8 Welcome Back Yohan...

Warning... Too talkative

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It was sudden. Before she even asked anything regarding the trip, Yohan simply avoided her questions and only instructed her to accompany him on the bus.

And here she was accompanying him on a bus with no travelling along with them. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt, black pants and black shoes, while she was dressed in a shiny white gown.

There were at least five seat gaps between them and both of them were sitting on opposite sides. Ramika was seated on the right side third seat, while Yohan was far behind her on the left side.

"Are you up for a conversation?" she asked, bored of the defeating silence that was going on for almost an hour.

Yohan nodded, allowing her to initiate a talk, while he was rubbing his nape, annoyed.

"Why do you have so many names?"

"Names? Like plural? I never knew that—"

"Grim Reaper, Ghost, The One, Immortal, Devilman, Uncrowned King... There are countless, actually."

Yohan sighed, clicking his tongue and tapping his feet. Thinking deeply to himself, he spoke after a short silence.

"Well... those are not mine. Those names belong to different persons..."

"Different persons? Like DIFFERENT?"

"Yes... different. Those are different individuals. And those are their names—"

"Then why they are calling you using those? All these were used synonymously with the Uncrowned King—"

"Stop saying that! Sounds awful. I... I can't really explain it to you that well, but those names belong to some excellent assassins of the underworld... Grim-Reaper, Ghost... They earned those titles with their achievements. Legends," Yohan firmly said before whispering, "It's just collateral," while his face dimmed down saying that.

Ramika observed Yohan with her frowning eyes and she sensed something was off but couldn't put a finger on it.

"So, you're not the grim-reaper?"

"Nope."

"The one who tried to assassinate Brooke Wilson?"

"Absofuckinglutely not! That's the legend I was talking about—"

"Midland Party Assassination?"

"Who is spreading such outrageous theories? NO!"

Ramika almost felt her brain melting and not able to take the frustration, she yelled out at Yohan.

"THEN WHY THE FUCK DO THEY CALL YOU A KING? WHAT THE HECK DID YOU EVEN DO IN THE UNDERWORLD?"

A strong silence followed. Yohan flinched away from facing Ramika as he dropped his chin to the ground. Ramika understood Yohan wouldn't answer that, but not before wasting her time waiting for him to answer her.

She turned away and pouted in anger, miffed at Yohan. She took a green-coloured tin can and opened it, with a *whoosh* sound of the soda dripping out. She took a sip and clicked her tongue, feeling the carbonated drink.

"Soda? Do you have another?"

Ramika said nothing back and just threw another can of soda towards Yohan, whose slippery hands failed to catch it.

"Careful with that, will you? Good thing, it didn't break open—"

"You're an elite assassin and you don't know to catch a can of soda?"

"I was nothing but a clerk... And I'm clumsy as hell, so don't rely on me often."

*whoosh* the side dripped out, as Yohan opened it. He only took a sip but spat it out immediately, panicking. He tasted something familiar, and the scent was something familiar.

"Did you buy the soda? or..."

"Sana gave it to me... You know the girl with spectacles—"

"You are chased by an army of assassins and you still received freebies from others?" he berated her, breathing heavily and his eyes wandering.

"She's my frie—wait. Whoa! Why my head is feeling dizzy?"

Ramika saw her vision getting fuzzy and her sense of hearing getting dead. She felt her knees losing its life and her chest beat faster than ever.

"Am I getting assassinated, Yohan? Is it poisoned or something?"

"Don't worry... we're just getting captured. The drink is laced with a certain... kind of anaesthesia..."

*THUD* Ramika fell out of her seat, cold and out. Yohan, too, felt his strength to stay awake, losing out to the drink. He sighed and looked annoyed as his eyes slowly blacked out.

"Goddamn, that woman..."

*THUD*

--

In a totally different place, which was dark and devoid of light, Yohan slowly opened his eyes, gaining consciousness. Then he realized he was actually blindfolded and handcuffed from behind. The first sound he heard using his recovering sense of hearing was a muffled noise of someone gagging.

'Must be Ramika. Guess she got her mouth plastered with tape or something...'

A soft sound of heels walking around was heard, and it was getting close to him with each step.

"How was the normal life, Yohan?" a seductive yet familiar voice hissed to Yohan's ears, evoking a smile mixed with contempt from him.

"Haa... It was you. Diana—" Yohan halted as he felt his blindfold being ripped off forcibly, exposing his eyes to the bright light above him.

The bright light above blinded him for a moment and it took a while for him to adjust after being in the dark for a while. But it was not easy for a man like Yohan. He tightly shut his eyelids and fumed.

"GOSH! If it's you... then you would know better that I have a certain condition—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know... I'm actually getting your sunglasses back, don't worry."

A pair of hands caressed his cheeks for a second while they were at putting the sunglasses on his face. Yohan opened his eyes and took a good look at the woman standing before him through the glasses.

"So... how do I look?" asked Diana, the woman standing before Yohan, with a bright smile but in a shocking attire.

"Where are your... clothes?"

Diana chuckled, giggling with her hands covering her mouth.

"Well, I had an urgent appointment a few minutes before... Had to seduce an old bastard and slit his throat. So... did the work and took a bath—"

"You can still wrap yourself with a long coat or a bathrobe... Please, do that."

Diana sighed disappointingly. She gestured at her henchmen to bring a bathrobe and wrapped herself.

Yohan, though kind of overwhelmed, still observed the surrounding in a matter of seconds. It was a dim castle and a room mirroring a *Royal Court*. A pair of old monks dressed in judge attire sitting on their respective royal seats behind Diana and guards armed with melee weapons positioned around the room, and importantly, Ramika, who was blindfolded and plastered with tape around her mouth, sitting on his left.

"Ramika... Good to know that you're still alive," he muttered to himself, still audible for Ramika, who was mumbling with her muffled mouth and struggling to break free of the handcuffs.

"So... did you read the room? I mean, it's obvious and natural—"

"I am in a trial. Why?"

A small smirk escaped from Ramika's lips at Yohan's question. She walked all the way to the empty seat decorated like a throne, which was in the middle, between the monks.

"You see... We don't have the same influence on the Underworld as before. We lost our individuality and had to suck up to the officials to survive and keep our place in the Underworld."

Yohan silently listened, sighing in between as some of it had happened solely because of him and him alone.

Diana continued,

"Had to lobby hard to secure this post... Head Of Damage Control. This clan survives purely because of my position and the Underworld's need for security and stuff. But we do have loyalists. It was a hassle, but these two old bastards are the ones I can gather for now, so that I can do as I wish in this trial for you—"

"Aww! You do have a good heart. I am really indebted to your—"

"Nope. This way, I can torture you on *my* terms and have a strong hand in your judgement."

Yohan wanted to slap himself hard for even speculating something good from Diana. He sighed deeply and nodded to himself while lamenting.

"Of course, of course... Okay, whatever, I'll comply, but just leave the girl out of this, okay? It's a plea. A request—"

"Do you really think, you are in a position to make demands, Yon? I don't think so... Good thing that Lance found you easily. Still a prick."

While keeping a straight face and glued towards Yohan, Diana snapped her fingers at her guards and they immediately rushed to grab Ramika and drag her in front of Yohan.

"Agree to the terms and I'll think of sparing her."

"What an ex-assassin can even do for... Damage control? Is the name right?"

"Yeah, it is. Just... Agree—" Diana halted on her own, as she felt a sharp glare penetrating her from Yohan. She felt the aura of death whirling around him as she understood Yohan was not in a good mood to agree.

"Should I ask politely? Please... Agree? Does that sound good?"

"To what? I am not interested in returning to that blood-stained life... You guys can keep that to yourself. Leave me alone—" Yohan felt interrupted as he saw Diana breaking into loud laughter, as she pressed her hands against her tummy, trying to hold back her laughter.

"I'm sorry... I'm — Why don't you listen to me? I mean... If you want peace, doesn't that require the world to be in peace too?"

Yohan frowned and blinked, confused by the absurd question.

"Elaborate..."

*WHOOOSH!*

Diana dashed off like a bolt of lightning and brought her face alarmingly close to Yohan. His messy black hair bounced from the wind that came from his ex-fiancee's super speed.

He felt her breathing up close and the scent of the blood she drank nauseated him.

"If you want your peaceful life to remain peaceful... You need to keep the madness from the other side in check. And for your information, the madness on this *other* side is NOT IN CHECK!"

Yohan calmly took the words while Diana brought her lips close to his, almost touching them.

"Come back, Yohan... If you want to save your peaceful world."