We returned from the hospital and brought the medicine to Kurayami, who was fast asleep on the sofa. Haruki was on the phone, ordering Majima and the others to look after one of our pachinko parlors. Seto and I went into the office to discuss new work with the boss, but what we heard was the opposite of what we expected.
"We don't have many options," Haruki said. "We've received word that Oniwaban has doubled their security. And now Makoto has asked me to invest in his company. It's time to build ties and stop being rivals."
Seto immediately objected.
"And you trust him, this could be Waban's plan to lure us."
I smacked the back of Seto's head. Smack! "Hey!"
Haru took a breath and smiled gently. "Come on. You've both been through a lot. We're older now. Makoto's son and I think differently than our fathers."
I nodded in agreement. "I understand. If it were Makoroku, he'd probably think the same way."
"Thanks for understanding. I want to move away from where my father stood. The era of yakuza is over—it has to change for the better. We need to come up for air, not keep living underground. And for my sister's sake… I don't want her to carry a fate as heavy as the whole world. Being both an idol and a business operator—she can't handle that. What's happened has happened. We can't undo it."
Haruki looked at the two of us with eyes unlike his father's—eyes that wanted something better for all of us, a place where we no longer had to hide.
Seto stood up abruptly and walked out of the meeting room, leaving Haru and me sitting there in silence.
"I hope he understands," Haru said quietly.
"I'll talk to him," I replied, standing up and following Seto to the storage room. He was smoking inside the closed space, so I opened the ventilation door.
"Finished already?" Seto flicked his cigarette out of the room.
"What's really bothering you this much eh?" I said, leaning against the wall.
"The bastard who killed Bito-sama is still walking free out there, and it could be someone in Oniwaban II And we're just supposed to let him get away? Like, 'Oh, you dug my father a grave? No worries, let's be friends bro!' What the hell is that!"
"Enough, Seto! The Takeo family might not be involved at all."
"Then who was that asshole tailing us at the shrine, huh? If it wasn't Takeo's people!"
"It's been a year. We can't ask the dead for answers," I sighed, thinking he wouldn't listen—
when a small voice spoke from behind us.
"But I can…" Kurayami stood there, looking at us with determined eyes.
"Kurayami, the medicine's on the table. Did you take it?" Seto asked.
"I can really talk to Dad," she said.
Hearing that, I walked over and knelt in front of her.
"And what did he say?" I asked gently, thinking she was still half-asleep.
"I can bring him here if you want," she said.
The moment she finished speaking, her body expanded and transformed into Magoroku Bito—his forehead hollowed where the bullet had gone through.
"Shit!" Both of us rushed toward Haru. "Boss, we've got a problem!"
Haruki stood up and walked out, coming face to face with his father's bullet-ridden figure staring back at him. Only then did he realize that Kurayami hadn't been there to begin with—what he was seeing was merely an avatar.
"Kurayami, how many times have I told you to stop this already?!"
"What are you talking about, Haru? Your father was shot in the head, and you're still raising your voice at me?"
"That's enough! You've crossed the line!" Haruki dashed into his sister's bedroom, but she wasn't there. "Don't tell me…that she..."