Bullet XXXI

Rock and Balalaika were in one of the hotel corridors, casually watching the hotel employees, gathered in a large circle in front of the elevator, discussing ideas and plans to free Sergeant Boris.

After her failed search and capture of the twins to punish them for their explosive mischief, as they were adept enough to elude her throughout the hunt by hiding in different parts of the hotel, Balalaika ordered her Vysotnikis to catch the twins.

But this only resulted in a flurry of practical jokes that made a fool of her men, so she finally gave up to avoid further ridicule. Besides, they still had work to do and couldn't waste too much time chasing after brats.

Her traumatized soldiers accepted this willingly and retreated.

With the exception of Sergeant Boris, who was literally caught in a practical joke.

Somehow, Hansel and Gretel had managed to lock Boris in the hotel elevator, damaging the controls so that it would go up to the top floor, down to the first floor and then back up again, in a seemingly endless cycle...

In which Boris had already been trapped for at least two hours.

Of course, there was an emergency button to stop the elevator, but it too was disabled by the twins, so the sergeant was trapped with no way out, temporarily out of action, until the hotel employees figured out how to stop the elevator.

During that time, Balalaika's anger calmed down enough to put aside her desire to punish the brats and Rock, which, to her surprise, she had also managed to keep hidden so far. The bastard only appeared before her when all was calm again.

But he didn't seem worried in the least, in fact, he seemed amused at the plight of the unfortunate sergeant. It seemed that the twins' plan to distract him had actually worked.

"Look on the bright side of this.". -said Rock, with an optimistic tone. "At least no one got hurt."

"You realize Boris will probably end up claustrophobic after this?"

"No one got physically hurt."

She looked at him blankly. Either Rock was too permissive with the brats, or he had become desensitized enough to joke about it so lightly. There was also the third option that he was just a jerk, which was most likely.

"Anyway, if I remember correctly, your brats said you've been down because you haven't been able to get into trouble.". -Said Balalaika, raising an eyebrow. "Is that true?"

"I hate to admit it, but yes.". -said Rock, letting out a sigh. "I'm afraid my mental state is not very stable right now due to my boredom. In fact, I'm at the point where, if left alone unattended, I might create some other problem."

"...What are you, a kid?"

"I'm sure Hansel and Gretel will be happy to help me wreak more havoc around here."

"No, we've had enough trouble for today!". -Balalaika exclaimed, pointing accusingly at him as she lost her patience. "I had to pay for the new toilet and for the damage to the bathroom in my room, and I'll probably also have to pay for the repair of the elevator broken down by your brats, so don't do unnecessary things!"

Rock let out a small laugh. Her outburst hadn't intimidated him in the least, in fact, he seemed pleased by that kind of reaction. "Don't worry, don't worry, I was just kidding. I'll talk to the kids about behaving until you're done with your business here, okay? So, please calm down."

Balalaika clicked her tongue in irritation, but regaining her composure. "Is that what you normally do with Two Hands, talk bullshit until you piss her off?"

"Oh, yeah. I haven't spent much time with her, I think only a little over a month, but I've pissed her off enough to make her age a few years."

'And you say that with a cheerful smile on your face... I wonder if underneath that naive idiot facade, you actually have a sadistic nature.' -Balalaika thought, deadpan. "I'm surprised she hasn't murdered you yet."

"Come on, don't say that. While it's true that Revy isn't the nicest person in the world...and that she's a crazy...reckless...violent..." -Rock looked like he was about to launch into a defensive speech, however, he stopped in mid-sentence and his words trailed off. "Oh boy, this is bad. I want to say something good about Revy, but now that I think about it, I can't find anything good about her!"

"And she's supposed to be your friend?". -Balalaika couldn't help but roll her eyes, but then shook her head to concentrate on the main issue again. "In any case... if you want so badly to cause a trouble with your brats, then go ahead. Of course, as long as it doesn't affect me, my men, or my activities in Japan."

He put aside his quest to find a good point in Revy, which Balalaika doubted she had, and looked at her. "Oh... well, I appreciate the offer, but it's not necessary. Like I said, I was just kidding."

Balalaika decided not to push it and just shrugged.

Instead, she decided to concentrate on her current pending task. Since it looked like Boris was going to remain trapped in the elevator for an indefinite amount of time, it was now up to her to directly oversee the plans and ideas for attacks against the Kousa for the next few days.

It was time to put aside the calm and get active for once.

"Okay, but think about it, Rock. We'll stay in your country for a week, maybe a little longer, if you want to get a little distracted, get in trouble, I won't stop you or judge you, so take the opportunity and do what you want. Let me know if you change your mind."

With that said, Balalaika left the place, resisting the temptation to turn around to see Rock's expression. Would he accept the offer and give her a fun show to entertain her a little, like the one that time at Rowan's club, or would he let the opportunity pass by?

The hook was set, it would be up to the fish whether he wanted to take it or not.

"You know, I think I'm beginning to understand the meaning of 'shitstorm.'" -said Dutch. From inside her cell, sitting on the floor, Revy stared at him with her arms around her knees. "What's wrong with you? I was joking around a little bit when the fucking Nazi crisis happened, but do you really have a disease that forces you to get into trouble?"

Although the payment for Revy's ransom was already made and there was nothing else to do but wait for Watsup to feel like releasing her, he decided to stay there a moment longer to keep his employee company, as she would remain locked up for the next few days.

Besides, it gave him an excuse not to confront Benny, who was in a bad mood right now when he found out that his car was a wreck. Dutch understood the man, being the owner of the Black Lagoon, he could perfectly understand what it felt like to have his precious baby damaged by an idiot.

But that didn't mean he was willing to listen to Benny while he threw a tantrum.

"It was a job, man.". -Responded Revy, pouting. If she wasn't a temperamental killer, Dutch might have found that gesture a little cute. "You know damn well sometimes these things happen."

"No, they just happen when you take a job that clearly screamed out loud that it was dangerous, reckless and stupid. I don't like to say 'I told you ,' baby, but I told you ."

"Tsk. So you're pissed about everything that happened today."

Dutch shook his head, however. He had every reason to be angry, but he wasn't really angry.

"No, not at all. I may have had to cough up a fair amount of money to get you released and to pay for Yellow Flag's repair costs, but it's also true that this isn't the first time you've been thrown in jail for going on a rampage. And it's not the first time I've had to pay to get your ass out of this cell either, so I'm not pissed at you."

Revy seemed to perk up at his understanding words, but quickly calmed down, as her natural distrust of anything that seemed to be too good for her came to the fore, so she gave him a skeptical look. "Really?"

"That's right, after all, it was Chang who ended up coughing up a larger amount of money. And as for the money I used to pay for the wrecking of the bar and Benny's car, well, I deducted it from your paycheck from our last job, so nothing came out of my pocket." -He smiled at her expression of disbelief. "By the way, I'll also be deducting pay from your future jobs, so it's all good in the end."

"Are you kidding me!? What part of all that shit ' it's-all-good ', motherfucker!?". -Revy exclaimed, jumping to her feet ready to strike him. Fortunately for him, the bars of the cell prevented her from being able to get near him. "I can understand about the last job, but what about the others, do you intend to make me work for free?"

"That's right."

"Fuck you, Dutch!"

"Take it as a little lesson so you don't pull another shit like this again." -replied Dutch, he glanced toward the other end of the room. "And to make you think twice before blindly accepting a job from some idiot."

"Quiet, traitor.". -Chang spat from his distant cell. He too was sitting on the floor and hugging his knees. A cockroach was over his shoulder, watching him curiously, but he ignored the insect. "You set me up, you bastard. You brought me here knowing Watsup was going to put me in a cell."

"Sorry, bro, but I had to make that deal with him, because that bastard wanted to lock me up for not keeping my stupid employee under control. And don't complain, if you were in my place, you would have done the same thing."

"I admit that's true, but, still, these things can't be forgotten so easily, Dutch. You will pay for this, not in blood because we are old friends and partners, but you will pay." -Chang scratched his chin, thoughtfully. "Yeah...I think a good start will be to spread exaggerated rumors and lies about you."

Dutch rolled his eyes as he heard the plans for the childish revenge. Then he shrugged and turned to leave the scene. "Remind me of that when you get out of here, which will probably be next month."

"Wait!" -Said Revy, reaching out her hand to stop him, though she couldn't quite reach it. "At least leave me a few packs of cigarettes, mine were ruined when we crashed at the bar!"

"I'll see you next week, Rev'."

"Oi, don't ignore me, you fucking nigga!"

Dutch left, ignoring the barrage of insults against his mother coming from his employee, the Chinese gangster and, for some reason unknown to him, the other prisoners. Now he had to prepare himself physically and mentally to face a darker and more annoying fate; to endure Benny throwing a tantrum for the next few hours.

Eda paced the length of her cell, only able to take three strides before she hit a wall like a caged lion.

She and Revy had literally been screaming for a long time to get the police station to let them make some calls. Although at first Watsup and his boys ignored them, they eventually gave in to their outrageous demands and allowed them to use the phone.

Revy had called Dutch, who in turn called Chang, so that he would pay for her and she would be released, which in the end didn't quite work out, so she had already spent her one call.

Eda, on the other hand, aware that she would be locked up for a few days, called Rip Off Church to have Rico bring her some things vital to her survival behind bars. Namely; a few Yolanda wines, packs of cigarettes and magazines to kill time.

But that waste of oxygen that called himself Rico was taking too long to show up, and she was beginning to despair.

Revy seemed to be the same way, as she kept tapping her foot on the floor. Because her boss paid no attention to her plea for some cigarettes, Dutch was a scumbag, she was now also dependent on the supplies Rico would bring.

"That asshole wouldn't have stood you up, would he?" -She asked, slight fear in her voice.

Revy seemed to be the same way, as she kept tapping her foot on the floor. Because her boss paid no attention to her plea for some cigarettes, Dutch was a scumbag, she was now also dependent on the supplies Rico would bring.

"That asshole wouldn't have ignored you, would he?" -She asked, slight fear in her voice.

"Nah, he doesn't have the balls to do it.". -Eda assured, then stopped her pacing. "But if I'm wrong and the son of a bitch did ignore me...well, when I get out of here I'll stick his head in the church toilet."

At that moment, someone appeared on the scene, coming down some stairs. It was Rico, in his usual priest's clothes and with a plastic bag hanging from one of his hands. "I heard you clearly, Sis, I know very well that you'll beat me if I don't listen to you, so there's no need for threats."

He stopped right in front of her cell and handed her the bag.

"Ahhahaha, that's my good boy!". -Eda exclaimed, happy enough that he had shown up with the supplies to let that stupid nickname slide.

he was about to congratulate him on his good work, but then realized that the bag was smaller than it should be. Eda slowly raised her gaze to look him straight in the eye, silently asking for an explanation. Rico squirmed uncomfortably in place.

"Um, yes, you see...Watsup and his people told me that what you asked for is not something allowed by the regulations, so I had to give them a few things to let me through so I could give you your stuff."

"...What did they take from you?" -Said Eda, in an icy voice, making him shiver.

"They didn't touch the magazines, but they took a good amount of cigarettes from me and only left one of the three bottles of wine I brought."

"That fat son of a bitch!" -Revy kicked the bars of his cell, startling the priest. "Who does he think he is, a fucking customs employee!?"

"I'm so sorry, but it was unavoidable, Miss Rebecca!"

"Don't call me that, you piece of shit, or I'll shove that bottle of wine up your ass!"

"No one will stick anything up Rico's ass, unless I do it and maybe Yolanda.". -interjected Eda in defense of the priest, for which he gave her a grateful look, but then changed to a confused and worried one as he understood her words. "Don't get mad at the man, bitch, it was that idiot Watsup who screwed us over, not him."

"Tsk, whatever."

Eda nodded, pleased with her small victory and then gave a thumbs up in the direction of her priest/assistant/slave. She might be a bitch to him, but she wasn't ungrateful, and Rico had proven himself reliable when she needed him most, so she figured it wasn't wrong to congratulate him a little.

"Dude, you did a good job.". -she said. "You've earned a special reward."

Rico smiled, cheerful. "Thanks a lot, Sis!"

"The reward is to clean the church toilet for a full week."

"Sis!?"

Eda cocked her head, confused by his reaction. "Hmm? What's the matter, aren't you satisfied?" -Before he could answer, she let out a resigned sigh. "Okay, it's not good to be greedy, but I guess it can't be helped, so make it two weeks."

"No, the problem is not the time limit, but that the reward is bullshit!". -Rico exclaimed, pointing accusingly at her. "It's always the same with you, no matter what I do or say, you always end up making me clean the toilet! And not only that, you make me take care of your chores too!"

Eda clicked her tongue. The bastard was taking advantage of her being locked up to challenge her authority. She would have told him to go fuck himself, but since he was still useful for bringing her things and other whims, she couldn't just dismiss him.

"What on earth are you talking about? Me assigning you my chores is only natural, since apprentice priests like you must understand the value and importance of humility, dedication and obedience. And there is no better way to understand that, than by doing my chores while I rest."

"Don't try to twist reality to your convenience, Sis, you're just using me so you can get drunk and loaf!". -replied the priest. "If you really want to reward me, then I would like you to stop treating me badly!"

"Rico, asshole, you dare behave so arrogant and conceited just because you did something right for the first time in your life?" - She raised her fist threateningly, feeling satisfaction at seeing him back down even though it was obvious she couldn't hit him. "Well then forget about the reward, instead, you'll be punished with cleaning the church toilet for two weeks!"

"Punishment and reward are the same shit!"

"Lutz, you have no idea how good it is to see you, man!" -Koko exclaimed as she saw her only free bodyguard, out of the four that were in town, appear in the detention room.

After being arrested in such a stupid way, and thanks to the commotion caused by the other two prisoners, Koko was able to access a phone so she could make a call. Although Tojo was very angry with her, and scolded her for quite a while, he eventually agreed to go to the Roanapur police station to post bail so that she, Valmet, Ugo and Lehm could leave.

Koko expected Tojo and the other members of his squad to show up at the station to pick them up, but instead, it was Lutz who showed up, accompanied by two officers. Tojo had probably contacted him and sent him there so he wouldn't have to go all the way.

That lazy bastard.

Koko also felt a little bad for completely forgetting about Lutz, since he wasn't present in that whole chaotic and problematic situation thanks to eating a bad egg. But she decided to leave the apology later, when they would finally all be on the ship and not in that damned town full of jerks.

Lutz smiled. He had several bumps and bruises on his face that weren't there before, which left Koko puzzled. But putting that aside, he seemed fine. "Yeah, it's good to see you too, guys."

Immediately after, and under the watchful eye of Koko and his other bodyguards, the two escorting officers opened a cell and threw Lutz inside.

Once this was done, they locked up and left the scene.

"Why!?" -Koko exclaimed after a few seconds, grabbing onto the bars of her cell. "Why did they lock you up!?"

"For vandalism and resisting authority."

"What the fuck, Lutz!?"

"A lot of things happened since the last time we saw each other, okay?!". -He had finally lost his composure. "But what I'm really interested to know is, why did you leave me alone and locked up in that horrible hotel?!"

"We had a lot of things happen to us too!". -said Koko. "Yes, we left you alone, but it was because you were busy in the bathroom and we had to get decent food, besides, we didn't lock you in!"

"Then why was the door locked!?"

At that point, and from inside her cell, Valmet spoke next. "That's easy to explain. I was the one who locked the door to prevent someone from coming in to steal our stuff, since since you were in the bathroom, you couldn't do anything to stop them."

That seemed to calm Lutz's anger a bit, who folded his arms. "Well, that kind of makes sense, but you should have at least left me a copy of the key in case I had to leave for an emergency."

"That's easy to explain, too; I forgot to do that."

"You're an idiot!" -Valmet stuck her arm out through the bars of her cell and threw something at Lutz. The small object landed on the floor beside his feet with a clink. He frowned and bent down to pick it up. "What's this?"

"The keys to the hotel door, they were in my pocket." -She said.

"And what the hell do I want them for now!?" -Lutz forcefully threw the keys towards some point in the place. "They're of no use to me!"

"I thought it would make you happy."

"No, you're just pissing me off even more!"

Meanwhile, Koko watched the exchange with her eyes rolling. She couldn't see Valmet's expression because of the cell walls, but surely her bodyguard was having fun messing with Lutz.

"We're getting sidetracked from the main topic.". -she said. "What the hell is this 'vandalism and resisting authority' stuff?"

He let out a tired sigh.

"As I said before, the door was locked and I...". -Lutz averted his gaze. "...I-I ran out of toilet paper, so I had to go out and get more in case I had to go back to the bathroom. But since the door was locked, and I couldn't jump out the window because I was too tall, I had no choice but to kick the door open."

"Hey."

Her bodyguard ignored her and continued with his surreal tale.

"But the hotel manager heard all the noise and came over to see what was going on. When he found his door broken, he started scolding me and demanding that I pay him to repair the door...so I had to punch him in the face to shut him up. Then we started fighting and suddenly a bunch of people showed up and got into the fight, so I had to beat them up too. Then, when I was finally able to get out of the hotel, the police were already waiting for me-"

"Let me guess." -said Koko, interrupting him once again. One of her eyes was twitching. "You hit them too."

"Well...yeah."

"Hey!" -She pointed accusingly at him. "What the hell's wrong with you!? You deserved to get arrested, you fucking punk!"

His other bodyguards, who had so far been silent, began to laugh loudly and mock Lutz. The other prisoners did not miss the opportunity and also joined in the mockery. Lutz retreated to a corner of his cell, squatting down and covering his ears so as not to hear them.

Koko shook her head and lay down on the small, dirty bed, which all the cells had, wondering how long it would take Tojo to get her out of that madhouse. "I hate Roanapur."

Normally when Mr. Chang called for help due to an emergency, all of his bodyguards would immediately mobilize to assist him no matter what kind of dangerous or difficult situation he was in.

But upon learning that his boss was arrested for involvement in a series of problems caused by a simple business deal, and was currently inside a jail cell, Bie Yue, Chang's main bodyguard/assistant/convicted-to-support-his-existence, decided to take care of this annoying matter personally.

So he headed to the Roanapur police station to free his boss...taking all the time in the world.

So after strolling around the city, buying clothes at a good price and having some sushi for lunch, Bie Yue finally arrived at the police station, with an envelope loaded with a substantial sum of money in one of his pockets to hand over to Boss Watsup.

The leader of Roanapur's worst gang, who called themselves 'cops', was waiting for him in his office, sitting comfortably with his feet up on his desk and his hands resting behind his head.

"Good morning..." -Bie Yue began.

"Spare me the formalities and let's be direct.". -Watsup interrupted him. "I know your idiot boss called someone, and surely that someone is you, since no one comes to bother me at this hour. So, what the hell do you want?"

"Alright, then I'll be direct.". -Said Bie Yue. He was not bothered by the man's rude attitude, as he was used to dealing with people equally and even more unpleasant than Watsup. "I'm here to negotiate the release of my idiot boss."

"There is nothing to negotiate. He was directly responsible for generating a shooting, the destruction of a bar and interrupting my nap, so it was a completely legal arrest. Chang will remain behind bars until a judge, or someone who has nothing better to do, takes up his case, you know, normal procedure. Now get the hell out of my office."

"This here will surely serve to accelerate the procedure".

Bie Yue took the envelope with money out of his pocket, opening it a little so that Watsup would be able to inspect the contents. The dirty cop growled by way of approval, and Bie Yue tossed the envelope on the desk.

The boss sat up properly and let out a loud whistle. A moment later, one of the station's many officers appeared on the scene.

"Boss?"

"Lackie, arrest this man for trying to bribe me."

"Right away." -The officer quickly positioned himself behind the bodyguard and proceeded to place his hands behind his back, hooking handcuffs on him. "Walk, scum, you're going straight to the hole."

"Wait a second!" -Scum exclaimed, finally reacting. "What the hell is going on here!?"

"Well, what do you think, you idiot? An arrest." -said Watsup, shamelessly counting the bills. He snorted, amused. "What did you think was going to happen? It's illegal to bribe a cop, shit like that only works on TV and in 80's crime novels."

"But you took the money!"

"No, you threw the money on my desk and now I'll use it as evidence of your crime." -Watsup replied, sharing a derisive laugh along with his subordinate. "Thanks, you make my job so much easier, I wish all the criminals in this damned town were like you. Lackie, you can take him away now."

The officer began to drag Bie Yue out of the office, who began to resist. "Wait, don't be an asshole, Watsup! Negotiate, we can negotiate a new deal between you and me, Chang can go fuck himself!"

"Negotiate with the cockroaches, moron."

"And that is the reason why I am here.". -Said Bie Yue, finishing his explanation of why he was in the detention room, in the cell right in front of his boss.

"Damn!" -Chang exclaimed. "That bastard sure is cunning!"

Days earlier, Watsup had warned him that he was going to lock up anyone who caused trouble in the town...But Chang never imagined that this guy would actually make good on his threat. The son of a bitch had arrested and put in a cell nine people, within hours of each other, in just one day.

The man was scary when he really got to work.

However, Chang was not upset with Bie Yue for his failure to try to free him, as he was aware that Watsup was a difficult man to deal with; a cunning and treacherous bastard who could not say 'good morning' to you without lying to you at least twice, so he didn't blame his bodyguard for falling into that son of a bitch's trap.

"Anyway..." -said Bie Yue, changing her usual sour expression to a grimace of disgust. "What the hell are you doing playing with those bugs?"

His bodyguard pointed to the cockroaches standing next to him, circling him and watching him almost adoringly. His subordinate's grimace of disgust now made more sense.

"Oh, this." -Chang shrugged. "When they put me in this cell I accidentally stepped on the leader cockroach. With their previous leader dead, these disgusting insects decided to recognize me as the new authority figure here. Basically, I'm now their new queen."

"You mean king."

"I know what I said."

"..."

"..."

"Mr. Chang." -Bie Yue pinched the bridge of her nose hard, in an attempt to muster patience. "Are you out of your mind?"

He pointed accusingly at him. "This is what happens when this damn corrupt system punishes an innocent man, depriving him of his freedom for several months, for a crime he didn't commit!"

"But you were arrested only two goddamn hours ago!" -replied his subordinate, finally losing his patience. "And what innocence are you talking about, if you hired Two Hands to kill a little girl, you motherfu-!"

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!". -Chang interrupted him, waving his hands in front of his face in a gesture of irritation. "That's enough, those are insignificant little details no longer worth mentioning. The important thing here is, what the hell do we do now? I was counting on you to get me out of this."

Bie Yue let out a long, tired sigh, as he did every time he had to deal with him. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it, Mr. Chang. I mean, I thought Boss Watsup only had something against you, but now I see that bastard will arrest anyone who tries to get smart, so there's no point in calling in any more of our men since they'll run the risk of being arrested."

"Hold on a second, I just came up with a good plan. Now that I remember, you have the right to make a call, so contact all our men who are in the city and order them to carry out an assault against the police station to free us."

"Now you're just talking bullshit."

"Of course not, I saw the same plan in an American movie, Assault on Precinct 13 if I remember correctly, and it worked perfectly. So we should just copy the same procedure."

"A plan based on a movie doesn't sound at all convincing to me.". -Biu Yue remarked, deadpan. "I don't see how anything good can come out of it."

"By the way..." -Chang added, raising a finger." All the attackers died."

"I knew it, the plan is complete bullshit!". -Bie Yue gripped the bars of her cell tightly. "Why do you want to recreate a plan where everyone dies, are you crazy!? I won't let you!"

"Tsk. So you're telling me that we'll have to wait for Watsup to feel like releasing us?"

"Yes, I'd really appreciate it if you'd just stay still in your cell so as not to complicate our situation even more!"

Chang again clicked his tongue in annoyance, however, he decided to take his subordinate's advice. "This is a shit."

After a few quiet days, Balalaika had finally ordered his men into action and eliminated the previously selected targets in an exquisitely coordinated attack.

A squad of his soldiers destroyed a second building belonging to the Kousa, at the same time that a second squad assaulted an office and eliminated a good number of Yakuzas belonging to the same group, then quickly withdrew from the place, leaving a dozen dead and the Japanese police totally baffled.

All in the same day, with no injuries or casualties to their soldiers.

Bando had been surprised and delighted once he was informed of the results, praising her and her soldiers for their efficiency. Though to Balalaika all that was nothing more than a greeting, a start of the game.

However, that didn't stop her from accepting his offer to hold a small celebration for the success of her first big strike against the Kousa, at the best bar in the city, which belonged to the Washimine.

Bando said he would pay for all the drinks, women and other vices of his soldiers, so she saw no reason to refuse the offer.

So now she was trying to relax, disinterestedly watching a fight between two of her Vysotnikis in the center of the bar, both of whom were shirtless and shoeless, while a mixed crowd of Russians and Japanese surrounded them in a circle, cheering the fight.

"Are you sure this is all right?" -Rock asked, sitting next to her at the bar counter, grimacing at the ferocity with which the soldiers were fighting. "I mean, they're not holding back at all."

"Of course, this is just a friendly fight between soldiers.". -She replied. "It's more common than you think."

He shuddered. "If this is a friendly thing, I don't want to know what it's like if they fight for real."

"That usually includes broken bones, gouged out eyes, dismemberment-"

"I said I don't want to know!"

Balalaika chuckled as she watched him cover his ears so as not to hear her. Now she could understand why Revy spent so much time with him and the brats, their antics could be a bit of fun...as long as she wasn't the butt of their practical jokes.

In fact, now that she was paying attention, Rock was alone and the troublesome twins were nowhere in sight. That piqued her curiosity. "Where are your little satellites?"

The sudden question threw Rock off a bit, who uncovered his ears and looked at her in confusion. "Satellites?"

"Yes, those little brats that are always orbiting around you."

"Oh...Hansel and Gretel." -He shrugged. "They're wandering around, looking for something to entertain themselves with. They said it was boring to watch a bunch of useless adults fight and get drunk."

"And is it okay to leave them unattended? Because I'm afraid their idea of entertainment translates into physically or psychologically harming people."

"Why would that be reminding me of someone?" -Rock cocked his head and looked at her curiously. "It wouldn't be your lost sons or something?"

"No." -Said Balalaika, deadpan.

"I see. But back to the previous topic, there is no need to worry, I have spoken clearly with them since last time. The kids will no longer play practical jokes that result in serious injury and permanent psychological trauma. Just normal practical jokes."

"...That doesn't reassure me at all."

A roar of approval caught their attention, the fight was finally over and the witnesses were congratulating the winner. More fighters quickly appeared to take the vacant spots, excited by the display of blood and violence.

'At least someone's having fun.'. -Thought Balalaika bitterly, turning a frowning glance at her new ally, Bando, who was also enjoying the fighting.

She had many ideas and strategies on how they could wipe out the entire Kousa group in a quick manner by attacking their main sources of income, but Bando had rejected the idea of attacking so hard and so directly, arguing that he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself and a lot of bullshit that she didn't care about in the least.

Normally, Balalaika would have sent him to hell and gone ahead with the operation in her own way. But since business was going well, and her Vysotnikis were enjoying the war games, Balalaika decided to be a little more tolerant this time and play along with Bando.

At least for now. Until she got tired and ordered to end the boring business to take care of other much more interesting ones.

"Umm, Miss Balalaika?". -Said Rock.

"Drop the formalities, too much shit has happened between us for you to keep treating me like Miss, you're starting to irritate me. Call me Balalaika or Kapitana, whatever you like."

"Okay then, Balalaika... How should I say it?". - He scratched his cheek, his expression somewhere between nervous and worried." Your offer from the other day still stands?"

"...Yes."

Rock rolled his eyes. "You completely forgot what it was, didn't you?"

"I've been very busy lately slaughtering your species, so I hope you'll excuse me for forgetting a detail or two from a probably stupid conversation I had with you. So what was that particular offer about?"

"That you were willing to adopt the twins." -Now it was Balalaika's turn to roll her eyes. "Just kidding, there's no way I'd give you the kids. Besides, you wouldn't be able to last long with them, they'd kill you in your sleep."

"Whatever, your business, Japonski."

Rock cleared his throat, his expression suddenly more serious. "A few days ago you told me it was okay if I wanted to get in trouble…"

Oh, that.

Truth be told, she had indeed completely forgotten about that conversation, because, again, for the most part it was stupid. Balalaika had offered him that so that he and his brats could let off some steam, and not cause trouble for her and her men by being bored.

A bunch of soldiers with low morale from being ridiculed by some kids, and a sergeant with claustrophobia, was the most she was willing to accept.

But as the days passed without Rock showing any signs of wanting to accept her offer, she had put that matter aside to deal with other things.

'The fish took its damn time, but it finally takes the bait.' -thought Balalaika. "Yes, I remember, so have you thought of something to kill your boredom yet?"

"Yeah, I've been kicking around a few ideas over the past few days, and in the end I decided on paying a visit to an old acquaintance."

Balalaika snorted, disappointed and annoyed. She had expected a more important request, considering the seriousness with which he spoke, but it turned out to be just stupidity.

"You don't need to ask my permission for that kind of nonsense. I already told you that, as long as it doesn't affect or interfere with my business here, you can do as you want."

"Well, that's the point.". -Said Rock. "To do what I want, I need you and your men to accompany me on this visit. Of course, that will be once you finish your business with the Washimine, I'm simply informing you of my intentions with some time to spare so you won't be mad at me later."

Balalaika raised an eyebrow, looking at him not knowing how to take that. Was it business, or did he just want to play a practical joke, in the style of his brats, on someone?

"If you need to borrow some of my men to beat the crap out of someone...". -Said Balalaika after a moment, carefully, deciding to interpret it as business. If that wasn't the case, she would beat him up. "Then there is no problem, but I warn you that I will charge you for the service. The cost will depend on who the person is and the level of severity of the beating."

"Uh, well, I don't think a beating is necessary. After all, this is something a little more complicated than just going and beating someone up. As for the price... that won't be any problem, if all goes well, I'm sure we'll both be able to get a good amount of money out of this." -He smiled. "Enough to pay off that debt from the kids for the destruction of your hotel."

So, yes, it was a business, one that involved large amounts of money...Balalaika's favorites. But what was it about? Extortion, a scam, a robbery?

"Spit it out, Rock." -Pressed Balalaika, leaning into him a little. Maybe she was setting her expectations too high because of her own boredom, but whatever he was planning to do had caught her attention. "What the hell is this about?"

"About my old boss, Kageyama. I want to take the opportunity that I'm in Japan and pay that son of a bitch a visit."

"...Tell me the details."

Watsup is a Troll...