Chapter 2: What they see in you
Ichika Nakano
Did that really just happen? What are the odds that Barry of all people would just show up like that. Am I really jealous that he opened up to another woman about something so personal? What the fuck is wrong with me? How does he even know Akira? They're clearly comfortable enough with each other for him to come there drunk and emotional. Are they dating? I should be happy he has someone in his life that he can run to, who is there for him, but instead I'm sitting here... Jealous? The way she hugged him. The way he fell into her arms. Why couldn't it be me? What makes her so special?
"So... who do you think that was" Itsuki asked breaking the silence.
"Whoever he is I feel so bad for him. Poor guy. He was really going through it tonight" Yotsuba said sadly.
"I was ready to walk out there and curse him out for being so rude. Coming to a girl's house so late and drunk. Thank God Miku held me back. He sounded like he was in so much pain" Nino said.
"I wonder what his relationship is to Akira" Miku said stealing the question right out of my mouth. "Coming to a girl's house in the middle of the night to vent about something so personal? That's something you do with a girlfriend not someone who's just a friend. You guys think we'll have to worry about him doing that every time we're over there?"
"I don't think so. Did you see Akira's face when he was screaming and banging on the door? She was just as surprised and nervous as the rest of us" Yotsuba said coming to defend her new friend.
"Do you guys think he goes to school with us? I didn't see him today" Miku asked the girls shook their head no.
"I think I would've noticed him if he did" Nino said nonchalantly.
"Regardless of who he is, he's clearly someone important to Akira. As long as this isn't a regular thing, it shouldn't be a problem" I say trying to change the subject.
"We're home ladies" Mr. Ebata said as we pulled in front of our apartment building. It's still so weird coming to this new high rise building and calling it home. Father picked out the newest and nicest apartment for the 5 of us in the heart of Tokyo. 5 bedroom 2 bathroom luxury penthouse on the 30th floor with a gorgeous view of the city. It has every amenity we could ever ask for. Indoor and outdoor pool, fully equipped gym, game room, theatre, 2 coffee shops, and an indoor golf simulator that Yotsuba uses whenever she's bored on rainy days. But even with all of that, it doesn't feel like home.
"Thank you Mr. Ebata" we all say in unison as we climb out of the suv and start making our way inside.
"Did any of you know that Akira lost her mother too? What are the odds that all of us have that in common?" Itsuki said in a soft tone.
"He said that she fought for her, does that mean she was sick like mommy was?" Yotsuba asked with a broken voice. She was also the softest when it came to bringing up mom.
"Please don't. I don't feel like crying tonight" Nino said with an attitude as she sped walk up ahead. She might act the toughest but she's not fooling anyone.
"I wonder what he meant when he said 'that monster'? Do you think he was talking about his father?" Miku asked curiously.
"aw I really hope not, that would be so sad" Yotsuba said with a sad face. "losing your mother is bad enough, but to have an abusive father on top of that?"
"you think he would've acted the same if he knew we were there?" Miku replied
"Why do you keep asking about him?" I asked sternly.
"What? And I'm the only one who's curious about who he is?" Miku said defensively.
"I just think we should mind our business. Clearly we witnessed something we shouldn't have. Thats between fuutarou and Akira" I say rolling my eyes. Oh fuck, I said his real name.
"Wait, how do you know his name Ichika?" Miku asked aggressively.
"Yeah, Akira never told us his name" Itsuki said with a disapproving look on her face.
"umm... yes she did. She said it when they were talking?" I said hesitating as I open the door to the main lobby and walk over to meet Nino already waiting for the elevator.
"She did? Wow you got some good ears on you Ichika" Yotsuba said playfully as she gently tugged on my ear.
I can feel Itsuki and Miku glaring at the back of my head. They know I'm lying but they can't prove it.
"when the hell did she..." Miku was saying as the elevator bell rang and we all stepped in.
"what are you guys even talking about?" Nino asked already annoyed.
"Nino did you hear Akira say..." Miku began saying as I cut her off.
"Miku is just mad her ears barely work anymore after destroying them with her headphones" I said picking on her, clearly hitting a soft spot. Her headphones are like a babies blankie to her.
"whatever..." Miku said rolling her eyes as she put on her headphones closing her off from the world.
I can see Itsuki look away. She's not the type to argue with no support like Miku. Crisis averted. The doors open and we all go inside our apartment. Marble floors shine as we turn on the lights. Itsuki goes into the fridge as she grabs a snack before going off to bed. Yotsuba and Miku go straight to their rooms upstairs. And Nino goes to take a shower like the neat freak she is. I walk over and fall into this giant cloud in our living room we call a couch and turn on the tv as I let out a sigh of relief to finally be home. I get on netflix and put on new girl. I think I've watched this show at least 10 times from beginning to end and i think I'm gonna make it 11 tonight since I'm practically nocturnal now. I've been doing night shoots for this show I've been cast in. I don't have many lines, but the cast and director are all very nice to me. No one's a creep like my last gig and everyone treats me like their little sister.
After about 20 minutes Nino comes out in the Gucci bath robe I bought her for Christmas. She comes over to the couch and starts drying her hair with a towel while she watches New Girl with me.
"You know him, don't you?" she said without taking her eyes off the tv
I turn to look at her shocked. How does she know? She doesn't know I said his name. She didn't hear my little argument with Miku. Did she go through my phone? How the hell does she know?! I turn back to the tv without saying anything. She got me. I don't know how, but she got me.
"Who? The actor who plays Nick? I wish, he's my favorite" I say playfully trying to act like I have no idea what Shes talking about.
"Stop playing dumb Ichika, you know who" she asked once again without taking her eyes of the tv.
After a long pause trying to figure out how to get out of this I settled on the path of least resistance. "We met on set for that high school drama I was in, it's been about 2 months." I said defeated.
"He's the one you were with on Wednesday night?" she asked as she put down her towel.
"Uh huh. And Thursday morning..." I said under my breath. "His names Fuutarou. He's actually a pretty nice guy, definitely a questionable character, but nice" I say softly.
"Did you know? About what he was talking about tonight? Thats a lot of baggage Ichika, you sure you wanna get involved with all of that? That's not even including the fact that he looks like trouble. Did you see all those bruises?" she asked in a serious tone. I'm the oldest but she's talking to me like I'm Itsuki.
"Don't worry, he's just someone I call when I'm bored. Nothing more, nothing less. But I've definitely had my suspicions about his... questionable character" I said seriously. "I've never seen him in the act, but I've picked up on a few things. I think he's in a gang or something"
"A GANG?!" Nino blurted out.
"Keep your voice down!" I say in a rough whisper. "I don't know for sure, but there's some signs that I looked into".
"Like what?" Nino asked curiously as she moved closer.
"Did you notice the tattoo behind his ear? I noticed it a while ago but didn't think anything of it. But last time we were together, he was acting super suspicious on the phone with someone. At first, I thought it was his dad or something, but he looked genuinely afraid of whoever was on the other side of that phone call. So, I just did a quick little google search and saw that a crescent moon behind their right ear is a sign used by a group called the 'Kurai Yoru'. Apparently, they're involved in everything from drugs to extortion. I didn't think he was the type before, but after seeing him tonight, I realized I don't know anything about him" I whispered to Nino who had scooted over so close, she was practically on my lap.
"Kurai Yoru? Dark Night? Well that explains the moon, but it still doesn't explain how a thug like him is hanging around such a sweet girl like Akira, or better yet, how you ended up in his bed" she said concerned.
"I told you already Nino, we met on set. I thought he was just another actor like me, we even had a scene together. We hit it off at the wrap party and exchanged numbers and one thing led to another and..." I said trailing off.
"How long before... you know" Nino whispered tilting her head.
"...same night" I said covering my face with the pillow.
"Slut" Nino said bluntly.
"Shut up, he's totally your type too, don't act like you wouldn't throw it at him if you had the chance you jerk" I said pouting.
"Oh, he's totally my type but I'd at least let him work for it first you wench" Nino said with a smirk.
"Did you just call me a wench?..." I said as we stared at each other quietly before bursting out laughing.
"Ok shh, I don't wanna wake them" I said motioning her to be quiet. "Listen, this is all speculation Nino. For all we know he could just have a really scary dad he calls sir and a fascination for astrology or something. And the bruises? Maybe he got hit by a car saving a kitten or something. I don't really see how Akira is involved though, do you think they're dating or something" I said as I pulled a blanket from under the coffee table.
Nino paused as she thought about it. "I honestly don't know. They seem like completely different people. She's all proper and polite, and he's the sexy bad boy" she said softly. "shouldn't you already know? It's been 2 months, shouldn't you know if the man you're fucking has a girlfriend?" she said with an attitude clearly trying to rile me up.
"Nino, we don't have that type of relationship, it's just physical..." I say as I look away embarrassed.
"Are you going to stop?" she asked in a concerned tone.
"Why should I? What he does in his personal life is none of my business" I said rolling my eyes.
"Ichika, if that's his girlfriend, what you're doing is wrong" she said glaring at me.
"We don't know that yet!" I said back quickly.
"We don't know ANYTHING Ichika. That's the whole point. You don't know anything about this boy. Do you even know his last name?" she asked as I sat there silent. "Didn't think so".
We sat there quietly for a little. She's right. She hasn't said anything that isn't true. I just don't wanna accept it. If he is dating Akira, I would be in the wrong. But if I was being honest with myself, do I even care? I just met this girl, I don't owe her anything. Yeah she's nice, but there's plenty of nice girls in Tokyo. Why should I have to stop?
"Are you gonna tell the girls?" Nino asked me, finally breaking the silence. I could tell she felt bad for the position she sees me in.
"I don't want to say anything I'm not 100% certain about" I say before I remembered. "Wait, how did you even know that I knew him?!"
Nino started laughing covering her mouth. "We're quintuplets Ichika. I saw the way you were looking at him when you were fixing his head on the pillow, playing with his hair. Could you be any more obvious? You're not as slick as you think you are" she said with a smirk.
"Damn... you're good" I say giving an approving nod.
Nino snuggled up against me, putting her head on my shoulder. "So if you're not interested in him like that, and he's not dating Akira, do you think... you know" she said pointing at herself.
"Oh my god Nino!" I said as we both started laughing
Hideo Sasaki
"Anddddd... TIME" I scream out as the round ends. "Alright everyone go ahead and fix your belts, get a sip of water, and find a new partner. We're starting closed guard on this one. Higher belts start on top. I saw a couple white belts come in late today, I'm looking at you Chico, now all of y'all gonna get it! I'm trying to see these white belts get fucked up today" the whole class starts laughing. "Alright, alright on 3 on 3. 1, 2, 3" *whole class lets out a big CLAP*
"We bully white belts now?" Maruo says as he bows before entering the mats.
"we've been bullying white belts since the 80's my brother, a tradition as old as time" I say laughing as I give my friend a big hug. "What are you doing here on a Saturday morning? Shouldn't you be having brunch at an art gallery or whatever it is you rich heart surgeons do in your time off" I say as we both start laughing.
"First of all, I'm a brain surgeon, much richer than those peasants in cardiology. Second of all, I'm actually on my way to brunch on a yacht, not an art museum. The views are much more... pleasant" he said with a wink as he glanced outside to the woman sitting in his convertible Ferrari.
We both start laughing. "Dude what's up with all this foreign bullshit you've been driving lately. First it was the Lambo, then the Mclaren, now this Italian garbage? Just come back to the light side and hop in a Nissan or something. I'll even hook you up with a new R35 since you're too good for that old busted 240 you had back in the day"
"That same old busted Z that gapped your punk ass RX7?" he said with a confident smirk.
"You went...!" I said before Maruo cut me off
"Before the light turned green" he said mockingly. "Dude it's been almost 20 years you gotta let that go" he said as we both broke out in laughter.
Maruo was one of the older guys who took Akio and I under his wing when we were younger sneaking out to car meets. He's only 4 years older than me but he never treated me like his younger brother. He always saw me and Akio as equals. We always kept in contact even after he went off to medical school and Akio and I got more involved with the organization. Maruo always knew what we were about but never got involved. He always took the 'don't ask, don't tell' approach. A great man I look up until this day. An absolute genius from humble beginnings. Never took the easy way, always put the work in and always chose to do the right thing no matter how hard it was. I still remember how shocked I was to hear how he adopted the quintuplets, they belonged to one of his patients he had a close relationship with, not even a woman he was dating. That's a real man.
"I was driving by when I saw class was in session and the R34 parked out front, thought I'd stop by and thank you personally for arranging Miss Takebayashi to help my girls out"
"No need to thank me, if anything you're doing me a favor...ANDDDD TIMEEEEE. IM FEELING GENEROUS TODAY, ONE MORE ROUND. FIX YOUR BELTS, WHITE BELTS ON BOTTOM AGAIN" I scream out interrupting our conversation. "Bashira, come here"
Bashira runs over to me drenched in sweat, breathing heavy having just gotten beaten up all class by higher ranking members. "Yes...professor..." he said gasping for air as I toss him the stopwatch.
"Keep time this round and wipe down the mats when they're done. Come see me in my office after class" I say sternly. "c'mon Maruo, I got something I wanna show you" I say to Maruo who responded with a confused look on his face.
We walk out back to the 10 car garage I had built earlier this year. 10 parking spots, 2 car lifts, an overhanging loft, and a bar in the back. Every car guys dream garage. As we walk in, I walk over to the key box and pull out a key with a 'Z' on it and walk over to a car covered with a silk sheet.
"I never properly thanked you for looking out for me all those years ago. You never turned me away. Never thought twice about picking me up on the side of the road when my car would break down. You taught me everything I knew at the time about cars. Because of you, I chased my passion" I said as I held out the key.
"Hideo, what did you do?" Maruo asked confused.
I pull off the car cover revealing his old '70 Datsun 240 Z. Completely restored, looking exactly how it did when it came off the assembly line in 1970 when his old man bought it. Maruo's jaw was on the floor as he walked around the vehicle. He covered his mouth as his hand began to shake.
"Is this..." he began to say.
"Yup. Took me a while, but I was able to track it down to some barn up in Hokkaido. The guy who owned it was a little stubborn but I was... persuasive" I said as I put my hand on his shoulder. "If memory serves me correctly, you sold this car to pay for books and tuition your first year of med school right?"
"The guy I sold it to said he would take care of it until I could buy it back after I graduated and ended up selling it for double what he paid a week later..." he said in a soft tone. Still in shock over what just happened. "Hideo you have no idea how much this means to me" he said with tears in his eyes. "My father passed down this car to me on his death bed as a gift for being the first member in our family to get into college. I felt like I betrayed him when I had to sell it. Thank you so much my old friend" he said as he gave me a big hug.
"c'mon bud. Thats what friends are for" I said as I hugged him back. "It was nothing, if anything, I had fun working on it. I haven't touched a 240 since you showed me how to change out the brakes" I said laughing.
"yeah, when you hit the jack and almost dropped the whole fucking car on me! You're lucky I had a jack stand" he said angrily before laughing.
It's not about the money or doing it to repay his kindness to me all those years ago. I genuinely believe that good things deserve to happen to good people. I'm finally in a position, almost 20 years later, that I can do things for people who did good things for me. He has all the money in the world, but this is something money alone couldn't buy him, and I'm happy I was able to do this for him.
After we did a full walkaround the car showing him how I restored his old car back to its original glory we said goodbye and I went inside to meet with Bashira. He should've been done by now but when I walked back into the academy, he was still wiping down the mats.
"what's taking so long Bashira, you should've finished 10 minutes ago?" I asked.
"yes professor, I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure it was done to your standards" he said bowing his head.
I look around and don't see a spec of dirt anywhere. All the sweat was wiped up. No trash left behind. Perfect. "good job, c'mon let's have a talk" I say as I walk over to my office.
My office is mostly empty other than a big black marble desk i had custom made and a large painting of a crescent moon that takes up the entire wall behind me.
"Go on and take a seat" I say as I go into the mini fridge under my desk and pull out and crack open 2 beers before handing him one. He looked surprised but took the beer hesitantly.
"Thank you sir. Are you sure I'm allow..." he said nervously.
"its fine kid relax, your uncle and I were doing a lot worse at your age" I say with a laugh. "Alright so listen, I've seen you really making major improvements lately. You're the first one to show up, last one to leave. You never take a round off. You've really picked it up kid and I just wanted to tell you I see you, and I'm proud of you". His eyes shot wide open before he began to stare at the floor.
I was expecting him to be happy. Say thank you, give me a high five, shit anything. But the kid just sat there staring at the floor.
"Hey Bash, you ok?" I ask concerned.
He lifted his head as he wiped the tear forming in his eye. "I'm ok sir, thank you" he said with a cracked voice.
"c'mon kid, what's wrong? Talk to me." I tell him as I get up from behind my desk and sit next to him.
"I've never..." he started to say before getting choked up. "I've never had someone tell me they were proud of me"
I want to tell him that it's ok to cry. I want to be there for this kid and let him know it's going to get better. But the reality is that weakness is looked down upon in the Kurai Yoru. I've had Fuu break down to me just like this, but he's my protégé. I look at him as my son. Bash is Akio's nephew. Akio has made it clear that he has a very strict and disciplined way of training Bash, but I think he's forgotten that bash is still only 16. He only started living with Akio this year. I've had Fuutarou since he was 13. Fuu was a natural, Bashira not so much.
"well, I'm happy to be the first" I say with a pat on his back. "But a piece of advice? Even though validation from others is an amazing feeling, nothing in this world beats making yourself proud, looking in the mirror and being proud of the person looking back you. No one can give that to you, not even me kid. Thats something you have to discover on your own".
He looked up at me almost defeated but shook it off and smiled. "yes sir, thank you".
"Alright hurry up and finish that beer I gotta go get Fuutarou for his lesson today" I say as I stood up.
"yes sir..." he says as he makes a face after sipping on his beer. "Sir I hope I'm not overstepping, but what did you see in Fuutarou that made you take him in. My uncle took me in because I'm his nephew, I share his last name. Fuutarou is a nobody. What makes him so special? Every member in the kurai yoru only gets one chance at a protégé, why did you pick him of all people? You're a general, you probably had the best candidates lined up begging to be in his position."
He's not wrong. When it's time for higher ranking members in the Kurai Yoru to choose a protege we take it very seriously since we only get one shot. Normally people just pick family members like Akio did with Bash but I don't have anybody. Akio is my only family. I was due for a protege almost 12 years ago, but I never found anyone I deemed worthy. Until I met Fuutarou.
"Why do you ask?" I questioned.
"You always speak so highly of him even though everyone else doesn't, especially my uncle. Anytime I hear someone talk about him, it's always negative. Even when I heard about all the captains being against him when it was time for him to get his mark". Bashira said patiently waiting for my answer.
"hmmm" I say as I stand there twirling my beer. "What makes someone special Bash? Who says someone even has to be special to be looked out for? Maybe I'm a gambling man and I put all my chips on double zero and it paid out. Fuu could've been a bum, maybe I just got lucky." I say with a little laugh thinking about how all the captains were so mad when I got my way.
Bashira sits there with a puzzled look on his face. Not sure how my response answered his question.
"Fuutarou showed me everything he needed to show me when we first met, and he only confirmed my suspicions the longer I kept him around. You wanna know why I chose him as my protégé? Ask him yourself. Form your own opinion. I think you'll find the answer to your question when you get to know the kid" I say with a smile as I toss my empty bottle in the trash.
"Thank you for your time today sir" Bashira said with a bow as he began to walk out.
"Hey Bash" I say as he stops at the door and looks at me. "I would've bet on you too kid".
Bashira smiled from ear to ear. "You really are a gambling man sir".
Akira Takebayashi
I woke up still holding his hand. His face inches away from mine. Sunlight was barely filling the room through the floor to ceiling windows. I have the time set to open the blinds at 8am. I look at my phone and it's dead. Damn it, even after going to bed at 3am I can't sleep in, my body just won't let me. I sit up and have a big stretch. Even though my back is sore, it's worth it if it meant spending the night with him.
I get up and plug my phone on the charger in the kitchen as I start brewing some coffee. After pouring myself a cup and mixing in my favorite creamer my phone finally turns on and right away I'm bombarded with a bunch of notifications. I look to see who they're from and before I can even read the first text from my uncle Hideo I hear the number pad at my front door being pressed just before it opens. It's my uncle.
"Uncle what are you doing here?" I ask as I rush out to the entry way.
"Where is he" he said. He doesn't sound upset or angry. But he's also not in his usual happy mood.
"please uncle it's not his fault, he just had a rough..." I say as he cuts me off.
"I asked you a question Akira" he said once again. This time in a stern tone.
I folded and pointed to the living room. There was nothing I could do. If I had my phone charged, I would've known that my uncle was looking for him and got Fuutarou out of here. He probably made a couple phone calls and found out he came here from the security guards on shift last night.
He walked right up to Fuutarou and kicked the hell out of my couch so hard that Fuutarou shot up thinking he was under attack. When he saw Hideo standing above him his eyes shot wide open as he jumped to his feet and bowed to his superior.
"Hideo, I'm sorry I..." he began to say before uncle cut him off.
"Make me a coffee to go, black 2 sugars, I'll be waiting in the car". He said as he began to walk over to me. "My apologies for the actions of my protégé last night Akira. This won't happen again, I promise you" uncle said with a slight bow.
He walked out of the house and Fuutarou was already in the kitchen looking through my cabinets for a travel mug.
"top left..." I say softly. He looks over at me with those golden eyes. So much shame. It's like he thinks he hurt me. I wish he knew that I was here for him. That last night didn't change the way I looked at him. If anything, I feel closer to him now more than ever. Like our relationship, or whatever you can call this, just took a big step forward.
He gets the mug and begins pouring from the fresh pot I made. "Listen Akira about last night..."
"Please Fuu, it's ok. I'm happy I was here for you last night, there's nothing to be sorry about. I'll ALWAYS be here for you". I said as I grabbed his hand.
He looked at me. He wants to say something, but the words won't come out. He wants to talk about it more. Like he's coming to the realization that it was safe to do so now. I don't know what else I can say to convince him that not only was it ok to open up to me, but that I wanted it. I craved it.
He opened his mouth, and just as he was about to say something. BEEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEP. The horn blared from my uncle's vehicle.
"I have to go Takke" Fuutarou said sadly as he put the lid on the mug and pulled his arm away. Without another word he was gone. I looked out the window as he gave the coffee to uncle who was sitting on the hood of his car. He threw the keys to Fuu and got in the passenger seat as they drove off. I could still hear the engine roar long after I lost sight of them.
So much left unsaid. I was really looking forward to spending the rest of the day with him, making him feel better. Somehow I can't help but feel this is all my fault for not having my phone charged. All of this could've been avoided.
I look at my phone and see messages from each of the girls asking if I'm alright. A smile crept onto my face. Is this what it's like to have friends? I text them all back and ask what time they would like to have their first lesson at. Within 5 minutes I got 4 different responses. Yotsuba said now, Nino said noon, Itsuki said after lunch, and Miku said tonight, whatever that meant. When I asked what Ichika thought the girls let me know that she was still asleep and wasn't much of a morning person. We all settled on 3 and i started getting ready for the day.
First things first I go to the gym. My father made it clear that I am to have security at all times, but the gym is the only time I have a problem with that rule because they look so out of place, they don't even change clothes! Everyone is in gym clothes, and then you got Yoshin over here standing by the squat rack in a 3-piece suit and sunglasses, so embarrassing. Regardless of how I feel I get my workout in and hit the showers, the only time I get a minute of privacy.
Next I go to my favorite little bakery that sits beside a small pond. It's a little bit of a drive outside of Tokyo, but nothing makes my day more than a fresh baked muffin as I sit outside reading my book with the fresh air gently blowing through my hair. Ducks swimming across, little kids playing in the distance, it's so peaceful here. Mom would take me here every Saturday. She would sit and read as I fed the ducks some of the fresh baked bread I bought inside. Out of all the things that have changed in my life, I'm so happy this isn't one of them.
I walk in and the owner smiles and greets me by name. Without even asking what I want she starts pulling out a couple of muffins and a small loaf of bread and hands it me. I pay for the food and make my way outside. I sit on my little bench and start tearing the bread and tossing it in the pond. Yoshin knows I like my space here so he's waiting over by the car.
I finish my muffin and pull out my phone. It's only 11am, still no text from Fuutarou. I wonder what happened yesterday when he went and picked up his little sister. I've only met her a handful of times when she comes to visit Fuu. She's only 9 years old but so mature for her age. The most adorable little thing. She doesn't really talk much but I've gotten her to laugh a couple of times. Normally we would just spend the day together doing whatever she wanted. Arcades, movies, parks, and tons of food. Fuu isn't really a big spender unless it's for Raiha. Now that i think about it, I don't think I've ever seen him spend money on himself outside of food and hair dye. All the clothes he wears come from Uncle's tailor, the car he drives is also my uncle, even his backpack is the one he used back in middle school. I wonder what he spends his money on? I know my uncle pays him well.
My phone rings and I look down to see who it is. It's my father. I hesitate thinking if i should pick up or not. Does he know about Fuutarou coming over last night? If he did, he'd probably do something stupid and hurt him. I gotta get ahead of it.
"Hello father!" I say happily hoping to set the mood for this conversation.
"So what, you get a big girl job and you forget I exist?" he said laughing. Thank God, he's in a good mood. "tell me how it went baby girl, you like your new job? I heard from Hideo that you've already made friends with the girls, what a great coincidence."
"Yes, I love it! The girls are all so nice! We actually have another tutoring session today at 3, I'm about to go home now and get everything ready" I say ecstatic.
"that's good baby, Me and the girls father actually go way back so I'm glad you are all getting along so well. I won't take up much more of your time miss teacher, I just wanted to hear your voice" he asked in a happy tone.
I love my father. I'm his only child. Everyone always talks about how much of a shame it is that he never had a son. I'm sure that was the plan, but they discovered mom's tumor when she was pregnant with me. He told me that they both came to the conclusion that they would hold off on chemo until after I was born. I remember being so hurt when I found out. Like it was all my fault, that I was the reason my mother died. My father sat me down and told me that they would have had to kill my mother before she let them take me from her. Even though he has never showed me an ounce of remorse, I can't help but wonder if he ever blamed me for her death. If Mom wasn't pregnant, she would've gotten her chemo sooner instead of holding off for another 7 months.
We say goodbye and I hang up smiling at my phone. It really has been a while since I've seen him. After i moved out i went from seeing him every day to not seeing him for days at a time. So we just agreed on having dinner once a week as a family. Fuutarou goes but he normally eats in the kitchen. My father hasn't flat out said he couldn't sit with us, but he's not exactly upset that Fuu chooses to eat alone.
I walk back to the car as Yoshin opens the door for me. Even though last night was technically our first session, we got absolutely zero studying done. I want to have a more mature look this time. We got home around 12:30. Perfect. Just enough time to get dressed and finish typing up these practice quizzes.
I finish brushing my hair and I check my phone one last time for a message from Fuutarou before the girls got here. Once again, I'm disappointed to see zero messages, but then I get a phone call from Ichika letting me know they're outside. Time for a great first day.
Hideo Sasaki
"Hideo please, I messed up. I know I did. Just talk to me man" Fuutarou said nervously.
"go ahead and pull into the garage. Take the NSX down and put this one on the lift. I'll see you inside when you're done" I say without looking over to him.
He nodded his head and pulled into the garage. I got out and made my way into the academy. I sat down in the middle of the matted room and waited for him to walk in. I'm still not entirely sure how to handle this. I don't care how close he is to her, he crossed the line, and I heard this little fucker threw my name around? Yeah, we gotta talk.
Fuutarou came to the door talking and was rushing to get into the matted room, almost stumbling in as he took his socks off. "Please Hideo it won't happen again I..."
"you better bow before you come onto my mats" I said sternly.
"I... I'm sorry" he stuttered as he ran back to the door and bowed formally. "Please bro, just let me tell you what..."
"I'm not your fucking bro right now, I'm your interrogator. Now bow to your superior and sit down" I say harshly, striking fear in his eyes.
"yes sir. Please forgive me for my poor choice of words" he said as he bowed at my feet. Me and Fuu have an amazing relationship. He really is like my little brother. We've had plenty of fun nights playing video games, working on cars, training on the mats, drinking, you name it. But right now, I'm not talking to the boy I took in all those years ago. I'm talking to the man who kneels before his superior, my protege, my subordinate.
"This morning, I went upstairs to get you for our training session. The Apartment was empty. Come to find out you never came home last night. Now normally, I would just assume you stayed out with that girl you met at that acting gig, but given the circumstances yesterday I figured that wasn't the case. It took me 3 phone calls to find out that you not only went to Akiras house in the middle of the night drunk, but you also cursed out security, threw my name around, and spent the night..."
"Hideo, I mean Sir, it wasn't like that I..." he began to say as he cut me off.
"Was I done speaking?" I said sternly as he shook his head. "as I was saying. You threw my name around because you know the position I hold. You disrupted Akiras night, the daughter of our leader, and now you sit before me, denying it?"
"I'm not denying it sir. Please just let me explain myself" Fuutarou said without raising his head.
"You think I care about what your excuse is? You think Akio is going to care about what your excuse is? God damn it Fuutarou, I taught you better than this. After everything I've done for you. Taking you in, putting clothes on your back, money in your pocket, roof over your head, I did that! Every single captain told me not to take you in. They all told me the kid going through my dumpster was a waste of time, that you were street trash, that you were just another lost cause. A delinquent from Ryzo who wouldn't appreciate what he was given. I stood up for you, put my reputation on the line for you, the same reputation that made me second in command of the Kurai Yoru, the same reputation you used to get into Akira's home, and here you go embarrassing me, proving them all right! What excuse could you possibly have that stops me from performing my duty as lead enforcer? Do you really not understand the severity of what you did? That was a blatant sign of disrespect to the leader of the Kurai Yoru! I've carried out orders leaving men crippled for less. If you were anybody else, I'd be putting you in the fucking hospital right now!" I screamed.
He sat there speechless for a moment thinking about what to say until finally opening his mouth. "He turned her against me Hideo" he said in a broken voice. "He convinced her it was my fault. She's young. She doesn't know any better. But it still hurts to have you're only sister tell you that you're the reason your mother killed herself". I couldn't hide the surprised look that come onto my face. "I tried to take her with me to her grave today and she said I had no right to go, and that just broke me Hideo. I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make what I did ok, but that's what happened. I went to Akira because other than you, she's the only person I trust. She was the only person I wanted to see."
I know what that little girl means to him and i know how heavy his mother's suicide weighs on him. He not off the hook, but he gets a pass this one time.
"Was your father there? What did he say" i asked.
"he was drunk on the couch talking shit like he always does" Fuu said quietly.
"She's young. Like you said she doesn't know any better. Give it time". I say as I stand up. "Even though she should know better than to believe that piece of shit father of yours, that's still her father. Plus, you're partly to blame for avoiding the topic all these years."
"she's only nine Hideo!" Fuu said with with an attitude as he quickly realized he's still in the hot seat and put his head back down.
"You weren't much older when you found your mother Fuu. Life isn't fair. Protecting her is one thing, but not preparing her for the cruelty of this world isn't fair either. You should've seen this coming. Did you really think she would never ask questions about her mom? You don't live there, who else was she supposed to ask? The fucking neighbor? This is your fuck up Fuu. Own it and make things right." I say sternly as I put my hand on his shoulder. "A mind in rage defeats an enemy, a clear mind defeats an army".
"you're right Hideo. I'm sorry" he said as he squared his shoulders and looked me in the eyes.
"Don't worry you'll have plenty of time to remember buddy. 500 pushups. 500 sit ups. When you're done, go down to city line and refill my mini fridge. I'll see you tomorrow at 5am for class" I say as I start walking out. "oh, and Fuutarou, let this be the last time you use my name" I say sternly.
He looks me in the eye and bows his head. "Thank you Hideo".
"You won't be thanking me tomorrow fucker" I say with a slight smile as he drops to the floor and starts doing his pushups. I may not be completely ok with what he did, but after everything this kid has gone through, one night venting to his best friend while drunk can get a pass. I'll deal with the repercussions if it comes to it.
I get to the door and look back. And watch him knock out these pushups in perfect form with ease. He's come such a long way. He was always destined to be tall, but he's put on so much muscle these last couple years. A true testament to his determination and grit.
"Hey kid" I say as he stops in the down position. "You know it wasn't your fault, right?" I say softly. He just looked at me then looked at the floor as he continued doing his push-ups. A small puddle of tears begins to form underneath him.
I remember when this kid got caught by my security going through my dumpster. My guys pulled him out and started slapping him around before I came outside to see what was going on, and there I saw the same raggedy blonde haired punk my god daughter brought to her mother's funeral. Your shirt was dirty, shoes all tattered up, and looked like he hadn't had a proper meal in months. I told them to stop and asked what you were doing going through my dumpster. My heart sank when this child looked up at me and said he was looking for food.
"you're the kid my niece brought to her mothers funeral right?" I asked as he looked up at me surprised that I knew him. Clearly he didn't recognize me.
I brought him in and made him a proper meal. I still remember his face when my guys brought everything out. Chicken, pork, steak, rice, fresh vegetables, everything. I've never seen a kid so excited to eat his veggies. He ate everything without stopping. I sat there and watched in awe. Where was he putting all this food? His stomach was a black hole. When he was finally full, he started making a plate to go. When I asked him if that was for lunch tomorrow, he said that it was for his little sister. Thats when I put it together. This kid wasn't going through my dumpster just for himself, but for his sister too. I made sure he went home with a couple plates, gave him a hundred bucks and told one of my guys to take him home.
Next day I was working in my office when I heard an argument happening outside so I grabbed my gun and started making my way downstairs. Once again, the kid was at my door asking to speak to me.
"sorry to bother you boss, we'll get him out of here" Yoshin said as he grabbed the kid by his collar roughly.
"let him go" I said seriously. "You got something to say to me young man?"
He stood tall and puffed his chest out and said "I want a job". Everyone started laughing. Everyone but me. The laughing quickly stopped when they realized I didn't find this situation funny.
"What exactly is it that you think we do kid?" I asked Standing over him.
"I don't care what you guys do, I just wanna feed my sister" he said without stuttering. His words were clear and precise. Like he stood in front of a mirror and practiced before coming here. He didn't break eye contact. Didn't flinch when I stood over him. This kid knew he was in a job interview.
The joke wore off pretty quick after I told my guys to get the kid out of here. They roughed him up a little and he went on his way. But that didn't stop him. Every single day without fail for two whole months he came asking to speak to me, and every day I had my guys slap him up. Every day they went a little rougher. Nothing too crazy, just enough to get the point across. A point he would never accept. On the last day he came. Couple little bruises on his face, couple cuts on his arms from falling on the concrete. He stood at my door once again asking for a job, bracing himself for the little ass whooping he's become accustomed to. But this time to his surprise I came outside myself.
"Are you sure you know what you're asking for?" I said sternly. My question was clear. No hints of sarcasm or deception.
He looked me dead in my eyes, chin up, shoulders back, and said "I'll do whatever it takes for her".
I took a seat on one of the chairs we had outside, lit a cigarette, and with the snap of my fingers, the closest man to him punched him square in the face as all 3 men I had on duty that night started beating on him when he fell to the floor. No more slaps. No more shoving him to the ground. These were grown men beating a child with closed fists.
I sat there and waited for this kid to break, waited for this kid to run away, waited for this kid to cry for help, but instead he just curled up and took every shot. He knew there was nothing he could do but lay there in a ball and take on each shot. With every punch and stomp you would hear him wince and squeal but he never said stop. I called them off after I saw enough. The kid laid there a bloody mess. When he realized the beating had stopped, he slowly fought to stand up, stumbling as he got to his feet. There was a huge knot on his head, eye swollen shut, face and hands all cut up. He stood up and put his fists up as he spit out blood and wiped the tears from his eyes, ready for another onslaught. He looked me dead in the eyes as if to say 'is that all you got?'. That was it. Everything I needed to see. I found him. I found my protege.
A/N
Alright chapter 2 is done! So first things first, moving forward I don't think I'm going to make the rest of the chapters as long as chapter 1. that was a little over 13k words, and chapter 2 was a little over 8k which is much more attainable for a weekly upload. With that being said what did you guys think about chapter 2? At this point in the story i really wanted to give you guys a lot of hints about the culture and lifestyle of the members of Kurai Yoru with Fuu's gang initiation and argument with Hideo. hopefully I got you guys asking questions about the changes in this new timeline. can't wait to hear from you all about what you guys like/hate about the story. thanks again for the read!