A Yakuza's Affairs (3)

Four o'clock in the afternoon. As always, at the same hour, Genji was sharpening his blade—and a crease formed between his brows. The last time Noah had come by, the aftermath of whatever she'd thrown had left a nick in the steel. No matter how much he ground it down, the scar refused to fade, as if the sword had taken a bad hit somewhere it shouldn't have.

"Next time... I'll have to hide it beforehand."

It was simply a father's wish not to let his beloved daughter see him putting an edge on a sword.

The door slid open.

"Boss!"

"What is it."

Without lifting his eyes, Genji gave a slight nod. Takeo dropped to his knees before him, his expression grim.

"Suzuki's gone into the Yamaguchi hideout—alone!"

"Suzuki?"

"Yes, sir!"

Shhhk, shhhk. Genji never stopped sharpening. His voice was indifferent.

"Boss. Is that really all?"

"Does it need to be more?"

"That Kotone brat." Takeo's face was deadly serious. "She always leaves a complete mess! The cleanup crew is going to be sick again!"

"...Pay them well this time. Whatever else you do." Genji's voice went cold. "I have no interest in letting the ones who touched my daughter die cleanly."

Takeo didn't argue further. He bowed his head.

"Yes, Boss. I'll tell her to run as wild as she likes."

Bzzzt. A phone buzzed. Genji set the blade aside for a moment and answered.

Takeo caught the twitch at the corner of Genji's mouth and spun around at once.

"What a rare thing, you calling me."

The caller was Noah.

Takeo, still facing away, felt a crushing pressure roll over him. Goosebumps raced down his spine.

"...Takeo."

He flinched and turned around. Genji's face was terrifying. He looked ready to bury a few hundred people on the spot. Takeo tried, somehow, to soothe him.

"H-haha. W-well, now that I think about it, the little boss is a proper high school girl, isn't she? Girls her age hit puberty, and..."

"So the new recruit is going through puberty too, I take it. I hear he lost to a middle school girl."

"...Is that true?"

"Thanks to him, my daughter told me she was in a bad mood."

Genji stood, sword still in hand.

"Where is the new recruit right now? I'll take his head myself."

"B-Boss! Please, restrain yourself! Boss!"

The usual dessert shop. Noah let Yuria's frantic chirping go in one ear and out the other.

"Minamoto-senpai! Please give me a real answer. Why did you let a violent criminal like that go?!"

"Now, now, Ichinose. Calm down..."

"You too, Fujiwara-senpai! You can't just throw power around like that! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This is Japan! A liberal democracy! Please don't casually commandeer public authority!"

The Minamoto yakuza who'd been handed over to the police. Chise, of course, couldn't just stand by—she'd murmured something to the officers, and they'd saluted and fled as if their lives depended on it. Noah, who'd been talking about the death penalty and whatnot, had quietly looked the other way, figuring Minamoto business should be handled by the Minamoto. Which left Yuria watching the achievement she'd worked so hard for go up in smoke.

"What's so 'violent criminal' about it. He was just stepping on a guy's hand a little."

Noah muttered, and Yuria stared at her in disbelief.

"A little? How is threatening an innocent civilian in broad daylight on the street 'a little'?!"

"Don't be so uptight. Itchi's the one who hit a perfectly decent yakuza."

"There is no such thing as a decent yakuza in this world! ...Wait. Yakuza? Senpai—don't tell me you know something about that man from earlier?"

Yuria had sensed something dangerous about him, but yakuza hadn't crossed her mind. Noah flinched and pecked at her cake. Then, eyes sparkling, she gazed into the middle distance.

"Umai."

"Sooo cute."

Chise couldn't take it anymore. She pulled Noah into her arms and proceeded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to dote on her shamelessly. Yuria sighed at the hopeless display.

"Haa... aren't you two a little too close?"

These two really might have a slightly dangerous streak...

She eyed them with suspicion—then took a bite of cake.

Ngh... it's so good!

The previous incident vanished from her mind as she started eating like a woman possessed. The cake here was dangerously delicious.

Did we manage to dodge that?

Chise was a little relieved the mood had drifted past the subject. She couldn't exactly let Yuria in on the Minamoto family's secrets.

"Chise, what are you doing?"

Noah tapped her empty cocoa cup. Chise jumped and clasped her hands together.

"Ah—sorry. I'll go right now."

She hurried off for a refill, and Yuria stared in disbelief.

"Minamoto-senpai, you could just go yourself. Why are you making Fujiwara-senpai do it?"

Noah's expression turned lofty.

"Petty errands like this are women's work."

"Eh...?"

Yuria doubted her own ears.

"Senpai... you're a girl too?"

"What matters is an unbreakable spirit."

"?"

Yuria decided to give up on getting a real answer out of Noah. Instead, she turned to Chise, who was coming back with the cocoa.

"Um, Fujiwara-senpai. Why do you let Minamoto-senpai walk all over you?"

"Hm?"

Chise set the cup down, pressed her skirt flat, and sat with careful grace.

"That's a sudden question... mm, repayment?"

"Repayment?"

"Yeah. Payment for letting me do things like this?"

"What do you..."

Chise stroked Noah's hair. Yuria watched, dazed, until Chise beamed and asked,

"Want to try, Ichinose?"

"Me? Ahem."

Yuria, who had secretly wanted to pet Noah, pretended she was only giving in and reached out. But—

"...Senpai."

Noah yanked her neck back with desperate force. It gave her a double chin. She did not care.

"If you don't want it, just say you don't want it."

"I don't want it."

"...Right."

Yuria wilted.

Why only me...

"Now you get it? Being allowed to touch Noah is a seriously big deal."

Chise looked proud. Yuria finally understood.

So it's a quiet give-and-take. Fujiwara-senpai handles the chores Noah doesn't want to do, and in exchange she gets to touch her...

Wait. Touch?

Her eyes went wide at the suggestive ring of the word. Chise smiled a little wickedly and slid an arm around Noah's waist.

"That's right, Ichinose-san. I can do even more than that."

As far as Chise was concerned, it was just a joke. To Yuria, it was the proof that turned suspicion into certainty.

"H-huh? Ichinose? Why is your nose—"

"W-what are you doing in front of a middle schooler?!"

Click. Click.

Suzuki sat crouched in a corner, sliding the cylinder of her revolver in and out. A smartphone was wedged between her jaw and her shoulder. She was on a call. After listening for a long time, she spoke in a gloomy voice.

"I'm sorry... but..."

She tucked the revolver into her coat and drew the wakizashi hanging at her left hip. It was a short Japanese blade originally meant for seppuku, but it was Suzuki's primary weapon. Takeo's voice on the other end had gone serious. Suzuki rose slowly to her feet.

"Don't... worry. The only time I'll die..."

She looked down at her blade.

Suzuki hung up and looked at the sky.

A rundown commercial building. This was the place believed to be the Yamaguchi hideout. She walked in without hesitation. She'd never been here before, but she headed for the emergency stairwell like someone who'd come a dozen times. Every footstep echoed through the whole building as she climbed.

Destination: the second floor. Objective: the complete annihilation of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

Suzuki reached the second floor and opened the steel door. Yakuza were already waiting inside.

"Hello..."

Suzuki bowed her head.

"The hell are you?"

"I-I'm Suzuki Kotone... captain of the Minamoto Unit 0..."

She raised her sword with an embarrassed look.

I said it... for the first time.

Unit 0 was Minamoto Noah's personal retinue. Its first priority was Noah's safety, and Noah's orders outranked even Genji's. But opportunities to announce that title were vanishingly rare.

Because...

Unit 0 was just Suzuki!

"Hey, hey. You come here alone and start talking like that? Unit 0? Never heard of a rank like that in my life."

The man lounging arrogantly on the sofa sneered. Suzuki couldn't quite meet his eyes. She mumbled,

"...That's mean."

She'd finally worked up the courage to say it! And this was how they treated her. Suzuki was sad.

"I don't know about this Unit 0 garbage, but I do know you're a babysitter."

The man waved a photograph. Suzuki was in it.

"Looked like you got put through the wringer."

The photo showed Suzuki turned into a snowman.

"If you spill everything about your master, who knows? We might treat you better than getting turned into a snowman in the dead of winter."

"Kyahaha—!"

The Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza couldn't hold it in. A baby-faced high schooler showing up alone, clutching a sword in shaking hands and calling it a threat—that was funny enough. The way the Minamoto treated her was even funnier.

"I-I'm sorry. You went to the trouble of making such a kind offer... b-but I... I like the Minamoto... They feed me a lot... and they treat even someone like me... warmly..."

"Kyahaha. If it's the inside of your body, we can make that warm too."

One of the yakuza rose quietly, laid a hand on Suzuki's shoulder, and whispered,

"We can make it real hot. The nickname for my lower half is Avatar of Hell."

"I-I'm sorry."

Suzuki flinched, her voice thick with tears.

"I... I didn't know it was something so precious."

Puhahk—!

The yakuza slowly looked down. Crimson blood erupted like a fountain. His guts spilled through the split in his belly. He clutched his stomach with an expression of utter disbelief and collapsed.

"I... cut him."

The reason Unit 0 was just Suzuki was not that Genji didn't care about Noah's protection, and it was not that she was treated as badly as they imagined. It was because Suzuki Kotone alone was enough. Unit 0's primary duty was guarding Noah. And a bodyguard's worth was quality, not quantity. You needed one real fighter more than a hundred scarecrows.

In that sense, Suzuki was the right person for the job.