(A/N: This story is dedicated to Cristina "Vee" Valenzuela, a very popular VA in the internet world who attained the role of Mio in the official English dub of K-On!)
The Akiyama Connection
(秋山の因縁)
It has been a few months since four men restored peace in a small red-light district in Tokyo called Kamurocho. Since then, there was little to no activity coming from any yakuza family, whether or not they are part of the Tojo Clan. There were still ordinary citizens littering the streets of Kamurocho, but there were a handful of shady characters still roaming, from street gang members to yakuza gangsters.
Rising atop a building on Tenkaichi Street is an office called "Sky Finance". Inside is very messy with books and paper all over the desks. There is also a bulletin board with papers pinned on it. There is one neat aspect. The safe, some filing cabinets, furniture and plants are lined up neatly near the walls.
A black, short but, nicely gel-haired man with black pants and a red-violet suit with a black shirt underneath laid himself on the sofa reading a gossip magazine. He said as he read, "A young girl band... How neat it will be."
He tossed the magazine down, showing an image of five high school girls with their instruments: A brunette, somewhat mop-haired girl with a Heritage Cherry Sunburst Gibson Les Paul electric guitar, a blonde girl with a hairband carrying a pair of drum sticks, a black long-haired girl with a 3-colour Sunburst Fender Jazz Bass guitar, a blonde long-haired girl with a Korg Triton Extreme 76-key keyboard and a odd-ponytailed black-haired girl with a Fender Mustang electric guitar. The image also contained the words in Japanese: "Hokago Tea Time is coming to Kamurocho!"
The man decided to take a nap. And then, the office phone rang. He didn't budge to pick it up as he slept. The phone kept ringing for a good minute and a half. Then, the ringing stopped.
And then... It happened.
The door opened. The man woke up and cried out as he got up, "Aah! Sorry! Come in! Have a seat."
A black long-haired girl wearing a high school uniform approached the man. She was slightly shorter than him. She asked, "Is this Sky Finance?"
"It was tough to find, wasn't it?" The man said, "Please sit." The girl walked to the sofa. The man sat on the sofa across from her.
He then asked her, "What's your business here?"
"Er..." Then, she took off her sunglasses. They revealed her hazel eyes. The man suddenly realized... It was the bassist girl from the image in the article he was reading a minute ago!
"My name is Mio Akiyama..." the girl nervously began, "I'm part of an all-girl band called "Hokago Tea Time". I think you have... heard of us somewhere."
"Ah..." the man replied, "I was just reading about you girls. I heard you made some good music."
Mio chuckles for a bit. Then, the man asks, "What is it that you exactly want?"
"Umm… the thing is…" Mio began nervously, "You see, it's…"
Then, she began, "I heard you lend money to people without guarantors or insurers. Is that right?"
"All right. What is it you want to tell me?" The man asks,
Mio was silent for a bit. "You don't want to say." The man said, "It's OK, then. Well… it doesn't matter what you need the money for. 'Other places won't lend you money but I'. That's how you heard about me, isn't it? So… in the end, it doesn't really matter what you want the money for."
He then took out a cigarette from his pack. He then took out his lighter. He lit the cigarette and began smoking for a bit. "So, then, how much money will you need to lend this evening?"
Mio remained silent for a long time. The man then said, "If you don't tell me how much you want, then there's not much I can help you with."
Then, Mio spoke slowly. "I would like... ¥500,000... Before tomorrow night."
"¥500,000?" The man asked,
"Yes." Mio replied,
The two remained silent at the moment, until... "Do you have any guarantors?" The man asked,
"No." Mio answers
"Anyone to deposit to?"
"No."
The man then put out his cigarette on the ashtray. "You've got no guarantors... You don't have anyone to deposit to... And, you want ¥500,000." He said, recollecting the facts, "Do you realize what are you telling me?"
"I'm sorry!" Mio cried apologetically as she got up, "I knew it would be impossible! I knew Ritsu would mess this up for us! I'm sorry!"
She quickly bows, then said, "I'm sorry if I wasted your time. Have a good day. Goodbye."
"Wait a minute." The man said,
Mio grunted. "I didn't say you aren't allowed to lend that much money. Why don't we talk over green tea?"
"So..." Mio asked after being served some green tea, "How does this whole money-lending thing work?"
"I'm different than many moneylenders." the man answers, "For one thing, I give people tests."
"Tests?" Mio asked,
"Yes." The man answered, "I ask people to do things like volunteer at senior centres, help out at an event, things like that. It's to show how worthy my clients are of their request for the money being asked."
''I see." Mio said,
"The difficulty of the tests vary." The man said, "Sometimes it is based on how much the person borrows from me."
"So..." Mio asked, "In my case, my test is going to be hard?"
"Could be." The man answers,
"And should you fail this test, then it shows me that you're wasting my time." The man said, then he asked sternly, "Are you sure that you're going to take this test?"
Mio then sipped her green tea in its entirety, then she said with confidence, "Please... Let me take the test."
"All right." The man said, "I'll let you know the details momentarily."
Then, he heard his cell phone go off. "Please excuse me." he said as he answered his phone.
"OK." Mio acknowledged,
The man answered his phone. "Hello?"
"Ah. You picked up!" a young woman on the other line cried, "Where are you right now?"
"Er... Uh..." The man said, "I am with a customer at the moment."
"Oh. OK." the young woman replied back, "Work hard! OK, Boss? I'll be buying a kalbi lunch from Kanrai. Goodbye!" She then hung up.
The man closed his cell phone and spoke to Mio some more.
The two walked out of the front door. "So, you understand my conditions?" The man asked,
"So... I gather all of the band and... Play a live show for you?" Mio asked,
The man nodded and gave Mio his business card. It read the company name, Sky Finance. It also read a name... Shun Akiyama. It also read his position, which is Executive Director.
"Thank you very much, Akiyama-san." Mio said and bowed
"I'll be waiting for you tomorrow." the elder Akiyama replied and bowed
Mio then walked downstairs to the street level. She smiled back at Shun before turning around and heading back to Tenkaichi Street.
The next day, Shun awoke from his nap, and looked at his watch. Mio was scheduled for an appointment at 8:00 AM. It was 8:15 AM. "Isn't miss Akiyama coming, boss?" a young woman asked, sitting on a desk, handling some paperwork.
"Yeah." Shun admitted, in a unhappy mood, "But, I haven't heard anything from her, Hana-chan."
"Something will come up, boss." Hana, the red-haired ponytailed young woman wearing a light blue shirt with a blue vest, said, "I'm sure she made the commitment to us when she made that huge loan."
"True." Shun admitted again, "But, she could have called me whenever something came up. I have never met a customer who never calls when there's trouble on his or her end."
"Don't worry, boss." Hana said, "From what you told me about Mio, I think she's a good girl. She would never think about running away from a commitment. It's something you still need to work on."
"Hm?" Shun said, "What do you mean?"
"A few months ago, you were a really sloppy boss. You neglected your duties, you didn't collect money on collections day, you didn't collect money on the most important day... I had to quit because of you! But... You're a good boss to me on some days. You allowed to let me finish for the day first when you couldn't. You managed to get back to your duties. I think this is the moment that could help you on that weakness you have to work on."
Shun then thought, 'It's true. I have been neglecting my duties as a moneylender. But... after that ordeal with Yasuko, the Shibata Family, Kanemura Industries and my fight with Arai... I did grow... and I have shown that I can be responsible.'
Then, he lifted his head high and said, "OK. I'll give her a chance."
"That's the spirit, boss!" Hana cried, happily
Then, the office phone rang. Hana was quick to pick it up. "Sky Finance. Hana speaking."
"Oh? You want to speak to my boss? Here he is."
She passed the phone to Shun. "Sky Finance. Shun Akiyama speaking."
"It's Mio." the person on the other line said,
"Mio-chan." the elder Akiyama said, "What happened?"
"I'm sorry that I missed the appointment." Mio apologized,
"It's fine." Shun replied, "I'm glad you let me know what's happening."
"But... Akiyama-san." Mio said,
"What is it, Mio-chan?" Shun asked,
"My band members have gone missing!" Mio cried out,
"What?" Shun cried,
"We were preparing for our show tonight in Kamurocho." Mio explained, "And we decided to have a 20-minute break to explore the district. But, it's been that long and my band been missing since! We have to find them!"
"OK." Shun replied, "Come to the office right away. I'll need... Actually, where are you now?"
"I'm outside the office on the street." Mio answered,
"OK. Stay put." Shun said, "I'll be right there."
He quickly hung up. "Hana-chan." He said,
"Yes, boss?" Hana replied,
"Looks like our young client is having a bit of trouble." Shun said, "I'll have to take care of it. Stay in the office while I'm gone."
"OK, boss!" Hana replied as he raced out and down the stairs.
Shun arrived on Tenkaichi Street to find Mio, standing near the doors of a host club called Stardust. "So, Mio-chan, where do we start?" the elder Akiyama asked,
"Hmm... Do you remember seeing a brown-haired girl in the magazine you read?" Mio asked,
"Hmm... Yes, actually." Shun answered,
"That's our first guitarist, Yui Hirasawa." the younger Akiyama said, "I remember seeing her at an arcade centre somewhere here. She was planning on trying to win something..."
"I see." Shun replied, "Let's find Miss Hirasawa then."
"OK." Mio acknowledged,
Shun ran ahead as Mio followed him. Shun ran north on Tenkaichi Street and made a right on the little alley near a park called "Park No. 3". "Hey, wait!" Mio cried out as she ran after Shun. Right away, Shun noticed a big red sign that read "Club SEGA" in bright white letters on Nakamichi Street. He thought, 'Maybe Miss Hirasawa is inside.' He ran inside the arcade centre.
Inside was a small room with arcade games, a crane game known as the UFO Catcher and an interactive quiz game called "Answer x Answer". Unfortunately, amidst all the flash and glamour of the arcade centre, Yui Hirasawa was not here. Shun and Mio both sighed. "Hmm… Maybe we can try the location near Theatre Square." Shun suggested,
"OK." Mio agreed, "Let's go there, then."
Shun left and ran north to Taihei Boulevard as Mio began to follow him. Then, he made a left when Nakamichi Street ended near a tall building called the 'Millennium Tower'. Then, he made a right the moment he saw a restaurant called 'Matsuya'. Then, he saw another big red sign that read "Club SEGA" in bright white letters on Theatre Square. "This must be the place, right?" Mio asked,
"I guess so." Shun answered, and they both walked forward until…
"Well, well…" someone cried from behind, "What do we have here?"
Shun and Mio turned around to find three street punks, wearing typical street clothing. "Hm?" Shun said, "What do you want?"
The first cocky punk in a black jacket, named Koizumi, said, "This town is no place to bring a fine schoolgirl. Did you get lost to the amusement park or something?" He then laughed very hard.
"It's none of your business." Shun shot back, "Get lost."
"Oooh!" Koizumi cried, in a taunting manner, "I'm so scared!"
Kato, a short-tempered punk with grey clothes cried, "What's with this dude? He's pissing me off!"
"Sure, we'll leave you alone." Koizumi said, "But before we do, how about giving us an allowance? I bet you give your little sweetheart here your allowance, too."
Shun and Mio were silent. Koizumi cried, "Just hand it over, old man. You don't wanna get beat up in front of your little girlfriend, do you?"
Kato then yelled, "Hey! You listening to me, you old fuck?"
"If you kindly just leave, I'll forget this ever happened." Shun said, "If you don't, you're gonna get hurt."
"Huh?" Kato yelled, "You think you can fight us?"
"You're the one who's gonna get hurt, pops." Koizumi sighed, "We're gonna mess you up. Don't you think it's smarter to just hand over your money?"
"Well, then…" Shun said, as he flexed his feet, "I can see that talking isn't taking us anywhere. I'll have to kick some manners into you."
Koizumi laughed, "Ha! That's a good one! You're gonna regret this!"
Shun then replied, "Heh. We'll see. Come on then. Let's have some fun."
Shun attacked Koizumi with his set of quick kicks from the left and right feet. He did a quick axe kick and a set of rapid-fire kicks. Then, Shun delivered a quick kick and a low horizontal shot on Koizumi. Shun then hit Kato with two quick kicks and a squat and axe kick.
Shun ran to a third green sweater-wearing punk named Masuda and smashed him with a roundhouse kick combo, which consisted of two quick kicks, a quick axe kick and a harsh roundhouse kick. Shun waited for Kato to get up and delivered his rising kick combo, which consisted of two quick kicks, a quick axe kick, rapid-fire kicks and a rising kick.
Mio thought as she watched him grab the punks, 'Akiyama-san... He's so cool! I can't believe he can hold his own in a fight!"
After a few minutes, Shun managed to beat down all three punks. He asked, "What's wrong? Is that the best you can do?"
"I'm sorry!" Koizumi cried, "We didn't mean it! We'll get outta your way!"
Shun said, "Did I say you can leave?"
Koizumi screamed and cried, "Please let us go, old man!"
"You really don't know how to talk to your elders." Shun said, "Do I have to smash that mouth of yours?"
"W-wait!" Koizumi cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please just let me go! I'm begging you!"
"Next time, show some respect." Shun replIed,
"O-OK!" Koizumi cried, "I will! I promise!"
Shun was silent for a moment... Until he said, "All right. Leave us."
"Yes, sir!" Koizumi cried, "Um, goodbye! Come on, guys. Let's go!" All three punks ran away.
"What ill-behaved boys." Shun said, then he turned to Mio. "Are you all right, Mio-chan?"
"Yes, Akiyama-san." Mio replied, "I'm all right."
"Shall we search for Miss Hirasawa?" Shun asked,
"Oh! Yes!" Mio cried
They both entered Club SEGA at Theatre Square.
The Club SEGA they entered was much like the one on Nakamichi Street. It had the same arcade games and the crane game. But, near the crane game, is a brown mop-haired girl. Shun looked closely. He remembered the image on the article and the girl he is looking at definitely matches. He began to speak. "Miss Hirasawa?"
The girl turned around and saw Mio... and her companion, Shun. "Mio!" she cried
"Hi, Yui!" Mio cried and hugged her
"Oh! Pardon me." Mio said after hugging her, "Yui, this is the guy who is lending money to us, Shun Akiyama. Akiyama-san, this is our band's first guitarist, Yui Hirasawa."
"The pleasure is all mine." the elder Akiyama bowed
"Yui." Mio said, "What have you been doing all this time? Isn't Ritsu with you?"
"I'm sorry..." Yui said, "I tried so hard at winning at this game!" Then, she noticed the crane machine on the right. "The little AiAi dolls look so cute!" she remarked on the small cute monkey dolls lined up on three shelves in the machine.
"Yet... They're so hard to get!" she cried, feeling sad, "And I've run out of money."
Shun laughs. Then, he said, "Here. This will help." And he gave her a ¥500 coin.
Yui was surprised. She gasped, took the coin and cried, "Thank you, Akiyama-san!"
"You think she'll get at least one doll?" Mio asked him
"Well... We'll see." Shun answers, "All I'm doing is giving her a bit of hope."
Mio nods. Yui inserted the coin in the machine and moved the crane to the second shelf. She lowered it and... It hit the AiAi doll and it fell down into the prize door!
Yui cheered as she picked up the doll. "You know what?" she said to the two Akiyamas, "I'll win you both one!"
Shun chuckles then said, "You don't have to."
"I insist!" Yui cried and she moved the crane to the third shelf. She lowered it, and... It hit the AiAi doll, but it didn't fall in the hole.
Yui sighed sadly at her missed attempt. 'I can do this!' she thought and moved the crane to the third shelf. She lowered it and... It grabbed not one, but two AiAi dolls! Both of them were let go from the crane as they fell into the prize door.
Yui cheered and gave the dolls to Mio and Shun. "Wow. You did it, Yui!" Mio cried,
Yui chuckles. "It was nothing."
"Shall we head back to Sky Finance?" Shun asked,
"Oh yes." Mio said, "Let's go."
But, just before they left, they saw a blonde girl with a hairband approach them, carrying two ice cream cones. "Hey, Yui! I came back with some ice cream!" she cried, then she cried, "Mio!"
"Ritsu." Mio replied back,
"Umm... Who is this?" Shun asked,
Mio then said, "Ritsu, this is the guy who is lending money to us, Shun Akiyama. Akiyama-san, this is our band's drummer and president of our club, Ritsu Tainaka."
"Oh!" Ritsu cried, excitedly "This is the moneylender who will help us?"
Mio nods. "Well, then... Mr. Moneylender." Ritsu cried, "Try to beat me at something!"
"Huh?" Shun asked, "What do you mean?"
"Not now, Ritsu." Mio whispered, "We have to go."
"I bet you can't beat my high score in Boxcelios II!" Ritsu cried,
Shun thought, 'I don't have time for this.'
"If you beat me, we'll finish up here for today, and head back into the office." Ritsu declared,
"But, you don't know where he works." Mio said,
"Umm... Akiyama-san." Yui asked timidly, "Where do you work?"
"I work at Sky Finance." Shun answered politely
"Oh. OK." Yui said, smiling
"OK, then." Ritsu said, "We head back to Sky Finance if you beat me. If you miss, then you will stay put until you do and hear some of Mio's most dirty secrets." She is smiling grimly at those last words.
Mio grew embarrassed. "Ritsu!" she cried
"By the way, I finished at Level 53 with 6,500,000 points." Ritsu said, "So... Are you still up for it?"
Shun then gave it some thought. Maybe there are some secrets that Mio might be hiding. But then again, he will figure them out later. He then said, "OK, Tainaka-chan. You're on!"
He sat down and inserted ¥1,100 in coins in the arcade machine for Boxcelios II... And pressed the big red 'Start' button.
A 3-D screen came up with a wireframe of a spaceship. As soon as Shun hit the 'Start' button, the small spaceship flew over the water under the bright sunlight. Soon, the words "Level 1" showed up. A big blue blob appeared, with a glowing centre. Shun moved the control stick. The small spaceship moved around. He pushed a button, and the small spaceship fired a black laser at the blob. The laser hit the glowing centre, causing a massive explosion.
Then, the words "Level 2" appeared, along with a eel-shaped blue blob. Shun moved the ship and fired at the glowing core. The blob exploded. Then, the words "Level 3" appeared, along with a UFO-shaped blob.
"Wow." Mio said as she watched on, "Akiyama-san is good... He must have done this a lot! I mean... He's already at 300,000 points!"
Yui thought as she watched the elder Akiyama reach Level 25, 'Come on, Akiyama-san! You can beat Ricchan's score!'
Ritsu gasped as Shun reached Level 40. 'Please miss!' she thought as he reached 4,000,000 points.
Shun remained focused as he shot down the cores against the ticking clock, which began at 32 seconds and increased if the bar next to the timer did not drop down. The time remained frozen at 16.53 seconds when he reached Level 50.
Then, he reached Level 53 and he had 5,600,000 points. Shortly thereafter... Time expired. Shun finished at Level 65... With a hefty score of 8,653,991 points!
"You got lucky, Mr. Moneylender!" Ritsu cried out, and then she looked around the arcade centre.
"Are we leaving anytime soon?" Mio asked, feeling a bit awkward at how the challenge has not exactly played out to her standards
"Nope!" Ritsu cried, "Try to beat me at 'Answer x Answer', Mr. Moneylender!"
Shun laughs. "Err... Ricchan?" Yui asked, "Can I play too?"
"Oh! Sure!" Ritsu answered, much to Mio's chagrin
"Mr. Moneylender, if you're able to beat me and Yui, we'll all head back to Sky Finance. Same conditions apply if you lose!" Ritsu declared
'I make conditions!' Shun thought, 'But... It's not on the loan.' He then said, "OK, Tainaka-chan. You're on!"
He sat down and inserted ¥3,300 in coins in the arcade machine for Answer x Answer... and pressed the big red 'Start' button.
All three players logged in with their surnames: Akiyama, Tainaka and Hirasawa. They were all ready for the first round, which is the 'Heavy Multi-Answer Quiz'. In this round, the person has to get the most out of a certain number of correct answers in a single question. If there is one wrong answer, the correct answer chain is broken and the offending player would forfeit the question. All three players are playing up to 40 points in the round.
The first question appeared. It stated, "Name 4 cabaret girls who can be selected at the cabaret club, Ageha (is now known as Shine)." The answers that appeared are "Rina Sakurai", "Saya Unten", "Rina Ayakawa", "Nemu", "Riho Nishiyama", "Mika Tsuchiya", "Sayaka Araki", "Eri Momoka", "Shizuka Muto" and "Nao Kaneshiro".
All three players scratched their heads for a bit. Then, Ritsu selected her five possible answers and Yui picked her three. Shun did not pick any.
Yui got one right until... She missed on her second choice. Ritsu got three answers right... until she got the last choice wrong. In the end, a word appeared: "DRAW".
The next question appeared. It stated, "Which 4 clubs are available to join at the Hokago Tea Time's school?" The answers that appeared are "Light Music Club", "Cooking Club", "Art Club", "Naginatajutsu Club", "Chorus Club", "Literature Club", "Badminton Club", "Book Club", "Drama Club" and "Anime Club".
All three players scratched their heads for a bit. Then, Ritsu selected her three possible answers and Yui picked her three. Shun tried picking the four possible answers, despite his lack of knowledge of the girls' school.
Yui got one right until... She missed on her second choice. Ritsu got her three answers right. Shun had three answers right... Until his last choice was wrong.
Shun sighed in disgust. "Yeah!" Ritsu cheered loudly, "10 points to me!"
Mio thought, 'Gee... Akiyama-san doesn't know much about our school... I hope he can do better on the next questions.'
A few minutes later, Shun found himself tied with Yui at 10 points, with Ritsu in the lead with 20 points. The next question appeared. It stated, "As of 2009, name the 6 current families in the Tojo Clan." The answers that appeared are "Dojima Family", "Nishiki Family", "Fuma Family", "Shimano Family", "Majima Family", "Hakuho Clan", "Hamazaki Family", "Shiragi Family", "Ayase Family" and "Nogizaka Family".
All three players scratched their heads for a bit. Then, Ritsu selected her four possible answers and Yui picked her six. Shun tried picking five, just to be safe. He already knew that the Majima Family is still around, and that made him smile with a brim of confidence in his choices.
Yui missed on her third choice after getting two right, then Ritsu missed on her fourth and last possible answer while Shun… had all five possible answers right! "Phew…" Shun said out loud
He got his 10 points which puts him in a tie for the lead at 20 points. The next question appeared. It stated, "Name 5 labels for the instruments of all members of Hokago Tea Time." The answers that appeared are "Gibson", "Yamaha Drums", "Avedis Zildjian", "Fender", "Korg", "Sabian", "Battlefield Drums", "FujiGen", "Vox" and "Matsumoku".
All three players scratched their heads for a bit. Then, Ritsu selected her four possible answers and Yui picked her five. Shun also selected four to be safe.
Yui missed on her third choice. Both Ritsu and Shun got all of their four answers correct! Mio was surprised. She thought, 'How did Akiyama-san know that stuff?'
Ritsu and Shun are under "Reach", which means that they are near the target point count at 40 points. They are both neck-and-neck at 30 points each and if either one of them gets the next question right, he or she will win the round. The question appeared, stating, "Which magazines are on sale at the Poppo Mart on Tenkaichi Street?" The answers that appeared are "Tokyo Weekly", "TVBros.", "Famitsu", "Spa!", "Young Jump", "Hanako", "Kansai Time Out", "Young Guitar Magazine", "V Jump" and "Faust".
All three players scratched their heads for a bit. Then, Ritsu selected her five possible answers and Yui picked her three. Shun tried picking four of them to be safe. But, since he usually walks in and out of Poppo Mart, he feels confident in his choices.
Surprisingly, Yui got her three answers correct! Shun got his four choices right, and Ritsu had four right… until the last choice was incorrect, costing her the round. In the end, Shun finished with 40 points and clinched the round. Ritsu stayed at second place with 30 points while Yui finished the round in third place with 20 points.
Round 2 began and it is a 'Fast-Button Quiz'. In this round, questions are being asked and the person who buzzes must answer the question with time pressure. This is done by selecting the correct Japanese characters or numbers, if asked a numerical question. Sometimes, full answers will show up. If an incorrect character is selected, the answer is considered incorrect and the first person who attempted it will get a 10 point penalty. The penalty also applies if an incorrect answer is selected. Much like the last round, the round is finished if 10 questions are asked or if the 40-point target is reached.
The first question appeared. It stated, "What is the name of the Hokago Tea Time's school?" A few seconds would pass until… "I got it!" Ritsu cried as she smashed the button to answer. She then picked the characters to pronounce 'Sakurakou'. It was correct!
Ritsu cheered loudly as she found herself striking first. Mio sighed as she found the elder Akiyama not doing much to start the round.
The next question appeared. It stated, "What is the name of the ice cream parlour in Kamurocho?" "I got it!" Ritsu shouted as she pounded on the button to answer. There are four choices, which are "Gelateria", "Earth Angel", "Pronto" and "Kanrai". "I was there a few minutes ago!" Ritsu cried, "Gelateria!" She selected the answer. It was correct! She extended her lead to 20 points.
The next question appeared. It stated, "How many coin locker keys are hiding in Kamurocho, as of 2009?" Yui pushed the button to try to answer, with Shun hitting the button but he missed by 0.43 seconds. She then answered 50. It was correct. Yui was laughing cheerfully as she is on the board with 10 points!
Mio sighed again as the elder Akiyama is stuck at 0 points. A few minutes later, it was on the final question with everyone at 0 points. The next question will determine who will win the round. The question appeared, stating, "What is the name of the former president of the Mio Akiyama fan club?" Mio became embarrassed by the question, due to what transpired into its creation, including an unexpected accident at one of the band's performances.
Yui and Ritsu both smashed their button to buzz in… with Yui making it by a hair… which is 0.31 seconds. Four answers appeared which were, "Ui Hirasawa", "Nodoka Manabe", "Megumi Sokabe" and "Jun Suzuki". Yui picked Megumi's name… and she is correct! Yui cheered as she won the round! Shun and Ritsu both sighed at their defeat.
Round 3 began and it is a 'Hint Combo Quiz'. In this round, questions are being asked and nine hints will pop up to help the person who buzzes in answer the question. The person will have two tries to answer the question. If the answer is wrong, then the person will have to serve a time penalty of 8 seconds and lose 10 points in the process. The same penalties apply as in the 'Fast-Button Quiz'. Once again, all the three players are playing up to 40 points.
The first question appeared. It stated, "What is the name of the gay bar at the Champion District?" Hints began popping up. One read, "Run by Ako". Another hint read, "Central to an event in 2006". Yui hit the button to answer first. She hit the "A" character and she hit the "Ta" character… which was wrong. Yui sighed sadly as she lost 10 points and is forced to wait until her 8 seconds are up. Shun tried buzzing in. He picked the "A" character, then the "Te" character, then the "N" character and finally the "Shi" character to pronounce "Atenshi", which means "Earth Angel", which is correct. Shun is on the board with 10 points while Yui is sad as she is at -10 points.
The next question appeared. It stated, "What is the name of the game that was in Club Sega in 2006?" Hints began to appear, one of which read, "Made by Dr. Minamida". Another hint appeared reading, "A fighting game". Another hint appeared reading, "Futuristic". Ritsu buzzed in and inputted "YF6". It was correct! Ritsu cheered as she is on the board with 10 points.
The next question appeared. It stated, "What is the name of the restaurant on both Tenkaichi Street and Taihei Boulevard locations?" Hints began to appear with one stating, "Serves a mix of western and eastern food". Another hint appeared reading, "Formerly known as Akagyu". Shun buzzed in and typed out, "Matsuya". It is correct. He now has 20 points, with Ritsu trailing by 10 and Yui… by 30.
A few minutes later, it was back to the final question. Shun is now at 30 points, with Ritsu tying him, while poor Yui is stranded at -50 points. The final question appeared, reading, "What is the real name of the lead singer of a local death metal band in Tokyo?" Hints began showing up, reading "Lead singer is 'Catherine'." Another hint appeared, "A teacher." Ritsu then smashed the button to answer and spelled out "Sawako Yamanaka". It was correct! "I knew it was Sawa-chan!" Ritsu cried as she won the round!
It was neck-and-neck with all the competitors winning one round each. The final round will determine who will win the match. The final round is a 'Chicken Race Quiz'. Questions will be answered in the form of numbers. Competitors must try to get their 'answer meter' closest to the correct answer without going over. If they hit it at the actual correct answer, they will get a five-point bonus. Once again, all three competitors will play for 40 points.
The first question appeared. It stated, "What is the original price of the Gibson Les Paul guitar that a member of the Hokago Tea Time has?" The meter ranged from ¥200,000 to ¥300,000. Shun smashed it up to ¥270,000 by mashing the button. Ritsu and Yui raised theirs to ¥250,000 and ¥220,000, respectively. All three competitors confirmed their choices. And the original price was… ¥250,000! Ritsu got it dead-on and won 15 points! Yui didn't do too bad and earned 5 points for the second spot. Shun didn't receive any points for going over.
Ritsu laughed excitedly, knowing that she will win the match soon. Yui smiled, thinking back that she earned her new guitar when she first joined the band. The next question appeared, "What is the price of the Gold Champagne at both Jewel and Shine?" The meter ranged from ¥100,000 to ¥1 million. Shun raised it to ¥300,000, while Yui got it to ¥700,000 and Ritsu raised hers to ¥400,000. And the answer is… ¥300,000. Shun got it right on and won 15 points as a result! Yui and Ritsu won nothing as they went over.
A few minutes had passed. Mio began to shudder at how close the match is now. All three competitors are marked under "Reach" where the next one who gets it spot on or close to the answer will win the match. Ritsu has 35 points, while Shun and Yui are tied with 30. The next question read, "How high is Kamurocho Hills set to be?" The meter ranged from 557 m to 1057 m. Shun bashed it up to 757 m. Yui set it to 657 m while Ritsu set it to 857 m. And the answer is… 757 m! Shun got 15 points! Ritsu groaned as she went over. Yui smiled as she got 5 points. Shun then said in his usual cool-guy tone, "Game… Set… Match."
Ritsu sighed dejectedly, saying "OK, you win, Mr. Moneylender."
Shun laughed saying, "I actually had a good time. For leaders of the band, you guys are actually fun-loving."
Yui giggled at Shun's words. "Thank you, Akiyama-san!" she said in a cute manner
"Well, then..." Shun said, "What say we head back to Sky Finance, hmm?"
"OK." all three girls replied and they left Club SEGA.
A few minutes later, everyone arrived back at Sky Finance. "Hello, Hana-chan!" Shun greeted, "How is everything?"
"Ah, welcome back, boss!" Hana cried, "Everything is A-OK!" Then, she noticed the three girls. "Ah! So this must be Miss Akiyama and her friends!"
"Good afternoon." Yui and Mio replied and bowed to Hana.
"Hello!" Ritsu cried out,
Mio then said, "I'm Mio Akiyama and these are my friends, Yui Hirasawa and Ritsu Tainaka. We are part of the band called the 'Hokago Tea Time'."
"Oh!" Hana cried, excitedly "I heard that you girls are coming to Kamurocho to perform here!"
"So… who's left?" Shun asked,
"Mugi!" Ritsu cried, excitedly
"And Azu-nyan." Yui said,
"Who are they?" Shun said, "I don't understand."
"Oh, they mean Tsumugi Kotobuki and Azusa Nakano." Mio filled in, "Tsumugi is our keyboardist and Azusa is our second guitarist."
"Ah…" Shun replied, "I see."
"Umm… Akiyama-san?" Yui asked,
"Hm?" Shun replied,
"You think Mugi will bring us back some tea and cookies once you find her?" Yui asked,
"I don't know…" Shun asked, a bit miffed at the thought, "Probably."
"Last I saw Mugi was at Senryo Avenue." Ritsu said, "Perhaps she was running around getting stuff?"
"Hmm…" Shun said, "Thank you, Tainaka-chan." Then, she turned to Mio. "Shall we go, Mio-chan?"
"Oh! Yes!" Mio cried,
"Can we come too?" Ritsu cried,
"I'm afraid I can't take you." Shun replied, "These streets are dangerous. You never know what can come at you. Mio is an exception because I believe she can take care of herself." Mio looked up at Shun when she heard this. He had never mentioned anything about her before and that made Mio think about Shun for a bit.
'Maybe he has something under his cool-guy exterior…' Mio thought, 'I never saw him like this.'
"So… Hira-chan and Tainaka-chan… Stay put with Hana." Shun finished,
Yui and Ritsu shook their heads in approval. "We'll be back soon." He said and he and Mio left the office to find Tsumugi and Azusa.
Shun decided to walk south to Showa Street. Mio then asked Shun, "Did you mean it when you said that I can take care of myself in Kamurocho?"
Shun then looked up in the sky… then said, "Yes. I meant every word of it. I know these streets front and back, but I never knew a schoolgirl like you who can traverse them without too much trouble."
"But… we barely know each other." Mio cried as they walked past Nakamichi Street and a big discount store called Don Quijote, "How do you know this?"
"Maybe… fate is what brought us together." Shun said, "And there might be something more than you just asking for ¥500,000 by the end of the night."
"Fate?" Mio cried, "How you do know this?"
"It's a very long story." Shun replied, "But, something happened that made me realize that… there may be something between the two of us."
Then, they saw a figure running by the moment they made it to Senryo Avenue. "Is that… Mugi?" Mio cried,
"Might be." Shun cried then noticing the blonde hair from a schoolgirl. "Come on! Let's follow her!" He began to run very fast with Mio running behind him.
The blonde schoolgirl ran up to Pink/Nakamichi Alleyway up to Nakamichi Street. Shun and Mio ran very fast to catch up with her. The blonde girl ran eastbound on Taihei Boulevard and north on Pink Street. The girl then ran west on Shichifuku Street. Then, she ran south on Theatre Avenue and finally… to a stairway to the rooftops. Shun and Mio ran after her at every moment and then they both ran upstairs.
The blonde girl grew tired when she made it to the rooftops. Then, she heard the door slam open. "Wait!" Shun cried, panting "I'm not going to hurt you!"
"Stay back!" the girl cried, "Stay back!"
"Mugi!" Mio cried as she panted, "It's OK! He's with me!"
"Oh! I'm sorry!" The girl cried, and hugged Mio. "I didn't realize!"
Mio then said, "Mugi, this is the guy who is lending money to us, Shun Akiyama. Akiyama-san, this is our band's keyboardist, Tsumugi Kotobuki."
"Pleased to meet you." Tsumugi replied and bowed to Shun
"Why were you running, Mugi?" Mio asked,
"It's because a yakuza gang found me and took me in." Tsumugi said, "They said that they would embarrass me right away by looking under my skirt. But, I pleaded to them off saying that I could serve them tea and cookies."
"That gang must have a fetish for that stuff." Shun said,
"And did you give those things to them?" Mio asked,
"Oh, yes." Tsumugi answered, "I fed them quite well. And it was all nice for a while, until I ran out of tea and cookies. I told them that I'll run on back to their headquarters and give them more tea and cookies. But, I felt a little bit unhappy about that gang and ran off. And here I thought, you were one of them."
Shun laughed, "I can definitely see why."
Then, they heard laughter. Shun, Mio and Tsumugi turned to face six men, three of which are in suits and the other three are in street clothes. "Who are those guys?" Shun asked,
"They must be members of the yakuza gang that I served the tea and cookies with." Tsumugi answered, "I don't want to work for them again!"
"Those guys really want you bad, Mugi." Mio cried,
"Isn't that right, boys?" Shun cried,
"H-Hey!" Mio cried, "What are you doing, Akiyama-san?"
"It's OK, girls." Shun cried, then turned back to the gang members, "You boys want her to be a stewardess, right? Huh?"
"It's true." A suit-wearing man in a flat-top haircut and sunglasses said, "It's what our boss has decided."
Then, Shun whispered to Mio. "Hey. This is dangerous for you girls. Leave everything to me."
"Wh-what are you saying?" Mio cried,
"This is what I do for a living." Shun whispered, "I'm much harder than these men here."
"Akiyama-san!" Tsumugi cried,
"Both of you, run back to Sky Finance." Shun whispered, "Make sure you girls get there OK."
"B-But…" Mio and Tsumugi cried,
"Get out of here now!" Shun whispered angrily
"O-OK!" Mio and Tsumugi cried and they both jumped over a fence and ran. The yakuza gang members rushed after them. Only for Shun to yell, "Wait a minute! You're taking me on next!"
"You bastard…" The flat-top man said, "We're not playing here, boy. You wanna lose one or two fingers tonight?"
"Heh. What?" Shun said, "Isn't that a bit odd from a tea and cookie-loving gang… to slice off one or two fingers from someone?"
"What?" The flat-top man cried,
Shun continued to taunt them, saying, "I'm going to break your neck and hit you where it hurts."
"You run your mouth a lot, do you?" The flat-top man said, "Well, then… allow us to show you how we run things up in these streets… and we'll start with you."
"Right on." Shun said as he bounced for a bit to get into his stance.
"All right, boys! You heard him!" The flat-top man cried, "Let's fuck him up right now! Get him!"
Shun then did his low horizontal kick on three thugs. Then, he did his butterfly kick combo, which consisted of two quick kicks, the quick axe kick, a roundhouse kick and a butterfly kick, on a thug. Then… POW! Shun spun and kicked the thug's face while he was down, spinning his body around!
Shun then measured up the other five thugs. Then, he did a squat-and-axe kick on a flat-top thug. Then, he did the horizontal kick shot to another street-clothes-wearing thug. Then, he did a butterfly kick combo on a knife-wielding thug. Then, he did another squat-and-axe kick on a flat-top thug.
The knife-wielding thug missed his thrust and he got hit by a butterfly kick combo from Shun. And he was finished off with a kick in the face.
Shun then measured up the four thugs. "Hmph." Shun taunted, "Come!"
Shun tried his rapid-fire kick combo on the flat-top man. The flat-top man responded with a sweep kick, which didn't trip up Shun. Shun took out the katana-wielding thug with his full roundhouse combo attack, which consisted of two quick kicks, the quick axe kick, a rising kick, a modified axe kick and a roundhouse kick.
Soon, Shun was grabbed from the waist from a thug and was given two punches and a kick by the flat-top man, which took him down. "That hurt!" Shun cried.
He was grabbed again, but from behind, and was hit with a low kick. Shun ran around and measured up the three remaining thugs. Shun was grabbed again from the waist, but this time, he kicked himself free and yelled, "Let go of me!"
Shun picked up a katana. Then, Shun caught the flat-top man when he wasn't looking, grabbed his shirt and smashed him in the gut with the katana. Shun then proceeded to spank the flat-top man with the katana seven times in the upper body. Shun then releases the flat-top man and gave him one more spank in the head, dropping him.
Shun then proceeded to slash his three enemies six times. Then, he tossed the katana away. Then, he did a squat-and-axe kick on a thug and followed it up with a wheel kick. The flat-top thug tried a jumping knee, only to miss… and a high spin kick, only to miss. Shun then grabbed the flat-top thug and tossed him over the building!
Shun then finished off the two remaining thugs with his set of combo attacks.
Shun then panted. He then thought, "I hope Mio-chan and Mugi-chan are safe." He said to himself as he traversed the rooftops back to Sky Finance. He looked up as he decided to smoke a cigarette.
'I hope Mio-chan is not mad at me.' He thought, 'But, I'm sure these rooftops are safe. I don't think that they would run into any problems whatsoever.'
Finally, he walked down the stairs inside Sky Finance.
When he walked in, he found a tray on the small table with cookies and a tea set. Hana giggled when Tsumugi was serving her tea. "Boss! You have to try this!" she cried, "I don't know how these girls do it!"
Shun chuckles for a bit. Tsumugi walked to Shun and asked, "Would you like a cookie?"
Shun then chuckled and took the cookie. He chewed on it for a bit, and then cried, "AH! That's the good stuff! You girls are called 'Hokago Tea Time' for a reason! I like it!"
Shun then found Mio in the corner and walked to her. "Mio-chan." He began, "Are you OK?"
"No! I'm not OK!" Mio cried out, "You left us running! You said a minute ago that I could take care of myself!"
Shun then put his face over his hand. He realized that he failed to commit to his words, much like he failed to commit to his task as a moneylender months ago. "I'm sorry, Mio-chan." He apologized,
"Look!" Mio cried, "At the moment, I don't want your apology! I want to know who you are and how you became this way!" Then, she began to stammer, "You know what? Let's just find Azusa and we'll finish our deal!"
Shun then nodded sadly. He then walked out with Mio following him. Yui, Ritsu, Tsumugi… and even Hana witnessed the argument. Ritsu said, "I never seen Mio like this. Never with someone else… You think there is something between her and your boss, Hana-san?"
"I don't know." Hana replied, "My boss didn't tell me about this. But, maybe I didn't think he would have some sort of relationship with a client."
Tsumugi said, "I really think Akiyama-san and Mio might have a thing for each other."
Yui said, "I hope they both are OK…"
As both Shun and Mio slowly walked along Showa Street, they both have not spoken since the argument. Then, they heard panting when they made it to Nakamichi Street. "Wrong mood!" A woman wearing yellow cried,
"Ah… Sawa-chan." Mio said,
"Who's this?" Shun asked,
"My name is Sawako Yamanaka." The woman introduced herself, "I am the band's advisor and a teacher in their school."
"My name is Shun Akiyama." Shun introduced and bowed, "I'm a moneylender at Sky Finance."
Sawako was awed by Shun's slim figure. "You've got a good moneylender here!" she said in a cute manner, "Is he your boyfriend?"
"NO!" Mio cried, then held back and said, "I don't know what he is."
Shun then sighed. He knew that he made one of the biggest mistakes of his life. When he saw how sad Mio was, he knew that he owed her an explanation of his upbringing.
He lifted his head high and said, "The truth is… I was not just a moneylender."
"Hm?" Sawako said,
"What do you mean?" Mio asked,
"I was actually helped by a man named Arai." Shun said,
"Wait a minute!" Mio cried, "Someone helped you? What were you?"
Shun paced for a minute before he said, "Were you aware that I was once a homeless man?"
"No… actually." Mio said,
"What are you talking about, Akiyama-chan?" Sawako asked, giving Shun a nickname
"Before I was a homeless man," Shun said, giving a photo of him in a light blue suit with five other people, "I used to work in a big corporate bank… five whole years ago."
Shun then said, "Six years ago, I worked in one of Tokyo's biggest banks. I walked down the stairs every now and then and people would bow to me. They would feed me and take care of me at every chance they get. I was one of the elite."
"How did you become a homeless man?" Mio asked
"I was let go in 2005." Shun answered,
"Let go?" Mio asked, "Why is that?"
Shun continued, "I was embezzling money from the company."
"Why did you go and do that?" Mio asked,
"Beats me." Shun answered, "I didn't do anything."
"What?" Mio cried, "What do you mean?"
"I was framed." Shun answered, "But there's a chance that I could have done it."
"That was stupid." Mio admitted,
"I thought the problem would be solved, but unfortunately… that was not the case." Shun said, "Someone took ¥100 million from the bank, and then I tried to pay it all back."
"And you were let go as a result?" Mio asked,
"That's right." Shun said, "Someone embezzled money under my name so I ran all over Kamurocho to find him and bring him to justice. I looked everywhere, but I couldn't find him."
"So, you became homeless, right?" Mio asked,
"Yeah." Shun answered, "I spent a lot of money and I couldn't pay back my debts. Everything was taken from me and as a result… I became a homeless man."
"So, then…" Mio asked, "How did you become a moneylender?"
"Well… a miracle happened." Shun answered, "Money came raining down from the sky. You heard about that, right?"
"No, actually…" Mio answered,
"Really?" Shun said, in a surprising tone, but he continued saying, "There was an explosion at the Millennium Tower one night."
"Oh. I know about that." Sawako said,
"Ah." Mio said, "But… what does that have to do with you, Akiyama-san?"
"I got my ¥100 million back." Shun answered, "And it was then that I had the chance to get my life back."
"Gee…" Mio said, "I don't know if you either lucky or unlucky."
"Hmph." Shun replied, "Since I got that much, I knew that I would treat my money as if it were my life. Of course, many street thugs started wandering around beating down the homeless that I had to avoid them…"
"Hold on." Mio said, "And that's when a man helped you?"
"Yes." Shun answered, "A man named Hiroaki Arai. He started out as nothing more than a street punk at Kanemura Industries. He managed to beat down all those thugs and… I owed him."
"Really?" Mio said, "And how did you plan on doing that?"
"I wanted to make sure that Arai would become a new legendary gangster in Kamurocho." Shun answered, "I've learned that everyone in Kamurocho had one thing to shoot for, and one thing only."
"What's that?" Mio and Sawako asked,
Shun turned to them and said, "A dream."
"Everyone who comes to Kamurocho had a dream." Shun said, "Some are here to become rich, but others not so much. But, everyone has a dream to fulfill. And their goal is to make their dream come true. People can then turn their dreams into reality, understand?"
"I do." Mio answers,
"Keep going with your dreams." Shun answers, "So you can then help people fulfill their dreams. I do feel that there are good and bad people, but I know in my heart, that Arai is strong. All this town needs is a strong boss and a strong message. There's not a strong legendary soldier like Kazuma Kiryu… And soon, there may be someone else taking his place soon."
"I guess that what you need to know about me, Mio-chan." Shun finishes, "Let the whole band know this, OK?"
Mio then smiled, "I understand. We will fulfill our dream of making this our best performance ever! And let all the other music clubs do the same!"
Shun then smiled. "Sawa-chan," Mio said, "Akiyama-san and I… have a dream to fulfill. We'll just need to find Azusa and… we'll get set up for our performance." He then gave Sawako a drawn map of Kamurocho. Containing it is an arrow to map out where Sky Finance is.
"Thank you, Mio." Sawako said, "Good luck, Mio! Nice to meet you, Akiyama-chan!" Then, she left.
"Shall we then, Akiyama-san?" Mio turned to Shun
"Yes." Shun answered.
They both began running north on Nakamichi Street. But, before they did, Mio said, "I was told that Azusa might be in the Hotel District."
Shun replied, "OK. I understand. We'll check there then." Then, they kept running, until they came across Taihei Boulevard.
Then, they ran west on Taihei Boulevard. Then, they ran north past Theatre Square. Then, as they came near the Hotel District, which is past Shichifuku Street, they heard some guitar notes.
Shun turned to Mio and said, "That must be Azu-chan, yes?"
Mio laughs, "Where did you come up with these names?" Then, she said, "That must be Azusa, yes."
Then, they heard a second set of guitar notes... Ones that Mio never heard before. "Huh?" Mio said, "How come there is another guitar?"
Shun looked around, until he found the source. He noticed two long guitar necks near a kanji-filled window at a high building. "She must be at Kanemura Industries." He said,
"You mean... She's inside a yakuza gang's hideout?" Mio asked,
"Yes." Shun replied, "Let's check on her to see if she's OK." They both slowly climbed up the stairs.
Inside the office of Kanemura Industries is a desk that is properly organized, with bins under the desk. The furniture is aligned nicely with two sofas facing each other, separated by a wooden table. Two people were sitting side-by-side from each other. One person, who is wearing black pants and a red and white jacket, with the word 'Japan' in elegant handwriting at the back, is holding an electric guitar. Likewise, another person in a school uniform is also holding an electric guitar.
"Good." a gold slick-gel-haired man with the jacket said, "Now make sure you keep your right hand at the base of the guitar while you do those hammer-ons."
"OK." the young black, long-ponytailed schoolgirl replied,
Then, they heard the door open. The man looked at his visitor. "Ah. Akiyama-san." He said, noticing Shun, with a cigarette in his mouth.
The man stood up and bowed, "Good evening."
"Did I come at a bad time?" Shun asked, "I can come back later."
"No, it's OK." The man replied, "Come in. Have a seat."
Shun walked in and sat down. Mio followed him inside. "Mio-senpai!" The schoolgirl cried,
"Oh, Azusa." Mio replied as the girl came to hug her.
"Ah... So, you must be Miss Azusa Nakano." Shun said as he stood up and bowed, "My name is Shun Akiyama. I'm a moneylender at Sky Finance."
"I came by hearing some guitar strumming..." Shun said, "Are you teaching her, Kido-chan?"
The man, whose full name is Takeshi Kido, chuckled and replied, "You caught me, Akiyama-san. Before I was taken in by my boss, I used to be a guitarist for a death metal band."
"Oh?" Shun asked, "Which one?"
"Oh... Death Devil." Kido answered,
Both Mio and Azusa gasped. "So... You know our teacher, Kido-san?" Azusa cried,
"Our teacher is Sawako Yamanaka." Mio said, "In that band, she goes by the name 'Catharine'."
"Catharine?" Kido said, unsure of what the girls meant. Then, he cried out, "Oh! Catharine? Oh yeah, she was definitely a good singer. I remember on some nights when we used to go to the strip club, Asia... And Catharine would go wild on the stripper pole. I was playing my guitar as if I was a young rocker at heart."
Mio groaned in embarrassment at the thought of her teacher, dancing like a stripper. Azusa just giggled. "At one point," Kido continued, "Catharine accidentally hit her head on the pole, which made her nose bleed, badly... Amazingly, she kept on dancing and singing!"
Mio yelped and cried out, "Ew! Ew! Ew!" Azusa giggled again and hugged Mio.
Both Shun and Kido chuckled at Mio, who is cowering, shuddering and covering her ears. Azusa giggled as she kept hugging Mio.
"I'm surprised that singer became a teacher now." Kido admitted, and turned to both Mio and Azusa "I would give anything to play again for the sake of her."
The girls smiled at Kido at his words. Then, Kido turned to Shun. "Anyway, what brings you here, Akiyama-san?" he asked,
"Well..." Shun began, "Mio-chan and I came to find and pick up Azu-chan. Also, have you seen Arai?"
"Well..." Kido said, "Arai is going around Kamurocho, making sure there's peace on the streets."
"Ah. I see." Shun said,
Azusa picked Mio up, after recovering from her cowering. "Are you OK, Azusa?" Mio asked,
"Yeah, I'm fine." Azusa replied,
"I'm glad you are OK." Mio said,
"Kido-san taught me a lot, Mio-senpai." Azusa said, "Maybe I can help Yui-senpai a lot for tonight's performance."
"That's awesome." Mio congratulated,
"Hmm..." Kido said to Shun after Shun told his story on Azusa's band Hokago Tea Time and how the events played out, "I see."
Kido sighed and patted Azusa on the head. "Well... For the sake of her band, you can have her back. I will cherish those memories I will have with her."
Azusa said as she picked up her guitar, "Thank you the lessons, Kido-san! I'll never forget this!"
"You're welcome, Nakano-san." Kido replied,
"Well..." Shun then said, "I guess we'll be on our way. Take care." Then, he, Mio and Azusa walked out of the door.
"Wait, Akiyama-san!" Kido called,
"Hm?" Shun said as he turned to Kido,
"If you need help from me," Kido said, "Give me a call, OK?"
"I'll make sure I will." Shun replied, then said, "Take care." And he shut the door.
Kido then sat down and sighed. He then said, "I'll give anything to play a guitar again for one last time..."
Shun, Mio and Azusa arrived back at Sky Finance. Yui immediately saw her and cried, "Azu-nyan!"
Azusa giggled as she received a hug from Yui. "I have learned a lot from a guy named Kido." Azusa said, "I'll make sure I teach you before tonight's performance, Yui-senpai."
Yui nods excitedly. Shun then said, "Well... That's everyone. So, Mio-chan, where do you girls plan on performing?"
"We were thinking..." Mio said, "The Millennium Tower."
"Really?" Shun asked,
"Oh, yes." Sawako replied, "We will have the equipment set up before then. I've made sure to bring in big screens for people to watch our performance from the ground level."
"Not only that, I've come up with the perfect costumes!" She cried and shoved a business suit with a skirt right at Shun's face.
Shun then chuckled, "That's great."
"Do you mind if we use the rooftop to practice on?" Mio asked,
"Hmm..." Shun said, contemplating at the thought,
"Pleeeeeeease?" the girls pleaded in a cute manner
Then, Shun's cell phone went off. "Excuse me." He said, "I'll get back to you on that."
He opened his cell phone. "Hello?" He said,
"This is Arai." someone on the other line said,
"Arai-san..." Shun replied, knowing that it may be important
'Arai?' Mio thought, 'The same Arai that helped Akiyama-san?'
"Please meet me at the Champion District's rooftops." Arai requested, "It is very important."
"I understand." Shun replied, "I'll be there in five minutes, alone."
"Heh. You know exactly what I'm thinking." Arai replied, "That's what I like about you, Akiyama-san. See you soon." And he hung up.
Shun then said, "OK. You girls can practice on the roof. Just try not to make too much noise."
"Thank you, Akiyama-san!" Yui, Tsumugi and Azusa replied and bowed
"Thanks, Mr. Moneylender!" Ritsu cried excitedly
"Well... I have to go and meet someone." Shun said,
"Arai?" Mio asked,
"Er... Yeah." Shun replied, surprised that Mio knew who was he talking about.
"I understand." Mio said, as Shun turned around to leave, "Thank you, and I'll see you soon, Uncle Shun." She gasped and quickly covered her mouth the moment after she called Shun 'uncle'.
'Uncle?' Shun thought as he heard the remark, 'Now, where did I hear that before?'
He then left the office. All of Mio's fellow band members were in shock. "I didn't hear that." Ritsu began teasing, "What did you call that moneylending guy?"
"Th-that's none of your business!" Mio cried, in embarrassment, "I've only known him for two days!"
Ritsu began laughing raucously. "You've called him your uncle!" she taunted,
"Cut it out, Ritsu!" Mio yelled,
"Gee..." Yui thought out loud, "I never knew Akiyama-san had a niece."
"I think it's cute." Tsumugi commented, "I think those two have something in common."
"I somehow thought that Mio-senpai would have something for Akiyama-san." Azusa said, "I just hope she figures it out soon."
Shun ran north to Taihei Boulevard. He kept on running west until he reached Senryo Avenue. Then, he ran north for until he found an entrance to the Champion District. He then thought, 'This is where Arai told me to meet him. I guess I can go up...'
He walked up the stairs to an empty rooftop. There, he found a man in a black suit and a dark blue shirt and tie. "Arai-san…" Shun said,
"Ah, Akiyama-san." The man named Arai said, "You came at a good time."
"You know exactly how I work." Shun complimented.
Then, Arai reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Shun took one and covered it as Arai reached into his pocket and took out his lighter. He lit the cigarette. Shun then smoked it for a bit as Arai put the lighter away. "Ah…" Shun said, "You know exactly what I wanted. It's just like you, Arai."
"Well… even after the few months of conflict with each other," Arai said, "I still carry that tradition where my bosses would hit me if I didn't offer a cigarette."
"Hm." Shun then said before the two remained silent for a bit.
"I've been making my rounds here in Kamurocho for a bit." Arai said, "And I believe that girl and you… are getting close to each other."
"What do you mean by this?" Shun asked,
"I think she has been searching for you." Arai then answered,
"You remembered seeing her before I became a moneylender?" Shun asked,
"Yes." Arai answered, "I would normally walk around Kamurocho, and defeat street scum that would hurt the homeless."
"Hm." Shun admitted, "I still remembered this day. I owed you a lot since then."
Arai chuckled at the remark. "I knew that day when I came across you; both our lives would change, in that you would see me as a successor to the Fourth Chairman."
"Heh. You knew, right?" Shun replied, "I still believe that one day, you would surpass the 'Dragon of Dojima' as the new leader of Kamurocho."
"Maybe." Arai replied, "But, a few days later, as I was patrolling the streets, I could not help but notice a girl crying out, "Where are you?" She looked like a lost schoolgirl looking for a lost parent."
"Do you remember what she looked like?" Shun asked,
"My memory isn't as strong as it was months ago." Arai admitted, "But I do remember that she had long, black hair and is wearing a light blue hooded sweater."
"Did you ask her what she wanted?" Shun asked,
"I remembered asking her what she was looking for." Arai continued, "She answered to me… 'My uncle. I heard he is lost in this city and I need to find him.' She gave me a picture. I knew that this was very important, but I kept putting it off for important matters, such as meetings with the Shibata Family and other matters regarding Kanemura Industries. Likewise, what happened a few months ago… really made me forget about all this. So… I did not end up finding him as a result."
"Hmm…" Shun said, then he said, "That girl you saw me with…"
"Hm?" Arai said,
"Before I left Sky Finance to meet you," Shun said, "She accidentally called me… 'Uncle Shun'. You believe… this girl is my niece?"
Arai remained silent for a bit before reaching in his suit… and taking out the picture of Shun in his homeless clothing. "Afraid so." He answered,
Shun was surprised, but not overly shocked. "Looks like I found the uncle of the missing girl." Arai then said, and then chuckled, "I was surprised it was you at first glance. I tried to find you, but… I knew when you got the money from the Millennium Tower; you chose to protect it as if your life depended on it. You did a good thing there, Akiyama-san… Hiding yourself from the eyes of Kamurocho, while you had the chance to rebuild your life."
Shun was silent for a bit. His encounter with Mio did not come by chance. Somehow he felt that it was fate which brought the two Akiyamas, a 32-year-old moneylender at Sky Finance and a 15-year-old bassist of her school's band, Hokago Tea Time, closer than ever. Shun then looked up at the sky. He now realizes that he now has a niece to protect and to care about. He turned to Arai and said, "Thank you very much, Arai-san. I'm glad you told me everything. Do you believe Mio-chan will see me as a good uncle?"
"Yes." Arai answered truthfully, "I do believe that the younger Akiyama will see you as a good uncle."
"I'll be going now." Shun then said, "Her band is playing tonight at the Millennium Tower. Are you going to see the show?"
"Maybe." Arai replied, "Most likely I will watch from the street level."
Shun then turned to the door and walked. He looked back at what could be the true successor to the 'Dragon of Dojima' one day. He then walked down the stairs back to ground level.
"Well…" Shun said out loud when he made it back to street level, "I have to go back to Sky Finance and check in on Mio-chan's band's progress." Then, he ran out of the Champion District and right onto Senryo Avenue. He then turned west on Taihei Boulevard and ran all the way to Tenkaichi Street. Then, he went behind the alleyway until he reached a stairwell which led him back to Sky Finance.
"Hey. I'm back." Shun said, "Hey, Hana-chan. There's a mess here."
But then he found a large mess in the office with paper and furniture all flipped over and Hana's body lying down on the floor. "Hana-chan!" Shun cried, as he ran to her aid, "Hana-chan! Are you all right? Wake up!"
Shun lifted Hana and put her body on his crouching legs. Hana said weakly, "Boss… you've returned."
"What the hell happened here?" Shun asked frantically,
"Well…" Hana began,
Hours earlier, Sawako and the girls were sitting down and taking a break from practice. Hana returned to the office after buying groceries. "Ah, girls!" she cried, "How's practice coming along?"
"Oh, we're doing great so far!" Ritsu cried excitedly, "I can't wait for tonight's performance!"
"Has anyone seen my boss?" Hana asked,
"Oh." Mio said, "He went out to see someone. He let us practice on the rooftops, provided we don't make too much noise."
Hana asked as she made some tea for herself, "You believe you girls are ready for tonight's performance?"
"Oh, yes!" Tsumugi replied, "I have never performed from a really high place before!"
"Thanks for teaching me the new techniques, Azu-nyan!" Yui complimented, "I really got the hang of the new things you taught me!"
"Oh, it's no problem, Yui-senpai." Azusa replied, "I really hope Kido-san will be around to cheer us on."
"Those suits I made will be so classy once you wear them!" Sawako cried out, "It'll be the most fantastic costumes ever made!"
Mio chuckled, and then Hana asked, "Do you girls want some tea?"
"No, it's OK." Tsumugi replied, showing the tea set with a full teapot and some tea cups "I have some ready for all of us."
Hana cried, "No! No! I insist! I'll go and make some for you girls!" And she quickly made six cups of tea for the girls.
Yui giggles, "OK. I'll have some of Hana-chan's tea."
"Don't worry, Mugi-chan!" Ritsu said, "We'll have some of your tea when we go back to school the next day!"
Tsumugi then giggled. Sawako and the five girls were served some tea. "I propose a toast…" Ritsu said as she lifted her tea cup up, "…that we'll have the best performance of our lives!"
"…that we will rock it out in style high over Tokyo!" Sawako cried,
"…that we will give it our all tonight." Yui cried,
"…that many fans in Kamurocho will come and see us." Azusa said,
"…that we will generate more members of our club." Tsumugi replied,
"In short, we will go and do our best out there, for the sake of Akiyama-san and Sky Finance!" Mio cried out,
"Cheers!" The girls cried and clinked their teacups. Then, they drank their tea and sighed loudly. And then… they giggled… until… a blonde, shaggy-haired man in a black jacket, a purple shirt and black pants came into the office. Four other men in street clothes came into the office.
"Who are these guys?" Sawako cried,
"Again?" Hana said in a cute manner, "They don't give up, do they?"
Then, she turned to the five men. "I apologize, but can you kindly leave here? My boss went out to take care of some errands." Then, her mood turned mean. "If you've got something to tell me, tell me now!"
The purple-shirt man approached Hana and reached inside his jacket… and took out his pistol. Hana gasped. "Watch out, Hana-chan!" Sawako and the five girls cried,
The purple-shirt man whacked Hana's head with the pistol, which dropped her body to the floor.
"Hana-chan!" Mio cried and ran to her aid. Sawako and the other four girls watched on in horror…
"I'm s-sorry I couldn't do a-anything, boss." Hana cried,
"It's OK, Hana-chan." Shun cried out, "Who made this mess?"
"W-Well…" Hana tried to answer, "L-looks like… the H-Hatsushiba Clan… struck again."
"The Hatsushiba Clan?" Shun said, surprised, "Weren't they flushed out months ago?"
"N-No!" Hana cried, "I-I thought, too… that th-they were d-done with… a-and it was j-just plain l-loan sharks c-coming after us. T-turns out that… their chairman has b-been t-taken in by a yakuza f-family to s-serve as a lieutenant."
"Hmm…" Shun said, "I see. So… who's the new chairman?"
"T-Takumi…" Hana tried to answer, "M-Midorikawa."
"Midorikawa?" Shun became really surprised, "I thought I defeated him months ago! How did he become chairman?"
"I don't know, boss!" Hana cried, "B-But… there's s-something else…"
"What?" Shun cried, "What is it?"
"M-Midorikawa…" Hana cried, "…k-kidnapped the Hokago Tea Time b-band…"
Shun then growled with anger. "Akiyama… Hirasawa-san… Tainaka-san… Kotobuki-san… Nakano-san… and even Yamanaka-san… they're all gone." Hana said, weakly
"Where did they go?" Shun cried,
"T-they w-went t-to the Millennium Tower." Hana cried, "B-be careful… it might be a t-trap."
Shun then shushed Hana. "Try to rest, Hana-chan."
Then, he got up and said, "I have a niece to save… and her friends as well. Let's finish this!" With that, he quickly changed into a white shirt and a black jacket. Then, he ran out of Sky Finance to find and kill Midorikawa.
Shun ran downstairs and right out on Tenkaichi Street. Before he went, he decided to go to Poppo Mart and buy sake. He bought six bottles for ¥6,600. Then, he quickly left.
He ran north, right until he reached Taihei Boulevard. Then, he ran east on Taihei Boulevard. Then, he saw a crowd on the street. He thought, 'Why is the crowd out here at this time?'
He checked his watch. It was nearly 9:00 PM. He assumed they were there for the girls' performance. Then he asked a man in the suit, "Excuse me, but what is going on here?"
The man turned to Shun and answered, "Oh. We're here for the performance of the band, Hokago Tea Time."
"OK, thank you." Shun replied,
He then thought, 'They were all waiting for Mio-chan's band... I have to go in and save them before their performance starts and they get killed!'
Shun then ran inside the Millennium Tower's left doors.
Shun walked in the revolving doors and casually walked downstairs to the bottom floor. He walked slightly ahead at the center of the floor. Then, many men dressed in street clothes appeared in his plain sight.
"So..." Shun said, "I take it you boys are from the Hatsushiba Clan, hm?"
A group of men circled around Shun. "I'm in a hurry. Let me through." He said,
The men walked closer to Shun. "Fine." He then said as he flexed his feet, "Come!"
Shun thought as six men walked inside the circle the men made, 'First, I have to take out these guys and get them to tell me where the girls are...'
Shun ran up and jump-kicked on a thug and made a star-shape with his body, which took out two more men with his falling feet.
Shun ran a picked up a katana from a fallen thug, only to get dropped by a head-butt from a tall and heavy thug. Shun managed to trip a thug, and hit the two heavy thugs with a low kick.
He got up and poked a slash at two thugs. Shun was dropped by a head-butt from another tall and heavy thug. He managed to hit a thug with a low kick.
Shun hacked and slashed down two thugs. He gave a slash to a tall and heavy thug, but then he was dropped by a head-butt from another tall and heavy thug, but this time, he rolled himself to stand back up. Shun then gave a short slash to another thug.
Shun then hacked and slashed down eight thugs! He saw a thug down and... POW! He stomped on his head! Then, Shun hacked and slashed down three more thugs before the katana broke.
Shun then bashed a group of thugs with his his full roundhouse combo attack. When he did his two separate attacks, he got hit with a gunshot on the shoulder, a shuriken and a sledgehammer strike.
Shun ran up and jump-kicked on a thug and made a star-shape with his body, which took out two more men with his falling feet.
Shun then bashed another group of thugs with his full roundhouse combo attack. Then, Shun picked up a pistol from a fallen thug, shot and killed two gangsters.
The circled group of members became super-scared and they ran away crying, "Aah! This guy's a monster!"
Four thugs were left and Shun still had the pistol in his hand. He shot all four thugs at least once. Then, he ran up and jump-kicked on a thug and made a star-shape with his body, which took out two more men with his falling feet.
The last thug got up and grew super-scared of Shun. Shun grabbed him and cried, "What's wrong?" Then, he let his victim go.
Then, Shun smashed him with a horizontal kick, and... POW! Shun spun and smashed his face with a kick, which made the downed body twirl. Shun did a mini-handstand, dropped down and... POW! He smashed the thug's face with his right knee!
Shun cried to a downed thug, "Where are the Hokago Tea Time girls?"
"I-I don't know!" the downed Hatsushiba Clan member cried, "The lieutenant just told us to come here and kill you!"
"Lieutenant?" Shun asked, "And who is that guy?" He turned to find a tall, red hoodie-sweater-wearing gangster on the first floor. The gangster began to run upstairs. "Him, hm?" Shun said, then yelled at the Lieutenant, "Stop, you!"
Shun saw a thug coming as he reached the first floor. He hit him with a butterfly kick combo. Then, he grabbed the thug, bashed and smashed his face on a rail, and then the thug slumped down. Then... POW! Shun smashed his face with his foot!
Shun then bashed three thugs with two separate kick combos. Shun then grabbed a crowbar from a fallen thug. Shun approached a thug near the escalator to the second floor. Then, Shun caught the thug when he wasn't looking, grabbed his shirt and smashed him in the gut with the crowbar. Shun then proceeded to spank the thug with the crowbar seven times in the upper body. Shun then releases the thug and gave him one more spank in the head, dropping him. Shun broke the crowbar on the thug for insurance.
Shun then saw a thug carrying a big bench, guarding the escalator to the second floor and decided to hit him with a butterfly kick combo attack. He swayed back when the thug swung the bench at Shun. Shun finished him with his rapid-fire kicks.
Then, he ran up the escalator to the second floor. Then, he saw a schoolgirl with brown hair and red-rimmed glasses all tied up in a corner... and gagged. "Hey!" Shun cried, "Are you all right?"
"Mmmmppphhh!" The girl cried,
"Here." Shun said, "Let me untie you."
Shun quickly untied the rope from the girl and ripped off the tape from the girl's mouth. "Owww!" The girl cried,
"I'm sorry." Shun apologized, "If I hurt you, then I apologize."
"It's OK." The girl said, "My name is Nodoka Manabe. I'm Sakurako High's Student Council President. I came to oversee operations for tonight's concert, but this yakuza group ambushed me and some of my members and… we're in chaos as the Light Music Club's performance is tonight!"
"I know." Shun admitted, "The band is in trouble as well."
"What?" Nodoka cried, "What's going to happen to them?"
"I don't know. But whatever happens, the band will be safe and sound. Your student council members will be OK as well. We'll find them." Shun promised.
"By the way, who are you?" Nodoka asked, somewhat suspicious "You don't look like anyone I know."
"My name is Shun Akiyama." Shun introduced, "I'm a moneylender at Sky Finance… and Mio-chan's lost uncle."
"Wait!" Nodoka cried, "You're Mio's lost uncle?"
"It's a long story." Shun said, "I'll tell you later."
"Hey, bub!" someone cried,
Both Shun and Nodoka turned to face the Hatsushiba Clan Lieutenant who was in red clothing and wearing a pair of brass knuckles. "You bitches want a piece of me?"
Shun said, "Nodoka-chan, stay back. This is my fight."
"I can't do that, Akiyama-san." Nodoka said, "I know everyone in that club too well to let them suffer. Let me fight with you."
Nodoka got into her martial arts-like stance. Shun picked up a trash can and smashed it over the lieutenant's head! He then punched him twelve times in the stomach and… POW! Shun punched the lieutenant's head. That made him fall down to the floor, rolling.
The lieutenant got up. He punched Nodoka twice which dropped her easily. Shun then applied his roundhouse kick combo attack at the lieutenant. Nodoka got up and tried to grab the lieutenant… only for him to push her back. Shun then attacked the lieutenant with another roundhouse kick combo attack.
The lieutenant screamed as he rapidly punched Nodoka twice. He kept punching fast and then thrusted a harsh uppercut, which caught air. Nodoka performed her three quick kicks to the lieutenant, and finished her combo attack with an axe kick. Then, Nodoka surprised the lieutenant with a backflip kick, which pushed him to the wall.
And then… Shun bashed the lieutenant's head to the wall where he crouched and he bashed him with two single kicks and a twin jump kick. He did this again and finished the attack with a harsh axe kick… right to the head! The lieutenant grimaced for a bit before getting up.
"Come on!" He cried, "Is that all ya got?"
Shun then bashed the lieutenant with a roundhouse kick combo. The lieutenant performed three slow, but powerful punches which hit Nodoka, but Shun countered it with a counter-kick as the third punch got to him.
Nodoka recovered quickly and smacked the lieutenant with two backflip kicks. Shun then grabbed a trash can, smashed it over the lieutenant's head and bashed his stomach twelve times. And then… POW! Shun punched the lieutenant's head, finishing him off!
The lieutenant got up, crying and panting, "You two… are a freak of nature! We had you outnumbered…"
"Where are the Hokago Tea Time girls?" Shun yelled, "Talk!"
There was silence for a few seconds. "Or maybe you need some more convincing?" Nodoka added,
"I-I'll talk!" the Hatsushiba Clan Lieutenant cried, "The girls are on the roof of the Millennium Tower. Our chairman, Midorikawa, should be there, too."
'The roof, huh?' Shun thought,
"We have to hurry!" Nodoka cried, "We'll start finding the student council members at the fifth floor!"
At the moment the Shun and Nodoka arrived at the fifth floor, Shun drank a bottle of sake he bought at the Poppo Mart at Tenkaichi Street earlier. Nodoka began to suggest, "Let's search in all the rooms. I remember selecting six members of our student council to join us to our trip to Kamurocho."
"All right, then." Shun said, "We'd better hurry."
Both he and Nodoka went to room 501 and kicked down the door. A boy in a school uniform is cowering. He gasped when he saw Nodoka. "Run! Get out of here!" Nodoka cried,
"Thank you! Thank you!" the boy cried and ran out of the room.
Then, they kicked down the door in room 502. There was nobody there. They both sighed. Just then, a gangster in purple street clothes grabbed Nodoka from behind! She screamed and cried out, "Let go of me!" She bashed him one in the stomach and one in the face! "That'll teach you!"
Then, they went to room 503 and kicked down the door. There were two schoolgirls tied up in the same manner as Nodoka earlier. One of which had brown hair and a ponytail. Shun quickly untied them both. The second schoolgirl cried, "Thank you, President! Thank you… mysterious person!" And she ran.
"Ui!" Nodoka cried, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry I got caught up in this, Nodoka." The ponytailed schoolgirl apologized, "I wanted to see my sister here in Kamurocho, performing, but… somehow I got kidnapped by these yakuza thugs."
"Yui-chan?" Nodoka and Shun cried,
"Yes." Ui said, then she gasped, "What? She's in trouble, too?"
"Afraid so." Shun said, "And if we don't hurry, Midorikawa might kill them."
"Who are you?" Ui asked Shun,
"I'm Shun Akiyama." He introduced, "I'm a moneylender at Sky Finance, Yui-chan's friend… and Mio-chan's lost uncle."
"I didn't know Mio-senpai had an uncle." Ui remarked,
"We'll explain later!" Nodoka cried, "We got to save them!"
"Oh, right!" Ui cried, "I'll come with you!"
"It's too dangerous!" Shun cried, "Run and get out of here!"
"I can't do that, Akiyama-san." Ui said, "I know my sister too well and it would hurt me to see her get hurt… or even killed. So, let me help you."
Shun finally gave in and nodded. Then, he, Nodoka and Ui ran to room 504. They kicked down the door… and found a boy in a school uniform, cowering! "Oh! Thank you! Thank you!" he cried as he ran.
Then, they ran up to room 505, kicked down the door and… found nobody. All three sighed. Just then, a gangster in red street clothes grabbed Ui from behind! She screamed and cried out, "Let me go!" She bashed him one in the stomach and one in the face! "Maybe later, OK?"
Then, they ran up to room 506, kicked down the door and… found nobody. All three sighed.
Then, they ran up to room 507, kicked down the door and… found a schoolgirl tied up! Shun quickly ran to her aid with Nodoka and Ui following him, until… SLAM! The door was shut! Five men stood to face the four of them. Shun took out two men with his full roundhouse kick combo attack. Ui began attacking one of the thugs with her two punches and a kick. Shun gripped the thug Ui is striking from behind. Ui did a jumping knee to drop the thug down. Shun finished him off with a twirling kick to the face.
Nodoka easily bashed out a thug with her quick kicks. And they defeated the last thug standing. "Go on!" Shun cried to the council member,
"Thank you very much!" she cried and ran off.
Shun, Ui and Nodoka ran to room 509, kicked down the door and… found a schoolgirl tied up! Shun untied her quickly and cried, "Go!"
"Thank you, mysterious person!" The schoolgirl cried, "I won't forget this!" And she ran.
Shun, Ui and Nodoka ran to room 510, kicked down the door and… found a schoolgirl cowering in fear! Shun cried, "Go!"
"Thank you, mysterious person!" The schoolgirl cried, "I'll see you soon, president!" And she ran.
"That's everyone." Nodoka said,
"All right." Shun replied, "We'll head to the roof now. Hopefully, the girls will be OK."
"I hope so." a worried Ui said, "I wouldn't know what to do if my sister died tonight."
"She'll be OK." Shun comforted as he ran ahead to the elevator.
They ran to the elevator and picked the roof level. The elevator was large enough to support a big crowd. The doors closed and the three saviours walked around for a bit.
Just then, at the 15th floor, the elevator doors opened. Two Hatsushiba Clan members stepped inside. One had a hairstyle that was nearly a Mohawk and had on a purple track suit. Another had red street clothing. "Bring it on, bitches!" the red street-clothed man cried. Then, the elevator doors closed.
The purple track suit man got into the same kickboxing stance as Ui. Likewise, the red street clothed man got into the same martial arts stance as Nodoka. The purple suit man did a sweep kick that hit the three saviours' feet. Shun attacked the purple track-suit man with his full roundhouse kick combo attack.
Ui grabbed the red street-clothed man and Nodoka gave him three kicks and an axe kick. She knocked him down with a backflip kick. Ui did a sweep kick while the red street-clothed man was down.
Shun was grabbed from the waist by the purple track-suit man. He yelled, "Let me go!" Then, he smashed him with a full roundhouse combo attack. The purple track-suit man got on his feet and zoomed at Shun with his fist forward. But he got hit with a hind kick to the private area. Shun did a backflip and smashed the purple track-suit man with his feet, bringing him down!
As the purple track-suit man got up, he was met with a jumping knee from Ui, which took him down. She then did a sweep kick on the thug while he was down. Nodoka waited until he got up, and delivered her three kicks and an axe kick.
Shun attacked the red street-clothed man with his full roundhouse kick combo attack. The red street-clothed man got on his feet and zoomed at Shun with his fist forward. Shun attempted to guard the strike, but it broke. But... POW! Shun surprised the red street-clothed man with a long kick in the chest that sent him flying.
Shun then went to do a rapid-fire kick combo strike on the purple track-suit man. The purple track-suit man did a high spin kick which connected on Shun, Nodoka and Ui, making them dizzy. Then, he did a jumping knee which hit the three saviours. It knocked down Nodoka and Ui, but Shun managed to get on his feet quickly and did a zooming reversal kick, finishing off the purple track-suit man.
Then, Shun finished off the red street-clothed man with his full roundhouse kick combo attack. "Phew." Shun then said,
Nodoka and Ui got up as Shun got near the elevator doors. He turned to them and asked, "Are you girls OK?"
"I'm all right." Ui answered,
"Never better!" Nodoka cried, with confidence. Just then, the elevator doors opened. "Akiyama-san!" Nodoka and Ui cried as they saw a black street-clothed man sneak up behind Shun, "Watch out!"
Shun was grabbed by the man and his captor tried to take him away, only... For Shun to bash him one in the stomach and one in the face! "Hmph. What's wrong, huh?" He taunted,
The elevator doors closed. It rose up all the way to the roof. Finally, the doors opened. Shun, Nodoka and Ui walked through them.
Shun, Nodoka and Ui found themselves at the rooftop but in a lower area near the helipad. The three saviours ran to a small stairwell to an area with lots of pipes. He remembered that it was the exact same place that he fought Arai months ago.
Shun, Nodoka and Ui kept running up the stairs to an area in which the floor resembled the inside of an oven... metal wires are all around.
Shun then said, "Midorikawa might be expecting me alone. This is as far as I can take you."
"I understand, Akiyama-san." Nodoka said, "We'll keep an eye on things here."
Ui then hugged Shun and cried, "Please... Help my sister... I don't want her to die!"
Shun then hugged back and said, "I'll protect everyone... even if I have to risk my life to do it."
He then let himself go from Ui's grasp, and walked one more flight of stairs to the helipad of the Millennium Tower. His destiny awaited him...
At the helipad of the Millennium Tower, the purple-shirt man smoked his cigarette as he walked near all the Hokago Tea Time girls, including Sawako, who had their wrists tied to a rope near a gate railing.
"So..." The purple-shirt man said, "You girls are the Hokago Tea Time band, yeah?"
"Yeah..." The girls said, in unison, all scared at their captor
"I heard you girls are asking for money from Sky Finance, hm?" the purple-shirt man said, "I know that place too well."
"How did you know this?" Mio cried,
"Simple." The purple-shirt man said, "I know someone from there... He defeated me months ago, and as a result, our clan went to hell and our chairman was later taken in by the Tojo Clan. I came to get revenge on him..."
"What are you talking about?" Ritsu asked, slightly freaking out
Then, Mio gasped. She knew exactly who this man was talking about. "Uncle Shun?" she cried, "You're after Uncle Shun?"
"Oh?" the purple-shirt man cried, walking towards Mio, "You're the niece of that bastard?"
Ritsu then yelled, "Don't touch her, you dirty yakuza freak!"
The purple-shirt man laughed, "I didn't realize that bitch had family! It'll be a pleasure to kill you right away... I'm the second chairman of the Hatsushiba Clan, Takumi Midorikawa."
Sawako, who was next to Mio, then gasped, "Midorikawa? What are you doing here? Our band was no more because of you!"
As Midorikawa walked towards Sawako, Yui grew scared. "Azu-nyan! I'm scared!"
"It's OK, Yui-senpai." Azusa said who was just beside her. Tsumugi, who was between Yui and Ritsu shuddered in fear.
"Ah, Catherine." Midorikawa taunted, "Or should I say... Sawako Yamanaka."
Sawako gasped. "Our band could have been hotter..." Midorikawa continued, "Why did you choose to let me go from the band?"
"You needed to grow up!" Sawako cried, "You were all about sex, drugs and money! Kido and I wanted to play for fun, even if we were dressed up all goth-like!"
"Kido, huh?" Midorikawa said, "That bitch from Kanemura Industries?"
Sawako nods. "Even better!" Midorikawa said, "That guy deserved to be kidnapped by my clan months ago. We needed someone to lure that bitch ass moneylender out on the field. He was perfect... But, now... I hit the jackpot!"
He stood up to face every one of his victims. "I kidnapped every one of his girlfriends! What's even better is that you bitches are playing here tonight!"
Ritsu growled at his words. "Hmm..." Midorikawa said as he paced around, "Let's see... Who should I torture first?"
Then, he looked at Sawako. "I'll start with you... former band mate!" Sawako gasped in fear.
Then... Midorikawa kicked her right hand, hard. Sawako screamed in pain. Then, Midorikawa kicked her left hand, hand. Sawako screamed as she felt her fingers broken. "Sawa-chan!" the girls cried,
Midorikawa then walked towards Mio. "You are very pretty, you know." He said, "It'd be sad to fuck up that pretty face of yours. Where's your uncle now, huh?"
Mio then shuddered. "Oh wait!" Midorikawa said, "Where was he when you were born? Where was he when you grew up with your parents? Where was he when you graduated out of junior high?"
Midorikawa came close to Mio's ears. "Where was he when you even joined this band?" he whispered,
"SHUT UP!" Ritsu yelled, "Don't you dare talk about that to my friend! Mr. Moneylender may not have been a good uncle, but he more than made up for everything in these last 12 hours!"
"You SHUT UP!" Midorikawa cried to Ritsu, "Or you're next!"
Mio had conflicting thoughts in her head. Everything Midorikawa said had been true. Shun was never there for her because he had been a busy man. Ritsu, on the other hand, was right. Shun more than made up for everything he hadn't done with her in the last half-day.
"Your uncle was never there for you when it counted…" Midorikawa said, "And he'll never be there to see you and your friends die here tonight…"
"Don't count on that, Midorikawa!" someone cried. Midorikawa looked around and gasped when he found Shun.
"Uncle Shun!" Mio cried,
"Mr. Moneylender!" Ritsu cried,
"Akiyama-chan!" Sawako cried,
"Akiyama-san!" Yui, Tsumugi and Azusa cried,
"What's this I hear that I was never there for her?" Shun asked, tauntingly, "I may have been a busy man, both as a homeless man and a moneylender. But that doesn't mean that I do not love her."
Midorikawa scoffed then said, "Well, well… if it isn't the Hokago Saviour, Shun Akiyama of Sky Finance! Looks like you've failed this time, bitch!"
"I wouldn't count on that." Shun said, "I've beaten a ton of your thugs to get here. By the way, how did you become the new chairman of the Hatsushiba Clan?"
"Heh. Hatsushiba himself named me the new chairman." Midorikawa answered, in a sneering manner. "And I hid for many months after you defeated me and I've come back for one thing… revenge!"
"You think hurting my friends and my niece will satisfy you?" Shun cried, "I'm gonna break your face so hard that you won't be able to talk for a month!"
"You motherfucker!" Midorikawa cried, "You think you're hot shit, huh?" As both Shun and Midorikawa taunted each other, Mio managed to feel an iron rod that might be useful. "I'm gonna put holes in you… holes in which your friends will fit in!"
"Mio-chan!" Shun cried,
"Yes, Uncle Shun?" Mio cried,
"Know that…" He began, "What I did with you and Mugi-chan… was me trying to protect you. I know you still can hold your own, but I sent you away because… I love you."
"I know, Uncle Shun." Mio cried, "I love you too!"
Midorikawa took out his pistol and cried, "That's very sweet. I'm getting cavities! Time to kill the Moneylender and the Hokago Tea Time band… Die!" He ran to Shun and was about to whip him with a pistol. Shun flexed his feet and kicked his arm. Both men stepped back momentarily.
Midorikawa took a shot at Shun. Shun successfully swayed to evade it. Shun did a butterfly kick combo attack that took down Midorikawa. Shun did a soft kick on Midorikawa while he was down.
"Go, Mr. Moneylender!" Ritsu cried,
"You can do it, Akiyama-san!" Tsumugi cheered,
Midorikawa got up and tried to shoot Shun, only for him to miss. Shun then hit him with a low horizontal shot. Then, Shun ran up and did a triplet kick on Midorikawa hitting him in the air. Shun then smashed Midorikawa with two squat-and-axe-kick combo attacks. Shun gave him an extra kick while he was still in the air.
Midorikawa got up. Azusa cried as he did a harsh pistol whip. "Akiyama-san! Watch out!"
On the second pistol whip, Shun countered the attack with a harsh counter-kick, which took down Midorikawa.
"Heh. Come." Shun taunted,
Midorikawa got up. Shun guarded with his leg up. Midorikawa did a pistol whip, which broke his guard, but… POW! Shun surprised Midorikawa with a harsh roundhouse kick!
"Yeah!" Sawako cried, "Kill him! Crunch him! Break his bones, Akiyama-chan!"
Midorikawa stammered and ran to the door near a gate on the helipad. Then, four thugs walked over and rolled down two downed bodies… They were Nodoka and Ui. "Nodoka-chan! Ui!" Yui cried tearfully, and then she fumed with anger.
"Kill them, Akiyama-san!" an enraged Yui shouted
Shun attacked the big, heavy thug for a bit. Then, Shun ran up and jump-kicked on a thug and made a star-shape with his body, which took down two more men with his falling feet.
All three men got up. Shun attacked the three lighter thugs with separate kicking attacks. Then, he got behind the big, heavy thug. The big, heavy thug tried to strike. But he got hit with a hind kick to the private area. Shun did a backflip and smashed the big, heavy thug with his feet, bringing him down!
Shun then defeated the purple-jacket thug with his rapid-fire kicks. Shun waited for one of the lighter thugs to strike and… POW! Shun counter-kicked the attacker which took him out. Shun waited for the last lighter thug to strike and… POW! Shun counter-kicked the attacker which took him down.
Shun crouched and cried, "What's up with you?"
He then got up. Shun spun and smashed his victim's face with a kick, which made the downed body twirl. Shun did a mini-handstand, dropped down and... POW! He smashed the thug's face with his right knee!
"Phew…" Shun said, "That's all of them." Then, he ran to Mio to untie her, until… he heard chainsaw noises. Shun turned around at the door near the helipad and… BAM! Midorikawa screamed and he is armed with a lethal chainsaw! "You little bitch!" He yelled and ran to Shun.
Shun held the chainsaw up, only for Midorikawa to kick him near the gate where the girls are tied up.
Mio didn't know what to do. She needed to protect her uncle from harm. The chainsaw that Midorikawa has in his hands can potentially kill Shun. Just then, she felt the iron rod again. Then, she had an idea. She gripped the iron rod with her feet, jumped up with it and let go of the rod.
"Uncle Shun!" Mio cried and she did a soccer-style bicycle kick at the rod. She kicked right into Shun's hands!
"DIE!" Midorikawa yelled as he violently lowered the chainsaw at Shun. Shun blocked it with the iron rod that Mio kicked to him.
Midorikawa shuddered as he tried to break the iron rod that Shun defended himself with. Soon, Shun evaded the chainsaw and smashed Midorikawa with the rod, both times in the head! That attack took down Midorikawa.
"Yay, Akiyama-san!" Yui cheered,
"You've got him, Mr. Moneylender!" Ritsu yelled,
Midorikawa got up. He whiffed the chainsaw at Shun and at the second whiff, he got hit by Shun's counter-kick strike. Midorikawa still remained standing. "That shit won't work this time!" He yelled,
Shun then tried his two quick kicks and quickly swayed back. Midorikawa whiffed his chainsaw four times, only to miss. Midorikawa tried a jumping strike, only to be stuck. Shun did his roundhouse kick combo attack.
Midorikawa lifted his chainsaw up. Then, he ran to Shun, with the chainsaw in front of him. Shun managed to evade the attack. Shun delivered his squat-and-axe-kick shot on Midorikawa. Midorikawa turned around and did two short whiffs. He then spun the chainsaw.
"Wow…" Tsumugi said, "Akiyama-san sure knows what he's doing."
"How can you still keep cool, Mugi-chan?" Ritsu yelled, "We're in trouble here! If Mr. Moneylender can't beat that pervert, we'll die!"
Tsumugi laughs. Shun did two quick kicks after Midorikawa missed his strike. He quickly swayed back, anticipating another chainsaw attack from Midorikawa. Shun then did his two quick kicks and a quick axe kick, then quickly swayed back before Midorikawa tried his four whiffs, which missed.
"Give it up, bitch!" Midorikawa yelled, "You can't win!"
'I'm trying hard to beat this guy… but how can I do it?' Shun thought, and then he noticed the edge of the gate near the girls, 'I wonder…'
Shun swayed back to the corner. Midorikawa whiffed his chainsaw four times, still missing Shun. Shun thought, 'Wait for it… wait for it…'
Midorikawa rushed at Shun with the chainsaw in front of him. "Watch out, Uncle Shun!" Mio cried,
Shun swayed. The girls cried out in fear that the chainsaw might have been aimed for them and then… Shun bashed Midorikawa's head to the gate where he crouched and he bashed him with two single kicks and a twin jump kick. He did this again and finished the attack with a harsh axe kick… right to the head! Midorikawa grimaced for a bit… and could not get up anymore!
Shun panted and untied Mio. She instantly hugged Shun. "Uncle Shun!" Mio cried, "I don't care if you weren't there for me early on in my life! I love you…"
"It's OK, Mio-chan." Shun hugged back, "I love you too… No matter what, even if I am not with you, I'll always be there to protect you."
Shun then helped Mio untie everyone else. Yui ran to Nodoka and Ui. "Nodoka-chan! Ui!" she cried, "Speak to me! Answer me!"
"Y… Yui-chan…" Nodoka cried, weakly
"Big sis…" Ui said, weakly
Yui chuckled. She knew her friends were alive! She hugged them both! Azusa came to help Nodoka up and Yui picked up her little sister.
"Are you OK, Sawa-chan?" Tsumugi asked checking on her hands,
"I'm sorry, girls…" Sawako said, "But my hands are hurt really badly. If anything happens to Yui, I can't take her place."
"What are we going to do?" Ritsu cried out, "What'll we do?"
Shun then said, "I can help with that." He pulled out his cell phone and he dialled a number. "Hello?" he began, "I need help with something. Sawako is hurt really badly… She can't play the guitar tonight. You will? Great! I'll see you soon."
Mio walked towards Shun asking, "Who did you call?"
"You'll see." Shun said,
"Uncle Shun," Mio said, "Don't keep secrets from me. I knew it was Arai-san the moment you answered your cell back before we were kidnapped. Please tell me who was that you were talking to."
Shun then sighed. He began to open his mouth, until… Azusa gasped. Midorikawa got up, pistol in hand! "I'm… I'm not gonna go down alone!" He yelled, "I'm taking one of you with me!"
He pointed his pistol at Mio. She gasped. "Mio!" Ritsu cried,
"Mio-chan!" Yui and Tsumugi cried,
"Mio-senpai!" Azusa cried,
"DIE!" Midorikawa yelled and shot his pistol! Everyone gasped. Mio shut her eyes, but… she wasn't shot! She looked at her saviour. It was her uncle, Shun. He was shot and brought down.
"Uncle Shun!" Mio yelled,
"Mr. Moneylender!" Ritsu yelled,
"Akiyama-san!" Yui, Tsumugi, Azusa, Nodoka and Ui yelled,
"Akiyama-chan!" Sawako yelled,
"Uncle Shun!" Mio cried as she held his body, "Don't die on me! Please wake up! Wake up!" Shun withered in pain.
Shun opened his eyes. He looked inside his jacket. He took out a wad of money, ripped in the center by the bullet from Midorikawa's pistol. "I've… been saved… by money… again." Shun said, somewhat weakly
Then, Mio heard the pistol cock on her head. "You may have lived, Akiyama…" Midorikawa said, "But, your niece won't."
He smirked. The girls shuddered in fear, until… BANG! There was silence for a few seconds until… Midorikawa was shot and his body dropped down. Mio looked at the shooter.
"You must be Arai." Mio said,
"Yes." Arai replied, "I'm Hiroaki Arai, Lieutenant of the Tojo Clan's Shibata Family's Kanemura Industries."
Shun got up for a bit and noticed. "Arai-san…" He said,
"Mio Akiyama…" Arai addressed to the younger Akiyama, "Your uncle may not have been what he was… but he did not disappoint you, not one little bit. You've got a good uncle there. Make sure you love him, respect him and treat him well."
"I will, Arai-san." Mio replied and bowed,
"Shun Akiyama…" Arai addressed to the older Akiyama, "You may not remembered that you had a niece… but you more than made up for everything. You have a good niece there. Make sure you love her, respect her and treat her well."
"I will, Arai-san." Shun replied, "Thank you for finding ourselves."
"I trust you two will have a stable relationship." Arai commented, "I wish you both the best of luck in your future endeavours."
Arai then said, "Take care." He then left.
"Umm… Uncle Shun," Mio began, "I didn't ask on the first day that we met, but I heard that… once you lend money to people, you give them 'conditions'. What will be mine?"
Shun thought long and hard. Then, he said, "My condition to you is… 'Hang out together whenever you can'. By the way, with tonight's performance, you passed the test. Your loan will be ready after the performance."
"Thank you…" Mio said, "Uncle Shun."
"You're welcome, Mio-chan." Shun replied,
"Hey, Mio!" Ritsu cried, "We have to get ready for our performance!"
"OK! I'm coming, Ritsu!" Mio cried, and turned back to Shun, "Are you going to watch our performance?"
"I will, Mio-chan." Shun replied,
A few minutes later, the girls began performing their set on the rooftop of the Millennium Tower. All the girls were in their coloured business suits, with Yui in red, Ritsu in yellow, Mio in blue, Tsumugi in green, and Azusa in purple. They decided to perform a few tracks that they have learned from experience.
But, during one song, Yui fainted. Mio cried, "Who'll take our place? Sawa-chan can't play! How'll we find someone at a time like this?"
"Did someone call for a guitarist?" someone said,
Everyone looked around. Azusa saw the person who spoke, and then she cried, "Kido-san!"
"Hello, Nakano-san!" Kido cried,
"Who is this guy?" Ritsu asked,
"Oh, I'm Takeshi Kido of Kanemura Industries." He introduced, "I used to play a guitar for 'Death Devil'."
"Oh! Sawa-chan's former bandmate!" Ritsu cried, "Come on! Join us!"
Kido took the guitar from Yui. "Let's hope I can get this right…" Kido said,
"Don't worry, Kido-san!" Azusa cried with confidence, "Let's do our best out there!"
Kido shook his head and looked at Sawako. He then said, "You changed a lot, 'Catherine'. What say we hang out together after the show?"
"My real name is Sawako Yamanaka." She replied, "Sure! We can hang out… 'Killer & Taker'."
Kido laughed at the nickname. "Ready, everyone?" he cried,
"Yes!" Everyone else cried,
Mio winked at Shun who was sitting near the gate. She knew that her uncle can be counted on. She had a gut feeling that their relationship will soon blossom like a flower on a sunny day.
Then, the band known as "Hokago Tea Time" played on into the night.
A few weeks later, Shun sat on his desk at Sky Finance, looking at a new picture on a frame. The photo had him and Mio. Then, he heard a door open. He knew the person coming in. "Ah, Mio-chan…" Shun said,
"Uncle Shun…" Mio, in her normal school uniform, said, "I want to thank you for everything."
"It's nothing." Shun replied, "All I ask is your friendship… and your loan back."
Mio then gave back the ¥500,000 to Shun in the form of a cheque. "And there's something else." Mio said and she unveiled her back to reveal a cake that contained a picture of everyone. In the photo are Shun, Hana, Kido, Yui, Ritsu, Mio, Tsumugi, Azusa and Sawako with the words, "Thank you. From 'Hokago Tea Time'."
"You didn't have to." Shun chuckled, but he took the cake anyway, "Thank you, Mio-chan!"
"You're welcome." Mio replied, "And there's one last thing."
"What's that, Mio-chan?" Shun asked,
"Look outside." Mio replied,
Shun walked to the window to find everyone waving at him. He was surprised that Kido is holding hands with Sawako. Yui, Ritsu, Tsumugi, Azusa, Nodoka and Ui waved at Shun.
Shun chuckled again. "OK. You got me. It's part of your 'condition'." He said, "Do you feel like going out? All of us?"
"Oh, yes!" Mio answered, excitedly, "Let's!"
"All right." Shun replied,
Then, they both heard the door open. In came Hana. "Hi, boss!" she said, and then she noticed Mio, "Oh! Miss Akiyama! What are you up to today?"
"I came by to drop off the loan." She said, "I'm heading out with my uncle to go around Kamurocho." Then, she turned to Shun. "Aren't we?"
"Oh, yeah!" Shun replied, "I'm going to take the day off today. Will you watch the office for me?"
"OK, boss!" Hana replied, "Have fun!"
"Thank you!" Shun replied, then he turned to Mio "Ready, Mio-chan?"
"Oh, yes!" Mio replied, and she held Shun's hand as they both left Sky Finance and joined up with everyone. For Mio, it's one step closer to maintaining a strong relationship with her moneylending uncle. For Shun, it's one step closer to maintaining a strong relationship with his bassist niece. Mio and Shun are together as family… under the Akiyama name and they are proud of it.
THE END