Work Text:
Tokyo 2040 AD
“Someone help me! Somebody, please!” a woman’s voice called out high pitched from an alley way. A man crouched over her terrified figure, a cigarette hanging lazily from his lips.
“Hey let me get a shot at her too,” said the man next to him, the malicious intent from the both of the men clear.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder.
Whack!
Mina landed a flurry of solid kicks on the man’s head and down he went. His friend ran off. She crouched down next to the woman.
“Are you alright?” She asked quietly.
The woman nodded. Mina sighed. Like usual nobody had stopped to help the poor woman. A scene that was unfortunately not uncommon in Tokyo in this day and age. After all her parents had raised her as a boy for good reason seeing as she was the smallest of her siblings and came across as an easy target, just like this poor woman.
But that was only the start of a bad day.
“We have nowhere to go,” said Jeongyeon, “if we get kicked out of here,” finished Dahyun.
“That’s not my problem.” said their now ex landlord, “We can’t keep people who don’t pay! Hurry and leave soon.”
The door slammed shut in their faces. The four girls stood stunned.
“You hag!” Chaeyoung shouted at the closed door.
Things had changed so much since their parents died. It was just the four of them. And with Jeongyeon and Mina in college, thankfully on full ride scholarships, and Chaeyoung and Dahyun in high school they were ill equipped to support themselves. So there was nowhere to go after getting kicked out of their apartment.
They wandered the streets for a while, bringing with them the few belongings they had packed up.
“Do you think a rich person would take us in? Or maybe we have to become members of a gang” Chaeyoung mused.
Jeongyeon slapped her upside the head.
“You idiot!” said Jeongyeon. “Are you gonna sell our souls to our parent’s enemies?”
Everyone knew that their parents, former cops, had died by getting caught up in the middle of the yakuza and their gang rivalries. But things were desperate and Mina knew that their options were extremely limited.
She stood up, “Alright, I’ve decided. I’ll join the yakuza.”
All her siblings looked at her like she had grown another head. “HUH?”
Across the City in the Yakuza house named Group of Nine Dragons
Momo sat very still at the head of the table as the voices of her counselors washed over her.
“Since the assassination of the former head, we have been keeping an eye on all the syndicates but he had so many bodyguards this couldn’t have been done by an amateur. Could it have been the Hizakigumi’s? They’ve been after the number one position in this area for so long.”
The men in the room kept talking but Momo was finished, she slammed a hand down on the table.
“So you haven’t found anything yet,” her voice was low and dangerous, “What exactly have you been doing up until now?”
“Sandaime,” her assistant, Bangchan, used the respectful term for the third generation leader of the yakuza group, “there’s a friend waiting for you in the guest room.”
“A friend?” she said in disbelief. She didn’t have many of those and when she saw who was waiting in the room for her she immediately turned to Bangchan. “Send him home.”
“Aw,” Mina pouted, “Don’t be so mean and listen to me first, after all we’ve been friends since elementary school.”
Momo’s brow furrowed. “Tell me Mino, can you consider someone a friend when you’ve spent so many years sitting next to each other in classes but never actually spoken?”
Mina smirked, “Well it’s not my fault you’re so gloomy all the time.”
“I’m not helping a cop’s kid,” the yakuza leader said bluntly.
There was an awkward moment of silence.
“Well,” Mina paused, “I’m not a cop’s kid anymore… they died and all they left me was this ring.” She held it out for Momo to inspect. She explained how her parents had been off duty and how they had gone to the place where Momo’s father was killed because they were following suspects.
Momo interrupted her, her tone urgent “Did you hear about him? The culprit?”
Mina took in the sight of her urgent body language and leaned in speaking quietly “Well… I could tell you about it but,” she paused for dramatic effect, “I’m so hungry.”
It was surprising how much food the four siblings could pack away Momo thought begrudgingly, as she watched them eat the feast she’d had laid out for them. But there were much more pressing matters.
“So about my father…” she started to say. Suddenly the four siblings were filing out in a row and Mino waved.
“Let’s talk tomorrow, have a meal ready then.”
Momo wasn’t letting him get away that easily. She and Bangchan made quick work of rounding up the siblings who were slow after all the feast. They were lashed to a wall in no time. Mino was tied up separately glaring at Momo.
“If you all want to leave intact then tell me who killed my father!” Momo threatened.
Mina looked up guiltily, even more silent than usual.
“Looking up like that… that’s the habit you’ve had when you lie since you were in elementary school!” Momo said.
The three siblings looked on in shock. For two people who supposedly didn’t get along, that was unexpected for Momo to know.
Momo felt a pit open up in her stomach, “ Don’t tell me you don’t know…”
“Um N-no! I mean I saw a picture, that’s right a picture!” Mina fumbled trying to get her words out.
“Okay, make a montage then,” Momo challenged.
Mina’s three siblings sighed, it was so over for them.
“Um like this?” Mina said, showing off a drawing.
“That’s the face of my driver who was dismissed five years ago!”
“I mean something like this,”
“That’s my left hand man who was dismissed last year!”
“No more like this…”
“That’s the girl I broke up with just yesterday!” Momo said irate.
The Yoo siblings watched on in shock, these two really knew each other better than anyone would have expected for a cop’s kid and a yakuza’s kid.
“Are you mocking me?” Momo asked accusingly.
Mina shook her head rapidly.
Momo gestured at the siblings dramatically, “Cut off their heads!”
“No, no wait! I’ll recognize him if I see him!” Mina finally shouted in desperation. “Please, I'm telling you the truth.”
Momo gave her a searching look then turned away, “Fine then from tomorrow you’re to be my bodyguard.”
“Sandaime,” said Bangchan, “a mere kid from the streets?”
“Shut up!” Momo shouted, “I know his skills!!”
Mina looked on in shock, after all she did have great fighting skills taught to her by parents that had wanted her to be able to keep herself safe. But she hadn’t known that Momo knew that too. Today was just full of surprises.
“Your sisters will be held here as hostages until the killer is found, got it?”
Mina nodded quietly.
As they walked away, Bangchan asked, “Have you been moved by your emotions? I mean when someone is that desperate even you Sandaime must feel moved.”
“It’s not that,” Momo clarified, “It’s just a deal…”
But if she were honest with herself, that wasn’t entirely true. Whenever she saw Mino she did things that were not like her.
“...Bodyguard? You’re gonna let an amateur street kid act as this Sandaime’s bodyguard? She’s being careless, isn’t she worried about her life?” Asked the stranger, a tall man with a bandaid across his cheek, lighting a cigarette.
“This way,” said Bangchan to Mina and they moved down a hallway.
“What’s that guy’s problem?” Mina asked annoyed.
“Hey stop that! He’s the leader of a head clan in hire, an important man named Lee Minho.”
Mina grimaced, no matter his position she was not impressed by his attitude
Bangchan led her to a room, “Use this room for today.”
Mina entered and Bangchan left her to her thoughts. And immediately Mina began to worry, after all she didn’t actually know the killer of Momo’s father but she knew there was a chance he would come after Momo too. So maybe if she just waited she could protect Momo and catch him at the same time. She didn’t really relish the thought of helping the yakuza but she would do just about anything for her family. Mom please watch over me. She thought to herself.
The next day at school was interesting. They pulled up in Momo’s fancy black luxury car. And as soon as they walked out Mina could hear the whispers of people on campus.
“What are those two doing together, aren’t they like complete opposites, something must be up, how weird.”
Mina followed Momo to the pool on their campus and declined to swim with her. Afterall, Momo had no idea that Mina was actually a girl, and thought she was a boy just like everyone else.
Momo regarded her suspiciously but let the matter drop without comment. As Momo swam, Mina saw a glint in the distance coming from one of the buildings and before she could think she was sprinting and tackling Momo to the ground.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Momo asked, annoyed.
“I just saved you,” said Mina in a small voice, “There was something that flashed over there.”
Momo looked critically in the direction Mina was pointing. Nothing was there. She poked at Mina relentlessly, annoyed that she had been playing around. Mina scrambled trying to get away until she fell in the pool.
After that Momo was done with the pool so they went to their respective locker rooms. Mina glanced around the men’s locker room, luckily the cost was clear so she could take a quick shower and change before they left. She stripped and turned on one of the showers.
Despite wearing a binder her boobs had started to grow a bit again. She sighed remembering how her mom used to tell her about all the dead women she saw at crime scenes. And on top of that her own older sisters had been harassed even though they had also learned to fight here and there. Her mother used to say “Mina you’re going to grow up to be strong, don’t lose to boys.”
Suddenly Mina heard the sound of a door creaking open and the voices of men. She heard murmurs of alarm and footsteps coming towards her stall. She covered her boobs with an arm and prepared herself to knockout whoever it was. But when the door opened it was to Momo, who dodged Mina’s punch without a second thought.
“You haven’t fully given up your femininity have you?” She said in a low voice, “You can’t take down a man down covering your body like that.” She tossed Mina’s clothes at her.
Mina started to pull on her clothes quickly before sharply turning her head towards Momo. Wait a minute, how did she know that Mina was a girl? Also why was she in the men’s locker room? She started to edge away. After all, Momo was known to be a bit of a womanizer and had been out as a lesbian since they were in high school.
Momo glanced back at her, “What are you being so cautious about? I don’t know what you’re thinking but don’t worry, even if there were a shortage of girls in this world I’m not desperate enough to lay a finger on someone like you.”
That’s when it hit Mina, “Oh yeah you only go after the girls with big boobs, Momo you player” she said, only realizing it was out loud at the look of pure annoyance that crossed Momo’s face. And that was all she needed to see to take off running. Momo immediately chased after her.
“You little asshole!”
“Oh my god is Momo running? I’ve never seen that,”
“What was she even doing in here?” The boys in the locker room around them commented as they ran out.
Finally after running until they were both out of breath they stopped facing each other down.
“I’ve been wanting to punch you out yakuza girl,” Mina stated seriously.
“That’s my line, cop boy” said Momo.
“Hey everyone come watch, Mino is trying to fight the yakuza girl!” Someone in the hallway called. That was one of the drawbacks of going to a small university, everyone knew everyone.
Mina swung on Momo.
“Ow!” Mina couldn’t help yelping.
“A guy like you should be able to handle this,” said Changbin as he tended to the wound on Mina’s arm, courtesy of his own leader. “You’re pretty good to be able to go that far with Sandaime.”
“It’s just a fight,” Mina muttered.
“Sandaime is skilled in Karate, Kendo, Judo, Aikido and using a gun.”
Mina had just thought she knew karate but she couldn’t deny she was slightly impressed by the list of achievements.
“Someday she has to head the largest syndicate in the Kanto area, so she’s been trained since she was a kid. She had to work extra hard to get respect from her father’s subordinates because she has always been a bit taciturn on top of being a girl. She didn’t even cry when her father, Nidaime, passed. But the reason she’s out and about even though her life is under threat is that she wants to get revenge for her father’s death with her own hands”
Changbin paused. “But when Sandaime is with you, she acts more like her age and makes me want to protect her.”
“Really?” Mina asked, slightly shocked and relieved. But wait a second, what did she have to feel relieved about. Momo was just an annoying means to an end for her.
“What’s so funny?” Momo asked sharply as her left hand man Bangchan struggled to hold back laughter.
“S-sorry I can’t,” he chuckled, “ But isn’t this the first time you’ve had your face marked up like this? Seeing you two makes it look like you’re long time friends.”
Friends? Momo flushed. As Sandaime she didn’t have friends! He had to be kidding, who wanted a friend like that.
“Momo!”
Momo’s head whipped in the direction of Mina’s voice like a sleeper cell agent being activated.
“Let’s go home,” she said calmly like they hadn’t just been tussling like a couple of bears. “Isn’t it safer for you to go home than to stay here?”
“Do you know,” Momo countered, “that more importantly than being my bodyguard is you finding my father’s killer.”
“Oh right… of course” Mina said not letting her surprise show on her face. She had kind of forgotten. And since when had a yakuza’s health become her priority. She was here for one reason and one reason only and that was to help find Momo’s father’s killer and free her siblings from her evil grasp.
But not even seconds after thinking that, Bangchan spotted a second car parked by theirs “Sandaime did we come with two cars…”
Suddenly bullets were flying around them and Momo and Mina automatically dodged them, running. Mina fell to the ground in an ungraceful pile.
“Idiot!” Momo yelled, “Hurry up!”
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Mina shouted back, struggling back up and going into a flat out run.
“Are they the guys?” Mina asked between heavy breaths.
“It’s not them,” Momo shouted back.
“They’re after you aren’t they,” Mina shot back.
“Father was shot through the heart in one shot, he wouldn’t be hit by one of those reconstructed guns.”
“I have Hirai Momo,” one of the men with guns shouted. Immediately, Mina pushed Momo out of the way as the bullet raced towards them, and she automatically pulled out her trusty chain whip. She shot it out hitting the men in quick succession. Meanwhile, Momo was also hard at work going in for the punch dodging one of the guy’s guns. Then she kept running.
“How much longer are you going to play?” She asked Mina.
Eh, that was it already? “I’m coming, I’m coming!” She responded back. “But we’re cornered,” she said as they came up upon the river.
“Jump in!” Momo said urgently.
“But I can’t swim,” she said, worry bleeding into her voice.
“I know that!” Momo said and gave her a push, jumping into the water after her.
For a moment, Mina flailed then stilled, suddenly remembering when she had fallen and slipped down a bank into water like this and lost consciousness only to wake up alone, her binder broken. She wondered for a second who saved her.
Suddenly Momo’s face came into focus uncomfortably close to hers.
Mina startled back. Then she felt a breeze on her chest and looked down to see that her binder was unclipped and her shirt was unbuttoned. She froze.
“Don’t look at me like that!” Momo said, “I was just reviving you and I couldn’t do it with your binder on.” She held out the unclipped binder to Mina.
“You idiot! You haven’t improved at all since then, I was about to drown again because of you, hurry and put your binder on.”
Then did that mean Momo was the one who had saved her the last time too? She thought Momo hated her because she was a cop’s kid but maybe she had been wrong about that and it would explain why she seemed to know that Mina was a girl. Then she remembered that Momo had been doing mouth to mouth and blushed, touching her lips.
“Sandaime!’ Bangchan and Changbin shouted as they caught up.
“Were you guys hurt?” Momo asked her two men.
“We’re alright.”
“Good, did you guys find out anything about the shooters?”
“Unfortunately, we couldn't catch them,” Bangchan reported.
“Isn’t Hizakigumi a rival to you?” Mina asked.
Momo flinched.
“I heard from my dad, they’re a pretty big syndicate,” Mina continued, “What are the possibilities that they killed your father?”
“There’s no chance of that, Lee and his executives said it wasn’t Hizakigumi.” Momo responded.
“So if there’s people who saw them then why don’t you have them make a montage?” Mina asked.
“But it was dark and they don’t remember their faces.”
“If they didn’t remember their faces how can they say it’s not Hizakigumi?” Mina asked reasonably.
Momo and Bangchan stared at each other for a moment as they processed that.
“Sandaime, I heard you were attacked and I was worried,” Lee Minho, the man with cruel eyes from the other day walked up to them, “Thank goodness you’re alright!”
“Sandaime, I have a request to make…”
“I don’t like him.” Mina said.
“You’re still saying that?” Momo asked, walking away nonchalantly, hands in her hoodie dress pant pockets.
“There’s something off about him, you may not realize but he has really cruel looking eyes.”
“All yakuza have eyes like that, don’t tell me something I already know.”
“That’s why I don’t like how he suddenly acts like a good person only in front of you.”
“Amongst the yakuza betrayal deserves death, he would never.”
“But think about it,” Mina said quietly and urgently, “he’s the one saying it wasn’t Hizakigumi that shot your father and he was the only one there when your father died. That’s at least a little suspicious, it’s like he’s protecting Hizakigumi.
“I won’t doubt my head counselors without evidence.”
Mina pouted. Of course Momo would rather believe in the members of her gang rather than a cop’s kid.
“Then I’ll find proof,” she promised quietly.
As she walked away in a huff, Momo covered her face in resignation. Why did Mina look at her like that, with the eyes of someone who seemed to care far more than they realized.
“Mino I brought the stuff you requested but,” Bangchan said, walking into the room with a pile of clothes, “what are you going to do with this stuff?”
“A bit of spying,” she replied.
Once he was gone she quickly slipped into the dress he had brought and pulled on the long black wig. Then she applied some of the lipstick from the pile of things. She looked in the mirror for a moment. Was it considered cross-dressing if she was a woman disguised as a man dressed up as a woman? It certainly felt like it. The dress felt so drafty in ways she simply wasn’t used to.
“Where’s Mino?” Momo asked Bangchan.
“Seems like he had some sudden business to attend to…”
“Urgent business!” Momo snapped, “What urgent business?”
She should be there with Momo trying to figure out who killed her father, not off lollygagging. But then she remembered Mina’s promise to find proof on Lee. Suddenly Momo got nervous, what was she going to get herself into?
“I didn’t tell her that you were leaving with Lee,” Bangchan clarified, “was that wrong? …Sandaime?”
Momo looked aghast because for a moment she had considered questioning her counselors, the heads of her group. But she had been serious earlier when she told Mina she wouldn’t. Still she was worried about what Mina might do.
“Who are you?” A man in a suit asked Mina, “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean ‘what?’” she responded back, “When are you going to finish the job?”
“What?! Who the hell are you?” Bellowed the other suited man as he lunged towards her aggressively.
Mina aimed a firm kick into his stomach
“If you take too long it will become a problem for us she said taking his gun from him and aiming it at the man who was now on his knees, “ We want to make ties with a large foreign syndicate.”
“Are you Hizakigumi’s woman? Just like him, it seems you like sparkling things…” The original suited man replied.
“Sandaime is to be finished at the remains of the red cross building. I’ve just contacted Hizakigumi with that information.”
Ahhh those guys, Mina thought, no way, can it be, all of Lee’s men are betraying Momo?
At that she exited as quickly as possible and essentially ran back to the yakuza’s home. “Bangchan!”
“Who are you?” he responded.
Mina had totally forgotten she was still dressed up as a girl and would look like a stranger to Momo’s right hand man.
“It’s me! Mino! Momo’s in trouble, if we don’t go save her she’ll be killed.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Bangchan said, “One of the Lee’s is with him and there are double the number of bodyguards–”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Mina yelled for maybe the first time ever in front of him, “The Lees are dangerous.
“It’s true, why don’t you believe me?”
“Because the idea of Lee Minho betraying Sandaime is so…”
“Fine.” Mina stated monotone, “I won’t ask for your help.” She slammed a hand against a wall in frustration. Suddenly a tinny voice came from the ring on her finger.
“You guys wound yourselves and make it look like you had a brawl with some of the heads, to take out Sandaime we should stage things for Hizakigumi.”
It seemed the ring her parents had given her was a recording device, thank the heavens and it had recorded important information about the case before they gave it to her.
“We have to ruin Hirai to gain the trust of Hizakigumi. We have to show our loyalty.” A sound interfered and then they heard the same voice shout, “Kill them! Who’s there?”
They all looked at each other concern for their Sandaime suddenly welling up.
In a car across the city
“Sorry to ask you such a sudden request but the president, our client, wished to meet with you,” said Lee Minho.
Momo simply nodded. As they drew closer to their destination Momo spoke again, “ Hey, Lee Minho.”
“Yes?”
“If my father was suddenly shot up by someone who he trusted as an ally, don’t you think even he could end up shot in the heart?”
Lee Minho scoffed.
“Please, the client is waiting.”
Momo exited the car to stand in front of a huge number of men. She glared out at them.
“Though you are young, you show that you are Hirai’s top head, to be able to come here and not be moved at all,” A bald middle aged man said. “Don’t take it personally. It is the destiny of Hizakigumi to become the head yakuza of the Tokyo region.”
“Are you guys ready to take on the consequences of breaking the yakuza oath?” Momo asked calmly.
“Those don’t sound like the words of someone who’s about to be killed," said a lackey as he placed a gun against her head.
“Say hi to Nidaime, your father, for me.” Hizakigumi said with a malicious grin.
“Good bye Sandaime,” said the lackey, “Soon Mino Yoo will be joining you in the afterlife.”
With that a shot rang out.
But rather than Momo, the lackey was the one laid out in a pool of his own blood, screaming.
“F-fire!” Hizakigumi exclaimed, “Surround him, kill him!”
At that the humming sound of a motorcycle engine approached. And there on it, wig hair whipping in the wind, was Mina.
“Momo!” She shouted over the sound of the motorcycle. “Here we go!”
She pulled up a gun and shot again.
“Watch out! It’s the Hirai’s!” some of the men exclaimed.
Lee Minho looked on in shock, why did that woman look so familiar.
She glared directly at him then jumped as she let the motorcycle continue on its path running straight into Lee Minho, as she landed in front of Momo.
The figure that landed in front of Momo was that of a gorgeous princess-esque woman.
“Mino–”
Suddenly more shots rang out from behind them aimed at Hizakigumi’s men.
“Enough! There’s too many of them! Let’s get out of here!” Hizakigumi yelled.
The rest of the Hirai faction ran up behind the two of them.
“Sandaime are you alright?” Bangchan asked.
“What should we do about Lee Minho,” asked another of her men, but Momo was still enraptured by the woman in front of her.
“Sandaime?” Someone asked. But Momo didn’t know who as all she could do was cover her blush as she thought she looks so good.
I guess I look weird, like a crossdresser Mina thought to herself as the silence drew out awkwardly. But she could not have been more wrong.
After that, they visited Lee Minho in the hospital.
“I won’t be so kind as to kill you since you killed Mino’s parents too, I’m just going to make life so hard for you that you’ll wish you’re dead instead. So hurry up and get discharged, I’m looking forward to this.” She laughed a bit maniacally.
Mina looked on in consternation, You call that a laugh… It was one of the most evil sinister sounds she'd ever heard in her life. But the important bit was Lee Minho would make up for what he did for the rest of his life.
Back at University
“Momo, you know you really don’t show your emotions on your face, I mean I know you’re not supposed to but still,” Mina said.
“Ever since you were young you’ve been the same way, no emotion or just a pleasant fake smile and somehow you attracted all those friends anyways, I don’t know how we were any different,” replied Momo.
“I watched you as a kid too, you were always poking at your lunch by yourself with a dark look on your face, at least I smiled. It made me wonder if you ever experienced having normal fun. I meant to talk to you more but because of my parents I just couldn’t.”
Momo wasn’t sure how to respond.
“Momo, when you’re with me, people say you actually look your age,” said Mina with the softest smile on her face, melting into her eyes.
Momo looked on thinking Maybe that’s why three years ago I couldn’t leave you alone in that river.
“Mina…” her siblings said with their most innocent faces as they handed over a piece of paper. The bill on it had an impressive number of zeros. Mina froze.
“What is this?” she asked softly.
“That’s the amount they ate and drank at my resort while you were fighting for your life,” Momo said, coming up behind her, “I’ll have you pay back this money.”
“What?” Mina said her soft voice colored in pure disbelief.
Where was she gonna get that kind of money without a job on top of being totally broke after the death of her parents.
“If you have none, then pay with your body,” Momo proposed.
Everyone in the room froze.
“Okay fine, I’ll take the job as bodyguard, I'll be your right hand man” Mina agreed with a nod of her head.
Everyone else in the room unfroze as they realized what Momo meant, or at least how Mina took it. Life was about to get interesting.
She'll be my right hand girl, Momo thought to herself.