Loving Dazai

THE CHASETO WIN

After classes, William ran back to watch the boxing match that Kato always hosted every night. With thrill he watched the opponents beat each other up and picked up new techniques to use against Kato during their boxing lessons. With much persistence and pestering, Kato agreed to help him and introduced him to few men in the organization. He carried out little errands like delivering drug packages to druggies, delivering their laundry and just minuscule irrelevant things.

"Try to block me." Kato said as he tightened the strap of the boxing glove in his hands with his teeth.

"I'm ready," William readied his stance and puffed out air "Okay let's—ouch" he fell to the ground with a loud thud. "You used your leg and that’s not part of the agreement."

"Don't ever lose focus. Don't forget that. There are rules that you don’t have to follow, with time you’d understand that.” Kato rolled his shoulders with relaxed arrogance. “You come at me then" which he did but Kato was always fast to block his punches.

“Do you know who a Yakuza is?”

“No” William blocked the punches and when he tried to strike, he ended up punching the air. Kato was very fast “What is that?”

“Heard of the mafia?”

“Yeah.”

“Right, the yakuza is the same thing as the mafia. Yakuza is a Japanese word.” he looked at William to see any fear or anything but there was none.

“That’s who you are? Or you’re part of the Yakuza?”

“Not anymore. Left a long time ago but I was able to pick one or two. Now I’ve built an organization with similar principles. Drugs, gambling, murder and,” with a smirk he added “women. I’m not talking petty drugs or something simple but I’m talking brutality. Can you handle that?”

William licked his lips. If turning a monster would help him with his revenge then so be it “Nothing I can’t learn.”

“We respect morals and regulations. There is this common saying ‘If the boss says that a passing crow is white you must agree’ I tell you William” Punching his stomach, William lost balance and Kato gave him a hit to the jaw and held him by his shirt, bringing him close to his body.

“In other words, you could lay your life for me. I kid you not boy, you could end up losing your life before getting your revenge. And one last thing. Never ever allow your opponent hold you” then he hit William on the face making him land on the ground “Get up boy, you have a lot to learn.”

William staggered up with full determination even though his jaw was screaming in pain. Kato was trying to scare him of but that won’t work. Half the time still boxing, Kato either said "too slow", "you're so weak", "not ready to take revenge" or “such a p***y".

But with each passing year he got better. Kato also taught him martial arts and how to use a gun. Then he started following the others to the street to fight and eventually entered the boxing ring and he never lost a match.

Anytime he was declared the winner he looked at Kato who always bore an unsatisfied look and he never understood why until one of his men whispered to him.

"If you can't beat the boss in a fight or in whatever game he plays, he will never ever acknowledge you"

One day, Kato, invited him to hunt down birds in the sky. If a bird was let loose in the sky,

William tried to shoot first but Kato always beat him to it. With each passing second of losing to Kato, he was getting angry. When the last bird was released, they both rested their shot guns on their chest and aimed their shotguns at the sky but before Kato could pull the trigger, William swiftly aimed his gun at him and shot at Kato's shot gun which made Kato lose his stance and he fell to the ground.

"I also like to win" William still aimed at him, his unwavering glare holding him in place.

Kato looked at him in awe then laughed "You remind me of someone crazy. Dazai. Dazai, was his name"

Along the course of time, their relationship kept getting better and he changed his name to Dazai. He liked the name because Kato did.

He didn't know how to place their relationship, it was more like an older brother and a younger brother—a master and his protégé—than friends.