Silent Step Meru

One stormy night a few years ago, two delinquents, both Kappore, scrambled through the dark alleys in terror. They skidded through puddles and down the maze-like backstreets in the southern part of the city.

“Shit! Where did he go!? Is he still after us!?”

“You idiot! Don’t look back! He’s gonna get ya—HGAH!!”

In a flash, both dropped to the ground. A tall, slender boy stood behind them, gazing at their bodies with cold eyes. His long, wet hair stuck messily to his face, the rain washing clean the fresh blood from the small dagger in his hand.

“....”

He observed the two thugs writhing in pain on the ground, then turned on his heel to walk away impassively— then he stopped. Another boy stood in his way, bat in hand. Though the tall boy seemed vaguely surprised, only the faintest reaction crossed his expression.

“... Bloody Bat Romeo.”

Romeo looked at him with a frown.

“... So, you’re Silent Step Meru. You really live up to your name— quick and quiet like a ghost. Have you been following me?”

Meru didn't answer. Romeo continued.

“For the past few days, I’ve felt someone watching me. I never thought it would be Makai’s strongest.”

Meru tilted his head to the side, eyes fixed on Romeo and unblinking.

“I thought so." Meru's voice was flat. "You baited these Kappore into the alleys to lure me out, didn't you? ... How futile. You could have waited until I found you. There's no chance I would have let you escape.”

“So you knew, but you took ‘em out just because you could,” Romeo stated frankly. Meru didn't deny it.

“You’re an eyesore to the Makai gang, Bloody Bat Romeo. Your presence on our turf draws members of every gang—even Kappore—and we're the ones who have to clean up your messes. You shouldn't be surprised our leader sent me to take care of you.”

Romeo gripped the base of his bat tighter in his hand.

“... Not my fault, not my problem. When someone picks a fight with me, I take 'em down. I don't care about your stupid gang politics.”

Meru readied his dagger.

“Is that so? Then, you should know this isn’t personal.”

* * *

Thunder cracked across the black skies as the rain poured. Meru lay against a brick wall and gripped his crushed shoulder, struggling to breathe. His dagger lay in some distant puddle behind Romeo, who stood before him. There was a dark, predatory look in Romeo's clouded eyes. His bat rested lightly over his shoulder, as if ready to strike. He wasn't out of breath at all, unlike Meru.

Meru hissed and looked up at Romeo.

“Tch… This is it, huh...”

“....”

“You really are as strong as they say... Bloody Bat Romeo... I can see why our leader wanted you gone…”

Though Romeo heard him, he didn't respond. Meru looked down again, his fingers digging into his shoulder, and winced.

“... You should kill me.”

“....!?”

Romeo blinked, the clouds slowly clearing from his eyes, but the grip on his bat was still strong. Meru didn’t notice; he just continued.

“Amon asked me to take you out, but when he hears I've failed, he’ll make me disappear. That’s what he always does.”

Slowly, Romeo lowered his bat.

“... Why don’t you quit?”

“Haha.” Meru laughed, clearly in pain. “Don’t you know? Nobody leaves Makai. I’m his dog; he has me on a tight leash, doing his bidding from the shadows. If I’m going to get killed for showing up empty-handed, I’d rather get killed right now.”

“....”

Romeo observed him in silence as if expecting Meru to chicken out, but as the seconds ticked by, he realized that he was serious.

“... Are you sure that’s what you want?”

Meru nodded slowly. Romeo sighed.

“... All right.”

From a reflection in a puddle, Meru saw Romeo lifting his bat before swinging it down with brutal force. Meru's eyes widened, an instinctive fear of death gripping him as he shut his eyes tight. He braced himself for impact—but all he felt was a spray of water splash him in time with the sound of a sickening crash.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Romeo’s bat right next to him, the concrete beside him freshly cracked. His heart raced at an incredible speed. Slowly, he lifted his face to look at Romeo, who looked as serious as ever.

“... W-What—?”

Romeo pulled his bat away and straightened up.

“There. You’re dead now.”

“... Huh?”

Meru looked at him, still holding his arm in confusion.

“You can’t go back to the Makai gang anymore. Silent Step Meru is dead.”

“Y-You…” Meru began to panic as he tried to process what Romeo was saying. “That’s not how it works! Amon will find me…!”

Romeo brought his bat back to his shoulder, sighing.

“Okay, then I’ll just get rid of him, too.”

Meru struggled to get up to his feet, but the strength in his legs gave out, and he fell back against the wall.

“You… moron... Amon will eat you alive… Besides… he rarely fights his own fights. He’d need a very good reason to fight you in the first place…”

Romeo blinked silently until he finally opened his mouth again.

“Fine. I’ll tell him I killed his strongest man, and that I want to take over his gang now.”

“HUH!?”

“That should be a good enough reason to drag him out.”

“You’re an idiot! You want to get killed that badly!? Why would you even go that far!? There’s nothing in it for you! You don’t even care about gangs!”

Romeo shielded his eyes from the rain with a hand, looking up at the sky. It was still overcast and ominous, but at least it looked like the rain was finally going to stop.

“... Why, huh. I guess it’s for the same reason I’m a delinquent. Because I can, and it’s the only thing I’m good at.”

Meru, still in shock, just looked at him and felt his heart skip a beat.

* * *

“Did you hear!? Bloody Bat Romeo challenged the boss to a fight for control of Makai!”

“No waaay! The Bloody Bat Romeo? Isn’t he a loner or something?”

“Apparently, he wants to run stuff now, that greedy little shit. I always knew it would happen.”

“Now that Silent Step Meru’s gone, ya think the boss will actually fight the guy himself?”

“He ain’t got a choice! Apparently, they're going at it in the hideout right now!”

“Shit! Let’s go watch!”

“Yeah!”

Once Romeo issued his challenge, rumors spread among the Makai gang like wildfire. Everyone had their own theories regarding Romeo's motivations, but no one knew if Amon would take Romeo on himself until Romeo came knocking at their door.

In the middle of the abandoned building that served as Makai's headquarters, Romeo stood across from Amon, who was not atop his throne of piled-up desks for once. They were far apart, like circling beasts sizing up one another. Around fifty Makai members formed a ring around them, yelling for Amon to kill Romeo while placing bets, but neither of them seemed to be bothered by the noise.

Amon took a long drag of his cigarette before speaking in his usual languid but menacing tone.

“... Why do you suddenly want my gang, Bloody Bat Romeo?”

“None of your business.”

“... You got a death wish?”

Romeo readied his bat instead of responding. Amon exhaled a cloud of smoke and shrugged.

“Very well. I’ll humor you.” The crowd of thugs cheered. “If I win, though… you’ll take Silent Step Meru’s place.”

“—Huh?”

“What’s the matter? ... Are you scared?”

Romeo felt a cold sweat slowly beading on his forehead, but he tightened the grip on his bat.

“... Whatever. Let’s do it.”

The crowd roared thunderously, and they became the lucky few to witness the short, bloody battle that became Romeo's sole, humiliating defeat.