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Kuuga Doumyouji; second grandson of the current head of the Doumyouji Clan, 17 years old and a student of the prestigious Sacred Forest Academy. One would think someone who was an elite like that was untouchable but he was currently running for dear life as he was being chased by a girl in the crowded streets of the district.

"Get the hell back here Kuuga! I already told you that you'd regret it if you ever tried messing with him again!" Akabane Nanami, a girl who could easily be mistaken for a high schooler was chasing the elite young man after discovering that he was behind the incident that happened earlier that day.

Kuuga ran as fast as he could because not even his underlings could stop this girl. His connection to the incident two years ago was immediately suspected and eventually discovered by those who were familiar with the men that were seen in the video that was once released on the day of that incident. It was only because they didn't want the group and their affiliates to suffer the consequences that they kept the secret between themselves.

"Damnit!" He wasn't very athletic and his stamina was very limited because he had began to smoke cigarettes. Kuuga couldn't afford to stop or slow down because even though Nanami had quieted down for the past few years, she was far stronger than she was when she was rowdy. He knew this better than anyone else because he once tried to trick a group of delinquents to attack her only to end up being sent to the hospital almost crippled.

He made a quick turn and thought of a place that he hated but could very well protect him for the time being. Kuuga jumped towards the basement of a very obscure building and hoped that Nanami didn't see him going there.

*SLAM*

Kuuga entered the room and tried to recover but ended up seeing that accursed girl's younger brother. He didn't want him to contact her and spill his location so he approached him only to find that the cause of all his grief for the past few years sat quietly inside the establishment that was in their territory.

Nanami already discovered his identity as the one pulling the strings and from the way she made it sound, someone carried out his plans successfully. Seeing the target here like this just confirmed it.

"Looks like it wasn't a complete failure since someone was able to bring you here"

It was only a matter of time for this kid to know it was him who was plotting against him so he wasn't afraid of revealing himself. Kazuya was already within his grasp and even though he couldn't fulfill Ringo and Suzaku's request now, he thought of something that he could gain by having this kid in his custody.

"Since you're already here then there is no escape" he laughed and stared at the kid who gave him a complicated look. "Don't worry, as long as you call your pretty sister and ask her to come to my office alone, I'll let both of you go once the sun rises" he couldn't forget Mei who he saw with Kazuya and looked her up. He had been infatuated with her ever since.

"..." a heavy pressure immediately spread throughout the room and made all the people feel something heavy pressing down on them.

"Huh?" Kuuga who blinked once felt like he was hallucinating because the boy who was sitting in front of him already disappeared.

He turned towards Hachi who was looking up at the ceiling so he felt the urge to look. When he was about to follow and turn his head upwards, a strong force grabbed his head and pushed it down towards the table.

*BAM!* Kuuga's head slammed on the table. The force of it immediately broke it as several wood fragments flew all around.

"!!" Kuuga was dazed as his vision was both spinning and blurry. Kazuya had leapt into the air as soon as he heard the words that left Kuuga's mouth and attacked.

Though Kazuya felt hesitant about going against this person who he was once indebted to in his previous life, he immediately crossed a line that should not be crossed. No matter who he was or his relationship with Kazuya, vocally expressing his ill intentions towards the one of only two people that could make Kazuya burn the whole world for was the biggest mistake he could ever make.

"It's over.." although Hachi was shocked at what Kazuya had done, the Forbidden Apple had an absolute rule of no violence. Various staff members who were standing around in the room like guards immediately moved towards Kazuya who didn't even spare them a glance.

He pulled Kuuga who was covered with the wood fragments that once made up the table and raised his head by the hair. Kazuya made a fist and was about to hit Kuuga with it when a hand held onto his shoulder and pressed on it with force that a child wouldn't be able to bear.

"You may be a kid but you have violated one of the establishment's forbidden rules. This is also one of the young master of the Doumyouji group so I will have to take you to see them" he said in a threatening tone.

"Are you going to let me go or am I going to have to break your arm for you to piss off?" Kazuya slowly turned his head and looked at the man straight in the eye.

"I.." He trembled. The boy wasn't even fazed by the full strength of his grip. As a man who worked in this establishment, there were various things he was exposed to so he knew that the boy in front of him was not only serious, his demeanor made him understand that he was serious. He instinctively withdrew his hand and took a step back.

*cough cough* Kuuga started to recover his vision but the pain on his head was nothing like he had ever felt before. His ears were ringing as he found his current situation quite unbelievable.

He reached for his pocket and took out a butterfly knife. Without hesitation, he stabbed the knife towards Kazuya's abdomen.

*WHAM!* before the tip of the blade hit, a fist came flying towards his face which caused him to slam into the wall that was a few meters away.

*THUD* unfortunately for Kuuga, he still hadn't lost consciousness and his vision flashed between light and darkness.

Kazuya knew what Kuuga wanted to do which was why he lost control. Edea might sound like a wonderful place if one was told about it because of the rich lands and abundant mana but it was also a place with undeveloped laws. Like today's society, those with power ruled over the weak but it was even more so in that world where those who were in power could get away with whatever evil deeds they wanted because they couldn't be dealt with.

As a person who witnessed and forced to accept those type of things, how could Kazuya let someone thinking about doing that to people he cared about go? He may have been feeling guilty about the changes he made to history that led to a person he once respected go against him but unfortunately for Kuuga, he was the one that blew all of Kazuya's hesitation away.

"Should I teach you a lesson so that you'd learn not to think things that shouldn't be thought?" Kazuya picked up the knife on the floor. "What do you think nii-chan? Should this blade go through that rotten brain of yours or should it cut off your future descendants?" Kazuya played with the knife as he slowly approached Kuuga who started squirming after hearing what Kazuya said.

The people listening in couldn't help but gasp. The same thing was going through their minds; Who the hell was this kid? How can he just beat up one of the Domyouji Clan's young masters? How was he so strong and ruthless?

A few men stood and blocked Kazuya from going any further. These people were intimidated but they were originally employed by the Domyouji Clan. No matter the reason, they would be in trouble if the officials of the clan were to find out that they did nothing after Kuuga was attacked in the Forbidden Apple of all places.

*BAM!* The doors of the entrance slammed open once more as a girl barged in this time. Akabane Nanami entered the place and immediately found her target in a bloody state.

The three men were blocking her view so she couldn't see Kazuya but that didn't stop her from approaching her target. It was only when she reached the bloody Kuuga did Kazuya realize that it was Nanami who has chased Kuuga around and made him eventually seek shelter in this establishment.

"I'm taking this trash with me so you guys go back to your posts" she spoke towards the three men and started dragging Kuuga on the ground.

"Where are you taking him Akabane-sama?" one of the men reluctantly asked. These two were well known to be like oil and water after all. Their families may be allies but their children definitely were not.

"I know the rules so I'm dragging this fool outside and give him a good beating" the men that were employed by the Akabane Clan approached slowly and stood near Nanami's side. Like the three other men, they had their own responsibilities and since their little miss didn't plan on breaking the rules inside, they had no problems with her dragging her business outside.

"I appreciate the thought but this guy is my prey" a hand appeared from her side and grabbed her wrist. She trembled a little because this voice was the voice that she wouldn't mistake belonging to anyone else.

"K-kazuya-kun?!" the men from both sides were about to pounce on the kid that suddenly appeared but what surprised them more was the reaction from this fierce girl. She was, for the first time in front of them, reacting like a shy girl. "W-what are you doing here?!"

"I should be the one to ask that question. What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" from the way these men reacted, this girl didn't seem like she had a normal background. "Did you chase this guy around after finding out he was the one responsible for the attack earlier?"

"W-well.." Nanami hesitated. She didn't want him to think that she was a violent girl like the others because from the first time they met, Kazuya never thought of her like the others did and she didn't want to change that.

"Thank you" Kazuya's anger receded as the oppressive pressure in the area lightened up. "But you didn't have to put yourself in danger because of me. I would feel bad if something happened to you in the process" he was truly amazed that this girl he hardly knew went to the trouble of finding out what Kuuga did and even chasing him right into his clutches.

It was the first time that someone he didn't know from his previous life actually did something good for him so the feeling of losing a friend that he once had been replaced with making a new one. Unlike the previous relationship he had with Kuuga, this one was not started by a gratitude he had done. It was because of the concern and responsibility he thought Nanami had that he was both impressed and once again reminded that she was very similar to the race he had the most affinity with in Edea.

"I see you two are already hitting it off. Good! Good!" a group of aged gentlemen approached followed by subordinates who gave off a dangerous atmosphere. Jirou stood along the two men and wore a frown very much like the other one whose eyes were on the bloody person on the ground.

"Are those words double edged old friend? I can see one of my grandsons had gotten hit on as well" the group of men quickly stepped aside and made way for the three men.

"You've got a lot of guts getting into a fight here kid. Not only that, you even dare hold hands with a girl in the process?" Jirou's frown got deeper as he stared at Kazuya's hand that was still holding onto Nanami's wrist.

"G-grandpa? You were here with Grandpa Jirou and Grandpa Gakuto?" Nanami shyly rubbed her wrist after Kazuya let it go. This reaction shocked the three men and the subordinates behind them as well.

"That's not important right now" Akabane Isshin, Nanami's grandfather said. "What bothers me is that you've already met old Kou's grandson and didn't bother to tell me about it! You even look like you get along really well!" he couldn't stop grinning as he turned towards Jirou who didn't have anything to say at the moment. No matter what he said, it wouldn't matter to this man at this point.

"I-I didn't know about it" Nanami shook her head. "All I know is that I met Kazuya-kun at the tournament and lost a few years ago" she confessed. She didn't want Kazuya to think that she was getting close to him because of his grandfather. She might have been distracted every time she thought about Kazuya so she didn't even wonder about his lineage.

"Can you let this stupid grandson of mine go now?" seeing that the situation had changed, Gakuto stepped forward and pointed at his grandson who couldn't even look him in the eye. "We already heard what happened. I promise you that I will let this kid learn what his mistakes are through his body" he was really disappointed in Kuuga but he was still family so he couldn't leave his punishment to someone else especially after catching a glimpse of what Kazuya could do.

"Who are these people grandpa Jirou" Kazuya of course didn't trust this man. Aside from Isshin who Nanami identified as her grandfather, this other gentleman hasn't introduced himself yet so he couldn't be sure even though he stood alongside the others.

"This is Akabane Isshin and Doumyouji Gakuto. They are the ones I'm talking to you about and will be the ones helping us with tonight's operation. The people behind us are their best and will be coming along with their men that will be meeting us on the way"

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