There was a moment of silence and anticipation as the two stood in front of Gouhin's door. They could hear footsteps inside the room getting closer and closer. Eventually, the doorknob rattled and the door opened. Gouhin looked at the pair of canines and chuckled.
-"What kind of trouble are you in now?" Gouhin asked.
-"Not this time doc, I'll just be taking my car keys and be on my way." Keanu said, reaching out his left hand. Gouhin looked at his hand and instantly noticed the missing finger.
-"Whoa, what the fuck happened to your finger!?" Gouhin yelled. Legoshi looked over at Keanu's hand and noticed it too.
-"Oh my god! What happened!?" Legoshi yelled out as well. Keanu sighed.
-"It's nothing, I got it caught in a garbage disposal. Can ya please just give me my keys?" Keanu asked politely.
-"Not till I take a look at that and wrap it up properly." Gouhin insisted, grabbing Keanu by the arm and pulling him inside. Legoshi followed suit and shut the door behind him.
Keanu groaned and sat in a chair. He took out his pack of cigarettes and saw it was empty. He threw the pack in a trash can. He looked at the coffee table and saw Gouhin's pack was full. He took one and lit it up. Gouhin came back to Keanu with some bandages and disinfectant. He sat in front of Keanu, grabbing his hand and checking the wound. Legoshi pulled up a chair and watched Gouhin get to work.
-"Well it isn't infected, that's a good sign." Gouhin inspected. He opened the disinfectant and poured some onto Keanu's wound. Keanu winced a bit in pain. The wound was mostly sealed anyways, but Gouhin loved to be sure. He then grabbed the bandages and started wrapping the stump where Keanu's finger used to be.
-"So doc, will I be able to play the piano?" Keanu asked.
-"Yeah, probably. It'll be harder though." Gouhin replied, tightening the bandage.
-"Great, I couldn't play it before." Keanu wheezed. Gouhin smirked.
-"You know, Wayne was here this morning." Gouhin replied, looking Keanu in the eyes.
-"Was he now?" Keanu asked rhetorically. Legoshi observed them both.
-"Sure was. Quite the bullet wound. He's a tough guy though, he'll live." Gouhin replied, getting up from his chair. -"You two want a drink?" He asked.
-"I'll have a soda." Legoshi responded.
-"Rum and coke." Keanu ordered up.
Gouhin left for the kitchen to get them their drinks. Keanu put out his cigarette and leaned back in his chair. Legoshi scrolled on his phone for a bit.
-"Who's Wayne?" Legoshi asked, breaking the silence.
-"He's an associate of Gouhin and I." Keanu replied.
-"Mhm. So a bullet wound huh? Nasty." Legoshi commented.
-"Wouldn't know." Keanu replied nonchalantly. "Oh wait, I would. You forget I got shot while saving your lil' bunny piece?" Keanu chuckled.
-"Oh, right... How's that leg anyways?" Legoshi asked, a bit embarrassed.
-"Works fine now, doesn't hurt anymore." Keanu explained.
Gouhin walked back inside and gave everyone their drinks before sitting down himself. They all clinked their glasses together and sipped on their beverage of choice. Keanu on his booze, Legoshi on his soda and Gouhin on some bamboo tea. Gouhin looked over at Legoshi.
-"So, how's it going with that bunny girl?" Gouhin asked, crossing his legs.
-"Good, good. We're staying in touch over text while she's visiting family though." Legoshi responded.
-"Always good to hear, at least I know we all didn't go through all that pain for nothing." Gouhin replied. Keanu quietly sipped his drink. Gouhin looked straight at him and smirked. Keanu looked back at him. "So. Mr. Garbage disposal. Did the big man find the offering acceptable?" Gouhin pushed.
-"Indeed he did. Why, I ain't even have to beg." Keanu chuckled. Legoshi once again observed the two, not quite understanding what was going on.
-"You reckon the higher force above knows about our little "hunting trip" ?" Gouhin asked.
-"Well it's pretty known now. But I'm sure that we're in the clear. Nobody really saw us. And those who did were relocated weren't they?" Keanu replied.
-"Well we did leave some who could recall the events of that night." Gouhin responded. "I mean with you and me they weren't so lucky but would they remember..." Gouhin paused for a second.
Keanu and Gouhin both looked at Legoshi. Legoshi's ears perked up.
-"Uhhh... What's going on?" Legoshi asked, confused. Keanu and Gouhin looked back at each other. Then back at Legoshi.
-"You uhh, plan on sticking around in the black market, Legoshi?" Keanu asked.
-"What? No! Of course not. Why would I ever go here other than to see Gouhin?" Legoshi retaliated.
-"Well, problem solved." Keanu sighed with relief, sipping his drink.
-"Why though? What problem?" Legoshi asked.
-"We remembered that there was still a lot of lions alive in the Shishigumi. They may have seen your face, and they may remember you. Luckily you don't plan on sticking around the black market so it won't be a problem for you. The chances of them meeting you in the city and recognizing you are slim to none." Gouhin explained.
-"Oh, right. Well I don't think I'll ever be dealing with them again. Unless they go after Haru again." Legoshi spoke, growling very slightly.
-"They aren't gonna go for the same rabbit twice. It's also highly unlikely." Gouhin reassured.
-"We're all good then." Keanu commented, sipping his drink.
-"I do hear that they have a new boss though. Now attacking them and taking their food isn't that big of an issue. But killing their boss? That's a really bad move. So I wouldn't say we're "all good" just yet Keanu." Gouhin angrily spoke. Keanu spat his drink back in his glass.
-"The fuck are you talking about? I didn't bag him. And Romeo here was too busy making sure Haru was okay." Keanu replied, confused.
-"Well if you didn't kill him, who did?" Gouhin asked.
-"No idea, all I know is that it wasn't use. And that's good enough for me." Keanu responded. Gouhin sighed.
-"Fine. We'll deal with it if it ever gets to us. For now, we're okay." Gouhin finished.
-"Sounds good." Keanu said, finishing his drink and standing up. "Now, my keys?" Keanu requested, reaching out his now bandaged hand. Gouhin threw the car keys in his hand. Keanu grabbed them and started walking out. Legoshi followed.
-"Bye Gouhin! Was great seeing you again!" Legoshi bid Gouhin goodbye.
-"See ya doc!" Keanu yelled from the hallway.
-"Yeah, yeah. Goodbye." Gouhin spoke, closing his door and locking it.
Legoshi walked up to Keanu, and they headed outside and behind the building to the parking lot. They walked around for a bit before finding Keanu's car. Keanu unlocked it, and they both sat down in it, buckling their seat belt. Keanu looked in the backseat for a second.
-"Ha! Would ya look at that! I was wondering where I left my AK!" Keanu excitedly said, grabbing the rifle in his hand and admiring it.
-"Man put that thing away! You want us to get arrested?" Legoshi panickingly whispered, grabbing the gun and throwing it in the backseat. Keanu looked him dead in the eyes, smiling with his mouth open.
-"Who's gonna try and arrest me? I've got an AK." Keanu spoke, looking right at Legoshi and turning on his car. The car started and Keanu had a wheezing laugh.
-"You're a goddamn lunatic." Legoshi spoke, dragging his hand down his face in disappointment.
Summer's almost over. Keanu's made new friends. Legoshi's relationship is improving. The Shishigumi has a new boss! The next school year is looking to be interesting...