I Became a Yakuza's Daughter

Chapter 2: I Became a Yakuza’s Daughter (1)  

The feeling of something disappearing overnight, and something that didn’t exist suddenly appearing.  

If it were a good thing, I’d smile and move on, but if it were something precious, the story would be different.  

For Noa, waking up to a different gender overnight was exactly that.  

‘Has it already been 16 years since I reincarnated?’  

Sitting at my desk, I blankly stared out the window, lost in thought.  

Since I was born, 16 years had passed.  

Now, even my memories of my past life had grown faint.  

But one thing was certain—I had been a man.  

Even being reborn as a woman hadn’t changed the firm gender identity I held.  

"You got confessed to again today, didn’t you?"  

The girl sitting next to me spoke up.  

Her name was Fujiwara Chise.  

She was from one of Japan’s four great families and had been my childhood friend since we were little.  

"Shut up."  

I didn’t like the fact that people kept confessing to me.  

Especially because it was always guys. It made me furious.  

Chise spoke with concern.  

"You don’t look like you’re in a good mood."  

"Would you feel good if something like that happened first thing in the morning?"  

"Uh, um… Isn’t it a good thing? It’s something every girl dreams of."  

‘Why me…?’  

I frowned as I looked at Chise.  

Chise was an incredibly beautiful girl, yet, surprisingly, she never got bombarded with confessions.  

That made it even more frustrating.  

Did I look easy or something?  

"If you hate it that much, Noa, there’s a way."  

"A way?"  

"Join the student council!"  

Chise suddenly thrust a student council application form at me.  

My personal information had already been filled in.  

I turned my head away sharply, not even deeming it worthy of a response.  

Seeing my complete lack of reaction, Chise puffed out her cheeks.  

"You’re so mean."  

"I’m not doing it."  

"But I want you to!"  

"I refuse."  

Chise clasped her hands together and pleaded earnestly.  

"Don’t say that, please? It’s my one and only lifelong wish."  

The student council?  

Whoever created it must have been really annoying.  

I absolutely despised things like that.  

More than anything—  

"You already used that 'lifelong wish' yesterday when we went to the dessert shop."  

"That was my ‘lifetime’ wish, not my ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ wish."  

"……."  

I let out a deep sigh.  

Since Chise and I had been close since childhood, it was hard to refuse her requests.  

That’s why I always ended up giving in to her.  

But the student council was absolutely out of the question.  

Going to a dessert shop was just a minor hassle, but—  

If I joined the student council, I’d be stuck dealing with annoying things for the rest of my school life.  

"Alright, Noa, if you’re going to be like that, I have my own ways too."  

Chise smiled triumphantly and grabbed my arm.  

I looked at her indifferently.  

Then, suddenly, tears welled up in Chise’s eyes.  

"There’s no real trick…! Since middle school—no, even before that—it’s been my dream to be in the student council with you. This time, it really is my once-in-a-lifetime wish. Please, please."  

I flinched and narrowed my eyes.  

The so-called "wish strategy."  

I had fallen for this pattern over forty times already.  

"Please? I’m begging you."

‘Should I trust her just this once?’  

I sighed as if I had no choice.  

"Fine."  

And the moment I signed—  

"Yes!"  

Her tears vanished, replaced by a bright smile.  

I furrowed my brows.  

Chise quickly ran away.  

"……."  

Left alone in my seat.  

For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had just been tricked.  

**  

A man should act like a man.  

A woman should act like a woman.  

That was the outdated mindset Noa held, completely out of place in modern times.  

Then, shouldn’t I live like a woman since I was born as one?  

That wasn’t the case either.  

Noa's sense of self was too strong for that.  

I was fully aware of my own contradiction, but so what?  

In my past life, I was a soldier.  

A lieutenant in the special forces with multiple combat experiences.  

I was the type of old-school guy who constantly grumbled, "Why are all the new recruits such damn wimps?"  

My personality was so nasty that my nickname was ‘Mad Dog.’  

Not because I wouldn’t let go once I bit, but because I would bite first whenever I met someone new.  

Even after reincarnating, my personality was still a mess.  

At least being born into a prestigious family helped me break the habit of swearing in every sentence.  

‘Tsk tsk. Kids these days are all too weak.’  

I had such an old-man thought as I looked around the classroom.  

Everyone was whispering while sneaking glances at me.  

Some of the guys immediately lowered their gazes as soon as our eyes met.  

Pathetic.  

If it were me, I wouldn’t hesitate—I’d just go for it.  

Even I had to admit I was pretty damn attractive.  

If you want a beautiful woman, you need to be brave.  

I really hated the type who gave up without even trying.  

"Uh…"  

"Screw off."  

Of course, I also hated idiots who approached without fear.  

Shouldn’t people know their place?  

The male student who had just tried to talk to me slumped his shoulders and left.  

"Noa, geez. If you keep acting so cold, you won’t make any friends."  

"I don’t need any."  

"That’s fine for you, but not for me. I thought I’d at least make one friend when I got to high school."  

I gave Chise a strange look at her grumbling.  

It was written all over her face that she was upset, so she quickly waved her arms in panic.  

"N-no, no! I didn’t mean that you weren’t enough, Noa!"  

"I didn’t say anything."  

I had an incredibly sour expression.  

Chise scratched her cheek, then suddenly brightened as if she had a great idea.  

"Want to go get some cake?"  

"If you want to, I suppose I have no choice."  

Despite my words, I was already feeling a little better.  

**  

"There are a few things I absolutely hate in this world. One of them is people who take money and run. Listen here, Mr. Mayor. How can you take someone else’s money and pretend you don’t know them? If you’ve taken that much, it’s only right that you listen to your master, isn’t it?"  

"Ugh, mmph—!"  

Minamoto Genji, the head of the Minamoto family.  

He held a wooden sword with an emotionless face.  

The district mayor, bound at the limbs with his own underwear stuffed in his mouth, shut his eyes in terror, bracing himself for the pain to come.  

Smack! Smack!  

Genji began beating the mayor like a punching bag.  

The wooden sword, swung with full force, delivered excruciating pain.  

"Ughhh! Mmmph—!"  

Genji remained indifferent, repeating the action without a single change in expression, regardless of how much the mayor screamed in agony.

Blood splattered, and my vision grew increasingly blurry, but I didn’t stop.  

That figure looked like a human devoid of emotion.  

Clatter!  

"Oyabun!"  

At that moment, the door swung open, and a warrior dressed in a black suit with a sword at his waist bowed deeply.  

"I have an urgent report!"  

"A face I haven’t seen before. Are you new?"  

Genji paused what he was doing and asked.  

The man lowered his head and responded loudly.  

"Yes! My name is Totsuki Kentaro!"  

There was one rule in the Minamoto family.  

When a new recruit joined, the first report of the day had to be made by them.  

It was a way to ensure they knew who they had to follow and to leave an impression.  

Genji carelessly tossed the wooden sword onto the floor and sat down.  

"It must be important. There’s only one thing it could be."  

"The young lady is in danger!"  

"…Danger?"  

"The Yamaguchi side has rebelled. They are lying in wait at the dessert shop the young lady frequents…!"  

"This is serious. Get ready immediately."  

Genji’s tone carried no inflection.  

His attitude was not that of a father hearing his daughter was in danger.  

Kentaro responded with a tense voice.  

"Yes! I’ll gather the weapons right away—"  

"Why bring weapons?"  

"…Excuse me?"  

"The only thing you need to bring is a drum can."  

"…?"  

"Just take care of whatever my daughter leaves behind, put it in the drum can, and dump it by the coast."  

Kentaro stared blankly at Genji.  

Genji frowned.  

"This recruit is slow to react."  

"I-I apologize! I’ll make the preparations immediately!"  

Panicking, Kentaro bowed deeply before rushing out.  

Genji pulled a handkerchief from his inner pocket and wiped his forehead.  

It was an extremely shabby handkerchief, unfitting for someone of Minamoto's stature.  

It was old and frayed, the threads coming undone.  

From the start, it had been made poorly.  

Rather than a handkerchief, it was just a scrap of cloth.  

On it, in messy writing, was a single name—  

NOA.  

Noa had made it and gifted it to him when she was about five years old.  

Back then, Genji remembered not being able to sleep for a week.  

Recalling that happy memory, Genji grinned.  

It was an expression that no one would associate with the head of the Minamoto family, who was said to be devoid of blood and tears.  

Then, realizing he wasn’t alone, he instantly erased his smile.  

He turned to look at the mayor, still hanging there, with a chilling gaze.  

"You saw, didn’t you?"  

"Mmgh, mmmph!"  

Originally, he hadn’t planned on killing the mayor.  

The man still had value.  

Genji had only intended to scare him before letting him go.  

But—  

He had seen Genji’s smile.  

That smile should only exist in Noa’s memories.  

Minamoto Genji retrieved the katana hanging in the cabinet and swiftly ended the mayor’s life.  

**  

"That was quick."  

"Well, it was just the entrance ceremony!"  

Noa and Chise walked side by side.  

They were on their way to a dessert shop.  

Officially, it was because Chise had suggested it.  

But in reality, Noa loved sweets more than anyone.  

Not in her past life, though.  

Back then, she had believed that a real man wouldn’t eat girly foods like cake.  

But maybe because her body had changed—  

…Sweet things are delicious.  

But admitting she liked cake?  

That was too weak.  

"Still, I’m relieved. I was worried you’d keep being stubborn, Noa."  

"The student council?"

"Yeah! I want to join the student council, but if you don’t want to, there’s nothing I can do."  

"Why don’t you just do it alone?"  

Chise awkwardly smiled as she thought to herself.  

'You’d definitely sulk if I did that.'  

"Fujiwara and Minamoto are one! We can’t be apart."  

"Before, you said I should join because you couldn’t always look after me."  

"Minamoto is a steadfast wolf. Isn’t it better for the fox, Fujiwara, to help out? Without Fujiwara, Minamoto would just be used by bad people."  

Chise poked Noa’s cheek.  

"Of course, Fujiwara wouldn’t be able to stay safe without Minamoto either. We can’t be without each other."  

Noa suddenly stopped walking.  

"Noa?"  

When Chise looked at her in confusion, Noa’s eyes darkened.  

"Looks like I’ll get to loosen up a bit after a while."  

The moment Noa finished speaking, people appeared from various corners of the alley.  

Yakuza, each carrying menacing weapons.  

"Hey there, ladies."  

"We’ve got a nice place to take you. What do you say?"  

"Ah…"  

Chise spoke with an awkward expression.  

"Can’t you just leave?"  

"Pfft! Have you ever seen yakuza leave just because someone asked? Miss Fujiwara?"  

Chise waved both hands frantically.  

"N-no, that’s not what I meant! I’m saying it’d be better for you guys to just leave!"  

"What the hell is she saying?"  

The yakuza sneered and stepped closer.  

Chise broke out in a cold sweat and glanced to the side.  

Noa’s pink hair was swaying up and down.  

Haa—  

After bouncing in place a couple of times, Noa widened her eyes and, in an instant, dashed forward, throwing her right fist with full force.  

Boom—!  

"Wow, Noa’s always so intense no matter how many times I see it."  

But wasn’t this a bit much?  

Chise sighed as she looked at the yakuza who had been smashed into the wall, showing only the whites of his eyes.