Laboratory—-
A tall, dark-skinned African American man in a tuxedo was busy sitting in front of an alchemy table, mixing a blue and green liquid.
"Ah. Mix a little blue with a little green. Voilà, I say! Voilà!"
He stretched his arms, just as a knock was heard on his door. "A visitor! Come in, Dear Yumi."
Yumi opened the door, slowly closing it. "We're back, Mr. Zanko."
"So I see."
"Are you busy?"
"You know me."
"Is that...a yes?"
"Maybe."
"Him and his riddles again," Yumi thought. "But...that's what makes him so interesting!"
Zanko stood up, smacking all his vials off the table. "Now, tell me about your adventures! Who did you execute today, officer?"
"Three robbers, sir!"
"Wonderful. Any trouble?"
Yumi shook her head. "No, sir! Well, except for Sakura."
Zanko chuckled. "As usual. To me, little soldier! Let us engage in...dinner. Gather the girls!"
"Okay! Right now, sir?"
By the time she blinked, he was gone. "Uh...sir?"
Soon after—-
Zanko sat at the head of the golden dining room table, with each of the girls, now in casual wear, attempting to hand him food.
"Here, sir!" Rina insisted. "Try this!"
"No, no!" Kiyoko interrupted. "My shrimp is twice the quality of hers!"
"Girl please," Sakura rolled her eyes. "I ordered you pizza, Mr. Zanko! I know you love pizza!"
Azura set a plate of rice balls in his lap. "This is for you, Sir. If you require anything else, please inform me."
Yumi sat down next to him. "Sir...?"
Zanko snapped to focus. "Oh! Sorry. The mind tends to get distracted often. Girls, girls. Why not just do a buffet? We can all share your food, together!"
They all shared a look before nodding. "Yes, Mr. Zanko!"
Quickly, they sat down, waiting for Zanko to eat.
"Please pick mine first!" Kiyoko thought.
"〜 Me! Me, please! 〜" Rina silently begged.
Sakura watched intensely as Zanko squinted at her pizza. "Pepperoni. My favorite."
He picked up a slice and ate it. "Delicious."
Sakura pumped her fist. "Yes! Hold that L, dweebs!"
The other girls groaned as Sakura quickly cleared her throat. "—Sorry, sir. I meant, I'm very glad you like it."
He put a hand on her head. "Competitive! I like it!"
She began to gush.
"Ah. Seems I'm getting a phone call."
He pulled out his phone, listening as a frantic voice spoke on the line. "Ah! Okay! I see. Mmm. Interesting. Ha, ha!"
Yumi eagerly leaned over. "Who is it, sir?"
"Smother Squad-B. They want to visit, in honor of your 10,000th solved crime!"
"They WHAT?"
Sakura politely leaned over and whispered to Zanko. "Sir, may I please hold this device for a few?"
"Go ahead, my little officer."
Sakura took the phone. "Yo? Squad B, right?"
Sakura gave Zanko a smile and stepped outside.
"@#$%&! $#@! %*#%$!"
"She's more vulgar than usual," Yumi noted. "Good."
Sakura stepped back inside.
"Very choice words," Zanko remarked.
She handed him back the phone. "Here you go, Sir."
She sat back down, folding her arms. "Tomorrow is Zanko Day. These little shits aren't gonna ruin it."
Zanko rubbed his head. "Ah. Right. 'Zanko Day.'"
"Are you gonna come with us to the parade?" Rina asked.
"Parade?"
"Yeah! The one they're holding for our many accomplishments!"
"Oh! Parade! Uh. Is this, a public parade?"
The girls nodded.
"Oh, hell."
"We'd love it if you'd come," Kiyoko begged. "Please?"
The girls all made puppy eyes at him, and Zanko ran a hand over his face. "Fine. I shall come."
The girls all cheered and hugged him.
"So help me," Zanko thought. "People...other...people."
"It starts at six," Yumi informed him. "Should we wear our police uniforms?"
"Uh, yes, sure! Formalwear will draw too much attention."
"Isn't that what we want?"
"No, no, no, no!"
"Okay!"
The girls dined on their food as Zanko leaned back in his chair. "I've got to kill the person who suggested a parade."
Next Day—-
Yumi ran a brush through her hair, checking herself in her room mirror. "Hmm. This should be good."
Sakura kicked open her door. "Great. Yes, Sakura?"
"Yes, what? I sleep here."
"I don't know why."
Sakura ruffled her hair. "Because! It's fun to bully you when we're not on duty!"
Yumi batted her hand away. "Seriously? I worked an hour on that!"
"Well, what are friends for?"
"No, no! Don't touch it—-!"
Sakura began combing through Yumi's hair. "And you're touching it."
After a while, Sakura stepped back. "How's it look?"
Yumi checked it out. "Honestly, that's not bad."
"Cool. Now time to screw it up again!"
"Stop it—-!"
In the other room, Rina, Azura, and Kiyoko were busy getting ready. Rina held up her boots.
"They're ripped! Again! Why is my clothing always ripping apart?"
"Because you don't take care of it?" Kiyoko suggested.
"Fashion is hard, okay!"
Azura ironed out her shirt. "Done."
She tossed the iron aside, nearly hitting Kiyoko in the head. "Whoa! Careful with that thing! It'll burn!"
"It will."
"Girls!" Zanko called. "It's 5:45 pm! Are you all ready or should we go ahead and cancel the entire event—-?"
The girls popped up in the hallway, dressed and arms at their sides. "Ready, sir!"
"Goodness me."
He motioned to the door. "Alright. Let's ride in the Zanko car."
They lined up, following behind him. A golden Lamborghini waited for them in the driveway, and Zanko pressed the key. "Hop in, girls."
Without hesitation, they each piled up in the backseat, while Yumi sat in the front passenger seat. Zanko rolled down the window. "Hmm. Yumi. I believe you can drive."
"Really?"
"Yes," he assured. "You've proven responsible."
As she shifted to the driver's seat, he muttered under his breath. "Also much easier to avoid being seen when you're not the one in charge of the car."
"Did you say something, sir?"
"Not at all! Let us go!"
Yumi put the car in reverse, blasting out of the driveway. They rode through city streets until they reached Setagaya, where a march had already begun, floats and all.
"Incredible," Yumi remarked. "They went ALL out."
Oshima waved to them from atop a police car float. "Girls! Join me! The cameras are rolling!"
Yumi parked the car, and they all exited. Zanko was the last to leave.
"Are you coming, Sir?" Yumi asked.
"Uh, I shall catch up with you later. I'll try some of the...desserts!"
"Okay! We'll be waiting for you!"
They all hugged him before hopping onto the float, standing beside the governor. "Glad you could make it! Look at all your fans!"
Millions of people lined the streets, taking pictures and waving.
"Look at them! It's the top Squad! Squad-A!"
"There's Yumi! She's the coolest!"
"I'd put Sakura over her! She's got a mouth!"
"A bad one. Azura's where it's at, she doesn't need to say a word!"
"Seems you girls are the hottest topic in the streets right now," Oshima commented. "How does it feel?"
"It's nice, but we're not attention-seekers," Yumi answered. "We do it for justice. And for our Director."
"Speaking of, where is Mister Zanko?"
"He stayed behind," Kiyoko told him. "He'll catch up soon!"
"Okay. So I must be hallucinating the Zanko by the stage over there."
The girls all turned their heads to the stage in front of them, where Zanko was standing behind a group of policewomen in similar outfits to the girls. One girl had a microphone in her hand, the biggest one.
"Appreciate the love, fans! We're Zanko's number 1 squad! Smother Squad-B! Make some noise!"
The crowd clapped.
"Oh, no they didn't!" Yumi gasped. "Governor, thanks for the ride! We've got a problem! Girls! Move!"
Without hesitation, they jumped off the float. Oshima reached after them. "Wait! We didn't even get a chance to take a picture..."
As the girl finished talking, Yumi swiped the microphone from her, stunning her. "What the—-?"
"What the what? I don't believe you're welcome here, Squad B."
Sakura cracked her knuckles. "Ya ain't."
The girl smacked the microphone from Yumi's hands. "So we got some tough bitches. You want us to leave?"
The crowd gasped.
"Then make us."
——