Chapter 15: Meet the Third Generation Kumichō of Kasanoda-gumi
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Because of my encounter with Kasanoda Ritsu, I am now on my way to his house. Yep. A yakuza house—with demons, hanyous and humans alike, to meet with his father and current chief: Kasanoda Noboru.
The house—or shall I say mansion—is like your typical yakuza house with a long history, a traditional Japanese house.
"Young Master! Welcome Back!"
The greetings from his clansmen are what welcomed us—and they were more than surprised to see me walking beside him.
"Hrnh."
But I was more surprised with the look they are giving me—like I was kidnapped by him or something and they are too scared to ask their young master.
"Y-Young Master…" A guy with light brown hair and grey eyes called the red-head's attention when we entered I believed to be the main house.
He looks familiar… Oh! He must be that guy with ponytail who was with Kasanoda that day…
"…who…who is that boy with you? Classmate?"
"Hrnh?!"
"U-Uh… He's not…?"
"Hrn."
"F-Friend?"
"Hrnh?!"
"J-Just a schoolmate then…?"
"Hrn."
Wow…he's an expert translator…
"Good afternoon." I gave him a smile. "I'm Higurashi Kagome. Pleased to meet you…"
"A-ah!" He looked like he's panicking. "M-My name is Tetsuya Sendo. Nice to meet you, too."
We just stared at each. He seems to be subtly assessing me. Maybe he's cautious, because I just came with his young master out of nowhere. Our staring contest was interrupted by Kasanoda.
"Where's oyaji?"
"O-Oh. Master is in his office. He is speaking with an important client right now so I don't think you should—Young Master! Please don't!"
The red-head didn't listen to him. Instead, he walked away with a seemingly indifference face but before motioning me to follow him. We started walking in the long wooden-floored corridor. There's nothing else to look at so my eyes went to Kasanoda's back. His back looks stiff—waaay too stiff. And for some reason, I instantly understand that gesture.
"You shouldn't have ignored him if you're regretting it now, you know."
He jolted—like a scared cat, and his back became stiffer (if that's possible). He stopped walking so I did too.
"You looked so scared when you were asking Mori-senpai to be his disciple. But now that we are in your house, I've got quite the idea why you did that."
"W-What do you mean?" His back is still facing me.
"I don't want to say groundless speculations but from what I can see, you must have been lonely…"
Both of us went silent. Then he heaved a long sigh before glancing a little on my direction. "Let's go."
…
"Oyaji!" He opened the sliding door with more force than necessary, bursting through the door like he owns the place—well he do owns the place. So yakuza like…
On the other hand, the office looks unusual for a yakuza. Unlike what I've watched from movies, where the yakuza boss' office is carpeted, has couches and coffee table in the middle so the underlings can place their feet there, and the boss' table is humongous so he can make himself look bigger and is made from heavy wood so he can punch it and leave a crack whenever he's angry to make it seems like he's stronger than anyone. Where his swivel chair is made from black leather, has an armrest where he'll put his hands while drinking wine or smoking tobacco, and the back part should be above his head to make himself look more dignified. Lastly, there is supposed to be a large carnivorous animal poster posted at the wall behind the boss' chair.
But instead, the wooden floor has tatami mats. The boss' table is a spotless 3x4 desk table, with books neatly arranged on a bookshelf a meter away from it—right in front of the wall and a large cabinet beside it where he must be putting his paperwork. He doesn't have a chair of course, but he's sitting comfortably on a floor cushion—his guest is also sitting on one, which is located half a meter away from the desk table, giving the boss some space to give his respect. The office does have a poster on the wall, behind the table—a calligraphy poster of the family's motto, a single kanji word, "PROTECT". The entire room doesn't have anything except for those things.
"Oh! There goes my son! What brings you here?" Ritsu's father stand up from his seat. A man who looked young to be the father of a high school student. Just one look and I can already see his resemblance with Kouga and Ayame—with his red hair, though a shade darker than Ayame's, his piercing blue eyes like Kouga's that can freeze anything with just a look, and the overwhelming presence which you can only see in a full-blooded demon. "You do know I have here a very important gue—Ah…I see."
I almost flinched when he started giving me a stare.
His guest, an old-looking guy wearing an expensive suit also stood up. "I should probably excuse myself."
"I'm sorry about this old friend." He smiled apologetically.
"That's fine. I understand." I can't see it, but he probably smiled back. "Then, I will return tomorrow, same time." Then turned his back to the boss to face us. And I'm right, because he is smiling. That smile is also directed to us, and that smile retained while walking towards us. "Good afternoon Young Master Ritsu." When he spoke, his voice is also smiling. But his eyes… He may seem old but his eyes looks sharp.
"Good afternoon Sir." Ritsu greeted back politely.
It looks sharper when those eyes made their way to mine.
"Good afternoon young priestess. Glad to finally meet you."
Then he's gone. And I'm left…dumbfounded.
"Don't looked so surprised priestess. You are quite famous, everyone knows you are Lord Sesshomaru's darling."
"WHAT?! I AM NOT!"I thought they didn't know?! Wait. I'm not his darling! I'm a fiancée! Wait. Isn't that the same thing? NO! DEFINITELY NOT! I WAS FORCED TO BE ONE! THAT DOG! I'M REALLY GOING TO KILL HIM!
On my side, I partially noticed Ritsu frozen on the spot.
"Please don't look like that, you're even scaring me priestess." He's not scared at all, instead, he's ready to burst out laughing. "Well, it's not yet confirmed. Everyone's just speculating, noting about his public announcement that you are not one to touch—at all."
"Huh? When did that happen?! I didn't hear any of it!"
"Let's sit first okay? It seems you are ready to faint any minute now." So we sat on a floor cushion the boss personally got from the cabinet. "Hmm…I think he said it just before the beginning of a new school year? A week before Ritsu's entrance ceremony? That's why it was engraved on our minds pretty well, especially the young ones who are studying at your school. So? Did anyone approach you?"
"I…I didn't know any yokai student who deliberately approach me. Even Kasa— I mean even Ritsu-kun here, we just accidentally met each other."
"Yes, I don't think he will make contact with you by himself, given his personality." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What about my niece and nephew? You are in Class A right? So you must be classmates with them."
"Uh… I apologized for saying this… But…um…aren't yakuza's children supposed to be in…Class…D?" I stated softly, missing an eye contact with him. When I do take a peek, his eyebrows were elevated, before bursting a heartfelt laugh.
"True, true. I'm sorry about that. But my sister's human husband is a business tycoon. So the school disregarded the fact that my sister came from a yakuza family and accepted their son and daughter into entering Class A."
"So…may I know who are you talking about?"
"Oh. They are Misaki and Ryuunosuke. You must have known them right?"
I thought for awhile. "Misaki and Ryuunosuke… Misaki and Ryuunosuke…" I repeated, before slowly bulging my eyes out, and my mouth opening wide. "Akanai Misaki and Minami Ryuunosuke?!"
"Oh. It seems you know them pretty well."
I still can't get over the shock so my mouth was left open for awhile, before a sudden remembrance struck me. His sister's children? Siblings? "Wait a minute Sir. I don't think I heard you right. As far as I know, they are cousins?"
"Ah… so that's what they are telling people. If so, I do not think I have the right to tell you more about this. You should ask them. It looks like you are close friends with them so I don't think they will not tell you the truth."
I have no choice but to agree even though I want to know more. "Yes, Sir…"
"Please, just call me Noboru."
"Y-Yes Si—I mean, Yes, Noboru-san!"
"Very well. Let's get down to business. Why did you pay me a visit?"
"N-Nothing… I just… I just wanted to meet Kouga and Ayame's family…" He stared at me like he knows something, so I can't help but to avert my eyes.
"If you came here to see if my grandparents are still alive, I apologized, but they are long gone."
"What do you mean by…long gone?"
"They were killed. By humans."
Another shocking truth. I don't think I can take another one.
He sighed. "You see, my dear priestess. The dispute between yokais and humans is a long history of carnage. Yokais are strong beings. Ten times stronger than humans. But what do you think is this significant ability of humans which defeated us demons?"
"Uh… uh…" Is this some kind of a quiz?! "Technology…?"
"Before that, my dear."
"Uhm…"
"The ability to procreate."
I can't help the blush that crept my cheeks.
"Yokais are partially immortal beings. We have a lot of time in our hands. We can produce offspring whenever we want." He assessed my facial expression before continuing. "On the other hand. Humans are fragile beings. You have limited time in your hands. So you wanted to leave a legacy. What is the best way to leave a legacy?"
"To… Through your children…?"
"Exactly. You wanted to be remember even after you died. You wanted to leave behind a memory. A memory of you."
I nodded in understanding.
"But that is something us demons will never understand."
"What do you mean?'
"Because the moment we were born in this world, we already know that we will live in time. We are intelligent beings, but we are not smart. We do not use our time to think, instead we use it to get more powerful. Unlike humans who used their time wisely. They think, and at the same time, tried to get stronger."
"Why are you telling me these things?"
"Because I want you to know that yokais and humans will never come to an understanding. We will never be at peace with each other."
"W-What? What about your sister who married a human? What about that hanyou who was here just awhile ago?"
"Understanding and coping are two different things."
"Huh?"
"As I've said, humans are stronger in their ability to procreate. You outnumbered us, and you developed technologies that can defeat us, kill us. So our survival instincts told us to cope. To blend ourselves to the ever-growing population of humans. At the same time, prove to you that we are still stronger, that we can still defeat you even with our small population."
"No! Yokais are not like that! I became friends with demons even before you were born! They do really care for humans! If you go on with your load of crap, I just might as well go home!" I rose from my seat.
"Oyaji… Your joke has gone way too far…"
"Oh. Am I?"
His laugh stopped me from leaving. "What are you laughing about?!"
"I'm just glad that you really are the kind of girl Lord Sesshomaru told me about."
"W-What?"
"You are not prejudice. You love humans as you love yokais."
I still don't know what's going on so I sat again and glanced at Ritsu.
"Oyaji was just joking about what he said…"
"Actually, my grandparents were killed by demons."
"Ehh?! Really?!"
"Yes, my dear. Because they are one of the leaders who advocates the peace between humans and yokais. So they were killed by those who opposed it."
"Did Sesshomaru do anything about it?"
"Why of course! He did plenty of things for us. He was the one who organized their funeral. We consider him as a family friend and I think he do, too."
"No, not that. Did he… do anything about those people who killed Kouga and Ayame?"
"Ah…about that. He and our family has been hunting them for years, but we still haven't found them."
"'Them'?"
Noboru made a sidelong glance to Ritsu before looking back at me. "The Hebi Clan."
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Okay, okay. I know it's been ages since I last updated and I also know that this chapter won't make up for it. So I'm really really sorry about that. And I still hope you haven't given up on this. It's just that I had this very common sickness called "Writer's Block". Yeah…I'm sure most of us were struck by this at least once.
I'll get back on my feet soon!
Sore ja~!
Matta ne~!
Sincerely yours,
Natsuki