Chapter 15: Soft Bun

Seiko became the Yamagami-gumi’s Wakagashira.
Originally, according to Yakuza rules, to appoint a new Wakagashira, the Yamagami-gumi should have held a “Sakazukigoto” ceremony for Seiko.
However, Yamagami Nobuo adopted Seiko’s suggestion and did not publicize the matter, merely conveying the news privately to the Yamagami-gumi’s senior executives.
The Yamagami-gumi naturally had some reservations about this appointment.
Some felt that Yamagami Nobuo was simply senile, humoring his granddaughter.
When was the last time a female boss appeared in the Japanese Yakuza world?
That was about forty or fifty years ago, with Matsuda Yoshiko.
Now, the Matsuda-gumi no longer existed, and the former Queen of the Underworld had long since fallen.
Since then, there had been no notable female bosses in the Yakuza.
How could the Yamagami-gumi members believe that Yamagami Nobuo’s appointment was serious?
However, Yamagami Nobuo had just uprooted the Takeuchi-gumi, a time when his killing intent was still potent.
Even if other members of the Yamagami-gumi had private complaints, they dared not voice them in front of the old man.
Regardless, Seiko’s status as Wakagashira was now confirmed.

After appointing the Wakagashira, Yamagami Nobuo departed for the Yamaguchi-gumi headquarters in Kobe.
The specific affairs of the Yamagami-gumi were handed over to Murakami Eishi.
However, before leaving, Yamagami Nobuo specifically instructed Murakami Eishi: “Before I return, if any major unexpected events occur, you can consult with Seiko for a decision.”
Murakami Eishi, though he didn’t quite understand, nodded and made a note of it.
Seiko also paid no mind to others’ discussions; she systematically went about her own affairs.

Japan has many entertainers known as “King of XX,” “Master of XX,” or “XX Beauty,” but there has always been only one child actor referred to as “Child Prodigy”—that is, Ashida Mana.
In her youth, Ashida Mana was exceptionally skilled at crying scenes.
Unlike many child actors who would wail loudly, she could convey profound sadness to the audience through quiet sobs or silent tears.
Seiko felt that Aiko’s crying was also very infectious, and she could absolutely try Ashida Mana’s path to fame.
Speaking of Ashida Mana’s breakout works, the TV drama was undoubtedly Mother, and the film should be Usagi Drop.
Mother was an original screenplay, while Usagi Drop had its original manga, a work created by manga artist Unita Yumi starting in 2005.
Seiko thought for a moment and felt that Bubble Witch lacked the capacity to simultaneously shoot two projects.
So, she decided to get the Usagi Drop manga produced first.
Drawing manga was somewhat outside Seiko’s skill set, but it wasn’t a big problem; if she couldn’t draw, someone else could.

“Hello, may I help you with anything?”
A woman wearing a manager’s badge pushed open the private room door, respectfully asking the guest who had called for service.

“Your tempura is terribly fried.”

“Yeah, look at this batter; how are we supposed to eat it?”

“Yeah, yeah…”
The two guests in the private room pointed at the tempura on the table, accusing it one after another.

“This, this…” The manager looked closely at the tempura, finding nothing wrong with it, “Is there something wrong with this tempura?”

“If you don’t know, call the chef who fried this tempura and let her see for herself,” one guest said.

“Hurry up and call her, or do you want us to complain about your restaurant? Kora yarō!” the other guest added.

“Oh, yes, yes,” the manager’s forehead broke into a sweat, and she quickly said, “I’ll go call her now.”

Not long after, a chef wearing a chef’s hat and looking very young was called into the private room.

“I’m sorry…” The petite chef, her face tense and anxious, bowed and apologized as soon as she entered, but before she could finish, she froze.

“It’s you two!” Miyazaki Yū looked at Seiko and Saori in the private room, her anxiety gradually replaced by embarrassment and anger.
Seiko told the manager that she wanted to treat Miyazaki Yū to a meal.
The manager, out of respect for the Yamagami name, readily agreed.

“I knew there couldn’t be anything wrong with my cooking,” Miyazaki Yū took off her chef’s hat and began to unreservedly eat the dishes Seiko and Saori had ordered, “If you two cause me to lose my job, be careful, I’ll kill you.”

“Who are you going to kill?” Seiko and Saori both stared at Miyazaki Yū.
Under the gaze of the two great devils, Miyazaki Yū’s assertiveness immediately weakened by eighty or ninety percent.
She shrank her neck, mumbling, “I was just saying it, I wasn’t really going to kill you; can’t a person even say things anymore…”

“Yū-chan, I remember Saori saying you were doing odd jobs here? How did you become a chef?” Seiko asked curiously.

“I was indeed doing odd jobs here originally, but then a chef apprentice got sick and went home for surgery, so I helped fill in for a month,” Miyazaki Yū explained.

“Then your month is almost over, isn’t it?” Seiko asked again.

“Mm,” Miyazaki nodded, clicking her tongue with a bit of regret, “That apprentice is coming back the day after tomorrow, so my ‘high-paying’ job experience is ending. I was earning an extra five hundred yen a day…”

“Then come back and work for me,” Seiko invited.
‘An extra five hundred yen is ‘high-paying’? This idiot must have been tricked again.’
Idiot Miyazaki looked at Seiko, then at Saori, and shook her head: “No.”
Seiko’s face darkened: “I haven’t even said what the job is.”

“You two just always bully me…” Miyazaki, under Seiko’s threatening gaze, spoke softer and softer, “Then tell me what to do!”

“Help me draw manga,” Seiko said.
Miyazaki’s mind was a bit simple, and her academic performance was very poor, but she was very good at drawing and planned to apply to an art university in the future.

“Draw manga?” Miyazaki’s mind churned for a moment, then she slowly said, “Drawing erotic manga wouldn’t be out of the question, but the manuscript fees…”

Snap!

“Ah…”
Miyazaki clutched her head where Seiko had tapped it with a chopstick, her eyes welling up with tears from the pain.

“I’m asking you to draw normal manga!” Seiko waved her chopstick, exasperated, “The kind you can submit to Shueisha!”
Miyazaki pouted, her gaze still somewhat skeptical, as if saying: ‘You two together, and you think you can produce normal manga?’

“Never mind, just read the script first.”
Saori took out the first ten chapters of the Usagi Drop script that Seiko had already written, from her school bag.
Miyazaki skeptically took the script and began to read it on the spot.
Before long, Miyazaki, who was already emotional, felt her eyes redden.
After finishing it in one go, Miyazaki silently put the script down.

“How does it feel?” Saori asked, smiling.

“Mm…” Miyazaki sniffled.

“What does ‘Mm’ mean?” Seiko asked.
Miyazaki bit her lip, looking at these two who claimed to be her friends, and roared in her heart, ‘Two villains! Demons! I will resist! I will be brave! I will prove to them that I, Miyazaki Yū, am not easily bullied…’

“I’m sorry, I was wrong, I’m an idiot, please let me draw Usagi Drop!”
Miyazaki humiliatingly knelt on the tatami, her head touching the ground, her movements incredibly practiced, as if she had done it countless times before.