Four of them in total. They were smirking, and looking at the unconscious Kotaro. Perhaps they were friends with him and wanted revenge for what I did to him? I was standing there, just waiting for them to say something.
"Good job. He was on our target list, so thanks for getting the deed done."
One of the guys standing before me said.
"You got skill. Seems like you know what you're doing. We could use you."
Another one said.
"Sorry for barging in! You seem like you were having some fun rocking this guy's shit. Let me introduce myself. Name's Tatsuya, but you can call me "Bleed". My friends over here are "Lead", "Wound" and "Metal". We are part of a Yakuza gang named Young Killers. We own these parts around here.
Real Yakuza members. I had only seen them in movies and anime. They wore very "hip" street clothing that you'd see Americans wear. I could see that Natsumi and Ichiro were scared and didn't know what to do. I, on the other hand, felt like they wanted something from me.
Kotaro started regaining consciousness and looked dazed. He stood up, still dizzy from my punch, and had just noticed the Yakuza members standing beside us.
He had a scared look on his face. As if he had encountered them before.
"Oh Kotaro! Fancy seeing you here! I actually had something to ask you!"
As one of the Yakuza members, Bleed, said this remark, he walked closer to Kotaro and suddenly gut-punched him.
Kotaro fell to the ground, holding his stomach.
"I believe you owe us some money. Mind I ask, where is it?"
Kotaro, regaining his senses, had the courage to speak:
"I already gave it to you… remember?"
Bleed proceeded to grab something from his pocket. I couldn't really see it, but I think it was… A KNIFE?!
He pressed the knife against Kotaro's neck and said:
"You think I'm stupid? What you gave us was the fakest money ever. Board game money, I'd even say. Now, before I slit your throat, I'm going to ask again: where's my money?
I just couldn't believe what was happening in front of me. It seemed like this Yakuza gang gave Kotaro some loan money, and he still hadn't paid for it. I wanted to see what resulted from this situation, that was so unexpected.
"I'll give you the money, I swear! Please let me go!"
Kotaro seemed like he was going to cry, which made me a little happy.
Bleed then kicked him on the floor.
"I don't have time for this, as I have more important matters than you, so I'll let you go. But just so you know if you don't pay next time, I'll go after your family"
That statement shocked him and made him run away in fear. The Yakuza members all laughed in unison.
"So back to what I was saying, you got nice skills. How bout you join us? We need someone with some nice fighting skills in our ranks. You'll be thoroughly compensated. Girls and money, to be exact."
I stood there. I was perplexed by his proposition. Me? In a gang? I never would've seen that in a million years. This was just my first fight. But something tempted me. It was the fact that somebody saw something in me. Something that no one ever had seen. I was a very tranquil and quiet person, so no one batted an eye on my worth. But these people actually saw my potential. Even though it was something I never expected. Fighting.
I looked at Natsumi and Ichiro. They looked worried. I knew that they didn't want me to be dragged into a dangerous gang. But it was my only chance to be praised and respected. They knew I was always a target for bullies. Everyone saw me as weak and puny. But these people didn't. This was my payback. I AM going to be the bully now.
I looked back at the Yakuza members and said:
"I will think about it."
The Yakuza members looked at each other, smirking.
"You better not chicken out on us. You'll make a name for yourself with us, unlike with those friends of yours."
….