The Cracks Are Starting to Show

Entering the classroom, I greeted my friends and went up to my seat. I sit in the last row next to the windows, as it is usually less filled up with people, and I can focus on classes relatively better.

Well, that said, sometimes I still go on social media during class if the Professor covers something that I already know, or if it's something extremely boring.

Opening my phone, I was planning to watch some more KanpekiOjou-sama clips, but the person that usually sits next to me arrived.

Her name is Rem, and we have known each other since high school, in our 2nd year I believe. And since then, we have always in some way or another ended up sitting next to one another.

"Hey, Rem."

"Good morning, Arata."

We rarely hold a conversation, but we always greet each other. If it wasn't obvious already, she is the quiet type, the one that would read books… Or actually, never mind. Couldn't really imagine her reading books.

Speaking of which, Johnny also managed to get to class on time. Well, I managed to get here before him. Knowing him, he probably started talking to a random girl, and lost track of time. Even now, he went to one of the girls' groups and began talking to them. He never learns, does he…

Anyways, soon afterwards the Professor came in and the class started.

…

It was around 4 in the afternoon, and after a few hours of college, I could finally go home. That in fact, is incorrect. I had about 5 more minutes left of this session. While the contents of the lesson were kind of complicated, they were fairly interesting.

"That's all for today. Since next week you will be having your finals, don't forget to look over the material like your life depends on it. Goodbye."

Our Electronics Professor said so and left the room. As soon as he did, some of my classmates began to take their notebooks and leave, while some were stretching. Looking around the room, I spotted Johnny.

"Hey Johnny, any plans?"

"Yo, nothing special, just the usual. I have plans to go to a mixer that has been in the planning for a while now. My friend told me that there will be a lot of hot girls, and who knows, maybe I may get lucky and finally get a girlfriend."

"Just the usual, you say? Don't forget we have finals next week, I don't think you'd want to fail them."

"Yeah, yeah, not you too…"

Looking exasperated, Johnny tells me this. I'm probably not the first one to tell him this, as he doesn't really take learning seriously. His parents are pretty strict on him in some certain areas, while lax on others and him almost failing his classes was definitely not one of them.

Anyway, I have to go for some groceries and go home.

"Alright man, I have to go. Talk to you later."

"Aight, see ya."

Saying goodbye, I start walking towards the store that's not too far from our apartment. On my way there, I see three people wearing black suits.

They looked like they were part of a gang. The tallest one, who also seemed to me the oldest one out of them, looked completely ripped. He could probably snap someone's neck without even trying. Unsurprisingly, they also seemed to be wearing tattoos, from what I can see looking at their necks.

The other two couldn't be called normal either, but compared to the tallest one they pale in comparison. They intrigued me and so I decided to follow them, completely forgetting the fact that I had to buy some groceries. They were going into some back alley, and after a few minutes of stalking them they finally arrived at what I think was their destination, a black SUV.

And just as I thought, they entered the car and drove off. Thankfully they didn't notice I was following them. I also had enough time to memorize their car's plate number.

I started looking around, to see if there was anyone in the neighborhood. I noticed a woman was standing behind one of the house's fences, but I decided to pay it no mind and went back to buy errands.

After buying stuff for today's dinner, I went back to my building. Going up the stairs leading up to our apartment, I had a feeling something was off.

Raising my guard, I went inside the apartment and immediately saw that my younger brother, Akira's, shoes weren't present. This is unusual, as around this time he is usually already home, because his classes end earlier than mine.

Stepping into the living room, I saw a note on the table, and on it was written:

[We have kidnapped your brother and we will soon kidnap your sister as well, unless you pay your father's debt to us. I'll keep it short. The money you have to pay is 130 million yen, you have 2 days to pay it, we will be waiting at _____ street.]

Our father was someone who always lived through life brazenly, so to hear that he got involved with the Yakuza did not come off as a surprise.

Nevertheless, I had let down my guard, even though I had a feeling that we were being watched.

In any case, I decided to immediately take action. First off, I took the paper and put it in my pocket. I can't let my sister know about this. She already has work and other things going on in her life and this would only stress her more.

I began calling my sister. After a few rings, she picked up the phone.

"Hey."

"Hi Arata. What is it? I'm currently on shift so please keep it brief."

"No problem, just wanted to let you know that Akira told me he is going to stay over at one of his friend's place."

"Really, that's unusual. Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, take care."

"You too, see you later."

And she hung up. She did seem surprised but I'm fairly certain she bought my lie.

Now… I wonder how I should deal with this situation?