Page 55 of Pragma
“I said get out.” Ishida-san turns his head my way. His commanding tone makes my hands twitch. But I keep them at my sides as I look down at him from my standing position.
“You dare disobey an order from yourkanbu,you repulsive prick!” He snarls before raising the walking stick in the air and swinging it down. The yakuza code states that when a superior inflicts a punishment, the subordinate must take it. That’s why I grit my teeth and don’t move from my position. But as I hear the thud of the wood hitting something, that something is not me.
Aki sprang from his chair and caught the cane with his hand before it landed on me.
“No one hurts him but me,” Aki declares in an icy tone, releasing the wood with a shove.
“Never understood your attachment. He’s agaijin!”
“It’s not for you to understand. He belongs to me. Touch him, and there’ll be consequences.” The threat is clear. Fuck! His words make my gut twist with desire and hope. I want to grab his face and suck his lips. Immediate regret envelops me.
Ishida-san lets out an incredulous laugh. “Remember who you’re talking to.Kumichodoes not allow wars among bosses.”
“Of course.” Aki smiles, taking his seat again. “You are one of the oldest ofKumicho’sadvisers. And I am on a territory your family formed. You are a prominent figure in the manufacturing industry, who has amassed substantial wealth and power while building a business empire. You married a rich woman with family connections, but you still like to have a couple of side pieces stashed on the island. Did I forget something?” He looks up at me with a questioning look.
“Think telling my wife about them will be of any consequence for me?” Ishida-san smirks.
“No. What I’m talking about is the little collapse accident that happened a month ago at a redevelopment site where the Shanghai Construction Company was using materials from your factories.”
Ishida-san’s face has turned pale. How the fuck did Aki know that? And why didn’t he tell me anything? Wait, did he say Shanghai? Does that mean…?
“It’s obvious there was some corruption within your manufacturing company. It turned the prosecution’s eye on it.”
“Until it didn’t. There was no proof of foul play. It was a witch hunt, nothing more. The elections are close, and the mayor was trying with a big bust to keep his seat while scoring more votes.” Ishida-san tsks. He’s trying to look unfazed. “A young,inexperienced boss like yourself should learn when to attack and when to retreat. And when to pay respect to a higher-ranking boss.”
“My apologies, I don’t learn, it’s one of my issues.” Aki gives him the fakest contrite face before continuing, “Do you really think that ourkumichowould have given thewakagashiraposition to a young inexperienced andhandsomeboss just because he was her nephew? That sounds like an insult to the big boss, doesn’t it, River?”
“Yes,it does,” I promptly answer, keeping up the taunting. The dickhead is a sly motherfucker, always kissing the big boss’s ass.
“I wasn’t insultingKumicho. Stop twisting my words!” The cane comes down on the table with a loud thud. It doesn’t stop Aki.
“So who were you insulting? Me? The rightful heir?” He stretches his arms out like Jesus Christ on the cross.
“Hiding underKumicho’s skirt again?” Ishida-san changes tactics.
“No skirts. She only wears kimonos,” Aki counters sassily. “But you didn’t invite me here to talk about the big boss’s fashion choices, did you?”
“Kobayashi Ito.”
“Who?” I don’t know if Aki is pretending not to remember candidate number two, the fucker who groped him. My fists clench.
“The suitor you sent to the emergency room.”
Aki’s mouth curls in a wicked smile. “Oh, that. Yes.”
“He’s asking for compensation for the damages you caused.” Aki responds to Ishida-san’s stern tone with a snort.
“What a wimp. You know what they say, if you can’t even take a light, deserved beating, don’t sexually harass people.”Who says that?“I mean, the karma dildo rarely arrives lubed.”
His last statement makes me almost cough with amusement.
“Wimp or not, he’ll go to the authorities if you don’t agree to his conditions, and the new police chief is not as pliable as the last one.”
Meaning: he’ll ask for a bigger bribe.
“Am I right to think that Kobayashi was the candidate you recommended for me to thekumicho? You know what? Don’t answer that. But tell me this, did you meet him during one of your pillage, plunder, and rape jobs and thought, oh lordy, that shitbag would be just perfect to marry the Hebikawa heir?”
This reckless, arrogant side is Aki’s worst quality, and still, I stand by him. Even though going toe-to-toe against a higher-ranked boss is risky as fuck since we are walking on precarious land at the moment. Heir or not, it doesn’t matter. Because if the people rebel…the king is dead, long live the king.
