Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rosario Vampire. I am merely twisting the creator's vision into my own dream. If the supernatural, sexuality, or violence is offensive to you, then you should not read this.
Chapter 284.
Ross arrived a little ahead of Tanaka. The gangster scanned the lounge as he entered with a critical eye. Tsukune knew the man enough to know he was making a show out of looking around on purpose. He also knew that the small frown that Ross had on his face was because the waitresses were all fully dressed and covered. The man was not as big of a womanizer as he acted, but he did enjoy looking at women.
When Tanaka arrived he had also given the place a look over. His eyes sought out the entrance points, and likely escape routs. He was polite to the door man, but aside of being aware of when waitresses were moving anywhere close to him, he didn't bother showing the women any attention. Tanaka was old fashion that way. He kept his affections for his wife, and didn't allow himself to be distracted from business by a set of nice curves.
Eventually the three men were seated together. There was a brief period of small talk, just to be sociable. Once the pleasantries had been seen to, it was time to get down to business.
"I need to tell you about what happened a few days ago," Tanaka said as the conversation turned serious. "During an attempted arrest of some Tate no Kai members, one of the officers was clawed viciously. Two officers were killed. One of them looked like the victim of an animal attack. The senior officer looked like a bear had gotten to him."
"There was a youkai," Tsukune said in a flat voice.
"No arrests were made," Tanaka said with a nod. "And only minor information to be found. The evidence is useless without connecting and identity to the apartment."
"I've had time to check," Ross spoke up. "The building is independently owned. There's no connections I can lean on for information."
"It was a mess," Tanaka said with a sign. "Two dead, six hospitalized. To make things worse, we think the attack on the koban was in retaliation. They had lost their meeting place, and now we've lost a building."
"If Tate no Kai did burn out the koban," Tsukune said with a grim expression. "Then they are raising the stakes. They may be turning their terrorism into an all out war."
"That is what we are afraid of," Ross said as he reached into his jacket. He pulled out a thick envelope. "That is why we need you."
"We want you to work for us," Tanaka said as he produced an envelope of his own.
"I have my business to manage..." Tsukune began.
"That is what we are talking about," Ross said. "We want to hire your company's services."
"Excuse me?" Tsukune blinked.
"I have a contract for you," Tanaka extended his envelope. "Employing you as a civilian consultant. You will be paid a flat rate, and reimbursed for any reasonable expenses directly related to working on the Tate no Kai investigation."
"I have three more contracts for you," Ross said with a smirk. "You can accept any or all of them if you want. You will be paid a retainer as an on-call investigator. Any time you spend working on the Tate no Kai case can be billed, but you have to report everything you find out." He opened the envelope and pulled out the contracts. "You can work for Yellow-Vid Entertainment Productions, Iron Valley Imports, and / or Sakura-Rose Domestic Labor Solutions."
"We realize that you are not interested in returning to the National Police," Tanaka said. "And that you have no intention of becoming a part of the yakuza. This way you can be an active participant in the investigations, and you know we can use your help..."
"And you will still be free to run your new business," Ross added in. "If you are too busy to do the work personally, you can assign someone else to the case."
"You will also be a cut-out," Tanaka spoke up again. "If things get ugly, you will be the firewall between the police and the yakuza."
"Because you will be a third party," Ross continued the pitch. "Not a part of either organization."
Tsukune sat back and tried to process what had just been said. On the table in front of him were four contracts. What the two men had said made good sense. He knew that he could help them. They did not need him as an office body, for endless records searching. As a field resource however, if Tsukune could be called in when they needed him, like for a raid or for tracking a suspect, he could help them in ways a normal person couldn't.
Their was another reason why what they said appealed to Tsukune. They were offering contracts. He was a licensed investigator with a licensed company, and these two men were offering to contract with his company. What they are offered was an opportunity for his business to be making money. He had one contract so far, for a security guard at a construction site, but the fees he was collecting from the client were less than the company's monthly expenses.
Tsukune picked up the contracts and scanned them. The contract from the police would put the company in the black. Any one of Ross's contracts would be pure profit after that.
Tsukune looked from the contracts to the two men. He could see what he had to gain from accepting the contracts. He could understand how the two men could benefit from the arrangement. Still, there was something making him hesitate.
"You are making generous offers," Tsukune said as he folded the contracts together. "And your arguments sound good as well. If you don't mind, I would like my legal counsel to look over these contracts before I commit to anything."
"I can respect that," Tanaka said with a nod.
"Don't you trust me?" Ross put on a wounded expression.
"Would you?" Tsukune countered.
"Of course not," Ross replied with a cocky grin.
"Well for the record," Tsukune said with a polite smile. "I do trust you. The people you represent and work for are a whole different thing."
"You really don't have any problem with me, do you?" Ross questioned. "You know a lot of what I am involved with, but it doesn't bother you. Why is that?"
"Some of what your people do does bother me," Tsukune corrected the other man. "Remember that some members of your side of the street tried to kidnap the woman I love. Members of your organizations hurt innocent people, and that does bother me, a lot. But I have never seen you actually doing any of that yourself."
"He has a good point," Tanaka nodded.
"Besides," Tsukune smiled confidently. "The world I have fallen into is every bit as dark and dangerous as yours. I have seen youkai willing to kill each other over social status, or just imagined insults. Humans are every bit as sneaky and dangerous as any youkai. Under the right conditions, anybody could end up doing things others would condemn. I can't hold that against someone I don't know. I mean, how many people work for your team just because they need the money to feed their families?"
"That is true," Ross nodded. "I know that some of the guys I work with are total bastards that the world would probably be better off without, but the families they work for have uses for them, so it is worth it to them to keep those bastards under control."
"So," Tsukune said. "As long as working with your players is in the best interests of the greater good, I've got no problem with it."
"Tanaka's said the same thing once or twice," Ross grinned. "But he didn't sound as friendly about it as you do."
"That's because I know that if things go wrong" Tsukune grinned darkly as he held up the assorted contracts. "My attorney can beat up yours."
XxxxxXxxxXxxxxX
Moka was having a hard time keeping herself from smiling. Tsukune was sitting at her table as he waited for her finish looking over the four contracts he had brought over. He was asking her for her opinion, her professional opinion, about the contracts that he had been offered. It was gratifying to know that he respected and trusted her enough to let her have influence over his company.
As happy as Tsukune's trust in her abilities made her, Moka was still taking her work seriously. She was going over each contract carefully and making notes. She was determined to show Tsukune that she was capable of the task he had asked of her. More than that, she wanted to prove to herself that she was really ready for her profession.
Moka still had months to go before she would sit for her Bar Exam. Right now she was just doing intern work. Fact checking and records searching for more established members of her profession was not very satisfying, but it was a part of building the foundation for her career. It was a good way for her to make connections and become known. What Tsukune had brought her was a chance to use her skills without a professor or supervisor double checking her work. While she was a part of a team working with clients, Tsukune was like her first solo case.
The work took hours. After reading over the contracts very carefully, Moka took the time to explain to Tsukune the things she thought would be bad for him. Out came the red pen then. She struck out sections and reworded others. Finally she sat down at her computer and rewrote the contracts as needed to protect Tsukune.
The contract from the police was straight forward. It was the longest of the contracts because its writers had wanted to be clear as possible to protect them from litigation later. That contract, Moka decided, was fine as it was written. The ones that Ross provided on the other hand were unnecessarily complicated to make it easier to hide some unsavory conditions.
An example of the sneaky language was something Moka was quick to remove from the rewrite. On the surface, a section on fees and fines allowed the client to pay Tsukune as much as they wanted at any time, but any amount above the agreed upon fees were to be returned within thirty days, with an allowable convenience fee of five percent per transaction to be collected by Tsukune if the money was returned in seventy two hours or less. If the excess money was not returned within thirty days, a ten percent interest rate, compounded weekly, would be added to the balance owed. The strange section of the contract would allow the client to use Tsukune's company to launder money, or could be used to place him in debt, which could cost him the whole business.
Moka was diligent in her work. She didn't stop until she was satisfied with every section and clause. When she was confident the contracts could not be built any better she printed them out. She reviewed the reworked contracts one final time. Finally she leaned back in her chair with a sigh.
"You have a cute frown when you concentrate," Tsukune said in an amused voice from the door to her home office.
"Really?" Moka asked as she reached up to rub her forehead. "But what if I get wrinkles?"
"That will never happen," Tsukune said as he made his way to her. "Because you are going to be young and beautiful forever."
"Tsukune..." Moka said reproachfully. "In spite of everything you've heard about vampires, we do age. My father has frown lines and gray hairs you may recall."
"But I love you, not him," Tsukune argued. "And to me, you will always be the perfect vision of beauty."
"You're impossible," Moka waved away his flattery.
"No," Tsukune said as he turned her chair to face him. "I am in love, and I am lucky that the woman I love loves me back."
"What are you trying to do," Moka gave him an accusing look.
"Just reminding you that I love you," Tsukune bent down to kiss her.
Moka accepted his kiss happily. In truth she was very happy in that moment. Tsukune had come to her for help with the contracts. He had praised her beauty and declared his lover for her. Right then, Moka was more than happy to show him how she felt about him in return. When Tsukune broke the kiss it was before Moka was finished enjoying his company. She quickly reached up and grabbed him before he could get away. With a wicked smile she pulled him in close.
"Capachuuuuuu..."