The view was good, but then, it was always good. Sengoku Kiyosumi had taken to spending a lot of his free time leaning against the balcony railing on the nightclub's second floor, drink in hand, watching the gyrations of the dancers below. Sharp bluegreen eyes picked out notable faces; the Doll was here, apparently, as was the Neko. Not surprising. They worked together a lot. The Tiger was behind the bar as usual, dishing out his particular brand of poison. He didn't see the Devil, but then the Diva probably had him occupied. The Gentleman was lurking around, though, which made it very likely that the Harlequin was lurking as well. The power balance of the night leaned in Rikkai's favor.
He remembered when it didn't matter who was in the club.
That hadn't been all that long ago, either. The Hyotei Corporation and the Rikkai Corporation had still been the two biggest factions in the local yakuza scene, but neither was really at each other's throats. The usual squabbles for territory, the standard nitpicky encounters; nothing out of the ordinary.
That had all changed abruptly when Gakuto had decided he was going to have a little 'fun' with Kamio. Hyotei learned in a really big hurry that there were a few things one didn't do, and molesting Sanada's live-in lover was high on the list. The retaliatory strike had been swift and dangerous, and the uneasy truce had become outright warfare. Each side fought dirty, striking when one least expected it. Neither cared which tactics they employed, be it rape, theft, murder, whatever got them to their goal.
Most groups picked sides. Hyotei had gone in search of Seigaku, persuading their enigmatic leader to join forces. Rikkai had gathered up St. Rudolph and Fudomine, the latter thanks to Kamio's calling everyone he knew to their cause. Sengoku and his partner had remained neutral for the time being. The Yamabuki duo had it easy, though; everyone knew they didn't need either side. As long as Akutsu and Sengoku had each other, there wasn't a damn soul who could touch them. Sengoku was too precise of a shot, and Akutsu was scary as hell even WITHOUT a gun.
The other two neutral factions were a little more worrisome than one duo from Yamabuki, though.
Rokkaku was neutral purely because they preferred to fuck people over rather than actively work for anyone. Saeki Kojirou - the Silver Tiger - was a fearsome leader and a raging bastard all rolled into one parcel. They weren't too terribly active in the powerplay, though their maliciousness could occasionally tip a battle one way or the other. The more troublesome group was Jyousei.
Where most yakuza groups were held together by money and power, Jyousei was held by strong interpersonal bonds. Their strength was their unity, most of it founded on their charismatic leader. Sengoku reflected, briefly, on the enigma that was Kajimoto Takahisa. He'd been a noted criminal defense attorney before the escalating violence chased him underground -- charming, loquacious, Harvard-educated and wealthy as all get out. He commanded the total loyalty of his faction in a way that nobody else could manage.
If Jyousei joined a side, it could well mean impending doom for the other group.
"Hey. Kiyo."
Sengoku turned to look at the tall yakuza who had materialized at his side. Akutsu Jin was one of the few people in the underworld who could scare the shit out of almost everyone on looks alone. His chin-length, bleached white hair stood almost on end, myriad piercings adorned his face, and the ropy muscles on his arms spoke of enough strength to break a person in half without a thought. In the presence of his partner, though, he was quiet, almost docile, amber eyes uncaring. "Rumor's sayin' the Devil's Advocate's spending way too much time holed up with the Diva."
"Enh." Lucky snorted, knocking back the rest of his screwdriver and sticking the glass on a nearby table. "Probably fucking each other stupid. Whoop-te-fucking-doo." He was disinterested in most of the gossip. It only became important when it might shift the balance of power, which in turn might pull Yamabuki directly into the fray. He turned around, leaning against the rail and settling his attention fully on Akutsu.
"Probably. This could be fucking major, though, Kiyo." Akutsu's pierced lips curved in a not-altogether-nice smirk. "The Devil's been shadowing the Senator. From a distance." If Hyotei was courting Jyousei, it meant a significant swing was in the works. The white-haired Monster watched the play of emotions across the redhead's features, moving from surprise to dismay to a hard, cold, biting smile that was far unlike his usual affable cheer.
"Dancing with the devil, hm? We'll keep an eye on that. That could change the whole fucking balance if they fucking line themselves up with Pretty Pretty Princess Atobe." Sengoku snorted, shoving away from the railing. "I wanna go home. You done here?"
"Yeah." The duo snaked their way through the crowd, exiting the club and traversing the familiar path that led to their run-down apartment. It was usually a disaster area, but it had a couch that actually had springs and a mattress that didn't have a divot in the middle. It wasn't much, but it was home. Lucky dropped himself on the couch, flipping on the TV and waiting for Akutsu to join him, a faint smile on his lips. It wasn't much...but it held the only person that mattered to him. That made it better than any palace, anywhere.
