PROLOGUE
Unknown POV
I had sent out a few other drones into Asakusa one night, scouting out the various sections of the districts, where in one part, a shoot-out was taking place.
I had seen one of Walnut's drones out and about, until it got shot down. Then after that, my drone was shot out of the sky.
There was definitely something big going on back there, and I wasn't going to sit around any longer in my current position to wonder what it was.
I checked my other drone, as I saw a building within the city limits, only to then see an explosion rip through a couple of floors.
I had no idea what the hell was going on, but I needed to find a new base of operations, if I was going to continue watching over Asakusa in secret.
Just then, my communications system had picked up a conversation between Walnut, and an infamous hacker, going by the alias of Robota.
I decided to tune in, and hear what they were talking about.
"*laughs* The Alan Institute. A mysterious support organization that has expanded across the globe. No one knows if it's a group, or actually just a single individual. But we do know they seek out geniuses suffering from poverty or other obstacles, and provide free assistance! Sports...! Literature...! Entertainment...! Medicine! Technology! They cover anything!" I heard Robota explain.
"I didn't come here for a lesson. Every kid in Tokyo knows that much." Walnut said to him, with her voice in a lower pitch to conceal her identity. "What I'm getting at is the Alan Institute is in a group that would kill!" He told her.
"I know for a fact they tried to get rid of me. The only question is how did they pinpoint my apartment's location?" Walnut asked.
I heard Robota giggle as I saw a video recording of the explosion that erupted from the same building that I saw from my drone's perspective. "KABOOM!" He cackled.
"Huh... Nice shot." She remarked. "I know, right? I treated myself to a new drone just for this. That current location of yours isn't a dummy, is it, Walnut?" He taunted her.
"So it was you." She realized. "You...! You sold me out to those guys!" She called him out as their conversation disconnected. Walnut's in danger? Not on my watch.
I decided to find a way to get in contact with this Robota guy, and leave him a message.
I won't let anyone get their hands on my girl.
I eventually managed to find a connection and jacked into his communications system.
I call him up, but not before sending him some malicious files and opening them on his end. "What the?! Viruses?! On my setup?! What's going on?!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm just kind of playing around with you. So I'm assuming you're not too terribly worried?" I asked. "Who the hell is this?" Robota demanded.
"Just a friend of Walnut's. Others know me simply as The Florist." I introduced myself to him. "The Florist? Like the Florist of Sai?" He questioned. "Bingo, you bucket of bolts." I insulted.
"I too, saw that explosion tonight. You've just crossed a huge line, my friend." I told Robota.
"You're threatening me?!" He asked. "Would you prefer I say it in a different way?" I replied. "And what would those words be?" He entertained.
"Basically, I want you to stay away from Walnut. I will make sure that no hackers by the likes of you will cause any chaos to Walnut, or anyone else here in Asakusa!" I warned him.
"Oh, ho, ho. I'd like to see you try! I've done nothing but cause chaos in this city!" He boasted. "And I'll continue to do so, so get used to the idea that you'll never be able to stop me. I'm gonna be the top dog hacker in this country! Not Walnut! And not even you! I'll be so good, you won't even know what hit you. You'll never see me coming!" He challenged.
"You sure about that? You should probably sign in to your Steam account." I playfully goaded him. "Why? Do you just wanna see my collection or...? What the? I can't sign in!" Robota exclaimed.
I laughed as I watched him try to log in from from a feed showing his computer screen. "I was able to crack the code, find out your password and log in to your account myself from under your robotic helmet. I did it with a fair amount of difficulty, mind you, but I did it." I told him. "What?!" He shouted. "Now let's what you have in your library, shall we?" I taunted him.
I scrolled through his game collection to find some choice titles. "Ah, Gal*Gun. Fun rail shooter to play in front of everyone. What with the schoolgirls in their underwear or swimsuits. Yeah, that's something to show off." I teased.
"Stop it! Stop it right now!" He yelled at me. "Ah, what are these? Adult visual novels? Yeah, I get you. Gotta spank one out every now and then." I chuckled.
"Shut up!" He shouted. "Let's see how much cash you got loaded into your wallet, eh? Three hundred thousand yen?! That's just enough to buy all the DLC for Dead Or Alive 5, AND 6! In fact, I should buy them all right now!" I taunted.
"You wouldn't dare...!" He sneered. "Oh, I would." I told him. "You... You monster!" He exclaimed. "Says the hacker that threatened another hacker's life." I fired back.
I ended the call with Robota, and I realized I was feeling pretty good about myself.
However, I can't be ecstatic right now. I've got to get a move on to make sure Walnut and I are safe and out of harm's way. I'm sure Robota would do whatever to take her and me down.
I needed to go into hiding, so that he won't be able to track me down, so I sent out an e-mail for a certain individual that I have connections with.
After that, I made a call to someone that is connected to the Florist of Sai, my grandfather.
"Hello?" I heard on the receiver. "Yes, is this Yuya Dojima?" I asked the person on the line."Indeed it is. And who's calling?" He asked.
"Call me Florist." I told him. "Florist? Why does your name sound familiar? You connected to the Florist of Sai by any chance?" He questioned.
"Indeed, but let's not get into any further details about that. Right now, I need you to do a job for me." I said. "What do you want?" Yuya inquired.
"I need your help to go into hiding. I'm about to be tracked down by another hacker who goes by Robota. He went on a cyber-attack against a fellow hacker of mine who goes by Walnut. So, I had to give him a piece of my mind." I explained.
"I see. Well, I'll help you, but how am I gonna pull this off? I can't exactly do this on my own." He inquired. "Are you connected to someone by the name of Goro Majima?" I asked him. "How do you know about Majima-san?" He demanded.
"I believed he's requested services from The Florist of Sai a few times back then." I answered. "So, through the Florist of Sai, you know about Majima as well?" Yuya questioned. "That's right." I replied.
"Alright, I'll get in touch with him as soon as I can." He answered. "When?" I asked.
"When exactly do you want me to do it?" He questioned. "Tomorrow." I told him.
"Alright, I'll get back to you on that then." He said. "Good, I'll be seeing you." I acknowledged.
Opening Theme: Hidenori Shoji ft. MAKOTCH - Receive You
By the next morning, Kido-aniki and I were sitting around the front counter as Mika was about to start making breakfast for the two of us, before a blonde man in a dark blue business suit entered the cafe.
"Mika, hey there." He greeted, surprising the latter. "Welcome to our cafe!" Chisato and Takina greeted him.
"Uh... Seiji. Takeshi. On second thought, why don't you two instead head out for awhile? I've got some private business to take care of right now. I'll just have your coffees ready in cups for you both to take out." Mika hurriedly said to us.
"Oh, uh, sure, Mika-san." I replied. "Alright then, Mika-san. If it's that confidential, we won't get in the way." Kido acknowledged.
We then left the cafe, walking out into the street. "That was a bit unexpected." I muttered. "Yeah, something about that guy in the suit had Mika-san frozen in place from the looks of it." Kido agreed. "Something about him felt very familiar."
"Yeah..." I wondered. "I wonder who he could be..." Kido and I decided to walk around Asakusa for a bit. We stopped by another cafe to briefly eat breakfast, before continuing our walk around.
We talked with each other, with one conversation going into further detail as to what Kido was up to with Mizuki the other day. He was surprisingly laid-back during his date with her, even though he's never gone out with a woman before. And he really enjoyed the time he spent with her, which I was quite surprised to see. But when he found out that she wanted to be his girlfriend, he panicked.
"I've never been in a relationship before, so how should I handle this?" He panicked. I couldn't help but laugh. "You're gonna be fine, aniki! She's already into you! You literally walked into her life, and now she's planning to spend every moment she can with you. She said that you were cute, so don't be afraid to show that side of yourself!" I gave him a few tips.
And so we walked around for the rest of the day, taking in the views and such, until we saw something that didn't look good.
It was a group of men holding signs and shouting various words and phrases. They were spread out all over the streets, and were all gathered in a square full of people. "What the hell are those guys doing?" Kido inquired. "I don't know, but they seem to be blocking the streets." I examined.
"They're holding up signs. They read: 'JUSTIS will be served' 'The truth will set you free' 'Free yourself from the lies!'" Kido told me.
"JUSTIS? No way...! Aniki! Those guys are members of JUSTIS! It's like what Kiryu-san told us. They really are trying to rebuild here in Asakusa! We have to take them out!" I exclaimed. "Yeah, let's go!" he said, as took lead and ran ahead to confront them.
A few of them noticed us coming their way, so they got in formation in front of us, blocking the way. We stopped in our tracks when they said something to us. "Hey! Stop right there, you two! You ain't getting past any of us, unless you're in for our cause!" One of the protesters proclaimed.
"Sorry to rain on your parade, but we're not here to join your cause. On behalf of the Kiryu clan, my partner and I are here to stop you JUSTIS pricks from negatively influencing the people of Asakusa! Now you can either get on outta here peacefully, or we can just force you all out personally!" Kido calmly said, pointing directly at them.
"Kiryu Clan? You don't mean...?!" Another protester exclaimed. "That's right! The same clan that ran JUSTIS out of Kamurocho a couple years back." I reminded them.
"Bastards...! It wasn't enough to run us out of Kamurocho. So now you had to come chase us up here in Asakusa?! You won't get away with it this time. We've been building ourselves back up in numbers since then, and we ain't gonna let you Kiryu clan members bring us down again like you had before! Not this time! JUSTIS will rise again!" One of the men in front of us said.
"That won't be happening, as long as we have anything to say about it. You ready, Seiji?" Kido questions me as he gets into a fighting stance. "Yeah, I'm ready." I answer, getting into my own stance. "Alright, you JUSTIS bastards. Come get some!" I challenged.
Background Music: Hidenori Shoji - Force Addiction (from Yakuza/Like A Dragon 0)
A couple goons charged at me and Kido, as they prepared to throw a punch or kick in our direction.
We both dodged out of the way, and split away to take out the members one by one. We managed to take out the first two goons, but the rest came at us in force.
They were stronger than before, and had numbers. "Seiji! Behind you!" Kido called out to me. I quickly turn around to find one guy coming straight for me, so I punch him in the stomach, as Kido comes in to knock him out with a roundhouse kick to his face.
Another goon swung his bat at me. I caught it with my forearm, before punching him in the nose.
He dropped the bat and staggered back a step, clutching his face. I raised my fist and punched another goon in the nose.
He dropped to his knees and cried out in pain, before a kick to his face sent him tumbling to the ground.
A couple of the other goons hit the ground, before I grabbed one by the scruff of the neck and punched him in the face again.
Kido and I kept on fighting the JUSTIS goons until there was only one of them left.
He wasn't going down without a fight though, and he swung his bat at me.
I blocked it with my forearm, then I punched him in the face. He staggers back, trying to recompose himself, until Kido got a hold of him, and punched his face in.
He then lifts him up by his legs, propping him up for me to finish off. I run over to where Kido was holding the guy up, and jump as high as I can with a rising knee attack, hitting the guy by the jaw, knocking him out as he flies backwards.
"All right. That's the last of them." Kido confirmed as we look around to find all the JUSTIS members lying on the ground in pain.
"Wow. I think that went better than when we first showed up here." I spoke up. "Yeah, you definitely held your own a lot better, even though we had more to deal with this time." Kido acknowledged.
Suddenly, we heard someone coughing. It was the last goon we just took out. "You think... just by taking us out, you two will stop the rest of us?" He taunted.
Kido crouched down and grabbed his collar. "What the hell are you talking about?" He inquired.
"Like I said before, JUSTIS has been building its numbers back up, and soon enough, we'll be big enough to spread our influence again throughout this city. Just you watch." The guy taunted. "Shut up!" Kido shouted, punching his face once more.
As Kido stood up, we heard some more hostile voices coming our way. "Hey assholes! Don't move!" We turned to see more JUSTIS thugs running towards us. "Dammit! There's more of them?!" I complained.
The thugs circle around us, giving us no window to escape. "Shit! We're surrounded. How the hell are we gonna get outta this?" Kido wondered.
We both just stood there, waiting for the thugs to make their first move. I was about to punch one of them when I heard a vehicle in the distance. "What the...? Shit! WATCH OUT!" One of the thugs cried out.
A couple of them looked behind, as they saw a red mini-van speeding straight for them. The thugs quickly try to get out of the way, but a few of them ended up getting hit and even flew over the roof of the car.
The van screeches to a stop, and Kido and I look through the open window to find Mizuki in the driver's seat.
"Mizuki?!" We both spoke. "Takeshi! Seiji! Hurry! Get in!" She shouted, motioning us to the open door. "Aniki! Let's get out of here!" I shouted to Kido. Kido quickly gets into the car, with me right behind him. I looked at the other goons, who were now on the ground, trying to get back up.
"Hey! They're getting away!" One of them pointed at us. Mizuki floored it on the gas pedal, and the car shot forward, rapidly leaving the rest of the thugs in our dust.
"Whew! That was a close one!" I exhaled. "Yeah... Thanks, Mizuki-chan. You saved our asses back there." Kido thanked her. "You're welcome, Takeshi. But don't expect me to be there to save you guys every time when you're in a rut like that. I only came in to help, cause I found you two by complete accident while I was driving around town." She said to us. "Sure. We'll keep that in mind. For now, let's head back to the cafe." I replied.
"So... what the hell were you two doing back there? Why were you both brawling with those guys?" She inquired us. I sighed. "It's a long story, so Kido and I will explain."
"We didn't come here to Asakusa to just bodyguard the cafe..." Kido began to tell her as we drove back to the cafe.
We told her everything about the bigger reason as to why we came to Asakusa in the first place, with bringing down JUSTIS again and preventing them from coming back from the ashes.
"So, there's a corruption gang that's setting up shop around Asakusa, and Kiryu-san sent you two specifically to stop them from doing so?" Mizuki asked. "Yeah, that's basically the more important reason as to why we're here." I responded to her question.
"Well, what are you guys going to do about it?" She asked us. "First things first, Seiji and I need to figure out who's the boss running the gang now." Kido tells her. "Yeah, last we heard about JUSTIS, their old boss Satsuki got thrown in the slammer after Kiryu-san and the others took care of him a couple years back." I remembered.
"We won't know unless we run into them again. Only then will we be able to get any information out of them." Kido deduced. "If that's the case, then what now, guys?" She asked again. "We'll just have to wait around, and if we see them anywhere, Seiji and I will confront them for info." Kido told her.
Just then, Mizuki received a new e-mail in her inbox. "Hmm...? A job from 'Walnut'?" She questions, looking at her laptop. "Walnut? Is that like a codename or something?" Kido wondered. Suddenly, she got another e-mail of a similar nature.
"Another one? This one comes from someone called 'The Florist'..." Mizuki examined. "The Florist? I've heard of that title before. There's someone back in Kamurocho who goes by the alias of the Florist of Sai. He's like some kind of information broker who knows what goes on all over the place, but he demands a high price for his services, if anyone wanted to get any info out of him. Maybe this Florist guy, is the same one, or someone that's carrying the same alias around here in Asakusa." I believed.
"I'm checking the message and it says that he needs help laying low for awhile, because he's got a hacker by the alias of Robota hunting him down." Mizuki explained.
"Hmm... What about that Walnut person? What did they say in their message?" Kido asked. "It looks like this Robota guy is onto them, too. Looks like we've got two getaway clients on our radar." Mizuki deduced.
"It'll be dangerous to help them both out at the same time, we'll have to split them apart so Robota can't catch up to either them." I predicted.
Mizuki then came up with a plan. "Alright. I got it. Everyone else and I will handle looking after Walnut. Takeshi, Seiji, you two will take care and keep an eye on the Florist."
"Are you sure you can handle that, Mizuki-san?" I asked her with some concern. She nodded.
"Okay, so we've got a plan." I confirmed. As Kido took a seat next to Mizuki, I went up and headed up to my room. It's still as empty as it was before when I moved in. 'Maybe now is as good of a time to decorate this room. I should head out for some shopping.' I thought to myself. I closed the door and headed back down to the cafe.
"Hey, aniki. Mizuki. I'm gonna head out to do some shopping. I'll be back before nightfall." I told them as I headed out the front door. It was already past noon. I decided, I'm gonna get myself some video games to have in my room whenever I've got down time from taking care of business regarding JUSTIS.
Although, I have no idea where to look to find gaming stuff in Asakusa. I kept walking aimlessly around the streets before I heard a familiar voice.
"Hey! Seiji!" I turn around to find Chisato calling out to me, with Takina by her side. "Oh. Uh, hey guys." I greeted them. "How it's going?" Chisato asked. "I'm doing good. You?" I reply. "Same." She replies back.
"Takina. How are you doing today? You doing alright?" I then asked her, getting close to her.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking." She replied.
"So Seiji, whatcha' doing walking around Asakusa today?" Chisato questioned. "Well, actually, I was gonna go out and do some shopping, and get some video games to play while I'm resting at the cafe. Though I have no idea which store to check around here. Hell, I don't even know if there are gaming stores around here." I told both of them.
"There's gaming stores over in Akiba, we can head to the train station and check there." Chisato suggested. "Alright, let's do that." I agreed. "Okay, let's go!" She said, leading the way for me and Takina.
As Chisato was leading us, the three of us decided to make small talk about random stuff. "So where did you originally come from, Seiji?" Chisato asked. "Kyoto." I replied. "Kyoto?! I thought you lived in Kamurocho!" She believed.
"I did, but I was actually born in Kyoto. That's where my family is." I told her. "Really? What's your family like?" She asked, seemingly very curious. "Um... I kinda don't wanna talk about them right now." I dodged the question.
"Why not, Seiji?" I heard Takina ask me. "Just some personal issues. Maybe I'll tell you guys about them later. But, not now, okay?" I responded. "Oh... Alright. I understand." Takina acknowledged. "Okay then, Seiji." Chisato understood.
As we kept walking for the train station, I heard another familiar voice within earshot. "Hey, is that...? Ah! There you are!" I then heard footsteps running towards me. I turn around to find Yuya coming from behind.
"Yo, Seiji-chan!" He greeted me. "Ah crap. Yuya..." I half-cursed. "Seiji? Who is this?" Chisato asked as she and Takina walked back over to check on me. "Chisato, Takina, may I introduce you to my brother-in-arms, the prodigy of the Mad Dog of Shimano, Yuya Dojima." I said to them.
"Yuya, this is Chisato Nishikigi. And this is Takina Inoue." I introduced him to them. "Pleasure to meet you, ladies." Yuya greeted, bowing to them. "*giggles* Quite the gentleman you are." Chisato replied.
"So, you're Seiji's brother-in-arms?" Takina questioned. "Yes. I have fought by his side many times." He replied. "Fighting each other, or fighting together?" She asked. "Both actually." He answered. "Both?" She and Chisato inquired.
"Yes. We fought together, on and off, for as long as I've known him." He told them. "On and off? How long have you known him for?" Chisato asked. "For about a year or so." Yuya answered. "Speaking of which, Seiji and I have some business to take care of. So if you two ladies can stand aside..." He says, trying to shoo them away.
"Sorry, Yuya. But I'm in a hurry right now. I don't have time to humor you." I told him. "Is that so?! Well that's good news." Yuya replied. "It is?" I asked, confused.
"See, you're in a hurry with your lady-friends here, and I don't plan on lettin' ya get through. Which means..." He implied.
"You catchin' my drift, eh Seiji-chan?" He alluded.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna have to fight you if I wanna get pass, don't I? At least it makes sense." I figured. "It does, doesn't it? However, your fighting skills right now are still shot to shit. So you better bring the heat if you don't wanna get hurt that badly from me!" Yuya challenged.
"Well, I guess we'll have to do this now then. Come at me!" I shrugged, readying myself for the fight. "Alright then! Let's do this!" He smiled. "Ladies, get ready to see the Dragon of Doijma's prodigy in action." He said to Takina and Chisato.
"Oh my God! Seiji, you're gonna fight him, right here, right now?! Are you insane?!" Chisato yelled at me. "I don't have a choice, guys! It's his idea!" I told them. "Don't worry, he's not gonna kill me. Not right here, at least."
"You better not, Yuya!" She warned him. "I won't. I promise you that, Chisato-chan~!" He winked at her. "Okay then, let's do it!" He began to charge towards me, with a huge grin on his face. I raised my fists up. "Come on, bro!" I yelled.
Background Music: Funk Goes On [The Original] (from Yakuza/Like A Dragon)
He charged towards me. I watched as his fist flew towards my face. I ducked under it and countered with a knee to his stomach. I grabbed his shirt and flipped him over my body and brought him down to the ground.
"Damn, bro! You're good!" He complimented me as he got back up. "Come on!" I taunted. "Alright, I'm comin'!" He smiled.
I began to punch him in the face over and over. He blocked most of my attacks, but I had enough speed and strength that I was able to cause some damage.
He groaned and grabbed his face. I go and charge for him, but by the corner of his eye, he sees me and quickly dodges away.
I try to catch him, but he easily dodges me. I try to grab his collar, but he moves out of my reach. "What the hell?" I uttered.
Suddenly, he grabs me from behind in a choke hold. I begin to struggle, but that doesn't do me any good. He starts to squeeze the life out of me.
I fight to get loose, but I don't know how.
To try and break free, I immediately crouch, forcing Yuya down with me, and then throw my weight forward, to make him flip over me.
That works... sort of.
He flips, but he's not on his back, and he keeps his grip on my neck. He's still got me on a hold and I can't get loose.
Now that I least had him in front of me, I go and hit him by the stomach with my knee. He loses his grip, and that gives me a window to break free. I do so, and I shove him away from me.
I get back into stance, ready for another attack. I throw a punch to his face, but he suddenly dodged out of the way, and then backhanded me to my head, knocking me to the ground.
I struggled to get up, but I was disoriented and he was much faster than me. He kicks me once, briefly lifting me up. Then he kicked me again, but with greater force this time as it sent me flying a few feet away from him.
"Seiji!" I heard Takina and Chisato call out to me. I shook my head, trying to clear it.
My ears were ringing, and I was dizzy, but I quickly recover.
As I get myself up, I immediately run towards Yuya, as I lunge myself at him, grabbing him and headbutting him as we both fell down to the ground.
"Seiji. That's it! Enough! He's tapping out!" I heard Chisato tell me. I get off of Yuya, standing back up, as he laid on the ground, exhausted.
I exhale heavily, catching my breath. 'That's that for now.' I thought to myself.
"Seiji!" I heard Takina's voice. "Takina." I respond. "Are you okay?" She approached me, concerned. "Yeah. Don't worry. I'm okay." I assured her.
"Are you sure? You were hit pretty hard." She said to me. "I'll be fine." I assured her again. "Are you sure, Seiji?" She asked, worried. "Yes, I'm sure, Takina. Trust me. I've been dealt worse hits than that." I said, squeezing my grip on her shoulder.
"Alright." She nodded, but she didn't seem to be entirely convinced.
"Yuya. You okay?" I heard Chisato talking to him. "I'm fine." He replied. "Can you get up? You need a hand?" She offered. "Sure, why not?" He accepted. He takes her hand, and she helps him up to his feet.
He brushes himself off. "Man, what a match. You're starting to pack a punch! You never cease to amaze me, Seiji-chan!" He praised me. "You're looking pretty relaxed for having just lost to me." I noted.
"Damn straight. I have so much fun fighting you, I can't help but feel good 'bout it. The more we fight, the more hyped I get! I could fight you forever!" He believed.
"Hmph, you sure about that?" I taunted. "But, I lose this time. We can pick this up later. For now, I just wanna hang out with you and catch up." said Yuya.
"Seriously?! After picking a fight out of the blue with Seiji-kun, you want to hang out with us?" Chisato questioned, flabbergasted. "Yes, seriously! Besides, now that Seiji's introduced me to you two, I wanna get to know you in particular, Chisato-chan." He flirted.
"Oh, I see. Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to, uh, hang out with you, Yuya-kun." said Chisato, lightly blushing. "Seiji, are you okay with him, coming along with us?" She asked me. "Yeah, it's alright. He's actually pretty cool when you get to know him. He can tag along with us." I replied.
"Hell yeah!" He cheered, pumping his fists. "Well, you did stay true to your word. I guess I'll give you a chance." said Chisato.
Background Music: FREE #15 (Piecez Remix) [from Shenmue]
We, now with Yuya tagging along, continued ahead towards the train station. When we got there and went aboard one heading for Akihabara, Yuya decided to take a separate seat for him and Chisato, leaving just me and Takina to sit next to each other.
While I overheard Yuya and Chisato talking to each other like they had all the time in the world to talk about anything, I had my tongue tied with how I was gonna make conversation with Takina.
"So Takina, how's your new position at the cafe doing for you?" I started. "It's quite a different environment compared to how it was for me back in the DA, but I suppose I'll get used to it." She shrugged. "I just hope I do enough good service to be enlisted back in." She hoped.
"Well, you're certainly good at your work. I saw how many customers you managed to get to talk to you when I was at the cafe with you and Chisato-san." I smiled. "Thanks." She blushed. We rode on for a bit in silence.
"Seiji." She then spoke to me. "Yes, Takina?" I respond. "Tell me something about yourself. Your past, or what you did before coming to Asakusa." "Well, I suppose I should have told you sooner, huh?" I told her.
"It's a long story, but I'll try and make it brief." I began, telling her everything up until this point.
"So, you ran away from home because you got sick of what you were doing. And on top of that, you had no clue on what you wanted to do in life?" She summarized. "Pretty much." I nodded. "How did you end up becoming a loner, I wonder?" She mused.
"Well, you could say I'm a loner at heart. I guess I just didn't realize it yet at the time." I answered. "Do you think you'll ever return home one day?" She asked. "I'd say, once I'm done with my mission of taking down JUSTIS, I might consider heading back home. Or, I'll probably stick around a bit longer with Kiryu-san." I believed.
"I see. By the way, who is this Kiryu?" She then asked. "Oh, uh... Right. It has been years since people have heard about him, so I should tell you who he is." I remembered.
"Kiryu is considered a legend among the general public. Those that are in the know, know him by his title, the Dragon of Dojima." I explained to her.
"Dragon of Dojima... Does he keep a low profile if only so many people know who he is?" Takina questioned. "Well, of course. If I never met him, I wouldn't be telling you any of this in the first place." I answered.
"Seiji, tell me what it is about him that he's held in such a high regard." She requested. "I don't really know how to perfectly describe him. But to me, Kiryu is everything I want to become. He is strong, honorable, selfless, loyal, but also in touch with his emotions, and with enough maturity to go through the hardships of life with his head up." I expressed. "Is that so?" She took note.
"I'd love to have you meet him one day. It's because of his wisdom, that I am what I am now." I said. "In other words, he's like a father figure to you, right?" Takina predicted. "Yeah, I suppose you could put it like that." I answered.
We rode on the train for the rest of the day, until it arrived to Akihabara. Takina, Yuya, Chisato and I got off and walked around for awhile, until we finally found a shop that sold retro video games and similar goods.
I had a lot to choose from, but at first glance, I had my eyes set on the SEGA aisle. From there, it was more sight seeing, with more options, from Mega Drive, to 32x, to Dreamcast, but I decided to delve for Saturn.
I ended up walking out with a Saturn in toe, along with a couple of games: Virtua Fighter, Fighting Vipers, Dynamite Deka, Clockwork Knight, Daytona USA and Virtua Cop among many others.
I would carry everything I bought there, even though Takina, Chisato and Yuya came with me.
Chisato thought that even though I got my stuff, she suggested we keep walking around, go eat, play at an arcade and such. Yuya and I agreed, while Takina simply nodded in response.
We stopped for a little bit to grab some lunch, and then we went to an arcade, where I played some games with/or against Yuya, Chisato, and Takina.
Yuya would wreck my ass in Virtua Fighter, even though I personally believe I had a deeper understanding of the mechanics than he did.
I'd beat Chisato a few times in Daytona. However, Takina really took me aback when we played all the way through Virtua Cop. I already gotten the gist of the game mechanics and such, and with Takina being a Lycoris agent, she already knew how to aim and shoot and the like.
What surprised me though was how high her score was compared to mines. She was able to max out her multiplier to 9x, and after that, she was able to get in a Justice Shot every single time from then on. She was that good.
Takina's high score had reached the maximum of 9,999,999, which was pretty much a perfect score.
"Damn, Takina. I know you know how to use a gun, but I never thought it would translate so well into how you play." I complimented her. "Thanks." She replied. "You're not too bad yourself. Your score isn't too far behind mine." She complimented, glancing to my score which was 8,931,800.
"Really? I couldn't imagine myself being a better shot than you." I said, flattered by her statement.
"Ah, come on, Seiji-chan! Don't knock yourself down a peg. I mean, you and Takina blazed through the whole game without losing any of your lives." Yuya said to me, patting my back.
"Yeah, Seiji. I'm with Yuya on this one. You and Takina played really good. Hell, I couldn't play that good if I tried." Chisato added.
"Alright, alright. Thanks, guys. It makes me happy to hear you two say that." I smiled.
Eventually, we all took the train back to Asakusa, and as Takina, Chisato and I were planning to head back to the cafe, Yuya would decide to split off from us.
"Welp, now that we're back in Asakusa, it's time I head off on my own." He declared. "Yuya, don't you wanna come with us to where we're going?" Chisato offered. "I'd love to, Chisato-chan. But right now, I've got somewhere to be. Might be a job or something." He declined.
"Oh, okay then. Well, it was nice meeting you! Hope we meet each other again soon!" Chisato waved goodbye. "Sure! Alright. See you around, Chisato-chan! Seiji-chan! Takina-chan!" He waved as he walked away from the three of us.
"Bye, Yuya!" "Later, kyoudai." Chisato and I said our goodbyes. "Okay then, ladies. Let's head back to the cafe." I said, leading the way while carrying my bags of purchased video games and SEGA Saturn in hand.
Yuya's POV
As I was walking on my own, after saying goodbye to Seiji and the girls, I soon got a call on my phone.
I pull it out, only to see that the number was hidden. "Huh? A private number?" I muttered. I decide to answer the call.
"Hello?" I greeted. "Yes, is this Yuya Dojima?" The caller asked.
"Indeed it is. And who's calling?" I ask back. "Call me Florist." He told me.
"Florist? Why does your name sound familiar? You connected to the Florist of Sai by any chance?" I questioned.
"Indeed, but let's not get into any further details about that. Right now, I need you to do a job for me." He said.
"What do you want?" I inquired. "I need your help to go into hiding. I'm about to be tracked down by another hacker who goes by Robota. He went on a cyber-attack against a fellow hacker of mine who goes by Walnut. So, I had to give him a piece of my mind." He explained.
"I see. Well, I'll consider helping you, but how am I gonna pull this off? I can't exactly do this on my own." I inquired.
"Are you connected to someone by the name of Goro Majima?" He then asked me.
"How do you know about Majima-san?" I demanded.
"I believed he's requested services from The Florist of Sai a few times back then." He answered.
"So, through the Florist of Sai, you know about Majima as well?" I questioned. "That's right." He replied.
"Alright, I'll get in touch with him as soon as I can." I answered. "When?" He asked.
"Well, when exactly do you want me to do it?" I questioned. "Tomorrow." He told me. "Alright, I'll get back to you on that then." I said.
"Good, I'll be seeing you." He acknowledged, soon hanging up.
"Well, I sure called it. I knew I was gonna find myself caught up in a job of some kind. I'll have to remind myself to call the boss first thing in the morning." I said to myself as I walked on, wandering around the streets of Asakusa.
Seiji's POV
The girls and I returned to the cafe, where I got back up to my room, placed my games on the empty desk next to the TV.
I then unboxed my SEGA Saturn, hooked it up, and I felt like a kid again after booting it up.
I played on it the whole time, for the rest of the day, until nightfall.
The next morning, I would wake up around 10:30. I got dressed and walked down the stairs to just find Mika and Kido-aniki hanging around the counter.
"Good morning, Mika-san. Aniki." I greeted them. "Good morning, Seiji." They replied. "Hey, where's Takina?" I asked. "She's out on a job with Chisato right now, they won't be back until nighttime, I presume." Mika told me.
"I see. What about Mizuki? Where is she?" I then asked. "She's currently out as well." He then answered. "Is that so?" I acknowledged. "Seiji, why don't you and Takeshi go out for awhile? I'm going to be closing up the shop just for today." Mika suggested.
"Go to the arcade, go to a movie, you two can do whatever you want to do today." He added. "Really? How come, Mika?" Kido asked. "I've got some important business myself to take care of, so I have to head out, and close the cafe for today." He told us.
"Alright then. Come on, Seiji. Let's head out." Kido said, as he opened the door. "Okay. We'll see you later, Mika-san." I waved him goodbye. "See you both later." He waved back. We then left the cafe, and headed out into the city.
"Everyone in the cafe seems to be pretty busy today, aniki. Regarding Takina and Chisato, it's no surprise for me, personally. But I wonder what Mizuki would be up to..." I wondered. "Yeah. I'm wondering the same thing." Kido agreed.
We continued walking down the road, and eventually reached a burger joint. We decided to settle down for a brief moment, and dined in for lunch.
Afterwards, we continued to walk around. I made conversation with Kido-san about his past. He went into a little bit more about that turf dispute he was involved in from over ten years ago.
"The money was right there in front of me. In that moment, I remember the advice that Saejima gave to me. 'You only get one shot in this line of work.' And so, I went for it. I stole all the 100 billion yen that Akiyama had. Then came the twists and turns, and well... The rest is history." Kido reminisced.
"I still can't believe you did that, aniki." I expressed. "That was some serious ass shit you did back then."
"Yeah. I know. I took my shot, and paid the price for it, in more ways than one." He said.
We kept on walking, before we heard some voices calling out from behind us. "Hey, it's them! The bastards that roughed up our guys last week!" A male voice spoke out.
We turned around to find a group of guys that were looking to cause trouble. "Aniki! We got JUSTIS company." I warned him. "Damn, these guys again." Kido cursed. "What do we do, aniki?" I looked around.
The group of three were looking at us, with a couple more standing nearby at a corner shop. "Wait a second, Seiji! I just realized something. This is our chance!" Kido exclaimed.
"What is?" I inquired. "If we take these guys out, we'll have a chance to get some info out of them. Find out who their boss is! That sort of stuff!" Kido believed.
"Of course...! We beat 'em up. Interrogate them. And then we can plan out what we can do against JUSTIS in the future! Okay, let's do it!" I agreed.
"Hey, JUSTIS! If you wanna die, then step up! Come get some!" I taunted, challenging the goons.
Background Music: Mitsuharu Fukuyama - Isolated Fight (from Yakuza/Like A Dragon 5)
They began to charge towards Kido and I, as we had our fists up, ready to take them all on.
Kido started to throw fists left and right. I dove in and began swinging.
A couple of punches landed, and I heard one of the goons yell out in pain.
Then another, as a third one took a shot of pain as well.
Two more came in to swing fists, but I dodge out of the way, and I struck one in the jaw.
I then blocked a couple of other punches, and I was able to land a straight right that sent one of them to the ground.
A couple more came in, swinging. I blocked a couple of kicks as well.
Things were getting a little out of hand.
As I look around, I saw a couple traffic cones sitting around.
I go and grab one of them, and started swinging it at the bad guys.
Kido was able to take out two more with his fists and legs.
"Aniki! Catch!" I called out to him, as I threw the traffic cone over to him.
He catches it, and swung it down on one's head with a sickening crunch.
The goon fell to the ground unconscious.
"*panting* I think that's all of them." Kido said.
We paused momentarily, catching our breaths. I turned to look all around us. Most of them were either writhing in pain, or were knocked out cold.
"You." Kido pointed randomly at one of the downed thugs. He walked over, crouched down and grabbed him by the collar. "What the hell do you want?" The thug spat out.
"Look, my partner and I already know why your group are here in Asakusa. The only thing we want to know now is who's running this gang." Kido demanded. The thug groaned, before spitting out some blood. "Come on, spit it out! Who's your boss?!" He demanded again.
"FUCK you! I'll never tell you!" The thug cursed. Kido raised his fist back, before slamming it into the man's face with a sickening crack. "Tell us your boss' name! Now!" He threatened the guy.
The man began to weep, and began to tell him. "Sosuke. His name is Sosuke." He spoke. "And his last name?" Kido inquired. "Ugh... Iwami. Sosuke Iwami." The man confessed before fainting.
"Iwami?" I gasp in shock. Before I could even process the information, I heard more footsteps coming towards us.
"Get them!" I heard a hostile voice. I quickly turn to look behind as more JUSTIS members were coming for me and Kido. "Shit! Not again!" I cursed. "You're not going anywhere, fuckheads!" They threatened us.
There was no way Kido and I could continue to fight these guys, but how are the hell were we gonna get out of this one?
Suddenly, as if luck was on our side again, we heard a truck horn blaring in the distance. The JUSTIS goons ran out of the way in panic, as to not get run over, while the truck barreled past and then slid into a stop.
Then the door opened, and my jaw dropped as I could not believe who the driver was.
"SEIJI-CHAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Yuya screamed. "Oh my god...! Yuya...! I-I-I'm over here! And so is Kido!" I shouted back.
"Oh, thank fuck! I thought I ran you over. GET IN HERE, BRO!" He shouted. "Aniki! Let's go!" I called out to Kido. "Right!" He acknowledged.
We both got in the truck, as Kido closed the door behind him. "Alright! HANG ON!" Yuya shouts as he began to speed off, away from the JUSTIS members, whom were attempting to chase after us, but to no avail.
"Good god. How many times are we gonna have these close calls?" I wheezed.
"Thanks, Yuya." I said to him. "Anytime, bro. Ha, ha, ha... And THAT'S how you get out of a tight situation!" He laughed. "Yeah...! No kidding!" I said in agreement.
I then noticed that there was an extra passenger that was riding along with us. "Uh, Yuya?" I spoke up. "Yeah?" He responded. "Who's this with us?" I asked.
"Ah, right. I should introduce you to him. Seiji-chan, Kido-san, meet the Florist of Asakusa." said Yuya.
Looking at him, the costume he was wearing looked very familiar. Then I realized what he was wearing.
"Wait a second. Why are you dressed up like Ono Michio?" I asked him.
"I'm on the run from someone. So I've gotta hide myself in this outfit. It's the only way I'll survive." He explained.
"Someone's got a hit on you?" Kido asked. "Yeah, Robota. He's a hacker who's out to get me, and a fellow hacker of mine who goes by the name Walnut." The Florist told us.
"Florist. This Robota kid... Why is he after you?" Kido asked him.
"*sighs* He just had to go after Walnut. So I retaliated him, by hacking his setup, and I also breached some of his accounts as well." The Florist said.
"And he isn't gonna take this sitting down until you and Walnut are out of the picture, is he?" I questioned. "No, he's not. I'm probably going to die either way, but as long as Walnut is safe, then I'm willing to take the fall." He told us.
We kept on driving along the road, but I had the suspicion that we were being watched. I glinted towards the side mirrors, and I saw a drone flying beside us. 'He's on our ass. We gotta take him out so he won't be able to track us temporarily.' I thought to myself.
"Yuya, I don't suppose you have any firearms lying around in this truck, do you?" I ask him. "I sure do." He responds. I look around, and under the seat, lies an attache case. I open the case up, and find a pistol inside.
'He's got to also be listening in on us, so I better let Yuya and Kido-aniki know what's up.' I thought. "Hey, Yuya." I spoke up. "What is it, Seiji-chan?" He responds, looking towards me for a brief moment.
I give him a non-verbal message, signaling him that Robota's following us. He looks towards the side mirrors, and sees his drone flying besides the truck. I then turn to Kido. "Aniki." I called. "Yeah?" He replies.
"Take this gun and open the window. Let's get some fresh air, yeah?" I told him. "Alright, sure." He responds, taking the gun. I can see Yuya's eyes getting tense, as he looks towards the side mirrors.
He's gotta know that Robota is still in pursuit of us, even if the drone can't see him. In the short window of time we had, everything was set in motion.
Kido opens the window to his side. Then, Yuya immediately slams on the brakes, and slides the truck to the left, giving Kido the opportunity to aim at the drone. "Now!" I ordered, as he fires at it.
The drone gets shot down immediately, and it falls to the ground, trailing smoke. "Whew. Alright, that takes care of him for now." Yuya sighed in relief.
"Yeah. That'll buy the Florist some time. Come on, let's keep going." I told Yuya, as he drove onward. "I wonder if that guy has any weapons on him...? I wouldn't be surprised if he does." I wondered.
A/N: Hey! I wish I could let this chapter go on for longer, but I actually have to cut this short for now. This chapter's actually pretty long, so the second half will come around soon.
I'm mostly posting this now, just to make up for lost time.
Hopefully you guys enjoyed reading this half of this second chapter/episode, and I hope you come back soon for the next half.
Also, as I requested in the first chapter, I would be more than grateful if you guys had any ideas for substory-type of filler scenarios, just so you wouldn't have to wait for the next main chapter. Let me know down in the comments!
But that's it for now. Until then, I'll see you all in the next one!