Disclaimer: The following is a fan-written fiction, the views and opinions in this story are not intended to be viewed as those of the author. Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura, Inuyasha, and Five Pound Gospel are the creations of Rumiko Takahashi, property of their respective rights holders and publishers. Please support the official releases.
CW: This story will contain violence, strong language, sexual humor and situations, drug use, Moroboshi Ataru, and Happosai. You've been warned.
|Sickle Wind|
The air in Taian always stank, that's how Fujinami Ryūnosuke always remembered it anyway. It wasn't an actual presence of odor, just an excess of everything that hung in the air even before the Special Administrative District turned it into the richest place in their little prison world.
However, the sharpest smell that stank, and what was turning her nose at the moment, was the lack of fear. The people in the neighborhood carried themselves as above the trials of life, as if the stories of violent assault were just that. Akane and Katie hadn't been the only ones searching for answers after all.
"These dumbasses really ain't got a clue," Ryūnosuke muttered to herself, the boys uniform of Tomobiki high covering the bandages that were swathing her body. "Not one of them thinks that a single thing will ever go wrong."
Perhaps they had still been sheltered by the SAD's establishment, already used to the hustle and bustle of foot traffic engaging in various trades. They hadn't even a police department before, the wealth of those within Nerima wards premier neighborhood had allowed them to transfer out. Security forces hired by the various rich did the job, but it didn't seem enough.
"More that it is enough for them to ignore the problem." She corrected under her breath, wanting to gag at the sheer arrogance. There were a number of beatings even on these soft streets she had confirmed today, and you wouldn't believe it from the noses in the air as they spent their every yen as if there was nothing going to go wrong for them.
Her ribs ached, the lingering pain from being bashed over the head still throbbed. But nothing hurt more than her pride, even if she had no formal training in the fighting arts. She was a brawler and a damn good one, able to hit and be hit without much complaint.
"And it didn't even matter." Ryūnosuke complained under her breath. But maybe it had been the element of surprise, maybe it had been seeing those douches pummeled so horrifically… or maybe…
A growl escaped her lips as she stalked along, eyes darting to wherever the light didn't reach. She was ready this time, and even if she lost again, she'd make a better showing. She wouldn't go down without even getting a punch or a kick in, just getting dropped like a sack of crap to the dirt and beaten like a drum.
Not again.she thought, blood heating up as she continued to stalk through the streets and wait.
Never again. More and more the sunlight dimmed and there was a foul feeling on the wind.
She stopped when she saw them, a group of seven young men emerging from a plain-looking spot that occupied the bottom two floors of a highrise. Her eyes narrowing, she watched them head off not down or up the main street, but off onto a less crowded and busy side street–a parade of pretty boys in sharp clothes and slick hair, led by the angriest bird in the flock–Suzuki.
Letting them pass her by, Ryūnosuke hesitated for a moment before rounding the corner and trailing them. Down two blocks they went, before they made a right and headed back up the direction she came down on a much quieter, darker street, and Ryūnosuke was like their shadow, following them up as the quality of the buildings and road fell and the quantity of quiet shops and vacant lots grew. They were back in Butsumetsu, right on the border with Tomobiki, before the group turned and cut into an empty lot next to a two-story flat.
Ryūnosuke stopped short of the hole in the wooden fence the well-dressed men slipped through and peeked through the gap between the planks. They were spread out, confronting someone in the shadows.
"We need to talk," Suzuki said sharply.
A deep but feminine voice replied. "Well, you didn't bring any snacks, so I didn't think it'd be a social call. What do you want?"
Ryūnosuke's eyes widened when she heard the second person.
"What's this garbage going around about your guys beating up females?!" Suzuki demanded. "We had a deal!"
There was a moment before the person Suzuki was speaking too hummed slowly in request for clarification. "I don't understand what you mean. No one's been picking fights with any females that I know of."
"Today a couple of Furinkan High School girls came here mad as hell that a girl they know got jumped! They were dead serious about it, too, you're lucky they didn't get a good description of the guys who did it!"
Ryūnosuke would be relieved to hear that, if her pulse wasn't racing in building anger. The person Suzuki was talking to added to that intensifying flame. "Nonsense. The pickings were pretty slim, last night, all things considered. The only people who were jumped were those Char Aznable themed guys you wanted taken out, and a couple pretty boy martial artists with an okonomiyaki cart…"
That blazing fury snapped her resolve to stay still and stay silent, and with all her might she smashed down the fence between her and the vacant lot, surprising Suzuki and his retinue. As the planks crashed down, she shouted out in all her indignation at the person the Host Martial Artist was speaking to.
"I'M A CHICK, DAMN IT!"
The person Suzuki was conversing with stared at Ryūnosuke with him. He was a slender man wearing tight black leather pants held up with a gold belt and a matching sleeveless leather jacket. He had black hair with bangs combed to curve to the left, with a violet streak running through the middle, and a confused look on his attractive face as he stared at Ryūnosuke
"Bruh," he said.
Suzuki and his clique turned to face Ryūnosuke, who pointed at his leather-clad associate. "You…! I've been looking all over the place for you!"
The young man in leather pointed at himself. "Moi?"
Ryūnosuke punched her fist into her palm. "Beat me up, rob my friend? I'm gonna make you and all your loser friends pay in teeth instead of yen!"
The young man looked Ryūnosuke, dressed head to toe as a boy, and made a face at her as the sun's last rays faded at the horizon. "… Eugh, you pervert."
The girl bristled at the insult. "I don't wanna hear that from you–!"
Just as the sunset was almost at its nadir, did Ryūnosuke feel the same disgusting feeling as last night. Adrenaline crashed into her brain and expanded her senses. On instinct, her body moved, pivoting into a wide sweeping kick that scattered the five men who leapt down from above to attack her.
I knew they'd try it! She told herself, leaping back from them the second her foot touched down.
As the light from the sun finally vanished, another man with a length of pipe suddenly threw himself into her path. There was no time to be cute, no time to think, just time for action.
"You won't get the jump on me, this time!" Ryūnosuke cried, turning to swing a heavy punch at full force as the attacker used the pipe to block, blowing him backward towards Suzuki and his friends. The masked man recovered and slid to a halt, before stepping politely aside from the young man in leather.
Footsteps rattled the air, ten pairs of feet thundering as their owners spread out in a semi-circle behind her. She winced as she looked back and around at her opponents, her injuries protesting with loud, searing lances of pain. She hadn't at all recovered from last night.
Shut up, you stupid injuries! You can heal when I'm done kicking their asses! She thought, face screwed up in concentration, as she focused on their apparent leader.
"Okay," he said, "So you got some moves. Doesn't change a damn thing, my boy."
Ryūnosuke seethed. "I said. I'm a chick."
The man in leather gestured at her. "Are you sure?"
"A hundred percent!" Ryūnosuke bellowed back. "I was born a chick; I got the chick bits to prove it!"
The young man in leather craned back slightly in disgust. "Uh huh, not interested in seeing any of that gross stuff, Tama-kun."
Ryūnosuke grimaced as the circle of men behind her began to spread around her. She looked left and then right, grimacing as her attackers came into view. Like the young man they were all dressed in leather, but with short-shorts, kneepads, and boots instead of tight leather pants. They wore studded caps and white domino masks that covered their eyes and parts of their faces.
Looking at them made her tremble in her seething rage as she remembered the night before–but she pushed the memory down and focused on her anger. It kept her adrenaline up and numbed the pain, she was going to need every ounce of it to win.
"Now if you want to take the beating you're about to get like a man, then you're more than welcome to it," their apparent leader said. "But if you're as much a lady as you say, then make like one–lift up your skirt and run as fast away as you can."
Suzuki finally spoke up. "Oi, Kamaitachi!"
The pretty young man in leather looked at the Host Martial Artist. "Excuse you, Suzu-kun?"
"We had an agreement," Suzuki said. "You don't lay a single hand on a woman."
Kamaitachi, as he was named, lifted his brows and pulled back. "Ah…"
Ryūnosuke snapped at him. "Shut up, asshole! I don't need you Pick-Up losers speaking for me!"
Suzuki rebuked her as flicked his hair and struck a fabulous pose, the air sparkling around him. "As a Host Martial Artist, it is my sworn duty to tend to the needs of any lady I meet! I will not stand by and let one be assaulted, right boys?"
His fellow hosts quickly struck fighting stances with similar flair. "Yeah!"
Kamaitachi grimaced and turned to Suzuki. "Hey, hey, let's be reasonable here. It's clear what happened last night; this is all one big misunderstanding…"
"I don't really see what there all is to be misunderstood."
Suzuki visibly tensed up, Ryūnosuke froze, and Kamaitachi looked straight up at the roof of the flats overlooking the confrontation. Standing on the edge of the roof, a newly illuminated crescent moon above them, were Akane and Katie–the latter sipping from a cup of boba tea.
"Well…" Katie conceded. "… There is something I'm misunderstanding."
She made a short sweeping gesture at the men surrounding Ryūnosuke. "… What's with all the Leather Daddies?"
"It looks like a bunch of Hard Gay cosplay." Akane chimed in.
Katie turned her head to look at Akane, taking a final sip of her drink, before she asked. "Hard what?"
"There was this comedian a few years back who would dress up like that and do over-the-top gay stuff for laughs. It was… an interesting time." Akane said, trying to keep the chatter down. "He was even a wrestler for a bit."
"You know, let's table this conversation for after we're done here." Katie said before she looked down at the group.
Ryūnosuke screamed at them. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!"
Kamaitachi was inclined to agree, speaking with an edge of disgust. "Yeah, I'm already trying to get rid of one alleged girl; no need to turn a perfectly good sausage party into a clam bake."
Katie pointed at Ryūnosuke. "You shut your mouth." She pointed at Kamaitachi. "And you shut yours. The only reason we're here is because you assholes are startin' mess in our neck o' the woods."
Akane agreed. "We took on the Mendō family for starting trouble with us, what makes you think we're gonna be intimidated by any of you?"
Kamaitachi sighed. "Ugh, fine." He turned to the leather daddies Katie had been so confused about. "Apply the boots to them, light style. They're delicate."
Katie glanced at her kouhai. "Hon, show 'em how delicate you are."
"Right," Akane said, before she leaned forward as if to fall off the roof and then kicked off the edge–launching herself past Ryūnosuke like a missile into the crowd.
The men in leather scattered back from her as she landed, giving her pick of the crowd around her, a man wielding a metal pipe. Where he hesitated, she did not, running at him and unleashing quick open hand strikes that the man clumsily blocked with the pipe. Just as soon as she focused on him with her attack, she was swarmed on all her remaining sides by four more men, all hooting and hollering in high-pitched, effeminate voices as they brought their own weapons down on her.
A metal pipe falling for the back of her head was evaded as Akane raised the knife edge of her right hand to block a wooden chair leg wielded as a club, while simultaneously kicking the man who struck from her previous left with a piece of rebar and concrete. She ducked and weaved under the pipe swung at the back of her head and palm thrust the unfortunate attacker in the solar plexus, winding him and sending him to the ground.
Turning around, he swung a high kick up to parry the pipe of the first man she attacked. Hooking her leg back she lashed out a second kick and struck the man across his masked face, sending him spinning to the ground.
The man with the chair leg let out sneering kiais as he tried to connect his weapon to the sides of her head over and over. But she ducked over the left swing, and then the right, repeating the cycle twice more before using the movement to build momentum for a spinning kick she connected to his chin that lifted him off his feet.
More men swarming in on Akane were stopped cold when Katie slammed into the ground in front of them. She looked up at them from her landing crouch. "Lemme find out how delicate y'all are…!"
Coming up from the crouch she leaped and grabbed the head of one man to drag his face down into her knee with a hard crunch from both his mask and the face underneath it. The force of the blows removed the man's cap, revealing the worst male pattern baldness but also enough hair around the back of his head for Katie to grab an use to haul him up so she could punch him hard in his solar plexus before throwing him down, defeated.
Two attacked from Katie's sides, trying to swing steel bars for her head. Blocking both, she caught the man to her right in the stomach with a quick punch with the back of her right hand, then shot her elbow up to connect with his chin. Turning to face the attacker on her left, she brought her right hand up to catch his pipe-wielding hand's wrist, then pulled him in and past her to lock his arm. In full control she brought him around to block a pipe swung like a bat, crashing across her human shield's face before she kicked him in the back into her latest attacker, sending both toppling over.
A new weapon came at her, the curved blade of a sickle. Ducking under it to her right, she twisted around to bring her left knee up to smash into her attacker's exposed shoulder with a crunch and a high-pitched scream from the man that was cut short when Katie power-kicked him in the chest, throwing him onto his back.
Despite the swift defeats, the swarm continued to attack, mobbing closer to the girls without hesitation or regard for personal safety. Outside the mob, Kamitachi edged backward, watching the fight with a sudden laser focus that replaced his flippant nonchalance from before.
Suzuki and his pals were also drawing back, the Host Martial Arts young master wanting nothing of this beating with his friends in full agreement. He looked at Kamaitachi, who met his gaze with a sharp look that conveyed that there were matters to discuss.
Akane was defensive, the space around her an absolute territory that invited you to get close if you've grown tired of not having your ass kicked. This zone moved with her and was unshakeable, as her quick movements to avoid their attacks allowed her to come back with heavy blows of her own.
He's holding that pipe like a sword. Akane observed a tall, lanky leather daddy standing across from her like this was a fighting game. But only how he remembers seeing it on TV. His grip is poor, his posture is lacking, his stance is weak.
The man came forward, but not as fast as he needed to. Even though it had only been a couple days, Akane knew how to deal with someone bold enough to rush her with a weapon. From his perspective, she didn't move so much as lag teleport around his overhand swing, her right hand coming from the side to disarm him. And then, just as he realized he had lost his weapon, he then lost consciousness-and some teeth-to Akane punching him in the face.
The weapons are giving them courage, the crowd too. Akane assessed, standing resolute, eyeing the shifting mass of men with a patient eye, before going on the offensive.
Katie continued to put her longer frame to use, being as tall or taller than most of the crowd allowed her to abuse her reach even against armed opponents. Moving faster than they could track, sending them scattering with blows beyond their comprehension in terms of strength. All and all, it was like they had tripped over a wild animal that just so happened to look like a human.
One of the men wielding a bat took a knee to the sternum, rocketing him across the lot at high speed. Another with a sickle overextended his sloppy slash and received a kick to the head that made him crumple to the ground where he stood. Another man with a two by four tried his luck and won a full body uppercut the took him out of his leather boots.
Attackin' from all directions at once with weapons, I'm startin' to see how they win their fights, but there's something else. She thought.
Another leather daddy tried to spear Katie, but she caught him by his shoulder and neck to spin him around and throw at Akane, who caught him around the neck and vaulted over his back to kick another in the face. Securing the headlock, she turned around and threw the man at Kamaitachi in turn, who had more than enough sense of mind to sidestep the human projectile.
From right behind that flung body, and the blind spot it created, Ryūnosuke jumped into a flying kick that Kamaitachi blocked with his raised right forearm. Undeterred, Ryūnosuke turned it into a bicycle kick, stomping down on Kamaitachi. Switching arms to block each kick, the leather-clad young man windmilled them to parry the spin-kicks she swung at his head as gravity finally took hold of her.
Springing off Kamaitachi's arm after her last kick, Ryūnosuke landed and lunged at him, using jabs mixed up with quick kicks to ward off counter attacks. Kamaitachi moved with Ryūnosuke, expertly parrying the strikes while staying just at the knife's edge of the brawler's reach.
"Oh so you actually got some moves?" Kamaitachi asked as he slapped aside another jab, then darted around Ryūnosuke, getting behind her.
Ryūnosuke switched directions with a high kick that grazed Kamaitachi's face before ducking under a return kick from the leather-clad man. She came up, blocking a back fist, and they went hand-over-hand, trying to catch and lock the other's wrist before she won out and turned to throw Kamaitachi at the lot's other fence.
Recovering from the throw, Kamaitachi still hit the fence hard, and rolled along it to evade the wood-splintering front-kick Ryūnosuke had addressed for his face. As he pushed off, Ryūnosuke came at him fast, and switching from crescent to roundhouse kicks in short order, pushing him back before he blocked her leg and pulled her in by it.
Holding her leg, he smiled. "I see, you learned to fight on the streets, too."
Ryūnosuke broke his hold and swung for his face, but he caught her fist and smiled. "We're exactly alike, Tama-kun."
"Wha–?" Ryūnosuke lost her voice when he drove a hard punch into her ribs. Pain flashed through Ryūnosuke's anger, stunning her long enough for Kamaitachi to bring his hand up and backhand her, sending her spinning to the ground.
Kamaitachi held up his hand, and the men in leather fighting Katie and Akane who were still standing suddenly pulled back.
Katie and Akane both turned to Kamaitachi, who placed his foot on the coughing Ryūnosuke's chest. "Now that I've got your attention…"
He pushed his foot down, and Ryūnosuke screamed in pain.
Katie and Akane both bristled, before he pulled his foot back and rolled her away with a relatively light kick.
"She's done, take her home," he said.
Reaching behind his back, he slowly pulled out a pair of long, curved swords that looked less like scythes and more like shotels. Twirling them, he dug the tips down into the ground and dragged them through it, creating trails of sparks before bringing up the weapons and crossing them in front of him.
"Otherwise, we can get serious, and I guarantee none of you are walking away."
Katie looked at Akane, who didn't flinch for even an instant at the threatening display. Turning back to Kamaitachi, she offered a counter proposal. "Ha, sounds fine to me, but yer not gonna like where I put them blades of yours."
Akane added. "Here's a hint: it's in the same neighborhood where I'm gonna put my foot."
Kamaitachi mulled on that, then licked his lips. "Heh… okay, I'll take that bet."
"Don't."
Sōban's slow, deep voice stopped Kamaitachi cold. The massive right haymaker the giant of a man connected to the side of his head got him moving though, at high speed–bouncing off the front windscreen of a parked car, cracking it. His body ragdolled end over end into the trash pick-up area in front of the two-story flat and he lay limp in heaps of garbage bags for a few seconds before lifting his head up to look at Butsumetsu's ace in disbelief.
Sōban lowered his hand. "The house always wins."
The mood immediately changed, as the remaining men in leather quickly fled in a panic, grabbing up their wounded and hauling them away as fast as they could. Getting up, Kamaitachi glared at Sōban.
"It's way past your bedtime, ugly," he snarled.
Sōban's sunglasses-at-night-hidden eyes glowered at Kamaitachi as he answered. "I may be ugly, but I'm the good guy here. Leave."
Kamaitachi snarled, got up, and moved with such speed that he vanished from where he stood. Katie and Akane looked back to see the leather men scatter like gazelle from a cheetah, bolting off into dark alleys and around corners. On further inspection, she realized Suzuki and his squad were gone, too–having disappeared entirely before the fight ground to a halt.
Both girls looked at each other and shared a nod, before Akane stepped forward to Sōban. "I thought you didn't come out at night."
Sōban turned to the Furinkan students. "Got called to help."
Curly walked over. "One of the lunch ladies called, said there were a buncha weirdos in the lot next to her place. We ain't gonna say no to helpin' anyone who feeds our guys for free, don't care how dark it is."
Katie smiled. "Well, ain't that sweet of y'all."
Curly rubbed the back of his head, blushing. "It's nothin'… "
Sōban nodded. "Thanks."
He looked down at Ryūnosuke, who whimpered as she clutched her ribs. "She good?"
Akane shook her head. "Probably not, he hit her hard…"
She walked over to Ryūnosuke, who immediately lashed out at her with a "Shut up… I'm fine!"
Slowly rolling over onto her left arm, she pushed herself up to her knees and stood up–hunched over, breathing ragged. "I'm fine… haahn… haa… nngh… I didn't need your freak… your freaking help!"
Akane was immediately annoyed by her stubbornness. "Uh huh? You were gonna fight him and all his creepy friends?!"
"That's none of yer business!" Ryūnosuke shouted back at her. "Don't get in my way, I could've taken them!"
Akane huffed. "Actually, yeah, you could have. Those guys were weak, how'd you and Ucchan even lose to them?"
Ryūnosuke grunted and looked away. "Shut up."
Katie spoke up. "Is it because they caught you by surprise while you were too busy laughing at their ridiculous getup?"
Ryūnosuke froze, going beyond the pale her injuries made her.
Akane looked at Katie. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, actually."
Ryūnosuke, exposed, sank to her knees and stared down at them–unwilling to look at anything or anyone else.
Sōban added his two yen. "Yeah, that's how they get you."
This caught the attention of both Akane and Katie, and they looked up at Sōban in surprise. Akane spoke what both were thinking. "… You know who they are."
"Yeah," Sōban said.
Curly confirmed it. "The boss didn't want to talk about it in front of the guys and scare 'em."
Katie put her hands on her hips. "So… lemme wind the tow cable back a bit. There's a gang of leather daddies running around beating everybody they come across up–and the main reason they're winnin' is because the people they're fightin' can't take them serious until they're literally hit over the head."
"Yeah," Sōban said.
Akane pieced it together. "And they're too embarrassed to say who they lost to…" She stopped and gasped. "Oh wow, no wonder everyone we talked to said it was Suzuki who beat them."
Curly nodded. "It's how they get guys to join 'em, too."
Katie got that. "Shoot, lemme guess. They punch a guy up and blackmail him into joining. A fancy mask to hide the shame of losing to… to that?"
"Yeah," Curly confirmed. "It's why they're way scarier than you think. These guys, they were new, probably doing initiations if they were with that weasel."
"Initiations…" Akane said. "… So, they're building up?"
"They did it before, too. Years and years ago, when I was real little. They went around, makin' all kinds of guys join… lookin' to pick a fight with this one guy who hated 'em."
Katie and Akane exchanged surprised looks, then turned to Sōban and Curly. "What happened?"
Curly shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. They didn't get what they wanted, but they didn't lose either. The guy they wanted to fight didn't show up. Or he died or somethin'. After that they just faded away and disappeared a couple years ago.
He glanced up at Sōban. "The boss had a bad feeling they'd be back, now that it's SAD. Be careful and watch your backs. In the old days they didn't hold back against any girls."
Katie folded her arms. "Huh… is that so?"
Sōban nodded slowly. "Their old boss hated women, didn't even think they were people."
Akane felt a shudder run through her at the very idea. "They seemed pretty hesitant about it tonight."
"And that pretty boy Suzuki was calling the shots," Katie said. "Said they had a deal and everything to not fight women."
Both Curly and Sōban were confused by that, and Sōban looked at Curly. "… That ain't right."
Curly agreed. "Somethin' strange is goin' on…"
Ryūnosuke slowly pushed herself back up onto her feet, breathing heavily. Katie turned to her. "Hey, y'all good? We can take you to Tofu–"
"Shut up," Ryūnosuke snapped at her.
Akane's nose wrinkled as she glared at her. "Are you really going to be like this just because you lost to them?!"
"I'm going to be whatever I want to be like! I didn't ask for your help, and I'm not going to lose to those perverted leather clowns!" She pointed at Akane and Katie. "Don't you say a god damned word about this to anyone, you hear me?!"
Wheezing, she turned around and hobbled away from them–shooting back a final glare to make sure she wasn't being followed before stepping out of sight.
"Nabiki wasn't kidding about that pride thing, huh?" Katie said to Akane.
That twigged Akane something fierce, and she shot her senpai a glare. Katie couldn't help her snicker at the reaction. "Face it, hon, she is right."
"I would never be that hard-headed!" Akane said, pointing after Ryūnosuke.
"Yer bein' hard-headed about being hard-headed, you know," Katie pointed out.
"I am not!" Akane said, totally being hard-headed about being hard-headed.
"Yeah, you are," Curly and Sōban pointed out.
"Thank you," Katie praised the big man.
Akane threw up her hands in frustration and changed the subject. "Sōban-san! Curly-san! Do these guys have a name?!"
Sōban nodded.
"Yeah. They're called the Sickle Gang."
Yeah, about the only deeper cut would be the Red Cat Gang. Probably. Meet the Sickle Gang, the made-for-TV villains of the Ranma 1/2 Live Action Special that came out in 2011. If you've seen the Live Action Special or know anything about Razor Ramon HG, you have an idea how silly this is gonna get.