Miyazaki Family

There are only three families left with their real founders on charge, while they were still active after all those long years. The Kurokawa family and the Yamakawa family are one of them, and the third one is the Miyazaki family.

These three families had great rivalry before the war. However, Yamakawa Danno was the one who united all the Yakuza, starting from their other two rivals. After that, they had a huge influence all over Japan, and all the other families had no choice but to join the peace pact made by him.

I found out Misaki took the job from the Miyazaki family. Their former Patriarch, who also decided to join the peace pact before, died a few years ago. Now his son, Miyazaki Shinji, was on the charge. However, our chairman, Kurokawa Shun, had doubts about him. He didn't tell me his reasons; all I know is that Miyazaki Shinji is very different than his father.

Misaki didn't give us the details about the job, but still, the Kurokawa family decided to keep him under protection against the Miyazaki family. Of course, the Miyazaki's didn't like the decision and declared that they wouldn't let him go until he became a member of one of the Yakuza families. So, we pretented to accept him into the family as a new member. It'd have been real, though, but Misaki didn't want it because of some certain reasons. He wanted to keep his sister out of this as much as he could, and he didn't want to worry her either. Misaki had no responsibilities but was still under our protection. That was a perfect solution from Mr. Kurokawa.

After that little drama, things got back to normal. I arranged our coincidental meeting with Kurokawa Tatsumi at the bakery. She kept visiting the bakery every now and then. The real purpose of it was to inform me about anything suspicious, basically. To anyone sneaking a peek from the outside, it should have looked normal, as if she was there to just get something to eat, since all those conversations were about what she ordered to eat. For now, nothing suspicious seemed to have happened.

One day, Mr. Kurokawa called me to his room again. I had no idea about his request. For me, everything was just fine, and there were no problems.

"Welcome, son. Have a seat."

He was still way too friendly with me. I wasn't used to it, but it didn't bother me much.

"How's it going? Have you gotten used to your new life?"

"Yes, sir. It's all thanks to you."

"Don't mention it, that was the least I could do. Let's get to the topic then."

He rummaged through his desk drawer and handed me an envelope. It was from the Miyazaki family.

"Please read it."

I took out the letter and started reading it.

To the Honorable Kurokawa Family,

First and foremost, on behalf of the Miyazaki family, we extend our deepest respect to you. The friendship and collaboration that have been established between our families over the years are of great importance to us. These strong ties, built on mutual trust and understanding, have been a source of great pride, and we hope to further solidify this relationship by taking an important step forward.

With the utmost respect, we wish to present an offer to your esteemed family. We propose a marriage between your beloved daughter, Kurokawa Tatsumi, and our valued son, Miyazaki Kazuhiro. We believe that this union will not only unite our two families but also strengthen an alliance that will endure for generations to come.

We request a meeting to discuss in more detail and eagerly await your response.

With our deepest respects,

The Miyazaki Family

I calmly put the letter back into the envelope. I wasn't sure why Mr. Kurokawa wanted me to see this letter, but it was almost certain that it was about something I wouldn't like.

"What do you think?" asked Mr. Kurokawa.

"It sounds fishy, honestly. I suppose this letter was something unexpected for you, as well."

"Certainly. The words he chose are nothing but exaggerated expressions. We never had such a relationship with the Miyazaki family, even before the retirement of Yamakawa Danno. Something strange occurred from their side; I can feel it."

I decided to stay silent for the moment. It wasn't a good idea to make assumptions in that state.

"Did you know that I lost my wife and three children in an accident? Tatsumi was too little back then, so he wasn't involved in it. However, since I lost both of my son and one of my daughters, it's almost certain that the Kurokawa family came to an end."

In most case scenarios, the one with the most power and influence becomes the next family leader, and the lineage is not an important matter to decide. However, in some mafia organizations, family lineage still comes first. The most obvious reason for this is the new era shaped around mafias. It's actually possible to see female leaders. In fact, it's more common than most people would think. Mr. Kurokawa had no choice but to convince Tatsumi to take the seat from him, but as far as I know, Tatsumi already refused him multiple times. Mr. Kurokawa continued with his words.

"I have no intention to accept their offer, but I'm curious about their reason. That young Shinji never talked to me after his father's death and suddenly shows up with such an offer. That's why I want you to investigate this matter."

As I say, something was already fishy about the Miyazaki family. For a family with such a great reputation, it was weird to search for new people to get some jobs done. Misaki was indeed someone suitable for the mafia; any organization would have wanted to have him. But what about the other kids they sent after Misaki? They were all high schoolers around our ages, and it didn't look like that was their first ever job that day. Whatever the reason was, they were crossing a line that they definitely mustn't.

"May I ask why did you choose me, Mr. Kurokawa?"

"Isn't that obvious? They don't know you as a member of our family. However, they definitely heard about you after what happened with Misaki. They worked so hard to get Misaki, yet they failed. But they certainly still need help. If you prove to them that you can be useful as well, we might get a chance to learn what's going on by their side."

"And what about the protection of the young lady?"

"It can wait a few days. I don't expect your mission to take so long anyway."

So it was decided. From Friday to Sunday, I was going to work for the Miyazaki family only for those three days.