Recruitment

Isamu Sora (A.K.A. Bushido) strolled down a busy city street. It was pretty early in the morning, and the sun was barely breaking over the horizon, tinting the world with an orange hue. Bushido was wearing his business clothes, which meant his black button up shirt was open over his white t-shirt, and his twin fangs were attatched to his leather belt. As he made his way to his destination, he couldn't help but wonder why everyone was in such a rush at such an early hour. the city that never sleeps, he thought to himself, isn't that the truth...

Bushido approached the warehouse owned by a local gang. His oyobun had arranged a meeting here to try and recruit manpower for the New York chapter of the Yakuza. Though Bushido wasn't used to playing such a large role in leading or commanding, his oyobun decided to give him a chance. Bushido was to represent the yakuza and try to gain the support of any street thug or gang member he could. His top priority, however, was to recruit renegade metahumans, using the promise of power and money as incentive. Though Bushido doubted that an superpowered being would waste their time hanging with thugs in a rusty old warehouse.

Bushido entered the warehouse, the smell of drugs and desperation hitting him full in the face. It smelled familiar, a scent he remembered from childhood. A smile crept onto his face, but Bushido quickly extinguished it. No time for nostalgia now. As he walked further into the large room, surrounded by hardened criminals, he realized something was wrong. There was a certain air about these people; the way they watched him, the sudden hush in conversation as he entered their presence; that aroused suspicion in Bushido's mind. It's a trap. He realized, just as the first thug made their move. He was a big fellow, wielding a severely dented crowbar. He swung the tool at Bushido from behind, and struck only air. There was a ringing of steel sliding against a sheath, a glinting of silver, and a sudden splash of blood. 6 thugs lied on the cement floor, in pools of their own blood. The others wasted no time attacking. With various battle cries, they all rushed at Bushido, but their numbers meant nothing against his superior skills. Those who survived the initial onslaught found themselves in a massacre, unable to defend themselves against the deadly force that they had brought upon themselves.

The skirmish lasted a few minutes, during which time the victims made a considerable amount of ruckus. A bloodstained Bushido sighed. I know someone heard that, I just hope they don't try to intervene. This probably looks pretty bad for me. He stood, swords drawn, surrounded by a multitude of dead bodies. Anyone walking in on a scene like this would no doubt go to straight to the police, and that meant they had to die too.

A sudden, hushed, yelp sounded in the darkness. Bushido didn't react, but focused his senses to detect its origin. He soon heard the unmistakable sound of a blade unsheathing. Someone was here to kill him, perhaps the thugs were just meant to distract him. Maybe they were supposed make him reveal his fighting style, allowing the mystery assassin to have the advantage. Whatever the reason, Bushido wasn't going to let this guy get the better of him, no one could match his swordsmanship. He sheathed one of his blades, attempting to make the hidden challenger feel safe, and focused on the direction where he heard the sounds. With his now free left hand he reached into his shirt, feeling around the inner pocket for his 9mm pistol.

Bushido believed he had a pretty good bead on the would-be attacker's location, and decided to strike while he had the element of surprise. Twisting his body around and drawing his gun, he quickly locked onto a small, young, emo kid. Bushido hesitated a split second, wondering what a kid was doing here, but when he saw the katana at the teen's side he realized his mistake. Damn it! he thought, wishing he had filled the kid with holes the moment he saw him. He fired 4 shots at the katana wielder, aiming at the chest area

This kid seems small, but noone in their right minds carries a sword into a fight unless they have the skills to back it up. This kid probably is either superpowered or really stupid, and I suppose I'll find out soon This ran through Bushido's head as the specially designed bullets flew through the air towards the emo teen's chest.

The kid was fast, he had to give him that. Bushido watched as the teenager leaped out of the way of those bullets. Upon seeing him get into his stance, however, Bushido realized that this kid had nowhere near his level of training. He planned to take advantage of that, moving into fighting position, when he heard the sudden rush of water. Suddenly a torrent of water surrounded his adversary, firing small projectiles at Bushido with deadly force.

Oh shit... Bushido thought, not surprised but definitely disheartened by the the sudden appearance of superpowers. There weren't a ton of the little water bullets, but they were coming at him erratically. quick as a wink, Bushido jumped backwards, his sword swinging in a complex maneuver that sliced one of the bullets right out of the air. The flat of his blade was used to block 2 of the projectiles, and Bushido's quick moved cause a couple others to miss. He had escaped injury. Barely.

Knowing that long ranged combat wasn't an option, Bushido considered his position. He had to get close enough to this guy without getting turned into swiss cheese, and the only way to do that was to get him on the defensive. He rushed at his foe with his gun outstretched, firing at the kid as he approached. Hopefully he would be too busy defending to be able to retaliate.

The kid's wall of water was able to divert the bullets easily, but they weren't Bushido's focus anyways. As he made it within striking distance of his opponent, he realized that he was going to have a hard time getting through that watery armor. The kid's sword suddenly swung out of the vortex, aimed at Bushido. His fighting instincts kicked in, and the katana met one of Bushido's own twin blades. He now realized that the kid had no ordinary sword, being able to meet Bushido's specially altered blade without any damage to show for it. Bushido was suddenly taken by an irresistible curiosity. He had to know who this kid was, and giving himself some time to formulate a plan wasn't a bad idea either. The assassin was undoubtedly to skilled to be taken down by a head on assault, so Bushido was going to play this one with his head.

Keeping his blade firmly pressed against his opponent's, Bushido yelled over the roaring of the water: "Who sent you?" It wasn't a very imaginative line, and he doubted he would get a straight answer, but Bushido wanted to get the kid talking. He didn't have the natural fighting ability that Bushido possessed, so getting the kid to distract himself with a conversation while Bushido was able to subconsciously keep his head in the fight would dramatically increase his odds.

It was impossible to know what his opponent was thinking with the rush of water obscuring his facial features, so Bushido had to concentrate on the kid's voice to try and discern his attitude. He had plenty of practice, in the yakuza he was taught to read his oppenents facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice to smell out fear or lying. So Bushido payed special attention, waiting for his adversary's answer.

As the kid answered, Bushido's first thought was that the kid was lying, just trying to get him to take his guard down, but his voice didn't match the general clues for a liar. Bushido's question must have unnerved the kid, because the water surrounding him became less violent, actually revealing his facial features. Bushidos sword was pushing his opponents katana back, so he lessened the amount of force he was putting into it. Keeping it still, but not pushing it forward. Upon looking at his foe's face, Bushido was sure that he was telling the truth.

If no one sent him, then why is here? Bushido wondered, Why now? Bushido didn't believe in fate. If something happened, it had to have a reason. Bushido locked eyes with the kid, and in them saw the truth. This kid didn't come here to hurt him, nor did he want to. So Bushido saw no reason to continue fighting.

In a fluid movement Bushido released the pressure on his opponent's sword, slipping his blade into its sheath. He then took a step back and called out "You've got some skills man, how would you like to make some serious cash?" He was careful not to call the superhuman a "kid", knowing that he was no younger when he started killing, and wasn't much older than him now. His voice was calm, and his hand rested lazily on the hilt of blade he just sheathed. Although it looked like a casual stance, he was actually poised, his muscles ready for action at the drop of a hat, brimming with power just under the surface. At the slightest sign of attack, Bushido was ready to counter with a vengeance, but he hoped it didn't come to that.

Sean O'day. So that was the kid's name. Though Bushido was new in town, he had a feeling he had heard that name before... It was probably nothing. Sean asked Bushido his name, and at first he was just going to give his stage name, but as Bushido was about to speak he was struck by how genuine the kid sounded, so he hesitated. Finally he decided to to give his real name, despite the fact that in his line of work, that sort of thing was very dangerous.

"Isamu Sora" Bushido told him, taking his hand firmly to shake, "But you can call me Bushido, everyone does." Bushido gave Sean a smile. He knew instantly that he would be a powerful ally. He dropped his hand back down to his side, resting it carelessly on his blade. "And in response to your question, I'd like you join a temporary alliance with the New York Chapter of the Yakuza. The Yakuza, as you may have heard of, is the Japanese equivalent of the mafia. I've been put in charge of recruiting members for operations we have set up here in the states. The pay will be handsome, and you will be paid for each job you fulfill. You can leave anytime you want."

Bushido had worked out those terms in case he ran into a superhuman who was interested in joining. Of course for less important member's it was different, but those with powers had special privilages Bushido was done talking, and so he waited for Sean's response.