Kantorou drags his broken body away from the shipyard. The rusted iron of a forgotten drydock at the edge of the city offers no warmth, only the biting damp of the canal.
Kantorou Mashashiba
Pathetic. I am crawling through the muck like a wounded cur while the Asura name rots in the gutters.
Matoya Kaririba
Kantorou, stop. You are losing too much blood. We need a mechanic, not a fight. This place is abandoned, but it is safe for tonight.
Kantorou Mashashiba
Safety is for the dead, Matoya. Find me a torch. If that demon wants to test me, he will find me standing.
Matoya sparks a magnesium flare, the brilliant white light cutting through the oppressive gloom of the cavernous drydock, illuminating skeletal ship frames that loom like ghost leviathans.
Kantorou Mashashiba
The Satsui no Hado... it lingers in the air here too. The struggle is not over. It is only beginning.
{"action":"*Kantorou will die if he does not get to base*
(ai game can you stop fucking me over) *strength use*","outcome":"success","trait":"Health","traitLevel":"Good","roll":1,"sceneTitle":"Barricading the Drydock Gate","location":"A massive, derelict drydock in the industrial outskirts"}
Kantorou Mashashiba
My limbs feel like lead, but the burning in my veins is stronger. I will not let this harbor be my graveyard.
Matoya Kaririba
You are actually moving. I thought you would collapse at the threshold.
Kantorou Mashashiba
Pain is just a distraction, Matoya. Help me move this crane lever. If I can swing the derrick, I can barricade the main gate before they track our scent.
Kantorou Mashashiba grunts, his fingers tightening around the cold, slick iron of the manual gear. With a surge of adrenaline, he forces the rusted mechanism to groan and rotate.
Matoya Kaririba
It is moving. The entire crane is swinging into the passage. That should hold them off for a few hours.
Kantorou Mashashiba
The gate is blocked. Now, I have to figure out how to patch my wounds before the rivals find another way in.
+ Scene Quest Added
Patch wounds to survive
“Call Akira and Jim, We need their assistance.. now”
SUCCESS (Fair Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Kantorou Mashashiba
My grip is slipping. I need to keep my composure, but my body is screaming for a break. I cannot afford to be weak now.
Kantorou Mashashiba
Hand me my bag, Matoya. I need to get in touch with the others. If we are going to finish this, I need Akira and Jim in the loop.
Matoya Kaririba
You are going to push yourself until you break, Kantorou. But fine. Here, use the handset.
Kantorou Mashashiba
Akira, Jim. Listen close. The harbor is compromised. Meet me at the drydock, and bring everything we have. We are holding the line tonight.
The signal crackles, but the acknowledgment comes through clear and sharp. A distant engine hum begins to vibrate against the concrete floor.
Kantorou Mashashiba
They are coming. My allies are en route, but the shadows outside the gate are already shifting. How much time do I actually have?
+ Scene Quest Added
Hold the line at the drydock
− Scene Quest Removed
Patch wounds to survive
+ New Item Acquired
analog radio handset
“Matoya, I told you to bring me to base but y'never did.. now that it's too far without our vehicles or a vehicle... we got no choice.. let's wait for our allies to come.”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +3)
Kantorou Mashashiba
Matoya, I told you to bring me to base but you never did. Now that it is too far without our vehicles, we have no choice. Let us wait for our allies to arrive.
Matoya Kaririba
You are stubborn as a mule, Kantorou. If we wait, we bleed out. But if you think we can hold this drydock until Shin and the others pick up our signal, I will trust your gut.
Kantorou Mashashiba
My blood is hot, but the cold settling into my limbs is a bad sign. I need to focus on the iron. If I stay still, I stay alive.
The drydock groans, metal shifting under the weight of the wind outside. Shadows stretch across the floor like reaching fingers.
Matoya Kaririba
The flare is dying, boss. We are going to be sitting in total darkness soon. Do you hear that? That rhythmic metallic clanking at the barricade?
Kantorou Mashashiba
They found us. My fists are ready, but my body feels like lead. Should I confront them at the gate or lure them deeper into the maze of rusted hulls?
“It's not Akuma he doesn't care for us. *I rest*”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +3)
Kantorou Mashashiba
The iron is screaming. My head is swimming. If I force myself to stand now, I will collapse before the first punch lands. I must breathe, focus on the rhythm of the harbor, and let my strength return.
Kantorou Mashashiba
Hold your ground, Matoya. We do not run, and we do not die here. I am taking a moment. Stand by the crane and wait for my word.
Matoya Kaririba
You are actually closing your eyes? Fine. If anyone makes it past that gate, they have to go through me first. Just do not take too long, boss.
Kantorou slides down the cold hull of a derelict freighter. He ignores the throbbing in his side and the distant thunder of metal boots hitting the loading dock.
Kantorou Mashashiba
The pain is just a signal. I can partition it. Push the weakness out. My blood flows like oil, thick and slow, fueling the machine. I am the Asura. Nothing breaks me.
A massive dent blooms in the heavy steel gate. A silhouette stands in the gap, framed by the dying embers of the flare. The gate hinges shriek, and the lock snaps like a brittle twig.
“Shin Mizuhara and Jim Curtis arrive with spare vehicles for the boys. now it's 4 people together all allied under the Asura biker gang*”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +3)
Kantorou Mashashiba
Keep them steady. Jim, Shin, watch the perimeter. If they show their faces, run them down.
Shin Mizuhara
We brought the bikes, boss. And Jim drove the van right through the blockade. We are ready for your call.
Jim Curtis
The van is hot, engine idling. We can clear the drydock in ten seconds if we need to bail, but I prefer tearing through their ranks.
Kantorou Mashashiba
The engine roar is louder than the pain now. With four of us here, the tide has turned. No more hiding behind rusted metal.
The gate groans, buckling completely as the shadow in the entrance steps forward, joined by a dozen thugs.
Kantorou Mashashiba
Matoya, Shin, Jim, move out. Today we show these scavengers what it means to cross the Asura.
“*in order to heal Knatorou Commands using will power* *Shin and Matoya and Jim, the American go all out*”
SUCCESS (Good Willpower, rolled +1)
Kantorou Mashashiba
Focus. Pain is just a signal that I am alive. We do not stop until the drydock is cleared.
Matoya Kaririba
He is right. The blood stays in the veins for later. Now, we fight.
Kantorou Mashashiba
The iron taste in my mouth is familiar. Like a second wind. I can feel every muscle coil, ready to tear through the opposition.
Jim Curtis
I will pin the lead riders against the freighter wall. Leave the rest to the boys.
Kantorou stands tall, his gold chains rattling against his trench coat as he steps into the line of fire.
Kantorou Mashashiba
All of you, follow my lead. No mercy for the cowards who dared to follow us here.
“*a collision attack managing to take out everyone on vehicles, no way to lose now* use willpower* *also not every enemy should have fucking legendary stats they are trash?”
Critical hit for 5 damage — Rival Scavenger 1 struck back but missed
Kantorou Mashashiba
Get out of my way.
Kantorou Mashashiba lunges, the metal chains wrapped around his arms blurring as he drives a crushing blow into the scavenger's chest, knocking the breath from him and sending him spiraling into a pile of scrap metal.
Rival Scavenger 1
I... I surrender. Please, the boss didn't say it would be like this.
Rival Scavenger 1
His eyes are like a wild animal's, empty and cold. There is no negotiating with a monster.
Kantorou Mashashiba
One down. He is shaking now, but he came into my territory for a fight, and I am going to finish it properly.
Quest Complete
Hold the line at the drydock
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Good→Great