Chapter 13: Two Heroes VS. Everyone
A heartily laughter was heard inside the garage of "Car Paradise" and two bottles of beer being hit against another, giving out a loud clank. After having successfully thrown Hwoarang out of their business, both Kazushi and Ugaki were feeling so proud of themselves, that they decided to celebrate in secret, with booze.
"Throwing this brat out was a simpler task than I thought! And for a second there, I thought it was over for both of us, eh Kazu?"
"You bet, my dear friend. I think, now that this kid is no longer here... higher-prized paychecks straight-ahead, baby! Hahaha!"
However, their celebrating mood was interrupted by Ishi... who smacks both of the men behind the back of their heads, while having a deadly serious look on her face... and both workers immediately started to panic and step several steps away from her in a comical manner, while she yells at her two no-good men with a threateningly raised tone.
"Stupid! Dummy! Who told you, our business with this little asshole has ended?! This is no time to celebrate!"
Both men rubbed the back of their heads, while wincing from the immense pain they felt in the back of their skulls. Whenever Ishi lands a slap on them, it's never pleasent.
"Sorry, sister! We really am!"
"Yeah, we only wanted to slimmer down for a little, because that kid sure was a mouthful!"
The woman facepalmed and began to growl, as she was sure... what she did to Hwoarang, wasn't enough.
"Look, no clue how you two failed to even put one single scratch on this little dipshit... I am slowly getting the feeling, what we did to him, won't be enough to break his spirit to probably fight back and repay us for having beaten him to a bloody pulp..."
"So you're telling me... we have to beat him up again, sister?"
"Are you sure? Because the last time, we threw a guy out like that, we never got punished for it afterwards, since that little pussy was so scared of us. Shouldn't this actually be the same case with him?"
But then Kazushi became silent and when he thought back at how the Korean behaved, when the two confronted him... this braveness to withstand them, without pulling any punches... it made him slowly understand, why his family-member is acting this concerned about the situation...
"But come to think of it... looking back at how tough this fellow was to take down and how he didn't fear us in any way... I can kind of see, what you are getting at, sis..."
Then his sister threw up her hands and spoke out loud in a sarcastic and ironic manner.
"Oh, NOW you get it! Bravo, you two deserve a gold-medal, at how quick to two are to finally understand the serious shit that we are in! And I thought snails were quicker than you, yet today, you broke the record!"
Kazushi then folded his arms, as he shook his head in dismay.
"Jokes aside... if this red-headed pigeon dares to show up in front of us again and he proves to do the same like last time... we REALLY might be in trouble... and not only that, he might even have the nerve to either agitate the police or... a certain someone, we don't want to talk about, at us!"
"And that's why, we need to strike first, before he even has a chance to do anything. You Kazushi, go to the office and try to look up information about where this guy lives, so that we can go over and knock him down... forever. That will teach him."
He gives her a thumbs up.
"Our boss should be gone by now... let us slyly break into his office and look through the information he received from that kid and the man, that was with him! Once we do, it's showtime."
Ishi then looked at Ugaki with a demanding look on her face.
"And you Ugaki, you go and call the other members of our gang, in case of this kid becoming too much of an issue. Even if this little scaredy pants should prove to be superior in skills in combat, especially when I look back at how he easily pummeled you two into the next corner like the cowardly rats you are..."
Her look became darker, before finishing what she wanted to say.
"...against an entire gang, he is NOTHING."
"Hohoho, sounds like a fine plan to me, Ishi! Alright, I'll be in pursue! And when are we going to strike?"
"As soon as it becomes dark. Now quit stalling and go!"
As soon as she spoke that out loud, Kazushi lead the conversation.
"And what are you going to do, sis?"
"I will go back home and prepare myself for the coming attack... you may never know."
"Then I will be seeing you later. In front of your house."
"And don't forget, as soon as night falls in, you should be there in time and if you don't..."
"Yeah, yeah, you're going to give me a kick in my ass, as usual, when I mess up, now go and do what you have to do!"
"The same goes for you, I will be waiting."
"See ya."
And with that, Ishi ran to her locker room and changed into her casual attire again. Meanwhile with Kazushi... he noticed, his chief was still there, so he quickly hid behind the exit door to the office and waited for him to leave, so that he can get in and look for what he is searching for... and to his luck, he left his room and Kazushi went for the classic trick of 'casually walking by without being too suspicious' and greeted his chief.
"Oh, good evening, Kazushi. Well, are you done?"
"Yup, and I will be on my way home. I am just passing by to say Hi, before you leave."
Since the stamp-machine for registering the workers in and out was right next to the chief's office, he quickly pulled out his card and showed it to him, while having a somewhat surprised look on his face... just to keep the act up.
"Oh! I completely forgot to logout Ugaki, Ishi and myself! Let me correct this."
"Do it, my loyal fellow. Well, I will be going then... See you tomorrow."
"Goodbye."
And once his chief was out of sight, far enough to proceed with the plan, he quickly logged his partners and himself out, before taking a tiny box out of his pocket, that had a white, sticky, yet somehow solid goo inside, perfect to form duplicates of originally-hand-made objects like keys and opening it to take out a key, similar to the one his boss possesses to open the door. Once inside, he looked around and soon, his gaze fell upon an entire shelf of yellow-coloured documents, in which he highly suspects Hwoarang's personal info to be inside one of those envelopes. He scanned through, until he saw the H section... and much to his luck, Hwo's act was soon in his own grip.
"Well, I never did, what do we have here... hoho, now prepare, to be exposed, my old friend..."
But once he took a closer look inside, his eyes slowly began to shoot wide open in horror, once he found out, where Hwoarang currently resides... his breathing became heavier and it showed, he became desperate and so he quickly pulled out his phone to call his sister.
"Sister! Pick up! Please, it's urgent!"
She picked up, a few peeps later.
"Yes?"
"Ishi, you won't believe this! Call me insane, call me crazy, call me anything you want, but... have you any idea, where this red-headed habanero currently lives?! Because I do now and it WON'T be good news!"
"Kazushi, calm down! Take a deep breath and tell me everything calmly! What's the matter, where does he live?"
"Well..."
After having told her everything about Hwoarang and how he currently lives with Asuka's family, Ishi's most hated people in Osaka, the middle-old man was met with silence, but as soon as his sister spoke up, he knew... shit is getting real and he could tell by the overly serious, yet somehow pleased tone in her voice.
"Good, good... this makes this entire situation all the more enjoyable..."
"Sister?"
"Kazushi, you know what to do. Call Ugaki and tell him to take every single last member of our gang together with him and then, let us meet up at my place. The time for my vengeance has come. And this time, Asuka won't get away from me!"
"Alright, I'll do it right away. See ya!"
"Bye-bye."
After having hung up, Kazushi picked Ugaki's number, after having tidied up the office to not raise further suspicion tomorrow and told him about his sister's second plan. Much like Ishi, Ugaki did not take this fact very lightly... but soon after, everything was set and planned. Tonight, the operation shall proceed.
Meanwhile with Asuka and Hwoarang...
After it became dark, the vigilante and the Korean met together in his room, to continue where they left off, when Asuka had to catch her bus to get to school. Both sat down, close to the table and begin the conversation as calmly as possible, even though both proved to be quite nervous about this entire situation.
"OK Hwoarang... you told me, that Ishi and the rest of her pals are planning on invading my private property, just for the sake of revenge, right? Hm... guess I should have been more careful with my own personal incompetence on how to deal with other's problems..."
"What? What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting, that you were the one, that made the gang this hostile towards everybody else?"
After saying that, Asuka knew, that Hwoarang would like to know more about Ishi, the Homokoro gang and why they have a personal grudge against the vigilante and this made her feel somewhat bad, as she actually never intended on pulling her new housemate into this mess to begin with...
"Well, long story short... these guys hate me, for reasons, that might especially apply to the category of 'personal vendetta' all too well... you must know... Ishi, despite her aggressive behaviour, is actually a really passionate person, who would do anything, in order to assure the safety of her own family... you might say, she is like me, only that she is the other side of the coin... and the reason, why she stopped respecting me as a genuine vigilante, was when I wasn't present to jump in for her son to explain everything to the school principal, that he was the one getting bullied, not these bullies themselves... Yes, we go to the same school, but whatever... the main point I am trying to make, is that ever since that incident happened, she went completely mental and let out all her frustrations on my school... and this is where she and myself actually fought for the first time... I was at the top of my game, but since she was using weapons, she clearly had an advantage, which lead to me being left behind, ready to be taken to the hospital... she started many fights in the streets, but once I was on my way, she would already be gone, before I even arrived... out of all gang-leaders, she is a really stubborn one... I really wish to hate her, much like every other piece of shit, that doesn't follow the rules of society, but... for some reason, she is giving me a hard time..."
"...because you see yourself in her."
"Huh?"
"I mean, aren't you a vigilante, someone that assures peace and justice wherever it's needed? And if it's true, what you are saying, then... believe it or not, call me a hypocrite or whatever, I am also now questioning my hate for her in a way... because much like you, she would even dare to go beyond the borders to make sure, everything goes according to the rules..."
This made Asuka go silent, because she knew, Hwoarang was right... it made her angry, but at the same time, she couldn't deny it either... however, as a vigilante, it is her personal job, to secure the peace in all of Osaka, as best as she could...
"Still... if she messes with me, she messes with MY family, so this means, I have to go to extreme measures too... and should she dare to touch any of my loved ones, just because she cares a little TOO much about my mug, she is going to regret the day, she ever dared to oppose me..."
The Korean folded his arms together and closed his eyes.
"I guess, you're right. We can't let them get away with this... especially, after what they tried to do with me this morning... and I think, for the first time, ever since I interrupted your peaceful life, we can agree on one thing... crimes belong punished, whether they like it or not."
This statement towards the end, made the vigilante slowly grin in a playful way, because, much like he said, she agrees on the argument at hand. And despite her still not entirely trusting Hwoarang, she couldn't deny, that slowly but surely, a little bond has already begun to form between the two and judging by their experiences in life, she could already tell... he seems to be a good listener, when the right time calls for it and also someone, that isn't as bad as she actually expected to be like, the first time meeting him before and now... and so, she gave him a light bump with her elbow, while maintaining that confident grin on her lips.
"Hey, not too shabby... for a delinquent at least. You seem to know the right numbers to press with guys like these, I am impressed."
Hwo was surprised at that compliment of hers, but nonetheless, it made him smile on the inside, as he now knows, having beat some sense into her, must have been very effective, since she seemed to have learned her lesson about him and the rule to never judge someone by their looks and their negative, first experiences, that are connected to said person, alone. He returned that kind gesture of hers with his own, trademark smirk and a playful wink.
"Well, you're not the only one, that had to deal with troublemakers, his entire life... trust me, you DON'T want to mess with these shady-ass people in my part of town."
"Oh, stop it you. Go home."
"Not until you do it first."
The two then start awkwardly chuckling, until they then realized, they got a little off-topic, but they didn't mind that too much, since the two actually needed some time to get to know each other a little more...
"But... back to the topic on what to do with these guys... since we have no idea, when they will attack us, we need to be prepared tomorrow... as soon as we washed ourselves, take all the stuff you need and come with me. I know, where Ishi and the rest of her gang is residing, I've been there before, so trust my word and we are going to be there in no time."
"And what will your parents say? Haven't they warned us about not attacking anybody, especially my "colleagues" at my workplace?"
"Hwo... don't you realize, this is a situation about life and death? These guys never wanted you there to begin with and chances are, they probably would have gone as far as to even MURDER you, so that they can get away with what they were originally planning on doing, whatever it was. And you know, I don't back out from situations like these, so... are you with me? Because I am sure, others won't be spared, once you let the lion leave the cage, if you know, who I mean..."
Hwo then stood up and stretched himself, to straighten his back again, while groaning in pleasure from stretching.
"Alrighty then... we should do it tomorrow then... the edginess of getting caught is all too real... and for some reason, it gives me the goosebumps."
"That's my style. Get over it."
But before they had thoughts of leaving each other alone for the night, they suddenly heard loud screams of terror outside and plenty of people yelling out...
"What the-! Don't tell me, they were planning on attacking us TONIGHT?!"
"We better go and check this crap out!"
Both than ran out of the house, only to see the entire street being filled with members of the Homokoro gang. And all of them had weapons. But Hwoarang and Asuka weren't the only ones, that noticed their arrival. Both Akira and Mitsuko have already arrived outside to watch this fiasco and it made them horribly angry.
"What's going on here?! What do you all want!"
"Do you have any idea, how late it is? People want to sleep here!"
But they got immediately shooed away back inside the house, as three of the gang-members threw their pitchforks in their direction and both immediately shut the door, only to then watch in horror, both Hwoarang and Asuka still being outside.
"Asuka! We completely forgot her!
"And Hwoarang too! Quick, open the door and let them in!"
However, they were stopped, as Asuka shouted at them from the outside.
"No, don't open the door! Stay inside, me and Hwo will handle them! They only want me and Hwoarang, so better stay out of this!"
"Asuka!"
"Mr. Kazama, please! Do us a favour and don't try to get out and assist us, as this will only make matters worse! They are only after us two, we can do this! So better stay inside and root for us!"
The parents of Asuka really fought with themselves in actually listening to their loved ones' request, but since this isn't the first time, their daughter had to deal with this many gang-members and she actually made it out without a single scratch... in the end, they gave in, with the exception being Mitsuko, who was the most worried about the two... but Akira tried his best, to keep her calm by comforting her with his encouraging words.
"Do not worry, I am sure, Asuka is going to make it through, like always. Just put a little more faith in here and success is served for all of us."
"But... have you seen, how many of these guys are out there? Two against everyone, that is unfair! We have to help them."
"Mitsuko... believe in her! I know, in the normal cases, we should always come and support, specifically, when she is outnumbered, but this time... if it's true, what Hwoarang suggested, then it's best, that we don't interfere... and besides... Asuka isn't little anymore and so far, she always managed to pull through, with or without scratches, but whatever the case, this is still her's and Hwoarang's fight... if we believe in them, they can't lose to them, do you understand me? Do it for her's and Hwo's sake."
He was met with silence from her for a few minutes, but in the end... she calmed down and nodded.
"Fine... then we will root for them."
"That's my love!"
Meanwhile on the outside...
Asuka and Hwoarang were completely cornered, but they knew... they can take them down. Calling the police now won't help, because there are way too many thugs to deal with and arresting all of them would waste way too much time, and since these people are after their heads, the only solution was self-defence.
"Never thought I would say this, 'Suka, but..."
Despite facing the danger, he felt more alive than ever and it clearly showed through his confident smirk, the cracking of his own knuckles and him pulling down his motorcycle-glasses.
"...it's show-time."
And all that Asuka could do, was to return this gesture of encouragement, by grinning back and giving him a thumbs up, after doing a stretching-session for her legs.
"It's on! Let's go!"
Two of the thugs started to laugh and they pointed their sticks at them.
"What are you gonna do? Sit on us?"
"No, we're going to kick your ass into the next week!"
Hwo and Asuka said this synchronic.
It was Hwoarang's turn to be the first to kick some criminal's ass. His first victim had to suffer a massive heel-kick on the head, after avoiding a coming stab forward with a pitchfork, before sending the said criminal flying against three more next to the Korean with a roundhouse. Asuka's opponent tries to repeatedly hit her with his wooden stick, but after dodging it three times, she ducks on purpose to then catch the stick with both hands, before eventually using all her strength to be the bearer this time and surprisingly succeeded, until she then smashes the wooden stick against the opponent's gut and sends him flying, as she uses the stick to rotate on it and then kick the opponent away from her and she uses the stick once more, by hitting two thugs against their heads with it and then starting to rotate on the stick once more to hit the enemies in a circle-like movement, hitting a dozen of them, before then ending it with a phenomenal jump high up into the air and a final kick in the face of the one enemy she it first. As Ishi, Kazushi and Ugaki were watching their own people getting owned like this, they did a major facepalm, since it angered them, on how much of an advantage these two have. Hwoarang was the next. He taunts a thug to come closer and as soon as he got closer, he ducks and sends the latter high up into the air with a 'Firecracker' kick and while the outlaw was flying in mid-air, he jumps up and uses 'Hunting Hawk' on the man, which made him fly against the brick-wall, right in front of him. He gave the Kazama thumbs up as a sign, his part of the bargain is done and that it's now her turn. Without wasting a second thought, Asuka went to beat up another few thugs into bloody pulps. She jumped back, as she avoided a slash, coming from a knife in one criminal's hand and just when the man was about to attack her once more, she catches his hand, that holds the knife and grins at him.
"Oh, my bad, was I too quick? Nah, could be worse."
She then kneed him in the gut, making him loosen the grip around his weapon and she stomps on the knife, while looking playfully serious, while wiggling her index-finger in a teaching way.
"Remember kids... playing with knives, especially with kitchen-knives like this, is dangerous."
As she was saying that, she kicks the downed criminal one last time, forcing him to stay down for good.
"Better learn how to handle them first, before running out, playing with them, I say... if you are asking for some fine thrashing from me."
This gave Hwoarang a good laugh, before he eventually continued this fun beating-spree. He then drew all the intention to himself, by announcing something.
"Hey, wanna know what's cool? ...kicking. And I am going to show you... what a GENUINE kick is."
He then does some impressive tricks with Taekwando kicks and to demonstrate his superiority in kicking, he sends one of the audience-members flying, by kicking him away in a flash, which made the latter crash face-first into the fence of Asuka's backyard.
"THIS is what I call 'kicking'. Who wants to be the next?"
And all members, that were watching him, have already disappeared, by the time Hwo turned around, which made him throw up his hands in frustration... as he gives up and admits it to his fighting partner, with a chuckle.
"OK, OK, you have the audience better in YOUR grip, you win."
"Thanks."
"But I'll give you the award later! Because..."
They then turn around to see Ishi, Kazushi and Ugaki, standing before them, while angrily caressing their own weapons of choice. However, THIS didn't intimidate the two at all and all they could do, was simply fold their arms and smirk at them.
"...we still have yet to clean up the major stinkers here."
"That's my line..."
"...which, I made up just now."
"No, you did not."
"Yes, I did."
"No, you did not."
"Yes, I did."
"No, you did not."
"Yes, I did."
While this little argument was going on, all three of them look at one another with a rather confused look, with Ishi facepalming.
"I can't believe it... are we really going to do this? These two fighting love-birds...? You HAVE to be kidding me..."
When she said that, both Hwoarang and Asuka IMMEDIATELY start to blush a deep shade of red, and this caused them to yell at the three in an embarrassed and enraged way...
"YEAH RIGHT, WE, A COUPLE! COUPLE MY ASS, I HATE THIS SON OF A BITCH/WHORE!"
...until the two start, synchronic, arguing again and this time even louder.
"DID YOU JUST CALL ME A-!"
This earned them a good laugh from the two males and Kazushi had to compliment them.
"The Number 1, Best Comedian award, goes to you two... with these jokes of yours, you really deserve a top spot in every list of "Best Goofballs of the century"..."
But this was interrupted by Ishi, who smashed her golf-bat against the floor with a booming sound, forcing the two fighters to quiet down and put all their focus on her.
"Enough with this nonsense... you may have beaten my loyal supporters, but just remember... just because you beat them, doesn't make you king of the world. And this especially applies to you... Asuka Kazama. This was only the tip of the ice-berg, as now, I will gladly teach you the lesson of your life, of NOT what to do, when you mess with the mother of a two-headed family!"
Asuka's response to this warning of hers, made her ball her fists to a painful degree.
"Your threats are as shallow as you yourself, Ishi... you only won last time, because for one thing, you used a weapon, which was already against the rules and for another, you didn't fight fairly in the first place. Your ruthlessness simply knows no bounds and tonight, I will be the one, to teach you a lesson..."
She then steps back and does her usual combat stance.
"...and NOT you. You've done way too much for your own good this time and you know, I can't let this crap of yours slide anymore!"
"Heh, just shouting insults at me won't help... you should actually be HITTING me in order to achieve anything."
"And I will!"
And with that being said, Asuka dashes forward to throw her first punch at the woman, but it gets blocked by her own golf-bat and Asuka is forced to retreat, to avoid getting hit by her weapon, which she, as expected, immediately used it on her. The Kazama quickly glanced over to Hwoarang, who took care of Kazushi and Ugaki, who are right now busy with bombarding him with plenty of attacks, that involved their sledgehammers and their knives.
"Asuka, don't worry about ME! Keep your eyes on Ishi and let me handle these two bozos!"
"Don't you dare losing for me!"
"Keep dreaming, I won't give up on myself!"
"I hope!"
But just when Asuka got careless, she found herself getting hit against the side of her face with the golf-bat and that one blow was strong enough to send her flying against the next near trash-can, which caused a loud noise to echo through the entire alley. That harsh landing caused her to rub her cheek, on which she got hit.
"Ow... that hurt..."
"And here comes more!"
Before she could land a hit once more, Asuka rolls aside in time to avoid the next hit and quickly jumps back up to continue the bout. But since Ishi still has her weapon in her hands, there wasn't much that the young Kazama could do, in order to attack properly, as the range of that golf-bat was truly remarkable, so she knew... stragetic thinking here is everything.
"Man, this sucks... as long as she has that damned bat, I can't either fully defend nor attack. I am completely screwed, if she manages to hit me a few more times... it was exactly like last time and despite her lacking the proper discipline and technique of a true fighter like me, she is one tough nut to crack in half... wait a minute, I can't attack her, but maybe... I can use that knowledge to my advantage, who knows? No fighter is without a sensible spot and I think... I know what to do!"
When Asuka looked behind, while having the end of the bat in-between her palms, indicating that she caught the weapon in time before impact, she could see a really old and rusty-looking fire hydrant... water was leaking from a few of the holes and it did not look really stable... so she made a plan... and it begins with taunting her target.
"Hey Ishi, you know what? You were way better, the first time we met! Because the way you're fighting right now equals the skills of a grandmother, who must have broken her left hip, the first time actually bending forward to pick up her bag."
One thing should be said about Ishi and it's a flaw, that even Asuka knows about... she hates being called names, that come in relation to old people and since she actually used the word "grandmother", this was the straw, that broke the camel's back and so far, it all went according to her plan... as she foresaw it, Ishi was steaming in rage, from that insult she threw at her, so much so, that she actually began to shake...
"How did you just call me, you little brat...?! Grandmother... grandmother... grandmother?! ... ... ...YOU RUNT!"
She immediately rose her bat into the air and was ready to smash her weapon on Asuka with all the force she had in her two hands... but just when she was about to succeed in hitting the girl, she grimaced at her and jumps to the side.
"Hehe, you fell for it!"
"What?!
And then, as expected, the hydrant broke in half and it shot a long and strong line of water into Ishi's face, leaving herself wide open for an attack.
"That's my chance! ...SURPRISE!"
"Huh?!"
She then finds herself being brutally jabbed against her stomach, before then being grabbed in the face and then smashed head-first into the ground. The impact was so intense, that it made the middle-old woman's eyes go blank for a few seconds. But now, since she didn't move and inch for a few moments, Asuka became concerned and even this was watched by both Ugaki and Kazushi, despite them being floored by Hwoarang with ease, but were still able to watch everything... she kneeled down and shook Ishi.
"Ishi...? Ishi, wake up! Are you alright?!"
But suddenly, she abruptly opened her eyes and kneed Asuka into her left side of her body, making her bend over, before then being mercilessly pulled up by her collar and getting yelled at.
"You insolent little...! I will make sure, you will pay for this!"
Asuka couldn't do anything, since she was too surprised to do anything and it all ends with her being kneed in the gut, before falling to her knees and then getting smashed onto the other side of the alley with Ishi's golf-bat... right across her head. Hwoarang now became concerned, because he didn't expect this psychopathic woman to be this unpredictable... but he didn't want to disappoint Asuka, much like her parents, who were equally as terrified as he is right now.
"No... my Asuka..."
"This woman really is dangerous... now I see, why so many fear her..."
"We have to call the police! Right now!"
"No, not yet! She is going to make it, I know she can!"
Despite feeling a lot of pain in her aged bones, as that one blow that Asuka gave her, made it difficult for her to handle to pain better, she slowly goes over to knocked down Kazama, who slowly stood up, wiping the blood, that was running down her cheek, which got hit from the bat... Ishi scoffed and looked down on this young girl in dismay.
"So... do you see now...? Laying right in the dirt... much like I did, when I had to face the same consequences in my childhood... it feels so good. And also..."
She then hit Asuka with her bat again, in violent fashion, but this time on her hip, making her shriek in pain, as the pain was so unbearable this time.
"Have I ever told you, that you're not helping anybody with your stupid vigilante-job? All you do, is simply sticking your nose into other's business like a naive little kid, who doesn't understand the word: No."
Another blow came from her and it landed on her head this time, making Asuka shriek again, as that one spot started to bleed now, but she showed no remorse in what she is doing.
"I never asked for your help, but when my own son was in trouble and he desperately needed you, YOU WEREN'T THERE!"
She hit her again.
"These bullies got away and you didn't do anything to help him! And because of you, he had to suffer a suspension for almost an entire month, despite HIM BEING INNOCENT!"
Another hit.
"And now is the day, where I am going to let you feel the pain of my son! You say, I am a criminal, then look at yourself! All this shouldn't be your business, but you still interfere, so this makes you a hypocrite! AND I HATE HYPOCRISY LIKE THE PEST, THAT YOU EMBODY IN ALL WAYS POSSIBLE! YOU ARE NO VIGILANTE, YOU ARE A NOBODY, ASUKA KAZAMA!"
At this point, Asuka was in so much pain, that she couldn't move anymore without feeling like collapsing in exhaustion and agony... and the fact, that she couldn't save her child, despite her being there... and that she could have shown up to prevent everything from happening... she wasn't there... and this one beating made her understand everything... so much so, that she began to sob in complete and utter disappointment...
"I-I-I am... sorry..."
She was completely defenceless. Not only physically... but also mentally too... the truth hurt more than her flesh wounds... all she wanted, was to protect everyone in her town from getting him or herself into conflicts... but because of her not having been there for someone, that lived in a poor family and got the blame for everything, despite the facts having spoken for him... she realized, she failed her purpose as a vigilante and simply looked away... she broke one of her rules, that she followed with a great passion, in life, and that fact alone... made her feel weak and dreadful... and just when she was about to receive the final blow from Ishi... she gets stopped, as her weapon gets kicked away by no other than Hwoarang, who then forced her to step back... he looked pretty angry, but was still composed, as he knew, words can't reach people of her type...
"I hate to break it down to you, miss, but when I look at how you treated Asuka just now... it makes me cringe, if I want to be frank. A fully grown woman in her 40s, beating down a girl that is barely even in her 20s... pretty sad, isn't it? But what's more sad, is YOUR hypocrisy in this case. I understand, you don't like Asuka's mug, so what? Why do you waste your time on her anyways? In case you haven't noticed, she also has an actual life, you know? She may be a vigilante, but do you seriously expect her to watch after your family's bacon the whole time? That sounds pretty self-centered and disrespectful, if you ask me... and also, NOBODY, that has ever existed in the history of mankind, is perfect. You can't expect ABSOLUTE perfection, especially from somebody, that has to watch over not one, but many more families in this town, to assure that they don't get involved in conflicts with gangs, like your kind..."
Hwoarang raised an eye-brow and scratched the back of his head, while still trying to talk some sense to this woman...
"And before I forget, I truly am sorry that your son had to go through all this bullshit and trust me, I can sort of relate to his case, thinking back at how I was treated, most of the time... but do you think... what you just did is considered OK in your eyes? Newsflash: Life is ALWAYS unfair, no matter what you do, so by saying, she is nothing, all because she failed only ONCE, is honestly freaking despicable and selfish, considering how much effort she actually seemed to have put into her work to make sure, Osaka stays a safe place for everybody! So if anybody deserves a punishment, it should be YOU, with your twisted and messed up logic on justice! What would your own children think about this? Their own mother, attacking someone for all the wrong reasons... doesn't sound very good, does it?"
When he mentioned her children, she immediately became mad and she points her bat at the Korean, who rubbed his little finger inside his right ear-hole.
"Don't you dare mentioning my beloved children! If you were in my position, you would probably have a much better understanding, as of WHY I am the way I am! So you can shove that defence of yours up your ass! You have no idea, how harsh life has been to me and my two boys over there and to prove to you, HOW harsh it was, I am going to beat you to it! Nobody messes with me... or my gang..."
She raises her weapon, ready to strike Hwoarang with it.
"...and gets away with it!"
This made Hwo shook his head and shrug in an apathetic way, as he knew, she would response this way.
"Oh well, I knew you were hopeless to begin... guess I have no other choice then."
He gets into his stance, preparing himself for her. Since he was the least injured in this conflict with the gang, he was in much better shape and since he knew, on how to get on with people, that use weapons like that, this fight was fairly easy for him. Ishi had no chance and soon... the merciless fight ends with Hwoarang pinning her against the floor, while spinning her golf-bat, triumphantly, in his one hand through her fingers.
"And what were you saying again before? About how you wanted to prove to me, how serious you were about being a cruel bitch? Oh wait, you did... sorry, but I was too focused on beating some more sense into your tiny brain, that I almost forgot..."
"I... I hate you... curse you... and your stinky friend..."
Hwoarang then turned his attention to Kazushi and Ugaki... he was still curious at why they wanted him to leave 'Car's Paradise' for good.
"And hey, about you two... what was your deal? Why did you want to get rid of me? It's not like I insulted you in any way or, did I? If so, then I genuinely apologize, but if not, then... what was it?"
Both knew, that it was futile to fight back at this point and since they were going to prison anyways, it was time to tell the truth... but before they could so, they suddenly heard someone yelling for their names and to their shock... it was Kenji. As soon as he arrived, he could only look both surprised and disappointed at the same time, for obvious reasons...
"There you are... I should have known it..."
"Kenji?! What are you doing here, I thought you said, you would return on Friday! And come to think of it, how did you know, we were here?!"
"Well, my little "vacation" didn't turn out so good, so I decided to arrive a little earlier... also, you didn't pick up your cellphone and when I arrived at your home, I asked your wife, on where both you and Ugaki were, so you might say... a birdie told me everything... but please Kazushi, didn't we make an agreement, that you won't harm this kid?! Why did you come with your gang here and decided to cause this young fellow a lot of trouble?!"
Kazushi and Ugaki took a deep breath and since they felt dreadful for having broken their promise to their best friend, you could tell, that the tone in their voices was indicating, they were at the brink of shedding tears for more than one reason... Kazushi is the first one to speak...
"Kenji... I am really sorry... but we HAD to do it... it was cruel, I can't deny it, but you've got to understand. Haven't you noticed the slight cut in our pay-checks, even before this kid arrived? We were working our asses off and we even worked past midnight, but even then, our earnings won't become better..."
"And when Hwoarang joined us, the payment became even smaller, to the point, where we were thinking, that if we keep going like this, we are sure to worsen our physical health... the payment was miserable and he only made it worse..."
"We did this, because we were also thinking about you, Kenji... I mean, you have two children and I am sure, should have you returned, they payment would have gotten even worse... and since you need the money more than any of us three, we wanted to spare you the most trouble..."
Kazushi then looked over to Hwoarang in apologetic manner, full of regret.
"And I have to apologize to you too... what we've been doing was completely immoral, since you also looked like, you could use the money for something useful as well... and if we broke your trust to you, you are completely welcome to hate us and we won't blame you. We are hard-working and actually respect everybody that works with us in the same boat... so all we did, was simply an act of desperation... we actually never wanted it to go this far, like, ever... but since you cornered us, we were forced to go to extreme measures, much like you and your friend over there..."
This fact and this apology made Hwoarang silent... he didn't expect these two to be this apologetic towards him... and he kind of felt bad for them, since he was also able to relate to their case...
"But... why didn't you simply tell your chief, that you weren't satisfied with your payment? We could have solved this in so many different ways, but this..."
"And that's why we are sorry, that we pulled you into this mess... I promise, by my honour, that as soon as this entire dilemma should get solved... we are going to repay you for having spared us and made us look the errors in our way..."
Then Hwoarang began to chuckle...
"You really are a bunch of weirdos... but I guess, even the weirdest of them all, have the hugest of hearts... and hey, who doesn't deserve a second chance in life, I guess? Apology accepted... but should you dare to backstab me... it's going to get real ugly for you two and I mean it."
Both Kazushi and Ugaki pressed their heads against the ground, as a sign of humiliation and gratitude for his nobleness. Then Kazushi said this.
"You have my thanks... even though, we don't deserve your forgiveness... and we swear by our lives, we won't ever do this to you again... we shall work together in peace from now on..."
Then both of their gazes fell upon Kenji once more... and at this point, both began to cry.
"And please... will you please forgive us?"
This made their friend silent, but then... he shook his head, kneeled down and hugged the two.
"OK, I forgive you two... but please, you have to swear me, that you won't ever pull of tricks like that again, should another new member arrive in our team. We can solve anything peacefully..."
Then both Kazushi and Ugaki hugged their friend tightly, while letting tears flow... even Hwoarang had to wipe a little tear off of his eye-lid... he then went over to Asuka, who helped herself into a sitting position, before offering her a hand to help her back up.
"Hey... let's go inside... our work here is done."
Asuka still hasn't really gotten over what happened just now with Ishi and her words were still echoing in her mind... Hwo understood, but then he had to make something perfectly clear to her.
"Listen... don't listen to her... I know, you've messed up, but this isn't the end of the world. Remember, that the entire town needs you... even if you make one mistake, I am sure, they are going to understand... you are not perfect, nobody is."
"But... I... I could have prevented it... yet it happened without me..."
"So what? Would you like to be able to teleport? Like I said, I stay by my word and say: Don't overdo it. Because nobody will benefit from it, if you overstrain yourself... simply do what you can at the moment and don't try to overestimate yourself, alright?"
He kneels down to her and had to smile, because he was impressed at how long she lasted in this serious fight. He even gave her a wink.
"But I have to say this... not too shabby for a Kazama... at least."
Now Asuka couldn't help, but smile a little herself... a little blush even formed on both of her cheeks, as she took Hwoarang's hand who helped her back inside, where both Akira and Mitsuko were waiting for them and soon as they got inside, the other gang-members cheered for them and their leaders, since they also seemed to have learned their lesson... they didn't call the police that night, since they knew, it wouldn't benefit anyone, if they arrested these misunderstood people now, who only did what they thought was right...
After Ishi got her wounds treated, she slowly entered the room of her own son and bended forward to leave a soft kiss on his cheek... Hwoarang's words seemed to have reached her, since she muttered these words into her son's ear...
"My son... forgive me, for having been a terrible mother... in the near future, you won't ever have to bear to see my violent self, ever again... this is my promise to you... and by my life, I shall keep it... I love you..."
THE END