NOTE: Hello! This story is, of course, about how Saki became someone tough enough to rule all of Kyushu, but it's also how she became the loveable leader we know from the series too. I want to, as best I can, write her character development so that there are some changes as she goes through her conquest, while still keeping her overall 'in character' throughout.

This chapter doesn't feature Korosuke, but rest assured Dorami's rival gang will be making plenty of appearances.

Last thing, this fic is based on the lore up to and including episode 12. I don't think anything in future seasons will affect the setting of this story, but if anything comes up and it doesn't match what I'm doing here, then that's why.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Zombieland Saga in any way and make no claim to ownership of the characters in this story.

Chapter 1: My First Real Fight

A lot of people have regrets in life. They carry their regrets around forever and then die wishing they'd done everything differently. I don't have regrets. I lived without regrets and I died without regrets. That's what being a biker's about. You know, people don't appreciate bikers. They see you're wearing a biker jacket and they think you're lookin' to start shit, and all right, maybe some of the time we were out lookin' to start shit, but usually that shit was with other bikers and honestly, most of the time we just wanted to ride. I'm the same now as when I was alive. I love riding, I love my tamagotchi, and I fucking love Drive-in Tori. I actually had my first real fight at Drive-in Tori. Not some little kid's punch up or a drag race, but a real fight. The kinda fight that leaves you with scars to tell your grandkids about. Most people would quit being a biker after something like that, but me? Nah. If anything it made me hungrier. It was the beginning of my ambition to conquer all of Kyushu.

See it all went down one night in December. I think it was '93 cos Dorami was still small, only six members or so. That night though it was just me and Reiko. We'd been down at the karoke place near Gion Park, Imari city. My house was right in the centre of the city but actually I lived with Reiko, on the outskirts. It's one of those things, you know? When your parents make you choose between living with them or keeping your bike, what choice do you have, really? I mean it wasn't easy leaving, but I knew who I was. I knew who I wanted to be. There was no way I was gonna just graduate, get married and settle down. No chance in hell.

Anyway, back to Drive-in Tori. Now I'm sure you can understand that when one gang meets another gang, it usually gets pretty messy. When you and your crew park up at a yakitori place like Drive-in Tori, you make sure to park the bikes where they can be seen, so rival gangs know to stay the fuck away. It works better when you have ten, twenty bikes all lined up, of course, and we only had two. That said, we were a pretty well-known gang, even then. Imari was unequivocally our turf. Especially the stretch of National Route 202 that passed through Saga prefecture. We drove along it together every night, riding through the mountains in the darkness. We used to go all the way up from Nagasaki city to Fukuoka city. When we weren't on Route 202 we rode along the Imari waterfront. The lights were really pretty you know. You stop being just some schoolkid when you're on your custom bike with the wind in your hair. Nothing mattered when I was riding. It was just me and my bike and my crew. Sometimes when we were riding we got into a small fights of course, but as I said before, none of those compared to what happened that night in December.

I had a piece of fried chicken in my mouth when they barged in. I think they meant to look intimidating as they walked up to the cash register but they just looked like they'd crapped their pants. They were dressed completely in black, and on the back of their long jackets was the word SCREAMERS, which looked just as cheesey as it sounds.

For a while they all stood around smirking to themselves, then finally one of them leaned on the counter and said, "I'm Ryunosuke Himura, the 4th leader of SCREAMERS," he made sure to emphasise the 'screamers', "and I want a Number One Meal for me and my crew, on the house."

The cashier had no idea how to respond to that. She might as well have been a corpse she was so rigid. Her mouth was a perfect blow-up-doll 'O'. Luckily the manager was right behind her. He shuffled her to one side, stood in her place with his arms folded and simply said, "Get out."

The manager had never been particularly cool with me and Reiko bringing our crew to his restaurant. He'd always stare over at our table. You could look him right in the eye as you ate and he still wouldn't break eye contact. Sometimes I used to wonder if he ever blinked. Our relationship was strained to say the least, and he was far from my favourite guy, but in that moment I can honestly say he gained my respect. He was outnumbered at least six to one, not including any SCREAMERS members that might be waiting outside, and yet he stood there looking like he didn't give a single shit. He really had guts. Naturally Ryunosuke, Mr. '4th Leader', wasn't impressed with being told to leave. I mean, I wouldn't like it either, but at least my gang wasn't called something stupid like SCREAMERS.

"Don't start a fight you can't handle, old man."

His buddies started kicking chairs over. The restaurant fell silent. I could tell shit was about to go down, and if shit was going down, then I wasn't gonna be left out of it! No way was I gonna let these guys wreck my favourite yakitori spot. I cracked my knuckles. I felt Reiko's hand on my shoulder. I looked at her and could see in her eyes that she felt the same as I did. Two versus six, maybe three versus six if the manager was as tough as he acted. Not great odds, but a biker never backs down.

"Get out," the manager growled, "or I'll call the police."

"Oh no," Ryunosuke mocked, holding his hands up to his cheeks, "not the police! What will we do, guys?"

On cue, the SCREAMERS crew all pulled out these fuck-off huge knives, which gleamed under the yellowing fluorescents. Suddenly things were a lot more serious. Your standard hand-to-hand brawl I could handle. But this? Man, fighting against even a normal person with a knife would be tough, but these guys seemed so desperate to prove how hardcore they were, I had no idea how far they were willing to go.

"What will you do old man?" Ryunosuke said, holding his knife towards the manager, "Do you think the police will save you?"

I couldn't wait any longer, I had no choice. I stood up; Reiko followed. Ryunosuke's goons hadn't noticed us yet cos they were too busy ogling their reflections in their toys. They were ridiculous. They were unpredictable. They were the most dangerous opponent I'd ever faced in my life up to that point. I'm not gonna lie, I was afraid. But you don't let fear stop you. Fear likes to make you think it's more than you, likes to make you think that there's always worse. But when you're like me you know, fear is nothing when you face it head on. Fear has no power over people who act with guts.

"Oi," I barked at Ryunosuke, "Drive-in Tori is our turf. Do what the manager said, and get out."

That got his attention. I stared straight into his eyes as he looked at me. He didn't seem afraid, and that pissed me off.

"And you are?" he said.

Reiko stepped forward, "I'm Reiko Kirishima, first leader of Dorami, and this is Saki Nikaido, the first captain of the kamikaze-"

"Captain?" he laughed, "this is too much."

"You wanna die, asshole?" I snarled.

"Jesus, you're even more ridiculous than your bikes. When I saw them I knew they belonged to a pair of schoolgirls, and sure enough, I was right."

"The only ridiculous thing here is your stupid gang name. You come in here with that knife like you're hot shit, but really you're just a pussy who picks fights with people who won't fight back, aren't you?"

That wiped the smile off his face. He motioned with his hand and his crew started walking towards us. I didn't have long to react. I'd fought idiots before, but never idiots who were actually willing to use their weapons properly. I took a deep breath and reminded myself of who I was. I'm Saki Nikaido, I thought, no biker or cop can stop me. Not even death itself can stop me. These fuckers don't stand a chance.

I charged in. There were two guys in front of me. They didn't expect me to make the first move. They lunged forward with their knives but they were too slow, and I smacked them both down with a lariat – one arm for each goon's head. The remaining three idiots were on Reiko. She had one in a headlock but the other two had her cornered. Even from across the room I could see the red gash on her arm from where one of them managed to get a slice in.

"Reiko!" I screamed, but before I could get anywhere near her Ryunosuke had his arm round my throat.

"What's the hurry, Saki?" I felt the edge of his knife pressing into my cheek, "You wouldn't wanna lose an ear, would you?"

"I'm gonna crush your nuts under my feet, you worm!"

He knee'd me in the back, "You should've minded your own business. Now you're gonna have to watch your friend die."

"You haven't got the guts."

"Typical woman. You talk big, and have nothing to back it up."

"I have more power in my little finger than you do in your entire body."

"Then why am I winning?"

He was right, he was winning. Even the guy Reiko had in a headlock was starting to break free. She was keeping the other two away with her feet alone. Ryunosuke pushed the knife against my cheek hard enough to break skin. I gritted my teeth. My heart was beating so loud I could feel it in my ears. I could also feel Ryunosuke's breath against my neck. His face was close, very close. All it'd take is one headbutt to crack his nose. It wouldn't matter if he got my ear. Reiko was more important. I couldn't let anything happen to her.

The guy Reiko was holding elbowed her over and over in the gut till she was forced to let go. Now she was grounded, clutching her stomach, helpless.

"Kick the shit out of her," yelled Ryunosuke, "make sure she's unrecognisable by the end of it."

They started stomping on her. No fucking way was I gonna just stand by and watch. As the 4th SCREAMERS leader pushed his knife deeper into my flesh, I steeled myself to headbutt him. I was gonna lose an ear. I was ready for it. That's how it was gonna go down. But somehow fate stepped in to save my ass, and by fate, I mean the manager.

"Leave those girls alone, you scum!" he cried out. That distracted Ryunosuke just enough to give me the opening I needed. I thrusted my head back as hard as I could, ramming my skull into his cheekbone. I wanted it to be his nose but I guess he turned his head when he heard the word 'scum'. I pushed his arms away from my neck, and as he staggered back I ripped the knife from his hands. I'd deal with him later. Reiko needed me now.

The SCREAMERS attacking Reiko seemed not to have heard the commotion behind them. No time to waste, I cracked one over the head with the knife's handle, sending him to the ground. I immediately swung round and slashed another one across the face. By the time the last one standing realised what was going on I was already on him. He was down in seconds, but I didn't stop. I dropped the knife. I wasn't even thinking anymore. I needed to punch something. I needed to hear his bones crack under my fists.

"Saki!"

Reiko's voice snapped me out of my rage. The goon whose face I'd been pounding looked more like a beetroot than a human being. For a moment it felt like I was floating out of my own body. I did that, I thought. I looked at my knuckles: red, bloody and scratched. I felt so fucking hardcore.

This is what a real fight feels like.

I blinked hard a couple times and cleared my head. Reiko. I needed to take care of Reiko. She was in bad shape but not as bad I thought she'd be; she had a black eye and her arm was screwed, but the rest of her seemed okay. I helped her off of the floor and into a nearby seat.

"You good?"

She nodded.

"Good."

I looked to see if Ryunosuke was still around. Sure enough, he was. Gotta give it to him, not running away when your gang is getting taken out right in front of you? That takes guts, even if he was a coward for picking on Drive-in Tori in the first place.

"Do you understand now, Ryunosuke?" I growled, "Imari is Dorami turf. Drive-in Tori is Dorami turf. If I see you or any of your gang around here again, you won't be walking out of here alive."

He seemed distracted. Maybe he was looking for a spare knife, maybe he just couldn't believe his whole crew had been taken out by a pair of schoolgirls.

"I'm not afraid of you," he mumbled, sounding about as threatening as a grumpy two year-old.

"Prove it. Fight me right here, no knives."

He kept looking at the door.

"Come on!" I yelled, "Do you want this, or not? You're a man aren't you? Fight like one!"

He remained silent. I was done waiting. If he thought he could beat on my best friend and then just pussy out of a fight, he had another thing coming.

As soon as I took my first step he was out the door. I ran after him. He ran right through the parking lot and kept going off into the distance. I stopped and watched him. He ran and ran for ages, till he was going down Route 202 on foot.

"What the fu-"

Then they were on me. I hadn't noticed them waiting round the corner of the building, out of sight. He'd had backup all along. He never intended fighting fairly. What a fucking coward.

I don't know how many there were, but I do know a baseball bat, probably the one I left on my bike, smacked me across the back of the head. After that it was all boots and stomping. I didn't actually fear for my life; I just felt anger. All of my limbs were burning with anger, and probably also pain and a bit of adrenaline, but honestly I wasn't even aware of them. I might as well have been asleep. I was out of it, in my own world, thinking about making sure that the next time I saw Ryunosuke, I'd break his nose properly. Smash it into a million tiny pieces, grind him into the dirt like the worm he is.

At some point they stopped. When they stopped, so did my numbness and oh god the pain. They did a number on me. I looked up and I thought I saw Buddha for a second, but actually it was just the manager carrying a silver katana. He offered me hand.

"Thanks."

"No," he replied, "thank you."

"Really? You're thanking me even though I started a fight in your restaurant?"

He gave me a sage look. Or maybe it was a normal look and my mind was still confusing him with Buddha.

"I've called the police," he said, "Does your mother know you're here?"

"She doesn't care what I do or where I go anymore."

Reiko hobbled out the front door.

"Saki, I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything..."

"Don't be," I replied, "they caught me by surprise."

"We should go."

I bowed to the manager, "Thanks again for saving me."

He bowed in return, then headed back inside Drive-in Tori.

Reiko and I shuffled over to our bikes. It was a good thing her house wasn't far away, cos we were in no way fit to ride after that mess. Really we should've gone to the hospital, but a couple of schoolgirls turning up looking like we did would've caused a real stir. We didn't need that, nor did Reiko's mother.

Driving down Route 202, beaten and bruised, life felt more real to me than it ever had before. I saved people's lives, I almost died, I kicked major ass. I really lived that night. I didn't half-ass anything. In my mind I played it over and over. The me that can take on two guys at once with my bare hands, the me that can beat a guy within an inch of his life. I knew I had that power in me, but I didn't really know it. It was just a thought in my head, a daydream. But here I was, on my bike, a real biker, having just for-real defended my territory in an actual fight with actual weapons, and I even got thanked for it.

I knew then that this was what I wanted. That freedom. That feeling of being unstoppable. I knew without a doubt that I was a biker, through and through, and I knew that I needed more, I knew that I could be more. This was just the beginning.

As I laid my aching body down on my futon on Reiko's bedroom floor I knew I wasn't gonna get any sleep that night. Instead I just closed my eyes and dreamed of all the things I could be. All the places I could conquer. I dreamed of Imari, I dreamed of Saga, I dreamed of all of Kyushu.

Then, in spite of myself, I fell asleep anyway.