing a small piece of paper to his visitor, who had taken every precaution possible to hide his face.

The paper wasn't as nugatory as it seemed. A few words were scribbled on it in hasty handwriting. Who knew what information it had? Maybe it had the power to end lives, important lives. The distinction was noteworthy, because, in this version of the world, your life only held as much value as the number of people working under you. The more the better, the lesser, the more expendable your life was.

The lean man knew this and despite so, filled by some divine bravery, had foolishly thought to play a dangerous gamble, thinking it would land him in a sea of money, away from the highs and lows of this life he was surviving through at the moment. He had thought to look over his shoulders was precaution enough. He happily received the suitcase from his visitor and they walked away in opposite directions.

What he didn't realise was that he had failed the moment he step foot out of his house. He was so confident and blinded by his potential future that he didn't notice he had been followed for days now. The entire event had been viewed from across the street.

Their watcher, meticulous in every way, stood across the street with an umbrella providing him shelter from the downpour, focused his piercing gaze at them and recorded every action in his mind to relay later as accurately as possible. There was no room for mistakes, never was, and he understood the weight of his task very well.

He turned to walk back to the office, satisfied with the amount of information he had gathered. His boss would be happy with him he knew. He also knew what would be the next course of action regarding his target, another expendable life, lost.

Did he care that he now had the power to decide whether that man would live to see another day or not? Did it bother him to realise the graveness of the situation? Not really. This wasn't extraordinary to him, this wasn't a crossroad of making the right choice. This happened far too often for any common man's comfort. But this wasn't a common man. He didn't live an ordinary life. His sole allegiance lied with his higher-ups. That man was only paying for his mistakes, now it was no one's fault that he happened to have made a mistake that warranted death.

…

Sato Akinari exhaustively leaned back in his office chair. He raised the whiskey glass to his lips only to realise he had finished the last sip fifteen minutes ago. He grunted annoyedly and reached for the bottle but before his fingers could grasp the bottle, a knock on the door interrupted his leisure.

"Come on in." He responded in a bored, heavy voice. The door opened and the person walked in,

"Ah, Gouenji, finally! Tell me you have some news. " Sato was alert at once.

"Yes, I do," Gouenji answered solemnly. "Just as you had suspected, Ogawa is our guy. I saw him just now handing out information."

Sato leaned forward, setting his elbows on the desk and squinted pensively.

"That bastard Ogawa sold off his loyalty for too cheap. But we will extract a heavier compensation." He was speaking more to himself than to Gouenji, who was still standing with an expressionless face.

"I'll deal with this from here. You can go now." Sato then instructed and with this Gouenji retraced his steps in a calculated motion.

The crisis was averted, the perpetrator would be appropriately punished and the day's work was finally over. Gouenji returned to his empty apartment and crashed onto the couch. Not bothering to move to his bed, he continued to stare thoughtlessly at the ceiling, the air still to an ominous level.

He appreciated the stillness though, there was no other time of the day he would have such luxury. Tensions had been high the past few days, it takes effort to follow someone for days without being noticed. Especially since everyone else was way ahead of this game than him.

To call it a game is a dangerously inaccurate statement too because it was anything but. Everyone seemed to behave like it was the natural state of being but any outsider could tell how easy it was to lose your life at any given moment. One wrong move and a bullet would be fathoming through your brain by the very people you see every day; or worse still you could be caught and thrown into a claustrophobic cell, left to rot away only to be released when they want to torture you for information.

So what's in it for anyone? Money? No, there are easier ways to fool people out of their money. These rich businessmen idolized by many were a living testimony of that. Power? Some were definitely in it for that but not Gouenji. His reasons were one on the rarer side, rarer than he had anticipated, rarer than he was promised. But now he neither had any intentions of turning around nor could he do so even if he wanted.

A police siren wailed in the distance catching his attention. It was interesting how much he had begun paying attention to that particular noise in the past two years. Every time he heard it, he couldn't help but wonder who it was they were after. Was it one of his own or was it their enemy's final day. It was bad either way because if anything united these clans together was their hatred of the cops. They preferred dealing with each other in their own way, the honourable way.

Honour and loyalty mattered above most things, Gouenji had immediately learned, then came the influence and the money. Anyone who messed up the order of these things would pay for it gravely, just like Ogawa. It was uncommon, however, because dishonourable thieves and petty criminals would never find themselves on this side of the world even if they lived just on the edges of this kingdom. One had to be raised for it, these values instilled in them ever since they learn their first words and something they hone in on in years to come.

If an outsider did find themselves a part of this circle, it would be a long time before they would be trusted in on important secrets. They will have to start at the bottom, prove themselves to their bosses. This was the time of the highest risk, the job requiring more brawns than brain. The higher one ascended, the more sophisticated things became. But at this level, all was required was to follow instructions accurately and stay quiet the rest of the time.

Gouenji had made it out of that phase successfully and he was thankful for it. Not that it was difficult for him but beating up random people without knowing the true cause was not very tasteful to him. Nonetheless, he was sure they had deserved it some way or another so he didn't let it keep him up at night.

…

When Gouenji opened his eyes, he realised the sun was directly in his line of sight, attempting to blind him through the uncurtained window. He immediately closed them back and groggily sat up. His neck now had a cramp from sleeping uncomfortably on the couch and he stretched to feel better.

Before he could think anything else, his phone rang stirring the stillness like a stone thrown in water. As soon as he picked it, the voice of Sato Akinari instructed him in a busy tone,

"Come here. Now!"

During work hours, Sato always spoke with a busy curtness that made him sound like he was displeased with everyone but it was understood that this wasn't the case. Few people had ever seen him really angry at someone and they shuddered every time they mentioned it.

When Gouenji reached the office, he made a beeline for Sato's door and knocked on it.

"Wait!" The voice instructed in the same curt manner.

Gouenji leaned against the wall and waited.

"I heard Ogawa got murked last night." Toramaru, who was leaning the same way across him, mentioned.

Gouenji acknowledged that with a hum.

"Some said he was passing information to the cops. Seems unbelievable to me. Why would anyone do that knowing the repercussions?"

Gouenji wanted to laugh at Toramaru's naivety. He thought about everything with too much simplicity. Sure he will learn eventually as he spends more time in this environment, he will learn to be wary of everyone and to realise that everyone is capable of doing anything no matter how unimaginable and unexpected of them when pushed right. Telling him right now would do nothing, he would always try to find exceptions. This is something he would have to learn on his own, hopefully without losing much in the process.

Gouenji was just thinking all of this when he heard his name being called from inside Sato's office. Without a moment's delay, he walked in and found a couple of people already there. He immediately recognised Tanaka Fujio, their Don's advisor and Inoue Erina, Sato's most trusted assassin.

It was more likely than not that Inoue must have been the one to put a bullet through Ogawa's head and then wrapped it all up so effortlessly and neatly as if he never existed. And now she was standing there bearing a neutral expression as if it was just another Tuesday. Gouenji had often wondered what was her body count so far but no one had been able to give an accurate answer other than giving a rough estimate around a hundred.

Tanaka Fujio, on the other hand, had a scholarly air about him. Although he didn't seem timid at all, it was evident he used his brain more than his muscles. He had been working for Don Senguuji Daigo since his early days. He was loyal to a fault and precise with his duties. He currently wore a mud-coloured suit and thin glasses and his lips were pursed in contemplation.

"Gouenji, did you happen to see the face of the man Ogawa was meeting last night?" Sato asked without any preamble.

"No, I did not, his face was hidden." Gouenji paused to remember other valuable pieces of information.

" I am certain it's that Detective Takeuchi!" Tanaka was suddenly agitated, "He has been after our boss for a whole year now. He is very persistent."

"So what do you say we do now?" Sato asked.

"Even though I am fairly certain, we can't be hasty. We have to make sure that our hunch is right." Tanaka explained as the three of them leaned slightly forward as if to form a huddle. Gouenji remained unmoved because he knew he was not welcomed to join that discussion.

"We need to keep an eye on that Detective is what I'm saying." Tanaka concluded.

"Gouenji will do that." Sato responded without missing the beat. He then turned his attention to Gouenji again, "You heard that, right? Begin following that Detective right now and if you find something of value, you tell me immediately, understand that? "

"Alright." Gouenji nodded and was about to leave when Sato called out to him again. He turned to face him once again.

"And be careful. That Takeuchi is a shrewd one." Sato warned.

Gouenji acknowledged with a nod and walked out.

A/n: If you like the story please leave a review. The story will be continued in full on my wattpad along with character artworks and other extra info. Please read the rest of the story there.