Alright- this chapter details Takumi's fourth day with the Yakuza.
"Get up."
"Mmnnn…." Takumi muttered- he found himself halfway into the land of the living.
The sound of a gun cocking made his eyes fly open.
The cold metal of a gun barrel kissed his skin, and Takumi's eyes flew open to see Saiko-komon pressing the muzzle of his pistol to his forehead. "Up, kid. I'm not gonna ask again."
Takumi blinked, swallowing, before he nodded.
Saiko-komon grinned, teeth glinting, and Takumi swung his legs over the side of the bed, hearing his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he trotted after Saiko-komon. He was suddenly wide awake.
Takumi cast one last glance at Kai- the other teenager was sleeping peacefully.
They must only need me for this assignment. Takumi thought simply, trying to repress the nausea that blossomed in his stomach at helping these gangsters again.
Takumi made his way down to the garage calmly, finding the cheerful dew-rag clad gangster waiting for him.
"Morning, kid."
Takumi caught the keys to the Supra when they were thrown at him, nodding shyly to the man.
Kumicho loked at both of them sternly. "You know the assignment. Complete it- you know the only deal we'll accept."
Dew rag nodded solemnly, and Takumi squirmed uncomfortably under Kumicho's gaze.
He followed Dew rag's lead, getting into the Supra and starting the car as dew rag gave him a crooked-toothed smile. "So, how're you doing?"
Takumi shrugged. "Fine. Right or left?"
"Huh? Oh- left."
Takumi nodded, swallowing tensely. They were heading towards the city again. Takumi hoped they werenlt going to be doing another bank job. Then again, it was still too early. All the banks were closed.
They drove through the nearly deserted city streets for a half hour, before Dew rag finally nodded to him. "Pull in here."
Takumi swung the Supra around, puling in the small driveway between buildings- a laundromat and what looked to be an apartment complex.
Takumi put the supra in park, turning to look at Dew Rag apprehensively.
"Pop the trunk, kid."
Takumi obeyed, and Dew rag got out of the car, still sitting anxiously.
He heard the trunk small shut, and Dew rag walked past the window and into the side door of the laundromat, a black trash bag slung voer his shoulder….
Takumi stiffened. Was that… a body? No, the bag hadn't been full enough to contain a dead body… at least, not a whole one. Still, that did little to calm his frayed nerves, and he took a deep breath and rested his head against the steering wheel for a moment.
Raised voices filtered out into the alley- one of them belonged to Dewrag.
Takumi closed his eyes and tried to drown it out, tried to think of something else- his father, the 86, anything….
Takumi's eyes flew open as he heard a muffled shout, and the sound of something striking flesh.
Suddenly, there were no more raised voices- only the muffled sounds of blows being thrown. Takumi could hear whimpers and gasps, and even, at one point, muffled begging.
There was a solid minute of silence, before Dewrag was trooping out of the laundramat, giving Takumi that crooked smile of his.
"Take us home, kid." He said cheerfully.
Takumi nodded hesitantly, putting the Supra in reverse and pulling out.
Still, Dewrag caught Takumi staring at his bloodied hands. The man's large knuckles were torn, his normally peach skin covered in crimson.
Dewrag simply grinned at Takumi as he untied the dew rag from his head, using it to attempt to clean his hands. "Sometimes you have to drive a hard bargain, kid. 200,000 yen isn't something to joke about."
Takumi swallowed and nodded slightly, keeping his eyes on the road and trying to control his breathing.
D-did I just hear him kill a guy? Takumi thought to himself, mouth dry. Still, he was in no position to ask questions, and he simply did his best to get them home without incident.
As soon as they'd reached the remote house, Takumi retreated upstairs to find Kai awake and waiting for him.
"Where the hell were you!?" Kai demanded, gaze angry. Still, he looked relieved to see Takumi was back.
"They took me out on an… assignment." Takumi managed, keeping his gaze low.
Kai frowned. "Was it bad?"
"He came back with blood on his hands. I don't know." Takumi admitted dryly, sitting down on his bed and fiddling with a thread on the fabric anxiously. "I… I think it was a drug deal."
Kai nodded- Takumi's report seemed to only strengthen his resolve, and he eyed the door nervously before crossing the room, looking at Takumi calmly.
"Listen, Takumi- it's been five days since they brought me here. Four, for you…. The police are taking far too long. I'm leaving- tonight- and you're welcome to come with me."
Takumi's eyes widened, but Kai cut him off.
"Saiko-komon keeps the keys to the cars by his desk- we get ahold of them and just go tonight, don't look back, and find the nearest police station. We can do it- we just have to slip out. Are you in or what?"
Takumi paused, looking over at Kai's serious brown eyes before dipping his chin into a nearly unperceivable nod.
Kai grinned, looking relieved. "Good, I'll drive- all you'll have to do is be look out. We play our cards right, and we can get home by tomorrow morning."
That night Takumi slipped into the kitchen under the guise of grabbing a rice ball to nibble on- he could see Saiko-komon's back turned to him as he drank and smoked with the other gangsters, and Takumi hurriedly grabbed his rice ball, scuttling down the hallway unnoticed to find Kai waiting.
Takumi nodded to him. "Go."
Kai darted down the hallway towards another bedroom- Takumi found himself alone in the hallway, his heart pounding in his ears.
Takumi clenched his hand into a fist- this would be okay, all they had to do was get the keys.
Still, one minute dragged by, then two, and Takumi felt his heart speed up.
Muffled footsteps approached, and Takumi's head snapped up, alarmed, to see Saiko-komon striding down the hall- his rom was just around the corner, and any moment, he'd run into Kai….
"Saiko-komon." His mouth was working faster than his mind, now, and he stepped in front of his black-clad superior and kidnapper.
The man's dark brows creased, and he frowned, looking at the teenager in his path. "Kid?" he asked impatiently.
"Kai was just looking for you…. I… uh… I was wondering if you'd let me shoot a gun again soon." The words were pouring out faster than Takumi could think of them- he was improvising, and it was the first thing that'd come to mind.
Saiko-komon was perfectly still for a moment, before his face split into that calculating grin. "Sure. Enjoyed pumping those can full of lead, huh?"
"Mmm." Takumi nodded seriously. Shooting a gun didn't really phase him- after all, he wasn't shooting at people. Besides, it was a good distraction to keep Saiko-komon busy.
Saiko-komon's eyes glinted for a moment, surprised by Takumi's serious response. "Well. We might just make something out of you yet, kid." He frowned, noticing the un-touched rice ball in Takumi's hand. "You should eat that soon. Weird kid….." Saiko-komon ruffled Takumi's hair, stepping past him and striding towards his room, almost running into Kai as the teen rounded the corner.
Kai blinked, looking surprised to see Saiko-komon.
"Be more like him and you'll do well, kid." Was all Saiko-komon said to the darker haired boy, brushing past him and ducking into his room.
Kai blinked, surprised, before looking at Takumi. Takumi shrugged in response- he'd had to stall the man to keep Kai from getting caught.
Takumi stared at Kai anxiously- the older teen nodded, patting his pocket and grabbing Takumi's upper arm, guiding the teen towards the stairwell. He had the keys.
Both boys jogged downstairs into the garage, scoping out the area. The garage was deserted. Kai jogged over to the red GTR, moving to grab the keys from his pocket…..
"Hey!"
Kai froze, hearing a voice that wasn;t his own or Takumi's, and turned to see a burly gangster standing in the doorway.
"It's unusual to se you two out of your room." The man flashed them a crooked smile, reaching up to scratch at his head through his dewrag, stepping closer to Takumi. "So- I take it you enjoyed this morning's assignment?"
"It was interesting." Takumi said honestly, voice never faltering.
The man laughed. "Yeah. Not as interesting as knocking off the bank our first time, but still- you're a good driver. Kumicho made the right choice picking y-ugh!"
Dewrag crashed to the ground. Takumi blinked, surprised, to see Kai had grabbed a wrench from a nearby workbench and hit the man with it, knocking him out cold.
Kai stood, wrench in hand, breathing heavily.
"Well don't just stand there!" Kai growled, running back to the GTR. "Let's go!"
Takumi nodded, pulling himself from his stupor and jumping into the passenger seat of the GTR. The garage door opener was in the center console, and Kai tossed it to him, starting up the GTR. The engine purred beneath them, and Takumi pressed the button- the garage door started to open rather noisily, and both teens exchanged panicked glances.
After three seconds of absolute dread, someone burst into the garage, and Kai slammed down on the pedal, taking off into the dusk.
Kai slammed on the breaks, barely making the corner out of the driveway and heading the opposite way of the city- best to lose these bastards on the back roads rather than challenge them on their own turf.
"Shit, that was close." Kai muttered.
Takumi simply nodded tiredly, heart beating loudly in his chest.
Kai took the next corner at an above average speed but mage it- this mountain road was steep and narrow, with barely room for two cars to pass one another. On one side, the guardrail blocked a sheer drop, and on the other, the rocky mountain face loomed threateningly.
Kai flicked the headlights to the brightest setting, the headlights piercing the darkness heavy darkness.
Kai beamed. "We did it, though. Once we hit the next police station, we'll be fine…."
As he spoke, an engine roared in the distance. Takumi's head whipped around, and Kai inhaled sharply, slamming down on the accelerator.
"Shit shit shit! I didn't expect them to follow us!" Kai muttered- he actually scraped the guardrail at the next corner, the GTR wobbling slightly but straightening out as it descended the mountain at a brisk pace.
Still, just before they took the corner, Takumi swore he'd seen headlights in the distance behind them.
"Kai!"
"I know!" Kai shouted, before he was slamming on the breaks. Takumi was nearly thrown into the dash, and Kai slowed down, barely making the ninety-degree corner. Kai let out a rushed breath, hurrying to get the car going again- behind them, Takumi could hear the roar of the engine getting closer.
No les than five seconds later did the headlights appear in their rearview mirror, the bright lights nearly blinding them.
"Can't you go any faster!?" Takumi demanded.
"I don't know this course, dammit! Do you want to crash through the guardrail like we almost did a minute ago!?" Kai demanded.
Takumi ignored him completely, looking up in the rear-view mirror despite how his mind shouted at him not to- Kai was doing a good job maintaining a good two car length distance between them and the gangsters, but that was about it.
Behind them, Takumi could see the blue supra he'd driven that morning absolutely gunning it, weaving slightly- these yakuza were no street racers, that was for sure, but they had the advantage of knowing the course.
Takumi checked the side mirrorsquinting, only to hear pop and watch the mirror he;d been staring at moments ago shatter into a thousand pieces….
"They're shooting at us!" Kai shouted over the roar of the engine, wrenching the wheel to the right. Takumi could hear bullets pinging off the rear bumper. He in stinctively shrunk down in the passanger seat, eyes wide, sweating, before he noticed the glove box. Kai took another sharp corner, buying them a few seconds.
Takumi noticed the glove box, taking a sharp breath and wrenching it open, coming face to face with a pistol.
For a moment, the gunshots behind them had stopped- they were probably reloading.
He didn't hesitate, grabbing up the gun and loading the magazine, sliding it into the gun and cocking it.
Takumi rolled down the window, taking a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do.
"Eh?" Kai blinked. "Takumi, what he hell…."
"Just drive! I'll try and keep them from shooting out our tires!" Takumi shouted over the roar of the engine.
"Takum-"
"Drive!"
Takumi was already leaning out the window, clinging to the door with one hand and struggling to aim the gun with the other….
Alright. Just like you did yesterday, with the cans. Don't kill anyone…. Just, shoot out the front tires if yhou can. He thought to himself calmly.
He fired the first shot- it pinged off the front bumper of the supra, which weaved slightly- the driver was no doubt startled.
Takumi let go of the door entirely, cocking the gun again and firing again. A resounding crack sounded, and at that moment Kai jerked the wheel abruptly, causing Takumi to fall back into the vehicle roghly. They barely scraped around a corner, and Takumi blinked, re-orienting himself before he was leaning out the window again.
His next shot was a miss, but succeeded, in a sense.
He managed to shoot out one of the supra's headlights- the car behind them began fish tailing, and Takumi ducked back into the GTR. "Punch it!" he shouted.
Kai took the next corner at a nearly impossible speed- Takumi actually felt the car's bumper scrape the guardrail, grating on it, before he pulled out of the corner, ehading back down the hill.
"We can make it! Turn the headlights off!" Takumi urged.
Kai's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Are you insane!? We'll crash!"
"Alright then- just go!" Takumi said, realizing by the anxious look on his face the Kai really couldn't drive without headlights.
An upcoming sign indicated a sharp curve ahead, and Kai decelerated to 100 kmph- Kai was already shaky at the wheel, but he wasn't suicidal….
Just as they started to take the curve, the Supra, with only one headlight, screamed around the corner- in a volley of gunshots, a loud boom cough be heard- the GTR shifted sickeningly beneath them. Had they been going on a straight away, Kai probably would've been able to keep control of the car, even with a tire being shot-out.
But as it was, entering into the corner with the car's weight shifted, the GTR careened into the guardrail, then, pin balling off it in a spin before crashing into the rocky side of the mountain with a sickening crunch. The last thing Takumi heard was the screaming of metal on stone before he flew forward into the dash, rebounding backwards into his seat, before everything went black.
The first thing Takumi was aware of was the taste of blood. He peeled open his eyes to find himself staring into the painfully bright beams of flashlights and blinked, biting back a groan at the sudden pain swirling in his head and nausea bubbling up in his throat.
Takumi caught a brief glance at Kai's expression- the other teen had a bloody nose and some cuts on his face, but he didn't look nearly as bad as Takumi felt. If anything, Kai looked relieved he was awake- that couldn't be good.
Takumi let his eyes fall closed, black shuttering his blurry vision for a moment.
He simply closed his eyes and tried to listen.
"Fuckers nearly blew the whole operation. Hell, the smaller one shot at us…." An agitated voice was arguing from behind the flashlight beams.
"Kumicho ordered they be brought back alive." A steady, monotone voice that might've been Saiko-komon was saying.
"They attacked us and stole our shit! They have to be punished for this, the arrogant brats nearly blew the operation!"
"You don't think I'm just as pissed as you are!?" Saiko-komon snapped. "They'll be punished for their actions- however, how and when they'll be punished depends on Kumicho's directive. Unless you want to be punished as well, for violating orders…."
Saiko-komon was met with resounding silence. "That;s what I thought. Have the boys pull up the chevy- let's get these two pieces of shit back to base."
Takumi couldn't find it in himself to open his eyes. His head was spinning, and he had a feeling they;d go easier on him if he simply feigned unconsciousness….
"C'mon, brat." Takumi heard a door opening and felt the movement to his right as they dragged Kai from the car.
"I… I think Takumi is really hurt." Kai said, voice shaking.
Takumi's eyes opened a fraction, surprised. Did he really look bad enough for Kai to try and get him help?
"That's wonderful, kid. Wouldn't have happened if you two fucks had just stayed where you should've…. Put him in the trunk." Saiko-komon ordered coldly. There was a thud, and a moment later, Takum was being unbuckled and dragged out of the car.
"Damn." Saiko-komon whistled. "Kid looks like shit. Well, he was on the side that hit the rock face…."
"What do we do with him?"
"Put him in the trunk with his best friend over there."
Takumi forced his eyes open, glassy eyes focusing in on Saiko-komon, who smiled ghoulishly.
"Ah, so he's awake, after all. What's the matter, kid? Can't take the speed?"
Takumi turned his head to the side and vomited onto the pavement- his eyes watered and his throat burned, and Saiko-komon frowned. "Well, that's gotta suck. Anyways- trunk."
Takumi was hauled across the pavement, a gangster on either arm, before he was unceremoniously dumped ontop of Kai, the door to the trunk slammed down above them.
Kai squirmed beneath him, edging over so Takumi could only see his eyes in the darkness.
"Takumi?"
Takumi grunted- he really didn't want to talk right now.
Kai let out a shaky breath. "Are you okay?"
"I'll live." Takumi said simply. While he felt horrible, he'd probably be okay.
Kai nodded, looking relieved. "I'm sorry I got you into this, Takumi."
Takumi said nothing for a long moment, and Kai was afraid he wouldn't say anything. A moment later, however, Takumi spoke. "We almost made it."
Kai let out a hollow laugh, sounding close to tears. "Yeah- we almost did."
Please review! :)