Enemies approach (1)

No one really realizes how underappreciated peaceful days are until they’re gone. All of the fun the Yokai gang had during school festivals, summer vacation, Christmas, and New Year's was forgotten when a new ruthless gang decided not to play by the rules and caused a disturbance on the streets.

You see, all the gangs Makoto and his friends have faced so far have been mostly tame. They were more of a sports club. Competing against other teams and either winning or losing. They didn’t do any harm to the environment or innocent passersby. It was always decided beforehand where the fights would take place so it wouldn’t bother anyone, and once it was clear that one gang dominated over the other, they ended it peacefully.

But not the Herd.

The newly established group was quickly becoming notorious. They beat up anyone they wanted, no matter if those people were delinquents or not. Vandalism and stealing were also common among the members.

For Onitsuka Makoto, it meant one thing. As the strongest gang around, he had to put a stop to it. He decided to fight against the new gang the moment they started causing chaos, but he didn’t want to be too hasty with his actions. They needed to sort everything out and try to organize it all so no more harm would be done to the innocents. But there was no more time to think and set up any rules once the Herd started coming for the members of the Yokai gang.

And that is exactly why, right now, the Red Oni had to gather his entire team in their usual meeting spot, which was the exact same place they went to see fireworks together, to discuss the further actions.

“You all know well what has been happening on the streets these last few weeks,” the gang leader started. “We never had a serious enemy before, but that doesn’t mean that we should ignore them, hoping that they will get bored and stop just like all the other gangs do.”

The teen with scarlet hair turned to Tomoya, signaling him to continue.

“We already beat up some of their members when they tried to steal from the convenience store,” the Shapeshifter informed the group. “That’s why we all have to be careful wherever we go. I’m sure they don’t like us meddling, so we've got to be target number one on their list.”

“We still don’t know who their leader is,” said Nakano, who was the one to take the lead this time, “so it’s hard to talk anything out with them, so if any of you get even a rumor, let us know.”

For an adult or an outsider, the situation might have looked silly—teenagers preparing for a fight, taking action as if they were in some sort of Hollywood movie. And the seriousness probably was exaggerated, but Makoto genuinely worried about people close to him. So far, no one he knew has been harmed by the Herd, but it was only a matter of time before Mai, Kaori, and Yukari became their victims. Or even Mami...

That’s why he warned the girl beforehand not to appear out of nowhere and contact him through the phone if she wanted to meet up. If she ended up stumbling onto them in the middle of the night, she wouldn’t be cautious enough and would end up wounded.

Even though she said she understood, Makoto couldn’t fully trust her, or rather, he just knew how stubborn and spontaneous that girl was and how hard it would be for her to keep the promise to stay safe.

The Yokai gang needed to get rid of the Herd no matter what.

The gang leader was about to officially close the meeting, seeing that no one else had any matters to announce, but then Tanaka stepped out of the crowd.

“Long time no see, Tanaka,” the boy with scarlet hair glared at him. “I thought you forgot about us. It’s been a while since you joined any of our meetings or fights.”

“It’s been a while since you took being a delinquent seriously as well,” the short teen with bleached hair sneered.

“Hey-” Nakano tried to intervene, but Makoto extended his right arm to block the black-haired boy.

“If you have any issues with how we deal with things here, it’s your chance to say it all out loud.”

Oh, I have no issues,” Tanaka started. Anymore, that is,” he mysteriously added. “I came here not as a member of the Yokai gang. I came here as a messenger from the Herd.”

A few gasps of shock could be heard in the crowd. Those who stood the closest to the now-ex-member of their team have moved slightly away from him. Makoto, on the other hand, didn’t let any emotions appear on his face. He kept it all hidden to set an example of a strong leader; he could not be moved by something like that, even though the betrayal hurt him deeply. Never before have they been wrong about letting someone join their team.

He may not have been close to Tanaka, but he enjoyed playing video games with him, talking about late-night shows, and just fooling around. The Red Oni was more worried about Yamada and his feelings. For a second, he imagined how he would have felt if Tomoya suddenly turned his back on him and joined a rival gang. It would break him.

Of course, the lanky boy with long dark hair couldn’t just calmly stand together with others. He ran out of the crowd and suddenly caught his friend by the front of his white button-up shirt.

“What the hell are you saying, Tanaka?"”

The tanned delinquent hasn’t changed his expression at all. Yamada's outburst appeared to have had no effect on him.

“That’s what the problem is,” he said, looking away from the face of his friend, who was so close to him due to the physical contact they maintained. “You are way too emotional in this gang. That’s what makes you weak.”

“And what? That’s what made you want to join some insensitive jerks instead!” Yamada yelled out, but Onitsuka could hear that his voice had weakened a bit. The poor boy couldn’t cover the pain he felt for much longer. “I thought you and I... That we were...”

He slowly let go of Tanaka and covered his face in his hands, then began to lower himself into the crouching pose. Nakano jogged to the teen and took him somewhere a bit further away so he could process all that had just happened.

“As I was saying,” the bleach-haired boy continued as if nothing had happened, “I am here as a messenger for the Herd. Our leader decided to be merciful and entertain you by setting a date for our fight somewhere secluded with no passersby around.”

Makoto took a moment to think about how to answer that. He did not want to rush with his decision, but at the same time, he knew that the time was crucial, so it would be better to just go with the flow. He turned his head to Tomoya, who in turn nodded approvingly. He had to think the same way as the gang leader, and that was enough for the Red Oni to move on with their plan.

“Fine by me. It saves us trouble as well. When and where?”

“Abandoned warehouse south from the center of the town, the one near Wisteria Park. Next week, same time as your today’s meeting.”

“Got it.”

The bleach-haired boy didn’t say anything more and just turned around to walk away, but before he could do that, Makoto stopped him from shouting out loud.

“Tanaka!” the mentioned teen turned around. “You will regret betraying us like that.”

The voice with which Onitsuka said those words out loud sent a shiver not only through the traitor’s body but through everyone present. The Yokai Gang’s leader was most often more energetic and excited during the fights and in general, so to hear him be serious and full of anger was something most of the members had never before experienced. Tanaka's coolness vanished, to be replaced by shock and a hint of fear. He quickly turned around without saying anything and left the meeting spot.

A week, huh?

Was it too little or too much time? Hard to say. All Makoto knew was that the issue of finding out who the leader was was no longer his worry. But it didn’t make things that much easier. He could more or less tell how strong the average gang member from that team was, having some previous experience fighting them, but the leader was the biggest unknown in all of that. And he knew better than anyone else how important that figure was. It's a leader’s job to boost morale and bring out confidence in everyone, and considering how many people the Herd boss managed to gather in such a short period of time, that meant something.

Makoto decided it would be best if he just believed in his gang. That their quality of members will overpower the quantity of the other group. He had to keep that way of thinking; otherwise, his confidence would crumble, and that would end up with their immediate loss. He cannot let that happen, not when it would affect his friends.