Daughter of the Yakuza

Note: American born Suki Yoshiko lives a rather sheltered life under her father Ayano. When she meets and falls in love with an American boy named Gray, at a karaoke bar, Ayano wants him to pass a test of manhood to prove he is worthy of dating his daughter.

Chapter 1—Never Date a Woman with Dragon Tattoos

Gray Marquis had never known the object of his affections had actually been tied to the “underground”. He had always seen the temptress Suki Yoshino as what she was in his mind, a dainty, delicate flower that was pure as the driven snow. What he didn’t realize was Suki was anything but “delicate”. She had killed quite a few people in cold blood under orders from her father, the Boss, Ayano. Ayano had many names in the syndicate, but only Suki could call him “daddy”. None of these unknown factors deterred him from trying to ask her out on a date. Suki was more than willing to allow the young man the honor and privilege of asking her out, but he would have to meet her father’s standards. Gray was more-than-confident he would win Suki’s father over, and as far as the graceful and fierce yakuza daughter was concerned, ignorance was bliss.

First, Gray learned that Suki was a tattooed woman. She had worn the signature little black dress on their first meeting together as a “couple” although they weren’t official yet. He could see her blue dragons wrapping around her shoulders, thanks to the spaghetti straps of the elegant and sultry gown.

Gray felt a little nervous upon their meeting and even more so when he saw the Yoshino house from a distance. It wasn’t some mere house, but a mansion with smaller “houses” attached to it. Gray thought nothing of it, but he had never considered Suki to be affluent. He had seen her as normal, even though he knew her intelligence and ravishing beauty were extraordinary, but he never thought of her as being rich. Perhaps rich in heart, but never in capitol means.

Soon, Gray met Suki’s father, Ayano after being admitted past several tall, muscular guards. Still not thinking it odd, Gray waved off the notion of the guards as being suspicious since he wasn’t familiar with gangster films, let alone spaghetti westerns. Ayano was sitting behind a large mahogany desk, affectionate wedge-head Siamese cat in his lap.

“So, you’ve come to ask me permission to date my daughter, eh ?”, Ayano questioned in a rather raspy voice, probably brought on by his habit for smoking cigarettes.

“Y-yes, Sir, Mr. Yoshino.”, Gray stammered, unnerved he couldn’t see Ayano’s expression from behind the dark sunglasses. The room was also rather poorly lit, making it difficult to notice any shifts in Mr. Yoshino’s countenance.

“You will have to prove yourself worthy by me before you win me over, Mr. Marquis. I’m not impressed currently.”, Yoshino stated, strictly without any emotion in his tone. The hair on the back of Gray’s neck stood on end. He had no idea what Ayano was about to put him through, but he was about to be delivered into a realm of darkness from which death was the only sure release.

Chapter 2—Trial By Fire

Ayano subjected the young man to many different tests to monitor how well he reacted in different situations. Strangely enough, Gray exceeded Ayano’s expectations but had emerged rather winded and shaken by the whole experience.

“Was I a bit rough on you, lad ?”, Ayano said, quickly changing his tune outside of the ‘wreck room’.

“N-no, not at all sir. You see, I love Suki very much, and I want to do what I can for her. I’ve never known any other woman like her, well, no other woman can compare to her. I admit, I’m in love with her, and can’t see anything but her face everyday…”, Gray stated, honestly. Ayano strongly patted the young auburn-haired boy on the back and grinned from ear to ear. It was the first time Gray had seen any emotion from the stoic Japanese man since the first second of being introduced to him.

“You’re more than man enough for my Suki. But, now…I will tell you things you cannot repeat to the outside world. If you do, mark my words, you will surely die. I don’t want it to come to that, got me ?”, Ayano stated, very frigidly. The ice in his tone was enough to chill Gray to the bone; his tiny hairs on his arms standing on end, nearly shivering in the presence of the man he would soon call “Boss” out of respect. He would become marked with a tattoo of his own, a red dragon for the strength and courage he showed, and a clue letting others know he was not to be touched because of the clout he held. It was a heavy burden to bear, but Gray adored Suki. He would soon learn she wasn’t all he thought, but so much more. He would still love her in spite of her penchant for settling scores with gores, guns and violence, but this was the way of the Yakuza.

Chapter 3—M16s are a Girl’s Best Friend

Gray and Suki had been on many dates together and shared their first kiss upon arriving home last night. Gray wasn’t thinking Suki would kiss him, but she simply kissed him. It was a soft, sweet, gentle, romantic kiss, with a hint of jasmine and cherry blossoms attached to it. If he hadn’t known any better, he detected a hint of chocolate upon his love’s lips from their dessert at the restaurant and it nearly intoxicated him. He only hoped he could kiss her more often, but being a gentleman, he savored the moments he had together with her and dreamed of her when they were apart.

Again, it was another typical night, though the weather had been slightly chilly for the two lovers to be out and about in the town. It was slightly late, but Suki would meet her father’s curfew. Gray was escorting her to the door to kiss her goodnight, but Suki’s sensitive hearing picked up the almost silent sound of a twig breaking in the garden nearby. The case next to her housed a loaded M16, which Gray assumed was a violin. What he didn’t realize was Suki played the ancient samisen and not the violin.

“Someone’s here.”, Suki said, in a whisper.

“At this hour ?”, Gray thought, feeling a shiver rush down his spine. He kept calm despite the fact he knew the two of them weren’t alone. In a rampage, men in black suits rushed from the garden, strangely enough, wearing sunglasses even though it was clearly dark outside.

“Gray, get down !”, Suki shouted, pushing her love down to the ground with some urgency. It hurt somewhat, but Gray understood, and covered his head while he heard the locks on Suki’s violin case pop open and saw the fire of bullets rain from a hidden gun. He wasn’t certain what type it was, but he could tell it was powerful, much more powerful than the men’s guns. The men in black suits continued their assault but they were stopped by Suki’s marksmanship. She had only used five shots to fell them all, and blood stained her hands as well as her dress.

“Damn, that’s going to be difficult to get out.”, she cursed softly to herself as she looked at the dark maroon stains on her white silk dress.

Without hesitation, Suki’s “guards” had come to see what all of the noise had been about and were slightly shocked that Suki had dealt with the issue on her own.

“I’m not sure who these morons were, but they obviously have some kind of vendetta against us.”, she said, as she walked around the bodies respectfully. They were probably Triad members, since they looked Chinese.

“We will have to send them a little message sometime.”, one of the goons said, slicing off a pinky finger belonging to one of the Triad gunmen. He would have this specially sent to the leader of the Triad, hoping to scare him away. If this didn’t work, there would be a war between the two underground organizations. But seeing as that type of warning usually did the trick, the yakuza family had no real worries. Gray’s world had been completely transformed in that moment. He wondered what he had gotten himself into by dating this fierce woman with bulls-eye marksmanship and killer instinct. Like most normal men who tend to enjoy second amendment rights, the thought of a woman with firepower aroused him slightly, but scared him as well. It was a contradiction; playing with death, playing with power, toying with the world like a cat with a ball of yarn. None of it made sense to him, but he was in too deep to crawl out of the muck now. He knew that he was in this for love, and even if he had to go through taking vows, he would be by the side of the woman he loved, ‘til death.

Chapter 4—White Soul, Hair Black as Ebony

As the years advanced, Suki and Gray continued to remain close as lovers but the two were seriously considering marriage. Of course, Gray wasn’t certain if he was truly worthy of her. He had the favor of her father, but sadly he could never receive the blessing of Suki’s mother, Shika. Shika had died tragically of breast cancer, and only Suki knew that her father had never overcome it. He had vowed never to marry again, and Shika had been the only woman for him. And with the anniversary of Shika’s death, the Yoshino family would be visiting the gravesite.

Gray was invited to visit Shika’s gravesite. She had died when Suki was 13, so 14 years had passed since that tragic day. The wounds were still fresh in Ayano’s mind and he cried freely amongst his friends. He only found comfort at the local sushi bar thereafter, a little bit of sake to soothe his nerves. Gray had never had sake before but it had left him pretty tipsy. Thanks to that, his proposal had come out sooner than he had liked.

“I wondered when you would be asking for my daughter’s hand, young man ! It took you long enough !”, Ayano said, slapping the young man on the back. The group continued eating, and Suki blushed demurely, finally seeming more feminine than ever.

“I surmise I needed a bit of sake to loosen me up.”, Gray added with a hearty laugh.

“I already like you, son…The question is, will your parents approve of me ?”, the boss asked, looking pensive. Gray’s once calm expression shifted to one of utter horror.

“Oh dear God. I never thought of that. I’ve spoken of you highly…”, Gray said in response, quickly asking for another sake and tossing it back like a shot of rum.

“Relax, Gray. I’m certain everything will go well. Just remember, what’s in the family doesn’t pass our lips and only falls upon our ears in this place.”, Ayano warned. Gray knew well enough that his future father-in-law wasn’t playing around. Ayano would quickly have him killed painfully if he blurted one word about what the true nature of the Yoshino family was. Since his love was more powerful than fear, Gray would keep the bloody secret safe, even to his grave.

Chapter 5—Meeting the Marquis

During the weekend, Gray had been able to gather his mother, Rosa and his father, Red to the local steak-house for a family dinner. Rosa and Red were eager to meet the Yoshinos, but Gray was on edge the entire time. The ash-haired, violet eyed boy sat amongst his families, wondering who would be the first to speak and how the evening would transpire.

Ayano began the conversation, speaking about the current football games and which teams he was watching closely as well as the excitement over Gray’s announcement of marrying Suki. The Marquis were delighted upon meeting Suki and could tell she was a rare find, a woman of tremendous intelligence, beauty and integrity. Immediately, Red and Ayano were fast friends, and Rosa had begun opening up with Suki. She already felt like a mother-in-law for the young woman. So far, the families were getting along swimmingly and any fear Gray had harbored had been completely removed.

Epilogue

Although being married to a yakuza’s daughter wasn’t entirely without peril, Gray was prepared for anything that would come his way. Seeing that he was a father, he would have to protect his young ones from a world he’d rather they weren’t involved in. Fortunately, the Yoshino name ended with Suki and she made it obvious that she wanted no further involvement in her new life, but Ayano understood. He didn’t pursue her, since he already had a protégé named Yoshiro who wasn’t blood related, but had been a friend of Ayano’s since their sandbox days as children. This was a relief to Suki and her husband, as well as their children. Though they knew if they needed anything, power would be in their court. Yet, for the time being, they were doing superbly and stayed close together. In any event, they were never too far apart and the children were near their dear grandfather. They learned about their heritage to the land of the rising sun as well as their French-Cherokee heritage on their father’s side. Both sides worked tremendously as a team and the ties that bound them as one would always remain strong.

The End