CHAPTER XIX

…

Everything changed - better for the most part, but also for the worse when Kenji Isshiki put three bullets in the now deceased boss of the Ichihara-kai. The already small and weakened crime organization couldn't survive such a devastating blow, and with most of its important members either summoned to testify in Tokyo on racketeering charges or completely disappeared, it didn't take long before the Ichihara-kai fell apart like a house of cards. For the next few days, with the full support of our allies, we tightened our grip over the entire city of Chiba. The Chinese started to spread their businesses downtown and established numerous storefronts in Fujimi district, and Mr. Bo's relatives, who owned the titular Chiba Outfit tailor shop, began buying out other garment shops in a bid to monopolize the entire street. They took over the protection of the shops. By this time, Sakaecho district was such an epicentre for our crews that it was under Manuel Ieyori's absolute control, on par with the law. It was also at this point that I learned of a frightening truth on how our guys got rid of the bodies during when a takeover ended in a murder of a gangster or two. Some of the Filipinos who were in on our machinations, and who worked at the funeral parlor on block three, were in charge of disposal; apparently, they started using the crematorium to get rid of the corpses, even going as far as giving a fake funeral to avoid suspicion.

And on the evening of that very same day, much to my surprise and disbelief, one of the three men we met during the hit at the restaurant in Ichihara rang the phone at The Grandeur, which I unsuspectingly answered. Donato Ichijou, along with his fellow shateigashira Narita Rengou had decided that it was a wiser course of action to align themselves with the winning side, and they weren't wrong. Initially, I was perplexed as to what course of action to take next, and considering that this technically wasn't part of Manuel Ieyori's designs, it was up to me on how to carry on with the fact that I now essentially commanded two former lieutenants of a notorious Yakuza mob. I felt a sense of power rise inside of me, akin to how one felt upon first setting hands on a deadly weapon, but I also knew that this was volatile, treacherous grounds and that it could backfire at any moment with dangerous consequences. In all honesty, I never saw or thought of myself as a leadership figure, and though I possessed a degree of capability in directing the course of action of a group, I do not share the same thirst and enthusiasm to stand above and in front of another person. I decided to keep this sudden development to myself for now, with plans to inform Manny later on, sure that it would completely change the game for us, now that we have at the very least a connection in the neighboring city of Ichihara.

During those following days, with the help of Hanzo Ieyori and Obito Kenji, who gave me useful advice and cooperated with my objectives, I sent the two lieutenants to pick up the pieces of the shattered Ichihara-kai; I judged it a fair design to seek allies from our enemies - because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that we make enemies out of friends, and friends out of enemies. Over half of the estimated 200 members in the Ichihara-kai were gone, and the remaining few still stood out there, confused and unsure of what to do next, so Donato and Narita started to put together their own crews, which they brought over to our side, making them the newest batch of 'Outfitters.' They'd wait around at the plaza near Goi station, in Goichuonishi district, and if I summoned them over to Chiba, they'd take a train on the Uchibo line, which would eventually become a highway for our mobsters to quickly travel to and from the cities. You'd think that we were a huge organization by now, but there aren't more than a thousand associates of ours, and that's counting the entire alliance of Manuel Ieyori, Xiao Bo, Johnny Woo and the bayside unions and their associates. Yet I know that compared to even a sizable Yakuza mob, we were superior. We're the new dogs on the street; we were vicious, headstrong and ambitious, and given that we're hungry for wealth, power and prestige, there's no telling how far we could go. And give me two ragtag but eager crews to lead, and I'm even starting to believe that I could go all the way to the top.

This is also the time when I started going out more with Miura Yumiko - in a non-romantic way of course, regardless of the accompanying implications with spending time together with a girl. I found it almost poetic - in the early mornings and later in the nights, I would be at the bar, living out my nightlife and secret alter-ego as boss Manny's right hand man and the leader of the Ichihara branch of the Chiba Outfit mob, running my own large-scale bookmaking, loan-sharking, gambling, and racketeering schemes in Ichihara city. While in the middle of the day, Miura would often call and invite me to hang out and, well, do typical riajuu pastimes like going to the movies, strolling inside malls, playing a match of tennis or just helping each other with homework and sharing study sessions. Miura is very, very good at speaking in English, and she adopts a sort of British accent every time she helps me learn the language. In return I'm assisting her in writing essays, commentary papers and such, although I feared that I might accidentally add a hint of cynicism that always characterized me. There's a malicious thought lingering in my mind however… I'm thinking what if Miura, after a session of studying English, suddenly whispers to me, "you know, I can also teach you French… how to French kiss, that is."

We did a lot of things, and along the way gradually came to know each other. It was hard to believe that an introvert like me could become good friends with an extrovert like Miura Yumiko. I still couldn't figure out her motives and why she'd rather spend time with me than with her friends, then I realized that I really didn't know much about her social life in Yotsukaido, but I assume she's with her new clique if she's not with me. In any case, I was just glad that she seems to be finally moving on from her ex-boyfriend… she doesn't suddenly start crying out of the blue anymore, and she starts to smile brighter. Although she's always hitting me, giving me trouble, and finding satisfaction at my expense, I think she can be quite a cool person when she's in the right mind… sort of.

And the best part is that Miura secretly shares the same interest in dark humor as me, although she obviously doesn't show it to most people. She'll start laughing - and slapping me hard on the shoulders - before she even tells the joke, and usually I find myself stifling a giggle not because of the joke, but because her laughter is so contagious.

Sometimes, we went to more aesthetic and pleasing places in the city like the Museum of Art, where Miura and I gazed at the artworks and sculptures in silence - as if there's a subtle understanding between the two of us, which I always welcomed. It seemed like sometimes, no words have to be spoken in order to have a conversation. I think we both shared an interest in art - I knew artists like Salvador Dalí, Françoise Gérard, and Horatio Henry Couldery, the famous animal painter; Miura favoured Andy Warhol, Edvard Munch, and Raphael, who created the fresco The School of Athens. And we both liked van Gogh, Kusama Yayoi and of course, Leonardo da Vinci. However, she doesn't appreciate contemporary paintings that much, and when I asked Miura why, she said, "splashing random colors on a wall and calling it art is bullshit. Making a mess does not make you an artist." Well, she's not entirely wrong. And that was quite a colorful way to put it.

Sadly, the Museum of Arts in Chiba city didn't have enough funds or patrons to showcase such prestigious paintings or even replicas in their galleries. I thought, what if someday when I have enough money I could buy a da Vinci painting or something, and donate it to the museum… now wouldn't that be great? It would be nice to have a quality replica of Mona Lisa along the gallery, no? When I was a kid, I saw Mona Lisa from my elementary school art book. The first time I saw her, with her dainty hands on her lap, how do I say this… I had a boner…

Anyways, back in the 80's, a time when not everyone owned digital devices, computer cafés were very popular places not just to do your research or use the public xerox machine, but also to hang out and play games on the café console like Tetris, Space Invaders and Pong. People hardly go to computer cafés anymore, but we sometimes went there. We were going around Shinchiba and into restaurants, sometimes indulged on ice cream and cakes and of course, we went to bars - with her insistence and my hesitation of course, considering that it never ends well if we are to refer to history. Miura is always asking me to drink with her, but I do not want to drink anything with this girl, especially alcohol, and in a bar full of people no less. Of course she disregards my word, and we went anyway… I made a compromise with her that she can drink, but only beer. I hardly get drunk from beer, but after three pints Miura switches into her "angry drunk" mode, suddenly calling out people, and even challenging strangers to a fight. She'd say random things like, "hey you! You've got a lotta nerve bein' alive!" Sometimes, I enjoy her antics and find her very amusing.

Thank goodness Miura never stirred up more trouble than a brief argument. In any case, I would defend her should the situation call for it - after all, my mother raised me to be a gentleman. I'm not the nicest person on the planet alright, but I can sometimes be her guardian angel, and also sometimes be the devil on her shoulder.

Miura Yumiko is the kind of girl every guy would make a beeline towards when they see her in a bar, and there would actually be good-looking guys taking a seat beside her and starting to flirt with her. I'll say that even if I didn't know her, if I saw her I'd still think she's hot - if you don't mind her chaotic side. Though I would never admit this to Miura, she has a certain look in her eyes that just turns me on… this girl is dangerous. She's a pretty good sport as well, playing along for a while with those guys. Meanwhile I'm just standing on the sidelines, inconspicuously sipping my drink while watching the scene from the corner of my eyes. You think I'm jealous? Why would I be jealous of these fancy guys flirting with Miura? After all, that girl they think they have a shot at is eventually coming home with me!

Heh… well, maybe not home with me, but it still feels good watching those guys give me jealous looks once she walks out with me. Anyway, I always anticipate the point when she finally agrees to go home and of course, while she doesn't pass out from just beer, she's still completely wasted. I'm just helping her along, with one of her arms over my shoulders, until we board a train or get in a cab. As soon as I walk her to her boarding house, I would leave immediately… because we don't want any more unexpected nuances, do we?

While I was finally enjoying and having fun with this wonderful thing people call friendship, things for the Chiba Outfit are beginning to grow dark, and with the fall of the Ichihara-kai and the indictments of numerous criminals throughout the city, this left only us, and the police started to train their attention on us, the Chiba Outfit. With the mob practically the only syndicate in Chiba city having any tangible control and influence over the streets, we were now the prime subject of investigation by the Chiba Police Department. They didn't know the Chiba Outfit mob existed - they hardly even heard of the alliance between the different gangs in Sakaecho district, and all they knew was that the Chiba Outfit is a fancy Chinese tailor shop selling suits and shoes.

Inspector Saburo Oreki on the other hand knew that we were up to something, and he wasn't going to stand by and let us do as we please. Remember, we still have the stolen consignment of guns from the unloading bay in our possession, and Saburo was intent on retrieving it regardless of the deal we've made with each other. Criminal activity took a sharp recession in Chiba city when the Chiba Outfit took over the streets and subdued all of the boryokudan and petty street gangs, but that didn't mean illicit activities stopped - it only flourished, out of sight from the prying eyes of the law. Our crews and our influence was everywhere. From Wakamatsucho in the Wakaba ward area of Chiba, where the demand for cheap fenced goods encouraged our bootlegging business, down to the bayside towns where ships unloaded cargo on the docks and warehouses outnumbered shopping malls, and extending into Ichihara city via the crews of Donato Ichijou and Narita Rengou. I didn't think Chiba city was for the taking. I thought it was already ours.

Manuel Ieyori had been identified as one of the ringleaders of this rising mob in the city, but the National Police Agency couldn't produce evidence that would connect Manny to the ongoing criminal operations. Xiao Bo and Johnny Woo were also suspects, but all of these people were too well-insulated. There wasn't any proof that they committed serious crimes, and that prevented the police from indicting any of them. The NPA needed authorization from a judge to be able to bug and wiretap any suspected criminals, which would allow them to even more closely monitor the suspects, and to acquire that authorization they needed evidence of a crime - something they didn't have, yet.

I myself took great precautions and made efforts to conceal my identity and avoid being associated with the Chiba Outfit, even though I am one of the most important members in the mob. In this case, publicity meant certain destruction for the people like us. Japanese society has never been kind to Yakuza-like organizations. If my identity ever got out, I would be doomed. I would never be able to go back to my normal life again - not like I ever had one - and my name would be smeared on every newspaper and television screen in the country. That was even worse - my family would get roped into my mess. That's why I kept up my alias as an Ieyori. I did not find the idea of going down in history as a mobster appealing at all. I never wrote my name on anything, I abstained from using social media and I preferred meetings over telephone calls, all of this as a measure to protect my privacy. I was paranoid. But who wouldn't be?

The name of the Chiba Outfit was not known yet, and it would be better if it remained that way, but there were investigators and agents, the likes of Saburo Oreki, who were beginning to notice the subtle nuances in the cities. The son of the chief inspector, Houtarou Oreki is one of the better detective inspectors in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, having perhaps inherited his father's genius and innate skill for deductive reasoning. At the age of twenty-six, Houtarou Oreki is one of the youngest people to become a detective inspector in the National Police Agency. It was only a matter of time before he surpassed Saburo himself and made a name for himself. But unlike his father, Houtarou did not have the same inclination to use violence in order to achieve his goals. He believed that the greatest victory was one that did not require a drop of blood, and he swore not to follow in the chief inspector's footsteps. The 2016 Fukuoka drug raid incident was a stain on their legacy, and Houtarou Oreki wanted to change that.

We had to keep an eye out for the plainclothesmen who lurked in the open on the streets. You never know if the guy's an agent, and you could get caught as a suspected mobster. It wasn't just the police that was posing as a serious obstacle in our success. Any sensible person should know that the media is a powerful force that could even topple the government itself, and the reason why the Yakuza has never been seen in a good light in this country. Bonaparte once said that four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets, and he was right. The politicians know this, and that's why the government constantly tries to control the media - when you control the media, you control the entire public. And what's more powerful than public opinion in this country?

There are five major newspapers in Japan: the Nikkei Shinbun, Sankei Shinbun, the Asahi Shinbun and the Yomiuri Shinbun. The latter is the biggest of the five, and they even have a branch office in Chiba on the Museum of Art avenue, in Central district. What most people probably don't know is that these companies are owned by a select oligarchy of wealthy ruling families - notably, the Shorikis, the Horikitas, the Asahis and the Murayamas. It's no surprise that these families are deeply entrenched in politics and business, most people wouldn't know if they were corrupt, because they own the media. Watching television news is like taking black spray paint to your third eye. It blinds, confuses, and turns you into another gullible drone. The other day, the headlines told of a salesman who was strangled to death using piano wire and left at the back door of a supermarket. What they didn't say was that the bastard skimmed off revenue and was a smuggler for a gang which sold off furniture. They could've added that detail, but that would shatter the illusion of innocence. No, they want to demonize the bad guys. It was only practical. Society needs to point the blame towards a labeled villain. No good story was without a good antagonist after all. That's why my main operating principle: never trust what the government says.

Sooner or later, we'll be in the newspapers. I know it. You can't keep such a huge racket down forever, and people are going to hear the noise one way or another. If that's the case, then we'll just have to find a way to prevent the press from targeting the Chiba Outfit - which is impossible, but at least we can try to keep our names off the news. Right now I don't have the slightest idea how I'd do that, but I'm sure an idea will come around.