“Once I got to his house I was delivered to my father’s office, escorted by the limo driver through a side entrance. Later I would learn that the family forbade me to enter through the front door.
“My father’s home felt like a museum to me. I was far from poor but mother and I did not have the richest that my father had. When I got to his office I would climb into a big chair that I used to think was an Emperor’s throne. When I told my mother that I had gotten to sit in a throne she would warn me not to get smudges on the velvet and it always worried me.
“Once I arrived, my father’s serious expression would lighten and he would offer me candy and talk to me as if I was very important. We talked about school and me and my mother’s needs.” He paused.
“I always thought my father was unlike anyone else. He wore a moustache that was very thick. It seemed to me back then that the fact that my father could grow such a strong moustache meant that he was very powerful. To me he looked like a Hollywood movie star. My first wish was to be as important as he was.”
Y glanced at Robin after a moment. “Once father and I visited for a while he would have Riyu brought into the room. Riyu is four years my senior and at first he would just watch me with interest—as I would watch him.
“Our father would play games with us but it didn’t seem as if we played with each other; Riyu and I. I suppose our father was trying to get us to know each other—maybe even to become brothers.
“One day during one of my visits Riyu was escorted into the room along with a toddler, a girl—my sister. It seemed that things changed then. Riyu began to understand something that he hadn’t thought of before. He knew that I was born after him just as our sister was. He finally understood that his father had been with another woman and had created another family unit.
“During my visits Riyu would now become sullen and when our father wasn’t watching he would reach out and pinch or scratch me. I barely responded. He was bigger and I could see that he hated me. Being younger, naturally I was afraid. One day when my father told him to greet me Riyu spat on me and called me a bastard.
“I saw my father lose his temper for the first time. He grabbed Riyu and paddled his ass. He was probably ten years old and I was six or seven. But Riyu never forgave me.” Y seemed to be thinking and then he continued. “That was the last time that I was allowed into my father’s house.”
“Oh … Y. I’m sorry.” Robin said.
“I still continued to see my father, but not as frequently. He would come to our house or arrange for me to meet him at a restaurant or some other outing. And then by the time that I was nine or ten my uncle Yori was the one who would come by the house and make sure that my mother and I were taken care of. Uncle Yori was there whenever I needed a father. He came to my games and cheered me on. He talked to me about things that boy’s need fathers to discuss. And he disciplined me when I needed it.
“Riyu sounds like he needed an ass whupping but … he was a kid. Surely he outgrew his dislike for you?”
Y shook his head. “When Riyu turned sixteen, my father threw him a birthday party at a nightclub. He rented out the entire thing and there were actual movie stars there. When my father urged me to wish him happy birthday, I did and Riyu was polite and accepted my gift. I thought things between us might change. I got along fine with my sister. But when my father was no longer watching Riyu made sure I saw him throw the unopened gift into the trash. And then he and his friends spent the rest of the evening tormenting me. They spit in my food, pulled my hair, tripped me and told the others that I was a bastard.
“When the limo driver came to take me home I was certain that I never wanted to see Riyu, my sister or my father ever again.”
Robin reached out and gave Y’s hand a brief squeeze. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I learned a lesson that I continue to carry with me—blood doesn’t mean everything. Family is made up of people that you love and respect.”
Robin smiled. “I agree with that.”
He returned the smile. “One of the few remaining conversations that I had with my father happened when I was eighteen. I asked him to allow me to join one of the gangs in the Inagawa-ka.” Y’s smile fell from his face. “And he said no. I stood up to him and said my piece, arguing with him until he said that there was only room for one of us and Riyu already had the spot.”
“Damn …” Robin whispered.
“I did not see him again until I was twenty-one. I asked him to reconsider and he sent me to get our crest tattooed onto my arm so that everyone would ‘think’ I was Inagawa-ka. But I was not allowed to become a true member. I am my father’s protected ‘child’. I am not a man in the eyes of the Yakuza.
“He put me on his payroll and had my uncle give me small jobs. It’s how I got assigned to Akita Tom. He wasn’t dangerous or anything. And it was a low-key assignment. My uncle basically told me to stay out of everyone’s hair about the Yakuza and he’d keep me there working in my cushy job with Akita.”
Only now Riyu wanted to take that from him. Riyu didn’t care about Akita Tom’s musical legacy. He just wanted to squeeze as much money as he could from the company and leave a husk in its place.
Riyu was a ruthless businessman. He knew how to turn a quick buck at the expense of others while Y was of a mind that a successful company could be lucrative to all parties without the need to be disruptive. He’d been passionate about his duties with Akita Tom and therefore not many knew that the original reason he was there was to collect money for the Inagawa-ka.
Chapter Eighteen
Robin was curious about the reason that Y wanted to talk to his brother, especially in light of all the shit that he’d been through. Yet he’d been very forthcoming about his life and if he didn’t offer to tell her the reason she wouldn’t ask.
He parked the car in the parking lot of a strip mall where he said that it was unlikely that anyone would bother her. But he warned that she shouldn’t open the door for anyone and he said he’d keep his cellphone on vibrate if she needed him. Then he pointed down the block to a high rise where Riyu’s condo was located.
She frowned, “Are you sure that you’re only here to talk to Riyu?”
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Alright. I’ll see you when you get back.” Y left the car keys with her without saying that if he didn’t return she should probably leave.
He walked swiftly to the building. He’d been in here once before. Riyu had taken great pleasure in having him summoned to his home for the purpose of offering him a personal assignment. He had been put in charge of overseeing the delivery of weapons from a new Russian contact. It had been the equivalent of making Y drink the wine and taste the food first. Everything had gone without incident and yet instead of being praised Y was ignored yet again and relegated to white-collar duties for the family.
Riyu knew that Y had been hungry for more. But once he’d landed the position with Akita Tom he had all but disappeared from the Yakuza—although the old hurts were still as fresh as ever, and his desire to rise in the ranks—and in the eyes of his father had not diminished.
When Y reached the entrance the doorman gave him a suspicious look.
“Inagawa-ka.” He said simply.
The doorman lowered his eyes and stepped aside.
Y now made sure to keep his cap down low, shielding his face. Yakuza associates knew him and he didn’t want any of them tipping off Riyu that he was forcing a meeting between them.
He went to the service elevator that the cleaning and maintenance workers used. Most barely noticed these people and Y was betting that Riyu’s associates were lazy about such matters.
He knew that Riyu, as the head of one of the many Inagawa-ka gangs liked keeping Yakuza around. It made him look and feel important. But it was late in the evening and Y was glad to see that the halls were empty.
He stopped at Riyu’s door and stood there as if he was guarding it. He knew that anyone seeing him would take note of h
is tattoo sleeve and figure that he was supposed to be there. In fact, what he was doing by standing at the door was was listening for sounds inside.
When he was satisfied that he wouldn’t be entering a room full of Yakuza, Y removed a card from his wallet. It was a keycard to Riyu’s home. The day before it had just been a blank—but after speaking to the right people it was now a replica of the key that had been used by a maid. It would show in the security system that one Maria Alvarez had entered the home although Maria had not worked for Riyu in over a year.
How easy it was to create a keycard when you knew the right people. Y opened the door slowly and once he was inside he closed it but heard a clear audio sound from the alarm system announcing ‘Front Door.’
He didn’t care that the alarm system had outted him. He wanted Riyu to know that he was in the house and to come and find him. He tipped back his hat and entered the living room. There was a beautiful white shag rug on the floor and he stood on it in his street shoes and waited.
“Yagano.” Came an angry voice from hidden speakers. Y didn’t move other than to scan the room with his eyes. He spotted one of the cameras in the ceiling in front of him—a small black glass eye that blinked letting him know that it was capturing his every move.
“Riyu. Let’s talk.”
“How dare you!” Riyu roared.
“I think that will come to be understood soon enough.” There was only silence as a response and Y assumed that Riyu was on his way to confront him. Sure enough within seconds a tall muscular man was rushing into the room.
Riyu was taller than Yagano who was more compact with a wrestler’s build. Riyu was lean with a wiry muscular frame—more like a basketball player.
“What in the hell are you doing in my home?” he shouted stopping several feet from the younger man. Riyu was angry—but not so angry as to risk getting too close to Yagano.
Y kept his hands in plain sight. He had no doubt that Riyu was packing a gun. But he hadn’t pulled it yet so Y figured he should get right to the reason that he was here.
“I know what you’re planning with Akita Tom Productions.”
Riyu cocked his head and then his posture relaxed. He entered the living room and moved to a bar where he grabbed a bottle of Hennessey and poured himself a small glass. He did not offer Y a drink.
“Is that what brings you here? That failing record label? You should be happy that I intend to rid you of it. There are more important things that you can do for the family than to peddle records.”
“And all of a sudden you want to be a record peddler?” Y replied tightly.
Riyu took a sip of his drink while gazing at Y. “No. I intend to drain it for all it’s worth and than let the buzzards have what’s left.”
Y frowned. “You have no true interest in Akita Tom Records. Your only interest is to interfere in my life.”
Riyu did not immediately reply as he just took another sip of his drink.
“I didn’t ask for the life that I was given, you know!” Y snapped. “You got the favor of our father, you got the position in the Inagawa-ka and that’s still not enough for you?”
Riyu glared at Yagano. “It will never be enough! Because of you and your slut mother, my father shares his affection with two families. He had me and that wasn’t enough! Then he went and had you!”
Y’s eyes narrowed. “You think my mother is a slut?”
A look of pleasure filled Riyu’s face. “Yes-“
In two steps Y was upon the man. His hand moved to his pocket where he was suddenly gripping the baton and in one fluid motion he had it extended and was swinging it at the unsuspecting man. Riyu managed to jump back, his drink flying from his hand as he barely missed being hit in the chest with the unyielding metal.
But Y was not done. His arm arced upward catching Riyu’s elbow and forearm. Riyu yelped and when the baton came down he raised his other arm and blocked it. Y advanced on the man, his eyes black with fury as he repeatedly swung the baton, slicing through the air and connecting with various body parts.
Riyu suddenly lunged forward and he knocked Yagano off balance. Now with him on top of the smaller man Riyu began to level punches onto Y’s face. Y growled and bared his teeth and then he boxed Riyu’s ears.
Riyu was momentarily knocked off balance, which gave Y the opportunity to push Riyu to the floor. Y climbed on him now and began wailing on his face.
“Daddy!” Came a child’s voice. It cut through Y’s anger. He looked over his shoulder to see a child of about six huddled against a woman. Both looked terrified and the little boy was crying.
Fuck. This muther fucker had gone off and spawned, Y thought bitterly as he released a dazed Riyu. He stumbled to his feet and picked up his baton. Riyu dragged himself up into a sitting position watching Yagano warily. One of his eyes had begun to swell shut and his nose was bleeding.
Y moved to the door and spit wad of blood onto the white carpet. He glared down at his father’s son before opening the door. “Stay out of my business. I’m not backing out!” He picked up his hat and left the home.
Once he was back in the elevator Y checked his reflection in the steel door. No way was he going to hide this. Riyu had split his lip and blacked his eye. Damnit! Why had he lost control? He’d known going in that Riyu was going to try to belittle him. But his mother was another story. His mother was the ‘other woman’. But she had not known that his father was already married and when she found out she ended their relationship. Only it was too late because he was already in her belly.
Y had no reason to doubt his mother, but her account is that if she had wanted the life of a Yakuza wife his father would have left his wife and married her. And who wouldn’t want to marry his mother? She was one of the greatest beauties in all of Japan—in his humble opinion. And his father kept her single by threatening any man that she looked at or that looked at her. He remembered a few of the men but they never stayed around long.
Y scrubbed his hand through his hair and pulled his cap low, cursing his stupidity. And yet a smile tugged at his sore mouth. Just like Robin had said, Riyu’s ass whupping was a long time coming.
Robin had started the car and was listening to one of the CDs that she had discovered in the glove box. Y had a variety of music from Japanese groups to Pop, Hip Hop and R&B tunes. The Alicia Keyes CD was just ending when the driver’s side door opened.
Robin jumped and pressed her hand to her chest when she saw Y’s dark figure climb into the car. “You scared me,” and then she grinned. “I’m happy you’re back because I gotta to the bathroom and I didn’t want to just leave your behind stranded.”
Y spoke without looking at her. “No problem. We can hit one of these restaurants.”
Even though his hat was low on his face Robin saw a smear of blood on his lip.
“Y, you’re bleeding!”
He looked into the rear view mirror and then turned off the car. “Yeah.” Y opened the door and continued speaking as he prepared to step out. “I need to wash my face and I could stand a drink-”
Robin grabbed his arm before he could leave the car.
“Uh, wait a minute. What in the world happened?”
He sighed. “Eh. Riyu and I are still no better at communicating.”
“He hit you?!” She exclaimed.
He shrugged. “It was just a little scuffle.” He looked at her. “Let’s go if you need to hit the bathroom.”
Robin climbed out of the car and Y locked it.
“We aren’t going to be able to get into a decent place with you all bloody.“ She reached into her purse for a baby wipe. She’d gotten into the habit of carrying them since the days of being Jason’s caregiver.
Y tried to take the wet cloth from her but she told him to stop and then she concentrated on cleaning away the smear of blood and examining his injured lip.
Y found himself staring into her curious green-grey eyes. He knew they weren’t contacts but they were an odd color for a black woman who
didn’t appear to be more than African American.
He took in the way that Robin seemed so concerned about such a minor thing as a bloody lip. His heart began to beat rapidly in his chest and an image of her singing Fuck and dancing sensually came to mind. He quickly looked away but Robin touched his chin, holding him in place.
“Be still Y,” she said in a half whisper. “The blood has already started to dry,” she continued to wipe at his lip and chin before her eyes met his. “Am I hurting you?”
In that second Y’s cock began to harden. He flushed and moved away. “No. I’m good. Let’s just … go find a bathroom.”
She allowed him to escape her attention and then looked around at the people milling around the shops that were still open. “Well at least you look better.”
She followed him, walking fast to keep up with him. He was acting as if he was trying to outrun her. “Are you going to tell me what happened?” Y was a few steps ahead of her and she was about to call out to him when someone gripped her arm.
“Hey baby,” a man said in choppy English. He was so high, and or drunk that he could barely keep his balance and yet his grip was tight. Robin tried to yank out of his grasp but his hold on her arm was stronger than she expected.
“Get off-!” She didn’t get another word out before a blur of motion that scared her more than the drunkard, got between her and the perpetrator. There was a sharp slapping sound and the drunkard was on the ground holding his jaw with Y standing over him pointing his finger in anger.
“No! You don’t touch her!” Robin looked at Y in surprise. The drunk man’s friends helped him up, watching Y in worry. Y’s face was a mask of fury.
“Y, its okay.” She said when he watched the retreating man as if he would like to see him shot and killed.