Ashen Moon: Intermission 1

The content warning is in the footnotes⁰.

◇:*:◆:*:◇

The mansion's hallway was long. It reminded me of the city pool, about 25 meters long. Until I left home at fourteen, my family of six lived in a cramped 12 square meters apartment. Whenever a TV show introduced a wealthy mansion, my father would scoff and say, "Those are creatures from another world." Because it was on TV, the rich and their luxurious homes felt unreal.

The people living in this spacious mansion were also wealthy, but they were different from the smiling ones on TV.

"Taking a break?"

A voice called from behind. I turned slowly, holding a rag. A man in a dark gray suit, with an elegant and intelligent air, was looking down at me. I had never seen him before. He seemed to be in his thirties, thin and not intimidating. If he wasn't a high-ranking member of the group, he might be an outsider.

"Yeah," I replied.

"This house has a lot of hallways. Must be tough," he said.

"Well, it's my job," I answered, not trying to be funny, but the man chuckled.

"When you're done, could you clean up around the camellias in the garden? The weeds are bothering me."

Though I found it annoying, he didn't seem like an outsider. If he was from the group, he was probably higher up than me.

"Sure, I'll do it later."

"Whoa, Okin!"

Itakura, my senior who introduced me to this group, came rushing over with a panicked expression.

"Ah, big brother?"

He grabbed my head and slammed it into the hallway floor. It really hurt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Did he do something wrong?"

Seeing Itakura this flustered made me worried. Was this man in the suit someone important in the group? Someone I really shouldn't get on the bad side of?

"I just asked him to pull the weeds under the camellia after he finished cleaning the floor," the man explained.

"I'll have him do it right away. Go on, get to it!"

Kicked in the butt, I was herded barefoot into the garden. I didn't even get a chance to put on my shoes, wandering around like a dog.

"Get started, you idiot!"

Itakura yelled. I turned back hesitantly.

"Big brother, which one is the camellia shrub?"

The man in the suit laughed heartily, clutching his stomach, while Itakura barked, "If you don't know, pull all the weeds in the garden!"

My afternoon was spent pulling weeds in the garden. The high temperature for March left me drenched in sweat. Exhausted, I sat down for dinner in my room, and Itakura brought me a beer. He started drinking with me, humming happily despite having yelled at me earlier.

"Who was that guy who told me to weed the garden?" I asked.

Itakura looked at me, astonished.

"Have you never seen the face of your own group's leader?"

The leader... of the Motohashi group...

"No way," I said.

"Why would I lie to you?"

"But isn't the boss the tall, broad-shouldered guy with the slightly narrow eyes who always talks to me?"

"That's the underboss, Kato, you idiot. I told you that at the beginning."

I couldn't remember. But compared to the man from earlier, Kato seemed much more dignified and yakuza-like.

"It's surprising that someone who looks so kind is the boss of the Motohashi group," I said, earning a flick on the forehead from Itakura.

"Don't judge by appearances. He may look gentle, but he's incredibly sharp and makes a lot of money. And he does it without touching any illegal drugs," Itakura explained.

I knew from others that the boss was a financial yakuza, but I didn't know how he made his money.

"He values his family but has no mercy for traitors or thieves. He won't hesitate to kill even longtime members," Itakura said, making me shiver.

"But he’s fair. You can trust him," Itakura reassured me.

I started feeling scared about how casually I had spoken to the boss.

"He used to stay at this main house when he first became boss, but now he spends most of his time in a condo. Make sure you greet him properly next time," Itakura advised.

I agreed absentmindedly, recalling those TV shows again. Wealthy people often had multiple homes.

"Is the boss married? He’s pretty old, right?" I asked.

Itakura hesitated before answering, "You'll hear about it eventually."

I imagined him surrounded by women, unable to choose from his many lovers.

"The boss prefers men," Itakura whispered.

"Does that mean he's gay?" I asked.

"Yes. Most members know but don’t say anything. It’s not uncommon in this world," he replied.

Thinking about it, I suddenly felt anxious.

"If the boss takes a liking to me, do I have to... you know, be with him?" I asked.

Itakura laughed and hit me on the head.

"You're not his type. But there might be some who would gladly offer themselves if it meant getting in his good graces."

The thought of using sex for power struggles terrified me. I didn’t need to rise that high. I joined the yakuza because I didn’t want to go to school, had connections, and it felt prestigious. I didn’t want to get involved in bloody conflicts.

"...There were rumors about Mr. Kato and the boss," Itakura mentioned.

"Kato, the underboss?" I asked.

"There was talk when there was internal conflict in the group. But now I think there’s nothing between them. Mr. Kato is known for his love of women, and he has a few in the local hostess clubs."

Just imagining him sampling the local women made me feel aroused.

"Don't mess with the hostesses in the area. If you touch one that’s favored by a higher-up, you’ll be half-killed," Itakura warned, reading my thoughts. I laughed awkwardly.

"Mr. Kato has a taste for older women. I mean, women older than him, like in their forties or fifties," Itakura said.

"That's eco-friendly".

"What do you mean, eco?"

"Well, it means taking good care of old things..."

I hadn’t meant to be joking, but Itakura flipped out and burst out laughing. Then he exhorted me, "Never call Mr. Kato eco, even if your life depends on it."

◇:*:◆:*:◇

Since elementary school, Takao has been a constant but annoying presence in Okin's life. He called Okin out to Ebisu, saying he wanted to see a movie. After they left the cinema, they talked about Okin's low-level life in the yakuza. Takao scrunched up his face and said, "Yakuza is just bottom-tier." Despite Okin trying to highlight the appeal, like the mansion or the wealth from financial yakuza activities, Takao just responded with disinterested "huh-huh" sounds. Finally, Takao laughed through his nose and said, "Why don't you try working seriously for a change?"

They parted ways after chatting in a fast-food place, but being alone in an unfamiliar town made Okin feel a bit uneasy. On top of that, he got lost and ended up in a narrow alley. As he wandered, he found himself in front of a stylish open café with many foreign customers. Worried about being asked for directions in English, which he couldn't speak, he continued walking when he saw a familiar face. It was Kato, the underboss, sitting at a corner table, glancing at his watch.

Although there was no reason to be scolded just for being in the same place, Okin felt awkward and quickly moved to the opposite side of the street. Meeting up in such a café seemed too cool. Maybe Kato was meeting a woman. Come to think of it, Itakura mentioned Kato had a thing for older women. So, was his date an older lady?

...I want to see her face. It would be good gossip material. Okin took a position at a safe distance where he could still see the café and sat down on the stone edge. He was wondering what kind of older woman would show up when he was suddenly hit on the back of the head.

"What the hell?" he shouted, turning around to see a woman standing there. She was carrying two large paper bags, which seemed to have hit him. She looked surprised, with her large eyes wide open. Her long hair swayed smoothly, and she had a small face with sharp, narrow eyes. She was quite beautiful, wearing a light-colored dress that was either pink or orange, which suited her well.

"Uh... well, it seems something hit my head, but it didn't hurt that much, so it's okay," Okin stammered.

There was an indescribable allure in the corners of her eyes, and her lips were unnaturally red.

"I'm fine," he reassured her.

The woman nodded slightly as if to apologize and started walking away slowly. She was taller than he expected, with a small butt and slender ankles. Okin swallowed hard. He wanted a woman like that. Maybe she wouldn't be interested in him, but he wanted to strip her naked, thrust into her, and make her moan.

As he watched her leave, he felt an urge to follow. If he let her go now, he might never see her again. But what could he say to her? Demand compensation for hitting him? That wouldn't work with a woman.

While he hesitated, the woman entered the café. Okin had made up his mind and started to walk, but he watched as she stopped in front of Kato. The woman handed her bags to Kato and suddenly hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing her face close to his.

A passing foreigner whistled. Kato, holding the woman by the waist, left the café and got into a taxi. The car carrying the two quickly disappeared from view.

Though the woman was older than him, she was beautiful and alluring. Perhaps only someone of Kato's status could win over such a woman. His infatuation was crushed in less than five minutes, leaving him feeling miserable as he trudged along. That beautiful woman... she somewhat resembled the one time he had seen the leader of the Motohashi group.

◇:*:◆:*:◇

In the taxi, the woman straddled Kato with her legs wide apart, making the driver uncomfortable. She enjoyed the situation.

"Knock it off," Kato said, slapping her waist. The woman narrowed her eyes and whispered in his ear.

"...I get excited thinking about being with you soon."

She pulled down the front of her dress, revealing her ample breasts, and kissed him with her gaudily red lips.

...Since being targeted in Osaka and escaping, Kato occasionally started cross-dressing. Though it suited him well and helped him avoid detection by those after him, he became even more of a vulgar bitch when cross-dressing. If he were just a bitch, Kato would pamper him as much as he wanted, but...

The skirt was pulled up, and from the split panties, his erect penis stuck out.

"...Wait until we get to the hotel."

He shamelessly pressed his erection against Kato, whimpering. The taxi stopped at the red light.

"Ah, sakura," the woman cooed in a sweet voice. Through the taxi window, cherry blossoms swayed gently in the spring breeze along the river.

Footnotes

0. Content warning: NSFW.

Previous TOC Next