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.

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Over the next several days, a stillness began settling over Nerima. While Taian remained the lively center of the Special Administration District's emerging culture, day began to resemble night in the other neighborhoods that comprised of Nerima, with the streets empty for the most part except when residents traversed the town to get to school or work.

On the edge of the Shakuji River, with the day late, four of the Shining Killers sat on a bench with their backs to the river's bordering fence. Kodaira, the gang's blonde-haired, fearsome looking leader. Matsunaga his dark-haired bespectacled right hand. Fukiage, tall and lean like a snake ready to strike, a wild-colored bandanna over his dark hair. And finally, Nakamura, the smallest member of the gang with a deceptively cute face.

All four were still bandaged up from their brawl with Akane Tendo and her mountain of a friend Katie Izland, a defeat that left them nearly broken and their pride in just as much ruin. Since that day, the boys stayed far clear of Furinkan High School and its students.

The girls, at least. Even now they were throwing pebbles at the zombie-like boys trudging by them near the neighborhoods between Nerima and Butsumetsu–stragglers that the girls' efforts to round them up had missed.

"You hear about what happened over at Furinkan?" Fukiage asked as he whipped a pebble at the procession of six boys mindlessly passing them.

Kodaira looked over at Fukiage. "No, what went down?"

"Some weirdos attacked the school, and even got one over on those muscle bitches–but Mendō freaking Shūtaro showed up and scared them off."

Turning to look at Fukiage in surprise, he glanced down at Matsunaga. "And when were you going to tell me this?"

"Mmm." Matsunaga was short on words, because his mouth was wired shut after the blow he'd taken from Nakamura during that fight.

Picking up his own pebble, he threw it at the shortest of his erstwhile classmates, the pebble blinking off the student who muttered "I'm sorry" in response.

Nakamura looked away from Matsunaga, muttering. "How long are you gonna be mad?"

Picking up his own rock, Kodaira mused on that. "Huh. So, the bitches got humbled and Mendō's in charge, huh?"

"Him or Tatewaki's sister," Fukiage replied.

The leader of the Shining Killers picked up a slightly larger rock and weighed it in his hand. "What the hell is Mendō doing at Furinkan?"

"I heard that crazy shit that went down in Tomobiki was the last straw and he got thrown out," Fukiage replied.

Matsunaga nodded and let out another hum before he spoke through the wire. "Pretty much; I've asked around but all people are talking about now are those weirdos."

Zeroing in on the last of the zombie-like boys in the trundling mob, Kodaira took aim. "The weirdos who attacked Furinkan?"

"Yeah." Matsunaga and Fukiage replied in unison.

Kodaira threw the rock. "I wonder what they're all about?"

That could wait, because the student he threw the rock at flinched and ducked under the projectile.

Like dogs that just saw a squirrel enter their yard, the four Shining Killers were immediately locked in, staring at the flinched young man with all their attention. He looked like the other broken guys who'd come from Furinkan–heck he was even more gaunt and sallow looking than the actual zombies despite showing more awareness than any of them in the last week and some change.

"… S-sorry?" The boy said, sounding more terrified than detached.

In a flash, all four delinquents surrounded the boy, who shrank even smaller than he tried before. Kodaira was all smiles as he loomed over him. "Kukuku… what have we here… someone pretending to be dead?"

The boy immediately put on a better attempt at being listless, to try throwing off suspicion. "Sorry…"

Kodaira smirked. "Oh, then I guess you won't mind if we throw you into the river.

The boy flinched and backed up from them against the wall of the building behind him. "Wait, please don't!"

"Look at that," Fukiage said. "This dweeb's alive and kicking."

"Interesting," Matsunaga said. "I've never seen him before, either. He must be a first year."

"What's your name, dead man?" Kodaira said.

The pale boy stammered. "G-Gosunkugi Hikaru… please I'm just trying to get home."

An idea formed in his head, Kodaira draped an arm over the boy's shoulder. "Well, Hikaru-kun, you're in luck! Things have gotten really weird around here lately–it's not even safe to be a guy out at night anymore."

Gosunkugi could not possibly agree more. "Yeah, I normally have a bigger herd to travel with…"

Kodaira nodded. "Yeah, a lot less of the zombos shuffling around lately. Which leads me to wonder–why walk with a herd, when you can run with a pack?"

Gosunkugi needed a second. "E-excuse me?"

"Yeah, you have yourself a talent there, to go on unnoticed like you do." He gestured to Nakamura. "Nakamura here could learn a thing or two from you."

"Come on it was the one time! That girl has like the Byakugan or somethin'!"

"Once was enough," Matsunaga replied.

Gosunkugi laughed nervously "Well… I'm not trying to be unnoticed, in fact… I wish I'd be noticed more."

"Well, you're in luck. Me and the boys here are looking for a new fifth killer," Kodaira said as Nakamura handed him a smart phone Gosunkugi realized was his.

"Um… that's my phone…!" Gosunkugi began.

Kodaira cut him off. "And you might just have what it takes to join!"

Gosunkugi stopped. "I do?"

"Yeah, look at you! Meek, unassuming, and nobody notices ya!" Kodaira explained.

"I'm struggling to remember he's even here," Matsunaga noted as Nakamura began going through Gosunkugi's phone to see what kind of creepy stuff someone so furtive could get up to.

Kodaira patted Gosunkugi's shoulders. "You see, the boys and I are in a bind. We're trying to get back into school, and those girls won't let us. So how about you do us a solid and use the fact that they dismiss you as a person at all to get us some dirt on them?"

"D-Dirt?"

"You know, weaknesses! Things they like, things they don't want people to know, maybe what they're afraid of, that kinda thing."

Fukiage leaned in from Gosunkugi's other side. "Spy on them, so we can take 'em down."

Turning his head back and forth to look between Kodaira and Fukiage, Gosunkugi felt their threatening presence press on him. "You want me to show you a way to defeat… A-Akane…?"

He looked down, paler than he already was at the very idea. "… N-no… I won't do that."

Kodaira, Fukiage, and Matsunaga all leaned in closer on Gosunkugi, while Nakamura remained focused on his phone. "You won't?" Kodaira asked.

"I won't," Gosunkugi replied. "I'm… I'm like every other boy… I love Akane, but… I'm no one, less than that. So, I'm content to admire her from afar, even if she'll never notice me. And because of that…" He looked up at Kodaira. "I won't do anything that may betray or hurt her."

Kodaira sighed. "Oh great, another simp."

"Call me what you want, but I love Akane enough to face any consequence for her."

Nakamura then spoke up. "Yeah, that's sweet and all, but you got like… a hundred creepshots of Akane in your phone, my guy."

The claustrophobic encirclement around Gosunkugi broke as the three other boys gathered behind Nakamura to gawk at the screen. Sure enough, the smallest member of the Shining Killers was swiping through image after candid image of Tendo Akane in class, walking around the school or on the street, partaking in gym, and practicing martial arts in her back yard.

Before Gosunkugi could start to slink away, Kodaira reached out and took his shoulder. The simpering boy froze and looked at him with a nervous smile. "Umm…? You're not gonna tell her about those, are you?"

"That depends," Kodaira replied with a more malicious smirk. "Would you be happy if Akane noticed you enough to beat the crap out of you?"

Gosunkugi needed a second to think about it, a second too long–as the Shining Killers all broke into laughter at once.

"Wow, you really are a garbage human being!" Kodaira said brightly. "Looks like we've found our new fifth killer, boys."

He suddenly grabbed Gosunkugi by his collar and dragged him close, lifting him off his feet to bring his heavily perspiring face inches from his. "… And if you want to be in good standing in the gang, you will do everything we say."

Gosunkugi swallowed hard, trembling, before he heard the pavement crack like something struck it with great force. Dropping him, Kodaira and the other Shining Killers quickly turned, and all five boys found Kamaitachi crouched in the middle of the river-side street with one hand resting on the center of the spiderweb of cracks his landing created, and the other gripping a sickle he tapped against his shoulder.

"Oi," Kamitachi called out to Kodaira. "Are you guys with Butsumetsu?"

Kodaira forgot all about Gosunkugi, as he scowled at the leather clad man with the single violet streak in his hair. "Like hell we're affiliated with those bozos. We're the Shining Killers, from Furinkan High School! And you must be part of that Sickle Gang."

"Furinkan?" Kamitachi clenched his teeth while he muttered to himself. "Oh well, a man's a man." He rose to his full height, then pointed the head of the sickle at Kodaira. "That's right, boys, and from here on out you're part of it."

"What?!" Kodaira and his fellows said in unison.

"But Shining Killers? We're gonna have to do something about that name. It's sounds so ugly."

Fukiage, Nakamura, and Matsunaga all spread out to form a shoulder-to-shoulder line with Kodaira, all looking a range from insulted to amused.

"Wow, you actually go around dressed like that," Fukiage said. "What are you, gay or something?"

"He's even got a collar," Nakamura said. "I bet he's a pervert, too."

"If that's the case, no wonder everyone's freaking out," Matsunaga surmised.

Kodaira cracked his neck and popped is knuckles. "Then let's pack up this prick and be on our way." He smirked as he began walking towards Kamaitachi. "So, dude, what's your safeword so I know to ignore it?"

Looking at the sickle, Kamaitachi pitched it into the ground, and assumed a right foot leading horse stance. "You know, it's a good thing you're going to screw around. I can get a warmup before I go deal with Sōban."

Kodaira laughed. "Heh, that's a pretty complicated safeword. Care to repeat it so I can remember?"

Rather than wait for an answer, he and the other three Shining Killers charged Kamaitachi with every intention of overwhelming and pummeling him into the ground. While the skirmish was beginning, Gosunkugi Hikaru was taking advantage of the situation and scurrying away from the scene on hands and knees with his head down, hugging the wall to make the smallest possible target until he reached the corner and ducked around it.

"I can't believe I escaped," he said in relief. "I thought I was a goner for a sec."

He stopped then lowered his head. "They still have my phone, though. And when they're done with that weird guy, they'll be looking for me."

Gosunkugi knew that he couldn't leave his phone in their hands. If Akane found out about those pictures, she'd probably beat him up or worse, never speak to him, one of the few things he dreamed of.

Hearing a clatter, he stopped and noticed his phone lying on the ground. Surprised, he scrambled over and grabbed it. "Lucky!"

He turned to face the fight and stopped.

Wielding Nakamura by his left leg, Kamaitachi smashed Kodaira across the right side of his face. When Nakamaura's limp body bounced off the ground Kamaitachi smashed Kodaira across the left side. Spinning around, blood dripping from his mouth, Kodaira collapsed and crumpled to the ground, joining the battered and whimpering Fukiage and Matsunaga.

Holding Nakamura over the three of them, Kamaitachi dropped him onto the heap. "Che… not even a warmup."

He looked to his right, locking eyes with Gosunkugi, who went perfectly still. Examining the ghoulish boy's face, Kamaitachi grimaced in disgust.

"And not even worth my time."

A more normal boy would have recoiled in shame and anger, spurned to try and prove the accusation false. Gosunkugi Hikaru, however, could only feel a profound sense of relief that he wasn't about to be beaten to a pulp.

With that, Kamaitachi snapped his fingers, and several members of the Sickle Gang showed up. "Take them back to the hideout and get them processed. They're garbage, but they will wear a mask nonetheless."

"What about you, Kamaitachi?" One of his minions asked.

Kamaitachi snatched his sickle out of the ground. "I'm going on to Butsumetsu to deal with Sōban. Catch up when you're done dropping them off."

Gosunkugi backed behind the corner, got up, and crept away with his phone clutched to his chest. "Thank goodness, maybe I can get home safe before they change their mind." He looked upwards, happy. "I escaped! And I was able to get my phone back…!"

He looked at the phone and noticed that the screen wouldn't turn on. Turning it over, Gosunkugi noticed that the back of his phone was dented and split, exposing the broken circuitry inside.

Staring at it, and realizing that the phone was probably irreparably ruined, Gosunkugi hung his head and dropped his shoulders in misery.

"… Oh…"

The next morning, the spring sun beat down on empty streets, the warm wind kicked up light clouds of dust from vacant lots and rustled the growing leaves of trees fanning out to enjoy the lengthening days. Where there would be students walking to school, hanging out by the gates, or delinquents squatting out of the sight of watchful teachers there was only quiet except for the starting bells of the SAD's schools.

At Tomobiki High School, Miyake Shinobu looked out the window of classroom 3-2, her new temporary homeroom with the repairs being necessary for room 3-4. A few late-blooming cherry blossom petals danced through the air past the window, the symbol of new beginnings and brighter days now just adding to the dissonant atmosphere.

Yes, it was a beautiful day, and peaceful to boot, but that peace appeared to have come at the cost of nearly every boy at Tomobiki.

There were still a few male students. Notably Ataru's friends Kōsuke and Hokuto–as well as 3-2's Class Representative Nanto. But every other boy from both classes combined was absent. If Mendō were still attending, he'd consider it the closest to heaven he could get.

If anyone who did not know the scion of the Mendō clan needed proof to back this accusation, they need only to look at the smile Moroboshi Ataru wore as he walked into class, marking only the fourth other boy to show up.

"Shinobu-chan! Mind if I sit next to you?" He asked brightly as he moved to an empty desk to her left.

Nanto, lounging in his seat at the front of the class, looked over. "Sit where you were assigned, Moroboshi."

Ataru casually brushed him off but complied anyway. "It's not like anyone's going to be sitting there today." Going to his assigned seat, a row behind Shinobu and three spots over on Kōsuke's left and in front of Hokuto, Ataru drew the attention of his friends.

"What do you know?" Hokuto asked.

Kōsuke likewise pressed for answers. "Is this some of Ten's nonsense?"

Ataru shrugged his shoulders. "Probably not. If Ten was up to something, would I be here?"

Kōsuke and Hokuto shared a look, before they wordlessly conceded to Ataru's point.

"Exactly, I'd be the first guy gone." Ataru took a seat. "It's not like it's a big deal for us, anyway. More babes for me to enjoy."

He was rewarded for his cavalier remarks with dark looks from the other girls in class. Some girls hissed quietly about Ataru being so pleased. Others' faces contorted in disgust, particularly those who no longer had the benefit of a boy to break Ataru's line of sight.

Shinobu just shook her head, because why was anyone surprised by his behavior after almost a year?

Ataru took the hard expressions in full stride. "Oh, don't act all offended. If it were you girls and Mendō, or even just Blondie here…" He indicated Nanto. "… You'd be making sure there was extra 'service.' With a smile."

Nanto turned around in his chair and brushed some of those long, blonde locks from his face. "Full disclosure, Moroboshi, I'm a fan of that idea."

"You would be," Hokuto sniped.

"But it'd work for us, because we're not you."

Ataru nodded. "And has that really worked out?"

On the life of his girlfriend, Hokuto could not resist. "I'd say it hasn't."
Nanto's subsequent glare hit Hokuto more than Moroboshi as the latter offered and successfully exchanged a low five with the former.

Shinobu finally spoke up, "It is strange, though, Ataru. I think something's going on, and I'm worried about the boys."

In clearly an effort to curry favor, Ataru's tone shifted hard to address his ex-girlfriend. "Shinobu-chan, your empathy and compassion for others is second to none."

"Then we should find out what's going on," Shinobu suggested while knowing full well her ex-boyfriend's actual thoughts on the idea.

Kōsuke voiced those very thoughts, saving him the trouble. "Do we have to? I mean, yeah, the boys all disappearing is weird, but on the bright side, Megane and his dumbass friends aren't here."

Nanto, loath as he was to, agreed. "Lum's Simptroopers can truly rot wherever they are. Even if it costs us the rest of the guys."

Being the second most moral person in the room at the moment, Hokuto chimed in to assuage Shinobu's worries. "We could stand to ask around–" But being diplomatic to his opposing bros, he added. "And we can leave the Stormtroopers hanging if we happen to find any sign of them."

Ataru folded his arms and nodded in agreement with his abnormally large classmate's insight. "Well… I wish we knew where to begin to look."

The door opened and Ryūnosuke walked in, followed by Lum floating just behind her. Despite of her darling dark blue uniform, Ryūnosuke's masculine habits were difficult to shake as she walked with her hands folded behind her head to her desk.

"For the last time, Lum, I don't know what kind of plants my Mom and Dad are growin'. Why do you care so much?"

"Well, you won't let me look for myself, Ryū-cha!"

"Because I don't want want you botherin' them!" She stopped at her desk and faced the Oni girl. "If you want to know, ask 'em yourself. But. Just. ASK."

Lum turned her nose up at Ryūnosuke before she called out to Ataru. "Darling, help me out."

"Sorry, my hands are full dealing with one mystery already," Ataru quickly said before addressing Ryūnosuke. "Ryū-chan, seeing you be the best girl you can be is why I get out of bed every morning."

Ryūnosuke's eyes rolled with great melodramatic flair. "Oh stop, you say that to every girl–that has ever existed."

"Not every girl."

Lum was seething at Ataru, when Shinobu grabbed the helm and heroically steered the conversation out of the trough. "Ryūnosuke-chan, have you seen any guys on your way here?"

Ryūnosuke shook her head as the ploy succeeded and Lum turned her attention from Ataru to whatever Shinobu could be worried about. "The only guy me and Pop saw on our way was this weird Furinkan kid who looked like a zombie, but seemed pretty lively. He could even say more than a few words, and half of 'em weren't apologies."

Ryūnosuke paused when she finally noticed that there were no other boys in the room. "Wait, where are all the guys–?" She stopped more abruptly, and her eyes widened. "… Oh no."

Her startled realization spread concern among her peers.

"What is it?" Shinobu asked.

Hokuto narrowed his eyes, Nanto mirroring his expression going unnoticed as all eyes fell on Ryūnosuke.

"Don't tell me it's those perverts…" She said aloud.

Ataru and Kōsuke, especially out of the loop, tilted their heads. "Perverts?"

Lum was alarmed at the notion of perverts. "What kind of perverts?!"

"There's this gang of leather-wearing guys running around beating up dudes and being hella weird."

Shinobu recoiled in horror, as lurid and revolting implications absolutely did not dance in her head. "L-leather?"

"How odd…" Lum murmured.

"You have no idea; they go around acting like Hard Gay!" Ryūnosuke snapped back.

A silence longer and more uncomfortable than most fell. Nanto blanched, Hokuto sharply inhaled, and Ataru began blinking rapidly, wondering if his ears worked. Kōsuke needed another moment, before his mouth slowly opened in a mute, terrified scream.

Shinobu finally broke the soundless din. "So, they're not interested in harassing girls, then?"

"Nah, they don't even like women." Ryūnosuke confirmed with no small bitterness in her tone.

Shinobu, and the other girls in the classroom, sighed in relief.

Ataru sprang to his feet. "HEY! DON'T ACT ALL NONCHALANT ABOUT MEN BEING SNATCHED OFF THE STREET BY PERVERTS!"

Hokuto wished Kōsuke had been the one to say it, because all Ataru's protest warranted were very exasperated looks from the many weary objects of Ataru's relentless advances. Thank the heavens that Ryūnosuke Sherman had her wits about her–and a score to settle. "Ataru is the last person to talk, but he ain't wrong!"

Exactly as Ataru had noted during the Lunch War, the girls all snapped out of their blasé indifference to their male peers' plight when someone they actually respected drove the point home.

Nanto spoke up next, reinforcing the very same. "Man or woman, no one should be accosted untowardly," he said while pointedly side-eyeing Ataru, "Much less harassed, assaulted, or taken by force."

Kōsuke was trembling with his head down. "P-please don't say it like that!"

"Darling," Lum asked Ataru. "Are the boys at school in that much danger?"

Ataru turned to her. "Danger doesn't even start to describe it, Lum. I wouldn't even wish this on Megane! Or Mendō! Or Cherry!"
Lum pulled back from Ataru, stunned. "Even Cherry?!"

"Ah, so you do care," a tiny, elderly voice said behind him. Ataru spun around and found himself face to hideous face with the small old monk, Sakura's uncle.

"Damn it, they didn't actually take you!" Ataru lamented aloud.

Cherry closed his eyes and nodded. "Not for lack of trying. The strange fiends did come for me, but they were no match for my spiritual power."

The entire classroom was of the same, correct, thought.

They didn't bother with him because he's so unpleasant.

"What are you even doing here?" Ataru demanded.

Cherry cleared his throat. "I came here to alert my niece of the trouble I almost found myself in but overheard you speaking of this very same threat. So, I came to hear your account."

He pointed at Ryūnosuke. "You, there…!"

He stopped and stared at her.

"I'm sorry, have we met, young lady?"

Everyone could see the giddiness well up in Ryūnosuke at being addressed as a young lady, but rather than fall into a spiral of flattery, she kept the conversation on course with Shinobu-esque determination. "You wanna know what happened, right?"

She turned to Lum and Shinobu. "You know how I lost a big fight before I met my real Dad?"

This was the first time Ataru heard about this. "Wait, you lost a fight?! To who?!"

The other girls in class were likewise stunned by Ryūnosuke's revelation. The strongest and coolest girl they knew had lost a fight, that wasn't something that was possible in their gilded image of her.

"To this guy named Kamaitachi, he's the leader of these guys," Ryūnosuke replied.

Ataru recalled the night he met with her outside of the school. "So that night, when you were in a bad mood…"

"Yes, I was banged up after getting my butt kicked–twice. First by that idiot's flunkies, then by the idiot himself when I tried to get my get-back."

Shinobu was surprised that Ryūnosuke would be so candid about losing a fight like that. Stubbornness was a common trait among the students of Tomobiki, especially when it came to anything that hit their pride–so for her to be able to accept a loss and tell everyone about it…

Lum moved to Ryūnosuke, concerned. "You're going to get him back for it, aren't you?"

Ryūnosuke nodded. "Of course I am, and this time I know I'll win."

The thought of anyone beating up Ryūnosuke, especially a guy, made Ataru's blood boil. He bowed his head, his fists clenching as even the staunch pacifist he prided himself as struggled to hold back his wrath.

"It all makes sense," he said, "They not only attacked you, but they did it because they mistook you for a man!"

Ryūnosuke grimaced a little bit. "That's about right. And when I corrected that jackass, he was even less pleasant. They don't just dislike women–they outright treat 'em like shit."

He raised his head, his eyes ablaze with righteous indignation. "It's one thing to be perverted towards guys–but to hate women?! I am a man of peace, but even I can't stand idly by if there's jerks out there waging war against babes!"

Hokuto agreed. "Nor can I."

Nanto was also onboard. "These are enemies of women and men–of all mankind. We should do something."

Nick stepped into the room, amused by this galvanizing of will. "Hey class, I've been listening in to this point, and I'm gonna have to put the kibosh on you all going out to fight these guys."

Ryūnosuke turned to Nick, tense. "Look, I know you said I had to let it go, but…!"

Nick held up a hand. "Nah, yer good. In fact, I got plans for you after school." As his newest daughter relaxed with his reassurance, he addressed the others. "It's the rest of y'all I don't need near all-a this."

He looked directly at Lum. "In particular, you." Those dark green eyes swept to Hokuto, making sure Nanto was caught in his line of sight as well. "And, if I recall correctly, your family is mighty stingy about you gettin' into fights, Ho-ku-to."

Hokuto grumbled and conceded to Nick's advice. "Hmph… if you say so, sensei."

Nanto likewise just shrugged his shoulders and surrendered. "Honestly, after the lunch war, I'm fine sitting out anything close to a wild melee."

Turning to Nick, Ataru protested. "This is a matter of dignity!"

"And it's a matter that will be resolved. Y'all should be countin' your blessins that not a one of you has been pulled into this mess. Regardless of how committed you may be to jump in…" Nick regarded them all with a grim look. "… Don't."

Rather than protest further, Ataru folded his arms and turned away. "Fine, whatever you say, teach."

Shinobu, Ryūnosuke, Lum, Hokuto, and even Nanto knew right then and there that Ataru was still going to do something.

Kōsuke was still in the middle of an episode.

Nick knew it, too. "Good. Now, how about we sit down and get started with class, kiddos?"

As the combined class got back to their seats, Cherry walked over to Nick and looked up at him. The teacher looked back down at him with his right eyebrow quirked up in curiosity.

"… You're the one my niece described," Cherry said.

"And?"

"She has a fiancé, keep your hands to yourself."

Nick pointed at Ataru. "Tell him that."

"We both know he doesn't have a chance."

Lowering his hand, Nick conceded. "Yeah, that's true."

Ataru called out. "Hey!"

The boys who'd been lumbering around, lost in their own self-loathing, were no longer in the gymnasium where they'd been gathered. Both Katie and Akane hadn't been able to find them anywhere on the school grounds or in the surrounding neighborhood besides, and their wider search had only more troubling news.

"… I've been approached by patients and other neighbors concerned that their sons and husbands haven't been coming home," Dr. Tofu revealed when Akane and Katie met with outside of his clinic.

Katie wore a mask of agitation, her arms folded tightly as she weighed this revelation. "Don't tell me the Sickle Gang's started roundin' guys up."

Akane shook her head slowly. "This is so surreal…"

Dr. Tofu was grim about the prospect. "It would seem to be the case. Why they would be rounding them up also troubles me."

Akane already knew. "Oh no… remember what that guy we stomped said?"

With a grimace, Katie understood. "Shoot, you're right." She turned to the doctor. "They're recruiting them. Forcing them into the gang for their big play on the SAD."

Dr. Tofu, concerned, shook his head. "That's my biggest fear. At the rate things are going, we're going to have to make an appeal to one of the families."

"The so-called Great Houses, huh?" Katie could feel the weight of Dr. Tofu's lament. "Well, at the very least we've got a line to 'em."

Making an even unhappier face, Akane wanted to protest the very idea. Luckily for her, Dr. Tofu was much more open about his feelings on the subject.

"Even with Mendō-san in Kodachi-kun's pocket, bothering any of the heads of the 'Great Houses' for a matter that does not directly concern them is a waste of time at best, and a deal with the devil at worse."

Akane chimed in. "Then forget those jerks completely. We can handle it with what we've got."

Katie, taking what was said into account, parsed the words with razor wit. "More about making sure they don't get in the way than helping out, huh?"

"Exactly!" Akane boldly retorted. "We've already seen what happens when the Mendō family wants to mess around. Letting that ponce get anywhere near what we're dealing with means more tanks in the streets and jerks shooting people with pepper guns!"

Dr. Tofu was glad to hear such vehemence from Akane. "And asking the Mizunokoji for aid is like wanting a dentist to treat a heart attack." He smiled at the two. "As you're both out of school for the next several days, and you've more than shown yourselves capable, can I ask you to join me on neighborhood watch patrols?"

Katie expected it and loved the eagerness of Akane's reply. "Of course!"

"It'll give us the chance to actively find where the Sickos are actually hidin'," Katie herself replied.

Dr. Tofu was grateful. "You have no idea how much this means to me, thank you. When you do find their hideout, let me know. I'll gladly lend a hand."

"You don't have to do that, doctor," Akane assured him.

"Of course I do," Dr. Tofu said. "It's the very least that I can."

The ground rumbled then, and the dull roar of heavy vehicles moving on pavement brought Akane, Dr. Tofu, and Katie's attention to a convoy of construction vehicles and lorries carrying supplies rumbling down the road past them with Furinkan as their final destination. There was little question to the girls about what was happening, when they spotted the crest of the Mendō Family emblazoned on every vehicle, but it took Dr. Tofu by surprise.

"What on Earth…?" He looked at Katie and Akane. The latter had the sour look that he'd come to associate with her reaction to the young man and his whole family.

The former explained it. "Don't mind this, it's just someone makin' Mendō useful."

Dr. Tofu let out an "Ehh?" in surprise, as a larger 6x6 truck looking more suited for off-road expeditions or urban warfare drove past. Inside the vehicle's rear was a lavish interior with an expensive furniture, marble floors, and an expensive surveillance suite beaming hologram screens on the walls and in the air in front of the vehicle's main occupant–Mendō Shūtaro.

He sat on a couch–a sleek black like most everything else in the room to go with the darker fashion of his struggle arc–at the very back of the mobile command module, his hands folded over the sword he carried with him. His uncovered eye was shut, and his jaw set as tension gripped his body.

"The Sickle Gang…"

Just thinking about them bathed him in a cold sweat. That there was a gang of brigands who preyed upon men in the same way most scum targeted women shook him to his core. Though he had resigned himself to handle the matter of rebuilding Furinkan High School in lieu of pursuing them, the fact that they were still out there could not be ignored. Nor could the fact that young men were disappearing from the streets of the SAD at an alarming rate every night.

Not for the fact that they were being snatched up, of course. Fewer men on the street meant a greater ratio of women for him, after all.

"No one is safe," he muttered, "Not even me."

This was unacceptable. It would be a pleasant day in naraka before he would be menaced by these guys.

"Measures must be taken, to protect myself, but more importantly…" He looked upward. "I must show to Kodachi-sama and to Nabiki-san that I am not some mere lout like Moroboshi. They shall see what a true scion is capable of, and with that Furinkan shall truly be paradise."

The thought crossed his mind to also win over those two other more powerful young women, and he let out a hum. "Not everyone will be onboard with my unilateral decision, so I must make it count well."

Determination burned in his eyes, as his resolve brought him to a decision.

"Yes, I will make sure that this entire neighborhood is cleaned up. Of all its filth."

Hey, Gosunkugi! Welcome to the show!