Chapter 40: Secrets are Revealed

"Ah, the single mother, Hoshino Ai. It's nice to meet you again." The Yakuza smiled as he pushed past Saitou, along with a half dozen armed men.

"Mama." Ruby whined as she shifted to behind Ai, trying to seek protection from her mother.

Before Aqua could do anything, Ai pushed him behind her since he had a habit of doing reckless things. She wasn't going to let her baby boy get hurt a third time.

The Yakuza members started barking orders to Saitou and the girls, ordering them to sit in the chairs on the side of the dance studio. Everyone was forced to move and soon, they were all sitting in a line against the wall, with Ruby and Aqua being held in Ai's lap.

No one said anything as they walked around, their two-handed guns being waived around recklessly. Ai was worried that someone might be shot with how they waived them around.

"Listen, if you want money, we have insurance for thi-" Saitou was cut off as a Yakuza member punched him in the face.

"Ichigo!" Miyako yelled out.

"Easy there, we don't need to hurt them." The apparent leader, the one who attacked Ai, said to his goon. "Honestly, I'd kind of would have liked to hear about this insurance he has. It could help get a bit more funding." He chuckled to himself.

The boss started counting the idols, trying to make sure they were all here. When he got to Ai, he had to do a double check. He stared right at Aqua and Ai held her son closer to her body, terrified of him retaliating because of what Aqua did on stage.

Ai kept her gaze down, unable to read his face, as if she was in the presence of an animal and eye contact would be a sure way to make it aggressive. She was so terrified but tried to maintain a strong front.

"Ok, I know I only stabbed him. What the hell happened to him?" The guy asked.

Aqua wasn't nearly so docile as his mother and his sister. While Ruby buried her face in her mother's body and Ai refused to make eye contact, Aqua stared right at the man. He tried to show some level of defiance.

"I'm actually impressed at the defiance; you don't look scared at all." He chuckled at Aqua, causing Ai to grab his head and force Aqua to look away.

The man took out a cigarette and looked over at Saitou, who also kept his eyes on the ground.

"You don't mind if I smoke, right?" He asked. "This is your place of business, so I don't want to be rude." It sounded so sincere that it came off as sarcastic.

Saitou nodded, deciding to try and play along as much as possible so he doesn't anger anyone. The man sat on a chair he grabbed in front of Ai, causing her to visibly shake from the fear. She wasn't so scared of what he'd do to her, but more so what he would do to her children.

"So, Ai." He said as he took his cigarette and lit it, taking a big breath in. "I'm actually sorry to hear about your career, believe it or not, I actually like your music." He said in a sincere tone.

Ai felt like calling him out on his lie, after all, he did try to kill her before.

"Now, I know what you're thinking. That's a lie because I tried to kill you before." He chuckled, almost reading her mind. "But you see, you're just kind of a means to an end. So, I had to in order to get what I really want."

Eye glanced at him for a moment in a questioning look, but then put her head back down in a submissive and docile look to hopefully get his attention away from her.

"You see, even now, I'm not here because of you. I'm here because this war with Yoshida... who is the main Yakuza boss here in Tokyo by the way, has really been crushing me." He chuckled. "Though, it's not like I'm surprised. Between the police ramping up and Yoshida's massive resources, I kind of knew that my days are numbered."

"Especially with the Shinomiya girl being freed. I honestly didn't anticipate that. I knew Yoshida would find some way to keep the police at bay, but it ultimately failed and now we're pretty much done for." He chuckled. "I tell you; this war was really fun. I never intended to win mind you, and I knew I couldn't. Yoshida has way too many resources."

"However, what I want is to fight in a true death match. You see, I grew up on the streets fighting. I got so good that eventually it just started to get boring. But then I found someone who really made me feel that thrill again. Do you want to know who?"

Ai stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. She tried to hold her babies close to her chest, hoping that her arms could provide a kind of shield for them.

"Come on, it's so rude to not answer a question." He said, forcing her to speak.

"...Yes..." Ai replied in a low and terrified tone.

"It's polite for a young woman to look a man in the eye when she speaks." He said.

Ai forced herself to look up at his face. She saw his grin, an evil grin that promised death and destruction. He looked thrilled and even excited about the situation. It terrified her.

"Yes." She said, trying to sound confident but failing miserably.

"Eren Yeager." He said, causing Ai to look at him with a surprise expression. "Oh, he didn't tell you?" He chuckled.

Tell her what? That this psycho saw her boyfriend and the way he fought on stage and suddenly developed a desire for revenge? Ai could piece that together herself. Her education was spotty, but she was intelligent.

"You see, Eren is a very unique fighter. I can tell from how he fights that he's been in real combat. Not these petty gang wars, but real war. The kind that involve hundreds of men charging to their death. Now, I don't know what country he fought for, but he's clearly an experienced warrior."

"So, after the first time we fought-" First time? "Eren really showed how adaptable and tenacious he was. While not necessarily the best at technique, he makes up for it in raw strength and determination. I can honestly say I have a lot of respect for the man."

"So, why are you here?" Ai asked, wondering where this was all going.

"Because you're my ticket to an unrestricted fight. Eren until now has always held back, I can tell. But if he sees your corpse, I'm sure that would completely take away any hesitation in his fighting." He explained.

"W-what do you want with him?" Ai asked. "Did you just decide to try and kill him on that stage after you tried to kill me?"

Ai was terrified, but she couldn't help but ask these questions. Nothing the man said made sense. There's no way Eren met him before. The only time was the attack on the stage.

"Actually, I tried to kill you because of him." He said with a grin on his face.

"What?" Ai asked, confused.

"You clearly don't know what he does for a living." He said.

"H-he's a mover." Ai said.

"A mover... really? What company does he work for?" He asked.

Ai was about to answer... but she couldn't. She had no idea what company Eren works for. He never said and she never asked because he was always so vague.

"Let me guess, he works with an older Russian man, right?" He asked.

"He helped Eren, because he escaped from the Syrian war." Ai said.

"Really, that's what he told you?" The man chuckled.

"Yes, he helped Eren because Eren's Ukrainian." Ai tried to defend Eren.

"That's a lie." He chuckled. "Eren isn't Ukrainian."

"I saw his passport." Ai said.

"A passport that Yoshida gave him." That Yakuza boss he mentioned? Why would Eren know him?

"You're lying." Ai denied.

"Let me tell you the truth about your little boyfriend. Eren snuck into Japan over a month ago from some unknown country. He's here illegally and started a little business in crime. He even earned himself a nickname, a nice little name the media started calling him. Can you guess what it is?"

"The Akuma no Ko?" Saitou said out loud, piecing the information together.

That explains why Eren's passport number didn't register. It's fake.

"You're lying." Ai said.

"Don't you think it's weird that a man who's illiterate magically comes from no where the same time the Akuma no Ko makes an appearance?" He asked. "Whether you believe it or not, Eren is the western criminal that's been making rounds in Japan. Supplied by a very influential Russian arms dealer. Sound familiar?"

Ai was frozen in shock. She couldn't believe that Eren, the man who would entertain a little girl or show Ai so much care, could possibly be a criminal. There was no way.

"And the thing is, he's put you in danger. I've ordered a hit on you so I can make him mad. And I've only been stopped because of him. But now, now you're defenseless. And when he gets here, he'll-"

Bang, Bang, Bang

Everyone turned towards the door, though the Yakuza guy had an excited look on his face.

"I'll be damned, I was expecting him to come by after we left to find a skinned corpse. But I guess using you as live bait works too. All of you, get out there and deal with him!" He chuckled.

A skinned corpse!? This monster was truly going to kill her. Ai quickly glanced at the other girls, and they had the same reaction. Why was he going so far to get revenge on Eren? Was he that upset at not killing Ai before?

Come to think of it, how did he know Eren cared for Ai? She never told anyone about Eren that wasn't in her close circle.

"Time to end this." He chuckled to himself.

A Few Minutes Earlier

Eren was dressed in his "Work uniform", which was just his black turtleneck sweater and his suit pants and dress shoes. He didn't have his glasses, hat, or jacket since it would be too easy to identify him if he did. His hair was also back in its bun.

Eren was carrying an iced latte that he got a block away from Ai's dance studio since he wanted to surprise her with it. He was really beginning to care for her and wanted to make her day better.

"Damn, idol got found out." Sergei said in the driver's seat.

"Found out?" Eren asked.

"Take a look." Sergei handed Eren his phone, briefly slowing down since he wasn't looking at the road.

Eren took the phone and tried to read it. He noticed a few familiar symbols and even Ai's name, but the rest he couldn't quite get. There was a picture of Ai, but the rest of it made no sense to him.

"Right, illiterate." Sergei chuckled to himself.

"I am literate Sergei." Eren said in an annoyed tone.

"Apparently, they found out Ai had a kid." He said.

"I remember Ai telling me how worried she was if it was ever discovered, what happens to her now?" He asked.

"Well, her career is ruined." Sergei said.

"Really?" Eren asked.

It always surprised him how your social standing could change over something as simple as having a child. He really couldn't think of an equivalent. He supposed some nobilities had instances where their social standing was destroyed if children were born out of wedlock or through affairs, but for the common people, no one cared.

He always considered Ai a common woman and not a noble, since she wasn't very wealthy. Eren guessed that it just had to do with what she said about how rabid fans can get.

"I guess we'll figure out what to do from here." Eren said.

"That's the spirit." Sergei laughed as he pat Eren on the back. "You'll figure something out."

"Especially once this war is over, I'll tell Yoshida that I'm done. I'll try to see if I can get work somewhere." Eren said in an unsure tone.

"Yoshida won't let you go kid." Sergei said.

"He'll be a damn fool if he thinks he can manipulate me through force." Eren said. "If Yoshida ever makes himself a threat to Ai, I won't hesitate to end his life."

"Honestly, considering how you handle yourself; I think I almost believe that." Sergei chuckled. "Be careful if you stand against him. He controls too mu-"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Sergei had to swerve as they approached the studio due to a group of gunmen firing at the car. Eren had to get low as possible as the windshield shattered from the bullets as they impacted the car. He felt lucky that he wasn't hit.

"What the hell!" Eren yelled as he took out his engraved Marleyan pistol.

"Nakano!" Sergei yelled.

Here!? At Ai's work!?

"Where the hell are Yoshida's men!?" Eren yelled. "He's supposed to be protecting her!"

"We can debate later!" Sergei said as he took out a pistol as well. "For now, focus on killing!" Sergei said.

Eren opened the door and crawled out of the now bullet ridden car. The Yakuza members were using automatic gun which forced Eren to duck behind the engine block of the car to get the most cover. He could barely hear anything over the noise.

Eren laid on the ground behind the front tire and tried to get an angle at the gang members from under the car. He took aim and fired a few shots into their legs, causing them to fall over before being executed with following shots.

"They're in the second story window!" Sergei yelled out.

Eren looked up and tried to get under the car after noticing that they had an angle on him. He was stuck as bullets peppered the car around him.

"Sergei, we need to get into the building!" Eren yelled.

"Da, I know!" Sergei said. "Let me get something!"

Sergei crawled to the back of his car and opened the trunk, hoping to find anything useful. He rummaged around before pulling out a bag of grenades, it would be perfect.

"We can't throw grenades in there; Ai might be there!" Eren said.

"Smoke grenades, just run when I say so!" He said.

Eren had no idea what smoke grenades were but decided to listen to Sergei. Eren waited as Sergei pulled the pin and threw the grenade to the center of the road. Eren wondered if he should run now but wasn't sure why the grenade wasn't going off.

Suddenly, green smoke started to leak out of the grenade. For a moment, Eren thought it was broken, but realized this was the point. The smoke would conceal his movement so he could run into the building and lessen his chances of getting shot.

"Not yet!" Sergei yelled, waiting for the smoke to get thicker.

Eren took this time to remove a clip from his pocket and load it into the pistol from the top. He pocketed the empty clip for later before cocking the gun and putting a bullet in the chamber.

"Now!" Sergei yelled.

Eren crawled out from under the car and ran over to the building as fast as he could. He felt random bullets impact near him as the Yakuza fired blindly into the smoke, hoping to get lucky. Fortunately, Eren reached the door of the building before he was hit, allowing him to move with relative cover to find Ai.

Eren knew exactly what floor Ai should be, but he wasn't sure if she'll still be there. He hoped that she was ok, and he swore he'd kill Mao if he even lays a finger on her.

Eren ran up the stairs, easily killing any gang member he saw. He shot them and if he got close enough, he shattered an arm or leg before executing them with a single shot to the head. Ai and her children were in danger, and he was going to tear apart anyone who got in his way.

Eren reached the door that she was supposed to be in. He ran up to it and kicked it open, barely able to react as Mao dove at him from his blind spot.

"You won't be needing this!" Mao said as he grabbed Eren's gun and threw it away.

The gun slid on the floor until it stopped in front of Ai and the rest of B-Komachi. Eren briefly stopped a moment, realizing something that he didn't consider in the heat of the moment while rushing to save Ai.

Ai and the group stared at the gun, and there was no mistaking it. It was the same kind of gun recovered from the concert, the signature calling card of the Akuma no Ko, the western devil of the Yakuza. The man who helped to plunge Tokyo into a gang war.

Ai stared at Eren after looking at the gun, her eyes wide with shock and fear at learning the truth.

"Oh, he really didn't tell you." Mao laughed as he got Eren in a rear choke while grappling on the ground. "This is good, yea, your boyfriend here is the Akuma no Ko, the man who can single handedly destroy an entire Yakuza safe house. With a reverse grip RPG no less." He laughed.

Eren elbowed Mao in the kidney, causing him to grunt in pain and allowed Eren to spin around and kick Mao off him. Eren quickly stood up and got into a fighting stance.

"Yea, he's a great fighter. He's going to punch and not let me fin-" Mao reacted and countered Eren's punch by throwing his own, hitting Eren right on the cheek.

Eren threw a few rapid punches and kicks, only for Mao to dodge and counter relatively quickly.

"You're getting way too predictable Eren." He laughed.

Mao took a small and familiar vial out of his pocket. Eren wouldn't get surprised a second time with that. He grabbed his arms and bent it at a weird angle, forcing him to drop the vial of pepper or whatever it was.

Mao reacted by pushing Eren away, gaining some space so he can take a quick pause to consider his options.

Eren charged at Mao with a yell, ducking under a punch and moving around his body so he could grab him by the waist and Supplex him. Mao seemed to anticipate this and used his arms to brace the slam on the ground, reducing the effectiveness of the attack.

Eren tried to take the initiative and mount Mao, but Mao kicked Eren in the legs and used the force to push himself backwards and out of Eren's reach. Eren tried to press the attack, but Mao was able to stand up fast enough and delivered a powerful kick to Eren's shin.

Eren fell to the ground and was getting tired of this. He needed to end it fast before anyone got hurt.

Eren got up and sprinted to his gun on the floor, but Mao was able to react faster and kicked him in the side, causing Eren to fall over from the shock.

Mao started to beat Eren and kick him while he was down, right in front of his little audience. Mao would have preferred a group of hanging corpses for decoration, but this would be enough. Eren was angry enough at Ai being in danger, so it would do for now instead of a blood crazed and vengeful Eren.

Eren got to his knees through the onslaught and punched Mao right in the stomach, momentarily stopping the attack before following with an uppercut to the jaw. Mao stumbled back from the hit but quickly recovered.

Mao and Eren traded blows for the next few moments, blocking and dodging what they could as they started to bleed, and bruise form the repeated attacks. Eren was the stronger fighter, but Mao was more technically skilled, allowing him to hit Eren more times.

Eren threw a faint, causing Mao to overreach before Eren threw a different punch, hitting him square in the side of the head.

Mao fell to the ground, dazed, but struggling to get back up.

When he looked back at Eren, Eren had his pistol aimed right at him.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!

Four shots hit Mao right in the stomach. Without any armor, he was going to die from the wounds.

Mao fell to his knees, one of the bullets must have grazed his spine, making him begin to feel numb from the waist down. He wasn't going to be able to move after that.

"Got me pretty good." He chuckled. "Guess the old man is going to be happy about this. His plan is almost done."

"I don't give a damn about Yoshida." Eren said.

"Yoshida, is that who you think I'm talking about?" Mao chuckled. "Sure, Yoshida's plan is going off without a problem." Mao started to openly laugh.

"I don't give a damn about any of it." Eren said, loading a new clip into the gun.

"Whatever you say Yeager." Mao said. "I will admit, that was fun. You're one hell of a fighter. I'm glad I failed to kill you in that ambush. And the warehouse, you have my respect."

Eren walked up to Mao and placed the pistol right against his head, intending to simply end this war and protect Ai.

"And sorry I couldn't kill her before she learned the truth about yo-"

BANG!

Mao fell to the ground, dead.

Eren took a second to collect himself. His face was bloodied again from the fight and he felt bruises forming on his limbs where he blocked Mao's attacks. Regardless of how he felt, Ai was now safe, at least from Mao.

However-

"Get away!" Saitou screamed as he stood up and blocked Eren from Ai.

Eren turned to the group, Saitou was standing between him and the girls. Saitou had a chair that he picked up and held it in front of him like an improvised weapon. He knew it was pointless since Eren had a gun, but he had to do something.

Eren stood there, unsure of what to do. He wanted to assure them that he wasn't going to do anything, but the fear on every single one of their eyes told him that they didn't want him near them.

Aqua was the only one who had an understanding that Eren wasn't from this world, so to him, it made sense that Eren may have been forced into organized crime to survive. Especially since he didn't fully know the capabilities of people in another world, Eren could be and do anything. Who knows, maybe in his world magic existed. However, he couldn't tell anyone that.

All the girls from B-Komachi looked at him with fear, with the exception of Meimei, who had a defiant and angry look at him. She interpreted that Eren was using Ai to either get close to something or as a cover. There is no way a criminal like him could actually develop feelings for someone.

All the girls felt like that. They always had suspicions of Eren, but now this made sense. They mentally kicked themselves at not trying to keep Ai away from him, since apparently it was his fault that the Yakuza came after her.

Ruby didn't know what to think. Even as a twelve-year-old, she was too young to fully understand what was going on. She knew Eren was a good person with how he treated her, but he was also a criminal. All of which who were supposed to be bad people. She felt so confused.

Ai though-

"Stay away!" She yelled at Eren.

"But Ai-"

"You're a criminal!?" She questioned.

Eren had nothing he could say. The look she gave him... it was fear. The same fear he always imagined if she learned the truth about what he does. The same fear that he remembered from the people of Marley when he attacked Liberio. The fear of standing in front of a devil.

"The news reported that you kidnapped Kaguya!" She accused. "That the Akuma no Ko stole her and hurt her! So, what was that night we spent with her and her friends!? Was that you gloating!? Did you wear a mask when you took her!? Or did you threaten her not to say anything!?"

Ai began to cry as she yelled, the tears streaming down her face. The man she grew so close to, the man she felt herself falling for, was the worst criminal in recent Japanese history. The man who killed an entire warehouse of people on his own with military guns and explosives. The man who turned Tokyo into a warzone.

"I didn't-" Eren tried to walk towards her.

"Stay back!" Saitou yelled, not letting Eren past him and near Ai.

"I didn't mean for this to happen." Eren said.

"He said he tried to kill Ai because of you!" Meimei yelled. "Is that it!? She's a target and nearly died because you're a criminal!? Aqua nearly died on stage because of you!"

Eren couldn't deny that. Arguably, Ai would be much safer is he never showed up. She was in danger from anyone who wanted to get at him. Even with Mao gone, it was possible that other Nakano-Kai members will try to get her.

"Damn, you did some work." Sergei chuckled as he entered the dance studio. "Sorry, bad time?" He asked.

Eren was silent, unable to say anything to defend himself. To be honest, Eren didn't feel like he could. Sergei told him from the beginning not to be reckless, and he ignored him. It nearly cost Ai her life. All because he was reckless and got too deep.

If he did what Sergei said from the beginning, none of this would have happened. Eren chose his own standard of living over doing the right thing, and because of that, Ai hated him.

And why shouldn't she? Even in this world, Eren was still a devil. He extorted an innocent man out of his money because Yoshida ordered him to. He continued killing people even though he had no enemies in this world.

"I'm sorry Ai." Eren said as he looked down.

"We should go, the police are here, and my car is full of bullet holes." Sergei said.

Eren nodded and turned away, leaving Ai and the rest of B-Komachi alone to be discovered by the police.

After running out of the building and into a back alley, Eren and Sergei ran to a nearby safe house that was about ten blocks away. Once there, Eren stopped and stood still to try and compose himself.

Eren's life here was over. Not only was he alone again, but now the police would know who he is. He would be hunted down like a rat in the walls, and then he'd probably be executed. He wondered if Japan used hanging or some form of slow torture to execute prisoners.

Hanging was the most common form of execution in the walls, but some crimes got you a torturous execution, such as being burned alive or gibbetting. Eren wondered which ones they used here.

"Are you ok?" Sergei asked.

"No, no I am not." Eren said honestly, recognizing the pain he felt.

"Guess you lost the girl." Sergei said.

"No shit." Eren said, though he had no emotion to it.

Sergei was quiet, not sure what to say exactly. He understood Eren's situation and knew that his life here was basically over. The Akuma no Ko was one of the most wanted men in Japan, and since Japan was so close to western nations, Eren would be wanted globally in most first world nations.

Not to mention, he lost the woman that he clearly loved.

"What will you do now?" Sergei asked. "Mao is dead, and that basically means Yoshida won. So where do you go from here?"

"I'll continue working with Yoshida until the remnants of the Nakano-Kai are dealt with." Eren said.

"Really?" Sergei asked.

"Just in case anyone still has orders to kill Ai." Eren reasoned. "Once I'm sure they won't retaliate against her, I'm telling Yoshida that I'm leaving for good."

"You know he won't let you go." Sergei said.

"I don't give a damn anymore." Eren said. "Ai is gone to me, so she'll be useless to him now."

"Really? Because to Yoshida, it doesn't matter how Ai feels about you. Only how you feel about her." Sergei reasoned.

"If Yoshida tries anything against her, he's a dead man." Eren said. "I can't stay here any longer."

"What do you mean by here?" Sergei asked.

"After I make sure that Ai will be safe, I'm leaving Japan for good." Eren said.

"Where will you go?" Sergei asked.

"I don't know." Eren shrugged. "I guess wherever. Maybe I'll find a mountain to climb."

"Well, if you need to be smuggled out of the country, you just let me know." Sergei said. "I have a feeling that you're going to be the most wanted man in Japan after today."

"Yea, I guess I will be." Eren said sadly.

Eren felt paralyzed, unable to think or do anything right now. He felt disgusted at himself for letting it go this far.

"I'm sorry Sergei." Eren said.

"What?" Sergei asked.

"I should have listened to you from the beginning. About not getting too involved. But I didn't listen." Eren said. "Now, now Ai is lost to me. My one chance to do something more than killing in this world is gone."

"Well, there are a bunch of countries out there." Sergei said with a shrug. "You could always go to Ukraine, actually make that lie honest." He tried to joke, but Eren didn't laugh.

"I'll figure it out after I deal with the Nakano-Kai and talk with Yoshida. Until then, I'll just keep moving forward."

Sergei watched as Eren went to one of the rooms in the safe house to get some sleep. Clearly, he was really sad about what happened. His girlfriend may be safe, but Eren was clearly affected by the whole event.

Sergei wondered if maybe he should have a conversation with the young single mother, maybe to put things into perspective. Now, how to go about doing that?

Ai was outside the dance studio in a state of shock. Saitou was busy explaining everything that happened to the police.

The police asked most of the idol's questions about Eren Yeager, such as how they knew him and what their relationship to him was. Ai couldn't speak so the girls requested to speak on her behalf. It was quickly ruled that the girls didn't know Eren's identity and weren't collaborating with him as the Akuma no Ko.

Ai sat down in the back of the ambulance, holding Aqua and Ruby on her knees as she kept her cheek buried on the top of their heads. She was so confused on what happened today and so scared for the safety of her children.

There were two parts of her yelling at the other. One side refused to believe that Eren was a murdered and a criminal. She couldn't imagine the kind and gentle man who let Ruby style his hair as a criminal. It didn't make sense.

But another side said how it was obvious from when he killed Ryosuke. The signs were there, but Ai just ignored them. She let a confirmed murdered and Yakuza criminal near her children and was even falling in love with him.

But the thing was, she still had feelings for him. She almost felt like she would run away with him even if he was the most wanted man in Japan. How could she fall for a man like him?

She was just so confused and didn't know what to think. Since this morning, her career ended, she nearly died again, and the man she was falling for ended up being a member of organized crime.

"The police are saying they can't take you into protected custody right now due to the gang violence." Saitou said. "We need to get you and the kids somewhere safe."

"We should go see if Kaguya can help us." Ai said with little emotion.

"Kaguya?" Saitou asked.

That's right, she never told him that they met.

"Shinomiya Kaguya, she's a friend that I met from a few weeks ago." Ai said. "THE Shinomiya Kaguya. She can protect us."

"I won't even ask how you met her." Saitou said. "But it doesn't matter. If you can get to safety, do it." He said.

Ai had to balance Ruby in her lap as she reached for her phone to ask for Kaguya's help. She didn't want to intrude, but right now survival took precedence.

So, I'm very happy with how the reveal turned out, but not so thrilled on how I finished Mao lol. Honestly, I felt like I needed to add more stuff with him, but he was always seen as basically a mid-level boss for the story, so the actual climactic fight will be later. Plus, good learning experience lol.

Although there is the trope of the reveal happening and the couple splitting for a bit, it is necessary in this case because let's be real, Ai would react negatively to discovering that her boyfriend is a criminal. Especially a member of organized crime.

Now with her career ruined, her boyfriend gone, and isolated from the world again, she'll need to overcome this chapter in her life. We'll see if she can.

Hope you guys enjoy.