Chapter 5: Kazuya, You're So Nice

"So, we're going to the mall? That's what you had planned."

"I'm sure you wanted to go, didn't you? Now that you have adult supervision maybe you can actually get there."

"Alright."

"Don't tell me you wanted to stay in the house all day again. If I learned anything yesterday, it's that you can't stay in one spot for too long without getting into trouble. Not that I can blame you."

Jin's silence did nothing to help what conversation Kazuya was attempting to have with him and they soon fell into their usual non-verbal state. On Kazuya's part, he did attempt to break the inevitable silence, but Jin's "yes" "no" comments were hard to combat. It took them a little less than ten minutes to get to the mall and then ten minutes to even find a parking space. Finding a front park was impossible so he eventually parked the car in the far back. When they got out, Jin followed obediently behind Kazuya until Kazuya stopped in his tracks midway through the parking lot.

"You don't have to walk behind me like that. I didn't come here for myself. This is your day."

"What does that even mean?" Jin asked as he changed his position to beside the other rather than behind.

"Are you dense or something?"

Jin's eyebrows furrowed in irritation at this.

"Come on, let's go," Kazuya said unwilling to explain himself at the moment.

When Jin finally walked in, he felt as if he had been transported to another world. He'd driven around Japan just a few days ago, but this was something he hadn't seen before. There were so many people, so many stores, so many things to buy.

"Wherever you used to live, it must have been in some far off place," Kazuya said noting Jin's awe. "Someplace where there are no cars, fast foods, or malls."

"That's impossible, isn't it? Why would I have been here in the first place?"

"Why indeed. But today you have better things to worry about." Jin looked towards him when he said this. "If you see something you like, then I'll buy it for you."

"Anything?" Jin asked in confusion.

"Anything that you see here and can be bought with money," Kazuya clarified just in case Jin wasn't aware of the obvious.

I don't even know where to start…Jin looked down the long hall of store after store—he had no idea which one would have what and it wasn't as if he had something specific in mind.

"Take your time," Kazuya said calmingly, "We have all day."

"It'd be nice if I actually knew where I was going."

"I haven't been here much myself. You're on your own. There's always one obvious way to figure things out."

"Which is?" Jin asked when the other didn't continue.

"Well, check each store as you pass them."

"But that could take forever."

"This is getting us nowhere," Kazuya said as walked ahead of the other. "Haven't you heard of window-shopping?—you don't actually need to go in to every store to figure out what it's selling. Most of these are specialty stores anyway. You see a shirt in the window—clothing store. You see a television in the window—entertainment or electronic store. Get it?"

Jin had already spotted a store that had caught his eye and was currently heading towards it. This one had video games displayed in the window. He'd never seen so many video games in one place; it was mindboggling.

"So you like video games?" Kazuya asked coming up from behind him.

"I don't know—I've never played one before, but it seems fun."

Jin noticed some kids playing a video game on the large television screen. He watched them for a few minutes before their mom pulled them away from it. Whatever game it was, it seemed to be two-player. He picked up one remote and copied what the other kids were doing.

"If only there was an instruction booklet. I don't even know what button to push really."

"Try the X button."

Jin looked over at the other as if he had forgotten that he had even been there. "You've played this before."

"Not at all. It just says it at the bottom of the screen."

"Wow, didn't even see that." Jin did just that and the "Kontinue?" screen turned into the screen that he had seen the other two kids on. "I think they were hitting the buttons with the symbols on it to make them moves."

"Looks like a fighting game," Kazuya said as he stepped over to pick up the other controller.

"Are you sure you've never played video games before," Jin asked in an accusing voice.

"Are you sure you weren't just living in a hole for your entire life? It isn't rocket science. Obviously, this is two-player so just making your character move won't do anything. That's the health bar on the top of the screen."

Jin watched as the non-moving character on the left side suddenly sprang into action and punched the character that he had been moving. The green bar decreased a little.

"Oh I get it, a fighting game. Whoever dies first loses, right?" Jin said.

Kazuya didn't even bother with giving an answer. "You're already losing and the time is going out."

"Wait a minute…"

Jin certainly didn't want the other to "win" so he found himself mashing in the buttons with geometric shapes on them to take down the other's health points. Of course, the character on the left side of the screen was no longer just standing there and she would not go down quietly. Jin was K. easily and then the match began again. He was beaten just as easily. Then a voice said "Jade Wins".

"I guess you have to win twice," Jin said. "I want a do-over—that was over too quick."

"If you want," Kazuya replied.

Jin lost over and over again and it kept spurring him on to the next match and next match and next. If anyone was looking, it'd certainly look like father and son playing videogames together.

"Why do you keep winning?" Jin asked a little peeved.

"Because you're one of those people who need to read the instruction booklet—and you suck at this."

Jin frowned to the other at this.

"Why don't you just buy it so you can read the instruction booklet? We've been standing here for a while."

"You mean buy the game? I don't even know what I need."

"You already have a TV. You don't have the game system or the game itself."

"But it's not like anyone's going to play it with me."

"This is just on two-player mode—I'm sure there's also a one-player mode."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll ask."

Jin watched as Kazuya got one of the employee's attention and asked about the game. The employee went into a lot details about the entire game. They even began to discuss which game system to buy. Jin had gotten used to the one he was using then and simply asked to get that one. The employee showed them where the game system was being stocked and told them about the two different models of it.

"Now, did you want the sleeker newer model or the larger, backwards compatible model," the sales clerk inquired to Kazuya.

"Which one?" Kazuya asked Jin.

"Umm…" Jin wasn't used to make choices such as these. He hardly understood what was happening. "The larger one."

"The larger one it is," Kazuya replied.

"Really, I can get this? It looks really expensive," Jin said in disbelief.

"It's not a problem. We came here to splurge, didn't we?"

"Well, you haven't bought anything yet," Jin accused the other.

"You caught me red-handed. This is all part of my evil plans to draw the entire world into oblivion," Kazuya replied with a sly grin. "Truthfully, I'm not interested in too many things. There's nothing here that has caught my eye."

"Well then, leave the splurging to me. Maybe I can liven up that drab house of yours."

"Oh, so my house is drab."

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that before? There's nothing in the front yard. All the walls are bare in the house. There are no pictures or decorations anywhere. It's almost like no one lives there! Your house is in desperate need of color."

"You know, sometimes you sound exactly like Jun. She's said the same thing to me plenty of times before."

"And yet the drabness remains."

"What can I say; I've never actually tried to change that. Does it really bother you so much?"
"Yes," Jin said stolidly.

"Looks like it's two against one now. Since we're here, might as well try to buy some things for the house," Kazuya said casually.

"Let's start with a welcome mat," Jin declared.

They bought the game console that Jin had been looking at and then proceeded to scoping out the entire mall for house items. Kazuya was altogether unsure of what to buy, but Jin had no problem pointing out things. "Are you sure?" Kazuya would ask and Jin would always give him a confident "yes". They wound up carrying so many things that they had to make a trip back to the car to empty their hands. Jin was beginning to feel quite energetic. The fact that Kazuya would buy anything he pointed out was just now sinking in. The fact that Kazuya was being so pleasant was hard for Jin to wrap his mind around. At some point, Jin had decided that it was a complete waste of time trying to read the other person or guess his ultimate purpose. Besides, he'd rather save that for another time when he wasn't having so much fun.

Before they headed off to the food court at some point, Jin asked to go to the restroom. Since it was impossible to go into the restroom with all the bags that they were carrying, Kazuya stayed outside with them. Happily, Jin dumped all of his shopping bags on him and proceeded inside. The restroom was located down a long hallway and there were some benches just outside of the hallway where Kazuya was failing miserably at bringing order to all the bags. Of course, it didn't take long for Jin to finish up, but as he stepped out into the hallway—a thought crossed his mind. Jin hadn't forgotten the fact that this entire day was probably to prove to Jun that he was still "dependable". Kazuya could never be nice for no reason at all—it was all due to Jun. The only reason he had even suggested doing all of this was to fall into her good graces once again. Wasn't this primetime to get him in trouble once again? Jin walked down the hallway and then slowed his pace when he neared the end of it. The first thing he saw in the distance was a mountain of shopping bags rather than Kazuya himself. From his position, Kazuya obviously did not have a good view of the hallway.

Perfect.

A part of him felt bad about what he was going to do next, but it couldn't be helped. There was no way he was going to advance his plan if he didn't do something a bit underhanded. Making sure not to draw too much attention, Jin made his way out of the hallway and escaped out of Kazuya's viewing area. Then he was free. As long as he stayed on this side of the mall and made it a point to avoid Kazuya, his plan would be a success. He'd hide somewhere in the store and then wait until morning to walk back to Kazuya's house—he had already memorized the route.

Finding a place to hide, however, was easier said than done. Any store that he saw next he walked into. If he couldn't find a proper hiding place, at least he'd be in so many places that he'd be hard to spot. There were plenty of clothing stores each catering to different crowds of people. There were also herb shops, toy stores, movie shops, game stores, and other specialty shops. Somewhere near the other end of the mall after visiting numerous stores, the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up as if someone was following him. He found himself glancing behind himself more often than not. There was no Kazuya in sight, but he was still on edge. He felt that he was being followed. His pace increased little by little until he was almost jogging. What's going on here? Am I just being para—

Suddenly he felt someone take up his hand. Jin looked up suddenly as he instinctively tried to snatch his hand back.

"Don't make a fuss if you know what's good for ya," the man said in quiet threatening tones.

Jin's eye furrowed at his assailant. He was a rather large man with a ton of tattoos that ran down his right arm. "What do you want?"

"Just shut-up and keep walking."

"You don't know who you're messing with—

"Oh, I think I do. You just made it all the more easy with that stunt you just pulled."

"What are you—

"Your father seems like a pretty well off man."

"He's not my father."

"Doesn't matter. I haven't seen somebody buy so much in a long time. How 'bout giving back to the less fortunate, huh?" the man said with a sly smile. "We've been keeping a close eye on you and you've given us the perfect chance."

"Wait a minute, you think if you catch me you can get some money out of the person I'm with?" Jin carefully made sure not to mention any names. "It won't work."

"What do you mean?"

"He's not the kind of guy to give away money even if I am kidnapped."

"We'll just have to see, won't we?"

There was a section of the mall that was largely unpopulated due to the lack of stores in that area. The large man took him there and then guided him to a very vacant corner. Surely no one would think to come this way—there was nothing there.

"I told you, you're wasting your time!"

"And I told you to shut-up. Just stand there quietly."

"You know, he doesn't know where I am. If you want your money, you'll have to come bring him here."

"Oh…that's right. I hadn't thought of that."

Jin gave the other a look of disbelief. "So…this is your first time?"

"Little runt, I've done this plenty of times!"

Just then another man walked up. Though he was significantly smaller than the man who was holding him now, the new man clearly had a gun.

"Bruce, go find that man this kid was with. We can't get the money if he don't know where we are."

"Alright, sir. I'll be right back."

It was a wonder that the smaller man even thought to put his gun away. Jin let out an exasperated sigh as he watched the events unfold. Despite seeing the gun, it was hard to take any of this seriously. For once, he did stay quiet. He wondered if Kazuya would ever come. The two crooks would be up the creek without a paddle if that was the case. Jin wouldn't be surprised if Kazuya had already left. Then again, maybe not—he did have to keep up appearances for Jun. If the man did manage to find Kazuya, why exactly would he come quietly? Jin was sure that if Kazuya felt threatened in any way he would rectify the situation quite quickly—they'd be standing there for a while for a man that was probably already unconscious.

But the unexpected happened. He heard the footsteps before he saw the actual man—it was Kazuya. When Jin could finally see the other, he noticed that Kazuya's expression suggested plain and utter annoyance. The shorter man had the gun pressed firmly to his back through a jacket wrapped around the weapon—a surprisingly clever trick to avoid getting caught by the general public. The shorter man shoved Kazuya forth a little more when he thought the other wasn't close enough to Jin and the larger man.

"I have him," the shorter man declared.

"Good. Now we can make this nice and simple. Do you know why you're here?" the larger man asked Kazuya.

"Since this is some boneheaded attempt at extorting money, one can only guess," Kazuya replied smoothly.

"Boneheaded? Listen, you two, I don't appreciate all the underhanded comments."—he was referring to Jin and Kazuya—"I'm the one with the gun and that makes me the one in the superior position."

"How much do you want?" Kazuya asked simply.

"Damn it! I'm the one who's supposed to just tell you!"

"Then tell me," Kazuya replied nonchalantly.

"Alright," the larger man said instantly calming down, "I want 8 million yen—now."

"That much? And you expect me to be holding that kind of money offhand?"

"I guess that is sort of a lot."

"Why don't I give you what's left in my wallet—it'll make it easier for both of us."

"Actually, that sounds like a plan—wait a minute, what's left in your wallet?"

"About 2,000 yen. Surely, that's enough for you."

"You're making this so easy—I imagined it would be far more difficult."

"You seem like a trustworthy man. I'm sure if I gave you what you want, you'll simply hand him back over. Am I right?" Kazuya said with a smile that could only mean trouble in Jin's opinion.

"Th-that's right," the larger man agreed though he hesitated slightly. "Now hand over the money."

Kazuya deftly took out his wallet.

"B-but not so fast. Slow—do it slowly so I can see your hands."

Kazuya obediently slowed his pace. At snail pace, he opened his black leather wallet and took out the rest of the paper money out of the larger sleeve in the wallet. It was a substantial amount to keep in one's wallet. The larger man's eyes grew wide at the sight of it.

"Make sure you take all of it out," the larger man warned, "Bruce, did he get all of it."

"From what I can see," the shorter man answered back quickly.

"Now hold out your hand slowly."

Kazuya did so and the larger man slowly reached his hand out to it.

"No funny business," the larger man warned, "There's still a gun on you."

Maybe the larger man's instincts had alerted him because there was no way he could have known what happened next. He tried to snatch the cash quickly but just as quickly he was knocked out. Jin blinked once and the larger man was on the ground. He blinked for a second time and the shorter man with the gun was doubled over in pain. Jin only really saw Kazuya twirl around and ram his knee so hard into the gunman's face while doubled over that he fell instantly unconscious. Jin was too shocked to even move.

"Let's go before we draw too much attention to ourselves."

A wide-eyed Jin looked up to Kazuya and only nodded silently, but then stopped when he noticed someone behind him.

"K-Kazuya, look—

The three successions of gun shots drowned out anything else Jin could have said. A man that Jin had not seen the entire time held the cursed gun in front of him like he was warding off some kind of evil. He hit the trigger three more times, but apparently he had run out of bullets. Jin found himself looking down the barrel of an empty gun and he was utterly speechless.

"Those amateurs," the man ranted, "I can't leave them alone for five minutes and they've already got themselves bested. I guess it's your lucky day, boy."

Jin stepped back in fear. He dared not look down at Kazuya's sprawled form else he'd lose the last remnants of his courage. The man walked over the two bodies in front of him—Kazuya and the shorter man with the gun—to a point where he could press the gun against Jin's forehead threateningly.

"You better not tell anyone what you saw here today. Since you're just a kid, I'll let you live. Now, run."

Jin merely stood there with his mouth set in a straight line.

"Did you hear me, boy? I'm giving you a free pass."

Jin shook his head once.

"Oh, I get it; that was your father wasn't it, boy? You can't do anything for him now. Why don't you start thinking about your own life?"

Jin stepped back once with his eyes glued to anything besides the ground. For some reason, he was finding it hard to move. His mind still hadn't wrapped around the fact that Kazuya was—

Jin looked up when he heard gurgling noises. An arm had wrapped around the man's neck and he was struggling to get his breath back. He quickly blacked out and fell to the ground.

"Kazuya!" Jin shouted.

"You still here?" Kazuya managed to say.

Jin could tell though that the other was fighting losing consciousness as he sank to his knees.

"Don't worry…I'll call someone," Jin reassured the other as he advanced towards him.

"Jin…" he heard Kazuya say. Jin was forced to step closer to him in order to hear him. "I'm glad…you're safe."

This time he really did lose consciousness. No matter how hard Jin tried to rouse him, he did not wake.

"Damn it, Kazuya, what are you trying to prove? I try to get you in trouble and all you say is that 'you're relieved' that I'm safe or it's impossible for me to do something so underhanded—and you believed it so much that you completely looked over the obvious evidence…and now this. What, are you trying to make me feel guilty or something? You're going to have to do a lot better than that…"

Jin didn't have a cellphone, but he had seen Kazuya use one so he supposed that if he searched his pockets it would come up. He had to close his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at all the blood. First the left pant pocket, then the right one—eureka. He dialed the emergency number and told the person on the other side of the phone what exactly had transpired. Soon, help was on its way.

"Kazuya," Jin whispered, "…I'm sorry."

/

AN: Can't wait to write next chapter. Hope you've enjoyed.