It has been a few days since Kyouki dropped Gat off after his barging in unannounced. She had plenty to say, with even more to think about after she left. Ky didn't need whatever Johnny was up to. After talking to Aisha, it was nagging. Kyouki was just out of a fucked up relationship and with Aisha's revelation, she's seeing it. Kyouki doesn't need this right now. So now, she wakes in her single room ground-floor apartment, alone, mentally drained.
Ky got up, shuffled to her small bathroom, turned the water on. Once it warmed sufficiently, she stood, just standing, hoping the warm waters clear her over thoughtful mind. Water beating rhythmically on her hair and skin. Wanting it to help, it didn't at all.
" Where's the car!"
Li rubbed the water over her face. "He said he didn't want the car when I asked. Did he think I sold it? Fuck, I knew how much that car meant to him, but he gave it to me… Was it for safekeeping or… a gift?" Li realized she was talking to herself. She washed her hair, scrubbed her face and body, more out of frustration, and when she reached her feet, had an idea.
Once she wrapped her towel around her, she took a seat at her desk, oiled her body, tackled her hair, and dressed. Li then shot a text to Carlos.
> Hey, if you aren't busy, I need you to come out with me.
She had waited a few minutes as she put her sneakers on, her phone alerted.
Yeah, XXXX Second St. Southern Cross. You know where Luna Azul is? Across from the Plaza Dorrego. I have a surprise for you when you get here. <
> Yeah, I know the area. Sweet, I'll grab something to eat then be by after.
Just come by, send a text when you are outside. <
With a shrug, she grabbed her keys, checked to see if everything was in order, had everything on her and headed out of the door.
~*Union Square, City Hall. June, 04'*~
Early in the morning, Carlos sat outside the courthouse. He was here himself not too long ago and now he was here for his family; His elder brother, the one who told him all about Kyouki Li, and when he himself got locked up, the rumor of her "death" was just that, his brother pushed to get out. Carlos asked for a loan and Li didn't question it. He promised to pay Li back.
She claimed. " Just keep doing the amazing work on my cars."
And he could do nothing but smile slightly. His brother taught him all about cars, his brother let him help work on her first racer. And little did Li know, Carlos hand-painted the tiny leaves and blossom petals on her prized Hayate Z70.
"Ramon!" Carlos called when he saw him step from the courthouse doors. Carlos wanted to play it cool, like when Li and Gat came to get him. He ran to his brother and the larger man grabbed the younger into a tight hug.
"I was expecting Ma, but I'm glad it was you coming." His gruff voice welcomed his younger brother when he kissed the top of his head.
"Ma and the others are at home cooking for you." Carlos smiled up at the taller man.
Ramon rubbed his stomach. "Oooh, the coyotas mama made, tell me she made them."
"She was pulling some out of the oven when I came to get you." Carlos grinned.
"Gracias Dios!" They both laughed as Carlos toted his brother's bag to the car.
As they drove to their Mother's home in the Southern Cross, Carlos told of how he got to meet Gat and Li at the same time in the same day cause they picked him up, how he got to work on Li's car, and the current car Li was having him spray she brought in a few weeks ago.
"Did you tell her you helped me with her racer?" Ramon mentioned as an afterthought.
Carlos blushed when they pulled up to the house. "No… W- why would I?"
"You should be proud of the work you do. You weren't running with me when I was with the Saints, but Li… She's good people."
Carlos agreed, then his phone dinged. "Oh, speaking of, the Boss needs me."
"Answer her."
Carlos read the message and invited her over. "Bro, she's coming soon. I told her I had a surprise for her."
Ramon nodded "Mama I'm home!" He called from the doorway. They greeted him with screams of happiness from their mother, aunts, uncles, and cousins. More people were pulling up before they got settled in.
~*Plaza Dorrego Apartments.*~
Li had tucked her phone in her pocket and wallet, waving off the guards for the day, and hopped into her Hayate heading to the junior Lieutenants' home.
~
When she came to the address that she was given and saw many cars parked in the area, she supposed it was the right address. Finding a spot across the street exiting her car, her stomach alerted her she was starving, the street smelled wonderful, the spices and… Was that BBQ she smelled! Li looked up, finding that other people were heading in. She sent a quick text letting Carlos know she was outside. Her wait wasn't long before Carlos came out to greet her.
"Hey, Boss! Come in." he had the widest grin on his face that caused Li to smile.
They greeted Li with looks, as always, and smiles as she nodded her greetings to the people she pasted in the narrow corridor of the apartment.
"Carlos, if you are busy, I can come back later. I brought nothing. Is it your birthday?" Carlos looked back, shaking his head.
"No. I'm not busy, and it's not my birthday. This isn't for me, my brother is home!" Li nodded and continued to follow to the living room/kitchen area. There was food on damn near every table; Li's stomach growled again, and no sooner than she reached to rub her empty tummy, they pressed a plate into her hands.
"Boss, this is my Aunt Maria. Tia, Ella mi la jefa ."
" ¿No tu novia, es hermosa, hazla tu novia? " She patted his shoulder and Li's
Carlos blushed feverously. " ¡Tia! " he called to silence the woman, sparing him from further embarrassment.
Li smiled as she nibbled on the food piled on her plate. " Gracias para comida Tia Maria! Pero pienso en Carlos como mi hermano, pero es demasiado lindo, si? "
It froze Carlos to the spot. He blushed furiously at Li calling him cute. What shocked him more she was speaking his native language like she was born doing so.
Li chatted away with his aunt, and his mother came over, greeting herself. The food she was eating was good. Li smiled brightly as she answered questions, not noticing her former mechanic friend as she nibbled and nodded. She caught Carlos's gawking then laughing because she realized Carlos didn't know she spoke Spanish. When Maria saw the Saints Leader didn't have a drink, she quickly went to get her one.
Carlos blinked. "Y-y-you speak Spanish!"
The smile on Li's face made Carlos swallow hard. "No voy a decírselo a todo el mundo, ¡no le digas a yes!" Li winked when she patted his shoulder. "Now you wanted me to meet your brother?" She looked at her plate for the next thing to taste.
"Yeah…" Carlos backed up, nearly tripping over a folding chair.
Li reached out to catch him, but another large pair of hands pushed the young man back to his feet.
"Thanks." Carlos looked up and smiled, his embarrassment heightened further. "Ramon, we were coming to look for you."
Li looked up at hearing the name, "Oh. My. GOD! Ramon! That's... This is the brother, your brother, my mechanic!!"
"Surprise!" Carlos and Ramon said in unison.
With the plate in her hand, Li reached up to hug the man who was amongst the friends she thought she lost.
"You needed the money for Lugnut! Why didn't you tell me? I would have gone to break him out." She hugged Ramon again. "It's been too long. ¡Bienvenido a casa! "
"You look good Kyo, we missed you, glad to have you back too." Ramon led her ahead of him outside.
Carlos hit his sibling, "You never said she was bilingual." he whispered even though the music was too loud for Li to hear them.
Ramon barked out laughing, "Oh, she told you she didn't speak it?" Carlos nodded. Ramon laughed harder. "She got me too."
Carlos smiled. Ramon led Li away to the back patio as Maria came to find the two she left vanished somewhere in the house. She looked around in search of the kids.
~
Li sat eating as Tia Maria brought her a glass of fresh juice. Li was filling Ramon in on the things that happened from the explosion and current events. One such is the revival of the Saints, "So you want to be a Saint again?"
Ramon took a drag from his cig. "Yeah, I'm with you."
"Oh, I also made Carlos my lieutenant. You know he is safe with me."
The large man patted his baby brother on the back, Carlos hung his head, smiling. Li looked over but saw the man's chin on his chest. Placing a finger under his chin raised his head. "No. You are a Saint, we hold our heads high."
"That's right, to be a Saint, is like being with family." Ramon patted Carlos harder. "Oh Jefa, you know that car you love so much?"
"Whum-abo-wer?" Li said around the delicious taco half shoved in her mouth.
"Carlos helped with the spray." Ramon nodded.
Li's eyebrows rose. She swallowed the food down. "Really, they… Oh. That… I love those petals, you sketch or something?" Li smiled.
A soft smile planted on the boy's face as he nodded. "Yeah. I have a ton of things in books." he thumbed back to the house.
"You not only fix cars, but you have also helped with so much at HQ. Go get a few of your books. I want to see." Li inclined her head to have him go show her more of his work. "You know, I didn't know. I love that car. I brought her out today. There's a race later this weekend. I wanted to get her warmed up. Oh! That reminds me, I came to get Carlos to come with me to get the Venom, I need it looked at." Picking up an empanada that was filled with chicken, rolling her eyes in delight.
"You still have the Venom, Gat's Venom?"
Nodded as she swallowed. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Taking another bite.
"He loves that car more than he loved Aisha."
Li shook her head over the food in her mouth. "Don't say that." Taking a drink from her refilled cup.
"Nah, it's true. We made a bet about who he was going to give that car to, IF, he gave it away." Ramon took a swig from his beer. The face Li made had Ramon chuckling, "Everyone but you saw it. Eat, tell Mama you're full." He nudged his chin toward the incoming sweet tray.
Li looked back and giggled. "Never! Fooooood… ¿Puedo tener más por favor? " Li put the partly finished plate down and took one of the large cake slices that were filled with lemon. "Sooo, goood." Li gushed, doing a happy dance in her seat.
Ramon shook his head laughing. "Really missed you, Jefa."
~*~
Li hiccupped. "I think I ate too much… I won't be able to drive… *hic* Sooooo goooood."
Carlos and Ramon laughed as they watched her slouch in the chair with her eyes closed and a pleased grin on her face. They didn't understand. Li had not had a decent home-cooked meal since she left Aisha's and certainly with her Obachan, no longer with her or Aunt. She couldn't pass up tasting everything that floated past her. Being around so many people felt good, and she would not miss out on it.
She was full, really full, happy as she patted her food baby with a satisfied smile. "Carlos, could you put that on the car I bought in? Oooh, I want purple on the top like this one you have here." She pointed to a picture Carlos had drawn in his book. "You are an artist. I might have to send you to school." Lazily, she pulled out her phone, a few missed messages that she could answer later.
Carlos looked at his boss. Again, she shocked him. "I - What?"
Li rolled her head to Carlos and smiled. "You have talent. That's not suited for…" She gestured between herself and Ramon. Signaling the gang life, Ramon understood, so did Carlos.
Carlos gripped the art books in his hands tighter. Li would send him to school for something he loves. Now he knew why his brother told him so much about her. She is a good person.
Ramon watched Carlos gain more respect for his boss. "Jefa, when did you want to go look at the Venom?"
Li snorted as she leaned back in the chair. "Way I'm feeling now, the day after I sleep this food off. I canceled my workout for the next two days." They all laughed again. " Baño first, then I will be ready." Getting up, she asked for the bathroom and Ramon led her to it as he headed out of the front door, with Carlos behind him.
~
They spotted the Hayate across the street. It looked as glossy and new as the day they finished it.
"She takes good care of it, huh?"
"Yeah, she threatened to kill me if I put a scratch on it the day she took it to race."
"Yeah, she's been that way with it. She's almost obsessed like Gat."
Hearing them discuss her and her love of her car. "Rude, I am not!" Li had a bag of food in her hand.
Ramon held his hands up in defense, "Ok, but you really are." Seeing the bag, he pointed. "Mama or Tia?"
Li scoffed. "I asked for it, so both?" Grinning with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
Ramon snorted, getting in on the passenger's side. Carlos climbed in the back, then they pulled off to the warehouse where her other car, the Venom, was being kept.
~*~
The three of them pulled up near the docks, where she sent Carlos for her car. The sun was setting lower in the darkening sky, but there was enough sun when she opened the doors wide. A car shaped cloth sat alone. For the past seven or eight years, Li had been too scared to drive it for fear of scratching her.
"Damn, she had been sitting for a while. I'm sorry, My Lady, but look at her." Li smiled as she was pulling the tarp back, with help from Carlos.
This car is beautiful, all customized, every inch down to the last simplistic detail. Her body was sleek, not surprising because if you know Johnny, you know what he likes; The dual breath hood, SuperSport bumper, SuperSport wing spoiler, outer dual mufflers, convertible bar with the hardtop that was bulletproof like the body.
Head supports special covers that need washing, the big rear window tinted near black, also bulletproof. The interior was woodgrain; the seats imported customized leather. Johnny put so much thought into Lady, and yet she was so simply dressed.
Gat had ordered a special painting that covered her in the signature Saints purple. It looked like satin, a long golden dragon on both sides. Classico gold rims that needed polish, the whole car needed a bath. And she would hand wash her, just like when Johnny rode her around. The car, not Ky herself. Kyouki snorted at that thought. Not likely his girl would start.
Li sighed, the keys jingled in her hands, she carefully unlocked the door, she sat and heard the leather seats rumpled under her weight; Reaching under the console, she felt for the leaver, pulling it. The trunk popped open. Listening to Ramon and Carlos chatter away in remembrance of days past, she absently ran her hands over the steering wheel. Li's mind drifted to how she ended up with the car. Knowing it meant a lot to Johnny, he ended up gifting her his car, anyway. Johnny continued to push his luck.