Hero and the Gambler

Kaito waltzed past the guys chasing the disheveled man, kneeling down in front of him with a smile on his face. "I'm Kaito, you?"

"Elijah... Mutō Elijah."

"You want me to call you by your last or first name?"

"Just call me Elijah."

"Alright... so, Elijah. Who're the bad guys here?"

Elijah pointed at the Yakuza, "They are, and they got more boys comin'."

"I see." Kaito, with a smile on his face, turned to them, "Is that right?" Kaito turned back to Elijah, "So... why are you being chased by these nice young men?"

"Called out they were cheating, had proof, then they were kicked out wherein I got all of their money in return, now, we're here."

One of the Yakuza yelled, "I need that fuckin' money!"

Kaito smiled at the young gambler sitting upon money in front of him, "What should we do?"

Elijah smirked, "Why don't we collaborate?"

"Hm?"

"You seem like someone who'd want to make good in the world, how's about you collab with me, get some money, and help a lot of people."

"I'm a lot more interested in the whole helping people part but..." Kaito pressed his lips together, "Let's say this, if I don't like what you're actually doing in the long run, I'll abandon this ship altogether, how's that sound?"

"Perfect." They both shook hands for a quick moment before Kaito stood up completely, a few more Yakuza jumping into the mix behind the Brazilian man. Kaito sighed, pointing at each and every one of them individually, "1, 2, 3... 4... 5, 6... 7." Kaito cringed, "That's too small... you guys are gonna lose."

"W-what!?" One of them yelled, "Who the fuck do you think you're talkin' to?"

"Ha~a! Ochitsuite kudasai."

"Kuso!" Another Yakuza yelled.

"What clan or family are you guys in any way?"

"Kakai! The Kakai Clan!"

"Family?"

"Fujisawa Family, what are you getting at?"

"Whats a low rung clan like you doin' out in Brazil?"

"You motherfucker!" He sprinted straight towards Kaito and was quickly knocked out in one punch to his jaw, dropping to the ground like a bag of rocks. The others cursed loudly as they began sprinting towards Kaito, some jumping out of the way to surround him. Kaito kicked one of them, causing them to stumble into one of their comrades as Kaito shifts his attention to one of the Yakuza surrounding him, grabbing them by their collar and slamming his forehead into their nose. They fell to the ground, flailing in pain as Kaito jumped over the now downed Yakuza. A few more of them clambered over each other as they skid across the ground, making a sudden turn.

Kaito used a front kick to take one down as their head slapped against the concrete before Kaito placed his front leg down, quickly switching to a snap kick, hitting them in the head. They began wildly swinging at Kaito as he had already moved out of the way, punching them in the jaw as they passed by. They swung again and once again missed as another Yakuza moved in on Kaito's left side. They dived in an attempt to do a takedown on Kaito, but he quickly countered with a burpee before getting back up, a kick narrowly missing him. Kaito kicked the Yakuza still on the ground, just as he was getting back up as another one began regaining their composure, taking a boxing stance.

Kaito continued to weave through the group, sometimes hitting them with punches, wearing them down, or taking them out temporarily with a kick until all of them laid on the ground with labored breath, some still trying to pick themselves up as they were covered in blood, eyes were swollen, some groaning in pain. Kaito raised his eyebrows, looking over to the Brazilian man who had not bothered to interfere. "I'm guessing you're just here for the ride?"

"Nah, só queria ver se você valeu a pena."

Kaito made a sad expression, "Sorry, I don't understand Portuguese."

"That's fine." The Brazilian man walked forward, stepping over a few unconscious Yakuza to get close to Kaito, keeping a 5-foot distance. The Brazilian man hopped forward then dropped to the floor, as the back of the Brazilian's foot hit Kaito's face, he fell to the floor as well. As the Brazilian man stood back up he was also met with the end of Kaito's heel, knocking the man on his feet as it connected with his jaw. Kaito stood up, hopping in one place in a karate stance. There were no marks on Kaito's face.

Kaito smiled, tapping on the side of his cheek, "Your Meia Lua de Compasso missed." The Brazilian man clicked his tongue, standing back up.

"Are you mocking me?"

"I did use your move against you, right?"

"Fucker." Kaito swept his leg across his back leg, throwing it up into the sky, pointing the bottom of his foot in the air, slamming it down onto the Brazilian man's shoulder, smacking his cheek some. The Brazilian man stumbled, reeling back and creating some distance. "Axe kick?"

Kaito sprinted towards the man, spinning twice, lifting his knee on the second spin. The Brazilian man brought his arms up and once realizing a kick would never come - only could see the blurred visage hitting against his face as Kaito spun around for the third time, knocking the Brazilian man straight onto his ass.

"What!?" Kaito cocked his leg back, hitting the man with a soccer kick, knocking him onto the ground completely, cringing in pain. Kaito shook his head before placing his hands on his knees, taking a deep breath before straightening his back, taking off his hat, and clicking a few loose strands of hair.

"Hey," Kaito let out with a wheeze, "Elijah, do you have any shaving stuff?" He pointed to his goatee.

Elijah stood up, throwing the duffle bag over his shoulder, "Yeah, come on." Elijah led Kaito to his apartment, cramped, only with two or three rooms if you count the kitchen. There were noticeable outlines of dust showing that something was missing there, the only places filled with actual things necessary for one's survival being found in the bedroom, restroom, and kitchen, the living room lacking, well, anything. Elijah pointed to the restroom and Kaito went on his way.

Elijah threw the duffle bag onto the kitchen table before leaning on the counter.

"You really did a number on 'em!" Elijah yelled out, taking out a cigarette, placing it in between his lips.

"Yeah, well, they were the lowest of the low anyway, easy pickings!"

Elijah chuckled, opening the window before lighting his cig, chewing on it with his back molars, waiting for the typical orange glow that it so often emitted. He grabbed the cigarette with two fingers, blowing out a small puff of smoke. "So, you'll assist me!?"

"Well...! It depends!"

"Right?" Elijah placed himself on a wall next to the restroom.

"What do you want to do?"

Elijah smiled, "I want world peace."

Kaito chuckled, "Bullshit!"

"I just want to do good in the only way I know how."

"Are you a bad person?"

"I'm certainly not a good one."

"Then... why do you think I should help you out?"

"It's because what I plan on doing is both righteous and will put us on the map."

"Okay?"

"You want to be a hero right?"

"..."

"I can make you become that, become what you want."

"Okay..."

"If you help me, guard me, we can help out a lot of people."

"Explain."

"I will, in due time."

Kaito clicked his tongue before exiting the restroom. Kaito goatee is gone, instead, it's the squeaky clean face that he had when he talked to his girlfriend's face to face for the last time.

"Holy shit, you look like an idol!"

"I'm leaving."

Kaito made it for the door and Elijah stopped him, "Wait! Wait!"

Kaito peaked over his shoulder, "What?"

"If you stick with me for a while, you'll see, okay?"

"Desperation isn't a good sign."

"I will help you."

"Hm?"

"I will make things right for you, you'll see, just stick around."

"You said something real aggravatin' just now."

"Something bad brought you to Brazil, right?"

"..."

"I'll help you with that, just follow me."

Kaito clicked his tongue, "Fuck it."

Elijah chuckled, "Alright, follow." Elijah grabbed the duffle bag, leaving out the door with it as Kaito followed behind him.

"How much money is in that bag?"

"About 500,000 real."

"That's... how much is that in yen?"

"Well... in yen it's ten mil, in American dollars, that's 100,000 dollars."

"That is... a lot."

"Nice, isn't it?" After a few minutes of walking, Elijah had led Kaito into a door underground, led to by a set of stairs. Elijah opens the door to reveal a nice and enclosed room, a red carpet, tan walls, a guard sitting at the entrance of the doorway. They nod to Elijah, opening the door as he entered.

"What is this?"

"This was the casino I was referring to." They walked through the door, revealing multiple floors filled with a different variety of games revolving around gambling one's money away, politicians, rich people, Yakuza, people from many walks of life wasting away within the casino. Elijah contemplated for a moment before motioning to an elevator, "Watch." Elijah and Kaito entered, going to the lowest floor within the casino before sitting down in a bar, Elijah watching those who were gambling as closely as he could.

"What are we doing?"

"Waiting."

"For what?"

"Waiting for someone I could recognize."

"Why?"

"You'll see."