A/N: Another flashback into Akito and Rein in their school days.

They always meet under the weirdest circumstances hehe...

***

The next time Akito saw Rein, it was in a scene slightly less disconcerting than the first. This time it was after the school festival had ended. Someone had told him that some students had run off into the woods, and it was his responsibility to go get them. He didn’t really mind; it gave him a chance to escape the cloying masses and their endless wheedling.

He wound his way through the many stalls set up by the students. A diverse array with displays like the very strange “Sea animal makeup stand”, “Alien café”, “Guess the brand of ketchup competition,” and “The Campus Detectives Guild.” There was even a whole section that consisted of only Otaku attractions, the section Akito had been resisting visiting himself.

The woods were quiet in comparison. The noise from the festival still filtered through a little, and it was cool with the breeze blowing softly through the leaves. Akito suddenly realized he should have asked for the names of the students who ran off. How would he call out to them?

Maybe that was a good thing. He could sneak up on them and see what they were up to. It was bound to be something stupid like smoking or drinking, or if he was really unlucky, making out. He took in a deep breath and sighed. Why had he volunteered for this again?

“Stop! I won’t do it again, stop, please.”

So much for the peace and quiet. Akito walked towards the hoarse voice, hoping it was just silly bullies. There was a clearing in the distance, some four people standing there. But…huh, they were dressed in suits. Definitely too old to be students.

Akito hid among the trees to take a look.

“You think you can blackmail me?”

Yoshida. With a Katana in his hands. What the hell? How did he bring that to school? It looked like the real deal. He held it with a sure and confident grip, as if used to handling it. Ayano was there too. 

There was a boy on the ground, groaning in pain. Akito’s heart rate skyrocketed, he crouched lower.

“I don’t know why you think you could mess with us like that...” Ayano scoffed, “Did you really think we would not take measures to protect ourselves in this swarm of snivelling commoners? Man, you really are fucking stupid.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” the boy on the ground whimpered, and Akito was able to get a glimpse of his face. It was that boy Rein was with that day. What was his name? What was his name? 

Miyano? Minami! Yes, that was Minami, and he was in pretty bad shape.

The men began to kick him again, till his cries of pain stopped. 

Their attire, their manner of speaking and heavy use of honorifics. 

Rein seemed to be the leader, Ayano too was someone important. This led to three conclusions.

First, Rein and Ayano had hired these goons to beat Minami up. Second, the part time job the others spoke of was that of a thug. And third...while it seemed horrendously unbelievable, that Rein was… Yakuza. In which case, it was best if Akito left before—

Shit. Yoshida was looking right at him.

Pinned to the spot by his gaze, Akito didn’t know what to do. Was he in danger here? This was definitely not something Yoshida could overlook, and yet…something told him he wouldn’t mind Akito’s presence.

He was right.

Yoshida sat down on the grass as if he had not seen Akito at all. Propping his sword on the ground next to Minami’s face. He lifted the almost unconscious boy’s head, pulling it up by the hair. “If you ever think of crossing me again, Hideo, you’ll wish you were dead.”

Akito took that as his cue to leave. He skipped going back to the festival. If Rein did think of questioning him, that was the first place he would look. He headed straight for home. What had Minami done? Weren’t they in some sort of relationship? 

Yakuza…The Yakuza.

Damn them!  Who did they think they were? Terrorizing high school students. Preying on the weak and then pretending to protect them. Even going so far as to demand their respect. Weren’t Yoshida and Ayano too young to have joined their ranks? That meant they were children of Yakuza. No wonder Yoshida had such an arrogant air about him.

As his house became visible in the distance, Akito felt the exhaustion from the day’s work. All he wanted to do was sleep. He would process what he had seen in the morning. 

Stupid Yoshida and his opportunistic pestering. Akito should probably be more concerned about poor Minami, but surprisingly, he wasn’t. Why the hell not? What kind of person—

There was a second set of footsteps. 

Akito halted. The footsteps stopped as well. He was just at the gate of his house.

“Ah, so this is where you live, Voyeur-San.”

Yoshida.