Archive of Our Own ^beta

Ichiban sighed as he bounded up the stairs, the whole party downing as many drinks as they could. He'd have to buy more Staminans after this, he thought with a huff. At least Saeko was unharmed, but jeez, he wouldn't even defend himself against her…?

They came to a long hallway, leading to another flight of stairs, and he heard a loud groan from Zhao. "Come on, there better not be some other musclehead we have to go up against…"

Ichiban listened for any sign of life, relieved when he heard none, and resumed walking. A sharp exhale from across the way, however, made him stop in his tracks.

"Tsk, you got past my dad, huh?" a voice called out, the acoustics in the room carrying it well. A woman? Here? "Ah, well, I can't say I'm surprised. Knowing him, he probably held back."

Footsteps echoed from the stairs, and Ichiban resisted the urge to rub his eyes to make sure he was seeing things right. A young suited woman, with short hair and an undercut, rocking an eyepatch and a gold chain. Her voice, high and feminine, certainly didn't fit her image. His eyes drifted to the object in her hands behind her--a long, pole-like object. A sheath. This was going to end in a fight, he resigned to himself.

"And who the hell are you?" Ichiban asked, brow cocked. He knew he'd been gone for a while, but a female yakuza…? Huh. He wasn't sure if he should praise the progressiveness of it or wonder who the hell made that call. If she noticed the uncertainty on his face, though, she made no mention of it, and simply smiled as she kept walking towards the party.

“Kiryu Haruka. Ah, although, I suppose you might know me as Sawamura Haruka...didn’t get the name change until I was in junior high, you know? Dad said I didn’t have to change it, but it felt weird not to. Between you and me, though, I think he just didn’t want his family name associated with yakuza business again.” She laughed, and it sounded more like a high school girl giggling over something cute. This was...odd, to say the very fucking least. As she got closer, Ichiban could make out blistered scarring along her neck and face, creeping up under her eyepatch. Guess that answered that question.

The woman--Haruka--clicked her tongue again and shook her head. “Rude to stare, you know. But I guess I can’t blame you.”

Ichiban looked to Adachi with a look in his eye that basically pleaded for help.

Adachi squinted at Haruka before his eyes widened, brows shooting up. “Wait, you mean...that Sawamura Haruka? The ten billion yen girl?”

Haruka stopped walking and grinned, bowing. “The one and only. Honestly, getting away from that name was another perk to the name change, though. I’m more of a ten billion yen woman now, wouldn’t you say?”

Ichiban was speechless. Not only was this woman somehow a yakuza, but she was...very strange. She reminded him of the snakeskin guy they’d fought before. Like she was trying to emulate him or something. He was pretty sure that that guy wasn’t exactly a stellar role model, though.

“Well, whatever. You met my boss, right? Majima-oyaji?”

Ah. Well. This girl is a bundle of answers, isn’t she. Ichiban made a mental note to ask Majima what his thought process was there if they ever met again.

He sighs and tosses back another Staminan stashed in his pocket. “Listen, Haruka-chan--”

Fwish!

Before he could process her movements, she’d unsheathed her sword and thrown it, flying by his ear and landing deep in the wall. Seconds later, warmth flowed from the tip of his ear. He looked back at the katana, then balked at Haruka.

“Kiryu. Nobody calls me Haruka-chan,” she seethed, voice dipping low. “Especially not someone who could only beat my dad because he was holding back.”

Duly fucking noted.

“Tch...boss wanted me to leave you guys alone, but I don’t like ignoring guys who don’t take me seriously. Hope you’re not too scared to hit a girl?”

Finally, Adachi voiced his protests. “Not if they’re giving as good as they’re getting, but aren’t you way too young for this line of work? Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a female yakuza…”

Ichiban shushed him, but Haruka stepped even closer and shrugged past Ichiban before she was face to face with Adachi. Predictably, he didn’t falter, which made the sudden slug to his jaw even more surprising.

“Are you going to keep talking, mister, or can I toss my shirt and get started on burying you guys in the floorboards?”

Ichiban barely registered Nanba’s choked noise. Made perfect sense to him, after all, given how her father had tossed his shirt and jacket aside. She probably got it from him. Not like he’d be distracted anyhow. Tits were just tits. He turns to face her and rolls his shoulders.

“Ready whenever you are, Kiryu.”

Haruka smirked and grabbed her shirt collar, dramatically tossing the shirt and vest aside to reveal her ink. An elegant geisha on her back, almost dancing as she flexed her muscles. Swirling clouds billowed over her shoulders onto the tops of her breasts, and a dragon curled around her left bicep. Sakura petals scattered along the entire piece, and Ichiban’s gaze was drawn to the uninked skin of her right bicep, right over a mechanical arm. Wow, technology really has advanced.

Nanba and Adachi averted their gaze, and Saeko seemed somewhat embarrassed.

Haruka barked out a laugh. “Jeez, you’d think you’ve never seen tits before. Fine! That’ll make it more fun.”

Ichiban grinned and tore his own shirt and jacket off, and Haruka immediately eyed the scars on his chest.

“This’ll be good. Let’s go!

Ichiban could tell who had taught her to fight, and it certainly wasn’t her father. She’d managed to wrench her katana out of the wall at one point, and he’d nearly had more cuts on his chest had he not dodged in time.

Nanba put his hands on his knees and breathed heavily. “That’ll show me…”

Haruka grinned from where she kneeled on the floor, good arm to her stomach. “You all sure do pack a punch. Fine. I’ll let you pass. Just keep this little skirmish between us, yeah? Don’t feel like explaining to my boss that I went against his orders.” She stood and folded her arms. “I had fun, though.”

“You kept me on my toes, that’s for sure,” Ichiban said. He held out a hand--an olive branch.

She shook it with her mechanical hand, smirking once more.

As they passed her, she laughed quietly and called out one last time.

“See you around, Kasuga-chan.”