Chapter 20: Chapter Twenty: Kamikawa Little Brother, Don

Text message?

His gaze shifted to the phone in his hand.

The message was from Mizuno Yuichi.

“Mizuno Yuichi?” Kamikawa Mitsu frowned.

If he remembered correctly, Mizuno Yuichi was the person the original owner feared and hated most, aside from the school bullies.

This man was not a student.

He was a member of the Japanese yakuza.

In Japan, individuals or groups engaged in violence or organized crime are collectively known as the yakuza.

For example, the Yamaguchi-gumi is one such yakuza organization.

In simple terms, they’re the underworld.

Mizuno Yuichi was a member of a yakuza group in Arakawa Ward.

Open the message and read it.

Mizuno Yuichi:

【Have you decided yet? Kamikawa little brother, don’t make my boss wait too long.】

Kamikawa Mitsu did not reply to the message.

He merely glanced at it, then closed it.

He knew why Mizuno Yuichi sent this message.

It was another threat against Kamikawa Mitsu.

More precisely, a threat against the original owner, Kamikawa Mitsu.

The apartment where the original owner lived was an old-style building, located in a decent part of Arakawa Ward.

Recently, a development project had included this exact area.

In Chinese terms, the apartment was slated for demolition—Kamikawa Mitsu had become a demolition heir.

This should have been a cause for joy.

Yet the original owner, Kamikawa Mitsu, could not feel happy.

The reason was that the developer was no good at all—they offered a pitiful compensation sum, far less than the apartment’s actual living value.

Moving out would mean a loss.

At first, the residents refused the developer’s negotiations.

They refused to move, demanding higher compensation.

After all, in this “dog-eat-dog” society, who wouldn’t want a decent life?

They had spent hard-earned money to buy their apartments, yet the compensation offered was nowhere near enough to buy another home—forcing them to leave was like sentencing them to death.

But.

The residents’ protests lasted less than a week.

Or rather, after just one week of unrest, all residents agreed to the developer’s terms and accepted the meager compensation to leave.

This was not because they were convinced by the developer’s arguments.

They were forced.

Faced with resistance, the corrupt developer had no intention of raising the compensation—they only wanted to maximize profit, so they turned to the Arakawa Ward yakuza group: the Sakurada-gumi.

Unlike organized crime in other countries,

the Japanese yakuza are never hidden in the shadows—they openly thrive at the center of domestic and international media attention.

Why is this so?

Aside from historical legacies,

there is one more reason.

They have complex ties with the government—in plain terms, collusion between officials and criminals.

In the eyes of the Japanese government, the yakuza are not pests; they serve important functions.

For instance, unsavory tasks can be handed to the already corrupt yakuza.

And also,

behind every election are funds and votes supplied by the yakuza.

Due to these factors, the yakuza and political circles maintain excellent relations—the former depends on the latter, and both coexist harmoniously.

The developer hired the Sakurada-gumi to threaten and intimidate the residents and their families.

When the residents reported to the police, the officials protected the criminals.

Before power and profit, no one bothered to defend a group of lower-class people.

After all, this was Arakawa Ward.

Tokyo’s poorest district—no wealthy person lived here; those who did were almost all from the social underclass. This was precisely why the developer dared to hire the Sakurada-gumi to threaten the residents.

With no one to protect them and their families harassed,

who could withstand it?

The residents had no choice but to accept the demolition payment and leave.

To this day, the only household remaining in the apartment was Kamikawa Mitsu’s—everyone else had moved out.

It was ironic: someone as powerless as Kamikawa Mitsu, under threat, should have been the first to leave.

Yet he became the “holdout.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move—truthfully, the original owner wanted to leave more than anyone else.

But he was too poor.

Once he moved out and lost the apartment, the meager demolition payment and his parents’ tiny savings could never buy another home—even the cheapest apartment would leave them with no money to survive. It meant having a roof but no food.

He could only rent.

But renting was still a significant expense.

Perhaps he could use the demolition payment to cover rent at first, but once that money ran out, how would he pay rent?

If he couldn’t pay, he’d end up on the streets.

Whether to move or not—this was a life-or-death question.

The original owner didn’t just think of himself—he had to consider his sister, Chie. That’s why he had held on this long without moving.

Mizuno Yuichi’s message was asking Kamikawa Mitsu whether he had decided to move.

Kamikawa Mitsu did not answer, nor did he intend to.

It wasn’t that he was too afraid to reply—he simply thought it was pointless to respond.

Seriously?

You tell me to move, and I just move?

This is my home—I live here, I eat here, I’m fine. Why should I leave?

Whether I move or not is none of your business. Why should I answer you, an outsider?

He opened the window and looked outside.

It was raining.

Looking out, heavy rain poured down, the scenery gray and blurred, veiled in a curtain of water.

“Didn’t Chie forget her umbrella?” Kamikawa Mitsu muttered.

He thought for a moment, closed the window, pulled on the coat on the sofa, and walked toward the door.

He took two umbrellas from the hallway rack.

Kamikawa Mitsu opened the door and stepped out.

I remember—medical care in Japan is expensive, right?

What if Chie catches a cold? She’ll need to pay for treatment.

And…

Most importantly,

I promised to take care of Chie—how come she got sick after just one day living with me? What kind of care is that?

“I think Chie said she was going to Nippori.”

In Arakawa Ward, there aren’t many places for young people to go—Nippori is one of them.

…

Arakawa Ward, Nippori.

On Kamikawa Chie’s delicate face shone a bright smile as she walked out of a jewelry store with her classmates, Mizushima Iori and Komuro Mie.

The three chatted and laughed.

She was happy—not just because she was out having fun, or because Kamikawa Mitsu gave her pocket money, but mainly because she’d heard from her classmates.

About the NH137 incident involving her brother, Kamikawa Mitsu.

As Kamikawa Chie’s classmates, they had seen Kamikawa Mitsu before.

He had once picked her up after school.

Yesterday, they accidentally came across the video titled “File—NH137,” and instantly recognized the pilot as resembling Kamikawa Mitsu—like a mirror image.

At first, upon recognizing Kamikawa Mitsu,

they were uncertain, didn’t believe it was him.

Why? Because they’d met Kamikawa Mitsu a few times before.

In her mind, Kamikawa Mitsu could never have done something as grand and heroic as flying a plane to save lives.

Later, she learned that the “divine high school student” in the video also bore the surname Kamikawa.

They had no choice but to believe it.

That divine high school student was Kamikawa Chie’s older brother.

They were beyond excited.

Just thinking that the divine high school student was Chie’s older brother—meaning they were so close to a celebrity—made their hearts race.

It was like finding out Jack Ma was your own relative.

That feeling was indescribable.

So excited their blood seemed to reverse flow.

If only it hadn’t been so late yesterday, and if Chie hadn’t said that morning she was feeling down and didn’t want to talk.

They would have called Kamikawa Chie last night to confirm.

They had held it in all night.

This morning, the moment they met Chie, they asked at once.

Kamikawa Chie was first stunned, then screamed in shock upon seeing the video.

“Big brother!”

Mizushima Iori and Muroto Meijiang were also thrilled, restraining themselves to confirm.

“Chie, are you sure that’s your big brother?”

Kamikawa Chie, staring at the video, didn’t hesitate for a second.

“It’s definitely him—I’m certain. I’d recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes.”

After that,

From the excited, overlapping descriptions of Mizushima Iori and Muroto Meijiang, Kamikawa Chie learned the full details of the NH137 incident.

When she first watched the NH137 video, after a wave of fear, she was overwhelmed with boundless pride and honor.

The man who saved 231 lives!

That’s my big brother!

Her excitement surpassed even that of Mizushima Iori and Muroto Meijiang—she felt as if her brain were starved of oxygen, her hands and feet useless, her mind buzzing, convinced she was dreaming.

It took her a long while to come back to herself.

Yet, that joy and exhilaration never faded.

Then, carrying that joy and excitement, she went shopping with her classmates.

She felt today was the happiest day of her entire life.

Notably,

After receiving Chie’s confirmation that Kamikawa Mitsu was the “youngest pilot in history,” Mizushima Iori and Muroto Meijiang begged Chie to take them to meet Kamikawa Mitsu.

It was like fangirling over a star.

When you learn a celebrity is right nearby, you simply must go ask for an autograph or a photo.

Unfortunately, their dream shattered.

When they said, “Chie, take us to meet your big brother—we need to see him in person,” Kamikawa Chie refused.

Hmph!

No meeting.

You’re definitely trying to get something going with my big brother.

I remember clearly—when you first saw him, your eyes went wide, gushing about how handsome he was.

You were already scheming to get close to him back then.

Now that he’s famous, you won’t just show up and throw yourselves at him—I won’t allow it.

…