Good Food
"Nice to meet you, you can call me Matt, Kotori-san." I said as I walked in, closed the door behind me, and sat down in front of the bar.
"Your Japanese is very good, Matt-san. I'm Inuzuka Kohei and this is my daughter, Inuzukua Tsumugi." said the man with the glasses, who I now know is called Inuzuka.
"Nice to meet you both, and thank you for the compliment. I conduct business in Japan often so I learned the language to make things easier for all parties involved."
"B-business? You look the same age as me?" said Kotori.
"I say business, but it's nothing major, just sales. What do you do, Inuzuka-san?"
"Oh, me, I'm a high school math teacher, and a dad."
"Sounds tough. At least in America, it is, I don't know what it's like in Japan."
"Hai, it is tough. But I power through it knowing at the end of the day, I can see her smile." he said looking at his daughter, who smiled in return.
"M-matt-san what would you like to eat?" said Kotori.
"Chef's choice. I'm sort of intruding right now so I don't want to make any demands. I'll leave it up to you to decide."
"O-okay. Sensei, can you help me prepare?"
"Of course. Stay right there Tsumugi, don't cause any trouble."
"Got it!" she said mock saluting.
"Eh, so you're her teacher?"
"Hai, she's my student. But right now I'm her student. She's been teaching me how to cook so I can cook for Tsumugi more." he said, falling into a little silence.
"Aren't you lucky to have a dad like him?" I said to Tsumugi.
"Mm! He's the best!" she said, causing her dad to blush.
"So, Tsumugi-chan, do you know what you want to be when you grow up?" I asked her.
"I want to be a chef, like Iida-nee so I can cook yummy food!" she said as her eyes sparkled.
"Sounds like you want to go to Totsuki Culinary Academy when you grow up."
"What's that?" she asked.
"Totsuku Culinary Academy is the greatest culinary school in the world. Aspiring chefs from all around the world all want to go there because it's where all the famous chefs go and graduate from. They say the food made by someone that's graduated from there is so good, you'll never want to eat anything else ever again." I explained to her.
"Wow! Papa, I want to go there!"
"Haha, when you're older, if you still want to become a chef, you can try out. I'm sure you'll make it."
"You know about Totsuki? Only those interested in the culinary field usually know about that school." asked Kotori.
"I was lucky enough to taste the food made by a chef that graduated from there."
"Eh?! Who?!"
"Yukihira Joichiro."
"EHHHH?! Are you serious?!" she asked, shocked at my answer.
"Oh, is that a famous chef?" asked Inuzuka.
"Sensei, you haven't heard of him? He's only considered one of the greatest chefs in the world. Even among those who have graduated from Totsuki, he's considered to be among the top. But how did you manage to taste his food? I heard he's usually booked by the super wealthy." she asked.
"I was conducting business with someone who hired him to cook. His food is as good as you've heard. Better. But, I have to ask how do you know so much about him? I mean, I know you're at least somewhat interested in the culinary field, but still."
"O-oh. My mom graduated from Totsuki. She was in the same year as him and she always told me how legendary his cooking was." she explained.
"Oh, your mom graduated from Totsuki. That's quite an accomplishment. But if she graduated from there, why is this restaurant so empty?" I asked.
"It used to be jam-packed, but she recently got an offer to star in her own cooking show and she took it. She only comes here on the weekends and even then, this place is rarely open." she said, looking a little downtrodden.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Eh, what are you apologizing for?"
"Well, you looked a little sad. No child deserves to be ignored."
"I-it's fine. I've gotten used to it."
"It's okay, nee-san." said Tsumugi as she went around the bar to hug her.
"Thank you, Tsumugi-chan but it's dangerous to be here so why don't you go sit down."
"Okay!" she said before coming back around and sitting down on the stool.
While the two of them were cooking, I was playing around with Tsumugi. After a few minutes, the food was ready, and I have to admit it was good. Nowhere near Joichiro's but better than I expected.
"Thank you for the food, Kotori-san. It was very delicious." I said.
"Thank you, Matt-san. I'm just glad you liked it."
"Mm, it was good, nee-san." said Tsumugi with a grain of rice on her cheek.
Watching Inuzuka clean up her face, I felt my senses go off. Quickly hacking into some cameras I had seen in the alley, I looked around and saw that DK along with some goons were searching the area.
'Well, not like I didn't expect this, but I better leave before they get caught up in the trouble.'
"Unfortunately, I have to go. I have an early flight tomorrow and I want to get some sleep before then." I said as I stood up.
"Oh, that's a shame." said Kotori.
"Eh, nii-chan you're leaving already?" said Tsumugi.
"Yup, but it was very nice meeting you Tsumugi-chan. Let's meet again when you've become a super famous chef." I said.
"Mm. I promise."
"Haha, you have a good kid, Inuzuka-san."
"Thank you. It was nice meeting you, Matt-san."
"How much for the food, Kotori-san?"
"Eh? Consider it my treat."
"Okay, here's my card. Call if you ever need my assistance." I said handing both her and Inuzuka my card before dropping 2000 yen on the ground, accidentally, and then leaving the place.
'How should I deal with them? I could just lure them somewhere and beat them up. Nothing hard about it. I could also avoid them, but they might get angry and take it out on innocent bystanders. So, luring them it is.'
Walking out from the alley where the restaurant was and entering the bigger alley, I whistled to attract DK's attention before walking off.
"There he is!" he said, as they all began to chase me.
Running slow enough for them to keep a visual on me, I made my way out of the restaurant alley before going towards another alley, an empty one this time. Entering it and heading in, I stopped and waited for them to catch up. A few moments later, and they all began to make their way into the alley.
"Oh, DK-chan. I didn't see you there."
"I told you, you would regret it. And now I'm here to get what's mine." he said, holding a baseball bat.
"Fine. Let's get this over with. I got stuff to do." I said before all the goons started to rush me.
"All at once, come on, you're all supposed to rush me one by one while the rest of you stand around me." I joked.
Dodging the first goon I punch him in the jaw hard enough to knock him out before two more of them took a swing at me. Crouching to dodge, I did a sweeping kick causing them to fall hard enough to knock themselves out after hitting the street.
Seeing me on the ground, DK came up to swing his bat at my head before I rolled out of the way, getting up and punching him in the liver making him keel over and throw up. Crouching down next to him, I grabbed his head and picked it up.
"Look if you want to go again after this, I won't hold back anymore. You think you have some power over me because you're in the Yakuza or know someone who is, I don't care. If you want to go toe to toe and compare who's connections run deeper, then I promise you, you'll lose. Accept that you lost and leave me alone, or you'll end up at the bottom of Tokyo Bay with cement blocks around your ankles." I said before letting his head go and leaving to go back to my car.