Shark

5

It was the next day. Atsuo had barely slept the other night, on account of what he saw the other day. He was walking to the main entrance of the warehouse, his stomach churning more as he grew closer. Once he reached the doors, he saw Isamu and Usagi standing by them, with Isamu holding the metal pipe he always wielded. He glanced over at Atsuo.

"You ready?" He asked.

Atsuo hesitated.

"...yes." He said.

"Great. Let's head out."

Then three of them walked out the doors and started walking to the neighborhood. Atsuo grew more and more anxious as he walked. As they walked over to the first house, Isamu looked back at him.

"Atsuo, you knock." He said.

Atsuo nodded and walked up to the door. He knocked a few times, and was greeted by a man. Atsuo took a deep breath before speaking.

"...hello."

Suddenly, before he could continue, he heard Isamu groan,

"Oh, you have to be kidding me."

Then, Isamu grabbed his shoulders and shoved him off to the side, then he yelled,

"Hand over the money!!"

The man flinched, then reached into his pocket and handed Usagi a wad of cash. When the door shut, Atsuo was still confused. Suddenly, Isamu whipped around and slapped Atsuo across the face. Atsuo fell to the ground, holding his stinging cheek.

"You NEVER start with 'hello.'" Isamu yelled, "You get STRAIGHT to the point, NO EXCEPTIONS."

Atsuo kept his head down to hide his watering eyes. Then, he felt Isamu grab his arms and yank him off the ground.

"On your feet, let's go." He said.

Atsuo walked behind Isamu, holding his hand against his cheek. Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked over and saw Usagi giving him a questioning thumbs-up. Atsuo sighed.

"Eh, I've been better." He said, as if he understood Usagi's silence, "I just...still have to get used to this job."

Usagi patted him on the back, then he caught up to Isamu. Atsuo looked up and found himself in front of the second and final house.

"Alright, let's go." Isamu said.

The three of them walked up to the door. Isamu knocked a few times, and after a moment, a young man answered the door.

"Oh, h-hello there." He stuttered.

"Don't play dumb with us, you know why we're here." Isamu said bluntly, "Hand over the money."

The man reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of cash, and handed it to Usagi. Isamu smirked.

"Thank you for your business." He said, "And thank you for making this easy."

Suddenly, Usagi tapped Isamu on the shoulder, holding up the stack of money.

"What is it?" He asked.

He looked at the stack, examining it. Atsuo looked at the man, nervous that something was wrong. Then, Isamu looked back at the man, glaring at him.

"You're short one hundred thirty seven yen." He said, "Where is it?"

The man swallowed nervously.

"...I-I must've miscounted. I-I can get it, just give me a day-"

"You don't have a day." Isamu interrupted, "You know what happens now."

He looked over at Usagi.

"Usagi, you know what to do." He said.

Usagi laughed a bit, then he lifted up his mask, only showing his mouth. When he smiled, Atsuo saw his teeth, which were filed down to razor sharp edges.

"Get him." Isamu said.

Then, with hardly a warning, Usagi lunged at the man, latching his teeth into his neck and knocking them both to the ground. Atsuo watched in horror as Usagi tore at the man's flesh with his teeth as he screamed in pain, begging for mercy. Atsuo felt his throat burning, itching to expel the contents of his stomach, but swallowed and continued to watch the bloodbath unfolding in the doorway. Then, after a moment, Usagi stepped away from the bloodied man, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and putting his mask back down. Then, he calmly walked back to Isamu's side. The man was lying on the ground, fighting to breathe, his neck and part of his arm mangled by Usagi. Isamu looked at him coldly, remorselessly.

"Have the money by tomorrow." He said.

Then he slammed the door and the three of them walked away. Atsuo felt sick all over again, just like the other day, but he didn't want to vomit in front of Isamu again, so he just kept walking, holding a bad taste in his mouth. As he walked, his thoughts raced.

"It feels like I'll never get used to this." He thought, "But I have to, or I'll be kicked to the streets."

Atsuo looked over at Usagi. He had never imagined that such a seemingly calm and collected person was capable of committing such atrocities. Usagi looked back at him, but Atsuo looked away, not wanting to stare. He walked back to the warehouse, keeping his head down as he usually did.

Later...

Atsuo was back at the warehouse. He was sitting at one of the tables, looking down at a rice ball. He couldn't bring himself to eat, as he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep it down. He spaced out, letting his thoughts wander.

"Will it be like this every time?" He wondered, "Will I just have to get used to the violence? Even if my life depends on it, I don't think I can force myself to toughen up."

As he was getting lost in thought, he heard someone sit down next to him. He looked over and saw Crowbar sitting at the table, holding a rice ball.

"...hey." Atsuo said quietly, "Can I...help you?"

"No, I'm just eating."

He took a bite from the rice ball, then he looked over at the one in Atsuo's hand.

"You okay?" He asked, "Usually you finish your rice ball pretty quickly."

Atsuo remembered all the people he saw get beaten, the bloody messes flashing before his eyes. He felt his stomach turn.

"...I think I've lost my appetite." He said.

"Oh, it's the new job, isn't it?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Hm, that's understandable. People usually adjust to it pretty quickly."

"Then how come I haven't adjusted yet?"

"Well, no offense, but you're kind of...spoiled. Like, you've never been exposed to any remote form of harshness."

Atsuo felt a tinge of annoyance.

"I-I guess so, but...but..."

He stood up quickly, putting his rice ball on the table.

"I don't even know." He said, quickly walking away.

Without looking back, he walked up the stairs and into his dorm room, shutting the door behind him. The moment the door closed, he broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. He leaned his back against the door and slid to the ground, bringing his knees to his chest.

"*Sob*...what's wrong with me?" He asked himself out loud.

He stood up and walked across the room and fell onto his bed, still crying, waiting for himself to fall asleep.