Present day...

  The cramped, messy room was filled with morning sunlight, dust particles floating as they danced in the silence of the peaceful morning.

  Bzzz… Bzzz…

  The loud vibration of a phone on the nightstand broke the quiet.

  Empty bottles, an ashtray, and crushed packs of cigarettes surrounded it.

  A tattooed hand stretched out from beneath the covers and grabbed the phone.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Now fully awake, the young man in his te twenties sat on the edge of the bed, eyes wide open.

  Messy, longer blonde hair fell over his face, hiding his sharp features.

  “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

  He pced the phone on the bed beside him and ran his fingers through his messy hair, as if waking from some kind of nightmare.

  Finally, he stood up, half naked, wearing only his pants.

  Morning light spilled across the room, revealing his sculpted body as he walked toward the chair beside the bed.

  The tattoo of a snake wrapped around his arm, its body trailing across his skin and ending in a phoenix spread across his back.

  Against his muscur frame, the ink looked fierce, almost alive.

  He grabbed the bck button-up shirt from the chair, and in a moment the tattoos disappeared beneath the fabric.

  He tied his hair in a half up half down, revealing his sharp features and deep, bck, shining eyes.

  He grabbed the car keys from the nightstand and his bck leather jacket as he rushed outside.

  Dust particles continued to dance in the silence.

  In the Shirogawa district, nothing had changed.

  Beautiful scenery by the sea, old Japanese houses lining the road, a light breeze filling the air with the scent of salt and water.

  He parked his car by the roadside and hurried out, rushing into the courtyard of an old house.

  He entered the house and rushed through the hallway.

  As he stopped in front of the sliding doors, his face tensed, his jaw tightening.

  He knocked once and waited.

  A sharp voice came from behind the doors.

  “Come in!!”

  He gently slid the doors open and stepped inside, facing the eyes of the men seated around a low table on the tatami floor.

  “Come on in, Sota. You finally decided to show up,”

  said the middle-aged, chubby man sitting at the front, the leader’s seat.

  Sota lowered his head, bowing in a sign of respect.

  “It won’t happen again,”

  he said quietly.

  “I’m sure it won’t"

  “I assume you have a good reason for keeping us waiting.”

  Sota only nodded, still bowing, tense as he waited.

  “Well,” the leader said,

  “Come. Sit down.”

  He gestured toward the empty seat by the table.

  "Let's continue"

  Sota lifted his head with a relieved sigh and quickly moved to the vacant pce.