The Yakuza Path: Blood Stained Tea Page 28

  “You can’t mean that—”

  “Why didn’t you go?”

  “Because there was no reason to leave without you.”

  Hot tears rolled down Nao’s cheeks. Why did it have to be such a mess? Why couldn’t everything be as simple as Saehyun’s fantasy? Taejin or the cops would have eventually found Saehyun, but if he’d listened to Nao’s warning and left the city, he would have lived, at least in Nao’s dreams.

  Nao’s gun grew heavy in his hand.

  “I love you.” Nao knew it was the one thing Saehyun wanted to hear.

  Saehyun smiled. “See? I knew you’d say it one day.”

  Nao pulled the trigger.

  Saehyun’s distorted face screeched in misery as he clutched the gaping hole in his stomach. His teeth stained red, he reached out for Nao with a bloodied hand.

  Nao fired again. There was only the click of an empty clip.

  “This was the only way. It was the only way,” Nao repeated over as he stood out of Saehyun’s reach and reloaded his gun.

  Saehyun’s cries of agony continued through Nao’s words. Nao had to end Saehyun’s misery. Nao sat up and fired again, that time in the back of Saehyun’s head.

  His moaning stopped.

  The last Korean was dead.

  Nao cleaned the tears from his face, but blood from his hands smeared on his cheeks. He put the slaughter deep inside of himself, like before.

  He grinned. It was clear he couldn’t protect anyone he loved. He was only good at protecting Kyoto. That was it. Nao wasn’t meant to love anything but Kyoto. That was why every lover he’d ever had died in front of him. The old capital was punishing him for loving another. He was meant to be the city’s guardian, chosen as a living deity from the age of seven when he rode atop the Gion float. He was born the way he was so he never had to worry about a family interfering with his duty.

  Blood dripped into Nao’s glove, calling him to action.

  He threw the gun down. There was too much gunfire for someone not to call the police. Perhaps they knew this was the Double Moon safe house, and that was why he hadn’t heard sirens. Knowing the Kyoto police, they’d be too happy knowing the war was over to look too deep into the bloody mess Nao had caused.

  Nao’s vision blurred as he stumbled out of the house and onto the city streets. He faked a smile. It would be his luck to make it out only to bleed to death on the sidewalk. How much blood had he lost? His fingers swam in his left glove. He covered the wound with his other hand, hoping the added pressure would keep him from passing out. It wasn’t too far. Just a few miles. He could make it.

  After a few minutes, a black car started driving beside him for a few seconds before pulling over in front of him. A man stepped out. Nao couldn’t make out his features, but his lavender hair glittered with the rising sun.

  Nao continued to walk. The man followed behind his sluggish steps.

  “I’m Taejin from Osaka.”

  So he was Taejin? He looked like an ear pick.

  “Big bad wolf in the wall, I know.”

  Nao stopped. He could hardly even feel his feet on the pavement anymore. If Taejin wanted to kill him, why didn’t he just shoot him from the car and drive off?

  Taejin laughed and stepped in front of him. Nao knew that if he’d had even an ounce more energy, he would beat the snot out of the man. Nao tripped over his foot but recovered. Maybe he needed to call a cab, but he hadn’t brought his wallet or his phone with him. Damn it.

  “You killed them all?”

  “Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Korean-cancer-eating-away-at-Japan?”

  Another laugh. Maybe Nao did have enough energy to punch him.

  “Wanted to make sure I could pawn a few things off on those deadbeats without going in and checking.”

  Nao huffed. “The police wouldn’t do any real investigating for people in the underworld.”

  “Ah, see, they’re different from the cops in Osaka.”

  Nao stopped, but the world continued to spin. His head felt detached. At least he’d lost enough blood that his arm didn’t hurt as much.

  “Look, I’m not in the mood for conversation right now. Either hail me a cab or get in your car and drive back to Osaka.”

  “You’re kinda full of yourself, aren’t you? I could kill you.”

  “Then do it.”

  “But that’s what you wanted, honey?”

  With a single shove, Taejin pushed Nao to the ground. The action delayed in his mind, and before Nao realized it, he was gazing up at the ear pick. Taejin pressed his polished leather boot into Nao’s injured arm.

  “There’s no point killing you now. You’re just a tea merchant.”

  “Fuck off!”

  Nao stared as Taejin’s nose elongated to a snout, the hair like fur. He was a wolf. Nao closed his eyes, unable to keep them open.

  “And you’re so close to the Matsukawa. You will come in handy down the road, even when that businessman takes over.”

  Nao’s vision blurred with Taejin looming over him. The Korean grabbed Nao’s shirt collar, lifting him up.

  “You’ll owe me a debt for this, jjokbari,” he whispered into Nao’s ear.

  Nao tugged on the white cuff peeking out from under his tailored pinstripe suit. The slight pull to the sleeve sent a pressure of added pain to his slung arm. His fingers worked fine, but his arm stung the moment he moved it. Considering a bullet had ripped through his bicep less than twenty-four hours before, Nao was fine. Though the four meters of gauze wrapped around it would be a hassle.

  Slaughtering every important Double Moon member had stopped even Sakai from continuing to call himself temporary leader without Miko’s full consent. She was, after all, the real Matsukawa godfather, even if jailed a thousand kilometers away. Somewhere between the doctor coming and Nao sleeping half the day, Sakai had arranged the whole ordeal with the Hokkaido yakuza. Miko received only one phone call a month, so the only way to contact her was in person.

  “I still can’t believe it,” one of the pair of Hokkaido yakuza said. “Thirty men all by yourself.”

  “More like twenty, perhaps fewer.” Nao tapped on the van door.

  “Next week they’ll say it was fifty.” Sakai smiled. “You’ll be more legendary than you were before.”

  Nao ignored them as the two Hokkaido yakuza and Sakai continued to jest about Nao’s fight. Two other Matsukawa were sitting in the back, but Nao stood apart from them, teetering between the precarious position of tea merchant and whatever Miko had decided for him. Some ladies passed the van, dressed in their summer kimonos, pink hydrangeas floating against the watery pale-blue. It conjured up the fragrance of each flower, carried on a sweet summer breeze along the Philosopher’s Path.

  A pop song rang out from the cell phone of one of the Hokkaido. He answered, putting the call on speaker.

  “Were you able to talk with Miko?” Sakai asked.

  “I told her everything as instructed.” The electronic voice pierced Nao’s ears. “She joked about how it was too bad Nao couldn’t bring the Korean’s head to bury it by the Tokokuni Shrine like what’s-his-name did when he invaded Korea.”

  Another kimono passed, that one white fireworks against red. Like the blood that was on his hands. Like the blood spilling out of Saehyun’s stomach and stained teeth.

  No.

  He took a deep breath and released his fingers from their clutch on the door. He needed to hold on until he could pass through the wreath at the Yasaka Shrine.

  “Miko wants Murata to lead in her absence. She’ll send a note confirming what I said.”

  The mention of his name woke Nao from his thoughts. “I humbly accept her gracious offer.”

  A fire flared in Nao’s stomach. Miko was offering up to him what Kyoto wanted. The city needed him to protect it and keep the old tra
ditions alive.

  Sakai thanked the Hokkaido members for their help, and Nao slid open the van door.

  “Where are you going?” Sakai asked.

  “The shrine.”

  “We’ll wait here until you’re done. You Hokkaido guys want to go too? See the last Gion Festival?”

  They mumbled something about the heat that Nao ignored.

  “Don’t wait on me,” Nao said. “I’ll take the train back to the house.”

  “You’re the head of the Matsukawa now. You can’t take the train.”

  “I need to walk down the path.” Nao pointed to the two Matsukawa in the back. “I’ll take them with me, so don’t worry. You can start arranging the celebration. I have sake I need to drink with the family, after all.”

  A tight smile crossed Sakai’s face.

  “After the celebration, we’ll discuss how much these past few months cost us,” Nao said. “The Matsukawa is a business, and I’ll need to work closely with you to make sure we’re profitable.”

  Sakai needed to hear those words, and speaking them in front of the other Matsukawa wouldn’t make him lose face. Nao needed Sakai on his side.

  “I’ll start putting things together tonight.”

  “Good. I want to know everything before the celebration.”

  Nao left, and the two other Matsukawa joined him on the steps to the Yasaka Shrine. A large grass wreath stood outside the stone torii gate. Nao stopped, flexing his fingers in his bad arm, purposely wanting to feel the pain. When he stepped through the gate, it would be the last time he would allow himself to imagine a life lived with Saehyun. Nao could lock away the events like the others. His purpose in life was Kyoto and nothing more.

  Nao stepped through the wreath along the torii gate and to the old-style temple. A large pavilion with a blue-tiled roof housed three rows of paper lanterns dangling from the ceiling. Nao strolled along the shrine grounds, gray stones crunching under his polished leather shoes. Forty or fifty people walked by the shrine: women in kimonos, tourists snapping photos.

  Toes trapped within his shoes—Nao wasn’t used to the feeling. The socks itched his feet, and the tight sleeves bunched at his elbows. He kneeled, wanting to untie his shoe to fix the sock, but realized that with his arm in the sling, that was impossible. Why should he worry anymore? He had a full yakuza family to tie his shoes on command.

  The bushes rustled, and he stepped forward. Pushing the shrub branches back, he was answered with a small meow. A kitten emerged from between the branches.

  “Hey, kitty.”

  The hairless cat leaned into Nao’s hands. Her black skin was wrinkled, and her backbones stuck out. She looked more like a rat than any feline Nao had ever seen. No collar hung around her neck.

  She caressed Nao’s pant leg. At least he didn’t have to worry about cat hair on his new suit.

  “Do you need a home?” he asked.

  The kitten meowed, and a smile spread across Nao’s face. He took the meow as a yes. He picked up the kitten, holding her against his chest.

  Passing the wreath meant he was done at the Yasaka shrine. He scratched under the cat’s chin. She could enjoy his final stroll down the Philosopher’s Path as well.

  The story continues in Better Than Suicide book 2 of The Yakuza Path series coming Spring 2017.

  ♦

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  Amy Tasukada lives in a catless home in North Texas. (She enjoys cats but can’t quite make that kind of commitment yet.) As an only child her day dreams kept her entertained, and at age ten she started to put them to paper. Since then her love of writing hasn’t cease. When she’s not chasing after stray cats, she can be found drinking hot tea and filming Japanese street fashion hauls on her Youtube channel.

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  ♦

  Sato doesn’t get out much. The anime company accountant spends his days at a desk and his nights working on his own small-scale robots. His geeky life is like a dream, but it has just one piece missing…

  The world only knows Aoi for his moans. The erotic voice actor of boy’s love dramas has legions of fangirls obsessed with his gasps of simulated ecstasy. And his new boyfriend Sato can barely handle the attention.

  As Aoi’s popularity rises and secrets about his past begin to reveal themselves, can the accountant and the voice actor rise above their problems to create something real?

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