“It’s 25 grunts and at least one commander.” Mako relayed, studying the group gathered outside the hostess club. “It’s the Honda family. El Pollo Delce is leading them.”

The Honda family was one of the subfamilies of the Tigers. Their leader was known as Goda ‘El Pollo Delce’ Honda.

“Apparently he didn’t get the memo the club was shut down.” Xianying stretched her limbs carefully. Tsubasa tossed her hood up. Blast gave me the signal and we took up position behind the others. We made no attempt to hide our approach. The five of us, with Xianying at the front, marched right toward the group. They turned to face us, pensive and ready for battle, but no one stepped forward.

Xianying’s voice echoed through the quiet street.

“Honda Clan. What business do you have with the Dragon?” Through the crowd of yakuza, one large man stepped forward. He wore a dazzling white suit with rhinestones all over it and a luchador mask with a distinctly chicken-like motif.

“You know damn well. We demand to see your leader.” Xianying adopted a battle stance. “To see the Dragon’s heart, you’ll have to face me. I am Xianying Chang, Teeth of the Dragon!” She brushed long strands of platinum hair aside and planted her foot forward.

I readied myself as the wave of yakuza descended on us. We’d spread ourselves evenly across the narrow street to keep the Tigers from flanking around, so we were only facing a few at a time. I was on the right wing between Xianying and Blast. The left was covered by Tsubasa and Makoto. Xianying figured it was best for me to be between two more experienced fighters. That way if I were to fall, she and Blast could adjust quickly to close the gap. Even with the relatively higher strength on average, these guys were well trained and fairly disciplined for grunts. I was having real trouble getting anything done. I could dodge, but they were far too quick for me to turn their blow back on them. Blast was a bit more successful, having one of the men closest to her holding his jaw after she nailed him with a surprise uppercut. She then used the opening to land a kick in his solar plexus. Xianying was doing the best, the three surrounding her were already down and the prone forms of their allies was making it harder for the others to get close.I couldn’t see what was going on with the other wing, but the pained grunts told me it was the Tigers who were hurting.

It was about that point that I heard a piercing scream to my right. Blast had fallen to her knees. Her opponent grabbed her by the arm and slammed his fist into her gut. Blast kicked out of his grasp but stumbled backward, holding her stomach. She collapsed to the ground.

“Blast's down!” The body of a fallen Tiger crashed into the one who’d done it. Xianying called back to me.

“Get him!” The one who’d hurt Blast pushed his buddy aside and swung at me, his wild blow clipping my left arm. I ducked then followed up just barely, swinging at his stomach from below. His chest was quite solid and it didn’t look like I was doing any damage. A powerful hand came down and tried to grab me, but I wasn’t able to slip out of it in time and it locked onto my shoulder. His fist fell at me and I scrambled to dodge it but there wasn’t anywhere I could go. The blow impacted my cheek. It stung, but I feel like it could have been much worse. I did what I could to plant my foot and slammed my heel into one of his knees that was bent to stand over me. He went bolt upright when it hit - I must have hit a nerve. His hand went to hold it in reflex, but his fingers ended up being smashed by my heel. He toppled backward and I took a deep breath right before a heavy kick landed on my hip and I was sent spinning and collapsed to the pavement. I barely had my breath back when another kick landed on my back. I curled into a ball, all I could do was mitigate damage. My leg hurt too much to try and get up. Another kick hit my left shoulder. I couldn’t do a damn thing.

A roar echoed out across the battlefield with the sunset. At her back stood a towering amazon. Her long blonde hair kicked up by the breeze.

“Honda. What is the meaning of this?” The heart of the dragon spoke clearly with unnerving calm. El Pollo Delce crossed the battlefield to confront her.

“Feigning ignorance does you no credit, foreigner.” The tassels that adorned his flashy suit drifted lazily in the breeze as he took up a stance, ready for battle.

“I truly do not understand what grievance you have with my clan.” The Boss spread her legs and lowered her arms. “But I will not hesitate to accept your challenge.”

I pulled myself up to a sitting position. By this point, the battle had stopped and all eyes were on the leaders. The Boss made the first move, running forward with shocking speed for her Aamazonian build. El Pollo Delce cartwheeled back, striking a defiant pose and pointing to the sky as he hit the landing. The Boss smiled, lowering herself into a sprinter’s crouch and bolting forward with even more speed. She threw a massive blow and the chicken man spun out of it with ease. He flamboyantly outstretched a leg in the boss’s path. The attempted trip allowed our leader to scoop up his leg and pull it forward with her. El Pollo Delce went into an uncontrolled spin. He managed to catch himself but the Boss had canceled her momentum and was low to the ground, preparing for a charge. The Boss's movements were more like a raunchy rhino than a human, a low powerful rush. El Pollo Delce sidestepped out of her path, but was just barely clipped by her shoulder and it caused him to fall again. He jumped back to his feet but the Boss was standing just beyond reach, her arms crossed and her hair flowing in the breeze. She wasn’t even breathing hard. Both of them resumed battle stances and the Boss charged forward but was dodged again. However, the Boss cut into a turn early and snapped up behind Delce, locking both of his arms and pulling him to his knees. Delce struggled but he was completely pinned. The boss grinned wide. Had she just been playing with him this whole time? Honda grunted and tried to move, but it was truly futile.

“I concede.” El Pollo Delce stammered dejectedly. “I concede.”

The Boss looked around at the gathered Tigers who all seemed to get the message. The Boss let him go and Delce turned and looked up to meet her eyes.

“Do you truly not know what happened?” The Boss lowered herself to look him square in the eyes.

“I truly do not. This is no place to speak,. I would hear you out in our humble establishment.”

Therefore, the crowd dissolved and the Boss lead everyone inside to congregate.