02x08 - Joint Front

[bunniefuu]

All right, so...

As a thank you for cheering up
old Ito-san...

Cheers!

Thank you, thank you.

Wait! Sakura-san,
you need to do a toast first!

It's fine, it's okay. Eat up.

Tasty, isn't it?
The food here is really good, too!

Make sure to eat a ton.
It's all my treat today.

Sakura-san doesn't mind even
when the place is so adult-oriented.

Suo-san, you seem to be fine, too.

He's been so animated lately.
He's like a completely different person now.

He dresses up and heads out to movies
or plays almost every day.

He said he's going to stock up stories
to tell his wife before he joins her.

That sounds kinda morbid.

But he's able to think that way
thanks to all of you.

Really. Thank you.

W-We didn't do anything!

Right, Sakura-san?

I had fun talking to him, too.

OHHH

A-A fruit platter!
Get these kids a fruit platter!

Hurray! A fruit platter!

Excuse me! Can I get
another one of these before that?

Sakaki-san!

Hey there. You finally noticed.

Man, I really appreciate it.

Thanks to you guys,
we came across a free meal.

Huh? What?
What's with all those plates?

Well, every dish is so tasty!

OH NOOO

Cancel! Cancel that fruit platter!

What? I was going
to make that our dessert.

Then, can I have a cake set?

I'm rejecting that, too!

You're so stingy!

Don't you guys know how to be modest?

Th-There, there.

I'm thankful for the meal and all,

but your dancing was really awesome.

My heart got so full from seeing something
so amazing. Right, Sakura-san?

Sakura-kun has his mouth full.

Gosh! Oh, you guys!

To think you had such a talent,
and was showing it off at a place like this!

When did you start? What kind of dance
was that? Why are you dancing here?

You aren't shy
when it comes to this kind of stuff, huh?

Gosh! It's nothing too special, okay?

That was pole-dancing.

After watching some videos online,
I was completely hooked.

As I danced, I started feeling
that I wanted to dance on a stage.

But there aren't places like this near Furin,
so I came out here to Keisei Street.

I directly pleaded with the manager
to let me dance here.

W-Wow, you're so assertive.

Well, yeah!

I want to do whatever I want.
And I wanted to dance here!

I still remember the look
on the manager's face when you asked him.

It seemed like you weren't going to leave
until you got a "yes." He was almost in tears.

But now I get to go up on stage
like this, so it's all okay!

What about you, huh?

I heard you and the first-years stopped
some drunken brawl. Is that true?

ERK

Yeah, it's totally true!

They really saved my a*s earlier!

I don't know what would've happened
without them!

S-Sure.

Wow, not bad, first-years.

Sheesh.

You're the guardian of this Keisei Street,
aren't you? Get your sh*t together.

Guardian?

Yeah. This is a street
of booze and entertainment.

You can't help but have fights
and disagreements all the time.

Stopping disputes, being bodyguards
for the girls who work here.

Guys who work in this town with the same
mindset slowly gathered together

and became Roppo Ichiza.

I see. That's different from what I imagined.

It's just like Furin.

They're not that different
in age from us, too.

- What?
- For real?

But we're a bit different from Furin.

We just keep on fixing leaks in the roof.

As we kept dealing with inconveniences,
people with like minds gathered up.

But Furin...

He rebuilt the house from scratch
in no time just to get rid of a leaky roof.

He's quite the man.
Even more impatient than I am.

I think that's different
from being impatient?

Gosh, hold on there!

You really get it!

Why are you so lovestruck?

But a compliment
from the chairman of Roppo Ichiza...

It makes us happy, too.

Anyway, the bigger your action,
the bigger the reaction.

I hope nothing serious
happens in the future!

What's that about?
That's none of your business.

I told you, that hurts! Do you know
how much brawn you've got?

My arms are made of marshmallows.
It shouldn't hurt that much!

No marshmallow is that buff!

Anyway, I don't think it's all that crucial.

I mean, those below you
are properly rising up like this.

Huh? You sure have taken a liking to them.
Don't think about headhunting, okay?

Yeah. Then how about you twins join us?

Though, the younger one might have issues
trying to serve customers.

I was thinking Shizuka-san wasn't around,
but there she is.

Guys, Shizuka's gonna sing now.
Don't make noise, okay?

You're the noisiest one here.

This falling snow keeps on coming

Yet it won't ease up the pain

But your warmth
by my side's feeling like magic light

And it's melting my heart

So out of reach, but you gave me
my seat in that dream

Bliss pours down and overflows
as my joy shows its unbound growth

- Bliss pours down and overflows
as my joy shows its unbound growth
- W-Wonderful.

W-Wonderful.

She really does have a beautiful voice.

Beauty grows in this world you show
with a nice flow, always aglow

Every day I dream with you
fuels all of my moods

Singing for you

Dreams I pursue

True love

It's so healing.

Of course. She became our number one
performer in just three months.

That was great, Shizuka-chan!

You should get back to work.

Shizuka!

Tsubaki-chan!

Hold on.

What happened here?

Oh, it's nothing, I just tripped.

You guys...
- What? You should be more careful.

Thanks for keeping it quiet from Tsubaki.

Hey.

Can you keep quiet from Tsubaki
that Shizuka got into some danger?

Maybe it's because they're close in age,
but Shizuka thinks of Tsubaki like a big sister,

and Tsubaki cares for Shizuka
just like a little sister.

So if word gets out
that stuff like that happened,

Tsubaki would snap so hard
the earth might crack.

You ever seen Tsubaki
completely snapped?

It must be something.

Besides,

we can't rope Furin into this town's affairs
any more than we have.

There's a big problem, Kanji-san!

Guys we've never seen before
are rioting in droves!

Huh? What do you mean?

They're kicking aside everything
in the area and barging into the street!

Huh? What's that about?

And they seem to be the same guys
as the ones from earlier.

Got it.

"Earlier"? You mean the drunk guys
that Sakura's group put a stop to?

We should go, too.

No, I want you guys to stay here
with Shizuka.

I appreciate the sentiment,
but we're facing a lot of them.

I don't know
what'll happen here, either.

I realize it's unreasonable to ask this
of a commander from a different team.

But still, I beg of you.

Sakura-san?

H-Hey, can you guys stay here as well?
This is a problem for this town.

If it's the same guys from earlier,

then no matter what the reason was,
I punched those guys already.

Then, it means that
this is my problem as well.

You guys...

I don't know what you guys are hiding,
but if you're gonna go, then do it right.

And make sure to return
our promising first-years safely.

Much appreciated!

Let's go!

Yessir!

Thanks for coming here with us.

You really are good guys.

I told you that this fight
is my own problem.

It's not for your sake.

Sakura, was it?

You really are a classy guy!

As I'd expect from Furin!

O-Ouch.

If we're facing a big group,

wouldn't it be better to at least
have the Sakaki brothers help us?

I hear Roppo Ichiza
doesn't have that many members.

It's fine. Don't underestimate
the Roppo Ichiza.

I see 'em! There they are!

Indeed, there are less of us
compared to Furin.

We may be few,
but we're the cream of the crop!

I have to get this cleaned again!

Why are you so light?

Eat a proper meal
before you come back!

Move aside, damn it!

Do... Mi... So...

No, that's a Fa.

Really, this is endless.

Sorry I'm late!

Kanji!

You guys were from earlier!

Yeah! They're here to lend us a hand.

Huh? I was thinking
you got more guys, but only four?

There's still so many of us, too.

What's with these people?

They don't care at all
about their buddies who are down.

It's creepy.

Come on now, hurry up
and hand over Shizuka-chan.

Otherwise, we'll be turning
this whole street upside down, yeah?

Hey.

How many are there?

Hey!

Oh, it's all right.
This happens all the time.

Our chairman is quite restless.

What the hell? One guy
just came charging in alone.

You're gonna...

turn the street upside down, huh?

You shouldn't mouth off
crap you can't back up.

This feeling...

I've felt it before.

Come hell or high water...

Something like that
ain't ever gonna happen on my watch!

Your back's wide open!

Awesome.

Or rather, fierce.

Both his power and speed
are above average.

So that's the chairman of Roppo Ichiza,
Kanji Nakamura!

Oh, Sakura!

You saved my a*s yet again.

Whatever. You woulda easily
blown that guy away.

And I ain't lettin' ya show off
all by yourself!

Now you'll face me!

Gonna borrow your back for a sec!

This is thanks for saving me earlier.

Don't do crap you don't need to!

That kid sure is something.

He's keeping up with Kanji of all people.

Of course.
He's our grade captain after all.

I see.

You're quite stylish.

Oh, I still have a long way to go.

Furin has a bright future.

That said, is that kid all right?

No need to worry.

It's true that he can't do much for now.

But his desire to become stronger
is greater than anyone else.

What can I do? Think.

Think!

Nire-kun, you remember what I said, right?

Yes.

It's more important
to not be defeated than to win.

That's why I'm not participating
in the battle, and looking for what I can do.

It's frustrating,
but that's where I stand right now.

Yup.

I'm sure it's frustrating that
there are very few things you can do.

But it's good that
you can look at yourself objectively.

It's fine. You'll be able to do it
in due time.

After all, who do you think your teacher is?

Will I become like that someday?

I-In any case...

There were so many of them, but it's clear
that we have the upper hand.

It's looking hopeful.

Hey, what the hell's goin' on here?

You guys went in with a lot,
but you're still stuck at the entrance?

Let's hurry on back with the skank
and get the money we're owed.

Then, we'll have that BBQ
we dreamed of!

Come on now.

For real?

Just how many of them are there?

Guys in suits are barring the way.

So you must be
the Roppo Ichiza I heard about.

Oh man, so many guys were taken down.

You guys don't have that many people,
so this is impressive.

So what? Do you get stronger
when you wear suits or something?

You guys look our age.

Maybe we'll get a lot stronger
if we wear suits, too.

Sounds good. Let's try 'em on.

Maybe there are places
that sell suits in this town?

Then let's go pilfer some
like we usually do.

Wh-What's with these people?

This isn't something you talk about
like it's normal.

Just because those guys earlier
were beaten to a pulp,

you brought in unthinkable numbers.

Just how insistent are you?

Earlier? Oh.

Those guys are separate from us. Yeah.

Separate?

Because they screwed up,
the job came to us.

We're GRAVEL, just a bunch of dudes
from the Sunaba district.

Nice meetin' ya!

S-Sunaba district's GRAVEL?

Huh? You know 'em?

S-Sunaba district is famous
for being an area of outlaws.

So like Furin in the past.

No.

That place isn't rough
because of the violence and fights.

Their economy tanked, which led
to a lot of burglary and other crimes.

I've heard that there's a team of people
who don't go to school or work

and make a living as mercenaries
or subcontractors for other teams.

And that team is GRAVEL.

That explains the strange
conversation from earlier.

They told us they'd give us money
just by bringing one skank in.

And because those guys earlier
screwed up, the price went up as well.

With that money,
all of us can go eat some BBQ.

So hand over Shizuka Narita, okay?

Besides, we didn't come here to pick a fight.

You hand that girl over and we'll leave.

Besides, you guys look quite tired.

With this difference in numbers,

even if you guys are crazy strong,
you won't be able to win.

If you hurry up and hand her over,

you don't have to show your pathetic side,
so everyone's happy!

He doesn't give a rat's a*s
if his buddies go down,

and there's no end with them
coming one after another.

How do we win
against this difference in numbers?

I don't care if I can't win.

You've got the wrong idea.

Wrong idea?

We, the Roppo Ichiza, want the guys in this town
to safely perfect their art,

and want the guys in this town to safely
enjoy entertainment. That's our goal.

If that can be promised, we don't care
about whether we win or lose a fight.

Huh? What's he talking about?

It's useless to fight unless you win!

Even if all of us fall, no matter
how pathetic we end up looking...

If the town... If Shizuka is all right...

We're okay with that!

There's a fight you pick
thinking you don't have to win.

I've never even thought about that.

They fight to protect something.

There were things I wanted to do
at the top.

Dudes at the top...

Each and every one of them...

Nope, I have no idea
what you're talking about.

Besides, if you all fall, that marks your defeat.

We'd go where the skank is.

Why are you assuming that
multiple people will make it through?

What if it's just you?

I've got fearsome bodyguards
in charge over there.

In other words, you're selecting
"fight" instead of "flee."

Of course.

Well, if there isn't a boss fight to win
some loot, I don't feel like I played the game.

Oh brother.

Treating our star singer as an item?

Oh, man. I don't care
about stuff like that, so hurry—

Quit yer whinin'!

Ya better brace yourselves.

We'll still be moving
even if we're down to just our heads.

We're gonna make you regret
tryin' to even touch someone from our street!

Roppo Ichiza! It's time to lift the curtains
on a total blood bath!

SHARED FRONTLINES

Shizuka's singing really is the best.

What's wrong, Sakura?
Your mouth is agape.

Sh-Shut up!

Don't fall for her.

Don't fall for me, either.
I'm devoted to Ume.

D-Don't be sayin' stupid crap!

You really are so cute, Sakura.