NEW LIFE : A SECOND CHANCE

The very next day, Nitocris called for an emergency meeting with all the Chieftains under Kazuya. When they entered the area, they were surprised to see that it was Nitocris at the head of the table and not Kazuya.

What was more surprising was that beside Nitocris was a young man sporting a dragon tattoo over his left arm.

Ice.

The lone wolf that never bothered with joining any gangs and who would beat up those who tried to ask. The cursed one that caused countless groups to die simply because the latter didn't know when to back down. He was just sitting there, playing with something in his hands and ignoring everything and everyone.

What was he doing here?

Everyone sat down nervously, but they did put up a very tough front.

"Where's Kazuya?" one asked.

"It doesn't matter," Nitocris replied, "I'm taking over."

"WHAT?!" another shouted, standing up, pointing a finger at Nitocris. One second later, he fell back down, a star-shaped metal object embedded deep in his forehead. He was dead even before his body crashed to the ground.

"Ice, please," Nitocris admonished him, "At least let him finish his sentence."

Ice played with another metal star in his hand while he tsked, "His voice was annoying."

Nitocris turned back to look at everyone at the table, shrugging, "True."

Everyone was quiet then.

"As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted," Nitocris began again, "Kazuya has stepped down and I am taking over."

"Anyone who objects can leave. Those who stay, the same rules of operations apply. There are no changes as it's how I've always managed things," Nitocris said, "Oh, except Dr. Dre and his laboratory are no more. We don't need that kind of things to get ahead. That was Kazuya's hobby, not mine."

Of course, Nitocris need not mention that Dr. Dre was at the bottom of the ocean, feeding the sharks at that moment. Until his death, Dr. Dre never could fathom what he did wrong to deserve being executed .. rather, to be executed in that manner.

Nitocris smiled as he thought of Dr. Dre.

He had personally attended to Dr. Dre. There had been a lot of unresolved issues he had with Dr. Dre. Drako wasn't the only one that suffered under his hands. Nitocris had as well, though to a much lesser extent.

All the pent-up hatred and anger he had over his father, and for what had been done to Drako just spilled over.

He quite enjoyed the whole process and whistled as he did the work alone. No one had been allowed in and Nitocris had spent the whole night paying very close attention to Dr. Dre. He used all the tools that was available in the laboratory, constantly talking to Dr. Dre as he did his work.

When the cleaning crew went in after he was done ... all of them ended up puking in one corner.

The moment they entered the room, they had seen an intact human skin hanging at one corner, a pool of blood at its feet. Dr. Dre - or what was left of him - was on the table. He had been so expertly skinned that he was still alive. Barely breathing, but alive.

However, what made the hardened clean-up crew throw up was when they saw what was left of Dr. Dre.

Save for the chest, his entire body had no more flesh. It had been cut out until the bone, while the chest had been cut open to reveal the heart. Thus, what they saw was a skeleton that had skinned head and the heart clearly seen pumping through an open chest.

Nitocris had left word to just let him lie there until he died from blood loss. Which he did, a few days later.

Nitocris brought his mind back to the present.

He noted how everyone nodded their heads in agreement and no one made a move to leave. Many looked at the dead guy and laughed. What a stupid way to die and for a stupid reason, too. Everyone knew that Kazuya did nothing but just fucked girls and threw his weight around. It was Nitocris that was the true head.

Why object over something so senseless?

It was unanimous. Well, a new Chieftain needed to be chosen to replace the dead guy, but overall, the take-over went by without a hitch.

After everyone left, Kyle looked at Nitocris and said, "What the-. That certainly was anti-climatic. I thought there'll be more blood or something."

Nitocris just looked at him, then at the dead body that was being carried out for disposal, then back at him. Without a word, he got up, fixed his suit and walked out.

Kyle grinned, then quickly ran after him, shouting, "Hey! Big Bro! Don't leave me behind!"

It was a sight people in the building would never forget. Ice, the notorious cold guy, running after their boss like a puppy that had been left behind ... their respect for the Boss went up even higher. For him to be able to tame such a wild card, Boss must be great indeed.

?? Two Weeks Later ??

It was a bit crowded at Master Shifu's dining room.

There was Kyle, Kay, Master Shifu, Rheia, Nitocris, Drako and May all gathered around the dining table. School was going to begin soon, so Kyle and Kay would be leaving. Nitocris had already moved into Master Shifu's house, and May was staying with Drako in one room. Kitten Oreo was asleep in the living room.

When May woke up from the hypnotism that Kyle placed her under, she was, unsurprisingly, scared of them. However, Master Shifu assured them that May would recover in time, as she had not been under Kazuya's control for long. If it had been a year, then she may never be able to break the hold Kazuya had over her.

What they did not expect was that May latched herself onto Drako the moment she set eyes on him. Drako had shrunk back at first, but seeing the total dependency she had upon him, he didn't have the heart to push her away. He had heard that she was Kazuya's latest pet, and he knew what that entailed.

As for May, when she first set her eyes on Drako, she saw the pain in his eyes that she had seen in Kazuya's, but at a much higher level. For some reason that she couldn't explain, she gravitated towards him. When he didn't reject her hanging on to him, she was elated. He was kind to her and she became dependent upon him.

Whenever she saw him in pain, she had this compulsion to help him. To her, however, that meant pleasing him sexually. When Drako rejected her and refused all her advances, she was shocked and hurt. She would cry, thinking that she was useless.

She didn't give up, though, and kept on trying to help in. Eventually, he caved in.

However, unlike Kazuya, Drako had been gentle. Kind. Sweet. May found herself more and more unable to leave his side, for it was only with him did she feel safe. With others, she would shiver uncontrollably, even though she knew they were not the enemy.

Drako was also being healed by May.

She took care of him, held him when he had his nightmares, soothed him when he was in pain. Her gentle nature belied the wild way she was in bed, and initially, he had not wanted to take advantage of her because he knew she had been brainwashed by Kazuya.

Still, he was a normal man, who found himself weakening each time he pushed her away ... especially when each time he did so, she would look so sad and she would cry. She wouldn't cry in front of him, however, as she would turn around and sob quietly into the pillow. As if him refusing it meant he was rejecting her completely. His heart broke and he finally relented.

After a while, he found that he couldn't sleep unless she was beside him. It only then did the nightmares not come. Both were still healing and both were the balms to each other's broken souls.

Life was weird that way. They may have gotten together in an unusual way but from the looks of it, both appeared genuinely happy.

Which was what they both needed.

"Do you really have to go?" asked Rheia towards Kyle and Kay.

"Yes, Auntie," Kyle said gently, "School will reopen next week and we stay in the dorms."

"But we will come and visit whenever we can," Kay added, "Besides, Big Bro Nick lives here now, so you have him."

"Yes, but he's so busy now that Kazuya retired," Rheia said with a slight frown, "He hasn't been coming to visit either. I wonder about that father of yours."

Nitocris patted her hand, "It's okay, mum. Dad's always been like that. It's better this way, don't you think?"

Rheia's face looked like she was struggling for a while but when she looked at Nitocris's happy face, and the warm family-like atmosphere around her, she couldn't help but feel ... content. She had been having memories of her husband doing these things like not coming home for months and she wondered why she never remembered them before.

Rheia smiled then and nodded, patting Nitocris on the cheek.

"As long as you're happy," she said simply.

"I am, Mum. I am," Nitocris replied with a gentle smile, seeing how his mother was accepting things calmly. He was overjoyed. The process may be slow, but he didn't mind. He could see how much better his mother was all the time.

Kyle watched all of this with a smile.

"I would like to make an announcement," Drako suddenly said, standing up.