Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Inbetween Days ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Three

It didn't take me long to learn how things worked on the street, it was just a matter of picking the right group to get in with. There were four or five big gangs that kind of controlled things. Each one of them had a territory and a set of rules that were supposed to be followed by any of the "streeters" that they let live in their territory. Mostly it had to do with giving them a share of any food or money that you managed to scrounge up. In some gangs that also applied to clothes and other things too.

Of course being "fresh off the farm" as they liked to call us newbies who weren't born in the city, I'd made a big mistake of taking the food from the Youkai woman, even if I didn't know it. Kashi's gang probably would've left me alone if I hadn't taken it; but because I had, they had to teach me a lesson and make an example of me. The fact that they hated Youkai and didn't allow any in their gang or to live in their territory might have been enough for them to kick my ass, but it was the food that had brought me to their attention. They'd been watching me, I guess, since I'd entered what was their territory so it didn't take them long to come after me.

Well obviously I wasn't going to be hanging with Kashi and his crew -- in fact, the two of us did square off eventually; and then it was his turn to crawl off and lick his wounds. I kind of drifted around the city, careful not do anything that might cause trouble. If I found something to eat in a garbage can or managed to beg something, I always made sure that I left most of it to the side so that if I was being watched they would see it. I was careful of where and when I slept, trying to stay out of the way as much as possible; and that's when I met Jiro.

I'd been hanging out in his territory for a few days without any trouble. Next to Kashi, Jiro was probably the next powerful gang leader in Chang-An. He was a lot older than me, probably about fourteen or fifteen and he'd been on the streets since he was about six. His father had kicked him and his mother out when he found out that his wife had cheated on him and that Jiro wasn't his kid. His mother kind of left him to his own devices while she tried to find another man to take her in. I guess Jiro's mother went through a long line of guys before finding one that lasted longer than a week or two. The only catch was that the guy didn't want Jiro; so just like that, his mother dropped him and went off with her new boyfriend. Man, and I thought my life sucked . . .

Anyway, I was combing through the garbage behind this hostel -- a pretty decent place too -- digging out some old clothes that had been tossed out and even some chunks of bread that if you scraped the mold off would probably still be okay to eat, when he came up to me. I was sure I was in trouble and that he was gonna beat my ass. I'd heard that he was a pretty tough guy and that he never backed down from anyone -- not even Kashi; the two of them supposedly had some real good throw down fights and Kashi even had quite a scar running across his chest compliments of Jiro.

Now I was still kind of small for my age, I didn't really start to fill out until I was about sixteen or so; but I'd learned early on that it wasn't good to show that you were afraid. Jiro had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he stood there and sized me up. He was all decked out -- he apparently had a source of cash that he used to keep himself all tricked out; I found out later it was through hustling . . . cards and yeah, that kind of hustling too. He sure didn't look like he lived on the street, that's for sure.

He looked at me for a few minutes and then asked me what I was doing. I told him I was just scrounging and held out some of what I'd found and told him it was his cut. He took the clothes from me and snorted before throwing them down on the ground and calling them worthless rags. "You've been hanging out in my territory for a few days . . . kind of rude that you haven't introduced yourself yet."

I told him I was just passing through and that I didn't mean to disrespect him. He laughed at me like it was some kind of joke. "Man, lighten up -- it's cool, I don't mind; in fact, I was thinking that you might want to join my gang -- can't keep wandering around and getting into trouble." He threw down his cigarette. "I hear Kashi has been on your case . . . he's got a thing against Youkai . . ."

Jiro lit up a fresh smoke and leaned back against the wall. "I don't mind Youkai -- even got a few of 'em under my wing so to speak . . . besides I'm pretty easy going, you can keep most of what you dig up and Kashi won't mess with you if you're with me."

I wasn't sure what to make of it -- I mean nobody on the street ever offered to do anything for me without wanting something in return, so it was kind of weird. I'd heard that Jiro was kind of cool and that he didn't pick on the kids that lived in his territory like Kashi and a couple of the others did. I'd also heard that he was free with his cash too if he liked you. I was kind of mulling it over while he just stood there smoking and looking at me.

"So kid . . . you in or you out? I don't have all fucking day to wait around you know."

Knowing that I probably wouldn't get another offer or find a better place to stay, I nodded my head and said I was in. Jiro smiled and came towards me. "I knew you'd say yes." He put his arm over my shoulders. "Kid, you made the right choice -- today things are gonna start looking up, you just wait and see."

I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded my head. "By the way," he asked, "what's your name?"

"Gojyo," I answered, still a little in awe of him.

"Well Gojyo, if you stick with me and follow my lead you'll be living the good life in no time. What do you think of that?" He was smiling as he looked at me.

Somehow I couldn't resist smiling back; his enthusiasm just seemed to overwhelm me. "Sounds good to me."

So I became a member of Jiro's gang, but it took sometime before I learned just what kind of price I was gonna have to pay for joining.