Dream
Father was here.
That fact alone was enough to stop the air in my lungs.
It wasn't that he'd dropped by the house. That, by itself, wasn't the problem. The real problem was standing right in front of me. Alice.
Think about it. What would he say if he walked in on his already rebellious son — rebellious by yakuza standards, anyway — with some schoolgirl in his room? At this hour, no less?
Haha, that's my boy! Look at him go!
Yeah. I didn't think so.
...Then again, he is yakuza. Maybe he would?
Get a grip. Better to kill even the slightest possibility before it had a chance to breathe.
I locked eyes with Alice and jerked my chin toward the closet.
Sharp as ever, she nodded and slipped inside in a flash.
I swallowed hard, arranged my face into something resembling calm, and stepped out of the room.
"You're here?"
My eyes met those of Ryuzaki Genma, boss of the Ryuzaki-kai.
Ryuzaki pointed at the closet without a word. The meaning was obvious: get in there and hide.
Alice nodded quickly, scooped the item off the desk, clutched it to her chest, and ducked inside.
The door shut. Her world went dark.
Her heart hammered so hard she was terrified the sound might leak out through the wood.
What... is even happening right now?
For the first time in her life, she had walked into a boy her own age's room. And now she was hiding in his closet from his parent.
Alice, who had spent her entire life as an elite, had never once imagined something like this would happen to her.
...Couldn't I just go out and say hello?
The thought flickered through her mind. She shook her head.
The look on Ryuzaki's face when he'd pointed at the closet had been deadly serious. And considering the ominous things she'd seen in his room, his father was probably no ordinary man either.
Then voices drifted through the closet door.
"What's going on?"
"Is it that surprising I come to my own house?"
"Well, you don't usually drop by. I figured something must be up."
"I came for the ledgers and the IOUs. Those Kato-gumi bastards keep stalling on payment. About time they got a lesson."
Ledgers. IOUs. And the Kato-gumi. The names weren't unfamiliar. She'd heard them from her dad.
The Kato-gumi... weren't they the organized crime syndicate that's been running wild in the area?
The way he talked about those terrifying people — like they were nothing, like they were beneath him...
"...By the way. Who'd you bring home?"
Alice swallowed hard and clamped a hand over her mouth.
What? How did he know? She hadn't made a single sound.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"There's an extra pair of shoes at the door. Wrong size for you."
The shoes...! Alice's breathing went shallow.
There was no talking her way out of this. What was she supposed to do?
Should she just walk out and introduce herself? That might at least make it a little less—
"No. Who would I even bring home?"
"Then what are these shoes?"
"Someone opened the wrong locker and walked off in mine. So I borrowed a pair from the lost-and-found in the faculty office. The ones next to them are the pair I already had here."
"They look too small for you."
"I jammed my feet in. I couldn't exactly walk home barefoot."
The improvisation coming through the door was nothing short of brilliant.
Alice was genuinely impressed. Internally, of course.
Is he a genius?
Yes. Yes he was. Anyway — they'd cleared the biggest hurdle. If she just held out a little longer, his father would leave on his own...
"...Fine. The shoes check out. But Ren."
"Yes?"
"What are you hiding?"
He saw through that too? Was this guy's dad some kind of psychologist?
Footsteps, drawing closer. And with each one, Alice's heart pounded harder.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Louder and louder, until they stopped right in front of her.
"Ren. Open it yourself."
Ah. It was over.
Terror ran through Alice's body in a shiver. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Mrowww~!
"...A cat?"
A meow.
"Ah. Busted."
"You brought it home?"
"Yeah. I found it on the way back yesterday."
She was alive. Alice, who had just aged ten years in ten seconds, let out a deep sigh of relief. Internally, of course.
What a good cat. She'd have to buy it something delicious later.
"I can keep it, right?"
"Hah... First the studying, now you're taking in stray cats. Pathetic."
The words Ryuzaki's father spat out left a question mark hanging over Alice's head.
Did parents normally get on their kids for studying...? No. Normally they didn't.
"Want to hold it?"
"Forget it. Don't want fur on me."
The footsteps receded. A little time passed.
Click.
At last, the sound of the front door opening.
Just when she thought it was over, Ryuzaki's father's voice came again.
"So. Still clinging to that stubbornness of yours?"
"Looks that way."
"You'll regret it. Mark my words."
Alice understood instantly. The father-son conversation Ryuzaki had mentioned yesterday — no, the fistfight — this was what it had been about.
Should she even be listening to this? Though it was probably a little late to start worrying about that...
"There are plenty of capable people besides me. And isn't it a bit early to talk about successors? You're still going strong."
"I'm not in the mood for jokes."
His father cut him off, voice hard as iron.
"What, like my allowance?"
"The roof over your head. The food on your table. The clothes on your back. All of it comes from the Ryuzaki-kai. That's just how it is."
"Then do whatever you want. If you don't like the temple, the monk leaves."
"...You think the world's that easy?"
"I'd be lying if I said no. I figure I can get by just fine."
The Ryuzaki-kai...?
Alice could barely believe the name she'd just heard.
The colossal yakuza organization that ruled the southern district of Tsukuyomi Academy City. The same organization her father — team leader of the Academy City Special Zone Public Safety Division — had been hunting for years.
And the boss of that terrifying, vicious organization was standing right outside this closet.
Wait. That meant...
Ryuzaki is... a yakuza heir?
He wasn't just some school delinquent. He was the real thing. Heir to the very organization her father was hunting.
Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
What should I do? Should I tell Dad? But if I do, Ryuzaki will...
She'd known him for barely a day. And yet Alice was already worrying about his safety.
Despite how he looked, everything she'd seen of Ryuzaki so far had been... decent. Admirable, even. Just today he'd dealt with a mountain of trouble because of her, and he hadn't complained once. He'd just cleaned up after her. The only reason she was hearing this conversation at all was because he'd been looking after her in the first place...
Then the things she'd seen just a little while ago flashed through her mind.
The photo of him with his arms slung around terrifying-looking men. The sashimi knife hidden in the drawer. And the bloodstained knuckle dusters.
...What if Ryuzaki was only playing the model student in front of people? What if, in reality, he was a ruthless yakuza heir who operated under cover of night?
It made sense.
A guy turning over a new leaf overnight and becoming a model student? That was harder to believe than him just pretending to be one...
...Except he's refusing the heir's seat. He said he doesn't want it.
If Ryuzaki were really a member of the organization, why would he turn down being the successor...?
Alice's head started spinning.
An honest model student? Or the heir to a brutal yakuza organization?
Which one? Which one was the real him?
Creeeak.
The closet door opened, and Ryuzaki's face appeared.
Maybe it was because of everything that had just been swirling through her head. Startled, Alice cried out before she could stop herself.
"P-please don't kill me!"
This was the second time today Alice had begged for her life.
Ryuzaki tilted his head for a moment, then let out an exhausted sigh.
"Just so we're clear — I don't do that kind of thing."
"..."
"My father... well, he doesn't exactly work in the light. But I don't. No interest. I washed my hands of it a long time ago."
"...You mean that?"
"Why would I lie? Come out. How long are you planning to stay in there?"
Alice awkwardly climbed out of the closet.
"Ah, and don't go telling anyone. He's still my father, after all. Think you can do that for me?"
It was a perfectly ordinary request. So why did it feel so terrifying?
Alice nodded on reflex.
"I'll take it to my grave."
"I'd appreciate that."
Ryuzaki gave a small, bitter smile. Alice stared at his face for a moment.
The corners of his mouth looked a little heavier than usual. Well — "usual" was a stretch, considering they'd only started talking yesterday.
What was weighing them down like that?
The kind of boredom some students start feeling around this age? No. That wasn't it.
Regret over being a yakuza's son? That wasn't it either.
It was a mass of emotion that couldn't be reduced to a single word. She wouldn't dare put a name to it. But one thing was crystal clear.
It was dark. Endlessly, impossibly dark.
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
If Ryuzaki-kun hates his life here... maybe telling Dad would...
Maybe it would lift even a little of that darkness from the corners of his mouth.
"...Ryuzaki-kun, I—"
Grrrrgle...
A rumble cut her off. There was no mistaking it. That sound had come from Alice's stomach.
"You hungry?"
"Well... a little. I haven't really eaten anything since lunch."
Alice glanced away and scratched her cheek.
Ugh, so embarrassing. Of all the timings.
But she really was hungry. Maybe she should grab something on the way home.
Then Ryuzaki headed toward the kitchen.
"Want some ramen?"
Ramen. Honestly, she didn't eat it often. Her parents had such refined palates that instant ramen rarely made it onto the dinner table.
"Ramen? You any good at it?"
"I'm incredible. I've made ramen thousands of times."
Alice wasn't particularly crazy about ramen either. But seeing him try so hard to smile... she couldn't refuse.
"All talk. Well, if you're making it, I'll eat it. Thanks."
"How many packs?"
"Three should be about right. For you and me."
"Pig."
"You little—!"
Ryuzaki, self-proclaimed ramen master, hadn't been talking big. The ramen was ready in the blink of an eye.
The reddish broth made her mouth water. Why did it look so good today?
"It's hot, so be careful."
"Ooh. Looks great."
"You're doing the dishes."
"I'm gonna inhale this and run~ Thanks for the food."
She scooped up a big bite, blew on it a little, and took a generous mouthful.
"...Nweh?"
What was this? It was tasty, sure, but... how to put it... it was insanely......!
She swallowed.
"Ahh...!"
"What."
"This is... s-so damn spicy... koff!"
A hellfire unlike anything she had ever tasted erupted across her tongue. She rushed to the water dispenser and put out the blaze. It took three full cups before she could point an accusing finger at Ryuzaki.
"What... koff. What did you put in this?!"
"A little chili powder."
"Why...?"
"This is how I burn off the day's stress. Like a reward for getting through a hard day."
Alice was about to explode at what kind of lunatic did that — but then his words started circling in her head.
Stress. A hard day.
"...Ryuzaki-kun."
"Yeah?"
"Do you... eat ramen by yourself every day? Super spicy like this?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
He always ate alone. He always dumped chili powder on his ramen. To burn off a day's worth of stress and exhaustion.
So that's how he gets through each day.
Where did that stress come from? Today, Alice had caught a glimpse of its source.
In that case.
"Then, Ryuzaki-kun."
"Ahh, that's the stuff. Nice and spicy. What's up?"
What was it that Ryuzaki wanted so badly he would endure this kind of pain for it?
His chopsticks, which had been flying, came to a dead stop.