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“That bastard Masa’s abducted Kaoru!” Iwai yelled, slamming his phone onto the counter. And just when everything seemed to be alright, too.
“Will Kaoru be okay?” Akira asked, an obviously worried expression growing on his face.
“He damn well better be, or else Masa’s a dead man,” Iwai growled. “God, that piece of shit…!”
Akira stood up. “We should hurry,” he said anxiously, heading for the door. He took one step into the dark Shibuya alley before he was grabbed by the shoulder and stopped. “No. I can do this one by myself,” the older man said, pulling out his lollipop and tossing it in the trash. “Don’t need you in danger, too.”
“I’m not letting you go alone,” Akira protested. The boy crossed his arms defiantly.
“Sheesh, you’re a real pain for a part-timer, you know.” Iwai admired the kid’s guts. Or stupidity, but when it comes down to it, there’s not much of a difference between the two. He always figured something was different with him, like the way he held a prototype gun like it was an old friend, or that one time when he walked into the shop late, head down and hoodie on, face looking like it’d been bulldozed seven times. Not that he’d admit it to him or anything, but Iwai had trouble sleeping that night when his head was consumed with thoughts of hurting whoever had laid a hand on his part-timer. Either way, the kid was damn useful, and who knows, maybe he even reminded Iwai of his younger self.
“Fine. Seaside Park. Let’s hurry, and stay behind me!” He grabbed the keys and bolted out of the shop, Akira following closely behind.
***
It was one of the colder December nights, and the anxiety flowing through Akira was only intensified by the chill in the air. Any other night this would have been a relaxing and enjoyable experience, as Akira was fond of late-night walks, but this was no leisurely walk in the park. He had forced Iwai to let him come and help Kaoru out of the hostage situation, but he couldn’t help feeling a little nauseous at the way it reminded him so clearly of his own capture, not too long ago. He wondered when his brain would stop reminding him of that time. Maybe if he had just-
Forget about that for now. I’m here for Kaoru and Iwai.
Iwai put his hand up, signaling for Akira to stop walking. They’d found Masa and Kaoru waiting under the bridge. Masa’s arm was around Kaoru, gently pressing a knife into his abdomen, in case the kid would try and run.
Akira looked up at Iwai for another signal, but the shop owner was already approaching Masa.
“Shit!” He ran after him, palms sweaty.
“Let Kaoru go.” Iwai hissed at him, but it sounded more like desperation than anger.
The yakuza member chuckled, tightening his hold on Kaoru. “Relax Mune-san. All I did was pick him up from cram school.”
Kaoru’s eyes were red. “I’m sorry, dad...he said he had some stuff to tell me about you I- I shouldn’t have…” Masa’s hand clapped over Kaoru’s mouth, causing the boy to wince.
“Cut the bullshit, Masa.” Akira stepped in front of Iwai.
Masa growled. “And what are you, his errand boy?” He squinted his eyes. “Wait, you’re that weirdo from the diner…”
Akira gulped.
“I said, let Kaoru go!” Iwai yelled. “What do you want from me?”
“Great question,” Masa grinned. “Y’know those modded guns you were gonna give to Tsuda? It’d be real nice to get my hands on them…”
Iwai scoffed. “We already broke ‘em all down. There’s nothing left.”
“Is that so…” Masa removed his hand from Kaoru’s mouth. “Well then, why don’t I just go ahead and tell Kaoru about his situation…”
Shit. I have to do something.
Kaoru looked confused. “My situation?”
What do I do…!?
Akira felt a shiver down his spine.
This feeling...is someone watching us?
“Kaoru, I’m going to tell you the truth…” Iwai hesitated.
Maybe I’m finally going crazy, there’s no one else here-
“Oh!” Akira gasped, but the others were too engrossed with Kaoru’s birth reveal (all of which, he had already heard) to notice. Akira saw the shaded man watching from behind Masa and Kaoru.
No way is that-
He’s coming this way!
Tsuda emerged from the shadows and pointed his gun at Masa. “You’ve really fucked up this time.”
Iwai’s eyes widened. “Tsuda!?”
Tsuda steadied the gun. “You’ve never been good at keeping your mouth shut, huh?”
Masa shook, letting go of Kaoru, who rushed behind Iwai. “N-no, it wasn’t me!”
“Come on now, say goodbye to the gentlemen.” Tsuda reached for Masa’s knife.
“I’m- it cant end up like this!” Masa retracted his arm and stepped backward, aiming his knife at Iwai. “You fucker!” He screamed, launching his arm.
Akira had half a second to react, but he managed to stop the knife from plunging into his boss’s heart. What he didn’t account for was the same blade angling and hitting him right in the side.
“Fuck!’ Tsuda screamed, grabbing Masa and restraining him.
Akira stumbled back, clutching his side. He has a pretty high pain tolerance, but this hurt like hell. He dropped to his knees and groaned.
Shit. What just happened…?
I wasn’t fast enough...
“Akira!”
***
Iwai carried the boy into his car, setting him down gently in the backseat.
“Dad, let me come with you.” Kaoru pleaded. “We need to take him to a hospital.”
Akira groaned. “No. No hospitals.” He shifted in his seat, leaning against the car door.
Iwai shook his head. “Seriously?”
Kaoru’s eyes widened. “Why not!? You’re in danger!” He looked to his father, expecting the same reaction, but the man only had a look of understanding on his face.
“Take me home, Yongen-Jaya,” Akira answered. “I can stitch myself up fine.”
Iwai rolled his eyes. “Kaoru, you go home. I’ll make sure he doesn’t bleed out.”
The drive to Yongen-Jaya felt like an eternity, even with Iwai speeding. Akira had been pretty quiet in the backseat, only whimpering slightly when they hit a bump. Iwai kept looking behind at him, anxiety clear on his face.
Eventually, he broke the silence.
“Sheesh, kid. The fuck were you thinking?” Iwai felt responsible, even if Akira had begged to come with him. “Jumping in front of me like that…”
Akira yawned. He’s being too lax with this, Iwai thought.
“Couldn’t have my favorite boss dying on me, especially after those guns you promised..” His speech was slurred like he was close to passing out.
Normally Iwai enjoyed the banter. He would’ve joked about how the kid’s such a weirdo. But how could he when Akira had just saved his life 10 minutes ago, and now was acting like it wasn’t a big deal?
“Akira…” they arrived at the cafe in the backstreets of Yongen-Jaya before he could finish his thought. The lights were still on, but Iwai couldn’t see any customers. Looked like it was just some guy behind the counter, smoking a cigarette.
“This where you live?” Iwai asked. God, the kid was such a mystery. What kind of high schooler lives in the attic of some cafe?
Akira swung the door open, hopping out on one leg. “Mhm.” He tried to move his other leg but hissed at the stabbing pain that coursed through it.
Iwai got out of the car and put his arm under Akira’s shoulder, supporting most of the kid’s weight.
Akira eyed the cafe. “Shit, I was hoping he’d be gone by now.”
***
Sojiro looked at the clock.
He’s never home this late. Could something have happened?”
The man couldn’t stop worrying about Akira ever since that night he came home from the interrogation room. It was his own negligence that led to such a situation…
Maybe I should ask Futaba-
The doors of Cafe Leblanc slammed open, revealing a bloody Akira being held up by what looked like his boss from the airsoft shop.
Not again.
“Akira!” Sojiro put out his cigarette and ran towards the kid. “Hold on, let me get your kit.”
Akira sighed, feeling slightly bad for putting Sojiro in this situation. If Iwai wasn’t with him, he’d have snuck in through his window and stitched it himself. It’s not like this is the first stab wound a diarama couldn’t quite fix.
Sojiro returned, followed by the cat the kid always carried around in his school bag, with the medical bag. “Let’s see this wound.”
***
Iwai tried to ignore the uneasiness he felt when the man that was supposedly Akira’s guardian didn’t even question where the kid had gotten beat up. He was just as lax about everything as the boy was.
But when Akira was hesitant to take off his shirt so Sojiro could stitch up his side, Iwai knew something was definitely off.
“Kid? He’s gotta stitch it up before you bleed out. Honestly, I’m amazed you haven’t yet..” Iwai took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair.
Akira winced. “Uh...alright...um,” he slowly lifted the black t-shirt he had been wearing that night, revealing the stab wound. It was pretty gnarly, but thankfully the wound wasn’t as bad as he thought it was. Even with that, Iwai’s eyes focused on something else.
“Holy shit,” the two older men said in unison.
Akira’s chest and stomach were covered in scars and bruises, some healed, and some that looked fresh as of two days ago. The contrast of deep red and purple against his fair skin presented a horrifying sight. This was too much for Iwai to ignore. He’d ask questions, but after the boy wasn’t in any immediate danger.
Sojiro looked nervously at Iwai, and then back at Akira like he was trying to think of a cover-up story for Akira’s obviously not normal condition.
Iwai shook his head in disapproval. “You should hurry and start stitching.”
“Right, hold still.”
***
“Yeah, that should be good for now.” Sojiro set the rest of the stitches down and wiped his forehead.
“Thanks for doing that,” Akira said quietly.
Iwai stood up. “I should get going then.” He hesitantly put his hand on the kid’s shoulder and gave him a pat. Iwai was never good at the whole physical acts of comfort thing.
Akira smirked. “See you tomorrow at work.”
Iwai scoffed. “No way. At least rest for a week, kid.” He couldn’t believe the audacity of this teenager.
Sojiro laughed. “You can argue with him but he’s not gonna listen. I’m leaving too, call me if you need anything, seriously.” He closed the door and flipped the sign.
***
Not even 24 hours after, as expected, a bandaged Akira came walking into the airsoft shop, ready to work.
Iwai took his feet off the counter and shook his head. “Sheesh.”
Akira sat his bag down.“I’m fine. Ready to get to work. I need those guns.”
“Look, we need to talk.” Iwai gestured to the back room. “I’ll lock up.”
The older man sat down on the dusty couch. “So the phantom thieves are using my guns to take down bad guys, huh.”
Akira almost choked on the bottle of water he was drinking. “I-”
“I’m not going to pry. Just…” he straightened his posture. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. We both saw those scars. And the whole no hospital thing.”
Akira looked down at his feet. “I can handle it.”
Iwai crossed his arms. “I don’t doubt it. But it doesn’t hurt to ask for help every once in a while, kid. Hell, I owe you a lot, too.”
“I know what happens to people who burn themselves out. You spend too much time worrying about others and not enough worrying about yourself.” Iwai rubbed his neck. “I’ve seen the news, I can’t even imagine what kind of situation you’ve gotten yourself into, kid. Just know that I’m on your side.”
“And you literally took a knife for me, so, whatever you need, I’m here. Can’t have my favorite part-timer dying on me.” Iwai smiled at him.
Akira nodded, returning the smile.
“Now go home and rest, seriously. I’ll have the guns ready by tomorrow.” They both stood up.
“Oh, Akira.”
“Yeah-?” To Akira’s surprise, Iwai had pulled him into a tight hug.
“Don’t scare me like that again, alright?” He let go and scoffed at the way Akira was gawking at him.
That of which turned into the most shit-eating grin Iwai had ever seen. “Did you just hug me?”
Iwai rolled his eyes.“Get out.”
“I knew you had a soft side!” Akira exclaimed.
“Goodbye, Akira.” He shut the door and walked back over to his spot at the counter.
“If anything happens to that kid…”