The Streets of Yokohama
As I raced down the dark alley, hands red with the blood of an innocent girl, my thoughts were on the Ochazuke I ate when I snuck into the orphanage´s kitchen. Lots of tea, dried plum mince, dried seaweed, chicken leftover from dinner. I couldn´t help but think about how delicious it was, even as my breath became ragged and my legs ached from all the running, even as her face flashed before my eyes, I thought of the warm bowl and the soft food in my mouth. I thought about how nice it would be to stay frozen in that moment.
"Onii-san" A girl´s voice woke me up from my fantasy. "I think there´s something here" She was definitely close.
"We should wait for Dazai, Naomi" Somebody answered her. "This person is dangerous."
I ran with renewed speed, adrenaline pumping through my body, and… a death end. Just then I realized that my hands were dripping, they´d been leaving a scarlet trail behind me.
My legs gave out. That was it: This time I´d definitely been caught.
"Hello Tiger" Now, this was a voice I´d recognize anywhere, the playful sound I´d even dreamt about. There was no need to turn around, I already knew he was smiling. This was the man covered in bandages: Dazai. They were here.
In this world there is rarely a good reason, an actually good reason to do anything at all. Still, people always have something to say when asked why. Because the dog ate their homework, or maybe their parents wouldn´t let them; excuses come in all shapes and sizes, and the ones that are actually big enough to explain something tend to be lies.
Despite everything I´ve done and the people I´ve associated myself with, I like to believe "I was on the brink of starvation" is a fairly good excuse. Let´s see what the Armed Detective Agency thinks about it, or even if they´ll hear my story.
But this is how it began: a sunny day by the side of a river, the day I ran until I was face to face with the sea.
The day I found the Port Mafia.
That time I was sure hunger would be the dead of me, because my cowardly nature prevented me from stealing and there was no job to be found for a scorned orphan, my fate was sealed. You have to steal to survive. The voice inside my head was right of course, but my nerves always got the best of me. Stealing was wrong, besides, I was not skilled at anything so I would definitely get caught and my life really would be over.
Just as I was building up my courage, a group of militaries passed by and my heart started racing. It´s not like I was doing anything illegal at the time, but a horrible certainty that they knew came over me. People like that could probably smell a criminal from miles away, and with my worm clothes and skinny arms I was certain they´d recognize me as one. I fled, even though they never even looked my way.
I fled.
The salty smell of the ocean of the ocean gradually became stronger, a soft breeze cooled the air around me. I was at the docks, and the sound of the waves was a bit comforting, nevertheless, the sun was setting and I had nowhere to go, but surely one of the warehouses lining the docks had to be empty. A single ray of moonlight peeked from behind the buildings, and then, the last thing I remember before blacking out is the sound of footsteps approaching.
The story gets really weird now: I woke up floating.
My hands looked for something to lean on in order in order to push me up, but there was only air. I gasped as soon as I noticed the floor was a couple of meters away.
"Ah, so you´re finally back boy" I looked down to find a man with orange hair wearing a black hat with a red band and a thin silver chain hanging over its brim. He was standing amidst a lot of broken boxes and destruction "You damaged quite a bit of our precious cargo."
"Wh-Who are you?" My voice was shaking, How would anyone take me seriously like that? "What´s going on?"
"You don´t even know, do you?" He sounded tired, a bit angry, and potentially dangerous. With a single flicker of his hand I was falling. The impact sent a wave of shock all through my body. I´d heard of people with supernatural abilities but this was nerve-racking. "You still have to pay for all of this, one way or another."
"I-I don´t have any money."
"Then through labor." He knelt down so that our eyes would meet. "I could give you food and shelter, and then, when you´ve covered the expenses of your little tantrum, fair payment."
"What kind of job are you talking about?" There was absolutely no way that all of this was real. Levitation? A job? When I looked down I found that my hand was not my hand at all, it looked like a tiger´s paw. The man eating tiger. It moved in sync with my thoughts, and the realization soon hit me. I´d turned into a beast beneath the moonlight. I screamed in surprise, he laughed in delight.
"So you really didn´t know." He stood up and turned his back on me. "It doesn´t look like you´re in a situation to choose any kind of job, kid."
That much was true. At this point it was either following this man or dying. So I stood up. "My name is Nakajima Atsushi." I said. "p-please take care of me."
"I´m Nakahara Chuuya" The redheaded man started walking away, "Welcome to the Port Mafia." And I followed him.
Now, facing the end, I wonder what would´ve happened if I had just stayed by the river.
Maybe starvation would´ve won. Or maybe, just maybe, my luck would´ve changed a little bit. Just enough to clean my hands. But alas, the streets of Yokohama are merciless.
Hello Internet!
This is my first fanfic ever (scary :S) so any feedback would be super appreciated. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I´ll try to update soon.
-Shikkaku