Starting a new chapter in his life as a student in Tokyo, Haru never expected his world to be turned upside down. Across the street, he encounters Fujiwara, an aloof and enigmatic young man with a mysterious past. As Haru grapples with unfamiliar em...
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"These kids ran into me!" Jinbe reported, sounded rather excited. He dramatically reenacted the scene by deliberately throwing himself to the ground, as if struck by a truck. "They hit me real hard! I had to roll over like this... and scream 'aaah!' so loud, but these maniacs showed no mercy! They stepped on my feet!"
The blonde and the inked man burst into laughter.
"We weren't trying to step on Uncle's toes," said Haru. "We just wanted to help Uncle stand up, but Uncle himself refused."
The blonde pointed at Haru. "Hey, kid, you're still in high school, huh?"
"No, I'm an university student."
"Hold on, your accent is Kansai! You're a tourist, aren't you?"
Haru closed his mouth. Jinbe approached him and grabbed his collar. "A snotty kid like you dared to bump into me! Tch, you think you can trick us! You wanna die, huh?"
Yuki grabbed Jinbe's hand and squeezed his wrist. "Please, let's not be rude."
"Oooh, look at this handsome guy!" The man with tattoos on both arms shouted at Yuki. "I think I've seen you before. You dealt with Akuma, right?"
Akuma, the devil. Yuki felt his heart skipped a beat and he became more alerted. He was naïve to think that only a few folks know that name. This is Shinjuku, but even these guys know about The Devil. Akuma didn't get that nickname by accident.
Yuki swallowed and tried to remain calm. "I don't recognize that name."
The inked man stepped closer. "Liar! I know you! You hit up Akuma for a loan, didn't you? Promised to clear your debts, but when it was time to settle up, you ran and hired a private eye to spy on him!"
"Sorry, you've got the wrong person."
"The mutt that sinks its teeth into the hand that feeds, huh? I know that story," Jinbe declared. "Yeah, yeah, word on the street is you used Akuma's dough to rat him out to the fuzz, smooth move!"
Yuki tried to look calm. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Akuma's crew laid hands on you, huh?" the blonde grilled. "You skippin' out on the debt interest. Pay attention, yeah. You don't play with Akuma. You borrow from him, you show him some respect, got that? And I ain't got time for no ungrateful mutts!"
A few onlookers glanced over. A couple hoping to stroll by abruptly changed course, sensing trouble. Fear started to loom over Yuki. These were just street thugs, not like Akuma, the real devil – that one was a genunine gangster. But they would use Akuma's name to scare him and probably playing around a bit, trying to intimidate.
"We're truly sorry," Haru bowed once more. "Please allow us to leave."
The blond guy snatched something. His movements were as nimble as a ninja. It took Yuki a moment to realize that his wallet had been taken. The blonde must have had his eye on it for a while.
