Chapter 22: Yakuza of Tokyo

Yakuza, also known as gokudō, the extreme path and by the Japanese police and media, bōryokudan violent groups are a well-known transnational criminal syndicates first originating in Japan. Most modern yakuza can be said to have their origins, as an organization traced back to the mid-Edo period (1603 - 1868) between the tekiya, peddlers of illicit or stolen or shoddy goods and the bakuto, gamblers and those who work in the operation of profit by chance. Gambling is illegal in Japan.

8 - 9 - 3. A losing hand in the Japanese card game, Oicho-Kabu. Phonetically this is pronounced as 'ya- ku- za'. Much of the presses image, the derogatory of the yakuza comes from the bakuto including its namesake. Operating loan sharks for clienteles in addition to gambling businesses they are despised by society at a large. No surprise there.

In an abandoned alleyway…

He had just been on his way to work when the next thing he knew he had found the wind in his pipes knocked right out of him and when had came to, he found himself tied with his hands behind his back. Wiggling he tried to break free but found that the ropes were too strong. Where was he? As the man's eyes adjusted, he could see he was in some kind of dark cellar? In front of him by the dimly glowing light he could barely make out the silhouette of a man and a teenager. By their movements he reckoned they were having a conversation but about what?

Gruff voice: "We got you another one. Kyoto Mizaki. Age 41. Average salaryman, chance of being missed is 32%. Has a corgi, no kids and is estranged from his parents."

Feminine robotic voice: "And his conditions?"

Gruff voice: "Healthy. There was nothing in his medical records indicating he had any sort of severe medical condition. We even managed to secure his health records."

The man hands the teenager a portfolio. Flipping through it, the teenager looks up.

Femine robotic voice: "I'll take it."

Gruff voice: "Right."

Take it? What did she mean by take it and why did her voice sound so robotic? The answers to these questions would soon become very obvious.

Footsteps.

Swaying his eyes to his left and then to his right, Mr. Mizaki could see there were 2 other men here. Their arms were ripped and plastered on their biceps were tattoos. Yakuza! He recognized them, well not personally but Mr. Mizaki was confident that was what they were. No, his knowledge did not come from first or even second hand experience. It was just common sense to know whom to avoid. Suddenly a beam of light shot out and struck Mr. Mizaki.

The world.

It was getting bigger by the second. By the time Mr. Mizaki had finished shrinking he was only a mere cm tall. One of the 2 yakuza men easily plucked him up with ease.

Gruff voice: "The price is 445,251.98 yen. You have the goods?"

Robotic feminine voice: "Of course."

The teenager picks up a small briefcase and opens it. After quickly looking insider and ruffling through the cash, the man at the countertop nods his head.

Gruff voice: "It's a pleasure doing business with you again."

Ever since the downfall of the original Advanced Sciences Society, the existence of the enlarged wasn't going to be a secret that would keep itself for long. Within only a couple of months since the Society's disbandment did knowledge about the enlarged spread as well as parts of the size-altering technology that was supposed to be kept underwraps. Naturally the yakuza also found out about this and through their various connections were able to procure some of them. Obviously it wouldn't do to just simply enlarge themselves or shrink whoever because if the Society could be taken down by a bunch of shrinkies, then it stood to reason so could they. No, instead with their stolen shrink rays, those with access to these technologies would use them for a more practical purpose:

Human trafficking.

When the knowledge of size-altering technology became known, it was only within weeks that countries around the globe had passed laws forbidding the use of these technologies on live subjects except when agreed upon by contract. The reason for this?

Random female councilwoman: "As most of us have already ascertained, should these size altering technologies fall in the wrong hands, they can really wreck our society. This is not to say that they should be scrapped entirely but just imagine what someone with ill-intent could do with them. Have a spout with your boss? Just grow yourself til your building high and squash him underfoot. Maybe there's a nice lady you would like. No one's hardly going to miss her if she's now only a cm in height. They wouldn't even be able to tell who kidnapped her or the reason for her disappearance. The potential for abuse is nearly limitless and that is why I propose we set regulations on the use of these size-altering technologies."

And that was the general consensus. To prevent their misuse, series of laws were then passed after easily gaining enough approval so that the events of Yabaize which despite being originally kept behind the red tape, had become well-known from ever occurring again, or at the very least that the world could profit from the Society's technologies.

Evidently this also including the criminal underworld.

Yosuzume stared coldly at the shrunken man in the palm of her hand. 445,251.98 yen for just a single shrinky? Was this some sort of rip-off? Just why would one man be worth so much?

…

Eh. It doesn't matter. Rip off or not once these men had served their purpose, she would make sure to silence them as well.

?

Just what was that face that shrinky was making? Was it fear?

Yosuzume: "Stay still. You are now mine and I'll decide what happens to you."

Yosuzume drops the shrunken man into an aquarium.

Yosuzume: "Disobey me and you'll find I can make your life very painful."

Yosuzume flips off the light switch.

Yosuzume: "We have a long day tomorrow. Those who fail to wake up at 9 will be executed. Slowly may I remind you."

Closing the door behind her, Yosuzume leaves her shrunken captives alone in the dark.

Headed by the oyabun or kumichō, the family head, the yakuza call themselves 'ninkyō dantai', chivalrous organizations. Perhaps ironic in that one of their many activities include Sōkaiya, a form of a protection racket where stockholders meetings of larger corporations are harassed unless payment is made. Second in command to the kumichō who leads the yakuza group is the first of the kobun, wakagashira. The kobun are essentially all the subordinates of the kumichō in any particular yakuza group. Helping the wakagashira to govern several gangs in a region is the fuku-honbucho. Another way to look at their organization is to think of the kumichō as the head of the company, the wakagashira is the Vice President, the fuku-honbucho is the deputy general manager. The various regional gangs are then in turn governed by their local shateigashira, which would be the equivalent of the managers in a corporation.

Little Timmy stared timidly. With his hands cuffed behind his back and his legs strapped to the operating table, there wasn't anything he could do to run.

Onee-san. She had refused that nasty lady's sake and in turn was brutally murdered for it. With a simple flick of her wrist that platinum blond haired lady with red eyes had pierced his older sister with a thin vine and slowly bled her out. And now the murderer of his sister was standing over him with a smile that didn't betray the malice behind it.

Kanon: "Oi, Little Timmy is it?"

Kanon caresses her fingers around the young boy's neck and forehead.

Kanon: "Your older sister was a bitch of a bitch, but you're fucking cute, aren't you?"

Helping herself, Kanon proceeded to sit on the operating table. As she adjusted herself, she began to hum a tune.

Kanon: "Hmm mm Mm hm Hm hm hmm… Looking at you sort of reminds me of my past. I wasn't always the kumichō that I am today. Once I was an ordinary, albeit cultured girl."

Opening a wrapper Kanon pops in a toffee into her mouth and begins chewing on it.

Kanon: "Hmph, well that life was boring. So many rules, utterly droll."

Little Timmy: "So what? You went for a life of crime because your parents were overbearing? Did some dude totally mess you up?"

At hearing this Kanon bursted out in laughter.

Kanaon: "-mGhck! Aha. HahaHahAhaA~! Are you kidding me?!"

Kanon licks her lips.

Kanon: "No, that wasn't it at all. Let me tell you something really good, ya little punk. I've always been like this, it's how I roll!"

Little Timmy: "You. You're evil."

Kanon: "Awww. Why thank you, you little shit."

Kanon then lifts up Little Timmy's head and begins rummaging through his hair.

Kanon: "Ane-san is so happy! Nee-chan understands."

Little Timmy shakes his head.

Little Timmy: "Onee-chan is dead."

Kanon: "In that case, I'll be your onee-chan."

Kanon picks up a tea cup and pours some sake into it. To this young boy, Little Timmy has no ideal that what Kanon is about to do is a little tradition called sakazuki, sake sharing. Normally one's hierarchy within a yakuza syndicate is determined by the sharing of sake and typically with higher positions come greater perks. Typically. With Kanon however…

Little Timmy shakes his head.

Little Timmy: "I'm not old enough."

Kanon: "I wasn't asking."

With her free hand, Kanon forces Little Timmy's mouth open as she pours in the sake. Afterwards she covers his mouth and presses on his windpipe forcing him to drink the beverage down.

Kanon: 'Such eyes of resentment. How ungrateful, but onee-chan is willing to forgive even the littlest of shits. Now drink up. Don't waste a single sip of your loving big sister's drink."

It doesn't take long. Soon Little Timmy has finished drinking the sake.

Kanon: "Good. Good. Welcome to the family, asshole!"

Undoing his wraps using her vines, Kanon picks up Little Timmy by the chin with one hand.

Kanon: "Now, since you were showing me some attitude earlier, I believe my nee-cha needs some discipline."

Around her, her other minions present stir uneasily. Because of some attitude? Nah, their boss needed no excuse to desire to hurt anybody. Kanon snaps her fingers.

Kanon: "You! You over there. Show this little runt what happens when you dissatisfy the family head. Do it slowly so Timmy here can feel every inch. Engrane it into his memories!"

Hearing those words, Little Timmy flinched. He squirmed and tried to escape his captor's grasp but alas it was to no avail.

Footsteps.

Heavy breathing.

Little Timmy tried to close his eyes but a thin vine forced them opened. Still held up by his chin, Little Timmy was face to face with a burly man. Was he doing this of his own volition or did that horrible lady force him to with her vines? Either way, the result would be the same.

Kanon: "Why don't you give each other a kiss?"

They kissed.

Kanon: "Put some tongue into it."

Kanon frowned.

Kanon: "Don't be gentle about it, you little shit!"

With a swift wave of her hand, Kanon had murdered her minion she had tasked to defile Little Timmy by severing his head from the rest of his body with a sharp thorn. In her face was disgust.

Kanon: "Do it right you fool. Ah, don't look so hard on me, ya fuckers. Say Little Timmy. I used to have a little bro too! I was once somebody's onee-chan."

Crouching down to get face level with the little kid, Kanon smiled.

Kanon: "And guess what I did to my own younger brother?"

Little Timmy: "You. You murdered him."

Kanon: "Correcto! You're so smart! With my own bare hands I strangled the life out of him! I was only like 8 years old when it happened. Got sentenced to juvie and from there I increased my records. But you know what? If I just bash your skull in, you'll be just fine, so instead you'll be spending the foreseeable future entertaining me."

The pinky promise. Traditionally an oath that if broken resulted in the offender's pink being chopped off as way of an apology or sometimes to spare the lives of younger members who have offended their seniors. Within Kanon's yakuza syndicate, the amount of finger slicing as means of a ritual apology is effectively 0. After all, with someone like Kosui Kanon as their leader, apologies are useless to the cruel queen.