Chapter 4: Do Yakuza Need to Wear School Uniforms?

Those unfamiliar with Japan’s bubble era might have a misconception—that Japan’s economic decline began with the signing of the Plaza Accord.

As if, once this agreement was signed, the Japanese immediately became destitute.
In reality, quite the opposite, the Plaza Accord could be said to have brought about an “economic boom” for Japan.

The Japanese yen in the hands of the public more than doubled in value within just three years, and their fixed asset values also skyrocketed, even faster than the money in their hands.

Four years after the Plaza Accord was signed, in 1989, the total value of Japan’s land reached its peak.

The total value of all land in Japan was almost equivalent to four times that of the United States.
Japanese housing prices at one point reached ten times that of the US and twenty times that of Europe.
During that period, every Japanese person seemed to become a millionaire.
They didn’t become rich through hard work; they became rich by simply lying at home and sleeping.
In later generations, people who constantly felt their money was becoming less valuable found it hard to imagine the state of Japanese people in that era.
Consequently, the Japanese began to splurge worldwide, buying mansions, buildings, yachts, jewelry, artworks…
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and Picasso’s Portrait of Dora Maar with Cat were all purchased by Japanese collectors during this period.
The phrase “Buying up America” also emerged during this time.
This “boom” period was the frenzied “bubble economy.”
Japan’s later “lost decade,” “lost twenty years,” “lost thirty years”…
No matter how many years were lost, they all began in the early 90s, after the “bubble economy” burst.

Arriving at Urawa Municipal High School, student disciplinary committee members were checking school uniforms at the gate.
Seiko wasn’t wearing her uniform; instead, she wore a baseball jacket, yet she walked right in openly.
The disciplinary committee members already knew this well-known delinquent of the campus and couldn’t be bothered to stop her, merely making a note on their record sheet.
Seiko wasn’t intentionally not wearing her uniform; she had simply forgotten where she put it and woke up late that morning, not having time to search for it.
The Inoshikachō trio were third-year students and parted ways with Seiko and Saori in the school courtyard.
Seiko and Saori were both first-year students in class 1-1, and they were also deskmates.

“Murakami-san!”
Seiko entered the classroom first, but Saori was called out at the door.
Seiko looked back and saw that it was their homeroom teacher, Totsuka Mei, who called Saori, so she didn’t pay much attention.

“Good morning, Totsuka-sensei.”
Saori bowed slightly, greeting her teacher.
Totsuka Mei was a new teacher who had just graduated from university, small in stature and somewhat soft-spoken.

“Um… Murakami-san. Teacher has been observing for a long time, um… are you being bullied by Yamagami-san? Does she often make you do many things for her?”
Saori paused, then, following Totsuka Mei’s gaze, saw the two school bags she was carrying in her hand, and immediately understood the general gist of the situation.
Initially, Saori wanted to say a few good words for Seiko, but then her mind turned, and she thought of a more amusing idea.
So, the next second, Saori’s eyes turned red…

“Wh-What’s wrong?”
Totsuka Mei immediately panicked.
But Saori just hung her head, eyes red, biting her lip, saying nothing.
Totsuka Mei quickly “understood”—Saori was being bullied by that delinquent, Seiko, and was afraid to speak!
Totsuka Mei looked at Saori’s appearance, feeling both heartache and anger.
Saori was the best student she had ever seen in her brief teaching career: excellent grades, respectful to teachers, well-behaved and sensible…
Yet, she was being bullied to the point of being afraid to speak.

“Don’t worry, whatever grievances you have, tell me, your teacher, and I will definitely help you!” Totsuka Mei patted her small chest, assuring her.

“I, I…” Saori choked, whispering, “Seiko’s father is the Kumicho of the Yamagami-gumi, and my father is his subordinate. I have to listen to Seiko…”
Hearing “Yamagami-gumi,” Totsuka Mei involuntarily shrank her neck.
Having worked in Urawa for a year, Totsuka Mei had long heard of the local’s biggest gang, but she still stiffened her neck, feigning composure: “Black, what about the Yakuza? Call Seiko here, I must educate her!”

“Thank you, Sensei…”
Saori nodded, on the verge of tears, making Totsuka Mei even more sympathetic.
Back in the classroom, Saori saw Seiko alone, hunched over her desk, sometimes frowning in thought, sometimes sketching on scratch paper, seemingly engrossed in some research.

“Totsuka-sensei wants you to come to her office.”
Saori sat down next to Seiko, smiling, with no trace of her earlier pitiful demeanor.

“Huh?”
Seiko looked up blankly, pointing to her nose.
Due to her special identity, coupled with her passable grades, few teachers at school actively sought Seiko out.
At least, this was the first time since high school.

“Yes, Totsuka-sensei called for you.” Saori nodded, confirming.

“Alright…”
Seiko dropped her pen and got up to go to the office.
Saori smiled mischievously, casually tidying up Seiko’s desk and picking up the crumpled scratch paper Seiko had been using.
She casually glanced at what Seiko had just written and found it to be various messy numbers, with the most frequently repeated one being a string of unclear “19871019.”
Seiko had been writing strange things from time to time since childhood, and Saori was long used to it, so she didn’t pay much attention.

“Sensei, did you call for me?”
Seiko arrived at the office and asked Totsuka Mei.
Although she had spoken bravely just now, facing Yamagami Seiko herself, Totsuka Mei felt a little nervous again.
This was a Yakuza, right?
Could her small arms and legs really withstand the threat of the yakuza?

“You, you mustn’t bully your classmates…” In the end, Totsuka Mei still mustered the courage to say something.

“Me?” Seiko asked strangely, “When did I bully a classmate?”
Although she had beaten some people at school, those people had brought it upon themselves.
Those guys probably wouldn’t go complaining to a teacher after getting beaten, right?
Totsuka Mei didn’t know how to answer for a moment.
She was worried that if she said something wrong, Seiko might go back and retaliate against poor Saori.
After a long silence, Seiko was even more confused: “Sensei, when you speak, you need evidence.”

“Then, why aren’t you wearing your school uniform?” Totsuka Mei, pressed for an answer, blurted out thoughtlessly.

“Huh? What does me not wearing a school uniform have to do with me bullying classmates?” Seiko felt baffled. “And Sensei, my surname is Yamagami, you know? Does Sensei not know what the Yamagami family does? Everyone in school knows that my grandfather is Yakuza, my father was Yakuza, and I will only ever be Yakuza. You’re asking a Yakuza why she’s not wearing a school uniform? Isn’t it already pretty good that a Yakuza comes to class on time every day and passes all her exams?”
Seiko’s tone was normal, but Totsuka Mei was already terrified by the barrage of questions.
Smaller in stature than her student, she shrank into a small ball in her office chair, covering her head with a folder, and said tearfully, “You’re not allowed to bully your teacher!”
Seiko almost got a black line on her forehead.

“What did Sensei say to you?” Saori asked Seiko, who had returned from the office, with keen interest.

“Totsuka-sensei warned me not to bully classmates,” Seiko said with an exasperated look, “It’s strange. I suspect someone in school is ruining my reputation! But who could it be?”

“Yes, who indeed could it be?” Saori said with a smile.
Seiko thought for a long time, having no clue, and could only wave her hand: “Never mind, let’s not worry about it for now.”

“Oh, right, I didn’t get a chance to ask you on the way,” Seiko covered her mouth, lowering her voice, and asked Saori, “Have the police looked for you these past two days?”

“The police took a statement from me once, but it was just normal questioning. Don’t worry, it’s very normal for me to be at my father’s bar. No one will suspect that I was the one who killed Uncle Takeuchi.”
Saori spoke softly with Seiko while waving to a female classmate who had just entered, a gentle and sweet smile still on her face.