MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

⟦Thurday, 28th 2030, 8 am — Day of Thanksgiving — Los Angeles⟧

What was Thanksgiving in general?

It was a national holiday on the fourth Thursday of November, when families get together for a big meal and express their appreciation for life and health to each other and have a generally good time in each other's presence.

It was a wonderful day when people simply said thanks for everything they had in their lives by the grace of the Almighty and shared time with those they cared deeply about.

It was also a day of worship to the God they believed in and a day of grace for everyone.

Of course, it was a day when false legends full of betrayal and other tasteful events were given as some sort of history lesson. But that was not something the vast majority of people really cared about.

Thanksgiving was supposed to be a day when people rested and spent time with family and close friends.

But… For Shuri, Thanksgiving was nothing more than a day like any other in her life. Dull and filled with endless work.

Except… obviously, when she was spending time with her one true friend in this world.

Right now though, she was looking at her computer with red eyes and dark circles coloring her face as she continued to observe and compare the numbers she had on the different screens of her computer setup.

"So, you are not going home?"

The door of her office was abruptly opened and Shuri was about to curse vehemently until she realized just who had barged into her room.

"Feng Huan Yui?"

"Please, call me Yui. It's less of a mouthful and I like that name more in all honesty."

Yui time was not in her usual Chinese lady boss attire right now. She was wearing a casual short flowing skirt as well as a simple white shirt and a pair of black glasses on her head.

There was nothing striking nor eye-catching about her clothes but just because they were worn by her, the aura around her changed completely from her initial state. Shuri was too tired to care much about Yui's attire at the moment and was about to ask why she had come here when her nose picked up a delicious scent.

As if on cue, her stomach let out a small growl, causing Shuri to adjust her glasses while feeling terribly embarrassed by the sudden noise coming from her empty and treacherous stomach.

"Heh, as I thought, you ate nothing since yesterday, right? This is why I came with some breakfast for you."

Beacon, bread, eggs, pancake, and some delicious orange juice. The typical American breakfast.

A full breakfast was soon brought to the table close to the sofa where Shuri entertained visitors or made important deals while showing off a relaxed and unperturbed experience to her clients and competitors.

It was not the healthiest food and putting food on the table was definitely not good manners in any way. But as she was now, Shuri was too famished to even care about anything like that and Yui was already aware of that. The fact that she did not devour everything like a blood crazed barbarian was already proof enough of her ability to control herself and her emotions.

Once she finally gorged herself on the food that Yui had brought for her and her mental functions started working somewhat better, Shuri was finally able to feel her senses coming back to life. Catching off a nasty whiff of smell, she tried to smell herself and immediately… she couldn't help but groan out loud…

"Thanks for the breakfast. Though I have now come to the realization that I really need a bath right about now. I am reeking. Sorry for everything."

"Heh, don't worry. Even like this, you look quite good, you know?"

Yui shrugged her shoulders before walking up to the computer. "So, now that you are full, we can talk some business. I have two pieces of news for you. One good and one bad. Which one do you want first?"

"Let's go with the good one first. I am too tired to start the day of Thanksgiving with bad news…"

"Well. The good news is, the gangs that tried to kill you are officially no more. As of today, the Blue Sharks have been completely disbanded and won't cause any trouble for you."

Shuri knew that by the word 'Disbanded,' Yui most likely meant that a more definitive measure had been taken against them. But she merely nodded her head with nonchalance, not wishing to dig more into it and get an answer out of her about just how far they had gone in taking care of the gang.

This was what a lawyer in her place should do if they didn't want to let others get a handle on them.

"As for the bad news, we managed to capture certain executives and… Well, let's say they were gentle enough to give us some information after we asked nicely. From what they said, they were just receiving orders from their boss. They do not exactly know who ordered a hit on you."

"Heh… Those vultures are getting better and better, aren't they?"

"Well. I guess…"

Yui gave a sympathetic glance toward Shuri. She knew what it must feel like to have a family that wanted nothing from you aside from using you as much as possible to further their gains.

She did not ask Shuri why she didn't just storm in and put down the entire family with her connections. Those things were never easy for anyone, after all.

"One of my subordinates is working on your case. So don't worry about it anymore. I believe it will soon be resolved."

"Very well. I believe in your skills. It seems like making a deal with you was one of the best decisions of my life."

"Oh… You have no idea."

Yui chuckled under her breath as she delivered those lines, "Speaking of that, Happy Thanksgiving Shuri. You aren't going home?"

"I have no one to return to."

Her house would simply be empty at this point in time as she was sure that her husband was probably spending his time with his other 'true' family right about now.

"What about you?"

"Well, criminals don't exactly celebrate days like this one."

There was also the fact that her biological family was distant from her while her true family was in another world altogether.

She couldn't exactly enter the Heavenly Court to celebrate Thanksgiving with her mother now, could she? She didn't have the authority or power to do something like that.

Sometimes, she would celebrate with the members of her team. But today, everyone was busy and they needed to prepare a true celebration to invite all the branch members and organizations under them.

"Though tonight I plan to make a Thanksgiving special at the bar. You are invited. Only half the price today."

Shuri laughed and shook her head, "If I visit your bar every day, your collection of wines will make me go bankrupt." She then mused, "Will Cinder be there?"

"Cinder…"

Yui gave a bitter smile at that question. She had been trying to contact Adam all night but he was not answering her calls no matter what she tried. She was starting to get worried about him but there was nothing she could do but wait for him to come round…

"I don't know if he will come. Things happened. So yeah… There's that…"

"You seem very close to him."

Not every boss would give so much freedom to a mere employee.

"We are sworn brother and sister after all."

"Only?"

Yui smiled, "At least for now. Yeah, only that…"

Shuri's eyes twinkled. Imagining a sordid love story between a boss and his employee. This was even more so when taking into account how they were part of the underworld and their sworn relationship of being sworn siblings.

Just as Shuri was entering deep into her delusions.

Her phone rang,

"Hello...? Ah, Cecilia… Yes, I am at home. No, I am not overworking myself again. What do you mean? I also have friends you know… What? I should go touch some grass. What the hell does that even mean? Wait… Ugh. You want to see my friends...? No, I was not lying. Okay, okay. I am coming, okay? No, no need to harass me like this. Ugh… I am hanging up…"

The call lasted a short instant before Shuri hung up. But she seemed noticeably more tired after the call.

Letting out a sigh, she hesitated before finally throwing eyes full of despair toward Yui,

"If you are not celebrating Thanksgiving with your family… Would you… Would you mind coming to my friend's house? She invited me."

"Heh, I am glad you see me as a friend."

She laughed sarcastically and Shuri coughed under her breath to hide her growing sense of shame and embarrassment.

"So, are you coming then?"

Yui smiled…

If she was not wrong, the one who called was Cecilia.

Then—

"What is the dress code?"

She couldn't miss this occasion now, could she?

She remembered the way Adam looked even as he left.

He might have hidden his face behind a mask but he was definitely feeling awful.

She wouldn't be much of a sister now if she didn't try to take care of his mental health, right?

(AN: I really don't know what I was thinking when naming those two. Yui/Shuri. Ugh. I always end up confusing their names sometimes without paying attention.)