"This way."
"I know my way around my own apartment building, goddamnit."
Shosuko shakes her hand off of her shoulder. Silently, her squad leader follows her outside of the building where a taxi waits for them both.
"You–!"
Sitting in the driver's seat, strangely enough, is the very same taxi driver that picked her up from her barracks back in Minaminagi.
"Get in. And make it snappy."
"..." Shosuko doesn't move an inch. Her hesitation is a mixture of indignance and confusion. Her squad leader opens the door for Shosuko and promptly shoves her into the back seat.
"Tell your aunt that my debt to the Kuze clan has been paid in full."
"My aunt?"
She closes the door before Shosuko can finish talking. And before she can protest, the driver's already stepped on the gas.
"Where are we going?"
"..."
"Who are you… who are you really?"
"Just doing someone a favor, miss." He pulls up next to a small office building. There's a bronze emblem on the front door. Strangely enough, she recognizes the symbol as the kanji for her last name. 'Kuze'.
"We're here. And make sure to tell your aunt that my debt to the Kuze clan has been paid in full." The taxi driver gives Shosuko a curt tip of the hat.
"Hm." Shosuko steps out of the cab and the taxi immediately takes off. She stares at the car until she can't see it anymore. Now it's just her, the office building, and its doorbell.
Her family, huh? She didn't know she had any family left after her mother and father were killed by Yokai. So this is where they've been all this time. What kind of people could they be? She wonders. They can't be too nice, considering they only got in touch with her now. But at the same time, the fact that they bothered to meet her at all means they're not as asshole-y as Shosuko first thought.
Before she can even ring the doorbell, the sliding door opens, revealing a spunky-looking girl who's maybe about sixteen or seventeen. She wears a black tucked-in dress shirt, black slacks, a black leather belt, and a flowing red coat that goes down to her calves. Her indigo hair is short, almost like a boy's. And on her face, there's a touch of makeup along with an award-winning smile.
"Cousin!"
"Cousin?"
"On your mother's side, apparently."
"Apparently?"
"It's crazy, right? I bet you thought all your family were dead." Shosuko's cousin (apparently) says it so whimsically that the darkness of what she actually said escapes Shosuko. "Ah, right. Where are my manners? The name's Daisuko Kuze, of the Kuze clan."
「Daisuko Kuze」- Kuze Clan Lieutenant
"Shosuko Kuze. But you can call me Shosuko. It'd get really confusing if we all called each other 'Kuze.'"
"No sweat! Come in, come in! We're really happy you're here!" Daisuko gestures for her to go ahead, and Shosuko nervously complies. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but a regular office space wasn't high on the list. It's all desks and office supplies and swivel chairs. Boring-looking papers infest every table in the room while a small team of office workers slave tirelessly to exterminate them. They're so focused on their work that they barely even register Shosuko entering the room.
"Hey, everyone! Shosuko's here!" Daisuko calls out to everyone in the room but hardly anyone lifts their heads. An awkward atmosphere descends on them.
Daisuko reaches into her coat, pulls out a handgun, and fires it twice at the ground. Now that definitely gets everyone's attention. They all shoot up and begin clapping. Shosuko can barely hear the wave of "Welcome, Shosuko." above the ringing in her ears.
"This is Miki, that's Riko, that's Hana…" It all flashes by in a blur. By the time Daisuko's finished with all the introductions, she's spaced out completely.
"Aaaand that's it for the ground floor."
"There's more?"
"Yep. It's time you met with the head of the clan." Daisuko leads Shosuko up a miniscule flight of spiral stairs leading to the second floor. Compared to the ground floor, this is much more like how she expected the building to look. About one quarter of the floor is a foyer and the other three quarters are dedicated to one spacious office.
Daisuko opens the door to the office and immediately, Shosuko's blasted by an air-conditioned breeze and the smell of curry. The whole space seems more like a second home than an office. There's a glass chess set in the corner, a luxurious wood desk in the far end of the room, and a spacious mahogany table as the centerpiece. On the right, are a fireplace and a painting of a small family.
Shosuko sees two people at the table, one sitting, one standing– no, actually they're both sitting, it's just that one of them is so tall she looks like she's standing. The giantess is dressed in a white blouse and a modest skirt that goes down to her knees while the comparatively shorter girl wears a white dress shirt, black vest, and black slacks. They look up from their humble lunches of instant curry with rice.
"Ay, mom. Shosuko's here." Daisuko's voice echoes throughout the spacious room. She, rather forcefully, nudges Shosuko forward. Shosuko shoots Daisuko a furious look but she just smirks back.
The giantess suddenly stands rigidly at attention. The shorter girl doesn't move but she does open her mouth to speak. "You're Shouko's daughter?"
"...Shouko… yeah… that was my mom's name, yeah. What's it to you?"
"My name is Kiara Kuze. Shouko Kuze was my elder sister."
「Kiara Kuze」- Kuze Clan Head.
Shosuko raises her eyebrows. "I guess that makes you my aunt?"
"And I guess that makes you my niece."
"..."
"..."
"Aight. See y'all around." Shosuko promptly turns on her heel and starts to leave. "Any deadbeat fuckin' family that leaves an orphan alone for eight goddamn years is no family that I want any part of."
Daisuko places herself between Shosuko and the door. "Whoa there, bucko. Trust me, you're gonna wanna hear our offer–"
"Get the fuck out of my way."
"The ICMG's after you, Shosuko. Look, I'm gonna make this crystal. Your options right now are either chancing it in the slammer or you can side with us. Which is it gonna be?"
"..."
"Make the smart move here, Shosuko."
Shosuko makes a face like 'Jesus, shit! Fine!' and storms back towards the table. She drags one of the chairs out like it owes her money and then sits on it, nearly breaking the thing in the process. Daisuko does the same, only much more calmly. "So, what do you want? Money?"
"Y-you misunderstand o-our intentions, Sh-Shosuko." The giantess looks at Kiara as she fidgets. Her face is inscrutable. "We're not here to ext-tort you. The Kuze Clan is here t-to h-help."
"You have your mother's temper." Kiara squints at Shosuko. "And you have the Kuze eyes."
Now that she mentions it, Shosuko notices that both Kiara and Daisuko's irises are also a little shrunken, exposing the sclerae underneath their irises. They're just like hers. She wonders if her mom also had eyes like that.
"You must be hungry." Kiara pushes a plate of curry and rice forward.
"P-please allow m-me, godmother."
"Settle down, Oka. I want at least the liberty of feeding my own blood."
「Oka Shibusawa」- Kuze Clan Lieutenant
The girl Kiara called Oka nods and deflates into her chair. Meanwhile, Shosuko stares at the plate in front of her as though it might jump up and attack her.
"Relax, Shosuko." Daisuko gives Shosuko a rather forceful pat on the back. "Or does the little baby want me to spoon-feed you?"
"Shut up." That's enough to get her to start eating. She shovels huge spoonfuls of rice mixed with curry into her mouth.
"You must be wondering why I've suddenly wanted to meet with you." Kiara does not touch her own plate of food. Neither does Oka. "We've stayed away from you and your family for eighteen long years. So why now? Why drag you into this?"
"...Go on." Shosuko gestures for Kiara to continue her story. "I'm waiting."
Kiara sighs. "You killed someone yesterday."
The words jab into Shosuko's chest. Her scar starts aching again. "I-it was an accident."
"You killed someone." Kiara says it bluntly, without hesitation, without remorse. "You killed someone from the Umi Alliance. And because you're a Kuze, you've created a lot of bad blood between us."
"Sorry, I guess." Shosuko finishes the last of her curry. "So, what now? You gonna serve them my head on a silver platter? That it?"
"W-we might." Oka jokes.
"Oka." Kiara's voice is firm.
"S-sorry. Thought it would be f-f-funny." Oka deflates back into her seat once again.
Kiara clears her throat. "Either we kill you, or we go to war."
"And?"
"We go to war."
"All this. For me?" Shosuko scoffs. "Alright, what's the catch? I know how you yakuza types operate. What do you want in return?"
Oka looks at Kiara, who nods. "We only w-want you safe. Y-you'll have to stay in our headquarters until all… this b-blows over. Give it maybe a w-week or so."
"That's it?"
"Yes. That's it." Kiara nods. "And if you need any favors, we're more than happy to lend our assistance."
"Cool." Shosuko nods, her expression softening slightly. "Can I ask you for a favor right now?"
"Go ahead."
"I would like to be yakuza."
Nobody moves.
"You said any favor right?"
Kiara takes a visibly deep breath as she leans back in her chair. "Before we go any further, I must ask. Why?"
"Why not? I'm desperate. I've got my ICMG pension but it's not gonna last forever. My grades in school are fine, but no way am I going to land an office job. So yakuza seems like my only option. Getting rich is a nice bonus" Shosuko shrugs. "Plus, this war with the Umi whatevers, it's my fight too. It's not in my blood to sit out a fight, you know what I'm saying?"
"You really are your mother's daughter." Kiara shakes her head as she stares into the floor. "The life of a yakuza is complicated. You'll have to get your hands dirty, do things you might not be comfortable with. You'll never be safe again. Ever. Are you absolutely sure you want to be yakuza?"
"What else am I supposed to do? It's not like I can go back to pit fighting after all this."
"Plus, Shosuko here is a bona fide war veteran!" Daisuko wraps her arm around Shosuko's neck and points at her. "She's not like us underground magical girls, she's got formal training. She can hold her own in a fight for sure. Plus, it'll be nice for me to have a kouhai for once. I'll wash her and take care of her and everything."
"Do you find everything… agreeable, Shosuko?"
Shosuko waves away Daisuko like she's an annoying fly. "I can wash and take care of myself just fine but otherwise, no problems here."
"Then going forward, you will be Shosuko Kuze, of the Kuze Clan."
「Shosuko Kuze」- Kuze Clan Member.
"Nice."
"Daisuko will show you the ropes."
"Yessss!" Daisuko punches the air and jumps to her feet. "Aight, let's head out. Oka! You're coming too!"
"C-can't sorry. M-m-mother and I have p-preparations to make."
"Awww… You're no fun." Daisuko seems genuinely sad but her mood is back to being upbeat about half a second later. "Alright, let's go, Shosuko. We've got lots to do."
Daisuko drags Shosuko along behind her in her hurry. Her legs almost lift off the ground. Both Oka and Kiara watch them as they leave.
"D-do you think this is a w-wise decision, mother?" Oka adjusts her glasses as she sits back down to enjoy her now cold curry.
"It's only a matter of time." Kiara shakes her head. "I might as well try and prepare her."
"Y-you're too kind. It w-w-will be your downfall s-someday."
"I cannot deny my nature." Kiara hangs her head.
Then they both fall silent.