Review Time:

StRAnge ToASt - It certainly does!

Anime Borat - It's important that you mentioned this. The ending of Azumanga Gaming will be coming soon, in fact, I plan to end it after each girl has taken their post-arcade game turn (so at least 8 chapters after this). So this means I need to make these picks really count!

Dewdrops - :)

James Birdsong - Thank you.


Chapter 38 - Yakuza 0

Once again it was Kagura's turn. The girls were hard at work studying for their exams, but eventually there was open time for a new game to play. She was looking through her collection for a suitable pick.

"What are you doing?" asked her father.

"Oh, u-uh Dad! I….um…..well the truth is….." She didn't want to lie but he saw his daughter's grades. He'd demand she'd hit the books some more. "….I'm going to study at my friend Chiyo's house, of course."

"Ah, sure. That reminds me, I should lock those games of yours in the attic so you'd focus better!" He said, glaring at her Playstation 4.

Crap!

XXXXX

"You too, Miss Kagura?" Osaka shook her head. "We can't play as much now." She, Tomo, and Kagura were walking to Chiyo's like they always did.

"I know! I don't wanna fail but I dunno, it feels….wrong just to stop this far! We still study and do our homework together! My grades have improved since the beginning of the term!"

Tomo shot her a look.

"Okay I'm not getting Yomi level grades but….." Kagura sighed. "I just need one day of distraction. We're only young once. We're not study machines!"

"That's the spirit, Kagura! So what game did you pick for us?" Tomo grinned at the large bag she was carrying, no doubt holding her PS4.

"It's a secret, Tomo!"


"Good afternoon!" Chiyo greeted at the door. She served them rice cakes and tea. When everyone was settled, she noticed a lack of Yomi and Sakaki. "Goodness, is it just us for today?" Chihiro had gotten there earlier, but Kaorin couldn't come either.

"Guess no Yukari either," Tomo said. "Alright Kagura, hook it up!"

KNOCK KNOCK

It was Nyamo. Their gym teacher did a double take at first, but quietly sat down on one of the beanbag chairs and helped herself to some tea. "If your parents ask Chiyo, I'm still here as your teacher."

"Sure. Err Miss Kagura, what will we play today?"

"Well….." Kagura finished plugging in the wires. "I guess in a way, it's educational. Not like that Oregon Trail game…..but it's still important to Japanese life!"

"Wowwww! We're gonna play as fruit stand shoppers!" Osaka's eyes shined. "Grandpa always taught me to get the best bargains on watermelons!"

"Not that!" Kagura cleared her throat. "The Yakuza."

"What?!" Poor Chiyo looked around as if one was going to rush in her living room. "No! My parents told me that the Yakuza are very very dangerous and should not be approached! If you see one, you must call a policeman!"

"Pffffffffthahahahahaha!" Tomo guffawed. "Chiyo, do you want the police to get beat up? Besides, what are you worried about? Yakuza don't hurt kids!"

"Don't you want to serve in Interpol?" Nyamo asked. "You should be developing an attitude against them. They might help Japan in some areas, but they're still a bunch of tattooed thugs! This game stars one of them?"

"Yeah." Chihiro looked at the box. "It's a series by Sega. Kazuma Kiryu is the protagonist, but he's not an evil guy. But he ain't afraid to punch people."

Chiyo looked very apprehensive. But the others seemed receptive to the idea.

"This is Like a Dragon 0: Chikai no Basho….er….well in America they call the series Yakuza, just to make it catch on easier." Kagura scratched her head. "I guess it's like Biohazard being Resident Evil. Are you ready to play, girls?"

She inserted the disc and handed the controller to a very nervous Chiyo.


The opening was montage of shady events to come, with characters Chiyo had no idea who they were. But it finally reached a scene of the protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, standing above a bruised and bloody man in an alley.

"No more….please…!"

He tried to crawl away but Kiryu pulled him back, then kicked his face hard. Kiryu warned the man not to pick fights in the wrong area, especially when he had a "wad of cash". The victor of the fight walked off as the poor man's blood stained a nearby newspaper.

KAMUROCHO 21ST CENTURY DEVELOPMENT PLAN BEGINS

"Oh my goodness!" Chiyo exclaimed. "This is not a game kids my age should be playing!"

"Aw come on, Chiyo, don't be a wet blanket! You have an adult watching," Kagura pointed to Nyamo. "Besides, it's better you see the Yakuza HERE so you'll know how to deal with them in real life!"

Nyamo shot Kagura a look.

"W-Well…..i-if you s-say so….."

The setting was December 1988, Tokyo. A group of young salarymen. One was trying to convince an Emi-chan to join him at a hotel rather than wait for a taxi. She seemed apprehensive. Then Kiryu knocked him down as he strolled by.

"What the hell! That frigging hurt, man!" He put his hand on Kiryu but one of his friends warned him not to do it. All the men backed off once they saw the blood on Kiryu's face AND his intense stare.

"He's…..SO COOL!" Tomo's eyes were shining. "Isn't he so cool, Osaka?!"

"Wow…they really based Kiryu off my uncle…."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Yeah! He wears clothes like that, and makes scary faces….I gotta call Uncle Jin!"

Kiryu found a loan shark in a limo. He promptly handed off the bills he collected as payment, and the shark graciously gave him ten percent. Kiryu tried to give him more as thanks but he refused.

"You're getting cut-rate. Consider it a gift for our first job together." He gave some general wisdom about money and even offered Kiryu a job working for him, promising him a faster rise than as a Yakuza. But Kiryu said simply:

"There's no turning back."

"There's always a way out!" Chiyo pleaded. "You can go to the police!"

"Chiyo, this is a Yakuza's world." Chihiro shook her head. "Just like in real life, we all can't be saints. Kiryu's in too deep to get out now."

Nyamo sighed. "When does the game start? N-Not that I'm bored but….but there's a lot of cutscenes!"

The beginning credits rolled out as Kiryu lit up a cigarette to walk around the Tokyo streets at night. Busy streets, popular danceclubs, it was not the life Chiyo was used to. It scared her, but she was still interested.

CHAPTER 1 - BOUND BY OATH

Kiryu was looking for a Nishikiyama with the only thing guiding him was a pager message ("Whatchu up to"?), but at last the gameplay began. Kiryu was allowed to walk and even run around Tenkaichi St. But then the game showed some street urchins harassing a student for money.

"Running shakedowns on our turf? Someone needs to set them straight before they try something stupid."

He fearlessly confronted the urchins warning them not to do business on his family's turf. They got cocky since they outnumbed Kiryu.

"BEATDOWN TIME!" Tomo cackled. "Lemme do it, Chiyo!"

Poor Chiyo covered her eyes and gave the controller to Tomo. The game instructed Kiryu how to do combos and carry out the "brawler" style of fighting. Naturally for Tomo that translated to spamming buttons and laughing.

"Ha! Go back to school, you street punks! Don't mess with the Yakuza!"

Soon a Akira Nishikiyama arrived on the scene. "Picking fights to kill time….?" He actually admonished Kiryu. Chiyo took the controller back.

"I'm not letting this get to your head, Tomo! You can't be a hypocrite!"

"Hypocrite who?! The whole point of video games is to do things you can't in real life!"

Chihiro held her hand out. "Lemme play."


Kiryu followed Nishiki to their drinking spot of choice. The whole way they were having a rather introspective conversation, on what it meant to be a Yakuza. Once again Chiyo couldn't help but be intrigued. But she still had her doubts.

"They're still criminals. Isn't it…..bad to glorify their lives?"

"Maybe. But Like a Dragon has plenty of games, so people are definitely buying them." Chihiro took a turn down an alley. "Foreigners probably love seeing a slice of Japanese life too. Yakuza do exist. It's not all cherry blossoms and samurai."

Kiryu found himself beating up some drunkards to sober them up. Unlike Tomo Chihiro carried out the flashier combos, some even shoving the men into walls. Soon they caught the hint.

"I think you two had enough for tonight. Go home."

"See? A cop can't do that, but a Yakuza can." Tomo sighed. "I know they're not the good guys but they got class!"

"Class? We've been beating up citizens!" said Nyamo. "I'm with Chiyo, we shouldn't think these thugs are cool."

"But they are! ….at least in this game."

When the two encountered an aging foreigner, he was disappointed Kiryu seemed to be wasting his fighting talent on beating up drunks. But he decided to give him some advice, which led to a status screen.
In a circle, several colored orbs led the way to branching paths of Kiryu's progression. This would make him learn new techniques. But that was only one menu; there were also items, a completion list, settings, and so on.

"Plenty of games have this kind of thing, Chiyo. They want you to customize your playing experience!" Kagura explained.

"I see…..oh! So it's like an rpg!"

"Uhh….sort of?"

"It ain't turn-based," Osaka argued. "You gotta be turn-based."

"Not always!" Tomo argued back.

Kiryu and Nishiki continued their walk. Soon they met some hostess girls; they wondered why Nishiki hasn't been around in a while. He reassured them and gave them 40 grand in yen.

"Building connections with girls is important", Kiryu's associate explained. He explained they're more likely to be remembered if they're surrounded by pretty faces. (Osaka actually took notes). Once they arrived at the spot, the two continued their introspection.

"You and I were just orphans, and he took us in. I'd do anything to repay him, but I can only give him my life," Kiryu said of Kazama-san, the second-in-command for the Dojima family.

"O-Oh….." Chiyo blinked. "Oh my, he's doing this out of obligation! Now I feel sorry for Mr. Kiryu…"

But Nishikiyama decided to end the serious talk for now and invited Kiryu to a ramen shop. The latter was annoyed he had a large helping when he was even that hungry. But around 6:30 AM….the news in the shop reported a homicide.

"Taichi Kurihara-san, age 32." Kiryu recognized the face.

"It's….the guy we beat up at the beginning!" Chiyo gasped.

"It was just a collections job!" Nishikiyama insisted. Kiryu knew he had only roughed up the man, not killed, so something was going on. Either way he was in danger. Nishiki warned this would reflect poorly on Kazama.

"But it was my fault…." Kiryu lamented. He had gotten a page from HQ.

"That's not how it works. He took his in, so our screw-ups become his." Again the girls (namely Chiyo) were in awe of this soap opera-like approach to the story. As for Nyamo, she was getting a little impatient.

"Not that this isn't interesting, but it's just been cutscene after cutscene! Is there more to do?"

"Ssssh!" the girls shushed their teacher. Nishiki suspected that Kuze, one of the family's lieutenants, was involved. According to him he had sold out Kazama to the police six months prior.

"Where there's smoke, there's flames."

XXXX

Soon Kiryu was outside in the bright and sunny Tokyo morning.

FIND A PAY PHONE

"The biggest hurdle back in the day…." Osaka shook her head. "Uncle Jin would always tell me it's so hard to find a pay phone."

"It's not for fun! We gotta call HQ and sort this mess out!" Tomo said. Chihiro walked around until Kiryu managed to find one. He phoned HQ. Kuze had wanted him to return.

"That's not good," Chihiro said. "It's definitely a trap. He's probably trying to frame Kiryu to punish Kazama even more. Let's hurry to see if we can do something."

RETURN TO DOJIMA HQ

"Hooligans!" Kagura pointed. "We gotta mow them down!" Kiryu used his combos to give all of them a sound beating. Chiyo was uncomfortable with more violence.

Soon Kiryu took a taxi to HQ.

XXXX

Inside were the grizzled three lieutenants - Daisaku Kuze, Keiji Shibusawa, Hiroki Awano. They admonished him for wasting their time waiting. Kiryu apologized and bowed. But he had an idea of the issue.

"It's about the body found in Kamurocho….isn't it?"

The loan shark at the beginning payed Kiryu for the deed, but the three claimed it wasn't his own idea. To get the police off their backs, they went as far as suggesting Kiryu take the fall and go to prison.

"That's awful!" Tomo shouted.

"Karma doesn't forget, Tomo." Nyamo shook her head. "You fight like a dog, you get treated like one."

However, they seemed more annoyed that the body was found in their prized venue, the lot. Furthermore, what did the body in was not Kiryu's fists….but a later bullet. Kiryu proclaimed his innocence in the murder - he only beat the man up.

"If that's true, then someone has set you up. Is that what you're saying?" Shibusawa coolly asked.

Kiryu confirmed as such.

"I think it's a load of shit, and you're trying to worm your way out of this. Who the fuck frames a nobody like you?" Awano sneered.

"L-Language!" Chiyo exclaimed. "….but does he have a point? Was Kiryu framed or not?"

"He didn't have a gun, Chiyo!" Tomo played the defender. "Kiryu is as innocent as they come! …..er, for a Yakuza man."

The lieutanants explained how important the lot was….they eyed it for development, to capture more of the market. It now being a crime scene ruined that plan. Was Kazama trying to undermine it from within the prison? Whatever the truth was, there would still be consequences.

"Turn yourself in by the end of day," Kuze instructed Kiryu before he and the others left the room.

"The loan shark must've set us up," Chihiro predicted. "What do we do now?"


Kiryu had to find the man to clear his name. Along the way he encountered the aging foreigner, and their conversation led him to beat up some street thugs. But this unlocked the Rush fighting style, with quicker beatdowns and combos.

"Here Nyamo, why don't you try?" Kagura offered. "Live a little."

"Well…..fine! But just remember it's only because of ME that you're not breaking any age laws here!" She took the controller. "Here goes nothing…."

Kiryu took a few hits but Nyamo eventually figured it out. Like Tomo she got lost in the thrill of being as aggressive as possible with button presses.

"Wow, this….this is kinda cool…."

But now Kiryu had to take down a mini-boss named Bruno with the Rush style.

"Go get him Nyamo!" Tomo goaded. "Right hook! Left hook!"

"Shut up, Tomo, I'm trying to concentrate!"

The battle was won. Bruno backed down immediately once Kiryu revealed his Yakuza connections. And since Bruno was an employee of the loan shark, he pointed him the right direction. The aging foreigner (Bacchus) talked with Kiryu some more.

"Wow….hey, this foreigner guy's kinda cool. Pretty sharp guy."

Chiyo fidgeted a little. "I guess it shows you that even on the streets you can learn some life lessons. B-But I still don't like that we're beating up people!"

GO TO TOKO CREDIT

"Let's go beat up the loan shark!" Tomo said obliviously.

XXXXX

Five steps in the lobby and Kiryu was surrounded by three goons, two carrying steel rods to beat him with.

"My name is Kazuma Kiryu. I just wanted to thank your President for framing me."

"The President doesn't want to see you!"

Another fight ensued. Nyamo figured how to switch between Brawler and Rush style, but she still took some damage in the process.

"There's more fighting styles," Kagura explained. "Really helps give some variety."

"Ack I'm losing health! What do I do?!"

To demonstrate, Kagura took the controller and turned the tables. Hours of playing the game really reflected in how well her Kiryu dodged hits and dished them out.

"Go Kagura!" Tomo shouted. "Not your first playthrough, huh?"

"Nah, this would be my eighth."

"Eighth?" Chiyo watched Kiryu head towards the elevators while more goons chased him down for a fight. "Eight playthroughs of beating up people?"

Kagura paused the game and sighed.

"Chiyo, I get you have a smaller stomach for this kind of thing. But Like a Dragon is MORE than just beating up people….it's being a Yakuza in Tokyo. You do all kinds of things. You go to nightclubs. You play arcade games. You sing karaoke. You have all kinds of adventures!"

"Really? C-Can you show us?" Nyamo asked.


Kagura had multiple save files queued right at the point of some….interesting parts.

With one she had Kiryu go bowling, play darts, play billards, play actual Sega arcade machines….Osaka, Tomo, and Chihiro were amazed. Nyamo…..was lost.

"What….but…..Kiryu's wearing white and a loan shark framed us! How did…..this story's crazy!"

Chiyo too was surprised. "What else can you do?"

"Uhhh….let's see…..oh, this file!"

It was a strange eyepatch man named Majima, one of Kiryu's eventual acquaintances. And he expertly sung karaoke with button prompts. It started off fine, with him singing in a bar…..…..and then the scene shifted entirely to Majima wearing a flamboyant white outfit on a stage with other young men, all singing a song with the lyrics "I LOVE YOU" and "YOU LOVE ME"

The girls were speechless. Kagura was unphased as she pressed the buttons to complete the song, with no mistakes.

"I….you….HUH?! Is this a serious Yakuza game or utter insanity?!" Nyamo demanded. "It's total mood whiplash!"

"I don't know, Miss Nyamo…." Chiyo was enjoying Majima's song. "Maybe the developers put this stuff in so people wouldn't get so uncomfortable! Who is this man, anyway?"

"He's just Majima. He annoys Kiryu from time to time."

"Can we finish the story with the loan shark?" Osaka asked. "We gotta see how it ends!"


Kiryu confronted the loan shark in his office. He first pulled a gun on the Yakuza man but backed down once his opponent approached. He said he was only doing what he was told, to collect the cash in the lot. Kiryu asked to know who told him.

Then Kuze entered the office.

"WHAT?!"

"Kiryu….what are you doing? Pretty sure I told you to turn yourself in, and instead you've over here doing some stupid shit!"

He brought Kiryu to his knees with one punch and politely asked the president to leave so they could talk.

"He's gonna whack us!" Tomo exclaimed.

"Tomo, Kiryu was alive in those other files…." said Chihiro.

Kuze recounted the past of both Kiryu and Nishiki, orphans. How Kazama took them in. But he accused them of being nothing more than his human shields.

"You'd be willing to give your life for him? That's some brainwashing shit right there."

"Oh snap!"

Kuze had an offer for Kiryu. His position to lead the Dojima Family next would be secured if he got the Empty Lot. But Kazama had info that prevented Kuze's lead. So the older man wanted Kuze to spy on Kazama. He promised his secure future in the family, that Kazama was a sinking ship. To make the deal even more crucial, he warned Kiryu would go to prison should he refuse.

But Kiryu was a man of principles.

"Kuze….you think you have control of the board but you're too clumsy to hold the pieces. You don't know a damned thing about me, and you sure as hell don't know a thing about Kazama-san!"

"M-Mr. Kiryu…." Chiyo was moved by his words.

"He's so freaking COOL! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Tomo whined.

"Uncle Jin…." Osaka sniffled.

Of course Kuze warned him making him an enemy was a mistake. But Kiryu was unbothered.

"I'm ready. If I weren't, I'd have no business calling myself a Yakuza."

"Wow…." Nyamo blinked. "This game has a lot of cutscenes but…..this story is REALLY interesting. Let's keep going, Kagura!"

"Aye aye, Coach!"

So the saga of Kiryu continued, all moved by the man's powerful words. Even Chiyo was rooting for him!


To be continued...


I'm sorry this took so long but I just have a lot of projects and less free time these days. Yakuza is pretty dialogue heavy so I couldn't skip around so much but the fun of the series is how batshit nuts it can be in spite of serious Yakuza stuff.
Also if Chiyo ever played Grand Theft Auto she'd have a heart attack. We gotta play more family friendly things. :)

Next Game - Splatoon [Chihiro, Chiyo, Sakaki, Osaka, Yukari]