Angel's Authority

Part Two, Chapter Thirty-Four: Kazuo Akuji

Based on the Volition Inc.™ game: Saints Row 2™

THE BOSS

"Wǒ hěn gāoxìng nǐ hé wǒ yīqǐ zuò zhè jiàn shì, zhāng xiānshēng."

Another language that mother had told me to learn. It was easier to converse with Mr. Chang in Mandarin. We were headed to the Chinese heritage festival, where he assured me that Kazuo will be. I was glad that he was doing this with me.

"Dāngrán. Méiyǒu rén bú fù qián jiù shāle xiǎo nǚhái. Fǎnzhèng yīfū yě xūyào huán yīxiē zhài."

And as far as I could understand him, Kazuo and Chang had history. Kazuo ordering the killing of Aisha had made him almost as angry as me and Johnny. He wanted Kazuo dead as much as we did. They had been rivals while they operated their gangs from overseas. Chang had given up his Beijing Tigers a long time ago though, becoming the Saints' confidante since I had taken them over.

"Ér nǐ quèdìng tā huì chūxí qìngdiǎn?"

I asked him whether he was sure that Kazuo was at the festival. Today was the Chinese Heritage festival yet I had not really asked about the cultural background but I fell in love with the vibrant decorations and smells of food immediately. The one thing amazing about Stilwater is how many cultures clashed together and lived close to each other. Europeans, South-Americans, Asian cultures, African cultures. There was a splash of everything.

"Shì de, tā huì zài de. Tā bù huì fàngguò rènhé yīgè huǐmiè zhōnghuá wénhuà de jīhuì. Yǒu tā de chuán. Wǒ zhǐ huì zǒu zhème yuǎn. Qǐng wèi wǒmen de xiǎo nǚhái bàochóu xuěhèn..."

That sounded like Kazuo. Destroying everything that was beautiful. Crashing the Chinese heritage festival lacked almost as much respect as crashing a funeral. Chang pointed at a boat in the distance, where Kazuo would be.

"Wǒ huì de, zhāng xiānshēng. Zhù nǐ hǎo​yùn!"

I will avenge her, don't worry is what I told him before he wished me good luck and calling me by the name I used here when I first came here, making me chuckle.

"Zhù nǐ hǎoyùn, yī wá pèi ēn."

I said goodbye to him, giving him a short bow before he pulled me into a gentle hug, making me smile. I knew that he cared deeply in this moment. Cared about his friends and acquaintances. I would miss him a lot, should I ever leave this place. But for now, I was focused on the more present issues: Kazuo is going to be dead by the end of the day...

His boat was a little off shore, reminding me of the yacht and bringing back painful memories. I rented out a small motorboat to reach and was faced with no Ronin resistance, to my surprise. From a distance, the boat looked desolate but I would not let this façade fool me.

I got on and so far, there was no Ronin presence still. As a matter of fact, the boat was quite festively decorated. Colorful ribbons were draped along the walls and sides which were just as equally painted. In colors of vermillion, jade and cyan. There were also swords, spears, and masks of traditional Japanese culture along the walls. And now I saw the derision in this entire boat.

Driving around the Chinese heritage festival in a boat, decorated traditionally Japanese. I picked a spear from the wall since I had come here straight from the funeral and had no weapons. I had entirely forgotten how it feels like to wield a polearm and how good it felt. I spun it around my body, remembering father's training.

It had been so long ago since he trained all of his daughters in the essential knowledge that a royal of Oz had to have. Diplomatic, magical and combat skills, should one be deprived of one's magic. I had favored spears back then and still did. With one of those in my hand, I was unbeatable. Not even Theodora's aggressive ax combat could compete with my swift skills. I'm drifting off again...