Right Hands and Hard Truths

The Yakuza had formed Tora’s family when he was scarcely old enough to know of their work – the violence, the politics, the deep-rooted manipulation of government. He was a boy, young and alone in the world; Tora had fallen in with a rough crowd in secondary school, home being no place safe after classes let out, and once choice after another led him into the arms of the Yakuza. With them, he felt seen, he felt safe, he felt human. Tora’s life became one of petty crime and invincibility; being caught in the act of any crime, he only had to call on his adopted father and the accusation would be wiped from his record.

The young Yakuza member had much to learn and he threw himself into his new life of crime as though he had been born to it. Tora started low, at first running goods from one side of the city to the other, then selling to people – delinquents as he had been; Tora even found himself manipulating city politics and eventually he found himself answering directly to the Yakuza boss, with goals of manipulating the country’s higher government and global status.

This was how Tora found himself standing at the doors of a skyscraper – the headquarters of Enrique Tachibana’s world-renowned tech company. He straightened the collar on his shirt and the tie that rested around it. His hair had been slicked back, tattoos hidden under his shirt and blazer; he looked every bit the businessman who had been hired to Enrique Tachibana’s PR advisory team. Tora eyed himself in the reflection of the door one last time before he pushed inside.

The receptionist cast a long glance at Tora and he raised a hand in greeting.

“Tora Okawa, I am here to meet with Mr. Tachibana about his upcoming unveiling – I want to be sure that we have the facts straight with the new program.”

The receptionist nodded and Tora approached the desk, expression tight, but not unfriendly. He listened as she typed his name into the system and, only a moment later, as the computer chimed recognition.

“Yes, Mr. Okawa, Mr. Tachibana is in his office upstairs.”

Tora nodded and raised a hand in both farewell and thanks before he stepped to the elevators. The elevator was cold, the music was unnoteworthy, and Tora thought that there were entirely too many floors as he tapped the button for floor 59. He quirked a brow as the elevator dinged and then started its journey up; he straightened his expression before the elevator doors slid open.

Finding himself at Enrique Tachibana’s desk was simply a matter of work; they needed Tachibana Tech to bring the city’s delegate out into the open, to remove him from his position and replace him with one of their own. What Tora hadn’t expected, however, was the affection that he would receive from Enrique; the moment he had been made head of PR, Enrique’s affections made themselves known. Tora would arrive to his desk with gifts of food and trinkets – everything from sweet cakes to imported American toys. At first, Tora had been concerned – he had never considered himself queer, but he did know how to use a situation to his advantage. Within weeks, he found himself feigning a reciprocal affection and now, he found himself kneeling to lift Enrique’s daughter as though she was his own.

“Enrique, we need to speak about the tech conference.”

The man he now called his boyfriend strode behind his daughter with a smile that should have belonged to a teen, not to the CEO of a multi-billion dollar tech company.

“Yes, yes Tora, I know,” Enrique brought Millie and Tora into his arms and planted a kiss on the latter’s cheek, “But let me say hello first.”

Tora found himself blushing despite himself; this had been a work arrangement at first, and it should have remained as such. The Yakuza member had entertained the CEO as a mode of gaining closeness and trust faster – he hadn’t anticipated that Enrique’s feelings would become shared. At first, Tora’s gut had twisted into nerves about Enrique playing him as he had been playing Enrique – then it became nerves around the Yakuza finding out what was truly going on. They should have taken the company months ago – they should have had a someone in the delegate’s office by now, turning him or taking him for a swim with the fishes. Making excuses to the Yakuza could have been punishable by death and Tora wasn’t certain how he kept getting away with it.

            Tora’s stomach churned every time he had to come up with a new excuse for why he hadn’t infiltrated the office yet, but Enrique’s presence was a constant comfort in the fear. Millie nuzzled Tora and he was drawn away from his thoughts again – trust the girl to distract him from the reality that was his life. Enrique had long since come to the realization that Tora was Yakuza, their first night together had revealed as much with the tattoos that littered Tora’s arms and torso, but Tora still didn’t know whether Enrique had realized that he’d been sent to use him.

“I think we’ll start with a grand entrance—”

“Enrique, no. That paints a target on your back.”

Tora lowered Millie to the floor so that she could run off somewhere to amuse herself – her nanny was bound to be somewhere nearby.

“Oh, but Tora, you know how I love the dramatics!”

Enrique waved his hands in a flare and Tora had to bite back the chuckle that rose in his throat.

“Enrique, you need to—”

The CEO cut the Yakuza member off with a firm kiss and pinched his chin between his thumb and first finger.

“I need to what, Mr. Okawa?”

Tora raised a brow and let the corners of his lips quirk up.

“You need to be more mindful of who you trust with your life.”

He tilted his head back and Enrique trailed his fingers down Tora’s throat, admiration in his expression.

“Like the Yakuza member who sleeps in my bed?”

Tora’s chest bubbled with a chuckle and he shook his head. If only he knew.

“Like the competitors who have had a mole in your company for the last three months, who I had to call in a favor to get rid of.”

Enrique tilted his head in acknowledgement, Tora did have a point. If it hadn’t been for Tora’s Yakuza ties, more information would have been leaked than the company could ever have done damage control over.

“You have a point, Okawa. When are you going to ask for what you really want, though?”

Tora took pause and studied the man in front of him. Either Enrique knew his secret or he was playing a game of some kind, Tora wasn’t entirely certain which and didn’t know that he’d ever learn. Within the month, his boss would be pulling him from the company – he would be a blip in Enrique and Millie’s lives and he would return to the cold, steely Yakuza life.

“Enrique, we need to—”

“Talk, I know. Tora, I want you to be my right hand – head of PR is fine, but I want you to be my COO. You would do better helping me to call the shots like that, people would take to you better.”

Enrique made a point, but Tora couldn’t perform his Yakuza duties from a higher role than the one he held now.

“Enrique, you know I can’t take that position.”

Enrique ran his hand up the back of Tora’s neck and tugged at the hairs at the base of his skull.

“Tora, the Yakuza will be there no matter what. I can help you out, can’t I? Help you from their grip?”

Tora swallowed thickly – Enrique was a powerful man, but it was almost impossible to sever ties with the Yakuza once you’d been brought into the fold. Tora was more than a new initiate, too, he had all but grown up with the gang at his back – to them, he was family; to him, they were family. To leave them, Tora had a feeling that he would need to die. Enrique knew this as well as he did.

“You and I both know better, Enrique.”

Enrique’s face fell and so did his hand – Tora was right and he would be a fool to sit in delusion.