Read Yato the yakuza :: Agreement

The door slammed hard, and Toshiaki felt cold chills running up his spine. He buried his face in the sleeve of his sweatshirt, not to emit sounds that could reveal his location. Hearing the heavy footsteps moving around the house -which he knew were looking for him- he gripped the knife harder in his shaky hand.

"I had a shitty day, Toshi. Come outta here." Naoki's deep voice echoed in the house, and the boy struggled to find him with his eyes looking through the gap between the two closet doors.
He was scared. Scared as hell. One of the motorcyclists had contacted him, to warn him that Naoki would not be in a good mood that day, so he should hide or stay somewhere else for the night.

He frightened his own companions of nearly two meters, let alone a frail boy like Toshiaki.
"Toshiaki!" and he heard something breaking loudly. He let out a sob, that was covered by the other's movements.

He began to tremble. What would he do to him if he was found?

He began fiddling with the knife, looking at the floor with his head resting on his knees.

He stood still, almost isolating himself from everything else, ignoring the racket outside the closet, until he had to squint at the strong light that came from next to him.

He looked up quickly, and there he was, Naoki, with the handle of one of the two closet doors in his hand.

As Toshiaki ordered his hands to grasp the knife, it fell to the ground. Naoki grabbed him by the shoulder, and slammed him against the wall.

"What the fuck were you doing here with a knife? Uh!? Waiting for me?"

Tears began to roll down Toshiaki's cheeks in pure panic, until he felt a strong slap in the face.

He coughed a couple of times, and blood came out of his mouth.

"Nao-" but the other interrupted him, squeezing his neck.
"Shut up, bitch!"
And another slap.
"Let's go to the bedroom."
Oh no, please no.
"Let me show you how much I love you."
That was going to be a long night.

Yato closed the door behind him and, staggering to the bedroom, he threw himself on the bed, exhausted.

What a day...

He sighed loudly, and then remembered the waiter's note. He lifted his head from the mattress and awkwardly reached for it in his pocket. Once he pulled it out, he stretched out his arms in front of him and began to scan the waiter's elegant handwriting.
His name was Noriaki.

Once he reread the name of the place a couple of times, his eyes widened.

There... again!?

The next day he found himself in the queue of the strip club gain, resigned. Stupid of him to think he would never have to set foot there again...

When he entered he ignored all the surrounding views and went to the barman, asking for a certain Noriaki.

Since he was initially suspicious, Yato showed the note.

Probably recognizing the articulate handwriting, the barman smiled and explained: "At this hour his shift is almost over. I'll tell his manager that there is someone who has to meet him and as soon as he finishes I'll send him to you, okay?"

"Yes, thank you very much."
"Can I give you anything to drink meanwhile?"
"A... glass of water. Please."

Once he quickly typed on the phone, the barman turned his attention back to the yakuza.

"How long have you known Noriaki? Are you a regular customer? You don't have a familiar face." and he placed the glass in front of him, pulling it towards the other with two fingers.

Yato blushed madly, and in embarrassment he almost shouted: "I'm not a customer!"

Noticing the puzzled looks of some of the men sitting at the counter next to him, he cleared his throat and continued in a lower voice: "I have to meet him... for another reason. I met him at the restaurant yesterday."

"Ohhh, his first job." The barman noticed. "Damn, that kid really should work less. He deserves a break every now and then." And sighed, he heard a man calling him from the other side of the counter. "Sorry, be right back!"

The yakuza rested his elbow on the counter and his head with his hand, facing the stage.

What was he doing there again... shit.

He began to swirl the clear liquid in his glass, entertaining himself by watching the colored reflections travel to one side of the bottom of the glass to the other.

Raising his eyes, he noticed that the barman had already begun to talk gaily with another man, visibly older and more familiar with the boy.

He did not want to disturb him, so he began to look around until he saw Noriaki rush to the barman, ask him something between preoccupation and curiosity and see the barman's finger pointing towards him.

As soon as the boy recognized him, he smiled and walked towards him with broad strides.

He was about to sit down in a chair, but he seemed to rethink about it and grabbed Yato by the arm instead.

"Let's go to the back," he proposed.

Yato nodded.

Unlike the glitz of the building both from the front and inside, the back it was a dump. It was a dark, dirty alley with only a few garbage cans here and there.

"Sorry for the smell," Noriaki apologized, "but at least we're sure no one here will hear us."

"Don't worry."

The boy cracked his fingers nervously, then began to tentatively explain: "Those guys were a nightmare for our restaurant. And they'll probably come back, more pissed off than before."
"Then I'll stay there to protec-"
"No!" Noriaki shouted, then resumed almost whispering: "You've already pulled out a gun there, and the rumors around town are running fast. It's not like you made a mistake, but those guys can really be bastards."
"But I-" Yato gestured tentatively.
"You'll never set foot in that place again. Ok?" The boy seemed serious.
"...Ok." Yato nodded slowly.
Noriaki exhaled, relieved.

"Can I at least have some information about them?"

"Oh, sure! They are a gang of motorcyclists known throughout the whole city, at least among experts on the subject. They often compete in clandestine races, they are good but mainly because they cheat. People often end up in the hospital because of them. From what I've understood, they damage the chains to make them block during the race and the motorcycle suddenly brakes. That's scary as fuck, people might die."

Yato nodded concentrated, then asked curiously: "And how do you know all these things?"

The other turned visibly unnerved at the question, looking down at his feet.

"I... I've slept with one of them."
"Oh. I'm-" but the other interrupted him with a quick gesture.
"It's fine."
Seconds of awkward silence followed, but eventually the boy regained his serene expression and looked up.

"By the way, what kind of job do you have to be allowed to walk around with a loaded gun? If you were a cop, couldn't you just have arrested them?"
"I'm... I'm not a cop."
"Then... what are you?"
It was Yato's turn to get embarassed, and he was petrified in place. Should he tell him or not? Technically he couldn't, but the boy told him so many things... no. He couldn't tell him.
"Sorry, I'm not authorized to say it."
"Oh, I understand! Don't worry about it, Yato." but from the boy's keen expression, he could tell he had already a few guesses.

"Before we leave, however, we need an agreement."

"An agreement?"

"You saved me, and now those guys are on your ass. The minimum for me is to try to find information from mutual contacts and alert you to any suspicious movements."

Mutual contacts? What will it ever mean?

"I guess... If you insist, I mean."

"That's a pleasure!" and he gave him a business card. "Write me as soon as possible so that I can have your contact and notify you when I have to tell you something. Now I really have to go. I'll take you back to the entrance."

"Yeah, sure." And in the exact moment when they closed the door behind them, the one on the other side opened with a person coming out with a ringing phone in hand, and a huge bandage covering almost half of his face.

"Yo."
"Yeah, I'm good. Ah, the wounds? A fight. Nothing special. Naoki has nothing to do with it."
"While he was sleeping, I spied on his phone. From what I've understood, someone must have pointed a gun in his face and he must have taken it personally."
"What do you mean 'idiot'!? He's my boyfriend!"
"Shut the fuck up, I love him and he loves me! It's just..."
"Ah? What do you mean?"
"Is that so..."
"What does it mean that I should break up with him!?"
"Oh."
"I'll... think about it then. I must return to my place now, Naoki is waiting."
"Yeah, thank you. Bye."

This content is intended for mature audiences for the following reasons.