Tough customer

The last stop for the preparations ended up being a rather dirt old garage, well hidden within the heart of the industrial district of the island, but just a little bit outside the scorching sun territory. A place surrounded by an empty lot of dusty earth and with the air stagnating by all the smoke. Irvin and Danny barely made it close to it before a lot of armed men ambushed them on the spot.

Men wearing jackets and pants of black leather, while adorning themselves with metal masks and plenty of unnecessary spikes; each one more distinguished than the last. The weapons they carried also looked strange, customize with strapped knives and all sorts of extra rusted stuff pasted on them, but there was no doubt they could still shoot bullets just fine.

“Evening, I very much would like to speak to your boss; I have for her a proposition.” Irvin spoke with both of his hand raised above his head and his metal briefcase at the side of his legs.

“¡God damn it, I knew this wasn´t a good idea!” Danny trembled as he kept his hand over the holster of his gun. Back in the day he could have shot at least five of them before they even notice, but those days were long gone.

At the end the men agreed to it and force them into the garage, both of them were hand cuffed and they´re possessions confiscated, but Irvin didn’t seem fazed by any of it. Danny thought felt more than naked without his gun and didn´t stop screaming as they dragged him forward.

The inside of the garage was quite a sight the whole place had been wrecked and rebuilt into a village of sorts. Form within a broken wall inside they took a small passage built with metallic scrap and into a huge construction of barbed fences and aluminum walls, all resembling houses and sporting motorcycles within them.

There were guard at various towers of wood and what seemed to be a small electric station on top a huge and much more fortified construction that sport a lot of huge metal spikes all over its walls. The men sat them both in front of a huge metallic door and grabbed a small radio connected to the wall.

“Jefa, encontramos unos tipos vagando por allí. Uno dice ser un científico loco y el otro… pues estaba armado y lleva un estúpido sombrero.” The man spoke thought the radio communicator.

“¡What is he saying I didn´t understand a word! ¡Are they gonna kill us!” Danny screamed at Irvin desperately while the man tried to keep him from getting up with a single hand.

“He said your hat is kind of stupid.” Irvin answered.

“¡Screw them!”

The door was opened and both the scientist and gunner were forced inwards to a rather crude, but impressive garage. The place was swarming with people, men and women of ragged clothing living together within its iron walls made out of countless different pieces of metal and woods, but still remaining standing with a surprising ease.

The rackety hideout smelled of burning oil and the constant screeching of soldering seemed to have no end around them. It was quite a lot to get use to so fast, so neither Irvin nor Danny could make any sense of their surroundings.

“Boss, I brought you those weirdoes.”

The two of them ended on their knees in from of huge iron throne that still resembled the remains of a car that had been gutted and ripped to pieces, leaving the carcass open so a woman could sit upon it, clearly a throne even when made of old rusted junk.

“Right… ¿So, what was it you idiots wanted, again?” The woman that sat upon the throne asked them in a rather nonchalant way, she was far too busy tinkering and opening a fuse box upon her lap to pay either of them any attention. The woman had brown skin and red hair falling only in one side of face the rest of her head was bald, she was wearing fitted leather coat and thigh brown pants ending in a pair of black boots with silver flame designs on top; Her right hand clearly an advanced prosthetic, but it was far too big and bulky and adorned with pointless spikes to be made from any official source Irvin could only assume it had been a customized job and a heavily armed one at that.

“Miss Mercedes Oxida, I came here to offer my collaboration …”Irvin spoke fist with a gentle tone.

“Get to the point or I´ll tell my men to cut off your legs.” She closed the small fuse box and began to put the screw back into place using only one finger on her mechanized arm.

Danny was sobbing while putting his head against the floor to muffle his own anger; Irvin thought cleaned off his throat and took a moment to think his words more careful.

“¿How would you like to blow the Hiroshi factory and rob them of everything they have? Cause I thing I could help you with that.” Irvin spoke trying to not sound as stuck up as he usually did.

“Huh, what´s you got to offer, no one has broken in there before, the place is a military installation for the Salvatore’s fat pig empire, nothing but execs and slaves go in and out at least not alive and you don´t look any better.” Mercedes unlocked a heavy chain that kept her right arm locked from moving too much while she sat. Mercedes calmly she raised he enormous open hand towards Irvin, eclipsing his head within her fingers.

“I´m well aware, but I think you are the one woman that can make it so.”

“Aint that the true, if so why would I need you, just let me squash you a bit.” She closed her palm, putting a heavy pressure around Irvin´s head, Danny tried to get up, but two women forced his head back into the dirt of the floor.

“Because I have money lots of it and my head it’s not that bad either, if you would allow me to prove it. Miss Mercedes I brought a briefcase with my work, if you were to see it I think my qualification would be assured.”

“Hearing you talk is going to give me a migraine, hey, you, tell our bomb man to open his shitty briefcase already.” Mercedes dropped Irvin and sat back, putting both of her legs on its couch and leaving her gigantic arm to fall in front of her.

Soon enough a tall man wearing a very heavy anti concussion attire had begun to open the briefcase in the most wide area they could find, Irvin and Danny stood with guns at they heads each at one side of Mercedes’s throne, where she was currently eating a bag of chip’s without saying anything to either of them.

The briefcase was opened and from within it a small figure of steel flew upwards making the bomb man fall on his butt, a bird of steel rose impossibly into the air and all the armed members of the gang raised they´re weapon in response, but stood at the ready for the firing order. The bomb man walked backwards and the bird simply landed upon the briefcase spreading his wings with red eyes looking for Irvin.

“¡Behold my creation a spying and self-defense built flying machine, pure mechanical achievement in the shape of a bird!” Irvin raised his hand in celebration while ignoring the armed man that dragged back his other arm forcibly and put his handgun closer to his head.

“Oh I get it you think we could work together to get into the factory, but it’s not me who you should be asking” Mercedes moved to her side carrying the weight of her lumping arm to get ahold of a communicator strapped to the side.

“Cariño, I think you´re going to want to get a good look at something here, something real cute.” Mercedes closed the call soon enough and forced a crank on her arm, in an instant its whole structure began to raise till her shoulder was just a bit higher than the other side and the woman finally got up from her throne. “Get the bird back on her box, because you boys are coming with me and please remember your manners”

“Splendid.”

As soon as Irvin spoke the man behind him put a black bag over his head and so did the other man to Danny, the world had been turned completely black and there was no point in fighting back, they had forfeit their lives already if they´re words alone won’t suffice, but even so… Irvin smiled form within that suffocating bag.

Irvin was finally released and then had his face forced into a wooden in another room, a much more civilized looking place, less like a garage and much more akin to a factory with many conveyor belts moving all sort of equipment around, the people in here were also dressed different in white lab coats, but still wearing metallically masks and sporting wild looked hairs of all sorts. Danny was put against the same table his black hat over his face.

“Take a good look, not too shabby eh?” Mercedes spoke from above his eyesight.

“Yes indeed.” Irvin answered and it was no lie, just a quick look was enough for him to get a bit excited, a real and honest laboratory for mechanical research and development. For so long has he wished to see one like this.

“Hahajja, yes, marvelous. HahaHahaha” Irvin let out a rather indecent laugh, the madness inside him swirling again.

“Why thank you, ¡Mercedes worked so hard for it!”

A woman leaned over the table, speaking with a chirpy and delighted voice; she was rather small with a very dirty white lab coat and a welding mask over her head. The girl who was brown skinned with long messy black hair and blue sharp eyes kindly greeted Irvin with an innocent smile, she placed her hands over the table, they looked big and warm due to her heavy leather gloves and leaned even closer to look at Irvin to his eyes.

“You´re Luisa Zafir, I hear much of your work, the young genius of the Latin American resistance.”

“¿You know me? I thought everyone forgot about me after I got shipped to this stinking slave port. Well the Resistencia is no more and so here I am. ¿So what of you? ¿Who is him honey? ¿This silly little man that knows a bit too much?” Luisa stood up and Mercedes walked to her side, no longer wearing her giant metallically arm, and just leaving the stump on her arm visible.

“Irvin Maximillian, self-proclaimed scientist. Mercedes snapped her fingers and the two men were finally released from the table the guards remained behind them still kept their guns to their backs.

“¡That he is, I love the little birdy!” Luisa rushed to a counter at the side and grabbed the familiar briefcase Irvin carried, in her hurry she dropped a glass to the floor and everyone, but she jumped from the surprise. Finally she putted the briefcase on the table and opened it releasing the metallic bird inside it. It raised its wing, but stood there looking back at Irvin.

“¿Nano machines right? They have to be, it’s so pretty “

“Yes, thank you. I’m quite impressed with your work as well. The lab in particular is…well used.” As much as he liked it, the obvious lack of cleaning and organization was killing him inside, but he swallowed his words and smiled back at her.

“It’s nothing really; I’m just doing whatever I can to reach ends meet.” She scuffed her black hair with embarrassment and Irvin smiled slightly.

“Sorry for interrupting whatever this is, but boy you are not home free just yet.” Mercedes stepped forward reaching grabbing Irvin by his necktie roughly, even with her normal arm she could raise him easily above the floor.

“Oh…sure ¿Mr. Irvin why was it that you wanted to talk to us?” Luisa asked him unconcerned.

“Agg…well…Yes, I was thinking you ladies may…”

“¿May what pal?” She was certainly enjoy how hard it was right now form him to speak, Danny at his side began to grin his teeth, but his hands remained sealed.

“Some better equipment and a far….better budget at the very least.”

“¿Who wouldn´t? ¿And why in the world would you offer us such a gift, sir?” Luisa asked him with a beaming smile on her face.

“To destroy Hiroshi…aaag.” Mercedes let him go rather roughly at his words and Irvin ended up falling on the floor once again and just slightly fixed his glasses.

“That’s rich, so you knew we have pending business with that bastard. Well here´s some news some for you, there is no breaching into Hiroshi corp. Those walls will never fall, no matter how much we want them to.”

“They could, with the right equipment they could; nothing in this world is eternal, nothing at all.” Indeed that is my only comfort.

“¡The hell, I’m not buying it, so get lost!” Mercedes kicked Irvin again making him groan drily. She was about to hit him again, but Luisa grabbed her by the arm and spoke firmly

“Wait, Mr. Irvin you believe we can work together to break through.” Luisa looked straight at him, her voice wavering just a little.

“Is worth trying, I believe so. I’m sure you too have wondered the possibilities as well.”

“¿Wondered?” Luisa answered back still standing behind Mercedes.

“Yes, just how far you can really go, as a mad scientist breaking the walls of what is meant to be impossible has always our reason to be.

“….Mercedes, please let him get up.

“Carajo, you´re too damn easy to trick...”

Mercedes shoved him back with her boot and the leaned back against a counter on the side; she seemed to be more bitter than furious as her partner held her arm tenderly.

“Even if you nerds could…I´ll just get us all killed, I wanted to at least get him back a little for everything that man did to you, but we can´t really hurt him for real or else… Salvatore won´t stand for it he is his main military research factory not without unleashing hell upon our damned heads.”

“…You know there is no real need for us to get even with Hiroshi, sorry Mr. Irvin, but…”Luisa spoke with her hands over her lap.

“Hahaha, please no need to hide it Ms. Zafir, there is no way you both can ignore him, and no need to, we will have the upper hand. In fact you already have the perfect solution in your hands.” Irvin stood up laughing weakly.

“¿The what now?” Mercedes answered back upset, Luisa look very nervous right now, but she stood in silence at her side.

“A flag, one that can´t be forged or falsified. The thing here, Ms. Oxida is that we do not necessarily have to receive the punishment for our deeds, we can incriminate someone else, so when the dust settles. Haha, I´ll be the scorching sun that will pay for it, who will bear the punishment of Salvatore.” Irvin put his hand together in glee.

“¿How do you even? Wait ¿Is that flag something that unique?” Mercedes groaned.

“It is and the one who gave it to you was truly a fool.” Irvin could tell her attitude had change, Mercedes was getting a little anxious, the possibilities were finally appearing for her as well. What was Impossible may now be plausible.

“You mean the Yakuza, I don´t know if that is any wiser honestly…” Luisa in turn seemed much more anxious now.

“So I can get even with that woman as well…. Fine, spit it out then. ¿What is it you want to gain from this whole mess?” Mercedes demanded an answer by pointing at him with her free arm and the guards finally let their guns drop. Irvin stood quiet, fixing his yellow tie.

“The end of the burning sun, nothing more.” So he declared.

***

The black skies above, those thick clouds that covered everything and left no air for one to breath, not even the seas were spared from such a black disease, Irvin quite detested them an unnecessary hazard a damage that could have been easily prevented, but Salvatore had no interest on such a thing. This island, Isla Franca stood as a place free of any unjust regulations a world made only for those who built upon it of their own hands here and now.

To Irvin no place stood as a better testament of Salvatore´s Empire than the industrial machine that shapes slavers bay. Salvatore stood for a world of power and force, a world were all men will receive only what they deserved and so the difference between the rich and the poor could only stretch to the infinity and then there were those who were more than just human, the villains and heroes still chained to its laws.

Mother was right about this island and all that stands here; there is nothing scientific about it, nothing at all.

“¿So how the hell did we even made it out of there alive?” Danny asked him while reloading his revolver again, now that the two of them were released he couldn´t keep his hands off it, he missed it that much. The two of them stood at a nearby peer staring at the exhaust chimneys of the factories that stood near the beach.

“They accepted our offer, I’m sure they both knew it was the only way they could ever get even. With this all our preparations are finally in order.” Irvin sighed finally realizing he was rather exhausted and quite afraid.

Even if things have worked out thus far… it’s the third time I could have died by the whims of another, I suppose I better get used to that, and fast.”

“¿Revenge, eh? ¿Why do they care so much for this Hiroshi whatever factory?” Danny asked in jest while resting again the nearby fence, his eyes still lock to his weapon, but Irvin took his question quite seriously.

“He´s a betrayer, a business man who sold his country’s military secrets during Salvatore´s attack on Japan, all to ensure himself a very position within the new world in the making, now he lives calmly overseeing his manufactory here in slavers bay, devoid of any shame.”

“¿Huh, and that has something to do with those girls somehow?”

“Apparently after the fall of the rebels, Luisa was shipped here to help in the development of Hiroshi industries research as a, well a slave. Miss Mercedes actually worked as a security guard there back then; I believe that’s how they meet and then succeeded in making quite the little rebellion inside the factory six or so years ago.”

“How romantic.”

“At least that’s what Tony´s Intel said; I hope everything goes well they´re victory can only get us closer to our own victory. “

“Jej it almost sounds like you care or something.

“Hmm.”

“You knew I didn´t actually knew island Franca had slaves, my grandmother never mention it.”

“Salvatore’s constitution has nothing against it, so people are free to do so such is the free world made

“It’s funny I knew my family was part of Salvatore´s army, but I didn’t know of any of this shit. Not that I care, it has nothing to do with me.” Danny finished loading his weapon and slowly pointed forward with it towards the seas, his arm trembling slightly.

“You never seemed that loyal to me Mr. Storm. ¿May I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” Danny let his arm fall to the side and groaned.

“Why did you attempt to assassinate Miss. Olivia Salvatore, even now I can´t see what such a thing would ever have given you. ¿Why was it worth taking such a risk?”

“HahaHaha that’s rich, honestly I didn´t think it that much. There was no great plan or anything I just…”

“¿Just? Irvin stared at him turning his back on the trash infested seas; Danny had a weak smile on his face and seemed to put all his weight against the fence.

“I just wanted to prove to Grandma I wasn´t just garbage, I mean she is still family and when I grew up she just looked like the coolest person ever to me, you know.

“Yes, I know.”

“Well there you have it I wanted to at least prove I wasn´t a weakling like dad and that I wouldn´t just surrender to the enemy. That Grandma was wrong, that I wasn´t a weakling like she said. ¿Damn why did I even care?”

“So they were captured.”

“Yeah, it’s only people like Grandma that refuse to die regardless what happens, stubborn to the very bones, but well I just screwed up anyway and now I’m really useless, don´t think I can ever face her again. ¡Maybe I don´t want to either!” Danny´s face seemed red in anger and in a sudden move; he pointed his weapon straight at Irvin´s face.

“¡So then why the hell did you wanted me in your stupid crew anyway! ¡I thought you were smart! The hell you want from me when I’m so damn useless.” Irvin didn´t flinch, but simply stared at the seas again.

“To begin with, I need you to search for a good observation spot, I need you to learn of our surroundings, all that makes slavers bay, of Hiroshi factory, of the Yakuza reunions spots. I need you to see all that is our battlefield.”

“…¡The hell are you saying! ¿You think I couldn’t finish you here and give you up to Salvatore?”

“And then I will need you to keep on me, I require hideout nearby and both Dino and Yong will be far too busy, to protect me. So it can only be you, besides, I’m not worth anything to Salvatore at least not yet.” Irvin stood in silence and after a few moments with a bitter expression Danny let his shaking hand fall again.

“Well if you really need someone as useless as me, I´ll do my best.”

“You are not useless.” Irvin spoke and Danny just stood in silence without seeing him back.

“There is no such thing as a useless person.” Irvin reached for his tie slightly.

“Now that’s some naïve bullshit if I ever heard one.”

“Consider it a theory then. Now Mr. Storm, the preparations are almost set and spring break is coming soon; So come then my friend, let’s take a walk thought slavers bay.” Irvin walked onwards and afterwards Danny placed his gun on his holster and the hands on his coat´s pockets and walked behind Irvin under the grey sunless skies.

***

Slavers bay wasn´t just completely and industrial district, thought of its landscape were in abundance with factories and their wastes, there were plenty of workers both free or slaved that needed to sleep and eat and had no choice but to believing here as well, but there was one more group who made of the sunless peer their home, the countless refugees that broke free of their shackles and many students that wished for retribution from the very mighty empire, even while living within its shores.

All of them came to this place where a man resided. A man who swore he alone could protect them all. They came, they reunited and they swore to fight for and with the man who was told by many to radiate as strongly as the very sun. }

At the ruins of what was once a tall school building, a normal cram school for many students, there on its backyard a tall junkyard was built, but something was amiss among the trash. A tree so immensely tall, standing proudly even if its wood became pitch black from the endless smog, the tree stood, tall and wide like a tower among a fortress of trash and its branches that held no leaves now raised a wide flag, of pure white with a black sphere surrounded in flames at its very center.

And that man made of this tree his throne. A tall and impossible muscular man, almost a giant simply sat at the base of the three, drinking a canned beer and taking some cheap cigars. Kojiro Adachi smiles lightly as he sat with legs crossed, dressed with a long red coat adorned with a beautiful design of red flames dancing upon his back, his chiseled chest bare underneath displaying the colored tattoo of a black sun upon his heart, he wore simple bagged grey pants and wooden sandals upon his naked feet, had his size not have been so, he would have looked like any simple student there was hardly any air of arrogance or wealth upon him.

“Hahaha welcome.” He puffed out the smoke and smiled a long bright white smile, his face showed a dozen scars, a thick trimmed mustache and a short black beard, his eyes hidden behind a pair of slim sun glasses. Such a face made his jolly smile a terrifying sight.

Like a nest of crows, many others came to surround that black old tree. There was little in common between them, men and women of many countries and races, dressing with little in common, from work wear to street appeal even a few with rather expensive suits, but there was still one single thing they all share. A black sun painted either on their skin or they´re clothing. A mark they all showed proudly to the world. Amongst them a blond man in a white suit with a pink shirt underneath threw a captive man to the center of the circle a man dressed in the elegant pure white suit of the family.

“There is no doubt about it anymore, Aniki.” Rocky Howard stood over the man he had thrown to the feast, putting his black shining shoes upon his head. Rocky looked angry his mouth and clear blue eyes twisting in disgust as he put more pressure on the man’s head to force it in to the ground.

“Hahaha, as always sis is always right. ¿What is this man’s sin?” Adachi clapped happily as he slightly took of his sun glasses to take a better look at the man in white´s pale and fearful face.

“Tried to shoot one of our man, after we found him sneaking around like the lot of them, as far as I’m concerned that´s a call for war, boss.”

“¿War? Let’s not jump to that if we can help it. I´m no big fan of wars, my first one wasn´t very nice, after all. So let’s hear the family man’s side of things first, it’s only fair.” The huge man raised his beer with a smile.

“Lucky you, speak up my man, since you still have your tongue.” Rocky kicked him forward to the front of Kojiro´s feet and he finally raised his head to look at the giant, he was so huge, so unbelievable to look at that the small man in white could only crawl backwards.

“Wait I just…” he begged when Kojiro´s hand moved towards his head.

“Name.” He said softly while pointing at his forehead.

“Ahhh….”

“I´m Kojiro Adachi. ¿Shouldn´t you introduce yourself as well?”

“Marcus…Romain…” He answered even if every word was a struggle.

“See now we can talk for real, as fellow man.” With a chuckle Kojiro sited back against the tree leaving the other man to have breathing ground again.

“I´ll tell you whatever you need to know…”The man spoke weakly.

“¿That easy? You are going to sell your family that easy. I thought the Beretta men had a code of their own, a way of their own.”

“We are not really family, none of them will give anything for me either…The boss is just a greedy bastard anyway and well this is all their fault, they send us to spy on you guys and your business and for what? I never signed up to fight with you guy, I never signed up for any war. Tony is acting weird now, preparing for a stupid war against you. lot” Kojiro passed his thick fingers thought his beard.

“¿Oh that´s bad, I never thought I did anything to offend him?”

“You got money, he likes money. It really is that simple.” Marcus started to talk more confidently, now that he realized the colossal man was a rather calm person and because he felt to desperate not to. He had to figure it out, a way out.

“¿Why did you shoot one of our men, if you were only supposed to spy on us? That kind of bothers me a bit. ¿Care to share?” Kojiro stopped smiling and the man in white had his blood run cold.

“I… well. That man with the white coat, he pulled his gun first, we tried to excuse ourselves first, but he just opened fire and we…”

“¿Hahaha was that Kazuma? ¿Tell me Rocky, how is he again?”

“Well he’s recovering; the only bullet he took was on his shoulder.” Rocky remained behind his captive with his arms crossed.

“Was he high?” Kojiro asked him smiling again.

“Yeah.”

“Well, this was much likely our mistake then. Hahaha, man that’s gonna make the negotiations awkward; Now then what are we going do with you, Romain-kun. ¿Any good ideas?” Kojiro leaned forward again as he crushed the beer can he had finished, with a single hand.

“I…I can´t go back to the family not if they know I was willing to talk.”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to talk a lot more then.” Kojiro Grinned.

“Sure… sure no problem I don´t debt Tony anything…so how about if I…¿Join you guys?” he spoke almost in a whimper, looking terrifying all the while, still kojiro heard him clear enough and once more laughed loudly, thunderously loud.

“¡Sure thing! I don´t mind, I got plenty of old foes here amongst my friends, even Mr. Howard there.” Kojiro with his palm opened gestured at the blond man proudly. “He even stabbed me in the face once and now I couldn´t be more proud of calling him brother.” Kojiro scratched of the many scar on his face while Howard shrugged embarrassed.

“I… I can assure you I have plenty of experience and much to offer you in turn.” Marcus smiled feeling the winds of fortune propelling him forward something he never felt within the Beretta Family even once.

“Yes, that is of course if you have what it takes to wear our flag and to bear the scorching sun.” Kojiro spoke coldly as he finally stood up, leaving the man to stare up underneath his shadow.

Marcus felt his mouth gone dry as the man in front of him seemed to grow even bigger in front of his very eyes, eclipsing the very sun above him. His grizzled face shadowed and the long cape upon his shoulder stretching as his arms rose above him.

“Well then, let us get to know each other with our very fists, you and I as equals, here and now.” The crowds surrounded them exploded in excitement and laughter, Howard merely took a small pocket knife and quickly released the man´s hands, but he didn´t even notice his release as his eyes grew large and his breathing became impossible hard. Marcus was sweating cold and his legs became far too numb to keep him up anymore.

“Yes, this is the only thing that measures a man, prove to me that I can trust my very back and that of my men to you. That your resolver is a true one.” Kojiro raised his fist in front of his chest, his hand wide enough to encompass the other man’s face.

“Wait a second, Mr. Kojiro you couldn´t possible expect me to stand a chance against you so…” Kojiro laughed submitting the man into utter silence.

“¡Sorry, but you are not here to intimidate old ladies for cash like with your old folks, and there is a war coming as you said, you got it in you to be bad enough for it? Let´s see it. ¡Here and now!” The distance was crushed with a furious blow and the man in white raised his arms to defend himself. Kojiro´s grin grew wider as his hand reached the other man´s weak limps and threw him back with a simple push.

Marcus Romain groaned trying to hold back a scream as he flew back and crashed on the floor, Rocky side steeped out of the way letting him crash against the wall without any trouble as the rest of the yakuza stood around in silence.

¿What?

So the man thought, Marcus Romain had been in no shortage of brawls and violent struggles many with people that could never be considered human, but this time and this moment he had been overwhelmed by a fear that numbed his legs far more than the pain.

“HahaHaha you guarded in time and everything, not bad, not bad.” Kojiro walked onward laughing kindly as he stared at the man on his knees. Marcus was breathless, his arm broken that did not feel like the any human strike and yet, he was sure of it that man in front of him didn´t even push properly and yet. Kojiro crossed his arms as he laughed his white bright smile clear as he robbed the man below of the sun and bury him underneath his colossal shadow.

“Alright get up and ready, show me how you do a punch. Let me see that old family swing.” Kojiro leaned forward egging him on to punch him back.

“Stop it… that´s enough.” Marcus coughed blood as he lowered his head, sitting on his knees with his arms shaking. “I can´t fight you sir, I´m just a regular human.” Kojiro kneeled, but he still could look at the other man from above.

“¿So? Does the fact that you can’t beat me, means you shouldn’t get up…” Kojiro growled his voice getting angrier by the second. “If you think I´m not worth putting on the battlefield I could spy for you or anything I now of some places you could get some cash from and…” Kojiro punched the from in front of him, cracking the very ground and leaving the other man mute. “Get up, there is a place and time to lower one’s head and this one Romain-kun, is not one of them, get up.” The man was in tears unable to look at Kojiro in the face.

“There must be a way for me to be forgiven.”

“¡Get up!” Kojiro screamed his smile truly gone now.

“Anything I’ll give you anything I have, weapons, I’ll tell you where the boss lives just leave me… live!”

“¿So, you won’t fight? Not even for your very life…” Kojiro stood up again staring into the grey skies above, his voice very calm and small almost like a mere whimper.

“Please I could never win.” The man in white pleaded

“It wouldn’t have matter; you never had to, a pity really. I never got to see the reach of your soul now. We won´t fight.” The yakuza remained in silence with Rocky closing his eyes as he leaned against the wall, the entire junkyard had fallen into heavy silence as Kojiro merely breather aloud. “There will be no fight.” Kojiro lowered his arms as he breathed loud, his shadowed face completely devoid of any emotion.

“Thank you, thank you very much.” In tears the main man closed his eyes seeing only Adachi Kojiro´s feet raise from the ground.

A thunderous blow that made the ground shaking, Kojiro Adachi let his feet fall over the man’s head crushing him to the ground below, breaking the very ground under his boot, Marcus Romain didn´t feel a thing, like the very earth his head split open completely pulverized. Kojiro´s brow arched furiously as he quietly raised his leg and stomped and stomped, setting forth clouds of dirt with every stomp, his boot red in blood. Everyone remained in silence with only Rocky walking towards him as he finally ceased to crush the man´s remains.

“Had you stood up I would have known you could be as foolish as us, sorry.” Kojiro turned his back on the remains, barely recognizable as anything.

“A coward’s execution that´s all you get.”

Kojiro left him behind with his expression dulled, leaving a trail of blood with every step. Rocky Howards walked to intercepting shrugging his shoulders, but Kojiro just walked onwards without saying a thing.

“Boss, you seriously shouldn´t have done that, we needed to make him talk and everything.” Kojiro stopped when Rocky spoke his mouth wide as he stood there looking at the blond man in surprise.

“Oh… man, my sister is so gonna kill me.” Kojiro said, scratching his neck while he lowered his face in embarrassment. Rocky crossed his arms and looked at his boss, his eyes squirting in annoyance.

“Especially now that we are going to was for sure, we are hiding the corpse.”

“Nah throw it back the peer where it belongs, no point in doing this half-assed they want a war, I´ll give them they´re invitation for it.” He diminished his concern with his hand as he walked back to the tree and with a thud, sat there once more. His boots still painted with a dead man’s blood.

“No concern, big sis is gonna get even more pissed if you don´t even try to stop the war. I can already see her, with her lovely scolding.”

“¿Why run? There is no reason to be afraid of the family that is clear to me now, Haha.” Kojiro finally grinned as he took one more cigar to his mouth, Rocky stood there in silence along with every single yakuza in the junkyard, and they all waited, knowing well the meaning of that smile.

“¡The poor Tony Beretta, oh so poor he is! Maybe the man in white himself is willing to struggle against the world for some loose coins, but his men are just flocking behind him for mere scrap. Money is comforting for sure; but it’s just hope for a brighter golden future free of worry at the end, HahaHaha!” Kojiro laughed so much he leaned backwards against the tree.

“¡Weak men, of weak believes! They are not willing to throw their very lives for such a future. Money is the men; the speech of cowards, money is for the fearful what wishes not to hear of death. Such proper adults they all are, not as us violent monkeys who are risking everything without any hope for a future.” Rocky chuckled as Kojiro laughed on.

“Tony is going to learn just how little a man can hope to do alone, Hahaha. I will show it to them, maybe the world is building on nothing, but green paper, but these streets are ours. ¡The junk and litter, the smoking pipes and broken fences, our sunless sky! ¡This is our world, this are our rules! Adachi stood up throwing all the canned beer around him as he raised his fist upon the air, his hand open wide towards the grey skies above. The man and woman raised their fists and voices towards the skies above, only Rocky stood there with his arms crossed, but a smile on his face.

“¡Welcome to our jungle! ¡To our war!” Under the sunless skies, Kojiro Adachi smiled