>First Thread:
https://archived.moe/qst/thread/2424210/#2424210

>Previous Thread(s):
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=A%20New%20Mutant%20Quest

>Character Sheet:
https://pastebin.com/r4mTphVV

I made some revisions to the character sheet so check that out. People who wanted fighting-styles are going to be pleased or at least interested.

>>2684590
>>[ ] "No, could you show us to our table now?"

>>2684590
>[ ] "No, could you show us to our table now?"
>[ ] "Got any spare uniform shirts laying around?"
Nice to see you back! The fighting style thing is interesting. Could we get back up if we trained with another super?

>>2684815
>Could we get back up if we trained with another super?
Yup, someone who can take several punches from Kojo.

good luck with that

>>2684818
Just start picking some fights with Luke for practice. We all know he isn't going anywhere or accomplishing anything.

>>2684821
I completely forgot about Cage. He'd make a good punching bag.

>>2684835
For some reason every morning at 6am this horned guy shows up in Harlem to fuck with cage for an hour before vanishing.

>>2684840
I love it.

Going to have that as an option in the possibly near future.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "No, could you show us to our table now?"
>[X] "Got any spare uniform shirts laying around?"

>(1/2)

Way too soon to cut this date short; you haven't even sat down yet. Cleaning off in the bathroom may sound like a good idea but there's always that chance of you leaving mutant blood behind. They might have peroxide on them you can use to taint any of the would be evidence but you're not exactly sure if your blood can even be affected by it whether in small douses or large douses. Playing it safe has never come back to bite you before. You can wrap your ruined shirt around yourself and wear one of their's for the rest of the date day.

"Got any spare uniform shirts laying around?" you ask.

The receptionist shoots you an odd look.

"Um, I'm going to need to check on that." she says. "Don't you want medical attention first?"

You let out an aggravated sigh.

"No, could you show us to our table now?" you say.

Fear fills the woman's eyes.

"Y-yes! I will show you two to your table now." She rushes out of her podium to guide you and Ren. "Come right this way!"

A grin once again spreads across your face as you follow the panicked greeter. Much like what occurred earlier, the nosy clientele and employees stare in horrified revelation at your magnificence. Fear is a delight you often let yourself indulge in. It's a strange sickly sweet smell no human can consciously recognizes as well as an entertaining emotion to observe. You sometimes get whiffs of it from your boys but so very few of them fear you like a normal civilian does. Blood is more enticing to you than fear but you've come to associate the scent of both with one another over your criminal career. Shame normal criminals like Ren will never get to know what that scent's like. Ren's never struck you as the indulging type but she'd at least somewhat understand one of the reasons why you tolerate the stares.

The woman stops at a corner booth away from prying eyes.

"Alright, this will be your table for today. I'll come back with your menus and your shirt shortly." she says before speed-walking off.

Not your first choice for a seating but it'll do.

>(2/2)

You slide into one side of the booth and Ren slides into the parallel side from you.

For a few seconds you stare at one another underneath the strange neon lights until a thought crosses your mind.

"Ren," you say, "why do you get so upset when people stare at me? You got rustled to the point you took me away by the hand. No one's ever done that to me before."

You can already guess why she got mad. It's the hand thing you're really wondering about. Whether or not she didn't mean to offend, you can't help but feel just the slightest bit miffed over that for some reason.

The Japanese girl sits in thought for a short while before answering you.

"They were being disrespectful staring at you, Reyes-sama." Ren bows from her seated position. "I'm sorry if I offended you in anyway by taking your hand. I was out of line and unprofessional."

Ren's typical apology. Only difference is it's over something as simple as holding your hand. You still can't shake that strange feeling of annoyance.

You just don't quite understand.

>[ ] "It's fine, just don't do it again."
>[ ] "Relax, it's fine...I think."
>[ ] "Apology accepted."
>[ ] "...Is it normal to hold someone's hand like that?"
>[ ] "..."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2685015
>>[ ] "Relax, it's fine...I think."

>>2685015
>[ ] "Relax, it's fine...I think."

>>2685015
>>[X] "Relax, it's fine...I think."

>>2685015
>[ ] "Relax, it's fine...I think."

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "Relax, it's fine...I think."

You're not quite sure what to think right now. There's no need for you to feel annoyed over something so small. If anything, you should have been amused by it. Something is missing from your point of view. Whatever it is, your irritation grows the more you dwell on it. Maybe you can resolve it later but it's better to just let it go for now.

"Relax, it's fine...I think." you say.

Ren gives you a concerned look.

"Are you okay, Reyes-sama?" she asks.

You part your lips to assure her but the sound of plastic smacking into your booth table cuts you off.

Turning to your right, you see the greeter from before wearing a nervous smile with a plain black shirt in one hand.

"There's your menus." She sticks out the shirt to you. "And here's your shirt. My manager said you could have it if you want to take it home with you."

You grin and take the shirt from the woman before she scurries off.

It looks like you're not going to get in any trouble skipping out on the bill here. A wise choice by whoever is running the place. So long as you don't do anything crazy they won't make a fuss.

You take off your torn open shirt, set it off to your left side, and savor the cool cafe air brush over your bare torso for a moment.

Ren, unopened cafe menu in hand, pauses to stare at your chest.

The grin on your face widens.

"You really can't keep your eyes off me, can you?" you say.

Ren's face turns a deep crimson before she opens her menu and buries her head in it.

Stifling a laugh, you put on the black shirt and peer into your own menu.

It takes only a few minutes for a waiter to approach your booth. By the time the man arrives, you've already picked some things out. Still Rosy-Faced Ren has her menu set down as well.

"H-hello! I'm Se-"

You cut the man off before he can overly introduce himself.

"I'll have a medium-rare steak and scrambled eggs with a side of black bean rice and fresh brewed black coffee for a drink." you say.

The man scribbles into a notepad and turns to Ren.

"A-and what will you have, miss?" he asks

She waits for him to finish writing down your order before answering him.

"Buttermilk pancakes with bacon and chamomile tea for a drink." she says.

The waiter nods and sprints off after finishing his writing, leaving you alone with Ren.

You stare at the Japanese girl and she stares back at you.

>[ ] "What did you think of Silvio?"
>[ ] "What do you think of the rest of the inner circle? I've never seen the four of you together as anything other than colleagues."
>[ ] "What do you think I should do after we're done with Kingpin? I know I'll have to cement my rule first but it's what comes after I'm wondering about."
>[ ] "Tea, huh? Have you ever tried coffee?"
>[ ] "Got any questions you want to throw my way?"
>[ ] Stay silent and wait for your food to arrive, you like awkwardness
>[ ] Write In.

Sorry it took so long, family came over unannounced.

>>2685769
>Tease her a little about how she goes red
>Any questions?

>>2685769
I'll second >>2685795

>>2685769
>>[X] "What did you think of Silvio?"
>>[X] "Got any questions you want to throw my way?"
I want to know more about her mindset, but also don't want to put the entire conversation on her. Plus a second opinion could be useful.

>>2685795
>>Tease her a little about how she goes red
This is fun too

>>2685769
>[ ] Stay silent and wait for your food to arrive, you like awkwardness

>>2685795
>>2686079
>>2686465
Lads stop waifuing her you fags.

>>268650
It's more about keeping her bound to us and loyal. She proven very useful so far and if this is what she wants as a reward it's the least we could do.

>>2685769
>see mutant quest
>oh shit can it be Crusty Jones? is he back?
>see this hack

fuck

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2686789
Why be here if you don't like it
>>2686502
You do realize we're a high functioning psychopath, right? We're making her more loyal to us by manipulating her emotions for us

>>2685769
>[ ] "What do you think of the rest of the inner circle? I've never seen the four of you together as anything other than colleagues."
>[ ] "Tea, huh? Have you ever tried coffee?"
>[ ] "Got any questions you want to throw my way?"

>[X] Tease her a little about how she goes red
>[X] "What did you think of Silvio?"
>[X] "Got any questions you want to throw my way?"

>(1/2)

Awkward silences are awkward. There's not much fun sitting around doing nothing. Dating is supposed to be something fun or at least you think it should be. You've overheard some dating stories from your boys before; they seemed fun enough.

You stifle a laugh when a thought strikes you, drawing a wary eye from Ren.

"You're kind of like a light-bulb, you know?" you say. "A red tinted light-bulb that turns on and off and on and off again."

Ren's face turns a bright red.

A smile forms on your lips.

"Oh look, you're doing it right now." you say.

The girl slams her head against the booth table and doesn't make an effort to lift herself up.

You snicker at the sorry sight.

For a few minutes, Ren lies her head against the table. Your amused expression gives way to one of curiosity as they go by. Maybe you went just a tad too far calling her out on her blushing. The collective embarrassment festering in her over time most likely went off all at once. Either that or she's been hoping that you wouldn't ever bring it up and had that hope utterly destroyed when you did.

Ren lifts her head from the table back to meet your gaze with the just the faintest hint of red on her cheeks.

You resist the urge to laugh and move to diffuse her discomfort with a question.

"What did you think of Silvio." you ask.

The last of the red tint on Ren's face fades away as she dwells on the matter.

"He was prideful yet willing to listen to reason and respectful, at least for now. You may need to keep him on a short leash, Reyes-sama, or display strong leadership after you move on Kingpin. We will not need him after Kingpin is gone and he will most likely have constant doubts on your actions as they aren't his own. It may be wise to dispose of him and assimilate the Maggia fully under yourself before he has thoughts of doing the reverse to you." she says.

You let out a thoughtful hum.

It's very much possible that Silvio will turn sometime after you deal with Kingpin if you don't play your cards right. The old man was willing to bow after you pointed out all the ways he could crumble without you but you doubt he'd be loyal if he saw you as an unworthy don. Keeping him close might agitate him but at least keep him from making any moves. You could make a show of yourself being a good leader but it might just be easier to kill the old man. A great deal of you still finds the idea of butchering him satisfying. No point choosing a course of action now though. Fisk is still alive and Marcus will have a lot to more ideas to bring your way when you get back to the warehouse.

>(2/2)

You shrug off your thoughts and focus back on Ren.

"Got any questions you want to throw my way?" you ask.

She rests her chin on her hand and stares at you for a few seconds.

"Do you prefer being on your lonesome rather than with your men?" Ren asks.

Simple enough question with a simple answer.

"I'm used to being alone but I don't mind company." you answer.

Ren hums.

"Do you miss being human?" she asks.

You scoff.

"Not one fucking bit." you answer.

The girl raises an eyebrow at you.

"Why exactly?" she asks.

Now that's a complicated question.

>[ ] "Do you ever miss being a child?"
>[ ] "I was nothing before the horns."
>[ ] "Haven't you heard what I was like before? I don't want to be that way ever again."
>[ ] "A lot of reasons; let's leave it at that."
>[ ] Stay silent.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2687179
>Because when I was human I was at the mercy of others. Now they're at mine.

>>2687179
>[ ] "I was nothing before the horns."

>>2687179
>>[ ] "Do you ever miss being a child?"

>>2687383
>>2687256
Ditto

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2686789
Surprised no one else has called me out on that. You've earned my respect, random guy on the internet. i miss crusty too, he's why i started this quest

>>2687464
Sometimes I wonder what happened to him

>[X] "Do you ever miss being a child?"
>[X] "I was nothing before the horns."

There are a lot reasons why you don't miss being a flat scan. For all your ability and experience, you lacked the drive to use them as you should have. You were alive but dead inside. Only one person followed you but you didn't even know you were leading him not that you could've known how to. Weak, vulnerable, worthless, content, powerless, and empty: you were all those things and more but you're none of them now.

"Do you ever miss being a child?" you ask.

Ren glances down at the table for a moment before looking back up to you.

"No." she answers.

You sigh.

"I was nothing before the horns." you say.

Ren doesn't ask you anything after that returning the atmosphere to an awkward silence.

It's strange for you to be talking to someone other than Marcus about yourself. Understandable really, he's the only one you've ever talked about anything with and the only one from your street-rat days who's still alive. You haven't ever felt the need for your underlings to know more about you but considering that roster has expanded to include Silvio Manfredi himself and you're going to take the place of crime Kingpin soon, you're going to have to start fessing up to a few special ones you leave in key positions.

The silence and your thoughts are broken by the sound of your waiter setting down your drinks.

"I'll be back with your meals in just a few minutes." he says.

Once again, the waiter scurries off leaving you both alone with one another.

>[ ] "Got anymore questions you want to ask, Ren?"
>[ ] "Can I have a sip of your tea? I'll let you have a sip of my coffee in return."
>[ ] "What about your childhood can you tell me?"
>[ ] Have a drink of your coffee.
>[ ] Sniff the air.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2687506
The curse it was actually the ass cancer he had beforehand or during, I don't remember

>>2687616
>[ ] "Got anymore questions you want to ask, Ren?"
>[ ] Have a drink of your coffee.
>[ ] Sniff the air.

>>2687641
Ditto but also
>What was your childhood like
>>2687628
I only read the archive and even then, I knew that phasefags are wrong

>>2687651
>phasefags
The old mutant x point power voting?

>>2687660
Yeah, people who wanted to have the ability to phase which wouldn't have been used and if it was, JJ was too much of a crackbitch to not die using it

>>2687660
Is there going to be power voting in this quest btw, cause if there is I definitely feel like we should have a few points from what we've already done

>>2687671
No, Kojo's not a gene experiment like JJ was. If we're going to do any x-gene or super upgrades its going to cost actual cash and a mad scientist. A lot of cash is required and the position as well as the reputation to attract that kind of attention is also required, i.e, being Kingpin. The options for upgrade are also going to be limited at first and expanded by the acquisition of certain biological material from special people.

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2687684
So we're going to have to get a biological tinker to help us, great

>>2687818
It's not going to be that bad. You'll be surprised by who I have in mind.

>>2687871
I hope we find out soon. Btw could we fix some of our issues if we just broke every bone in our body? We got to how we are now by partially doing that

>>2687920
>could we fix some of our issues if we just broke every bone in our body?
I fail to see the logic here.

>>2687983
Part of what's holding us back is stated to be our muscles not properly meshing with our skeleton, also it's stated that when our mutant genes activated we ended up breaking every bone in our body and when they healed they were stronger because of our healing factor therefore if we kept breaking all the bones in our body we might be able to correct the issue with our musculoskeletal system

>[X] Sniff the air.
>[X] Have a drink of your coffee.
>[X] "What about your childhood can you tell me?"
>[X] "Got anymore questions you want to ask, Ren?"

First things first, it's better to be safe than to be sorry.

You close your eyes and breathe in through your nose.

The pleasant scent of roasted coffee fills your nostrils. It's untainted robusta, the good shit in your opinion; most arabica blends are too sweet for your tastes. You can smell the sweetness of Ren's tea as well. Doesn't seem like either hot drink was poisoned but then again common rat poison is odorless and tasteless. Poisoning won't kill you but it can kill Ren, who smells somewhat like sugar right now. Chances of any restaurant working lackey being stupid enough to try assassinating you or any of your boys on your own turf is next to zero though.

Eyes still closed, you pick up the warm mug of coffee by its side and take a sip.

It's acidic taste is nothing out of the ordinary. Caffeine is tasteless so you can't tell whether or not they served you decaffeinated coffee. You wouldn't be bothered if they did considering you don't have a hangover right now and you never need caffeine to stay up not that it could help you with that.

You take two gulps of your coffee and set it down before opening your eyes again.

The first thing you see is Ren savoring a sweetened tea when a thought occurs to you.

"What about your childhood can you tell me?" you ask.

She takes a more sips of her chamomile tea before setting it down.

"I lived partly in Akita city in Akita prefecture, Japan before my family moved us to New York City, Reyes-sama." she says. "I remember a lot of Japan still but few memories are pleasant. My family lived in poverty both here and there. Not much changed but..." She frowns. "Nee-san and I grew up in Castle Hill."

You walked right into that one.

Ren picks up her mug of tea and continues to sip out of it while you take another swig of your coffee before setting it down again.

For a few seconds, you mull over what to say before coming to a questionable conversation changer.

"Got anymore questions you want to ask, Ren?" you say.

Without missing a beat, the Japanese girl stops sipping her tea and lowers her mug.

"Do you remember the first person you killed?" she asks.

Both you and Ren blink for a moment before Ren's eyes widen in realization.

It doesn't seem like she wanted to say that. Her tone didn't sound passive-aggressive but still. That little hicccup was a bit too much.

>[ ] Answer her question like nothing happened, no need for any punishment.
>[ ] Answer her question passive-aggressively so Ren feels like shit, the better to manipulate her.
>[ ] Casually take a drink of your coffee, it's better for the both of you if you act like that didn't just happen.
>[ ] Stay silent and wait for her to apologize.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2688033
>[ ] Answer her question. Let her know to watch her tone. A warning is fine for now.

>>2688065
Ditto
>>2688033
Can we have a hint as to who the bio-tinker is, nothing overt
Also we really need to pick fights with various superhumans so we can work out and get our fighting style back

>>2688092
>Can we have a hint as to who the bio-tinker is, nothing overt
They've done mutant experiments before and they're not a mutant. None of them are mutants.
>Also we really need to pick fights with various superhumans so we can work out and get our fighting style back
Dan's fighting style really. Apex Fang is Kojo's style. Due to more reliance on his own innnate skill, Kojo didn't train with Dan as much as Marcus did.

>>2688033
>>[ ] Answer her question like nothing happened, no need for any punishment.

>>2688117
It's a group?

>>2688033
>>[X] Answer her question like nothing happened, no need for any punishment.

>>2687996
Ah, see, it seems to me that if breaking our bones remeshed our musculoskeletal system better automatically, I think we'd be better already.
I suspect either our healing isn't 100% perfect or, more likely, that our body is just not laid out well, as (to my knowledge) we were neither designed by intentional genecraft nor millennia of natural selection.
Think Morlocks.

Judicious and careful breaking, restructuring, and reattaching of tissues might totally work though. But they'd need to limit our healing factor to prevent it from resetting us to factory settings when we broke something.
Perhaps by infusing some form of material into our bones...

>>2688403
>Adamantium bullman
I like where this is going

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>[X] Answer her question. Let her know to watch her tone. A warning is fine for now.
>[X] Answer her question like nothing happened, no need for any punishment.

>>2688813
Does our belligerent trait cancel out our manipulator trait when talking to rivals?

>>2688857
Used to but now you have at least a +1 modifier to persuading rivals. Kojo's willing to talk but it's hard for him to be civil much less tactful in his attempts. You can always get rid of belligerence with enough therapy and humility via will rolls but you will lose the bonus +2 modifier.

>>2688888
Nice get
OP get it. Special event?

>>2688888
I don't think we'll want that, we can basically convince anyone below us to do anything. Speaking of which we should really work on the loyalty of our troops

>[X] Answer her question like nothing happened, no need for any punishment.

>(1/2)

You're torn between giving Ren a warning and just answering her question like she didn't ask something that could be mistaken for passive-aggressiveness. On one hand, giving her a warning will strengthen your power over her but will ruin chances of developing trust and also ruin your date; on the other, letting it go will make her feel less like she needs to walk on eggshells around you and you can continue your date without any more awkwardness than there already is. There's a lot you can get from power. Problem here is you have plenty enough over Ren as is. Nothing to lose letting it slip by but you can lose the chance to better familiarize Ren with yourself going the other route. It was mostly the opportunity to make Ren more comfortable around yourself that made you take her out on this date in the first place.

A thoughtful hum rumbles in your throat.

"I actually don't remember my first kill." you say. "At the time, I was probably too young or my mindset didn't think of it worth remembering in any way. My first kill would've likely been sloppy as hell though and some other street-rat unfortunate enough or stupid enough to cross me. I doubt I could have taken a grown man without any experience and, believe it or not, I got better with every kill I remember making one after the other." A laugh escapes your lips. "Sometime after I settled in with Marcus, he named the way I fought with a knife: he called it the Apex Fang. I would've told him it was stupid if I was more like I am now than I was then but, looking back at it now, it fits."

Ren blinks at you before relaxing.

"I've never seen you use a knife before. Did you stop feeling the need to carry one after you became a mutant, Reyes-sama?" she asks.

You nod your head.

"It might have been useful to have one back in my little league gang days but it's useless to start carrying one now. The people we're going to go up against wear body armor made to stop high-caliber rounds. A knife wouldn't do much against that. Plus, I'm pretty sure any knife I'd use now would break after a few kills." you say.

>(2/2)

Ren hums for a moment.

"Have you tried substituting a knife with one of your fingers, Reyes-sama?" she asks. "I've seen you sculpt steel with one before. You'd have shorter range but wouldn't have to worry about breaking a weapon. It will take practice to get used to at first, however. Full mastery in your 'Apex Fang' may take some time to achieve depending on how you adjust."

You blink at Ren.

That thought has never occurred to you before. It'll definitely take a while for you to adjust and much more time to get back to the skill you had before but the payoff could be worth it. Supers with immense durability like Cage will brush off any "slices" but stabbing pokes might work with enough force. You don't have any plans on pissing off anyone above your pay-grade so the chances of you running into someone you wouldn't be able to tear apart with a finger are small.

A smile forms on your lips.

It looks like you made the right call.

>[ ] "Care to spar with me sometime? My fight with Itsuki didn't go so well at first: he sliced me before I could do anything. If I wasn't fast enough for the second blow, he'd have taken my head off. I think I've gotten rusty after all this peaceful time."
>[ ] "You can ask more questions if you'd like to."
>[ ] "Who was your first kill?"
>[ ] "Have you ever tried coffee?"
>[ ] Stay silent and wait for your meal.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2689061
>Let's spar
We need wolverine claws now although I'd prefer them X-23 style

>>2689096
Kojo's got a dick so if you ever end up splicing his genes with Wolverine family DNA he'll either get Logan's claws or Daken's weird ass fist claws and that one wrist claw.

>>2689110
I cannot understate how much I don't want a wrist claw

>>2689123
Why? You can just keep it in all the time and use the two fist claws.

>>2688895
I don't get it, i think.

>>2689125
Really, I would have thought it'd be an "all or nothing" kind of deal

>>2689133
Logan does the individual claw popping thing all the time to impromptu middle finger people and threaten to impale them with his middle claw.

>>2689137
Oh, right. Which one has the better healing factor, I feel like that should be a deciding factor

>>2689153
Logan suffers from adamantium poisoning so he heals slower but his base healing factor is the same as Daken and his gene baby sister. Kojo's healing factor is on their level and won't change or improve when spliced with any of their DNA.

>>2689160
What if we hired deadpool and took a sample, would it kill us because of how good it is

>>2689190
If you really want super cancer.

>>2689199
I may be wrong but I don't think cancer works that way. His healing factor exacerbates the cancer he already has of I remember correctly. If it's what's actively causing it then any healing factor should have the same effects. Then again this is comics.

>>2689199
In any case we need Luke Cage's sub dermal mesh
>>2689209
They're tied together/his cells reproduce faster than his body can handle them so he always has cancer

>>2689209
>this is comics
That is the explanation for why Wolverine, Daken, and X-23 don't spontaneously grow into walking tumors and somehow have their hair regenerate back to the way it was before incineration. Don't think too hard about it. Focus on the okay stories and plot. I will probably try to explain mutant and super powers like an autist as the quest goes along though.

>>2689217
Ah my understanding was that his healing factor kept making cancer because his cells were already replicating incorrectly because of his pre-existing cancer. So theoretically we could get his healing factor and be fine since our cells are replicating normally (or as normal as a mutants does anyway).

>>2689226
I think it's partially that, there's also an explaination that say that the healing process regens based on self image which is why it grows hair back out to the correct length

>>2689233
I don't think I've ever thought about a mutant healing factor this hard. And now I just have so many questions that won't ever have answers.

>>2689264
you thought too hard about it

>>2689061
>[ ] "Care to spar with me sometime? My fight with Itsuki didn't go so well at first: he sliced me before I could do anything. If I wasn't fast enough for the second blow, he'd have taken my head off. I think I've gotten rusty after all this peaceful time."
>[ ] "You can ask more questions if you'd like to."
>[ ] "Who was your first kill?"
Forgot to vote.

[ ] "Care to spar with me sometime? My fight with Itsuki didn't go so well at first: he sliced me before I could do anything. If I wasn't fast enough for the second blow, he'd have taken my head off. I think I've gotten rusty after all this peaceful time."

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2689294
was waiting for that

>[X] "Care to spar with me sometime? My fight with Itsuki didn't go so well at first: he sliced me before I could do anything. If I wasn't fast enough for the second blow, he'd have taken my head off. I think I've gotten rusty after all this peaceful time."
>[X] "Who was your first kill?"
>[X] "You can ask more questions if you'd like to."

>(1/2)

You are getting rusty. Instead of closing the distance between you and Itsuki with a lunge, you ran right into his range giving him enough time to react. Ren's not in your weight class but she can do well against you with that whip. Learning Apex Fang again and reworking it will be impossible along with revitalizing old styles but you can improve your general combat skills. The fundamentals are the most important elements of combat ability as Dan used to say. Maybe you can bond more with Ren during spars.

"Care to spar with me sometime?" you ask. "My fight with Itsuki didn't go so well at first: he sliced me before I could do anything. If I wasn't fast enough for the second blow, he'd have taken my head off. I think I've gotten rusty after all this peaceful time."

Ren's eyes widen.

"Why me, Reyes-sama?" she asks.

You shrug.

"Marcus is too weak, Jesus is a firearm user, and Alex is Alex; you're the only one I can have a prolonged combat engagement with." you answer.

Ren nods her head in understanding and takes a sip of her tea before setting it down, revealing a smile on her lips.

"I would be honored to, Reyes-sama." she says.

You let out a pleased hum. It's not like she could've or was going to refuse you but her answer was pleasant none the less. The honored bit combined with the honorific stroked your ego good. Her smile also helped.

Deciding to further savor the moment, you grab hold of your coffee mug and take a few gulps.

Things are progressing well between you and Ren. She'll be wrapped around your finger eventually if you keep up the good behavior. Only time can tell if that will stick, though. You doubt anything important relating to your strange relationship will rear its head but you never know. Worst case scenario, you somehow run into her parents with Ren by your side one day and they ask how Run's doing.

All this hypothetical thinking is useless, however; you're letting your momentum die down.

You set your coffee mug back on the table and focus on Ren.

"Who was your first kill?" you ask.

Ren once again rests her chin on her hand.

"He was a man named Tuco," she says, "unremarkable petty thug who talked a big game yet bled and cried like a pig when I made an example of him, Reyes-sama."

You smile and nod in approval.

Ren smiles back but you notice her wince ever so slightly before taking a gulp of her tea.

Without changing your expression, you study Ren.

(2/2)

She enjoys your approval when it comes to fighting and killing but she doesn't enjoy it when you commemorate her on brutality. It's no doubt related to what you did to her sister. Maybe she's not so keen on brutal examples after what you did to her. You saw her twitch once the other day when going over plans with the rest of the inner circle as well. Probably wise to steer conversation away from anything too violent.

"You can ask more questions if you'd like to." you say.

Ren hums in thought.

"What's your favorite color?" she asks.

You raise an eyebrow.

"People actually have favorite colors?" you say.

Ren nods.

"Mine's purple." she says. "What's yours, Reyes-sama?"

You blink and mull over the question for a few seconds.

"Red, I guess." you say.

Blood and power, your two favorite things are represented perfectly by the vibrant color. The fact that it covers up blood stains also helps. Not much use sneaking about but you don't do much of that anymore.

Ren hums again.

"What hobbies do you have?" she asks.

An easier question for you to answer than the last one.

"Stargazing, birdwatching, hopping around the Bronx, spying on people going about their day, and running through the streets at night." you answer.

Ren's eyes widen in surprise.

"Do you ever see anything interesting happen, Reyes-sama?" she asks.

The blinding light of a celestial leviathan fills your mind.

Now might be a good time to tell someone. Then again, she's probably not going to believe you. You doubt anyone would believe you. Even in a world filled with super-heroes, super-villans, and people who go through a genetic mutation during puberty a space phoenix is a bit too far fetched.

>[ ] "Not much, with the exception of the occasional alien spacecraft being shot down by SHIELD or the Avengers."
>[ ] "Would you believe me if I told you a giant space phoenix showed me the multiverse and the universal personification of Death appeared to me in my dreams last night?"
>[ ] "You wouldn't believe me if I told you about the things I've seen."
>[ ] "Pretty stars mostly. Want to see them with me later?"
>[ ] Stay silent.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2689892
>[ ] "You wouldn't believe me if I told you about the things I've seen."

>>2689892
>Space ship
>Want to see the stars (if night)
>Not much really

>>2689989
>>Want to see the stars (if night)
Does this mean to say this if its night right now or just saying they'll see the stars at night.

>>2690088
If it's night right now

>>2690108
Ah, it's not

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2690126
never mind i just realized voting is at a tie

whoops

>>2689892
>>[X] "You wouldn't believe me if I told you about the things I've seen."

Voting actually closed now, writing now

>>2690234
>He said a troubling amount of time ago

>[X] "You wouldn't believe me if I told you about the things I've seen."

You doubt Ren would believe your stories. Instead of fearing mutants, flat scans should start focusing that paranoia on the not so little green men who are centuries more advanced and have been infiltrating human society for years. Alien invasions have happened in the past and they will without a doubt happen again sometime in the future. The Phoenix and Death are on a higher level of insanity than the aliens, though.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you about the things I've seen." you say.

Ren raises an eyebrow at you but doesn't question you on it.

"How long have you known Marcus?" she asks.

A small smile makes its way onto your face.

"It's been about seven or eight years now." you say.

Ren's gaze is filled with curiosity.

"How was he like when you first met him?" she asks.

Your smile grows.

"He was so weak and helpless back then. I saved his life the first time I met him. Didn't mean to but the small gang that was hassling him decided to do so in my squat at the time. With no where to go and no one to be, he ended up latching onto me. I had a few thoughts about killing him but figured it'd be useful to have an extra pair of hands to hold onto loot and someone to use as bait to distract people away from me. He started mimicking my movements after a while: the way I walked, crawled, jumped, and even ran without making any noise. Marcus could never get the running down properly but he was good enough to try his hand at picking pockets. Had to bail him out a few times and show him how to hide a corpse several times his mass, though. From then on, Marcus started to grow into his own as my partner. He had a lot of trouble adjusting to the gang life but eventually he realized that was the only life he could have ended up living." you say.

Ren picks up her cup of tea, takes a sip, and sets it down.

"Do you have any thoughts of reforming the structure of our organization after Kingpin is dealt with, Reyes-sama?" she asks.

You raise an eyebrow at Ren.

Thoughts of reformation have crossed your mind before. Only two of your lieutenants can function without supervision: Marcus and the girl sitting in front of you. Jesus can keep things in order but he can't lead, which makes him more suited to be an enforcer like Itsuki will be for you. Alex can't be trusted to do either but is good enough at stealth and proficient enough with a knife to be a personal assassin. Your inner circle of race based representation may work for a gang but you're going to be running an empire in the next few days and that small-time shit isn't going to be enough.

>[ ] "I've had a few ideas in mind but I don't plan on doing anything until we're done with Kingpin."
>[ ] "Do you have any ideas?"
>[ ] "This isn't about Marcus, is it? Has he not been doing a good job as my number two or is it just that you want to be my right hand?"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2690690
ask and thou shall receive

family happened again and i had trouble thinking of ways the conversation could continue without feeling unnatural

>>2690712
Also exposition as well as trouble thinking of places to put in natural feeling choices. Like, having a choice on how much info to disclose to Ren about Marcus. Decided to just include a brief summary of their start so it wouldn't lead to a giant info dump.

>>2690699
>I've been thinking of ways
>Are you trying to be my #2

>>2690699
I can't wait till there's the "the heroes are away, so the mice can play" arc where we establish ourselves as the Warlord of New York

>>2690777
Supporting

>>2690777
Yeah, this.

>>2690699
>[ ] "I've had a few ideas in mind but I don't plan on doing anything until we're done with Kingpin

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "I've had a few ideas in mind but I don't plan on doing anything until we're done with Kingpin."
>[X] "This isn't about Marcus, is it? Has he not been doing a good job as my number two or is it just that you want to be my right hand?"

Now isn't the time to be discussing reformation. Kingpin's still alive and you're on a date. There are other things you can be talking about that could let the both of you get to know each other more.

"I've had a few ideas in mind but I don't plan on doing anything until we're done with Kingpin." you say.

Ren nods her head.

You finish off the rest of your coffee when a thought strikes you.

Setting your coffee down, you shoot Ren an odd look.

"This isn't about Marcus is it?" you ask. "Has he not beeen doing a good job as my number two or is it just that you want to be my right hand?"

Ren's eyes flash with panic.

"N-no, Reyes-sama, Marcus has been excellent as your second-in-command. I'd be honored to be your second-in-command but I don't think I could muster the same respect among the men as Marcus has. He has a pleasant air about him that I lack. Demoting him would rightfully be seen as a questionable decision." she says.

You let out a thoughtful hum.

Ren takes another sip of her tea, sets her mug down, and shoots you a nervous look.

"...Reyes-sama, you care deeply for Marcus, don't you?" she says.

You pause before nodding your head.

It's not like you can lie about that. There's no benefit to lying anyway. You'd just seem more like a monster if you said he was nothing to you. Foot soldiers are better off believing that but people higher up the food chain need some assurance that you won't throw them under the bus without a second thought despite the fact that you could do that. Ren is too reliant and scared of you now to turn but if you ever decide to giver her some of her own turf as your underling she just might if you prove to be untrustworthy as a person as well as a leader.

Ren's nervousness intensifies.

"...Do you love him?" she asks.

You blink at Ren.

>[ ] "...Sure, I guess you could say that."
>[ ] "Not at all."
>[ ] "Are you asking if I'm attracted to him? If so, I'm not saying yes but I'm not saying no."
>[ ] "Why are you so nervous about asking me about him?"
>[ ] "What exactly do you mean by love?"
>[ ] Stay silent.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2692616
>>[X] "What exactly do you mean by love?"

>>2692616
>[ ] "Why are you so nervous about asking me about him?"
>[ ] "What exactly do you mean by love?"

>>2692643
Ditto

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "Why are you so nervous about asking me about him?"
>[X] "What exactly do you mean by love?"

You don't understand love. The concept, feeling, and the purpose of it elude you. It has no real definition beyond what arbitrary meaning people assign it. Feelings like the anxiousness evident in Ren's expression are clearer: she's afraid of asking you about Marcus.

A frown makes its way onto your face.

"Why are you so nervous about asking me about him?" you ask.

Ren buckles in your gaze.

"Marcus is the one person you hold closest to you." she says. "I-it feels inappropriate for me to question you about a matter so personal yet I asked you anyway." Ren bows her head. "Forgive me, Reyes-sama."

Your lips form into a thin line.

It looks like she got a bit too comfortable asking you about yourself. At least, she thinks she did. Might be a good thing or a bad thing. There's a boundary you haven't set between the professional and personal elements of your relationship. You can clear that up later but you still have a question on your mind.

"What exactly do you mean by love?" you ask.

Ren rises to meet your gaze and struggles to clarify her meaning.

"Well...I meant...I meant that if you care so deeply enough about Marcus he means the world to you." she says.

That very much helps simplify things for you. Marcus doesn't mean that much to you but he's important to you. It might be more comforting to her if she thinks you hold him that close, though.

>[ ] "I guess you could say I love him that way."
>[ ] "Marcus means a lot to me but I don't value him that much."
>[ ] "You can ask me personal questions if you want to; don't be afraid to ask."
>[ ] "Ren, I forgive you but don't ask me anything about Marcus or anything else personal to me again."
>[ ] Stay silent.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2692978
>>[X] "Marcus means a lot to me but I don't value him that much."
He is important to us, but he's not the world.

>>[X] "You can ask me personal questions if you want to; don't be afraid to ask."
This is a date, after all.

>>2693027
Ditto

>>2693027
Дa

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "Marcus means a lot to me but I don't value him that much."
>[X] "You can ask me personal questions if you want to; don't be afraid to ask."

Best for you to be honest. Ren's likely going to get to know you more in the future and she'll figure out whatever lies you tell her by then. It won't be good for your relationship then or now. A major problem you can see happening if you lie is Marcus somehow coaxing the info out of Ren and teasing the ever loving hell out of you for it. You'd probably end up killing the both of them if that ever happened.

"Marcus means a lot to me but I don't value him that much." you say.

Ren's nervous form relaxes.

"Ah, I see." she says.

Grabbing hold of her tea cup, she takes a long sip to further calm herself.

You wait for her to set her now empty cup down before clearing things up.

"You can ask me personal questions if you want to; don't be afraid to ask." you say.

The two of you are on a date after all. It'd be weird for personal questions to be off limits. Besides, there's no way she can get to know you better if she doesn't ask anything personal. You can answer most of them well enough and there's only one subject you're not willing to ever tell anyone about. Chances of her asking you about that one thing are close to zero considering she already knows you grew up a street-rat.

A smile forms on Ren's lips.

"I'll try to, Reyes-sama." she says.

You smile back at Ren.

The moment is ruined however when your waiter walks by.

"Here's your steak, eggs, and beans." He lays the meal down in front of you before turning to Ren. "And here's your pancakes with bacon." The nameless waiter lays them down in front of her. "Do you two want refills on your drinks?" he asks.

Both you and Ren nod at the waiter.

"I'll be back in a minute." he says

You turn back to face Ren as the waiter scurries off.

>[ ] Dig into your food.
>[ ] Sniff the air.
>[ ] "Do you want anything from my plate?"
>[ ] "Where do you usually eat in Hunts Point?"
>[ ] Write in.

>>2693418
>Sniff the air
>Dig into our food and try a bit of hers before she eats it
Just to make sure, I'm also not trusting of how many times we've been given the sniff optio

>>2693418
>>2693462
>>Sniff the air
Savvy

>>[X] Dig into our food

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Sniff the air.
>[X} Dig into your food and try a bit of Ren's before she eats it.

Paranoia is a blessing, not a curse.

You close your eyes and take in the surrounding air through your nose.

Grilled beef, congealed blood, melting butter, baked batter, roasted beans, fried rice, and the sweet aroma of cooked bacon flood your senses. Your mouth waters at the blissful aroma. Nothing is out of place but you haven't had a taste yet.

Opening your eyes, you see Ren with a knife and a fork in hand aimed at cutting off a piece of her pancakes.

You reach over with one hand, tear off a piece of the pancake in question, snap off part of a crispy bacon strip on the side of her dish, and throwing both pieces back into your open mouth before she can consume either.

Ren blinks at you as you slowly roll over and chew both pieces in your mouth.

Swallowing, you give Ren a thumbs up.

"Good meal choice; it's safe to eat." you say.

Ren tilts her head at you before her eyes widen in realization.

"Alex was telling the truth when she said Reyes-sama had enhanced senses." she says.

You shrug.

"Just smell and taste." you say.

Turning your attention away from Ren, you focus back on the meal you ordered.

You rip off a piece of your steak and plop it into your mouth. Sweet, savory blood is the first thing you taste. Rolling it around in your mouth, you try to savor it before giving in and swallowing it. The rest of the steak doesn't get the same consideration. Pulling away half of it, you take it into your gaping maw and tear it to shreds in just a few seconds. For a good minute you let the pieces ooze blood before swallowing. Its other half receives the exact same treatment. With some steak blood still on the plate, you bend your head down and lap it up much like a cat would.

Rising up, you let out a satisfied moan and see Ren staring at you with a blush on her face.

>[ ] "You. Saw. Nothing."
>[ ] "Oh god, did that turn you on?"
>[ ] "...What?"
>[ ] "...Sooo, you talk to Alex?"
>[ ] Say nothing and finish the rest of your meal.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2694083
>You saw nothing
>If you did see something, you won't see anything else ever

>>2694083
>>[X] "...What?"
"Slurp!"
Lick and smile at her.

>>2694083
>[ ] "Oh god, did that turn you on?"
>[ ] "...What?"

Voting closed, writing now.

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170 KB PNG

>>2696406
Good to see you again OP

>>2696424
i overslept

>[X] "...What?"
>[X] Lick and smile at her.
>[X] "Oh god, did that turn you on?"

You are very much tempted to threaten Ren to never disclose what she just saw. That would ruin your date, however. It's not like she would tell anyone. She's not a gossip as far as you know and she'd probably never tell anyone that you two even went on a date in the first place. Play it cool, and you'll brush it off without any incident.

"...What?" you ask.

Ren breaks into a cold sweat.

"Um, Reyes-sama, you were licking your plate like...like..." Her voice trails off.

You raise an eyebrow at Ren.

"Like what?" you ask.

The Japaneses girl gulps.

"...Like a cat." she whispers.

You stare at Ren until a mischievous thought crosses your mind.

Parting your lips, you slide out your tongue and lick the air before smiling at her.

Ren's blush deepens to a dark crimson.

You have to stifle a laugh as yet another devious idea pops into your head.

"Oh god," you say, "did that turn you on?"

Ren pauses and starts to shake.

"I didn't...I mean...I'm not..." She begins to twiddle her fingers. "I-I just thought you looked cute."

You blink at Ren.

No one has ever called you cute. Correction, only Abuelita and a couple of long-dead pedophiles have ever called you cute. That was back in your street-rat days, though, but even then you looked a lot like a feral rat. You're too tall, too strong, and too drop dead gorgeous now to ever be called anything other than handsome or menacing.

>[ ] "I don't look handsome to you?"
>[ ] "I look cute? That's what I should be saying to you. You're adorable."
>[ ] "I'm not supposed to be cute: I'm supposed to be menacing."
>[ ] "Sooo, you talk to Alex?"
>[ ] Stay silent and eat the rest of your meal.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2696576
Huh. I'm genuinely at a loss on how to play this. Really wasn't expecting that.

>>2696576
Kinda want something in between here.
>>[X] "I look cute? I'm not supposed to be cute: I'm supposed to be menacing. Although, I should be saying that to you. Blushing like that, you're adorable."

Something like that.
I'd throw in a humorously irritated pout if it were remotely appropriate for the character.

>>2696576
>[ ] "I look cute? That's what I should be saying to you. You're adorable."
>[ ] "I'm not supposed to be cute: I'm supposed to be menacing."

>>2696841
>I'd throw in a humorously irritated pout if it were remotely appropriate for the character.
Love how distinct I've made Kojo enough for you to feel that way.. Can't tell if I made his backstory a little too ridiculous but I set this in the Marvel universe and not all of it has been revealed yet.

Voting closed, writing now.

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145 KB JPG

>>2696949
>backstory a little too ridiculous
>set this in the Marvel universe
Pick one

>>2696982
Nevermind, Kojo's fine having once been an emotionless murderer who took down gangs in his childhood before running one as a mutant.

>[X] "I look cute? I'm not supposed to be cute: I'm supposed to be menacing. I should be saying that to you. Blushing like that, you're adorable."

It feels weird for you to be called cute by someone who's not an insane old woman or a creepy pederass.

"I look cute?" you say. "I'm not supposed to be cute: I'm supposed to be menacing." A grin spreads across your face as a devious thought comes to mind. "I should be saying that to you. Blushing like that, you're adorable."

Ren slumps back in her seat and tries to bury her crimson head inside her jacket.

You chuckle at the adorable sight.

As you take in Ren's sorry form, you hear the sound of squeaking wheels behind you.

One precautionary sniff of the air reveals it to be the nameless waiter coming with two containers filled with coffee and chamomile tea.

The man pushes a metal trolley carrying your chosen beverages to the open side of your shared booth, refills both of your drinks, and rolls away without a word much to your relief.

Eyes fixed on a still broken Ren, you take a few gulps of your coffee before setting it down.

>[ ] "Your food's going to get cold if you stay like that."
>[ ] "Back when I called you my girlfriend on that rooftop, you had this look in your eyes. What was that about?"
>[ ] "Sooo, you talk to Alex?"
>[ ] "Did a break a fuse?"
>[ ] Stay silent and eat the rest of your food.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2697123
>[ ] "Did I break a fuse?"
>[ ] "Your food's going to get cold if you stay like that."

>>2697150
Supporting

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2697123
>>[X] "Did I break a fuse?"
>>[X] "Your food's going to get cold if you stay like that."

>>2697331
Voting anyway.
Heh

>[X] "Did I break a fuse?"
>[X] "Your food's going to get cold if you stay like that."

You thought you pushed her over the edge when you said the red light-bulb thing. At least then, she got right back up. It took the prospect of asking you more about yourself to raise herself up though. May as well get one last tease in before she turns off ever so slowly. It's fun to leave her turned on all red and pink like she is now.

A grin spreads across your face.

"Did I break a fuse?" you ask.

Ren slumps further in her seat, disappearing halfway beneath the table and gazing upwards to the ceiling away from you.

You choke down a laugh, lift up your coffee mug, savor a taste, and lower it beneath your chin.

"Your food's going to get cold if you stay like that." you say.

The Japanese girl gradually rises back in her seat before taking her knife and fork in hand, using both to mechanically cut pieces out of her pancakes.

Suppressing another laugh, you take another swig of your coffee.

You're never going to get tired of her antics if she stays like this forever.

>[ ] "Sooo, you talk to Alex?"
>[ ] "Got anymore questions you want to ask?"
>[ ] "Back when I called you my girlfriend on that rooftop, you had this strange look in your eyes. What was that about?"
>[ ] Stay silent and eat the rest of your food, it's getting cold like Ren's and she could use a break from your teasing.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2697398
you fuuuck

I actually appreciate your vote even if it's late. Let's me know you're still reading.

>>2697440
>[ ] Stay silent and eat the rest of your food, it's getting cold like Ren's and she could use a break from your teasing.

>>2697440
>It took the prospect of asking you more about yourself to raise herself up though.
So...
>>[X] "Got anymore questions you want to ask?"
Then
>>[X] Stay silent and eat the rest of your food, it's getting cold like Ren's and she could use a break from your teasing.

Curious about the strange look, but I don't want to break our Japanese girl.

>>2697447
>spoiler
Exactly.
I lurk no moar.

>>2697482
>I lurk no moar.
Welcome to the light

>>2697524
Thank you.
No lie, it burns a little.

>>2697550
You'll get used to it.

Voting closed, writing now

>[X] "Got anymore questions you want to ask?"
>[X] Eat the rest of your food, it's getting cold like Ren's and she could use a break from your teasing.

>(1/2)

Time to return Ren to the land of the living.

You set down your mug of coffee.

"Got anymore questions you want to ask?" you say.

Ren puts a few slices of syrup slathered pancakes into her mouth and swallows.

"Do you have any dreams?" she asks.

You shrug.

"Not really." you answer.

Ren raises an eyebrow at you.

"Not even becoming Kingpin, Reyes-sama?"

You hum.

"It's inevitable. There is nothing about the position that has ever been out of my reach. With things being as stagnant as they have been for years after Rigoletto's fall, it was only a matter of time until someone conquered the Bronx and amassed enough men, funds, and equipment to push into the other boroughs. Not much will change when I become Kingpin. There'll always be someone to fight, bend, extort, and destroy. I'll enjoy wearing the crown but I can hardly call it a dream. Whatever happens in the next few days, I won't be content whether I fail or succeed." you say.

Ren blinks at you.

"Then what is it that you desire?" she asks.

You grin.

"Power, can't get enough of it and there's an infinite amount of it." you say.

Ren doesn't look surprised as she eats a few more pancake slices.

"Is there anything else that interests you?" she asks.

You raise your mug of coffee, take a gulp, and set it down.

"Having a family, I guess." you say.

Ren stops funneling her forked pancake slice to gape at you.

You let out a laugh.

"What?" you say. "I'm not going to be a prince for much longer and every king needs an heir. The chances of someone taking me out may be low but I don't want to die without leaving a child behind to carry on in my place. Besides that, I grew up without a family; this is the only way I'm ever going to know how it's like to have one."

Ren swallows the pancake slice but doesn't say a word.

You stifle a laugh and look down at your own food.

Unwrapping the customary towel wrapped knife and fork, you take the fork and impale a few of the scrambled eggs with it. You lift them to your mouth and slide them in with your tongue. The taste of protein as well as faint traces of vegetable oil tingle on your mutant enhanced taste buds. Disappointing they didn't use margarine to flavor and nonstick the egg from the pan like you prefer it. Not wanting to have the taste linger longer than needed be, you scarf down the rest of the scrambled eggs before turning to the black bean rice.

Abuelita used to feed you beans when she could back in your street-rat days. They were cheap, a source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. You have no idea why full-blooded Mexicans found the term beaner so offensive. Sure, you made examples of people who called you one in your little league gang days but to you it was about cementing respect. The word spic always seemed more of an offensive term anyway like how coon is in comparison to nigger and nigga.

Taking the plate of black bean rice in one hand, you lift it to your mouth and slide some in with your fork. A mixed taste of onions, pepper, garlic, bay leaves, salt, black beans, and rice fill your mouth. You let out a moan before shoveling more down. With every batch, you savor the taste for a few seconds and swallow. Soon the last bits of rice and beans slide down your throat.

You set the plate down and sigh in relief.

Across the table, you see Ren cutting apart one last pancake with two strips of bacon left.

>[ ] "Do you talk to Alex often? You mentioned her telling you about my senses."
>[ ] "Back when I called you my girlfriend on that rooftop, you had this strange look in your eyes. What was that about?"
>[ ] "You haven't asked me about that Spider-guy yet. With all that happened, aren't you the least bit curious as to how I know him?"
>[ ] Stay silent, down the rest of your coffee, and wait for Ren to finish her food.
>[ ] Write In.

Second time I messed up the update post thing.

how hard is it to copy and paste the >(2/2), it's simple

>>2697847
>[ ] "Back when I called you my girlfriend on that rooftop, you had this strange look in your eyes. What was that about?"
>[ ] Stay silent, down the rest of your coffee, and wait for Ren to finish her food.

>>2697847
>>[X] "Back when I called you my girlfriend on that rooftop, you had this strange look in your eyes. What was that about?"
>>[X] Stay silent, down the rest of your coffee, and wait for Ren to finish her food.

>>2697847
>[ ] "Do you talk to Alex often? You mentioned her telling you about my senses."
>[ ] Stay silent, down the rest of your coffee, and wait for Ren to finish her food.

I feel like we are watering down Reyes in the pursuit of a backstabbing waifu.

Voting closed, writing now. I actually woke up early for once. Let's see how much updates I can do today.

>>2698595
No one will ever turn on Kojo without a good enough reason or enough resources and firepower to stand a chance. I'm happy your paranoid though.Shows your thinking.

>[X] "Back when I called you my girlfriend on that rooftop, you had this strange look in your eyes. What was that about?"
>[X] Stay silent, down the rest of your coffee, and wait for Ren to finish her food.

As good a time as any: Ren's switch has flipped off and you are both alone right now with a low chance of being interrupted by nameless waiter man. The glint in her eyes was foreign to you. It was kind of like Cage's bitch's stare but warmer and cute. You'd be a lot more joyful about prying into it if the similarities weren't so disconcerting, though. Despite finding it arousing, you can't embrace that feeling when the source is unknown to you.

"Back when I called you my girlfriend on that rooftop, you had this strange look in your eyes. What was that about?" you ask.

Ren stops cutting apart her last pancake to blush at you.

"...I was...Um..I-I was..." She gulps. "I was flattered that you called me that, Reyes-sama."

You blink at Ren.

Flattered looks aren't new to you. You got plenty back when sex was a thing you were trying out. A few of your girls and your boys got to experience what being asked for sex by their unnaturally handsome superhuman criminal boss was like. The looks they gave you weren't anywhere close to the one Ren gave you and none of them turned you down or had any complaints after the intercourse.

"How exactly were you flattered?" you ask.

Ren's blush deepens before she takes a nervous sip of tea.

"...Well, um...Reyes-sama, you're..You're a very handsome man and extremely...fit." she says.

A frown forms on your lips.

"That's it?" you ask.

Ren jolts, spilling some of her tea.

"N-no, Reyes-sama, there's a lot more to you than just your body." she says. "You're intelligent, a natural born leader, earnest to yourself and your profession, self-sufficient, practical, sophisticated, and...charming."

You let out a giggle that steadily grows into a fit of warm laughter.

Ren stills herself, blushes, sips on her tea, sets down her tea cup, and goes back to eating her pancakes.

It wasn't your intention to come off as a ditzy bimbo but you're glad you did even if you still don't understand why she looked at you that way. The Japanese girl just seems to have a deep admiration of you. Whatever that look was, it had to come from something else or at least something related to that.

You down the rest of your coffee and wait for Ren to finish her meal in a pleasant silence.

Soon enough, the last slices of pancake are gone and the crispy strips of bacon as well.

>[ ] "Do you talk to Alex often? You mentioned her telling you about my senses."
>[ ] "You haven't asked me about that Spider-guy yet. With all that happened, aren't you the least bit curious as to how I know him?"
>[ ] "Looks like it's time to head out."
>[ ] "Ren...thanks."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2698868
>[ ] "Do you talk to Alex often? You mentioned her telling you about my senses."
>[ ] "Looks like it's time to head out."

>>2698990
Ditto

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2698868
>>[X] "Do you talk to Alex often? You mentioned her telling you about my senses."
>>[X] "Looks like it's time to head out."

>[X] "Do you talk to Alex often? You mentioned her telling you about my senses."
>[X] "Looks like it's time to head out."

May as well ask one last question before you leave.

"Do you talk to Alex often?" you ask. "You mentioned her telling you about my senses."

Ren nods her head.

"We converse from time to time. She sees me as a friend of sorts. I do not mind our talks but she enjoys bringing up subjects of a...sexual nature." she says.

A smile forms on your lips.

"It's annoying, isn't it?" you say.

Ren groans.

"Very much so, Reyes-sama." she says. "I do not understand how she can partake in wanton behavior considering her past."

You shrug.

"Maybe it's her way of coping. Either that or something broke inside her. I'm guessing it's the latter considering the whole serial killer thing." you say.

A solemn grimace makes its way onto Ren's face.

"That's sad." she says.

You let out a doubtful hum but don't ask any questions.

There's nothing you find saddening in Alex's story. Not like you can feel sadness anyway. She was put out on the corner young, used by dozens of perverts young and old, drugged with cocaine to be complacent, ended up slitting the throat of her pimp, and became The Knife of Whitestone. If anything it should be uplifting. Alex went from a little crack-whore to a badass murder knife fetishist. Putting out for her is now something she does of her own free will and the murdering is a healthy replacement for drugs in your book.

Enough about Alex, though, you're done here.

"Looks like it's time to head out." you say.

Ren nods and slides out of her booth seat.

You grab your torn red shirt and throw it over your shoulder before getting out of your own.

With Ren by your side, you navigate your way back to the entrance and exit the cafe without so much as a whisper from any of the attendants.

You take a deep breath of the fresh air as soon as you step outside.

The sun's still up. It would be nice to spend the rest of the day with Ren at a park or someplace else. You could cut the date off to go back and see how things are at the warehouse, though. Either way, Kingpin is going to die sometime in the following days.

>[ ] Find a phone booth to call a taxi.
>[ ] Walk back to the warehouse with Ren.
>[ ] Walk to Soundview Park with Ren.
>[ ] Jump back to the warehouse with Ren.
>[ ] Jump to Soundview Park with Ren.
>[ ] Take hold of Ren's hand with your own, see how well she likes it.
>[ ] "Got anywhere else in mind, Ren?"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2699113
ayy

>>2699197
>[ ] Walk back to the warehouse with Ren.
>[ ] Take hold of Ren's hand with your own, see how well she likes it.

>>2699197
>[ ] Jump back to the warehouse with Ren.
Time to check up on the boys.

>>2699197
>[ ] Jump back to the warehouse with Ren

Oops, voted wrong

>>2699297
Ditto

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>[ ] Walk back to the warehouse with Ren.
>[ ] Take hold of Ren's hand with your own, see how well she likes it.

>[ ] Jump back to the warehouse with Ren

>[X] Jump back to the warehouse with Ren.

As much as you would like to continue your date with Ren, you need to check how things are back at the warehouse. Marcus is going to want to pick a new hiding place for the stash and hear how your meeting with Silvio went. You can't wait to see the look on his face when he hears the news. While walking seems like a better way to enjoy the rest of the alone time you have with Ren, rooftop hopping back to Hunts Point would be far quicker.

You wrap an arm around Ren's waist and tug her close to you.

Sighing, Ren coils her arms around your chest

With one hop you go from the sidewalk back to the roof of Jimmy's Grand Cafe and take off in the direction of Hunts Point.

You breeze through the air of Soundview, leap across the Bronx river, and land back on a rooftop in your barony without a hitch.

It takes you only a few minutes to leap back onto the familiar rundown building rooftops of your abandoned neighborhood hideout.

Leaping closer to your warehouse, you see a scout you posted earlier looking downward to the streets. Another bigger hop reveals to you dozens of young men and a few women of diverse races squirming about as if waiting for something. None of them look armed to you from on high but they could be concealing weaponry. Whoever they are, they're most likely Itsuki's recruits but you never know. There are no signs of parked trucks which could mean Marcus hasn't returned yet or he's unloaded them and is having them driven back to the Bratva.

>[ ] Jump down after landing and ask who they are, maybe they'll be polite enough not to dog pile you if they aren't with Itsuki.
>[ ] Ask who they are after landing, at least your making sure to confirm who they are at a safe distance.
>[ ] Keep going until you land on the Warehouse and jump down in front of the entrance.
>[ ] Leap across to the opposite set of buildings and see if the warehouse gate is open.
>[ ] Leave Ren on the next rooftop and jump down to confront the strangers alone.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2699778
>[ ] Ask the scout if he knows what's going on.

>>2699778
Was going to go with:
>>[/] Keep going until you land on the Warehouse and jump down in front of the entrance.

But
>>2699815
>>[X] Ask the scout if he knows what's going on.
This seems like a good idea.

Voting closed, writing now.

>>2699815
Supporting

>[X] Ask the scout if he knows what's going on.

He hasn't opened fire yet to so he might have some idea of what's going on.

As soon as you land on the rooftop over, you jump to the next one where you saw the scout. Your feet touch the cement roof without making much of a noise. It takes Ren a few seconds to register your stop before she lets go of you so you can in turn release her. Striding towards the scout, you stop behind his crouched form and poke him on the shoulder.

The lookout jolts before turning and reaching for his .32.

You hold him in place with both hands on his head just in time to keep his gun in his pants as well as for him to be looking at you.

The lookout's eyes widen in surprise.

"Oh...Hi, boss." he says.

You let go of your man's face.

"Hey," you say, "what's going on?"

A frown makes its way onto his brown face.

"I have no idea." he says.

You blink.

"The fuck you say?" you snap.

Lookout boy takes a step back and holds up his hands.

"I'm sorry, boss, I figured you'd tell me when my shift is over. These guys just started showing up after some old Japanese dude in a fancy suit and shades made his way to the warehouse. I didn't hear guns popping back at the warehouse so I guess it must be something really important if Marcus hasn't ordered anyone to do shit yet."

You hum.

It seems like these men are with Itsuki. Either that or they're being led by some other old Japanese guy in a suit wearing shades. Marcus might be back at the warehouse but you posted this guy early in the morning. He didn't get to listen to the round-table meeting so he didn't get to hear how Marcus was going to handle the Bratva deal or how Jesus was in charge while you were all out. You would think about giving him and the rest of the lookouts burner phones if you probably weren't going to stay in the warehouse in the next few days.

>[ ] Grab Ren, jump down, and walk to the entrance.
>[ ] Grab Ren, hop to the warehouse roof, and then drop down in front of the entrance.
>[ ] Ask who the strangers are, just in case.
>[ ] Jump down and ask who the strangers are, you don't want to make an epic superhero landing if they turn out to be hostile.
>[ ] Leap across to the opposite set of buildings and see if the warehouse gate is open.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2700123
>[ ] Grab Ren, hop to the warehouse roof, and then drop down in front of the entrance.
Damnit I thought we set up a rotation to prevent this type of thing. Let's go see what's up.

>>2700127
Oh shit, I might've fucked up.

>>2700129
Oh wait, no I didn't. Someone mentioned it before we took off to go to Silvio but we didn't do the rotation.

>>2700135
Oh I thought we put someone in charge of the rotations like Jesus or something. We can't be expected to do it ourselves every time.

File: my mistake.jpg (28 KB, 1356x90)

28 KB JPG

>>2700143
We're the only ones that can rooftop hop.

I did actually make a mistake though. I used this posters write in but didn't include the rotation. Don't know how I managed to fuck that up.

>>2700148
Hah! That was my write in. And I mean, ladders and stuff exist. Shouldn't be too hard to get guys up on roofs.

>>2700154
Sorry about that.

You could get ladders and other equipment like phones for your boys but you might not need lookouts if you decide to resolve things with Kingpin right away.

>>2700156
Once we solidify New York we definitely need some type of monitoring network. Either bums or plain clothes people to report in the goings on of the city.

>>2700237
That'd take a lot of work. Maybe take advantage of things that are already in place. Hint hint, nudge nudge.

>>2700127
Supporting

>>2700251
Police/civic camera network? Could we get our own hacking monkey
>>2700127
Ditto

>>2700369
Right on.

Anyway, going to go to bed. See you guys in eight hours or six if the thread doesn't sage. I'll start writing as soon as I wake up and shake off my drowsiness. Plan on getting as much done before the fourth of July comes up.

>>2700237
>Once we solidify New York we definitely need some type of monitoring network
Kids.
Low risk assignments of hanging out in public, checking shit out, reporting back on burner phones to coordinators, they'll work cheap, they're unhackable and don't know shit, and the kids can't get serious jail time.
Classics are classics for a reason.

>>2700441
Could also start a neighborhood watch initiative. We'll be able to play some politics once we have the money. Act like we're reinvesting in the community and such. Get the public on our side.

After all
Kojo knows you

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Grab Ren, hop to the warehouse roof, and then drop down in front of the entrance.

The odds of those guys not being with Itsuki are close to zero. Even if they aren't and the warehouse gate is closed, you can hold them off long enough for it to open if you don't feel like slaughtering all of them. At least you can enter the warehouse without having to walk past a group of awkward baby-faced teenagers.

You look back to where you left Ren and see empty space. Turning to your right, you see her observing the situation crouched by the roof edge. A short stride brings you to her side where you stoop down and slide an arm around her waist.

Ren glances to you without any sort of panic on her expression and sighs before nodding at you.

A smile makes its way onto your face as you nod back.

Together, the two of you rise to your feet and turn to face one another.

Ren coils her arms around your chest to finish securing herself.

You hop with Ren to the roof of the next building over, the roof of the building after that, one last normal building, and finally land on the roof of the warehouse.

Much like what happened before, the lookout you posted here doesn't notice your landing. Unlike what happened before, you don't bother poking him on the shoulder. You walk to the edge of the warehouse roof and step off. Gravity ferries you from the sky back to the earth.

Not much noise emanates from your landing.

Looking up to check your surroundings, you notice a few of the young strangers staring at you though.

>[ ] "Are you with Itsuki?"
>[ ] "The fuck you looking at?"
>[ ] Make a frightening noise, scaring newbies is fun for you.
>[ ] Hop back to the warehouse rooftop.
>[ ] Look back to the warehouse entrance to see if it's open.
>[ ] Write In.

>>2701058
>[ ] "The fuck you looking at?"

>>2701070
Ditto

Voting closed, writing now.

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135 KB JPG

>>2701112
What kind of horns we got?

>[X] "The fuck you looking at?"

You want to have some fun right now. These baby-faced bitches would run off if you gave them one of your bellows, though. A simple tough guy sentence is enough to scare them but keep them from running away.

"The fuck you looking at?" you snap.

All of the onlookers stagger, avert their gazes, blink, and turn back to gape at you.

"Oh shit, it's him." you hear one whisper.

The whispers carry on and more of the strangers take notice of you before adding into the gossip.

You groan and part your lips to say something but a voice cuts you off.

"Hey, boss!" you hear a familiar feminine voice call out behind you.

Taking a look, you see the familiar sight of the round-table at the center of the warehouse with the unfamiliar sight of duffel bags sitting on top of it. All but one of the seats are empty. In that one seat, bound and gagged, is Itsuki Kenji with a gleeful Alex standing behind him holding a knife to his throat.

Your eye twitches.

>[ ] "Alex, what the fuck?!"
>[ ] "Alex, put away the knife and step away from Itsuki this instant!"
>[ ] "Hey! Could you maybe cut Itsuki free, put away the knife, and explain why you had my new enforcer tied up?!"
>[ ] "Jesus! Marcus! Where the fuck are you and what is going on?!"
>[ ] Say nothing, let go of Ren, and walk inside the warehouse.
>[ ] Write In.

File: Kojo's Horns.jpg (11 KB, 165x153)

11 KB JPG

>>2701139
These babies.

>>2701150
In my head, these are the male phenotype horns. Kojo's momma had demon type b in that chart.

>>2701144
>[ ] Cut him free. He's our new enforcer. Where's Marcus? It's time for a meeting.

>>2701144
>>[X] Write In.
Let go of Ren and walk inside the warehouse.
As you enter, in an overly cheerful voice say "Hey Alex, do something for me, will you? Put away the knife, maybe step away from Itsuki, and explain why the fuck you have my new enforcer tied up?"
The entire time, keep your voice friendly but your eyes locked in a cold, penetrating, piss-yer-panties stare.

>>2701180
Kohl's parents where mutants as well?

>>2701211
Ditto

>>2701253
His mother was. I mentioned it back in the third thread. She's the reason he has horns.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "Cut him free; he's our new enforcer! It's time for a meeting, where's Marcus?!"

As much as you want to scold Alex or whoever's bright idea it was to tie up Itsuki, you have shit to do.

"Cut him free; he's our new enforcer!" you yell. "It's time for a meeting, where's Marcus?!"

Alex takes the knife away from Itsuki's throat and cuts him free with a single slash of his ropes before turning back to you.

"Marcus is showing the boys how to use their new toys upstairs with Jesus, boss! There's not that much space to work with down here thanks to all the crates!"

Looks like he pulled the Bratva deal off.

>[ ] "Call them down!"
>[ ] "Why did you tie Itsuki up?!"
>[ ] "Does Marcus know about the dozens of people out here?!"
>[ ] Let go of Ren and walk to the round-table, it'd be awkward to continue this conversation through yelling so far away.
>[ ] Wave for the newbies behind you to come in, they're definitely with Itsuki and are now yours.
>[ ] Write In.

i hate my internet provider and my computer's internet connectivity problems

>>2701370
>>[X] Let go of Ren and walk to the round-table, it'd be awkward to continue this conversation through yelling so far away.
>>[X] "Does Marcus know about the dozens of people out here?"

>>2701370
>Why did you tie him up
We need to sort her out

>>2701495
This

She doesn't know cause we let her keep fucking instead of calling her down for the meeting.

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] Let go of Ren and walk to the round-table, it'd be awkward to continue this conversation through yelling so far away.
>[X] "Does Marcus know about the dozens of people out there?"

The kids are watching you. It won't make a good impression to be yelling like an idiot from a distance instead of just walking to the person you're talking to. You got a good scare out of them from a basic tough guy line which shows just how impressionable they are. Just them knowing that Alex is one of your lieutenants might turn them off.

You let go of an unperturbed Ren and make your way to the round-table with her following close behind you.

As you step into the warehouse proper, you notice the crates Alex had spoken of stacked in rows. They seemed to have started at the walls and ended a good deal into the warehouse hub. You see the coolers, kegs, folded tables, pair of speakers, and radio filed at the sides of the open square of crates. Sleeping in one pile near the left side of the filed things are the six original lookouts you had posted with an unfamiliar bag of broken glass and melted ice water not far from them.

You stop by the round-table and glance at Alex.

"Does Marcus know about the dozens of people out there?" you ask.

Alex nods her head.

"He told them to wait outside until you came back and could confirm that this guy," She points at a ball gag-less Itsuki. "was Itsuki Kenji. I was assigned to slit his throat if they tried anything or if he did, boss."

You blink at Alex.

"Marcus put you in charge of holding a hostage?" you ask.

Alex laughs.

"I know right!" she says. "What the fuck was he thinking?"

A groan escapes your lips.

This is not at all what you need right now.

>[ ] "Marcus! Jesus! Get down here right now and explain yourselves!"
>[ ] "Marucs! Jesus! Get down here, we're having a meeting!"
>[ ] "Why did Marcus order Itsuki tied up?"
>[ ] "...Good job on not being you for once."
>[ ] "You alright, Itsuki?"
>[ ] "Ren, you're my right-hand now for as long as Marcus doesn't have his shit together. Rule number one: don't you ever try to fuck me. Rule number two: don't ever leave Alex in charge of anything."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2701802
>Marcus is obviously a retard, Ren you're in charge

>>2701802
>[ ] "Why did Marcus order Itsuki tied up?"
>[ ] "Ren, you're my right-hand now for as long as Marcus doesn't have his shit together. Rule number one: don't you ever try to fuck me. Rule number two: don't ever leave Alex in charge of anything."

>>2701802
>[ ] "Marucs! Jesus! Get down here, we're having a meeting!"
We can ask them to explain themselves at the meeting and not undermine thenm in front of the new meat.

Marucs is Marcus' new name, guys.

goddamn notepad++ and its white background

>>2701953
>Marcus is obviously a retard, Ren you're in charge
Is this basically the right-hand thing or a write in to cut out the rule number gag?

>>2701802
>>[ ] "Marucs! Jesus! Get down here, we're having a meeting!"
>>[ ] "You alright, Itsuki?"

>>2702153
Some mix of the two

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>2702245
Alright

>[ ] "Why did Marcus order Itsuki tied up?"
>[ ] "Marcus is obviously a retard. Ren, you're my right-hand now for as long as Marcus doesn't have his shit together. Rule number one: don't you ever try to fuck me. Rule number two: don't ever leave Alex in charge of anything."


>[ ] "Marcus! Jesus! Get down here, we're having a meeting!"
>[ ] "You alright, Itsuki?"

>[X] "Marcus is obviously a retard. Ren, you're my right-hand now for as long as Marcus doesn't have his shit together. Rule number one: don't you ever try to fuck me. Rule number two: don't ever leave Alex in charge of anything."
>[X] "Why did Marcus order Itsuki tied up?"

>(1/2)

Letting Alex of all people have some amount of responsibility is a decision that deserves dire consequences even if she somehow managed to not fuck it up. It's fortunate that Marcus is your best friend and has done a fantastic job as your second-in-command in the past or else you'd make it permanent. That depends on how he acts during the planned meeting though.

"Marcus is obviously a retard." You turn back to Ren. "Ren, you're my right-hand now for as long as Marcus doesn't have his shit together. Rule number one: don't you ever try to fuck me. Rule number two: don't ever leave Alex in charge of anything."

Alex giggles behind you.

"I'm very unstable." she says in her 'sexy' voice.

Ren blinks before nodding at you.

"Understood, Reyes-sama, I will try my best not to disappoint." she says.

You laugh.

"Nothing you do will ever disappoint me as much as Marcus has today." you say.

Turning back to Alex, you raise an eyebrow at her as a question comes to mind.

>(2/2)

"Why did Marcus order Itsuki tied up?" you ask.

Itsuki speaks up before Alex does.

"I insisted upon it. When I came here, I left behind my ōdachi as well as many of my other personal belongings. Your previous second-in-command was rightfully wary of me due to my former affiliation, lack of personal items to identify myself, and the opportune time I had arrived at. The influx of recruits I had called here when I discovered its location relieved him but in time it further increased his distress. Seeing that he was anxious, I insisted that he'd bind me to prevent the minuscule chance of my men disobeying orders to calm him again. He moved to the second floor not long after showing your men how to switch the firing selector to better practice formations and the like." he says.

You let out a thoughtful hum.

The opportune time must've been when Marcus came back with the Bratva trucks. You can understand why Marcus would get so nervous over that. A hundred or so well-armed men rookie or not could fight your boys off and take the caches of military grade hardware he spent with your hard-earned cash. If Itsuki hadn't insisted upon it, he'd might have never been tied up. Doesn't change the fact that Marcus left Alex of all people alone with him, though.

Alex's voice brings you out of your thoughts.

"Can I have my ball-gag back?" she asks Itsuki.

The middle-aged man takes it from his lap and hands it to the blond girl.

Alex takes it, wipes it off on her sweater jacket, and slides it into her boy jeans pockets with a pleased giggle.

You resist the urge to shoot her an odd look.

>[ ] "Marcus! Jesus! Get down here, it's time for a meeting!"
>[ ] "Itsuki, the world's not going to end if you leave your sword unattended, will it?"
>[ ] "How many recruits did you bring, Itsuki?"
>[ ] "How did you find me, Itsuki?"
>[ ] Write In.

>>2702543
>>[ ] "Marcus! Jesus! Get down here, it's time for a meeting!"

I really hope we only leave ren as second for like a day

>>2702543
>[ ] "Marcus! Jesus! Get down here, it's time for a meeting!"

>>2702562
We've trusted him so far for a reason. I really hope it wasn't voted for to waifu Ren or something.

>>2702590
>We've trusted him so far for a reason. I really hope it wasn't voted for to waifu Ren or something.
Kojo's being half-serious. At most, he'll let Ren be numero dos for a day before going back to Marcus just to tease and fuck with him.

>>2702562
Ditto but also
>>2702543
>How'd you find me/how many assholes you got

>>2702636
He does mean it when his inner monolgue brings up if Marcus weren't his best friend he'd permanently demote him for someone on his level, ie, Ren. If Ren didn't exist he'd never consider the thought.

>>2702636
>>2702649
Ah, I feel like a hack trying to explain my character's thinking out of story.

>>2702636
> just to tease and fuck with him.
Aww yeah

Voting closed, writing now.

>[X] "How did you find me, Itsuki?"
>[X] "How many recruits did you bring?"
>[X] "Marcus! Jesus! Get down here, it's time for a meeting!"

>(1/2)

As much as you want to rush into the meeting, you need to know how Itsuki found you.

You turn to the middle-aged man.

"How did you find me, Itsuki?" you ask.

Itsuki turns away from Alex to face you.

"At first, I went over Seong Ji-hoon's notes on you. Most of it was speculation but he had the location of an abandoned warehouse where a large shooting occurred in Hunts Point. I found nothing there so I drove around Hunts Point until I heard a report on the radio of a horned mutant that was mistakenly shot at by the police which resulted in the death of a SWAT team officer. After driving to the scene of the crime, I followed the trail of jumped through walls around here. I exited my vehicle and proceeded to walk around the surrounding area on foot. Most of the neighborhoods I came across were inhabited by unusually quiet residents except for this one where I saw two trucks being unloaded by teenagers. I approached, introduced myself to your men, and was escorted into your warehouse where I texted the address to every registered burner phone given to the Yakuza recruits." he says.

You hum.

The warehouse he first went to was your old hideout that got shot up by the Bratva. Both you and Marcus had spent time there back in your street-rat days. It was the warehouse Abuelita lived as well as operated in, after all. She made her living as a well-known fence who had a military man protecting her and her ill-gotten goods. Helped that Old Soldier Man Dan wasn't some pansy ass who signed up for a single tour or two. A vet is one thing and an ex-Green Beret who fought in Vietnam, Nicaragua, and a few other wars is another. You can never forget that place or all the things that happened. Most of it was pleasant, most of it.

You focus back on Itsuki.

"How many recruits did you bring?" you ask.

The older man doesn't miss a beat.

"One-hundred and eight surviving recruits: thirteen of them died in the ambush I set for the last of the experienced Yakuza." he says.

A grin forms on your face just as Alex whistles.

If you take the seventy-eight foot soldiers you have and combine it with that number, you get one-hundred and eighty-six men. Add the round-table as well as yourself and you get one-hundred and ninety-one. You have a spare one-hundred and nine pairs of body armor with an AK. One-hundred and seven if you take out yourself as well as Alex who don't use guns. There's plenty enough leftover equipment to outfit more recruits. Most importantly, you have more than twice your former number now.

>(2/2)

Time for you to call down the rest of your lieutenants.

You raise your head up to the first-floor's ceiling.

"Marcus! Jesus! Get down here, it's time for a meeting!" you yell.

Drowsy groans emanate some ways away from your left.

You glance and scoff at the six diverse sleeping fuck heads.

Talk about ruining your moment.

It takes a minute or two for you to see two men climbing down the twin ladders. They're Jesus and Marcus of course; you can recognize them from behind alone. Covering their torsos are thick black carrier vests, no doubt the Bratva's body armor. Marcus either got paranoid or had the good idea to have your boys practice while wearing the body armor to get used to the added weight. You can smell tantalizing sweat on them from your current position.

After they finish their climb, they walk to the Itsuki side of the round-table to see you on account of the big pile of duffel bags on the table itself.

Marcus spares a glance at Itsuki before turning to face you.

"Hey," he says. "man am I glad you're back. I see Itsuki is the Itsuki he says he is." Marcus lets out a exhausted laugh. "How'd it go with Silvermane, Kojo?"

A grin spreads across your face.

>[ ] "I tamed the old lion."
>[ ] "Marcus, you're demoted to race representative lieutenant. Ren will be taking your place until I find you worthy again."
>[ ] "Marcus, you're demoted to race representative lieutenant. Ren will be taking your place from here on out. You've disappointed me for the first and last time."
>[ ] "You wanna explain to me why you left Alex in charge of holding Itsuki hostage first?"
>[ ] "Don't call me by my first name. You lost that right when you let Alex of all people hold Itsuki hostage. Ren, you will regard me by my first name from now on. Don't leave out the honorific, though. 俺わ, 好きです." (Japanese Translation: I(impolite masculine pronunciation) like it.)
>[ ] "First, let's all sit down in a circle on the floor. It'd be kind of awkward to do this standing up."
>[ ] Write In.

>>2703177
>Why'd you leave Alex in charge of the vulnerable prisoner, let's grab something to sit on and discuss what happened and where we go from here

Should've added the romanji which is: orewa , sukidesu.

Kojo actually doesn't know Japanese or Russian but he's good with languages.

>>2703177
Also, when we get a hacker monkey we should create a "Super Spotters" app where people spot heroes like spiderman and take photos/log where and when they saw them and can win various prizes for amount of times they've seen a particular hero with bonuses given for how recently they've seen the particular hero, and if we feel particularly brave, their direction and heading

>>2703197
Love it. That's a buying hero's merchandising rights tier move.

>>2703212
Hell, that plays into it. If you spot spiderman a certain amount of times you get spiderman related merch, punisher and you get punisher stuff, etc with the rewards system being tiered so the more time you spend spotting the better stuff you get from themed ringtones to stickers to shirts all the way up to something like a car themed after whatever hero you see the most/like best

>>2703212
We'd be turning the public into our unwitting spotters and they'd pay for it. We might even be able to get a hero like spiderman to endorse it (through an appropriate intermediary)not to mention if we hook up app to the security network of one of the most heavily surveillanced cities in the world we could have an active tracking network that could rival Big Brother

>>2703177
>[ ] "I tamed the old lion."
>[ ] "Marcus, you're demoted to race representative lieutenant. Ren will be taking your place until I find you worthy again."

>>2703328
You just need to get to the top of the hill.

>>2703177
>>[X] "You wanna explain to me why you left Alex in charge of holding Itsuki hostage first?"
>>[X] "Marcus, you're demoted to race representative lieutenant. Ren will be taking your place until I find you worthy again."

>>2703348
Kingpin must die, we will fry that fat fuck. We will be the Emperor of NYC

>>2703328
>>2703314
>>2703197
I love this.

Getting late, going to turn in. See you in eight to ten hours if the thread doesn't sage. Six to eight was too hopeful last time.

>>2703355
We will in due time.

Then the real story starts.

>>2703356
thank you, we could also put lots of microtransactions in to really make serious profits, or even pair it with a pseudo-tinder app that uses your most common picture locations/heroes that you've photographed to pair people of similar hero interests together

>>2703367
If we really wanted to go full evil we could even sell lists of people that nobody would miss to people like Alex or lists of houses that could be burgled

Voting closed, writing now

>>2703394
A bit too mindlessly evil but I can see it happening. Just don't have it happen too often or people will get suspicious.

>>2703982
Mindlessly evil, yes, but out of a city of several million people during a time where overall crime would probably decrease seeing as how we're pretty much going down the route of "we're becoming the Crime King to help protect our neighborhood" nobody is really going to miss the creepy guy that hasn't left his basement in three weeks

>[X] "You wanna explain to me why you left Alex in charge of holding Itsuki hostage first?"
>[X] "I tamed the old lion."
>[X] "Marcus, you're demoted to race representative lieutenant. Ren will be taking your place until I find you worthy again."

>(1/2)

First, you will put the pressure on him for the Alex thing to unnerve him. You'll give him the good news about Silvio after that to relieve him of any anxiety. When Marcus voices his thoughts whether they're surprise, amazement, or a mix of the two, you'll crush him in one fell swoop with the demotion. He'll protest, of course, but all you need to do is make yourself clear. At most, you'll let him be demoted for a day. Marcus is fun for you to fuck with like that.

"You wanna explain to me why you left Alex in charge of holding Itsuki hostage first?" you ask.

Marcus blinks and sighs.

"Alex is fast with a knife, figured if any of those baby-faced gangsters outside packed any heat she could off him before they killed her." he says.

You raise an eyebrow at him.

"Marcus, you left Alex in charge of something." you say.

Marcus looks down in shame.

"I did, didn't I?" He looks up to glance at Itsuki and turns back to face you. "Holy shit, he's still in one piece."

You let out a laugh.

"I know, right?" you say.

Marcus laughs.

"It's a fucking miracle." he says.

You narrow your eyes at him.

"Yeah...a miracle." you say.

Alex cackles.

"Yeah, a miracle, Marcus." she says.

You turn your glare to her.

"Down kitty, you're not a part of this right now." you say.

Alex blinks, lets out a meek meow, crouches down, and meows again.

You return your glare to Marcus.

He sighs once again.

"I know I fucked up. Barely avoided a disaster by the skin of my teeth. I got no excuses for that. I'm sorry for what little it's worth to you, Kojo." he says.

You resist the urge to smile at him.

"It's never going to happen again." you say.

Marcus nods.

"Never again." he says. "So, how did things go with Silvio? That red shirt you have over your shoulder doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

A grin spreads across your face.

"I tamed the old lion." you say

Marcus pauses as Alex lets out a pleased purr.

"What?" he asks.

You laugh.

"I made the old man kneel. Convinced him he had no future that didn't involve me. He's got a guy hunting for Hammerhead's head. When he's dealt with, we'll have all of Queens and most of Brooklyn in our pocket. The Maggia is done for." you say.

Marcus blinks at you and turns to look at your side.