Traces of the Past

Misaki Ken was a person like me; I could see that.

He had pitch black hair, and his eyes weren't any better than mines. He was the kind of person who would watch people burn without any discomfort. As long as you cause no harm to it, he shouldn't cause you any. He had a tall, slim body, yet I was sure that he knew how to fight. He would be a perfect fit for the mafia, for sure. He wasn't very friendly, and he had a disciplined work ethic. I didn't get a chance to get close to him until the break, but even then, I chose not to since I didn't want him to get the wrong idea about me. I had to stay away from unnecessary intimacy.

It was obvious that he couldn't rest well, he took every little chance to rest in the staff room. It was making things a bit complicated for me, he was too into his job and had no time to chit-chat. We had a few words every now and then, but the progress was slower than I thought because of those reasons.

However, one day, something unexpected happened.

It seemed to be an ordinary day of work. Mr. Adachi was off due to his doctor appointment, so there was only me and Misaki looking after the bakery. In certain times, we had fewer customers than usual. People wouldn't visit a bakery until they got hungry, right? So, during those hours, we had a chance to relax. Maybe it wasn't as much as a restaurant would have, but still, it was good to have such a period during work hours. Yet, there were more people around the bakery than usual, and they were mostly around our age.

At first, I thought there was some kind of event going on in a school nearby, but there weren't any female students. I could see them sneaking a peek at the bakery, as if they had some business with us. I did my best to play dumb, as if I wasn't aware of anything, but Misaki seemed like he was really irritated. Of course, I was well aware that this crowd wasn't for the better. As I said before, it wasn't hard for me to see trouble coming.

"I'll take some fresh air," said Misaki while taking off his apron. He walked toward the back door, where the garbage containers rest. I chose to wait for the time being, since I wanted to observe the crowd outside a little more. There were around fifteen high schoolers waiting outside. No one particularly seemed like a good fit for fighting, they were just regular street thugs. It was very often to see kids playing the bad or aspiring to become mafia members, but usually they wouldn't be much of a threat.

There was a narrow alley connecting the waste area to the main street, and I could see those kids heading there. I wanted to learn what was going on, honestly. So I took off my apron as well and flipped the door sign before exiting from the front. There shouldn't have been many customers in this hour anyway, so it was fine to do so. Just like the kids, I entered the alley that heads to the waste area of the bakery. I could hear them talking.

"It's been a while, Misaki," said one of the kids sarcastically. "Have you made your decision yet?"

"I've already told you, I'm not interested in your offer."

"Well, that puts us in a difficult situation, Misaki. We got the payment, you know. And you're a man who is capable of great things. Why are you still resisting? The boss will get mad at us if you keep doing this."

"Not my problem nor business."

"Even if it was for your sisters sake?"

They were playing dirty. Misaki had a perfect poker face, he almost seemed unaffected by these words. Certainly, it wasn't his first time in this kind of situation.

"Do you think you can threaten me with my si-"

"We're not threatening anyone, Misaki, no. There are choices to be made and consequences to be endured. We're only giving you a choice and informing you about the possible outcomes."

"That's what we call threatening."

"Oh, please, you're talking like I'm some kind of monster. It hurts my feel-"

He couldn't finish his sentence. Despite his poker face, you could easily feel his anger. That was a good punch, and I was sure that it hurt a lot. The other kids were shocked by Misaki's unexpected punch. No matter how crowded they were, in the end, they were nothing but cowards. That sarcastic boy slowly got back up on his feet.

"We all know you don't want this, Misaki. But you really are being a problem to everyone in here. It's not like we want to do this, but we have no other choice. Even if you get rid of us, they'll keep sending people to come after you. You cannot run forever, you know that pretty well."

Misaki didn't say anything. Whatever happened in his past, it was almost certainly connected to Yakuza. At that point, I wasn't sure what to do. The situation was getting worse. It wasn't about the fight, Misaki would've won it. But despite the relationship between the Kurokawa family and Mr. Adachi, I don't think he'd want to get into trouble with other Yakuza families. In the end, Mr. Adachi wasn't a mafia member, he was just a friend of the boss from their childhood. In the worst case, Misaki might have to quit his job in the bakery. It would ruin our plans, so I couldn't risk it happening. I had to step in.

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt your kind conversation, lads," I said with a friendly tone. "I'm afraid you're quite unsure about where you might be right now. If you don't leave now, some seriously scary adults might have to step in. You know what I mean, right?"

"What does it have to do with you?" said one of the kids.

"Can't you see we're in the middle of some business?" said another. I sighed.

"Well, I guess it wasn't as clear as I thought. It's unfortunate, but lucky for you, I'll break it down for you to understand," I said as I started rolling up my sleeves. "You either leave here now, and we'll all continue our happy lives as always. Or, you can stay here, and we can figure it out with our fists; the choice is yours."

Some of the kids started laughing. That was the least I expected.

"What can you do with just two peop-"

One has fallen.

"Don't you dar-"

Two.

"Stop hi-"

Three.

"Wait, alri-"

Four. I admit I went overboard there; I thought he was about to complain just like the others. However, it didn't bother me much.

"Are there anyone left who has a few more words to spill out, or would you guys rather leave here silently?"

Now they saw what they were against. Misaki was already enough for them, and now there was another guy just like him. The choice to make was obvious to them.

"Let's leave it here, lads," said the sarcastic kid.

"I'm glad we finally came to a conclusion."

As they left the waste area, I walked toward Misaki.

"What's up with them?" I asked.

"Not your business."

He seemed to be in a bad mood. I didn't know what the reason was behind it, honestly. But I couldn't let him go that easily. I grabbed him by his arm.

"I'm not stupid, Misaki. Even a kid would see that matter of yours was something related to Yakuza."

"SO WHAT?"

He tried to free himself but failed.

"Let go of me," he said, as he seemed to be a little bit more relaxed. I did as he said.

"Will you explain to me now?"

"I just get into something I shouldn't have. That's all."

"And?"

"And what? That's all."

"Just why did you accept an offer from Yakuza in the first place?"

"It was a one-time thing."

"That doesn't matter."

"I just needed money, okay? I just needed money; I thought I found a good opportunity, and then everything got messed up. The job was done, but they wanted me to do more jobs for them."

"And you had reasons to refuse them."

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"Why are you asking this? I just didn't want to get into trouble."

"That's a lie."

"Huh?"

"That's a lie."

"How do you kno-"

"You wouldn't accept their first offer otherwise, that's why. You didn't mind getting into trouble, you just wanted the money and chose to go for it."

"What are you-"

"No job offers you a lot of money at first, even if it's a dirty job, they wouldn't pay much for someone they didn't know beforehand. But they liked you, and that's actually a good reason for them to offer you more jobs with more profit. Yet you turned them down."

"Again, how do you kno-"

"It's about your sister, isn't it?"

Misaki finally gave up. Maybe I pushed my limits way too hard, but it was worth it.

"Yeah, it's about my sister. I needed money only for her, yet I made her so worried that her illness got worse. That's why I decided to make money in legal ways, but it seems like they won't let me go that easily."

"That's how the mafia works. You have to face the problem before they do something to you, or maybe to your sister. They'll definitely go after her. What that kid said today wasn't only a threat; I'm pretty sure about it."

"Can you please tell me how you know too much about this stuff?"

I couldn't avoid this question after explaining it to him so much. So I chose to be honest with him.

"I'm a member of the Kurokawa family."