Crime Dynasties! Ito & Nishimura
Previously, we talked about the Villareal dynasties and how they fit in with the Family Business. This time we're going over the Ito and Nishimura Clans.
Ito Clan:
The Ito Clan's emblem is an octagon with a dark green background and a blooming white flower. The family upholds ideals of Bold Adventure, Deviousness and cunning, and the Arts.
On the surface the Ito family was nothing more than famous athletes who wanted nothing more than to bring modern development to the mountain. However, Shigeru Nishidake knew the truth and fought their plans as much as he could without doing anything that might harm his family or the Ito children.
When Naoki and Kiyoshi both perished in a mountain climbing expedition, most people assumed it as a tragic accident. However, there were whispers from the shadows that there might be more to it than that. What really happened on Mt. Komorebi?
Megumi Ito [she/her - Head] would often tell Sachiko Nishidake that she did not want any part of this business, but with the tragic loss of her husband and oldest son, she felt obligated to take it on lest someone more nefarious take the reigns. Whether that was true matters little as she works hard to regain the ground the family has lost. She has been especially hard on her youngest son, Sho, moving him from heir to outcast whenever he balked at her attempts to arrange relationships for him. Now that he's run away, she is pretending to not care, but the truth is she's desperate to bring him back home. Perhaps her reasoning is tied to the tragedy on the mountain?
Nanami Ito [she/her - Heir] was always her father's favorite as he took delight in her casual thievery thinking she would go along way in the family business. However, her mother pushing Kiyoshi, and later Sho, to become heir caused a rift between them and has made her question her mother's leadership. Now there's a new addition to the family that might edge her out of her current seat as heir, and she's not happy about it.
Nanami brought her old high school friend, Wade Goth home to see if he would join the gang, but is starting to suspect his loyalties lie elsewhere...
Sho Ito [he/him - Outcast] fancies himself to be a menace, but truthfully he's a sweet boy who wants nothing more than to hang out with his cats and explore his new found love of karaoke. His mother was pushing him hard to develop a romantic relationship with Tayuka Miura in an effort to bring him and his family back under the Ito's control, but the boy was constantly mean to him, hurting his feelings.
When Nanami moved Wade Goth in, Megumi declared that Sho would be married to the older boy and moved Wade into his room. Terrified of what would happen, Sho instead found that Wade was helping him escape the situation by distracting his mom and sister.
He found his way to San Myshuno where he lives in hiding with a former family associate, Akira Kibo.
Raul Tamayo [he/him] didn't want much in life. He just wanted to dance and live with his boyfriend, Clint Wolfe. Clint loved the outdoors, and Raul wanted to be able to be there with him. His twin sister, Grace, convinced him to move in with a friend of hers after the two had a run in with their dad.
That friend turned out to be a vampire who turned Raul against his will. Devastated that he'd no longer be able to spend time with Clint outside while he worked on the garden, he decided he would do anything for a cure. Megumi, who already knew Clint, found out and offered to use her resources to get what he needed if he joined the family. Raul leapt at the opportunity, but is now wondering if she truly intends to hold up her side of the bargain, or is she counting on keeping him as is to use his occult power as muscle?
Kenji Nikishade [he/him - Potential Heir] is all too familiar with loss and mysteries. First the only parents he knew, Shigeru and Sachiko Nikishade, passed, and then shortly before Kaori died of heartbreak, he found out that she was really his mother all along. He lashed out at the people around him due to his pain and gained a reputation for being mean as a result. But under the meanness was the little boy who missed curling up with Kaori to read books.
Megumi had found out that Sachiko had adopted a baby, but the older woman refused to give many details about him. Because of this, she believed that Kenji might be Kiyoshi's son with Kaori, and made it a point to take the boy in after he lost both his great-grandparents and his mother.
Will Kenji accept the offer to become heir? Will he find out the truth of what happened to the father he never got to meet?
Family associates and rivalries: There is an unstated rivalry with the Villareal and Nishimura families. Sherry and Zoe Pancakes assisted Megumi by getting rid of a Villareal agent in Willow Creek in exchange for getting their old family home back. The Fengs in San Myshuno have been allies in the past, but with Victor's political career taking off they seem to be distancing themselves from the family. Wade Goth currently is living with the Ito family under the assumption that he's assisting the gang, but secretly he is spying on them for an unknown agency. Wade, having no intention on hurting the boy, made it possible for Sho to flee.
Akira Kibo [he/him] spent part of his younger years doing grunt work for the Itos before deciding to get away from that life. He'd been living a peaceful life in San Myshuno, especially after his cat won the lottery, and thought he'd never hear from the Ito family again.
Then he found Sho on his doorstep, exhausted and sobbing. As much as he wanted to close the chapter on that part of his past, he couldn't abandon the boy to his fate. Since taking him in, he's worked to teach him both how to use the sword and his voice. Though he'd admit it to very few people, he's come to see Sho as the younger brother he never had and will fight to keep him safe.
Nishimura Clan:
The Nishimura's emblem is similar in style to the Ito family's. It's an octagon with a red background and a blueish purple flower in the center. The family's ideals include bold adventure, deviousness and cunning, and jolly merrymaking.
The three brothers, Toru, Takuya, and Yutaka, were still kids whenever their father was killed after failing to repay a debt to the Ito family. Their mother took them to Oasis Springs in hopes that the distance would keep them safe, and for some time it did. However, whenever she tried to visit family in Mt. Komorebi, she never returned.
Despite the brothers having the Miura family name, they opted to choose their mother's family name for their family. Currently, the family has no heir.
Toru Miura [he/him - Head] was a teenager whenever his mother vanished and left him to raise his two younger brothers. He was a bully who often found himself bullied in turn because of his appearance. While Yutaka was young enough to not resist his attempts at parenting, Takuya was closer in age and pushed back at almost every attempt. Despite this, he did his best to care for them, and started working out so he could be strong enough to protect them as well.
Now as a young adult, he's very much so a family man. He briefly had a fling with Celeste Zest-Charm (and quietly is glad he dodged that bullet), and has remained friends with her. She is the reason he met his current partner, Callen Romero. Toru and Callen have a son together, Hiroki, but things aren't going great. The musician seems to care more about his career than his son and has expressed doubts about marrying into a "pack of criminals". Toru has vowed that whatever happens with Callen, Hiroki will remain in the family.
Takuya Miura [he/him] is a fresh young adult and a pro-hacker. Of the three brothers, Takuya is the most abrasive and volatile, frequently yelling at both of them. Equal parts asshole and still hurting from the loss of family, he is happiest whenever he's alone at his computer breaking into websites and databases and discovering secrets. He refuses to acknowledge it, but becoming an uncle is something he genuinely is excited about. He often wanders in to watch Hiroki and doesn't mind having the infant around.
If he has any regrets in his young life, then it's Sho Ito. Toru warned him that the boy might be pushed to pursue him romantically so they could pull them back under the Ito family's thumb, so he wasn't surprised whenever Sho started flirting. He wasn't sure if he held actual feelings for him or was acting out on his mother's demands, but regardless he pushed Sho away. Somewhere deep inside of him, he didn't want to be as mean as he was to him, and it hurt seeing those big eyes be so sad. Takuya sometimes imagines what could have been in another life if both of their family situations weren't so damn complicated...
Yutaka Miura [he/him] is the youngest brother and does not remember their parents. Despite his difficult relationship with Takuya, Yutaka admires him and frequently seeks him out to talk. He has learned to yell back whenever Takuya tries being mean to him; much to Takuya's delight and Toru's dismay. Will having two mean older brothers make him mean in turn?
Hiroki Miura [he/him] has no good pictures because of how protective his dad, Toru, is of him and certainly not because the Watcher forgot.
Family associates and rivalries: Undeclared rivalry with the Ito Clan
Jeffrey Caliente [he/him] and Grace Tamayo [she/her] are vampires living in the same neighborhood as the Nishimura clan. Toru has sought their help to strengthen the family's hold on the area, but their willingness to help covers up a much darker goal. Jeffrey is the one behind Raul being turned, and he wants to turn more people whether they are willing or not. If there's anything going in Toru's favor is simply that Jeffrey is more brawn than brains, and Grace is too caught up in exploring her newfound powers to care much about anything else.
Billie Jang [she/her] sometimes works with the gang as part of her goal to protect the Arts Center in San Myshuno and to expose the corruption of the Fengs. However, she often wonders if her work with Nishimuras is any different than the Fengs with the Ito family...
For anyone who wants to know what Really happened to Kiyoshi and Naoki:
