"Ah, there she is, my favorite Ally." Muscle Man waved at her to sit down with him. Kusumoto, behind her as her bodyguard, stood far enough he wasn't looming over them but close enough he could intervene. He was clearly not completely prepared for his new role as bodyguard, but that was the point of taking him to a friendly meeting first: better he started with that than with a fight to the death.
"Hello, Kintsugi, how are you doing?" She asked, offering a smile.
"Good, very good. And you? I'm told your gang is doing well. Kunigashi says you are setting up some protection racket thing."
"Yeah, we are. You don't?"
"Eh, not really. I make all my money from some small drug dealing business and... Well, this." He pointed at the arena below.
"I see." She looked down, at the crowd of perspective fighters, "So, did you want me for something in particular, or is it just to watch some fights?"
"Ah! No, though you are welcome to come around if you want to watch some and bet. No, the reason I invited you, Konomomi, is that I need to make an offer and pass some information along."
"What kind of information?" She asked, "And what kind of offer?" Looking at him, he seemed relaxed, so it couldn't be too bad. At least, she hoped that if he was aware of a serious threat, he would have told her with more urgency.
"Two things. First of all, the information. The Salon Sisters are moving."
Konomomi froze, "We didn't notice anything different in their area."
"Naturally. I don't mean they are moving out, or jumping on you. Yet. That's stuff you'll notice. What you missed, is that they have been talking with the Sharks." He sipped some beer directly from the can, before tossing it off to make a perfect shoot in the closest trash can, "The Takoba Sharks don't really like you that much, you know? They assumed they could take over Takoba 1 and then bam, new gang shows up. Oh man, Sharkyonara must have been pissed."
"I... See... So we should expect an attack from them?"
"Probably. I can't say it's guaranteed, but it's as close to guaranteed as can be. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if their plan is using the Sharks to mellow you down and then give the finishing blow."
Konomomi frowned. "You will help naturally."
"Of course, but they know that. More likely they will try to cause trouble indirectly and gaud you into retaliating, at which point they'll start hiding away and do hit and run attacks until the Sisters have dealt with you. Once that's done, I'll have to make peace or fight them both." He chuckled, "Or that's what the Sharks think anyway. Wouldn't surprise me if the Sisters will just throw them under the bus once they have dealt with you."
"Doesn't seem that smart for them then."
"Smart? Girl, Sharkyonara is dumb as a brick. He gets to be the boss because he is strong and scary for the standards of his followers, but the real brain behind the gang is some guy called 'Suzuhiro Samechi', his second in command."
"Then why did he agree?"
"His boss agreed, and he couldn't get a word in after that." Muscle Man replied, "However, Samechi was really unhappy with the decision. So unhappy he... offered me some advice."
"He betrayed the gang?"
"Yes and no. Samechi officially wasn't the source of the rumor, but the guy that gave me an invite to meet with 'someone important from the Sharks' wasn't subtle about who he worked for. Of course, there is a chance this is a trap, but it's a very convoluted one."
"An invite for what?"
"There is going to be a baseball game at the Takoba Stadium next week. The letter has three tickets for the game and a promise of safe passage for whoever has them in and out of Takoba 2. The messenger said the sender wishes to discuss 'The matter of Takoba 1 and the adjacent Blocks, possibly with the Takoba 1 Boss, if he is willing'."
So they didn't know she was the Boss, if they were using 'he'. Or they were pretending they didn't know, but... ugh, yeah, that was the kind of thought process that never led anywhere. "And what do they want?"
"Likely? Samechi wants to get rid of Sharkyonara and the Sisters. I've dealt with him a couple times, and he is the kind of guy that always wants to maximize business. Fighting is his last resort, not something he'd want to get dragged into."
"And less likely?"
"It's a trap and they plan to kill you during the game. 60/40 chance in my opinion." He said flatly. "Will you take it? I can also go, but I don't know how they would take it."
Konomomi looked at the letter laying on the table.
Vote (choose 1):
[] I'll go (Take the invitation)
-[] Choose two members of the gang to accompany you.
[] You should go (Ask Muscle Man to go with some of his men)
[] We should go together (Ask Muscle Man to come with you)
- [] Choose another gang member that will come with you two
[] We shouldn't go (Refuse the invitation)
Her decision taken, she glanced at Muscle Man, "And the offer?"
"Ah, that's nothing special. I've had some requests for you to come back fighting in the ring. People wondering if you were a one-hit wonder. I was curious to ask if you'd be amicable to participating in some matches. It's good sport."
"I could die in it."
"Or get stronger. Fighting to the death teaches lessons no other training can give." He shrugged, "Feel free to refuse, but I pay the winners well."
Offer (Choose 1):
[] Agree (You will be invited to periodically participate in the fights organized by Muscle Man. Fighting in the Arena can help advance your training, and includes other possible benefits. You will be paid in case of victory. Losing in the Arena can result in death.)
[] It's not a good idea (Refuse politely)
That decision taken, all Konomomi had left was enjoying the fight, she supposed, or at least pretend to. Muscle Man seemed decided to not bring up the situation any further, but he was very talkative. There was information to collect...
Night at the Arena (Choose 2):
[] Talk about other Villains (Information Gathering roll, success chance: ???, Muscle Man will share information he has about other gangs and Villains in Musutafu, though whether it's accurate or not is up in the air)
[] Bet (Accounting roll, success chance: ???, Bet a certain amount of budget (minimum 5) a maximum of 5 times. The final return will depend on the roll)
- [] Place the bets (Bet up to five times, minimum 5 Budget)
[] Look for Talent (Brawling roll, success chance: ???, Look for fighters that aren't part of the Ringleaders that might be worth recruiting)
[] Talk about your Alliance (Oratory roll, success chance: ???, has higher chance if you agreed to the Offer, has lower chance if you chose 'Ask him to go', raises chances of Muscle Man to agree with alliance actions).
[][] Just relax (Don't do anything in particular)
(XX)
There we go, sorry for the delay but last week was harsh on my writing time. Some decisions to be had here.
