A/N: Short chapter incoming.

Edit 8/13/20

38/ Dorami's Guide to Taking Over Japan for Chickens

1997

Imari, Saga

"Never a dull moment, eh Nikaido?"

"Eat shit, Susan…"

Saki Nikaido was not having a good day.

Two nights ago, while out busy patrolling with some girls, a bitch from Korosuke jumped out of nowhere and hit her with a damn bat. Bitch got away before any of the girls with Saki could retaliate and Saki was left with a few extra scratches and a twisted arm for all the damn trouble.

Granny had made quite the fuzz when she saw her granddaughter coming home one night with her arm in a sling. Saki had to lie through her teeth and say it was just a biking accident; and it sort of was, after all wasn't getting hit by a fucking bat while you were riding your bike an accident?

(fuck that Korosuke bitch)

"I guess Korosuke made good on their word at getting back at you for what happened last time," Susan noted, eyeing the sling on Saki's arm. "It's true what they say, payback is a bitch in disguise."

"Fuck her," Saki grumbled as Susan laughed, dropping her school bag and her precious bat near the couch before taking a seat next to Saki on grandpa's old couch.

"For how long you gotta wear that?"

"A few weeks...the old quack wasn't really specific."

(fuck him, too)

"Or you were too pissed off that you weren't paying attention."

"And that's my fault?" Saki grumbled again. "Next time I see that bitch, I will break her freakin' arm!"

"Heh! For now, I guess she's safe," Susan said, chuckling at Saki's scowl. "Anyway…" The schoolgirl patted Saki's leg affectionately. "I came around to see how you were doing...and to bring you some juicy gossip...wanna hear it?" Saki seemed to think about it for a bit before nodding.

Susan was Dorami's resident informant, if you could even call her that. She wasn't top-notch, not like those spy guys on those gangster movies Saki's gramps like to watch so much, but she wasn't half bad. Every single rumor, every single whisper, if it could be used by Dorami, Susan was all over it.

"You hear a lot of good things around school that you won't hear anywhere else," Susan had told Saki once. "Rumors are as powerful as you let them be...but there's always one or two with some truth to them." The girl with the bat had heard many good stories from school, all accidentally shared by her chatty classmates, from the pervert that wandered near one middle school to the troublemakers disturbing the peace in a public park, those sorts of things. Dorami had made big bucks handling all those "little problems" and Susan just kept on listening.

"There's been talk about some rich kids holding illegal races near Kagamiyama," Susan whispered, glancing around a bit before remembering that Saki's granny had gone out for some groceries a while back. "They seem to be packing some fancy lookin' bikes, too," the girl went on, loud and clear.

Fancy bikes, eh?

If they were the typical rich kids, getting into fights or breaking apart their rides could spell trouble. But if they were hotheads and poor gamblers, Dorami could get something out of this.

"Reiko already knows?"

Susan grinned. "Yep. Gave her a call before I dropped by to visit."

"...anything else?"

Susan tapped her chin. "From what I heard, those guys are outsiders, probably from somewhere near Shibuya...maybe even Harajuku. They came to Saga to get away from daddy dearest, and now they've come to Saga looking for trouble." Saki chuckled. "The names Yuzu told me during lunch don't really ring any bells...they are rich but not rich enough to make a dent in anyone's head to remember them by." Yuzu was one of Susan's classmates; they sat together in class, and until recently she and Susan had started taking their lunch together. The girl was Susan's junior, a sweet girl most of the time but damn did that girl have a big mouth. A human chatterbox that one but she had provided the juiciest of the gossip Susan could find. That's how they found out about that other gang trying to muscle in their territory, Susan thanked Yuzu for that one with a cheesecake to share at lunch. "Those guys...they are exactly our type," Susan went on, smiling. "Cocky, stupid and with too much money in their hands to know what to do with it."

"Heh, Reiko's gonna have a field day with those idiots," Saki said with a laugh.

"I should hope so," Susan said with a small frown. "I've been saving up for that new limited edition CD from Kenshiro for two months now, those fools better be worth it." Saki shrugged, not really understanding Susan's fascination for that old singer before glancing at her infamous bat.

"Umm...girl? You didn't take the bat to school, did ya?"

Susan blinked before turning to stare at her abandoned bat by the foot of the couch and then, laughed. "I went home first to call Reiko...little Yue glued my old man's lock again. Had to take my bat to break it so dad could get inside his shed to grab some tools." Little Yue was Susan's seven year old neighbor; his parents had spoiled him to the point he thought he could do anything he wanted and from what Susan had told Reiko months back, what little Yue wanted was to mess up her dad's day with glue. Susan's dad was a pushover but then again, Yue was seven. "I just kept walking as dad sent the usual curses Yue's way as he was running back home. Little brat. That's the third lock this week…"

"You should probably hit him a few times with that bat of yours to teach him a lesson he'll never forget," Saki said, grinning.

Susan smiled back. "Saki, he's seven."

"Perfect age for a criminal mastermind."

"Oh? Well, when you put it that way..."

The two girls laughed.

"Dad's got that handled. He's thinking about getting a dog, if anything, it will scare Yue back home...oh, that reminds me," Susan grinned. "Wanna hear something funny I heard the other day?"

"Alright. Let's hear it."

"There's a rumor going about that some idiot is gathering tough guys...to reform the Oki."

Saki laughed.

"That bastard doesn't give up, huh?"

"Oh, he's trying his best, that's for sure...or at least I think he is," Susan said, shaking her head. "No one's willing to put up with him after what happened two years back. He's got no backup, no plan, and no gang. They think he's a joke."

"Well, he is a funny guy with that crooked nose of his," Saki remarked and Susan couldn't help but agree.

(too bad the joke couldn't last forever)

Present

Maria yawned as she made her way towards the kitchen; she was supposed to be at Sayama's house for a sleepover but something came up and the girls were forced to cancel. Luckily, Sayama's mom had offered to give Maria a ride back home. Her mother hadn't been home when she arrived and had Maria not had that spare key, she would have been stuck waiting.

Hopefully, her mom wouldn't freak out when she saw her coming down stairs.

Dad had made that mistake once, one day after coming back from a business trip at two in the morning, dropping like a sack of potatoes on the couch, waking up, bright and early the next day while an unaware Reiko was fixing breakfast. Her dad had not realized the danger until he said, "Good morning, hoー" to which Reiko responded by throwing the salt shaker straight at his face in fright. Her dad earned a black eye and a good lecture for that one.

Maria knew her mom was not near the salt shaker but just in case, she would stick to the wall andー

"So...that's it?"

Mom…? Maria frowned. Reiko sounded upset.

"What did you want me to say?" Maria blinked. That voice…! Sounds familiar. Where had Maria heard that girl's voice before? "You wouldn't have believed it, anyway…"

"I still can't…"

Maria kept walking, keeping herself glued to the wall, making as little noise as possible as she heard the arguing nearby.

"Look...you're upset...I get it…what do you want me to do about it…? About...me?"

Silence.

What's happening? Maria's inching closer to the edge of the wall, a little bit more and she'll see who her mom's talking to.

"I...I don't know…you helped Maria...and then...this crap…"

What?

"...Like I said…"

"I know what you said, Saki...it's just…" There's a sigh, and a bit of movement. "You're dead...how is this even possible?"

And Maria stops cold.

Dead?

Saki…?

What…? What!?

"Don't know…I just woke up all dead and shit and that's about it…no one was supposed to know..."

"Well, someone did find out…and I...I don't know what to do…"

"You don't have to do anything, Reiko…"

That voice, that voice…! Maria recognizes her now...it's…

..Two!?

Suddenly, Maria's moving. She's walking towards the two voices, moving away from the wall so she can finally see.

It's Two. She's sitting at the table with Reiko, her back facing Maria as her mother shakes her head, not knowing what to say before her eyes suddenly widen, realizing that Maria is standing there.

"Maria…?"

"Mom…?"

Two flinches, turns around to face Maria, and whispers, "Aww...shit…"

Knock.

Knock.

….knock.

"WOULD YOU STOP!? WOULD YOU STOP!? YOU'RE BEING ANNOYING!"

"Get out."

Sakura just shook her head as her brother knocked on Kotaro's door again, all the while the man on the other side cursed and told him to leave him alone.

It's already been two days since the girls left, and Kotaro was still hiding in his office, trying to ignore the world.

For the past two hours, Genji had been trying to annoy Kotaro to come out of his room, to no avail. Kotaro's rather stubborn but Sakura figures she'll rather him be angry than depressed. At least with him screaming was a good thing, it meant he hadn't dropped dead while no one was looking.

Sakura sighed, and shook her head.

"Are you well, Sakura?" Sakura turned towards the courtesan and gestured with her head at the closed door and Genji. "Ah...it appears Lord Genji has been unsuccessful."

"I just hope he doens't do anything stupid…" Sakura says with a sad look. Yugiri smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Lord Kotaro is not that careless, Sakura…" The courtesan seemed to think about something. "I was thinking a slap might help him focus..." Sakura unconsciously placed a hand on her cheek but she seemed to be seriously thinking about it.

"Maybe…?" Yugiri gave Sakura a smile upon noticing her reaction.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"I'm going to break down the door."

"TRY IT, YOU PUNK!"

"...coward."

"SHUT UP!"

Sakura sighed.

"...that guy…"

"Let us give him one more day," Yugiri tells her. "If all else fails, we can break down the door."

A/N: Its a little bit short than I expected, but oh, well...sorry about that.

I will try to keep the chapter a week update going but my eyesight's been giving me trouble for a few days (need new glasses!), so there's a possibility there's no new chapter next week if my eyesight keeps bugging me. I'll be fine.

Hope you guys take care and see you next update!