A slender man dressed in a long, black trench coat, black gloves and black shades steps out onto the snow. His jet-black hair is slicked back. His leather army boots destroy the large bumps of snow as he walks towards Kichiro. Kichiro stands still. The man stands right in front of Kichiro, looking down at him. He must be at least 6ft 4, maybe even taller. The man looks over Kichiro’s shoulder, “This is him? Are you sure?”. Katie nods to confirm. He chuckles to himself as he brandishes a small comb out his pocket. He slowly slides the comb through his greased, wet-looking hair. He quickly flicks the comb in between his index and middle finger and swipes the comb at Kichiro. It scratches Kichiro’s right eyeball.

“WHAT THE F**K AHHHHHH”, Kichiro wails as he drops to the floor and clasps his eye. The homeless people under the bridge gasp in unison. Larry rushes over to Kichiro, but before he can tend to his injuries, the slender man plants his boot into Larry’s face, knocking him out.

The slender man watches Kichiro squirm on the floor and scream. He doesn’t move. He stares. He checks his watch.

“Ok, that’ll do. Let’s go.”, he says in a cold, slightly squeaky voice. Katie walks over to Kichiro and jabs him with a needle, making him instantly fall asleep. She throws his limp body over her shoulder. The man turns as he is about to jump onto his truck.

Kichiro wakes up. His eyes squint as they attempt to adjust to the light. He tries to identify where he is. There’s people. Who are they? Kichiro tries to wipe the sleep out his eyes. Hang on…. HIS EYE!

Kichiro starts panicking. He could only see out one eye.

“What’s his problem? Sort him out Yuichi.”

Yuichi slams his fist into Kichiro’s gut.

Kichiro looks up. He can see clearly now. He sits at an extremely long oak table. To his immediate left, his brother Yuichi. To his right, a bit further away, two seats are filled. One smaller, fatter, groggy man. One tall man with glasses and cracked teeth. Ah, it’s the people who bought Kichiro and Misha. Kichiro isn’t surprised. He has noticed what’s going on here. It’s like the council of evil or something. His eyes gaze further along the table. The slender man with greasy hair. His hands rest on his knee which is crossed across his other leg. His eyes hidden buy his shades again. He looks straight forward, not moving at all.

There is one chair left. This chair is empty.

Yuichi taps his fingers on the table. He checks the time on his phone. “Where’s Tora? Not with that American girl again, is he?”

Kichiro’s heart stops for a second. He was frozen in his seats.

The sound of sneakers squeaking fills the air, as the double dark wood doors swing open. There, panting and sweating, stands one of Kichiro’s best friends, Tora. Tora stands for a second, shocked, as he spots Kichiro. He snaps put of his shock and avoids Kichiro’s deathly stare as he quickly sits down. A silence occurs as everyone waits for him to get comfortable.

The slender man clears his throat as he brandishes a suitcase. He slides it on the table. He stands up and adjusts his tie.

“Ok then. Ill start.” He clicks open the suitcase.

“Three targets ‘committed suicide’. Two targets died ‘in a car accident’. Only one target left now.” He looks over at Kichiro for a second. He looks back at his suitcase as he passes files around the table.

Kichiro catches a glimpse of the files. They each had a picture of a boy or girl with a big red cross on their faces. It looked like full profile’s of each ‘target’. Every single detail, from full name and date of birth to the last time they were seen. Kichiro’s eyes scanned each paper. He didn’t know any of these people. There was one file he didn’t catch a glimpse of though…

What in the hell was going on here?

“Good work, Bones.” Yuichi says as he flicks through the files. The sound of flicking paper fills the room for a few seconds.

Bones lets out a light cough as he says, “So then, what’s the plan for the kid?” He nods towards Kichiro. Tora slightly wriggles uncomfortably as he glances awkwardly at Kichiro.

“All in due time, Bones. Haha look at this gay kid. Who does he think he is? Look at his hair. You think you’re Justin Bieber do ya’ pal? Hahaha!”

Kichiro’s eyes dart at the paper. No. This is some sort of nightmare. There’s no way he’s actually just read what he has read. Kichiro stares furiously at Tora. Tora looks with his head down. Kichiro looks back at the paper. He feels his eyes beginning to well up.

The paper has 3 pictures next to the main face photo. Two boys, walking down a road towards an arcade. Two boys, one skateboarding, one walking with his hands in his pockets. Two boys walking to school.

Two words were boldly typed next to these pictures. A name.

“YUKIO TOMIFUTO”

Kichiro looks down at the floor. His healthy eye darts around in a panic. He feels his heart beating rapidly. He feels cold but hot at the same time. He begins to sweat.

He feels something press against his stomach. A revolver.

“Don’t try anything, buddy.” Yuichi says as he continues to read through the files.

Kichiro looks down at the table. He had no emotions left. He was crushed.

The gang continue their meeting. Tora shows off his earnings from the gangs weed sector. Lots of school kids buying apparently. The two groggy men talk about the kids they have bought and kidnapped recently. Some ‘cuties’ apparently. Yuichi gives out what looks like salary to the three other gang leaders.

“So then”, Bones says again. “This kid, what’s the plan?”

The two groggy men start talking. They discuss amongst themselves wildly. The taller one starts to speak, “We would happily have him back! We didn’t get to try him out much…”

Tora cuts them off. “I could use him. I need more weed lines around East Tokyo at the moment, maybe he could-“

“Shut up, Tora. You can’t save your buddy.” Yuichi interrupts. “I’ve decided. He dies.”

Bones grins. Tora’s eyes widen in fear. The groggy men look disappointed.

“Bones. He’s all yours. Make it quick. You know what to do. Ok gentlemen, that will do it for today.” He says as he stands up from his seat. Kichiro doesn’t move.

Yuichi looks down at his little brother.

“Sorry bro, the games the game. We make it look like suicide, no one asks any questions. We need you out the picture, simple as that. Your existence is an annoyance. Nothin’ personal kid.” He lights a cigarette as he walks out the room.

The two groggy men follow.

Tora has his gaze fixed on Kichiro. He begins to walk towards Kichiro.

“Don’t.” Kichiro croaks. “Just… just go, Tora.”

Tora looks at his friend. His eyes begin to twitch. He quickly covers his face with his hands and speeds out of the room.

It’s just Bones in the room now.

Kichiro looks up at him. Bones approaches him with a smile.

“Don’t look at me like that! Come on kid, were gonna have so much fun together...”, he says as he pistol whips Kichiro, knocking him out cold again.

It was over for Kichiro…