“Watch it,” said the cat man. He had a deeper voice, richer, and the way his eyes flashed at Xingyu made him wonder whether he was a lot more important than Xingyu had initially assumed.

“I’m sorry. I’m just a little confused as to how the leader of a rival gang wouldn’t have any idea who their enemies are.”

“Enemies?” The cat man laughed. “The List was never on our radar. Kami no Ha prioritizes cultivating its leaders and keeping the people in its territories safe. The List has only ever prioritized its members and keeping control through fear. Even if they wanted to enter Kami no Ha territory, they wouldn’t have gotten very far.”

“Is that before or after new leadership?” Xingyu’s gaze darted toward the Kishi again, who just looked amused at this entire conversation.

“Are you trying to insult—”

“Daichi,” said the Kishi softly, and his fingers moved, squeezing the cat man’s hands. “Settle down.”

Daichi—this was the one Xingyu contacted. In Kami no Ha’s home city, it was Yamashita Daichi who controlled the entire downtown area. He was a fearsome character. Liu Baiyan had mentioned once that he suspected Yamashita might be the leader of the rest of the Kishi, which is why Xingyu had chosen him to contact, but it looked like not only had Yamashita not become the leader, he was also sleeping with the person who did.

The Kishi looked back at Xingyu. “Go ahead. Tell me why you’re here.”

“I came back to the country to take down the List, and I’ve been mostly successful. But we haven’t been able to take down the leader. There isn’t enough evidence to get the police to find him or arrest him, and frankly…frankly I don’t want to have him arrested. I want him dead.”

“Why do you want to kill this one?”

“Because he almost killed my brother.”

There was something behind the Kishi’s eyes—both Xingyu and Yamashita noticed it. Yamashita immediately turned.

“Eryu, you—”

Eryu just bent around him to get his view of Xingyu back. “Your brother. Older or younger?”

“Younger.” He hadn’t heard the name Eryu whenever Liu Baiyan talked about Kami no Ha. He’d been under the impression that the leader of the Kishi—the Ten’no—was chosen from the existing Kishi. Maybe Liu Baiyan had been wrong.

“What’s his name?”

Xingyu’s eyes narrowed, and Eryu smiled and held up his free hand. “Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I had a brother too. I’m just feeling a bit of a connection with you. Terrible father, brother I would die for—I’m just curious.”