Raizo sat within his great room, staring ominously into the roaring fire before him. The mahogany walls where adorned with elaborate tapestries, depicting famous figures of the Iwamano family. He sighed, getting up uneasily from his chair. My, does that black leather chair feel good on his aching back. Rubbing his scruffy beard, he glanced at the shelf above the fireplace.

Walking over, he glanced over the pictures. His mother, his father. His wife. His grandchildren. So many members of a family he had to uphold. Yet his honor was slipping away, and the school board council was beginning to notice the problems at Justice High. Despite his meeting with Ran, he knew his public image was decreasing as steadily as his hair.

Coughing, he waltzed across the floorboards, away from the mantle. This mansion was so big. My, and to think he lived here alone.... Well, there was Demitrius and Joanna, but they where merely servants. It would be nice to hear the patter of little feet in the house, or the warm caress of his lover next to him...

But those where dreams, dreams long since extinguished under the ever increasing weight of reality. His only marriage ended in divorce, but not before bearing children, children he had not seen in years. Someday... someday he might go find them.

A loud 'DONGGGG' rang through the cavernous chamber. The dinner bell. Sighing, he pushed open the double doors and entered the dining room.

"Greetings, Mister Iwamano!" Chirped Demitrius. He looked like a bird, his elongated neck arched to point his birdlike nose tot he ceiling. He constantly smiled, his beady eyes watching Raizo's every movement. He held a covered silver tray in his hand, and the aroma drafting outwards brought a frown to Raizo's face.

Sighing, he sat at the head of the elongated fifty-foot table, the tablecloth perfectly ironed and dozens of candles lit. There where places set for twenty people, but only Raizo ever ate. Nobody else was ever here.

Demitrius dropped the tray in front of Raizo, then put a towel over his arm. "Will that be all sir?"

Sighing, he knew what it was. Pulling off the cover, the steaming moisture made him hack and cough. Lobster. Perfectly cooked and tender lobster. Raizo HATED lobster. It was so expensive, a marking of the rich and famous. And Raizo never felt particularly rich. Although his fame was spreading, in ways he preferred it would not. Sighing, he recovered the tray and pushed it away.

Demitrius blinked. "Something wrong sir?"

His eyebrows furrowed, and he swallowed his urge to strangle his scrawny neck. He KNEW he hated any shellfish. Yesterday he had crab, and the day before prawns.

"Next time, I want a sirloin steak. If I get another shellfish tomorrow, the meal won't be the only thing thrown out to the dogs."

Demitrius frowned, stiffly bowing and leaving. He hated Raizo, for reasons he didn't even know. Nobody ever talked to him anyway, and he didn't care to ask. Another box of crackers for dinner tonight...

"Are ya sure ya don't wants me ta fluff yer pillows, sir?" Said Joanna. She was an African American, a bit meaty but still not unattractive. She donned the black attire of the maid, along with the white bonnet atop her. She smiled, and fluffed his pillow anyways.

"That'll be all, Joanna." Raizo muttered. Joanna was the only one in this world who truly was nice to him, besides maybe Anamia, but he didn't know if it was because of him or his bank account. After one last fluff, she absconded and left Raizo in his room. He had a walk in closet, and two wardrobes. How many suits did he need? Not this many. Sighing, he rolled under the covers, pulling the satin sheets closer to him, and fell into a restless sleep.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!" screamed the angered student. He was caught wearing a black leather jacket in class, and was sent to the principals office. The new dress code was now being strictly enforced, with dire consequences for breaking any rules.

"You are well aware of the dress code, are you not?" said Raizo calmly. Anger now would make him look worse, and the media was on his back like flies on Akuma's ass.

"But.. but.. I-I-I" sputtered the student. He clenched his fist and stamped, then sat down.

"Who is your leader?" Raizo said lowly, writing down the general appearance of the lad. Black leather jackets where the sign of the primary gang within the school.

"I ain't not saying nuttin'!" said the lad. What atrocious grammar.

"So who is your language teacher?" Raizo said, a small smirk on his chiseled features. The young man seemed taken aback, confused by the question. Scratching his head, thinking, he muttered "Mister.. umm.. Hojimbo."

Hojimbo. A C block teacher. Hmmmm.. so is...

"How would you like to be transfered to Mister Hideo, with personal tutoring?" The boy's eyes boggled, and he squealed.

"NONONONO!!! ANYONE BUT HIM!!" he said, eeping.

"Fine. Come to school dressed properly and get your marks up in English or you will be." A rapid succession of nods came from the now broadly smiling student. Nodding, the grizzled headmaster scribbled something on a piece of paper and gave it to him. Two hours detention.

He frowned, but put the paper in his jacket pocket. Reconsidering, he pulled it out and put it into the orange trousers assigned to him by the school, taking off the jacket and setting it on Raizo's desk with a slight smile.

"I... I'll stay out of gangs now I guess..." was the last thing he said before running out. That brought a smile to Raizo. Maybe there was hope for the students' sti--

What was that? A pamphlet was ticking out of the jacket pocket. Pulling it out, he glanced over it. And gasped. A gang war. A gang war was going to happen on Justice High -- and it would happen tomorrow.

"Do NOT screw with me right now, Hideaki!!" Raizo snarled, slamming the pamphlet on the ground. This gang was organized, very much so, and now where threatening the very lives of the students. And only this person knew where he could find his answers.

"I'm sorry, I'm going to be busy for awhile. Mayhaps another--"

"DON'T give me that. Would you like being thrown back into Gedo High??"

Hideaki's smiled drained into a frown.

"And you would certainly like to see scum like us where we belong." he said darkly.

Sputtering, Raizo managed to cough out "W-What do you mean..?"

Hideaki smiled, standing up. "I am fully aware of your horrid dislike for Gedo High and its faculty. An opinion I could make quite public if I so wanted. And you would not want that now would you Mister Iwamano?"

Raizo was taken agast, but regained his composure. "And how would you do something like that?"

Deftly leaning back on his chair, he chuckled. "I have a date with an interesting person.. I believe you had an encounter with her."

Raizo straightened, staring at Hideaki with scorn in his eyes.

"Ran... Ran Hibiki huh? You think some wannabe reporter with half a brain could do anything to hurt my reputation? So what if I despise Gedo, you can't prove it no matter how many lamebrains you date!!"

"I think I could now." said Hideaki, holding up a tape recorder. Ominously, it rewound and replayed the entire conversation. Raizo had never been so angry in his life. This man played him for a fool, and succeeded in it.

"Don't think that will stop me from expelling you." snarled Raizo, a bluff he hoped would not be called. Hideaki tsked tsked.

"I never said I would not help you. I gave you a name -- Edge. Contact him for your answers." The name sat in his head again, and he closed his eyes. Fine. He could be stubborn if he wanted. He would pursue that name, and see if it leads him anywhere at all.

"Fine. You can leave. Go." Bowing slightly, Hideaki coolly left the area, shutting the door behind him. Sighing, Raizo looked over his papers. There was 13 students sent here today. His standards and protocol would be done in a week, and maybe then some order can be restored to this blasted school.