The Tenjou Succession

Once a yakuza, always a yakuza.

Being part of the underworld meant that one would always have one foot in it, no matter how far one ran. There was no calling it quits, no retiring due to old age. The label was part of one’s identity until death.

Ryuji stared at the mirror, checking over himself to make sure his funeral garbs were right. The black haori hakama was custom fit to make him look as grand as possible. Yet, it only felt stifling underneath. Particularly, the stupid hanging ball at his waist felt like a target for someone to aim for.

He had never worn something so formal in his life. Having skipped graduation and left his parents behind, there was no one to force him into the typical celebrations that would require such garments. Neither did he have friends that could afford a lavish wedding.

But undoubtedly, he had to wear it for this occasion. A month after he brought Miyabi back home, the Chairman passed away. After the funeral processions, the next Chairman would be formally announced.

Ryuji sighed as he recalled Honjou’s words to him. It was essentially a blessing of passing on the torch. He had spent the next month psyching himself up, getting in the right mindset to take over. Shirokawa was there every step of the way, directing all the places that he couldn’t quite grasp.

When the message came, along with the funeral garbs, Ryuji knew it was time.

The funeral service happened in a blink of an eye as anticipation bubbled around the Buddhist chants and people passing by to pay respects. Ryuji sat near the front, along with the other officers. He eyed each and every person as they came up to Honjou’s coffin to bid farewell before taking a seat in the audience.

A sizable portion of the entire Tenjou Clan filled up the seats before him, perhaps anticipating the same announcement that he was. Undoubtedly, he received many nods of respect shot at him as they passed by. Many hesitations were still dwelling within him, but he had to push through. He had to take up the role to protect Miyabi. Before he knew it, people had started filing out of the room after the ceremony.

“So, getting nervous, Mr. Chairman?” Shirokawa elbowed him in the side.

“C’mon, who wouldn’t be?”

“And here, I thought the Yama Ryu had the fortitude of a mountain.”

“Even mountains have their tremors. Be glad that Mt. Fuji isn’t a volcano.”

Ryuji continued to look around, noticing a seat that was conspicuously empty.

“Where was Samukawa? You’d think Honjou’s right-hand man would’ve been at the ceremony.”

“I received a text from him this morning. Said he was making some final preparations for one last visitor for the big announcement.”

“All that fuss for some visitor? Must be someone important.”

“Important enough to carry Honjou’s last will. Can’t have a new chairman without that fancy slip of parchment proclaiming the Oyabun’s vision of the future.”

Ryuji and Shirokawa walked over to the next building, where everyone else had gathered. A wave of bows and greetings cascaded on both sides as they walked up to the podium, taking a seat next to it. After some time, Ryuji spotted Samukawa in similar funeral garments as him, but he was also sporting a headpiece that looked remarkably similar to the one he wore for Grace.

“Huh? What’s he doing with that, Shiroyan?”

“Dunno. I presume that he had to ferry around Ojou if she can no longer reside in her father’s head.”

“Wait, why wasn’t I notified? The Boss asked me to take care of her from now on…”

A strange feeling struck Ryuji as he said that. There was something itching the back of his mind that bothered him.

“Hey Shiroyan, did Honjou ever tell you about the pink-haired girl that could make a lot of things happen?”

Shirokawa shot him a look of confusion.

“Pink hair? That doesn’t seem like the Boss’s type of girl, frankly.”

“You mean, you weren’t in on it? I thought you were helping to cover up her existence.”

“Her?”

“Grace.”

“What does Project Grace have to do with this?”

Alarm bells started ringing in Ryuji’s head. Pieces of his own understanding started ripping apart and reforming. Shirokawa had been given some details, but others had been purposely left out. And as he looked back at Samukawa, something about him felt really off.

Ryuji discreetly took out his phone and sent Ozaki a message. He was likely hanging around outside as he hated formal events but was still required to show up as a family captain.

“Shiroyan, tell me the truth. Did you not know that Miyabi-ojou was being used as some advanced AI that connected with brains as some crazy augmentation? Arabaki’s suit was fed with data from it.”

“I knew that his suit had swiped your fighting skills, but I never bothered to ask how.” Shirokawa suddenly had a deer-in-the-headlights look, his eyes darting over to the podium. “Samukawa told me that tech was a side effect of preserving Miyabi’s consciousness, but as an AI…”

Their eyes honed onto the mysterious secretary, who had become an officer at some point. He had been designated the position not long after Miyabi’s accident, serving as Honjou’s personal assistant in realizing his goals. But aside from that, not much else was known about him.

There was one thing that everyone had essentially accepted coming from him – his words were the Chairman’s. That only became more obvious when Honjou became bedridden.

“I have a special guest today to deliver Chairman Honjou Kazuhito’s last wishes.” Samukawa approached the podium, as if to kick off the events. He brought his hands up and waved the crowd’s noise to a halt. “Now, don’t be shocked because the Chairman has been keeping a secret from all of you.”

Samukawa tapped the headpiece, and suddenly, a projection of Miyabi in formal attire greeted the entire room, bowing. A pin could be heard dropping as the audience came to recognize who was standing next to Samukawa on stage.

“Thirteen years ago, I was involved in a tragic accident. It took my body away from me, but my father, Honjou Kazuhito, started a program that ended up saving what remained of my life. Now, I appear before you today, having returned.”

Whispers of disbelief filtered throughout the room. Ryuji caught himself with his jaw hanging.

Why is she appearing in public now?

Ryuji couldn’t wrap his head around what was going on, and neither could Shirokawa.

“My father knew that change was inevitable. Even with the traditions and expectations that the Gokudo has held dear, the world continues to change around us. There is only so much of the shadows that we can hide in. Our activities can now be easily captured and documented by any stray eyes and with the touch of a button. I look around the room and can see that many of you want to resist this change. You want to place your bets on someone who you have looked up to, the very reason that many of you joined in the first place.”

Ryuji felt something off about the whole situation. The Miyabi that he saw in front of him did not seem like the girl that he once knew. Neither was she acting like the Grace that he had come to know. There was something artificial in her voice and mannerisms. And because of that, it did not seem like her next words were something he was waiting to hear.

“In this form, I have acquired the ability to know, think and act like a supercomputer. My eyes cover the entire streets of Tokyo. My reach stretches as far as all those who have connected with me. My father hoped that I could bring the Tenjou Clan out of the shadows and into the light, where we would no longer have conflicts with the police or the Japanese government. For this reason, I, Honjou Miyabi, have been tasked with becoming the next Chairman of the Tenjou Clan!”

“And I, Samukawa Rentaro, have been given the duty of co-chairing along with Miss Honjou.”

Ryuji stood from his seat. The pieces finally clicked into place, and it spelled usurpation. He had no idea how Samukawa had managed it, but he couldn’t believe that those were Miyabi’s words. There had been no mention of this change of heart by the previous chairman. Ryuji began to raise a fist for some answers.

“Uh uh uh, this is why the old ways of the yakuza are obsolete. Solving things with brute force won’t fix anything.”

With a wave of Samukawa’s hand, Ryuji found himself frozen in position. He had lost complete control of his body, just like those times when Grace tried to stop him. Only, he couldn’t resist this time.

His body self-corrected, and then, he was forced to bow before Samukawa.

“I-I pledge my al-allegiance to Honjou M-Miyabi and S-S-Samuka-kawa Ren-Rentaro…”

Ryuji couldn’t believe what he was saying. The words came out of his mouth on their own. And right after, he spied others in the crowd also standing up to bow, speaking similar lines of loyalty.

Samukawa’s grin beamed as more and more of the crowd was forced to submit to the proclaimed heads of the Tenjou Clan.

“Ryuji! Ryuji! What’s going on?! Snap out of it!” Shirokawa slapped him on the back, trying to understand what to make of the situation. He could see the forced expression and the resistance that Ryuji was mustering futilely.

“…all those who have connected with me.”

Ryuji’s eyes widened as he realized what that meant. His gaze scanned the crowd, recognizing that a lot of those being forced to submit came from the Shindou Family. They were the same people that had ‘connected’ with the dream world and fed information to the Server of Rye. Since Project Grace had spawned that entire network, those connected by dreams were the unwilling puppets in this farce.

Ryuji cursed as he couldn’t act upon that knowledge, having also formed a bond with Grace. Still, he had doubts that she was doing this purposefully. The architect of it was unquestionably the grinning man by her side, Samukawa.

“Look, a majority has given their blessing, even the infamous Yama Ryu. With that, I declare a new age for the Tenjou Clan, and a new future for all of the Gokudo across Japan!”

Suddenly, the right wall of the hall exploded, rocking the entire venue. A semi-truck burst onto the scene, causing a wave of panic from the audience. As people scrambled to recover from it, a voice over the loudspeaker sounded.

“Aniki! The police are here in force, SAT gear and everything! It’s an invasion!”

Ryuji blinked for a moment as he recognized Ozaki behind the wheel, but then, he realized he could move. He wasted no time sprinting for the semi-truck, Shirokawa close behind. The chaos had apparently freed him from Samukawa’s control.

“Hit the gas, Ozaki!”

The truck revved its wheels, pulling forward as Ryuji and Shirokawa hopped onto the side of it. They sped away from the building, seeing a swarm of police in riot gear upon the Tenjou headquarters. The truck swerved left and right as many dove out of the way of the speeding vehicle.

“At the very least, it doesn’t look like they are trying to shoot us down!” Ryuji yelled as he climbed his way into the passenger seat, along with Shirokawa.

From a glance, Ryuji could see that they only had shields and batons out, guns still holstered. They were organized to suppress a civil uprising, rather than an armed dispute. As such, the truck continued to maneuver through the police, crashing through a line of cars before finally hitting the city streets.

“Where to, Aniki? Now that we’ve escaped from the party.”

“I don’t know.”

Samukawa had taken over the Tenjou Clan. Grace had been captured. Ryuji was at a loss as to what he could do.

Just then, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out to see a text message from Dr. Higashi. Opening it, he found an address, which he promptly read out loud.

“Heh, looks like we have no choice. Coordinates set, Ozaki.”

“Looks like you’ll have plenty of time to explain just what the shit happened back there.”