Chapter Three

David scratched his neck and returned his gaze to the laptop screen. There was an error in his work; he had done the analyses and calculations of today's results more than four times in two hours, but each time he got a different answer. He removed his glasses and massaged his eyes before looking at the clock, which read 35 minutes past midnight.

He was well aware of his values; if he didn't fix the situation, he couldn't sleep. Fortunately, there was no class tomorrow, so he had plenty of time to sleep. Perhaps he could drink some coffee to get some energy. He stood up, rubbed himself, collected his money, and exited the house. There was a food and drink vending machine two lanes down near the station.

He felt invigorated by this little walk because the nocturnal air had cooled down a little. He inserted the banknote, grabbed two cans of coffee and a package of rice cakes from the machine on the side, and came home invigorated from his late-night stroll.

As he climbed the stairs, he observed someone sitting near the door to his room. He realized it was the yellow-headed boy with a grimace and a closer look. He sighed and moved closer, when Akira noticed him, smiled and asked, “Oh, you were out? I thought you were sleeping and didn't hear me knock,” David said nonchalantly “What are you doing here?”

- Nothing; I simply came to have a drink with you.

With this, he shook the nylon in his hand. The foreign boy slightly raised his eyebrows and said, “Usually Japanese people drink with their friends and colleagues; as far as I know, I'm neither your friend nor your colleague.” Akira tapped him on the shoulder as he tried to keep his smile. “No matter how hard you try, I felt bad that you paid for the food today. I said I'd come and make up for it.”

David said with a grin, “Isn't it too late to make amends? Specially to make amends to me, when you promised to leave me alone in the middle of the street in front of everyone?” Akira frowned and said, “What is your problem with me? All you foreigners are walking around saying that Japanese people are cold; Japanese people are not comfortable with foreigners; even now that we treat you in a friendly manner, are you insulting me?”

David looked seriously into his eyes and said, "My problem is that you're lying." Akira said, shocked, "Wh-what?"

- Maybe I'm new to Japan and don't fully grasp your language, but I'm not so naive that I don't recognize the lack of sincerity in your words.

- But… I mean…

- You're not required to explain anything to me, Akira-san. What distinguishes you is that you got into trouble, but I'm not sure why you came to me as a stranger.

“Yes, I'm in trouble,” Akira answered after lowering his head and pausing. “Almost, of course. I can't remain at home tonight; I can't go somewhere else, and the only hotel left is one I don't want to stay in. That's why I decided to come to you. Maybe you'll let me spend the night with you.”

“I see, you couldn't get your friends and people in trouble, so you remembered a weird foreigner and said to yourself, “Oh, he's not Japanese, I don't care if he gets into trouble,” is not correct?” David grinned bitterly. “I-I hadn't thought of that, j-just because no one knows you, I thought it wouldn't be a problem,” Akira stammered, surprised by his remarks.

Then, after a brief pause, he replied, “You're right; I didn't think I'd be chased or that someone would find out and you'd get in trouble. I thought it was dumb.” He half-bowed and added, “I'm sorry for bothering you, and I'm sorry that I lied. As I promised, I wouldn't bother you again.” He was about to walk up the stairs when the foreign boy grabbed his wrist and asked, “Are you serious about that you might be chased? Are they the same people who beat you last week?”

“I'm not sure what difference it makes to you. You better not get involved; let me go,” he said, trying to pry his wrist free from the boy's firm grip. David groaned and said, “I'm not low enough to let a man in trouble, with nowhere to hide, stay out on the streets at this time of night.” He then opened the door, said, “Come in,” and entered the house without waiting for his visitor to respond.

Confused, Akira waited there for a few moments and then hesitatingly entered the house. “You know I'm not a girl; you don't need to get yourself into trouble,” David replied as he sat down on the floor behind the table. “Please keep your voice down; don't disturb the neighbors; don't cause me to change my mind; come in.” Akira grumbled under his breath and pulled off his shoes. Just as he was about to enter the main room, David said, “Wait, please go to the bathroom, wash your feet and socks, then enter the room.”

- What? But my socks don't smell! I just wore it today!

- Maybe it doesn't smell, but at least since the evening when I saw you, your feet have been in those socks in your shoes. Go wash them and come back after that.

Akira took a deep breath, put the drinks on the side of the room, and walked to the bathroom himself. After making sure he was gone, David stood up, walked out of the building, and glanced down the alley. When he was satisfied that no one was there, he went back inside, shut the door, and lowered the chain behind it.

The foreign boy was sitting at the table, working on his laptop, when Akira emerged from the bathroom with his trouser legs up, washed feet, and washed socks in his hand. “I have used your towel,” he remarked as he walked to the balcony to spread the socks. “If you are sensitive, I will wash it before using it.”

David answered without looking at him, “It's not a problem; it's not the first time you've used it,” as he clipped on his socks, “Huh? I haven't touched your towel before,” he said, and then he sat down on the other side of the table and stretched his legs. “You didn't use it personally, but I dried you with the same towel last week,” David replied as he worked.

Akira, who had just remembered, said with a frown, “Why did you take off my clothes?” David stopped working, looked at him over the top of his glasses, and said, “Firstly, because your clothes were wet and dirty from the rain and falling on the garbage, I couldn't put you on the bed like that, and secondly, I had to check that your body was not damaged and that there was no internal bleeding.” He raised an eyebrow and said, “Are you a doctor?”

- No, but anyone can recognize superficial injuries.

When he returned to work, Akira nodded and drew his shopping nylons towards him, pulling out a beer and asking the foreign boy, “Do you drink?” David shook his head and said, “I have to concentrate.”

Akira sighed, opened the lid of the can, took a sip, and said, “Why did you change your mind and let me come in? We don't know each other very well; aren't you afraid I'll make you trouble?” As he looked at the papers next to the laptop, he said, “If you didn't want to cause problems, you wouldn't have come here. Now that you've come, I'm your partner in trouble, whether I like it or not, so I'd rather be in trouble for something I did than something I didn't do.”

He gulped another bitter sip and added, “I said I'm sorry; suddenly this thought came to mind and I started walking,” as he wiggled his toes. “It's done,” David replied. “You can sleep on the bed; I have work now, then I'll sleep on the floor.” He glanced at him and replied, “But this is your house; I'm going to sleep in these corners; I've slept in worse places before.”

“I don't mind sleeping on the floor, so please sleep right on top of the bed; that way if I wake up at night, I'll remember I'm not alone,” David groaned. Akira paused before nodding.

As he unwrapped the bag of chips and offered it to David, he said, “Don't worry, I'll be out of here in the morning and I won't be bothered anymore.” He replied with a few seconds delay, “I hope so, and thank you; I don't eat chips.” As he was eating chips noisily, he said, “What are you doing at this time of night? Are you writing a report?”

- I am analyzing the results of the tests I did today.

- what?

- You don't need to know; it's an academic matter, almost like an accountant's audit of financial reports.

- oh, OK.

And he began eating again. “How tall are you?” he asked again after a while. David took a big breath and responded, “180 cm.” He furrowed his eyebrows and remarked, “You're just 10 cm taller than me? So, why do you appear so large?” But David remained silent and continued his work.

“Okay, I understand; you don't mind me; is it okay if I sleep?” Akira replied as he dropped the potato chips into the nylon. David gestured to the bed with his thumb without looking at him. Akira sighed, drew his Trouser leg down, stood up, and walked to the restroom. When he returned, David had moved to the opposite side of the table, facing the bed.

Akira approached the bed, sat down, and looked at David for a few moments before saying softly, “You don't like me, do you?” David came to a halt, raised his head, and stared Akira in the eyes. “Does it matter to you?” he asked after a little pause. He shrugged and added, “I've been with a lot of people, but you're the first person to make me feel out of place like this, maybe because you're a foreigner,” David muttered bitterly and said, “Maybe” and returned his gaze to the monitor.

“I'm sorry to bother you; good night,” Akira grumbled. He was ready to lie down when he heard David's voice remark, “Maybe because of your hair,” and he sat back in amazement, saying, “What?”

- I said maybe I don't like you because of your hair color.

He said with a frown, “What's wrong with my hair color? Are you foreigners not used to this color?” David raised his head and said, “Blonde hair is normal only in the cold and northern countries; in other countries, it is not so normal. Besides, those blondes are natural, not the yellow one you did; blonde hair doesn't suit everyone.”

He grumbled under his breath as he ran his fingers through his hair, “But I spent 5000 yen on this.” David smiled and said, "Get up, turn off the light and go to sleep, I think you have more important things to do than thinking about your hair color."

- Do you no longer wish to work?

- I'm not going to write anything; the light from the laptop screen is enough; I'm almost finished; please turn it off.

He sighed, switched out the lamp, sat on the bed, and whispered “Good night” as he turned his back on the foreign boy, to which a soft voice replied, “Good night, Akira-san.”

***

When he opened his eyes in the morning light, the room was illuminated by the clock, which read 8:15. He sat on the bed, tilting his head. The foreign boy was lying on the floor, his back to him, not far from the bed. He'd tucked The room was lit by the morning light when he opened his eyes. He glanced at the clock in the room, which showed 8:15. He sat on the bed and turned his head. The foreign boy was lying on the floor with his back to him, a little distance from the bed. He had put his backpack under his head and was wearing a jacket instead of a bed sheet. He had his backpack under his chin and was dressed in a jacket instead of a bed sheet.

Akira was embarrassed after witnessing this scene. He had come here simply for himself; this lad lived alone, and his only place to sleep and accessories were this bed, which he had given him so that he might sleep peacefully. Instead, he had not only offered him nothing in exchange for his assistance, but he had also placed him in danger by coming there.

He got up, didn't want to bother him more by waking him up. He slowly took off his socks and put them on. As soon as he wanted to put on his shoes, he thought that he had left without thanking or saying goodbye last time. He slowly returned to the room, took a piece of paper and a pen from the table, wrote something, put it on the table, and quietly left the house.

On the way, he bought a takoyaki and ate it while going to the station. It was almost an hour by train to the nearest Shinagawa station to the boss's house, and after that, he had to walk for 10 minutes. It would be better to gather people as soon as possible and teach those disgusting spiders a proper lesson. With this thought, he took the last bite of his takoyaki and entered the station.

***

He was uneasy in that large old mansion, as he often was. As he sat on his knees in the meeting room, the sliding door opened, and a young man dressed in black pants and vest, white shirt, and black tie, with a scar on his right cheek, entered and said to Akira, “Boss, see you in a few minutes. What occurred to bring you here so suddenly? You always notify me before coming.”

Akira shifted slightly and fixed his gaze on the young man. Mikitani Seiji was one of Yonkiko's two lieutenants with the rank of Sateigashira and one of the boss's confidantes. “Because of those Nakayama scumbags!” he grumbled. “Mikitani-san, they're starting a ruckus! They broke into my apartment last night!” Mikitani said in surprise, “Did you get into a fight with them? You look healthy yourself.”

- No, they broke into my house while I was away, screwed everything up, and ruined the furniture and the house.

- How do you know it was their work if you didn't see them?

“Who else could it be?” he frowned. “To scare me, they drew a red spider on the table at home! They left the gas valve open, and if I hadn't been paying attention, I'd be in another world right now if I had turned on the power!” The man nodded and thought.

At the same time, a middle-aged, square-shouldered man with curly hair, a professorial beard, and traditional Japanese clothes entered the room. Akira stepped up and bowed, “Good morning, boss.” As he sat down, the man said with a big smile, “I see you're full of energy, Shinka, why did you come to visit me? You're usually a runaway from here” and laughed out loud.

Yonkiko Tetsuji, the group's leader, was the third generation after his father and grandfather. He had spent around 27 years of his 58-year life as the group's leader. Akira knelt and repeated to the chief what he had informed Mikitani-san.

“I'm sorry about your house and stuff, son, but there's no good evidence that it's their work” the man replied as he rubbed his beard after Akira concluded. “It could be the work of other small groups; perhaps they aim to pit us against each other with this strategy” Akira said in disbelief, “But boss, all these things started after the death of boss Nakayama! They even attack our lads!”

The man sighed and said, “Yes, I heard that, but in those attacks, there is no solid reason that it was the work of Keizo's men.” Akira replied as he attempted to restrain his wrath, “You mean you wouldn't let us engage with them?”

- Of course not; our conflict with the Nakayama group has only harmed both parties. I will dispatch someone to speak with Keizu; he is young but not stupid, and I am confident he will follow up and the misconceptions will be resolved.

Then he glanced at him and said, “Be careful, Shinka; don't do something stupid. I don't want our people to get involved in a useless war and get hurt for no reason.” Akira, who had fisted his hands on his knees, responded with a pause, “Whatever you say, boss,” the man nodded his head in pleasure and remarked with a smile, “I suggest you change your house; our building in Shinjuku is under repair starting today, if you want. You can remain here until you find a place; we have plenty of room.”

- Thank you, boss. I'd better find a place to be in Shinjuku and near my men. If you allow me to leave your presence,

- Whatever you want, my son, don't be ashamed if you change your mind. You know that many of our men, like this Mikitani, are staying here.

He then burst out laughing. Akira stood up and bowed, and as he headed towards the door, the boss's voice shouted from behind him, “Take care of yourself, Shinka, and try not to look for trouble.” He nodded and exited the room with a goodbye.

***

As he walked angrily and aimlessly through the streets of Shinjuku, he muttered under his breath, “Stupid old man! It's even more obvious that this is the work of those bastards! He's getting older, and his courage has decreased! He just knows how to sit in that old house and Remember his past memories!”

- You seem angry.

He looked up, shocked to see the foreign boy standing in front of him. “Are you following me?” he asked, frowning. David raised his eyebrows and said, “I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm just coming home and you're on your way.” Akira looked around with a frown and noticed that he was standing near the building where the boy lived. He must have come here because he was distracted. Akira sighed and stepped out of his way, saying nothing. David took a step, then looked at him and asked, "Did you eat lunch?"

- What?

- Can't you hear me, Akira-san? I asked, did you have lunch?

Akira frowned and said “No, what's the difference?” David raised the nylon in his hand, waved it and said “I bought a lot of stuff, now you're here, so let's go eat together” and walked away without waiting for an answer. Akira surprised, stood still for a few seconds and then walked after him with a shrug.