Hello everyone! Glad to have you back to read the latest chapter of Living Things! If I have kept you waiting for almost two months, I'm very sorry. I was almost finished with it when life pulled me away from completing the last parts of the chapter. It's somewhat aggravating to me because I planned to have the chapters focusing on Lily and Saki (and to a lesser extent, Bucciarati and Narancia for this chapter and the next) to be included sooner than later. Hopefully, I can add more chapters as quick as I can to the best of my ability now that my life had been abated a little.
I just hope it doesn't come back again to make me stall me writing Living Things and my other fanfic, A Painting's Shadow. Speaking of which, you can check it out if you are interested and have free time because I added a new chapter.
Alright, enough rambling from me. Let's get reading, everyone!
"Damn... Those crow chicks don't know when to quit, do they?" The second-in-command of an all-female biker gang, Saki Nikaido, complained to her partner after hearing the crow's cry up in the sky. Both girls are sitting at the top of the stairs, getting their face full of morning sunlight as they rest for a short moment.
"Eh, I guess they are freaking out 'cause they can't stop us from taking over Kyushu." Reiko Amabuki, the leader of Dorami recognized by her long purple hair with different shades of purple and two pink highlights, jested, basing it on what they did here and Dorami's plan for the entire Kyushu.
Saki is not satisfied with that, if only because she is annoyed by their shrill cry. She stands up on her feet, saying, "What a pain... Maybe I'll crush them now and save us all the headache."
"Geez, you should do something about that crazy streak of yours," Reiko advised her with a smile, knowing what had happened whenever Saki blew her lid off too many times to count. "It might kill you one day."
"No way in hell I'm gonna die," she boasted, and probably did not jinx herself. "And neither is this little fella." She took something out of her pocket and showed it to her. "Check it. A Tamagotchi."
Reiko giggled at Saki proudly showing her the latest Tamagotchi model. She sure is fond of those toys. "C'mon, let's go." She told her as she stood up. The two walk down the steps as Saki complains again, "Man, I'm starving. I wish Tori was open this early."
With the way they are casually walking, it is easy to forget that these two girls are members of a notorious biker gang called Dorami, if only because they are wearing the traditional biker outfit consisting of a long red jacket and pants.
!?
Even then, the pile of unconscious and beaten-up gang members caused by these two should clue anyone that these two girls are anything but ordinary people.
バクォォォーン
Revving up their own motorcycles differentiated in color, with Saki having a pink one and Reiko, fittingly, going for a purple one, the two bikers are ready to move out of the area when an idea came into Saki's head. "Hey Reiko! Last one to the finish line is a rotten egg!"
"Guess you never learn. I beat you every time," Reiko playfully insinuated to remind her of who's always winning their races. "Speed is my specialty..."
"...And mine's guts," Saki talked back, unwilling to give up until she finally came up in first place.
"Keep telling yourself that," rebutted Reiko.
"Hm!"
With the air around them filled up with smoke and competitive spirit, Saki and Reiko blast off down the road, performing a wheelie for extra speed at the start before disappearing into the horizon.
Yawning her lungs out, Saki stretched her arms up after she woke up. It did not take long for her to realize that she had dreamed up about one of her conversations with her former partner during her time in Dorami, Reiko Amabuki. Vaguely remembering how her dream ended, she is annoyed that just as when it starts to become interesting, she woke up, ending her dream abruptly. Still, she should not complain about that because she can remember the outcome of the race.
Right... Reiko won for the hundredth time. She reminded herself, rubbing her eyes after she finished stretching. Guess I never beat her once before I died. Say, wonder what she's doin' now? Is she still leading Dorami? Or did she...quit? And speaking of Dorami, what became of it over twenty years later?
Setting that thought aside for now, Saki stands up on her rotting feet. She had only realized that she was the last one to wake up as the futons were all empty. "Huh? I woke up late? But... it's still early in the morning though...?" She stated by herself, looking over at the clock, and then to the open door. "Hmm, bet I'll try straightening the girls and boys up for not waking me up as soon as they did. How dare they left me out alone here." She jokingly warned, letting out a chuckle in spite of her words.
Saki is about to walk out of the room when suddenly, Number Zero and Li'l Bomber burst in. The former went behind Saki holding a detached leg while the latter, who is crawling because he's missing one leg because of her, growls at the rambunctious zombie, ignoring Saki's presence for now.
"GIVE ME BACK MY LEG, YOU CRAZY ZOMBIE!" Narancia shouted angrily at her, managing to get close to Tae, only for her to bolt away from him and Saki.
"RRRRRWWWWGGGGGHHHHH!" She growled threateningly to him, which is muffled due to her holding his leg in her mouth.
"Don't you dare growl at me! I won't hesitate to have Aerosmith fire at you if you don't return my leg back this instant!" he warned, continuing chasing against Tae.
The rest of the zombies came into the room after they heard the scuffle between the two coming from this room. It didn't take them long to assist Narancia in getting his leg back and stop Tae who is running on all fours like a dog on zoomies. Angry zoomies.
"Tae! Stop running and release Narancia's leg!" Bucciarati commanded, trying to get the leg out of her mouth with Sticky Fingers, but failing because Tae is moving quicker than he anticipated.
"Tae-chan, please! You have caused enough turmoil for all of us, especially Narancia-san!" pleaded Sakura.
"Seriously, what do you have against him that led you to bite his leg repeatedly and eventually taking it away in your mouth?" Ai tried asking her, having grown exasperated of the apparent rivalry between the two.
"Probably because Tae kept festering Junko, so Narancia tried stopping her, and in turn, she retaliated in kind," Johnny guessed, choosing to stand on the doorway since he still has limited mobility. "This has happened five times."
As everyone except Johnny and Saki, who chose to stand aside and let the chaos continue for her amusement, attempted to catch Tae and get Narancia's leg back, the boy himself has had enough of Tae's actions against him. Since Kakyoin, Avdol, Sakura and Yugiri are holding him in place to prevent him from assaulting Tae, he decides to take it up a notch.
"That does it! AEROSMITH!"
The whirring propellers from the plane Stand are heard before Narancia goes to town pelting out bullets targeted at Tae. At least, that's what he wants until Hierophant Green and Doggy Style entangled Aerosmith and keep it in one place.
"N-Narancia! Please don't use your Stand against Tae-chan!" pleaded Junko, who is feeling bad from having not warded off Tae, so Narancia tried protecting her from the feral zombie and caused all this to happen.
"Calm yourself down! Using your Stand will not solve your predicament!" Avdol told him.
Seeing the usual chaos she has come to expect from them, Saki could only smile, being happy to have been raised from the dead together with these amazing people filled with guts.
"Man, if I haven't met these guys and gals when I was brought back to life, I doubt me living as zombie wouldn't be so fun without them..." muttered Saki with a smile unseen by them.
"Huh? What are you saying...?" asked a bald, elderly man wearing a blue tank top cupping his right ear with his hand.
"For the last time, those young gals want to join us for the Kashima dance!" Another old man supporting himself with a cane shouted to his ear. "Clean your ears out, pal!"
"Whaaaaat?"
Franchouchou and Rianima are wondering what they are expecting from this group of elderly people sitting under a canopy. Kotaro told the girls that they will be learning the traditional Kashima dance from these elderly people. As usual, Rianima will be with them and look out for any suspicious events indicating the presence of enemy Stands. With no signs of enemy Stands in the area though, they believe they are all safe for the time being.
Staring incredulously at the elder people, Saki has something to protest about. "Okay, so how's this gonna help Franchouchou get more popular?"
"Uh, somehow... Kotaro isn't going to tell much detail about it," responded Sakura, remembering what Kotaro discussed in their morning meeting back home...
"Sooooo as you can see in this very informative chart, the elderly makes up a large portion of Saga's population. So if you want to take the prefecture by storm, then you're going have to work hard to win the hearts of these oldie goldies by any means necessary! *takes a deep breath* Time for you to leeeeeaaaaaarn...! Kashimaaaaaa DAAAAAAAANCEEEEEEEE!"
"I could be wrong, but I don't think there's ever been an idol group that had a significant senior citizen following," Junko chimed in, expressing doubt about getting a fan of elderly people for their group.
Ai agrees with her, saying, "Yeah, I've definitely never heard of anything like that."
Going over to Rianima's side, Gyro is inspecting the elderly people closely, leaning his face forward while his eyes squinted while rubbing his chin, touching each square-shaped facial hair lining across his jaw and chin. "Hmm... I see, I see..." They heard him mumble in thought, but before they can ask what he's doing scrutinizing the elderly, he asks a question to his friend.
"Say Johnny, do you think you could get along with these senior persons?"
"Huh? Why do you think that?" inquired Johnny
"Well, because you are... *chuckle* using a... cane?"
"..."
"..."
"Very funny," he felt insulted by his attempt at a joke all because he made a connection between him and the elderly through a cane. "And besides, I'm not that old!"
"In terms of physical age, you are not. But if you add up the years between when we died and raised back to life, you are quite old!" responded Gyro.
"Says you. You're only five years younger than my current age," Johnny replied back. "Back then, I believe you were five years older than me, but when you died, I aged up ten years before it's my turn. As I said, you became five years younger than my age, which was 29."
"Oh, interesting." Gyro seems amused by his statement. He never thought he would be both five years older and younger than Johnny. A rare feat that could not happen if it weren't for their undead status.
Before anyone could say something about these two's conversation, they heard one of the elderly people speak, standing up from the bench with a groan. "Alright, I guess we better get things started." After managing to stand up properly, the old man opens his eyes, before exclaiming one of Kotaro's catchphrases, coincidentally enough.
"MUSIC, COME ON!"
Right there and then, Franchouchou and Rianima learn that just because age has caught up to them doesn't mean they are not fitted for dancing anymore.
With every sway of their arms and legs as they follow the beat of the traditional song heard from the boombox, these specific group of elder people did not fail to surprise and impress the fourteen zombies with their sharp movements and experienced dancing of a traditional Kashima dance.
"Look at that!" exclaimed Lily.
"Damn! They're sharper than I thought!" Saki is unable to deny what she is watching.
"Hahaha! We shouldn't have underestimated these group of elderly people just because they are old." Avdol is impressed with their moves.
"Experience does come together with age, after all." Mamezuku added, not surprised since he examined them seriously and assumed there is more to them than meets the eye. He is impressed by them, nonetheless.
"That's the dance. Now get on in here." A confident elderly person beckoned them to join.
"Wait! We're supposed to have it down!?" Sakura blurted out in surprise.
"That's what Tatsumi-san told you, right?" reminded Kakyoin. "From the way I see this, it shouldn't be that hard to master the dance."
"Do you think we can keep up with them...?" wondered Junko.
"There's only one way to find out!" Ai confidently replied before joining in the dance.
For the next few minutes, Franchouchou danced together with the elder people, closely watched and guarded by Rianima who opted not to dance with them since their role was Franchouchou's bodyguard, not dancers. That being said, Kakyoin, Avdol, Narancia and Gyro wonder if they can dance with them too, but they are granted permission by the elderly since they find no harm in letting them dance with them due in part to their association with Franchouchou. Bucciarati, Johnny and Mamezuku did not join in the end, but they did watch and analyzed the dance for future use.
Around the corner however, a young punk was watching the fourteen zombies lounging around the place. She let out a scoff in response.
After the dance is done, Lily, Tae, Avdol and Narancia go fetch some water to refresh their body after the long practice lesson. Tae has her mouth over the drinking faucet, which is spraying big amount of water to her mouth, inflating her cheek comically.
Turning the faucet off, Lily rubs her forehead with her hand as she says, "Phew! Wow, that was even more exhausting than our rehearsals, wasn't it?"
"Ungh. Ungh, ungh, ungh, ungh," mumbled out Tae, predictably not responding to Lily's statement.
"Yeah, it is," Narancia decides to respond to her, who is squatting down on the ground to rest his legs after drinking from the drinking fountain. "I feel like I'm sweating all over."
"Well, it's not a bad thing to exercise or dance," Avdol advised, standing by Tae's side so she doesn't do anything unruly around them and here, especially around Narancia, who made a point of staying away from Tae after their quarrel in the morning. "It's important for our bodies to move around and prevent ourselves from getting sedentary."
"Yup! Just because we're zombies doesn't mean we should not slack off!" Lily agreed with him.
"Hey, you four!" They heard Sakura's voice to their side. They, except Tae, look up to her as Number One says, "Um, everybody's waiting for you!"
"Okaaaaay!" Lily acknowledged her by raising her hand up.
"We heard you, Sakura!" Narancia stands up with a smile.
"BbbbbrrrbbrrrbrrrbrrrraaaAAAAAUUUUUUUU!" Tae copied Lily's movement while uttering out gibberish because she hasn't removed her mouth off the fountain yet as it continues dishing out water to her mouth, which forces her out of it. The still-flowing water rises up to the air, creating a miniature rainbow.
"Tae-san!" Avdol called out to her in concern.
Before the four help Tae and then follow Sakura, they heard the sound of the scooter engine coming from the other side. They turn their heads to see three women wearing a red biker outfit getting off their pink scooter. The leader of the trio, who has long wavy light-brown hair, two hair buns and long tails coming out of them on both sides with bangs covering her entire forehead ending in a straight cut over her orange eyes, has an intense glare directed at them. Getting off the scooter with the two, one of which has short brown hair and black hair with two braided tails and glasses, they all walk menacingly towards them, spooking out Lily and Sakura while Narancia and Avdol regard them warily, going over by their side.
As for Tae, she is busy spitting out the excess water from her bloated stomach as she lies on the ground.
For a brief moment though, Lily sees the pink scooter they used, making her wonder why these intimidating girls ride such cute vehicles. Really? Using a cute, pink scooter as part of their intimidating gig?
Standing close to them now, the leader angrily asks them two questions, specifically directed at Sakura and Lily. "Hey twinkle toes! Who gave you the right to come on our turf and do that stupid dance with the old geezers, huh!? What middle school do you two losers go to?"
"Whoa, it's Saki 2.0," Sakura muttered, having heard her two specific questions before.
"I'm gonna be a grade school kid for good if you must know," Lily answered her with a frown.
"Huh?" The girl is taken aback by her answer. She did not expect this girl to be a kid. Or perhaps she is annoyed this kid has guts to talk back at her. This is picked up by Narancia, who proceeds to walk in the front to shield the two from them.
"Hey, if you got a beef against a kid and want to square with her, then forget it!" Narancia moved in the front to shield her from them while glaring at them. "The two of us here will not look away from trying to pick up a fight with these two girls. How about you three get out of here if you know what's best for you! Ya hear me?"
The leader is even taken aback by him, not only for his words, but also because he and the robed man towers over them. Seeing they will bite more than they can chew if they are going to scold two tall men, the brown-haired girl mutters to the leader, "Let's just go Maria. We shouldn't pick on a little kid, especially with someone guarding her."
"She's right. That wouldn't be cool," The braided girl added.
"Please listen to the two, miss. Your parents would be mad and disappointed in you if you dare intimidate her," Avdol gently prodded her. Little did he know, he almost pushed her button when he mentioned her parents to her, as her right eye twitched when she heard that.
But she decides to not let her anger get to her as she says to the pouting Lily, "Okay fine. I'll leave you alone..."
"...But YOU!"
"H-Huh!?" Sakura almost shrieked when Maria specifically chose her to heckle.
"What makes you think you can make a big racket in our park!?"
"Um, I-I'm sorry... But technically, this park belongs to everybody so..."
"Say WHAT!?" shouted Maria.
Sakura is so close to losing it and starts panicking when she felt herself pulled by Narancia, who is irritated that she didn't step off like he expected her to and tried intimidating her instead of Lily. "She said that this park belongs to everyone, not just you and your lackeys!" He shouted to her, glaring and baring his teeth to her face. "And didn't I tell you to forget starting a feud with us just because we stepped on your "territory"? If you still continue, you'll have to get to me if you're targeting these girls!"
Undeterred and further annoyed by his exclamation, Maria glared back at him, yelling, "HAH!? You want to fight, is that it!?
"Oh, I'll happily do it if it means protecting these two!" he retorted.
"Now, now, you two!" Avdol steps between them to prevent a fight from erupting. "Please don't start a fight! We do not want anyone to get hurt or worse!"
Just when they hoped the vexation would calm down or things escalate more, everyone, including Maria's two lackeys, noticed Tae staring and drooling over Maria's hair buns. They didn't act quickly enough to stop her from biting the hair buns.
アグッ
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Maria's tough exterior evaporates to give way for a panicked one as she struggles to get Tae off her head, but Tae is making it hard for her because she attempts to remove the bun off her by shaking.
While the two girls are mortified by this raven-haired woman's strange action, Narancia and Lily see no harm in giving Maria a humble pie, with the kid making punching motions as she watched with a smile. "Yeah, get her Tae!"
"For once, I'll look past your savage biting this time! Give that girl a lesson she will never forget!" Narancia exclaimed, cheering and whooping over his fellow zombie.
"M-Miss Tae! Get off her this instant!"
"Let go off her, Tae-chan!" What Avdol and Sakura said before they went behind Tae and pried her off Maria by forcing her mouth open with their hands.
"AAHHH!" Holding her hair bun stinging in pain, Maria's anger returned to glare at Tae for biting her and shaking her intensely. "WHAT THE HELL?! THIS BITCH IS CRAZY!"
Before anyone could respond or apologize on Tae's behalf, everyone heard Saki's voice calling for Number One, running toward them when they had taken so long using the water fountain. "Sakura, what's the hold up? If we don't get on the road soon, I'm gonna kill ya."
Arriving at the scene, the four are happy to see her come. Maria though, she's irked that a newcomer appeared to aid the four "intruders" possibly, so she got closer to her and exclaimed, "Where did you come from? You better stay out of this or I'll kick your ass too!"
Her threat didn't faze Saki. Any little bit.
"HAH!?"
!?
The two lackeys hugged each other in fear when Saki glared intensely at them, almost shrieking. Even Maria backed away when she saw her furrowed brow, narrowed eyes and scowl directed at her. "Don't go picking fights that you can't win." She harshly advised her.
"Exactly! So you better get your asses out of here if you don't like things to turn ugly than it needs to be," Narancia supported, folding his arms and glaring at them, though not as harsh as Saki's.
"L-Let's back off. I mean, they seem like they're really dangerous. And possibly insane." The brown-haired girl told her again.
"I agree. We should leave," The other girl added in fear. Seeing they are way above her league but still irritated she didn't get her way, Maria turns around and starts walking back to the scooters with the other two. With her back turned to her, Saki reads what is written on the back of her jacket.
"Huh?"
!?
｢Dorami Eighth Boss
Maria Kirishima｣
"Next time, remember!" warned Maria after boarding her pink scooter. "This is Dorami territory! You best watch your back!" With that warning, they finally left.
"...Okay. Well that was awkward," Lily described the entire encounter.
"You scared them off. Thank you," Sakura thanked her.
"Eh, I could have done a better job intimidating them. But still, thanks," Narancia joined with a shrug.
When the three turn to her, they see Saki has a far-off look in her eyes. She must have seen something so shocking for her to make it look like she must be contemplating something.
"Seriously?" Saki stated one before they left the park.
After they left their designated "territory", the three Dorami girls are sitting by the riverbank, reflecting on their encounter with a kid, a nervous red-haired girl, the crazy raven-haired woman who bit Maria's hair bun, a robed black man, headband boy and finally, the blonde-haired girl who gave them all a stink glare better than Maria's.
"You know, I'm starting to think we shouldn't even bother anymore." Sayama said to the two.
"Maybe it's time we all quit being Dorami girls." Mikigawa agreed.
"It's a biker gang! Not a sleepover!" Maria rebuked them due to their choice of wording describing Dorami.
"We ride around on scooters." Mikigawa clarified.
"Yeah, and being in a gang is hard work and just not worth it…" Sayama puts her cheeks on her hand, slightly muffling the last part.
"Don't be stupid!" Maria is not giving up so easily though. "I'm never walking away from Dorami no matter what happens!"
"…Things would be different if your mom- or the first boss was here."
She immediately regrets saying that when Maria zoomed to her face angrily. "How many times have I ordered you never to talk about her?" She reminded Mikigawa with seething teeth. She seems a bit upset when her mother comes up in a conversation.
"U-Uh, s-sorry."
Before Maria can scold her more, a loud honk and revving motorcycle engines shift their attention to the approaching motorcycle group driving sleek, purple motors. Walking to the center of the grass, the three Dorami girls see the logo plastered on the side and realize what the approaching group is.
"It's Korosuke girls!" Mikigawa exclaimed.
"W-What do they want now?" Sayama dreaded, not really looking forward to clashing with them.
All the motorcycles except for one that is colored red and purple in tones in the center surrounded the three so they wouldn't think of escaping. The driver of the two-toned motor, a long, silver-haired woman with bangs covering the right side of her face and purple eyes wearing a long hooded black top with pink wrist ends, buttons and interior, black shorts, and knee-high boots.
The two lackeys get behind the unfazed Maria when they recognize the woman approaching them. "Oh no, they brought their boss along with them!"
"It's ｢Misa the Fallen Angel｣!"
Wearing a smirk while holding a whip in her hands, Misa greets the three Dorami girls, saying, "It's been a long time hasn't it, Maria? I think I'm about ready to shut you guys down once and for all."
"Why don't you take that crap and shove it?" Maria rebutted. "Dorami's not going anywhere."
As if responding to her words, several Korosuke members bring out crowbars, bats, shovels and even a chainsaw, which they are eager to use against the three girls. This gave the two hapless girls even more fear, but Maria never wavered.
Whipping the grass, Misa orders her members not to interfere in the fight between her and Maria. "Let's settle this right now. We've had bad blood since day one."
Despite having only three members and wielded no weapons, Maria looks confident that she can settle her score with her rival. Showing a confident (or foolish) smirk to her, she says, "Sounds good to me."
While this one-sided confrontation is happening, a black van is spotted driving down the road where the occupants inside, both the main one and the hidden one, are having a bit of a family-like squabble between all members.
"Hey Tae! Did you eat my dried squid!?" Lily climbed up to her seat to see, as she suspected, Tae's mouth full of dried squid. The tentacles are sticking out from mouth, giving Lily proof that she snatched it right out her hands before she could eat it.
"Mmm, mmm!" Tae shakes her head in denial despite evidence on contrary.
"Liar! Give me the dried squid back!"
The kid gets close to try force Tae's mouth open and make her let go of the squid. This irritates Ai, who is struggling to fit herself in a cramped space like the van. "Would you please cut it out! It's cramped as it is!"
In the backseats, Junko doesn't look good because of the motion sickness. "Sorry, but could somebody open a window?"
"Oh goodness. You don't feel well Junko-han?" Yugiri expressed concern for her well-being. "I know of a pressure point that might help you." She stated to her, moving her bangs out of the way for her to press a thumb on her forehead. Junko is curious of what she meant by pressure point.
"You think it still works as a zombie?" Sakura asked her.
As for Rianima, a song is being sung by a certain Italian who wants to stave off the boredom as they made their way back home and amuse Johnny and his other friends and prove to the skeptical Avdol, Bucciarati, and Mamezuku that he can sing well, like he can dance well.
Pizza mozzarella~
Pizza mozzarella~
Pizza mozzarella~
Pizza mozzarella~
Rella rella rella rella rella rella rella rella~
Rella rella rella rella rella rella rella rella~
After he finished "singing", Gyro proceeds to ask everyone to rate his singing prowess and the "cheese song". "Well? How's that? Do you doubt my singing ability?"
Everyone except Johnny, who is writing on a notepad he brought from somewhere, have varying reactions ranging from confusion (Kakyoin, Avdol), blank (Bucciarati, Mamezuku) and hilarity (Narancia).
"Hahahahahaha! That's… That's the funniest song I've... I've ever heard!" Narancia exclaimed between bouts of laughter and panting to catch his breath. Eventually he's unable to take it anymore, so he started roll on the floor laughing as she says more. "Hahahahahahahahaha! R-Really! I… I can't seem to… get enough of it…! Kyahahahaha!"
"Alright, I concede. I don't deny you seem to have a passion for singing," Bucciarati started. "But you could have worked with the lyrics better than what you sang to us."
"Well, it is quite catchy, if only because it's quite absurd," Mamezuku offered his opinion.
"You took the word out of our mouths, Mamezuku-san," Kakyoin stated. "Other than that, I… don't know what to make of your cheese song, Gyro-san. Please forgive me for not having an enthusiastic response like you expected."
Gyro shrugged, aware of the differing opinions every people have. "It's fine. At least I got another follower of the song, which is Narancia," Said boy continues laughing without stop. He elbows Johnny out of his writing stupor and says, "You heard me, right Johnny? Narancia finds my song great! Are you glad I made one of us liking my song?"
"Yes Gyro. I am glad you sung that song again," Johnny turn to him as he spill out a dose of sarcasm to his face. "Why, I would very much like it if you sing the second verse to our friends here, Gyro."
"There's a second verse?" Avdol questioned.
"Ah, right!" He snaps his fingers. "I almost forgot that! Alright, alright, it's time for the second verse of the song. Are you guys ready?"
"Fire it away, Gyro!" Narancia recovered to respond to his statement.
Since Rianima is in a different part of the van unseen to normal people, they are not irritating Kotaro.
"Awooo!" Romero barked behind the driver's seat. This, along with the girls' squabbles, made him shout to the girls angrily. "NnnnNNNNGGGHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH! ALL OF YOU, SILENT AS A GRAVE NOOOOOOW!"
While all of this is happening, Saki passes the time by looking out over the window. She has a contemplative look on her the entire time after she saw Dorami's name from Maria's biker outfit. Part of her is glad that Dorami still survives after over twenty years of existing, but the fact that only three members are accounted for, two of which don't have the guts required to be even a biker gang member, appears to dampen her mood enough that she didn't participate with their antics.
As she continues looking to the window, Saki noticed a confrontation between Dorami and Korosuke happening below the road. "Huh?" Pressing her face close, she can confirm many motorcycles formed in a ring formation surrounding four girls, one of which looks to be part of the other gang.
This… This must be my chance to learn about that Maria girl and possibly, her mother!
"Do you know them or something?" Sakura asked her after she noticed her looking at the group of bikers below the road. Saki did not answer her as she slides open the door and gets out while it is moving. "WAAAAAAHHHH!" Sakura yelled out in surprise.
"Whoa, what's she doing!?" Ai similarly exclaimed.
They are not the only ones who noticed her rolling downhill after getting out of the moving van. In the hidden room, Bucciarati happen to notice her rolling body when he looked through the window.
!?
"What? Saki!? Why did she-!?"
Kakyoin happen to heard him call out Saki's name. "Bucciarati-san? What's wrong?" He asks him.
"Sorry, but I must take my leave! Saki just got out of the van!" Bucciarati move to the glass sphere on the floor before anyone can react. He appears sitting on Saki's seat, surprising Franchouchou.
"B-Bucciarati-san!?" Ai looked at him in surprise.
"W-What's going on?" asked Junko.
Like Saki, he didn't answer them as he jumped off the van too, sending himself rolling downhill.
"HUH!?" Sakura exclaimed again.
"Oh my goodness!" Yugiri puts her hand to her mouth after witnessing the second person to get out the van without hesitation.
Lily peaked over the driver's seat with Romero sitting on her head to inform Kotaro. "Uh, sir-"
"WHATEVER IT IS, I DON'T CARE! Grrrr!" Kotaro shouted angrily.
"Saki-chan and Bucciarati-san jumped out of the van." She stated matter-of-factly to him.
"WHAAAAAAT!?" Kotaro didn't react to her words well, letting out a high-pitched voice that sounded like a kettle boiling. "WHAAAHYYYYYYY!?"
Just when the clash is about to start with Maria and Misa getting close and staring back to each other, a cry of "Hold up!" stops them from escalating their fight. Everyone turned around only to shout in shock and disgust when they see Saki's head upside down.
!?
"Huh?" Noticing her view is upside down, Saki twists her head correctly, producing a crunching sound as she did so. "There. That's better." After that mistake, Saki starts walking close to them, only for one Korosuke girl to halt her, stating, "Hey back off. This is none of your business, alright?"
"…Haaah?!"
!?
Saki's glare causes her to back off as well as any Korosuke girls who were thinking on stopping her. This did not go unnoticed by Misa and Maria, as Saki meets face to face with the Korosuke leader, openly glaring at her.
Unfazed by her glare, Misa asks, "Who the hell are you?"
"My name is… Uh, hang on."
"Everybody freeze!" A policeman ordered when he heard the commotion below while riding the bike. "What do you young ladies think you're doing over there!?"
"HAAAAH!?"
Multiple glares from Saki, Misa, Maria and other biker girls send the policeman falling off the bike with a whimper. He's not gonna back down that easily though (at least, that's what he told to himself)
"I-I'll call for backup," He stated, choosing not to mess with many unruly girls at once. "U-Unless you're trying to get arrested, you better run along now!"
"Tch. Well that killed the mood," Deciding to abide by the law this time, Misa turn back to Maria and says, "I'm sure we'll find another way to settle the score. Sooner than later."
With that warning delivered, the Korosuke gang take their leave.
As Saki watched them go, someone else approaches her from her side after they witnessed what happened. "Oh. So that's why you jumped out of the van."
"Huh?" Saki turned to her left and was surprised to see Bucciarati present. "Wha-? Bucci!? You followed me!?"
"Waaah! Your… Your arm, sir! It's… It's twisted!" They heard Sayama shouted, terrified for the fourth time of the day along with Mikigawa when seeing his right arm, specifically the forearm, bent and stuck in an outward position. His hand is also twisted as well, with the back of it facing the front.
"Hm? Oh!" Having noticed it now, Bucciarati quickly corrects his arm, making snapping sounds in turn. He swing his forearm and rotate his hand to see if they did not suffer any injury. "Okay, that's better." Turning to the two girls, both of who feel so small because of how tall he is, he bowed his head in gratitude, saying, "I'm sorry for scaring you two. I didn't notice my arm was bent out of shape until you pointed it out to me."
"Uh, well…" Caught aback by his politeness, the two feel less scared of him so they stopped hugging each other, with Sayama responding, "Y-You're welcome sir."
Bucciarati smiled at them, noting immediately that these two girls don't have what it takes to be part of gang if they get scared so easily and are generally nice. Actually, scratch that. These two shouldn't be doing such a dangerous and reckless lifestyle if they are not liking being in a gang at all.
He was about to voice that concern to the two when Maria confront Saki for her interrupting and delaying her supposed clash with Misa. "Why'd you butt in?"
"Huh?" Facing Maria, Saki, and Bucciarati, can see that she was looking forward to fighting her rival despite the power difference. From what they can see and guess, she's not gonna come out unscathed, or worse. That is her response to the leader. "Because your wimpy ass had no chance against that chick."
"You're not one of us, so what do you know!?" she angrily pointed out.
"I know she'd mop the floor with you," countered Saki, which further irritates her to make this boastful statement. "Say what you want! I'm still gonna keep Dorami alive no matter who gets in my way!"
"Even if it means putting your life on the path of delinquency?" Bucciarati interjected, folding his arm as he stared at her questioningly.
"H-Huh?" Maria stammered at the moment since she didn't expect him to say something to her.
"Listen. Whatever ideal thoughts you have regarding restoring an old gang for the sake of legacy and thrills, it will lead you down a violent road and may very well stain your life with the mark of being a criminal if death hasn't claimed you first," He continued. "You're still young miss. Don't think about ruining or throwing your life away just because you want to be an unlawful biker gangster and have a control over whatever fancies you."
Maria was silent after hearing his wisdom he wants to impart to her and take heart. But her impulsive side win her over, so she scoffed to him and replies, "Say what you want, man. I want to restore Dorami back to its former glory and no one would convince me otherwise, like you!"
"Suuuuuure. Whatever," Saki does not like her response and brushing off Bucciarati's advise. She is convinced Maria would only get herself in trouble for her attempt. "Anyway, here's a question for you: ｢You've got a mom, right｣? You mind telling me her name?"
"Grrrr! She's a wuss! Why would you care? Time to go!" That is her last response to Saki before she takes her leave, accompanied by her lackeys.
When those three left the area, Bucciarati could only shake his head over Maria's steadfast refusal to quit. "*sighs* I could have goaded her more. She is too self-assured and foolhardy enough to not heed my advice. I do not want to get angry and scold her harshly, but I can see it in her eyes that she would damn her normal life if it means achieving glory as a gangster."
"Well, you did your best," Saki assuaged him, patting his arm that was twisted earlier. "I have a feeling that even if she doesn't want to admit it, she will take heed of your words sooner or later."
Bucciarati isn't so sure. "Somehow, I doubt that." The two left the place after to return back to the others. Saki anticipates the scolding from Kotaro, but she can't help herself when she wants to know what became of her partner and best friend.
If there's one thing she knows for sure from her conversation with Maria, the former leader of Dorami had retired into a normal life to raise a daughter.
It was 11:00 P.M. when Maria returned home.
She have just opened the door when her mother stood from her seat after she heard the door open. She anticipated that. It has become a routine for her mother to wait for many hours through the night when she returned home late. It really annoyed her because for all the concern she displayed as expect of a mother worrying for their safety, she doesn't really act upon it, like perhaps scolding her and even grounding her from continuing the biker gang lifestyle.
To sum up what Maria thought of Reiko when she retired and become a housewife, she's a wuss.
Seeing her daughter returned home at last, she proceeds to ask her. "Maria, where have you been? I was worried sick!"
The tenth leader averts her eyes from Reiko, retorting, "Nnnngh, get off my back!"
"Wait, don't go! I checked the mail!" Reiko told her when it looks like Maria was about to go to her room so she doesn't get to see her mother. She stood up from her seat to go retrieve the mail she mentioned, before showing it to her while her concern only increased as she said, "This was in there."
"Ungh!"
What Reiko is holding is a strip of paper with words inked on the surface that only reads, "Challenge". Maria know full well who is the sender and the message of that single word.
"Those dumbasses…! Give me that!" She walked inside while demanding the paper.
"Please dear," implored Reiko. "You can't keep doing this!"
Snatching the paper off her hands in anger while pointedly ignoring her plea, Maria exclaims, "Be quiet! It's got nothing to do with you!" She walks back to the door, gripping the paper and creasing it when she heard another one of her mother's apologies that she has gotten so sick of hearing.
"I'm sorry…"
"…Why are you always apologizing? And for no reason! YOU'RE SUCH A WEAKLING!"
バタン!
Maria slammed the door shut after. Reiko could only stare at it out of shame, her ever-present concern displayed for all to see on her face.
How did it have come to this? How did she found out Reiko was the former leader of Dorami? And most of all, why did Maria chose to follow her footsteps just to try restore the once-powerful biker gang back to its former glory to rival the Korosuke gang? Reiko can only let out a sigh remembering Maria's displeasure and irritation she showed to her many times.
Maria wasn't always like this now. Back then, she was a sweet and cheerful girl who liked to be lifted by her mother when she was just a little baby and told her that she is leaving while fixing her shoes with a smile. Reiko had shown to be a caring and gentle mother who never thought of raising her voice when she reprimands Maria of any wrongdoings she had done. Even then, she doesn't show anger to her because she wanted her not to be scared of her mother. Her biker instincts and temper were mostly being concealed when she was married and gave birth to Maria.
She was such a gentle mother who do not want to show anger to her daughter that she didn't found it odd a middle-school-aged Maria appear to brush her off as she's going out. Her not noticing Maria's slow change to becoming rebellious and distant to her had led her to see one night the teenaged Maria returned home wearing her old biker jacket and sporting a grimace apparently directed at her. Shock and fear filled her mind that night when she dropped a plate she's cleaning and it shattered on the floor. Ever since then, Reiko could only worry about Maria going down the dark path she used to be on, trying to speak out against her dangerous hobby, but Maria wouldn't want to listen to a woman who has gone soft.
Reminiscing the good times she had with Maria, as well as her time being the leader of Dorami, Reiko walk over to a picture of her and Maria in a park smiling. Picking it up, she stared at the photo depicting the simple time Maria didn't become a rebellious and self-proclaimed leader of the new Dorami before flipping it over and opening a compartment on its back. Concealed behind it is a smaller photo showing her and Saki smiling and posing with Drive-in Tori behind them. Saki was holding her Tamagotchi and pointing to it with a wide smile while Reiko has her entire arm around her shoulders, smiling with eyes closed. Again, it depicts the good times she had being partners with Saki and leader of the old Dorami. Such times have become so far away from her, even if she will always remember those times.
"If you can see me now," began a nostalgic Reiko, "I wonder what you would even think of me… Saki."
How she wished Saki was still alive to see her become a mother and had gone soft. Their time together in Dorami will only exist in the past and in her memories, and Reiko knows she won't be getting it back.
What she truly wants to have it back to her however, is her daughter coming to her senses and abandon her attempt to revive an old biker gang, even if it's dangerous. Nothing matters more to her than wanting to see Maria grow up as a normal citizen. If given the chance or prompted into, she would do anything to set Maria back on a right path.
Fortunately for her, it will happen sooner than she thought. And she won't be alone, because a certain lookalike of her "deceased" friend will be there to set not only the two straight, but the Korosuke gang too.
To be continued
Finished!
Just like the episode it was based on, this chapter has Saki on the spotlight as she dealt with the group she was in, Dorami, being led by her partner's daughter, Maria, who is insistent on continuing the reign of the once-powerful biker gang in all of Kyushu. As to how this will all play out and solved in the end, you will have to wait for the next two chapters of Living Things.
The next chapter will be another Stand battle. Because the three chapters have the biker gangs as the central motif, one of the enemy Stands that four members of Rianima will face will use motorbike. What is the Stand, you ask? Well, if you have seen and read all JoJo parts, I believe you will see the connection and guess what one of the enemy Stands is.
That is all I can say. We will continue to the next chapter and second part of the Biker Gang arc. Thank you for reading, and please stay safe and healthy everyone!
For now, I bid you all adieu~.
P.S.: When I watched the sixth episode of Oshi no Ko, I was dreading the thought that Akane would commit suicide after getting ravaged by the Internet from an action she accidentally did to a celebrity. When she really attempted it, thank the heavens Aqua stopped her.
It sure made me conscious of my actions and the consequences. We all gonna need to be careful of what we say and do when surfing the web.
Onomatopoeia:
バクォォォーン (Bakooooon) - Motorcycle revving up
アグッ (Agu) - Sound of biting
バタン (Batan) - Loud slam.