"Who the hell are you? Oh, you're that girl from the coast battle, Hikari."
ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎
"No, no. You're not going to touch my hair," Hiyori told Naomi and the girls as they tried to persuade her to cut it.
Naomi had cut her hair and now they're trying to let Hiyori also cut her hair short.
"Why not?" Junko asked her. They all stared at her as Nikka is already holding a scissor in her hands.
"I don't want to cut it. I don't look good in short hair," she said and stepped away from them. The girls sighed in defeat as they didn't argue with her anymore. Hiyori let out a sigh of relief.
Hiyori and Naomi walked out of the salon and went their way towards the diner after the brown-haired girl had been chucked her hair short, only reaching to her nape.
"It looks good on you, I can't pull that off," Hiyori sighed.
"You won't know until you try," Naomi told her.
"Oh, I know. Remember in high school? When someone accidentally put gum on my hair? I cut it short and almost cursed Yamato for the rest of his life," she said as she remembered how her hair was cut short all of a sudden when Yamato stuck bubblegum on her hair. Well, it was an accident. That's what he said.
"I remember," Naomi nodded and couldn't help but not laugh at the memory. "You almost choke Yamato to death."
"Yeah, I was so mad he ruined my pretty hair!" she exclaimed and the two girls laughed.
• • •
After five minutes of arguing with her boyfriend, Hiyori won and persuaded Cobra to let her come along with the meeting of all the SWORD groups.
She sat down beside Tetsu and Dan as she stares at the old fighting ring where Cobra stood in the middle.
Hyuga Norihisa then entered and looked at Cobra with that same stoic expression. The Daruma Ikka leader flopped himself on an old sofa in the corner. He was the last one to enter as Murayama Yoshiki is already standing on the corner as well as the White Rascal's leader, Rocky.
Takeshi and P arrived and also stood on the corner. Hiyori stared at the five gangs in awe. It was unusual that they are holding a meeting without the means of fighting each other or fighting another gang that are threatening their positions.
She breathed out as she turned her attention toward the SWORD leaders.
"Where is Smoky?" Rocky asked.
"We are here for him," Takeshi answered. Hiyori looked at him in worry as the last time that she saw Smoky, he was not looking good.
"Is that guy dead?" Hyuga asked.
"Stop it," Cobra told him.
"So, what do you want to talk about, Cobra-chan?" Murayama asked the blonde.
"After the fight at the coastal area, I realized that our enemy is Kuryu and Jangsung," he said. Hiyori looked down as she sighed. She immediately shakes her head as she felt Tetsu's hand on her head. The younger male gave her a comforting smile and she just smiled back with gratitude.
"Do you want to fight Kuryu?" Hyuga questioned.
"Kuryu will soon be destroyed," Cobra declared. That gained the attention of the leaders.
"I gathered all of you here to discuss what will happen in the future," Cobra began. He glanced at Hiyori for a second then he continued, "If Kuryu disappears, Jangsung and other mafias will target the city."
"For that, I have an idea."
Hiyori bit her lip as she took a glance at each leader.
"I want to make an alliance within SWORD," Cobra stated.
"Agreement within SWORD?" Takeshi voiced. Murayama scoffed in disbelief.
"Wait a minute! What do you mean by Kuryu will be destroyed?" Hyuga asked. Cobra took a glance at Hiyori and then at Hyuga.
"Do you know what happened with the Amamiya Kyodai in Little Asia?" Cobra asked. Hiyori hitched a breath and shut her eyes for a second.
"Yeah."
"Are you guys serious?" Sakyo asked as he glanced at Sannoh members.
"Yeah, we have to work together from now on," Noboru replied. Both he and Yamato are standing in front of Hiyori and the others.
"Are you kidding?" Shu asked.
"This is not the time for the SWORD to fight," Tetsu was the one who answered. "Do you guys want a fight?"
"Huh? Who the hell are you?" Shu asked.
Hiyori covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing.
"We fought together—"
"That's what I told you. Nobody would recognize you after you had a haircut," Dan cut him off. Hiyori whimpered a laugh as she looked at Tetsu. The younger male glanced at her with a glare and then clicked his tongue.
He sighed, "But chicks don't dig my dreadlocks."
Hiyori sighed and shook her head in amusement.
"Actually, the Sannoh guys might have a point," Kizzy butted in.
"Eh? Have you guys lost some members?" Shu asked the White Rascals.
"You're right, the four shadow members of their group are not here."
"Rocky had kicked them," Koo answered making Hiyori raise a brow as she glanced at him.
"They wanted to form a band," Kizzy explained. "Although they can't play musical instruments."
Hiyori chuckled. Kizzy glanced at the girl with a raised brow making her cough and looked away.
"How is the struggle for the land?" Koo asked them.
"Kuryu has taken over several shops in our neighborhood," Kaito spoke. Hiyori's smile faded as she turned to Tetsu.
"Tetsu's bathhouse has also moved to the Rasen area, right?" Dan said.
"Ah... yeah," Tetsu muttered. They all went silent when Rocky slammed his cane on the ground.
"I understand what you're saying but that has nothing to do with us," Rocky said. "We only need to protect women."
"How can you protect them if you don't have a place to keep them safe anymore?" Hiyori voiced out for the first time. She was finally noticed by all the men in the room.
Rocky looked at her with a raised brow. She sighed.
"Who the hell are you? Oh, you're that girl from the coast battle, Hikari," Hyuga asked and pointed in her direction.
"It's Hiyori," she corrected as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"I don't need any help from you... at all," Rocky said ignoring all the banter they're currently having. He stepped outside the ring.
"I think this idea is good," Murayama spoke.
"You want to have an agreement... let us see the USB, then we can trust you," Hyuga suggested. "We wouldn't believe everything just by hearing about it."
"We need to discuss this with Smoky before we decide. Compared to the agreement, we still have a lot more important things to do," Takeshi said as they walked out.
"Good. We are not a friend to start together," Hyuga said as he also stepped out.
Hiyori sighed in worry. They can't take down Kuryu without doing it together.
"Cobra-chan, as Hyuga said, we cannot make an alliance easily. However, I will give your idea a chance," Murayama said as he walked out.
Hiyori stared at Cobra and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Takeshi," Hiyori called as the Rude Boys member turned to her. "Say my regards to Smoky. Also, I wanted to thank him for helping us in looking for our brother."
"All right, I'll pass it to him," Takeshi nodded. Hiyori muttered thanks and nodded back as the male turned his heel and leave.
Hiyori then turned to the Sannoh members. Cobra approached them with a sigh but the other guys just tried to cheer him up.
He did his best on persuading them but the SWORD leaders have their pride stands out more than anything else.
Cobra already did his part. They just needed a bit of a push.
---
Originally, I planned to have Hiyori a love-hate friendship with Kizzy because I really love Kizzy's vibes and I really think it would be fun to write it.
Also, I was planning to have Hiyori fight Sara and ended it in a tie, just like how Ice and Hiroto's fight ended.
But I threw it all away. ʘ‿ʘ
Anyway, this act only have 13 chapters.
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