The Yakuza Path: Blood Stained Tea Read online

  “Are you okay? You look pale.”

  “I can’t believe…” Nao leaned on the counter. “Who would want to break into my apartment?”

  “They probably wanted some quick cash.”

  “But there’s nothing worth stealing.”

  “Then they threw stuff around and left.”

  Nao took a step closer and squeezed Saehyun’s hand. Why couldn’t Saehyun tell the truth? Was the promise they had just made for nothing? There was something in his movements that gave him away, but Nao couldn’t tell if he was jumpy because of the police or because he knew about the break-in.

  The two had shared so many lies, but Nao didn’t care about any of them. Saehyun had awakened the passion deep inside him, forced him to come alive and step away from his life of solitude and penance. The few days away showed Nao how much he missed Saehyun caring so much for him. Nao could prove his worth to Father at the same time.

  “Did you see anyone suspicious when you were there?” Nao asked.

  “I didn’t go in, remember?”

  “Sorry, I’m still shaken up. I need to make a few calls before we get going.”

  Nao stepped off to the side, reaching into his sleeve to pull out his phone. He watched as Saehyun walked through the kitchen, looking at the pots and pans before stopping in front of the door leading to the mahjong room. Nao ignored it and dialed Takeo’s number first. Maybe he was the one who reported the break-in to the police.

  Yet as the phone rang, Nao knew Takeo wouldn’t get the police involved. Maybe he was already talking to Father, and a neighbor had called it in. Nao shook his head. If Takeo talked to Father, he would find out the lie Nao had told him. Takeo’s phone clicked over to voice mail.

  “Shit.” Nao hung up, not bothering to leave a message.

  “Huh?”

  Nao shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “What’s the other door for?” Saehyun pointed. “Is that where you host the gambling ring?”

  “Don’t say that! There’s a cop five feet away.”

  “So there is a gambling ring. I can join next time now that I’m officially your boyfriend.”

  Warmth radiated through Nao’s body at Saehyun’s words.

  “The room is used for larger groups, and there’s never any gambling since it’s illegal.”

  Saehyun opened the door. Four tables stood there with four chairs at each one, all made of dark wood and with bright red cushions. Nao couldn’t count the number of games that had ended with money being passed between the players, especially when Oyama decided to play. That was who he needed to call since Takeo was unreachable.

  Saehyun’s phone rang, and he ducked into the mahjong room. Nao stood against the other side of the wall, shortening the distance between them. He listened, trying to recognize any subtle slip from Korean to Japanese Saehyun might utter. But the whole conversation was in Korean, reminding Nao how different they were.

  Nao leaned against the doorframe once Saehyun hung up. “Work?”

  “I wanted to come with you, but they need me there.”

  “You said you took the day off?”

  “Yeah, well, one of the guys called in sick, and they need me to cover.” Saehyun crammed his phone into his pants. “Someone always has to be there.”

  “At a loan company?”

  “I said we were a small company. There’s only so many of us.”

  “We said no more lies.”

  Nao pressed the issue. He needed something. Something to tell Father to prove he was helping the Matsukawa in some way. So that when Saehyun came by again, they wouldn’t shoot him on sight because he was Korean. The break-in would have them all in a panic.

  “You’re starting to sound like all the other Japanese.”

  “What do you mean ‘like all the other Japanese’? That’s what I am, so what else could I sound like?”

  Following a long pause, Nao watched as Saehyun looked away. Was Nao pushing too much, or was Saehyun hiding what he knew?

  “Fine. Go to work if you can’t help it. Next time we meet, I want to see your place. I don’t care if you share a house with a few roommates.”

  Saehyun cracked a smile. “How about if it’s a total mess?”

  “You wanted to know if I was yours, Saehyun. There’s no way I can be when you’re hiding a part of your life from me.” Nao looked down. “Takeo hid so much from me.”

  Was he being too heavy-handed with the act? It was only to protect Saehyun.

  “I should start cleaning up then. It might take a few days.”

  Nao smiled, and Saehyun pulled him close for a deep kiss. Saehyun’s warmth around him also melted his anxiety over the mess he’d gotten himself into. He would protect Saehyun from the rest of his family.

  “What’s the other door in the mahjong room?” Saehyun asked.

  “Just another exit.”

  “So you have a back entrance for the players. Very suspicious.” Saehyun grinned.

  “We talked about this already.”

  “Just having some fun. If you don’t want to stay at your apartment tonight, I’ll meet you at a hotel until you feel comfortable, all right?”

  “It’s okay. I have to clean it up sometime.”

  Nao nodded and gave Saehyun a final kiss goodbye before he ducked through the back door.

  The third time Nao called Takeo only to get voice mail, his stomach twisted like rolled oolong leaves. Takeo hadn’t sent his regular text asking whether Nao was all right in over four hours, and Nao would’ve gotten a pissed-off reply if Takeo realized he’d snuck out without telling him. Nao bit his lip, staring out the police car window. Nao couldn’t talk to the police alone.

  He dialed Oyama’s number.

  “Nao?” He answered right away.

  “My house was broken into.”

  “You should be calling Takeo.” His tone was calm, but Nao could sense something underneath the surface. Perhaps something had happened with the Double Moon? Was that why Saehyun left in such a rush?

  “Takeo and I got into a fight. I talked with Father about replacing him. Did he get replaced and Father didn’t tell me yet?”

  “We’ve been too busy with those Korean bastards to figure out who would take Takeo’s place. I’ll start heading over there to check things out. Wait before you call Father.”

  Nao said goodbye, and then it hit him. He still had his gun in the apartment, and that was six years in jail if the police found it. Miko had been charged with the same offence, so it wasn’t like his vague connection with the Matsukawa would save him. No, if the police found it, Nao wouldn’t be riding in the front of the car, but if the robber stole it, then he had one more thing to blame himself for. Gnawing at his bottom lip, Nao checked his phone, hoping Takeo would call.

  The cop pulled over in front of the apartment, and another cop greeted them and spoke to Nao as they climbed the stairs. Nao couldn’t concentrate on their words. His thoughts were too twisted with Takeo and the gun to even think of paying attention. It was only after meeting Oyama in his suit with a matcha-green tie that Nao could push his thoughts aside.

  “You came fast.” Nao stopped beside Oyama.

  “In the area.”

  Nao raised a brow.

  “And when something happens to the boss’s son, I don’t dick around. I wasn’t able to reach Takeo either.”

  The cop standing beside them cleared his throat. “Go ahead and tell me if anything is missing. I’ll wait here.”

  “Can I move things around?”

  “We got a lot of prints, so it’s fine.”

  Nao followed Oyama over the fallen door and inside the apartment. The table was turned over, and food was spilled from the kitchen cabinets, covering the floor. His breath caught in his throat. Even the photographs in the altar were smashed on the ground. He picked up
the frame containing his photo and ran his finger over the large crack down the middle separating him and his lover. He closed his eyes and tried to swallow back the tightness in his throat.

  “Oi, you see anything missing?” Oyama turned the table back over.

  “Everything’s such a mess.”

  Nao placed the picture back on the altar and staggered past the broken glass and incense ash to Oyama’s side.

  “Takeo was supposed to be watching you, wasn’t he?”

  “Like I said, we got into a fight.”

  “Not like him to forget orders.”

  Nao ignored the comment and walked past Oyama to the kitchenette. The three days’ worth of food on the floor didn’t hide his broken tea bowls. Their light blue and green features mixed together like a raging sea. Memories he fought hard to maintain within the objects and walls of his home were scattered. He bent down and picked up one of the larger shards.

  “They destroyed my tea bowls. I bought these when I was with…”

  Nao couldn’t allow himself to say the host’s name. Was this part of his penance for what he did? A reminder that deciding Saehyun was his boyfriend meant finally cutting the memories of the past? He placed the broken piece of pottery on the counter.

  “You’re worried about some bowls?”

  “They were over a hundred years old. Probably didn’t think they were worth anything and smashed them.”

  “You can get them fixed, maybe.”

  Nao picked up a few more pieces before Oyama stepped in close. Nao glanced to the cop waiting by the door. They were far enough away that they could speak more freely without fear of their conversation attracting too much attention. The last thing the Matsukawa needed was the police deciding they needed to become aware of the group’s actions.

  “Did the burglar get it?” Oyama asked in a half mumble.

  Nao stepped into the bedroom, Oyama following. The nightstand was knocked over, the mattress askew, and a wave of novels strewn across the ground. Nao’s closet, however, only had the door open and one of the yukatas on the floor. He pulled the robes aside, and the single black suit nearly disappeared in the shadows of the small space. He had moved the gun there when Saehyun had jumped at the opportunity to get strawberry-flavored lube. It seemed off that while the rest of the apartment was in disarray, the closet was so pristine. Swallowing, Nao reached inside the pocket and felt the metal of his gun.

  “It’s still here.”

  “At least we don’t have that to worry about.”

  “What’s happening? Father showed me the map. It didn’t look very good.”

  A flicker gleamed in Oyama’s eyes, but then a wide grin grew. “Don’t worry. We can get to the bottom of what happened.”

  Whoever had trashed his place didn’t care about the memories Nao had built into each corner or how hard he’d fought to stay in the apartment after bringing Saehyun home. Nao could only close his eyes and hope that in time, he could erase the violated feeling that destroyed any happiness left in the apartment.

  “Get the cop out so we can talk,” Oyama said, rousing Nao from his thoughts.

  Nao stepped over his front door and into the hallway, where the officer wrote in his notepad.

  “I live simply, officer. I didn’t see anything missing.” Nao folded his arms inside his sleeves.

  “Good. We got lots of prints and will run them through the records. If we get a match, we’ll let you know. We’ll try to get some information, but it might take a while.”

  “If you discover anything, please let me know.”

  The police left, and Nao sighed. It would take hours to clean up the mess. Propping the door up against the frame, he caught Oyama checking to see that the gun was still in working order.

  “If he looks up the prints, he’ll get half the yakuza on his list.” He laughed.

  Nao couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Well, whoever isn’t in the Matsukawa, we can assume it’s him.”

  “If only the police would let us take a peek at their fingerprint records.” Oyama put the gun back in Nao’s suit pocket and pulled out a cigarette from his own. “But this mess wasn’t your fight with Takeo?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, you would wreck up your room if you didn’t get your way.”

  “When I was twelve, maybe. I wouldn’t destroy my home because I didn’t get my way.”

  Oyama took a long drag from the cigarette. “You think it could be the Double Moon member you’re spying on for us?”

  “Why would he break in?”

  Saehyun could knock on the door if he wanted to come inside. He did say he had seen Takeo outside. Maybe Father had told Takeo he was being replaced, and he trashed the apartment to get back at Nao. Takeo had something to do with the break-in. He and Saehyun fought, and then Takeo trashed the place for revenge. Then he was too ashamed to talk to anyone in the family?

  “Maybe he wanted your gun?”

  “He didn’t know I had a gun. He doesn’t even know I was in the yakuza.”

  “He could’ve looked around when you were asleep.”

  Nao gave him a sideways glance. It was clear when he said he would spy on the Double Moon that he meant seduce one of its members, but why did everyone think he was such a heavy sleeper after sex?

  Nao sighed. “This could be anyone that wants to get back at the Matsukawa. Or it could be a simple break-in and nothing more.”

  “The Matsukawa family has run Kyoto for years. I don’t think anyone would start something.”

  “The Double Moon has.”

  “Well, the Koreans are stupid for trying to start shit. Maybe one of them broke in, and Takeo took care of him. That’s why we can’t reach him. He’s off in the country, burning the body.”

  Nao swept a path amongst the books. “He would get someone lower to deal with a body. Not to mention parade around the fact to Father. Maybe he got pissed.”

  After putting the mattress right, Nao plopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, the only thing that wasn’t destroyed. Something was amiss. He hadn’t planned the current situation, leaving him one step behind when he liked being three ahead. A part of him was thrilled Takeo was gone. If Takeo told Father or even Oyama, Saehyun’s concern would turn from sex to how to stay out of a Matsukawa furnace. Seducing Saehyun to spy on the Double Moon was one thing, but spying was becoming an afterthought. Nao was letting his feelings get in the way of planning his next move out.

  Nao let out a deep breath. The room began to spin with the memories of his lover. Nao clutched the bedsheets to steady himself.

  “Are you going to be all right?”

  Nao opened his eyes. Oyama’s tie was inches from his nose. “What do you mean?”

  “You look kind of out of it.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “I’ll tell Father about what happened, so don’t worry.”

  He grabbed Oyama’s tie.

  “Don’t tell him, please.”

  “Nao…”

  “He’ll make me move.”

  “It might be easier if you move rather than clean up this mess.”

  “I need to stay here.” Nao sat up. “You know I can protect myself if something were to happen.”

  “What if there’s a group and they sneak up on you?”

  Nao’s eyes narrowed. “I did it before.”

  “That was different.”

  “How?”

  Oyama’s phone rang, and he walked off into the other room. The conversation was quick, but it prevented Nao from getting his answer.

  “I need to get going.” Oyama stepped back beside the bed.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing you need to worry about.” Oyama’s tone struck through Nao. “I won’t tell Father yet, but I can’t keep it going for too long. I�
�ll send the young recruits here in a few hours.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And, Nao, anything you get out of that Korean would be a big help to us right now.”

  Oyama left, leaving Nao alone.

  Engulfed by the emptiness of his disheveled home, Nao stood frozen. The memories that lingered steeped inside him, as if all the commotion stirred them back up. They pressed against his neck and made him see red. He allowed the emptiness to take over, letting the memories flash before his dampening lids.

  The minutes passed, and Nao allowed the emotions to wash over him as they had when he couldn’t bring himself to leave the house to walk down the Philosopher’s Path. Once Oyama told Father, Nao would be forced to move, and no amount of begging could change Father’s mind.

  The gun was still in working order. He could use that to end it all. It was silly to get caught up in some romance with Saehyun while Nao hadn’t paid for what he did. No, that was why he had Kuma. She needed him, and that small reminder of being essential to something filled his emptiness.

  He turned and opened his eyes, expecting to find Kuma lying beside him as she did all the times before. Yet she wasn’t there.

  “Kuma, here kitty.”

  He slid onto the floor and tossed aside a few books blocking the space underneath the bed to search for the cat. It was empty.

  The closet… empty.

  The bathroom… empty.

  The kitchen cabinets… empty.

  “Kuma!”

  His mouth dropped as he turned to the front door lying on the floor. It had probably been open for hours.

  Nao ran out of the apartment.

  “Kuma!” Nao yelled outside his apartment complex.

  The neighbors he asked hadn’t spotted her, and as the days passed, his search only consumed him more. He hadn’t gone to work or even allowed himself time to think since the break-in. Why should he? No one from the Matsukawa had even called him since the underlings had cleaned up the place. Takeo still wasn’t answering his calls, and Oyama was busy every time Nao contacted him.