Until the Last Man

“Yo, still alive, Shiroyan?” Ryuji puffed, clearly out of breath.

“Hard to believe I can last longer than Hurt Me Ozaki, but yeah, managing.”

Despite that statement, Shirokawa was looking rather weary and ragged.

Ryuji looked over at his downed captain, who had charged straight through a hundred people and weathered blows from all sides. He had never been one to block as pain made him strike harder. But even he had found his limit when the numbers were too much. It seemed like no matter how many they took down, more stood in their way to Samukawa.

The current head of the Tenjou Clan had taken over an entire army through Grace’s powers, and now, they had formed a wall protecting him. It was like bees guarding their queen. A hivemind that Samukawa could control at his beck and call.

“Some chairman you are…”

Ryuji trudged forward, dodging blows and weaving through the bodies as he returned fire and moved forward, step by step. The snide grin of a fragile man protected by his toys kept Ryuji’s eyes ahead. Frankly, he had long blown through his normal reserves, unsure how his body kept moving on fumes. But he knew that if he fell, a lot of things would be gone.

Shirokawa’s back brushed against his, no doubt making sure that he could keep moving without having to worry about sneak attacks. The remnants of the clan not under Samukawa’s control had likely fallen by now, unable to go toe-to-toe with Yama Ryu fight-alikes.

A right uppercut came for him, which he slid around and kneed the assailant. As his body buckled, Ryuji hoisted him up and tossed him into three guys, bowling them over. A low sweep forced him to hop, and when it transitioned to a flip kick, a hammer blow all but stopped that momentum.

From a glance, Ryuji could tell which one of his moves they were attempting. And with his fast reaction time, he could execute a perfect counter time after time. But as the body count rose to the hundreds, he moved a bit ever so slower. His nerves fired less energetically, and he blinked right at the wrong time.

A blow or two slipped through his defenses every so often. And over the whole fight, the damage continued to pile up.

Something hard slammed against his back.

“Shiroyan! You alright?!”

“Yeah… keep… going…”

Ryuji didn’t have time to look back. Shirokawa was the nimbler of the two, but each blow that cut into him was far more significant. Ryuji started a mental count as he blasted through his next set of opponents. As he counted up to ten KOs without feeling his friend at his back, a sinking feeling grew in his stomach.

“Shiroyan, you g-gahhHHH!”

A knife pierced Ryuji’s back, causing him to whirl around and deck whoever was holding the other end. He instinctively pulled out the knife, but blood trickled from the eye of his dragon tattoo and down the mountain.

Shirokawa was on the ground, unconscious, as members of the SAT team were handcuffing him. Ryuji wanted to go back and help his kyoudai, but that wouldn’t improve his situation at all. He turned around, just in time to see a bat swing for his face.

Backpedaling, he winced as a tonfa smacked him across the lead leg. The blow was just enough to cause him to push off slower. The end of the bat nicked him across the chin.

As Ryuji took several steps back, suddenly, he felt power drain from his body. The grazing blow had hit the right spot to send a shock to his brain to shut everything down. And as he collapsed to his knees, the blows started raining down.

Pain exploded as hard impacts battered Ryuji all over. All he could do was slide further and further down until his palms were the only thing holding him from kissing the floor. Even then, the blows didn’t stop. Blood slid down his back and dripped on the ground around him. Bruises formed all over, until the tattoo on his back lost its vibrancy amid the black and blue.

The dragon had lost its wings. It could no longer ascend the mountain. And with how far he climbed, it felt like a very long way down.

Eventually, a set of footsteps snidely slid before his eyes. The attacks lessened enough for Ryuji to look up and see Samukawa with a victorious glow.

“Look at you, the unbeatable Yama Ryu. Only human in the end. You know, you could have just fallen in line with the rest, commanded your own Yama Ryu army. All that effort easily duplicated by others so that you can retire with a perfect record.”

Ryuji defiantly looked at him, spitting upon those words.

“But of course, I knew that you wouldn’t take the bait. You’re too prideful of a man. Unbending even to your boss, no matter how much he wanted you to take up his reins. That insubordinate mentality wouldn’t work well in my grand plan, so I had you go on a little goose chase to make you think it was for the good of the clan. Your kyoudai fell for it hard as well. All it took to convince him was to make you seemingly the top choice for the next head.”

Samukawa motioned for several SAT members to grab Ryuji by the arms. They proceeded to handcuff him.

“I think it’s best to leave you rotting in prison. Thanks for causing a riot. It was the perfect excuse to strike off a payroll that had no intention of joining in on my fun.”

Ryuji was forced to his feet, dragging his worn body to the nearest police van to be sent to a maximum-security penitentiary. He would never set foot in Kakushicho again, or Tokyo for that matter. The hardest inmates to deal with were often shipped off to some island prison, where escape was nigh impossible.

The door opened for him, but before he got in the car, Samukawa left him some parting words.

“Heh, imagine being finally rid of the biggest thorn in my side. My most unexpected oversight that came from ordering that brat to die.”

Suddenly, the SAT members had a hard time pushing Ryuji into the car. He had braced himself against the van, unmovable. With a cold voice, he turned around and asked.

“Brat? Who are you talking about now?”

Samukawa shut up immediately, but Ryuji’s eyes caught fire as he knew what that silence implied.

“You were the one that ordered that accident on Ojou.”

Someone came between them to push Ryuji in, but that person was instantly slammed into the van. With renewed strength, Ryuji had thrown him aside. Another two tried their luck as, even cuffed, the Yama Ryu had not been tamed.

In the next instant, the door was kicked off its hinges before Ryuji gripped the side and slammed it across the both of them. Samukawa backpedaled as Ryuji wielded the door like a claymore, beckoning anyone to come forward and be sliced in half.

Even still, Samukawa insisted that it was futile.

“Yamaoka, give it up. More than a thousand men on my side against just you. Sure, you might have stood a chance if you were in top condition, but in your state? Accidental lethal force might just happen.”

Ryuji couldn’t deny it. That surge of power came from a fit of anger, and now, the door was starting to feel a bit heavy. His body was braced right up against the side of the van as his legs barely worked. Seemingly, the only part of him untouched was his eyes.

“Fuck off. I’ll haunt you from the grave if I have to.”

With that, Samukawa waved for his army to march forward to see through to the end of the Yama Ryu.

Suddenly, a horn sounded in the distance. Everyone looked around as the sound of more horns flooded from outside the square. A line of cars burst from the streets and skidded to a halt all around the perimeter.

Right after, doors opened and a stream of black-suited yakuza spilled out, lining the edges like a squadron ready to charge. Ryuji looked over at Samukawa, who was every bit as confused as him.

But then, someone familiar popped out of one car with a megaphone, causing Ryuji’s eyes to widen.

Godo Takashima.

“We came here to give our tidings to the new head of the Tenjou Clan, and whadda I see? A traitor cozying up to government pigs, while the real man tries to salvage whatever reputation our ‘rivals’ have left. How stupid.”

More and more yakuza streamed out, displaying the force of the Azumito Alliance. They immediately came forward to engage with the remainder of Samukawa’s army.

Samukawa himself looked completely lost as the numbers had flipped again. He only recovered as Ryuji started chasing after him, door still in hand.

In a panic, Samukawa ordered his men to charge at Ryuji, but they could do nothing at the man charging with a shield held in front. He retreated into the thickest numbers around him, letting them handle the Yama Ryu’s second wind. After he passed, they held up their shields to form a barrier.

Ryuji gritted his teeth when he felt resistance, no longer able to push forward through the crowd. Samukawa was just out of reach again. He backed away, clicking his tongue in annoyance, but then, a loud battle cry erupted, and several SAT members were knocked back, their shields blasted from them.

Akagi crossed his path, sledgehammer in hand. They exchanged glances before he continued down his path of destruction.

“Couldn’t help but capitalize on the chance of having the Yama Ryu owe us.”

Ryuji turned around to see Takashima walking up to him, his bodyguards clearing out all those in their vicinity.

“And why would you do something like that?” Ryuji asked.

Takashima cocked a grin that oozed of a slimeball masking a serious tone.

“Cause, unlike that chump, we actually respect those that show courage. Tenjou Clan’s no good with people like that at the helm. It’s bad for business. It’s bad for yakuza nationwide. Before we get into all this infighting between locales, our number one enemy has always been this society and how it treats us like shit. If they want to band together against us, then we’ll do the same.”

Takashima brought out his hand, signaling for a shake. Ryuji no longer had a reason for the ill will against the Azumito Alliance, now that the true culprit had revealed himself. He gripped Takashima’s hand and shook.

“Though I did come in hopes of rallying you to our cause, you’re not quite in the right shape to lead another charge. Got any ideas running through your head? My boys can take the edge off, but from what I’ve seen on the news, our enemies seem to be rather fierce.”

“Heh, there’s not much I can do but smash people with my hands. I left the other hard work to someone else.”

“And that someone is?”

Just then, Ryuji’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket, surprised that it was still working. The fight had cracked the screen at some point, but he could just make out the Server of Rye’s contact info.

To the dragon guarding reality, the hero has realized his dream.

Ryuji cocked his head in wonder at the message, trying to understand what it meant. It sounded like a riddle that he didn’t have time for. But as he looked up, he caught sight of pink hair on the screens overlooking the square.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

“Greetings, we are live at Cinema Square! It is I, Grace, reporting the latest in the chaos happening there!”

Ryuji’s jaw dropped.

When he had heard the plan initially, he wondered just what would happen after Grace was freed. It was Haru that told him, “Whatever she wants to.”

But no one expected for her to hack into a nationwide broadcast showing the battle of Cinema Square.