"What the hell is this?!" Shosuko can't see Oka's face but she's almost sure it's nothing like her own. Disgust, shock, and most of all, abject horror smear Shosuko's expression.
"This is an interrogation." Oka says it clinically, cleanly, without remorse. "I'll be taking the lead. I need you to watch, learn, and do as I say. Is that clear?"
"This is fucked up." Shosuko is about to walk away but Oka snags her arm.
"Is that clear?"
"Tsk." Shosuko wrenches her arm free. "Crystal."
"Good. Let's proceed. The main problem we currently face is that we don't know where Yuki Ryusei is. But she does. This is Masami Kawasaki, of the Umi Alliance."
「Masami Kawasaki」- Umi Alliance Elite.
"She's been a huge pain in our side. In the past two days alone she's already wiped out two full squads. Nonmagical too. It's an unwritten rule between us yakuza that magical girls should only kill magical girls. But Masami's not strong enough to go up against our magical girls, so she preys on the weak instead." Oka undoes Masami's gag. "Isn't that right, Masami?"
"P-PLEASE! DON'T HURT ME! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"
Oka reaches deep into her skirt pocket and takes out a gun. It's a Desert Eagle, one of the few guns that can solidly punch through a magical girl's thick skull. She hands the gun to Shosuko, who gingerly takes the dealer of death into her hands.
"What–" Shosuko's voice breaks. "What do you want me to do with this?"
"Be calm. And pay close attention." Oka grabs Masami's hair and yanks it upwards. "I'll give you one chance. Tell me where Yuki Ryusei is, and I'll spare your life."
"Th-that's…! I dunno a-anything about that!"
"Hmmm…" Oka lowers her head next to Masami's ear. "I want you to answer me this, was it you or was it those girls you killed who started the fight?"
"I...I–"
"Tell the truth, I'll know if you're lying."
"I-I was afraid! I thought they would kill me if I didn't kill them first!"
"Good girl." Oka pets the underside of her chin like one would a cat. "What yakuza organization were you affiliated with before you turned Umi?"
"Wh-what? How do you know that?!"
"I have my ways. Now talk."
"The Sh-Shirayuki Association!"
"Entertainment or smuggling?"
"Smuggling!"
"Drugs or Jutsu."
"Drugs!"
"Sold any to kids?"
"B-business was tight…"
Oka looks at Shosuko to make sure she's listening. "There you have it, Shosuko. What we've got here is bona fide scum of the earth. As far as people go, the guilt you'll feel killing her should be minimal."
"N-NO! PLEASE!"
"Quiet. You have a family, right?"
"Yes!" Tears seep through her blindfold.
"Do you love them?"
"Yes!"
"They'd be sad if you died, right?"
"Y-yes!" Masami breaks into sobs.
"Then tell me where Yuki Ryusei is."
"I don't know! I'm telling you! I really don't know!"
"Oka." Shosuko takes a step forward. "That's enough."
"Just a moment, Shosuko." Oka's voice never changes. Always completely calm, completely cool, completely collected.
"Alright." Oka stands back up to her full height. "I believe you."
"Oh thank you. Thank you thank you thank–"
"Then we have no need for trash like you." Oka snaps her fingers. "Shosuko. Kill her."
"Please–! Please don't!"
"What?" Shosuko stares at Oka in sheer disbelief of what she's asking her to do. "But you heard what she just said! She doesn't know anything!"
Oka adjusts her glasses. "I see. So you still don't get it..."
"Get what? That you're fucking insane?!"
"Listen, Shosuko. Yakuza gangs are businesses too. And businesses don't give out their services to people who can't pay for them. If people, like Masami here, can't pay the price of her own life, nor the price of those girls' lives that she took away, nor the price of those drugs she sold to those kids, nor the price of betraying her association, then she's just trash that needs to be disposed of."
"I-I get what you're saying! Fuck! But this is still messed up! Jesus Christ!" Shosuko wipes the sweat on her forehead on her sleeve.
"It can't be helped. That's just the sort of thing you're going to have to get used to now that you're yakuza. So take the shot."
"Goddamnit." Is she really about to do this? Right here? Right now? Her hand shakes as she lifts the handgun up. "Jesus, shit! This is fucked up!"
"This is the yakuza way."
"But it doesn't have to be! I thought yakuza had honor! I thought yakuza had values!"
"We do." Oka walks behind Shosuko and grasps Shosuko by the shoulders. "That's why we do everything in our power to serve the clan. Our clan."
"No." Shosuko shakes Oka off. Shosuko lowers the gun, taking heaving breaths as she does. Just not pointing that thing at someone is a huge weight off of her back. "There's no point in a clan without ideals. There have to be some lines no one can ever cross."
"You don't understand. This isn't just for the clan, this is for the Kuze family, you included."
"What the hell do you even know? You're not even a real Kuze."
"..." Oka's face darkens.
"What? You mad?" Shosuko throws the gun aside and puts her dukes up in a boxing stance.
"No. Just hurt." Oka tilts her head and stands as straight as a line. "And someone needs to teach you your place."
"Then bring it."
"「Taijutsu - Awaking Beast」" Shosuko makes the opening move, activating her signature Taijutsu.
"「Genjutsu - Letter Opener」" Genjutsu, literally meaning 'Phantom Technique', is a subset of Jutsu that focuses on creation. It is more versatile than Gujutsu in the sense that there is some flexibility on the exact properties of what is created. For example, a Genjutsu that conjures guns can conjure rifles, pistols, light machine guns, and more. However, the conjured object will always be incompatible with Gujutsu. Genjutsu is technically the most blood intensive type of jutsu of the three core Jutsu types as it has the potential to consume the most blood if the created item is particularly powerful.
Three wicked-sharp letter openers appear in between Oka's fingers. as though she'd been holding them beneath an invisible cloth that had just been pulled off. She flicks her hand. In an instant, the letter openers start to whirl through the air– deadly rotating sawblades, heading for Masami's head. Shosuko wastes no time, diving in front of the blades, crossing her arms to guard herself as best she can.
"GH–!" Three wounds open along her arm. The letter openers shred through her flesh and strike bone.
"You're hardier than I thought." Without Awaking Beast, those letter openers would have sliced her arm clean off.
"That hurt, asshole!" Without wasting a beat, Shosuko immediately rips out one of the letter openers and flings it back at Oka. There's no finesse, no dexterity, no expertise in the way she throws. But weight is weight, and anything flying that fast is going to hit like a truck.
"「Taijutsu - Monsoon」" Oka activates a Taijutsu of her own. It's one that Shosuko recognizes, her squad captain used it as well. It's a passive-type Taijutsu, similar to Shosuko's Awaking Beast, only instead of an all-around boost, it specializes in maximizing dexterity and speed. Oka's arm suddenly moves with the speed of a hurricane's gale and deftly swipes the letter opener out of the air. It rests serenely at her fingertips.
"Bastard." Shosuko stands up, ripping out the other letter openers and letting them fall to the ground.
"You brought this onto yourself." One last letter opener appears in her grasp, she holds it in a reverse grip.
"Then I'll be the one to finish it!" Shosuko runs directly at Oka, throwing caution into the wind.
"Just try it." Oka uses her reach to her advantage, launching her arm into a wide angle to slash at Shosuko's throat. But Shosuko simply ducks under the swing and gets in close. Close enough that Oka's reach works to her disadvantage.
Shosuko delivers a slug directly to Oka's solar plexus. Even with the effects of her Taijutsu, she isn't fast enough to get out of the way. Over and over, her arms work like pistons, delivering straight after straight right where she's weakest. Shockwaves ripple through Oka's body. She coughs up blood.
"Damn– you!" In between Shosuko's swings, Oka lifts up her leg and kicks Shosuko directly in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. Shosuko tucks, rolls, and ends in a crouching position. As a finishing touch, Oka flicks a letter opener to chase after her, immediately hitting Shosuko in the mouth. Shosuko's head arcs backwards. Based on its velocity, it should penetrate deep enough into her throat that it should sever her spinal cord, paralyzing her. Oka begins to relax, the fight seemingly over. But then Shosuko tilts her head back down, the letter opener caught between her teeth.
"You're getting predictable."
"Tsk." Oka rushes forwards before stabbing the heel of her foot into Shosuko's arm. The tip of a letter opener peeks out of her shoe sole. On the upside, the hit connects, the blade jams itself deep into Shosuko's arm. On the downside, Shosuko manages to catch Oka's leg, and promptly slams it down on her knee, breaking Oka's leg in half.
"That wasn't very nice."
Shosuko pulls on Oka's foot, knocking her off-balance, and then punches her square in the head. It's lights out from there.