All characters or names from other series that appear in this fic are the rightful properties of their original owners. For anyone questioning why anyone from Red Dead Redemption II is even in this fic I was just curious to how outlaws such as Arthur and a few would be as outlaw bikers and I think it's pretty cool to incorporate them into the modern world. Arthur Morgan and John Marston appear as they do in their RDR2 concept art, except dressed like Clay Morrow and Lowman.
Chapter 3: Reaching Out
-Morgan & Marston Autos/SAMLOS clubhouse -
Time: 5:00 PM
Arthur Morgan, the President of SAMLOS and John Marston, the Vice President of the club were seen relaxing in one of the shop's garages making adjustments to their motorcycles. Arthur was known to ride a Zombie Bobber type bike with a black design on it and two custom mirrors on each of the bike's handles. Marston was known to favor the Western Daemon model with a flame livery that whenever he would ride the thing, it seemed to leave trails of flames and melt the roads he rode. Not wanting to spread out their clubhouse with their main source of income the founder of SAMLOS, a man named Hosea Matthews had the clubhouse placed right next to an unused auto shop and renovated the place so the two buildings connected.
Since their little talk with the cartel Arthur had decided to bump up security for his club's businesses, the auto shop they were currently at which was located in the east of Burton and a tattoo parlor named in Blazing Tattoos in Downtown Vinewood, a popular hangout for members of SAMLOS. They knew that they had never had conflict with the Los Sonora but the fact that the sicario put the blame on them, albeit before agreeing that they didn't have anything to do with the murders of Jose and his men the club was still being very cautious.
The two men were smiling as they made customizations to their bikes and John would be the one to initiate the conversation with their favorite song ''I Cum Blood'' by Cannibal Corpse playing over the jukebox they had in the background.
''Hey Arthur.'' John said looking up from his bike.
''Yeah boy?''
''Why do you think the cartel would put the murder of their men on us? I mean, he said they had talked with the Chinese, the Irish, Russians and Italians. but didn't put the blame on them and just decided to throw it all on SAMLOS.''
Arthur got up from his seat to stretch momentarily before sitting on a milk crate he was using for a chair.
''I could really care less John my boy, I mean, sure it's still possible any of those guys did it but I'm thinking whoever did it is still at large, if the cartel end up believing that we did it for some reason we can't afford a war with them. Now sure we are trying to get a partnership with the Triads with guns but the fact that the cartel has the Mayans and the Vagos on their side would put us at a numerical disadvantage. We're going to have to use every member's own personal stock.'' Said the President.
''Oh yeah, I forgot the Mexicans stick together.'' John said before resuming work on his bike. ''However, you think it's possible that bastard Javier Escuela and the Mayans did it? I mean, I know it sounds crazy but it's still a possibility. I know I'm a Son, but this is the first time I've been involved in a gang war if the cartel shoots at us so I'm a bit nervous about this. Hell, they might as well come and bomb our businesses if they decide to and we'll have no income.''
Without uttering a word, Arthur got up and walked over to John and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. ''The Sons of Anarchy won't stand for any attacks against us, even with the numerical advantage the cartel has with those damn Mayans and Vagos we still have unity. As I've said before I have been working on striking a deal with Wu Zi Mu and his Triads in San Fierro but I haven't heard back from him yet but I understand since they are having tensions with the local Irish mob there. So don't worry boy we'll be ready if the cartel decides to attack us, though it's unlikely we're still gonna prepare.''
John smiled at his brother figure and knew he was right, he shouldn't be afraid if anything goes down between SAMLOS and the cartel.
''Alright Arthur, if you say so. I hope the Triads can at least help us out since they're the only ones we've been involved with, the Russians and EYE-talians want absolutely nothing to do with us and I don't think any of those street gangs can be reliable.''
The two shared a quick brotherly hug and when they separated Arthur had pulled out a flier that was folded in his pocket and unfolded it to show John the contents of the paper.
''So what do you say we go out for some food? I found this flier in Downtown and it seems that a really big and this city's actual first Japanese restaurant is opening up in Little Tokyo. It's called the Rising Sun and opens up tomorrow night so why don't we head there and get something good to eat?''
''Japanese huh? I've never had Japanese food before so I wonder if it's any different from Chinese.'' John said. ''Wait, doesn't Japan have their own mafia or something? Strange that a Japanese restaurant would open up out of nowhere so you think it's possible that those guys have decided to come over to Los Santos or something do you?''
Knowing that what Marston said could be a possibility, that made Arthur think that he could potentially make an ally with the Japanese mafia, however he would have to try to find a way to do it without getting shot at if they were making grounds here in Los Santos.
''That doesn't sound like it's impossible, though I'd like to try out the food first before we even try anything because I've been dying to try Japanese food for a while.''
John nodded in understanding.
''Alright Arthur, sounds good. So the meal's on you?"
''Nope, we're splitting it half and half.''
''Damn!"
-Little Tokyo-
It was a new morning for Ken as well as his first as the Oyabun of the Otomo-gumi sub group he decided to name after himself, the Morimitsu-kai. He had also decided to name the restaurant the Rising Sun. Currently he was discussing with his adviser Shirase what to do with GSF and the Khmer street gang CJ had mentioned and for both of them, it looked like it was going to be good if they had a Yakuza family backing them. They were also talking about potentially reaching out to the Russian mafia if they were friendly of course, SAMLOS as well as the Triads in San Fierro since a few nights ago Ken had killed several members of the Madrazo cartel and was expecting retaliation soon.
''Grove Street could provide us a good ally as well as this Cambodian gang since they are allied with CJ and his group, plus it's a common thing for us Asians to stick together because Otomo-san has deals with Korean mob groups back home throughout South Korea with prostitution, brothels and that sort.'' Ken said.
''It makes sense, but could we really say that GSF will be a reliable ally for us? They're a street gang that only does petty street crimes, nothing like what the Yakuza is involved in Ken.'' Shirase interjected. ''Plus, we don't know if this black kid is reliable.''
Ken chuckled. ''I can tell he is and no, I won't use intimidation to make sure his gang would be on our side, I know they will be because any street gang would be intimidated by a mob group and want to be allied with one for the power and benefits it could provide.''
''You sure?''
''Hai, say we take control of the cartel's cocaine operations, we give some to GSF to sell for us, they give us the money they make and in return we reimburse them with guns if we can get control of the Russian mafia's gun business, if they're enemies of course.'' Ken explained. ''Though that is something in the future since we have no access to any sort of arms trafficking ring but it's a plan I have, all we have now is this restaurant but it should be up and running within the next day or two.''
''So we can agree that this restaurant will be our first front and source of income? Aside from the shops in Little Tokyo paying tribute to us?'' Shirase questioned.
''That's correct.''
''I understand Ken, and what about these SAMLOS bikers? The Russians and the Chinese?''
''We'll have to wait and see if they're in business with the cartel or not, if not we'll strike a deal with the Chinese and hopefully form a partnership with them since Otomo-gumi and the 18K make deals in Taiwan and the Philippines. If the Sons do business with the cartel that automatically makes them an enemy and for the Russians, considering how relations are between Russia and Japan if we could form a partnership with them we'll do it, if not then they're enemies.''
As a precaution he had ordered Shirase to get some men on the outskirts of the district to keep eyes out on any suspicious individuals who venture into their territory whether they knew it was his turf or not. Turning on his chair he points at the map that was placed on the wall behind him.
''Moving on with the street gangs we're already on good terms with CJ and his Grove Streets, now we need to make contact with someone from the Cambodian gang and..''
The walkie-talkies that Ken and Shirase had on them buzzed and a voice in Japanese spoke on the other end.
''Watashitachiha nan'ninka no gesuto ga imasu'' (We have some guests)
Pressing the button on his walkie Ken brings it up to his mouth to speak.
''Tochū.'' (On the way)
''What guests? The place isn't open for business yet.'' Shirase said.
The two men get up but not before Ken opened his drawer and reached for the Beretta he had loaded in their. Shirase did the same thing taking a Colt .45 with him and together they leave the office and headed to the floor.
A couple minutes later
''Is the owner coming or what?'' The sicario, the one who antagonized the SAMLOS President the previous night asked Shigeru, who happened to be at the restaurant.
Shigeru didn't even need to ask who these guys were, they had just walked into the restaurant without asking but the lookouts inside Little Tokyo notified the ones in the restaurant about four Latino males heading into the building. He didn't even have to guess either why four Mexican guys even came here in the first place, he knew they were members of Los Sonora.
''Well the owner is taking care of some stuff right now so..'' Shigeru tried to speak but was cut off by the sicario.
''Yeah Chino we know who you are, you're the guy that Jose gets the tributes from. So tell your owner to hurry up because we're here to make an order. Tenemos hambre.'' (We are hungry) The sicario spoke.
The other Yakuza members while armed decided to keep their weapons holstered since the Mexicans were doing the same, they had no reason to have guns pointed at them but they remained cautious anyhow, they had heard of Ken killing some cartel members and they had a hunch they came looking for the killer.
''Yeah I'm the one who pays Jose, sucks that he died but I mean..I guess someone was gonna get fed up with him sooner or later.'' Shigeru said unconfidently.
The tone in Shigeru's voice did not go unnoticed by the sicario and the Mexican eyes him suspiciously, but not enough to scare the man and before he could say anything footsteps made their way into the floor and all eyes faced that direction and all saw Ken and Shirase walking up.
Ken looked at the men and knew something was up if the ten men he had in the restaurant were all eyeing the group of visitors but decided to play it cool. Walking up to the lead sicario he puts on a big smile.
''Hi there, are you customers? Sadly we aren't open for business yet but we will be the next day or two.'' He said with a friendly facade.
''Oh you aren't? Ah well that sucks amigo I was hoping to try out some Japanese food and...''
The sicario puffed his cheeks up and blew out his lips before he quickly reached into his back pocket and drew his Glock and pointed it at Ken. To his surprise Ken had reached for his Beretta at the same time and now both men were aiming at one another. Of course, this caused Ken's men and the other sicarios to draw their guns as well and what turned from a two second friendly customer service to a quiet stand off.
The sicarios were only armed with pistols and looking at the corner of his eye he saw the Japanese mobsters were better armed for the occasion, some pointing Uzis at them and some pointing Remington shotguns at them, the last few were pointing MP5s aimed for their skulls.
At the same time when they all drew their guns this caused Shigeru to panic and get into a crouching position with his arms covering his whole head.
''Woah woah woah what the hell people!?'' He shouted in fear. ''You are all fucking nuts fuck!"
Ken and the lead sicario slowly circle each other with their respective guns pointed at each other and even with the now tense situation, they both saw that the other didn't have their index finger on the trigger.
''Who are you and what do you want?'' Ken asked.
''We know this Chino here pays tribute to Jose and we know that Jose was killed the same night this guy was supposed to pay him. I doubt he had anything to do with it, but you seem like the kind of guy whose killed before.'' The sicario said.
''Yeah? What's it to you?''
The sicario eyed Ken angrily.
''I'm gonna ask you a simple question and I expect an answer, are you the Chino that killed Jose and the others?''
The only response at that moment from Ken was a sly smile.
''And what if I say I did it? What are you going to do?''
His only response was to look around to register how many of Japanese were on the floor with them and he counted eleven if Shigeru was added and twelve if he had counted Ken with them.
''So you only have eleven guys with you huh? This is gonna be easy for the Madrazo cartel.'' He whistled.
''Depends on how you mean that, do you mean easy for you all to die by all of us right here, or you think it'll be easy for the cartel to take us out? It may seem like we're all it, but trust me, there's a lot more than you think.'' Ken quipped.
''Ha, I had a feeling this wasn't it, no crime family would ever have territory anywhere without numbers but no matter, we have lots more guys than you and it'll be a Chino bloodshed that's for sure amigo. You better be ready for what's coming Chino, it's not gonna be pretty for you people because no one fucks with the cartel.''
Without uttering another word, the sicario put his pistol away and that gave Ken and his men the go to put their's away too. With Shigeru, he was still cowering on the floor at the standoff and only when Ken tapped him on the shoulder he knew that it was over, or at least it was going to be.
The sicario motioned for his comrades to leave the restaurant with him but not without being escorted out by Ken's men and as they were leaving he called out to him so he turned around.
''You're right, I'm the one who killed those koshinuke (cowards). So whatever you're going to do, do it because we'll happily end you.''
Ken's words only made the sicario laugh. ''Psh, whatever you say Chino pendejo.''
''Calling me Chino doesn't offend me you burrito eating baka. If you're going to insult me make fun of me for being Japanese at least.'' Ken retorted.
"Todos ustedes se ven igual, así que todos ustedes son Chinos para mí." (You all look the same, so you are all Chinese to me). The sicario spat.
With that, the sicario had no words left to say and they all left, got in their Primo and drove off. Ken walks out the door himself to confirm if the car had indeed left the Little Tokyo district and speaks into the walkie to question any of his lookouts if they spotted the car completely leaving the area. Getting the confirmation he heads back into the restaurant and motions for his men to get back to work on finishing up the paint, setting tables up etc.
He almost chuckled at the sight of the shivering Shigeru and he knew that his brother needed some toughening up to do.
''You claim affiliation with a black street gang that's been at war with a Mexican street gang for years and you're still scared of guns? Come one little brother.''
''Well I just didn't expect to see so many armed men in one room, never seen that before in my laugh, sure I had a gun pointed at me before but dammit Ken that was pretty scary.'' Shigeru answered as he got up.
Ken clicked his tongue and decided to speak to his brother privately about his Yakuza life style. There was something very important that he wanted to tell his brother, a decision he had made the moment Otomo had told him he will be head of his own crew.
''Let's go talk in my office real quick.'' He looks at his men working on the restaurant. ''Shigoto o tsudzukeru.'' (Continue working). Shirase, could you take a few guys and go and purchase some ingredients for our menu and bring CJ here.''
''Of course.'' said Shirase before picking three men to accompany him. ''We will also continue spreading fliers throughout the city so we can get a steady rate of customers because we will be needing that income Ken.''
He then led his himself and his brother into the back area of the restaurant and headed into the office and closed the door behind him.
''So what did you want to talk about brother?'' Shigeru questioned.
''It's just that, since Morimitsu-kai is having some tension with cartel I don't want you to push drugs for anyone anymore you understand me? I don't care if you like it or not, you're going to be tainted by association with the Yakuza now that we've reunited. I don't want you to wear Grove Street colors anymore, not that I'm against the gang since CJ is friendly with you, but I just want to tell you that since I just started my own crew. I haven't decided on who will have what position in our hierarchy. Shirase is already decided when it comes to being my saiko-komon (senior adviser).'' Ken explained.
Shigeru nodded his head in understanding, but still didn't want to be involved. ''I see brother, but how am I going to be useful since I've never had any experience with these kind of things? All I ever was for Grove Street is a friend of the gang and some drug dealer for the cartel.''
''Exactly, since you have no experience in any position in your typical Yakuza family, I'd like to have you as my personal accountant, you're going to handle Morimitsu-kai's loan sharking operations.''
Now the younger sibling was taken by surprise, why would his older brother trust him with the position as the head of loan sharking operations when he didn't even know how to do anything on the business level specialized by organized crime groups. There had to be a reason...right?
''I see..but why me? I don't have experience in any of these kind of things.'' He said.
''I trust you to make judgement on who Morimitsu-kai will lend money to plus, if I made you a shateigashira or even a wakagashira, that would make you a huge target from anyone who becomes enemy to us and since I basically started the conflict with the cartel, making you a lieutenant would only make you an even bigger target than normal since those men seemed familiar with you ototo. I'm only doing it to keep you safe and to prevent any bounties from being put on your head you understand? I'm going to have some of these men be your bodyguards.'' Ken explained.
Shigeru really didn't know what else to say, he had a good job as a night janitor for the Lifeinvader HQ building and it paid him good. When he got fired he had a minor state of depression at losing his job and that is what had caused him to get involved with drugs so he decided to sell for the Martin Madrazo's drug cartel. However, he knew that if he accepted the position as the head of loan sharking he knew he would make a lot of money as a member of the Morimitsu-kai. So he decided the best thing to do was accept his brother's offer despite the lack of experience and his previous drug deals for the cartel.
The younger sibling took in a deep breath and sighed loudly.
''If you really want me to be your accountant I guess I can't say no, plus I get to wear a nice suit, no more of this ghetto attire.''
''I'll take you out shopping for some nice clothes, though you'll have to show me the clothing stores around here.'' Ken said.
''There's a chain of clothing stores called Ponsonbys which sells tuxedos and all that kind of stuff, maybe we can head there when you guys wrap up today.'' Suggested Shigeru.
''Sounds good, hopefully we can pick something out for you to make you look like a real Yakuza gangster. There's also the tradition of us getting tattoos, preferably full body Irezumi tattoos if you're up to that.'' Ken chuckled said, he let out a light chuckle when he took a deeper look at his brother's hair. ''A hair cut too, you look like some washed up, rejected Korean pop star.''
Shigeru's face lost all of it's color when he heard that because he had read that Yakuza gangster's, by tradition dating back several hundred years got their whole bodies inked up, genital parts included and the thought of something jabbing a stick into his privates made him shiver.
''Fuck, do I have to get a full body tattoo? I'm not even going through a proper initiation to become a member of the Morimitsu-kai brother.'' Shigeru interjected. ''That would take years too right? To cover the whole body up?''
Ken nodded.
''That's correct, I got my Irezumi tattoos in prison with a self made kit, hai, it really hurts but your body will get used to the pain that instead of causing you discomfort it's like an adrenaline rush. However, I wasn't able to get my area down there tatted since I was released before it could be fully complete. If you're really uncomfortable with getting a tattoo down there you don't have to, a simple tattoo of the Otomo-gumi daimon will be enough and you're my brother, I'll give you a pass to join the Morimitsu-kai without proper initiation, just prove your loyalty to me above all else, trust my decisions and contribute when it comes to making money okay?''
The two men then decided to sit down and talk over some more things, mostly personal matters and how Shigeru can help contribute to the gang's income as well as loan sharking tactics Ken learned back in Japan that his sibling can utilize as well as potential targets for extortion.
Several hours would pass until the finishing touches to the restaurant were made, the interior well decorated and painted thanks to the hard work of his gang members. With everything set the butcher had decided to have a grand opening night the next day after Shirase had completed putting up all the remaining fliers to get the public to hear about his eatery and hope that it would bring a wave of customers.
-Rockford Hills, Portola Drive-
Now that they were heading home Ken and Shigeru had decided to head over to Ponsonbys to get some nice clothes for when the younger sibling begins his job as Morimitsu-kai's accountant. They pull up to the store and Ken saw that it was a well decorated business and admired the design of the exterior. The brothers exit the Sultan and walk into the store to see the well designed interior that was very beautiful. Multiple mannequins scattered throughout the store clad in formal clothing ranging from tuxedos to high class sports wear.
There were several customers who heard the ringing of the door and all eyes were on Ken and Shigeru for a second before the customers resumed shopping. The song playing over the PA system being Don't Be Cruel by Bobby Brown.
''What a very nice store.'' Ken whistled.
''Yeah, pretty expensive but worth it if you want to look good.'' Shigeru answered.
Ken walked up to one of the mannequins that was sporting a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt, black tie, dress pants and shoes. He thought it was a good basic look for his brother since if he had him wear a different colored suit, it would make him stand out from the rest of the gang so he wanted him to look uniform with his soldiers.
''So you just want to go for a basic look right?''
''Yep, let's just hope me trying on a suit for the first time doesn't cause it to go up my crack because I hear lot's of people complaining wearing a suit like this.''
''It won't ride up your crack if you get one that's just the right size for you ototo.'' Ken said taking picking out articles of clothing worn by the mannequin. ''Let's have you try these on for size.''
Handing the clothes to his brother to siblings walk over to the cashier, an older lady in her mid-forties smiling as she watched the two men walk up to her.
''Good evening gentleman, are you purchasing or do you want to try those on first?''
''I'd like to try these on first just to make sure they're the right size.'' Shigeru answered.
''Very well then, just go through that corridor over there and the men's dressing room will be on the left.''
The siblings then walked to where the cashier directed them and made their way to the men's dressing room.
''So we've got the dress shoes, the tuxedo, dress shirt and pants. Let's hope I look good in these.'' Shigeru said as he makes his way into the dressing room.
''Go ahead and take your time. I'll be waiting outside next to the car.''
With that, Ken exits the store and walks out onto the sidewalk and makes his way over to Shigeru's Karin Sultan. Resting against the passenger door he casually looks around to survey the area and noticed that Rockford Hills must've been one of the cities nicer neighborhoods seeing various stores and a restaurant called Burger Shot. He takes out his iFruit phone and begins surfing the eyefind map app which he could use to his advantage if he needed too. He zooms out on the map of Los Santos and realized that the city was a lot larger than he had anticipated it to be.
''Very big American city, but not as big as Tokyo so less ground to cover.'' Ken thought.
Just then, he heard what sounded like motorcycles driving from around the corner and looking up at the source of the noise he spots a column of Caucasian men riding various Harley type motorbikes. They wore a vest and when they drove by he noticed a familiar patch on the back of their vests. He squints his eyes to take a better look at the patches and recognized it immediately.
''Sons of Anarchy MC, Los Santos, one-percenters.'' He said to himself as he watches the bikers take another turn.
Bringing his attention back to eyefind, he clicks on the search box and types in Sons of Anarchy. When he clicked the enter key he was brought to a search that had many articles and pages about these Sons and clicking on the first result he saw he was brought to a Wakipedia page and began to read to himself the contents of it. The first image presented to him was the club's patch, the highly feared Grim Reaper holding a crystal ball with an A and an M16 rifle with a scythe blade on it.
''The Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, founded in 1967 from Vietnam war veterans. Also known as the Reaper crew, the club has a total of 28 chapters world wide and in America these are located primarily in the states of Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Texas, New York and Florida with the rest in southern and central California. Infamous for being an actual organized crime syndicate than a group of motorcycle enthusiasts, the Sons have been involved in almost every imaginable crime out there ranging from prostitution, murder and arms trafficking. The most well known chapters of the club is the mother chapter called the Redwood Original and the Los Santos chapter.''
Ken raised an eyebrow at the information Wakipedia was providing but it wasn't exactly what he was looking for. He needed to know who they were in business with, who they were enemies with and what they were involved in. He managed to find a page on the side that told the darker side of the Sons' criminal lifestyle and he happily clicked on it.
''Let's see here..''
He scrolls down through the page until he found an article on Wakipedia that was created specifically for the Sons of Anarchy Los Santos chapter, exactly what he wanted.
''Great, now let's take a read. SAMLOS is by far the most aggressive and vicious chapter of the club. They are known for committing murder, burglary, vehicular theft, aggravated assault, witness intimidation..''
Before he could continue reading he heard a voice call out to him. Looking up he saw his brother walking toward him with two bags, one he assumed contained the clothes he had picked out for him and the other he had no clue.
''What do you have in that other bag?'' He questioned.
''Just some extra clothes in case this one gets dirty.''
''You know, the suit fits you well but that Korean hair cut seriously does that outfit no justice.'' Ken said putting his phone back into his pocket.
''Yeah I know, there's a barber shop across the street right there.'' Shigeru said, pointing in the direction of the shop.
Ken turned around and spotted the shop and looked through the window seeing a lone African American man sitting at a desk.
''Let's go and get you a new hair style.''
10 minutes later
''That hair cut suits you well.''
Ken and Shigeru exit the barber shop with a new cut that Shigeru seemed to like a lot. Instead of some crappy Korean pop star hair cut, he had a high and tight that suited him well and made him and his older sibling more easily distinguished from one another, Ken having a slightly longer hair do being of average length.
''Thank god, was getting sick of the hair but I was too damn lazy to even come here. Appreciate it brother.'' Shigeru said thankfully.
''No problem.'' Ken then looked at his watch and saw that it was almost nine at night. There was one more thing he needed to do with his brother to make him look even more legit as a Yakuza gangster. ''We'll still need to get you the tattoo I mentioned.''
''Is it gonna be a full Irezumi one?'' Shigeru questioned nervously.
''No ototo, all I ask if for you to get Otomo-gumi's daimon on your body, I don't care if it's on your arm, your leg or your dick.'' Ken chuckled. He quickly takes his phone out and uses the map app to find the nearest parlor. ''There's one with a five star review average located in Downtown called Blazing Tattoos. We should try that place out.''
Shigeru's only response was a nod.
''Sounds good, let's go.''
-Downtown Los Santos-
After making their way through the evening traffic the siblings had finally arrived at their destination, the Blazing Tattoos tattoo parlor. They both exit the vehicle to make their way into the parlor. Walking toward the entrance they spotted a lone Caucasian man who appeared to be closing the business for the night. He was at least 6'6'' in height but that did nothing to intimidate Ken at all as he fought people larger than him before.
''Excuse me.'' Ken said.
Hearing the voice, the person, revealed to be SAMLOS's Sergeant at arms Big Mitch, minus his biker vest turned around to see two Japanese men walking toward him.
''You guys here for a tattoo? Sorry but I'm already closing for the night.''
''Oh are you? Well that's too bad because I was hoping to get my brother his very first tattoo in making him a man.''
Big Mitch set his sights on Shigeru.
''I guess I can make an exception then, if it's a big one it'll have to wait until tomorrow.'' Mitch said.
Shigeru held his hands up in mock surrender. ''Oh no, it'll be a quick one, just a shape with some minor add ons to it and we should be good to go.''
Seeing the opportunity to get a last minute pay Mitch shrugged and unlocked the door to the interior and motioned for the siblings to enter. They all then take a seat in the parlor where Mitch grabs a pair of latex gloves and the machine as well as some ink. Shigeru takes a seat beside Mitch while Ken sat in the waiting area.
''Alright, anything you have in mind?'' Mitch asked.
''The tattoo we wanted him to get is this.''
Taking out his phone, Ken looked up the daimon for Otomo-gumi and clicks on the picture so Mitch couldn't see what it really meant and showed it to the Son.
''A diamond and two Chinese letters? That's it?''
''You mean Japanese, yes a diamond and two Japanese characters. One means bright and the other means dark.'' Ken corrected.
Mitch shrugged. ''Well, alright then, mind if I have the phone set here so I can make sure to get it right?''
The butcher hands the biker the phone.
''Go right ahead.''
''Get ready, because this is gonna hurt.'' Mitch said as he went straight to work on Shigeru's tattoo. The machine buzzing to life.
A moment of silence filled the parlor as Mitch made Shigeru's tattoo possible, the reason? Ken was darting his eyes around the interior decor of the shop and saw some posters that had the Sons Reaper on, he then takes a look at Mitch's arm and saw the same reaper tatted on his skin.
''Watashi wa kare no ude ni tatoū ga miemasu, Shinigami.'' (I see a tattoo on his arm, Grim Reaper.)
Hearing his brother, Shigeru looks out the corner of his eye toward a mirror and saw what his brother was talking about. There he could see Mitch's reflection and a familiar Grim Reaper.
''Kare wa musukodenakereba narimasen.'' (He must be a Son) Shigeru replied.
''Kono basho wa karera no monodesu.'' (This place is theirs) Ken said.
''Man, I think it would be cool to speak some Japanese, especially since there is a new sushi restaurant opening in Little Tokyo.'' Mitch interrupted. ''What are you guys even talking about anyway?"
''Oh, just family stuff.'' Ken answered.
''Ah, so are you two from over there or were you born here?''
''We're both from Japan, but my brother here moved here when he was younger so this is the first time we've seen each other in a while.'' Explained Ken.
''So you're brothers?''
Ken only nodded, not wanting to continue the conversation to avoid the risk of accidentally revealing any information to Mitch, being a member of the Sons and he didn't know if they were going to be allies or enemies. He was just playing it safe since he was still unsure of what to think of the Sons.
Mitch worked on Shigeru's tattoo for about half an hour before finally being satisfied with the way it came out. If Mitch was satisfied with his work then Ken and Shigeru were satisfied as well. The daimon was shaped like a diamond and the Kanji for bright and dark were tatted in the inner area of the diamond near the center where the skin that wasn't inked was.
''Well boys? How does it look?'' Mitch asked curiously.
Taking his brother's phone from Mitch, Shigeru got up from the chair and made his way over to his brother. Ken glances closely at the tattoo and seeing as how it was identical to the picture on his phone he was greatly satisfied at Mitch's work.
''It looks good. Thank you very much.''
Mitch nodded at Ken's compliment as he made his way toward the register.
''Anytime. So the price will be ten dollars for the tattoo.''
Ken walks up to Mitch at the register and takes his wallet out, reaching into it he pulls out two five dollar bills and hands them over to the Son.
''Here you go.''
''Thanks partner, hope you have a nice evening.''
As Ken and Shigeru were about to leave, Ken, finding out that Mitch was a Son from the Reaper posters in the parlor found this as the perfect opportunity to advertise his soon to be open restaurant, or better yet, indirectly request a meeting with the Sons of Anarchy to see if they will help in the impending conflict with the Los Sonora drug cartel.
''By the way, we're opening a new Japanese restaurant in the Little Tokyo district and I just thought it would be a good chance to hand you a flier for the place if you're interested in going for our grand opening tomorrow night.'' Ken explained as he handed over said flier to Mitch.
Mitch reached for the flier and swore that he saw the same on at the auto shop and hearing the President Arthur talking about going there to get some good Japanese food. He immediately became suspicious of Ken and Shigeru but the Japanese men seemed to be harmless.
''Huh, I heard one of my buddies talking about this and I think they had the same flier sitting at his place. Sure I'll let my buddies know about the place. Thanks a bunch.'' Mitch said.
''Alright then, we'll see you and your friends on opening night. Have a good evening.''
With business concluded, Ken and Shigeru take their leave and got into Shigeru's Karin Sultan and drove home for the evening. Mitch watches them as they drive away and decided to officially close the business for the night for real this time. As he walks out of the door and turns the sign to closed he feels his phone vibrating. Reaching into his pocket he takes it out and sees ''The Pres.'' on the screen.
Swiping left he begins the call.
''Hey Pres, what's up? No nothing got in the way, I was closing up shop until these two Asian guys walked up asking to get a quick tattoo done.''
A moment of silence filled the air, minus the sounds of the city in the background as Mitch listens to what Arthur was saying.
''Nah, they don't look like anyone I've seen around here, they were Japanese and they said they were advertising their restaurant. They gave me a flier and it's the same one you have. They looked like normal guys Pres and they didn't talk much except in Japanese. One of them was wearing a suit though but I didn't see any tattoos, the other one got a diamond tattoo with some Japanese letters on it.''
-Arthur's POV, SAMLOS Clubhouse-
''A diamond with Japanese letters on it? Alright then, I was just checking up on you so you're gonna head home or come and relax with the club for a bit? Okay then, see you tomorrow boy.''
Hanging up his phone Arthur sets it down on his desk and looks at his computer monitor in peace and quiet. Big Mitch mentioned his two recent visitors being Asian, Japanese specifically and being told the diamond tattoo with Japanese letters on it made Arthur curious. For years he knew that local Triads in San Fierro were the only major Asian crime families in California and he never heard anything about Japanese mobs being on the West Coast.
Out of curiosity he began to use his computer and going on the eyefind page he clicks on the search box and types ''Japanese mafia''. Hitting the enter key he is immediately greeted by the first result, being from Wakipedia and clicks on it and begins reading the contents of the page.
''Yakuza are a term for transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan and they are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and practice of Yubitsume or removing one's fingers in penance for failure. Hm..interesting.''
The President then scrolls down and finds the last portion of the page that contained a list of known Yakuza clans and he begins looking at that. The first thing he saw was what Mitch described as the tattoo he gave to one of the customers and he immediately knew who they were.
''Well I'll be..''
He clicks on the name Otomo-gumi and is taken to a page on Wakipedia about the notorious clan and an expanded image of Shigeru's tattoo, being a black diamond daimon with the Kanji for dark and bright within the diamond itself was displayed.
''So Mitch just gave a tattoo to some Japanese mobster? Advertising a restaurant called the Rising Sun, so the Yakuza is making grounds in Los Santos huh? Wonder if they were the ones who killed those cartel boys?''
Arthur turns his head left and looks at the flier he found in town for the Rising Sun and was quite impressed with what was going on.
''Yakuza restaurant opening in Little Tokyo, these Japanese boys show up to get a tattoo, some cartel boys get shot to death. I really hope I'm the one making the right assumption. Oh well, guess we'll find out tomorrow when this place opens up.''
-Rising Sun, Little Tokyo-
''Well this place is surely going to become popular.'' Ken said as he watched the bustling floor through security camera footage.
Just to be safe, Ken was not present for the grand opening of the Rising Sun and had one of his soldiers do it and decided to watch everything from the safety of the back rooms, particularly the security room every inch of the place was covered.
His brother Shigeru and Shirase were sitting with him, Shigeru wearing his suit he bought from Ponsonby's, Shirase wearing his usual business suit and for Ken he opted to wear a white dress shirt with a vest over it and his usual dress pants.
''The amount of people that were waiting for the doors to open were surprising to me brother. This place is definitely a hit already.'' Shigeru said excitedly.
The three men eyed the cameras for a bit before Ken took his leave.
''I'm going into the office for the moment, call me if you see anything, especially if any Sons come in.''
''Hai, understood.'' Shirase said.
With Ken out of the room Shirase and Shigeru continued to watch the cameras for another hour or so until they switched one of the monitors to a camera watching over the parking lot and after a minute or two four Harley motorcycles pulled up into the drive way and while the Harleys would've been a give away, Shirase saw that they were wearing vests. When the four men entered the restaurant Shigeru immediately switched to a camera at the front of the house and giving a view from the rear of the vest clad men they saw the Sons of Anarchy patch.
Shirase reaches for his walkie-talkie and relays the information to Ken.
''Shi-ri no musuko.'' (Four Sons)
Shirase let go of the button to wait Ken's response.
''Chūmon shitara, heya ni motteikimasu.'' (After ordering, take it to the room.)
-Arthur's POV-
''Wow, this place is sure packed, hopefully they haven't run out of food.'' Arthur said as he, John, Teller and Mitch take their seats.
''Oh yeah, I like the decor too, feels more serene and calm to the Chinese restaurants.'' John commented.
Big Mitch looked around and was amused how most of the customers were either White, Black or Hispanic.
''Who knew Japanese food was popular with anyone who isn't Asian.'' He chuckled.
''I wonder how different Chinese and Japanese food are from each other? Can't wait to find out.'' Teller added.
They were completely unaware that the employee that seated them had also alerted Ken to their presence and was a Morimitsu-kai member. Pressing the button on his earphones he was able to relay the info to Ken in a quiet tone before turning his attention to the Sons.
''Our waiter will be with you shortly.'' He said in a heavy Japanese accent. ''What will you have for drinks?''
''I'll have some saki.'' John answered.
''I'll have one bottle of Kentucky bourbon. Interesting that you guys have some alcoholic beverages in stock.'' Mitch said.
''I'll just take Pisswasser.'' Teller said.
''Ah I'll just take water please.'' Arthur answered.
The employee wrote down their beverages and nodded in satisfaction. ''Very well, I will inform your waiter who will serve you shortly.''
''Pretty solid menu they have here, crabrolls, yakitori grilled chicken...oooooohhhh.'' Mitch said.
''That tempura looks promising too, man this menu looks so good I don't think I can make a choice.'' Teller added.
He wasn't joining the conversation between the other sons as Arthur took the chance to look around the dining hall and saw various employees standing around but the looks they had on their faces and most of them wearing business suits, some looking like they were standing guard made him question himself.
''Could this be a Yakuza restaurant? Nah, has to be a normal Japanese one with no connection to organized crime. I must be over thinking this.'' Arthur thought to himself, shaking his head slightly to clear his mind of these thoughts.
Just then a waiter walked over to their table and greeted them with a very big and friendly smile. The waiter was revealed to be Shirase.
''Hello gentleman, I am Shirase and I will be your waiter tonight.'' Shirase greeted as he handed each of them a menu. ''Have you all made your order yet?"
The voice snapped Arthur out of his thoughts.
''Oh, uh yeah, what have you boys decided on?''
John, Teller and Mitch closed their menus.
''I'll have the yakitori fried chicken.'' Said Mitch.
''I'll take the sashimi with a bowl of miso soup if you will.'' Teller answered.
''For me, I'll take the tempura with some of that bean thing, Natto I believe.'' Said John.
''I'll have a large bowl of pork ramen my friend.'' Arthur said.
Taking the menu from the Sons the waiter bowed in respect.
''I will inform our chefs and have your food ready right away.''
Walking away, the waiter left the four by themselves again.
''So what do you guys think of the place?'' Arthur questioned.
''It's got a really friendly feel to it, the decoration is pretty nice too it feels like I'm in Japan.'' John answered.
''I agree, the pink trees in the corners, those Japanese sliding doors over there. It's a pretty good place and I think it's gonna be a hit with the rest of the club.'' Mitch added.
''Ditto on that.'' Teller quipped.
Arthur was glad to know his men liked the place and compared to the Chinese restaurants in town, they were smelly and with the ducks hanging around it didn't help them at all. With this Japanese restaurant it was welcoming and friendly.
''Definitely coming back here, I can smell the food in the kitchen and it smells so much better than those Chinese restaurants near Pacific Park.'' Arthur said.
Thirty minutes would pass before a waiter that was different than the one before came over to speak with them.
''Your food is ready, but you will not be eating in the dining hall, the owner would like to speak with you so you'll be eating in his company. So please, follow me.'' Spoke the man. Motioning for the Sons to follow him.
Now this utterly confused them, why would the owner want to speak with them?
''Huh? What's going on here?'' John questioned.
Arthur had a feeling something was going on but decided not to question the waiter so he motioned for his men to get up and follow the man.
''Let's just do what the man says, I don't want any problems.'' Said the President.
Not questioning Arthur's authority the four bikers got up and followed the man to the back of the restaurant. They head through an employee's only door and were taken to the back hallways of the restaurant, very quiet and empty except for some Japanese men in suits standing around as if they were guarding. Walking by one of the men Arthur and him eye each other as he walks past the man. Soon enough they were taken to a door near the end of the hallway that had a VIP sign on it.
''In here the owner is waiting for you.'' Said the waiter.
Opening the door, the waiter pushes the door open and walks in first then motions for Arthur and his men to enter. Entering the room the bikers were greeted to a lightly lit room with black painted walls, a single light hanging off the center of the ceiling but was still bright enough that they could clearly see the room. A large table positioned in the center of the room and on one side of the table was the food they had ordered as well as the drinks they asked for. A single man was sitting at the end diagonally from their food. The other person at the table was a black guy wearing green and Arthur immediately knew he was a Grove Street gang banger. The most noticeable thing from the room was the diamond image on the wall, the same one that Mitch tattooed on Shigeru's arm the night before.
''Welcome Sons, I've been wondering if I'd ever get the chance to talk with you.'' Ken greeted from his seat. ''Please, take a seat because we have much to talk about.''
''Oh shit, Japanese mobsters?'' Mitch thought. ''Are those the two guys from yesterday?''
''What's going on?'' Teller questioned.
''Son of a bitch...are we fucked?'' John said to himself.
While the other Sons seemed nervous and confused, Arthur on the other hand had a smug grin on his face.
''Well I'll be damned, the Japanese mafia, the Yakuza.'' He said, unable to help the grin on his face.
Arthur motioned for his men to sit down on their side of the table to which CJ, being the only other person who isn't Japanese in the room to join them on the opposite side.
Sitting down in front of his food Arthur turned to look at Ken.
''So is there any reason you want to meet with the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club boy?''
Ken returned Arthur's smirk. He placed both his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers.
''You see, this is about the Madrazo cartel..