123. Respect
(Haruna POV)
***
"You.....You're the Boss's gir-....the person the Boss is 'tutoring', right?" the bald man rambled in excitement.
And then the bearded one slapped the back of his head.
"OW! Takeda-san!"
"I apologize for his existence; his birth was an unfortunate day for us all. May I ask if you're acquainted with Yagami Reiji in any way?" the man called Takeda asked politely.
Haruna became even more confused, but nodded hesitantly.
"Um, yes. We're both friends of Reiji-tan."
Yui relaxed ever so slightly when she saw they had no intention of attacking, but her posture showed that she still kept her guard up.
"That's wonderful!" Takeda roared with glee, a bright smile on his rugged face. "But isn't today a school day? What're you two doing here? Did you come with the Boss?"
'Is Boss supposed to be Reiji-tan?'
"No, we had some separate business. but we weren't allowed inside," Haruna shook her head.
"Business?" The bald one asked with surprise, still rubbing the shiny spot on his head.
"Yeah, we want to meet Yagami Daichi. Can you take us to him?" Yui cut in.
The men fell silent at this, exchanging wary glances with each other.
".....May I ask why?" Takeda asked softly.
Yui crossed her arms and frowned.
"To get an explanation about his injury."
Their eyes widened for a moment, and they looked guilty afterwards, confirming Haruna's suspicion that it was related to the syndicate.
"Hmmm, you don't need to talk to the Big Boss for that. We can explain some things ourselves," Takeda sighed.
"Do you have the power to stop the syndicate from assigning cases to Reiji?" Yui growled, narrowing her eyes.
".....No."
"Then take us to meet him."
"Please?" Haruna added, clasping her hands together pleadingly.
The bald one suddenly sniffed, and they saw a tear rolling down his cheek as he bit his lips.
"Takeda-san, the Boss has made such good friends! I can finally die happily!!"
"Shut the fuck up! You talk about dying happily every time something good happens to the Boss!"
"B-But, that's how I feel!" he wailed, rubbing his face with a handkerchief.
'....The hell is wrong with them?' Haruna wondered internally.
Takeda ignored him and scratched his beard in frustration.
"What are you even planning to talk to him about if you do meet the Big Boss?" he finally asked.
"....We don't have a set plan, but the goal is to see if we can get him to stop you all from getting him into danger," Haruna clarified.
"It's not that simple..... "
The small spark of hope that had been building in both the girls' hearts was extinguished just like that.
"But I think talking to him once may not be the end of the world, so I guess we can try?" Takeda added a beat later.
"REALLY?" Yui exclaimed, her previously angry look replaced by sheer joy.
"Whoa, calm your horses. I can take you up there, but I don't know if he'll be willing to meet you!"
"That's fine. If he doesn't, I'll break his door down!"
"She's exaggerating by the way!" Haruna groaned hastily.
"No, I wasn- mmph!"
Yui's mouth was clamped shut again.
Takeda stared in amusement at their exchange and simply turned around, gesturing them to follow.
This time, they faced no opposition from the guards.
"We're taking them up to meet the Boss."
"....Alright, Takeda-san," the security lady replied.
"Haha, suck it!" Yui smirked.
"Senpai, maybe I should find some tape and seal your mouth shut?" Haruna glared with a low tone.
".....I'll keep quiet. Sometimes."
***
(Beardy POV)
Beardy's thoughts were in disarray.
Today was supposed to be just another day of yakuza-ing around, and now he was taking up two high school girls to meet the Big Boss.
'....This is all my fault.'
Ever since the weapons incident, the guilt had been eating him out from the inside.
Both he and Baldy felt like it was their fault that Reiji got hurt in the first place, and if they'd kept him safe, maybe this would've never happened.
'But it's nice to see them so worried about him.'
He smiled as he looked back to see the girls following him with different expressions.
The redhead looked like she was going to stab someone, and the blonde was comparatively more focused despite the obvious nervousness.
They each had their merits.
'It would be nice if he married both of them!' he pondered, his inner paternal instinct kicking in.
They stepped into the elevator, and Baldy pressed the button for the top floor after inserting the key.
As the metal box moved upwards, he turned to the two girls.
"By the way, it was quite stupid of you to come here alone. Don't think the syndicate is a joke, just through the good luck of meeting us. Don't make the same mistake when you talk to the Big Boss; he's far more dignified and you should treat him with respect if you want to have a proper discussion with him," he warned reproachfully.
He was worried that they'd think this would be easy and incur the Big Boss's displeasure.
Though he'd obviously just kick them out instead of getting mad, he didn't want them to leave a bad first impression if his hopes really came true.
The blonde girl nodded quietly, but the redhead turned to him with no emotion in her eyes.
"I have absolutely no respect to give someone who forces their child into danger."
Beardy froze, not expecting such a deadpan response.
"That's....."
'How do I explain it to them when I'm not even allowed to explain it to the Boss..... But I can't even deny what she said.....'
"Sometimes, things aren't so simple," he finally muttered.
"Then we'll just try to make it simple," the blonde girl said this time.
Beardy and Baldy looked at each other for what felt like the 100th time, a mix of pride, guilt, and worry within their eyes.
*DING*
The elevator door finally opened, and the four of them stepped out.
"What a creepy place," the prickly one clicked her tongue.
The ancient architectural style that purposefully clashed with the modernity of the rest of the building was indeed quite strange, but Beardy smiled because it once again served its purpose of intimidating the visitors.
Simple, yet remarkably effective and jarring.
"You two wait here, we'll go in and see if he's okay with talking to you two," Beardy said.
"....Fine."
The two men nodded at the guards at the office door, who knocked loudly.
After a few seconds of waiting.....
"Come in."
Beardy pushed open the door and entered with Baldy, clenching their fists because of the tense situation.
When they stepped in, the Big Boss was sitting on his throne-like office chair with another visitor on the opposite side.
Beardy bit the inside of his cheek grimly when he saw who it was.
A young man with thin, green eyes that, for some reason, reminded them of a snake. He had neatly cropped silver-white hair that was swept back in a messy way, and a thin build that made him seem frail and weak, but only they knew just how misleading that was.
He smiled at the two of them when they entered, but there was no nicety in it, replaced instead with a disdainful aura that sent a shiver down their spines.
"....Boss, good morning!" Beardy and Baldy bowed. "And good morning, Yagami-san, I thought you had school today?"
The Boss just nodded, while the young man's sneer widened.
"You're not gonna call me Boss, like you do with my adorable little brother?" he chuckled. "Picking a side so blatantly, I thought that wasn't allowed?"
Beardy tightened his jaw, the anger bubbling inside of him.
But seeing Daichi not supporting them, he bowed once again.
"Good morning, Boss. I thought you had school today?" he repeated, emphasizing the latter part of his sentence to indirectly ask him to leave.
"Haha, that's more like it. I do have school, but I first wanted to drop by and ask about the progress with Hayashi's torture."
"....He doesn't know much," The Boss said calmly.
"Hey, Dad, let me have a go at him? I'll make him squeal like a pig!" the boy said.
Beardy could swear that he almost saw the Big Boss's mouth twist behind his clasped fists.
"Yuusuke, focus on school. We will handle this."
"Maaaan. Fine, I'll get going then. Oh, what are you two here for anyway?" Yuusuke asked curiously.
Beardy hesitated, not sure if he should say it in front of this annoying man.
And seeing this pause, the Boss gestured for Yuusuke to leave.
"Seems like this is a serious matter. Yuusuke, you go back for now."
The thin man frowned for a brief second and smiled once again.
"Alright, Dad. Take care."
He walked out of the office, his hands shoved deep into his school uniform's pockets, which had a green tie and gray pants, but not without smirking at the two of them once more.
When he finally left, the Boss turned to them again.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Boss..... Um...."
"Spit it out, or get out."
Seeing that cold indifference, Beardy prayed for the two girls outside.
"The Young Boss's friends want to meet you. They're waiting outside."
".....What?"
Even Yagami Daichi's expression faltered for a split second at the ridiculous scenario, his mouth opening slightly with shock.
"They want to talk about his injury....."
There was a short silence enveloping the room, and the Boss leaned back in his chair.
".....Let them in."
