Sōrumeito (Soulmate #2)

Day 1: Ginza | Part 1

Ginza, Tokyo

(09:39pm)

"Kampai!"

I raised my sake glass along with the others as we cheered, before drinking it in one go. At the same time, we brought down our glasses to the table and laughed.

I invited my three favorite girls tonight to drink at one of our favorite drinking spots along the alley in Ginza. It was cramped and old but we liked it better than getting felt up in the club. That would only lead to our bodyguards causing a scene and beating them up.

Tonight, they listened to all my worries without interrupting me. They hugged me at times, or stroked my hair in comfort. I was glad to have them around.

When I was done ranting, they voiced out their opinions. Two of the girls agreed with me that Jesam wasn't to be trusted. I was pretty sure Hikaru had a small crush on him, though.

"I heard he's intense, in an exciting kind of way," she gushed, her big round eyes practically twinkling. Her gray-dyed shoulder-length hair swayed as she rested her chin on the back of her hand when she leaned forward.

Ayaka, looking reserved as always, simply shrugged. "Onii-chan doesn't like him."

"Mikihito doesn't like him only because Yuki's marrying him," Eiko pointed out, laughing as she pushed her long blonde hair back past her shoulders.

"Actually," began Ayaka, putting down her wooden chopsticks on the chopstick rest, "the Oshiro clan doesn't think it's a good idea to create an alliance with the Triple Tigers."

Okay, so here was the thing.

The Yakuza that currently dominated Tokyo (the capital of Japan) consisted of five clans, one clan amongst those was considered the head family. The head family was to be respected and obeyed by the rest of the clans, no questions asked.

Each clan had a territory they protected and controlled. They collected under-the-table taxes, ran businesses (sometimes legal, sometimes not), and made necessary political connections.

The Takeshi clan had been the head family for over fifty decades. It was rumored that the reason why our particular clan was so strong and was able to stay as the head was because we used to be a family of samurais, and that the teachings and knowledge had been passed down only to close relatives and loyal followers of the clan.

While our clan held the entire Tokyo metropolitan area, the cities within were divided into the control of the rest of the four clans. Nishimura held Shibuya, Yoshida held Chiyoda, Shimizu held Shinjuku, and Oshiro held Minato.

And of course, the three girls with me were from those families. Who could understand my need of bodyguards better than those who had them, too?

"They're not trustworthy," added Ayaka, who was part of the Oshiro clan. Her older brother, Mikihito, was set to take over from their father soon.

Ayaka was the serious one from the four of us, often times coming off as aloof. She was a bit of a conservative, too. It was funny, considering her family owned most of the host clubs in Roppongi. I heard Mikihito spent most of his time there because that was where the money was, and he was exceptionally good at handling them.

I raised an eyebrow, before saying, "Nobody is trustworthy in this business." I grabbed the bottle of sake and poured myself a drink, muttering, "It's all a matter of personal interest."

It was quiet for a moment, before Eiko clapped her hands as if she remembered something. We all looked at her, while she turned to me with a huge grin on her face.