Chapter 23: Eren Spars with Hikaru


Ai stretched her back as she woke up from her sleep. Ruby was in her arms, waking up herself. Ai felt around for Aqua, who was also in her arms last night, but he wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Aqua?" She asked, looking around.

"I'm awake." He said, reading her phone from where he was sitting on the edge of the Futon.

Unlike normally, where Ai allowed him to be away from her when they slept, tonight she made sure to hold him after the scare she had yesterday. Ai felt terrified that at any moment he could disappear, so she wanted to keep him safe and secure in her arms.

"Your phone privileges are still revoked." She said as she took her phone from him.

Aqua grumbled but didn't do anything to resist as it was taken from him. Ai would have thought it was cute if she wasn't still mad at him.

She never needed to forgive him, he's her son after all, so there's not a single moment where she didn't love him-

Wait, what did she just think? That thought didn't feel untrue in her mind.

Anyway, although she didn't need to forgive him, she was still going to be mad at him for a while. She swore she would be much stricter with him.

"Ai, I'm hungry. Can we please eat?" He pleaded in a cute voice.

And there goes her anger-no! Stay angry. Don't let him off so easily for scaring her.

"Of course, Aqua-Chan." Ai smiled warmly.

Damn it Ai, you failed! Don't let that cute face deceive you!

Ai got up from her Futon and went into the main room. She heard a light snoring coming from her couch. Eren was laying on it, getting some much-needed rest after the accident. His upper body was exposed while his legs were covered by a light blanket. Ai blushed since he went to sleep in only his pants and no shirt, showing off his bandage covered muscles.

She tried to let him sleep on the Futon, but he refused every time she offered.

"And where are your kids going to sleep?" Eren asked.

"Well-" She tried to say.

"Do you really want them to sleep on a Futon with a strange man? We both know there's no room on the couch." He said.

"Well, you're not a strange man." Ai said.

"But do you want me sleeping in the same bed as your kids, or having them sleeping on the floor?" Eren asked.

"Well, no. Those are good points." She said.

So, Ai relented and let him sleep on the couch. She trusted Eren very much, but he is right, that would be weird, especially for her children. She also did not want her kids sleeping on the floor without a Futon. She was just trying to be nice and care for him.

However, she had to admit that Eren looked... cute, when he was sleeping. His normal bored and expressionless face was replaced with a relaxed and calm one. He looked so relaxed and at peace when he was sleeping, and she couldn't help but think he looked adorable.

Aqua from his position, wondered if he should maybe get Ai's attention. She was staring at Eren for a little while, clearly finding his sleeping form cute. While it did help get them together, he wondered about Eren's injuries.

Those injuries are clearly from a fight. Ai asked about it on their way home from the academy. She confirmed that there was a workplace accident that resulted in a bunch of boxes falling on Eren. However, his injuries looked more consistent with fight related injuries.

Aqua couldn't tell exactly. He was a Gynecologist, so he was more familiar with female anatomy. He did recognize some injuries, mainly when a patient was assaulted and received injuries from that. However, this didn't look consistent with work related injuries.

That did make him think, Kuro's theory about him being reborn. It would match the weird things about him, such as his lack of understanding of technology. So far, the oldest invention Eren seemed unfamiliar with was a TV, which could mean he was born long before television. That would put him pre-World War Two.

There's no way, even if he was reborn, he'd have grown up in the modern era.

Was it possible he was brought to the future as an adult? If Ruby's rules for reincarnation was different, then who knows what Eren's rules were.

Assuming any of this was even accurate.

However, Aqua needed to move things along.

"Ai, can we please have breakfast?" He asked.

"Huh?" She broke out of her trance. "Oh right, mama will get right on that." She smiled.

"What's for breakfast mama?" Ruby asked as she walked into the main room.

We're going to have grilled chicken with rice and miso." Ai smiled.

"Awesome, I can't wait." She said happily.

"Just keep it down so Eren-San can sleep." She said.

"Ok." Ruby gave her a thumbs up.

Ai started getting the dishes and ingredients ready for the food, as well as heating the stove. She wanted to make it especially good today since Eren would be joining them for breakfast. This'll be his first home meade meal by Ai. She couldn't wait for him to try it.

Suddenly, her phone vibrated and she opened it. She received a text from Meimei.

Mei: Found this really cute outfit, you should wear it while Eren is recovering.

Ai: Are you crazy!?

Mei: It's cute :(

Ai: A fetish nurse outfit?

Mei: It's perfect for a bit of roleplay. You could totally seduce him with it.

Ai: The skirt is so short it'd show my but and panties.

Mei: That's the idea.

Ai: You do realize that I have children, I can't prance around in that.

Mei: I can watch them for a day or two, or Miyako-San.

Ai: Absolutely not! I'd die of embarrassment.

Mei: How do you plan to get him if you won't even try to do a little sex appeal?

Ai: No!

Mei: But look at the cute thigh high stockings. You don't have heels, but it'll look so cute.

Ai: Goodbye!

Mei: You should start taking advice more from a married woman you know.

Ai put her phone down and ignored it. To be sure that Meimei wouldn't text her, she muted her number for the next hour. She did not need help with Eren, she would just find a way to do it without embarrassing stuff.

Why was it embarrassing? She already had sex before... well, once. Which resulted in a pregnancy, so she had very bad luck when it came to sex.

She glanced at her children, who were watching one of her old concerts on TV as a rerun.

Well, not bad luck.

"Time for food." She smiled as she finished up. She took the dishes and moved them to the table. Eren was still asleep, so she needed to wake him up. She would rather he get some more rest, but he needs a good and healthy breakfast to recover faster.

She tipped toed over to Eren while Ruby and Aqua sat down to eat. Both of them went to their knees and kept a good posture, something Ai taught them to make sure they had good table manners.

"Eren, wake up." She said in a low and soft voice, going up to his sleeping form.

He didn't shift and must be exhausted.

"Eren." She reached out to shake his shoulders. "Wake u-"

Eren's hand reached out violently and grabbed her throat. Ai's gasp was cut off as he squeezed her throat, causing pain and making her eyes begin to tear up from the surprise. Eren's eyes looked blank, as if he wasn't paying attention to what was going on and reacted entirely out of habit.

Suddenly, his grip loosened, and Ai fell back on the floor. She held her neck gently, still having trouble breathing from suddenly having her throat constricted.

Aqua and Ruby stood up, unsure of what just happened since it was so sudden and violent.

"Good morning." Eren said as he yawned and stretched from the couch. "Why are you on the floor Ai?" He asked, noticing that she was sitting on the floor next to him.

"Eto, I-I slipped." She laughed, not mentioning that he just attacked her.

"Are you ok?" Eren asked. "You look scared." He noticed.

"Oh no, I just fell so I got a little scared." She laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Mama, what happened?" Ruby asked.

"Did he hurt you?" Aqua asked.

"No no, I just slipped." She said in Japanese.

Luckily, Aqua and Ruby weren't paying attention so it seemed like they didn't see what happened. It was so quick that she didn't even have time to process what happened.

"What's wrong with them?" Eren asked.

"Nothing." Ai waved off.

Did he really not remember? Was he aware of his actions at all? He seemed like he was not even awake when he grabbed her, which terrified her. He never once showed any threatening behavior towards her. He didn't seem like he was having a bad dream either.

"I just wanted you to know that breakfast was ready." She said, pointing to the food.

"Oh, thanks." Eren said as he got up.

Eren walked over and sat cross legged on the floor. Ai served him his share and sat down to eat. Luckily, she doubted that her neck would bruise from the sudden contact, so that was a relief.

She wondered what caused that reaction. She guessed it had to do with his history as a war veteran. She heard stories of American Soldiers reacting to sudden sounds or waking up with violence. Maybe it was the same for Russian Soldiers?

He mentioned he was in the Middle East, which means that Eren fought in the Syrian Civil War. It was possible that he was in combat and that caused him to react with violence when he was woken up.

It scared Ai, but she knew he didn't do it on purpose, and she didn't want to scare him with the thought that she was hurt by him.

Aqua came to much of the same conclusions. He didn't see what happened, but he knew that Eren reacted violently to being woken up. He figured it was normal if he was experiencing combat related PTSD.

Ruby was a bit worried, not fully understanding what happened. Maybe Eren was surprised when he woke up and reacted. There were a couple of times she scared Aqua from behind and he'd accidentally hit her. So, it was probably normal.

"Dida mama scared a yew?" She tried in English.

"Huh?" Eren asked.

"Mama scarda Eren-San?" She tried again.

"Scared?" He asked.

"You just jumped up when I woke you up." Ai tried to salvage. "It took me by surprise." She said.

"Oh, sorry." He laughed. "I guess I was scared. Your mama is scary." He said back to Ruby.

"Mama is rawr." Ruby tried, imitating a monster as she said that.

"She is." Eren laughed.

"Ruby-Chan, don't say that!" Ai complained to her daughter in Japanese.

"You're getting better at talking." Eren smiled. "Better than me."

"No understando." Ruby said since Eren spoke too fast for her.

"You're English good." Eren said slowly.

"Tanka yew." She smiled.

"My baby is so smart!" She yelled. "What about you Aqua-Chan?"

"I cana speaks bettero." Aqua said, intentionally trying to make his accent sound really bad.

"They're fast learners." Eren smiled.

"That's something they didn't inherit from me." Ai laughed.

"It takes dedication to dance the way you do." Eren said. "I think they inherited your drive."

Ai blushed at the compliment and took a sip from her cup so as to hide it. After finishing it, she went back to eating while Ruby tried to talk with Eren.

She checked as her phone vibrated, an unknown number popped up.

?: Did you block me!?

Oh, it was Meimei, probably using her husband's phone.

Ai: I muted you for an hour.

?: You'll regret not following my advice!

Ai: Try anything and I'll put itching powder in your underwear before our next show.

?: Do that and I'll hide your underwear from your locker, good luck dancing in a skirt without panties!

Ai smiled at the exchange. Sometimes her and Meimei would get into little bantering matches. Obviously, neither of them would actually follow through with the threats, but they would banter like good friends occasionally.

She got another text however.

Hikaru: I'm heading to the MMA gym this evening, I was wondering if you and Eren want to come. I'll order dinner while you're there.

"Eren, Kamiki-San is wondering if you want to meet him this evening at the MMA gym." She asked Eren. "If you're not feeling well enough, I can tell him some other time." She said.

"I don't mind." Eren said. "I've sparred before in worse shape." He shrugged.

"I'll let him know, but you better do what I say when you're there. No overexerting yourself." She said seriously.

"I wouldn't dare make you angry." He laughed subtly. "I don't want to be like Aqua."

Ai laughed at that. Eren seemed like he was feeling relaxed. He was smiling, although subtly, and making an effort to talk with her and the kids. It was a side of him that she doubted anyone really saw. Which means, she was the only one to see this side of him. It was nice, like only she knew this side of him.

Ai texted her ex and let him know that they would come.

Aqua overheard and knew that Hikaru wanted to test Eren's abilities. He'd intentionally have to go light on Eren since he was hurt, but it would still give him information on Eren's abilities.

Aqua couldn't do much to dissuade them, but as long as Eren was with them and they were in a public place, Aqua would tolerate it.

"I'll use the bath and get changed." Aqua said as he took his dishes to the sink.

"Hold up." Ai said as she opened her phone.

"What?" Aqua asked.

"I'm setting a timer, you have ten minutes. No more before I come to get you." She said.

"Seriously?" He asked. "I'm not going to sneak out of my own home."

"You lost privacy privileges when you told Miyako-San you wanted to use the restroom, only to run away. Be thankful I'm giving you a timer." She said with a small glare.

Can she just let that go!?


"Wow, what happened to you?" Hikaru asked as Eren, Ai, and the kids walked into the gym.

Hikaru was dressed in a short sleeved black shirt with a pair of athletic shorts. Eren was dressed similarly, but he had a sleeveless shirt, showing off his bruised arms. Ai and Ruby were dressed in athletic clothes, with Ruby wearing sweat pants, a skirt, and a short sleeved shirt. Ai wore yoga pants and a short sleeved V-neck shirt. Aqua wore sweat pants and a short sleeve as well.

The gym was well put together, with a ring in the center and weight lifting stuff on the edges, as well as bags and treadmills. There were posters of famous Japanese and International MMA fighters in the UFC.

"Work accident." Eren shrugged.

"Well, it'll be fun to do a bit of sparring." Hikaru smiled.

"Just remember, you need to go light on Eren." Ai said to Hikaru. "He's still recovering, and a bit of exercise will help him recover. But I'll be watching to make sure he stays healthy."

"No worries." Hikaru waved off. "I'll go only 40% strength, as long as Eren agrees as well." He laughed.

"Sure." Eren shrugged. "So how does this go?" Eren asked.

"First, we need to warm up." Hikaru said.

Hikaru showed Eren how to properly warm up for a spar. Ai and the kids followed as well, imitating his moves as he worked. Eren was in a bit of pain as he moved, but he felt well enough to workout. Ai would occasionally mention it, but Eren would wave it off.

Although he felt weak and sore at first, Eren started to feel better as he moved. Eren knew from his time with the Scouts, that the worst thing you can do when you're hurt is do nothing at all. As long as the damage was minimal, you needed to move around and continue working out to help speed up recovery.

Not that he really ever had to slowly recover since he was a shifter at the time.

"Ok, now we get some gloves and protective gear to do a bit of sparring." He handed Eren some protective gear.

The gloves and helmet felt like it was made out of a weird kind of leather. He wasn't familiar with the material, but he wondered if it was some kind of animal leather. There was a strap with no buckle, but Hikaru showed him out to attach it. A soft and fuzzy material would stick to a hard and scratchy one. Just an example of how much more advanced this society was.

"Ai-Chan, can you please keep score on the whiteboard?" Hikaru asked.

"Sure Kamiki-San." She said, taking a dry erase marker and writing Eren and Hikaru's names on the board.

"Just remember Eren, I'll go easy on you so just go as hard as you feel comfortable." He said.

"Sure." Eren said as he got into a fighting stance.


"Tap, Tap!" Hikaru yelled as Eren got him in another arm bar.

Eren lt him go and stood up, reaching out his hand to help Hikaru up from the ground. Hikaru took his hand, but was exhausted and covered in sweat.

"I said go at 40% strength." He panted.

"I am." Eren shrugged.

"Oh... holy shit." He said in disbelief.

"If you want to go harder, you can." Eren said.

"I've been going max strength the whole time!" Hikaru yelled.

"Sorry." Eren shrugged.

"That's another one to Eren!" Ai said excitedly as she marked another tally for Eren.

So far, they did eight rounds and Ai made sure to keep track of who won. After adding the most recent tally mark, Eren won his eighth round.

"Not a single victory..." Hikaru said sadly.

Aqua smiled. Take that you bastard. Even completely exhausted and injured, Eren completely destroyed him.

"You're still pretty good Hikaru." Eren said.

"Honestly, your form isn't very good." He said.

"What do you mean?" Eren asked.

"It's missing a lot of technical aspects, and anytime I got in a dominant position, you'd just brute force your way out of it." He said. "I have to beat on technique, but you just have much more experience, I think."

"I mostly taught myself." Eren said. "A friend showed me the basics, but I learned mostly by myself."

"You used it in combat, right?" Hikaru asked.

"A few times." If you count being a Titan.

"That explains it, no matter how technically skilled I am, I can't match your experience." He laughed. "I'm impressed." He patted Eren on the back.

"You're still pretty good." Eren smiled a bit. "It honestly was fun to practice again."

"I'm glad you had fun." Hikaru said.

"Ia want to fighta Eren-San!" Ruby ran into the ring.

"Ruby-Chan!" Ai called out.

"Oh, let her fight Eren." Hikaru said. "I'm sure she can beat him where I couldn't."

"Sure." Eren shrugged with a small smile. "Try to beat me if you can." He laughed.

Ai made a new score chart with Eren and Ruby. Aqua stood off from the side, keeping his eye on Hikaru the whole time.

He seemed like he was trying to make a friendship with Eren. Hikaru knew that he would not be able to deal with Eren in a confrontation. Eren, even when injured, easily beat him in a low intensity spar. He wondered what would happen if Eren fought him for real.

Then again, he saw what happens if Eren gets serious. Ryosuke had a firsthand account of that before he died. However, it seemed like his new plan was to make Eren his friend and ear his trust. Right now, Aqua wouldn't be able to stop him since he had no way of convincing Eren that he was a danger.

He could gamble and hope Eren was supernatural as well, but that was a huge gamble. If he was wrong, Eren would never believe him again and think that he's just playing pretend or think he has mental issues. He'd need a way to make Eren distrustful of Hikaru.

Ai smiled as she saw Eren and Ruby play fight. Eren would lift her high into the air and gently slam her into the ground, making her laugh at the sudden height. However, he also let Ruby get him in poorly executed holds and grapples that she struggled to do because of the height difference.

Eren let her win most rounds, but occasionally won himself just to inspire her to try harder.

She smiled at it. It was nice to see Eren playing with a child and acting normal. He even smiled and laughed, though subtly, as he did. She could tell he enjoyed himself and loved playing with Ruby.

It's a shame that Hikaru kept his distance and that her children were so distrustful of him. She didn't want to deprive Hikaru of the chance to have a relationship with his children, but they both made the decision to stay seperated initially. Hopefully, her kids would one day have a good relationship with him.

"I have to use the restroom." Aqua said as he walked away.

"Hold up." Ai said.

"What?" He asked.

He gasped a bit as Ai easily lifted him up into her arms and started walking towards the restroom.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I told you; you lost privacy privileges Aqua." She said.

"Ai, you're going to the women's restroom!" He said in embarrassment.

"Don't worry Aqua-Chan, you're four. No one will care." She giggled. "And you'll be going into the women's room with me until you're legally no longer allowed to. Even then, I might come into the men's restroom to make sure you don't run away again." She joked.

At least, he hoped she was joking.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" He tried to yell.

"Too bad~" She laughed.

Thankfully, she let him use the stall by himself. He was worried though, if he ran away again, he'd lose even more privacy.

If he was a kid, this wouldn't be all that embarrassing. It's actually normal for kids his age to be escorted to the women's restroom by their mother. However, it was just weird to have a woman half his age making sure he went to the restroom and didn't run away again.

It's not like he actually ran away. He just needed answers and information to keep Ai alive. He wanted to make sure she was protected and needed to go to the academy in order to learn more about her protector. He did it to protect her.

Not that he could tell her that. However, because he had no lie prepared, it cost him a chance to be autonomous in the future. She would ask him where he's going if he so much as went into a different room.

He really screwed up.


After eating some food that Hikaru ordered, Ai, Eren, and the kids were preparing to leave the gym. Overall, it was a fun time for everyone involved, especially Ruby who was the only one to actually beat Eren.

She had volunteered Ai to spar with Eren, who quickly tried to say no. Hikaru only laughed and encouraged her daughter, which basically forced her to spar.

It was a predictable outcome. Eren won, easily. He didn't want to go easy on Ai since Ruby was cheering him on, so he decided to gently beat Ai, who was laughing the whole time.

"So, that's a record of eighteen to Eren and twelve to Ruby-Chan." Ai laughed, tallying up Eren's total winnings.

"You are one hell of a fighter Eren." Hikaru laughed. "I guess I'd need to do this professionally instead of a hobby if I ever hope to beat you."

"What do you do exactly?" Eren asked.

"I'm just a washed up actor who's trying to get into producing." He said.

"I think you were good back then Kamiki-San." Ai encouraged.

"Nah, I was always average at best. Which for acting, doesn't make much money." He laughed.

"Same with being an idol." Ai said.

"So, producing makes more money?" Eren asked.

"Yea, a lot more if you do it right." He said with a shrug. "Hopefully one day I'll actually be a bit more famous, if only behind the scenes."

"I think you can do it Hikaru-San." She smiled.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could ask a request." He said.

"What's that?" Ai asked.

"Could I maybe take Ruby-Chan on a little father/daughter play date? Nothing insane, just a little hiking adventure." He requested.

"That's up to Rub-" Ai was cut off as Aqua rushed between the adults and Ruby.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, not fully understanding what everyone was saying, only that she heard her name.

"I'm not letting him near Ruby!" Aqua argued, avoiding speaking English.

"Wait, why?" Ruby asked.

"I just don't want you to." Aqua argued.

"Aqua-Chan, that's not a decision that's up to you." Ai said sincerely. "It's Ruby's choice."

"And I really don't want to." Ruby said. "I want to spend more time with mama."

"What about your papa Ruby-Chan?" Ai asked, trying to encourage some father/daughter bonding time. "Don't you want to get to know him?"

"He's ok, but he's not you mama." She said innocently. "I hate being away from you."

"You heard her, she's not going." Aqua said.

Normally, Aqua was calm and collected. He could easily use his childish fears to manipulate anyone in this group. Only Ruby would know his real reason for being more mature. He could very easily manipulate them.

However, this was different. Aqua was terrified of Ruby being alone with Hikaru. How easy would it be for him to let an accident happen and cause Ai grief in order to isolate her. He had no doubt that Hikaru would kill Ruby if it meant getting to Ai.

Even though he could manipulate them, the fear he was experiencing was real. He still had no tangible plan to keep Hikaru at bay, at least nothing that would make sense to a bunch of adults. The reaction and fear he was experiencing was real, and it was causing his mask to break.

"Why do you hate me so much son?" Hikaru asked in a sad voice.

"You abandoned Ai and hurt her." He accused, using some kind of excuse to justify his actions. "Like we would ever want you in our lives." He said.

"I see." He said, narrowing his eyes slightly at Aqua.

It was subtle, too subtle for anyone that didn't know his true nature to catch, but Aqua caught it. He just made himself a target to Hikaru, on the same level as Eren. He's an obstacle that's ruining his plan, much the same way Eren was when he stopped Ryosuke. Much like Goro was on the first attempt.

"Kamiki-San, please understand him." Ai said as she grabbed his shoulder. "He's still very sensitive after what happened with the attack."

Hikaru's narrowed eyes soften as he looked at Ai. He smiled lovingly at her and patted her on the back.

"Oh, don't worry about it Ai-Chan. One day I'll get him to like me." He laughed. "I think he's just being overly protective of his sister, it's normal for a young boy without a father."

"True, but please understand how sensitive he is right now." She said.

"Of course, I will." He smiled.

"Thank you." Ai breathed a sigh of relief.

"One day I'll have some good moments with him. When he learns to trust me, I should take him on the hike instead. It would probably be better than Ruby-Chan since he's a boy." He said.

"You can have fun." Ruby said to Aqua.

"Not a chance." He said, knowing that he was just added to Hikaru's target list.

Ruby may have been a means to an end. If he had to guess, Ruby would be used as a sacrificial pawn to cause extreme grief to Ai. She'd isolate herself from him and Eren, and probably try to seek any form of comfort. Comfort that Hikaru would provide, isolated from the people who would protect her.

At least, that's his theory. It explains what he's trying to do.

Hikaru learned two things today. He'd never beat Eren in a confrontation, even if Eren was already injured. He also learned that Aqua is a barrier that is preventing him from isolating Ai from Eren.

So that begs the question, what next? What's his plan now that he can't fight Eren or isolate Ai?

"Anyway, this was fun. Hope to have a rematch one day Eren." He said, patting Eren on the back.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind." Eren smiled. "Maybe next time I'll go 20% strength."

"You'll probably still beat me." He laughed. "Anyway, you all take care and have a good night."

He went back to the locker rooms.

"You should give him a chance Aqua-Chan." Ai said.

"Why?" Aqua asked. "We have Eren, don't we?"

Time to try and put the idea in her head.

"Eren is not your father." She tried to say.

"He can be." Aqua countered.

Ai blushed at the thought. Eren would be a good father, she had no doubt. After seeing how he played with Ruby today, she knew that he would be a very good father to her children, if she could ever get over her shyness.

But it's not right to deprive Kamiki from his children. He deserves to see them grow up and become amazing adults, just like she did.

"What's he saying?" Eren asked.

"N-nothing." Ai quickly said. "Just he thought you fought well."

Liar, Aqua thought. He really needs to pretend to learn English better so he can actually communicate with Eren.

"Thanks." Eren smiled at Aqua.

Aqua gave him a thumbs up anyway.

Aqua wondered if he was as shy as she was. Eren was clearly changing for the better. He smiled more and even bantered a bit more. Leagues different than how he used to be. He'd need to get these two together until he found a way to deal with Hikaru.

Eren took out his phone, which was vibrating. His eyes narrowed at the number.

"You go on ahead without me, I need to take this. It's work." He said.

"Sure, we'll head into the convenience store to get some drinks." Ai said, taking her children's hands. "Meet us there." She said.

Eren hit accept and answered the phone.

"What?" He asked.

"I was impressed with your little suicide mission." Oyabun Yoshida said.

"I know." Eren said.

"Very confident." He laughed. "I have a little promotion ready for you, I'd like you to come to the next meeting." He said.

"Where?" Eren asked.

"I have it on good authority that you know a Hoshino Ai, from B-Komachi." He said.

"Did your lackies following me tell you?" Eren asked.

"You noticed that, did you?" He asked. "I'm impressed."

Eren honestly probably wouldn't have noticed much. Now that he was looking for them, he'd see people talking on phones and reporting his location. They were much better than that crazy stalker. If Sergei didn't tell him though, he may have missed it.

"Where." Eren said again.

"It'll be in a private VIP booth at the next B-Komachi concert on Saturday." He said.

"A teenage idol performance?" Eren asked skeptically.

"What better place?" Yoshida said. "Thousands of people and no way to monitor us. It's common for criminals to meet and do business in populated events." He said.

Sergei did say that, since he did one of his jobs at Ai's last concert.

"I want to make something clear Yoshida." Eren said.

"Go ahead." He said.

"If anything happens to Ai or her children, then what happened at that safehouse will pale in comparison to what I'll do to you." He threatened.

"I figured." Yoshida said.

"People here call me, what, the child of the devil?" Eren asked.

"Akuma No Ko." He said.

"It's not the first time I've been called a devil." Eren said. "Anything happens to her, I will show you why I was called the Devil of Paradis."

"Very good." He chuckled. "But you have no need to worry, we'll protect her while you're away. I can promise you that."

"I'm not stupid Yoshida." Eren said. "Don't you dare use her to manipulate me."

"I won't, now make sure you prepare for the meeting. No guns allowed, though I know you'll ignore that." Yup.

"You couldn't stop me from bringing one anyway." Eren said.

"That's true, nor would I want to get on your bad side." He said.

Eren knew he was placating him, saying what he wants to hear since Eren proved how much of an asset he was now. It would work for now, but he had no doubt that Yoshida will use Ai against him in some way in the future.

"Bring your best suit for the promotion." He said. "We'll also discuss how we're going to strike the Nakano-Kai."


And that's it for this chapter.

Did anyone think Hikaru would actually be a threat to Eren? lol. Physically, no, but Hikaru needs to find alternate ways.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed.