An inevitable war
Perhaps they were a little shy after the loud confession. After all, the stage was quite loud, and they spoke without thinking because they were in a hurry. According to Emma's account, when the stage was questioning Nono with the ema (votive plaque), it didn't look like a confession at all; Emma almost thought it was revenge.
The crowd roared, "Who told you to run away before you could even explain yourself?"
Ye Ye, feeling guilty, cried out, "Who, who's trying to escape? I'm making a strategic retreat!"
Although both of them spoke stiffly, seeing their hands clasped together made everyone feel like they'd been fed a huge bowl of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).
"Forget it, let's ignore this stupid couple," Emma said with a smile, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes as she glanced at Draken.
Yuko stood beside Emma, not missing her expression. She couldn't help but sigh; her friends were all cowards. Helping one was helping, helping two was helping too. Yuko didn't find it troublesome at all. She held Emma's hand: "Emma will be happy too."
"Hmm?" Emma didn't understand, but she felt that Yuko was a little strange. Although she also wanted to ask Yuko how she found out that Nono liked the venue, it didn't matter, as long as everyone was doing well.
After returning home, Yuko arranged for a lawyer for Nono to ensure his safety until he came of age. Furthermore, she used her allowance to buy Nono a student insurance policy, which would at least allow him to complete university without financial worries.
When Nono found out, she sternly refused, but Yuko countered with: "This is just an investment, not free. After you graduate from university, you'll have to work for me to pay it back."
"So I'm not selling myself to you?" Ye Ye blinked.
Yuko nodded: "Yes, so will you sell it to me or not? I guarantee you'll get more than the market price."
"Wow! Those damn rich people!" With Ye Ye's angry shout of resentment towards the rich, the two started making a scene.
After returning home, Yuko received a call from Hanagaki Martial Arts.
His voice was urgent; as soon as the call connected, he asked if she was alright.
Yuko stood by the window, gazing at the moon in the night sky. Wudao's question gave her a feeling of being in another world. To those unaware, she appeared no different from usual, but only Yuko knew that she, wounded by fragments of the future, could no longer be the same as before. It was as if, while she foresaw certain things, something had also been taken from her. At least until she corrected the future, she couldn't relax, and the same was true for Wudao. It was precisely because of their mutual existence that the two teenagers, only fourteen or fifteen years old, could have a moment to breathe.
"Wu Dao, you'll see this in the future, right? I'm gone." Yuko knew about her impending death even before he did.
“Yuko-kun… It’s not just you. In the future I went to, Draken died. Meteor will be replaced by Dongwan, and Mikey will be the leader. But I don’t believe Mikey would do such a thing. He clearly…” Even though he experienced it firsthand, he still couldn’t believe it.
Yuko paused for a moment, for some reason she could understand this future: "Budo-kun, my best friend Sano Emma is Mikey's younger sister, and in my dream she also passed away very early. Manjiro's best friend Draken and his only sister Emma have both left him. If you were in his shoes, could you remain unchanged?" Yuko concealed the fact that perhaps she herself was also involved in this.
Sano Manjiro was constantly losing loved ones while also being stripped of her humanity. How cruel, how tragic. But there was no time for her to grieve, or even to encourage Takedo: "Fortunately, we knew all this in advance, so we can still change things. Have you found out why Draken died?"
Wu Dao recalled, "It seemed to be a brawl between biker gangs."
"It seems?" Yuko was displeased with his vague wording. She said to Takedo very seriously, "You need to know that what we lack most right now is intelligence. No matter how small the information is, it is very important."
"I'm sorry..." Wu Dao apologized frankly, "I'll remember this next time."
“I accept your apology, but please contact me before you go to the future next time, even just by sending a text message,” Yuko instructed.
"I understand. So what should we do now?"
"Since Draken's problem stems from infighting among biker gangs, let's prevent such things from happening in the first place. In the meantime, find out in Dongwan which organizations are at odds with them, and I'll have someone help with the investigation."
"Please, Yuko-san."
"Um."
The two ended the call.
After hanging up the phone, Hanagaki Takedo stared at his phone. He felt like he had forgotten something very important. Then he suddenly remembered that he hadn't told Yuko the cause of her death. But then he thought again, Yuko clearly remembered asking Draken, so why did she forget to ask about the cause of her death?
Yuko's phone rang again. She answered, "Is there anything else?"
"Yuko, why don't you ask about the cause of your death?"
This question caught Yuko off guard; she hadn't expected the seemingly oblivious Takedo to notice this. Yuko pursed her lips, hesitant, but still honestly told Takedo, "I've never dreamed about my future. Do you know what that means? I guess it's God telling me that everyone else's fate can be changed, so He gave them the chance to change it, but I don't."
"How could you think like that!" Takeshi was furious at her pessimism. "Yuko, although you didn't dream about your future, your future has indeed changed. You were supposed to die at the age of 26, but this time you died at the age of 15."
...Was this meant as consolation? Yuko was uncharacteristically speechless. But she had to admit that the words about martial arts had indeed moved her, though she still dared not hold onto hope. She murmured, "Can I really do it?"
"Yes! You can do it!"
Upon hearing the words of encouragement from the martial arts school, Yuko gripped her phone tightly: "Then let's give it a try and defy my fate."
Takeshi told Yuko the cause of her death over the phone.
After the two ended their call, Yuko hung up again. As she sorted out her thoughts, Takeshi said that she had committed suicide because of depression.
The thing that can break her is also the thing she fears most.
What is she most afraid of?
Yuko suddenly realized.
That is, she failed to protect Emma and Ye Ye, and failed to protect the people around her.
If the events in her dream were to happen before her eyes in reality, even someone who had experienced them before would find it unacceptable.
After Yuko understood, she also figured out the key point.
As long as Emma and Ye Ye are alive, I will not be sad or desperate, many things will not happen again, and the future will definitely be changed!
Having firmly believed this, Yuko immediately turned and left the room.
Seeing her hurried manner, the servants asked her what she needed.
"Is Dad home?" Yuko asked.
"The master and the other leaders are in the conference room..."
"Understood." Yuko waved her hand to indicate that she didn't need anyone to follow her. She arrived at the conference room door just as it opened, and Takiya Hideo and Sugawara, who were leading the group, came out.
"Yuko?" Takiya Hideo looked at her with a strange expression.
“Dad, Uncle Sugawara.” Yuko greeted him, then made a request to her father, “I need someone to monitor the three people 24 hours a day.”
Takiya Hideo and Sugawara exchanged glances, seemingly puzzled as to why Yuko would do such a thing. But Takiya Hideo, true to his doting fatherly nature, didn't ask why and readily agreed. He immediately instructed them to make the arrangements and even gave her a number—the same number from the checkpoint where he had taken her to the airport that day.
"If you need anything in the future, just ask him. He'll be happy to help you. But don't go overboard, okay?"
Yuko nodded: "Yes."
Knowing her father had other matters to attend to, Yuko didn't disturb him further. Watching his daughter's departing figure, Takiya Hideo felt a pang of melancholy, like a fledgling bird leaving its nest.
Sugawara asked, "I heard that Yuko has been getting close to a group of biker gangs lately. Is that alright?"
Takiya Hideo dismissed the question, saying, "What problem could there be?"
“Young people these days are nothing like we used to be. They’re so daring, the juvenile detention centers are overflowing,” Sugawara sighed, then asked, “Does Genji still not come home much? It seems he really doesn’t want to inherit the Meteor Society.”
Takiya Hideo turned and walked away, saying, "This good-for-nothing kid had some ambition back in high school, but after that incident, he never wanted to go down this path again. He's not willing to inherit the family business, but there are plenty of people who want to be the successor. Let's pick a few from the younger generation and train them first."
"I'll keep an eye on it."
Meanwhile, Yuko kept track of Nono's legal progress. The initial trial ruled that Nono would live with her biological father, and her mother would pay child support. Although the court ruled this way, Nono didn't necessarily have to move into her biological father's house, and the police wouldn't enforce it. She stayed at her original residence, saying she could take care of herself, and she would go to her father's house for a meal once a week. This was better for everyone.
The matter is now considered closed.
During this time, Yuko also frequently visited Nono's house, and thus became acquainted with the matriarch.
The hostess was young, but as a single mother with limited education, she worked several jobs a day to support her family. She wasn't particularly strong-willed; gentle yet somewhat talkative, and with a son involved in a biker gang, a hint of worry always lingered on her face. She occasionally showed a touch of timidity when facing Yuko, who seemed to come from a wealthy family. However, after getting to know Yuko better, she discovered that Yuko wasn't an arrogant rich girl and gradually opened up. She even kindly taught Yuko when she discovered Yuko knew nothing about cooking.
Fortunately, Nono stopped her. She said to the kitchen mother with a serious expression, "Yuko will blow up your kitchen. For our safety, let's not let her continue to be a cooking idiot."
This isn't an exaggeration. Last time, when Yuko was at her house, she had to leave for a while and asked Yuko to watch the fire. As a result, the kitchen caught fire. Luckily, Yuko had studied fire safety and had a fire extinguisher at home, so it almost caused a major fire.
If it weren't for this, they wouldn't need to eat at the venue.
"Mom, don't worry about it. The young lady doesn't need to cook for herself," Changdi advised his mother. Just then, the phone in Changdi's pocket rang. He took out his phone, and Ye Ye asked who was calling.
"It's Draken," the venue replied before answering the phone.
"What?!"
"I'll be right there."
With just two sentences, Yuko and Nono knew the seriousness of the matter.
"What happened?" Yuko asked him.
He stood up and hurriedly walked out: "Apa's friend was beaten up by that guy who loves beauty and God and ended up in the hospital. I have to go there. You don't need to go, we'll handle it."
Yuko stopped Nono, who was about to say something, and nodded: "Go ahead, just don't be impulsive."
He turned his back and waved his hand to indicate that he knew.
After leaving the venue, Nono asked Yuko why she had stopped her.
“What’s the point of going back to the past?” Yuko asked her.
"But they're very likely to fight again," Nono said worriedly.
“So what? They’re biker gangs.” Yuko’s demeanor was completely different from her usual gentle self. Compared to the so-called wars between biker gangs, Yuko had experienced the gang warfare of the adult world. Although she appeared to be a well-behaved girl, the blood of a rabid woman flowed in her veins, and she had grown up hearing gunshots. Before the situation became clear, Yuko would not allow Nono to get involved in the violent conflict between men. She comforted Nono, “He doesn’t want you to go because he’s worried about you getting caught in the crossfire. If you insist on going, then I’ll go with you.”
Nono glanced at Yuko. Although Yuko didn't care about her, she wouldn't forgive herself if Yuko went along and got frightened or hurt. After weighing the options, she could only listen to Yuko.
Yuko waited at Nono's house until nine o'clock, but it was too late to wait any longer. After returning home, she received her daily report from the monitor.
"Emma Sano and Ryuguji participated in the Toman gathering."
Based on what happened during the day, Yuko roughly guessed why they were gathering. But the fact that everyone was able to come together meant that Apa's friend hadn't just been beaten up. The person who beat him up was also a biker gang member, otherwise they would have already taken revenge in private.
Yuko had a bad feeling.
The next day, her premonition came true.
Yuko, who was practicing at the dojo, received her first phone call of the week from Hanagaki Takedo. During the call, Hanagaki Takedo explained that he had accidentally shaken hands with Tachibana Naoto, which led him back to the future. He learned that Draken would die on August 3rd, and that last night, Higashiman unilaterally declared war on Aimi Ainori, with the final battle scheduled for August 3rd. Furthermore, Hanagaki Takedo had just discovered that Draken and Mikey had visited a wounded person in the hospital while following them. The girl in the ICU was Apa's friend's girlfriend, and she had suffered very serious injuries. The person who attacked them was none other than Aimi Ainori's Chief, Nagai. Mikey and the others were furious about this, making a battle inevitable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
