YF - Chapter 5

The house is a classical, Japanese property with the elegant, beautiful architectural features of old castles. It’s more of a compound, a collection of rock gardens, walkways, and streams that wind between big buildings full of tatami floors and paper sliding doors.

At night, the air is full of fireflies. And the property is full of bodyguards in black suits.

“You have not been summoned,” the guard at the door tells Riley bluntly. He’s politely ignoring her soiled outfit and seething affect.

Of course not. Baihara just lied about it to be obnoxious and to embarrass Riley by having her appear in this place in these clothes. Riley’s about to turn away, but headlights shine from the road. She stands aside as a black Mercedes rolls up and Baihara gets out.

“Right on time,” she says. “Come, White girl.”

Oh, God. What is she up to? Riley scowls and follows her past the guards, who all bow. Baihara walks confidently across a lovely bridge, up to the main house, where a woman in a white business suit waits.

“Here she is,” Baihara tells the woman, who is some kind of important Aramaki steward.

“What are we doing?” Riley asks, running out of patience.

“Oi! Didn’t you say we should help each other?” Baihara snaps.

“Yes, Senpai.”

Baihara nods to the woman, who gestures for Riley to enter. Scowling, Riley follows her. She feels Baihara’s eyes on her back, or maybe her backside. It’s hard to turn her back on a woman who so obviously has it in for her. Baihara’s trying to work her way up the old-fashioned way. Rumors of Riley’s intention to marry Aki are not secret. Every ambitious Yakuza in the Aramaki family is worried that Riley intends to jump the line by marrying the favorite daughter.

The woman takes Riley to a pair of pretty, uniformed maids who take over. They take her to an opulent bathroom, and Riley gets the idea. Whatever’s going on, she needs to be clean. The maids wait outside while she strips and sinks into the prepared bath. It’s nice, but she knows that she can’t linger. She climbs out, and washes her body and hair.

“I’m ready,” she says through the door as she starts to dry off.

The maids will come in with something for her to wear. It might be something risqué if Baihara’s trying to use her for something lewd, or something very classy if Baihara just wants her present at a meeting or a dinner as a display of her influence. There’s no way to know. Riley tries to keep an open mind as she eyes her reflection in the mirror, still drying herself. She has a few new scars since coming to Japan, but her skin is still smooth, pale, and youthful.

If all goes as planned, it won’t be long before she will be sporting some serious ink. It’s a necessary step for marrying Aki, but she can’t just go and get a huge Yakuza tattoo. She has to earn it. That means following the rules, and that means that what someone like Baihara says goes.

The door opens and the maids return. They aren’t holding an outfit on a hangar or a garment bag: just soft, white ropes.