The Dream That Needs Your Wings To Fly [Alaster + Kenta]

Alaster took a sip of his coffee. He was immediately disgusted by its horrid taste, having to resist the urge to spit it out onto the floor. Bleh! What kind of bloody moron brewed this crap? That's what happens when he decided to visit the closest cafe in his current area, rather than taking a taxi to go to the cafe he usually went to. Sighing, Alaster set aside his cup of coffee. With his other hand, he gripped his black feather pen and began to write on his notebook. With everything that happened to him recently, Alaster just wanted to get his mind off things. Perhaps writing down some ideas for his next book might help distract him?

Sadly, after several minutes of writing, that idea did not seem to work at all. He just could not get his mind off of current events. That bloody idiot gang! How dare they pull that crap on him! After all the loyalty he showed for them, after the hard work he put in to getting the jobs done successfully, after having to deal with those incompetent morons just to have more money rolling in to support his beloved Meiko. And what did he get for all of that? Those bloody bastards turning on him and trying to kill him off several nights ago! Alaster was furious! Honor was a quality that he highly valued, and he had no tolerance for traitors. He was done with them! They were all dead to him! Somehow, some way, Alaster would make those fools pay for what they did!

Angrily, Alaster slammed his fist on the table he was at. Fortunately, his cup of coffee was half empty, so it did not spill and make a mess. Unfortunately, this did not go unnoticed by the people in the cafe. Sighing, Alaster ignored all of the eyes that were looking in his direction as he picked up his things and put them away in his bag. He needed to get out of here. He needed some fresh air.

Alaster walked for a bit, lost in thought. How would he go about enacting his revenge on those fools? Perhaps he could team up with fellow villains? After all, he was only one man going up against an organization whose numbers even he did not know. As much as Alaster hated other people, even he had to reluctantly admit that he could not take them on alone. He needed numbers. He needed help.

Suddenly, Alaster froze. Not too far from where he was, he saw a familiar face. One that he was not too pleased at all to see. It was Moose, one of the gang members! As Alaster began to run towards the man (who incidentally had a moose's head, hence the man's strange alias), Moose noticed Alaster coming towards him. He panicked. "Oh shit! Crowley!" Running towards the nearby alleyway, Moose was unsure of whether he wanted to try to fight or flee. On one hand, the white-haired villain had a bounty on his head, and killing him would make Moose some serious cash. On the other hand, Moose knew very well just how dangerous the man could be. Moose was not sure if he wanted to take his chances or not.

As Alaster rushed after the antlered man, he was extremely focused on giving his former gang mate a brutal beating. So focused, in fact, that he failed to notice the fact that he did not escape the sight of every eye in the cafe. There was one whose gaze was still on Alaster, watching what he was going to do.

WORDS 606 TAGS Kenta Meinkun (The Codfather)
NOTES And the fun has started

Moose kept running down the alley, hoping to either lure Alaster to some kind of ambush, or to flee from him. He still did not know whether he wanted to fight or run away. Damn it, he thought. Couldn't one of the other guys have been the one to find Crowley? Why me? To make matters worse for Moose, the path he was running ended with a brick wall. A dead end.

Alaster watched in glee as Moose realized that he ran for nothing. The fool was cornered, trapped like a rat. Alaster then raised an eyebrow when he saw that Moose had suddenly lowered his head and began to charge towards him. It seemed that, with no other means of escape, Moose decided to go on the offensive, charging at Alaster and hoping to ram him with his antlers. Alaster smiled as he simply stepped to the side and extended his foot. This was too easy. Comically, Moose ended up tripping, falling to the floor face first. "Going somewhere, Moose?"

Once the moose-headed man was on the floor, Alaster placed his foot on the man's back, keeping him pinned down on the floor. Alaster then reached for the knife in his pocket. Alaster began to wonder whether he should gut the man on the spot, torture him for information on the gang, or just torture him for the sheer hell of it. Ultimately, it made no difference to Alaster. No matter what he chose to do with Moose, he was going to have fun, and Moose would end up dead, just like a traitor rightfully deserves.

At least, that would have been the plan if not for the sudden interruption. Just as Alaster was about to grab the handle of the knife in his pocket, he heard an unfamiliar voice call out to him. Or at least Alaster assumed that the voice was referring to him. Kid? Alaster was eighteen! That hardly made him a child! Turning around to see the source of the voice, Alaster was surprised by what he saw.

A large bipedal purple cat man. Most people would probably have wondered just what in the hell the cat man was. However, Alaster was no stranger to mutants. He was, however, curious as to who this guy was and what unholy amounts of brain damage this guy must have suffered to think that following him was a good idea. Alaster sighed. Was this another hero? A vigilante? Or just another nosy person who was sticking his nose where it didn't belong? Oh great, not another one! It did not matter. Alaster was tired of people interrupting his fun.

Upon hearing the cat man's words, Alaster blinked. Okay, what? Alaster decided to humor the cat man and respond to him. "All right, here are some questions I have for you. One, who in the bloody hell are you? Two, why are you poking your nose in matters that don't concern you? Three, what makes you think that this scumbag is anyone that's actually worth saving? And four..." Alaster gripped the handle of his concealed knife, but did not draw it out just yet. Perhaps there was no need to start a fight, but Alaster did not want to take any chances just in case. "...Don't you know the phrase 'Curiosity killed the cat?'"

Meanwhile, Moose remained on the floor. Struggling was pointless, as he knew that Crowley would attack him the instant he tried something. Moose looked at the big cat guy who just showed up from out of nowhere. Who was this feline? A friend, or foe? Regardless, Moose decided to wait and see just what would happen. Maybe there would be a way for him to get out of this if luck was on his side.

WORDS 630 TAGS Kenta Meinkun (The Codfather)
NOTES An incoming fight? Or nah?

Mr. Cat person didn't know who he was anymore? Alaster was not sure of what to make with that answer. He was hoping for at least some kind of alias if not a name. Oh well. Not like he really cared either way. The cat man then said that Alaster reminded him of someone he used to know. Alaster let out a chuckle as he retorted. "Oh really? So I'm guessing that means that you're well acquainted with a psychopath if I remind you of whoever that is." Really, Alaster could have just pretended that he was just a normal person. A normal person screwed and twisted by the darkness of society one too many times, but still a normal person. However, Alaster did not care about that. If society wanted to label him as a demon, then he would let them. He would accept and even embrace the role of unhinged twisted vile psychotic demon. After all, they were the ones who made him like that to begin with.

It seemed as though Alaster did not do a good enough job hiding his knife, as the cat man was able to guess what Alaster's intentions with Moose were. So much for avoiding a fight. The cat man then stated that Alaster could not just kill someone, at least not without good intentions. "Oh believe me, my reasons for killing this worthless scumbag are more than justified. Not that it's any of your concern." Evidently, it seemed as though this guy was not going to let it go, even going as far as to state that he would not allow Moose to be killed unless he knew what the scumbag did to Alaster.

"Oh really? You think you can stop me? Well feel free to try." Unfortunately, it seemed as though the cat man was about to do just that. Seeing the cat man run in to attempt to punch him, Alaster had no choice but to get his foot off of Moose and try to dodge the attack. With how slow the attack was, Alaster was only just able to get out of the way in time. Taking out his knife, Alaster began to try to attack back. However, Alaster was not used to close combat, as he was far more used to torturing his victims rather than actually fighting them. Therefore, the cat man would not have too much difficulty dodging.

Ignoring all of the cat man's words, Alaster tried to attack back with his knife. At this point, both were dodging each other's attacks. This battle was not yet going anywhere. However, the fight would soon stop. However, it was not because of either Alaster or the cat man getting hit. It was because Moose realized that with the fighting going on, he had an opening.

Before Alaster could respond, Moose made his move. Taking advantage of the fact that Alaster's attention was on the cat man rather than Moose, he quickly got up and then began to run, run as fast as he could. Moose did not care where his feet took him, as long as it was far away from the white-haired maniac. Alaster tried to give chase, but that was when the man grabbed him from behind, preventing Alaster from stopping Moose from fleeing. Once he was a safe distance away, Moose yelled out to Alaster before running off. "You're dead, Crowley! You hear me? DEAD!"

What. In. The actual. HELL! Alaster gritted his teeth in anger. His one chance to either get info on the gang, or at least vent a bit on the traitor. Gone. And all because of this nosy prick. Alaster managed to free himself from the man's hold on him. He could have easily kept attacking the cat man and try to kill him for interfering. But it was useless. Moose was already gone. Losing his desire to fight, Alaster put his knife away and sighed, punching the nearby wall in frustration. He then turned to face the cat man.

"Well I hope you're bloody satisfied! That traitorous prick got away because of you. There's no point in continuing this fight. God, why does everything have to be one fiasco after another for me?" First, the girl who stopped him from killing Spike in that alley, and now this. Just how many times would life try to go out of its way to screw him over before it was satisfied?

WORDS 741 TAGS Kenta Meinkun (The Codfather)
NOTES Nothing ever goes according to plan.

Alaster sighed. What else was there to do? Moose was long gone by now. Trying to track him down was pointless. Looking back to the cat man, Alaster supposed that there was no harm in letting him know just how much he screwed up by letting Moose run off. "Well if you must know, that man was part of a gang. The same gang I used to work with." Alaster had used the word 'with' rather than 'for', since he was subservient to no one. He was his own king, his own master. Everything he did that was not for his beloved Meiko's benefit was for his own.

"Loyalty. A word that may not mean anything to anyone anymore, but still holds great value in my eyes. I may not be the nicest guy around, but even I have my own sense of honor. I gave that gang everything. All of my effort, my dedication, my loyalty. Even when they showed just how bloody incompetent they were, I dealt with that. I put up with their shit and asked for nothing in return. All I wanted from them was their loyalty. Well, that and the money to support my girlfriend with. But of course, they don't see things the way I do. They blame me for their own folly and incompetence. They think it's okay to cast me aside after everything I've done for them! I gave them everything, and those bloody bastards thank me by trying to kill me! So excuse me for being upset and angry enough to want to kill them all!"

Alaster began to calm down. He had no idea why he just told any of this to a complete stranger. One who he was just fighting a few moments ago! Still, it seemed that Alaster just needed someone to vent to. It felt strange, but Alaster's mind was getting less clouded by vengeance and fury. In fact, he became eerily calm. He needed this. To clear his mind of rage and think of what to do next, to formulate a plan to punish that gang for what they did to him. "You know, I have no idea why I just vented to a complete stranger, but it actually helped. So thanks, I guess." Alaster decided that this cat could keep all nine of its lives. Just as long as he didn't try anything.

The cat man then offered Alaster a drink back at the cafe. Alaster half scoffed, half shrugged. "No thanks to the coffee. Those morons at that cafe have no idea how to brew a proper coffee. It's just dreadful! But... I suppose there's no harm in chatting back at the cafe. Far better than talking here in a dark alley, at any rate."

As Alaster walked back to the cafe with the cat man, he decided that introductions were in order. Thanks to Moose, the guy already knew Alaster's name, or at least his alias. Alaster doubted that he could ever trust anyone outside of Meiko with his true name. "Well then, tell me one thing? What is your name? Or at least the alias you wish for me to refer to you as? Or are you fine with being called Mr. Big Purple Cat?"

WORDS 543 TAGS Kenta Meinkun (The Codfather)
NOTES Well this is a strange but pleasant turn of events.

The more the cat man talked, the less annoyed Alaster became with him. The man actually gets it! Finally, someone else who saw things in a similar enough vein! With all of the idiots Alaster has gotten used to working with, he had almost forgotten that he and Meiko weren't the only people on Earth with a functional brain. Alaster listened to the cat man's story. If not for the fact that Alaster was a cold sadistic misanthrope whose sympathy for other people died a very long time ago, he would have actually showed some sympathy for the man. Still, at least Alaster could attempt to show that he at least had the decency to pretend to care.

"That's horrible. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Maybe that did not sound as genuine as it could have been. But hey, at least Alaster tried to care. One hundred and fifty percent effort put in.

As the two made their way back into the cafe, Alaster watched as cat man ordered the coffee. How he was able to stomach the disgusting sad excuse of a drink, Alaster did not know. Thankfully, Alaster would not be drinking any more coffee from this place again.

While the coffee was being prepared, the cat man finally revealed his name. Kenta Meinkun. Once his coffee was ready, Kenta revealed his alias to be... The Codfather. Alaster noticed the pun and sighed as he extended his hand out to shake Kenta's. Though to be fair, Alaster's own alias was a pun as well. Still, the Crow in Crowley was not pronounced the same way as the name of the bird (instead rhyming with wow), so it was more of a coincidence than an attempted pun. "Well it's nice to make your acquaintance, Codfather. At least it's not a stupid alias like Moose, Pex, or Spike." Seriously, why were the gang so lazy and lacking in creativity when it came to aliases?

Alaster listened with curiosity when Kenta said that he had a dream. "Really now? And just what is your dream? What do you hope to accomplish?"

WORDS 353 TAGS Kenta Meinkun (The Codfather)
NOTES To be fair, most villains have aliases that are lazy, unoriginal, bad jokes, stupid, or a combination of them all.

Alaster listened to Kenta speak about his dream. He said nothing and let Kenta speak without interruption. Alaster did not know what to think. Peace. On one hand, Alaster found that goal to be naive. Something that was impossible with the way the world was right now. As long as humans were the flawed, corrupt, vile, and destructive pieces of garbage that they were, there would never be peace. Not for Japan, and definitely not for anywhere on Earth. Even if it were possible, most humans were despicable scum. Shit like his father and the gang that betrayed him. People like that did not deserve peace. Only suffering, pain, and death.

On the other hand, Alaster would be lying if he said that there wasn't a tiny part of him deep down that wanted the same thing. A world without pain, without sorrow. One where Alaster would not have suffered the way he did throughout his childhood. One where nobody had to suffer like that unless they were actually shitty enough to deserve it. A world that was actually fair and just, not the false world of heroes with all the hypocrisy and corruption. A peaceful world where he and Meiko could be happy, where they would never need to worry about anything or anyone bothering them.

Such a dream seemed like nothing but just that. A dream. A long time ago, Alaster would not even have bothered. Such a thing was impossible to pull off. Even if it were possible, Alaster did not have a reason to want the world to be peaceful. There was no one Alaster cared about or even liked, no one who in his eyes did not deserve to burn in the fiery pits of hell. The whole world could continue to suffer for all he cared. But that was no longer the case. Now, Alaster did have a reason to want the world to be a peaceful one, a very good reason. Meiko, his beloved and the only person he genuinely gave a shit about. Alaster wanted to do everything he could to make her happy, to keep the smile on her beautiful face as radiant as possible. If that meant chasing after an impossible dream and somehow making the impossible a reality, then so be it. That was a goal worth aiming for.

Alaster then listened to Kenta talk about creating a gang.One powerful enough to take over all of Japan, one that could rule even over the likes of Thunder Shock. Alaster liked the idea of a gang, though not just for the reasons Kenta wanted to make it. With the power of a competent gang at his side, Alaster would be able to have the power to enact his plans for revenge against the traitorous gang. Not just that, but with the entire underground under his control, he would have the power to keep Meiko safe from anyone who would try to harm her. For a moment, Alaster entertained the idea of being a king. Ruling over Japan with his beloved queen at his side. A world like that. Even if it were improbable and even impossible, it was hell of a lot better than the current joke of a world he lived in right now. Once Kenta finished speaking, Alaster made his reply.

"You certainly dream big. A Japan filled with peace. Sounds like a dream only a fool would attempt to chase after. Still, if such a world is possible, if such a dream is actually achievable, then I want in. I'm sick of dealing with the hypocrisies, the stupidity, the failures of society and mankind in general. I'm sick of the horrid vile monsters that corrupt and twist innocents into becoming demons like me. If there is even a minute possibility of your dream being able to become a reality, then I will gladly lend you my support."

Obviously, Alaster was speaking in a low voice the whole time. The last thing the two of them needed was anyone listening in. "Of course, there are several things we need to discuss before we can even begin. First, there's obviously no way we can do anything on our own. We need numbers, a lot of numbers. What's your plan for that? Second, always keep in mind that I shall be working with you, not for you. Never forget that I am neither grunt nor servant. We are partners. And third..." Alaster began to smile. "We're going to need a name for this gang. It doesn't need to be complicated, but it should get the point across. The point that we're serious about our goal and that opposing us means death. After all, we can't be taken seriously if our organization's name is something ridiculous."

Was this going to be the beginning of something interesting? Alaster was looking forward to finding out.

WORDS 812 TAGS Kenta Meinkun (The Codfather)
NOTES Don't let your dreams be memes

Being a person with big dreams and ideas, it was good that Kenta had some form of plan to back that up. Alaster had no interest in allying himself with someone who had no idea what they were doing, so seeing that the cat man actually had answers to Alaster's questions ready was a good thing.

Alaster had no comment to make on Kenta's first answer. It wasn't an ideal solution, but it was acceptable enough. However, it was his second answer that really intrigued Alaster. He listened as Kenta explained his three rules. To sum it up, no killing innocents; only kill and torture criminals and vigilantes, while only doing so to heroes as a last resort; and finally, leaving the gang was fine unless rules one and two were broken. Despite these rules seeming like they would clash with the way Alaster worked, they actually did not do so all that much. Alaster only ever bothered torturing and killing either those he was paid to torture and kill, those who were pricks and had it coming to them, or those who personally screwed with him or Meiko. Killing innocents was something Alaster usually tried to avoid if he could manage it, and he never went after children. Even he had a moral code. If Alaster needed to abide by these rules, not much would change for him. It only meant slightly less people to kill.

"I see no issue. These rules do not clash with my philosophy, so following them is not something I'll lose sleep over."

After that, it was time to see what the name of their new gang would be. Alaster was not sure what to make of the name. The Violet Panthers. Violet was close to lavender, so Alaster was sure that Meiko would probably like the name if she were a part of the conversation. Kenta then explained the reasoning behind the name, and it made more sense. "Honestly, I don't care all too much for the name. At least it's simple and it works well enough. Then again, I don't really have any better names to suggest, so it's fine. I can work with Violet Panthers."

Alaster raised an eyebrow when Kenta suggested repaying him for letting Moose get away to show how serious he was about all this. But then Kenta made his suggestion, and Alaster's sadistic grin grew even wider.

"Excellent. I know a bar not too far from here. It's their usual hangout spot, so they're bound to be near the general area. I'm ready to go whenever you are." Alaster could just imagine all the fun he could have. The torturing of those traitors, the useful information they could squeeze out of the worthless fools before ending their equally worthless lives, the inevitable fall of that organization, and the eventual rise of a new group. One that, if they played their cards right, would take Japan by storm and become a force to be reckoned with. Or at least one that Alaster would not grow to loathe working with.

"Oh, I do look forward to working with you, partner."

WORDS 521 TAGS Kenta Meinkun (The Codfather)
NOTES The end of some things, and the beginning of others