6:30 PM. Atreus is still casually hanging out at the Asano family office with Devin and Ryuji, his interest swaying between his phone and the movie on the television mounted on the wall his chair is facing. Taking note of the time in the top right corner of his device's screen, he expects a message from Max about their impending meet up any second now.
“Devin,” Ryuji calls out from his desk.
“Yeah?” Devin turns in the sofa with immediacy.
“Think you can head over to the den right now? It's starting to get a bit busy earlier than usual.”
“Yeah, sure,” the eager subordinate agrees as he stands with prompt readiness. “You want me to take just Blake and Masa, right?”
“Bring Jason along, too. He hasn't had anything to do in a few days. They should all be in the lobby already,” Ryuji instructs with the quick decisiveness he's known for.
The names they're mentioning are of the younger Asano family members who usually accompany the older, more experienced ones on important tasks, normally ones that involve the handling of a significant amount of money. Before Atreus began working at Crown as a favor to Ryuji's friend, he was often one of those older members taking the lead, as well.
“And remember, five percent for you, two percent for the boys, okay?” the patriarch gives the determined pay percentage, taken directly from the transported den earnings, Devin and the three junior members will be awarded for completing the job.
“Sure thing, aniki. I'll call you when it's done,” Devin starts toward the door. He places a hand on Atreus's shoulder as he passes. “Have fun on your date, man,” he gives an encouraging and slightly teasing smile.
There's a pronounced pause in the room once Devin exits, soon punctuated by the sound of Ryuji taking in a deep, slow breath.
“So, the girl you're seeing right now works at Crown too, right?” the patriarch suddenly asks.
“Yes, she's a hostess,” Atreus stiffly answers, unsure if he should expect some sort of impending lecture or not, though he doesn't believe he's done anything that would warrant it.
“I assume that means she knows about the placement of your rung in the clan ladder, right? The lieutenant of a growing family?”
Atreus nods. “She at least knows I'm not some chinpira, thanks to the pin.”
“And she's alright with that?”
“She seems to be,” the augmented man gives an unclear, but honest response.
“...Alright,” Ryuji concedes after yet another reflective pause. He leans back in his chair and exhales forcefully. “Sorry to start prying all of a sudden. I sometimes worry about how you and Devin might approach relationships with people outside of the clan. I wouldn't want to you enter a romantic pursuit under false pretenses or anything.”
“Is it that rare for members to be in a long-term relationship?”
“For the particularly ambitious people, yes, it can be,” the family head states candidly. “It's pretty easy for the young and impressionable members to be misled into thinking that the life of a high-level yakuza is a vacation, but being in charge of people – especially as the head of a family – can suck away all of your time. It's why most family leaders and their right-hand men are unmarried.”
Atreus silently meditates on his superior's words. He realizes that Okada is unmarried too, despite being in his forties, and Ryuji himself hasn't mentioned anything of being in a relationship in years – before he established his own family.
“Basically,” the patriarch continues, “I want you guys to be given the time and opportunities to actually have healthy relationships with others. I'm glad you two are my lieutenants, but I don't like the idea of any of my boys turning into the power-seizing, money-hungry types because they spend too much time away from normal people, you know?”
“I understand,” Atreus gives a slight nod. He quietly counts his blessings as a member of the Asano family.
Ryuji goes above and beyond to keep up close relationships with his subordinates whenever he can. It makes him appear as more of an older brother as opposed to a boss – part of the reason why he prefers being called 'aniki', though some of the stiff younger members insist on being more formal out of unwarranted fear. His insistence to know the lives and circumstances of everyone under him keeps everyone honest to each other and especially to him. He takes steps to avoid becoming one of those patriarchs who want high numbers for the sake of high numbers and can't be bothered to even remember their mens' names.
“But I guess if one of my boys truly wants to become someone like that, then there isn't much I can do,” Ryuji continues, bringing his eyes up towards the ceiling with a fleeting, melancholic gaze.
“I don't think anyone who has dreams of ruling with an iron fist would start their clan career by joining the family of errand boys who don't even get their hands dirty,” the augmented man remarks with frank but lighthearted truthfulness.
“That's a good point.”
Suddenly, another vibrating sensation is felt in Atreus's pant pocket, accompanied by a familiar tune. He retrieves his phone to see a new text message from Max.
[Hey, I'm about to head out in a few minutes,] she announces. [Are you ready to meet up?]
[Sure, I can head over to Takahashi's right now and wait for you,] Atreus responds immediately. [It's not very far from where I'm at, so I can secure a table.]
[Sounds good to me!] Max replies with equal promptness, showing no desire to hide any enthusiasm. [I'll meet you there in about fifteen or so. Don't start eating without me!]
[Wouldn't dream of it.]
Not wanting to waste time, Atreus pushes himself up and off the chair and immediately makes for the door. “Time for me to go,” he announces to his superior.
“Have fun. But don't forget that Okada-san might give you a call while you're out, so don't preoccupy yourself too much, okay?” Ryuji responds with a reminder.
“I won't. I'll see you later,” the eager gangster exits with a hurried goodbye.
Atreus orders another Automa ride to pick him up as he makes his way down to the first floor and through the lobby. He stands idly at the sidewalk in front of the building for mere seconds before a vacant vehicle finally approaches. He enters it and departs with haste as if he were already running the risk of being late, which would be logistically unlikely unless catastrophe struck. Thankfully, the only disaster encountered during the ride is the usual Los Angeles evening traffic that slows even the speediest vehicles down to a crawl in some of the most dense areas. Even self-driving cars aren't completely immune to grid-locking caused by humans.
Thankfully, he still manages to arrive at Takahashi's Donuts & Coffee in a timely manner, several minutes before the designated 7 PM meeting time. Atreus enters the establishment, and as always, Mr. Takahashi himself is present at the counter to give a loud welcome.
“Hey, Atreus! Back again so soon, huh?” the stocky, middle-aged proprietor greets with his usual fervor. “What'll you have?”
“Hey, oji-san. I'm not going to order anything just yet, I'm actually waiting for someone,” Atreus replies as he slowly makes his way to a table near the back of the room.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Who, Devin again?”
“No, uh, a girl I met recently,” the gangster answers with a hint of sudden bashfulness.
“A girl?!” the shop owner reels back in comically exaggerated surprise. “Hell, I haven't seen you walk in here with a girl in, what, almost a year and a half now? What was her name again? Reiko?”
“Reiko, yeah,” Atreus admits with a small nod as he sits in a vacant booth. “That one was a little short-lived.”
“So, who's your new catch, then? Does she know about your career?”
“She does, yes, so I don't think I have anything to worry about on that front. Hopefully. But we're not necessarily an item yet – nothing's really official right now.”
“Well, do you want to make it official?” Takahashi continues to shamelessly pry like a nosy relative.
“I think so, yeah. We've been getting along really well in the last few days – pretty effortlessly, at that,” Atreus briefly reflects on the last few times he was around Max, and how easy it was to open up and relax around her. As they hang out more and more, he feels like there are less and less reasons to not pursue something greater.
“Well, why wait?” the store proprietor asks with a shrug. “If you wait too long, she might take it as disinterest. It happened to me once when I was a teenager; there was a girl I liked in high school and I took the initiative and hung out with her a lot, but I screwed up and waited almost three months before finally asking her to be my girlfriend. Turns out she had assumed I wasn't interested in anything romantic after the first month and turned her own interest toward another guy. Took a while to get past that abject failure. Probably for the best though, because I met the woman I'd end up marrying only a couple years later,” his encouragement turned into a stream-of-consciousness recollection of his past, but his message isn't lost in the rambling.
“Well, we're not teenagers, so I think we're both capable of being a bit more straightforward than that. Especially her – she's been pretty no-nonsense so far.”
“That's good. It's always nice to be with someone who's capable of actually saying what they mean. After my awkward high school rejection and before meeting my wife, I did have a small string of short relationships with really... well, narcissistic women who expected me to read their minds, like their wants and needs were common knowledge everyone was born with. So damn annoying,” Takahashi heaves a sigh, feeling emotionally exhausted by simply recalling such horrific romantic pursuits.
The conversation is cut short by another chime of the entrance's bell, and the new customer draws Atreus's eyes immediately with her familiar blue hoodie. It's Max, and she scans the tables upon entering, soon meeting her gaze with the waiting gangster.
“Hey!” she greets him with a wide smile and approaches his table. Takahashi can't help but watch her walk by with an expression that depicts equal parts surprise and admiration. “Hope you weren't waiting around too long.”
Atreus stands to get ready to order their dessert. “Nah, I only got here a few minutes ago. I hope your stomach's empty,” he says as he begins to lead her to the counter.
“I ate a pretty meager breakfast earlier, so I've got plenty of room,” Max stands in front of the vast collection of donuts and leans forward, her nose nearly touching the glass of the display. “I haven't been here in a while, so I definitely want to splurge on the more experimental flavors. What's the current flavor of the fortnight?”
“Mint creme-filled peanut butter glaze chocolate donuts, miss!” Takahashi enthusiastically butts in with the mouthful of the chosen flavor's description.
“Holy shit, that sounds amazing,” Max becomes wide-eyed at the creation, as if she were staring at something otherworldly. “I'll definitely take one of those. Honestly, I'm not sure if I should shamelessly stuff my face or try to hold myself back so I don't look like a glutton.”
“You can go ahead and stuff your face, I'm good for it,” Atreus clarifies his desire to be chivalrous.
Max shakes her head. “Oh, no, I can't let you pay for me here after you bought that beer we had last night. It was the good stuff too, which you weren't even obligated to get. You could've bought piss water, but you didn't. Don't think I don't notice those gestures,” she punctuates her response with a wag of her finger. “I'll cover your donuts.”
“Well, if you insist,” Atreus concedes, not expecting her to push so strongly to pay him back for the beer at last night's meetup in the park. Buying that alcohol was just a friendly courtesy he didn't expect to be reciprocated for, but her insistence on doing it is a pleasant surprise.
Takahashi, who is still nosily listening to the discussion, quietly nods his head in distinct approval of Max's thoughtfulness.
“The variety here is pretty damn massive; it feels like there's twice as much now than when I last visited,” she continues to voice her thoughts aloud as she peruses the gargantuan collection of circular desserts.
“It seems like a never-ending supply, but we still end up with about a ninety percent or so sell-through rate of what we make each day,” the store owner declares with a slight, but proud puff of his chest. “Certain flavors sell out within an hour of opening the place up each morning. If anything, I might need to hire another pair of hands so we can make more.”
“I'll be sure to keep that in mind if I ever decide to look for a new job. I'm not used to working in a kitchen, but I'm good with my hands.”
“Well, I hope to get your application at some point in the future. So, have you decided on what you want to eat?” Takahashi asks as he grabs his stainless steel tongs.
Max nods while still staring through the glass of the display. “I think so. I'll take one mint creme-filled peanut butter chocolate, one triple chocolate, one glazed blueberry, one glazed strawberry, and one caramel. Oh, and a bottle of milk,” she steps off to the side to grab a twelve-ounce bottle of 2% milk from the refrigerated beverage display.
“Are you going to eat all of those right now?” Atreus asks, shocked at the size of her order.
“Oh, hell no,” she waves off the idea. “I couldn't be able to handle all of these right this instant. I'm planning on saving a couple for later. So, what do you wanna order?”
“One triple chocolate, one caramel, one normal glazed.”
“Want anything to drink?” Max asks, gesturing towards the beverages, ready to grab whichever he asks for.
“Water, please,” Atreus answers, and she takes a twenty-ounce bottle of spring water from the three-tier counter.
Takahashi, with the swiftness of a man who's been doing this for many years, grabs each individual donut and places them into the paper bag corresponding to the person's order. After payment is made, Atreus and Max sit back down at the empty table near the back of the establishment he was at earlier.
“Man, I've never tried this mint creme-filled one before. Is this a totally new flavor?” Max asks as she grabs the dark donut covered in light brown peanut butter glaze, eyeing it with a longing stare of sheer amazement and lips slightly glistening with saliva.
“No, it's a repeat. But it's fairly popular; you're lucky he wasn't out already when you got here.”
Max takes an eager but careful bite of the donut, the conservative amount of light green-colored crème revealing itself as she pulls her mouth away. She chews slowly to savor it, and lets out a satisfied hum; her expression is nothing short of pure bliss.
“How does this work so well?” she comments after finally swallowing the bite. “I kinda thought the mint would clash with the peanut butter somehow, but it's so subtle that you can still taste all of the flavors individually but also at the same time. It's hard to explain, but it's... It's like having a beautiful renaissance painting in my mouth.”
“You're making me blush over here!” Takahashi responds after eavesdropping on her reaction. “It's just a product of almost twenty years of donut crafting. I never strike gold with the first attempt at a new recipe. Many, many tweaks are made over the course of days, sometimes weeks, before finally getting the taste I want. It's not black magic or anything.”
“Could'f fooled me!” Max replies semi-coherently with her mouth stuffed with her second bite of the donut.
She's already thrown out the delicacy she had mere seconds ago. Atreus, while amused at his date's elated scarfing down of her food, eats slowly in contrast. Between her gigantic, eager bites, Max finally finds the window of opportunity to begin talking again.
“So, how often do you come here?” she asks, already bringing the last bit of donut to her mouth to finish it off.
“I've been coming here almost every day since it opened,” he bluntly answers after swallowing a bite of his triple chocolate donut.
“Seriously?” Max becomes surprised at his devoutness to the shop.
“Yup. Both Devin and I. You can ask oji-san here if you think I'm kidding,” Atreus points to Takahashi, who heaves a sigh.
“Yeah, he's telling the truth,” the shop owner admits with a short shake of his head and hint of fatigue. “The two of them have been my most loyal customers for the nearly two decades this place has been up, much to my embarrassment,” he shoots a glare at Atreus, but defuses it with a teasing smile. “Almost everyday, after school from fourth grade until they graduated, they'd come over and help themselves to a donut or two before going home. Sometimes they'd stick around until closing time for the hell of it.”
“He acts upset, but he likes having us around,” Atreus remarks on the elder man's jokingly bitter attitude towards the topic.
“Oh, don't flatter yourself. I was more like a reluctant babysitter than a baker for those first several years. You two were coming around and taking up precious seating space that could've gone to adults who bought more donuts than you did.”
Atreus leans forward slightly to whisper at Max. “He says that, but he still gives us free donuts on holidays and our birthdays,” he says with a smirk. She smiles back as she chews into her second donut, finding the unlikely relationship between the gangster and the donut master to be surprisingly endearing.