Collision of Heaven and Hell ✅

Chapter Six

July 5th, 2029

Just two more weeks. Just two more weeks. Just two more weeks...

There was a knock at the bathroom door. "Mai-chan, are you ready?"

"Yes, Papa," I said. I had tied my hair in twin braids today. I swung them to the front and opened the door. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"The car is ready," Papa said, forcing a smile at me. "We'll walk down together, okay?"

My smile faded. "Papa...I'm sorry you have to go out of your way—"

"Oi," Papa said, placing his hands on my shoulders. "It's not out of my way to take my daughter to and from school every day. It's what a papa should do."

"M-Maybe I should get my license after all—"

But Papa shook his head at me. "Even if you had a license—even if you had your own car—I still wouldn't let you travel to school by yourself, Mai-chan. I know it's tough, but...for now, we can't be too careful."

My throat tightened but I nodded in understanding. "Okay, Papa."

We had already eaten breakfast. "Tae, we're heading—oh no," Papa said, and hurried into the living room. The dread that I hadn't been able to shake for the last month rose inside of me again, but I hurried after him. Mama was sitting on the couch watching our TV with wide eyes. It was a news report showing an outdoor crime scene. It was a sight I was unfortunately becoming too familiar with.

"Tae, please," Papa pleaded, taking the remote from her and shutting the TV off. "Following the news isn't going to help—"

"W-What on Earth is the Oyabun thinking?!" Mama exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Does he think this is the 1960s?! Does he think this is a movie?! T-This—" she gestured to the turned-off television. "He's just fulfilling every stereotype associated with the yakuza! This isn't how his father or his grandfather conducted business!"

"Tae," Papa said softly, sitting down beside her. "Everything will be okay. I'm going to take Mai-chan to school now, okay? I'll be back shortly, but make sure to lock up after we leave."

Mama looked at Papa in silence for a moment, and then looked at me. She swiftly stood up and hugged me. "Have a good day at school, okay Mai?"

"I will, Mama." I tried to sound reassuring but my throat was tight. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Papa and I left the apartment and we headed down to our car. Papa kept an arm around my shoulders and looked at his surroundings carefully. I realized then that though it was already warm that morning Papa was wearing a long-sleeved shirt. He's covering up his tattoos.

It had been just over a month since Nobuto became the Oyabun of the Awaosamu-gumi. Neither Papa nor Mama talked about it in my presence, but from what I learned after the slaying of Chaki and his wife, Nobuto had publicly blamed another syndicate for their murders. The rival syndicate in question publicly denied any knowledge or responsibility for the hit, but Nobuto had retaliated violently regardless. This caused the rival—who had maintained a truce with the Awaosamu-gumi when Awaosamu-sama was alive—to declare war on the Awaosamu-gumi.

And now, akin to a gangster movie, both syndicates were fighting in the streets as they once had decades ago.

I knew that Papa was nervous because of the inevitable government crackdown that was bound to happen, but also because he felt stuck in his current position. Because of the government crackdowns on Yakuza in the 1990s, it used to be very easy for Yakuza members to simply leave their syndicate and reenter civilian life. But in the last few weeks, Nobuto had made it very clear that no one was going to be able to leave easily. I heard stories around of former members who had insisted on leaving the Awaosamu-gumi were later attacked on the street, or the brakes failed in their cars, or even their spouses were harassed at their civilian jobs or even the grocery store. As such, Papa could not leave even if he wanted to.