[IV] "You Are ALL My MASKS..."

Port Blazefall, Northerners District

Oshiro Family Estate.

There's a saying that states that a man's social status can be determined by his possessions and the people he associates himself with. So to the likes of Chizoba "Scorpion" Vanchev, a man who became the leader of the Eastway Families Gang at the age of 12 because of his father's untimely death. A man like Shinigami Oshiro seemed nearly God-like with the estate with its undeniable beauty and tranquility as far as the eye could see. As they entered the estate they are given the amazing view of the estate that was immensely big with almost endless fields of lush green trees and beautifully colorful flowers, all aligned perfectly of the perimeter of each part of the estate. These countless fields of beautiful flora were than ecstasy to the eyes of these men. Besides the beautiful fields, the house was situated in front of a massive mountain and all the buildings were architectural masterpieces, one would have glamorous dreams about, but they were going to the center of it all, a small yet nostalgic office suite almost looking like a bathhouse of sorts... Scorpion was accompanied by 10 strongest armored cars with 5 men in each who were armed to the neck in military-grade weaponry. Insurance is what they called it but it didn't make them feel any safer. Scorpion is greeted by 10 butlers who state that he is only allowed 4 guards to accompany him for the meeting and that the rest would be sent to the guest house and have their needs taken care of while they waited. 5-star hotel type of services and it made them feel almost welcomed by their new associates.

Scorpion and his men marched into the office, which is surprisingly well lit, as they walked across the beautiful marble corridors straight down. They were surrounded by beautiful artworks and sculptures of different place and Times but before they reached the final door, the pictures are then, all the pictures and mementos of those who formerly lead the Oshiro Family to its great success.

They are shown the door by the butler which he states firmly is not permitted to go beyond this point and as the 5 men enter the room they are greeted by 20 men standing in line carrying Assault Rifles all aimed at their heads. They were all covered in black clothing and each wore masks hiding their identity but it was clear to see that they were waiting for them to make a move so they could be filled with every single one of the bullets in the gun's magazine. The door closed eerily slowly and before they could bat an eye, their weapons were confiscated and they were left defenseless like lamb to the slaughter...

"What's the big idea, Shinigami? Did you invite us here to be executed? Or is this how you accommodate your guests?" Said Scorpion as he tried to hide his newly established shock and fear but trying to conceal it under the questions.

"Oh pardon me, I am looking for the rumored, ruthless hoodlums called the Eastway Families Gang but instead I'm greeted by a group of color confused ladies who weren't prepared for the tea party I was hosting... I guess your reputation outlived you. Truly disappointing, I must say." he said. A neatly dressed men sitting behind a desk with shortly cut blonde hair that fell to each side of his face and a pair of almost gray eyes behind the neatly trimmed glasses, those eyes that gave a stare of a predator who had just cornered his pray and that was contemplating whether to end what it started or continue to play with its food.

"Answer me Shinigami!, this level of disrespect is intolerable. So if you invited us here, to execute us, then I insist you do it immediately 'coz I won't stand any longer for such treatment..." Shouting out his fiery statement as he is received with a deathly smile notifying him of his lack of control over the situation and giving Shinigami, the official upper hand in their encounter. It was clear to see that this man's game had begun before they ever noticed and they had just lost miserably. ALL they could do was wait for their victors demands at an award being their heads or something else. The sense of not being to do anything about the situation filled these men with an undeniable yet paralyzing sense of fear and worry.

"Well, Mr Vanchev. I apologize for my rude behavior but I honestly hate beating around the bush and I hope you, ladies do too. It is just a miserable waste of time and I am hoping you can understand that I invited you here not to get executed. No not at all, in fact, you are here to become one of the richest men in this dead-end city. All you have to do is agree with my simple proposal, nothing compared to the riches, you will all be gifted with..." All this was delivered in the utmost professional manner but this man's vicious nature could be heard, very clearly behind this supposed offer.

And in the blink of an eye, a series of flashes and rattling fill the room, Scorpion's bodyguards are all mercilessly shot dead and with their dead bodies, lying around Scorpion and him standing in a pull of blood made by his dead men. This was his reward as he coyly stared in the great delight of the amazing light show and sudden climax to an almost action movie-like scene. Shinigami's eyes finally returned to Scorpion's and the severity of it could be seen. The look he gave was in many ways suggesting some form of subliminal messages all intensified by the sudden silence and smell of gunpowder. It was as if he was questioning him like "Your Turn To Move?" Or "I would gladly grant you the wish of following your men. You just only need to ask." But were these questions placed there on purpose? What was these man's motives and more importantly? Why has he not killed him along with his men? This was a glimpse of this man's entertainment and form of art and it seemed like he had just finished admiring it and was bored again, So it there was only one option left for Scorpion and he didn't seem to want to choose that option so he pulled up the chair and proceeded to slowly take a seat as if accepting his inevitable fate but hoping he would be given a chance to hopefully die honorably or at least die in a manner that wouldn't be as gruesome as what he had just seen or even worse, what imagined would happen next...

"

"I am truly glad, we are on the same page now and I kindly suggest that you refrain from calling me by my nickname. As you know I am your new boss and by all means, I would appreciate it if you at least called me that... As you can see it's by your men that I don't take kindly to insubordination. Now my proposal is short and simple, I Want Everything In This Dirty Little City and like a good and faithful employee of the Hollow Point Mafia, you're going to help me complete this very simple task..." Said Shinigami calmly as if it was rehearsed thousands of times over. The classic brown telephone rang and he answered it with another smile as if he was told he won the lottery.

"I am guessing by this call that you have completed my request... good work, now. Could you please arrange that they are placed in line, neatly on the front porch, and tell Wilkerson to bring the Vanchev's car to the front, please. They will be leaving soon...Thank You, Miles. You never seem to disappoint." Shinigami Gleefully replied and put the phone down and took out a black porcelain bowl filled with jelly beans, all red in color as he grabbed a handful and turned in his rotating chair to look out the window as if staring at the orchards.

"I can see you are very eager to begin our newfound partnership and as a measure of good faith, I had my men deliver 4 trucks of pharmaceutical-grade Blue Ticks and my finest contraband, ALL free of charge for you to do whatever you wish with it. You can throw it away if it ain't fit for your satisfaction but hopefully, it will suffice for now... And in return for these gifts, I ask for a yet another simple favor. My dearly beloved younger brother Sasaki Oshiro hasn't been home for over a month now and I am very deeply worried about his personal safety. So if it wouldn't be too much to ask, would you have your men try a search for him and bring him home to me? He is deeply missed by everyone here and it would be very saddening if he was hurt or in any form of danger. I would be eternally grateful for this and you will be generously compensated for it, IF I may add...." All these words were accompanied by a terrifying change of tone, emotions and facial expressions all played out in an almost genuine realism. He had just declared his request and compensated it too, leaving little but nothing changes to even contemplate what just happened, IT was like a declaration of war just wrapped in pretty wrapping but it was just his way of ending the show on a high note as Scorpion, hadn't said a word to these requests. He just stood up and headed for the door with a pitch-black silhouette hanging over his face. This man was defeated and he had never even had the chance to fight back or even retaliate. Flawless victory...

All that just happened, ran through his mind as if he was stuck in an endless loop in time and it was happening all over again, he had not even spent less than an hour in that office yet, he continuously thought about all these so-called "Proposals" that weren't proposals at all but more of the demands of an angry God giving you chance at redemption. A redemption he couldn't refuse or negotiate... And just as he was unable to avenge his men, or stand up for his own reputation as a mob boss. Shinigami had won again and the least, he could do was walk away with his life. Another victim who was brutally beaten before he stepped on the battlefield. He knew his men would lose all respect for him once they would hear about this and to be honest, he began to beg that he was executed. "WHAT WILL MY MEN SAY ABOUT ME FOR BEING HUMILIATED SO BADLY LIKE A CHEAP WHORE" These words repeatedly ate away at his soul, his reputation... But it wouldn't matter because as he opened the final door exiting the building he is overwhelmed by the enormous waves of heat made from the heat all the 10 armed escort vehicles he prepared, that we're all just set ablaze in glorious hellfires and the unbearable and intensely nauseating smell of blood returned to him as he looked down to find the bodies of all his men neatly line up in front of him. Their necks were slitten cleanly open and their eyes gouged out and placed in a bucket, everyone's last 3 fingers on their right hand was chopped off and on their faces, they wore the same masks he saw in their room. But what terrified him most, was the bold, yet neat writing on the ground... All in blood...

YOU ARE ALL MY MASKS NOW

He hadn't even realized that the butler had returned, wearing a mask, sprayed in blood and in his right hand was Scorpion's car keys in hand.

"The master will be contacting you very soon, with further instructions on the negotiated contract and he kindly thanks you for the visit. NOW we are all his MASKS and this is His divine revelation. You would be very wise to diligently follow..." Stated the butler as if whispering it to him, almost as if clearing the idea that there was a way out of this hell. this was the beginning of the greatest bloodbaths in the history of Port Blaze fall. The game everyone would be forced to play and inevitably lose... And like all games the Death God played there would be no victors besides him and no one would ever try to stop this game, No one would ever be able to understand why this man would go so far for nothing. BUT there's no such thing as nothing to him because nothing else mattered besides his true goal, a twisted and dark goal. A goal, he would bathe in the blood of his victims and forge in the inferno of his playground, this filthy city. He was determined to reach it at any cost but he knew it would happen eventually... He just had a hard time being patient.

COME HOME TO ME DEAREST, LITTLE BROTHER... COME HOME AND FULFILL YOUR DESTINY...