Kyandi: Welcome back, my lovelies!

Rory: I really hate this chapter. And the next one, for that matter.

Kyandi: I know, but karma will work out for you.

Rory: It sure as hell better.

Kyandi: You'll get your justice eventually.

Rory: I don't like how you said that.

Kyandi: I know. Anyway, everyone, please enjoy and review.

Rory: Kyandi-sama does not own Tokyo Revengers.

Chapter 5 Trump Card

Over the coming days, Rory fell into a routine for work, seeing Mikey on breaks, and walking to the club with him. As the clash with Valhalla drew closer to happening, she begun to see less of Mikey. She understood but it left her days quiet and boring.

She never thought she would miss Mikey's rowdiness.

The day started off as any other. Morning rush, quiet mid-morning, a lunch rush and a boring afternoon. Nothing special, but it was made to feel longer when Mikey didn't show up at all during the day. Wondering if he would be there to walk her to the club, if she should shoot him a text, she begun to close the bakery. She was just wiping down the display cases when the bell over the door rang. Thinking it was Mikey there to walk her to her next job, she turned to give him a hard time.

"About time, you 'lil del - " Rory came to a stop, trailing off when she was greeted not by the sight of Mikey's grinning face, but the smirking one of another teenager.

He was tall, taller than her by a foot, at least, lanky, and had hair in two colors, black and blonde, the tresses styled in an almost mohawk fashion. A long, golden earring hung from his left ear and had "sin" and 'punishment" tattooed on the backs of his hands. Rory got a bad feeling the moment she looked at him.

His smirk widened. "You must've been expecting someone else." He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, holding it up in front of her, his eyes going from it to her as if he was comparing her to a picture. "So you're Mikey's Angel."

Rory's bad feeling evolved into a glaring red flag. She could feel the old couple who owned the bakery growing tense, the man, Mr. Aikawa, grabbing a rolling pin. While Rory loved that they cared for her well being enough to consider taking sticking by her side as more boys spilled into store, she wasn't going to let them get dragged into her problems. Shifting to stand in front of the couple, Rory picked up the broom she had propped against the counter.

"Mr. Aikawa, Mrs. Aikawa...please leave. Whatever you may hear...do not come back," Rory told them over her shoulder, her firm resolve making the boy in front of her snicker.

"But, Rory...!"

Rory cut Mrs. Aikawa off. "I'll be fine. Go."

Having spent years with the girl, the couple knew better than to continue arguing with her. Rory had proven, time and again, that she was capable of protecting herself. Leaving the girl there, they fled out the back door. With them out of the way, Rory focused solely on the people before her. Her eyes scanned over the boys standing behind their leader. None of them gave her pause to worry like their leader did.

"How considerate, letting the old folks get away. That's fine. You're the one I'm here for."

"And you would be?" Rory asked.

"Hanma Shuji, second-in-command of Valhalla."

Well, fuck me...

Rory didn't let her recognition show on her face, just blinked. "Sorry, can't say I've heard of ya. Any reason you're lookin' for me?"

Keep him talking, given the Aikawas time to call the police. Rory was sure they would do so as soon as they could. If it came down to it, she would fight to escape.

"You're Mikey's Angel. He would be awfully upset if he came here to find you gone, so I'll need you to come with me."

"And if I say no?"

A chuckle rose from Hanma. "You don't got a choice."

"Oh?" One of Rory's eyebrows twitched, the girl shifting into a more comfortable stance. "What do ya know...a new record for pissin' me the hell off."

Rory was moving in the next blink of the eye, sending the broom flying. Hanma dodged it, the object beaming one his guys in the face with enough force to knock him out. Rory reached for the next nearest object, snatching up a rail-thin tray that she seat flying like a frisbee. Another boy went down with a yelp, Rory darting around the display case to make a break for the back door. She slid to a halt, gliding onto her butt when Hanma suddenly jumped over the cases, landing between her and the doorway to the back of the shop.

"Just give it up. You won't get away," he snickered.

"Orderin' me around makes me want to do what you say even less." Rory snatched up a half empty bag of flour, throwing it in his face. Hanma knocked it aside, only showering himself with the powder.

Hanma jerked back when it got into his eyes, blinding him. It was all the opening Rory needed. She jumped to her feet, darting between his legs and through the kitchen and out the back door. She wasn't stupid enough to take on five or six guys in a cramped space. She needed open space to give her a leg up. If she couldn't just flat out get away, that is.

She took a sharp turn around a corner, pulling her phone out to call Mikey. It was due to his increased interest in her that she now found herself in this situation.

'Oh, be honest with yourself...you didn't have to humor him. This is your fault, too.'

Rory found Mikey's number and hit call. Behind her she could hear the thundering of pursuing footsteps. Rory jumped a hedge wall, cutting across a parking lot as the phone rang.

"Come on, come on...answer the damn phone!"

Finally, the line clicked. "Hey, Angel! What's u - "

"Mikey! It's an emergency! Get your ass he - " Rory cut off when she rounded a corner only to run right into an extended arm. The arm caught her at the throat, giving only a little before throwing her back off her feet. She gagged as she landed on her back, her glasses hitting the ground beside her.

She distantly heard Mikey's voice call her from her phone as it clattered to the pavement. Coughing from the abrupt blow to her windpipe, Rory rolled to her side, hand skimming over the ground until she found her glasses. She jammed those on her face. When the world came back into focus, her eyes found her phone. She reached for it only to release a cry when a foot stomped down onto her hand.

"How boring, and here I had hoped for a challenge." Hanma reached down to pick up her phone. Rory glared up at him as he dropped the phone and stomped on it for good measure. "He can't help you now."

Rory grit her teeth, already annoyed with this boy who was quickly piling up offenses against her. Yanking, she pulled her hand out from under his shoe and shifted back onto her butt. Her head came up, her eyes sharp in a glare.

"Anyone ever tell ya that you're an asshat?" she demanded. "Seriously, what is it with this country? Do Japanese people not teach their sons respect?"

"Says the girl that I'm told bashed a couple of guys' teeth in a few weeks ago," was Hanma's bored retort.

"Yeah, well...they offended me and deserved it. Just like you deserve a swift kick in the balls."

"When you can actually follow through, then we'll talk." Hanma turned away from her to face one of his guys. "Grab her. Can't see why Sano's interested in he - "

Hanma really shouldn't have turned his back, shouldn't have thought her down and out. He cut off as Rory surged forward and took out his knees, sending him tumbling backwards. Like a snake, Rory twisted around him, yanking on his clothes as he fell so that he landed on his stomach. Hanma put his hands out to catch his fall, but it did nothing to keep her arm from winding around his neck and tightening like an iron band. "He likes me because, even out numbered, I can kick your ass."

Hanma felt a thrill up his spine when Rory tightened her grip to the point he couldn't breathe. His men came to his aide, but no amount of tugging or hitting would rip her free. Hanma forced himself to his feet and, in an attempt to dislodge her, flipped onto his back, crushing her under his weight. He felt her breath leave her, but her grip only increased. Hanma slammed her into the ground again, jabbing an elbow into her ribs. Rory still refused to let go. He was starting to desperately need air.

In a bid for freedom, Hanma pulled a pocket knife, flicking it open and jabbing it back into her thigh. Gasping in pain, she released him, trying to get away, but Hanma grabbed her ankle to drag her back. "Not so fast."

With strength she had only seen in a few boys his age before, Hanma lifted her clear of the ground. Only her long hair swept the cement. Rory grabbed her glasses to keep them on her face. She twisted until she could look up at his face. "Wow, so your a muscle head who can lift me off the ground. Congratulations, King Kong, you can bench a whompin' hundred and ten pounds. Why don't ya start bangin' your chest like an ape, too."

A hissed slipped free of her when Hanma hoisted her higher and back-handed her across the face. As if she wasn't in enough pain from the stab wound. She barely kept her glasses on her face. To add to her displeasure, she could feel sticky, hot blood trickling up her thigh to stain her shorts. A frown fell on her face as she adjusted her glasses.

"Did you just seriously pimp slap me? I know your not that hard up for a death wish."

"And who would deliver it? You?"

"The difference between men and women is not our strength or size. I'm sure I've already proven that. It's that men are stupid enough to eventually forget a slight against 'em. Women, no matter what they say, never forget. I'm patient enough to bide my time. Let's see how long it takes for your stupidity to kick in."

Hanma actually grinned at her, something in his telling him that she wasn't kidding and would take him down the moment she got an opening. It sent a thrill down his spine that he lived for.

"We'll see won't we? Until then, you're going to keep us at Valhalla company until our big show down with your boyfriend."

A laugh left Rory, the girl trying to blink away black spots starting to appear in her vision. "Shows what you know. Mikey's not my boyfriend and doesn't have that much interest in me. You're wastin' your time."

Hanma's grin only grew. "If he doesn't care then we'll have some fun, you and I. I'm sure you're good for something."

Rory didn't need a translation for her to understand what he meant. Lave boiled in her veins at the thought and a disgusted noise left her. "So gross."

They were in for a very rude awakening if they thought they were going to get anything out of her. Mikey called her an angel, but they were about to find out that she was really a demon.

The day had been slow, boring...utter crap.

A false call, the second one in two months, sent him away, making it were he couldn't go see Rory. It saw to it that he wasn't in the best of moods. Every single one of his guys could see it rolling off him in waves. Mikey didn't know that the day could get worse.

He was at the shrine with his crew, getting ready to head out to meet Rory when he got the call from the very person herself. He answered the phone, his mood already soaring, only to crash. "Hey, Angel! What's u - "

"Mikey!" Mikey could hear the annoyance and almost distress in her voice. "It's an emergency! Get your ass he - "

He heard her cut off with a gag, the phone sounding like it fell to the ground. "Angel?"

All eyes turned to him as bolted to his feet. He could hear Rory coughing, snickers filling the background. Then he heard the last voice he ever wanted to hear around Rory. "How boring, and here I had hoped for a challenge."

"Hanma!" Mikey felt like his blood had run cold, his anger growing as he heard Rory bite off a noise of pain. "Hand on, Angel! I'm coming for y - "

The line dropped. Hanma must have destroyed her phone. Biting back rage, Mikey almost destroyed his own phone.

Draken looked from Mikey to the phone in his hand. "Mikey?"

"Valhalla has Angel." That was all Mikey said before he made a dash to his bike.

The other followed, Mikey speeding across town to the bakery. When he arrived, the front door was wide open, the Aikawas talking to a police officer. When he saw Mikey, Mr. Aikawa left his wife to talk to the cops and came over to Mikey.

Mikey didn't even give him the chance to speak. "Where's Angel?"

"I...I don't know. Earlier, some men came in looking for her. They called her, "Mikey's Angel". Their leader was a tall kid with tattoos on the backs of his hands," Mr. Aikawa told him.

"Valhalla's second-in-command," Draken confirmed.

"Rory made us leave, didn't want us in her way. We called the police but by the time they got here the bakery was a mess and Rory and the men were gone. The police found her cellphone smashed to bits a few blocks away, along with blood."

Furious couldn't come close to describing how Mikey felt.

Valhalla had the gull to take his Angel from him. He would get her back and if there was a single scratch on her, he would level them all. He refused to stop and think, knowing that he would blame himself for her being in the position she was in. All he could think about was that Hanma had taken her, hurt her, and he was livid.

No one touched his Angel and got away with it.

"Mikey?" Draken called him back from his thoughts.

"I'm gonna kill him."

If Valhalla's own declaration hadn't made it so, then Rory's kidnapping set it in stone.

This meant war.

END

Kyandi: You know, I both like and hate Hanma.

Rory: It's just hate with me.

Kyandi: Well yeah. He stabbed and pimp slapped you.

Rory: I will have his family jewels for it.

Kyandi: Calm down...you're foaming at the mouth.

Rory: Vengeance will be mine.

Kyandi: O-kay. While she's going dark side on us we'll move on. I hope you all enjoy and please feel free to leave a review.

Rory: We'll be back as soon as we can. I'm coming for you, Hanma.

Kyandi: Uh...bye, guys!