AN: Thanks a ton for reviewing, I'm hoping that this series will turn out to be really great! Sorry it took so long to update, but I have been really swamped with my home life and trying to keep in touch w/ a ton of my internet friends. But anyways...Here's chapter 2 for y'all!
Drake headed out from his room groggy, miserable, and absolutely dead. Trying to get any sleep the night before had proved to be a real challenge as he was trying to get accustomed to the Japanese way of life. Stepping outside to the humid 80 degree weather had been a hurdle all unto it's own as he was going to take his shower.
The house that they stayed in was modeled after the old imperial palace, where the kitchen, bedrooms, bathroom, and the main rooms were closed off from the outside. The hallways were open to mother nature and all the gifts that came with it. On days like these, it was an unwanted sight to behold.
"So, did you all sleep well last night?" Yuri asked the for men as they came into the kitchen; only one seemed to have acclimated to the change quickly.
"Ah, well, you will get used to it I suppose, but for now you should eat breakfast. I will tell you good places for you boys to visit while you are here." She handed a bowl of rice over to JJ who was trying to use the chop sticks.
"Ryo, I just have to talk with you for a little bit, would you please excuse us gentlemen?" The three of them nodded as Yuri and Ryo headed down to a small room on the other end of the house.
"Ryo, I'm sure I don't have to explain why we are having this conversation....Why did you come back? Especially when the Yakuza is still after your head!?" She began speaking in her native tongue, something that Ryo was not foreign to.
"Look I am not the one who suggested this. I tried to talk my boss out of having us come here, but he would not listen. All he said was that it would be good for me to visit the place where I grew up...."Ryo drew in a sharp breath and paced around the room like a panther hunting it's prey.
"I know that, but did you have to come back to this part of Japan? It's bad enough that they are trying to kill our family! Now with you back they are sure to kill your friends that you have with you, if not you first. They probably saw you at the air port when you arrived yesterday or someone must have told them that you are lodging here!" She was to the point of yelling now.
"Yuri, I know they have it bad for me to die because of past circumstances, but that does not mean that they have seen me. For all we know they could have just over-looked me at the terminal."
"But we cannot take those chances, especially with those you love...I'd rather you keep your guard up than expect that they know nothing of your presence back here!" Her hands were clenched tightly around the muscular arms that were attached to Ryo's sender frame.
"Why do you think I have my gun with me? A police officer is never caught without protection, even on vacations." He flashed his gun quickly and then covered it back up.
"Well, that may be, but just keep you guard up my son, I am not wanting to loose another family member because of you killing a few of the main leaders in the gang." She glanced over at Ryo, whose eyes turned dark.
"Look, Aunt, they deserved it for killing mom and dad. Who else would want to come all the way to America to exterminate them. I just returned the favor." An evil side of Ryo returned to him.
"I don't care what you did, I just don't want any shootings to happen near the house, please!" Her eyes were pleading and tears began to fill them.
"Alright, but I will not spare this house if they plan to come after me or anyone here, got it?" His tone of voice became more along the lines of concern rather than filled with cold and hate.
Yuri took in a large gulp of air, concern etched all over her face. "I will not force you out of this house, but I am deeply troubled with all of this..."
Ryo combed some of the older woman's gray strands of hair from her face. "I know that Yuri, and I will heed that warning, but for now we should not concern ourselves with such trivial issues."
The elder woman walked out from the room and headed back towards the dining room, leaving Ryo to his own muses. Ryo planned to heed the warning to the fullest extent, for he himself would not be able to save his friends or Dee if the Yakuza did come and try to kill any one of them. And with how Ryo knew how the Yakuza worked, he would have to stay away from the area of Tokyo as much as possible, for the stronghold of the gang was centered in the heart of Japan.
"Ryo? Where the hell are you? We've got things to do, places to see!" JJ walked in all decked out like the gaijin he was.
"But what about breakfast?" Ryo rubbed his stomach slightly as he remembered that he had neglected to eat breakfast.
"Well that was your own fault, now lets get going! Yuri said that the trains would start getting packed if we don't leave now!" JJ pulled Ryo up and out of the room, Ryo managing to grasp his wallet on the way out.
"So what is on our agenda today Ryo?" Drake looked over at Ryo, throwing his right arm over JJ's shoulders.
"Well I thought we'd go to the nearest shrine, do some shopping, some other stuff..." He kept glancing around the group as they walked out from the train station.
"Sounds good to me! now lets get moving...we spent like 30 minuets waiting for the two of you to eat! Plus, since we had to exchange our currency we only have 3 hours till 5 o'clock!" Dee looked impatiently into his lover's eyes.
"Dee, calm down. It's not like we don't have all night. Besides I also wanted to do some clubbing after the fireworks show at 7." JJ's face got huge at the mentioning of fireworks.
"Really Ryo?! I always wanted to see a professional show, but I never had the time." He glanced at Dee, trying his hardest to blame it on him.
"Hey now, it was YOU who kept chasing after me!" Dee glared straight into JJ's eyes.
"Well, If YOU hadn't walked into my life I might have been just fi-" Drake pulled out the duct tape as a warning to the fighting children.
The four traveled down a few more streets till they reached the Asakusa temple. Like all of the temples in Japan this one was built in the traditional pagoda style. It was five stories tall and had the traditional red shingles which lined the whole thing. There was a hustle and bustle of people and monks as the group continued toward the shrine that was indoors. The clanking of metal striking metal caught the men's attention over to a huge box shaped item embedded within the granite floor. Dee glanced over the shoulders of everyone. "What the heck is this? You gotta pay in order to pray?"
"Dee, have you ever heard of an offering?" Ryo smacked Dee with a small pamphlet.
"Oh, well still...Seeing this while I'm over here just seems a bit weird, I just don't know hwy though." He tossed some coins in and prayed as well.
"Dee, that's a question only you would ever dare to ask..." Drake just shook his head and walked out from the pagoda heading to the small section where thousands of crows gathered.
"What the hell are these bird doin here?! Are you sure this is legal?" JJ clamped onto Drake's arm, not letting go for dear life.
Drake began to pry JJ's vice grip hands off of himself. "Don't tell me you're afraid of birds... And yes I'm sure this is legal."
"No, it's not bird in general, it's just the crows. I mean haven't you guys seen that one movie where these birds try to kill people? It just so happened that I saw it when I was like 5 at the time!" JJ clamped on even harder at the thought of being sat down in front of the TV being forced to watch the spine chilling movie.
"But anyways...we should seriously think about heading down to the area where the fireworks show is gonna be at cause people say that it's extremely hard to get a good view if we get there like an hour before the show starts." Dee pulled on the honey blonde's collar.
"Hold it right there, I have to get a few things. I saw some really great souvenirs when we passed by that long strip of mini stores." Dee flashed his familiar grin.
"Ok, but let's not take too long, or we'll end up getting stuck on sardine packed trains." Ryo looked around and then caught up with the three men. If his memory was as clear as day, the Yakuza would not hesitate to show up at the amazing light show that was set to take place in 3 hours.
AN: Hope you guys liked this chapter. I really cannot wait till I get started on the next one to see how the fireworks show will go! Oh, before I forget, the word 'gaijin,' which Ryo used to describe how JJ was dressed, means foreigner for those of you who don't know that. (I guess you learned something today didn't you?) But anyways I can't wait to see your reviews!