A/N: Reviews welcomed, please enjoy!
Prequel to Assassin
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Okane ga Nai; they are from the amazing mind of Hitoyo Shinozaki!
Enjoy! ^_^ v
The young boy wrapped the worn out blanket closer to his body and continued to watch the people in the park from his vantage point on the bench. It was early Spring in Asahikawa, Japan and the air still held a sharp crispness that seemed to cut through the little warmth the sun brought. He shivered as a breeze blew through his coverings and he sighed. He had been wandering around the city unsure of where he could go and had finally decided to rest at his favorite park bench. It gave a perfect view of the small lake and quaint bridge that overlooked it, the large field that tended to be home to the soccer crew in the summer and the dogs throughout the rest of the year, as well as a full view of the loop that travelled the perimeter of the lake and the surrounding field. It made the young boy feel like he was at the top of the world when he knew he was far from it. He huddled further in his blanket and sniffled loudly.
"Hey…kid…you 'aight?" The slightly accented voice pulled him from his huddle and he was surprised to see a boy of about his age standing in front of him, short dark brown hair going over one side of his face. The sitting boy dragged a sleeve across his running nose, "Yeah, I'm fine…" At that moment his stomach rumbled loudly and he flushed in embarrassment. "Come with me, kid, you seem like you need some help…" Not liking the boy's condescending attitude but knowing he had no where else to go, the boy got up from his bench and followed.
He was taken through the park to a side alley and as he came upon the entrance, the following boy slowed to a stop and became extremely cautious, "I have no money for you, I have nothing you can steal…I have nothing of value." The leading boy turned and laughed, "It's okay, we don't have any of that either." He then turned, "Hey Kenzo-senpai! I found another one!" A taller boy, with dark midnight black hair tied in a ponytail, came out from a small wooden structure that looked suspiciously like a closet at the end of the tunnel and stretched. "Oh, good work Miyaki. We need more people in our group." The boy at the entrance to the alley squinted his eyes suspiciously at their interaction and wrapped his blanket around himself tighter. "Um…who are you guys…?" The taller boy walked over to stand in front of the smaller boy and grinned, "Hey kiddo, I'm Kenzo Yurakami; I am the unofficial leader of our small rag-tag team. You are more than welcome to join us; Miyaki has been seeing you around lately and noticed your lack of connections. We don't survive on our own out here, we need other people to be a part of our network, ya know, kiddo." He patted the shorter boys head, who ducked out of the way, "My name is not 'kiddo' or 'kid,' it's Ayase. Yukiya Ayase. I'm six." Kenzo chuckled and nodded his head in understanding, "Apologies, Ayase-kun, I tend to have a more fatherly side to me when I meet young ones. I'm fourteen and Miyaki over there is your age. We've been out here for about, what would you say, Miyaki? Two years? Give or take a few months, I guess." Kenzo focused on Ayase after he glanced back at Miyaki and grinned again, jerking his head towards the closet, "Want some food? We are just about to split up the days ration," he gestured Ayase to follow as he made his way through the rubbish littering the alleyway, he's very friendly…Ayase thought, following the two boys to the wooden closet. "Hey Toki, we have another member, his name is Ayase-kun." Miyaki entered the large closet first and Ayase could see a slight boy in the corner, sitting 'Indian style' placing fruits on the floorboards. He looked up as Ayase got to the entrance and he nodded in greeting, "Hey." "Hi, nice to meet you…" Ayase nodded his greeting and entered the structure, noting it was a rather large closet with blankets lining the edges and an array of gloves and scarves hanging from the post that ran horizontally across the top between the walls.
Kenzo and Miyaki sat down on either side of the pile of food and Kenzo gestured Ayase to sit further inside the closet, "Come on, you must be cold, get further inside, there are more blankets behind Toki-kun." Ayase carefully stepped over the pile of oranges and settled into the corner, finding the warmth welcoming after sitting in the park for too long. Toki reached behind himself and grabbed a large wool blanket and handed it over to Ayase who thanked him and wrapped it around himself.
"So Ayase-kun, how did you get to be out here by your lonesome self?" Kenzo asked conversationally as he opened the first orange, Miyaki and Toki both took one as well. The smell of citrus filled the small confines of the closet as Ayase bit his lower lip, "Um…" He ducked his head into his blankets and seemed to draw into himself. Kenzo noticed his withdrawn attitude and reached over to hand him the orange he just peeled. "Here, eat. Tell us when you are ready, okay?" Ayase reached to take the offered orange and nodded silently, as he split the orange in half he muttered quietly, "Thank you…" Kenzo merely nodded and started on his own orange peeling.
A few weeks passed with no incidents and Ayase slowly got used to the groups dynamics. Kenzo was excellent at pick-pocketing and he taught Ayase everything he knew. Toki was the best stalker in the group and he taught Ayase how to silently follow someone without being noticed, a silent shadow waiting for an opportune moment to steal something. Miyaki was the best fighter out of the small group, surprising Ayase with his agility and strength, more than any six year old should have. Ayase prided himself in the fact that he was such a fast learner and was able to keep up with the group by his fifth week together with them. He had yet to tell them why he was out on the streets to begin with, but he was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this was now his life.
They sat in their warm cubby hole splitting the days splurge of two cold baos, a half loaf of bread, and three sticks of yakitori they had swooped from a man sitting at the park eating his lunch that afternoon. Ayase looked around to the other boys and quietly spoke up, "I was left by my parents a little over two months ago…I had tried to live on my own two weeks before you found me, Miyaki-kun…those were the hardest two weeks of my life…" Miyaki, in the process of chewing, turned to look at Ayase, cheeks bulging from the bread. Kenzo sat still, watching Ayase intently, nodding in understanding. Ayase looked up and then quickly ducked his face again, mustering up the courage to continue on, "My parents had borrowed money from some pretty awful people and they had started threatening my father…if he didn't start paying up, first it would be my mother who would be taken and sold for her body, then I would be taken as compensation…my father became frantic and tried to get a good paying job in a short amount of time, but always seemed to fall short." Ayase sniffled a little and tried to keep the tears at bay, "It was raining that night…my parents had left to go to the convenience store down the street and never came back…I was left in that apartment for three days before those men came to our place. I barely escaped through the window before they burst through the door…I had no other choice but to think that the men had already gotten my parents…" Ayase set his forehead against his raised knees and sniffled some more. Kenzo quickly glanced at the two other boys witnessing Ayase's story and he raised his finger to his lips to keep them quiet. He wasn't about to tell Ayase that they were there when they witnessed the police and ambulance trying to save the husband and wife who had been hit by a drunk truck driver. It had been the most gruesome scene any of them had seen and they wouldn't be able to forget it for a very long time. Ayase spoke again, "I'm grateful that you guys welcomed me into your group, if you hadn't…I don't think I would have been able to make it…" He looked up at the three and gave a watery smile, "Thank you for sharing your skills and food with me all this time, I don't know how I could ever repay you guys…" He wiped his dirty sleeve across his face and sniffled again. Kenzo reached over and pulled Ayase in for a hug, "Don't you worry, Ayase-kun, from now on, we will always stay with you." Ayase clung to Kenzo and wept wholeheartedly for the first time since they had met him. Both Miyaki and Toki patted Ayase's head before leaving him and Kenzo alone knowing Ayase would berate himself later for losing it. Kenzo held him in his arms until Ayase closed his eyes in exhaustion.
"Hey, Ayase! Come over here!" Miyaki called him over to a large pile of rubbish in an alley not too far from their home-base. Ayase walked over, "What did you find, Miyaki -kun?" Ayase glanced over to where Miyaki had been pointing and his eyes widened in surprise; there were two little heads huddled close together, shivering in a large black overcoat. It was coming to the beginning of winter and Miyaki and Ayase had been out looking for thrown away blankets to keep warm later on. Instead of finding blankets, it seemed like Miyaki had found twins, Ayase decided as he leaned over and touched the tops of the brown haired children. Two sets of bright green eyes stared up at Ayase and he could feel as if they had reached far into his soul and tugged at it. The shivering twins reached out and grabbed Ayase's hands without a word and held on for dear life. Ayase, unsure what to do, tried to tug free of their grip but was only held onto tighter. He heaved a sigh and helped the two to their feet, noting that they were so tiny they couldn't have been more than two or three years old, he wondered how long they had been outside. "Um…hello there…I'm Ayase, who are you?" He gently smiled at the two and they merely stared at him with their wide stares and Ayase stared back in amazement, never had he seen such clear green eyes. It was rare to have a Japanese child to have such bright eyes…he glanced up at Miyaki and shrugged, "Shall we bring them back to Kenzo-senpai? It seems like they have been abandoned…" Miyaki looked at the twins carefully and shrugged, "Might as well…though he may not like the fact that we now have two more mouths to feed…" Ayase glanced down at the two children gripping his hands in their cold ones and smiled; he squatted down and tried to pick them up in his skinny arms. Unable to pick them up, Ayase asked them, "Can one of you go to Miyaki-kun so he can carry you…? I can't lift you both…" Both of them shook their heads rapidly and Ayase glanced up to Miyaki and raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Crap…they like me…" Miyaki laughed loudly and the twins cringed away from the sound. Ayase patted them on the heads and reached to grab the large coat that had fallen from their shoulders, tossing it to Miyaki. "Let's go…" He reached down and grabbed the hands reaching for his.
The temperature dipped well below -15 degrees Celsius on that particular day. Snow covered the wet concrete streets and people walked around with huge coats, warm hats, and thick scarves. Covered in yesterday's stench, they sat in the closet splitting up that day's treasure trove of two small azuki pan buns, some stale crackers, and their jackpot, someone's left over take-out box filled with a small mound of rice and a couple tempura veggies.
"Okay…let's see…" Kenzo did his best as he tried to evenly distribute the food, everyone getting the same amount. The twins, boy and girl, the group had found out a day after they were brought back to the home-base, sat anxiously awaiting their food. They sat on either side of Ayase and the older boy glanced at the two as they stared intently at Kenzo. They both had short cropped brown hair and the coat they had been found in dwarfed the little girl. Ayase chuckled, almost seeing the two salivate at the food in front of them. None of them had eaten all day, finding food and money was scarce in the winter as was staying warm in their small nook. The day before had harsh snow and winds and they were thankful today wasn't the same and that everyone survived.
On their morning route to the other groups, Kenzo had found out that the group down a couple streets already lost two people just from the weather yesterday. The group across the river had lost their youngest a week earlier.
After eating their shares of food, Kenzo spoke up, "We're going to go see if we can get lucky today…you never know…" He and Toki had decided to go out looking for jobs a few weeks ago, but as a fourteen and twelve year old, they knew that they didn't have much luck. They grabbed their scarves and gloves before heading out down the alleyway towards downtown. Ayase and Miyaki glanced at each other and shrugged, "Let's go see who's out today…" They helped the twins wrap themselves in their own scarves before heading down the opposite way to see if they could swoop anything from people walking around shopping.
A couple hours later, the group came back to their hideout and shared in their splurges: the twins, perfecting their skills, had grabbed hold of two lighters, a small handful of coins, and a packet of cigarettes. Miyaki had swooped a pair of women and men gloves along with a small roll of sweet bread. Ayase then brought out his "earnings": a hat, a pair of gloves and a couple of coins.
Kenzo sighed and reported his lack of luck finding a job, but had brought back a small loaf of bread for his troubles. Toki glanced around at the group and bit his lower lip, "I met this Ojisan who said he'd be able to take us all in, for nothing but the price of our futures…I didn't understand what he meant, but he told me that we would be able to live comfortably in a nice warm house and eat all the food we wanted. In exchange we'd be trained in all sorts of things to help in our future careers…we'd become assassins, he said…" His eyes were a little wide in awe and he seemed a bit skeptic, but his voice finished strong as he told the group.
"I'm thinking I might take the job…I've suffered long enough, five years is more than enough for me. As it is, I don't think we'd be able to survive much longer…this winter has barely begun and we aren't doing too well." He glanced down at the meager pile of bounty, the pile brought back getting smaller each day.
He glanced around at the group and his eyes seemed to have a light in them that hadn't been there the whole time Ayase had known him.
"I'm going to accept it, who's coming?"
Ayase looked around at the group: Kenzo seemed to be deep in throught, Miyaki was chewing his gloved thumb, a bad habit that made him go through more right gloves than left ones, and Miya and Tabi, the twins, both looked up at Ayase as if he held all the answers. He glanced down at his own hands and then lifted his face to Toki, "I'll go, this winter seems like it's only about to get worse…" Miya and Tabi both raised their hands and said louder than needed, "If Aya-chan is going, we're going!" The twins seemed to like being glued to Ayase's side and even though he didn't want to get attached to them, the feelings may be mutual. He smiled down at them and patted their heads, "I hope we don't regret this…" Kenzo nodded at Ayase's last comment and spoke up at last, "I agree with this winter being the worst we've seen so far…Toki has been on the street longer than most of us, but even Ayase can see that it's only going to go down hill from here…" Miyaki started to nod his head as Kenzo spoke, silently agreeing.
"Who is this Ojisan you are talking about, Toki-kun?" Kenzo asked. Toki brought out something from his pocket and handed it over to Kenzo, "He has a business card; he seems pretty legit…though why he'd want kids so young, I don't know…" "You don't think he's human trafficking, do you?" Miyaki asked, shocked at the development this conversation was going. Kenzo studied the card for a moment longer and shrugged, "Let's check this place out first…what did that man look like, Toki-kun?" Toki scrunched his brow, "He was really tall, well built from what I could tell under his large overcoat, kinda spiky blonde hair, really shiny shoes…" Miya giggled at that, "Why were you staring at his shoes, Toki-chan?" Toki pouted and glanced at the little girl, "He was really tall, alright?" They all chuckled and Kenzo shrugged again, "Let's go see, I'm interested now…seems a bit shady, but hey, what do we have to lose…?"
They made their way towards the apartment buildings down the street that the business card indicated and upon reaching the address, they stared in awe at the large building. It was about five stories tall and had a large metal gate on the front door. The buttons along the side panel wall gleamed in the low afternoon light and Toki glanced at the card once more before hitting the button with the name, "Toranosuke" labeled on it. A loud buzz was sounded as they were let into the building. All six of them stared, wide-eyed at the large reception area that welcomed them. The surfaces gleamed brightly with wax while the pillars and floor were made of expensive marble. "Oh my gosh…Toki-chan seems to have met someone really important…" Tabi mumbled near Ayase's left and he turned to see the small boy spin slowly in the center of the lobby, looking up towards the dome ceiling.
Suddenly, the elevator door pinged and a tall man held open the doors and smiled at them, "Ah, Toki-kun, I'm so glad you have brought your family, please, come in! I'll show you upstairs." Kenzo reached into his pocket and gripped the knife he had placed their earlier when they had left and slowly stepped forward, "Are you the Ojisan Toki met this afternoon?" The man pouted slightly, "Aw, don't call me Ojisan! I'm not THAT old yet! But yes, I was the one who met up with Toki-kun today." He smiled welcomingly and gestured further into the elevator, "I'll explain everything upstairs, please, come in." The twins ran up the Ayase and grabbed both of his hands in their cold ones and Kenzo slowly made his way forward, hand still in his jacket, not letting this "Ojisan" out of his line of vision. He ushered the others into the elevator behind him, keeping himself between the group and the stranger. The tall man smiled and let the elevator doors close, "You will do great, young man…" He pushed the button to go up to the fifth floor and Kenzo scrunched his brow in confusion, dowellinwhat…? Worry began to spread throughout his body.
They exited the elevator and the tall man led them to a door on the far right, opening it to a large sitting room, "Come in and take a shower, get warm, I'll have food made once you are all done." Kenzo let the man go in first before entering next, eyes scanning the room for danger. Ayase and the others also kept their eyes peeled for the trap to be sprung, but nothing came out at them. "The bathroom is down this hall, towels are here," the man opened a closet, filled to the brim with fluffy blue towels, "and there are some clothes in the room right off the bathroom. I brought some clothes I thought could fit you all, I didn't know your sizes so I had to go off Toki-kun's guess-timations…Please, take whatever fits." The man opened a door to a large bedroom with the light on in the bathroom, "When you are finished, please come out to the living room further down the hall, I shall have food ready." He turned and left the children to shower, disappearing down the hall.
Ayase looked over to Kenzo who slowly loosened his grip on the knife but not releasing it completely, "Let's get cleaned up," Kenzo said, leading the group to the large shiny bathroom. Miyaki grabbed six towels before entering the bedroom after the others, "Let's hope that we haven't been fooled…Ayase, you take care of the twins, here are three towels," He handed Ayase the towels and then gave Kenzo and Toki their own. They entered the brightly lit bathroom and the lights were almost blinding against the marble counters and floors. There was a large washing area and an even larger soaking tub, they piled their dirty clothes into a pile on the ground near the sink and Kenzo placed his knife on the counter next to a large bar of lavender soap.
After a thorough scrub and a period of clothes searching, Ayase was shocked to see his 'family' cleaned and newly clothed. Yeah they occasionally washed at the lake side or at the sinks in the public bathrooms near the park, but had never gotten THIS clean. Not with clothes that had only seen a few wears and socks without holes in them or with hair without the layer of dirt it usually had. It was a weird feeling to have no cold breeze making their bodies shiver uncontrollably. Miya and Tabi's hair needed a good brushing so Ayase grabbed the tiny toothed comb from the countertop and gently pulled out the snags left from the vigorous washing. They were all lucky to have kept their heads free of lice and stay healthy throughout the winter; sickness, more times than not, meant death on the streets. After Ayase had finished combing their hair, he helped them pull on their socks as the others took their turns with the comb. Once they were all presentable, they cautiously opened the door and glanced both ways in the hallway.
"Oh…that smells so yummy!" Miya bounced up and down and would have run down the hallway towards the smell if Tabi hadn't grabbed his sister in time. "Hold a sec, Mi-mi…" The twins looked up at Ayase who looked up at Kenzo who was now dressed in a t-shirt, zip up sweater, and jeans, knife now resting in his jean pocket. He looked like a normal teenager as he glanced at the others before putting his finger to his lips to keep them silent. He made his way slowly forward to check out the living room.
A large table sat at the center of the room, eight seats were lined up around the table, three along the sides and one on each end. Food rested in dishes all across the table, steaming with warmth. Both of the twins almost rushed the table, this time stopped by Ayase as he tugged their hands back reminding them to be careful. "There you all are!" They jumped at the sound of the tall man's voice as he entered the room carrying a large plate of steaming mashed potatoes. He wore a rather frilly pink apron and all the kids felt their mouths drop open as they watched the man place the dish on the table. He turned back to them and upon seeing their shocked expressions the man's face flushed a little, "Oops…" He took off the apron and tossed it over the back of the chair at the head of the table, "Please, come sit and eat your fill! I made more than enough for everyone." He gestured to the seats and the six kids made their way towards the table, drawn in by the delicious smell of roasted chicken, beef in a mild sauce, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables and fluffy warm bread with butter. Never had any of them seen so much food and they all sat down to dig into the feast, all worry thrown to the wind. Once they were all thoroughly satisfied, the man got up to go to the kitchen and brought back a large basket of cinnamon rolls that had been waiting in the oven and a bowl of frosting. He smiled as he watched the twins try to add more frosting than needed and how Ayase tried his best to manage their sugar intake and failing miserably.
"Now…" Kenzo turned his attention from the flailing twins to the man sitting to his left, noting that he couldn't have been older than his late twenties. "What is it exactly that you want us to do?" The man smiled and put down his fork, patting his mouth with a napkin, "First off, my name is Gion Toranosuke, I run a business called 'The Organization,' original, I know. We work with individuals and groups of men and women trained for specific missions. You six…I have a special training I wish for you to go through." He looked around at the group and had to clear his throat so he didn't laugh at the twins faces covered in frosting, still absorbed in the fluffy rolls. He looked back at Kenzo, "I want you all to become my shadow assassins."
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter
If you are interested, this is the prequel to my other story, "Assassin." I don't know if you wish to read that one before or after this one is finished, but if you liked this chapter, you may be interested! ^_^
I hope to update this soon…stay tuned! XD Thanks for reading!