Tension filled the air as the gang prepared for a meeting. Something was off though, very off. You see, the Okamigumi wasn't here, not yet anyway.
-"You sure we don't need any more men?" Dolph asked, straightening his tie.
-"It's just a meeting, we'll be fine. The rest of the guys are on standby in case anyone does anything dumb." Ibuki calmed. "Boss, you okay?" He asked, looking over at the head of the table
Sitting at the head of the table was a young deer with a sharp look in his eye. Skinny, dressed in a suit and smoking. It was none other than Louis. Seemingly having gone through a great change over this summer.
-"I'm fine. Tell me more about this guy, Araki. I want to know how to approach this." Louis demanded.
-"Well... He's been in the business a very long time. His father was a mobster much like him and after his gang fell apart Araki took up the mantle of the Okamigumi, rebuilding it completely from scratch. By the time I joined the Shishigumi 17 years ago he was my age, and dealing in various schemes. Racketeering, booze smuggling, rigging races, the works. A sudden shift happened around 6 years ago when they got into weapon smuggling. In about a year or, so they skyrocketed and got in the league with the big boys. Of course, part of the guns they sold ended up here in Cherryton, being bought up mainly by gangs like us, the Inarigumi, Madaragumi and Dokugumi. Because of their influence we settled on a rule that turf wars were gonna be fought hand to hand, to minimize casualties." Ibuki explained while Louis listened carefully, absorbing the information.
-"I see. Very well. We'll know our next move after seeing how this meeting goes." Louis declared.
Some time passed and the doors swung open, giving way for three wolves to walk in. Araki, Kubo and Raph. The lions and Louis stood up and bowed as a sign of respect. The wolves did the same.
-"Gentlemen. I'm glad we organized this as soon as we could." Araki declared, his gaze shifting towards Ibuki. "How are you doing, Ibuki?"
-"I'm healthy, that's about as much as I can ask for, isn't it? What about you, sir?" Ibuki politely asked, showing humility and respect towards Araki.
-"Age hasn't slowed me down as much as I hoped it would. Seems to me like I'm not soon to retire." Araki replied. He then looked over at Louis. "My, my, my. I thought the rumors weren't true but this city finds a new way to surprise me every single day. A deer leading the Shishigumi? My daddy's rolling in his grave right now." Araki preached. Raph smirked.
-"Pleasure to meet you, Araki. My name is Louis and I'm the current boss of the Shishigumi." Louis introduced himself, unbothered by Araki's comment. "Shall we get down to the business at hand?"
-"Yes we shall. I'm looking forward to your so called proposal." Araki answered, sitting at the table across from Louis. Raph and Kubo stood by him on each side.
Louis looked at his cigarette and noticed it burned out. He put it out in the ashtray beside him. Araki raised his hand in front of him and reached into his coat, pulling out two Cuban cigars. He gave one to Kubo and motioned towards Louis. Kubo approached Louis, giving him the cigar. Louis accepted and Kubo lit it for him, before walking back to Araki's side. Araki then put the cigar in his hand in his mouth and lit it, puffing smoke.
-"Thank you. My proposal is a simple one. We request that you give us control over 4 meat shops in your territory in order to form connections between our existing ones." Louis explained. Araki smirked.
-"Okay. And what do we get in return?" Araki asked, crossing his legs.
-"You shall receive 20% of the profit, as well as our allegiance in the day of depravity and any upcoming turf war." Louis offered.
-"20 percent!? Ha! You're funny, kid." Araki laughed. Louis gazed right into his eyes.
-"I assure you, this offer is not a laughing matter. It would serve greatly to our benefit to have more sources of profit as well as it would serve you to form alliances." Louis persisted.
-"And how do you know what exactly would serve my gang well? Araki questioned, raising his voice.
-"It's no secret that you're among the most powerful. But to my knowledge, as of late, you have been slipping, haven't you?" Louis continued. "Something about a botched drug deal in Cuba? News travels fast here in the black market. And I doubt the Madaragumi would be too happy with you essentially blocking their supply chain for a while. With one gang at your throat, it wouldn't be bad to have another at your side." Araki leaned in from his chair, staring directly at Louis.
-"You say we can't take care of them if they were to take action?" Araki questioned. "To my knowledge, kid, more than half your gang got wiped out in a single night by two animals. Who, again, to my knowledge have not yet been identified. So I doubt your allegiance towards me would offer much. I'd rather have eight capable men defending my business than twenty weaklings."
-"Are you calling us weak!?" Dolph yelled, bearing his fangs.
-"Silence, Dolph!" Louis yelled. Dolph leaned back in his chair, hiding his fangs. "While it is true that we have suffered some losses we are still quite capable. I ask that you think this offer through entirely." Louis implored. Araki sat in silence for a bit, thinking.
-"Tell you what, since I like you a bit more than I liked the old boss, I'll consider it. I'm gonna give you some time to watch how you lead, then I will give a counter offer." Araki declared, putting out his cigar.
-"That sounds fair. This was a productive meeting. You can see yourselves out." Louis concluded. The wolves got up from their chairs and left the room.
The trio walked towards the car they came with, considering everything that just happened.
-"Twenty fuckin' percent. Who does he think he is!?" Raph growled.
-"We'd be getting more profit from Johnny selling his private dope." Kubo joked. Araki chuckled.
-"Gentlemen, tell me. What was the most important thing we found out during that meeting?" Araki asked, stopping right in front of their car. Kubo and Raph looked at each other for a bit, not saying anything. "Think about this. What was the old boss like?"
-"Well he was a mean son of a bitch, treated his men like slaves and toys." Kubo answered.
-"And what were his men like then?" Araki continued.
-"Quiet, moving in the shadows, afraid?" Raph answered.
-"That's exactly right. Now, if we were meeting with him, we would have seen something different. That lion who was next to him would've been silent as a grave, because he would've very well-known that if he would say one word if he wasn't being spoken to he would've died that night." Araki explained.
-"They're losing discipline..." Kubo figured out.
-"That's exactly right. They've got hope in this new boss, and they're losing discipline and fear because of it. The new boss doesn't emanate fear, but leadership, hope." Araki went on.
-"And if they lost him... they gang would fall apart from the inside." Raph concluded. He looked over at Kubo and Araki. Araki chuckled again.
-"It's certainly a possibility. After all, one less gang to deal with entirely would be better than having an "allegiance" who could turn on us any second." Araki finished.
-"That's brilliant, Araki. I'll keep watch on them for a few weeks and keep you updated." Kubo volunteered.
The trio sat in the car and took off towards their safe house.