Chapter 4:
Back-alley Business
"So what's our plan of attack, Ryuji?" Akira asked as they ducked into an alley. "We just gonna run them down when we find them?"
"Not exactly," Ryuji tossed his cigarette butt aside as they walked down a small flight of stairs into a small pathway. Trash lined the alley, the back exits of multiple restaurants and businesses making up the walls of the alleyway. "They're probably gonna wanna shoot the shit at first, exchange taunts and all that kind of stuff, then they'll rush us and we'll lay them out. Trust me, these guys aren't gonna be anything close to martial arts masters. They're just punks, nothing more."
"And exactly how many times have you done this to be so confident in this?" Akira asked with a smirk, which Ryuji returned in kind.
"I lost count around fourteen. That was two, maybe three months ago."
"God, this city has that many dumb kids looking to make a quick buck?"
"Trust me, man," they rounded a corner, hands in pockets, "street thugs and dropouts are gonna be the least of your worries in this city." As they came upon another alleyway, Akira and Ryuji saw a group of five young men, all around their age, leaning against opposite brick walls near the exit of the alley. They wore grungy, dirty tracksuits and casual wear, with three of the five sporting unforgivably tacky sunglasses. "That's our guys," Ryuji muttered, "but two of them are new. The two bigger ones at that, just our luck."
"They're big, so they'll be slower," Akira retorted confidently.
"Right on, man." Ryuji and Akira strutted forward with an almost cocky swagger, and it was only when they were a few feet away from the group of hoodlums that they were noticed. "Hey there, fuckasses!" Ryuji called to them upon being spotted. "You get lost on the way back to juvie from your probation or something?"
The five goons stood up in unison, already glowering at Ryuji for his crass introduction. "You!?" exclaimed the one at the front, a highschooler by the looks of him, with slicked back, gel laden hair and criminally awful shades on his peach fuzz riddled face. "What are you doing here? How did you find us?"
"You must be new, kid," Ryuji smirked. "This is the most predictable, stereotypical, downright stupid hiding spot for any of the new muggers and thugs on these streets. Everyone like you has skulked around here when they were starting out. This poor alley has seen more brawls than most boxing rings, man!"
"So you just come around to talk shit?" said one of the bigger, fatter goons of the bunch.
"Not just that, but it is a part of it, I'll admit."
"And who's your boyfriend, eh?" asked another thuggish young man, this one seeming to be the oldest by his demeanor and more comprehensibly fashion sense. "He come to watch his man get ganged?" he cracked his knuckles in his palms.
"Like hell, I am," Akira answered for Ryuji, stepping forward with more aggression in his voice and stance than his companion, who still maintained some cocky composure. "You idiots are causing trouble in our town, meaning you probably don't know who's really in charge around here, do ya?"
"In charge?" asked a thug, smaller than the others and with a higher pitched voice to match. "What, you mean the Prime Minister or something?"
"Oh, I think you kids know perfectly well who's in charge," Ryuji said in a low tone, cracking his knuckles as well. His cocky smirk turned to a stern, burning glower. "You're in yakuza territory, boys! Specifically, the territory of the Sakura clan, the oldest and most respected clan in Kamurocho," he pointed to the group emphatically with a deadly gaze in his eyes, "and none of you's been paying your rightful dues."
Akira expected another snarky response from the delinquents, but no such retort came. Instead, they looked to each other with a twinge of fear in their eyes, all five of them apparently having a simultaneous moment of clarity. "You're, uh," stammered the one in front, "yakuza?"
"Of course we are, brainiac," Ryuji replied. "You think these suits my companion and I are wearing came from your kind of work? Walking around the streets acting all gruff and tough, maybe shoplifting some poor old lady's storefront? Hell no! We're way too into the big time for that kind of stuff!" Ryuji stepped forward again, craning and cracking his neck as he came closer to the now visibly fearful goons. "Now, since intros are out of the way, who here is gonna pay up? You kids have taxes to catch up on."
"Hey, fuck you, man!" shouted the fatter one from the back. "You got no right to call us kids! We look as old as you and your boytoy! Just because you're yakuza doesn't mean everyone in the city belongs to you!" He paused then, and then the fat one smirked at Ryuji, who raised an eyebrow in response. "If you two are really such important yakuza," he began, "then you probably got a good amount of cash on you. That is, if you're not talking out of your ass this whole time. Even if you are, then we can at least teach you pricks some manners." The four other delinquents mumbled to themselves, then joined their friend in smirking at Akira and Ryuji. Both lowered their stances slightly in preparation for the inevitable.
"Finally done talking, punk?" Ryuji asked. "Alright then, why don't we get this over with?"
"And you still wanna fight!? It's five on two, moron!"
Akira stepped forward next to his friend, cracking his knuckles in imitation of Ryuji. "I like those odds."
"Cocky son of a bitch," the fat one grumbled. "You both won't be talking at all after we're done!"
"Just shut up and fight already!" Akira blurted out.
The goons roared and took their first steps forward, and yet all the world seemed to slow. Since he was five years old, Akira's mother had taught him martial arts every day, engraining every movement, every stance into his muscle memory. But the first thing he could remember, and something she reiterated almost every lesson of his life, was that "Victory or defeat can be decided by pausing for even just one second to examine your opponent's moves". Her words rang in his head as he saw two smaller men charging up to him. Both brought their right arms back into sloppy looking punches, and with that he already knew how best to take them out. They're moving so quickly and erratically, meaning they have no plan or strategy. The fact that these two immediately tried to attack with their right arms means that's their natural preference, and that their left side will be more vulnerable.
As the two goons strikes began to bear down on him, Akira planted his feet and raised his arms, flexing and tensing his muscles as he assumed his stance. Less than a half second after his strength was mustered, the punches connected with his forearms, but he did not even budge, barely even felt it. With that, he relaxed his muscles and let his new flexibility propel him into better movement, kicking the goon on his left in the left knee, then jabbing the tip of his elbow into the arm of the one on his right. The goon on the left howled in pain as both he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Before the one on the right could react, he felt something like a small rock suddenly pound his gut. As his mouth filled with saliva and bile, unable to scream as the wind was knocked out of him as still stood, he looked down and saw Akira's dark hair at about the height of his shoulder. Then for the slightest moment, their eyes met before Akira sent a powerful uppercut into the goon's jaw, breaking three of his teeth and knocking him on his back.
Akira shook off his hand, dispersing the pain that was building up in his bones when Ryuji knocked his assailant to the ground as well with an unoriginal but powerful kick in the chest. Together, they stood at each other's backs as the two biggest goons remaining displayed that same look of fear once again. Akira composed himself and smirked. "Who's next?"
The biggest one, seemingly the leader of the bunch, growled at them like an animal. "You bastards! You'll pay for that!" Akira and Ryuji looked at each other for a moment. Then they laughed. And they laughed some more. "Hey, stop laughing! I SAID STOP IT!"
"I mean," Ryuji sputtered, trying to calm himself down, "you just sound like a," he burst out laughing again, placing a hand on Akira's shoulder, "a freakin' anime character, tubby!" With that, both young men laughed even harder, Akira holding his gut and Ryuji facepalming.
"Tubby" roared again and began to charge, pushing his last standing friend into a wall as he barreled toward the two young yakuza. In a split second, Akira and Ryuji ceased their laughter and locked eyes with the bear of a man charging them. Ryuji pushed Akira aside and used the momentum to aid in his sidestep. Tubby ran right in between the two boys, stepping on the gut of one of his men, who cried out in gargling pain. Tubby reflexively stopped in his tracks to check on his friend, and that second of a pause was all the boys needed for a synchronized kick in the back of the knee.
Tubby stumbled forward and fell to his knees. Nothing was broken, but it sure felt like it to him. His legs seared in fiery pain and he bit his tongue hard as came to the ground, causing his mouth to fill with blood. Through bleary eyes, he saw the two young yakuza come into his vision, both smirking like the cocky bastards they were. "Who… who are you?"
"We already went over this, big guy," Ryuji deadpanned. He rolled up his sleeve and rotated his shoulder, with Akira bringing himself to a fighting stance. "When you wake up, remember to get the hell out of town until you can pay the taxes, okay? It'll be easier for everyone." Ryuji looked to Akira and winked, with his friend nodding in response. They both turned back to the goon. "Lights out, tubby!" In perfect synchronisity, Akira and Ryuji let out a punch with the maximum amount of force they could muster right into Tubby's eyes, who was launched backward so hard his back bent near enough to contort his spine before he came to rest on the ground.
Ryuji and Akira breathed deeply, the physical demands of their fight now starting to catch up with them when they noticed one more thug cowering against the wall he had been pushed against. His legs quivered as he looked between the groaning, bleeding pile that was his friends and the two yakuza agents that had just laid them all out. Then, his eyes met Akira's steely gaze. "Boo," the black haired man said. With a whimper that turned into a garbled cry, the goon took off out of the alley and bolted down the street, abandoning his friends and leaving the yakuza standing alone over a heap of heaving bodies.
Akira ran a hand through his hair, straightening it back into place after it had been messed up by the fight. "No honor among thieves, I guess."
"Doesn't matter, we won, man," Ryuji snarked, bumping his companion on the shoulder. "I'd love to praise how badass you looked when you combo'd the poor sucker, but we probably should get moving before the cops show up, ya know? Bad for our image."
"I was just gonna ask about that," Akira replied with the two of them racing off back down the alley, and towards Serenity.
As they approached the bar, both young men straightened their jackets and double checked their hair in the reflection of a window. While Akira had only just met Ma, he already felt some kind of respect for the woman, to the point that showing up at her door unkempt seemed… inappropriate and garish. Fully composed and presentable, Ryuji once again unlocked the door with his key and the two men stepped through the doorway.
"Hey, Ma!" Ryuji called out with a wave of his hand and a smile. "We're back!"
Emerging from the door to the office was the lady in question, who's face lit up with delight upon seeing her customers. "You both are, after all!" she exclaimed. "And looking none the worse for wear at that!"
"Did you expect any less?" Ryuji snarked. "It was just some common thugs, nothing special. Didn't take more than a minute before they were dealt with."
"Is this true, Akira?" she addressed the quieter teen. "Ryuji does have a habit of inflating his exploits."
"Pfft, says you," Ryuji muttered under his breath.
Akira simply grinned at the older woman and nodded. "Yes, it's exactly true. They were just some hoodlums causing trouble, and we took care of them quickly with no harm to ourselves. Sorry to have worried you, Ma," he bowed respectfully.
"Oh, don't bow to me, Akira. There's no need right now. I'm just glad to know my boys are safe, that's all I need from you."
"You're took kind, Ma," Akira replied pleasantly.
"Speaking of which," Ryuji added, "would you perhaps be kind enough to whip up some food for us, Ma? All this walking around and stuff has made me starving, and I'm sure the same goes for Akira."
"Oh, only if it's not imposing on you, that is," Akira interjected, causing Ma to only chuckle.
"It's never imposing on me to make some food for my kids, Akira," she smiled that angelic smile. "I'd be far more offended were you to not ask me for anything. Just grab a seat in the lounge and I'll be out in a few."
Ryuji brought his fingers to his lips and blew the lady a kiss, still smirking as ever. "Thanks, Ma. You're the best, but you knew that already."
"See, I told you you're smarter than you give yourself credit for, Ryuji-kun," she blew him a kiss in turn along with one for Akira and disappeared into the kitchen.
Akira looked to his friend and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "You two seem very… close," he remarked.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I suppose that's how it would look." Ryuji took a seat in the small lounge area next to the karaoke machine. He leaned back in the leather seat and sighed contentedly. Akira sat down as well, immediately feeling more relaxed, likely due to the calming, quiet atmosphere given off by the low-key lighting and classy, tasteful adornments all around the lounge. In between himself and Ryuji was a small table perfect for holding small glasses of sake or other sampler drinks and dishes.
"So, you're saying you and Ma aren't very close?"
"Oh no, not at all," Ryuji replied nonchalantly, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. Akira had only seen him intense or cocky as of yet, so this relaxed, casual demeanor was rather refreshing. "Ma's been looking out for me ever since I joined up about a year ago. This bar is… almost like a home away from home now, even though I have an apartment a few blocks from here. Ever since day one, Ma has been giving me that same boy-killing smile every time I walk in here, a lot like she was being with you, actually."
"You don't say."
"No, seriously." Ryuji opened his eyes again and stretched his arms, groaning in release as he did. "She may be super pleasant with most people," he said as he relaxed again, "but it ain't like it was for you with everyone, man. She can be the queen bitch of the place if she doesn't like someone, let me tell ya, especially if you're not from the Sakura clan. But what I'm really talking about is all that 'strength and honor' stuff or whatever it was she said. God knows what she meant by it, even I haven't gotten much of a clue."
"What, she didn't read your fortune the day you came in?" Akira replied sarcastically. "You seemed to know what she was doing. In fact, I wanted to ask about that."
Ryuji nodded. "She does that fortune telling stuff with only her most special subjects. And no, she didn't give me one on my first day. Took about three months of work before she told me my fortune, or however she refers to it."
"And what did she tell you?"
Ryuji chuckled and wagged his finger at Akira. "Classified, man. That's a bit above your pay grade."
"But you watched her tell me mine!"
"Very true, but it was also a bit more vague than mine. Sorry, man. One day, I promise."
Akira nodded in turn and leaned back in his seat. "I getcha. Sounds like it was more personal."
"I'd say so," Ryuji muttered in a quieter tone than normal.
As Akira was trying to think of a way to follow up that conversation in a way that would not possibly offend his companion, Ma came through the door holding a small sampler platter of tempura and vegetables, wearing the same beautiful smile she had left with.
"Sorry for the wait, boys," she crooned. "Had to take a call first. I hope it's all to your liking." Ma grinned from ear to eat as she placed the platter down on the table. The scent of the food flowed into Akira's nose; dear God above, that alone was almost enough to make the young man ravenous. The orange color and all its accents seemed to glow in the low golden hued lighting. His eyes widened and his mouth watered as he gazed upon the culinary delight in front of him. "Akira?" Ma's voice snapped him back to reality. "Aren't you going to try it? Does it not look appetizing to you?"
Blushing a deep red and chest tightening with embarrassment, Akira waved his hands in front of him frantically for a moment. "No, no, no! Not at all, Ma!" he tried to defuse the situation that was actually far more dire in his head than in reality. Ryuji noticed this and grinned at the humorous display as he took a slow, thoughtful bite of the tempura, savoring the warmth, the texture and especially the flavor. It was far from the first time he had enjoyed Ma's cooking, but no matter how many times he did he never grew the slightest bit tired of it.
Akira quickly took a bite as well, and once the faintly salty but oh so succulent flavor assaulted his senses from the inside out, he felt his entire body melt in warmth, as if his very soul was being treated to a perfectly heated bath. He did not even notice Ma giggling above him at his extremely visible show of appreciation for her work. She simply bowed to her customers and made her way back to the office with a bounce in her step.
After a few moments of eating, the silence only being broken by the sounds of the two young men chowing down on their meal, Ryuji finally spoke up. "So, Akira, what did you think of your first morning on the job?"
"Hmm?" he looked up from his food. "Oh, uh," Akira wiped his mouth off quickly with a napkin, "it was… interesting. I'm still not calling myself a full yakuza, at least officially, but I can't argue that running with you doesn't seem to have its perks."
"Running with me has perks? Ha! You should see the kind of stuff that guys with actual seniority get up to! Especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Shit, from what I've heard through the grapevine, just one night out with some of the bigger dogs in the clan would bleed my life savings dry."
"I can believe it." At the mention of money, Akira had a sudden and all together unpleasant moment of realization. "Wait, how much do I owe you for the food? I can't imagine this place costs the same a Big Bang Burger."
"Get out of town, man," Ryuji waved his hand with a smirk. "It's on me, consider it a company expense. A business outing. It's your orientation, so of course I'm not gonna charge ya for the meal. Well, I wouldn't anyway, but I got a bit of extra funds for today, so it's not even coming out of my wallet."
"Oh. Well, that's convenient."
"Yeah, just don't go getting used to it. We don't do a lot of freebies."
"I didn't think so."
"At least you're catching on." Ryuji took a long sip of water to wash down the last of his half of the dish. "But you never really answered my question. What did you think of your first morning on the job?"
Akira sat back in his seat and crossed his arms, trying to think of a suitable way to answer his new friend. "It's… It doesn't fully sit right with me."
"How so?"
"Don't you already have an idea? I'm a criminal, working for criminals, and with criminals."
"Ooh, yeah," Ryuji nodded his head. "Crisis of morality going on in that noggin?"
"It's not just that. I've never done anything wrong, unless you count defending a helpless woman, like the law seemed to that night. Yeah, I'm not perfect by a longshot, but I'm not a criminal."
"But you do now have two cases of assault and battery under your belt."
Akira sighed, Ryuji's assessment stinging him to the core. "You have a point… I guess."
"I know I do. Listen, man, I personally don't think you defending that lady was wrong, even though I don't really know the whole story. But I can tell ya that I may be a yakuza, but I would never try to get it on with an unwilling girl. Hell, I've curbstomped guys for just that a couple times. But what you gotta know is that in this world, not just the yakuza's but the world at large, guys as young as us don't make the rules." He leaned forward in his seat, an intense expression painting itself on his face. "Our perception, our opinions on the world and what happens in it, even our own lives, doesn't really matter 'cuz we're not the ones that make the final judgment call. It's those in power above us that do.
"You can thank your lucky stars that you had some kind of connection in the Sakura clan, 'cuz that meant that someone with the power to make that kind of judgment call was there to back you up, or at least get you the hell out of dodge." Ryuji took a deep breath to calm himself, then took out and lit another cigarette. "Maybe your mom never taught you this," he blew out a small puff of smoke, "but you gotta play the cards your dealt, Akira. Doesn't matter what everyone else in the game has in their hands or under the table, you just gotta make the most of what you got."
"You come up with that one by yourself?"
"Honestly, no. I heard it somewhere, but that's beside the point. What is the point, is that you got yourself in some deep shit, my guy, and now you claw your way out. How are you gonna do that? Well, for what my opinion is worth, the only option you got is running with us, and that crisis of morality ain't gonna help ya."
"Yeah, I know." Akira's expression soured, but Ryuji seemed unphased by it. "I laid awake for God knows how long last night thinking about that. Probably a thousand times I told myself it's all bullshit, that there's no way I'm stuck with this hand, as you said. But now, I don't know. I—" He cut off there before he got too heated. His voice had already been rising his intensity as he began his tirade, but he caught himself before he truly began shouting the place down. "Fuck," he murmured.
"Amen to that, man," Ryuji snarked with another puff of his cigarette. "I can't honestly say I've been in your position before. I joined up of my own free will. Shit, I counted myself lucky when they brought me on. But what I do know is that your little crisis ain't gonna do you any favors in your new line of work, Akira. All we did was get a bit of cash from a small business and took down some street thugs barking up the wrong tree. Trust me, that's saintly compared to some of the guys I've met or heard about."
"Is that supposed to cheer me up?"
"No. It's supposed to give you some perspective."
Akira's head almost hurt from the absorption of information and "perspective". To say he was uncomfortable with the implications of the conversation and his current situation would be a massive understatement. Even the calming atmosphere of Serenity seemed to wane as Ryuji spoke. "Would you count yourself among those 'guys', Ryuji?"
Ryuji chuckled in his throat, looking away from Akira for a moment. "You'll go far in this business, man," he replied slowly. "Not many newbies would have the cast iron balls to ask a question like that to their seniors day one."
"Why?"
"'Cus it just ain't polite, Akira. Trade secret, ya know?"
"So is that a yes?"
Ryuji chuckled again, louder than previously. "Ask me another time."
"And when will that be, might I ask?"
"You'll know, man," Ryuji muttered in a low, almost inaudible tone. "You'll know. Hey, Ma?" he called to the office. "Check please! New boy's on his way out!"
"Wait, I am?"
"Yup, that's all I got for ya today, Akira. No offense, just some work left that's a little above your paygrade." As he finished his sentence, Ma came back with the check. Akira did not even have time to see the total before Ryuji took it and signed it, taking his wallet from his inside pocket and placing about fourty thousand yen on the check. Ryuji then took one of the napkins on the table and wrote down something on it quickly with the pen before placing it back on the tray for the check. Ma bent down to pick up the tray and the platter, giving both boys a revealing look at her cleavage and planting a light kiss on Ryuji's cheek. She turned around and smiled at Akira with lightly puckered lips before taking the things in hand.
"Have a good day, Ryuji," Ma said with a bow. "Stay out of trouble, at least try to."
"Will do, Ma," Ryuji replied. "Thanks for everything." He turned to Akira, his pleasant smile for Ma fading slightly. "Go to this address," he handed Akira the napkin, "that's the last part of your orientation for the day."
Akira looked at the napkin, seeing "459 Shushin St." scribbled onto it. "What's there that I need?"
"The lifeblood of every yakuza, and nothing less," Ryuji stated as he stood to his feet. "Stay out of fights on the way there, and same goes for your walk back to leBlanc. You're not that high up the food chain yet that the cops know who you are on sight, so they probably won't let it slide if you get caught."
"Noted," Akira replied flatly. "So, is this some kind of errand run you're too busy to do yourself?"
"Hell no!" Ryuji said strongly, almost sounding offended. "Dude, I thought we were friends! Is that really how you think of me?"
"No, no, God, sorry," Akira stammered more than he intended. "Man, I'm really great at putting my foot in my mouth, huh?"
"You just gotta learn the way of things around here, dude. But, learn it quickly, okay? Don't wanna embarrass yourself in front of a less understanding member of the family." With that, he walked right past Akira and toward the door, stopping just after opening it to the outside. "See ya around, Kurusu Akira!" he called back. "Don't have too much fun now, ya hear?"
Ryuji walked through the doorway, leaving Akira all alone in the lounge.
The raven-haired man got to his feet after a moment and also made his way to the door, but he stopped as it felt improper to leave without thanking his hostess. "Ma?" he called out once, waiting a moment for a reply. "Uh, thanks for the food! And the hospitality!"
"Oh, Akira!" came Ma's voice from the other side of the wall. "Wait just a moment!"
"Eh, okay!" A moment passed, and Akira could hear rummaging from the other side of the wall. Despite how it may have looked, he tapped his foot as he leaned against the door, looking around the lounge absentmindedly. Ma then walked through the office door, noticeably holding a small giftwrapped box.
"I was hoping I would be able to catch you before you left," Ma beamed. "I'd like you to have this, Akira."
"Huh?" Akira was genuinely, perfectly confused. In Ma's hand was a box about the size of his palm, wrapped in blue wrapping paper with a little red bow tied around it. "What's that? Normally, I'd expect me to be the one paying you something for hosting me."
"This isn't payment, Akira, but a gift. Something very important that I can't let you leave without."
"Uh… huh," Akira let out slowly with an equally slow nod of the head. "Might I ask again what this is? All I wanted was to thank you for being such a great host before I left."
"It's a present, silly! I can't tell you what it is, it would spoil the surprise! However, I will tell you that you should wait until you get home to open it."
"Why's that?"
"Just trust your Ma, okay, Akira-kun?" she replied in that siren's call of a voice. Akira knew she was using some sort of power of persuasion on him, but he accepted the compelled feeling within him nonetheless, taking the small, extremely light box in his hand.
"Okay, I trust you."
"Wonderful! Now, hop to it, Akira! I'm sure you have plenty of important business to get to now."
"Just an errand, honestly. Ryuji just told me to head this address," he indicated the napping in his hand.
"Well then, you definitely should get going. Have a good day now, hon! And do stay safe, will you?"
God, she really is like a mother. Eh, could be a lot worse. "I promise, Ma. Thank you again for the food and hospitality," he bowed respectfully.
"And thank you for coming, Akira-kun. Don't ever be a stranger, okay? You're welcome anytime, no matter how early or late. I live in the apartment above us after all."
"I'll remember that, thank you," Akira smiled.
"You'd do well to. Now, off you go! Don't be late!"
Akira chuckled and nodded. "See you, Ma."
With that, he made his way back onto the street. Present in hand, Akira turned down the street toward a line of shops. On his way around town with Ryuji, he had seen signs for Shushin Street a couple blocks away from Serenity, so at least he knew where he was going. But it was hard to focus on direction when he wondered just what was in this little box he was carrying?
Might as well get this errand done quick, he thought to himself, if I wanna know what's in the box. What could be so important from a woman I just met? No, focus Akira. You gotta make a good impression, remember? Don't mess this up… whatever it is.
Shit, I'm actually taking this yakuza stuff seriously!