The festival was open.

"Yza!"

Standing at Rina's ramen stall as their first customer, Rukia Takanori, dressed up in a beautiful dark blue and pink accented kimono, beckoning her boyfriend to come over and join her.

"Ramen!"

Yza rushed over, completely ignoring his stunning girlfriend in favour for the fragrant bowl of ramen Rina was preparing for him.

"At least we know where his priorities lie." Rukia laughed at him.

"That's... not the response I think she was expecting." Rina chided him before handing over the ramen.

"I'm starving, and between you and the ramen, I'd rather eat the ramen. Sorry!" Yza threw his cash at Rina. "Keep the change!"

"Is sex the only thing on your mind?" Rukia sighed, shaking her head.

"No, I also think about how god damn hot these noodles are! I think I burnt my tongue..." Yza gawked.

"B-be careful while eating it..." Rina handed him a glass of ice water.

"When the food fights back, you know it's fresh." Yza slurped the water, then went back to devouring the rest of his meal.

"Is it true this stall can walk?" Rukia asked while eating her ramen.

"Mhm! There's a little control panel... Sanda, hold onto something, I'm going to show it to them." Rina pressed a green button and pulled a lever forward.

The stall raised itself upwards, and four small legs came out from underneath. Crawling forward, Yza and Rukia jumped out of the way as to not get squished by it. The stall was small enough it could also walk in the same pathway as the people attending.

"Oh wow, it's ramen on wheels!" Rukia was surprised at how smooth it ran.

"That's so cool!" Yza exclaimed, chasing after it.

However, he was stopped by a newly formed wall of festival goers who took notice of her stall walking. They were taking pictures and ordering ramen from it due to how different it was from the other stalls present.

"Welp, that's bust... I wanted seconds too!"

"We can go visit her once things die down. For now, do you want to go play some of the games?"

"Hell yeah! Let's go goldfish scooping, I'm a pro at that!"

"I was thinking we should do the gun shooting."

"Oh, are you good with a gun like your brother?"

"Maybe. You'll just have to see." Rukia winked.

"Ah, fine, let's have it. The loser has to pay for the next snack."

"I hope you brought spare change then~"

"I totally set myself up for bankruptcy haven't I...?"

Rukia hummed as she walked to the gun shooting stall. Yza followed, looking at the lit up lanterns hanging from the trees with a smile. He admired the surroundings, immersed in the hard work done by the organisers and volunteers.

While enjoying the view of the night sky, the intricate decorations, and the colourful attractions, Yza neglected to look where he was going and ended up bumping into someone. Their foreheads smacked together, and both boys fell to the floor.

"Ow ow ow... sorry about tha-" Yza's eyes widened as he looked at who he ran into. "H-holy shit..."

"Watch where you're going, dumbass." Shouto Sawada grumbled, getting up and staring down at Yza. His short red hair and constantly glaring eyes made for a menacing combination.

"Yza, are you okay?!" Rukia rushed over and helped him up.

"I think I'll be fine..." Yza checked his pants to see if he pissed himself in Shouto's presence.

"Oh wow, you're forehead is now as red as your hair." Yu Narukami, Shouto's date, giggled at him.

"I hate the fact that you're right..." Shouto groaned, checking his face on his phone's camera.

"Sorry about that, he can be a real klutz sometimes." Rukia apologised profusely.

"It's fine, no one got seriously injured. Let's move along, shall we?" Yu encouraged Shouto to move past this scuffle.

"Kid, get your head out of the clouds, and treat your woman better. Hold her hand at least." Shouto reprimanded Yza before leaving.

"I-I'll make sure to..." Yza watched as Shouto and Yu walked into the distance.

"Who were those guys?" Rukia asked.

"I have no clue and I wish to never know! Did you see that guy? He's built different!"

"Maybe you should hit the gym then instead of eating instant ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

"I'm not trying to end up like Shika... imagine me as buff. That's cursed."

Rukia tried to imagine it. She cringed.

"Okay, I agree, keep the slim look. We don't need wide Yza."

Elsewhere in the festival was Harusui and Shouri, who had spent their entire day together. As the two looked around, Shouri noticed a certain stall and stopped to check if he read it right. Rubbing his eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He had come across the maid cafe stall. His gaze was transfixed on it. A primal urge made him want to walk in. He refrained, knowing he was on a date with Harusui, but temptation was tugging at his depraved instincts.

"Shouri, is something wrong?" Harusui asked, noticing that Shouri had stopped walking entirely.

Tensai and Kotaro was still spying on them from behind the bushes. Kotaro had grown bored of this spiel, but Tensai was getting comedically angry at Shouri's behaviour through the date.

Shouri stopping in front of the maid cafe was the last straw for him.

"Kotaro, restrain this man. He doesn't deserve my precious granddaughter."

"Can I choose not to? It'll be awkward if I come out of nowhere."

"Just pretend you're going to visit the maid cafe. Then hit him with a strike so furious it'll snap his neck!"

"I'm not trying to kill anyone here!"

Kotaro sighed, shoving what shred of dignity he had remaining deep inside him. Just as he was about to step out and restrain Shouri, he stopped seeing Harusui take action on her own.

(Play song in the media here)

"Ohh, so this is what boys like you are into, hmm? Maid cafes? Are you that lonely?" Harusui started laughing at Shouri.

"H-huh...? S-shit, when did you-?!" Shouri, flushed from embarrassment, stepped back from her.

"If I wasn't with you, you'd definitely go in there, right?"

"N-no way. I'm not that lame. Maid cafes... t-they're for virgin losers who don't know how to talk to girls!" Shouri declared against his will.

"I think you just described yourself."

"I..." Shouri gritted his teeth and looked away. "Ugh, fuck you!"

Harusui laughed at his reaction. Her innocent laugh slowly faded away as she noticed the upset look in Shouri's eyes.

"Did I cut too deep?" She asked worriedly.

"...Leave me alone!" Shouri, unable to express his feelings, shouted at her frustratedly and stormed off into the nearby forest.

Harusui's eyes widened by Shouri's outburst. She huffed, crossing her arms at his childishness. However, Harusui eventually came around and followed after him into the forest.

"This date's been a mess..." Shouri crouched down by a tree, holding his head in agony. "Why am I so lame...? For fucks sake... she'll never want to go out with me anymore..."

After some stumbling around, Harusui found Shouri venting to himself in short mutters. She quietly approached him from behind, listening to his overflowing thoughts that were spilling out.

"Why did I shout at her like that...? I'm fucking pathetic... letting a maid cafe of all things get my attention... I wonder what she thinks of me now... haha, she'd probably say I'm gross with a smile. Ahh, why is she so cute?!"

Shouri hit the roots of the tree with his fist.

"A guy like me... I don't deserve someone like her... I'm bottom class trash while she's an upper class angel... there's no way we'd work out."

He closed his watering eyes.

"I just wish... I could've at least had the courage to ask... if we could..."

Before Shouri could finish, his lips were sealed by Harusui's lips.

"K-kiss..."

His eyes widened as he stared at her deeply crimson face.

"Read your mind." She smiled teasingly.

"W-when did...? W-wait, t-that was my...!" Shouri fell down and scooted back, covering his lips. "D-did you just...?!"

"Yes, I did. Now stop acting like a little kid about it." Harusui twirled the ends of her white hair awkwardly.

"T-talk about yourself! Y-your face looks like it's on fire!"

"At least I'm not freaking out about and panicking on the floor..."

An awkward silence ensued. Harusui had regained her composure as the more mature one, but Shouri was still shaken up by it.

"H-Harusui... was that...? Uh... uh... y-your f-first kiss too?"

"Yes... be grateful that scum like you gets to be the first to taste my lips."

"I-it's an honour..." Shouri squeaked. He covered his face, internally screaming into his hands.

"Not only do you sound like a girl, you even act like one. Why are you freaking out over this so much?"

"I-I just can't believe it's real, okay?! Ahh, this is probably a wet dream... t-there's no way that you'd kiss me willingly...!"

"This is reality, idiot. Though, you'd probably cum from it regardless, awake or asleep." She pointed between his legs and laughed.

"D-don't look there... pervert." Shouri covered his crotch.

"Says the one tempted by a maid cafe."

"I-I... I don't need to visit a maid cafe if I have you!" Shouri forced himself to exclaim.

"Cheesy, but if me dating you will save you from your depravity, then it might actually be worth it." Harusui giggled, crouching in front of him. She whispered into his ear sweetly. "Do you want to do it again?"

Shouri, both aroused and embarrassed, nodded his head sheepishly. Harusui kissed him again, deeper.

"Let's... get out of here..." Shouri mumbled, unable to look at her in the eye.

"Maybe the forest wasn't a good place to exchange our first times." Harusui laughed, holding his hand gently.

Back at the festival, Fubuki screamed in rage as no one was buying from their stall.

"REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! FUCK THAT STUPID ASS DUMB AS SHIT FUCKING RAMEN STALL WITH THEIR FANCY FUCKING WALKING MECHANISMS REEEEEEEEEEEEEE! IF I WASN'T A CHEF I'D GO OVER THERE AND FUCK UP THEIR STALL'S STUPID TWIG LOOKING ASS LEGS AND CRIPPLE THEM REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! THEY'RE STEALING ALL MY FUCKING CUSTOMERS GOD FUCKING DAMN IT REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Maybe the problem is with your screaming..." Raijin deadpanned.

"ME GOING REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE IS GETTING US ATTENTION THOUGH! EVERYONE THAT'S PASSED US HAS LOOKED AT OUR STALL, BUT NONE OF THOSE SPINELESS MOTHERFUCKERS WANT TO BUY FROM ME REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'M SO FUCKING MAD RIGHT NOW, WHY THE FUCK WON'T ANYONE EAT MY GOD DAMN SUPER SECRET TASTY ASS MAKE BITCHES WET LOADED TAKOYAKI REEEEEEEEEEEEEE?!"

Fubuki flailed his spatula wildly, and pointed at a woman in a suit, Nozomi Ginga, that walked past their stall.

"HEY YOU RICH BITCH REEEEEEE! BUY MY GOD DAMN MOTHERFUCKING TAKOYAKI REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I KNOW YOU HAVE THE MONEY, SO EAT MY FUCKING FOOD REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Nozomi, distressed by Fubuki's loud screaming, reluctantly handed over the money out of fear.

"Fubuki, don't threaten the customers! We can't make people buy via threats!" Raijin slammed his hands on the counter. "I'm so sorry about him, business is slow, and he's getting frustrated..."

"NO REFUNDS REEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'M ALREADY MAKING THE FUCKING TAKOYAKI REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"I-it's fine... I was looking for a food stall anyways..." Nozomi laughed nervously. "I didn't know you guys were a takoyaki stand."

"It should say so on our booth." Raijin replied.

"Um... hate to break it to you, but your booth doesn't have a sign..."

Fubuki's mindless screaming stopped momentarily.

"Sorry, what the fuck did you just say?" He asked in a normal tone.

"Y-your booth... it doesn't have a sign..."

"Raijin check this shit out, I can't let the good kush burn."

"Yeah, yeah, just a sec." Raijin stepped outside and looked at the stall from the outside. His face dropped.

"Don't fucking tell me..." Fubuki groaned.

"T-the sign... it's not up..." Raijin muttered in despair.

"You mean... we lost customers because Ira didn't set up our stall right...?!" Fubuki snapped his spatula in half. "IRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YOU USELESS MOTHERFUCKING BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU AND SCOOP YOUR INSIDES OUT WHEN I FIND YOU, YOU STUPID SACK OF COW SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Using his rage as energy, Fubuki cooked up the perfect batch of his special takoyaki for Nozomi. He aggressively handed it over to her.

"THANK YOU FOR BUYING FROM MINI VANGUARDINE! I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE FUCKING FOOD! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"T-thank you..." Nozomi took her food and walked away from the stall.

Expecting business to become non-existent again, Raijin and Fubuki slumped back in their seats in complete disappointment.

"Fucking Ira. All my homies hate Ira."

"Fuck Ira. Stupid cunt."

"Where even is the sign? Did he seriously cop that shit?!"

"REEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Nozomi suddenly returned, slamming her hand on the table.

"I'd like to speak with the chef."

A dark shadow emerged on her face. Raijin gulped, backing off. Fubuki narrowed his eyes.

"Ree. What's wrong, bitch? Didn't like my food? Want a refund?"

"No. I'd like seconds." Nozomi removed her hand from the table, revealing a bill to buy more takoyaki.

"REEEEEE, RAIJIN, WE FOUND OUR FIRST HAPPY CUSTOMER! HOLY SHIT, I'LL MAKE YOU MORE! REEEEEE!"

"I haven't seen Fubuki smile this much in such a long time..." Raijin laughed.

"Psst, you're his friend, right?" Nozomi asked.

"Hm? Yeah."

"Is he single?"

"Huh, yeah. He's way too loud for any-"

Before Raijin could finish, Nozomi marched up to Fubuki.

"Chef! What's your name?"

"IT'S FUBUKI MOTHERFUCKING ANSEI, DON'T YOU FUCKING FORGET IT! REEEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Fubuki, will you marry me? I want to eat your takoyaki everyday."

Fubuki choked. Raijin screamed.

"Bro, what the fuck, do I say yes?!"

"SAY YES, SAY YES TO THE HOT RICH BUSINESS CHICK!"

"YES REEEEEEEEEE, I'LL MARRY YOU REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

That spring, Fubuki and Nozomi got happily married to each other.

Another happy couple exploring the festival's offerings was Aniko and Kiniro Inazuma. The two had just finished playing a ring toss game and was now searching for some food to eat.

"I must say, my performance was poor back there..." Aniko shook her head.

"I think you did great! We managed to win a prize in the end, so it doesn't matter how we got there." Kiniro reassured her.

"I suppose. I can vividly recall when I was amazing at that game... perhaps, I have arthritis." Aniko looked at her floppy wrist.

"I don't think arthritis affects your ability to throw." Kiniro laughed.

"Mm... what's that sweet and salty smell in the air?"

"I think it's... yakisoba!"

The couple ran to the trace of the mouth watering scent, a stall ran by Ryuzaki's free labourer, E. He was cooking a fresh batch of yakisoba, so the thick umami smoke from the griddle diffused into the air.

"This looks delicious! Kiniro, we need to get some!" Aniko excitedly pointed at the stall.

"I agree, this looks awesome. Hey, can we get two yakisobas please?"

"Coming right up."

E took Kiniro's cash and stir fried the yakisoba on the griddle, releasing an even more wonderful tangy and smoky scent into the air to whet their appetites.

Grabbing two freshly baked brioche hot dog buns from the oven underneath the griddle, he slapped the noodles in between them and drizzled mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce on top.

"Here you go, two yakisoba buns for the sweet couple. Enjoy and come again for seconds!"

Kiniro and Aniko had justifiably confused expressions as E handed them yakisoba buns. They sat down by a nearby bench.

"This is... a monstrosity..." Aniko stared at the bun in disappointment.

"I say don't knock it til you try it. It's like having an edible container." Kiniro dinked the end of his bun against the end of Aniko's bun. "Cheers!"

"But... why would you ever put noodles inside two slices of bread? It's going to get soggy..." Aniko was still saddened by the structural integrity, but tried it anyways.

"What do you think?" Kiniro asked while munching on it.

"It's edible. I suppose it could be worse." Aniko said while taking reserved bites.

"Hmm, hang on a second." Kiniro got up and returned with a plastic fork he got from one of the food stalls. "Here. You can hold the bun and eat the noodles separately now."

"Oh, thank you. That's quite clever, fufu." Aniko smiled, eating the yakisoba out of the bun like it was a regular plastic container. "Some part of me wish we got one to share now."

"How come?" Kiniro was actually quite enjoying the yakisoba bun.

"Oh..." Aniko slurped up a single strand of noodle while recalling a classic movie she watched. A small tint of rose ran across her face as she finished her thoughts. "Let's save that for when we have spaghetti, okay?"

Kiniro blushed slightly too, understanding her implications. He chuckled, nodding.

"Sure. We can share a plate of spaghetti in the future."

Zeon was at a sweets stall buying a candied apple. He went to the festival alone, but planned to meet up with his friends later to watch the concert that was going to be held that evening. Just as he was about to leave, Zeon heard the loud crying of a small child.

He could've walked away and pretended to not hear the desperate cry, but a pang of guilt sunk in his heart as he thought about what could be wrong. He looked over his shoulder and saw a small girl, alone and crying for her parents, standing next to the stall he just bought his food from.

An image of Rose popped into his head. With a determined look, he approached the small girl and extended the candied apple to her.

"Here. When you're feeling sad, eat sweets to feel better." Zeon smiled tenderly at the little girl. She sniffled, taking the candy and eating it.

"Thank you..." She mumbled, wiping her tears. "Mommy... daddy..."

"Ah, are you lost? Did you get separated from your parents?" Zeon quickly caught on what had happened based on her mumbling.

"Yes... I was with mommy... but..." The little girl looked down guilty. "I stopped holding her hand..."

"I see. Well, let's go find her then." Zeon said.

"You'll help me...?"

"Of course I will. Actually, a long time ago... I got lost in a festival once too. I kept crying for mom and dad to come, but it was actually my sister who found me." He laughed as he recalled what happened that day. "I'm Zeon Ishima. How about you?"

"S-Shizuka... Shizuka Chabashira."

"Alright, Shizuka. Hold my hand tightly and don't let go. I'll take you to the organisers, they'll be able to help you out."

Zeon held Shizuka's hand as they went to go find Ryuzaki.

Elsewhere, Backlion and Akari were wandering around the festival looking for something fun to do.

"You should've let me go into that maid cafe." Backlion sulked.

"Then you should've let me go to that yaoi booth." Akari huffed.

"Our apartment is already filled with your boy on boy filth! I've walked in way too many times seeing things a man shouldn't see!"

"And how do you think I feel when you're flirting with other girls, huh? It's like I don't even exist when you chat up some bimbo with bigger tits than me!"

"Shut up, your tits are big enough!"

"Have you seen me compared to Lucine?" Akari stopped her arguing briefly. "Oh shit, Lucine!"

"You mellowed out quick."

"This is more important than our dumb argument." Akari took out her phone and rang Lucine.

"Akari, hey! I'm at the festival now!" Lucine answered.

"Uh... same, but like... bad news."

"What happened?"

"I had no luck bringing Shisue to the festival grounds. I called her, her phone died, then when I went to visit her house, no one was there."

"That's troublesome... well, thanks for trying anyways."

"No prob... where are you right now?"

"I'm at the central stage."

"Cool, I'll see you there then. Spending another minute with Backlion is torture."

"I'm right here you know!" Backlion wheezed.

"Alrighty then. See ya~"

Lucine ended the call. Akari crossed her arms and sighed.

"What's the matter?" Backlion asked.

"Something about this seems off. Why's Lucine at the central stage? That's off limits until the concert."

"Maybe she's got passes from a band that's playing? I know Chiharu's there to help her dad set up for their idols."

"Well, we're taking a trip there and going in whether they like it or not."

"Unauthorised access is my speciality! As an illegal immigrant once, I safely say I can sneak into any area without being detected."

"Should've snuck into that maid cafe then." Akari rolled her eyes.

"Damn, that's deep. I wish I had Kurakuya's abilities sometimes."

Kurakuya was watching the war that was about to ensue from the shadows.

"This is going to be one for the records."

He scribbled down something down in a journal and disappeared.

Lucine was backstage, quietly thinking to herself. She turned to her brother.

"Ren... I want to end it all here. Their blackmailing... our hunt for them... and this job."

"This job is pretty shit. I'd never thought in a million years my next target would be my own girl."

As Rentaro smothered a cigarette under his foot, wisps of smoke escaped the corner of his lips.

"I know Shisue isn't a bad person. I don't want to... hurt her."

"It's more accurate to say you don't want to hurt your friends."

Lucine flinched as Rentaro saw past her lie.

"That... too."

"There's no backing out now, sis. You've set your trap. I don't really get it though... dragging Riku out here sounds like a recipe for disaster."

Rentaro laughed, Lucine shook her head.

"As much as I hate to call her this, Riku is our bait. She's going to be what lures Shisue and the other underground fighters out here to the surface."

"Shisue I get, cuz she's coming here anyways to expose Riku's ass publicly, but the underground fighters? They don't give a fuck about her."

"The thing is, they do. She used to be a former Queen... or, well, it seems she's the current Queen now. The person she dethroned was the one who paid Shisue off to blackmail her."

"And who'd that be?"

"Kuro Anima. One of your past enemies, Rentaro." With the help of Maverick, a limping Kizari sat down with Lucine and Rentaro.

"This is Kizari Yui. She was investigating the mysterious defeat of all the underground members. Just as she was about to leave, Shisue defeated her and knocked her out. Luckily, Maverick found her and retrieved her." Lucine explained.

"Anima? Seriously, that bastard was the King?" Rentaro broke into raucous laughter. "How weak is underground if he's ruling it? This operation's gonna be a piece of fucking cake!"

"My honey boo wasn't picking up, so I got real worried. Good thing Callum knew a thing or two about the underworld as well." Maverick grinned.

"Callum, huh? I think I once smuggled a kid from England named that once, heh." Rentaro snickered.

"Ren, it's not a good idea to confess one of your crimes here..." Lucine chided him. "Anyways, I'm planning on making our war a show."

"A show, huh? If that's what you want, we can do it." Rentaro laughed.

"How are you going to do that? The line between the underworld and the surface are blurring because of your conflict with the Ikumashi. This is a serious matter. We can't treat it like a game." Kizari said.

"What do you mean? Look around at where we are. It's a festival. Every festival needs a good show." Lucine said.

"Where are you going with this?" Kizari raised an eyebrow.

"Our opponents aren't murderers, or thieves, or arsonists. They have the potential to be, but just like me and you, they're people who like to play Vanguard more than anything else. Just because they're from the underworld doesn't mean they're stronger than us automatically. Their strength isn't in physical fighting. If that was the case, we'd bring dad and Yuuki-nii along as back-up. But it isn't, which is why me and Ren are here."

"I can kick ass perfectly fine, but I prefer drawing out their suffering through a card game." Rentaro flashed an unhinged smile.

"We're the Mitsuki Special Op's Thinkers. The ones who solve cases without violence."

"I think I get it now. You're going to drive them back underground by beating them in a cardfight." Kizari said.

"Exactly. Once they realise that the underworld stands no chance against the surface, they'll retreat. The possibility of revenge exists... but while we're still here as enforcers, we won't allow them to harm the surface ever."

"Well put little sis. If those guys wanna attack what's up here, they're gonna have to beat us first!"

"That's great and all, but what about Shisue? She won't back down just because you beat her, will she?" Kizari asked.

"I'll suggest some stakes for our match. She can have whatever she wants if she wins, but if I win, I want her to quit the blackmailing for good. This includes Riku's as well."

"What if she refuses?"

"I... don't have a plan for that. I just have to trust that... she'll accept." Lucine shook her head. "No... I know she'll accept. If the person I went to school with is the real Shisue... then she will. I have to believe that."

"I can't believe you're going to rely on something flimsy like that... maybe it's best if we gather the money and pay her off."

"No. I won't bend the knee to blackmail."

"This is a losing battle... even if you two are going to drive them back, there are hundreds of players in the underground that will seek revenge for what Riku did to them. Who knows how many are marching to the surface right now as we speak?"

"I know a lot of them are coming... which is why I've gathered all my friends here."

"What do you mean?"

"This is sis's second reason for setting the trap here in this bustling festival." Rentaro snickered. "She's our social agent for a reason, you know."

Flicking his head up, Rentaro pointed his chin at the masses of people approaching the stage. Kizari's eyes widened as she saw the vast amount of allies Lucine had managed to gather on her side for this occasion.

"Time wasn't on our side. We had to be effective when getting support. What better place to get friends at a moment's notice than at a social event, right?" Lucine smiled.

"Ryuzaki's ready whenever you are." Maverick said.

"Great. Let's fuck this shit up!" Rentaro cackled.

Lucine nodded in agreement. She walked to the front stage to greet her friends.

"We'll resolve it all right here. Riku's blackmailers, the feud with Ikumashi, and giving the masses an extravagant show to watch, all on the stage of the ultimate festival!"