Author's Notes: Finally! A wild Pierce and Shaundi appear!
I'm thinking of sprinkling a few bonus chapters here and there throughout the story. They'd include Hanabi's homie conversations and audio logs from SR3 and 4 as well as some additional scenes that I either couldn't find a place for or replaced with something else entirely. So far I've got: Shaundi introducing Hanabi to coffee, Hanabi and her quest for hospital jello, Pierce and Shaundi finding the one song that can make Hanabi turn the hell up (at this point, at least), and a scene with Hanabi and Johnny that first put the idea of adopting her into Aisha's head. Thoughts?
"So, how are my two favorite invalids?" the Boss greeted as they entered Johnny and Hanabi's hospital room the next day. They were pleasantly surprised to see Hanabi sitting in the chair next to Johnny's bed. "Nice to see you up and movin' around, Hanabi. Guess your leg's not hurtin' ya too bad, huh?"
Hanabi shrugged. "I've had worse. Besides, the wound on my leg wasn't all that serious; Jyunichi only stabbed me there to hold me in place."
"Seems like standard Ronin protocol when dealin' with you," the Boss commented, nodding toward Hanabi's re-gloved hands. "How'd you get the gloves back?"
"She started yelling at the nurses in Japanese until one of them went and got 'em for her," Johnny supplied. "I've never seen anybody go on a rant like that and keep their face completely blank. I'm still not sure if I thought it was hilarious or disturbing." He looked over at Hanabi. "Think we could score some free Freckle Bitch's if you started yelling at the cashiers?"
"Worth a shot, I guess," Hanabi replied. "If the yelling doesn't work, there's always the fake tears."
Johnny chuckled. "Nice. I should've taken you in months ago." He turned his gaze toward the Boss. "Speakin of, Tiny has something she wants to tell you."
"That so?" the Boss asked, looking over at the girl.
"Do you remember the offer you made when we met?" Hanabi asked.
The Boss nodded. "Yeah."
"Is it still on the table?" Hanabi asked.
Another nod. "Yeah. You finally decided to take me up on it?"
"If you'll have me," Hanabi said.
The Boss smiled and offered Hanabi their fist. "Welcome to the Third Street Saints, kid. The Brotherhood and Sons of Samedi have been taken out for the most part but I'm gonna be countin' on you to help us wipe out the Ronin."
"Boss," Hanabi began, bumping her fist against theirs. "It would be my genuine pleasure."
"Yo, speakin' of the Ronin, did you manage to take that Akuji fucker out?" Johnny asked.
The Boss shook their head as they sat down on the edge of Johnny's bed. "Nah. Pierce and I went to the airport to get him while he was gettin' off the plane but someone must have evacuated him before we got there. I may have missed the chance this time but I'm positive we'll get another one. Just can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
"Maybe a little of both," Hanabi offered. "He won't go down easy, that's for sure."
"If it were easy, it'd just be a waste of time," Johnny replied.
"True that," the Boss agreed. "I do have some good news for you guys, though. We're not gonna have to worry about Jyunichi anymore."
"What?" Johnny asked.
"I took him out last night," the Boss explained.
"But how did you know where he was going to be?" Hanabi probed.
"Someone called my phone from a blocked number and told me he was gonna be at that Kanto restaurant," the Boss elaborated. "I have no clue who it was but the voice was male and he said it was 'our chance for revenge'."
"So the bastard's dead?" Johnny asked.
"I cut him up myself," the Boss confirmed. They studied Johnny for a moment. "How ya doin'?"
Johnny sighed, his tone somber. "She's dead. You really gotta ask?" He shot a glance toward Hanabi, resting his hand on her head when he noticed that her eyes had clouded over with sadness, before looking back at the Boss. "Funeral?"
The Boss shrugged and shook their head. "We're waiting for you. How long till you're back?"
"The doc said we should be up and murderin' in a couple of days," Johnny told them. The Boss chuckled at this. "Well, ya know, he didn't say 'murdering' but you get the idea."
The hospital's power went out as soon as Johnny uttered those words, the red emergency lights and security alarms activating soon after. The Boss quickly stood and pulled a nearby gurney over to Johnny's bed. "Time to leave?"
"Fuck yeah," Johnny replied as he sat up.
"Hanabi, you can walk on that injured leg, right?" the Boss asked as they loaded Johnny onto the gurney.
"Yep," Hanabi confirmed.
"Good, because I doubt I would've been able to wheel both of you out of here," the Boss replied. "How are you with a gun?"
"Considering I've never used one before, probably pretty bad," Hanabi answered matter-of-factly.
"You're shittin' me," the Boss said, disbelief in their voice. "All the time you've spent in a gang and you never once picked up a gun?"
"Jyunichi never used them and so I never learned how, either," Hanabi reasoned. "Besides, if you were Akuji, would you have trusted me with a gun?"
"That's a very good point," the Boss agreed. "Still, it's somethin' that we're gonna have to fix now that you're rollin' with the Saints."
"Yo, the longer you two stand there, the more time those Ronin fuckwads have to get into position," Johnny pointed out.
"Alright, alright, here's the plan," the Boss began. "I'll stay in front of you two and take the Ronin as they come at us. Hanabi, you're gonna wheel Gat out. We'll get to the ambulance parked outside, load you two up, and then speed back to the hideout."
Johnny nodded. "Sounds good." He looked up at Hanabi. "You ready for your first mission as a Saint, Tiny?"
Hanabi shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."
"You know, ya could have brought flowers instead of a gang of people tryin' to kill us," Johnny commented as the trio made their way down the hall.
"Maybe, but where's the fun in that?" the Boss replied as they shot down two Ronin grunts before leading Johnny and Hanabi through an operating room. "So what do you think about doin' this every week?"
"You really need to get out more," Johnny quipped.
"Aw, come on," the Boss whined, mock disappointment lacing their voice. "What about you, Hanabi? You game?"
"Sure," Hanabi snarked. "So long as you're the one on the gurney next time."
"Ha, you got-" the Boss began before pausing a turning toward Hanabi. "Was that sarcasm?"
"I don't know what you mean," Hanabi dismissed, looking past the Boss and down another hallway. "There's more Ronin coming."
"Look at you, kid. Shit-talkin' during a firefight like you've been a Saint all your life," the Boss said, turning back around a quickly dispatching the three Ronin who had rounded the corner via headshot.
"Where'd you learn to shoot straight?" Johnny asked as they continued the hall, the Boss taking out any and all Ronin in the way.
"It's somethin' I picked up when I was in a coma," the Boss joked. They let out a sigh of relief when they saw the elevator and they immediately pressed the call button. "So since you've been out, I decided to put Pierce in charge."
"That's not funny," Johnny replied as the doors to the elevator opened.
"You need me to change your bedpan?" the Boss asked Johnny as the trio got off the elevator, passed the physical therapy room, and finally reached the front desk.
"Shut up," Johnny replied.
The Boss chuckled. "You two stay here while I take out the goons at the front doors and then we'll haul ass outta here." As they opened the door to shoot down the two Ronin waiting there, the ambulance was blown up. "Well shit, that's not makin' things any easier."
"Are you kidding me?" Hanabi asked incredulously. "They planted a bomb in the ambulance?! What do we do now?"
"There's a chopper on the roof. It's our best chance outta here," Johnny said as the Boss rejoined them.
"Fine," the Boss replied. "Back to the elevator, then. Shoulda known that ambulance was too conveniently placed to be true."
"I can't believe they actually had the foresight to rig it up in the first place," Johnny added as the Boss pressed the call button again.
"That just goes to show you how dangerous the Ronin can be when they've got a competent leader at the helm," Hanabi told them. "We're dealing with Kazuo Akuji now; the fight's only going to get harder."
"Don't tease me, Tiny," Johnny said as they climbed back into the elevator, eagerness in his tone.
The top floor of the hospital was more heavily guarded than any of them anticipated. Since the Ronin knew that the chopper was going to be the trio's only means of escape, they had concentrated the bulk of their forces along the path the three Saints would have to take to get to it. Not that it made much of a difference to the Boss, though. They made quick work of the grunts before leading Johnny and Hanabi to the helipad and into the chopper.
"Think you can manage to fly us back to the hideout, Hanabi?" the Boss asked. "Gat's lost a lot of blood and I wanna see if there's anything I can give him in here."
Hanabi nodded. "Sure thing."
The Boss blinked. "Uh...I was kidding but right on." There was a pause as Hanabi started the chopper. "Have you ever flown one of these things before?"
"Nope," Hanabi replied as they lifted off. "Perfect time to learn though, right?"
"Seriously?!" the Boss exclaimed.
"Just worry about getting Johnny fixed up. I'll take care of the flying," Hanabi assured them. "Just one question..." The Boss looked up at her. "Where am I supposed to be flying us to?"
"The Saints set up shop underneath the old city mission," Johnny told her. "Think you can get us there?"
Hanabi nodded. "No problem."
"Speaking of the hideout," the Boss began, searching through the chopper for medicine. "I think it'd be best if you and Hanabi hid out there for a little while. At least until your wounds heal."
"Why's that?" Johnny asked.
"Think about it. The Ronin know you two are injured and if they're willing to attack a fucking hospital just for a chance to take you out, what's stopping them from trying again?" the Boss reasoned. "At least at the hideout, you'd have the other Saints around as backup."
"That's fair enough," Johnny agreed. "I need to find us a new place to live anyway. After what happened, I don't think either of us could go back to Eesh's house."
"I feel ya, man," the Boss said, patting Johnny's shoulder. They glancing up at Hanabi and, once they were convinced that she was too focused on flying the chopper to overhear the conversation, they shifted their gaze back to Johnny and lowered their voice. "So you're serious about keepin' the kid, then?"
"Yeah," Johnny confirmed, his voice equally low. "I think it'll be good for both of us. Besides...it's what Eesh would have wanted."
"Sorry to interrupt your little meeting back there," Hanabi interjected. "But I've got some good news and some bad news."
"What's up?" the Boss asked.
"Good news: I see the city mission," Hanabi supplied.
"Great. Take us down," the Boss told her.
"Bad news: I also see a lot of Ronin down there waiting for us," Hanabi continued.
"Don't worry about that," the Boss replied. "I texted Pierce and Shaundi as we were loadin' up. They're gonna have the crew ready."
As if on cue, dozens of Saints began pouring out of the mission doors with guns at the ready, easily outnumbering the Ronin assailants. While the Ronin were preoccupied with fending off the new attackers, the doors to the chopper were pulled open to reveal a girl with dreadlocks and a purple bandana and a man wearing a purple and white baseball cap and jersey.
"Great timing, guys," the Boss praised. They turned to the man in the jersey. "Pierce, help me bring Gat inside." They shifted their gaze to the girl with dreadlocks next. "Shaundi, you got the kid."
"On it," Shaundi replied, turning to look at Hanabi. "Come on. Let's get you guys inside before more of these Ronin scrubs show up."
Hanabi blinked and cast an uncertain look toward Johnny, who nodded his head, before she looked back at Shaundi. "Okay," she agreed, hopping out of the chopper and following Shaundi as she rushed back inside.
"It is always like this for you guys?" Hanabi asked once the Ronin had been driven away and everyone was safely underground.
"More or less," Shaundi replied from her spot next to Hanabi on one of the couches. "You get used to it pretty quick, though." She smiled at Hanabi before continuing. "I'm Shaundi, by the way. You must be the little Ronin girl the Boss and Johnny have been talkin' about."
"I guess so...?" Hanabi replied, tilting her head slightly before straightening again. "I'm Hanabi. It's nice to meet you." A pause. "I heard about what happened with that DJ with the stupid hat." She patted Shaundi's shoulder. "I'm glad you're not dead."
"Thanks...I think," Shaundi said, casting a confused look toward Johnny and the Boss.
"Hey, it's more than she ever said to us when we first met her," Johnny pointed out.
"So we're seriously gonna have this kid hangin' around from now on?" Pierce asked, his tone uncertain.
Shaundi looked back to Hanabi. "Aaaaand there's Pierce, the Saints' resident buzzkill. Just ignore what he says and your life will be a lot more fun."
"I'm just sayin'," Pierce protested. "It's hard to believe that someone as young as she is is even involved in a gang at all, let alone some deadly ninja."
"Harder to believe than samurai warriors and a voodoo gang?" the Boss countered. "Trust me, Pierce, she's gonna be a lot of help to us."
"If you say so," Pierce conceded but he turned his gaze back to Hanabi. "I'm still not completely sold on the idea of lettin' her in but-" Before he could finish, Hanabi picked up a nearby fork and hurled it in Pierce's direction. The fork embedded itself in the wall barely a inch away from Pierce's head and he reeled back in shock when he registered what had happened. "Jesus! You could've killed me, ya crazy little-"
"Do you think missing was an accident?" Hanabi interjected. "If you're still not convinced, I'd be happy to throw more sharp objects at you."
"I'm good..." Pierce declined as Johnny and Shaundi began laughing.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Shaundi commented, her voice breathless from her laughter.
"Like I said," the Boss said, putting a hand on Pierce's shoulder. "She's gonna be a lot of help to us."
Ending Notes: Hanabi's officially a Saint now!
I know I'm not giving a lot of description about what the Saints' hideout looks like at this point but that's because I want the readers to imagine it in whatever style they choose. I personally see it in the 'Average' style (even though, if the Brotherhood and Sons of Samedi are finished at this point, it'd probably be in the 'Pimp' style by then), but feel free to see it however you want.
I had a thought when I was a work today that nearly made me crack up in the middle of the break room and I'd like to know what you guys have to say about it: When Johnny decides that it's time for 'The Talk' with Hanabi, how do you think he'd go about it? I figured he'd either A: Pass the buck to Shaundi and get her to do it (if it's not apparent in this chapter, Hanabi and Shaundi are gonna be buds), B: just tell she can't date until after she's married, C: try to awkwardly explain things to Hanabi, only for her to reveal that she already knew, or D: hand Hanabi a Bop-It and tell her 'if a guy sticks his dick in your face, just do what this thing says'.
Thank you all so much for reading! Feedback and constructive criticism are more than welcome! Geekinthepink, out!