Chapter 8

I turned on Subaru, stopping him in his tracks. "Wait, say that again?" I asked, my voice low and careful.

Subaru, clueless as ever, blinked at me, still not realizing what he’d just said. "I told you, Boss—I found a way to double our money! We can get all your money back and pay off my dad’s debt."

I stared at him, feeling my anger simmering just beneath the surface. “Double… the money?”

Subaru nodded, his face lighting up like he’d just come up with the greatest idea in the world. “Yeah! This guy told me that if I give him some cash today, I’ll get double by tomorrow! It’s genius, right? I thought I could get all the money we needed back.”

My patience snapped. I smacked him on the back of the head—hard. “What are you, 16?!” I practically shouted. “You actually fell for that kind of childish scam?”

Subaru rubbed his head, wincing at the hit. “I’m 17,” he mumbled, trying to defend himself.

I stopped, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. He wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the point. “Subaru, do you even know how stupid this sounds? Doubling your money overnight? Do you even know the first thing about scammers?”

He looked at me sheepishly. “I mean… it seemed legit…”

I sighed, trying to keep my temper in check. “Who told you about this?”

Subaru hesitated, his avoids my eye for a moment before he muttered, “It was Taka.”

I paused. Of course out of everyone it was Taka.

I exhaled slowly, trying to keep myself from exploding. “Alright. Show me where Taka is.”

Without another word, Subaru led me through the school grounds. My mind raced, thinking about the mess Subaru had just gotten himself into. By the time we reached the back alley behind the gym, my patience was wearing thin.

There he was. Taka, leaning against the wall with that same smug look, but this time he wasn’t alone. His crew—five guys who looked like they were trying too hard to be tough—stood around him, arms crossed, as if they were waiting for a fight. They looked like wannabes, putting on airs to play the part of gangsters, but I knew they were just school punks, nothing more.

As we approached, Taka pushed off the wall and started clapping slowly, the sound echoing through the narrow alley. His crew chuckled along with him, like they were in on some private joke.

“Well, well, if it isn’t our school’s new stars—the leading actor and his sidekick,” Taka said, a grin spreading across his face. “What brings you two here? Looking for an encore performance?”

I wasn’t in the mood for his games. “Give the money back, Taka,” I said flatly. “Now.”

Taka raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. “Money? What money? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Subaru, still not catching on, piped up. “But you promised—”

I shot him a sharp look, cutting him off. “Quiet.”

Taka chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. “You think you can just roll up here and start making demands, Yuki? Who do you think you are, huh? Acting all tough, like you're somebody.”

My fists clenched. I took a step closer to him, my patience wearing thin. “I’m not here to play games. You took Subaru’s money—hand it over.”

Taka shrugged, still grinning. “Like I said, man, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Before I could say or do anything, a voice rang out from behind us.

“What’s going on here?”

I turned to see the principal, arms crossed, glaring at us. “You boys better get back to class before you find yourselves in more trouble than you can handle.”

I didn’t care about the principal being there, but making a scene wasn’t going to solve anything. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

“This isn’t over,” I said, locking eyes with Taka. “After school. You better have the money.”

Taka smirked, giving me a mock salute. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Yuki. See you after school.”

Without another word, I turned and walked away, Subaru trailing behind me. The weight of the situation wasn’t lost on me. I wasn’t sure what Taka had planned, but this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

As I walked away, I could feel the weight of Subaru’s eyes on me, his steps hurried as he tried to keep up. Neither of us said anything, the silence hanging heavy between us. I could still hear Taka’s mocking laugh echoing in my ears, and it was taking everything in me to keep my cool.

Once we were far enough away, Subaru finally spoke up, his voice low. “Boss… What are we going to do?”

I didn’t answer right away. I didn’t need to. We both knew the answer to that. Taka wasn’t going to hand anything over easily. But this wasn’t just about the money anymore. It was about making sure not to cause any unnecessary scenes.

“We? You already caused enough trouble.” I muttered, more to myself than Subaru. “I’ll handle it.”

Subaru nodded, though I could tell he wanted to help. I wasn’t exactly sure what "handling it" would look like either. I just knew I wasn’t going to let Taka and his little crew walk away with that money.

The rest of the day dragged. Every minute felt longer than the last as I sat in class, barely listening to the teacher talk about something I couldn’t care less about. My mind was already thinking about after school, about how things would play out. I knew Taka wasn’t going to just hand over the money. He liked to push people, to test them. But I wasn’t some kid he could mess with.

When the final bell rang, I didn’t waste any time. I grabbed my bag and tried to walk straight up to Taka but Taka started to run away.

I chase him until Taka finally stops. Taka and his wannabe gang were already waiting, leaning against the wall like they didn’t have a care in the world. Taka caught sight of me and grinned as I approached.

“Looks like the main act’s back,” he said, crossing his arms. “What’s the plan, Yuki? You here to beg for the cash, or are we skipping straight to the part where you embarrass yourself?”

I didn’t flinch. “Give the money back, Taka. I’m not asking again.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You really don’t get how this works, do you? There’s no money to give back. It’s gone. And even if there was something left, what makes you think I’d hand it over to you?”

My fists tightened at my sides, but I kept my voice calm. “Because I’m not playing around, Taka. This isn’t a game. Hand it over.”

The smirk on his face faltered for a second, and I saw it—the flicker of doubt in his eyes. He knew I wasn’t bluffing, but his ego wouldn’t let him back down in front of his crew.

“What are you gonna do, huh?” he sneered, stepping closer. “Throw a punch? Get yourself expelled? You’re all talk, Yuki. And everyone knows it.”

I took a step forward, closing the distance between us. “Try me.”

Just then, one of member decided to lunge at me. I didn’t even hesitate. My body moved on instinct. A quick punch to the gut, and the guy was down, gasping for air, clutching his stomach like he couldn’t believe what just happened.

Another one tried his luck next. I sidestepped him easily, grabbing his arm and flipping him onto the ground in one swift motion. He hit the pavement hard, groaning in pain.

Taka’s eyes widened, I could see him melting into panic as he watched his friends get taken down like nothing.

“Calm down, Yuki! Chill, man! It was just all a joke!” Taka’s voice cracked as he backed away, his hands raised in surrender. He glanced around, desperately trying to keep control of the situation. “Look, the money’s over there. Just take it!”

Taka's eyes widened, and the cocky smirk vanished from his face as panic set in. Watching his friends go down one by one, he raised his hands, trying to stop things from getting any worse.

“Alright, alright! Chill, man! You win!” he said, his voice shaking slightly. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. The money’s right over there.” He pointed toward a nearby bush, his hands still up as if trying to show he was giving in.

I narrowed my eyes, not trusting him for a second. But I glanced at the bush, and sure enough, I saw the edge of a duffle bag sticking out from the leaves.

Taka took a step back, his hands still raised. “I’ll just grab it, alright? We’re good here. No need to make this worse.”

I stayed on guard, watching his every move as he walked slowly toward the bush. He crouched down, still keeping one hand up as if to show he wasn’t about to try anything. My muscles tensed as I watched him pull the duffle bag from the bushes, slowly standing up with it in his hands.

He held it out in front of him like a peace offering. “Here. This is what you wanted, right?”

For a second, I almost believed him. But then I saw it—the shift in his eyes, the flicker of panic returning. He wasn’t done.

Before I could react, Taka spun on his heel and bolted, sprinting down the alley with the duffle bag in hand.

“Son of a—” I muttered, launching into a full sprint after him.

Taka was fast, but I was faster. I closed the gap quickly, my footsteps pounding against the pavement as I closed in. Just as I was about to grab him, Taka pulled a desperate move—he swung the duffle bag over his head and hurled it over the fence toward the open field on the other side.

It flew through the air, tumbling as it went—straight toward Haruna.

“Shit!” My heart leaped into my throat as I watched the bag spiral toward her. I pushed myself harder, but I knew I wasn’t going to make it in time.

Just as the bag was about to hit her, someone else stepped in. A man, tall and swift—Haruna’s bodyguard. He appeared out of nowhere, catching the bag with one fluid motion before it could reach her.

I skidded to a halt, breathing heavily, my eyes locked on the bodyguard as he stood protectively in front of Haruna. She remained calm, completely unaware of the chaos that had just unfolded around her.

I approached cautiously, my breath still ragged from the chase. “Sorry about that,” I muttered, motioning toward the duffle bag in the bodyguard’s hands. “Can I have it back?”

The bodyguard gave me a long, unreadable look. For a moment, we just stood there, locked in silence. Then, without a word, he tossed the bag to me.

I caught it easily, the weight of the bag sending a jolt of relief through my arms. As the bodyguard resumed his escort of Haruna, I watched them leave, my mind racing with the close call.

But when I unzipped the bag, all that relief vanished in an instant.

Blank paper.

The bag was stuffed with nothing but blank sheets of paper.

My blood boiled, rage bubbling to the surface as I realized I’d been played.

“Taka… I’m going to fu#$ing kill you.”