The Deal

‘Again, can you repeat what you just said Asahi?’

Satou’s bewilderment was especially noticeable, and nothing he could do hid that expression.

‘Yeah, sure. We want you to beat down Tsuyoshi. Get rid of him.’

‘May I ask why? You guys have been extremely successful.’

Asahi looked toward Toshiaki and Valentin who nodded in agreement.

‘Difference of opinions. He’s gotten far too stagnant, and we need to push for growth. He’s not fit to be a leader. Strong? Sure he is. Wise? Far from it. You need to have both of those qualities to lead a crew to continued success, and he just doesn’t inspire confidence in the latter.’

‘Still, aren’t you two close friends? I’ve done my research on you guys and I know that you and Yokoyama go back to childhood.’

‘Sure we’re friends. But this is business. Is it treasonous? Sure, if you want to call it that, go ahead. But I’d rather be labeled treasonous than have the fruits of my labor crumble in my hands, especially when I had the chance to make things right. There’s a reason I didn’t tell you to kill the guy. I – or more specifically, we – just don’t want him meddling with our decision-making anymore.’

‘And you think I’d be any better? As a matter of fact, you think I’d bend the knee to you guys? You said you’re making me captain, but this just sounds like I’d be a puppet. Am I wrong?’

Asahi smirked.

‘You really would be the perfect captain. Nothing goes over your head.’

He paused, looking up at the ceiling and taking a sip of water. He then looked back at Satou:

‘Perhaps I misspoke. I said that I didn’t want him “meddling” with our “choices” correct? And I can see why that just sounds like we want a figurehead who wouldn’t toy with our decisions, someone who’d simply agree with everything that we put forward. That isn’t the case. We believe that your core values align with success – look at what you’ve carved out for yourself from nothing! Imagine what you’d be able to do with autonomy and what’s seemingly an army of subordinates at your disposal? Your brilliance and wisdom are what we’re missing Satou – in the end, we just want someone who won’t “meddle” with our success.’

The waiter walked by on Satou’s left, handing him a glass of coke, which he grabbed and sipped. He put the glass down on the table and rested his head on his left arm, with its elbow already fixed onto the table. He contemplated for a few seconds, before questioning Asahi again.

‘He’s led you to such prestige though? I’m just confused about the decision, that’s all. Seems like you guys are just looking for a fall-guy so that the power dynamics shift in your favor.’

Tosh hit his hand softly on the table, and looked up at Satou:

‘I’ve seen the rise and fall of crew’s kid. You probably know me, right?’

‘Patagonia’s number two, Toshiaki Kojiro. You didn’t need an introduction even though Asahi gave you one. You were the brains behind the operation there, weren’t ya?’

‘Yeah, and with all humility, of course. It’s that experience that made me advise these two to make this change now, rather than to let things fizzle out. If I could go back, I’d have told our watchdogs to dispose of Shion, our number one, much, much earlier. He was great in his heyday, but everything that went wrong with Patagonia started with him and his ignorance.’

‘And you’re saying the two situations are comparable?’

‘I’m not saying they’re a 1:1 replica of one another, boy. I’m saying I see similarities in the path Tsuyo’s gonna walk and the path that Shion already walked. Getting a new voice – one that’s both strong and intelligent – is integral. It’s why crews always have second, third and fourth generations – the old first gens retire and move on. They don’t overstay their welcome.’

Val piped in as well:

‘Honestly, I don’t really like the idea of having to answer to some totally new hotshot like ya. I’m just in it cause I agree with Asa & Tosh’s sentiment. If you don’t want that leadership role, by all means, relinquish it. We just wanted to make you the best possible offer.’

Asahi looked at him with an annoyed glare and sighed.

‘Sorry about him, he’s very unfiltered when it comes to anything. All he really cares about is beating people up, so all of these political talks are meaningless to him.’

‘Actually, these talks aren’t meaningless. If we keep Tsuyo around, there’ll probably be far fewer crews that I could easily beat up. I’ll do whatever it takes to stay on the frontlines for as long as possible – I wouldn’t give it up for the world.’

Satou leaned into Asahi to ask him a question.

‘He’s a complete meathead?’

‘Yeah. Honestly, if we lied and told him that keeping Tsu around was better for business, he’d probably believe us and would’ve opposed our contracting of you. He doesn’t know any better and we’re not trying to manipulate him either – we just laid out the facts; with Tsu still at the helm, we’ll likely lose power and won’t be able to compete with other large crews anymore. His dream of being able to fight continually would lose all merit if we’re consistently getting our asses kicked, right?’

‘You’re not wrong there.’

Satou looked back towards Val:

‘Why’d you suggest for me to not take the captain’s position though?’

‘I don’t really care about positions. I don’t like answering to people, but I’m not gonna make a fuss over it. I’m just sick of deliberating over a title – can we just move on?’

‘Move on? Move on to what?’

Asahi chuckled.

‘Cats out of the bag. But the reason we called you to meet tonight is cause we wanted to get the step on Tsu tonight. Today’s the one day of the month where he doesn’t have any of us, or his captains with him, and he calls it his ‘free night’, where he doesn’t have to worry about x54’s affairs. He’ll normally just spend the night twiddling his thumbs at the abandoned shipyard, doing donuts in his ride while staring off at the port in the distance. If we don’t get him tonight, we’re probably looking at an earliest shot sometime next month – probably later on too – which isn’t ideal.’

‘So, we’re gonna take him on?’

‘We? Oh, no man. The reason we’re offering the captaincy to ya is cause it’s gonna be a one-on-one. You versus Tsu. Sure we’ll step in if we need to, but we need to make sure that we’re not handing the reigns over to someone who isn’t physically capable. We obviously know you’re talented, don’t get us wrong. But there’s a reason it’s a contracted, outsourced job.’

‘Still, he’ll know you guys put me up to this, won’t he?’

‘Sure he will. But that isn’t important if you take him down. And we’ve got full confidence that you’re gonna win – don’t you?’

Satou paused, before scoffing.

‘Tsuyoshi’s a tough customer, yeah. Never seen him fight but the stories make him sound like some God of War. Still, I doubt he’s ever fought anyone with my reach or build. I’ll finish him off cleanly, don’t worry.’

Asahi reached his hand across the table.

‘I take it we have a deal then? You rid us of Tsu, and we’ll promise you captaincy. That sound fair enough?’

‘Yeah. As much as I don’t agree with your methods, I can understand the sentiment.’

He paused.

‘We gonna head out now?’

Tosh looked up and nudged Val, before responding:

‘Yeah, I got my ride. We can all fit. We’ll head to the shipyard now. It’s getting late.’

Tosh paid for the tab in full, before heading out the door to his Lexus LC500, which he hopped into, with Satou at shotgun and Asahi and Val in the back. They slammed their doors shut and Tosh sped away, with the clock on the car’s dash reading 1:32 a.m.

Asahi read me like a book too – the shipyard’s where I’d spend most of my nights off, cause it got me away from the life that I’d created for myself. Sometimes, just being able to stare off into the distance at the blinding city lights was calming. All of that hustle; all of that movement, and there wasn’t anything I could do to change it. I could be the strongest delinquent in all of the general Tokyo-Yokoyama area and it wouldn’t change the fact that there’d always be people who never knew that I existed. I guess everyone I surrounded myself with so many people who bent the knee to me that I forgot that those people really existed.

Maybe I’d find someone like that. Someone who’d treat me just like everyone else.

And that wasn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the life I carved out. I loved it – it was my only purpose for moving forward after all. Striking fear into the hearts of everyone that I came across – something about that just felt right. And yet, I’ve never felt more alive than when I’ve met someone who wasn’t afraid of me at all – not because they think that they’re inherently stronger than me, but because they don’t recognize the threat that I pose. It’s kinda oxymoronic to think about – the guy who wants to instill fear into everyone’s heart is taken aback by the average citizen who doesn’t know nor care about him.

It's quite ridiculous when it’s put like that, but alas.

I suddenly heard the faint noise of an engine, which began to scream louder and louder, signaling that someone had intel on my whereabouts. From the engine’s blast, it sounded similar to Tosh’s Lexus, and checking my rearview, I was confident that that was the ride in question. But… why?

I stepped out of the car and gestured towards Toshiaki, who drove directly towards me. Stopping about seven feet in front of me, he stepped down, and from his passenger side stepped down another figure – much bulkier than Valentin, and much larger than Asahi.

‘Tosh… care to introduce me?’

‘I don’t think he needs an introduction, does he?’

‘Well, no. If I had to guess, you’re Satou Yoshihisa, correct? The Twilight Assassin. Your figure matches the rumors pretty well – bit taller than I expected but I guess everything you read online isn’t accurate.’

Satou pushed the car’s door shut and replied:

‘That’s quite the compliment. But I’m not here for the compliments.’

‘Yeah. What exactly are ya here for?’

Asahi stepped out from behind him while Valentin stayed in the backseat of the car, looking onwards at the discussion.

‘You don’t know Tsu? Come on, even you should know what’s going on here.’

‘No, I really don’t. I thought Tosh had some important affairs he wanted to discuss or something. But it seems like he brought an entourage, so it clearly can’t be that, can it?’

‘Aw man, I really thought you’d be able to get it.’

Toshiaki interjected:

‘Tsuyo.’

‘Yeah Tosh?’

‘You remember when you brought me in half a year ago and I explained what had happened in Patagonia? You really think I’m gonna let that happen again? I know you brought me back from the doldrums, but I can’t let another opportunity fall by the wayside, even if it meant getting rid of you.’

“Ah, I see where this is going.’

I laughed and pointed to Valentin in the car.

‘You’re really okay with this, eh? You’re not gonna get your rematch with me? Is this what you wanted, ya sellout?’

Val kicked his car door open, and yelled out:

‘I don’t need a rematch with someone who’s had their ass kicked. When the time comes, I’ll whoop this guys ass in place of you. That’ll be my victory.’

I scoffed at him and then turned to Asahi:

‘Let me guess… your idea?’

‘Have to do what you have to do in this industry brother. Cutthroat life, and we need the right people on this team. He’s gonna be an unbelievable addition.’

‘All ya do is yap, y’know? But I shouldn’t have expected anything more anyway. Y’all made the right decision though. The one night that I don’t got at least one of my captains on-call.’

I laughed again.

‘Well, not like I’ll need any of them anyway.’

I looked at Satou, who’d thrown off his jacket into the passenger seat.

‘Don’t worry. I’m not a coward who’d beat you to death in a four-on-one. This is mano-y-mano, one-on-one street fighting. And I promise you, you’re gonna wish you had other people to beat up on, cause when I’m through with you, you’ll be lucky to not leave in a bodybag.’

‘Big talk from a guy who’s piss-scared of posting an image of himself online.’

‘Man, if your fight game is as weak as your comebacks, you’re going lights out in less than five minutes, easy. That’s pathetic.’

‘Well lucky for you – I won’t even need two minutes.’