Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 406: Road of Demons (5)

Dragon Raja 3

Every time Tachibana came to the mountains, he would bring cola, though he never drank it himself. Tachibana was the first to notice that Chisei liked cola. He never asked Chisei about it; he just silently brought cola into the mountains.

For a time, Chisei thought that Tachibana might be his biological father; otherwise, why would a salaryman be so patient with a mountain boy?

They would spend the night on the mountain top. An hour before sunrise, they sat side by side in the tent, and Tachibana would teach Chisei about the constellations in the sky, from the easily identifiable Southern Cross to the hidden Microscopium. They climbed that peak every week, the starry sky slowly rotating above their heads. Chisei tentatively asked Tachibana, “Mr. Masamune, do you have any children?” Tachibana smiled and said, “Finding a woman to have a child with is too difficult for me. But I’m considering adopting a child. If you and Chime come to Tokyo, would you be willing?” Chisei didn’t answer, and Tachibana didn’t press further.

Their conversations were always like that—men’s conversations without sentimental ramblings or repeated questioning. Once a point was made and acknowledged, it was over, like a nail driven into wood.

At that time, Chisei didn’t dislike Tachibana. Tachibana wasn’t an impressive figure, but he was a hundred times better than their alcoholic foster father. But Chisei still wanted to wait for his biological father.

Later, Chisei heard townspeople say that Tachibana was involved with the yakuza. At first, Chisei didn’t believe it, but one time he saw a tattoo on Tachibana’s wrist. Righteous Chisei immediately rejected Tachibana, refusing to speak to him and turning his head away whenever they met. Tachibana didn’t mind and continued to visit their alcoholic foster father on weekends. Sometimes he brought small gifts for Chisei, which Chisei would throw into the trash when he went out.

Once, Tachibana came from outside the mountains, bringing cake and candles. That night, their foster father happily hosted a family banquet to entertain Tachibana. During the banquet, Tachibana suddenly took out a cake, inserted candles, lit them, and brought it before Chisei. Before that, Chisei had never known his own birthday, nor had he ever had a birthday cake.

“Chisei, Mr. Masamune says he really wants to adopt you and take you to live in the big city. What do you think? There are many pretty girls in the big city, as well as arcades and ice cream shops,” the foster father said enticingly. “Today can be a new beginning for you; let’s celebrate your birthday together.”

“Go to Tokyo to be a frightened gangster?” Chisei replied coldly.

“Your words are as crude as a country bumpkin!” the foster father scolded loudly. “What’s wrong with the yakuza? The yakuza are no different from big companies. Mr. Masamune is an executive!”

“Since he’s an executive in the yakuza, he should find a woman and have his own children. Adopting someone else’s kids is troublesome and disobedient—better forget it,” Chisei stubbornly stared at Tachibana. As a friend of justice, he was determined to be at odds with the evil underworld.

“You bastard! Do you think you’re some kind of young master?” the foster father burst into a rage.

Tachibana waved his hand to stop the foster father’s angry rebuke and walked over to Chisei. “Chisei, I need to confess something to you. I am the one who has been placing you and Chime in foster care here all these years, but I’m not your father. Your father was a powerful man who could command the entire Japanese underworld, but he’s no longer alive. You have inherited his noble bloodline. You were born to be heirs of the yakuza, but many people in the big city might harm you, so you’ve been kept in the mountains for so many years. I have a responsibility to take care of you; I just didn’t have the ability before. Now that I have a bit more capability, I want to take you away.”

“Then we’re important pieces in your hands, right? With us, you can climb high in the yakuza, right?”

From the depths of his heart, Chisei did not want to believe that his background was like this. He barely restrained himself from shouting at Tachibana.

“You’re not wrong. Your family values bloodlines. With your lineage, perhaps I can reach the pinnacle of the underworld and become the most powerful person. But this time, I didn’t come to take you to Tokyo; I want to take you abroad. I’ve been saving money these past few years, and it should be enough to support you living overseas—in a city with a lower cost of living—living an ordinary life,” Tachibana said.

“Why? Why should I go with a stranger like you to some foreign place and live an ordinary life for the rest of my days?” Chisei asked harshly.

“I’ve been hesitating these years about whether to bring you into the underworld. If you step into that family, it’ll be very hard to leave. By comparison, an ordinary life is at least safe. We may be ordinary, but we are free,” Tachibana said calmly. “I’m just a small figure in the yakuza now, without much money or ability. I’m not confident I can assist you and Chime in inheriting the family. But I have enough ability to take you away from trouble forever. Are you willing?”

“No, I’m not!” Chisei said, enunciating each word.

After that family dinner, the foster father’s attitude toward Chisei worsened. He would beat and scold him from time to time, probably feeling he had lost an opportunity to dump a burden. Tachibana never came to the mountains again; perhaps he had become disheartened after setbacks. According to the foster father, the allowance had also stopped. It was unclear whether Tachibana had cut off support in anger or if he had left Japan. The foster father claimed that once Chisei graduated from junior high, he would have to get out of the house, since at fifteen years old, he could work and support himself. Helping out at a tofu shop or a repair shop could at least earn him food; in any case, the foster father wouldn’t cover the high costs of high school tuition.

For some reason, rumors also spread in the town that Chisei’s biological father was a big figure in the yakuza who had met a violent death due to his many misdeeds. Everyone felt that associating with them would not lead to a good outcome. Chisei, once praised as an excellent student, now experienced the feeling of being shunned. After class, he practiced swinging a wooden sword in the center of the playground. Everyone naturally avoided him; no one greeted him. He swung the wooden sword more fiercely; the sound of the sword tearing through the air was like someone shouting into an empty valley.

Before the graduation ceremony, new children moved into the foster father’s home. This man made a living by adopting children. It was said that the newly adopted girl came from a wealthy and influential family but, for unspeakable reasons, could not be raised at home, so she was sent to the quiet mountains to be fostered and would be sent abroad to study in a couple of years. The girl’s treatment was completely different from Chisei’s—not only did she have her own bedroom, but her food and clothing were high-class. She could drink cola whenever she wanted. Every weekend, her grandparents or mother and uncles would come to visit, bringing big bags of stuff and hugging the girl, weeping and apologizing, saying, “I’m sorry, baby, you’ve suffered.” The foster family dressed up to receive guests, while Chisei was driven out. The foster father said that if people knew there was also a boy being fostered at home, the girl’s family would worry about her being violated. As for Chime, it didn’t matter, because he was practically like a girl.