Chapter Text
In the streets of HoloSantos, violence took precedence over the law. No matter where you go, a gang would always have their hands on it, from a coordinated group spanning over blocks of the city to a group of stragglers claiming a small street to themselves. Naturally, tension always ran high between gangs that bordered each other's turf, cautious over when the other would strike them.
On this day, another fight was about to unfold between two gangs, a sight that everyone had long since grown accustomed to.
"Today's the day you go down, you Otomo punks!"
"You Grems should've stayed put in your corner! Step off before I stuff you back to your sorry-ass shoebox!"
"What's wrong with a shoebox, you bastard?! You picking a fight with me?"
Two groups of gangsters faced off against each other, yelling obscenities at each other. Despite the rising tension and strong words between them, none of them had thrown their fists against each other. The moment someone struck the other, all hell would break loose, and a fight would truly start. The right to declare a fight was reserved for their leaders, who finally decided to resolve this conflict once and for all.
"The boss is here! Make way!"
"Move aside for the leader!"
The group of thugs shouted loudly as they began to split into two, making a path for their leaders to go through. On the side of the Grems, Gigi Murin, a girl with light and dark brown hair tied, passed them. She sported a black and orange jacket with an orange X symbol on the back, while a toothy, confident smile was plastered on her face. Although her group was an up-and-coming startup, words had spread that anyone who crossed her had suffered under her whims, never to be seen again. The brass knuckles on her fists were qualified as a dental instrument if you solely count the amount of teeth she had taken out with it. Following her orders, the Grems turned into a chaotic force to be reckoned with.
On the Otomo's side, Cecilia Immergreen, a girl with pale green hair and a clockwork key-shaped bow on her head, walked through. She wore a black and green jacket with the image of a clockwork key on the back, her expression nearly devoid of emotion. As a fresh new face on the block, she had worked tirelessly and efficiently to take advantage of any openings her opposition showed without any mercy. The lead pipe in her hand had paved numerous paths, ones that led Cecilia to her success and ones that led her foes to their downfall. Under her ruthless rule, the Otomos worked like clockwork to control everything within her turf.
At this moment, both leaders finally met each other for the first time. The tension in the air grew thick, ready to set off with a single spark.
With a glare, Cecilia walked up to Gigi and threatened her, "Looks like a kid found her way into an adult's workplace. You lost, homie?"
"Yeah, that's right!"
"That's our leader right there! Roast her ass!"
"Boooo! Shut up already!"
The Otomos excitedly yelled while the Grems jeered. After a brief moment, the chaos began to settle. Everyone quietly waited for Gigi to respond against Cecilia's provocation.
With the same confident smile adorning her face, Gigi let out a chuckle before replying, "Look at little missy here acting like an adult. You best get outta my sight before I got lost in your eyes, fool!"
"Ye...ah?"
"...Huh?"
The Grems' preemptive cheers immediately went out before it could start. Even the Otomos were struck into silence. The excitement around the thugs cooled down in an instant, replaced by confusion. Despite the threatening words Gigi spat out, something seemed off about it.
'The boss was dissing her, but her choice of words...'
'Why did it sound like a pick-up line...?'
Both sides of the group quietly monitored their leaders' expressions. Although Gigi had spoken that ridiculous line, both their expressions remained serious as if they really were in the midst of threatening each other.
'I guess it's just our imagination?'
'Right, it must've been nothing.'
Seeing the tension between them, both groups calmly decided that they must've overcomplicated the meaning behind their exchange. With their misunderstanding resolved, they continued to watch over their leaders.
Cecilia sighed to herself before responding, "I expected no less than such bullshit from a leader of a ragtag bunch like you. Better keep your mouth shut before I shut it up for you."
'H-Huh? Her as well?'
'Et tu, leader?!'
Their barely recovered minds were quickly shattered into pieces once again after hearing Cecilia's retort. Within this confusion, the gaze between opposing gang members met each other, unsure of what was going on. Without any other options to converse with each other, they began sending signals through their eyes at a level that bordered on telepathy.
'Hey, what's wrong with your leader, damn it?'
'You tell me! Your boss ain't much better herself!'
'Are they seriously flirting right now? No way, right?'
'I can't tell... Shit, this is driving me crazy!'
'...But aren't they kind of cute together like that?'
'Whoever just said that, show yourself, coward!'
Every single one of them wished to know what was going on, but they instinctively knew that asking their leader something as stupid as, "Are you flirting right now?" would earn them a beating.
Unaware of their thoughts, Gigi stepped forward, drawing even closer to Cecilia. They had stood close enough to feel each other's breath on their skin. "Yeah? Then shut me up! Do it if you can!" Gigi snapped with a scowl.
'WOOAAAHHH!!!'
'B-Boss?! Isn't this too soon? Is it alright for you to be this forward on the first meeting?'
'Are they gonna kiss?! Just go for it, damn it!'
'Whoever just said that, I kinda agree!'
Somehow, the tension had risen once again, albeit in a different direction. The gang members' reactions had done a 180 before they realized it as they waited with bated breaths.
Both leaders continued to stare down against each other. After a short moment of silence, Cecilia finally clicked her tongue and turned away. "...Enough. I don't feel like fighting anymore today, especially with a brat like you."
"Whatever. My mood is ruined after dealing with a stuck-up girl like you anyway," Gigi added on before turning away as well. No matter how anyone looked at it, the atmosphere between them had finally soured, with none of them wanting anything to do with the other.
'N-No! If this continues...'
'...they won't meet each other again!'
'Are they just acting indifferent because they wanna keep up their image around us?'
'We can't just let their feelings turn into nothing!'
Both Otomos and Grems immediately panicked while trying to figure out a solution. Now fully convinced of their leaders' feelings for each other, they nodded at each other and agreed to work with each other for their shared goal.
One of the Grems yelled, "Boss, are you just gonna let that girl walk all over you like that?"
The Otomos followed to rile up Cecilia as well, "You can't just let her disrespect you like that, leader!"
Both leaders immediately stopped in place. Everyone could see from their reaction that they still harbored some unresolved feelings for each other. Seeing their plan working, the gang members continued to rile up their leaders.
"Our leader's not the kind of person that would back down like this!"
"C'mon, boss! We can't let them leave just like that!"
"They'll think you're a wuss if you let them go, leader!"
"There's no way our boss is a wimp that would run away from a fight!"
Carried away by the vibe, the intensity of their words began to increase until...
""SHUT UP ALREADY!!""
Bam! Bam!
The Otomo and Grem who got a bit carried away ended up being pummeled halfway dead by their leaders for their slander. Their peers could only offer their condolences quietly as they dragged their bodies aside.
'Thank you for your sacrifice...'
'Carefully, he's a hero.'
After settling their misbehaving underlings, Cecilia and Gigi finally stood in front of each other once more. Their faces looked a bit flushed from the gang members' antics, but they remained as calm as they could.
Cecilia clicked her tongue against Gigi. "Tsk, I guess they got a point. Can't just let a dork like you walk around like you own this place, you know?"
The corners of Gigi's mouth rose into a smirk. "Took the words right out of my mouth. I'm feeling pretty nice, so I'll make sure to not bruise your pretty face."
"Hah! Let's see that confidence once I beat you to a pulp!" Cecilia remarked before turning to the Otomos. "You better not touch her. It's just gonna be me and her."
Gigi also turned toward the Grems at the same time. "I'll beat up anyone that interferes. She's all mine!"
However, their warnings fell into deaf ears. None of them had any intentions to step in. Instead, a satisfied expression filled the faces of the Otomos and Grems around their leaders.
'She sure is all yours, boss.'
'Ah, youth... Love truly is in the air...'
Seeing their unnervingly blissful smiles, Cecilia and Gigi felt weirded out by them. They took a step back before asking, "Hey, what the hell are you guys up to?"
An Otomo shook their head, "No, there's nothing going on at all, leader."
A Grem also added, "Both of you just enjoy your time together, okay?"
Bewildered by their answers, Cecilia snapped back, "W-What? We're just gonna fight! Why are you all making this weird?"
Gigi followed along, "Yeah! Stop smiling like that already, you weirdos!"
However, every Otomo and Grem simply endured their harsh words with a smile, for they were all thinking of the same thing.
'Don't worry about us. Just get together already!'