"Is that the house?"

Yamagishi stared at the massive estate before him, his jaw dropping. He patted Akkun"s shoulder, gesturing for him to double-check the address Takemichi had sent.

"Yeah, it says "Shiba" right here on the nameplate."

Without waiting for Akkun to check his messages, Makoto pointed at the plaque by the gate. The four of them stood rooted to the spot, feeling a twinge of dread, like commoners about to step into a royal castle.

Their best friend really had some high-tier connections, didn"t he? The delinquent encyclopedia, Yamagishi, had already updated the group with a few details about the thugs attending today"s party. They felt a spike of fear, swallowing hard at the thought of mingling with the very people who had once tried to kidnap them to threaten Takemichi, not to mention their terrifying reputations in the underworld.

But trusting that their sworn brother—who was currently making a legendary name for himself in the delinquent world—would protect them, the four had agreed to attend this gathering.

Realizing they had been standing outside the gate for far too long, Takuya stepped up and rang the doorbell. Soon after, someone came out to open the door. They had expected Takemichi, but the person greeting them was a woman in her forties wearing an apron.

The woman bowed in greeting, startling the boys into clumsily bowing back.

"Hello! You must be Mr. Hanagaki"s friends, correct? He is waiting inside. Please, come in."

She gestured politely. The four boys timidly thanked her and followed. If the outside was intimidating, the inside was even more overwhelming, leaving them slightly dizzy. Judging by her demeanor, they guessed she was the head maid of the household. Whatever fighting spirit they had prepared at home was instantly obliterated by the sheer weight of capitalist wealth.

This volatile, dangerous, terrifying party was being held in a grandiose venue fitting of its status—and the one hosting it was their friend.

Stepping into the courtyard, they immediately spotted the Touman members bustling about. Some were prepping the charcoal grills, while others were arranging food on the tables.

"Hey! You guys made it! Takemichi is inside."

Kazutora, carrying a plate of vegetables, was the first to greet them, followed by the others.

"Hello, boss."

Makoto quickly greeted him back.

The relationship between Kazutora and the four of them had initially been quite terrible. In their eyes, Kazutora was a scumbag—two-faced and arrogant. The whole school knew Kazutora was awful, except for Takemichi. This guy would act like a total bastard to the rest of the world, yet always put on an obedient, pitiful act in front of Takemichi to garner his sympathy. Everyone at school saw it, but no one dared utter a word.

The silent war between Kazutora and Hinata was also quite a spectacle, even if they thought the guy had thrown his dignity out into space. But occasionally, they would catch those two sitting together, praising the person they loved—talking about how kind Takemichi was, how cute he was, how blinding his smile could be—like true fanatic fans gushing over their idol. However, sometimes these joyful discussions would end in arguments over who had the cutest picture of Takemichi, all of which were secretly taken.

The group had stared at those two in sheer horror.

Listening to them left the boys speechless. They tried to imagine the image those two were describing, then looked back at their friend with deep suspicion. Sure, their buddy wasn"t bad, but hearing them talk, it was as if the guy standing before them had been possessed. Love really made people lose their damn minds.

Later on, Kazutora wasn"t too bad. Aside from the few times he sent chills down their spines when he saw Takemichi being close to them, he was generally more decent than before.

Glancing around, they only saw Touman members. Even though they weren"t particularly close, they relaxed a bit. Just then, Takemichi stepped out of the house, carrying two plates of food with Hakkai right beside him.

"I was just about to call you guys. I was worried you"d get lost."

"As if we"d get lost. Anything else need doing? We"ll help out," Akkun said.

"Everything"s done, we just need to bring the food out. The guys from Tenjiku should be here soon, too."

Takemichi had set the time for 6 PM, and it was only a little past 5 right now. He and Mitsuya had been here since noon to prepare the food. Not long after, Kokonoi and Inupee arrived, and the Touman members had also come over a while ago to help him set up the tables, grills, and everything else.

Just as the name Tenjiku was mentioned, the doorbell rang again. The head maid quickly went to open the gate, and Takemichi knew Tenjiku had arrived. They were a whole hour early, which surprised him a bit. He quickly set the plates down on the table and walked out to greet them.

The moment he walked away, Kokonoi and Inupee appeared out of nowhere beside the Mizo crew.

"The real battle starts now, huh."

Kokonoi crossed his arms. Both of them clearly displayed their helplessness, absolutely loathing the idea of Takemichi wandering into this pack of wolves.

What battle? Wasn"t this supposed to be a BBQ party? Were they planning to fight?

"Drop the dissatisfied attitude, Kokonoi."

"Look in the mirror before you preach. Your face is just as grim as anyone else"s."

They didn"t know when, but a deep, raspy voice sounded behind them. Turning around, they saw a towering figure. Yamagishi almost blurted out "hello, sir" if he hadn"t recognized the 10th Generation Leader of the Black Dragon.

His aura and sheer size were truly overwhelming. The whole group instantly broke into a cold sweat.

The members of Tenjiku walked in one by one. The Mizo crew watched them with mounting tension. Here they were, the notoriously brutal delinquents. All of them were ex-reform school inmates, and the main reason they were sent there was for beating people to death. Just hearing about it was terrifying.

But the moment that terrifying, ferocious group stepped inside, their white-haired leader smiled as brightly as a blooming flower at Takemichi, then pulled him into a tight hug.

They could hear the sound of knuckles cracking all around them.

Holy shit!

Takemichi warmly welcomed them, and they proceeded inside. Only then did the Mizo crew get a clear look at each of them. It was true—everyone"s aura was incredibly intense, carrying a cold, ferocious edge that was somewhat different from Touman. Touman was still more harmonious and cheerful, even though they had sent dozens of guys to the hospital and were by no means gentle. The only gentle delinquent was probably their Takemichi.

While marveling at this, the group looked around and jolted in shock. The Touman members had lined up right beside them, every single face looking as if they were preparing to go to war with a mortal enemy.

This BBQ party was way too volatile!

This wasn"t a party; this was a battlefield.

"Are the Haitani brothers planning to walk a runway or something?"

Baji narrowed his eyes, glaring in sheer displeasure at the Haitani brothers. The Tenjiku members were generally dressed politely and neatly, but one glance was enough to see the Haitani brothers standing out like sore thumbs. They hadn"t gone as far as wearing groom"s suits to pick up a bride, but their outfits screamed style, fashion, and exorbitant wealth.

And of course, Baji was bitter because he hated them to death, but he couldn"t deny how ridiculously handsome those brothers were. Were they planning to seduce their Takemichi or what?

It wasn"t just Baji. Chifuyu, Kazutora, and the Kawata brothers looked at them with equal disgust.

The First and Fourth Divisions were the hardcore anti-Haitani fan club.

A certain group of people really wanted to snap someone"s arms right about now.

The Mizo crew watched the Tenjiku members approach to face Touman, suddenly feeling a chill. The pressure was enough to make them shiver under those sparking, murderous glares. The weather was beautiful, yet it felt like a Category 14 hurricane was about to make landfall.

The Mizo boys swore they had no idea how the party managed to proceed without anyone shedding blood. Seeing everyone start grilling meat on the charcoal, chatting and laughing as they enjoyed the food, the whole group couldn"t believe their eyes.

Wait, so it actually turned into a normal BBQ party?

"Takuya, you have to eat more vegetables, okay? There are rice balls too. Don"t just eat meat, or you"ll get indigestion."

"I"m not a kid, man. And this is way too much, Takemichi."

Takemichi piled meat, vegetables, and rice balls high onto two plates for Takuya. Occasionally, the one who usually needed taking care of would switch roles and become the caretaker, and aside from Mikey, that special privilege belonged solely to Takuya. Because Takuya"s health had been very frail during their middle school years, and he was a picky eater who hated rice, Takemichi always had to keep a close eye on his childhood friend.

"Takuya looks quieter than usual today, huh," Akkun noted.

He was naturally quiet, but lately, he had become even more withdrawn, sometimes even snapping in irritation. It was the first time the group had felt afraid of this gentle boy.

Akkun, Makoto, and Yamagishi, having been thoroughly looked after by Takemichi, sat at a separate table to enjoy their food. They felt much more comfortable with each other than mingling with the terrorists on the other side. And right now, they were discussing Takuya"s recent condition.

"Lately, it seems like he"s holding a grudge against Takemichi but won"t say it," Makoto said.

"Is it because of Takemichi"s depression?" Yamagishi asked.

"Even I want to be mad at him, but Takuya is Takemichi"s childhood friend. It probably hurts him a lot more."

The three of them let out long, heavy sighs. Takemichi was doing great now—he was mature, kind, growing stronger and cooler by the day—but he was also drifting further and further away from them. The group suddenly missed the immature, destructive, and foolish boy from before. Seeing Takemichi surrounded by so many people who cherished him made them happy for him, but it also left them feeling hollow and empty.

Now, they rarely confided in each other, rarely hung out. If it weren"t for the fact that they still went to school together, giving them some time by each other"s side, who knew how distant they would become? They hadn"t even known their own friend was suffering from depression due to the crushing pressure.

"Ah, that guy with the scar is also Takemichi"s childhood friend, right? So are he and Takuya friends too?"

Makoto wondered aloud as he watched Kakucho approach Takemichi and Takuya. They were sitting a distance away, so they could only catch snippets of the conversation. Coupled with his bowed head and Takuya waving his hands dismissively, it looked like an apology.

"Probably apologizing for trying to kidnap us back then?"

Just as they said that, they saw Kakucho walking over to them.

"You guys are Takemichi and Takuya"s best friends, right? I apologize for intending to put you in danger before."

Hearing this, the group jumped, completely flustered.

"Ah, it"s fine, it"s in the past, in the past," Akkun stammered.

"Yeah, we didn"t get hurt anyway," Makoto added.

"Just don"t pull any dangerous stunts on us next time, it"s terrifying, hahaha," Yamagishi said, immediately praying he wouldn"t get punched for that comment.

"I won"t. Takemichi would be furious if I laid a hand on you guys."

Kakucho smiled brightly as he spoke, but if they weren"t mistaken, they could hear a trace of jealousy lacing his words.

Seriously, dude!? You planned to kidnap us, and now you"re jealous? You have no right to be jealous. God, they really wanted to tattle to Takemichi right now.

Kakucho exchanged a few more words with them before leaving to return to Takemichi"s side.

The situation over there was that Mitsuya, Draken, Smiley, and Mucho were acting as the head chefs, grilling meat together for everyone. Takemichi was sometimes beside them helping out, sometimes serving food to the others, and sometimes being pushed to the tables to chat with different people. Wherever Takemichi was, Mikey and Izana were right there—no need to search. People wandered back and forth, forming this group or that group, but eventually, everyone gravitated toward Takemichi.

The Tenjiku members had brought extra drinks, including beer. The Mizo crew marveled at how different adults were.

Mochi intended to offer Takemichi a beer as thanks for the invitation, but before the can even reached his hand, Kokonoi, Inupee, and Draken immediately blocked it with dead-serious expressions.

"Hey punk, my Boss isn"t old enough to drink alcohol."

"Who cares about age? If you want to drink, drink. Who"s gonna arrest you here?"

Delinquents pretending to follow the law!

Mochi"s face showed blatant contempt toward Kokonoi.

"No means no. Hanagaki"s alcohol tolerance is extremely low."

Inupee would absolutely never, under any circumstances, let anyone else see how cute Takemichi was when he was drunk.

Draken hadn"t even had a chance to speak, but seeing those two react like that made him suspicious. Had these two drank with Takemichi before to know his tolerance was low? Did Takemichi get drunk in front of them? Did they sleep over? Did these two bastards take advantage of his Takemichi? Draken was projecting his own dark thoughts, spiraling into a panic.

"I think taking one sip won"t be a problem."

Refusing a drink offer could make people think he was disrespecting them, and since everyone was having a good time, Takemichi figured he should drink a little to avoid ruining the mood. Even if his tolerance was terrible, one sip surely wouldn"t hurt.

Mochi smugly tilted his chin at the other three, grinning triumphantly, leaving them seething but unable to do anything.

"Up to you, drink as much as you can handle." Mochi was easygoing and didn"t force him to chug it.

Mochi cracked open a fresh can for Takemichi. The two clinked their cans, and he took a swig. Mochi must have downed half the can or more. Takemichi managed about a quarter of his. After drinking, he glanced over and saw Kokonoi, Inupee, and Draken staring at him with intense worry.

Takemichi looked at the three of them fretting over him and offered a wry smile. Weren"t these three being even more overprotective than his own mother? The 26-year-old man inside him felt like he was being treated like a three-year-old toddler.

"I"m not going to get drunk off a sip of beer."

They were genuinely worried, but thankfully, Takemichi had no idea what they were actually worried about. They were terrified that if he got drunk, they would have to hide him away, otherwise the pack of wolves out here would prey on him. But those three failed to realize that they were no better than the rest of the pack—not to mention, among the three of them, the one worrying the most was the one who needed to be guarded against the most.

The beer can in Takemichi"s hand was suddenly snatched away. He turned around to see Taiju, whose arm was now draped heavily over his shoulder.

"Since you"re done, I"ll drink the rest on behalf of my Commander."

Saying that, he downed the rest of the can in one gulp under Takemichi"s awed gaze and the dumbfounded stares of everyone else, especially Hakkai. Was his brother showing off today just because he had provoked him earlier? Hakkai suddenly felt like he had dug his own grave.

Right now, Taiju and Takemichi looked exactly like the hosts of a banquet entertaining guests—where the wife couldn"t drink, so the husband drank in her place.

Who asked him? Who asked this bastard to step in and show off? Drinking from the same can was an indirect kiss, wasn"t it!

The entire group was seething with rage, and it burned even more when Takemichi innocently thanked Taiju, completely oblivious to the man"s underlying motive.

Taiju glanced at the crowd of darkened faces, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. As if these punks could challenge him on his own turf. Aside from Takemichi, who was the host today, Taiju held the highest authority here.

Done glaring at Taiju, the group turned their wrath toward Mochi. It was all this guy"s fault to begin with—offering beer like some flashy idiot!

Mochi suddenly felt a chill. He just wanted to have a little fun, but the tension was suffocating. He turned to his teammates, but they weren"t looking any friendlier. Returning to his spot, he saw Ran smiling—a smile reeking of pure danger. Ran picked up a massive pile of bell peppers, forced Mochi"s mouth open, and shoved them in.

"Eat up and get full. Why the hell were you being so enthusiastic, you fat bastard?"

Ran ground his teeth, viciously cramming bell peppers down Mochi"s throat, followed by raw vegetables. Takemichi thought the two were just playfully messing around, completely unaware of Mochi"s agonizing silent cries for help.

Because of that, Takemichi happily turned away to enjoy the grilled meat. He was absolutely starving.

Mikey watched everything unfold in silence before approaching him. He wrapped his arms around Takemichi"s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder, putting on his usual whiny act to demand Takemichi feed him.

"Feed me too, Takemitchy."

Takemichi was, of course, far too used to this. He quickly wrapped some meat in lettuce and turned to feed him. Along with the flavor of the meat came a heavy dose of tender sweetness. Mikey"s eyes crinkled into a delighted smile.

The harem was getting turbulent; the battle for favor had begun.

"Me too, Takemichi."

Hearing Izana"s spoiled, whiny tone gave the Tenjiku members goosebumps. They weren"t used to this. They would never get used to this. Their boss—who usually opened his mouth only to order beatings, murders, and declare "I am your king, obey me"—was now whining to be fed BBQ. The worldview of everyone in Tenjiku was turning upside down.

Takemichi immediately fed Izana as well. Before he even finished chewing, Izana smugly tilted his chin at his younger brother, and Mikey glared right back.

For the first time ever, Touman and Tenjiku shared the exact same thought: their Commander was incredibly childish.

"Takemichi, I want to eat too, but my hands are full."

Mitsuya put on an act of being too busy grilling to eat, wanting Takemichi to feed him. Takemichi didn"t think much of it, even though there were four people grilling and Mitsuya taking a break for one bite wouldn"t have mattered at all.

Next, Draken and Smiley used the exact same excuse, kicking off the grand battle for BBQ-feeding favor. The others quickly joined in.

The Mizo crew watching from the sidelines found the sight painfully blinding. Did food taste better coming from Takemichi"s hands or something? Why were they all swarming him? Seeing Takemichi standing in the middle of that crowd, he looked exactly like an owner feeding a pack of pets. They had to be puppies, because every single one of them looked so blissfully ecstatic after eating, as if they were savoring a divine delicacy, their invisible tails wagging non-stop.

Acting like it"s their first time eating BBQ. Haven"t you guys eaten enough already?!

It wasn"t just the Mizo crew whose eyes were hurting. Shion, who had just tagged along for fun, was questioning his existence even more than they were. This was the first time he had ever seen his gang of ruthless thugs acting like clingy puppies around one person. And wait, didn"t almost all of them get sent to the hospital by that very kid? Since when were they this close?!

Akkun, Yamagishi, and Makoto looked at the lost, bewildered Shion staring at the crowd, then looked at their own equally alienated selves, and nodded at him in deep sympathy.

It"s okay, buddy, get used to it. There are going to be a lot of days like this.

Mucho felt as if he had returned to his days in Touman. He sighed, watching the crowd swarm around the boy, chattering away. Now, even his Tenjiku teammates were part of it. It was both nostalgic and entirely new. But wait, were they really going to leave him to grill all by himself? He couldn"t even grill fast enough to feed them all at this rate.

"Mucho-kun, ah."

After feeding everyone in turn, Takemichi finally noticed the silent older brother sweating over the grill. So, he quickly wrapped some meat to feed Mucho, even habitually letting out a soft "ah" without realizing it.

He and Mucho had never been close. Because Mucho had beaten him to a pulp and tossed him in a junkyard during a previous time leap, Takemichi was both terrified of him and held a grudge, avoiding the Fifth Division like the plague. If Sanzu hadn"t approached him first, it would have been a long time before he ever got to know him.

But he had given Mucho a few surprises, and the Fourth Division had sent the guy to the hospital, so Takemichi felt satisfied and let the grudge go. Since everyone was having such a good time today, he naturally took the initiative to approach Mucho. This could be considered their very first intimate interaction, so he wasn"t surprised when Mucho froze in place.

He was small, and compared to Mucho"s massive frame, he looked even tinier. He had to lift the wrapped meat high up and tilt his head back to look at Mucho. Mucho stared down at the little creature smiling brightly at him, his face slightly flushed—probably from that sip of beer earlier. His tolerance really was terrible; no wonder the others had been so openly worried. Those big, round, sparkling eyes looking up at him with such expectation made it impossible for Mucho to even entertain the thought of refusing. It was just... truly unexpected.

He chuckled softly, then leaned down to eat the wrapped meat from Takemichi"s hand.

"Is it good?"

Seeing this, Takemichi felt incredibly happy, his smile growing even more radiant. Even just feeding someone, he was blindingly bright. Mucho felt that he truly lived up to the title of Touman"s little sun. But what Mucho didn"t know was that Takemichi was only acting this way because of him. Takemichi felt a thrilling rush, like he had just hand-fed a tiger and survived with all his limbs intact, because in his mind, Mucho was absolutely terrifying.

"Yeah, it"s delicious."

Mucho replied, then offered a gentle smile and patted his head.

"Thank you."

Because of that head pat and Mucho"s incredibly gentle smile, Takemichi suddenly stiffened, staring at him with wide, bewildered eyes. He had no idea Mucho could make a face like that.

Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Mucho let out a laugh. Today, he found this kid ridiculously endearing. Strange, why hadn"t he noticed this before? He had only ever criticized him for looking like a fool.

Suddenly, he felt a pang of regret for his time in Touman, for always just observing him from afar and never once trying to get close. Who knows, if he had tried to approach him, maybe he would have discovered this sooner, and maybe they would have had happier memories. But what was the point of regretting the past? Given the current situation, it probably wasn"t too late.

Smiley—Mucho"s absolute closest brother back in Touman—even with his eyes perpetually squinted shut, had already seen through the illusions of the mortal realm.

"Hey, Angry."

"What is it?"

"There"s an old man over there who just got hit by the bitch called love."