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Sera slammed down the phone. Another day, another dead end. He’d known he wouldn’t be able to solve the problem straight away but he’d thought there’d be at least something he could work with. Instead, nothing.
What’s the point of having all this power if you can’t do anything good with it?
There was a knock at his door. He sighed.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a young man with glasses timidly walked through. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here in the Third Chairman’s offices. The young man coughed and looked over at Sera, clutching a folder in his hands.
“S-sorry to bother you, sir, but I thought – well, you need to see this.”
He placed the folder down on Sera’s desk and shrunk back. If Sera had been any less of a man he might have laughed at the young man’s fear, but it disconcerted him. He wasn’t someone who ruled by fear and it bothered him that the rumours still went around. He smiled at the young man, hoping to relax him.
“Thank you. Please, have a seat.”
He gestured at the plush chairs in front of his desk, and to his surprise, the young man actually sat in one. He’d figured he would refuse.
“Tell me what I’m looking at here.”
The young man nodded.
“Records we didn’t think existed, to put it plainly, sir.”
“Records belonging to who? I was under the impression we didn’t have any leads to follow.”
The young man twisted his hands and looked down.
“Ah, I see you’ve talked to Seiko-san.”
Sera sighed and looked at the young man. He tried to soften his voice as he asked his next question.
“Why did you come to me? Seiko-san’s in charge of this, shouldn’t you be going to him?”
The man nodded, still not looking directly at Sera.
“W-well, normally, yes. I’ve... been following these leads myself for two weeks.”
“Two weeks? Why is this the first I’ve heard about it?”
The young man shrunk back into the seat, clearly terrified of some sort of punishment.
“What’s your name, young man?”
“Itsuji, sir.”
“Itsuji-san, if you have been following this for two weeks why was I not informed sooner?”
The young man looked up at Sera then, and he could see fire in his eyes.
“Page four, sir. Read the list of people involved and you’ll see why.”
Sera frowned and looked at the page, confused. Then he saw it. The third person on the list was none other than Seiko-san himself. Surely this is false. The man’s been in the clan for years. Even if he’s not trustworthy he should be loyal.
“What are you saying?”
“You haven’t had any leads because Seiko-san has been hiding them, sir. He’s working with them. And I have other information to back up my claim, hidden away somewhere where he can’t find it.”
Sera dropped the records, shocked. He’d known the group was pervasive and merciless – Mia had said as much. But for them to have a mole in the Tojo Clan, in the workgroup he’d set up to root them out – that was far more credit than he’d given them. No leads, my ass.
“Itsuji-san, thank you for bringing this to my attention. It seems I have been looking in the wrong area.”
Sera sighed and sat down in his seat. He had a choice here. He could throw Seiko out of the clan and he would have every right to. But there was another option. He nodded. I have a better idea.
“Itsuji-san. I appreciate your work, and I will reward you as is appropriate. You are dismissed. In the meantime, I will discuss... Seiko-san’s life choices with him alone.”
Itsuji bowed and left the room. The moment the huge wood doors shut, Sera picked up the phone.
“Seiko-san. My office. Now.”
~*~
“You called for me, Third Chairman?”
Sera didn’t turn from the window. He stared out at the lights of Tokyo, stilling his anger. It wouldn’t do any good to go into this enraged. He needed to play this right.
“Seiko-san. Thank you for coming.”
“It sounded urgent, sir.”
Sera heard Seiko’s muffled steps across the plush carpet and sighed internally. Depending on how this played out, he might need to call in the cleaners later this evening. I can’t screw this up. There’s too much at stake.
“I have some questions for you about the work you’ve been doing for me.”
Sera turned and eyed Seiko, watching for his response. He looked confused, but not concerned by the question.
“With all due respect, Third Chairman, I updated you earlier. Nothing has changed since then.”
“I beg to differ, Seiko-san.”
That shook him. He looked at Sera, perplexed.
“Pardon?”
Sera stormed over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
“How long have you worked for them?”
He lifted the smaller man off the floor a little, watching to see how this affected him. Bingo. His face was the same colour as Sera’s suit, and the fear was evident in his eyes.
“W-what? How long have I w-worked for who? I don’t know what you mean!”
Sera sighed and leaned in, lowering his voice to a whisper.
“Don’t lie to me. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Sera shook him a little, intending to scare him further.
“Start again, Seiko-san. How long have you worked for them?”
“F-fifteen years, sir. Ever since you joined the clan.”
He dropped Seiko, and the man managed to catch himself before he smashed his face on the floor. Fifteen years? They’ve been watching this whole time? It was longer than he’d expected. He figured when his father left the watchers did too, but now... that whole theory was thrown into question.
Seiko had stood up again, not looking at the chairman.
“Why? Why are you working for them?”
“I don’t have a choice, sir. They own me – literally. I was sold by my caregivers at a young age.”
“Yet you have no loyalty to them.”
“I did at first, sir. I thought they’d saved me, and I would have done anything for them then. But now...”
Seiko sighed.
“When I met your half-sister, sir, I realised something. This girl, she has nothing to do with this conflict – same with her mother and your mother. These guys, they are willing to wipe out an entire family line over some bullshit from years ago.”
He looked at Sera then.
“I know yakuza aren’t always the good guys, sir, but what they are doing isn’t right. And your sister doesn’t deserve to die because of them.”
Sera frowned, and turned to look at the desk. The files from Itsuji were still on the desk, and he picked them up and looked through them.
“If that’s the case, Seiko-san, why did you not tell me earlier? Why play both sides? What did you stand to gain from it?”
Seiko looked at the floor again, abashed.
“I... didn’t have anything to gain. I just thought... if I could hold off the confrontation for a bit longer, maybe they’d give up. It was stupid of me to think that – especially after your sister told us how long she’d been fighting them.”
“It was stupid, Seiko-san, even if your intentions were good.”
Sera put down the folder and walked over to Seiko. The man looked positively terrified, his face stark white under the lights. It was likely he expected to lose a finger, if not worse.
“You realise what happens now, don’t you?”
Seiko nodded, his eyes downcast.
“Very well. How much would it take to make you a double agent?”
The silence was deafening. Sera watched as Seiko processed what he had just said. Fear, then shock, then confusion – the emotions looped like a bad video, then settled. He was completely confused. Despite himself, Sera smiled.
“...You want to make me a double agent, sir? After what I’ve done, what I’ve kept hidden?”
Sera turned and looked out the window, his hands behind his back.
“I need to know more about this group. I would be a fool to throw away an opportunity to have an inside man. And to be honest, Seiko-san, the fact you’ve kept working for them a total secret for fifteen years is impressive.”
“But I’m a traitor. I lied about everything! How can you trust me?”
“I don’t trust you.”
Seiko’s jaw dropped.
“I don’t understand, sir. If you can’t trust me then why are you asking me to do this?”
Sera turned and glowered at Seiko. The man balked and dropped his head.
“Would you rather lose a finger? Or a hand? I can arrange for that to happen.”
There was no response.
“I take it your silence means you will no longer question me.”
Seiko shook his head slightly, refusing to meet Sera’s eyes.
“Good. Of course, you have the choice to walk away from all of this. We can pretend this never happened, that you didn’t betray fifteen years of trust from the clan for this other group.”
He folded his arms and watched Seiko as he spoke his next words.
“If you do, however, I cannot be responsible for what happens to you. There are consequences to your actions, and I hear Tokyo Harbour is unpleasant at this time of year.”
Seiko continued looking down, though he had begun shaking a little at Sera’s last words. Good. Scare the man a little and he will realise we are the better option here.
“Well? Do we have a deal?”
Seiko simply nodded.
“Very well. You will be tested, you understand. I need to ensure you will not tattle to this other group. And you will tell me everything you know about them tomorrow.”
“N-not tonight, sir?” Seiko choked out, scared to voice even one word.
“No. Given tonight’s revelations, my tactics have to change. You are dismissed, Seiko-san.”
As the man turned to leave, Sera spoke one last time.
“If you betray us again, you will not leave this room alive.”
A squeak escaped from Seiko and he bolted, the doors slamming behind him. Sera sat back in his chair, staring at the folders Itsuji had left. To think, for fifteen years that man hid who he truly worked for. Not only that, but I’ve been watched all that time. He shook his head. Now isn't the time.
Sera picked up the phone and dialled a long string of numbers. After a few rings, a deep voice answered.
“Sir.”
“The situation has changed. We move to phase delta.”
“Of course.”
He cracked his knuckles and started typing into his computer.
“Time to kick this up a notch.”