Hana sat in the blank and bare gallery room. While she was alone she continued to read the paper. Work as a carpenter... She didn't know how to build. She would be worthless. Besides that, the money wouldn't be nearly enough for Saki and her home bills.

"Whatcha reading?" Hana jumped and snapped the newspaper shut. As she glared over her shoulder, Akabayashi only smiled. "Easy, there, didn't mean to get ya mad."

She folded the newspaper and slipped it into her jacket. "What's my job?"

"Whoa, what's the rush?" He sat down on the couch opposite her, setting his gaudy cane aside. She crossed her arms and stared, fully aware her naturally angry expression. Akabayashi sighed, but kept smiling. "I saw you had a few job positions circled on there." She tensed and avoided eye contact. Shit. She didn't need the Yakuza beating down on her... "Relax, Hana, you're not in any trouble. I don't care, and honestly, no one would. Just so long as you didn't breathe a word about us, of course."

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax a bit. "Too much trouble. Besides, I like this job."

He sighed heavily, tossing his arms over the back of the couch, "Don't lie to me, Hana. It hurts my feelings."

She glared to the side. "I like the money."

"Be honest with yourself. If you could get a respectable job and make just as much money, would you leave?"

She hesitated. Her instinctual response was yes. She would leave in a heartbeat and work at a respectable job, and finally be able to look her little sister in the eye without feeling shame. "It's complicated." There would still be weighted guilt however.

"Is it? Or are you just making it complicated?"

She closed her eyes again, "It's complicated."

Then her ears began to burn. She resisted taking a quick glance around the room, just in case there were Yakuza members spying on their conversation. Or maybe it was them... The four from the plaza; the ex-Blue Square members. Perhaps they were talking about her. Was it to other people? Hatred began burning from the pit of her stomach. Damn that Orihara Izaya, spreading information about her to people who didn't even ask for it. Was he trying to get the information to circle back to Saki?

It wasn't like he could outright attempt to break the trust between them. They were sisters after all. Not even his bizarre hold over her sister was enough to break their bond.

Then again, she wasn't enough to break their bond either.

Her eyes opened slightly to stare at the ground sadly. Saki... How will you react if the truth reaches you? Her grip tightened on herself.

"Hana..." Her sorrowful gaze reached his sympathetic one. "This business isn't for young twenty-something women, ex-gang leader or not. It's for old guys like me. Don't get me wrong, I like you, but I would love to see you walk out those doors and never come back. You shouldn't be here."

"I would like my job, please. The sooner I'm done the sooner I'm paid." She couldn't have this talk now. Not when she had a job to do. Not when she needed the money.

Akabayashi relented, and pulled out a paper from inside his jacket. "This is the address. His name is Kunitanno Gosuke..." He gave her the information she needed, nothing more. Never more. She left him with a bow, and went out into the nighttime streets of Ikebukuro. The complications of her life swarmed through her head like a flood.

The lies, the yakuza, the blood...

Saki...!

Fear of the truth of what she did for a living reaching her little sister made her hands tremble. Ducking into the ally nearby, she grabbed at her gut and leaned against the brick wall, willing the anxiety away. Did someone pay him for the information? No... She was just a common goon for the Awakusu-kai. Not the Asuki nor the Medei would give two shits about some washed up gang member. And she didn't have any friends to care about what happened to her. She swallowed, wiping the sweat that was building off her forehead. Continuing into the alley she retrieved a stained metal pipe. As she stared at the orange stained pipe in her hands, she couldn't help but think over what Akabayashi said. 'You shouldn't be here.'

Repeating the words to herself, she couldn't convince herself to believe it. She felt nothing.

"Sorry, Akabayashi," she murmured. "But this is exactly where I should be." With the familiar weight back in her hand, she set out to snuff out the man causing problems for Mr. Awakusu.

She had always been troublesome, even back when she was a child. Yeah, not just strangers or teachers, she was difficult for her own parents as well. She was like a magnet for trouble, always getting into fights with random kids, worrying her parents to death, stumbling onto topics with family members and house guests that would push their buttons, and she'd end up grounded. She never did anything on purpose, it just came naturally. Like Fate or Luck was against her.

When she was eight, Saki was born. "Listen to me, Hana," her father had said to her. They were in the hospital, standing by their mothers bedside. She was asleep, and her father was holding her baby sister for her, kneeling to show her. She couldn't bring herself to look away from the sleeping infant. "You're her big sister. It will be your responsibility to protect Saki, and to be there for her when me and mom can't be. Do you understand?"

She couldn't remember what she said, or if she even responded. She only remembered the sudden sense of purpose. It was funny, she hadn't realized there was something missing inside herself until she saw that baby. She remembered touching Saki's cheek. It was warm and soft...

As Hana grew, she took on more responsibilities as she could to provide for her little sister. It was rare, but Hana was lucky enough to not get into petty fights with her, despite being naturally offensive. Hana tried, she tried desperately, to not be the natural punk that she was, for her sister's sake. It was difficult, and she didn't know why. Maybe it was her friends, if you could call them that. They had the same attitudes, the same oddity about them, that drew them together in the first place, and got them in trouble. Despite how hard she tried, it all went sideways when her father died.

Drunk driver collided with their mother and father. Their dad died on impact, while their mom was in a coma in the hospital. Hana was twelve when this happened, wrapping up her last year in elementary. Poor Saki was only four. Their parents were only trying to enjoy a night out for once, since Hana could take care of her. And that lowlife asshole survived.

She remembered being dressed for the mourning, a picture of her father enshrined in their household. Their aunt and uncle stepped in to take care of them, and they had the funeral while their mom was still in a coma. She sat there, silent as ever, staring through each and every person that bowed to her before bowing to their father and paying respects. Saki was attached to her side in a blubbering mess. Hana wanted to break down as well, but she couldn't. Not in front of Saki. She remained composed, staring at the wall, unmoving as Saki wrapped herself around her arm trembling.

Then that piece of shit arrived. A woman, dressed respectably, still bandaged up after leaving the hospital. She was a broken mess. Hana could still remember the fire that burned in her chest. The woman bowed to her aunt and uncle, and the two of them were polite. They were nice. She could still remember her face when she knelt to bow to her. Make up smeared and running from her tears, her hands trembling, her voice soft and meek. Perhaps to other people, to people who weren't like Hana, they could forgive the woman who obviously seemed like a friendly person. Hana couldn't find that forgiveness. Being the first person to truly catch her attention, she remembered standing, alarming her sister and aunt and uncle, and kicking the woman in her bandaged head.

Some would say it was wrong, others would say it was justice, but since then, Hana decided to call it a mistake. A colossal fuck up. Since then she couldn't keep herself in check. She got into more fights, hung out with her 'friends' more, staying out too late and getting in trouble with the cops too often.

By the time she was in her second year of junior high, word began spreading about her being in a gang. Not just a member, but the leader. Like with everything else wrong in her life, it wasn't on purpose. She had her close group of people she could relate to, and it just grew. More delinquents just like her, feeling the same way she did. She never asked to be leader. They just followed. And she didn't really care for any of it.

Maybe it was irresponsible of her for just letting it happen, not doing anything even when she realized what kind of danger she was getting herself into, but that's what happened. She was selfish, she'd admit. She wasn't the only one with problems, and being surrounded by people who understood how she felt made her feel better.

It was in her second year of junior high that she found a source of comfort. Saki was six, starting her first year of grade school. Their mother passed on to join their father.

As Hana grew older, she was only more of a handful for their aunt and uncle. They were rarely around since they lived in Nagano, and not having kids of their own made them inexperienced. Having two children dropped on them was hard enough, but with Hana's gang it only made it worse for them. So, in an attempt to keep her in line, they used Saki to their advantage. She didn't blame them. If she were them she would have done the same.

When she entered high school, it meant two things for her. One; her gang had become official: the Red Stains. Two; she could take care of Saki on her own without her aunt and uncle fretting.

Her aunt and uncle knew both of these facts, so they threatened her. She could remember sitting at the table with them, fully knowing her little sister was hiding in the shadows eavesdropping. "Your gang is a negative influence," her uncle was saying. "You get into too much trouble. Taking care of your little sister is a tremendous responsibility and we don't want her growing into a delinquent like you. If your bad behavior continues, we will take Saki with us back to Nagano and you can stay here and rot with your rebel friends."

She stared at them, not quite aware of her offensive resting-face yet. They could have been bluffing. She was their niece after all, but Hana never considered bluffs. She didn't believe in them. Sure, she could've been right, but they were mostly just false hopes. So she took them seriously. "I understand. I'll clean up my act."

Her response surprised them, she could tell. "Well, good. You'd better."

After they left, she remained there. She then began thinking perhaps it was best for Saki to leave with them. Her selfishness had only put her in trouble. Was it selfish to keep Saki? Ikebukuro wasn't the safest city, and with her being in a gang... She couldn't just drop them. It was her gang, and they understood her. Besides that, any enemies she made would attack her regardless if she left or not. Then eight year old Saki came out from her hiding place behind the wall. Hana smiled up at her, "I was just wondering what to make for dinner. What would you like, Saki?"

Saki stood there looking sad. "I would like to stay with you here..." Hana's smile faded away. "I don't wanna leave my friends, and I don't wanna leave you. Please, Hana! I don't want to leave!"

Hana watched her for a moment, seeing the tears streamed down her face. It caused her more pain than she would ever show. She smiled again, "You're getting awfully worked up. You're not leaving, Saki, I promise."

And she kept her promise. She kept her gang in line, fights to a minimum, troublemaking on the low. She survived the three years of high school and managed to keep Saki. Her aunt and uncle remained in Nagano, sending allowances for them to live off of while neither of them were working. She managed to keep the two most important things to her.

Until she turned twenty. Saki was twelve then, in her first year of middle school. She was just getting into relationships and had her menarche, struggling through puberty. Hana wanted to be there for her, but her other life demanded her attention when another gang arrived. The Blue Squares: the second color gang to appear in Ikebukuro.

And the reason why she was in this mess.

Hana made it to her destination and kicked the door open. It was a shabby dwelling, and just as disgusting inside. "Wh-wait!" Her target was cowering in his own filth as she entered his home. "I-I can get the money! I promise! It's coming soon- please!"

Cracking her pipe into his skull she stained his living room red.