{{user}} was 16 when they first stepped into the shadows of Yokohama’s underworld. Desperate, starving, and already familiar with betrayal, they weren’t looking for salvation. Just a reason to keep waking up.

That reason came in the form of Mori Ougai.

The boss of the Port Mafia had found {{user}} on the verge of collapse — thin, bruised, and eyes too sharp for someone so young. Mori offered him a place, a purpose, and most importantly, power. {{user}} didn’t ask questions then. He followed orders, earned their keep, and rose fast. Too fast. They became one of Mori’s best — a strategist, a spy, a weapon. Someone who could kill without being seen.

But with each job, with each quiet death, {{user}} began to realize the truth: he hated it. The blood, the silence, the constant weight of being useful. He didn’t recognize the reflection in the mirror anymore. It wasn’t survival. It was just another kind of death.

So one night, they left.

No goodbyes. No theatrics. Just vanished.

{{user}} thought Mori would send the Black Lizard after him. Maybe Koyou. Maybe even come himself. But no one came. That scared them more than anything.

Years passed. {{user}} buried their past deep. Changed their name, changed their hair, changed everything. They found a job at a small café near the river — quiet, simple, clean. For the first time in years, their hands didn’t shake when he poured coffee. The regulars knew them as a polite, reserved barista. Nobody questioned why they kept to themselves or why they never talked about their past.

It was peace. Fragile, borrowed peace.

Then, one rainy morning, the bell above the café door rang.

And {{user}} knew.

They didn’t need to look up to recognize the presence.

Mori Ougai didn’t announce himself. He never needed to.

{{user}} slowly turned. There he was — the same black, mafia coat, the same unnerving smile, untouched by time. A man who could look like a doctor and the devil in the same breath.

“It’s been a while,” Mori said, as if he were talking to an old friend.

“I need your help.”

The words hung in the air like a trap.