TW: Language, Drugs, Drinking.
Akihiko left school that day a fluster of emotions. He watched Yuki curiously as he exited the gates, a peculiar sadness engulfing him. He picked up Kanada and they headed home together, preparing what little remained from their prior class with Shimada for dinner that night. His stomach lurched in anticipation as he realized their food supplies were dipping dangerously low again,
Thankfully I have that job tomorrow...we'll be alright.
He wiped down the kitchen with his sister, shaking the near empty bottle of universal cleaner in his hands. It wasn't just the food, they were beginning to run out of daily things as well, like toiletries and cleaning supplies. He sighed audibly and added a small splash of water to the mixture in an attempt to stretch it.
Mom...what am I supposed to do?
"Aki?" Kanada said.
He looked up at her suddenly, "What is it?"
"Umm, well...I have a field trip coming up for Showa Day...I need some money." She looked up at him with expectant eyes, he felt that tug of responsibility pull at his heart strings.
"How much..." He replied, a smile breaking out on her face.
"2,000 yen. But it's the entire day and everyone else is going and-" He cut her off, "You can go, Amada. I'll get the money."
She squealed excitedly, "Oh thank you, thank you so much Onii-san!" She hugged him tightly and he laughed, hugging her back as the haunting sound of the door opening and closing separated them.
Their father groaned as he walked into the kitchen, tossing his stuff down onto the table with force. Kanada jumped at the noise and grabbed her things, heading for the stairs in a hurry. Akihiko went to follow but his father cut him off in the hall,
"Not you." He said lowly.
"What do you want." Aki said, folding his arms in discomfort.
"We need to talk; about the role you need to play in this house now."
"What role? I'm already playing multiple roles." He argued.
"You need to get a job and start helping to support us."
"I thought you just got a new job?" Akihiko retorted.
"I did but, it was only a temp job for last week." His father avoided his gaze in shame.
Akihiko sighed, "When are you going to stop lying to us."
He pushed past him and walked up the stairs, slamming the door to his room in frustration.
I can't support this household alone...
He laid on his bed for a while, scrolling on his phone until the ping of Line messenger interrupted his mindless brainrotting.
明日のレッスン?
Lesson tomorrow?
He sat there for a moment, the pang of jealousy in his gut caused him to reply dryly,
明日も働け.
Cant. Work Tomorrow.
Another ping came through, quickly,
日曜日?
Sunday?
Akihiko felt that familiar skip of his heartbeat, staining him with confusion and he responded,
恐らく
Maybe.
He clicked his phone off, but it beeped again shortly after. He tried to ignore it, rolling around in his bed a few times before his hands swiped it back up, unable to stop himself.
楽しみです.
I look forward to it.
Akihiko clicked his phone off again, his cheeks hot and flushed.
Fuck. What's wrong with me.
He tossed and turned that night, seemingly endlessly.
The next morning he woke up late, shooting up in his bed to the sound of Kota barking. He peeked out his window and saw his father leaving, empty handed. Likely to search for another job, or at least that's what he hoped. He raced to his phone and clicked it on, checking the time.
Just past 10.
The concert wasn't until that evening, in his spare time he went and checked on Kanada who was watching TV, sprawled out on the living room floor. Several books decorated the ground in front of her, all of them manga. He laughed under his breath, reminiscing in his own Saturdays that once used to look exactly like that. He climbed back up the stairs and pulled out some casual clothes for the day, being mindful not to wear anything too flashy. He slipped a light jacket over his shirt, one that had plenty of pockets and space. He wore basic blue jeans and fished through his dresser for a hat. His fingers finally found one and he put it on his head, sighing softly. He always got nervous the day of the job, even if he'd done it before the sheer adrenaline from doing something illegal both tormented and excited him. He grabbed his phone and message Issei,
まだ私に怒っていますか?
Still mad at me?
Ten minutes went by and the sound of his phone pinging sent a wave of nausea through him,
ファックユー
Fuck you.
Another message came through right after,
冗談です
Just kidding.
Akihiko laughed as Issei sent an emoji of the middle finger accompanying a laughing face,
早めに待ち合わせをしますか?
Meet up early?
Issei responded immediately,
あなたはそれを知っています
You know it.
He gathered his things, bringing a small bag that he slung over his shoulder. He went down the stairs and Kanada was rolled over on her back, reading manga on the floor.
"I'm about to leave, I'll be back later." He said,
"Awwwwwwwww." She replied, looking at him sadly.
"Be good, don't leave or answer the door for anyone while I'm gone. And I'll bring home dinner." He promised.
"Yay! I'll be good, I promise." She held her pinky out in the air and Akihiko walked up to her, intertwining his own with hers.
"You'd better."
He pet Kota once before leaving the door, heading to Isseis house.
When he arrived off the train his friend was already waiting just past the gates, that familiar smoke pouring into the air. He walked up and quickly snatched it from his hands, taking a drag.
"So, what's the goal."
"A full ounce each." He said, let's go back to my place and hang out until it's time.
He shook his head in agreement and they walked to his house just a few short blocks down the road. While they walked Issei broke the silence,
"So, you really don't like Nomi then?"
"This again?" Akihiko said, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "What do YOU still like her?"
Issei sighed and remained silent.
"It's been months man, you could have any other girl why are you still so hung up on her."
"It's just, we were all friends for years. Not having her in my life-" He paused, "Agh...it's nothing."
"No come on, weren't you gonna be sappy for a second there?" Akihiko joked, "You miss her, don't you?"
"Shut up man. But- yeah....I do miss her."
There was moment of silence and Akihiko finally broke the tension, "So tell her that."
"It's not that easy." Issei said, "She dumped me."
"Yeah, but you guys were friends before that, that should take priority." Aki said, "You know I'm right."
Issei sighed again, "Yeah, you're right."
They rounded the corner to his house and went inside, it was silent inside.
"Your mom isn't home?"
"Fuck no, it's just us and two others on the way."
"Two others?" Akihiko looked at him with confusion, "It's normally just us."
"Yeah well, this time they're sending two college kids with us, they're cool, promise." Issei said but Akihiko didn't really trust anyone else knowing what he was doing, especially with Kanadas wellbeing on the line.
"Nothing better happen." Aki threatened.
"Relax man, for real." He went to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of sake, grabbing multiple glasses and filling them up. "You need to loosen up." He pushed one of the glasses towards Akihiko and he picked it up, downing it quickly.
The burn did relax him, even if he didn't want to admit it to his friend. It had been a while since he drank, after seeing what it's done to his family he hardly liked to imbibe but sometimes, certain situations just called for it. And this was one of those situations. A knock at the door startled him even through the booze and Issei answered it. The two boys who were meant to be their accomplices for the evening walked in. Both were average height, one with light brown hair and dark eyes, he looked...fairly normal to Akihiko, maybe even clean cut which surprised him. The other one, however, had several facial piercings, his long hair and all black attire certainly stood out to him.
"Hey." The pierced one said, "I'm Kenji. This is Yuto." He pointed to his friend.
"Aki." He said quietly,
"And you fuckers already know me." Issei said, holding up his glass before downing it in one gulp. "Drink?"
The boys laughed a bit and drank a few rounds together in an attempt to melt their nerves. Eventually, it was time to go to the concert and Akihiko could feel his palms growing sweaty with perspiration, either from the drinks, or the anxiety, he wasn't sure which. They left the house and headed to the venue together. When they arrived the gates we're littered with people standing around them, the show had just started and multiple people who couldn't afford tickets hung just outside, hopeful for just a taste of the music. It could be heard pretty clearly, even from the outside. It was a typical pop concert, they happened in town frequently, but Akihiko hadn't bothered to even see who the headliners were.
"Alright, so what's the plan?" Kenji said, patting his backpack a few times.
"We all split up, sell what we have, meet back here in three hours flat. I have two tickets for the show, meaning two of us go in, two of us stay outside and work the gates."
"Alright well, I'm going in." Kenji said suddenly, I actually like this band." He admitted, which shocked Akihiko.
"You could have fooled me with that attire." He said playfully, which made Kenji laugh.
"Don't judge a book by its cover, Aki." He replied, snatching a ticket from Isseis hand.
Akihiko could tell Issei was nervous, even through the alcohol, he volunteered to be the other person to go inside the gates, which certainly posed more risk. His friend looked at him with grateful eyes, he just shook his head, ending their silent conversation.
He walked up to the gate the presented his ticket with Kenji, they made them open their bags, which thankfully everything was concealed behind a custom invisible zipper leading to the lining of the bag. They waved them through and Kenji disappeared into the crowd quickly, a smile plastered on his face.
Akihiko shuffled his way through bodies near the edge of the concert, he looked up at the stage and saw flashing lights decorating the sky, a new song was just beginning, and people began to shout. He stood there for a few moments, just watching the show, his heart racing as he turned towards his first potential customer.
The night had only just begun.