It's a weekday afternoon. Shosuko, still giddy after just saying goodbye to Yuuji, drunkenly stumbles into Kuze Clan HQ. She wears a grin that can best be described as 'goofy'. Oka looks up from her little cubicle to greet her.
"H-how was last night, Sh-Shosuko?"
"Perfect, Oka. Just… perfect."
"Hey there, champ." Daisuko creeps up from behind Shosuko and wraps her arm around her shoulders. "Did you have fun with Yuuji?"
"Course I did." Shosuko, feeling especially friendly today, wraps her arm around Daisuko's shoulders as well.
"Nah, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean like… did you have fun with Yuuji" Daisuko wiggles her eyebrows.
Shosuko squints, plasters a half-smile on her face, and shakes her head, the universal sign for "What are you talking about?".
"Have you two banged?" Daisuko says bluntly.
"Oh, fuck off." Shosuko rolls her eyes and playfully pushes Daisuko away, which is a testament to just how good of a mood she's in. On any other day, she might just straight up kill Daisuko. "I'm a classy gal. I like to take things slow, y'know what I'm sayin'?"
"A full night and you haven't even made it to fourth base yet?" Daisuko shakes her head. "You better hurry the fuck up before he up and leaves your ass for someone else."
"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. We have a date on Friday."
"F-Friday, huh?" Oka squints as she checks the calendar on her laptop. "That's… tomorrow." Her frown deepens.
"Is that a problem?" Shosuko's heart suddenly catches in her throat.
"N-no. That… fits in p-perfectly into our plans, actually."
"Our plans?" Shosuko starts climbing down from seventh heaven. Right, she just remembered. She's yakuza now. With all the good and the bad which that brings.
"O-oh yes, I forgot to mention. I-I'm showing you some more ropes since Daisuko did such a g-good job of teaching you h-how to be yakuza." The sarcasm is obvious even through her stutter. "And as per the matriarch's orders, I'm going to be taking over and t-teach you how to be Kuze Clan brass as well."
"Is that really fine? I mean, I'm a complete newbie."
"Y-you're a Kuze, which m-means you're part of the main f-family. It's t-tradition to have Kuzes be officers."
"Oh, so it's just a nepotism thing." Shosuko never thought she'd ever use that word but she is, apparently.
"N-not just that. Give yourself some credit. You were commissioned by the ICMG s-so you have training and e-experience that we don't. You also h-held your own against The Batter all b-by yourself. You h-have the respect of all our best girls."
"I see." Shosuko nods as she tries her best to keep herself from getting a big head. "But aren't you at war with the Umi Alliance? Aren't you busy with that?"
"There's n-no reason I can't teach you while we're on the j-job. And this is less a w-war and more an assassination."
"Makes sense. Winning before the first blow is always the ideal situation to strive for."
"Y-yes." Oka adjusts her glasses. "Though the main reason why we c-can't handle a protracted e-engagement is because we need to make sure both the ICMG and the other yakuza organizations d-don't know about the war until after the w-war is over."
"Why not?"
"It's a little hard to e-explain, so give me a moment." Oka takes out a pad of paper and starts drawing a big circle near the top. "This is t-the ICMG." She draws five circles underneath the ICMG. "And these are the y-yakuza organizations in Ozawa. The Umi Alliance, The Blackadder Gang, The Shirayuki Association, the Awano Family, and the K-Kuze Clan. You c-can think of us all as a b-bunch of bickering siblings and the ICMG is the big daddy that keeps us all in l-line. If we slip up, we get spanked, simple as that."
She places the pencil tip on the circle with 'Kuze Clan' written on it. "The Kuze Clan is the eldest, and the one who tries her b-best to keep the peace. We're the first line of defense if something wrong comes up."
"Why?"
"Hm?" Oka raises an eyebrow.
"I mean, why is it our job to 'keep the peace'?"
"Cause that's what our m-m-matriarch wants. Simple as t-that."
"I see."
"Next oldest is the Shirayuki Association. You can think of t-them as the p-prodigal daughter, of sorts. They don't like the ICMG a-and the ICMG doesn't l-like them. So they're doing e-everything in their p-power to move away from c-crime."
"Sounds… kinda the opposite of what yakuza are supposed to do."
"The Shirayuki Association is b-business first, yakuza second. They're smart like that."
"Huh, okay."
"The middle child is the Awano f-family. They're probably the smartest of us a-all. Collectively speaking. They make just enough bank off of legitimate b-businesses to stave off upkeep, then they make huge bank selling us info on the other families when we come into conflict."
"So they're war hawks…"
"Through and through. T-they're dangerous to have as enemies, but even more dangerous as friends."
"Interesting."
"Next is the Blackadder Gang. They're the biggest, dumbest, and angriest of us all. They're l-loud, disorganized, and eager to beat people's faces in. Not to say that everyone in the gang is like that, but s-stereotypes exist for a reason. Try not to touch anyone wearing their uniform with a t-ten foot pole. Thankfully, their leader, Oe, is pretty unambitious."
"How so?"
"She's not particularly interested in cash. She's just growing her n-numbers. W-which gives us time to grow our numbers. Based on what we know, If she wanted to pull something, she would have done so already."
"Maybe she's just being careful?"
"Maybe… M-maybe…"
Oka moves onto the Umi Alliance. "The last and probably the least, The U-Umi Alliance. They're a relatively small group that's only gotten this big because of The Batter's influence. Thing is, though, no one's seen her since your fight.
"I take it things are going well?"
"I-in short? Good. But not g-good enough. We can crush them b-by Saturday, but that's not fast enough. The ICMG's g-going to be here by tomorrow."
"Seems like they're just a hair's breadth away from death, though." Shosuko strokes her chin. "Is there any way we can deal them some kind of final, decisive blow?"
"M-my thoughts exactly." Oka rifles through the files in a drawer of hers before pulling out a folder. She tucks it under her arm and stands. "Walk with me, Sh-Shosuko. We have somewhere to be."
Oka takes long strides with her gangly legs as she walks out of her office and up the spiral stairs leading to Kiara's office. Shosuko has to speed-walk just to keep up.
"I'll see you two around." Daisuko waves them goodbye, a little smirk on her face. "And good luck, Shosuko."
"For what?" Shosuko calls out, already halfway ascending a floor.
"You'll see." Daisuko says something ominous as she disappears out of earshot.
Shosuko follows Oka closely behind as the tall girl opens the door, walks over to the table in the center of the room, and takes a seat. Shosuko does the same with the seat opposite her.
"Our target is Yuki Ryusei. Former Umi Alliance lieutenant, now acting head since The Batter's been missing." Oka gently places the folder onto the table. "That's Awano intel. Cost the Clan a pretty penny too."
"What happened to your stutter?" Shosuko slides the folder closer to herself and opens it. It turns out to be a dossier on everything about Yuki. What she eats, where she sleeps, who she talks to, living family, the works.
"Rule number one. Never show anyone your true self." Her stutter's not the only thing that's disappeared. Her body language, the look in her eye, even the way she sits are all different. It's as though the awkward, timid Oka has suddenly been replaced by a new, steely Oka. "I break this rule for you and you alone. I want you to look over that dossier. You don't have to memorize it. Just look it over."
"Right." Shosuko starts flipping through the pages, letting her brain soak up whatever her eyes manage to pick out. Her eyes linger on Yuki's portrait. She looks pretty young, even for magical girl standards, maybe around fifteen or sixteen. Her hair is a dull matte blue, just like her own natural hair color. It takes her to realize that they've already met. "You said she's our target. Target for what?"
Oka crosses her arms. "By the end of today, Yuki Ryusei will be removed from the equation."
"I see." Shosuko closes the dossier and throws it back onto the table. "Then sorry, Oka. I can't be a part of this. I can't kill another person."
"I figured you'd say that." Oka adjusts her glasses as she looks at Shosuko, like she's a specimen of some kind. "Daisuko's lessons were teaching you about what lines you could cross as a yakuza. My lessons are going to be teaching you how to cross them. By the end of the day, you will have Yuki's head at your feet."
"…What are you getting at?"
"We'll start small."
Oka gestures for Shosuko to follow her out of the room and even higher on the spiral staircase. Shosuko obliges, doubtful of Oka's intentions, but not doubtful enough to stop following her. At the very top of the stairs is a plain gray door.
"In here."
Oka ducks inside. Shosuko does the same, and is immediately greeted by the sight of a person gagged and bound to a chair.