Chapter Fifteen

Riki enjoys spending time with this foreign boy. Maybe it was strange that he felt like this at this age, but he felt like he was reborn, and the world took on a different color for him. As he happily helped David prepare the food, he said, “This may sound annoying, but can you tell me a little about yourself?”

The foreign boy said as he tasted the food being prepared, “I don't have much; if you want to know anything, ask me, and I'll answer as much as I can.” Riki paused, then asked, “How long have you been in Japan?”

- I think it's been about 9 or 10 months now.

- Which university do you study at?

- University of Tokyo

Riki whistled and said, “You must be very smart to get accepted there; that university is like a dream for Japanese people.” David shrugged and said, “I can't say I'm smart; maybe it's better to say I try hard.” Riki nodded and said, “It makes sense.” Then he added with a smile, “Well, Mr. Hardworking, may I ask how old you are?”

David gave a small laugh and said, “I don't think you'd believe me if I told you.” The Kyoto boy smiled and replied, “It won't hurt to try it.”

- Okay, I am 25.

- What?! Come on, David-chan, it's impossible! You mean you are younger than me?!

This time it was the foreign boy's turn to be surprised, he looked at him and said, “I thought you were 22 or 23 years old, but I guess I was wrong, are you the same age as Akira?”

- No, I am one year older than him; I am 28 years old. Ah, of course, I will be 29 in the fall.

David raised his eyebrows and said, “It's really unbelievable; you Japanese people look much younger than your age. I remember watching a Japanese documentary once where they were talking to a middle-aged woman. From her appearance, I thought she must be my mother's age or A little younger than her, but when her name and age were subtitled, I realized that she is 20 years older than my mother!”

Riki laughed and said, “Well, it's the other way around for you foreigners. At best, I thought you were my age. Of course I'd be happy to look younger than my age.” Then winked at the foreign boy. David laughed and handed her the dishes to set on the table.

As they were eating, the Kyoto boy asked without introduction, “Do you have a girlfriend?” At this sudden question, food got stuck in David's throat; he coughed a few times, drank some water, and then answered “No.” Riki said as he laughed, “Now why are you so messed up?”

- Well, your question was very sudden.

Riki said with a smile, “I'm sorry, but I'm really curious. Haven't you had a girlfriend since you came to Japan?” David sighed, shook his head, and started eating. Riki said as he chewed on a bite, “I can't believe it; you're such a handsome guy. How come college girls aren't attracted to you yet?”

David shrugged and said, “It's not all about looks. I'm a loner; I prefer to be alone and not involve myself with others. It still amazes me how I became at ease with Akira and then with you. Particularly you, whom I know far less than he.”

With a proud smile, Riki joked, “It's all because of my natural charm; I won your heart with one look.” David laughed and said, “If you didn't have that tongue, what would you be doing?” Then he added with a sad smile, “I really don't know why you approached me, Riki. I don't have many friends; outside of university, I only know Akira, but he is getting tired of me because I'm a boring person, and his behavior shows it.”

Riki frowned and said, “You're not a boring person. I admit that at first I approached you just to annoy Akira, but now I feel comfortable around you and I can be myself without being judged.” Then he looked around the room and added, “This house feels good; I want to come here more and get to know you better.”

David said with a bitter smile, “Thank you for your kind words, Riki; you are a good person. Sometimes I really don't understand how guys as good as you and Akira can be yakuza. I feel good with you, but...” he paused, then continued with a sigh, “I will probably leave this house in a week or two.”

Ricky put his food dish on the table and asked seriously, “Are you in trouble because of the fight two weeks ago?” David replied belatedly, “N-No, I just need to focus more on my studies and spend more time in the lab, so I'm going to move to a dorm near the university. That way I can work late.”

The Kyoto boy raised an eyebrow and said, “Is it a money issue? If you have financial problems, I can help you.” David shook his head and said, “Thanks for the offer, but I don't need it. Let's continue our meal; I'm not going far away; of course you're going to Kyoto; I promise I'll definitely visit you if I come there,” he said, and he started eating. Riki looked at him doubtfully but didn't ask any more questions and continued eating.

When they finished eating, Riki again volunteered to wash the dishes. He asked as he washed the dishes, “Well, you don't want to ask anything? Aren't you curious about me?” David answered as he was leaning against his bed, “I'm not a nosy person; everyone has things in their life that they don't want to talk about. A proverb in my country says, there is no beautiful garden without worms in its soil.”

Riki laughed and said, “Oh, so I'm a garden full of worms now?” David replied with a smile, “You know what I mean, it was just a proverb.” Riki came back to the room as he dried his hands and sat across from him at the table. “You really don't want to know anything about me and my past? I know that you know what I was like before I came to Yonkiko's group.”

David sighed and said, “You're over that; I don't want to pry into your personal life.” Riki paused a bit and said, “What if I tell you myself?” The foreign boy looked at him and said, “Why? It's definitely not a good memory to remember, so why do you want to bother yourself with talking about it?”

Riki shrugged and said, “I don't know, but I want to tell you. I want you to know about me and then decide if I'm still worth being your friend or not.” David frowned and said, “Whether I know or not, my opinion won't change. Don't torture yourself.” The Kyoto boy looked into his eyes and said, “So you don't care enough to listen to my words?”

David took a deep breath and said, "Your tongue melts stone. Okay, I'll listen, but if I feel you're insulting yourself or bluffing, I'll kick you out of the house, okay?" Riki gave a small laugh and said, "Whatever you say."

***

- I was 12 years old when my parents divorced. My mother took care of me; she rented a small house around Kyoto so that we could live together. In the beginning, my mother tried to earn our living expenses by working at other people's houses, but as time went by, the expenses increased and the house rent was heavy. Slowly, I noticed that sometimes she goes out with different people, especially at night.

He sighed and continued, “Little by little, our life situation got better; my mother paid more attention to her appearance, and the same to me; then we changed our house and rented a nice, clean house in Kyoto. At first, when I was a child, I didn't understand, but Little by little, when I turned 14, I realized that I owe this good life to my mother's prostitution.”

He paused a bit, as if struggling with his memories. David slowly said, “You don't need to tell everything; this is enough,” but Riki shook his head as a sign of negation and continued his words, “My beautiful face was like my mother's, and at the same time, in school, I was the attention of girls and also of boys. I had learned to fool everyone without dirtying myself, just with my tongue and my beauty. I would make girls cry, and boys would serve me.”

He fisted his hands and continued, “But everything changed when I was 15 years old. I was in my last year of middle school when my mother married one of her clients. At that time, my mother was 36 years old, and the man was 40 years old. A rich bastard who thought He used to own everything with money.”

- In the beginning, he treated me very well and always called me ‘my son’. But little by little, I noticed his unusual behavior. He would take me to the swimming pool, public bath, or hot spring under various excuses and rub himself on me wherever he could. Finally, one night, when he was drunk, he came to my room...

Suddenly, his voice stopped. He realized that the foreign boy had stood up; he smiled bitterly to himself and said in his heart, “Like he hates me, now he wants to throw me out.” He closed his eyes and waited for David's insults. But the foreign boy walked to the fridge and returned to him, saying, “Take this.”

When he opened his eyes, he noticed a can of beer spread out in front of him. He took a look at the can, then at the foreign boy. Finally, David said, “It's for Akira; I don't usually drink, but I think you should.” The foreign boy put the can in Riki's hands, returned to his place, leaned on the bed, and said, “By the way, you've put too much pressure on yourself so far; you shouldn't force yourself to remind yourself of such bitter memories. So you don't need to continue.”

As he was playing with a can in his hands, he said, “You mean you don't hate me?” David raised his eyebrows and said, “Why should I be? In what you said, there was no fault on your part.” This was the first time Riki had heard these words in his life. He smiled bitterly and said, “But my mother had a different opinion.” David said in disbelief, “What?!”

Ricky opened the lid of the can, took a sip, and said, “I cried a lot that night when he was done; I was in pain and didn't eat for a few days. I had decided to tell my mother, but when I remembered how my mother was poor and how Prostitution filled my stomach, I would regret it.” He took another sip and said, “But that bastard thought that my silence was due to satisfaction, so he repeated it two more times, and I was just crying until he was done. When he came to my room for the fourth time, I was empty like a shell. I uncontrollably took off my clothes and waited for him to finish his work and leave, but as soon as he wanted to start his work, the room door suddenly opened.”

His hands were shaking, and he continued with a trembling voice, “It was my mother who was looking at us with disgust. I was both embarrassed and happy, happy that this torment will end now, but...” He took another sip, smiled bitterly, and added, “But that bitch started screaming and yelling, pulled me out from under that man, and beat me up. He called me a bastard and a prostitute and beat me so much that I passed out...”

David, feeling hot with anger, cursed under his breath and said, “I don't understand at all! It wasn't your fault! She should have supported you and immediately filed a complaint against that man for rape!” Riki said as he looked sadly at the can in his hands, “To her, that man's money and a carefree life were more important than me. You know what she told me? She said she wished I had never been born. So she was very comfortable after being divorced from my father; she could marry without difficulty and have a better life.”

David sighed sadly and said, “I'm really sorry to hear that; it's just so unfair!” Riki smiled sadly and said, “Everyone in this world is on their own mind.” He took another sip and continued, “They locked me in my room for two days, and then they forced me to go to a boarding school. It took me six months to recover a little and could live a normal life again, but the world was no longer meaningful to me.”

He drank a little more and said bitterly, “After that, I failed in my studies; I used to pass my exams by force, and for safety at school, I entered into relationships with stronger boys. I never saw my mother again, and I had no interest in seeing her; they only paid the school fees and sent a small amount of money to me every month.”

He drank the rest of the contents of the can and said, “After graduation, I came to Tokyo with the money I saved from my relationships to start a new life, but it was all a mirage. In the end, I had to become an Urisen in Shinjuku. I was used to dealing with men. Four years after coming to Tokyo, I happened to meet Mikitani-san.”

As his cheeks were red from drinking, he raised his head and frowned at David, saying, “Don't think that Mikitani-san was my client; he's a very nice man. I met him at a bar, and because I was drunk, I told him about my life story. He was also heartbroken and took me under his protection and entered me into Yonkiko's group.”

He hiccupped and continued, “Now you know why Akira and the others don't like me. Maybe I was innocent at first, but then I went ahead and used my beauty to get money.” With an unbalanced smile as tears fell from the corner of his eyes, he added, “You also have the right to hate someone like me, no matter how much it passes, I'm just a whor...”

Not letting him finish, David stepped forward, hugged the drunk boy, and said, “That's enough, Riki; don't say anything more, please. I'm really sorry that this happened to you, but in my opinion, you were not at fault. You are a different person now, so don't call yourself mean words anymore.”

The drunk boy raised his arms and hugged him, pressed his face to his shoulder, and tearfully asked, “You mean... you accept me? You mean I can really be a normal person...?” David replied as he stroked him gently on the back. “You've taken on your own identity now, man. You must leave your past behind and move forward with your life. You're gorgeous and intelligent, and I'm sure you're strong, or you wouldn't be in charge of the Yonkiku's group office in Kyoto at such a young age, so don't underestimate yourself.”

Riki separated himself from him a little, looked into the foreign boy's eyes, and asked, “Do you mean you are ready to accept me?” David raised his eyebrows and answered, “Sure, why not? We can be frien…” Suddenly, they heard something fall, so they both turned their heads towards the hallway.

Akira was looking at them with a shocked face while the shopping bag fell from his hand. David smiled happily and said, “It's good that you came; I think you should...” But suddenly Akira shouted and said, “Shut up, you bastard! You're a vile piece of trash! Be happy with the same bastard in front of you! If I see you again, I will break your neck myself!” And in the midst of the foreign boy's surprise, he left the house.

After a few seconds, David came to, but just as he was about to get up and go after Akira, Riki grabbed his hand and tearfully and drunkenly said, “Please don't leave me alone...” David looked at his sad eyes and drunken face, then looked at the door of the house. Anyway, he was going to leave Shinjuku soon; maybe this breakup was the best goodbye.

David sighed, sat back down next to Riki, and said, “I'm not going anywhere; don't worry.” The drunk boy gave a childish smile, then closed his eyes and fell into David's arms. The foreign boy was scared at first, but then he realized that he had fallen asleep because he was drunk. It was hard for him to put him on the bed with his hand in plaster, so he shifted himself and placed the sleeping boy's head on his own thigh.

David looked at his room and bed. About three months ago, there was another traumatized boy in this room who had left this home in disgust. He smiled bitterly to himself. He was always like that; he listened to others, shared their sorrows, and got involved in their problems. But in the end, they left him very easily.

He regretfully said under his breath, “Whether it's my country or Japan, people are always the same; they suddenly enter your life and suddenly leave you. The world neither waits for you nor moves according to your will.” He looked at the door and said, “Goodbye, Akira. Thank you for putting up with me all this time.”

***

Akira wanted to console the foreign boy for his behavior. He didn't want to act like that in front of him; he just wanted that sly fox to get away from him and also keep his distance from him to control his ridiculous emotions and prevent David from getting hurt by his own curse. He knew that David liked cantaloupe-flavored milk, so after finishing his work at the boss' house, he went back to Shinjuku, bought it along with some other snacks, and decided to go to his friend's house.

He hoped that the sly fox was gone and he could have some time alone with the foreign boy. He reached his house around 5 p.m. At first he wanted to ring the doorbell, but then he decided to surprise David by suddenly entering. He took the spare key from behind the mailbox, opened the door slowly, and entered.

From the front of the corridor, he saw David in the room as if he were kneeling in front of someone. Just as he was about to announce his entry, he heard Riki's voice saying, “You mean you are ready to accept me?” Akira gasped as if he had been electrocuted, turned his full attention to David to hear the answer, and heard the bitterest answer possible: “Of course.”

His ears didn't hear anything anymore, and the shopping bag fell from his hand to the ground. When the foreign boy's head turned towards him, he angrily said whatever he could and left the house. Now he was sitting in the station with empty eyes, and his mind was busy.

Why did this happen? Until two weeks ago, he thought that his life had finally changed. He finally found a reliable person to be happy with. Even in the bottom of his heart, he had found a little special feeling for him.

He smirked bitterly and said under his breath, “You're just an idiot, Akira; where is the logic of having feelings for another boy?” But even as he tried to convince himself, he felt a burning sensation in his eyes. All the memories of these three months—the trip to Gifu and Nagoya, the nights and days they were together, the trip to Sendai—passed before his eyes.

He collected himself, wiped his tears, and said under his breath, “So that was all pretend?” Then he nodded to himself. What was the point? He could never be with David. First of all, he himself had told the foreign boy that he was not interested in being with another boy, and secondly, it was the curse of his loneliness. Maybe it would have been better to let him stay with the same fox; at least he didn't have a problem with the fact that they were both male.

With a broken and heavy heart, he got up and boarded the train. He would probably never meet the foreign boy again. David hadn't followed him or called him, so he must have thought it was all over. He had to go back to his own harsh and lonely life.

***

About a week had passed since that night. Akira was busy with work issues and spent all his time messing with things; he even slept in the group building most of the nights. One night after that incident, David called him, but Akira hung up without paying attention and then blacklisted the foreign boy's number. Everything was over for him; now David's excuses didn't matter to him.

As he was talking with Tajima about some matters, there was a knock on the door, and after a pause, Riki entered the room. Akira felt his anger start, took a deep breath, got up, went to the window, and turned his back to the room, staring at the street.

Tajima said as he looked at Akira furtively, “Oh, Azuma, why are you here? Any news?” The Kyoto boy smiled and replied, “No, Tajima-san, I just came to say goodbye.” The man with glasses raised his eyebrows and said, “Are you going back to Kyoto?”

- Yes, I'm done here, and all the work is left in Kyoto. I'm leaving this afternoon.

Tajima stood up, walked over to him with a friendly smile, and said, “Very well, my friend, I hope you will be successful.” Riki smiled and said, “Thank you, Tajima-san.” He then looked over his shoulder at Akira, who was by the window, and asked, “Can you please leave me alone with him for a few minutes?”

A visibly worried Tajima said, “Azuma, please don't make trouble,” then added in a low, whispering voice, “It's been a week since his temper has gotten sharper than ever.” Riki replied with a smile, “Don't worry, I didn't come to fight; I just need to talk to him privately, please.”

Tajima looked at him a little hesitantly, then said in a clear voice, “Alright, I'm going to take a break and smoke a cigarette,” and left the room. As soon as Tajima left, Akira said, without turning to Riki, “You can get lost too.”

The Kyoto boy sighed and said, “I need to talk to you, idiot, because you are wrong.” Akira continued to ignore him and replied, “I don't care what you say; go have fun with your new lover; you two are equally annoying.” Riki frowned, came to him, and said, “Watch your mouth! I don't care what nonsense you say about me, but don't insult that boy!”

Akira looked at him with a smirk and said, “Oh, look at him defending his lover.” Riki barely restrained himself from punching him in the face and said with a voice shaking with anger, “Say whatever you want, but between me and him, there is nothing.”

Akira said with a mocking laugh, “Oh, so it was just a one-night stand?” Riki glared into his eyes, his gaze so warning that even Akira was a little scared. After a few moments, the Kyoto boy frowned and said, “You're an idiot, Shinka Akira! I was drunk that day, and I told that boy a whole bunch of nonsense stories about my dirty and muddy past, and he just tried to comfort me!”

He paused and added, “God knows how much I wanted him to accept me and make me his own! I didn't care one bit about you, idiot! But he's not that kind of person! He just listened to me and tried to comfort me without judgment! Be sure that if I had stayed in Tokyo, I would have tried so hard to finally get her. The person you are easily losing with your stupidity!”

Akira shouted angrily, “I don't care about any of that nonsense you said! I don't care about you; I don't care about that bastard foreigner! You two go to hell!”

Riki paused for a moment, then sighed and said, “Looks like I made a mistake coming here. I told you before, if you don't want him, I'll gladly take him, and rest assured, I will, if I ever see him again.” He walked towards the door, but as soon as he put his hand on the handle, he paused, then said softly, “You know he's leaving from Shinjuku?”

Akira turned to him in surprise and said, “What?!” Riki said as he opened the door, “He's handing over his house today; he told me he had to live near the university because of his studies, but I'm sure he lied. Anyway, I don't think he'll ever come back to Shinjuku.” Then he left the room without saying goodbye, leaving a stunned Akira alone.

Now that he was alone, the words of the damned fox were spinning in his head. Does that mean he really misunderstood? Does that mean there was really no relationship between David and Riki? It was no use for the Kyoto boy to come all the way here and lie to him. But what about the last word? Really... Was the foreign boy really about to leave?

He felt his heartbeat increase. He immediately took out his cell phone, removed David's number from the blacklist, and called it, but only met with the message “The number you called is not available in the network.” At the same time, Tajima entered the room. Seeing Akira's expression, he was shocked and asked, “What happened, Shinka? Why are you so pale? Are you okay?”

Akira looked at him without focusing and blinked a bit, then suddenly remembered something, searched in his phone for something, then held it out to Tajima and said, “Can you translate this?” Tajima hesitantly took the phone from his hand, looked at the English text image on it, and asked, “Anything important?”

Akira said impatiently, “Please! Can you or not?” The man sighed and studied the text; after a few minutes, he whistled and raised his eyebrows. Akira said confusedly, “Did it say something bad?” Tajima replied as he looked at the photo, “I don't know where you got this from, but its owner must be in trouble.”

Akira walked over to the man and said, “Please speak properly, Tajima-san. What is written there?” The man sighed and said, “The letter is from the university on the order of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The person to whom the letter was sent is studying with the support of a Japanese government scholarship. According to the police reports received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is written here that this suspicious person is cooperating in criminal and organized acts. For this reason, until further notice, all the rights and benefits he received from the scholarship, except for the university tuition, will be cut until the investigation by the Japan Government Scholarship Organization comes to a conclusion.”

Akira felt his eyes go black. It was his fault again; David had gotten into trouble for helping him, a serious trouble! The foreign boy knew he might get into more trouble, but he had gone all the way to Shinagawa and met the boss for Akira's sake.

But in return, Akira told him everything that came out of his mouth and blocked his number. He immediately walked without paying attention to Taijima's voice. He should have reached him sooner; he should have stopped his ridiculous pride, apologized to him, and helped him keep his house.

Half an hour later, he was standing in front of the foreign boy's door. He rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. He looked behind the mailbox, but the spare key was not there either. He hit the door several times with his fist and said, “Hey, Big Boy! Are you home?!”

At the same time, a girl came up the stairs with a bag in her hand. At first, she was shocked when she saw the yellow-headed young man, but then she looked down and stood in front of the side door to open it. Akira turned to her and said, “Excuse me, miss, do you know the owner of this house? Of course, I mean the tenant of this house.”

The young girl, who was shocked by the sudden question, said with stress, “I-I don't know him.” Akira sighed, turned to the door of David's house, and wanted to knock again. The girl said softly as she entered her own house, “I only know that he vacated the house this morning.” then she quickly entered her house, and a few moments later the sound of the door being locked was heard.

Akira cursed under his breath, took out his phone again, and dialed David's number, but still got no answer. He kicked the door of the house and angrily said, “Damn you!” Then he slowly took the phone down from his ear side, leaned his head against the door, and said under his breath, “You're such a damn fool, but I'm even more stupid than you for bringing this trouble to you.”