Chapter 19: Big Boss Cola

Rain patters outside the window, either lingering from last night or starting anew this morning.
A breeze, carrying a hint of moisture, brushes Cola’s face, but it’s not clammy—rather, it lulls her deeper into sleep, curled in her quilt on the tatami.
The floor’s slight give feels like her old hardboard bed back in Qingguo, slept on for over a decade.
Honestly, she prefers this firmness over soft mattresses.

A sparrow, sheltering from the rain, perches on the windowsill, preening its wet feathers.
Sudden, rapid footsteps echo up the stairs.
The door flings open, and a girl’s panting shatters the morning calm.
“Miss Cola!!”

“Urgh… five more minutes…”

“Miss Cola!”

“Please…”
Cola rolls over, burying her face in the pillow.

“Miss Cola, bad news!
A gang of yakuza’s at our door, demanding you!”

“Tell ‘em we don’t have a TV…”

“Not NHK collectors—yakuza!”

“Huh… foreigners can’t join the N-party, NHK’s annoying as hell… wait, yakuza?”

“Yes, what do we do?
Mom’s trapped downstairs!”

“Japan’s cops useless or what… no, they want me?”

“Y-yes!”

“Hah—?”
Cola bolts upright, rubbing her eyes.
“Yakuza, looking for me?
To fight?
Did I piss them off?”

“No idea… they look menacing, scary faces… are they hunting you?”

Cola tugs a strand of silver hair, calming herself.
As a vampire, fearing yakuza would be pathetic.
“What is this, a wuxia novel’s face-slapping plot?”
She mutters in Chinese, “This is too fast—new powers, trouble shows up, I show off, they kneel?
Tch, if this were a novel, it’d be on Tomato, so damn brainless.”

“Eh?
Miss Cola, preparing a magic ritual?”

“Huh?
No, just muttering in my native tongue.”
Cola shakes her head, yawning as she stands, slipping into yesterday’s tracksuit and pants from the chair, looking like a middle schooler heading to gym class.
“Let’s go see.
They’re calling for me—might be some old rival.”

“Vampire hunters posing as yakuza?”
Liuli clenches her fists nervously.
“C-can we beat them?”

“Vampire hunters in Japan?
Those are all in Europe…”
Cola rolls her eyes, striding downstairs with a swagger, then darts to the door.

Liuli’s mom, surrounded outside, shouts, “Little Cola, they’re here for trouble!
Run!”

“Hey, you lot.”
Cola’s gaze sweeps over the burly men, smirking—they’re textbook yakuza.
“Let the innocent go.
You’re here for me, right?”

The twenty-plus men turn in unison, glaring menacingly, as if ready to swarm her.
But as Cola ponders which move to flatten them with, the leader drops to his knees, slamming into a full dogeza.
The others follow, kneeling in the rain, heads to the wet ground, despite the slick surface.
Dogeza—kneeling with forehead to the floor—is reserved for grave apologies or desperate pleas.

Cola, expecting to play the underdog before a dramatic comeback, freezes, utterly confused.
“…Huh?!”

“Big Boss Cola!”
The leader yells, kneeling.
“Please return and lead the Silver Lady Gang!”

“Hah—?!”

His men echo, “Please, Big Boss Cola, come back!”

Cola, despite her measly 200-something college entrance score (pure laziness), isn’t dumb.
She instantly connects this to her grandfather.
If his old bones were here, she’d shake them and demand what the hell he was up to.

“Eh?
M-Miss Cola… you’re…”
Liuli’s mom gapes, slipping into honorifics.

“Wait.”
Cola clutches her forehead.
“Someone explain what’s going on, I’m lost!”

“The former boss vanished mysteriously a year ago.
The gang fractured.
The underboss was betrayed and killed by his aide.
Two other aides fought for power, sold out the gang, and died in a rival’s trap!”
The leader lifts his head, speaking rapidly.
“The Silver Lady Gang was demoted, our businesses handed to other main factions.
Downgraded, we’ve been hunted by outside groups, our turf shrinking to a tiny patch in west Maebashi!”

Cola, clueless about yakuza politics, scratches her head.
“Okay… then what?”

“The main syndicate cut us off for profit!
Our hundred-plus brothers have nowhere to go!”

“Then quit being yakuza.”

“These men only know this life!
Without it, they can’t survive!
Please, Big Boss Cola, have mercy!”

“Hey, they’re strong, got hands and feet…”

“M-Miss Cola…”
Liuli, legs trembling, whispers, “In Japan, it’s hard for yakuza to go straight.
Tattoos and records make jobs impossible…”

“The remaining brothers all took heat for the Silver Lady Gang!
They live for it, never abandoning it!
Big Boss!”

“But you’re already cut off… rejoining sounds like a hassle.”
Cola smacks her lips.
“I’m not into yakuza games.
I don’t like bullying the weak.”

“With you, Big Boss, the Silver Lady Gang won’t fall, even if it stands alone!”

The leader’s words spark pleas from the others:

“As long as Big Boss Cola’s here, we’ll do black or white!”

“Since Boss Late Clear’s time, we stopped harming civilians!
We only run legit businesses!”

“Please, Big Boss Cola, take charge!”

“Be our leader!”

“Big Boss Cola!”

“Uh…”
Cola pokes her forehead, looking at the middle-aged leader.
“When was this ‘Big Boss Cola’ your leader?”

“Before 1999…”

“Hey, that long ago, and you don’t find it weird that ‘Big Boss Cola’ hasn’t aged?”

“She said if someone shares her name and looks identical, treat them as her!”

“But I’m just a… high schooler.
Think I can handle this job?”

“With Big Boss, we can keep the Silver Lady Gang alive!”

“So I’m just a mascot… sounds like a pain.
If you can keep it going, do it without me.”

“Big Boss Cola…”
The grizzled man takes a deep breath.
“Please think it over a few days.
We’ll return.”

“No need to think, just do it yourself, be the boss.”

He doesn’t reply, standing and giving Cola a deep look, then waves his men up.
Each bows to her as they leave, showing respect.

“Mom, your clothes are wet…”

“I’ll change later.”
Liuli’s mom pats her head, cautiously eyeing Cola.
“Miss Cola, are you…”

“Call me like before.”
Cola shrugs.
“Don’t mind them, it’s my granddad’s mess, nothing to do with me.
I’m just a normal person, not yakuza.”

“Right… just a cute kid, but you were surprisingly calm, impressive.”

“Cough, I was too scared to move.”
Cola plays it humble, sniffing.
“Mmm… smells good, breakfast?”

“Yup, almost ready!
Go wash up, Little Cola.”

“Stomach’s growling…”

“It’s an authentic Japanese breakfast today!”

“Really?
Never had a proper one…”
Cola stretches.
“Oh, after breakfast, we’re signing the lease at your cousin’s place, right?
Hope the paperwork’s approved.”

“If it’s approved, Brother’ll text me.
No worries, Miss Cola.”

“Cool… I’ll be a lazy bum then.”

“Um… after breakfast, can you come out with me?”

“Uh, sure, where?
It’s raining.”

“If it clears… to buy groceries?
I’m bad at picking stuff alone…”

“Got it.
Sure, I’ll get to know the area.
Supermarket?”

“No, the vegetable shop.”