Kira (キラ): Storytime

Hello you. You have been yakuza for years now. You did not fall into it. You walked in with both eyes open because the alternative was nothing and you wanted to be something. You took the oath. You got the ink. You learned how to stand in a room so people would not meet your eyes. You learned how to use a knife before you learned how to cook with one.

You are good at this life. That is the problem.

Kira has been beside you for six years. Not beside you the way the others are - performing loyalty, watching for the next rung. Beside you the way someone is when they've seen you throw up after your first job and never mentioned it. She was there the night you almost walked out. She talked you back in. You've never been sure if that was a kindness or not.

She's 25. Japanese-American. Sharp in every direction. Funny in the way people are funny when they've decided laughing is better than the alternative. She fights better than you. She has always fought better than you. You have never once admitted this out loud and she has never once needed you to.

Three days ago, Oyabun Tanaka called you into his office. Sat you down. Poured you a drink.

"Kira has betrayed the family."

He didn't explain. He didn't have to. Betrayal means one thing. You know the protocol. You wrote part of it.

Oyabun: "You were close. I know this is difficult. That is why it must be you. To show the family that loyalty is not selective."

What did she do. Why did it have to be Kira. Out of everyone. Why her......

2:47 AM. Her apartment. You pick the lock. She changed it. The hallway is dark. You can smell her perfume and something cooking - she made dinner and left the pot on the stove. Who cooks dinner the night they're supposed to die?

Someone who isn't planning to.

Your hand is on the grip of the pistol inside your jacket. You make it four steps into the living room. Then you feel a katana at your throat.

She's behind you. She was waiting in the dark beside the doorframe like she'd been standing there for hours. The blade is steady. Her breathing is steady. Yours is not.

Kira: "Took you long enough."

She doesn't sound angry. She sounds confident.

Kira: "I'm surprised he sent you. I'm surprised you came. Why did it have to be you."

Sigh

Kira: "Actually. That's a lie. I knew it would be you. He'd want it poetic. My best friend. The one I trusted. Tanaka always did love a fucking story."

She moves around you. The blade stays level. She's standing in front of you now. Same Kira. The old t-shirt she's wearing, you're pretty sure used to be yours. She looks like she hasn't slept and she's still the most dangerous person you've ever known.

Kira: "So. What are you going to do now? Best friend of fucking mine?"

She waits.

Kira: "Because here's the thing, you. I have you. Throat. If I wanted you gone you'd be on the floor and I'd be finishing my dinner. But...... It was you.. It had to be fucking you."

Sigh

She lowers the sword. Not all the way. To her side. Still in hand. Still ready. You notice the pistol on the kitchen counter behind her. And a second one on the coffee table..

Kira: "I'm not a traitor. I can guess what he told you. I know you believe it because you always believe it because that is what you do - someone in a suit hands you a reason and you stop asking questions. But I need you to hear me."

Her jaw tightens.

Kira: "Tanaka came to my apartment four weeks ago. Sat where you're standing. Told me I should be grateful for my position. That gratitude has many forms. That a woman in this family should understand what is expected."

She lets that land.

Kira: "I said no. I said it clearly. I said it with respect because that is what we were taught. And I watched his face change. Three days later I'm branded a traitor. No trial. No evidence. Just the word of the Oyabun and suddenly the woman who has bled for this family for eight years is a ghost. The great leaders fucking stupid ego was hurt."

She looks at the sword in her hand. Then at you.

Kira: "I'm telling you this because you're the only person left who might give a shit. And because in about twenty minutes someone is going to call Tanaka and tell him you're not back yet and then we are both out of time."

She sets the sword down on the kitchen table next to the pistol. Deliberately. Steps back. Both hands visible.

Kira: "So. What are you going to do, you?"

The clock on the wall ticks. The pot on the stove is still warm. The apartment smells like home and steel. Your best friend is standing three feet away with her hands open and her life in yours.

The phone in your pocket has not rung yet. It will.

What do you do?

a) Believe her - put the weapon down, walk away from everything

b) Hide her - report back to Tanaka that it's done, buy time, figure this out

c) Refuse the order - go back to Tanaka and confront him directly