Mob Sorcery 5 - Ch16

Alessia hummed happily as Vince brushed out her hair. She twisted on the stool in her bathroom, still naked but much cleaner after their lengthy lovemaking.

“Do you think they’ll notice?” she asked, voice betraying her nervousness.

“We’ve been gone for well over an hour,” he said. “And they probably noticed the shower running.”

His newest girlfriend hunched her shoulders, and the motion pulled her hair forward. He clicked his tongue as the brush nearly caught in her mass of luscious black hair.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “You are really good at this. I wish we had the entire afternoon so you could simply brush out my hair and tail, but…”

“Maybe tomorrow,” he said, feeling the exhaustion of the day catch up to him.

Alessia shot him a concerned look, then reached up and cupped his cheek with one hand. Her blue eyes glittered with a mixture of love and worry.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I knew you were tired, but I got so worked up when I heard the Miuras tried to hire you. The past week I’ve been so…” She bit her lip.

“It’s fine. We worked it out. But after we sort out this mess, I plan to sleep like a log.”

Her ears perked up and she glanced at the door to her bedroom. Unlike Pola’s bathroom, hers was entirely enclosed with an opaque door and walls providing proper privacy instead of frosted glass.

With her ice queen façade down, her mannerisms reminded him a lot more of Pola. She wore her emotions on her sleeve. Especially with the way her tail bounced around.

“You can fight with Pola over whose bed I sleep on,” he said.

Alessia scowled and glared out the tinted windows. These did match Pola’s bathroom, and were floor-to-ceiling with a view of the glittering harbor and southern Aulfair. Her tail rubbed against Vince’s leg, as if trying to win him over.

“She’s had you for months,” Alessia said.

“I think she’d say she’s only had me for months.”

“Probably.” She bit her lip. “I don’t want to fight her over you, but…” The mafia don groaned as she ran a hand down her face. “I really need to get that morning after pill. Pola’s been so well behaved with her contraceptives after the original scare, and it would be atrocious of me to do anything else.”

Vince studiously pretended he didn’t understand the implications of Alessia’s statement. He merely kept brushing out her hair.

After a few minutes, he’d finished. It wasn’t the best job he could do, but they needed to get back to the others anyway. Plus, Alessia’s hair was amazingly well maintained. He mostly played with it for fun. Running his fingers through her gorgeous locks felt amazing, especially as he reminded himself he could do it whenever he wanted to now.

“You’re thinking something strange.” Alessia stared at him with narrowed eyes, giving him a full frontal with her hands on her hips.

“Mostly that you’re absolutely beautiful.” He raised an eyebrow when her face lit up like a rocket. “You should be used to compliments.”

“A little. They’re different when I’m naked.” Alessia’s tail flipped around to cover her crotch and she turned to look for clothes that weren’t here. “We should get dressed and join the others.”

They did. Their clothes were in her bedroom, which again differed from Pola’s. Not in size, though. Her bedroom nearly matched his apartment in size and took up the entire corner of the penthouse, with windows that allowed her to gaze over the entire bay, the ocean, and southern Aulfair.

The plush high pile carpet was spotless, and elegant paintings dotted the walls. Most of the furniture appeared decorative. Lamps, a tall bookshelf half-full of knick-knacks, an odd silver plant that emanated magic. The walk-in closet likely hid an extensive collection of dresses and jewelry. A large L-shaped desk in the corner beside the massive bed showed the most signs of life. The dual monitor setup and sleek silver tower suggested intensive usage, not to mention the novels stacked up on the desk and box of tissues.

“You, uh, game much?” he asked, staring at the computer.

She frowned at the computer. “It’s quite old, I’m afraid. I asked for a computer when I first started university and this turned up the next day. I believe Lucia did something to it when I started staying here again, but it’s functional enough for work.”

Vince wondered if Lucia gamed on it when Alessia was out.

A small cough escaped the wolfgirl and her tail wagged. “I did try a mobile game years ago. But when I got questioned over all the charges on my credit card, I got too embarrassed to play one again.”

“Some video game execs broke down in tears the day that happened,” he said. “You could whale so hard in any game the devs would give you special items.”

She stared at him in confusion, clearly at a loss. He patted her arm.

“Don’t worry about it.”

He definitely wouldn’t. If Alessia got into mobile gaming, she might casually spend more on the games than she paid him.

Now dressed, Vince couldn’t help but notice Alessia’s dress was different. It was a simple black dress that fell to mid-thigh with pleats starting at her waist. She’d previously worn a flashy red and black number that forced him to focus on her ass when he walked behind her.

“Ah, yes. There’s that word again,” Daji purred in his ear. “Were you also forced to pump your cum inside her multiple times?”

Shoo, he thought at the fox.

She giggled at him, but not before rubbing her tails across his body.

“Something wrong?” Alessia asked him.

“Did Lucia change our clothes?” he asked, picking at his own.

She wrinkled her nose. “Of course. We had sex in the old ones. Why would we wear them again?”

Vince kept quiet. He’d wandered around after fucking Fia in her office in the same clothes, and enjoyed more than a few sessions with his girls while clothed. Would Alessia demand they change clothes every time they had sex?

Ignoring him, the wolfgirl strode to the doorway. She winced and nearly stumbled. His hand grabbed her waist to stabilize her.

“Thank you,” she said. “I really want to prove Nina wrong.”

“You did technically walk out of the room,” he said.

Even if he’d had his arms wrapped around her in the process. Alessia’s face lit up again at the reminder and she coughed again.

“Let’s go see them,” she said.

No scene of carnage awaited them in the penthouse’s living room, which meant Kiyoko had kept her word. Although after being away for so long, Vince’s real concern was whether Gaby and Kiyoko were still here.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t worried about Kiyoko. She’d almost certainly waited for him outside his apartment for hours at times. But Gaby seemed like the sort to grow bored easily.

Rowdy laughter ground to an abrupt halt when Vince opened the door, and eight pairs of eyes locked onto him. Fingers clutched at his jacket from behind as Alessia pressed her face against his back. Her ears tickled the back of his neck as they twitched.

The silence was broken after a few seconds by Gaby. “Does it count as walking if she’s leaning on him?”

“Hell no,” Nina said.

Alessia growled and pushed past Vince. “What have you been talking about while we’ve been busy?” Her eyes widened. “And where did all the beer come from?”

The women sat around the lengthy coffee table, either on the sofa or even the floor in Gaby’s and Nicki’s cases. Bottles of beer sat in front of most of them. Ally, Lucia, and Kiyoko didn’t indulge, and there was a noticeable lack of empties. Or somebody was collecting them.

“We needed to pass the time,” Gaby said, holding up her bottle. “You two were gone for ages. It’s been, like…” She pulled out her phone. “Two hours?”

“Close enough.” Pola pouted as she bounced to her feet.

The younger Lionetti sister crept toward her sister, and Alessia frowned. Sniffs erupted from Pola as she circled her older sister. Alessia held her ground, crossing her arms.

“Is this necessary?” Alessia huffed. “If you smelled Nina on Vince when you first met him, I sincerely doubt you need to investigate so thoroughly to determine I’ve…” She bit her lip. “I’ve…”

“Ridden his big fat cock while screaming his name?” Fia suggested.

“Or did you lay back and think of Italy?” Gaby asked.

“I bet she did both.” Nina nodded, certain of her idea.

Ally’s face turned bright red and her ears flapped in embarrassment. Nicki shuffled across the sofa to the fox’s side and wrapped her hands around her face, covering her eyes. With a squawk, Ally batted the harpy’s hands aside and whined at her.

“Why did you shower?” Pola asked once she finished sniffing her sister. “Are you embarrassed? You even changed your clothes. Of course we’d notice.”

Alessia’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. “We were covered in sweat. And semen. And… other fluids.”

“Yours, I assume,” Fia drawled.

“Of course we had a shower,” Alessia spluttered. “We’d stink of sex otherwise.”

The other girls looked at each other, then sighed. Alessia’s face fell, and she looked at Vince.

“Your nose is better than mine,” he said, scratching his cheek while refusing to look at her.

“I just assumed that was the reason,” she mumbled, hunching her shoulders. “Oh La Lupa, you and Fia never showered after fucking on my desk, did you? It took me an hour to clean it to my satisfaction.”

“Does that include the time you spent licking it clean?” Nina grinned.

The hiss that escaped Alessia could have curdled milk. “Should I ask you to clean up the mess in my office here, Miss Hayes?”

“Is that how you swing?” Nina’s purple eyes glittered and she finally stood up and strode over.

Alessia glared up at the towering lioness, who smirked down at the much smaller billionaire. If they were the same height, they’d be pressing their massive busts against each other with how close they’d gotten.

“You’ve taken it for granted that you’re on top, but can you be so sure?” A wicked smile crossed Alessia’s face. “Anything could have happened back there. Maybe Vince and I are getting married. I’m not even using protection.”

Splutters escaped Fia, Gaby, and Lucia.

“Alessia!” Lucia snapped.

“Fucking Christ,” Fia muttered, and rushed into the pantry for some reason.

Pola’s face went white, and Alessia’s followed right after.

Nina caught the change in mood and stepped back. She sighed, shaking her head.

“If you want to tango, little wolfie, at least learn not to put your foot in your mouth,” the lioness said softly.

“Pola, that’s not…” Alessia stopped herself, then closed her eyes. “Sorry.”

“Um…” Pola looked around the room in confusion, before her gaze landed on Vince.

He stepped up to her and wrapped an arm around her. Her arms and tail immediately closed around him like vices.

“It’s fine,” he said. “Alessia was just taunting Nina. She’s not going to get pregnant.” He looked pointedly at the newest member of his pride, who nodded while staring at the ground.

“Not if she takes a pill now,” Fia growled, returning from the pantry with a box of medicine. “I remembered where you kept them from when I had to take it. Good thing you keep some.”

“Good thing I forced her to plan ahead,” Lucia said.

“Thanks,” Alessia mumbled.

She took the box off Fia and retreated into the kitchen, presumably to take it with some water. Pola watched her go in confusion.

“It’s the contraceptive pill you take when you’re too stubborn to take preventive ones,” Fia said. “I’m pretty sure most of us have had to take it.”

“Wow. You girls sure are good at planning ahead,” Gaby said, her tone more cutting than Vince expected.

“Hey, I expected to have kids with Vince once I finally started fucking him,” Nina said defensively. “This enforcer shit came out of nowhere.”

“So did the fucking, based on what I’ve heard.” Fia shot the lioness a dark look.

Ally tilted her head. “Oh. I guess I figured everyone started taking them when they became interested in Vince. Mama made sure I was when I visited over Christmas.”

“That’s a good girl,” Nicki said.

“Damn straight,” Gaby agreed.

“I can’t believe you all gave me so much shit about taking the pill, and none of you did it in advance,” Pola wailed. “This is such bullshit!”

Fia and Nina had the good grace to look embarrassed. Vince did his best not to have an opinion, but he honestly agreed with Pola.

Of the women in his pride, only the two most earnest about him had bothered to plan ahead and take contraceptives in advance. The three who were supposedly the best planners—Nina, Fia, and Alessia—had all ended up taking the morning after pill after an abrupt rendezvous.

“What about you?” Nina shot at Gaby. “You’ll be in deep the moment you give in and take the V. Don’t get on your high horse.”

“I’m always on my high horse. I’m a fucking unicorn,” Gaby said, grinning. “I started on contraceptives the moment I saw Vince kicking ass downtown and realized he might be my man.”

The other women stared at her in silence, their expressions a mixture of disbelief, shock, and awe. Even Kiyoko’s eyes widened slightly, as she’d largely ignored everyone’s antics until now while sitting on the edge of the sofa.

“I suppose a unicorn does need that sort of dedication,” Alessia said as she rejoined them. “To pursue a man at all is to risk surrendering your entire life to them.”

Gaby’s grin vanished and she gave the mafia don a sober nod. “That’s how it is. I’m fortunate that Vince isn’t the sort of guy to try to push me to rush things.”

“Would you even be interested in me if I was?” he asked.

“Eh, that’s not how love works.” She raised an open palm and shook it from side to side. “I initially got interested in you because of the fire inside you, your strength, and the way you’re rising from nothing.  There’s no paradox where I’m after some soft, thoughtful guy, so being forceful would chase me away. The fact you don’t always think with your dragon is just a plus.”

“Always?” He feigned offense.

“Feigned?” Daji asked, laughing in his mind.

Okay, maybe he was a little offended at the idea he thought with his dick sometimes. Or a fair bit. Unless Gaby was implying he was hotheaded, which was also true.

Damn this unicorn and her deceitful intelligence.

“As fascinating as the interplay between your flock is, I believe there are pressing matters we still need to discuss,” Kiyoko said, cutting through the antics and noise of the other women. “Although confirmation of what occurred between you and Alessia Lionetti would be useful.”

“Really?” Alessia asked, a touch shrill.

Kiyoko tilted her head, cupping a steaming mug of tea between her hands. Her expression gave away little of her thoughts.

“I think she wants to know what we discussed,” Vince said. “I’ll still work for the Lionettis under contract, especially as Quintus Hierum offered me a separate job and wouldn’t take it well if I became unavailable.”

“What about the house?” Nicki asked, eyes wide.

“I’ll organize to have an agent I trust to show Vince properties that can be purchased on an accelerated closing basis,” Alessia said. “I’m less concerned about price than closing the transaction quickly, getting access for security upgrades ASAP, and location.”

“Are we buying the place, or are you?” Nina crossed her arms and scowled.

“Vince will be purchasing a home that he likes, but the agent will create a short list that meets my needs.”

When Nina looked at him, Vince shrugged. “I’m not arguing with a free mansion, Nina. Especially one I can be in sooner rather than later.”

“I didn’t say a mansion,” Alessia said.

He shot her a look.

She looked away with a pout. “Maybe a small one.”

“I see you didn’t fuck all the miserliness out of her,” Nina said drily.

Before Alessia and Nina could resume their catfight, Kiyoko stretched her wings. The whoosh it created captured everyone’s attention.

“I have been patient,” Kiyoko said, face expressionless yet voice stern. “But today’s events must be discussed and plans made. Preferably before Vince retires.”

Her eyes met his and he grimaced, then nodded.

“Yeah, let’s take care of this before I collapse. I’m running on fumes here,” he admitted. “I’ll grab a coffee and—”

“I’ll get you a coffee,” Fia insisted. “A strong one, without any added alcohol.”

For some reason, she shot Gaby and Nina an annoyed look. The towering duo did their best to look innocent. Undoubtedly, nefarious plans had been made while he’d been preoccupied with Alessia.

Pola shot to Vince’s side as he walked to the sofa and she glued herself to his side.

In an almost uncharacteristic manner, the other girls didn’t fight over the cushion to his left. Ally ended up occupying it by default and appeared confused by that fact. Alessia sat beside Lucia, who elbowed her boss in the side and shot her a wink, causing the mafia don to turn bright red. The rest scattered across the room. Kiyoko hovered by the windows, her black wings framed against the afternoon sun.

“Can I confirm that you’ve been approaching the conglomerates for work?” Kiyoko asked without waiting for Fia to return.

Alessia scowled, but remained silent.

“Yes, but mostly to see what they’d offer,” Vince said. “Gaby wouldn’t even consider it.”

“Therox would hire you just to screw with Wagner,” the unicorn said.

He nodded. “I never got around to speaking with the Inaba Twins, but I imagine Anzu would have offered something… intimate.”

“I imagine so.” Kiyoko’s tone turned acidic, before she corrected it. “The demons?”

“Bastet made a headhunting offer. I guess it was a good one, but nothing Alessia couldn’t beat simply by getting out of bed and being less…” He struggled to find the right words.

“Less stingy?” Nina suggested.

“More realistic,” Fia said as she returned with a tray of drinks.

Two coffees, plus a teapot. Presumably the tea was for sharing among those who didn’t want beer.

“I do still pay most of you,” Alessia muttered.

“And this whole mess would have been avoided if you didn’t use money as a weapon and just rode Vince months ago,” Fia said.

“Like you’re one to—”

“Oh my god, does this ever end?” Gaby said, pressing her fingers against her temple.

“They’re usually not this bad,” Nicki said, grinning into her beer. “Maybe a lot of pent-up emotions being let out now a certain someone has been brought down to the level of the pride.”

Alessia and Nina shot the harpy annoyed looks, and Nicki’s expression suggested she might regret being so vocal. After all, there might be some “pent-up emotions” regarding her in the future.

“I was told the upper rings were really catty,” Gaby said.

“I’d prefer if everyone got along more,” Vince said. “But that takes time. At least, sometimes.”

“Nobody has a problem with Ally,” Fia said.

Ally’s ears shot up and her tails shifted nervously against Vince’s back. “Um, is that a bad thing?”

“No,” half the room said at once.

“Anyway,” Vince continued, “Quintus was the real highlight. He offered a job. A big one. He wants me and Nina to assassinate Masaki Hatoyama without implicating Immanuel and preferably without being caught.”

Alessia’s jaw dropped. “Immanuel is directly attacking the upper management of another conglomerate? That’s… Not quite unprecedented, but it’s been decades since they’ve done it. Especially when they’re at peace with Houou. If they’re caught…”

“It would be all out war in Aulfair,” Fia said grimly. She leaned forward. “Does it pay a fortune?”

“No.” Nina glowered at Vince. “You should have refused.”

Before everyone could agree with his lioness girlfriend, Vince raised his hand. “First, we want to get rid of Hatoyama anyway. Second, Quintus has helped us with the Yakuza, and I suspect he’s trying to keep Aulfair’s calm. Third, it’s not like he’ll be the only person paying.”

He looked pointedly at Alessia, who gawked at him.

“You want me to pay you to kill a fox that Immanuel is already paying you to assassinate?” Alessia asked, eyes wide. Then her ears flattened. “I’m going to pay you to kill a fox that helped kill my parents and nearly assassinated both me and Pola, because I’ll get the blame either way, won’t I?”

“Yeah.” Fia sighed. “If that’s about the civil war, maybe see if the Inaba Twins will pay up, too.”

“That was the plan,” he said. “Quintus had more to say, though. I have a hit on me—”

“No, shit,” Lucia interrupted with a scoff. “That’s been Houou’s worst-kept secret since the heist, V. The problem is nailing down the amount.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, and Gaby’s horn darkened. The unicorn slugged back the rest of her beer before rising and wandering over to an open case on the breakfast bar. A cooling patch on its side did its best to keep the bottles inside ice cold. Nina waved a hand at the unicorn, who grabbed a bottle for the lioness as well.

“I’ve heard too many figures to trust any of them,” Gaby said. “Anywhere from 250k to two million. I almost think the bounty is a rumor to make idiots attack Vince, but Houou won’t cough up the cash if they have to deliver.”

“I’d say they’d be toast if they didn’t pay, but you’re right that nobody can nail down a figure,” Lucia said.

“I can.” Kiyoko’s blue eyes flashed. “Through the Golden Path, the clan managing it are offering enforcer teams contracts of up to one million US dollars to assassinate Vince. I have confirmed at least one individual who has separately been offered a floating one million bounty on top of the contract, which is likely the source of the two million figure. Most hit squads are four people.”

“Hence the 250k,” Vince said. “One mil split four ways.” He frowned. “Who’s managing the Golden Path right now?”

“The Miyoshi Clan, through Tsurime Miyoshi, a six-tail fox,” Alessia said. “They took over after Izu Hasegawa stepped down as chief enforcer following their dispute with Immanuel twenty years ago.”

“The Miuras led the Golden path for a couple of years in between, I think,” Gaby added. “That was when the idol twins shot to stardom. Lots of photos of them in flashy suits at the public hearings following that disaster.”

Alessia nodded. “The Miuras took a lot of the heat for Houou, and once again stepped back into the shadows of the organization. But my understanding is that the Miyoshi Clan have been stalwart allies of both the Inaba and Fujiwara clans, due to originally hailing from central Japan.”

“That was forty years ago,” Kiyoko said. “I have learned to take nothing for granted, despite the much-vaunted claims that immortals act slowly. Regardless, Tsurime Miyoshi has placed the bounty on Vince herself. Whether this has Saito Fujiwara’s backing is a matter of debate.”

Vince felt the foggy mist of Houou’s internal politics had cleared at least a little bit. Although he found it frustrating that Alessia and Kiyoko knew it so well, and he understood none of it.

Then again, could he truly sit through an extensive lecture on Japanese history and how the various fox clans worked together? He knew from Mei’s story that the entire story behind Knightsgate, and even exiled foxes like Kiho, came down to Japanese geography and history. If Vince could barely name famous generals in the American Civil War, what chance would he have of remembering centuries of Japanese history?

“Quintus dislikes the hit. A lot,” Vince said, taking control of the conversation again. “Ironically, Toya Miura already understood the exact problem it created. If the Golden Path are pursuing me vindictively, it breaks the convention of not pursuing vendettas over enforcer contracts. And Immanuel has a lot of vendettas.”

“I assume he’s going to kill some of the mystic foxes down south then,” Alessia said, and Vince nodded. “Interesting. I never thought I’d see Quintus Hierum as an ally, let alone as an agent of order.”

“Based on his lesson to me today, I think he prefers a very specific type of order. Just one not imposed by the government.”

Several of the women cracked smiles.

“Yeah, he knows how easily it is to bend the government to your ideological whims,” Fia said. “Story of his life.”

Nina leaned against the far end of the couch and cracked open her new beer bare-handed. “We can’t assume the hit will be suspended just because Quintus shaves a few foxes. Not after today. If Houou hired Kreesa, they were willing to destroy the entire system enforcers operate on. That changes the assumptions Quintus operated on.”

Silence dominated the room. Or tried to, as the shuffling of the many tails against the sofa and Vince’s clothes repeatedly broke it. He rubbed Ally’s arm as she bit her lip.

“Quintus said he’d handle Kreesa,” he said. “At this point, I think we should try to work with him to keep order.” He looked at Alessia.

The mafia don nodded and her ears twitched. “I’ll reach out to him through my channels, as well to June. If I can confirm that Immanuel is supportive of stopping Houou from hurling the entire city into the fire, we may even receive Mayor Kochhar’s support. Full-throated support from the state police would be extremely welcome. It would delay any potential National Guard deployment should things… worsen.”

Jesus fucking Christ. Vince realized she was talking about open war on the streets if the National Guard was coming up.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ll leave that to you. I’m willing to handle a lot more and won’t shy away from planning responsibility now, but that’s… Yeah, it’s still too much. Forget the politics, I’ve never even spoken with the mayor.”

“It’s my job to handle matters at that level, Vince,” Alessia chided him.

“Want me to talk to Therox about this?” Gaby asked.

Alessia scowled, then forced herself to calm down while straightening her dress. “Please. Finding out where he stands on the matter is important. Wagner won’t intervene until matters worsen greatly, but the city’s founder and so called ‘lord’ should do something.”

The unicorn snorted. “I’ll find a way to appeal to him that won’t make him do the exact opposite. Trust me, talk to him like that and he’d probably create a Lionetti cryptocurrency to fuck with you, then send the scam proceeds to the Yakuza or Houou for good measure.”

The irritation on Alessia’s face was her only answer.

“All of this brings up a central issue,” Kiyoko said, speaking so suddenly half the room jumped. She’d turned to stare out the windows. “Tell me. Did we spend any time discussing Mei at all?”

Vince and almost everyone frowned. Then, slowly, their faces lit up, before shifting to frustration.

“Fuck,” he said. “I realized this when dealing with Kreesa, but forgot it with everything going on. I assumed it was about Houou’s civil war, but I also realized I’d be unable to act against Mei. Those appeared to be one and the same, but…”

Kiyoko’s head turned one-eighty degrees, but her body didn’t, reminding him of how bird-like she could be. “It appears Houou has either realized Mei is not becoming a kyuubi, or is convinced somebody else will deal with her should she become a problem. Regardless, the climax of the Inaba Twins’ plans has failed. Houou is turning inward, focusing on their civil war, instead of defeating the opponent in front of them.”

“And the police aren’t acting, because they don’t want to lose any elementals right before war breaks out in the city,” Vince said. “Immanuel is the same. Quintus has been preparing for the Yakuza since at least November. Likely earlier, as he would have met Mei during her earlier visits to Aulfair. Nobody is focused on Mei, and that’s drawing our attention away from her, too.”

“Shit,” Nina muttered.

“Uh, her egg is fake, right?” Nicki pointed at Vince’s jacket pocket. “Vince has the real one.”

Gaby blinked. “Wait, what?”

Oh. Damn. He forgot he hadn’t explained that part to her.

“Uh.” Vince hunched his shoulders as he pulled Daji’s soul egg out from his jacket pocket. The jewels and crown adorning it glittered in the sunlight streaming through the windows. “It was swapped well in advance by the Inaba Twins, and it was what Mei wanted all along. It’s the only reason we have a real chance against Mei. She only thinks she can turn into a kyuubi.”

Gaby pursed her lips. “Given I’m the only one shocked, that means everyone else knows you’re holding onto a soul egg I’ve never seen in any book or article.”

“Wow. You just know that?” Pola asked, her eyes wide.

“It’s called reading. I can go back to being dumb if that makes you feel better.” The unicorn glared at the wolfgirl, whose tail fell in hurt and confusion. Gaby winced when she saw Pola’s expression. “Um, sorry. I’m used to that being an insult from the girls I hang with.”

“It’s amazing that you immediately recognized it was an unknown soul egg so quickly,” Ally said, the tips of her tails wiggling. “It took me a little bit to confirm myself. I assumed it was a fake at first.”

“The fact it’s not is the problem,” Gaby mumbled. “Are you using that thing?”

“Yes,” Vince said at the same time Daji giggled in his ear. “She’s under control.”

“For now,” Kiyoko added. “I will know the moment Daji attempts to possess him.”

Gaby’s eyes turned into dinnerplates. “Daji? The Daji? Holy shit. Is she as hot as the legends suggest? A real jade beauty?”

Vince glanced at the nine-tailed fox strutting over to the unicorn, and sighed when Daji immediately ran her fingers over Gaby’s chest. “Yes, but I wouldn’t call her a jade beauty. I think she takes on the form—”

“You most desire,” Gaby interrupted. “Wow. Real mind fuckery there.” She paused and noticed Vince was acting oddly. “We can drop this if it helps.”

“Please.” Mostly because Daji took great pleasure in teasing him, and it grew awkward to talk about her.

“So, am I right in saying that our problem has shifted from ‘kill Mei ASAP’ to ‘kill Mei at all?’” Fia asked. “Oh, and we need to try to keep war from breaking out between the conglomerates.”

“We can’t do anything about the latter,” Nina said. “Well, we can’t.” She looked pointedly at Alessia.

“Leave the politics to me,” the mafia don said. “My personal influence is limited, but June and Garn will be able to apply a great deal of pressure.”

Having the help of Garn Trippych, a billionaire media mogul, would be very useful in a political war against Houou. He’d spent the past few years destroying Kochhar’s re-election chances. Applying his slanted media against Houou wouldn’t be as effective, as the conglomerates acted without public approval or votes, but would be better than nothing.

“The problem is when or whether we’ll have the strength to take on Mei,” Vince said. He glanced at Kiyoko. “I assume you’ve been monitoring my recruitment attempts.”

The tengu tilted her head. “To some extent, but I am not privy to your private conversations.”

“Oh. Right. Well, Gaby will help out. I doubt the cartel will, but they’re better used with the political crap,” he said, and the unicorn nodded, her horn shining bright white as he referred to her. “Quintus wants Ashley to join in.”

“… you didn’t say he offered Ashley’s help,” Fia noted.

“He didn’t. He said she’d be coming,” he drawled. “Also, she’s likely to use a secret type of magic that if anyone on the team witnesses, they can’t speak of or Quintus will kill you. I’m dead serious. She’s told me about it, and I suspect I’m one of the least informed on why it needs to be kept a secret.”

Alessia’s eyes turned into slits. “That almost sounds like she’ll be a millstone around your necks.”

“She’s strong,” he said. “Without it, Nina can beat her up with ease. With it…” Well, Nina might still win. He wasn’t going to count his girlfriend out of the fight yet.

“I’ll still ram her arms up her ass,” Nina growled when he didn’t finish her sentence. “But we need more fighters, and strong ones. Have we really only added Gaby and Ashley so far?”

Vince nodded. “It’s not easy recruiting people for a potential suicide mission. Ronin and the police are out. We could hire some enforcers, but most of them want to kill me now and very few would even be useful. But…” He paused. “But I think some opportunities have opened up today. The Inaba Twins want Mei dead, and if the Miuras have an excess of warriors…”

“I thought the idea was to keep Houou out of it,” Pola said, her ear and tail shooting up. “Why bring those fucking foxes into this?”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Alessia said slowly. “But you can’t sign an exclusive contract with the Miuras, whatever agreement you make with them.”

“Not in the cards,” he grunted.

But he had been thinking to negotiate with Toya to get help. Maybe he could borrow the Miura twins to deal with Mei in exchange for helping the Miuras in the civil war.

A crazy thing to think about, that Vince’s aid might be worth that of clan guardians. He might be shooting for the moon there. But Toya had approached him with an offer worth millions.

“I still think we should try to hire Hamelin and anyone else good,” Gaby said. “Although, uh, you might want to keep an eye out for the cringe vampire again. If there’s a price on your head, she might take it.”

“Houou stiffed her before, why would she take another contract?” Nina asked.

“She’s a good negotiator, and they might offer her backpay.”

“I’ll see if Salome has dug anything up on Juliet,” Vince said. “Thanks for the reminder. I have another problem, however.”

Kiyoko turned her body and looked at him. He wondered if she’d been thinking the same thing.

“Kigenai,” the tengu said abruptly.

He nodded. “Kigenai. We’re making all these preparations for Mei, but there’s a threat as strong as a clan guardian standing in our way first. While Mei’s in hiding, we need to do something about the lightning Qilin defending the Yakuza’s territory. We don’t have a chance if we fight both at once.”

“Smart. I didn’t even have to point it out to you,” Daji said, sounding genuinely impressed. “I assumed I’d have to remind you tomorrow if nobody else brought it up. But the tengu likely would have. She appears to be letting you take the lead where possible.”

Frustratingly, he couldn’t deny Daji’s words. Kiyoko already had her own plans and ideas, yet only interceded when she felt it necessary. Part of him felt as if he was on train tracks, and she’d push him back on to them as necessary.

Then again, that’s what happened when he worked with ancient warriors. Just as she’d made plans for the heist well beyond his and Fia’s, so too would she be prepared for taking down Mei.

His head drooped onto Ally’s, and she squeaked. Her arms wrapped around his back.

Suddenly more arms and tails pressed against him. He blinked himself back to awareness and pushed away whoever stood in front of him. Pola, it turned out.

“I’m fine.” Vince rubbed his eyes. “Just tired.”

“We can plan how to deal with Kigenai later, then. Just knowing we need to take out the yakuza in a two-stage hit is enough. Especially as we’ll need to ensure they’re close enough together that nobody takes out Mei beforehand, or that she flees,” Fia said.

Vince barely remained aware enough as he got up from the couch to see whose bedroom he stumbled into. He heard Alessia and Pola muttering behind him, as well as Ally. Several tails wrapped around him as he sunk into the mattress, and he was cooed at for not getting under the blankets.

Then he surrendered to his dreams after a too-long day. The Yakuza, pending civil war, and countless other problems could wait another day.