Kurokumo Clan

Overview	Episode 1

“	Whatever goods the head honchos take interest in are naturally gonna attract the attention of those below them. The Thumb or the Index probably won't take action for now, but their subordinates are nothing to sneeze at.	”
–Roland, Kurokumo Clan Episode 1, Pre-Battle

The Kurokumo Clan is a subsidiary Syndicate of The Thumb. Distinguishable by its achromatic colors, irezumi-style augmentation tattoos, and katanas, they seek to benefit from the collapse of Lobotomy Corporation by taking over the territory of the fallen Wing. It is the fourth Syndicate group to be invited to the Library, making up Chapter 2.1 of  Urban Plague.

Composition

Character	Description
Sayo	Sayo is a captain of the Kurokumo Clan and the leader of the group forced into the Library following Tanya's ultimatum. She is prideful, soft-spoken, and haughty. She wields a katana in combat.
Yang	Yang is an enforcer under the command of Sayo. Despite his amicable exterior, he is ruthless and holds little compassion for those who are underneath him. He wields a katana in combat.
Gin	Gin is an enforcer under the command of Sayo. He is staunchly loyal, methodical, and precise. He wears an eyepiece over his right eye and wields a katana in combat.
Kurokumo Henchman	A katana-wielding underling of the Kurokumo Clan.

Story

Kurokumo Clan

Pre-Battle

Sayo and her subordinates order the hapless Nest residents' evictions

Sayo and her enforcers are shown in an apartment somewhere in the former Nest of L Corp, threatening its occupants for failing to pay them protection money. Despite their pleas, the Kurokumo group shows no sympathy for the former Nest residents, even claiming they would be much worse off under under the Ring's "protection." They drag the occupants outside, where Gin cuts off one arm from each of them. Sayo, angered by the easy lifestyle of Nest residents compared to the struggles of Backstreets dwellers like her, orders Yang to cut out one of their eyes each as well. She then orders for the occupants to be evicted before they all depart. Sayo's group needs to finish delivering the Nuovo Fabric produced by The Carnival, and Sayo has Gin and Yang update her on the current situation in L Corp's Nest as they leave.

When they regroup in the residential area, Sayo and her enforcers are surprised to see their subordinates being attacked by Tanya. Sayo briefly insults Tanya before they start to fight, seeming to outnumber her by about a hundred to one. Instead, Tanya defeats all of the henchmen at the scene and forces the survivors to kneel before her. Tanya briefly muses about her desire for power and wealth and executes a Kurokumo henchman before ordering Sayo to hand over the Nuovo Fabric, unfazed by Sayo's threat that the Thumb will target her for this action. Tanya reveals that her boss wants her to steal this fabric to make uniforms before their "performance."

The Kurokumo trio kneels before Tanya

Tanya also orders Sayo to take all her surviving forces into the Library. Sayo and Yang cause Tanya to reveal some of her boss' goals. He wants to clear out the Syndicates fighting over Nest L, take the Thumb's Nuovo Fabric to create fancy uniforms for their "ensemble," and also help the Library in the process, all in order to stage some sort of performance. She refuses to elaborate further and hands Sayo the Library's invitation. Sayo hesitates for some time and only moves when Tanya threatens to kill her. Tanya mocks Sayo and the Kurokumo as they leave.

Back in the Library, Roland describes the situation in L Corp's Nest to Angela. The Nest without a Wing's control devolves into lawlessness, while Syndicates come to fill the power void and fight for control of the territory. Eventually, a new Wing will be assigned the former Wing's Nest and will have to reclaim the land from the holding Syndicates, either with money or with violence. Meanwhile, the former Nest's residents are doomed to suffer misfortune. Afterwards, Angela tells Roland that Tanya is a special case of the Distortion who has maintained her reason.

Sayo enters the Library, angered by Tanya, while Gin and Yang calm her down. She concedes that the Library's books will benefit them greatly if they manage to survive. Angela and Gin trade barbs about the blood on each other's hands on her arrival, but Sayo and her enforcers instead chat about what they will do to relax after leaving the Library. Angela breaks them up and ushers them into the Library.

Post-Battle

Roland worries that more factions fighting over L Corp's Nest will target the Library, particularly the Thumb, the Index, and Tanya's third party. Roland believes that receiving the Fingers' subordinates will benefit the Library, but is cautious about escalating the situation further. Angela doesn't mind as long as she can advance her goal.

Background

The Kurokumo Clan is a Syndicate active in the southern parts of the City (but otherwise unheard of in the north). Its members wear casual clothing in distinctly dark colors and can also be identified by the dark cloud irezumi patterns of their augmentation tattoos. As a powerful Syndicate of the Backstreets, the Kurokumo Clan gains money and influence from controlling territory and extorting its inhabitants for "protection money." To that ends, the Kurokumo Clan's large size benefits it in territorial disputes, especially when fighting to control the grounds of former Nests whose controlling Wings have fallen.

The Kurokumo Clan is a subordinate of the Thumb and must obey its orders. Due to its particularly large size, the Kurokumo Clan is well suited for carrying out various odd jobs and low-priority duties. Despite this, the subsidary status still has major benefits for the clan. It secures their position and even increases their power, since making an enemy of a Thumb subsidiary is effectively making an enemy of the Thumb, and the Kurokumo Clan knows this well.

There are three known ranks in the clan. Vice captains command small groups of clan members while captains lead much larger units (approximately 100 henchmen work under Sayo, according to Tanya's estimate.) The Kurokumo Clan Patriarch is the leader of the entire clan.

The Kurokumo Clan is one of the Syndicates involved in the war for Nest L, successfully taking control of some territory despite suffering heavy losses. It is able to win against multiple other Syndicates, including the Rusted Chains and the Blade Lineage. However, after the involvement of The Index and a mysterious third party, the Kurokumo Clan is ordered by the Thumb to abandon the territorial conflict over Nest L, and they have no choice but to obey, leaving the conflict.

The Distortion Detective

The Kurokumo Clan makes an appearance in chapter 29 of The Distortion Detective. As Moses, Ezra, and Vespa Crabro drive through Nest L, they are stopped by a group of Kurokumo Clan members who extort them for cash to guarantee "safe passage" through their territory, forcing Ezra to give up 10 million Ahn. Moses is unfamiliar with this group but can tell that they are experienced at the classic Syndicate act of extortion.

The person extorting Moses' group introduces herself as Vice Captain Yuri and gives Ezra a black plastic plate which will apparently guarantee her safe passage through all Kurokumo land in the future. Yuri prepares to let them leave, but Vespa instead slaughters every Kurokumo Clan member at the location, recovering the 10 million Ahn taken from them.

In the following chapter, Moses and co. discuss Vespa's actions; he justifies it as retribution for their killings of various people who could not afford their toll. They also note that the plate has the Kanji for "Kurokumo Clan" written on it.

Key Page stories

Sayo’s Page

The Hand of the Backstreets is possibly the biggest reason no one dares to take care of the lawless land that is the Backstreets; no Associations or Wings can touch it, and not even the Head itself can easily interfere. The five Syndicates at the apex of the Backstreets are called the Thumb, the Index, the Middle, the Ring, and the Pinky, namely. They parcel out districts of the Backstreets and comprehensively manage their territories, and periodically hold meetings to efficiently control the Backstreets. They call this conference the “Finger Bow-Bell”; I’m uncertain as to whether this name is meant to suggest that they actually make pinky swears not to invade each other’s territories, or if they call it as such simply because the Fingers gather in one place… The mind of higher-ups is a mystery, truly. Going back to the topic, when the Finger Bow-Bell nears, all members of the five Fingers will try to avoid conflict and refrain from causing big problems. It’s thanks to the leaders of each Syndicate who caution their subordinates that fights between smaller Syndicates could grow into a massive conflict between the big ones, perhaps… If subsidiary Syndicates ran into trouble, the seniors at the Finger Bow-Bell would be faced with quite the embarrassment, now wouldn’t they?

Yang’s Page

There are two kinds of folks who hang around in the Backstreets at night: the predator and the prey. Pretty much everything going on in the City can be described as ‘savage’, but the other parts of the City at least put up the effort to package them in gentlemanly guises. Even a cheap hamburger made from whatever unspeakable ingredients is still wrapped in a modern and rich packing, yeah? On the other hand, the Backstreets at night are filled with raw and blatant barbarity; not even a layer of crude cover is there to censor this brutality. No deed is forbidden… No one is held responsible. Imagining the most appalling, vulgar, and filthy deed you can think of. I won’t dare say “beyond your imagination” since I have no idea how insane you might be. But I can guarantee that whatever you’re thinking casually happens somewhere in the dark alleys of the Backstreets at night. Despite all that, people still inhabit the Backstreets. They doggedly struggle and survive in their own ways here.

Gin’s Page

A fallen Nest no longer has an owner to protect its inhabitants. What happens to them, then? In the wreckage of the Nest that’s gradually turned into an environment similar to the Backstreets, all they can do is accept horrible deaths as Backstreets residents do or hire a Fixer… Or pay protection fees to one of the powerful Syndicates that enter the Nest and be under their care. Some move to a different Wing, but this is an exceptionally rare case. The Syndicate may charge ridiculously expensive fees, but they will keep you safe for sure once you pay them. (If an even stronger Syndicate comes in, drives off the others, and asks you to pay a protection fee… Then there’s no choice but to give your new protectors what they ask for.) They’ll protect you with their lives as long as you still have money to pay. The assets will become useless when you die anyhow, so you might as well spend it to extend your life for just a little longer. The former feathers don’t have a choice in this matter. If they don’t pay the fee, they’ll die or get kicked out. It would be a miracle to walk out unharmed.

A Kurokumo Henchman’s Page

“You hear that news? We’re about to collide with Kingfishers again.” “Kingfishers? Don’t remember that name at all. Were they a real thing?” “You know, the Syndicate that’s been struggling with finance and feuds between members recently. They seemed to be getting back on their feet after raiding the Constellars, but it looks like that didn’t last long.” “They were irrelevant chumps, so I completely forgot about ‘em.” “The Knots seemed to be after them… Maybe they finally hit ‘em.” “Weaklings will get hounded.” “And now they’ve been trying to invade our territory, desperate to loot anything.” “Doesn’t matter. Their names wouldn’t be so unmemorable if they were any strong. Taking ‘em down shouldn’t be a problem.” “And the Fixers at Clam Office that were cooperating with them from the back are gone, too…” “Clam? What are they about?”

Battle Symbols

There are 3 Battle Symbols associated with this guest group; see their reception page for more details.

Trivia

• The Kurokumo Clan is based on the Japanese yakuza. "Kurokumo" is the English romanization of "black cloud," referring to their irezumi tattoos which are generally associated with the yakuza.
• Project Moon scenario writer Kim Jiyun describes the Kurokumo Clan as "the kind of people who kneel before those who are stronger."
• The Kurokumo Clan is featured in several character Identities in Limbus Company, as well as in Dante's Notes. These sources show several more ranks in the clan, and also some additional details, such as that the clan has a very rigid hierarchy and expanding on its mentioned conflict with the Blade Lineage.
  • The Kurokumo Clan features as antagonists in Intervallo III-2 of Limbus Company.

Gallery

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  Sayo
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  Yang
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  Gin
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  Nest Dweller - Resident 1
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  Nest Dweller - Resident 2
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  Dialogue background 1: An Apartment in L Corp's Nest
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  Dialogue background 2: L Corp's Nest - Residential Area

External Links

• Kurokumo Clan on the Limbus Company wiki