A Yakuza's Circumstances (1)
05:30
Fujiwara Chise opened her eyes at an unreasonably early hour. She eased herself out of bed with painstaking care so as not to wake Noah, who was sleeping quietly beside her, and slipped off toward the bathroom.
She rolled up her sleeves and held her hands under the faucet.
"Hm?"
Chise tilted her head.
"Why isn't the water coming out?"
She stood there for a long moment, then blinked.
"Ah. It's broken."
She accepted this with a shrug and wandered over to the tub, stroking her chin as she narrowed her eyes.
"That's odd. I don't see a button anywhere."
She decided they would have to stop by a hotel on the way to school, and stepped back out of the bathroom.
Fine. I'll do something else!
Thinking brightly, Chise happened to come face-to-face with the holster sitting on the table.
"Heh. Is this the new model that just came out?"
The pistol was a matching set with Ea — better known as Mini Air. You could hardly stroll around outdoors with an assault rifle, after all, so Noah wore a holster under her skirt as a matter of daily habit.
Chise picked up the pink handgun. Noah had raved about its "nice grip," but as a complete amateur Chise still couldn't tell the difference. She planted herself in front of the mirror and tried a few poses, then broke into a wide grin.
"I don't look as cool as Noah."
She rummaged through her bag, fished out a pen, and smiled.
"Now, what would be good..."
Still smiling, she began to doodle on the holster. A cute little bear took shape.
"There. Perfect!"
Every Ea looked more or less the same, after all. If you didn't mark them somehow, you were bound to mix them up. Delighted with her handiwork, Chise gazed at the drawing for a while, beaming with satisfaction.
"It really does live up to the name, though. This thing."
She regarded Mini Air with fresh admiration. She had held it in one hand the entire time she was drawing, and she hadn't felt the slightest hint of weight. It was exactly like a toy gun. Of course, this particular toy gun was powerful enough that a single round could punch through five people.
She slid Mini Air back into the holster and snapped it shut. Then she picked up the smartphone from the bedside table, dialed a number, and headed for the bathroom.
"Yes, young lady."
The instant the call connected, the ditzy air vanished from Chise's face as if it had never been there. Her expression turned cold and precise.
"What became of the matter I instructed?"
"If it's the background check on Ichinose Yuria, it's complete."
Chise leaned against the wall and asked, her face expressionless.
"Anything unusual? No — just recite it from the beginning."
"Real name: Amelia Caterfelt. Mixed British heritage. She's been in Japan for six years. She hasn't concealed her identity, and she isn't using a false one."
"Is this information reliable?"
"She's a descendant of Earl Dyer Caterfelt, the one they call a war hero. If someone were going to fabricate an identity, they wouldn't include a setting that conspicuous."
"Why would a child of a house like that be living in poverty in Japan?"
"The family was wiped out ten years ago. They lost a struggle for political dominance, from what we gathered. After that, Amelia Caterfelt wandered the streets until she was taken in by a man named Garp. After that—"
"That's enough. Just to be safe, take your time and look into it thoroughly."
"Yes, young lady."
"That will be all."
The moment she hung up, the sink caught her eye.
"...Hmm. Maybe I should have asked them to fix this."
She considered calling back, then registered how tight the time was and put it off. They could just stop by a hotel on the way, after all.
"Well then..."
Shall we begin?
Chise wore a sly little smile.
07:30
Noah sat bolt upright. At this hour, she always did. There was no particular reason.
"What a pain."
How many years had she even been going to school? Counting her previous life, it had to be a good twenty. She stretched with a long-suffering groan and was just about to head off to wash up when—
"What are you doing?"
"Ah. It's already that time... Just wait a little! I'll have something delicious ready in a second."
Chise was cooking.
It was a sight Noah had never seen before. Would the daughter of a conglomerate family in the top 0.01 percent ever have occasion to cook? Of course not. A private chef handled all of that.
"Ahem."
Noah read the room and quietly sat down at the table.
Damn it. That's actually kind of admirable.
If you're rich, at least act a little more spoiled about it.
"Ta-da!"
Noah looked at the food with a face that was, against her better judgment, faintly hopeful.
"...!"
Chise cheerfully set down one side dish after another, but Noah wanted to knock her unconscious if that was what it took to make her stop.
"Ah, I can't eat this much first thing in the morning."
"I know! You're a light eater, Noah. But what you feel like eating changes every day, and you're so picky. So I made everything."
This is... food?
Noah found herself sincerely wondering just how far the word "food" was allowed to stretch. What Chise had prepared since the crack of dawn was, she was sorry to say, horrific.
Her hands trembling, Noah pointed at something that vaguely resembled an edible object.
"This is... made of what, exactly?"
"Hehe. Rolled omelet."
"The rolled omelet I know is yellow. Not purple...?"
She looked as if she had seen a ghost. Chise flashed a bright, sheepish grin and announced, with great pride,
"Eggs are so halfhearted! So I prepared it with goose liver instead!"
"The foie gras I know has a shape."
"Ehh. Your teasing is going too far, Noah. You make it sound like it doesn't have a shape at all."
Chise covered her mouth and laughed as if it were a delightful joke. A magnitude-9.0 earthquake rattled through Noah's pupils.
Why is the foie gras purple...? More to the point, it's completely fallen apart...?
"Ah! It's because of the color, right? It's not from some poor goose that got force-fed until it swelled up — it's the liver of a kind goose that lived out in nature!"
"I-I didn't know you were so interested in animal rights, Chise."
"Well, I couldn't possibly feed Noah-chan a goose raised on some shady mystery farm."
The mystery of the purple had been solved. Fine. Foie gras was one thing.
Noah pointed, her hand still shaking, at a black substance that looked like some kind of unidentified life-form.
"And this...?"
"Mm, that one. Rice made from actual rice felt so halfhearted, so I tried making it out of caviar!"
That is not rice!
Did she not know that if it wasn't rice, people generally did not call it rice?
Feeling the cold breath of death on the back of her neck, Noah picked up her chopsticks.
"Thanks... for the meal."
"Mhm, mhm!"
She did not want to put tears in those sparkling eyes first thing in the morning. That would not have been manly. So Noah held her breath and ate.
Gurgle.
Noah groaned and prodded at her stomach. It was a critical wound. She had already lost count of how many times she had been to the bathroom today.
The door slid open, and Noah dragged herself into the clubroom looking thoroughly wrecked.
"You seem especially worn out today."
Chise asked with genuine concern, wearing a face that suggested it had not crossed her mind even for a second that she might be the cause. Noah could only sigh.
I should advise her not to cook after all.
She did not have the confidence to eat that again tomorrow morning. Chise, unfortunately, was a beat faster.
"What do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll use it as a reference for breakfast!"
"Y-you're going to do it tomorrow too...?" Noah looked up at her, visibly uneasy.
Chise nodded with sunny cheer.
"Yep!"
Noah's face said the sky was falling. The words came out in a terrified rush.
"You don't have to go that far."
Chise shook her head, glowing with pride.
"Today was so rewarding. Don't you worry about me. For the Noah who always looks after me, this much is nothing."
She said it's for my sake!
But when she put it like that, there was no way Noah could say, It's disgusting, please stop.
"...Do whatever you want."
"Yay!"
Chise lit up, threw her arms around Noah, and nuzzled her cheek. Noah broke out in a cold sweat and thought it through.
Maybe I can just teach her properly?
Honestly, even that nightmarish menu hadn't been bad in terms of flavor. It was more of a physiological rejection. Noah spun her happiness circuit as hard as it would go.
The door slid open again.
Yuria stepped in, soaked through with sweat. She wiped her face on her right sleeve and announced herself with full theatrical confidence.
"Yuria has arrived."
"Wow, you're dripping."
"You fragile young ladies wouldn't understand, but I prefer to run a distance like that. It's good exercise, too."
Noah cracked one eye open and deadpanned,
"Too cheap for bus fare?"
"Urgh...!"
The shot landed dead center. Yuria clutched her heart. Noah sighed.
"I can cover a bus fare."
"I don't need it!"
Internally, however, Yuria thought, ...If she asks one more time, I'll reluctantly accept.
Of course, no such thing happened. Noah was not the type to ask twice. Yuria's disappointment showed plainly on her face.
Chise laughed a little awkwardly.
"Shall I cover your bus fare, then?"
"Well, if you're that determined to force your goodwill on me even after I said I don't want it, I suppose I can make a special exception and accept. Just this once, so you'd better be grateful."
Chise considered this with genuine seriousness.
"I'm the one who should be grateful...?"
Looking faintly embarrassed, Yuria came the rest of the way into the clubroom. The empty room naturally had nowhere to sit. The one sofa in existence was already occupied by Noah and Chise. Unsure where she was even supposed to stand, she said, looking awkward,
"Still, there's really nothing in here, is there. What's with this expensive-looking sofa?"
"Noah."
It was a conversation they needed to have anyway.
"Shouldn't we start filling this place with furniture?"
"Not my problem."
Noah's face made it abundantly clear that she could not be bothered. Chise puffed out her cheeks and poked Noah in the face.
"We're over budget in the first place because you impulse-bought the sofa."
"This is an essential item."
"Ugh, seriously."
Yuria asked, puzzled.
"...Seniors, you're rich anyway. Can't you just use that fancy money of yours at a time like this?"
Chise answered as if she had been waiting for exactly that line.
"Regulations say we can't use personal funds. Oh — in that case, why don't we start recruiting members? Especially outside members."
"Why."
"Because we can spend an outside member's money."
We do have to recruit people eventually.
Organizations, as a rule, ran themselves once you picked a few smart people. One stretch of genuine effort and school life would get easier — that much was obvious.
...But it was still a pain.
"What's the deadline?"
"Hmm. Applications probably close in about a month."
Noah snorted.
"What, we've got tons of time."
"A month goes by fast, you know? And finding people who meet your standards isn't easy."
Noah looked like she lived her life in the most slapdash way imaginable, but Chise knew better. Noah was a perfectionist. She would say things like, Just have Chise pick them, or Grab whoever. But if you actually did that, she would absolutely come back with, I told you to recruit people. Why is everyone here a beast?
"Forget it. If I move myself, I won't even need a day — half a day will do. We'll recruit members in a month."
Noah sounded immovable. Chise had no choice but to nod.
"What a shame. I wanted to furnish the place already. I really wanted a tea set."
"...What?"
"It's a dream of mine! Being the character who brings out the tea during club activities. I could even prepare sweets!"
"C-can't you do that here?"
Got her.
Chise smiled inwardly and blinked her eyes with perfect innocence.
"But there's no space to steep the tea, nowhere to leave cookies or cake, and nowhere to eat, is there?"
She watched Noah's throat bob.
"...You said we can spend an outside member's money."
"Yep! So let's recruit!"
Noah's gaze swung toward Yuria.
"...Isn't that a bit much?"
There was such a thing as squeezing blood from a stone. Noah quietly stood and walked toward Yuria. Yuria backed away, looking terrified.
"I-I don't have any money, senpai."
"Hah? That's not for you to decide."
Noah held out her hand.
"Lend me some money."
And then, without the slightest preamble, she asked,
"I-I did get paid yesterday, but it's already tight just covering food..."
"How much do you have?"
"...A hundred thousand yen."
"That's a pathetic paycheck."
"That's rude!"
"Wanna trade?"
"Huh?"
"A month of meals and clubroom furniture. Wanna trade?"
Chise was impressed. That was an option...?
Spending personal funds on the clubroom was forbidden. Buying a junior a meal was not.
Come to think of it, Ichinose's stomach was growling.
Yuria's pride, however, was higher than expected.
"Do I look like someone who'd agree to a ridiculous demand like that? This is because of Minamoto-senpai's overspending in the first place, isn't it? Why don't you take this chance to fix that habit!"
"Meals covered, plus taxi fare on top."
Yuria folded at the waist and thrust her card forward at once.
"This is my paycheck for the month. Please take it, senpai...!"