My Akuma (Book One of The Yakuza Series)

(Ryu's POV) "*る*う." Boss said as we waited. (Behave.) "あなたは*に*る*うように*っているのですか?" Kana asked. (You're telling me to behave?) Boss didn't bother to answer him. Kana sat at the table beside Boss. One guy sat on each side of them and four more men were stationed around the door. Me? I stood in the very back against the wall. Did I have to? No, I don't have to. Boss would much rather have me sitting by his side or by the door, but I prefer being in the back. Minutes passed before there was a knock on the door. By then, I had turned and was looking out the window. "Come in." Boss said loudly. I heard the door open followed by the sound of several people entering. "Welcome." Boss said standing to greet our guests. "Thank you for having us." "Please sit. Can I offer you a drink?" "No thanks." "Alright. So tell me, what can I do for you?" Boss asked. Boss went on to discuss business with our guests for at least a hour. It was towards the end of their conversation that they noticed I was standing in the back. "Who is that hiding in the back?" "Oh. That is Ak-" "Ryu." I said interrupting boss as I turned around. That's when I came face-to-face with Vincenzo Bianchi and his son, Valentine. "Ryu?" He asked. "Takahashi Ryu." I said. "You like the shadows?" Bianchi asked. I crossed my arms and shrugged. "Ryu likes to remain unseen." Kana said. "Oh I know all about Mr. Takahashi." Bianchi grinned standing up. Boss and Kana watched in anticipation as he rounded the table to approach me. "You are a man of legend." "I think you're mistaking Ryu for yourself." Kana joked. "You're the man everyone talks about and fears. Your sons too." "This is true, but...." "But...?" "But you know how people talk about Mr. Takahashi." Bianchi said, getting within inches of me. "Of course they usually call him by another name. Akuma or Myūto for example. He's done some things that I've never even dreamed or thought of." I remained still, staring into the eyes of Il Diavolo as he talked about me like I wasn't there. "People fear me for many reasons. The biggest one is my wife and the lengths that I will go to for her. The second one is that I don't take s**t from anyone. Akuma on the other hand..." he said, pointing his finger at me. "They're afraid of Akuma because they don't see him. Few outside this room know what he looks like. He stays within the shadows. A faceless monster. A faceless demon. There's also the fact that he's got nothing to lose. No real family, no real friends, no ties to anyone really." I could tell he was enjoying his little rant and I'm not much of a talker, so I didn't stop him. "You seem to know a lot about Mr. Takahashi." Boss said. "Mr. Takahashi? No. Akuma? Yes." "I don't understand." One of Bianchi's men said. "You see, me and Il Diavolo are the same. I am Il Diavolo the same time I am Vincenzo Bianchi." "Right..." "But Mr. Takahashi and Akuma....they're different. You see, people meet Mr. Takahashi and smile. Some probably feel at ease. That's only because they don't know who he really is, what he really is. They don't know that he is the very person they fear. They do have one thing in common though." "What's that?" Valentine asked his father. By then, everyone in the room was intrigued. "No one knows where they came from." "Why does that matter?" Vincenzo chuckled. "No known past means you're enemies can't use that against you. It means no deep connections to anyone or anything. It's part of what makes him dangerous. Maybe even a little more dangerous than me." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Unknown POV) His fists made contact with my face, and my lips cracked open. I didn't scream this time. I was numb to it all. "You feel that b***h?" He snarled. My only reaction was to spit blood at him. That just made him angrier. He raised his fist to hit me again when someone pounded on the door. "What?!" "We got visitors." "This isn't over, C*nt." He growled, slamming my head against the wall. I watched as he retreated outside to deal with his visitors. My whole body ached, at least the parts that I could feel did. He came back hours later completely wasted. That was his mistake. I pretended to be asleep as he staggered in and collapsed on the ground. I waited several minutes before sneaking over and grabbing his keys. Plus the one item that he'd stolen from me. The item that could save my life. I set myself free before going and locking the door. I then ran over to the window and tried to break it. The room I was locked in had only that one window. It contained only a single bed, sink, toilet, and small table. It had been my home for almost a year. When he started to move around and mumble incoherently I began working faster. Not caring about causing more damage, I started slamming my fist into the glass. By the time I broke through, my hand was covered in blood. I cleared out as much glass as I could before climbing out. It took me a second to pick a direction to run in. I didn't know which side of the house I was on. If I went the wrong way then I'd run right into some of the guys. Thankfully, I picked the right way. I ran for what felt like miles before I saw familiar surroundings. Clutching my lifeline to my chest, I ran around until I found what I was looking for. That moment is when I felt a little safe. I ran up to the door and started pounding on it. Begging for someone to let me in. Because I knew it wouldn't be long before he woke and came looking for me. This was my one chance at true freedom and safety. Sadly, by that point the blood loss and severity of my injuries caught up with me. The last thing I remember before everything disappeared was praying for safety and seeing a bright light.