The meeting was over. Jin backpack on table, the dossier now sitting at the bottom of it, and slung it over his shoulder.
"You be wary for a while," Jin said, a warning as he headed for the door. "I don't think anything major will happen to you, but remember: be clear of Kuoh Academy."
Shukaku, now a man of position and power, stood from his ornate desk, his brow furrowed with a politician's worry. "So what's the plan, Jin? You're just going to fly there and take on the entire vampire faction alone?"
Jin paused. "I haven't given it that much thought. I'll decide when I get there. Gonna swing the way the wind blow i think . "
Shukaku let out a long sigh. This was the man who had put him in power, a force of nature that only moved in one direction. "Jin… I know I'm crossing a line by saying this, but try to surround yourself with people. I don't know how long your path is, but it would be better than walking it alone."
Jin, who had almost reached the door, stopped remembering something . He was silent for a moment, then turned. A rare, almost imperceptible smile touched the corners of his mouth. "Thanks for the advice, Shukaku."
He walked past the desk, not to the door, but to a large, glass-fronted cabinet filled with expensive liquor. "For now," he said, opening it, "I'm just moving forward." He began stuffing two, then three, heavy bottles of high-proof alcohol into his backpack. "Man, you really have a collection."
He closed the cabinet, holding one last bottle in his hand. "This really brings a smile to my face. That's all. I'll be going."
Shukaku got up and followed, walking with him. As they stepped into the main hall, the bodyguards lining the walls snapped to attention, their eyes locked forward.
"You know you can't take those on an airplane, right?" Shukaku pointed out quietly.
"Hey," Jin said, not breaking stride. "I might have a solution."
He cracked the seal on the bottle in his hand. As they walked, he brought it to his lips and began to chug, gulping down the bottle of dark liquid in one long, smooth motion. He handed the hempty bottle back to a stunned Shukaku.
"What's the occasion?" Shukaku asked, trying to sound casual. "Starting early today."
They had reached the main courtyard, the massive front gate just ahead. "I feel like I'm not going to enjoy flying in an airplane," Jin said with a shrug. "Might as well start now."
"I see. Would you like a lift to the airport?"
"No," Jin said, looking around at the city. "I'll go by foot. I like to look around."
Shukaku nodded, understanding. "I see. i will arrange a private plane . it would be ready before you get there. then you can do whatever you want ."
They reached the gate. Jin paused, then reached into his bag and pulled out another full bottle.
Shukaku couldn't help but point. "Does that stuff even get you drunk? With your body?"
Jin twisted the cap off. "No. I just feel… tipsy." He took a long swig. "It helps take the edge off."
He stepped through the gate, not looking back, and started making his way down the street, a solitary figure disappearing into the midday city crowd, heading for the airport.
Shukaku watched him go, his expression unreadable. He turned to his right-hand man. "Yamada. Go to the airport. Make sure everything is taken care of. "
"Yes, sir," Yamada said, bowing and immediately sprinting to a car.
Shukaku was about to turn and go back inside when the senior guard, the one who had first challenged Jin, stepped up, his curiosity overriding his fear.
"Shukaku-san… is that… drinking guy… really that important?"
Shukaku looked at him, then at the other guards, who all wore the same look of doubt and confusion. He let out a long, weary breath.
"He has been on edge, every hour he's been awake, for the past year," Shukaku said quietly, his voice barely a murmur. "It's pushed him to the edge. If being drunk helps him, who are we to say anything?"
He saw their confusion worsening. They didn't get it. He decided to give them the truth.
"He is the guy who killed the entire Zero Gang."
The words hit the air and hung there. A wave of cold, dawning shock washed over the guards. The Zero Gang. They hadn't just been a gang; they were a shadow government. They ran Kuoh. The police, the politicians, everything.
They all remembered the stories, the hushed whispers in the underbelly of the city. The rumors of a "man who doesn't sleep," a demon who hunted the gang night after night. A ghost who couldn't be killed.
He'd offered them a chance to retire first, to just walk away. The ones who didn't listen? They vanished. He'd torn the organization apart from the bottom up, one ruthless night at a time, until his hands finally reached Zero himself. And then… silence. The underworld of Kuoh had been decapitated.
The only ones who survived were the ones who took his offer and who weren't involved to zero gang like themself, to this day, nobody never spoke of it again, as if terrified that talking about him would bring him over. They try to move on from it as a natural disaster has occurred .
The senior guard, along with the two who had first stopped Jin, gulped, their saliva thick in their dry mouths.
They turned, staring in terror at the empty gate where the man in the hoodie had just casually walked away.