Oubliette of the Okubo Mafia

"Ladies, please. I'm sure you've all heard of my glorious rise to power in the underworld. Just last month I got a...well...a *shout out* at a boxing match! Who else can say that? Now, if you'll just sit down..."

The room was quiet as the women seated themselves around the large table. The dim lights made it hard to see the faces of those who were watching her. The low hum of air conditioners filled the room with white noise. Someone cleared their throat. It sounded like a wolf growling in the distance.

"Thank you." She said, "I'm sure we can get this over with quickly so I can get back to more important matters." She paused for effect before continuing, "We're here today because someone has decided to challenge me for control over the Okubo family..."

There was some chatter from the crowd, but she raised her hand and signaled for silence. "...and I thought it would be best to meet with some of my most trusted subjects to hear their thoughts on the matter."

She stopped again to let that sink in. The room was silent now. She had been expecting someone to make a move against her sooner or later, but why now? Why this woman? Who was she?!

"I'm sure many of you are wondering how this can be possible," she began, "Well, let me tell you how! You all know what happened to my father, right?" There were nods and affirmative noises from the crowd. She continued, "Well, tell me this then: What happens when there is no heir? Do they just give up and run away crying? No!" She thumped the table with her fist. "They fight!" There were louder shouts now, some enthusiastic clapping and hoots of agreement. They wanted blood.

"They kill whoever stands in their way until it's clear that they are next in line to lead. That's what my father did! He fought his way into power until he won! And that's exactly what I did!"

The room exploded into cheers and applause as she stood up from her chair and raised her hands above her head like a champion gladiator walking into the arena. She basked in their adoration for a moment before sitting back down and beginning again...

Mitsuko Okubo had been trained by her father since birth for just such an occasion; he had told her about his own battle for power many times during her childhood and adolescence, often while he worked on one of his cars or whittled away at a piece of wood. He had not been born into this life; he had not grown up surrounded by violence or death; he had not even known who his father was until he was ten years old. When he finally met him after all that time running around Japan with his mother who only went by the name of 'Kuro' (Black), he found out that his father was an American mafia boss who had taken control of two thirds of Yokohama during World War II, making himself one of Japan's first gangsters along with his partner Kita (North). The two men had been inseparable friends as children; they had grown up together in Tokyo's red light district after being orphaned as infants until Kita's father was killed during a turf war with another gangster named Tengai (Earth) over territory near Aoyama Gakuen University; Earth had won that battle easily and gained massive new territory which ultimately led to his rise to power as one of Japan's most feared mob bosses while Kita left Tokyo with his mother at age nine and never came back until twenty years later when he returned with American soldiers at his back ready to reclaim North's stake in Yokohama under orders from General MacArthur himself - which is exactly what he did despite resistance from Earth's Yakuza army which was crushed completely after Tengai himself fell at Kita's hand during a small skirmish outside Sakuragicho Station where Earth lay dying on a bench before Kita ran him through with his sword in front of dozens of witnesses including several police officers who watched in awe as their new boss finished off the man who'd killed his father so many years ago - which gave him full control over North's territory just like that!