When she’d joined up with the Kimura-Kai Syndicate, at least on the associate, part-time, junior level that her age allowed, Serori’s expectations had been… More romantic, somehow. Full-body tattoos, missing fingers, cool quotes about the red kimono of the prisoner or the white kimono of the dead… It all seemed so different to the sterile, stifling atmosphere permeating every other facet of Japanese life. She styled herself the kind of rebellious outlaw fighting against an unjust system with guns and wits, taking no prisoners, never giving up without a fight, all that.
What she’d found hadn’t exactly matched her expectations. No tattoos, no missing fingers, and her only gang-related sword experience was far more traumatic than it was cool or exciting. The gangs seemed to have a lot more interest in selling drugs, buying up real estate, and resting on their laurels than trying to change much, or plunging Tokyo into the full-scale war between gangs and police that it desperately needed if anything was to move forward. Rising from the ashes, or whatever.
It wasn’t all bad. At least she got to wear a men’s suit on official business, and damn did she look good in it.
On the other hand, this kind of official business was about as far from what Serori wanted to involve herself in as humanly possibly. Maybe that was why she’d been asked to deal with it. After the success of the karaoke bar run by her boys near her apartment in Ikebukuro, the gang had decided to lean into small business investment. Nightlife spending was so volatile anyway, and everyone knew the prices were inflated, with bottles of champagne going for hundreds of thousands of yen, or more, so it was easy to launder money.
But did that really mean that she needed to get roped into it? She was still in high school herself, and knew basically nothing about running a business. Theoretically, she was simply a representative of the owners, a secondary manager to keep an eye out, arrange space for important meetings, and report back in case anything problematic came up. Not too different from the job her friends did in Ikebukuro.
With a sigh, Serori checked herself in the bathroom mirror. Her suit was well-fitted and expensive, and her tie looked good too. With her height and muscular build putting her at a size advantage even over most men, and the fact that her tough appearance and sharp expression made her seem older than her eighteen years, she didn’t anticipate any trouble. She’d give her brief speech, and then retire to just supervising, and if any of these airhead pretty boys gave her shit, she’d handle it.
It was the early evening, before the host club would open, and the employees would be arriving soon. They’d been informed that the club was under new ownership, and that another manager would be joining the staff on their behalf, but not much more than that. Returning to the central room, Serori hopped over the bar and poured herself a shot of whatever bitter-tasting alcohol she could find. “Gimme a break,” she muttered, throwing the shot back. “Was I really the only person for this job?”