Neverending Tempest - Part 2

Scattered Light

TW: 18+ | Slight Descriptions of Violence | Mature Language

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Took a lifelong bond

Came to this land lost

Wished for a better world

Wished for a safe world, for you

I’ll take on the danger

You lay safe in your bed

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PT 391, Present, Dimension ???

Recently, I’ve been having exceedingly realistic dreams about the intense training I did while I was with my master, Easan. Everyday it was a continuous and arduous training ritual. We stood, balancing on one foot, holding a long stick with two full buckets of water on each side. If we faltered, it was a mile run around the training campus. Plus, Easan would probably pick on us the rest of the day. I had my eyes closed, focusing on my balance, I glanced to my left to see a woman…Or was it he? This person who stood next to me constantly changed. I swore she was a girl…but this was clearly a man next to me. Or at least a feminine man. Their name was Terra, they were fumbling with their water.

That night, Terra and Easan battled it out when it was time to spar. I watched him bring an elbow to their face after they fumbled on a punch. Life left their eyes for a second, then was re-sparked. I was up next, but I had to face Terra. We went at it, but I tried to go light. I didn’t want to hurt them after that nasty fighting session with Easan. I was in for a rude awakening. They were assaulting me with punches the whole time, I ducked and weaved like I was taught. Until I had my soul knocked out of me when they delivered the strongest hook kick straight across my chin.

Easan thought I was going too easy, so we both had to run around the campus. But it was alright running it with them. I picked up on bits and pieces of our dialogue. Terra was awkward, but once we began talking, they became more comfortable and warmed up to me. We spoke about our grievances with Easan’s organization of child fighters. In particular, they expressed discomfort with killing for the sake of our organization. The order of Nazareth

So it wasn’t much of a surprise that Terra ran away on our first mission. I remember Easan’s face when he heard the news. It wasn’t sadness, or anger, it was a smile. Because it would be all the more fun to see how to get her back. Terra seemed to hold a special place in his heart. I could never tell why. This emotionless man cared about getting someone back.

What the fuck am I thinking? It was all about control. He was obsessed with control. That’s why he’d do anything to get her back. The game was over, but he wasn’t done playing.

He didn’t give me any attention, didn’t give the situation any attention. He doesn’t care. He…never cared. Was I bringing him through hell by doing this? It was all a competition in their head. Is that all they really cared about? I just wanted to be involved. But… That’s not what happened. The truth is…I don’t know what happened. I don’t remember their names. I have this feeling. I don’t know where it’s coming from, maybe it has to end. There was someone who wanted it to end, deep down. Without even knowing it. Because it took effort. The effort you were barely putting in. Because it was too much for you. I didn’t matter because I was pushing you out of that comfort zone. I was just an accessory for you to manipulate too.

“Enzo.”

I was the only friend you wanted to see, the only one you wanted to be with, right?

“Enzo! You gonna wake up?”

I woke up in a cold sweat. Only to see Daisuke standing above me. He wore a look of annoyance and fear on his face.

“You mumble some weird shit in your sleep.”

“What’s going on bro?” I said, ignoring his previous statement.

“You really went and talked to Kubota about that job, huh?”

“Yeah.” I responded halfheartedly.

“I got put on with you. Didn’t you know that was gonna happen?”

“Ugh, I don’t want to talk about this. I need the money for my sister. Do you think I’m going to give that up?”

“If we have to, we can find other ways to get the money. This just feels like we’re going a little too far…”

“Daisuke. We’re sworn brothers till the end. If we get into a pinch, I’ll protect you. Trust me, we are both making it out of this alive.” I insisted.

I hate to betray my bro like this. But I know we can each make it out of this alive. He’s underestimating me. I know that fists don’t win battles all the time, but I’ve got plenty of training under my belt. I’ll keep Daisuke behind me the whole time, and I’ll clear the whole building of goons if I have to.

Daisuke and I went to the Kubota family office to go over the briefing for the heist. We sat in a large group of yakuza who were higher up the ladder than us. So we got to sit at the back of the room. Where Kubota projected the plan on a large screen. We were to go to Lobo tower. Where the Acosta Alliance would meet us head on.

The Acosta Alliance is the biggest faction of yakuza in Japan, right next to the Hironaka clan. Naturally, the two groups clash often. Apparently Acosta really messed up this time. They trampled onto Hironaka’s territory and took some of our money. They plan to fly it out to America to work on their redevelopment effort there. Kubota’s always been known as the smartest of the lieutenants, with the most successful heists. So they put him in charge to settle this. The plan was for us to sneak in there at the dead of night, so we would be prepared to take anybody down before the plane even had a chance to take off.

They hid the money in a giant safe. So our only chance was to wait until they opened the safe, take them out, and take out money. The group of yakuza was relatively small. So we would have to rely on guerilla tactics. We would plant traps to catch the men off guard. We knew we’d be dealing with a large sum of men. Once we had the Acosta members taken care of, we’d stroll out of there with the money. The amount of which, Kubota left unclear. We’d be finding out when we got there.

I decided it would be best to go and see Emi before the big day. I stepped into the hospital, and like normal went to the front desk, where the woman looked at me, confused. She seemed surprised that I had come in.

“Hi. Did you get the doctor’s mail?”

“Er…no. Was it something important?”

The woman looked up at me with a sad look. Was she sad for me? The doctor came into the main lobby. He greeted me as normal, and pulled me into a side-room where we could talk privately. What was wrong with Emi?

“Hey doc. What’d you need me for?”

“We sent out a letter in the mail, but I guess you didn’t get it. Some tests for Emi came back. There’s time, but she may…need a new heart soon.”

“A new heart?!” I exclaimed.

“She has time, but we fear if she doesn’t get a transplant, she won’t make it.”

“How much am I in the hole for?” I asked.

“It’s already hard enough to get new hearts. We’d most likely have to go to…extreme measures to get it. It’d probably end up being around thirty million yen.”

My eyes widened, and my heart sank.

“How do you expect me to pay that?”

“I’m sorry, sir. It may be the only option available to your sister.”

After some time thinking it over, I came up with an idea. I’d have to be lucky to even get a chance to pull it off.

“It’s alright, I get it. I’ll…get the money for ya.”