Kia Ora...

Now that we've tipped over into the second half of the year, it feels like time is running out to achieve anything. There's still a good six months, plenty of time to get words written on many of the projects I have lined up and yet it never feels that way. I can see why it happens, all the plans I laid out the beginning of the year have always changed by this point in the year. Projects dropped off the writing schedule or delayed while new ones keep getting added.... there is always something demanding attention or needing to be done when your self-published and there are never enough hours in the day.

Updates

Deadly Gifts (Tokyo Nights 3): I'm so close to being finished with this WIP. It's currently sitting at 47.5 chapters and 73.5k words. I'd initially planned for it to be closer to 90k with the epilogue, but the characters had other ideas, but at close to or over 80k when done, I can't complain too much. Release date will be the first week in July.

The final Tokyo Nights novella - Hiroshi - will be released later in the year, with another full novel to be released, Deadly Syndicates (Tokyo Nights 4) which will focus on Sagaki's push to takeover the Imaida Organisation.

A Knight For Two (The Moutrams 3): This will be one of three projects I will be working on next and will the follow the twins as they find their perfect knight. There will also be babies, a jousting tournament, and plenty of family shenanigans.

Escape (Smoke and Shadows Short): This will be a part of the Unchained Desires Anthology and has an expected release date of July 2. More information on its release etc. will be included in my next newsletter.

Short Story: This has a deadline of August 1. I intend to keep it under the 7k mark it should be easy to finish up while I'm dealing with the release of Deadly Gifts.

Caught (Smoke and Shadows 1)

Chapter Eleven

TW: Violence

Yoshitake followed Takeshi into the room and swept his gaze over those men who’d answered Takeshi’s summons. He was surprised at the turnout. Men sat on the tatami floor of the large meeting who’d sworn they’d never follow the young heir. Takeshi’s age was a factor for many, his four years away from Osaka an issue for others. Then there were those who simply wanted the power that came with being the leader of a prestigious organisation like the Shirokawa-gumi. Men who wanted to wrest Takeshi’s birth right from him and were happy to kill their way through the ranks to achieve it. Yoshitake didn’t blame them. Couldn’t. Not when his own goals aligned with theirs, but Yoshitake wouldn’t be satisfied until the entire city was back under Shirokawa-gumi control.

But what Yoshitake hadn’t counted on was Takeshi’s ability to stand at the head of the organisation and command men far older than him with the all the confidence of a man far older than his years. It impressed him. Made him proud. Confused the fuck out of him too as his carefully curated plans slowly crumbled forcing Yoshitake to come up with new ones. Yet what he couldn’t afford was for Takeshi to solidify the fractured organisation any more than he already had.

A divided group was easier to conquer than a united one.

He took up position behind Takeshi, two steps back and to the left, half hidden amongst the shadows being cast by the late morning sun into the meeting room. It hadn’t been feasible with the number of expected attendees to hold the meeting in Takeshi’s office, at least not without offering someone a chance to strike at Takeshi before Yoshitake or the others standing guard could reach him. He’d been pleased Takeshi hadn’t argued with his suggestion and even made a few of his own regarding the security measures for the larger room.

“Right,” Takeshi bellowed, banging the end of a shinai on the wooden floor at the end of the room to grab the gathered men’s attention. “You all should know by now why I’ve called this meeting… and if you aren’t, then maybe you should be paying more attention to what is happening with the organisation and not just counting the money filling your pockets.”

Yoshitake snickered as the men’s mouths gaped as Takeshi called them out on their navel gazing habits that had developed in the weeks since Takeshi’s father died. Those who held the areas in the centre of Osaka less likely to realise the issues occurring amongst the Shirokawa-gumi held wards on the outskirts of the city. It had suited him fine to foster that continued ignorance and Yoshitake had planned to capitalise on it further once he’d sorted out the issue of Takeshi’s appearance in the city. And yet, he couldn’t help admiring the way Takeshi bluntly pointed out their disunity and told them all to fucking get over it.

“So… for all of you who’ve failed to keep your loyalty to the Shirokawa—to all those men you’ve shared sake with—Fujioka was discovered dead this morning. His body left on the streets of an area of Osaka that once belonged to us and now lies in the hands of the Araki-gumi.”

Takeshi paused to let the information sink in and waited for the ripples of fury to wash over the men before continuing. Fury that continued to rise in volume until Takeshi was forced to rap the shinai on the floor once more.

“Yes, I want to find his killer. No, this wasn’t some random attack.” Takeshi drew in a deep breath and narrowed his eyes as a cold fury engulfed him. “Yes, I will deal with those responsible… tear them to pieces until their corpse is left in a worse condition than Fujioka’s.” He barked out a menacing laugh, one that even forced Yoshitake to take a step back. This young man before him wasn’t the same one who’d left for Tokyo. Back then, Takeshi would have acted rashly, killed with a single shot, or pummelled the target to death, but it would never occurred—or at least he wouldn’t have had the patience—to exact a slow torturous revenge. “But none of you will seek revenge for his death without my permission-” pointing the shinai at the gathered men “-and you will not step foot into Araki-gumi territory and create issues there. There is no proof that the Kyoto organisation are responsible…. No proof that the none of you aren’t either.”

Dropping the shinai and resting the tip of it on the floor, Takeshi glared at the men present, many who’d joined the ranks of the Shirokawa when Takeshi was no more than a child suckling on his mother’s breast.

“Any questions?”

“You’re expecting us to what? Sit on our arses and do nothing?” Tekuri Shibasaki snarled with a bitter frustration that Yoshitake could understand. Previous to the war with the Araki-gumi, the man had controlled the largest territory—by land area—taking in a large chunk of rural Osaka, but with the Shirokawa-gumi’s loss to the Kyoto Organisation, much of his territory had been taken from him and what remained bordered Ibaraki where Fujioka’s body had been found. “It’s obvious the Araki-gumi bastard is responsible for this! Forget diplomacy. Kill the fucker and take back the territory that belongs to us.”

Yoshitake swallowed back a grin. He couldn’t fault the man’s anger nor where he was directing it, that had been his intention after all by having Fujioka’s body dumped there. But he was interested to see how Takeshi would handle the man’s fury while dismissing his accusation well aware Takeshi wasn’t interested in sparking a new war with the Araki-gumi.

“Do you have proof of the Araki-gumi’s guilt, Shibasaki? Do you have information, evidence that I can take to the head of their organisation and present a case for retribution?”

“What proof do you need? One of ours is dead, and their body was found in territory they control.”

Takeshi snorted, reached behind him, and flung one of the knives he’d laid out on the desk earlier at Shibasaki, pinning the man in the shoulder. “That isn’t proof… and unless you want to lose more of you territory, Shibasaki, you won’t be going after Kitayama or his husband without my say so.”

The mention of Kitayama’s husband set off a new round of angry mutterings and this time even Yoshitake’s hands balled at his sides at the slurs being flung about. He glanced over at Takeshi, surprised to find the man picking at his nails with one of his blades as though he didn’t hear the words being bandied about. Or maybe not as Takeshi’s mood shifted and Yoshitake watched him twirl the blade around his fingers while sweeping a calculating gaze across the room and gripping the shinai tight.

“Are you all quite finished?” Takeshi glared at the men. “Yoshitake can you fetch the cups and a bottle of sake… no make that two, I think we’ll need it.”

“Yes, Boss,” he replied trying to keep his surprise at the request from hidden as he rushed to comply.

Returning ten minutes later, Yoshitake was relieved to find no further members had been skewered by Takeshi’s blades but the atmosphere in the room had grown more hostile. While he wanted to play the members off against each other and weaken Takeshi’s ability to command them, Yoshitake wasn’t interested in leading men who were nothing more than aging bigots.

Takeshi placed down the blade and picked up a bottle of sake. He slowly unscrewed the lid, lined up the three cups Yoshitake had brought him and made a show of filling them. “I’m well aware of the views my grandfather held, horrific antiquated views that have no place in modern Japan… and I am also aware that it was those views that saw him seek a war with the Araki-gumi.” He banged the shinai on the floor, once more silencing the restless grumblings. “Anyone who wants to argue otherwise is simply deluding themselves… and I for one would like to shake the hand of the man who shot the fucker dead, because if my grandfather wasn’t dead… then I would be.”

Yoshitake observed the men gathered, many who now stared at Takeshi with a look of disgust while others either look confused by the point Takeshi was making or didn’t look bothered by it.

“But how I see it now… I’m the one I charge of the Shirokawa-gumi as my father would’ve wanted, and you are either with me-” gesturing at the cups of sake next to him “-or your dead,” Takeshi announced with a deadly seriousness that couldn’t be denied. “So, who’s going first?”

Shibasaki stood, anger reddening his face as he pulled the blade from his shoulder and dropped it on the floor. “I believed in your grandfather’s principles. He was an honourable man and not worthy of a grandson like you,” he spat.

“So… that’s a no, to the sake?”

“I will not share sake—” his words cut off as another blade sailed through the air and hitting him in the eye. Shibasaki roared and rushed toward Takeshi who only stared at him with mild amusement. Yoshitake shifted, ready to protect Takeshi if needed, but once again the younger man proved himself far more capable than anyone suspected. Grabbing the shinai, Takeshi raised it up and balanced it across his forearm angling it like one would a sniper rifle and just as Shibasaki lunged at him, Takeshi thrust the shinai forward and tapped the end of the blade forcing it further into the man’s skull and then Shibasaki stopped. Stopped living altogether as the man pitched forward and landed face down on the ground, the tip of the blade protruding from the back of his head.

Yoshitake gaped at Takeshi, his expression flickering between awe and horror as his young boss, tapped the man with his foot before looking up at the other men gathered and smiled. “That’s one dead. Anyone else care to join him? Or will you swear your allegiance to me and do as you’re all fucking told.”

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Before Deadly Gifts (Tokyo Nights 3) releases,

make sure you're all caught up with the Tokyo Nights series!

Deadly Game (Tokyo Nights 1)

Deadly Gamble (Tokyo Nights 2)

And to read how it all started between Sagaki and Kirushima,

checkout the Tokyo Nights Novellas

Sagaki (Tokyo Nights Novella 1)

Kirushima (Tokyo Nights Novella 2)