A/N: Sorry for the big delay! I've been struggling with a bit of writer's block, and have been reading a lot lately to pass the time...just finished 1984, and boy, was that depressing. On the bright side, my writer's block started dying down a bit after I finished that story...so there's a plus.
Next season is starting soon, too...so hopefully my writer's block will calm down, but I will let folks know if the story is going on hiatus, but trust me, I will try my best...after all, I wanna read the story too, heh!
See you guys next update, and take care out there.
48 / Of Broken Noses
Sakura blinked; light, dark, light again, blinking, one, two, three. She shakes her head. Sleep, sleep, go away.
A familiar face looks down at her, and Sakura blinks again, unsure, still half-asleep, trying to force herself up and failing. "Sakura? Are you awake?" Ah, that voice.
"Lily?"
"Yep!" A giggle. Then, the voice turns serious and asks, "Can you get up?"
Why wouldn'tーSakura remembers, and stops, the memories flooding in, waking her up completely. She remembers the bear, the pain, her arm, the lion, the pain again, the doctor, and then, nothing. Now, there's Lily, and by the corner, there's Tae poking the giant sleeping lion, and Romero buried somewhere on his grand mane, and Junko, sitting on her other side, glancing nervously at the giant beast before her attention was taken by Sakura sitting up.
"Oh, Sakura! How are…" Junko pursed her lips. "How...do you feel?"
"Better, I guess," Sakura answered, focusing her attention to her arm. The arm that had left her body not too long ago, torn out by a bear (a zombie bear, Sakura reminded herself with a shudder), the arm that reminded her she was dead, the arm that wanted her to remember what being alive felt like, the arm that felt somehow a little loose under the bandages and dead skin.
"I hope you won't be wrestling another bear again," Lily said with a small pout. Sakura smiles nervously, upon noticing Junko's raised eyebrow.
"I don't think I want to see another bear again," Sakura confessed, glancing at Tae, who kept poking at the sleeping Safari, as if he were some unknown insect and not a zombie stuffed lion. Junko followed her gaze, inching a little closer to Sakura.
"I can't believe that lion is actually dead," Junko whispered, shaking her head a bit. "To think that…"
"Oh, they told you already?" Sakura asks. Both girls nod.
"Uh-huh," Lily said. "I mean, it's a little hard to believe…" The little girl glanced at the sleeping lion. Tae had finally given up on whatever she had been trying to do, and had decided to cuddle with the giant beast, the little pup buried somewhere in Safari's mane. "At least he's friendly."
"He's a circus lion," Sakura explained, wondering if that helped at all. Safari was a lion. Being dead didn't change the fact he was a wild animal, domesticated, but wild all the same.
(and yet, it was the bear that made Sakura flinch and gasp and tremble, the bear that could have killed her brother, the bear thatー)
The pink haired zombie glanced around the room, noticing the missing girls. "Where are...?"
"Saki's gone to Mrs. Amabuki's house," Lily explained. "Ai and Yugiri went outside for a bit. And your brother said he was busy with something that came up. He didn't say what, but he'll probably tell you later, and Renoir's busy, too. So, it's just us today!"
"Umm...what about…?"
"Pappy says I can stay as long as I want," Lily said, already knowing what Sakura was going to ask. "It's easier for him...people have been giving him weird looks every time they see him with me." Lily pouted. "Pappy is just a little tall, that's all, I don't know what's wrong with people. Oh, he's also moving to a new place...said it was getting crowded back in the old apartment."
"I see."
"Dr. Mizuno thinks it's safer for us to stay here than back in her apartment," Junko said, as Sakura turned to look at her. "There's been a couple of...issues…"
"And by 'issues', she means rude people that don't know any manners and to keep to themselves," Ai finished, walking in with Yugiri following behind. The courtesan smiled upon noticing that Sakura was awake, and was by her side in an instant. Ai followed behind, slowly, and sat next to Junko. "How are you doing? Better, I hope."
Sakura nodded. "I am...I guess whatever your mom gave me helped…"
"I would think so," Ai said, smiling a bit, before glancing at the lion, Tae, and the zombie dog hidden somewhere in between. "...Genji tells us you got a pet."
"Well...I did always want a cat, so…"
The girls laughed at Sakura's little joke.
"I just can't believe that lion is a zombie," Ai said, arms folded over her chest. "If it had been Tatsumi's doing, it would have made more…"
"...sense?" Lily asked, and the former idol just nodded.
"So...that bear…" Junko said, and Yugiri and Sakura sighed.
"It appears to be the beast we heard about in the radio," the courtesan said, sounding cross. "That...man...he managed to capture that beast but it escaped and you see the results…"
"That nasty bear is still out there?" Lily asked, worried.
No one said anything.
Sakura didn't know anything; she barely remembered meeting this Sora weirdo, barely remembered getting a lion for a pet, barely remembered the trip back home.
(but she couldn't forget the bear, the bear, that nasty bear, that dangerous bear, that...dead bear)
"Nothing we can do about that," Ai said, sighing. "Hopefully that man gets his head together and gets rid of that...thing…" No one said anything for a while. "Alright, so…"
"We're waiting for Saki?" Sakura asked, and her friend nodded.
"Yeah. We need our fearless leader here...to talk about us...and Franchouchou, I guess..." Ai didn't seem to want to talk about it. No one wanted to talk about it.
Sakura knows everyone's conflicted in some way; Ai with her mother, Lily with her father, Saki and her friend, Junko and the past, Yugiri and the present, and Tae with...well, no one knew what exactly, but the older woman always gravitated to what everyone else felt, and finally, Sakura and her memories.
(everything was such a mess)
Was Franchouchou even possible at this point?
Zombies, idols, life and the living dead...everything just came crashing down, and no one knew how to get back up.
(but Sakura won't be greedy, won't say she doesn't want to quit being an idol, her memories are back, and, and...even if she didn't remember, she wouldn't…)
Life was different now; they knew, they knew.
What was going to happen to Franchouchou?
(and if Sakura's memories hadn't come back...would she dare say, would she dare want for them to stay, she's not sure, she's not sure...but she's stubborn like that, so stubborn, like the old man, like...her father, like…Sー)
The door bursts open; Sakura almost jumps in surprise, but she's held down by Yugiri's hands on her shoulders, Junko lets out a squeak and holds unto Ai as the younger idol glares at the door, Lily hugs Sakura in a panic, and Tae continues to snore.
At the doorway, as if nothing had happened, is Kotaro Tatsumi, prim and proper andー"GOOD MORNING!" Loud. Very loud.
Susan Ishikawa didn't say a word. Her expression was firm, a glare, mostly, unflinching, as she stared.
Saki was uncomfortable with all the staring; Susan's been staring at her, not saying a word, for the past ten minutes. The girl can't help but feel a little disturbed, and Maria, who's on the couch with her mother, watches the reunion with confusion, while Reiko just waits, seemingly ignoring the scene that's taking place in her kitchen.
The ex-biker doesn't want to admit that Susan's reaction is...disappointing. She's glad her old friend didn't outright faint, although she was close to when she saw Saki, just sitting there at the kitchen table, no makeup, no way to hide the face of death. And now, Susan was just staring at her, as if willing her brain to say, "Yes, this is really happening, Saki Nikaido, who flew off of a cliff, bike and all, and very, very dead, is sitting here, here, in front of…"
"...okay," Susan said, breaking the silence, turning to face Reiko, who seemed to be ignoring everything that was happening. "I believe your bullshit." The woman turned to face Saki again, frowned, shook her head once and said, "Saki...what the fuck?"
"The hell should I know…"
"No, really...I mean, you...of all people…? An idol?" Susan's suddenly smirking, as if realizing she said a funny joke. "He must have been crazy."
"Oh, don't worry, he is nuts." And turning to Reiko, she said, "I hope you're happy."
Susan laughed, hitting the table with one hand, the joke not over. "Goddamn! What a mess!" Her laughter died, and Susan was all business again, eyes softened a bit, and before anyone could react, she punched Saki. Hard.
"OUCH! What the fuck, you crazy bitch!?"
"You deserved that," Reiko said to the side, while Maria looked both shocked and impressed.
(until the mess with Misa and Korosuke, Maria hadn't known about Susan's past in Dorami; she had always been Aunt Susan to her, not Susan with the bat)
"Fuck off!" Saki yelled, holding her cheek.
"That's for dying, and being stupid," Susan told her, shaking her hand, as her knuckles turned red. The woman had never been good at hand to hand, and besides, her bat did a better job most of the time.
"Okay, okay, I get it, sheesh!" Saki glared at her old friend. "Damn it, Susan! That fuckin' hurt…"
Susan shrugged. "You'll be fine. You're dead." The woman blinks away the tears, and Saki pretends not to notice. She's still holding her cheek, and she knows the bruise will be gone by tomorrow anyway. "...Reiko told me...you came back to save...Saga."
"That's the idea, yeah…" Saki said, cheek forgotten. "That idiot...that's his plan, anyway."
"Saga, Saga," Susan whispered with a shake of the head. "Is that all?"
"Pretty much," Saki answered. "Figures having idols around would help the prefecture out, some bullshit…" Sakura had explained as best as she could, after that disastrous little concert, and everyone was just as confused, and if Saki was honest, rather unsettled. It wasn't a big deal to the ex-biker at the time. Never had been. Saki just took her revival like a fact of life, preferring not to think of the past, not to think of her old gang.
(not to think about running away and taking the rest of the girls with her, get a new gang, what a dream, what a dream)
"That's a bit...too much, isn't it?" the vet asked, and Reiko shrugged.
"Who knows what that Tatsumi was thinking…"
"Tatsumi, huh?"
Saki nodded. "Yep. Kotaro Tatsumi, he's our manager. He's a jerk." They didn't need to know more than that; he sucked at being a proper human being, but he wasn't all that bad. Maybe, the jury's still making a decision on that one.
(not the girls cared for him much...except maybe Sakura, but that was just her personality)
Susan hummed for a bit. "...I suppose this hangover was worth it."
Reiko nodded, grinning. "I guess so."
"So...it's just you and those...other girls?" Susan asked.
"Nah, there's a dead dog, too…and a freakin' lion." Saki said, as if that were the most normal thing in the world. Susan blinked, gasped, and leaned a little towards her old friend, eyes shining.
"You have a dog!? And a lion!?"
"Susan, please…" Reiko was suddenly shaking her head, and Saki was already regretting telling her about Romero and Safari.
"They're not your cuddly-type of animals, Susan," Saki told her.
"Saki...I'm not an idiot," Susan said. "What's the dog's name?"
"...really?"
"Come on! What's his name? And breed? What about that lion?"
Saki sent a look to Reiko, who shrugged in response. Susan had always been fond of animals. A building could burn to the ground, and she'll be angry with the firemen if they didn't save a single kitten, people be damned, why didn't they bother to save this one single kitten!? If anything, Reiko figured that Susan would try to get in danger just to save all the animals. Being dead, didn't change much of that affection. Well, Reiko wasn't so sure.
(she almost didn't believe her daughter when she told her about the freakin' lion that was staying at the mansion...and when Saki told her about that bear...phew...what a mess, poor Minamoto)
"I want to...you know what? Let's go," Susan said, excited, about to jump out of her chair. "Let's go and meet your...uh, new friends, yes, friends...and maybe see a pooch and a big cat."
"...what?"
"That's the smart thing to do, right?" Susan asked, turning to Reiko. "Better for them to know now, than later." Reiko nodded.
"Fair enough...let me make a call, though…"
"Who're you gonna tell now?" Saki grumbled.
"Dr. Mizuno and Mr. Go."
And suddenly, things started to make a little bit more sense.
Oki stared at the small menu lying on the table. It was a new day, and the coffee shop had a sale, fifty percent off on the cakes and sweets.
"You think…" Oki began, looking away, forgetting about the coffee and cake. "You think...idols can have boyfriends?"
Glasses groaned. "...what?"
"Idols. Why can't they...?"
"They can't...she won't," Glasses told him with a glare.
"Well, why not?"
"Because life is difficult." The young man sighs, forgets the menu, and as the redhead is busy deciding what he wants, Glasses turns to his boss and asks, "This isn't about that One girl, is it?"
Oki shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be about her? She's beautiful."
"And a troublemaker," the redhead muttered, not really paying attention. "Besides, I don't think idols are allowed boyfriends, busy life and all that."
Busy life.
(fake life)
What did it matter to Oki?
(he's jealous, jealous of Ms. One and her friends…they obviously enjoy what they do, and...and…)
It didn't make a difference.
Oki wished he was chasing an idol, asking her for her name, asking her if she was available, asking...asking her if…
But, no.
Oki hated chasing after ghosts.
/….
Oki Kazuma was a boy with big dreams.
Growing up, he didn't have much but he made do with a tough attitude and determination. He was stubborn, smarter than most boys his age. And he was the first Oki. The first among two, the first before he burned, the last before it all collapsed.
In two years, Kazuma, with his plans, had managed to gather a few others like him, and soon, the Oki were formed, and in one day, they became big, big and powerful, like the Yakuza Kazuma had once admired, and then, one day, he died. And the Oki were never the same again.
The new Oki, Tohru, was inexperienced, stubborn like Kazuma, but not very bright. He turned the strong Oki, to chaos, working to control through fear, hitting people until they could take no more, and then, Dorami appeared. Like Kazuma, they had formed as if from nothing, and had broken Tohru's nose, twice over, and the Oki disappeared into nothing. There was no gang, there was no Oki. Kazuma's dream of power was extinguished. And the Oki were no more.
/….
Until now.
And here he was, the new Oki, drinking cold coffee, eating discounted snacks, waiting for the old man, Tohru, to call, call and ask him about his ghosts. About Kirishima, about Dorami, and the fabled eighth boss. And he'll wonder too why Oki was wasting his time with that Yoji-whatever their name was, and not chasing that eighth boss, not chasing Kirishima.
Oki sighed.
He wasn't Kazuma.
He wasn't meant to replace Tohru.
He was just...stuck.
Next up, the Oki take center stage...well, for a bit.