High & Low ~The story of SWORD~

Act 15: Declarations

Author's Note:

!Important New Chapter. I have edited the story and back to continue it. I organized the chapters and deleted a few. Chapter 15 is newly added. And more will follow. The way I ended this fan-fiction was too rushed. Let me know your thoughts! It's great to be back!

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters, places, names, etc (only the OCs -e.g. Kasumi ). It all belongs to Sigeaki Kubo & LDH project

~ Act Fifteen: Declarations ~

At Itokan Diner, everyone had returned. Since the last call, they had faced yet another fight. Slowly but surely, the situation had become more serious. All they wanted was to protect their city and stand by their friends, but they had to confront not just their enemies, but also their friends and, in the end, their own demons.

"Ugly, it hurts! Be more careful," Yamato complained as Naomi carefully tried to bandage his arm.

Naomi smiled faintly, replying, "I'll kill you!"

The rest were also tending to their wounds and cleaning their cuts. Cobra, as usual, lounged on the red sofa, his usual air of indifference undisturbed. Beside him sat Kasumi. Recently, she had started to be treated like a full-fledged member of the Sannoh Rengokai, her days of posing as a boy now behind her. It was time to decide her own future, separate from the past she had lived. Cobra had offered her a place in his room until she figured things out, though, with all the recent tension, he hadn't been taking advantage of that offer.

"Who could be behind the attacks?" Chiharu asked, breaking the silence.

"If this keeps up, it's only going to get worse," Sannoh Rengokai's Leader muttered. Suddenly, he was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. He answered, then hung up quickly, standing up, a look of surprise crossing his face. "Yamato! Let's go!"

Yamato looked at him, sensing something was off. "Who was it?" he asked, pulling on his shirt.

"Kohaku-san," Cobra replied cryptically.

Kasumi, eager to accompany them, stood up, but Cobra held up a hand, signaling her to stay behind. "Just Yamato and I," he said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Yamato and Cobra headed out to meet Kohaku. Meanwhile, Kasumi decided it was time to confront her father. She'd had enough of Kuryu's influence in her life. After all, he was part of the Kuryu Group. "Tettsu, take me somewhere," she said firmly.

A few minutes later, Kasumi and Tettsu arrived at the Iemura Group's headquarters. It was time to settle things once and for all. This madness had gone on for long enough. If an attack on SWORD was truly what they were planning, Kasumi would stand with them. As a member of the Hoodlum Squad, it was time for her to make her own stance known.

"Tettsu, wait for me here. It won't take long!" she said, as she climbed off his bike.

Tettsu grabbed her arm, concern in his eyes. "Kasumi-san, I can't let you go in alone."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Don't worry. My last name is still Iemura. No one will dare to hurt me, at least not for now."

The Iemura Group was in the middle of a meeting when Kasumi arrived. Without waiting to be announced, she barged in, her voice sharp as she addressed her father. "We need to talk!"

Her father looked up, clearly shocked. "Kasumi, what are you doing here? We're in the middle of something important!"

"I don't care!" she snapped. "I'm here to settle things once and for all. I can't wait anymore!"