I did eventually get around to calling Miya. I ended up waking him because I didn't get the time difference right. I knew he would get in trouble and so did he, but I kept him on the phone long enough to tell him I was staying in New York longer then I thought. He gave a disappointed sigh before he said he understood. I hated having to hear that sad, almost whimper like noise he makes when he's disappointed. When we hung up, I sat down on the couch in Hisoka's apartment. He had been letting me stay with him until I became a regular. This wasn't really his apartment since he didn't come to New York often, this was a vacant apartment owned by Jia. The other heads of the 36 Moons have places in New York and Japan. I yawned as I said,

"Hisoka...tell me what else you know about the 36 Moons."

He was in the bedroom, leaving his stuff inside as he came back out. He sighed as he pulled the tie loose from his neck as he said,

"Why do you wanna know about them so bad?"

"I'm curious. I heard rumors...but you're the closest source I got."

He nodded as he as walked over to me and sat down beside me as he said,

"Well...I'm not exactly privileged myself. I'm a hired hand for Jia whenever he's one short. Toki's always missing somewhere or he just doesn't feel like being there and Aoki and Akio are sometimes alternating. Everyone's got a job so I'm just there in case. I actually don't do much. So what I know, isn't too clear."

"But tell me what you know anyway."

He leaned back as he said,

"Well..I'm not sure where to begin."

"Tell me about this situation."

"The situation going on now?"

"Yeah. What's everyone gonna be like?"

"Well for now, everyone's okay, but they're on guard and a little paranoid. We all are."

"Why?"

"Enemies are around."

He pulled off the tie from his neck as he folded it in his hands and then said,

"Where did you put your gun?"

"Over there by the luggage."

He sighed as he got up and went over to my luggage as he picked up the gun sitting there. He brought it back to me as he said,

"Never be more then four inches away from your weapon. You never know when you would need it."

I nodded as I set it beside me and he said,

"Who'd you call?"

"Miya."

"So that's who got you wanting to run back to Japan. Is she pretty?"

"Miyabi."

"Huh?"

"His name is Miyabi. I call him Miya for short."

"So it's a him. It's cool, wouldn't be the first."

"First of, he's my best friend it's not like that. Second, what do you mean I wouldn't be the first?"

"It's not new news, Toki digs everyone you know that."

"That I know."

"He digs everyone around him, including Aya, Mikkie and Jia."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. And you're pretty enough too so I'd watch myself around him."

I felt a warm flood of color in my face as I cleared my throat and he got up.

"Go to sleep. But keep your cell phone on. You never know if Jia will call."

I nod and he goes to the bedroom and shuts the door behind him. I take off my coat and change into my night clothes and lay down on the couch, pulling the blanket over me and closing my eyes for the night.

It felt like I only slept for two minutes when I heard my cell phone ring. I answered it only to hear Jia telling me to go back to the building, there was a situation and he needed me and Hisoka. I agreed before hanging up and getting to my feet as I started getting dressed. Being ripped from my sleep however made me groggy and I couldn't remember where I left everything. Hisoka came out of his bedroom pulling up his coat as he said,

"Hurry up! We gotta leave."

I nodded, pulling up my pants and buttoning a button on my shirt before I pulled up my coat, grabbing my gun and my cell phone as I got my shoes on and followed Hisoka out the door, doing my pants up as we got in the elevator. As I stood there, tightening the belt, Hisoka helped me with the buttons as he said,

"God you can tell you're new."

He yawned a moment later as he finished up and the elevator stopped, allowing us off. We ran across the lobby and outside where it was raining. We stood soaked for a minute before he said,

"Come on. We'll take the train."

And we ran to the subway and took the train to Jia's building.

When we got there, I was more awake but soaking wet. As I slicked my hair back, Jia explained how the Koreans had moved in and set fire to a warehouse in Queens. They were trying to shove Jia out by any means necessary. I looked over at Toki who was half asleep himself, a black hat pulled over his left eye as his bangs fell to the side of his face. He had a cigarette in his mouth as his held his hands in his pockets of his jeans. Jia was in a suite, looking as if he had been up all day, waiting for this. He lit a cigarette as he said,

"You looked tired Joryu."

I shook it off as he said,

"Good because we have to get to Queens right now."

He tossed me the car keys with a flick of the wrist as I caught them and bowed my head and started going outside to get the car. It was parked in the lot about a block down from out building to remain more like a regular car rather then what it was really used for. I went up a flight of stairs as I got the floor where the car was parked. I took the alarm off as I suddenly heard someone behind me. I turned, thinking it might have been Hisoka but instead it was someone else. Another guy, dressed in a suite and tie just out of the rain as he held an umbrella in his hand. He shook it out and I was about to turn back and get the car when he looked up at me, narrowed his eyes as he raised a gun. I dove onto the floor and then got back up to my knees as I took my gun out and raised back up. He looked down and without another word I fired a shot. It hit him dead on, his umbrella falling from his hand as he suddenly dropped to his knees and fell forward. I looked at his body for a moment before I remembered the car and got up. I was about to get to the car when I stopped and turned back, picking up the umbrella and got to the car and drove off. I pulled up in front of the building and putting the car in park, I got out and opened the umbrella as I opened the door for Jia. He walked under the black material as he said,

"Where did this come from?"

"I had a little run in with someone."

He looked at me as he smiled and I opened the door for him. He got inside as Toki followed and Hisoka and I got in the front as I pressed the gas and made the fastest K-turn in history as I sped towards Queens. It was the only thing I was really good was driving, it was where no one could say a word to me about anything. In the middle of the night, with few cars, rain and the narrowest streets to drive on since Japan, I managed to get us there in about twenty minutes. We saw Aoki and Aya standing at a street at one point, Aya standing under an umbrella that Aoki was holding over both of them. I pulled the car beside them as Jia rolled down the window and said,

"So?"

Aoki leaned down as he said,

"The warehouse is blown. Some of the lower heads of the Yami and our own were there. Few got out, others got cooked."

Jia sighed as he said,

"Where's Tsubasa?"

"The ningyo hasn't shown up yet. Jiki has though. Ai'iro is on the other side of Queens right now, making sure that nothing else happened."

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing. They just blew shit sky high and took off."

Jia sighed as he said,

"You and Pretty Aya got a way back to Manhattan."

"Hai."

Jia nodded as he said,

"Go home then. I doubt anything else will happen tonight. Tomorrow, tell everyone to come back here and take care of shit. Find any of them, kill them."

Aoki nodded as he stood up straight, the window rolling back up as Jia then said,

"Go to Jackson Heights. Jun, Akio and Gabriel are more then likely at the scene of the fire."

I nodded and quickly drove there.

Sure enough at the scene was Jun, Akio and Gabriel. Gabriel was talking to a cop there as Akio and Jun were walking around, surveying the damage done as the firemen finished putting out the fire. Once Akio saw the car, he nudged Jun and the two of them went over to us. Jia rolled down then window as he said,

"Well?"

Jun leaned down, his wet hair covering half his face as he said,

"Three of ours dead, three of the Yami's dead, two injured four of the Yami. The ones who are hurt were taken over to Queens Hospital. Second degree burns. The building itself is gone. The land is useless and it was arson. The one who did it knows fire and knows it well. It was made to look like an accident."

Jia nodded as he said,

"Cops know what was really going on inside?"

Akio leaned down, tucking his hair back as he said,

"Nothing. They think it was a regular warehouse stocking up for the next morning when a pipe blew."

Jia nodded as he said,

"All right. Take care of things here. Afterwards go home. See any trouble take care of it."

They nodded as they went back to doing what they were doing as Jia then said,

"Okay, let's go back home."

So I drove back to Manhattan. I dropped Jia off at his building as he woke Toki up and they left. When I was driving Hisoka and myself back, I heard him saying,

"What happened at the parking lot?"

"Some guy tried to kill me. I took a shot."

I felt him smile as he nudged me and said,

"Good work."

I didn't realize until much later I had done what I said to Miya I wouldn't do...because I'm just driving a car. But it wasn't like a choice in matter. When we got back to Hisoka's place, I laid down, more awake then I was before as I laid there in my night clothes looking up at the ceiling that was now streaking with light. I had made my first kill. And I didn't feel anything afterwards because I lived. That was all that mattered. I really was my father's son.