Training Wheels

Hiro stood in the gym, fists clenched as he practiced his strikes against a worn-out punching bag. Sweat dripped from his forehead, but he barely noticed. Today was the day. At seven years old, he was finally old enough to officially join the lookout division.

Kousuke entered, watching his son with a critical eye. "You ready?"

Hiro turned, nodding eagerly. "Yeah, I'm ready."

His father gave him a rare, approving nod. "Then let's go."

As they made their way to the gang's base, Hiro's excitement built. He was stepping into something far bigger than himself. And though he didn't fully understand it yet, this was the first step toward a life that would change him forever. The base was an old abandoned factory, the organization took control over the place when they realized that no cop wanted to be near the place. 

Aidan was in the front of the factory waiting for Hiro's arrival. They both make eye contact and they greet each other. "Let's get inside shall we?.." Hiro nodded and they both headed inside, but before he entered the factory, Hiro looked back at his father with an excited look. Kousuke didn't say anything to him, he just nodded in approval. 

As Both of them head inside they are greeted by the gang leader. He greets them with a smile on his face "Hello there… I am Natashi Koruke and I'm the gang Leader… Hope you guys will make a great addition to this gang and to this organization. Both Hiro, and Aidan bow to Natashi and Hiro with a confused expression on his face, he thinks to himself "Seems really weird that this is the gang leader… Thought he would be a bit more tough…" He immediately brushed the thought off. Natashi's expression changed from a friendly face to a more sinister one. His voice got lower. He said to both of them "Listen here, there are only three rules you have to follow. Follow every order I give you… If you get caught by the police, don't talk, we will handle it… Have the guts to fight your way out of any situation given. If you follow these rules you should be able to survive… Your first mission is tomorrow at midnight… I would recommend getting rest and getting ready for tomorrow… Understood?.." They both gulped in fear and nodded. Both of their hearts start to race. Hiro now realized what he had gotten himself into as this wasn't gonna be as easy as he thought.

It was the next day. The wind howled through the narrow alleyways as Hiro and Aidan crouched behind a stack of crates, their eyes locked onto the figures in the distance. Their first mission as lookouts had begun, and failure was not an option.

Hiro steadied his breathing, gripping the small communicator in his hand. "Two men approaching from the west," he whispered, voice barely audible over the wind.

Aidan nodded. "Got it. Keep your eyes open."

The figures moved toward the designated meeting point, a rusted warehouse on the outskirts of the city. From their position, Hiro could make out the faint glow of cigarettes as the men exchanged hushed words.

Natashi's voice crackled over the radio. "Report."

Hiro pressed the button. "Targets have arrived. No signs of trouble."

"Good. Stay put."

Minutes stretched into eternity as they watched the transaction unfold. Sweat beaded at Hiro's temple. One wrong move and everything could go south.

Then—

A shadow shifted near the warehouse entrance. Hiro's stomach twisted. Something was wrong.

"Aidan—"

Before he could finish, a deafening gunshot echoed through the night.

The gunshot shattered the night, reverberating through the alleyway. Hiro's breath caught in his throat as he ducked lower behind the crates, his heart hammering against his ribs. Aidan swore under his breath, gripping Hiro's sleeve tightly.

"Stay down," Aidan hissed.

Hiro nodded, his fingers curling into fists. Below them, chaos erupted. The two men who had been exchanging goods scrambled, one of them clutching his bleeding arm while the other reached for a weapon.

"Who the hell fired?" one of them yelled, his voice sharp with panic.

From the warehouse entrance, figures emerged—dark silhouettes against the dim industrial lights. More armed men. Hiro's stomach twisted. This wasn't part of the plan.

The radio on Aidan's hip crackled to life. "Abort mission. Get out of there. Now." Natashi's voice was urgent, clipped.

Aidan wasted no time. "Move!" he ordered, grabbing Hiro's arm and pulling him back toward the exit route they had memorized.

Footsteps pounded against the pavement. Shouts echoed behind them. Hiro dared a glance back and saw one of the armed men pointing in their direction.

"They saw us," he muttered, panic creeping into his voice.

Aidan gritted his teeth. "Run faster."

They tore through the maze of backstreets, dodging discarded crates and leaping over puddles that reflected the flickering city lights. Their lungs burned, their muscles screamed, but they didn't stop.

Just as they rounded the final corner leading to the rendezvous point, Hiro felt something whiz past his ear. A sharp crack splintered the brick wall beside him. A bullet. He stumbled but Aidan yanked him forward.

"There's the car!" Aidan shouted.

A sleek black vehicle idled near the curb, its headlights off. The back door flung open just as they reached it. Natashi's stern face greeted them as he pulled them inside before slamming the door shut.

The car screeched away, tires skidding against the asphalt.

Hiro collapsed against the seat, panting. His hands wouldn't stop shaking.

Kazuya sat in the front passenger seat, his expression unreadable. "What the hell happened?"

Aidan shook his head. "I don't know. Someone else was there. They fired first."

Natashi's jaw tightened. "Did they see your faces?"

Hiro hesitated before nodding. "At least one of them did."

A heavy silence fell over the car. Kazuya exhaled sharply before rubbing his temples. "This just got complicated."

Natashi glanced at Hiro through the rearview mirror. "You did well keeping your head, but this changes things. They might come looking for you."

"This is your first real lesson," Kazuya said, turning slightly in his seat. His eyes were cold, calculating. "In our world, mistakes get people killed. And now, we need to clean this up before it comes back to bite us."

Hiro knew then that his life would never be the same. 

The car ride back to the organization building was eerily silent. The weight of what had just happened pressed down on Hiro like a stone, his pulse still racing from the chase. He kept his gaze on his trembling hands, forcing himself to steady his breathing.

Kazuya was the first to break the silence. "This isn't something we can ignore. They saw your faces. That means we have two options."

Hiro looked up, his stomach twisting at the implication.

"We either find out who they are and deal with them first," Kazuya continued, his tone cold and matter-of-fact, "or we prepare for retaliation."

Aidan exhaled sharply, rubbing his forehead. "What if they don't come after us? Maybe it was just a random gang, not anyone tied to the syndicate."

Natashi shook his head. "We can't afford to think like that. We assume the worst and act accordingly." His eyes flickered to Hiro. "That includes you."

Hiro swallowed hard but nodded. He had known what he was getting into when he agreed to join the organization. There was no room for second-guessing now.

The car pulled into the underground garage beneath the organization building, and Kazuya turned in his seat. "Aidan, you're coming with me. We'll see if we can dig up any intel on who those guys were."

Aidan gave a stiff nod and climbed out of the car, but not before throwing Hiro a quick glance. It wasn't one of reassurance—it was a look that told him things were about to get much worse.

Kousuke came out into the garage and placed a firm hand on Hiro's shoulder before leading him inside. "Come with me. We need to talk."

Inside Kousuke's office, the air was heavy. Hiro sat across from his father, trying to mask the nerves that curled in his stomach.

"You handled yourself well out there, from what I heard from Kazuya" Kousuke said, leaning forward. "But this isn't over."

"I know," Hiro said quietly.

Kousuke studied him for a moment before continuing. "The moment you hesitated to run, you put yourself in danger. There's no room for hesitation in our world. The next time you're caught in a situation like that, you don't think—you act."

Hiro nodded, but Kousuke could see the doubt lingering in his eyes.

"Second-guessing will get you killed," Kousuke pressed. "You need to start training harder. If they come for you, I want to know you can handle yourself."

Hiro clenched his fists. "I won't let you down."

A rare flicker of pride passed through Kousuke's eyes. "Good."

Time goes by, and Hiro and Aidan have now been at the organization for a good while now. It's been a good 8 years now. They have been doing look-out missions for as long they have been in charge of keeping their supplies in stock, training new gang members such as Umito. Natashi meets with both Hiro and Aidan and says to the both of them, "Since now you two are technically old enough to join our gang, would you guys like to do your very first field mission?" Both Hiro and Aidan have a look of excitement as this is finally a chance to prove to the whole gang and the organization why they joined at such a young age. They both nod, and Natashi says to them, "Good… Your first mission is in three days. I'll give you more info as the time comes. For now, try to get as much rest as possible." 

(End of Chapter)