"..." Shosuko fidgets in her seat. She can't seem to settle between staring out the front, the side window, or down at her feet.
"..." Beside her is Oka, driving the car. She has to really hunch down in order to fit her enormous size into the driver's seat. There's a grim expression on her face, like a father's after he caught his kid stealing from the cookie jar
"Hey…" Shosuko finally gathers enough courage to open her mouth. "I'm sorry for earlier."
"It's alright. It was my fault for being a bad teacher. I should have thought my lesson plan through better." Oka sighs. "And I should have known that an assassin couldn't beat a veteran in a head-to-head."
"No, I get what you were trying to do. It was a good try."
"Still, it didn't work. And in the end, we still don't see eye-to-eye."
"I guess so." Shosuko scratches the back of her head. "Why don't we just agree to disagree?"
"What does that mean?"
"It means we tolerate each other."
"Hmph. That just sounds like avoiding the problem." Oka takes a hard right while honking at someone who almost cut her off. "For example, there's still the problem of how we're going to deal with Yuki. I want to just kill her but… it's not like you're going to accept that outcome."
"You can do what you want." Shosuko gives Oka a half-smile. "Just give me a chance to try doing things my way. If it doesn't work, then fine, you can kill her."
"A house divided is not what the Kuze Clan needs right now."
"Trust me. It's better to have the house somewhat divided than completely divided, right? Well, these are my terms."
"Hmm… point taken."
"Though, I guess we'll have to find out where she is first." Shosuko looks at the cars passing by outside.
"No need. She's holed up in the parking lot of that high-rise over there, along with the rest of the Umi alliance." Oka points at a building a few blocks down. "They know that all they need to do to survive is hold out until the ICMG comes to help them tomorrow."
"Wait, so you knew where Yuki was the whole time?" Shosuko looks at Oka and squints. "You were really willing to kill that girl just to teach me a lesson?"
"As I said, I would do anything to serve the family." Oka's knuckles go white from how hard she's gripping the steering wheel. "So long as it's for the people who took me in when my parents died, I can do anything."
Shosuko nods silently. She understands the sentiment, but she does not respect it.
"Thank you." Oka pulls up in front of a classy clothing store. "A yakuza who doesn't kill… Hm. I look forward to seeing what you're going to pull."
"Thank you."
"But dealing with Yuki will have to wait. For now, let's get you some new clothes."
"New clothes? What's wrong with my clothes?"
"You dress like a punk, now that you're yakuza, it's time you started dressing like one."
"What's wrong with my punk style? You don't exactly look like yakuza either, you look more like an office worker."
"Innocuity is an assassin's best friend."
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"How do I look?" Shosuko turns around, showing off her full regalia to Oka. She ditched her tank top in favor of a white dress shirt, her tattered fur-collared jacket for a formal black suit jacket that she wears unbuttoned, ripped jeans for black slacks, and humble sneakers for snakeskin leather boots.
"Very nice." Oka claps Shosuko on the shoulder. "You look just like your mother."
"I've been getting that a lot recently." She doesn't really know how to feel about that. "Anyway, let's go get this Ryusei bitch."
Oka sets down a fat wad of bills on the checkout counter as the two make their way to the car.
"She should be on the top floor of the high-rise."
"That…" Shosuko squints. "That looks like a parking lot."
"Yep. That's where they've been holed up since this morning. I've got an assassin planted in their midst who'll kill Yuki the moment I give the signal."
"It won't come to that."
"We'll see."
The car pulls up at the foot of the high-rise.
"The whole place is crawling with Umi Alliance guards. You'll have to fight your way through them."
"Thanks for the heads up."
Shosuko gets out of the car.
"One last thing." Oka calls out to Shosuko.
"Yeah?"
"Careful with Ryusei. She's a Tokijutsu user. There's no telling what she's going to pull."
"Tokijutsu?" She's heard about that before but she figured that it was a myth. The ability to manipulate time itself. That's Tokijutsu. Supposedly, it eats up blood like nothing else, though.
"See you around, Oka."
"I'll be watching."
"That's… ominous." She cracks her neck and shuts the car door behind her.
「Taijutsu - Awaking Beast」Shosuko feels herself being filled with power. Running a little low on blood, but she won't need it much from here on out. A couple of Umi Alliance guards rush out to meet her.
"Are you Kuze Clan?" They call out to her.
"The hell do you think?" Shosuko enters a boxing stance. "Listen, folks, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
The Umi Alliance gangsters draw their guns.
"Figures. Hard way it is." Shosuko spits on the ground. "Let's go!"
Shosuko's one for one on fights won versus fights lost a la her battle against Oka versus her battle against The Batter so you're going to have to trust me when I say that Shosuko's about to kick wholesale ass.
———————————————————————————————————————
"ORA!" Shosuko punches one of the Umi Alliance gangsters so hard she goes flying straight through the door leading to the parking lot. All at once, the Umi Alliance gangsters turn around and train their guns at the now open door.
"Lieutenant Ryusei!" One of the gangsters shouts. "Get back!"
"Hey now, let's play nice." She walks out of the door, wearing the best smile she can muster. Which isn't particularly good because she does it so rarely. "I just want to talk to Lieutenant Ryusei."
"What business do you have with me?" The familiar face she met at the diner pushes her way to the front of the crowd.
「Yuki Ryusei - Acting Head of the Umi Alliance」She's dressed in her full magical girl regalia. Her outfit consists of a strapless black leotard, a chain belt with two silver rose motifs, a scabbard for her two rapiers attached to her belt, a black choker, and red gloves.
"My name is Shosuko Kuze and I have a proposition to make."
"Speak."
"Have the Umi alliance join the Kuze Clan." Shosuko says it like it's no big deal. "I've got a date with a cute boy tomorrow, so I'd really appreciate it if you all cooperated and we settled this by today."
"You've got guts coming here yourself." Yuki draws her rapiers. "Thanks, but no thanks. The Kuze clan struck first, we're not yielding. Besides, the ICMG's on our side. They'll be here by tomorrow."
"That's the thing, though. You see, you've backed us into a corner. But at the same time, we've also backed you into a corner. The ICMG's breathing down our necks, and we're breathing down on yours. Trust me when I say this is the best move for the both of us."
"And if we refuse?"
"Then you die."
"Are you threatening me?"
"It's just factual information. There's an assassin planted amongst you. All she's lacking is the signal and that's the Umi Alliance's head cut off."
"How dare you?!" Yuki points her rapier at Shosuko's throat. "There's no way any of us is a traitor, the Umi Alliance is a proud organization gathered under The Batter's dream of an Ozawa without yakuza. "
"Without yakuza?" Shosuko tilts her head. "But… aren't you yakuza?"
"In name alone." Yuki's grip turns her knuckles bone white. "You have no clue what the yakuza took from us. Friends, family, homes, sisters, brothers, everyone here's lost someone dear to them because of you all. There's no way we can ever coexist. And besides, how can I trust the word of our enemy?"
"I see." Shosuko closes her eyes and nods her head in understanding. "Then, how about a counter-offer?"
"What would that be?"
"Help us, and we'll help you find your sister."
Ah, that gets Yuki's attention. Her eyes widen. "What do you know about Kasai?"
"I know that she's been missing for the past year." Shosuko parrots what she read in the dossier. "I also know that she's the real reason why you joined the Umi alliance. You knew that Kasai got involved with the yakuza, so you delved into that world yourself to try and find her."
"..." Yuki is silent. Her eyes are sharpened, focused on Shosuko's face. "So you've done your homework. Why should I trust you?"
"You have my word."
Yuki turns, showing Shosuko her side. "Is that all you have to offer?"
"As I said, you have no choice but to trust me. The only other option leads to your death."
"I'll take my chances." Yuki snaps her fingers.
"You're making a grave mistake." Shosuko scans the eyes of the gangsters pointing their guns at her. The first thing she notices is that they've got a lot of guns. One gun is no threat to a prepared magical girl, but this many just might take her down. All it takes is one bullet straight to the head and it's game over. The second thing she notices is that one girl in particular keeps looking in Yuki's direction.
"Fire." Yuki's girls start to squeeze their triggers. All but the assassin, that is. She turns around, aims her gun at Yuki's head, and fires. There's no time for Yuki to even notice what's happening, much less dodge the bullet. Shosuko's forced to act now or never. Shosuko jumps forward and tackles Yuki to the ground.
So much happens so quickly. The other girls restrain the assassin. There's a gaping bullet wound in Shosuko's head. And Yuki sits up, shocked at what just happened.
"Y-you…" She stares at Shosuko's corpse. "You really weren't lying."
There's a slight grin quickly fading on Shosuko's face, as though saying "I told you so."
"Dammit." Yuki shakes her head.
"...you gonna go back, boss?"
"...yeah.「Tokijutsu - Rewind.」"