Chapter 13: the poster bearer cried.
As soon as she entered Lin’s hotel room, Risa made a beeline for her girlfriend, engulfing her in a tight embrace. Ai let out a small squeak as she was squeezed, but returned the hug with just as much vigor. “Welcome back.” she greeted softly.
“I’m glad to see you.” Risa said when she finally released the older woman. Ai noticed her split lip instantly and began to check her over for other injuries, “I’m fine, Ai, just a little sore.” She finally turned to acknowledge the other girl in the room and hugged her as well, “Hi Lin Lin.”
“What happened?” The hacker asked curiously.
“Everything went according to plan. Everyone was neutralized, only one death.” Risa shrugged at Ai’s still disapproving look. “Sorry, that one couldn’t be helped.”
“Neutralized how?” Lin asked uncertainly, it didn’t sound very encouraging.
“I don’t know what Sayu did, exactly, but the other’s seemed a little afraid of her on the ride back and she was the most covered in blood. She didn’t kill anyone, though I heard the ones she dealt with lost the use of their legs.” The gunner reported nonchalantly.
The demolitions expert shook her head, “Even Sayu?” she looked down for a moment, before suddenly snapping her head up, “Oh yeah, earlier, some guys came through with about 400,000 yen worth of electronics to our room. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Yup, I bought it. To keep us from getting too bored.” Ai smacked her head at her girlfriend’s answer.
“Why did you buy that much stuff?!” Risa tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Because I can?” Exasperated, Ai stood and walked out, “Oh come on, it’s mostly for you!”
“Good night Lin-chan.” Ai greeted as she exited the room.
“Night Ai-nee-san! Good night, Niigaki-san.” Risa was almost too distracted to respond, but she did and quickly followed Ai back to their room.
“Look look! I got a PSP and a DS and lot’s of games and a big screen TV and a Wii and a 360 and a PS3. And movies! And some horror books, too!” Risa explained excitedly, waving the novels around.
Ai, sitting propped against her headboard, rolled her eyes at the younger woman’s puppy like eagerness, “Still, you spent so much.”
“Do you want jewelry, too? I’ll get you something else if you want.” Risa completely missed the point, blinking innocently at her girlfriend.
“Gaki-san, I don’t need all this stuff. Keep your money.” Ai shoved away the very tempting PSP.
“What else can I spend my money on? I don’t need anything else, but to make you happy.” Risa pouted, sad her gifts were being refused, “I know you’re bored being here all day while we go out.”
“Risa, the only thing I need to make me happy is you.” Ai declared firmly.
“Really?” The gunner asked shyly. Ai nodded and beckoned her closer, the younger woman eagerly complied, crawling up into warm arms. “But still, this stuff is for entertainment purposes. I’m keeping it.
Ai sighed in exasperation, shaking her head. She decided to just address the issue later, leaning down to press her lips to Risa’s. The younger girl buried her hands in Ai’s dark locks, bringing her closer. They slowly pulled apart, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. “All that being said, I really wanna play with that Wii.”
The break in mood sent Risa nearly rolling off the bed. “Wanna try out the Sports Resort game?”
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
“Why are you taking a shower in our room? Don’t you have your own shower?” Reina griped as a bloody Sayu sauntered into the bathroom.
“You’re welcome to join me.” she proposed seductively, causing a blush to appear on the cop’s cheeks.
“No thanks.” she stated flatly, turning her head away with a hum.
“I will, Sayumin.” Eri said, grabbing her own towel and following the con into the bathroom. Reina could only shake her head at them.
“Why do I put up with this crap?” she flopped down on her bed face first. When she looked up, her eyes connected to a bar napkin with a number scrawled on it.
Though it had been a week since Risa suggested it, Reina hadn’t called her father yet. She wondered if she ever would. They were so close to taking out Takashi and his higher ups, so close to moving on to her father’s gang.
Shaking her head, Reina sat up, reaching for the drawer of the bedside table and pulling out some files. She’d only given each a cursory glance, but decided now would be as good a time as any. She flipped through the stack until she found Sayu’s file and opened it.
Name, birthday, height, weight, hometown and her mug shot. A brief history was also given on the introductory page. Born into a rich family, her father’s company went bankrupt and he went crazy. He sold his oldest daughter to a slave ring and completely destroyed his mansion, with him and his wife in it. The only reason Sayumi escaped was because she was out of the country at the time.
Why was she out of the country by herself? She couldn’t have been fourteen at the time. Reina flipped a few more pages, scanning for the answer. “At such and such date Michishige Sayumi was in Bali for her- You have GOT to be kidding me!” Thinking she couldn’t possibly be reading what she was, Reina stared at the line again. “Honeymoon? She’s married?” The yankii felt a strange hollowness in her chest that she certainly didn’t like, “She’s married.”
()()()()()()()()()()()()
Jun groaned as the cold ice packs shifted on her aching body. When she got back to the hotel, a thorough examination concluded that her ribs were bruised from the pounding she’d taken and her wrist had been sprained from the pounding she’d given. Since it was her left hand, Jun figured it had happened when she’d lost her spikes.
Watching her worriedly from her own bed was Aika, who’d found the ice for her. “Do you need anything?” the thief asked quietly.
“No, I’ll be fine. Just the hazards of the job taking it’s toll.” Despite her words, the Chinese girl felt her eyes tearing up in pain.
Aika slowly crawled over to her, climbing into bed beside the older girl. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around Jun, holding her as the tears started, “Go ahead and cry, you’ve deserved it today.”
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Reina angrily sipped at her beer, sitting at the hotel bar later that night. She was still mulling over the information that she’d learned, feeling absolutely idiotic. How could she have even begun to think that the con artist had any sort of feelings for her or any feelings at all that weren’t selfish. The girl was married and apparently had no qualms about cheating on him. She thought back on the exchange she’d heard between Sayu and Jun at the apartment.
The cop was kicking herself for doing exactly what she’d tried to avoid doing since she’d taken this assignment; getting attached to these criminals. They were nothing but lowlives and had no morals. Feeling her fury peak, Reina guzzled the rest of her mostly full beer and ordered another. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t even really mad at Sayu, she was more disappointed with herself for her feelings for the older woman. And if she was being honest about her feelings…
Well, she really didn’t want to think about it honestly. In fact, she intended to drink until she couldn’t be honest to herself about anything. Someone sat down next to her and she turned a fierce glare towards them. Ai recoiled comically, holding up her hands in surrender.
“Whoa, hold on, I come in peace. Don’t you know you should never drink alone?” Ai ordered a drink of her own.
“I’m too angry to want company. Go away.” Reina took another gulp of beer, “Where’s your shadow?”
Ai tilted her head at the conflicting responses, “Risa? Sleeping, she was really worn out.” Reina just nodded and they fell into silence. Ai laid a hand on her shoulder, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I just want to drink myself into the stupidity I’ve displayed recently.” The yankii replied in a slightly depressed tone.
“Oh.” The demolitions expert couldn’t think of a suitable comforting thing to say to that, “Well, I’ll help you then.”
()()()()()()()()()()()
A loud thump, followed by badly muffled giggles sounded outside her room, causing Risa to awaken with a start. Zeroing in quickly on the sound, she almost laughed herself at the voices she heard in the hallway.
“Shh, be quiet Rei-chan. Risa’s trying to sleep.” Ai’s unmistakable voice echoed loudly, this was followed by a fumbling scratching that the gunner guessed was her trying unsuccessfully to open the door with her keycard, “Hmph, stupid lock.” Risa couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as she rose to let them in.
“Hi guys.” the looks on Ai and Reina’s faces when the door was suddenly jerked open was totally worth being rudely woken up in the middle of the night. The two drunk women were quickly ushered inside and the cop wasted no time in flopping face down on the bed on the far side of the room.
“I’m sorry for waking you up Sacchan.” Ai apologized sincerely, throwing her arms around her girlfriend and cuddling her tightly. Still grinning, the gunner patted her affectionate girl on the back. She was kind of cute like this.
The two made their way to the unoccupied bed and flopped down in a tangle of arms and legs, Ai bursting into giggles upon impact. “Shh, you’ll wake up Tanakacchi.” Risa shushed quietly.
The older woman got her laughter under control slowly, under the amused gaze of her girlfriend. Noticing this watchfulness, Ai pounced on the gunner, rolling so that she was snuggled comfortably on top. Both girls sighed contentedly at the comfortable warmth that flooded from where their bodies touched, Risa closed her eyes and began to drift off.
Jerking awake with a moan, Risa felt something soft and wet caressing a sensitive spot on her neck and realized that Ai was kissing and biting the place rather distractingly. She sucked in a breath as the older woman shifted positions to hover over her more securely, getting serious about their necking. A bolt of electricity shot down Risa’s spine and into her nether regions.
Now, the gunner was no stranger to this feeling as she and Ai had been teenagers when they dated and it was terribly pleasant, but the demolitions expert was very drunk and Risa didn’t want to do anything they’d regret later. They’d agreed to take it slow, with that thought in mind, the younger woman pushed her amorous girlfriend away firmly. Ai resisted at first, drunkenly trying to reattach her lips to the place they’d been before, but the gunner would have none of it. Eventually the older woman just pouted, her unfocused gaze trying to lock onto Risa’s.
“Why? I wanna make you feel good, Risa.” The younger woman blushed at the tone and breathless way her name was said.
“Not like this, Ai. I want you to be lucid when I finally make you mine.” The demolitions expert seemed to contemplate this statement seriously before she nodded.
“Okay. Good night, I love you.” Ai planted a chaste kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek and snuggled up against her side, fading into unconsciousness almost immediately. Risa was stunned by the ease with which she‘d fallen asleep, but quickly snapped out of it when Ai’s still jean clothed leg rubbed against her own nearly bare one.
Shaking her head, the gunner glanced at the other bed to see Reina face down in what looked to be an uncomfortable position, hanging half off the bed. With a sigh, Risa untangled herself from her girlfriend and made her way to the youngest girl’s still form. She stripped her of her daytime clothes and put her in some shorts that lay at the end of the bed. Then she maneuvered her onto her left side and under the covers, making sure that there was nothing that could potentially suffocate her in her sleep.
Satisfied that the cop was going to wake up with a terrible hangover and be confused about where the rest of her clothes were, Risa turned her attention to Ai. She tugged off her shirt and jeans, leaving her in just her under garments. The gunner took a moment to admire the lithe form, marred only by a clean white bandage. She felt her heart beat faster.
Shaking her head of naughty thoughts, and absently rubbing her still sensitized neck, Risa crawled into bed with her girlfriend, bringing the blankets up around them both and cuddling up with Ai closely. Her work finally done, it didn’t take long for Risa to join them in slumber.
()()()()()()()()()()()()
A knock on the door early the next morning was greeted by two twin groans of pain. Chuckling, Risa got up to answer the door, reluctantly leaving her warm cocoon. Outside was a slightly frantic Sayumi, “Have you seen Reina?”
“Yeah, she’s in here.” The gunner had barely stepped aside before she was pouncing on the sluggish cop.
“Where were you! Why didn’t you come back to your room, do you know how worried Eririn and I were?!” Even Risa winced at the shrill tone which sent the hungover girls scrambling to cover their ears.
“Oh, so you care now? Fuckin’ hypocrite, why don’t you crawl back to your husband?” Already grumpy, Reina almost couldn’t stop the words from spilling forth, causing the other occupants of the room to widen their eyes, Ai even poked her head out from where she’d burrowed in the blanket to watch the unfolding drama.
“So you found out about that, huh?” Sayu scratched the back of her head as if she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Her nonchalance only seemed to enrage Reina further.
“Why do you say that as if it doesn’t matter!? You’re married and carrying out a fling with Jun Jun and whatever it is you were trying to pull on me! You’re the worst kind of scum.” Reina said with such vehemence that the con pulled back a good ways, hurt shining in her eyes.
“It’s not a big deal, that was an arranged marriage, I was fourteen! He’s a nice enough guy that he’d agreed that even though we were legally bound to each other, we should still look for our own happiness. We only have to be married until I’m 25.” Sayumi explained calmly, “Besides,” she added shyly, “What happened with Jun Jun was just a fluke, an act. It didn’t mean anything to either of us.”
“That still doesn’t make it right in my eyes. Arranged or not, you still made those vows.” Only slightly less angry, Reina rubbed her aching temples, “I won’t forgive you.”
Sayumi looked helplessly at their audience, who both just shrugged at her. When she turned back to Reina, the younger girl was on her side with her back facing the others, an obvious dismissal. It was apparent that any other tries at communication would be met with silence.
Feeling a little sorry for the con, Risa escorted her to the door, one hand on her lower back in a comforting gesture, “Maybe you should try again later.” Sayu’s crestfallen look tugged at her heart strings as she nodded in resigned silence. The door closed quietly behind her.
“Tanakacchi? Are you okay?” Reina grumbled something that probably wasn’t very nice, “You didn’t have to be so mean, Sayumin was just worried about you.”
“Worried?” The cop scoffed cynically, “That con artist has no feelings for anyone, except herself.” Risa and Ai exchanged a look at her bitter words.
“Why don’t you go take a shower? I bet that might help you feel a little better.” The oldest woman suggested kindly, prompting Reina to rise from her comfortable nest.
Looking down at herself in confusion, the cop asked, “Where’re my clothes? When did I take them off?” Risa chuckled, lightly.
“Don’t worry about that, I’ll get you a fresh change.” Too hungover to argue, Reina just complied, heading to the bathroom.
“What are we going to do about them?” Ai asked once the younger girl was out of earshot.
“Nothing yet, now isn’t the time for budding romance. It’s bad enough having to trust absolute strangers, but falling in love with one? No, we can’t let that happen now.” Risa shook her head to emphasize how bad of an idea she thought that was.
“But it will happen and if it doesn’t, then things will just be awkward.” the demolitions expert pushed.
“Well, we’ll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. It’s hard enough just getting along. Anyway, let’s take the next few days off. What do you suggest we do, Leader?” the gunner crawled back into bed with her girlfriend.
“Hmm, I don’t know. What’s a good group activity?” Ai wrapped her arms around Risa’s shoulders, hugging her tightly to her chest.
“I don’t know what the others like, but how about we just tell them to do whatever? You and me can go on a date or something.” Though her tone sounded nonchalant, the gunner looked up hopefully into the older woman’s face, judging her reaction.
Ai couldn’t help, but smile broadly at the offhanded suggestion, “Really? You mean it?”
“Yeah, let’s go tonight. To dinner and maybe a movie. Or a musical. You still like those, right?” The demolitions expert nodded vigorously and then held her aching head, causing Risa to laugh at her. “Alright, it’s settled then.”
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
A meeting was quickly called and the good news was given. The other girls wasted no time vacating the hotel. Eri, Sayumi, and Lin Lin decided to head downtown and walk around looking for anything interesting to do. Aika and Jun headed out to eat and Reina dragged Ai and Risa off to karaoke. The latter two sat in amused boredom as the youngest girl hogged the microphone.
“Well, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for us tonight.” Risa commented as she sipped her wine. As soon as they had gotten there, they’d ordered a big bottle of plum wine and a little something to eat.
“Well, this is fun anyway. And with Reina up there providing background music, it’s almost like we’re alone.” Ai scooted closer and shifted the gunner into a comfortable position leaning against her chest between her legs. They lay stretched out along the couch, with Ai’s back to the wall.
“Still, I’ll make it up to you later.” Risa promised, snuggling into the older woman’s warm chest. She could faintly hear her thudding heartbeat under her ear and pressed closer to listen better. The fast, but steady beat calmed her thoughts to nothing except the presence underneath her. “Your heart…”
“Eh?” Ai asked, tilting her head down to look at her companion. She’d been watching Reina perform a particularly energetic dance, seeming lost in her own world.
“Your heart is pounding so fast. It’s so… Real.” Risa pulled back to make eye contact and both girls became mesmerized by the sweet tension that passed between them.
“Of course it’s beating fast, you’re so close to me right now, I can’t think of anything else.” the demolitions expert whispered quietly, “I’m so glad to be together with you.”
“I’m glad too.” Was all Risa could mutter as her voice caught in her throat. That look Ai was giving her was so intense, possessive and loving, she thought if she stared too long, she’d start to fall. Oddly, she didn’t mind the strange sensation, it had been a while since she’d seen anyone with that look. The last person to give it to her was this amazing woman with her arms wrapped around her.
That felt like yesterday and forever ago, had they really been children still? Risa’s eyes flickered down to Ai’s lips when the woman’s tongue darted out to wet them. They leaned towards each other, Risa intent on claiming those tempting lips, when a hand suddenly grabbed the gunner on her arm.
Startled, both women turned to find Reina, whom they’d nearly forgotten about, with a teasing expression on her face, “I don’t think so, not here. Now come and sing with me Gaki-san.” Risa was pulled out of the warm embrace and found herself on stage before she could process what had happened.
When she finally came back to awareness, a microphone was thrust into her hand, “Eh? What? Wait, what song is this?”
“It doesn’t matter, just follow my lead. Don’t look so smug, Ai-chan! You’re next.” Reina warned, shaking her finger at the lone woman.
()()()()()()()()()()()
By the end of the night, all three women were exhausted, happy and more than a little drunk. They stumbled back to the hotel, which hadn’t been that far from the karaoke place, arms supporting each other and laughing about some joke or another. They tried to keep it down in the lobby after management gave them dirty looks, but all they succeeded in doing was laughing harder.
“Goodnight guys.” They parted ways at Reina’s door, the youngest giving each a kiss on the cheek. They were all feeling a little bit more friendly than usual.
Reina entered her room as quietly as possible, beginning to shed her day clothes almost before the door had shut. She tossed them onto the chair in the far corner, deciding to deal with them tomorrow. Standing in just her underwear, she began to search for her usual pajamas, but only managed to come up with a very thin tank top which she didn’t think even belonged to her. With a shrug, she put it on anyway and crawled into her bed.
Colliding almost instantly with a warm body, Reina wrapped her arms around whoever it was that decided to stay there, having a hunch even in the complete darkness. A small gasp sounded as the person awoke from their slumber and stiffened in the embrace.
“Sayu.” she whispered huskily into a thick mane of hair. Her hands began to wander across the figure in her grasp, squeezing a plump handful in her right hand while her left traveled lower. Reina felt a lazy grin spread across her face as her digits slipped past an elastic waistband and down into even warmer territory. She would have continued her assault if a sharp elbow hadn’t connected with her gut and the body forcefully pulled itself from her arms.
“What are you doing?!” Sayumi nearly yelled, her surprise keeping her from being wary of the other sleeping occupants of the floor.
“Just having some fun.” Reina slurred easily, bringing her wet fingers to her lips. She knew, even in the darkness, that the con could see her every move and she grinned wickedly at the taste of the whitish liquid on her fingertips.
Letting out a slightly disgusted and horrified, but mostly indignant noise, Sayu stormed out of the room, leaving the yankii chuckling in her wake. She wouldn’t be gone for long, but maybe now that she’d been burned a little, she might not be so eager to play with fire. Reina brought the previously occupied pillow to her chest to hug, smelling the older girl’s familiar shampoo on the fabric. Content for now, the cop finally drifted off to sleep, the comforting smell enveloping her.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Risa grinned as she watched her companions joke about something across the table from her. Tonight was the last night of their break and the whole group had decided to go out to dinner, the gunner couldn’t help but marvel at how well they got along now. It seemed liked they had known each other for years, not three weeks. She guessed that if you shared such dangerous experiences with people you’d become closer faster, due to having to trust the person to watch your back. Kind of like soldiers who were friends with each other.
Thinking back on their first meal together, Risa grinned to herself. They were sitting in the exact configuration as they were back then, Reina, Eri, Ai and herself on one side with Sayumi, Jun, Aika and Lin on the other in that order. All of them got a hearty meal, thanks to Lin’s thawing of their accounts, and they all chattered with each other happily.
The only tension seemed to be between Sayu and Reina, with the con refusing to make eye contact and Reina giving her a self-satisfied smirk every once in a while. Those two plus Eri seemed to be having a group discussion without actually talking about the same things and it was quite amusing to watch the turtle girl be caught in the middle. Across the table, Aika listened as Jun Jun regaled her with some outrageous, but true tale, the thief watching her wild gestures with a smirk on her face.
Turning her attention back to her girlfriend and Lin, she half followed along as they talked about strategies to defeating the difficult mini-boss in one of the games Risa had bought. It was a two player, so the hacker had frequently made her way into their room when ever they were there to play with Ai. Risa wasn’t really all that interested in those kind of games, so she just watched them have their fun with Ai nestled comfortably against her chest between her legs.
Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a large entourage enter the restaurant, causing the entire staff to hum with tension. The manager nearly climbed over himself to serve a suited man with greasy, slicked back hair, leaving himself open to teasing from the man’s lackeys. Turning her full attention to the scene, Risa watched as the group was led into the backroom that was secluded enough to offer privacy, but still was open enough so that the occupants could be viewed without getting too close.
Racking her brain for where she knew the greasy man from, Risa continued to silently observe the entourage of him and about twelve other men of similar dress. He sat at the head of one of the long banquet tables, watching in amusement the antics of his men as they playfully argued and joked around. He turned his head to the left to talk to the only calm man and as he did so, Risa’s eyes widened. The motion made a black tattoo visible, a dragon peeked out of his collar. Just the tip of the snout was shown, indicating that the whole of the ink was massive, probably encompassing his entire back.
It clicked in the gunner’s head where she knew the man from, he was one of the head lieutenants in the Takashi gang! And furthermore, the calm man at his side was also a high up sub-boss. What were the odds that they would run into two of their main targets without even looking for them? Already plans were forming in Risa’s head on how to deal with this opportunity. She concluded that Ai was going to kill her later, but it was too tempting to pass up. Excusing herself from the table, the gunner slipped outside to the van to gather supplies.
It was only a few minutes later that she reentered the restaurant, a small gift bag in her hand. She took her place at the table again and set some packs of ear plugs in the middle. Her strange action halted the conversations immediately.
“What is this for?” Reina asked, picking up a pack and examining it closely.
“It’s for blocking out loud sounds, what do you think?” Risa replied sarcastically, gaining an eye roll in response, “Just put them in and don’t ask anymore questions. Jun, I need you to flip the table up into barrier when I give the signal.” The now alert Chinese girl gave her a wide eyed stare.
“What’s the signal?” she asked lowly, one ear plug already in.
Risa just gave a grim smile, reaching into her gift bag and standing up. “You’ll know it when you see it.” At her side, Ai’s ears perked up when she heard a familiar metallic clinking sound, but before she could ask anything, Risa was running towards the back room.
The oldest woman felt as if time was slowing down as fear gripped her heart. Her girlfriend ran at full speed towards the gangsters, but it seemed to her as if she was fighting through molasses. Risa gripped the bag tightly by the handles and began to swing it around, her actions finally being noticed by the surprised group. Before any of them could draw their weapons, she flung the bag into their midst and spun on her heel.
Jun took this as her signal and the table was flipped up into a defensive barrier, the other girls instinctively diving behind it for protection as the entourage brought their weapons up to bear on the little gunner. Risa sprinted as fast as she could back to her position as behind her, the men opened fire. Bullets whizzed past her and thunked heavily into the thick table.
At about this time, inside the bag, six grenades detonated, the force of the explosion sending Risa flying over the make-shift barrier and onto her companions with a chorus of groans. Despite the ear plugs, the sound was nearly deafening and instead of bullets, now debris rained around the girls.
For Ai, time sped back up. She was huddled underneath Lin Lin’s arms, the hacker having pulled her from her seat when the table had been flipped. When everything finally stilled, the group all cautiously rose to examined the carnage. The walls were still standing, thankfully, but the grenades’ force had flattened everything in it’s path. In the restaurant proper, tables and chair lay overturned as though an angry child had given them a swipe with his arm.
The backroom was all but rubble, everything completely flattened. Nothing moved for a long moment, until in the very back corner, something began to struggle. Wasting no time, Risa hopped over their table and marched over to the form, drawing her sidearm as she went from her pocket. As she drew closer, she realized that it was the greasy man that stirred, the calm man lay heavily across his lap, shredded from obviously taking the brunt of the blast in an effort to protect his higher up.
Standing in front of him now, his slicked back hair mussed and his suit torn and burned, Risa almost felt pity. He struggled to open his eyes, one seeming to be glued shut from the blood that covered the whole left side of his head. Eventually, he glared at her balefully with his good eye and the gunner pushed her feelings away.
“Do you remember me? It’s been a long time since we last met. I think I was just beginning my training with Doro-san at the time.” Though he opened his mouth, no words came out, but he didn’t need to say anything for Risa to read the recognition in his eyes. “I lived.” she said with finality, leveling her pistol at his head and firing twice.
Then she turned and headed back to her group, not bothering to wipe away his blood and brain matter from her face. The girls all were stunned into silence at this blatant display of brutality, even Eri, whom had never seemed affected until now. Risa said nothing, just walked towards the exit. And they followed.
The ride back to the hotel was mostly silent, Risa driving and Ai riding shotgun, occasionally sending her worried glances. Finally, the gunner spoke, “Our break’s over, tomorrow we begin to hunt.” In the rearview mirror, she saw the others exchange uncomfortable looks. “We need to take out Takashi soon and the only way to do that is to take out his sub-bosses. From now on, it’s kill or be killed. No exceptions.” Risa knew they were all thinking about the carnage they had just witnessed and knew there was more to come.
~~~~~~~~~
Alright, enough stalling. Here you go, lodge any complaints in the complaint box. *points to box on the wall* The paper slides down the furnace and warms the house, lol.
Anything constructive, is welcome.
I don't know why I felt the need to put that here...
Topic: Black and Blue (Ch 34 6/4 The End!) (Read 175695 times)