I Became a Yakuza's Daughter

Chapter 6: Yakuza’s Daughter (5)  

“Yukata is so cute!”  

Chise hugged Noa and rubbed her cheek against hers.  

It was soft and felt nice.  

“You’re making such a fuss over not wearing this for a bit… This is exactly why I hate coming here.”  

“Hey, no bad words.”  

Noa let out a sigh.  

Minamoto had dozens of annoying rules, but the most bothersome one was this.  

Inside the Minamoto estate, wearing a yukata was mandatory.  

Even Genji always wore a yukata except during training.  

“Let’s sleep now. Hey, turn off the lights.”  

“Yes! Young Miss!”  

Lying down on the bedding, Noa felt once again that the Fujiwara household was much better.  

For some incomprehensible reason, sleeping on a bed was also not allowed here.  

Good energy…?  

They said it wouldn’t flow properly.  

If Noa were to list all the superstitions Minamoto believed in, she could write down dozens.  

The scarier part was that even after listing those, there would still be hundreds more.  

“This reminds me of the first time I came here. I never knew I could sleep on the floor. I wanted to do it because the texture of the wood felt so nice, but my house never had this feeling. I envy you, Noa.”  

Even if it was human nature to think the grass was greener on the other side, in this case, that grass was already rotten.  

“Are you messing with me?”  

“I’m really saying it because I like it! I love the Minamoto estate.”  

“What’s so good about this outdated place?”  

“It’s not outdated, it’s traditional! The air is fresh, and the people are pure-hearted.”  

“They’re just dumb.”  

Lying side by side, Noa and Chise chatted in a hushed tone.  

Noa had her eyes closed, but Chise was wide awake.  

“The yukata I’m wearing, the people, even this floor… They all smell nice.”  

“That’s just the smell of wood.”  

Noa’s blunt remark shattered Chise’s sentimental mood, making the corners of her lips twitch.  

But soon, she got lost in her own thoughts and spoke again.  

“That’s why I wanted to come here often.”  

“Why?”  

“No reason. Maybe because yukatas are pretty?”  

“You have them at your house too.”  

“Hehe. Wearing a yukata here in Minamoto is natural, but not at my house. I can only wear it on special occasions.”  

“Stop staring and go to sleep.”  

“How do you even know I’m staring, Noa?”  

Chise pulled the blanket up to her neck.  

Her face was flushed.  

A brief silence followed.  

Worried that Noa might already be asleep, Chise whispered in a small voice.  

“I can’t believe it. Tomorrow, we’re really going to the dorms?”  

“Yeah.”  

“But they were so against it.”  

“Don’t worry. My dad may look like that, but he keeps his promises.”  

“Uncle Genji is such a tsundere! Just like you, Noa.”  

Chise turned to face Noa and whispered.  

Noa was too sleepy to bother getting mad and ignored her.  

“Thank you. For working so hard.”  

“……”  

In truth, Noa had only done it because she wanted to cut her hair short.  

She couldn’t bring herself to say that.  

Honestly, it pricked her conscience a little.  

“It wasn’t really for you or anything.”  

“Ah! That was a classic tsundere line just now!”  

‘But it’s true. Well, whatever, I said it.’  

Of course, her conscience didn’t last more than five minutes.  

At any rate, she had said it.  

Feeling at ease, Noa drifted off to sleep.  

It took her three seconds to fall asleep.  

“Noa, are you already asleep?”  

“……”  

“Ha, I always think this, but you’re so fast.”

Chise faintly smiled as she watched Noa’s steady breathing.  

Noa always seized what she wanted through her own strength.  

Without borrowing anyone’s power.  

Confidently and simply.  

Even falling asleep so easily—something that Chise found so difficult.  

“Really, I envy you.”  

Chise poked Noa’s cheek.  

“Minamoto.”  

**  

“Thank you for your kindness!”  

Before stepping out of the gate, Chise waved her right hand and smiled brightly.  

“Fujiwara Young Miss…!”  

“How can you be so kind to mongrels like us!”  

The yakuza, who usually considered it lucky just not to get beaten by Noa, were shedding tears of gratitude.  

“Move. Dogs.”  

“S-Sorry!”  

“Please forgive us with just a finger!”  

Just as a frown was about to form on Noa’s forehead, Chise awkwardly smiled and linked arms with her.  

Overnight, a thick layer of snow had accumulated.  

“It’s so pretty. Look, Noa! Someone made a snowman!”  

“Hm?”  

A snowman was standing in front of the car.  

Noa stopped walking and headed toward it.  

‘A snowman is best when it’s smashed.’  

“Noa!”  

Chise cheerfully followed behind her.  

“The person who made it will be sad if you—”  

“It really is a snowman. Snow, man.”  

Chise blinked.  

Then, the snowman blinked too.  

Wow, the snowman blinked.  

“What are you doing?”  

Crash!  

The snowman’s true identity was Suzuki!  

Chise clutched her chest in shock.  

Her heart nearly dropped.  

“Did you really stay here all night?”  

“As the Young Oyabun ordered. I must protect her, even at the cost of my life.”  

‘There’s really no need to stake your life on that…’  

It was another peaceful day at the Minamoto estate.  

**  

An extravagant Benz came to a halt in front of Saints Academy’s main gate.  

Most of the students walking by didn’t even pay attention.  

A school that only Japan’s most prestigious families could attend.  

Arriving in a limousine wasn’t unusual.  

However, a few students whispered when they saw the emblem on the front of the Benz.  

“Huh, that’s…”  

“That’s the Minamoto family’s crest.”  

“Oh, I’ve heard of them. One of the Four Great Clans, right? I didn’t recognize them right away since they barely engage in external activities.”  

“To be honest, they’re outdated.”  

“It’s a miracle they’re still around. I guess they’re still alive after all.”  

“I heard rumors that they’re yakuza.”  

“No way, come on. How could such a barbaric family be one of the Four Great Clans?”  

The Minamoto family.  

One of Japan’s Four Great Clans, known for frequent internal conflicts—so much so that it was said they had written half of Japan’s history books themselves.  

Though they had barely managed to unify, while Minamoto was busy fighting amongst themselves, the other clans had steadily advanced.  

In fact, Minamoto was the only one among the Four Great Clans that was a samurai family.  

In today’s capitalist world, Minamoto was an anomaly.  

The public believed that the Minamoto family had fallen behind.  

Compared to the other families, which ran multiple leading conglomerates, Minamoto remained submerged beneath the surface.  

That evaluation wasn’t exactly unreasonable.  

However, that was only the public’s opinion—those who truly knew understood.  

Minamoto’s strength was still intact.  

And if they so wished, they still had the power to erase any family from Japan.

Of course, those who went around speaking about it openly usually ended up as corpses the next day, so there weren’t many.  

In other words, very few people at Saints Academy truly knew about Minamoto.  

Noa was used to ignorant people running their mouths.  

Chise also knew that Noa never paid attention to what others said, so she spoke as usual.  

“I’m looking forward to the student council! What are you going to do, Noa? Disciplinary Committee, I bet?”  

“I’m joining the library club.”  

“Noa… the library club?”  

Chise’s pupils shook.  

Before she could even point out that the library club was just an ordinary club and not part of the student council, the mere idea of Noa joining the library club was shocking enough.  

“Why do you have that ghost-seeing expression? It’s unsettling.”  

“It’s just weird! I’ve never seen you study in my entire life.”  

“The library is a place to sleep, or did I get that wrong?”  

Noa had indeed joined the student council.  

But she had no intention of taking on anything bothersome.  

It was purely to match Chise’s school schedule.  

Noa walked proudly, but Chise was one step ahead.  

“Hehe. What should I do, Noa?”  

“…?”  

“The document you signed yesterday was for ‘Disciplinary Committee President,’ though.”  

Huh?  

Noa’s entire body stiffened.  

She quickly furrowed her brows.  

“I didn’t know. It’s invalid.”  

“It was clearly written in the contract. Oh my, surely Noa isn’t… going back on her word?”  

‘Did you plan this, Chise?!’  

Noa, the dignified one.  

She never bothered reading the petty clauses of contracts.  

**  

Why am I…!  

Noa clenched her teeth and glared at Chise with murderous eyes.  

Chise clasped her hands together and mouthed, “Sorry!” while bowing her head.  

Noa let out a deep sigh and looked at her left arm.  

‘This is so annoying.’  

A badge with the Saints Academy emblem was attached to it.  

She had run straight into the reality she most wanted to avoid.  

The Disciplinary Committee was like a student patrol.  

It existed just for show and had no real power.  

So much so that people barely even knew it existed.  

…That’s how it should have been.  

“Miss Fujiwara. I was under the impression that you would be the committee president. Why is Minamoto in that position?”  

“The Disciplinary Committee President is a crucial role at Saints. The public order statistics in the autonomous district directly affect our entire student council’s performance.”  

“For such an important position, I nominated you, Fujiwara. But Minamoto?”  

They even oversaw the city’s public safety.  

Not all of Tokyo—just within a one-subway-stop radius.  

But even that…  

‘Is this even real?!’  

Noa barely suppressed the urge to slam her head against the wall.  

Why were high schoolers maintaining public order?  

This was ridiculous. No matter how crazy the world had become.  

“That’s rude. Minamoto is one of the four pillars that have upheld Japan for centuries.”  

“That pillar is far too fragile. That’s why I’m saying this, Fujiwara.”  

“…Can you take responsibility for those words?”  

There was actually a convincing reason behind all of this.  

The reason Saints Academy students performed all sorts of absurd tasks and had their actions evaluated.  

Because it was an elite institution.  

Not just any prestigious school, but one where the aristocracy still existed, and only noble children were allowed to attend.  

In short, they were being told to “use their family’s power” to influence society.  

The achievements made at Saints Academy had a significant impact on succession rankings as well.  

At this point, Noa had a thought.  

But my family is a yakuza clan.  

Public order…?  

If it were the opposite, I’d be much better at it.  

“No matter how much you assist her, nothing is more efficient than taking direct action. I’m telling you to reconsider. Minamoto is unfit to be the Disciplinary Committee President, the face of our Saints Academy.”

"From the start, what power does that girl even have to take on such an important role? I just don’t get it."  

"I feel the same way. Forget catching criminals—she looks like she’d be the one getting kidnapped."  

"She should just be grateful if she doesn’t get stoned out of resentment for adding extra pages to the history books."  

Seriously, they had been yapping away like barking dogs for a while now.  

I thought I left all the mutts at home.  

Even outside, it was noisy.  

Noa clenched her fist and lightly tapped the table.  

KWAANG!  

That alone caused the table to shatter into pieces with a deafening roar.  

A heavy silence filled the room.  

Noa stood up and spoke with a nasty expression.  

"If you’ve got a problem, come at me."  

For the record, the conference room table was a solid, one-piece structure made of reinforced material.  

It was even designed to withstand earthquakes.  

It shouldn’t have been possible.  

The silence deepened.  

Even as time passed, no one stepped forward for a fight.  

Disgust filled Noa’s gaze.  

She absolutely despised those who only ran their mouths.  

"If not, then shut up, you worms."  

130,000 years of human history.  

From the Paleolithic era to modern society, deeply ingrained in DNA.  

A primal fear of violence!  

The Saints Academy student council was completely overwhelmed by an oppressive force they had never once encountered in their lives.  

After all, this was the bloodlust of a soldier who had danced on the edge of life and death countless times.  

No student could endure it.  

‘S-So cool…!’  

Of course, Chise’s heart was racing.