Before we go into this chapter, there are a few things you need to know about the Yakuza in Japan.
The Yakuza is the largest organized crime syndicate in Japan. They have 3 major branches- the Yamaguchi-gumi, the Sumiyoshi-kai, and the Inagawa-kai.
Besides these 3 major groups, there are the boryokudan- small cells of yakuza members who operate under the command.
The small cells can be found throughout Japan, and undertake other jobs. The gang members relate to one another under familial terms- the leader of the cell is known as the oyabun or kumicho, (family head), who relates orders to the kobun (children).
There is more to the structure- the Kumicho controls saiko-komon (senior advisors) who each control their own turf.
Now with those fun facts out of the way, on with the fic! :)
He could hear his own heart pounding in his ears.
Thump-thump, thump-thump….
He felt nauseas and achy, and he unconsciously shifted position, eyes screwed shut in discomfort as he attempted to do anything he possibly could to alleviate the discomfort. It did little to help him.
He whimpered slightly- it was as though he was in a feverish haze.
"…kid. Hey kid, c'mon, open your eyes…."
Where was his father? Normally, when he was this ill, Bunta would sit with him so he wasn't alone when he woke up….
"Can you hear me?" the voice was muffled, and it definitely wasn't his father's. It was as though everything was underwater…. "Open your eyes!"
His eyes fluttered open to a dim room furnished in dull hues, with stale air.
As the world shifted into focus, he saw another teen staring at him. The boy had shortly cropped black hair and coffee brown eyes, and his worried face broke into a relieved smile as he looked down at Takumi.
"Glad you're finally awake. You had me worried there, man- you were out for a long time."
Takumi blinked sluggishly, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. Where was he? How had he ended up here? Where was his Dad?
"W-wha happened?" he slurred, mind still slightly addled from the drug.
The other teen's face fell, and he hurried over to look Takumi in the eyes seriously. "You don't remember? Shit, this is bad…."
It all came crashing down on him like a ton of bricks. The strange man from the day before, the 86 being surrounded, fighting for his life….
His eyes widened, and he involuntarily gasped.
The boy in front of him looked at him eagerly. "You remember now?"
Takumi nodded slightly, sitting up. "T-they ambushed me…." He fumbled to swing his legs over the side of the bed, finding the action requiring far more effort than it should've.
He looked up, blinking once more to clear his head. "T-they took me. Who are you?"
The other boy frowned. "Oh shit, yeah- I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Kogashiwa. Kogashiwa Kai."
Takumi only hesitated for a brief moment before he was reaching out to shake the other boy's hand. "Fujiwara Takumi." He said quietly.
Kai beamed, looking pleased to have made some progress so far.
"Nice to meet you, Fujiwara. Now, I don't know about you, but a lot has happened to me in the past day or so. So let's compare notes."
Bunta Fujiwara sat on a hard wooden chair in the Shibukawa Police station, trying to remain positive. A detective had already come over and questioned him endlessly about the events- from the last time he'd seen his soon, just before he'd headed out to deliver tofu, to finding the dried blood on the pavement and the abandoned 86.
Still, soon after they'd taken his deposition they'd left him with his own thoughts. It was growing increasingly harder to remain positive- he watched the officers look at him and whisper to one another. And when he saw a single, bloody trainer being carried into the room in an evidence bag by a somber faced officer, well, that did little to boost his spirits.
Lieutenant Tomo spoke to his superior, nodding, before he strode into the room. "Sir, your information had been very useful. All our manpower is currently scouring the forest surrounding the pass looking for your son, and his credentials have been entered in a missing person's database- if any police department in Japan picks him up, they'll find him."
Bunta refused to acknowledge that, looking up at the officer seriously. "Something happened out there. I don't know what, but…."
"Sir. Lamenting over it will do little to help us now." Lieutenant Tomo spoke firmly.
Bunta scowled at the man. "You honestly expect me to believe something bad didn't happen up there? Someone took my boy, and I need answers, damn it!"
Lieutenant Tomo met Bunta's eyes for a brief moment before looking away. "You're right. I suspect foul play was involved." The officer admitted, staring at the flor to Bunta's left. "And you deserve answers. Truthfully, Sir- Shibuwaka is a small station, we're hardy equipped to deal with a situation of this magnitude. We're securing the crime scene and gathering evidence, and I've put in a request to my superiors that more Gunma personnel be directed here to help us make some headway…."
Bunta nodded. "That's all I can ask of you. Thank you."
Tomo shook his head. "No thanks is necessary, Sir. It's our job. I'd suggest you go home and get some rest- we'll phone if there are new developments."
Bunta nodded, standing slowly, placing his hands in his pockets before shuffling out of the police station, back towards home. In that moment, he looked much older than his 43 years.
"They drugged you too?" Takumi asked, staring at Kai in near disbelief.
Kai nodded sadly, putting his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and looking at the floor. "I never saw it coming. The last thing I remember is the sensation of pavement…."
Takumi frowned, staring at the floor. "What do they want with us?" he asked quietly.
Kai sighed, running a hand through his hair. "At this point, your guess is as good as mine…. My father will notice I'm missing and contact the police. We just have to be patient."
Takumi nodded. "My Dad will notice when I don't come home. Or, if he doesn't, he'll notice when I don't come home from school…."
Kai frowned. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
Kai nodded. "Nineteen. I graduated high school last spring."
Takumi nodded, sitting back on the small bed. While he was unnerved by the whole situation, at least he had Kai to keep him company…. It was far better than being alone.
Kai began to say something when the door to the room swung open, and both suddenly fell silent, eyes flicking towards the door nervously.
"Kumicho will see you now." A lanky man with pale skin and dark hair spoke.
Takumi and Kai exchanged nervous glances.
"That means follow." The teen in the doorway said, looking at them sternly.
They were led to a room where a dark-haired man in his 30s sat at a table. He smiled and nodded to them when they entered, motioning towards the chairs.
Both Kai and Takumi sat down, and the man smiled cordially.
"First, I apologize for my rather… rough retrieval… of you. However, I required your services rather immediately- my brothers have spent quite a long time finding you." The man spoke as he poured sake into a bowl, taking a sip.
"I am Matsuda Daichi of the Yakuza. However, you will address me as Kumicho. You will address me with respect, and obey me unconditionally."
The man slid the bowl of sake across the table to Kai, who looked down at it hesitantly.
"Have some." Matsuda encouraged him. Kai looked up at the man, eyes flinty with defiance.
The smile never left Matsuda's face as he drew his handgun from his waistband and placed it on the table in front of him, where the metal object promised to bring pain. "I insist."
Kai blinked for a moment, looking form the handgun to Matsuda, before he picked up the bowl with shaking hands and took a stuttering sip, some of the liquid dribbling down his chin.
Takumi watched the exchange with muted fear on his face, his eyes wide….
"You too, of course." Matsuda nodded to Takumi warmly.
Takumi carefully took the bowl in his hands and brought it to his lips, taking a swallow of the sake….
He broke into a coughing fit, and the alcohol burned as it slid down his throat. Takumi clumsily set the bowl on the table, eyes watering as he fought for control over his body….
Matsuda laughed. "Never drank before?"
"I-I'm underage." Takumi managed to rasp.
Matsuda grinned. "Ah, we don't follow such nonsense here." He said happily, reaching to remove his handgun from the table and slide it back into his waistband.
"Do as you're told, and you'll be rewarded. Step out of line, and you will be punished. That's all you need to know." Matsuda informed them cordially, moving to stand. "Younger brother-" Matsuda spoke, and the dark-haired sallow figure appeared in the doorway.
"Take our fledglings back to their room. By the way, my new ototos- the door of your room is unlocked. Feel free to come out whenever you like. We embrace you with open arms." Matsuda grinned, and a moment later the sallow man was leading them back to their room.
The door behind them closed, and both boys waiting in silence, listening until they'd heard the footsteps of their escort retreat.
"Well, this is just fucking great." Kai said, sitting on his bed heavily. "We've been initiated into the Yakuza."
"No we haven't. We didn't agree to anything." Takumi said, sounding distant.
"Yes, we did! We shared sake with him- it was a variant of the sake-sharing ceremony at Shinto weddings, the declaration of brotherhood-" Kai frowned, looking frustrated when he saw Takumi's blank look. "Don't you watch any gangster movies at all!?"
"No." Takumi said evenly, still looking unbothered. "Besides, he had a gun on the table- of course we cooperated. That can hardly be called agreeing to join…."
"Well what would you call it, Takumi!?" Kai nearly shouted, frustrated.
"False generosity." Takumi said calmly. "He was far too kind to us- he's trying to use, us, convince us to join them willingly, because it will make his job easier. He needs something from us- why else would he have kidnapped us like he has? We just refuse to cooperate and wait until the police find us…."
"How does one refuse to cooperate when there is a gun on the table?" Kai asked dryly.
Takumi shrugged. "Well, we do what we must to keep them from hurting us, but once we get the chance, we run. It's really pretty simple."
Kai sighed, looking upset. "This whole situation is horrifying…."
"Well bear it. You have to keep your morals close, Kai, or the police will think we're with the Yakuza when they find us. We can't afford to join these guys, even if they hurt us." Takumi said wisely.
Kai sighed, frustrated and overwhelmed. "I don't think I want to talk anymore." He admitted, laying down on his med and rolling over to face the wall.
Takumi didn't answer, and they fell into melancholy silence.
Bunta tried to keep himself occupied with the tofu. He really did.
But as soon as the phone rang, at around ten in the morning, he ran over and snatched it from the hook, hoping it was a police officer calling to tell him they'd found his idiot son wandering in the woods, a little beat up, and wearing only one shoe.
"Hello?" he couldn't keep the anxiety from his voice.
"Bunta! I've just heard Takumi is missing!" Yuuichi's voice was loud enough it made Bunta pull the reciever from his ear.
"What on earth happened!?"
"If you want to know so bad, come in person and quit using our phone line! I'm expecting a call!" Bunta fairly shouted, slamming the phone back onto the hook in frustration.
"Damn him. Idiot wants to talk and use the phone when police could be calling…."
A few minutes later, a black Chevy pulled into the drive, and Yuuichi got out, running into the shop, looking out of breath.
"What's going on? Why can't I call you on the phone?" Yuuichi huffed, looking rather hurried.
Bunta sighed. "Because Takumi's missing and the police station is going to be calling with any news. I don't want them to try and call and get the busy signal because I'm explaining things to ugly mugs like you."
"Oh, well that makes sense." Yuuichi said, before his expression was breaking into one of concern yet again. "But what happened to Takumi?"
"I don't know. The kid was late on his way back from the tofu run. I went out to check on him- found the 86 running, door open, one of his shoes, blood on the pavement…." Bunta trailed off at the end, staring at nothing in particular and feeling worry settling in his chest….
He was brought back to reality by Yuuichi's hand on his shoulder. "Takumi is a strong kid. Sure, he's spacey, but the kid can throw a punch when he has to. I'm sure he'll be fine…."
"Then why haven't they found him yet?" Bunta couldn't help but ask no one in particular, and Yuuichi sighed.
"I don't know, Bunta- maybe he managed to escape whoever held him up. He's probably in the woods somewhere, waiting it out. He'll be alright, you'll see."
Bunta sighed, nodding. "You're right." He said simply, pulling out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
"I really need a smoke."