Chapter Text
It had been a busy night in Kamurocho, the streets were packed with strangers and couples packed together.
Unlike the other strangers walking around with the crowd, there was one person by the name Itsuki Saito enjoying the sounds of the city, that is until a sudden cry interrupted him, followed by a sudden bump at his side.
"Huh? What the..." he spoke quietly, he was confused at what suddenly hit him so he curiously looked down to his side to see a little girl holding onto his jacket.
She had black hair and brown eyes, she didn't look any older than 7 years old.
By the looks of it, she'd been crying for some time, she held onto Saitos jacket but before he could respond, a group of mysterious men ran past Saito, they seemed to be looking for someone, maybe they were looking for Mio?
Saito watched the group pass as he got down on his knees to get to Mios height.
"Hey, are you lost? Where's your mom?'"
He questioned, he sounded genuinely concerned about the kid
"Mom? I don't.. have one, I was trying to get away from those people"
She whimpered as she grabbed onto Saitos jacket again and pointed at the group of men who were now forcing their way through crowds and shouting things like "Where's the damn kid!" or "Get out here you brat!"
Saito paused before turning back at the men then at Mio as he understood the sudden danger Mio could be in, he dug in his pocket and pulled out a peppermint to hand it to her.
"Don't worry kid, I'll protect you just stay by my side okay?"
Saito smiled, an attempt to calm Mio down to make the situation a bit lighter so she wouldn't be frightened.
Mio quickly relaxed after she noticed how calm Saito was, it made her feel like nothing was actually wrong and that she didn't need to worry.
She grabbed onto the peppermint and took it out of the wrapper as she ate it.
"Thank you mister.."
She smiled and watched Saito stand back up, she reached held onto Saitos jacket as she walked with him.
"Call me Saito, I'll make sure to stay by your side, we just gotta make sure you're okay"
Saito made sure to keep Mio hidden at his side as his tan long coat covered part of Mio as the wind flowed through the fabric, spreading it out like a cloak.
"I'm Mio.. Mio Ishikawa, I am looking for my brothers, Kazumi and Daisuke Katchiyama, I was taken away from them by some stranger with a scar on his face and.. a guy with a fox mask? I ran away from them now everyone is looking for me.. sadly, everyone except my brothers"
She sadly sighed as she continued to hold onto Saitos jacket, her grip getting a little tighter as she held the fabric close.
"A guy with a scar and someone with a fox mask? Hm.. the first people sounds like a Yakuza but that second one?"
Saito went silent as he thought to himself, he was starting to get lost in thoughts before feeling the absence of Mio by his side.
He quickly looked around in a panic as he noticed Mio standing in front of a shop window, she was looking through a cat cafe, through the window there were cat towers with all kinds of breeds laying in the sun spots the window provided.
She smiled as she watched the cats roll onto their back as she quickly got alarmed by a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up and smiled when she noticed it was just Saito.
"Don't go wondering off like that, okay? I don't want you getting hurt"
Saito sighed softly as he took his hand away and put his hands into his pocket.
"Sorry Saito, just that cat right there.. they look like my brother, grumpy and tried hehe!"
Mio smiled
"Well it's good to know you're thinking about your brothers, even if you're away from them right now"
Saito held out his hand with another peppermint inside the palm of his hand as Mio took it without hesitation.
"They're nice.. to me at least!"
She smiled as she stuffed the peppermint in her mouth before looking up at sSaito with a smile.
Saito couldn't help but smile back as he gently ruffled Mio's hair as led her away from the group of men who were now far behind them, he made sure they didn't spot Mio as he continued to walk.
---------------------------------------------
After some while walking, Saito helped Mio into his office as he pushed out a seat for Mio to sit down on across from his desk.
She accepted the seat as she sat down in it happily as she watched Saito sit across from her.
"Saito? I think you're my only friend, you give me peppermints and don't run away from me! Or chase me down,,"
She mumbled near the end but shook her head as she looked back at Saito happily
"Run away or chase you? Why would I do that?"
Saito tilted his head a bit confused.
"Oh! My brothers.. you see uh.. they tell me not to say this but I trust you! They're part of this group of scary people! They say that nobody wants to mess with me because we're.. uh.. Katchiyama? Yeah! I think thats it.. Well we're part of that Family!"
She smiled, she didn't understand the full length of what she revealed, to her she thought it was almost like saying a phone number to someone when she got lost to call for her parents to pick her up.
who knew they'd let kids into the Yakuza like that, sure there were some people who were really young but he never expected someone as young as Mio to be in it- the youngest he could think of is maybe 15 or 16 when they start joining gangs but maybe Mio didn't have a choice- she way just born into it?
"Katchiyama Family? I think I've caught word of them starting up some stuff with another gang around here.. Ah wait! That must be why those guys were looking for you, they must've been apart of the oppisite gang!"
Saito pointed out, it was like a light suddenly turned on above his head.
Mio on the other hand, looked confused, it seemed she lost track of where Saito was going.
"Um.. Saito? I lost you when you said Katchiyama Family.."
She admitted, a bit of guilt wrapped her tone as she looked down.
Saito chuckled as he set another peppermint on his desk in front of Mio, this caught her attention quickly as she noticed the movement and looked up, she smiled as she reached for the peppermint and smiled.
"Don't worry about it, Mio, you'll understand what I mean one day"
Saito responded softly as he began to search through what he had to find a lead or something to get a step closer to finding Mios brothers.
The rest of the night was Mio resting her head against the back of the chair, sleeping peacefully as Saito began looking for some direction on where to go.
He thought back to earlier, when Mio mentioned whoever took her, who were they and what would they want with this kid?
Saito let out a frustrated huff as he shut a book of contacts he had in his desk.
"If he's Yakuza.. There's gotta be a file on him somewhere.. Other option is heading to Purgatory and asking for a little help, I've been hearing a guy hears and sees everything that happens in this city."
He thought to himself but he was interrupted as he looked up and saw Mio shaking slightly, he quicky stood up from his desk, he noticed that she was cold.
Without hesitation, he quickly took off his jacket and placed it over Mio to warm her up, he hoped that was enough to stop her shaking as he took a closer look at Mio.
She stopped shaking as he held onto the jacket and pulled it closer to her for warmth, Saito let out a relieved sigh and walked away for a moment to look outside the office window.
He saw everyone walking down the street and the reflection of Mio sleeping behind him, he watched everyone passing the building, he knew who he was looking for but how would he get to them is the issue.
Maybe going to Purgatory wouldn't be such a bad idea, it'd be faster just paying and seeing what happens instead of having to fill out papers and papers to get his hands on a file that might not even exist.