The Other Me
Chapter Ten: New Management
By: Sci-Fi Raptor
Disclaimer: See Chapter Four
Rated R for Language, Violence and Adult Situations…
(-O-)
Somewhere beyond happiness and sadness
I need to calculate
What creates my own madness
And I'm addicted to your punishment
And you're the master
And I am waiting for disaster
I feel irrational
So confrontational
To tell the truth I am
Getting away with murder
It isn't possible
To never tell the truth
But the reality is I'm getting away with murder
Getting away, Getting away, Getting away
I drink my drink and I don't even want to
I think my thoughts when I don't even need to
I never look back cause I don't even want to
And I don't need to
Because I'm getting away with murder
-Papa Roach (Getting Away With Murder)
(O)
The laser green Ninja purred to a stop in front of the "El Gato Negro," a Hispanic club located in the shadier part of Kanagawa. It was late in the night, but it was around this time when the place got lively. Music could be heard blaring out of the partially opened door and the sounds of laughter and merriment were bountiful.
There were two riders: the driver and the passenger, who was disembarking. They both wore black leather jackets with black T-shirts underneath with the Punisher's symbol and large black, baggy jeans. They both had leather gloves and black military-style boots. They also wore black motorcycle helmets with a black visor that hid their faces. The driver moved to get off and follow, but the passenger nodded his head no and pointed to the other side of the street where he wanted him to wait. The driver looked at the passenger's visor for a few moments, most likely glaring daggers at him, but he relented and made his way to the other side, just under a flickering streetlight. He sat there, the Ninja idling and his arms crossed impatiently as if to say, "Get this over with quickly."
Satisfied that his companion would not follow him, the passenger slowly made his way into the club, the sound of his solid heavy metallic bat dragging over the ground quickly being engulfed by the sounds of gaiety inside.
He opened the door discreetly and slowly made his way to the wet bar. He sat next to an intimidating looking fellow with a hot Chinese mail-in-wife on his lap. The girl was straddled on him, facing him and giving him a sloppy kiss. A waiter came by and gave him a drink. More interested with sucking on alcohol, he unceremoniously pushed her off and started chugging.
The waiter went up to the newcomer and asked him nervously what he wanted. He wasn't afraid of the newcomer himself, even if he couldn't see the face under the helmet. He was just afraid of what his 'normals' would do to him and the store. It wasn't easy replacing all the furniture that was destroyed by that fire… he thought with a groan.
"Something smooth," was the newcomer's response. The waiter hurriedly made off to get the order to get rid of him before anything happened.
Pissed off that her asshole boyfriend had just dumped her for a fucking Hard Lemonade, she decided to piss him off. She went up to the newcomer and took his helmet off and placed it on the counter. She was surprised to find a babyish face that looked at her questionably. Without hesitation, she sat on his lap sideways and started Frenching him, holding his head with her arms to keep him from escaping. Surprisingly, he kissed her back, pleasantly returning the favor. The drunken and now pissed off boyfriend was ready to kill his bitch girlfriend and the bastard she was making out with right in front of him. This asshole actually seemed to be enjoying it, as if he had no idea whose girl he was slobbering over. Before he could say something, though, his girlfriend suddenly started pushing the asshole away to break the kiss that he was getting really into.
"What the fuck!" she cursed, putting a hand to her mouth. Her lower lip was bleeding like it was busted open with a sucker punch.
"You taste pretty good for some Chinese whore," the newcomer said with a smirk. He licked the remaining blood off of his lips.
"He bit me! This mother fucker actually bit me!" she said in disbelief. "Kick his ass!" she ordered her brute of a boyfriend.
"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" the drunk said angrily and backhanded her on the face.
She recovered from the all to familiar attack quickly and stormed away. "See if you get any, asshole!" she said over her shoulder. Not really concerned over his girlfriend, the brute just eyed the newcomer.
"You got some nerve, asshole!" the brute said, causing the crowd that had formed around them since the girl kissed the newcomer to egg him on.
"What are you talking about, friend?" the baby-face answered slyly. "The lady all but asked for it. I mean, if I were in your position, I would have taught her a lesson as well for cheating on me in front of my face as you clearly did."
The brute thought over what he said but decided he was too drunk to think. There was a cocky asshole in front of him that needed a beating. The energized shouts of "Kick his ass!" and "Teach the mother fucker a lesson!" only added fuel to his fire, since the leader of the gang always had to live up to his name or his underlings would take his place without hesitation.
"Fucker, don't touch my girl!" the brute said angrily and threw the stool on his other side at the newcomer. The newcomer moved out of his seat just as the stool was about to smash his face in. The crowd of drunk, angry cohorts made a large ring for the anticipated clobbering whilst the club owner frantically tried to call the police.
"Is that all you think about?" the newcomer said angrily. "Bitches are bitches. All they're good for is fucking. But if you get too close to them, they'll just fuck you over!" he said bitterly. The drunk got out of his seat and went into a sloppy offensive position. He made a few jabs, but he was too slow and drunk to hit his target. The 'victim' had a certain glint in his eye as he moved to the right of the drunk, too quickly for even the crowd to follow. By now, the club owner had shut off the music and ran away before he could be hurt. The yells and shouts of the mob were all that could be heard in the club, but one sound resounded through the cacophony; the sickening crack of the attacker's cranium as the newcomer's metal bat made an imprint in it.
The crowd hushed in harmony, awestruck by what had just happened. The drunk's eyes rolled back as he lost consciousness and unceremoniously fell on his knees, then flat on his face. The crowd stayed hushed as they saw their invincible leader become downed by a baby-faced newcomer with a metal bat. The winner of the fight prodded the downed hulk with his boots to see if he had anything left in him and smiled smugly when he got no response.
The crowd exploded because of the act of disrespect. The sounds of daggers being unsheathed, guns being cocked and bottles being broken surrounded the winner, as the ring shifted to form a semicircle with a wall on his back. Completely surrounded, and with no way to escape, the newcomer did what any other person would do in his position.
The bat clattered on the floor as he let it go and cracked his knuckles. "Bring it on, bitches…" the newcomer said with dark eyes, becoming even darker as his eyes dilated.
Yurislovak was really getting impatient now. Sure, Keitaro must have been making progress since he saw some Chinese lady storming off and some Hispanic guy fleeing, but it had become quiet for far too long. He shut off the bike and quickly walked over to the club. There were no noises coming out, so maybe Keitaro had actually beat up all of them already?
No way he could take on fifty fucking Yakuza that quickly! he thought. Just as he was about to open the door, the thunderous sounds of 9mms, Ak's, and sub-machineguns chattered away. Yurislovak jumped away, cowering against the outside wall until the noises stopped.
Holy SHIT! he thought. Just as he was about to hightail it out of there and leave his partner in crime fighting for dead, multiple screams of agony pierced through the cold, dark night and was then followed by a large number of 'thuds.' Yurislovak stood there, partially paralyzed from fear and partially drawn to the club because of curiosity of what had happened in there, but his trance was broken when Keitaro casually walked out of the club with Yurislovak's American bat slung over his shoulder. It had a large dent towards the tip and blood was trailing down from it. He held his surprisingly clean helmet in the other arm's hand.
Yurislovak just stared at him as he casually walked up to him. As if he didn't care that he had just clobbered a legion's worth of Yakuza.
"I told you to keep the bike running for when the cops would come," Keitaro said with a slight frown on his face. As if on cue, the sirens of the local authorities could be heard wailing closer and closer.
"But you… and them… and Holy SHIT!" the Russian said with wonder. The two quickly got back on their ride and sped away.
(O)
Su had been acting weird all day. She wasn't acting as hyper as she usually did. Even after Keitaro had said he would no longer be among the ranks in the Hinata-sou, her energy came back just as quickly as it had left and she had been harassing Motoko and Kitsune ever since. Right now, she was watching the news, instead of mindless cartoons like Ed, Edd and Eddy, Spongebob Squarepants, or Puffy Amy Yumi. Naru was on the couch doing some schoolwork.
"…string of incidents in which alleged Yakuza members have been found beaten and left for dead have occurred from Kanagawa to Tokyo," the reported said emotionlessly, though she probably was jumping for joy on the inside from the way her eyes shimmered. "Miraculously, there have been no deaths, though many have permanent injuries and most have been found in a comatose state. The chief of police had this to say about the recent violence." The TV switched to a press conference that the police had earlier that day. He was standing on a podium somewhere in city hall.
"These acts of vigilantism cannot go unstopped. We believe in the philosophy of 'innocent before proven guilty' at least us Americans do… in most cases. I dunno bout the Japanese and these people are also protected under it. I don't know who's doing it, or why they are using such excessive force and taking down so many people, but they must stop. Vigalantism will only lead to lynching, riots and mobs and ultimately, anarchy. We are a civilized people and we will persevere to treat our people accordingly." The screen went back to the reported, her frown disappearing just as she was on again.
"The police ask anyone who had witnessed these incidents to please speak up and call their crime hotline, 1800-HELP-4-ME. In other news, commuters were shocked to find a burning car on the freeway just nearby the exit for Tokyo…"
Su clicked off the TV and ran to her room like a monkey. Animals could detect danger before it came, and her monkey sense was on the fritz. Naru just looked at her for a moment and went back to her studies.
The door rang.
No one went to get it. After another ring, Naru got festered that no one was moving and went to answer the door. She was surprised to find… Amalla-san and her pet albino alligator. Su's older sister (I think) just had a cheerful smile on her face and suitcases in her hands.
"Naru-san, long time no see," she said cheerfully.
"Um… how'd you get so big all of a sudden Su?" she asked in shock. Amalla laughed.
"You don't remember me?" Naru shook her head. "Remember when Su became older because of the red moon?" After a few moments of thinking, she realized who it was.
"Oh! Amalla-san! How have you been?" she asked, inviting her in.
"I've been well," she said, then suddenly fired, "Where's Keitaro?"
"He's not here…" Naru said hesitantly.
"Oh…" she said disappointed. "I'm kinda tired from the trip, so which room do I go in?" she asked. Naru had no idea. It was Keitaro's job and he had been missing ever since that day. And his replacement had failed to show up. It was well over a week into the school year and Naru was making quite a reputation for herself. Mutsumi was also becoming famous, being especially popular with the upper classmen, which was understandable since she was in their age group. And to everyone's shock, Kentaro had also gotten in and was constantly courting Naru. Focus Naru! she thought to herself.
"I'm sure that we have a spare room somewhere," Naru said and led her toward the rooms. She found a vacant room near her sister Su and then parted. Moments later, she could hear strange noises coming from Amalla's direction. She paid it no mind and went back to her studies.
"Naru-sempai, who was that?" Motoko asked, taking a break from her training. He sat next to the college student.
"It was Amalla-san," Naru said offhandly.
"Her…" she said, remembering her fighting abilities. "I should have a match with her," she said and got up. "Where is she presently?" she asked.
"Next to Su's room," Naru said, not taking her eyes off her book.
"Thank you," she said and headed for that direction.
Moments later, Kitsune, Mutsumi and Shinobu came in, each with grocery bags. They all said their hi's and headed to the kitchen to stock everything, though Kitsune headed to her room to stash her fresh sake.
"Oh yeah," she said before they all left. "We have a guest. Su's sister's here."
"What?" they said in unison.
"Why is Amalla-san here?" Shinobu asked.
"Uh…" Naru smacked her head when she realized that she had completely forgotten to ask. "I forgot to ask…"
They all turned to the stairs, where Amalla was running down with Tama in her hands, Su in hot pursuit with a teary face.
"But I was gonna finally eat Tama!" she whined.
"This turtle is not food!!!"
"But…"
"No!" she said and hid behind Mutsumi. Motoko flipped down the stairs, her eyes swirling. Everyone else deadpanned…
"Amalla-san, I completely forgot to ask why you came to visit?" Naru asked, standing up.
"Didn't Keitaro tell you?" she asked confused.
"Tell us what?" Mutsumi asked. She looked at all of their faces and realized that they had no idea.
"Well, I'm the new manager," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh," Naru said, thinking she'd have given them news about Keitaro.
"NANI?!" they all said when the Mol Molian's words sunk in. Motoko was still knocked out.
(O)
Since her arrival to Japan, Akira had been given so many jobs, that they seemed to pile up to her neck. She had gotten through about half of them that month, but they seemed to keep on piling up.
Dammit! Why can't they just kill people the good old fashion way! she thought, frustrated. Her hits took careful, calculated planning and when she was done, there was never enough evidence left to charge either she or the Yakuza with, let alone hold a burial. She got another call.
"Kami, who can this be?" she said to herself after seeing that the number was unknown to her cell phone. "Moshi moshi?" she asked automatically.
"It's been a while since we've spoken, Akira," an amused feminine voice said on the other side.
"Sakura…" she said, accusingly. "What do you want?" The two had been rivals ever since the 'princess' had joined Azuka's gang. Akira had been in love with the older male since he picked her up from the street when she was a young, homeless girl. He taught her all she knew and she trained with the burning passion of a thousand suns to prove to him that she was worthy. But that arrogant bitch just came in one day and ruined it by purposely flirting with him, just to get on her nerves. It almost came to the point that she had held her at gunpoint, but Azuka stopped her and essentially kicked her out. Ever since, she hated the girl with a passion and was waiting listlessly for the day she could take vengeance on her for stealing her first and only love.
"It's been some time since the gang's been together. Why don't you meet up with us?"
"Really?" she asked with visible eagerness. "Uh… I mean, where and when?" Sakura laughed.
"Meet us at my house," she answered.
"When would be a good time?" Akira asked. "I know that Azuka and the others are really busy around this time of year." Kami knows I am!
"Anytime is good…" she said, and then as if she were holding something back, "We're on an… indefinite break…"
"Really?" Akira asked, not really caring about undertones. "Can I come by around six tomorrow? I just need to finish a… job tomorrow morning," she said carefully, knowing her phone was bugged.
"That's perfect!" Sakura said in shallow happiness. "I'll see you tomorrow then!"
"That's great!" Akira said, voice dripping with anticipation.
"Oh, and one more thing," Sakura said as Akira was going to hang up.
"Yes?"
"Azuka is really looking forward to seeing you again…" Sakura said, and hung up.
Words couldn't describe how Akira felt at that moment in time. Her heart was a flutter and her face a nice shade of crimson. Sempai wants to see me She suddenly started giggling like a schoolgirl.
Back at her house, Sakura hung up her phone with a smug look on her face. She reached in her pocket and stared at the face that the surveillance photo held. It was Keitaro.
(O)
He ran.
He ran and ran until he could run no more.
What he had seen only minutes before came back to his head.
And he kept on running.
He stopped next to a large tree, using his arm to lean his weight against it. If he had run anymore, he would have collapsed and they would have eventually caught him. While he was still conscious, he could still try to hide from them.
-
(Flash back)
They were all wasted from the night before. They had partied till the sun came up and partied some more. When he woke up, he found people sprawled all over the place. Kaijjin's gonna be pissed that we trashed his place, but he's our bitch… the generic goon thought. Why am I awake again? he suddenly questioned when he looked at the clock. He'd only slept for five hours. He could hear the loud thundering of an engine coming towards the secluded lodging. He looked out of one of the Cabin's windows and saw a bike with two riders heading right for them.
"Assholes," he said under his breath and moved to go outside and yell at them for being so loud and waking him up. But he stopped and looked out the window again for some reason. The driver pulled up to the house and looked at it. The passenger behind him said something while pointing at him and they sped away. He was about to go back to sleep, thinking that the assholes had just come to the wrong place, but he could hear the bike revving. He looked back and saw them gunning it towards the Cabin. After they sped past braking distance, he realized that they weren't planning on stopping. They planned on crashing into the Cabin- through the window he was staring out of.
"FUCK!" he screamed as he jumped away. Someone told him to 'shut the fuck up,' but stopped mid-sentence when the sound of the window shattering and engine blaring broke his trail of thought.
The bikers had miraculously stopped without crashing into a wall. They got off, the driver brandishing a dented, bloodied bat, while the other was unarmed, though he was cracking his knuckles.
Almost everyone else was still asleep.
They didn't stand a chance.
-
He was running again. He could hear the sound of the bike coming closer and closer. He tried, willed himself to not look back. He knew it would only slow him down and scare the remaining shit out of him.
But he finally gave in. The bike just sounded too close. He turned his head. The last thing he remembered was something metallic.
(O)
It was finally six o'clock the next day and Akira couldn't wait to see the smile on her sempai's face. She wore a cute western-style dress that Luciana had given to her before she left America. She had gotten so nervous over the encounter, she had been sloppy on her job that morning, but luckily, the target's car was full of NOS. Downtown Tokyo had seen a beautiful blue bonfire off of the freeway early that morning…
She just realized that she was also holding a bouquet. Idiot! It's the other way around! she scolded herself. She was about to throw it away, but she had already rung the bell and Sakura held the door open, a beaming smile on her face.
"Akira! I haven't seen you for ages," she said 'happily,' and moved to give her a tight hug. She let go and commented to the seventeen-year-old, "You've gotten so much prettier!"
"You too!" she answered back in feigned excitement. "So, where is he- they?" she asked, unable to hide her impatience.
"Still cut straight to the point, ne?" Sakura said, smirking. "You haven't changed at all!" she laughed and led her to the house. She took her to the waiting room and sat down. "They'll be ready really soon," Sakura explained.
"Boys will be boys," Akira said and the two made idle chitchat. During this conversation, however, Akira felt that she was being probed. But that didn't surprise her; the only reason Azuka allowed Sakura to join his gang in the first place was because she had an intrinsic ability to tap information from people or manipulate them. Though she wasn't as formidable as Akira on the street, she was as dangerous as they could get.
"They're ready," a servant said to Sakura. They both got up and Akira impatiently followed her to the guys' room. She could tell that Sakura was still probing her as they walked to their room, but she didn't care. I'm finally gonna see sempai! she thought blissfully. They walked to a room that had a sign, 'reserved,' on it and Sakura went to reach for the handle. As Sakura opened their door for Akira, she could hear beeping noises coming from inside. Figures that all they'd do on a break is play video games, Akira thought. Akira walked in, followed by Sakura. She expected Azuka to be kicking Nanise's ass while Haru cheered for both of them.
"Sempai, Nanise, Haru! Its me-" she started saying joyously, but froze. The bouquet in her hand dropped as she took in what was before her.
They weren't playing video games.
Azuka, Nanise, and Haru were all in hospital beds, life support systems standing by, watching their vitals ever so closely. Haru's head was completely bandaged up, while the rest of him seemed fine. Nanise's head was covered up just as well, but much thicker, especially in the back. His shoulder was on a sling, while his blade, Hell Spawn, was placed in his good hand.
The last sight all but made her cry. Azuka lay on his bed, a cast around his neck and bandages wrapped around his naked abdomen. Akira was brought down to her knees.
"W-what happened?" she said, still not sure if this was a joke or not. If it was, she swore she's put them in that state for real. "W-who could do this to them?" It was just impossible. Azuka's gang was the best of the best. No group could even begin to rival the cluster that they formed.
Sakura had a smug look on her face. Everything is going just a I planned, she thought and reached into her pocket. She took out the picture that she had all but memorized and threw it to Akira like a ninja star. Akira grabbed it midair without even looking back.
"He's the only one," Sakura said, leaving the room to give the young woman privacy so she could mourn. "Everything you need to know to know is on the back," she finished and closed the door. Akira looked down at the photo, her tears making puddles on it. She turned it around and read his name, her hate overcoming her anguish for a moment. She balled her fists, crushing the picture in the process. She got up and went to Azuka's body, letting flow tears that would be held back no longer.
I'll kill you, Urishima Keitaro. I'll kill you if IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!!
Her sobs could be heard echoing through the empty hallway.
Sakura locked the door to her room behind her. She knew her dad would be furious at her for showing Akira what had happened to their former gang. The council had ordered everyone not to tell Akira the news for fear that she would seek retribution and become lost in the process. They had already lost two of their best warriors, Azuka and Xiao-Mei, to Keitaro. He even scared away the hired mercenary, Ayame, from the Black Stars. But if her plans went the way she wanted them to go, she would have more power then she would ever have with the Yakuza alone.
And it would all start with Akira. It was a very nice plan in that she would get what she wanted and get rid of the annoying bitch in the process. She turned her lights off and unlocked her closet. She warded off the darkness be lighting the many candles within, revealing a sex-doll with various things taped to it. The head was matted with hair glued-on hair and the digits taped with actual fingernail clippings. Where the face would have been, was a picture. After making some strange and cryptic chant, she pulled the pull down bed under the doll and placed it there. She took off her clothes and mounted it, moving her face to its.
Keitaro… she thought, moving up and down.
(-O-)
I'm guessing some ppl may be wondering why fan fiction says this is chapter 7 instead of ten. Well, I have 'seen the light' and I know where this and its mother story are going, and I changed its structure to fit the theme. I've released this chapter earlier than expected because I wanted to see if there was still this weird glitch in the story. Can some people go to chapter 4 (listed as 1 from the menu) and email or review to me which chapter it shows? Thanks…
Update: No, it wasn't me. ff net just hates me. I've been pulling my hair trying to get it correct, andI thinkI found something suitable. Sorry for the confusing chapter numbering...
TSTBTPB Update: I've been making a lot of progress with it, though it may be a while before I can release the next update, cause of the way the story works…
Remember; click the 'Go' button on your way out. (Flames are still understandable and especially welcome if critical)
Cheers! : )