Preface: And I'm back, guys! I said there was gonna be a part two to my "River City Girls: What We Deserve" story, and this is it. To those who've read that, welcome back! Even if you haven't read that one, I wouldn't say it's 100% necessary to see in order to understand what's going on here, but I would suggest reading it anyways. It's pretty much my take on what happened right before the events of River City Girls shown from Kunio's point of view. In writing such a story, I also give a deeper look into the personalities of Kunio and Riki as they're depicted in the River City Girls continuity.
But if you don't mind skipping around that bit, enjoy the story!
By Your Side
A River City Girls Story
Kunio was angry.
And not at anyone but himself.
He could have been angry at the school's dodgeball coach. He'd decided that Kunio was too out of it today, and sent him home early today. He might've been the best player on their school team, but he wanted to practice for the game that they had against Reihō High coming up in a few weeks.
Kunio supposed that it wasn't the end of the world, even if he did have a passion for sports. The coach had simply told him to come back with a clearer head tomorrow. He didn't even seem that angry at him.
But knowing that didn't improve his mood.
With a scowl, Kunio yanked his locker open. The sound of its door clanging against the adjacent locker echoed throughout the empty hallway. Being reminded that no one was around had only been of mild interest to Kunio, if that. Being caught sulking by one of the other students was the last thing on his list of concerns.
What did he care that he was the popular kid? The big man on campus? It wasn't like those things would make him any more effective at fulfilling his duties.
It turned out that Sabu hadn't been the only member of the Sanwokai Family. He'd had a contingency, someone there to ensure that their family hadn't been crippled by his actions. A daughter named Sabuko.
Given how loyal she sounded from what Misako and Kyoko told him, Kunio could have only guessed that she was away during his first battle with the Sanwokai Family. Especially since she'd readily filled in for her father's absence.
And he hadn't been there to stop her.
Granted, Misako and Kyoko had stopped her, but they hadn't even planned on going to Sanwokai Tower. It was practically by chance that Noize had pointed them to where they thought Sabu would have been—what if they'd gone somewhere else?
They didn't have to go out fighting crime, what Misako and Kyoko did was their choice. Hell, they'd been in the middle of what they thought was an attempt to rescue him and Riki. Once the girls had told them about all they'd gone through for their sakes at dinner that night, Kunio had been really flattered.
But the thought of Sabu's cronies running around made Kunio's blood boil. The Yakuza didn't just sit around and wait around when something happened to their leaders. They did everything they could to remain in power, to hold onto whatever influence they'd gained. And the Sanwokai Family was no different.
"Kunio! Hi!"
A voice snapped Kunio out of his thoughts. He turned around to see a purple-haired girl smiling at him.
"U-uh, hi!" Kunio stammered, smiling politely. "I don't think we've met before."
"Yeah, I go to school with your friend Kyoko," The girl explained. "I'm Kaori."
"Nice to meet you, Kaori," Kunio warmly replied. "So. . .Hanazono High, huh?"
"Yep," Kaori nodded, hugging herself gently. "But I'm here because of something my friends told me. Is that locker next to you. . .haunted?"
Kunio arched an eyebrow, inclining his head to his left. "This? Nope, it's just a locker."
"Oh man!" Kaori clutched her heart. "That's a relief! Just imagine how spooky that would've been!"
Kunio gave a tiny laugh. "You're tellin' me."
"You're so modest!" Kaori giggled. "I know that you would've just punched it out or something. Some dumb ghost is no match for you."
Kunio smiled. She wasn't wrong.
Kunio gave an innocent shrug. "You've got me there. Ghosts would hardly be the strangest thing I've had to deal with."
"Yeah, we live in a really weird city, don't we?" Kaori gleefully asked.
Kunio gave a small chuckle. "You've gotta love it, though."
"Totally!" Kaori giggled. "Hey, you wanna hang out?"
Kunio looked at the girl. Kaori was extremely nice, but the only thing that he wanted right now was to be by himself. He'd have to let her down.
"I appreciate the offer. . ." Kunio began, somewhat awkwardly. "But I've actually got things to take care of."
Kaori's shoulders slumped. "Aww. . .I really wanted to hang out, though. . ."
"Really sorry," Kunio apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've gotta get to practice. I'm on the dodgeball team."
Kaori's eyes widened. "That's right! You do play dodgeball, don't you? Kyoko told me!"
Kunio smiled weakly. "Yeah, it's not easy."
Practice was going on right now, but Kaori didn't know that. She didn't go to this school. Kunio figured that it was a good enough lie.
"Your school's got a game in just a few weeks, right?" Kaori asked. "What if I showed up to cheer you on?"
"That. . .would be nice of you." Kunio said.
"Then I'll be there!" Kaori chirped.
Kunio gave a tiny smile. Even with all that was on his mind, he couldn't just overlook how nice this girl was being.
"Thanks Kaori."
"Of course!" Kaori smiled. "I. . .probably shouldn't hold you for any longer, so I'll see you around!"
"Uhh. . .yeah! You too!" Kunio awkwardly replied.
With a wink and a dainty little wave of her fingers, Kaori went on her way toward one of the exits.
Kunio watched her go through the door. He let out a sigh, glad to be alone.
"Hey babe!"
Then again, maybe he wasn't alone.
Kunio turned around at the voice of Misako—his girlfriend.
"Uh, hey babe." Kunio stammered briefly, meeting her for a quick kiss on the lips. "How was your day?"
"Crappy," Misako sighed. "Idiots in class and a ton of homework."
"That does sound crappy." Kunio agreed.
"I even got detention today!" Misako frowned. "Can you believe it?"
"I totally believe it," Kunio couldn't help but smile. "What'd you do this time?"
"Those stupid cheerleaders called me ugly," Misako crossed her arms. "So I made them ugly."
"Meaning. . ?" Kunio prodded lightly.
"I gave them black eyes. The whole squad."
Kunio gave a small quirk of his head. "Yep. That'll get you a detention slip."
"Their captain got a little something extra." Misako proudly added.
"What do you mean by that?" Kunio raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do to Midori?"
"Let's just say she'll need to get used to eating soft foods for now on." Misako wickedly smirked.
Kunio winced. "Yikes."
"Eh, she had it coming." Misako shrugged.
"And you're avoiding your punishment, I see." Kunio chuckled softly.
"What, you thought I was actually gonna let Mr. Rudis lecture me for an hour and a half?" Misako smiled.
"Nope," Kunio smiled back. "Just wasn't expecting to run into you."
"I wasn't expecting to run into you!" Misako laughed.
Kunio froze. Their conversation was veering dangerously close to the subject of why he wasn't in dodgeball practice, and he had nothing to say for himself.
Keep her talking.
"How did you?" Kunio asked, trying not to fidget. "Our lockers are on opposite sides of the school."
"I almost died of thirst a moment ago," Misako replied, rolling her eyes. "There's no water fountain near any of my classes and I didn't have enough money to get one from the vending machine."
Kunio pulled out his wallet, holding out twenty singles.
"Here, in case you get ever thirsty. Or hungry."
Misako's eyes lit up. She eagerly took the offered money, standing on her toes to plant a quick kiss on his lips.
"Man, you're sweet." Misako smiled at him with lidded eyes.
Kunio couldn't help but give a tiny laugh. "I try."
"You are," Misako rejoined, briefly running her fingers through his hair. "So what happened to practice? You guys cancel or something?"
There it was! She'd given him an excuse!
"Uh. . .yeah!" Kunio shrugged, forcing a big, toothy smile. "Yep, no practice today! What can I say. . ?!"
Misako smiled. "Good."
"That's. . .good?" Kunio blinked. "How come?"
"I was just headed over to Kyoko's," Misako replied. "Why don't you come with? She said Riki'll be there. We can all hang out."
"Okay, sure." Kunio nodded, shutting his locker.
"And you're saving me from taking the school bus over?" Misako quipped. "This day's getting better and better."
"So. . .you're not worried about me?" Kunio asked tentatively.
Misako looked at him.
"No. . .should I be?"
"Huh? N-no!" Kunio stammered. "Definitely not. I was. . .just checking?"
Misako eyed him strangely. "Ooo. . .kay then."
Man, that was close. Kunio thought.
"Hey Hasebe, how's it go—aaugh!"
Kunio's eyes widened as he heard the painful sounding noise of a body hitting a locker just around the corner, and how it had accompanied an awfully familiar voice.
"Ah, dammit!" Kunio swore, taking off toward the sound.
He rounded the corner. Hiroshi, his good friend, lay in a heap on the ground surrounded by a ton of graphic novels. There had been a dent matching his body shape at a sideways angle left into the lockers.
"Really, Hasebe?" Kunio demanded.
Hasebe stormed past him without a word, purposefully bumping Misako's shoulder as she went.
"Watch it, Trash Queen!" Misako barked after the retreating girl.
"Hiroshi!" Kunio winced, helping his friend to his feet. "You okay? Here hold on, I've got some of these for you."
Kunio scooped up about four of the graphic novels, handing them to Hiroshi. Hiroshi tried his best to tuck them all underneath one of his arms.
"Thanks, Kunio," Hiroshi sighed. "Man, I really hope my Cosmic Mega Babes didn't get bent up or anything!"
"What was that, man?" Kunio gently admonished. "Did you forget what I told you about trying to talk to Hasebe?"
"I know, I know. . ." Hiroshi mumbled. "I just imagine she's not feeling too good 'cause of the break up. I just thought I'd be nice. . ."
"I get that," Kunio frowned. "But she won't ever give anyone that's not me or Riki the time of day. It's best not to bother."
"I guess. . ." Hiroshi sighed, glancing past Kunio. "Hey, Misako."
"Hey." Misako plainly answered.
"I should get going," Hiroshi admitted. "See you tomorrow, Kunio."
"You too, man." Kunio replied, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder.
Kunio and Misako watched Hiroshi go, briefly struggling to keep his graphic novels in his grasp as he disappeared through the doors.
"We should go too. Don't wanna keep Kyoko waiting." Misako said.
Kunio nodded. "Sure."
Kunio held out his hand. Misako took it as they walked out of the school.
"You okay?" Kunio asked.
"Please," Misako grinned. "Hasebe can't hurt me with a little nudge."
Kunio forced a small smile. "Good."
"Still an ass, though," Misako added, flashing him a smile. "Aren't you glad you traded up?"
Kunio nearly shuddered at the thought. Suffering through the mental exhaustion that came with being in a relationship with Hasebe? When he was already feeling like crap?
"You have no idea."
"Misako!"
"Ugh! what now, Kyoko?!"
"I'm stuck on this problem!"
"Again?! Here, lemme see. . .umm. . ."
"It's the one up top. The one with the weird algebra."
Kunio lay propped up on his elbows in front of his own homework. The four of them sat on the floor at Kyoko's living room. They'd all been making an effort to do their work, save for Riki, who'd simply sat against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Oh screw it," Misako grumbled. "Kunio, mind filling in Kyoko's answers? Mine too, while you're at it?"
Kunio was unresponsive.
"Kunio!" Misako raised her voice.
"H-huh?!" Kunio sputtered, falling flat onto his face. "What happened?"
"I asked you if you could help us with our homework." Misako repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Pretty please?" Kyoko begged. "You're really smart!"
Kunio nodded. "Sure, sure. I've got you."
The girls handed over their worksheets to him. Kunio moved his own work aside. As exploitative as it may have looked, he really didn't mind. He'd offered to give Riki a hand one time, but his friend had told him not to worry. Kunio figured that it made sense, given that Riki simply didn't care about homework. Or classwork, for that matter.
Kunio sat unmoving on the floor, finding it hard to do homework himself. He couldn't stop thinking about Sabuko. About Sabu . . .
"Isss. . .everything okay?" Kyoko asked.
"Hm?" Kunio blinked. "Yeah, just fine. Why?"
"You just seemed kinda stuck." Kyoko replied.
There was a pause as Kunio averted his gaze.
"Really?" Kunio finally asked, looking back at Kyoko.
Kyoko nodded slowly. "Yeah, you've been staring down at the page for about a full minute."
Kunio gave a tiny shake of his head. "I'm. . .not stuck. . ."
"What's the matter then?" Kyoko's brow furrowed. "Misako said you can do this stuff with your eyes closed."
"He can," Misako frowned. "He's got the best grades in our school."
"Yeah, yeah. . ." Kunio stammered. "Best in the school. . .heh. . ."
"That's it," Misako stood up, crossing her arms. "What's going on with you, Kunio? Tell me the truth."
"W-what do you mean?" Kunio asked defensively.
"Don't play dumb," Misako irately replied. "You've been acting weird."
"Weird how?" Kunio challenged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"First you ask if I was worried about you," Misako began, gestrusing sharply at him. "And now you can't pay attention to anything!"
"So maybe I'm just tired from practice!" Kunio frowned, scooching away.
Misako grit her teeth. "You told me practice was cancelled!"
Kunio was speechless. He was caught.
"There's obviously something bothering you, so just spit it out!" Misako demanded.
"You're wrong Misako, there's nothing going on with me! Can we just—"
"Sabuko's dead."
Kunio trained his gaze on Riki.
"She is? She's gone?"
"Yep." Riki nodded.
"And. . .you're sure about that?" Kunio hoarsely whispered.
Riki sat down next to Kunio, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm positive. The Sanwakai family's done for."
"Wait, that's what's been bugging you?" Misako narrowed her eyes, sitting down on the couch. "Sabuko?"
"Dude!" Kunio hissed. "You said we weren't gonna talk about this in front of them!"
"I know. . ." Riki sighed quietly. "But I get the impression that you should be honest with your girlfriend. We probably both should."
"Kunio, you don't have to worry about Sabuko," Misako explained with a hint of gentleness. "Me and Kyoko took care of her."
"Riki even said she died!" Kyoko happily added.
"It's not that that's bugging me," Kunio frowned, joining his girlfriend. "She was running Sabu's entire operation for him, and I had no idea!"
"It wasn't much of an operation, to be honest." Kyoko smiled.
Kunio balked. "What do you mean?"
"We only saw them near that tower that Sabuko was in," Kyoko happily explained. "And a lot of the Yakuza guys that we walked in on were talking about how many of their buddies were still in jail from when you took them on!"
"See?" Riki pointed out, coming to sit with them. "With that amount of people, there's only so much real harm they could've done to River City."
Kunio wasn't satisfied. He lowered his gaze.
"Don't you see? You found Yakuza. They had to have committed crimes, hurt people—"
"Kunio," Riki interrupted. "Don't. We've talked about this. You can't save everyone."
Kunio angrily averted his gaze.
"You can't be everywhere at once," Riki gently continued. "You're not a machine. You're a person."
"Riki's right." Misako agreed.
Kyoko sat next to Riki, anxiously wringing her hands. "Yeah, you'll drive yourself crazy!"
Kunio sighed, before eyeing Riki.
"How'd you even find this out?" Kunio questioned. "About Sabuko being dead? I've been waiting for the news alert to pop up on my phone all day."
"Snuck over to the police station during class," Riki answered. "Heard some cops talking about it outside, so I asked them if she survived or not."
"And they just. . .told you?" Misako asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The two of us are like celebrities, remember?" Riki said, wrapping an arm around his friend. "I told them that Kunio was stressing over this whole thing. They decided to let it slip that she'd been killed."
"You actually met some nice cops?" Kyoko pouted. "Lucky."
"Yeah, the ones that we had to deal with tried bashing our heads in!" Misako grimaced.
Kunio frowned. "They must've been in Sabu's cops, then."
"Don't worry," Riki said. "They weren't let off the hook. They went down with all the goons they helped."
Kunio's eyebrows gave a hopeful twitch. "Well. . .that's good."
Misako crossed her arms. "Kunio, I don't get it. . .why couldn't you just tell me this?"
"I dunno. . ." Kunio stared at his lap. "I guess. . .I just don't know. . ."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Misako prodded, crossing her arms.
"Kunio and I. . ." Riki began, sounding regretful. "Might have some trouble with opening up to the people that we love."
"Huh?" Kyoko asked.
"Because of something that Hasebe and Mami said." Riki explained tersely.
"What?!" Kyoko gasped in disbelief. "I know that they're pretty much horrible people, but didn't you say they loved you?"
"They did," Riki said. "We just. . .figured it'd be best not to bother them with the things that bother us."
Kyoko's brow furrowed. "But why? What could they have possibly said?"
"Apparently, no mopey drama is a perk of dating River City's heroes." Kunio mumbled.
"Kunio overheard them say it to their friends," Riki said. "He told me about it later that day so that I wouldn't piss off Mami."
"She'd dropped her purse that day," Kunio anxiously scratched the back of his head. "I was gonna go up and give it to her, and then I heard her say. . .that."
The girls were both silent. Kyoko's face was a mix of disgust and disbelief.
"The two of us figured we'd just keep quiet about our problems after that," Kunio continued. "We didn't wanna risk screwing things up with them."
"That's awful!" Kyoko cried. "You poor things, just keeping everything bottled up inside!"
"I mean, not really. . ." Kunio innocently shrugged. "Riki and I had each other to talk to. He was always there to listen no matter what."
"Yeah," Riki smiled. "I may not worry about things as often as Kunio does, but whenever there was something on my mind, he helped."
"That doesn't excuse what Hasebe and Mami said about you guys." Misako frowned.
Kunio stammered. "It. . .doesn't?"
"They were your girlfriends!" Misako argued. "They should have wanted to be there for you guys!"
"But they shut you out!" Kyoko angrily jumped in. "That's not what true love is! If they can't handle you at your worst, then they don't deserve you at your best!"
Kunio and Riki slowly turned to look at each other. Riki looked guilty.
"Maybe they're right, Kunio." Riki admitted.
Kunio lowered his head. "I mean. . ."
"Of course we are," Misako huffed lightly. "From now on, I wanna know if there's anything bothering you, Kunio."
Kunio gave a little laugh. "Anything. . ?"
"You heard me," Misako smiled. "Anything. This is how relationships work. Ones worth keeping, at least."
Kunio exhaled, a smile spreading across his features.
"Deal. No more secrets."
"The same goes for you, mister!" Kyoko smiled, jabbing a finger into Riki's arm.
Riki turned to her with a sincere smile.
"Sure."
"Good!" Kyoko happily replied, hugging her boyfriend's arm.
"Not that something like this should be a problem again if Kunio's learned anything." Riki sardonically said.
Kunio blinked once. "What do you mean?"
"Sabu's finished, Kunio," Riki said, laying a hand on Kunio's shoulder. "And if anything else comes and threatens River City, you won't be facing it alone."
"Right. . ." Kunio nodded slowly. "You've always been there for me. You've. . .got my back."
Riki smiled. "Always."
"So do I." Misako declared, placing her hand on Kunio's other shoulder. "Whenever Riki fights with you, I do too."
"Really?" Kunio raised an eyebrow. "You know that Riki and I fight small-fry criminals all the time, right?"
"I'm still in."
Kunio looked at her strangely. "Didn't peg you as someone who'd be interested in protecting River City."
"Oh, trust me, I don't!" Misako laughed. "I just figure it'll be a decent way to get rid of stress. I deal with alot of jerks."
Kunio chuckled. "That. . .makes sense."
"I'm no hero or whatever," Misako grabbed one of Kunio's hands. "I don't care about this place, Kunio. But I do care about you."
Kunio smiled.
"Thanks, babe."
"I wanna come too!" Kyoko squealed, staring deeply into Riki's eyes. "It could be a really cute thing to do as a couple!"
Riki smiled. "I guess."
"Eeee!" Kyoko screeched with joy, bouncing in place. "Let me know the moment duty calls, or whatever! We can get started right away!"
"Just. . .lemme know if I ever do anything stupid, alright?" Riki asked, smiling at his girlfriend.
Kyoko looked at Riki quizzically. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's just. . ." Riki lightly grasped her arm. "You're clearly into me. And I'm into you. I wouldn't wanna ruin this."
"Oh, Riki-poo, you could never ruin what we have!" Kyoko insisted. "Not with your big, sweet heart!"
"She's right, y'know," Kunio chuckled. "You guys'll have a relationship that's built to last."
"Aww!" Kyoko mushed. "Thanks, Kunio!"
Kyoko got up to stand in front of Kunio.
"I just want you to know that I've got your back, too!" Kyoko declared, proudly pointing at herself with a thumb.
Kunio's smile turned quizzical. "Really?"
"Totally!" Kyoko beamed. "I may have only known you for, like, a week, but I'd be willing to go up against anything with you!"
"Man. . ." Kunio breathed, happily shaking his head. "Thanks, Kyoko."
Kyoko flopped down on the couch, throwing her arms around Kunio in a tight, friendly hug.
"This'll be good for you," Misako promised, taking one of his hands. "For the both of us. Trust me."
Kunio let out a tiny breath.
"I trust you."
Misako smiled, her hands coiling around his head.
"Now kiss me, you big dummy."
Kunio grinned.
He embraced her, capturing her cherry red lips in a sweet, fiery hot kiss.
"Aww. . ." Kyoko cooed. "Look at them. . ."
"Almost feels weird just sitting here," Riki asked with a wry smirk. "Shouldn't we wanna change that?"
"Like you need to ask," Kyoko coyly replied. "C'mere, you. . ."
Riki kissed Kyoko feverently. Kyoko threw her arms around his neck.
Kunio was right against Misako. He could feel her heartbeat. It was thumping away in her chest like a jackhammer—just like his was.
It was a sign. She was enjoying this.
"Looks like they're not done yet."
Kunio wrapped his arms tighter around Misako, holding her close.
"Jeez, and Misako says I'm the lovey-dovey one."
Kunio moved one of his hands up to the back of Misako's head, slowly starting to caress her face.
"Got anything to eat? I'm starved."
Kunio began kissing her more intently, his own tongue dancing with hers.
"Nope, guess we'll have to order out."
Kunio and Misako broke apart somewhat reluctantly, both grinning goofily at one another.
"You decided to join us." Riki dryly quipped, smiling at them.
"Oh shut up, man." Kunio grinned.
"Do we want pizza or Chinese?" Kyoko asked. "I vote pizza!"
"I want Chinese." Misako replied.
"Pizza." Kunio answered.
"Same." Riki intoned.
"Pizza it is!" Kyoko smiled.
"Dammit!" Misako grumbled. "Fine. . .get me sausage."
"Anchovies for me, thanks." Kunio piped up.
"Pineapple." Riki simply stated.
Kyoko's jaw fell agape. "You eat pineapple on your pizza too?"
"It's my favorite." Riki replied, a smile tugging at his lips as he walked into the kitchen with Kyoko.
Kunio watched them go, before returning his attention to Misako. The two of them stared into each other's eyes, smiles spreading across their faces.
He was fresh off of a relationship with another girl, he should have felt terrified of letting his walls down for Misako. But he wasn't.
This wasn't just any girl. This girl was willing to support him through anything, be it physical or mental.
There was no need to be afraid when it came to true love. And true love was exactly what Kunio definitely shared with Misako.
It was a feeling he could get used to.
Author's Notes: And that wraps it up, guys! A pretty fitting part two if I say so myself, but what do you guys think? Let me know!