Yakuza: The Chain of Hate
Chapter 1: The White Tiger
"Tora-nii-chan! Don't go!"
Two men sat on their knees, facing each other in silence. Between them were a table and two cups of sake.
"There are only two places for trash like me. On the street or amongst other trash."
Simultaneously, they reached for their respective cups. The older man, who had thinning gray hair on his head, took a generous gulp of his cup. The younger, who appeared to be no more than 20, merely sipped.
"But you have a lot more potential! Once you go Yakuza, there's no coming back!"
Then, they exchanged their cups, the younger merely taking a sip once more while the elder drank his fill.
"And I don't intend on going back. Not now, not ever."
"TORA-NIIII!"
*clink*
They had set down their respective cups back on the table and raised their eyes to each other.
"Toranosuke Kagame, we welcome you to our family. Hold your head high so that none shall look down upon you. As the head of the Yukino family, I accept you among my brethren."
The younger man backed up and pressed his head to the floor in a dogeza.
"I am grateful for your hospitality. I swear upon my life that I shall defend the very foundations of your family and of the clan."
The older man smiled and raised his hand.
"Rise, for you are now one of us. You are now Yakuza."
Sometime later…
"There he is! The fresh meat himself!"
Tora scratched the back of his neck out of embarrassment.
"Gotta admit, I never believed that I would wear flashy clothes like this."
He was dressed in an unbuttoned black blazer with pants and a white shirt underneath. On his feet were fancy yet comfortable shoes suited both for fashion and running. The man who he was talking to, scratched his chin while looking him up and down.
"If you're calling this fancy, then you sure have a ways to go. But hey, you're just starting out. Don't be too concerned."
"If you say so, Zura"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me by that name, especially since I'm your senior. It's Katsura, or maybe even Aniki."
"You know there's no way I'm calling you Aniki."
"You just did."
Tora grimaced and stuck his hands into his pockets. Meanwhile, Katsura made his way to the register.
"We'll take this one. 6000 yen, right?"
After leaving the store, the two just walked around, their daily duties finished.
"So, you never really told me why you wanted to join. Was it the money? Or maybe it was the girls?"
Tora shook his head.
"I'm not that shallow, y'know? Besides, that's what gets people into deep shit when that's the reason they join."
Katsura took out a cigarette from his pack and pulled out his lighter.
"Is that so? If not, then why did you join?"
Tora stayed silent, not answering. After puffing some smoke, Katsura nudged him in the arm.
"Oh come on, you can tell me! Is it some big juicy secret or what?"
"Personal reasons I'd rather not talk about. Hm?"
He turned over to an alley after hearing some noise.
"What's going on over there?"
It was pretty dark, but he could make out the silhouettes of two people cornering a third. Then, he noticed the uniforms.
"Hm? Hey, where're you going?"
Tora walked over to the confrontation without a second to lose.
"What's with this thing here? There's no way you had the money to buy this."
"But I swear, I actually bought this with my money!"
"Then show us the receipt. There's no problem with that, is there?"
"Alright, here it i-"
THWACK
"No sudden movements, you little shit! You trying to pull a knife outta that pocket?"
"B-b-but my receipts in here!"
"A likely story! You're getting a beating for that!"
"You two mind if I butt in?"
"Huh?"
With a hand on the officer's shoulder, Tora threw a solid right hook into his jaw. The impact caused him to sprawl all over the ground.
"What the- what the hell're you doing? Do you realize who you're messing with?!"
Tora sighed and cracked his knuckles.
"Yeah, I sure do. I'm about to beat the asses of some washed-up pieces of trash with a shiny title. The real question is: 'Is your bark worse than your bite?'"
The initial officer wiped away his spit with his arm before pulling out his baton.
"A smart-ass, huh? You won't look so smug after I beat you to a pulp!"
The officer made a wild swing towards Tora, but missed completely as he side-stepped out of the way.
"Wh- HGH!"
Once he turned around, Tora unleashed a deadly combo of attacks centered around his stomach and chest before finishing by grabbing his head and ramming it into his knee. The other cop quickly pulled out his revolver with the barrel aimed at his head.
"You little shit! You'll pay for this!"
"I think you should reconsider your choices."
A knife blade was quickly pressed to his neck. Katsura sighed as he held his cigarette in his free hand and blew out more smoke.
"You should know how to identify a Yakuza without much help. Or perhaps you don't know that if you go after one of us, you come after us all?"
The cop immediately dropped his gun and put his hands in the air.
"Wait, we didn't know! We were j-just apprehending a criminal here!"
Tora looked down at the man on the ground with a bag of groceries.
"You said you had a receipt, right?"
The man nodded and pulled it out of his pocket, showing it to Tora.
"B-but he had a knife-"
"So what? Is there a problem with that? We're allowed to carry those on our person. Besides, he doesn't even have one, do you, Uncle?"
The man once again shook his head. With that, Katsura sighed.
"So you just slugged him without a reason? None at all? You guys seriously are rotten to the core."
He pulled back his knife and shoved the officer away.
"If I catch you here doing the same shit on our turf again, you won't be so lucky."
The officer ran away, leaving his partner and gun behind. Katsura, who was curious, picked it up and fiddled around with it.
"Fine piece of work here. To think that they hand these out to all officers on the street… "
Tora grabbed it and pulled down the hammer. Then, facing the police officer on the ground, he walked towards him.
"W-wait! Don't come near me!"
With a swift kick to the stomach, the corrupt officer went down like a sack of potatoes. Then, he felt the touch of cold steel press against his forehead.
"Y...you're not gonna… "
"What, kill you? Perhaps."
Tora pulled the trigger only for a faint click to be heard. The officer opened his eyes and realized he was completely safe.
"Be glad I removed the bullets first. Get your sorry ass outta here."
As he scampered away, the two Yakuza wiped the dust off their clothes. Katsura, still smoking the entire time, piped up.
"Does your reason have anything to do with the cops?"
Tora stood stiff, not moving an inch while Katsura chuckled to himself.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop grilling you. I'll find out eventually, though."
After exchanging a glare with his senior, the former directed his gaze to the victim.
"Are you alright? How badly did they get you?"
The young man stood up and rubbed his jaw. Despite being knocked over, he seemed to be fine.
"I'm fine. Thank you for saving me. I swear, the police force has become more troublesome lately… "
He picked up his groceries and bowed to them as he left, leaving the two to themselves. Sighing, Tora turned to Katsura and raised his hand.
"Shit, forgot my lighter at home. Hey, Zura, can I borrow yours?"
Grunting 'it's Katsura', he tossed the box to his kouhai. After lighting his cigarette, Tora tossed back the lighter and took a long drag.
"The reason why I joined the family was because of how much shit this world is right now. That's all I'm willing to tell you."
Katsura gave him a shrewd look before going back to his own smoke.
*PIPIPI*
"Hm? Yes, I'm here… Yeah, I'll be over soon."
Katsura flicked his phone closed and put it back into his pocket before stomping out his cigar.
"HQ said they wanted something from me, so I'm heading back. Are you going back home?"
Tora nodded before doing the same to his cigar.
"Yeah, I've got some news to break to Yuna-san."
"Ouch. I'm glad I'm not accompanying you this time."
Katsura turned heel and walked out of the alleyway while waving behind him.
"If you come out in one piece, let's hit up the usual spot, 'kay?"
Now alone in the alleyway, Tora took some time to reflect on what to say to his younger sister. Of course, she would be infuriated with him, but how else would she react? Sadness? Shame? Joining the Tojo clan was something that he had thought of for the past 3 years of his life, and she knew this just as much as he did. Three pain-staking years of hard labor after dropping out of school just to support the two of them and pay the rent for the sorry excuse they called an apartment. His younger sister deserved more than this, and the only way to pay was to get his hands on a yakuza's paycheck. This was what he would tell her, but it wasn't the main reason for joining the Tojo clan. Not by a long shot.
After dodging the landlord, he opened the door to their flat and was met with the sight of his younger sister at the table. Laid out in front of her was a bowl of rice and a bowl of potato stew with a twin set just on the opposite side of the table. Yuna turned to see him come in, saw his attire, and changed her expression to one of sadness. Not liking his odds of success, Tora sighed and closed the door behind him.
"You know, you didn't have to wait for me to start dinner. If I'm running late, you can punish me and tell me to microwave dinner by myself."
Yuna smiled and shook her head.
"But if I did that, I wouldn't have anyone to eat with, now would I?"
"*chuckle* Fair enough. Thanks for the food."
The two ate in silence, but the atmosphere was enough to tell that a heavy topic weighed on both their minds. The only question was when it would finally progress.
"I know you told me that you hated my idea, but I don't have much of a choice if we want to get rent paid on time-"
"When are you gonna stop lying to me, nii-chan?"
Yuna's response whipped out of nowhere and stung Tora enough for him to stop talking, but he continued shortly after.
"I'm sorry, but I've joined the Yukino family."
Yuna closed her eyes and set down her bowl. The inkling of a tear started to appear in the corner of her eye as if today was the day that she had dreaded to come.
"Right now, I'm only working on collection runs, but it pays well enough that we won't have to worry about money for a while. You don't have to worry about getting a job. You can finish school first and maybe if I get a promotion, we can finally move out of this place."
Yuna shook her head. As Tora continued talking in an attempt to get her to stop, Yuna still kept her act up.
"No, if it means we get money from the Yakuza, then I don't want it."
"Please Yuna. This will get more money than any part-time job I can get. We can start over and have a good life outside of the slums. You won't have to be made fun of for your home situation, we can get good food on the table so you can grow, and everything that comes with it. We can put everything behind us!"
Yuna opened her eyes and looked straight into those of her brother's. She remained silent for a moment before she spoke up.
"Then say it. Say that you joined the yakuza to leave everything in the past."
Tora felt all the warmth drain from his body as he looked back at his sister.
"Say that you joined the yakuza only for the money and nothing else. Say that when you get the chance to leave, you'll take it, and you'll get an honest job. Say that you won't go looking for Dad! Say that you'll forget about what happened to Mom-!"
Tora slammed his fist on the old wooden table. His fingernails dug into the side of his thumb, threatening to draw blood. Yuna went silent but showed no signs of surprise.
"I can't promise that… I can't just forget what happened to Mom… And I can't forgive that son of a bitch… but the least I can do is make sure that you won't need me around when I bite the dust."
Yuna stood up from the table and brought her empty bowl with her to the sink.
"I'm not hungry anymore. You're on dish duty for tonight."
With that, she walked over to her side of the room and drew the curtain to indicate that the conversation was over. Seeing that there was nothing else to say, Tora brought his bowl to the sink as well, finding his appetite equally disturbed. Then, his eyes fell on his lighter next to the sink and grabbed it before he forgot it again.
He stepped outside the apartment and leaned on the guard-rail outside of their apartment. Lighting his second cigarette of the day, Tora heaved out a lung full of smoke while looking at the distant lights of the city. Somewhere, in one of those buildings, in one of those floors, a traitor was among the wealthy; a rat who had betrayed everyone close to him all for a seat at the top of the food chain. If there was anything remotely positive Tora could say about his old man, it was that he never let anything chain him down; not his sworn brother, nor his comrades, and certainly not his own family. He could almost hear the gunshots of the hitmen that belonged to his father's old family as he hid in the closet next to his sister.
They huddled while holding each other and heard their mother try to convince them that the children were sent to live with their grandparents. Those were the last words they ever heard from their caring mother before a bullet was sent through her skull.
After that, they went into the care of the police and had their last names changed to that of their mother's to prevent any more danger from befalling on them. However, as the threat of the yakuza disappeared, the greed of the officers continued to feed off of their existence.
In less than a month after their mother's death, all the money in their savings account had mysteriously vanished while they were sent off to an orphanage without a single yen coin. As if they hadn't taken enough already, their ties to the yakuza had been made into their permanent record when Tora threatened to take the embezzlement of their savings to the court, leaving him without any hopes of finding a decent job to support the two after they moved out.
There truly was no justice for the weak in this world, and the only way to get anywhere was to get your hands dirty or have someone else get their hands dirty for you. As the night grew old, Tora decided to turn in for the night, tossing his cigar over the railing where it would hopefully land in front of that bastard landlord's door.
"Life really is a bitch", he said before going back inside.
Hello all! Here's my first chapter for a new series that I've been planning for some time. I've got a bunch of work to do for college right now, but somehow found the time to do this for fun. I'm a big fan of Yakuza 0 and really liked the motif of it, especially with it showing the more vulnerable side of characters that have been known to always put on a strong face in the later games. I have 2 other stories that I am working on right now, so I might not upload again until one of them is finished (fear not for it is likely to be finished in another 4 to 5 chapters). For this story, the time setting is in the late 90s and there will feature several character branches that eventually come together, not so different from Yakuza 4, but in a way that would make a general pattern. Anyways, please share your thoughts of this story in the reviews or DM me; I'll take most demands other than implementing characters from the games since everything will entirely be an OC cast. A sneak peek of the next main character will indicate that he is involved with the police, although not an official member of the force (think a little bit of Takayuki Yagami from Judgment). Anyways, I look forward to your comments and will be working on the next chapter until then. See ya!