You stare at the car, feeling a panic in your chest.
"Who is that?" You ask in a panicked tone.
The car door opens, and Takeomi steps out.
"Takeomi Akashi... Hikari's soon to be husband."
Your eyes narrow. Was this guy following me? You think to yourself. Takeomi walks inside, staring at you.
"Here... Izana-" Takeomi hands Izana a bag and then looks towards you. "I was told you were stubborn, but I was hoping you'd at least give some consideration to my words earlier." He calmly says.
"Yeah... well- when someone treats me like I'm not grown and that I can't handle myself... I get pretty rebellious." You huff.
"I can see that." He chuckles. "If you wanted to come see Izana... then you could have asked." He calmly says. He walks further into the bakery, heading towards the back. "You still got some of those cookies?" He asks, leaning down behind the counter.
"Yeah... they're in the pink box..." Izana answers.
"Ah- yup... I see them." You furrow your eyebrows and sit down at one of the tables.
"This place looks very different... My grandmother said she gave you ownership of the place..." You softly say.
"Yeah..." Izana slowly nods as he stands by your table. "I wanted to continue the bakery business... so I did... A few people thought what I was doing was kind of pathetic... but- I still wanted to continue..."
"Oh... Why did they think it was pathetic?" You softly ask.
"... I don't know why they think that... But I feel sorta pathetic to be honest."
"Why?"
"I kept this place going... hoping you'd come back and run it with me..." He softly says, staring down at you with sad eyes. Your eyes widen, then soften.
"I'm sorry..."
"For what?"
"For taking forever to come back..." You say in a sad tone.
"It's okay... You were caught up, and I understand..."
"..." You stare down at the table with sad eyes. You furrow your eyebrows and look back up at him. "Why did you say sorry earlier?" You question.
"Oh... well..." Izana takes a deep breath, and Takeomi stops beside him.
"I had a feeling you'd come here... so I informed Izana that if you came here alone, to hit me up." Takeomi says. He puts his hand in his pocket.
"..." You look at him for a bit before leaning in the chair. "Why are you helicoptering me?" You huff.
"It's not safe for you to just go out and do whatever you want... so I've been keeping on eye on you... obviously I have a good reason... as you can see... you haven't listened to me." Takeomi answers.
"W H Y?" You rasp, sitting up quickly and leaning on the table.
"..." He takes a deep breath and tilts his head to the side. "I didn't want to bring it up... I didn't want to worry your aunt... and I didn't think you'd come back trying to reminisce with everyone."
"Why wouldn't I?" You huff.
"You didn't before..." He replies. You narrow your eyes and lean on your arm.
"Why can't I go out? You keep mentioning not wanting to bring something up but you don't say what it is..." He stares at you for a bit before taking a deep breath.
"I don't want specific people knowing you're here."
"Who?"
"..." He sits down at the table, and Izana turns to walk towards the back of the bakery. "We haven't gotten to have a proper introduction... so let's do that."
"Ok..."
"I'm Takeomi Akashi... I have met you a long time ago... but I don't think you remember."
"I have?" You look at him, confused.
"Yeah, when you were younger..." He shakes his hand and sighs. "It was a long time ago... I had met your Aunt through Shinichiro, an old friend of mine."
"Mmm... the guy she used to like."
"Yeah..."
"How old were you when you met her?" You ask, narrowing your eyes a bit.
"Why does that matter?"
"Just curious... was just wondering why you were talking to my aunt when she was younger at your big age... aren't you like middle-aged now? Like- old old...?" You ask, narrowing your eyes more. He stares at you for a while before laughing. You furrow your eyebrows as he does.
"You're funny..." He laughs. "Yeah... I met your Aunt when she was a minor... I wasn't interested in her back then... It wasn't until she was an adult... like... nine years ago when I crossed paths with her again... started dating her a year after that and now here we are- getting married."
"Ok... so...? What are we talking about all of this for...?" You ask. Izana comes back with some tea, placing it down at the table.
"You can come join us... we aren't customers... we are familiars." Takeomi motions for Izana to sit down. Izana bows and sits down beside you. Takeomi pours himself a glass of tea. You stare at the tattoo on his wrist.
"You keep looking at the tattoo."
"Yeah- are you in a gang or something?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Does my Aunt know this?"
"Yes, she does... does anyone else know? No... It's better to keep things private. Only my fiancé should know about my personal life." He answers while taking a sip from the glass.
"Mmm... so these people you mentioned... the ones that you don't want knowing I'm here are a part of your gang... is that right?" You ask. He smiles while sipping from his cup. He places the cup down and smiles at you. You furrow your eyebrows.
"You're smart- the way people describe you makes you sound like an airhead." He chuckles in a low tone. You look at him with a hint of irritation.
"Yeah... I don't want the upper three in command... and the executives to know you're here."
"What gang are you in?" You ask.
"... You're asking a lot."
"A biker gang?" You question. He smiles again and takes another sip of the tea.
"No... more like an organization." He answers.
"Organization...? So you're like a yakuza?" You huff. Takeomi laughs and places his cup down.
"Sure... we can go with that." He answers. You narrow your eyes, glaring at him.
"What position are you in this gang?"
"Why're you interrogating me?" He asks. His smile is gone, and he has a colder tone.
"I want to know what kind of guy Hikari is getting married to... have you killed anyone?" You question.
"I'm the Advisor... and possibly."
"Just say yes..."
"Anymore questions you want to ask me, detective?" He calmly asks. You stare at him before looking out the window.
"Why don't you want specific people knowing I'm here? Aren't they going to attend your wedding?"
"No."
"... Why is keeping me hidden important? What do they want from me?"
"It's not what, it's who..."
"Huh?"
"Thank you for the tea, Izana... It's getting late, and I need to do a few more things." Takeomi says, slowly standing up.
"Are you going to answer my question?"
"No... now lets go." He motions for you to get up.
"No- I want to know why people are looking for me." You huff. "Is that it? People are looking for me." You rasp.
"Yes..." He answers. "They are looking for you- and it's not just to talk to you."
"What do you mean?" You ask. He leans towards you, you lean away, feeling uncomfortable with how close he is. He smells like cigarettes.
"A few... want you for a sick and twisted reason... and the others want you dead." He answers in a low tone. "Do you want to know more...?" He asks. You stare at him with wide eyes. "No? Good... let's go."
After arriving back at Hikari's place, Takeomi warns you not to say what he has told you to Hikari before he left. You sigh as you walk down the hall and towards the room you and your dad are staying in. You slowly walk in and climb under the covers. You stare up at the ceiling, thinking about what Takeomi said. You turn to your side, questioning why you were being targeted to begin with. You weren't that special, so why?
You shake off the thoughts and force yourself to fall asleep.
The next morning, you slowly make your way out of your room to the sweet smell of breakfast. You walk into the dining room to see Hikari placing things on the table.
"Hi Yuki." She bubbles.
"Hi Hikari." You smile.
"Yuki." A voice says from the other end of the room. You slowly look towards it. Takeomi stares at you from the end of the table. "Good morning."
"... good morning." You slowly say.
"How did you sleep?" Hikari smiles. You look back at her, smiling back.
"I slept okay..." You say in a shaky voice.
"Are you still sleepy?" She asks with a look of concern on her face.
"No- just sore... it's been a while since I slept on a futon... so- yeah." You say stretching.
"Ah- I'm sorry..."
"No- No... it's okay." You smile.
"Well... during the day- if you're tired, you can sleep on the couch..."
"Oh... by the way- there isn't anything planned during the day...? I know there's supposed to be a dinner tonight and then your wedding tomorrow..." You say.
"Mhm! Tonight will be the dinner before the wedding... and then the wedding is tomorrow... so I'm going to be really busy today."
"You're going to be busy?"
"Yup! I have to leave in an hour... so I'll be out all day and won't see you until tonight." She bubbles.
"Oh- okay." You slowly nod.
"Sweetheart... you should probably get ready to go now..." Takeomi says as he looks at his watch. You narrow your eyes at him. Hikari quickly looks at the clock and looks towards you.
"Ah! Yeah, Imma go get ready- you and your dad can eat up! My sister and the twins will be here soon, so leave the food out for them... I'll see you tonight." She smiles, hugging you before she rushes towards her room, shutting the door behind her. You slowly look towards Takeomi before looking at the food on the table. He smiles at you and motions towards the table.
"Go ahead... eat up." He calmly says.
You sit down and begin to eat.
An hour passes, and you are on the couch staring at the work group chat. Eli sent photos of the cover of the manga you have been working on. You swipe through your phone, reading everyone's messages about it. You smile and send a message in response.
"Okay! I'm going... Bye Yuki! Tell my sister I'll see her tonight." She smiles.
"Okay..." You smile back. Hikari walks out, and Takeomi pauses at the door. You stare back at him.
"Don't go anywhere..." He says in a low tone. You sigh and nod.
"Okay..." You nod, looking away from him and at your phone. You hear the door close and lock. You look back towards the door and sigh. You hear someone shuffling and yawning as they walk into the living room.
"Good morning." Your dad says.
"Good morning." You reply.
"I see Hikari made breakfast." Your dad says, looking towards the dining room.
"Yeah. It was good." You quietly say.
"I bet-"
"Dad..."
"Hm?"
"When Aunt Kagami and her daughters come... would you be able to let them in?" You ask.
"Yeah, are you leaving?" Your dad asks. You stand up and nod.
"Yeah- I want to reconnect with a few of my old friends..."
"Okay then, I'll do that. Am I going to see you tonight?"
"Of course." You smile. "I love you, Dad... see you later." You hug him and turn towards the front door, peaking out of it. You unlock the door and walk out. You pull out your phone to check the time before turning and heading down the sidewalk.
No one will control me... You think to yourself.