Kobayashi paced outside the hotel like a lion circling in its cage. Before they took Kiryu and Tanaka to the police station, MacGyver and Jack had warned Kobayashi to stay inside. But he refused to obey them, just as he refused to talk to the police. He knew what the next step would be: his former yakuza brethren would be coming to pay him a visit personally, and there wasn't anything that could stop them.

Finally, Kobayashi stopped, sighing as he stared down at the sidewalk. He felt certain that he would never escape his former life. He was a fool to think that he ever could. Slowly, he rolled up the sleeves of his long shirt. Intricate tattoos wound down his arms like filigree chains---a pattern of colorful koi swimming down one of his arms as bursts of cherry blossoms exploded across the other. To an average American, these tattoos would seem beautiful. To Kobayashi, they were just another reminder that his past would always return to haunt him.

He heard the footsteps a second too late. By the time he whirled to see who was behind him, one of the two yakuza had already socked him in the ribs, knocking him backward.

“Look at that,” the first yakuza said in Japanese. “It's our missing brother.”
“Brother?” the second yakuza sneered. “More like a traitor.”

Kobayashi lifted his chin high, forcing himself not to touch his sore ribs. He recognized these two. They were enforcers for their gang's boss---and they also were tough opponents in a fight. “What do you want from me? I'm not yakuza.”

The first one, Ichiro, shook his head slowly, the platinum-dyed tips of his mid-length hair swishing. “Once a yakuza, always a yakuza, Hikaru. I guess you've forgotten. And that’s a real shame, especially with the kumicho coming so nearby. We hoped that sending your new friends to give you a solid beating would remind you about your loyalty, but I guess you need another lesson.”

The other yakuza, who usually went by Rin, cracked his knuckles slowly---not that he had that many to crack, given that he was missing both pinkies and an index finger.

Kobayashi smirked. “You should spend less time worrying about me and more time wondering what you're going to do once you run out of fingers. What did you do, Rin? Sleep with the boss’ wife again? Is that why you got picked to come here and---”

Before he could finish the sentence, both yakuza attacked him savagely, even going so far as to rip some long hair from his scalp. Blood ran down Kobayashi's face as he struggled wildly. At last, he managed to get one arm around Ichiro's throat, and he squeezed the yakuza's neck as hard as he could, muscles straining. Ichiro was beginning to pass out when Rin smashed Kobayashi over the head, and everything went dark.

****

Kobayashi woke up in an unfamiliar bed with a white light above him and noises all around. He began to panic---until Jack's face blocked out the light and he realized that he was in a hospital.

“Hey, Mac, I think he's awake!” Jack said.

Kobayashi just groaned. “What happened? How did I get here?”

“We were hoping you could tell us,” MacGyver replied. “When we came back to the hotel, we found you laying on the sidewalk with blood coming out of your head.”

“It's a pretty nasty gash, too,” Jack commented. “The doctors had to staple it.”

“Luckily, none of the damage is permanent,” MacGyver said quickly, seeing the disturbed look on Kobayashi's face.

The wrestler sighed, noting with displeasure that his bruised ribs ached every time he moved. “Two yakuza from my gang managed to sneak up on me. It's just what I thought. The kumicho---the boss---is angry that I left, and now they want to punish me. There's nothing I can do except go back---and I'm never going back.”

“Hey,” MacGyver said gently, “if they were people you recognized, then the police can track them down. You can identify them so the police can investigate.”

“No police!” Kobayashi said, fists tightening around the flimsy white sheets. “The police won't help a yakuza.”

“Sure they will!” Jack replied. “Especially when they see the number those two guys did on your head!”

Kobayashi gritted his teeth. “You don't understand. The police won't help someone like me. They don't even care. You know what happens if someone kills a yakuza? They turn themselves in. They go to the police with their weapon and confess, and what happens to them? They get one or two years in jail at the very most! Because owning the gun and the bullet are bigger crimes than killing a yakuza! We're not even real people! We can't even go out in public with our sleeves rolled up, or we'll get banned from places because of the tattoos! The police won't help me.”

“That may be the way things used to be, but American police aren't like that,” MacGyver insisted, “and neither are the courts. Give the police the names and descriptions of the men who attacked you. They're dangerous, and they need to be arrested.”

Kobayashi was silent. Then he looked at Jack. “I don't want to go to the police, Jack-san. But I trust you the way I trust my oyabun in Japan. If you really want me to talk to the police, then I'll do it.”

Jack nodded. “You need to see the police, Hikaru.”

Kobayashi sighed again. “I thought you would say that. Then I should go before I change my mind.” He swung his legs to the side of the hospital bed and began to stand, gritting his teeth against the pain.

“Whoa!” MacGyver said, rushing to help Jack steady him. “Slow down! You just now got fifteen staples put into your scalp. I don't think you're ready to---”

“Let's just go,” Kobayashi said stubbornly. “I'm already up now, right, Jack-san?”

“He has a point,” Jack started to say, but MacGyver's withering glare cut him off. “Hey, maybe Mac's right and you should slow down some…”

In moments, however, Kobayashi recovered---or seemed to recover---enough to stand on his own and grab his clothes from the plastic chair beside the bed. “Don't feel bad. Yakuza aren't known for being reasonable people,” he said with a grin.

MacGyver sighed. “What did you get us into, Jack?”

“Hey, this time, it wasn't all my fault.”

“Just don't ever play poker again.”

Jack snorted. “Blackjack is more my game anyway.”

****

“I told you the police wouldn't help me,” Kobayashi growled an hour or so later, as the three of them were exiting the police station.

“It's going to take time, that's all,” MacGyver replied. “We just need to find a lead on where the yakuza who attacked you are. That'll speed up the investigation.”

Jack snapped his fingers. “Good thinking, Mac! We can lead the cops right to ‘em!”
“Maybe,” MacGyver emphasized. “We don't have enough information for ourselves yet, let alone enough to help the police.”

Jack nodded. “So what are we gonna do about it?”

“We aren't going to do anything, Jack. You and Hikaru are going to get back to the hotel and stay put. I plan to find out as much as I can about this American that they've been working with. I'll meet you in a couple hours.”

“But, Mac!”

“No buts, Jack! Hikaru's hurt. Besides, if there really is someone on the inside working as one of your wrestlers, then I'll have a better chance of getting information if I'm not snooping around with the boss.”

“Fair point,” Jack conceded. “Good luck, Mac!”

“Thanks,” MacGyver replied. “And be careful.”

As MacGyver started his Jeep, Jack led Kobayashi to his car---or, at least, the car he was temporarily using.

“We're not really just going to stay put, are we?” Kobayashi asked.

“Are you kidding me?” Jack said with a grin, fingering the brim of his cap. “We're going to do some investigating!”

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