Chapter 8: We Have Concerns About Eren

Ai got up from the Futon she borrowed from Meimei as she stretched herself to relieve some of the soreness from yesterday's performance. For some reason, she felt a lot sorer today than normal, which Miyako said was due to her performing harder than normal. She didn't really feel any different from the performance, but the soreness said otherwise.

Normally after a performance, the girls would go celebrate a job well done, either by going to a restaurant that the President would reserve in order to maintain their secrecy, or by going to one of each other's homes. Normally, they would go to Meimei's house since she had an actual house whereas the other girls had apartments.

"Morning Ai." Meimei said as she walked around the living room in her long pajama's. "Breakfast will be ready soon." She said, Ai now noticed she had an apron on over the pajama's.

"Mama..." Ruby moaned from Ai's arms. The movement woke her up and she was struggling to open her eyes and leave her restful sleep.

"Good morning Ruby-Chan." Ai said sweetly to her daughter.

The rest of the group knew about her children, it was impossible to hide from them. At first, they were a little upset at having to lose Ai while she gave birth and recovered, but they came to quickly accept it.

"Morning Ruby." Meimei smiled.

"Morning Mei-San." Ruby said in a tired voice.

"You best hurry, everyone else is awake." Meimei said.

"Oh, why didn't you wake me?" Ai asked.

"Because I couldn't bear the thought of waking up Ruby and Aqua from their sleep." She giggled. "You all look so cute."

Speaking of Aqua, he was again a very heavy sleeper, so he was lying next to Ai and wasn't even moving to get up.

Meimei kneeled down next to him, her feet flat on the ground as she crouched all the way down to reach his prone form on the futon. She gave him a few gentle flicks on the ear to wake him up.

"Wake up Aqua-Chan." She said.

"Meimei, don't be so rough." Ai whined at how she was waking him.

Meimei laughed as his face scrunched up and swatted at her, much different than the cute and gentle reaction he had when Ai would wake him up. Meimei giggled at the reaction, she always loved teasing kids and watching their funny reactions. It was some very light teasing and she enjoyed seeing how frustrated he got sometimes.

"But he's a boy, he should be used to a bit of teasing." She laughed.

"Stop it." Aqua said in a tired voice, but he willed himself to sit up.

"There you go, awake and ready to eat." Meimei laughed.

Aqua glared at Meimei. When he was Goro, he did like the rest of the team from B Komachi, but Meimei always made it her mission to tease him as much as she could. He knew it was a lighthearted teasing, and if he was an adult and she was his girlfriend, he'd even kind of like it. But being a toddler and being treated in such always annoyed him to no end.

"I'm awake." He relented as he stood up.

Ai giggled at his reaction too. She could never tease her children like how Meimei did, but she still loved to see their reactions at the lighthearted play.

Aqua was the only boy in the house. The president normally didn't come during their celebrations since he was busy with postproduction management so Miyako would typically stay with the group of girls in order to make sure nothing happened. They all still were technically teenagers after all. He also had a strict no boy policy during their celebrations since he didn't want to risk his idols being influenced by both alcohol and hormones.

Aqua was the only exception since he was both a child and Ai's son, so he had the privilege of being the only boy that's surrounded by beautiful women. Ai giggled at the thought, how he'll one day grow up and realize he was too young to appreciate such a moment. Then again, with the way he looks and acts no, Ai wondered how popular he would get with girls. Her heart hardened for a moment when she imagined her innocent little boy surrounded by women in their sleeping clothes.

She had to protect him when he got older.

However, that also meant that Eren had to leave since there was no way he was permitting Eren to be anywhere near the girls outside of what was mandated by the ticket he had. Originally, Miyako offered to take him home, but he declined the offer since he said he already arranged for a ride home.

Ai was a little sad that she didn't get to see him off after signing the autograph, but she knew it wouldn't matter since they were neighbors.

Ai reached that dining area with her children and sat down with the rest of the women. Unlike most homes, Meimei's house had western styled furniture, such as a table that required the use of chairs. It wasn't uncommon in modern times for many homes or families to have western styled stuff since western culture exploded in popularity in the past few decades.

"My husband had to go into work early, so he couldn't join." Meimei laughed.

It would probably surprise their fans if they ever found out that Meimei, the second most popular idol in B-Komachi, was married already. She had been for the past year in fact. Her husband was an older man who ran a successful restaurant over in the Ginza district of Tokyo. Ginza was one of the most populated areas in Tokyo and had much of the stores and famous restaurants there, so he was a very well-off man.

While the other girls would live paycheck to paycheck, Meimei was the only one who could actually live decently since her husband made so much. She often joked that if she didn't love being an idol so much, she'd quit and be a housewife instead.

"That's a shame." Ai said.

"It's ok." Meimei waved off. "He's often busy but you have to make money somehow." She said.

"So, we got a look at Eren yesterday." Ari began.

"I have to admit, he has some appeal to him." Watanabe laughed.

"Just wish we could actually talk." Nino said in annoyance. "Why can't English speakers ever learn Japanese? How can I find my western husband if we can't talk?"

"Or you could just learn English." Meimei said. "Since 90% of the world uses it as their second language."

"But it's so hard!" Nino whined. "There are so many rules, and they contradict each other."

"Eren's clearly new to Japan." Meimei said. "So, I wouldn't expect him to fully know, though if he's living here, you'd think he'd at least know something."

"Eren said he came from a rural area." Ai said. "So, this might be his first time in a foreign city."

"Did he ever actually say where he lived?" Meimei asked.

"No." Miyako interjected.

"Not at all?" Meimei asked the older woman.

"In fact, he goes out of his way to be as vague as possible." Miyako voiced.

"He might just have his own secrets." Ai defended.

"Ai, you have to understand that it's weird to be so vague." Meimei said. "I get he's doing the whole mysterious thing, and it's attractive, but there's something off about him."

"Come on." Ai said in annoyance. "It's not like we're any different. We hide, lie, and are vague all the time."

"You're all idols Ai." Miyako said.

"So?" Ai asked.

"It makes sense for you girls to hide, but not for a supposed "mover"." Miyako did air quotes with her fingers.

"That was the weirdest part." Meimei said. "You'd think he'd say he worked for a moving company or at least name it, but he is a mover of antiques?"

"That is kind of suspicious." Nino commented.

"There should be no reason he should be vague about what country he's from or even what he does. Not unless he's hiding something." Miyako said.

"I'll admit, he's not very talkative." Ai said. "But we don't know his reasons, so we shouldn't assume anything. Maybe he doesn't want to talk about his whole life story to strangers."

For a moment, none of the girls said anything. They knew Ai was partially right, but at the same time they knew how odd Eren acted and how that could lead to something bad down the line.

"She's already hooked." Kyun sighed.

"Logic has no more room in her heart." Nino said sadly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ai asked, though didn't get upset.

"Ai, you're crushing on him." Miyako said.

"W-what?" Ai asked as she blushed. "N-no I'm not. I'm just trying to help him see a concert." She tried to look at anything but the other girls in the room.

"Ai, I was young and dumb too once." Miyako began. "I know what it's like to have a crush on a guy and ignore the signs that there's trouble. But you have to understand that he's just odd."

"Well, everyone is odd." Ai defended again.

"We also are concerned you'll make the same mistake." Meimei said, addressing the thing they all wanted to say.

For a moment, the room but cold as Ai looked down sadly. For several moments, no one said a word as Ai's shy and defiant demeanor changed to one of sadness.

Aqua paid attention the whole time as they ate. He could piece together that Meimei referenced Ai's ex, since it was the only possible thing that her words could mean given the context. He had no doubt himself and Ruby were mistakes, but for this mistake to cause such uneasiness among the group implied there was more than just a simple pregnancy.

"There's something about Eren that just reminds me of him." Meimei began, intentionally staying vague since the children were present.

"How so?" Ai asked.

"Something about his eyes." Meimei said. "There's just something there. Something dark. He doesn't act like him, but I just have the same feeling when I look at Eren as I did with H-"

"Stop." Ai said. "Not now." She motioned to her children so they wouldn't notice.

"Sorry." Meimei said.

"The point we're making Ai, is that you were in this position before where you ignored signs and it ended up hurting you." Miyako said bluntly.

"It wasn't so bad-" Ai was cut off.

"Ai, he wasn't good to you." Meimei said. "He was charming and came off as very kind, but it wasn't real."

"I know." Ai said sadly.

"Especially since he left you with tw-"

"Drop it." Ai said desperately. "Please." She motioned again to her children, who she knew were smart enough to piece things together if they revealed too much.

Unfortunately, Aqua was much older than he appeared. He's heard of dozens of conversations like this from patients who would end up getting pregnant in abusive relationships. He was unsure how much abuse there was with Ai and her ex though. He knew for a fact she never had any bruises during her concerts prior to her having twins, but makeup is amazing at hiding that. He could have also been mentally abusive to her as well.

"We're only looking out for you Ai." Meimei said. "We would be devastated if anything happened to you or the kids. I know it might be unfair to judge him without fully knowing him, but we can't help it when there's just something off about him."

"Thank you." Ai said sincerely. "But I won't just stop seeing him because of what you guys say. It's not fair."

Ai didn't have any romantic feelings for Eren, right? No, she convinced herself that she didn't. She just wanted to get to know him and do fun things with him. That's all. He's really interesting to her and she just wanted to get to know him. That's all.

So why do they make it sound like she's going to get proposed to or something? He's just a friend she's trying to make. Nothing more.

"Besides, I don't think Eren is similar." Ai said.

"How so?" Miyako asked.

"Eren doesn't lie." Ai said.

"But he keeps being vague about his life." Meimei said.

"Vague, yes." Ai agreed. "But never lied. He is someone who prefers his privacy and it's his right to do that. He never told a lie or pretended to be something else. Everything he said was genuine, even if he keeps things from us."

"Yes, but-" Meimei was cut off.

"When I talk to him, Eren seems sad if nothing else." She said. "Like something bad happened to him recently. He never hid behind a fake smile like us, or said something that was untrue. He doesn't talk a lot about himself, but he's sincere in who he is."

"You learned all this in one interaction?" Miyako asked sceptically.

"Who knows, maybe I am being naive." Ai admitted with a small laugh. "He might be similar in some ways, but he doesn't wear a mask. He doesn't hide behind a fake personality. If he did, he'd probably be really bad at lying since his fake personality is so suspicious." Ai laughed a bit at that joke.

The girls decided to just go along with what Ai was saying. They couldn't deny that Ai wasn't wrong, but the red flags made it hard for them to just accept Eren.

"We'll try not to judge him." Meimei said reluctantly. "We'll keep an open mind about him and won't come to any rash conclusions."

"Say what you want." Miyako disagreed. "I've dated tall and mysterious boys like him when I was a teenager. It's exciting but so not worth the effort later."

"I-I never said I was going to date him." Ai sputtered.

"Seriously, get over your shyness." Meimei laughed. "Aside from me, you're the only one who has any experience with men." She laughed.

"Yea, not all of us get married at 18 with a 30-year-old guy." Ai shot back jokingly.

"I prefer men who are mature and refined." Meimei laughed.

"You girls do realize I'm here." Miyako said, who was the only other married woman in the group.

"You don't count Miyako-San, you're too old." Meimei laughed.

"Excuse me!?" Miyako said. She's in her mid-twenties, what do these girls mean old!?

"Kidding." Meimei laughed, calming Miyako as she did.

"Besides." Nino said. "It's not like Eren is a criminal or anything." She laughed.

Night Prior

After Eren got the signed picture, he waited outside the concert for Sergie to pick him up. Sergie called his house phone last night and told him to prepare for another job. He let Sergie know that he would be around the Ai concert when he needed to get picked up and Sergie gave him a location.

The older man's vehicle pulled up right in front of Eren as he waited, which prompted Eren to get inside the passenger side of the vehicle. Sergie was in his usual outfit, clearly used to conceal his pistols.

"Never thought you'd like B-Komachi." Sergie laughed as Eren got in.

"That girl insisted I go see it since I never saw a concert before." Eren said.

"Ah, you got date?" Sergie asked.

"No." Eren shot down. "She wouldn't leave me alone about not ever seeing a concert before."

"You snuck gun in?" Sergie asked.

"Why would I need sneak it?" Eren asked.

"They check for weapons like knives. How did you sneak it in? You have gun, da?" Sergie asked.

"Yes." Eren said. "They never checked me."

"How?" Sergie asked.

"They just never did." Eren said. "Though I went in through the back."

"You got backstage pass?" Sergie asked.

"Yea, the girl got it. VIP I think she said." Eren confirmed.

"Girl must be loaded." Sergie said. "VIP cost pretty penny, you lucky."

"Why were you here?" Eren asked. "I'd imagine you to be more of a brothel guy instead of watching."

"What, because I'm criminal I can't enjoy pop music?" Sergie asked.

Eren just stared at him, not believing him at all.

"Truthfully, big fan of B-Komachi." Sergie laughed. "Especially lead, Ai. Really cute girl. Lots of talent. It is cool to see her perform."

"That surprises me." Eren said, still not fully buying it.

"I grew up in Soviet Union, entertainment was hard to come by." Sergie said. "Got manga when I was young, couldn't read it but loved pictures. My friends would sneak western comics from America, but I liked manga. Still have first ever one I got."

Eren considered asking what a manga was but kept silent since he was already suspicious enough.

"There's more to it Sergie." Eren said.

"Da, you not too stupid." Sergie laughed. "Did weapons trade deal at concert."

"Why do it in such a public place?" Eren asked, legitimatly surprised.

"Not all criminal deals are done in abandoned warehouses." Sergie said. "Many are done at big sporting or entertainment events. Too many people to track and easy to escape if things go bad."

"So, you blend into the crowd?" Eren asked.

"Da." Sergie confirmed. "Many deals are done here, everything from weapons, drugs, slaves, money etc. B-Komachi concerts are a new favorite spot to do deals since they got so popular. Many criminals come here."

"So where are we going?" Eren asked.

"Abandoned warehouse." Sergie laughed. "Got one last deal, need gun in case things go bad."

"I'm surprised you chose me again." Eren said.

"You messed up one time, you're new so it's expected. You'll learn." Sergie said. "Plus, your skills are useful. Can't afford to not use them."

"I still never got paid." Eren said, referring to the fight night.

"I bet on you to lose." Sergie shot back.

"That wasn't my fault." Eren said.

"Da, I know." Sergie said. "Which is why I only took collateral out of payment and not put you in debt. We're even."

Eren nodded at that logic. He couldn't fault Sergie for that.

The drive through the city lasted about an hour. Eren kept thinking back to Ai and how sad she was when he said he didn't like the show. He didn't mean to upset her, but he really just wasn't interested in the performance. He respected and even admired her passion, but he really didn't care for it.

He also thought about the supposed dangers that Meme, or whatever her name was, brought up. How she has to be careful about who she meets since apparently the fans can be very dangerous and violent towards them. Maybe that was why she would try to hide her identity. He supposed they were similar in that regard, both trying to hide from the public eye. Though while he was hiding due to his illegal status here, she did it to protect herself from overzealous fans.

Eren truthfully had no concept of that. Has there ever been a person in his world that was famous for the sake of being famous? The only famous people he knew of were royals, commanders, or men and women of wealth. Willy Tybur was the only thing he could think of that was similar to Ai, but even the Tybur's were politicians in a way.

Historia was similar in that she had to be protected from the public, but she was a queen. Not only did it make sense for her to have protection or to be targeted, but she had the entire government and military to protect her. Does Ai not have any kind of private security or army to defend her? Nobles would hire mercenaries and other bands of warriors to protect their homes and property, as well as their lives.

Was a famous person in this world not wealthy? Ai didn't seem very wealthy at all, yet she had all the downsides of being targeted like a queen or royal. Why would she do something like this if she didn't have any benefits to it? Eren didn't believe that she loved to make people smile, or at least didn't believe that was the full truth. There was something else that compelled her to be an idol. That much he could tell.

"We're here." Sergie said as the pulled up to an abandoned warehouse.

"Just doing an exchange?" Eren asked.

"Da." Sergie said. "Yakuza boss you met at fight club, he wanted to do deal but also see you again."

"Is that right." Eren said dissmissively.

"Listen kid, you good fighter. But be respectful." Sergie said. "Yakuza boss is being nice because you're interesting, but don't make enemies. Only allies."

"Funny how you can say that while selling to everyone." Eren said.

"I make only allies." Sergie said. "Everyone knows I deal to all, but I'm too important to eliminate. Learn how to be like that, or live fighting for the rest of your life."

Eren tuned him out.

As they got out of the car, Eren helped Sergie move the boxes from the trunk into the warehouse. A few Yakuza guards stood near the entrance and let them pass, choosing not to disarm them.

Eren saw the Yakuza boss again, dressed more or less the same as the last time he met the man. His slightly larger gut hung over his belt, but he still cut an imposing figure since he was slightly taller than most of the other men. Though Eren still was taller.

"Good to see you again boy." He said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"I can't say the same." Eren said honestly.

"That mouth of yours can get you killed." The boss laughed.

Sergie moved over to one of the man's lackies and spoke in Japanese, intent on doing the deal while Eren spoke with the boss.

"What do you want?" Eren asked.

"Come." He said. "Sit." He motioned to two chairs slightly away from everyone else.

Eren walked over and sat down, while the Yakuza boss sat on the otherside of him. Eren stayed hunched over, intent to jump at the slightest sign of danger. The Yakuza boss was calm though. Very calm.

"What's you're name?" He asked.

"Sergie didn't tell you?" Eren asked.

"He told me your name, but it's rude not to introduce yourself." He said.

"Eren Yeager." Eren said. "You?"

"Yoshida." The boss said. "Though you can call me Oyabun."

"Oyuban?" Eren asked.

"It's hard to translate, but it basically means parental boss." He said. "Similar to other criminal syndicates, the Yakuza is like a family. My men are called Kobun, which loosely means children."

"I'm not one of your men." Eren said.

"No, you aren't." the Oyabun said. "And I have no intention of forcing you."

"Then why talk?" Eren asked.

"Because I would rather convince you." Oyabun said.

"Really?" Eren asked.

"I could try to force you." He said. "But all that would happen is you would die, along with a lot of my men. You're too skilled to be compelled. I could threaten loved ones, but that would have the same result. I'd lose your skills as well as a handful of my men."

"So how do you intend to make me?" Eren asked.

"Because I know how desperate you are." Oyabun said. "You can't find work elsewhere and need some kind of employment. That's the only thing I need to do. Instead of punishing you for not working with me, I'll instead reward you for it."

"Sergie already pays me." Eren countered.

"True, Sergie is good. But he lacks the resources that I have." Oyabun said.

"And what resources is that?" Eren asked.

"I'm the most powerful boss in the Kanto Region and have many government officials in my pocket." Oyabun said. "You don't have an identity, so I can get you one."

"Won't that compel me to get legitimate work and stop working for you?" Eren asked, knowing there was more to this than he was letting on.

"I can get you fake papers, but it would only by physical. I can't make a digital footprint for you." Oyabun said.

Eren had no idea what "Digital" meant, but he assumed that it meant that he still would struggle to find work.

"Why won't the papers be good enough?" Eren asked.

"Because I can't get into the governments systems. I can give you a fake number and fake identity, but if anyone runs a simple background check, you'll be found out to have fake documents." Oyabun said. "Most establishments run some kind of criminal background check digitally these days, especially for foreigners. All it takes is one background check to be discovered that your papers are fake."

"So why would I need them?" Eren asked.

"Because it'll help with basic things. As long as you ensure you don't have the number run through a system, you can get basic essentials such as a home that we don't provide and even basic work at low paying jobs. Though I doubt you'd want to struggle for a company that pays you less than you need to live just because they don't run checks."

Eren knew he was being played. He might not be forced to work for the man, but he has little to no choice regardless. Sergie may pay for him, but he'll never be able to give him an identity.

"So, the government of this country is corrupt enough to be ruled by criminals?" Eren asked.

"What do you mean?" Oyabun asked.

"You have them in your pocket." Eren said.

Oyabun laughed at that. He seemed amused at that question.

"The Yakuza is a very complicated group of organizations." He said. "Though I prefer the name Gokudo."

"Gokudo" Eren asked.

"It means the "Extreme Path" basically." He answered. "It comes from Buddhist traditions, though it's one of our most common names. Yakuza is more of a western name."

"So, what are you?" Eren asked.

"The Yakuza are thought to have originated from wandering swordman from the pre imperial days who formed bands of bandits or even do gooders who would protect people." He explained. "While we are criminals who don't hesitate to kill and extort, we also provide a service to Japan in humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and even protect the streets from unorganized crime. We have more of a relationship with the police instead of an actual rivalry."

"You work with them?" Eren asked.

"No, not exactly." He said. "The police typically leave us alone unless we really step out of line. We're more of a benefit to Japan than a hinderance. As long as we keep out of the public eye and avoid more immoral crimes, we're typically ignored. Many people in the restaurant business, entertainment agencies, and even small-time businesses either deal with the Yakuza willingly or are members themselves."

"That's odd to me." Eren said.

"Not many countries operate like this." The Oyabun said. "The police and government aren't anymore corrupt than other western first world nations, so we're not like eastern Europe."

"I think I understand." Eren said.

It was a good deal, Eren couldn't deny that. He'd get some form of identity, even if it did little to help him, as well as a stable income.

"I need time to think on this." Eren said.

"No problem." The Oyabun said.

He reached into his pocket, causing Eren to flinch for a moment, ready to react to being attacked. Instead, he pulled out a small box from his jacket and threw it to Eren.

"That's a smart phone." He said. "Your first month is paid for and I have your number saved to my phone. I'll be in touch."

A smart phone? Eren had no idea what that was. He opened the box and saw the same kind of device that other people used. It was one of those small moveable phones. here was a string or wire that was in the box too, like it was used to plug into a wall. Was it similar to his house phone? He guessed that he'd have to figure it out since it would be odd for him to ask how to use one since everyone had one.

"You should head back with Sergie now." The Oyabun said. "This is a small gift, don't worry about repaying me."

"You and Sergie both seem to just give gifts." Eren said.

"There's no point in employing you without the basics you'd need, plus with your skills, your future service would easily compensate the price of that phone in a job or two. You don't become the head of an entire Yakuza group by being dumb." He explained.

"I still haven't decided." Eren said.

"You don't need to Yeager-San." He retorted. "I know you'll be back for work. I don't need to manipulate you. Only dangle a piece of meat in front of your face like a dog. Whether you're aware of the trick or not is irrelevant. You're too desperate not to chase the food."

Once again, Eren knew he was right.

"We'll see." Eren said, trying not to show any form of submission to the man. Though they both knew Eren was having to posture in order to stay relevant. All his combat abilities mattered little when he's desperate for food and shelter.

After the meeting, Sergie finished up the business and they went back to his car. Sergie got in, buckled himself in, and started the engines to make their way back to Eren's apartment.

"How'd it go?" Sergie asked.

"I guess I'll be doing some jobs for him." Eren said solumly.

"It'll be good, Yakuza have more resources than I do. It's hard to really establish yourself as a foreigner. I have more power in Vladivostok than here." Eren assumed it was a city in another country since he never heard of it.

"I don't like the idea of staying as a criminal." Eren said.

"Neither did I after the war." Sergie said. "I spent years in mountains of Afghanistan only to be made logistics Officer when I came home. It's dead-end job that has little pay or authority. I got into criminal life to get better life. It worked; I am very wealthy now."

"Is that how you started gun running?" Eren asked.

"Da." Sergie said. "I had thousands of weapons and army vehicles at disposal with no oversite. Easy to write off a few tanks, trucks, or AKs. Until end of Soviet Union happened and entire army looked for scapegoats. Had to leave before I was court martialed for doing the exact same thing everyone else was doing."

"Do you regret it?" Eren asked.

"No." Sergie said honestly. "But I grew up in an environment of death, corruption, murder, and secrets. I may have been born after Stalin's Union, but Soviet Union was still a shit hole to live in. So, I never saw criminal life as different than regular life."

Though Eren didn't understand many of the words, he was able to understand the context.

"I think you are similar in that regard." Sergie said.

"Really?" Eren asked.

"You lived life surrounded by death from young age. You fought in war, did things you regret, and now don't know what to do after something terrible happened." Sergie deduced.

Eren wondered what he would say if he found out that the thing he recently did was global genocide.

"You able to see through me or something?" Eren asked.

"No." Sergie said. "Just remember how I was at that point in my life."

Eren stayed silent again, thinking about what Sergie said. In a way, Eren guessed that their histories were similar. Minus the giant man-eating monsters and global genocide of course. Eren wondered if warfare in this world was similar to his time in the Mid East as opposed to the unique way of warfare developed by paradise. Though in the last year he was in the scouts, there were talks of completely changing to a military structure similar to Marley.

Eren was dropped off at his home and got out without saying anything. Sergie didn't say anything back, choosing instead to leave the young man to his own thoughts.

Eren opened the door to his room and went over to his bed. It was midnight by now, at least based on what the hands on the clock showed. He still didn't fully grasp the number system of this world, but he was able to start understanding it.

Eren took his journal that he used to study the numbers and opened it up. The first few pages had entries of the past few days that Eren decided to write down. He knew he'd eventually have to learn this worlds written languages, but he also didn't want to slowly lose his own written language as well. So, he chose to keep a journal so he could keep in practice with his own language.

Eren placed his loaded pistol on the small table near his bed and took his hoodie and boots off. Eren was tired and not really interested in doing much right now. He would figure out that smart phone thing tomorrow after he had some rest.

Then he would come to a decision. If he worked with the Yakuza boss he knew that he would likely be stuck into working with them with no easy way to leave. But his other option was to eventually lose work and starve. He really had no choice.

"Keep moving forward." Eren reminded himself. "No matter the consequences, keep moving forward."

He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes before quickly falling asleep.

And I'm back.

This was actually fun to write. I know the manga is a bit unsure right now of how the relationship between Ai and her ex were, but I am going with my own angle for it. Whether it ends up being true or not won't change anything.

This is also going to ramp up Erens criminal affiliations since he is desperate. Despite potentially getting papers, most businesses at least run a criminal background check so even with a fake passport, he still won't be able to do much. It'll only pass the initial look. Even if a cop runs the number, Eren is screwed.

So no matter what, he needs to get into the criminal world. Especially since that can add some interesting drama to his relationship with Ai.

Thanks again for all the reviews. I'm glad to pop back on after two and a half weeks and see all the messages and reviews.