14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Naomi turns her flashlight on as we sit on the bench near a small memorial statue. The envelope is on the heavier side, telling me that the contract inside probably comes with one million clauses and asterisks. Considering the likelihood of the Akiyama Group being a yakuza organization, it makes sense.

"Dude, this is in Japanese," she scoffs as I open the luxuriously bound paper. "Oh wait, it says the English version starts on page eight."

I flip to the half mark of the contract and begin reading. It starts with the usual stuff you'd expect in a contract, listing the employer info, working hours and responsibilities.

"Yo, this is like a fulltime gig. They want you accompanying the guy anywhere he goes," she comments, pointing at the section explaining the job arrangement. "The Akiyama Group will do its best not to interfere with the employee's status as an exchange student or his studies, however, he might be required to attend business trips and other such events. In those cases, the Group will make the necessary arrangements for any absences incurred. Upon request, sessions covering missed material and homework assistance can be organized."

I snort. They seriously have a clause to ensure I don't get in trouble with the college because of bad grades? That's some next level stuff.

The contract carries on outlining my responsibilities as a bodyguard. Those are standard for the most part, including access to training infrastructure, a firing range, a swimming pool and various martial arts classes. The compensation package is impressive as well.

"Damn. They are giving you food allowance, private health insurance and a personal vehicle on top of…" Naomi trails off, squirming at the document. "Holy shit! 300 000 US dollars?"

I blink at the sum written on the page, my heart banging. 300 000 dollars a year? I don't think I've made so much money in my entire life so far. And I'm lucky if I make a tenth of that in a year.

My mouth is suddenly dry. This is crazy. It also confirms my suspicions, because there is no way they'd be offering this kind of money if the Akiyama Group was a regular law-abiding organization.

Doing a quick search, I look them up. They deal with security and casinos mainly, with some of the subsidiaries working in the hotel and restaurant sectors. They also have a charity foundation. Nothing comes up about criminal or illegal activities, but then again, it wouldn't be hard to keep such endeavors out of the public eye given the kind of profit they must be turning.

"They are the real deal, Leo," Naomi says as we focus back on the contract. "Whatever this is, you don't want to get dragged into it. There's gotta be something fishy if they are paying so much money…"

I take a deep breath. I agree with her. My gut feeling told me to stay away from Chai and this proves how right that call is. I should contact Aran and tell him I'm not interested, no matter how tempting the contract's conditions are.

Picking up the business card that was in the envelope so I can get this over with, I pause. This amount of money is life-changing for someone like me. I don't know if it will be enough, but if I save up most of it, I'll have a hell of a lot easier time figuring out how to deal with my problem back in the US. I'm not na?ve to think it can resolve it, not by a long shot, but having a head start beats trying to come up with a plan all on my own.

Working anything online is out of the question, at least the kind of stuff that requires my ID or face. Streaming, gaming and the rest of the lucrative social media ventures simply aren't an option either unless I want to make myself an easy target. Getting work here… is also complicated, and not just because of the language barrier. The college that sponsored my visa had a stipulation that no exchange student is to undertake any paid work during our time here.

"Yo, Leo," Naomi says, bumping her shoulder into mine and knocking me out of my thoughts. "What's this thing about your ex, Cindy, and… the job you two used to do? Flip the page, it continues there—"

My chest suddenly goes tight. Panic floods me. I don't let her finish saying whatever she was about to say. I snatch the contract from her and shove it in the envelope.

"It's nothing," I clip .

She gives me the side eye. "It sure as hell doesn't seem like nothing."

I haven't told anyone about this. No one but Cindy, me and the guys we were working for should even know. So why is it in the contract? I clutch the envelope to my chest. I was too distracted so I didn't read what was written past the salary, but if it has to do with Cindy, it can't be anything good.

Or anything I want to discuss with Naomi. Not yet anyway.

"It's nothing," I repeat more sternly. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Naomi huffs, flailing her arms in a placating manner. "Gee, sorry. Didn't mean to overstep."

I don't want to lie to my first friend in forever, and I feel bad, but I really don't want to think about this right now. Everything has been going so well here, minus my Chai problem, and I'd like to keep it that way for as long as I can. Sometimes, it even feels like I don't have any problems to worry about. I know it's just me fooling myself, but it's kind of hard not to when my biggest concern this past week has been learning my first kanji and getting laid.

"Sorry," I mutter as she stands up. "For snapping. It's just… I really don't wanna talk about it right now. Can you give me some time?"

"Sure, man." She shrugs. "But when you want to, I'm happy to lend an ear."

"I appreciate it." I really do. And I will tell her when I feel ready, just not tonight. My troubles back home are a little more complicated, in the physical danger kind of way, than hers, and I want to make sure it's safe to tell her before I do .

Her phone pings with a message. She takes it out and types a response, frowning at it.

"Your family?" I prod, even though I just cut her off moments ago.

"Yep. My dad's trying to convince me to video-call this dude. Such a pain in the ass," she growls.

Ugh. I wish I could do something to solve her problem. It feels awful that I can't.

We sit in silence for a while, her texting back and forth and me watching her. The smell of impending rain grows stronger and when I look up, I can see more clouds in the sky.

"Should we head back?" she asks, tossing the phone back in her pocket. "Think it might rain."

I don't really feel like going back yet. "I'll stay out for a bit more. But you can go."

She trains her gaze on the shrine and the stairs, scrunching her nose. "You sure? I can keep you company."

I shake my head. "It's been an hour. I'm pretty sure they left. I'll be fine."

She doesn't look convinced, but nods anyway. "Sure. Text me if anything happens. I can make it here in less than ten if I run."

Once she's gone, I leave the bench. It's a little creepy being on my own here, but the weather is nice and the breeze is refreshing. Leaves rustle as I make my way to the edge of the shrine grounds where the view is. There is a partially intact bit of stone wall there, so I hoist myself up and sit on it, placing the envelope with the contract next to me.

As I take in the sleeping city, a sense of peace settles over me. I'm an outsider chilling in a graveyard in Nagoya in the middle of the night. On my own, without worrying that someone might shank me or shoot me because he's having a bad day. I'm still alert though, the habit a second nature that kicks in automatically.

And I'm grateful for it. It's saved me many times, even if it's easy enough for it to make me paranoid.

The trees behind me creak, shooting a bolt of fear through me. Killer timing, really. I snap my head back and glare at the blackness, looking for anything amiss. My eyes are used to the dark, so it's easy enough to discern shapes even if the moon offers little assistance.

There is nothing, just trees and plants and old graves. I lie down and close my eyes. The signal tower nearby buzzes with static and the stone under me still carries some of the day's warmth. If the skies were clear and there was no chance of rain, I could probably fall asleep here.

I try to calm my heartbeat, to tell myself that there is no one here and I'm just being paranoid, but the underlying prickling feeling remains just under my skin. My stomach pinches with nerves, anticipation for something to happen spearing through me. It's a foreboding feeling, like a premonition, and it keeps me on edge.

The trees creak again, but this time I also hear branches snapping. Like someone has just walked over them while sneaking up on me.

That thought is all it takes. My heart is suddenly in my throat. Between one breath and another, I sit up abruptly, training my gaze on the path meandering through the graveyard. The pines just behind the last row obscure the shrine, so my view is limited.

I wouldn't know if someone was here until they were about to jump me.

Another branch snaps, the wind picking up speed and howling as it passes through the signal station .

I scramble to my feet, still on the stone wall so I have a better vantage point, my breathing speeding up. Goosebumps cover my arms and cold sweat breaks out all over my neck. I feel like a sitting duck, waiting to be brutally murdered by some forest beast.

"Hello?" I say into the darkness, swallowing past a lump in my throat.

No answer comes, just more trunks making weird noises. The silence weighs on me, filling me with more of that foreboding anticipation. I'm positively spooked, my insides twisting. Any time now, someone will jump out of the trees and push me off the stone wall. I whip my head back, looking at the dark abyss that the bottom of the hill is. If I fall, I'll break my neck and die in agony.

Fuck that .

I jump off the wall and bolt. I might be overreacting and letting ungrounded fear get to me, but I don't care. I know to trust my instincts and they are screaming for me to get away from here before I find out whether there really is something lurking around.

Heading in the direction of the path going through the woods, I worry if that might be a bad idea, but it's too late as I've already committed. I'm too scared to go back the way I came, so this will have to do.

Looking over my shoulder as I head down the steep incline, I see the shadows shift and move. Oh boy , there is something there and I think it's following me.

I pick up pace, fighting the shrubbery and branches on the way down. The terrain is uneven, making it hard to sprint, but if I don't, I'll get caught. Preyed on.

Suddenly, my brain remembers the predatory presence of Chai in the club. Could it be him? But while it feels like I'm being stalked, it's different this time. Less exciting and more… intense, but in a bad way. In a creepy ‘my friends and I split up and I am about to die' horror movie way. Is it the surroundings? My circumstances? Because I am alone where no one can help me if this turns out to be more than my imagination gone wild?

I decide I don't want to find out.

And then something hot grabs my arm, its icy breath crashing into the exposed part of my neck.

I scream, losing my footing as I trip over a bump in the ground, and send myself flying toward the bottom of the hill. It's so steep and dark I can't even see it, but I pretty much know what awaits me. The elevation on the way up was a lot bigger than I expected.

Everything kind of slows down like I'm in slow motion while I try to regain my footing and fail. Yep, I'm not getting out of this unscathed. At the very least, I'm looking at more than a few broken bones. And worst-case scenario— I think as I try to grab onto something so I can stop my fall before the sharp angle makes it impossible to do so—a hospital stay will be the least of my worries.

"Careful!"

Someone collides with me, knocking me off course. Arms wrap around me protectively as I crash sideways into a prickly bush. Gritting my teeth, I focus on keeping my head protected, panting and praying this won't send me tumbling down the hill just like I was about to.