It had not even been a day and a half since she left, and while I had shed as many tears as the rest of my dear friends, I felt something change within.

I still stood staring up at the now dusky sky, watching the sun melt behind the clouds cascading a pool of pink and yellow across the horizon, and I felt a small spark ignite inside me.

It had taken nearly all my patience to assure the others of 4th gen that I was alright and I just needed sometime alone.

Luna and Towa were particularly difficult to get to leave, each latching onto an arm while Watame's pained worried look burnt itself into my brain.

They demanded to know what I was going to do with myself, and wrapping my patience around me like a cloak, I assured them that I simply wished to look at the sky and I had no ulterior motives.

I breathed a prayer of relief when Watame pryed them off of me and gently pushed them towards home, gently reassuring them that it was ok while her voice shattered like glass.

Throughout that entire exchange, dangerous thoughts ran through my mind. Our dragon was no longer here, we were helpless, all that remained was a shitty angel, a joke of a devil, a migit princess, and a crybaby sheep. Coco was the backbone of our group, and we were just the support, what were we supposed to do now?

I wanted so badly to vocalize these thoughts, but I knew that it was absolutely the worst possible thing to do, especially now. As much as I wanted to mope and cry and scream and lash out, I only felt that spark smolder and burn.

The more it burned, the more it melted away my sadness, turning it into raw motivation. I remember I had said not even two days ago I wished to be a woman that could proudly stand beside her, what was I doing feeling sad for myself? So what if we had lost our dragon? I would become so strong that she surely would be proud.

Towa was still young she could learn and improve, devils were supposedly strong magical creatures weren't they? Luna could...provide motivational support I guess? As for Watame, she would surely improve in some sort of way, she was very spirited after all.

The more my spark burned, the better I began to feel, and the wider I began to grin. I could feel my lips pull taught against my teeth, curling over my incisors, as an indescribable pulse of euphoria hit me.

It was probably best the others didn't see my smile, it was an ugly one not meant to be shown to others after all, while I didn't see it myself, it felt like an expression Haato would wear in the middle of one of her schizo episodes, pretending to not be herself agian.

But given the circumstances I'd rather go a little insane and be motivated, instead of wallowing In sorrow like the others.

It has now been a week since she left.

Upon returning from my pity party turned psychotic episode, I called up my genmates for a meeting, and they were all to happy to oblige, thinking I wanted support or a shoulder to cry on.

Instead I managed to scare Towa and Luna with my frozen smile so badly they ran and buried their faces in Watame's wooly ass, bawling their eyes out.

The sheep herself shakily took on the role of baby sitter and with trembling knees took up some sort of fighting stance, ready to try to defend herself.

I sighed and told them my face got stuck and I hadn't gone full yandere or whatever they were

thinking.

It took one full hour of coaxing them and finally giving up and putting on one of those shitty flu masks to hide my bared teeth, to get Towa and Luna to finally remove their heads from Watame's butt wool, and another hour of them asking if I was really not going to stab them and eat their skin.

I wanted to know why I would do that specific thing, and what sort of influences they had, but I thought it best to just blame polka and leave it be.

Now that I had their attention, grand ideas I had not even thought about spilled from my lips.

I spoke of us growing together and developing our individual talents to such an extent that we would make even our dragon jealous and proud.

I spoke of the fortunes we would make and how we would invest them back into our roots to help others grow as we did, so that they may flourish and make fortunes too.

I must have chattered on for over a hour, because by the time I was done my voice had grown horse, and my throat felt scratchy, and it tingled when I swallowed.

Under my mask I felt my grin widen, the things I had said were surely motivational and uplifting and inspirational right?

Surely they would be with me and we could start as soon as possible right?

They were not.

They stared at me with an expression full of pity and sorrow.

You're so strong Kanata, they told me, you will for sure become a great woman, they told me, while hugging me from all sides, lifting me up off the ground in a 3 sided bear hug.

I simply squirmed slightly, dumbstruck that I was being talked down to in such a way. Did they not want to make our great dragon proud? Were they fine with how things were? Did they really want to writhe around in mediocrity for the rest of their lives?

I didn't understand.

Two weeks had passed since she had left.

It took over 3 hours to squirm out of that bear hug, and another half hour to explain how I didn't want dinner despite them hearing my traitorous stomach growl like a wild beast.

After they left, I got to work, because after all, time was my enemy, and I hated him bald.

In a haze of protein bars and energy drinks, I threw myself at Coco's old address book of connections she left behind, and made appointment after appointment, and went to meeting after meeting.

4 months passed since she left

I had always thought Coco was joking when she said she was involved with the yakuza, or that she was shit posting about her favorite game franchise. I never actually thought she meant real life organized crime. But every single contact in that black book was a yakuza, and boss of something or other at that. And stranger still, I had to just mention Coco's name, and they already seemed to know what I was trying to do.

Oh its that time huh, she really went and did it huh? That sort of sentiment was expressed again and again, as I crossed off more and more of her black book.

Before I knew it months had passed, and I had my final meeting arranged. According to the black book, this was the boss of the bosses, the kingpin?

Was that a bowling term?

I didnt know how organized crime worked or the slang they used, I somehow managed to bullshit my way through the entire thing by simply mentioning my name and Coco's.

And every single one said something along the lines of 'Ah, its time already?' Or 'She really went and did it huh?'

My exhausted mind wandered chattering nonsense, while I totally did not procrastinate from meeting with the last boss.

I must have made him wait too long cause eventually the door slammed outwards, and two tall black suited goons with the most immaculate pompadours I've ever seen, gently but firmly placed a hand on either shoulder and escorted me inside and plopped me down on a chair.

I had expected him to be stubborn and finally tell me to fuck off and give him back his power already, but shockingly he asked me why I took so long to contact him.

Apparently Coco leaving created a power vacuum that he needed filled asap, and he was holding out till her successor showed up.

I asked him did he show up yet?

She just did, he told me.

He went and explained that Coco set it up that If I ever expressed an interest in the underworld, I was to be treated like her right hand. And if she should ever not be here, I was to replace her.

His words echoed around inside my tired skull while my brain tried to process what he just said. It didn't cement into reality until he, at some point rose, stiffly bowed and called me Kaicho.

He informed me he would move back to his office across the hall, and this one was now mine to do with as I pleased.

I was about to ask him what he ment before I realized I was in familiar surroundings, and the chair I was sitting in had a familiar tail groove mashed into it.

A year has passed since she left.

Word spread fast about my promotion, and I used the momentum to quickly rebuild Kiryu kai, and return it to nearly it's former glory.

It was not exactly the same, It would never be, not until she returned, but It would at least not fade into obscurity.

I would like to think shes watching over me with a proud smile on her face, whispering:

'Congratulations Motherfucker'