Weapons (1)

"Now? No, if you go tomorrow, then the danger will be far less. I can summon a lot more men, and there won't be as many crossbows around Hayashi since he'll probably be transporting most of them."

Daichi stood up, denying the alternate proposition. Reiji rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Then will you allow me to go have the discussion on Tuesday?" he asked.

"That will be too late; tomorrow is the most ideal timing," Daichi replied and shook his head.

"Then there's no other option. Tomorrow will be impossible for me, so it's either happening today, or you get someone else to do it."

"There aren't enough men at the restaurant. Aside from Takeda and Raiden, only 3 others have accompanied me, not including Satoshi."

Daichi's frustration was evident, his previously calm demeanor breaking piece by piece as Reiji's adamant decision exposed his worry.

"Then send someone else," Reiji shrugged.

He wasn't going to back down on this; there was absolutely zero chance he'd go tomorrow after making those promises.

Just because he'd agreed to do tasks for the syndicate, doesn't mean he'd be fine with being at their beck and call at every waking moment.

He'd already offered to walk away and fend for himself, but that was denied.

So at the very least he wanted some autonomy.

Daichi frowned with displeasure and sat back down in his chair to think.

A full minute of silence enveloped the room, with neither of the three saying a word.

Satoshi looked back and forth between the father and son, while Reiji stood still, waiting for a confirmation.

".....Very well, if you're so determined, you can go now. Satoshi will send you the details by text. For now, take all the men in the other room with you, and I'll send a few more to meet you at the port's entrance. Prioritize gaining control over the smuggled goods. Hayashi will definitely at least hear you out, and if any part of his brain isn't clouded by revenge, then he'll back off altogether. He's someone who values his life."

Reiji nodded and quickly walked into the side room where the henchmen were eating, closing the door behind him.

Once he left the room, Satoshi stepped up right next to Daichi.

"Do you realize what you're doing? What if he gets hurt?"

He turned to the old man, his dark eyes trembling despite the coldness within them.

"....That's the point."

"....What?"

Satoshi clenched his fists as his brows furrowed with anger, and he leaned onto the table for support.

"Boss, what does that mean?"

Daichi didn't respond at first, opting to unbutton the top part of his shirt underneath the suit, pulling it wide for Satoshi to see his chest.

A gruesome scar, one that started at his collarbone and continued deep down his body, was etched on his muscular body. The veiny and discoloured lines were a deep contrast to his otherwise pale skin, making it stand out that much more.

"You know as well as I do just how dangerous our job really is. Reiji has been quite sheltered from this aspect of what we do, and the fact that he's that naturally gifted has also carved arrogance and overconfidence deep into his bones. Did you see how he barely hesitated in going today, despite knowing it would be more risky? He's improved a lot lately, and I don't know why, but that part hasn't changed much. At this rate, one small mistake will get him killed, so I want him to face this challenge, which will no doubt be difficult, but in a way that we will always be in complete control."

Satoshi stared at the scar, a wave of guilt hitting him like a truck, and he looked up at the beautiful chandelier on the ceiling that was so bright that it hurt his eyes.

"But they have crossbows. We can't guarantee his life unlike in most cases," he sighed.

"Send Arata to help them. And call over the Night Unit."

"Hmmm, yeah. That will help. But you know Arata is..... problematic."

"He knows his limits.... I hope," Daichi shrugged.

After Satoshi made a few calls, he pocketed his phone and rubbed his hands together nervously.

"Why are you so determined to have him succeed you?" he asked wearily.

"You know why."

"....Yes. Yes, I do."

After another few seconds, Daichi spoke again.

"....Let's get going."

***

"Boss, are you crazy??"

Beardy jogged to catch up with Reiji, who was heading to the SUV in a hurry. Baldy and the other three men were a step behind, the tight clothes slowing him down as he felt the sweatpants strain against his thighs.

"You're only finding out now?" Reiji chuckled.

"Please stop joking, this is serious! This isn't a regular task like protection or threatening a blackmailer. Hayashi is a dangerous man! We know because we were there when the Big Boss took him down, and I'm telling you that is a terrible idea!"

"Tell that to my Dad, I don't have much of an option. If I really force my way out of this one, it's not like he's going to stop giving me such tasks in the future. Who knows, he might amp up the danger out of spite."

When he was ordered to lead the discussion, he had genuinely thought about sitting this one out, no matter what.

But there were a few things he kept in mind.

Reiji wouldn't put it past his Dad to send people over to him tomorrow to try and convince him, which would interfere with the plans he had with his friends.

Combine that with his moral obligation and that shitty memory, he knew that all he could do was grit his teeth and dive head-first into danger.

"But...." Beardy scratched his head with exasperation.

They entered the parking lot, and Reiji turned to them with a grim expression.

"We'll meet a block away from the port's entrance, okay? Let's try to avoid conflict; we're only going to chat with him after all. I'm hoping the Yagami name is enough to stop them, but seeing you talk about this Hayashi guy that way, that might not be the case," he mused.

They all got into the SUV, while the other three men, whom he didn't know personally, walked over to a similar one just across from them.

As the two cars roared to life, Reiji glanced down at his shaking hands and clasped them together, hoping it would stop the nervousness.

'Ah shit.... I didn't get a single bite of that delicious-looking food!'

***

The abandoned port where Hayashi was supposedly conducting his operations was on the outskirts of the city, with barely any buildings nearby that could provide them with cover.

So the two cars stopped a good distance away from the large entry gates that were wide open, parking behind the only other structure they could see.

Reiji read the text messages that Satoshi had sent and leaned against the car with the others surrounding him.

"What's the plan, Boss?" Baldy asked, eyeing his beloved suit despondently as he adjusted his clothes for the hundredth time.

"We wait. Gramps is sending Arata to assist us."

"Ah? That cocky asshole? Can't we just barge in?" one of the new guys muttered with a scowl.

"Exactly, I don't want to listen to his spiel of how smart he is again!"

"I'm actually going to punch him one of these days, too bad Endo-san is protecting him..." Baldy spat.

'.... Well, I can't blame their reaction.'

Arata only appeared once or twice in the game, but OG Reiji's memories gave him a decent idea of what to expect from that snarky wiseass.

"No. I understand how much you hate him, but you can't deny how helpful he is," Reiji shook his head.

"Tch fine...."

They all grumbled with dissatisfaction, but everyone knew better than to deny the help of someone who could drastically improve their safety.

They didn't have to wait too long, as a sleek sports car in bright red slowly made its way through the thick vegetation, hobbling up and down in the terrain that was completely unsuitable for its purpose.

It ground to a halt in front of them, and the door swung upwards as a man stepped out with a slimy grin.

He was unnaturally thin, to the point that Reiji's first thought was to shove some food in his mouth.

He was wearing a red sweater vest over a white shirt, a black tie barely visible underneath it.

The thick black spectacles were no help either, and combined with the neatly combed orange hair, Arata hit almost every box for a stereotypical nerd.

"Hehe, what's up bitches? Heard you needed my help again!" he croaked in a nasally voice.

'Wow.... Yeah, I definitely can't blame them,' Reiji thought internally.

Arata walked over with his chest held up high, clutching an extremely thick briefcase between his arms.

"Um, thanks for coming, Arata. Do you know the details, or should I get you up to speed?" Reiji asked.

The wiry man's face contorted in disgust.

"Oh, please. You think I'd come all the way here without knowing what I signed up for? I'm not an idiot, I already hacked the surrounding cameras before I left and have a good understanding of the situation."

"This motherfu-"

Baldy, who was rolling up his sleeves aggressively to punch his punchable face, was pulled back by the scruff of his neck.

Reiji shook his head calmly.

"Alright, then please show us the camera feed and debrief us on what you already saw beforehand," he nodded.

Arata smirked and placed his briefcase on their car's hood, clicking the latches open to reveal a computer system within it.

Three monitors unfolded open, and a complicated-looking keyboard made up its base, with a few other parts that Reiji had never seen before.

'Looks like something straight out of those spy movies..... I hope he says he's going to 'bypass the firewall', that would be a dream come true!'

The screens were displaying the various feeds of the CCTV cameras inside the port. Normally, they shouldn't be working, but the electricity inside the compound had evidently been turned on, and they seemed to perform just fine.

Reiji narrowed his eyes as he studied a certain section, which depicted a man in a suit and fedora, both in white, smoking a cigar as he lounged on a chair.

In another feed, groups of men were unloading large boxes from a ship and organizing them onto a batch of trucks that were waiting for them.

It seemed like about half of them had been loaded, considering the number of trucks remaining.

Reiji refocused on the man in white, who was now caressing a crossbow in his arms, analyzing its components with a wide smile.

"Boss, that's Hayashi."

"Mm, I figured."

Reiji straightened up, stretching his arms with a sigh.

"Let's go have a nice little chat with him."

***

A/N

Arata's image has been added to my Patreon, you can check it out for free.