This isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. But I love it, so give it a chance.
Warnings: Rated M for illicit drug use, persistent violence, constant obscenities and general "adult" situations. I will not put an age restriction on this fic, but if you are easily suggestible, hit the back button. Mai HiME characters belong to Sunrise Inc. Errthang else is mine.
Helpful terms:
-kai/-gumi – Yakuza family titles
Pachinko – pinball/slot machines
Kumicho/Oyabun – head of the family; the Boss
Saiko – A Boss's senior advisor
Kobun – "foster child" or "younger sibling" in the yakuza world
Shinai – wooden kendo sword
Fudo Myoo – A Boddhisattva; "The Immovable One", as in unmoved by carnal temptations
Shabu – crystal meth
Enjoy and please review!
If you want to hang out, you've got to take her out
Neon lights buzzed above Natsuki Kuga's head as she stepped out of the Rorschach Bar. The late morning sunlight momentarily stunned her, eyes having not yet adjusted from the Rorschach's dim lighting. She checked her watch; it was 10:30 and the pachinko machines that crowded the bar's basement were already nearly full. She looked across the street, starting for the black Peugeot 307 and the redhead waiting in the driver's seat.
"That took forever," Nao Yuuki remarked as Natsuki slid into the sports car's passenger seat. "Where are we off to, then?"
"The racetrack. They wanted to meet on their turf, or not at all."
The redhead snorted derisively as she put the car into drive, "Wonderful. We have at least twenty motherfuckers over there waiting for us."
Natsuki loosened her neatly knotted tie, "Don't worry about it. They'd be fucking stupid to start something right now. Tate is down there already, and Kumicho sent his little pet after them."
Nao grinned, "Minagi, huh? Good. So, what else?"
"Just make the rounds and…" The raven-haired woman trailed off, loosening her tie some more.
"And what?" Nao threw her a quick glance.
"It doesn't concern you. He just wants me to do something for him."
"What?"
"I just said, it doesn't concern you."
"Fucking tell me Kuga! What, does he want you to jerk him off or something? What?" Nao chuckled as her partner grimaced and sucked her teeth disgustedly. "Tell me!"
Natsuki sighed, already exasperated with the younger woman. "He wants me to take his wife out."
There was a beat of silence, before Nao erupted in laughter. "What? Didn't he just marry this chick? And more importantly, doesn't he know you're the biggest dyke in the world?"
"Shut up," Natsuki growled automatically, "And no, he doesn't know that. Apparently, he keeps her indoors all day and she's been bugging him to go out, but he doesn't trust her enough to let her out on her own."
Nao laughed some more, even as she narrowly steered the Peugeot past a convoy of cyclists. "So he trusts you? Kumicho can be a real dumb ass sometimes."
"Watch your mouth." Natsuki said in a gruff warning tone that made the smile fall off Nao's face.
Relieved to see the racetrack appear in the distance, Nao drove around to a back alley entrance meant for jockeys and owners. "God, it smells like horse shit," she grumbled, following Natsuki past the stables and onto the track where a group of four waited for them.
"Good to see you Natsuki-chan," a short, sharply dressed pale man greeted her in his overly cheerful voice, "You look as cute as usual."
"Shut up."
He smiled, disregarding her scowl, "I'm glad Kanzaki had the decency to send a saiko this time. I hope you're a better negotiator than your predecessor."
Natsuki glared into him, as Nao's eyes shifted over the grandstands and expanse of the racetrack. Tate was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is he, Nagi?"
The man grinned at Natsuki and nodded to his underlings, "Let her see him."
Natsuki and Nao turned to follow the sound of a motor starting, the sound of the lure cart that ran around the track for greyhounds to chase. Except now they saw, as their eyes widened in horror, the head of Yuuichi Tate placed on the cart. A bell rang somewhere and Nao closed her eyes tightly, blocking out the sight of her associate's battered blonde head whizzing around the racecourse.
"For fuck's sake…" Natsuki grimaced, turning away quickly to reach under her suit jacket for the two .44 Magnum revolvers tucked into her waistband.
Sooner than Nao could follow her lead and slip out her butterfly knives, submachine guns were already leveled at both of them. "Shit," she exhaled remorselessly as she looked down the barrel of an Uzi, eyes briefly flicking to Natsuki.
The raven-haired woman hadn't broken a sweat yet, her revolvers still pointed. Her emerald gaze shifted constantly, looking for an escape.
Nagi grinned smugly, "You could have had a good life Natsuki-chan, if you had joined the Sugiura-gumi like I told you to. You and your hot little kobun."
Nao spat at him. "Limp dick piece of—", her words died on her lips, catching sight of a red dot floating on his forehead.
"Nao," Natsuki warned, hoping the younger woman wouldn't give anything away. Holding her breath, she saw Nagi look at them curiously until he abruptly crumpled to the floor, a bullet imperceptibly lodging between his eyes.
Taking advantage of the astonished stupor his three Uzi-wielding subordinates suddenly fell into, Natsuki pumped a cartridge worth of bullets into the two closest to her. She intended the next round for the remaining minion, but seeing that Nao had stuck him with one knife and cut his throat with the other, just sighed and stuffed her guns back into her waistband.
Nao wiped her knives on the dying man's suit, folded them up and returned them to the rubber bands that held them in her sleeves. She licked her dry lips. "Minagi," she breathed.
Natsuki nodded, leading the way out of the racetrack. They were not surprised to find a short girl in a high school uniform waiting for them, a long duffel bag slung over her shoulder, which they knew contained a sniper rifle.
"Mikoto-chan," Natsuki smiled gratefully at the girl, patting her on the head. "You saved our asses."
"Yup!" The girl returned Natsuki's smile, "I was in the skybox. Ani-ue told me not to shoot until you showed up. I watched them saw off Tate's head." She told them with the same cheerful smile on her face.
They stared at her for a while, mildly disturbed.
Natsuki shook her head as they all settled in the Peugeot. "He didn't want you to shoot until we showed up? Even when Tate was about to get his head chopped off?"
Mikoto shook her head, "Ani-ue said he deserved whatever was coming to him."
"He wanted blondie gone," Nao realized, lighting up a cigarette. "I wonder what he did."
"The chef," Natsuki said after a beat of silence. "I should've known. He was getting too close to the chef."
If you want to get down, get down on the ground
Mai Tokiha sat in what was quite possibly the most terrifying room in all of Fuuka. She sat rigidly at a long low table, keeping her hands under the table so no one would notice them trembling. Only two other people were in the room though, and both seemed too preoccupied to notice.
Kanzaki Reito sat across from her, turned away politely as he spoke quietly on an executive cell phone. Although he didn't whisper, his words were still inaudible to Mai despite the small space between them and the general quiet of the large room.
The only other person was a honey-haired woman Mai had never seen. She had been ceremonially preparing tea since Mai had arrived, a placid smile on her face. "Th-thanks," She said when the woman handed her a steaming mug.
Reito flipped his phone closed when his cup was placed in front of him. "Sweetheart," he said pleasantly, "Mai-san and I will be discussing business."
Mai's eyebrows furrowed together, seeing the woman rise and leave the room without a word or acknowledgment to the speaker. Likewise, Reito forgot that she had been there. He rested his chin in his hand and blew air into his mug. "Thank you for wearing that."
Mai looked down at the red silk dress hugging her curves. She laughed sheepishly, "Thank you for giving it to me. I really have to insist that you stop with the gifts now though. Wasn't that woman your—"
"It's my pleasure, Mai-san. She has nothing to do with it."
She wanted to squirm as his eyes traveled over her, even as she felt her face become warmer. "Sure, I guess. Well, thank you again Kumicho."
He nodded, blowing into his cup again. "So what is it you wanted to speak about?"
"Right," Mai looked at her trembling hands, suddenly feeling her courage leave her. She peeked up at Reito, who was smiling at her fondly. Her face became warm again, despite the icy feeling in her stomach. "Well… Takumi's operation was successful. The doctors say he should be good as new in a few months, except for maybe some minor complications. He could come back to Japan in as soon as three weeks."
Reito watched the woman's face glow as she related the news. He found it hard to stop smiling whenever they spoke, which is why he usually chose to deal with her personally. "That's good news. We should prepare to welcome him back in that time, then?"
"Yes, well, the thing is Kumicho," Mai inhaled deeply, "Takumi doesn't know how we got the money for his operation. He still thinks we received the good graces of some spirit, or something. He doesn't know what I'm doing."
"And?"
Mai swallowed, not daring to look at him. His voice had lost its characteristically sweet tone; he knew where she was taking this. "Kumicho, I can't… I can't do this anymore. I can't be your chef anymore. Takumi would never forgive me if he found out that I was making drugs in the restaurant's basement!"
Sensing sudden movement, she flinched, but Reito had only risen to move to a large sliding door. He opened it to reveal an immaculate traditional garden. The color drained from her face as she saw him pick up a shinai that was leant against the wall.
"From what I remember," he said as he tapped the sword against his shoulder, "You are still quite indebted to us."
"I know! I realize that Kumicho!" Her voice suddenly rose in volume, beginning to panic, "I don't intend to ask you to stop taxing the restaurant, I just can't have the lab in the basement when Takumi comes back. And besides that… I never wanted to make drugs in the first place. Please, Kumicho, Yuuichi told me you would listen."
She saw a dark smile creep onto his lips before he turned his back to her, hefting the shinai in his hands. "Tate isn't as smart as he seems, Mai-san."
Thoroughly confused by the non-sequitor, she decided to ignore it. "Kumicho, please."
Mai stared helplessly at him as he stepped out into the garden, and before sliding the door closed on her, said, "No."
If your thing is gone and you want to ride on
"You're being a big baby," Aoi Senou slapped Nao's partially exposed rear as she lay topless on the brunette's bed.
The redhead growled at the woman kneeling over her, eyes ablaze. "That doesn't help Aoi! Just get on with it before I pass out again."
"I could do it much faster if you were passed out…" Aoi mumbled, reapplying a freshly inked needle to the sensitive skin of Nao's back, where she had already punctured the outline of a tattoo that would cover the entire area.
"Well, they all can't have Kuga's threshold for pain," Chie Harada commented as she strolled into the room with Natsuki.
"We all can't be freaks like Kuga either—ouch! God damn it!"
Natsuki only smirked at Nao's squirming and muttered curses. She looked over the outline of a Buddha Aoi had inked, this time laughing audibly. "Fudo Myoo, eh Nao? Trying to be ironic?"
"There's nothing—shit—ironic about it. I—what the fuck Aoi—am immovable—damn it!"
The other three openly laughed at this.
Chie wiped a mirthful tear away under her glasses before turning to Natsuki. "Oh Kuga, I have something for you."
Everyone in the room knew exactly what she meant, and so Natsuki only nodded and followed her into the kitchen. She took a seat at the table while Chie reached into the back of a cupboard and pulled out a lockbox. Unlocking it with a key kept around her neck, she retrieved from the box what Natsuki sight measured to be about a half kilo of rocky white powder.
"So I heard Kumicho gave you a special assignment," Chie said teasingly, as she found some smaller sized plastic bags.
"Of course you would know."
"Of course. Colombian blow should keep you on your toes. You can't go fucking with the Kumicho's bride, y'know."
"I'm not an idiot." She ignored Chie's dubious look, much more interested in her actions.
Common courtesy kept her from ripping the bag open and sticking her nose in it when Chie placed it on the table, waiting for her to set out a metallic glass platter. The bespectacled dealer chuckled, noticing Natsuki lick her lips in anticipation while she chopped up a decent sized rock, then cut it into finer lines. "First taste is on me," Chie said, handing her a rolled up bill.
Natsuki's luxurious midnight hair hung on the back of the kitchen chair as she threw her head back. "Yeah," she finally said, between sharp inhales. "That'll do it." She reached into her pocket and fished out a few bills, dropping them onto the table. "Maybe Kumicho's wife will want some too?"
Chie wasn't sure if she was kidding or not. "Careful, Kuga. You saw what happened to poor Tate. And Kumicho never even admitted he likes that chef."
"'Course he does."
"Yeah, and I'm sure he likes his newlywed wife too. Careful," she repeated warily.
She don't lie, she don't lie, she don't lie
Mikoto sat at her regular seat at the Tokiha's restaurant, the only one at the counter at the relatively late hour, chopsticks poised and ready to devour a third bowl of ramen. "Maaaaiiiii," She called out to the woman she knew was hiding in the kitchen, "One more!"
"Akane," she said tiredly to the girl just coming up from the basement, "Can you give her that bowl please? I'm gonna lose it if I face another Kanzaki today."
"Shhhh!" The girl shushed Mai, fear flashing in her doe eyes. "If she hears you we're in for it!"
Mai chuckled scornfully, "That skinny little thing? Although she eats ravenously…"
Akane shook her head pityingly at her boss, "Mai-san… And they say I'm naïve. Anyway, I have chemicals all over me, I can't touch any food. I'm going to go home and shower before Kazuya comes over. You can give her that." The girl hastily pointed to a red tool box, which Mai knew contained at least 50 bricks packed with shabu, and nearly sprinted out of the building.
Mai gritted her teeth as Mikoto let loose another hungry cry for her attention. Giving the tool box an irritated kick, she grabbed the bowl of ramen and dropped it with a scowl in front of the high school girl. "Are you happy now you little freak?"
Mikoto disregarded her, only slurping down half the bowl in one gulp. "Delicious!" She beamed with flushed cheeks that served to soften Mai's expression.
"I bet you're not paying for this bowl either?" She asked dejectedly, watching the girl stuff herself.
"Nope!" She replied between slurps.
Mai nodded absently, the frown returning to her face. She took in the Fuuka Academy uniform that the girl wore regularly; it was the uniform she used to wear at one point, from where she had studied day in and day out to get into college, eventually graduating with a BA in business and a minor in chemistry.
"Why chemistry?" She whispered absently to herself, not for the first time. "I fucking hate chemistry."
"Hmm?"
She shook her head, hating to waste time on useless thoughts. "Say Mikoto-chan, do you ever go to school?"
The girl nodded slowly, suddenly guarded.
Mai laughed nervously, "It's just that I only see you running around for Kumicho. Don't you want to do anything else? You're so young."
"I like doing things for Ani-ue," she replied quickly, defensively. "And today I got to see Natsuki and Nao. They don't go to school."
Mai thought back to the number of times she had seen the saiko and what would seem to be her apprentice. "But they're hoodlums!"
The younger girl looked at her curiously. "They're nice."
Mai crossed her arms, realizing that Mikoto might be a lost cause. For whatever reason, though, the potentially dangerous girl seemed to get along with her. Perhaps if she was lucky, the girl could prove to be a helping hand. "Mikoto-chan? How do you get your Ani-ue to change his mind about something?"
"Ani-ue doesn't change his mind," she replied without hesitation.
"Not even if you asked him to, on my behalf?"
"Ani-ue doesn't like to be pushed around." Mikoto paused, eyes glazing over for a moment. "Tate knows that," she said quietly.
"Yuuichi?" Mai remembered the side-burned blonde had promised, as they grew increasingly closer, to help her out of her contract with the Kumicho. Panic suddenly rose in her as she recalled the Kumicho's disturbing smile, "What about Yuuichi?"
Mai felt her knees grow weak as Mikoto gave her a mournful look and hopped off her seat. She swung her duffel bag onto her shoulder as Mai stared into her, horror-struck. Mikoto's chest inexplicably pained to see the older woman in such a state, and wanted to do something, or at least say something to help her.
"I like Mai. She shouldn't end up like Tate." She turned away before she could see teardrops leave Mai's eyes, "Don't fight the Kanzaki-kai."
Chapter 2: Midori Sugiura on the rampage! Suzushiro and Kikukawa on the case! Meet Mrs. Kanzaki-- Ara, I mean Fujino-Kanzaki!
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