The fight against Valhalla, surprisingly, ended without any trouble for Shiro. Valhalla had about 100 men who faced against 10th generation Black Dragons and they took a heavy loss. After the fight, Hanma Shuji, as the acting president of the gang requested a meeting with her. Shiro accepted the request, though she sent Seishu as her representative.

All this happened under the watchful eyes of Roppongi's Haitani Brothers.

Haitani Ran enjoyed the gang life the best he could. Nothing gave anyone any freedom but power was the way to ignoring rules. He enjoyed what he had over others; what else would he do? It was not his style to do something he didn't enjoy or to not enjoy something he was doing.

"If I win, Black Dragons is mine."

It was. It was hers, the gang that once ruled over others, the gang that was once ruled by his self-proclaimed king.

It was a surprise, for everyone who was there to witness the fall of Shiba Taiju; the rise of new generation of the Black Dragons.

Ran did some digging and found out very little about the girl with black hair, black eyes and bloodied mouth. Hanagaki Shiro was her name.

She was a survivor.

Maybe he should've figured from the way she fought, the way she fought for her life with her life. The breathtaking movement of her body… The way she hit, stabbed, bit, tore… Ran was a man charmed by life and the way she was the wilderness…

He had wet dreams about her.

And it was kind of disgusting, he knew. After what she lived through, she didn't deserve to be looked like that. She would probably be disgusted by him. That was why he would never ever approach her like that. She was a survivor; she didn't deserve that kind of treatment.

People died and fought for their lives every day, it was normal to kill or be killed on the streets, but no one deserved to be hurt like that. Ran had standards. Even while serving under his king, he had standards. Hell, the king had standards that he wouldn't fall that low.

He was going to watch her carefully, solve her like a puzzle and when the time came he wanted to be the one to welcome her to their kingdom.

Ran hoped it wouldn't take long before Izana came back to the scene.

Kisaki was furious, that much was obvious. That woman was, somehow, always in the way of his plans. Like that wasn't enough, she didn't let him process to his plan B or C or D.

Hanma would've been laughing if he wasn't pissed as well.

That girl was the one who broke his fucking arm. And now she wasn't even here to negotiate.

"It was your fault first. Your boss broke my arm. Then she stole our guy. I'm not mentioning the time she interfered with our business the last time."

"No matter the reasons, you declared war and lost. Therefore you have no rights to state your expectations and expect us to accept them."

"Look," Hanma pressed on, "We just want Kazutora back. It wasn't even himself who declared his deperature. He must be here at the very least."

The blonde boy sighed, "Boss knew you would say that." He raised his chin and met his eyes dead on, "'If you didn't want to lose him, you should've looked after him better' is the message my boss wanted me to deliver. And there won't be a peace treaty, you will either disband or we will be in another war and we will call our allies this time. Trust me, it will be even more destructive for you. Chose now."

Hanma let out a disbelieving chuckle. These guys were playing hard, not letting them breathe.

"What allies? Black Dragons has been solitary from the day it was found. Do not think you can fool me! This time we won't lose!"

With that, he got up and left.

Kisaki was going to be so fucking mad.

'Well, fuck.' Thought Inupi. He was heading towards the hangout. He hoped Shiro actually had a plan which involved allies. Things would go south otherwise.

"Inupi." Greeted Taiju. It seemed like he has been waiting.

"Taiju. Is there a problem?"

"The second declaration of war has been sent."

Already? Perhaps Hanma was expecting this but it made no sense. He seemed hell bent on taking back Hanemiya. Was there someone else pulling the strings?

Inupi entered the meeting room and bowed his head.

"I'm back."

"Welcome back, Seishu. How had the negation passed?"

"I think you know."

"It's my fault isn't it?" the youngest inside the room asked. The bicolored haired boy was having a hard time processing all the changes around him.

"They do want you back." The blonde acknowledged.

"We already talked about this. They are never getting him back. That boy named Kisaki must be handling everything from behind the scenes. He's very obvious. Even the way he reached out to Kazutora is enough proof to say he is plotting something against Toman."

"What does that mean for us?" Koko asked at last.

Shiro got up from her place and grinned. As she stood beside the door she turned back and met the eyes of the four boys inside.

"It means we have an ally."

"This absolutely looks like a trap."

'Meet us at the abandoned warehouse behind the Monoma High school. Bring your squad leaders. Do not bring Kisaki or face the consequences.

-Very charming captain of 10th Generation Black Dragons.'

While Mikey trusted his second, the letter was way too interesting. Plus the one who brought it to him was Baji and he also trusted his friend when he said that this would be good for Toman.

"Even if it's a trap, no one can win against us all."

Draken grunted. It was true, him, Mikey, Baji, Chifuyu, all the squad leaders except from Kisaki. They were all too powerful. If this was a trap, they would most likely tell Mikey to come alone. Even then, they would struggle.

"It's not a trap, I promise."

"It better not be, or we will have words after this." Mucho glared at the long haired male.

"Mucho-san! It's Baji-san we're talking about! He would never-"

"Save your breath Chifuyu. After the meeting, he will be the one to eat his words."

They reached their destination. There were about a dozen guys waiting at the entrance. It was the black haired executive, Kokonoi was his name if Mikey remembered correctly, who welcomed them.

"Thanks for coming, Toman and for trusting the letter Mikey-kun."

"My first squad captain was the one who brought it after all." Mikey replied, "This better not be a trap. While I trust him, he is not always the brightest guy around."

"Oi!"

The executive smirked and gestured inside.

"These guys are so no one uninvited will come in. In the meeting only four of our executives will participate. One more person if everything goes well. You too must choose four of your men to join us, the rest can wait here. Of course we want Baji-kun to be inside but we leave the choice to you."

It didn't take long for Mikey to come to a decision.

"Ken-chin, Baji, Chifuyu and Mitsuya."

"Very well. Follow me please."

"If anyone starts anything," the commander of Toman whispered to the fifth squad leader.

"Got it."

"No need to be hostile." The older boy smiled, "These are our smartest guys, no one will start anything."

"They better not."

Mikey looked around the warehouse as they walked. It didn't at all seemed like abandoned. Everything was more than clean, if a little old. There were a few old man doing renovations. It was just then he understood.

"Does this building belong to you?"

The older boy didn't turn his back but nodded.

"It's a late development. Since it was abandoned it wasn't hard to convince people to let us have it."

"Wait, by convince do you mean…"

"Please, we aren't cavemen, we negotiated with the old man. There was no way they would bother with this place. It was filled with drunkard and junkies. We didn't pay much."

"I see. Still, it must have cost a fortune, this big of a place." Draken observed the dark haired boy.

"Well, it helped our boss is good at bargaining." He chuckled as if remembering something funny, "We are here."

He opened a door and inside of the place was…

"Holy-"

It was a big office. A huge table and fourteen chairs. There were also a coffee machine at the corner and a water dispenser beside it. It was out of a rich man movie. And at the CEO's seat sat a non-intimidating figure.

"Hi there, Toman." The girl smiled, "It's nice to finally meet my brother's team officially." She stood up and walked towards the newcomers. As she stopped before the leader of Tokyo Manji Gang she reached a hand.

"Hanagaki Shiro, 10th Generation Black Dragon Commander."

Mikey reached his own hand for a handshake while still in a daze. This person was-

"Takemitchy's sister?" Draken voiced.

"Indeed." The girl grinned, "We look less and less alike by passing time don't we?"

"Does he know?"

The girl huffed.

"Of course he does. How could I just hide this from him?"

"He said nothing about this, you."

"I asked him not to." The girl narrowed her eyes, "I usually wear a mask, I have my secrets but as a proof of my sincerity, I decided to come out clean."

"Is Takemithcy part of your gang?"

"No, but do not be fooled. You may be his gang but I am his sister. It's only normal he keeps my secrets. Plus, he isn't the only one who keeps secrets is he?"

"I see." Mikey narrowed his eyes. This was going to be harder than he thought it would be.

After everyone took their places, Taiju only stood behind his commander, the blonde Black Dragons member cleared his throat and started the negation.

"The reasons we wanted to have a meeting, 1st: our war against Valhalla; 2nd: your third squad leader."

"What's up with Kisaki?" Draken asked.

"We will come there." Inupi answered, "Firstly, are you aware of our first fight against Valhalla?"

"You won didn't you?" Chifuyu asked.

"Indeed we did. But they weren't satisfied with only one loss."

The girl in the room continued.

"The reason we got in the fight in the first place was one of their members. He decided to leave the gang and we took him in."

"They weren't happy about it."

"No, they weren't."

"But it's only one man isn't it?" Mitsuya questioned, "It's not like a group of people deserted."

"That one guy is more important than a hundred men."

"They had a man that strong?"

"There is more to strength while assessing one's value. And while he's strong, it isn't the reason why he so valuable. To them he's important because he has connections to Toman."

Baji clenched his hands; here it was, the moment of truth.

"What do you mean; does he have a connection to one of our members?"

"More than one of you members. He is a founding member."

A few seconds of silence passed as the Toman members other than Baji progressed what the blonde boy meant.

Draken slammed his hands to the table and knocked his seat back.

"What the hell you bastards?!"

Mitsuya had narrowed eyes; Chifuyu was observing his higher ups, he didn't know what was going on and Mikey…

Mikey looked shocked but more than that scared. It was hard to be sure but Baji knew this guy since forever. He knew Mikey so he knew what that look in his eyes meant.

"Baji-san, what's going on?" Chifuyu whispered to him. He shook his head, the guy would soon understand.

"Sano-kun," said the girl, "Do you want to meet him?"

"I…" Mikey started but couldn't continue. He was overwhelmed maybe for the second time in his life. Funny both of the times somehow included the person in the question.

"He is ready to face you. I have asked him about this and he accepted. I just want to remind you one thing." She took out a knife from her pocket and put it on the table, "I promised the kid that I would never let anyone hurt him outside a gang war. I promised him. Do you know what that means?" She met his eyes and the boy stared, "If you want to make a move against him, if you try to hurt him when he arrives here I will end you. Because I know this better than anyone else, you're just human and you bleed red when cut."

"Wait a moment!" his right hand man shouted, "You even dare threaten us?! Who the hell do you think you are?! Baji, were you aware-"

"Ken-chin! Enough!" Mikey stopped the taller boy.

"There is one more thing. He wasn't sure if he would be able to say it once he faces you but… He knows it won't help his case but…" the commander's eyes softened, "He's so sorry. He's very sorry."

And that was the last straw before they -Mikey, Mitsuya, Draken- crumbled.

Baji turned away from them and looked at Shiro. Her eyes weren't cruel then. They were not exactly kind but pitying; in a way someone looked at a regretful criminal. When she turned to him, he knew what to do.

It was about time they faced Mikey together.

Kazutora was scared.

Kazutora wanted to throw out.

Kazutora wished he could turn away and run away but it was impossible.

It was time he faced him.

He held onto Baji's hand as they made their way to the meeting room.

It was going to be alright, it was going to be alright, it was going to be alright-

"It's gonna be alright." Baji said aloud as if reading his mind, "She will be there."

Kazutora took a deep breath in and let it out.

It was going to be okay. Shiro was going to make it okay. He trusted her. And she trusted him so,

Even if Kazutora was scared it didn't matter.

Even if Kazutora wanted to throw out it didn't matter.

He was going to do this and then he was going to be free.

"All the things you can't say, they're holding you down, they're caging you, they're holding you prisoner. They are like rocks inside your belly; they are not letting you get up. Let them out from your mouth, vomit them out. And fly."

"Kazutora, I won't let you be alone again."

"I will protect you."

Baji opened the door and they both got in. Kazutora raised his head to look at the girl. She smiled and nodded. And then he turned his face to look at a different pair of eyes; while they were alike with the previous ones, they were more familiar.

"Mikey…"

The blonde boy bit his lip before answering.

"Kazutora."

Shiro was cruel for this. She was so cruel for this. But it was necessary. For the boys and for Black Dragons themselves.

Seishu observed the boys from the left side of his boss.

"There is one more thing we should talk about. Baji, would you want to start?"

The boy nodded and turned to his leader.

"Mikey, I already told you this before, now I will say it again. Kisaki is dangerous. And not just dangerous but dangerous to us."

"By us you mean…"

"Toman." Kazutora answered the silver haired boy, "He, wants to break you apart. He approached me to use me against you. He wanted me to- He wanted me-"

"Kisaki almost manipulated him to kill you, Mikey."

A few sharp intakes of breath were heard. Kazutora flinched.

"Valhalla doesn't have a leader, it is true. The reason for it is-"

"It's Kisaki isn't it?" Chifuyu asked.

"Yes and no, while he leads them from the shadows he isn't the official leader."

"The who is? Stop leaving us in the dark." Draken asked.

"It doesn't have a leader. Valhalla was made so Mikey could lead it."

"What?!"

Inupi himself was surprised. How did Shiro come to that conclusion?

"Kisaki wants to be a leading figure in the gangs of Tokyo. He isn't strong but he's smart. His goal is to make Mikey the strongest leader and then taking his place beside him."

"How do you know?"

"It's obvious. His goal is the most obvious one, and the way he carved his way into Toman."

"But you just said, he…"

"Tried to pit Kazutora against Mikey. Let's be truthful, do you think he could? He could never kill Mikey."

A few boys inside the room flinched but Shiro didn't stop.

"Baji on the other hand… He knew about Kisaki and wanted to stop him from being the 3rd division captain. By manipulating Kazutora, he could manipulate Baji. And if he managed to pin them both against Mikey…"

"Baji-san would be a traitor."

"And Toman doesn't do well with traitors."

"Why are you doing this?" Mitsuya asked, staring at the older teenager.

"Valhalla is willing to get in war with us to get Kazutora back. Trust me, this time the war won't be as pretty."

Shiro got up, Inupi and Koko followed her and Toman followed them.

"We needed an ally. Enemy of my enemy is my friend. Help us crush them and throw Kisaki out. This is how we both protect our gangs."

Mikey raised his head. He observed reactions from everyone in the room and his gaze rested on the bicolored haired male.

"Will you join back toToman?"

The boy's eyes widened and his mouth fell open with shock.

"You forgive me?"

Mikey shook his head.

"I think that will take a little longer, but if you're beside me it will take less I think."

Kazutora glanced at the girl, she nodded her head.

"After Valhalla is defeated and Kisaki is thrown out, it will be safe for you to join them. Choice is yours, kid."

"I…" A few stray tears escaped his eyes and he wiped them off, "I'm back, president."

Mikey smiled and turned back to Shiro.

"We have an alliance."

"What?"

"Mikey established an alliance with the Black Dragons." Gritted out Kisaki.

"Wha- How?! Aren't you in the gang? How did they form an alliance before you could even know about it?"

"She's no fool Hanma. She knew about me. And now she's cornering us."

"What should I do then?"

"There is nothing we can do! You will just lose. Then we will invade both of the gangs from the inside."

"You think we can? Last time she didn't budge. There's no way she's letting me into the gang."

"Then do something about it you oaf." With that the younger boy left.

"At least tell me where to find her!" Hanma called after him.

He sighed and fell back to the couch. He was working overtime and not even getting payment for it.