Chapter 2: Iryūjon

*Beep**Beep**Beep*

“What is that smell?” Rei says in his head. “Lana..? ughhh… Why does it smell like… shhiiiii!! Lana! Why is my Kitchen on Fire?!”

“OH, snap!” Lana screams out loud from across the room.

The pot with pancake mix in it was on fire and smelled like burning cinnamon. It would almost be  calming if you didn’t realize that the entire stovetop was on fire.

“Lanaa!! Put the fire out.” Rei says.

“Sorry!”

Lana waves her hand downwards and the fire goes out from the water that rained down on top of it. Rei starts cleaning up the huge mess that Lana made, while she drones on about how she didn’t mean to burn the pancakes. The two finish cleaning up the apartment around 12 in the afternoon. Rei then leaves for work hoping that Lana would eventually leave his mind and house.

When Rei arrives at work the smell of pepperoni and freshly made dough fills the air.  The place is rustic, old to a point. It reminds you of the old world, the old city. It’s calm but busy. Everyone works in unison towards a main goal. Rei likes it here. It makes him feel at home. 

Rei’s Boss is an old Italian man with an incredible mustache. He’s loud but sincere and cares for all his employees like a family. He’s an old, kind man at heart.

“I’m going to fire you next time you're late!” Said Rei’s boss.

“Vincenzo my house was on fire. Like Literal Fire was in my house. I spent all morning cleaning up everything the water messed up.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that son but next time please call me.”

“Of course Mr. V, next time I will. Are you feeling okay today? You seem a little tense.”

“I’m fine Rei, get to work, let's make some money, Okay.” Vincenzo says with a stutter and waviness in his voice.

Rei, confused as to why his boss was being so uptight today, decides to ignore it and do his job to the best of his ability. Towards the end of his shift four tall, muscular men walk in and a young woman who sits down at a table 

“Oh sorry, We’re closing up soon so we don’t have any food being made anymore.” Rei says in a kind of upbeat voice.

“It’s Okay, we’re not here for food, We are here for your boss.” He says in a deep, demeaning voice. He walks towards the boss’s office with his three other men behind him. Now while it wasn’t illegal to carry swords around, Rei had the eerie feeling that these guys were bad news, the custom swords on their hips gave Rei a feeling that he needed to do something, but he wasn’t special, he wasn’t the hero, and he didn’t know if risking his life was worth whatever shady business his boss was caught up in. 

The fire alarm starts blaring and the boss and the men run out of the boss’s office. There was a giant fire blazing from the pot on the stove. The men walked out in a rush.

“We expect to see you there Oturo.” The leader said in an ominous voice. He rushes out into the rain and disappears. If only that was the last Rei would be seeing of that man.

“Lana kill the switch.”  Rei said.

“Ughh, finally. I don’t know how much longer I could have kept that up.” And just like that the fire disappeared and the restaurant looked like it was in perfect condition. There was actually no fire at all and the entire fiasco was an illusion.

“Nice job, Lana, sorry for making you do all that for me.”

“It’s fine, We always got each other’s backs, right?”

“Of course we do. Hey Boss, what was all that about in there? What did you get yourself into?”

“Oh no, this is bad. My boy, what have you done?” Said Otoru.

“Other than saving your life, which sounded like it was about to be in danger. I don’t know ‘Boss’, you want to tell us what the hell some guys in black with swords were doing hassling you in your office.” 

“Are you insane, Boy. You’ve only made things worse for me. And yourself…” His boss is worried for not only his own safety but now Rei’s. Those weren’t just any guys with swords. Tell me who we’re messing with Boss!” Rei says with a concerning and determined look on his face.

“Rei! Those men are a branch of the yakuza clan and they’re not people you mess with Boy!” Oturu said in an angry tone. “They saw your face Rei, what if they come for you or even worse when they see this little stunt you two pulled off; You're not safe you need to leave town before they come for you and kill you. This is no joke my friend. These men have no remorse for the kind hearted. You guys need to go home and lock up for the night, it isn’t safe for you to be outside tonight Rei. Please tell me you’ll be safe and lock up. Okay?”

 “Okay..” They said with sincerity in their voice. Rei and Lana then both started walking home sluggishly. The thought that Vincenzo might die hung over their heads. 

“Rei…” said Lana in a concerned voice.

“I know.”

Rei and Lana turn the corner and they see the blue light flickering in the distance. As they walk down the alleyway they have made their decision. Rei picks up his ken and they make their way back to Vincenzo’s. They sit atop the building across from the pizzeria waiting for Vincenzo to leave, so they can tail him. A few hours pass by before a black van pulls up to the front of the store.

Vincenzo shuts all the lights off in the store and fixes some chairs. Trying to save himself as much time as possible before a meeting that may be his last. Lana and Rei tailed the car all the way back to the hideout where the meeting was going down. They had put a bag over Vincenzo’s head and as they walked him inside the other gang members standing guard laughed and spat at him. After they took him inside Lana put all the guards to sleep and they snuck inside. 

“Oturo, Good to see you here tonight! I am very pleased to see you made it here unharmed. That leaves all the fun to me! Hahahaha!!”

“Please, I don’t want to be a part of this anymore Sir.” Oturo tried to murmur through the bag still on his head. 

“I missed the part where that whole dilemma of yours is.. My. Problem.” He said in a rather annoyed and playful tone.

“See Oturo, I don’t give a shit about your life or your business or livelihood or your pitiful life or your family or yada yada yada… You understand what I’m saying to you Oturo. I don’t care what you are or what you want. You. Belong. To Me.” He said with disdain in his voice. He then punched Oturo in the stomach with what seemed like the might of ten men and then laughed wickedly. 

Rei stood up abruptly and was about to ambush the man until Lana pulled him back quickly.

“Lana we have to go do something before that guy kills him. Let Go.”

“You need to calm down, put your mind at ease. It seems like they need Vincenzo for something. I don’t think they would kill him so quickly.”

“Even if that guy is beating the hell out of him. I can’t just let him get bullied like that.”

“I know but please trust me when I say we should wait. There’s another hand that guy hasn’t played yet. I can feel it, Rei.”

“Oright, I’ll trust you on this one.”

“So how is the family Oturo?” the ominous man spoke with a grimace in his voice.

“What do you mean? I’ve never had my only family.” 

“This is Great! I love it when you guys lie about stuff. It makes the reveal so much more enjoyable… Bring out the main event boys!”

One Big Brolic man with a scared face and a sword in his hand walked out with a little girl in his hands. She had to only be about 11 years old with cuts and bruises all over her body. They tied her up and placed in front of Vincenzo. She was crying hysterically and trembling. 

“What have you done!? I never wanted my family involved in this.”

“Daddy, Please help me! What’s going on?” She cried out in fear to her father.

“Lana, we gotta move, like right now.” Rei anxiously said with fear in his voice.

“I know. We need a plan though.” 

Lana couldn’t think straight. Her mind was frantic.

“Lana!! Snap Out of It! We gotta…”

Rei’s voice was drowning out in her mind. Different plans swirled through her head but none seemed quite right. What will she do…