-Chapter 3 : Tip of The Iceberg-

"This might be the second time the assailant came this week? Yesterday wasn't the first assassination attempt, right?", Conrad asked, making Karen's smile gone and her face changing into a serious one.

"Yes, that was not the first time. Yesterday night was the fourth time since it happened a month ago. It started right a week before Tsukasa-sama was released from the prison", Karen explained, turning away and walking to the direction of her living room. Louis and Conrad looked at the back of her head in confusion.

"Come, I will tell you once we are inside and sit comfortably", Karen said as she stopped walking and looked back at the two confused men. Louis and Conrad nodded their head before they followed her.

---

-April 3, 2017-

Today was the day when Yakuza's potential recruits received their first training. As the temporary leader, Karen needed to give a welcoming speech to the recruits to show that they were welcomed to the family.

Karen and two of her assistants, Yosuke and Gou, drove from Yakuza's main headquarter in Tokyo, Japan to a remote location in Mito, Japan. They drove for almost an hour and half before they arrived at their destination, a deserted beach in Mito, Japan.

"Ane-san, please wake up, we are here now", Yosuke said softly as to not startled the sleeping woman as he shook Karen lightly from the front seat while Gou parked the car and switched off the engine.

"Hmmm?", Karen mumbled softly, rubbing her eyes with her hand.

"We have arrived, ane-san", Gou replied right before he opened the driver's door and came out of the car.

"Oh we have arrived. Okay, thank you", Karen replied, stifling a yawn that escaped through her mouth with her hand. She heard a soft click beside her before a male voice followed it.

"Karen! Ouch Yosuke you ass, why did you do that?! Darn it, stop hitting my head like that! I lost ten thousands brain cells every time you hit my head, do you know that?!", the male protested hotly, making Karen turned her head to see him.

"Don't call ane-san like that and don't try to be a smartass Taka because it doesn't suit you at all. And just so you know that there is a good news, your brain can repair itself from damage so there's no need to worry about it", Yosuke rolled his eyes at the over dramatic Yakuza new recruits' trainer, Taka Suzuki.

"STILL! IT DOESN'T- mmmm!", Taka yelled but Karen put a box of tampons inside his mouth to keep it shut.

"This is still quite early for you two to banter like old ladies. Come on, I need to go to a convenience store to buy tampons as soon as possible", Karen said matter-of-factly as she put her aviator glasses on, walking away from the car to the place where she saw some groups of people gathered near the beach, leaving the dumbfounded men behind.

"Is that a tampons' box on your mouth, Taka? It is! Darn it, this is priceless hahaha", Gou laughed loudly, slapping Taka's shoulder with his hand. Taka narrowed his eyes at Gou, he was about to do something when he heard Yosuke's voice.

"Come on, we have to go. Ane-san will be mad at us if we chat here any longer", Yosuke said as he walked to the direction where Karen gone.

"Geez you're such a buzzkill Yo-", Gou complained but something interrupted him...

Smack

"HEY! WHAT'S THAT FOR?!", Gou yelled at Taka after he got smacked in the face with the wet tampons' box.

"That's for laughing at me when I was in a dire situation", Taka explained in amused tone as he saw Gou's face covered with his saliva.

Gou wiped his face angrily as he growled at Taka, he was about to tackle Taka down when he saw a movement behind the trees from the corner of his eye. He quickly whipped his head to look at it but he found nothing.

Taka saw how Gou's demeanor changed from the slightly relax posture to rigid in a matter of seconds as he glanced at the pine groves near them. It made him wondering what was wrong.

"What is it Gou?", Taka asked in a serious tone, glancing at the pine groves with narrowed eyes.

"I think I saw something moving behind that trees", Gou replied curtly as he pointed out at the trees with his thumb, his eyes never looked away from the pine groves.

"Maybe it's just Tanuki(1), there is a lot of them he- look!", Taka shouted as he pointed out at a Family of Tanukis that walked leisurely in the place where Gou pointed his thumb at.

"Maybe you're right but my instinct tell me that something is amiss", Gou said in a low tone, putting down his hand.

"HEY YOU TWO, COME OVER HERE AND DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE AN IDIOT!", Haru Takada, another trainer, shouted loudly as he stomped his way to Gou and Taka, scaring the Tanukis as it ran away from there.

"Come on, let's go before ane-san is going GaGa to us", Gou said as he turned away, making Taka rolled his eyes at that.

---

"Welcome to the new recruits training. It is great to see so many people here wanting to join ninkyou dantai (2). It has been a long time since Yamaguchi-sama started this organization and look how far we've come!", Karen started her welcome speech, smiling broadly as she looking at the new recruits' faces. Yosuke and Gou stood as guards at Karen's sides, Yosuke with a small smile while Gou with a frown in his lips.

Gou's guts told him that something was off, it kept telling him that since the time when he saw a movement an hour ago. His eyes moved from side to side, surveying from the new recruits to the pine groves not far from where they were.

'Just who the hell think that it's great to hold such a thing in a place like this?', Gou thought, completely forgetting that they were not the kind of people who could hold an event without the police being a pain in the ass.

"I am pleased to see that there is quite a number of women who come to here. I still remember the time when I was in the similar training and I was the only female. Well, if I think about it, it makes me feel like sheep in the wolves' den", Karen continued, laughing a little at her own joke and making the others either smile or laugh at it.

Gou was about to look away from the pine groves to his boss when he saw a blur moving behind the trees. His eyes narrowed to slits as he lifted one of his hands, grasping his hidden pistol in the pocket of his cargo pants. Gou was about to pull out his pistol when the blur was gone. He gritted his teeth in annoyance at that but he kept his hand inside his pocket, just in case.

Karen glanced at Gou as she felt a heavy tension and frustration coming out of him. She lightly nudged her assistant with her elbow, making Gou averted his eyes from the pine groves to Karen. She lifted her eyebrow when she saw that Gou's attention was now on hers, silently asking him what was wrong. Gou only shook his head.

Karen shrugged her shoulders and continued her speech. "But fear not because here, males and females, men and women are equal. Dream as high as you can, you try your best because everything is possible. I, Karen Takayama, welcome you to the fam-", her speech got interrupted as someone tackled her to the ground.

BAM!

Thud

"Ane-san are you okay? Dammit, there is a trail of blood on her legs! She is injured! Someone, go get me the first aid!", Gou shouted hotly as he got up after he tackled Karen to the ground.

"What is going on here?", Karen asked as she heard a lot of shouting coming from the people near her, completely oblivious to the thing that has just happened. No one answered her as her voice was drowned by the screams and shouts.

"Taka, Haru, and some of you come with me to the forest!", Yosuke hotly barked a command, pointing at random people who stood dead on their tracks still in the shocked state.

"Where the hell is the first aid?!", Gou yelled in anger as he looked from the people to Karen and back to the people.

"It's here Fujiwara-sama", a meek voice answered, it sounded far away even to Karen's ears.

"What is going on, Gou?", Karen asked again, feeling between annoyance and anxious. Annoyance because no one answered her, anxious because she feared that something happened to her. No one answered her question again.

"Hurry the fuck up or I will shoot your nuts off!", Gou growled in anger, he was about to stand and come to retrieve the first aid himself when he felt a hand tightly grasped his wrist. He looked down and saw his boss looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"WHAT. THE. HELL. IS. GOING. ON?", tired of being ignored, Karen hissed angrily at Gou, tightening her hold on Gou's wrist.

"Ouch! Ughhh ane-san, you-", Gou started to explain but he got interrupted.

"Here is the first aid, Fujiwara-sama", the same meek voice Karen heard earlier said, making Karen glared at the short man who stood beside Gou and her after he interrupted Gou's explanation. The short man quickly apologized when he saw the murderous look in Karen's face, accidentally dropping the first aid box on the ground as he moved to stand beside the other recruits.

"Ughhh ane-san, someone shot you from the forest. I saved you just in time after I saw a bullet traveled past the trees right at you. I'm not sure why but somehow you're bleeding because look, there's a trail of blood on your legs. Are you oka-", Gou once again was interrupted by someone, but now it was his boss.

"Shut up Gou. I'm not injured", Karen said as she tried to sit with Gou's help.
"But ane-san! There's blood over there! See!", Gou said in disbelief as he pointed out at the blood on her legs.

"I'm on my period", Karen said in a monotonous voice. That sentence alone made everyone stopped what they did and looked at Karen in horror, Gou was no exception.

-6-

-April 3, 2017, at 07:00 pm-

After the incident, Karen and her two wakagashira-hosa a.k.a assistants drove back to the headquarter in Tokyo. Unfortunately, they couldn't catch the assailant was long gone at the time Yosuke and the others looking at the assailant.

After the awkward event, the females' recruits helped Karen to change her clothes and well, offered a box of tampons to her. But Karen being an independent woman she was, or more like a person with too much pride, refused it and only took a tampon to change her currently abused tampon.

"Come on ane-san, lets just go back to the headquarter and ask someone to buy you the... the... it", Gou said to Karen, it sounded more like begging to Karen's ears.

"Tampon, Gou. Geezz, can't you say such easy word?", Karen said as she sighed in annoyance at her assistant.

"But what Gou said is right, ane-san. The assailant may try to do something again even when we are in the middle of a busy convenience store", Yosuke tried to reason with Karen but she ignored it.

"Do you know how it feels to have a wet tampon dangling between your legs? No. So off we go, to the Seven-Eleven!", Karen said in an annoyed tone as she rubbed her aching temples. Oh how she wished that she could swallow her annoying assistants.

Karen's last statement made Gou and Yosuke coughing awkwardly as they tried not to choke on their own saliva. Gou and Yosuke briefly looked at each other before Yosuke grunted softly, caving in. Gou sighed softly as he drove the car and looked for a Seven-Eleven so his boss could buy IT.

Ten minutes later, Gou parked the black SUV car to the parking lot in front of the convenience store. Karen was about to walk out when Gou locked the door, making Karen's eyebrow twitched in annoyance

"Open the door Gou before I clock you", Karen said through her gritted teeth, balling her hand into fist, preparing to clock her assistant if he didn't open the damn door.

"Ane-san before we go, please don't take a long time to buy IT, okay?", Yosuke said, turning his head to look back at the fuming wakagashira.

"What's with that tone, you sound like you just reprimanded a toddler. Geezz is every male like this? Unable to say the freakin' word of tampon? And yes, I will not take a long time to choose and buy the tampon", Karen rolled her eyes as she replied to what Yosuke said.

Click

Gou shut off the automatic key and switched off the engine before he quickly took off the seatbelt and walked out of the car as Yosuke did the same thing. Karen briefly checked her legs before she righted herself and walked out of the car.

Karen, Gou and Yosuke walked inside the convenience store, making several people inside the store looked at them, whispering softly after they saw the infamous Yakuza's temporary leader.

"What are you looking for? Watch your own business!", Gou yelled at the people, successfully making them shut their mouths and averting their gazes. Karen touched Gou's arm to draw his attention and she shook her head when he looked down at her.

Karen walked to the toiletries section, she crossed her hands on her chest when she looked at all the brands of tampons in front of her. She grabbed two boxes of tampons from two different brands as she contemplated which one was the best.

"Ughh come on ane-san, it's been six minutes already. Just buy those two if you can't choose between them", Gou huffed in annoyance, tapping his foot on the ground.

"You wouln't know the struggle of a woman when she chose her thing, so shut up", Karen said curtly as she looked between the two boxes in her hands and the price tags on the aisle.

Crash

Karen looked up when she heard the broken glass' sound. People started to scream in horror and lie down on the floor after one of them shouted to do so, leaving only Karen and her assistants stood.

Karen turned her head and saw a man with mask stood outside the store with a pistol pointed at her.

Click

Click

Karen watched as the man pulled the trigger, two bullets traveled pass the broken window's glass and came straight to her. She quickly pushed Gou and Yosuke away before she dodged to the side as the bullets came dangerously close to her as she pulled out her two HK45T pistols from its holsters on her waist. The bullets traveled pass her and imbedded at the wall behind her.

Bang!

Bang!

Karen pointed her pistols on the man and shot him. The man dodged to the side like she did earlier before he dashed away from there.

"Damn! I nearly got him!", Karen yelled as she ran to the outside of the store, looking to the left and right, hoping to see a glimpse of the assailant.

"Ane-san are you okay?", Yosuke asked as Gou and him came after her to the outside.

"Yes, I'm fine. Yosuke, you go, take the surveillance camera's tapes and delete all the videos from people's phones if they recorded the incident", Karen commanded as she put back her pistols to its hidden holsters.

"Yes, ane-san", Yosuke said as he walked back inside the store.

"Gou, give the people some money to shut their mouth and warn them if they ever told what happened to the police or other people, we will not hesitate to do something to them", Karen said in a monotonous voice as she looked straight at Gou's eyes.

Gou nodded his head and turned to walk inside the store but before he was away from Karen, she called his name, making him stopped and looked back at his boss.

"Give the owner some money for the damages and tell him that I apologize for the trouble I make on his store. And Gou, thank you for saving me", Karen said curtly before she walked to the car.

"Yes, ane-san", Gou said with a small smile on his face before he turned away.

-7-

-April 12, 2017, three days before Eiji's birthday-

It has been two days since Yakuza's big boss, Eiji Tsukasa, released from the prison. For the past two days, there were some parties to celebrate the happy occasion. All Yakuza's member were happy to see their oyabun back, including Karen.

Currently, there was a big party in Yakuza's other headquarter in Kobe and all of Yakuza's executives was there. Not to forget that there was also Geishas(3) there, serving foods and drinks to the male executives. What about Karen?

Karen of course served her own food and drink, Eiji offered to call some hosts for her but Karen being Karen refused it politely.

"My beautiful flower! You here by yourself? Well, let me your host and I'll serve food and drink for ya", Hideo offered with his broken english s he walked away from the two Geishas, who sat beside him, after his eyes caught the 'lonely' wakagashira on the table across his.

"No, thank you. I have my hands to serve myself and I don't drink anyway so your help isn't needed", Karen replied, not looking up from her plate.

"Awww come one, my beautiful flower! I'll be best host for ya", Hideo protested, plopping down at the seat near her while snatching the chopsticks from Karen's hand.

"Geez give me back my chopsticks, Hideo", Karen replied, trying to snatch her chopsticks back but Hideo keeping it away from her reach.

"Just humor him, Karen", Eiji said in an amused tone from beside her, chuckling when he heard Karen grumbled softly as she accepted Hideo's offer.

---

In the headquarter's kitchen, the chefs were busy cooking the foods or preparing the drinks while some Yakuza's members were busy bringing the foods and drinks to the party.

Everyone was too busy with their tasks that they didn't notice someone pour a white powder on Karen's small water pitcher. The person quickly walked out of the kitchen after his eyes surveyed around the room to look if someone saw what he did or no.

A Yakuza's member quickly brought out the pitcher to Karen's table when she requested another fill to her now empty glass.

Karen was about to drink from her glass when she smelled a distinct smell of some kind of leaves or herbal. She brushed it off, thinking that it was just the smell from Eiji's herbal drink that was near her. She drank half of the water till before Hideo offered a sushi for her.

---

Time has come and passed, it was past midnight. Most of the executives slept where they were, some were muttered things coherently with closed eyes while the others were still slightly sobered. The still slightly sobered one was Karen, Jason and Gou.

Jason and Gou were busy playing shogi (4) in the table near the door while Karen sat beside Jason with her head on his shoulder.

"If you are sleepy, you can go back to your room, ane-san", Jason said softly as to not startle the woman.

"Nah, I always sleep late at night so I'm good. Though it's weird, how is it possible that water makes me this drowsy?", Karen replied in a confused tone after she yawned loudly, feeling how her eyes started to get heavy.

"Maybe someone spike the water?", Gou offered hopefully as he moved his Lance two boxes forward, removing Jason's Knight from the board and placing it to the side.

Jason cursed softly as he glared at his Knight before he glared at Gou. He was about to move his Rook when he heard a sound from behind him.

Bang!

"Ane-san, Jason, watch out!", Gou cried out as he looked for a tool to help Jason and Karen.

Jason turned his head and saw a man shot at Karen and him with his pistol. Jason quickly covered Karen's body with his in reflex, making himself a shield to Karen.

Gou found an iron tray on the table beside him, he tossed away the sake glasses to take the iron tray. He threw the iron tray at the direction where the bullet was intent to go. The iron tray was being the sort of shield as it reflected the bullet away, making the bullet embedded at the ceiling.

Gou dashed to the assailant without waiting to see what happened to his friends. He balled his hands into fists as he tried to punch the assailant.

The assailant dodged as he moved his body away from Gou's punch. He kicked Gou's thigh, making Gou lost his balance and falling to the ground in loud thud. The sound woke the drowsy people up from their slumber.

The assailant was about to shoot at Karen again when his pistol got kicked away from his hand by Gou. Gou tried to rotate his foot, hoping to catch the assailant's feet but to his luck his foot got tangled at a table's foot. Suddenly...

Bang!

Someone shot the assailant but due to the poor aim it only graced his shoulder instead of the intended place, the chest. The assailant quickly dashed away to the window while grasping his injured shoulder with his hand. Gou hot on his tail. The assailant jumped from the window, making Gou stopped.

Tap

Tap

Tap

Loud footsteps came from the doors before it opened with a bang. Gou turned his head to look at the doors, growling angrily at the Yakuza's members.

"What took you so long?! And how come an assailant inside of the headquarter?! Ane-san and Jason nearly died because of that! DO YOU HEAR ME?!", Gou yelled in anger, making several Yakuza's members fidgeting.

"Calm down, Gou. I'm okay", Karen said after her half-awake brain registered what has happened.

"How can I calm the fuck down when you almost die under my watch! It's the third time now!", Gou shouted at Karen, too angry to give a damn who he shouted at.

"Look, Jason and I are okay Gou, we are thank you for that, so calm down", Karen tried to calm her assistant. Gou nodded his head before he plopped down at the floor.

"Go, look for any evidence of the assailant in the garden and I want every corner of this headquarter to be guarded until we rid of the pest. It applies to the headquarter in Tokyo too once we come back to there", Eiji's voice rang clear at the silent room. The Yakuza's members and executives nodded their heads before they went out of the room.

-8-

"And yesterday was the fourth attempts. I have to warn you that you might caught in the middle of this, now that everyone knows you two are my gigolos", Karen explained, taking some slice of breads from the tray after drinking the water from her glass. 

"It makes me wonder about something", Conrad said, putting down his glass to the table after sipping the coffee from it.

"What would that be?", Karen asked as she put down the breads to her plate before she looked up at Conrad with a raised brow.

"Why did you help us?", Conrad asked as he looked straight at Karen's eyes while Louis sat silently, listening to what Karen was going to say.

"Because you remind me of myself",

-To Be Continued-

Footnotes : (According to wikipedia.com, mnn.com and jpninfo.com)
(1) Tanuki or the Japanese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus) is a subspecies of the Asian raccoon dog.

(2) A fact about yakuza is that the yakuza don't call themself with 'yakuza' but ninkyou dantai (chivalrous organizations).
(3) Geisha are traditional Japanese female entertainers who act as hostesses. They were trained to entertain men with conversation, dance, and song.

(4) Shogi is the traditional chess of Japan.