Side World: The Eternal Night Without Dawn
Martial arts have returned to the future.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw two rows of his underlings bowing to him and shouting, "Thank you for your hard work!"
He was accompanied by his trusted confidants, his friends from high school. Everyone looked at him with respect, and Wu Dao couldn't help but feel a surge of pride: Could it be... I've finally made it big!
Filled with excitement and curiosity, Wu Dao was led into the hotel's VIP room. He didn't recognize almost anyone sitting around the round table, except for one person he could immediately identify: Smile, the squad leader of Dongwan. Wu Dao scanned the room again and noticed that the person standing behind the white-haired, dark-skinned man sitting to his left looked very familiar.
'Is that Xiaohe?' He dared not speak rashly and could only guess in his heart whether the man with the long scar on his face was his childhood friend.
"Oh dear, are we the last ones?" Three people entered one after another from the door. The man in the lead had his hair parted in a 3/7 style, followed by a woman with jellyfish-shaped hair and a woman with pink wolf-tail hair in the same color scheme.
"It's all that bastard Santu's fault for crashing our car!" Jellyfish Head said with a displeased expression.
"This is what happens to those who block your way." The pink wolf-tailed hair was cold, and the diamond-shaped scar at the corner of his mouth was very eye-catching.
The three of them chatted and made a ruckus as they took their seats, finally filling the empty chairs.
Once everyone had arrived, the white-haired, dark-skinned man tapped the table with his index finger, drawing everyone's attention to him.
"It's rare for a cadre gathering to be so full of people. Tell me about it: Dongwan's recent tax payments have decreased significantly."
Kujii, as Dongwan's 'accountant,' spoke first: "The Meteor Society colludes with the embassies of those African countries. Rich people prefer to go there, saying it's secluded and safe. In addition, the Meteor Society has completely controlled the sex industry in Shinjuku. They bribed the local police station, and instead, our people who went to collect protection money were arrested one after another."
"Coco, you're only talking about mistakes made in other people's jurisdictions. Didn't the police shut down your two money laundering companies?"
"It's just a shell company, and the arrested employees aren't affiliated with Dongwan. It's better than some people who lost more than a dozen people to the Meteor Society."
"What did you say?!"
"Don't you understand Japanese?"
Wu Dao listened to the commotion, but since he didn't recognize most of them, he felt uninvolved. Instead, he noticed something else: Why wasn't Mikey, their leader, present at this event?
While he was lost in thought, the noise at the dinner table was stopped, and the meeting continued, but Wudao was not paying attention. He was in a state of confusion and only wanted to find out about the current situation from Hyuga or Naoto later.
The dinner party finally ended.
As he was leaving, someone called him back.
It was that white-haired, dark-skinned man named Isana.
The two stood very close, the social distance making Wu Dao feel uncomfortable, as if his territory had been invaded. Iza's naturally smiling lips seemed to carry a smile whenever she spoke: "I have a special mission for you. The three Shiba siblings have surrendered to the Meteor Society, and those traitors will be gathering at Shiba Dashou's shop. I have reliable information that the leader of the Meteor Society will also be there. This is an excellent opportunity to remove obstacles for Dongwan. You can do it, right, Wu Xiaodao?" Iza placed a hand on his shoulder, continuing in a seductive tone, "Mikey needs your help. Use your power to crown him."
Even after getting back into the car, Wu Dao's mind was still a mess and he hadn't quite come to his senses.
The leader of the Meteor Society isn't Yuko's father? Does he mean he wants me to help him kill someone? Or kill Yuko's father?! Martial Arts found it absurd and didn't take this ridiculous mission seriously.
The most urgent task should be to get in touch with Hinata.
After dialing the number and waiting for a few rings...
"Hanagaki-san?" Hinata asked, as if to confirm, "Is it the Hanagaki-san from before?" This was because Takedo had never contacted her before in all these years.
Upon hearing her voice, Wu Dao breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "It's me."
Hinata seemed to have a lot to say, but it wasn't clear enough over the phone, so the two agreed to meet in person to talk.
When Budo arrived at the cafe, he saw Hinata sitting in a seat. Overjoyed, he burst into tears. "Thank goodness, Hinata is alive."
“Sister, you’re right, it really is the old Huayuan.” Naoto, sitting to the side, believed his sister’s words. After all, he couldn’t imagine that this tearful man would be a cadre of Dongwan. On the contrary, his sister’s explanation of time travel seemed more reliable.
The three of them reconciled their current situations. Asanuma Nono became a nurse, and Techi became a physical education teacher at a middle school. Kazutora and Chifuyu opened a pet shop together, and Apa opened a construction company, which he worked on with Apei.
"What about Mikey and Draken? And Yuko-san..." Takedo couldn't help but ask about the people they hadn't mentioned.
Hinata looked sad: "Right now, the two largest forces in Tokyo are the Tokyo Manjikai, led by Sano Manjiro, and the Ryuseikakai, led by Yuko."
Hinata still remembers the changes that happened in her second year of junior high school. First, Yuko and Mikey broke up, and Yuko never came to school again. They lost contact with Yuko, but Nono came to their door and learned some of the news.
Yuko's father passed away, and her brother Genji was arrested by the police and fled overseas. Yuko took over the family business and became the new head of the Meteor Society.
[Don't go looking for Yuko anymore, she's not the person we know anymore.] Nono told everyone this news in a daze after visiting Yuko once.
At the same time, Mikey seemed like a completely different person.
"Even so, Draken and his gang were still willing to follow Mikey. They conquered all the biker gangs in Tokyo, constantly clashing with the Meteor Society, and even the news reported casualties. Three years ago, after Draken and Mitani passed away one after another, they withdrew from Toman. Kazutaka said that as long as the Meteor Society and Toman continue to fight, one of them will definitely be destroyed."
The conflict between the two sides, according to rumors, stems from a traitor within the Meteorite Organization who, fearing punishment for illegally selling illicit drugs, poisoned the leader. Furthermore, Yuko Takiya's brother was imprisoned shortly afterward for murder, but was abducted during transport and his whereabouts remain unknown. This raises suspicions that this too was the work of a traitor, and the true culprit, under the protection of Touman, is still alive.
Naoto handed a tissue to his crying sister, then took two photos out of his pocket, placed them on the table, and pushed them toward Budo: "These are the last photos I got of Sano Manjiro and Takiya Yuko."
Wu Dao looked at the two photos.
The girl, dressed in black mourning clothes, was surrounded by a crowd, and only her side profile was captured in the photos. She had cut her long hair, and the half of her face that was exposed showed a gruesome and striking scar running from the corner of her eye to the corner of her mouth.
The young man had white hair and a floral tattoo on the back of his neck. He looked back indifferently, his face tired and gloomy.
None of them are the people one would expect from a martial arts perspective. Even though it's a future where Hyuga is alive, he should be happy, so why can't he stop feeling sad?
Something had to be done. Wu Dao wiped away his tears. "I didn't see Mikey, but maybe I'll have a chance to meet Yuko. At least I need to find out what happened." So he told her everything he had heard at the executive meeting.
Wu Dao believed that once he saw Yuko, he could definitely do something. Naoto, however, wasn't so optimistic. He suggested that Wu Dao contact Shiba Taishou beforehand; if he went rashly, given Wu Dao's current status, he might be kicked out on the spot. Even if he contacted him in advance, the other party might not be willing to see him.
Wu Dao took his advice, and surprisingly, the communication with Chai Dashou went very smoothly, and the two parties agreed on a time.
The next day, Wudao, accompanied by Naoto, went to Shiba Taiju's shop.
Upon meeting them, Chai Dashou, who owned a high-end restaurant, immediately made sarcastic remarks: "The police are actually colluding with corrupt officials. Our country is truly doomed."
Neither Takedo nor Naoto was in the mood for banter with Shiba Taiju. Ignoring his provocative words, Takedo went straight to the point: "I want to see Yuko alone."
Chai Dashou, sitting casually on the leather sofa, raised an eyebrow and smiled mockingly, "You want to see our Queen Bee?"
"What queen bee?" Wu Dao asked, puzzled.
Naoto explained for him: "A queen who hides deep within her nest and never shows herself. That's how the outside world describes her. She rarely appears, and even the Metropolitan Police Department doesn't have a single photo of her as an adult."
At this moment, Chai Dashou's phone rang. He glanced at the lit screen, and the message on it made him laugh out loud. Then he looked up at the two martial artists, his eyes sharp: "You really did bring people with you."
"What?" Wu Dao asked, puzzled.
Chai Dashou didn't give Wu Dao time to react. He stood up, grabbed Wu Dao, and left. Wu Dao was completely bewildered until Chai Dashou pulled him to a small door and whispered in his ear, "The person you want to see is outside." Then the two of them were pushed out.
Wudao and Naoto stared at the closed door, exchanged a glance, and saw confusion in each other's eyes.
“Although I don’t know what happened, judging from his appearance, our meeting must have been discovered. It would be better to leave now,” Naoto’s intuition as a police officer led him to suggest.
Wu Dao was still pondering what Chai Da Shou had said, the person he wanted to see… but Yuko wasn’t here. The alley was empty. He agreed with Naoto and left first, “This is the only way.”
As the two reached the corner, "Naoto..."
A gunshot rang out simultaneously with Naoto's cry of "What?" Naoto, shifting his position as he turned, was struck by a bullet that grazed his ear. Before they could react, another shot rang out, and Naoto was hit in the shoulder. Takedo, startled by the sudden turn of events, looked around for the source of the danger while checking on Naoto's injury. Naoto clutched his shoulder, blood seeping from between his fingers.
"You're very lucky, officer." The person who emerged from the darkness was Izana and Tsurucho, both holding guns.
"You've really disappointed me by teaming up with the police." This sentence was clearly directed at Wudao. Izana continued, "The lessons learned from Draken and Mitani haven't taught you anything, and you've become a traitor yourself." He approached step by step.
Wudao, supporting Naoto, retreated step by step.
Naoto was more perceptive than Takedo. He immediately realized that Takedo's movements were being monitored. Isana probably had already suspected Takedo on the day of the executive meeting; after all, his changes were too drastic, and he didn't know how to hide his true intentions, making him easy to spot. They had been careless, but it didn't matter; their situation wasn't the worst yet. As long as they shook hands with Takedo… Naoto mentally prepared for the worst.
With no way to retreat, and not being a fool, he gleaned a crucial message from Isana's words: "You killed Draken and Mitani?!"
Izana was clearly in a good mood at the moment, and answered his question with a smile: "It's all their fault for wanting Mikey and Meteor to meet. Mikey belongs to me, and only I can control him. Everyone who covets him deserves to die." His expression was slightly deranged, with a cruel smile on his face, and he raised his gun.
Naoto immediately grasped Takedo's hand.
Suddenly, a strange thing happened. A red dot appeared abruptly on the back of Izana's gun-wielding hand, then moved to his temple. Crane immediately stood in front of him to protect him.
"You've been too careless, Isana." A man's voice came from behind. He was wearing a dark suit and had the characters for sin and punishment tattooed on the back of his hands.
“Half a room…” Izana called out the name with a deep gaze.
"Oh dear, it's an honor that Dongwan's second-in-command actually remembers my name." Banjian laughed nonchalantly, then gave a perfunctory salute, circling his gun in the air before placing it on his chest. He looked up and said with a smile, "Well then, farewell."
Alarm bells rang in their minds, and Tsurucho and Isana simultaneously raised their guns, aiming at Hanma. Before they could fire, a bullet pierced Tsurucho's face and Isana's skull, and both fell to the ground.
This scenario of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, unfolded too quickly and abruptly, like a guillotine falling cleanly and decisively, instantly freezing the atmosphere on the scene.
Half a room ruined the atmosphere. He stepped forward to examine the corpse, then raised his hand and waved, "That's a wrap, Riko~"
A figure was seen scaling the rooftop and climbing down, a sight that sent chills down one's spine, yet she landed safely and nimbly. Riko walked to Hanja's side, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and then looked at the two martial artists.
She turned around and asked loudly, "Miss, should we deal with these two little mice?"
A person had appeared at the once deserted alleyway entrance. Walking towards them with their back to the light, the sound of their heels striking the ground like drumbeats, each one seemingly designed to shatter a heart.
Wu Dao stared directly at the person approaching him, his heart pounding.
As she approached, her features became clearer. She wore a white shirt and a black trench coat, her black hair was styled in a princess cut, and the scar on her left cheek, running from under her eye to the corner of her mouth, was striking.
26-year-old Yuko Takiya has been in charge of the Meteor Society for many years. Her overwhelming hatred for her father's revenge and her ambition nurtured by power have sculpted her into who she is today. Like a fully bloomed flower of evil, bright and sharp, yet her expression is silent and serene like an ancient well: "Long time no see, Budo-kun."
Still reeling from the shock, Wu Dao instinctively called out her name, "Yuko-san..."
Yuko only realized it was him from the past when she heard this address, but this unexpected turn of events didn't stir any emotion within her. Yuko walked to Isana's body, looking at the man who had caused her so much trouble, his eyes wide open, his death unresolved. She knelt down and closed his eyes, but that was all. Yuko then instructed Hanma behind her, "Prepare his head properly." She wanted to take the head to Draken and Mitani's graves to comfort their spirits in heaven.
"Let's leave here first." Yuko stood up and gestured for Takedo and Naoto to follow.
*
The Takiya family's former residence has been moved from the port area to a mountainside estate in the suburbs. Entering through the iron gate at the foot of the mountain is like breaking into a den of iniquity, with layers of guards winding up the mountain. Over the years, Yuko Takiya has been like a queen entrenched in her den of iniquity, holding the lifeline of the Kanto underworld in her hands.
Naoto's injuries were treated briefly on the way, and the bleeding was stopped, but the bullet still needed to be removed from the wound as soon as possible. The home medical staff took Naoto away, while Hanma and Riko stood outside the door at Yuko's command.
Only Wudao and Yuko remained in the room.
"Thank you so much." Yuko poured him a cup of tea. "I thought that having Chai Dashou spread the news would only attract small fry, but your appearance allowed me to catch a big fish."
"Did Yuko come specifically to save me?" Wu Dao thought of Chai Dashou's words; he had indeed met Yuko as he wished. Did Yuko already know it was him?
Yuko looked at him, silent for a moment. The truth was quite the opposite. For years, she had had people monitoring him, watching him risk his life for Touman, watching him participate in the sale of illegal drugs. If it weren't for his words, "Yuko-kun," which confirmed her identity, he would already be drowning in Tokyo Bay. In other words, she originally intended to kill whoever he was… Thinking of this, Yuko changed the subject, "Naoto is with you; you should have already seen Hinata. Why didn't you stay by her side when you were risking your life to save her?"
"Hyuga is important, but you are important too." Buduo's words were utterly sincere. To him, they were all fine just yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, everything had changed drastically. How could he accept this? He asked urgently, "What happened? Why did the future turn out like this?"
Faced with his anxiety and confusion, Yuko remained calm and her expression did not change in the slightest. She took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and looked at him with her inorganic black eyes. "What can you change even if you know? Your ability to travel through time was to save Hinata. Now that your goal has been achieved, you can no longer travel back to the past."
Wu Dao suddenly remembered that Naoto had held his hand during the chaos in the alley. But just as Yuko had said, he had lost his abilities.
Seeing his bewildered look, Yuko sighed inwardly and said, "Don't overthink it. You've already done your best." She placed her hand on the back of his hand. "Wudao-kun, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
Takedo was jolted back to his senses by Yuko's cold hand and looked up at her.
Yuko looked at him and said, "Protect them for me."
The "they" he was referring to were Asanuma and the others. In that instant, it was as if Wudao saw Yuko from the past.
*
Hanjian, who was guarding outside the door, received a call from Yamashita. After finishing the call, Hanjian knocked on the door and called out "Miss," then opened the door and came in. He bent down and whispered something in Yuko's ear. Yuko's eyes sharpened, and she got up and called Riko over.
"Send them away."
Without saying a word, Riko forcibly took Wudao away like a chicken, and even knocked him unconscious with a single chop while he struggled.
Yuko and Hanma went up to the terrace and looked down. The once dark mountain road was now a blur of lights from the convoy and the red flashes of gun barrels. In the distance, two helicopters were flying towards the mountaintop.
"Miss, what should we do? Should we run away?" Hanjang looked at Yuko's retreating figure, his tone laced with barely concealed excitement.
Yuko didn't turn around, but asked instead, "Would you be willing to die for me, Shuji?"
Ban Jian chuckled foolishly. The young lady's ruthlessness and her attitude of treating him like a pawn, this feeling of being completely controlled, did not disgust him at all; on the contrary, it aroused him. He stepped forward and kissed the back of her hand. "It would be my pleasure."
Yuko gazed at his kiss on the hand, her dark eyes, like the restless night, swirling with madness.
She had waited far too long for this ultimate battle.
This operation was specifically aimed at eliminating Touman. Besides Shiba Taishou's group, other forces were also tasked with assassinating Touman's executives. According to intelligence from Kuroki and Sekiguchi, aside from two or three who escaped, the rest had been successfully captured. Only Sanzu and the Haidani brothers remained of Touman's executives; having suffered such heavy losses, they were bound to retaliate. Although Isana and Tsurucho were dead, Yuko deliberately let their men go, hoping some daring individuals would follow and bring back their findings. And as she predicted, the Touman lunatics indeed attacked.
At first, she only wanted to avenge her father and take one person's life. But as time went by, old grudges were not resolved and new hatreds arose. Along the way, she clearly remembered every companion who died on the road.
Even if Dongwan were to hand over her father's killer, it would not quell her rage. She would destroy it, crush it in her palm.
*
Riko escorted Takedo and Naoto away by car via a side road.
Halfway through the drive, Takedo slowly woke up, and Naoto, who had been watching over him, breathed a sigh of relief. Before he could even ask Takedo how he was feeling, Takedo, noticing he was in the back seat, sat up and lunged forward, shouting, "Let's go back!"
"Sit back down, you idiot!" Riko was already angry because she had been ordered to escort the young lady and couldn't be by her side, so she couldn't help but swear. Fortunately, the young lady wasn't there, so it didn't matter.
"Listen to me! Yuko is in danger!" Takedo recalled Yuko's words of advice, which sounded almost like her last words. Although he didn't know what Yuko was planning to do, he had to stop her.
Riko rolled her eyes: "You call yourself a cadre of Dongwan, and you've never seen anything like this before. It's just a bunch of rabble; I'll take care of them in no time. Stop worrying unnecessarily; it's disrespectful to me!" Riko grew angrier as she spoke, stopping the car and pressing a gun against Wudao's forehead. "If you really don't care about your life, I can send you to your grave right now!"
When Yuko faced criticism about how women could be leaders, she didn't hesitate to cut off her long hair and slash her face. Yuko's sacrifice and greatness were Riko's unwavering belief; she would never allow anyone to look down on her.
The usually timid martial artist was now fearless, his spirit no less than Riko's, shouting, "Even if you kill me, I will still go back!"
“Even Yuko is just a human being; she bleeds, gets hurt, and dies! She has always been protecting everyone; shouldn’t it be our turn to protect her now?”
"Don't act like you understand her so well! Where were you, her so-called friends, when she was in trouble?" Riko had always hated the flies buzzing around Yuko, but during Yuko's most difficult time, Riko had also hoped that anyone could bring back the happy smile she used to have. But what happened?
But Budo's words weren't entirely ineffective. Riko suddenly realized that no one could be relied upon; the only one who could help Yuko was herself. What did Budo and Naoto's lives matter? She shouldn't let Yuko fight alone for the sake of these two insignificant people.
So she put away her gun, turned the car around, and slammed on the gas pedal, speeding away. On the way back, they encountered the wreckage of a crashed helicopter, as well as wounded and dead soldiers from both sides.
By the time they arrived, the mansion was already engulfed in flames. Riko took weapons and equipment from the trunk and, thinking she had done more than enough, gave each of them a weapon. Inside the hall, half-dead lay on the floor, and not far away, the Ashiya brothers were covered in blood and unable to get up.
"Useless thing." Riko stepped forward and slapped Banjian several times. She had wanted to do this for a long time.
Half-closed, he weakly opened his eyes.
"Tell me quickly, where is the young lady!" Riko shook half of the room, as if doing so would make him reveal the information.
Hanjang, whose head had already been struck by a blunt object, was now truly on the verge of vomiting. He pointed to the stairs. Riko abandoned Hanjang and rushed upstairs, with Takedo following closely behind, and Naoto close behind.
Severed limbs, splattered blood—the scene was a horrific spectacle, like a living hell.
At the corner of the stairs, a flash of silver light appeared. Without thinking, Riko drew her wakizashi from her waist to parry. Forced into a passive position by her opponent's strength, she was forced to kneel on one knee. Then she saw the person wielding the sword, Sanzu Haruchiya. He was covered in blood, even his eyelashes were stained with blood, but his eyes were filled with violent emotions.
His king went to the third floor alone.
Santu witnessed the woman heading to the third floor. Before going up, she gave a provocative smile, clearly indicating that there was an ambush.
But Mikey wouldn't let him follow; his cold, cruel gaze made him unable to move. They were only two steps apart, so close, yet it felt like an insurmountable chasm. Santu remembered the silver necklace Mikey wore, with two plain rings hanging from it, which at first glance would appear as ordinary jewelry. But Santu noticed letters engraved on the rings. Everyone thought Mikey had been swallowed by darkness and no longer clung to the past, but only Santu knew that a part of Mikey was nailed to the past by someone.
Why?! Santu couldn't understand. All sorts of uncontrollable emotions transformed into murderous intent, which he unleashed upon everyone he saw.
Just as Riko and Santu were locked in a stalemate, Naoto raised his gun with his uninjured right hand, and the bullet struck Santu's shoulder blade. Riko broke free, and in a flash, she slashed Santu's neck with a knife, blood splattering everywhere.
Santu clutched his neck and staggered, the blood rushing out and taking away his strength as he fell straight forward. In a daze, some images flashed before his eyes.
He first met Mikey at the Sano family home when he was a child, became a disciple of the Tenshin-ryu school, and went on a noisy trip to Okinawa... Even Santu himself never imagined that these would be the recurring images in his mind before his death. He saw his younger self playing and laughing with everyone as they walked past him, past him, and left without looking back.
Santu raised his hand in front of him as if trying to grasp something, but in the end even that hand fell limply to the ground.
Riko had already arrived on the third floor.
The ceiling was smashed open by the crashing helicopter, the wires crackled, flames roared, and the falling flames ignited the carpet. In the center of the carpet, Riko saw the person she cared about.
Yuko is embracing someone in the fire, with their backs to her.
"Miss!!!" Riko called out to her.
Yuko seemed not to hear him; she held the person in her arms tightly, his words echoing in her ears.
【sorry】
She had already made up her mind not to show mercy; she could only win, not lose. As her neck was gripped, she didn't hesitate to stab him with the knife in her hand.
But the hand that was gripping her neck loosened and stroked upwards to touch the scars on her face.
Yuko subconsciously looked into his eyes.
That glance transported them back to late summer twelve years ago, when they put on their matching couple rings under the table.
At that moment, she noticed the pendant on Manjiro's necklace, and her eyes widened instantly, her pupils contracting. Her trembling hand lifted the pendant; each of the two plain bands was engraved with different letters.
M and Y.
Mikey and Yoko.
In an instant, she felt as if cannonballs were exploding in her ears, her mind was buzzing, and the defenses she had built up over the years crumbled instantly. An immense despair completely overwhelmed her, and Yuko could no longer hold back, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
She looked up at him.
It doesn't matter anymore.
Reasons, explanations, love, and hate—none of it matters anymore.
She reached out and hugged him, whispering in his ear.
“It’s alright,” she said. “Let’s go to hell together.”
In response, Manjiro hugged her even tighter. They had done many wrong things, each going astray with their hands stained with blood, no longer worthy of being human or of continuing to live. But thankfully, love brought them together at the end.
The fire spread extremely quickly. Riko wanted to rush into the fire, but was held back by Takedo and Naoto who came from behind.
When Wudao saw Yuko and Mikey standing in the center of the flames, he shouted their names.
The two of them turned around and looked at him.
Mikey: "Wu Xiaodao."
Yuko: "I'm leaving everything to you."
"No!!!" With Wu Dao's shout, the ceiling collapsed again, burying the two figures.
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