The night’s quiet exploded.

  Engines roared down the street, tyres screeching as a group of bosozoku carved a path of destruction through the neighbourhood. Old Man Sid’s home wasn’t spared either. His prized flower bushes, which he tended like family, lay flattened under their bikes. His mailbox dangled from a tree five houses down, and trash scattered like confetti in their wake.

  Jin crouched on the rooftop across the block, his knuckles cracking as he watched the chaos. “Sid’s going to lose it for sure.”

  He could call the cops. But by the time sirens wailed – if they even bothered to show up – the gang would be long gone. Worse, if any of these punks were Unregistered Players, the neighbourhood would pay the price. The regular police force wasn’t equipped for that kind of fight. Also, getting the Security Commission Police involved was too risky. If this escalated beyond a normal standoff, this neighbourhood in Ward 6 would turn into a warzone.

  No. He’d handle it himself.

  The end of the street was perfect. Secluded with very few homes, no streetlights and lined with tall trees. Plenty of cover for his traps.

  “Big Boss! Who the hell’s this guy?” one biker shouted.

  The bikers skidded to a halt, their headlights cutting through the dark like searchlights. Jin stood alone in the middle of the road – masked and robed with a thick branch slung over one shoulder.

  “Seems like he’s waiting for us or somethin’,” another sneered. “Where the hell did he come from anyway?”

  The leader, a lanky thug astride a modified beast of a bike, squinted. “The fuck should I know? You think I memorise every idiot with a death wish?”

  “Oi, Big Boss! What’s the call?”

  “What else?! We’ll give him our hospitality, boys!” the man bellowed. “Saitama Mad Angels Special! HAHAHA! Charge!”

  When the order came, engines roared to life, trying to outdo each other. The gang surged forward at Jin like a cavalry of steel on wheels; the lights blinded him. Any normal person would have run away. But he didn’t even flinch. The curses, the revving engines, the blaring intensity from the headlamps – none of it bothered him. Instead, he raised his hand and flipped them a thumbs-down.

  They lost it.

  “Don’t let him leave alive! Tear him apart!”

  “Yeah! Teach this bastard-ooffmmm! What this? S-spider webs?!”

  The lead bikers didn't see the traps. Loose, flimsy webs stretched between the trees, but when Jin flicked his fingers, the threads snapped taut. The bikes flipped. Riders screamed as they were yanked from their seats and wrapped in cocoons before they could hit the ground. Their bikes hung upside down, engines still growling and wheels spinning in the air.

  “Hey! The fuck-mmphh?!”

  “Shut up,” Jin said, his voice cold and calm. “You’re making too much noise. Time to quiet down. People are sleeping.”

  One by one, the other bikers fell. Fenrir’s wolves moved like shadows, dragging the stragglers at the back from their bikes. No killing intent, only containment. A few sunk waist-deep into shadows on the asphalt, their mouths muffled by Jin’s web.

  Only one biker remained by the time Jin was done.

  The Big Boss himself.

  He didn’t notice his gang disappearing behind him. Not until his next few orders were met with silence. He turned left, then right, then spun around. The headlights blazed, engines still growled, but the bikes were stationary. All his gang members had be taken out.

  “Hey, hey, Saki! Did you see where–Saki? Sakiiii?! Where are you?!”

  “You didn’t even notice your co-rider was gone, huh?” Jin taunted. “And you call yourself the Big Boss?”

  “Hey, hey! Stay back! Don’t you come near me!”

  Jin was right. This biker gang had a Player among them, and it was none other than the leader himself. As the man fumbled for his Player Screen, Jin was already in front of him.

  “H-how could you–”

  Jin didn’t let him finish. He swung the tree branch towards the Big Boss’s head. Though helmet absorbed most of the brunt, the force still hurled the biker from his seat.

  But it didn’t end there. As the man landed awkwardly and tumbled across the asphalt, Jin followed, kicking him over and over. He rolled further down the street with each strike.

  To anyone watching, Jin might have looked like a bully – ruthless and classless. After all, you don't kick a man when he's down.

  But Jin was furious. These bastards had trashed a peaceful neighbourhood and destroyed Old Man Sid’s labour of love. A real biker gang was about the love of riding, not vandalism or terrorising others.

  When the Big Boss slid to a stop in a ditch, Jin stepped on his chest, pinning him to the damp dirt. With the branch, he pried off the shattered helmet, revealing the man’s bloodied face.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “Surrender, and I’ll let you live, or–”

  “I-I surrender, Big Brother! I surrender! Please, please let me live!”

  Tears, snot, and blood mixed on the Big Boss’s face as he begged. The Saitama Mad Angels’ reign of chaos ended right there, as sudden as their arrival, in a ditch, with a whimper.

  ***

  “Sixteen boys and eight girls,” Jin said, flipping through the stack of ID cards in his hands. He sighed. “And all of you are still in your teens. What the hell is wrong with you lot? Do none of you have a home? A father? A mother?”

  “We were chased out of our home, Big Brother,” replied Onizuka Takeshi, the Big Boss, his voice trembling as he grovelled alongside the others.

  “So, you came here to chase us out of ours?” Jin’s glare sent a shiver through all twenty-four members. “Mighty brave, eh? Done living, aren’t you fuckers?”

  “N-No, Big Brother! But–”

  “But what?!”

  “Just tell him everything, Take!” snapped a girl with piercings and multi-coloured hair who was grovelling next to him.

  “B-But we’ll-”

  “Shut your whining!” she cut in. “We’ll die anyway. Better we tell Big Bro the truth. At least he hasn’t killed us yet. Unlike them.”

  “B-But I can’t–”

  “Damn you, Take! If you won’t talk, I will!”

  Their exchange caught Jin’s attention. He crossed his arms, giving them a moment to collect themselves. “Go on. I’m listening.”

  “We’re from Ward 3,” Saki began.

  “Ward 3?” Jin’s eyebrow twitched. That was his old neighbourhood. Where his home belonged. “You’re Ichimura Saki, right? Mind if I call you Saki?”

  “I don’t mind, Big Bro.”

  “Good. Now tell me why you’re here causing trouble. What’s got you running around like this, doing stupid shit that’ll get you killed?”

  Jin knew biker gangs. He’d been part of one himself as a teen – Rising Sun, a group that valued freedom and the thrill of the ride, not chaos. Sure, there were bad gangs, but the authorities usually handled them.

  Old Man Sid had mentioned an uptick in aggressive gangs over the past few years. Vandalism, theft, and general nuisance. The usual. Tonight, one of those gangs had rolled into Ward 6. Bad luck for them that Jin was around.

  According to Saki, Saitama’s Mad Angels started three years ago, claiming Ward 2 and Ward 3 as their turf. Back then, they were like Rising Sun. A bunch of kids enjoying the ride. But a year ago, everything changed.

  “So let me get this straight,” Jin said. “You got chased out of Ward 2 by a rival gang, made Ward 3 your new home, and then Blood Fiend showed up?”

  “Yes, Big Bro,” Saki replied, her voice breaking. “But Blood Fiend isn’t just any group. They…They–” She dissolved into tears.

  “They killed everyone who didn’t submit,” Take cut in, his own eyes wet with tears. “We had to yield to survive.”

  “Didn’t mean you had to bring your mess here,” Jin said, his voice cold beneath his mask. Yet, a tinge of sympathy swept over him. He knew desperation when he saw one, and these kids were desperate.

  “But if we don’t do as we’re ordered, they’ll punish us, Big Brother!” Take pleaded.

  “He’s right,” another member chimed in. “Blood Fiend will kill us!”

  Jin scanned the grovelling gang. Their fear and desperation seemed genuine, but something didn’t add up.

  These bastards could be lying through their teeth, Jin thought. They think that if I’m not an Unregistered, I might be with SeComm. By feeding me this story, they’re hoping I’ll report it and get them off the hook for the chaos they caused. Smart, but not smart enough.

  Jin knew he’d have to report this to SeComm – another chore he could do without. If he didn't, someone else would. Worse, that someone might be a civilian like Old Man Sid, an easy target for Unregistered Players to harass. With the RIFT straining HQ to its breaking point, the last thing they needed was a lawless mess to sweep up. Especially one left by an entire gang.

  He had to nip the problem in the bud.

  Still, something gnawed at him. Why would the Blood Fiend gang send a bunch of no-good bikers to stir up trouble in a peaceful neighbourhood? Ward 6 was peaceful for a reason.

  But it was a coincidence he couldn’t afford to gamble on.

  After snapping pictures of all the ID cards, he returned them and swung onto one of the bikes. “Since you bastards have no home, no father, and no mother,” he announced, “from tonight on, I’ll be your father, your mother, and your big brother. And home is where I tell you to stay. Understood?!”

  The gang stared at him in confusion. Confused or not, Jin wasn’t letting them off easy. A little beating wasn’t enough to pay for what they’d done.

  “Oi, you.” Jin pointed at Takeshi. “Your name’s Take, right? You’re the Big Boss?”

  The man nodded, still grovelling.

  “From now on, not anymore,” Jin said. “You’re demoted. And you–” He turned to Saki. “You’ve got more guts than this useless prick. You’re my assistant. Everyone here will call you Big Sister.”

  Pandemonium erupted. A masked stranger had seized Saitama’s Mad Angels, upending their leadership in a single stroke. Fear rippled through the ranks, and any thoughts of riot halted when Jin revealed his face.

  The girls rushed towards him, swooning over their new leader, while the boys gaped in bewilderment. Jin had never been comfortable with attention, but he had grown accustomed to the weight of it. It attracted unwanted glares, but a calculated smile and a well-timed wink could charm support his way when the need arose.

  And it did.

  The girls declared Jin their new Big Brother with a unanimous voice while Saki – her infatuation now plain for all to see – took her place as his second-in-command.

  “And you, Take. I know you’re an Unregistered Player.” Jin’s voice was firm yet carried a trace of warmth. “If you have any love for this gang, you’ll do what I say. Follow my orders, and I’ll return the Big Boss position to you. Understood?”

  “Y-Yes, Big Brother.”

  To ensure Blood Fiend – or any rival gang - wouldn’t touch them, Jin gave Saki his contact number and told her where to find him if trouble came knocking.

  “Good. Now, Saki, I need the contact details of every member. You’ll be my eyes and ears when I’m not around. Stay sharp. If they mess around again, I’ll find you. And I will beat you up.”

  “Kyah! Big Bro, yes! Anything you say!” Saki gushed, flustered. “You can even beat me anytime. Ride me – I mean, my bike too! Anywhere, anyhow you want!”

  Jin raised an eyebrow. “This is your bike? Not Take’s?”

  She nodded, her eyes burned bright with newfound passion that wasn’t there a while ago. The reason, though, was clear.

  The beast he rode hummed with nostalgic familiarity.

  Jin got off the bike and crouched to inspect the machine. “Heavily modified… but is this Kawagaki X50T?” He revved the engine a few times, then checked the transmission and exhaust. “I’ll be damned twice. Ancient as it is, this is the first-model X50T. Thirty years old. They don’t make bikes like this anymore.”

  Saki’s excitement skyrocketed. “H-how did you know, Big Bro? Even Take couldn’t guess! It was my late father’s. The only thing he left me.”

  Jin could’ve mentioned he’d owned the same model once – won it, in fact – but he kept that to himself. Mysteries had their uses.

  “You take good care of it, Saki,” he said, handing the bike back. “It’s a piece of your father’s legacy. Don’t let it fall into the wrong hands. For a biker, the machine is her life. Remember that.”

  With his orders given, one last task remained before he’d let them go: cleaning up the mess they’d made. Since Jin had a long day ahead, Saki would be in charge.

  “Remember, girl,” he said, pointing at the rest of the gang members. “Work them. And work them hard.”

  “Y-Yes, Big Bro!” Saki saluted, her eyes shining with determination.

  As the gang scrambled to obey, Jin watched for a moment before turning away. The night’s chaos was over.

  For now.