I frowned at what I had been told as I stood in my father's office. To my left, Lee was still as a statue, barely even breathing as we stood across from the man's desk.
"I don't mean to question your decisions father…" Lung inclined his head indicating that she was free to speak, "Are you sure this is wise? This woman is clearly unstable, there's no guarantee she'll follow your commands."
I was all for trying to supplement the gang with more capes. While we had more than enough actual power between Lee, my father, and myself, it would be nice to have more actual bodies to defend our territory.
But the Cornell Bomber? That woman was not only clearly unstable but she also had the means to cause more destruction to the gang than their enemies could if she got the idea in her head.
Not to mention she was most definitely on the Protectorate's radar. If she joined them they would begin to look at the ABB as a much more serious threat than they already were.
"What if she decides to betray us or attempts a coup?" I asked worriedly, "A tinker of her caliber could cause a great deal of damage before we could put her down."
"She will not." He said simply, "She will recognize her betters and know to follow. I will make sure of it."
He wasn't going to be swayed on this decision, I could already tell. I looked to Lee who just stared back with a placid expression and I immediately looked away. I wasn't really sure what I expected.
"Very well, father." I acquiesced, folding my hands, "When do we depart?"
"We will not. I will be going alone." He revealed, shocking me, "While I am away, you will run the ABB in my place and Lee will assist you."
I froze, "Father are you-... already? Our men just barely recognize me as one of their leaders. What if they try something?"
He snorted, "They will not. And if they do, they will face my wrath when I return." He looked towards me and his gaze softened minutely, "Yuko, you are more than capable enough to take command of the ABB while I am away. You have proven yourself a formidable force and already have an ally within the Faces. You will be fine."
The praise was unexpected and I found myself at a loss for words. I knew that my father thought highly of me, I was his daughter after all, but to know that he trusted me enough to basically hand over a position that dozens coveted, even if just for a few days was…
I bowed low. "As you command, father. I will not fail you."
His approving humm rumbled in his chest, "Good. I will depart tomorrow morning and before I do, I will inform the Faces of the change. Take tonight to prepare yourself for your duties."
He waved his hand in dismissal and both Lee and I bowed low before turning to make out way out of his office.
Lee immediately disappeared with a glance out of the nearby window and I sighed as a pile of ash was left in the wake of his disappearance. I would have to grab one of our servants to clean that up before someone tripped.
I had preparations to make. My father had trusted me with one of the most coveted positions in the ABB and at my very core I refused to fail him.
If (gods forbid) something happened to my father, then this would be a good way to test my abilities as a leader, even if temporarily.
I would not fail him.
Two days later, I sat at my father's desk, staring at the numerous files splayed out before me.
The ABB at large didn't even seem to notice the shift between my father and myself apart from the upper echelons. Business was as it always was except for the fact that at the very top, I now stood
Running the gang was… different yet the same to my original position. While my duties had increased, so had my authority. If I found myself in need of a specific file or person I could simply order them to be brought to me instead of having to seek them out myself.
That helped greatly in my self appointed task.
My father's absence made an excellent opportunity to do a more overt investigation into our potential traitor. Unfortunately I wasn't making much headway at the moment. It seemed that whoever it was was astoundingly good at covering their tracks.
Luckily, in my time with the other Faces I had narrowed down my suspicions greatly. At the moment I had two prime suspects. Those who would have an easy time betraying us and stood to gain the most from it.
Aoi Matsuda was the head of recruitment in the gang. If he decided to betray us, it would be fairly simple to do so. He could simply slip information to informants via his recruiters under the guise of scouting for new recruits.
Would he though? Aoi was seemingly content in his position within the ABB and though he certainly had disagreements with his fellow Faces, that was a normal occurrence with all of them, not much of a reason to suspect the older man.
I would need to bring my investigation to his underlings. The man himself was unlikely to implicate himself if he was the traitor, but those under him would have no reason to suspect anything was wrong unless they were in on it. I would simply attempt to find out whether or not their duties had changed in a large way recently.
As for the other possible traitor… I brought a file in front of me, frowning slightly at the scowling man pictured there.
Takao Yamakawa, head of kidnapping and brothel operations. My suspicions of the man were admittedly bias as he was currently the biggest roadblock in stopping the ABB's kidnapping operations, but Takao had always been power hungry and I wouldn't put it past him to attempt to sell us out to our enemies in an attempt to gain an higher foothold in the gang.
In fact, if I recalled correctly that was exactly how he had acquired the position he was in in the first place. Oh sure, the evidence wasn't completely concrete, but nearly all signs point to the fact that Takao had assassinated his predecessor for his coveted position. It was dishonorable and completely against nearly everything the Faces stood for. If he were ever implicated on it he would be ousted immediately.
The issue was, Takao was extremely sneaky. The man was a master at hiding his dirty deeds due to decades of practice. I had little doubt that even a thorough investigation would turn up anything relevant.
"I need to keep this under the radar. The moment that he gets even the slightest hint that I suspect something he'll go to ground and I'll never find anything out." I said to myself, placing the file back on my desk and bringing out a notepad.
I would need to do more research before I could reach a solid conclusion. For now, I would need someone to infiltrate their ranks in my place as was now much too well known and the guise of wanting to witness how the ABB operates would no longer work
"I'll write to Hiashi." I said aloud, "Kon would be the ideal infiltrator in this circumstance. Somewhat personable and extremely competent, and few would expect him due to the way he carries himself."
I would have to distance myself from him for the time being which was somewhat unfortunate. I had been growing to enjoy his company on the occasions that I called for him and the rest of Hiashi's guard. Ah well, leadership calls for sacrifice I suppose.
It only took a moment to write up the request to Hiashi. I made carefully sure that he would know exactly what I was asking while also ensuring that any outsider who might happen upon the letter would have no idea.
There. Hopefully we could get to the bottom of this relatively quickly. The longer we dawdled on this matter the more likely that my father would find out which was the entire thing I was trying to avoid.
No sooner than I had placed the letter in the envelope to be delivered, my door burst open. I nearly jumped in my seat but kept control of myself, instead turning a glare on the one responsible.
It was a Vietnamese teen, panting and out of breath as he looked towards me in panic. His outfit was soaked with sweat and he had clearly sprinted a great distance to get here.
"Speak." I commanded. The teen took a moment to regain his breath, before looking towards me with frantic eyes.
"Hookwolf and some other capes are over by the old bakery!" He nearly shouted, causing my eyes to widen, "They're talking about taking back what's theirs! They've already beat a few of our boys and trashed some stores!"
I immediately stood, startling the teen as I walked around my father's desk. He stared at me nervously, eying my mask as I stopped directly in front of him, "Where are they?"
He told me and I strode past him towards my destination, nearly bowling over a servant who was dusting a nearby cabinet in my haste. I would grab Lee along the way. He had a habit of loitering in the gardens and that was likely where he was right now.
Hopefully this would be a simple matter to resolve. The last thing I wanted was a gang war to break out while my father was away simply due to the Empire's arrogance.
It took only a few minutes for us to reach the place that the man had said the intruders were. I frowned as I realized that it was actually one of the more important areas of our territory, a place where the majority of the buildings catering to civilian needs were. Stores, restaurants, even laundromats sat in this area of our territory. Prime pickings for someone wanting to instill terror into our people.
Luckily it seemed that the civilians had already evacuated themselves. That was good.
As I rounded a corner I saw them and more importantly, I recognized each of them. Hookwolf and Stormtiger were standing beside each other and we're chatting amicably, gesturing around them at the empty buildings. Rune was floating on a piece of sheet metal, level with the roofs of the nearby buildings.
I frowned internally as I approached. Three members of Kaiser's court so blatantly entering ABB territory the day after my father left the city? It was more than a little suspicious.
Perhaps our traitor's reach extended beyond just the grunts and conscripts of the gang. If so, then that was extremely worrying.
I kept my calm as I approached them. They caught sight of me almost immediately and took up hostile stances. Those stances only intensified as Lee popped into being beside me, having been following along the rooftops as he scouted out any more potential opponents.
A discreet gesture with his right hand told me there were none, the only capes in the area were the ones we already knew about. That was good, it meant less surprises down the road.
Rune spotted me first. She called down to her fellows, saying something I couldn't hear as she alerted them to my presence. They turned in my direction, and judging from their postures they weren't surprised to see me at all. It seemed that word of my existence had already gotten to them. That or they were tipped off beforehand.
I called out to them once I was close enough to be heard, "I'm not sure why the Empire has decided to intrude on our territory, but I would advise you to return back to your own. There is nothing for you here."
They looked towards each other in disbelief, before Rune laughed loudly at my threat. "Why the hell would we leave!? Just because there's another of you!? One more chink isn't gonna make a difference! You aren't Lung and he isn't here!" She shouted mockingly from her platform.
I paused as I heard her voice, echoing slightly due to her mask. It was familiar, extremely so, and yet I couldn't quite place a face to the voice.
I didn't dwell on it, she may have just been someone I passed on the street or a frequent visitor to the stores I went to. There were more important things to take care of at the moment.
I sighed theatrically as I folded my hands in front of me, "Once again, I ask that you leave my territory before I am forced to do so for you. There is no need for this to come to violence."
In response to my words, Stormtiger held out a hand to the side. A whirling column of wind surged forth, slamming into a nearby shop and utterly devastating its interior.
"Does that give you a better idea of what we're here for? We're not leaving." The man said simply.
I stared at the damage he had caused with one gesture. That was going to be costly to repair. Sadao was not going to be happy. I turned back towards the cape who seemed rather pleased with what he had done. "I see. That is regrettable."
It seemed like a fight was inevitable then. I analyzed my opponents while I built up the mist inside of me, trying to decide which form to choose.
Even with Lee at my side, I had a great deal of mist at my disposal and as a result, several different forms to creatures from. It was all about which one fit the situation.
Hookwolf would require something hard-hitting, hard enough to keep him down while at the same time weather any attacks Stormtiger threw at my back. That threw out several options such as Sirens or Banshees which would have been ideal for getting Rune down from her perch.
Truthfully Rune was a bit of a non issue in this situation. There was almost nothing she could do to me that either Hookwolf or Stormtiger couldn't also do. Those two would be my main priority.
Divide and conquer would be the strategy here. Deal with the biggest threat first and the others would fall soon after.
"Lee." I looked towards the man, "Harass Stormtiger and Rune while I handle Hookwolf. Keep your strikes non lethal for now. We don't want to deal with a full on incursion while my father is away. Just keep them off of me and incapacitate them if possible."
The man nodded wordlessly and I looked back towards my soon-to-be opponent as he crumbled to ash beside me.
He reappeared right next to Rune, causing her to let out a yelp of surprise in that oh-so familiar voice. He swiped out at her with a blade which she scrambled back to dodge. A brick surged towards him but he was already gone the clone fading to ash in his wake.
Unlike Rune, Stormtiger was expecting him to attack, and so when Lee appeared behind him the cape immediately whirled around and struck out at him with blades of wind.
It did nothing but kick up ash as Lee relocated leaving Stormtiger to glance around warily for the psychopath's next assault.
While this was happening I had strode forward to stand across from Hookwolf. The man took in my tiny stature and grinned.
"Come on girl," he taunted, slamming his fists together with a loud thump, "Give me a good fight before I break you over my knee. When Lung comes back, it's gonna be to a dead daughter and the Empire running the show."
I smiled at him benignly even as I built up my power, having chosen what should be the perfect form to deal with my current opponents.
"I'll be sure to tell him you said as such when he returns. I'm sure he'll need a great deal of amusement to improve his mood after the task he is undertaking."
Hookwolf snarled at my thinly veiled insult, "You cocky little bitch! You think you can beat me by yourself? Don't you know who I am!?"
"A rabid dog in need of some discipline."
Mist exploded outward from under my kimono. It wanted to fill the street but I kept it reigned in slightly, not wanting to impede Lee's vision and thus his power.
My transformation was nearly as drastic as the Jorogumo, but in the opposite direction. Instead of my legs ceasing to be only to be replaced by chitin, they grew and grew even as the rest of me did with them.
My clothing disappeared, nothing but simply fur left to protect my modesty and my muscles hardened until they were more akin to steel cable than anything remotely natural, pulsing with barely restrained power with my every breath
The moment my transformation was complete, I shot out of the mist, my now bare feet slamming into the concrete with enough force to crack it as I let out a roar of bloodlusted aggression towards my enemy. Hookwolf's eyes widened and his body began to split along the seams, sharp metal poking from underneath the skin as he tried to transform.
My bare shoulder slammed into his body mid transformation and he let out a hole of pain as his hooks broke and bent against my crimson skin. He bent around me and was sent flying away from the force of my tackle, soaring backwards to slam through what was left of the glass storefront Stormtiger had ruined, disappearing inside with a crash.
"Hookwolf!" Stormtiger yelled out with wide eyes as his comrade went flying. He was forced to turn and deflect a knife aimed for his ribs as Lee appeared to his right. He swiped out only to strike ash as Lee disappeared once again, causing him to curse and bring his guard up once more.
Lee was doing his job, which meant that I was free to handle Hookwolf without any interruptions.
I breathed deeply as I stared at the store which Hookwolf had disappeared into, my massive shoulders rising and falling with the movement. I stepped forward, my muscled legs bringing me towards my fallen foe.
I licked my lips, running my tongue along the tusks protruding from my mouth before grinning. Particularly powerful forms tended to have an influence on my emotions, and the Oni was one such form.
Energy coursed through my veins, anticipation for the coming battle crackling under my skin as the Oni's bloodlust reared its head within me. Even if this was my duty, I had a feeling I would enjoy it quite a bit.
I laughed sharply as, with a loud crash and a snarl, Hookwolf tore out of the shop I had thrown him into, blades and hooks spinning around his lupine form as he bounded towards me like a rolling semi truck.
And as the cape opened his mouth to let out a roar of challenge, I couldn't help but respond with one of my own.
Next five chapters available to patrons!