One could almost smell the tension, the excitement, the freedom in the air circulating about the room like a pinwheel caught in a windstorm.

Tension? Commonplace in Gedo. Excitement? You've come to the right place; there was always, always something going on in Gedo. Even after Daigo had taken control of the school, that hadn't changed; the violence slowed down, but things sometimes happened, regardless. It couldn't be helped.

But freedom could hardly be considered a word to describe Gedo. In many ways, it was a prison, only the prisoners could go home at night. Freedom only came at a certain hour, when the tedium of classes finally halted. Everyone knew it was almost time to go in that little room, filled with students. Freedom would arrive again today, and its presence would be hailed.

The clock struck four.

As the bell rang its victorious ring, the boys of Gedo who were currently enrolled in sixth hour basic math stampeded out the door and down the hall. Edge normally would've been the first one out, but meeting with Daigo required a more careful, deliberate pace. Running through the school like a maniac on speed did not qualify as "careful". After the thunder of footsteps died down, Edge followed more sedately. People would notice the difference and assume that he was doing something important, but they didn't matter.

Lack of sleep, on the other hand, did matter. He managed to sneak a short nap in earlier that day, but it hardly was enough. At least it succeeded in partially warding off the zombie-like state he had been in just hours ago.

There. Out. Out into the harsh wilderness of sunlight and air pollution. As opposed to the harsh wilderness of the school. A few students still milled about, but for the most part, the grounds had been abandoned.

Again, these people did not matter. Only one person did, one who stood right in front of the wall, arms folded as he watched the yard with an impassive expression. Edge immediately recognized him.

Daigo Kazama. The Soubanchou. The gang leader of all Gedo.

Even to the most experienced observer, the type who has seen every kind of person from rich bitch to poor squatter, Daigo could be adequately described in a single word: intimidating. A very tall man and a muscular one, though not quite as tall as Gan and certainly not as wide, he cut quite the imposing figure. Edge judged him to be what girls could consider "attractive" (at least attractive enough to keep any girls from talking to himself); hell, he even looked good in the all-black upperclassman's school uniform he wore. Dark brown hair swept back from his scalp to the back of his neck, and equally-colored eyes ironically revealed his only physical flaw: a scar cutting across his right eye. More than a few times, Edge wondered if he was blind in that eye. Even to this day, he still wasn't sure.

In any case, there Daigo stood. Meeting him was of utmost importance. Struggling to keep his composure, Edge approached Daigo with the reverence that a devout Catholic would display to the Pope. Of course, the causes of such feelings in both cases were completely unrelated.

Etiquette demanded that the Soubanchou speak first.

"Good afternoon," he greeted in a brusque manner. Typical of the man, really. He wasn't cruel, per say, but he didn't earn his reputation on mercy.

Edge took a quick look-around; when he realized that no one else was within listening range, he opted to go for a more informal approach, beginning with dropping the title.

"Good afternoon, Daigo. Listen, I got the money from that Barrock guy. We had a tough time shaking it out of him, but he gave in with some... persuasion."

Daigo is not going to hear about the car, Edge thought, summoning his resolve. He will not hear about it. Daigo's knowledge of the event would mean that Edge would be in quite a bit of hot water; he would certainly not approve of stealing a car to pay for someone's debts.

"Oh?" His voice revealed mild interest; the Soubanchou was damn near unreadable unless he didn't want to be. "How much persuasion?"

"Eh, just persuasion." He shrugged, not wanting to come clean.

"Did it require a beating?"

"No..."

"Ah, a threat, then."

"Yeah, that's it. A threat," he lied. Edge reached into his pocket and removed the now-tightly rolled money. "Here's what he gave us. I don't know if it's enough to cover the charges, but it's at least a start."

Daigo unrolled the yen and leafed through it for a moment, probably counting it, since Edge would never bother doing that. In fact, Edge had forgotten how much money was owed. "Edge?"

"What is it?"

"This is too much."

Too... much? Edge mentally smacked himself, wishing he had taken some of the money out of the roll. I didn't think it'd be...

"Really? Maybe he gave too much by mistake. It was dark out."

"He gave nearly fifty-thousand yen more than what he owed."

Shit. Shit shit shit.

"Maybe... Maybe he just can't count?" He smiled anxiously. I really blew it this time...

"Edge-"

"Edge!" another voice thundered over Daigo's, oddly enough, as Gan lumbered over to the other two. "Edge, where were you? We still have to talk to the Soubanchou!"

"Umm... Gan, he's right here." How could he not notice? he thought, rolling his eyes.

"Oh!" Gan turned to look at Daigo, then bowed deeply to him. "I apologize, Soubanchou."

"Gan," Daigo said. "Edge. What happened when you tried to get the money-"

He bobbed back up again. "It was all his idea!" Gan bellowed, pointing to Edge. "He made me do it!"

Daigo calmly raised an eyebrow. "He made you do... what?"

Edge's eyes widened. Idiot! "Gan! Gan, what are you-"

"He made us steal that guy's car! I didn't want to do it, honest!" Gan began to wail.

"You stole a car?"

"I didn't want to, I didn't want to..."

"Thank you, Gan. You may go now."

"Thank you, and have a nice day!" Gan bowed again, then straightened and walked away.

Thanks a lot, Gan, Edge thought sarcastically. Now I'm screwed...

Daigo waited until Gan was out of vision until he spoke again. "Edge?"

"Yes, Daigo...?"

"Your knives. Give them to me."

Aw man...

Edge reached into both pockets and reluctantly pulled out one knife. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six knives total. He gave them to Daigo in a pile, who took them and placed them into a bookbag at his feet.

"And the others, too."

The others, too? Edge mentally groaned as he found himself forced to remove no less than seven knives from the left half of the inside of his jacket. He held the blades out in front of Daigo hilt-first, offering them to him.

He accepted the offer, grasping the knives in both hands, then deposited those, too, into the bookbag. Giving Edge a most discouraging look, he said, "And if you ever try to do something like that again behind my back, it'll be more than the knives."

With a quick swallow, Edge thought it best to leave. Now. "So, Soubanchou... May I leave now?"

"All right. Good bye, Edge."

Edge bowed hastily to Daigo. "I'll see you later..."

He then turned and left school grounds, aiming to wander the streets until it got dark out.

Fuck...

In an unknown city in Japan, there is an alleyway that no one knows about. That is to say that people see it, but they don't see it. It remains unhailed by the vast majority of citizens; hence, it is invisible to the wrong eyes.

Edge could say that he saw it. He never turned a blind eye to this place. He lurked in the hidden corners; it allowed an easy escape. These alleys were more of a home than his parents' house had ever been. He knew that he was unwelcome there, so he tried to stay away whenever possible.

Besides, when away from society, Edge could think. Or at least find someone to take his aggression out on, away from prying eyes. He was still pissed about losing his knives. In fact, if it had been anyone but Daigo, they would've been in the hospital by now. Or in the morgue.

Of course, that wasn't the case; it had been Daigo, and his knives were gone. There were more stored away in his room, but he didn't want to go there to fetch them. They could wait until tomorrow. Edge watched his reflection in a mud puddle mimic him and pass by as he walked down the alley.

"So, it's one of Kazama's boys, eh?" a voice called out from behind him.

He span around to see three young men, about his age, maybe older. None appeared to be armed, but the impending darkness of the sky told him to be careful; appearances are frequently deceiving, especially when all is not visible.

However, his thoughts differed from his instincts greatly. "Yeah, I am. So?" Edge's arrogant smirk almost dared them to try something; even without his knives, a fight would feel good. A fight that he was confident in winning, no less.

The speaker of the three, who seemed to be the leader, approached him. "We don't like Kazama's boys too much. They're scum. Full of themselves. Just because you're his lackey doesn't make you invincible. He can't be everywhere at once."

"I don't need the Soubanchou's help. I can take care of myself. Want me to prove it?" His grin only grew more infuriating as he crept towards them.

The leader only returned this expression. "Of course, but now isn't the time, Gedo boy. Tomorrow is much better. Our schedule is all filled up today, I'm afraid." He paused for a moment, then added, "Yes, tomorrow is better. Eight o' clock in the evening. Down at the old Teshoka warehouse. Go alone or with a friend. The end result will still be the same. Unless you're too much of a coward to face the challenge."

He knew where the warehouse was, of course, but that was just stupid. Edge, back down? Never. "You've got yourself a date. Don't forget to bring your bodybags!" He stared them down, leaning towards them, until they shrugged and walked away, with a simple muttered reply.

"Yeah, it'll be your funeral."

A laugh followed this, and they faded away into the darkness.

Edge watched them go, then his face fell.

I need to talk to Gan...

"Did you hear them?" a female voice asked from the rooftop overlooking the blond guy who dressed loudly - the girl referred to him as Knife Boy because he always carried knives with him. She didn't know his name, even after two weeks of studying him, but his name didn't matter. All that counted was that he represented a very real threat to her current employer's operation.

"Of course." Her companion, her henchgirl, nodded. "Allying with those Akuseizama nutjobs was a good idea, Zaki. They have such good sound equipment." The dark-haired girl grinned, a long scar running across her face mimicking the movement. "All good and recorded."

"Good." Zaki's long pink ponytail and loose blue and white garb flapped lightly in the breeze. "But this makes our job so much more difficult, eh, Katsumi? I mean, the boss of the Akuseizama gang's not gonna be too thrilled about Nikki shooting off his mouth again." She sent a glare to the leader of the trio below, away from Knife Boy, and she grimaced harshly under the mask that shrouded her nose and mouth. She felt grateful for that mask; even if Katsumi was practically second-in-command, she didn't want her knowing everything she felt. Her hand tightened around her chain in anticipation.

"Oh well, they're big boys. They can handle it." Katsumi laughed as she said this, the irony in the situation prevalent; they couldn't handle it at all. That was why the boss had hired Zaki and her gang.

"Hmph. They'll get what's coming to them. They all will in the end. If you're strong, you win. If you're weak, you die."

And man may be smart, but woman is smarter.