Count me out

Chapter 7

Chuuya and Atsushi had settled into comfortable conversation. Kunikida and Tanizaki were ahead of them, making no attempt to converse with Chuuya. He didn't care, it was obvious that they had a distaste for the mafia and he wasn't willing to talk to them either.

"So Chuuya-san..."Atsushi asked curiously, "why does the mafia go to the slums?"

"Hmm. There's a ton of reasons, teams regularly patrol the area because of the amount of crime within it." Chuuya explained. He turned his head to look at the teenager, "Are you familiar with Suribachi?"

Atsushi flushed "No. I don't know anything about it." Before he had left the orphanage, he wasn't aware of really anything going on in the outside world, nor the history that surrounded the sites of Yokohama.

"Well," Chuuya said awkwardly, not used to someone being unaware of Suribachi City. "I can't really be bothered to explain it all, but the city was the result of an explosion that left a huge crater. People began to live within the crater, creating the existence of Suribachi."

"Huh? An explosion?"

"Yeah. This place is different from Yokohoma. Due to this place being so away from the rest of society, what's considered legal or not is blurred. Authorities don't interact and interfere with this place. Anyone can settle in slums so outcasts and rejects live there."

Frowning at the executives harsh word's pertaining to the slum residents, Atsushi disagreed, "I'm sure that those who live there are just people who need help, that's all."

"Yeah they do. But when you're in a pretty much lawless city, shits gonna happen. There is such a high rate of crime and juvenile delinquency. Suribachi is known for its gang violence."
Chuuya explained, gesturing and articulating the problem with the city, "Shitty people create shitty kids, because those kids aren't taught anything but survival."

"That's awful.."

"That's Suribachi. What we do is we patrol around, making sure that no gang gets too violent and that the territories stay small. We also do cleanups."

"What does that mea-"

Kunikida stopped. He and Tanizaki turned towards the other pair, "We're here. Atsushi, Tanizaki - stay close to me and be careful."

Atsushi blinked. He hadn't realised that they had arrived; looking around at his surroundings, he noticed the decrease of pedestrians and shops, the area was quieter and more run down. This was Suribachi City.

They began their descent into the slums. On the outskirts of the city, the decline was shallow making it barely noticeable that they were going down. Atsushi stared at the ground as it transitioned from grey concrete and tarmac to dusty dirt.

"Now. Where did you see the message." Kunikida asked Chuuya, not bothering to look behind. His voice was tense and gritted, as if talking to Chuuya was the bane of his existence. Chuuya's face contorted into an ugly scowl, while Atsushi looked at him nervously.

"It was close to The Stomach." He replied.

At this, Kunikida turned toward him, as did Tanizaki. Both of them had a confused look, staring at Chuuya. Atsushi voiced his question, "The Stomach? What does that mean?"

Chuuya blinked in surprise. "Are none of you aware of what Suribachi is like? Jeez, some city detective you guys are. The slums have certain, like, geographical areas in church everyone is aware of."

They still looked blankly at him, so he continued his explanation, slightly exasperated.

"For example, the kids refer to the very center on the crater as 'The Heart' of the slum. The Stomach is a small pit within the slum, that place is where tons of gangs thrive because it's more in the shadows, you know?"