Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the streets of HoloSantos, violence took precedence over the law. No matter where you go, a gang would always have their hands on it, from a coordinated group spanning over blocks of the city to a group of stragglers claiming a small street to themselves. Naturally, tension always ran high between gangs that bordered each other's turf, cautious over when the other would strike them.

On this day, another fight was about to unfold between two gangs, a sight that everyone had long since grown accustomed to.

"Today's the day you go down, you Otomo punks!"

"You Grems should've stayed put in your corner! Step off before I stuff you back to your sorry-ass shoebox!"

"What's wrong with a shoebox, you bastard?! You picking a fight with me?"

Two groups of gangsters faced off against each other, yelling obscenities at each other. Despite the rising tension and strong words between them, none of them had thrown their fists against each other. The moment someone struck the other, all hell would break loose, and a fight would truly start. The right to declare a fight was reserved for their leaders, who finally decided to resolve this conflict once and for all.

"The boss is here! Make way!"

"Move aside for the leader!"

The group of thugs shouted loudly as they began to split into two, making a path for their leaders to go through. On the side of the Grems, Gigi Murin, a girl with light and dark brown hair tied, passed them. She sported a black and orange jacket with an orange X symbol on the back, while a toothy, confident smile was plastered on her face. Although her group was an up-and-coming startup, words had spread that anyone who crossed her had suffered under her whims, never to be seen again. The brass knuckles on her fists were qualified as a dental instrument if you solely count the amount of teeth she had taken out with it. Following her orders, the Grems turned into a chaotic force to be reckoned with.

On the Otomo's side, Cecilia Immergreen, a girl with pale green hair and a clockwork key-shaped bow on her head, walked through. She wore a black and green jacket with the image of a clockwork key on the back, her expression nearly devoid of emotion. As a fresh new face on the block, she had worked tirelessly and efficiently to take advantage of any openings her opposition showed without any mercy. The lead pipe in her hand had paved numerous paths, ones that led Cecilia to her success and ones that led her foes to their downfall. Under her ruthless rule, the Otomos worked like clockwork to control everything within her turf.

At this moment, both leaders finally met each other for the first time. The tension in the air grew thick, ready to set off with a single spark.

With a glare, Cecilia walked up to Gigi and threatened her, "Looks like a kid found her way into an adult's workplace. You lost, homie?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"That's our leader right there! Roast her ass!"

"Boooo! Shut up already!"

The Otomos excitedly yelled while the Grems jeered. After a brief moment, the chaos began to settle. Everyone quietly waited for Gigi to respond against Cecilia's provocation.

With the same confident smile adorning her face, Gigi let out a chuckle before replying, "Look at little missy here acting like an adult. You best get outta my sight before I got lost in your eyes, fool!"

"Ye...ah?"

"...Huh?"

The Grems' preemptive cheers immediately went out before it could start. Even the Otomos were struck into silence. The excitement around the thugs cooled down in an instant, replaced by confusion. Despite the threatening words Gigi spat out, something seemed off about it.

'The boss was dissing her, but her choice of words...'

'Why did it sound like a pick-up line...?'

Both sides of the group quietly monitored their leaders' expressions. Although Gigi had spoken that ridiculous line, both their expressions remained serious as if they really were in the midst of threatening each other.

'I guess it's just our imagination?'

'Right, it must've been nothing.'

Seeing the tension between them, both groups calmly decided that they must've overcomplicated the meaning behind their exchange. With their misunderstanding resolved, they continued to watch over their leaders.

Cecilia sighed to herself before responding, "I expected no less than such bullshit from a leader of a ragtag bunch like you. Better keep your mouth shut before I shut it up for you."

'H-Huh? Her as well?'

'Et tu, leader?!'

Their barely recovered minds were quickly shattered into pieces once again after hearing Cecilia's retort. Within this confusion, the gaze between opposing gang members met each other, unsure of what was going on. Without any other options to converse with each other, they began sending signals through their eyes at a level that bordered on telepathy.

'Hey, what's wrong with your leader, damn it?'

'You tell me! Your boss ain't much better herself!'

'Are they seriously flirting right now? No way, right?'

'I can't tell... Shit, this is driving me crazy!'

'...But aren't they kind of cute together like that?'

'Whoever just said that, show yourself, coward!'

Every single one of them wished to know what was going on, but they instinctively knew that asking their leader something as stupid as, "Are you flirting right now?" would earn them a beating.

Unaware of their thoughts, Gigi stepped forward, drawing even closer to Cecilia. They had stood close enough to feel each other's breath on their skin. "Yeah? Then shut me up! Do it if you can!" Gigi snapped with a scowl.

'WOOAAAHHH!!!'

'B-Boss?! Isn't this too soon? Is it alright for you to be this forward on the first meeting?'

'Are they gonna kiss?! Just go for it, damn it!'

'Whoever just said that, I kinda agree!'

Somehow, the tension had risen once again, albeit in a different direction. The gang members' reactions had done a 180 before they realized it as they waited with bated breaths.

Both leaders continued to stare down against each other. After a short moment of silence, Cecilia finally clicked her tongue and turned away. "...Enough. I don't feel like fighting anymore today, especially with a brat like you."

"Whatever. My mood is ruined after dealing with a stuck-up girl like you anyway," Gigi added on before turning away as well. No matter how anyone looked at it, the atmosphere between them had finally soured, with none of them wanting anything to do with the other.

'N-No! If this continues...'

'...they won't meet each other again!'

'Are they just acting indifferent because they wanna keep up their image around us?'

'We can't just let their feelings turn into nothing!'

Both Otomos and Grems immediately panicked while trying to figure out a solution. Now fully convinced of their leaders' feelings for each other, they nodded at each other and agreed to work with each other for their shared goal.

One of the Grems yelled, "Boss, are you just gonna let that girl walk all over you like that?"

The Otomos followed to rile up Cecilia as well, "You can't just let her disrespect you like that, leader!"

Both leaders immediately stopped in place. Everyone could see from their reaction that they still harbored some unresolved feelings for each other. Seeing their plan working, the gang members continued to rile up their leaders.

"Our leader's not the kind of person that would back down like this!"

"C'mon, boss! We can't let them leave just like that!"

"They'll think you're a wuss if you let them go, leader!"

"There's no way our boss is a wimp that would run away from a fight!"

Carried away by the vibe, the intensity of their words began to increase until...

""SHUT UP ALREADY!!""

Bam! Bam!

The Otomo and Grem who got a bit carried away ended up being pummeled halfway dead by their leaders for their slander. Their peers could only offer their condolences quietly as they dragged their bodies aside.

'Thank you for your sacrifice...'

'Carefully, he's a hero.'

After settling their misbehaving underlings, Cecilia and Gigi finally stood in front of each other once more. Their faces looked a bit flushed from the gang members' antics, but they remained as calm as they could.

Cecilia clicked her tongue against Gigi. "Tsk, I guess they got a point. Can't just let a dork like you walk around like you own this place, you know?"

The corners of Gigi's mouth rose into a smirk. "Took the words right out of my mouth. I'm feeling pretty nice, so I'll make sure to not bruise your pretty face."

"Hah! Let's see that confidence once I beat you to a pulp!" Cecilia remarked before turning to the Otomos. "You better not touch her. It's just gonna be me and her."

Gigi also turned toward the Grems at the same time. "I'll beat up anyone that interferes. She's all mine!"

However, their warnings fell into deaf ears. None of them had any intentions to step in. Instead, a satisfied expression filled the faces of the Otomos and Grems around their leaders.

'She sure is all yours, boss.'

'Ah, youth... Love truly is in the air...'

Seeing their unnervingly blissful smiles, Cecilia and Gigi felt weirded out by them. They took a step back before asking, "Hey, what the hell are you guys up to?"

An Otomo shook their head, "No, there's nothing going on at all, leader."

A Grem also added, "Both of you just enjoy your time together, okay?"

Bewildered by their answers, Cecilia snapped back, "W-What? We're just gonna fight! Why are you all making this weird?"

Gigi followed along, "Yeah! Stop smiling like that already, you weirdos!"

However, every Otomo and Grem simply endured their harsh words with a smile, for they were all thinking of the same thing.

'Don't worry about us. Just get together already!'

Chapter Text

Sensing the odd atmosphere among their underlings, Cecilia and Gigi decided to postpone their fight to another time. Although both Otomos and Grems were disappointed, the promise of another meeting was enough to satisfy them for now.

‘Let’s do our best, everyone!’

‘Yeah. For the rosy future of our leaders!’

Unbeknownst to their leaders, their group had made peace with each other. While looking forward to their next meeting, they finally dispersed and went back to their hideouts. They simply had to wait for their leaders’ development next time.

However, days passed without another meeting between them. In Cecilia’s headquarters, the Otomos grew restless as they continued with their duties. Cecilia had been swamped with work, unlike her usual self, who would complete her tasks on time without issues.

Unable to hold down their curiosity any longer, one of the Otomos finally asked her, “Excuse me, leader… Are you going to settle things from last time anytime soon?”

Cecilia raised her head, dark circles apparent under her eyes from lack of sleep. “You’re talking about Gigi? Do you think I got the time to deal with that brat when I got all this work? I still gotta make sure nobody in our turf is late on their security fee before I could even worry about her,” she grumbled before returning her gaze to the papers in front of her.

The Otomo nodded their head in acceptance before something crossed their mind. “Now that you mention it, it’s kind of rare for you to be stuck with your work, leader. Don’t you usually finish your work on time?”

After hearing the Otomo's question, Cecilia reflexively clicked her tongue. “It’s because of that brat you were talking about. She keeps interfering with my work!”

“R-Really?!”

Every Otomos’ attention was immediately pulled toward Cecilia. Had another development been secretly going on without them noticing it? But no matter how they think about it, Cecilia had been stuck at her desk the entire time. Swamped with work, there was no way for her to secretly go and meet up with Gigi without them knowing.

Cecilia nodded her head begrudgingly as she complained, “Yeah! She’s seriously a pain to deal with! Ever since I met her back then, she would constantly bother me! How am I supposed to focus on my work?”

The Otomo asked, “Just what did she do to you, leader?”

Cecilia began her explanation, “First off, her annoying mug kept showing up in my mind. Whenever that brat shows up, all my motivation would tank, and I wouldn’t feel like working anymore!”

“...Uh-huh.”

“As if that wasn’t enough, my heart would constantly flare up when I recalled her! Even remembering her pissed me off so much that my chest is feeling all messed up. Shit, it just happened again!”

“Right…”

“Whenever it happens, I can already hear that brat laughing at me again! God, this sucks! I just can’t get that bastard out of my mind!” Cecilia grumbled as she scratched her head in annoyance. However, the Otomos found themselves busy with their own thoughts.

‘So the leader couldn’t keep that girl’s image off her mind?’

‘Isn’t she just lovestruck then?’

‘What a pain in the ass… But it’s also kind of cute, somehow.’

Sensing something amiss with how they were behaving, Cecilia finally asked, “...What? Why did you guys get quiet all of a sudden, huh? Are you making fun of me?”

“It’s nothing, leader. We just hope you can work things out eventually.”

‘Work things out with that girl, that is.’

Satisfied with Cecilia’s current predicament, the Otomos finally returned to their work with warm smiles. But before Cecilia could press the Otomos any further, the door to their office was slammed open.

The Otomo that just stormed inside the office shouted, “Leader! Those Grems are in front of our place right now!”

“What?! Didn’t I tell you to watch their actions? How did they go unnoticed until now?”

The sudden news caused Cecilia to stand up in surprise. She had expected those thugs to make a move while she was swamped with work and designated her people to report their moves. But despite her efforts, they managed to slip under the radar until it was too late. Cecilia began raising the danger level of her rival group, wary of their capabilities.

However, the Otomos saw things differently. They noticed that although the Otomo that came in with the report looked surprised, a small smirk had grown on their expression.

Unaware of it, Cecilia asked, “Their boss! Is their boss with them?!”

The Otomo nodded. “Yes, leader! She told us that she’s coming in whether we like it or not! I ran ahead to report it to you!”

“Goddamnit! Even that damn brat came unannounced?” Cecilia slammed her desk in anger. Some papers fell onto the floor messily, but she couldn’t care less about them. She had to figure out what their intentions were before it was too late.

On the other hand, the Otomos were busy with something else.

‘It couldn’t be… Did you coordinate this with the Grems?’

‘Hell yeah! We worked it out when we met during patrol!’

‘Niiiiice! Our MVP right here!!’

They were too busy high-fiving each other to mind whatever Cecilia was troubled with. Of course, they did it in their minds to avoid receiving a beating from their leader. With Gigi coming herself, the stagnant relationship would finally move forward.

Clicking her tongue, Cecilia yelled, “What are you doing just standing around? Clean this place up—!”

Bang!

Before Cecilia could finish her sentence, the door to her office was slammed open. From it, Gigi walked inside with her usual confident smirk as if she owned the place. The Grems followed behind her, their gaze confidently meeting the Otomos.

‘Sorry for intruding~’

“Welcome~ Thank you for your hard work. Please make yourself at home.’

The Otomos and Grems were warmly greeting each other with their gaze, contrasting with their leaders, who were busily staring at each other.

Without caring about her surroundings, Gigi said, “I was wondering why your group seems quiet recently, but looks like you’re swamped with work, huh? This place looked so much like a dump that I thought I entered the wrong place.”

“Your group must be quite free for you to be walking around here unannounced. Unlike you, we actually handle our turf properly, hence the work I have to deal with. This place just happens to be messy because we’re busy with work,” Cecilia explained, her disdain palpable from the unwelcome guest’s intrusion. However, the Otomos and Grems could catch the meaning behind her words.

‘Isn’t leader just upset because she didn’t get to clean up before their boss came here?’

‘Wow, look at her pretending to act cold like this…’

‘But this kind of gap moe is kinda cute, so isn’t it fine?’

“Why do I need to tell you when I’m coming over? It’s none of your business where I come and go anyway,” Gigi brushed off Cecilia’s remark before sitting on an empty couch without any care. Her eyes stared right at Cecilia as she smirked. “Everything here is gonna be mine once I take control of it, anyway.”

“You…” Cecilia’s hands shook as she gripped her desk. Ominous cracking sounds began leaking from her grip as the tension between them heightened. Gigi’s words were akin to a declaration of war spoken in the middle of the enemy’s lair, but everyone around them knew otherwise.

‘Even though she said something menacing like that…’

‘If she said it while directly looking at our leader, it’s as if she was saying our leader’s going to become hers as well!!!’

‘Ah, look! The corners of our leader’s lips are twitching! She must be embarrassed as hell!’

‘Cute! Cute! Cute!’

Every Grem and Otomo in the office clamored (silently) at the sweet scene in front of them. Uncomfortable with the atmosphere, Cecilia yelled at the Otomos, “What the hell are you dumbasses doing? Serve some tea already so they can drink it and piss off!”

Before the Otomos could prepare it, Gigi scoffed at Cecilia, “Bah, don’t even bother. Who drinks that bitter stuff anyway? I only drink boba milk tea.”

“You think this place is a cafe? Who the hell do you think you are to be ordering us around like that?” Cecilia snapped at her before turning to an Otomo, “Hey, go buy a boba milk tea from the shop next door!”

‘So you’re going to buy it for her anyway?!’

The Otomo couldn’t help but retort to themselves. As the Otomo begrudgingly began walking outside, they stopped in their tracks and asked, “Excuse me, leader. But what kind of boba milk tea should we buy?”

Cecilia raised her eyebrows in response. “Ha? Of course the one with boba, milk, and tea in it! It’s in the name already! How complicated do you think that is?”

“No, there’s actually a lot of variety in it, leader…”

The Otomo pulled up the menu of the boba shop on their phone and showed it to Cecilia. After seeing the choices available, her eyes widened in disbelief. “Brown sugar, mango, lychee… What the hell is a ‘taro’? Ice and sugar levels? Grass jelly add-on?? Hey, why the hell are you asking for this kind of a pain-in-the-ass drink?” Cecilia complained to Gigi.

“You were the one that asked them to buy it!” Gigi complained to her. “Ah, forget it. I didn’t expect that the fearsome gang leader wouldn’t understand the concept of ordering boba milk tea!”

“Haaaa? You calling me a wuss or something?” Cecilia said, irritated.

“I’m not calling you a wuss. I’m saying that you ARE a wuss for backing down in front of boba milk tea!” Gigi goaded on.

Cecilia’s frustration continued to build up until she finally stood up in anger. “Fine, then! Let’s see what kind of a big deal this boba milk tea is! Come on, let’s go to the shop next door!”

Silence hung inside the office as the eyes of every Otomo and Grem widened in shock.

‘T-This is!’

‘A date out of nowhere?! What a massive play from our leader!’

‘Now, how will the boss respond to this?’

Everyone looked at Gigi, waiting for her response. Finding herself stuck under everyone’s gaze, Gigi finally stood up as well. “Sure, let’s go! I’ll show you how great boba milk tea is!”

Naturally, the Otomos and Grems celebrated the development while remaining as quiet as possible. The development they were hoping for had finally unfolded in front of their eyes.

‘WOOOOOOOOO!!!’

‘We endured years of drought for today! We made it!’

‘All that wait is worth it!’

‘Finally, these two lovebirds can just get together already!’

Chapter Text

Hello there! I'm just your average, normal girl who owned a hole-in-the-wall boba shop. I want to run my own cafe one day, but for now, this small shop will have to do! It's a bit cramped, but it's less cleaning for me, at least.

Honestly, my parents are opposed to the idea of me opening a shop in HoloSantos all by myself. I know it might be dangerous with all these gangsters controlling this town, but I can take care of myself! I know some Taekwondo, so anyone that tries to mess with my shop will regret it!

...But honestly, not even my wildest imagination could come up with what's happening right now.

Why are there two gang leaders standing in front of my shop right now?! Did I forget to pay the security fee or something? No, are they going to mess up my shop? But I just paid the rent yesterday too! And why do their underlings have these serene smiles on their faces? It's really scary!

Mom, dad... I hope I won't be visiting grandma anytime soon...

**********************

Meanwhile, the Otomos and Grems were busy taking in the rare view in front of their eyes.

'The leader's first date! We have to burn this image into our minds!'

'Uh, I'm kind of worried about the store owner. Her eyes are shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Can she serve a good enough boba milk tea for the boss?'

'Stay strong, store owner!'

As they sent their prayers to the store owner, Gigi taunted Cecilia, "So? Are you quaking in your boots now that you're standing in front of the shop? Gonna piss your pants yet?"

"Can you not say something that nasty in front of a shop? But I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from you," Cecilia complained.

"Who cares, we're all adults here! We can say whatever we want!" Gigi proudly proclaimed.

"Clearly the brat in front of me isn't one," Cecilia pointed out.

"Hey!"

With Cecilia's comment as the trigger, their argument sparked once more as the smile on the Otomos and Grems deepened.

'They're still cute even when they're fighting.'

'I won't need any sugar in my boba with this much sweetness in front of me.'

As their argument went nowhere, Cecilia finally put an end to it, "Tsk, whatever. Just order whatever you want and get this over with."

"I was going to before you started saying a bunch of nonsense," Gigi scowled before turning toward the store owner. "Hey, I'll have a large bubblegum boba milk tea with less ice and normal sugar."

"That sounds horrid."

"Shut up. It's my drink so I get to decide what I drink."

Terrified by their constant arguing, the store owner stammered, "Y-Y-Yes, it'll be done in no time!"

Before they could say anything else, the store owner had begun moving to prepare Gigi's drink as if her life depended on it. They could even swear they saw the store owner leaving afterimages behind her.

'Hey, hey, is the store owner a hidden shaolin master or something? Can she make the drink properly if she's moving that fast?'

'It's fine, just look at her expression. That calm and emotionless face shows that she's in perfect control of herself.'

'Uh, I think she's just scared out of her mind.'

As everyone watched cautiously, the store owner finished Gigi's drink in record time. She pushed the drink toward the counter with a nervous smile. "H-Here you go! Enjoy!"

"...Okay, thanks?"

Still taken aback by the incredible feat of bartending the store owner had shown, Gigi carefully took the drink and straw given to her. After seeing nothing was wrong with it, she poked the straw into it and took a sip. Her eyes immediately widened after having a taste.

"Hey, this is pretty good!"

"Sorry—! No, I mean, thank you very much! Please spare my life!" The store owner quickly replied, her words mixed up against themselves.

"Sure?"

Seeing that the store owner's request wasn't too hard to fulfill, Gigi readily accepted her plea despite not understanding the reason behind it. She began rummaging through her wallet to pay for her drink but found herself struggling to do so while still holding the drink and taking a sip from it.

Seeing her fumbling around without even thinking of putting the drink down for a moment, Cecilia let out a sigh before placing a crisp bill on the counter.

"Hey, I was about to pay it myself! I don't need your charity!" Gigi snapped from the side.

"Seeing you fumbling around like that pisses me off. I'm the one that intended to get you something anyway, so stop worrying about it," Cecilia replied.

"I don't care! I'm not owing you anything! Just let me pay for it!" Gigi hissed back at her.

"Nope. Just say thank you like a good kid, you brat." Cecilia said with a haughty smile.

"Over my dead body!"

They continued to bicker with each other without a care on how they looked to others. Of course, the Otomos and Grems simply watched them with warm gazes.

'Seeing the boss acting all embarrassed from being treated to a drink... I can die happy now...'

'Don't die yet! We still have more to see!'

'To think she would pay for her drink so effortlessly, our leader still got it!'

With Gigi unable to convince Cecilia, she finally raised her drink toward her, "Then here! Try it as well since you paid for it!"

Her words put a zip on Cecilia's mouth as she froze in place. As expected, their underlings immediately went wild (silently).

'It's here!!! The indirect kiss is here!!!'

'An unexpected push from the boss! How will her rival respond to this?!'

'But did leader notice it?!'

'She's staring at the straw so hard she could burn a hole in it! She definitely noticed!'

They hadn't expected this kind of development, but now that it happened, they wouldn't let the chance slip by. Their hearts pounded wildly as they watched over them, waiting expectantly for Cecilia's response.

Cecilia's mouth constantly opened and closed, struggling to decide on an answer. After what felt like an eternity, she finally answered, "As if! You think I would willingly drink that stuff?"

A smirk grew onto Gigi's face as she goaded her, "I guess someone's too much of a wuss to try."

"It's not that I'm a wuss, but I just don't think I'll like—"

"Nope~ I can't hear a scaredy cat's excuse~ Hahaha~" Gigi cut Cecilia off before she could finish and continued to taunt her. Despite Cecilia's attempts to shut her up, Gigi managed to slip by her attempts while continuing to poke fun at her.

Cecilia gnashed her teeth in anger until eventually, she screeched, "Argh, fine! I'll try your stupid drink! Hey, store owner! Give me another straw!"

'A-Another straw?!'

'She's chickening out from this opportunity?!'

A mournful atmosphere spread onto the Otomos and Grems. With the addition of another straw, the indirect kiss event would be rendered null. No matter how much they tried to find a solution, they couldn't figure out a way to beat Cecilia's defense. Who knows when they would come close to reaching this event once more? But for now, they could only lament in silence.

However, a single voice broke through the silence.

"Sorry, we're out of straws."

That very voice broke past the clouds that covered the Otomos and Grems, granting them a single ray of hope. Their eyes followed that sliver of hope, landing on the girl standing behind the counter.

'M-Miss store owner???'

'Could it be...?'

While they remained in disbelief, the store owner discreetly gave them a thumbs-up, away from the two leaders' sights. With that confirmation, they finally realized they had obtained an ally for their cause.

'She's one of us! She has seen our way!'

'One of us, one of us!'

'Miss store owner, I'll buy a drink from your store every day for this!'

Cecilia's eyes twitched briefly after receiving such a barefaced lie. "...I can literally see that tray filled with straws behind you—"

Clang!

With one swift move, the store owner swatted the tray of straws into the trash can before turning back toward Cecilia as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry, we're out of straws." The store owner repeated with the same service smile.

Cecilia could only stand in shock after facing this incredibly obstinate denial. For some reason, the store owner's smile was more fearsome than anything she'd faced in the streets of HoloSantos. Behind that service smile, she could sense a hidden, rotten resolve—one that convinced her to not pry it open.

A tap on the shoulder pulled Cecilia out of her daze. When she turned her head, she saw Gigi, still offering her drink.

"Stop making a big deal out of nothing already! Just have a sip already so we can get this over with!" Gigi complained.

Cecilia's lips constantly squirmed, unsure if she should proceed. But without any other option left, she could only grit her teeth and strengthen her resolve.

"...Sure."

As those words left her lips, Cecilia moved forward and took hold of the drink. After collecting herself for a brief moment, she latched her lips onto the straw and took a sip of the drink. Faced with the culmination of their hard work, the Otomos and Grems finally celebrated.

'YEAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!'

'We did it! We pulled it off!'

'Home run! Hole-in-one! Strike! Slam dunk! Everything's happening at once!!!!'

'Mom, thank you for giving birth to me so I can bear witness to this scene with my own eyes... Sob!'

As Cecilia finished taking a sip, everyone around them waited silently for her response. With a hint of blush on her cheeks, she muttered, "...It tastes too sweet for me."

'The boss tasted too sweet for her!'

'Crazy! This is crazy! They're trying to kill me with diabetes!'

'Hey, are you sure it's alright for us to watch something like this for free? Why does it feel like I have to pay for it?'

'Stop that! Stop taking out your wallet, you crazy bastard!'

On that day, multiple Otomos and Grems nearly crossed the afterlife with a smile.

**********************

Hello there! I'm just your average, normal girl who owned a hole-in-the-wall boba shop. I want to run my own cafe one day, but for now, this small shop will have to do! It's a bit cramped, but it's less cleaning for me, at least.

Honestly, my parents are opposed to the idea of me opening a shop in HoloSantos all by myself. I know it might be dangerous with all these gangsters controlling this town, but I can take care of myself, honestly! I know some Taekwondo, so anyone that tries to mess with my shop will regret it!

...But honestly, not even my wildest imagination could come up with what's happening right now.

Why are there two gang leaders flirting in front of my shop right now?! Am I in heaven right now? They're constantly yelling at each other, but for some reason they're acting crazy cute with each other! It felt as if I had found another purpose in my life! Maybe I was destined to make a boba shop in this place to see this romcom scene in front of my eyes!

Mom, dad... I hope those two gang leaders can just get together already!

Chapter Text

With the drinks out of the way, the group made their way back to Cecilia’s headquarters. The Otomos and Grems secretly wished good luck to the store owner—their unexpected ally for the cause. She waved them goodbye in return, wishing them the best with their endeavor.

‘Goodbye, store owner. From now on, we’ll consider you one of ours!’

‘Friendship sure blossoms in unexpected places, huh?’

‘It sure does…’

As they finally arrived back where they came from, Cecilia asked, “Now that you got your drink, can you piss off and go back to your place?”

“What’s your problem? I just got my drink and you’re making me leave already?” Gigi retorted.

“Yes. I’ve had enough of you already, so please get out of here so I can finish my work in peace.”

‘Isn’t this just her way of saying she’s too shy to be around her any longer than this?’

‘She wants her so bad…’

“Eh, fine. I had my fill for today, anyway.” Gigi muttered before taking another sip from her drink. “Is it cool if I get my Grems to get me a drink from this place sometimes? This boba milk tea is pretty good!”

“You want your gang members walking around my turf on a whim? You’re crazy if you think I’ll let that happen.” Cecilia looked at her with furrowed brows, clearly disagreeing with the idea.

“Come on, you can’t be gatekeeping something this good for yourself! You don’t even drink it!” Gigi complained. “Look, if you’re that suspicious, I’ll let your people watch over mine when they go buy a drink. Let’s trade our phone numbers so I can tell you when I’m sending them over.”

“!”

““!!!””

Gigi’s nonchalant offer rang inside everyone’s mind, stunning them briefly. The Otomos and Grems immediately caught onto her hidden intention.

‘S-She’s offering to trade phone numbers so casually!’

‘She even masked it as a work-related matter, so leader can’t even reject it!’

‘If they trade phone numbers, they’ll naturally talk more often and get closer to each other!’

‘Accept it, leader!’

They rooted silently, waiting for her response. With a sigh, Cecilia replied, “Ugh, sure. But as soon as you flood my phone with your nonsense, I’m blocking your number.”

“You’re worrying over nothing! Just hand them over already!”

“Shut up! And stop peeking into my phone! Just write down my number yourself!”

They continued to bicker against each other while trading their phone numbers. The sight was, of course, watched over by their members with satisfied expressions. After a hectic struggle, they finally finished exchanging their numbers.

“Phew… Alright, just make sure you only contact this number for business—”

Before Cecilia could finish her words, her phone buzzed from receiving a new message. She immediately opened it, only to find Gigi had spammed Cecilia’s phone with a self-made sticker of Gigi giving a thumbs up with an exaggerated serious expression. When she raised her head in anger, she found that Gigi had already run off into the distance.

“You—! Get back here!”

Her phone immediately buzzed after yelling at Gigi. Cecilia checked her phone in annoyance and found Gigi had sent another sticker of herself with her tongue stuck out with a wide grin. As soon as she read it, Gigi’s cackle could be heard in the distance as she finally escaped their view, leaving Cecilia angered. Seeing her bubbling wrath, the Grems excused themselves with a cold sweat and followed their boss.

“That brat… If she ever shows herself in front of me, I’ll beat her into a pulp, I swear…” Cecilia cursed out. The grip on her lead pipe tightened until it made a cracking noise.

‘To think the first thing they did after exchanging numbers was to bicker with each other…’

‘They’re acting cute as always, aren’t they?’

Of course, the Otomos simply enjoyed the sight blissfully. Now that the gang leaders exchanged numbers, they would naturally make contact with each other more frequently. Then, their relationship will continue to grow until eventually…

‘Marriage, naturally!’

‘Mhm, it’s a given.’

‘Are we geniuses or something?’

‘We must be. There’s no other explanation for it. That’s why it’s our duty to make sure their relationship continues to progress!’

It felt like they might’ve skipped a few steps in between, but as long as the end result remains the same, isn’t it alright? Satisfied with their own reasoning, they followed Cecilia back, ready to resume their work.

Days passed, and business continued as usual for the two gangs, except for one small change. The Grems would often catch Gigi cackling to herself as she tapped on her phone, while the Otomos would find Cecilia with an expression filled with wrath while she furiously typed on her phone. Knowing the person behind their behavior, they simply watched from the sides with serene smiles. Although some particularly brave Otomos and Grems attempted to sneak a glance at the content of their conversation, every single one of them was caught and beaten up by their respective leaders.

‘I told you to not peek over the boss’ shoulders, didn’t I? Look at you now, tsk tsk.’

‘I didn’t know she would poke my eyes… Sob… I can’t feel my left eye…’

‘You haven't had a left eye since last year, dumbass.’

‘Oh, right.’

Eventually, none of them attempted such a dangerous mission anymore, and these relatively peaceful days continued for a while. Today was one of those peaceful days. The Grems were quietly working in their headquarters while Gigi simply sat behind her desk, her foot comfortably resting on it. A satisfied grin plastered on her face as she typed away busily on her phone, a sight that the Grems used to recharge themselves from their workload.

‘Hmm, seems like the boss is having a blast like usual.’

‘Makes you wonder how close they are right now, doesn’t it?’

Without being able to peek into her phone, they could only assume how their relationship had progressed. But before their imagination could progress any further, Gigi suddenly got up from her seat and prepared to go out.

One of the Grems asked, “Boss? Are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah. That punk Cecilia is finally fed up and challenges me to head out by myself. No need to wait for me, I’ll be back late.”

Gigi replied nonchalantly, but her answer sent a wave of interest crashing through the Grems.

‘A-A second date?! Already?’

‘Nice going, boss!’

‘Alright, prepare to head out as well, everyone!’

As everyone prepared themselves to come along as well, Gigi suddenly stopped them. “You guys aren’t coming along. We already agreed that it’s gonna be a 1-on-1 kinda thing, so just leave it all to me.”

Despair immediately struck the Grems. Were they really going to let the chance to witness their second date go just like this? One of them attempted to weasel their way through, “B-But won’t it be dangerous, boss? We’ll just be standing guard from a distance, so just let us—”

“You’re saying I’m gonna lose? Huh?”

Gigi’s sudden question caused the Grem to stammer, “N-No, it’s not like that! It’s just in case anything happen—”

“So you’re saying I’m too incompetent to deal with anything she got? Huh? Huh?” Gigi pressed even further, causing them to stand in silence out of fear. With the room finally silent, Gigi declared, “This is between me and her. If I catch any of you sneaking behind me, I’ll make sure to bury you into the ground, got that?”

“...Understood, boss.” They obediently nodded their heads without being able to protest.

“Really, you guys are too much of a busybody. Just stay put and finish your work. I’m heading out!”

With those parting words, Gigi finally left the office. The Grems carefully monitored Gigi from the window, watching her leave on her own. As soon as she finally went out of their sight, every Grem immediately got busy.

“We lost visual of her! Establish connection with the Otomos!”

“Already on it! They’ve confirmed that their leader left as well!”

“Excellent. Move out to the command center!”

“Go, go!”

Gigi’s order to stay put went straight into their left ear and passed right out of their right ear. Everyone immediately rushed out of the headquarters, away from the direction Gigi went into. They reached an abandoned neighborhood in no time and stood in front of an unassuming building. One of them knocked on the door three times in a peculiar pattern. As soon as they did, a voice came from behind the door.

“Auto?”

“Fister.”

With the passcode well received, the door opened, revealing an Otomo behind it.

“Is everyone here already?”

“Yes. They’re waiting for your group.”

“Well done, We’ll head right in, then.”

The group of Grems walked into the building as the Otomo closed the door behind them. They went up the staircases, clearly knowing well where they were going. Upon entering a room on the third floor, they were welcomed with a room filled with tables, laptops, and monitors covering one of the walls, showing footage of Gigi and Cecilia on their way to their rendezvous. Inside, the Otomos were seated in position, busily preparing for the mission ahead of them.

One of the Otomos noticed their entrance. “Welcome to the command center. We’re ready to start at any time.”

A Grem standing in front of the group nodded their head. “Good. Let us commence the mission to sneak a peek into our bosses’ date!”

“”OOOOOHH!!!””

The atmosphere inside the room boiled as the group yelled in unison, united by a common goal—for their leaders to just get together already!

Chapter Text

With Gigi and Cecilia’s contact being made through their phones, the Otomos and Grems were naturally left with nothing to do. However, their perseverance led them to prepare for the future. In the case where they couldn’t follow their leaders, they prepared a command center that could be used to properly view their interaction without them knowing.

Is it illegal?

Definitely.

Will they get beaten up if their leaders find out about this place?

Without a doubt, 100%.

But such trivialities never stopped the Otomos and Grems from their singular goal. They must witness every interaction between their leaders, no matter the cost.

“We’ve cut down our meals to one meal per day just to afford all this equipment…”

“I even had to take a part-time job just to pitch in… Sob!”

“Your sacrifices are not in vain! With our blood, sweat, and suffering combined, we’ll successfully peep on our leaders’ date!”

“”YEAH!!!””

After shamelessly declaring their intentions, they sent several of their members outside to prepare the tools necessary for their mission. The remaining Otomos and Grems carefully monitored the screens displaying their leaders. A swarm of drones had been sent out by the Otomos, allowing them to capture both their leaders’ movements in real time.

“...By the way, why is the footage on the screen blurry as hell? Didn’t we spend a lot of money for this setup?” asked a Grem.

The Otomo next to them answered, “We have our drones recording them from far away in case they notice our surveillance. You know how sharp our leaders are.”

“I guess so. But even so, isn’t this footage way too blurry? How far away are these things recording from anyway?”

“1 km away.”

“That’s too far you crazy fuc—”

Before they could start arguing, a call suddenly went through the communication line. “B-Bad news! Someone from our side breached protocol!”

That statement immediately pulled everyone’s attention forward. An Otomo in the frontmost part of the command center shouted in a panic, “Find them and establish communication immediately! We can’t let them jeopardize our mission!”

“That won’t be necessary.”

A sudden intermission cut into everyone’s panicked response. On the screen, a video capture played. Its shaky footage told everyone that someone on the other side was wearing a hidden camera on themselves. From it, they could see the camera was peeking around the corner, capturing Gigi from behind.

“Hey, you crazy bastard! What the hell are you doing?! We’ve established a protocol to not approach our boss! If they notice us, everything’s gonna be a bust! No, if she caught you, you’ll definitely—!”

The rogue Grem responded in a hushed tone, “I know the risk, but we need to get clear footage of their rendezvous. If I got caught, I’ll make sure they don't know I’m wearing a camera. And if anything happens to me… just make sure to keep the mission going without me.”

The Grem inside the command center clicked their tongue. “You brave fool… Fine, do what you want, but be careful. We’ll do our best to make sure you can get back home in one piece.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” the Grem thanked before continuing to follow Gigi carefully. They stealthily sneaked behind her while hiding behind anything along the way, from light poles, trash cans, to crowds of passerby. Sometimes, the Grem would also climb over walls and rooftops to gain better sightlines without being spotted. Everyone gawked at the unexpectedly competent abilities of the Grem.

“Those movements, could it be…”

“Assassin’s Creed?!”

“No wonder you managed to slip away from our protocol… Shit, this might actually work!”

Before they could celebrate any further, Gigi turned into an alley without any coverage from the surveillance drones. Without sparing any moment, the Grem sneakily followed her into the same alley. However, they found that the alley was empty without any sign of Gigi.

“S-She’s gone!”

“Where did she go?! Look for her with the drones!”

“Damn it, we can’t find her!”

The command center clamored busily as they pushed the surveillance drones to scour the area. Sensing a terrible premonition, an Otomo warned, “…I’ve got a bad feeling. Pull back now, do not pursue—”

“You’re doing something interesting, aren’t you? Didn’t I tell you to not follow me?”

The sudden remark sent a chill down the sneaking Grem’s spine. They looked everywhere around them but found no sign of the person behind it. With nowhere else to look, the Grem’s eyes shook wildly as they craned their head up. There, their worst fear was confirmed—Gigi was clinging to the side of the building, staring right at the Grem. Even though a menacing grin was plastered on her face, her eyes glared coldly.

“B-Boss!” The Grem stammered, falling backwards on the floor as they tried to crawl away. Terror thoroughly struck the Grem, fearing what’s to come next.

“Disengage! Disengage!”

“We lost communication with them! They took out their own comms to stop her from tracking us!”

“Live burial in progress! We can’t stop her!”

The command center busily worked, but there was nothing they could do but to watch the Grem’s fate. After a brief moment, Gigi finally left the alley with a satisfied expression. Back in the alley, the Grem had been planted halfway into the ground with their legs sticking out into the air. The sight caused everyone in the command center to tremble and grimace at Gigi’s ruthlessness.

“…Send the body recovery team. Treat them with respect—they’re true heroes that went out for our cause.”

“Roger.”

The group solemnly lamented for their lost brothers (of course, they knew their boss wouldn’t actually kill them). Although the Grem’s sudden espionage was an unplanned strategy, it was nonetheless a failed one. The failure dampened the mood within the command center.

“Fine… That was just a taste of our resolve. Now, it’s time for the real deal.” An Otomo picked themselves up before speaking into their headset, “Launch our secret weapon.”

One of the screens in the command center zoomed out, panning over their neighborhood. From its corner, something glinted briefly before speeding past their vision. The footage zoomed in toward the object, capturing the image of a sleek, green drone closing in on Cecilia.

“Let me introduce our secret weapon—StealthTomo! Top speed 120 km/h, omnidirectional camera on board, and propellers as quiet as a mosquito when hovering. This thing is way more advanced than the other surveillance drones we’re using to capture the perimeter. With it, we’ll be able to view their date in HD!”

“Oooooh!”

“That’s some high-tech stuff!”

The Grems cheered at the Otomo’s explanation. On one of the screens, footage from StealthTomo played, capturing the high-speed flight it performed as it weaved left and right through the neighborhood. As Cecilia came into view, StealthTomo quickly stopped its flight and hovered silently from a distance, capturing her image in a higher definition than the surveillance drones.

“Damn, this is much better! Why didn’t you just use this for every drone?”

“Because it’s really expensive…”

“Ah…”

The blunt answer struck them into silence. Unable to hold back their curiosity, they finally asked, “...How much is it?”

“About five months worth of our salaries.”

Somehow, the eyes of the Otomo who were proudly explaining their drone appeared sunken and hollow before they realized it. The gaze contained within them was enough to explain the kind of frugal life they would have to endure in exchange for this drone.

“...Sorry for asking.”

“No, it’s fine. This much is necessary for our collective mission. At least we’ll be able to properly capture their date like this,” the Otomo accepted solemnly.

Silently accepting the sacrifice, they watched the footage in front of them. StealthTomo swiftly whizzed past any obstacle, ensuring a high-quality view for everyone in the command center. Within it, they could see Cecilia suddenly coming to a stop as she glanced left and right. Her lips flapped open, but the drone couldn’t pick up on what she said.

“Hm? Why did she stop? Do you know what she’s saying?”

“We’re too far to properly capture it. Let me move it a bit closer…”

The Otomo carefully controlled the drone, inching closer to Cecilia from behind bit by bit. Her voice slowly became audible through the footage, though parts of it remain unclear.

“Seriously… Just what… that sound? … crazy…”

The drone approached even closer until her voice finally sounded clear to everyone.

“Whatever’s making that noise, I’m going to…” Her words trailed off as Cecilia suddenly turned her head toward the drone with a deathly glare. “Is it coming from over there?”

She pulled back her arm with her lead pipe in hand before launching it forward. The pipe twirled in the air straight toward StealthTomo. Everyone’s eyes went wide as they shouted commands.

“Evasive maneuver, now!”

“Pull up! Pull up!”

Panicked screams flooded the command center, but their reactions were a bit too slow.

Crash!

The pipe smashed right through two propellers of StealthTomo. The footage chaotically warped as the drone went spiraling down toward the ground.

“R-Recover it! Slow it down! Damn it, just do something!”

“We can’t! We’ve lost all control!”

“Altitude dropping rapidly! 200 meters, 100 meters, 50—!”

Smash!

The sound of something fragile breaking into pieces resounded as the footage went black. The blurry footage from other surveillance drones showed the lead pipe returning to Cecilia’s hand like a boomerang. Everyone’s expression immediately turned aghast after witnessing that impossible feat.

“Shit, that’s just cheating…”

“Why the hell is she throwing that thing like Captain America, damn it?!”

“No, more importantly, did she find out about us?”

The atmosphere inside the command center immediately turned grave, akin to a cemetery. If Cecilia figured out they were behind the drone…

“We’re so dead!”

“Fuck, scatter! Burn down this place!”

Hysterical screams were thrown out as fear took them over. But before panic could fully take hold, a voice came from the monitor.

“Shit, it was a drone? I thought it was a mosquito or something…”

Their eyes immediately bolted toward the monitor. Somehow, the voice capture on StealthTomo survived the crash despite the camera being broken. A sigh of relief escaped their mouths when they realized Cecilia hadn’t noticed who was behind the drone.

“Phew… Seems like we’re safe for now. As soon as leader left StealthTomo behind, send in the recovery team to its position. Let’s hope we can still fix it—”

Before the Otomo could finish their words, Cecilia’s voice continued, “Wait, this thing looks expensive as hell. If they force me to pay for this…”

An ominous, foreboding feeling came over them as soon as they heard Cecilia’s words. From the other surveillance drones, they could see Cecilia slowly walking toward StealthTomo’s remains with her lead pipe readied.

Cecilia muttered to herself, “Welp, let’s just make sure they don’t find out about it, then.”

“W-Wait, no—!”

The Otomo reached for the monitor, but it was to no avail.

Bang! Smash! Pow!

Cecilia began pummeling StealthTomo’s remains without any remorse. The voice recorder faithfully captured every bit of violence it endured until eventually it could no longer do so. Meanwhile, the blurry footage showed StealthTomo’s wreckage rendered into unrecognizable pieces under Cecilia’s unrelenting beatings.

“STEALTHTOMOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

Their anguished screams remained unknown to Cecilia as she gathered the evidence and dumped it into a nearby garbage bin. Satisfied with her handiwork, Cecilia swiftly left the crime scene, leaving the Otomos and Grems distraught.

“...Do you still have a warranty on it?”

“Do you think they cover vandalism?”

“M-My bad…”

The unusually exasperated tone of voice caught the Grems off guard. With a pained expression, the Otomo mumbled, “Send in the recovery team. Treat its remains with care, for StealthTomo is one of us.”

“Yes...”

A group of Otomos quietly worked to contact the recovery team. The atmosphere around them grew even worse as their plan was shut down without much effort.

“Chin up, everyone.”

The word of a Grem caused everyone to raise their heads. The voice behind it still contained an unwavering belief despite their failure.

“The Otomos have sent out their secret weapon. Now… it’s our turn.” The Grem solemnly declared with a fire burning within their eyes, “No matter what, we’ll make sure they’ll just get together already!”

Chapter Text

"Grems! Release our secret weapon!"

"Roger! Launching in progress!"

"Establishing connection with command center... Link confirmed!"

The command center moved busily, following the given order. Soon, a footage blinked into life from one of the monitors. Unlike the previous attempts, the footage seems to be recording from a low point of view. The Otomos couldn't help but scratch their heads.

"Is it... a remote-controlled car?"

"I can't really tell, but it must be, right?"

"Didn't seem too different from our plan. Is this going to work?"

Before they could complain any further, the footage began moving. But against their expectation, the POV moved nimbly, scurrying through narrow alleys and climbing over walls. The movement shown was beyond what any RC car or drone could possibly pull off.

"Whoa— Damn! How are you pulling this off?!"

"The footage is a bit shaky, but this kind of stealthy movements.. I seriously can't figure it out!"

"Huhuhu..." A Grem laughed smugly. "Of course you couldn't figure it out. It's our secret weapon for a reason. Let me introduce you to our reliable cameraman..."

The footage turned toward the storefront of a boutique. As it panned over the glass window, the figure behind the camera was reflected on it. The Otomos held their breaths as the footage focused itself.

Reflected on the glass window was the figure of a cat.

"HUH?!?!?"

"Bullshit! What kind of nonsense is this?!"

The Grem laughed once more. "Huhuhu... It's not nonsense at all. Watch carefully."

With their hand holding the microphone on their headset, the Grem spoke, "Turn left."

The cat turned left, and the footage followed.

"Turn right."

The cat turned right, and the footage followed once more.

"What the fuck..."

"This is... No, how is this even possible?"

"Of course it's possible," the Grem interjected. "We searched for the smartest cat we could find in the neighborhood through a rigorous system. Then, we trained them to follow our commands given through its collar and recognize both our leaders' faces. That way, it can faithfully record their date through the hidden camera in its collar without any problems!"

"That's animal abuse, you crazy bastard!"

The Grem shook their head at the Otomo's accusation. "Don't worry, we made a fair deal with it. We paid that cat four slices of fatty tuna belly for a day of training and work. That cat really wrung me dry with its haggling..."

"You made a deal with it?! Wait, did you just say you lost haggling with a cat?"

The proud Grem suddenly looked sullen after hearing the Otomo's remark. "Please don't bring it up... That cat's way too smart for us to deal with. It only wanted fatty tuna belly from high-end restaurants..."

"We couldn't find a replacement cat... With each training, the cost from buying its meal kept stacking up until we could only eat plain white bread for our meals..."

"Ah..."

The all-too-familiar story promptly silenced the Otomos. Just like them, the Grems had suffered as well for their sole purpose.

The Grem smacked the table in front of them to psych themselves up. "It's fine! If our stomachs are empty, then we'll fill them with our leader's date!"

"Y-Yeah!"

"We'll get our fill to make up for our missed meals!"

With their spirits bolstered once more, the Grem commanded, "That's right! Now send in our feline unit!"

"Yes! Providing navigation!"

The command center quickly directed the cat to move toward their leaders. With its swift movement, the cat arrived right on time for Gigi and Cecilia's rendezvous. They glared at each other as the hidden camera stealthily captured their argument.

"We finally meet again... I've had enough of your nonsense. It's about time we settle things in person!" Cecilia hissed through her gritted teeth.

"I dunno, it just sounds like you're a sore loser who couldn't handle some online talk," Gigi taunted with a smirk.

"First off, people don't usually spam others with messages at 3 AM to talk."

"But you still replied immediately, though?" Gigi replied with her head tilted sideways.

"Shut up! That's not the point! And stop smiling like that!" Cecilia stammered out angrily.

Their bickering continued on, faithfully captured for everyone to see in the command center. Naturally, everyone cheered at the sight.

"LET'S GOOOOOO!!! We did it!!!"

"This is it! This is what we've suffered for!!"

"Aaaaaaah! Thank you, my past self, for staying alive so I can burn this sight into my eyes!!!"

Loud celebrations went off inside the command center as the drought of interactions had finally been parched right in front of them. They continued to watch the footage, determined to not miss a single second of their interaction.

"Ah, whatever. You're impossible to reason with..." Cecilia muttered before she suddenly started looking around. "Do you... do you feel like you're being watched right now?"

"Hm, now that you mention it..."

After hearing Cecilia's question, Gigi turned alert and began looking around as well. Seeing this, the Grems and Otomos began panicking.

"H-Hey! We're about to be found out!"

"How the hell do they keep noticing us, damn it?!"

"Who cares! Just pull out the feline unit before they find us!"

Before they could issue the command to retreat, Gigi suddenly moved in a blink of an eye, staring right into the camera.

"Gah! She found us!"

"We're fucked!"

"..."

But while everyone was panicking, the Grem pushing for this secret weapon simply watched quietly. Seeing that Gigi had found something, Cecilia walked toward her and checked what caught her attention.

"Huh, a cat." Cecilia remarked lightly.

"Yeah. Thought someone was watching us, but I guess it's just this kitty," Gigi replied.

Upon hearing their comments, the ears of everyone in the command center perked up as they quelled their panic.

"...Are we safe?"

"They're distracted by the cat... Could it be?!"

"Of course it is."

Everyone turned toward the Grem providing the explanation. "You might think the main advantage of using a cat is the agility it possesses. However, there's an additional benefit to it."

As the Grem explained, the cat began purring while approaching the gang leaders with upturned eyes. Caught off-guard by the sudden display of cuteness, Cecilia's and Gigi's eyes twinkled at the cat.

"Awww, it's so cuuuute!"

"What a good kitty cat!"

They began playing with the cat happily, unaware of the hidden camera in its collar. After quickly taking a few screenshots of the footage for archiving, the Grem continued their explanation.

"In addition to our regular training, we successfully taught the cat to act cute toward our leaders. That way, they will focus their attention on the cat instead of the hidden camera inside its collar," the Grem smiled with a glint in their eyes. "True stealth doesn't come just from being unnoticed, but for them to be unnoticed even when noticed!"

"Ooooooh!!!"

"Well said!"

"I don't really get it, but seeing our leaders playing with the cat makes it all worth it!"

"True!"

With their safety confirmed, they got rid of their fear and continued monitoring the footage. Gigi and Cecilia had gone quiet after realizing how they acted in front of each other, blinded by the cat's cuteness. They had turned away from each other, embarrassed to even see each other.

"...Hey." Cecilia called weakly.

"...Yeah?"

"Let's just pretend we didn't act like dumbasses, okay?"

"Okay, dumbass." Gigi replied bluntly.

Cecilia immediately snapped back, "Huh?! Why the hell are you dissing me now?!"

"You just said you were acting like a dumbass, so I'm calling you a dumbass," Gigi replied with a smirk.

Cecilia yanked Gigi by the collar and shook her briefly. "You little—! I was just saying that so we can move past that, you prick! If I'm a dumbass, that means you're a dumbass as well!"

"You're still the bigger dumbass, though."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-uh!"

The pointless argument continued between them as the cat faithfully captured every single detail. In the command center, the Otomos and Grems watched the footage with a warm smile, contrasting against their leaders' bickering.

Eventually, Cecilia had enough. "That's enough! Let's just settle this like we planned!"

"Hah, sure! Follow me!"

Both of them went on their way with the cat following behind them. Everyone in the command center couldn't help but wonder where they were going. Were they going to a dating spot? Or were they actually going to duke it out and fight in an alley somewhere?

"No matter. Our feline unit will be able to follow them without suspicion no matter where they go!"

"That's right! Nothing can stop the perfect infiltration unit!"

All Grems and Otomos watched the footage excitedly as the cat followed the pair faithfully. But the view suddenly shifted just as they entered a building. Instead of their leaders, the camera caught sight of a stern-looking man standing right next to the building's entrance who was lifting the cat while staring right at it.

The security guard spoke flatly to the cat, "No animals allowed in the shopping mall."

""Ah.""

They finally took their eyes off the main footage and glanced at the other drones' footage, showing that both Cecilia and Gigi had entered a shopping mall without them realizing it. Their expressions paled as the security guard carefully placed it away from the entrance.

"Please vacate the premises, kitty."

"Meow."

The cat stared right into the entrance, capturing a glimpse of Cecilia and Gigi bickering right before the door closed. With the security guard faithfully guarding the entrance, the cat finally gave up on the pursuit and skittered off by itself.

Slam!

"NOOOOOOOOOOO, MY FATTY TUNA BELLY!!!! ALL FOR NOTHING!!!"

The Grem's pained scream marked the end of the command center's first mission.

**********************

Without any other plans to follow them, their first ever mission ended up as a failure. They simply went back home, as their leaders had told them to not wait for them. The next day, the Otomos were back in their office, working as usual.

"Ahhh, that sucks. Who could've thought the plan would fall apart just because they chose to go into a shopping mall?" An Otomo grumbled as they settled in their office.

"Don't worry, today's failure is tomorrow's success. We shall improve our plans for next time!"

"Yeah! For the sake of our leaders' future!"

Before they could talk any further, the door to their office opened as Cecilia stepped into the room. The expression on her face appeared crumpled, as if she was upset about something.

""G-Good morning, leader!"" The Otomos greeted her anxiously, wondering what went on yesterday.

"Yeah, morning." Cecilia lazily replied before sitting behind her desk with the same irritated expression. The air in the office felt stifling with how prickly she seemed.

Unable to endure it any longer, one of the Otomos finally asked, "So... how did it go yesterday, leader?"

Like a dam that finally burst, Cecilia began her rant, "It was tiresome! So get this—I was fed up with that brat, so I went to meet her to settle things, right? After remembering that she managed to one-up me at the boba shop back then, we decided to see if we could one-up the other again. With that plan, we went to the shopping mall to see how we could do that."

The Otomos listened attentively to Cecilia. The details that they missed yesterday were suddenly presented right before them at this very moment, and they didn't want to miss a single word of it.

"First up, I decided to bring her to the cinema and watched a movie that I really liked. It was a real tearjerker, and with how quiet she was while watching it, I got her to admit that I managed to one-up her!"

"Amazing as always, leader."

"After that, we went to grab an early dinner. We tried each other's recommendations to settle the scores one more time. But somehow, we managed to surprise each other! I caught her off-guard with my secret tea spot that I frequent, but I still can't believe that brat knows a good crepe spot! We begrudgingly decided that it was a tie for that round."

"Uh-huh..."

"At that point, I was pretty confident since I was still leading from the cinema victory. But then she decided to take it to the arcades! How the hell did she figure out I couldn't stand claw machines?! The fact that she got the prize that I wanted and gave it to me makes it even more frustrating! God!"

"..."

"After all that hard work, we ended up with a tie for the day, so we didn't get to settle anything! I can't believe I just wasted half a day for nothing..."

Cecilia ended up grumbling with her face flat on the desk as she finished her rant. However, the Otomos around them looked at each other silently.

'She said she wanted to settle things with her, but...'

'No matter how we look at it...'

"Isn't that just a date... Ah!"

The Otomo that accidentally spoke out loud immediately closed their mouth, but it was too late. The previously lifeless Cecilia immediately stood up as if she'd been struck by lightning.

"Huh? What did you just say?!"

Shwaaa—!

The Otomos could feel as if a draft of chilling air were blowing through the room, despite the fact that all windows and doors in the office were closed. Cecilia, the source of the stifling presence, loomed over them. Her eyes stared right into the Otomo that accidentally spoke up, spilling unbridled disdain and disbelief from hearing such nonsense.

"Now that I think about it, there was something suspicious around me yesterday... Was that your handiwork?" Cecilia asked, her voice bubbling with anger.

The Otomo quickly muttered, "N-No, it wasn't us! I mean, how could we possibly afford that kind of expensive drone?"

A cold smirk grew onto Cecilia's expression. "But I didn't say anything about a drone?"

"...Ah."

The detail that accidentally slipped through had sealed their fate. Cold sweat poured down the Otomos' forehead as Cecilia pulled out the lead pipe that had claimed StealthTomo's life.

"Now, do you want to get beat up willingly or against your will? It won't change how much it will hurt, by the way. One just helps with your conscience." Cecilia offered while tapping the lead pipe on her hand.

"L-Leader... We're sorry... W-We're just worried about you—"

"That's nice. I suggest you worry about yourselves right now, though." Cecilia raised her lead pipe with a smile that wasn't reflected in her eyes. "Now, atone for your mistakes~"

Bang!

"Kyaaaaaaak!!!"

"H-Heeeeeelp!"

Screams of agony resounded as Cecilia delivered her punishment. Several Otomos that had received a dose of lead pipe in the cranium lay on the floor with their eyes spinning, while Cecilia chased the Otomos that had begun escaping.

Bzzt.

A phone held by one of the collapsed Otomo buzzed. With some struggle, the Otomo managed to open the phone, only to see it was a message sent by a Grem.

We're getting beat up by our boss. SOS.

"We're also getting beat up, dumbass..." The Otomo weakly uttered before collapsing once more.

'All this for nothing... Can both of them just get together already...?'

Chapter Text

After a thorough scolding from their leaders, the Grems and Otomos finally agreed to not pursue their leaders in secret anymore. With Gigi and Cecilia turning more vigilant on their surroundings, performing a secret mission like before was simply not feasible. Avoiding their punishment was simply an added bonus for them.

The only silver lining was the fact that they managed to hide the true purpose behind their actions. Thankfully, both Gigi and Cecilia believed that they'd followed them around due to them being too worried about their well-being.

"It couldn't be helped. As their underlings, it's only right for us to respect their personal space."

"Mhm, I couldn't agree more."

If Gigi and Cecilia heard what they had said, they would've started beating some sense into them. But without them around, the Grems and Otomos were free to reassure themselves however they liked.

But while they decided to lay low, they weren't aware that their actions had created waves throughout HoloSantos.

**********************

Blam!

"L-Leader! Bad news!"

An Otomo came barreling into the office, their face struck with panic. Cecilia raised an eyebrow with a hint of irritation at the Otomo's disturbance. "What is it? Did that brat stop by again?" she asked, seemingly tired by Gigi's usual intrusion that had grown into a daily occurrence.

"No! It's an attack from a different gang! They're storming into our office right now!"

"What?!" Cecilia immediately stood up from her seat, knocking some of her paperwork off the table. "Just because we've been staying put, they started to think we're a bunch of pushovers or something? Fine, I'll just remind them, then!"

"Wait, leader—"

"No buts! Everyone, head down now!"

Without letting the Otomo finish, Cecilia snatched her lead pipe from the coat hanger and stormed down the stairs, followed by the Otomos. She gnashed her teeth in anger, wondering who had the guts to come straight into her office. Having that brat of a gang leader visiting her like she owned the place was enough of a headache for her already. This time, she swore she would beat up these intruders senseless.

As Cecilia plotted away, they made their way into the office's entrance, where they were met by at least fifty rival gang members. Within their presence, the group of Otomos that barely numbered twenty seemed minuscule in comparison.

After carefully observing the gang members in front of her, Cecilia motioned toward the Otomo who alerted her before.

"...Hey."

"Yes, leader." The Otomo made their way to her.

Cecilia craned her neck as she whispered angrily, "Why didn't you tell me there are this many of them! I was talking all that smack about beating them senseless because I thought there were, like, thirty of them at most!"

"But you didn't let me finish earlier, leader."

The Otomo's valid response caused Cecilia to freeze for a moment. "...Still, you could've dropped a hint on the way or something," she pouted shamelessly.

Feeling that it would be too much of a pain in the ass to argue against her, the Otomo finally conceded, "Sorry, leader."

"Hm, I'll forgive you for now. More importantly, I didn't expect these bastards to come here on their own." Cecilia glared at the group of gang members in front of her.

One of the gang members made their way to the front, a confident sneer plastered on his face. The respect visible on the other gang members showed that he held a high position among them.

He twirled the baseball bat in his right hand lightly as he spoke, "You've been acting up a whole lot 'round this part, missy. Don't you know the nail that stuck out gets hammered down?"

"Of course I stuck out when compared to thugs like you that only know how to hit things. Gangs these days think they can just beat people up, take their money, and call it a day, I swear..." Cecilia grumbled loudly.

"You know them, leader?" The Otomo asked from behind her.

Cecilia scoffed as she scratched her head. "...I don't."

"So you don't know them?! You were talking as if you knew who they were!"

Cecilia immediately defended herself, "No, I mean, they just waltzed in and acted like some kind of big shots, but I've never seen them before! Am I supposed to know every single piece of trash rolling around in this city or something?"

"Um, leader..."

"Saying that out loud is a bit..."

Despite the Otomos' attempt at skirting around it, they couldn't take back what Cecilia had said. The expression of the gang members around them crumpled.

"That bitch...!"

"Lieutenant, let's fuck them up already!"

Jeers and shouts rang loudly as the air around them turned hostile. The Otomos prepared themselves for a fight that could begin anytime soon.

"Calm down, boys."

Their clamor was quelled as the lieutenant raised his voice. However, he couldn't hide his annoyance at Cecilia's remark.

With a scoff, he responded, "You're awfully confident for someone surrounded. Does that confidence come from your new partnership?"

"Partnership?" Cecilia asked, confused.

The lieutenant sneered, "Playing dumb, are we? Did you really think we wouldn't notice your recent moves?"

"No, seriously, what are you talking about?" Cecilia furrowed her brows. No matter how hard she denied it, the lieutenant in front of her insisted on this so-called "partnership" that he made up.

The lieutenant knocked his bat on the ground in irritation. "Gigi Murin. We know you're plotting something with that bastard, so stop acting like it's a secret already."

"...What?"

The ridiculous accusation warped Cecilia's expression in disgust, as if she just swallowed a fly. To Cecilia, the only thing they had between them was the splitting headache that came whenever Gigi came by, like a sixth sense for detecting troublemakers.

Misinterpreting Cecilia's confusion, the lieutenant continued, "You really thought you could hide it? We already knew you've met up with her several times this past week."

"And all of them were against my will," Cecilia rebutted with a hint of annoyance.

"For a rival gang to enter your headquarters and leave without any fight happening... It only means both of you are working together, of course."

"Do you think all a gang ever does is fight with each other, you nutcase?"

"Not only that, we also spotted you two together at the mall. We know damn well you're scheming something together to take our turf!"

"Oh my fucking god."

Cecilia ended up covering her face with her hands, half from exasperation and half from embarrassment. For some reason, the rival gang lieutenant kept making up scenarios between her and Gigi like there was no tomorrow. Not only that, the grin on his face clearly showed that he felt like he had figured her out. Is the person in front of her a novelist in the making or something?

While massaging her head to calm her pounding headache, she asked, "So can I take this as your gang's stance? Did your boss send you to do this?"

The lieutenant flashed a confident smile. "Of course not! I'm doing this to show my initiative to the boss! Once I take over your gang, I'll give it to the boss as proof of my loyalty, hehehe!"

"For fuck's sake—"

As if this entire situation wasn't enough, the lieutenant had stormed over without confirming it to his boss. When Cecilia thought about how she had to clear things up with their leader because of this thoughtless buffoon, her headache returned once more.

"Not only have you been spouting nonsense, but you also left me with even more work..." Cecilia grumbled as her grip on the lead pipe tightened.

"Nonsense? You still claim it's nonsense after all that proof I told you? In the first place..."

As their argument went on, the Otomos stayed alert as they whispered to each other.

'Hey, these guys are totally misunderstanding the leader's date for some kind of grand scheme, right?'

'Absolutely. I think we can let them misunderstand, though. Did you contact the Grems about this already?'

'Yup. I sent them a message earlier while we were going down earlier. They told me that they're already cooking up a plan to have their gang and boss come over to help us out.'

'Niiiice. For now, just keep a low profile. We can stay back and watch in case things escalate.'

'Mhm, not like we have to step in or anything.'

Although they were surrounded, it wasn't as if they couldn't handle them. As long as they could buy some time, the Grems' arrival should deter these rival gang members. With the lieutenant chattering away, they could simply wait for the time to pass safely.

As they listened to the lieutenant's ramblings, something caught their attention.

"Stop bluffing! I even saw your gang members mingling with hers!"

""...!!!!""

The Otomos' eyes immediately went wide as they perked up their ears to focus on the lieutenant's words, as if missing a single letter would cost them their lives.

"While their bosses are meeting up, the gang members huddled up to meet each other... Awfully convenient for it to be a coincidence, isn't it? My boys might've lost sight of them on their way, but I knew they were heading toward each other! I just know it!"

"What the hell are you even talking about..."

While Cecilia clicked her tongue against the lieutenant's explanation, the Otomos' immediately shouted together.

"Hey, what is this damn guy saying?!"

"You think you can just come into our place and run your mouth like you own the place? Huh? Huh?"

"Calm down, leader! You don't have to be angry at this bastard's slander for our sake! Please hold back your anger!"

"Huh? O-Okay?"

They barked in denial loudly, causing the lieutenant to flinch. Even Cecilia seemed taken aback by their sudden eagerness to defend her. But both of them didn't realize the waterfall of sweat flowing down the Otomos' backs.

'Hey, hey, hey! This guy knows everything!'

'Isn't this really bad?! If leader ever found out about what we did...'

'Hieeeeee!!! Don't think about it! J-Just do everything we can to figure something out!'

With their minds scrambling in a panic, they resolved themselves to do whatever they could to survive.

'Damn it, this wouldn't have happened if they could just get together already!'

Chapter Text

Right now, the Otomos faced a crisis that threatened not only their lives, but their newfound purpose as well. A discussion quickly took place (in their minds, of course).

"Putting our lives aside for a moment—"

"Hang on, isn't that a bit too important to set aside just like that?"

"—if leader ever finds out we're rooting for her to get together with the Grems' boss, their relationship is as good as over."

"Huh? How so?"

"Because she'll be too conscious about their relationship! It's still too early for them to find out about it!" the Otomo pointed out.

Currently, Cecilia and Gigi were hanging around each other naturally, even if their relationship as leaders of rival gang members made things a bit awkward sometimes. Of course, something like that would naturally smooth itself out as they kept meeting each other. But what if someone brought up how they acted around each other? How would they see themselves after that? They could already imagine how awkward the leaders would be.

"...Oi."

"What?"

"Do you wanna get some... Ah, never mind."

"Are you picking a fight or something? ...Psh. Whatever."

"..."

"..."

"AAAAAAAHHH, NOOOOOO!!! IT'S THE WORST!!!"

Every time they would speak to the other, their words felt restrained, as if worried that they would act too close to each other. The atmosphere around them would freeze into a halt as their usual banter reduced into silence. And without their usual interaction, the Otomos and Grems would be left without any scraps and wither away.

"If they decided to distance themselves, our raison d'être would be nothing but a pipe dream."

"Yeah, that's why we can't let that happen!"

"I personally don't mind doomed yuri, though."

"You, stop right there. We'll be taking away your talking privileges."

"Wait, wai—!"

After quickly restraining the Otomo who spoke a bit too much, they huddled together and hatched a plan.

"For starters, tell the Grems to hurry it up."

An Otomo immediately responded, "I already did! I got news that they're already on their way with their leader. After hearing what happened, they told us that they'll get here as fast as possible, no matter what."

"Um, I hope they won't go overboard... "

"Surely they won't... right?"

A sense of foreboding flashed among them, telling them that something annoying to deal with would come with the Grems. But without any other option, they disregarded it as best as they could and huddled once more.

"So what do we do now?"

"Well... We just have to buy some time until the Grems get here."

"And how do we do that?"

"Uh, I don't really know, to be honest." The Otomo scratched their head before turning to the one responsible for contacting the Grems. "How long do we have to stall until they get here?"

"Let me check... Huh, that's strange. They said they're already here?"

""Eh?""

The unexpected answer pulled them back into reality, where a ruckus had unfolded from the rival gang members.

"L-Lieutenant! Someone's breaking into our encirclement!"

The lieutenant scowled at the nonsensical report. "The hell? What kind of dumbass would willingly enter an encirclement?"

"It's the Grems! And their boss is charging ahead of them!"

"...Oh."

The person who answered him suddenly fell to the concrete floor as the body of another gang member was thrown against his back. Behind where he was previously standing stood Gigi, who looked visibly upset. After punching another gang member who was charging toward her, she yanked them by the collar and used their shirt to wipe the blood off her brass knuckles before slamming them to the ground. The Otomos immediately trembled in fear.

'Shit... I was expecting a dreamy rescue like a knight in shining armor, not this!'

'Just what did those Grems tell her to make her look that angry?!'

'I-I don't know! Why don't you ask them instead!?'

They immediately turned their heads toward the Grems. But mysteriously, they kept quiet and even dodged their gaze on purpose.

'These guys—! They're suddenly being real quiet, huh?!'

'Hey, seriously, tell us what you told your boss! She's way too scary right now!'

While their pleas only received silence, Gigi made her way to Cecilia and the lieutenant. Cecilia clicked her tongue at the sight of another addition to this mess. "I'm already busy enough with one nutcase as it is... What do you want?"

The lieutenant butted in from the side, "Still keeping up the act? I already know both of you are working together! The fact that you're here to help her is proof enough as it is, right?!"

With her brows still furrowed, Gigi ignored the lieutenant and muttered to Cecilia, "Just what did you do to catch the attention of a small fry like this?"

Cecilia answered angrily, "How should I know?! Wait, no! It's because you kept coming over here, so this idiot got the wrong idea!"

"How is it MY fault?! You're just dumping the problem to me, aren't you?"

"Am not!"

"Am yes!"

"You're not even making any sense right now!"

As their argument turned nonsensical in no time, the Otomo simply watched them in bliss.

'They're lost in their own world, aren't they?'

'To think we can see them bickering like this again... It feels like it's been forever since we saw this... Sob...'

But before they could fully relish the spectacle, a voice interrupted them.

"Hey, stop ignoring me, damn it! You think we'll let you off after figuring out the both of you are in cahoots?!" The lieutenant yelled as threateningly as possible.

Gigi finally turned toward the lieutenant, a scoff escaped her mouth. "Us? In cahoots? You couldn't be any more wrong if you tried."

"Yeah, right! Then why are you helping her?"

"Simple, really." Gigi snatched Cecilia by the waist as she answered, "Because her gang's gonna be mine soon, anyway."

Her declaration left a loud silence as everyone slowly processed it. Of course, the first to react were the Grems and Otomos.

'W-WOAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!'

'Confession! It's a confession! They're getting married! Someone take a picture for a keepsake right now!!!'

'She just mentions it so casually too! M-My poor heart can't take any more of this!'

'Insane! This is insane! They're insane!'

As their mental state continued to deteriorate, Cecilia finally came to her senses and pushed Gigi away. "W-W-What are you even saying!? When did I ever agree to that!"

"Why do you need to agree when I'm gonna take it by force?" Gigi asked as if it was obvious.

"You're crazy..."

After hearing their exchange, the lieutenant muttered in confusion, "What the hell... T-This doesn't make any goddamn sense... Why would you even come here, then?"

"Simple, really. I just heard that some idiot's raiding this place, so I decided to storm right through. Can't let someone mess up my future property, you know?" Gigi answered.

The Otomos immediately turned their heads to the Grems after hearing her answer.

'Wait, so that's why she looked pissed earlier? She's just worried about the leader? Isn't that way too cute?'

'I know, right?! That's why we kept quiet—we want you to find out by yourself, hehe.'

'Crazy... She really wants her...'

Unaware of their thoughts, Gigi continued, "You see, it's like seeing a fly buzzing around the food you've been looking forward to all day. I'm just here to tell the fly that doesn't know their place to piss off."

'She's telling him that the leader is hers!!!'

'Huh? Is this real? Is this really happening?!'

'If leader's her food, does that mean she's going to eat her—'

'Theyredrivingmeinsaneimgoinginsanetheyredrivingmeinsaneimgoinginsane'

The lieutenant snapped back, "A fly?! Do you even know who you're messing with—!"

"Do you know who you're messing with?"

After hearing Gigi's question, the lieutenant finally paused and looked around him. Before he realized it, his group had been surrounded by both the Otomos and Grems. His eyes briefly scanned them, and their intense gaze that swept past his gang terrified him to his soul. Despite their laser-focused determination, it was as if they weren't even looking at him, that his existence wasn't worth their time. Just what kind of battles have they gone through to turn them into these cold-blooded machines?

Before he realized it, a bead of cold sweat had rolled down his back. The lieutenant reflexively took a step back from the two gang leaders in front of him.

A grin grew onto Cecilia's lips before she ordered the Otomos around them, "Step aside. Our guest is leaving."

The Grems glanced at Gigi, who nodded her head. With their confirmation, both Otomos and Grems parted, opening a path for the gang members to leave through. Bewildered, the lieutenant muttered, "You're just letting us go? What the hell are you planning?"

"I told you earlier, didn't I? I'm not a thug like you that only knows how to hit things. As for what I'm planning..." Cecilia's eyes curved into a pair of crescent moons in anticipation. "Let's just say your boss will have a word or two for you when you get back. So go back and wait for your owner to call you like a good doggy, okay?"

"...You bitch! I ought to just shut you up for good!"

Her words finally caused him to snap, enough to forget his fear and charge toward Cecilia. But before he could reach her, a swing from her lead pipe landed right between his legs.

Bang!

"Cough...!"

"Damn..."

The lieutenant wordlessly collapsed on the floor as his eyes rolled to their whites. Everyone around them silently stood with their legs crossed tightly out of reflex, their faces pale as a sheet of paper.

"Nice shot." Without caring about their reaction, Gigi motioned toward one of the lieutenant's henchmen, "Hey, take him away if you don't want to get a piece of what he had."

"Y-Y-Yes!"

One of the henchmen immediately scampered to grab the unconscious lieutenant and slung him over his shoulders like a bag of potatoes. With the lieutenant secured, they ran off like their lives depended on it, leaving the Otomos and Grems without saying a single word.

Cecilia let out a sigh of annoyance as she took out her phone. "At least that's taken care of... Now I can work on paying them back, hehe."

"What's your plan?" Gigi asked while peeking over Cecilia's shoulder to see her phone.

Cecilia glared at Gigi with a frown for her uncouth behavior, but she let it slide and continued, "Just the usual. I'm gonna tell their boss that their henchman just stormed to my place and ask if this is a declaration of war from their side. I know their gang's already busy enough with their rival, so they'll probably be panicking."

"Oooh, are you gonna ask them to compensate you with some cash?" Gigi asked, her eyes gleaming with interest.

Cecilia answered as she continued to type on her phone. "I think I'll just take some properties that border my turf. I heard their shopping district's been doing well recently... Aaaaaaand, sent. That stupid idiot's gonna be in hell the moment he wakes up, hehe. I bet his boss will welcome him reaaaaal good," she muttered viciously.

"Can you split some of the properties for me?" Gigi requested shamelessly.

"Hell no."

Gigi immediately threw a tantrum over the immediate refusal, "But I helped you, didn't I?! Compensate me for my help, or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'm gonna drop to the floor and wail at you until you give me something! I'm going to annoy you every day and spam you texts day and night! Then I'm gonna keep calling you until you answer!"

Imagining the terrifying threat, Cecilia shuddered and relented, "Ugh, fine! I'll give you some so you better not do that! Seriously!"

Gigi immediately calmed down and agreed, "Okay! Maybe."

"Maybe?! You're such a... You know what? Sure. It doesn't matter anyway." Cecilia sighed.

"Hm? What do you mean by that?"

"You said earlier that you're helping me out because this place is going to be yours, right? So I'm just going to do the same," Cecilia said as she turned toward Gigi with a cheeky smile. "I'll give you what you want, because when I take over your gang, it's gonna be mine anyway."

The unexpected declaration from Cecilia stunned everyone, and a silence blanketed their surroundings. Within seconds, chaos erupted among the Grems and Otomos.

'YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!'

'Holy shit, holy shit!'

'They want each other! It's official!'

'Book the wedding venue for tomorrow! No, for this evening!'

'Hey, hey, calm down! You're getting too excited! We can still have the wedding next week! We have to make sure it's gonna look grand!'

'Someone snap a picture! We're going to need it for the reception!'

Meanwhile, Gigi flashed the brightest smile Cecilia had ever seen. "Sure, give it your best shot! I'd like to see you try."

"Ha, we'll see if you can say that after I take everything from your gang!"

"Yeah? I guess we won't ever see it because I'm gonna win."

"No, I think you're gonna lose, actually."

"Hmm, I think you're wrong, actually."

"Am not!"

"Am yes!"

The Grems and Otomos continued to watch over Gigi and Cecilia's argument with a smile. Despite the harsh words they threw against each other, none of them seemed to realize that they were smiling ear to ear.

'They really can't be honest with themselves, can they?'

'Well, that's why we still followed them, isn't it? Makes it even more fun for us.'

'You got a point.'

As long as they can keep smiling with each other, isn't that the only thing that matters? No matter how they acted against each other, they still have each other's back when the time counts. If that wasn't enough, then the Grems and Otomos would be there to lend a hand from backstage.

"Hey, what are you all smiling at?"

The sudden question from Cecilia caught them off guard, prompting them to blurt out whatever half-baked answer they could come up with.

"N-Nothing!"

"Just... We're glad that everything worked out, leader!"

"Yup! Things couldn't be better!"

Everyone responded with an awkward grin, but one wish remained between them.

'...Well, things would be better if they could just get together already!'

- END -

Chapter Text

Hello, this is NotToYu, the writer of this story! Before I say anything else, let me just say:

Thank you!!!

You’ve probably seen me say this a dozen times, but I truly cannot thank you enough for checking out my writing. Every single comment kept me writing, even on times when I can only write, like, fifty words a week. So thank you again for waiting this long for me to finish this story!

Now, you probably have some questions along the line of, “Why are you stopping the story here?”, “Can’t you keep writing this story?”, and “Did you really stop writing for three months, drop two chapters, and immediately axed the fic you motherfuc—”

For the record, these 8 chapters were the ideas that I originally had when I started writing this fic back in January. I didn’t just decide to write those two chapters just so I can wrap it up, I swear on my soul. I just finally finished writing what I originally wanted to write. While I wanted to add both Elizabeth and Raora into this AU and have them create chaotic situations for our two gang leaders, I just can’t find the drive to keep writing this story. I had a feeling that if I force myself to keep this story going, it’ll be filled with exposition rather than autofister moments, and the writing will probably drag on until I can’t feel the motivation to keep writing it and I’ll be stuck in a slump and despair eternally until I shrivel up into a piece of dust or something like that.

Well, the rough idea I had for Elizabeth and Raora is something like this:

Elizabeth will be the gang leader of the Rosarians. While the Rosarians appeared like a bunch of tough and scary guys, they run a protection service as a gang and take their jobs to protect their area seriously. If a kid accidentally bumps into them, they’ll go, “Did you just bump into me, kid?! A snot-nosed brat like you ought to know that you should be careful while walking down the street! Did you scratch your hand? This little ol’ Chiikawa band aid will have you covered, kid. Now scram! And look both ways before you cross the street!”

Raora will be the gang leader of the Chattinis. While they seemed like a bunch of delinquents vandalizing their turf with grafittis, it turns out their gang mainly does repairs like paint jobs and cleaning around the turf in an effort to jack up the rent prices. They thought they were doing something gang-like by extorting the people in their turf, but it turns out the citizens appreciate someone finally cleaning their neighborhood and willingly paying extra for their rent.

Both of them naturally realize that Gigi and Cecilia got something going on and decide to support the Grems and Otomos in their endeavor. By giving them jobs related to what their gangs do, mishaps will continue to happen around Gigi and Cecilia as we continue to watch over them.

What kind of mishaps, you ask? If I knew, I would’ve kept writing this story. I’m sorry, but that’s all I got, honestly. Sorry~

Now that this story’s all wrapped up, I’ll start writing some new fics in the future. First off, I’ll finish this Bloodraven oneshot fic that’s been gnawing in my head for the past week. Then, it’ll either be another autofister fic or a HoloMyth fic. I’m itching to write some angsty fics after writing a romcom for six months, so look forward to them!

While you wait, feel free to read my other fics! If you’re craving some autofister, check out this autofister oneshot that I wrote before my hiatus in case you missed it! It got some light angst, but it’s mostly fluff.

https://archiveofourown.info/works/64029736

If you need more romcom style fic, check out my previous HoloPromise fic where Kronii found that her genmates are acting a bit more clingy with her than usual. See how Kronii suffers under their unrelenting love and does her best to survive their odd ways of showing their love!

https://archiveofourown.info/works/54650296 (sorry Sanalites I will make it up to you one day I promise)

I’ll definitely appreciate you reading my other fics too! For now, I’ll keep on writing as best as I can with my packed schedule. I hope you’ll be there when I finally finish that autofister fic that I planned! Thanks and see you again!