Yagami Daichi leaned back on his chair and crossed his right leg over his left, clasping his hands together and resting them on his knees.
His shadowy dark eyes carefully studied the young man in front of him, who had appeared to change a lot over the past three weeks since he had last seen him.
"You seem less.... idiotic," he mumbled to himself, but it was clearly heard by Reiji.
Reiji wasn't really worried about his dad figuring out that his son's body was taken over by someone else, because this was a world without magic and supernatural beings. But he was still a little concerned if his treatment towards Reiji would change in any way.
"Thank you Father, that truly means the world to me!" He snorted with his arms crossed.
Daichi ignored the sarcasm and thought back to the most likely reason that could have caused this wondrous change.
Two weeks into his son's first year at high school, he had already received multiple complaints from the administration about Reiji's misconduct.
He had managed to restrain them from expelling him, but a punishment was necessary. So Daichi took the painful approach and sent his son away to live by himself, without any maids or henchmen to carry out the chores and other menial tasks.
He was sure it would straighten up his spoiled son.
And maybe it was working?
"...I heard from Takeda and Raiden that you handled the protection assignment I had given you," he inquired.
"Meh, they exaggerated a little. I just threw a couple of punches and mocked the fat dude and it somehow worked out," he sighed, doing his best to downplay his efforts.
He wanted to show his Dad that he had improved in terms of not causing as much trouble as before and was acting slightly more mature, but he maintained some level of of his predecessor's arrogance and laziness.
It could help keep his Yakuza responsibilities low.
"It doesn't matter, it's more important that your idea was perfect for the situation. Though.... I'm not sure how I feel about you going around recording naked men," Daichi commented.
"Wha-, What the hell is wrong with you? That's the part you focus on???" Reiji snapped, slamming his hand onto the table.
He could feel a vein nearly popping on his forehead. If his Father was merely joking, he wouldn't be this worked up. But this stoic man in front of him didn't have a single humorous bone in his body, he was completely incapable of kidding around.
This meant he was seriously worried that it would be an issue.
"Did you not record a naked man? Was the information I was given false?" Daichi asked, tilting his head slightly as if he was asking a genuine question.
"....Sometimes I wonder how you managed to build the syndicate to be this powerful when your train of thought is so damn weird. I recorded him for blackmail, not because I wanted to see anything! I'm not going around asking random men to strip naked for fun!"
"Oh, so you admit that you had planned it all out? And it wasn't just to mock him?" Daichi smiled, his face finally cracking and showing a different expression.
Reiji froze.
'...Shit. He got me...'
After a few seconds of silence, Reiji adjusted both his expression and his mindset. He now understood that the person he was sitting in front of was not to be underestimated.
He hadn't actually wanted to look down on Daichi, but he couldn't help it after absorbing his predecessor's memories.
For example, would a truly smart man consider a luxurious apartment and enough pocket money a real punishment?
Or would a cunning man keep sending a clearly incompetent teenager to important syndicate-related tasks despite multiple failures in the past?
Reiji had acquired so many similar memories, that he had automatically considered his Father to be somewhat dim but just extremely overpowered in a world without dangerous firearms, attributing the gang's success to his physical strength.
But, clearly, things weren't so simple.... as always.
"Tell me Reiji, why do you insist on acting out of line? Why do you insist on causing so much trouble? Why do you insist on not taking the syndicate's work seriously? I want a reason, not an excuse," Daichi growled, his voice getting impossibly deep in a way that it sent shivers down Reiji's spine.
He didn't respond. He couldn't.
He wasn't sure how to explain, whether to use his predecessor's reasons for becoming a delinquent or his own ambitions.
"....Is it because of your mother's death?"
Reiji's eyes flickered, shifting his gaze back to Daichi's face that had softened a little.
His predecessor's mother, who had passed away a few years ago, was exactly the cause of OG Reiji's internal struggles. Though some of those sad emotions lingered even after transmigration, it didn't really affect him much.
So using that as an excuse seemed not only flimsy, but borderline sacrilegious and slimy.
"....That's not why," he muttered after a while.
"Then what is it?"
"...I simply don't want to be a part of the Yakuza," Reiji sighed, ruffling his hair as he avoided his father's eyes.
Daichi frowned at those words for a moment, and then he uncrossed his legs as he stood up. Reiji watched him walk towards the bar in the office and look through the dozens of different types of alcohol that was available.
He finally picked up a whiskey bottle and poured himself a glass, dropping a ball of ice into it from the freezer compartment.
Daichi leaned on the bar's table, and swirled the intricately carved glass in a slight daze. Reiji just silently sat in his chair, trying to observe his father's reactions and expressions for a clue that would indicate his feelings.
"....I'm not going to ask you why you don't want to do it. Not yet anyway. The reason isn't important for now, and me knowing won't change anything," Daichi spoke softly, his attention on the whiskey in his hands.
"What are you getting at?" Reiji asked, squinting with wariness.
"Let's make a deal, Reiji."
"A deal?"
"Yes. Over the next three years of High School, you will continue to complete the tasks I assign you. Don't worry, I won't make you do anything crazy, it will be fairly simple and routine assignments most of the time. In return, if you still want to step away from the syndicate after you graduate, I will allow you to leave with no questions asked, along with 500 Million Yen* for you to do whatever you want with," Daichi declared with a straight face.
Reiji's eyes widened in shock at the absurd deal that his dad had placed on the table. His mind raced at the mouth-watering offer, 500 Million Yen was enough for him to retire fairly comfortably if he wanted to, or he could open up his own business if that's what he desired.
The possibilities were endless!
Continuing these tasks in the meantime didn't seem so bad in comparison.
And yet....
"...I refuse. If possible, I would like to step away from all of this right now. I don't need the money, I'll be able to manage somehow," Reiji declined after hesitating for a brief moment.
It seemed stupid didn't it?
But he had his reasons.
He wasn't too worried about losing out on the money. Reiji wasn't the type to stay idle anyway, and he had plans for the future that he wanted to follow. The money would have made things much easier, obviously, but he was confident in his own abilities.
School fees? He could easily get a scholarship once they discovered his academic and extracurricular talents.
Rent? He could move to a smaller apartment with a part-time job for three years, something he had been doing in his past life.
And he also knew a couple of methods to earn enough savings for his plans using some of the knowledge from the game.
Therefore, it was simply too risky to take this deal.
Although the syndicate had some power over the police, there was no telling when things could go south.
If they obtained hard evidence of him being involved in the illegal tasks, his future could be finished. Going through with this would also earn him even more unnecessary enemies that could interfere with his life in the long-term.
And there was also the fact that he might have to trouble or harm innocent people during his assignments. Though the Yagami Syndicate was relatively against that, that was never a guarantee!
Ultimately, this deal didn't provide much value for him and went against his morals.
Daichi smiled at his son's determination.
But it wasn't a kind one.
"I think there's some confusion here. I wasn't asking you for your opinion. I was simply letting you know what is going to happen from here on out," he whispered, walking towards Reiji calmly.
He sat back down on his throne with the drink still in hand, and he took a sip leisurely.
"Reiji, this deal is something you cannot back out of, it doesn't matter if you mess up on purpose or keep acting out of line thinking you can change my mind. In fact, depending on your performance, I will even shorten the period of three years, so it would be in your best interest to work hard."
Reiji had closed his eyes ever since Daichi refused his refusal. He leaned back into his chair and breathed slowly, contemplating his options.
'A deal with the fucking devil haha...'
***
A/N: 500 Million Yen is approx. $3.4 Million USD