It had been around four years since the young man had been into civilization, his breaths seemingly drawn in smooth and blown out with a grace of a king. His every step seemingly showing his feelings toward the people of the town he was in… downing… He truly hated back in the normal world everyone smiling and carrying on in life as though tragedy never existed and as if sadness is something of a fable tale… It truly disgusted him, the lacks nature of which humanity seemed to be now compared to his normal everyday existence. He who had fought for survival ever since he exited the womb, however, even though he felt such emotions toward these people there was a devilish smile on his face as though he was walking among some of the best people he had ever meet. Though this face wasn’t for he wanted to through a façade in the air so not to look suspicious but rather his bloodlust was peaking if anyone among these pitiful beings could tell his true emotions it would be that of another fighter.

Though he doubted anyone would truly pick-up of his true intent for his bloodlust was around his body tightly as though a beast hiding his presence before finally striking down on an unexpected victim. His smile going cleanly and smoothly across his face, his clothes of choice for his return to the normal world being a black suit with a light blue tie loosely hanging from around his seemingly clean pressed white collared shirt. He would have on black sunglasses hiding his golden eyes, his black slim fitting pants held up loosely by black leather belt and accompanying these pants would be matching leather black shoes. As he would walk the streets slowly heading toward the outskirts of town he would notice someone who seemed to be familiar a blue haired girl that seemingly reeked of the smell of blood her face sour in definition from what he could see it was as though she hated everything around her and simply was alone in this world. However, that would immediately douse the hopes of it being her for all he could remember of the young girl that once was, was a bright young smile and a cheerful look of enjoyment as she would watch him and her brother fight back and forth.

So with that last bit of remembrance and another shot of cruel reality he would simply let out a slight giggle for even thinking this world was even slightly forgiving in light of possibly becoming the man he once was, however, this would seal the deal of his new nature and personality though it wasn’t much different from that of when he was a child it was enough to call him now a true amoral killer. It was as though with that last interaction his fate would be sealed and his destination to begin his ever twisting and turning journey would be to arrive at Phantom Lord and establish his name in this world yet again as one of the most powerful beings.

Therefore, without further hesitation his stride becoming even more definite as he would slowly but surely make his way toward the destination that would truly turn his life upside down yet again… As he would soon arrive at the door a cigar lite in his mouth as he would have entered the wood line a few miles back he would sit and look at the guild door for a little longer before letting three thunderous knocks echo through the guild hall as he would await for someone to arrive and open the door…

He awoke with a start.

Ryuichi began to arise, using his left hand to support his body. He outstretched his right hand, picked up his alarm clock and brought it closer to his face. Although clocks were only suppose to have two faces, it seemed as though this one had seven, or perhaps Ryuichi was still completely blazed from the night before? Groggily, he threw the alarm clock aside, letting out a sigh of relief when he heard it crash against the wall. He wasn't really sure what time it was, whether it was night or day, or how long he had been out of it. The only thing he could say, however, was that he was feeling particularly refreshed today. The dark mage jumped out of bed, grabbed an article of clothing that was less comfortable but more stylish, slipped into it before exiting the room. That's when he found himself standing in the hallway of a building that definitely was not the Phantom Lord guildhall. Perhaps he was at a party the night before and was too intoxicated to walk home, so he decided to bunk in at an inn. No, that couldn't have been it, Ryuichi didn't carry money. Sighing, the young man dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.

Carefully placing the cigarette into his mouth, he began to rummage around his pockets, looking for a lighter, or perhaps a match. The only things he could find were a bit of loose change, a torn love letter from an anonymous fan and a piece of paper containing a dirty sketch, however. "No light? Seriously? There are times when I wish I was a fire mage," he murmured silently to himself. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Ryuichi could see a young man, decked out in all white approaching. Maybe he excelled in fire magic, or better yet, maybe he had a match. Ryuichi began to approach him at a steady pace, a lax expression printed on his face. However, the young man wearing white, who proudly displayed a name tag dictating his name as Billy, looked less than impressed. In fact, he even looked a bit angry. Billy outstretched his right hand and pulled Ryuichi's cigarette right from his mouth.

"No smoking in the hospital," he warned.

"Hospital? I'm in a hospital? Well, that would explain the bed. It's like sleeping on a boiled rock," he commented rudely. Ryuichi stared at Billy, concluded that the young nurse probably wouldn't have any matches on him, grabbed his cigarette and began to turn the other way, intending to leave the hospital. "Sorry to bother yo," Ryuichi muttered lazily, not really putting much effort into his apology. "I didn't mean to do it... was an accident... my mistake.. whatever..." he added, thinking up of some generic excuses on the spot. After a couple of minutes of twisting and turning around, Ryuichi realized that Oak Hospital was a lot bigger than he had remembered. Rather than trying to find the conventional exit, the dark mage decided to simply jump out of a third floor window and make a break for it. Before long, he found himself on the road back to the Phantom Lord guildhall. Although they were a dark guild, their guildhall was in a pretty easy to find location. Oh well, Ryuichi thought, he had lived here all his life and nobody had ever called them out on it. And even if they did, the Guildmaster would be more than enough to take them out. When he was a good few meters away from the doors, he could see a figure in the distance, knocking. It wasn't someone that Ryuichi recognized. The closer Ryuichi got, the more distinct the figure became. The first thing that Ryuichi took notice of, though, was the fact that the man was smoking a cigar.

He smirked, as he approached the stranger, his own cigarette dangling out of his mouth. "Yo, stranger. Got a light?" he greeted.

As time would seemingly lapse by the man would get a little annoyed with no response from his first few knocks so he would let out another thunderous three knocks before letting out a slight sigh and exhaling a drag of smoke along with it. It wasn’t very often that the man would be this impatient with something, but he really wanted to get this little introduction thing over with so that he could go about doing what he really felt like doing.

Though perhaps it was good that he wouldn’t have been let inside for a few moments after he finished his second set of thunderous knocks a man would come along dressed in similar black suite like himself however, the difference between the two seemingly the other was that the other man seemed to enjoy the all black theme instead of adding a little color here and there. But that was beside the point the man would slowly   reach into his pocket after hearing the man ask for a light and throw a flip lighter at him engraved with the Phantom Lord logo on it. It was of his person creation so the logo may have been a tad bit off but when engraving something with magic you are really not expecting to have the most beautiful turn out at least not with his type of magic.

“So are you a member of this fine establishment or just a man looking for a light in the middle of the woods?”

His mannerism joking and his body lacks he didn’t truly feel any hostility coming from this man but that wouldn’t be enough for him to simply lower his guard but rather the lacks nature that he was showing was simply for the fact he was quite bored waiting for someone to answer the door and this possible encounter could prove to be rather amusing if nothing else for the time being as he would await the opening of the door behind him. Behind his jet black sunglasses the man’s golden eyes would study his environment while still trying to stay focused enough on the man in front of him so that in the event something did transpire he wouldn’t be caught off guard.

“Also why do you have a hospital wristband around your arm man? Didn’t lose in a fight did you?”

He would slightly laugh and smirk at his own comment hoping for the return of his lighter hoping the man was through with it holding out his right hand ready for the man to either toss it or simply place it there. So he would now be waiting for the man’s response posted in front of his new found guild. His left hand still resting in his pocket and his other extended toward the man, his glasses placed firmly on his nose and a well-deserved smirk on his face.

Fortunately, Phantom Lord's visitor was quite liberal with his belongings and was more than willing to throw Ryuichi a flip lighter, which he easily caught with his right hand. He flicked it open, before lighting up his cigarette, taking a well needed drag of it. The Phantom Lord ace racked his brains for a second. Where exactly was he last night, was the first thing that he wanted to know, but to no avail, he was only pulling up blanks. The next question that popped up in his head was the identity of the man who had just lent him a lighter. It wasn't a face that Ryuichi recognized, but in this state, Ryuichi would have had a hard time discerning his grandmother from any old lady he found on the street. He eventually concluded that this person wasn't a member of the guild, as he was unable to see a guild emblem anywhere, but then again, it could have been hidden under clothes. He also knew of people who had their guild emblems put on their tongues or someplace weird like that. Before Ryuichi could pipe up, the man had already asked a question.

"Am I member of Phantom Lord or am I simply a man looking for a light in the middle of the woods, you ask?" he repeated. "Both," he replied with a smile. He gripped the flip lighter a bit more tightly. The small bit of the lighter that Ryuichi wasn't covering, a little bit of purple peeked out. Curious, he opened up his palm and noticed the Phantom Lord emblem engraving etched onto the lighter. It wasn't a completely accurate depiction of the emblem, but having said that, it wasn't an insanely poor one either. To the untrained eye, some might even say that it was spot on. Perhaps this guy was a con artist, traveling Fiore selling defunct goods? Ryuichi could relate to that, he used to do that a long, long time ago after all.

"I see you have a good eye for art, just like I have a good eye for talent, stranger," Ryuichi complimented as he smoothly threw the lighter back to the man. He took another drag of his cigarette before gently placing his hand into his pocket and taking out a torn piece of paper. The contents of the paper were too dirty to disclose, although Ryuichi had to admit that the handwriting was incredibly neat, and the fact that the writer worded his or her Is with dots was adorable, or so Ryuichi thought. It was probably unlikely, but this man had a Phantom Lord lighter, and that wasn't something that the guild simply sold into the merchandise shop. Perhaps, he is an admirer of the guild, and the writer of the letter? "It's probably a long shot, but you didn't write this love letter, did you?" he asked, waving the letter around, before placing it back into his pocket. "If it is, then I gotta say sorry. I appreciate your feelings, but it's not like I can reciprocate them. I'm sure you're a nice guy, but I'm just not into that, you know?" he said, only half sarcastically.

Ryuichi decided to focus on the man's hospital question next. He rubbed his hair slightly. He didn't remember being in any fights, but that didn't mean he wasn't in one. But then again, if he was in a fight, then wouldn't he have been hurt a little bit more? After all, he had a bounty on his head and anyone who managed to defeat him would obviously go to the Magic Council first to cash in... unless the person Ryuichi fought was also a wanted criminal. That still doesn't explain why he isn't dead though. The scariest prospect though, in Ryuichi's opinion, was that if he really did lose a fight last night, then there was someone in Oak even stronger than him. "I think I really might have lost a fight. Was it Jaylon? Or maybe Camilla? Ah, it doesn't really matter. You want to go in, right? Since you lent me your lighter, I'll repay the favor," he said, walking past the man. He put his hands on the door and pushed, causing the massive door to open, a somewhat irritating screeching noise being made as the door moved. Seriously, someone needs to fix that, Ryuichi cursed in his head.

He turned back to the guest. "It's nice that you decided to knock and all, but we're an illegal guild. This door is never locked. Now then... after you?"

As the man would listen to the other answer is questions it was rather amusing the way it seemed even he couldn’t recall the events that transpired to his own hospitalization. Though it wasn’t of Akuma’s concern he simply wanted to know so that if he was a part of the guild he could get some information but the comment of a love letter derailed his train of thought while listening to the seemingly young man speak.

“Wow buddy, neither one of us swings that way but maybe there is a clue on that paper to why you are so out of it today. Oh, btw I am Akuma I am simply here to join the guild nothing more nothing less man…”

He would laugh as he would catch his lighter once more and put it alongside with his hand back into his right pocket as they would now stand he would take yet another hit of his cigar and then blow out a puff of smoke from the left corner of his mouth as he would continue now listening to the man as he kept speaking after Akuma’s remark. It seemed they both had a rather lively sense of humor and didn’t really mind throwing comments each other’s way but he would wonder who this man was to Phantom Lord in terms of ranking was he possibly the guild master or just slightly under him being known as the guilds “ace”?

He would probably receive this information one way or another but for now he listened as two names came up Jaylon and Camilla? Perhaps they were members of the guild that could put a torch to this man in terms of combat but truly Akuma wasn’t worried about them just leaving their names dangling in his mind for later if they did resurface during the conversation.

“Yea I assumed so but doesn’t hurt to knock to even see if people are in here not like this is a lively place at the moment…”

He would now be behind the man as they walked into the guild and pointed at the guild hall at least from his perspective there were very little people worth mention and only a few caught his eye for a possible challenge so he would let out yet another laugh as he would flick the cigar out of the two doors before they closed shut. He didn’t truly smoke inside and didn’t care to simply toss a cigar or two if he walked into a building for it wasn’t yet one of his addictions. However, as he would find himself looking around the guild he would finally come back to the two names he mentioned earlier and would also wonder who this man was now that he gave his name…

“So who are Jaylon and Camilla and also for that matter who are you? Also, maybe you should look at your wristband might tell you why you were in the hospital.”

The man would have a smirk on his face still finding it funny that this man came straight from the hospital back to the guild probably with no stops in-between based on his dress apparel.

"What kind of phantom comes out to play at night anyways? With the exception of myself, we're all nightowls. Hell, there's even a rumor floating around that one of our members is an actual vampire, although, I don't recommend going up to her face and asking. The name is Ryuichi, also,"

When the two of them were relatively deeper into the Phantom Lord guildhall, Ryuichi turned his head around slightly to make sure that the man who had introduced himself as Akuma wasn't too far behind, or worse yet, lost. Fortunately, he was neither of those two things. Ryuichi did notice though, that when the two of them were entering the building, the man had taken out his cigar and thrown it away, something that Ryuichi had neglected to do. True enough, Jaylon and a few of the other phantoms disliked Ryuichi's smoking habit, but he couldn't care less about that. He couldn't stop even if he wanted to, and if they made him, and gave him two options, either quit smoking indoors or leave the guild, he probably would have elected to leave the guild. There must have been other guilds out there that were more tolerant of an addict's addiction after all, right? Or maybe Akuma was bothered by it? Ryuichi didn't assume so, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The Phantom Lord ace gently placed two fingers on the cigarette, pulled it out of his mouth and mushed the flame against the hard wall of the guildhall building. He had barely smoked any of it, and it would have been a waste to simply throw away, he thought. Thinking economically, Ryuichi slipped the cigarette into his pocket. He could finish with that later when he went out in the Oak city center. He needed to buy some matches as well. As they walked, Ryuichi heard that Akuma had begun to inquire about Camilla and Jaylon, two of the more well known members of the guild. Ryuichi would rather have not spoke about them, but it wasn't that surprising that the potential member had brought them up. After all, it was Ryuichi that mentioned them in the first place. He was, however, somewhat surprised that Akuma had never heard of the pair. Even though Ryuichi was officially the guild's ace (as official as you can get for a dark guild), in terms of strength, he was trumped by both the Phantom Lord guildmaster, Jaylon Meer and Camilla, a lady known only as the 'Black Death'. He wasn't really sure how she got that nickname or when, but he did know that when he joined the guild, Camilla had already been called that, and she was already a S-Rank mage.

"Camilla, Jaylon and me, huh? I guess you would say, out of all of Phantom Lord's current members, we would be the top 3. Jaylon is the guildmaster, and probably the strongest out of all of us. He doesn't look it though, so I would be careful if I were you. You never know when you might run into him. Just beware of any guy with long hair and glasses. As for Camilla, you might never see her, unless you purposely go looking for her, and people who go looking for her, generally do not make it back," he explained, highlighting the fact that both Jaylon and Camilla were scary individual. "As for me, I'm Phantom Lord's official ace, but don't overestimate me. The two people I just mentioned are way above my league,"

Ryuichi lifted up his right hand and began to stroke his clean shaven chin for a bit, as he began to think deeply about when he was first inducted into Phantom Lord's ranks. Ryuichi was a kid when he found himself on the steps, yet Camilla was already here, although she couldn't have been anymore than a teenager. Jaylon, on the other hand, did not arrive til later on, although he definitely made the biggest impact when he did, quickly taking the guild by storm and becoming the guildmaster. They were both quite mysterious individuals, with Camilla rarely being seen and nobody wanting to approach Jaylon. Had Ryuichi not had a run in with the so called vampire when he was younger, she probably would not even have acknowledged him. Right now though, they were on a first name basis. As for Jaylon, he had graciously rewarded Ryuichi with the Ace position after he saw him beating up two supposedly high class mages who were attempting to pick on him. Besides that, they rarely spoke. After all, being the Ace of an unofficial and illegal guild was nothing more than a formality. He had no real responsibilities, but he seemed to get a lot of the media's attention, which was both good and bad.

He looked down. "My wristband has no writing on it either. I'm guessing I needed a place to crash last night and just stowed into the hospital. I'm not feeling hurt at all. And besides, I doubt there is anyone out there in Oak who can put me in the hospital anyways, with the exception of Jaylon and Camilla, of course... however, if either of those two got their hands on you, I would definitely be nursing more than just a bruise or two. I'd be lucky to escape a fight with those two freaks with all limbs intact...." he mumbled.

After the man would finish explaining himself the other one would have a handful of question that he wanted answered but I suppose that with the tone of how he described the two individuals apparently above him at least in turns of strength he decided against asking about them and would simply wait for their meeting to figure out who they are.

“So if you are the ace I suppose if they are stronger than you that makes you like a scapegoat for the guilds actions or at least for he actions of one of them?”

He didn’t really want to egg the man on for he wasn’t truly in a fighting mood today he just really wanted to vibe out to some classical music while drinking a glass of hard liquor on the rocks. Then again being with one of the few other women in the guild other than the so mentioned Camilla would also be a rather enjoyable evening at least for tonight before he got serious about this guild stuff.

“Sorry, if that sounded offensive, but that seems like what is going on plus it never hurts to know these things to see what really is going. Also, nice to meet you Ryuichi so you three I am guessing are S – Rank mages by this scale the world puts us on?”

He wouldn’t yet explain that he was a S – Rank mage himself nor the fact that he was a dragon slayer apparently that was the official name for his magic that he learned those three years ago but maybe if it ever came into conversation he would explain to the man of how he got his magic and what his magic was and try and tell him how the long process began.

“So if you three are like the three strongest people in the guild would that make me the fourth strongest in terms of strength or can you not tell how powerful I am just yet? Would be rather amusing if the newcomer came out of know where and took the veteran members by storm.”

He would be rather bored trying to figure out small talk to keep the conversation going and to find out some more useful information about the guild and the people about it. Plus seeing as there really seemed to be no form of entertainment in the guild he could possible try convincing the man to show him around town and perhaps they could hit a party and stir up some trouble for a little excitement.

“So Ryuichi do you want to go hit a party or something I am super bored and sounds like a fun idea could always find some people to start some trouble with. Plus I get to go around town and hang out with the guild ace for the first time and get to know my supposed leader when Jaylon is gone or do you really not have any responsibilities?”

All these questions would have a purpose and nothing would be just for fun all of it would be simply to get to know more and more about the three people he would probably be around the most for weak people do not interest the man in question nor does he feel anyone other than the three names he first learned about this guild will be able to help his bloodlust apatite. Speaking of which hearing about the man he was speaking with for this long was the guild ace a small yet thick layer of seemingly bloodlust would be slowly oozing out of the man in excitement of the strength brewing within the guild and the possible great combat partners that he will be able study and learn more about hopefully in the upcoming years that he spends here unless something changes and he finds no more use for the guild.

Ryuichi sighed, before breathing in a little. The air that surrounded the Phantom Lord guildhall and the air within the Phantom Lord guildhall always seemed to have a foul aroma to it. It smelled of both sweat and tears, which wasn't unusual considering what the guild was - a safe haven for misfits, a place where people who had no regard for the rules could go. Although Ryuichi didn't consider himself a misfit nor was this his only choice, he still found himself outside the gates of Phantom Lord on that fateful day, and frankly enough, he would not have changed it for any guild in the world. Like most of the legal guilds, there was also a sense of fellowship in illegal guilds, or at the very least, in Phantom Lord. Although the stronger members were not so eager to nurture the weaker and younger members, the weaker still looked up the stronger members and respected them, although these feelings of respect were rarely mutual. However, recently the men and women of Phantom Lord found common interest in their bid to resist Averse Archfiend, a dark guild who's only known goal was to become the "only" dark guild in Fiore. They planned to achieve that method by annexing every other dark guild and forcing them to work under the banner of Archfiend.

Of course, Ryuichi Izama was less than enthusiastic to become the underling of another dark guild, and fortunately, Jaylon Meer, the Phantom Lord guildmaster had the same sediments. Phantom Lord would continue to be run independently. And now, Ryuichi was face to face with another potential member. He had never considered himself to be a recruiter or anything like that, but he still wanted strong people to join Phantom Lord, even if they meant that they could one day, potentially, usurp his position as Ace. After all, every member that Phantom Lord got, weak or strong, is a member that didn't fall into Averse Archfiend's clutches. "Scapegoat, huh? I never thought about it that way. Maybe they just want me to take the fall for them.... that's fine too, I'm more than happy to do that. I'm strong, so it's okay if they try to come after me. I can take care of myself. And there is one other S-Rank mage besides me, Camilla and Jaylon. A snaky looking guy who's name escapes me right now. Oh well," he replied, rubbing his chin contently.

He cracked his knuckles. The cracking of his knuckles was one of his impulses along with smoking at least a single cigarette a day and biting his nails when he was bored. It was a horrible habit, yeah, but old habits die hard, and that was certainly ringing true in this occasion. The constant biting meant that girls would curdle in disgust when Ryuichi attempted to touch them. Fortunately, he was an incredibly charismatic individual and was able to win the over without the need for well trimmed nails. The cracking of his knuckles did little to affect his daily life though. Perhaps his hand writing was horrible because he constantly cracked his knuckles, but Ryuichi rarely needed to put pen to paper anyways. Smoking was by far the worst though. If he didn't quit soon, he would probably be forcing himself into an early grave, but like he had mentioned before - old habits have a tendency to stay.

"Until I fight you myself, I won't make any guesses as to how strong you are, or how strong you think you are. But let me sum it like this. Even if we were to assume that you and I were on the same level, or perhaps the gap in our power was so small that it became insignificant, even if we teamed up to go against Jaylon, we would still face an overwhelming defeat. If the rest of us combined could take him out, do you think he would still be Guildmaster?" Ryuichi laughed.

Phantom Lord's ace and supposedly "strongest" wizard rubbed the back of his head when he was invited out to a party by the stranger. He had already assumed that this guy was new in town, and probably wouldn't know the location of any parties. The whole thing seemed somewhat shady to Ryuichi, but he had no qualms about having to be a new guy's guide around Oak.

"How could I refuse? You should be warned though, there are no parties at this time of day and plus, there isn't much in a city like Oak. It's most monuments and turrets and old castles and... well, old stuff. It's not very interesting... unless you're into this kind of stuff?"