Akuma Unleashed (Book Three of The Yakuza Series) (✔️)

十二 (Twelve)

(Aria's POV)

"Did you make breakfast?"

"Yeah. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. Thank you." I said sitting down at the kitchen island.

"We woke up when Ryu left and decided to cook. Knox went to the store to get some ingredients. We were hoping to get it done before you woke up." Vince explained.

They'd made bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, eggs, toast, and a few more other things.

"I appreciate it. Ryu and I are usually just cereal and/or bacon and eggs kind of people."

"We did it to thank you for letting us stay the night."
Vince said.

I stared at him for a second before putting my fork down.

"And?" I asked.

"And what?"

"There's something else. What is it?"

"Well I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me."

"Regarding Ryu?"

He nodded.

"Possibly. Depends on the question."

"Okay. First I'd like to ask about something that's confused me for a while now."

"I'm all ears."

"People know Akuma wiped out over half of the Yakuza years ago. They know he killed Ryu's father. They know he has the tattoo. They have a general description of him. How come they don't know it's Ryu? Surely someone has pieced it together. They can't be that stupid."

"Juliet told me that you were sixteen when you saved her. You took out a warehouse full of men to get her out. No one could believe you did that. That's how you got Il Diavolo as a name. You killed.....two or three of the big bosses in a warehouse that you called them to. They came to you and you shot them. Kind of an easy target.
Ryu was 13 when he killed his father and started on his.....path of destruction. He didn't call anyone. He managed to kill every boss and anyone with real power, expect Nakamura, and he did that by killing everyone in his path. He snuck in houses and buildings that had the best security. He killed some of those men in ways that might make even you cringe. He was 13. Who would ever think that a kid that age could do something like that."

"You never told me he did all that." Knox said glaring at Vince. "I got all up in his personal space! He could've stabbed my dumbass!"

Vince smacked him on the back of the head and motioned for me to continue.

"His father didn't just train him. He trained a lot of people. He trained adults and kids. The adults usually quit after a year or two of training. The other kids.......I think Jun is the one of the few to make it out alive and that's because he wasn't there long. The others couldn't survive it. They couldn't survive what he did to them."

"Ryu did though."

I chuckled. "He's to f*cking stubborn to give up. Plus he wanted revenge on his father and the only way to do that was to become better than him, to survive the training."

"So people think it was someone else who his dad trained? They think that's who killed him?"

I nodded. "They weren't completely stupid. They knew some of what he was doing to train them. They pretended not to know though. When they found out he died and that someone was hunting them, they assumed it was just an....ex-trainee who had a grudge for what was done to him. Others believe that it is the parent of one of the kids. No one who has ever seen Akuma's face or has gotten within a certain distance from him has lived. So all they have to go on is distanced blurry photos, a few crappy security videos, and the words of people who have said that they've seen him and lived."

"How do they know about the tattoo?"

I scoffed. "His father told everyone that he was going to brand his best student so that wherever he went people would know who trained him and who he was. He told them what the tattoo was and where it would go. He didn't tell them it was his own son."

"What do they think happened to Ryu?"

"They know Nakamura took him in. They assume that he found his father dead, heard about everyone else dying, and ran to Nakamura for safety."

"People here really that dumb?" Knox asked.

"You have to remember that Ryu is always the smartest person in the room. He doesn't show it or talk about it. He likes it when people underestimate him. Makes things more interesting for him."

"He likes to play mind games."

"He doesn't like to because they requires talking and interacting with people. He.....just let's people's stupidity lead the way. His words, not mine."

"His father really f*cked him up, didn't he?"

I nodded as I took a bite of toast. "I can remember days at school when we'd spend all of recess hiding from the teachers. We'd be off by ourselves and I'd be patching up some wounds. I'd have to wrap and treat cuts on the bottom of his feet a lot."

"Bottom of his feet."

"His father would cover the ground with broken glass, cut the bottom of Ryu's feet, and make him get from one side of room to the other within a certain time. The point being that Ryu had to walk on his tiptoes. That's why you almost never hear him coming. Those are the only scars he has, but they're faint now thanks to all my treatment during those times."

"You know, I've spent my life in the world of crime. I've never wanted to leave. Juliet has never asked me or told me to leave. We're happy how things turned out. Even considering all the really bad and f*cked up stuff that's happened to us, we wouldn't change any of it because it made us who we are. That being said, I can see why Ryu wanted out and why he faked his death."

"I'm curious about that." Knox interrupted.

"What?"

"No one knows it's him, but he faked his death and the house exploded. The house in his name."

"Him and Aimoto found ways to....spin that story into their favor. Plus like I said, he lets people's stupidity lead the way."

"They believe that Akuma figured out the son of the man who trained him was still alive and hunted him down for revenge. Akuma killed Ryu but things backfired and kaboom. On the record, two bodies were found in the house. One that was Ryu and one that was Akuma. Anyone who knows the real truth is either dead, being blackmailed, or was paid a large sum of money."

Vince shook his head. "The more I learn, the scarier he gets. Oh to spend a day in his head....."

"You'd probably go insane."

"Probably."

"So did I answer all your questions?"

"You did. Even answered ones I hadn't asked or thought of yet. I believe him now."

"Believe who?"

"Ryu."

"About what?"

"Not wanting to find who hurt Aimoto. Finding them would mean possibly reversing everything he did for a peaceful life. Would mean possibly having to keep remembering what he was taught and trained to do. A persons mind is only so strong. We all have a breaking point. Mentally and physically."

~~~~~~
A/N:

It's almost time for the fun to begin....... the Akuma type of fun. 🙈🙊🙈🙊

Till next time.......😉

-B. 💜😉😉