Emblem Take 2 Volume 1, Chapters 1-2 Original story Copyright (C) 1990 Jun Watanabe/Kodansha Original art Copyright (C) 1990 Kazumasa Kiuchi/Kodansha This English translation Copyright (C) 1992 Goddess Studio Translation by the kunedog (Kunio Muto) Proofreading by Iain Sinclair (axolotl@socs.uts.edu.au) =========================================================================== INTRODUCTION Structure of the 2nd Kaieda-Gumi: The Tagami-Umezawa family is a notorious group of gamblers affiliated with the huge Kantoh Hashuu Tagami Union. The 2nd Kaieda-Gumi Kumicho (don), Tadayoshi Yamazaki, is an aide to the Wakagashira (the heir) of the Umezawa Family. Kaieda-Gumi consists of 28 members, bonded by "the cup" with Yamazaki as parent, and 5 members bonded as brothers. Altogether there are 33 direct members in Kaieda-Gumi. Other than this, there are members of collateral gangs such as Ohnishi-Gumi and Nakanishi-Gumi, which accounts for 91 members (These people are "grandchildren of Yamazaki" or simply called "young 'uns") and altogether there are 124 members in the whole Kaieda-Gumi. Johji Akutsu is a direct member, and Yohichi Asano is a young 'un. Designated Gang Union: Kantoh Hashuu Tagami Union (approx. 8000 members) Chairman - Toramatsu Yamashiro (63) | | Chair of the board of trustees to above: Tagami Umezawa Family (860 members) 4th Chancellor - Mokichi Nishimura (65) | | Aide to Wakagashira of the Tagami Umezawa Family 2nd Kaieda-Gumi (120 members) Kumicho - Tadayoshi Yamazaki (51) (From right to left, top to bottom:) Takashi Fukunaga (23) Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, younger brother of Ebara Shingo Ebara (27) Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, younger brother of Ujiie Yoshio Ujiie (36) Aide to Wakagashira, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, Kumicho, Ujiie-Gumi Masato Hamada (22) Member, 2nd Kaieda Gumi, younger brother of Sayama Hisashi Sayama (26) Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, younger brother of Nakanishi Yohichi Asano (19) Younger brother of Akutsu Johji Akutsu (21) Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, younger brother of Sayama Kenzoh Nakanishi (37) Aide to Wakagashira, 2nd Kaieda Gumi, Kumicho, Nakanishi-Gumi: Yasuo Ohnishi (44) Wakagashira, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, Kumicho, Ohnishi-Gumi Kouichi Nakayama (22) Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi Kazushige Ishida (33) Executive, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi Tadayoshi Yamazaki (51) Kumicho, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi Shingo Makita (27) Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, younger brother of Ishida Seizoh Ohtawara (49) Head of Brothers, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, Kumicho, Ohtawara-Gumi: Tadashi Kuriyama (29) Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi, younger brother of Ishida ACT 1: "Pink Lady & the Bullet" ------------ p. 7 Winter, 1979. (crowd) (space invaders) ------------ p. 8 (space invaders) ------------ p. 10 Johji Akutsu (Member, 2nd Kaieda-Gumi) Yohichi Asano ("younger brother" of Johji) [In Japanese, the word "shatei" is used to describe yakuzas who are bonded as brothers/parents by a toast.] Johji: H...hey... you think you can get away from beating up yakuzas? Sgt.-At-Arms: You can't be Sgt.-At-Arms bein' afraid of yakuzas. (crouching) I don't think you understand very well... ------------ p. 11 Sgt.-At-Arms: Hey, let's make these guys understand what the Takuzan Univ. Cheerleaders are made of! (pulling) (In Japan, a "cheerleader" has connotations of a real buff guy) Members: Yessir! Johji: Hee... (hitting) (hitting) Johji: Hey stop it. We understand. Sgt.-At-Arms: ...that ain't enough! ------------ p. 12 (hitting) Yohichi: ....... Johji: I understand..... Sgt.-At-Arms: Whaddya understand...huh? (pulling head) Johji: I....I'm....sorry....Please forgive.... ...us... ------------ p. 13 Yohichi: ....... You're pitiful! Keh! Johji: Don't say it. (putting on glasses) After this incident, my life changed from what I had been expecting... ------------ p. 14 10 years later (1989) (children playing) (children running around) (baby crying) Baby: Kya kya Door: Akutsu (opening door) Johji Akutsu (31) Member, 3rd Kaieda-Gumi Johji: Hey Miyako, radishes are cheap today! (doin makeup) Miyako: Huh! You're finished as a yakuza if you're excited about the price of radishes! Johji: ....... ------------ p. 15 (turning around) Miyako: Your 'younger brother', Mr. Asano, told me to make you come to the office immediately. Miyako: I've never seen a yakuza get called by his younger brother! Johji: Don't say it. Lantern: 3rd Kaieda-Gumi Yohichi: ....so... we settled down with the Kurokawas. (polishing fingernails) Yohichi Asano (29) executive, 3rd Kaieda-Gumi ------------ p. 16 Yohichi: But we're not gonna look any good if we just don't do anything. So, things'll settle down when we smash 2 or 3 of their office windows as compensation. Yohichi: Hey! Man: Yessir. (putting something on table) Johji: ...... (opening up the package) !! ------------ p. 17 Johji: You're not telling your older brother to be a bullet, are ya? ["teppoudama" refers to a yakuza who moves in on the territory of another yakuza.. Young yakuzas are often ordered to do this with a promising reward (such as a seat of executive) but most of the people who go on such a mission never come back, hence the term "bullet."] (polishing fingernail) Yohichi: The Kurokawas have agreed, and it's an easy job, ain't it? Johji: So what? You can make the young ones do jobs like this! Yohichi: Our older brother Ebara named you to do this job. By the way, you haven't been able to do a good job recently, isn't that so? (polishing fingernails) Yohichi: So you can get back your honor.... Johji: Brother Ebara...? Yeah, but.... (closing up to Johji) Yohichi: Please, brother! ------------ p. 18 (hanging from the building) Johji: Makin' fun of me...Why do I hafta do a cock-sucking job like this! (aiming gun) ------------ p. 19 (dashing) Johji: What do they mean everything's settled? They haven't agreed! (shouting in background) 2nd class river: Fukami River (means it's not very deep) Yakuzas: Goddamit! Where the hell did he go! He ain't coming back alive! Look around more carefully! ------------ p. 20 (running above) (panting) Johji: Why do I always have to the shitty jobs? (panting) I guess I'm hated by my elders. I guess I'm too refined.. I don't read stuff like 'Jitsuwa Document' and 'Jitsuwa Jidai'... (nodding) [I personaly don't read this magazines, but these contain a lot of articles dealing with the yakuza.. Sort of the Business Week for yakuzas, I guess.] Well, I ain't got no time to think. I gotta hide somwehere... Johji: That's it! (running in water) Johji: Damn, it's closed... ------------ p. 21 Johji: Shit! They found me! (aiming gun) (firing gun) Johji: Shit! (gun being fired) (bullet rebounding) ------------ p. 22 (running in water) Yakuzas: ........? (pushing Johji over) (turning Johji over) Yakuza: What da hell!? Huh? Didn't the bullet ricochet into his gut? (laughing) Yakuza: I see.. ------------ p. 23 Yakuza: That's right! What a loser! (laughs) Johji: D..don't say it..... But it's so miserable to die like this.... When I'm reborn again, I wanna die gloriously..... Next time I die, I wanna die cool..... Next time..... ... ------------ p. 24 Johji: (H...hey!?) (I think I've seen this....) (before.....) ------------ p. 25 Johji: (Yeah, I guess this is what people talk about...the dream you see before you die!) (It's like a flashback of all the things that happened in your life before you die..) (OK....if it's a dream!) (pushing up nose) H...hey kids.... (standing up) You think you can't get away from beating up a yakuza? Sgt-at-Arms: You can't be Sgt-At-Arms if you're afraid of Yakuzas. I guess you don't understand very well (smirk) Hey lets make em understand what the Takuzan Univ. Cheerleaders are made of! (standing up) Johji: Hey hey..... ------------ p. 26 Johji: I think you're the ones who don't understand..... Sgt-at-Arms: Huh? Johji: Are you ready to kill us? (stepping) Sgt-at-Arms: Why do we have to kill you? Johji: Being yakuzas, we can't eat our meals if we're licked by normal citizens.... So, if we lose today, you fight tomorrow...if you lose tomorrow...you fight the day after tomorrow..... If you can't win alone, you fight with two, if you can fight with two, you fight with three.... We keep on fighting no matter how many times we lose..... ------------ p. 27 Johji: You're gonna suffer if you don't kill us now.... Sgt-at-Arms: Are you trying to threaten us? Johji: If you're walking alone, be careful. We might stab you right from behind. Going to jail is decorations for us.... Cheerleaders: ........... (standing up) Yohichi: You got it, shitheads! (shuddering) Sgt-at-Arms: Ok. We're sorry! Yohichi: What's that attitude? (stretching out arm) ------------ p.28 Johji: All you have to do is understand. Now go home! Sgt-at-Arms: Y..yeah... Hey, we're goin'. (yessir) Yohichi: Hey wait! Shit! (putting on coat) Yohichi: Why did you let 'em go? (putting on sunglasses) Johji: Hey, you go to Takuzan Univ. tomorrow and find out their address. Yohichi: Are we getting revenge? Johji: Stupid! We're getting compensation from their parents.... What's the use of being a yakuza if y' can't change wounds into money! ------------ p. 29 Johji: We can really rip off from the parents of that leader.. Guess we can get some from the University.... Hm...I think we can get at least 500,000. Yohichi: Y-yeah, that's right... you're different from me.... You're a real Gokudo! [Gokudo ("ultimate way") is the apprpriate way to address a yakuza.] Johji: Hey hey (Say it again!) (feeling pain) Johji: Those guys really hurt us... (astonished) Johji: (Hurting!? Why does it have to hurt in a dream!?) Yo, this is a dream, right, Yohichi...? Yohichi: Is that a new joke of some kind? Johji: It's not a dream? Reality? Why? How come? No...it must be a dream. ------------ p. 30 Johji: ..... Yohichi: What happened, bro? (snow falling) I had time slipped back to 10 years ago..... It was the end of a pitiful life, but the beginning of a wild and magnificent life. However, at that point, I hadn't yet realized it... ============================================================================== END: ACT 1 ACT 2: "Time slip" ------------ p. 32 (traffic) Man: ....er....so... (apologizing) Man: As the representative of the parents of Takuzan Univ. Cheerleaders.... Man: We all know that you won't be satisfied with money, after we considered the misconduct of our sons... but since we couldn't think of a better idea... (I died, and then came back to life....) (But it was the world of ten years ago!) ------------ p. 33 (handing out money) Man: It isn't much, but we would like to compromise with this... Johji: (hmmm.... Then it is time...) (putting hand in pocket) (being startled) (taking out paper)