𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙚

ooo. |                SWORD DISTRICT was formed after the infamous and legendary gang MUGEN disbanded after their defeat to the hands of the Amamiya Brothers. Who have also seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. But because of that, ex-members of Mugen, Cobra and Yamato, formed the now famously known Sannoh Rengokai, protecting their area in the district. 

       SWORD stood for the first letters of the five groups that ruled the area. S for Sannoh Rengokai, W for The White Rascals, O for the infamous and dangerous Oya High, R for the mysterious Rude Boys, and D for Daruma Ikka. All five groups protected and monitored their areas, staying out of each other's way and business. For one wrong move from either groups will cause a war, breaking their way of living and causing trouble. But of course, since they are all on a thin line with each other, they are constantly at each other's throats. 

     They were neither friends nor enemies, but they didn't really like each other. And they had their reasons. But the only thing they had in common was to keep outsiders from messing with their way of living. Which kept their animosity at bay. 

      In the midst of all that, Izumi Kamasuda lived in Daruma territory but was known well in Sannoh territory. She worked in Naomi's bar and cafe, becoming fast friends with the regulars that stopped by. Which was just Cobra and his three friends. Or even other members of Sannoh Rengokai. Ever since she began working there, Naomi noticed the boom in her business. 

     More customers began to stop by whenever Izumi worked her shift that day. Mainly from male customers. Which was not surprising to Naomi. 

     Izumi is best described as a sunflower trapped in a rose. She had the elegance and beauty of the ruby red flower but the brightness of a sunflower. Her smile lit up an entire room perfectly, her personality rivaled a sunny day and she was always seen with a smile on her doll-like face. 

     She had no need to work at the cafe because Izumi did come from money. Her father is a very successful marine biologist who travels the world and he sends her money to help take care of her living situation. Izumi, although grateful for his help, wished that she could see him more often. Especially after losing her mother to cancer three months ago. Before that, her and her mother lived in their old family home where Izumi took care of her. Helping her to the doctors, giving her medicine. Just waiting for the inevitable to happen. 

     Her mother was at peace with her condition and told Izumi to also be prepared for it. She had aggressive stage 4 cancer and had been battling it for so long, she knew her time was coming and didn't want Izumi to be blindsided by it. 

      It helped that her mother was at peace with everything. She wanted to live the rest of her time as best as she could and Izumi made sure she was able to do so before she passed away. Which she helped her do and then some. So the end was a bittersweet goodbye but Izumi was still optimistic about life. For her mother had always told her to live her life, even after she was gone. She told her to not put her life on pause and try to stay positive. 

     The last time Izumi saw her father was at her funeral three months back. He stayed for two of those months before getting called back to work. His presence helped mend their fading relationship and it helped their grieving process. Because even though they were divorced for years, he still loved her mother very much and couldn't move on because of the love he still had for her. Their relationship was long done before the cancer but that never stopped him from wanting to be there for her and their daughter. 

      Which made Izumi miss him everyday. Even if they do talk on the phone a lot. Naomi was one of the first people to check in on Izumi after her mother's passing, being a great friend to her. In return, Izumi wanted to help her run her cafe. She didn't need to get paid anything because she was doing it as a friend and not as a co-worker. 

     But because she started working there, she wasn't privy to SWORD business. Or to most things that happened within the area. 

     "How much do you wanna bet that they'll come in here with bruises and cuts?" Izumi said, cleaning the last table for the day as Naomi stood behind the bar. 

    Naomi giggled slightly as she cleaned the glass cups. "That's a bet I know I'll lose." 

    "I swear, fighting is a way of life for people who live here." The black haired beauty chuckled out as she took a seat at the bar. "It's all they do besides eating and sleeping." 

    "Well, what did you expect?" Naomi mused over, sighing. "Everyone here has something to protect. Rather it is family or friends or even lovers." 

     Izumi nodded, agreeing with her. She couldn't argue with that. This entire district was people's homes and livelihood. They would do anything to protect it. 

    Suddenly, the door swings open and in comes Cobra with Yamato and two of their other friends. All had some kind of minor injuries on their bodies. Except their leader, who looked fine. Just a few bruises here and there. 

     "Day after day, you guys are fighting." Naomi lectured, sighing after she was done helping Yamato. She hated when they fought all the time. Her cafe was turning into a hospital, at this point. "Are you idiots?" 

    "You don't think I'm an idiot, right?" Tetsu whispered to Izumi as she tends to a cut on his forehead. 

     She giggled inaudibly before patting the top of his head. "You're not an idiot, Tetsu-chan." 

      "What's so bad about beating up trash?" Yamato asked, not seeing why she was upset with them. 

     "That's right! Lately, those bastards have been dealing and making money from drugs and in the end, they creep on girls, between eating and sleeping." Tetsu added, putting his phone down. 

    "We understand that," Izumi chimed in, suddenly gathering her purse. "But Naomi-nee and I just want you to be careful. It's getting even more dangerous lately and I would hate to have something happen to you all." 

     They smiled at her. Izumi is a caring person. She never lectured them on their fighting because she knew they were protecting their home. But she also didn't want anything to happen to them. She cared about all of them very much and they were grateful for her.

     "I have to go before it gets too dark."  She announced, putting her purse on her shoulder. "It's already sunset." 

    "Do you need a ride home?" Dan asked. Knowing how far she lived away from them. 

    But Izumi politely declined. "It's okay. I'm going to wait for Maki-chan to get off of work and then head home with her. I don't live too far from her workplace and she lives in the same neighborhood as me."

     "You know, we don't like you traveling too far." Cobra spoke up, looking up from his magazine briefly. "Especially since you two live in Daruma territory." 

     "And that's exactly why you can't take me home." She shot back, walking towards the door. "Any of you takes one step into Daruma territory, and it's over. Goodnight." 

    "Goodnight, Zumi-chan." Naomi bidded her goodbye. "See you on Tuesday." 

          Sannoh area was located to the right side of Nameless Street. Where Rude Boys were located. Her friends didn't know this but sometimes, when she's not working at the cafe, she would use some of the money her father would send her to help out the people of the impoverished area. She would come around every Friday to help feed some of the homeless people there, read and play with the kids and buy things for them such as medicine, food, water and toys. Her face has become quite known in the area. 

      But if Cobra or anyone else figured that out, they would flip their lids about it. So she kept it as her own little secret. 

      Izumi exited the train station, clutching her purse to her side as she moved through the crowd of people. There was always a celebration going on in the area. In Daruma territory, there were a lot of festivals and parties being hosted there. There were also a lot of temples people would go to pray at almost all hours of the day and night. Casinos, fair grounds and clubs were popular in the area. Outdoors food vendors and diners, shopping areas and lots of rural areas decorated the loud place. And Izumi loved it. 

     She had her own apartment near one of the busy streets. Possibly the safest place to live in a place like that. 

     Her friend, Maki Fujioka, worked in a very popular casino as a bartender and since she lived pretty close to her, she would drop her off home first before driving home after work. It was Maki's way of having them both stay safe. Better than to have Izumi walk home where anything could happen, right? Girls gotta stick together nowadays. 

     "Evening." Izumi greeted the security guard as she walked close to the door. The bouncer gave her a nod before opening the door for her. 

     As soon as she entered the place, she was met with the heavy noise of music, people dancing and smoking and nothing but red lights as she maneuvered her way to the bar. Judging by her time, Maki had about an hour left of her shift. She would usually wait in a secluded place but judging by the amount of people that were here, there was no way she would be able to find a secluded seat anywhere. 

      "Zumi-chan~!" Maki greets as she serves three drinks to some group of girls. A smile graced her well defined face, watching Izumi take an empty seat at the bar. She is a very pretty girl, always seen with a pink hibiscus flower clip in her hair, pinning one side of her black hair. "Good that you made it. I have an extra hour since one of the other bartenders had to leave early. I hope you don't mind the wait." 

     Izumi smiled back, shaking her head. "Not at all. I'm just glad I got here before the night came." 

     Maki hummed, grabbing a tall glass and filling it up with ice. She poured cherry coke into the glass and decorated it with a plastic red sunflower and a long red bendable straw. She placed the soda in front of Izumi, topping it with a cherry. "On the house, like always." 

     "Thank you." She thanked, taking the glass in her hand. She didn't drink alcohol at all because she didn't like the sick feeling or the taste of it. And when she did drink, she only drank sweet drinks. "I hope your boss won't get angry with you." 

    Maki shrugged, waving her hand at her. "Eh, he never really pays attention to us, anyways. Hyuga-san is usually too high or drunk to even care, anyways." 

    Izumi has heard of Hyuga. Because she and Maki were friends with Cobra, they were well informed with what was going on within SWORD business. Much to his dismay. Izumi has heard of Hyuga but has never seen him before. She has seen some of Daruma's members roaming the streets whenever she was in the shopping district because they always wore the same red jackets. But she has never actually seen their leader before. 

     "Still looking out for your festival love?" Maki asked in a teasing manner as she continued to work. She flashed her mischievous smile at her. 

    Izumi blushed, drinking her soda through her straw to hide her sheepish smile. "Stop that, Maki-nee chan." 

     Three weeks ago, The Cherry Blossom Festival took place to commemorate the beginning of spring and Maki invited Izumi with her. Along with some of her other female co-workers, Izumi got dressed in pretty traditional kimonos and had a blast with her. 

    In the middle of the fireworks show, Izumi locked eyes with a stranger from across the crowd after dancing with her friends. She didn't know who the stranger was, nor did she get to talk to him before Maki pulled her away. But she hoped she would see him again someday soon. 

    Ever since then, Maki has teased her by calling him her festival love. 

    "Who knows, maybe you'll see him again." Maki chimed in again. "He could be closer than you think." 

     "I doubt that." Izumi mumbled, rolling her eyes. "This place is always crowded. The chances of me seeing him again are very slim." 

     From acrossed the casino, past the gambling customers, sat Norihisa Hyuga, leader of Daruma Ikka. He lazily lounged on his couch, watching the people that partied and gambled, ignoring the dancing girls all around him and his men. Smoke escaped his lips as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He was already bored of his night. Nothing exciting happened tonight. He got out of prison not too long ago and his men wanted to celebrate his release. No one else from SWORD knew of his release yet and he wanted to keep it that way for a while. If he was going to enact his revenge, he was going to be smart about it. 

     So he kept his release a secret until he had the perfect time to strike. 

    Just as he was getting bored, his eyes continued to people watch until he looked right at the bar. Something caught his eyes immediately. There was a girl sitting at the bar, wearing a red top and black jeans. Her back was turned away from the crowd as she talked to one of the female bartenders, whom he cannot for the life of him, remember the name of. ( he was usually too high to even remember other people's names, anyways now. ) 

    But as soon as she was done talking to her, she spun around in her seat, allowing the bartender to go back to work. Hyuga suddenly woke up even more as soon as her face was revealed. 

    He raised his head up slightly, remembering her face. She was the same girl he saw at the Cherry Blossom Festival not too long ago. She was drinking out of a long glass with a red sunflower umbrella in it. 

    Something in Hyuga woke up all the way and suddenly, he wasn't so bored of his surroundings anymore. 

     Ever since he saw her, he couldn't get his mind off of her. He secretly wondered who she was, where she lived, what her name was and if she lived in the area. When he was by himself, he would often paint her face using nothing but his memories. But even those weren't as beautiful as the real deal. 

    "You suddenly look interested in something, Hyuga-sama." Sakyo interrupted his thoughts, nudging him. "What caught your eye?" 

     Without taking his eyes off of the beautiful stranger, Hyuga slurred out. "Her......at the bar.." He nodded his head in her direction. "Who is she?" 

    Sakyo frowned a little before looking in the direction he was facing. He saw a girl in a red top sitting at the bar by herself, just drinking and people watching. He remembers her being someone Hyuga had been so hell bent on finding ever since the Cherry Blossom Festival. He also noticed her coming into the casino every tuesday and then leaving with Maki after an hour or so. 

    "Don't know." He shrugged, staring at her. "But she seems to know Maki-san. Why?" 

    Hyuga stayed quiet before taking a long drag from his pipe. He let the thick white smoke escape his mouth before speaking again. "Find out who she is for me." 

     She was here and Hyuga was not going to lose this chance to know her. 

I kind of changed some things about
the story to fit in everything. I want their
relationship to start some time before 
the events of Season One or some time 
before Daruma appeared in the show. 

It creates more drama if Cobra finds out 
that Hyuga is smitten with a friend of his. 

Also, I love the idea of Murayama being 
all childish and cute when it comes to 
Izumi. Like I want them to have like a 
Dotting and Motherly Big sister and
adoring little brother relationship. Where 
she is super motherly to him and he 
craves her affection and love 24/7. 

Because jealous Hyuga is a cute Hyuga. 
( the guy's batshit but you get it. )

dont forget to vote and comment! 
Love you!