"Logan, you don't look too good. Did you not sleep well?"
On a clear morning at the school, students, who knew little of worries, sat in classrooms. There are trees beside the windows, and the lush branches and leaves reflect a patch of green.
"It's nothing." Logan propped his head on his hand, staring blankly at the blackboard. He hadn't made the call last night. After all, what he should say after the call was connected?
'Sorry, um, it's like this... I'm that guy who didn't leave my name last time. The Good Samaritan. I'm tight on cash lately. Can you transfer me some money?'
Wow, that would require extremely thick skin. Logan touched his handsome face and promptly abandoned the idea.
Of course, there were other ways. For example, Logan could establish a cooperative relationship with the other party instead. The underworld always had conflicts, so Logan can help resolve them, earning a rightful reward. This way, he can abide by the law and make money quickly. It can be said that he's killing two birds with one stone.
Yeah, it was a kind of ninja accepting commissions. Logan decided that once he earned enough money from working at the bar for a week, he'd change careers. Going from working to fighting wasn't such a sudden change after all.
"Are you really okay?" David asked with concern. Over the past year, he and Logan had formed a solid bond of friendship. Scanning Logan's tired expression, David suddenly seemed to understand everything with a with a profound 'Oh'.
Dragging out the ambiguous 'Oh' contained information only men understood. Hearing this, Logan's face immediately darkened. When David wanted to pat his shoulder considerately, he slapped him away with a 'go away'.
During their school days, conversations thrived under the guise of 'you know what I mean', and subtle gestures went without saying. As the bell rang for class, the teacher talked eloquently on the three-foot platform. Logan held the pen and thought of the time when he was teaching in front of a lot of brats at the Ninja Academy. Except for the scary kunai at the end, everything had been wonderful.
During break, David complained to Logan, holding up a form. Yu Logan listened as David talked about the upcoming fun sports event on friday. Fun sports are sports games, and it is normal for the events to deceive people.
"How about you swoop in to save the day, Logan?"
"Rejected."
"So many of these events are just ridiculous. It's like crossing the river by feeling for stones. With my size, tug-of-war is fine, but stepping on two bricks and bending over to pick up and move one forward? It'd take ages for me to reach halfway. Logan, you sure you can bear to watch..."
"I can."
After being cruelly rejected, David sat alone in his seat, contemplating life. Logan couldn't help but shake his head at this. Although David complained a lot, he could still tell that he was very considerate.
In a regular high school, non-academic activities were hard-won escapes from monotony. There are also people in the classroom who are looking forward to it.
There is no class on Friday, where students would be running around, the crowd is small and sparse, Athletes who are suffering from the rules of curiosity, teachers with stopwatches and pens, laughing with best friends, tryst with lovers... At that time, this institution called school will temporarily lose its original temperament and become momentarily released.
…
In contrast to innocence and simplicity, there was bustling activity in another places.
In the Dawn Bar, the dreamlike lights swayed gently, soft ambient music soothing the bar and dance floor. It wasn't late yet, so there are not many people here.
"Logan, table 4 in Zone C needs service!"
"Got it."
Unknowingly, it was already Thursday. Logan carried drinks around the sofa booth to table 4, where a seemingly melancholic young office worker sat. She took the wine and drank it. Logan didn't know what the other person's story was, but he was already desensitized to the many faces he saw recently.
Over the past few days, apart from getting accustomed to the tedious work, Logan had gained a deeper understanding of the backside of his city. Modern oddities, with materialism masking empty souls, were aspects unseen during his Ninja Days.
During the break, the long-term worker who taught him various tasks from the beginning came over. One look at his posture and he knew that he was going to brag again.
"Luke." Logan greeted politely. The man, in his early twenties with a college dropout history, had crawled through various odd jobs. Having been at the bar for half a year before Logan arrived, he was someone who, at his relatively immature age, had already learned to read people's intentions. He loved to talk, though his superficial nature kept him satisfied with spinning tall tales to entertain newcomers like Logan.
"Hey, Logan, I've got some explosive news, and it's totally reliable." Luke said mysteriously as he wiped a glass.
When the other party first introduced him to the work, Logan felt that he was not bad and he could get along well with him. Curious, he smiled and asked: " What's up?"
Luke gestured in a few directions, "There are more enforcers in the bar than usual. In addition to Blackie and his people, there are over a dozen new faces. They might be sent by the higher-ups."
Enforcers in the bar were members of the underground forces protecting the establishment. They handled issues like drunkards, troublemakers, drug dealers, and thieves according to their own rules. Such internal resolutions by the criminal underworld supplemented the societal law enforcement system effectively.
By higher-ups, Luke naturally didn't mean the government, but the gang that held sway over the place.
Logan showed a little surprise in response. In fact, he had noticed the changes in the bar's staff for a while, starting from Tuesday, his first day at work, and has continued to this day. His professional habits made him pay attention to anyone who seemed slightly capable of violence. Well, slightly.
"It seems to be true, Luke. What's going on?"
Luke's braggard aura suddenly collapsed, and he helplessly said, " Maybe there's something big to discuss or they're probably dealing with some bold out-of-towners who overstepped the bounds."
"Wow, that's intense. By the way, Luke, which force is protecting our bar?"
Logan's casual yet curious tone caused Luke to stammer, "Well, um, I'm not exactly sure."
"Alright then." Logan replied with obvious disdain, 'Why don't you know anything useful?'
As the evening progressed, the bar grew louder, the soft music giving way to more upbeat styles, and the lights flicker faster. And by 11 PM, the crowd has formed, their bodies are swaying, and under the dimly atmosphere, the nightly carnival begins again.
In the storm of metal music and a thumping beat, Logan navigated the crowd seamlessly, placing drinks without error. Watching the writhing crowd in the dim and flashing lights, he suddenly felt this environment might be excellent for training his Chakra.
Chakra is the energy derived from both mind and body. If the mind is firm and clear, the Chakra will be correspondingly strong.
Logan glanced at the clock, thinking the night would end uneventfully. However, an unexpected incident soon disrupted his work life prematurely.