Sympathy for the devil (2/14)
Oct. 8th, 2015 11:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wendyjolyTitle: Sympathy for the devil
Authors:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wendyjoly
Genre: Yakuza, schemes and love
Special thanks to my beta the indispensable Juju (jtaytt)
Warnings: The yakuza world is violent and tough, if you’re uneasy with this kind of harshness you should probably not read this.
Type: Multichapter
Rating: PG-13 – NC-17
Fandoms: Arashi (main), mentioned also members of V6, Kanjani8 and other Johnny's groups. Ikuta Toma, Oguri Shun
Pairing: mainly Sakumiya
Summary: Ninomiya Kazunari is a yakuza, member of the most powerful clan of Tokyo. Since the death of the head of the clan, a race to succeed him had begun while new families of yakuza are trying to take the control of the city. In this turbulent situation, a new apprentice is entrusted to Ninomiya which is far to please him.
CHAPTER 2
WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSE
This travel would never end. Was it because he couldn’t wait to be in Tokyo or because this train was like hell on earth, he couldn’t tell. He smiled at the little girl who sat on the wooden bench facing him, staring at her intensely, then resumed his reading. News weren’t good, to say the least. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed by an irrational anxiety. Would he betray his superior’s expectations? Truly said, this promotion was a poison in disguise. 5 years earlier, he became a policeman and rapidly climbed the hierarchic ladder.
“Matsumoto: Zealous” was the word his chief wrote without fail each year on the report sent to his superiors. It didn’t bother him, he did his work the best he could within the limits of the law and decided to devote his life to help his fellow citizens. No friends, and so? He rather liked respectful distance to any form of condescension and as a matter of fact, friendship could turn into condescension.
Matsumoto was born in Osaka and he never imagined leaving his natal town and when the Chief offered him a promotion to Tokyo, thanks to his brilliant results, he seriously thought twice. Obviously, this kind of chance won’t knock two times at his door, it was the perfect timing to unleash his ambition and ambitious he was, there’s no doubt about it.
Once his departure announced, he began to pay attention to the rumors running inside the corridors of the police department.
The civil servant he was about to replace seemed to be a shame to the profession. The word “corrupted” was craved on his forehead and if some of his colleagues were jaded and somehow amused by those criminal behaviors, Matsumoto thought it was high time to change the deal.
Opening the first page of the newspaper, he read the article about the attempted murder of the prime minister and even if no one dared to point the guilty, it was crystal clear that the yakuza of Tokyo were the instigators. As soon as a politician evoked a hypothetical opening of the frontiers to the business exchange, those criminals took care of the “problem”. Those criminals pretended to be the guardians of the Japanese traditions, pretended following the samurai path and didn’t allow any foreigner inference into the politic of the country, in any way. Perhaps were they protecting a trade monopoly which could be threatened by some alien investors? Legal or illegal, thought the cop lucidly.
“Are you going to Tokyo, Sir?” the young woman sitting at the child’s side asked gently. She was a country pumpkin as plain as day and the spitting image of her daughter.
“Indeed.”
“Business trip?” her accent and her familiar vocabulary was very revealing. She came from Osaka too.
“Yes for work. I’ll take over a new position.”
“My daughter and I are going to visit my husband. He’s a soldier in Korea, he’s on leave for two weeks.”
“You should be glad.”
“It’s been two years since the last time he came back in Tokyo. I can’t wait for him to come back for good,” she kept on despite the closed face of her interlocutor.
“I guess it’s hard to live far from his family.”
“Above all, it’s hard to live out there! Those Korean people are barely civilized! Not a day passes without a bomb exploding near a Japanese district.”
“Yes, people tend to be very impolite with soldiers invading their country…,” Matsumoto achieved with a thin smile.
The woman remained silent even if she was red from anger. If being nationalist was the great trend nowadays, Matsumoto didn’t like this feeling. Perhaps because he never liked howling with the wolves, perhaps because he liked playing the devil’s advocate. Experience taught him that human beings tend to choose the easy way and unfortunately, gratuitous wickedness was its synonym.
Vexed, the woman crossed her arms before her breast and looked around to find another bench, but since there wasn’t any, she avoided his gaze until the end of the travel.
“The train is arriving at the Tokyo station. To all the passengers~”
Matsumoto leaped on his feet and grabbed the suitcase he had slid into the net above his head, finally stretching his sore body.
Unsurprisingly, the woman didn’t answer to his goodbye gesture and left the wagon, dragging her girl after her. He readjusted his jacket and followed the line of travelers unhurriedly, putting his suitcase on the quay, observing the signs on the wall.
Shinjuku shouldn’t be that hard to find, even for a man who had never set foot in Tokyo. His superiors offered him a roof, a condo reserved for civil servants but he refused, preferring to keep his freedom. He pretended to have family who would shelter him but actually he found a guest house that was ready to welcome him as long as needed. Matsumoto climbed up into the omnibus after telling the driver the road and was soon in Shinjuku. The least he could say was that he wasn’t in Osaka anymore.
Everywhere around, brand new buildings, people in a rush, women with too short skirts, naked legs walking together, their arms linked, staring at Matsumoto with curiosity. Was it written on his face that he was an alien? Feeling suddenly out-of-place, uncomfortable, he began to look for the guesthouse, reading once more from the little notebook where he wrote down the address.
Putting on his hat and grabbing his suitcase, he took the narrow uphill street bordered by small houses. The area was nice and somehow he was glad to have chosen this place to live. The noisy streets were far behind and he managed to hear the twitting of the birds hidden in the gardens.
After a good fifteen minutes of walk, he had to admit the obviousness…he was lost and no one was around to help him. Making a few steps, he heard the laughter of a child, no, several children. Smiling, he followed the joyful sound and reached a little park with trees. He froze seeing the charming scene. Children of all ages were sitting on the grass and listening a young woman sitting on a wooden bench. What choked Matsumoto wasn’t the traditional Korean dress, nor the sweet sound of her voice, nor the beauty of her face or the grace of her gestures, but the serenity of the entire scene, a kind of indescribable perfection. The young man wondered if by losing his way he totally lost himself.
He barely noticed that she stopped talking or the way they were gazing at him. The woman raised a skeptical eyebrow toward him, making him face his outrageous behavior.
“Excuse me, I lost my way, well I’m looking for my way…,” he said confused.
“Are you definitely lost or are you still looking for?” she threw with a beautiful smirk.
“By looking at you, I’d say I’m definitely lost…,” Matsumoto whispered without thinking further.
She didn’t seem to hear but she blushed nicely.
“Where are you going, exactly?”
“The guesthouse Yotoka.”
“You’re not that far.”
“Sensei, we’ll show him the way,” a little boy shouted audaciously.
“I won’t let you go with a man!”
“So you should come with us,” another student said, raising up. “The class is over anyway.”
“Please, Sensei!” the joyful class cried.
“I don’t know…”
“I’ll owe you so much if you took the pain to show me the way,” Matsumoto said with a wide smile, gripping his suitcase.
“Very well…,” the teacher gave up and raised.
The small bunch began to walk before the teacher who grabbed a little girl’s hand. The man slowed down his pace to stay by their side.
“Sensei, what are you teaching?”
“I teach them to speak Japanese. For the most of them, they are Korean and their parents are far from being fluent.”
“You’re very courageous.”
“Why? Someone has to teach them to be Japanese citizens, one way or another. If they don’t understand what they are told, they can only endure what is being imposed to them as aliens.”
“By whom?”
“Everybody, people, policemen.”
“Oh…”
“What?”
“I have to confess something to you. I am a policeman.”
Her smile didn’t fade but she looked a bit appalled. “I see. So let’s wish you won’t be like most of your colleagues using their status and people passivity to humiliate strangers.”
“And yet you’re wearing a Korean dress.”
“I’m not ashamed of who I am,” she said very firmly and Matsumoto saw her squeezing her hand in a fist.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Matsumoto said, raising up his arms in peace.
“Excuse me…I got carried away. I blame the police who paint everybody with the same brush and I’m doing the same.”
“Sorry, are you living here, Sensei?”
“Yes, for years. Here we are!” she pointed at a pretty and traditional house where the children stopped.
A very old woman, hearing the hullabaloo exited the house.
“Yotoka-san, excuse me, this man was looking for your house.”
“It’s so nice of you, Mee-na-chan, come on in.”
The young woman smiled and shook her head. “I’m with the children, I don’t want to bother you.”
“I just made some mochi, come on!” the old lady came back in the house, her hand linked behind her back and the children stepped in quietly after a gaze to their teacher.
Matsumoto took advantage of the sudden face-to-face. “Please stay for a while, Sensei.”
“Okay, but not very long, I have to go back home.”
The heart of the young man suddenly skipped a bit. Someone was waiting for her? Was she married? They took off their shoes and walked to the room where they could hear the children laughing. Mee-a sat at the low table in the main room and began to fill the cups with tea.
“So, young man!” the old lady began. “Are you new in town?”
“Ha…yes.”
“And you came across the most beautiful girl of the district, what a lucky man…”
“Yotoka-san!!” Mee-na scolded her gently.
“This is the bare truth! Matsumoto-san, you’re here in my guest house, your bedroom is on the other side of the garden. No one will disturb you, you’re my only guest for now.”
“This is a wonderful house. Thank you.”
“Very well, we have a deal. How do you earn your living, Matsumoto-san?”
“I’m a police inspector.”
“It takes all types to make the world go around,” the old woman said wisely. “Mee-na-chan, how are you?”
“I’m very fine, thank you,” the young woman looked down to hide her embarrassment. The policeman suddenly got why she didn’t want to stay. The owner wasn’t curbing her talkativeness despite the man’s presence. On contrary.
“Yotoka-san, I’ll go back home now, the parents of the children will begin to worry,” she said raising up, immediately imitated by her little class.
Matsumoto saw her passing by as if he was invisible and he feared her departure suddenly…and if he never had the chance to see her again? He leaped onto his feet and ran after her while the old woman was chuckling.
“Sensei! Sensei!”
“Hm?” she turned around, surprised when she saw the man coming after her and stopping at one feet.
“I was thinking you didn’t give me your name.”
“Really?”
“I’m Matsumoto. Matsumoto Jun.”
“Nice to meet you Matsumoto-san,” she smiled and walked away without a word.
“And you?” Jun shouted “What’s your name?”
“Mee-na…I’m Sakurai Mee-na.”
=+=
15 days had passed since the day Nino brought Sho to the club for the first time and things began to settle down bit by bit. Nino had to admit that Sakurai was discreet and steady, never asking anything, only listening to what Nino decided to tell.
In less than two weeks they would have to go back onto the street to collect the contributions but for now, things were very quiet, which pleased the yakuza. He could observe his shatei leisurely and keep on playing his chess game with the members of the clan like he always did. The voice of Madam at his side pulled him out of his reverie.
“Nino, why do you never take me in a bed?”
“I thought you liked it like that. That’s what you always asked for.”
“Perhaps I would like a bit of initiative from you. Plus, I like novelty, we should try a bed…,” Madam suggested, readjusting the dress her lover pulled to her hips very vigorously earlier.
“If you wish…next time.”
“Wait, I’ll help you with this,” she stepped forward and buttoned his shirt like a mother would. He let her do it with a pout, then smiled when she gazed up to meet his stare.
“Nino…,” she murmured, zeroing on her task. “I was wondering…do you love me?”
He thumbed her cheek. “Of course I do.”
“So…why don’t you ever look at me when you make love to me?”
“Hikari…,” Nino grabbed her shoulder, using a very unusual way her first name to sound convincing. “You’re the Oyabun’s widow. Even if I want you badly, I feel like betraying him sometimes.”
“Stop it already! You know he didn’t touch me for years. Since Masaki was born he lived only for those boys and his Rosa. I was only a piece of furniture for him.”
“But he never left you…and Rosa was only a friend.”
“I refuse to talk about that woman!” she shouted angrily before finding back her composure. “Are you seeing someone else, Nino?”
“Of course not! What are you thinking?”
“I won’t forgive you, Nino. If you had another woman I don’t know what I would do…,”
Nino smiled despite his disgust. Oh yeah, she could be a damn bitch when she felt betrayed. Rosa’s leg was a blatant proof.
“Love you…,” he bent forward and kissed her before going to the small table to fetch his package of cigarette, ending their conversation. Nino sighed with relief.
“How are things going with your shatei?”
“Pretty well. He’s nice and he wants to do things right, which is more than most of the brothers of the clan do.”
“Very well. I’d like to ask you a favor. A new man will take over the actual Chief’s position. I’d like you to find some information about him, what are his hobbies, where he lives, if he has some hidden secrets, well…I know you can handle this. Soon, we’ll have a meeting and he will be introduced to the family, we have to be well prepared, you get it?”
“Perfectly.”
“His name is Matsumoto Jun. See what you can do.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all. And next time, bring your shatei with you, I’d like to meet him.”
Nino froze, understanding too well what she meant. And it was out of question. He nodded with a smile.
“Certainly Madam. Have a nice day.”
He exited the apartment without a look back. Sho was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.
“We have a new job,” Nino said, grabbing his elbow.
“Oh…”
“Someone to shadow, but first of all, come with me, I have two or three things to show you.”
“Okay.”
Nino liked that. Sakurai didn’t get lost in conjecture or asked the questions he necessarily had in mind. He, more than anyone, knew that adaptability was the only way to survive in the unmerciful yakuza world. It was already late and the district was animated. Clubs were opening their doors and in front of the “Fifth Ace” a real crowd gathered. The two yakuza cut the file and the doorman let them pass with a greeting. Inside, a band was playing jazzy music and a husky female voice was softly singing. Rosa was on stage, enchanting the audience with her special singing, spreading a sensual wave, an erotic and perceptible tension through the hall.
“Come, we’ll sit there,” Nino elbowed Sho, pointing at a hidden table.
A few seconds later a waitress that Sho already met the time they were looking for the Oyabun’s son took their orders.
“I brought you here because it’s time for us to talk,” Nino said in preamble. “You didn’t talk about what you saw or heard until now so I guess you can hold your tongue. There are some chances for you to stay in the family, so you have to learn some stuff.”
“Okay,” Sho said, moving aside to make room for the waitress putting his glass onto the table.
“First of all, there are rules, the same for all the clans all around the country. You probably heard about them.”
“I know there are 9 rules.”
“Exactly. Most of them are only common sense. We’re a family and the Oyabun becomes your father when you enter the family. These are the rules. First -You won’t offend good citizens. Second - You won’t take someone else’s wife. Third - You won’t steal from the clan. Fourth - You won’t use drugs. Fifth - You have to obey and respect your superiors. Sixth - You will die or go in jail for your father. Seventh - You won’t talk about the family outside of the family. Eighth - You won’t say a word in prison. And last - You’re not allowed to kill a man if he’s not a yakuza.”
“And if…someone breaks the rules?” Sho asked, thinking of the many times he witnessed a violation of one of the nine rules during the last two weeks.
“You will get punished. Did you ever take a close look at the hands of some brothers?”
“Their fingers?”
“Exactly, when you break a rule, you offer one of your phalange to the Oyabun, by yourself and we keep it in memory, to not make the same mistake again.”
“I’d like to ask you something.”
“Go on.”
“Will I have a tattoo too?”
“When you’ll be officially a member of the clan, yes. You will wear the emblem of the family, a blossomed cherish tree. You saw it the other day, right?”
“And the black circles around the biceps?”
“One for each guy you shoot down.”
“I see…”
Sho took a big sip of whisky and coughed badly. His cheeks were red and Nino who began to know him, read in the silence the intense reflection he observed.
“Why do they call you the magician?” Sho asked.
“You heard that? It’s because I’m skilled in erasing evidences. Nothing else. Now shut up and watch!” Nino said, cupping Sho's chin to make turn his head toward the entrance.
The place was totally silent, only Rosa’s singing could be heard, and in the dim light Sho watched a group of men in dark suits, serious faces, taking their places at the big table in the middle of the place. Only one of them stayed a few steps behind, crossing his arms before his chest.
“That’s what I wanted to show you. The Oyabun died one and a half month ago and no one had been nominated yet. No need to say, that a wind of panic is blowing over the family. Do you know someone here?” Nino pointed at the round table with his thumb.
“Masaki-san.”
“Exactly, he’s the Oyabun’s son, what we call the Shatei-gashira. Logically, he should be the one to take his father’s throne but criticisms had been voiced against him. They think he can’t be trusted. They want a leader with an iron fist as head of the organization.”
“So, who’s the leader right now?”
“The Saiko-komon, the closest councilor of the Oyabun. He takes care of the administrative part of the business, he’s a kind of accountant. He’s a famous attorney but he’s old and doesn’t want to become Oyabun.”
“What’s his name?”
“Oguri-san, but you have to call him Saiko-komon, that’s his title. Actually, he’d like to see someone else taking the vacant place…do you see the man by his side, the one who smiles?”
“Yes,” Sho agreed. “He’s young.”
“He’s one year older than me, actually. He’s the Saiko-komon’s son, Oguri Shun. But he already has a role in the organization, he’s the Kashira. The number Two, just after his father. He’s a white-collar yakuza, graduated from the best university of the country and his father seems to think he will revolutionize the organization, by finding some new sources of income. He spent some years in England and I can tell you that, he seems to be a refined gentleman but his soul is deeply yakuza. The worst. He’s a machine, he eats each day at the same hour, he reads the account book every 28th of the month, beginning at 2 pm precisely. I met him years ago and he never showed the slightest weakness. He drinks one or two glasses of good wine from time to time, never smokes and about women…it’s a mystery.”
“Is it a bad thing?” Sho asked, arching his eyebrows.
“I’m just curious…this kind of man is weird, right? A curiosity. Anyway, the family is counting on him because there is this clan currently, wanting to take a part of our business here in Tokyo, the family is very nervous. And on the top of that, the actual chief of the police is retiring and a brand new one just arrived.”
“But we have agreements with the police, right?”
“Yes, but the family has to have the upper hand and that’s where we entering the game…we’ll shadow the guy and learn to know him.” Nino crushed his cigarette to light another one and Sho was surprised that he was already used to it.
“And the guy here.” Sho pointed discreetly the table.
“Which one?”
“The one against the pillar,” Sho said, referring to the man with the eyes closed and the arms crossed.
He seemed to be asleep even if he was up-right. His bleached hair was in spikes above his head. His suit was black, but the material was light and larger than the head of clan’s. Nino stared at him for a while before answering, his voice dead serious.
“He’s the family’s dog hound. Ohno Satoshi. He’s their executioner and bodyguard. The less you’ll meet him, the better you’ll be. He barely talks and moves like a cat. When he has a mission, his victim realizes his presence only when he had driven his katana through his stomach. Don’t you ever approach him, I mean it, Sho.”
Sho was irrepressibly thrilled as he looked at the man once more. He couldn't be much older than him. He seemed to be quiet but Nino’s tone left no room for doubt. This man was probably the scariest man he ever met.
“That’s how things are working in the highest echelons of the clan, a nice game of power which makes them gnash their teeth. They know they have to nominate a new Oyabun to make the necessary decisions for the family’s sake but they are afraid of committing a mistake, so the Saiko-komon is playing the part for now. Soon, there will be an important meeting with the police, some important members of the family, probably Madam, the Oguri father and son and Masaki-san. As a matter of fact, they can’t go there with hands in their pocket, they have to know what the others have in their game. Until this meeting, our task is to follow the newbie. Any question?”
“No questions.”
“So you can go back home. Someone is waiting for you?” Nino asked, looking for information surreptitiously. His shatei was very secretive about his personal life and Nino felt that he didn’t want to open his door to the yakuza.
“Yes, indeed.”
“Okay, let’s meet tomorrow afternoon at the headquarters.”
“See you tomorrow,” Sho raised and took his leave after a last look at the central table. They seemed to be so ‘normal’.
As soon as he had left the place, a man slumped down onto Sho’s chair. Wearing a light colored tight suit, he was almost outrageously elegant and smelled of luxury perfume.
“Hello, Nino-san.”
“Hello Ueda, I don’t want to be seen with you if you don’t mind,” Nino said focusing on the bottom of his glass.
The other crossed his legs graciously like how a woman would have done, putting his intertwined hands on his knees. “I’m here because of the favor you asked me for.”
“Did it work?”
“Absolutely not. He told me he wasn’t into men. Yet, I can tell you I gave my best shot. I’d gladly like to taste him a bit, if you want to know. He’s my kind of man, what a shame.”
“Are you sure you tried everything?”
“Fuck, Nino, I know my stuff. I spent many years in the Oyabun’s bed to be this good.”
“And if it was the reason? He doesn’t want to have the Oyabun’s lover?”
“He loves women, no doubt about it. Even if he had resisted because of some loyalty, he would at least had reacted…at least a hard-on, but he didn’t. Find him a girl.”
“I already tried with the girls of the club.”
“So, you’re busted and he knows someone sent me.”
“No way!”
“I don’t know, Nino, anyway, I paid my debt to you, we’re good?”
“Yes we’re good. Thanks, Ueda.”
The guy whore stood up and walked through the hall, winking to a client of the club, who probably was one of his too.
Nino kept on drinking all alone before leaving the club and going back to his apartment.
Go back to chapter1
Authors:
wendyjoly Genre: Yakuza, schemes and love
Special thanks to my beta the indispensable Juju (
jtaytt) Warnings: The yakuza world is violent and tough, if you’re uneasy with this kind of harshness you should probably not read this.
Type: Multichapter
Rating: PG-13 – NC-17
Fandoms: Arashi (main), mentioned also members of V6, Kanjani8 and other Johnny's groups. Ikuta Toma, Oguri Shun
Pairing: mainly Sakumiya
Summary: Ninomiya Kazunari is a yakuza, member of the most powerful clan of Tokyo. Since the death of the head of the clan, a race to succeed him had begun while new families of yakuza are trying to take the control of the city. In this turbulent situation, a new apprentice is entrusted to Ninomiya which is far to please him.
WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSE
This travel would never end. Was it because he couldn’t wait to be in Tokyo or because this train was like hell on earth, he couldn’t tell. He smiled at the little girl who sat on the wooden bench facing him, staring at her intensely, then resumed his reading. News weren’t good, to say the least. Suddenly he felt overwhelmed by an irrational anxiety. Would he betray his superior’s expectations? Truly said, this promotion was a poison in disguise. 5 years earlier, he became a policeman and rapidly climbed the hierarchic ladder.
“Matsumoto: Zealous” was the word his chief wrote without fail each year on the report sent to his superiors. It didn’t bother him, he did his work the best he could within the limits of the law and decided to devote his life to help his fellow citizens. No friends, and so? He rather liked respectful distance to any form of condescension and as a matter of fact, friendship could turn into condescension.
Matsumoto was born in Osaka and he never imagined leaving his natal town and when the Chief offered him a promotion to Tokyo, thanks to his brilliant results, he seriously thought twice. Obviously, this kind of chance won’t knock two times at his door, it was the perfect timing to unleash his ambition and ambitious he was, there’s no doubt about it.
Once his departure announced, he began to pay attention to the rumors running inside the corridors of the police department.
The civil servant he was about to replace seemed to be a shame to the profession. The word “corrupted” was craved on his forehead and if some of his colleagues were jaded and somehow amused by those criminal behaviors, Matsumoto thought it was high time to change the deal.
Opening the first page of the newspaper, he read the article about the attempted murder of the prime minister and even if no one dared to point the guilty, it was crystal clear that the yakuza of Tokyo were the instigators. As soon as a politician evoked a hypothetical opening of the frontiers to the business exchange, those criminals took care of the “problem”. Those criminals pretended to be the guardians of the Japanese traditions, pretended following the samurai path and didn’t allow any foreigner inference into the politic of the country, in any way. Perhaps were they protecting a trade monopoly which could be threatened by some alien investors? Legal or illegal, thought the cop lucidly.
“Are you going to Tokyo, Sir?” the young woman sitting at the child’s side asked gently. She was a country pumpkin as plain as day and the spitting image of her daughter.
“Indeed.”
“Business trip?” her accent and her familiar vocabulary was very revealing. She came from Osaka too.
“Yes for work. I’ll take over a new position.”
“My daughter and I are going to visit my husband. He’s a soldier in Korea, he’s on leave for two weeks.”
“You should be glad.”
“It’s been two years since the last time he came back in Tokyo. I can’t wait for him to come back for good,” she kept on despite the closed face of her interlocutor.
“I guess it’s hard to live far from his family.”
“Above all, it’s hard to live out there! Those Korean people are barely civilized! Not a day passes without a bomb exploding near a Japanese district.”
“Yes, people tend to be very impolite with soldiers invading their country…,” Matsumoto achieved with a thin smile.
The woman remained silent even if she was red from anger. If being nationalist was the great trend nowadays, Matsumoto didn’t like this feeling. Perhaps because he never liked howling with the wolves, perhaps because he liked playing the devil’s advocate. Experience taught him that human beings tend to choose the easy way and unfortunately, gratuitous wickedness was its synonym.
Vexed, the woman crossed her arms before her breast and looked around to find another bench, but since there wasn’t any, she avoided his gaze until the end of the travel.
“The train is arriving at the Tokyo station. To all the passengers~”
Matsumoto leaped on his feet and grabbed the suitcase he had slid into the net above his head, finally stretching his sore body.
Unsurprisingly, the woman didn’t answer to his goodbye gesture and left the wagon, dragging her girl after her. He readjusted his jacket and followed the line of travelers unhurriedly, putting his suitcase on the quay, observing the signs on the wall.
Shinjuku shouldn’t be that hard to find, even for a man who had never set foot in Tokyo. His superiors offered him a roof, a condo reserved for civil servants but he refused, preferring to keep his freedom. He pretended to have family who would shelter him but actually he found a guest house that was ready to welcome him as long as needed. Matsumoto climbed up into the omnibus after telling the driver the road and was soon in Shinjuku. The least he could say was that he wasn’t in Osaka anymore.
Everywhere around, brand new buildings, people in a rush, women with too short skirts, naked legs walking together, their arms linked, staring at Matsumoto with curiosity. Was it written on his face that he was an alien? Feeling suddenly out-of-place, uncomfortable, he began to look for the guesthouse, reading once more from the little notebook where he wrote down the address.
Putting on his hat and grabbing his suitcase, he took the narrow uphill street bordered by small houses. The area was nice and somehow he was glad to have chosen this place to live. The noisy streets were far behind and he managed to hear the twitting of the birds hidden in the gardens.
After a good fifteen minutes of walk, he had to admit the obviousness…he was lost and no one was around to help him. Making a few steps, he heard the laughter of a child, no, several children. Smiling, he followed the joyful sound and reached a little park with trees. He froze seeing the charming scene. Children of all ages were sitting on the grass and listening a young woman sitting on a wooden bench. What choked Matsumoto wasn’t the traditional Korean dress, nor the sweet sound of her voice, nor the beauty of her face or the grace of her gestures, but the serenity of the entire scene, a kind of indescribable perfection. The young man wondered if by losing his way he totally lost himself.
He barely noticed that she stopped talking or the way they were gazing at him. The woman raised a skeptical eyebrow toward him, making him face his outrageous behavior.
“Excuse me, I lost my way, well I’m looking for my way…,” he said confused.
“Are you definitely lost or are you still looking for?” she threw with a beautiful smirk.
“By looking at you, I’d say I’m definitely lost…,” Matsumoto whispered without thinking further.
She didn’t seem to hear but she blushed nicely.
“Where are you going, exactly?”
“The guesthouse Yotoka.”
“You’re not that far.”
“Sensei, we’ll show him the way,” a little boy shouted audaciously.
“I won’t let you go with a man!”
“So you should come with us,” another student said, raising up. “The class is over anyway.”
“Please, Sensei!” the joyful class cried.
“I don’t know…”
“I’ll owe you so much if you took the pain to show me the way,” Matsumoto said with a wide smile, gripping his suitcase.
“Very well…,” the teacher gave up and raised.
The small bunch began to walk before the teacher who grabbed a little girl’s hand. The man slowed down his pace to stay by their side.
“Sensei, what are you teaching?”
“I teach them to speak Japanese. For the most of them, they are Korean and their parents are far from being fluent.”
“You’re very courageous.”
“Why? Someone has to teach them to be Japanese citizens, one way or another. If they don’t understand what they are told, they can only endure what is being imposed to them as aliens.”
“By whom?”
“Everybody, people, policemen.”
“Oh…”
“What?”
“I have to confess something to you. I am a policeman.”
Her smile didn’t fade but she looked a bit appalled. “I see. So let’s wish you won’t be like most of your colleagues using their status and people passivity to humiliate strangers.”
“And yet you’re wearing a Korean dress.”
“I’m not ashamed of who I am,” she said very firmly and Matsumoto saw her squeezing her hand in a fist.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Matsumoto said, raising up his arms in peace.
“Excuse me…I got carried away. I blame the police who paint everybody with the same brush and I’m doing the same.”
“Sorry, are you living here, Sensei?”
“Yes, for years. Here we are!” she pointed at a pretty and traditional house where the children stopped.
A very old woman, hearing the hullabaloo exited the house.
“Yotoka-san, excuse me, this man was looking for your house.”
“It’s so nice of you, Mee-na-chan, come on in.”
The young woman smiled and shook her head. “I’m with the children, I don’t want to bother you.”
“I just made some mochi, come on!” the old lady came back in the house, her hand linked behind her back and the children stepped in quietly after a gaze to their teacher.
Matsumoto took advantage of the sudden face-to-face. “Please stay for a while, Sensei.”
“Okay, but not very long, I have to go back home.”
The heart of the young man suddenly skipped a bit. Someone was waiting for her? Was she married? They took off their shoes and walked to the room where they could hear the children laughing. Mee-a sat at the low table in the main room and began to fill the cups with tea.
“So, young man!” the old lady began. “Are you new in town?”
“Ha…yes.”
“And you came across the most beautiful girl of the district, what a lucky man…”
“Yotoka-san!!” Mee-na scolded her gently.
“This is the bare truth! Matsumoto-san, you’re here in my guest house, your bedroom is on the other side of the garden. No one will disturb you, you’re my only guest for now.”
“This is a wonderful house. Thank you.”
“Very well, we have a deal. How do you earn your living, Matsumoto-san?”
“I’m a police inspector.”
“It takes all types to make the world go around,” the old woman said wisely. “Mee-na-chan, how are you?”
“I’m very fine, thank you,” the young woman looked down to hide her embarrassment. The policeman suddenly got why she didn’t want to stay. The owner wasn’t curbing her talkativeness despite the man’s presence. On contrary.
“Yotoka-san, I’ll go back home now, the parents of the children will begin to worry,” she said raising up, immediately imitated by her little class.
Matsumoto saw her passing by as if he was invisible and he feared her departure suddenly…and if he never had the chance to see her again? He leaped onto his feet and ran after her while the old woman was chuckling.
“Sensei! Sensei!”
“Hm?” she turned around, surprised when she saw the man coming after her and stopping at one feet.
“I was thinking you didn’t give me your name.”
“Really?”
“I’m Matsumoto. Matsumoto Jun.”
“Nice to meet you Matsumoto-san,” she smiled and walked away without a word.
“And you?” Jun shouted “What’s your name?”
“Mee-na…I’m Sakurai Mee-na.”
15 days had passed since the day Nino brought Sho to the club for the first time and things began to settle down bit by bit. Nino had to admit that Sakurai was discreet and steady, never asking anything, only listening to what Nino decided to tell.
In less than two weeks they would have to go back onto the street to collect the contributions but for now, things were very quiet, which pleased the yakuza. He could observe his shatei leisurely and keep on playing his chess game with the members of the clan like he always did. The voice of Madam at his side pulled him out of his reverie.
“Nino, why do you never take me in a bed?”
“I thought you liked it like that. That’s what you always asked for.”
“Perhaps I would like a bit of initiative from you. Plus, I like novelty, we should try a bed…,” Madam suggested, readjusting the dress her lover pulled to her hips very vigorously earlier.
“If you wish…next time.”
“Wait, I’ll help you with this,” she stepped forward and buttoned his shirt like a mother would. He let her do it with a pout, then smiled when she gazed up to meet his stare.
“Nino…,” she murmured, zeroing on her task. “I was wondering…do you love me?”
He thumbed her cheek. “Of course I do.”
“So…why don’t you ever look at me when you make love to me?”
“Hikari…,” Nino grabbed her shoulder, using a very unusual way her first name to sound convincing. “You’re the Oyabun’s widow. Even if I want you badly, I feel like betraying him sometimes.”
“Stop it already! You know he didn’t touch me for years. Since Masaki was born he lived only for those boys and his Rosa. I was only a piece of furniture for him.”
“But he never left you…and Rosa was only a friend.”
“I refuse to talk about that woman!” she shouted angrily before finding back her composure. “Are you seeing someone else, Nino?”
“Of course not! What are you thinking?”
“I won’t forgive you, Nino. If you had another woman I don’t know what I would do…,”
Nino smiled despite his disgust. Oh yeah, she could be a damn bitch when she felt betrayed. Rosa’s leg was a blatant proof.
“Love you…,” he bent forward and kissed her before going to the small table to fetch his package of cigarette, ending their conversation. Nino sighed with relief.
“How are things going with your shatei?”
“Pretty well. He’s nice and he wants to do things right, which is more than most of the brothers of the clan do.”
“Very well. I’d like to ask you a favor. A new man will take over the actual Chief’s position. I’d like you to find some information about him, what are his hobbies, where he lives, if he has some hidden secrets, well…I know you can handle this. Soon, we’ll have a meeting and he will be introduced to the family, we have to be well prepared, you get it?”
“Perfectly.”
“His name is Matsumoto Jun. See what you can do.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all. And next time, bring your shatei with you, I’d like to meet him.”
Nino froze, understanding too well what she meant. And it was out of question. He nodded with a smile.
“Certainly Madam. Have a nice day.”
He exited the apartment without a look back. Sho was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.
“We have a new job,” Nino said, grabbing his elbow.
“Oh…”
“Someone to shadow, but first of all, come with me, I have two or three things to show you.”
“Okay.”
Nino liked that. Sakurai didn’t get lost in conjecture or asked the questions he necessarily had in mind. He, more than anyone, knew that adaptability was the only way to survive in the unmerciful yakuza world. It was already late and the district was animated. Clubs were opening their doors and in front of the “Fifth Ace” a real crowd gathered. The two yakuza cut the file and the doorman let them pass with a greeting. Inside, a band was playing jazzy music and a husky female voice was softly singing. Rosa was on stage, enchanting the audience with her special singing, spreading a sensual wave, an erotic and perceptible tension through the hall.
“Come, we’ll sit there,” Nino elbowed Sho, pointing at a hidden table.
A few seconds later a waitress that Sho already met the time they were looking for the Oyabun’s son took their orders.
“I brought you here because it’s time for us to talk,” Nino said in preamble. “You didn’t talk about what you saw or heard until now so I guess you can hold your tongue. There are some chances for you to stay in the family, so you have to learn some stuff.”
“Okay,” Sho said, moving aside to make room for the waitress putting his glass onto the table.
“First of all, there are rules, the same for all the clans all around the country. You probably heard about them.”
“I know there are 9 rules.”
“Exactly. Most of them are only common sense. We’re a family and the Oyabun becomes your father when you enter the family. These are the rules. First -You won’t offend good citizens. Second - You won’t take someone else’s wife. Third - You won’t steal from the clan. Fourth - You won’t use drugs. Fifth - You have to obey and respect your superiors. Sixth - You will die or go in jail for your father. Seventh - You won’t talk about the family outside of the family. Eighth - You won’t say a word in prison. And last - You’re not allowed to kill a man if he’s not a yakuza.”
“And if…someone breaks the rules?” Sho asked, thinking of the many times he witnessed a violation of one of the nine rules during the last two weeks.
“You will get punished. Did you ever take a close look at the hands of some brothers?”
“Their fingers?”
“Exactly, when you break a rule, you offer one of your phalange to the Oyabun, by yourself and we keep it in memory, to not make the same mistake again.”
“I’d like to ask you something.”
“Go on.”
“Will I have a tattoo too?”
“When you’ll be officially a member of the clan, yes. You will wear the emblem of the family, a blossomed cherish tree. You saw it the other day, right?”
“And the black circles around the biceps?”
“One for each guy you shoot down.”
“I see…”
Sho took a big sip of whisky and coughed badly. His cheeks were red and Nino who began to know him, read in the silence the intense reflection he observed.
“Why do they call you the magician?” Sho asked.
“You heard that? It’s because I’m skilled in erasing evidences. Nothing else. Now shut up and watch!” Nino said, cupping Sho's chin to make turn his head toward the entrance.
The place was totally silent, only Rosa’s singing could be heard, and in the dim light Sho watched a group of men in dark suits, serious faces, taking their places at the big table in the middle of the place. Only one of them stayed a few steps behind, crossing his arms before his chest.
“That’s what I wanted to show you. The Oyabun died one and a half month ago and no one had been nominated yet. No need to say, that a wind of panic is blowing over the family. Do you know someone here?” Nino pointed at the round table with his thumb.
“Masaki-san.”
“Exactly, he’s the Oyabun’s son, what we call the Shatei-gashira. Logically, he should be the one to take his father’s throne but criticisms had been voiced against him. They think he can’t be trusted. They want a leader with an iron fist as head of the organization.”
“So, who’s the leader right now?”
“The Saiko-komon, the closest councilor of the Oyabun. He takes care of the administrative part of the business, he’s a kind of accountant. He’s a famous attorney but he’s old and doesn’t want to become Oyabun.”
“What’s his name?”
“Oguri-san, but you have to call him Saiko-komon, that’s his title. Actually, he’d like to see someone else taking the vacant place…do you see the man by his side, the one who smiles?”
“Yes,” Sho agreed. “He’s young.”
“He’s one year older than me, actually. He’s the Saiko-komon’s son, Oguri Shun. But he already has a role in the organization, he’s the Kashira. The number Two, just after his father. He’s a white-collar yakuza, graduated from the best university of the country and his father seems to think he will revolutionize the organization, by finding some new sources of income. He spent some years in England and I can tell you that, he seems to be a refined gentleman but his soul is deeply yakuza. The worst. He’s a machine, he eats each day at the same hour, he reads the account book every 28th of the month, beginning at 2 pm precisely. I met him years ago and he never showed the slightest weakness. He drinks one or two glasses of good wine from time to time, never smokes and about women…it’s a mystery.”
“Is it a bad thing?” Sho asked, arching his eyebrows.
“I’m just curious…this kind of man is weird, right? A curiosity. Anyway, the family is counting on him because there is this clan currently, wanting to take a part of our business here in Tokyo, the family is very nervous. And on the top of that, the actual chief of the police is retiring and a brand new one just arrived.”
“But we have agreements with the police, right?”
“Yes, but the family has to have the upper hand and that’s where we entering the game…we’ll shadow the guy and learn to know him.” Nino crushed his cigarette to light another one and Sho was surprised that he was already used to it.
“And the guy here.” Sho pointed discreetly the table.
“Which one?”
“The one against the pillar,” Sho said, referring to the man with the eyes closed and the arms crossed.
He seemed to be asleep even if he was up-right. His bleached hair was in spikes above his head. His suit was black, but the material was light and larger than the head of clan’s. Nino stared at him for a while before answering, his voice dead serious.
“He’s the family’s dog hound. Ohno Satoshi. He’s their executioner and bodyguard. The less you’ll meet him, the better you’ll be. He barely talks and moves like a cat. When he has a mission, his victim realizes his presence only when he had driven his katana through his stomach. Don’t you ever approach him, I mean it, Sho.”
Sho was irrepressibly thrilled as he looked at the man once more. He couldn't be much older than him. He seemed to be quiet but Nino’s tone left no room for doubt. This man was probably the scariest man he ever met.
“That’s how things are working in the highest echelons of the clan, a nice game of power which makes them gnash their teeth. They know they have to nominate a new Oyabun to make the necessary decisions for the family’s sake but they are afraid of committing a mistake, so the Saiko-komon is playing the part for now. Soon, there will be an important meeting with the police, some important members of the family, probably Madam, the Oguri father and son and Masaki-san. As a matter of fact, they can’t go there with hands in their pocket, they have to know what the others have in their game. Until this meeting, our task is to follow the newbie. Any question?”
“No questions.”
“So you can go back home. Someone is waiting for you?” Nino asked, looking for information surreptitiously. His shatei was very secretive about his personal life and Nino felt that he didn’t want to open his door to the yakuza.
“Yes, indeed.”
“Okay, let’s meet tomorrow afternoon at the headquarters.”
“See you tomorrow,” Sho raised and took his leave after a last look at the central table. They seemed to be so ‘normal’.
As soon as he had left the place, a man slumped down onto Sho’s chair. Wearing a light colored tight suit, he was almost outrageously elegant and smelled of luxury perfume.
“Hello, Nino-san.”
“Hello Ueda, I don’t want to be seen with you if you don’t mind,” Nino said focusing on the bottom of his glass.
The other crossed his legs graciously like how a woman would have done, putting his intertwined hands on his knees. “I’m here because of the favor you asked me for.”
“Did it work?”
“Absolutely not. He told me he wasn’t into men. Yet, I can tell you I gave my best shot. I’d gladly like to taste him a bit, if you want to know. He’s my kind of man, what a shame.”
“Are you sure you tried everything?”
“Fuck, Nino, I know my stuff. I spent many years in the Oyabun’s bed to be this good.”
“And if it was the reason? He doesn’t want to have the Oyabun’s lover?”
“He loves women, no doubt about it. Even if he had resisted because of some loyalty, he would at least had reacted…at least a hard-on, but he didn’t. Find him a girl.”
“I already tried with the girls of the club.”
“So, you’re busted and he knows someone sent me.”
“No way!”
“I don’t know, Nino, anyway, I paid my debt to you, we’re good?”
“Yes we’re good. Thanks, Ueda.”
The guy whore stood up and walked through the hall, winking to a client of the club, who probably was one of his too.
Nino kept on drinking all alone before leaving the club and going back to his apartment.
Go back to chapter1
