Author's Notes: I'm really sorry for the delay on this chapter! I've been replaying the Saints Row series (shocker!) and I can lose myself for hours once I start.
I know I've said it already, but I can't thank you guys enough for all the support you've shown this story. I'm especially pleasantly surprised at how well-received Hanabi has been. I try to keep my OCs from becoming too Mary-Sueish and I've been trying to keep Hanabi reasonably balanced but you guys really seem to like her and her relationships with the other Saints so far!
After the Ronin's attack on the hideout, the Boss had decided to take extra measures to keep Mr. Wong safe; though the old man had shown he was more than capable of taking care of himself, there was always at least one Saint assigned to guard him. It was clear that Wong wasn't thrilled with all the extra protection, but he understood the necessity; the Ronin had a nasty habit of striking when you least expected it so it was better to be safe than sorry.
Today was the day of the Heritage Festival and, just like every year, Wong was in charge of overseeing the event and making sure everything went smoothly. Considering how public the festival was, the Boss figured it was likely that Akuji would send his goons out while Wong was out in the open. To that end, the Boss had asked Johnny and Hanabi to keep a close watch on Wong and his interpreter. The pair had been diligent and thus far there had been no sign of the Ronin.
"You don't need to follow me like a child," Wong assured them as the four made their way along the boardwalk.
"The Boss asked us to make sure the Ronin don't crash your party and that's what we're gonna do," Johnny replied. The peaceful atmosphere was immediately shattered by the sound of a car engine revving and tires squealing. The four turned to see a Ronin car speeding toward them and Johnny immediately readied his gun. "Wong...get outta here." He fired a few shots through the car's windshield, killing the driver and causing the car to swerve and flip over, knocking over a nearby hotdog stand and hitting an unfortunate pedestrian. Two more Ronin cars arrived on the scene a second later, both coming from opposite ends of the street. Johnny cracked his neck before looking down at Hanabi. "What do you think, Tiny? You take the ones on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?"
Hanabi nodded, readying her pistols. "Last one to finish mopping up their goons treats the other one to Freckle Bitch's?"
"You read my mind, kid," Johnny agreed. "Let's do this."
Wong and his interpreter had made it a fair distance down the boardwalk and, thanks to Johnny and Hanabi, hadn't encountered any Ronin resistance thus far. The gunfire could still be heard in the distance but it didn't sound as if it was getting closer to them. Wong's relative peace of mind was soon shattered, however, by a familiar and entirely unwelcome figure.
"Wong," Akuji called as he turned to face the old man, contempt evident in his voice.
"Akuji," Wong replied, his tone filled with just as much disdain.
Akuji directed his attention to Wong's interpreter. "Leave us, cripple." The interpreter glanced at Wong, who merely nodded his head, and began moving away from the two men. Akuji leveled his ever-present glare on Wong once again. "Be thankful for the merciful deaths you and your rabble are receiving. It's nothing compared to what I will do to the Saints when I'm through here."
"You talk too much," Wong growled, readying his revolver as Akuji drew his katana.
Meanwhile, a fair distance away from the Heritage Festival, the Boss was enjoying a little downtime at Technically Legal when their phone rang. They fished the phone out of their pocket, answering the call as the walked out the doors of the strip club. "You got good timing."
"Mr. Wong needs your help!" came the interpreter's voice through the receiver.
"What's wrong?" the Boss asked.
"The Ronin have attacked the Heritage Festival! Mr. Wong won't last against Akuji!" the interpreter replied, his voice frantic.
"Where are the Gats?" the Boss probed.
"They ran off to fight the Ronin as they approached," the interpreter supplied.
"Sit tight. I'm on my way," the Boss told him as they hopped into their car and headed toward the dock.
The Boss made it to the boardwalk a short time later, more than a little eager to take the Ronin out. The gang had attempted to stop them with an attack chopper dropping explosives and, though none of the blasts had caused any significant damage, the attack put the Boss in a pretty foul mood. Fortunately, the pier was crawling with Ronin grunts and the Boss had plenty of ammo.
The Boss made their way across the boardwalk looking for any sign of Wong or Akuji and firing on any Ronin soldiers in their way when they heard a motorcycle approaching. They turned and aimed their gun toward the sound, assuming it was another grunt, only to lower it when they saw Hanabi riding toward them.
"Boss!" Hanabi called, hopping off the bike once she'd reached them. "What are you doing here?"
"I got a call from Wong's interpreter," the Boss explained. "He said Wong was in a fight with Akuji and needed help." They gave the boardwalk a quick scan. "Where's Johnny?"
"He's probably still taking out the Ronin on the other side of the boardwalk," Hanabi replied. "I wiped up the grunts on my end and came back this way to see if I could find Wong but so far I haven't been-" Hanabi trailed off when her gaze landed on Akuji as he ran toward the fleet of junk boats docked at the pier. "Nevermind, we're back in business."
"Let's move, kid," the Boss ordered. "We've gotta stop him before he gets to Wong."
"How do we know which of these boats Wong's on, though?" Hanabi asked as she and the Boss jumped over the railing and down onto the dock. "There's gotta be at least a dozen; it'll take forever to find him."
"That's easy," the Boss answered, nodding toward one of the boats. Hanabi followed the Boss' gaze to see that a number of Ronin soldiers were lying in wait. "We just follow the Ronin. The fact that there are so many of 'em in that direction is probably a pretty good sign that Akuji doesn't want us going that way."
"All I'm saying is that I don't understand why Wong's interpreter called you," Hanabi commented as she and the Boss fought their way across the fleet of boats. "Johnny and I had everything under control."
"Oh really? Is that why everything's on fire?" the Boss quipped dryly as they gestured to the various small fires on the boat and out on the boardwalk.
"Those are baby fires; it's not like we set the entire pier ablaze," Hanabi huffed indignantly. "Besides, we've got Freckle Bitch's riding on this; we'll worry about the collateral later."
"Ya know, you're becomin' more and more like Gat every day," the Boss commented.
"Well, Johnny is the coolest person I know, so I'll take that as a compliment," Hanabi replied as the pair rushed across the gangplank to another boat.
"What, you think he's cooler than me?" the Boss asked, sounding a little put out.
"Yeah," Hanabi replied bluntly before registering the Boss' tone. "Would it make you feel any better if I said you were the third coolest person I know?"
"Third coolest?!" the Boss repeated incredulously as they shot down a pair of grunts. "Who else is ahead of me besides Johnny?"
Hanabi shrugged. "Shaundi. She's really nice and gives me stuff, so I think it kind of goes without saying. I also don't really know any of the other Saints outside of the lieutenants well enough to have an opinion of them so..."
"So you really only think I'm cooler than Pierce," the Boss finished as they approached a short staircase leading to the upper level of the boat. "Kid, after we're done here, you and I are gonna have some words about-" They trailed off once they reached the top of the stairs just in time to see Akuji knock Wong down the flight on the opposite side. The Boss immediately leveled a harsh glare at the Ronin leader. "That's the last straw, Akuji. No one touches Wong!"
"And what do you plan to do about it, Saint?" Akuji asked mockingly as he turned to face them. "Do you honestly think you stand a chance in a duel against me on your own?"
"No. That's why I brought her," the Boss replied, jerking a thumb back at Hanabi, who picked up two discarded katanas and tossed one to the Boss.
Akuji's gaze flicked toward Hanabi briefly before he looked back at the Boss. "If the child is the best you can do, then you are even less of a threat than I anticipated," he said, his voice full of condescension.
"Then you don't mind if we try," Hanabi shot back as she and the Boss readied their swords.
"You will fail," Akuji assured them as he stalked toward the pair, sword raised. "I'm not easy prey like my son." He brought his sword down to strike at the Boss, only for them to block it using their own sword. The Boss then delivered a swift kick to Akuji's chest, knocking the old man off balance enough for the Boss to get some distance and to allow Hanabi to move in and take a couple of swipes herself. Unfortunately, the swipes didn't seem to effect Akuji as much as she'd hoped and he soon righted himself, his permanent look of disdain trained on Hanabi. "You're just like your father, you ungrateful child. He had no concept of honor, either. I had hoped Jyunichi had taught you better but I suppose your skull is too thick."
Hanabi only shrugged. "Jyunichi taught me plenty and I'm sure I still take after him in a number of ways. But valuing honor? Not so much. And I wouldn't exactly call myself ungrateful. On the contrary, I couldn't be more grateful to you for sending me to America with your dumbass son because not only did it get me away from you-" The Boss had taken advantage of Hanabi's distraction to move behind Akuji and attempted to strike, but Akuji grabbed the Boss' arm and flung them over his shoulder and onto the ground. He attempted to stab the Boss while they were down, but Hanabi immediately moved to block his sword with her own. "-but it gave me a real family."
"Yet another similarity between you and your bastard father," Akuji growled. "You would be willing to die to protect the Saints-" He raised his sword up again, forcing Hanabi off balance before shoving her back. "-just like your father died trying to protect you." He studied Hanabi's face for a moment, as if expecting so intense reaction, only for his brow to furrow when she remained as impassive as ever.
Hanabi quirked an eyebrow before exchanging a look with the Boss. "I'm sorry, were you expecting me to get upset by that remark?" Akuji remained silent, but a mixture of confusion and annoyance danced across his face. "You took me when I was too young to have a working memory of either of my parents, so trying to rile me up like that isn't going to work." She smirked. "Ya know, I think Wong was right; you do talk too much."
Once again, the Boss took advantage of Akuji's focus on Hanabi to move behind him and, this time, was able to land a few slashes. Akuji grunted in pain but managed to stagger back and gain some distance from the two Saints. He readied his sword again and began to move forward. "Let's finish this."
"Ladies first," the Boss retorted.
The fight dragged on for what felt like hours. Despite being outnumbered, Akuji managed to outmaneuver the Boss and Hanabi as often as they were able to get the drop on him. Worse still, the old man didn't show any sign of slowing down; he met their strikes blow for blow, flipping them over his shoulder when they rushed in too quickly. Hanabi was beginning to worry that, despite the Boss' badassery, they wouldn't be able to take Akuji down. Compounding her worries was the fact that the once small fires scattered across the boat had combined and grown into a much larger blaze. The fire was beginning to spread to the upper levels of the boat and had all but cut off their escape route down the stairs.
"We have to put an end to this," Hanabi whispered to the Boss after they'd moved back from landing another blow to Akuji. "That fire is only going to keep spreading; we'll be trapped if we wait too long."
"I know," the Boss agreed. "I have an idea but I need you to let yourself get flipped again."
Hanabi shrugged. "You're the boss. Just don't let him kill me." She rushed toward Akuji once again, sword raised, only for him to flip her over his shoulder and onto the ground as expected.
"Such a shame, Hanabi," Akuji tutted. "You had the makings of a great warrior. Just look what these Saints have turned you into; you don't even remember the basics. It's only right that I end your honorless existence." He raised his sword to strike her down, only for the Boss to move in and deliver a swift kick to his back and knock him onto the ground instead.
"I can't believe that worked," Hanabi mused as she stood up, brows raised in surprise.
"He hasn't wasted a chance to gloat when he knocked either of us down," the Boss pointed out. "It was annoying but I figured we could use it to our advantage. It's not over yet, though." The Boss stalked toward Akuji, who remained where he'd fallen, and brought their sword down for one final blow...only for Akuji to block their blade with his own, forcing the sword out of the Boss' hand and over the side of the boat. Akuji immediately righted himself and leveled a strike at the Boss. The Boss brought their hands up to try to force the sword away from them, but Akuji persisted and pushed the Boss onto their back.
"Did you really think you could match my skill?" Akuji scoffed as he loomed threateningly over the Boss.
"No," the Boss replied, whipping out their gun and firing a shot into Akuji's chest. "I'm gonna cheat."
Akuji gasped in pain and sank to his knees, tossing his sword to the side before glaring at the Boss. "Finish it."
The Boss stood, keeping their gun trained on Akuji, before picking up his discarded sword and tossing it to Hanabi. "You wanna do the honors, kid?"
Hanabi wasted no time kicking Akuji to the ground and skewering him through the abdomen. His scream of pain was music to her ears. She kneeled down next to him. "So how do you like it, you sick fuck?"
"Hang on a second, Hanabi," the Boss interjected. "I think there's someone else who's gonna want in on this too." The Boss fished their phone out of their pocket and punched in a number before holding it to their ear. "Put Wong on the phone." A pause. "Hey Wong, we want you hear something." The held the phone to Akuji's mouth but man stubbornly refused to make a sound. "Come on, be a good sport." The Boss exchanged a look with Hanabi, who began twisting the blade in a circle until Akuji screamed in pain again. "You hear that, Wong?" Another pause. "You're welcome." The Boss hung up the phone and smiled down at Akuji. "Thanks."
"When I escape, the world will not be big enough for you to hide in," Akuji growled as the Boss and Hanabi walked over to the boat's railing.
"Luckily for us, you're gonna burn to death in a few minutes," the Boss dismissed, gesturing to the fire around them. They looked over their shoulder to send Akuji one last glare. "Your son never should have fucked with my friends." With that, they and Hanabi leapt over the railing and into the water below as the junk boat exploded in a blaze of fireworks.
"What the fuck happened to you guys?" Johnny asked once Hanabi and the Boss had reached the pier.
"We had to jump off an exploding boat before we burned alive, no big deal," the Boss replied. "We took out Akuji too, so I'd say this has been a helluva day."
"Yeah, I heard your call with Wong," Johnny said. "Guess that means the Ronin are finally finished, huh?"
"Certainly looks that way," the Boss agreed before looking over at Hanabi. "So how do you feel, kid? The Akujis' and Jyunichi are gone now; that's gotta make you feel somethin'."
"Honestly, I'm not really sure what I'm feeling," Hanabi replied, looking out over the ocean in the direction of the junk boats. "I don't think I've ever felt so many emotions at one time. But I do feel like a massive weight has been lifted off of me-" She turned to the Boss and Johnny and both of them were surprised to see a genuine smile on the girl's face. "-and I can't thank either of you enough for that."
"You were right, Gat," the Boss mused as they leaned closer to Johnny. "She does have a nice smile." Johnny chuckled at that and the Boss glanced between him and Hanabi. "So about that Freckle Bitch's bet you two have goin' on. Considering we just wiped out the lat of the gangs in Stilwater, I'm thinkin' we could all use a little celebration."
"Yeah? What'chu thinkin'?" Johnny asked.
"I'm thinkin' you two call Pierce and Shaundi and tell them to meet us there. I'm buyin'," the Boss elaborated.
"Don't gotta tell us twice," Johnny agreed as he and Hanabi pulled out their phones.
"I tried to tell you guys to hold off but nooooo...we just had to come to Freckle Bitch's during the dinner rush," Pierce complained as the group walked in the front door of the restaurant.
"Oh stop complaining, Pierce," Shaundi replied. "We're getting free food out of this so we can suck it up for a few minutes." She gently nudged Hanabi's shoulder. "Wanna help me find a table, Hanabi?"
Hanabi nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea."
"You want what you normally get?" Johnny asked before Hanabi could walk off.
"You know it!" Hanabi chirped with a smile before following Shaundi into the crowd of people.
"Can't believe she thinks Shaundi's cooler than me," the Boss grumbled as they watched the pair walk off.
"What's that?" Johnny asked.
"Nothin'," the Boss dismissed before turning back to Johnny. "While I'm thinkin' about it, have you found a new place yet?"
Johnny shook his head. "Nah. With all the Ronin shit goin' on, I haven't really had much time to think about lookin' yet."
"I gotcha," the Boss replied. "I might be able to help you guys out, though."
"Yeah? How so?" Johnny asked.
"Do you remember that hotel penthouse the Saints bought a while back?" the Boss elaborated.
Johnny's eyes widened in surprise. "Boss...are you sure? That place is huge."
"I was over there the other day and I got to thinkin'. It's more than big enough for two people. The kitchen's huge and Hanabi's the only Saint that cooks by choice. It just seemed like a good fit for you guys," the Boss said. "I've already got my own place in Prawn Court as well as the bedroom in the hideout, I gave Pierce the penthouse loft, and Shaundi took the university loft. I can't be everywhere at once and, this way, we can keep a better eye on our territories too." They looked over at Johnny again and fished the keys to the penthouse out of their pocket. "What do you think?"
Johnny stared at the keys for a long moment before taking them. "I...I don't know what to say. Thank you, man."
"Don't worry about it," the Boss replied, waving their hand dismissively. "After everything you and the kid have gone through, I figured it was time you caught a break."
Ending Notes: We did it! We reached the end of the Ronin arc and Hanabi finally cracked her first real smile!
I have a personal headcanon that the Boss lets the lieutenants stay in the cribs they purchase over the course of SR2. Every single one of those places has a bedroom but the Boss already has their own apartment so I figure they don't have much use for those places, especially since the apartment is the closest crib to the hideout and the hideout has its own bedroom. So now Johnny and Hanabi have a new home! And yes, I know the hotel penthouse only has one bedroom but, for the sake of this story, we're gonna pretend it has two.
I wanna give a big shout-out to my friend Megan who sent me Fire Flower's first pieces of fanart/concept art! She drew me concept art of Saint!Hanabi and Ronin!Hanabi and she sent me drawings of how she envisioned Hanabi might have looked and acted had she been taken in by the Brotherhood or the Sons of Samedi instead of the Saints as well as her relationships with the leaders of those gangs. I really wish there was a way to upload them here because these pics are awesome! I especially love Samedi!Hanabi. She's terrifying.
Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome! Geekinthepink, out!