ɢᴀɴɢ-𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦! [ ᴛʀ x ᴍᴀʟᴇ! ғᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ]
CH. 13
Absence by Rio Romeo
"If I just vanished, do you think you'd manage?
Or would you disappear right beside me?
Do you think you're ready when I go unsteady?
Lover, please prepare for my absence"
SOMEWHERE between after-school detours and midnight convenience store runs, M/n stopped being just Nightingale to them.
He was the one waiting by the gate with his hands in his pockets, asking if they had eaten. The one walking Koko home while listening to half-baked business plans.The one standing beside Inui during fights.
not in front of him, not behind him, but beside him.
It happened gradually. too fast and quiet for M/n to notice. They spent afternoons sprawled on rooftops, sharing cheap drinks while watching the city glow. Koko started helping Extravaganza with finances, bargaining supplies like it was second nature.
"You guys had done wreck your faces! Tch, more wounds means more med kit materials and everything has a price! I just hope I don't pay for medical bills if this keeps up..."
Inui, the quiet and nonchalant king he was, began moving alongside M/n during clashes, watching his back, matching his movements with M/n.
“You’re getting good- Oh, behind you” M/n once told him, glancing over mid-fight.
Inui answered simply.
“That’s because you don’t slow down.” Koko scoffed from the sidelines.
“Wow, did you two rehearse that?” M/n laughed, unbothered.
and somewhere along the way, the lines blurred.
Koko would deliberately lean closer, draping an arm over M/n’s shoulders.Inui would wordlessly pass him a drink before he even asked.
“Hey,” Koko said one night, smirking,
“don’t you think you’re standing a little too close?” Inui didn’t look at him.
“You’re loud." M/n glanced between them.
“Are you two arguing again?”
“It’s not an argument,” Koko said lightly.
“We're just playing around. You can call it a friendly competition.” Inui nodded.
“Yeah, and you’re losing.” Koko laughed. “You wish.” M/n just shook his head, amused.
“You’re both idiots.” He never took it seriously. To him, it was just noise. harmless teasing, exaggerated bravado. They were younger, after all. Feelings like that didn’t stick.
Or so he thought.
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KOKO adjusted the bouquet for the third time.
“This looks stupid.” “It’s fine,” Inui said, holding a neatly wrapped box of chocolates.
“You’re just nervous.”
“I’m not nervous,” Koko snapped.
“I just don’t want to lose.” Inui finally looked at him.
“This isn’t about winning.” Koko went quiet. They stood outside M/n’s school gate, watching students pour out in clusters. laughing, crying, hugging. Every time someone with familiar hair passed, both of them straightened.
Minutes turned into an hour.
“…He should be out by now,” Inui said. Koko scanned the thinning crowd.
“Did he already left?” Inui shook his head.
"No, we would've noticed him if he did." Eventually, the gates closed and the street emptied.
Nothing.
Koko frowned.
“Did we miss him?” Inui shook his head slowly. “No...?”
"You're not even sure yourself!" Koko sighed heavily.
“…Maybe he left early with Extravaganza.” That explanation sat wrong, but it was the only one.
“Let’s check then.” Inui said. Koko took one last glance at the school gate before following after Inui.
Something was wrong the moment Koko and Inui stepped into Extravaganza’s base.
The noise was gone.
The usual laughter that would be heard even a mile away was absent. The bickering of the members was filled with silence instead. No familiar chaos. Members lingered in small clusters, voices hushed, faces drained from the soul as if they just walked into a funeral,
“Why does it feel like someone died?” Koko frowned. Inui didn’t answer, his eyes were already searching. Goda stood near the back, arms crossed, staring at nothing in particular. Koko approached first.
“Hey. Where’s M/n?” Goda didn’t look up right away. When he finally did, his eyes were tired.
“…He disappeared.”
The word landed wrong. Inui stiffened.
“What do you mean, disappeared?” Goda exhaled.
“He quit Extravaganza...” Koko laughed once, sharp and disbelieving.
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking,” Goda said quietly. He reached into his pocket and unfolded a worn piece of paper.
“He left this.” Inui scanned it quickly. His expression froze. Koko leaned over his shoulder, reading.
_______________________________________
I'm sorry, but I'm leaving Extravaganza.
I’m passing leadership to Goda. If you can, disband Extravaganza. Don’t look for me.
—M/n
_______________________________________
“That’s it?” Koko whispered. “That’s all he said?” Goda nodded.
“He didn’t even say it to my face.” The flowers in Koko’s hands trembled. His grip tightened unconsciously until petals bent and slipped through his fingers, falling to the floor one by one.
“…He didn’t tell us,” Inui said.
“He didn’t tell anyone,” Goda replied. Koko clenched his fist and threw the bouquet on the floor.
“We were supposed to see him today.” Inui didn’t move, but his hand suddenly shot out, gripping Koko’s wrist.
“We’re not accepting this,” Inui said, voice low but sharp.
“We’ll find him ourselves. Come on, Koko. he couldn't have gotten far yet!”
Koko looked at him, then nodded. They turned and ran.
Goda watched their backs disappear through the entrance.
“…You won’t,” he murmured.
Because M/n was already a ghost.
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M/n: We need to talk.
Goda found him sitting on the steps behind the base. Not inside where the others were. M/n didn’t look up when Goda approached. His hair was loose, eyes unfocused, hands resting limply on his knees.
“You sent a message, M/n?” Goda said carefully.
“Damn dude, you scared me, telling me to come quick and shit...”
“I’m sorry,” M/n replied. His voice was calm.
“I didn’t want to say this with anyone else around.” Goda frowned and leaned against the railing.
“Say what? What do you mean?”
“I’m leaving Extravaganza.” The words were flat. Goda laughed under his breath. “You’re joking...very funny, M/n." M/n shook his head once.
“No,” he said. “I’m serious.”
Goda straightened immediately. “You can’t just decide that alone.” “I already did.”
“That’s not how this works,” Goda snapped.
“You’re the leader. You don’t get to disappear just like that. Did we upset you in any way? Were you getting bored? Ah, this must be because of the medical bill from our last brawl, isn't it? Look, we'll pay for it. don't sulk and leave us hangin-”
“It's not about you or the gang...” M/n finally looked at him then.
His eyes were empty, but there was something broken underneath.
Goda clenched his fists.
“Then what is it about?”
“…My parents are dead.” The world tilted. Goda’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“They were killed while we were fighting,” M/n continued, voice faltering into a weak crack.
“Someone knew where I lived and..." Goda took a step forward. stretching his hand towards M/n, who unconsciously flinched.
“M/n—”
“I came home, and there was no one left,” he said quietly.
“They were...I...I saw them lying on a pool of blood..." Silence swallowed them.
Goda’s hand dropped.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” “Because if I said it out loud,” M/n replied,
“I wouldn’t be able to stand without breaking first...” Goda rubbed his face roughly.
“This wasn’t your fault.”
“But why does it feel like it was?” M/n said immediately.
“They came because of me.”
“That gang chose to—”
“They chose me,” M/n cut in. “And my parents paid for it.”
Goda shook his head. “So what—you think running away fixes that?”
“I think staying makes it worse. Listen, Goda. That gang has a grudge against me. They probably knew they couldn't lay a hand on me even if they wished to...guess what they did instead of hurting me—” Goda stared at him.
“You think disappearing will protect us?”
"—They hurt the people who had nothing to do with their grudge...all to hurt me in a different way," M/n answered for himself.
“As long as I’m here, people will aim at what I love." M/n looked away from Goda.
“This happened because of me. If I stay, it’ll happen again. Maybe to you, maybe to Extravaganza.” Goda’s jaw tightened.
“I won’t risk it,” M/n cut in.
“I won’t watch anyone else get hurt just because they’re close to me.” Goda’s voice cracked.
“What about me?” M/n hesitated, just for a second.
“…You’re strong,” he said. “Stronger than you think. You don’t need me.”
“That’s not true, and you know it.” M/n looked away. “I’m passing leadership to you.”
“What?”
“You’re better suited for it now,” M/n continued.
“And if you think it’s safer… disband Extravaganza.” Goda stared at him in disbelief.
“But you built this. It's yours!”
“And now it’s hurting people,” M/n replied. “So it has to end or change.” Goda swallowed.
“And you?” “I’ll disappear,” M/n said. “I'll figure somethings out...”
“It's like you’re asking me not to look for you.”
“I’m ordering you not to,” M/n corrected gently. Goda laughed bitterly.
“You think I can do that?” M/n stood up. For the first time that he knew M/n, his shoulders sagged, and he let out a shaky breath.
“…Please,” he said. “Let me do this.” Goda opened his mouth, but bit his lips instead. He saw it in M/n's eyes. This wasn’t recklessness, this was grief wearing resolve like armor.
“…You’re already gone,” Goda whispered. M/n gave a small smile.
“I’m sorry,” he said again.
And that was the last real conversation they ever had.
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—THUD!
The door flew open, slamming hard against the wall as Koko and Inui stumbled inside, gasping for air. The apartment was dark. M/n's parents would greet them whenever they came by with their warm aura. But what welcomed them was a cold, quiet atmosphere.
The door burst open with the same force.
M/n stepped inside his home, already reaching for the light switch out of habit, only to pause when he realized the lights were already off. The hallway stretched before him, shadows swallowing the familiar walls. Something felt… wrong. His parents, who usually greet him at the door, weren't there.
“M/n?” Koko called out, his voice echoing unnaturally in the empty space.
“Hey—are you there?”
“Ma?” M/n called, frowning. “Pa?” His voice bounced back at him, unanswered.
Inui moved, opening one door after another. The kitchen was clean and untouched. The bathroom was dry, unused. The living room, neatly arranged, as if no one had sat there in days. With every room, his steps slowed.
“…There’s no one here,” Inui said quietly.
M/n opened door after door, confusion slowly turning into dread. The kitchen lights were off. The sink was dry. The living room looked frozen in time, as if the house itself had became abandoned.
“…Why is it so quiet?” he muttered.
Koko reached the last door, the bedroom. He hesitated, hand hovering over the knob, before pushing it open. His eyes widened.
M/n pushed open the door to one of the rooms. It was dark, so he ran his hand on the wall to find a light switch. When he clicked it open, he was met with something that made his heart stop. His breath hitched as his vision blurred.
M/n’s bedroom was in chaos. Drawers were yanked open, clothes half-folded and discarded on the floor. The bed was stripped bare, sheets missing. It looked like someone had packed in a hurry. Koko swallowed hard, his denial starting to waver.
His parents lay on the floor. The room was in ruins, furniture overturned, signs of struggle everywhere. They hadn’t gone quietly; they had tried to fight, tried to live.
M/n’s knees gave out.
“M/n…?” Koko whispered, his voice breaking despite himself.
“Mom…?” M/n croaked. “Dad…?”
Koko’s fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms. He turned away, jaw trembling, refusing to let the tears fall. Inui stepped closer, placing a steady hand on his shoulder—not saying anything, because there was nothing left to say. Inui slowly shook his head. M/n wasn’t here anymore.
M/n’s vision swam as tears welled up uncontrollably. His stomach twisted violently, nausea hitting him all at once. His legs felt weak, useless, as he dragged himself forward on trembling arms. This wasn’t real...It couldn’t be.
Koko wiped at his eyes roughly and forced out the words, his voice hoarse with grief.
“We’re too late, Inui… M/n is gone.”
M/n clutched his mother’s cold hand, sobbing openly now.
“Please don’t go,” he begged, voice breaking apart.
“Please… Who did this? Who would— Please—don’t leave me. I’m right here…”
Anger exploded through Koko like a spark to gasoline. He kicked a chair across the room, the crash loud and sharp. He swept his arm across the table, sending everything clattering to the floor. Inui could only watch as his friend went on a rampage.
“Damn it!” he shouted. “Damn it all!”
M/n’s cries grew louder as he wrapped his arms around his parents, holding them as if sheer force could bring them back. His tears soaked into his clothes, his shoulders shaking violently as grief consumed him whole. The world had ended, and he wasn't even aware of it.
Koko froze mid-breath.
“Inui...” he whispered sharply, then louder, panicked. “Inui, look—look outside!”
A figure sprinted past the window. Just for a second, enough for the streetlight to catch familiar H/c. Koko’s eyes widened.
“That— that was—” His voice cracked. “That was him!”
M/n turned at the same moment. Figures stood outside, Multiple people... Hooded and watching him by the window.
“…You,” he breathed, anger flaring instantly. His chest tightened, teeth grinding as his hands curled into fists.
“So you’re still here.” His gaze sharpened. that had to be them...
“M/n!” Koko shouted as he bolted for the door.
“M/n—wait!” The door slammed open as he ran into the street, heart pounding. “Don’t disappear again! Please!”
“You—!” M/n snapped. He lowered his mother gently, forcing his hands to be steady before straightening too fast. The figures were already moving. His eyes burned.
“Run. I dare you.” He stormed into the night, streetlights flickering as if struggling to keep up with him.
“Inui, keep up!” Koko yelled, running full speed.
“I saw him—he turned right! I swear he did!” His breath came out ragged.
“We can catch him, we have to!”
“Stop!” M/n roared, voice echoing down the street.
“Don’t you dare run from me!” His pulse thundered in his ears. That’s them. It has to be them.“If I catch you—” His voice broke with fury.
“You won’t walk away unscathed!”
Koko skidded to a halt at the corner.
“…No. No, no, no—” The street was empty. Too many paths and many ways to vanish.
“Inui!” he shouted desperately.
“Split up, now! We’ll cover more ground!”
M/n reached the corner seconds later, nothing. Silence pressed in, cruel and suffocating.
“…Cowards,” he hissed, spinning on his heel.
“Which way—?” He chose one and ran, refusing to slow down.
“M/n!” Koko screamed into the night, voice cracking.
“Answer me! Stop running! just talk to us!” His vision blurred as tears welled up. “Please!” He slammed into someone hard.
“Inui...?”
“
You’re going in circles!” Inui shouted back, grabbing his shoulders.
“Koko, breathe, listen to me!” Koko shook his head violently.
“No! He’s still here, I know he is!”
M/n ran until his lungs burned.
“Come back!” he shouted hoarsely.
“You think this ends if you hide?!” His steps faltered as he slowed.
“…No,” he muttered, looking around the same street.
Koko struggled against Inui’s grip, voice breaking.
“Let me go! We didn’t check everything, we can still find him!”
“We’re too late,” Inui said sharply, eyes shining despite himself.
“Koko, stop!” “He’s gone,” Inui said, voice cracking despite the firmness.
“We missed him.”
M/n dropped to his knees, breath shaking.
“…I was right there,” he whispered.
“I was so close.” His hands clenched against the pavement as his shoulders shook.
“I couldn’t even do that,” he said in desperation.
“I couldn’t protect them. I couldn’t catch them.”
Koko collapsed against Inui, sobbing openly now.
“We’ll find you,” he cried, voice breaking apart.
“I swear it. You hear me, M/n?! We’re not giving up!” Inui held him tighter.
“We’ll find him,” he said quietly, but his voice trembled.
M/n lifted his head slowly, tears streaking his face as he stared up at the moon.
“I won’t forget,” he said, voice low and steady beneath the grief.“I don’t care how far you run.” His jaw tightened.
“I’ll find every last one of you.”
“We’ll find you, M/n,” Koko whispered into the night, voice hoarse.
“No matter how long it takes.”
“I will find you,” M/n vowed to the empty street.“and carry to the depths of hell where you crawl out from...”
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YEARS Later, Koko learned early that money talked louder than fists.
“You want information?” a broker scoffed once, tapping ash into a glass.
“That costs.” Koko slid an envelope across the table without blinking.
“Then talk.” The man flipped through it, paused, then frowned.“Well…What kind of information do you want, kiddo?”
“Nightingale,” Koko said lightly. As soon as he said that, the room went quiet.
The man laughed, concealing his nervousness.
“You’re chasing ghosts.” Koko’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“I believe ghosts exist and shows itself if you look carefully enough.”
"You won't get any info about him from me. let's just say that's classified." But when the man stood up and left without another word, Koko stayed seated, fingers tightening around his glass. Inui watched from across the room.
“Same response?” “Every time,” Koko muttered.
“They either don’t know… or they’re scared to.”
They moved cities like travelers with no destination. Osaka, Yokohama, Saitama, Roppongi. Places where gangs see Nightingale as a legend. Koko pulled favors, leaned on old debts, and funded ventures he didn’t care about just to sit across from the right people. Inui asked the questions Koko couldn’t.
“You fought Extravaganza before,” Inui said to a scarred man one night.
“You must’ve seen their leader.” The man stared at the table.
“I...didn't...”
“What? Isn't your gang known for seeing Nightingales face first? You even have a history with Nightingale.” Inui pressed gently.
“…I don’t...want to talk about him. Even if you pay me.” the man whispered and he said no more.
Outside, Koko slammed a fist against a vending machine.
“This is bullshit,” he snapped.
“Every single one of them! They're refusing to talk about him!" Inui looked tired. He inserted coins on the vending machine, took his drink, and gave it to Koko.
“Something is up...”
They even went back to Goda. The former vice-captain looked heavier somehow, like the years had stacked on his shoulders.
“I told you,” Goda said, voice low.
“He didn’t want to be found.” Koko leaned forward.
“You knew him better than anyone. Didn’t he ever say where he’d go? Please Goda, I know you're protecting him somehow.”
Goda closed his eyes.
“...” Goda became silent as he looked away. Koko, thinking it's going to be another pointless discussion, until Goda spoke.
"He'd prefer to be lost than found...Frankly, I suggest you give up." Koko wanted to ask Goda what he meant, but when he turned around, he was already gone. Koko gritted his teeth, urging Inui to follow suit.
"What bullshit..."
Meanwhile, M/n made sure they were right. In back rooms and abandoned warehouses, he visited every single one. To disappear is to take every trace of you to ashes. That's exactly what M/n did.
"Starting today, you don't know anyone named Nightingale...Understood?" M/n spoke with such weight that the beaten-up teen could feel as if the whole world was on his shoulder. M/n held the guy at the collar. When he didn't answer, M/n tightened his grip so that it snapped the boy awake.
"Understood?"
"U-Understood...!"
"Good."
"Now," M/n placed the guy down and questioned him once more.
"Who is Nightingale?" The boy raised his eyebrows.
"T-that's yo-" M/n hardened his glare, which made the boy flinch.
"I mean-! I don't know...!" M/n returned a small smile, turning away to walk towards the door.
"I hope it stays that way, then. May you remember this day before you think about spilling things about me."
The internet was worse. Old posts, videos, and forum threads that contain every gang information were deleted. Any mention of Nightingale was buried under noise or erased outright.
Someone tried to be clever once.
“Isn’t it funny?” the guy laughed nervously,
“How everyone’s pretending Nightingale never—” M/n appeared behind him.
“Pretending?” he repeated softly. The laughter died instantly.
“You’re right,” M/n continued. “It is funny.” The guy turned pale.
“I—I didn’t mean—”
“You won’t mean anything ever again,” M/n said calmly.
“Because you won’t talk.”
“I won’t!” the guy blurted out.
“I swear! I won’t repeat your name!” M/n stepped back.
“You already forgot it,” he said. “Didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
“Yes— I don’t know whom you’re talking about.” M/n smiled faintly.
“Good.”
That was the rule. Nightingale existed, but only as a feeling people refused to acknowledge. A memory that made throats close up. A name that never crossed lips. Ask around, and you’d get the same answer every time.
“Never heard of him.”
“Doesn’t exist.”
“You should stop asking.”
And while the world forgot, M/n stayed busy making sure it stayed that way.
“Why are you doing this?” one former Extravaganza member asked quietly.
They were sitting across from each other, years later, in a place that barely remembered the gang.
“Because,” M/n replied, “if no one knows where I am—” He looked away.
“—no one gets dragged into my life again." The man hesitated.
“…Your old pals, do you remember them? Koko and Inui? Both of them are still looking for you.” M/n’s jaw tightened.
“Then they’ll waste their time.”
“You say that, but you haven't seen it firsthand. They won’t stop, they're very desperate.”
“They will,” M/n said firmly. “Because there’s nothing left to find. I made sure of it.”
M/n didn’t sleep much.
He hunted remnants, the men who dare to lay a hand on the people he cherished,
“You were there,” he said one night, voice hollow.
“You are their leader after all, aren't you? I remember punching you.”
The man shook his head violently.
“No—no, we didn’t work with them. Even if we were on the same gang, we didn't know anything about them at all!” The poor guy pleaded.
"When they joined...They didn't associate themselves with us! It's like they're always in their own world!" M/n was skeptical. He didn't know if this guy was speaking bullshit just to get himself out of his sorry situation.
"Then, who planned it?" The guy flinched and shook his head.
"It wasn't me or any of my members! They only told me that they have a plan to keep you at bay, but refused to elaborate further! I didn't...I didn't know they would go this far!"
“Then...Do you at least know their names?” M/n demanded.
“I...I don't....” the man sobbed.
“They didn’t talk to us. They just… showed up, did their job, then left.”
M/n stepped back, fists clenched.
"This is frustrating...thank you anyway." M/n was about to walk away when the man suddenly spoke.
"Um...Nightingale, was it? I'm sorry...For what happened." M/n didn't turn around. He stared at the ground and bit his lip.
"Your apology is not needed...I'd rather hear it from the people who did it while I strangle them to death."
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THE years carved lines into all three of them.
Koko grew sharper and older. His smile was always calculated. But every time he heard footsteps behind him, his heart still jumped.
Inui stopped asking if they’d find M/n. Only when, some nights, he wondered if he was chasing a memory that didn’t want him anymore.
The day they stopped searching didn’t come with a decision; it came like a fact check to both Inui and Koko.
Koko was with Inui, phone glowing in his hand, the same list of names pulled up for the hundredth time, brokers, old gang ties, people who once owed him favors. He stared at the screen for a long time. Then he locked it and set the phone face down.
“…That’s it,” he said quietly. Inui looked up from the bike he was working on.
“What is?” Koko didn’t answer right away. He leaned back, eyes fixed on the ceiling.“There’s nothing left to chase,” he finally said.
“It's all...useless.” Inui wiped grease off his hands slowly.
“I've always wondered when you'll open your eyes. So you finally accept it?” Koko laughed once.
“Yeah. Looks like it.” Neither of them said his name, but both of them knew who they were talking about.
Koko stopped moving cities, stopped knocking on doors that never opened.
Instead, he poured himself into numbers, deals, and contracts. money that moved faster than fists ever did.
“I’m gonna make it big,” he told Inui one night, eyes sharp with something almost hopeful.
“Like, really big. Shibuya big.” Inui raised an eyebrow.
“You’re already rich,” Koko smirked.
“Not rich enough, toots. But... he added, glancing at him,
“I’m not doing it alone.” Inui snorted softly.
“Good. Because I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
The shop started small. A cramped space tucked between louder businesses, oil-stained floors, a flickering sign. Inui worked with his hands like it was second nature. fixing engines, customizing frames, breathing life into broken machines.
Koko watched from the counter, legs crossed, phone to his ear.
“Yes, I’ll fund it.”
“No, I don’t care about the risk.”
“Because I believe in him.” When Inui got his first modeling offer, he hesitated.
“I don’t know,” he said, staring at the email. “Feels… weird.” Koko took the phone from his hand.
“You’re tall, pretty, and you’ve got style. The world should pay you for that.” Inui frowned.
“You make it sound shallow.” Koko smiled softly.
“But it's the truth.”
Money came easier after that. Connections stacked. The shop grew. Inui’s face showed up in magazines, on banners Koko pretended not to stare at too long.
“You proud?” Inui asked once, half-joking. Koko didn’t hesitate.
“Always.” They conquered Shibuya the way they always said they would. side by side, just like they planned when they were younger and angrier and still believed everyone they loved would stay.
Some nights, when the shop lights were off and the city hummed outside, silence crept back in. Koko would glance at the door without meaning to. Inui would pause mid-sentence, like he’d almost said a name.
Neither of them talked about it. But the dream that never quite died lingered between them, stubbornly so.
'Just once,' Koko thought.'Just let him walk through that door' Inui felt it too.
Because they had everything now.
Everything
Except him.
Boo.
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