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 289

The media had been alerted to the story minutes before it happened. The reporters and their support crews and equipment had been approaching the scene as it happened. It had been another Tate no Kai attack. The target had been a soapland. But this time the attack was different. This time the violence of the attack had been escalated. The four story building was going up in flames as the first reporters arrived.

The attack on the soapland had not just been business as usual for Tate no Kai. Deliberate arson had been used. The message given to the media had been that the building was already on fire, so they actually knew about it before any emergency services. The media had been informed by Tate no Kai, because The General wanted to deliver a message. He wanted to tell everybody that he was out to purify the corruption from Japan, and that nobody could or should get in his way.

XxxX

The meeting that was pulled together after the burning of the soapland was like a counsel for war. Tanaka Ito was in attendance with Officers Yamada and Ryoshi. Ross showed up with Jenna and a thick bodied man with a youki aura that Tsukune gauged as something close to his old friend Akira's. Tsukune suspected the man, who looked strong, was a good measure stronger than he looked. Tsukune was hosting the meeting at a small club run by one of Ageha's friends. Inari and Ageha were a part of his party.

Officially there were nine people a part of the meeting. Unofficially, there were five other police officers in the club. From they way some people watched the room, and Ross, Tsukune could pick out four men from his side of the street, and suspected a few more. He didn't complain about the additional forces gathered because his own side of the triangle was also stacked. There were almost a dozen youkai in the club all together. Beyond that, there were the regular members of the water trade that worked the at club, as well as a few from other clubs that were hanging around, hoping to learn what was going to be done in response to Tate no Kai's actions.

"The families have mixes feelings over the soapland being burned down," Ross explained. "Naturally the group that was invested in the place is upset. Not only do they look bad for it happening to them, but they also lost some people. Everybody else knows that things like that will be bad for everyone's business, especially if things start to escalate any more."

"The police cannot let this just slide by," Tanaka said gruffly. "People were killed. The media have kept the details to a minimum, thankfully, but we are talking about more than arson. This was murder."

"We don't want to let is slide any more than you do," Ross argued. "The problem is not having someone to single out for an effective retaliation. We're dealing with nothing but a bunch of little rats biting at us."

"Not rats," Tsukune spoke up. "Leaches."

"What's that?" Tanaka asked.

"Leaches," Tsukune growled. "Ticks and mosquitoes. Parasites. Rats can live on garbage, taking what nobody else wants. Parasites take from others. A tick buries its head into a host to feed, and in the process it can cause an infection. Mosquitoes carry diseases. Tate no Kai are a bunch of parasites, at best."

"But what do we do to strike back?" Ross demanded. "It's not like we can flea-bomb a city to get them out."

"We need to strike back in a visible way, if only to keep from appearing weak," Tanaka spoke up. "The police have a long list of suspects. We are going to do a sweep and round a bunch of them up. We'll make a little media event out of it. Letting a bunch of Tate no Kai supporters get shown on national television being marched off in cuffs will embarrass the lot of them. It may even make some people re-think being a part of the gang."

Tsukune and Ross nodded in approval of the idea. One thing the Japanese, as a people, wanted to avoid, was embarrassment. The idea that a person might get arrested or hurt was one thing. The thought that the same person could be publicly humiliated was something else all together.

"You have a good idea there," Ross said slowly with a calculating look in his eyes. "But I think we can make it better."

"Better how?" Tanaka questioned.

"Can't tell you that," Ross smiled darkly. "Because that would mean you are a conspirator."

"Never mind," Tanaka said before turning to Tsukune. "What about you? Do you have any ideas?"

"I may be able to come up with something," Tsukune said carefully. "I have some leads I am trying to follow. I am hoping to find an officer in Tate no Kai that is worth going after. We don't know how many supporters they have, so I am looking for someone important enough that it will hurt them to lose."

"You find 'em," Ross said. "And we'll take them down."

"The police will take care of them," Tanaka said firmly.

"That all depends on who I find," Tsukune said with grim determination.

XxxxX

All sides of the conflict recognized that the stakes had been raised. Soaplands, hostess clubs, and other risque businesses saw a decline in their business. Not only were customers hesitant to visit the businesses, but a good number of the people who worked within them decided that they were ready for a vacation, or to try a different field of work if they could.

The media had been primed by what had happened. For the moment, news crews were on high alert for any new developments. Fire was dramatic, so it made for good news footage. Tragedy was always an attention getter, so it helped sell advertisement slots. With the media all wired up, they were ready for when the story of police raids "leaked out."

The sweep was a big one. Over two hundred people were caught up in the sudden flurry of police activity around all of Japan. In some areas the media showed long lines of men standing with their faces to a wall, heads hanging as they tried to hide from the cameras. Sometimes the news learned of a raid in time to catch it in progress. Men and woman were seen clearly being lead from a building in hand cuffs. In one instance that stood out, one officer was reporting to another about the haul the raid had taken in, and a news crew caught part of it before someone realized that the crew was so close.

"... He's been giving them money. The next one was collecting money for Tate no Kai and laundering it through his business..." The microphone heard the officer saying. The report included the names of not less then nine people and what they were accused of. That recording ended with the sounds of the reporter team running away from the police who were demanding the tape.

Of course with names discovered, the media was able to have a field day. A few interviews with distraught families really added to the impact of the evening news reports. People all over Japan were talking about how ashamed they would be if a member of their family had been caught and exposed on television.

It was four days after the sweep that the news had another juicy side of the story to share with the masses. The news was filled with reports of a jail riot. The outbreak of violence had taken place at a jail that was holding many of the Tate no Kai suspects. Some cellphone videos, grainy and shaky because of the limited resolution available with such technology, were smuggled out to the mainstream media. The violence had been swift, and alarmingly focused. What looked like an organized gang within the jail attacked the Tate no Kai supporters. Some were simply knocked about a little, but a score were beaten badly. Five had to be hospitalized. In the videos, voices were heard among the shouts and cries. The beaten men were denounced for selling out Japan. The actual language used had to be censored before the story was aired. In cleaned up subtitles, the censored voices accused the Tate no Kai supported of being worse than prostitutes who sold their bodies for money or drugs, because the supporters had sold themselves and their honor for lies and empty words

Public opinion for Tate no Kai plummeted in the wake of the news reports. Support for the organization dropped to a trickle. The men and women of the lower ranks of the group suddenly had excuses why they could not make it to meetings. Some of the more established members found themselves left without underlings.

XxxX

The combination of events had been pulled off with no official coordination. Tanaka had ordered the sweep so the police could show they were not powerless in the wake of the arson and murder done at the soapland. Most of those taken in would be let go with only minor punishments, but some had enough against them to be facing some real prison time.

Ross had added his own touch to the chain of events. While Tanaka was rounding up Tate no Kai supporters and putting them together in an easy to find bunch, a few yakuza bosses were told of the opportunity. It was without almost any effort that the in-jail assault was organized. From the outside, among those that had no knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes, it was still clear that Tate no Kai was not an organization to risk getting involved with if it could be helped.

Tsukune watched the events unfold with a sense of satisfaction. Many of the small fry that had supported Tate no Kai, or at least paid them lip service, suddenly had nothing to do with it. This made his work in tracking down information easier than someone might suspect.

X

A man surprised was when he was approached by someone in a dark, simple, but clearly expensive suit. He had just left his favorite bar when the stranger had appeared.

"Tell me everything you know about Tate no Kai," The stranger had said without preamble.

"I don..." The man didn't get any further. When the world stopped spinning the man realized he was in a dark ally, resting in a pile of garbage. The stranger was there as well, waiting and watching. The message was clear. The stranger could do anything he wanted, and the man only had the choice of doing things the easy way or the hard way. The man started talking.

X

Uwasa had been surprised by the late-night knock at his door. He slipped a set of brass knuckles on his right hand and kept it behind his back as he opened his door. He was even more surprised to see the man named Hito standing outside of it. With the recent sweeps, Uwasa had been keeping out of sight. Seeing one-time potential recruit standing in front of his apartment, in a much nicer suit than he should have been able to afford, the Tate no Kai recruiter was suddenly sure that Hito had turned informant against the organization.

"Nice suit," Uwasa observed.

"I am here to give you two choices," Tsukune said. "You are going to tell me all that you know about Tate no Kai, and then you are going to go away for a while."

"What makes you think I will do what you want?" Uwasa demanded.

"Your first choice is whether you are going to make this easy on yourself," Tskune said with a smile.

"And what is my second choice?" Uwasa asked in a mild voice.

"You will get to decide what you want to happen to you after you are done telling me everything," Tsukune answered.

"I do~oh!..." Uwasa started to say as he launched his attack. It was an upper cut to the jaw. With his brass knuckles, he knew he could break another man's jaw, but it was a good way to win a fight with one hit. Before he could land his blow all of the air in lungs was forced out and the world rushed at him from behind.

Uwasa was aware of the pain in his chest just an instant before the floor slammed into his back. He was left dazed as he saw stars for a moment. He realized that he had hit his head about the same time he noticed that he was looking up at his own ceiling.

"You have information," Tsukune said as he stepped into Uwasa's field of view. "I have time. I am willing to use my time to get your information. Since you decided to make things difficult, the more time I spend getting the information I want, the more you are going to want to cooperate."

Uwasa suppressed a grin. It was a mistake lots of wanna-be tough guys made. He watched Hito step in close, and then lashed out with a foot, aiming at the side of the other man's knee.

Tsukune tensed his leg and let the blow land. It did nothing to him, but the man on the floor realized that as well, and started to realize that his ability to fight back really did not exist. Tsukune gave Uwasa a dark smile.

Uwasa realized that he was in trouble. He had tried to fight twice, and his position was just getting worse. Then Hito smiled at him. It was not a happy smile. It was not the angry baring of teeth some fighters show. It was something that was frightening, and should never be seen on the face of a human standing over another man. Uwasa saw that smile and knew he was in trouble. He could not look away from it. The rest of the world faded to blackness, but that smile was still there, glowing darkly as it grew larger.

"You will tell me everything," That smile said in a voice like rocks grinding together.

That smile seemed to bite into Uwasa's mind. The voice made his bones ache. With his body starting to shake, he started talking