III

The first morning that I met on the schooner wasn't a pleasant one. Firstly, I woke up on the floor with a bruise on my elbow. Secondly, it was very stuffy in the hold and the breath of the scores of men only made it worse. And thirdly, I didn't get to sleep well at night because I kept thinking about the words that strange man with a dagger had said to me.

Stumbling at my feet, I barely made it to the hatch, and then practically tumbled out on the deck, greedily breathing in the fresh air. I didn't make any attempts to stand up, and simply kept lying on the warm wooden planks. Then I heard Raito's voice somewhere not far from me. I looked up to see him talking on his cell phone with someone, probably he was giving orders to his people that were left in the city. Upon seeing him I immediately remembered his words about trainings, and barely stifled a groan.

"Bad morning, huh?" Raito's voice sounded right above me. Apparently he was already done talking on his phone.

Despite of the pitiful state of my body, I jumped to my feet and stood at attention. Boss was looking at me with half-a-smile on his face.

"You don't look particularly well," he slowly shook his head after he was done with examining me. "But don't raise your hopes up, that is no excuse to free you from your duties."

Now I couldn't suppress a disappointed sigh.

"You want to become successful? Work for it. And I already have a task for you."

"What kind of a task?" I asked him curiously, conjuring up some guesses. Maybe he would teach me how to shoot? Or how to fight?

But when he led to me to the kitchen area where I came face to face with piles of dirty dishes, all of my hopes went down the drain.

"I don't think I have to elaborate with your task, do I? You're a smart guy, I'm sure you know what to do," he smiled at me amiably. When I saw that smile, I felt my disappointment vanishing, if only for a moment. But as soon as Raito was gone, despair got me into its clutches once again.

This wasn't what I'd been dreaming about. What kind of yakuza practices included washing the dishes anyway? I wasn't a housewife in training, was I? I could bet Raito himself never had to deal with dirty plates...

Sighing deeply, I put on rubber gloves and looked at a large bucket of water. What a pity there couldn't be a faucet on a ship. Still hesitating, I took a sponge into my hand, squeezed out a chunk of dishwashing gel on it and lazily began to rub it against the plates.

"If you don't make any efforts, you're going to do fifty push-ups," I heard Raito's cheerful voice behind my back. I flinched and turned to stare at him. "And if you do make an effort, thirty would be enough."

I could only stare back at him in shock.

"What did you expect? Without exercises you won't be able to even hold a gun in your hand for more than half a minute. Now work."

I perfectly well understood that he was right, and that I would have to do some exercises sooner or later. But I really didn't think that on my first day he'd make me swab dishes and then order me to do the push-ups. My hands were sure to turn into a painful mess in the evening.

The more people were leaving the dining area, the bigger the piles of plates grew. Kiyomi soon walked past me, waving her hand and smiling, looking pleased. Upon seeing her contented face, I felt even worse. The only good thing was that I haven't yet met with that dagger guy. Speaking of which, it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn his name.

I don't remember how much time I spent cleaning up all the mess, but after some good amount of time, I pulled off the gloves and tossed the sponge on a desk. I've never thought the dishwashing was such a tough work. Mother made it seem so easy...

When I shuffled back on the deck, I proceeded to lay down on one of the benches there, closing my eyes and enjoying the warm sun and fresh air.

"Already done with the push-ups?" Raito was standing above me, his hands crossed on his chest.

"No, boss."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

I hesitated for a second before glancing up at him.

"Should I do it right here?"

"Do you see a gym? I don't. Work."

I slipped down the bench on the floor where I proceeded to lay prone, with my hands positioned to perform the exercise. Arms were already starting to tremble, and the thought that I was supposed to make thirty push-ups didn't give me any strength at all.

Clenching my teeth, I slowly lowered my body, trying my hardest not to fall face first. One, two, five, ten... On the thirteen push-up my hands were literally ready to fall off.

"Do twenty, this much should be enough for now," Raito sighed, taking pity on me.

I let out a sigh of relief, happy to know I'd have to do seven instead of seventeen more.

As soon as I did the last push-up, I collapsed in a sweaty heap on the floor, my hands were still trembling and aching as hell. I was breathing heavily, trying to even my heartbeat. Raito crouched beside me.

"Nothing will be too easy, you know this. For starters get yourself mentally prepared. Take a breather for a while, and then we'll continue," his hand ruffled my hair, then he stood up and went away. And I, for some reason, felt my face flush.

"How weird. He let you live."

I didn't even have to guess who that voice belonged to. Clenching my teeth, I tried not to fall for his provocation and waited for the young man to go away. However, he obviously wasn't in a hurry.

"What are you? Already feeling all beaten up?" his derisive voice went on.

"Leave me alone," I snapped, standing up on my feet.

"Whoa, look at how saucy we are," his thin lips curved into a grin. That very grin became the last straw for me.

Within a second I came face to face with him, grabbing the collar of his shirt. The difference in our heights didn't scare me – he was a little less than a head taller than me. Young man's face was dangerously close to mine, and the look in his eyes was full of surprise.

"One more sound out of you, and I won't let you live," I hissed softly and pushed him off me with all my strength, so that he almost fell on his back. Giving him a contemptuous look, I pointedly turned around and headed in the direction of Yagami to take a new task from him.

As soon as I came close to him, I noticed a pleased smile on his face and just as pleased look that he was giving me.

"Nice job with bringing Teru to his level," he said, smiling all the while.

"Who?" I asked, widening my eyes.

"Mikami Teru – the youngest one in the family, with the exception of you, of course. He's only sixteen," Raito explained, glancing at the navigator to check how far away we were from the ship we were tracking. Apparently pleased with the information he got, he nodded to Kiyomi and the boat made a harsh turn. I could barely keep my balance and had to grip onto the railings.

"He's sixteen?" I asked, surprised. "I thought he was twenty or something."

"No. And it hasn't been long since his sixteenth birthday, so he's not much older than you. Quite a cheeky guy, it took a long time for him to grasp what it means to be a part of the family. Because of his lousy personality he got himself into quite a mess with other guys. They went as far as demanding my permission to kill him for disobedience."

"That's why he's so sure the only punishment is death," I muttered.

"It's kind of a trauma for him," the oyabun smirked. "However, a few months ago he saved the lives of my people in one of our ventures by single-handedly resisting the attack of an adverse syndicate. After that deed family members accepted him as a worthy brother, and for now they are putting up with his temper. I can only hope he won't do anything stupid again. I doubt he wants another of his phalanges cut off."

"But what have I ever done to him? It can't be that he dislikes me just because of how mean he is."

Raito took a good look at me before facing away to watch the waves.

"He sees a rival in you, and that in itself is quite normal," he said calmly after a pause. "You're only four years younger than he, but you are nothing more than a child right now. Just as he is. Family welcomed you with respect, which is appropriate considering that you are the previous oyabun's son. He, on the contrary, got constantly despised. You have a mentor – Teru had no one to teach him. Everything that he knows, he learned himself. Your mentor is me, and that means a lot - you won't find another active clan leader who teaches a child that's not his own. At the current point in time family is pleased with Teru, yes. But you have great chances to surpass him, and he fears this. He fears that you will send him back in the time when he was being humiliated and unacknowledged by the family. I think this is the sole reason of his attitude towards you. But don't take it close to heart, he's always been hostile to pretty much everyone."

"But what should I do? How can I stifle this hatred in him?" I really didn't want any enemies among the family members.

"Truth be told, I do not know. I try not to meddle in Mikami's business. You should deal with this problem yourself. But I tell you what – when I train you to be a yakuza, you sure as hell will be able to prove that he has no right to underestimate you. Already you're making great strides, I saw what happened between two of you earlier. And know what? I'm impressed."

Embarrassment washed over me in one giant uncontrollable wave. I suddenly started to wish the earth... or rather the sea would swallow me up.

"I didn't think you'd be able to repulse him right away. This will make him reconsider his opinion on you. Because in order to quiet Mikami down, you should either have a higher rank or prove yourself through a fight. Otherwise you'll be forced to endure his sneers until the fate brings two of you apart. Got it?"

"Got it, boss."

"Now go down into the hold, find spare jibs there and wash them. With your hands, of course," Raito changed the topic abruptly.

"...What are the jibs?"

"There," he pointed at the sails near the prow. I let out a heavy sigh which brought a nearly sadistic smile on Raito's face.

"Yes, aniki-san," I replied him in a sluggish voice and reluctantly dragged myself over the hatch.

"More enthusiasm, please," his peppy voice sounded behind my back. I muttered something unintelligible to him in form of response.

"Lawliet!"

I stopped and turned to face Raito, looking at him, doomed.

"Twenty five push-ups after you're done!"

This man really wanted to kill me.