Erase

Act 61: The Lions

As Mayuka was kidnapped and then subject to various amounts of torture by Evelyn Lau and the rest of the White Lion triad, Shino, Yuichi and Jun were taken into custody by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

The three of them were taken to jail, with Shino and Jun taken to a different jail for female criminals, while their motorcycle Ashura was impounded and left in the scrap yard alongside many other impounded vehicles.

However, their time in custody wouldn't last that long, as they would eventually receive some help.

Not from Mayuka's parents, and not from Mr. Ozawa either, but from another, unlikely source.

NEXT DAY

-City Jail 8:21 PM-

A day after the incident, Yuichi was sleeping in his cell, when suddenly, he was woken up by one of the police officers as he opened up the steel bars to tell him the news.

"It's over. You can get out now." Said the policeman.

"Wha...? What is...?" Yuichi replied.

"Somebody paid to bail you out." Said the policeman.

"Who...?" Yuichi replied.

"Who else but me?" Said a male voice.

Yuichi cringed at the sound of that all too familiar voice. It was then that a familiar face arrived at the scene. Someone whom he had met before.

"Ren... Hong?!" Said Yuichi.

"The one and only." Ren replied.

The policeman slowly walked out of Yuichi's jail cell to give him and Ren some private talk time together.

"What do you want from me?" Said Yuichi. "And why the hell did you bail me out? I'd rather stay in here than serve for someone like you!"

"Look, 'dude'. I'm not your biggest fan either, and you know that." Ren replied. "Hell, I DETEST you, after what you've done to me."

"But that's not why I came here today." Ren continued. "The reason I came here is because... You and I... we both have something in common."

"You hate Evelyn Lau... We hate those White Lions as a whole." Ren continued. "See where I'm going?".

"No. And I personally don't give a fuck about it." Said Yuichi.

Ren was clearly not amused at Yuichi's rather rude reply. However, he decided to just let it slide for now and continue with what he was saying.

"The point is, how about we... team up?" Ren replied. "Let's slay those White Lions, one by one."

Yuichi thought long and hard about Ren's latest offer. He didn't want to serve for another crime organization, but at the same time, he was under Ren's debt this time around, meaning he can't give him "no" for a reply, like he did last time.

"Oh, and by the way. I'm also planning to bail out your two girlfriends and-" Said Ren.

"THEY'RE NOT MY FUCKING GIRLFRIENDS!!" Yuichi replied.

"Whoa, chill out, my dude! Jeez..." Said Ren. "You really need to work on that temper of-"

"SHUT UP!" Yuichi replied. "Let me think!"

Ren obliged and stayed silent as Yuichi came up with his final decision. Eventually, Yuichi looks up to Ren and says his decision to his face.

"Fine... I'll side with you." Said Yuichi. "BUT... just for this one time only, got it?"

"Well, better than nothing, they say." Ren replied. "Welcome to the Triad, my-"

"I never said I'm joining your goddamn Triad." Said Yuichi. "All I said was I'm siding with you, and nothing else."

"OK, OK. Jeez..." Ren replied, before uttering in his breath. "This guy's a bigger pain in the ass than I thought."

"I heard that." Said Yuichi.

"Gyaah! Oh, you did? Really? Hahaha!" Ren replied. "You've got a better sense of hearing than I thought."

"Quit being an ass-clown and just get on with it." Said Yuichi.

After being called out by Yuichi, Ren reverts to being serious. He then proceeds to clear his throat.

"Fine then." Said Ren. "Come with me. Let's fetch your lady friends."

Yuichi agrees to join Ren as they go on to fetch Shino and Jun, as well as Ashura.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER

After half a day's worth of back-and-forth trips, Ren finally got everything he needed. Yuichi, Shino and Jun have been freed, and Ashura was smuggled out of the scrapyard.

-Ren's Car 5:46 PM-

Inside the car, Ren, Shino, Jun and Yuichi we chatting around with each other, in order to get to know Ren more closely, while also talking about their next move.

"So, basically, what you're saying is, you serve for the other Triad, right?" Said Shino.

"Hyup." Ren replied. "And the White Lions are our sworn enemies."

"When did this rivalry all begin tho?" Said Shino.

"It was a long time ago. The Reds and the Whites used to be one." Ren replied. "Back then, the White Lion triad was led by two fearsome brothers, Richard and Henry Lau."

"However, there were huge tensions between the two brothers." Ren continued. "They fought over everything. But perhaps the biggest reason... was favoritism."

"In many ways, Henry was the better leader out of the two of them" Ren continued "However, the rest of the Lau family seemed to have a preference to Richard, which angered Henry greatly."

"It all culminated one September night, back in 1976." Ren continued. "The brothers decided to settle their long-standing sibling rivalry once and for all... with a Jian sword fight."

"It was a long, intense duel... but Richard won in the end, by slicing off his brother's left hand." Ren continued. "Not only did he lose his hand... he was also banished from the Triad that night."

"From that day on, Henry promised to himself that he will exact his revenge against his brother." Ren continued. "One way... or another."

"From there, he, alongside the other loyal henchmen who chose to leave the White Lion triad in protest, started the Red Lions." Ren continued. "Not just so he can continue with his prolific life of crime, but also to do it with the intent of outshining, if not outright destroying the White Lions altogether."

"Heh, kinda reminds me of that gang war I was once involved with." Said Jun. "Good times, good times..."

"And so that brings us to where we are right now." Ren replied. "Remember Henry Lau? The guy I talked about earlier? He's our boss, and still is.

"He's been doing that for decades, and still going strong while pushing through his 80s." Ren continued. "Unfortunately, age can be a bitch, and now the boss has been suffering from multiple diseases, including Alzheimer's."

"We don't know for sure how long he will last... But we do know one thing." Ren continued.

"The one and only thing that the boss wants before he dies... is to witness the White Lions' demise." Ren continued. "And I think I found a perfect opportunity for that."

TO BE CONTINUED