October 31, 1990. 4:11 PM.
In late October Tokyo, the daylight was as fleeting as a hasty promise.
By the time the black Toyota Century pulled up outside the outer gate of the Saionji Family residence, the light had already begun to turn gray.
After the engine died, the air inside the car remained still for three seconds.
Sumitomo Yoshio was the first to move. He did not open the door immediately, but instead placed his hands flat on his knees, his gaze passing through the windshield to rest on the heavy wooden lattice gate ahead. Sukiya-style gate
The wood of the gate was a deep brown, its lacquered surface gleaming with a warm luster in the late afternoon light. Stone lanterns stood on either side of the gate, with moss crawling from their bases all the way up to the latticed openings of the lanterns' midsections.
This was his first time coming to the Saionji Family's residence.
Although he had visited those two in Karuizawa before, that had only been a private, secret meeting. Its nature was different. It could not be considered a true visit.
Today was different.
Today, he was here to deliver something.
"Father," Sumitomo Takamichi's voice broke the silence.
His brow and eyes bore a passing resemblance to Yoshio's, but his features were harder, his jaw clenched tightly as if he were constantly biting down on something.
"Wasn't everything already settled that night in Karuizawa? Why do we need to make another trip to Tokyo?"
Yoshio did not reply immediately. He reached up to straighten his collar, adjusting the second button of his suit until it was perfectly aligned. Then, he pushed open the car door.
The sound of his leather shoes stepping onto the stone stairs was steady.
One step, two steps, three steps. He only spoke when he reached the seventh step, his voice kept very low, as if talking to himself.
"Takamichi. You must remember, matters between great families are never settled with just one conversation."
Takamichi followed half a step behind him, his pace slightly out of sync with his father's.
The neatly trimmed holly bushes on either side of the stone steps swayed gently in the wind, their leaves rustling against one another.
Yoshio continued, his eyes fixed on the wooden gate drawing closer ahead. "That night in Karuizawa, we were reaching out our hand in a moment of crisis. They accepted it, but they didn't sign anything."
"Now, the audit has reached its most critical stage. Mr. Endo has already unearthed the deficit in Itoman back in Osaka."
"Once the Hakusuikai realizes we've let the wolf through the door, they will surely go mad."
"If the main family still only sends Kawase to deliver messages at a time like this —" Yoshio stopped and turned to face Takamichi.
The sunlight cast a long shadow across his face from behind, leaving only two glints of light visible deep in his eye sockets. "The Saionji Family will think we still want to hide in the background and push all the dirty work onto them."
Takamichi fell silent. He could hear the thumping of his own heart in his chest, heavy and rhythmic.
"But Uchida, Murata, and Kawaguchi on the manufacturing side are currently fence-sitters," Yoshio said as he resumed walking. "They are waiting to see the main family's attitude."
"If the main family doesn't show its face, the Saionji Family's private banquet will carry no weight. The manufacturing sector won't fall in line."
Reaching the wooden gate, Yoshio raised his hand.
His fingers stopped just before touching the knocker, suspended in mid-air.
The sunlight elongated the shadow of his hand, casting it onto the mottled texture of the wooden gate.
"You must understand clearly —" Yoshio turned his head, his gaze falling on Takamichi's face. "We are not here today to express gratitude, nor are we here to apologize. We are here to present our 'keppan'." To show absolute sincerity, those taking an oath would stamp their names with their own blood, known as a 'keppan'.
The gate was pulled open from the inside.
Fujita Tsuyoshi stood behind the gate. He was dressed in a black butler's suit, standing perfectly upright.
His gaze swept over Yoshio first, then Takamichi, and finally rested on the black car behind them for half a second.
"Mr. Sumitomo, Young Master Takamichi," Fujita bowed. "Please."
Fujita led the two of them through the courtyard.
The courtyard of the Saionji Main Family Residence was extremely meticulously arranged, but Takamichi had no desire to appreciate it.
He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he constantly felt as though someone were watching him. Yet when he looked around, there were no cameras to be seen.
He had no choice but to attribute this feeling to an illusion born of nervousness, keeping his eyes on his father ahead.
Ever since they entered the courtyard, his father hadn't spoken to him. He couldn't help but think of the people they were about to meet — aside from the head of the Saionji Family, it would be that Eldest Miss.
Marriage alliance.
Ever since his father had discussed it with him in the car on the way to Karuizawa last time, he had never brought it up again. After meeting that Eldest Miss, Takamichi himself felt that this matter was highly unlikely to happen. With his own abilities, it would simply be overestimating himself.
But the moment he crossed paths with the Saionji Family once more, the matter occupied his mind again.
Would his father directly propose the idea this time?
No, that was impossible. Currently, Sumitomo was in a subordinate position. Proposing a marriage alliance now would only seem presumptuous and impolite.
But what about after? Would the family make him work toward it?
Frankly, he always felt that the Eldest Miss was rather... creepy. She always had a superficial smile, giving off the vibe of someone who would trample others underfoot and humiliate them...
The footsteps stopping ahead interrupted Takamichi's train of thought.
At the entrance of the main residence, Fujita Tsuyoshi stopped and stepped aside to make way.
He did not follow them inside, but merely stood outside the lattice door with his hands at his sides, his posture respectful yet detached.
The reception room was on the second floor. It was an eight-tatami-mat Japanese-style room with the shoji doors half-open, revealing deep blue zabuton cushions laid out inside.
The low table was black lacquer, its surface polished to a mirror shine, reflecting the wagasa-style washi paper lanterns on the ceiling.
The lanterns cast a warm yellow, gentle light, but it couldn't reach every corner of the room — all four corners were shrouded in faint shadows. Villains can never afford electricity, haha
Shuichi sat in the host's seat. He wore a deep navy kimono with a black haori over it, a snow-white juban visible at his collar.
His posture was very relaxed, his back leaning slightly toward the tokonoma alcove, his right hand resting on his knee, fingers holding nothing.
Satsuki sat in the side seat.
Today she wore a pale purple homongi, the collar embroidered with extremely fine silver-thread vine patterns. Her hair was swept up, revealing the long, fair line of her neck.
She did not look toward the door. Her gaze was fixed on the Satsuma-ware teacup on the low table, thin wisps of steam rising from its rim from the freshly brewed sencha.
Yoshio paused at the threshold, standing just outside the doorway, and bent deeply at the waist in a bow.
He bent his upper body extremely low, approaching a deep bow of fifty-five degrees.
Takamichi bowed as well, his eyes catching a glimpse of the pale purple figure the moment he bent down.
"Mr. Sumitomo, please sit," Shuichi said gently.
Yoshio straightened up and entered the room. He sat down opposite the low table, with Takamichi sitting half a step behind him on his left. The attendant's seat, though here it signified the heir's position
The tea was brought in. Fujita Tsuyoshi served it personally, with three teacups on the tray, arranged in order of host and guests.
After setting down the tray, he withdrew, the shoji door closing silently behind him, leaving only a gap of about twenty centimeters.
Only four people remained in the room.
Yoshio did not touch his teacup. He took a deep blue cloth pouch from his breast pocket and extracted three items from it.
The first was a folded sheet of paper. It was washi paper, its edges slightly rough, but it was well-preserved, with no damage other than the fold creases.
Yoshio unfolded the paper and placed it on the low table.
"That night in Karuizawa, I was deeply grateful that your daughter and Mr. Saionji did not cast us aside." Yoshio pushed the paper forward, pressing his fingertip lightly against its edge. "This is the additional copy of the original agreement. The limit and process for issuing US dollar letters of credit on our behalf are written in the supplementary clauses — a cap of eighty million dollars, ninety days per transaction, with a one-time extension option. Please have a look."
Shuichi picked up the paper, his eyes scanning it quickly. His finger lingered on the figure "eighty million dollars" for half a second before he flipped to the second page to examine the seal at the bottom.
It was a red square seal with the four characters "Sumitomo Yoshio" in seal script. The color of the ink paste had darkened slightly, but the edges were sharp.
Having finished reading, he handed the paper to Satsuki.
Satsuki took it. She did not examine it in detail, but merely let her gaze linger on the key terms for a few seconds.
Article 3, Section 1, regarding the phrasing of the "cross-verification rights"; Article 7, regarding the conditions for the "credit protection authorization" to take effect; and the date and signature on the final page.
Then, she gently placed the paper on the low table without saying a word.
The second item was a directory bound in heavy cardstock, with the cover printed with the words "Execution Directory for the Transfer and Signing of Letters of Credit for Sumitomo-affiliated Industrial Enterprises."
Yoshio opened the directory and pushed it to the center of the table.
"Itoman, Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Metal, Sumitomo Electric, and Sumitomo Light Metal." Yoshio read out each name one by one. "From this day forth, the cross-verification rights for the trade credentials of these five companies are entirely surrendered to the Saionji side, without reservation."
He paused. "This includes all margin transfer records under the third escrow account of the Osaka main branch, the corresponding letter of credit numbers, and the warehouse receipt financing flows associated with them."
Once he finished speaking, the room fell silent for five seconds.
Takamichi heard the sound of his own breathing.
He looked at his father — Yoshio's face was expressionless, but his jawline was tense, as if he were biting down hard.
He looked across the table again — Shuichi's expression was equally calm, but his right index finger tapped once against his knee.
Then he looked at Satsuki — Satsuki was looking at him.
Startled, Takamichi quickly lowered his head, yet he couldn't resist stealing another glance at her.
She didn't speak, but the curve of her lips shifted slightly — it was so subtle that if Takamichi hadn't been watching her closely, he wouldn't have noticed at all.
The third item was a document.
The document was enclosed in a red folder, with the Sumitomo Family crest, the "Igeta-mon," embossed in gold on the cover. Yoshio placed the folder on the table without opening it.
"This is the 'Industrial Credit Protection Authorization Letter'."
"The seven manufacturing enterprises of the Sumitomo group — overseas trade settlement, US dollar letter of credit issuance, raw material import, and order fulfillment —" He delivered the words one by one, leaving enough space between each word to fit a breath. "From this day forth, all of these are entrusted to Saionji Trading, to be executed in the name of the Sumitomo Main Family."
He stopped.
The silence lasted for nearly three seconds. His Adam's apple bobbed, his gaze still resting on the folder.
"When Saionji Trading exercises this authorization —" he spoke again, his voice even lower than before.
He raised his eyes.
His gaze fell on Shuichi's face first, pausing for a beat.
Then it shifted to Satsuki.
"There is no longer any need to go through the Hakusuikai."
"Nor does it require the nod of Sumitomo Bank."