Vil is Tsuna, if it's not obvious at the end.
To say Azul was intrigued over what Vil wanted was an understatement. Especially since he had also called Leona to this particular meeting.
Leona looked bored on the outside, but in reality he was curious.
Vil sauntered in, looking as regal as ever.
"I'm sure both of you are curious as to why I called you. To put it simply, I'm here to offer a business proposition...one that will benefit all three of us if we do things right."
Seeing he had their attention, Vil smirked. He pulled something up on his phone and showed it to them.
"What's this?"
"An island. Specifically an island in international waters that is so far unclaimed by other territories and therefor fair game. I've already established a claim on it through squatter's rights."
Azul blinked.
"So why did you call us?"
"To put it simply I want to start a new kingdom on that island. One with a more...relaxed...view on certain subjects. Specifically certain laws like money laundering, gun running and other less than legal methods of making money," said Vil bluntly.
Azul sat up at that, already seeing the potential.
"So why call us?" asked Leona, and it was clear he was getting bored.
"Simply put, creating a kingdom like that is too much work for one person. However splitting it up between three people who have their own agenda is another story," said Vil. He looked to Azul. "I want to create a collective...one that splits our general talents and preferences in such a way that it benefits the group as a whole and earns us a lot of cash and power."
Azul's eyes gleamed as he could already foresee potential benefits from this idea. The real question was Leona.
"What's in it for me?" he asked.
"You get to rule your own area like a king, far away from your brother's influence," said Vil immediately. "And you get to show your superiority as a leader because you are building something new, instead of maintaining an already established system. Besides, this means you can be a king in your own right without anyone holding your hand."
He had Leona's interest now. Vil smirked.
"You get to do the same thing you do now, just on a larger scale. I could care less if you beat the crap out of idiots who are too drunk to know better. So long as the general peace is kept, you're free to do whatever you want as long as we don't have to clean it up."
Leona was smirking now, and Vil knew he had their undivided attention.
"What do you get out of this?" said Leona.
"If we do this, then I don't have to worry about a certain faction trying to drag me into cleaning up their mess again. It'll be viewed as an heir who wanted to make their own group rather than fight over an inheritance that they're not next in line for. Running a new kingdom is less of a headache than having to deal with the old guard's screw-ups and their interference," said Vil without hesitation.
"This all sounds very well and good, but you haven't explained why you approached us specifically. It sounds like you could find patsies rather easily if necessary to do all the heavy lifting for you," said Azul.
"Agreed, I see no actual benefit for you to bring us into it."
Vil almost wanted to wince, but held his composure. Well, if they wanted a solid reason why he wasn't bringing yes-men into it that he could control.
"My birth father's family is old blood mafia. It's less headache to bring in fresh blood who don't already have the connections than deal with vetting people who could potentially try to earn favor with them because of who they are," said Vil reluctantly.
"Mafia. As in..." said Azul slowly.
"As in the group you're trying to emulate, somewhat better than most," deadpanned Vil. "I have to admit, I was taken aback when I first saw your little lounge set up before I realized you were new blood trying to break into the Cosa Nostra, or at least using them as an example. I had to double and triple check you weren't already part of it, but once I found out you were a merman I knew that was impossible."
Azul...almost wanted to preen at that.
"And what about me?"
"You remind me of a certain dragon, including his particular...hang ups...regarding his family and the line of succession," said Vil immediately. "However once you had his loyalty, there was no one I'd rather have working with me to keep the family safe."
Leona seemed pleased at that.
"Besides, my birth father is a braying jackass that insists on using the nickname 'young lion'. I couldn't resist the chance to introduce that idiot to an actual lion, considering what a pathetic excuse of a father he was," continued Vil.
"So...what exactly is your plan?" asked Azul. It was more out of curiosity than anything.
Vil smirked and pulled out several sheathes of paper. He passed one to Leona and Azul, before explaining them in painful and often graphic detail.
By the end of it, both had been firmly convinced Vil was dead serious about this and actually wanted them to be part of what he called the Collective. None of them would be above the other and would rule over their prospective areas like kings...but at the same time the other two would keep the third in check. It was a simple, if highly ingenious system.
Vil returned to his dorm tired, but hopeful that the other two would consider his proposal and sign the agreement he drafted up.
As he expected, Azul was openly intrigued at basically being given an area where he could rule almost unopposed so long as he agreed to sharing with the others. Leona, however, was a bit of a tricky one.
"You said you wanted us to cooperate. Explain exactly what it is you had in mind for me," he all but ordered.
If Vil wasn't used to this exact sort of behavior from Xanxus, he might have been annoyed. As it was, he was simply exasperated. It didn't escape his notice that Leona had brought Ruggie with him.
"Any new kingdom is going to need some form of law and order, even if it's a mockery of one. Who better to keep the food chain in place than the descendant of the King of Beasts?" said Vil simply. "I'm not expecting you to keep it peaceful...there wouldn't be any fun in that."
Ruggie was the one to get it first, the clever hyena.
"Shishishi... you want something close to what Savanaclaw has, where they respect Leona's power enough not to cause problems...but where Leona has the leeway to teach the idiots that do cause enough trouble to bother the top where their place in the food chain is."
"You can feed their bodies to the sharks for all I care, or sell them for parts," deadpanned Vil. "If they're dumb enough to piss us off, they're dumb enough to disappear without a trace."
Leona was openly smirking now, as he had gotten the measure of Vil's resolve. While he might not be royalty in blood (as far as Leona knew anyway) he had the right attitude for one.
"And who are we going to populate this new kingdom of yours with?"
"You've seen what Azul has created yes? What he has is only the barest tip of that particular iceberg. The only thing preventing him from really making waves is that he wasn't born into it, nor does he have the right knowledge to acquire the proper channels and allies. I do."
Ruggie stared at Vil, incredulous.
"Wait...are you telling me you know how to access the underworld? Why are you..."
"Why go into modeling and acting, if I could potentially make my own group? Simple. The bloodline I come from is too troublesome to deal with without a strong backing behind me to tell them to piss off. If they found out where I was before I had enough clout to ignore their 'sage advice', it would only end in headaches," said Vil. "They've built their own empire in blood and death, out of what used to be a vigilante group. However with the line of succession being what it is, several heirs would have to be bumped off before I could go anywhere near it...and I'm the last failsafe."
Leona had a look of understanding now, why Vil wanted to create his own place.
"If you're the failsafe, that means you're dead last in terms of succession. This isn't about power...this is insuring your own clout without having to rely on the family."
Vil nodded.
"That and the current head is a monumental idiot. The man had three sons, adopted a fourth under false pretenses and lied to the boy, and then kept the throne even when the eldest and heir was more than old enough to take over. Worse, he hired a braying jackass to run their intelligence division and the man is better off a field commander than ruling the place," said Vil in disgust. "They've gotten so complacent that they were still scrambling to handle the original heir's death, and he refuses to install his second choice as the head of the family."
Leona snorted, as he got the idea.
"So basically the old king is determined to hold onto the crown, and you want nothing to do with the inevitable blood bath that's going to come from the succession issue. You came to me because out of the other students, I would understand on a deeper level what a headache it is and are giving me an out to my own."
"That and the fourth son, who everyone believes is illegitimate but has no actual blood claim to the throne, happens to run a rather successful group of elite assassins and killers," said Vil. "They call themselves the Varia and among the mafia they're the elite of the elite when it comes to assassination. Out of all the potential choices, you have the best insight to his mindset, which means once you have the right information you can sniff out their men and keep them from causing us trouble."
Leona was fully interested now. A potential rival he could challenge himself against that was actually worth the title.
Vil then turned to Ruggie.
"Of course I wouldn't dream of separating Leona from the best Right Hand he's found in ages. You have the right mindset for it and you're far more clever than the last idiot I had to deal with...and you're not inclined to be a simpering yes-man."
"Shishishi...you make it sound like it's a done deal."
"Leona would be an idiot to get rid of you, in all honesty," said Vil without hesitation. "And if he ever did try to replace you, I'd snatch you up myself in a heartbeat. Talent like yours is near impossible to come by...never mind that level of competence. The last person to act as my right hand was good, but his attitude was all wrong for it."
Ruggie didn't know whether it was the open job offer or his words that put it into Leona's head, but the lion drafted up an official document that would legally turn him into his right hand within a week of that meeting.
It came with a nice pay boost, some actual power, and meant that he could earn his own way doing the same thing he would have done anyway.
Azul looked at his fellow housewarden, and at the rather large sheathe of documents Vil had given him. It seemed to be a dossier of what to expect in the actual Cosa Nostra, not the one he played around with.
"What do you want for this?" asked Azul. Vil was dressed to kill, and every inch the embodiment of the Fairest Queen. That he deigned to dress as such showed that he took Azul's position seriously and it was a bit of an ego boost.
"A formal alliance," said Vil. "I'll give you the information you need to help break into the established channels, and in exchange I'll help you sort out the new information so that we can keep tabs on the group I'm from. I'm going to provide the source of legitimate income and source all the weapons since my position allows us to funnel the real stuff with the fake without anyone noticing. You, however will sources the hidden income, the information, and the sort of side deals that will make others take us seriously."
Azul considered what he had skimmed briefly after Vil handed it to him.
"You want me to take the position this...CEDEF has, only in a much broader scope."
"Leona is almost on board to act as the Varia's equivalent," said Vil. "You are far more competent than the imbecile running the intelligence division that it's not even a contest. If we're going to challenge them as a group, then I want to do it right. You are of course allowed to run your areas however you see fit, but regular status reports are required. Naturally I would have Leona back them up as a safety net, to insure their legitimacy."
That was perfectly reasonable, and insured that if Azul tried to lie then he would be caught out very quickly.
"What's to keep us from kicking you out and taking over rule ourselves?" asked Azul.
Vil's smile was razor sharp and not kind.
"I only gave you general background knowledge...this particular Cosa Nostra that we're entering has their own power that is akin to magic, but only those who know the right words will understand half of it. And they have a rather strict group that acts as the official Sword of Damocles to keep things on the level. They are worse than STYX in that regard and they have no need to worry about power struggles among the groups because they are above all of them. Even the Vongola toes the line around them."
Azul was openly impressed...at how easily Vil countered him without a second thought.
He was the first to admit he was a large fish in a decently sized pond...all Vil was offering was the chance to properly swim with other predators that understood his nature and the right sort of power that appealed to him.
Vil left that meeting, secure in the knowledge that Azul was almost certain to take the bait.
Let the remaining two heirs and Xanxus fight over the bloodied throne of the Vongola... Vil was after a much bigger prize with far less restrictions. And the best part was that the old fool and his idiot father would never see him coming until it was much too late.
Reborn would be so proud of his favorite student...he was going to topple the Vongola at their own game and remind them of the power of the Primo's bloodline.