Killing a Mafia boss

 Zzz…Snort!

I woke up sweating and feeling a bit groggy. That was a terrible memory.

We should be on our private plane heading back to Japan now. However, it doesn’t feel like we are in the air yet. I looked around, the crisp white walls were laden with gold patterns while the marble tiled floors shone as it reflected the light coming from the hanging chandelier. The bed I was in was a velvet red, its mattresses were firmly cushioned and the pillows were plush and soft. Things were quiet, suspiciously quiet… oh right, I haven’t regained my hearing yet, at least the ringing in my head has stopped.

There was food by my bed: egg sandwich, protein shake and chicken nuggets. Uhh western food, I can never get used to them. I wish to taste Japanese cuisine again.

Munch Munch…

Slurp…

Actually, the food’s not bad, I think it’s starting to grow on me.

2 days later, I regained my hearing. I woke up and did a little fist pump. YES!

“Ahahaha!”

I jumped a bit, there was someone else in my room.

“No need to be startled, tis I Red!”

Oh, Red. I signed and regained my composure.

“Why haven’t we left for Japan yet?”

Red’s deep crimson eyes got serious, he took a breath before speaking again.

“Your father escaped”

“How!?” I said, there’s no way he can escape from such an attack. Before my mind starts spinning with all sorts of thoughts, Red flashes me his iconic smile.

“What’s with your hair! Ahahaha, you look as if some animal took a bite off of it”

ACK! Father’s bullet had ripped some strands off. My cheeks get hot as they flushed, red as a tomato. That idiot, our mission ended in failure and yet he still finds time to make fun of me. I was about to come back with a retort when Red spoke again.

“It took a few days, but I’ve tracked down your father again, I’ve also found where he’s been hiding his family.”

That’s good news, as expected of my friend Red! Though I was happy, I hid it behind my cool and calm demeanor. I took a moment to gather my thoughts, then gave him my orders.

“His family would be his weakness, if we hold them hostage, there is no doubt about it that Father would come out. Once Father is killed, we leave his family alive and then head back to Japan.”

After hearing my plan, a grin splits across Red’s face. Judging by the gleam coming off his eyes, he finds something to be of amusement.

“What is it? Spit it out!” I demanded, slightly annoyed.

“Ever the softie huh? What good would it do us to keep them alive? They would be a witness to our crimes.”

“True strength doesn’t come from killing anyone!!” I yelled, a bit too loudly. I’ve lost my calm. What Red says is true, however, seeing Father’s new family reminded me of my late momma and sister.

Red stands up and glares down at me. “There you go again, you’re obsessed with this true strength ideal! Honestly, true strength calls for your resolve to be that of steel, or harder! Right now, your resolve is as soft as the fluff of teddy bears.”

“I’ve made my mind Red, we are not killing them.” I told him with my sternest voice conveying my conviction. I stood up to get on the same level as Red, and gave him the most terrifying stare that my yellow eyes can give.

Red’s eyes soften. “Fine, there’s no convincing you when you’re like this.”

My eyes soften as well, I’m relieved that Red understands, in an attempt to lighten the mood, I retorted back. “My resolve isn’t as soft as teddy bear fluff now is it?”

“Even the fluff of teddy bears can become a choking hazard.” Replied Red with a smile. “Alright champ, the rest of the team is waiting for orders from the alpha wolf.”

“Alright!!” I replied. We left to meet up with our pickup driver.

We were picked up at our meeting place by a public park, the weather was partly cloudy, however, we were sweating from the humidity and heat. Summer’s hell eh.

Our driver was waiting for us beside his run down looking minivan. Red and I approached him, he was pretending to call someone, he put his phone down when he saw us.

“Hey, nice weather we’re having huh?” He said. This was the start of a code we have, for security reasons.

“Yeah, great day to take my dog for a walk, he can finally relieve himself outside” I responded with the correct response. Red snickers a bit, it was him who came up with such a ridiculous code. I gave him my alpha wolf stare, Red straightens his back and stops snickering.

“Pwahahaha!”

I stared at the driver as well. I hate embarrassing myself, so I was in a bit of a sour mood. The driver straightens his back as well and regains his composure, however, he still had that twinkle of laughter in his eyes.

“Come in,” He says.

“Whatever” I replied. From the way these fools act, it's hard to believe they are mafia elites. We got in, Red and I both sat in the back, we instantly sank into the cool leather seats as we relished in the luxury of an air conditioned car. As we settled down, the driver proceeded to peel off his face.

“Did ya guess who I was?” He said, this time grinning with his real face.

“It’s been a while Evan, I see you’re up to your usual antics.” I replied.

“But of course, let's get going now shall we? Aoi has been so worried about ya tis whole time! She’s gonna have my head if she doesn’t see ya there safe n’ sound!”

“Ooooo!” Said Red, his eyes now glow a ruby red of mischief. “Looks like your fair maiden has been anxious for your return, Ōji-Sama, when are you two going to propose? I’m looking forward to your royal wedding!”

Evan and Red bursted into hysterical laughter.

BONK!

I gave Red a bonk to the head. I didn’t bonk Evan since he was driving. My face was red, I wasn’t one who took romance well, so for me, this topic is the absolute peak of embarrassment. I kept myself calm and composed, and used the calming technique Julius had taught me.

Deep breath in, then think about that time I pantsed Red in front of his crush, deep breath out.

There. I’m calm now, like a Tibetan monk meditating underneath a waterfall. I am like the water, no, I am the water itself. I have no shape yet I can be every shape…

“I’m sure if you ask her out, Aoi would agree! I mean, to everyone else she is scary, but she is surprisingly soft with you Grayyyyy…” Red’s taunting never seems to cease.

“AYAH! WOULDYA SHUT UP! I’M TOO NERVOUS TO CONFESS MY FEELINGS TO AOI AND I'M SCARED ABOUT BEING TURNED DOWN!!!” I shouted. I hope I managed to scare Red a bit and let him and Evan know how serious I am. Judging by their wide eyes and gaping jaws, I had achieved the desirable effect. Little did I know about the embarrassment that had come out of my mouth.

The ride continued on in silence, maybe I was too harsh with my words? The car stops, it seems like we’re in a traffic jam. Red turns to face me, his eyes very serious this time.

“Good luck my friend, Evan and I both support you 100 percent.” He said.

“100 percent is the very least of my expectations” I responded.

“If you ever need advice, you can come to us, we have some experience in this”

“That’s appreciated, then may I ask for some advice right now?” I was curious as to what advice Red could have about how to kill Father.

“I know that Girls fall head over heels if she knows you put a lot of effort and thoughts into the gifts you bring her, and I’m sure even Aoi is no exception.”

“Really? I better note that down-wait a second! I thought you were talking about advice for our current mission!” In my mind, my imaginary self has already ripped off all his hair, now I really do look like a Tibetan monk.

“It seems ya both were talkin’ about different things!” Said Evan, he was trying hard to contain his laughter.

“You know Gray, this side of you is surprisingly girly” Red was also trying to contain his laughter.

“うるさい!” I shouted. (SHUT UP)

バカ　(These buffoons.)

For the rest of the ride, Evan was whistling a happy tune while Red had fallen asleep with a smirk on his face. Meanwhile, I spent some time thinking of what to say to everyone during our meeting. Somehow, I ended up thinking about ways to confess to Aoi… does she even like me as Red had said?

AHHH

I can’t think about this stuff right now, I have to focus on the plan to kill Father.

We arrived at our meeting place by noon. Our headquarters was situated underneath a bar. We first bought some sandwiches and then headed down. The room was spacious and was dotted with various forms of entertainment such as ping pong and pool tables. There was even tabletop soccer. I saw the rest of my team scattered about, including Aoi. I looked into Aoi’s Azure blue eyes. Now that I think about it, how large and blue they are, it reminds me of beautiful gemstones.

“Gray you idiot!” Aoi stands up and starts marching towards me.

EEK! She caught me staring! I squeezed out all my breath in order to hide my blushing, as a result, instead of my face turning red, it turns into a weird purple color.

WHACK!

Aoi kicked me in my stomach, I gasped and took a breath. Not to brag, but my abs were those of bricks, so I wasn’t knocked down by her roundhouse kick.

“You didn’t even bother to get a sandwich for me?!” Said Aoi, she looked rather hangry, though it looks like that playful kind of pretend hanger. I reached through my pocket and took a sandwich out.

“It’s a chicken tender patty with tomatoes, honey, cheese, mayonnaise and no pickles. Your favorite.”

“Oh…wow, you remembered ummm” Aoi blushed, she was flustered at what to say. Suddenly, my heart started beating fast… she looks so cute when nervous! I felt an elbow jab, it was Red.

“PSSSTTT Now’s a good time to go at her with a manly pick up line” Whispered Red, though that “PSSSTTT” sound effect Red made was absolutely unnecessary. I straightened myself a bit and took a deep breath before going at it.

“Of course, I wouldn’t want a girl as cute as you to go hangry” I felt like that was pretty good. Even if the sandwich is just a small gift, I made sure it was one where Aoi can recognize my effort and thoughtfulness.

Aoi’s face turned a sweet strawberry pink, it worked!! I winked at Red, and he gave me a thumbs up.

I felt proudly stupid.

“Ahem, well anyways, I’m glad you’re back to normal Gray. Honestly 3 flashbangs in the living room! What were you thinking?!”

“Sorry to worry you Aoi, even I realized the stupidity of that.” It was cute how worried Aoi was, however, her cuteness vanished when she hardened her gaze and regained composure.

“Should have been 5 flashbangs, I’m sure you could have taken that much, then your Father would have most certainly been killed! Anyways, don’t you have a meeting to lead? MUNCH!” Aoi takes a bite of her sandwich.

“Alright everyone, let's gather around, the meeting shall start now.” After saying that, I looked around the room as everyone started trickling in. Since there were no chairs in our headquarters, everyone sat on the ground around me along with their food. We look more like picnicers than an actual mafia.

“Be careful to not drop any crumbs, we don’t want ants here” I said.

“Relax man, we ain’t kids anymore” Complained Evan.

When everyone was settled down, I proceeded to explain to everyone the plan that I had discussed with Red.

“Alright that’s it, any questions?”

Silence. “Ok, if not, then let's commence once the sun sinks into the seas. And Red, I’m counting on you, keep his family hostage but alive, allow no harm to them.”

“Grayy don’t be like that, I know, I know!”

“And Aoi, I’m counting on you as well, to secure our escape route.”

“Yep, I got your asses covered”

Hmph. I know that Red would never betray my trust, but I said that just for show since once in a while I have to let him know who’s in charge. I have no doubts about Aoi either, she is dependable as always. Her blonde hair today was tied back into a messy ponytail, showing the bare of her neck. Aoi glances at me and catches me in the eyes. She blushes.

I quickly turned around, stood up, and hastily left the room.

Night fell quickly, everything was in place. Father should be appearing very soon.

After tonight, the man I hate the most will breathe no more. He deserves to die, to atone for all the sins he has committed. I keep telling myself this, however, I can’t help but feel off. Would killing Father be the right course of action? It seems like he is trying his hardest to raise a family in america.

WHOOSH!

A knife suddenly whistles past my face, it grazes my cheek, drawing blood. I felt my blood trickle a warm rusty red river down the cool scarred terrains of my cheek. Then, as if he had merged with the shadows, Father appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

“I’ve come as requested, Gray.”

Father's light gray hair was tied into a ponytail and held together with a black hair band. His face was starting to wrinkle, but the glint in his eyes remained the same, a harsh heartless yellow.

“Father, what you did to me, Momma, and my sister is unforgivable, and unbecoming of a human. You always hated us just for existing! You deserve to die! You deserve to die! Die! Die!” Tears welled up at the corners of my eyes, just waiting for their turn to slide down, I hate Father, absolutely despise him. But why are my hands trembling now? Some part of me deep inside doesn’t want Father dead.

“You don’t sound too convinced about that, Gray.” Said Father with a smile.

Father has never called me “son” , nor has he ever acknowledged me as one of his children…why do I want to be acknowledged by him so much? Just why? If I kill him, then maybe he will… this is stupid, stupid! I’m killing for revenge, that’s my only intent! I have nothing to feel sorry for, he doesn’t deserve my sympathy.

The place I chose for our duel was a public playground, plenty of space, little to no one here at night, and lots of hiding places.

Father and I took out our guns at the same time and shot.

BAM!

THLING!

My gun flew out of my hand, so did Father’s. I quickly took out another one however, Father was quick to grab onto my hand, and wrestled it free. Shit, I only brought two guns. I kicked Father in the stomach and quickly backed away. I hid behind a tree to catch my breath.

The summer night’s air was humid and hot, mosquitos were buzzing everywhere, however, I had bug detergent on. I was sweating and dirt was sticking onto my sweat making me feel grimy. In the distance, I heard police sirens, they are slowly getting louder, it seems like they are heading here. I have to finish this duel quickly.

I pulled out two knives and ran towards Father, he raised his pistol and pointed at me, before he could shoot, I slashed at it with my knife and his pistol dropped. Father fumbled a bit to take out his knives, I took this opportunity to kick him in the face. Father dropped both his knives and fell. I rushed over to finish him off, however, he did a backhandspring and went out of my range.

Both of us were breathing heavily, it’s been a while since I’ve had to use close combat. I readied my stance to prepare for another attack, Father did the same by raising his arms in front of him. He had run out of weapons, and was reduced to hand combat. I swooped in and jabbed at him. Father was able to block and avoid all of my attacks, however, I kept this up relentlessly.

“Father, how did you escape the flashbang without any damage?” I asked in between my movements.

“Because I didn’t. I can barely see nor hear you.” He said, while still dodging my blows.

There it is! An opening!

I quickly raised my arm, ready to stab my knife into his face when suddenly, Father raised his arm as well, and my knife got stuck in it. Father gritted his teeth, I can see the pain from his eyes. I quickly used my other hand and took my other knife, aiming at Father’s face once again, however, Father raised his other arm and the knife stuck in there as well.

My feet were lifted off the ground as Father raised both arms up higher, I kept clinging tightly onto the knives that were stuck inside Father. Suddenly, I saw his eyes light up with unimaginable power, Father jumped and slammed me to the ground. The hard, rough pavement scraped against my back, ripping out carpets of flesh, and I felt the crack of my ribs breaking from the impact. Like a wildfire, pain spread throughout my body and immobilized me. I couldn’t move from the pain, I also couldn’t move from Father's crushing weight on top of me.

Father then smashed his head against mine, over and over and over. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t think, everything was a whirlwind of suffering. However, Father soon stopped, and his body went limp.

I opened my eyes to see Aoi, she held a bloodied knife. “Don’t worry, I paralyzed him, you should do the killing blow, that is if you can still stand.” Her eyes were filled with worry as she looked at my mutilated face.

“Thanks Aoi, I have one more thing to ask Father before I kill him.” I stood up, it took a moment for my vision to stop spinning. I looked down at Father, the knives had opened wounds large enough in his arms for me to see the whites of his bones. Father was still breathing, and his eyes met mine.

“Did you find what true strength is?” I asked him.

“Yes,” replied Father with a smile.

“Then what is it?!”

“My family… Are they safe?”

“I told Red not to harm them”

“よかった” (thats good)

There was a pause after that. A cool wind blew through the hot humid air, the leaves of the trees rustled as if welcoming the breeze, the grass beneath my feet were dancing along as well. The police sirens were louder now, and I can see its red and blue lights flashing, they were at the park already. I heard the slam of the car doors, the rushing of the footsteps and fast breaths. At this moment, none of that matters. Father took a deep breath before speaking.

“True strength doesn’t have an answer, it’s a realization. I feel like you would eventually realize your true strength the way I did Gray. I guess we are both more alike than we thought. Son”

My eyes widened at those words and tears started to gather. My heart was pounding louder and louder, faster and faster as if threatening to burst into millions of pieces. The billions of blades of grass around me started bowing their heads as their tips got burdened by the dew of the coming morning. I kneeled there, beside Father, my knife was raised above his heart, my hands were shaking.

“あ… ah…” was all I my body managed to respond with.

“Ain’t it time to kill me?”

“I… I can’t!” I cried. “I don’t know why, but I can’t.”

“Maybe as your Father, I can do one more thing for you, son.” Father grabbed onto my hands, and we held the knife together. I was startled, didn’t Aoi paralyze him?

“Sometimes, a kid just needs a little push in the right direction” Said Father with a smile as he pressed my hand and the knife down towards his chest.

“I still hate you, you little shit.” Said Father.

“Back at you” I responded.

The knife slid in effortlessly as Father guided it through his ribs and it pierced through his heart. The clouds suddenly lifted, presenting the moon, the sun, and the stars as a parting gift. I’ve lost all my breath as I looked down at the lifeless body of Father. The sun’s rays peeking past the horizon reminded me of how today is another normal day. People would go to work, kids would go to school, the sun would eventually rise and set.

It shouldn’t be a normal day, that just doesn’t feel right. It’s as if what conspired today was of no significance.

It was of significance! Because, the person I killed today was no longer that heartless man I knew from when I was little. He was someone else’s father, someone else’s love, he was a man who had changed. And in his last moments, he was my father as well. I could never feel satisfied from killing Father, how could I? I feel angry for the man Father was before, I feel happy for the man that Father has become now, and I feel sad for the man Father could have been many years later.

Suddenly, bright lights were pointed into my face, the police had us surrounded, however, before they could close in on us, Aoi lifted me up and ran. I couldn’t remember the details of what happened after, but I do remember the relentless pain I felt, and the determined gaze in Aoi’s azure blue eyes.