Bullets and Gangs: Chapter 11: The Spider's Tale of Power

Natsuki's POV:

Now, I could tell you that I'm not nervous or scared shitless, but of course that would be a damn right lie and even though I've done plenty of it in my life for both myself and Nao Yuuki here, I rather not lie in this case.

In other words, I must confess, I'm worried.

It isn't everyday that a gorgeous woman chains you up and offers herself to you, so long as you give her the answers she wants, but it also isn't everyday that she threatens you with whatever she was using against me right now with that shark like grin on her face.

Well, I'm not gonna weaken. I keep myself calm as I demand, "What? What could be so horrible that you're that confidant? Oh, god, what happened? Am I never gonna play the piano again, Doc?"

I of course say this with a completely idiotic grin on my face as I'm sure she now officially wants to kick my ass.

As I grin up at her, she scowls and raises her hand, backhanding me across my face. I find myself launching back a little from convulsing from the hand.

I shake myself a few times, blinking at this action as I turn my head back towards her, smirking slightly at her anger, grinning a little as she glowered down at me.

"Do you have any idea what will happen to you if you don't speak and tell me the truth soon?" She demanded, those beautiful green eyes drilling into mine.

I smirked and pretended to think for a moment as I then said, "The only thing I'll be offered is a body bag?"

Nao then smirked and said, "Something like that, however, it'll be much more prolonged before the body bag comes. So I suppose you won't be killed outright, but instead given a chance to live."

"Huh?" I asked again, now completely and utterly confused. I had thought that she intended to kill me if I didn't give the answers she wanted even after she offered me herself.

So what was this new establishment?

"Why so concerned about me?" I asked, trying my luck with a haughty grin, however, it didn't serve me too well when Nao suddenly smirked back.

Uh-oh, again.

"Tell me, Wolf," Nao said, smiling coolly, "Have you ever heard of the 'Blood Feast of the Beasts?'"

Almost immediately my hopes for escape and haughty mood crashed violently to the ground. The Blood Feast of the Beasts? Ah, hell, had I heard of it?! That was like asking if water was wet!

I felt a dark, cold chill down my spine and I very nearly lost my calm and joking façade, though I'm sure that Yuuki could smell my sweat all the way from where she was standing.

"Uh….hehe," I said nervously, "Yeah, sure I have, you're not gonna send me there, are yah?"

She actually chuckled a she stated, "So you have heard of it. Good, just as long as you know this isn't an empty threat. Don't worry, I don't have any present plans to send you there….yet."

I personally felt relieved at hearing that. I almost let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this. The last time I had been thrown into the fights of the Beasts it had been when that jackass Kanzaki had been trying to see what could break me, and I had needed that loony, Fujino to speak in my defense to get me out of that situation. I wasn't looking to be thrown back in there.

The little beautiful spider who now held my life in her hands smiled coldly and stated, "While I'm not going to throw you in there, remember, you've caused a lot of trouble over these past ten years."

Her emerald eyes met my own as she continued intensely, "You've caused all of the Yakuza sects to become cautious of you enough to let the Oyabuns of each Yakuza sect, including my own to know how much trouble you are. So I think you should take the chance I'm offering you here, Ice Wolf. Join with me and sell out the people who sent you, and you'll get plenty of time with me at night," She ended this with a lecherous smile, "Or all four of us Oyabuns will take pleasure in your death in the Blood Feast."

I felt a familiar feeling of dread in my stomach. The Blood Feast of the Beasts was as close as you could get to Yakuza Gladiator battles, and they weren't pretty.

Heh, like everything else in the Yakuza wasn't pretty, well except for their women of course. Hehe.

"Jeez," I said, grinning again, trying to bring light to this ridiculously hectic situation, "Are yah saying that I won't even get the chance to grope you early from the deal?"

This, predictably earned a glare from her as she snapped, "Don't you ever give up?! Nevermind, don't answer that. In any case, you'll get more of me, if you answer along the lines of the deal that I stood for you."

(Good.) I thought to myself, smiling evilly and looking lecherously over her form.

Really, for someone so young she sure had a nice figure. That did suddenly make me think. The stories say that she took over when she was only what, thirteen or something? How did she get to Kumicho within the Yakuza at the mere age of thirteen?!

"Oi," I said, now wanting to know more, "How could such a runt like you become the Kumicho when you were only thirteen? Wouldn't you have just been the Kobun at that time?!"

Nao turned her rightfully startled eyes on me, smirked and then said, "My, my, so even a rogue, unruly mutt like you knows the systems of the Yakuza."

She walked to the table where the torture devices were, picked up a switch blade from the table, flicked out the blade and stared intensely at it, the glimmer reflecting those eyes of her as she smirked.

"I was once just a lowly Kobun, you know," She said coolly, closing her eyes as if she needed to remember, "I did some research on the Yakuza before I entered their ranks when I was twelve, and I shoved aside all guilt when I joined them at that age, being the "poor, little" Kobun of a powerful Onee-sama, an Oyabun, I believe her name was Miyu Greer, a foreigner or something," Nao then turned to me and grinned, her eyes now opened.

She continued, showing me the blade, "They all saw me as a mere foster child, whose family was dead and they were embracing me in the warmth of their protection. What fools. They didn't see it coming when I killed eight of the big Oyabuns of the group in their sleep! My intention was to work my way up to the Kumichos of the streets. Amongst the other Kobuns, there were Kanzaki, who I believe you've met." She ended that, while grinning up at me.

I inwardly gulped. Oh, yes, I remembered Kanzaki, all too well. It was rather hard picturing him as being a Kobun once, but I guess he had to have started somewhere, right?

Nao continued, "Other Kobuns who now are either in power or work for me were there. After I killed all the powerful Oyabuns, in the same night, I made it look like an attack from another Yakuza gang, destroying everything in the house and then took off.

"I made it seem like I was out drinking. You have no idea how much of an effort it takes to glug down almost six bottles of whisky one after another."

The Spider looked me intensely in the eye and continued, "Since they had no evidence linking to me, they didn't suspect me. One or two asked questions, but I was able to fool them. I'm the best at showing people what I want them to think, but keeping a whole different deck of cards on me.

"Anyway, the next day, the Kumicho had a lot to deal with, given the deaths of his most powerful troops, the Oyabuns that I killed. One of the things that he was worried about was where the other Kobuns and I were gonna stay, so we all suggested that we stay with him, and help and observe the usual duties so that he'd let his guard down. Once he did, we took advantage, slit his throat as he slept."

With that final statement, it sort of felt like a hammer getting bashed over my head as I realized what happened. I had been fifteen years old at the time, when I had heard that Hiyuken, the most infamous Kumicho of this generation had been killed in his sleep. I was the same age Nao is presently.

"Shit," I said, recovering from the shock of what I had heard, "So you were the one that killed him, huh, Nao? How did you stop the Kumicho's goons from offing you and the other Kobuns when you guys overthrew him?"

Nao held her head back as she smirked down at me, further explaining, "True, some of the Kumicho's bastards were loyal, completely, and those were the ones that died. Reito, Mikoto, Nagi, Mashiro, Akira, Kazuya and Chie were all with me. I threatened to take them with me to hell if they betrayed me. The other Oyabuns who weren't amongst the Oyabuns we've killed helped us take down Hiyuken."

Nao looked coy as she said in an "innocent" voice, "Onee-sama Fumi was loyal to Mashiro and since Mashiro saw Hiyuken as unworthy of carrying out the defense of the honor of the Yakuza sect joined with us. The Oyabuns Midori and Yohko agreed because they agreed with Mashiro's thoughts on our past Kumicho."

At hearing this, I felt a strange sense of just going "wow," but I said nothing, that is till I realized something.

"Wait," I grumbled, glaring at her, "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Nao narrowed her gaze at me and sneered, "Because it won't matter. You may know more than you should, but I felt it's necessary. You need to know the truth of what happened two years ago if you want to join me," She ended that with a coy smile replacing the sneer, and added, "That, and if you can please me enough in bed."

I felt a slight blush form on my face at what she was suggesting but restrained any mumbling as I managed out without any doubt in my tone, "So you told me all this so that we could start our little….arrangement and I'd feel more comfortable? How considerate and sweet."

"Hn," Nao sneered again, "Don't let it get to your head, wolfie, I gave that information as a gift to make you more comfortable. If you want ME, then you'll have to work for it through information, you lecherous mutt."

"But why?!" I demanded, the words out of my mouth before I could stop myself, "Why did a young girl like you join with the Yakuza? You said you were only twelve at the time."

This time, the only thing that met my gaze was a cold glare as she snapped, "I've already told you more than you deserve, Wolf, stay out of my private life."

I thought for a moment about making a snide, perverted remark about that, but once I saw that she was angry and serious, I held my tongue. One of the few times I chose to too.

So instead, I decided to add something completely on another part of the discussion.

I smirked and said, "Well it looks like you've got all of your fingers, though I don't know how that's possible considering having someone like YOU as a Kobun."

It seemed to take her a few moments to register what I meant, before looking at me in rage as she realized what I meant.

I grinned at her realization that I was talking about the whole missing fingers thing as discipline.

"I mean, with a Kobun like you," I continued, obviously not knowing when to stop, "I'm surprised you have any fingers left!"

Nao growled under her breath and moved forwards. I grinned evilly like a demon, knowing full well that there was an opening as she pressed the knife blade against my neck.

She hissed, her green eyes once again digging into my own, "I was able to work around it and become trusted. I knew how I was supposed to act and what my place was supposed to be after I saw the penalty of some other Kobuns who were disobedient. So I pretended to go along with everything till that night when I killed the other eight Oyabuns.

"Then seducing the Kumicho into thinking that I would be a good Saiko was fucking easy! That was how I was able to get so close and kill him in his sleep. All the other Oyabuns and Kobuns who just didn't care went along with the shift in power. You, I believe already saw that Kanzaki took over another part of the streets."

"Yeah, I know." I grumbled, shivering at his name a little. I was gonna guess that Fujino and Munkata had already been in control due to the fact that they had all that money.

Well, I had been hoping for an opening of some kind but this long explanation gave me much to think about.

I was still gonna go through the job of assassinating Yuuki, but not before I got my fill of her. Her explanation of me feeling more comfortable with her if she explained how it happened actually worked. Even with the whole 'I killed these people in their sleep' kind of thing. I felt strangely satisfied with that much information. Still, one thing missing.

"So," I said, grinning again, "When do I get to lick any place on you again?"

Nao gave me an exasperated look, but pulled her knife away from my throat as she grumbled, "Again with the libido. I swear, if I didn't like you I'd kill you by now."

"Oh, so you like me?" I ask hoping to piss her off more as I grin.

She just gives me a glare and walks out of the room. Before she leaves though, she turns back to me and says coldly, "Just keep in mind how I gained all this power, Wolf. You could be my Saiko if you really wanted." She grinned at the startled look on my face, and was about to walk back out of the room, when she turned back to me again and said, "Just remember, I could still send you to the Blood Feast of Beasts if you don't comply." Then she left.

As the door closes, I contemplate all she's said. If she's lying, then she's a very convincing liar. "Interesting," I mumble, thinking about all the different balances of power here, "Very interesting." Although, I have to say I'm grateful to her for sharing all that information with me. Heh, I think she's starting to warm up to me.

And what she offered to me, being the Kumicho's Saiko! That was one big move up the food chain in the Yakuza world. Though I wasn't gonna back down from my assassinating assignment, becoming the Saiko may give me benefits, and I could take over as the new Kumicho if I did assassinate Yuuki on the way.

But there was a question, would I be able to convince Yuuki of anything before she sent me to The Blood Feast of the Beasts?! Man, I really hoped so.

I so did not wanna get sent there again. I still have fucking scars from that, yah know.

Nao's POV:

I watch the Ice Wolf over the camera screen thanks to the surveillance in that room. I can't help but grin at how she seems to be wondering to herself.

This was all working out perfectly.

"Oi, Yuuki!" I heard Midori's irritating voice from behind speak loudly, "Are you nuts, telling the Ice Wolf everything that happened?!"

"You were watching us?!" I hissed through gritted teeth as I turned to her, my eyes ablaze with fury.

Midori almost immediately lost her angry look and became rightfully humble. She might have been thirteen years older than me, but she knew her place. She knew that there would be fingers lopped off if she was too defiant towards me.

I smirk at her fear and look back at the screen where the Ice Wolf is and state in a matter-of-fact type voice, "Telling her everything that happened that night when I took over was perfect, Midori. No, I am not nuts, in fact, I'm a genius. By telling her everything, she thinks I'm now beginning to like her. This will make her let her guard down thinking that everything is going according to plan, so then she'll let out some information. And by offering her a place as my Saiko, she'll hopefully try to kill me to take over as Kumicho, so then I'll take her off guard. Either way, it'll work to our favor."

After explaining that long tedious statement to Midori, what came out of the idiot's mouth was a hopeful question that made me smirk.

"So," Midori asked with hope in her voice, "You weren't really serious about making her your Saiko?"

"Of course not," I said, rolling my eyes, and then I turned to Midori and smirked widely, "After all, that's the occupation you desire, right?"

"Umm." Midori grumbled, blushing like a school girl and looking away.

I grin. Midori's feelings towards me were so amusing. I look back at the screen at how the Ice Wolf is struggling against the chains and smirk.

"Besides," I add, "If she doesn't give us any information over time, no matter what bargain, we'll just throw her to the Blood Feast of the Beasts like Shiho requested."

We'll see what happens Wolf, we'll see. I also know that she's afraid of Kanzaki, that's definitely a handy thing to know.

For those that are wondering about the meanings of the words in this chapter, I did some research and here are the meanings:

Oyabun: Big sibling, or foster parent, a mentor of types

Kobun: The foster child or younger sibling, the one being taught by the Oyabun

Kumicho: The head honcho of the "family."

Saiko: Is the Kumicho's special and most trusted advisor

Chop off fingers thing: When someone is defiant in the Yakuza, particularly a Kobun, the Oyabun that is disciplining the Kobun chops off a tip of a finger of a Kobun.

The Blood Feast of the Beasts was of course a fictional phenomenon that I came up with, and that'll have more of taking place in later chapters.