The Dragon of Damedane
“Aniki... Are those rumors really true? No way one guy can beat a hundred of the Tojo...”
A gangly physique hunched over the coffee table, his slicked-back greasy hair reflecting the fluorescent lights humming throughout the office, emptied due to being after-work hours. His sharp black suit tailored with generic thread paled in comparison to the man sitting diagonally at the head of the coffee table, poised in a slouched position as he held an ashtray in one hand and a half of a lit cigarette in the other.
With his one eye, he darts back over to the underling, his head tilted in a way that his seemingly greasy, yet clean and well-kept, hair wouldn’t get in the way of his good eye.
Everything about this man screamed one yen shy of 10 trillion yen, even though in his pockets, maybe only a couple hundred thousand just for the week, perhaps the month. With his leather gloved hands, he brings the two together as he gently flicks the accumulated ash into the container, making sure no wayfaring cigarette particles found their way on his bare chest.
“I can tell you right now, they ain’t rumors. They’re as real as you and me sitting in this room,” he said, his Kansai dialect somewhat slipping.
“So then, does that mean he could beat you, Aniki?” Asked the quivering minion.
“Yep. He can. And he has. On multiple occasions, actually. Why,” he brings the cigarette to his lips to drag it and then as quickly as he pulled, he flicks the spent bud over to the trashcan with ease, covering about ten meters in distance. “Right when he came back from the joint, he was so bent out of shape, that was the only time I could ever get a chance at beating him. But even then, I was still holding back.”
He exhales the last bit of smoke from his lungs.
“Jeez... what a fucking monster.” The young gangster lowered his head in disbelief, but then raised it again and looked at his superior perplexingly. “Wait, you went easy on him? Why’d you do that?”
The golden snakeskin jacket started to tense and gave off a light squeal as the leather began to rub against itself. “Because I wanted to fight him at his full strength. I wanted to fight the Dragon of Dojima himself.”
He then gave an exasperated sigh. Placing the ashtray on the table, he then leans back and puts an arm over his forehead, slightly covering his eye. “But ain’t fun when he’s just a flabby shell o'vis former self, so I had to give 'im a handicap.” He then put his arm down onto the rest. “But I definitely gave 'im the full package at the beginning,” he then got the mad look in his eye, “just so he knew what he was up against.”
The fledgling gangster was taken aback a bit at the sight of his boss’s crazed glare. “Uh... r-right, Aniki...”
“Hooo, boy, I still remember those eyes, those fiery eyes, and that aura! Man, I can’t tell you how much my blood was rushing just to get a shot at him!” He was almost out of his seat, stomping and stamping, getting excited from the memory of a time long ago. Suddenly, he fell back into a solemn and melancholic mood as he leaned back onto the chair, his eye now half-opened.
“But it’s been years since I’ve heard any news. I tell ya, when he wants to disappear, he just vanishes without a trace. And when he wants ya ta find him, he’ll show himself. He really is like a ghost, a myth.”
A dense silence filled the room as the seasoned gangster stewed in his memories. The countless times, encounters, and experiences he shared with this prolific man.
“Uh... Aniki... Does... Does that mean... You know... Like you and him... You both are best friends or something?”
The silence returned. Suddenly, without opening his lips, he gave a soft and brief chuckle. “Out of all the people I’ve met in this life, he’s the one who has the most respect from me.”
The silence then deafened the room.
“After all, once you hear him singing Bakamitai, all bets are off. That man has the voice of a velvet angel.”
“...Eh?” The young man looked at his better, not understanding what he just said.
“You know, that song from the ‘80s? Yeah, he sang that song and I just happened to be outside the bar he sang it in.” He looked at the newbie, his good eye now intense, as if detecting a hint of doubt from his underling.
“O-Oh, r-really? The Dragon of Dojima was singing karaoke? H-How bizarre...”
The aura of murderous intent quelled as he looked up at the ceiling. “Kid, when you’re in this line of work, you’ve gotta let off some steam every now and then. Even the Dragon of Dojima needs to have a hobby or two... Ah, speaking of which, you ever heard of ‘pocket racing’?” He asked as he then glanced over at the newbie.
“Oh... isn’t that with those motorized car models that you can customize and whatnot? Yeah, I’ve heard of it.”
“Well, I used to partake in that, too. But mainly because I wanted to beat him at his own game.”
“W-wait... so even he invested in that?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. He may have sank a billion yen easy in buying the most exotic parts. It’s crazy how dedicated he is to a hobby.”
“A... A b-b-b-billion? On toy cars?”
“Hey!” He straightened up in his chair, his eye growing crazed by the moment. “A billion is pennies! And they ain’t toy cars! They’re models!” At the last syllable, he swiftly smacks the unknowing gangster on the top of his head. “Don’t disrespect me like that again, ya hear?!”
“Sorry, Aniki! Sorry! Sorry!”
He then sighed and fell back in his seat, somewhat annoyed. “Ah never mind, you wouldn’t get it.”
He then groaned. “It’s so damn BORING.”
He then started to zone out as he softly started to hear something in the back of his mind.
“Sore ga, warera, Goro Majima, Majima Kensetsu”
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