Next week...

We were back in Osaka. I didn't exactly miss the place but it was home. I was watching a movie with Star until I get a phone call. I flipped it open and put it to my ear, hearing Gota. Ever since we did the hits, Gota has paid attention to us a lot more. He'd also paid us a lot more but that's a funny little detail. "Kunshu! Hello?!" He yelled on the phone. He's used to beepers, He never used a phone until last year.

"I can hear you, boss," I responded.

Gota made some grunting noise. "Great! I need you to come down to the office. I know I said you're on a break but this is important. Like we could be swimming in cash!"

I rolled my eyes. Not great for morale to just pull somebody taking a well-earned break to be thrust into some job that'll only make Gota rich and have us eating the scraps. I had to act professional, of course. "Yeah, boss. I'll be right over."

"That's my boy! We'll be here." He hangs up.

I groaned out, rolling my eyes at the prospect of leaving out. Star touched my face a bit. "I assumed he got you back to work?" She asked.

"Yup..." I said with slight dread.

Star attempted to comfort me. "I'm sure it's some small job. Then you'll be back here keeping me company."

"Hm. I am better. " I shifted to kiss her and stand to get dressed in my black and red suit. It seemed like a classic outfit, even though I just got it a few months ago. I walked outside and saw Gisei waiting for me.

He had his arms open, tapping his watch. He had a blue and gray suit on, with black shoes that looked pretty expensive. "Bout time."

"You didn't text me or anything," I complained as we strolled through another hot Osaka day, hearing the critters making their noise.

Gisei wiped his forehead. "I hate the heat, geez."

I disagreed. "Really? It's pretty enjoyable to me. It reminds me of the days I would spend with my dad. We were busiest in the summer."

"Hm. You know, I wanna talk to you about your dad..."

I hummed. "Maybe later. We're here."

We headed upstairs to see Gota count money with Kikuchi. They stopped once he saw us. Gota stuffed the cash in the bag and smiled. "It's a beautiful day. I got some news for you two. Recently I got in contact with some non-Yakuza gangs. Mainly the Russians and Italians. I got a massive deal planned with the Koreans that I made yesterday. It's set to go down in around November, so that's plenty of time for us to get the cash needed. Kikuchi did the math, there's no way we can get the money needed passively. Even if we squeeze Benjiro. So I reached out to the other gangs around the world. The Russians want drugs. I want Kikuchi and Kunshu on this one. You two go rob some hicks. We ain't paying for shit."

"What about me?" Gisei questioned.

"I want you to be my bodyguard. Some Ruskies are heading down here today to talk business. If all goes well, we could have some guns, big ones too."

I had no questions, so I walked, letting Kikuchi walk with me to the markets of the lower east side.

The markets were open every summer, which means deals of all kinds were done here. Legal or not. The walk over was pretty silent, since Kikuchi isn't as talkative. He had bags under his eyes, he always looked tired with his hands in his pockets. He doesn't even groom himself, with his shoddy stubble and messy small afro. He dressed a little better, with a simple white shirt with black suspenders and slacks. We had a little while before the deal started, sat near a ramen hut, where Kikuchi ordered a bowl. I finally spoke up. "You're gonna eat before you do this?"

He nodded as he started to slurp up hot noodles. "Mhm. Can't fight on an empty stomach."

"Got a point there. Say, I never asked this but, how'd you get in this line of work?"

Kikuchi shuffled in his chair, calmly eating away. "I was dead broke wasting my time in Sakai. I wanted to be into music, but that ain't work out. I moved to Osaka to find any work. I eventually was forced to take jobs that lead me to the crosshairs of Gota. The rest is history."

I was curious. "What made you broke?"

"Some woman. I was in love. It was stupid. But she left me penniless and wishing for death."

"Ah. I'm sorry, man."

Kikuchi laughed as he finished his bowl. "Sorry ain't gonna give me my cashback. But I appreciate it. You'll have to tell me some war stories in return."

I was going to, but I checked my watch. It was time for the deal. We walked over to some rundown apartment and walked to the second floor. The door was wide open. We walked into the gross, green, and brown room to see just two men. They were both bald and shirtless, only wearing jeans to cover themselves. One of the hicks spoke up. "Where's yer money?"

I laughed. "About that. We're gonna have to give ya at a later date."

"L-Later?!" He yelled.

"Yup." Kikuchi wasted no time, giving a massive spin kick to the chest of one of them. I ran and punched the other in the jaw, knocking him down long enough for us to take the bag and run out, shifting through the people to escape. I panted, sitting on the sidewalk as the sun started to set. "Whew, that was a close one..."

Kikuchi nodded and sat with me, looking at the street.

We shared something that day. I'd bet it was a bond.