142. The Yagami Syndicate (1)

Reiji hissed, feeling the pain shoot up his arm when the medicine was applied.

He frowned as he watched the doctor carefully tend to his wound, his old bandages discarded in the trash, while a pretty nurse took out new ones from a nearby cabinet.

".....Boss, is it really true that you were sick this past weekend?"

Reiji's eyes widened, turning to Beardy with a raised eyebrow.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"Ah? Oh..... Uh, we have our own information channels, you know?" Beardly laughed unnaturally, making Reiji even more suspicious.

"What, so you've been spying on me?"

"N-No, not exactly!"

"Tch, stop moving around!" the doctor snapped, blowing a strand of hair out of her focused face.

"What's the point of this? I already changed it myself this morning. Did I do it wrong?"

The doctor didn't reply to him, turning to the two men standing behind them instead.

"Which idiot put this kid in such danger?"

Baldy and Beardy exchanged glances, hoping the other would take the fall.

But Reiji had no intention of waiting for them.

"My Dad, who else?" he chuckled.

The doctor rolled her eyes and continued her work, grumbling under her breath.

"Of course it was. That obsessed fool...."

Reiji, who didn't know this woman personally, nor from the game, was surprised that someone would openly berate the King of the Underworld.

'That's...interesting?'

"Done. Make sure to not move your arm as much as possible, and it should heal enough for daily use within a few weeks."

Reiji stood up, buttoning his uniform back on with a complicated expression, and after a moment's hesitation, he turned to the Doctor and asked her a question.

".....Will I be able to participate in a martial arts tournament in a week and a half?" he asked.

The woman froze, her arm hanging mid-air while reaching for a document on her desk.

"....Are you crazy?" she berated with a stern voice.

"No, that's why I asked instead of deciding on my own."

"Of course you can't! Moving your arm that much might open the wound again and prevent it from healing properly!"

Reiji rubbed his chin and then tilted his head.

"What if I don't use my right arm?"

The doctor pursed her lips, her body trembling with rage as she facepalmed before glaring at Baldy and Beardy.

"What nonsense have you taught this kid? What has Daichi been doing?!"

"Hahaha! Boss, that sounded so cool, just like the Big Boss in his younger days!" Beardy roared joyfully, ignoring her death stare.

"I can't tell if that's a compliment or not," Reiji mumbled.

"The hell it is! Don't you dare fight in any tournament until it heals properly!"

"Fine! Geez!"

Reiji couldn't help but sigh as he exited the infirmary within the Yagami Corporation building, where the nurse was still muttering under her breath.

He subconsciously flexed his right arm to test out its movement.

'.....I really think I can try fighting with one arm, just for experience. It'll be impossible to win, though.'

He shook his head and decided to think about it later, shifting his focus to the two men beside him.

They'd taken him straight to the infirmary when they arrived, which confused him.

He'd already messaged Haruna that he couldn't come after realizing that this would take longer than he'd hoped, but the pouting emoji she sent back made him consider making a run for it.

"What's with the sudden worry anyway? Calling me over for a checkup after so many days?" he grumbled, reining in his impulses.

Beardy's eyes flickered, but he just shrugged without stopping.

"The Boss was just worried, so he told us to have you checked out before meeting him."

"...I guess your loyalty is still with him, huh?" Reiji smiled softly. "Though I can't blame you, it's still a little hurtful."

Baldy face fell, his forced stoicism breaking apart into despair.

"That's not it, Boss! Yesterday, two la-"

*SMACK!*

"OW!"

Beardy rubbed his hand, which was in pain after the direct contact with the shiny and hard surface of his colleague's head.

Reiji narrowed his eyes.

'.....Yesterday? What on earth could be such a secret?' he wondered.

After giving Baldy a stern look, he turned to Reiji apologetically.

"It's not that we don't want to tell you, we just think it's best to hear it straight from the Boss," he sighed.

Reiji clicked his tongue.

'Seems like this won't be a simple talk.'

***

Daichi looked up as the door to his office opened and the trio walked in.

Reiji noticed Satoshi was also there, which was a rare sight considering the amount of responsibilities he was in charge of, and greeted him briefly.

He pulled out the chair in front of the desk and was about to sit when Daichi stood up and shook his head.

"No, let's sit on the couch."

Reiji looked at the meeting area in the office with two large sofas facing each other and a glass table between them, plopping himself down with a wary expression.

'.....No seriously. Why is everyone being so strange today?'

When Daichi calmly took his seat in front of him, he signaled Beardy to get a drink from the bar.

"What will you have?" he asked Reiji.

".....Do you have Diet Cola?"

"Yes."

Reiji watched the four men silently, analyzing their expressions.

Daichi looked indifferent as always, but the others gave him some more information.

Satoshi seemed worried.

Beardy was a little agitated, or maybe excited was more accurate.

While Baldy's mouth practically stretched to either side of his face, a wide grin that told Reiji that he wasn't overthinking things and that this was about to be a memorable conversation.

".....Why am I here?" he finally asked, not wanting to wait any longer.

Daichi didn't respond.

Instead, his dark eyes scanned Reiji's body carefully.

"How are you doing?"

".....I'm better."

"That's good. Is your arm healing properly?"

"For the most part, sure."

Daichi nodded, his brows lightening up ever so slightly, allowing Reiji to realize that there was a tension within them that he hadn't noticed till now.

Beardy approached and handed each of them their glasses before retreating to the side.

Reiji took a sip of his drink, more out of awkwardness rather than thirst.

".....Tch, this whiskey is disappointing," Daichi muttered, placing his glass on the table disdainfully.

"Hm? Isn't this the one you always drink? Or did you buy a new one?" Reiji inquired, trying to make conversation.

"No.....My whiskey is gone."

Daichi's current expression baffled Reiji, because he looked sadder than he ever did in his memory.

"Where?"

"In the carpet," his father exhaled with a melancholic gaze.

"Huh?"

"Pfft!"

Reiji saw Baldy covering his mouth, holding back his laughter, while Beardy looked like he was trying to control the urge to slap him again.

"Okay, what is even happening? Can we get to the point?" Reiji rubbed his temples, his confusion growing by the second.

But Daichi just leaned back and asked a question that made him doubt his life.

"How's school going? Made any friends?"

"...Is that why you called me over?"

"No, but why can't I kill two birds with one stone?" Daichi deflected again.

"Well, I ranked first in the midterms," Reiji stated, suspicious about his intentions.

"Oh? Not bad."

".....Is that all you're going to say?"

"What, you want a reward? Fine, state your conditions," Daichi nodded.

"No! That's not...." Reiji groaned, closing his eyes in frustration.

'God, he's dense when it comes to parenting. This isn't a business negotiation!'

"No? Don't want anything? Okay then, tell me about your friends."

"...What's with the fixation on my friends?"

Things were starting to get really strange, and he was more uncomfortable today than any of the other times he'd talked to Daichi before, including when they'd made a 'deal' and when he was asked to take down a weapons smuggler.

"I'm just wondering if I have a daughter-in-law, maybe multiple?"

'...What? (´･ω･`)?'

"Dad, I'm in my first year of high school!" he snapped, but internally he was panicking.

'Are they really spying on me? They know about Yui?'

"What's the big deal? I was dating your mother in high school as well," Daichi replied with a rare chuckle.

Reiji took multiple chugs of his soda, imagining that it was potent alcohol in his head, though he didn't know what that would taste like since he'd never had any.

"Clearly, you have some things on your mind, so either come out with it or I'll leave. I've got things to do."

Daichi raised an eyebrow with curiosity.

"And what exactly might that be?"

"I need to study for my driving test this weekend."

".....I see, I forgot you're old enough for that."

'Yep... Dense father.'

Reiji crossed his arms and stared at Daichi, unflinching in his intimidating presence.

"Now, can we get to the point?"

"Hmmmm. Fine."

Daichi stood up, walking towards the large floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk and staring out of it like the Mafia Boss he was, placing his hands in his pockets.

'So much drama.....'

"What's the main reason you don't want to take over my position?" he questioned, his tone deep and grave.

Reiji, who was a little surprised, took a moment to think about it, seeing this as an opportunity to make his stance clear.

"I.....don't want my life to be tied down to a criminal organization."

"Is that from a moral standpoint, or are you scared of going to jail?"

"Moral. I realize that some of the work we do might be beneficial, but we're still breaking the law at the end of the day, and we end up hurting people most of the time," Reiji confirmed strongly, putting his glass down to stand up.

Daichi turned back, his eyes containing a hint of amusement.

"I see, that makes sense... But what if," he stated, pausing for a brief moment. "What if that wasn't the case?"

"...?"