Chapter Ten

The girl enjoys studying with him. At first, she was against her grandmother's suggestion to learn from this foreign stranger, but after the first session and seeing his mastery and patience in teaching, she changed her mind and always waited for the start of her class with him.

He taught her from 17:00 to 19:00 every day, but yesterday her young teacher called her grandma to let her know that today's class would be from 16:00 to 18:00. She gave him a quick glance as he read a book, took a moment to gather herself, and then pleasantly smiled as she said, “I have written the answers, Mr. Powell.”

David put the book on the table, took the exercise sheet from the girl, and after reviewing it, he said, “Well done, Haruka-chan; every time you do better than before, and your mistakes are fewer. At this rate of progress, you will be fully prepared for university entrance exams by the end of the holidays.”

Then, with a smile, he looked at the clock that showed 17:57 and added, “Well, I think that's enough for today; you can pack your things.” The girl looked at the clock with annoyance and slowly started to collect her books and notes. She had no idea why her young teacher had started class earlier than usual today, but she wished she could have spent a little more time with him.

David glanced at her, who was packing but staring at him, and asked, “Is something wrong, Haruka-chan? Do you have any questions?” The girl said with the same vague expression, “Why did you hold the class earlier today?” Then she suddenly came to herself, bowed her head, and said, “I-I'm sorry, Mr. Powell, I didn't mean to pry.”

David smiled and said, “It's no problem; I have nothing to hide. One of my friends is going to come here today, and he'll be here in about half an hour. That's why I wanted the class to be held earlier so that if he arrives, you won't be uncomfortable.” The girl was surprised by her teacher's explanation and attention; she shyly said, “Thank you, Mr. Powell,” and wondered who her friend might be. Even though they only spent two hours together per day, she had never witnessed her teacher interact with anyone throughout these six sessions.

Maybe it's his girlfriend, she reasoned to herself. This notion caused her to blush a little, and she felt humiliated. She hurriedly got up and said, “Thank you for today, Mr. Powell; with your permission, I will be off” and started towards the corridor. David remarked as he stood up and led her to the door, “Take care of yourself on the way, and by the way, tomorrow's class is at 17–19; don't forget.”

She turned her head as she opened the door and replied, “Sure, Goodbye,” but as soon as she stepped outside, she was met by a boy who was somewhat taller than her. The young Japanese boy was dressed in a black T-shirt and black pants, and his black hair covered part of his ears and forehead. He was holding a suit cover and a bag in his hands while frowning at the girl. He had a lovely face overall, but his eyes were not friendly.

The girl was shocked for a moment until David stood behind her in the doorway and said to the Japanese boy, “Hey, you came? You arrived early; I thought you would be late.” The boy turned his gaze from the girl to the foreign boy, and Haruka clearly saw that his eyes and face became friendly and soft, and he said with a smile, “I left home early, Big Boy. The time of the party has changed.”

The girl, who felt extra between them, took a little distance from the door and said with a bow, “I'm leaving, Mr. Powell.” David smiled and replied, “Bye, take care of yourself on the way.” The girl nodded and turned her back to the scene of the Japanese boy's entry into the house. As she went down the stairs, she thought to herself, how did Mr. Powell become friends with a Japanese boy? He admitted that the boy was young and handsome, but his eyes were like those of criminals, something like the eyes of a wild wolf.

***

As he threw his things on the bed, he said, “I'm sorry I didn't know your class wasn't over yet; otherwise, I would have been a little late.” David smiled, brought him a glass of cool juice, and replied, “Don't worry, it was over; you saw her leaving.” Then he looked at his belongings and added, “A bag and a suit cover, do you mean all these clothes are necessary for a party?”

Akira smiled shyly and said, “Ah, well, that suit cover is for tonight; I brought the bag to leave it here.” David raised his eyebrows and said, “Put it here?” Then he gave a mischievous smile and continued, “Wait a minute, aren't there drugs in it? Maybe some dealing money? Oh, or maybe a gun.”

Akira, who was drinking juice, coughed and said with a laugh, “Your imagination is great, but, to make it clear, our boss is against any sort of drug dealing or distribution. We don't even use guns, and about money, it's the 21st century; don't believe what you see in the movies; transferring money is very simple and is done through bank accounts.” Then he added with a bit of embarrassment, “There are clothes inside that bag; I brought it to stay here so that if I come to you sometime and stay the night, I will have clothes.”

David smiled and said, “Oh, so you finally used your brain.” The Japanese boy frowned with a smile and said, “You want to get hit again?” He laughed and answered with his hands raised as a sign of surrender, “No thanks, it still hurts from before.”

Akira laughed, and as he was sipping the rest of his drink, David said, “You did say the schedule changed; what did you mean?” He put the empty glass on the table and answered, “First, the party was supposed to be at 9:00 PM, but it seems that something happened to one of the guests and he had to leave earlier, so the time was changed to 8:00 PM.”

David nodded and said, “How far is it from here to the party?” Akira thought and said, “If there is a car, it will take about 10 minutes, although I have to go to the office first, and from there we will go to the place with the boss and the rest of the members.”

- How far is this office from here?

- About 40 minutes on foot; if I go by city train, about 10–15 minutes, including the distance between the stations. why?

David looked at the clock and said, “It's 18:20; it's good that you came soon; you should get ready early and take the train to reach your colleagues on time.” He got up and added, “Go take a shower; I'll take a look at your clothes before you come.” The Japanese boy said confusedly, “Why shower? I took a bath in the morning.”

- Why not? You came here in this heat and sweated; don't waste your time; go take a quick shower.

Akira sighed, then stood up with a smile and said, “You really look like mom.” He took clothes from the bag and walked towards the bathroom. When David unzipped the suit cover, he discovered three formal shirts: one black and two white, one black and one white with long sleeves, and the other with short sleeves. Inside the cover were also black fabric pants with a leather belt and silver clasp, as well as two ties, one red and one black.

As the sound of water came from the bathroom, he removed all the clothes from the cover and placed them on the bed. None of them were ironed or without wrinkles. The black shirt had a little dandruff, and the white long-sleeve shirt had a stain on the collar.

He shook his head with a sigh, took the short-sleeved shirt and pants, threw them on the table, and went to the closet. He took out a clothes hanger and an iron from the closet and sat at the table.

He was almost done when the sound of the water in the bathroom stopped. He also got up and hung the prepared clothes. When the sound of the bathroom door came, he turned to complain to the Japanese boy about the bad condition of the clothes, but he was suddenly shocked.

Akira came out in only his underwear, waving a towel over his hair. David said confusedly, “W-What are you doing?! Why aren't you dressed?!” He looked at him from under the towel and answered, “I don't want to get dressed; I want to wear the party clothes directly.” David frowned, took his own towel, which was bigger, and wrapped it around Akira's body, and angrily said, “You catch cold, idiot!”

Akira, who was shocked by his movement, said confusedly, “O-Okay, why are you angry?” The foreign boy closed his eyes a little, took a deep breath, and said, “Sit on the bed.” Akira sat quietly on the bed as David stood in front of him and started drying his hair with a towel.

When he was done, he removed the towel from his head and, seeing his puffy hair, smiled and said, “Now dry your hair nicely.” Akira frowned and said, “But my hair...”

- Don't worry, I will fix them after you get dressed. Did you bring an undershirt with you?

- Undershirt? No, I don't have it because I don't use it.

David sighed, went to the closet again, came back with a package, and said, “I bought this when I came to Japan, but it's too small for me; it might be a little loose for you, but it's better than nothing.” As he dried his body, he replied, "No need; I don't wear an undershirt."

- It is necessary to wear it under shirts and formal clothes, especially in this weather when people sweat a lot.

Then he suddenly remembered and added, “By the way, what are these ridiculous clothes you brought with you? Why are your shirts all wrinkled and dirty?” Akira sighed and answered shyly, “I said I don't like wearing shirts; that's why I didn't pay attention to them.” David sighed and said, “You're lucky; one of them was usable; I ironed your pants and shirt.” Then he took an undershirt out of the package, held it towards him, and said, “Come on, put it on; you have to get ready.”

As Akira was putting on the undershirt, David took the ironed shirt off the hanger and walked over to him, said, “Well, now it's time for the shirt,” and handed him the shirt. The Japanese boy passed his hands through its sleeves and waited. David said in surprise, “What are you waiting for? Close the buttons.”

Akira nervously said, “I-I can't.” David raised his eyebrows and said, “Are you kidding me? Finish it before it's too late,” he said, walking over to the ties himself to pick one. The Japanese boy frowned as he began to fasten the buttons, but every time he clicked the wrong button.

David, who was secretly looking at him, sighed, stood in front of him, and said, “Why are you so nervous? If you shut up slowly, your problem will be solved.” But seeing the Japanese boy's embarrassed face, he smiled and jokingly said, “Oh, I forgot that Mr. Thunder is a prince and the servants always fix his shirt buttons.”

Akira frowned as he thought he was being mocked. He raised his head to vent his anger, but seeing the smile and sense of humor in the foreign boy's eyes, his frowns widened, and he just shyly looked away from him. David slowly unbuttoned his shirt and closed them correctly from the beginning and said, “Now put on the pants; I already attached the belt; remember to put the shirt in your pants.”

According to his friend's directions, the Japanese boy put on his pants and stuffed his shirt inside. David approached him with a black tie and stated, “This is better than red.” Then he put the tie around his neck, knotted it, but didn't tighten it. He took a little step back and looked at him. Akira said confusedly, “Why didn't you button my collar and tighten my tie?”

- Please be patient; I need to fix your hair first. You'd be heated and irritated if I tightened it, so sit on the bed while I prepare your hair.

Akira nodded and sat on the bed. As the foreign boy searched his closet for something, he thought again about why this boy was so kind to him and helping him. Until now, except to accompany him on the trip to Nagoya, he had not asked for anything in return for his attention and kindness.

Meanwhile, David, who had discovered his hair dryer, approached him with a spray of water and a comb. He sprayed his hair with water and began brushing it without saying anything. Akira impatiently said, “You don't want to do too much; just let it be like always.” The foreign boy just said “no” in response. He turned on the hair dryer and began to style her hair.

After a few minutes, he turned off the hair dryer, took a step away from him, and, satisfied with the results of his work, nodded and smiled, “Okay, good.” He then bent down, buttoned his collar, fixed his tie, and said, “Now you can see yourself in the mirror.”

Akira sighed and stood in front of the mirror, looking at his reflection. He couldn't remember the last time he was this clean and neatly dressed; it had to be his high school entrance ceremony. His clothes were immaculately ironed, his tie was absolutely symmetrical and expertly tied, and his hair was perfect.

His hair normally covered part of his ears and forehead, but today his ears were exposed and the hair on both sides of her head was brushed back. The upper half of the hair was also pushed back, but it leaned slightly to the right in the forehead. For a brief while, he imagined himself like Mikitani-san.

The foreign boy's voice brought him out of his thoughts: “How is it? Are your hair and clothes okay?” Akira paused and said, “It's not bad, but I'm more comfortable with normal hair and normal clothes.” David smiled, came next to him, and as he looked at his through the mirror, he said, “For normal, maybe, but for this is a business and formal party, with this appearance, you look more mature and you've become very handsome.”

He was right; the image in the mirror no longer looked like a high school boy, and even without dyeing his hair, it was clear that he was an adult. He looked at the clock, sighed, and said, “I have to go; it's getting late.” Before he put on his shoes, the foreign boy came next to him and tapped something on his armpits and on the side of his collar. Akira frowned. “What are you doing? What did you do?”

- Nothing; simply a cool cologne appropriate for this official appearance.

Akira sighed and said, “I don't want to go to a wedding.” He tried to put on his usual shoes but saw that they were replaced by a clean pair of black men's formal shoes. He said in surprise, “What are these? Where are my shoes?” David rolled his eyes and replied, “You really wanted to wear sneakers? Do you like being made fun of at a party?” He turned to him with a frown and said, “No one can make fun of me!”

- Yes, if you go with your current appearance, no one will make fun of you. So don't argue; it will be too late. I put some cotton in the tip to make it your size. Wear it soon.

Akira paused for a while, but finally realized the logic of the foreign boy's words and put on the shoes. It was a little loose for him, but the cotton made it easy to walk in. He walked to the door and said, “Alright, I'm leaving.” David smiled and replied, “Bye, good luck.”

He opened the door but stopped in the doorway, turned to the foreign boy, and looked at him. David raised his eyebrows and said, “Is something wrong? Are the shoes bothering you?” He shook his head as a sign of negation, and the foreign boy asked again, “So what? Go, you're getting late.” Akira looked at him and said, “Thank you; you helped me a lot.” David laughed and said, “I didn't do anything special; go quickly before you're late.” He smiled, nodded, and left the house.

***

Tajima looked at his watch and said to the old man, “I'm sorry, boss, we were supposed to meet on time here; no matter how many times I call, his phone has no signal.” The old man nodded and said, “Don't worry so much, Tajima. It's true that he hates formal parties, but I'm sure he'll come, so please don't walk so much and stand, or come sit in the car.”

Meanwhile, Mikitani said, “He came,” then added hesitantly, “Of course I think so.” The old man looked out the car window at the street and saw a neatly dressed young man coming towards them. Akira walked up to them, bowed to the car, and said, “I'm sorry for being late, boss; the train was delayed at one of the stations.”

The old man raised his eyebrows and said, “You're so handsome, Shinka; I didn't recognize you at first,” and Mikitani, who was standing next to the car, nodded his head in approval of the boss' words and said, “This hairstyle suits you; you smell so good.” Tajima said restlessly, “It's getting late, boss; shouldn't we go?”

- Sure, gentlemen, get in the car.

Mikitani sat in the back seat next to the boss, Tajima drove, and Akira sat next to him as they drove to their destination.

***

The man said as he nodded admiringly, “Mr. Yonkiko, you have some graceful bodyguards and underlings; I am very happy to see this talented young man again, although I must say he is very different from last time.” The boss smiled and glanced at Akira, then replied, “Oh, thank you, Mr. Ling; this boy is one of my best and most trusted men.”

The third middle-aged man, who was slightly overweight, said, “Oh yes, I didn't know him at first either. Mr. Shinka worked very hard to coordinate and complete this deal.” Akira bowed anxiously and replied, “Thank you, Mr. Hong; I only performed my duty.”

He was completely anxious to be in the company of these three men and stayed with the boss only out of compulsion. The boss said with a smile, “Well, gentlemen, we'd better go to the dinner table,” but Mr. Ling raised his hand and said, “I'm sorry, Mr. Yonkiko, but as I informed you before, I have to leave your service early and catch the plane.”

The old man smiled and said, “Of course, my friend, of course. Thank you for being with us tonight despite your busy schedule. Have a safe flight.” The man half bowed, said goodbye to the others, and left the hall with the young woman who had accompanied him.

Hong said impatiently, “Well, I think we'd better get to our food, because I'm very hungry.” The boss laughed and said, “Of course.” Then he pointed his hand towards the dining table and said as he left, “Shinka, you can go with Seiji, and Mr. Hong's companions sit at the side table." Akira bowed and said, Yes, boss.”

The Japanese boy moved away from them to a side table. He sighed as he drew the chair back and sat next to Mikitani. The man smiled at him and said, “You did well, both in preparing this party and in the contracts.” Akira nodded, but just as he was ready to say something, a man and a lady sat in the chairs across from them. The woman was in her late thirties, short yet alert. A man with a massive, square-shouldered body form sat in front of him, his long hair wrapped in a ponytail, and his face was rough; however, because of his big figure, he reminded him a little of his new friend.

Mikitani cleared his throat and said, “These two are Ms. Xiaozhi and Mr. Feng, Mr. Hong's companions,” then pointing at Akira, he added, “He is also the Shinjuku District Manager of the Yonkiiko Group, Mr. Shinka.”

Akira bowed, and the guests nodded back. There was no more conversation after the food arrived. After the meal, the huge man, like Akira, remained mute, and the woman and Miktani only spoke about work issues.

He was bored by the party and wanted to leave as soon as possible. They left the building around 22:40 and reached into their car. On the way, the boss said, “Well done, Shinka; both Hong and Ling complimented you a lot. They also took you seriously because of how you looked tonight. Good, son, I think you've matured.”

Akira said, confused, “T-Thanks, boss.” Then Mikitani added it with a smile. “I think he deserves a reward, right, boss?” The old man laughed and said, “Of course, I'll give him 0.5 percent of the contract amount,” then turned to Akira and asked, “Are you satisfied?”

The triple contract between their company and the Hong and Ling companies was worth about 800 million yen (about 5.6 million dollars), and 0.5% of that is 4 million yen, which is not a small amount of money. Akira said confusedly, “T-That's too much money, boss. I-I...”

- You don't have to be humble, son. You worked hard, so you deserve it.

- Thank you, boss. But I was not alone. Tajima-san and Mikitani-san also helped me a lot.

The old man laughed and said, “You hear it guys, that's what they call a real yakuza. I like it, Shinka. Okay, so I'll give each of you 2 million as a reward, okay?” All three men said in unison, “Thank you, boss.” The man waved his hand with a smile and added, “Ah, Shinka, do you want us to take you home on the way?”

- Oh, no, thank you, boss, it's late; if Tajima-san drops me off near the station, I'll go myself.

- Okay, my son, as you wish. Tajima, please stop near the station.

- Yes, boss.

***

He pressed the bell and waited, but there was no answer. He rang the bell again, waited for almost a minute, then sighed, but just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of the latch opening. The door opened, and the foreign boy stood at the door threshold with sleepy eyes.

Akira gave a shy smile and said, “Ah, I'm sorry, I thought you'd stay up more at night since you're on vacation.” Then he continued hesitantly, “I-I won't bother you; go to sleep; I'll see you later.” He tried to move, but David grabbed his wrist, and with the same sleepy look, he pulled him inside and closed the door.

The Japanese boy was taken aback and left speechless. David brought him to the bed with half-opened eyes, laid him on the bed, and stood in front of him for a moment with the same expressionless and unfocused gaze. Akira felt that his figure had become even bigger than before, and a sense of ridiculous fear fell into his heart. Just as he was ready to fight back, the foreign boy staggered, slowly fell to his knees, and his head fell on the bed and the Japanese boy's lap.

Akira said confusedly, “H-Hey! Are you alright?” He took a closer look at the boy, but he was only sleeping. He looked in surprise at the shaking of his body due to his breathing and heavy breaths from sleep. Does that mean he walked in his sleep and opened the door?

He smiled and looked at her kindly. With this big body, he was nothing but a raw youth. He slowly put his hand on her head and said under his breath, “It's still strange to me how we met. But you know, you helped me as much as all the people I've known in my 27 years, especially the last 11 years.” He whispered with a smile, “Thank you, David.”

***

He opened his eyes, feeling neck spasms and discomfort. He had the sensation that he had fallen asleep while seated and that his head was resting on something warm and slightly soft. He blinked many times, shook his head, and twisted his head. Someone was sleeping near him on his bed, and he had such a familiar face.

He rubbed his eyes, looked again, and suddenly his eyes widened. The Japanese boy was laying in the same formal clothing on the bed, his legs dangling from the bed, exactly where his head had been a few moments ago. He touched the boy with a trembling hand and heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed him breathing. But how did he come here? He looked at the clock, which showed 7:35. He thought to himself that maybe he had entered the house in the middle of the night while he was sleeping, using the spare key.

But why is he lying on the bed like this, and why was his head on the boy's thigh? At the same time, Akira slowly opened his eyes, gave a sleepy look to the foreign boy, and said with a smile, “Are you awake, Big Boy? My whole leg hurts.”

David said shamefully, “I'm sorry; I'm not sure how I ended up sleeping here. I-I didn't mean anything bad, I just…just…” Akira sat down on the bed and said with a smile, “Relax, nothing happened. It's actually my fault,” Then he explained how he got to his house after the party around midnight and how he was dragged in and how this happened.

David lowered his head in shame, knelt down in Japanese style, bowed, and said, “I'm sorry, I don't remember what I did. But I made you sleep like that in your clothes until morning. I'm so sorry.” Akira, who was embarrassed, immediately said, “Come on, please don't kneel in front of me like that. It was an accident,” then added with a smile, “But with this outfit and the clothes you made for me, you helped me a lot.” David looked at him, raised his eyebrows, and said, “Really? How?”

- Will you let me change my clothes first and go to the bathroom? I can't hold myself anymore.

- Ah, yes, yes, I'm sorry. Go do your work; I will prepare breakfast. Tell me at the same time.