The Hinomoto Rebellion (46 page)

Fushicho and D looked down at Roni as she called out, “FOXFIRE!”

The dark-skinned man looked over briefly before turning his attention back to the fight, narrowly avoiding Bear’s meaty fist. He quickly struck the side of Bear’s arm, sending him into a partial spin. As soon as his back was toward Foxfire, the dark-skinned
ronin
brought both of his hands down on the back of the big man’s skull. There was a loud thump as Bear fell to his knees and crashed to the floor, his eyes rolled back in his head.

Roni ran over to Foxfire. “Where’s Andrea?” she demanded.

He looked down at the small girl. “You are one of the rebels Andrea is with?” Roni nodded. “I’ll take you to the Tiger then,” continued Foxfire.

“Then let’s go!” D said.

The four
ronin
quickly turned and headed toward a nearby stairwell.

Kanjou and Shogun Kunota rushed out of the third floor stairwell. The brown-haired
ronin
kept going down the hall, but Kunota stopped. “Wait! Wait!” he said, causing Kanjou to stop and turn around. “Who are you?” he asked through his labored panting.

Kanjou walked up and gave a quick bow. “Tsukai Kanjou, Shogun. I’m part of the Aka Ryuu. We’re the
ronin
that Daimyo Shinrai gathered to help you. I’m here to protect you from Daimyo Yasakuto.”

The Shogun raised an eyebrow at the martial artist. “You knew Shinrai?”

“Of course sir. I was his personal contact with the Aka Ryuu. He loved Hinomoto very much, which is why I’m here. Now, if you’ll excuse my rudeness,” he reached out and grabbed Kunota’s wrist, “we have to get you someplace safe.”

The brunet quickly turned and tore off down the hall, dragging the Shogun toward the point the Aka Ryuu had decided would be the safest one in the building.

Foxfire, Roni, Fushicho and D ran up the stairs to the fourth floor. “This way,” said Foxfire, pulling the door open, “She’s being held in the Shogun’s office.”

As the four
ronin
stepped into the hallway there was the sound of guns readying from down the hall. As one unit, they turned to see a group of five police officers in the hall, all pointing pistols at them.

“Stop right there and put your hands up,
ochiudo
!” yelled one of the police.

D let out a yell and ran straight for them as they opened fire on him. Fushicho grabbed Roni and shoved her to the floor while Foxfire took off after D. The green-haired Aka Ryuu zig-zagged down the hallway, avoiding the frantic shots from the police as he closed the distance between them.
With a roar of rage, D leaped across the final meter toward the police, his outstretched legs crashing in the chest of the man in the middle and knocking him to the floor. D used the officer like a springboard, leaping up and delivering a spin-kick that landed directly in the face of the policeman to his right.

Foxfire swerved to the left, clothes-lining the two men and sending them crashing to the floor, each clutching their necks and gagging. The brown-skinned
ronin
spun to his right, his fist out and heading toward the final gunman just as D hit the ground from his kick, his fist also coming around toward the last man’s face.

There was a deafening crack as both Foxfire and D’s punches landed on the officer’s head, immediately sending him to the floor.

 

Outside of Kunota’s office loud crashes were coming from down the hall. Andrea and Aki looked toward the door, both knowing the sounds of combat when they heard it. “Well now, I wonder if these are your rebels coming to save you. I think I’ll go greet them,” jeered Aki.

Andrea scowled, “I hope they tear your ass apart!” Aki ignored the comment and headed toward the door, bo in hand. In a moment she was gone and Andrea was alone in Kunota’s office. “Dammit!” Andrea let a string of obscenities loose as she started to pull viciously at the ropes that held her to the chair. “I! WANT! OUT!” she screamed with frustration, trying to either snap the binding or break the chair. Both held fast, making Andrea roar with anger.

Out in the hallway Roni, D, Fushi, and Foxfire came around the corner and stopped in their tracks. Standing about ten meters away from them was Aki. She stood facing them in the middle of the hall, leaning on her staff as though there was no battle going on.

“A.. Aki! You’re okay!” Roni exclaimed, relief in her voice. Aki took her staff up in her hands. “Of course I am,” she purred.

The hair on the back of Fushicho’s neck stood on end. She reached up and grabbed Roni’s shoulder, preventing her from moving forward to embrace the woman. Fushi’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the matter, Aki?”

“Why, nothing’s the matter, Fushicho. I just can’t let you all pass.” Aki smirked, holding the bo out in front of her.

D shot Foxfire a look, one green eyebrow raised. Foxfire looked away from him, his expression one of shame. “What do you mean?” said Roni as Fushi tried to push the girl behind her.

“Oh for the love of...” Aki sighed in exasperation, “How much more obvious do I have to be? I can’t let you pass because
I was never on your side and I won’t let you get to Andrea.
Is that simple enough for your small, idealistic brains to comprehend, or do you need it drawn out for you?”

The three Aka Ryuu looked taken aback. Foxfire silently berated himself for forgetting to warn them. D, Fushi, and Roni were dumb struck. “B-but...” stammered Roni, “You were with us... You begged to join us...”

“I begged to join you because I was told to sabotage you! I did everything I could to make your lives hell and keep you from getting this far– I even kidnapped the star of your rebellion! And none of you were smart enough to see through to the truth. Stupid noble-minded rebels.”

At that, Roni broke Fushicho’s hold on her shoulder. With an ear-piercing scream, the small girl tore down the hall toward Aki, closing the distance to her at a flat out run. Roni leaped into the air, her arms raised above her head and her cry still sounding from her throat. The small Aka Ryuu brought her fists down on Aki’s face just as she landed knees-first on her chest, sending them both to the ground. In a normal fight, Roni wouldn’t have stood a chance against Aki, but the larger woman had been taken by surprise.

“You two, go find Andrea!” barked Fushi, running forward to get Roni.

 

“Right! Come on, D!” Foxfire grabbed Densetsu’s sleeve and pulled him down the hallway while Fushi headed for Roni.

Roni sat on Aki’s chest and repeatedly brought her fists down on her face and neck while she screamed with rage. A few yards away stood Fushi, unsure if she should risk pulling the girl off of Aki. In her anger, the girl might not recognize her and then Fushi might find herself on the receiving end of a blow.

Fushi didn’t have to decide once Aki regained part of her senses, though. With a mighty shove, Aki hurled the girl off her chest and sent her flying into Fushicho’s legs. The red-head crashed to the floor with the small girl on top of her, the wind knocked out of both of them.

The three girls laid in the hall for a moment. Aki began to rise to her feet, using her bo for support as she did so. Blood dripped from Aki’s nose as a black bruise began forming under her eye. “You little...
bitch!
” she panted, wiping the blood off her face with the back of her hand.

Fushi struggeld to sit up, glaring at Aki. “Roni, you okay?” she nudged the girl, who groaned and rolled over, sitting up. Fushicho got to her feet, keeping an eye on Aki even though the black-haired girl still seemed like she was trying to get herself oriented. The redhead reached down and helped Roni get up from the floor, then turned and assumed a stance. Roni looked up, then did the same.

“Awww, isn’t this cute,” scoffed Aki, “Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum are going to fight me. This should be entertaining,” she purred as she readied her bo. “Bring it on, girls.”

Andrea heard the doorknob to Kunota’s office jiggle and someone yell “Locked!” on the other side of it. A few seconds later there was a loud thud on the other side of the door that made the kaya wood groan. More bangs and thuds continued until finally the wood gave way, letting Foxfire and D into the room. D’s blue and gold eyes widened as he took in the amount of blood that was soaking her clothes.

“Oh god! Andrea! What did they do to you!?” D raced to her side and began to work on the ropes that held her raw wrists and ankles. Foxfire approached the chair slowly, looking embarrassed. Andrea stared up at him.

“Andrea, I,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I’m really sorry.” was all he could manage.
“Foxfire, you hit like a girl anyway. Don’t worry about it.”

The tall dark-skinned man knew that was Andrea’s way of saying “Apology accepted, no hard feelings. We’re still friends.” He would have blushed if the situation wasn’t more urgent, but instead he bent down and worked on the ropes that remained around her limbs.

The two finally freed Andrea and D helped her to her feet, putting her arm around his shoulder. “We have to find the Shogun,” she said, “Yasakuto won’t stop until Kunota’s dead.”

“Don’t worry, that’s where we’re going now,” said Foxfire.

“No, Foxfire. D and I are going to stop Yasakuto. You’re going home to your family. I heard Yasakuto’s threats, and I’d feel better knowing you were there to protect Asanagi-san.” She gave him a small smile. “Besides, you’re probably going through a sugar withdrawal by now, and I know your wife’s been baking.”