Chapter Two

After the dinner, the foreigner left him alone on the bed to recuperate, and he sat at the table and began working on his laptop. Akira had no idea when he fell asleep, but when he awoke, it was nearly midnight.

He tilted his head and noticed the foreign boy who had rested his head on the table and fallen asleep sitting behind the table. He looked at the wall clock, which read 1:40. He arose slowly and went to do his washing. He snatched them up and quickly put them on because they were dry enough. He returned his gaze to the foreign boy's face. His face appeared younger than his large body when he was asleep.

He wasn't sure if it was proper to abandon him in this state. But then he shrugged and said to himself, "I still don't know if he's who he says he is, so it's better to go before there's time." He approached the door, halted for a while, and turned his gaze to the chamber and the sleeping boy. "Anyway, thanks," he said as he exited the house.

***

It had been a week since David got himself into trouble. He was alone when he awoke in the morning. He might have thought the previous day was a dream if it hadn't been for the crumpled t-shirt on the bed and the second bowl of noodles in the garbage can.

Anyway, he had put everything out of his mind. That boy, Akira, how do you know he was telling the truth? Of course, if this is his real name, Thank God that he was not a thief, that he was asleep at the time, and that he had not taken anything from his house.

The conference had gone well, and David was anticipating Professor Okada's accolades. He appreciates being complimented on his diligence. He went to the university dining hall for lunch now that the wet days were past. A lovely girl approached him and said, “Hi David, how are you?”

“Good morning, Tina,” David said with a smile. “I'm fine; how about you?”

“I'm not bad,” the girl shrugged, “but I would feel better if the weather was colder.”

- Ah, Yes, you are from Norway, where it is usually frigid. I believe it would be preferable for you to study at Hokkaido universities rather than Tokyo, where the weather is cooler.

- It wasn't a bad concept, but I'd rather have studied at this university. Professor Kazuma is one of the world's best chemistry instructors, as well as one of the top ten female academics.

David smiled and added, “Well, this can be a good reason to bear the heat” “Are you going to eat?” the girl asked, nodding.

- Yes, I need to return to the lab later. I set the timer on the incubator to one hour. I'd like to eat until the machine finishes working.

- Is it good if I accompany you and we dine together? Eating alone is quite dull.

David, who preferred to be alone, nodded and added, “I don't have a problem” The girl smiled sweetly and murmured, “Thank you, David” before walking into the dining room with him. “You know, yesterday we went to Akihabara with Kimiko, the same girl who is in charge of the chemistry lab,” she continued as she selected the food “It's a funky neighborhood with lots of colorful cafes, stores, and fancy goods. You should come with us sometime because everything is going nicely”

As they approached the table with the food trays, David replied, “I heard a lot about it, but I'm busy right now; maybe I'll come when it's quieter,” but he knew it was simply a bluff. He didn't feel at ease around Tina, and he didn't know who Kimiko was. Tina was a lively blonde with ice blue eyes who drew everyone's attention. But, as an introvert, David found it difficult to befriend and converse with her.

Aside from that, he liked Akihabara. He was a big fan of anime, and he watched it a lot to enhance his Japanese skills. But he knew he'd need a lot of money to go to Akihabara. He couldn't go so far and come back empty-handed. As a result of his inner longing, he chose to avoid going there.

Tina spoke passionately about several themes throughout the lunch, and David simply listened with a courteous grin. After lunch, the girl gave him up and went to her department. David sighed tiredly and looked at the clock before beginning to walk to the laboratory.

***

It was almost 5 o'clock in the evening when he concluded his work. He packed his belongings and proceeded to the train after saying farewell to the professor. Although it was beyond midday, the air was still hot and sultry. As soon as he reached the station, he heard from the speaker, “Dear passengers, we apologize to you. Due to technical problems and repairs, all the trains on the southern line will not be running for the next hour. Thank you in advance for your patience.”

David's preferred path was the south line. The station was busy, and the weather was hot and humid. If he sat here, he'd feel nervous due to the heat, and his time would be wasted because he'd have to walk home in this one hour. Because of the heat, he considered taking a taxi for a second but quickly dismissed the idea. The taxi fare was exorbitant, and he should not have paid for it.

He sighed and took a walk in the heat. He disliked heat and, in particular, sweating. He remembered saying to Tina that if he had selected Hokkaido himself, he wouldn't have had to deal with this heat. Anyway, he couldn't do anything now, so instead of thinking in vain, he should allow more constructive thoughts to enter his mind. One of the seniors told him that several Japanese retailers normally give good discounts on some of their products at the end of the day. It would be preferable if he went to a nearby store and bought some delicious meals for tonight.

He unintentionally bumped into someone while thinking. He performed a half-bow without looking at the person, as is Japanese manner, turned his back on the person, and continued on his way. Someone patted his shoulder and exclaimed, “Hey, I'm talking to you!” He was only a few meters away. “Do you have deafness?” In surprise, he turned his head. The speaker was a young boy with dyed yellow hair that clashed with his attractive features, much as the bruise on his right cheek did. Two additional young lads with odd appearances who appeared to be criminals stood behind his head and on his right and left sides.

“I didn't realize you called me,” David groaned, “how can I help you?” “Didn't you recognize me?” the youngster asked, raising his brows. David returned his gaze to his face, shook his head in denial, and added, “I'm sorry, I haven't been to Japan in a long time, maybe you mistook me for someone”

“Look, stranger, are you saying that Aniki (a phrase meaning big brother, which is used to refer to respected and stronger people in a group) is lying?” shouted the young man on the left, who had an untidy stubble on his chin. “You don't have to meddle in my business, Ichiro,” the yellow-haired young man patted him on the back of the neck before turning to the foreign boy and saying, “You're so stupid; it's me, Shinka Akira”

David paused. No matter how hard he thought, this boy was different from the boy he had seen last week, except for his height. What did it matter anyway? "Ah, yes. I'm glad you're okay. Did you have something to do with me?" he said indifferently. The young man on the right, who had a round and chubby face, came forward and said in a mocking tone, "What is this way of talking? Did you think we were afraid of you because you are tall? Respect to Aniki!"

This time it was his turn to get hit in the back of the neck, and Akira angrily said, “You two laggards don't understand when I say don't interfere! You don't need to be here at all; go back to your work; I'm dealing with this boy,” the bearded young man said, “but...”

- Stop talking, hurry up, and get lost!

Akira's companions nodded and turned away, glaring angrily at David. They hadn't gone more than a few steps when the overweight young man began, “Ah, Aniki...” but Akira yelled violently, “I told you to get lost! Be quick, or I'll smash your bones!” They then swiftly moved away. Akira noticed David's surprise when he turned around. “I'm sorry about those two idiots; don't worry, they won't come back,” he sighed, but David remained concerned.

Akira said with a frown, “What? Do you still doubt me? Or are you afraid of me?” The foreign boy composed himself and said, “Your face has changed; you didn't have to treat your friends so harshly” Then he looked at his watch, which showed 17:50 and said, “I would appreciate it if you could tell me how I can help you. Because I'm tired and I want to go home”

“I see you're brave and didn't back down,” Akira smirked “Don't worry, I simply want to treat you to a meal as a thank you” the boy hesitated and remarked “No need, I don't expect any” he added sarcastically “You showed your gratitude when you went unnoticed” he expressed surprise as Akira.

“I couldn't stay in a stranger's house like that, so I decided it would be best to go that way” Akira replied after pausing to run his hand through his hair. “Right, I'm a foreign stranger that I stumbled into; I think it's best to retain your money and spend it on yourself. Farewell,” David groaned miserably before turning and walking away.

Akira reached him with quick steps, grabbed his arm, and said, “Hey, what is your problem? Why are you acting like this? Okay, I shouldn't have gone unnoticed” David pulled his arm away and said, “It doesn't matter, you don't owe me anything, so leave me alone” Akira frowned and said “Don't act like a fool! What? Because you're a student and a foreigner and you're taller, you're proud of yourself?” David looked at him with a bitter smile and walked away without a word.

Akira took his place, and he was furious! first from this large lad who had mistreated him, and then from himself, who had spoken without thinking. “Better!” he thought to himself. “Let him go to hell if he doesn't want it!” He turned away from him and began to walk in the opposite direction, but after a few feet, cursing under his breath, he changed direction and began to follow David.

He approached him at the next junction and grabbed his arm again, and before David could respond, he added, “I'm sorry, I'm a bit harsh, but please let me treat you to food; I promise I'll leave you alone” David glanced into the boy's beautiful eyes. He looked at it and saw the honesty in it. “Okay,” he groaned, “but please let go of my arm; people are looking at us”

Akira observed the people's furtive stares and covert laughs to his left and right. When a man held another man's hand in the midst of Shinjuku, it was easy for others to believe him mistakenly. he let go of David's hand and said, “Follow me; I know a good restaurant nearby” As his ears became red with embarrassment, she moved away with rapid strides.

***

It was a typical little shop managed by an elderly couple. “Hello, aunt,” Akira remarked as they entered the shop, “please make us two bowls of ramen full of mortar.” “It's nice to see you, Aki-chan,” the elderly woman smiled. “Oh, what a handsome young man; you're welcome,” she added as she turned to face David.

David smiled as he took a seat at a table. Akira, who appeared energized by being in that environment, enthusiastically sat across from him and stated, "The ramen here is unique; uncle is a grunt, but his cooking is great," to which David simply agreed.

After about 10 minutes, an old man from behind the counter said, “Come here, kid, your food is ready.” Akira went to the counter, and while taking the food, he mischievously said, “I see that you are well mannered today, uncle.” The old man frowned and said, “Go sit and eat your food, yellow head. If there is anything left of your food, I will hit you in the head!” And Akira laughed, took the dishes, and returned to their table.

Looking at the bowl of ramen, David thought, why did he come with this boy? Why did he talk to him on the street? He could easily ignore him. But thinking was useless; it would be better for him to eat his food and return to the comfort and peace of his room sooner. He picked up the chopstick and took the first bite. The taste of the food was excellent, and it had the aroma of homemade food.

As he began to eat eagerly, Akira smiled from the other side of the table and remarked, “Be careful not to choke; I told you their food is great,” and he began to eat as well. After finishing the lunch, David said, “I haven't had such good food since I came to Japan.” Akira completed the rest of his food, placed it on the table, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and stated, “Their food is all great; it makes you feel good,” to which David nodded.

They got up at the same time, and Akira went to the counter and said, “Thank you, aunty, it was great as always.” The old lady kindly said, “Hey Aki-chan, you haven't visited us in a long time. What's up with you?” As he was putting his hand in his pocket to pay for the food, he said, “It's nothing; something happened…” But then his hand stopped, and he looked worriedly at the old woman and said, “I think I didn't bring my wallet,” and then with After a short pause, he said, “Arata, stupid! I had given him my wallet to buy a drink, and he forgot to give it back to me!”

The old woman waved her hand and kindly said, “It's okay, you're not a stranger; pay next time you come.” Just as she was about to say something, David came next to her and put two thousand yen, which was the price of two dishes, on the counter. With a smile, he said to the old woman, “Your food was very delicious; thank you.” The woman, who was surprised by the fluent Japanese speaking of this foreign boy, said, “Oh, how well you speak our language! I'm glad you were satisfied, my son, Aki-chan's friends are dear for us.” At the same time, the old man came to the woman and said, “This yellow head is foul-mouthed and dumb, but he has a kind heart; take care of him.”

David smiled at the old man, bowed to them, and left the shop in front of Akira's surprised gaze. Akira hurriedly said goodbye to them and followed the boy, saying, “Hey, hey wait.” He quickly moved in front of him and blocked his way. David sighed and said, “What else? Didn't you promise you'd leave me alone after meal, Akira-san?” He said with a frown, “I said, but I didn't want it to happen like this! I was supposed to pay for the food, not you!”

- Don't worry, it's not a problem.

- It is! I can see in your face that you are thinking that all this was a plan to bring you here and force you to pay for my food!

Actually, this thought crossed his head while paying, but he shrugged his shoulders and muttered, "No, it doesn't matter what I think. The meal was great, and that's enough for you to be my guest. Now we're out of the picture. Goodbye." and walked away without paying attention to Akira.

***

As he was strolling down the street in a bad mood, he kicked a pebble and thought to himself, “What's the matter with him running away from me? I just wanted to thank him. It's so hard to accept a yakuza's thanks. You arrogant bastard! To hell at all! I'm not going to see him again!” After saying this, he put his hands in his pocket and headed towards the headquarters.

The headquarters of the Yonkiku group was a two-story structure in Shinjuku. However, the head of the group lived in his own house, which was the major headquarters, and this headquarters was handed to Akira. Due to his early age, he was able to attain the position of Kyodai in Yonkiku's group, and for this reason, he was widely regarded.

As he was entering the building, fat Arata came to him confusedly and said, “Aniki, you forgot your wallet.” He said with a forced smile, “I forgot, or did you forget to return it to me?” Arata said as he was sweating, “I called you to give you the wallet, but you yelled and said you would crush our bones if we didn't go.” Akira controlled himself, sighed, and took the wallet from the man. Arata bowed firmly and quickly turned away from him.

As he entered his office on the second floor, his tidy assistant half-bowed and said, “You're welcome,” nodded, “What's up, Tajima-san?” The man said as he fixed his glasses, “I have good news and bad news; which one do you want to hear?” He sat behind his desk, put his feet on the table, and said, “Say the good things first.”

- The good news is that six shops in the eastern part agreed to increase our share by 10%.

- Well, that's good, I'm sure the boss will be happy to hear it. What's the bad news?

Tajima paused for a moment and said quietly, “Nakayama's group attacked two of the lads in the south of Shinjuku last night; one of them has a broken leg. That one is doing better, although he is a little confused.” Akira cursed angrily and said, “I told the boss. Let's finish their work! But all he says is no conflict! How long do we have to sit and watch our lads being secretly beaten?”

The assistant shook his head and said, “I told everyone that if they go somewhere, especially after dark, two people should come and go, and you better not go alone when you come back.” Akira frowned and said, “Did you think they would dare to attack me?! I am against ten of them!” Tajima sighed and said, “Yes, it's obvious from the bruise on your eye.”

He said fiercely, “It was an accident! They took me by surprise! It is not evident that it was their effort!” The assistant shrugged and added, “Whoever's job it is, it's easy to catch you; it's better to be careful and stop bragging.” Akira waved his hand and said, “You don't need to talk like old moms; I'll handle myself. Is there anything else?”

- We will be unable to use the headquarters for a week beginning tomorrow; the boss has ordered that our building be inspected for safety, that broken pipes be fixed, and that repairs be made. If there is a meeting during this time, it will be held at the main headquarters.

Akira said bitterly, “Who wants to go to Shinagawa for a damn meeting?” Then he said with a sigh, “Call the lads, put the documents and important things in the next room, lock the door, and keep the key with you. If something is very important, put it in the safe” Tajima nodded and left the room.

***

When he left the headquarters and went home, it was nearly midnight. He desired to be alone and unaccompanied at Tajima's request. His house was a clean one in a five-story building near Ochiai Park. On the way, he stopped at the local convenience store and purchased some beer and snacks.

The night was clear and without clouds, but it was warm. He wanted to get home early, take a shower, and drink beer in the coolness of the air conditioner. A smile came to his face from this pleasant thought. He took the elevator to the third floor and came to a halt in front of apartment 12's door.

He inserted the key into the lock, only to discover that the door was not locked. He frowned, took a glance around, and slowly opened the door. Because there was a gas odor inside, he left the door open without turning on the electricity and prevented it from closing by leaning the shopping bag against the door. He slowly entered, proceeded to the kitchen, and switched off the gas valve. He returned to the entrance and waited for ten minutes, impatiently stamping his feet, until the gas was totally expelled.

During this time, his mind was busy, so did he forgot to close the gas valve? But no, this morning he had eaten breakfast outside the house with Arata and Ichiro, and he hadn't cooked at all before leaving the house! What about the door lock? Was he in such a hurry that he left the door open? But no, he totally remembered locking the door twice!

These thoughts only heightened his anxiety. He smelled again in front of the door, and there was almost no scent of gas. He cautiously pressed the power button in the corridor adjacent to the front door. He exhaled with relief when the electricity came back on and entered the home, leaving the door open.

Akira's apartment was 30 square meters and had one bedroom. When he got to the hall, he spotted the mess in the house and walked back to the kitchen to get a knife. He proceeded slowly towards the bedroom after checking the toilet and bathroom. He placed his hand on the door handle, took a big breath, and hastily opened the door, but no one was in the room.

He returned to the hallway, collected the shopping bags, and closed and shut the door with a sigh of relief. He looked around the house more closely. The table had been turned upside down, the plants near the balcony had been smashed, the TV had been damaged, and the walls had been scarred with a sharp object. The linens in his bedroom were ripped, and his clothing were flung out of the closet and ripped to shreds.

Back in the hall, he picked up a can of beer from the nylon store, opened the lid, and took a sip, thinking to himself as he was ready to flip the table over that, this couldn't be the work of a common thief. He bitterly recognized that his theory was right as soon as he turned the table. The Nakayama group's insignia, a spider, was drawn in red on the table's surface!

He cursed and drank the last of his beer angrily. This was excruciating! He should have talked to the boss tomorrow and finally dealt with this unruly gang.

The Nakayama group had been operating in the southwest of Shinjuku and west of Shibuya for nearly twenty years. Their domain was near the Yonkiku group's area, which was south and southeast of Shinjuku, often sparking fights between the people of the two groups. Although the leaders of the two groups had agreed five years ago to respect each other's territories and not engage in a significant inter-group fight.

However, when the former head of the Nakayama Group died six months ago, his eldest son, Nakayama Keizo, took over the leadership, and since then, occasional attacks against the Yonkiku Group's people and land have begun. Despite Akira's repeated pleadings, the boss refused to break his old deal with the former leader of the Nakayama group, and he saw these attacks as temporary mischief of the youthful generation that would pass shortly.

They went too far this time, attacking Yonkiku's Kyodai residence and even plotting to fabricate a gas leak, resulting in an explosion and even his death. He could definitely persuade the boss to face them with this argument.

Something was on his mind as he threw the empty beer can on the table. They knew where he lived now, and a lock on the door wouldn't keep them out at night. However, the headquarters had been evacuated and was closed for renovations, so he couldn't rely on it. Ichiro and Arata, who knew him well, lived with their families, and he was unwilling to spend the night with the rest of the group.

He could get to the hotel, but it was difficult for a yakuza to provide his identification cards and register his name there. If it had been morning, he would have gone straight to the boss's house to discuss the situation with him, but it was too late to bother him at this hour. A thought crossed his mind as he cursed violently, but he groaned; he couldn't do it.

But, on the other hand, it wasn't an awful idea, and it might be worth trying. If he didn't respond, he'd take the train to Shinagawa and stay at one of the motels there until the next morning. He paused for a while, disgustedly punched the red spider mark on the table with his fist, grabbed the last bit of nylon, and left the house.